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Written By: Alex Goldfarb

Successful internships are a win-win endeavor for both a driven student and a company.  The student is gaining valuable insight into the working world, their major or area of expertise, and a possible future job, where a company is getting to see first-hand how a potential candidate performs and integrates to the workplace culture—hopefully keeping them on the radar for future employment.  There are many horror stories about internships going wrong, but with a few helpful hints for the intern and the employer, your summer internship is a sure success!

For the intern:

• Dress for success: Even if the company is casual, it’s better to come a bit over dressed rather than sloppy on your first day. Try nice pants and a blouse or button up for a safe choice.
• Be aware of company goals and culture: What does the company sell? Who is the owner? Who is the CEO? Even if your position is temporary, and you never come into contact with the owners, it helps to have done your research on the organization you’re working with.
• Be outgoing: By no means should you discuss your wicked hangover with coworkers, however learning a bit about their family and social lives will break the ice and impress coworkers—making the job space enjoyable and allowing you to build future personal connections.
• Ask questions and take guidance: If a boss or coworker gives you advice, TAKE IT! They are definitely giving it for a reason. Also, if you don’t understand something, asking is the best way to learn and get better at your job.
• Challenge yourself: You want to show that you can accept and complete a challenge. Your first internship should be an opportunity to step out of your comfort zone to discover your strengths and weaknesses.

For the employer:

• Make a list of things to be done: Your interns often have no idea what to expect. Having a checklist or some sort of structure will enable them to create goals and monitor their progress during the internship period.
• Provide feedback and give opportunity for questions: Make your interns feel comfortable and able to ask questions if they are having trouble. It is clear that you are in power, but making the temporary employee feel at home ensures a better chance that they will want to return in the future.
• Prepare your other employees: Especially if your interns are volunteering their time, a mentor is top priority in order to create successful internships. Before interns start, discuss goals and expectations with the current employees that will guide them in the right direction.
• Understand what the intern wants: Does your intern intend to someday work for your company full time, or merely want another bullet point on their resume? Are they in it for the money or the experience, or both?  Knowing these things beforehand ensures that you and your interns are on the same page before the season begins.

By considering these simple tips, companies and students will greatly benefit from internships.  Go out there this intern season prepared and ready to act with dignity and step out a bit of your comfort zone.  Best of luck to all interns this summer!

Written By: Nolan Pereless

A potential employee steps into the hiring manager’s office and feels confident in their chances to earn the position they had applied for. They have been practicing the interview process and developing potential questions in which they will be able to answer to feel self- assured. However, the first thing that the applicant meets in the office is the hiring manager with his computer screen portraying their Facebook, Twitter or Instagram account. The potential employee realizes that he had forgot one step in the process, which is depicting their personal life in a respective manner. For many companies this could be considered the make it or break it for obtaining a job with them, however many people still don’t understand why it is such a big deal.

Through the hiring process, with the use of an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) the company is able to see the candidates information. They can access their education, previous jobs and any accomplishments or skills that they believe will help enhance the company. However, the candidate is never asked or required to post their social media accounts, and applicants undermine a thorough check of their accounts as well. Let’s just say that a couple nights ago, this person was out drinking and some pictures were taken of the night and tagged to their Facebook account. Some of these pictures that were taken could be considered difficult or unpleasant for other users. The same goes for the company as well. A picture that could be totally harmless to the people in the company, could harmfully affect their business in the long run. Not only does the candidate’s reputation diminish, but so does the company’s. So make an effort to check your account before the interview process, defeating any chances of being questioned about the events you have had in the past.

Besides the fact that it could potentially destroy the company, there are many positives to researching your candidate before extracting them. The first is developing a sense of where they are in the recruiting process. If they had been called in for the initial interview and are awaiting further instructions, a search through the candidate’s social media profile will determine whether or not to they are qualified. The second positive aspect to this is singling out future problems. Someone may fill out an application, provide credentials and upload a resume, but a background check of a candidate’s social media account will develop whether or not the company should continue the hiring process. Next, it is a good first way of getting to know their future employees. By searching through their social media accounts, they will come across similar interests and experiences that will help set the mood for the interview making the candidate more comfortable and open. Finally, social media is a good way to keep up with existing employees. Similar to the hiring process a company’s reputation could be hurt through the personal lives of current employees. Not only will they have the chance to talk to their employees about specific posts, but will help make it easier to fire anyone who could be a potential threat as well.

To get this straight, LinkedIn does not define itself as social media. It is a social networking site that is designed for the working community. In someone’s LinkedIn profile, they will hold their resume compiled full of their past experiences and accomplishments, along with a short biography defining the person they believe themselves to be. The hiring manager may take a look at your LinkedIn and approve of it, however that is not the only thing they are checking. Other social media sites with an applicant’s name on it will show the real person they are and will determine whether or not they are cut out for a position in the company. People need to stop worrying about whether or not their LinkedIn accounts are up to date and start worrying about the past that they have created through their social media accounts.

