How International Headhunters Can Open Up New Markets

How International Headhunters Can Open Up New Markets The essence of any headhunting project is to take on a challenging assignment and find difficult to locate people. If it was easy the client would be able to source perfect candidates without outside assistance. Often Headhunters are brought in to locate specific individuals to open up new markets or territories abroad. In some cases organisations sell on a small scale to a new International client abroad and they realise that there is huge potential if only they had local presence. Alternatively it may be that you are noticing a spike in demand from a new region or you have adapted a solution that’s perfect for a certain location. Perhaps it’s part of your global sales strategy to broaden your horizons and look outside of your domestic market. Whatever the reason for your international expansion a good International Headhunter will add immeasurable value and guidance to your growth plans. By retaining an International Headhunter to find a seasoned expert who is a local to your target market you can achieve so much and ensure a positive outcome in quick time. Hiring someone you already know may not always be the best solution because you have no means of comparison and the relationship may come with strings attached. Engaging in a professional search assignment can bring people to the table that you would not normally have access to, especially if they are already working for the competition. International Headhunters can open up a whole new world in so many ways.   Firstly entering into an executive hiring process gives you a window to the market. You will be interviewing a cross section of the region’s best people who can tell you about their experiences, client relationships and successful projects. As part of the later stages of the interview format you could ask candidates to create a Business Development strategy to enter this new market based on their local knowledge and understanding of the region. They should already be familiar with the right contacts within your client base, have a network or channel in place and also know the language, cultural style and approach necessary to win business. This of course will be evident by the success they have already achieved and the key relationships they can demonstrate. The best candidates will be local experts who are likely to be nationals of the country and will know how to set up a legal entity and which suppliers and advisors can be trusted. They will have the necessary access to a local infrastructure and inroads to the clients you need. Also they may be aware of funding, grants, trade agreements and with the help of high profile contacts â€" they can make things happen.  Good Headhunters will be able to identify and attract these executives in International markets as long as you can create an interesting enough proposition. Why should a high flier risk their current comfortable position? Well great candidates love a new challenge and many won’t be able to resist the chance to develop a start-up office in their market. They are motivated by the opportunity to bring something new to their network and they will want the prestige of creating a success and having the chance to perhaps hire a team. Your challenge should be selecting one of the fantastic shortlisted experts to help grow your business internationally.   Author: Ed Robertson is a seasoned Marketing Manager writing about a range of topics covering executive search, employment and education. MSC Headhunters is a retained executive search firm serving corporations around the world.

Virtual Reality in Assessment Centres

Virtual Reality in Assessment Centres VR (Virtual Reality) has been adopted by at least one graduate recruiter (1), so it will be interesting to watch whether this will be an increasing trend in the future. This post looks at why recruiters are interested in using VR, provides insight from Warwick careers staff on their experience of VR and considers whether it is possible to prepare for this type of assessment. Why are recruiters interested in using VR? Some of my colleagues and myself were recently invited to gain some first-hand experience of a typical VR assessment process by Capp. Capp’s research shows that individuals are very likely to have the same reactions towards situations they encounter in VR as they would do in real life. By assessing strengths and performance in a virtual world, recruiters now have a way to be more certain about whether individuals will be able to demonstrate required strengths for a role if they are hired. What does a VR assessment task involve? The first step in using a VR headset is headset calibration. This involves measuring the distance between your pupils to ensure that the VR world is viewed correctly. (The distance between my pupils is apparently pretty average!) The headset is connected to the technical set up by a lead and I was told to be very careful I didn’t trip over ‘my tail’.  I felt like I was being dressed to take part in an episode of Dr Who, as you will be able to see from this photo of my colleague James Goodwin undergoing his VR experience! My instructor put me at ease as he talked me through what I was seeing through my headset and explained how to use two hand-held controls to pick up and move objects. Although I’m not someone who plays computer games, I was able to pick up how the motion controls worked fairly quickly. I was led through different scenarios where I was expected to complete various tasks. I really enjoyed some of the tasks and realised afterwards that these were the ones which played to my strengths. I can’t say more than this about the nature of the tasks I’m afraid (I’ve been sworn to secrecy) but they felt very realistic. It took me a good thirty minutes to adjust back to my environment once the headset was off and I felt a distinct floating sensation when walking back down the corridor to the waiting area. Here’s a further reaction by my colleague Anne Wilson on her VR experience. Even though the rational part of me was saying ‘this isn’t real I’m wearing a headset’ the actual experience feels so real it’s impossible not to find yourself immersed in it and responding as it if it is real! (Anne Wilson, Head of Careers) Can you prepare for a VR assessment? I’m showing my age now but one of the tasks I faced in VR reminded me of a challenge from the 1980’s show ‘The Adventure Game’. Even though I knew that I was in a room at Warwick and not really in a Crystal Maze style situation in real life, I couldn’t make myself complete this task. This really shocked me, as before I put the headset on I kept telling myself that I would be fine, as it was just a game and not real! I felt a bit better when I was told that many others had reacted in the same way to this task and decided that it was a probably for the best that I hadn’t accomplished the task as there was very little likelihood of me rising to the challenge of doing it in real life. It’s my opinion that you shouldn’t try to overthink VR assessments and should approach tasks in an authentic way. If you react in way which isn’t being true to yourself, you may well find that you are placed in a role which doesn’t play to your strengths. VR â€" some final thoughts I’ve tried to give you a flavour of VR activities you may encounter and reactions you may have to doing this type of assessment.  At the moment the VR experience we had with Capp focused on assessing individual strengths.  However, with advances in augmented reality, who knows what the future holds and whether recruiters will work with organisations like Capp to develop ways of assessing team work skills using VR too? (1)  Your next interview could be in VR: Lloyds trials virtual tests for candidates With many thanks to Capp.

