Want to Hire Better Employees? Watch Out for These Warning Signs!

When you’re interviewing job candidates, your goal is to find the right person for the job. This means finding and weeding out the weakest applicants as you narrow down your list and ultimately make the right match.

Watch for these warning signs in candidates. Often, they are harbingers of bigger, long-term issues.

1. Punctuality Problems

Unless there is a compelling and valid reason, showing up late for a job interview is an immediate red flag. Punctuality issues may indicate a problem with overall accountability.

• Being late shows a lack of attention to important details. It also indicates that a person does not value other’s time. Last but not least, it smacks of disrespect. A phone call to alert you of tardiness before the appointment may mitigate some of the damage, but only the first time.

2. Lack of Enthusiasm

If two candidates are equally or nearly equally qualified, consider hiring the one who shows more enthusiasm for the role. You want someone who demonstrates passion and is ready to jump in and get started.

• Enthusiastic candidates are more likely to grow with the job. People who are excited about their work also want to get better and better at it. They will invest time in learning and development, both on the job and on their own time.

3. Short on Details

A person’s strength around attention to detail runs much deeper than the words on their resume – but that’s a good place to start. Also, pay attention to how they answer questions during your meeting. You need a clear, straight thinker who can provide information in an accurate and concise way.

• Use behavioral based interview questions. Look for responses that include concrete details of specific experiences and accomplishments. If a candidate rambles on or doesn’t speak to what you have asked, you can expect the same behavior once they are hired.

4. Weak References

A candidate should be able to offer a previous employer as a reference – regardless of how strong their other references may be. Candidates without legitimate references are too dangerous to risk hurting your business or damaging your own reputation.

• If an individual’s references do not include their previous manager, this usually indicates that their old boss will not speak positively of them. Keep in mind, however, that you are not limited to the list provided to you by the applicant. You can reach out on your own to anyone you like. Or, you can ask the candidate to put you in touch with specific people with whom you’d like to speak.

5. Grammatical Errors

It comes back again to a person’s resume and cover letter. This is where they should be representing themselves in their very best light. If these documents are less than perfect, this may also represent how a candidate will approach their work.

• A sloppy first impression is never a good sign. If candidates are careless from the start, they may be even less conscientious once they’re on board. In addition to their resume and cover letter, take a close look at their LinkedIn profile – as well as any other documents or platforms they make available.

At PrideStaff Modesto, our mission is to consistently provide client experiences based on what you value most. This means award-winning temporary, temp-to-hire and direct recruiting services in industries including administration, customer service, IT, finance, legal support, healthcare, and production and distribution. Contact us today to learn more.

Let’s Get to the Point…How Should You Ask for a Raise?

“Question Originally Appeared on Quora“: How Do You Ask Your Boss for a Raise?

If you’re like most people, asking your boss for a raise is something you probably dread. Requesting a pay increase is incredibly nerve-wracking, because you have no idea how your manager will take it. The last thing you want is to appear entitled or demanding, but requesting the salary you deserve is neither.

You’re an incredibly talented, hardworking professional and you deserve to receive a fair salary. If it’s been more than a year since your last pay raise, you need to take the initiative to ensure you’re properly compensated. As one of the leading employment agencies in Las Vegas, we’re here to help you ask for a raise the right way — and get it!

Four Tips to Ask Your Boss for a Raise

Time it Right

Raises are often granted during annual performance reviews or on employee anniversaries, but waiting could cause you to miss out. Many companies only have a limited amount of money for annual pay increases, so time your request a few months before you actually expect to receive the salary bump, to ensure there’s plenty of money still available to fund your request. Additionally, be sure the organization is in a healthy financial state, because you’ll appear out of touch with the business if you request more money when the company is struggling.

Know Your Value

Your boss probably isn’t aware of every accomplishment you’ve achieved since your last raise, so come to the meeting prepared with a list of your successes. When possible, include numbers to really drive your point home and make your value clear. For example, share how much money a new process you developed saved the company last year or the amount of new business you’ve brought into the organization since you were hired.

Make a Reasonable Request

Most annual salary increases average in the 3% to 5% range, so request an amount of money that makes sense. If your company has salary caps for each position, use this to determine a reasonable pay increase that doesn’t exceed previously defined constraints. If possible, leave room for negotiation by requesting a bit more than you expect to receive. Of course, it’s important to be realistic with your appeal, because asking for an exorbitant raise will just make you appear irrational.

