Signs It's Time for a Midlife Career Change
Everything was fine for the first 20 years of your career. You were focused. You were happy. You were going up the ladder. Then, you hit an age. Maybe it was 30, or 40, or 50. But suddenly, everything changed. Now, you are no longer happy at your current job. Something just isn't right. Nothing about the job itself has really changed all that much, but you just aren't satisfied like you...
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How (And How Not) to Use Social Media During the Job Search
Several years ago, I was preparing to make the move to Washington, DC, after spending decades in Texas. I was moving from a market where I knew everybody to one where I didn't know a soul. I needed a job, so I headed to LinkedIn and cold-messaged 10 people I had never met before. I heard back from at least eight of them — and one of the conversations led me to where I work...
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Innovation Is Now a Key Factor in the Escalating War for Talent
In today's transformative and disruptive business environment, companies must focus on innovation if they hope to stay in front of the competition and keep up with the economy's rapid pace of change. Innovation is often thought of in terms of a technological breakthrough such as artificial intelligence (AI) or the successful integration of a new tool like robotic process automation (RPA)....
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What Is Predictive Analytics?
Successful sourcing and recruiting efforts have always required a deep understanding of talent. For a long time, however, recruiters had to rely on making educated guesses about candidates' cultural and skills fits. There have long been a number of ways to assess applicants, but these assessments are far from foolproof. Making any hire requires taking a gamble that the candidate will...
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5 Remote Work Tools to Make Life Easier
Today, more and more companies are offering partially or even fully remote roles — and given the perks that come with working remotely, we can't blame them. Working from home can be extremely helpful in improving productivity. In the office, it's easy to be distracted by coworkers walking up to your desk to chitchat or request something from you. If you work remotely, your colleagues...
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Building Your Organizational Community: Inspiring Loyalty and a Sense of Belonging Among Diverse Constituents
I once worked with a CEO who was having trouble retaining employees. His company had a high turnover rate, and he told me the endless process of hiring new people to replace those who had left was costly, both in terms of actual expenses and time spent by his staff onboarding and training new people. I asked about the training. What did that involve? How did the company build a cohesive...
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What April's Employment Report Means for Recruiters
If there were any doubts about the candidate-driven nature of today's job market, April's employment report puts those to rest. The report, which was released on May 4 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, revealed that for the first time in nearly a half century, unemployment has dipped below 4 percent. This rate reflects a growth economy and an abundance of jobs across sectors. At the...
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Transitioning Out of the Military? Try Starting a Career in Recruiting
When you're transitioning out of the military and into the civilian workforce, the change can be a difficult one to navigate. Military life and civilian professions can be dramatically different, which may leave you wondering how to successfully make the jump. There are many resources out there to help veterans get their feet in the doors of civilian professions, but one you may not know...
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Introducing Singularity-X: The Next-Generation Digital Asset Exchange Putting Customers First
While cryptocurrency itself has many people excited about its possibilities, we can't really say the same for cryptocurrency exchanges. Ever since the bitcoin boom began in earnest, crypto users have found themselves continuously frustrated with their options in the crypto exchange market. As John Biggs reported for TechCrunch last December: Kraken is throwing up server errors every few...
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Quality of Hire or Time to Hire: Which Recruitment Metric Matters Most?
Recruiters will be the first to tell you that recruiting is a "people business," and it is, but when the effectiveness of your recruiting program is being assessed, it really comes down to the numbers. Like it or not, there are specific recruiting metrics to which you have to pay attention. We're approaching the end of Q2 of 2018, and the pace of business shows no signs of slowing. In...
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The Value and Vindication of Candidate Data: Recruiting in the Age of the GDPR
The recruitment technology space is buzzing. Since Google's entry into the industry with Google for Jobs, Microsoft's purchase of LinkedIn, and most recently, the acquisition of Glassdoor by Indeed's parent company Recruit Holdings, it's clear that talent acquisition is currently a hotbed for investment and public attention. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a record high for US job...
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Do Your Job Ads Use Discriminatory Language? You May Not Realize They Do.
The written word is an incredibly powerful thing. That's why the language of your job advertisements is so essential. One wrong word is all it takes to turn off the perfect candidate, so you really need to put time and effort into every sentence. When writing a job ad, the first thing you need to consider is how you want your company to be perceived. What tone is best: friendly and...
