THE NY STATE FAIR IS HERE!

For most people Fair time can be a depressing sign that summer is over, school is starting and winter is almost here. For those of us in the recruiting world excitement sets in when the NYS Fair comes and goes because that means people are back to work and ready to start hiring again. The hiring process historically is more challenging during summer months.  Working around people’s vacation schedules tends to stretch out the interview process into weeks and sometimes months. Many companies have bright college interns taking up the slack, so hiring is not a priority.  Some companies wait until they start the budgeting process for next year to add staff and gear up for a new year.

As a result, September typically becomes a more active month for candidates and recruiters alike.

So if you are a candidate still looking for a position, are you prepared?  Is your resume up to date and well written?  If you have been out of the job market for a number of years, it might be worth getting your resume professionally written. Many of the larger companies today have automated application systems which may scan for key words. When applying for positions, does your resume content include some of the keys words identified in the job posting?  Once you send your resume have you prepared a follow up plan or do you let it go into internet outer space to never be found again?  Follow up is imperative in this economy.  It is common today for applicants to never receive a phone call from a live person letting them know their resume has been received.  It is your job to follow up with the company, to not only make sure they did receive it, but to confirm your interest in the position and hopefully secure an interview.

Once you get the interview, make sure you are prepared.  For tips on interviewing, follow this link: http://www.syracuse.com/job-advice/index.ssf/2010/02/eight_tips_for_making_a_good_impression_in_a_job_interview.html

After you’ve had the interview and it went great, follow up is equally imperative at this stage.  Make sure you send well written thank you notes to all the people that you interviewed with.  Continue to follow up with the main contact at the company reiterating your interest in the position until a decision is made. Hopefully the decision is in your favor, but regardless of the outcome, you have to be prepared throughout the process.

So, enjoy the sausage sandwiches and pizza fritte, but then get prepared to get back to work!

You’re looking to hire someone for a new position.  You need to advertise for the job and write a description.  How do you write an effective job description, one that will get you the person with the skills you need to do the job?

The first thing you need to do is determine what the person in this job will do; that is, what are the major functions of the job? A function is a major area of work that is done by one person.  For example,  functions of an assistant’s job might be typing, correspondence, conference coordination and filing.  Choose four to eight major functions in your description and, to keep things simple, describe those functions in no more than five words each.

After you have figured out what the functions of the job are, you need to determine how much time the person will have to devote to each of the functions, to define the relative importance of each function in the job.

The next step is to further break down the functions into the job duties.  These are the actions that a person must take in order to carry out the functions of the job.  Duties define the methods and procedures used to carry out the functions. Again, in the interest of clarity and directness, write no more than six to eight duties for each function.  When you do, be sure to answer the questions of how the duty is performed, why it is performed, and what is performed.  Use simple language, without any jargon.  You will also want to include the frequency of each duty – how often it is performed.

For example, for the function of conference coordination, the duties might involve such tasks as: scheduling speakers for departmental seminars by calling people from listings, finding out if they are available, determining the dates of the event and writing correspondence confirming the date, etc.

Next, you want to state the job requirements, the skills, knowledge and abilities that a person must have to perform the job well.  And these requirements should be tied to the duties.  A skill is something you know that can help you perform the duties, such as public speaking skills, typing skills, negotiating skills.

As part of the job description, you also want to specify if there are any physical, environmental or special demands involved.

Finally, end with a summary, a brief overview of the job, including the degree of supervision that the person in the job will receive.

Let C.R. Fletcher Associates, Inc. find your company’s next workers. We can help Syracuse-area companies identify and source high-caliber employees via executive search as well as for direct-hire, temp-to-hire and temporary positions. Contact us today.

Your business is shorthanded.  You could use a few more people, but you’re reluctant to hire anyone full-time because of the economy.  Is it time to bring in temporary workers?  What are the costs and benefits of such a move?

There are a number of benefits to using a temp.

One of the advantages of using temporary workers is the flexibility it offers.  It enables you to quickly adjust to changes in workload.  If you have seasonal bumps in demand, or if there is an unexpected demand surge, temporary workers will help you quickly get up to speed on production.

Another advantage of using a temp is the opportunity to evaluate the person without having to make a commitment.  If you are considering the person for a full-time position, you can see how productive the person is and how well he or she fits into your business.  Some businesses, in fact, use temporary staffing services for its pool of workers from which to recruit.  Or you can use the temporary employee to fill the position while you look for a full-time replacement.  And if the temp is not working out, all you need do is contact the staffing service and it will take care of the rest.

Temporary workers usually are less expensive than full-time employees.  You are not responsible for providing any benefits.  Their employer is the staffing service, not you.  The service is responsible for recruiting, hiring, screening, and testing workers.  The service is responsible for payroll and payroll paperwork, unemployment compensation insurance, and taxes.

Traditionally, temp workers have been used mostly in lower level, unskilled positions.  But that is changing.  Temps now are used in practically every industry and in skilled positions for a range of short-term projects in levels from unskilled labor to even doctors and nurses and everything in between.  Even in the legal field, firms are now using attorneys on a temporary basis.

Some employers assume that temporary workers just don’t work as hard as a full-time employee would.  But research has shown that this is not the case. It found that temporary workers actually work harder, and that their performance continued to improve when they were hired as full-time workers.

What are the drawbacks?

If you do bring on temporary workers, a certain amount of training will be necessary to get them up to speed on the specific projects they will be doing, no matter if they are skilled or unskilled.  If, however, you use the same temporary workers on an ongoing basis, the amount of training needed will be a lot less.

Using a temporary worker may also be impacted by safety issues.  Some jobs are obviously more dangerous than others.  Studies have shown that the number and severity of injuries on the job are higher with temp workers.  So, you will have to make sure all safety measures are taken when using a temp, and never let a temporary work a job without making sure he or she can do it safely.

