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5 Signs that it’s Time for a Career Move

August 10, 2018 by Lacey Walters

Something they don’t teach in college is how to know when to move on. After graduating, many people’s initial focus is finding a job – pretty much any job, particularly if they have debt looming over them. If it’s relevant to their studies, all the better. This causes people to settle early and often, making the promise of skills being applied be enough to sign on to a company. And once you’re in it, there is always the fear of losing tenure if you move on too quickly. Shockingly, research has found that 70% of the US workforce is not reaching its full potential, with 52% of those workers unengaged, and another 18% are actively disengaged in their current jobs. This costs an estimated $450-550 billion in lost productivity each year.

Here’s how to decide if a career change is right for you.

1 – “My heart isn’t in it.”

Sometimes, the work that you thought you signed up for can fall short of expectations. You may enter a job and realize that this sort of position may not be right for you. This can be discouraging, greatly impact your productivity, and make it hard to keep work exciting. Especially when starting your first career-path position, you can be surprised by how the job compares to your expectations.

The best way to go about these apathetic feelings is to define what you want from the position. Maybe you were looking for a certain skill set or were looking to advance within a company. Whatever your initial motivations, list them and look at them critically in accordance to what you are gaining currently. Make a list of what the job provides you, mirror that against what the job promised (maybe in a job posting or offer letter) and identify the focus.

For example, if you took a sales job to gain experience working with a certain client, write that down. Did the hiring manager promise this client to be part of your job scope? If so, and you haven’t made contact with them, it could be time to reach out to a superior and ask about your responsibilities. Having this initiative will show how prepared you are to move forward within the company, and achieving this initial goal will surely revitalize your drive. However, if the company can no longer provide you this opportunity and network, consider whether or not it meets your other career needs and think about how you could achieve this goal, even if it is with another company.

2 – “I’m not receiving proper reward or recognition.”

If you take a job that promises promotions, bonuses, and other compensation or movement and you have been with the company for quite some time, you may be wondering when those perks will appear. It’s hard to approach this topic with a superior, because you know that these things are earned, not given. However, if this was what drew you to the company and it has not been attained, you may start to second-guess your employment decision.

The first thing you need to do is know your facts. Dig out your offer letter from the company and find any material you can on their compensation scheme and benefits. Go online and use tools like Glassdoor’s Compensation Analyst or LinkedIn’s Salary Estimator to see how your compensation package compares to what other companies are offering in your industry and location. Set your expectations based on real-time facts and figures and analyze how your company may meet or exceed these standards.

If you are making above average in your qualifications and title, this should give you a new appreciation for your company and position. You may be luckier than you think! Perhaps your job has fallen short of industry norms or your company hasn’t fulfilled their promises of retention bonuses or perks. Approach your manager or HR and discuss your concerns in a respectful and constructive way. The worst thing you can do is remain inactive in your worry.

3 – “I don’t trust the company” or “I don’t fit the culture.”

This can be a tough situation. What people typically run into with a new position is the insider’s view they can get of a company’s philosophy. Something you must remember when starting a new job is that the first 90 days isn’t just the company watching to see if you’ll be a right fit, but for you to watch and see if the company is the right fit. Research shows that, “only 41% of employees felt that they know what their company stands for and what makes its brand different from its competitors’ brands.”

There are a few outlets to research the culture of a company, including looking up their employee reviews on Glassdoor; reading their client reviews on Yelp, Google, and Indeed. Look at the company’s website, social media pages, and LinkedIn to see how they interact with their industry, community, and employees. These give you an idea of what the company stands for and prepares you before accepting the offer.

However, just as individuals post idealized images of their lives on Facebook, companies can construct the perfect workplace image online. When your company turns out differently than you expect after signing on, you can approach HR and discuss your concerns. The same applies if you are uncomfortable with your company’s ethos or atmosphere. A big part of career satisfaction comes from the workplace environment. If you are uncomfortable with it, chances are you are not the only one. Speak up. Use your resources. Consider moving elsewhere if no improvements can be made.

4 – “I’m not living up to my full career potential.”

According to Gallup research, “an alarming 70% of American employees aren’t working to their full potential.” This feeling is something many people have but are reluctant to face. Perhaps when you entered the position, you thought you would be gradually given more responsibility and/or visibility and have since felt like your hard work has gone unnoticed or doesn’t support your company’s goals. The important task here is to define what you want to be doing, and then plan ways to get there.

What is your potential? What skills can you offer that aren’t being put to use, and how can they be put to use? Know your worth and become your own biggest supporter. If you think you can handle a larger portfolio, ask your manager for an extra client. If you want to showcase your abilities in design, ask. Take a stab at a proposal before the company presents to the client. Sometimes it may not be a lack of management’s interest or confidence in your abilities. Your potential can be overlooked if it goes unknown to the company’s decision makers.

However, it can always be possible that this position does not fit your capabilities. Maybe you are meant to be in another role with more clientele or creativity. If that’s the case, a change could be the answer to living up to your full potential. Never assume you are undervalued if you haven’t proven your value, but never settle if you aren’t challenged and engaged.

5 – “There’s no room for upward movement.”

A greater problem still can come from a position where you are familiar with the company, have gained a lot of rewarding experience, and are passionate about what you do. Yet, you’ve moved to the top of your department and cannot experience any more vertical growth. This is always heartbreaking, because it’s likely that if you have been with the company long enough to grow that far, you are comfortable with all other aspects of the company.

But maybe that’s the problem. Being too comfortable can limit your achievements. If you have asked all the right questions, gone to the CEO about further growth, and have gotten everything you can from the position, it may be time to search for another career opportunity that can provide you with new experiences.

No matter the case, making a career move can be difficult. If you relate to any of the issues above and have not been able to find a fix within your current company, know that the job pool is large. We want to encourage you to look for your perfect fit.

Need help in your search? Have questions? Contact us at info@bluesignal.com.

Job Ads Should Look More Like Dating Profiles – Here’s Why.

May 26, 2017 by Lacey Walters

Picture seeing an online dating profile like this:

Requirements:

Must do all chores (laundry, all cleaning, bills), plus more as needed.

