I Found Balance by Tracking Every Hour of My Week
Article by Gemma Hartley As a freelancer, you get to be fully on charge of your time. It is both freeing and daunting. On the one hand, you can cultivate a life that reflects your priorities and has tremendous flexibility and opportunity. On the other hand, you could wind up wasting your time, falling short of your expectations, and having no one but yourself to blame. How do you...
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How Apprenticeships Can Close the Cybersecurity Skills Gap
According to a recent study by Cybersecurity Ventures, rising cybercrime will lead to a threefold increase in the number of cybersecurity roles over the next five years. The problem is finding enough cybersecurity professionals in the job market to fill these roles and keep cybercrooks at bay. With cybercrime predicted to cost the world $6 trillion annually by 2021, companies are...
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The Recruiting Reel: Skills Every Recruiter Needs to Master
Given all the best practices, job seeker expectations, and new technologies with which recruiters have to keep up, it can be easy for even the best of them to feel like they drowning. Underneath all the gadgets and trends, though, recruiting is a skills-based field. If recruiters master the right ones, they'll be successful — no matter what changes come to the industry. In today's...
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3 Things That Kill a Recruiter's Productivity
Let's face it – recruiting is challenging. Between sourcing candidates, interviewing them, and submitting them for placements, recruiters must also balance streams of email, telephone conversations, and social media research. Plus, they must collaborate with sales teams to address client needs and align on business metrics. Outside of their offices, recruiters also face a number of...
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How to Find the Right Resume-Writing Service for You
Selecting the right resume-writing service involves more than finding someone who can string together a few sentences. You need someone who can effectively summarize your attributes, experience, and knowledge in a format that flows while making you stand out from other applicants. If you're in need of a resume-writing service, keep the following criteria in mind: 1. Experience...
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The Right Hires Can Be a Make-or-Break Factor in Your Career as a Leader
As a leader, you've interviewed hundreds of candidates during your career. You know what you're doing, right? You're running from meeting to meeting, and you've got that interview at two 0'clock sharp with what's-his-name. Who cares, right? All the pertinent information is in the Outlook invite. This is the common thought process of many leaders when it comes to hiring, and yet hiring can...
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To Build a Better Workplace Reputation, Balance Humility and Confidence
People consistently name "confidence" as the most important key to making a good impression in the workplace. It makes sense: We like to work with individuals who feel strongly about their convictions and can be counted on to drive efforts forward. That being said, I personally don't believe that confidence – though essential – is the most important quality for making a strong impression....
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The Case Against Retirement (That Has Nothing to Do With Finances)
Peer pressure in your 50s? Really? My friends and I were sitting around a table outside of a restaurant in Scottsdale. There were no bugs, no wind, no humidity. It was 75 degrees and perfect. People who retire to Florida have simply never been to the West Coast. Eventually, the conversation turned to a common question: "What's your plan?" My friends and I will get little sympathy....
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Dear Job Seeker: How to Navigate the ATS
The job market is better today than it was just a few years ago, but finding a job that matches your skill set and your cultural needs is still no picnic. For you, it's about more than just filling a seat. You want to find a place where you can plant your flag, build the base of your future endeavors, and grow. As a result, there's a lot of pressure on every resume you send out and every...
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Beat the Summer Productivity Slump With These 10 Tips
Welcome to Top 10, Recruiter.com's weekly rundown of the best of the best in recruiting! Every Friday, we release a list of some of our favorite people, things, and ideas dominating the industry. From awesome tech tools and cool companies to great books and powerful trends, no stone in the recruiting space will be left unturned. This Week: Top 10 Ways to Beat the Summer Productivity...
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To the Next Generation of Women Engineers: Just Go For It
Engineering bewilders many people. At dinner parties, we're often asked: "But what do you actually do all day?" Add being female engineers to the mix and people have even more questions. The perception that we spend all hours sitting in front of our screens, staring at complex equations and working in isolated bubbles, can make many young women (or men, for that matter) shy away from the...
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Keep Your Millennials Around by Giving Them Continuous Performance Feedback
Today, millennials are the largest generation in the U.S. workforce, accounting for more than one-third of workers. It may have been possible to ignore millennials' need for continuous feedback in the past, but those days are over. Forty-four percent of millennials expect to leave their current roles in the next two years. If you want millennial workers to stick around for the long term,...
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How to Use Twitter for Recruiting
Since being introduced to the world more than a decade ago, Twitter has become a digital social hub. That means it's also a powerful recruiting tool. If you want to find your next quality hire quickly and easily, Twitter may be just the place. Here are a few tips on using Twitter to recruit top candidates: 1. Grow Your Followers The first thing you need to do is get people aware of...
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What to Do When Your Former Employer Is Sending Mixed Messages:
A reader recently wrote to me about a unique situation. They had landed an impressive contract position. Everything was going great for 11 months – until, suddenly, they were let go. The company laid off a large number of people all at the same time. After soliciting feedback, the reader was given a good review and sent on their way. It wasn't personal. Or was it? Just a few days after...
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How to Address Long-Term Unemployment in Your Job Search
If you've been unemployed for a long stretch – say, six months or more – the job search may feel like a fruitless endeavor. However, with the economy improving and more and more jobs being created every month, opportunity really does exist. It's just a matter of learning to position yourself to grab that brass ring. If you've been out of work for a while now, there are some simple...
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Don't Be Afraid of the Remote Workforce
As communication technology advances, the world becomes much smaller, which in turn makes talent pools larger – provided organizations are willing to embrace remote employees. Many companies successfully rely on workers across town, across the country, or even across the world to grow their businesses. Will this work for your company? The answer largely depends on you, your industry,...
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5 Processes That Can Help You Find Better Hires
Welcome to Recruiter QA, where we pose employment-related questions to the experts and share their answers! Have a question you'd like to ask? Leave it in the comments, and you might just see it in the next installment of Recruiter QA! Today's Question: What makes your hiring process unique? The answers below are provided by members of FounderSociety, an invitation-only...
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How to Avoid the Interview 'Flop'
You're perfect for the job, and you know it. In fact, you're such a good fit for this job at this company that, in retrospect, it almost seems as if your whole career path up to this point was engineered specifically to get you here. And the employer is impressed, too – impressed enough that you've been invited for an interview. Normally, you're worried about interviews, but not this...
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Still Looking for a Job? Your Elevator Pitch May Need Some Work
Looking for a job? You probably have an elevator pitch you put together using the same standard format everyone uses. You have probably practiced your pitch with networking and job-hunting groups. You have probably refined your presentation to the point that you can now present yourself and your career in just under a minute. It's like a game, almost: How quickly can you present your...
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Do Candidates Keep Turning Down Your Job Offers? Try These 6 Tips:
While job seekers suffer their fair share of rejection, employers feel the sting of denial as well. What hiring manager hasn't approached a top prospect with what they believed to be a stellar offer, only to be turned down? Some companies face a chronic problem of candidates repeatedly turning down their job offers, but even those employers for which rejection is less common...
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4 Research-Backed Ways to Make a Killer First Impression
Article by Susan P. Joyce Eddie walked away from the interview feeling confident. He was poised, answered the questions well, and got a good vibe from the interviewer. When he got home, he would send a follow-up email. A few days later, when Eddie hadn't heard anything from the interviewer, he realized he had forgotten to send his thank-you email. He nervously typed it up, clicked...
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HR Challenges: The Importance of Good Training for Software Developers and Engineers
By some estimates, 40 percent of new employees who receive poor training leave their jobs within a year of starting. Not only is the attrition rate staggering, but it also puts a significant burden on HR departments to find new talent in an already constrained market. Furthermore, dealing with the aftermath of employee departure is expensive. Replacing an employees can cost between 16...
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3 Tips for Bridging the Generational Communication Gap With Millennial Workers
As more and more millennials enter the workforce each year, it's important that employers and employees of older generations are well equipped to work productively with their younger colleagues. Generational differences can lead to communication issues at work, which can in turn lead to bigger problems. Luckily, communication issues can be prevented when everyone makes the effort to...
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Wacky Interview Questions From the Trenches
Interviews are pretty strange when you think about them. In fact, it's sort of insane that we haven't come up with anything better than a glorified meet up to determine whom to hire. Here at Red Branch Media, we work with both sides of the hiring equation: recruiters/HR pros and candidates, jobseekers, and employees. As a result, we get a pretty robust view of what the hiring process looks...
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Dear Millennials, Here Is What Your Boss Needs You to Know:
Millennials, you are so eager to become leaders, and we're excited for you to get there. You were hired to solve problems and pose solutions. If you do not meet those objectives, you are actually costing your employer time and money. In order to thrive, you have to be a conscientious contributor to something greater than yourself. Every task, no matter how menial it is, will bring you closer...
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What to Do If You Can't Attend the Career Fair
Career fairs can be great ways to learn about new job opportunities and make connections with your dream employers. But what if something happens and you can't attend that big career fair coming up? Don't despair! There are a few things you can do that may help you find the job you desire: 1. Review the List of Companies in Attendance The first thing to do is get a list of all of the...
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Recruiter Top 10: Ways to Promote Your Company Culture to Candidates
Welcome to Top 10, Recruiter.com's weekly rundown of the best of the best in recruiting! Every Friday, we release a list of some of our favorite people, things, and ideas dominating the industry. From awesome tech tools and cool companies to great books and powerful trends, no stone in the recruiting space will be left unturned. This Week: Top 10 Ways to Highlight Your Company...
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Forget Experience; Hire for Talent Instead
Historically, recruiters have emphasized on-paper experience over raw talent, thinking that hires with proven previous success will take less time to get up to speed. However, as industries across the spectrum struggle with talent shortages today, just about every traditional approach to hiring is being questioned – including the prioritization of experience. Companies as diverse as...
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3 Goal-Setting Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make
"Goals are like your roadmap in life, or a compass. If you don't know where you want to go, you can never get there." - Spyros Thalassinos, founder of Design Haven We harp on productivity metrics and constantly refine performance management programs, hoping all the attention will lead to more productive workforces and better business results. But what if the real issue occurs much...
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As the Gig Economy Grows, Companies Will Need to Learn How to Manage the 'Multichannel Workforce'
According to the U.S. government, 40 percent of workers now hold contingent jobs, and some experts predict we'll soon see an even 50-50 split between traditionally employed workers and those who have joined the gig economy. Why are so many of today's workers flocking to gig employment? There are a variety of factors at work, but the core of the matter is that the growth of the gig economy...
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How to Stay Positive During a Lengthy Job Search
Nobody likes a job search. It might be fun for the first couple of days, but it quickly gets old. You just want to put the process behind you and start doing something you love. Unfortunately, the timeline for a job hunt can be weeks or even months at a time. This can lead to frustration and depression for job seekers. When Depression Rears Its Ugly Head Spending hours and hours on...
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How to Attract the Right Companies and Repel the Toxic Ones
I had a conversation with a frustrated job seeker earlier today wherein he vented about his experiences involving companies he was applying to and interviewing with. Unfortunately, I hear stories about the kinds of scenarios this gentleman was describing almost every week. Here's what they typically sound like: The company invites you in for an interview. It seems promising. They say...
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3 Tips for a Successful Interview
Interviewing is hard work. The job search is itself a job, and it sometimes feels like it will never end. It can be tough to keep your head above water, especially when you're juggling the search for a new job with an existing role. To ensure you're making the most out of every interview, do these three things: 1. Research The best part about job searching in the age of the internet...
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5 Things You're Doing Wrong in Your Job Posts
If you want to catch the attention of top-quality talent in today's job market, you can't rely on the same old standard-issue job posts. Today's candidates are looking for exciting, meaningful opportunities. Lists of job duties and qualifications won't get you very far. If you want genuinely engaging job posts that attract talent, avoid these five mistakes: 1. Using Too Much...
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Performance Reviews, Hollywood Style
While we've done what I believe is an amazing job of building a performance culture from scratch at Red Branch Media, I have a couple of things going in my favor: We're still a really small company. Building a performance culture was valuable to both the manager of the team and the CEO – both me. I can set the direction of the program. Even though we have a strong framework for...
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How to Make the Most of Your Last 10 Minutes at Work [Infographic]
We've all been there: That moment when you finish your very last task of the day, look up at the clock, and find that you've still got some time left in your workday. It's not enough to get another task done – or even get started on anything – but it's still more time than you want to spend twiddling your thumbs. Thankfully STL Training is here to help with its latest infographic,...
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To Keep Interviews Engaging, Use Plenty of Eye Contact
A number of years ago, I was trying hard to get support for an undertaking at work. When I finally got a meeting with a key stakeholder, I was determined to make the best of it. I arrived at the senior vice president's office prepared to capture and hold her attention. We sat at a coffee table in the corridor of the busy office, and I thought at first this was a good thing. She would...
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Why Millennials Who Want to Improve Professionally Should Take Dance Lessons
It is predicted that millennials will make up 75 percent of the U.S. workforce by 2025, and that's good news for everyone. Well-educated, passionate, and forward-thinking, millennials bring a new kind of spirit into the workplace. However, they may find themselves at odds with their boomer and Gen. X coworkers. Believe it or not, millennials can dramatically increase their professional...
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Why Millennials Want Better HR Software – and So Should You
Look around your office. If most of your workers aren't millennials, they will be soon. Millennials already constitute a plurality of the labor force. By 2020, they'll represent more than 1 in 3 adult Americans, and by 2025, they'll comprise 75 percent of the U.S. workforce. How can your company prepare for the millennials marching in? Like it or not, these digital natives work...
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The Visual Guide to Attaining 'Inbox Zero'
I've attained "inbox zero" before – that near-mythical state in which your inbox has zero unread messages – but never for long. I think my record was maybe 30 seconds before my phone vibrated and, yep, look – another email! But that was before online personal lenders NetCredit released the following infographic, which handily outlines a comprehensive system for managing your...
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The Recruiting Reel: How to Avoid a Slow Hiring Process (With Samantha Lambert)
Nobody likes a slow hiring process. When you find yourself dealing with one, it's important to know what – or who – is slowing your hiring process down and how to streamline it. Our featured expert in this episode of The Recruiting Reel, Samantha Lambert, shares insight into some common recruiting slowdowns and offers tips on getting back up to speed. Samantha is the director of...
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6 Communication Tips That Will Make You a Better Leader
Article by Dan Scalco Whether you manage employees, coordinate a team of volunteers, serve on a board, or are in charge of juggling your family's schedule, your leadership skills hinge on your ability to communicate effectively with others. Here are six communication tips that will make you a better leader, improve your relationships with other people, and boost your team's productivity...
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How You Can Attract High-Potential Candidates
In the digital age, job seekers have a variety of ways to find your company. More importantly, their tech-enabled outlooks are changing the ways they decide which employers are worthy of receiving their resumes. Though it may be challenging, it's critical to update your candidate experience in order to better engage candidates. Otherwise, they'll move on to organizations that do engage...
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How to Dominate Your Niche Recruitment Market on Social Media
In the last few months, I've noticed some recurring themes in the calls I've had with recruitment business owners. Most of these business owners are only now opening their eyes to the power of social media as a business tool. They're realizing that instead of investing in their social media presences in truly scalable ways, they've only been dabbling. Perhaps most important of all, these...
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5 Ways to Land Your Next Position
You may not be aware of how difficult looking for work can be. The job search often takes longer than you'd like it to. It can be a roller coaster of emotions and financial uncertainty. But you can persevere. You can land the job you want – especially if you take these five steps: 1. Demonstrate Your Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Sometimes, you may feel like throwing in the towel....
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Striking Out on Workplace Culture? Here's How to Fix It:
With the 2017 baseball season underway, America's favorite pastime is back in action. Organizations can learn a thing or two from the league's best sluggers: Just like them, companies want to focus on protecting the plate and hitting a home run – when it comes to developing strong workplace cultures, that is. If you want to give employees a great culture, watch out for these three...
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Preparing for a Career Fair? Follow These 13 Tips:
Whether the upcoming career fair is sponsored by a veteran's organization, a college or university, or another organization, you can make the most of it by following these 13 tips: 1. Review the List of Companies in Attendance The most important thing to do prior to attending a career fair is to find out what companies will be there. Then, you want to see if any are possible fits for...
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Why Ditching Annual Reviews Isn't Enough
You've heard the news – annual performance reviews are no more! Or, at the very least, they need to be reimagined, considering that 30 percent of them actually damage employee performance instead of improving it. Many companies, seeing that performance reviews aren't actually working the way we hoped, are now turning toward ongoing feedback, regular check-ins, and other real-time...
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