hiring

12 Red Flags to Watch for in a Job Interview

Paul Michael — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 08:30:10 +0000

Getting your foot in the door of a new company is tough. Job openings attract hundreds of resumes, and if you can get an interview out of those masses, you're one of the lucky ones. Considering the astronomical odds, the idea of then saying no to a job offer seems ill-advised. However, if any of the following red flags are waved during your interview, "No thanks" may actually be the smart answer.

1. The interviewer is frazzled

Not just weary, but he or she has trouble focusing, doesn't seem to be organized, and has a mind that wanders throughout the interview. This is a clear sign of problems in the office. Most likely, it's a combination of being overworked, overstressed, and under the gun. The interviewer is supposed to be a good representation of the company. If this is it, there are issues.

2. The culture is toxic

Every office has its ups and downs, but for the most part, people are all swimming in the same direction. Signs that there is a rotten culture include uncomfortable body language, instantly jumping on negatives about the company and/or co-workers, and a general feeling of doom in the air. Take a walk through the building if you can. See the environment for yourself, read reviews on Glassdoor, and talk to former employees. You'll soon get the scoop. Don't dive into a fire everyone is desperately trying to escape.

3. Your position is ill-defined

Whether you're working in the corridors of power on Wall Street, or a local auto-repair shop, you should know exactly what you're taking on if you accept the job. If the answer to your question, "What will I be doing here?" results in a bunch of platitudes and hyperbole, you have two possible reasons for it: Either the interviewer doesn't know the role well enough to be asking the questions, or the role itself is vague. These are both red flags that you should look elsewhere.

4. Your interviewer talks smack about the company

This isn't just a red flag — it's a warning siren loud enough to wake the dead. Remember, the whole idea of an interview is for both sides to sell themselves to the other. You wouldn't talk badly about yourself in an interview, and likewise, the interviewer should be painting a positive picture of the environment. It's OK for them to talk about challenges, but if they openly rag on the company and the people, they are telling you, "Run away."

5. The interviewer runs late

Not just five to 10 minutes late; business is business, and sometimes small fires need to be put out. But if you are sitting in the reception area for over 30 minutes, you should consider that part of a deeper problem. Time is money, and your time is not something anyone should be wasting. If you make an appointment and the interviewer cannot make it, he or she should reschedule well before the time you are supposed to meet, or come and meet you in person to explain the situation. If you're just ignored, it show a complete lack of respect. (See also: The 8 Types of Bad Bosses — And How to Survive Them)

6. No one will tell you about the person you're replacing

Why did they leave? Did they do so of their own accord, or were they let go? Were there issues that you should know about? If you ask questions like that and are met with stony-faced silence, or some vague statement like, "We don't like to talk about that," you should consider that a red flag. Chances are, something happened that would make you think twice about accepting the job.

7. The job being described doesn't match the one you applied for

As you sit and listen to the daily duties that come with the role on offer, make sure it aligns with the one that was posted. Is the hiring manager listing additional responsibilities that were suspiciously absent from the post? Are you being asked to do way more for the same money? This is the career version of a bait and switch. If the company is pulling this on you, it's not going to get better once you accept the job.

8. The interviewer knows almost nothing about you

You sit down, you do the usual banter, and you find out your resume and work history never made it to the hiring manager's desk. They know your first and last name, and that's it. Huge red flag. This is a sign of communication breakdowns within the company, a lack of process, poor preparation, and a boss that is happy to walk into a meeting knowing nothing about the job applicant. Would you want to work for anyone this lackadaisical?

9. You cannot get a straight answer about work-life balance

One of the most prominent questions being asked in interviews these days focuses on work-life balance. Applicants want to enjoy their lives outside of work. They want family time, vacations, and time to relax. If you ask, "How's the work-life balance?" and the hiring manager gives you a tap-dancing answer, won't look you in the eye, or be straight with you, you know it's going to suck. If you're interviewing first thing in the morning, or after hours, take a look around. Is the place packed? That's another sign that the company will drive you into the ground. (See also: 9 Signs Your Work-Life Balance Is Off)

10. You are given a "take it or leave it" offer on the spot

Accepting a new job is not something that should ever be taken lightly. And if you have a family, you will want to discuss the options with them. You need time to think it over. If the hiring manager comes on strong, saying that it's a one-time only, on-the-spot offer, they are bullying you. No decent employer would ask this of you. Even if it is more money than you ever dreamed of, tread wisely. There's a reason you're being backed into a corner. (See also: 12 Questions to Ask Before You Take a Job Offer)

11. You are being asked to compromise your principles

It happens all the time, and applicants often do it because they are desperate for the position. The hiring manager will find out where you draw the line, then promptly ask you to step over it. For example, some people in advertising refuse to work on cigarette brands or anything involving animal products. But the lure of money, or a grand title, can make them commit to a job that is at odds with their core beliefs. If this is happening in an interview, it will only get worse when you're on the payroll.

12. Your inner voice is screaming no

It could be a combination of things. The attitude of the interviewer. A look given to you by an employee as you pass by them in the hall. A general feeling of unease. We all have an inner voice, and we should listen to it more often. Something is off, and you know it. When your Spidey Sense is tingling, don't ignore it. Instead, review the interview afterward, talk to friends, read reviews of the company, and figure out what set off your fight or flight response.

Like this article? Pin it!

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

5 Questions Your Financial Adviser Should Ask You

Emily Guy Birken — Wed, 20 Dec 2017 10:00:06 +0000

When you're looking for the right financial planner, you are essentially interviewing someone to work for you. Any hiring manager will tell you that a prospective hire who has no questions about the job during the interview is not well prepared to become an employee. The same is true for your prospective financial adviser. If the entire meeting is only about them answering your questions, you don’t have the full story on whether or not this will be a good fit.

That’s why you should expect to hear the following questions from an adviser before you decide to entrust your financial future with them.

1. What are your financial goals and objectives?

If you don’t know where you’re going, it will be tough to know how to get there. A financial adviser who asks you this question will not only help you better understand and articulate your goals, but they’ll also be in a much better position to help you achieve them.

This is also a good way to help you and your adviser understand your values, needs, and reasonable expectations. If you simply say you want to prepare for retirement and save a little for your kids’ college funds, your adviser should dig a little deeper to help you put specifics and numbers to your goals, so that you don’t find yourself saving for a goal you don’t really want. (See also: 5 Details Your Financial Adviser May Be Ignoring)

2. What are your biggest financial concerns right now?

We all carry some sort of financial stress, and an important part of your adviser’s job is to help you arrange your finances to minimize that stress. Letting your adviser know that you are regularly losing sleep over your debt will help them recognize that getting that debt paid off is an important goal. Even if it might make better sense on paper to focus on investing while paying off debt slowly, tackling the debt more aggressively will be more beneficial to your mental wellbeing.

While many advisers will ask you to fill out some sort of risk assessment questionnaire to help determine what kind of investor you are, it’s important for them to also understand the more day-to-day type of financial thinker you are. The goal of financial planning is helping you live well on the money you have, both today and in the future, and the best financial planners recognize that they can help you by addressing your most pressing concerns.

3. What are your biggest nonfinancial concerns right now?

It’s important to remember that money does not exist in a vacuum. The nonfinancial issues that are causing you stress will also affect your financial life, so it’s important to talk through those issues, as well. That could include your concerns about your child’s education or your parents’ declining health, or your concerns that you don’t spend enough time with your family. Your financial adviser can help you figure out what aspects of your life could improve and how financial planning can help. (See also: 11 Secrets You Need to Tell Your Financial Adviser)

4. Where do you expect to be in five years?

This is a common job interview question, and it’s also a good question to hear from your financial adviser. So often, we think of financial planning as being solely about retirement and estate planning, but there are any number of important life milestones long before you reach the end of your career. Knowing where you’d like to be in the near future — and what upcoming potential issues you may be facing — can help you to determine what goals to set for yourself and with your financial adviser.