Must be willing to make sandwiches on demand and cook all meals 5+ times per week.

Minimum 700+ credit score and excellent budgeting skills required.

Must be able to handle difficult in-laws.

Who would swipe right on a profile like that? Any sane suitor would swipe left on that person as if their life depended on it because no one in their right mind would list requirements like that on a dating profile. It just isn’t a feasible way to find a successful match. So why are job ads being written like this?

Take a look at the description below, taken from real job postings:

Requirements:

Minimum 10 years of experience.

MBA required.

MUST be willing to work long hours on nights and weekends.

Must handle all regular duties plus others as needed.

Self-starter who can work with minimal direction.

Proven success in consistently landing top-level enterprise clients.

Natural ability to thrive under high pressure.

Please do not apply if you do not have qualifications listed above.

More like a prison sentence than a job ad. Not a single top performer would be tempted to apply to a job like this, and yet this continues to be the standard in the job ad world. Instead of showcasing a company’s passion, mission, and opportunity, they aim to scare off all but the most dedicated candidates. Demanding job ads became the norm during the 2008 financial crisis. Job ads were full of intimidating lists of hefty requirements, because the labor market was so bad that even top people were willing to take any jobs they could get.

The trouble is, this approach has stopped working.

The economy has shifted to a candidate-driven market, and companies are finding that the talent market is more competitive than ever, especially in fast-growing market segments like emerging technology, wireless/telecom, and programming. And due to tightening work visa restrictions, employers cannot always rely on the pool of H-1B workers. As a result, companies are having a harder time attracting talent.

Better to have too many choices than not enough.

Of course, there are some non-negotiables in both dating and employment. Everyone has standards. But highlighting the negative aspects of the job to “scare away” unmotivated applicants will make a top candidate question why they would bother applying to an apparently horrible job.

Experts estimate that up to 80% of candidates are passive. This means they keep options open but usually stay put unless something great comes along. Companies who write hardline job ads cut out 80% of their possible applicants. The best employees almost never have to make a career move, so companies with bad job descriptions automatically eliminate the best candidates right off the bat.

Image: Ernest Shackleton’s 1901 newspaper ad for the first successful trip to the South Pole.

Writing more attractive job ads will naturally cause an uptick in the number of applicants. Sometimes this is the reason companies write harsh job ads – they want to reduce the flood of applications. However, this strategy is flawed. In the world of easy online applications, companies who demand too much will still get flooded with applicants, but the majority will be desperate or underqualified applicants. It is better to have too many choices than not enough.

By the way, getting overwhelmed by applications is one of the best reasons to consider using a recruiter to weed through hundreds of applicants. Recruiter fees are expensive, but so is a hiring manager’s time.

Bad attitudes are expensive.

Focusing on the minimum qualifications is insulting to top candidates who have worked hard to build their skillset and bring extra to the job. Telling someone that they have met the minimum standard is hardly motivating in the dating world, and even less in the professional world. It is far better to tell them what the reward will be if they exceed expectations. Instead of focusing on the minimum bar, focus on the things that will set the job apart and how the company rewards its best people.

If employees have to jump through hoops during the hiring process, expect to pay a lot more than market rate to attract high-performing employees. Even then, many people will eventually leave a high-paying job for a job that treats them well. High turnover might work for minimum-wage employees, but it gets very expensive for salaried employees. Consider the direct costs of replacing an employee (advertising the job, interviewing, travel costs, background checks, and onboarding), plus the indirect costs of low morale, poor branding, decreased service quality, and the negative effects of stressed and dissatisfied employees.

Just like in real life, there is a spectrum of what works. Antagonistic, authoritarian work relationships can sometimes produce results (take Amazon’s notorious work culture, for example), but candidates in today’s market have lots of options. Companies who take a hardline attitude should not count on attracting top performers.

Show personality, not gimmicks.

Once upon a time, “Coding Ninja” job titles and ping-pong tables were the hottest way to attract up-and-coming talent. It worked for a while, but in the end, employees mostly want to make sure that a job will meet their real needs. That means money, time off, career advancement, and a good workplace environment.

What should companies focus on instead? Start with opportunities, rewards for top performers, career paths, benefits, work culture, and brand ideals. The top attractors in the United States have strong branding around how they’re changing the world. They don’t always pay the most or have the best benefits, but they maintain strong ideals about their mission.

Most companies only put effort into considering what they want out of an employee, and no time thinking about why anyone would want the job. This is unfortunate, because every company has something unique to offer. Start with the hard numbers, like salary package, benefits, PTO, and bonus structure. Go on Glassdoor to see what people are already saying, and pick out some of the top positive comments describing the culture. Plan out the realistic career path for the person who will fill this position, and note in the job description what opportunities they will have.

Focus on the relationship.

Even the most formal professional relationships are still relationships. They are based on people understanding each other and cooperating. When someone takes a job, they sign up to spend hundreds or thousands of hours of their life to pursue the company’s goals, and the company agrees to be that employee’s livelihood.

Investing in employees is expensive, but it also produces great results. Many studies have shown that unhappy employees do a bad job at work, and happy employees give better service. It takes time, effort, and hard work to attract top people, but the payoff is enormous.

Want more tips on how to write a great job ad? Check out Blue Signal’s top 5 tips for building a better job description.

Sales Reps: Ask These Questions in Your Next Sales Interview

May 11, 2017 by Lacey Walters

Many sales reps are great interviewers, since they excel at building relationships and having targeted conversations. One of the best ways a sales rep can stand out from the competition in an interview is by asking great questions. Research the company’s products and brands well ahead of time (try out the products firsthand, if possible), and then spend the interview time asking questions that will help both parties to determine whether the job is a fit.

These questions are designed to jumpstart conversation about company culture specifics. Listen carefully to what is said, and what is not said. Be ready for a range of possible answers, and have responses to guide the conversation.

“What is the usual progression for top performers in this job?”

Sales roles often have high turnover, especially at the lower levels. But asking simply about tenure can give a bad impression in an interview. Instead of asking a question that focuses on the worst performers, ask about the best performers. This question does double-duty: it demonstrates a commitment to succeed, and it also uncovers how the company treats its highest-performing salespeople.