Prepare a Backup Plan

Hopefully your request for a higher salary will be granted, but it certainly isn’t guaranteed. If you’re not able to get the raise you want, find out what you can do to change this in the future. Whether there simply isn’t enough money to make your request happen right now or your boss feels you still have work to do before you’ve earned a pay increase, it’s important to know where you stand.

Find Fulfilling Work

As a talented, hardworking professional, you deserve a well-paying job that makes you feel excited to go to work each day. PrideStaff Las Vegas is committed to helping you fit the right fit for your skills and interests. Contact us today to learn more about the temporary, temp-to-hire and direct hire positions we’re working to fill with people like you!

Should I Respond to Applicants I Don’t Plan to Interview?

You’re busy. You’re running a department, going to meetings, putting out fires, hiring new employees – and that’s all before lunch. As a result, you may be wondering whether it’s worth your time to send out rejection letters to all those candidates you’re not hiring, or whether you can skip that part of the hiring process.

As one of the leading staffing agencies in Phoenix, we can tell you there’s any easy answer: Don’t skip it. Send the emails.

Think of it from the candidate’s perspective. They submitted a resume for a position they thought they were qualified for and got excited about. And then they hear nothing. They don’t get a rejection email, or an email at all. They’re left wondering if you even received their resume, or if it ended up in a resume black hole.

Or worse, they took the day off work, bought a new suit, and spent hours preparing for an interview. They thought their prospects looked good, but then they don’t get an email, phone call or letter.

It’s not only incredibly frustrating for candidates, but it sends a bad message to them about your company. In addition, with technology today, it’s incredibly quick and easy to put together a simple form letter in an email and send it out to candidates who didn’t get the job. Even if you don’t have an applicant tracking system and have to do it individually, it’s just a matter of copying and pasting the same message into an email and sending it.

Not only is it the kind thing to do, but it’s also the business savvy one. So many employers don’t keep candidates in the loop, leaving them worrying, wondering and waiting. But when you inform a candidate right away they didn’t get the job – in a professional email – they’ll appreciate your timely response.

Sure, they’ll be disappointed. But they won’t walk away from your company angry or offended. Then, if a different job opportunity comes up that they’re a fit for, they’ll likely apply again.

If you’re striving to be an employer of choice, this is one of the easy steps you can take to build a strong employer brand. Not every candidate is going to be the right match for your company or your job openings. But when you treat all candidates with respect – and let them know where they stand – it will reflect well on your company and set the bar high for your competition.

Do you need more help managing the hiring process for your team?

Call PrideStaff. As one of the leading staffing agencies in Phoenix, we have the knowledge, experience and proven processes in place to help you recruit and hire qualified, dependable candidates for your team. We make the process easy! Contact PrideStaff today to learn more about how we can help you.

Feeling Unmotivated as a Leader? These 4 Apps Can Help With That

As a leader, part of your role includes motivating your employees to do more, expand themselves, reach high for their goals. But what happens when you simply don’t feel motivated yourself? Whether you’ve simply had a long, sleepless week or find yourself in a bit of a slump — and we all have them — look at these apps to increase your energy and output, thus driving you to invigorate your employees. Fair warning: Do take all of them with a grain of salt; studies and science have shown that these sorts of apps don’t quite have the ability to “train your brain” the way they originally stated, but they can get your mind going, thus helping up your motivation.

Lumosity

One of the most touted (and most controversial) of the “brain training” apps, Lumosity helps increase cognitive function by having you play daily games that focus on improving core cognitive abilities. Its conceptual games will keep your brain active, and it has a number of different ones so you don’t end up repeating them too often. Their program does have some good science behind it (more than 50 studies from at least 40 different universities), although it’s a bit costly at $60.00/year.

Peak

Similar to Lumosity, Peak’s games have evidence that they really do help “train” the brain from universities such as Cambridge and Yale. The games help with memory, problem solving, emotional control, language, coordination, creativity, and more. It also offers Advanced Training Sessions that focus on specific skills. The highlight is its Coach feature, which helps you figure out what games fit into your schedule and urges you to keep going and work harder. One year costs $34.99.

Coach.me

Any long-term goal seems more insurmountable when viewed as a huge task. Coach.me helps you take that goal and break it down into smaller, more manageable short-term tasks to help you achieve it. The real plus? You can take your “run a marathon” goal and find a community of like-minded goal seekers pursuing it as well, thus motivating each other through conversations and “Props” (think of Facebook “Likes”). The app also has notifications to keep you on track. Plus, it’s free!