5. What do you expect to get out of this relationship?

Unmet expectations are the root of bad feelings and resentment. If you expect your financial adviser to be there for your debt payoff journey, tax questions, retirement planning, estate planning, and college savings, you’ll be sorely disappointed if your adviser is only planning on chatting with you once a year about how your retirement investments are doing. Similarly, if your adviser is usually very hands-on while you are happy to DIY anything that you can do on your own, you might find them too invasive when they make recommendations you don’t feel you need.

Laying out the expectations on both sides for how the relationship will work can help you determine if the adviser you’re meeting with will take care of your needs. (See also: 3 Reasons to Be Picky When Hiring a Financial Planner)

What to do if you don’t hear these questions

While many good financial advisers will ask you these sorts of questions during your initial interview, it’s not necessarily a given that every good financial adviser will think to ask them. That means you risk turning away a financial adviser who would be a good fit just because they didn’t ask these questions.

It can often be up to the client to take the bull by the horns. If your prospective adviser hasn’t asked deep getting-to-know-you questions, let them know that you would like to discuss these issues. Come right out and explain your financial goals and objectives, your concerns, and your expectations. This will prompt a productive discussion with a good planner who just hasn’t thought to ask these questions, and will be dismissed or minimized by a planner who isn’t actually interested in helping you.

Like this article? Pin it!

This article is from Emily Guy Birken of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Are Online Certifications Worth the Price?

Christa Avampato — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 08:30:05 +0000

Online certifications are available on a number of platforms. They tell you they can help you get ahead in your current job, change careers, or start your own business. They claim to save you time from traditional schooling and connect you to other like-minded people who will help your career skyrocket.

But can they actually do any of this? You're right to be skeptical. Here's how to figure out when these online certifications matter, and when they don't. (See also: 7 Certifications That Add Big Money to Your Salary)

If you want to get ahead in your current company

If you like your job and the company you work for, and you're hoping to move up into a new role at this company, you have the perfect scenario to do some research before you decide whether or not to pay for a certification. Have a conversation with your boss about your career path, and ask if he or she thinks a certification would make a difference.

Don't feel comfortable asking your boss this kind of question? That's understandable — I've had bosses like that! There are other ways to find out if a certification matters. Find people at your company who have a role that you'd like, and take them to coffee. Ask about their education and training so you can figure out if a certification could help.

If you have a knowledgeable and helpful Human Resources department, talk to your HR representative. Tell them about your ideal career path and see if the certification would make a difference from their perspective. If it does and you're willing to do the work, they may even have some professional development funds that they could provide to offset the cost.

If you want to change careers

This takes a bit more work on your part, but it's completely doable. Social media to the rescue! Do a search on LinkedIn or Twitter to find people who work at companies and in roles that interest you. Look at their training and experience to see if they mention a certification. Then, introduce yourself to them online and see if they'd be willing to chat with you about their experience.

I've done this a number of times, and people are often very quick to offer up their perspectives. I've also had people reach out to me for this kind of chat, and I have always been happy to help.

A second option is to get involved: Join LinkedIn Groups, go to conferences and events, and subscribe to newsletters related to your new career interest. This is a great way to make connections, get advice, and ask questions. Curiosity gets rewarded, so always seek to learn what's worked for other people by asking them about their experiences.

You could also investigate a range of different job postings in the field that interests you. Is a certification listed as a requirement or a preferred qualification? Don't be shy about reaching out to those companies to find someone willing to share the company's perspective on the value of certifications. They are looking for qualified applicants, and your interest in them could yield not only information on certifications, but valuable contacts in your new field.

Another strategy is to reach out to a recruiter in that field, and ask them whether certifications make a difference as they are looking for applicants in the field for a variety of companies.

The certifications that really matter

I was recently speaking to a project management recruiter. She mentioned to me that while many companies used to want all project managers to be certified, now it's less of a concern. Project management software has gotten so sophisticated that it now does much of the work that used to be manual.

This discovery taught me that it really is worth the time to dig in and do your research before putting the time, effort, and money into a certification. Only take the plunge if it's necessary, and if you're fully committed to the path the certification opens for you.

Like this article? Pin it!

This article is from Christa Avampato of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How to Hire Your First Employee

Annie Mueller — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 08:30:10 +0000

Hiring your first employee is exciting! And also pretty intimidating. You don't need a complicated system in place to make your first hire, but you do need to take a few essential steps along the way. Here are some ways to simplify the process of hiring your first employee.

Decide what your employee will do

First things first: You know you're busy and you have more on your plate than you can accomplish alone. However, do you know exactly what your employee will take off your hands? Before you write an ad or think about a salary, make a list of the tasks and responsibilities you'd like to hand off to an employee. This list will help you hire the right person, and will also help you know exactly how to get them to full productivity quickly.

Write that employee handbook

Writing an employee handbook sounds like an overly complicated, formal process. It doesn't have to be! An employee handbook can be direct, casual, whimsical, full of pictures, and even interactive. It can also be a simple document of a few pages that covers the important values and rules you need to have in place for all employees, present and future. The U.S. Small Business Administration has a thorough guide to writing a handbook, or you can find free templates online.

Set up a payroll service

In hiring an employee, what's most important to you is getting work done. What's most important to your first employee is getting a paycheck. Take some friendly advice: Hire a payroll service to handle the paycheck part of the equation. You will save yourself countless dollars in time and headaches. A good payroll service will provide necessary tax withholdings according to federal and state rules, keep accurate documentation, allow customizable withholdings to be set as needed, and ensure that your employee gets paid on time. All you have to do is go through the initial setup process and put a salary in place.

And for the record: It's a really, really good idea to pay yourself through a payroll service, too. Missing tax documentation will always come back to haunt you.

Advertise for a great employee

Now you're ready to start seeking your first employee. Start by writing a great job listing ad. How, you ask? The keys to a great employment ad are specificity and authenticity.

Specificity means that you'll list the exact tasks and responsibilities that your employee will take on. Don't use a vague term like "Office Manager" or "Production Assistant" without stating exactly what that means in your business. By making your ad specific, you will automatically filter out the applicants who aren't qualified or interested in completing the work you actually need done.

Authenticity means that your employment ad should be like you, and like your business. If you're a casual, mom-and-pop kind of place, don't write an ad with formal language and overblown requirements for employment. Use first-person language, for example: "We're looking for someone to work at the front counter."

On the other hand, if your business is a more formal establishment with a dress code and high-end clientele, reflect that accurately in your advertisement. Use a more formal tone: "Bobkin, Bobkin, and Butters, LLP, seek a qualified office assistant." The language and tone you use in your initial ad help you attract the type of applicant that will fit well and work well in your business.

Provide initial training

While you're waiting for the pre-filtered applications to roll in, thanks to your stellar employment ad, get your training materials in place. Do this by going back to that list of tasks and responsibilities that you want your first employee to handle. For each major task, write down the step-by-step process to complete it, well, completely. For each responsibility, list the tasks to be completed and, as appropriate, the timelines, resources, contacts, and other pertinent information.

When you make that first hire, you'll have the information to start their training. As a general rule, it's a good idea to do two things: First, provide a copy of the complete training material to your employee, so they can go over it and get a big picture of the role they're taking. Second, prioritize the tasks and responsibilities and work with your new employee on each one in order of importance.

Set up a system for performance reviews

Ah, the dreaded performance review! Employees don't tend to love them, and frankly, neither do employers. However, when done well and frequently, reviews can create a working relationship that's much more beneficial for everyone involved.

Start by letting your employee know that you will provide weekly feedback in their first month, or quarter. This is important as new employees often have no way to gauge if they're doing the job right and meeting your standards, or not. Not knowing leads to anxiety and tension, which leads to more mistakes, and can create an ugly cycle of stress and mess-ups. Provide clear, regular, weekly (at a minimum) feedback for your new employee for at least their first month.

Thereafter, feedback sessions on a quarterly, monthly, or even a continued weekly basis are the most effective. Annual reviews are too few and far-between to be effective; they have the fun effect of making employees feel blindsided and betrayed. Don't do that! Instead, provide ongoing, informal feedback to your employee, either in face-to-face meetings or via phone, email, or messaging.

