The Skills Needed to Be a Successful Forklift Operator

Forklift operators are critical members of business teams in warehousing, manufacturing and agriculture, among other industries. The right experience, licensures and certifications are important to forklift jobs – but there are other qualities equally valuable to a potential employer. Here’s a snapshot of several of them:

Safety Awareness

Nothing is more important than safety at work, especially when driving and handling heavy materials and equipment. Regularly practicing safety standards – without exception – is critical to every forklift operator.

Technical Knowledge

A forklift operator must be knowledgeable about the machine they operate. This includes a solid familiarity with all components of a forklift, as well as basic maintenance to uphold safety and efficiency.

Time Management

Good forklift operators multitask and set priorities for their workdays. If they miss a deadline, they run the risk of slowing production and processes – and it has a negative domino effect on their co-workers.

Teamwork

As a forklift operator, you don’t work alone. Rather, you must be able to collaborate with co-workers, and often with vendors and even external customers. While most jobs require teamwork skills, they’re especially important for those who are responsible for moving parts and materials quickly and efficiently.

Math

You may be expected to calculate load weights, bills of lading, or freight quotes with pricing estimates and adjustments. So, as a forklift operator, you should have at least basic math abilities.

Computerized Inventory Processes

Forklift operators typically use automated or computerized inventory management programs. You may be required to assist with both physical inventories and enterprise resource solutions to maintain records and reports.

Patience

Driving a forklift is very different than driving a car. A forklift is steered by its rear wheels and can have an unbalanced weight distribution, depending on the load being carried. So, drivers need a high degree of patience. There are no cutting corners – literally or figuratively.

Communications

Forklift operators typically have an entire team of people working around and with them. Effective communication means constantly checking with everyone to make sure they’re where they should be. It’s essential to be articulate when speaking, possess strong listening skills, and be able to convey instructions and data to all team members.

Attention to Detail

Being detail-oriented is critical to maintaining workplace safety, efficiency, and productivity. So, forklift operators must know their equipment inside and out. They should be able to sense immediately if something is wrong. This starts with thorough machine checks at the start of each shift – and a constant awareness of their working environment.

Flexibility

Workplace priorities change rapidly and constantly. A forklift operator may be needed in a new situation on a moment’s notice. So, they must be adaptable to constantly changing customer demands.

PrideStaff specializes in hiring forklift operators and in finding job opportunities for related areas such as production, machining, welding, maintenance, and quality control. Let us help you find your next dream job using our vast network of clients and market knowledge. Read our related posts or contact us today to learn more.

Tips for Mapping Out Your Career Path

Whether you’re a recent grad or a seasoned veteran in the workforce, you need a career plan that will successfully guide you through your professional life. Otherwise, you may not reach your desired goals – or, best case, it will take you considerably longer to get there.

What Does Your Plan Look Like?

Embrace the notion that you will achieve your goals – even if your career path doesn’t follow a completely straight line. Your plan can be as unique as the individual you are, as long as you stay proactive and flexible, and manage it effectively along the way.

As you begin to formulate your plan, be sure to account for:

Your value proposition. In a nutshell, this is a definition of what makes you uniquely marketable to potential employers. In addition to relevant skills and experience, it includes your best soft skills, such as communication, critical thinking, teamwork and conflict resolution. Also, incorporate your extracurricular activities, volunteer work and non-professional jobs. Employers want well-rounded people with a history of being active and demonstrating they manage their time well.
Your strengths and weaknesses. Make an honest, realistic list of your strengths and weaknesses and include them in your plan, so you can use them to help clarify your career goals. If you’re not sure where to start, try conducting a SWOT analysis.
Your timeline. You don’t have to have every detail mapped out, but think about where you want to be in three to five, and even 10 years. Then, you can outline the steps you’ll need to take to reach these milestones.
Break your goals down into smaller, more manageable steps. Then, the whole process won’t feel so overwhelming or intimidating.
Add your networking resources. List all the contacts and connections who can help you achieve your goals. These can include colleagues, mentors, former managers, professors, and family members and friends, if relevant. Use your networks strategically to learn more about potential roles, employers and specialty fields.