Duolingo

Want to keep your brain exercising and learn a new language for free? Try Duolingo. Considering the fact that we live in an increasingly global world, it can only help to learn a new language, and Duolingo helps make that happen with just five minutes a day. It has a wide variety of languages to choose from, and, while the laptop version allows for the most detailed lessons, you can use the app on your tablet or phone as well. You can also network with others learning the language to encourage each other to keep going, and there’s an easily accessible community for when you have questions.

While these apps may not apply directly to your work, the fact of the matter is that sometimes you need some outside help to keep you motivated in the workplace. To get motivated to find your next great job, visit PrideStaff.

6 Tips Job Seekers Can Use to Improve Their LinkedIn Profile

Recruiters and employers use LinkedIn constantly as a search tool to assess candidates’ experiences, competencies, creativity and personality. Your LinkedIn profile is the premier online place to showcase your unique talents and personal brand.

Use these tips to make your profile the very best it can be:

1. Make a custom URL.

Just like any other social network, LinkedIn gives you a long, impersonal URL link when you first join. While it doesn’t hurt you to keep it, it also doesn’t help. It’s best to change your URL to best reflect your professional, branded self.

• Do it in three steps. First, click on Profile. Then, click Edit Profile. Finally, click Edit right under your photo.
• Make it easy for people to find you. You also can include your URL link in your email signature to drive more attention to it.

2. Write a compelling Headline.

Your LinkedIn Headline is your opportunity to make yourself invaluable to a prospective employer. Make your Headline searchable by using keywords related to your career goal.

• Think like a salesperson. What is your greatest asset? Why should a company hire you? Make a list of your best accomplishments and then rank them in order of importance. Take the top two or three and work them into a crisp Headline. Click here for more tips.

3. Include a professional photo.

Fair or not, we are often judged by the way we look, even – and maybe more so – in a professional environment. Ensure that sure your LinkedIn photo makes the best impression possible.

• Use a headshot that makes you appear highly professional, but also approachable. Your LinkedIn photo is a visual representation of who you are.

4. Differentiate yourself via your Summary.

Use your LinkedIn Summary to describe who you are, as well as the legacy you are creating. Write it in the first person.

• Express your values. Prospective employers want to know what motivates you and how those drivers inspire your work.
• List your specialties. You can also weave in something interesting that you’re working on and some unique facts about yourself.

5. Highlight your accomplishments in Your Experience.

This section of your profile is not where you simply cut and paste your resume. Keep it sharp, compelling and easy for readers to scan and want to come back to.

• Use keywords that paint a portrait of your skills, qualifications and experience. Focus on sharing achievements, rather than providing a laundry list of role duties.
• Include numbers. Fact, figures and percentages help illustrate success stories and accomplishments. For instance, state that you “grew investment in minority and women-owned businesses 30 percent in a 12-month period.” Also add images, videos and testimonials to bring your story to life.

6. Invite people to contact you.

Include a way for people to contact you via LinkedIn, whether you ask them to send you a message or an email through a listed address.

• Learn about LinkedIn’s privacy settings and Open Profile feature. This will help you understand who can send you messages and who can receive yours.

For additional guidance on optimizing your LinkedIn presence, as well as all aspects of your successful job search, contact the recruitment team at PrideStaff Modesto today. Your next great career opportunity is well within reach!

Bye Bye Boomers, Hello Millennials. Is Your Workforce Ready?

Forbes recently reported that the average workplace houses up to four generations: veterans, who were born before 1946; Baby Boomers, who were born between 1946 and 1964; members of Generation X, who were born between 1965 and 1979, and Millennials, who were born between 1980 and 2000.

Of these groups, there are approximately 66 million Baby Boomers and approximately 90 million Millennials in the U.S. workforce. Despite some marked differences between the two, they make great teams. Their contrasting communication, work and life styles can prove to be a strong asset, if managed effectively.

What Baby Boomers Offer

Baby Boomers are typically hard-working and productive, willing to put in long hours to get the job done, and act as skilled team players who like to feel valued within their organization. They are capable of breaking large projects down into manageable sections and delegating tasks appropriately. Baby Boomers often are direct, diplomatic communicators who prefer to have conversations face to face.

• Millennials can learn a lot from Baby Boomers regarding loyalty and what it’s like to stay with a single company. Up to 90 percent of Millennials leave any given job in less than three years.

