How Does Hiring and Footwear Selection Compare

How Does Hiring and Footwear Selection Compare When purchasing footwear most people would go to a different shop to buy running trainers than they would for ‘fashionable’ shoes and you would hopefully select each of these purchases using very different criteria. For running trainers comfort will have a much greater importance over aesthetics in the selection process, and for fashion shoes the opposite would be true. Sling backs are a prime example, not that I’ve experienced how uncomfortable they are! But it is probably fair to say that a lot of SMEs would not alter their selection process whether they are looking a Marketing Assistant or a CFO.  The advert copy may differ, but a responsive recruitment strategy will be selected, the same advertising channels chosen and the interview process is likely to be the same, all be it with a few tweaked questions so that they are specific to the role.  But as with our footwear it would be much more beneficial to think about the requirements, where the appropriate solution will be found and the criteria for selection before the recruitment process begins. What am I looking for? When choosing running trainers for 10Ks and half marathons I will pay good money for a pair that is comfortable and will prevent me from injury. But for Tough Mudder, I’ll buy some cheap, bizarre coloured, trail shoes, as I know they will be no good for anything else after the 12 mile assault course. All trainers are not alike and what they are required for will determine how much I am willing to pay and where I am likely to purchase them from. Trainers for regular, long distance runs will come from a specialist shop such as ‘Up and Running’ where as the ‘throw away’ trainers are more likely to come from a large sports retailer like ‘Sports Direct’. This is exactly the case with the recruitment process. Depending on sector, industry, location and salary of the role the channels you choose to best engage with your target market will differ. For instance, you are much more likely to find a content marketer through social media channels, whereas it is probably better to use more traditional channels for a Finance Director, such as specialist finance jobs boards.   A considered approach The selection process should also be a lot more considered for both trainers and employees for a more expensive or niche purchases. For running shoes, and for sling backs, to some extent you will want to test them before you make a purchase. A session on the treadmill will allow you to see if a particular brand of trainer is compatible to your running style or you may want to test a high heel by parading up and down a boutique like a catwalk by Quasimodo. When recruiting, for a lower level position or a role where a broader skills set is required, a sole interview may be more than adequate to select the most appropriate candidate, but for a senior or niche position it isn’t enough to chat to them for an hour and say ‘they’ll do’ like you would a cheap pair of trainers. It is better to assess their knowledge and abilities through varied tests, as the wrong decision can be extremely costly to a business. Some examples of tests that will put applicants through their paces include psychometric assessments (personality profiling, aptitude and ability testing etc…), presentations and assessment days. Who can find them? Of course, there are department stores out there which will cater for your footwear needs for both a half marathon and for a night on the town. Both pairs will be perfectly adequate, but when it comes to specialist purchases, a department store is unlikely to have a wide enough range for your specific needs and the staff are unlikely to have the technical knowledge or equipment to find the perfect pair for your requirements e.g. trainers for you to enhance your performance and prevent you from injury. When you are recruiting staff advertising isn’t always enough, especially for senior or niche positions or in sectors where there is a particular skills shortage such as accountancy or engineering. If you going to invest in a more proactive recruitment campaign you could use a general recruiter, but it is much better to use a specialist search firm. They will be more knowledgeable when it comes to your industry or sector, they will take the time to fully understand your requirement and they will have the experience and resources to devise a comprehensive recruitment plan (both reactive and proactive) to meet your requirement. Conclusion So there you have it, if all businesses were to pay as much care and attention to the recruitment process as we do to the selection of our footwear they would have a much great chance of finding candidates that fit their companies like a glove in terms of skills set and company culture….or perhaps a shoe would be more appropriate. Author: Gary Skipper is the Marketing Manager for Newman Stewart. Newman Stewart is an Executive Search and Management Selection company headquartered in Wetherby with additional office in Leeds and London. Image: Pablo

