HMG Success - The Advance Group

Should You Hire Someone Who Doesn’t Give Their Two Weeks’ Notice?

HMG Success on November 10, 2015

In the course of an interview, you (the hiring manager) asks the candidate when they can start. The candidate responds with, “When would you like me to start?” In a perfect world, you could request that this perfect candidate start right away, but realistically the candidate is currently working for someone else and must follow some rule about giving two weeks’ notice. But, what if the candidate says that they don’t mind not giving this standard notice? Should you still hire someone like this?

Why not. You want the candidate and you know that you can offer this person a much better career opportunity. They know it and that’s why they are willing to bend a little to get in the door faster. Besides, is the two-week notice even the standard anymore?

Um, not so fast. You want to hire a professional, someone who demonstrates this with ethical decisions and actions. Not giving a proper notice could be viewed as being somewhat unprofessional or hasty. It could also be that the candidate is eager to come work for you and leave the other job behind – for a variety of reasons.

What to do?

First, ask the candidate if not giving a proper notice will burn any bridges with the former employer. After all, they want to use them for a reference in the future, right? This is ultimately up to the candidate to decide, so don’t judge them. Keep in mind that the candidate may have already advised a current employer of departure, or may have some vacation time to use up — so it’s not that big of a deal.

Second, advise the candidate that the start date is flexible, so you can wait if they need to give a two-week notice. This helps the candidate to see you value them in this process. It also gives the candidate the chance to adjust to a new job offer, take care of wrapping things up with a former employer, and get the background screening processing out of the way before the official start date.

If the candidate is still interested in starting soon, let them know you can accommodate them. You want the candidate to be comfortable and have a positive onboarding experience with your company, so be adaptable and work with the candidate to make this a smooth start.

Choose Staffing as a Career and Love What You Do

HMG Success on November 6, 2015

Our mission at Advance Staffing Solutions is to become a true resource to our client and candidate partners for general hiring and recruiting, and executive search recruitment. We work hard to provide innovative staffing services to our employers and opportunity to our candidates. We create a fun and challenging workplace where we continue to learn daily, achieve success and grow our business.

As a growing business, Advance Staffing Solutions has internal positions available. If your are looking for a meaningful and rewarding career, please email your resume to stacey@advancestaffingsolutions.com. We have opportunities in sales and recruiting in NW Ohio and SE Michigan.

Learn more about an exciting career in the staffing and recruiting industry.

Should You Consider Relocating For a New Career?

HMG Success on November 3, 2015

If you’ve been looking for a new career in Detroit for a few months, you may have noticed a great many opportunities in other regions and states that appeal to you. But, some of these locations are many hours away from where you live now so it may seem impossible to even consider jobs like this – or is it? Is relocating for a new career something you should do soon? Here’s how to evaluate where your life is and if a cross-country job relocation is in the picture.

Would the career offer you a substantially improved path to career growth and a better lifestyle?

One of the main reasons you would want to even think about relocating for a new job is because you will be able to fast track your career growth, and your lifestyle in the process. For example, does the company offer progressive promotions, employee training and development, and does the region end itself to a more comfortable or convenient daily life?

Is the salary and benefits reasonable given the cost of living in that region?

You will want to carefully evaluate any type of job out there based on the cost of living for the area vs. the salary and benefits offered by companies. Sure the salary might be twice what you are earning now, but if you cannot even make your rent payments, then there’s no use. Large metropolitan areas tend to be a lot more expensive to live in than the suburbs.

How would a move like this impact other people in your life?

Are you married, have children, what about parents or grandparents you care for? Before thinking about moving to another area, you have to consider what this kind of move could do for them, or if it may make things more difficult. If you can justify that you and your dependents would be better off in a new region (better schools, health care, safety, etc.), then this could be a good move.

Does the company offer support or reimbursement for a relocation?

It’s very important to read all the fine details of any job listing or offer before agreeing to relocate. Any decent company will offer to pay for moving and relocation expenses, including providing access to affordable temporary housing while transition. If a company says that they will reimburse you, plan on spending a great deal of your savings to move.

Are there comparable jobs available in your current region?

Before you think about relocating for a new job, take the time to register with a Detroit staffing agency in your industry and see what opportunities that they can place you with. Many companies avoid direct hiring, which is why you may not be hearing about job opportunities. It could be a better ideas to use a staffing agency to try on a few jobs before you settle on an expensive and life altering move across country.

Can You Become a Respected Leader Overnight?

HMG Success on October 29, 2015

Do you dream of being an industry expert and someone who others look up to for leadership? If so, it won’t happen overnight. These things can take time. But there are some ways to fast-track your way to success. Here’s how to become a respected leader in your career.

