Tech Candidate Sentiment in 2015 [SURVEY]

Tech Candidate Sentiment in 2015 [SURVEY] Our friends at Dice recently presented the results of the Tech Candidate Sentiment Survey 2015 to help government officials get up to date with developing trends in recruiting. They surveyed 3,801 respondents, 68% of who were in a job, 50% actively manage their careers and no less than 90% engage with recruiters. Survey takeaways: Sourcing talent is hard in this tight tech market; the overall unemployment rate in the U.S. is 5.6% but only 2% for database administrators and 1.4% for network architects. 66% of tech pros want recruiters to gain a better understanding of how their skills fit into the job opportunity being offered. Only 50% of survey respondents said that they wish recruiters would do more research on them and their background before calling, as compared to 63% in 2013. Tech candidates understand that recruiters use publicly available data to research candidates and get a “total person” view before making that first call to provide a better candidate experience. RELATED: How to Recruit Tech Talent [For Non-Tech People]

Key Salary Negotiation Tips - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Key Salary Negotiation Tips - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Salary negotiation is a tricky thing. Pushing to see what you can get is human nature, but an inexpert maneuver on your end could potentially sour your employment relationship before its even begun. Here are four tried-and-true tactics to help you get closer to the salary you want without touching any employer sore spots: 1. Keep it professional, not personal Whether its right or wrong, for a lot of people, money is knitted to self-worth. If thats the case for you, the first bullseye to aim for is learning to be professional and unemotional during negotiations. This is often easier said than done. Without being brusque or cold, assess the offer from the companys point of view as well as your own. Each conversation should end with you saying (or writing, if negotiating by email) thank you. Ask yourself: Have I kept things positive but also quickly gotten to the point? For instance, to negotiate a salary of $42,000, a good response to hiring manager X at company ABC Corp. might look like this: Hello, X, First let me say that joining ABC Corp. is an extremely exciting prospect for me. I believe I can produce for ABC and exceed expectations for this role. After reviewing the offer, most points reflect what I had hoped to see. One point I would like to discuss further is the offered base salary. Currently, I earn $38,000 and am ideally looking to progress to $45,000. If there is a time today when we can discuss this over the phone, I would be happy to work around your schedule. 2. To decide how high to go, weigh risk and reward A key thing to remember about compensation negotiation is that its still very much part of the interview process, even though you have an offer before you begin. If youre attempting to negotiate above 15 percent of your current salary, be careful not to come across as high-maintenance or entitled. Even with the offer on the table, at the end of the day, the hiring company still has the final say. If you decide what youre asking for is commensurate with the market rate and reflects your skills and history, proceed professionally and know going into the negotiations whether youre willing to compromise. 3. Be brutally honest with yourself Evaluate your own qualifications. Are you more than 50 percent sure you deserve more money? If you are less than 50 percent sure, err on the side of not pushing for a higher salary and instead prove yourself on the job. But if you do meet that 50 percent threshold, go for it. The fewer strong candidates a company has, the more likely they are to give the hiring manager leeway. 4. Depend on research, not guesswork Research what similar jobs at similar companies pay. What doesnt count as research? Asking your friends what they think someone in your job should be making. Some intense Googling and researching on Glassdoor.com is much more effective. Salary negotiation might make you feel nervous, excited, indignant, entitled, unsure or ultra-focused. But a savvy professional thats you is able to take a step back from any emotional response, assess the facts gathered from reliable sources and proceed in the same professional manner that you would on the first day you walk through your new office doors. Author: Ken Sundheim  is the CEO of  KAS Placement  a recruiting firm based out of New York City.

