When looking for a job, you may find it reassuring to come across a company that states it is “always looking” for talented people. Such notices are usually incredibly vague, however. There’s no job description and no indication of whether they actually have any openings at the moment. They usually only include an email address and phone number for inquiries. And they typically only include an email address and phone number for inquiries.

Understandably, many job seekers wonder if such ads are for real. More specifically, they wonder if it would be worth their time and effort to answer one. If they decide to pursue such a vague opportunity, should they call the listed phone number or take the liberty of emailing a full resume and cover letter, expressing their interest in any suitable openings?

The good news is that people do actually get jobs through these kinds of ads. However, such employers are typically looking for only the “best of the best.” In other words, the average candidate will never find a job this way. In fact, their inquiry is likely to be met with stony silence. To garner the interest of an employer placing this kind of ad, a candidate needs to really stand out from the rest of the pack. That means a stellar resume and compelling cover letter.

Typically, companies place “We’re always looking for talent people” ads for one of the following reasons: 

• They suspect a key player is going to be leaving soon and they want to identify some potential replacements ahead of time.
• They want to build a database of potential future employees.
• They are truly in need of people with key skills and are eager to hire.

If you see this kind of ad and are tempted to inquire of the company, you must first ask yourself if you are truly the kind of stand-out candidate they are probably looking for. If you honestly believe you are a solid candidate who possesses key, marketable skills, then go ahead and take a shot. Don’t waste your time cold-calling, however. Chances are you will prejudice the hiring manager against you simply because you unknowingly called at an inconvenient time. What’s more, they won’t know anything about you because they have not yet had the opportunity to review your credentials. Instead, send a resume and cover letter explaining what you have to offer. Even if they are not ready to hire anyone right now, if you make a good impression, they may remember you the next time a suitable opening arises.

Getting the right person for the job starts with writing an effective job description. These days, that entails much more than getting all the facts right. It means writing a job description that stands out amongst all the rest. Particularly when it comes to tech-savvy Generation Y (aka the Millennials), job descriptions must be ultra-appealing. They have to speak to the individual and give them a reason to apply for a job with your company.

After all, this is the “everybody gets a trophy generation.” Some generational experts have branded them the most spoiled generation in history. They are used to being given what they want. Now, it’s your job to make them want a job with your company – and to want it so badly they will actually go out of their way to pursue it.

Millennials want to feel like they are part of something important right out of the gate. The concept of “paying your dues” couldn’t be more foreign to them. So make sure to describe why the position matters to the company and where it stands in the grand scheme of things. Be clear about the importance of the role this individual will play once they are hired. And don’t forget to include how much they will be interacting with decision-makers.

Members of Generation Y are expected to job-hop more than their predecessors. Paradoxically, however, they are incredibly brand loyalty. Start building their loyalty to your brand right off the bat. Use your job description to explain why they should want to work for you. Woo them and seek to make them fall head over heels in love with your company. Avoid jargons and clichés and get to the point when describing your ideal candidate.

There’s no doubt that salary and benefits are important to a Millennial. After all, surveys have shown they expect something in the neighborhood of $75,000 starting pay. But they are also savvy enough to recognize that a job can benefit them in other ways, too. So be sure to describe the skills they will gain, the professional connections they will make, and the opportunities they will have to grow and advance within the company. Be sure to mention the other fringe benefits, like gym memberships and flexible work hours, too.

Finally, take the opportunity to tell your company story and explain your vision for the person who gets the job. Make sure you do it quickly, however. Generation Y has no patience for rambling, off-the-shelf, stodgy old mission statements. They want something short, to-the-point, and catchy. Think of it this way: This is the generation that grew up having conversations via text message. Short-hand and slogans are their language.

When searching for a job, it becomes easy to view each hiring manager as the enemy. After all, they are the gatekeeper, the one who is keeping you from attaining your dream job (or in this economy, any job). Yet, it’s important to remember that they are in very much the same position as you – just in reverse. You have certain skills, training and expertise you wish to put to work for the benefit of a particular company. And they have been charged with finding someone who possesses the requisite skills, training an expertise that will drive the business and generate greater profits. Making the two come together in a mutually pleasing conclusion is simply a meeting of the minds.

