One of the real draws of working at a smaller company is the opportunity to have direct access to management-level decisions. As larger companies trim their payrolls, skilled employees will enter the candidate pool. These candidates may find a smaller company provides new opportunities for their personal skill set. The Wall Street Journal discusses this topic in Moving to a Small Company Can Lead to Big Rewards: That close proximity to upper management often leads to quicker action. Mr. Macdonald, the former Bristol-Myers worker, says he has the power to get things done more expeditiously at his new employer, Acorda Therapeutics Inc. in Hawthorne, N.Y. “There’s less bureaucracy,” he says.… Read More
Continue ReadingTeenage Millionaires
If you are truly looking for frustration inspiration today, check out this article from Forbes.com – How To Make A Million Before You Turn 20. Yup, the article profiles of 5 different teenage millionaires. I thought the second person was amazing: Cameron Johnson truly took that perspective to heart, parlaying one hit into the next. Back in 1994, when he was just 9, Johnson launched his first business out of his home in Virginia, making invitations for his parents’ holiday party. By the seasoned age of 11, Johnson had saved up several thousand dollars selling greeting cards. He called his company Cheers and Tears. But the little guy didn’t stop… Read More
Continue ReadingYour Average Awake Time
Every year this type of study comes out – U.S. workers are not getting enough sleep. I don’t know how anyone can truly know if this is accurate or not. Nonetheless, this little tidbit is interesting in a trivial way: The average wake up is at 5:35 a.m. and it’s followed by about two hours and 15 minutes at home before heading out to work, according to the survey. Average bedtime is 10:53.
Continue ReadingThe End Of Telecommuting?
Perhaps the telecommuting trend will end before it truly gets established? I doubt it, but this Wall Street Journal article discusses some bellwether technology companies that are calling back a portion of their telecommuters. A few big promoters of home-based and mobile-office work arrangements, including AT&T, Intel, Hewlett-Packard and parts of the federal government, have called some home-based workers back to the office, causing some to quit. The callbacks are small and don’t reflect a full retrenchment, but the factors at work — a push to consolidate operations, and the notion that teamwork improves when people work face-to-face — suggest other employers might follow suit as recession clouds loom. I… Read More
Continue ReadingNot So Confidential
I got a kick out of this – I’m looking through resumes online and I came across one that was listed as confidential. Candidates put a title to their resume that often says “Experienced Sales Professional” or something of that sort. The candidate can then hide their personal contact information (name, address, phone, etc.) and their current employer. This person did that. Except the title for their resume was their actual name as in “John Doe’s resume.” Oops.
Continue ReadingFebruary 29
It is a unique day, of course, so it seems like it deserves some recognition. My friend Clayton Shold over at Salesopedia has posted some interesting, trivial facts regarding this day. To pique your interest: The last time February had five Fridays was 1980. The chances of being born on February 29th are 1 in 1461.
Continue ReadingRainmaker Traits
Here’s a good post on sales “rainmakers” from my friend Bob Rosner. I suspect that most of you are aware of our emphasis on salespeople with strong listening abilities. Part of a rainmaker’s skill set? Absolutely: DO Listen and synthesize. The biggest difference between an average salesperson and a rainmaker? Mr. Average assumes his most important tool to making a sale is his golden tongue. While Ms. Rainmaker knows that it’s her ears. That may be the most important aspect of their abilities. Unfortunately, we have seen this work against them in an interview. Some hiring managers want to be wowed in the interview by some form of verbal gymnastics. … Read More
Continue ReadingAmerica’s Smartest Cities
Seriously, Forbes ranked the top 25…is there anything Forbes won’t rank? Yet, I am a sucker and watched the slide show. I’ll speed it up for you a bit and provide the top 5: Boulder, CO Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, MD Ithaca, NY ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN Corvallis, OR I won’t mention which one of those towns is my hometown…well, I spent the first 5 years of my life there. Lee says that doesn’t count. Unfortunately for him, the Twin Cities did not make the list. In all seriousness, I’m not sure if there is much value to this type of list. Clearly the top towns are host to a major university which stands… Read More
Continue Reading100 Job Boards
I received an email from Amy Quinn pointing me to this article – Where the Talent Is: 100 Sites to Find the Elite in Any-Given-Field. This is a comprehensive list of job boards and sites for employers looking to hire in specific fields (sales included). Here are the sales boards listed in the article: Sales Jobs: Sign up with this site and get access to hundreds of thousands of resumes from qualified and experienced sales professionals to help you find a match for your company. Sales Trax: This professional sales community is a great place to meet and talk with potential sales employees. Find salespeople interested in everything from pharmaceuticals… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Truth About Coffee
I never had any doubts, but Yahoo offers this story regarding coffee: What restored coffee’s reputation? Caffeine. After years of being viewed with suspicion, caffeine has pulled a scientific switcheroo. Besides helping students pull all-nighters and weekend warriors jumpstart their jump shots, there’s now evidence that it defends against diabetes, Parkinson’s, asthma symptoms, post-workout soreness, and even hunger pangs. I’m purposely omitting the rest of the article regarding moderation. Those lines are nothing more than pure sophistry…now on to my second extra large latte.
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