How to Recruit Top Talent Fast

Of all the reasons for marketing your business, and audiences to market it to, selling your strengths and unique brand to potential new hires is top priority – because without the right people on your team, there’s no hope for your product or service to succeed.

So it needs to happen – and it needs to happen fast. You can’t afford to have critical positions open for lengthy periods of time. And yet, hiring top talent is particularly challenging in today’s competitive, candidate-driven market.

Fortunately, there are some tried-and-true tips you can follow.

Search in the right places.

Go where your desired talent is. LinkedIn is always a great place to start, but extend your social and in-person reach above and beyond to include other platforms, your applicant tracking system (ATS), job boards, and networking events.

Programmatic advertising is a great strategy. It uses recruitment technology to help you buy, place and optimize your job ads, making sure they’re seen by the right candidates on the right sites at the right time.
Chances are your ATS is a gold mine, especially if you recruit often for the same positions. Run keyword searches. Your ATS may also be able to help you post roles directly to job boards, share listings to social media, and run reports to see where candidates are coming from.
Attend industry and recruitment networking events. Bring business cards, company literature and job descriptions. Be armed with a concise, compelling elevator speech to engage in conversations.

Turn to your current employees.

Look within your own organization as you optimize your recruitment plans.

Hire from within. The right person for the job may already work for you. There can be numerous benefits: Existing employees already know your business, so you save time and money on onboarding. Plus, you encourage greater engagement and retention as people see opportunities to move up within their own company.
Start an employee referral program. No job board or event will sell your company like your current superstar employees can. And, candidates referred by your own staff are more likely to perform better and stick around longer.

Consider a skills-based approach.

You may be missing out on great talent by pigeon holing your search process based on narrow educational, professional experience or similar criteria. Skills-based hiring emphasizes a person’s skills, rather than degrees, as the most important determinant of job success. It also enables you to equitably access diverse experiences and hire qualified candidates from traditionally overlooked sources and backgrounds.

Research has shown that hiring for skills is five times more predictive of job performance than hiring for education and more than twice more predictive than hiring for work experience. And, workers without degrees tend to stay in their roles 34 percent longer.

Ensure you never miss a beat when it comes to recruiting top talent and building your hiring pipeline by contacting PrideStaff Modesto today.

Made a Mistake on the Job? Here’s What to Do (And What Not)

Making a mistake at work can leave you feeling more than stressed. However, before you hit the panic button, keep in mind: most mistakes aren’t as bad as you think. While it’s common to get upset, it’s also not the end of the world. After all, everyone makes mistakes. What’s important is how you deal with them. So what you should you do – and not do – after a mistake is made? Here are some tips to keep in mind.

Don’t react immediately.

If the situation is not urgent, take some time to think about how to deal with it before you react. Making a decision when you are upset is never a good idea, so if you can step away from the problem or even sleep on it, you’ll be able to see it with fresh eyes. Perhaps you’ll even have a better handle on how to resolve it.

However, if the situation requires immediate attention or puts someone in harm’s way, then you must alert the necessary parties to the mistake and work to fix it immediately.

Don’t ignore the work mistake.

When you make a mistake, it’s a blow to your ego. While it might be tempting to sweep it under the rug, this can lead to unintended consequences and bigger problems down the line. Don’t point fingers of blame either.

Instead, take the dignified and professional approach – own it and apologize. Doing so gives you the authority to make amends and explain the steps you are taking to rectify the problem.

Do learn from it.

Look at the mistake as a lesson. Where did you go wrong? What can you learn from it? What should you do differently next time to ensure the mistake doesn’t happen again? Are there steps you should take that can make it less likely to happen?

If you’re facing an issue where you’re not sure what the cause of the mistake was, then you’ll need to do some digging to find out what happened. This is crucial, though, to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Let PrideStaff help.

If you find out in the process the mistake stemmed from a lack of engagement or motivation on the job; it could be time for a change. Let PrideStaff help. As a Phoenix employment agency, we can work with you to find out about your background and vision for your career so that you can make a move to a better-fit role. Search our jobs now to get started!

How to Reduce Employee Stress in the Workplace

When your employees are chronically stressed, it can negatively impact productivity, morale, engagement, and retention. Although some work-related stress is normal, an excessive and prolonged state of stress must be addressed before it’s too late and you lose top talent. Learn more about how to reduce employee stress in the workplace:

Encourage Work Life Balance

Boundaries are essential to prevent employees from being overwhelmed by working too much. Encourage work-life balance by not contacting employees outside of working hours, discouraging them from working an excessive number of hours in the office, and making it clear they will not be seen as lower performers for doing so.

