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20 Unique Places to Find Qualified Employees

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By Kayla Matthews

The search for the best talent can be tricky. You need to balance your company’s needs with unique job applications to draw in as many options as possible. Finding resources can be difficult, too. Luckily, the following places will help you conquer it all.

1. Job Boards

Job boards like LinkedIn, Monster, Glassdoor and Indeed are some of the most popular places to find employees. You can start your search with these options and informative job descriptions for each position.

2. Professional Organizations

If your company is a partner of any professional organization or other company, you can reach out and ask to advertise on their platforms.

3. Social Media

You should try to use all social media platforms possible — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube — to create different kinds of content. For example, you can send quick updates about jobs through Twitter, but longer, video content with YouTube. Social media advertising can turn a passive candidate into an active one for any position.

4. Email and Newsletters

If your business uses email and newsletters to connect with customers, clients or the surrounding community, you can send out information about your job search.

5. Employee Referral Program

With an employee referral program, you can ask your employees or coworkers to look for potential talent. If you end up hiring the person they recommend, they then receive a reward from the program.

6. Job Fair

A job fair is a great place to meet new people that are already looking for opportunities. Remember, job fairs can be in-person or virtual — keep your eyes open for both options.

7. Promotions

Sometimes you don’t need to look for new talent because you already have someone for the job. If a current employee doesn’t mind switching their role, they might be able to fulfill the opening.

8. Specific Job Boards

While the bigger job boards are popular for finding employees, they can flood your inbox with spam applications. Niche or industry-specific job boards can help you reach out to talent that’s looking in lesser-known places.

9. Write to Impress

Your job applications and descriptions need to be transparent, accessible and easy to follow. You can hire a writer to help your descriptions stand out and draw in more talent.

10. Networking Events

You’ll likely attend different events for business. Whether it’s a fundraiser or meeting, you can network during these events to find new employees. The people you meet are already in similar industries, so they may have some helpful insight.

11. Company Website

Your company website is crucial to the application process. Many job-seekers go directly to company websites to apply. You’ll need to make sure your website is user-friendly and accessible with pages for open positions and applications.

12. Streamline the Process

Sometimes, job applications can be clunky. If they carry on for too long, people may lose interest. If you shorten the process to get the basic information you need, you can follow up later with the most qualified candidates.

13. Advertisements

You can advertise online on different websites, from corporate websites to job boards. Indeed allows you to sponsor your listings, for instance, if you want to stand out.

14. New Technology

Within the tech industry, there are exports of $1.5 billion every year. Tech is so expansive that it can now help you find new talent through artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics and machine learning. These machines can also sort through applications and weed out ones that don’t meet your standards.

15. Colleges and Universities

Colleges and universities are where emerging students are ready to find jobs. You can talk to professors or advertise on their job boards to draw in the fresh generation of talent.

16. Talent Pool

A good candidate sometimes slips through the cracks if you have to hire someone else. However, you can keep their information and call them back when another position opens up. That way, you already have the connection and you know they qualify.

17. Old Fashioned Way

Most things are digital these days, but you can still take notes from the older methods. You can advertise in newspapers and on bulletins in places like supermarkets or cafes.

18. Recruitment Firm

If you’re not having any luck or simply need more help, you can work with a recruitment firm. These firms specialize in finding talent through every platform possible.

19. Loosen Restrictions

To get more applications, you can loosen restrictions. Not every job should require a degree, so you can adjust to fit experience in some instances.

20. Customers and Clients

You can talk with your customers or clients about potential hires. They are part of your network. Ask them for help!

Finding the Best Talent

When you use these resources, you are putting yourself in the right spot to find qualified employees. Once you implement them, you can focus on picking from all the qualified candidates.

 

About the Author: Kayla Matthews writes about communication and workplace productivity on her blog, Productivity Theory. Her work has also appeared on Talent Culture, MakeUseOf, The Muse and Fast Company.

 

Photo by Evgeni Tcherkasski on Unsplash

Is Your Business Hiring the Wrong Folks?

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It is 2013 and you have some three-fourths of the year in front of you to take your small business to new heights.

So, what are a few things that concern you over the remaining nine months? If hiring the right talent to helped carry your business to more success is one of those concerns, what do you plan on doing about it?

As a small business owner, you obviously have a full plate to handle on a regular basis. Decisions involving products, services, budgets, promoting your company, and more likely consume you on a daily basis. That being said, where does hiring the right employees rank on such a list?

For some business owners, it just takes one wrong hire to throw off the office chemistry, potentially throwing the company into upheaval as you try and right the ship.

