Inc.com’s Job Applicants Fear Impact of Online Behavior offers this (my emphasis): Job Hunting in the Digital Age, a poll of about 600 current employees conducted by Harris Interactive for Adecco USA, found that 66 percent of workers in Generation Y (ages 18 to 29) are oblivious to the online background checks employers do to research potential employees. In comparison, only 40 percent of baby boomers (ages 43 to 61) are unaware of such searches. How can this be? Gen Y is oblivious to online background checks? Later in the article: Therefore, more baby boomers make the effort to keep up with the latest hiring trends, as opposed to those in… Read More
Continue ReadingSurvive The Drive – Telecommute
It seems these articles about the worst commutes come out every month. This month Forbes.com offers up The Most Unhealthy Commutes in America. First, the top 5 (with 2 California cities – no surprise): The Top 5 Most Unhealthy Commutes1. Riverside, Calif.2. Atlanta, GA3. Los Angeles, CA4. (tie) Houston, TX4. (tie) Washington, D.C. Then you get this interesting piece of data (emphasis mine): Not only do commuters in Southern California inhale the worst year-round particle pollution levels, but Riverside drivers also face the highest rate of fatal auto accidents per capita, and Los Angeles drivers spend the most time sitting in traffic. In 2003, the annual delay per traveler there was… Read More
Continue ReadingA Smaller Monster
It appears that Monster.com’s legal woes are impacting their bottom line. They are laying off 800 employees. From the Pioneer Press’ Monster to cut 800 jobs: Monster, which has been grappling with an investigation into its stock-option granting practices, said second-quarter operating expenses swelled by 34 percent, largely because of higher legal fees and severance payments. Profit fell 28 percent in the quarter, even as sales rose. Good lesson here – businesses grow on profit, not revenue. That should be obvious, but we still talk to salespeople who seem unaware of this truth.
Continue ReadingThe Unacceptable Acceptance
CNNMoney.com has an article that really tweaked me this morning – Help! I accepted a job – can I change my mind? The article is the standard reader mail format with some good advice in the answer section. An offer letter – which is usually a brief document describing your position, duties and compensation – is generally less binding than an employment contract – which goes into much more detail and usually states how much notice you must give if you decide to quit. … So just be honest and say, ‘I’m sorry, but my dream job opened up and I really feel I have to take it.’ Most often… Read More
Continue ReadingTop Interview Questions
Check out this article – Top Interview Questions – from CareerBuilder.com. It provides a handful of interview questions along with the rationale behind them. A quick taste: How do you alleviate stress? Every job has stress. So if someone says they are not stressed or claim to not do anything about it, then they are either lying or they do not know how to control it. Look for positive activities or hobbies, rather than substance use or dangerous activities as stress relievers. What was a major obstacle you were able to overcome in the past year? Problem solving is the major topic covered by this question. What kind of thinker… Read More
Continue ReadingWho Have You Met?
I’m not sure this is the most compelling statement regarding your own skills on an email cover: I am better at network management than anybody I’ve ever met
Continue ReadingThe IM Wave
We had a rather robust discussion at Select Metrix yesterday regarding corporate uses of instant messaging (IM). I, being a self-proclaimed techno-geek, believe that IM will replace email in the near future. Well, according to a CareerJournal.com article titled Instant Messaging Is Invading And Changing the Workplace, that future may be now (emphasis mine): But tech consultant Gartner Inc. projects that instant messaging will be the “de facto tool for voice, video and text chat” for 95% of employees in big companies within five years.
Continue ReadingTelecommuting Is Becoming An Expected Perk
We have been discussing telecommuting in the sales world over the past year and have seen it appear in our sourcing efforts as a common topic. Inc.com looks into this trend in their article The Benefits of Telecommuting. The focus of the article is in the realm of IT professionals. That group is obviously an early adopter of technology trends so this isn’t surprising: In a survey of 1,400 chief information officers, 44 percent said their company’s IT workforce is telecommuting at a rate the same as or higher than five years ago, according to Robert Half Technology, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based technology-consulting firm. Many IT workers fall to the… Read More
Continue ReadingWhat Makes A Strong Sales Candidate?
I have been sourcing sales candidates the last couple of weeks for several of our clients and received a phone call from a recruiter. Normally, I don’t get a lot of calls from recruiters. It was an interesting call so thought I would share the exchange with you. To set the stage, the recruiter did not ask if I had time to talk or if it was a convenient time for me. In fact, his call came just a few minutes prior to a scheduled screening call with a candidate. Recruiter: Hi, this is John Doe from XYZ Recruiting. I’m not sure you know me but XYZ has filled numerous… Read More
Continue ReadingCandidates Are Discussing Benefits Earlier
I remember 5-6 years ago we would consider a benefits discussion from a sales candidate a bit of a red flag. If the candidate was asking about benefits early in the process, we became suspicious that they were looking to retire on the company’s payroll. Oh how times have changed. The fact that more of this cost is being pushed to the employee makes this topic a valid one for early in a hiring process. We still prefer to have candidates discuss the commission plan, market position and value proposition, but benefits are a real cost in the equation. From Inc.com comes this article with survey results that are not… Read More
Continue Reading