Resume Writing and Interview Skills Workshop

Resume Writing and Interview Skills WorkshopWhat can you expect from a resume writing and interview skills workshop? Actually, it's probably not what you think.This kind of workshop is a really good way to assess your skills and make sure that you can meet the demands of your current position. It's a good idea to attend a workshop that you feel comfortable in, so you won't feel awkward or nervous. A workshop that you feel comfortable in can help you focus on your skills and talents, instead of on your fears of speaking to the interviewer.When you attend a workshop, you'll get help with taking notes, taking notes in a concise and positive manner, preparing for interviews, and developing and implementing your strategy. You'll also learn how to get your resume and cover letter written in an organized and professional manner.The reason why you should attend a workshop is that it's a place where you can develop new skills, refresh your skills, and improve your interviewing skills. It can be a great way to make you more confident will also make you more successful at your job. If you're having trouble getting your resume written or your cover letter written, then it can help to learn new things. You don't have to sit there feeling overwhelmed and make sure that you have enough resources in front of you to do the job.Another reason to attend such a workshop is to get some practice in practicing your interviewing and resume skills. As you do the exercise, you can try to incorporate the information you learn into your interviews. This can help you to build your confidence.Resume writing and interview skills workshops can also help you get a better understanding of the interviewer and how he looks at things. That is a skill that a lot of people have yet very few really know how to apply it to.You may have had to apply for the same job ten times before you got that job. The resume itself has become the first impression of your personality and ability to get work.Having a resume that you have worked hard on, drafted by you, in hopes of getting the job, is a powerful tool. So it's important to use the tools that you have to make sure that you are able to deliver it well.

Consider the Source

Consider the Source Honest feedback is a rare commodity; very few people will trust someone enough to open up and tell you exactly what they think.   When you hear a piece of honest, thoughtful criticism, you should be grateful.   Criticism is a gift; knowing where you stand is valuable intelligence, even when that knowledge stings.   Here are some tips for dealing with criticism. First, consider the source.   If the harsh words are coming from someone who doesn’t know you well, you may tend to disregard the input.   But that would be a mistake.   Great brands listen not only to their loyal fans, but also seek the input of people who don’t buy their products.   Opinions of people who don’t know you well can give you insight as to how your brand is perceived.   The brilliant presentation you gave at the board meeting?   Not so much. To the audience, it seemed dull and full of hard to follow statistics.   Do they know how hard you worked on it?   No â€" and they don’t care.   Your coworkers do, and their praise for it was based in part on your effort â€" not the outcome. When the source of criticism is someone who knows you well, you automatically give the feedback more weight, and you should.   This is someone who’s watched you for a while and has factored in your intentions as well as your outcomes. This person may also have to think about being able to live or work with you after delivering the feedback.   If you’re getting feedback that’s hard to take, it’s probably hard to deliver, too.   After all, they’re taking a risk you may get angry, tearful, or end the relationship.   If this person is someone you respect and admire, you must consider their input and think about making a change for the better.   Here are some ideas to consider (courtesy of Danielle LaPorte, who writes the blog White Hot Truth.) Admit that it stings. “Ouch. That’s hard to hear. But I’m up for it.” Honesty when criticized is a great equalizer and a show of nobility and maturity. Don’t reactyet. Sometimes it’s best to just listen and simply say, “I’ve heard you. Let me process what youve said and I’ll get back to you tomorrow.” So many of us are so adrift from our deep sensitivity that it takes some time to clearly know how we feel. So just take the time, it’s better than a half-cocked reaction that you’ll regret. Be compassionate to your criticizer. This can really soften the situation. Giving honest criticism is no fun for most people, and it’s often a case of, “This is going to hurt me as much as it might hurt you.” My best advice when faced with something that’s difficult to hear: say “Thank you” first. “Thank you for telling me this; I appreciate your honesty/courage/ caring enough /to come to me with difficult feedback. Although I’m stinging a bit right now, you can be sure I’ll give your feedback some careful consideration.”

