LIVE CHAT: Jobs Help Desk (10/20/11 on 11Alive Morning News)

More than one in 10 Georgians is jobless.

The Georgia Department of Labor released new figures Thursday morning showing a jump in the state’s unemployment to 10.3 percent, a full percentage point higher than the national average.

Roughly 487,000 people in Georgia are out of work. In September alone, 15,000 people lost their jobs.

Many jobless have been searching for work for months. Others have given up.

However, there are jobs out there. You just need to know where to look and how to get them.

LIVE CHAT: Jobs Help Desk (transcript of the 11Alive Live Chat from 10/20/11 – Hire Dynamics’ own Kim Wallace, Executive VP, was there representing SHRM to answer questions about jobs).

Hire Dynamics hosted its 26^th Contact Center Executive Forum on June 15 at Villa Christina in Dunwoody, sponsored by inContact and Kaplan Communications. This event presented the opportunity to learn industry “best practices” and network with over 100 other contact center executives, managers and practitioners throughout metro Atlanta.

This year’s Contact Center Executive Forum focused on social marketing techniques and how they can be utilized in contact centers to drive performance. The keynote speaker, Dave Sutton, discussed the reality of social media as well as how the different channels are consumed. For instance, 59 percent of consumers use social media to vent their frustrations, 72 percent use it to research company reputations, and 74 percent choose to do business with a company based on online reviews.

Sutton explains, before diving in, it is important to know the facts surrounding social media:

• It is completely Peer-Moderated – direct, honest and out of your control
• It is ridiculously Noisy – simultaneous, unsolicited feedback, Ad-hoc, unrehearsed tone
• It is fundamentally Mobile – any device, anytime, anywhere
• It is potentially Efficient – Low-cost access, workload shifting, productivity gains
• There is a Technology Abundance – no shortage of tools or experts  

In order to use social media in your organization’s marketing plans, you will need to have a strategy: Generate a unique and valuable position involving a different set of activities, serving few needs of many and broad needs of few. Make trade-offs in competition by choosing what not to do. Create fit among all company activities, making it hard for imitators. 

Ask yourself these key questions regarding your company and its role in social media:

• What conversations does your company need to be a part of?
  • Service interruptions, complaints, suggestions, recruiting.
• What conversations should your company not be a part of?
  • Competitor bashing, pricing, union debates, etc.
• Where are those conversations?
  • Blogs, forums, Twitter, Facebook.
• How can your company listen to and assess conversations?
  • Setup social “Outposts”, join forums, monitor what is being said about your company.
• Who at your company will participate in/respond to conversations?
  • Marketing, customer service, sales…everybody? 

Contact centers are distinctively positioned to manage multi-channel communications for the enterprise, via phone, e-mail, snail mail, fax, internet, text and chat. There are a number of various social channels that can be used, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. 

Sutton also shares the changing role of technology from center-centric to center+outposts. Center-centric includes service center technology (customer problem resolution and retention), marketing center technology (customer experience enhancement), and sales center technology (customer acquisition and development). Contact centers need to move towards center+outposts to utilize the benefits of new technology. This process includes reaching your customers through Facebook, Twitter, blogging and other forums.

There are five key buckets for multi-channel communication and its operating model:

1. Culture: moving from Persuasion to  Authenticity (Authority to Advocacy)
2. Process: moving from Reactive to Proactive (Scripted to Customer-Generated)
3. Technology: moving from Center-Centric to Center+Outposts (Many-to-One to Many-to-Many)
4. Measurement: moving from Satisfaction to Sentiment (Responsive to Empathetic)
5. Organization: moving from Command & Control to Adhocracy (Authoritarian to Democratic)

Sutton offered a social media roadmap to consider when determining your marketing efforts. First, strategize and organize – formulate a social strategy and identify/train team members. Next is internal alignment – initiate social listening process and establish social outposts. Then, focus on external activation – build private social forums. The final stages include execution and measurement – channel sort public vs. private and institute social QA processes. Integrate with CRM and measure your results. 

