What Should I Say if I Want to Email a Recruiter for Career Advice?

There’s no shortage of great Las Vegas jobs hiring now, but you’re not sure exactly what you want from your next position. Whether you’re tired of aimlessly shifting between jobs or need advice on making a major career change, you’d really appreciate help from a staffing expert.

You’ve decided to email a recruiter to ask for guidance, but you’re not sure what to say. Here are a few tips to maximize the effectiveness of your message, so you can get the help you need.

Four Tips to Email a Recruiter for Career Advice

Be Professional

In many cases, sending an email is an informal act, but this isn’t one of them. Since you don’t already have a personal relationship with the recruiter, it’s important to maintain a proper tone with your message. Avoid using casual slang — i.e., starting the email with “Hey” — use a standard font and never include emojis. This will show them you’re a professional they can feel comfortable placing with employers in their network.

Provide Background Information

If they don’t know anything about you, the recruiter won’t be able to offer solid advice. Share a brief overview of your employment history and educational background. It can also be a good idea to attach your resume to the email. This will allow the recruiter to better gauge where you currently stand.

Share Your Career Goals

The recruiter can’t provide helpful advice if they don’t know what direction you’re headed. Clearly explain what you’re looking for in your next job, so there’s no room for confusion. This will help them connect the dots between where you’re currently at and the type of position you’d like to hold.

Make Your Objective Clear

Your recruiter isn’t a mind-reader, so be direct about the reason you decided to reach out. Whether you simply want career advice or would like them to help you find your next job, it’s important to let them know what you’re thinking. This will increase the chances you’ll get the outcome you want.

Get Help Finding Your Dream Job

Ready to secure your next big career opportunity? PrideStaff Las Vegas is here to guide your search for the perfect fit. Contact us today learn more!

5 Best Practices for Performance Management

To a certain extent, every organization relies on performance management. The process allows you to develop your team and unlock each individual’s full potential.

And yet, most leaders find their performance management procedures lacking. A survey conducted by CEB found that 95% of managers felt their system needed improvement. So, if you’re like 19 out of 20 supervisors, you’ll want to upgrade the way you handle your employee tracking and development.

But how? How do you get the most out of your performance management process? Here are five best practices to keep in mind:

Make Performance Management a Constant Endeavor

In the old way of doing things, performance reviews came at wide intervals. An employee might have to wait a quarter, or even a full year, before they received a detailed assessment of how they were doing on the job.

This makes it difficult for workers to make incremental changes. Long stretches between performance conversations also delay progress. The wait can let issues fester longer than necessary.

Set Actionable Goals

The way you frame objections has a large influence on how well your employees can upgrade their performance. Clear, actionable advice is easier to follow than vague instructions. It also makes it simpler to track whether your team member has integrated your feedback.

You’ll see added benefits from making your goals as specific as possible. An instruction like “work faster” or “make more sales” leaves it up to your worker to determine the best way to achieve these targets.

Instead, focus on a particular part of the process, with clear instructions on how to improve. For example, instead of calling for additional sales, set a target for the number of new clients contacted. At the same time, show your workers time-tested techniques for finding and qualifying leads.

Fine Tune How You Measure Performance

Setting measurable goals represents a key part of the review process. But are your key performance indicators tracking the right things? You need to make sure.

Any time you set a KPI, you create an incentive structure.

Prioritize speed and your workers will take steps to get faster. But are you sacrificing quality? Emphasize revenue targets with your sales force and you’ll create aggressive salespeople. But are you turning a blind eye to service?

Periodically review the KPIs you use to review performance. Make sure they target the qualities you want. Also, make sure they are comprehensive. You might need to add other measures as well to create multi-faceted employees.

Maintain Strong Communication

Keep up a dialog with your employees between performance reviews. This will help you build a rapport, which will make it easier to deliver constructive criticism when the time comes.

At the same time, a healthy communication process goes in both directions. Ask for feedback. Learn from your employees. By soliciting their opinions during performance management, you improve the process and make it a collaborative effort.

