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3 Must Read Tips for Recruiting for Start Up Businesses

2013-03-05T01:10:49Z

As online jobs take the forefront of success, it’s easy to see the opportunity clearly presented by start-up tech companies. As we continue to grow virtual offices and employees, more tech innovations will take the forefront to manage, train and monitor virtual employees.

If you’ve been considering breaking into this recruiting game of start-up new hires, you’ll need to understand how many of these companies work. Often founded by friends, they operate under a skeleton crew (i.e. Turntable had 9 employees in the beginning) until venture capital become available.

Here are a few of our best tips you’ll need to advise your recruits of:

Prepare the recruit for potential business failure.
45% of tech start-ups will last less than 6 months. If they last 9 months, they’ll make it at least one year. Since most new business in general fails within 5 years, this shouldn’t surprise you.

While these jobs hold unlimited potential for the employee, they also hold such a substantial amount of risk; taking the job can be scary. Unfortunately, they are not for someone who needs stability in their life (i.e. having a wife at home with three kids and a sizeable monthly mortgage requires career stability, yes?)

Some disorganization and flexibility is normal.
Working for a start-up can mean cleaning the bathroom, taking out the trash or jumping in to answer the phones. It’s not unusual for each of only a few employees to jump into several roles they’d never normally help with in a large company.

If a recruit can’t roll, and we mean yoga flexible roll, with the punches, they will quickly become frustrated with the ever-changing environment of a start-up company. Even the rules are as solid as quick-sand and can’t be relied on as branding develops, let alone job function.

They won’t always like their job or boss.
Most likely, the founders of the start-up are hoping to grow the business and sell it. (Groupon was offered 6 billion by Google for their company.) What does that mean?

Bosses change when the company changes hands. As a long-term career path, keeping this job means not liking who’s in charge as circumstances change … but maybe with the next, next transition things will get better. The ability to get along with everyone for a new recruit is paramount.

If your business is considering recruiting for start-ups, you should note the top roles: online app development, electronics development and mobile app development. In other words, highly technical web development and IT will be the primary focus.

Of course, this field can be among the most difficult already to find qualified, friendly people in. Add on a layer of socialization, concept and every-changing job roles and, well, you can see exactly why the pay-off, for those who make it in tech start-ups, is huge.

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Enhancing the Usability of Customized HR Management Systems – The Key Benefits

2013-03-05T01:06:58Z

While an upgrade of your current Human Resource Management System (HRMS) may seem like a good investment for your business, how much time have you taken to understand the importance of usability in this process? The ability to efficiently implement and seamlessly use a new HR product is critical to success, any way you slice the pie. In their 2012 HR Service Delivery and Technology Survey, Towers and Watson, an industry research firm, indicated that as many as 44 percent of all HR departments will change their internal structures in 2013, including updating to more streamlined HRMS.

There are several benefits to a well-managed user experience during the implementation of your new HRMS. From recent usability surveys conducted by industry specialists, these include:

Stronger return on investment (ROI) for companies who factor in usability for their HRMS
Significant cost reduction for development, training, and product revisions
Increased participation by administrative teams when the system is tested for usability
Greater competitive advantage in the market for user-enhanced HRMS
User productivity skyrockets when user-friendly HRMS introduced

Ventana Research released its 2013 Benchmark Report – Next Generation Business Intelligence, which indicated that among all the factors present in business technology, usability ranks as the number one need by all businesses. This is especially meaningful when it comes to workforce management through the use of technology.

Additionally, Neilson-Norman Group has consistently evaluated the changes in web and software design for the business market, with case studies of over 800 redesign projects. This research reveals the following data:

Cloud-based HRMS and extranet websites increase their desired traffic metrics by 135 percent on average following a usability re-design
Company intranets (such as HRMS) experience improvement of 74 to 80 percent when usability is improved.
Overall usability costs are between 8 to 13 percent of the total project budget, with 10 percent recommended
There are several reasons why usability is important to the development of your HRMS. First, your HRMS must be easy to access and use for daily HR functions. This is critical to get team members onboard with its use as a central place for human capital management – for greater efficiency across the board.

