Saying Goodbye to a Job Gracefully

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Bob Larson, CPC

BERMAN LARSON KANE

Career Report

July  2017

 Feature Story

 

Saying Goodbye to a Job Gracefully

As talk of a thaw in hiring freezes rises, many people are already planning to look for a new position when the job market picks up, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal. In fact, one recent survey, by consulting firm Right Management, revealed that as many as 60 percent of workers say they are planning to leave their jobs when the economy improves. And while it may be tempting to give the boss an earful if you do land a new job, workers need to keep in mind that the way they quit can have a long term impact on their career.

Here are some tips from the newspaper article on to resign from a job on good terms:

  • Be prepared. Review your employee handbook or employment contract before announcing your decision, so you know what your company policy is regarding resignations, severance, return of company property, and pay for unused vacation time. Also, find out the company’s reference policy to see what information will be disclosed to a prospective employer. If you have another job lined up, be sure to have your offer in writing before you resign.
  • Use it or loose it. If you haven’t used vacation time and will lose it if you quit, you might want to use your time before leaving or link it to your resignation date. But if you don’t want to burn any bridges, don’t take vacation and announce your departure just after your return.
  • Make an appointment. “Be formal and make an appointment with your boss,” recommended Tanya Maslach, a San Diego, Calif., career expert who specializes in relationship management issues. “Be prepared and engaging—and be transparent,” Maslach said. She also recommends asking your boss how you can help make the transition easier. After the discussion, put your resignation in a hard-copy letter that includes your last day and any transitional help you’ve offered.
  • Give Two weeks Notice. Two weeks advance notice is still standard but experts recommend offering more time if you’ve worked at a company for more than five years. Importantly, though, you also need to be prepared to leave right away—some companies require it.
  • Don’t take the stapler. “It’s not worth it,” said Michael J. Goldfarb, president of Northridge, Calif.-based Holman HR. “If there are security cameras or coworkers with a grudge, stealing from the company doesn’t look good.” In some cases, you could also end up getting billed for the missing equipment—or even taken to court, he said.
  • Scrub your digital footprint. Clear your browser cache, remove passwords to Websites you use from work, such as your personal email or online bank account and delete any personal files on your work computer that aren’t relevant to work. Don’t delete anything work related if you’re required to keep it.
  • Be honest but remain positive. Be helpful during the exit interview, but keep responses simple and professional. Don’t use the session to lay blame or rant about the workplace. “Whatever you do, don’t confess about how much you disliked working there,” said Maslach.
  • Stay close. Consider joining an employee alumni association, which often serves as a networking group for former employees. It can be a good way to keep up with changes in the company and industry—and find leads to new jobs down the road. Lastly, make an effort to keep in touch with coworkers you worked with; they may end up in management roles.

News from BLK 

Hot Summer / Hotter Job Market is the experience here hat BLK.   Numerous clients continue to add to head count both on the direct hire and contact employment.  All are experiencing the effects of low unemployment that is causing a scarcity of good candidates.  As the market continues to become more competitive we believe wage increases will return to the employees.

One of the hottest most competitive niches is engineering and the sciences.  As job openings are larger than available candidates.

We at Berman Larson Kane continue to use our proprietary data base to uncover passive talent to meet the increasing client demand.   Bottom line it is a good time to be seeking employment in almost all professional categories.  We so thank our loyal clients for giving us the privilege of recruiting for their needs we so greatly appreciated it.

Five Questions to Never Ask in an Interview

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Bob Larson, CPC

BERMAN LARSON KANE

Career Report

June  2017

 Feature Story

 

Five Questions to Never Ask in an Interview

Hiring managers and HR pros will often close out a job interview by asking an applicant if he or she has any questions themselves. This is a great opportunity to find out more about the job and the company’s expectations, but you can’t forget that the interviewer hasn’t stopped judging You. Here are five questions from an article published by Monster.com that can make a bad impression on your interviewer and potentially scuttle your chances of getting the job.

1. When will I be promoted?

This is one of the most common questions that applicants come up with, and it should be avoided, said Rebecca Woods, vice president of human resources at Doherty Employer Services. “It’s inappropriate because it puts the cart before the horse.” Instead of asking when the promotion will occur, Woods said a better approach is to ask what you would need to do to get a promotion.

2. What’s the salary for this position?

Asking about salary and benefits in the first interview “always turns me off,” said Norma Beasant, founder of Talent Human Resources Consulting and an HR consultant at the University of Minnesota. “I’m always disappointed when they ask this, especially in the first interview.” Beasant added that the first interview is more about selling yourself to the interviewer and that questions about salary and benefits should really wait until a later interview.

