5 Easy Ways to Update Your Outdated Resume

Think carefully … when did you last update your resume? Or when did you first put it together? If you either can’t answer the questions or your response includes a date pre-Twitter, it may be time to make some changes.

1. Drop the objective; add a professional summary.

You no longer need to explain why and how you want to improve your skills and define the path of your career. Honestly, your objective is to get a job, so it really doesn’t do anything but take up room on a resume. Instead, use the top space on the page to give a written elevator pitch: Write a brief synopsis of your career, highlighting the skills and qualifications that make you stand out. It’s also a terrific place to add keywords from the job posting.

2. Utilize keywords.

Using those keywords gets your resume noticed by either the human reader or the scanning software that so many companies use nowadays to filter out the resumes they want. As you look through the job description, see which words they repeat or highlight (they’ll usually focus on soft skills, requirements, and technical knowhow) and then find a way to work them into your own resume.

3. Avoid dating your education.

A good rule of thumb: Unless you graduated within the last fifteen years, don’t put your graduation date on your resume. Younger college grads may need to do this because they simply have less to add to the resume. But, fair or unfair, adding the date of graduation may lead to age discrimination, and you don’t want to create such a possibility.

4. Rethink what jobs you put.

You don’t need to put every job you’ve ever had. Employers typically like to look at the last fifteen years of employment; those are the most relevant. And if you’ve ever worked at a job in different functions (sales and IT, for example), feel free to split up your job experiences. Thus, you may want to have separate sections of professional history focusing on each set of skills, putting the more relevant ones first.

5. Drop the personal information.

Years ago, it was customary to add hobbies, places traveled, and even marital status and number of children. HR reps of today don’t want to see any of that – instead, keep it strictly professional.

Particularly if you haven’t had to search for a job in a while, make sure that you update your resume, so it looks modern and adheres to today’s standards. For advice on how best to do this, work with PrideStaff.

4 Ways to Best Prep for Your Next Phone Interview

Many employers today rely on phone interviews before conducting a face-to-face one. There are different reasons for this:

First and foremost, it’s more convenient and cost-effective to talk on the phone than to bring a candidate into the office. It also enables hiring managers to interview more candidates in a shorter period of time, so they can narrow their list to just the top contenders for an in-person interview.

While phone interviews are similar in many ways to face-to-face ones, they also pose a variety of different challenges, too. As a result, it can be tricky for candidates to properly prepare. To help you along the way, so you nail your next phone interview, here are a few tips from our Tempe recruiters to put to use:

Do some legwork.

Before your interview, make sure you thoroughly prepare by researching the company and interviewer. Read through the job posting once again too so you can highlight their most pressing needs and then list your skills and abilities that best meet them. You can keep this information right in front of you to reference during your interview.

Prepare questions.

Besides being asked questions, you should ask your own during an interview. This will serve a couple of purposes. First, it will show that you’re eager to learn more about the opportunity. Secondly, it will help you to get the information you need so you can determine whether the job is a good fit for you.

Set up a private area.

Make sure you have a private and comfortable area set up for your interview. Ideally, it’s at a desk where you can sit with the job posting, resume, and a notebook in front of you. This way, you can write down any questions or points that come to mind during the conversation, as well as jot down any other pertinent thoughts you want to remember.

Identify your most relevant experience and accomplishments.

Before the interview, make a list of the skills and accomplishments that are most important to bring up during the interview. You might not have a chance to highlight them all. But you’ll want to be able to talk about your proven track record and dig into the specific results you achieved, so you can set yourself apart from other candidates.

Phone interviews are stressful, just like in-person ones. However, the better job you do at preparing for them, the better your chances of moving onto the next step in the hiring process.

Need professional help getting interviews and finding a new job?

Call the experienced Tempe recruiters at PrideStaff. We partner with many leading organizations in the area and can connect you with top jobs in a variety of fields.

Contact us today to learn more or get started.

How to Properly Interview to Hire the Right Person

You posted an opening for a job on your team, and now you’re ready to start the interview process. From their resumes, the candidates you’ll be meeting with look promising, so you’re not sure how you’ll narrow it down to just one person.

If you partner with a staffing agency in Las Vegas, your recruiter will assist you every step of the way, but if you’re going it alone, there are a few things you need to know. Most candidates arrive to a job interview ready to present their very best selves, so you have to scratch the surface to gauge their true fit.

Four Interview Tips to Hire the Right Person for the Job

Ask Behavioral Questions

Take a look at the list of questions you plan to ask candidates. If most involve a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response, cross them out and start over. You can’t determine a person’s fit for the job unless you ask behavioral interview question that highlight both their skills and personality.

