Whether you’re looking for a job or interviewing potential employees, the hiring process is all about marketing: marketing yourself to the company, marketing your company to the job seeker – even marketing your accomplishments to your boss if you’re looking for a promotion. During times of economic uncertainty, figuring out how to put your best foot forward is even more complex.
You really need to replace the person who left last week, but your inbox is filled with unqualified applicants and unreasonable salary expectations. Or you found the perfect candidate, but he or she didn’t accept your offer. How can you identify the cream of the crop – and entice them to choose your company – without breaking the bank? • Get creative with perks. Now more than ever, many businesses can’t afford to increase salaries. But you can make it easy for employees to balance work and home life. Benefits like an accommodating schedule, allowing employees to work from home and cafeteria plans that let employees set aside pre-tax dollars for things like childcare can make your company more attractive than one with a big salary but no flexibility. • Take advantage of exit interviews. It is inevitable that employees will leave. If you valued their work, give their parting thoughts equal value. Ask if they would consider working for you again. Their answers may highlight the most appealing aspects of your company or give you insight about a situation of which you were unaware. • Utilize your local workforce board. The Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce and FloridaWorks have partnered to provide employment services to local businesses. The Chamber’s Business Services team can help with your hiring process as much or as little as you choose. Whether you simply want to post your opening on the statewide Employ Florida Marketplace or you want to hold a major hiring event, FloridaWorks can help with all that – and everything in between, including pre-screening applicants, conducting assessments and setting up interviews.
Whether you’re just beginning your job search or you’ve been pounding the pavement only to hit dead ends, you may need to re-evaluate your strategy. These suggestions can help you land your first job or your dream job – or both! • Define yourself and your sales pitch. From your cover letter to the final interview, the hiring process is about selling your assets to the company. Find out what the business is looking for that you can provide, and highlight those skills at the top of your resume. Practice both standard and job-specific interview questions at home, and arrive prepared with some questions of your own. Be sure to write a brief follow up note to thank the interviewer for his or her time. You can also use this note to reiterate your strong points and address any concerns the interviewer raised. • Look the part. Even if you already know that you should dress slightly better than the company dress code, that’s not all there is to it. Be sure your interview outfit has been recently cleaned and pressed, and have it tailored if you can afford it. A fresh haircut and good health habits like regular workouts show a potential employer that you are invested in your future. Seeing that you take care of yourself makes it easier for them to envision you taking care of their company. • Make the most of the internet. The Employ Florida Marketplace gives you access to hundreds of thousands of jobs throughout the state of Florida as well as local labor market information. You can even upload your resume and list all of your job skills for employers to view. Employ Florida also connects you to the resources of FloridaWorks, which include career aptitude tests, job skills assessments and training opportunities.
Back when people stayed with the same company for their entire careers, there was often a structured track for promotion. Now, however, with many younger workers changing companies every few years, open positions aren’t automatically filled by internal promotions. Here are some tips to increase your odds of advancing in your organization. • Find out who will make the hiring decision and make sure your work is visible to that person…If appropriate, consider sending weekly project updates to this person. Include not only your successes, but also the challenges you faced – and how you solved them. • …but don’t forget your boss. Even if you boss doesn’t make hiring decisions, he or she will almost certainly be consulted. Make sure that you are on good terms, and volunteer for new assignments, even (especially!) the ones no one wants. That way your boss will feel confident recommending you for increased responsibility. • Conduct a self-assessment. Are you qualified for the new promotion you’re after? Does your company prefer a skill, certification or degree that you don’t have? You may need to investigate training opportunities. FloridaWorks can help with everything from basic computer skills to degrees in hot fields like IT, healthcare and biotechnology. You may even qualify for grants to cover some or all of the cost! Economic uncertainty doesn’t have to mean employment uncertainty. Make the most of the resources you have, including FloridaWorks, to help with all your employment needs.
The FloridaWorks Newsletter is published via e-mail every Monday by board staff. Issues from the current and previous months are available for download here. Older issues are also available via e-mail upon request. If you have a relevant piece of workforce news that you would like to share with the community, please contact us.
FloridaWorks will host an East Gainesville Job Fair on Saturday, May 17 at the Sidney Lanier Gymnasium from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is free for job seekers. Registration for employers is $50 if paid before April 30. Contact Joe Johnson for more information.