3. When can I expect a raise?

Talking about compensation can be difficult, but asking about raises is not the way to go about it, Woods told Monster.com. So many companies have frozen salaries and raises that it makes more sense to ask about the process to follow or what can be done to work up to higher compensation level. Talking about “expecting” a raise, Woods added, “shows a person is out of touch with reality.”

4. What sort of flextime options do you have?

This kind of question can make it sound like you’re interested in getting out of the office as much as possible. “When I hear this question, I’m wondering, are you interested in the job?” Beasant said. Many companies have many options for scheduling, but asking about it in the first interview is “not appropriate,” she added.

5. Any question that shows you haven’t been listening.

Woods said she interviewed an applicant for a position that was 60 miles from the person’s home. She told the applicant that the company was flexible about many things, but it did not offer telecommuting. “At the end of the interview, the applicant asked if she would be able to work from home,” Woods said. “Was she even listening? So some ‘bad questions’ can be more situational to the interview itself.”

With the economy the way it is, employers are much more choosy and picky, the Monster.com article pointed out. Knowing the right questions to ask at the end of interview, and staying clear of ones that hiring managers find inappropriate, can clearly help you stand out – in a good way.

NEWS FROM BLK

The summer months are almost here and unemployment continues to decline and skill shortages in numerous niches continues to experience hot competition for top and not-so-top talent.  We at Berman Larson Kane find that we have to dig deeper and deeper into our ATS and make more phone calls and solicitation emails to discover good candidates for our clients.

We thank all of you for the privilege of helping you staff your teams and for the confidence of job-seekers to allow us to help with their job search and career development.

Bob Larson, President BLK will be a featured speaker at the NAPS convention in Denver Co. in September  http://www.naps360.org/page/2017Agenda .  His talk titled “Talent Acquisition Lessons Learned on the Yoga Matt”.  Bob will share his combined 40 years in talent acquisition with his 20 years experience  on the yoga mat.  “Many of the lessons I’ve learned on the Yoga mat like listening closely, present moment awareness and beginners mind are so relevant to our recruiting profession” say Bob.

 

Job Seeking Tips After 50

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Bob Larson, CPC

BERMAN LARSON KANE

Career Report

May  2017

 Feature Story

 

7 TIPS FOR GETTING HIRED AFTER AGE 50 (Reprint by Popular Request)

Finding a new job can be a lot of work for many, but it can be especially challenging for anyone in their 50s and 60s. And while the unemployment rate for older workers is lower than that of younger workers, once out of work older workers seem to have greater difficulties landing a new position than others. In fact, according to an AARP data analysis cited in a U.S. News & World Report article, the average duration of unemployment for job seekers was 55 weeks as of December 2014, compared with 28.2 weeks for younger workers.

To help older workers in their quest to find a new position, here from the U.S. News & World Report article are seven strategies to consider:

Start your job search right away. Don’t wait until your unemployment runs out to start looking for a new position. “It does seem like prospects are best for the unemployed as soon as they leave their jobs, so it might be a good idea to start job searching in earnest right at the beginning, rather than easing into job searching while on unemployment,” said Joanna Lahey, an associate professor at Texas A&M University, who studies age discrimination. A large gap on your résumé and a growing sense of frustration with the job search process can make it even more difficult to get hired aging.

Work you network. Although there are certainly many modern ways to find jobs online and through social media, having contacts at the company you would like to work for is still one of the best ways to find out about openings and get hired. “The number one way to find a job is through personal contacts,” Lahey pointed out. “You can avoid a lot of implicit discrimination if someone who knows you is willing to vouch for you.”

Reassure a younger manager. Some managers may feel uncomfortable supervising someone who is more experienced than they are. “The big thing to keep in mind is that the person supervising you or making the hiring decision may well be younger than you are, and insecure about supervising someone with more experience,” said Peter Cappelli, a management professor and director of the Center for Human Resources at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “So it is important to let them know you are OK with the role you’re applying for, that you don’t want their job and that you are expecting to take direction from them.”

Don’t mention your age or the interviewer’s age. You don’t want to call attention to your age by listing jobs you held over 20 years ago on your résumé or mentioning age during the interview process. Equally as important, don’t comment on the age of a younger manager. “Even if the person interviewing you is no older than your children, never make any reference to their age thinly veiled or otherwise,” said Nancy Collamer, a career coach and author of  “Second-Act Careers: 50+ Ways to Profit from Your Passions During Semi-Retirement.”

