6 Common Mistakes in Hiring Support Staff

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administrative staff, apply for job, bad hire, business competition, dallas jobs, DFW careeres, hiring professionals, Hiring Staff, online recruiting, recruitment and retention, screening, Support staff, top candidates, trend personnel

by Bob Brady | BLR 

Support staff are not interchangeable parts. Sidestep these 6 mistakes and you can hire and keep the best.

In the army, it’s the infantry; in the factory, the line workers; and in the office, the administrative staff. Every organization has its “troops”—the people who carry out the basic tasks of the business.

Think of these folks as interchangeable parts, however, and you could be making a big mistake, says the website, AllBusiness.com.

The site published a list of things to keep in mind and do in hiring support staff. The basic message: Put the same kind of care into hiring your “troops” as you would anyone else. Because any chain of command, whether it’s in the heat of battle or the heat of business competition, is only as strong as its weakest link.

We’ve paraphrased and condensed some of their advice.

Don’t rush.

Because support staff is often urgently needed and relatively cheap in payroll impact, it may be tempting to simply go out and hire the first candidates in the door. Not a good idea. Instead, make a list of the specific skills and characteristics you’re looking for, whether it’s proficiency in certain office systems or a cool attitude to fit in a pressure situation. Then make sure your job ad clearly projects your needs.

Screen, as you would for any job.

Who needs to spend time comparing resumés and calling references for a file clerk? You do! These screening steps are as essential for support jobs as for any other and will help you whittle down the field to the best candidates, without going through a lot of unproductive interviews.

Bring others in.

Support staff usually interact with a lot of people, so it’s wise to call on others and get their needs and preferences before hiring and to invite them to meet or even interview your top candidates. And don’t hesitate to test skills. If the skills are technical in nature, such as computer operations, have the testing done by the relevant manager.

Don’t overhire!

When things are piling up and everyone’s screaming for help, it may seem wise to hire as many support personnel as you can. Remember, though, that crunch time is the exception, not the rule. You can always bring in additional support staff (perhaps through temps). It’s a lot harder to let people go, or worse, to spend your time coming up with things for them to work on when things get slower.

Retention counts for support staff, too.

While you’re dreaming up uber-benefits to keep your CEO or CFO, don’t forget the folks who turn their grand plans into reality. Assemble the best benefits package you can for your top support staff, then use those perks as a recruitment and retention lure.

Don’t be stampeded by cries for help by your internal clients.

Sending them a bad hire is worse than sending them no hire. Work diligently to find the right candidates and those cries will soon turn to cheers.

 

http://trendpersonnel.com/en/news/item/131-6-common-mistakes-in-hiring-support-staff

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Things You Should Never Do When Applying For A Job

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applying for a job, cover letter tips, dallas careers, descriptions, dfw staffing, how to apply, job experience, job within the same industry, recruiting agency dallas, resume tips, rockwall jobs, texas jobs, trend personnel, work history

              Vivian Giang | Business Insider

Never make your cover letter or introductory email longer than three paragraphs

Here’s what you should include:

1. Why you are sending the cover letter.
2. How (or from whom) you heard about the opening.
3. Something specific that cannot be inferred from your resume (i.e. work situation, special skills or the kind of job you’re looking for).

Here’s what you shouldn’t include:

• Don’t state what kind of pay you’re looking for since there are many different components in a salary package that can confuse a recruiter. This is the kind of thing that can be discussed during or after the interview.

Don’t put your name and contact info on the side, bottom or back of your resume — they should always be at the top

This is how it should be done:

1. Put your name in bold face and/or regular caps.
2. Include your full address and home, work (optional) and/or cell phone numbers and your email address but do not bold these.

Education should never be listed above experience

Unless you have five higher education degrees.

Or if you’ve recently completed a degree and don’t have too much of a work history. The rule here is that you can list “Education” first if you’ve graduated within two years.

• Also, always list the most recent degree first and continue in descending order.

Don’t break the one-page rule unless you have more than 8 years of experience

But if you have a lot of experience, then two pages can be used — just don’t fill up the second page.

Here are the basic rules:

1. A full-time job that lasted less than three months doesn’t need to be included.
2. If you have 3+ years of work experience, omit summer jobs, but internships related to your current job experience can still be included.
3. If you have 15+ years of work experience then your first job doesn’t need to be included, especially if it’s unrelated to your industry or to the position you’re applying for.

Don’t include short, worthless descriptions. Back up your credibility with some impressive numbers

If you’re applying for a job within the same industry, include some big numbers that will surely place you closer to the top of the pile.

For example:

• Manage a portfolio of $750MM
• Billed over $500k in 2010
• Market to Fortune 1000 companies with a minimum of $1B in sales

http://trendpersonnel.com/en/news/item/130-things-you-should-never-do-when-applying-for-a-job