Daily Biz Solutions

By Nancy Keene, Director, Stanton Chase – Dallas

It’s been a difficult and protracted economic downturn – with high levels of unemployment, a dearth of spending and pressure on those remaining inside companies to deliver results with fewer resources. With droves of workers in transition – from entry level to C-suite — it’s been a time of reaching out and helping one another.

But a year after the major market meltdown, there is a high level of burnout and networking fatigue. Nonetheless, jobseekers must remain active and visible. And those inside companies and consulting organizations have an intense focus on finding and closing business.

Where do we go from here? Some suggestions for being polite and productive:

• A key rule of networking is to be considerate of the other person’s time. Be sure to know something about the other person’s business purpose before reaching out.
• Offer information, insight or assistance as an opening gesture. Send someone a piece of business and you will be their friend forever!
• If you want to meet someone in person, consider attending a program where they are speaking.
• Be careful not to commit the other person’s time or interest. Don’t deliver an action item via email! Avoid creating an assumption with a third party that someone will meet with them or do something for them.
• General “information interviews” should be a thing of the past. Why ask for insight on something you could find on the Internet? Do your homework/groundwork first. Go for a higher level dialog when you initiate contact.
• Be protective and prudent regarding the bandwidth of your top relationships. Do not send them an on-going stream of requests/referrals or they might stop taking your calls, as well!
• Do you really need to get in front of the other person? Or would a phone call or email suffice? Consider a recruiter’s “sourcing for candidates” emails. They are quick summaries in bullet form with highlights of specific criteria/experience being sought. They generate quick and helpful responses with suggested names and contact information.
• Do send an email with pertinent information before making a phone call or requesting a meeting.
• Once you’ve had an in-person networking meeting, don’t keep pushing for a follow-on visit, as you have already received a valuable allocation of time. Maintain communications via email or phone messages.
• If you invite someone to lunch, dinner or coffee, keep in mind that you are, in essence, offering to pick up the check. Assume that others have limited eating-out budgets in the current economy.
• If someone doesn’t take you up on your suggestion to meet in person, don’t push. You don’t know what is going on in the other person’s life. They could be heads down on a major deadline – or diverted with personal/family priorities.
• Be circumspect in sharing information you have received. If you become known as a “human chain letter,” you might be cut off from the information channel.
• If you know someone is working on an initiative, only suggest/refer people who fit the criteria.
People are generally happy to impart knowledge and expertise. Ask a specific question and you will likely receive a specific answer, suggestion or referral! But keep in mind that requests for open-ended, getting-together sessions require a commitment on someone’s calendar and you are competing with billable business or client deadlines.
Friends, family and colleagues will always receive top consideration. And, of course, if you are a current or longstanding client, you can ask for the moon!

About the Author

Nancy Keene (http://nancykeeneblog.blogspot.com) is a director for Stanton Chase International in Dallas, a retained executive search firm. The 450-member organization conducts local, regional and international executive search campaigns for many top companies worldwide. Stanton Chase currently has 67 offices in 41 countries. There are 15 offices in North America. For more information, visit www.stantonchase.com.

Article Contributed By HRM Business Practices and Notes

Close to a half a million Americans are losing their jobs since the last quarter of 2008 when the financial crisis hit the U.S. and swept the entire globe. While economists conclude that we have already seen and felt the worst of the recession, and basic economic indicators show that this crisis is bottoming-out; however, the unemployment rate continue to average between 8 to 9 percent every month.

A Shrinking Job Market

Worse, even if the economy normalizes, job opportunities will remain scarce because most companies who downsized during the downturn are not likely hire additional employees in the next few months. Newer technologies, a more competent and lean workforce, and efficient management systems were adopted and given priorities. Thus, hiring additional employees will take a back seat for while.

So, where does this leaves you as a job seeker? The job market is shrinking, and many more are vying for a piece of that small pie. If more people are still losing their jobs, how can you possibly find great job opportunities in recession?

Job Opportunities in Crisis

Understandably, the current economic prognosis is still not good, but there should be no reason to lose hope. I believe that the ancient Chinese traders were right when they say that there are actually “opportunities in crisis” such are there are great job opportunities in recession. In fact, some jobs were created because of this slowdown. The key is finding these job opportunities and grabbing them.

More so, even if more people are joining the ranks of the unemployed, you can still find better paying jobs if you try to find them in the right places. I have learned, as an HR Practitioner, that those who can easily get a job are those who are proactive and persistent. Look and ye shall find! Knock and the door shall be opened to you!

Practical Tips to Follow in Job Hunting

Okay, while you’re at it, here 5 practical tips on how to find a great job during recession:

1. Look for jobs on the internet; it is more time efficient and cost-effective. If you have a twitter account, try to search for a specific job in your area and you will be surprised to find how many job opening being twitted every minute. Better yet, network with these headhunter twitters so that you get to have a firsthand info to new job ads.
2. Refine your resume to highlight knowledge, skills, and other professional strengths that will add value to an organization. Do not write a resume that ‘fits all.’ Customized each resume for a specific job position you are applying for. You need not overhaul your entire resume; just highlight your competencies and experiences to suit the job or position you desire.
3. Rehearse (if possible, master by heart) your answers for possible interview questions with someone. Ask their opinions how you can improve your answers or presentations. There are only probably less than 10 questions that are commonly ask during job interviews. And more often, the same question is being asked in several different ways. For example, “Tell me about yourself” is similar to “Why should we hire you?” “What can you do for the organization?” “What are your strengths?” or “How can you add value to the organization?” The focus is on your competencies or qualifications for the job. The secret of giving a good answer lies on how well you understood what is being asked and the underlying intent/s behind. Lastly, you might want to write your answers and see how you can improve them.
4. Be the solution! Be Proactive. Apply to organizations you deemed would need your expertise even if they were not hiring. Most progressive companies with good Human Resource Management Department usually gives chances to people who present themselves as problem solvers.
5. Do your numbers! Meaning, apply to as many organizations as you can. Do not just zero-in on one or two, so that you will have the upper hand in deciding which job interview to prioritize, and ultimately which job offer to accept. Don’t stop searching even if you are already waiting for a job offer or two. Again, it pays to give yourself the latitude to choose which organization you think will suit best your interest. Besides, hiring companies have always the prerogative to make last minute hiring decisions. Do your numbers.