If you have made a bad hire or two in the past, consider the following to negate such choices in the future:

* Chemistry – Just like if you were buying a bus and placing your employees on it, finding the right seats for each of your workers is critical. Let’s face it, some personalities just don’t mesh well, leading to potential conflicts around the office. Although some individuals can fool you or your HR department during the hiring process, never underestimate the importance of personality when looking to hire. An individual can have the most sparkling resume going, but their personality should matter just as much if not more when considering bringing them on board;

* Qualifications – Have you ever decided to hire someone with less qualifications because you could flat out pay them less money? Yes, it does happen more often than you may think, especially in a day and age when companies are trying to save money wherever possible. Some businesses will hire an individual that is less qualified than another applicant, albeit to save money. Keep in mind that making such a move can surely backfire on you, especially if you have to bring someone new in a short time later and go through the training process once again. Qualifications should always be right at or near the top of the list, otherwise you simply get what you pay for;

* Attitude – Just as chemistry and qualifications prove important, an applicant’s attitude ranks right up there too. The most qualified person could be a proven winner for your company, yet their attitude is less than stellar. Yes, attitudes can change over time, but are you willing to risk hiring such a person? If during the interviewing process you sense an individual’s heart just isn’t into your company, great qualifications and all, look elsewhere;

* Mileage – Finally, locating that individual who will go that extra mile for you and your business is golden. Extra mileage means the man or woman who will stay past their regular hours or come in early, speak up regularly at company meetings to offer constructive ideas to grow the company, and not afraid to offer their talents and experience to others in the office. Some employees do just enough that is required of them, while others will go above and beyond. When you find those latter individuals, your business stands to gain.

As the calendar prepares to turn to April soon, are you making it your business to find the right employees in 2013?

Photo credit: employeescreeningblog.com

About the Author: With 23 years’ writing experience, Dave Thomas covers a variety of small business topics, including helping those who might say i need online reputation protection.

Time is Money!

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While the old adage of “Time is Money!” still holds true, is your small business accurately tracking employee time in order to get the most out of your workers?

In today’s day and age where companies scramble to keep up with customer requirements and maintain revenues in the black and not the red, worker productivity is critical to meeting those needs.

Even though all businesses want to have the services of productive workers, certain lines of work stand out in such a need, including areas like manufacturing, accounting, law firms, auto repair shops, medical services and more.

If your small business is not up to date on keeping employee hours through the various applications available on the market or you’re about to open a business and need some guidance on such matters, keep several things in mind.

First, do you understand the importance of keeping employee time?

The main reasons are to track payroll, expenses for an employee’s time that is directly charged to a customer, and when your employee’s time is tied to the expense of a product.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, business owners can monitor their employees’ hours however they deem necessary, provided it is correct and complete. Employers are required to maintain timekeeping records for two years at the workplace or at a central records locale.

Time tracking is also important due to:

Attention to Detail – Those employees who arrive and leave on time daily are more likely to be your better disciplined workers. Those who test the boundaries by arriving or leaving early may lead to problems down the road;

Accountability – Tracking employee time forces them to be accountable for their actions. While all employees should be adults about this matter, sometimes a little electronic reinforcement doesn’t hurt;

Cost Effectiveness – Employees who are productive are also going to provide your business with more cost efficiency. Having an automated system in place allows your administrative personnel to focus on other matters and not tracking who is coming and going and when they’re doing it;

More Production – When employees are aware that their time is being tracked, they are more apt to provide you with better production results. Not only will your product offerings be improved, but you are likely to see better customer service too.

 

Clocking Better Efforts in the Workplace

In the event your small business is in need of tracking metrics, there are different options available.

Among them are: Punch cards, paper forms, wall mount biometric or swipe clocks and web clocks.

Not only can time and attendance systems monitor in-house employees, but they can also be used for your employees who telecommute and/or are on the road a large portion of time.

Businesses that assign time-based tasks which require monitoring can utilize time tracking systems and job scheduling software to be sure their employees are hitting their requirements.

Managers, meantime, can use job scheduling software to map out timelines for different prospect jobs which generally utilize the data recorded from in-place time and attendance systems.

No matter which form of time and attendance software you decide to employ, take the time to make sure it is the one that fits best for your small business.

Photo credit: sodahead.com

Dave Thomas, who covers topics like securing small business loans, writes extensively for Business.com , an online resource destination for businesses of all sizes to research, find, and compare the products and services they need to run their businesses.

Can You Get Around a Firing When Interviewing for Work?

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When you used to look around the cubicles at work, did you ever stop and wonder if this co-worker or that co-worker had ever been fired?

For many workers, the pink slip has come in an unceremonious way all too often, leading them down a trip to the unemployment line. Whether it was due to bad performance, an issue with a co-worker, or just not seeing eye-to-eye with the boss, they were dismissed.

In the event you find yourself in this position now as you search for a new job, there are some important factors to keep in mind when called in for a job interview.

