Salary.com put this article out earlier this month. It is a lengthy article written to employees in regards to 2007 areas of compensation, but there are some points to keep in mind not only as you are hiring staff this year but in retaining your current team. These points are complementary to one of our earlier posts on the top reasons why candidates take a job. If you haven’t read this post, let me highlight the top 4 things candidates are looking for in jobs: A good manager/boss, opportunity to advance, opportunities to learn/grow and balance between work and personal life. Salary.com’s article aligns with 3 of the 4 points… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Team Selling Approach
This article – Sell Your Team on Team Selling – from Selling Power’s Pharmaceuticals Newsletter approaches a trend we are seeing in spades these days. “The greatest benefits from a team selling approach are what I call just-in-time factors,” he says. “That includes just-in-time technical expertise to address complex and/or outside the box inquiries, decision making to solidify the deal without self-imposed company decision making delays, and the confidence gained by being a team, especially from internal support from the potential purchaser or user.” The “team” typically is composed of a single sales rep along with members from other departments (i.e. engineering, financial, operations, production, etc.). In today’s world, this… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Fog Of Job Ads
I attended a monster.com webinar today regarding sourcing from, interestingly enough, the job seeker’s perspective. I wanted to share an important finding from their survey. The number 1 job seeker complaint about finding new jobs (in sourcing terms) was vague job descriptions. I shudder as I write this because I envision companies writing even longer sales ads. The key word was vague, not short. The 3 negative outcomes job seekers perceive from a vague ad: Bait and switch – once into the process, the candidate learns that he or she is really being considered for a lesser position Misrepresentation – the ad doesn’t truly describe what the actual job entails… Read More
Continue ReadingVideo Resumes
I found this site – RecruiTV – from the ERE.net newsletter. The company that runs this site is called Wetjello (I have no idea why, but it is memorable). From their website: Wetjello provides powerful online video recruitment solutions including recruitment campaign video development, video production and integrated web video solutions. Were helping create a new online recruitment medium with powerful, edgy and impactful video campaigns for companies around the world. Their claim to fame is that they feature video resumes. I have been drawn in to watching a few of the sales resumes (is that the proper word for these). I have to admit, some parts of the videos… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Office Love Trend
Inc.com offers As Valentine’s Day Approaches, Office Romance on the Rise – an appropriate story the day before Valentine’s. Check out the lede: The number of workers caught canoodling at work has skyrocketed over the past year, according to new research. That deserves mention simply for using the verb “canoodling.” When is the last time you read that in a business article? Yeah, I know, maybe last year at this time. Anyway, the stats: Four out of 10 U.S. workers admit to being involved with another colleague at some point, according to a new survey by Spherion, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based employment firm, and Harris Interactive. … Twenty-five percent of… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Social Media Boom
From Foxnews.com – Study: Inc. 500 Companies Fast Adopters of Social Media: The nation’s fastest-growing private companies are making use of social media – including blogs, social networking and podcasts – at a rate more than twice that of Fortune 500 companies, according to a new study. The University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth’s Center for Marketing Research surveyed companies from the 2006 Inc. 500 list, to gauge the level of familiarity and usage of six forms of social media blogging, podcasting, online video, social networking and wikis. Out of 121 respondents, generally managers and other senior-level executives, 42 percent claimed to be “very familiar” with social networking, followed by 38 percent with… Read More
Continue ReadingWhat Candidates Look For In A Job
A few months ago I posted on Why Salespeople Leave which discussed the disconnect between how a company compensates their salespeople and what the salespeople view as a reward. Last week I attended a webinar jointly presented by Monster and DDI and was amazed at the disconnect they found in their research between what employers think candidates desire in a position and reality. Employers, or more specifically hiring managers, listed these items as the top 4 reasons why a candidate takes a position: A good manager/boss. Opportunity to advance. Opportunities to learn and grow. Balance between work and personal life. However, here is how the candidates responded in the survey:… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Best States For Business
From Inc.com: Among the 50 states, Connecticut and Delaware offer the best economic climate for entrepreneurs and business, according to a new report by the Corporation for Enterprise Development, a private research group based in Washington. The two states were alone in earning straight As on the group’s 20th annual report card of state economies for 2007, based on business vitality, performance, and development capacity. Colorado, Massachusetts, and Minnesota also garnered high marks across all three categories. That looks like a top 5 finish for our state. It is a bit surprising since the tax burden in this state is, well, burdensome. Nonetheless, there is a strong business infrastructure here.… Read More
Continue ReadingFilling The Leadership Gap
CareerJournal.com provides an interesting look at one Minnesota company in Manager Shortage Spurs Firms to Grow Their Own. Schwan found itself with a significant shortage of leadership talent that is symptomatic of the national hiring landscape. The tight labor market puts a premium on retaining top talent and raises the cost of outside hires. And leaner corporate structures make it harder for managers to naturally hone their skills through incremental steps up the ladder; companies must instead formally teach them. Demographics play a role, too: The looming retirement of baby boomers is forcing companies to think about replacements. Schwan has developed an internal solution to combat this problem: Schwan is… Read More
Continue ReadingBusiness Reputation Rankings
The Justsell.com guys lead us to an interesting link from The Wall Street Journal – Reputation Rankings. The list consists of the eighth annual survey of U.S. corporations with the best and worst reputations. The top 10: Microsoft Johnson & Johnson 3M Google Coca-Cola General Mills United Parcel Service Sony Toyota Motor Procter & Gamble
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