Shorten your résumé. You don’t need to include every position you have ever held on your résumé. “Don’t make your résumé a history lesson. Highlight your most recent achievements and the new talents you’re acquiring,” Collander said. “In general, you should keep the spotlight on the last 10 years of relevant experience.”

Explain why you’re not overqualified. Having 20 or 30 years of work experience can make you seem overqualified for many positions. “Make sure your cover letter explains why you’re right for the job you’re applying to,” Lahey said. “Explain any gaps or why you’re applying for something for which it seems like you’re overqualified.”

Demonstrate your fluency with technology. Older workers are often perceived as being unable to effectively use technology. Make it clear to potential employers that you are tech-savvy and continuing to keep up with new developments. “I think the single most important thing you can do to overcome age bias is to demonstrate your comfort with technology and social media during the interview process,” Collamer said. “There are lots of different ways to subtly let potential employers know you’re tech-friendly: [For example] include your LinkedIn URL on your résumé, mention an interesting article you found on the employer’s Twitter feed or be a regular contributor to industry-related groups on LinkedIn.”

NEWS FROM BLK

Bob Larson, President BLK will be a featured speaker at the NAPS convention in Denver Co. in September  http://www.naps360.org/page/2017Agenda .  His talk titled “Talent Acquisition Lessons Learned on the Yoga Matt”.  Bob will share his combined 40 years in talent acquisition with his 20 years experience  on the yoga mat.  “Many of the lessons I’ve learned on the Yoga mat like listening closely, present moment awareness and beginners mind are so relevant to our recruiting profession” say Bob.

As the summer vacation season approaches we continue to see an increase in direct hire orders with the competition for top talent more competitive and salaries beginning to rise rapidly.  We all at BLK thank you for your business and thank you for allowing the honor of staffing for your organizations.

 

 

Boss Is Half Your Age ?

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Bob Larson, CPC

WHEN THE BOSS IS HALF YOUR AGE

With companies looking to fill management ranks with people who are “digital natives” –frequently translating to millennials and Gen X-ers – and with more baby boomers staying on the job longer, the odds are becoming greater that older workers will increasingly be answering to managers young enough to be their children, according to an article in The New York Times.

“Obviously, there have always been younger people in the work force, but in the past, younger workers were on the lower floor and older workers were executives on the upper floors and in the executive dining room,” said Jill Chapman, a senior performance consultant with Insperity, a personnel management firm.

But because younger workers now have the advantage in sheer numbers, “there are more opportunities for them to move into management ranks,” Chapman continued. “They’re in their 30s, and they had lots of experience because of internships we older workers gave them when they were in high school and college. They had those experiences, and they had the chops for exec positions at an earlier age.”

According to the article, if older workers have difficulty adjusting, there’s good reason: It goes against the natural order that the subordinate would have several decades on the supervisor.

“Research shows that older workers are not as responsive to at younger boss because they feel he or she shouldn’t be in that position,” said Orlando Richard, an associate professor of management at the University of Texas at Dallas, who recently completed a study on status incongruence.

There are implications for the organization, too, the article pointed out. “The older workers with younger bosses are less committed to the company,” Professor Richard said. “They’re not as engaged in the job. If they’re close to retirement, they may not leave, but they may not work as hard.”

Of course, there are plenty of older workers who continue to give the job their all, even though they now report to someone who thinks of Nirvana as an oldies band. The way they see it, though, that younger boss sure doesn’t make it easy.

There are, indeed, challenges on both sides of the May-December workplace divide, according to the article. Older workers may feel they’ve lost their shot at running the show, and younger workers may feel their older subordinates just can’t wait for them to mess up, said David Stillman, an author of the new book “Gen Z @ Work.” The co-author: his son, Jonah, 17, perhaps a future younger boss.

Further, older workers, accustomed to the parental role, may reflexively offer advice to younger bosses who chafe at the effrontery. “They’ll say, ‘In my day….’ Implying your day is wrong,’” Stillman said.

For their part, some younger bosses act as though the world began only when they arrived on the scene, “which makes older workers feel that their own considerable experience doesn’t matter,” Stillman said.

Smart companies are making efforts to address the growing issue. AT&T, for example, offers supervisors a two-hour course, “Managing the Cross-General Workforce, which “helps prepare them to effectively communicate with and motivate their direct reports,” Jan Rasmussen, a company spokesperson, told the newspaper.

And not every older worker feels marginalized or underappreciated, nor does every younger boss feel disdainful and misunderstood.