Another variant on this question is, “What do the most successful salespeople do in their first month on the job?” Both variations of the question emphasize that the candidate has every intention of doing a good job.

“If you had an extra 20% added to your budget, how would you spend it?

An engaged hiring manager will know what they would love to spend more money on – product training, marketing materials, extra reps, prospecting software, or extra incentives, for example.

There is no right or wrong answer to this question, but it will indicate the top priorities (and possible pain points) of the team’s management. Someone from a technical background may prioritize product knowledge and technical support. A manager who is actively engaged with their team may focus on skills development. A data-driven manager may invest in analytical software and tracking tools for the team to find out where the problem is. Listen carefully to the “why” in the interviewer’s answer, and think about what was not said as well as what was said.

“What is the top skill you wish you could improve in your sales team?”

Every team has weaknesses, and most sales teams struggle with a similar set of challenges across the board. This question gives insight into which weaknesses the manager focuses on. Common answers to this question include: product knowledge, prospecting, actual salesmanship, and better documentation/follow-up. An engaged hiring manager will answer this question in detail because they know where the team’s weaknesses are.

A sales rep who is interviewing can use this information to guide future questions, especially if they are strong in an area where the rest of the team is weak. It pays to follow up with a question about how the sales department compensates for this weakness—additional training, regular coaching, bigger incentives? It says a lot about the overall approach of the team.

“Which departments does the sales team work with on a regular basis?”

Some sales teams operate in a bubble and focus purely on selling, selling, selling. Other companies have a more collaborative culture, and their sales teams meet with R&D to brainstorm solutions to common customer complaints, or with marketing to come up with better materials and marketing strategies to help reps sell better. Neither approach is right or wrong, but it says a lot about how the company integrates sales into the rest of its culture.

“What kind of support personnel does your sales team have?”

Sales is not an easy line of work, and it gets even harder when reps are bogged down with non-sales work. Support personnel help a sales team to run like clockwork. This includes sales engineers, technical support, customer service, admin, data entry, product managers, and pre-sales/post-sales support coordinators. Even a small number of support personnel can mean a huge difference in a rep’s workload, and that translates to more sales and more commissions.

“What percentage of reps hit their quota each year? How does the top 10% perform?”

Not all sales departments set realistic quotas for their team. If the annual quota is $5 million, but the average rep only closes $3 million, the target is unrealistic. A very high OTE is great, but only if it is achievable. This question also helps to feel out how in touch a hiring manager is with their team’s numbers.

It pays to know how the top 10% performs compared to the average rep, to get a realistic idea of how much to expect in sales and commissions.

“What is the sales workflow?”

This question gives the hiring manager a good opportunity to talk about what tools and procedures the company uses in its sales process. A good sales funnel is straightforward and simple. Beware of a complicated process with unnecessary twists and turns. Another red flag is a high amount of follow-up, which takes a rep’s time away from selling.

Get an idea of the company’s sales stack. Even the best salesperson can have a hard time selling if the company’s software platform is outdated or difficult to use. On the other hand, a modern fully-loaded CRM shows that the company is serious about investing in its sales team.

“Why are you hiring for this role right now?”

The easy answer to this question is, “We’re growing,” which is what most hiring managers will answer. But instead of stopping there, dig a little deeper. Ask how much they have grown, and how it compares to past growth. Why now? This is also a good opportunity to find out the size of the sales team.

The other possible answer is that someone left. This is not automatically a bad thing – the hiring process usually moves much faster for replacement roles than for newly created roles. If the role is open because someone resigned, see how the hiring manager responds. If they speak negatively about the employee or air grievances (which tends to be uncommon), take it as a red flag. The best professional response is to briefly explain that the person moved on to other opportunities.

“What is the biggest challenge your team has faced in the last year, and how did your team overcome it?”

The sales profession is not easy, especially in the roller-coaster market of the past 10 years. Every team has faced challenges. Find out how they responded, and more importantly, how the hiring manager speaks about the difficulties on the job. Some managers ignore or minimize problems, some face them head-on, some like to get their hands dirty on the front lines, and others like to analyze the problem carefully and take a targeted approach. Again, this question is all about getting down to the personality and work culture of the team.

“Tell me about some of your key metrics.”

Selling is a numbers game, and a great hiring manager is on top of their team’s metrics. Good metrics to talk about include the cost of acquiring a new customer, conversion rates, and average deal size. For long-cycle sales, be sure to get an estimate of how long deals usually take to close.

The interviewee should have their own numbers ready to discuss, so that once the hiring manager begins talking about their metrics, the interviewee can respond with how they can improve those metrics. This is a good opportunity to trade stories about big milestones and key successes in the past few years.

“What keeps you motivated and excited to come to work every day?”

This is an easy one to pull out to break tension or to follow a complex question. People who work in sales are all about motivation and excitement (if not, they are probably in the wrong profession). What they say is less important than how they say it. If their answer is motivating and exciting, they are probably a good match.

Interviewing soon? Read more about how to excel in a sales interview. Find even more interview tips here.

Before You Hire an AWS/Cloud Engineer, Read This.

March 10, 2017 by Lacey Walters

Cloud computing is growing faster than ever. The cloud market reached almost $150 billion in 2016, and is growing at 25% annually. Traditionally, companies’ top concern was security. But this year, the #1 challenge reported by cloud adopters is a lack of people with the right skills.

At the forefront is Amazon Web Services (AWS), the public cloud division of Amazon. Their business-friendly cloud options ranked #1 in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant. AWS has been around since 1999, however, with the spike in cloud migrations, demand for qualified people has exploded.

The natural response is to scramble to get approval for a new top AWS/cloud migration expert. But many companies run into trouble by hiring the wrong type of person, hiring without a plan, or hiring before their infrastructure is ready. This leads to poor retention and an expensive cloud-based disaster.

How to lay the groundwork for a new AWS/cloud project:

What is the goal?

AWS has many modules; its tagline is “A platform for virtually every use case.” It is the CTO’s job to set a goal and narrow the focus. Too many companies jump into new technology because everyone seems to be doing it, but the reality is that no project can succeed without a clear, realistic goal.