Work Life Balance Are You Balancing Your Way to a Breakdown

Work Life Balance Are You Balancing Your Way to a Breakdown Feeling overwhelmed?   Isabella York is a dedicated working mother and knows a lot about balance. She works for Balsam Hill, a purveyor of Artificial Christmas Trees in traditional and modern styles. She is here today to help us learn how to balance our  life, work and family  without having a breakdown.   Most women pride themselves for being excellent multi-taskers and for good reason. It takes tremendous skill to balance your career, love life, family life, and social life. While there are the lucky few who seem to be born with superb acrobatic skills sauntering on the tightropes of life in high heels theres the rest of us who stumble, even in our comfiest flats. We look around at the other women who seem to have it all. We tell ourselves Thats what I want!   Fueled by the idea that we can have everything, we set off to fulfill our dreams. That is, until one day, we realize that theres still something missing.  To avoid experiencing another bout of self-pity, here are the top four signs that youre balancing your way to a breakdown. Despite your best efforts, you still feel like youve accomplished little in life.   Remember how, when you were a kid, you had so many big dreams? One day you wanted to be a ballerina, the next day, an astronaut. Now, that type of idealism or self-belief can be a beautiful thing but only if you can balance it with a realistic outlook. Yes, you can accomplish a lot of great things. But bear in mind that when you have too much on your plate, somethings gotta give. When you decide, for example, to get a six-figure job that requires 80-hour work weeks, you cant expect to have enough time to go to all of your kids little league games and PTAs. Youre becoming forgetful. For some reason, you cant remember the date without a calendar or your PDA to help you out. You remember your bosss birthday but always seem to forget your wedding anniversary. Or you remembered to pack your kids lunch but forgot that you were supposed to head the annual business review for your company. You cant shake off your grass is always greener mentality. Youre never really happy with where you are. Every company and boss that you work for has issues. Career-wise, youre lagging behind your friends. These are all hallmarks of a Grass is Always Greener mentality. Dissatisfaction is the resulting emotion behind this mindset; and instead of encouraging you to perform better or to do something to improve your lot, this mentality promotes indecision. Should you feel that your thoughts are snowballing towards self-doubt or self-pity, stop. This mentality will only derail you from discovering the right balance in your life. Youre just going through the motions of your daily routine. This last sign is short, sweet, and straightforward. When life becomes an empty routine and you start asking yourself Is this it?, chances are, youve spent too much time juggling life and  not enough time  appreciating it. Once this realization sinks in, take the time to reevaluate the balancing act that youve been doing. Perhaps in trying to accomplish too many things at once, youve lost sight of whats truly important your happiness. Personally, I dont think its possible to have everything that you want. But take it from Mick Jagger, we may not always get what we want, but most of the time, we do get what we need. So stop yourself short of a breakdown by learning to appreciate what you have and to accept that you cant have it all. How do you know when you have too much on your plate? (Photo by Flickr.com  lululemon athletica)