Take Valentino Lanoce, for example.  “I don’t look at age – I look at business intelligence,” said the 54-year old Lanoce, the regional director of operations for the restaurant chain Verts Mediterranean Grill, who reports to the company’s founders, Dominik Stein, 29, and Michael Heyne, 32. “Dominik and Michael respect my experience in the industry, and they ask for my opinion and advice. It’s very collaborative.”

Lanoce said that his interview with Stein and Heyne “was like sitting with mature officers of a company.” He said: “They’re disciplined and professional. Otherwise, I never would have left where I was to come to work for them.”

That said, as in many new relationships, the article pointed out, there’s a struggle to find a way. Diversity issues have long been part of the terrain, and “there are all these hang-ups at first,” said Chapman of Insperity.

It was a similar dynamic, she added, when women were coming into the workforce. “It’s something we have to figure out how to make it work,” Chapman said.

 

Dress for Success for Next Job Interview

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Bob Larson, CPC

Dress for Success for Next Job Interview

It’s probably one of the most overused phrases in job-hunting, but also one of the most underutilized by job-seekers: dress for success. In job-hunting, first impressions are critical since you are making a product – yourself – to a potential employer, and the first thing the employer will see when greeting you is your attire. Therefore, you must make every effort to dress properly for the type of job you are seeking. Will this get you the job? Of course not, but it will give you a competitive edge and help you to make a positive first impression.

Here from a report carried by NBC News.com are 10 tips for dressing for success on a job interview:

  1. Opt for a conservative look, not an outlandish one.Whether you are seeking an executive or manager position or a job that will require you to roll up your sleeves and get dirty, attire that is distracting is a no-no. In most cases it makes sense to choose simple, understated styles and colors – blues and greys, for example. Black also could work, so long as you won’t be mistaken for an undertaker or a Johnny Cash wannabe. To avoid that fate, soften your look by wearing another color near your face.
  2. When in doubt, ask.If you’re honestly not sure what kind of attire would be most appropriate for an interview with a particular employer, call the company and ask for some guidance. Don’t bother the hiring manager with this; instead, call the human resources department and say, “I have an interview with so-and-so in the such-and-such department. Could you let me know what would be appropriate attire for this interview?
  3. Dress for the job you really want.Some hiring managers recommend dressing one or two levels up from the position you’re seeking. The point behind this would be to show that you’re a serious job candidate who cares about making a good impression.
  4. Accessorize with great care.This isn’t the time to go with strong perfume or cologne, wild nail polish, face jewelry, opened toed-shoes or bare legs, or brightly colored briefcases or purses. All of your accessories should be understated, inconspicuous and professional.
  5. Cleanliness is next to employability.Clean, pressed clothes are important, of course, but here are some other key areas to remember. Have clean, polished shoes in good repair; clean, groomed hair and fingernails; well-brushed teeth, fresh breath, and absolutely no body odor.
  6. Stay up to date.For men, suits and tie patterns can look dated if you’ve been regularly wearing casual clothes to work. Even worse, your suit might be tight. The same goes for women’s suits and dress-shirt patterns. To find out whether you may be looking a little bit out-of-date, ask a trusted friend to help you assess your professional wardrobe.
  7. Don’t wear these items! Just say no to: short skirts, Capri pants, leggings, leather jackets for men and women; or turtlenecks for men. Men should wear collard shirts on job interviews – and in almost every situation, a tie won’t hurt your cause.
  8. Your common sense and good judgment should prevail. If you know for sure that wearing a tie on a particular interview wouldn’t be the right thing to do, then don’t do it. Same for a formal business suit. But don’t stubbornly think that this is the time to make a flashy fashion statement. Instead, this is the time to make sure your appearance doesn’t distract in any way from all the good information you have to share about yourself.
  9. There’s no need to break the bank.Some of these tips might make you think you need to rush out and drop hundreds of dollars on fancy new suits and shoes. That’s not true. You can find professional clothes on sale at deep discounts at major department stores and discount retailers.
  10. Set aside enough time for an initial once-over.Before you walk into the actual interview, slip into the restroom and look in the mirror. Is your tie flipped around? Do you have any food in your teeth? Is your hair standing straight up? If not, you’re good to go!

Why Do Many Employees Hate Work?

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Best Staffing Options

Feature Story

WHY DO MANY EMPLOYEES HATE WORK?

The way we’re working isn’t working, according to an article from the archives of The New York Times.  For many employees, there is probably little excitement when they get to the office, they don’t feel much appreciated while they are there, they find it difficult to get their most important work done amid the distractions, and they don’t believe what they’re doing makes much of a difference, the article pointed out.