For example, questions like ‘Tell me about a time you had to rush to meet a deadline’ or ‘Describe a time you had to work closely with a team member you didn’t get along with’ offer telling insights on how they would mesh with your team.

Make It a Group Effort

Employees are typically the ones who work closely with new hires, but many managers don’t include them in the interview process. This is a mistake for two reasons — watching the candidate interact with your staff is telling and different people pick up on different cues that indicate the person’s fit.

Ask employees who will be working directly with the new hire to join the interview after you’ve talked with the person for a while. For a more informal approach, consider making the group portion a lunch outing, because the candidate will feel more comfortable in a relaxed setting.

Watch for Red Flags

Job interviews make many people very nervous. Be cognizant of that, while being alert to warning signs that the person is all wrong for the job. A few to watch for include speaking poorly of a former employer, difficulty explaining their job-related skills, excessive bragging and arriving late or unprepared.

Pay Close Attention to Their Questions

Savvy candidates know at some point in the interview, you’ll turn the tables and let them ask questions. Those truly interested in the job will come prepared with thought-provoking questions — i.e., ‘What are the goals for the position during the new hire’s first 90 days — that show a genuine desire to learn as much as possible about the position. Anyone without questions or who focuses on issues like salary and vacation probably isn’t the best choice.

Stop Making Bad Hires

Choosing the right candidate is hard work, so stop trying to do it alone. PrideStaff Las Vegas is here to help you find the best person for every open position on your team. Contact us today to fill your talent roster with the temporary, temp-to-hire and direct hire professionals who will make your company even better!

Strategies to Help Increase Employee Productivity

Every good business leader knows the success of their company depends on productivity. Employees who put forth extra effort make a big difference in safety, quality and profitability. And it’s up to you to motivate each one of them to achieve their full potential.

Engage Your Workforce

Just as your business success begins with productivity, productivity begins with employee engagement. Disengaged employees quickly drag a company down, while engaged workers show up more often, stay longer, and are more productive overall.

• In the U.S. today, only 33 percent of employees feel truly engaged in the work, as noted by a recent Gallup survey. Actively disengaged workers cost businesses between $483 billion and $605 billion a year in lost productivity.
• The biggest challenges to employees reaching their peak productivity include establishing a production-focused mindset, keeping people focused, team communications and work/life balance.

Hire for Cultural Fit

A strong focus on cultural fit is critical – even before employees log their first hours on the job.

• Your culture is the beliefs, ideologies, principles and values shared by all members of your organization. And cultural fit starts with hiring the right people. It has a domino effect: Hiring an employee who fits your culture energizes others, resulting in motivation that’s contagious.
• In many cases, cultural fit is more important than skills. While the right job skills are preferred, they can also be taught. But it’s difficult if not impossible to “teach” your company culture.

Train Effectively

Numerous studies show that taking the time to properly train employees is well worth it in terms of your ROI when it comes to productivity.

• A recent report in the International Journal of Science & Research verifies that taking the time to properly train employees pays off both in the short and long term. Tips include creating detailed training manuals to support classroom and on-the-job work and using project management tools for training-related communication.

There’s No Room for Micromanagement

As noted by productivity expert Robby Slaughter, it’s essential for managers to “back off” and in doing so “encourage individuals to take ownership over how they manage their own time and resources.”

• Manage less – and get better results. In Slaughter’s words, you “want people who are self-starters and are able to operate independently. Granting workers freedom over when, how and where they work creates proof of their work ethic in a way that trying to control them cannot.”

For more tips on optimizing productivity, contact the workforce development experts at PrideStaff Modesto. We can help you source, hire, train and retain the team you need to keep productivity at an all-time high for your business.

Have You Had Enough of Your Employees Excuses? Try These Tips.

Projects miss deadlines. People show up late (or not at all). Customer complaints keep coming in.

You try to fix the problems, but every time you talk to your employees, you get the same type of response – excuses. Not reasons, not explanations. Just lists of justifications for why what happened was no one’s fault. Traffic, weather, illness, the sales cycle, the economy…whatever.

What can you do? It may seem like an impossible task, but it is possible to break through the double talk to get to reasonable solutions. Here are a few tips.

Don’t Say “That’s OK” If You Don’t Mean It

Normal politeness and force of habit. These can cause you to let someone off the hook even if they don’t deserve it. Employees might mistake your reluctant, begrudging acceptance as approval, which in turn might encourage bad behavior to continue. Don’t let that happen.

If someone texts they feel sick and will be late for the fourth time this month, don’t text back “OK.” You might mean “OK” as in “I have received the message” but they might take it as “OK, I approve of your lateness.”