Become a subject matter expert

Everyone is good at something, but the better you are at your job and the more knowledgeable you become, the more others will look to you for direction. Take the time to learn as much as you can about the processes and products that help you do your job, the industry updates and trends, and the people who make your industry great.

Align yourself with other leaders

As soon as you can, associate yourself with other thought leaders and become one of the pack. Attend industry association meetings and networking groups in the local business community. Network on social media groups. Elevate yourself through credentials and partnerships. Most of all, gain a mentor who you will be like someday.

Demonstrate leadership ability

If you want to be seen as a leader, then you must act like one. Find ways to stand out among your peers at work. Rise up to challenges and take on new responsibilities. Take the time to teach others what you know, when they ask. Demonstrate that you have what it takes to be a leader on your team. Learn to be a powerful speaker and presenter. Think about ways to solve problems and make your boss and co-workers look good.

Think beyond the four walls of your workplace

True leaders have a strong sense of community and the impact they are having on the rest of the world. Find a cause you believe in and support it. Volunteer once in a while and see how good it makes you feel and how you stand up for something good. The world needs more leaders, and it’s time to take your place.

By using the above methods, you can elevate yourself to leadership status in very little time. Be strategic and consistent with how you present yourself.

Why Resilience Is a Sought-After Job Skill

HMG Success on October 27, 2015

If you’ve spent a long time searching for a job, you know how important resilience is as a personality trait. Being able to hang in there and bend as things change can also help you in any career you choose. In fact, this is a trait that is often sought after by hiring companies. Learn how demonstrating resilience can support your journey towards a wonderful job and career, and how to develop this trait.

Waiting is just a part of being an adult

Being resilient is a trait that adults develop over time and experience. If you can be patient, wait for the right moment, and bounce back when things don’t go the way you expect, you are most likely a well-adjusted adult. This is a good sign. Be ready to talk about circumstances where you were able to demonstrate resilience on a job.

Resilience is a trait all leaders have

Think about some of the leaders of industry you’ve heard or read about: The one character trait they’ve all had was the ability to be resilient in the face of the impossible. Want some inspiration? Read about Richard Branson, the Founder and CEO of Virgin Airlines, or Henry Ford, the Founder of Ford Motors. They failed over and over again, but eventually they found amazing success.

Employers are looking for loyal employees

Another reason to develop and demonstrate resilience as a work trait is that employers want to hire people for the long term. They invest much in recruitment costs and efforts, therefore if they can keep an employee on board for a while, they’ve earned a nice return on this investment. Resilience shows you have what it takes to stick it out, even when things become a challenge.

Make sure you highlight and explain key examples of times when you have been resilient. And also be prepared to show this on your resume. Being resilient also means keeping up with your job search and treating it like a job, taking on temp assignments, and staying active in the business world.

How to Turn Renegade Employees into Valuable Team Members

HMG Success on October 22, 2015

Do you often walk by your work teams and see several people missing, off doing their own things? These are your renegade employees, and while they are very talented, they are somehow disconnected from the rest of the team – and need to be reeled back in. How can you turn renegade employees into valuable team members who can add to the collaboration and innovation to your company?

Invite all employees to share

As a manager, it’s your job to bring your people back together. Invite all to a project kick-off meeting to allow all employees to share what they are currently working on and learn about a new team project. Look at the individual projects and match employees up to collaborate and get them finished more efficiently. Advise employees you will expect them to work together on the new project and have daily touchpoints.

Give all employees rewarding tasks that honor skill sets

Now is the time to make sure the renegade employees don’t get bored and wander off again. Bring them in and ask employees on an individual level what part of the project they’d like to work on. Then ask them to identify the top-three colleagues they are most comfortable working with. Sometimes renegades become annoyed by other employees, or they may self-ostracize because there are personality conflicts. Weed these out now.

Open up the lines of communication

Using the technology available to you, make sure that there is a central team location for sharing updates and information. Include all team members. Open up communication with weekly staff meetings and project touchpoints. Assign a few of the renegade employees as team leaders to head up certain portions of the project, which forces them to stay involved with others.

Bring in additional talent

Augment your current team with some temporary contractors to take the pressure off your employees. Renegades often take on too much and become overwhelmed and frustrated, leading to their isolation. Temps can alleviate some of the stress and take on administrative and tedious tasks so that all employees can focus on the project and the team building activities.