By the time they get home, many employees are pretty much running on empty, and still answering emails until they fall asleep.

Increasingly, this experience is common not just to middle managers, but also to top executives, according to article authors Tony Schwartz, CEO of consulting firm The Energy Project and consultant Christine Porath, associate professor at Georgetown University.

More broadly, just 30 percent of employees in America feel engaged at work, according to a 2013 report by Gallup cited in the story. Around the world, across 142 countries, the proportion of employees who feel engaged at work is just 13 percent. For most of us, in short, work is a depleting, dispiriting experience, and in some obvious ways, it’s getting worse.

According to the article, demand for our time is increasingly exceeding our capacity — draining us of the energy we need to bring our skill and talent fully to life. Increased competitiveness and a leaner, post-recession work force add to the pressures. Moreover, the rise of digital technology is perhaps the biggest influence, exposing us to an unprecedented flood of information and requests that we feel compelled to read and respond to at all hours of the day and night.

Curious to understand what most influences people’s engagement and productivity at work, The Energy Project, which works with organizations and their leaders to improve employee engagement and more sustainable performance, partnered with the Harvard Business Review in 2014 to conduct a survey of more than 12,000 mostly white-collar employees across a broad range of companies and industries.

The Energy Project also polled workers at two of its clients — one a manufacturing company with 6,000 employees, the other a financial services company with 2,500 employees. The results, according to article, were remarkably similar across all three populations.

Workers More Satisfied When Core Needs Met

Employees are more satisfied and productive, it turns out, when four of their core needs are met: physical, through opportunities to regularly renew and recharge at work; emotional, by feeling valued and appreciated for contributions; mental, when they have the opportunity to focus on their most important tasks and define when/where they get work done; and spiritual, by doing more of what they do best and enjoy most, and feeling connected to a higher purpose at work.

The more effectively leaders and organizations support employees in meeting these needs, the more likely employees are to experience engagement, loyalty, job satisfaction and positive energy, with lower levels of stress. When employees have one need met, compared with none, all of their performance variables improve. The more needs met, the more positive the impact.

Engagement — defined as “involvement, commitment, passion, enthusiasm, focused effort and energy” — has been widely correlated with higher corporate performance. In a meta-analysis of research studies across 192 companies, Gallup found that companies in the top quartile for engaged employees, compared with the bottom quartile, had 22 percent higher profitability, 10 percent higher customer ratings, 28 percent less theft and 48 percent fewer safety incidents.

Put simply, the way people feel at work profoundly influences how they perform. What the study revealed, the article noted, is just how much impact companies can have when they meet each of the following core employee needs.

Renewal: Employees who take a break every 90 minutes report a 30 percent higher level of focus than those who take no breaks or just one during the day. They also report a nearly 50 percent greater capacity to think creatively and a 46 percent higher level of health and well being.

Value: Feeling cared for by one’s supervisor has more impact on people’s sense of trust and safety than any other behavior by a leader. Employees who say they have more supportive supervisors are 1.3 times as likely to stay with the organization and are 67 percent more engaged.

Focus: Only 20 percent of respondents said they were able to focus on one task at a time, but those who could were 50 percent more engaged. Similarly, only one-third said they were able to prioritize tasks, but those who did were 1.6 times better able to focus on one thing at a time.

Purpose: Employees who derive meaning and significance from work were more than three times as likely to stay with their organizations – the highest single impact of any survey. These workers also reported 1.7 times higher job satisfaction and were 1.4 times more engaged at work.

The Energy Project often asks senior leaders a simple question, the article noted: If your employees feel more energized, valued, focused and purposeful, do they perform better? Not surprisingly, the answer is almost always “Yes.” Next they asked, “So how much do you invest in meeting those needs?” An uncomfortable silence typically ensues.

How to explain this odd disconnect? For some answers and more insights on the topic, read the full article, which can be found here.

NEWS FROM BLK

 2017 hiring has started off like a rocket ship.  Many clients are looking to increase staffing and strengthen their team’s skills.  Replacements continue to increase as many employees have move on to new opportunities within and outside of their respected organizations.

We at BLK have witness an increase in direct hire orders while temp orders have slightly decreased. This appears to be mirroring a national trend as reported by various staffing publications.

Our only caution is the turmoil in Washington as trade, taxes and infrastructure projects are negotiated with congress, countries and business leaders.  However; based on the stock markets strong showing hopefully business and hiring will flourish under this new administration.