You can provide feedback on a scheduled basis (weekly or monthly, for example) or after the completion of a task or project. In both cases, shorter, more frequent meetings tend to be more helpful. For best results, focus less on "what you did wrong" criticism and more on "specific steps to improve" instruction.

A last note: It's a great idea to get feedback from your employee, as well as giving feedback to your employee. It's your first hire, but it probably won't be your last. Ask your new employee how you can make the process easier and be a better boss; you'll be even better prepared when it's time for your second hire.

Like this article? Pin it!

This article is from Annie Mueller of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

15 Questions You Should Always Ask at the End of a Job Interview

Paul Michael — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 11:00:09 +0000

There are two important moments that occur in every job interview — the first impression, and the last. The first impression is about instantly portraying a positive image of yourself to the interviewer. You want to be confident, personable, and eager to talk. By the time the interview is over, you will have relaxed, and will hopefully have a rapport with the other person. This is the time to hit them with some questions that can be enlightening, and leave things on a lasting, positive end note.

1. "Why Is the Person I am Replacing Leaving the Company?"

This question can be considered quite assertive, but it's definitely fair game. If you are filling the shoes of someone else, you want to know why they are leaving. Maybe they got a promotion. Perhaps they were headhunted. Or, they may have hated the job, the people, and the hours so much, they quit. The interviewer may not be as open to answering this if it's the latter, but the reaction on their face, and any hesitation in answering, can speak volumes.

2. "What Would a Current Employee Say About This Position?"

You could always ask them directly (and that's not a bad idea at all… reach out on sites like LinkedIn and Facebook). But in this situation, you can find out how the interviewer reacts to that question. A grimace or raised eyebrows gives away the probability that although the interviewer has talked a good game, the job may not be all it's cracked up to be.

3. "What's the Corporate Culture Like Here?

Is this an environment of backstabbing and name-calling? Do you have to really flatter egos and go the extra mile to get a promotion or a raise? Will your political leanings be looked upon unfavorably? (Some people have been let go due to Facebook and Twitter posts.) Is the atmosphere relaxed, or uptight? You need to know before you sign.

4. "What are the Main Challenges That the Company, and My Department, Are Facing Right Now?

This is a doozy after rounds of questions from the interviewer. You are showing an interest in the issues that you will want to help solve, and you can also gauge the reaction of the person sitting opposite of you. Hopefully, they will be open, honest, and engage in the answer. If they can't think of any, you may want to run and hide. Every company has issues…denying their existence is a red flag of an oppressive corporate culture.

5. "If I Get the Job, What Will Be My First Major Assignment or Goal?"

This shows your eagerness to dive into the role, and gives you fair warning of what your first few weeks, or months, on the job will look like. It may also be a red flag for you that you're about to bite off way more than you can chew, or that the company doesn't entirely understand the role for which you're being hired.

6. "What Qualities Does Your Ideal Candidate Possess?"

Basically — am I the person you had in mind? Of course, you don't ever want to come out and say that. By asking it this way, you can weigh up your own strengths and weaknesses and get a good temperature reading on your chances of success. Oh, and if he or she says, "Actually, you have them all" then you're probably a shoo-in for the job.

7. "What Does Success Look Like for My Particular Role?"

This will vary drastically depending on the company, and the job itself. For some jobs, success comes directly from sales results or hitting hard financial goals. In other jobs, success is based more on your creative output, or how you help raise the company profile. Get to know the parameters for success, so you can meet them and move upward.

8. "Name One Thing You Like, and Don't Like, About Working Here."

The first part of this question is easy. It's a softball to set the interviewer up for the real question: What's not so good about life at your company? They may well be reluctant to answer. They could say something trite, like "Sometimes the people are too nice." But hopefully, you'll get an honest answer. The hours can be long. The work is very challenging. This will give you more meat to contemplate the role you will be filling.

9. "Which of Your Competitors Do You Look Up to, and Why?"

Make no mistake, every company should be looking at their rivals. If you're Pepsi, you take note of everything Coke is doing. If you're Avis, you look at Hertz. How the interviewer answers gives you a good indication of their competitive spirit, and what they are doing to either stay on top, or become a bigger player. There's nothing wrong with admiring a rival; if the interviewer doesn't think anyone is worth his or her respect, this could reflect a narcissistic company culture.

10. "What Are the Opportunities for Growth and Training in This Role?"

Does the company offer help with expenses for further education? Can you expect to climb the ladder quickly, if you meet and exceed your duties? Is the job a dead end, with few chances of advancement? Find out now, before you say yes to a role that could be career suicide.

11. "Is There Anything You Haven't Told Me About the Job That I Should Know?"

This one catches a lot of interviewers off-guard. Many will "um" and "ah" and come back with "Not that I'm aware of." But it's worth asking, because sometimes you get an insight or confession that would not have been presented unless you probed in this manner.

12. "Does the Company Have a History of Layoffs and/or High Turnover?"

You may be able to get some of this information from sites like LinkedIn and Glassdoor, or by Googling articles on the company. But many times, this kind of information is just not out there. You might get stonewalled here, but you could also get an honest answer. Yes, the company does lay off people for certain reasons, and yes, the turnover is high because many people cannot handle the pace, or the hours.

13. "Is There Anything About My Resume or Experience That Causes Concern?"

Find out what your weaknesses are now, and change the interviewer's opinion if you can. Perhaps they don't see a certain skill listed. You can reply that you are taking courses on that and will be up to speed in weeks. This is your chance to remove doubt from the interviewer's mind, and it also makes you look humble and eager to improve.

14. "Why Did You Decide to Work Here?"

This is a more cunning way of asking about the pros (and maybe cons) of working at the company. It prompts the interviewer to bring in personal experience, and may give you some unique insights into the job, the company, and the competitive landscape.

15. "When Can I Expect to Hear Back From You?"

Finally, you should set expectations for yourself on when you will hear from the company, good or bad, about the position. If the interview process is in its infancy, and there are many candidates to consider, it could take weeks for a decision to be made. On the other hand, you could get a call within a few days. It's important to know this so that you do not harass the recruiter too early. It also gives you a timeline for sending a follow up card or email.

Like this article? Pin it!

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Almost Half of Job Applicants Make This Same Foolish Mistake

Paul Michael — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 11:00:13 +0000

Hiring professionals in industries far and wide, when looking at applications ranging from entry-level to upper management, say almost 50% of the applicants are making the same mistake. Is it grammar? Poor choice of words? Not completing an online test, or answering questions incorrectly?

It's actually something much more basic. And it's a mistake that is completely inexcusable.

Almost Half of Job Applicants Are Not Following Directions

As bizarre as it may sound, job applicants are just not following basic instructions or directions given out by the employer or recruiting agency. Every application is different, but the basic problem is the same across the board — the inability to follow the directions to the letter.

Most of the time, this means omitting information required by the employer, from a resume or cover letter, to background information, references, and even contact information. For example, many applicants include a name and address, but not a phone number or email. That instantly puts them out of the running, as the HR department is too busy to track down people that don't have an immediate form of contact. No one is going to write you via snail mail inviting you to come in for an interview. Plus, the fact that you left out such a basic piece of information simply doesn't look good.

HR professionals also indicated that a simple visual test is often done on applications. If anything is blank, messy, or missing, the application goes into the trash. With so many people competing for the same job these days, removing applicants who cannot follow instructions makes life a lot easier, instantly thinning the pack.

Employers May Actively Test Your Ability to Follow Directions

It's not just about noticing mistakes. Some employers may actually lay traps that you have to avoid. Perhaps one of the most famous instances of an employer testing the suitability of a candidate goes back to an Army recruitment campaign in England.

The Army ran ads asking people to order a special recruitment kit. The kit included a VHS cassette (yes, it was a while ago). When the prospective new recruit put the tape into the VCR and hit play, the video showed an explosion. It then went on to tell people who saw that explosion that they were not the right candidate for the Army, because they did not follow the instructions. As it turns out, there was a small message on the cassette that said "rewind me first." Clever. Very clever. Of course, there was no way to know if the candidate lied about seeing that explosion first, but what it did was plant the seed of doubt. If they missed that, what would they miss on a real mission? Maybe this is not the career for them.

