​Interested in a new career? We can Help.  
​People seek to change careers for many different reasons. Your career goals or values may have changed, you may have discovered new interests that you would like to incorporate into your job, you may wish to make more money, or have more flexible hours, just to name a few.
Before you make a decision like this, it is important to take the time to evaluate your present situation, to explore career options and to choose a career that will be more satisfying for you.


10 Steps to a Successful Career Change​

1. Evaluate your current job satisfaction. Keep a journal of your daily reactions to your job situation and look for recurring themes. Which aspects of your current job do you like and dislike? Are your dissatisfactions related to the content of your work, your company culture or the people with whom you work?
2. Assess your interests, values and skills. Review past successful roles, volunteer work, projects and jobs to identify preferred activities and skills. Determine whether your core values and skills are addressed through your current career. There are free online tools you can use to help assess career alternatives.
3. Consider alternative careers. Brainstorm ideas for career alternatives by researching career options, and discussing your core values and skills with friends, family, and networking contacts.
If you’re having difficulty coming up with ideas, consider meeting with a career counselor for professional advice.
4. Check out job options. Conduct a preliminary comparative evaluation of several fields to identify a few targets for in-depth research. You can find a wealth of information online simply by Googling the jobs that interest you.
5. Get personal. Find out as much as much as you can about those fields and reach out to personal contacts in those sectors for informational interviews. A good source of contacts for informational interviewers is your college alumni career network. LinkedIn is another great resource for finding contacts in specific career fields of interest.
6. Set up a job shadow (or two). Shadow professionals in fields of primary interest to observe work first hand. Spend anywhere from a few hours to a few days job shadowing people who have jobs that interest you. Your college career office is a good place to find alumni volunteers who are willing to host job shadowers. Here’s more information on job shadowing and how it works.
7. Try it out. Identify volunteer and freelance activities related to your target field to test your interest e.g. if you are thinking of publishing as a career, try editing the PTA newsletter. If you're interested in working with animals, volunteer at your local shelter.
8. Take a class. Investigate educational opportunities that would bridge your background to your new field. Consider taking an evening course at a local college or an online course. Spend some time at one day or weekend seminars.
Contact professional groups in your target field for suggestions.
9. Upgrade your skills. Look for ways to develop new skills in your current job which would pave the way for a change e.g. offer to write a grant proposal if grant writing is valued in your new field. If your company offers in-house training, sign up for as many classes as you can.
10. Consider a new job in the same industry. Consider alternative roles within your current industry which would utilize the industry knowledge you already have e.g. If you are a store manager for a large retail chain and have grown tired of the evening and weekend hours, consider a move to corporate recruiting within the retail industry. Or if you are a programmer who doesn't want to program, consider technical sales or project management.

Ask any job seeker or employee about salary negotiations and one of the most popular responses is, “I would negotiate but I don’t know what to say.” Having the right words to say, or write, during a salary negotiation is vital. Communication can make or break discussions and impact your confidence to get paid fairly.First things first, determine your current worth in the job market. Use Know Your Worth to receive a custom salary estimate based on your title, company, location and experience.  Once you have the information, it’s time to advocate for yourself.
Josh Doody, author of Fearless Salary Negotiation, knows how challenging it can be to learn to financially advocate for oneself. He took his first job without negotiating his salary. Once he got hip to the dance, he doubled that salary.
We teamed with Doody to equip job seekers and employees with exactly how to tackle tricky salary negotiation conversations.
Situation #1: Prying During the PrescreenHow should you respond when you’re asked about salary right off the bat? You want to demonstrate that you’re enthusiastic and cooperative, but you don’t want to tip your hand. Doody explains: “It’s a salary negotiation tactic disguised as a gatekeeper-type interview question.”   
Suggested Script:Recruiter: What’s your current salary?
You: “I’m not really comfortable sharing that information. I would prefer to focus on the value I can add to this company and not what I’m paid at my current job.”

If the interview team doesn’t know your salary, they can’t use it as their starting point. Doody writes, “that’s probably going to mean a higher initial offer for you.”
Recruiter: What’s your expected salary?
You: “I want this move to be a big step forward for me in terms of both responsibility and compensation.”