Among them are:

  • Accept reality – Getting fired from a job is one of the toughest things you can go through. Yes, there is a difference between a firing and getting laid off from a job mainly that many layoff victims are oftentimes kept in their company’s plans should conditions improve where they can be brought back. How many times do you see an employer re-hiring a fired employee? The first and most important thing for you to do is accept what happened, take a short amount of time to deal with it, and then move on. Carrying a grudge for an extended period of time can impact you when you go back out on the interview trail, therefore lessening your chances for getting another job;
  • Covering the time gaps – Many individuals have gaps on their resume that can easily be explained away. Whether it was a layoff, taking time off to go back to school or for maternity leave, a sickness, it can be relatively easy to explain the time off. When it comes to being fired, however, this is where it gets tricky. Should you lie and say you were actually laid off or skip around the subject altogether? By all means, do not lie. This is a smaller world than many people think, and such lies can come back to haunt you if your potential or new employer finds out. If asked about why you were fired,  briefly explain your side of the issue and go from there;
  • Point out company you worked for – The last thing you want to do when interviewing for a job is bad-mouth your previous employer. That being said, it is okay to point out factual information about why you were fired. Sometimes firings happen as a result of companies being sold, downsizing, or another method whereby you did not have a say in the situation. You or other individuals may have viewed your dismissal as a firing, where in fact you actually were a layoff victim, something that does make a difference. On the other hand, if your prior employer had some issues with you and/or other employees and you got caught up in them, explain them in the proper manner without carrying a grudge;
  • Admit any wrongdoing – Most employees do not go out of their way to get fired.  In the event you were fired from a job and it comes up during a job interview, let the interviewer know what you learned from the experience and how it has changed your approach to work. While it may not get you the new job, it will at least give the interviewer pause to think that you may be worth the risk and have in fact learned from your previous employment situation. Many employers are willing to give an individual a second chance if they see sincerity and that the candidate did in fact learn a lesson from a job firing;
  • Show appreciation for a second chance– Lastly, make sure you learn from the firing, but then put it in the past so that it does not impact you going forward. It can certainly be tough to transition from being fired to having to look for another job, but it is the reality most people face. By hitting the job trail again and not sulking on your couch, you have already won half the battle.

Getting over a firing and finding a new job definitely takes time and effort, but the end result could show you that the firing was actually a blessing in disguise.

Photo credit: inlandpolitics.com

Dave Thomas, who covers among other subjects’ business phone service, writes extensively for Business.com, an online resource destination for businesses of all sizes to research, find, and compare the products and services they need to run their businesses.

 

Slow Down the Revolving Door with Your Employees

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As a business owner, have you ever stopped to smell the roses?

You have a good mix of employees on hand, yet some of them come and go like there is a revolving door at the entrance of your company.

While things have changed since our parents spent 30 or 40 years at one company, that doesn’t mean you need people coming and going like at a yard sale. For those employers tired of the revolving door, stop and review your company’s practices when it comes to hiring and firing.

Among the items to look at are:

  • Training process – Have you ever taken the time to review your training methods for new employees? Given most companies have probationary periods of anywhere from 30 to 90 days, review your process to see if it is productive or not. Since your company spends time and effort on training new employees, you don’t want the door opening and closing every after you’ve successfully trained an employee. Not only have you wasted their time, but also the time of those on your staff who trained the individuals.
  • Employee satisfaction – It is inevitable that some employees will get the “seven-year itch” and want to leave, oftentimes before seven years. That being said, what are you doing to keep employees motivated, happy and successful? When an employee is at your company for several years, they develop relationships with both your staff and your customers. Should they leave, you then have to find the right piece to the puzzle to make sure the next employee co-exists well with others. Encourage them not to leave by providing opportunities for growth and happiness within your company.
  • Managerial skills – For every 100 good managers, there are always handfuls that stop just short of terrorizing your employees. Whether it on purpose or by accident, they are not doing a very good job relating to those under them. That being the case, some of your employees are working on their resumes during the day when they’re supposed to be working for you. While regular employees get reviews, it is important for business owners to review the efforts of their department managers. Meet with those working under the managers to see if they’re happy with the direction the managers are taking. Are they letting those under them be creative and do their jobs, or are they micro-managing them to the point the employees are tuning out? A bad relationship with one’s immediate boss is oftentimes the top reason solid employees leave a company.
  • Meeting employee needs – While there have to be rules in place in every office, business owners who can’t have a little flexibility will oftentimes see good employees say bye-bye. Whether it involves medical issues, children, commuting etc. company heads should offer some leeway when it comes to an employee’s personal matters than only can be met during the 9 to 5 day. Companies that do not allow employees to meet such needs either through excused absences or making up the time run the risk of losing these individuals over time.
  • Room for growth – Does your company have an environment where employees can grow and achieve their career goals or are they left just spinning their wheels? Whether it is through financial incentives, opportunities for more of a say and how things work, time off from work, be sure to have some markers in place where your employees have added motivation to do a good job. Nothing turns an employee off more than knowing that they’re essentially in a dead-end job.

While business owners must decide what is best for their companies and not follow everyone else, it is important to have a culture in the workplace where employees come to work each and every day motivated.

For those companies whose employees just show up because they need a paycheck, expect that front door to get a lot of use over time.

Photo credit: hollywoodrepublican.net

Dave Thomas is an expert writer on items like credit card processing and is based in San Diego, California. He writes extensively for an online resource that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs at Resource Nation.