MCG Office Design and Desk Inspiration Round Up #01

MCG Office Design and Desk Inspiration Round Up #01 We get  a lot of questions about productivity. Whether you are working from home or in an office, making your working environment optimal for productivity is key to a happy professional  life. I think that is why there is such a great response towards our desk inspirations pins on our office redesign board.  This is the same for our posts on our  MsCareerGirl instagram. Just like us, many out there understand the desire towards having that perfect work desk, and are currently building their own workspaces. (By the way, if you havent followed us on pinterest or instagram, just look us up! We are @MsCareerGirl on all networks!) Since this is a topic that we often touch on, I think it would be better to put our top 3  most recent tips in one post, so that you can get  ideas from our columnists easier.  Im also including some new tips below, so read on! 1.  Kayla Matthews shares in How to Have a Super Productive Office, that  having the right furniture and accessories is everything to a home office. I agree. Just the other day I was looking for great office furniture  and found some great stuff at Aram. I  realized  that the best ones to buy will always be the ones that prioritize function over style. Trends come and go, and your taste can change, but sturdy, well-built items will last if you invest in them. Your desk is base camp for your entire work day. Make sure you chose a desk that allows for enough surface space to spread out your work properly. You want to make sure that essential objects are within easy reach and you have enough drawers to organize your projects. 2. Ive also shared an old post where I mentioned that storage is everything. In Secrets of an Organized Office, I mentioned how organizing your files and items can come as a big help to everyone in the team. Whatever option you go for, make sure you and your colleagues understand where everything is kept and introduce any changes to all staff members. Simple things such as labelling draws and plastic containers can also help so come up with a storage strategy and enjoy a more organised environment. 3. Alissa Trumbull says TIDY UP! No matter how gorgeous your desk looks, it will be of no use if it is messy and cluttered. Take the time to clean up after ever work day. Heres something from her post, Sacred Space: How Your Work Enviornment Impacts Your Creativity In order for me to maintain productivity, at the end of each day, I make sure my desk is set back to neutral with my starting action items for tomorrow on a note stuck to my keyboard. This little list will get me going and to fuel my ideas for the rest of the next day. These were just some of the top tips we have on MCG. Make sure that you read through each one of them so you get more ideas. Do you have any more office design tips? Share it with us below!

About That Road Less Traveled.....

About That Road Less Traveled..... I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and Iâ€" I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost wrote those words as part of The Road Not Taken over a hundred years ago.     The complete quote is below, but most of us only remember the last few lines about the road less traveled.   Its often framed to mean that taking a chance, breaking away from the norms, the expected, the masses will somehow set you free, or make you rich, or lead to the fulfilling of all your fantasies.    I would suggest thats all delusional. Value Judgments On Being Average For at least a few decades, theres been a constant beating of the drum that somehow being average or normal, whatever those words may mean, is to be avoided.   And Im sure that many have, indeed, found treasures beyond their wildest dreams by venturing down that unknown path. But there is nothing wrong, or less, about being average or normal.   Ive wished many times that I could be.   And its okay to take an average stroll down the street or through the woods or on the beach. No, you dont have to be the best, or have a viral social media experience to lay claim to a quite wonderful life.   Average can be awesome, if you let it.   Normal, simple, calm, and predictable is a pretty nice place to be if you know the terror of living in chaos.   Buy me a drink sometime, and Ill tell you my story. You Dont Know What You Dont Know Yes, each of us comes across many divergent paths.   Too often, society, indulging in ones fantasies, or any one of the seven deadly sins entices us to make choices that alter our lives FOREVER.     Too often, theres no going back once the path is chosen, the door you walked through was a one-way door and it is bolted shut after youve passed through. Read Frosts words once again.   Are they really filled with a teasing of some unimaginable wonderfulness?   Or are they a warning?   A warning to choose wisely and cautiously, because the path you choose will . . . change . . . everything?   What was the sigh about?   Was it bliss?   Or sorrow? Choices, Choices . . . and Consequences Barbara Streisand once sang the words there are no mistakes, just lessons to be learned.    I suspect there are many, many more lessons, and accompanying trials, along the road less traveled.    Yes, in addition to the occasional gemstones and treasures.   Like the hopeful miners of gold rush days, youll never know for sure the prices that youll pay for the hope of finding gold. For every miner who found a handful of yellow metal, thousands perished, poor.   I think I hear their echoing sigh, just now. Its Okay To Be Average Mediocrity.   Average.   Just an everyday, common Joe or Jane.   Its okay if that describes you.   Treasure where you are, and   in the present moment, choose wisely. Because youre going to have to live in the next moment, too.   Ill see you on the other sighed. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood Looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and Iâ€" I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