Second, the HRMS should be equipped with the resources and tools that HR professionals need to stay ahead of important updates in this rapidly changing market. Failure to provide this level of usability means your team will turn to other, less reliable information which can be costly to the company.

Lastly, an HRMS that has a high usability rating has generally been tested and backed up by support to make sure it syncs well with existing HR technology, such as your payroll, recruitment, and training software. This can be a cost savings measure that helps your business remains at the top of the market.

Enjoy some related posts from JobScience, on the emerging HRMS cloud technology to come.

Increasing ROI with Cloud Technology

http://www.jobscience.com/company/blog/increasing-your-roi-cloud-recruiting-technology

The Evolution of the Job Application

2013-03-01T05:34:05Z

If you watch Downton Abbey, you might have noted the very interesting way one of the maids became a secretary. After taking a mail-away typing course, she found a job ad in the paper, then mailed in a resume. Then, her references had to mail in their letters of recommendation. It was the early 1920s.

You might also have noted that in today’s day and age, many folks don’t even bring a resume to a job interview anymore. Milennials simply expect that employers will be in digital possession of all their information.

Let’s take a look at the fascinating evolution of the job application:

1800s people were born into their jobs. You became a grocer if your family owned a store or a farmer if you owned a farm. In the 1830s, the U.S. railroad finally gave people the opportunity to apply (via mail since post offices started in 1636) to apply for interstate jobs. This is also the era when women began to attend college more regularly.

Add a telephone in 1876 and people could start doing their first job interviews. Or did they? In the 1990s we saw the cell phone industry take off, revolutionizing the digital availability of workers everywhere.

As for the internet and it’s evolution of the job application process, in 2000 it was estimated that 50% of people used online resources to find a job. What else did the internet change in the job application history?

People were able to email references, research companies and create video resumes. Further, recruiters could look at applicants in a whole new light by verifying their experience.

Social media, then, took the entire process one step further. More and more companies are spending to recruit candidates via platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook. Applicants will often provide international video interviews and even hire based on virtual communications alone.

If you’ve been considering the evolution of your hiring process, you’d be surprised to note how much the internet revolutionized what people are capable of. Just think about it: In today’s day and age, we don’t even bring resumes to our interviews. People are finding jobs on smart phones, too.

The evolution isn’t just really cool. It allows recruiters to identify misinformation presented by candidates quickly and easily. Imagine if you had to write 6 letters every time you had a question about someone’s skill set instead? All of a sudden, it’s pretty obvious why the internet beats working on the farm with ma and pa, isn’t it?

- See more at: http://www.jobscience.com/company/blog/evolution-job-application#sthash.vXliS67h.dpuf

Are You A Good Boss?

2013-03-05T01:11:33Z

Very few things make people as angry as a bad boss. I don’t mean that people are annoyed by a bad boss with poor leadership skills; I mean people actually get so angry they actually dream about the boss losing his job at best and perhaps getting hit by a bus at worse.

This can be a bit scary when we stop and realize that at some point in our lives we will all be thrust into a position of leadership be it as a parent or an employer.

No matter how hard you have worked on perfecting your leadership skills you need to understand that it is impossible to be a perfect leader. But there are a few tendencies that you can use to make your transition into a leadership role smoother and better as well as less inclined to incite violence.

1) A bad leader expects their job to be easy and believes they are good at their job even when evidence says that they are not.

A good leader may start out believing they are good at their job and everything will be easy but when faced with facts become willing to change to make things better.

2) A bad leader has the attitude of demanding the undoable is done his or her way no matter what.

A good leader listens and learns from his or her workers to discover a way to do the undoable.

3) A bad leader believes his or her way is the only way and that they know every aspect about what is going on.

A good leader acknowledges that he or she does not know everything and asks questions when needed to gain a grasp of the two most important things; What is going on? What still needs to be done?

4) A good boss understand that his or her role is not in ordering people about for the sake of giving orders but rather to bring order to what others do.

