Great Candidates are in the Posting Details

A common thing I hear from new prospects is that they have problems recruiting good candidates for your sales positions (and other positions too but sales frustrates them the most).
Remember that when posting a job, the attention to details in the ad can make all the difference when it comes to getting the right candidates and good candidate flow from the ad.
You never know what will trip a candidates trigger.

As you know, everyone wants to know “the big three:”
1. how much they will be paid (ever notice how everyone has “competitive pay”)
2. what benefits are included (ever notice how everyone has “fantastic benefits”)
3. how much vacation is there (two weeks is standard)

But what if your company offers:
-quarterly performance bonuses on top of salary.
-Merit raises?
-besides the “fantastic” benefits, what if your company offers advance pay?
-Supplemental insurance?
-Free coffee or soda (I may have told you about this example)?
-Early dismissal on Friday’s?
-besides the standard vacation package, what holidays do they have off?
-Are there floating holidays?
-Maybe an incentive program where employees earn extra vacation time?

Wouldn’t it be good for a job seeker to know these features as well?
As a job seeker I may not need a high salary, but more control of my days off.
Early dismissal on Friday’s is a good thing to know about (especially in the summer).
If I have two ads for the same position, I’m going to send my resume to the company that gives me the most information.
The details are what will determine where I as a job seeker will send my resume.

Sometimes it is not possible to list all the details. In those cases how specific can you be with the “big three?” Instead of listing the “big three,” maybe list some of the details and a generic statement about pay, benefits, and vacation.

Notice the difference between the following two recently posted ads.
One company did not take my advice when they posted their job and got bad results.
One company took my suggestions and got good results.
Can you guess which one is which?

Ad #1
Description:
Manager: Retail operations for imported antiques company.
How To Apply:
Send resume to: ----------- 6819 ----------- Avenue

Ad #2
General Managers needed for incredible career opportunity at a dynamic growth company; -----------Fitness Centers.
We are the premier fitness chain in -------------- with 18 locations and GROWING! We are located in -----------------.
We Offer:
* $60K +/ year
* 4 DAY WORK WEEK; Monday to Thursday
* Rapid career advancement
* Medical/ Dental/ Life insurance/ Vacation benefits
Ideal candidate will be:
*Male and females with prior health club sales experience or in a related field such as weight loss/ dating/ beauty
*Sales savvy and a fitness enthusiast
*Lead generator and warm call prospector
* "People Person" and strong communicator
*Outgoing, enthusiastic and poses high energy
*Available on weekends and evenings
*Challenge and commission driven
How To Apply:
Click on the Email link below!!! or send your resume by Fax: ------------- or call us by Telephone: ------------

Which company would you apply to if you were in the job seeker’s shoes?

Thank you!

Everet Kamikawa
"A Heck of a Nice Guy"

25 Forbidden Interview Questions

What was the strangest interview question that you have ever had?
For me it was during college. I applied for a campus job and the supervisor at the time asked if I had a choice would I choose to be a gallon of milk or a carton of orange juice.
I asked what she meant and why she asked that. She said it was to see if I would fit in with the group. I still didn't understand, however I answered the question. I won't reveal my answer here, however I got the job so it must have been correct. She later told me that she often threw in strange questions just to see what the applicants reaction would be.
Monty Python did an outstanding interview sketch that I think all of us who have ever interviewed job applicants would love to do at some point.
If you haven't seen it, click here or go to YouTube and search for Monty Python Silly job Interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP0sqRMzkwo

Despite the economy there are still companies hiring, so here is a quick review of some of the questions you CANNOT ask (HRDailyadisor.com):

Age:"How old are you?"
"What is your date of birth?"
(You may ask, "Do you meet the state minimum age requirement for work?" and
"Are you over 18 and under age 65?")
Availability for Work and Travel:"Can you work Saturdays and Sundays?"
"Do you have children?"
"What are your child care arrangements?"
(You may ask, "These are the hours of work—can you attend work during these hours?" and "Work sometimes requires overtime. Can you work such a schedule?" and
"Do you have any obligations that would keep you from work-related travel?")
Birthplace and Citizenship"Where were you born?"
"What is your native language?”
(You may ask, "Are you legally authorized to work in the United States?")
Clubs and Affiliations"To what organizations do you belong?"
"Do you want to tell me about any of your memberships relating to the performance of this job?"