Routinely Review Your Performance Management Process

The current gold standard in performance management can become old-fashioned very quickly. You need to keep up. That involves a constant review of your procedures and assumptions.

This healthy questioning allows you to get better over time. Schedule routine discussions about your performance management process. Look for ways to track results and make incremental updates as needed.

Developing a great team helps you outpace the competition. This starts with having the right employees to start with. A top recruiter, like PrideStaff, will bring you the team members you need to take your company to the next level.

Contact PrideStaff Bend today to learn more.

Decision Time: Should You Take a Chance on a Less Qualified Candidate?

When you’re hiring, you have a lot of possibilities that come your way. What happens if a candidate seems like a great fit and has a lot of potential, but doesn’t have all the experience you want?

This can certainly be a tricky situation. After all, hiring is a risky business and one wrong move can cost you. However, taking a chance on a potential star performer in their early days could benefit your company in many ways, including with the following:

New ideas.

When you hire someone who hasn’t been in the industry for as long – or at all if they’re a career changer – they can offer a fresh perspective. This can spark ingenuity and creativity on your team that leads to innovation. Over time, this can give you a competitive edge in the market.

A stronger drive.

If you hire someone with less experience, they’ll know they have to prove themselves. This will drive them to work harder for you. They are more likely to go above and beyond to impress you. At the same time, they’ll be open to feedback and insight from you.

A lower cost.

When you bring a candidate on board who has less experience, you won’t have to pay them as much as with a veteran candidate. You can save on both salary and benefits and instead invest that money into training and development for your whole team. This will help you to build a stronger, more productive staff, so you can become more profitable.

The bottom line? There are certainly many situations where a lesser experienced candidate simply isn’t right for the role. You need a person with a more extensive track record. However, don’t always discount them. When someone seems like a diamond in the rough, consider investing them. When you do, it could be one of your best business moves.

Looking for expert help finding your next great hire?

At PrideStaff, we’re ready to go to work for you. As one of Phoenix’s top staffing agencies, we know where to find talented candidates and how to evaluate them for your needs. We’ll also help you with training and onboarding to help them get up and running quickly. Get started today by contacting our team.

It’s Important to Have These Time Management Skills in the Workplace

As you advance your job search, keep in mind that time management skills are always in high demand. Employers will assess your ability to effectively manage time because those who do are more productive, efficient, and likely to meet deadlines and deliver expected results.

Time management is a combination of multiple skills that all add up to working effectively. To make your time management skills stand out, include them on your resume and in your cover letter, and weave them into the message points you bring across during interviews. They might include:

SMART Goal Setting

Goals should always be a stretch, encouraging you to extend your limits a little beyond your comfort zone while growing in the process. But, you need to be smart about goal setting. Follow that very acronym. SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Successful goal setting boils down to:

Prioritizing

Often, time and deadline pressure force you into artificially “prioritizing” whatever task is right in front of you or whatever current fire needs to be put out. Effective prioritization means minimizing the fires.

Scheduling

Effective scheduling comes down to time blocking. This means mapping out each day realistically by assigning blocks on your calendar to correspond to specific projects, tasks, meetings, and activities – and then sticking to this schedule.

Delegating

This means giving someone else a task or part of a task to do instead of you handling it entirely by yourself.

As you fine-tune your time management skills – and all the preparation you need as you find your next great career opportunity, consider partnering with PrideStaff Modesto. We can help at every step of the way. We specialize in administration, customer service, IT, accounting and finance, legal support, healthcare, and production. Read our related posts or contact us today to learn more.

Cybersecurity Month: 10 Tips to Creating Strong Passwords for Work

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which is a timely reminder to review your passwords you use for work access. Weak passwords make it quick and easy for hackers to commit wide-scale company data breaches. Keep your data safe with these tips for creating strong passwords for work:

1. Make it Longer Than Eight Characters

The shorter the password, the more vulnerable it is because it’s less guesswork for hackers. Make your work passwords at least eight characters but the longer, the better. 

