But it’s in your best interest to keep the process moving in two directions. After all, you’ll be dedicating your skills, time, talent and resources to this organization. And beyond a paycheck, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting something back. How does the company measure up to YOUR expectations? On what criteria should you base your decision? And if it’s better to pass on an offer, how can you tell? Here are a few things to look for as you compare your options.

Like-Minded Coworkers and Mentor Access

How will you get along with the people who work here? Are you a match? It may not be easy to tell based on a single interview, but do your best to make an educated guess. If you’re a working parent and a team player, stop and think before you commit to a company full of hyper-competitive single people who stay at work till midnight, and vice versa.

The availability of mentors may also influence your decision. Great mentors can help you make connections and support your professional growth, but not all companies provide or encourage this model. 

Security

Where is this company headed three, five and ten years into the future? Is this a promising start-up or an established multi-national corporation? The answer may affect your sense of long term job security. If layoff rumors are likely to sweep through this place every few months, will you be able to adapt?

Room for Growth

If you enter this firm at a certain level, when will you be able to climb to the next rung of the ladder? Find out what your advancement options are and whether or not the company will support your progress. If there’s only one position above you and that person isn’t leaving any time soon, you’ll need to factor that into your long term plans.

A Comfortable Work Environment

Does this company share your values and your general approach to life? Will you be respected here, and will you respect your employers and the enterprise in general? Think carefully. Your quality of life depends on more than just a paycheck. There are few situations more rewarding than a job you love, surrounded by coworkers you respect, regardless of how much money you’re making. It’s the days, hours and minutes you spend here that will determine your future happiness or misery. So be honest with yourself. Feel free to turn the tables, ask questions, and put the employer under the microscope before you sign on. For additional advice and guidance with the job search process, talk to the experts at Merritt Staffing today.

So how can a small business with a shoestring budget build a site that appeals to both customers and high quality job applicants? Here are a few quick tips.

Your Small Business Website: Appealing to Customers

We all know that a website should be clear, navigable, and visually attractive. So by all means, get rid of the confusing links and the ugly clutter. But once you’ve done that, what comes next? You may not have a degree in marketing or the budget to hire a professional digital marketing firm, but you do have your native wits and a deep understanding of your own business model. So try this thought exercise:

Say you sell furniture. Picture a customer clicking onto your site. Should the site convince him to buy furniture? Or should it convince him to buy furniture from you? Right now?

To answer this, you’ll need to understand your target audience. Determine which type of customer you specifically cater to—The shopper who already plans to buy something and has his wallet ready, or the browser who doesn’t know what she wants until she sees it. Once you’ve answered this question, make sure your shopper sees a professional, reliable furniture dealer he can trust. And make sure your browser sees beautiful images that invite her to settle into the elegant chase lounge in the sunny breakfast nook in the life she’s always wanted.

Your Small Business Website: Appealing to Job Seekers

To appeal to job seekers, apply the same principle. Understand your target audience. Or in this case, the kind of applicant you’d like to attract. Picture your ideal applicant in your mind. What is she looking for? Is she meticulous and intense? Or is she a laid-back free thinker? Is she outgoing or withdrawn? Innovative or by-the-book? 

Tailor your website to appeal to this imaginary applicant. If you want employees with a sense of humor, make sure your text and images stay on the lighter side. If you want employees who are driven and relentless, your website should convey this kind of workplace philosophy. 

To Appeal to Both Customers and Applicants

To get your message across to both applicants and customers, use every tool at your disposal. Each of the following aspects of your site should be chosen with care and attention:

The tone of all written content 
Fonts, motifs, and elements of design
Specific photos and imported images
Sounds and videos
Testimonials.

Review each of these items with your target audience in mind. The key to effective marketing is control, so be deliberate and make sure your site contains no accidents. Once your design is complete, stay open to change. Listen and respond to all visitor feedback. Contact Merritt Staffing for more small business tips and advice.

Experience Requirements: Know When to Pounce and When to Move On

Experience-specific language is unregulated, so companies are legally free to name positions and express position requirements as they choose. But if you know how to interpret these terms, you’ll have a better understanding of which jobs to apply for and which ones to let go. Keep the following considerations in mind.