Expand Your Resume Writing Business - How to Increase Your Income in a Positive Way

Expand Your Resume Writing Business - How to Increase Your Income in a Positive WayExpand Your Resume Writing Business: Should you add a service that you have been doing for a while? You may be surprised to find out that you can still make a lot of money with your writing business while still being in it full time. By taking advantage of the Internet, you can become your own boss.In today's economy, it is extremely hard to be successful on your own. You can find yourself on the outside looking in if you don't manage to keep up with the ever changing economy. As a result, people are taking their money and talents elsewhere. This could put your resume writing business in jeopardy.If you want to expand your resume writing business in a positive way, you should look at your own expansion plan. There is one that you can implement right now that will help you out tremendously. Take the following tips into consideration.The first thing you need to do is find a service provider that you can start working with right away. If you know how to write professionally, you can easily land a contract with someone already established. Make sure that you provide a quality service that will earn you repeat business.You must remember that your own name will have to be on the service, and that is enough for most people. As soon as you have found a service that you feel comfortable working with, all you have to do is start building up a list of people who can benefit from the service. Once you do this, you can send them promotional materials about the service and build trust in that way.After you have sent out the promotion and started bringing in new business, you can begin to do some press releases to get the word out that you are expanding your resume writing business. This will show prospective clientsthat you are an expert in the field. You can also increase your leads by sending out informational information and starting new contact to your existing clients.One thing that you w ant to keep in mind when you expand your resume writing business is that it takes time and effort. Be sure that you don't give up on your clients once you have gotten your business started. Always do what you can to make sure that your clients continue to stay happy.There are many service providers who will charge you for advertising and referrals. While these will help with your expansion, they may not bring in as much income as what you are used to. If you choose to become your own boss, you can build your business in a positive way by finding a service provider that you can work with.

Book review Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Book review Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog There are some companies that seem completely unafraid to do things differently. While others cling desperately to business as usual, I admire organizations who try alternative ideas and Zappos is one of these companies. For those outside of the US who have not yet heard of Zappos, they sell shoes and clothes online and they do so with huge success: Their sales for 2009 was $1 billion. Thats a lot of shoes and for a company thats only 10 years old, thats nice going. Zappos have about 800 employees in their HQ in Las Vegas and another 700 in the warehouse in Kentucky where all products are shipped from. And what truly separates them from many other organizations is how they treat their people. Zappos has committed itself to great service and has realized that the only way to consistently deliver great service is to have happy employees. And thats what Delivering Happiness is about. In the book, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh tells his own story he co-founded an IT company that became worth millions and then felt he had to leave it when he discovered that he was no longer happy at work there. The company was sold to Microsoft for $265 million. Tony ended up investing part of his money in a strange guy with a weird idea: Selling shoes online. After several false starts and slow growth in the beginning, Zappos found the winning formula and the rest is history. So what is their winning formula? Its culture! Zappos have defined their culture and spend a lot of time, money and energy on maintaining and developing it. And here it is: 1. Deliver WOW Through Service 2. Embrace and Drive Change 3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness 4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded 5. Pursue Growth and Learning 6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication 7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit 8. Do More With Less 9. Be Passionate and Determined 10. Be Humble They hire people based on who will fit into the culture, and theyre quick to fire those who turn out not to fit. Their hiring mantra is hire slowly, fire quickly. Typical interview questions include: If you had a theme song, that played every time you walked into a room, what would it be? On a scale from 1 to 10, how lucky are you? To make sure that new hires join Zappos for the culture and not for the money, they will give all new people the offer. Its simple: If you quit in the first 2 months, you get your salary plus an extra $2,000. Yes, you read that right: Zappos will pay people to quit. And since most new positions are in the call center or warehouse (jobs that dont pay all that well) $2,000 is serious money. Zappos have had to adjust that policy recently: Because of the financial crisis, less and less people took the offer, preferring to stay in a stable paying job even if they werent that thrilled about the workplace. So Zappos have now upped the amount to $3,000. In addition they also pay their people a salary that is above average and offer great perks like free food, free snacks, etc. The result of this and more (like great parties, freedom to design your own workspace, etc.) is a happy workforce and excellent customer service. It doesnt stop with the culture their business model is equally great. 1 year return policy on all products, free return shipping, their 1-800 number is right at the top of every web page (they actually want customers to call them) and when you do call in, a live rep is only one keypress away, not buried somewhere in a phone menu labyrinth. In fact, average wait times hover around 20 seconds when other companies can easily take 20 minutes to reach on the phone. All of this and more is described in Tonys book and I highly recommend it. Not only is it a fun and easy read, it offers a great insight into the history and practices of Zappos and its always fun to hear from people and organizations who are not only unafraid of trying new ideas but who seem to revel in it. Zappos definitely do. In that respect, this book reminds me of one of my all-time favorite business books, namely Ricardo Semlers The Seven-Day Weekend. It is, however, the first business book where the author spends a whole page on his undying love for Red Bull and a few more pages on how hes been inspired by the community at techno raves :o) The book is in three parts: Part 1 is Tonys story from his childhood to founding Linkexchange and Zappos. The second part is about how they do things at Zappos and the final appendix is about the science of happiness, which Tony urges all businesses to study. I could not agree more. The book will not only give you a peek into the mind of Tony Hsieh, it will also give you about a million ideas you could out into practice in your own business or work life. But most importantly, it will show you just how far out of the ordinary a business can go if it has the courage to do so and just how much success can be found out there. The book comes out on June 7 read it! Related Read more about Delivering Happiness here or buy it here. Bill Taylor talks about Zappos. Happiness at Zappos. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Want to Be a Better Leader Ask These 2 Scary Questions