Commit to Your Plan

Even if your plan changes over time (because hint: it probably will!) make a commitment to follow it, wherever it leads you.

Trust your instincts – and be realistic. There will be obstacles along the say. However, every setback is well worth it, if you stick to your plan and refuse to give up, even when you feel discouraged.

If you were serious about planning the best possible function, you’d enlist the expertise of an event planner. If you wanted to optimize your investments, you’d hire a financial planner. So, why not partner with an experienced career planner – a coach who can work with you as you take your career to the next level? In California’s Central Valley, you can find the coach – and expertise, contacts and resources – you need at PrideStaff Fresno. Read our related posts or contact us today to learn more.

How to Effectively Set Goals for Your Employees

You may be skilled at reacting to orders from above, questions from below and all the other day-to-day demands of your workplace. You may work long hours, be well-liked and respected, and be the model of organizational efficiency. But, unless you’re proactive in setting the right goals for your employees, you aren’t an effective manager.

Defining the right employee goals is critical to boosting engagement, building productivity and enhancing your company’s reputation as an employer of choice.

Align employee goals with company objectives.

Make sure the goals you set for your team align with those of the broader organization. Moreover, make sure your employees accept and commit to those goals.

When people understand “what it means to me,” they’re more focused and motivated to reach performance targets on a regular basis.

Be the facilitator as people set their own goals.

The more you involve your employees in setting goals for themselves and their team, the more committed and engaged they will be.

Goals have the greatest impact if a manager and employee co-create them. Employees have a stronger sense of ownership and involvement in that which they have helped to develop. You have certain objectives in mind for each person on your team – and you need to stick to them – but you can’t simply impose them on people.
Ask employees to help identify goals specifically related to their roles. When those goals align with organizational objectives, then you can guide them in developing related action plans.

Make sure all goals are SMART goals.

The time-tested process of setting SMART goals still holds true.

Create goals that are specific to what needs to be accomplished.
Ensure that all goals are measurable, so progress can be accurately tracked.
Every goal must be attainable by an employee and, at the same time, stretch them and help them grow in their role.
Goals must be relevant – aligning with other goals, but also important and worthwhile to the employee.
Set target completion dates. Every goal is time-based.

Reward progress and encourage those who fall short.

Recognize employees who set goals, and then achieve or exceed them. This not only acknowledges a person’s effort, but also demonstrates to others how much your company values commitment and hard work. On the other hand, if accomplishments go unnoticed, employees can justifiably feel there’s no point in working so hard and begin to look for higher levels of fulfillment elsewhere.

Not every employee will succeed, despite their best efforts. In a situation where deadlines aren’t met, there should be an in-depth discussion about what went wrong, combined with encouragement to try again and address or rework the stated objectives.

As you develop goals for your employees and help your managers develop in their roles, consider working with the staffing experts at PrideStaff Fresno. We can help you create and groom the workforce you need for success in 2019 and beyond. Contact us today to learn more.

Important Skills Needed to Work in Customer Service

The best customer service representatives have mastered specific skills, which you need demonstrate on your resume, during interviews and throughout your job search. In every situation, the goal of great service is to show a customer that:

You care about them and about fulfilling their order, solving their problem and/or answering their questions, whatever it takes.
You’re willing to keep going till you get it right.
They’re the one who determines what “right” is.

Here’s a closer look at four of these “must-have” skills:

Patience

Efficiency is important, of course, but not as important as great service. Customers often are confused, upset or frustrated as they reach out to you for support. Patience is critical in building rapport, keeping things calm and ensuring your customers feel they’re being treated by someone who is knowledgeable, friendly, caring and competent.

