Easy Resume Mistakes That Could Be Hurting Your Job Chances

Your resume should communicate your experience and skills to hiring managers in a simple and quick manner. If you are applying for jobs you are qualified for and not hearing back, your resume could be the issue. Check out these easy resume mistakes that could be hurting your job chances:

You Don’t Proofread for Errors

Typos and grammatical mistakes on your resume can make hiring managers question your level of professionalism. If you aren’t taking the time and effort to proofread your resume when you should be trying to make the best impression possible, they may be concerned that you wouldn’t be an effective employee if hired.

It Lacks Detail

Hiring managers want to feel confident in thoroughly understanding not just your work history, but how you performed in those roles. Ensure your resume contains specific metrics and achievements, rather than just listing off general job duties. For example, “Managed a budget of $XYZ” would be more informative and compelling than “Managed department budget.”

You Don’t Customize It

Creating your resume is not a one-time task – if you are submitting the same generic version for every job you apply for, you could be missing out on making a positive impression. Tailor your resume each time to highlight your most relevant skills for the specific position, such as reordering your experience section bullet points or removing unrelated qualifications.

The Language Isn’t Actionable

Review the bullet points throughout the experience section of your resume – what type of wording do you use? Passive language (i.e., “Responsible for”) is not as compelling as active voice in which you begin with a powerful verb (i.e., “Developed”, “Led”, “Facilitated.”). Update your resume with actionable language to be more eye-catching and concise.

It Isn’t Easy to Scan

Even if your resume is packed with useful information and impressive qualifications, if it’s difficult to briefly review then you could be hurting your chances of being truly considered. Ensure your resume is easy to scan. Avoid too much text overall and use formatting to break up sections, such as with bullet points and headings, to give adequate white spacing. This will make it less overwhelming to the eye.

Find New Opportunities

Land a job you will love by teaming up with PrideStaff Akron to explore the possibilities. We work with employers in the Akron area for their hiring needs, and can match you with the job opportunities that are the best fit for you. Search our database of current available jobs.

How Technology and Automation Are Shaping the Job Market in Las Vegas

Robots are making a presence in Las Vegas. If you feel like the city has become much more automated over the past few years, you’re not alone.

Technology is constantly changing the way the world works, and Las Vegas is beginning to see the impact of these changes. While many job duties can never be properly automated, some of the more redundant tasks can be computerized. This allows humans in these roles to have more time to focus on people-oriented tasks and those that require more specialized skills.

This may change some of the responsibilities associated with many popular jobs in Las Vegas, causing them to look a little different. Here’s a some of the ways technology has impacted the city in recent years.

Three Ways Technology and Automation Are Shaping the Las Vegas Job Market

Robots Are Mixing Drinks

People come to Las Vegas to relax and unwind with a good cocktail. In the past, these were always made by a human bartender, but even this tried-and-true profession can now be at least partially automated.

For example, the Tipsy Robot in the Miracle Mile shops employs a mix of humans and robots. The robots have the capacity to make up to 120 drinks per hour, according to the company website.

Of course, there is no replacement for a human bartender, but having the assistance of a robot can help manage the chaos during busy periods. This can help customers get served faster, allowing satisfaction levels to increase.

Hotels Have Self-Check-In

Las Vegas hotels are notorious for long check-in lines, which are extremely unpopular with weary travelers. In recent years, many Las Vegas hotels have adopted self-check-in. This allows guests to check in from a kiosk or a mobile app, making the process much less daunting.

Don’t worry, hotel front desk representatives still have plenty of job security. Automation simply allows guests who are able and willing to check themselves in to do so, leaving more time for human workers to spend with other guests.

Cars Are Driverless

In December 2022, Uber began partnering with Motional, a driverless technology company, to provide autonomous rides in Las Vegas. During the rollout phase, two vehicle operators will remain in the front seat, but sometime this year the companies plan to debut a fully driverless commercial service.

While fascinating, human drivers are still very much in demand to pick clients up from the airport and help them get around town during their stay. It’s unlikely driverless cars will become the standard way of transportation for a very long time.