To discover if you are a good boss or a bad boss the National Federation of Independent Business suggests that you ask yourself these questions:

1. Have you ever publicly criticized an employee?

2. Do you take credit for your employees’ work?

3. Do your employees fear you?

4. Do you expect employees to do what you tell them without question?

5. Do you believe employees should know what to do without you telling them or providing guidelines?

6. Are you a yeller?

7. Do you demean employees as a form of punishment?

8. Do you play favorites?

9. Do you hate delegating?

10. Do you check everyone’s work?

According to NFIB if you answered yes to one or more of these questions chances are you are a bad boss.

If you have just discovered that you may be the kind of boss that creates violent feelings in the hearts of your employees and you want to change things it is possible. There are many great websites and classes devoted to leadership skills training and another excellent tool you can use is the PlusRated website.

At PlusRated you can ask your employees to rate your skills as a leader anonymously as well as have them offer advice on how you can do better. This can give you the basis and incentive you need to become a great boss instead of a bad boss and perhaps you can drop the self defense classes.

Time Management Skills

2011-02-11T03:37:56Z

Ok, a quick show of hands, how many of you are guilty of the, “I work by the hour mentality”? How many spend a large part of the work day simply goofing off rather then working and think that is how it should be? Now how many of you wish you could get more done at work?

Those who raised there hands for the first two questions can leave. You are not really interested in bettering your position at work and will likely remain in a menial position until you change that mind set. To get ahead in any industry requires a certain attitude. That attitude is “how can I help the company I work for and so improve my pay check and position?” If you do not have that attitude then my best advice is to look for a career better suited to your personality that you can enjoy doing.

Those who want to make a mark on their company however should continue reading for tips on how to improve their time management skills so they can be more productive.

1) Change your perception: The truth is time management is a myth. You can not actually mange time but only how you spend it.

2) Discover your personal “time bandit”: A “time bandit” is the thing or things you do that steals minutes or hours from every day. This could be surfing the net, gazing out the window, making or taking non-business phone calls or anything else that you may find yourself doing that wastes time.

3) Change your “time bandit” habits: Once you discover your personal “time bandits” your time management goals may be to reduce or eliminate the habit of wasting time. You can turn off your cell phone while working, allow yourself no more the 10 minutes a day for email or get into the habit of bookmarking interesting web pages to look at later when you are not supposed to be working.

4) Use time management tools: Set yourself a schedule to follow every day using a daily planner or other time management tools. Decide what tasks should be done when and how long you should devote to them and stay on task.

5) Prioritize daily: Set aside time every single day to decide what goals you need to reach and what tasks must be done. Assign each item a time limit and ruthlessly stick to you own time schedule.

6) Delegate: No one person can do everything. Tasks that can be done by someone else should be, especially if the other person is better at the task then you are.

7) Most of us know how important time management skills are for every single thing we do but we also often have no idea how to go about changing our mind sets and habits. I hope the tips I have outlined here helps you to learn a few things about time. Another trick is to use PlusRated to have friends, family and coworkers evaluate your skills so you know where you need to spend some of your time on improvement.

Time Management: What is Your Time Bandit?

2011-02-11T03:36:30Z

Time management skills are something that we all need to learn in our personal as well as working life. When you have and practice good time management skills then your productivity will go up and your stress levels will go down, a very important goal for all of us.

Do you ever find yourself running around like a mad person trying to get everything done only to collapse at the end of another long day and realize that you actually accomplished very little that you set out to do? Does it seem like no matter what you need to get done something more important always crops up to derail your plans?

There are a few things that you can do to help improve your time management skills so you can get more of the things that need to be done, done. The very first of which is to realize that you can not manage time you can only manage how you spend it.

No matter how hard you try there are still only a total of 24 hours available in any given day. Out of that 24 hours you need to devote around 8 hours to sleep and at least 2 hour to goofing off to be productive.

Did I just say you should devote time to goofing off? It’s true, you should always factor in a few minutes of everyday toward doing something that you enjoy for no other reason that it relaxes you. Too much time devoted to work with no play will only create more stress. Everyone should have time to de stress.

Time management is all about a change in certain habits. Habits you may or may not realize that you have. The tips below are designed to help you discover how YOU waste time and how you can go about changing your time wasting habits so you can get more done with less stress.