The worst possible approach is, “We need to invest in cloud. What should we do with it?” The goal should address an existing problem that ties directly to revenue. For instance: streamlining a data center, improving security, speeding up data processing, or meeting compliance standards. AWS and cloud-based technology cannot solve every problem, but it brings many exciting tools to the table.

What are the options?

Cloud technology is not an all-or-nothing investment. After defining the goal, choose the features and modules that make sense. For many companies, a hybrid solution is best for their needs, especially for companies with existing infrastructure and assets. Smaller companies can simply rent or buy into existing cloud platforms and software, especially for data storage and security needs. Enterprises and companies doing large cloud migrations will more likely need to hire an expert.

Who is driving?

Without a clear leader to head up the effort, a cloud project will quickly fall apart and become a chaotic, over-budget mess. A director or department head may seem like the obvious choice, however it may not be the best choice if this person already has a totally full schedule, travels a lot, or does not understand the technology.

The best person to lead is someone who is highly project-oriented and a big-picture strategist who communicates well with many types of people. Someone detail-oriented risks getting lost in the weeds. Ideally, they have technical experience or manage technical people.

Now what?

With the groundwork in place, the hiring need should be clearer.

Before interviewing, know the right questions to ask, and have at least one interviewer who can ask technical questions on the AWS technology. This is for two reasons: it screens out underqualified candidates, and it gives the interviewing company legitimacy. Experts gravitate towards companies who have done their research and ask the right questions. It is an indication that the company will treat them well and respect their expertise.

Beware of hiring a complete team of outside people to manage a brand new big-budget technology project. Even if they are experts in the technology, they are not familiar with the company culture and team. Even the best person can run into problems if current employees perceive that an “outsider” is coming in and trying to change everything overnight. A more neutral strategy is to hire an engineer or architect who reports to a trusted leader within the organization who can act as the liaison.

Train some, hire some. Who can be retrained? Competition is so fierce that some companies will inevitably be stuck with a person who has the technical skills but is not the best cultural fit, or vice versa. Therefore, the lower the budget, the greater the need for flexibility.

Work to change technophobe attitudes before the project starts. Share responsibility and ownership in the project with the whole team, and get as many people as possible on board. Take their ideas and try them out, where possible. New technology can feel like a threat and a burden, so open communication does wonders to make current employees feel more at ease.

Lastly, have a follow-through plan. Once the cloud project is complete, have a plan in place for who will maintain it and run it. Hire or train them with plenty of time. Success in the early stages is critical for employees to get on board.

As with any complex project, it pays to work with a recruiter who knows the space well and can locate the best talent for the company’s budget. If your company is considering a large-scale cloud or AWS project, contact us for a free evaluation of your hiring needs. Reach our cloud specialists directly at info@bluesignal.com or give us a call at (480) 939-3200.

7 Subtle Motivation-Killers of Top Employees

February 17, 2017 by Lacey Walters

“Highly motivated” is a common requirement on job descriptions, but in reality, “built-in” motivation is a myth. While an employee’s internal drive is important, the other half of the equation is a joint effort by the employee and the manager to foster a productive workplace.

Employee engagement is a top buzzword of recent years, and there are many obvious killers of motivation: below-market pay, crushing workload, delayed wages, unfair management practices, and oppressive bureaucracy. But for highly paid top performers, some team managers miss more subtle killers of motivation. In an increasingly competitive job market, these top employees have more options than ever, so it is important to address motivation killers and build a productive, healthy environment that lets high performers shine.

1. Unclear advancement plans

In the modern high-level interview, hiring managers often ask for a prospective employee’s career goals. Not everyone wants to go into management, so this interview question is critical in uncovering what motivates the employee. However, many managers never follow up on this initial conversation.

Regularly discussing where the employee wants to go and how to get there is important, but it is only the start. High achievers are good at setting and reaching goals, so they need to have measurable targets to hit and a specific timeline. If an employee feels they are indefinitely treading water, or that they have no prospects for advancement at their current company, they will move on. Tip the balance by giving top performers a realistic idea of their growth timeline and what they can expect as a reward for their hard work.

2. Unaddressed conflict

High performers often have well-rounded communication skills and are good at coping with set-backs and frustrations. That said, a toxic work environment will quickly frustrate someone who is trying to focus on achieving good results in their job. A sudden change in an employee’s performance or an abrupt drop-off in communication is a telltale sign of a toxic situation. Toxic workplaces kill employee engagement.

Promptly address conflict. Meet face-to-face with involved employees and be prepared to discuss what is bothering them in honest, blunt terms. Many times, good communication with a mediator will take the fire out of a bad situation. At other times, more drastic measures are required. Either way, when a top employee is sending distress signals, ignoring the problem destroys trust along with motivation.

3. Lack of feedback and/or indifference to new ideas

When employees come up with new ideas and find new ways of doing things, it is a sure sign that they have good motivation and are engaged in their jobs. A quick way to kill that motivation is to gloss over their ideas. Even if the idea is totally unworkable, enthusiastic acknowledgement of their effort is critical.

Meet regularly with high-performing employees, not just to assess performance, but to build trust so that the employee feels confident enough to share new ideas. Top performers often provide advice that is just as good as a pricey consultant.

4. Poor industry reputation

A company rarely has a bad reputation without something else being wrong. Negative press or a poor financial outlook can cause employees to start searching before a crisis hits. This correlation is stronger with senior executives. Executives are generally more in tune with market conditions and the company’s industry reputation. Senior employees are also impacted more strongly by performance-based bonuses and budget cuts, so a stream of bad press can jumpstart a new job search.

Interestingly, the past few years have seen the market become much more politicized. In a report titled “The Dawn of CEO Activism,” KRC Research found that almost 40% of American consumers say CEOs have a responsibility to publicly address hot-button political issues. Depending on whether employees support or oppose their company’s views, political involvement can bolster or kill motivation. Senior executives in particular may come under fire for comments by the company, or have to clean up messes as a result of an unpopular comment.

In fast-moving industries with shorter tenure, especially technology, top performers look ahead to make sure that the experience they are building now can get them a job down the road. Tech professionals have learned the hard way that even giants like Myspace and Netscape can hit hard times and turn a star resume into one that looks dated and unfashionable.