When building a social media team, watch out for the ones with anti-social behavior. The ones who don’t believe in positive results and make every excuse in the book to avoid jumping on the social media train. There is also another behavioral side to this; the social media “expert.” Don’t hire anyone who claims to be a social media expert; they don’t exist. A quote from Peter Shankman explains it best:

“Being an expert in social media is like being an expert at taking the bread out of the refrigerator. You might be the best bread-taker-outer in the world, but you know what? The goal is to make an amazing sandwich, and you can’t do that if all you’ve done in your life is taken the bread out of the fridge.”  

During the HR Star Conference in Atlanta on Wednesday, May 11, keynote speaker Dr. Bob Nelson spoke to over 900 HR professionals about motivating today’s employees and how companies can obtain a competitive advantage through its ROP (Return on People). He also introduced his new book Ubuntu: An Inspiring Story About an African Tradition of Teamwork and Collaboration, during an exclusive lunch sponsored by Hire Dynamics.

During Dr. Nelson’s lecture on motivating today’s employees, he revealed that the number one reason why employees leave their jobs is due to the absence of praise or recognition for the work they’ve done. A common misconception of managers today is thinking that employees are only motivated by money. Creating an environment that motivates employees not only reduces turnover and positively impacts the bottom line, but also moves the organization closer to being recognized as an “employer of choice.” So how can managers get their employees excited about coming to work? Here’s what Dr. Bob Nelson suggests:

Start with some positive restructuring – Make work fun!  Create an exciting work environment that will have your employees saying: “Thank God it’s Monday”.    Step outside of the cubicle and come up with a fun activity once a month where your employees can interact and take a break from their hectic schedule for an hour. Another option is to provide incentives for stand-out employees in hopes it will cause a chain reaction, maybe a little friendly, workplace competition. Try something new and find what fits. After all, happy employees drive happy customers. Just ask the employees at Zappos, an online shoe and apparel store. Zappos is a different kind of call center and here’s the twist – after 3 months of training, new employees are offered $3,000 to quit! And that’s not even the crazy part, 98% of them turn it down. Zappos knows how to mix work and fun while still having a positive impact on the bottom line. Not many other companies can say the same.

Another way to motivate your employees is with a little praise and words of encouragement – take the time to say “Thank you.” This is so simple, it is often over-looked. Take 15 minutes a week to send an email or stop by an employee’s desk to express your gratitude for their hard work. You can even take this to the next level by being specific. For instance, instead of just thanking someone for their hard work that week, dig deeper and point out a particular instance in which they stood out and let them know that you noticed. That way, it won’t seem like a generalized statement, it will be backed with more meaning through personal recognition and it will award them with a sense of accomplishment. As quoted in Dr. Nelson’s new book, Ubuntu: “Being busy is no excuse for avoiding the things that matter the most.” A simple “Thank You” can go a long way.  

Employee appreciation feeds right into another one of Dr. Nelson’s motivational techniques – teamwork. His new book, Ubuntu, comes from an African tradition meaning “we’re all in this together.” Ubuntu is a philosophy that believes the success of the group is above and stronger than that of the individual – in essence, teamwork and collaboration. By following the Ubuntu methodology, you will help to inspire a sense of purpose, connectedness and unity among your team members. As stated in the book, Ubuntu starts with recognizing and embracing the humanity, the equality, and the value of each person. Get to know the people you work with and find out what you have in common, other than your place of work. The book reveals that this technique will help to build trust and respect, and without this, your motivational techniques might come off as manipulation. Quite often, lower-level employees feel resentment towards executives because they feel like the executives might under estimate their responsibilities, creating separation and tension within the organization. An interesting technique to consider might be role reversal. Take a walk in their shoes. You will better understand their work habits if you experience them yourself. Role reversal in the workplace will allow you both to show empathy and realize the challenges that go along with each job function, helping you to gain trust, respect and loyalty from your employees. Ubuntu helps you to understand the importance of reaching a common vision through shared experiences and empathy which will inspire and motivate your employees to give their best effort every day.     

Dr. Nelson also pointed out the importance of the follow-through – don’t just talk the talk; walk the talk…Practice what you preach. For instance, if you say your goal is to achieve greater employee satisfaction, come up with a strategy and execute. Find out what your employees want through a survey or open discussion. Change is often difficult in the workplace and it might be a challenge to get everyone on board, but when it comes to change, Ubuntu offers some words of encouragement: “When you leave what is comfortable and familiar in order to take on something new and exciting, it is natural to feel unsettled and even afraid. This is where the support and collaboration of colleagues is most important.”

