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S T A R
Strategies, Tools, Actions, Resources
to Transform You into a Career Superstar		 Vol. 4, Issue 2, April 2008

in this issue

Choosing a Positive Attitude

New Trends in Sources of Hire

Fast Facts
 

Choosing a Positive Attitude

Just as the universal law that water and electricity choose the path of least resistance, so too do humans. Doom-and-gloom messages abound far more than positive ones, thus it becomes far easier to simply go along with what seems like the easy path.

If you ask most people, they'll say they're positive, optimistic, or maybe even realistic. Almost no one admits to being a pessimist or having a negative attitude. Of the time you spend daily with others or interacting with the media, how many positive messages do you receive in relation to negative ones?

Think about your most recent encounter with someone at work, on the highway, at school, in a retail store, in a doctor's waiting room. What was that experience like?

Did the conversation revolve around uplifting events or helpful information, or did the conversation focus on the latest gossip or what's wrong in the world—the weather, your job situation, the traffic, the government, some illness or disease, and on and on? Did the person smile at you, thank you, compliment you, or did they avoid eye contact entirely, cut you off in traffic, or tell you what you did wrong?

Whether it's radio, TV, newspapers, or the movies, the likelihood is you'll witness the worst of humanity—the latest crime figures, how many people died in accidents or storms overnight, what public official or famous star cheated on whom or was arrested, all the best jobs are going overseas, companies are slowing their hiring, and so on.

The insidious message is that you have little to or no control over your life—that you're a victim of something or someone. So how do you choose to be positive and cultivate a healthy, successful mind-set?

The Challenge

Set a challenge to avoid negative influences for one month! To alter the path of a water source, we use dams, pipes, ditches, and other devices. That translates into extra effort to make a change.

Start by choosing not to read the papers or listen to the news. If you must know the weather forecast or game scores of your favorite team, go online or have the information sent to your mobile phone.

To counteract the effects of negative messages that have already become part of your belief system, buy some audio CDs of motivational seminars, relaxing music, classic books, or even educational materials. Listen to these in your car as you're on your way to and from work or other appointments. You can enrich your mind or simply relax.

If some of your worst negative influences happen at work, consider choosing new lunch partners or go it alone. Find people who are upbeat, believe in success, and encourage others to be their best. You want to hang with people who lift you up, not pull you down. If you can't find someone who is a good influence, go for a walk or bring something to read or listen to that enriches and refreshes you.

For dealing with co-workers who just love to interrupt you throughout the day, bring an iPod or similar device. Make sure to wear your headset! That way, you discourage others from stopping in just to chat. If you're getting instant or text messages, block or turn them off. Check them once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

If your boss is the problem, try to talk with him or her and work out a solution. However, if the situation is cannot be resolved and you are experiencing more negatives than positives, it may be time to find another opportunity.

Bring a book to read during your breaks or go for a quick walk. Eventually, others will learn to interrupt you only for important business. You may also find that you gain greater visibility with those who can advance your career and goals.

As for friends and family, try to redirect conversations to topics that are wholesome and find ways to help them on projects or goals that are important to them.

Practice complimenting people from time to time for things they do well instead of only giving criticism.

Cultivating a positive attitude doesn't mean immersing yourself in self-help 24/7, constantly smiling, or ignoring problems that need to be addressed. It just means learning to see opportunities instead of threats and taking control of your life instead of letting others dictate your attitude.

Studies show that adopting a new behavior takes 30 days before it becomes habit-forming. Following a new path can lead you to form habits that promote your success and well-being@mdash;and perhaps that of others around you.

Greetings!

Do-It-Write, Inc., is the career marketing company that empowers you to be your best and unleash the power of choice by creating a personal brand, providing you a deeper understanding of your value in the marketplace, ramping up your job search, and enabling you to negotiate prime compensation.

"Everything can be taken from a man but . . . the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."—Victor Frankl


  • New Trends in Sources of Hire
    		•
    Trends

    CareerXroads 7th Annual Source of Hire Study reveals interesting and important trends in how companies hire talent. The findings have important implications for job seekers in where to concentrate their job search efforts.

    For greater understanding of the study's results, 49 firms in the technology, manufacturing, retail, transportation, finance, and pharmaceutical industries completed the survey. Collectively, those firms had 1,010,000 employees, and they filled 303,000 openings in 2007. Excluded from the study were SOH data for contract, part-time, or contingent hires because few firms track them. The authors urged staffing leaders to strongly consider this category of employee because temp-to-perm is increasingly becoming a source of hire for full-time employees.

    Overview of findings

    Internal transfers and promotions constituted the largest SOH (30.0%). For 15 firms, the percentage reached nearly 50%. The most competitive companies seek to "fill 40-50% of their core openings through internal movement" because this practice illustrates the success of employee development and ensures strong retention for top performers.

    For external hires, referrals from employees, alumni, and vendors topped the list for largest SOH (28.7%), making it the number one external SOH. Of that figure, employee referrals comprised 80-90% of external hires. The authors noted that companies do not exploit this practice as well as they could, given that "every third referral turns into a hire," making it the most efficient external SOH. For candidates, the probability of getting hired by making contact with company insiders and getting referred is huge.

    Job boards, including the company's career site, accounted for 25.7% of external hires, but that figure is down from 33.0% in 2006. Some companies have eliminated their website as a source, believing that their website should be a "destination not a source." The problem is that 54.4% of external hires were attributed to the company website. While Monster constituted 19.7% of external hires, the authors noted that this figure would be lower had they included firms without contracts with the big job boards.

    Another important trend was the rise in direct sourcing and a reduction in agency hires. Direct sourcing methods were mining internal databases (45.5%), mining external databases (36.4%), and research, cold calling, and so forth (49.1%). More companies than ever before are developing sourcing teams that support recruiting efforts. The authors believe that the use of closed social networks (i.e., closed except to professional society or college alumni members) is poised to explode over the next 18 months.

    For diversity hiring, affinity groups, employee referrals, and dedicated recruiters are recommended as the best means for attracting diversity candidates.
    Click for more details
  • Fast Facts
    		•
    credit

    Credit Checks: More than 42% of employers in 2006 conducted credit checks on potential new hires, according to a recent Forbes article. Why? Because many employers feel that a job seeker's credit history reveals important information about his or her character. Jo Bennett, a partner in Battalia Winston International, an executive search firm, said "if you handle your money responsibly that's a good indication that you'll handle other things responsibly." Employers are concerned about the potential for embezzlement and other forms of risky behavior that might result if an employee is heavily in debt and feels desperate. However, employers must gain permission from a candidate to conduct a credit check before doing so. Best advice for job seekers is to be proactive and bring up the issue before the employer does the background check. Explain what happened and what you're doing to reduce your debt. (Source: Forbes.com, March 2008)

    Tech Support Salaries: The Association of Support Professionals just released results from its annual technical support salary survey. Of the 148 participating organizations, salaries in five of the seven job categories had double-digit gains in 2007. The other two groups saw pay increases of 8% to 9%. The survey tracks pay for senior support executives, department managers, analyst/project managers, senior support technicians, field support technicians, support technicians, and customer service reps. Trends driving these gains include lower employee turnover, a tight employment market, and pressure from customers for higher quality support. (Source: CRMToday, March 20, 2008)

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