5. Being passed over for a key promotion

Top performers are less of a flight risk than underperformers. However, sudden departures are often due to missing out on a promotion or award. If a hiring manager is interviewing internally and interviews three top performers for a juicy promotion, and only one of them gets it, the hiring manager risks losing his other two top performers. The solution is to take time to give them a good explanation as to why they were passed over. Reevaluate their career path within the organization together with them.

Ironically, top employees sometimes leave because of a promotion or salary increase! The HR analytics software Workday found that a significant percentage of high-performing employees had a higher risk of leaving the company after a promotion.

Several scenarios can cause this phenomenon:

After transitioning into the new role, the employee runs into one of the problems above.
The employee takes on more responsibility than they could manage.
The promotion or raise comes too late or fails to meet expectations.
The new job title or award makes the employee more attractive to recruiters or motivates them to explore even better options outside the company.

When interviewing internal candidates for a high-level position, it is critical to spend time with the rejected candidates to reevaluate their growth plan within the company, so they do not take it as a sign to move on.

6. Insufficient mentorship or development opportunities

Networking is still the #1 way that people get a new job or advance at their current one. It is important to help top employees build mentor relationships within the company.

A mentor fulfills many roles in an employee’s professional life: they coach, train, give advice, brainstorm, encourage, and correct. Having strong professional relationships within an organization is a powerful incentive for a high achiever to work hard and stay with the company.

By contrast, companies who fail to invest in their top employees’ growth lose twice. Their top people gravitate to the competition, and they fail to attract top employees to replace them. Today’s employee knows that demand for new skills is fierce. Top employees have to reinvent themselves several times in the course of their careers. If an employer is not investing their skills, they lose the motivation to invest their best effort in growing the company.

7. Too little work or uninteresting projects

A mediocre employee will happily take a paycheck without enough work to keep them busy. Top performers want to be challenged. Even if an employee believes wholeheartedly in the company’s mission and loves their work, they will quickly become frustrated if they are bored or perceive that their work is unimportant.

If a high performer is consistently hitting goals without much effort, they have outgrown their current role. It can be tempting to keep them where they are to save the cost of replacing them when they move up the ladder, but this will frustrate the employee and usually lead to a drop in performance or a resignation letter. Reward employees’ growth by helping them to reach their desired career goals.

Many employees would rather leave than complain, so pay attention to early warning signs. Do not rely on employees to set their own workloads. It is the manager’s job to invest time in the employee to match their workload to their ability, drive, and personality. Find out what aspects of a project or of a client the employee enjoys working with, and seek out ways to maximize it for that employee. The investment is well worth it. Motivated employees who like their jobs will happily go to bat for their company to get the best results.

Change is difficult, and even top employees are reluctant to jump into a long job search process that may or may not pay off. A high performer will send many signs before they feel frustrated enough to start job-searching. Employee engagement takes an investment of time, thought, and resources. But the reward is that a manager who engages employees will have far better results to show than a manager who focuses on the results instead of on the people who produce them.

Why Successful People Take Recruiters’ Phone Calls

February 8, 2017 by Lacey Walters

Recruiters sometimes have a reputation for reaching out at inconvenient times. It can be tempting just to delete the LinkedIn message or reject the call. But overcoming that natural aversion and taking the call can pay big dividends.

Many companies cannot keep up with the flood of resumes in response to their job postings, and they use recruiters to fill their most critical openings. Many of the top openings are never even posted on job boards. Successful people know that a good recruiter can hold the key to their next great role.

Here are 10 more reasons that successful people take recruiters’ calls:

Successful people are proactive.

There are four professionals that everyone should know before they need them: a doctor, a lawyer, an accountant, and a recruiter. A crisis is not a good time to be looking for one of these people! Take a call when things are good. Candidates who wait until they desperately need to change jobs often find themselves boxed in without many great options.

They get free market intelligence.

Some recruiters are generalists, but most have a specialty focus. Recruiter who hire within a specialized niche are tuned into which parts of the market are growing, and who will be hiring or firing in the near future. A good recruiter relies on industry news to drive their business. They can pass on that industry news to hard-working candidates who might not have time to catch up on the market trends.

It’s a good investment of time.

An investment of 10 minutes can turn into a dream job. Not only that, it can pay big money. Employees get an average pay increase of 8-11% when they change jobs. This is a lot more than the 3-5% annual raises offered by most companies. Young workers see the biggest gains when they change jobs.

Consider the opposite. If proactive candidates are changing jobs and getting those pay increases, there is less money available for the people who stay put. Occasionally changing jobs has become more common

Recruiters work for free.

The hiring manager’s company pays the recruiter, so the candidate benefits from a recruiter’s hard work for free. It never hurts to listen. Searching for a job is stressful even in the best of times, but a recruiter does a lot of the difficult leg-work, including getting the attention of the hiring manager, negotiating salary and relocation packages, selling the candidate’s skills, and coordinating all of the logistics.

Passive talent gets the best jobs.

“Passive talent” is a buzzword that has gained popularity in the recruiting world in recent years. Hiring managers have come to understand that top performers almost never need to leave their job, and are more likely to be passive in their job searches. Often, hiring managers are willing to pay more for passive talent. Not only are they willing to pay a fee to a recruiter, they often have higher salaries than advertised job postings.
Many companies cannot keep up with the flood of unqualified applications that come with job postings, so often a recruiter is their best path to top candidates.

They can double-check their career strategy.

Successful people have a set of written goals to map out their career. However, no one has a perfect perspective of the industry. Many employees have no mentor for their careers. A recruiter’s job is to talk to a lot of people, usually at a high level. They can give valuable insight on what is happening in the industry, as well as general workplace trends. Is it too soon to ask for a raise? What technologies are up and coming? Is it better to change jobs for growth, or stay put to avoid job-hopping? A specialized recruiter can answer these questions and more.

Recruiters often know industry salaries better than the hiring managers.

Managers who do a lot of hiring often have a very good idea of the market rates. However, most hiring managers only hire a few people per year, and many have limited information about current salary ranges. Since it is in the recruiter’s best interest to get the candidate the highest possible salary, candidates can learn where their salary falls with regards to the market rate. They can also discuss what salary range to ask for.