Another example comes from entrance exams that ask candidates to complete "only three of the following four questions." If the candidate answers all four, even if they answer them perfectly, it is a huge red flag to the employer. The inability to follow this simple direction lets the employer know that you either don't pay attention to details, you're too eager to get started, or you just refuse to follow the rules. These are not good qualities in a candidate.

So…What Can You Do to Be a Better Job Applicant?

Perhaps the biggest piece of advice, and the simplest, is to slow down. You may well have several applications to fill out for different jobs, but you cannot afford to rush them. By slowing down, and reading everything, you are far less likely to make a mistake. Having said that, you can also follow these steps to make sure you do not end up in the reject pile, along with almost half of the other applicants.

1. Read Through Everything Twice Before You Start

It's a little bit like the old DIY adage, "Measure twice, cut once." You should go through the entire application, line by line, and be clear about what you are being asked to provide. If you need to prepare something, such as a cover letter or a portfolio of your work, make a note of it.

2. Complete a Trial Application First

Think of it as a practice run. Fill it all out, and then read it back to yourself. What is missing? What sounds good, and what sounds bad? What can you improve, or edit? Are there sections that are stronger than others? Have you included the relevant dates and places, or achievements that could make you stand out? Mark it up, and then complete the application again. If you're doing this online, print out the application and fill it out by hand first.

3. Run Everything Through a Spelling/Grammar Checker

Even if your document is beautifully formatted and has all the required information, spelling errors can really mess you up. Some companies may even use software to weed out applications with too many grammar problems. If you're submitting an application using pen and paper, this may not be possible (unless you have a text recognition app or device). In that case, move on to the next step…

4. Have Someone Else Look Over Your Application

A friend. A colleague. A family member. Someone you trust. Put the application in front of them and ask them to go over it line by line. Ask them to read the instructions, too. Having someone else with a fresh eye can really help you out. They will notice glaring errors that you have become blind to.

5. Look Back at Your Notes Before You Submit Anything

Remember those notes you took at the very beginning? Now, after you have completed everything, is the time to check the "to-do" boxes off that list. Do you have your cover letter? Is it attached to the application? Is it stapled, or put on there with a paper clip (some employers want it done a specific way)? If you're sending something over the Internet, have you made sure the documents are formatted correctly, and saved the way the employer likes them (some prefer PDFs to Word documents)? All of this should be looked over carefully before putting it in the mail or hitting send.

Remember, the ability to follow simple directions is the very least an employer should expect from a candidate. If you don't do everything by the letter, you could be missing out on a great job, and a lucrative career.

Like this article? Pin it!

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Who to Hire: A Financial Planner or a Financial Adviser?

Damian Davila — Mon, 01 Aug 2016 09:30:34 +0000

Armed with Internet access and a DIY attitude, many Americans tackle all kinds of projects on their own to avoid paying a professional. When it comes to managing an investment portfolio, creating a detailed estate plan, or handling the sale of several stock holdings, most of us are better off hiring a financial professional. (See also: 4 Times You Should Splurge and Hire a Pro)

Financial literacy varies across generations. For example, only 24 percent of Millennials and 38% of Gen-Xers in the U.S. are able to answer four out of five financial quiz questions correctly. While the titles financial adviser and financial planner are often used interchangeably, they're not the same! Let's review the difference between a financial adviser and a financial planner, how you can decide which professional you need.

What Is a Financial Adviser?

In simple terms, a financial adviser helps you manage your money. Since most of the time this means managing your investments, a financial adviser has to complete the Investment Adviser Law Examination (better known as the Series 65 exam) to legally practice the profession.

A financial adviser is a broad title within the financial services industry. To specialize in a field, a professional often completes additional certifications. According to the National Association of Personal Financial Advisers (NAPFA), there are more than 100 professional designations within the industry. Here are three examples of financial advisers:

Certified College Planning Specialist (CCPS): Presents strategies to finance a college education.
Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA): Provides specialized accounting, financial, and legal advice in the field of pre-divorce financial planning.
Certified Income Specialist (CIS): Seeks to optimize income from retirement accounts.

What Is a Financial Planner?

A financial planner is a certified professional uniquely qualified to help individuals pull all their finances together, solve financial problems, and make a plan to achieve their financial goals. This particular type of financial adviser is proficient in the areas of financial planning, taxes, insurance, estate planning, and retirement planning.

The most popular credential among financial planners is the Certified Financial Planner (CFP), which is a rigorous seven-hour long exam only available a couple times throughout the year. Only individuals who have completed college or university-level coursework in major personal financial planning areas qualify to take the CFP exam. In order to retain CFP status, a professional must also complete continuing education requirements each year.

Depending on the work history and preferred area of expertise of the financial planner, he may hold additional designations, such as Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Financial Consultant (CHFC).

How to Decide What Professional You Need

The main reason why these two titles can be confusing is that every financial planner is also a type of financial adviser, but not every financial adviser is a financial planner. Here are two useful rules to decide which professional to hire.

1. Define the Scope of Your Project

Just like you wouldn't hire an engineer to fix your clogged toilet, you shouldn't hire a full-fledged financial planner to just to buy a couple of bonds. The general rule of thumb is that you should seek the professional who holds the appropriate expertise and qualifications of the services that you require.

Consider two scenarios:

A financial adviser focusing on investment management may not be the best match for a client looking for comprehensive estate planning services. A CFP would be more appropriate in this case so that she can structure your finances to meet your financial planning goals.
If you're just trying to decide between several 529 college saving plans, then a CFP may not be necessary and a financial adviser would do.

2. Decide Whether or Not You Require Fiduciary Duty

Another key criterion to decide between a financial adviser and a financial planner is fiduciary duty. While all financial planners with a CFP designation are legally bound to put their client's interests before their own, not all financial advisers are.

Commission-based financial advisers may receive an incentive or kickback for pushing certain products, such as life insurance packages or mutual funds. Check with your prospective financial professional as to whether or not he receives ongoing income from any recommendations or how his fees may affect the success of attaining your financial goals.

Fortunately, starting April 10, 2017 all financial advisers handling retirement accounts will be required to serve as fiduciaries. Until then, make sure to check for fiduciary duty.

Tips When Choosing a Financial Adviser or Financial Planner

Before you sign a contract, do your homework and determine whether or not your potential financial adviser or financial planner is the most suitable for you.

1. Ask for Credentials and Affiliations

While some salespersons and representatives from insurance and investment companies may appear to provide financial advice and financial planning services, they may have compensation agreements that encourage them to suggest certain investments. Make sure to inquire about the credentials of any financial professional.

2. Verify Credentials and Affiliations

Virtually all governing bodies providing certifications provide a searchable database to look up members. For example, through the CFP Board's member database I can see that there are only five CFPs servicing my ZIP code. So, anybody else claiming to be a "financial planner" is lying. Besides confirming credentials, look for any disciplinary action posted on the database. If the professional didn't disclose them in advance, that's a red flag.

3. Review Client Eligibility Requirements

Some financial professionals require you to own a minimum of investable assets. For example, one of the CFPs in my ZIP code requires at least $500,000 in investable assets and another, $2.5 million!

4. Consider Pay Structure

Before entering a contractual relationship with a financial adviser or planner, request a detailed disclosure of all applicable fees. The objective is to spot potential conflicts of interest. Pay close attention to minimum fees for rendered services, commissions from investment products or securities trading, and referral fees from other professionals, such as accountants, insurance agents, and mortgage brokers. (See also: 4 Sneaky Investment Fees to Watch For)

5. Ask About Continuity Planning

In other words, "Who would handle my finances if you were to be hit by a bus tomorrow?" After investing so much time in finding the right professional, you don't want to find out that she's retiring next year. Also, inquire if you'll be working with the same financial adviser at all times. If you'll be working with another associate than the one you're interviewing right away or within a few months, request to meet that associate before signing a contract.

6. Inquire If You're the "Typical Client"

You'll get the most out of your financial adviser or financial planner when he's more used to clients at your asset level and financial objective. Working with a "superstar" financial adviser may sound amazing, but may cause a lot of anxiety if you keep being pushed for financial transactions outside your risk tolerance.