Entry Level

Entry level jobs usually don’t involve managing others, but they still tend to go to candidates who have at least a little bit of exposure to the field and a minimum level of education. Bear in mind that a mid-level or management position for a small company may equate to an entry level job at a larger firm.

Mid-Level or Mid-Career

Mid-level or mid-career positions can suggest almost anything. So if you feel like you know what you’re doing and have a portfolio or references that can help you make your case, don’t skip an opportunity to apply for a mid-level job that appeals to you. It’s at this ambiguous stage that many workers make the transition from managing only themselves to managing others. If you’ve never had a single direct report, you may still be considered mid-level by some hiring managers. And if you’ve led an entire office or run a small company, some employers may still consider you a mid-career candidate, depending on your age and the challenges you’ve faced.

Executive or Executive-Management

“Executive level” almost always suggests at least a few years of management experience. Before applying for an executive management job, be sure you know you how to speak the language of your industry fluently. Assemble a list of serious accomplishments that you can use to showcase your ability to lead others, handle substantial budgets, and make high stakes decisions.

Choosing Which Jobs to Pursue

Applying for a job outside of your standard experience bracket is completely acceptable. There’s no legal or social rule that forbids this. If you’ve only had a year in the field but feel ready to take on a higher level position, feel free to reach out. But remember: Hiring managers can only glean so much about your experience from a resume and interview. If you voluntarily take on more than you can handle, or accept a position that may under-challenge and bore you, you’ll have to navigate the consequences on your own. Think ahead, and be realistic about your skills, ambitions, and limitations. For more help with the job search process, contact Merritt and talk to an expert today.

Some parts of this role are inherently bureaucratic, and in a modern world, the nature of bureaucracy is shifting. This shift is taking place across almost every industry sector, and in keeping with these changes, HR managers are gradually taking on new roles and moving away from older ones. So what does the future hold for experienced HR mangers? And what will soon be expected of new recruits to the field?

Policing vs Partnership 

Modern human resource managers need to start thinking of themselves not just as regulation-enforcers, but as members of a team, with goals that reflect those of the larger organization. In order to thrive, companies need to internalize regulations and adhere to them both in letter and in spirit. But in order to support this effort, HR mangers need to factor long term business plans and company objectives into their overall mission.

Modern HR managers need to know how a company functions inside and out, so they can make sure human capital is deployed effectively. How team members contribute, and how they’re recruited, trained, coached, rewarded, evaluated and paid all fall under the modern HR manager’s purview. Individual employee success can equate to company success, but only if HR mangers have the deep knowledge and experience necessary to keep track of the big picture.  

Referee, Employee Advocate, and Change Driver

HR managers hold more responsibility than ever when it comes to controlling company direction and workplace culture. This can include dispute resolution, contract negotiation, job training, and any other initiatives that help employees gain the skills, motivation, and support they need to move the company forward.

This often means acting as an employee advocate, and it always means acting as a champion of effective communication. Many vital programs that were once handled by other entities now fall to human resource managers. These may include employee assistance programs, career development programs, profit sharing and benefits programs, and strategic planning initiatives.

HR mangers are also drivers of change. Every annual evaluation period calls for an assessment of employee growth and contributions, and each new collection of data means new opportunities to adjust strategies and further optimize productivity. If you’re working to find a valuable place for yourself in the new world of HR, adjusting to a shifting career landscape, or thinking of joining the HR management field, contact Merritt Staffing and arrange a consultation with our experts.

Before you begin to focus on specific hires, make sure your company can provide an updated employee manual that contains all general policies and also specific, position related information. In a modern workplace, tasks are increasingly complex and personnel changes happen fast, so it’s becoming nearly impossible for all fundamental employee information to be transmitted by word of mouth. Have a manual ready that supports everything your new hire will be told during the first few days.

Once the new hire arrives, follow these guidelines for a smooth and positive integration period.

1. 
Have her supplies and work area ready and clean. Know exactly where she’ll be placed, make sure her computer is functioning properly, and make sure she knows who to contact for questions about facilities like the copier, phone, and fax machine.  

2. 
In addition to her employee manual and position-specific worksheets and databases, make sure she has a printed schedule for her entire first week on the job. Have scheduled times established for introductory meetings with all of her supervisors and coworkers, and if possible, schedule her participation in meetings related to the projects and accounts she’ll be working on.