The first thing you absolutely must understand is that the hiring manager is under a great deal of pressure to deliver just the right person for the job. Unless you are interviewing with an extremely small company, chances are you won’t find yourself sitting down with the CEO. That means the person interviewing you has to answer to someone. They aren’t about to jeopardize their job by taking a chance on an under-qualified or otherwise questionable candidate. As a result, they are going to ask the tough questions, make you prove yourself, and then perform the proper due diligence to verify that you are just as great as you say you are.

In nearly every instance, you come into an interview as a complete unknown. Your job is to make the interview feel comfortable and confident about hiring you. They are not trying to be the bad guy – or gal – they are simply seeking to assure themselves that you will be able to perform in the job in question. At the same time, their hiring decision must be one that leaves them feels safe and secure in their own career. Again, that’s why they are not about to take a chance on an unproven individual.

That’s not to suggest you must be absolutely perfect and possess a flawless job record to boot. Hiring managers understand that no one is perfect. Everyone has weaknesses and shortcomings. For that reason, you will find yourself answering questions about weaknesses, shortcomings, and difficult situations you encountered. For you, the trick lies in turning a negative into a positive. Maybe you were once assigned to manage the account of a company whose industry was a complete mystery to you. That may have been a shortcoming, but you can still win the hiring manager over if you share a gripping account of how you dove in, thoroughly researched not only the company, but its industry and key competitors, and then helped them achieve great things.

Finally, remember that the hiring manager is looking for a solution to specific pain points the company is currently facing. Once you are in the interview environment, pay close attention to what they say and ask a few probing questions of your own. Seek to uncover those pain points and then convince the hiring manager that you are the remedy, the one person that can relieve all that ails them.

Looking to hire a “star” employee? Of course, you are! Deep down, that’s every employer’s dream for star employees tend to outperform everyone around them. So even if you have to pay them more, you still end up getting so much work and ingenuity out of them, it turns out to be a wise investment in the end. 

The problem lies in attracting star employees when you don’t necessarily have a dream job to offer them. After all, star employees are in demand and can basically write their own ticket. They don’t have to take just any old job offer. They can pick and choose and wait for the right opportunity to show up on their door step.

The secret lies in hiring those people who don’t yet know they are stars. Sound difficult? It can be, but there are a few tips you can follow to help you determine who has what it takes to someday be the kind of employee you have to worry about your competitors poaching. 

1. Recruit Mediocrity – On the surface, that may sound counterintuitive, but experience has shown that mediocre students often have a sixth sense about what really matters in life. Sure, they may not have been motivated by the prospect of impressing their professors and racking up stellar grades, but when it comes to earning a decent salary, they are generally ready to kick it into high gear.
2. Seek the Well-Read – A well-developed interest in reading – anything, everything! – displays a natural curiosity and level of engagement. It doesn’t really matter if they read comic books, romance novels, or Guitar Player magazine, the important thing is that they read.
3. Test them Out – Before hiring someone, have them take the Myers-Briggs test. You will gain incredible insight into how they will perform on the job by finding out if they are an introvert or extrovert, etc. This can be particularly helpful if you are looking to hire a natural born leader.
4. Become Their Mentor – New to the workforce, college grads often feel lost because the real world is different from what they have envisioned. They need someone to guide them and help them feel their way through new territory. Show them from the beginning that you have a true interest in their career development and they just may blossom into a star, even if they are stuck in a decidedly non-dream job for the time beginning.
5. Pile on the Responsibilities – From their first day on the job, give your potential future superstar a massive amount of responsibility. See how they respond. If they dive in headfirst without asking questions or balking at the enormous amount of work before them, chances are they will fail. Once they have fallen on their face, do they look to try again? If so, you probably make a good choice. Most people who are destined for greatness consider their own failures a tremendous learning experience.

So you want to boost your career, climb the corporate ladder, and improve your earning power. In today’s economy, it’s all too easy to feel powerless and fall into the mindset that someone else occupies the driver’s seat when it comes to steering your career in the right direction. 

Fortunately, that’s not altogether true. While your job options may be limited at this time, you possess a great deal of power to transform your career over the long-term. The secret lies in thinking of yourself, your personal brand, like a start-up business and taking the same approach to building your career as you would to building that business.

It’s important to begin by facing the facts. You may be an extraordinarily talented individual, but the fact remains that a million different people could do your job. Attempting to be better than everyone else will get you nowhere. Instead, you must focus on carving out your own professional niche and becoming the best in that particular realm. 