Support Taking Time Off

If employees don’t rest, they won’t have a respite from their stress and will eventually run out of mental energy and approach burnout. Support taking time off, such as reminding employees to use their vacation time, suggesting to have their lunch breaks away from their workspaces, and to have quick breaks throughout the day to walk, get a drink, and recharge.

Focus on Open Communication

Being able to discuss contributing factors to stress can help you work together with your employees to reduce it. Focus on open communication by checking in with your team regularly to assess how they feel about their workload and deadlines, inquire about any challenges they are facing, and let them know you are there to listen and offer support.

Be Flexible

It is often just a few small changes in scheduling or work style that could make a major difference in your employees’ stress levels. Be flexible as much as possible and it will pay off with more productive and engaged employees. Be open to letting employees switch up their working hours or work from home on a hybrid basis, or whatever suggestions they have that would make their workdays easier on them.

Cultivate a Positive Culture

Feeling like part of a team and having good relationships with the people they work with in an upbeat, supportive environment can make a major difference in how stressed employees feel. Cultivate a positive culture by making it a point to recognize achievements, compliment and express appreciation, acknowledge milestones, encourage your employees to socialize together, and set aside time to have personal chats to get to know your employees and show you’re interested in them as individuals.

Attract Top Talent

Find employees to join your team by working with experienced staffing firm PrideStaff Akron. Our mission is to work closely with you to understand your hiring needs and match you with the candidates that are the best fit. Contact us to learn more about our staffing services.

How to Choose the Right Career for You

Your career has a major impact on your life, your future, and your overall happiness and well-being. If you’re like the average person, you’ll spend a third of your life – or roughly 90,000 hours total – at work. If you’re unhappy, stressed or dissatisfied there, it can really take a toll – leaving you frustrated, anxious, burned out, or unable to enjoy your personal time knowing that another workday is looming.

Not a pretty picture. So, whether you’re just launching your career or looking to make a change at a later point in life, think carefully about what you really want and what truly drives you.

Most people rank job satisfaction above salary in ensuring they find the right fit. So, unless you’re in a situation where you have to take the first available job to make ends meet, focus on your values, primary interests and passions.

Also, be patient: you may have to go down a few different paths before you find the right one.

Try answering these questions to give you additional perspective:

What do I truly enjoy doing?

The activities you enjoy in your free time can give you insights into the most fulfilling career options. Consider your favorite hobbies, whether you like being indoors or outdoors, more active versus sitting at a desk or workstation, and what you would miss the most if you could no longer do it.

What is your personality?

How do you typically think, feel and behave? Personality aspects to consider include whether you’re more of a leader or a follower, whether you prefer working alone or in a group, and are you a thinker who focuses on developing ideas, versus a doer who prefers taking action.

What are your strongest skills?

These include both hard and soft skills. The former are those you have acquired through study and experience. They tend to be more technical and specifically role related. The latter are also known as transferable skills, as you can transition them from role to role and industry to industry, and tend to be more innate. The good news is: skills can be developed and learned at any stage of life.

Where do you want to live?

Closely related to this question is whether or not you want to work remotely. If that’s not an issue, do you want to pursue your career close to your current home? If not, then where? Also related: will you be willing to travel and/or relocate in the future, if those requirements go hand in hand with a new job?

One of your best resources as you choose the right career is a professional counselor who can help you self-assess, set your direction, and carry out an effective action plan to make it happen. You can find that partner, along with a wealth of related resources, at PrideStaff Modesto. Contact us today to learn more.

How to Take an “OK” Candidate Experience & Make It Outstanding

The experience a candidate has with your company is critical. It can impact the quality of your new hires and your brand’s reputation. It’s why investing efforts to improve it makes sense. To help you take an OK experience and transform it into something great, here are four simple tips to follow.

#1: Be transparent.

From what you post on social media to the information you offer during an interview, be honest and transparent with candidates. Explain what to expect during the process so there aren’t surprises. Also, respond to candidate questions promptly and be honest about the ups and downs of the role so the best-fit candidate is hired.

#2: Create a hiring panel.

If only one person is doing the hiring, unconscious bias can infiltrate. Instead, when you create a panel to hire, include the department head, an HR rep, and a potential co-worker; you can avoid bias and gain more insight into each candidate. This will help you to find the candidate with the right skills and personality for the job and the company.