2. Avoid Identifying Information

One of the common vulnerabilities hackers look for in passwords is identifying information. Avoid passwords that include publicly accessible information such as numbers that are your birthdate or house address or words that are your kids’ names.

3. Opt for a Variety of Character Types

Strengthen your password by opting for a variety of character types. Combine upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols for maximum protection.

4. Swap Out Letters for Numbers or Symbols

For a strong password that is still easy for you to remember, swap out some of the letters in your preferred password for numbers or symbols. For example, replace the “a” with “3” or “@. “

5. Do Not Use Related Words 

Commonly connected words and phrases from pop culture can make it easier for hackers to guess. Do not use related words, like movie titles or song lyrics, that are well known. Pick completely random words to string together instead. 

6. Randomize the Sequence

The weakest passwords are those that use common sequential orders for letters and numbers (i.e., “ABC” or “123”) as well as keyboard layout paths (“qwerty”). Randomize the sequence of any numbers and letters in your password to make it more difficult to crack.

7. Create a Story 

Coming up with passwords that are random enough to be protected against hackers can be challenging. Make it easier to create strong passwords by creating a story by making your password a person, action, object (i.e., Jack tripped on a log to remember J@kT!p0aL).

8. Alter, But Don’t Recycle Passwords

Reusing the exact same password for different accounts is risky, but it can be difficult to keep coming up with and remembering ones for each account. Instead, alter but don’t recycle your passwords. Use the same base concept, but add a small variation. 

9. Verify the Strength

When you’re changing your work account passwords to be stronger, verify the strength of the possibilities before committing. There are free online tools that will check your password and let you know if it’s sufficiently strong. 

10. Use a Password Generator

If you are just out of ideas or don’t want to take a chance on having a weak password for your work account, use a password generator. This will make you feel more confident that your password is as secure as possible. 

Find the Right Job for You

Make your job search more successful with the help of PrideStaff Akron. We work with area employers to fill their open positions, from temporary to full-time employment. Search our current available jobs to get started.  

How Can You Improve the Relationship With Your Staffing Partner in Las Vegas This Fall?

You spent a lot of time researching staffing agencies in Las Vegas, and you finally found a great fit. Now that you’ve been working together for a while, you still feel confident in your partnership, but you know it could be better.

Chances are, your recruiter feels the same way, so they’ll be more than happy to meet you halfway. Here’s some advice to help strengthen your bond, so you can make the best possible hires this season — and beyond.

4 Ways to Improve Your Relationship With Your Staffing Partner This Fall

Stay in Touch

If you think you only need to reach out to your recruiter when you’re ready to hire, you’re mistaken. Keeping your staffing partner in the loop will help them find top talent for every open position on your team. Even if you’re not ready to start the hiring process yet, let them know what’s coming down the pipeline, so they can get a head start. This will improve the quality of your hires because they’ll have more time to search.

Participate in the Hiring Process

Your recruiter is in charge of the candidate selection process, but that doesn’t mean you can be entirely hands-off. Promptly responding to your staffing partner’s calls, texts and emails is a must, because your input is crucial. If you don’t, you could cause your team to miss out on top talent. This creates a frustrating situation for everyone, so avoid it by being easy to reach.

Provide Feedback                

Ensuring you’re pleased with the hiring process is your recruiter’s number one goal. However, they can’t read your mind, so it’s important to speak up. Let them know what you like and dislike about everything from their choice of candidates to their communication style. This will help them better serve you, so you can enjoy the best possible experience.

Make Your Expectations Clear

Being on the same page with your staffing professional is a must. You can’t automatically assume they know the details of the position or what you want in a candidate. Leaving no room for interpretation is a must because doing anything less sets them up for failure. As noted above, your recruiter strives to please you, so give them the information needed to do the best possible job.

Make Your Best Hire Yet

If you’re ready to expand your team, PrideStaff Las Vegas wants to help you find the perfect fit. Contact us today to discuss a partnership!