Work is a safe haven

Work is a safe haven Our cat has been peeing on everything. He especially likes the our bed sheets and my younger sons shirts. Finally we took the cat to the vet and it turns out he had crystals in his bladder. Im not going into the chemistry lesson of acid and base and crystals. Mostly because I couldnt follow the vets explanation, but the bottom line was that we had to do medicine for three days and then special food. For a while, the cat was well enough to follow Melissa around the house and cuddle in between the curl of her legs whenever she lay down. The problem is we feed twenty barn cats. And two house cats. Three house cats if you count the outside cat that we cant keep outside. And four if you count the dog, who wont stop eating the cat food. So all the animals were eating the very expensive medical cat food, and before I could figure out what to do, the cat was peeing on everything again. It turns out the cat cannot have any other food. So we would have to have only very expensive cat food, for all the cats, and every time the sick cat got table scraps, wed have to get the crystal medicine again. So we had to decide: Do we kill the cat because we dont want to buy expensive cat food? No. That felt very bad. So we waited a few days to try to figure things out. Then the cat was in huge pain because he couldnt pee. Now I felt I could put him to sleep for being in pain. A more clear cut decision. The vet said if the cat cant pee he needs an operation. We watched him try to pee. He couldnt. We sat the kids down and told them it was time for the cat to die. We said goodbye to the cat. Who, by now, smelled a lot like Id imagine something smells before death. Melissa and I went to the vet while the kids and the Farmer dug a hole in our pet cemetery. (Does every family have one of these?) The vet squashed the cats belly and said, We were able to clear the urinary tract and expel urine. So you just need to treat him with medicine and keep him on the special food. I looked at the cat. He was purring in the vets arms. I looked at Melissa. She was crying. Hes such a good cat, she said. Its true, hes a good cat. But we cant keep him on the special food. And we live in a part of the world where people shoot extra cats for fun they dont adopt old cats with expensive dietary needs. I asked the vet if she thought it was immoral. The vet said, I dont pass judgment. I put the cat to sleep. Was it okay to put the cat to sleep? I dont know. But Ill tell you. Its why I like work so much better than real life. In work things are clear cut. There is a goal, and you can measure which action gets you to the goal fastest. There are laws to tell you what you can do and what you cant do. Heres a site that advertises online MBAs programs. They offered to pay me to link to them. Melissa said, I dont know if you want to. You hate business school. Its true, I do think business school is lame. But so what? This is not an ethical issue. They are paying me. Also, its a great site. They have such a good marketing strategy: They create a great infographic that gives people a reason to link to them, and then they rank high on Google for the words Women in Business, and then they get referral money for getting women to pay for MBA programs. I love this business. (And, based on how creative it is, Im nearly certain that the person who thought of it does not have an MBA.) Sometimes I think I want to be a stay-at-home mom. I want to just be with my kids. Its so nice to be with my kids. But kids and families are filled with difficult questions like, When can you kill your cat? Its so comforting to be able to wake up in the morning and answer the question: Who should I link to today?