Perseverance is Key to Job Search Success

I know that this 5-point advice sounds too simplistic and easy; nevertheless, the most important element of job hunting success is perseverance. Again, do your numbers. Do not wait for those calls, do the follow-up yourself and continue sending those resumes. Do this, regardless of the economic climate; you will get that dream job of yours.

Good luck and good hunting!

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Franchise Direct’s exclusive list of the Top 100 Global Franchises provides an interesting look at the franchise industry in 2009. These exclusive rankings show that franchising is looking to international markets to grow during the downturn in the American economy. It also highlights the unique success of franchises started by women on an international level, with four franchises on the list founded by females.

 

The four franchises started by women on the Top 100 Global Franchises are Merle Norman (#40), Auntie Anne’s (#41), Jazzercise (#44) and Coffeenews USA (#55). Combined, they show the various experiences of women franchisees over the last century. These franchises were all started in different eras, and the success of each show that women can succeed in properly branding their franchise brand, no matter what the concept.

 

Merle Norman, for instance, was started in the late 1920s by a young woman named Merle Nethercutt Norman. She had been making her personal skin products for her family friends and wanted to reach a wider audience. She also had realized that a demonstration was probably also the best way to sell her products. From there, her business model gradually grew into one of the top franchise products in the world.

 

Meanwhile, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels was started back in 1987 when Anne Beiler started making pretzels for a local farmers market. After been a bit of experimentation, this very local concept became a top global franchise. It’s a remarkable transition. Jazzercise followed a similar trend. Jude Sheppard Missett took the niche subject of jazz dance and turned it into a globally popular dance concept in 1969. Finally Jean Daum used her experiences in the newspaper industry to turn Coffee News into a Top 100 Global Franchise.

 

All in all, these franchise success story provide a blueprint for women entrepreneurs looking to grow their own business concept. These are four of the most unique franchise concepts on the list and prove that no matter what the business, franchising can bring you tremendous results, even at an international level. Female entrepreneurs can find true success in franchising.

Guest post by Todd Brabender

As the year starts to wind down, many businesses and entrepreneurs are making plans and budgets for the year ahead. Those plans could include anything from setting up goals for new products to preparing marketing, sales and PR/publicity campaigns. When it comes to your publicity plan, WHEN you launch your campaign can be just as important to what and how you launch.

HOLIDAY PUBLICITY OPPORTUNITIES:
If your product/business lends itself to increased holiday sales, the next few weeks are a perfect time to get a publicity campaign launched – given the right media targets. Many holiday issues are already been laid out for magazines, and many other media outlets are feverishly seeking information/pitches on innovative stories for the holidays. Some media outlets even reorganize or beef up staff around the holidays to allow for an increase in stories on products. Have your publicist help you take advantage of this increased media opportunity.

PLANTING PUBLICITY SEEDS NOW FOR 1ST QUARTER RESULTS:
Some business owners may be of the mindset: “I think we’ll wait to launch a publicity campaign until after January 1st.” The problem is — if you wait to launch your publicity campaign until the first of the year hoping for a quick media interest blast in January, you may be in for a quiet month. Keep in mind most media outlets have editorial lead-times of a few weeks to 6 months. Also what some entrepreneurs don’t realize is this. Because of the increasing number of publicity pitches media outlets receive, anything you send out is subjected to what I call the “media digestion period” – simply put – that is a period of time (sometimes weeks, sometimes months) that it takes media outlets to:

#1) see/understand your release and decide if they are interested;
#2) find space/time in their editorial calendar to place the article/news story/show segment.

The potential placement is also directly dependent upon how quickly and efficiently your publicist or PR agency can help the media secure the placement. Media relations is crucial. Your publicist’s job is to make the reporter/editor/producer’s job as easy and as effortless as possible – which will lead to quicker and more numerous placements for your business.

When it comes to publicity pitches, the facts are: placement is totally up to the discretion of the particular media outlet; and very few media responses are immediate. I have in fact had media outlets respond even before the media release seemed to settle in the fax machine tray. Conversely, I also had one media outlet that responded 17 months after a pitch. (I had to ask the reporter what the YEAR was on the release!) NO placement is guaranteed, but you can definitely increase the odds. Even if your product/business if a dead-on perfect match for a media outlet’s editorial profile, you are not guaranteed placement without some hard work and media relations. That’s why timing of your publicity pitch is so critical. Have your publicist get your pitch to the media, allow the editorial staff to digest it a bit, and strategically and professionally “rattle the cage” over the next several weeks to generate as many placements as possible.

What we are trying to do is plant seeds in media outlets’ editorial garden so they will bear fruit — in the form of articles/show placements — continuously over the next several weeks and months. Like the plant that comes from a seed, publicity placements can also grow roots and lead to other arterial media placements in other media outlets. Given the right tending, the publicity seeds you plant over the next few weeks/months will indeed germinate and you’ll reap a wonderful harvest for your business well past the first quarter of next year.

About the Author

Todd Brabender is the President of Spread The News Public Relations, Inc. His business specializes in generating media exposure and publicity for innovative products, businesses & experts.
http://www.spreadthenewspr.com

(785) 842-8909