Instead text back something like “Ted will cover your work this morning, but this is becoming a problem.” It will let the employee know their behavior is unacceptable.

Investigate the Situation

Excuses like “the economy” or “changing tastes” for missing a sales goal can sound reasonable, but those phrases are too broad to mean anything. Press for more information. Your employees may be right, in a general way. But you need more data to make meaningful changes.

If someone gives you a vague reason for something going wrong, investigate further. Find out exactly what is going on.

Not only will this lead to better solutions, it will let excuse-prone employees know you’re not going to let them get away with ill-defined explanations. That, on its own, might lower the chances you’ll hear excuses in the future.

Solve the Problem

Any time performance comes up short, your thoughts should eventually turn to “next time.” An excuse is one thing. Having the same excuse pop up again and again, is much worse. As much as possible, look to eliminate the availability of excuses by solving the problems or setting up a policy for the next time they happen.

We’ve been referring to “excuses” here a lot. That implies there’s something phony about the explanations your employees are giving for not achieving goals. That’s not always the case. Sometimes the explanations stem from legitimate issues that need to be solved. Things like “our internet speeds are too slow” or “we don’t have enough inventory in stock for these orders” are all real problems that have solutions.

Incentive Structures

If you’re hearing a lot of excuses, your oversight system might need tweaking. Your procedures might rely too heavily on a top-down approach. Employees are only working to keep you happy – productivity targets and sales goals are your problem. Their problem is getting past you.

A system with more direct incentives can make excuses obsolete. If there are clear rewards for hitting project deadlines, employees will find ways to do it.

Another way to eliminate excuses: have the best employees. Top-notch workers are easy to motivate and easy to manage. Having a great recruitment partner helps you get this kind of employee.

Find Top Talent Today

Contact the staffing experts at PrideStaff Bend today to start building your perfect team today.

How to Tailor Your Resume for Different Jobs

Looking for a new job? You know you need a resume. But did you also know you’ll need several variations of it? That’s because every time you apply for a position, you should be submitting one that’s customized. If you don’t, and simply send in something more generic, then you’re not going to make the best impression possible.

It might sound like a lot of extra work and it will certainly take an investment of time. However, it will be well worth it in the long run. Here are some steps from PrideStaff’s Phoenix recruiters to help you along the way:

Step 1. Read through the job posting.

Before beginning the job of customizing your resume for a particular opening, read through the job posting carefully. Make a note of the particular skills and requirements that the position demands, then make a list of your abilities and experiences that are most relevant.

Step 2. Include a summary of strengths or qualifications at the top.

Gone are the days of the objective. Instead, today’s hiring managers look for a summary of qualifications or strengths listed at the top. These are bullet points of your core competencies that will offer the most value to a particular employer. Use the information you gleaned from Step 1 when writing these.

Step 3. Edit your work history.

Once you have your most pertinent selling points at the top of your resume, start reviewing the bullet points under your work history. Do the skills and qualifications match up to the job posting? Are there certain areas to expand upon, or leave out entirely? Is there a particular accomplishment or accolade that would be especially attractive to a specific employer? Read through these bullets and rework them as needed to position your background in the best possible light.

Step 4. Ask a friend or family member to review it.

Once you’ve finished revamping your resume for a particular position, ask someone you trust to review it. Give them the posting and your resume and ask them for suggestions on strengthening it.

Interested in getting more help with your resume or other aspects of your job search?

Call the Phoenix recruiters at PrideStaff. We know what local hiring managers are looking for in job candidates and can help you get your foot in the door faster with them. Contact us today to learn more or get started.

2018 SAGE // Small Business of the Year Nominees

The Bend Chamber’s 29th Annual SAGE Business Awards celebrates and honors the achievements and collaborative spirit of our region’s most innovative citizens. Local businesses and organizations are the force behind our growing economy. Working together, driving growth and delivering jobs.  Here at the Bend Chamber, we understand challenges and the continued commitment of our members to reach goals and tell their success stories.  Let’s all give a shout out to this years “Small Businesses Award” Nominees.

PRIDESTAFF

The PrideStaff team comes to the table with a variety of skills and experiences. Each one is dedicated to a single set of values, which are built around our Mission as a company. For small and large clients, major and minor markets, and candidates of every level, our commitment remains the same.

Our Mission: Consistently provide client experiences focused on what they value most.

WEBSITE: http://pridestaff.com/about-us-overview

Baxter Harder Attorneys At Law

When you are facing a difficult legal matter, putting the law on your side can be one of the toughest challenges to overcome. Our attorneys are experienced advocates who can help you through a wide variety of issues using exceptional legal knowledge and thorough preparation.

