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How to Find the Best Accounting Jobs

May 25th, 2018

Maybe you’re a newly minted graduate with high hopes and ambitious plans for yourself in the accounting field. Or maybe you’re a mid-life, mid-career employee with your last job in the rearview mirror and your sights set a better job with a different employer. Or maybe you’re a former chef/dog-walker/CEO/educator who wants to step into accounting after spending the last several years working on something else.

In all three cases, you have the skills, enthusiasm and positive attitude you need to find a great job, and there’s no need to settle for less than you want. But how can you bypass the mediocre stepping stone jobs that hang in front of you like accessible fruit and reach for better opportunities that hang a little higher? Here are a few tips to keep in mind.

Get help.

First, if you haven’t traveled this path before, get some professional guidance. The support of an experienced recruiter can connect you to the most appropriate jobs and help you filter out those that aren’t quite right, pay too little, or offer marginal paths to growth. Talk to your recruiter and be as honest and explicit as possible as you describe your goals. Then let your recruiter review your resume and steer you toward an appropriate match.

Trust your networks and the networks of those around you.

The word “network” implies connections that extend beyond your immediate social circle. When you tap into your network of contacts, you aren’t just turning to friends and colleagues for leads and tips; you’re also turning to your friends’ friends and your colleagues’ colleagues. To do this properly, you’ll need to be patient and persistent, and you’ll need to constantly assess what you have to offer to others, not just what you have to gain.

Move toward what you want.

If you want to live in Hartford, look for jobs in Hartford, not in your current city. This may seem like a no-brainer, but we often feel tempted to take higher paying over a lower paying jobs, or choose a short commute over a long one, when in fact pay and commuting distance aren’t our actual priorities. We want to live in Hartford, but we take a job here instead of there, hoping that somehow it will all work out. It will only work out if we take actions that move us toward where we need to be. The same applies to building a career in a new field.

For more on how to find the employers and opportunities you’re looking for, turn to the New Haven County career management professionals at Merritt Staffing.

Recruit Hard-to-Find Top Talent

May 11th, 2018

To find the very best talent available, especially for a hard-to-staff position, you’ll have to do more than just cast a net and hope for the best. Most of your competitors will follow a straightforward path; they’ll publish a job post in a high traffic area, collect applications, and interview the best candidates from this initial pool…but that’s not exactly going the extra mile. And if you expect candidates who will pull out all the stops for your company, you’ll need to pull out all the stops first in order to find and attract them. Set yourself apart from the competition by making these extra moves.

First, research.

Carpenters measure twice so they can cut once, and your recruiting efforts should follow the same pattern. Before you begin drafting your post, conduct some research on your target audience, and set your sights high. Don’t just approach all new university graduates in a tri-state radius; instead, target relevant programs and majors, and seek candidates with specific certifications and areas of experience. Your research will tell you which ones.

Second, shape your message.

Once you’ve identified the population you’d like to target in your recruiting efforts, determine the kinds of motivations that are likely to attract and inspire this population. Do your target candidates want to make a difference in the world? Are they interested in money? Are they curious, ambitious, and driven? What will make them choose you over anther employer?

Third, partner with a pro.

Turn to an experienced recruiting firm to help you pick up on subtle signals and moves that you might otherwise miss, the moves that could mean the difference between attracting the best candidates and driving them away. Experienced, industry-specific recruiters know exactly what your target employees are looking for, and they know how to ask the right questions, conduct appropriate screening, and negotiate with these candidates in order to bring them on board. If you aren’t working with a recruiter already, consider adding this extra element of support to your staffing strategy.

When you spot top candidates, don’t let them get away.

Playing hardball with excellent candidates can undermine an otherwise promising approach. Once you have their attention, ask plenty of questions so you can understand what they need and want from their careers. And then quell the impulse to nickel-and-dime them into the arms of your competitors. Over the long term, it’s wise to pay a little more for a top candidate who will come on board, commit, and stay. While you’re at it, let go of perfectionism. Instead of engaging in a year-long search for a candidate who offers everything, prioritize your requirements and set your sights on the candidate who can offer most—if not all—of what you need.

For more on how to recruit and hire like a seasoned expert, turn to the New Haven County staffing team at Merritt.

Why Failure is Good for your Employees

April 13th, 2018

You’re been coaching your team of employees for a while now, and you’ve recently watched them put together a project for which they’ve pulled out all the stops. They’ve stayed late, they’ve demonstrated teamwork, and they’ve brought all of their hard-earned skills to the table. They’ve done their very best on their respective parts of the project. And they’ve utterly failed.

The disappointment is palpable, and the dark cloud in the office is fanning the flames of blame, mistrust and recrimination. The failure was so epic that some members of the team are rethinking their talent for this work and others are thinking of leaving the company. So as a manager, what should you do? Should you yell at them? Should you tell them they should have tried harder? Or should you view this as a valuable teaching moment? Consider the last option. Here’s why.

They are upset because they care.

Deep disappointment after failure is a strong sign of engagement, which should always be valued and encouraged in the workplace. Remember that, and respect and appreciate that if your team is gloomy, embarrassed, or wracked with self-doubt after the episode, you (and they) are doing something right. If they just shrugged it off, you’d have more cause for concern.

Put the episode in an appropriate context.

If your company is solely driven by profit and sales, let your teams know that this is just business, and growth in business comes at a cost. The more you fail, the more you learn to face failure and move past it. When you don’t fail, you don’t learn and you don’t grow. If, on the other hand, putting things in a context deepens the pain of the loss (for example, if you work in a hospital instead of an office) take a philosophical approach. Get some help from relevant therapist or healthcare management expert if you need to.

Speak privately with those who are experiencing self-doubt.

Give special attention to the employees who believe they lost the day through their own mistakes or skill deficits. These employees, separate from the team, will need a cleared-eyed assessment from you. If they’re mistaken about their abilities, let them know. If they’re correct, help them bolster their areas of weakness with appropriate training, exposure, and advice.

Keep an eye out for toxic behavior.

These difficult moments present opportunities for bullies, back stabbers, blame-placers and credit stealers. When you see subtle signs from bad actors (those who push others under the bus or deny their own share of responsibility) don’t fall for it. Give credit where it is rightfully due.

For more on how to pick up the pieces after a failure and make the most of the episode from a management perspective, contact the staffing and coaching experts at Merritt Staffing.

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