In a consumer engagement study conducted at a bank, customer perceptions of their tellers’ courtesy and willingness to help were far more important than speed of service in keeping them loyal. Customers who gave the bank high ratings on these attributes were nine times more likely to be engaged.
Don’t let a heated customer cause you to lose your cool. If things get hectic, take a breath and be a rock – holding steady, even if a person sounds like their entire world is coming down around them due to their current problem.

Attentiveness

Pay attention, listen to their language and the terms they use to describe their problems, and be constantly mindful to any and all feedback you receive.

To ensure you’re actively listening, follow the 90/10 rule. This means letting the customer do 90 percent of the talking, until your turn comes to contribute to the conversation. Don’t argue, interrupt or judge. Hold off on giving advice until asked or the time is right. Be empathetic and acknowledge the other person’s feelings.
Pay attention to a person’s tone of voice, and if you’re dealing with them in person, their body language. A customer may not say it outright, but there may be a pervasive feeling that something about your product is bothering them. What are they telling you without actually saying it?

Time Management

Balance patience with time management. Spend the right amount of time with each customer. Give them the personal attention and response they need, while delivering what they want in an efficient manner.

This also applies when you realize you simply cannot help a customer. If you don’t know the solution to a problem, the best support you can provide is to turn a person over to someone who does. Don’t waste time.

Closing Ability

Having strong closing ability is not the same thing as closing a sale. Being able to close with a customer means ending the conversation with them – and you – feeling everything has been taken care of, or will be.

The last thing a customer wants is to be booted after a service call or before all their concerns have been addressed. Take the time to confirm each and every issue has been entirely resolved.

The PrideStaff Fresno team would love to help you find your next great customer service job. We’re backed by a national client network and have access to a full range of positions where your unique skills and personality can be put to the best possible use. Contact us today to learn more.

Soft Skills You Need to Advance Your Career

As you advance along your career path, make no mistake about it. You do need strong technical skills and experience relevant to your field. In addition, there are certain soft skills – also known as transferable or power skills – which can be the deciding factor in whether or not you land the job of your dreams.

While an employer is unlikely to hire someone with no tech skills, if their final decision comes down to two candidates who are equally qualified from a technical standpoint, they will likely choose the individual who demonstrates stronger soft skills.

How to Develop Your Soft Skills

Here are some of the most in-demand soft skills, along with some ideas for how to sharpen them as you build your job search strategy:

Communication: Whether verbal, written or listening, communication skills are essential for success in any job. When communicating, be clear. Don’t beat around the bush as you make your point. Listen actively: Before responding, make sure you’ve heard and digested what the other person is saying. When it’s your turn to talk, paraphrase back what the speaker has just conveyed, to show you’ve heard them loud and clear. Don’t be on your phone, doodle, or otherwise be distracted while communicating. Show professionalism and respect.
Teamwork: A company’s success is rarely, if ever, the result of one person doing something all by themselves. Employers look for team players who contribute ideas effectively, behave with integrity, take a share of responsibility, accept and learn from others, respect boundaries and provide positive, constructive feedback. To enhance your leadership strengths, make it common practice to guide, rather than command. Treat others like you’d like to be treated. For instance, brainstorming for ideas is always a good idea, as it allows others to strive toward their full potential, produce good work and have fun at the same time.
Problem solving: Companies rely on problem solvers to navigate unexpected challenges. Albert Einstein had these words of wisdom on solving problems effectively: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Be simple but creative in finding solutions to problems. This doesn’t mean trivializing the situation. Instead, try to define and understand the problem, articulate it and focus on the root cause. Think of solutions from a different perspective than the one upon which the problem was built.
Leadership: Hiring managers are always looking for candidates with leadership potential because these superstars will one day take over the reins and preserve their company’s legacy. This is not just about getting people to do what you want. Leadership means inspiring and helping others reach their full potential. Figure out what leadership competencies are most essential to your current or potential employer, and maximize them.