For more information on Dr. Bob Nelson and his new book, Ubuntu, visit his website Nelson Motivation.

By: Emily Ellison, SPHR

Successful business owners and leaders all seem to agree; the success of any organization depends on the people who work there. To stay competitive employers have to be more focused than ever on attracting and retaining top talent. Becoming a recognized Best Places to Work Company is one way to do so.

Knowing that people make the difference, Hire Dynamics decided early on that we wanted to be a Best Places to Work (BPTW) in each of our markets and is proud to have been recognized 3 years in a row as the #1 Best Place to Work small company category in Northern Nevada. In this article we’ll share the story of our BPTW journey and describe the type of leadership support, teaming philosophy, culture development and employee involvement programs that have helped us achieve our talent goals.

The most important component in the BPTW journey is leadership support. At Hire Dynamics we were fortunate to have this initiative championed by our CEO and Senior Management team not only because it’s the right thing to do but because it’s good business. Estimates put the cost of turnover at anywhere from 25-250% of the employees annual salary depending on the industry. Between the costs of exiting the employee, productivity lost while their position is vacant, recruiting costs, on boarding expenses and productivity ramp up time, if you lose even one good  person a year it makes fiscal sense to devote resources to employee retention. 

The second and third components of a BPTW company go hand in hand and are a strong teaming philosophy and a strong, almost “cult like” culture that inspires people to want to belong and to not want to leave. When we survey our people about why they like working at Hire Dynamics the first response is always, “the people I work with”. Building camaraderie is a process that takes focus and effort and we have utilized the principles of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni to do so. This easy-to-read guide to building great teams  is a practical approach to the concept of teambuilding and maintenance which can be very theoretical and abstract concepts. Everyone that joins Hire Dynamics receives a copy and is expected to read it; we regularly hold “Five Dysfunctions” meetings where  the different principles at play are openly discussed during the course of our work.

A strong team is complemented by a strong culture which takes the same kind of focus that team building does. It starts with defining the company’s mission, vision and values and then understanding how delivering those goals will take shape in the organization’s environment. Every company is different but at Hire Dynamics, our mission, vision and values have helped to create a place where employees have a “whatever it takes” mentality and are empowered to do the right thing for our clients, employees and the community. Although we work hard,  Hire Dynamics makes fun a priority and supports a family friendly environment that employees value. We also think of our company as an exclusive club and are selective about who has the opportunity to join. We have defined the non negotiable qualities for someone to be an “A-Player” in our organization. Potential employees of Hire Dynamics go through a minimum of three interviews including a group interview of potential peers where no one is hired unless all parties support the decision. Once an employee joins our team, it is the responsibility of the local managers to facilitate integration of the new employee into the Hire Dynamics culture. Retention of employees is so critical to our business that manager compensation is tied to retention results!

The final component of becoming and maintaining a Best Place to Work Company is employee involvement. Hire Dynamics’ experience with this program has been a journey over the course of our nine year history. For us, the desire to receive the award was an attempt to confirm that our goals around employee satisfaction were being achieved. The first few years that we submitted for the award we did not win but we saw each year as an opportunity to improve. The surveys provide great feedback directly from our employees and in response we put together employee committees that review the results, make recommendations for follow up and action plans are formulated. Survey results and subsequent action plans are provided to all employees. Hire Dynamics views being named a  Best Place to Work as a journey versus a destination.

Employee involvement doesn’t stop with Best Places to Work survey results and initiatives. We work hard to involve employees at all levels through open communication and by knowing our people. First, people want to be “in the know” and at Hire Dynamics we work hard to be transparent with our people. All employees have access to Senior Management (open door policy) and senior leaders regularly reach out to local teams to check in and provide updates. We have quarterly “State of the Union” company conference calls and our CEO provides detailed updates on the state of our organization (good or bad). It’s also important to figure out what employee “passions” are and when a project comes up that plays to an employee‘s strength, we get them involved! From technical projects to special events, from financial goals and results to representing Hire Dynamics in the community, the boundaries on what an employee can participate in or contribute are very flexible.

