These days, it’s all about knowing your value, identifying the employer’s pain points, telling a story, and showing relevance. As a result, there is an all-new list of must-have skills for job seekers:

1. Identify Pain Points – In the past, applicants could get by simply focusing on the requirements listed in the “help wanted” ad. That approach won’t cut the mustard these days. You need to dig deep and discover what kind of business pain is behind the job opening. This can be accomplished by reading the job posting and researching the employer. Their pain could be growth-related or consolidation-related. They could be losing customers to competitors who provide cheaper prices. Their industry could simply be experiencing a shortage of talent. Whatever the cause of the pain, it’s up to you to identify it and use that information to make your case for why they should hire you.

2. Tell a Story – Rambling off characteristics like “strong work ethic” doesn’t mean much in today’s overcrowded job market. Hundreds of well-qualified individuals are likely to apply for any opening. Chances are they will all claim to possess the same desirable characteristics. Rather than building your responses around catch phrases, tell a story. Seek to explain what kind of results you produce on the job. Keep it brief, but make it powerful.

3. Be Personable — Not long ago, applicants were taught to talk in business speak, using phrases like “bottom-line orientation” and “results-oriented professional.” Unfortunately, such phrases mean little to today’s hiring managers. Aim to use a human voice instead of tired, worn-out corporate speak. Don’t be afraid to begin sentences with “I.” Be proud to speak in the first person as you take credit where credit is due.

4. Nix the One-Size-Fits-All Resume – Most job seekers make the mistake of using one resume for every position. This approach does nothing to help the hiring manager envision how you will fit into their organization. Take steps to highlight accomplishments that are relevant to the position in question. Don’t be afraid to revise your resume as often as necessary.

5. Know Your Value – Earlier this year, television news personality Mika Brzezinski published a book titled “Knowing Your Value.” While her tome was geared towards the historically underpaid female sex, there’s much to be said for the concept of knowing your value, no matter what gender, race, or orientation you may be. Before you begin a job search, undertake some research to discover your fair market value. Go in with a specific salary range in your head. Even in a tough economy, your skills and experiences have a specific value, so don’t allow yourself to get low-balled. If a potential employer isn’t willing to pay what you are worth, take your talents elsewhere.

While the prospect of a phone interview can be somewhat daunting, it’s important to view it as an opportunity for you to earn an in-person interview. Fortunately, most phone interviews are relatively short. The focus is on questions that will enable the employer to evaluate you quickly. In keeping with that goal, aim for short but concise answers, ideally less than two minutes each. If the interviewer wants to know more, they will ask.

 Here are some questions you should expect to be asked in a phone interview:

 Tell me about yourself? – Typically the first question to be asked, this one is best answered by simply giving a brief work history, along with an explanation of how your skills relate to the job for which you are applying. Whatever you do, don’t look at this question as an opportunity to tell your life story.

What experience do you have? – Your goal should be to highlight your skills and experiences as they pertain to the job in question. Endeavor to steer the discussion to specific skills which give you the ability to execute your duties well.

What are your strengths? – Again, gear your response toward the specific skill requirements of the job for which you are applying. If you find it difficult to make that connection, you should highlight transferable skills, such as multitasking, critical thinking, and the ability to communicate well, instead.

What are your weaknesses? – The question that applicants always dread, this one can easily be answered simply by responding that it’s always a challenge to stay current on technology requirements. After all, that is a challenge everyone faces. Be sure to turn your answer into something positive by explaining how you have endeavored to develop such knowledge.

What are your salary requirements? – Another tricky question, this one can take you out of the running if you aim too high right off the bat. When you are participating in a phone interview, it’s best to avoid giving a straight answer. You may state that you simply don’t know enough about the position yet to make a salary request. This answer opens the door to requesting an in-person meeting, which should be your bottom line goal anyway.

While it may seem that a phone interview does not allow for much opportunity to impress a potential employer, it’s actually a great chance to introduce yourself without all the stress of a face-to-face interview. After all, you don’t have to worry about your appearance or your body language over the phone.