3. 
Have all of her necessary new hire materials ready when she arrives. This may include any HR paperwork she hasn’t completed already. It may also include key cards, parking passes, and passwords to all the databases and accounts she’ll need to access in order to begin working. 

4. 
Take responsibility for all introductions. Personally walk the new employee around and introduce her to everyone she’ll be seeing or working with on a regular basis. Assign a manager or peer to invite her out to lunch. Don’t let her navigate first-day lunch plans on her own.

Every aspect of your onboarding process should encourage the new hire to feel warmly welcomed and part of the team. Before you turn a new employee over to her supervisor and coworkers, make sure she’s spent at least a small amount of scheduled time with each one of them. And even after the first few days have passed, stay approachable and maintain an open line of communication so she feels comfortable coming to you with questions or problems. For more onboarding help, contact Merritt and arrange a consultation with our staffing experts.

But what do you do when your labor needs almost, but not quite, outstrip the capabilities of your regular workforce? What happens when you have just enough work coming in to justify keeping employees after hours, but not quite enough to add a few new full time positions? Before you make a long term decision, take these important steps.

Put your math skills to work

How long will this high tide last? If the recent increase in work represents a sign of company growth, then congratulations. And remember that it takes money to make money. If the tide is only expected to rise, be optimistic and calculate the cost of genuine, sustained expansion in your enterprise. If this tide of extra work can’t be explained, or will likely recede when the busy season ends, calculate the cost of three weeks, five weeks, or six months of estimated overtime. In either case, gather the data you need to make an informed decision.

Look around

Listen carefully to your employees and take a close look at how your resources are currently being used. Are these overtime tasks really necessary? What skills are required for the positions that use the most overtime hours? Are these skills expensive, i.e., will hiring and training costs for a new position be significant? And finally, are there any unskilled tasks that your most expensive employees are spending time on during regular hours? Maybe you can create an inexpensive support position so your high-cost employees can focus on completing skill-specific tasks within standard shift periods.

Consider a short term plan

Schedule a meeting between hiring managers and HR staff to discuss the merits of a short term position. Determine the cost of staffing such a position and have your managers weigh the benefits and drawbacks. Their suggestions will likely depend on the training required for the position, the difficulty of recruiting applicants with necessary skills, and how willing potential candidates may be to accept a temp-to-per offer.

For additional guidance and help with common staffing issues, contact Merritt and arrange a consultation with our experts.

Yes and yes. Phone interviews are easier. But candidates still need to take the phone call seriously and get around, rather than hide behind, its limitations. Here’s how.

First, prepare. Expect the same tough questions you’d hear in a face-to-face interview. You probably won’t hear these questions, since most phone interviews are simple, general screenings designed to weed out obviously inappropriate candidates. But just in case, be ready. Know how to talk about your background, discuss your future goals, and address your potential weaknesses with confidence and grace. And feel free to write things down. The phone makes it easier for you to take notes and refer to them gracefully.

Second, remember that facial expressions won’t play a role. So your voice will need to tell the interviewer that you’re listening and engaged. Don’t sit down during the call. Stand up, and try not to pace. Smile as you greet the interviewer. A smile can be felt over the phone.

Finally, don’t be afraid of conversational pauses. Your listener can’t see your face, but you can’t see hers either, and this may exaggerate pauses and make them feel longer and more awkward than they actually are. Don’t be rattled. Take a breath and wait for a full second before you answer a question, just as you would in person. Your interviewer is in no hurry, and she’s interested in what you have to say.

For both phone and in-person interviews, try not to fidget, and as always, think before you speak. For additional interview tips and guidance with your job search, contact Merritt and talk to our employment experts.

Candidates are likely to take a position with a “stepping stone” employer if they need a temporary paycheck but are ultimately looking for a more rewarding position elsewhere. They may also treat a company like a stepping stone if the company simply can’t keep up with their ambitions or offer them sufficient compensation in a competitive market.

This scenario can be frustrating, but it’s a very common part of the employment process, and it’s more likely to take place when hiring managers fail to ask the right questions during the screening process or fail to retain new hires who are too overqualified or ambitious to make a long term commitment.

