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"Employers - Hiring The Wrong Person Can Cost You"

Hiring the Wrong Person Costs You Three Times Their Annual Salary
featured article in the November Issue of Executive Focus Magazine.

The industry rule of thumb is: the wrong person costs you three times
his or her annual salary. A $50,000 person costs you $150,000 and a
$150,000 employee costs you $450,000. There is also lost opportunity
cost plus lost business, potential customers and momentum. And you are
back to square one, looking for a replacement.

Ed Ryan, from Hiring the Best in Alexandria, Virginia, developed a
remarkable simple method that determines with uncanny accuracy which
person to hire. According to Ed Ryan, most companies have difficulty
in finding top people because of three common mistakes.

1. They hire individuals for what they know and then fire them
for who they are.

2. They hire quickly and fire slowly. That's backwards according
to Ryan.

3. The biggest reason why companies get stuck with the wrong
people is that they base their hiring decisions on previous
experience. This is a deadly mistake says Ryan. Previous experience
is a poor indicator of future performance.

The best is to look at behavioral traits. Who this person is as a
person, what drives this person, how do they make decisions and how
do they work and interact with others this works for any job position
you can think of, in any industry. Each job has its own set of traits
required to do well and be the best. These traits have nothing to do
with intelligence, knowledge, experience, personality or education,
but they have everything to do with how people are as people. How
they instinctively do things and the decisions they make from moment
to moment. The traits fall into four categories.

1. Motivation What drives the person? Some jobs require people
who are motivated by ego, others by ideals or by what is the best for
the group.

2. Think How a person gathers information and reaches a
decision? Some jobs require people who are slow and thorough. Others
need people who are spilt second decision makers.

3. Act How a person does his or her job? One job requires people
who work best alone, while other jobs need people who work in groups.

4. Interact How a person interacts with others? Some jobs need
people who are confrontational. Another job needs someone who is
accommodating.

There are no rights or wrongs in behavioral traits, just natural
preferences. As a hiring manager, the individual needs to determine
what are the natural preferences of the person that is interviewing
for the position. By asking the right questions, you can determine a
persons inner motivation, decision-making style, preferred work
pattern and the way they interact with others. They will either match
what you are looking for, or they wont, and if they don't, do not hire
them, says Ryan. - Reprinted from Executive Focus Magazine, November 2004!


"Baby Boomers...Don't Let Your Resume Date You"

If you’re a job seeker of the Baby Boom generation, you may be feeling a little left out by the job market. You’re certainly not ready to retire, but the young recruiters you send resumes to don’t seem to respond to your skills and experience. If you’re feeling symptoms of age discrimination, you should know that your resume could be the culprit, categorizing you as out of date and over the hill. There are three ways your resume can put you in the over the hill category. Your resume is due for an update if it contains:

1. Outdated technology skills

2. Outdated industry or occupational terminology

3. Outdated resume trends

Don’t despair if your resume is out of date. You can perform an extreme resume makeover by using the tips below.

1. Make sure you are up to date on your industry’s technology.

Check multiple job descriptions within your industry to see what technologies employers really want. Determine which technologies are missing from your resume. Then decide what you need to learn or do in order to fill that technology gap. Consider adult education classes, college classes, or even online learning.

You should be aware that technology terms are often used as keywords to filter the best resumes from electronic databases. If your resume doesn’t have them, it may never be seen. Make sure your technology skills aren’t leaving you behind.

2. Make sure your resume is using current terminology.

If you have just been adding to the same old resume over the years, then your early entries may be using outdated terms. One way to bring your resume up to date is through publications from your industry’s professional associations. If you don’t belong to any professional associations, you might be missing out on the latest industry-speak.

Another good resource is job descriptions. Search job descriptions in your field for recurring terms. Learn to use the current terminology for your industry correctly and effectively.

3. Make sure your resume reflects today’s trends in resume format and style.

Ten or fifteen years ago, the old-fashioned reverse-chronological format may have worked for you. But now that you have more experience, it may not be the best choice. The more advanced hybrid format may be much better at promoting your skills and expertise, providing you with a more professional presentation. With the hybrid resume, potential employers will form an impression of you based on your best accomplishments, not just your most recent job description.

You should also realize that some of the old resume rules just don’t apply any more. For example:

· “Limit your resume to one page.” This is a really old idea that limits your ability to show all of your skills and expertise.

· “End your resume with References Available Upon Request.” You don’t need to say that; it’s assumed.

· “You should show every job you have ever held and give each equal importance.” Your employment history should only go back as far as it related to your current employment objectives. Think of your resume as a marketing piece hat highlights the best parts rather than as a tell-all.

· “Your resume should go back no more than ten years.” Don’t use an arbitrary number to determine how much to include on your resume. Use the rule of relevancy to decide how many of your jobs to include.· “One resume should handle everything.” Not anymore! In addition to tailoring your resume to different fields or industries, you’ll also need to tailor the way that ou save it.

You’ll want to have (1) a standard Word format (for printouts and email attachments), and (2) a Plain Text version for online forms. This will save you a lot of time in repairing lost formatting, which often occurs when cutting and pasting a Word document into a text-only form.

Let your experience work for you rather than against you. Using these tips to update your resume can make a noticeable difference in interest from employers. And your new resume will be a better reflection of your hard-earned skills, talents and expertise. (Reprinted with permission from the author, Deborah Walker)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deborah Walker, CCMC, Resume Writer and Career Coach



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