A professional career counselor from PrideStaff Fresno can help you develop the soft skills you need as you pursue your next opportunity in administration, customer service, IT, finance, legal support, healthcare, or production and distribution. We have access to a broad range of positions where your unique skills and personality can be put to the best use. Read our related posts or contact us today to learn more.

Questions You Should Never Ask a Candidate in an Interview

As you prepare to interview job candidates, you probably spend a considerable amount of time planning which questions to ask. As you should; after all, an interview is often the last step before your final hiring decision. However, it’s equally important to know which questions not to ask and which topics to avoid all together.

It’s natural, and positive, to build connections with job candidates. But be careful not to cross the fine line between showing interest in their lives and being discriminatory. You may mean nothing by an innocent question. But if you don’t hire someone afterwards, they could look back on it as discrimination. Here are some areas that should remain off limits:

Age

Age discrimination for people over age 40 is illegal. In fact, the only age you need to know is whether a candidate is over 18 or 21, depending on the job.

Never ask a candidate’s age. Also, stay away from any questions that may imply this is what you’re asking, such as what year they graduated high school.

Number of Children

Pregnancy discrimination violates the law. To play it safe, avoid asking a candidate if they have or plan to have children, or how many.

Proper questions are those related to a person’s ability to do the job. For instance, you can say, “This position requires that you be on call some nights and weekends. Will that work for you?”

Health Insurance

By asking if a candidate needs health insurance, you may be prying into their marital status, the employment status of their spouse, or their financial independence.

If the job doesn’t offer health insurance and you want to make a person aware of this, then state it flat out during a phone or other preliminary screen. You might say, “The position doesn’t offer health insurance. Are you still interested in interviewing?”

National Origin

Never comment on or ask about a person’s accent or other traits that relate to their nationality.

If you’re hiring for a position that requires multilingual capabilities, you can ask “What languages do you speak” but not “What language do you speak at home?”

Religion

Unless you’re hiring for a faith-based organization, this question is verboten. You cannot discriminate on the basis of religion, unless it’s specifically pertinent to the job. For instance, you can require that a minister for a Lutheran church is Lutheran. But in most cases, this question is a no-go.

The only time religion is relevant in a secular interview is if a person needs an accommodation. In this case, it’s their responsibility to bring it up. Then, you can decide together if the accommodation is possible.

Disabilities

Even though you would never intentionally discriminate against someone with a disability, you don’t want to set yourself up for an accusation.

You can ask a candidate if they are capable of doing the job. If their disability requires an accommodation, they should bring it up to you.

As you develop your checklist of questions and other steps in your hiring process, a reliable staffing firm can ensure you take all the right steps – and none of the wrong ones. They also can assist with vetting and prescreening, to make your interviews as efficient and effective as possible. Contact PrideStaff today, to learn more.

How to Fit in on Your First Day of Work

As you anticipate your first day at a new job, get ready to embrace the change!

Things will be different from your last role – and that’s more than okay. It’s exciting and offers a world of promises and prospects, as you enter this new phase in your career. Approach day one with an open mind and be ready to soak it all in. At the same time, be patient with yourself as you determine how you’ll fit in with the workflow, your new team and company culture.

Be Prompt

Arrive about 15 minutes early. Practice the commute ahead of time, if you haven’t already. You don’t want to be late, nor do you want to be too early, so your new boss and others are as prepared as you are for your first day.

Look the Part

Dress to your personal style, but also to your new role. Be as professional about how you look and what you wear as you were during your interviews.

If you haven’t done so already, determine the dress code in advance. You want to blend in and make others and yourself comfortable, right from the start.

Update Your Elevator Pitch

This is another tactic similar to something you’d do in advance of an interview. Take your 60-second description of yourself and update it to your new role. Explain who you are, what you’ll be doing at your new company, and where you came from.

Learn the Social Landscape

A key factor in succeeding at your new job is not only getting along with your team members, but also associating with the right ones.

