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job hiring.

If You Can’t Find A Job, Try Creating One

August 3, 2010 by Etha Walters Leave a Comment
Cheese!

It seems that everyone is trying to stretch a penny these days, and for small businesses that can lead to cutbacks or layoffs. Losing a job in a recession is a devastating thing, especially when jobs are scarce. Unemployment will only last for so long and the bills keep coming in. Statistics show that there are 6 unemployed people to every available job. In small towns it can be as many as 20 unemployed to each available position. So what is a person to do?

If you are one of those many Americans who are having trouble finding a job, how about creating your own? This isn’t a strange idea in the face of a recession. Micro-businesses are businesses that have 10 people or less and over half of small businesses in the United States are home based.  According to Startupnation, you can not only survive, but thrive in this economy.

Inc Magazine printed a story about CEO Paul Mann who was looking for a responsible dog sitter in a bind. After taking some observations of the people who responded to his ad, he felt a little discouraged in finding someone he could trust. That is when a light went on in Paul Mann’s head. He ended up leaving his corporate position for the comforts of working from home and started Fetch! Pet Care, a local network of pet sitters and dog walkers. If you asked him today if he would go back out into the world of glass doors and windows, his answer would be a very enthusiastic “no!”

The advantages of a home business include low over-head, tax deductions, shoe-string start up capabilities, and you can work in your pajamas. All you need is a phone line, high-speed internet, a place to keep records and a really great idea for a product or service that people need even if there is an economic downturn. While no one will tell you that starting a home business is easy, with a little research and a lot of hard work you might be able to give yourself a job.


Looking for a GeoVison Security Camera System to help secure your small or medium business? Call www.CameraSecurityNow.com today at 877-422-1907 for a free phone consultation. Ask about the new Hybrid DVR/NVR surveillance solutions.

Tagged: Business, dog walking, job hiring., jobs, layoff, micro business, start ups

What to look for in hiring a recent college graduate

May 12, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

At some point, a small to medium businesses may want to hire a recent college graduate, a person that they might be able to fast track into management. This is also a person that you can “mold” and may not have to break any previous habits that they may have acquired from working at other companies. But since the person you’re looking at may have zero or very limited work experiences, you have no track record with which to judge them. Beacause you are going to sink a good deal of time and money into their training, you want to make a wise choice. What do you look for?

One thing some employers look at but for the wrong reasons is grade point average. They use GPA as a way to evaluate intelligence, but grades actually are not a very good indicator of intelligence according to a University of Dayton Survey. What GPA is an excellent indicator of is motivation. People that have high GPA are extremely motivated according to the same University of Dayton survey, so if you are looking for a “can do” type of person, this is a good place to start.

Another thing to look at is involvement in and leadership in groups or teams. Is this person multidimensional and have a wide variety of interests? If this person is eventually going to help lead your businesses, they will have to relate to peers and subordinates. A person with limited people skills might be an excellent employee in the right circumstances, but will make a very poor leader. People involved in groups probably know how to communicate and get things done.

Is the person willing to “pay their dues?” One of the biggest mistakes any organization can make is to put someone with limited work experience in authority over seasoned professionals. At best this can cause resentment, and at its very worst it can cause excellent employees to look for employment elsewhere. When this situation happens in a large group, it is disastrous for your business. Look for a person who is willing to learn your business from the bottom up. If this person is to be “fast tracked,” it should not be well known by front line workers.

Following these tips should help your business in hiring a recent college graduate be a great success!


Looking for a GeoVison Security Camera System to help secure your small or medium business? Call www.CameraSecurityNow.com today at 877-422-1907 for a free phone consultation. Ask about the new Hybrid DVR/NVR surveillance solutions.

Tagged: hiring, job hiring., recent garuates, Save Your Small Business

What Kind of Employee Are You?

March 23, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

What Kind of Employee Are You

Usually this blog has a viewpoint from an ownership perspective, but in the final analysis we all work for ourselves-no matter the deal we’ve cut with our employer. So, it’s good from time to time to evaluate just what kind of employee are you? There are certainly some very fine lines being drawn (even though HR managers and agency counselors tend to deny it). I think for myself I have narrowed it down to 5 types of employee, and only one of these types is desirable. The five types are: highly valued employee, temporary employee, contract employee, casual hire employee, and disposable (planned short time) employee. In these uncertain economic times, it’s good to figure out just where you stand.

The highly valued employee is someone who may have been recruited off campus or military. The company might have gone through an executive search firm and paid big money to bring this person into the business. These people are expected to provide leadership, management, and specialized skills. If recruited out of school they might have been offered top wages and the “fast track.” If this is not you, I must sadly ask you to read on. If this is you, terrific and congratulations!