Social Media is an amazing way to begin the hiring process and an easier way of identifying the true nature behind some of these applicants. We see it most useful when deciding where to place each applicant while going through the hiring process. This includes whether or not they are suitable to be given the job, set up for an interview, or being considered unqualified. It also will determine whether or not they should be given the initial interview in the first place. Do not let your social media become your life. There is no need to post every minute on your Facebook and Twitter, or every picture that you take to Instagram. Instead, post pictures that depict you as a hard worker. Someone who is willing to go out of their way to help the world and make it a better place. Always make sure to keep a respectful and well kept account because you never know who is looking.

Most of our days are spent being reactive. Whether it’s our phone ringing, our email pinging, or a glass falling and shattering to the floor, we immediately react and respond once it happens. When it comes to candidates applying for our open job positions, we do the same: react and vet their qualifications. While we cannot predict when we’ll receive a phone call or an email, we can become proactive when it comes to sourcing candidates for open jobs.

In today’s job market, the process of seeking new employees is primarily the same for all companies: A new job opportunity is posted on social media, job boards, or a company’s website while a Human Resource professional watches and waits for new candidate resumes to flow through their Applicant Tracking System or their email inbox. They wait to react to this influx of data to read through and dissect it searching for the perfect candidate for their open positions. Basically once the job is posted everything else that follows suit is reactive until hiring takes place.

In comes our superpower, “seeing into the future!” While we cannot literally determine the future, we can provide the tools that allow us all of the “superpower” ability to be proactive with our recruiting efforts. Meet Pro-Link by Pereless Systems. Perhaps there’s an upcoming project on the horizon that will require hiring new employees, or your company goes through seasonal attrition and you need to fill some positions, or there’s a top priority of building a pool of qualified candidates for future recruitment–whatever the case may be–Pro-Link is the key to being proactive. This tool will aide in actively seeking out and building a database of qualified passive candidates that are a perfect fit for your company’s open positions. Some of these candidates might be employed at companies just like yours, (we can discover this from viewing their public social media profiles). With Pro-Link, you can now capture and store their information, start conversations with them, and attract them to your organization’s future job opportunities–all while tracking your activity and efforts.

If I could choose, I wouldn’t drop a glass on the floor, get into a car accident, or fall down the stairs, but unfortunately I can’t see into the future to know these things will happen. When it comes to recruiting, I do choose to put my superpower to use, and become proactive with my processes. Even if I am not hiring someone today, I know that soon I might need to, so I can become proactive in my efforts by building my own talent pool of qualified candidates to seek out when the time comes. It’s that simple, and with Pro-Link I am a superhero!

So…… what’s your superpower?

Use your Proactive superpower with CRM from Pereless Today!

Finding the Right Person

To have a successful company, you need to have successful people. Recruiting successful people can be very difficult, however we can simplify this task. The process should be short, sweet and right to the point. If the hiring manager tackles it the right way, then finding your future employees shouldn’t be so difficult. There are multiple different fields you can tackle to make sure the recruiting process is run efficiently.

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It’s about that time of the year, co-workers are starting to sniffle and cough and it seems like more and more people are getting sick. Though it seems admirable and shows an employee’s commitment to their company to still come to work sick, there has been a movement taking off insisting and encouraging employees to stay home! That’s right, stay home, as in don’t come in to work.A recent study has found that employees going to work, while sick, costs the US Economy almost $160 Billion in lost productivity. That is a big number to digest, but think about it, how effective are you when you are sick? Sure there are some people who still perform well while sick, like Michael Jordan during his famous “Flu-Game” for all those basketball fans out there, but the fact is we are not Michael Jordan. When you come to work while sick, you are reallocating time you would’ve spent resting and getting better to trying to stay productive at work. This reallocation of time undoubtedly prolongs the time the employee remains sick thus effecting the employees’ productivity and effectiveness over that time. Wouldn’t it be better to sacrifice a day or two of productivity rather than having a week or two span of inefficiency?

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Indeed has a clear mission: They help people get jobs. They are driven to maintain the best search experience possible for the millions of job seekers who use their site. Their approach stresses simplicity, relevance and above all, a laser focus on what is best for the job seeker. As a result, millions of job seekers make Indeed their search tool of choice and Indeed is the #1 source of external hire for employers.

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It’s no secret that more and more candidates are applying to jobs on the go. There has been a significant rise in the number of mobile applicants; though the numbers vary based on industry, the general consensus is the same. What does this mean for companies? Well it’s rather simple my dear Watson, it’s time to upgrade your recruiting process! You need to make sure your application and career pages are all mobile and responsive, this means that it can be viewed and easily navigated by applicants on their various mobile devices, whether it be a phone or tablet. A mobile and responsive career page and application process makes it easy to expand your reach to potential candidates.

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If you are looking for a job, or even work in the HR department of a company, there is a good chance you have heard of Indeed. Indeed is a job board that is growing in popularity exponentially! More and more candidates are going on Indeed to find their next job; according to Indeed, 180 million (that’s right MILLION) people use Indeed every month and 72% being their search on Indeed. Those are staggering numbers that should stand out to anyone working in HR and are looking to maximize their exposure for job openings. After all, don’t you want to maximize the exposure of your jobs? It is the best way to attract more (Qualified) candidates for your open position.

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