Doody points out, “sharing your current salary or your expected salary is not in your best interest. . . They’re interviewing you because you’re a qualified candidate, and they need a qualified candidate. . . They would also like to get a good deal. . They’re not going to stop interviewing you just because you don’t make it easier for them to get a good deal on you.”
If they pass because you won’t acquiesce, that’s a red flag. Doody says, “then they’re extremelymotivated to get a bargain…That’s bad news for you even if you get the job.”
One last thing, resist the temptation to tell a white lie when asked for your salary during the prescreening process. If you underestimate what they’re willing to pay, you’re leaving money on the table. If the real answer is that they would compensate someone like you up to $75,000 dollars, and you guess they would pay a salary of only $65,000, you very literally may have just cost yourself $10,000.
If you overestimate and tell them your salary expectation is $85,000, you may set off red flags that cause them to rethink the interview process altogether. This is pretty rare, but you could disqualify yourself by being “too expensive” for them. If your expected salary is well above their budgeted pay range, they may just move on to other candidates with lower salary expectations.
The bottom line is you probably aren’t going to guess what their salary structure looks like, and if you try to guess you may cost yourself a lot of money.
Situation #2: Savvy Counter OfferingAfter you’ve secured an offer, Doody recommends using this formula:
“The counter offer calculator accounts for four factors—the base salary of your job offer, your minimum acceptable salary (“walk away” number), how badly the company needs you to accept the job offer, and how badly you need the job.”
Use “firm and neutral” language like this:
Suggested Script:“Tom offered $50,000 and I would be more comfortable if we could settle on $56,000. I feel that amount reflects the importance and expectations of the position for ACME Corp’s business, and my qualifications and experience as they relate to this particular position.”
Or, if you had a competing offer:
“Thank you so much for the offer. As I mentioned during my interview process, I am speaking with a couple of other companies. If you’re able to move the pay to [insert your number], I’d be eager to accept.”

Doody explains that email is the perfect medium for this message. This way, the hiring manager can share it in a format that clearly makes your case to each person with whom it’s shared. Your case won’t get the same treatment if it’s restated recollections of a conversation.   
The hiring manager will likely come back with a figure between your base salary and your counter offer. For Doody, the distance between these figures represents your “salary negotiation window.” He recommends compartmentalizing this window into increments. In the example above, the window is $6,000, so he recommends devising a response for each possible offer.
If, for example, the offer is $55,000 or above, Doody says it’s a taker.  
“If the company comes back with $53,000, then you say ‘If you can do $54,000, I’m on board!’ If they stick with $53,000, then you would say, ‘I understand the best you can do is $53,000 and you can’t come up to $54,000. If you can do $53,000 and offer an extra week of paid vacation each year, then I’m on board.’”
Decide which benefits, like vacation time or flexible working hours, are most important so that you can apply them to bolster the deal. Rank those benefits in your mind and use those in your bargaining. 

1. Extra vacation time
2. Work from home
3. Signing bonus

If they do not accept your second-priority benefit, you move on to your third-priority benefit. Regardless of whether they accept your final response, then you’re finished; don’t get nit-picky or greedy. You have maximized your base salary and maximized your benefits as well.
Situation #3: Raises & Promotions Doody explains: “Your primary reason for requesting a raise is that the salary you’re being paid doesn’t reflect your current value to the company. That salary was set some time in the past, so your argument is that you are more valuable now than you were. . . ” You have a fair justification. Now you need the right plan.
Start by mentioning, via email, to your manager that you’d like to discuss compensation in your next private meeting. After that conversation, Doodly advises preparing a strategically constructed, easily sharable salary increase letter.
Suggested Email Script:“As we discussed, it has been [amount of time] since [“my last significant salary adjustment” OR “since I was hired”], and I would like to revisit my salary now that I’m contributing much more to the company. I’ve been researching salaries for [job title] in [industry] industry, and it looks like the mid-point is around [mid-point from your research]. So I would like to request a raise to [target salary].”

The letter should also highlight your accomplishments and accolades. Doody notes that if your proposal isn’t accepted on the first try, you can work with your manager to create an action plan.
“I would love to work with you to put together a clear action plan and timeline so we can continue this discussion and monitor my progress as I work toward my goal.”

Always remember, your talent is precious, and you deserve to be compensated for it. Learning to foster conversations about compensation is a vital skill that yields rewards. 

These Common Mistakes Are In Addition To My Previous Blog

I’ve been in business for 21 years and have seen my share of recruiting mistakes made by business owners, many that could certainly have been avoided. Here is my top ten list of common mistakes business owners make, along with advice on how to avoid following suit.


1. Failure to hire for fit 

Think about a job that you worked in that didn’t work out. Was it because you didn’t have the skills to do the job or was it because your values did not align with the organization? I’m betting most likely it was because you didn’t fit into the culture of the organization. Hire for fit, train for skill and you should be able to slash costly turnover.