Organizational support, strong teams, strong culture and employee involvement are just the beginning of building a BPTW culture. Partnered with specific initiatives and programs that are important to the employees in your organization and you have the ingredients for a Best Places to Work Company that will attract and retain the top talent in your industry and set you apart as an organization.

There comes a time in every interview where the interviewer asks, “Do you have any questions for me?” The wrong answer would be, “No, I think you covered everything.” Instead, use this time to take control of the interview.

Be sure to listen carefully to their responses and take good notes. Interviewers are always impressed with people who come prepared with a bank of questions for them. It demonstrates your interest level and your eagerness to learn more about the position and the company as a whole. You earn bonus points for including items you learned during the interview in your questions.

Yes, asking questions will earn you bonus points but make sure you do not repeat any questions that have already been answered by the interviewer unless you are seeking further understanding or clarification. If you ask a repeat question, the interviewer will think you were not paying attention. Also, steer clear of questions that can be answered by simply visiting their website. Remember – do your homework before you go to the interview.

You can even generate questions based on what you learned from their website. For example, “I noticed on your website that you were recently named, ‘Best Place to Work in Atlanta.’ What company traits do you attribute to winning this award?” This kind of question proves to the interviewer that you did your homework. Be creative – don’t be afraid to ask a question that will make them think a little.

Here are some good questions you can ask that are sure to impress the interviewer:

1. Describe the company’s culture to me.
2. To what do you attribute your growth?
3. Why is this position open?
4. What is your timeline in filling this position and what is the next step?
5. What are the measurements of success for this position?
6. What challenges will I face in this position in the first 12 months?
7.  Am I a fit for the position? Why/why not?
8. Why do you work for (company name)?
9. What are your company’s growth goals?
10. Where do you see your company in 1, 3, 5, 10 years?
11. What do you admire most about you company?
12. What sets your company apart from its competitors?

And one more thing – never ask about salary, benefits or vacation days in the first interview. You have not been offered the job [yet] so this should never come up unless done so by the interviewer.

Happy interviewing!

Anticipating the questions that will be asked during an interview are key to securing a call back. You will wow the interviewer with intelligent, well-crafted answers to the following frequently asked interview questions:

1. What are your career objectives? – Explain where you see yourself in five years.
2. What are you good at professionally? – Always have a bank of examples ready to share. If you feel like one of your strengths is your ability to be a leader, the interviewer will definitely want you to provide an example of a situation where you demonstrated leadership and the challenges you had to overcome.
3. What are you not so good at professionally? – Don’t use this question as an opportunity to disguise one of your strengths as a weakness. Example: “I’m a perfectionist” – not a very intellectual response. An interviewer would much rather hear a true weakness followed by the ways you intend to improve in that area. This also shows initiative on your part and lets them know that you are aware of your limitations. No one is perfect, so don’t let this question intimidate you.
4. Who were your last 3 bosses and how would they rate your performance on a scale from 1-10? Be honest! Expect the interviewer to call your references and ask them this exact same question. If you rate yourself a 10 but your previous boss gives you a 7, this is an immediate red flag because you lied. This might make the interviewer question the truthfulness of the rest of the interview. So, rate yourself appropriately, avoiding perfect scores – there is always room to improve. This is also a question you should think about when you are creating your reference list because you do not want to include anyone who will rate you poorly.
5. In any one of your last jobs, what were some challenges that you encountered and how did you handle these obstacles? This question allows the interviewer to see how you perform under pressure. Make sure to come prepared with great examples. They might also add on to this by asking how you could have handled the situation differently (if the outcome wasn’t positive) so be ready to include alternative solutions.
6. What do you know about our company? This is important because this shows that you did your homework. Always, always, always research the company before you go to the interview.
7. Why do you want to work here? Think about what kind of company you see yourself working for and how this job fits in with your career objectives. In addition, while you are researching the company, keep track of the things that stand out to you – company culture, social media presence, blog posts, news articles, press releases, where they stand with their competitors, etc. – then figure out how you fit in and how the company will benefit from hiring you.
8. What are the most important factors to you when looking at your next opportunity? Let’s break this down – what type of companies are you targeting? Do you want a job that will continuously challenge you? Are you looking for a long-term position that will allow you to grow within an organization or just something to pay the bills? Is personal growth important to you? Take some time to analysis every aspect of this question and figure out how it fits in with your career objectives.
9. What is your motivation for seeking a new position? Are you a recent grad? Is your current position not challenging you enough or not in line with your career goals? Basically, why are you going to this interview in the first place?
10. What was the last book you read and what did you learn from it? Whoa, curve ball! Let’s hope it wasn’t one from the Twilight series or Harry Potter when you were 10. Recent grads – If this question makes you sweat because you’re not much of a reader, think back to some of the books you had to read for class and brush up on them. There should be at least one or two… 