#3: Don’t substitute technology for human interaction.

While technology is a valuable tool in the hiring process, it shouldn’t be the only way candidates are being communicated with. Make sure you are reaching them with phone calls, texts, and emails to keep them updated on the next steps.

If a candidate is invited in for an interview, make them feel at home. Give them an office tour, introduce them to a key point person in HR for them to forward any questions to, and take other steps to make them feel welcome. Make your candidate experience as human as possible.

#4: Promote the perks.

During the hiring process, don’t just discuss the role and requirements. Talk about your company and the perks of working there. What’s the culture like? What are some unique benefits? Why would a candidate want to choose your job as their next career step?

In everything you do, make sure each candidate is treated respectfully and professionally each step of the way, so whether they are hired or not, they are left with a favorable impression.

Need help making your candidate experience better?

Let PrideStaff handle the hiring for you, while you focus on other business priorities. As a leading staffing agency in Phoenix, we can source, screen, interview, and recruit the right-fit people for your team. Plus, we’ll ensure the candidate experience is excellent every step of the way. Contact us to find out more.

Is the COVID-19 Pandemic Still Impacting Hospitality Jobs in Las Vegas?

The COVID-19 pandemic has been rough on Las Vegas. Not surprisingly, industries such as tourism and hospitality have been hit the hardest, which has created a job market that’s still highly competitive today.

If you’re having trouble finding a great new job in the city, you’re not alone. Whether you’re trying to find work in tourism, hospitality or another sector, doing so is much more difficult than it was pre-pandemic.

However, it certainly isn’t impossible. Here’s some advice to help you find a fulfilling new career opportunity that perfectly aligns with your career goals.

Four Ways to Get a Great Job in Las Vegas

Make Networking a Priority

Who you know can definitely help you get the job. Hiring managers prefer candidates they know or who are recommended by someone in their network. Therefore, keeping in touch with your existing contacts and adding as many new ones as possible is a must. It only takes one new contact to serve as the connection that helps you get the job.

Boost Your Skills

It’s hard to get ahead when your skills are at the same level as your competition. Go the extra mile by taking an online course or gaining a certification that will help you stand out. This shows employers you’re an ambitious person who is invested in their career. If it comes down to you and someone else with a slightly less impressive resume, you’ll likely get the job.

Consider Temporary Opportunities

Chances are, you’re looking for a long-term job. This makes sense, but it’s not the only job type available. A staffing firm can connect you with companies looking to fill temporary positions in your field. This will allow you to earn a paycheck, acquire new skills for your resume and make great new contacts. It’s also common for companies to hire temps they really like at the end of their contract, so if you make a good impression, you might end up there after all.

Be Open to Remote Work

The popularity of remote work has surged in recent years. You might prefer an in-person job, but if you open your mind to remote work, you might find your dream job. This type of work has many benefits, including the ability to work from anywhere, not having to deal with a commute, wearing what you want to work and a flexible schedule.

Get the Job You Deserve

Having trouble finding a job you actually want in the competitive Las Vegas job market? PrideStaff Las Vegas is here to help you find your perfect fit. Contact us today to find out what we can do for your career!

Tips for Large Companies to Overcome the Sansdemic

Businesses of all sizes are facing a major labor problem. Long-term demographic trends have led to a shortage of qualified candidates, creating a condition that has become known as the sansdemic. A tighter labor market will make recruiting and team-building more difficult in the years to come.

As a large business, you have many advantages compared to your smaller competitors. These should give you an edge in the tight labor market caused by the sansdemic. You should be able to rely on trump cards like:

Dedicated HR staff
More resources
Higher brand profile

However, these favorable aspects are counteracted by some drawbacks. As we’ll detail, large companies also suffer bureaucratic holdups. A complex hiring process can cause you to miss out on strong talent.

Meanwhile, you can easily fall behind current hiring trends because your intricate organization lacks flexibility. For instance, while remote work remains popular among job candidates, many large-scale employers are pushing for a return to the office. While this might be necessary for efficient operations, it can alienate some workers.

At the same time, size itself can become a stumbling block. Large companies often need to make bulk hiring pushes. When you need to fill thousands of positions, the process becomes difficult in a tight labor market. A startup might need to find a handful of employees to drive significant growth. You are working on a much different scale.