Disabilities
"Do you have a disability?"
"Have you ever filed for workers' compensation?"
"Have you ever been treated for any of the following conditions or diseases
(followed by a checklist of various illnesses)?"
"How many days were you absent from work because of illness last year?"
"What prescription medications are you taking?"
"Is there any health-related reason you may not be able to perform the job for which you are
applying?" (You may ask, "Can you perform the essential functions of the job for which you are
applying?" and "Can you demonstrate to me how you would perform those functions?")
Economic status"Have you ever had your wages garnished?"
"Do you own your own home?"
"How long do you plan to work on this job?"
"Have you ever filed for bankruptcy?"
Name"Have you ever had your name changed?"
"What is your maiden name?"
(You may ask, "Is there any additional information we need about your name to verify your employment/education record?")

Relatives
"Who is the relative to be notified in case of emergency?"
"Are you married?"
"Do you have children?"
"Do you plan to get pregnant?"

This is by no means a complete list, however a good rule of thumb is that if you are not sure if you can ask a question...DON'T ASK IT!

I'd be interested to know what was the strangest or most inappropriate question you were asked in an interview? If there is enough interest maybe we can hold a contest?

Thanks!
Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

Welcome to the new version of Everet's newsletter!

It's back!
For several years I've been sending a monthly email newsletter to my various clients and prospects of WisconsinJobs.com and Jobing.com.
I had to discontinue the email version of this newsletter, however I've been able to resurrect it as a blog.

In this blog you'll find tips on how to make your recruitment advertising more effective, general observations on the recruitment industry, sales, and the famous jokes that everyone reminds me they are missing (they're always clean enough to tell your mother!).

The goal of this blog is not to be the guru on new technology, provide you with the most cutting edge news, or to make myself world renowned. There are others who are experts at doing that.
This is more of a perspective from someone in the trenches of recruitment and sales each day.
There are four main goals that I will accomplish with this blog:

The first point of this blog is to offer practical advice to recruiters, managers, and job seekers who might not be (or have no need to be) up on the latest and greatest gizmos, social networks, and websites. How can they make what they are using better to attract better candidates for their jobs.

The second goal is to serve as a sounding board to those who who have mastered the new technology as part of their recruitment campaigns, about how the latest and greatest is playing when it comes to the practical world. In cyberspace it is really easy to get hooked on one new idea and then zoom onto the next and forget that most people are still three stages behind whatever the latest and greatest is. To use a Tour de France comparisson, I consider myself one of those riders in the peloton. I might be in the forward half of the peloton, however I'm definately not wearing the yellow leader jersey.

The third goal is to help stay in touch with you!

The fourth goal is to do the above three with a touch of humor (have I mentioned the jokes?).

I'll start with some new material and mix in a few reposts of older newsletters (with relevant content) so new readers can get an idea of what these posts are going to be all about. Then I'll follow up with something new roughly once per month.
I'm always happy to accept comments and jokes.
Thanks for inviting me in! Enjoy!

Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

Do I Need Social Networking to Recruit & How Do I Get Started

Does your head spin when someone mentions Social Networking?
Do you wonder what it is or why you need it for your recruitment efforts?
Do friends and colleagues make you feel like you're an idiot if you're not LinkedIn to hundreds of people?
Don't despair.
You are not alone!

