17 Common Financial Analyst Interview Questions & Answers

17 Common Financial Analyst Interview Questions & Answers

Being prepared for common financial analyst interview questions is important if you want to get hired. But interestingly enough, many candidates go into the hiring process without realizing how unprepared they actually are! This list of common interview questions for financial analyst positions will help you find the job you’ve always wanted. 1. Do you […]

The post 17 Common Financial Analyst Interview Questions & Answers appeared first on Career Sherpa.

3 Reasons To Work For Avis At Airports

3 Reasons To Work For Avis At Airports

Avis is one of the world’s largest car rental providers, offering its customers control and personal touch during their car rental experience. Its convenient airport locations are the foundation of its business. If you’ve ever wanted to be an integral part of a company, working for Avis at its airport locations could be the perfect career for you.

Avis is dedicated to expanding on-demand mobility solutions and personalizing the customer experience. As a member of Avis’s airport teams, you would play an important part in this mission as they handle everything from keeping the company’s cars clean and well-maintained to making sure customers find the right vehicle and options for their needs.

Want to work for a company with an action-packed, high-energy workplace that values its employees? Avis might be the right company for you.

Here are three reasons to work for Avis at airports:

1. A Company Culture That Is Driven To Help You Be Your BEST

Avis understands the value its employees provide to the company through their talents, skills, and unique personalities. Its employees are the reason for its success, and that is reflected in the company culture.

Here are the four pillars of Avis’s company culture that help you be your best at work:

Driven to be the best (together)

Avis provides an employee experience where you can be proud of your work, driven to be your best, and valued for who you are.

The will to win

Employees at Avis are motivated, so the company makes sure they feel they’re in the driver’s seat of their careers. If professional and personal development is your goal, Avis is a great fit because the company provides advancement opportunities and progression plans.

Development and progression

Due to advancement opportunities, progression plans, supportive managers, international opportunities, and a huge range of training, your professional and personal development will move a lot faster with Avis, resulting in a rewarding career journey.

Driver of future success

A big part of Avis’s company culture is its mission to remove friction. At Avis, employees are encouraged to generate ideas that solve problems internally and externally for customers through state-of-the-art solutions.

2. A Focus On Diverse Hiring To Close Pay Gaps

Avis believes a diverse workforce means richer ideas and broader perspectives when considering the needs of its customers, stakeholders, and employees. Therefore, the company focuses on diverse hiring to close pay gaps and ensure the success of its business.

There are three key components of Avis’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion that help them attract and retain employees:

Recruitment

Avis makes sure that its recruiters have the skills necessary to understand and recruit diverse candidates. The company uses a partnership approach to send out roles to 600+ employment and diversity sites. It also proactively builds meaningful relationships with over 15,000 local diversity organizations.

Global Gender Pay Equity

To help guide the company and measure its progress toward its diverse workforce goals, Avis set a target of maintaining 100% gender pay equity at all levels of the organization by 2030. The company plans to accomplish this goal through “global compensation programs and policies to drive pay equity through standardized reward programs.” Avis also uses global guidelines and standards to make compensation decisions for all new hires and promotions.

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)

As an equal opportunity employer, Avis is proud to provide an inclusive workplace where employees can bring their whole selves to work. To ensure all employees feel valued for their uniqueness, recognized for their diverse talents, and have a voice, the company has created several ERGs. These ERGs advocate for equality and opportunities for advancement. They also help to “facilitate discussions around best practices and resources to promote more targeted cultural and racial understanding and diversity.”

Other components of Avis’s diversity, equity, and inclusion focus include its unconscious bias learning and awareness educational campaign and its commitment to supporting diverse suppliers.

3. A Variety Of Jobs In Airport Operations

One of the best reasons to work for Avis is for its variety of jobs. If you love everything you’ve heard about Avis so far, here is a list of some of the jobs in airport operations:

  • Mechanics & automotive technicians
  • Drivers
  • Shuttle bus drivers
  • Car cleaners
  • Rental sales associates
  • Rental store customer service representatives

Want To Work For Avis?

If you’re interested in working for Avis, visit the company’s careers page to learn more!

What Employers Are REALLY Looking For In Job Candidates

What Employers Are REALLY Looking For In Job Candidates

The longer your job search drags on, the more you start to doubt your interviewing abilities. Or worse—you start to doubt your skills and experience as a job candidate, which in turn affects your interview confidence.

You may begin to ask yourself, “What are employers really looking for in a job candidate?” The good news is we can help you understand just what you need to convey in a job interview to stand out to employers and finally land a job.

Employers want you to answer three questions they won’t ask you directly. So, it is your job to answer those unasked interview questions in order to move on in the hiring process.

Here are three things you should be sharing in your job interview to make the right impression and send the correct message to potential employers:

1. How Do You Save Or Make Companies Money?

The first thing you need to convey in your job interview is how your skills and expertise save or make a company money. You are a business-of-one. As an employee, you provide a service to an employer. So, in your job interview, you have to prove to the employer that the services you can provide for the company will either save or make them money.

