Jobinablog

Before you send that email, just think for a second...

We all send them every day, but do you think about what you are doing before you press send? Believe it or not Seth Godin - who can only be described as one of todays thought marketing Guru's - has created a very interesting checklist of 34 (yes 34!) things you should consider once you have written the email AND before you send it. I guarantee this will get you thinking!! They are:

1. Really? They've written back? (if no, reconsider email).
2. If it is a cold-call email, and you're sure it's welcome, and you're sure it's not spam, then don't apologize. If you need to apologize, then yes, it's spam, and you'll get the brand-hurt you deserve.
3. Am I angry? (If so, save as draft and come back to the note in one hour).
4. Could I do this note better with a phone call?
5. Am I blind-ccing my boss? If so, what will happen if the recipient finds out?
6. Is there anything in this email I don't want the attorney general, the media or my boss seeing? (If so, hit delete).
7. Is any portion of the email in all caps? (If so, consider changing it.)
8. Is it in black type at a normal size?
9. Do I have my contact info at the bottom? (If not, consider adding it).
10. Have I included the line, "Please save the planet. Don't print this email"? (If so, please delete the line and consider a job as a forest ranger or flight attendant).
11. Could this email be shorter?
12. Is there anyone copied on this email who could be left off the list?
13. Have I attached any files that are very big? (If so, google something like 'send big files' and consider your options.)
14. Have I attached any files that would work better in PDF format?
15. Are there any :-) or other emoticons involved? (If so, reconsider).
16. Am I forwarding someone else's mail? (If so, will they be happy when they find out?)
17. Am I forwarding something about religion (mine or someone else's)? (If so, delete).
18. Am I forwarding something about a virus or worldwide charity effort or other potential hoax? (If so, visit snopes and check to see if it's 'actually true).
19. Did I hit 'reply all'? If so, am I glad I did? Does every person on the list need to see it?
20. Am I quoting back the original text in a helpful way? (Sending an email that says, in its entirety, "yes," is not helpful).
21. If this email is to someone like Seth, did I check to make sure I know the difference between its and it's? Just wondering.
22. If this is a press release, am I really sure that the recipient is going to be delighted to get it? Or am I taking advantage of the asymmetrical nature of email--free to send, expensive investment of time to read or delete?
23. Are there any little animated creatures in the footer of this email? Adorable kittens? Endangered species of any kind?
24. If I had to pay 42 cents to send this email, would I?

10 Ways to Reduce Your Recruitment Costs

Is your recruitment budget already running on empty this year? Well if you need to looking at reducing your recruitment costs, here is a document I wrote recently that highlights 10 ways to start reducing your recruitment costs.

I guarantee that you won't be using them all!!

Recruiting Staff? - Take heed of these 4 interviewing gems

When you are recruiting staff, you base the hiring decision on skills, education and experience - correct? But what about the other end of the process, when you have to sack / fire them, what do you base that decision on? It is usually based on their behaviour - which is very interesting! Kathleen Dodaro also highlights some other valuable interviewing gems below:

• Only hire individuals you trust.  During the interview find out if the person will do the right thing when faced with a difficult situation.  Ethics are still an important trait!
• Hire candidates who can do a great job now and have growth potential as well.  Building the pipeline for future higher-level positions helps prepare organisations for the future.
• Research continues to identify the need for employers and employees to share common values.  If the employee cannot buy-in to an organisation’s corporate culture the first red flag should be raised.
• Remember that most of the time managers hire candidates based on skills, education and experience and when they fire them it is for behavior.  So, hiring a team player that possesses the appropriate behavioral traits for the job is imperative.

15 Reasons why your recruitment process isn't working

If like many companies at the moment, you are experiencing recruiting problems, then maybe some soul searching is required to understand why. You need to look at your full recruitment process from attraction through interviewing to onboarding, and to ask some direct questions of your own process. So how many non-sourcing problems directly affect your recruitment of new staff? Here are Lou Adlers good reasons why your recruitment process could be failing - how many can you agree with? (Any more than 5 and you need some help!!)

1.      Job descriptions are boring.

2.      Application process is too long and top candidates opt-out.

3.      Managers don't spend enough time clarifying real job needs.

4.      Managers refuse to see good candidates, because they don't have exactly the right background.

5.      Managers don't respond quickly enough when resumes are sent to them.

6.      Good candidates are unimpressed with our interviewing process.

7.      Good candidates are unimpressed with the hiring manager.

8.      Good candidates want to know the salary package before talking.

9.      Candidates increasingly are rejecting offers or accepting other offers or better offers.

10.  We can't attract the best people with our salary packages.

11.  Managers over-specify skills, experience, academics, and industry background.

12.  Relocation is a problem.

13.  We can't move fast enough to decide and make offers.

14.  Managers aren't responsive or involved enough.

15.  We never have enough time to do it right.

SME's and interviewing - it doesn't mix, does it?

Recruiting the right people for your business is crucial, but are SME's (particularly owner managers) equipped to locate the people they need for their business? This was a subject I was recently asked about for an interview with Making Money magazine. I thought I would share one of the answers published in this months magazine. Asked the question, 'Do owner/managers need to brush up on their interview technique?', my response was:

" I don't think they (owner/managers) understand what recruitment is. And to be honest, why should they? It is a complex process that contains many changing variables, and many companies struggle to get their head around it. It isn't simply a question of them getting it right first time, because I don't believe they look at the process in that much detail anyway. Many times they instruct a colleague to place an advert in a local paper and then interview the best looking CV's. Then when it doesn't work out they can't understand why?"

Does this sound familiar? I hope it doesn't, but from my experiences it is an all too common occurrence!!

(If this is happening in your company and you want to change it, you know where we are!)

Marketing the company AND THE vacancy is critical

This may sound a strange statement, but it is becoming absolutely essential. Some companies have made major strides in this area, but many have missed the boat completely. Most candidates will visit the corporate website. The messages they read about the company, the mission, the vision, the people who work there and the career opportunities have a huge impact. These messages WILL make the candidates make their decision as to them choosing your company as a suitable employer. As an example here are the four criteria a 24 year old graduate recently used to find a job:

1. The quality of the company's whole web site - companies with poor quality sites were quickly eliminated from consideration.
2. The career message and career opportunities and how these were presented on the career page - if the emphasis wasn't on long term growth he wasn't interested.
3. Only if the above two criteria were met would he even begin to look for a job. In some cases, he just sent his CV to the recruiting department and let them look for the right job.
4. He accepted the job based on the hiring manager, the career path opportunities and some of the projects he'd be working on - as long as the salary package was fair.

Your target recruitment audience is getting more demanding and expects a good career site as a minimum, selling both the vacancy and the company itself.

Can you answer the simple questions?

Interviewing staff is almost a weekly occurrence for companies, both large and small. But do your interviewers know what they will be asked by the prospective employee? Isn't it a little embarrassing when you have to reply to a question with a "..sorry, can I come back to you on that" or "..sorry I don't know". You should, however, have of already covered these 'answers' within the interview by giving the candidate the information first. So what basic questions am I talking about then? Below are 10 of the 'must be able to answer questions' that you need to have covered:

1. Who are you and what do you stand for?
2. Why should I work for your company?
3. What is the corporate culture like?
4. What kinds of people work there?
5. What skills are necessary to be a success with your company?
6. How competitive is your total remuneration package?
7. What is the reputation of your company locally?
8. Are you an ethical company?
9. Where do you stand on CSR (corporate social responsibility)?
10. What will having your company on your CV mean for my future?

Candidate questions are getting more thoughtful and probing - can you answer them effectively?