Blair Stover

Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Posts Tagged hiring

Things to Consider Before Hiring an Intern

Jan 8

Posted by blairstover in Business, Business Plan, Interviewing, Small Business | No Comments

Having interns come through your business can be a very positive experience for both you and the intern if you let it be. Many small businesses are running through tight financial situations, especially considering the economical state of things. Businesses are strapped for money and having an internship program can be a great way to help owners boost their creativity and productivity.

But the benefits aren’t just for owners. Interns get plenty of experience that many may not receive from larger corporations. Smaller businesses are great for assigning more flexible duties and allowing interns a greater opportunity to gain experience in the workplace and industry. If an internship is in the works, Blair Stover has a few tips you should know first:

·      You should always plan on paying your interns. If you want an intern that you don’t have to pay, make sure that they are performing work that does not contribute to the daily operations of your business at all.

·      Internships are all about mutual gain. Both parties need to be gaining something, not just the business.

·      If you absolutely cannot pay your interns, be sure there are perks in place, such as personal mentoring and flexible hours. Yes, they are getting experience, but work still needs to be rewarded.

·      Make sure you have goals in place before hiring interns.

·      Always be aware of the legalities of hiring interns, such as worker’s comp issues, anti-discrimination and health/safety issues.

Following these simple tips could save you and your business a lot of time and money but can also give interns a chance to get some valuable experience in as well.

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Why You Should Never Pad Your Resume

May 29

Posted by Blair Stover in Resume | No Comments

Are there consequences to padding your resume? Many see lying on their resume as a way to get noticed or get their foot in the door for the interview, and while it may get you hired, it can come back to haunt you even after you have proven yourself a worthy employee.

Padding your resume can cause you problems in the future. Companies do use your resume as a rating tool, but will expect the expertise you laid before them to be evident and true. Misleading information on your resume would be a charred mark against your personal and professional character, even if you had proven your value as an employee through work performance.

Take, for instance, the current CEO of Yahoo!. After experience, such as working as president of EBay’s Pay Pal division, one could assume that Scott Thompson has the appropriate experience to bring the role of CEO of Yahoo!. However, a significant shareholder brought to question his educational background listed in Thompson’s resume. This led to an investigation by Yahoo!, and could ultimately be the cause to Thompson’s firing.

Should the resume prove padded, shareholders feel this would indicate that Thompson’s education is not appropriate for the position. Even more so, they feel mislead. The dishonesty damages the character of Yahoo!’s newest CEO. Therefore, regardless of the financial plan he has just outlined, the misinformation on his resume could lead to his termination.

In this technological age, it is not difficult for companies to run checks on resumes. Comprehensive background checks are becoming increasingly utilized by companies. This is occurring both pre-hire and post-hire. Post-hire checks are typically prompted by subpar job performance. Thus, it can be used for termination if falsified information had been included in one’s resume.

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The Truth Behind the Slow Job Recovery

May 16

Posted by Blair Stover in Business | No Comments

If you’ve been out of work for a while you know the disappointment that comes every time a new job recovery news article hits the front page. The government releases its report on a weekly basis on how many jobs have been lost, how many have been created, and how many individuals have “fallen off” unemployment insurance. Additionally, the government attempts to come up with numbers of those individuals who have merely given up and don’t even look for jobs.

While the news seems bleak, it’s been shown that the jobs creation has been no faster or slower than over the previous two year period, regardless of what the pundits may report. In some cases, economists have reported that the slow recovery is what we should all look to as the new normal.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the country’s unemployment rate fell to a little over 8% over the past few months and that is in line with what had been reported in recent months. Also, when you consider that people who drop out of the labor force – ie, give up looking for jobs and are no longer eligible for unemployment benefits – you can see that while bleak, the stats are virtually unchanged.