Discover where you waste time: We are all guilty of at least one time wasting activity and many of us are guilty of several. The “time bandits” are something that we do without realizing we are doing that steals minutes if not hours from every day. For instance I myself am a surfer and avid email checker.

When I am doing research on the internet prior to writing something I tend to get side tracked into surfing instead of staying on topic. I also habitually check my email and answer it every few minutes. This may not seem so bad but I found I was spending several hours of every day dealing with emails and surfing the net for fun. Other people spend hours on the phone talking to friends.

Discovering what your “time bandit” is, is half the battle of changing that habit. To discover what your “time bandit” is spend 1 week keeping track of what you do every minute of the day. For instance when you take a phone call mark down whether the call was business or personal and how long it took or when you check your email make a note of how long you spend. This way you may begin to see where all your precious time is actually going.

Once you discover what your “time bandit” is you can take steps to change the habit such as carving out a schedule for yourself.

To create a schedule that will help you get control of your personal “time bandit” decide how much time you can afford to waste on each activity. For instance my schedule calls for 15 minutes first thing in the morning to catch up on email then another 15 minutes around lunch time. I even set a timer so I know when it is time to go back to work.

I also set specific time goals for how long I allow myself for research on the internet and set the timer for that. Somewhere in the back of my mind is the tick tock of the timer which forces me to bookmark interesting off topic stuff instead of investigating it right then. This trick has greatly improved my concentration on the topic at hand which allows me to actually get more done.

Perhaps those who spend too much time on the phone should set aside an hour a day to chat with friends and family but turn the phone off when work is in progress as well as make it clear to everyone that you are available at such and such time to chat. You can also get a hands free set for your phone and chat while doing other things such as grocery shopping or driving. Do NOT drive and talk on the phone without hands free set. It can be dangerous and is actually illegal some places.

Sometimes simply becoming aware of what your “time bandit” is can be enough to help you manage your time more wisely. Other times you need a timer or other external way to help you control the problem but with diligence you can address the bad habits and reclaim some of your lost time to become much more productive.

Communication Skill

2011-02-11T03:34:02Z

Whether you are looking for a new job or hoping to advance in the one you currently have the most important work related skill is communication.

Boiled down to its most basic parts, communication is the ability to understand and be understood. For some that concept may not be as simple as it sounds. There are many times when poor communication has caused trouble in the work place.

Without good communication skills you may find yourself arguing with co-workers and managers or unable to convey ideas and concepts that could help you to succeed in your chosen field.

In a survey of over 50,000 recruiters, communication skills were listed as number one for skills that is looked for when hiring a new manager. As a matter of fact, communication skills, both written and oral ranked more then 50% higher then work experience and any other skill. This makes improving your communication skills paramount when trying to advance in your current job or find a new one.

The question now is how do you improve these skills?

Tips to Improve Verbal Communication

1) Improve your vocabulary: Learn and use more words when you speak but be careful to make sure you are pronouncing them correctly. When you pronounce a word incorrectly the other person will instinctively discount your credibility and misunderstand what you are trying to say. Make sure the words you are using is the right word. If you are unsure of the meaning or pronunciation of a word simply do not use it at all.

2) Slow down: Some people just speak way to fast. People perceive fast speaking with nervousness and often those who speak fast are not given due respect because of it.

3) Make eye contact: Those who do not make eye contact are often perceived as ineffectual or incompetent.

4) Enunciate: Speak clearly and at the correct volume for the occasion. When you mumble people can not understand what you are trying to tell them.

Listening skills are just as important a part of communication as speaking. Below you will find a few important tips to improve your listening skills.

Tips to Improve Listening Skills

1) Pay attention: Give the person who is speaking to you your undivided attention, look them in the eye as they speak and try repeating what is said back to them.

2) Show that you are listening: Nod or speak to let the other person know you are listening, ask pertinent questions and make sure to smile and use other open body postures.

3) Provide feedback: Again, ask questions and use statements such as “What I’m hearing is.” and “Sounds like you are saying.” To clarify the speakers points.