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How Sales Recruiters Can Push Through Controversy and Hire Top Talent
The pharmaceutical sales industry is no stranger to controversy. In fact, an overwhelming 89 percent of sales reps agree that the pharmaceutical sales industry is facing the toughest controversies today — namely, opioid addiction and legalization of medical marijuana — according to a new report, "Selling Controversial Products: Rising Above the Negativity to Find Positive Impacts," by...
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The Future of Global Mobility: A Rewarding Global Experience for Employees and Employers Alike
Organizations continue to seek opportunities for growth overseas for a multitude of reasons, from identifying lower-cost resources to tapping into highly skilled talent and expanding into new markets. Yet many companies struggle to manage a global workforce. The process that accompanies international assignments can be highly administrative and focused less on the employee and what matters...
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The Macro- and Micro-Level Reasons Why Salespeople Are Struggling to Make Their Numbers
Sales has never been an easy profession, but our research shows that more salespeople than ever are struggling to make their numbers. Over the last five years, the percentage of salespeople making quota dropped by 10 points. The percentage of companies achieving revenue also dropped by nearly 4 points. If you're in senior leadership, this performance decline can be incredibly frustrating....
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8 Areas Where Job Seekers Can Make Their Voices Heard on Their LinkedIn Profiles
One of the things I like about LinkedIn is it gives you the ability to express yourself through language and images. Job seekers can take advantage of this to give hiring authorities in the employment market an idea of their personalities. Resumes, on the other hand, don't offer as much room for self-expression. The goal of your resume is to make you stand out among hundreds of others who...
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3 Advanced Interview Tips to Boost Your Job Search Results Tenfold
Your job search success depends primarily on how well you build and develop relationships. This is especially true during the interview. You want to show your interviewers that they can trust you to be a valuable, reliable, engaged member of the team, should they hire you. In this article, I'll cover three ways to create strong relationships with interviewers during your job...
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How to Create a More Diverse and Inclusive Workplace
Diversity and inclusion are one everyone's mind in the modern workplace for a couple of reasons. As a general rule, younger people tend to be more concerned about these issues than older people, and it is the youth who are shaping the future workplace. The other reason that diversity and inclusion are so important is that the ethically right stance to take is to embrace these...
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Don't Let Your Vacation Put a Halt to Your Career Advancement
One of the most common obstacles preventing people from changing jobs is their vacation time. Let me explain. Many of us start our jobs with a certain amount of available vacation time — say 1-2 weeks. With each passing year, more days are added to your yearly allowance. After a while, you may find that you now bank 4-5 weeks of vacation time every year. It took you so long to earn...
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The Skills You Need to Sharpen to Combat AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is predicted to be the most disruptive technological innovation since the computer itself. Google CEO Sundar Pichai has said it is likely to be "more profound than ... electricity or fire." Many business leaders agree and are making massive investments, hoping to gain an early lead in the field. Like no other technology before it, AI has the potential to...
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6 Movies All Managers Should Watch
As a manager, your responsibility is to guide your team. But what makes someone a good manager, and how can you become one? Well, you could sign up for endless training exercises and self-development courses. Or you could binge-watch the best TED Talks on leadership. But did you know you can learn valuable lessons on how to be a good manager from the movies, too? With the help of...
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17 Ways to Calm Your Nerves Before a Job Interview
Everyone gets nervous before and during job interviews — whether they admit it or not. (Those who say they do not get nervous are the same people who come off as arrogant and overconfident during interviews. Watch out for them!) Interviewers know that you will be nervous. They expect it. Still, being too nervous is not good. If you are stammering, shaking, and sweating during an...
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Taking Your Company's Health Into Your Own Hands
Before becoming chief executive and chief experience officer at Advance Financial, I worked as a nurse practitioner in Tennessee. That training has stayed with me even in running a business. That's why, when I stepped into my role as CEO and CXO, I made sure the health and well-being of all of our team members were top priorities. The health of a company's employees has a direct effect on...
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3 Science-Backed Ways to Improve Your Performance
Article by Sonia Thompson With each passing day, the bar for excellence gets higher. New innovations come, someone hungrier and more talented than you enters the market, and external conditions change all around you. What was good enough yesterday no longer is today. Professional sports is a shining example of this phenomenon. It seems new world records are being set left and right. If...