Advances in technology keep the world moving forward, which is a must. While this might change the job market a bit, there are still so many great jobs available in this city. PrideStaff Las Vegas can help you gain access to these opportunities, so allow us to assist.

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3 Ways Small Businesses Can Combat the Sansdemic

As a small business, you want to grow as quickly as possible. That means adding to your staff when opportunities come. But what if the talent you need isn’t there when you need to hire?

Long-standing demographic trends have led to a lack of workers. This condition has become known as the sansdemic — an overall scarcity in skilled personnel that will continue to impact hiring in the foreseeable future.

This tightness in the labor market hits differently depending on the conditions of your organization. For small businesses, it undermines your ability to stay nimble. Meanwhile, you face an increasingly competitive market. In some cases, you won’t have the resources you need to beat out larger companies for the upper echelon of job candidates.

So what can you do? Here are a few tips for facing the sansdemic as a small business:

Improve Retention

A sansdemic means you’ll have trouble replacing your best employees if they leave. As such, you should prioritize keeping them inside your organization. Rather than turning to a tight labor market, solidify your connection with the talent you already have available.

This means upgrading your retention efforts. One survey showed that about half of employers (49%) say that keeping workers is “somewhat” or “very” difficult. This will only get more challenging as the sansdemic deepens, causing the labor market to get tighter. This is especially true for more specialized talent.

These dynamics point to a key insight: you should begin investing in better retention now. Taking steps in the near term will create a foundation you can count on as your small business grows. Here are some steps you can take as you roll out this effort:

Improve communications with your team, including encouraging feedback from your staff
Share your long-term vision with your employees, giving them a broader mission
Provide advancement opportunities
Take a personal interest in the careers of your best performers
Nurture a strong corporate culture
Implement procedures to avoid burnout

Upskill Your Current Staff

In a sansdemic, it might be more difficult to find great employees. However, you can still create a team comprised of these outstanding performers. You just have to create them yourself.

Investing in learning and development programs lets you get the most out of the talent you already have in your organizations. Instead of seeking out candidates that already have certain qualifications, you can train your current staff to reach those requirements. Here are a few steps that will help you to employ this strategy:

Create an ongoing skill assessment program
Set aside funds for learning and development
Develop methods for identifying employees with broader potential
Devise training procedures
Communicate with employees about upskilling opportunities
Make learning and development part of your culture

Use Creative Recruiting Techniques

To combat a tight labor market, you need to get the most out of your recruiting efforts. The traditional approaches to discovering new talent might not have the same returns given the conditions brought on by the sansdemic. As such, you’ll need to get more creative about your hiring strategies.

Here are a few alternatives you can use beyond your typical recruiting:

Stay connected to previous job candidates.
Use niche job sites targeting specific types of candidates.
Seek out high-quality passive candidates.
Build your employer brand through social media and other outreach techniques.
Start an employee referral program.

Contact Us Today

A staffing agency can also give your team-building effort a boost. A top recruiter, like PrideStaff, can deliver the best candidates in any labor market.

Managing the Impact of COVID-19 on the Hospitality Industry in Las Vegas: A Guide for Hiring Managers

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the Las Vegas hospitality industry to face unprecedented challenges. Thankfully, things are slowly starting to get back to normal.

For example, the total occupancy rate of Las Vegas hotels was just 59.3% in January 2022, but rose to a high of 87.7% in October 2022, according to data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Hopefully, business is starting to return to pre-COVID levels, but you’re not alone if hiring makes you feel a bit apprehensive. The pandemic showed you firsthand just how quickly business can change in a city that heavily relies on tourists with disposable income to spend.

While you need to be fully staffed to keep your business running smoothly, you’re thinking of taking a different approach to hiring. Working with a staffing firm can allow you to get the help you need, without the pressure of actually employing a large number of people. Take a look at what you have to gain by switching things up.