 

 

Employers Find “Soft Skills” in Short Supply

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Best Staffing Options
Best Staffing Options

EMPLOYERS FIND ‘SOFT SKILLS’ IN SHORT SUPPLY

Companies across the U.S. say it is becoming increasingly difficult to find applicants who can communicate clearly, take initiative, problem-solve and get along with co-workers. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, those traits—often called soft skills—can make a difference between a standout employee and one who just gets by.

While such skills have always appealed to employers, decades-long shifts in the economy have made them especially crucial now. Companies have automated or outsourced many routine tasks, and the jobs that remain often require workers to take on broader responsibilities that demand critical thinking, empathy or other abilities that computers can’t easily simulate.

As the labor market tightens, the article pointed out, competition has heated up for workers with the right mix of soft skills, which vary by industry and across the pay spectrum—from making small talk with a customer at the checkout counter, to coordinating a project across several departments on a tight deadline.

Companies, in pursuit of the ideal employee,  are investing more time and capital in teasing out applicants’ personality quirks, sometimes hiring consultants to develop tests or other screening methods, and beefing up training programs to develop a pipeline of candidates.

“We’ve never spent more money in the history of our firm than we are now on recruiting,” said Keith Albritton, chief executive of Allen Investments, an 84-year old wealth-management company in Lakeland, Fla. In 2014, for example, the firm hired an industrial psychologist that helped it identify the traits of its top-performing employees, and then developed a test for job candidates to determine how closely they fit the bill.

To determine the most sought-after soft skills, LinkedIn analyzed those listed on the profiles of members who applied for two or more jobs and changed jobs between June 2014 and June 2015. The ability to communicate trumped all else, followed by organization, capacity for teamwork, punctuality, critical thinking, social savvy, creativity and adaptability.

Workers with these traits aren’t easy to come by, said Cindy Herold, who runs the Old Europe restaurant in the state of Washington. In a moment of frustration, Herold recently put a sign outside seeking workers with “common sense,” she told the newspaper.

Training new workers in technical skills takes time and resources and employers say they are less willing to invest in workers who don’t also have the soft skills to succeed in the long run. That may be one reason hiring has lagged its pre-recession pace despite a near-record number of job openings, according to Labor Department data.

According to a Wall Street Journal survey of 900 executives, 92% said they have a very or somewhat difficult time finding people with the requisite attributes for jobs, which include both technical and soft skills. Moreover, 58% of hiring managers in a LinkedIn survey say lack of soft skills among job candidates is limiting their company’s productivity.

Soft skills have always been important tools for managers, but now it appears employers are finding them more important than ever, even at the lower end of the organizational chart, and the focus is earlier on in one’s career, the article noted. Indeed, the combination of soft skills and high grades can attract multiple job offers, with premium starting salaries for recent college graduates in technical fields such as computer sciences, accounting and finance.

Many employers, frustrated by the difficulty of identifying job candidates with the right soft skills, have adopted more rigorous hiring practices.

At Two Bostons, a small chain of pet boutiques outside Chicago, owner AdreAnne Tesene conducts at least three rounds of interviews before she hires someone. For higher-level positions, she invites job candidates and their significant others out to dinner with the rest of the management team, “so we can see how they treat their family.” She also has her employees fill out an evaluation of a new co-worker after 90 days.

Tesene, who opened the store 11 years ago, told The Wall Street Journal that she sees fewer candidates who can hold a conversation, want to interact with people and are eager to excel. “Trying to find people like that is becoming harder,” she said. “But also, I think our standards continue to increase.”

Holiday Call for Unemployment Assistance

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Best Staffing Options
Best Staffing Options

During this Holiday season let us remember the millions of good folks who continue to be adversely affected by our unemployment numbers.

Over the past decades the personal painful histories that I have witnessed, due to no job or meaningful work, continues to be heart wrenching.

During this wonderful festive season, I encourage each of you as professionals to lend a hand, take a phone call, review a resume, coach an interview or pass on some advice to a challenged “job-seeker”.  We all have a special gift of knowledge and compassion that can only help the unemployed.

As president of our organization I assure you that we will continue our free community out-reach program to assist all “job-seekers” with their efforts to gain solid employment. Since beginning these programs nine years ago over 50,000 individuals have participated. My wish is by Thanksgiving 2017 that the need for this service will decrease to zero.

We at Berman Larson Kane continue to thank each of you for your business support during our thirty-six year history.  Have a wonderful holiday and take a moment to please be thankful for your job and take a moment to coach a less fortunate job-seeker.