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How to Create an Employer Brand That Wins Over Retail and Hospitality Talent
Right now, talent has the upper hand in the job search. Recruiters have to go above and beyond to land high-quality employees. The situation is even rougher for recruiters in the retail and hospitality industries. Due to the industries' high turnover rates, job seekers have dozens of companies to choose from at any point in time. If you want them to pick your company, you need to stand...
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How to Make Sure Your Outsourced Workers Don't Feel Like Outcasts
As skills gaps abound and the gig economy thrives, most large companies are outsourcing at least some of their operations. While outsourced workers may not have access to the same benefits as full-time, in-house employees — or even a desk to call home — they still contribute much to the success of the business and brand. While companies may not be able to give freelancers, contractors,...
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Recruiting and Retaining Millennials Using Technology: Research and Best Practices
The growing prevalence of big data in everyday life has implications for every industry, including HR and recruiting. When used properly, data science can help employers recruit employees who are better matches for open positions. However, organizations across the board currently face a shortage of professionals who are trained in data science. This means HR and recruiting departments may...
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C-Level Job Search Tips: 5 Job Search Shortcuts for Executives
Without the right tools, planning, and resources, a job search can quickly become a time-consuming and frustrating experience. Making one mistake — such as using the internet as your main medium for job hunting — can lead to countless hours of wasted time. Similarly, solely depending on your recruiter contacts for available opportunities can add months and months of wait time to your...
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7 Qualities Every Future CHRO Should Have
The ultimate career goal for many HR professionals is to land the chief human resources officer (CHRO) title. The value of the CHRO has steadily increased in recent years, and it is now often heralded as one of the most important jobs in a company. Many even consider it a critical stepping stone on the path to becoming CEO. Before you can achieve the CHRO title, you must understand what...
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One for You, Ten for Me: When Does Excessive Pay Alienate Workers?
"That's highly unusual," John said. When John spoke, I listened. After all, he was a senior managing partner at one of the largest private equity funds in the world. His fund also played a big role in my life as the largest shareholder in the company I cofounded and led for 15 years, Integra Telecom. Together, John and I debated the merits of the allocation strategy I had recommended...
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What Is the Right Level of Turnover? That Depends — on a Lot
While some turnover is healthy and ensures an influx of new ideas and perspectives into your company, high levels of turnover are generally detrimental. Nobody wants their organization to develop a reputation for having a revolving door. But what constitutes "healthy turnover" isn't the same in all industries. Recent research from LinkedIn shows that technology jobs see high turnover...
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The Financial Benefits of Proper Performance Management
We all like to think we are doing a great job when it comes to performance management. Unfortunately, research suggests the opposite. An astonishing 77 percent of HR executives believe performance reviews aren't accurate representations of employee performance, while only 14 percent of employees strongly agree performance reviews inspire improvement. Considering how costly the...
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Always Be Interviewing
Most people wait to start looking for a new job until they need one. They don't launch their searches until they've been fired or they hate their current job so much that they're ready to quit. Does this sound familiar? The problem is, if you wait to look for a job until you need a job, you've probably waited too long. The chance that you'll find a job on just the day you need it is...
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3 Best Practices for Recruiting with Technology
As employers across the US step up their recruitment efforts in 2018, HR departments are looking for ways to take their recruitment strategies to the next level. The best practitioners know the key to increasing visibility and applicant numbers is to take your recruitment strategies online. Leveraging the right recruitment tech tools can streamline your process and provide valuable data...
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How Technical Recruiters Can Optimize Their Hiring Processes
Leonardo da Vinci wrote the first professional resume in 1482, although resumes didn't become a central part of the hiring process until the middle of the 20th century. Resumes have traditionally determined how candidates apply for jobs and how employers make decisions. For some industries, this remains true today. However, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't always work, particularly for...
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Oh, Skilled Workers, Where Art Thou?
Five million people visit the Grand Canyon every year to marvel at its natural wonder. For all of its accomplishments, humanity has yet to construct anything that matches the beauty of America's largest canyon. Many business leaders treat skills gaps the same way. They stare at them in wonder, sure that no one could ever hope to conquer such a divide. But the longer executives pretend...