When I first started selling recruitment advertising in 1996 people would start our meetings by asking me what the internet was and what websites were and why their company needed one. Things have moved so fast since Mosiac, AOL, and others made the internet accessible to the public in 1993 and 1994. It took a few years, however by the late 1990's internet recruiting exceeded newspaper recruitment and has remained so (outside of networking and referrals which have always been the at the top). At first people thought internet ads were only effective for recruiting IT, engineering, and other technical positions. Now companies can find everyone from CFO's to general laborers online.
Just as job seekers and companies have gotten used to using job boards for recruitment and job seeking...WHAM! Here comes another recruitment tool for people to understand.
Below are the most common questions I get about social media:

DO I NEED TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA AS PART OF MY RECRUITMENT EFFORTS?
My answer: YES!!!!
Social media sites are just one more tool that you can use to get the right job candidate.
Don't be scared of them! Add them to your resources. Just like every other tool you use to hire people, they alone will not fill all of your recruitment needs, however they can help in many ways depending on the position or the demographic you are trying to reach. Social media sites are not going away anytime soon (they will change almost every day), so better to start leaning about them now than try and catch up later when everyone else has moved on to the next latest and greatest thing.

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO FIRST?
Before jumping into the worlds of Linked In, Twitter, Facebook, and countless others, you first have to decide three things:
1. How are you going to use social media? Is it to recruit new employees, build or reinforce your brand, communicate with employees, or just to network and be social.
2. Who is the audience you are trying to reach? Potential new employees? Customers?
3. Where is the audience that you are trying to reach? Are they people that even use social media, age, skills, occupations. Wherever these people "hang out," that is where you need to be.
Once you have answered these questions, there is a site or sites that you can go to.
I'VE ANSWERED THE ABOVE QUESTIONS, WHAT SITE DO I PICK?
If you are using social media for recruiting I would start with LinkedIn. Their niche is people networking in a business sense rather than just idle chit chat. As a warning, LinkedIn is not a streamlined easy-on-the-eyes type of site. There is a lot of information going on. Don't let all the things you can do on the site overwhelm you.

If you just want to try social media so you can get a better understanding of what everyone is talking about I would try Facebook. You can use Facebook to keep in touch with friends, family, classmates, and even see how some businesses are marketing and recruiting. The site is easy to use and can serve a variety of purposes.

HOW DO I GET STARTED?
You don't need an article to explain how to set up an account on any of these sites.
If you can write an email or do a simple query on a search engine, you can set up an account on your own. If you don't think you can, ask anyone under the age of 25 to help you set up the account.
Once you set up the account, just start playing around with the site.
See what there is to see and experiment. You are not going to learn how to use the whole site in one day (especially since they add features so often), so don't try. Just digest little bits at a time.

I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR SOCIAL MEDIA!
No one does. People said the same thing about learning to use computers, email, the internet, conference calls, HRIS systems, etc. None of these things were learned and added into our schedules all at one time. Start small and it will become part of your routine. Here is an article to help with time management and social media:

21 tips for optimizing time in social media:http://ow.ly/pWyP

THE PEOPLE I'M TRYING TO REACH DON'T USE SOCIAL MEDIA!
The key word missing is "yet."
15 years after the internet became public, 26% of the United States still doesn't have access (http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats14.htm#north) to the web.
Remember that social media is just a tool, and every tool is not always perfect for the job.
While the person that you are looking for may not be using social media or even have access to the web, someone they know probably does and you never know when or where they will come across your company, position, or product and mention it to the person you are trying to reach.
As the use of social media grows, can you afford to NOT have some presence?

WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA AT MY COMPANY...
"Yet" is the word that is missing again. There are some industries that are so heavily regulated they don't allow employees to use anything web related except for email. If this is an example of your industry, there are a couple of ways that you can still be involved in social media:
1. Someday all the lawyers will figure out what is happening and come up with a policy and regulations for your industry. When that happens you don't want to be trying to catch up with the basics of how social media works
2. Try having a personal account with no mention or use of where you work. You can learn how to use different websites and even have a leg up on your competitors. When you are allowed to use it for work, you'll already know how to use the websites and where your candidates are on them
3. Even though your desktop might not have access, you should still access the sites from home or a PDA like a laptop or IPhone. Even though your company might not allow social media, your future job candidates might not have any such restrictions. If you can still be in their realm of thought when they start their job search, you and your company will benefit even though you company doesn't have an official presence.