Want to Be a Better Leader Ask These 2 Scary Questions What if there were two questions you could ask your team that hold the key to helping them be more productive? Two questions that help you be a better boss and deliver better business results. Would you ask them? Frankly, it’s crucial to ask these questions if you want to have a happier, more productive team. It also sets you further along the path of being a great boss and great leader. One who brings out the best in people. Asking these questions can be scary I was introduced to these questions a year ago by Strategic Coach, which helps entrepreneurs be more successful. But did I run back to my office and ask my team? No. Not right away because I was scared of what I might find out about myself. The first question is: “What’s frustrating you about our business and the way we’re doing it right now?” You can substitute other words for “frustrating you”, such as irritating you, bugging you, bumming you out. The second one is: “What’s exciting you about our business and what we’re doing?” Again, you can substitute other words for “exciting you”, such as inspiring you, jazzing you, making you feel pumped. When you’re the founder or boss or person in charge, asking these questions can feel like a personal thing. What if the frustrations are all about you, or it becomes a whining session? What if they can’t think of even one thing they’re excited about and you sit in awkward silence? And if you’ve been the equivalent of the “office ogre” that the team is afraid of, then people may not feel they can answer honestly. But those are all excuses. Having just asked my team, I can tell you that what I’ve learned is ground breaking. It’s going to change the way I run my business â€" for the better. And it will take the productivity of the entire team up several notches. Even if it was scary. For me and for them. Create the conditions for successful feedback Whether you’ve been a good boss or bad boss in the past, this is a chance to turn over a new leaf and be the wonderful leader you know you can be. It’s an opportunity to open up the lines of communication in a more powerful way. It’s all in how you go about it. So, start by creating the conditions for success. This means creating a safe space both for you and for your team members to have this important conversation. Here are a few ground rules to consider. Come in with the right mindset The conversation will go best if you come in with an open mind. One where you are willing to learn how you could be better. That means avoiding these conversation killers: being defensive, entering into a debate on every point, being skeptical, being judgmental. You need to be okay with whatever they say and demonstrate that in your reactions. Otherwise, you won’t get much useful feedback in the future. Receive feedback with an open mind and the willingness to learn how you can be better. Choose a quiet time To get the best results, choose a time when things are relatively quiet and you can have an open ended one-on-one conversation. While the conversation won’t take a long time, it’s best if you don’t have to interrupt the flow before the dialogue comes to a natural conclusion. Listen Once you pose the first question, sit back and listen. When you’re listening, don’t think about other things, and don’t interrupt. When there’s a pause, ask if there’s anything else. When you truly listen to understand, it’s amazing what gems of insight you can gain. Be willing to make changes When you ask about frustrations, it’s important that you’re prepared to take action to address the things you can (and want to) change. If you’re not willing to take action on things that will help your team be more productive, then don’t bother asking these questions. It will backfire. The changes you choose to make should be guided by making a positive difference without changing who you are fundamentally as a person. And of course, they have to make sense. You’re not committed to doing every single thing that people bring up. Just do what you can. For example, it could be adjusting your approach to managing the workflow, or negotiating with other parts