Begin to learn about office politics. Understand the real positional hierarchy: who answers to who. Power can manifest in many different ways – not just according to people’s official titles.
Talk to your peers. Get insight early on into how things work. Make it known that you’re friendly and approachable, so you start out on the right foot in establishing trust.
Don’t judge too quickly. Give everyone and everything a chance. Keep a positive attitude.
Express your gratitude. Thank everyone who helps you get acclimated. And thank your boss again for giving you this opportunity.
Grasp the big picture. Listen, listen, and listen some more. This is the best way to grasp the big picture and get a handle on your department and company’s top priorities. Take lots of notes and pay attention to how decisions are made.
Ask questions. Demonstrate your curiosity and desire to learn.

Be 100% Present

You will be observed more in your early days, and your attitude and work ethic will be on visible display.

Project high energy. Everyone wants to work with enthusiastic, upbeat people. Let them know they can expect this from you.

If you need additional guidance in transitioning into your new job – whether it’s how to best give notice, relocating, or gearing up for this next big professional adventure – contact the professional career counselors at PrideStaff. And last but not least, congratulations!

How a Slow Hiring Process Can Damage Your Company

Time to fill vacant jobs averages approximately 44 days, an increase of 50 percent since 2010. This trend doesn’t bode well for employers who want to win the competitive talent war – especially with unemployment continuing at a low rate and supporting a candidate-driven market.

Slow hiring has a negative ripple effect that hurts your company in myriad ways.

Your bottom line suffers.

Top candidates remain on the market for only about 10 business days. Unless you seal the deal with them quickly, the result is hiring weaker performers. This can lead to either a costly mis-hire or a lengthy period of subpar results, the cost of which could be insurmountable. There may be:

Direct revenue loss: Lengthy vacancies, especially in revenue-producing roles, will not only cost you immediate profits, but could also cause you to lose customers.
Lower productivity: Even when a job is vacant for a single day, you lose the opportunity to get necessary work done. Multiple vacancies over long periods of time can result in productivity taking a steady nosedive.
Loss of talent to your competition: The talent you keep waiting actually won’t wait very long. Instead, they are likely to be hired by your competitors, further threatening your business.

Your employer brand is tarnished.

A long, drawn-out hiring process degrades the candidate experience. It could lead to up to two-thirds of applicants disparaging your company on social media – not to mention word of mouth.

Sales also suffer when candidates are treated poorly. According to some research, resulting sales losses could add up to as much as 15 percent.
Your ranking as an employer will fall if negative reviews are posted on Glassdoor and other important lists.

Your hiring team makes poor decisions.

Slow hiring may lead to poor decision-making and other negative impact on your recruitment and interview team. The end result is a significant waste of corporate resources and morale.

Hiring team members may “settle” just to bring a painfully long process to an end. They’ve been pulled away from their core work for long enough, without the gratification of a successful new recruit. They become frustrated, burned out, and possibly even reluctant to hire again.
Diversity may be missed. The most qualified, diverse candidates are in especially high demand.
Other current employees are also forced to work harder when jobs are vacant. The resulting stress and overload may result in more errors, lower-quality output, higher turnover, and potential safety issues – not to mention even further damage your reputation and image.

If slow hiring is keeping you awake at night, it may be time to partner with a staffing firm that knows your industry, your business, and the current job market. For your temporary and full-time hiring needs in administration, customer service, IT, finance, legal and healthcare support, production, and distribution, take a look at our job portal or contact PrideStaff today.

If You Just Made a Big Mistake at Work, Here’s What to Do

To err is human. Everybody makes mistakes. But when a blunder happens at work, it can be embarrassing, humiliating or worse. Or at least it feels that way.

When it happens to you, take a deep breath. You will get through it – and there are helpful steps you can take towards recovery and damage control.