Coworkers Leaving? Does This Mean It’s Your Time to Go Too?

Turnover is a fact of life at any company. However, while occasional departures represent a normal part of business, you shouldn’t see a stampede to the exits. If everyone is quitting at your work, you might want to take the hint.

According to Mercer, the average turnover among U.S. companies tracks at around 22%. However, the numbers vary significantly from industry to industry.

Leisure and hospitality have some of the biggest separation rates, based on government statistics. Meanwhile, government jobs have relatively few departures, likely as a result of comparably strong pension plans for many of these roles.

As such, you need to take any coworker departure in context. To know whether you should start polishing your resume, there are a few questions you should ask yourself.

Who is leaving?

Review the folks who have left the company. Do they have a situation in common? Do you share that situation? It’s possible that the issues that impacted them don’t affect your ability to thrive at the firm.

Say there’s a team at your work with a bad manager. That team suffers a high turnover problem. But you’re in a different department with a supervisor you like. In that case, there’s no reason to rush for the exits.

Why are they leaving?

To make an informed decision about your destiny, it’s important to appreciate all the variables. As such, you should learn everything you can about why people are seeking other opportunities.

Use your networking skills to connect with the people who have quit. At the same time, check out online resources like Glassdoor to see what former employees say about your company. Meanwhile, keep your antenna tuned to office gossip (though you should probably take those stories with a grain of salt).

Where would you go if you leave?

Building a career is about options. You need to know the potential alternatives for your advancement and weigh your choices carefully.

Yes, your current company might be bad. But what’s your recourse? Do you have another job lined up? Are you sure you’ll land someplace better?

Don’t stay in a bad situation longer than you have to. If your current workforce is driving your coworkers away, start considering your options. However, don’t be rash. Find a better situation before you make an irrevocable move.

Do the recent departures open up opportunities for you?

A mass exodus from the company might throw up a red flag. At the same time, though, it could also open up opportunities. There’s some value in being the last person standing.

You’ll need to balance the pros and the cons on this one. Understand the reasons people are leaving and think about whether that should prompt you to find a new place to work. At the same time, review the possibilities of staying behind. You might be able to take advantage of the situation.

If you do decide to seek out greener pastures, you’ll need help finding the right opportunity. You don’t want to end up in another bad spot. A top recruiter, like PrideStaff, can give you the guidance you need to discover the ideal situation.

Contact PrideStaff Bend today to locate the job you need to jumpstart your career.

7 Scary Resume Mistakes to Avoid this Fall

You’ve been applying to job after job, anxiously awaiting an email or a phone call. As time goes on, and you hear nothing but crickets, you’re left to wonder: am I underqualified?

If you’re applying for jobs that are a good fit for your background, then probably not. It likely has more to do with your resume. Here are some mistakes you could be making that are all-too-common and scare off hiring managers.

Mistake #1: Typos and errors in grammar.

First impressions count, and if your resume is filled with misspellings or incorrect grammar, it will send the wrong message to potential employers. Make sure you carefully proofread your resume several times before submitting it. Even better, ask a friend or family member to review it.

Mistake #2: No track record of accomplishments.

Hiring managers want more than a bullet list of duties and tasks you handled. They want to know what your track record of accomplishments and success has been. It’s why adding facts and figures wherever you can is key to bringing your background to life.

Mistake #3: Using generic language.

If you copied and pasted a resume from the Internet and simply tweaked it for your background, hiring managers will notice. Your resume will sound just like countless others, and you won’t stand out. You can use online samples as a guide; however, write your own resume in a way that’s personalized, detailed, and specific.

Mistake #4: Forgetting to tweak your resume.

Your resume should be tailored for each job you apply to. That doesn’t mean a total rewrite. It does, however, mean making the most relevant points for each position front and center. So take time to review the job postings and your resume, carefully tailoring it to the opportunity.

Mistake #5: Exaggerating.