That said, it’s still helpful to smile during the interview. The interviewer may not be able to see your face, but they will hear the smile in your voice. You will be perceived as more open, friendly, and enthusiastic about the job. Also, stand up and walk around while you are on the phone with the interviewer. Not only will it help you relax, walking around actually makes your voice clearer and louder. The interviewer will better understand your answers and you will come across as more confident.

Hiring took a definite hit over the past several years, as many companies put a complete freeze on bringing any new employees onboard. As the economy continues its slow recovery, however, many employers are finding themselves undertaking their first hiring efforts in years. But after an extended period of recruiting inactivity, some managers are discovering they are virtually paralyzed, unsure where to begin.

Here are some tips for overcoming that paralysis and finding the right hires to give your business the jumpstart it needs: 

1. Don’t Be Hasty – With unemployment still hovering north of 8 percent, any job opening will result in far more applicants than prior to the recession. In other words, you’ve got your work cut out for you. Be sure to allot enough time to thoroughly review all applications and resumes. You may wish to begin the recruiting effort well before you intend to actually make a hire. That will allow you to ensure you are truly selecting the cream of the crop.  

2. Don’t Expect it to be Easy – This may seem contradictory to tip number one, but the truth is that not all positions are easy to fill, despite high unemployment rates. Worker shortages continue, particularly in fields such as health care and technology. You may find it necessary to cast a wide net in order to get the word out to the appropriate people. You may even need to enlist the assistance of a headhunter or search firm.  

3. Don’t Rob the Cradle – While you may be tempted to hire a hungry young person fresh out of college, you may be better served by bringing in someone with experience. After all, you are still in recovery mode and have less time – and funding – to get new employees up to speed. You need people who can hit the ground running. Once the recovery is finished, you can turn your attention to campus recruiting. 

4. Don’t Discriminate Against the Unemployed – In these difficult economic times, it’s not unusual for even the best employees to find themselves unemployed for a time. Just because someone may not currently have a job – or may have a gap in their resume – that is not suitable cause to eliminate them from the running. Simply ask them to explain why the gap occurred, then make your decision.

5. Don’t Make Your Decision Lightly – When recovery is the name of the game, a new employee can spark a growth wave or a death spiral. It’s up to you to make hiring decisions carefully. Put candidates through numerous, demanding interviews, check their references carefully, and diligently undertake background checks. You may wish to consider bringing new employees in on a contract or temporary basis to begin with. If things work out, make the relationship permanent. If not, simply let them go and start the process all over again.

But then suddenly, the interview’s over. Days go by and you don’t hear anything from your potential new employer. Those days turn into weeks. Maybe you receive a rejection letter, maybe not. Either way, the truth becomes painfully clear: you have not been chosen for the job. 

In many instances, this same chain of events repeats itself over and over again, leaving the job seeker completely dejected, wondering if they will ever have a job again. The secret to finding a job lies in capitalizing on identifying what the company needs and then convincing the hiring manager that YOU are the one who can meet that need. 

Begin by making a list of 10 to 25 companies you would like to work for. Many job seekers skip this step and merely hop online to visit their favorite jobs site without first taking a good long look at exactly what they want from their job search. By compiling this list first, that gives you the opportunity to study these potential employers and identify what exactly they need from their employees in order to meet their business goals.

Learn more about potential employers through LinkedIn and Zoominfo. Also, remember to Google the company in question. You may even wish to sign up for Google Alerts on the companies you have targeted. Doing so will ensure you are notified every time that company makes the news. Perhaps the most effective tactic, however, is to simply visit the company’s website. You can learn a great deal about their goals and activities by reviewing their press releases, annual report, and other key sections of the corporate website. Don’t forget to tap your personal and professional contacts for information, too.

Once you know what potential employers need, it’s your job to demonstrate that you are the one to deliver on what they want. First, do a little introspection by defining your most marketable skills. This is a key point, so spend some time really considering what you have to bring to a potential employer.

 Next, compare your list of qualifications to a potential employer’s list of needs. Find a way to weave any potential matches into your cover letter. A note of caution: Do not write, “I understand you need people with strong marketing skills. I have lots of experience in marketing.” Subtly mention your qualifications, but do NOT make the connection in your letter. Leave that to the employer. Trust me. They will.