As the sansdemic deepens, your job is to leverage your advantages and minimize the flaws that often accompany a sizable operation. With that in mind, here are some tips for large companies to overcome the sansdemic:

Streamline Your Hiring Process

As a large operation, you likely have multiple layers to your hiring process. Each open position comes with a direct supervisor, along with additional management levels that might need to weigh in. Meanwhile, the HR team will play a large role in the effort.

As a result of this complexity, the decision-making procedures can become cumbersome. It might take a long time to make a final selection, with the choice requiring multiple approvals before an offer is finally sent. This could open the door for candidates with other opportunities to move on before you have a chance to make your final pitch.

In a tight labor market, you don’t have time for such a slow, bulky set of procedures. Look for ways to streamline the process. This way, you can jump on talent as it becomes available.

Invest in Retention and Upskilling

Major league baseball teams have long had a model based on the farm system. Most newly drafted prospects start their careers in the minor leagues, honing their skills and preparing for an opportunity to make The Show.

Sometimes an organization might splurge on an expensive free agent, diving into the market for already-established performers. But, for the most part, the team dedicates resources to development and shows patience with their potential future stars, letting them build their skills over time.

As a large business, you have the opportunity to use a similar strategy with your team-building. Rather than relying on the job market to provide qualified candidates for your open positions, you can look to prospects already on your payroll. You can bring in entry-level job seekers and develop them over the course of a career.

This takes investment and a long-term vision. To get the most out of this approach, dedicate resources to retention and upskilling. Take chances on raw candidates and create programs that will allow them to blossom.

Get Creative About Recruitment

Traditional modes of finding candidates might come up short during the sansdemic. A lack of overall talent means you need to apply innovative techniques to find the talent required to keep your organization humming.

Keep your current recruiting effort in place. However, realize that you might need to complement these with additional strategies. These can include things like:

Continuous recruiting
Using niche job sites
Employee referrals
Social media recruiting

At the same time, become more flexible about your recruitment efforts. Different candidates might respond to different possibilities. If you can customize your approach, including individualizing your eventual job offers, you can optimize each opportunity. This will give you the best chance possible to land each targeted candidate.

Contact PrideStaff Bend Today

Looking for more help during the sansdemic? A top recruiter, like PrideStaff, can give you the guidance and support you need to locate the best talent for your organization.

How To Stay Ahead in the Changing Job Market: Resources for Las Vegas Job Seekers

The Las Vegas job market is changing, and you’re not about to fall behind. As an ambitious professional, you’re focused on staying ahead of the game.

What exactly this means is personal to you. If opportunities in your current field are becoming few and far between, you might be focused on finding a new career path. Or perhaps there’s so many opportunities in your field, you’re not sure where to turn.

No matter what, there are plenty of resources available to help you keep moving forward. Here’s a look at a few that can make all the difference in your search.

Four Resources to Stay Ahead in the Changing Las Vegas Job Market

Resume Scanners

You spend a lot of time tailoring your resume for each job you apply to, but that doesn’t mean anyone is actually going to read it. Many companies use software to scan resumes for keywords, eliminating those that don’t contain a certain percentage. Thankfully, there’s plenty of resume scanning tools for job seekers — i.e., Resume Worded, SkillSyncer, Jobscan — that will review your resume and alert you to areas that need attention, increasing your chances of scoring an interview.

Having an “in” at a company can definitely help you get hired. Therefore, LinkedIn is a valuable resource, because it allows you to let your contacts know you’re seeking new opportunities and find connections at companies you’re interested in. Without this social networking site, you might not be able to identify these links on your own, so it can prove invaluable.

Employment Recovery Website

If you’re a Las Vegas job seeker who was laid off, the Employment Recovery website can offer help in many ways. Some of these areas include networking tips, resume advice and information on where jobs are in the current economy. If you’re currently unemployed, it will also help you sync up with the state’s unemployment system.

Local Staffing Firms

Keeping your finger on the pulse of the rapidly changing Las Vegas job market can feel impossible, but you don’t have to navigate it alone. When you team up with a local recruiter, they’ll keep you in the loop and help you forge a career plan that makes sense for you. This will allow you to feel confident you’re on a viable career path that offers boundless opportunities.

Stand Out From the Crowd

Ready to find a job that’s truly a match for your skills and interests? PrideStaff Las Vegas is here to assist. Contact us today to start your search!

The Impact of Showing Appreciation in the Workplace

Everyone wants to feel valued and appreciated. It’s a simple, basic human need in all areas of life, including work. There’s both business case and a human case for showing gratitude and recognizing your employees for their contributions and commitment to your business.