When you make your background sound more impressive than it actually is, you could wind up in trouble if you get the job. Your new boss will be expecting a certain skill set, one you won’t be able to deliver. So put your best foot forward but in an honest way.

Mistake #6: Making it too long or too short.

There are a few rules of thumb for resume length. If you’re a new college graduate or just entering the job market, your resume should be one page. If you have a few years or more of experience, it can go to two pages, no longer.

On the flip side, if you’re highly experienced and your resume is short on detail, hiring managers will be left to wonder if you have what it takes to perform the job.

Mistake #7: Including the wrong information.

Skip the dated objective statement and include a Summary of Qualifications or Strengths instead. Likewise, don’t include interests or hobbies unless they are related to the job or the company. Finally, skip the “references available upon request” statement, which simply wastes space.

Need more help with your resume or your job search?

PrideStaff is here for you. We’re one of Phoenix’s leading employment agencies, connecting job seekers to top opportunities. We can help you with all aspects of your search so you find a position that’s ideal for you. Get started today by contacting our team.

5 Red Flags to Watch For in a Job Description

Job descriptions may seem straightforward, but if you read between the lines, there are often significant indicators of what the experience would be like at the employer.  Save yourself time and stress – check out these five red flags to watch for in a job description:

1. It Doesn’t Provide Much Detail

Since the main purpose of a job description is to explain the duties and responsibilities of a position, a vague posting is cause for concern. It could either indicate a company doesn’t really know what they want or didn’t care enough to put in the effort, which is likely indicative of a disorganized workplace with leadership that doesn’t have clear expectations. Alternatively, a description lacking detail could also mean the posting is a scam. 

2. It Goes Overboard on “Must Have” Qualifications

Beware of job descriptions that come across as a wish list for the ideal candidate. Suppose the employer is being unrealistic and demanding in the sheer amount of requirements for the job. In that case, it either means the employer doesn’t really understand what is necessary for success in the job or is simply out of touch – neither of which would make for a positive working experience. 

3. It Doesn’t Try to Sell the Employer

It is a major red flag when a job description only focuses on an employee’s need in the role and doesn’t even touch on why you would want to work there. No mentioning of perks like competitive salary, benefits, flexible schedule, or professional development is a warning sign of a company culture that does not value employee morale or job satisfaction. 

4. There is an Emphasis on Flexibility or Fast Pace

When a job description emphasizes that the role requires flexibility or the ability to keep up with a fast-paced work environment, be wary as these are often signifiers of places with little to no work-life balance. Depending on your lifestyle and professional goals, this may not be an issue for you, but it would be a poor fit if clear boundaries or plenty of free time are non-negotiable for you. 

5. It Sounds Too Good To Be True

The classic adage, “If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” certainly applies to job descriptions. Phrases like “unlimited earning potential,” “start immediately,” or “no experience required” are often signs of a scam or other form of deception, such as attempts to sell you access to a job database or get you to buy startup product kits. 

Explore New Opportunities with PrideStaff

Are you ready to start your job search? Team up with PrideStaff Akron for help finding the new opportunity that’s right for you. We can match you with available positions that align with your professional goals and skills. Search our available jobs to learn more.  

This is How to Give Employees Feedback to Help Develop their Skills

Managing is about more than just making the numbers – although, of course, business results are critical. But you’re not going to get there without an engaged, satisfied, and productive team. And providing the right feedback to your employees on a regular, ongoing basis is key to making that happen.

The best leaders continually coach and develop their team members and help them stay on the growth track, both personally and professionally. From there, those numbers will quickly fall into place.

Base feedback on an employee’s performance goals and growth plan.

Make sure you understand what a person’s personal and career goals are, so you can make sure everything is in sync. Then, base any feedback discussions on reaching those goals to the mutual benefit of everyone involved.

The PrideStaff Modesto team can help develop your team and keep team members on the right growth track. For more than 30 years, we’ve been customizing innovative staffing and talent management solutions for clients throughout the Central Valley. Contact us today to learn more.