The Bottom Line

When deciding on whether to hire a financial planner or financial adviser, ask as many questions as you need to find out if the prospective financial professional is right for you. Finding out as much as possible in advance will allow you to minimize any surprises.

Have you hired or sought to hire a financial planner or adviser?

This article is from Damian Davila of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

10 Resume Mistakes That Will Hurt Your Job Search

Damian Davila — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 09:00:10 +0000

The U.S. job outlook is looking much improved for 2015, and most economic indicators suggest a continued, healthy pace of hiring in the year ahead.

If you're still job hunting, it's time to polish your resume and ensure it stands out from the competition. While it can be tempting to pull outlandish stunts to convince employers to hire you, we don't recommend them as a prudent job search strategy. Instead, stick to what works — like having a crisp, error-free CV. (See also: The 6 Craziest Things People Have Done to Land a Job).

To make your resume really stand out from the competition, here are ten mistakes that will hurt your job search.

1. It Starts With a Career Objective Statement

Sometime back in high school, one of your instructors forced you to write a resume that included a career objective statement. Since habits die hard, you probably still include a career objective statement on your resume today.

Career objective statements are dated and don't belong in the modern business world. Hiring managers recommend leaving objective statements off your resume because they're irrelevant for the initial screening process. It's all about what the company wants, not the other way around. If you make it past the screening process, then you will have a chance to talk about your objective(s).

2. It Features Quirky Job Titles

While TeaEO may have worked for the founder and CEO of Honest Tea, quirky job titles are often a bad idea.

There are three reasons why quirky job titles do more harm than good on your resume.

Quirky Job Titles Lack Context

If you're a "Marketing Ninja," what happens when you request or get a promotion? Do you become a "Marketing Jōnin?" Also, are you above a samurai? Did you report to a shogun?

Applicant Tracking Systems Search for Specific Keywords

Your "Word Guru" title will leave you out from an "associate editor" query.

Great Performances Trump Job Titles

Any customer would still prefer to be taken care of by an effective, yet boringly named "customer service representative" than by a happy but hopeless "happiness advocate."

3. It Includes Too Much Work History

A recent study found that recruiters spend only six seconds reviewing a resume. This means that most of the time your resume should be no longer than a single page, especially if you're just starting your career. If you include pages and pages of work history, then you're more likely to go over the one-page limit.

Unless it is 100% relevant, nobody wants to hear about your first job selling lemonade on your street or being a "sandwich artist" in college. Keep your job history relevant to the position that you're applying to.

4. It Has Big, Unexplained Gaps in Employment

If you experienced a layoff, decided to take a long leave to raise your children, or took a year off to travel around Latin America, you will have a big gap in employment. Life happens and recruiters are fine with that. What they're not okay with is that you leave them wondering about those gaps.

Include a single line description, such as "Family Care" or "Volunteer for Red Cross" that helps your potential employer to review your job history, and then move on.

5. It Lacks Specifics

Focus on accomplishment, not job duties. Recruiters don't want to hear about menial tasks and duties. Anybody in that job would have done those. Instead, recruiters would like to read about what you got done.

Here are three tips on how to provide specifics in your job history.

Avoid iPhrases

Resumes are never written in the first person. Use dynamic verbs instead.

Leverage Numbers to Provide Context

For example, "Redesigned a trading platform used by 2,500 investment managers," or "Launched a grassroots email marketing campaign that grew sales 25% to $500,000 the next quarter."

Provide Specific Dates

"White lies" about length of employment are still lies.

6. It Contains Misspellings and Grammar Mistakes

Misspellings and grammar mistakes are the easiest ways to get your resume ignored. Use your word processor's spell check, take advantage of online grammar checkers, and have at least two people proofread your resume before you deliver it. (See also: 12 Grammar Mistakes That Are Making You Look Stupid and 12 More Grammar Mistakes That Are Making You Look Stupid)

By taking the time to proofread your resume, you will stand apart from the 58% of resumes that have typos.

7. It's in the Wrong Format

As many as 75% of qualified applicants are rejected by ATS programs because they submitted resumes can't be read correctly, or at all. Avoid rejection with some simple steps.

Use .doc or .txt format instead of .pdf or image formats.
Avoid graphics and tables that may confuse an ATS.
List the name of your employer, then the dates of employment.
Upload your resume, instead of typing it out, because ATS prefers the first.
Include relevant keywords from the job posting contextually throughout your resume.

8. It Shares Confidential Information

This is a big no-no and is never okay By disclosing confidential details to a potential employer, you're telling them that they should never hire you, unless they want their own trade secrets revealed to their competitors.

When in doubt about whether or not to include something in your resume, use the New York Times test: if you wouldn't want to see it on the cover on the New York Times with your name attached, leave it off your resume.

9. It Promises "References Upon Request"

Don't waste space on your resume to state the obvious. Remember that you only have about a page worth of resume real estate to impress your potential employer.

10. It Ignores Specific Requests From the Posting

Consider these surprising statistics about recruitment:

First applications are received 200 seconds after a job goes online; and
An average of 250 resumes are received for each job position.

To avoid drowning in a sea of resumes, on top of leveraging an ATS, recruiters include special requests on job postings. For example, an employer may ask you to include a specific phrase on your email subject line or cover letter.

If you ignore specific requests from a job posting, you're never giving your resume a fighting chance.

What are other resume mistakes that hurt any job searcher?

This article is from Damian Davila of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

What You Should Do If You're Stumped During an Interview

POPSUGAR Smart Living — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 10:00:18 +0000

When you don't know how to answer a question during an interview, the silence can seem excruciating. You might even wish the floor would open up and swallow you whole. Not to worry, though — keep these tips in mind the next time you're strapped for an answer.

1. Calm Down

First of all, the most important thing to do is stay calm. If you start freaking out, your body will begin reacting physiologically. For example, your blood pressure will start rising, and your heart may race. Once you start a stress response, you won't be thinking clearly, and you may throw out answers without thinking. Take deep breaths, and tell yourself that it's OK to not know the answer to the question. You'll just have to work through it; there's nothing you can do to change things, but you need to stay calm to find the right answer.

2. Don't Say "I Don't Know" Off the Bat, and Don't Make Stuff Up

You should not tell the interviewer you don't know the answer without mulling it over. Then again, be careful not to make stuff up, because your interviewer can see right through that.

3. Ask Questions

Maybe it's the question you don't understand. Ask your interviewer to clarify what she said. Go deeper into the question to see if you can get more details that will help you figure it out.

4. Tell Your Interviewer What You Do Know

If you do have some knowledge of the question, then take the time to tell your interviewer what you do know of the situation. Saying everything out loud can start you on the process of figuring out the problem.

5. Tell Them How You Would Find the Answer

Even if you don't know what the answer is, you can tell the interviewer the steps you would take to figure out the problem. Interviewers ask you hard questions because they want to see what your thought process is. Sometimes, the thought process may be more important than the actual answer. They want to see that you can take initiative and have the resources to come up with a solution on your own, instead of needing someone to hold your hand through problems. While you're trying to find the solution, you can admit to not knowing certain parts; this way, you come off as being honest, and the hiring manager will know you are not trying to fake it. For example, if you need to calculate something and you're not good at math, you can respond with "I can't do the calculations off the top of my head, but I think these calculations will give me the answer. And what I can do is use a calculator to find that answer." Showing a little honesty shows vulnerability and transparency. It also makes you more likable.

6. Know the Right Time to Come Clean

Although we mentioned not admitting to the interviewer that you don't know the answer, there is an exception to this rule. If the answer is something that you will only know through memorization, such as a definition of the word, then it's probably best to admit that you don't know the answer, as it may be impossible to figure it out independently. Here's what you can tell the interviewer: "It's a good question, but I'm sorry, I don't have the answer off the top of my head. I will be sure to follow up with the answer after the interview."