All of these are potential questions that you might be asked during an interview. If you prepare yourself for these, you will be able to answer a variety of others.

You’ve worked long and hard to get an interview and you only have limited time to tell your story and make an impression. As a job seeker, we often don’t think about the position of the interviewer. He or she has probably read through dozens of resumes, conducted multiple phone screenings and could be interviewing 5-10 people. It is a major investment in time and energy. Here are some tips for preparing for your 30 minutes in the hot seat…

1. Know Yourself: Be clear about what you’re targeting. This does not mean you only have one job or one position in mind, it means that you have a strong sense of the direction that you want to take your career and you have targeted appropriately. If you haven’t already developed your elevator pitch, now is the time.
2. Sell Yourself.  Be clear about what you can do for the company in which you are interviewing. It’s not about “me, me, me I can do anything” – that will make you sound unsophisticated.  The main point is the company, the position and the value you can bring. In order to position yourself successfully, see #3…
3. Study the Company. There is nothing fun or sexy about this – its serious work. And there is no excuse not to do it because there is so much information on company websites. Look at their resource center and press releases. This is where companies talk about what is important to them. Also take a little time to learn the industry and identify what their competitors might be doing differently.
4. Use Your Nerves. Everyone is nervous in an interview but the fact is most interviewers want to put you at ease so you can have a substantive conversation. A little bit of nerves means you’re interested and engaged so think of it as a positive force.
5. Follow-up. Even though you shook hands and left the building, the interview is not over until you write the “Thank You” note. Handwritten or email, you ask? A Handwritten note is considered more thoughtful, but an email is more immediate. Your choice, just be sure to DO IT! 

Scenario: You’re graduating in May and you attend the Spring Career Fair held at your school. You meet a recruiter representing your dream company and they want to know a little bit about you. Are you prepared for an opportunity like this? Would you be able to concisely introduce yourself, your background and your career goals in 30 seconds or less?  This is where your “elevator pitch” comes in handy.

An elevator pitch has a simple definition: it’s a basic introduction of who you are as well as your career aspirations. So why is this important? In most situations, you won’t have time to tell someone your life story or every accomplishment thus far. You want your elevator pitch to provide enough background information and enthusiasm so the other person wants to continue the conversation with you – potentially during a follow-up interview.

Here are a few tips that will help you jump-start your personal brand:

1. Be authentic. Before you jump into your personal brand, take a minute to think about who you really are and where you want to be in five years, career-wise. What have you accomplished so far? What are your true passions? What are your goals? It’s often hard to analyze yourself without feeling like you are bragging or being egocentric. There are a couple of ways around this –You can take a self-assessment test online or through your college career center or, the easier and more convenient option, ask friends or relatives to describe your best qualities and greatest accomplishments. The people who are close to you should have no problem pinpointing the qualities that make you stand out among the rest.
2. Learn how to introduce yourself. Once you feel like you have a good understanding of who you are, the next step is being able to communicate that to others with as much enthusiasm as possible. Because you never want to project arrogance, “Tell me a little bit about yourself” is a much harder assignment than it may seem. Learn how to say your name, your recent accomplishments and your career goals assertively, avoiding a sense of conceit.    
3. Practice and get Feedback. Once you have assembled a concise introduction, practice, practice and practice some more. Practice on your own in front of a mirror and, better yet, in front of your peers. Find a professional you trust – a friend, relative or professor – who will be honest with you and perform your introduction for them. Choose wisely because you want this person to be able to tell you your flaws and if there are any areas where you seem to be getting in your own way. For example, they might find that you say “like” or “um” too often. Bottom line, you need to practice until you feel comfortable telling your own story.
4. Don’t sweat it. A lot of people feel uncomfortable or inexperienced in professional environments, especially a college student who hasn’t had much practice with interviewing. A common mistake when trying to cover up the awkwardness is making fun of yourself in hopes to make light of an uncomfortable situation– don’t do that. Everyone gets anxious during interviews and sometimes there is no way around it. Use the nervous energy to project self-assurance because if you are confident in yourself, other will feel more comfortable with you, making for a more pleasant interviewing experience.
5. Market Yourself. Just as an organization or product needs marketing materials, you need them as well. In essence, you are a “product” in which a company might choose to invest themselves, so you will need a range of items to “market” yourself. The essential items include your resume, cover letters, contact information, professional online profiles, websites or blogs. Let’s focus for a second on what I mean by professional online appearances. It’s time to grow-up and find a job so lose the college drinking-binge pictures and inappropriate status/wall postings on your Facebook page. Choose a default picture that wouldn’t scare a potential job opportunity away – trust me, they look. Change your email address from “hotchick@yahoo” to something more suitable, hopefully you get the picture. If you don’t already have a presence on LinkedIn, create one. This is often used by employers as a research tool. Business cards are also a plus during a career fair or job interview. Don’t worry if it looks too simple – your contact information is all that’s needed.

Now, here are a few exercises that will help you develop your elevator pitch. What makes you unique? Ask yourself these questions and jot your answers down:

1. Which of your previous jobs/internships or college classes provided you with experience relevant to your long-term career goals?
2. What are your strongest skills?
3. Career-wise, what are your strengths and passions?
4. What kinds of companies or industries are you currently pursuing?
5. What can you say about yourself that will set you apart from other entry-level candidates? What makes you memorable?

Competition for jobs is fierce.  If you’re looking for work in this stormy employment market, how can you keep your head above water?
Here are a few quick, easy, and really useful ideas to help you stay afloat:

1. Leverage your network. According to Monster.com, 80 percent of jobs are obtained through networking.  Use this statistic to your advantage.  Contact your college’s career center or alumni directory.  Send an e-mail to your social media contacts.  Make phone calls to old business contacts.  Let everyone you know that you’re looking for a job and ask them to keep their eyes and ears open.
2. Put your best foot forward. When it comes to your job search, image is everything.  So review your résumé, social media profiles and website to make sure all information is accurate, professional, and showcases your strengths.  Before an interview, learn all you can about the potential employer.  Critically evaluate your experience and skills, so you can learn how to talk about yourself in a meaningful and powerful way.  Finally, practice the answers to potential interview questions.  All this preparation will help you make a fantastic first impression.
3. Pay attention to detail. Sometimes, little things can make a big difference.  Take the time to customize your cover letters to address the specific skills or qualities a potential employer wants.  After the interview, handwrite and hand deliver (if feasible) a thank you note that recaps your strengths and addresses any weaknesses that may have come up during the interview.
4. Keep working. When you have bills to pay, a job that is less than ideal is better than no job at all.  So consider freelancing or temporary work.  Both offer a great way to get your name out there, form new contacts, sharpen your skills (and develop new ones), keep your morale high, and provide income while you’re looking for a full-time opportunity.
5. Never stop searching for opportunities. Sending your resume to everyone in your area and posting it on every major job board is just the beginning of your job search.  Don’t stop and wait for an opportunity to come along – be aggressive.  Set weekly goals for finding new leads and making new contacts.  Whatever you do, don’t give up.
6. Look on the bright side. When you’re struggling to find work, it’s easy to become frustrated and even depressed.  Do whatever you can to stay positive.  Talk to friends or former colleagues who will pick you up when you’re down.  And remember, there are literally millions of jobs that become available every month in the U.S.  You only need to find one of them.

Bonus tip:  Call Hire Dynamics or search our available jobs now!