Unemployment is down another one percent this month. While this is good news for the economy as a whole, it does mean that great talent is in even higher demand than ever before. With the employment prospects continually growing brighter, companies need to truly shine to catch the eye of those gems – employees who can jump in feet first to make an immediate, positive impact and then develop into keepers. With that in mind, it is important that you put your best foot forward and make your company attractive to those that you are looking to hire. While there are many factors that determine whether or not a candidate accepts a job offer, these are the three that you might want to look at first: Continue reading “Three Tactical Approaches for Attracting Top Talent”
Getting By an Applicant Tracking System
If you find that your resume isn’t getting the response you have hoped for, it may be because it isn’t making it to the hiring managers. Recent studies have shown that 72% of resumes are not seen by employers at all. The reason for this is that many companies are using an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) to filter resumes. An ATS searches resumes for highly specific keywords and information. If you are not hearing back from employers, it may be that your resume isn’t ATS-friendly. To ensure your resume gets into human hands, here are four tips for getting past an ATS’s electronic eyes: Continue reading “Getting By an Applicant Tracking System”
3 Ways to Maintain Team Productivity During the Peak Vacation Season
It’s almost summer, and that means many employees are looking to take some time off. As managers we want our employees to use their vacation days, but we do have to ensure we have everything covered during the absences. Below are three tips to help you maintain uninterrupted, peak productivity even during the height of the vacation season.
Create a Team Tracker
One of the first things you can do to head off being short-handed is to maintain a team calendar that shows everyone where they are as far as projects, deadlines, and yes, vacations. This helps everyone in coordinating tasks and projects, and also encourages accountability. A large calendar (paper or whiteboard) in a meeting room or any common area filled in with project timelines, deliverables and each team members’ vacation days is a good way to quickly assess as well as visually track where everyone is. There are also many team management calendar programs and apps that let you accomplish the same task electronically.
Make Telecommuting a Seasonal Option
For many working parents, summer means opportunities to spend more time with their kids. Yes, there are typically exciting getaways planned – that promised trip to Disneyland, or to a long-anticipated big family reunion, or a cruise or journey abroad to nurture budding adventurers. In many cases, however, parents take time off so they can be present with their children. Telecommuting is a win-win scenario in these situations case, because it lets the team stay productive while your employees enjoy a motivating and productive work-life balance.
Bring in Extra Temporary Help
Bringing in Temporary employees to fill in for vacationers can be a smart, flexible – and quick – for keeping up with demand, meeting deadlines and making sure no slack is created by having a leaner full-time team.
Tips for Graduates Planning Ahead for the Job Market
For those about to graduate college, it’s time to get serious about your job search. Gone are the days where someone possessing a degree could easily land a job; today’s graduates need to put a good amount to effort looking for a job. The good news is that a little bit of planning will go a long way when you are about to hit the job market. Here are four tips you can utilize: Continue reading “Tips for Graduates Planning Ahead for the Job Market”
Analyzing Your Resume
Not getting the interview offers you want in your job search? How about job offers from the interviews that you do get? If you aren’t getting the results you need, rethink the way that you are going about your search. CAREEREALISM has an interesting read that allows you to do a quick analysis of your job search at http://bit.ly/1d4Ld0I.
3 Advantages of Hiring Entry-Level Talent
In 
the search for talent, there are businesses that only want people with decades of experience in a certain field. While there are some benefits to bringing in someone with years of experience onto certain projects, a business should not ignore entry-level talent when they are looking to grow their team. There are a variety of advantages that come with hiring entry level talent, including the following: Continue reading “3 Advantages of Hiring Entry-Level Talent”
3 Strategies for Boosting Employee Engagement
“To win customers — and a bigger share of the marketplace — companies must first win the hearts and minds of their employees.”
– The Gallup Employee Engagement Study
Employee engagement is a critical predictor of organizational success. When employees stop feeling engaged, the focus shifts from thriving to merely surviving. Energy gets diverted from what can be done to make the most of the workday to just getting the workday over with. Some of us may have experienced this first-hand as we wait, wait, and then wait some more during a call to Customer Service. Continue reading “3 Strategies for Boosting Employee Engagement”
Did You Backlog a New Hire to Finish a Project?
The year is moving quickly. Plans to bring in new employees for Q1 may have been put aside so that you could finish projects. Now that Q2 is almost upon us and we will soon be in spring, putting this hiring off any longer may begin to affect you and the projects you committed to completing this year. While bringing in new employees on a full-time basis is important, it’s not always easy to do. The amount of candidate choices that employers once enjoyed is largely diminished; employers are fighting for job seekers, not the other way around. With this in mind, instead of going through the hiring process with just your resources, it may make more sense to outsource to a staffing partner. Here are two very important ways that a staffing company can help you with the process: Continue reading “Did You Backlog a New Hire to Finish a Project?”
Spring Cleaning Your Resume
Spring cleaning allows you to deep-clean your home and get rid of clutter. Spring is also a good time to look over other items in your life that might need some de-cluttering, like your resume. While you should go over your resume at least once every quarter to consider what you have accomplished and what skills you can add. At least once a year you should go a bit deeper to make sure that your resume really shows you at your best. Whether you are on the job hunt or you already have a job, now is the time to rethink your resume. Here are three things you should do improve your resume: Continue reading “Spring Cleaning Your Resume”
How to Get Projects Done
With the calendar turning to March, it is almost the end of the first quarter. Because of how quickly the first part of 2015 has gone, you may be looking at projects that you haven’t yet finished, or even started, that need to be done by the end of the month. While you may have plenty of dedicated employees that you can turn to, they no doubt have projects of their own. Instead of taking your employees off their project to start another one, it makes sense for you to bring in temporary employees for specific projects. Here are three ways bringing in temporary employees will help you:
Dedicated Time to a Project
It is tough to get traction on a project when employees are juggling multiple responsibilities. When you go with temporary employees, you get professionals who have the dedicated time to focus on projects you need done. They can give a project the care that is necessary to get it done correctly without having to worry about other items that full-time employees need to focus on.
Specific Skills and Talents
Your employees no doubt have immense talent in what they do. Of course, their talents may not be right for a particular project that you need to get done. When you have a project that doesn’t seem to fit any of the employees in your office, temporary employees are the way to go. Employment agencies, like AppleOne, can find experts who have the skills to complete any project.
Help With Your Bottom Line
You selected or were assigned a project because of the impact it would have on the company. By completing the project on time you look good to your boss and you contribute to the company’s bottom line. You don’t want to delay bringing in temporary employees as you never want to wait until the last minute to tackle a project.