In their new book “The Start-Up of YOU: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career,” authors Reid Hoffman, co-founder and chairman of LinkedIn, and Ben Casnocha lay out three dynamic pieces to help you position yourself in the market: 

• Assets – This basically refers to what you have going for yourself right now. It includes soft assets, like knowledge, skills, and connections, along with more traditional “hard” assets, like cash in the bank.
• Aspirations and Values – This piece entails where you would like to go career-wise in the future.
• Market Realities – This part focuses on what people will actually pay you for.

 The authors continue by laying out a number of tips for surviving and thriving in today’s competitive world. Adopting them will help you create the right job search mindset and marketing message. They include: 

• Developing a competitive advantage to win the best jobs and opportunities
• Adapting your career plans as you change, as the people around you change, and as industries change
• Strengthening your professional network by building powerful alliances and maintaining a diverse mix of relationships
• Identifying unique breakout opportunities that will accelerate your career growth
• Take proactive risks to become more resilient to industry tsunamis
• Tapping your network for information and intelligence that will help you make better decisions

Regardless of whether you take the initiative to read the book, the main lesson is this: If you want to build your career, you must adopt the mindset of a small business owner. Think of yourself as the business and your skills and knowledge as the product or service. Brainstorm about what steps you would take to build a business and adapt those same steps to your own personal brand. Invest in yourself, build your professional networks, take intelligent risks, and find ways to make uncertainty and volatility work to your advantage. As the recovery continues and you look to the future, you may just find yourself a couple of rungs up the ladder after all.

The hiring of a new employee is an exciting time. Whether you are replacing a previous worker or expanding your business, the infusion of new blood is something to be celebrated. 

Hiring decisions should never be made lightly. Chances are you’ve thoroughly reviewed all applicants, checked backgrounds and references, conducted careful interviews, and performed the appropriate due diligence before extending an offer. Hurrah! Your first choice accepts the offer. You can breathe a sigh of relief. 

Not so fast. Your work is far from over. Now, you must take steps to ensure that new employee succeeds. According to a 2009 study by Washington, D.C.-based Leadership IQ, 46 percent of new hires fail within 18 months. Only 19 percent achieve unequivocal success.

Just why do so many new hires fail to thrive? According to the managers who responded to the Leadership IQ survey, 26 percent of new employees fail because they can’t accept feedback, 23 percent have a hard time controlling their emotions, 17 percent aren’t motivated to succeed, 15 percent have the wrong temperament or work style for the company’s environment, and 11 percent fail because they lack the necessary skills.

So what can you do to turn the tide and ensure that your next new hire becomes a success story? Undertake an effective onboarding process that helps the employee integrate into their new work environment. Onboarding is intended to give new hires the confidence they need to hit the ground running, make a positive impact on the company, and help carry out the organization’s mission.

Every onboarding process should be centered on the following four goals: 

• Welcoming and engaging the new hire
• Helping them understand the company, its goals, and its vision for the future
• Ensuring they understand how they fit into the big picture
• Helping them become more productive

Make your onboarding process more effective by following these simple guidelines:

Don’t Overwhelm Them– The first day of a new job is bound to be hectic and nerve-wracking, even for a seasoned professional. So don’t bog them down with administrivia that could just as easily be completed at their leisure. Several days prior to their start date, send via email or traditional mail any paperwork you need them to complete. Include a copy of the employee handbook so they have time to review it and prepare any questions. Be sure to include small, but critical details, like where they should park. 

Develop a Plan for Week One – Don’t wait until the new employee arrives to figure out how you are going to train them – or who will be in charge of showing them the ropes. Map out an agenda for their first week in advance and make sure everyone who is going to play a role in orienting them to the company has been briefed and is on board. 

Welcome Them – Your new hire may have the right stuff in terms of skills and attitude, but if he doesn’t fit in to the corporate culture, he’s going to have a hard time succeeding at your organization. Facilitate positive relationships from day one by going out of your way to make the newbie feel welcome. Encourage others to do the same.

Imagine waking up every day excited to go to work. You leap out of bed, sing your way through a hasty shower, grab a cup of Joe and a bagel, and hit the ground running. Those people who love their work that much are in an enviable position. To them, work is a joy, so much that sometimes it doesn’t even feel like work. In those rare cases, it’s not really work. It’s a passion. 