Three Benefits of Creating a More Flexible Workforce

Tailor Your Staff to Fit Business Needs

Even in bustling Las Vegas, some parts of the year are busier than others. There’s no need to keep more staff on hand during the slower periods, as this adds unnecessary expenses to your payroll. A staffing partner will help you handle these ebbs and flows by providing you with temporary employees who will provide all the extra help you need, with no obligation to keep them on staff when things slow down.

Give Candidates a Trial Run

Filling open positions on your team is hard work. You can’t truly know how a candidate will perform until you actually see them in action — unless you work with a staffing partner. Recruiters can fill positions on a temp-to-hire basis, so you can take your time deciding if the person is the right fit.

Fill Short-Term Staffing Shortages

Rightfully so, customers expect to receive amazing service from hospitality-industry businesses. However, this can be almost impossible if someone quits without much — or any — notice or if half of your staff is out sick. A recruiter can solve this problem by sending talent your way immediately, so your team will be fully staffed no matter what.

Build a Resilient Team

Need to fill open positions, but feeling apprehensive about traditional hiring methods? PrideStaff Las Vegas is here to help. Contact us today to create a flexible hiring plan that works for your team!

How to Make the Perfect Job Posting

It’s an ongoing challenge to attract top talent. To beat the competition, you need to fine tune every aspect of your hiring process, including the postings you write for open jobs at your company.

Make sure your postings – like all the steps you follow in sourcing desired candidates – sell your organization as the right place for them to work.

Components of a Winning Posting

If the idea of writing or improving a job posting is intimidating, there are some basic guidelines to keep in mind. These include:

Wording and tone: Strike a balance between professional and friendly. Use easy-to-read language and avoid industry jargon.
An emphasis on your company culture and values: Avoid wasting any time on recruiting candidates who may not share your beliefs. Play up your organizational culture and what it’s like to work for you day to day. This will enable those whose values don’t mesh with yours to self-eliminate early on.

As you strive for a reader-friendly structure in all your postings, give careful thought to how you communicate your:

Job titles: This is likely the first thing a candidate will look for. Strive for detail and clarity. Use specific language to summarize the role. If you’re stumped, put yourself in a candidate’s position. How would you view the job?
Benefits: Candidates want salary and benefit details before they pursue a new career opportunity. Be sure to include information on the unique benefits and perks you offer as you finalize your job descriptions. If you can’t quite measure up with your competitors in terms of salary, find other benefits to emphasize, such as flexible scheduling, unlimited PTO or remote options.
Qualifications: Using bullet points – as you likely also want to do elsewhere in your posting – clearly outline the skills and characteristics of the ideal candidate for a job. Tip: It’s perfectly fine to make some qualifications mandatory and others preferred. Consider a skills-based

Social Media Tips

As you strategize the content and placement of your job postings, be sure to optimize your opportunities via social media.

Grab users’ attention. Make it crystal clear that you’re hiring as you post on LinkedIn, Facebook and other platforms. Use video, photos, graphics and other images to drive your point home.
Be even more concise than usual. It’s always important to keep your postings clear and straightforward, but even more so on social media. Users tend to have very short attention spans – so grab them before they scroll down.
Consider paying for ad placements on relevant platforms.
Share links.
Focus on search engine optimization (SEO).
Encourage your current top-performing employees to share your postings via their own networks. They can often be your best brand ambassadors.

For additional tips on crafting awesome job postings – and all the aspects of your industry-leading talent acquisition strategy – contact PrideStaff Modesto today. Our objective is to deliver what matters most to you: We’ll custom tailor our services and performance metrics around your company and its vision for the future.

6 Tips for Spring Cleaning Your Career

Spring is in the air, and it’s a great time to clean up. When it comes to your career, this essentially means evaluating your goals, figuring out what’s working and what’s not, and establishing a vision for the future. Here are some steps to help you refresh your career and take it to the next level.

#1: Think about your work goals.