Take advantage of similar opportunities during the interview to mention the myriad ways you are a good match for the employer. Again, don’t be too blatant about the fact that your skills and experience perfectly answer their needs. If you do, they may begin to suspect that you are merely claiming to have certain characteristics because you have read about their business. Instead, casually talk about your past jobs and experiences as a means of demonstrating the fact that YOU are the one person to meet their needs.

Simply dubbing a group of employees a “team” does not make them an actual team. Sure, it is a group of people, but “team” implies a certain bond, an interdependency, and a groupthink. They share a common goal and vision and feel a sense of belonging to something larger than themselves. In return for fostering a culture that encourages, supports, and embraces teams, the employer reaps increased loyalty and engagement. 

Here are some tips for building effective teams in your workplace: 

1-      Lay the Groundwork – Create a common framework by defining the purpose of the team and its relation to the company’s underlying business goals. Allow those who will be expected to serve on the team to play a role in making these key decisions. Schedule time to brainstorm with regards to vision and goals. Encourage employees to share their ideas. Each team has its own dynamics, so allow it to form naturally. Don’t try to force some artificial concept onto it.

2-      Clarify Roles, Rights, and Responsibilities – Don’t leave anything to assumptions. Be sure to lay out the hierarchy of the team and be clear about who is responsible for what actions. Share critical information with members of the team and ensure that expectations are clearly communicated. Make sure that team members understand what tasks should take priority. Provide regular feedback with regard to performance and allow employees to share their thoughts as well.

3-      Don’t Forget to Exercise – Team-building exercises, that is! While traditional team-building activities have become the butt of many a joke, there are many benefits to be gained from regularly scheduled sessions. They don’t have to take place every week or even every month. Aim for quarterly or bi-annual team-building days. There are many choices of activities – from classroom experiential to rope-climbing. Simply choose whichever best suits your company culture and the dynamics of the team.

4-      Build Support – Nothing is more demoralizing than being asked to serve on a team only to find that senior management is openly hostile to the concept. Ensure that members of management – from immediate supervisors all the way up to the C-suite – not only support the endeavor but play a key role in making it a success. Encourage them to spend time with the team in order to learn what they value and what they need to help keep them productive and working toward a common goal.

5-      Party Hardy – Provide plenty of opportunities for the team to celebrate. Whether the occasion is a major business coup or Cinco de Mayo, the chance to enjoy a special meal and other activities only helps to build the bond between team members. If you have no choice but to schedule such celebrations outside of the regular work day, open it up to spouses or other family members in order to avoid fostering resentment at home.

In today’s economy, employers can easily receive thousands of applicants for a single job opening. An ATS is a software application designed to handle job applications and manage resume data. Its primary function is to provide a central location and database for the company’s recruitment efforts, allowing human resources to track applicants from their initial contact all the way through the hiring process.

For the employer, an ATS makes it easier to monitor and coordinate job openings and manage the recruitment process. Jobs are posted online and then data is either collected internally from applications or extracted from applicants on job boards. Resumes and applications are stored inside the secure database, allowing for searching, matching, and routing of applicants. This allows for faster and more reliable hiring decisions.

Job seekers benefit from an ATS because it allows them to search open positions by location and entity and upload required materials. They can even check their status electronically. Applying for positions is even easier for internal applicants because the system automatically adds information the company already has on file. Once a positions has been filled, the system automatically removes the posting, eliminating endless guessing over whether a candidate is still in the running.

Here are a few tips for increasing your chances of getting a job by optimizing your resume for an ATS search:

• Be Simple — Steer clear of a highly formatted resume. Most ATS will scramble the tables, graphs, and graphics you worked so hard to compose. Instead, stick to a simple format. If you feel you simply must exhibit your creative flair, save a highly formatted resume as a .txt (ASCII) file.

• Be Concise – Avoid the temptation to add all kinds of extra headings. Most ATS will only recognize the most common headings: Work Experience or Professional Experience, Education, and Professional Summary. Other headings won’t be stored, so include certifications, community activities, publications, and the like under the Education heading.