A recent American Psychological Association study showed that 93 percent of employees who reported feeling valued said they were motivated to do the best at work, and 88 percent reported feeling engaged. Also notable: only 21 percent said they would consider looking for a new job in the coming year.
People need gratitude, connection, and validation. It helps build their self-worth and resilience. When leaders make employee recognition a priority, they foster a culture of gratitude and ownership among employees – an environment where people feel responsible for and empowered to likewise recognize each other for successes and work well done.

Appreciation is important to employees, teams, and your business.

Here are some additional statistics that demonstrate the value of recognition in the workplace:

The leading reason people leave their jobs is a lack of recognition. For many, it takes precedence over salary when it comes to their motivation levels. So, don’t miss an opportunity to show employees your appreciation. Celebrate accomplishments and progress, and demonstrate your commitment to help them grow in their careers. If you don’t already have a formal recognition program, consider making 2023 the year you start one.
Companies with recognition programs experience 6 percent lower employee frustration levels.
Recognition is one of the top drivers of candidate attraction.

Best Practices for Employee Recognition

Employee appreciation efforts will backfire unless they’re tailored to each individual being recognized. It’s fine to have a standard process in place, but think about customizing the specific rewards you give.

Some people are more comfortable in the limelight than others. So, while a big splash in your employee newsletter and a shout-out in a town hall meeting may work well for an outgoing extrovert, a more introverted employee might be mortified by it. Find the right balance and the right reward in each individual case.

In addition to personalization:

Tie recognition to a particular accomplishment. This way, an employee understands exactly what they did well, and so do their peers. Last but not least, they’ll be likely to continue those behaviors in the future.
Be prompt. Recognize employees ASAP after their milestone or contribution. The impact and meaning is lost if you wait months after the fact.
Tie recognition to your company values. This keeps those values in front of people, and fosters your healthy culture.

If you need more ideas for employee recognition and building your winning workforce, contact PrideStaff Modesto today. Our goal is to deliver what matters most to you – and in doing so, help you attract and retain top talent, realize a greater return on your recruitment investment, and keep your company on the growth track.

Summer’s Around the Corner! Get 7 Seasonal Hiring Tips

Spring just arrived, so you might not be thinking yet about summer. However, in the blink of an eye, it will be here, and so too will your need for seasonal workers. Instead of being left to scramble, start planning now so you can hire the best professionals and meet customer demand. Here are 7 steps to help you.

#1: Edit your job posting.

Don’t reuse the same posting for your jobs that you use every year. Take a look at the posting and edit it to ensure it’s as clear and compelling as possible. Is it highlighting the requirements, discussing perks and benefits, and offering an easy way to apply? If not, then you have some work to do.

#2: Communicate the hours.

If the hours are non-traditional, such as nights or weekends, or you need workers who can be on call, communicate that clearly. Otherwise, you’ll wind up with staffing challenges during the height of your busiest season.

#3: Promote your job in the right places.

Make sure you’re posting the jobs in the places where they will get the most attention and traction. This includes social media, college career websites, major job boards, and also at career fairs or college recruiting events. Be clear that the position is temporary or seasonal so you find the right-fit candidates with accurate expectations.

#4: Ask employees to share the job.

Reach out to your existing staff and ask them to share the job opening with their social media network. Word-of-mouth and referrals are still the best ways to find fresh talent. Referrals could even lead to a temporary worker who turns into your next great full-time hire.

#5: Screen resumes quickly.

Screening resumes eats up a lot of time. Before you begin, streamline the process by creating a checklist of what you’re looking for. You can refer to this as you’re reading each resume so you can quickly identify whether a candidate is the right fit.

#6: Interview and skill test candidates.

Once you have a few top contenders in place, interview each one, asking the same questions. This way, you can compare them quickly and continue to narrow your list. If there’s a certain skill that’s necessary, make sure you conduct skills testing to verify a candidate can do what they claim.

#7: Offer training and onboarding.

Just like with your full-time employees, train and onboard temporary workers. The process might not be as intensive; however, it’s critical to ensure they are prepared and able to get up and running quickly. They will get acclimated faster, so they can get to work sooner.

Get temporary hiring help in Phoenix.

If you’d like professional help hiring, turn to our Phoenix temporary staffing agency. We can connect you with skilled seasonal workers for various jobs, whether for a few weeks or the entire summer. Contact us to learn more.