Most people don’t set time aside to consider career goals. With spring nearly here, it’s a good time to consider what’s really important to you and what you want out of your career. Is your current role meeting those needs or are you ready for something different? If you’re interested in a new opportunity, what are the requirements, and what are the deal-breakers? This will help you to renew your career or even take it in a different direction.

#2: Update your LinkedIn profile.

Most professionals use LinkedIn, as do many hiring managers and recruiters. Therefore, it’s essential to ensure your profile is up to date with current information, as well as your most important contributions and measurable accomplishments. Update the photo and reach out to those in your network for referrals and recommendations.

#3: Clean up your resume.

If you do decide that a new job is in your future, then clean up your resume. Start by editing it and removing old information that is no longer relevant. Check that the work history section, including dates and titles, is accurate. Add achievements you can quantify and clean up the formatting, so it’s simple for a hiring manager to scan quickly.

#4: Organize your office.

If you have a messy, cluttered office space, it could impact your productivity. It’s time to clean it out and get organized. This will translate into a clear state of mind, one that allows you to improve focus and even work quality. So clean out your drawers and bookcase, wipe everything down, and throw out items you no longer need. Consider adding a splash of color or artwork to enhance the space and make it more enjoyable to spend time in.

#5: Clear out your emails.

When you check your email inbox, and it’s filled with hundreds of unread messages, it can be a drain on your time and energy. Set up some time to organize and clean it out. Create folders for categories and projects, and delete all the emails you don’t need.

#6: Find ways to learn and challenge yourself.

If you haven’t invested much time or energy into continuing education or networking, now’s the time to start doing so. Make a list of career-related books to read or podcasts to listen to. Sign up for an industry course that will help you gain a new skill or learn more about a trend or challenge in your industry. Whatever you do, don’t let your career stagnate. Take time to invest in it – and yourself – so you are always learning and growing.

Get help finding your next job.

At PrideStaff, we can connect you with top jobs in Tempe that match your career goals and vision for your life. Simply search our openings now to get started!

Getting Over The Fear Of Thinking You’re Underqualified

Job searchers often find themselves in the common scenario of reviewing a job description and getting excited about pursuing it – only to read the preferred qualifications and realizing they don’t meet them. Although it’s important to be realistic when applying for jobs, that doesn’t mean you won’t be considered just because you don’t have the specific qualifications listed. Get hired while being underqualified with these tips:

Focus on Transferable Skills

Your past experience is likely more relevant than you may think. When you are applying, focus on your transferable skills, which are essential across roles. This can include skills like communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and technology. Also, highlight your qualifications from previous roles that are somewhat related – i.e., even if you don’t have experience with specific software, showing that you have worked with various other software in the past shows your aptitude and likelihood you could learn another.

Demonstrate Adaptability and Upskilling

Often when hiring managers are facing a tight labor market, they understand they will be unlikely to find a candidate pool with all of their desired qualifications. Instead, they will evaluate applicants based on their potential to do the job. Demonstrate your adaptability and upskilling in the past, and give examples of when you had to be trained in a completely new area or skill to get hiring managers to take a chance on selecting and training you.

Craft a Compelling Cover Letter

Take the opportunity to tell your professional story. Discuss why you would still excel in the role, even if you’re underqualified. Craft a compelling cover letter in which you communicate why you are a great fit for the job, and how your experience and skills would make you a successful hire.

Build Your Network

If you are experiencing difficulties in getting contacted at all when you apply for jobs you’re underqualified for, having someone give you a recommendation directly to a hiring manager can help you get noticed and considered. Build your network, such as by reaching out to former colleagues on LinkedIn, attending professional events, or partnering with a recruiter.

Explore New Opportunities

Are you ready to get started with your job search? Find opportunities that are right for you by working with an experienced staffing agency like PrideStaff Akron. Our team of recruiters can match you with the jobs that are the best fit from employers across industries. Search our database of currently available jobs to get started.

How Women are Affecting the Sansdemic

The pandemic has reshaped the labor market in ways that continue to impact hiring. This effect looks likely to linger into the foreseeable future, creating ongoing complications for a labor market that was already under pressure from long-term demographic trends.