Admit Your Mistake

As soon as you realize you messed up, immediately tell your boss or project manager. If you try to hide it, you could end up looking a lot worse. Being up front about it demonstrates professionalism, a trait most employers greatly value.

Don’t point fingers. Even if it was a team blunder, own your mistake.

Keep It in Perspective

Make sure your emotional response is proportional to the severity of your error. Usually, it’s not a life-or-death situation.

Confront your worst-case scenario. Sometimes, the mind exaggerates and distorts the potential consequences of a mistake. This can stress you out to the point where you’ll make more blunders going forward. So, face up to your worst-case scenario, and then make peace with it.
Say to yourself, “Okay, I did something seriously wrong. And maybe I’ll even get fired as a result. (If you’re a good employee who made an honest error, probably not.) Even if that happens, I will survive. I am resourceful and creative, and I won’t let this derail my life or my career.”

Apologize Appropriately

Apologize for your mistake promptly, swiftly, and briefly. Simply acknowledge your error, explain how you will correct it, and move on.

Don’t make excuses or offer justifications. People are usually so focused on their own goals, projects, and issues that chances are they’ve already forgotten about what you did – or they soon will. There’s no need to elaborate or stretch it out.
Don’t beat yourself up. If you keep calling attention to your error, that’s what will stick in people’s minds.

What Would You Do Differently?

Find out what you need to change, to avoid making the same mistake again. To paraphrase Albert Einstein, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results.

Come up with a plan to rectify your error. Try to do this even before you approach your boss, but don’t waste time if you can’t. Instead, provide reassurance that you’re actively working on a solution.

Look Out for Number One

Was your blunder the result of your not being at peak performance level, perhaps due to lack of sleep or otherwise not feeling 100 percent?

Persistent lack of sleep will catch up to you. It can result in impaired attention, alertness, and concentration. Some studies show that working while sleepy is just as detrimental as working under the influence of alcohol.
Other performance barriers include poor nutrition, dehydration, sitting too long, and lack of exercise. Treat yourself like a pro athlete: Sleep, train, work, fuel, sleep – and repeat.

To help you take care of yourself, your performance, and your career growth, turn to the professional staffing experts at PrideStaff. Read our related posts or contact us today to learn more.

How Can You Differentiate Yourself From Other Candidates?

As you compete for your next job, how can you ensure you’re at the head of the pack?

To stand out from the competition, emphasize those softer, transferable skills that make your personal brand unique. These are the characteristics you can take to almost any job – and often, they are what sets you apart and can be the driving factor in an employer’s final hiring decision.

Focus on the Job Description

As is the case with hard skills, such as education, experience and professional licensures and certification, focus on the soft skills relevant to the specific job. Here are some that are universally recognized as key strengths in a job applicant:

Leadership: This is a necessary trait for collaboration, and it shows you have accountability and take responsibility for your actions and decisions. Your true character shines through when you can take the helm, even admitting what you’ve done wrong and showing how you have learned from your setbacks.
Enthusiasm: Show your passion for the job. Your enthusiasm should emerge naturally, making it easy to convey. The easiest way to convey enthusiasm is by simply saying it. For instance, demonstrate your passion during interviews and when you write your follow-up thank-you note. It will pay off.
Confidence: Elaborate on your confidence in your ability to do the job through resume bullets, as well as during your interviews. In the eye of a future employer, confidence equals competence – and it’s a two-way street. If you appear confident, it makes it easier for a company to have trust and confidence in you.
Work ethic: Demonstrate your strong work ethic throughout the hiring process. On your resume, talk about past successes and how hard you worked to achieve them – and prove it with numbers. During your interviews, discuss how much you focused and persevered in order to get results.

More Soft Skills

Communication, listening, decision making, judgment, planning, organizing and time management are additional soft skills worth concentrating on as you progress through the hiring process. As you hone these skills – and prepare to make the best possible impression as you compete for your next dream job – consider partnering with a career coach from PrideStaff Fresno. Read our related posts or contact us today to learn more.