7. Send a Follow-Up Email

The follow-up email for an interview could become your second chance. Try to talk about the answer you were stumped on, but be smooth when you're talking about it. And make sure you're only naming the mistakes your interviewer caught and not drawing attention to the ones she did not catch. Don't say something like "I'm sorry I did not know the answer to that question." Instead, tell her that after more time and thought, you managed to come up with a couple of solutions that could work for the problem.

Like this article? Pin it!

Your resume worked and you landed an interview! Don't blow it now with a bad answer to a tough question.

Guest Post Blurb:

This is a guest contribution from our friends at POPSUGAR Smart Living. Check out more useful articles from this partner:

This article is from POPSUGAR Smart Living of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

10 Hard Truths About Getting Hired That You Don't Want to Believe

Paul Michael — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 10:36:03 +0000

No, it's not fair or fun. But these factors can affect whether or not you get hired.

1. Your Name Does Matter

This is a tough one for many people to swallow, but the evidence is overwhelming. Sadly, white-sounding names have a 50% greater chance of receiving a callback than African-American or ethnic names, according to a 2009 study by MIT. But even recent studies confirm that very little has changed.

As much as we want to believe we are a society free from racism, we're not. If you do have a name that is very far removed from John Smith or Jane Williams, you might have a hard time getting your foot in the door. However, there is a caveat to this. Some companies that are accused of having no diversity in the workforce will actively look for candidates with those ethnic names. So, occasionally, it can work in your favor.

2. Your Sex Makes a Difference

Similarly, we have not advanced as much as we'd hoped in the sexism arena, either. A recent study from Yale showed that when identical resumes were assigned to male and female applicants, the males received higher rankings and were offered more money. This, despite the fact that the only difference between the two resumes was that one belonged to John and the other to Jennifer. Women are still underpaid compared to their male counterparts, and this looks unlikely to change in the near future. (See also: Stupid Reasons Why People Make More Money)

3. Pretty People Get All the Breaks

Beauty is worshipped in our society. We revere it, in the same way we revere rare jewels, fancy cars, and fine wines. And beauty is something that doesn't just open doors, but also the wallets of many employers. Daniel Hamermesh outlines this very well in his 2011 book "Beauty Pays: Why Attractive People Are More Successful." Those attractive people at your office (maybe you're one of them), doing exactly the same job as people less beautiful, are getting 3-4% more money in their paychecks. They start on a higher salary, and it will grow more. Over a lifetime, that adds up to a lot of money. So, why do they get the breaks? Well, people trust attractive people more. They want to be around them.

4. If You're Short, the Odds Are Not in Your Favor

It may date back to our days as hunter/gatherers, or a simple assumption that height equates to strength, but our society gives bigger breaks to taller people. A recent study of large corporations shows that the average height of a male CEO is six feet. That's three inches taller than the average height of an adult male. And we all know the wealth and success that comes with the CEO title. Women find tall men attractive, and that goes back to number three — attractive people get more money, and more breaks. Society in general finds taller men and women to be better leaders. Of course, height has nothing to do with intelligence or leadership capabilities, but this superficial difference will improve your career prospects. (See also: How to Be a Good Leader by Listening)

5. Age Is Not Just a Number

Another sad but true statistic — your age plays a big part in the job you're going for.

Although laws exist to stop age discrimination in the workforce, it doesn't stop employers from getting around them. There are many reasons for this. Some do not want to invest time and energy training an older employee who will not be around as long as a younger one. There's also the case of money. A young employee will expect less money to do the same job as someone older. And there are also assumptions that older people won't be as mentally sharp or aggressive as the younger candidate. This means that a 50-year-old with better qualifications and experience will have a harder time getting a job than a person 20 years younger with less experience.

6. Computers Are Selecting Resumes

This is not the future. It's happening right now, right here. A piece of software called Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) scans the massive influx of resumes that employers are now getting for every job they post. It looks for certain keywords, grammatical errors, overuse of graphics and logos, and several other screening criteria. So, knowing this, you need to make sure your resume is buttoned up tight, and is catering to the specific job you are going after. (See also: Great Ways to Improve Your Resume)

7. Anyone Can Fail a Drug Test

Many employers these days are insisting on drug tests for successful applicants. But did you know that drug tests return false positives at least 10%, and as much as 30%, of the time? Codeine and Vicks Formula 44-M can produce a false positive for heroin. Advil can show up as marijuana. And NyQuil can give you a false positive for amphetamines. Remember the episode of "Seinfeld" that had Elaine failing a drug test due to poppy seed muffins? Well, it's not so funny in real life.

8. Social Media Like Twitter and Facebook Are Checked

It may seem like a complete invasion of privacy, but employers are using social networks to help them make hiring decisions. Those photos you posted of that crazy party, or the rant you threw out there about a political decision, can all be used against you. In fact, 92% of employers are looking into your social history. And they also look for positive associations, too. A candidate with affiliations to important groups, or people, will get bonus points. (See also: How to Avoid Social Media Slip-Ups at Work)

9. To Get a Job, You Need a Job

The old Catch 22 scenario is prevalent these days. Employers don't want to hire people who aren't currently employed. Why? Well, if they don't have a job, maybe they're not good enough. Maybe they're not worth hiring. Maybe they're unemployed for a reason. Why take that risk? Sadly, if you lose your job, you have to get back to work quickly, or you risk being caught in that trap.

10. First Impressions Really Do Count

The way you shake hands. What you're wearing. The time of your arrival. The questions you ask. The shine on your shoes. The list is endless, and varies from employer to employer. But what most interviewers agree on is that it takes just seconds to make a decision about someone.

A recent study says seven seconds is all they need! And you have the same processing skills, too. When you meet someone for the first time, instincts kick in. You know if you will like that person or not. They may say things over time to sway you one way or another, but in a job hunting situation, you don't have that luxury. So, even if the interview is 60 minutes long, the employer probably made up their mind 59 minutes ago.

Do you have any job-hunting experiences you'd like to share with us? Please leave your comments below.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

4 Questions You Must Ask at Your Next Job Interview

Megan Brame — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 10:24:14 +0000

Job interviews can be stressful. Quite often you've focused so much of your energy on making a good impression that the last portion of the interview, when you can ask questions, can leave you with a deer-in-headlights look and make you feel like you've wasted any goodwill from the interviewer. Here are four questions to ask during an interview that will show your interest in the company and the position and demonstrate your potential as an employee. (See also: How to Answer the Most Common Interview Questions)

1. "While Researching the Company, I Stumbled on X and Was Intrigued. Can You Expand on That?"

This shows the interviewer that you've done your research on the company and have taken the time to learn about its history. Just make sure "X" is something they would want to expand on, not a scandal or embarrassing business moment. (See also: 5 Things to Learn About the Company Before Your Interview)

2. "Do You Have Any Examples of Projects I Would Be Working On?"

While this presents you as someone that is interested in diving head-first into the position, it also gives you a better idea if this is a role you can see yourself handling. Sometimes, the answer to this question can help you realize that this isn't the position for you.

3. "Is This Position New to the Company?"

While this question may not inherently seem useful, the follow-ups to it can give you some insight into the path for this position.

If it's not a new position, ask: "What has the previous person gone on to do?"

This can help you find out if the job has been laid out and was the start of someone's ascent at the company, or if it was a dead end job where the last person decided to move on to something else. (See also: 10 Signs That Your Job Sucks)

If it's a completely new position, ask: "Why was the position created?"

Was it to help take some burden off of another employee? Is the company embracing new technology that you would be in charge of? Finding out the company's motivation for creating the position can give you some idea on how they will view you in that role.

4. "What Does a Typical Workday or Workweek Look Like for a Person in This Position?"

The answer to this can help you flush out what kind of work the company will expect from this position. Will you be involved in day-to-day, nitty gritty tasks, or will you spend a lot of time in meetings, getting to have your ideas heard? Also, it can help you understand if this position is very regimented or if there is room for you to have a more fluid role at the company. (See also: 3 Rules for Starting a New Job)

Topics to Avoid

In the preliminary interview, it's best to assume the company has no scandals or hidden skeletons in its history (even if you know better). Asking questions regarding proprietary information, competitive strategies, or asking about dark spots on their record may come across as inappropriate and endanger your chances of getting the job.