11

First-hand account of 9/11 This piece was originally published by Time magazine the week of 9/11. At the Wall St. train stop people were covered with papers. A plane crash. Thats what everyone said. Then a boom. Everyone ran. I ran to my office and called my brother in the Midwest. I wanted to be closer. At the corner of Church and Broadway, I angled my way through a large, packed crowd to get the best view. We talked about people jumping. The police stood behind the yellow tape. Minutes later, there was a boom. I thought it was a bomb, so I crouched, but people ran, so I ran. I couldnt see anything. I dont know how far I ran. Couldnt see where I was running. Didnt know if I was in a street or next to a building. Didnt know what street I was on. No one could talk because the dust filled our throats. After about ten steps I tripped over a pile of people and then people tripped on me. I laid there. The only sound was the falling of dust and debris. No one moved under me. The weight of people on top of me got heavier. I couldnt breathe. I knew we were all going to die in that pile. I pulled myself out of the pile. My slip-ons slipped off. I stood up and saw nothing. Not even an inch in front of me. I put my hands out and felt for something. I bumped into the brick side of a building. I bumped into milk crates. I stopped. I had no idea what to do, and I knew everyone around me was suffocating. I thought about my mom and dad, they would be so sad to hear that I died. I thought about my husband. Just married and I will not get to live my life with him. I thought about my brothers. They would cry. I told myself to just keep trying to find a way to air, but I didnt believe I would live. I bumped into something that I could feel the top of, so I lifted myself up. I worried I was going into the back of a dump truck, and I was scared Id be trapped. I didnt know if there was fire, or a bomb. I didnt know how to protect myself ? find air. Go up? ? so I didnt know for sure that a dump truck would be bad. I think it was scaffolding. I think I jumped over piles of bodies by climbing scaffolding. I pulled myself into a building. What building? I dont know. And I took a breath. I took two breaths. I was sure the building would be bombed. I looked for stairs. I kept thinking I needed clean air. I found a bathroom. I didnt realize I wanted water until it was there. Four men inside. Two fighting over the faucet. I shared the toilet with another man. We drank almost the whole bowl. Once the four of us were calmed by water and air, we ventured outside the bathroom. We walked up stairs. Slowly. We checked doors behind us, left them all open. We got up only one floor. We waited. I cried. They shared one can of apple juice. The intercom in the building announced stay where you are. I was so relieved to know people knew we were there. The intercom announced again and I thought another bomb would go off and Id die. I cried. The guy with the apple juice put his arm around me. I wondered why no one else cried. The intercom announced to go down the stairs. I picked up a wastebasket: I planned to fill it with water. Planned to use it to shelter myself from the next bomb. (I still had no idea the building collapsed.) In the lobby of the building someone gave me a Nantucket Nectar and told me to vomit. I walked outside the building with the drink in my wastebasket. There was no one around. White everywhere. The four of us had nowhere to go. I couldnt remember where I was. I walked toward the water. Police directed everyone north. I asked a woman next to me, Where are we going? She said, I dont know. She had no dust. She looked so steady. I followed her. This was the beginning of her long protection. She said, You can walk home with me. You need a shower. I coughed. She asked why I was carrying a wastebasket. I said, In case theres another bomb. She held onto my arm as we made our way next to the river. In Chinatown, she bought me shoes. At the Bowery we finally found a payphone that didnt have a line of people. So she called her husband and I sat down next to my wastebasket. It was the first time I sat down, and I started crying. We resumed walking. Sometimes we ran. I made sure to keep up and I didnt tell Teresa that I was worried that I would faint. I drank Nantucket Nectar every time I got dizzy. At 59th St. a plane went overhead and I screamed. In front of Bloomingdales. There was no one there from Wall St. I knew I looked crazy. I screamed anyway. I reminded everyone there were no planes allowed to fly. Someone said, Its the army. I came out from under my wastebasket and kept walking. Theresas apartment was 71st on the Upper West Side. Where everyone looked fine. In the shower, dripping debris down my body, I remembered one more moment under the rubble. When I couldnt breathe. When I couldnt see. In the middle of the dead quiet was a voice. He said, Is there anyone here? Can someone hold my hand? I reached out to the voice, and held his hand. It was shaking and the skin was old. I squeezed and then I let go.

What You Need to Know About Resume and CV Writing

What You Need to Know About Resume and CV WritingThe proper CV and resume writing is a must if you want to get an interview for any job that you apply for. If you do not write a well structured resume and cv, your chances of getting the job will be slim.When you are learning how to write a resume and you are struggling with one part or another, it is better to ask a career course instructor on how to use a resume. Remember that a resume is like a marketing document. If you make it easy to read and understand, your chances of getting a job will be much higher.In resumes, there are two parts - personal details and objective part. In personal details section, the applicants can include their name, phone number, email address, and email address. The objective part is where the applicants should add their objective statement. You should be able to tell the employer what your objective is.An objective statement is a statement that contains your motivation for doing the job. You need to wri te a statement that explains what it is that you really want. For example, let's say that you want to be a banker because you think that it is a challenging job and if you do not have good knowledge about the industry and its regulations, it would be a waste of time.A good objective statement should help the employer to understand who you are and what you can bring to the job. An employer also needs to know what you can bring to the job. To create a good personal details section in the resume, you need to know what the employer can expect from you.Creating a good CV is a very important part in this process. Even if you have a decent CVs and resumes, employers will still have a hard time looking at them. When they read your CV, they will have a hard time having a quick read on it. Thus, you need to do something that will help you create a professional looking CV.Online career training can help you in creating a better CV by using programs that can make your CV appear much more profes sional. You should also find out how to use software programs that will create professional looking resumes and how to use them. These programs can be very useful for someone who has never created a resume before.Do not worry about whether your resume looks professional or not. You just need to know the things that you should be doing to create a good resume. Take time and make sure that you get this done.

