Recruiting for Those Critical, Hard-to-Fill Jobs

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by Stephen Bruce| BLR

The issue of unfilled positions is a major problem that affects the entire economy.  It makes it difficult for small businesses to grow if they cannot adequately and quickly staff key positions. But what can employers do? Some of the solutions that organizations have turned to include:

• Evaluate your pay and benefits for positions that are hard to fill. Are you leading or lagging in the market? You may have to bite the bullet and offer more, especially if you have been relatively stagnant with your annual increases in rate ranges.
• Offer training programs to existing employees or candidates. Many employers are finding success by instituting their own training programs in order to get the skills they need when candidates don’t already have them. Pay will be lower than for fully trained individuals, and you get to train people in your specific systems and to your specific standards.
• Work with local education and/or training institutions. Perhaps they will be able to offer the type of training you need candidates to have.
• Send employees to school. Similarly, some employers are opting to pay for the education that their existing employees need in order to advance into new positions.
• Widen the recruiting parameters. Maybe you need to recruit from an expanded geographical area and commit to paying relocation expenses.
• Consider telecommuting. Many employers don’t like telecommuting but have found that that’s the only way they can attract the candidates they want.
• Change too-specific experience requirements to be broader. Sometimes industry-specific experience is a nice-to-have but not a must-have requirement to find a well-qualified candidate, and some employers have recognized this and revised their requirements accordingly.
• Provide customized assistance. When you run into a situation like a dual-career couple, or someone whose home is “underwater,” figure out what sort of package you can put together to solve the candidate’s problem—and yours.
• Consider outsourcing the function. Is this a task that can be performed by contracting it out?
• Work on building your employment brand. Employers that have a reputation as a “great place to work” have an easier time with recruiting.

http://trendpersonnel.com/en/news/item/137-recruiting-for-those-critical-hard-to-fill-jobs

Refresh Your Resume in Six Steps

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By Karen Hofferber | Monster

Many people are facing the prospect of finding a new job. And some are even contemplating a complete career change. If it has been years since you last updated your resume, you may be wondering where to start. Follow these six steps to turn your dusty retro resume into a high-powered personal marketing tool for winning interviews in today’s competitive job market.

1. Find Your Resume’s Focus

Before you start refreshing your old resume, clarify your job target. Without a clear vision of your career direction, your resume won’t do a good job of selling you to potential employers. If you have more than one career interest, you’ll be much better off developing different versions of your resume rather than trying to construct a one-size-fits-all document.

Having trouble finding your focus? You might want to start with some self-assessment tests or by speaking to a career counselor.

2. Research Your Target Job

Thoroughly research your job target before writing the first draft of your resume, especially if it’s been awhile since you’ve been in the job market. Talk to people in your target industry, and scour job postings on Monster to get a good idea of the qualifications employers are looking for. If you are changing careers, your research may prompt you to enroll in continuing-education classes to gain new skills.

Look for keywords that continually crop up in different ads. If you see terms used frequently, they should probably be in your resume whenever applicable. Pay attention to skills that aren’t mentioned in these ads as well, and remove items from your old resume that will make you seem outdated.

3. Develop Your Career Profile/Objective 

Now you’re ready to begin writing. If you’re a career changer, you’ll need a clearly stated objective to open your resume. Don’t expect busy hiring managers to figure out what you want to do. Use this section to explain key skills you can leverage from your prior career into your new job target. Emphasize how you can help the organization, rather than what you want in a job.

Here’s a before-and-after example:

• Before: Seeking a challenging position with a future-oriented company offering opportunities for growth and advancement.
• After: Dynamic public speaker/presenter with advanced technical knowledge, seeking to leverage these strengths as an award-winning computer instructor into an entry-level software sales position.

If you’re looking for a new position within your current field, use the Objective section to write a compelling career summary. This is the perfect place to write a few hard-hitting sentences emphasizing the breadth of your experience and the value you bring to the table.

4. Zero in on Your Achievements

Your resume must have an accomplishments-driven focus to compete in today’s job market and maximize calls for interviews. Avoid simply rehashing boring job descriptions. Instead, detail the results and outcomes of your efforts.

If you were a hiring manager, which would you find more compelling?