WEBSITE: https://www.baxterharder.com/

CLIFTON CANNABIS LAW

Clifton Cannabis Law appreciates and understands the frustrations that come with owning your own business. Young companies need a savvy legal team but may not have the financial resources to hire the best. Our legal team, licensed in California, Oregon and Washington, bridges this gap by bringing you the experience you can trust with the flexibility to “just get it done” or empower you to take on necessary tasks yourself if you need to save costs.

WEBSITE: https://www.cliftoncannabislaw.com/

COILED CABS

We are based out of Bend, Oregon. Our focus is in the Bend area with some local service in Redmond and Sunriver. Our reach is within 150 miles of Bend. Coiled Cabs has a full fleet of taxis to serve your wedding and business parties.

WEBSITE: https://coiledcabs.com/

ETERNAL HEALTH CHIROPRACTIC

“Our mission at Eternal Health Chiropractic is to bring hope and healing to the Bend community. We want to focus on helping everyone reach their health goals while treating everyone as family in the process. We want to educate about the body’s amazing ability to heal from the INSIDE- out and empower each person to make a well- informed choice on themselves and their families health.”

WEBSITE: https://www.eternalhealthchiro.com/mission

HUTCH’S BICYCLE STORE

Year-round, Hutch’s in Bend Redmond and Klamath Falls employs 15 to 20 people who have come to work for us from all around the U.S.A. The Hutch’s family share a common theme: quality of life, great working environment, uncompromising customer satisfaction, and a passion for bicycles. Since 1981, we have been Central and Southern Oregon’s #1 mountain, road, city and youth bike shop for custom builds, rentals, sales and service. Stop in and let us show you why we are #1

WEBSITE: https://hutchsbicycles.com/about/

REDHAWK NETWORK SECURITY

Redhawk Network Security provides a multi-faceted view into your security environment. Seeing beyond the latest security patch or network configuration may seem strange for a network security company, but it’s exactly why Redhawk exists. In response to clients requiring more of their networks, Redhawk has evolved over the last decade to focus our vision on clients who request more from their network security provider.

WEBSITE: https://redhawksecurity.com/dynamic-insight/

THE BROOMSMEN

Here at The Broomsmen, we strive to be a trusted one stop shop for all your event staffing and logistic needs. We firmly believe in sustainability and waste reduction practices. We promote zero waste green events through a hands on educational based approach.

WEBSITE: http://www.thebroomsmen.com/about/

BRAVE COLLECTIVE

Brave Collective is a modern day mercantile for women. It’s a space that is as inviting and accessible as the fashion it offers. The name is to honor and remind every woman that they belong, they have a voice and they matter.

WEBSITE: http://www.shopbrave.com/

PAYNEWEST INSURANCE 

PayneWest Insurance was formed in 2012 from two leading agencies in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Northwest regions. We are now a top-40 nationally ranked insurance agency fiercely committed to our clients, our colleagues and our communities.

WEBSITE: https://www.paynewest.com/about-paynewest/history-mission/

POWERS OF AUTOMATION, INC.

POA is a highly experienced, innovative and family-oriented team creating custom industrial automation and monitoring solutions. As a full-service system integrator, we provide commissioning, calibration and validation services, complete with high quality documentation.

Committed to our quality management system, we continually improve our processes, products and services, the customer’s experience and differentiate ourselves to the life science, high-tech and manufacturing industries as a customer-focused, essential partner.

Together, with honest and integrity, we are committed to improving the quality of people’s lives.

WEBSITE: http://www.powersofautomation.com/about-us/

Bank on These Skills When You’re Looking to Promote from Within

Sometimes the best employee is the one you already know. Consider this: Quite a few companies prefer to promote from within because they already have a good feel for the candidate. Instead of going straight for the whole hiring process with all its time, energy, and cost, look first at who you might promote from your own staff. But before making that decision, look for these particular skills:

• Self-management

You want to have someone who can manage themselves to a certain degree, who doesn’t need someone to constantly guide them. In the often fast-paced world of business, change can come quickly, and you want to promote someone who can readjust and prioritize, as well as the ability to organize, focus, and manage all details as needed.

• Desire to Learn

Any quality employee should have the desire and agility to want to learn new ideas and have the interest in learning more about new ideas and ways of working. Technology makes advances all the time, competition creates disruption to stay ahead, and new ideas win the day. Therefore, you want to promote someone who has a curiosity to learn more and help advance your goals.

