Another odd line from a sales ad: make direct fact-to-face sales calls I did a double-take on that one, “fact-to-face”…is that some new business lingo with which I am not familiar? I think it is a typing error, but even if it isn’t, ads are better served with common language (i.e. no buzzwords/phrases).
Continue ReadingRun The Spell Check
This job summary is from a sales ad for a FORTUNE 500 company: Job Summary Responsible for developing and maintaining customer relationships within the transportatin industry. Is that unbelievable? The irony here is that this company probably holds candidate resumes to a higher standard than their own ad. One other thing – a one line job summary is probably too short. I like quick-read ads, but there should be some specificity to the summary. And no spelling errors.
Continue ReadingMileage Reimbursement Increasing
In case you missed it, the IRS is raising the mileage reimbursement rate from the current 50.5 cents to 58.5 cents starting July 1, 2008. “Rising gas prices are having a major impact on individual Americans,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “Given the increase in prices, the IRS is adjusting the standard mileage rates to better reflect the real cost of operating an automobile.” Keep this new rate in mind if you have any candidate offers going out soon. You will want to adjust the mileage reimbursement as this is a very hot topic among outside sales candidates today…along with telecommuting.
Continue ReadingQuality Of Hire Requires Objectivity
Ere.net offers up an excellent Kevin Wheeler article that explains how gut-level hiring occurs. Here is the crux of the problem: Interviews are examples of how easy it is to abandon the tools of objectivity, the scientific method, logic, and the rules of evidence, for our “gut” or for “chemistry.” While there is considerable evidence showing that testing candidates is far more likely to predict successful performance, we still rely almost exclusively on interviews. Though numerous researchers have pointed out the need to gather a variety of data about a candidate, we generally settle for an application form and an interview. Why are we so resistant to testing and other… Read More
Continue ReadingEmployment Branding
We work under a premise that my father is fond of saying, “They typically don’t need longer to say yes.” This is a truth of life that plays out time and again. There is one group of people that truly understands this principle…candidates. If they do not receive any feedback for a disproportionate period of time, they (properly) assume they were not a fit. What I don’t understand is why recruiters and hiring managers simply don’t tell the candidate they are not a fit. I have read many articles that discuss employment branding. In a simple vein, it seems obvious to me that one of the best branding approaches is… Read More
Continue ReadingWhen To Post Job Listings
The Washington Post has a short article that references job hunting trends from Monster.com. Here is the data if you want to play the averages: In a trend that has held true for three years, job hunting takes off on Monday, peaks on Tuesday and is still very busy on Wednesday, according to Monster.com. Job hunt traffic on Tuesday is 28 percent higher than on Friday, said Steve Sylven, a spokesman for Monster. EQuest, which manages job boards for companies, used to see Tuesdays and Wednesdays as tops for tapping new career possibilities. But in 2007, Americans broadened their search days, and eQuest indicates any weekday from noon to 4… Read More
Continue ReadingFourth Quarter Comeback
We have been talking to many of our customers and have seen a consistent trend among our small sample size – Q4 is going to be a good quarter. Of course, that doesn’t do much for the last few days of this quarter and Q3, but it is a good sign. Now CNNMoney.com has an article that may have a significantly larger sample size: The Business Roundtable is an association of CEOs of major corporations, representing a combined work force of more than 10 million employees and $4.5 trillion in annual revenues. Here is the takeaway from this group (my bold): At the same time, a survey by the Business… Read More
Continue ReadingHiring On The Rebound
The hiring outlook from the Manpower survey looks far better than a year ago which is a good sign. Although there is weakness in areas, the hiring trend is still positive: “While overall softness continues in the third quarter, employers are generally not reacting with large-scale payroll reductions,” said Jeffrey A. Joerres, chairman and CEO of Manpower Inc. “The gradual slowdown suggests that employers have become sophisticated at anticipating their hiring needs.” Of the 14,000 U.S. employers surveyed, 26% expect to increase their workforces during the July – September period, while 10% expect to scale back their payrolls for a net employment outlook of 16% (seasonally adjusted 12%). Fifty-eight percent… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Highest-Level Verb
It isn’t always clear what the exact number is, but more than 50% of jobseekers lie on embellish their resume. Forbes offers up an article titled Overachievement Without Achievement that contains a picture of Milli Vanilli. How perfect is that? The article quotes 53% as the number of people who lie on embellish their resume. But check this out: Some college students are encouraged to embellish items on their résumés. “They are taught to use the highest-level verb,” says Nancy Davis, a psychology professor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. For instance, an intern who ran copies of an instruction manual might say he “created” the manual on his… Read More
Continue ReadingCoffee Reduces Stress
Here is some wonderful news about coffee to start your Monday. From Yahoo Health: Just sniffing that first hot cup of coffee in the morning may help ease some stresses you might be feeling, a South Korean trial indicates. When rats inhaled the aroma of roasted coffee beans, a number of genes were activated, including some that produce proteins with healthful antioxidant activity, the researchers reported. “The meaning of it is not totally clear yet,” said Dr. Peter R. Martin, director of the Institute of Coffee Studies at Vanderbilt University. “What it does show is that coffee smells do change the brain to some degree, and it behooves us to… Read More
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