• Before: Responsible for troubleshooting and maintaining workstations and systems.
• After: Improved systems uptime from 91% to 99.9% for 350 corporate and remote users through expert, cross-platform (Windows/Unix) troubleshooting/maintenance.

For each of the positions you’ve held, use action verbs and phrases to describe how you contributed to your employers, such as cut costs, generated revenue, improved service, enhanced processes, solved problems and saved time. Use numbers, percentages, dollar amounts, comparisons or other key details to back up your claims. Be sure not to reveal facts that disclose proprietary or confidential company information.

5. Design Your Resume

Does your retro resume resemble a typing job circa 1977? To stand out from the crowd, use your word-processing program’s advanced formatting features, such as bold, italics, line draw, industry icons, attractive fonts, etc. — without going overboard — to give your resume a distinctive look. If you are not confident in your design capabilities, seek assistance from a resume writer or talented friend.

6. Proofread and Test-Drive

Your resume must be perfect. Carefully proofread your resume to ensure proper grammar, punctuation and word use. If you are changing careers, ask for feedback from hiring managers in your targeted field for valuable input on how your resume stands up to the competition. .

http://trendpersonnel.com/en/news/item/136-refresh-your-resume-in-six-steps

5 Tips for Recruiting Great People

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application tips, applying for jobs in dallas, career opportunities, dallas staffing, recruiting employees, recruiting tips, rockwall jobs, talented employees, trend personnel dallas, trend personnel services

by Steve Anderson | LinkedIn

Finding, recruiting, hiring, training, and then keeping new staff is perhaps one of the biggest issues facing businesses.

When the news broke that some companies were demanding Facebook login information from job applicants, people everywhere were horrified. Those who were employed, those who weren’t employed – even employers themselves – were antsy at the thought of corporate America demanding passwords to personal accounts.

This example simply highlights how expectations of job applicants as well as employers have changed. Competition will become fierce for talented employees, making it more important than ever that you not scare away a great future employee by allowing preconceived notions to cloud your hiring judgment.

Following are five tips to help you find and attract the very best and brightest to your organization:

1. Don’t make unreasonable demands. 
Most of today’s job seekers will find your demanding personal account passwords unreasonable. Just as you wouldn’t want existing employees to provide passwords to work accounts to those outside the workplace, you shouldn’t demand that your employees hand over passwords to personal accounts either. In fact, it’s illegal in six states. I’m certain more will follow.
2. Don’t make snap judgments. 
For several years employers have been searching social platforms for information on potential new employees. Job seekers were warned not to post wild party pictures or other inappropriate personal data publicly. Why? Because employers were making snap judgments about employees who might otherwise be dedicated, hard-working, career-minded individuals. But one bachelor party or a few old college pictures ruined it. Think about the hiring decisions you make and ensure they are based on all information and not some assumption you’ve made based on past experience.
3. Give them a chance. 
Over the past few years, many great employees have become unemployed. Don’t assume they are not good candidate material. In any job market, good employees are subject to layoffs, sudden termination, and even voluntary termination. Don’t assume if a candidate is not currently employed they are not a good fit for the organization.
4. Don’t judge a book by its cover. 
So your last job ad received 100 resumes and you’re limited on time. It’s easy to immediately delete any resume that doesn’t have the font you like or comes via snail mail instead of email. At least glance over those resumes, and make sure you aren’t missing out on a great potential hire who simply hasn’t quite mastered the art of job hunting. Not everyone is great at searching for employment. Besides, young, eager people can bring fresh energy to your agency.
5. Do background checks. 
While it’s important to avoid generalizations, every employee should be subjected to a thorough background check. This includes checking references and doing criminal background checks. Be sure to require proof of education. Anyone can say they have a bachelor’s or master’s degree. Make this a part of your pre-employment process to avoid unpleasant surprises down the line.

You likely know how crucial good employees are to an agency’s success. If you’re seeking qualified candidates, keep in mind that you need good employees as much as they need a great career opportunity. By approaching the employment process with a positive attitude and open mind, you’ll find the best employee for your organization.

http://trendpersonnel.com/en/news/item/135-5-tips-for-recruiting-great-people