 • Be Uncommon – Go beyond the common keywords for your position, level, function, or industry. Many ATS will peg uncommon, unique-to-the-job-posting words or phrases as keywords.

• Be Complete – Don’t rely on acronyms or abbreviations alone. If you mean to say “unique selling points,” don’t say USP. Use the full language. Also, don’t forget to mention where you heard about the job. An ATS will track sources. Some, such as employee referrals, are ranked higher than others.

Managers often put off such discussions because they’re afraid they may upset the employee. They don’t realize how detrimental their avoidance may be, as an employee who is left in the dark about their shortcomings will only continue in the same behavior which led to the problem in the first place. This is not the worker’s fault, as they have no way of knowing they are doing something wrong. It is the manager’s duty to inform them of their performance issues, discuss an appropriate course of action, and lay out the repercussions if they do not correct themselves in due time. The result will be a more productive, happy, and engaged employee who consistently contributes to the profitability of the company.

Here are some tips for effectively addressing performance issues while treating employees with respect:

• Keep discussions private. No one wants the entire workforce to know they haven’t been performing up to management’s expectations.
• Honor your employee’s time. Don’t ask them to come to your office at 9:00 am, only to make them wait until 9:30. If something comes up and you need to postpone the discussion, let them know so they aren’t left waiting – and wondering.
• Focus on the performance, not the person. Don’t let the conversation devolve into an attack on the employee themselves. The employee will respond defensively and the discussion may quickly escalate into an argument. Make sure you begin the conference by pointing out issues that are specific to the performance, not the person.
• Take an inquisitive approach. Ask the employee what they think went wrong and then listen to what they have to say. Their feedback may not only help resolve their personal performance issue, it may set the stage for widespread improvement throughout the company.
• Maintain your composure. Even if the employee did something that made you extremely angry, don’t let that influence the tone of the discussion. Take some time to calm down and adjust your frame of mind before meeting with the employee. While it may help you feel better to vent – even to yell – at the employee, that approach won’t do any good in terms of helping the employee see the error of his ways. And it sure as heck won’t make them want to do better!

According to the Los Angeles Times, the most sought-after degrees among today’s employers include anything business-related: management, marketing, and finance, for example. Popular career options for business majors include marketing manager or human resources professional. If a top-notch salary is your key motivator, you should look to highly technical fields – specifically, anything engineering-related.

Using data from Payscale.com, Money College compiled the following list of the highest-paying college degrees:

1. Engineering – From aerospace, chemical, and civil to computer, electrical, mechanical, industrial, and environmental, fields of study within the engineering discipline are seemingly endless. With an average first year salary of $59,000 and average mid-career earnings of $101,000, they are also quite lucrative.

2. Economics – Many students steer clear of economics because they are concerned they would be bored to tears with statistics and math. While econ majors spend a great deal of time studying those two subjects, they also learn about a wide range of subjects, including social science, psychology, political science, and history. Average starting salary stands at $50,000 with a mid-career salary rivaling that of engineers at $101,000.

3. Physics – Many students use physics as a “springboard major” into careers in science, engineering, or education. Career options include high school science teacher, lab technician, computer programmer, or meteorologist. Physics grads typically start out earning $51,000 with a mid-career potential of $98,800.

4. Computer Science – A degree in computer science puts a new grad in a great position to move into a high-paying IT career. Their options don’t end there, however. They can also work as software designers, start-up company partners, or freelance computer programmers. Average starting salary is $56,400 with mid-career earnings of $97,400.

5. Statistics – If crunching numbers and analyzing data is your forte, a degree in statistics may be ideal for you. Statisticians work on everything from business applications to marketing campaigns to political strategies. No need to analyze their paychecks. They are great, with entry-level positions averaging $48,600. They have the potential to earn $94,500 by mid-career.

6. Biochemistry – Work as lab technicians, analytical chemists, and research assistants awaits biochemistry grads. Some students choose to continue their students and earn medical degrees. Average starting salary is $41,700 with mid-career earnings of $94,200.