How to Avoid Adding These Red Flags to Your Resume

HMG Success on October 20, 2015

Your professional resume speaks loudly to recruiters, even if it’s not a human being. What you put on a resume, what you leave off, and how you present your career and educational history impacts the way that recruiters will react. Does your resume include any potential red flags that could be blocking your way to success? Here are some of the top no-no’s that have no place on your resume.

1. The resume lacks excitement.

Your resume is written out neatly on a standard resume format, so what’s wrong with it? It’s boring and lacks any kind of attention-grabbing elements. Recruiters spend literally 10 seconds or less looking at each resume, even less when they have a large stack to go through. If your resume bores them, you can bet it’s saying you are also a boring person and probably won’t be a good hire. Spice it up with powerful words and a fun-to-read format.

2. No clear career direction.

If you have held a number of jobs over the last couple of years, how do they show that you are progressing in your career? If you are all over the place, we suggest you work with a career coach to determine what your goals will be and how you can best present them on your resume. Make sure you can highlight your growth as a professional, taking on more responsibilities and achieving your goals.

3. Big gaps between jobs.

Many recruiters are still fairly “old school” when it comes to evaluating candidate resumes. If they see large gaps in time between jobs, or dates of employment and education that don’t make sense, this is a huge red flag. Make sure you indicate on your resume what you were doing in between jobs (for example: attending college, volunteering, caring for a child, etc.)

4. Careless mistakes.

If your resume contains spelling mistakes, errors in grammar, and odd sentence structures you can bet that a hiring manager will note this as a sign you are also careless about your work. Make sure to go over your resume with a fine-tooth comb, use a spell checker software, and have another set of eyes on your resume before you send it (and your cover letter) to a company.

What To Do With “Out of the Box” Job Candidates

HMG Success on October 15, 2015

As a hiring manager, you’ve probably seen a wide range of candidates who vary from underqualified to perfect for the company. But, every once in a while, a candidate comes across your desk with skills and experience that fall outside of the box. This is someone who could potentially add a great deal of value to your company, even be considered as a future leader, but you don’t have a position available at this time. These people are:

Creative thinkers who bring a lot of energy to their careers
Extroverts with above-average leadership and communication skills
Highly respected and recommended by past employers and colleagues

What do you do with a candidate like this – put them in a pile for later consideration and risk losing them to a competitor, or giving them an opportunity at your company? Read on to learn what you can do with these rare candidates.

Get them on the phone for a screening interview fast

Don’t miss out on the chance to talk with a candidate who has the above traits. Get on the phone and introduce your company and the opportunities there. Find out what the candidate is looking for. Arrange for an in-face interview as soon as you can.

Offer them a contract project

If you don’t have a position already available for a candidate like this, create one with a contract project. Tap into the candidate’s strengths and experience to come up with a project that will challenge the candidate. Let them know successful completion of this project may lead to a permanent job. Offer a generous contract rate to get them on board.

Bring the candidate on as a consultant

An alternative to offering a paid project is to offer the candidate the chance to share their unique knowledge as a consultant to your current team. Set a meeting and introduce them to your leadership team, then come up with an agreement to have them come in for a nice fee to direct your team on certain issues they may be having. When the time is right, offer this candidate a job.

Refer them to a complimentary firm

If you cannot do the above, the very best action you can take is to refer them to a colleague at a complimentary firm. In the future, you can still offer a position or work positively with this person, who will be forever grateful, and your colleagues will thank you for sending a great candidate along.

Your Interview Isn’t Going Well…Now What?!

HMG Success on October 13, 2015

When you get invited to a job interview, it’s natural to want the best possible scenario to happen. But in reality, sometimes things can and do go wrong with interviews. Before you panic, here’s how to redeem yourself from several common problems that occur with interviews.

Running Late/Got Lost

Despite the advantages of directional apps found on most mobile devices, life can get in the way causing one to be a few minutes late to an interview because of poor directions or traffic problems. While it’s always a good idea to leave extra early for an interview, it’s not always possible if you are trying to do so around another job or personal responsibilities. The best course of action is to pick up the phone as soon as you suspect you may be late or lost and inform the company. Try to give an honest estimate of when you will arrive for the interview. The hiring manager will appreciate this gesture, which shows you have a strong sense of being punctual.

Not Getting a Warm Fuzzy Feeling

While most recruiters try to make an effort to create a friendly environment to conduct interviews, not all take the time to build rapport with candidates – instead getting down to the business of things. This can be uncomfortable and awkward for anyone. If you find yourself faced with a cold interviewer, you can make the most of it. Be professional, friendly, and use positive body language. It’s possible the recruiter is doing this as part of a test to see how well you function under similar circumstnces with clients and vendors.