I HAVE AN ACCOUNT ON _______. NOW WHAT?
There are lots of "experts (both self proclaimed and legit)" who claim to know the best ways to proceed. I'm not going to add to them at this time, however I will give you several links from people in Southeastern Wisconsin who I believe know what they are talking about and I encourage you to visit these pages and contact the individuals if you think they can help you.

Here are some places to help you get started:
Top 10 reasons to use Linked In by Phil Gerbyshak:http://bit.ly/linkedintips
Phil also teaches social media classes:http://www.philgerbyshak.com/courses/

A great learning event organized by Tom Snyder and Trivera Interactive and will be back soon:http://www.socialmediamilwaukee.com/

How to maintain your Twitter Account...and your sanityhttp://www.trivera.com/wordpress/?p=141

Wonder what a blog is:http://onmilwaukee.com/buzz/articles/blogarticle.html

How to use Facebook for recruiting (you have to follow the thread of conversations, however there is some good advice here): http://recruitingblogs.ning.com/group/facebookcorporaterecruitersgroup/forum/topics/facebook-tips-for-recruiters

Thanks for reading!
Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

Favre Earns 50-50 Split with Barney (with Farve Jokes)

I recently asked my Linked In network to respond to a poll which asked the question: What Purple Dinosaur would they rather watch, Brett Favre or Barney. This is a popular joke that has been going around the state of Wisconsin and Packer nation since our favorite quarterback son switch to our heated rival to the northwest. Funny as this joke is to us fans, it was a fun question to ask considering my last blog was about personal branding.

Here are the results: -50% of the respondents said they would rather watch Barney than Brett. -100% of people 25-34 who took the poll said they would watch Brett.
-100% of people 35-54 said they would rather watch Barney
-40% of the respondents were women, and all women voted for Brett
-owners of companies that took the poll were split 50-50, while all other positions voted for Barney 67% to 33%

While this was a very small sample size, I believe it is fair to say that Brett Farve's reputation/legacy/branding has been hurt.
It might be interesting to see what would happen to the results at the midpoint of the season and after the season. That is something to ponder.

Jokes:
What does the government and the Minnesota Vikings have in common?
They both pay cash for clunkers!

Many, many years from now, Brett Favre passes on. Upon entering heaven, he is shown his beautiful, new eternal home.On his way down the street, however, he spots a much larger home, with "Dallas Cowboys" on the sidewalk in front.Brett asks St. Peter, " I love my house, but I won a Super Bowl and multiple NFL MVP's. How come Tony Romo gets a better house than me??"St. Peter laughs, "Brett, that's not Tony Romo's house. God lives there!!"

Members of the Minnesota Vikings say they're happy the team has acquired Brett Favre. Mainly for the retirement party.

What is the difference between Brett Farve and a cockroach (Thanks MT for this one):
Only one scurries from the limelight!

Personal Branding Works!

"Have your own trademark son. Have something that people will remember you for. A red tie, a flashy briefcase, anything that makes your customers remember who you are."