• Courage

Within a business atmosphere, this trait often includes initiative to stand up and speak out about an idea that may not have everyone’s support … yet pushing that idea anyway if they feel it will improve the company. You also want to promote an inside employee who has demonstrated the courage to take calculated risks.

• Self-care

This may sound counter-intuitive, but you want to promote an employee who knows how to maintain a proper work-life balance, one who won’t allow themselves to be worn down or burnt out by their job. And while each person’s balance may differ, once finding it, they know how to make the most of each work day. You want to promote someone who has figured out that balance for themselves.

Hiring from within may well give you your next best employee. When looking for that person outside of your own business, work with PrideStaff.

Resume Round-Up (Part 9): The Key to Giving Your Friend Honest Feedback About Their Resume

As a good friend, you enjoy helping your pals out. Whenever they need something, you’re always happy to assist, including reviewing their resume. Now that you’ve read it over, you have several critiques, but you’re afraid your honest feedback will offend them.

You want to help, but you also don’t want to risk losing a friend. As a top temp agency in Las Vegas, PrideStaff Las Vegas understands your predicament. The key to successfully relaying any less-than-flattering comments is in your delivery. Learn how to do it right.

Three Tips to Give Your Friend Honest Resume Feedback

Highlight the Good

Boost your friend’s confidence by starting your critique with praise. This will be more challenging with some resumes than others, but your relationship with them should help you find a good angle to focus on. This will put them in a good mood and keep their guard down. People are more receptive to feedback when they don’t feel like they’re being attacked.

Offer Specific Ways to Improve

Your friend came to you for help with their resume, so they clearly value your opinion. Provide specific tips for improvement, because vague feedback isn’t particularly helpful. Your comments should be clear and concise, so there’s no room for confusion. Be ready to explain the reasoning behind your advice, as it might be obvious to you, but not to them.

Don’t Make it Personal

When giving resume feedback, keep the focus on the document itself is a must. Sharing their resume might make your friend feel vulnerable, so be sensitive to that. Even if you mean it in a light-hearted manner, never say anything like ‘You’re a terrible writer’ or ‘What were you thinking with this resume?’ because you’ll probably offend them. Not only could this damage your friendship, it could also cause them to tune out all the feedback you have to offer that could help them.

Help a Friend Out

You want your friends to achieve their career ambitions, so refer them to PrideStaff Las Vegas. We’ll review their resume — so you don’t have to — and help them plan their next step. Tell your friends to contact us today to connect with top local employers ready to put them to work!

PrideStaff Bend Recognized as PrideStaff’s New Office of the Year

PrideStaff, a national, franchised staffing organization, is pleased to name the Bend office as its New Office of the Year. This honor, presented at PrideStaff’s recent Annual Conference, is given to the newly opened PrideStaff office with the best results nationwide in revenue, growth, quality management and community involvement.

“I’m thrilled to accept this award on behalf of everyone in the Bend office,” said Matt Ertle, Owner/Strategic-Partner of the PrideStaff Bend office. “From day one, PrideStaff’s resources, tools, support and amazing reputation in the industry helped us hit the ground running and make immediate contributions within our community. I’m proud of everything we’ve accomplished during our first year in business, and I’m excited to deliver even greater results for our clients and associates in the year ahead.”

“The Bend office showed tremendous promise from its first months in operation,” said George A. Rogers, PrideStaff CEO. “By capitalizing on PrideStaff’s proven franchise model and living out our mission to ‘Consistently provide client experiences focused on what they value most,’ Matt Ertle’s team has quickly become a trusted partner to employers and job seekers in their local market.”

By focusing on client and talent experience, PrideStaff has become the only staffing firm in the U.S. and Canada with over $100 million in annual revenue to earn Inavero’s Best of Staffing® Client and Talent Diamond Awards for five consecutive years. This places them in a truly elite group of staffing companies that lead the industry in satisfaction.

For more information about PrideStaff, please contact Matt Ertle at 541.797.6941.

About PrideStaff

PrideStaff was founded in the 1970s as 100 percent company-owned units and began staffing franchising in 1995. They operate over 80 offices in North America to serve over 5,000 clients. With over 40 years in the staffing business, headquartered in Fresno, CA, PrideStaff offers the resources and expertise of a national firm with the spirit, dedication and personal service of smaller, entrepreneurial firms. PrideStaff is the only nationwide, commercial staffing firm in the U.S. and Canada with over $100 million in annual revenue to earn Inavero’s prestigious Best of Staffing Diamond Award five years in a row highlighting exceptional client and talent service quality.

For more information on our services or for staffing franchise information, visit www.pridestaff.com.