Baby Boomers tend to:

• Have an intangible wisdom that comes from decades of relationships and experiences.
• Want to see the world become a better place for their kids and grandkids.
• Have an uneven relationship with the capabilities of technology and how it works.
• Want to give back and pass along the things they have learned.

What Millennials Bring to the Table

Millennials are “digital natives” who intuitively understand and embrace technology. They want mentors who can guide them and explain what mistakes to avoid in order to maximize their progress and contributions. They are able to work incredibly hard when motivated to do so. They are goal-oriented collaborators who crave open, honest working relationships. While they rely heavily on digital communications, they believe that important messages should be conveyed in person.

A Winning Combination

Mastering the balance of generational differences can yield some impressive results for your business and your brand image. Finding a way to respect and successfully utilize these different perspectives is key for a well-balanced workplace.

• Recognize that both groups have an important trait in common: They want to be shown respect. Baby Boomers crave acknowledgment from younger colleagues. Millennials feel they deserve recognition, regardless of their age or level of experience.
• Baby Boomers and Millennials can complement each other well. Millennials who are new to your team require direction and guidance. Boomers can fill this need and provide mentoring and wisdom to their younger coworkers. Reverse mentoring can also be an exciting dynamic.
• It’s a two-way street. Since the older generation is more attuned to working long hours, they can learn a thing or two from Millennials about work/life balance. The younger generation tends to look for jobs that allow them adequate time to maintain a healthy personal and social life. Baby Boomers also can take some lessons from Millennials on effectively leveraging technology.
• Encourage mutually beneficial working relationships. Create a transparent environment that fosters communication and collaboration. Let everyone feel like they have a stake in the future direction of your business – because they do. Plus, this helps both groups to see and accept the other’s viewpoint.

As you build your winning workforce, call on the experts at Pridestaff Modesto to help develop and implement your ongoing talent management strategy. Contact us today so we can set up an informational meeting.

Onboarding Remote Employees Made Easy

Onboarding new hires has its challenges, but how do you manage it when working with remote employees? As with any onboarding process, you need to keep it as streamlined as possible, but you’ll also have some unique needs to address to get them both excited and prepared.

• Make getting the basics painless.

Using services such as DocuSign and HelloSign allow employees to easily fill out PDFs, sign them legally by taking a picture of a signature and uploading it to use on the documents, and send them back to you. And both are legally binding. If they need equipment, ensure it gets to them in a timely fashion by using such reliable services as FedEx and taking weekends/holidays into account when sending equipment. You may also want to consider setting up a business account with Amazon (if you feel comfortable doing so with your employees) to make it easy to get supplies. 

• Remote doesn’t have to mean “detached”.

You can still bring remote employees into the office culture. If possible, have new remote employees meet at your headquarters for a week or so to get oriented with the company and learn the basic ins and outs, as well as meet face-to-face with those they’ll work most often or closely with. If that’s not possible, make sure to use learning management system (LMS) tools (such as iMeet) so you can get together using video conferences – so much communication comes through non-verbally that’s lost in endless email chains. This way remote employees can feel a part of things and build better relationships with on-site employees. 

• Make expectations clear.

As with any onboarding, don’t leave any questions as to what you want remote employees to do. They’ll necessarily self-manage, so they need you to clearly define your company’s objectives, organizational values, and their specific responsibilities. They should also have some sort of training as to the technology they need to use and how to connect with resources and important people – bear in mind that introducing all of this in steps will help smooth the process. You should also keep a strict timetable for meetings and take differing time zones into account. 

• Adjust as needed.

Regular check-ins with your remote employees and observation of what works and what doesn’t will help refine the process as needed. Test technology before putting it into play to avoid problems down the road. Keep up the communication with both your remote employees and those at the home office to make sure no messages get lost or misunderstood … it’s not always as easy when you can’t go around the corner to ask a question. The combination of adjustment, organization, and plain old trial and error will result in a better process as you bring on remote employees.

For any help with remote employees and the onboarding process, visit PrideStaff.

Igniting Your Personal Fire When Your Job Becomes Stagnant

It’s beyond discouraging to keep searching and searching for a new job, but continuously coming up empty. If your job search has been going on for months, it’s time to change things up. Not only is following the same old routine clearly not working, it’s probably become monotonous, causing boredom to set in.

When you lose your passion for the job search, it’s hard to become excited even when you spot an incredible opportunity. Use these tips to enhance your strategy and boost your confidence levels, allowing your hopeful outlook for the future to come rushing back.