In Your Career Sometimes Bad News is a Good Thing

In Your Career Sometimes Bad News is a Good Thing Recently I had to deliver some bad news. It was one of those situations where I could always come up with a reason to delay the conversation. It never seemed to be the right time; there was always something to consider that would make the information more difficult to bear. So I put it off and then I put it off some more. Because maybe somehow I would magically come up with a better way to deliver the bad news. Maybe the recipients of the bad news would show me some sort of sign that the time was right. I ended up waiting longer than I probably should have to deliver the news.Since I have been in the situation of delivering bad news before, I was fully aware of the reaction I would receive. I knew that the first reaction would be shock, followed by denial, fear, anger, bargaining, depression, and then finally acceptance.But the one emotion I wasnt expecting to see in this situation, but did, was relief. Not the type of relief where people say Wow, Im so glad you told me thatthanks fo r making my day! but the type of relief that can be viewed by   actionsa desire to chat about other topics, the ability to make a joke about the situation, a smilethese are all subtle signs that say the outcome wasnt really as bad as I expected it to be and Im moving forward.When people anticipate that something negative might happen in their life, the anxiety can eat away at them. The anxiety is often greater than the consequences of the bad news itself. We are experiencing times where there is a lot of anxiety about bad news in the workplace. I talk to people every day who feel insecure in their jobs. There are constant rumors of layoffs and restructurings. And the rumors fuel anxiety which can manifest itself in all sorts of health issues. And those issues are indeed worse than the news itself.Many people feel powerless in these situations. They feel overworked as they pick up the workload of employees who were previously let go and they begin to resent management for their choic es. They stew and get frustrated because they feel that they have no control over their situation and just have to wait it out. They rationalize that they shouldnt push their luck by trying to look for something newespecially in an economy such as this one.So when the other shoe drops and they are the one called into the managers office to discover they are being let go, sometimes the most telling reaction is relief. Because while the news is bad, its often better than not knowing your fate. Knowledge gives you powerthe power to move on and start a job search because you finally have no choice but to accept that your position has gone away. And in my opinion, that is a much better place to be.

99 problems but a JOB aint one

99 problems but a JOB aint one 13 Flares 13 Flares Im so hood Im a lucky man.  The last 9 months have been extremely rewarding for me, and Im damn proud of what Ive accomplished while unemployed.  However, after reading more than a few  unemployment horror stories from my Corn Heads, I admit that I do feel pretty guilty sharing my FUNemployed victories.   Since March Ive been carrying on about being FUNemployed with pretty much everyone Im connected to, grabbing laughs in the process.  More than a few times my Facebook status has read,  Ive got 99 problems but a job aint one, which has produced dozens of likes from friends (dont I look just like Jay Z above?)  Maybe Ive been a bit insensitive, but my current life situation presented an opportunity of a life time and I made the most of it.  Is that so wrong? My FUNemployed accomplishments: Started  CornOnTheJob   Traveled to Cancun, Key West, and Las Vegas Completed a prep-course for an HR certification, boosting my career street cred Attained close to 650 Twitter followers in just 4 months (follow me) My fan page on Facebook is nearing 400 Connected with thousands of bloggers, job seekers, HR folk, and new buds.  Here are some: Matt Cheuvront Elisa Doucette Was featured as one of her #blogcrushs Sam Diener Sharalyn Hartwell Marty McDonald Jenny McCoy Sean Ogle Ryan Stephens Jonathan Hyland Andrew Parkes Ronica Licciardello In December Ill begin an entirely new career journey, which brings the end of my FUNemployment.  Each accomplishment listed above played a part in this opportunity and I finding each other.  Im thrilled about the opportunity ahead of me, and will incorporate all Ive learned and experienced into this new career, which I list as my final accomplishment. What can you take away from this? I think we can all agree that a job seekers final destination is gaining new employment.  FUNemployed or unemployed, finding work is necessary at some point.  The path I took to gain employment is completely different than the next persons.  When I lost my job in March, I felt my career had zero direction and I was completely lost.  Each of the experiences and accomplishments listed above brought me closer to understanding the person I am, the potential I have, and the career I want/need to be happy.  I was lost, and to find myself I needed to let go.  Now, Im not going to make you let go, but if you can afford to ease up on your grip, well then you just might find yourself. If you could be FUNemployed for an extended period of time what would want to accomplish?  Are you satisfied with your path?