If you think you could never find yourself in this position, think again. Thousands of people have taken what they love to do – or what they naturally excel at doing – and turned it into their career. Whether your passion is baking, sewing, snapping photos, fixing things, antiquing, acting, or making music, opportunities abound for you to make a living doing what you love. You just have to go about it the right way. 

Here are a few tips for turning your passion into a career: 

1. Find Your Calling – If you truly have a passion, this step should be relatively easy. The tough part is determining whether you are truly good enough at that particular endeavor to make a go of it. Take music, for example. If you love playing the piano, but even your closest friends never ask you to play at their parties, weddings, etc., it may be time to reevaluate just how accomplished a pianist you really are. This is where you need to consult a professional. Call your local music store and schedule a time to meet with their best piano teacher. Play your best piece for them and ask for their honest assessment. The same approach holds true for most any passion. Just figure out where your interests lie and then consult a local expert. 

2. Don’t Quit Your Day Job – Unless you are in a position to live without much of an income for an undetermined amount of time, you’re probably better off starting your passion-based venture on the side. In some instances, your new career may remain a “moonlighting” type activity for quite some time. Granted, working one job while trying to get a small business off the ground can be exhausting. You must be prepared to dedicate evenings, weekends, and holidays to building your new venture. If you are married, be considerate of your spouse and ask them to share their feelings about your plan. 

3. Take a Professional Approach – Whatever your passion, it’s important that you present yourself as a professional from the very beginning. Order business cards, establish a web presence, and market yourself aggressively. Network with friends and colleagues who may be in a position to help you build your business. If cupcakes are your passion and you have a friend who manages a conference center, see if he would be willing to serve your decadent treats at their next event. If you love taking artistic photos and your friend runs a small restaurant, ask if she would hang some of your best matted and framed shots around her establishment – with a sign advertising your photography business, of course. 

4. Be Realistic – Your hobby may be the great passion of your life, but you must be realistic about the likelihood it will provide enough income to support you or make you a star. That’s not to suggest you should leave your dreams behind, just that you temper your expectations. Lots of people love to act, but there’s only one Angelina Jolie, for example. Likewise, cooking is a huge interest for many, yet few ever reach the heights of a Julia Child, Bobby Flay, or Rachael Ray. Set realistic expectations and then do your very best every day. You never know what fate has in store for you.

When great performance is the goal, it’s easy to turn to criticism in an attempt to make it happen. After all, if you can get an employee to correct the things they are doing wrong, the end result promises to be better. Right? Well…yes…and no. 

Conventional wisdom holds that pointing out an employee’s shortcomings will cause that employee to bring their A game. While it’s true that criticism can lead to temporary improvement, experts now say that employee’s performance likely would have improved even if you hadn’t said a word. The philosophy behind their claim is called “regression to the mean.” It centers on the belief that human performance is never completely consistent. That applies to everyone from world-class musicians and athletes to college professors and line workers.

An individual’s performance varies from day to day. That’s why a baseball player may hit three home runs in one game and strike out five times in the next. Or why a classical musician may fumble a few notes in one performance, only to play the same piece flawlessly the very next night.

For this reason, we do not typically judge a person’s ability based solely on one performance. Instead, we consider their average performance over time. Statisticians refer to that as an individual’s “mean performance.” If one were to track a person’s performance day-by-day or task-by-task, they would likely discover that an extraordinary performance – one that is far greater than that person’s average – is almost surely followed by one which is decidedly lackluster.

In the workplace, therefore, someone may have an off-day – or an off-week or off-month, for that matter. As their boss, you will probably feel compelled to criticize them for their poor performance. Afterwards, their performance will most likely return to their pre-slump level, as did our baseball player and musician in the hypothetical example above. The “regression to the mean” philosophy holds that they would have returned to that same level – their norm – with or without your criticism, simply because it is their norm.

One of the key areas of any performance review is “opportunities for improvement.” As a result, much of the formal discussion of the review revolves around the employee’s shortcomings. It’s basic human nature to pay more attention to what’s wrong than what is right. The problem with that approach is that it does little to improve the employee’s long-term performance because they will invariably return to their normal, the mean.