Also, as an employer you must be aware of the legal issues involved in using temp workers.  The contract must be clear about the status of these workers and that they are not eligible for the benefits regular employees receive.

C.R. Fletcher can help Syracuse-area companies identify and source high-caliber temporary workers for direct-hire, temp-to-hire and temporary positions. Contact us today.

There is no doubt that you have heard criticism on all levels about social media. I am one of the worst offenders of this. When my kids were in college all I heard about was “facebook” and all of the inappropriate comments and pictures that were being posted on the internet. Being in my industry the first thing I thought of when I heard that was: “how would that look if your employer were to get their hands on it?” I would constantly tell my kids that they need to delete their facebook accounts before they start interviewing for jobs. Well, I will admit it, I was wrong… somewhat. There is undoubtedly still an abundance of dangerous scenarios to fall victim to on websites like Facebook, Twitter, etc. but social media channels are becoming one of the most popular marketing tools available. I am still trying to figure out how to text message when all of the sudden I receive a message from my cell phone’s facebook application… which I was unaware I even had. Being well versed in Facebook is becoming nearly as valuable as your Microsoft Office skills. Your ability to maintain relationships via social media networking sites can now be viewed as an indicator of your personality. My advice to any individual is to take advantage of things like Facebook but use good judgment in the process. Whether you think so or not, your “security settings” on these websites don’t always block others from viewing content. Make sure whatever gets associated with your name on Facebook as well as anywhere on the internet is clean and appropriate. In less than 5 years internet social media networking has changed from a means for college kids to keep themselves occupied when they aren’t “studying” to a networking tool for people of all ages. It’s an extremely powerful tool that can have dramatic effects both positively and negatively. If it has grown this much in such a short period of time just imagine what it will do in the next five years!

For recruiting services, maintaining good communication with hiring managers is important.  It improves the chances for hiring the best person for the job.

Feedback is also important for finding out how the candidate perceived the interview process.  The recruiting service should get in touch with the candidate shortly after his or her interview with the company’s hiring managers to get the candidate’s opinions and also to answer any questions or to clear any misunderstandings that may have resulted from the interview.

As part of the feedback process, the recruiter should find the answers to several questions, including what the job candidate learned about the position, what he or she liked most and least about the position, whether or not he or she would accept a job offer, whether compensation was discussed, and whether the candidate has any questions or concerns about the position.  If the candidate does have questions, the recruiter can then answer them immediately, rather than letting them remain as concerns in the candidate’s mind.

After the recruiting service gets the answers to these questions, they should give the feedback to the hiring managers at the company, to give them critical insight about the candidate’s experience.

Through this feedback, company interviewers can determine what things they are doing that impress candidates, and what needs to be changed.  They can find out how well they are doing in terms of selling the job to candidates and where there might be breakdowns in the process.  If for example, the recruiting service finds out that the candidate didn’t think the interviewers were particularly knowledgeable about the job skills and requirements, they can take steps to work on this area in future interviews.

The feedback would let the hiring manager know of the candidate’s interest in the position, opening the way to an offer, or helping to remove roadblocks to closing the deal.  Conversely, the feedback would let the hiring manager know if the candidate really wasn’t all that excited about the position.

The recruiter get feedback from the hiring managers at the company, regarding questions they have about the candidate and the candidate’s perception of them.

This kind of feedback among all the parties involved – the recruiting agency, job candidate, and hiring managers – plays an important role in getting to a final commitment.  Time can very often be the enemy in these situations, and using this feedback approach reduces the amount of time in reaching a deal.  This kind of feedback will greatly improve the ratio of good hires.

C.R. Fletcher can help Onondaga County companies identify and source high-caliber employees via executive search as well as for direct-hire, temp-to-hire and temporary positions. Contact us today.

If you think there’s no way you could get a promotion in this economy, think again.

Hard working people — those who bring great value to their employers — can find themselves in a new position with more responsibility and a bigger paycheck no matter how the economy is doing.

Here’s how to do it:

First of all, understand that you will have to work to get a promotion. We’re not talking about coming up with a strategy to convince your boss to give you a raise or a job with more responsibility. No, we mean work. As in do the job you were hired to do — and more.

In other words, you’re going to have to over perform in your current position. For example, Iis one requirement of your sales position that you bring in one new account a week? If so, bring in two. Or three.

Are you an accounts payable manager who normally processes 10 accounts a day? Aim for 12.

And so on.

Document your successes and accomplishments. Regularly send updates to your boss about what you’ve accomplished. You can send these reports weekly, monthly or quarterly. At the least, keep tabs on all you’ve done as you do it and send that report to your boss before your annual review (or the appointment you’ve set to ask her for a raise).

Maintain a great attitude. Don’t overindulge in whining with the gang at lunch. Stay positive. Focus on solutions, not problems. You probably could get promoted with a poor attitude so long as your a top performer, but a promotion will come so much more easily if you’re a person people like to be around.

Ask for the promotion. Do not expect all your hard work to get you a raise and new job title by itself. Yes, some managers are quite observant, noticing when their subordinates do exceptional work and then rewarding them for it. But these types of managers are pretty rare.

But ask for a promotion — with the document results to prove you deserve it — and your manager very well may slap herself on the forehead and say “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that! You’ve been stellar, outstanding, a real asset to the company. You’ve been performing at a high level and you deserve to be rewarded for it!”

Promote yourself to a great new job by contacting C.R. Fletcher Associates, Inc. We have many great positions for Syracuse-area professionals with skills in accounting and finance, administration, sales and marketing, customer service, human resources, and more. We look forward to hearing from you.