Lastly, do your research on the company ahead of time. Sometimes bad questions are worse than no questions at all. Don't ask about basic information that is readily available on the company website or via Google.

Stay positive about yourself, the interviewer, and the company. Good luck!

What questions have helped you land the job?

This article is from Megan Brame of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

4 Genuine Ways To Execute The Brand Promise

Julie Rains — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:06:14 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/4-genuine-ways-to-execute-your-brands-promise

I have witnessed the brand promise of a prominent local corporation executed flawlessly at one location and fumbled ridiculously at another site. For years, face-to-face, phone, and online experiences fell far short of perfection. Its tagline—meant to imprint a positive message in the minds of community members—made me smirk more than smile.

Because of the company’s domination in my local market, I repeatedly found myself in the undesirable position of having to access its services. On one occasion, rather than search for another source, I resigned myself to close supervision in order to prevent disaster. However, I was astonished and pleased to see genuine execution of the brand promise.

Having seen what works (and what does not), my starkly different experiences made me think about how businesses can keep their brand promises. Successful execution starts with the mindset that the promise is meaningful and relevant for the long haul, not empty words that keep shareholders and stakeholders happy for a fleeting moment. After the foundation has been laid, take these actions to keep the promise alive.

1. Precisely Determine the Brand Promise’s Affect on Day-to-Day Activities

Relate the brand promise to common interactions and scenarios. Let everyone, customers and employees alike, know what to expect when they initiate transactions, respond to requests, and perform certain tasks. Design protocols for these customer touch-points, and communicate them widely via your website, in-store signage, employee manual, etc.

Specific areas to cover might include:

Response times for certain types of inquiries;
Lead times for order processing, product deliveries, and project completions;
Product return policies;
Timing and frequency of communication alerts.

Having highly visible operating standards can be scary, but such communication helps customers and employees discern between unreasonable and reasonable expectations. Plus, managers can readily distinguish an actual service failure from a perceived sleight, and take appropriate action quickly.

2. Embed the Brand Promise in Employee Documents

Make sure the brand promise appears in key employee documents—job descriptions, training materials, performance reviews. Trust that employees will commit to memory each of the specific deliverables that the brand promise encompasses. But don’t stop with statements posted on the website or engraved on a plaque at the office. Integrate actionable items into communications with employees about their job duties.

Spell out the brand promise in ways that employees can apply on a daily basis using these methods:

Develop job descriptions that detail position requirements and performance standards consistent with your tagline. As a result, employees can focus on doing their work tasks correctly, rather than trying to remember and follow brand-promise guidelines that may not seem relevant to their job functions.
Train employees to interact with customers, vendors, and colleagues. Conduct role-play sessions to illustrate how you would like your promise to be interpreted and applied in various situations.
Design performance evaluations to measure adherence to work standards, which should be synced with your brand promise.

3. Hire Smart, Dedicated, and Genuine People

Hire people who have the credentials and capabilities needed to excel at your company. But don’t extend offers to those who merely pass your screening hurdles. Search for candidates who are enthusiastic about executing the brand promise.

Look for people who have demonstrated these characteristics in previous positions:

Insightful: She intuitively understands your business model and brand promise, and has clarity about what they mean for complex problems. (Nevertheless, you should detail requirements to ensure consistency among all employees and adherence to expectations in murky situations.)
Receptive: He is eager to grow professionally and personally, not just at the start of his career but throughout his working years. Though confident in his abilities, he is willing to consider and learn new ways of doing business, particularly as technology and mindsets change.
Innovative: She brings new ideas to the organization that fulfill the brand promise with personable and fresh, rather than robotic, approaches to managing customer relationships.

4. Listen, Ponder and Act Appropriately

Encourage your customers and employees to express appreciation and concerns. Make contacting your business really easy, whether someone wants to give a positive review, ask a question, or lodge a complaint. Then, listen.

Don’t react quickly just to quiet a concern. Consider complaints from the customer’s perspective and your employee’s point of view. Evaluate whatever information is presented in order to determine whether your company has lived up to its brand promise or failed to deliver.

Craft and execute your plans to include:

explaining to the customer what actions you intend to take;
acknowledging any shortfalls in the behavior of your employees;
bringing any broken promises to the attention of your staff; and
making adjustments to your operations, policies, and communication styles that will allow your organization to stay true to its brand messaging.

Acting appropriately rather than reacting to momentary pressures allows you to advocate for those who want to do the right thing but not just anything the customer wants. If your employees know that you will protect them, then they will be doubly committed to executing your brand promise in each and every customer interaction.

This article is from Julie Rains of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

5 Types Of Employees That Are Destroying Your Business

Elaine Pofeldt — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:38:44 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/the-5-types-of-employees-that-are-destroying-y...

Some people are easy to avoid hiring because they give glaring hints that they’re unprofessional, such as treating your receptionist rudely or showing up an hour late to the interview.

But many experienced entrepreneurs find that there are other folks, who, while polished, can eventually undermine a company culture. Some of these folks provide subtle signs that many bosses miss during the interview process. Others may essentially be good employees, but react poorly to changing circumstances at a company.

Here are five types of employees who can undermine your company—and what you can do to stop them.

1. The Entitled Crowd

These employees expect the company to function in a paternalistic way, taking care of their every need. They expect constant ego boosts, nine-to-five handholding, and compensation that far exceeds their contributions. Sometimes, they may just be inexperienced workers who lack the maturity to realize that a promotion isn’t due to them within three weeks of starting work—and you may be able to help them adjust their expectations. But mid level folks and above who show these tendencies could be harder to reform.

Amy L. Crawford, owner of Crawford Consulting Group, an HR advisory firm in Davie, Fla., recalls the situation of one mid-career employee she encountered. This worker expected her employer to pay her for a day when she couldn’t make it to work because of a flight delay on a personal trip.

The constant demands of entitled employees can wear you and their colleagues out. If you want to avoid hiring them, ask interviewees questions about how they handled past work situations where they were given little direction, says Crawford. Those whose answers suggest a lack of resourcefulness may not be able to function well in an entrepreneurial company that can’t provide them with round-the-clock support and nurturing.

2. The Finger Pointers

In these employees’ minds, it’s always someone else’s fault when things go awry. There are no gray areas, in which they, too, may have had partial responsibility for a problem. As a result, it will be hard for you, as a boss, to get them to get involved in preventing a snafu from happening again.

To sniff these folks out, ask prospective hires to tell you about a time when they had a conflict with another coworker and how they resolved it, advises Crawford. An interviewee who tells a story about a conflict with another employee “who always did things wrong” may be prone to blaming others.

3. The Double Talkers

Simply passing a criminal background check doesn’t mean someone is honest. David Cohen, an owner of Cyril’s Bakery, a supplier of frozen bakery products to the food service and retail industries, recalls an employee went to such lengths to cover up mistakes that this person constantly told “lies on top of lies”–creating endless confusion and stress.

One way to spot folks who are less than forthright is to speak directly with an interviewee’s past bosses, rather than a hand-picked list of references, to confirm that the information on their resumes has not been distorted, says Crawford, who has advised Cyril’s Bakery. Another strategy: During job interviews, ask several questions about how applicants have handled or would handle particular situations likely to come up in your business—and pay attention to whether they answer in an inconsistent way.

Some companies find it helpful to use personality tests such as the ProfileXT assessment or the DiSC Personality Test to get a better picture of interviewees, Crawford says.

4. The Change Resisters

If normally supportive employees are resisting innovation at your company or seem to be privately convening behind closed doors to gripe, it may indicate that they are worried about what’s ahead. You may need to improve the flow of communication with them to put to rest any fears they have about what a change means for them to put the behavior to rest.

“There’s a fear factor whenever we try something new, whenever there’s change in a company and change in a position,” says entrepreneur Ken Tencer, co-author of The 90% Rule and CEO of Spyderworks, a branding and innovation firm in Toronto and New York. “Often times, owners can overlook that.”

By talking openly with employees and providing any training they need to adapt to changes at your firm, you can help get your team back on track, he says. “As entrepreneurs, we take a lot of risk and have our own fear factors.” It’s essential to realize that your employees may have similar ones when encountering new situations, he says.