 Give Your Resume an Overhaul

If you’re submitting applications everywhere, but hearing crickets, your resume is probably to blame. Consider working with an expert resume writer to give it a complete overhaul, so it’s sure to catch the eye of even the most discerning hiring managers. Ask for tips to help you customize this key document for each and every opportunity you apply for, as this is the secret to getting noticed.

When you know you have a seriously impressive resume working for you, it’s impossible to not feel excited about submitting it everywhere.

Pursue Informational Interviews

Make connections with professionals in your industry you admire and get an “in” at companies you’re interested in working for by requesting informational interviews. Use LinkedIn, personal connections or even contact information on a company’s HR site to reach out and request an informational interview with a specific person or someone with a job title you’d like to have someday. Meet with the person to learn more about how they got to this point in their career, learn more about the company and get on their radar.

This is a great way to remind yourself what you’re working towards and if you make a great impression, there’s a very good chance your new contact will reach out when they hear about a position that meets your needs.

Consider Temporary Work

Since you’re searching for a direct hire position, you probably hadn’t considered taking on temporary work in the interim, but this is great way to boost your resume, skills and self-esteem. Temporary opportunities allow you to work in a variety of roles at many different companies, so you can flesh out your resume in no time at all. Plus, many employers choose to hire outstanding temps at the end of their contract, so this could be the best thing that ever happened to your career.

If you’re currently out of work or employed, but beyond ready to try something new, temporary employment can be the breath of fresh air you desperately need.

Get the Job You Deserve

Finding the right new job for your skills and interests is hard work, so allow PrideStaff Las Vegas to lead your search. We offer a variety of temporary, temp-to-hire and direct hire positions with some of the top employers in the region. Contact us today to learn more!

Remove These Obstacles So Your Team Can Succeed

As a leader, your most important role is to set the direction for your team. But what happens when you’ve done this to the best of your ability, and things still aren’t working? You have a good sense of what your team needs to do – and everyone is skilled and appears motivated. Yet, you’re still not seeing the desired team results …

How do you make the transition from intent to action?

Start by removing these barriers to team success:

Poor Communication

Ongoing, two-way communication is essential. It needs to cascade down through your team – and back up again. Communication must be as frequent and as transparent as possible, at every level. Various aspects of essential communication and feedback include:

• Team meetings.
• One-on-one meetings.
• Management by walking around.
• An open-door policy.
• Social media dialogue.

Unclear Expectations

For a team to prosper, all of its members need to be crystal clear regarding expected deliverables. Where there is a lack of clarity on the direction of a team, there is a major obstacle to achievement.

• Make goals SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. For example, one goal may be to “reduce waste from the delivery of Product X by 10 percent by 12/31/16.”

Weak Time Management

Team members may believe they are using their time productively, but actually, be undermining your agreed-upon direction.

• Ask each team member to create a pie chart of how they spent their time during the previous week. This includes meetings, tasks, answering emails, social media and other duties. Get the team together to discuss their charts. Pick activities that consumed the most time, and talk about whether or not they moved the team closer to its goals. Then, decide which work can be eliminated to free up time for more business-critical tasks.

Lack of Accountability

A team has the greatest impact when everyone is working toward shared goals. If team members are working at cross purposes, they won’t be effective.

• Ask each person to identify how their work is affected by what others do or don’t do. Have them identify what they need from other team members, and what they are willing to do to support others. Ask everyone to commit to a few actions in writing. In 30 days, revisit these commitments as a team to track progress and make adjustments as needed.

Shaky Leadership

A team without a leader is like a ship without a captain. A team may select a leader or, as the group develops, a natural leader may emerge.

• If there are skills gaps on the part of a team leader, others need to be encouraged and trained to fill them. Team leaders, like everyone else, will have areas where they excel and other areas where they struggle a bit more.

The recruitment and workforce development experts at PrideStaff Modesto can help you get your arms around your hiring and human capital challenges, including team building. Read our related posts or contact us today to learn more.

Help your friends. Get paid. It’s that simple!

Do you know someone who dreads heading into work each and every day?

We can help you, help them.  And you’ll get rewarded too!

If you know someone currently looking for employment, or someone that might benefit from a change in scenery, let us know. Simply complete this short Refer a Friend form and we’ll get to work finding job opportunities that match their skills and interests.

As a bonus for helping a good friend, you’ll get rewarded too. For each person you refer who works a minimum of 160 hours, you’ll get $100!

Refer a friend now!