of the organization on your team’s behalf to change the way things are done. So, be willing to change your behavior and approach to be more effective, but make sure you’re still being yourself. Be prepared to troubleshoot If your team member starts to whine and complain, then keep your cool and guide them back to a constructive place. You can get their help in focusing on the most important frustrations by saying something like, “Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me â€" you’ve clearly given this a lot of thought. Are there one or two that you care most about?” Or, shift the focus to things that are in your sphere of influence by saying something like, “Thanks for sharing that. I can see what you mean, and I even share some of those frustrations. I’d like to focus on the ones that I can do something about.” Say “thank you” The best response to feedback of any kind is to say “thank you”. Then take actions that make sense. Answers from my team When I asked my team members about their frustrations and irritations, here’s what they said: “There are times I need your input, but you’re hard to reach.” “You’re always so busy â€" I feel bad interrupting you unless it’s absolutely urgent.” “I feel like I’m not in the loop on the latest developments.” “The changing nature of priorities is limiting what I can contribute.” “It’s hard to figure out which projects are the priorities â€" everything seems equally important.” “Everything’s just firing in. Some prioritization would be helpful.” “I wish we could be more strategic and planful. We tend to just dive in. We always get things done but it’s usually in a rush at the end.” “I come in with a list of things you’ve asked me to get done, and then you change things and divert me to something different. So I fall behind.” “I’d like a lamp on the desk â€" it’s kind of dark where I sit.” Wow. I learned a lot about myself and how that’s reflected in the way I run the business. I do struggle to prioritize because I’m impatient and want everything to be done right now. I am always busy and traveling around the world, so you can’t help but interrupt me. I love new ideas and can’t resist chasing them and substituting them for something that’s more mundane that’s been in the plans for months. On the other hand, I was pleased that they all felt comfortable to tell me the truth. In fact, these are all areas I’ve wanted to improve on. It’s just taken on greater urgency because my behavior is affecting my team and our results. Actions I’ve chosen to take As they say, if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. So, now that I know, it’s up to me to do the things I can to help them be more productive: Return my team members’ emails first. Have a regular catch up session with each of them individually. Set out priorities more clearly so people can identify what’s most important. Create a decision making filter so we can all assess new projects as they come up. Enlist one of my team members to manage me and keep me on track so I don’t derail the plan with new “shiny objects”. Buy a lamp. When I asked the second question about what they’re excited about, each team member had a different answer. Some were excited about a new product we’re launching, and others were inspired by being able to make a visible difference to the business. Just as the first question about frustrations told me a lot about myself as a leader, the second question showed me something about my team members. When you know what excites people and motivates them, you can help them get more of it. And that will help the whole team become more productive. When you know what excites people and motivates them, help them get more of it. What will you do? Asking these questions and getting feedback from your team can be scary. But you know what? They’re already thinking these things. So you may as well benefit from knowing how you can help them do more and be better. Now, it’s your turn. What will you do to get comfortable with asking these questions so you can help your team be more productive and successful? And by the way, you’ll be helping yourself too! Leave a comment and let me know.