Meanwhile, different groups experienced the COVID ramifications in different ways. Women (especially single mothers) suffered massive setbacks during the emergency. Even as the pandemic restrictions have been removed, many women have had trouble getting back into the labor force. This has led to hardships for the individuals involved and has contributed to ongoing dislocations in the job market.

This is only part of a longer-term issue. Demographic changes that have unfolded over decades (including lower birthrates and the increasing retirements of the Baby Boom generation) have led to a situation that has become known as the sansdemic — a general lack of workers that has made it difficult for companies to find the talent to need.

How can you navigate the sansdemic? One strategy involves tapping into the reservoir of talent available thanks to the ongoing impact the pandemic has had on women workers.

Women Workers Hit Hard During Pandemic

Statistics underline the opportunity available in reaching out to more female candidates. A large number of women had their careers derailed by the pandemic and many have had trouble getting back on track. One estimate suggests that over 2 million women have left the labor force since February 2020.

This impact came as women felt a more acute unemployment spike during the initial COVID restrictions. The trend here reverses the demographic conditions seen during the Great Recession of 2008, when men were hit harder. Meanwhile, single mothers received the brunt of this employment rollback.

Many of these talented potential employees remain on the sidelines. Amid an overall tight labor market, you can find value in reaching out to this underserved group, coaxing them back into the workforce.

Reaching Out to Women Workers

The pandemic sent shockwaves through the U.S. labor force. In some ways, the market has recovered, with the overall unemployment rate recently dropping to its lowest rate in over 50 years. However, the labor participation rate remains low as well, meaning that many potential workers continue to absent themselves from consideration.

There are a few issues that can keep women (and workers in general) from returning to the workforce. Here are some of the major barriers:

Lack of Childcare Options
Post-COVID Changes in the Job Market
Skills Gap Created by a Changing Economy

You can take steps to counteract these challenges. To draw women back into the workforce, here are a few policies you can enact:

Ensure Your Company Doesn’t Have a Wage Gap

Women face particular barriers in the workforce — a fact that was true well before COVID disrupted the labor market. Although the specific details are often controversial, government data show that, on average, women make 83 cents for every dollar paid to men.

This discrepancy can create a disincentive for women to return the workforce. You can do your part by ensuring that your organization offers competitive wages, regardless of the demographics of the candidate.

Provide Childcare Support

Even with the progress made in recent decades creating more equitable family structures, traditional gender roles still impact women’s professional opportunities. For instance, statistics compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau showed that nearly 80% of single parents are mothers. Meanwhile, there are about 11 million single-parent families in the U.S.

As a result of these dynamics, you can attract more female candidates to your workplace when you give additional childcare support. If you have a large enough organization, you could consider on-site daycare. For smaller businesses, benefits like childcare stipends or reimbursements can help as well.

Offer Extensive Training and Upskilling Programs

Workers who were disconnected by the pandemic might need help returning to the workforce. At the same time, a general skill gap prevents many otherwise talented potential employees from finding their proper career path. You can help by providing a robust training and upskilling program.

This strategy goes beyond discovering more women candidates. In a sansdemic, it might be difficult to find qualified individuals. However, you can still find great workers — you just need to help them reach the proper qualifications.

Contact PrideStaff Bend Today

When attempting to discovered underutilized talent, it helps to have a great partner. A top recruiter, like PrideStaff Bend, can deliver the workers you need in any economic situation.

Tips on Asking for a Raise

It’s one of the most challenging conversations to have – yet at the same time, there’s a sense of promise and optimism if the outcome is positive.

Asking for a raise. Yikes. Even if you know you deserve it and are confident your track record supports your position, it’s not easy. But, with the right preparation and presentation, it doesn’t have to keep you awake at night stressing over it.

Before You Ask

Be sure to pick the right time to ask for a raise. Find out when your company’s annual budget planning takes place and try to time your request accordingly. Other opportune times are:

At your annual performance review, when the topic is not only timely but often expected.
When your boss is happy: not during a stressful or unusually busy period, when they may be short on time or patience.
After you’ve successfully completed an important assignment.

