Unbelievable. I sent an email NINE days ago to Dex, the phone book company. They have an old listing for our business including a phone number and address we haven’t had for over 3 years. I was just informed of this fact by a customer who was trying to reach us from a coffee shop when he didn’t have his cell phone with him. The response from the Dex rep says much about customer service in this particular market segment. My initial email through their website form simply stated they had the wrong information for our company and I provided the correct information. The response I received: Thank you for… Read More
Continue ReadingTopgrading For Sales
We received an email heads up about the new book from Bradford Smart titled Topgrading for Sales. What I like is the promo page they have put together for the book – it includes a movie trailer…of the book’s content. A very web 2.0 approach which I appreciate. The topics include how to interview, hire and coach top performing salespeople. The one thing that catches my eye is the calculator for mishires. This topic is bandied about without a definitive number for what a bad sales hire costs a company. The number is certainly staggering no matter how it is calculated. The opportunity cost is the killer…and a number that… Read More
Continue ReadingCreative Employer Gas Programs
This article from abcnews.com discusses different corporate plans to help employees deal with the rapidly increasing gas price. Of all the creative approaches I have read of late, I think this one takes the cake (my bold): The career search Web site Jobing.com’s program really helps employees’ wallets. Those who meet certain requirements (such as length of time at the company, a good driving record and completion of a safe driving course) can get their car completely wrapped with the company’s logo. The reward: 100% of the employee’s gas is paid for along with a monthly $500 stipend. The company has an approved list of cars that employees can choose… Read More
Continue ReadingGas Prices And Work Trends
Gas prices are driving companies to adjust their reimbursement policy for outside salespeople. We have seen a handful of salespeople who have taken a real hit due to the fact they are on a monthly car allowance and not mileage reimbursement. Telecommuting is already grabbing a larger foothold in the work world which is a trend that predated the gas price increase. Our local Pioneer Planet quotes a recent SHRM report regarding telecommuting: (The SHRM study) found 18 percent of employers are allowing workers to telecommute, up from 4 percent in a survey a year ago. That doesn’t sound like much, but a 4% increase in 1 year is remarkable. … Read More
Continue ReadingMore Job Interview Bombs
CNNMoney.com offers up the latest story about this Springtime topic (must be all of the college grads hitting the interview circuit that gets these stories started). There are some beauties in here: “One job applicant came in for his interview with a cockatoo on his shoulder.” “We had one person who walked out of an interview straight into a glass door. The glass shattered.” “The candidate got his companies confused and repeatedly mentioned the strengths of a competing firm, thinking that was who he was interviewing with.” “A candidate fell asleep during the interview.” Fell asleep? I’m guessing the only way that happens is if the interviewer is doing all… Read More
Continue ReadingParsing The Unemployment Number
The Herman Trend Alert enewsletter (sorry, no link) takes a look at last week’s unemployment numbers. Some interesting items in there (emphasis mine): This increase in unemployment continues to mask the real situation. Looking at the BLS’ Household Survey, in the month of May, the national unemployment percentages among adult men and women were 4.9 and 4.8. At the same time, the rate for teenagers, ages 16 to 19 jumped from 15.4 in April to 18.7 in May, an increase of 21.4 percent. While part of this increase is due to high school and community college graduations, these new job seekers do not account for this huge increase. Rather, we… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Commute Question
We are sales recruiters so we have been fairly immune to this question, but it is even appearing in our world. For salespeople, the question is some variation of “How often will I be expected to be in the office?” This question doesn’t mean they are planning on playing hooky; the candidate simply wants to start the discussion about working from home, their car, coffee shops, etc. The Career News newsletter (sorry, no link) offers up a quick article on this topic: When it comes to making a living, how many miles would you travel? According to many hiring agencies and recruiters, people job hunting are taking climbing gas prices… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Weekend Ad Report
Remember when the Sunday paper was the big employment section? It wasn’t that long ago. I don’t remember posting any job ads on a different day – it was simply call in your ad by the Thursday deadline and approve the proof you received via fax (including the cryptic shorthand used to save space/lines). That whole process is probably foreign to Gen Y…and that’s a good thing. Anyway, I was perusing the postings this weekend and found this title: Sales Represenitive The title simply cannot have errors. None. Period. Also on titles, there is no simpler clue to these pyramid deals than to see a long description for a title.… Read More
Continue ReadingHow Not To Save An Interview
This article from abcnews.com starts off with a terrific interview anecdote (emphasis mine): John-Paul Lee, CEO of Tavalon Tea, a premium tea company based in New York, recently interviewed a job candidate he’s not likely to forget. “The first two minutes were great,” Lee says of the recent MBA grad. Then Lee asked the candidate who he believed Tavalon’s biggest competitors were. To which the candidate replied, “I think Tavalon Tea is a formidable one.” “I assumed he was nervous and had blurted out the wrong company,” Lee says, “so I played along and asked him, ‘Why?’” The candidate’s answer? “I don’t think they have the right management in place.… Read More
Continue ReadingWhat Does Job Vacancy Cost?
Interesting article here from RecruitingTrends.com that highlights a speech given recently by Dan Hanyzewski, staffing director from Nike. There is one piece of data that caught my attention immediately: “This is the first time in American history that we’ve had four generations at work at the same time,” Hanyzewski says. How do you communicate an employer brand that will attract such a broad audience? Quite a dilemma, isn’t it? The task of branding your company effectively for 4 different generations is a tremendous undertaking. But the discussion then turns to a critical point (my editing): “One of the most powerful metrics is time,” Hanyzewski says. But, what’s does it mean?… Read More
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