That was the advice my dad gave me when I got my first sales job selling Kirby vacuum cleaners in 1991. He didn't know it was called "branding" at the time, however that was exactly the lesson he taught me all those years ago.
When I was selling Kirby I always wore a red tie. Several years later when I was selling radio spots (a.k.a. commercials) I always wore a tie by the Ralph Marlin company (if you remember Don Nelson, NBA coach, he popularized Ralph Marlin's fish design ties while coaching games for the Milwaukee Bucks http://www.ralphmarlin.com/history.html). All the other sales reps wore "bland department store ties." I wore ties with race cars, Star Wars, and Buggs Bunny on them. Soon I could walk into a customer location and someone would say "hey it's the colorful tie guy!"
Did having a colorful tie directly lead to more radio commercials being sold, you bet!
With the hundreds of radio reps in the area, they remembered to give me a call because I stood out. Of course that wasn't the only reason they called, but it didn't hurt.
Personal branding helps whether it is for business, finding a job, or recruiting employees.

Times have changed and ties are not in fashion for most of the appointments I do today, however I now have three main things that I do to brand myself.

The first is very simple.
For the 13 years that I have been in the employment industry I have tagged all of my emails with the signature line "A Heck of A Nice Guy (hence the name of my blog column)."
Has it worked for business?
Absolutely!
I've walked many times into a business and the person I'm meeting with has said "you're the nice guy fella!" Customers have said at the end of meetings, "You really are a nice guy," or said so in emails sent after meeting to inform me of how helpful I was or how much they enjoyed the presentation.

Has it lead to business?
Of course it has!
People like to buy from people who are like them and are good people.
By putting "A Heck of A Nice Guy" into my signature I'm letting people know what they can expect when they deal with me.
Lets face it.
If you had to buy the same product at the same price and one person selling it was a jerk and the other was a nice guy, who would you buy the product from?
The tag line also serves as a reminder to myself to keep my clients needs above my own.
Clients know that I'm in their corner and will do everything I can to help them.
The second way I've branded myself is what has morphed into the blog that you are reading.
For several years I've sent out monthly newsletters and updates with helpful tips about sales and recruiting salespeople.
Lots of people and companies send out newsletters and email.
Mine have a twist.
Remember when email was new and everyone sent you jokes (usually the same ones over and over again!)
Each of my email updates had the bonus of two or three jokes at the end.
People who read the emails got some good content and the bonus of a couple of laughs (or at least a couple of groans).

Did it work? You bet!
I recently had to end the email version of this newsletter (hence the blog you are now reading).
Out of the 300+ customers on my email list, so far 78 of them have called or emailed asking me where their jokes were!
Several new customers over the years that I met for the first time mentioned "you're the guy with the jokes aren't you?"
When I attend meetings with customers I'm often asked for a joke, and over the years I've received several jokes from customers that they said I should include in my newsletter.
Has it lead to business?
Yes. People may have read my email updates just for the jokes (you might even be reading this post for the jokes), however the emails (and now the blog) succeeded in getting my company's name and myself in front of prospective customers. Several of whom became customers because they decided to call when they had hiring needs because the email update peaked their interest.
People don't buy just because of the jokes, however once again ask yourself would you rather buy something from someone with a sense of humor or not?

Now that we're moving on to 1999 technology
(http://www.articlesbase.com/accounting-articles/how-did-blogging-start-520324.html),
I hope this blog will be even more successful.

The third way I've branded myself is that I almost always wear a blue shirt.
You might be asking yourself what does that matter?
It may seem stupid, however this has worked for branding too.
Since we have our pictures on our business cards people have noticed the blue shirt I'm wearing in the picture on my card and the blue shirt I'm wearing in their office.
My high school soccer coach used to tell us to make sure our cleats were polished before every game because "if you look good, you feel good, if you feel good you do good."
Blue is my favorite color. I like it. It makes me feel good. Feeling good leads to confidence and that shows in front of my customers. The confidence reinforces the first two branding points.

Has it worked for business?
I doubt anyone bought something from me simply because I was wearing a blue shirt!
Confidence, attitude, business knowledge, personality yes, but not a shirt
(if you're a customer and I'm wrong let me know!).
I firmly believe that my soccer coach was right. Wearing a blue shirt hasn't gotten me business, but the results of looking and feeling my best sure have!

