by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
Even with an ever-increasing number of our “clocks” smart enough to change themselves on daylight saving time, most of us have to take a few minutes to remember how to change the time on our ovens, microwaves and cars. Or maybe we just let them be an hour off until the clocks switch back in a few months. Either way, it’s a minor annoyance. For most of us… (more…)
There’s an old saying that is familiar to any job seeker: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” That same idea could be applied to recruiting and hiring. Smart networking can provide big benefits when it comes to recruiting. The broader the network, the better the chances of reaching job seekers. In a digital world, hiring and recruiting often takes place online. That doesn’t mean, though, that online recruiting should be the only channel used, or that social media is always the best place to find candidates.
While much of our work involves helping individuals and organizations promote their products and services, more and more lately we’re being called upon to help them with their recruiting. For good reason! The same tried-and-true principles that work for effective product and service marketing also work when “marketing” for employees. And, perhaps even more so than with traditional product or service marketing, networking can make a big difference and have a great impact in companies’ ability to recruit top candidates.
We often hear about the importance of networking and it’s tough to challenge that notion. Networking is a great way to make new connections that can lead to job offers or other professional connections. For small business owners and entrepreneurs, networking is especially important, because simply generating awareness of your organization can be difficult without meeting people in person and building personal connections. (more…)
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
Staffing is one of the biggest challenges for small and mid-sized businesses. The challenge can be especially acute when a company reaches the stage in which it thinks it needs more help but maybe not necessarily an FTE or when a single FTE might not be enough, but two might be too many.
Just as many workers crave flexibility in their employment relationships—as illustrated by the growth of the gig economy—small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) also value flexibility in their labor relationships. Rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft, for example, go to great lengths to ensure their workers are classified as contractors instead of employees. The costs of ongoing disagreements over this classification is something Lyft cited as a potential risk in its recent IPO. (more…)
Maybe it’s because I grew up in a family-owned business. Maybe it’s because I grew up a bit “socially awkward.” Maybe it’s because I spent 20+ years in corporate communications. Whatever it is, I grew up with a very strong sense of inclusiveness when it comes to interacting with people. The concept that you “can’t judge a book by its cover” has always been meaningful to me; I’ve always enjoyed interacting with and learning from a broad range of people–trying hard not to pre-judge those I come into contact with. That has served me well. (more…)
In a recent Entrepreneur article, John Rampton explains to readers “Why You Should Stop Wasting Your Time on Networking Events.” In the piece, Rampton writes, “If people will be there that have great ideas and energy to share, I’m game. But attending an event just to hand out business cards and get a stack in return with the hopes of landing a new client or important connection is not for me.” (more…)
Networking is an important activity in any industry. The term has many definitions depending on who you talk to, but in a broad sense you can think of it as just getting to know people in your industry. It’s surprising how many employment, mentorship, sales and partnership opportunities come about just by tapping into who you know and who you’ve met through networking activities.
Unfortunately, we don’t always leverage those relationships to best advantage. (more…)
It’s graduation time, and many are thinking about landing their first job. Even those entrenched in a career may be prompted by graduation season to think about their career paths and whether it’s time to consider a job switch.
We responded recently to a reporter’s query about creating “elevator pitches.” It’s an important concept for graduates, for those 30 years into their careers, and for any company or organization that has a key message to convey to a target audience. (more…)
The holidays are a great time to see family and friends you may not have seen or spoken to in some time. And when conversations with people you don’t see regular
ly gets stale, the quest for common ground may lead you to a variation of this common fallback: “How’s work?” or “what do you do for work again?”
For entrepreneurs, who have often been greeted with blank stares in response to that question, the answer can be tricky. (more…)
It’s not uncommon for the finance and marketing functions to be at loggerheads in the office. Whether it’s about the wisdom of embarking on an expensive new marketing effort or finance professionals refusing to share the praise for positive financials with their peers in marketing, conflicts can abound. While Lincoln Martin amusingly compares the two functions to the Starks (marketing) and Lannisters (finance), a la HBO’s Game of Thrones, it generally isn’t the case that finance people don’t like or trust marketing people. It’s often an issue of poor communication. Marketers are in a good position to leverage their communications skillset to help bridge that gap. (more…)
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