The temporary employee has really only one advantage, they know that they are temporary. This gives a “temp” a lot of flexibility. Turn over for temps is extremely high and work quality is usually fair at best. (Yes, I know there are some temps that get in and do a superb job, but they are the exception to the rule-and this is becoming more prevalent). Agency Counselors have tried to improve the level of work by often stating or insinuating that this job is/could be temporary to permanent (temp to perm), but experienced temps have become very inquisitive about this situation. Before I started a new assignment I always went over this with the company when they asked if I had any questions. “Is it correct that this job could become permanent?” Boy, listen to the company back track! If they do, you should suspect that your counselor might be engaged in a little “puffery.” If however, the company lays out a plan for your hire (assuming all goes well both for yourself and the company-and it is budgeted), then you just might have a temp to perm position, if this is not the case, keep sending out your resume’ and doing interviews, (even during work time), because your life expectancy is short as a temp.

Contract employees generally fill a very specific niche in a company’s employment structure, and are generally contracted to do a certain job function for a certain length of time (the due date). Almost always these personnel contribute specific business expertise or knowledge. These people are generally treated fairly well (unlike temp’s who can really be treated poorly). Unlike temps, contractors generally do a very professional job, but most “have been around the block a few times.” Contractors will sometimes speed up or slow down a particular job to suit their own needs (I know, I did it-and I was not alone, in fact very far from being alone). This happens especially with a “soft due date.” On the other hand, there can be problems if a “hard due date” is assigned, and then it is extended since contract employees are always looking for their next contract position. Companies have had contractors leave right before a huge project is due!

The casual hire is a person that generally works for a company part time with limited benefits. They must not exceed a certain number of hours or be considered full time (and offered health care benefits and retirement plans). Since these employees are offered very little, turn over is very high. The goal of most casual hire employees is to find a full time job somewhere (else). From the company’s viewpoint, these employees can be added or subtracted as business dictates.

The most recent type of employee is the short time hire (or disposable employee). These people work directly for the company, but what they don’t know is that they have a limited shelf life. What the company gets is more loyalty and better work quality, but they pay more for it-briefly. This situation usually happens when a part of a company-say the credit /collection/AR department is moved from one part of the country or another. Millions of dollars of receivables are transferred to a different location, and more personnel are hired to handle the in flow of receivables. After this business is mastered (and it might take 18 months to 2 years), there wont be a need for so many A/R type people, so the company may (or may not) keep the best, and lay off the rest.

It’s good to know who and what you are to your company. Going back to the macro-view of this blog, America has lost some of its appeal around the world for producing the best quality and most innovative products at the lowest possible prices. President Obama has stated many times that it is his great desire to return this prestige to America. Well, Mr. President let me clue you in on one thing. America is never going return to prominence as long as we remain a nation of temps, contractors, casual, and short time hires.


Looking for a GeoVison Security Camera System to help secure your small or medium business? Call www.CameraSecurityNow.com today at 877-422-1907 for a free phone consultation. Ask about the new Hybrid DVR/NVR surveillance solutions.

Tagged: Business, job hiring., jobs, you're fired

Tips For Hiring A Great Employee.

February 20, 2009 by admin Leave a Comment

Business Hiring Tips
For a business owner, be it small or medium, when you hire that first employee, it’s a day of celebration. It means you are in a position to expand and make your business a stronger place. But before you choose the new employee, there are a few things you should consider.

1.Before bringing in candidates to interview, make a list of 10 buzz words that are important to your small business. They can range from “fast-paced” to “money-making” and then be on alert for resumes that use identical or similar words.

2.Hiring is not a perfect process. It is highly subjective and based on a good deal of soft information. So, whenever possible, have at least one other person carefully interview the final candidates for a position. You may to be surprised with a fresh perspective.

3.Don’t be in a rush to hire an employee. In today’s world things can change quickly. Make sure you are hiring at the right time for your business. Many companies hire too soon and pay for it as time goes on. Keep in mind when you hire someone, you are taking on their income and future. That is a big responsibility.

4. List your goals for the new hire. Do you want someone who can fill in on short notice when you need to take a day off, or do you want someone who can work a regular schedule? Do you want someone who can meet with clients, set their own schedules and attend meetings and events on your behalf, or do you simply need someone who can pick up your overflow? These are things you need to make clear in the interview.

Listen to your gut; your intuition is the most powerful hiring tool there is. If some thing doesn’t feel right, then it may not be. This is your business you’re talking about so go with what you feel. At the end of the day you want to bring the right people into your family and you want this new member to help you in continuing to expand.

Tagged: Business tips, job hiring.

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