Written communication is becoming more and more important in every day life, especially with email and chat programs becoming more prevalent in the workplace. Know how to write effectively can save time, misunderstanding and sometimes that important client.

How to improve written communication skills

1) Know your reader: Business emails, memos and letters are different then personal ones. Understand and adhere to the more formal writing styles business communication deserves.

2) Pay attention to spelling, punctuation and sentence structure: Nothing creates an aura of misunderstanding and incompetence like misspelled words and poor punctuation. Use a word processing program such as Microsoft Word if you need to or at least run a spell check over your finished communication before printing.

3) Read out loud: One often forgotten but effective way to check yourself is to get into the habit of reading every thing you write out loud before you hit send. Reading it out loud can help you see where there may be simple mistakes that can change the entire meaning of the piece.

The communication improvement tips in this article are just a few of the steps you can take to improve your communication skills. The main tip is to practice, practice and practice some more. You can also ask your friends, relatives and co-workers to evaluate your progress as you learn to improve these all important skills as well as to offer suggestions by setting up your PlusRated account and inviting them to help you.

Free Computer Skills Training

2011-02-11T03:34:57Z

Although the economy is improving finding a job in these tough economic times is still very difficult. One of the most important skills you need is computer skills but how exactly do you get them? Many people have decided to go back to school in order to improve their computer skill set and marketability but what do you do to increase your chances of finding a job if going back to school is not an option due to financial concerns?

Let’s face it not everybody has the ability to take classes when they need to learn how to do something. But if computer skills are what you need you may just be in luck. This article will list a few of the most in demand computer skills and where you can get the best FREE online training in them.

1) Microsoft Word

http://baycongroup.com

Microsoft Word is a word processing program that is used by almost every office on the planet. The online tutorials offered for free by the BayCon Group are so simple that even a beginner can use them. Other free tutorials offered are Word Basics 2007 Word Basics 2003/2002 Word Basics 97 Excel Basics 2007 Excel Basics 2003/2002 Excel Basics 97 PowerPoint Basics 2007 PowerPoint Basics 2002 Access Basics 2007 Windows Vista Tutorial Windows XP Tutorial Windows 98 Tutorial Scalable SQL — A Tutorial RealSlideshow for RealPlayer Guide to Paint Shop Pro Flash CS4 Flash 8 Photoshop.

2) Microsoft Excel

http://www.usd.edu

This is one of the best and easiest to use sites to get a basic understanding of how to use Excel. The tutorial starts with “What is a spreadsheet” and takes you all the way through the program.

3) Microsoft PowerPoint

http://www.fgcu.edu

Not only does this site offer really great tutorials for the PowerPoint beginner but it also offers technical skill assessment tests so you can test your skills knowledge.

4) Microsoft Publisher

http://learnthat.com/2005/05/microsoft-publisher-2003-tutorial/

Microsoft Publisher is a desktop printing and publishing program that allows you to create just about everything from greeting cards to brochures. This easy to understand tutorial takes from novice to expert in an easy to understand format.

5) Microsoft Visio

http://office.microsoft.com

Microsoft Office Visio, is a diagramming program for Microsoft Windows that uses vector graphics to create diagrams.

Microsoft Visio is a way to make presentation that everyone can understand and the site offers tutorials from basic to expert.

To land a job it today’s economic market you need to better then the other applicants. Having the right skill set for the job can help you to succeed. For those who are looking for business skills there are also several very good sites online where you can get the skills and knowledge you need.

1) The Small Business Training Network

http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/counseling-training

If you thinking about opening a small business of your own or just looking for new skills for business the Small Business Training Network offers classes and tutorials that can help.

2) SCORE

http://www.score.org/index.html

SCORE is another great site that offers online mentoring, counseling and training for those who wish to start a small business or who need the skills to do so.

3) PlusRated

PlusRated offers peer reviews and job skill assessments to better your marketability.

Finding A New Job Is Still Challenging

2011-02-11T03:29:54Z

The good news is that the economy is actually improving from the sharp downward spiral it was on just a few short years ago. The bad news is, finding a new job is still much more difficult then in the past.