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Why You Should Offer Support to Separated Employees
Sitting on a red leather throne, pointing a finger, and yelling "You're fired!" into someone's face might make for amusing television, but here in reality, business leaders should probably take a subtler approach. While letting a worker go will never be easy, there are steps that managers can take to ease the process for all involved. It's a frightening experience to lose one's job, and...
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Flexibility: The One Thing All Professionals Can Agree On
When the iPhone 6 Plus was released, you may recall that it raised a certain furor. I am talking, of course, about "BendGate": the tongue-in-cheek name given to the multiple reports of iPhones physically warping in the pockets of their owners. While there were a lot of opinions on how much the phone's physical malleability affected the quality of Apple's products and reputation,...
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More Than Half of Employees Plan to Switch Jobs in 2018
According to a report from Achievers, employers may be in for a rough year in terms of retention. Of the 1,700+ employees surveyed, 55 percent said they were planning to switch jobs. In North America, the numbers are even higher: 74 percent of employees in this region would like to make a jump. But turnover is not a foregone conclusion, and employers can intervene to convince their...
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How to Survive Working for a Bad Boss
Article by Michelle Joy and Jody Foster A boss can make the workplace miserable. Given how much time people spend in the office, life itself can become wretched. You start to feel angry, humiliated, anxious, and depressed. You tell your coworkers just how bad this supervisor is, how they treat you, how they make you feel. Your boss really is a jerk, you claim. A schmuck, you all agree. You...
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The Workforce of the Future Is Liquid
The nature of business has evolved, so the nature of staffing must evolve with it. It's 2018. The digital age is here, and with it comes an incomparable rate of change. Companies can't plan ahead using five-year strategies anymore. Even planning a year in advance can be risky. Any modern company at all susceptible to fluctuating business must adopt the concept of the agile...
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Working at Startups: The Good, the Bad, and the Risky
Working for a startup can offer a lot of advantages. Some startups are willing to pay higher salaries than well-established companies, while others offer fun perks and unique cultures. Roles usually have plenty of room for growth. Stock options and profit-sharing are often on the table as well. But all the free lunches in the world don't outweigh the risks of startup life. A startup that's...
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5 Steps to Making Culture Fit a Priority in the Hiring Process
Hiring a new employee means bringing fresh ideas into a business. The new hire's presence can act as a catalyst for changes. They can be a major driver behind implementing new concepts and energizing team members while providing a new perspective that can help the business achieve more overall success. This is obviously a best-case scenario, not the typical way that new hires play out....
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The Networking Tip That Changes Everything
The need to network as you progress in your career is unavoidable. Certainly, this is a skill that comes more naturally to some than to others. The question is: Why? Personality obviously plays a part, but your mindset may in fact be the biggest factor in determining how you approach networking. For some of us, networking produces fear. In others, it produces excitement. But fear and...
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5 Simple Ways to Stand Out on the Job
Whether you're an entry-level employee, a middle manager, or a seasoned professional, you should be losing sleep over wondering, "How am I going to stand out?" In fact, this is the No. 1 question job seekers, managers, and even students entering college ask me. My advice is the same for everyone: Find out what your peers are doing, and don't do it. Remember the famous Apple...
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When Recruiting in the Tech Sector, Location Is (Almost) Everything
Recruitment in the tech sector is an especially cutthroat game in the employment market. With qualified talent scarce across the board, recruiters spend much of their time chasing people who are already gainfully employed. To lure talent away from their current roles, recruiters must come to the table with competitive salaries, benefits packages, perks, and any other ammo they can...
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How to Properly Run a Business Meeting
Running a business meeting is something of an art. Covering every topic thoroughly and concluding on time are but a few of the challenges. Here is my advice on running a great business meeting: 1. Make the Purpose Clear Keep clarity in mind when preparing for a meeting. The discussion should always center on the objective. The team shouldn't be allowed to deviate from the topic...
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5 Big Networking Mistakes You May Not Know You're Making
Love it or hate it, networking needs to be part of your professional plan. Be sure you know how to avoid the biggest networking mistakes so all your hard work as a job seeker doesn't go to waste: 1. Failure to Follow Up It sounds simple enough: Always follow up after first contact. But you're busy, and tasks that don't require immediate attention often get pushed aside. Suddenly,...
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