Stuck on an Interview Answer

Nearly every job seeker has encountered a bad interview question or one where there could be several possible answers. Or worse yet, one that stumps us completely. This happens to even the most prepared candidates. Take a deep breath and let the interviewer know you are stumbling to find the right answer to this one. Then ask them if you can think about this for a bit longer, but in the meantime you can answer another question to jog your memory. This shows that you are careful about your words and the way you do things, which should impress anyone.

Above all else, don’t panic. Not all interviews will seem positive, but they can result in a job offer even if you think you bombed it.

What To Say to Your Workforce, Instead of “I Don’t Know!”

HMG Success on October 8, 2015

There are times in a manager’s career when a lack of enough information may leave no other answer but “I don’t know” to subordinates. However, this is not a good phrase to use because it takes away from the management role. How? Employees need strong leadership, so a wishy washy answer that implies the leader is really not in control of the situation leaves them feeling confused and worried. In order to maintain your status as a leader, you need some other ways of expressing yourself without saying you don’t know. Here are some other things you can say.

“This is what I know, and I will have more information for you soon.”

When employees know that an immediate supervisor has their best interests in mind, they are often good with this kind of response. It shows that you are going to share what you know (and maybe share some managers-only information) and that you are going to update them as soon as possible. This conveys you have things under control and they will be the first to hear when anything new develops.

“I’m not the right person to ask about this, let’s find out who can answer your question.”

As a manager, you will never have all the information and you may not always be the go-to expert on a particular subject. This is OK. Employees are simply following the chain of command when they ask a manager about something. It’s up to you to direct them to the right resources and experts in the company for more clarity on some subjects. For example, if an employee has a benefits-related question, you will use this phrase and then walk them over to the human resource office for more support.

“I hear your concern, so give me an opportunity to get the right answer for you.”

Being a good listener and using reflective phrases like this can go a long way towards fostering good relationships with subordinates. By stating that you hear what the employee is saying, you acknowledge their concern and want to do something to help them. However, if you don’t have the right answer, which is reasonable, you are asking the employee to trust in you as a manager to get the correct information for them – something they can respect.

Use the above phrases to demonstrate your ability to lead others, without leaving them scratching their heads.

There’s No Guarantee You’ll Get the Job — But This Will Help!

HMG Success on October 6, 2015

Have you gone weeks and even months without so much as a response to the hundreds of applications you’ve been submitting to employers? Unfortunately, just as in life, there are no guarantees with getting a job. However, there are some factors that can put you ahead of the game in terms of landing work sooner. The smart job seeker goes after jobs like a savvy marketer, using every opportunity to pitch their worth to the organization. When you approach your job search in this way, it can certainly help you get a job offer. Here’s how to go about it.

Make a strong pitch from the start.

You’ve only got mere seconds from the moment a hiring manager looks at your resume. Take a look at yours. Does it “wow” you? If not, it’s probably not doing a good job impressing any hiring managers either. Take the time to boost the top half of your resume (above the fold) and include power words that speak to your true value. Look at the company website and the job listings for ideas. Use bold headings for your name and contact information, and include a web link to your portfolio.

Get your applications to stand out.

A job application can be a dull and tedious process, but it doesn’t have to land at the bottom of the pile. Use the additional space for comments and other information for writing an outstanding cover letter, sharing more details about your abilities, or inviting the hiring manager to connect with you. This often grabs the attention of the recruitment team faster. You will also want to update your online applications weekly as most applicant tracking systems list people by the date they are active in the system.

Prove to hiring managers you are a good investment.

Your goal as a candidate is to make sure that any hiring managers and recruitment professionals you meet understand and can see your value in a matter of minutes. How can you do this? Take the time to share your skills and how they are relevant to the job, but go a step further. Dig into the corporate goals and find a direct link between your skills and the direction the company is going. Check for any recent press that indicates what the company is focused on.

If you use the above tips, you’ll soon be getting a job offer and being able to prove your worth to the company.

Referral Contest – Win Thanksgiving Dinner on us!

HMG Success on October 5, 2015

Refer a friend and when they complete our application process

You will be entered in a drawing for a Thanksgiving Dinner Gift Basket that includes a gift certificate for a turkey & all the ingredients for side dishes and dessert!

Applicant must register at one of our Branch Offices between the dates of October 5th – November 13^th.

(apply on-line or call branch for appointment time)

Drawing will be held on Monday, November 16th

** In addition to this referral bonus you will also be eligible for our regular $25 referral bonus**

(To qualify for the $25 referral bonus the applicant or employee must complete 80 hours of work)

www.advancestaffingsolutions.com