We posted multiple ads about 10 days ago on multiple job boards for 3 different sales positions we are presently working. Our highly unscientific experiment has led us to these . . . conclusions. Big Boards – Monster.com still leads the pack – probably due to name recognition. We have had more success with monster as opposed to CareerBuilder. Niche Boards – We received a limited response and no viable candidates. My gut tells me these may work better for higher-level positions (VP, Director, Manager). Free Boards – We have been using them for 6 months and the response totals are increasing with each posting. The candidate quality is hit-or-miss,… Read More
Continue ReadingCyber Sleuthing Candidates
Here is a good tip from Tory Johnson via the abcnews.com website. Is MySpace a Professional Liability? provides insight into her technique for researching a candidate. It is surprising how many employers do not take a minimal amount of time to search the web for a candidate’s information. I must confess, I am a neophyte when it comes to the social networking boards. I have cruised around MySpace.com a couple of times looking at the business-related information. There wasn’t much that I found. However, the individual information is quite extensive. Yes, I have heard the punchlines on Leno about MySpace, but this article does lay out an excellent use of… Read More
Continue ReadingEmail Subject Lines That Hurt
I thought I would start your Monday with some levity. This is from the general resume pile and is serious, from what I can tell: I am the GREATEST Tele Sales GURU on the planet. Again, some times you do not need an assessment.
Continue ReadingWhen to Assess Salespeople
The first key is to assess candidates before hiring. We encounter many companies that hire based on their gut feeling about a candidate. I met with a customer last week who has a VP who makes up his mind in a matter of the first 10 minutes of an inperson interview. Some people have strong empathetic abilities and can get a good read on an unknown candidate. But they make mistakes. The President of the company explained to me that although this VP was quite intuitive, he still missed on candidates which ended up costing the company. This meeting brought to my attention the need to explain when to assess… Read More
Continue ReadingMore Anecdotal Encounters
I decided to mark these general resume emails as anecdotes also. I found this one entertaining: I’m looking for work that doesn’t involve customer service. Also work that is relatively healthy in that there are no poisonous gasses or fumes in the workplace … I have had around 30 jobs in the past 10 years. I quit jobs because I either get sick of the people I work with, bored with the job, or a little of both. I took the liberty of shortening the cover letter – it didn’t change the context. You know, we sometimes harpoon websites that ghost write cover letters and resumes. In this instance, investing… Read More
Continue ReadingSourcing in Minnesota
The latest jobs report for our home state shows that Minnesota added the most jobs in a quarter since 1984. Of course, the journalist strangely felt obligated to follow that impressive fact with multiple paragraphs downplaying the incredible growth. Our state unemployment is now down to 3.6% which has affected our local sourcing activities. 4 years ago we would post 1 ad on monster and receive 50-60 calls and/or emails within a week. Not so today. We have adjusted accordingly by posting a position on 3 job boards simultaneously. The pattern that is working is to still use one of the major job boards (monster, careerbuilder or hotjobs), one niche… Read More
Continue ReadingCheerleaders as Salespeople
In all my years, I have never heard of this: Cheerleading to Sales: The Leap is More Common Than One Might Assume While the idea of recruiting current and former cheerleaders to work as professional salespersons may seem like a stretch, in reality it isn’t. If you want individuals who aren’t afraid of performing under pressure, are outgoing, dedicated, and are enthusiastic about getting others involved, cheerleaders are a perfect fit. Pharmaceutical firms and network communication equipment companies have both found cheerleaders to be phenomenal at sales. The leap from the football field to the sales profession is so common that it can support a placement agency known as Spirited… Read More
Continue ReadingHow Not To Stand Out – Part 3
More fun with the online resumes. See if you notice anything about this email cover statement: “If your a serious company, that knows how to compensate your consultants, and your looking for serious help, call.” Spelling error aside, it is not wise to challenge the seriousness of a company when you are job hunting. I’m not sure if there is ever a good time for that topic. Anyway, you notice that this self-proclaimed “serious” salesperson wants the company to call him. Not exactly a self-starting approach. I would be quite cautious regarding a sales candidate who is waiting for the phone to ring as opposed to aggressively contacting prospective employers… Read More
Continue ReadingIf Only IQ = Success
More from the What Not To Do file – this email resume came over the transom this morning and it isn’t pretty: I’m a very motivated guy. i have an IQ of 130. Unbelievably, I cannot get a job… In all honesty, I have a resume agent that pushes any and all resumes through which leads to some interesting reads.
Continue ReadingTurnover Trouble You Didn’t Know You Had
Let me piggyback on the previous post and boldly state this – your salespeople (and other positions) are looking at other career opportunities. From the weddle.com website: Recently we tallied job seeker responses to this question: “How many times per month do you visit an online employment site?” The results provide some interesting insight into the best strategy for online recruitment advertising. WEDDLE’s Findings Almost three-quarters of the respondents (72%) visited 2-8 sites per month; Just 4% visited only 1 site per month; and One-in-ten visited 16 or more sites per month. 82% of employees visit an online employment site more than twice per month. From our article Hiring Adjustments… Read More
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