2. Poor interviewing skills 

I recently had a former business owner tell me that he would hire people who volunteered to help him out at the events that his company was working at. These people wound up being “Mr. Right” for right now, but turned out to be some of his worst hiring decisions. Learn how to use behavior-based interviewing techniques to assess whether this should be one date or more of a long-term relationship.


3. Expecting employees to act like owners

The only people who act like owners are people who have a stake in the business. If you want your people to act like owners then share the profits.


4. Tossing people into management based on seniority 

I’ve heard this story so many times I could repeat it without looking at the script. Employee number five has been in the department longer than anyone else so this employee is promoted to management. Doesn’t matter that he or she is not interested in managing people or that they don’t have the qualities one usually seeks in a manager. This story never has a happy ending. Either frustrated employees, who are saddled with this boss, quit or the manager goes down in flames because they never really stood a chance. Hire or promote people who have the desire and the aptitude for a leadership role.


5. Dropping new employees into their chairs without any training 

I understand you may be hiring experienced people who should know exactly what to do but the reality is that work gets done differently in every organization. Have a well-laid out onboarding plan to smoothly assimilate employees into your organization and watch productivity of new hires soar!


6. Failure to manage performance 

Please don’t tell me you don’t have a performance management process in place because that sounds like something only the big companies use. There is a reason they have these processes in place. People like to know what’s expected of them and they also like to know when they are not meeting expectations so they can improve. Don’t believe me? Ask your employees. That which gets measured gets done. If you want to maximize productivity then manage performance.


7. Retaining poor performers 

​I hear, “Well, this person really isn’t working out,” all the time. Really? Then why the heck are they still here? Start replacing your B players with A players and you will see performance improvements all around the organization.

8. Lack of structure 

Most entrepreneurs come from bureaucratic companies and vow to keep things loose in their own organization. Loose is one thing, chaotic is another. At some point you have to put a strong foundation in place in order to maintain or increase revenues. It will cost ten times more to fix a mess, than to prevent one from happening. Put the right structure in place so that you can focus on what you do best. Growing your business.

9. Treated people the same 

Equal is not fair, yet owners often give everyone the same increase or autonomy regardless of contribution or experience. Telling a top performing three-year veteran employee they cannot telecommute one day a week because it wouldn’t be fair to others will do little to inspire additional commitment. Treat people like individuals. Reward those who deserve to be rewarded and be prepared to tell others why they too are not receiving the same treatment.

10. Doing everything on your own 

If you can really do everything on your own, then why isn’t everything getting done? I just outsourced a project that I knew was going to take me a full day to complete. This would take away from the time I could better invest in marketing my services. Know thyself. Stop holding yourself back and use outside resources to strengthen your organization. In the end, you’ll be glad you did.
You can avoid making all of these common mistakes by doing things differently. What are you waiting for?

A bad hire can result in a number of negative implications for a business and therefore it’s important to get it right.
Though there may often be a sense of urgency to fill a position, employers should avoid rushing the hiring process or skipping important steps in order to get somebody’s feet under the desk as soon as possible.

Here are some of the most commonly made hiring mistakes that should be avoided, to prevent problems further down the line.

1) Rushing your hire

If you’re a "man" down, you may feel the pressure to act quickly to fill the position; but this doesn’t mean you should settle for the first person who comes along. Some times it takes time to find the best candidate for the role, so be patient. It will be worth it to spend a bit longer looking for a star employee who’s likely to stay with the company, rather than a mediocre one who may look elsewhere after just a short stint.

2) Not hiring for cultural fit

Although you do need to look for the right skills and experience from a candidate, their resume is not the be all and end all. You also want to think about how they may fit in at your organisation and whether or not they would suit the company culture.
The way that an employee is likely to interact with other colleagues, clients and customers could be crucial to the running of your business, so it’s important to consider their personality, as well as qualifications.

3) Skipping reference checks

To build a thorough understanding about how a candidate is going to perform, it’s important to check their references to see what their previous employers have to say about them. If you are serious about specific candidate you may even want to perform a background check to make sure that their work history is accurate.

4) Vague job descriptions

By keeping your job description very vague or general, you are inviting a huge number of candidates to apply who may only loosely fit the brief.
Be specific about what you want, in order to find someone who possesses those attributes. Mention the qualities you’re looking for in an employee, the details and responsibilities of the role and the level of performance expected of the individual.

5) Relying on job ads

If you post a job ad and just sit back and wait for people to come to you, then you are missing out on a huge number of potential employees who could be perfect for the role. Your ideal candidate may not be looking for a role at the time, so passive candidates should never be ruled out and may actually be more valuable to you than active job seekers.