Research shows that positive reinforcement produces better long-term results than focusing primarily on faults. After all, few employees are going to be motivated to raise their norm if they feel like all you’ve done is tear them down. Thus, our goal should be to shift our focus from increasing performance on specific tasks to increasing someone’s overall performance. The best way to accomplish this goal is to focus on that which a person does well, rather than dwelling on the times they’ve faltered. Identify and reward employees’ strengths and then help them map out a plan for building on them. Then and only then will you truly see employee performance improve, rather than shoot up temporarily only to regress to the mean.

It’s that moment of a job interview that every applicant dreads. After chatting casually about your experience and qualifications, the hiring manager looks you in the eye and asks, “Do you have any questions for me?” 

Gulp. It’s here. What do I do? What do I say? I don’t want to appear stupid? Do I have to say anything? Is it alright to simply pass? 

A good job interview should be a two-way street. In other words, there should be a conversation, a dialogue, not an interrogation. Sure, the interviewer is seeking to determine whether you are the right person for the job, but at the same time, your goal should be determining whether the job is right for you.

To a certain extent, you can ascertain a job’s appropriateness through the types of questions the hiring manager is asking. Chances are, however, there will be a number of vital questions which remain unasked at the end of a typical interview, however. It falls to you, therefore, to ensure such questions are posed.

Here are some sample questions you may wish to ask when given the opportunity: 

• What is your definition of the ideal candidate?
• What happened to the last person who held this job?
• What are the most important skills and attributes for this position?
• How often will I be evaluated if I am hired for this job?
• How will you be defining success in this position?
• What opportunities exist for growth and advancement?
• What do you envision for the company in five years?
• Tell me about the structure and hierarchy of the company?
• What are the next steps in the hiring process?

 Conversely, here are some questions you should never ask: 

• What does the company do? (You should already know this going in.)
• How much does the job pay? (The hiring manager should be the one to broach this subject.)
• How soon do I get vacation? (Wait until the job has been offered to begin discussions of time-off.)
• Are you going to hire me? (Don’t seem too eager. If they decide to hire you, they will let you know.)

Whenever possible, keep the questions open-ended. Avoid questions which can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.” And be sure to avoid questions which could be easily be answered by visiting the company’s website.

What questions you ultimately ask is up to you. To a certain extent, the job and company in question will help dictate what questions are appropriate to ask. The important thing is not to let this valuable opportunity pass you by. Remember, the only stupid questions are the ones you never ask.

An unseasonably warm winter and a downright hot spring have many employers thinking about summer. For many organizations, summertime brings the specter of seasonal hiring. The good news is there are plenty of talented people out there just chomping at the bit for a summer job — if you know how – and where – to look.

Unfortunately, small companies often feel they are at a disadvantage when it comes to attracting summertime help, simply because they don’t have the same reach as a major employer. While it’s true that large companies have broader resources for casting a wide net, there’s no reason why small companies can’t have a successful seasonal recruitment effort, too.

Successful seasonal hiring requires a well-thought-out process, based upon the following key principles:

Begin Early: While it may be difficult to start thinking about summer when the snow is still falling, it’s best to start planning for seasonal hires as early as possible. Savvy companies begin the process in January, seeking to lock in the best people before someone else snatches them up. This strategy is particularly helpful when you are looking to hire high school or college students, as they feel a sense of security going into their spring semester knowing they have a summer job already lined up.

Be Choosey: Last year’s summer job market was an employer’s dream. High unemployment rates led many terrific employees to seek out seasonal jobs as a means of making ends meet. Employers were clearly in the driver’s seat, receiving countless applications for each open position. That gives them the opportunity to pick and choose to their liking, never having to settle for a substandard hire.

Extend Your Search: When looking for professional entry-level hires, it’s tempting to gear your recruitment efforts towards Harvard, Stanford, and other top-notch schools. It’s important to remember that smaller, lesser known schools also produce desirable candidates, so be sure to reach out to them as well.

Act Quickly: Once you’ve identified someone you wish to hire, make the offer immediately. Any worthwhile candidate is likely to be deluged with offers, so you must act quickly if you want them to commit to your company in advance.

Whatever you do, don’t wait until the last minute to start looking – or to make your hiring decisions. Even in today’s job market, that could be a fatal mistake, as you just may find yourself heading into the summer months without a sufficient staff to deliver warm weather success.