While some jobs naturally develop good negotiation skills, like sales, candidates in industries like technology and engineering often do not get as much opportunity to hone their negotiation skills. A recruiter can not only give them salary information, they often do the negotiation on the candidate’s behalf.

They want privacy.

Online job applications require a lot of information—name, current company, and often salary. Working with a recruiter adds a layer of privacy for candidates in small industries. Ask a recruiter on the first call what their confidentiality policy is. Good recruiters work with NDAs and can run protected searches that keep the client and/or candidate names confidential throughout the process. It pays to work with recruiters with strong confidentiality policies and to have a signed confidentiality agreement in place to protect everyone involved.

They know what upgrades they want.

No job is perfect. Top employees know the benefits and shortfalls of their current role, so that if something significantly better comes along, they can quickly evaluate it and act decisively. Every candidate has slightly different priorities: work-life balance, shorter commute, salary, benefits package, company culture, location, or more exciting projects. Candidates who talk to recruiters regularly are more likely to know what they want and to have clearly defined career goals, preparing them to handle any crisis that might come up.

Not every recruiter’s call will lead to a job change, but that is not the only benefit. Candidates owe it to themselves, their families, and their careers to keep an open mind about potential opportunities. It is a time investment that more than pays for itself.

Salespeople: How to Sell Yourself Better in a Sales Interview

February 1, 2017 by Lacey Walters

When it comes to interviewing, salespeople have a natural advantage over employees in other departments: they talk to people every day, they are naturally persuasive, and they have a strong internal motivation. That means that any time they interview for a sales position, the competition is stiff.

Not every salesperson is good at pitching themselves, but this is no reason to get tongue-tied. It is not worth leaving it to chance that the hiring manager will notice all shining qualities from the resume. Before an interview, after doing research on the company, salespeople can tweak their mindset to put themselves in the best possible position to sell their skills effectively to a hiring manager.

6 Interview Tips for Salespeople:

1. You are a solution, not a product.

Salespeople sell products and services every day, but many of them find it distasteful to think of “selling” themselves to a company like a product. Products get used up and eventually thrown away, and they are static—not a great way to describe a person. Instead, take a page from the modern sales playbook and sell a solution, not a product. In this interview, the employee is the solutions package. Tailor the pitch of the “solution’s” features and capabilities to match with the company’s business needs, and show them why they should expect a good ROI if they make the hire.

This also helps to dampen some of the personal feelings that can creep into interviews. Interviews are stressful, but their purpose is to determine whether or not a candidate is a good fit for the job in question. Analyze the job’s goals and present the solution—you. There are no hard feelings if the job ends up not being a good fit.

This shift in mindset sets the best possible tone for the interview, and puts the interviewee in a position to speak from firsthand experience and practice.

2. Tell a story with a timeline.

Every employee should have a set of career goals and a career timeline (if not, start one now). In the interview, the interviewee should tell a story that shows the hiring manager where they started, what goals they have already reached, and what goals they hope to reach at this new position.

Be honest and be flexible. Anyone who is hiring a salesperson is going to be able to see past a fluff response.

The solutions selling mindset is the starting point. Salespeople who practice consultative solutions selling know that a static, rigid solution will eventually become obsolete and lose its value. People are not finished products; they grow and change. Likewise, a good hiring manager recognizes that to attract the top talent, they will need to provide growth opportunities for their people. Be ready to describe what that looks like.

3. Have numbers ready.

Many departments struggle to quantify their ROI. Not sales! Salespeople are fortunate to have easy access to the impact they have had on their company’s bottom line. Most companies publish regular reports showing rankings, quotas, revenue, and other metrics. This is a key advantage because it is direct proof of success.

Start with these numbers:

Percent achieved of quota
Number of financial quarters of hit/exceeded quota
Ranking amongst other salespeople in the company
Records hit (e.g. Presidents Club)
Revenue generated
Marquee clients or biggest contracts signed
Travel percentage (local, regional, nationwide, international)

These metrics will not have their full effect when fired out all at once. Use another sales tactic here: incorporate these numbers into a narrative that tells the story of career growth.

After the interview, crunch the numbers the hiring manager provides. Consider the OTE vs. base salary split, any commission caps, the ramp-up time, sales cycle length, and other factors. Avoid negotiating hard during the interview, when the pressure is on.

4. Go above and beyond references.

Hiring managers generally contact references after the second interview, when they are fairly sure they want to make the hire. Don’t wait that long! Get colleagues, managers, and star customers to write endorsements on LinkedIn (this is good practice even for salespeople who are not interviewing, as it gives legitimacy when a prospect looks them up). Verbally quote satisfied customers in the interview. Consider sending a letter of recommendation from a marquee client or a senior management executive.

Coach references before submitting them to the hiring manager. Many people are not sure how to give a good reference over the phone. At a minimum, provide them with the job description, resume, and key facts that the hiring manager needs to hear.

Be sure to adhere to all privacy agreements, both of the current employer, customers, and hiring company. Violating the privacy of a customer or employer is grounds for termination.

5. Sell “brand value.”

When pitching a solution to a prospect, salespeople have to differentiate their solutions package from the competition. Whoever presents the best value to the customer is usually the one who wins the deal. Not all customers are looking for the lowest price, but almost every customer wants good value for their money.

After getting their attention with sales numbers, move to demonstrate personal brand value. Highlight key differentiators such as niche market knowledge, experience, and any unique approaches that fit well with the company’s goals. People outside of sales sometimes see salespeople as interchangeable. Prove them wrong with a demonstration of why this is the best possible investment they can make for this position.

Some companies incorporate a mock sales presentation into their interviews. If so, take full advantage. Do intensive research on the company’s products and solutions. If they have an online trial, spend time getting to know it. Find out their customers and pain points. Prepare a sales presentation and show them unique and exceptional sales skills.

6. Overcome objections

Top salespeople have to be big-picture and detail-oriented at the same time. When it comes to closing high-profile deals, they need to anticipate a prospect’s objections and overcome them with solid, compelling data. The same rule applies in an interview.