6) Hiring someone for all the wrong reasons

​Whether you’re  doing someone a favor or you’ve been wowed into hiring an individual when there isn’t actually a role for them, hiring for the wrong reason can be damaging to a business. Creating a role when it’s not required can be costly; whereas hiring as a favor can cause a number of problems from poor cultural fit, to a lack of the required skills.

How's it going ?  Ya know what I'm sayin? ........Really?
​
One of the best things you can do in a job interview is to...
 
Ask good questions...


You want to ask questions that will leave the employers with a positive impression of you.
 
You don't want to ask questions, just to ask questions because  that's not a strategy. 
 
And that kind of nonsense will negatively affect your candidacy and will lave you wondering why you never heard back from them.


We've all been on an interview we thought went well, but never heard back, right?  Even me.  It happens to the best of us. 
 
Usually it's because of a little mistake we made that we didn't realize. 

I can't stress this point enough -  During the first and second round of interviews -- avoid asking your interviewer the ME questions.  

Such as,

1. Do you allow your employees to work from home?
2. Do you pay for mileage?
3. Will you pay for my home Internet?
4. Will you pay for my training?
5. Will I be able to get my paycheck directly deposited?
6. How much vacation will I get the first year?
7. I won't have to work weekends, will I?
8. I know tatoos are commonnplace these days, but what about body piercing, is there a threshold that is considered appropriate?

There's a million of them, but I think you get the idea. 

You may not realize it, but when you ask these questions you are putting yourself in the class with the deadbeat employee.  The deadbeat employee wants the company to bend over backwards for them.  They want the company to pay for everything.  They are whiners and complainers and are ungrateful for the job they have. 

When you ask employers these questions they immediately classify you with deadbeat employees they already have - and I'm pretty sure they don't want anymore. 


Chances are -- you're interviewing for the deadbeat's job. 

Unless the answer to any of the above questions is vitally important to your acceptance of this job then I would strongly advise against asking these questions

There are basically two formats for a thank you letter
:
1. Typed business letter that is sent via postal mail
2. Typed letter that is sent via email

Both letters contain basically the same information, but a typed letter sent via postal mail will give you the
flexibility for more content, but a letter sent via email can be delivered instantly while still delivering your
message of gratitude
.
Whether you send a business letter via postal mail or an email thank you letter is ultimately up to you.
It all comes down to the style of company combined with your own personal style. If the company tends to
be less sophisticated, then sending a thank you letter via postal mail is probably a good idea.

On the other hand if you are interviewing with any type of Technology Company  then an email letter is
probably best.

Key points to writing effective thank you letters:
:
Follow up letters are some of the only places where emailed thank you letters are acceptable.
Time is of the essence with follow up letters. Email may be the only way you are able to chime in
before the position is filled.

If you still prefer to type and mail a follow up letter you will set yourself apart and give the
potential employer more of a reason to remember you among all the applicants..

This requires you to send your letter almost immediately since it will have to go through the mail.

It is ok to send electronic thanks when time is of the essence and you can't afford to wait for the
snail to deliver the mail.

Make your thank you letters your own work. It will be very obvious if you send words that are not
your own. 

When you leave an interview ask your interviewer for a business card. This is a great way to get
access to all the information you need whether you decide to send a traditional thank you letter
or one via email.

Content and tone of a thank you letter:

The actual content of your thank you letter should be direct and specific.

Refer to things you spoke about in your interview especially your qualifications and how you fulfill
the needs of the company.

Reference personal things that occurred in the interview.

Handle your wording tactfully and personably and your interviewer will be impressed and remember who you are.

Your tone should remain professional.

Consider your follow up letter as if it were part of the interview. It you are too stiff and cold the
letter may end up sounding like a form letter. If you are too casual, it may sound like you are not
serious about this job.

• To keep your name fresh in their minds.

• To remind the employer about the interview and to restate your interest in the job.

• To demonstrate professional manners and etiquette.

• To review and highlight your key strengths as they relate to the job. But this is not the time to
restate all of your skills, just one or two of them as they relate to the job.

• To include additional information that you originally left out or did not have time to discuss, but
keep it relevant to the job.

• Send a thank you letter if you feel that you messed up on a point or two during your interview
or you feel you left out important information that might affect your candidacy. A thank you letter will
give you the opportunity to lightly repair your original interview, but only if you made minor
mistakes.
​
• If you completely bombed your original interview, a thank you letter won’t fix that. In severe
cases, you’ll need to get on the phone with your interviewer and perform some serious damage
control.