When you decide to interview a candidate who seems overqualified, make sure you ask about her long term plans. Find out where she wants to be three, five and ten years from now. If you don’t have the resources to help her get there, tell her so upfront. And protect yourself. Even if she’s very talented, her talent won’t help you if she leaves in three months.

If you recognize a stepping stone candidate after the fact and realize that an expensive new hire is about to jump ship, find out what you can do to keep her in the fold. If you can’t raise her salary, try to find ways to offer the education and incentives that will help you make the best use of her skills and encourage her to grow within the firm.

1.   You have a better offer in hand.

Don’t be paralyzed by fear or doubt. Go! If it doesn’t work out, you’ll cross that bridge when you come to it.

2.   Your job is a placeholder, and it’s been holding you in place for more than five years.

If your job is simply a paycheck and can’t support or advance your true career, keep it for five years. If you haven’t found something more relevant during that period of time, it’s time to start looking harder, taking bigger risks, and making bigger sacrifices. It’s at about this point that a temporary gig establishes roots and becomes a full time life.

3.   You’d like to advance, and you’re ready, but there are no promotions available to you.

If you’re ready to take on more responsibility, but there are only three positions at the management level and none of them will be vacated any time soon, take control of your career and start looking for growth outside the company.

4.   You’ve like to advance, you’re ready, and there’s a position above you, but you can’t seem to get there.

If you’re ready for a promotion and you’ve applied and been turned down more than once, it’s time to start submitting resumes elsewhere. Don’t waste any more time with a company that won’t let you grow.

5.   You just can’t deal with your boss.

If you have a toxic relationship with your boss and you’ve been honest with yourself about your role in the mismatch and done everything you can to make it work, give communication and compromise a try for one more month, then move on.

6.   You can’t deal with your company culture.

If your workplace is hostile, depressing or abusive, don’t let learned helplessness or fear of the outside world sap the best years of your precious life. Go.

7.   You get a pricking in your thumbs.

Multiple rounds of layoffs, reports of bankruptcy, furloughs, pay cuts, and dramatic reductions in health benefits are all signs of trouble. Start job hunting now, and you might save yourself from a greater emergency down the road.

8.   You’ve been thinking about a career change. And thinking about it…and thinking about it…and thinking about it…

If you want to go back to school, open a restaurant, or pursue a dream, and you’re hesitant because of the risk involved, put it off for one more year. During that year, keep conducting research and gathering resources. After 365 more days of daydreaming, quit your job and make it happen.

What do employees value most? Consider some of these factors. Recognize that many of them can be inexpensive to provide, but can pay off enormously by reducing turnover and attracting the interest of high quality applicants.

Flexibility

There are few things that employees cherish more than flexibility. Since time often exceeds money in terms of personal value, demonstrating a flexible approach to an employee’s time shows respect for that time and respect for the employee as a person. Studies show that employees with flexible schedules often voluntarily put in more hours of focused work during a five day week that those who are required to maintain rigid schedules. There are several possible reasons for this, but the benefits for the employer are twofold: allowing employees to adjust their hours or work from home occasionally can increase productivity and also generate valuable loyalty.

Non-salary perks

If you can’t increase pay rates, it’s always a good idea to review your benefits, especially health insurance benefits, and make improvements if possible.  Many of the companies at the top of the list pay at or close to 100 percent of their employee’s premium costs. Employees also give high marks and show strong dedication to companies with nearby or onsite day-care facilities.

A high percentage of women

Interestingly, many of the companies that rank consistently high on employee surveys maintain a well-balanced gender ratio. If the number of women in the office reaches or exceeds fifty percent, employees of both genders seem happier. The exact reasons are unclear, but with more women in the office, turnover seems to drop and loyalty appears to increase. A similar effect can be noted among offices with high cultural diversity.

Location

Before opening an office or branch in a new location, conduct thorough research, and don’t underestimate the impact of a livable location on employee satisfaction.

A serious emphasis on company culture

In many cases, employees will happily accept lower salaries in exchange for a work environment that’s stimulating, supportive, and offers room for growth. Maintaining a positive company culture often falls to managers, who can have a powerful impact on your bottom line if they demonstrate strong social skills and positive, goal-oriented leadership.

If you’re interested in furthering your education on what you can do to compete with top employers, feel free to contact us for more information.