5. The Boss Who Can’t Let Go

You probably don’t want to hear that you may be your company’s own worst enemy. But if your company has grown rapidly, you may lack the skills you need to run it now.

If your investors are signaling that you need to step into a different role and bring in an experienced CEO to run the place, listen carefully to what they’re saying. “I think that’s pretty hard,” says Tencer. Your investors may not be right, but if it turns out they are—and you continue to hang on to your role—you may prevent yourself from harvesting the full value of your business when it’s time to cash out.

Like this article? Pin it!

This article is from Elaine Pofeldt of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

5 Ways You May Benefit from the American Jobs Act

Barbara Weltman — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:57:09 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/5-ways-you-may-benefit-from-the-american-jobs-...

The President has proposed a massive new jobs act. Congress is now considering what to do with it. Here is what the provisions in the jobs act could mean to you, both personally and for your business.

1. Tax Holiday for Workers

Whether you are an employee of your corporation or self-employed, you are currently enjoying a two percentage point reduction in Social Security taxes. This 2011 tax break represents a savings of more than $2,000, depending on your earnings. The tax holiday does not diminish the Social Security credits you earn and what you will receive when you retire.

The President has proposed that the current holiday be expanded for 2012. The proposal would cut the Social Security tax rate in half, from 6.2 percent to 3.1 percent. The Social Security Administration has not yet released the wage base for 2012, which is the maximum amount of earnings on which the Social Security tax is figured. The 2011 wage base of $108,600 is expected to be increased, so the savings for higher income taxpayers could be even more meaningful next year. If, for example, the wage base were to rise to $110,000 for 2011, a 3.1 percent Social Security tax rate would mean a savings of more than $3,400 for earners at or above this limit. The savings for the average worker is projected to be about $1,500.

2. Tax Holiday for Employers

The act would allow employers to enjoy their own payroll tax holiday. The size of their savings would depend on the size of their payroll.

The Social Security tax would be cut in half to 3.1 percent for employers on the first $5 million in wages.
The tax would be waived entirely for employers who, in 2012, increase wages paid to existing workers and/or add new workers to the payroll as compared with 2011. The break would apply for payroll up to $50 million above 2011.

Again, the employer-share of reduced Social Security taxes would not diminish a worker’s Social Security credits, which ultimately translate into retirement benefits.

3. Tax Incentives for Hiring the Unemployed

The act would create three new tax credits for hiring long-term unemployed individuals (defined as those unemployed for more than six months):

Basic credit of up to $4,000 for hiring any long-term unemployed person;
Returning Heroes Tax Credit of up to $5,600 for hiring unemployed veterans ;
Wounded Warriors Tax Credit of up to $9,600 for hiring unemployed workers with service-connected disabilities.

4. Startup Assistance

Currently, Delaware, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Pennsylvania all have self-employment assistance programs for people who are collecting unemployment benefits. Instead of requiring the unemployed to seek employment, they can continue to receive unemployment benefits while starting a business. The act would give states without such programs the flexibility to help long-term unemployed workers effectively create their own jobs by starting their own small businesses.

5. Capital investments

For 2011, if you buy new equipment for your business or make certain leasehold, restaurant, or retail improvements, you can deduct all of your costs. This break, which is called 100 percent bonus depreciation, is scheduled to be only 50 percent in 2012. The act would extend the 100 percent bonus depreciation rules through 2012.

Final Word

While the President can make proposals, it remains for Congress to decide whether to enact them and what the details will be. What to do now:

Watch for progress on the measure.
If you expect these provisions to be enacted, determine now whether you’ll want to take advantage of them. For example, if you had been rushing to complete improvements to your leased facilities, you may be able to stretch expenditures into 2012 without losing the full write-off.
If you are currently unemployed, decide whether now is the right time to start a business. Check to see if your state has or will have a self-employment assistance program to help you. Alternatively, your job-hunting in 2012 may be a little easier if employers can get a tax break for hiring you.

Work with your tax advisor to see how you can optimize any changes that may benefit your business.

This article is from Barbara Weltman of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

4 Ways Energetic Employees Electrify the Workplace

Julie Rains — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 20:21:48 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/4-ways-energetic-employees-electrify-the-workp...

Witnessing a super-charged person infuse an entire organization with enthusiasm is exciting. I have seen those with lots of energy expand the number of customers in previously stagnating environments, envision and execute initiatives in workplaces with limited innovation, re-start projects and teams once considered defunct and disbanded, and motivate high-performing groups to achieve even greater results than before.

As an entrepreneur and business leader, you want high-energy people on your team and may need help in recognizing who can energize the workplace. Note that not all energizing folks look and act the same. Many have a commanding physical presence and exude fitness while others simply have strong, forceful minds with endurance to match.

When I consider the high-energy people who bring out the best in others, these characteristics stand out:

Intense, eager, and appreciative;
Highly communicative;
Focused on team results yet attentive to the needs of individual contributors;
Firm in convictions with vision on how to lead people to excellence;
Good judgment of people and situations but not judgmental.

What marks the truly effective are those with domain knowledge in a chosen field, directly applicable to assignments. High energy can help transform people, teams, and entire organizations in specific ways.

1. Entertain, Engage, and Educate

A high-energy person has a way of getting people’s attention, often in entertaining ways. He tells stories, shares jokes, and uses dramatic or humorous illustrations to spark interest and make a point. Because people are listening intently, ideas shared and concepts conveyed are memorable to customers, colleagues, and employees. As a result, these folks are particularly well suited for training new hires, educating employees on handling tough situations, and winning support for new initiatives.

Results are similar but approaches to communication tend to vary:

Make everything exciting;
Capture attention before moving to mundane but necessary topics;
Lighten the collective mood and then focus on serious issues.

If no one is paying attention, then it doesn’t matter what happens next. So, the energetic person devotes much of his energy to entertainment as a means to engagement and education, not just for training purposes but also for transformation.

2. Increase Innovation

The energetic person is eager, willing, and able to innovate. She and her teams realize success frequently, providing a foundation for more and more innovation. The reasons for her effectiveness include:

time to investigate new ideas (because she is efficient in completing day-to-day assignments);
energy to evaluate projects and programs in progress, and make adjustments based on changes in circumstances and newly discovered insights;
sense of what will be successful based on experience and domain knowledge.

And, though she does not seek or embrace failure, this prospect is not paralyzing. All of her intellectual, emotional, and physical efforts are not tied to the success of a solitary initiative. Reserves of energy are always available to tackle more projects.

Modeling innovation both incites and inspires colleagues of the energetic person. They also gain practical knowledge of how new ideas are envisioned, communicated, developed, introduced, refined, launched, implemented, and celebrated.

3. Build Teamwork

The energetic person has deep personal stores of energy, independent of the outside world. But he draws strength and endurance from interaction with colleagues, subordinate employees, and executive leaders. He is tireless in bringing others onto the team and into the loop. People are attracted to those who value them and their presence, and can help them achieve excellent levels of performance.

The team, the organization, and the community provide a productive outlet for the high-energy person. Effort is channeled toward his vision of teamwork and ambitious goals for team success.

4. Instill Confidence

The high-energy person brims with confidence and easily transfers this buoyancy to other people, not just at the launch of a new initiative but also for the long haul.

When everyone else is tired and just going through the motions or thinking about giving up, the person with the high energy remains focused and doing her best work. She is confident that the project will be completed according to requirements and the program will be developed within specifications. This certainty can instill confidence in fellow employees.

The presence of someone with boundless energy gives people the assurance that they will always have the support needed to ship on time.

How to Spot High-Energy Professionals

If you are interested in getting highly capable, energetic people on your team, consider these professional characteristics:

focused on well-defined scope of expertise as indicated by undergraduate and graduate studies, professional training, and work experiences;
thorough, rarely missing a pertinent detail;
background in leadership (though willing to take on supporting roles);
adept at learning new things;
competitive drive.

The high-energy professional can raise the bar of performance, elevate results, and make hard work fun.

This article is from Julie Rains of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: