Archives April 2021

Hiring a new prospect is always a big undertaking for businesses of all sizes – no matter if it’s your first hire or one of many, there are a multitude of factors that should be considered before sending out the official job offer.

This important decision is even more difficult when you take into account all the conflicting information hiring managers often hear. Should candidates without related work history be automatically disregarded, or will their perspective improve the company? Do people with a history of job hopping lack loyalty to their organization, or do they have a wealth of knowledge and talent to bring to the table?

Questions like this have gone through every hiring manager’s mind at some point, and with good reason. In the constantly moving world of information technology, the hiring and recruiting process has changed and so have the job-seekers. To stay on top of the current hiring trends, hiring managers and recruiters alike must learn to interpret the new landscape of candidates. Find out how five of the most common hiring myths can be debunked.

Myth 1: Job hoppers aren’t loyal to their companies.

Though it’s not as frowned upon as it was a decade ago, moving jobs every couple of years still attaches a certain stigma to a candidate’s resume. Today’s hiring managers should rethink that bias. In today’s workforce, staying with a company for years and years just isn’t as common – which can be a good thing.

Employers should see this trend as a positive trait in candidates, and that’s because in all likelihood, the job hoppers of today are driven by their own desire to find new challenges in life. In fact, over half of employees, 63% according to studies, show that employees don’t define loyalty by the length of time they were at a company, but rather the products they delivered while working there.

In the long run, those successful past projects speak volumes above how long they were at their past places of employment.

Myth 2: Candidate resumes from other careers and with no related work experience should be tossed.

It’s understandable why hiring managers look for candidates with experience in the field – they’re almost guaranteed to have more common knowledge on the job at hand. However, employers shouldn’t be too quick to ignore job seekers who might not have technology or information technology backgrounds on their CV.

Transferrable skills can be just as meaningful to an organization as finding someone with the exact requirements. Invaluable skills like leadership, time management, superior communication skills, and so much more are often better indicators of success in a position than how many projects the candidate has worked on.

Not only do these ‘soft skills’ indicate their quality as an employee, but their unique perspective from a different job field can bring a breath of fresh air to how your company has always done things. If the candidate is interested in your company and has transferrable skills, they’re primed to bring true innovation to your company’s work.

Myth 3: Interview answers tell employers all they need about the interviewee.

In-person interviews are important, no doubt about it. Evaluating who someone is will certainly be easier when you have the opportunity to observe how they act and respond throughout the process. But just because a prospect interviews well, doesn’t mean they’re going to fit your company’s culture.

When looking at the scope of the hiring process, the hour or two spent talking with a candidate is actually pretty small. That’s why performance based hiring is important – assessments, developing tests and reference checking all play a big part in what an employer should consider. This method of comparing quantitative and qualitative factors will almost always provide a well-rounded new employee.

Myth 4: Hiring outside of the company is best when older employees retire.

Baby boomers are reaching retirement age in droves, which is leaving many companies with new higher up positions empty and in need of leadership. Instead of looking outside of the company, employers should turn their search within, especially towards younger talent.

It’s no secret that millennials are taking over the work force. In fact, they’ve already surpassed baby boomers as the largest generation. While external hires can be the right fit and bring in their own set of experiences, hiring from within means a company can nurture the talent of an employee who already knows the ropes.

This process saves companies time and money in regards to recruiting, onboarding and training. The results usually lead to companies with more confident, well-rounded, and talented employees who have a true understanding of the organization.

Myth 5: The perfect person for the job is out there if you really look.

The perfect candidate is a myth in itself. It’s very rare to find someone who actually meets every bullet point in the job description, has every requirement you want, and fits into the company with ease. All employers can dream, but the person who turns out to be your ideal employee might not be who you expected.

There’s always going to be a trade-off between the time it takes to look, the financial investment dedicated to the search, and the quality of the hire long term. Being able to recognize a good fit who might need a little work is often times more valuable than holding out for the mythical perfect person. If both employee and employer are willing to learn and grow together, the outcome can lead to positive impacts throughout the company.

The hiring process can be daunting in today’s fast-paced world of technology, but Talmadge can help. We offer a free, no-obligation strategy session that can help you improve your hiring process and help you discover the candidate with the right fit for you.

The interview. Love it or hate it, it’s an integral part of landing a job. Following traditional logic, it’s the place where you can finally brag about yourself to a captive audience. While that may be true to an extent, that attitude won’t land a dream job any time soon.

Here are the top 3 tips to acing your next job interview:

Prepare: Unless you’re already in the market research field, this will probably be the tip that takes the longest. Break out the social media stalking skills usually reserved for vetting your best friend’s significant other and get to work on the company you applied to, or want to apply to. Go beyond just the website’s About Us page. Read through social media and blog posts, and search for them on sites such as Glassdoor or…Google. This can give you a sneak peak at the company culture, as well as insight into what the dress code might be.

Stay On Message: If you’ve ever watched a politician be interviewed, you might have noticed that they always manage to bring the discussion back around to things they want to talk about. It’s a tactic that you can use in your interview, provided you do a little bit of set-up beforehand. Ask about the most important requirements for the position while setting it up. Based on what response you receive, pick 1 or 2 that most strongly fit you and stick to them. Almost any answer can be spun to include those traits, highlighting your fit for the job.

Have Questions: Though a familiar staple, the importance of having prepared questions isn’t to be underestimated. Lean towards insightful things, not just trite questions about salary or the rest of the process. A good question to ask: In the next year, what will earn a ‘gold star’? What accomplishments would they like to see within the next year? This question serves you two-fold. In addition to setting the expectation for you, it also shows the interviewer that you clarify parameters that may be unclear.

Though this just scrapes the surface of interview advice, it’s a solid starting point. If you want to get more advice for surviving and thriving during the job hunting process, visit the rest of our blog. It also has insights into how recruitment works that you can use to improve your skills.

Still looking for that dream job? Our job postings page has jobs from top companies seeking to fill their teams with top talent.

Applying for a new job can be daunting, especially when it comes to showing the company via your resume that you have what it takes to be the right fit for the position.

Developing a strong resume means understanding what the hiring trends of today are and how you can apply that to present yourself professionally to potential employers. An effective resume is all about balance – concise yet detailed, eloquent yet not lengthy.  Here are 5 tips based off modern hiring practices to apply when building your resume:

Match the Resume to the Job Description

Job seekers often make the mistake of providing every piece of information about their job history, as well as other factors in their resume that have little to do with the position or their profession, such as irrelevant skillsets or awards.

This common mistake can be avoided by including relevant information (and relevant information only) related to the targeted position. Support your experience with data that demonstrates your on-the-job success in past positions.

If the job description is for a web developer, the employer doesn’t need to know about anything other than the direct qualifications and how they apply to the job. That means you’ll probably want leave off the lifeguard job and camp counselor experience you had years ago.

Keep it Short and Sweet

Employers and hiring agencies looking for new employees aren’t just looking at your resume, they’re usually looking at a stack of them. And not to much surprise, that means they don’t want to read through a 3 page resume. They simply don’t have the time. As difficult as it can be to keep your resume down to one page, keeping your work history to-the-point helps your chances in the long run.

Always Go Chronologically

In other words, your most recent work experience and projects should be at the top followed in descending order and relevance by other work history. This especially applies to the IT technology world where new methods and programs need to be learned throughout your career – so the project you built in the early 2000’s won’t be as pertinent as one from last year. Showcasing those recent successes shows off where you’re at now and what you can bring to the table to benefit the company.

Leave Out the White Lies

Get ready for a flashback to your least favorite elementary school teacher, but honesty is always going to be the best policy.  You’re not only hurting yourself and potentially damaging your reputation in the long run, because employers do in fact call references, but in the IT field, they’ll likely test you on all the skills and programs you say you know. Sticking to the truth and sharing your actual strengths will do far more for our career than a lie.

Add an ‘Interests’ Field

In today’s world, more and more employers like it when they can tell the personality of a candidate by looking at their resume. This doesn’t have to always be from the design of the resume itself. Add a section where you can share a little snippet of your personality.

You can be funny, sincere, professional; whatever sounds like you and doesn’t come off as stiff will make your name stick out from the other candidates relying solely on work experience.

Once your resume is ready to go, The Talmadge Group can help find your dream job. Check out our job board to see what positions are available in the world of IT today.

In the world of business, no matter the industry, we know that the bottom line is important. There are hundreds of factors that make a company or employment agency succeed in its own way, but at the end of the day, you have to have the funds to make those achievements happen.

We also understand that in the current business climate, professional IT talent is a hot commodity – yet one that is not always evaluated and attained successfully.

Here at the Talmadge Group, we have been connecting integration, support and technical programming service professionals with federal, state, and local clients for 18 years. We know how difficult it can be to find the right person who fits your company, which is why we use our Performance Focused Hiring method instead of the outdated, old standard of finding candidates.

With this method, we follow the 5 elements of the PFH process:

Define success first: Simply stated, to hire superior people you must define superior performance. Once you know this, use this information as the basis of all candidate sourcing activities. This is your road map for hiring the best people and building great teams.Evaluate Objectively: Using the information developed in your hiring roadmap, create a standardized process that treats all candidates equally. Validate candidate performance first, then assess the personality/culture fit. Using this order mitigates the most common hiring errors.Emotional Restraint: Delay negative/positive selection decisions until adequate information is collected and validated by supporting facts.Remove Search Boundaries: Expand the candidate pool to include passive candidates. If you are only interviewing candidates who need a job, you will miss 80% of highly qualified candidates.Event Management: Convert the hiring process to a marketing event. Ensuring yours is a job of choice will save time, money while making you a better manager.

Not only do we have a service that has worked for close to 20 years, but with our experience comes the benefits of working with a small company with a large reach.

Attentiveness and Dedication

Our staffing process requires an in-depth review and assessment of potential IT talent that your company needs, but may not have the time or bandwidth to find. By engaging Talmadge you will have a dedicated resource committed to sourcing, interviewing and presenting candidates motivated to do your work.  The value we bring and the defining of the real-work value of a candidate in advance also helps solve the problem of low employee retention rates, a problem that has many sources in 2016.

Cost-effective and Experienced

Our reputation in the field is one we pride ourselves for. We were one of the very first firms that brought a simple, effective process to the chaos associated with hiring. Our high customer retention rates reflect how easy and effective it is to work with Talmadge.

We truly believe people are our business, and that’s why we care about making the process as comfortable and productive as possible for both the client and the candidate. Our tried-and-true experience in the field provides stability in a process that can be a stressful time for management and candidates alike. As you can see in the chart below, our shorter and more thorough candidate searches save you the two most important things in business: time and money.

Strategy and Professionalism

What our process comes down to is our ability to fully interface with clients and candidates, then strategize the best outcome for everyone involved. Government contractor, small business, big business; no matter the industry, we have the professional strategies to analyze your company and understand the right parameters to for your ideal candidate.

We want you to experience all the benefits of a small business – dedication, open communication, attentiveness, cost-effectiveness – with the decisive management of big business leadership that makes us unique.

If you’re looking to find the right candidate for your company employment agency, The Talmadge Group can help. Check out our commercial and government services pages to find out how we can start helping you find the right IT talent today.

Reserve a Free Strategy Session

Are you spending more money than you would like recruiting top talent and still feel like you’re coming up short?

Does your company or employment agency have a low employee retention rate?

Have you found that your new employees have the skills, but aren’t performing well in your work environment?

If so, request a Free Strategy Session with The Talmadge Group today and learn the benefits of our IT talent management search strategy.

To schedule your free strategy session, call us at 678-325-2301 or fill out the form below. When you schedule, you also receive a free copy of Lou Adler’s in-depth guide to recruiting, Hire With Your Head.

Limited session slots are available so register today!

Register for your session NOW by clicking the button below or calling 678-325-2301!

AND, we’ll throw in a $50 Starbucks gift card with your strategy session. Coffee is on us for you and your team this month!

The value of this strategy session is over $300, so don’t miss out on your opportunity to get the tools you need to make the best hires possible for your company or employment agency! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Despite the changes in the world and advancements in technology, companies are still following outdated hiring processes that don’t truly provide themselves or prospective candidates with the best person for the job. The first steps to transforming these methods is to transform your job approach. 

As a candidate, you’re responsible for showcasing your talents, presenting your work, and ultimately proving that you are in fact the best fit for the job.

Here are two simple steps you can take today to land your dream job:

Step 1:  Strategic Networking

The first step to landing that dream job is one you’ve probably heard more than a few times – networking.

Building and maintaining good relationships with people at your current job, or even the people you networked with in college, are the first opportunity to connect with your field. These relationships are essential to building a mutually beneficial network of professionals who have resources and connections to get where you need to be.

If you have the same qualifications and education as a candidate going for the same job, but you have a relationship with someone at the company, you’re one step closer to getting the position you’ve always dreamed of.

This means joining professional organizations like Association of Computing Machinery, National Association of Programmers, or any of the numerous, well-respected associations near you. By getting involved with organizations – attending conferences, going to networking events and sitting in on workshops in your area – you’re effectively building your network while simultaneously gaining new knowledge and experience.

Step 2:  Prep Work

Step two to landing that career job is the prep work. It may not be the most exciting part of the job hunt, but it lays the framework for where your future will take you. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day and the same goes for your career.

Having an impressive resume and the real world skills to back it up are your ticket to getting your foot in the door for that perfect job you’ve always wanted. However considering Glassdoor’s top 25 jobs of 2016 features 10 IT positions, you’re not the only one out there applying for the position.

So what do you need to do to stand out? Prepare, prepare, and prepare some more.

Build a resume that shows who you really are. Talk about the positions you’ve held and technical competencies you have in a realistic way.

Companies and hiring firms want to know what projects you’ve completed, what accomplishments you’ve achieved, and what situations you’ve handled in a work environment that prove your worth. Candidates that show real world results from their past work experience are always going to be hired more than those who talk about their skills in an abstract manner.

The way to really capture an employer’s attention is by showing your work. A professional portfolio with samples of sites you’ve built, work you’ve done for clients, problems you’ve solved in an emergency, and awards or recognition you’ve received from Hackathons or other similar events will provide companies with tangible proof of your talent.

That first interview with the company holds the key to your success and it all lies in making you and your work stand out. Be authentic, professional and really share your story. Once they see what you’ve been out in the world doing, they’ll understand what you can bring to the table.

What it all comes down to in the end is hard work. Every detail, no matter how small, needs to be done with one goal in mind – to get that dream position. It won’t be an easy journey with shortcuts and fast lanes, but when candidates invest time and effort into themselves, companies notice.

Spend your time building up relationships, compiling an ambitious resume and portfolio, and ultimately, give yourself the tools to find the career you’ve always wanted.

At The Talmadge Group, where connecting the right people to the right career is our priority, we know that there is a distinct difference between finding a job that pays for rent and finding your dream career that fulfills everything you want.

If you’re looking to find your dream job, The Talmadge Group can help. Check out our job board to see what positions are available in the world of IT today.

The importance of appearing cool, calm, and collected for a job interview can’t be emphasized enough. You know that you know your stuff, but the stress of an interview can throw off even the most knowledgeable applicants. Although it’s nearly impossible to completely get rid of the nerves, there are things you can do to keep your stress and nerves to a minimum. We’ve distilled it down into 4 things you can do before your interview to fight stress.

1. Do your research — It seems like a no-brainer, but do your due diligence on the company where you’re applying. Just basic information doesn’t cut it; put your social media and networking skills to good use. Find out where the company has been lately, what they’re doing to advance the industry, and other people in similar positions are talking about. The more you know, the better prepared you’ll be to answer any questions your interviewer will have.
2. Practice, practice, practice — Here’s your chance to get mentally pumped up. Practice your answers in front of a mirror, in front of your friends, in front of relatives, anyone who’s willing to listen. When you know your answers inside and out, saying them to the interviewer will be automatic. There are lists upon lists floating around the internet that have common and uncommon interview questions. Have ideas for most and concrete answers for some of them. When you’re sitting before the interviewer, you’ll know the types of questions they’ll ask and can answer them easily.
3. Prepare ahead of time — Before the big day arrives, get as many of the necessaries out of the way as possible so there’s no last-minute scrambling. Visit the location before your interview so you’re not struggling to find it on the all important day and have directions queued up on your phone as a back up. Try on, clean, and lay out your interview outfit well before your scheduled date. Print out multiple copies of your resume and have questions for your interviewer written down in a notebook.
4. Treat yourself — You’ve done everything you can: researched, practiced, prepared. All that’s left is waiting. In the meantime, treat yourself to something that you know will relax you. Get as many good nights of sleep as you can ahead of time. Recognize that you’ve gotten to the interview stage; you impressed someone enough on paper that they want to meet you in person. That’s worth a little bit of treating yourself.

These things won’t eliminate interview stress completely. There’s always the chance that something changes last minute, that you blank on the answer you had nailed last night, or that life just gets in the way. Accept that you can’t control everything, but you’ve gotten a handle on everything you could.

If you’ve done your research, practiced and prepared, and got a little relaxation beforehand, you can walk into the interview confident that you’ve done all you could.

There are a lot of myths and misconceptions surrounding the field of recruiting. The recruiting methods of the past have muddied the waters around a field that has advanced significantly with the aid of technology. To help you cast off your preconceived notions about recruiters, we’ve put together a list to demonstrate what recruiters have that can help your job search.

1.  Market temperature — If you’ve been in your job for awhile or have just recently left it, you probably won’t know whether your industry is hot or cold when it comes to hiring. A recruiter will know the hiring market better. You can use this knowledge to help you better navigate the job market.
2. Extensive network — No matter how large your network is, it’s almost guaranteed a recruiter’s network is larger. A skilled recruiter in your industry has spent many years working with and getting to know companies in your industry. Leverage the recruiter’s network to your advantage.
3. Company familiarity — In conjunction with their extensive networks, recruiters have built more than just surface relationships with companies. They have in-depth knowledge of the culture of each of the companies they have relationships with. Whether you want to know dress expectations or what the hiring manager is like, the recruiter is your source of information.
4. Insider knowledge –Companies often give recruiters first access to job descriptions before they go out to job boards and other public places. When you work with a recruiter, you get that same early access. The recruiter will know what jobs you make a good candidate for and will keep you in mind when they get these job descriptions.
5. Resume spread — If you’re looking to find a job in another area or state, getting in a recruiter’s database lets you be ‘present’ without physically being in the area. Jobs that would otherwise be unknown to you in your target area open up when you work with a recruiter.

If you’re still not sold on working with a recruiter, consider this: recruiters have spent years building relationships and learning the ins and outs of the hiring market. They know how companies want candidate resumes and cover letters formatted, what job skills they weight higher than others. Having a recruiter on your side means that when they find a position that fits you, they will leverage the trust the company has in them to get you in front of the right eyes.

They have years of experience placing candidates like you to back their expertise and advice. It benefits you to leverage those years of experience for yourself.

During the last twenty years I’ve observed the highest and lowest demands for qualified candidates. Regardless of the economy, finding and hiring great people has always been tough, but what has changed the most is the speed that hiring decisions are made. The first hiring decision is typically made with a phone screen conducted in a casual, get-to-know-you manner. Now, busy schedules and fast-paced industries mean phone interviews, although casual, are serious business. These interviews typically only last 15-30 minutes, but will decide if you move forward in the process. Let’s discuss a few ways you can impress the interviewer during a quick phone interview. Look the part. Even though the interviewer can’t see you, your professionalism will transmit through the phone. It’s important to act natural and be yourself, so if you’re an animated speaker, feel free to move your hands while speaking. Good posture, business casual dress and a smile will help you feel more confident and be reflected in your responses. Focus. Most interviewers will give you a few days notice prior to any interview so determine a quiet, distraction-free place to conduct your phone interview. If you’re using your mobile phone, make sure the reception is ample and there’s no excessive background noise. For the few minutes you have the interviewers undivided attention, be sure to focus on the call and their questions. Go old school. Step away from your computer and bring your notes with you. A hard copy of your resume, your findings on the company and additional space for notes is all you need. Keyboard clicking in the background could be perceived by the interviewer as disinterest. Sitting away from your computer will lessen the distraction of checking your e-mail or updating your Facebook status, and also ensure that you’re prepared by doing research ahead of time. Listen. Phone interviews can be challenging to navigate without the help of body language and cues. Take the opportunity to listen to the questions your interviewer is asking and pause briefly before responding, so you don’t interrupt them. A phone interview could be the gateway to your new career so being prepared and focused can help you ace this step and move forward in the interview process. Please share your phone interview experiences with us on Facebook or find us on Twitter.

With the holiday season quickly approaching, we’d like to share a cause that we’re proud to be a part of. Toys for Tots is a not-for-profit program started by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve to distribute Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community. Toys for Tots collects donations of new, unwrapped toys throughout December. Each year, the goal of Toys for Tots remains the same to “deliver, through a new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to less fortunate youngsters that will assist them in becoming responsible, productive, patriotic citizens.”We believe in giving back and appreciate the opportunity to work with an organization that continues to grow and give back more each year. During the holiday season, our Cumming office serves as a drop-off location for the Toys for Tots collection. The most exciting part of our involvement is that War Pig is involved too! The War Pig Project, sponsored by our company, is a Deuce dedicated to those who served in the Vietnam War. This year, we will pick up toys across north Georgia with help from War Pig. Toys for Tots collects new, unwrapped toys for children up to the age of 14. Not sure what to buy for a teenager? Consider a gift that might be appropriate for your own child or relative. Other popular gift items for older children include: sporting equipment/bags/balls; books, backpacks, cosmetics, purses, watch/wallet gift sets, bath gift sets, board games, radio control cars/trucks, hand-held electronics, skateboards/helmets, curling irons, hair straighteners, and hair dryers. If money is tight this holiday season, we understand and we invite you to donate your time as a volunteer or make a monetary donation. For more information on how you can get involved with this wonderful organization, click here. We thank you for your generosity this holiday season and appreciate your support of Toys for Tots!