Because of the economy crash a few years ago many companies closed their doors and many others tightened up the proverbial belt and did away with unneeded personnel and their jobs which of course forced the rise in unemployment and created an atmosphere of fierce competition for each and every position available. Currently there is an average of 25 people in line for each and every job opening. So what do you do to stand out from the crowd and land that position?

Finding a job in these tough economic times calls for more then just experience, it calls for marketable job skills as well. In a competition between 2 or more people who are qualified for the position the one with the most relevant job skills is the one who will get the job, often over someone with more experience. Why?

Many employers are learning that experience is something anyone can have while a particular set of skills is not so easy to find.

In other words to improve your chances of landing a job you need to improve your marketable job skills and make them more appealing to employers. This article will list some things that you can do to improve the skills you already have and make them more appealing to potential employers.

1) What are your marketable skills?

In order to improve your skills you must first know what they are. Make a list of all of your skills and then decide which of these is in demand by employers. You can even separate you list by intangibles such as communication, leadership and the ability to work well within a team or tangibles such as operating certain machinery or computer programs.

2) Are your skills up to date?

It is not enough that you have a skill you also need to make sure that skill is completely up to date. For instance knowing how to use a word processing program is not enough you should know how to operate the newest word processing program that is being used in offices today. If your skills are a little out of date take classes or teach yourself what you need to bring them inline with today’s technologies.

3) Ask people to help you.

This is a technological age, many employers are not only searching through resumes to find the best person for the job they are also checking online. Sites like PlusRated are becoming more and more important. To take advantage ot that have friends, family and anyone you have worked with in the past post a review on your performance on these sites for you and add link to your public profile to your resume. The more people who will write testimonials and affirm your skill set the more desirable you will be to employers.

Personal Leadership Skills

2011-02-06T17:37:20Z

The economy today is a mess and many of us are either worrying about losing our jobs or out in the middle of a “dog eat dog” job market trying to find lucrative employment. But worrying as they say is a supreme waste of time and energy so perhaps it is time to take a more retroactive approach to the problem.

Employment gurus everywhere are spouting advice on what we should all be doing to prepare for the possibility of an unexpected job loss. Most of this is advice makes real sense but it seems a bit incomplete to me.

Sure you really should dust off the old resume and bring it up to date and of course there is no time like the present to send out a few feelers over your personal network to see what if anything is available but more then either of those things now Is a great time to begin a personal improvement program.

The first place to start your personal improvement regime is with your employment skill set. You see employers today are much more concerned with personal skills then they are with experience so any improvement that you can bring about will stand you in good stead if you do find yourself out there pounding the pavement.

Where to start?

When it comes to improving or developing a personal skill set the best place to start is with leadership skills. You see leadership skills are skills that you can use every day and in all sections of your life not just your job.

Many people seem to believe that good leaders are born and that may be true to a point. Some people do seem to have a certain quality about them that begins in childhood but the truth is that most leaders are not born to be leaders they have simply learned how to improve upon a particular group of skills to the point that it is habit to use them.

You too can learn these skills and with hard work and practice you can become the leader of men you have always wanted to be. Begin by taking a closer look at the top attributes that you admire in people whom you consider to be natural leaders and try to emulate those behaviors as much as you can. Soon those types of behavior will become habit and you too will be considered a “natural” leader.

Top Ten Attributes of Leadership

integrity
compassion
humility
sincerity
positivity
passion
commitment
determination
confidence
courage
sensitivity

Baby steps

As you go about your everyday duties and activities try to picture yourself as the leader you want to be and act like that person. Smile at people and ask them how they are doing, really listen when someone speaks to you, help someone without being asked and try to always take responsibility for your own actions even when that is difficult.

By actively attempting to do the things that you feel a real leader would do you take the baby steps needed to turn conscious action into habit.

PlusRated can also help you to develop good personal leadership skills. With PlusRated you ask your friends, family and co-workers to evaluate your skills while you strive to better yourself. This anonymous feedback allows you to see yourself as others see you so that you know where you should concentrate on improvement as well as whether or not you are actually improving in the way you want.