In addition to nailing the timing of your request, prepare in advance by:

Making a list of your recent accomplishments. Describe how they have helped your department and company. Use specific examples, numbers, and statistics as much as possible to really drive your message home.
Know what a competitive salary for your position looks like. You have to be realistic even as you ask for more.

During the Conversation

Be confident. Remember, as intimidating as it is, you have your supporting evidence. At the same time, be prepared for some possible pushback – and be ready to keep your cool if that happens.

Provide your boss with a brief written summary of your request, comparable pay ranges, and the benefits that they, as well as your company, derive from your contributions.

After the Fact

It’s unlikely that you’ll get an answer from your manager immediately. They may need to discuss your request with other company decision-makers. It’s completely appropriate to as for a time frame, however. You may want to say something like, “Is it okay if I check back with you in two weeks if I haven’t heard anything?”

And when that decision is made:

If it’s a yes, maintain your professionalism. Express your gratitude to your boss. Avoid boasting about your raise to your coworkers. This may create friction within your team, and your manager may regret helping you out as a result.
Also maintain your professionalism if it’s a no. Ask why the raise isn’t feasible. Depending on what you hear, it may be time to reassess your career path, including whether or not you’ll stay with your company. Stay positive and rational as you begin formulating your plans going forward.

Asking for and negotiating pay raises is just one aspect of your ongoing professional growth strategy. The experienced career coaches at PrideStaff Modesto are ready to help – whether it’s finding the advancement you need at your current company or a better opportunity elsewhere. We’re here to support you through the life cycle of your career. Contact us today to learn more.

How a Staffing Agency Can Save You Time This Spring

Hiring new members for your team takes a lot of time. From writing the job description to promoting your opening, screening resumes, interviewing, skills testing, and more, it’s an intensive process. After all that, there’s also no guarantee you’ll find the right-fit individual for your needs.

The good news? There is a better way to deal with the hassle of hiring: with a staffing agency. When you partner with a professional firm, they can handle many time-consuming steps in hiring, so you simply get a few top candidates to choose from. These are pre-qualified individuals who meet your hiring requirements. Overall, this helps you:

Hire faster.

When you hand off your staffing needs to an agency, your chances of finding a talented candidate are higher. This is simply because recruiters spend their time networking and building solid pipelines of qualified candidates. They might even have someone in mind right away to meet your needs. Even if they don’t, they will have a broad network of active and passive candidates they can tap to help you speed up the hiring process.

Avoid wasting time.

The quest to find the right candidate can be frustrating, especially when you get hundreds of resumes. You might spend a lot of time screening each one, only to realize they are from unqualified applicants. With a staffing agency in place, though, you can avoid screening resumes and focus your time and energy on other business priorities. Meanwhile, your recruiting team will source candidates and screen resumes until they find the right ones to interview.

Prevent a bad hire.

If you make a hiring mistake, it’s a huge waste of time. Not only are you back at square one in terms of hiring, but productivity and morale often take a hit when this happens. Mistakes in hiring are not only major time wasters but expensive too, which is where a staffing agency can help. They’ll prevent you from making hiring mistakes through a proven process, one often backed by a guarantee.

Skip scrambling to hire.

Have you ever needed to hire someone fast, unexpectedly or for a short period of time? When you work with a staffing agency, you don’t have to be left scrambling in these situations. They can send you one temporary worker or an entire team of them to meet your staffing needs. Whether an employee is out on leave, it’s your busy season, or there’s a spike in work, you can spend your time strategizing and motivating instead of scrambling to fill empty seats.

Ready to work with a staffing agency in Phoenix?

At PrideStaff, companies across Phoenix turn to our staffing agency for help with hiring. We offer solutions for temporary, temp-to-hire, and direct-hire staffing. Save time, money, and hassle with help from our expert recruiters. Contact us today to learn more.