In reviewing the HRGURU newsletter I ran across a good article on finding fibs in resumes. It gives some sound advice to follow so you are not discovering these lies on the resume after a person starts. The 5 tips: Get an early read about the candidate’s visible profile. Look for a candidate’s public profile by reviewing announcements, articles and other material that often can be found easily online. You do need to gauge how much stock you’ll put into whatever you find—good or bad—because you can’t always believe what you read. Confirm academic credentials early. Gain consensus on the reference checking process. Who is going to perform it and… Read More
Continue ReadingHiring Obstacles
According to the most recent Workforce Recruiting newsletter (sorry no link available), 1,100 employers were asked what the main reason was for them not being able to hire their top candidates over the past two years. Their responses were as follows: 35.9% – Said they went elsewhere for higher perceived pay. 15.5% – Said they went elsewhere for better perceived career development opportunities. 8.0% – Said they went elsewhere for better perceived work/life advantages. 7.1% – Said they went elsewhere for higher perceived long-term incentive/equity compensation. 1.5% – Said they went elsewhere for better perceived benefits. 31.9% – Said they were able to hire the majority of their top candidates.… Read More
Continue ReadingTips For Interviewing Sales Candidates
Too many times the process of hiring a sales person rarely takes priority in a sales manager’s duties – they have enough to do already. Unfortunately, the hiring tasks get pushed to the margins of their day. Any sales manager knows how important it is to hire strong sales people, but it all too often doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Dave Stein has 11 spot-on quick tips that can help you set the right priorities and increase your success rate. His tips are: Make sure you know what you are looking for. Prepare your questions in advance. Remain objective during the interview. Trust but verify. Don’t lead the candidate. Push… Read More
Continue ReadingQ4 Job Forecast
Recruiting Trends provides a summary of CareerBuilder and USA Today’s Q4 Job Forecast and there are some interesting trends. First, according to the survey workers are postponing active job searches but are open to a change if the right one comes along. Of the 6,100 workers surveyed, 38% are planning to sit tight for the next year and wait for the economy to swing back while 41% plan on staying until retirement. This “squatting” will create some tension in that 23% of employers plan to add full-time, permanent employees in the next three months and 34% say they are having a hard time finding qualified candidates, especially in highly-skilled areas. Not… Read More
Continue Reading3.5 Years
That is the average length of a job in the U.S. according to The Career News newsletter (sorry, no link). I find that number almost shocking, but the newsletter does not call out the criteria for their average. I’m thinking part-time, minimum wage, seasonal and other positions could drag that number down. At any rate, it does provide a bit of an eye opener to how our job market is changing. Gen Y is typically not a generation to be known as “lifers.” They begin their work career without discussions of pensions and retirement. Those days are long gone. Instead, they are focused on skill development, jobs that interest them… Read More
Continue ReadingCraig’s List Fees
Last week Craig’s List job postings started costing $25 in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Miami (South Florida), Philadelphia, and Phoenix. These cities joined the following cities that already charge a fee for job postings – Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, NYC, Orange County, Portland, Sacramento, Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Washington DC and NYC. I supposed it is not surprising with all the “get rich now” ads that are all over the sites. We are fans of Craig’s List and have had some decent success using their job board. Unfortunately, it does require some patience by the candidates since there is much garbage to sift through on the site. Still, it… Read More
Continue ReadingTop Unusual Jobs
I’m surprised blogger didn’t make the list! CareerBuilder offers up an entertaining list of odd jobs: Hurricane hunter Wallpaper peeler Kitty litter box decorator Video game tester (”Grandma’s Boy,” anyone?) Nuclear electrician on a submarine Turkey wrangler (get yours now!) Parachute tester (yikes) Romance specialist Yawn counter at a sleep clinic (my personal favorite) I have been a yawn counter at some training sessions, but I’m not proud of that fact. I was presenting.
Continue ReadingThey Are Not Local
All politics are local according to the late Tip O’Neil. The same can be said of hiring which is why this employment ad is a mistake. The location listed for the sales position: Minnesota, MN I know they probably mean the entire state, but that is not the way to list it. It seems like a small detail, but it does make a poor first impression. My immediate thought was that the hiring company is not familiar with this area.
Continue ReadingLinkedIn Registrations Booming
Seems like LinkedIn is benefiting from the recent financial industries crisis. According to a post at Cheezhead they have had significant increases in registrations and in recommendations: The site has reported a 17 percent increase in registrations in the last two weeks. They are now claiming to reach 28 million users, up one million from last quarter. Reports show that memberships from people representing the financial sector have also doubled after thousands of people have been laid off or threatened with termination as closures and mergers usurp industry leaders and rattle the core of the sector. The site also claims to have seen a 14 percent increase in recommendations, most… Read More
Continue ReadingMistake-Prone Inspiration
We often tell sales managers to allow salespeople to make mistakes, to stumble through a low value opportunity. These “bloody nose” lessons (as my father calls them) are just as valuable as huge successes. I often learn more from mistakes than successes. In that spirit, I stumbled across this article thanks to the JustSell.com guys. The article details different products that literally came about via mistakes. Some examples – Coca-Cola, Scotchgard, Silly Putty, car tires and many more. This one caught my attention: Yellow sticky notes, officially known as Post-it Notes, got their start in 1968 when a 3M researcher tried to improve adhesive tape. What he got was a… Read More
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