It comes down to your ability to justify the initial cost it would take to hire you. Most professionals don’t know that it costs an employer between 130% to 140% of their salary to hire them. It’s a big investment for a company to hire a new employee. That’s why you need to convey your efficiency and effectiveness as an employee in job interviews.

To prove you could save or make a potential employer money, quantify your past experience (on your resume and in the interview) and cite examples of how you’ve saved or made your previous/current employer money. Once a potential employer understands that you will provide a good return on investment, they will automatically consider you a great candidate for the position.

2. How Do You Like To Deliver Value?

Professional woman shakes the hiring manager's hand during a job interview

Make sure you talk about how you deliver value too. No employee performs a job the same way. We all work on tasks differently and go about accomplishing goals with different processes and strategies. If a company doesn’t think you’ll be able to do the job the way they want you to do the job, you probably won’t be offered the position.

In order to explain how you deliver value, you need to know exactly what you do and how you do it. During a job interview, let the employer take a peek inside your brain to help them get a better idea of how you would perform certain tasks that the job requires.

A great way to explain how you deliver value is by answering behavioral interview questions with the STAR technique. Begin answering a behavioral interview question by describing the situation or task you were faced with. Then, explain how you took action, walking the employer through your decision-making process. Finally, quantify your results so the employer can clearly see how you deliver value.

(If you’re not sure how you deliver value, take this free quiz! You may be surprised by the results.)

3. Why Do You Feel Connected To The Business?

Job candidate answers the hiring manager's questions during a job interview

The last thing you absolutely want to convey to an employer is how you feel connected to their organization. Consider the company culture and their mission, and use that to your advantage.

During a job interview, it’s important to explain to an employer how you feel like you’re a part of their “tribe.” Why do you want to be a part of the team of people dedicated to solving this specific problem? You can also talk about why you admire their products and services, why you understand and identify with their customers, and what you love about the way they do business.

Tie all your pre-interview research back to what excites you about working for the company. Employers want to hire people who would integrate well within their organization. By talking about the above factors, you’ll connect with employers on a deeper level and show that you’re passionate about the job. Therefore, you’ll come across as a great cultural fit.

You can also begin to convey that connection to a potential employer in your disruptive cover letter. A disruptive cover letter catches an employer’s attention and gets them excited about you as a candidate. So, even before you walk through the door to your interview, an employer will already feel a connection to you.

Knowing what to say in an interview in order to make the right impression can feel incredibly overwhelming, maybe even impossible. If you follow these three tips, you’ll be sure to send the correct message to an employer, and ultimately increase your chances of landing the job.

Need more help with your job search?

Become a member to learn how to land a job and UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!

This article was originally published at an earlier date.


Looking To Find Your Next Great Hire? 5 Tips For Incorporating Storytelling Into Your Recruitment Efforts

Looking To Find Your Next Great Hire? 5 Tips For Incorporating Storytelling Into Your Recruitment Efforts

Warby Parker, the uber-cool retailer of prescription glasses and sunglasses, had an insight: glasses are too expensive. The company used this premise to craft a story and build a brand.

Disney uses storytelling successfully, too, by helping families imagine the magical moments they will create at one of its entertainment parks.

Good stories evoke emotion and inspire action. Translated into business, a good story can also attract top talent and help existing staff understand, embrace, and put your company’s mission into practice.

So how can you create a compelling narrative that piques the interest of job candidates and gets them over the finish line to work for your company?

Here are five steps for incorporating storytelling into your recruitment efforts:

1. Take A Fresh Look At Your Company

Business storytelling concept

When was the last time you took a 360-degree look at your company? No matter how long you have worked there, taking a step back and looking at your company through a fresh lens can benefit your recruitment efforts.

At Duffy Group, our storytelling process starts by completing a detailed intake form to learn as much as we can about our clients. This includes the company’s organizational structure and business goals, what distinguishes the firm from others in the industry, what the culture is like, and even what causes the company supports in the community. This is followed by an on-site visit to get a firsthand look at the business in action, see the company’s workspace, and meet the people who work there.

Consider doing the same. You’ll be surprised at what you learn.

2. Put Yourself In The Candidate’s Shoes

Recruiters / hiring managers talk to a job candidate during an interview

Why would a new hire want to work for your firm? What are the perks and what makes the work fulfilling? How do other team members feel about the company? What do they like best and what makes them stay?

Whether you work with a recruiter or handle recruitment internally, this process can be illuminating. You may take your company’s flex hours, remote workdays, or community giving for granted, but these benefits can be differentiating factors.

3. Use Your Company’s Mission As A Selling Point

Recruiter / hiring manager talks to a job candidate during an interview

Build your recruitment story around your company’s mission. That doesn’t mean slapping your company’s mission statement on your website. Instead, put the mission into context and bring it to life with data points and real-life examples of why customers flock to your company and why employees love working there.

Not long ago, our Duffy Group team helped a nonprofit serving special-needs children hire a new CEO. The board of directors preferred hiring someone with a special-needs child, a preference you would never include in a job description. In our story, we explained why this was important and then pitched it to our trusted network to find the ideal candidate for the job.

4. Find Your Voice

Storytelling, voice concept

When telling your story, it is important to find your company’s unique voice. It must be authentic and reflect the core values of your company. It should reflect your brand and be consistent with the story you share with staff and your company’s external marketing. Most important, it must create a meaningful connection with candidates.

5. Customize The Story For Your Audience

Recruiter / hiring manager utilizes storytelling while talking to a job candidate on her laptop

Although the overall theme of your company’s recruitment story should never change, you can customize elements of the story to speak to different audiences.

To help a law firm client woo a highly prized senior tax accountant from a large public accounting firm, we wrote the firm’s story and the candidate’s story. The firm offered knowledge-based growth, potential career advancement, and a 45-hour workweek. The candidate wanted multi-focused learning opportunities in a new field with the potential to grow his career. It was a perfect match, made possible by knowing what each side valued most.

Some final thoughts: Remember that a good story is memorable, so use powerful words and examples that give candidates a clear and visual idea of the working environment, the job, and the contributions they will make to the company.

Top 5 Ways To Attract Talent To Positions That Do Not Offer Working From Home

Top 5 Ways To Attract Talent To Positions That Do Not Offer Working From Home

As we move beyond the pandemic, many businesses ask employees to return to the office. Despite two years of hybrid and flexible work arrangements, many employers emphasize the value of in-person collaboration and client connectivity for maintaining high-quality products and services.

While employers have made their plea, the challenge is that the talent pool applying for critical positions has shrunk. According to Inbusiness.com, 63% of the workforce now works flexibly, meaning businesses must find creative ways to lure top talent back to the office despite the competition.

This week, a client talked to me about her struggles attracting talent due to her company’s in-office work policy and inability to offer flexibility like other businesses. She anticipated these questions would arise in a candidate interview and wanted a well-thought-out response. How does an employer address the issue of work-life balance when candidates raise the question in an interview? I was empathetic and hoped to deliver some recommendations to her and others struggling.

Here are the five top ways YOUR company can attract talent if working from home is not an option:

5 Strategies Employers Should Use To Attract Talent To Positions That Do Not Offer Working From Home

Woman shakes hands with the hiring manager before her job interview

As someone who has worked remotely for the last half of my career, I understand the appeal. However, after collaborating with numerous clients and my colleagues in person post-pandemic, I missed the personalized connection and appreciated the benefits of in-office work. And let’s remember the value of face-to-face conversations and the opportunity to build strong relationships with colleagues and superiors.

The energy of a shared workspace is challenging to replicate in a virtual environment and can be stimulating. Some candidates feel the same way; you must know how to find them. Here is how you can identify those in your pool who are interested.

Businesses have levers to pull when attracting talent:

1. Personalize your hiring approach.

Internal recruiters and department managers must be aligned on all aspects of the job, including incentives and the positioning of the position in the market. Treating candidates with respect and regular check-ins while waiting for a decision will speak volumes.

Research shows that personalization is vital to keeping candidates engaged in the recruitment process. One effective way to personalize the experience is by exploring the candidate’s motivations. If you cannot personalize your interactions with candidates, hire an external recruiter who spends time understanding the company’s value proposition and the candidate’s motivation.

2. Emphasize the benefit of in-person collaboration when speaking to the candidates.

While remote work has become more prevalent in recent years, you can emphasize the benefits of working together in the same space for improved communication, faster decision-making, and better team bonding. Research has shown that in-person collaboration can lead to higher productivity, increased creativity, and stronger working relationships.

3. Brand your work culture to increase a candidate’s desire to work for you.

Illustrate your company’s critical differentiators on social outlets, websites, and other media to showcase your competitive advantage. A strong company culture can be a significant draw for job seekers, especially those who value community and belonging in the workplace. You can highlight your company’s values, mission, and vision to show candidates what they can expect when they join your team.

Testimonials or employee success stories demonstrating how your company supports and invests in its employees are the perfect way to draw people in. To my surprise, I hired someone recently, and she selected Duffy Group because we are a women-owned business. She had multiple offers to work with other well-known consulting practices for more money. She chose our company because she was respected during the process and loved our culture.

4. Strategize with HR on additional incentives.

Employers can offer more competitive salaries, improved health and wellness benefits, work-life balance programs, and resume-building opportunities. One effective way to personalize the experience is by exploring the candidate’s motivations. As an employer, asking critical questions about what motivates a candidate is essential.

Discuss with your HR team the incentives that make the most sense for the job. Understanding the candidates during your recruitment stage is critical to know what motivates them, and you should encourage the hiring manager to flex when possible.

5. Consider a phased approach.

If you are not ready to offer a fully flexible or hybrid work schedule, consider a phased system. For example, you could start with a limited number of remote work days per month or a relaxed start and end time. This can help ease employees into a new way of working and demonstrate that the company is open to change.

One remote example that comes to mind is a CPA firm in Boston. The perfect candidate was already working remotely but was unsatisfied with the opportunity. If the candidate were to pursue this job, there would be a commute, and his work environment would change. Getting the candidate to say yes meant the employer had intimate discussions with the candidate about what attracted him to the position and decided to offer (some) flexibility by suggesting he work in the office for the first month to get to know the staff and his team since this was a leadership role. More employers are becoming more flexible when employees have established themselves.

Lastly, be proud and confident in the role you’re offering the public. The client I spoke of earlier should understand that every job provides someone an opportunity to serve. Likewise, ensure your recruiting teams understand what motivates each candidate. Some processes can last months. Employers should develop the most personalized recruiting approach possible if they are eager to hire, establish a good rapport with candidates, and get them to say yes, too!

How do you compete?

Sources:

1. “2023 Hiring Trends: What Recruiters Need to Know” by Lizzi Hart, LinkedIn Talent Blog, January 12, 2023: https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/talent-on-tap/2023/2023-hiring-trends-what-recruiters-need-to-know

2. “2023 HR Predictions: The Year Ahead for Hiring, Recruitment, and Talent Management” by Sharon Florentine, CIO, January 3, 2023: https://www.cio.com/article/3652121/2023-hr-predictions-the-year-ahead-for-hiring-recruitment-and-talent-management.html

3. “5 Hiring Trends That Will Impact Your Talent Acquisition Strategy in 2023” by Brandon Metcalf, Forbes, December 19, 2022: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonmetcalf/2022/12/19/5-hiring-trends-that-will-impact-your-talent-acquisition-strategy-in-2023/?sh=7718463c1b3d

6 Reasons Why Your Resume Isn’t Getting A Response

6 Reasons Why Your Resume Isn’t Getting A Response

It can be hard to ascertain if it’s your resume, the job market, or who knows what else when you’re job hunting and your phone just isn’t ringing. Your mind begins to wander as you anxiously await an employer’s call or email.

Many job seekers have contacted us and said, “I think it’s my resume, but I’m not sure.” After reviewing their documents, we find ourselves telling them, “Yes, it’s your resume,” 99% of the time.
So, how do you know if it’s really your resume or if it’s something else?

Take a look at these six mistakes job seekers make on their resumes, and if one or more of them can be found on yours, that’s probably why your resume isn’t getting a response.

1. It Still Has An Objective Statement

An objective statement is a section of a resume that expresses your goal of securing a future position. What this statement fails to do, though, is substantiate your fit for the job opening—or articulate the value you offer to the employer should they choose you over another candidate.

Ditch the objective statement and utilize a personal branding statement and experience summary instead. An experience summary is a list of skills you have that are needed for the job you’re applying for. They’re hard skills and transferable skills, not soft skills.

By having an objective statement on your resume, you’re missing out on the opportunity to start proving your value to the employer within the first few seconds they glance at your resume, which is exactly the purpose of a personal branding statement and experience summary.

2. It Lacks Any Form Of Personal Branding

Hiring managers read a job applicant's resume during an interview

When employers read a resume, they need to see what attributes you bring to the position. It helps them differentiate between you and other viable candidates. Are you deadline-driven and customer-focused? These are important to employers and how they operate business. What is it that’s important to the employer from whom you’re seeking to obtain employment? And how do your expertise and experience correlate to their greatest need?

Personal branding is about how you market yourself to the potential employer. They have a need to fill, and you have to figure out how who you are and what you offer meet that need—then effectively communicate that to the employer. If you can’t meet a need, then they won’t see the value in choosing you over another candidate who does.

3. It’s Fluffy

Job seeker on laptop works on his resume

Your career summary and work history are full of fluff and filler words that could apply to every job seeker on the market. Here’s an example of what we mean:

Dynamic, results-focused IT specialist with broad-based expertise in project oversight, systems implementation, process improvements, and integrating cutting-edge technology that exceeds expectations. Proven ability to quickly analyze key business drivers and work directly with internal/external staff, leveraging a team-centered effort that increases profitability.

Sure, it might sound good, but it hasn’t told us anything specific about who this candidate is, their experience/expertise, and what they offer the employer. It would be better to address how many projects the candidate has overseen, which processes they improved, the outcome of the improvement, and how the cutting-edge technology they integrated exceeded expectations. But just saying they exceed expectations is vague; tell us which expectations were exceeded and by how much.

4. Skills & Accomplishments Are Not Highlighted

Job candidate gets nervous when the hiring manager reads her resume during an interview

The top third of your resume is the most important section when the hiring manager is giving it his or her initial scan. This is your prime opportunity to market your skills and achievements. Remember the experience summary we mentioned above? That’s where you’ll write the skills you possess that are needed to succeed in this particular job.

Highlighting your skills in the experience summary will draw the hiring manager in and entice them to keep reading. Then, as their eyes move down your resume, they’ll see all of your accomplishments underneath your work history. What career successes are you most proud of that correlate to the job you’re applying for?

5. Duties And Responsibilities Have Taken Over

Woman on laptop revises her resume while job hunting

Bullet points that only share basic duties and responsibilities fall short every time. Maximize the space on your resume by using the STAR method (situation, task, action, result).

Talk about the challenges you faced, how you addressed them, and what the outcomes were. This makes the information contained within your resume much more impactful.

6. Metrics, Facts, And Figures Are Nowhere To Be Found

Hiring manager confused by the job candidate's resume during an interview

Give the employer something to remember you by. Don’t just tell them you reduced costs. State a percentage or dollar amount. Manage projects or clients? Put a number to it. Ask yourself questions like how much, how many, and for how long? This is how you quantify your work experience on your resume. It’s the secret to getting a call from an employer.

Asking yourself questions like the ones above leads to answers that help you define your successes, develop your personal brand, and market yourself more effectively to potential employers.

Review your resume with the six points above in mind. Ask yourself if your resume reflects any of the above. If it does, then use the tips and advice we’ve provided to correct the issues within your resume—and ultimately improve its response rate.

Need more help with your job search?

Become a member to learn how to land a job and UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

Recruiting Dream Teams: The Alliance Every Internal Recruiter Needs In 2023

Recruiting Dream Teams: The Alliance Every Internal Recruiter Needs In 2023

Many internal recruiters struggle with an overwhelming number of open positions they need to fill. In 2023, finding the right talent will get only more challenging as job seekers become more selective in who they chose to engage with.

One way company recruiters can reach their goals is by building a “power alliance.” In this article, hear from members of Duffy Group on how they help internal recruiters succeed through a power alliance.

Covering More Ground By Personalizing The Hiring Approach

Internal recruiters are juggling multiple searches. While balancing the various demands to post and target suitable candidates, the treatment of candidates in the pipeline can wane as candidates wait to hear about the next steps. Sometimes, due to a sheer lack of internal resources, a candidate’s motivation for the job is often undetected early in the process. More organizations are partnering with external recruiters to complement internal recruiters’ work to combat possible recruiting gaps and ensure better outcomes.

Research shows talent acquisition partnerships increase personalization and are vital to keeping top candidates engaged. A recruiting partnership enables the team to cover more ground, spending time understanding the company’s value proposition and the candidate’s motivation. Candidates have many options, as indicated by the number of jobs available, so losing the best in the pipeline due to a lack of personalization, time, or bandwidth does not need to happen.

Georgia Musgrave is the VP of Strategic Initiatives at Duffy Group. She educates leaders on the value of “passive talent” as a means of attracting the best human capital to their company.

Building A Talent Pipeline

Recruiter / hiring manager interviews a job candidate

I partner with several clients’ internal recruiters and hiring leaders to assist them with talent pipeline development. Here are a few examples of when to consider a partnership to build a talent pipeline:

  • Multiple and long-term hiring needs for the same or similar roles – I do a large amount of work in the accounting industry with CPA firms. Auditors and tax professionals continue to be in high demand and their supply has decreased. These candidates do not have time to look at job postings, may not know which firms to consider, and may not be ready to switch jobs, but might be in a few months. External recruiting partners can develop a rapport and stay engaged with these candidates until they are ready to change firms.
  • A second or similar role in the near future – Why wait for the approval of the position, the job description to be written, or the salary to be approved for a similar role you are currently recruiting for? Get ahead of the upcoming search to source and begin building a talent pipeline.
  • Building a list of qualified candidates – Sometimes, we are asked to research and build the pipeline, and the internal team will work their magic.
  • Educating on the competitive landscape – This is a good opportunity to research and source potential candidates. We can contact them directly, assess their skills, and gather competitive market data such as compensation and if employees are remote, hybrid, or in office.

Let’s build your future hire together!

Sharon Grace is a veteran search executive at Duffy Group who helps hiring leaders hire great people because of her proven track record as a strategic partner and advisor to recruit, identify and assess talent.

The Full Buffet Or À La Carte Options

Recruiters / hiring managers talk to a job candidate during an interview

There is always the option for recruiters to outsource an entire search to their external recruiting partners—from identifying and vetting candidates to interviewing and making the offer. With many requisitions, removing some workloads to recruiting partners can be a win-win situation.

The highly effective recruitment model recruitment research, which helps hiring leaders and corporate recruiters precisely and successfully target candidates, is used for à la carte services. Recruitment research enables talent acquisition teams to unbundle the recruiting process to focus on a particular area of need. Here are a few services corporate recruiters work may outsource to external recruiters:

  • Name generation – sourcing a list of quality candidates
  • Gather competitive benchmarking information
  • Pitching the role to sourced candidates
  • Screen and vet candidates
  • Thoroughly interview candidates
  • Conduct testing or assessments
  • Schedule interviews with the client
  • Negotiate offers
  • Manage background checks and call references

At Duffy Group, our services are à la carte. We tailor the search to the client’s needs. Our goal is to partner with our clients’ in-house recruiters and hiring leaders to do the heavy lifting of recruiting. This way, our clients can spend quality time with their future employees without getting bogged down with the time-consuming tasks of sourcing, pitching, and screening candidates.

Kristin Pozen is a research recruitment recruiter at Duffy Group and a former HR recruiter.

Courting Candidates

Recruiter / hiring manager shakes hands with a job candidate before a job interview

Courting is the act or process of trying to win the favor or attention of a person or group. To court someone means to seek to attract them. It is often used to refer to dating, but courting is also common when recruiting. Collegial and professional sports teams are always courting top players and companies need to continually court talent as well. Recruiters and hiring leaders benefit greatly by courting top candidates, especially in this candidate-driven competitive market.

Here are a few strategies to follow when it comes to courting top-tier candidates:

  • Demonstrate you have done your homework on candidates before trying to recruit them
  • Get to know them and genuinely care about finding the right match for both the company AND the candidate
  • Treat them with respect – before, during, and after the interview process
  • Be responsive and do not drag out the process
  • Communicate often and keep them informed every step of the way
  • Offer unique solutions that meet their needs

Recruiting is all about relationship-building and match-making. When recruiters build a great relationship with the candidate, they have a better chance of uncovering the nuances that will tell whether or not the person is the right fit for the job in terms of skills and cultural fit. A great relationship will also be beneficial in the offer negotiation stage and in ensuring no risk of counteroffers.

Now get out there and start courting the best!

Colleen Neese is a practice leader at Duffy Group. She specializes in recruiting executives in non-profit and healthcare.

Need help recruiting talent for your organization? Check out Duffy Group today.




The 3 Empowering Benefits Of Being In A Union

The 3 Empowering Benefits Of Being In A Union

Throughout history, labor unions have been instrumental in shaping the workforce, with their origins tracing back to the Industrial Revolution. Although they are under a lot of pressure these days, unions still persist in delivering essential support to employees across a wide range of sectors.  Unfortunately, the numbers of unions are dwindling and non union […]

The post The 3 Empowering Benefits Of Being In A Union appeared first on Jobacle.com.

What Do Travel Nurses Need to Know About Working in Massachusetts?

What Do Travel Nurses Need to Know About Working in Massachusetts?

The nursing profession is a fulfilling and rewarding career, and travel nursing can be even more exciting for those who want to explore different parts of the country while doing what they love. One state that offers unique opportunities for travel nurses is Massachusetts. With its rich history, bustling cities, and scenic landscapes, Massachusetts is […]

The post What Do Travel Nurses Need to Know About Working in Massachusetts? appeared first on Jobacle.com.

2 Things Recruiters HATE To Read On Cover Letters

2 Things Recruiters HATE To Read On Cover Letters

A lot of people ask, “Do recruiters even read cover letters anymore?”

The answer is yes, they 100% do. That’s why it’s important for job candidates to write one that stands out to recruiters in a good way—NOT a bad way.

There are things on your cover letter that could be sabotaging your chances of getting an interview.

If you do the following two things when writing a cover letter, there’s a good chance a recruiter won’t give you a call…

You Start Your Cover Letter With “To Whom It May Concern”

Starting your cover letter off with the phrase “To whom it may concern” is very impersonal, and it shows that you didn’t do your homework.

It’s also an abrupt way to start your cover letter. To top it all off, it’s an outdated approach. People used this phrase on cover letters decades ago.

Instead, you want to start out with a phrase like “Dear hiring team,” or “Dear hiring manager,” or if you can find the name of the person who posted the job, address the cover letter to that person. These phrases help you put a personal touch on your cover letter, which can make you more memorable to recruiters and hiring managers.

You Put A Recap Of Your Resume In Your Cover Letter

Hiring manager reads a cover letter with common mistakes

Often, job seekers will put all sorts of information about their job history and accomplishments in their cover letters.

The big issue with that? The hiring manager or recruiter is already going to read that information in your resume.

Quite frankly, by recapping your resume in your cover letter, you’re wasting a recruiter’s or hiring manager’s time. You’re essentially making them read something twice since they’ve already had to look at your resume.

This is also risky because a job candidate can put something in their cover letter that makes hiring managers decide that they’re not the right fit for the job even before looking at their resume.

Instead of recapping the resume, you want to get the hiring team at “hello” by writing a disruptive cover letter. This disruptive cover letter will help you stand out from other candidates and make a connection to the company you’re targeting.

So, How Do You Write A Disruptive Cover Letter?

Hiring manager reads a disruptive cover letter with no mistakes

Writing a disruptive cover letter that recruiters will love isn’t as hard as you may think. In fact, it can be pretty fun if you know what to put in it!

Here’s how you can write a stand-out cover letter, and why it’s so important to make that initial connection with recruiters or hiring managers.

Hundreds of our members at Work It Daily have used a disruptive cover letter to land job interviews. Try writing one during your next job search and see how much of a difference it makes!

Need more help with your job search?

Become a member to learn how to land a job and UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

Executive Spotlight: How To Identify Your Company’s Target Audience

Executive Spotlight: How To Identify Your Company’s Target Audience

One of the most important things a company can do to ensure its success is to accurately identify its target audience. Your target audience is the group of people most likely to buy your company’s products or services. Identifying your target audience is the most efficient way to gain more customers and improve your bottom line as a business.

We recently asked our executives for their advice on how to identify a company’s target audience.

Here are their responses…

Lynn Holland, VP Sales & Business Development

When you think about picking a target audience—aka ideal customer profile (ICP)—so your company can build a strategy to reach and pursue them, it’s easy to assemble a wish list of whom seems like a fit for your product or service to chase using a usual checklist:

  • The market to pursue (i.e., small/growth, mid-market, or enterprise companies)
  • The segment (i.e., manufacturing, distribution, technology)
  • The verticals (i.e., automotive, consumer packaged goods, chemical)
  • The specific buyer you want to attract (i.e., plant managers, supply chain managers, procurement managers)

But remember that picking a proper and effective ICP or, if you are starting out, an “initial” customer profile to kickstart growth for your company, guides whom to pursue and whom not to pursue. Here are three exercises for a more scientific approach:

  1. Assemble ONE ICP with thoughtful questions about why this market needs your product most urgently vs. a wish list of potential buyers.
  2. Don’t mistake your total addressable market (TAM), everyone and anyone that could use your product, for an ICP. Rather, start with an intentional ICP.
  3. Analyze the markets you are thinking of pursuing then pick the ICP that is the most probable to be successful using qualitative and quantitative questions:
    • Qualitative – Who has the more urgent and important problem that you are solving? This target will be more likely to say yes.
    • Quantitative – What percentage of revenue is from which customer profiles? A lower churn rate? A higher win rate? Or maybe even what customer profile do you enjoy more?
Lynn Holland is a business development executive with 18+ years of experience taking operational, IoT & retail technologies, products, & consumer engagement to market with a focus in petroleum & convenience retail.

Kathryn Marshburn, Music Program Manager

Audience/crowd at a music event / concert

Determining the perfect target audience for a music artist involves several steps. Here are some guidelines to help you identify the ideal audience for a music artist:

1. Understand the artist’s genre: The first step is to understand the artist’s genre. Different genres of music appeal to different age groups and demographics. Once you are able to identify fanbases that like your artist, you can target social communities within those groups.

2. Study the artist’s existing fan base: Research the artist’s existing fan base to get an idea of who is already interested in their music. Analyze demographics such as age, gender, location, and interests. This information will help you determine who the artist’s music appeals to.

3. Identify the artist’s unique brand: Every artist has a unique brand essence that sets them apart from other artists. Determine what makes the artist’s music unique and what value they offer to their fans.

4. Analyze the competition: Analyze the competition to see who else is making similar music in the same genre. This will help you understand who the artist is competing with and what audience they are targeting and attract new fans from other artists’ followings. Touring direct support for competitors can also help in grabbing new fans as opening positions for large artists that are in your genre will guarantee new fan engagement. Most artists are very aware of their value and may charge a fee to open on tour, as they know their fans will gravitate toward the opening acts.

5. Identify gaps: Conduct market research to get a better understanding of the audience’s preferences, habits, and attitudes toward music. This will help you identify gaps in the market and potential opportunities for the artist.

6. Use social media analytics: Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter provide valuable insights into the audience’s interests and behaviors. Use these analytics tools to identify the artist’s ideal audience and tailor marketing efforts accordingly. Have the artist post on all platforms with aggressive social media posting calendars including regular live streams, giveaways, ads, and collaborations with other artists. TikTok should be the focus of daily work including duets, live acoustic events, trending sounds, cover posts, and originals announced.

Kathryn Marshburn has spent 12+ years in the music and gaming industries guiding teams on identifying targeted goals with an agile approach resulting in driving revenue and reducing risk.

Michael Willis, Sports Business Operations Executive

Target audience concept

In the sports business (working at a team), there are four factors to identify and grow your target audience.

1. Demographic – Age, gender, location.

  • Age – I need metrics on the age groups that consume the games.
  • Gender – Knowing who’s watching individually, men vs. women.
  • Location – What part of the state has the most fans?

2. In-Person vs. Streaming Services

  • In-Person – These people come to the stadium and enjoy the games in person.
  • Streaming Services – These are the people who watch games on their devices or TV.

3. Competitors – Who are the closest competitors in my market?

  • Sharing Space – Can we rent the space for other entertainment events when our sports venue is unused?

4. Economic Impact – What impact is the team making in the community? Are there any potential international influences available?

Michael Willis has 18+ years of experience working with accounting & sports organizations and has managed P&Ls of $10M – $125M+ with budgets of $3M-$50M+. He worked for the NFL for 22 1/2 years, mainly with the game officials working on the financial/accounting side of the business.

Lisa Perry, Global Marketing Executive

Marketing team identifies the company's target audience

Defining your target audience is one of the most difficult, important, and overlooked aspects of your strategy. Here are six steps to help you better identify your target audience.

1. Know Who Your Audience Isn’t: Identifying who doesn’t deserve your time and attention is essential. If you target men 35-45, you are NOT targeting men under 35 and over 45. This ensures you don’t allocate dollars to audiences that will not yield a return.

2. Analyze Competitors: It’s essential to understand what you are up against and what tactics to use to compete. Some things to look at:

  • What are their market segmentation strategies and target?
  • What reach do they have?
  • What is their pricing structure?
  • What is their media spending?

3. Conduct Research: Start with public resources, as much information can be found for free. The next option is original research which can be expensive, but it’s original data that can be hugely beneficial.

4. Analyze Existing Customers: Look at your existing customers to gain insights through social media analytics, customer surveys, interviews, feedback (reviews, forums, communities), website analytics, and interview the sales team.

5. Define Your Target Market: Now that you’ve conducted analysis, see what patterns arise and boil this down into a simple statement: Our target market is (gender) aged (age range), who live in (place or type of place), and like to (activity). Keep in mind that this is a guide.

6. Continuously Revise: As you gather more data and interact with customers, reevaluate your target audience periodically and refine accordingly. It’s important that your ideal customer stays current as the market shifts and evolves.

When you invest time to define your target audience and know them well, they’ll buy your product because they will see the value in what you’re offering. For a step-by-step guide on how to develop a brand strategy, check out my book.

Lisa Perry helps companies build leadership brands, driving loyal customers & delivering profitability. She does this through a process that builds brands consumers love. Her goal is to help companies develop, monetize, and grow their brands.

How do you identify your company’s target audience? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily’s Executive Program.

3 Ways Professionals Should Respond To Job Rejection

3 Ways Professionals Should Respond To Job Rejection

You polished your resume and sent it to the right person, along with a stellar cover letter. You got a call. You aced the interview. You were brought back in—twice! You sent thank-you notes after each interview, to each interviewer. Your follow-up was polite and appropriate. You were told you were a finalist. The HR person thought it was looking good for you…yet they gave the job to someone else.

After all that effort and waiting and wondering. After joking with the receptionist about being a “regular” in the lobby. After establishing what seemed like a genuine rapport with the executive in charge of the department. After what the HR person said about it looking good…

Yes, it’s a disappointment. But in spite of what you might think, all is not lost. What can you do to maximize your chances of having some good come out of this seeming loss?

Here are three ways you should react to a particularly disappointing job rejection:

Be Gracious

Yes, you were obviously the best candidate, at least as far as you could tell. And maybe some of the people on the other side of the interview desk thought so too. But a decision was made, no matter how difficult. And it’s time to touch base one more time with a thank-you note to all involved for their time and consideration.

Be A Resource If You Can

Professional man gets rejected from a job

If there’s some topic that was discussed and a piece of information that the interviewer wished they had, track it down. If the interviewer wanted to connect with someone you know, offer to make the introduction. There’s not always an opportunity like this, but if there is, take advantage of it.

By doing this, you’re not only being professional about the rejection, but it’s also an opening to add the hiring manager to your professional network. Consider connecting with this person on LinkedIn down the line.

As they say, “Out of sight, out of mind,” so try to stay on the hiring manager’s radar.

Keep The Door Open

Young woman and HR manager discuss the next steps after she is rejected from a job she applied to

Even though you didn’t get the job, it’s important to reiterate your respect and admiration for the company and the fact that you would like to work there. It’s okay to say, “If another position comes up—or if the candidate you hired doesn’t work out—I would still love the opportunity to join the team over there.”

A sentence like this can cement you in their minds as the backup or as the first person to be called when something else becomes available.

HR officials will sometimes forward resumes of promising candidates to colleagues at other companies for their open positions. Getting the original job is just one good outcome of the job interviewing process. Consider a “near miss” at getting hired one more step in building your reputation for overall career success.

Need more help with your job search?

Become a member to learn how to land a job and UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!

This article was originally published at an earlier date.