8 Tech Tools to Help You With Your Mobile Job Search
I'm sure some of you still use your laptops for everything, but for more and more people these days, smartphones are the primary Internet-enabled device. For example, my sons and wife all use their phones constantly and go days without touching a computer! And they're not alone: Mobile Internet usage is now more common than desktop Internet usage. Some even say laptops will be nonexistent in...
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4 Ways to Make Flexible Work a Part of Your Office Culture
Your company claims to be a proponent of workplace flexibility. It has a formal flexible work policy, and some of your employees even leave the office early so they can spend more time with their families. But is your company really doing everything possible to promote a flexible work environment and ensure better work-life balance for its workers? Is flexible work an integral part of...
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5 Warning Signs You Shouldn't Take the Job
Starting a new job can be an exciting, but nerve-racking time. There are a few things you can and should do to limit your risk and ensure you're making the right decision when it comes to accepting a new role. During your job search, you should be on the lookout for the following warning signs. That way, you can be more confident about the changes you make while avoiding potential career...
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Why Respecting Employees Is a Must
"I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me ... All I ask is that you respect me as a human being." - Jackie Robinson You may not realize it, but this quote could be the very thing that your employees are trying to tell you. If you were to reflect on it, how would you rate yourself on respecting employees? What do you think your employees would say about you on this...
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For College Grads, Temp Work May Be the Key to a Successful Career
When I graduated college back in 2012, armed with an English degree and a redoubtable sense of self-worth, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a teacher. And I became one – briefly. After two difficult years in the education system, I bowed out of the teaching game entirely and became a writer instead. I'm glad I finally found the right career, but getting here was a...
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The One Thing Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and Your Office All Have in Common
Most of us are aware of the gender wage gap that affects the American workforce. But what you might not know is that this discrimination doesn't only affect the working mothers of the middle class. It's also happening in Hollywood and Silicon Valley. The Sony hacks gained international attention from the release of the movie The Interview. These hacks lead to the release of some salary...
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Clean Up Your Career, Part 1: The Resume
Our resumes are living, breathing documents – but most of us don't update them until we need to put them to use. The danger with that approach, however, is that it makes it that much easier for you to forget your key accomplishments. If you're reaching for your resume only when you need it, time is probably of the essence. Unfortunately, in your rush to get that resume into a potential...
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Small Business Recruiting: Best Practices for the Summer
Engaged, appreciated employees are an essential component of organizational success. However, employee engagement and retention can be challenging for business owners and managers, as they require continuous focus. If you are looking to improve engagement levels, the first place to start is during the recruitment stage, when candidates are forming their initial impressions of their potential...
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4 Powerful Trends Changing the Assessment Industry as We Know It
The assessment industry has been alive and thriving for a long time, and it's not hard to see why. The idea of using science to understand people and predict what they will do is an enticing one, so it's no surprise that everyone from the U.S. military to your average retail outlet has made assessments a key component of their operations. But despite the industry's long history,...
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You Aren't a Fit For Every Job – and That's Okay
The No. 1 reason why employees change jobs varies depending on the source you're reading. One list says its "appreciation and recognition," while another says that "dissatisfaction with upper management" is to blame. But whatever reason is given, one thing's for sure: It can be grouped under the overarching category of "cultural fit." What Is Cultural Fit? When we talk about...
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Do You View a Candidate's Entrepreneurial Experience as a Plus or a Minus?
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: When you're looking to make a new hire, how do you view candidates with entrepreneurial experience? Does it give them an edge...
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To Solve the Gig Economy's Woes, We Need a New Worker Classification
Plenty of employment prophets are proclaiming that the gig economy is the future of work – and when you look at the numbers, it's hard to argue against these predictions. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, about 40 percent of U.S. workers hold contingent jobs – that is, they work as temps, independent contractors, part-timers, and pretty much anything aside from...
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16 Perks That Are Better Than Pay Raises
Salary is important: If your employees don't make enough to pay the rent, they'll be looking for other opportunities in no time. But it might not be the most important form of compensation. According to Glassdoor's employment confidence survey from Q3 of last year, the overwhelming majority of employees – 79 percent – would prefer new and better perks and benefits over a pay raise....
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Onboarding: It's a Recruiter's Job, Too
Once a new hire steps through the door, it's not rare for recruiters to lose touch with them almost entirely as HR takes the reins. It's not that you stop caring about the folks you've brought on – you're just busy trying to fill your other open requisitions. After all, that's your job; HR managers are the ones responsible for keeping employees happy and engaged once they've been...
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5 Ways to Decide Between Hiring a Junior and Senior Candidate
Welcome to Recruiter QA, where we pose employment-related questions to the experts and share their answers! Have a question about the employment market 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: How do you decide whether to hire a junior or senior person for a role? The answers below are...
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Boost Your Productivity by Booting a Few Old Tactics and Technologies
Human beings don't like change. We like to be comfortable and in control. Businesses, on the other hand, need change. A business can't afford to stay comfortable. Change helps it stay in control. Nowhere is the impact of change on businesses more apparent than in the day-to-day technologies we use. Unfortunately, comfort with traditional tools and technologies can conflict with the...
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What You Should Know About Employment Assessments
Background checks, personality trait inventories, work histories, skills tests: You name it, there's a checklist for it. You do everything possible to make sure your candidates (and new hires) are the right fit for your team. But how can you be sure they'll be successful in the position before you hire them? Historically, recruiters have used assessments in virtually every stage of the...
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Verbal Communication Is the Top Skill for New Grads
Verbal communication tops the list of skills employers look for in recent college grads. In fact, a recent survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) reports that verbal communication outranks both the ability to work in a team and the ability to make decisions and solve problems – the two skills that tied for first place in last year's version of the...
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6 Ways to Draw Talent to Your Company Careers Page
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: How do you attract people to apply to your open jobs? The answers below are provided by members of FounderSociety, an...
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When You Start Saying These 3 Things to Yourself, It's Time for a Change
Article by Steve Rizzo When work and life are out of balance, you might have a conversation in your head that sounds something like this: I love my job, but it hurts that I am missing out on valuable time with my kids, time that I will never get back. I am going to have to occasionally leave early so that I can have more time for them. When I get home too late, I know that I missed out...
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The Recruiting Reel: How to Fall Back In Love With Recruiting (With Justine Beirne-Akley)
It's easy to forget about all the awesome aspects of your work when you're in the trenches day in and day out. That's why it's important to step back and remind yourself about all the great perks of being a recruiter -- especially when you find you've hit a rough patch. Our featured expert Justine Beirne-Akley is here to share some tips on how to get through those darker days. Justine...
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TAtech Tip: Build Farms, Not Stores
A recent survey from Beyond found that 75 percent of recruiters view today's job seekers as unqualified. That's simply not true. What may actually be true is that 75 percent of the job seekers who visit today's corporate career sites are unqualified. And there's a reason for that. Most corporate career sites have the look and feel of stores. It's as if companies are shouting, "Hey,...
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How to Negotiate Like a Lawyer
Every professional should be well versed in how to negotiate. Whether you're a junior employee making a case for a promotion, an HR professional selecting company insurance benefits, or a top executive brokering new deals, these skills will come in handy. However, few professionals have any formal education on negotiation, and strategies vary depending on circumstances. Negotiation is a...
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With Every House Comes a Mortgage: Why Success Is Never Achieved Without Payment in Full
Who doesn't enjoy a Sunday afternoon drive? When the sun is shining and the chores are done, a winding ride through your neighborhood can be a great way to relax. Streets lined with white picket fences divide perfectly manicured lawns in front of big, beautiful houses. You probably have a couple favorites and think about how convenient a three-car garage would be or all the time you'd save if...
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Refer a Friend: Networking Is a Two-Way Street
I recently received a great question from a reader that I want to share with you. The reader writes, "A recruiter recently reached out to me about a particular job they are hiring for. I'm not a good fit for it, but I know someone who is. Should I say anything, or should I keep my mouth closed?" At first glance, it may seem strange to turn down an opportunity, only to refer someone else...
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How to Hold Remote Meetings That Aren't 90 Percent Day Dreaming
They say 9 out of 10 people daydream in meetings. The figure is bandied about the Internet a fair bit, and it's not hard to imagine it's true. It's natural that the mind wanders when presented with information that doesn't directly affect us – or simply when meetings are long enough. Hillary Ferguson has already explained in a previous post the best way to host productive workplace...
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Shocking Employee Performance Stats You Should Know
Performance management has come to mean many things to many people. Some take it to be the day-to-day interactions managers have with their employees, while others feel it's strictly the domain of human resources professionals. Regardless of who is in charge, performance management touches many areas of business. Performance reviews are one significant piece of performance management....
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Unboxing Day: 4 Ways to Enhance the New Hire Experience
Everyone loves buying something new and the sense of exhilaration that comes with unboxing the product for the first time – whether it's an iPhone, a live reptile, or a chainsaw. Consumer goods companies have become experts at making people fall in love with their products, building anticipation, and creating a memorable experience once you open the box. But the unboxing experience...
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How to Handle Challenging Employees
How do you know whether an employee is a "challenger"? Here are a few hints: - The first word out of their mouth is usually "No." - They treat any and every daunting task as sport. - They're the furthest thing from a "yes man" in the room. Challengers are employees who live to, well, challenge. They challenge people, tasks, themselves, and everything else they come into contact...
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4 Tips for Setting Powerful Goals
Article by Jim Rohn The most important benefit of setting goals isn't achieving those goals; it's what you do and the person you become in order to achieve your goals that's the real benefit. Goal-setting is powerful because it provides focus. It shapes our dreams. It gives us the ability to hone in on the exact actions we need to perform to achieve everything we desire in life. Goals...
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Giving Up on the Job Search? Get Back to the Basics
I've seen it hundreds of times: people losing their motivation to find employment. They resign themselves to the fact that they'll never obtain their ideal job. Instead, they'll wait for it to come to them – if it ever does. In short, they've given up. Is this you? Have you given up hope? When I was out of work, I lost hope myself – but I was very lucky to land a job weeks before...
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How to Avoid Being Hired by a Toxic Workplace
While most people who are looking for a job would be happy just to receive an offer, they probably don't want to accept an offer from an organization that turns out to be toxic – that is, a workplace where the environment is unhealthy, and maybe even dangerous, for employees. In our book, Rising Above a Toxic Workplace, my coauthors and I surveyed hundreds of employees (and leaders) from...
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The Job Market is Heating Up; Transitioning Military Shouldn't Let their Job Search Cool Off This Summer
May is National Military Appreciation Month. While this is a great time for the nation to reflect on the service and sacrifice of our nation's servicemen and women, it's also a great time for those transitioning from the military to find new careers. As the calendar turns to summer, it's assumed that things in the corporate world tend to slow down. That notion is supported by the fact that...
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Is It Ever Okay to Burn a Professional Bridge?
Although there are many occasions where burning a bridge is probably going to hurt you more than it hurts your employer, there are some situations where it will actually be your best bet – or even your only possible course of action. Just what situations would warrant burning a bridge? Here are five of them: 1. You Literally Hate Your Job Robert Tew once said, "Respect yourself...
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How to Manage Employees You Can't Stand
It happens. You have at least one employee who does amazing work. There's no doubt that this individual is an asset to the company. But ... you dislike him. He interacts well with everyone else in the office. But for some reason, the two of you bump heads. Could it be personal? How do you remain professional while managing an employee that you personally can't stand? Here are some...
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Applying for Jobs But Not Getting Noticed? Try These Tactics:
Before the Internet, it wasn't uncommon for people to walk into a company, ask to speak to the manager, and deliver their resume in person. This was a great way to show motivation, drive, and the true personality of the person behind the resume. Unfortunately – or maybe fortunately, depending on how you look at it – this isn't how things work today. Today, people spend...
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5 Ways to Get More Candidates to Accept Your Offers
In the words of Joni Mitchell, "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone?" We often take for granted the better things in life when we get used to having them done a certain way. Employers are used to having the upper hand with candidates. However, as the economy improves and and top candidates gain access to more opportunities, hiring...