Career Report October 2016 Issue 200

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Best Staffing Options
Best Staffing Options

BERMAN LARSON KANE

Career Report

October 2016

 

 

Feature Story

WHAT MILLENNIAL EMPLOYEES REALLY WANT

Despite struggling with debt, recession, and the jobs crisis, millennials—who will account for 75% of the workforce in 2025— are not motivated by money. Rather, according to an article in Fast Company, they aim to make the world more compassionate, innovative, and sustainable.

In fact, more than 50 percent of millennials say they would take a pay cut to find work that matches their values, while 90 percent want to use their skills for good.

Clearly, the future of work lies in empowering millennial talent, points out the article’s author Adam Smiley Poswolsky, who wrote the book The Quarter-Life Breakthrough: A Guide For Millennials To Fined Meaningful Work. From interviews with numerous millennial entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, and leaders with both for-profit, social enterprise, and nonprofit backgrounds, millennials want to work with purpose, and they want their workplace to be aligned with their values.

So how can companies deliver on meaningful employee engagement? Here are a number of ideas offered by the author on ways to attract, retain, and empower top millennial talent.

  1. Don’t Just Talk About Impact, Make An Impact – Many companies use words such as impact and purpose without seriously moving the needle on major social and environmental problems. Millennials want to work for organizations that are transparent on how they’re using their technology, resources, and talent. They also want to create shared value, make positive social and environmental changes, and increase opportunities for disadvantaged populations. Recruiting the top talent of tomorrow begins with making a difference today.
  1. Create Opportunities for Mentorship, Skills Acquisition, and Co-leadership – A common critique of millennials in the workplace is they are impatient, entitled, and not willing to put in the time and hard work needed to succeed. “Delayed gratification” doesn’t apply to them; they want change to happen fast.

This doesn’t mean millennials aren’t hard workers. On the contrary, millennials will work hard when you get serious about investing in their skills development. Young talent wants the opportunity to learn from someone with expertise; they want that on-the-ground experience to happen today, not tomorrow—and certainly not in five years.

Companies need to empower millennials by offering co-leadership opportunities, offering young talent a chance to manage and develop a new project—preferably of strategic importance—that excites them. They need to be paired as project-lead with a senior executive, or someone with 15-plus years of experience, giving them an opportunity to learn from a mentor. It also builds on the assumption that millennials can teach something to their more senior colleagues. For example, when it comes to technology and social media, the person with the most innovative idea in the room may happen to be the youngest.

  1. Give Young Talent A Voice – Everyone wants to feel valued at work, especially millennials. There is nothing worse for a millennial than feeling as if your supervisor thinks you have nothing to offer because of your age or inexperience.

In their new book, When Millennials Take Over: Preparing For The Ridiculous Optimistic Future Of Business, authors Maddie Grant and Jamie Notter recommend creating fluid decision-making and organizational structures. They highlight companies such as Medium and Zappos, which have embraced Holocracy, a new organizational and management system that spreads decision-making responsibilities among a set of roles and teams, rather than a hierarchy of people.

A fluid structure empowers more staff—especially new staff—to make decisions and take ownership of solutions. It’s hard to value your employees if you don’t listen to their voice, or give them a seat at the table.

  1. Make HR the New Life Coach – The average millennial is staying at their job less than three years. This might be shocking to corporate America, but the truth is the average American of any age is staying at their job for about four years.

Due in part to rapid changes in technology and a volatile economy, millennials aren’t the only ones job-hopping. How do human resources departments invest in their talent if much of that talent is going to leave the company in several years? Embrace that the workforce of the future is going to be in flux. Currently, some 53 million Americans—or 34% of the workforce—are freelance, and the number of remote and part-time workers is expected to increase.

Companies can no longer expect their employees to be loyal enough to stay for 10 or 20 years, and maybe that’s a good thing. HR departments should design training programs that invest in skills development, while helping their employees prepare for whatever is next in their career two, three, or five years down the line. A future HR professional will look less like Toby Flenderson’s drab character from the TV show The Office, and more like a beloved life coach, who will design personal learning plans for each young staffer based on what they want to accomplish during their stint at the company, and understand their values and interests enough to ensure a smooth landing at their next job.

Looking forward, to remain innovative, impactful, and financially competitive, the Fast Company article points out, companies will most definitely need to go outside their corporate comfort zone to design roles for a purpose-driven millennial workforce.

NEWS FROM BLK

Proud to report that having attended the National Association of Personnel Services NAPS360.org  annual convention in September that  the over view is that hiring will continue to increase over the next 12 months. Many NAPS members complained of the lack to quality candidates in many niches.  With overall competition for this talent increasing daily.