7. Mathematics – A degree in mathematics opens the door to a wide range of fields, such as banking, finance, computing services, insurance, industry, or education. First-year paychecks typically add up to $47,000 with a mid-career average of $93,600.

8. Construction Management – If you’ve always longer to oversee a construction project from beginning to end, a degree in construction management may be for you. You can expect to start out earning $53,400 and reach $89,600 by mid-career.

9. Information Systems – This major is perfect for those students who feel a connection to both business practices and the world of computer science. Your earning potential would be strong, starting at $51,400 and reaching $87,000 by mid-career.

10. Geology – Students of geology learn about the physical and chemical processes of the earth’s atmospheric, oceanic, and land systems. After graduation, they are well-positioned to help organizations and governments make smart environmental choices, while pocketing a respected salary: $45,000 to start and $84,200 at mid-career.

Over the past two decades, forward-thinking companies have begun investing heavily in customer service, focusing on the positive impact it can have on the bottom line. Sixty percent of companies surveyed in Aberdeen Group’s 2007 report “The Conflicted Call Center – Customer Experience vs. Transaction Hub” said their contact centers sell products, services, or support, as well as handling their primary responsibilities.

What is customer service anyway but an opportunity to improve customer loyalty and possibly even sell additional services, merchandise, or upgrades? One of the most important touch points between a company and its customers, the contact center is no longer merely an 800-number disgruntled consumers use to complain about faulty products or undelivered services. Today’s contact centers encompass a number of touch points, including email, chat, voice, and Web self-service. 

Mike Faith, CEO of Headsets.com, went so far as to call a well-run customer service center “one of the best value-for-money sales tools ever invented.” When managed correctly, Faith says, sales rise, repeat business increases, average sales double, and profits increase. Today’s customer contact centers have moved beyond resolving presented issues, as call center representatives generate profit through cross-selling and up-selling by proactively recognizing unmet customer needs and providing solutions to them. 

Today’s approach to customer service no longer means waiting for the customer to contact the company. A 2008 Aberdeen report, “Optimizing Your Workforce – Increasing Contact Center Agent Productivity” revealed that 34 percent of companies have progressed to using outbound proactive customer service, while another 36 percent expects to implement it.

Providing a stellar customer service experience begins with a shift in perspective. Management must change its mindset and reposition the customer contact center as a strategically significant function. This change of perspective begins with hiring the right people. All too often, companies make the mistake of considering customer service jobs as entry level positions. They would be far better served by seeking out people who possess sales and customer engagement experience. Such individuals are far better equipped to spot opportunities to convert each and every customer contact into an opportunity to increase sales.

Regardless of which side of the political fence you reside, Bush’s comment opens the door to an important conversation: Should a person’s GPA really matter when they are applying for a job? Is it truly an accurate predictor of what kind of employee they will be?

Naturally, it depends who you ask. According to a CareerBuilder survey, just half of employers have a specific GPA requirement. Of those that do, 25 percent received a GPA of 3.0 or higher, while 12 percent required higher than a 3.5. Just 1 percent was looking for a perfect 4.0.

Some fields prize a high GPA more than others. These include accounting, nursing, and highly technical fields like engineering and computer science, where a mastery of the body of knowledge is necessary. Large companies which are likely to receive thousands of applications for each opening may look to GPAs to help them weed out less-desirable candidates.

Where you are in your career also matters. A recent graduate may be judged by their GPA simply because they don’t have much else for the employer to review. However, an experienced professional is far more likely to be judged on their experiences and accomplishments than a two- or three-decade-old GPA.

Increasingly, employers are looking to factors other than GPA when reviewing applicants. They are more interested in a potential employee’s relevant professional experience (including internships), portfolio, presentation skills, and writing skills. Time management is also a key indicator, as is how the employee learns, their ability to give and receive feedback, and their ability to apply theory to real-life situations.

Regardless of whether your GPA was stellar or lackluster, don’t leave it off an application if an employer asks for it. Such an omission will only lead them to assume the worst and you may find yourself eliminated from the running unnecessarily. Never inflate your GPA, although you can fudge things a bit by listing your Major GPA, rather than your overall GPA, as long as you designate it as such.