The reason the economic recovery seems to be moving at a snail’s pace is that the country is having to come out of a hole that was deeper than it had been in since the early 1990s. And those figures can’t even match the deep recession the country faced in 2007 when unemployment numbers were close to 9%. When you consider that, you can equate it to the idea that it’s easier to climb out of a hole that’s 20 feet deep as compared to one that’s 200 feet deep.

These numbers may be bleak, and if you’re one of those affected by the lack of jobs, this may not be a comfort, but it does appear that hope is on the horizon.

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Finding the Hidden Skills in Your Employees

Apr 29

Posted by Blair Stover in Business | No Comments

When you are the manager or owner of a business it’s a great day when you uncover an employee with a hidden talent. You have likely discovered employees who are always there to take on an additional task when asked or one who is a natural born leader, and when you do it’s like finding a gem within your office.

Reliability, initiative and the ability to work with others are great traits to look for in an employee. If you find a person like this in your midst, you need to work with them to make certain they remain satisfied in their position as they can inspire the rest of your team to its best.

Many individuals who work in the human resources department are good judges of the character of an employee and can typically spot one who is conscientious. They feel there are five basic dimensions of an employee’s personality and these types let you know how well they will perform in your company’s environment.

If you find an employee among your team that exhibits leadership skills you will want to nurture that. Having a person that can motivate and inspire will help your entire organization function at a higher level. Look for an employee that takes pride in a job well done and one who tracks their assignments and turns them in complete and on time. If you find this behavior you need to reward it, whether monetarily or through an employee recognition program.

Once you find an employee that you feel is worthy of working with to hone various skills and to perhaps move to a position of more responsibility, work with them to see what they’re hoping for in a career. If you can work with that person to keep them engaged and employed with you, your organization will thrive.

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How to Get Hired By a Start Up

Mar 20

Posted by Blair Stover in Business, Interviewing | No Comments

Photo Credit To: http://www.kinhdoanhmang.info/category/interviews

With the job market being what it is, the market continues to be quite competitive. Therefore, it is more important than ever to be able to convey your passion and qualifications to a company. Better yet, stand out to a new start-up company and get in at ground level.

Be willing to go the extra mile while you are in the interviewing process for a start up. Of course, do what is expected by getting your resume’ up to par and clean up your social profiles. But then, do what is unexpected. Craft a cover letter that will stand out and grab their attention.

Show you know about their company and its direction. Offer some ideas within your letter to get their company up and going. Consider creating a slideshow or short powerpoint presentation (keep it under five minutes). This should be specific to the company you are applying. Remember, this may be your one and only chance to wow this company.

The next strategy is to make yourself indispensable. If you are interning, prove why they are going to want to keep you. Work like it is a paying job in order to turn it into one. You may never realize who is quietly noticing you out of the corner of their eye. If things do not go the way you hope, at least you will have experience and some excellent references.

Lastly, start small. Find something you are passionate about and go from there. Look within your natural network of people for who may be recruiting. By finding a start-up that you truly believe in, you will become more invested and push yourself to become successful. Perhaps you will even begin your own start-up someday.

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3 Types of People You Should Hire

Jan 15

Posted by Blair Stover in Business | 1 Comment

There are certain mindsets found in people that every company should consider hiring. These are the types of people who have proven to successfully and consistently introduce new products and services. Furthermore, these are the sort of employees who tend to work well in teams and support co-workers. Additionally, creativity and industry changing ideas tend to be launched by this kind of employee.

Firstly, look for a challenging coach who can be a mentor. Hold out for the employee who will challenge co-workers when their best foot is not forward. Yet, also look for someone who will be willing to assist in the improvement. Your company needs that person who will see the potential in other workers when they feel they are out of ideas and get employees to believe in themselves. Having such a person on your team will encourage others to take the chances they may not have. This is a person who sees opportunity in failure and keeps the train moving.

Nextly, you will want to hold out for the entrepreneur. This type of person enjoys resolving tough challenges. This is where the best creations are born. Where some may perceive tribulations, the entrepreneur views opportunity. A person in this mindset feels power over the outcome of their choices. They feel in control of their destiny.