We at Berman Larson Kane continue to also witness shortages in numerous niches and our talent discovery staff find challenges in discovery of top talent.

As we enter the final quarter of 2016 we look forward to assisting our client s with on-boarding the best talent that the market has to offer.  Thanks for your support we so greatly appreciate it as we celebrate the 200 addition of our employment  newsletter.

Career Report August 2016 – Issue 198

Posted by boblarson on

Career Report August 2016  Feature Story

SALARY NEGOTIATION IS A TWO-WAY STREET

During any interview, common thinking says that all the pressure is on the job candidate since, after all, they are the ones trying to set themselves apart from the crowd and impress the company enough to get hired. But, according to an article published by Monster.com, it’s just as important for hiring managers to remember that the interview process is a two-way street.

For companies with an important job to fill, extracting the perfect candidate from the legions of uninspiring resumes can indeed be a challenge. Once you have identified the candidate whom you feel is the right person, and they have passed your rigorous qualifications, you want to get them on board as soon as possible. But then there’s the final question: Can you afford them?

Here, according to the article by Jim Hopkinson, author of the book, Salary Tutor: Learn the Salary Negotiation Secrets No One Ever Taught You, are five salary negotiation tips for employers to consider:

  1. Access the best candidates — Empower your employees to spread the word that you are looking for amazing new people to join your team, and reward them for quality referrals. This will help identify good, quality candidates who members of your team are familiar with, hopefully making the salary negotiation process smoother and more productive. Studies have shown that upwards of 80 percent of jobs are found through networking, so if job seekers are out there expanding their network and tapping into friends of friends, why aren’t you?
  1. Don’t scare them off — Some employers try to screen out candidates before they even know their name. If your job description or application has hazard label warning language such as RESUMES THAT ARE SUBMITTED THAT DO NOT CONTAIN A FULL SALARY HISTORY WILL BE IGNORED, what does that say about your company?
  1. Give them the tour — Candidates should defer premature salary talk by eager HR screeners by saying something such as, “I’ve done my homework in terms of salary, but would really like to know more about the company before we talk details.” The key for them is not just saying the words, but believing them.

For example, what if they give a low number early, but upon getting a full description of the job’s responsibilities, they find out there is more travel than anticipated, longer working hours, and shrinking budgets. They realize they’d need a lot more compensation to take the job.

Conversely, if they say a high number up front, then instantly click with their would-be manager, find out there’s a fantastic new project in the pipeline, and realize this is their dream job, they could be screened out for being “too expensive.” So before pressing candidates for a bottom line number, make sure they’ve seen the big picture.

  1. Do your research — Some employers begin salary talks by asking the question: “What are you making at your current job?”  The problem with this question is, unless you plan on doing an extensive background check, you won’t know if the candidate is telling the truth, taking their salary +20%, or picking a number out of hat. Furthermore, if the person is unemployed (zero salary), doing some consulting (where rates vary dramatically), or changing careers, it can be difficult to compare the past with the present.

But most importantly, it doesn’t matter what they are making now. The fact is, you are the one offering the job. The assumption here is that you’re hiring because you feel an additional employee will bring in more revenue to your company, so you should have a number in mind that makes sure that the return on investment is worth it.

It’s up to you to do the research and know the market value of the employee you are looking to hire, factoring in years of experience, geographic location, and demand for the position. Fortunately, a host of online resources make it easy to determine a job’s market value for bank tellers in Boise or software engineers in Silicon Valley.

  1. Respect their research — The way a prospective employee handles salary negotiation should give you a pretty good indication of their character. Are they too timid to ask for what they’re worth? Do they get frustrated or demanding if your initial offer doesn’t align with their thinking?

Or, do they calmly and confidently approach this part of the interview like a business transaction? A candidate who has done extensive research on current market rates, shows you supporting documentation for the rate they are asking and ultimately knows their true worth and stands by it sounds like someone you should want on your team.

In the end, negotiating salary can be stressful for all parties involved. But with the right preparation, the article points out, employers can get their money’s worth when the moment of truth arrives to make a job offer.

 

NEWS FROM BLK

As the summer heat wave continues we at Berman Larson Kane continue to witness a continuous increase in client hiring activities.  Disciplines that continue to remain over heated are engineering, scientific, digital marketing and field service.

As we look forward to the cooler fall weather we see no slow down occurring in new hiring activities.  Hope you enjoyed your summer and thanks again for your support we so greatly appreciate it.