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Is Branding Camouflage for Bullying in Healthcare?
Paging through an issue of HR Magazine recently, I was shocked to learn that the Workplace Bullying Institute had discovered the healthcare industry is especially prone to bullying work environments. In a survey of workplace bullying by industry, the Institute found that 27 percent of those who report being bullied at work or having witnessed workplace bullying are employed in the...
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Why Hard Work Isn't Enough to Succeed
One of the most common messages I received as a child was, "Work hard, and you will be rewarded." This sentiment was echoed by loved ones, teachers, and mentors. There's a good chance you, too, heard the same rumor about life being fair and equitable. Don't get me wrong: Hard work is a critical component of success. However, the fact is that there's more to it than just hard work. This...
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3 Reasons Why Informational Interviews Are a Resource You Should Leverage
Are you contemplating an executive-level career change? Are you simply curious about the scope and competencies entailed by a particular leadership position? What if I could give you inside information about what it is like working in a particular field, for a particular employer, in a particular region? What would you pay for that type of information? What if you could find out about...
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The Top 5 Headaches Today's Employers Face (and How You Can Address Them)
Employers (like myself) are juggle hundreds of problems at any given time, and having a crowded head makes it much more difficult to accomplish the tasks at hand efficiently. While I've spent a great deal of time writing and speaking about hiring, I've never had to hire as quickly as I have in the past year. A high-growth company can be fun, but it also makes hiring top talent that much...
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Why You Should Always Do What You Love [Video]
Figuring out your career can feel like a job in itself. With the average American holding approximately 12 different jobs by age 48 and only 27 percent of college graduates ending up in careers related to their majors, it's safe to say there's a lot of confusion when it comes to finding the right career path. As we get older, our decisions are influenced by more realistic views of what it...
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Job Search Getting Desperate? Avoid These 3 Mistakes
Let's be honest. Quite frankly, the job search can suck. When it comes to candidate selection, there are so many variables that are outside of the job seeker's control. Oftentimes, when the job search is not going as well as you hoped it would, it can easy to go from optimistic to desperate in a matter of days – if not hours. If you become frustrated with your job search, your...
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How to Get Employees to Actually Use Your Wellness Program [Infographic]
So you've instituted a world-class employee wellness program at your organization. Great! Any day now, you'll be reaping the benefits of a happier, healthier, more engaged workforce and an improved employer brand, right? Maybe. But maybe not. According to a new survey from corporate wellness tech company Limeade, building the program isn't necessarily the biggest challenge that...
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Modernize Your Recruitment Strategy With Interactive Video
The war for top talent is on, and one of the most compelling weapons in your recruitment arsenal is the content you create and share with prospective candidates. Driven by mobile connectivity and social media, today's increasingly advanced digital landscape is the battleground for recruitment and talent acquisition. As new channels emerge and attention spans shrink, recruiters must find...
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Are You Coming Across Well to Your Colleagues?
"Don't be that guy!" We've all said it before – perhaps even at the office water cooler – when talking about the clueless boorishness of some scandal-plagued celebrity of the day, or maybe someone closer to home, like Lloyd in marketing. And sometimes, we get that haunting feeling that maybe, just maybe, we are "that guy" in some people's eyes. How do I come across to my...
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Brands You Should Know: An Oral History of SkillCheck
The SkillCheck company arrive on the scene 25 years ago in 1991. A short while later, in 1999, SkillCheck debuted its online testing platform. It was one of the first of its kind, offering employers a way to dive deeper than candidates' resumes allowed and get accurate pictures of how their potential hires might perform on the job. At this point, you may be a bit confused. "SkillCheck?...
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TAtech Tip: Learn the Art of Talent Whispering
With all of the talk these days about social recruiting, you'd think there would be a good understanding of how to best communicate with high-caliber prospects online. The low yields now being reported from such interactions, however, indicate that much of our messaging isn't having its intended impact. That's why we need to adopt the art of talent whispering. High-caliber prospects are...
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