Finally, you will want to search for your opposite. Create a balance for your company. If your company is full of creativity, you will not fall short in the creative department, but you may be lacking in the ‘get-it-done’ type of employee. Without a balance, things may not get done. Find the employee who will keep you in balance.

Keep the diversity in your company. Hold out for the inspiring and the best so that your company can reach its potential.

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How to Interview Long Distance Job Candidates

Jul 22

Posted by Blair Stover in Business | No Comments

Interviewing job candidates, in general, can be difficult. As Monster.com states in their own article on interviewing candidates, there are several points you want to gauge for in a potential new employee, including self-awareness, and desire for the position. Doing this in any format other than a personal interview has challenges. Long distance interviewing is not new, but has in fact been around as long as there have been telephones. Video interviewing is rather new, and actually not very common even given the universal usage of computers. In any case, telephone and video interviewing techniques require a different skill set on the part of the employer. There are three main things to keep in mind when conducting such an interview.

One, do your homework. Just because this encounter is not in person does not release you from your obligation to prepare carefully. Have your questions ready for the interviewee, and if at all possible do a rehearsal with someone before actually “meeting” the candidate on the telephone or onscreen. Question and answer repartee is different when you are not in the same room with the other person. For one thing, you might not be able to notice facial expressions or pick up those low-frequency voice tones, which carry important meaning. Work on the timing of your questions, making sure to allow the candidate to answer fully before moving to the next item.

Two, be familiar with any technical hardware that you will be using, such as video phones, chat software, or voice relay systems. These might be bundled with your computer’s software, but if you have never used them, then you should definitely spend time getting to know your way around the technical side of things.

Finally, remember that you are conducting a job interview, even though you might be sitting in your den or near the pool. Try to keep it formal, to some extent at least. This will convey a sense of professionalism which will emanate from your voice and attitude. When interviewees do not have your physical gestures to rely on, they often look to other cues, like tone of voice or word choice.

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Social Media Recruiting Tools for Small Businesses

Jun 16

Posted by Blair Stover in Business | No Comments

If you’re an entrepreneur or a recruiter for a large company, it is not always easy to find the most talented, qualified applicants for the job you’re looking to fill. Now with social media being so prevalent, a hiring manager can leverage social media as a way to recruit potential employees.

Between Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, there are close to 550 million users and many of those users are looking for work. As a business owner looking to hire new talent, these numbers offer a large talent pool from which to choose, but with that many individuals on these social networking sites, it can be overwhelming to know how to narrow the prospects. We offer you these tips:

LinkedIn should be your first stop for professional talent as this is a networking site that boasts a more professional atmosphere and is also where job seekers – and those looking to fill positions – typically congregate. Keep in mind that LinkedIn also represents close to 200 industries and 200 countries, making the talent pool even larger. As a LinkedIn user you can “advertise” for talent or you can look through your contacts and the connections of others to find likely candidates.

While Facebook remains the largest social networking site, boasting 400 million users, this is a site that connects individuals in a more social way as opposed to the professional contact building done on LinkedIn. That is not to say you can’t find a full talent pool on Facebook, but you might have to search a bit more and depending on the privacy settings individuals are employing, good potential candidates might not get found.

Twitter can be used to connect a business owner with a potential audience of job candidates as well. You can certainly post on Twitter that you are looking to fill a position. Highlight the position within your tweet with a hash tag, for example, #hiring a #graphic designer as a way to get found.

In all of these examples you can post free “ads” in which you seek potential candidates or you can upgrade the accounts to purchase paid advertisements or ads on your personal page. Posting status updates on your company’s personal pages is a way to let potential candidates know you are hiring. Chances are, your company is likely being followed by “someone who knows someone” and thus the connection begin. Many hiring managers are having great luck in finding potential candidates and filling positions through the use of social networking — all of which are low to no cost ways to fill company vacancies — and that is great for the bottom line.

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