No one is perfect, so find weak spots in job history or skills and have a defense ready. Ask for the objection, and then overcome it enthusiastically. This gives the hiring manager further evidence of how they can expect their customers to be treated if they go through with the hire.

While many employees have to learn a totally new set of skills when they go into an interview, salespeople have a tremendous advantage with highly developed interpersonal skills in negotiation, solutions proposals, needs analysis, and overcoming objections.

An interview is a hiring manager’s opportunity to make a decision about an investment in a person. What they need in order to make this decision is evidence that the salesperson can deliver on their promises, uphold the company’s reputation, and close deals. Give them the proof that the person sitting in front of them is the best fit for their job.

Looking for a new sales job? Check out our open positions here.

10 Tips to Attract Top Talent with a Good Hiring Process

July 20, 2016 by Lacey Walters

Many companies lose top talent due to a poor interview process.

Companies conduct interviews in the same way that they conduct business. Top talent knows what to look for in the interview process, so hiring managers should do the same. Below are 10 key tips to optimize the hiring process to attract top talent with a good interviewing process.

1. Do not treat candidates as mere applicants.

Top candidates know they are highly sought-after. They are regularly approached by recruiters or head-hunters and rarely apply to open jobs. Do not treat them as any other applicant; roll out the red carpet.

Respond to their inquiries and questions promptly. Be open and honest with them. If they are not a fit, or if hiring priorities change, let them know the real reasons why. In today’s fast-paced electronic world, news travels fast; if they are a highly respected professional in the industry, they will talk, and others will listen.

2. Respect their time.

Desired candidates are busy at their current company and do not have large windows of free time. Lengthy meetings during business hours are often convenient only for the hiring manager. Make the most out of their time. If they take time off to visit, be sure to make the most efficient use of their PTO with the line-up and meetings. Try to avoid multiple visits if possible. Use a virtual interview platform, if applicable. Virtual interviews save time, minimize scheduling hassles, and free up budget.

3. Train interviewers.

To land top talent, send the best. HR professionals with training in conducting interviews tend to ask robust questions to bolster excitement and engage the candidate’s interest. However, hiring managers and other interviewers may lack formal training in conducting an interview. Make training and resources available to interviewers well in advance, and present it as an employee development opportunity.

4. Make the most of each interview.

When possible, strive for a balance of interviewing styles, with a variety of personality types, interviewing experience, technical expertise, and tenure. A good strategy is to pair the candidate with a current employee who is succeeding in the role. An individual with energy, experience, and excitement around the opportunity promotes enthusiasm in the candidate, as well as giving legitimacy to the role.

A round-table discussion achieves many goals at once: it gets multiple interviewers on the same page and is an avenue for reviewing prepared questions, discussing interview strategy, and reducing haphazard preparation in busy departments where hiring managers are juggling multiple deadlines.

5. Prepare the interview environment.

The interview area will give the candidate a reasonable expectation of the company’s work environment. Candidates intentionally put themselves in hyper-observant mode and notice everything. Take a walk along the route an interviewee would take through the building, and observe the surroundings through their eyes.

Company perks—like a high-tech conference room, stunning office views, or trendy common area—should be on full display. Show off what makes the office unique and attractive.

6. Tailor the pitch.

Give each interviewee the courtesy of a personal approach. A list of 30 unoriginal interview questions grabbed hastily from a Google search will not only fail to impress, it will also waste the interviewer’s opportunity to build meaningful rapport. A good interviewer conveys that their hiring process involves thorough preparation.
Demonstrate that each candidate’s individual goals and interests are important to the company. How? Find out what is important to them, and then emphasize how the job will match those desires.

7. Tie everything back to career growth.

Top candidates do not change jobs, they make career moves. Most begin exploring new options in the pursuit of growth opportunities, often due to stagnant growth opportunities at their current employer. Explain in quantifiable terms how the position will benefit them beyond a mere paycheck. Hiring managers should have a detailed and compelling answer to the question, “Why would someone want this job?”

8. Listen more effectively.

Find out what this candidate cannot get from their current job, and then seek to highlight how this new role will meet those needs. Working with a recruiter is highly beneficial for this purpose. Candidates are generally more open to discussing career thorny points with a third party than during a formal interview. Professional candidates know better than to disclose the gory details about their current job in an interview, so avoid wasting time with transparent questions such as, “What do you dislike about your current manager?” Interviewees will easily sidestep with canned answers.

Ask inquisitive, open-ended questions to uncover a candidate’s motivators and goals. The goal is not to catch them off guard, rather to encourage the candidate to discuss their ideal work environment in frank terms. The details they omit are often useful clues to areas of dissatisfaction in their current jobs.

9. Time kills deals. Move quickly.

Candidates hear actions, not words. A prompt, efficient hiring process is evidence of the speed of daily business within the team. The most sought-after candidates stay busy. Time is money for candidates as well as for companies, and the time investment for a full interview cycle represents a substantial opportunity cost for them.

The length of the average hiring process nearly doubled from 12.6 days in 2010 to 22.9 days in 2014 (source: Forbes). Each of those extra 10 days is an opportunity for candidates to respond to interest from competitors, continue conversations with other recruiters, and discuss their interviews with family and mentors. All of this translates to dwindling interest in the role. In addition, most candidates are frustrated with the bureaucracy and red tape that slows them down today. Demonstrate your company moves fast and makes decisions quickly.

10. Keep momentum high in the final stretch.

After making a selection, close the deal on the new hire. Make them an attractive offer promptly. The sooner a company is able to commit, the more likely the candidate will sign on. Delays show doubt, especially near the end of the interview.

Do not allow the interview process to hinder obtaining top talent. Keep it short. Pay attention to details. Focus on meaningful ways that the company can meet the needs of top candidates. Many organizations are only interested in what a candidate can do for them. Companies who focus instead on how they can attract the best employees with a strong hiring process will naturally rise above their competition.

For personalized advice on improving a hiring process, contact info@bluesignal.com.