Turns out dad was right and a visionary.
Pretty good for a chef isn't it (http://www.keenerbooks.com/si/001992.html)!
Whether you are a job seeker, sales person, or a company that is recruiting, find or create something that you are known for and own it! If you are a company that offers great benefits, be sure that everyone who is in your industry (not just looking for a job) knows about it. When you need to hire someone you'll have candidates coming to you because they already are sold on the company. If you are a job seeker, find some angle that employers will remember you by. Find a tag line to put on your resume, or promote a special skill that you have that employers want.
Sooner or later someone will know that you have that skill and they will have a need for it and give you a call because you stood out in their mind. If you are a salesperson become known for something positive that makes customers want to call you.

Ev
"A Heck of A Nice Guy"

Take Advantage of Your Company Logo (2009)

This post is an addendum to what I wrote in 2005.
Take a moment to think about what the internet was like in 2005.
It may seem funny to say that because 2005 is not that long ago, however the way the internet changes each day, what we were doing then doesn't really resemble how we use the internet today in many ways.
In 2005:
-There was no YouTube
-Facebook and MySpace were just getting going
-Most people still hadn't heard about LinkedIn
-we "Googled"' but keyword and tag searches weren't quite what they are now
How did we ever get anything done without these sites?

With all of the sites listed above plus the many others, the growing popularity of Twitter, virtual reality, and everything else that is coming our way it is even more important to market your brand across any advertising platform that your company uses.
Since you never know when or where people will come across your logo and company name, make sure your message is clear and consistent:

What does your company do?
What is your specific company mission?
Who are you trying to attract?
Why are you a better company than your competition?

Take advantage of the current economic situation because when the economy gets moving again you won't have time to fix your company message. It might be too late anyways.

Take Advantage of Your Company Logo (2005)

(Originally emailed June 2005)

Greetings!
If you are looking to hire good salespeople, here is another tip:

Job Posting Tip #7:

Take advantage of your company logo wherever you can in your ad.

If you think of Coke, Microsoft, Aflac, Ferrari, and McDonald's you can probably instantly picture their logo.
The swirl, the butterfly, the duck, the prancing horse, and the golden arches.
Not all companies have a logo that is instantly recognizable worldwide, however plenty of companies have logos that are recognized in their neighborhoods, cities, states, and organizations.

Your logo can help your company attract job candidates.
Every time a job seeker sees your logo it creates an "impression."
Every time they see your logo it reinforces the recognition factor of your company.
A job seeker might be driving down the road, see your logo and think; "I drive by that company every day, I didn't know they were hiring!"
A job seeker might see your logo at a job fair or in the classifieds and even though they may not apply immediately, every time they see your logo that keeps building impressions and the next thing you know they are applying for your positions.

Most online recruitment sites offer companies the chance to put their logo in their ads.
Some offer this service for free and others do not. Most will automatically put your logo in all of your ads and your company profile.
Most also have a special section for "featured employers" on the homepage.
Your company can have its logo placed in this section for a fee.
Take advantage of these opportunities when you can as they can increase traffic to your postings.

Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

Purpose of this Blog

Almost everyone I have met with has talked to me about wanting “better quality” applicants.
Over the years I have received lots of compliments from customers saying I was
their favorite salesperson, or wishing I was a part of their sales team.

I enjoy passing along the tools that have
made me successful in sales, and also sharing my recruitment knowledge to help great companies like yours recruit great
sales talent with top notch quality. That is the purpose of this blog.

So why read this blog?
This blog is meant to share with you ideas to help you improve as a salesperson, sales manager, or sales recruiter. I'll share with you tips and stories I have actually experienced that work and the ones that didn't so you don't repeat them. Since I'm not interested in rehashing the same stuff in the same way as other salespeople have written, you'll also find a touch of humor that I hope you will enjoy.

Feel free to share your feedback with me through the blog or email.

Thank you for everything!

Everet Kamikawa
"A Heck of a Nice Guy"