Starting a New Job: 15 Ways to Excel in the First 100 Days

July 13, 2016 by Lacey Walters

It is perfectly normal to be nervous about starting a new job. In fact, Forbes ranks starting a new position as one of life’s most stressful experiences; the interview process is often long, emotions run high, and there is all the pressure that comes with wanting to do well. But don’t worry: an outstanding track record is what landed the job in the first place. Combine that with these 15 suggestions for the first 100 days at the new job, and we guarantee better odds of success.

1. Act like the interview is not over.

Getting the job does not equal tenure. Amanda Augustine, a TopResume career advice expert, says “the first three months of any new job are an extension of the interview process. From the first day, you need to be on your game.”

2. Show up ready to play.

Showing up on time, sharp, and well rested goes a long way in creating a good first impression. Pick out clothes for the week, practice the morning commute in advance, and go to bed early the night before. Eat a balanced breakfast and bring coffee for the first few days to eliminate the stress of a grumbling stomach or a problematic office coffee maker. Coming thoroughly prepared to work will calm new-job nerves. Walk into the office on time with a plan for the day instead of stressing while rushing to work.

3. Limit distractions.

Keep smartphones out of reach and silenced, and block Facebook and social media sites to reduce the temptation to sneak a few minutes. Limit personal phone calls, texting, and other personal-time activities (especially in customer-facing roles).

Block out time for low-return work activities like checking email; it can easily suck up time that could instead be allocated to more productive work.

4. Don’t ask the CEO for a pen.

As much as possible, solve problems without asking for help. Save small questions (like the location of office supplies) for coworker small talk, and keep communication with management focused on work. Know exactly what accomplishments they want to see, and get them done.

5. Defend valuable time.

If the hiring manager has not provided the company’s normal work hours, ask a few days in advance. On day one, arriving 10 to 15 minutes early is a safe bet. Any earlier and it may not be possible to get into the building, or may involve an awkward wait if the manager has not arrived yet. After the first day, it is good form to arrive early and to stay late, within reason.

The manager may indicate that it is okay to leave; if so, do not argue—it is okay to go. Be productive while at work. New employees who put in extra hours with nothing to show for it will not improve their reputations. Demonstrate that good results are a top priority.

6. Learn names.

When people meet celebrities on the street, they usually have no problem remembering their names. Why? Because that person was important enough to remember. It may sound harsh, but forgetting someone’s name sends the message: “You weren’t important enough to remember.” Saying “I’m just bad with names,” makes people think, “I’m not important to you.”

That may seem overly negative, but the inverse—remembering people’s names—has tremendous positive benefits. It makes people feel special, it will make you smile, and it is beneficial in the long run. Remembering names is one of the little things that goes the longest way.

For most people, asking a person’s name several times the first time they meet is enough to remember it. But they feel embarrassed doing so, and avoid asking. Get over it. If that does not work, try something else—mnemonic devices and alliterative devices are popular—but whatever it takes remember the names of the people you see each day.

7. Take advantage of all the training.

As much as possible brush up on the necessary job skills to reduce the time needed to get up to speed. Take detailed notes and listen carefully to training that the company provides. Do not assume that the training will cover everything. Remember to thank the person who provided the training.

If the company does not offer much training, ask questions to fill in the gaps. It is better to ask a question than to do a task wrong. Accept offers from coworkers to demonstrate how things are done (as long as it does not compete with work assignments). It is a great way to build trust with the team, and they usually have tips that the official training does not cover.

8. Keep work areas clean and secure.

Information security is a top concern of employers, and no one wants to be responsible for a security breach during the first month on the job. So be smart! Devices, computers, and paper files containing secure information should be locked or filed away when not in use. Keep a private record of passwords in a secure place (such as in a locked desk drawer or a password-protected file) to avoid asking for them more than once. In a high-security job where passwords may not be written down for any reason, make it a top priority to memorize them, using mnemonics if necessary.

9. Fight to stay organized!

With so many new stimuli and unfamiliar processes, critical details are more likely to slip through the cracks. So write everything down! Creating one consolidated task list for the day (preferably on the computer rather than a scrap of paper) and checking it often is a great way to stay on track.

Take notes immediately when given a task. Do not rely on email as a way to store important information. Around 3 p.m. revisit the list. Pick the most important tasks to finish before the end of the day and move the rest into a to-do list for the next day in order of priority.

10. Respect the rules.

Little rules are a big deal in most offices, and often a bigger deal than they seem. But they also provide an opportunity for conversation and team-building. Ask where the coffee machine is, or where the best lunch spots are, and listen to what they say. Friendly small talk is the only way to get past the awkward new stage, and it is the best way to learn names and faces quickly.

11. Avoid taking time off.

Disclose unchangeable vacation plans as soon as possible (ideally during the interview process) to circumvent inconvenient surprises for a new employer.

Know the company policy for vacation thoroughly before planning anything. Come prepared with a plan to stay up to date on job responsibilities if it is necessary to take a day off.

Although illness is unavoidable, it is good form to show up and work cheerfully through minor colds. Similarly, make an effort to show up during adverse weather conditions, unless the manager says otherwise.

12. Handle mistakes promptly and gracefully.

Mistakes happen, and no one likes to make them. Acknowledge the problem, take ownership of the situation, communicate a plan to fix it, and follow through without delay. Do not argue. If the manager suggests a different way to correct the situation, do it. Be responsive on emails, and error on the side of over-communicating to avoid future mistakes and miscommunications.

13. Never refuse a challenge.

Managers commonly ask new employees to handle work outside the advertised job content. View this as an opportunity to demonstrate a strong work ethic and possibly learn a new skill. Do not dismiss tasks that are outside the job description. Be the first to adapt when obstacles arise.

14. Stay in touch with trusted colleagues.

Cutting off old colleagues at the start a new job will stifle the natural growth and maturity of a professional network. After a month or so at the new job, it is appropriate to reconnect with old colleagues. Update LinkedIn with the new job title, and connect to new colleagues. It will help with learning names and titles, and it may provide insights into the skills and accomplishments they consider most important. Start slow—no need to send out 200 connection requests on day one.

15. Smile!

Still nervous? Smile! Smiling is a scientifically proven relaxation technique. Even a forced smile boosts real confidence.

For more advice on starting a new job, contact us at info@bluesignal.com.