Breaking Stereotypes 7 Secrets for Hiring The Best Female Developers

Breaking Stereotypes 7 Secrets for Hiring The Best Female Developers Photo Credit â€" stocksnaps.ioThe problem of gender equality is a very old and important issue of the modern society. It was discussed for many years in the far past. Nowadays, it remains relevant as well.Many people claim that women are suitable for only a wide range of positions and should not take some high posts. Nevertheless, the recent tendency shows the ever-growing potential of the female-workers.Women are very adaptive and may excellently fit any sphere of human activity. The same goes with the business. Many companies hire women for the position of a developer.evalWhy is it profitable to hire women developers? Women are:Detail oriented.More empathetic.Socially developed and sensual.Diverse and innovative.These are only a few true facts about their qualities. In general, the smart and sensitive approaches of the female-workers bring multiple dividends. They have a different view on various matters and see other ways for improvement and promotion. They are very inventive and oftentimes, offer reasonable and effective innovations.They can improve the ties with the customers thanks to their understanding of the requirements of the customers. Some customers wish appropriate conveniences and afterward, they would be willing to buy a product or service. Women can provide that. They don’t have testosterone, which helps them to act cool and confidently.The gender discrimination is out of need at your company if you wish the prosperity of your business. The combination of both genders will have more advantages if trusting the important project to a single gender. Their combination may increase your productivity for many a time.Therefore, you should employ the female-workers as well. How to choose the right female employees? You should follow definite rules. These are:1. Hire slowlyThis is the old, but very effective and proven rule. You should never be hasty. Evaluate all pros and cons. Mind that the A-level developers would suggest the same type of employees because they wish to work with the best.The B-level developers would never suggest someone better or even equal. They would recommend the C-level developers to be better by the comparison.2. Mind experience and skillsevalThe great experience is a good sign. However, you cannot trust it each time. You should testify the abilities of all candidates.3. Put them through a small testYou should be totally confident that the chosen developer can fit your requirements. Put her to a test. The practice will show the real capabilities of your developer.4. Avoid “rock stars”The term “rock star” may be used in different situations. When it comes to the hiring of a developer, you’d better select a good competitive team. You need employees who can collaborate with each other.If you have a “superhero”, she will induce confrontation because she will be wishing to enjoy the best conditions because she is the best in your team. Remember that the best software was developed by a team of specialists and not in a solo project.5. Hire the ones with aptitudeevalThe world of modern technologies changes each day. Therefore, you will need smart workers who will be able to adapt to all the alterations. The best would be to select such developers who would rather learn something new and not tread the old beaten paths.6. Consider the portfolioYou should review the portfolio of the developers you are going to employ. It will tell you whether they can meet your demands. You should understand what a candidate can offer you.7. Ask for their expectationsFinally, it is necessary to identify what the potential employee Ask her about the expected salary, her career ambitions and whether your candidate is willing to improve herself, as well as promote your company.Make allowances for all of these facts. They are essential and they will help you to choose the most effective, trustworthy and suitable candidate for your business.You should never ignore the potential of the female workfo rce. Thus, you will discover new opportunities for your business because you will receive more points of view and new methods for the advancement of your company.

Retail Owners Increase Sales With Sensory Marketing

Retail Owners Increase Sales With Sensory Marketing As a retail  business owner, you likely have a whole range of techniques to employ when it comes to decorating your store. However, many stores especially smaller, independent ones aren’t utilizing the full range of opportunities that are currently available. Making things look nice, tidy and attractive is a step in the right direction, of course. But don’t forget that the vast majority of your customers have five senses not just the ability to see. And according to sensory marketing specialists, you are missing out on effective and proven methods that help you drive footfall, increase sales, and improve your customer’s experience. Let’s take a look at some of the things you might consider. Use of color Color can have a significant impact on the moods of your shoppers, so it’s worth finding out each color’s meaning and decorate your store accordingly. For example, an all-white retail store is often regarded as boring. Pink, on the other hand, is known to provoke feelings of calm perhaps good for your store if you sell health and wellness products. Blue is the color of choice for many businesses that need to promote their honesty, trust and dependability. Engage the ears Music can be a powerful influencer of your customer’s buying decisions, and also the way they see your brand. As long as you have a good idea of your target audience, you can use music and sound in general to appeal to them. For example, if your store sells high-end, luxury goods research suggests that the perfect accompaniment could be classical or soft jazz music. Alternatively, a rock background may help you if you sell computer games and consoles. Scents and smells Sense of smell is another powerful tool at your disposal. You will notice this at the major bakeries and groceries they often pipe the smell of fresh products around the store to make their customers feel hungry. But it’s not just food sellers that can benefit. According to AromaTech, even offices and other workplace environments are given a lift by pleasant-smelling air. Why not experiment with a few different aroma oils and find out which scent works best for your business? Touch According to research, shoppers are more likely to buy something they can pick up, hold and feel. And given this is a retail store’s one differentiator from online ecommerce stores, it’s an area that you should try and take advantage of. But, of course, appealing to your customer’s sense of touch doesn’t necessarily mean you should leave everything out on the shelves or even weaving textures in to your displays. All it means is giving them an option in some way or another especially when it comes to things like jewelry, furniture, and clothing. Are you making the most of the five human senses? If not, you are likely missing out on increased customer awareness, loyalty and sales. It can make a huge difference to your business if you get it right, so consider sensory marketing the next time you refit or redecorate your business.

Resume Writing 101 For Inmates

Resume Writing 101 For InmatesIn order to create a good resume, one must know what is meant by a resume. In an effort to make this article useful to you, I will try my best to answer the question that people ask about the format of the resume.A resume is basically a listing of all your job experience. The resume is an employee application where you present all your accomplishments and abilities in order to secure a particular job. The term resume can be divided into two types: static and dynamic.A static resume is a manual one wherein the applicant writes about the most significant accomplishments he has accomplished in the past. Such resumes are usually prepared with a computer program in order to create a very precise one. Such a resume may include an alphabetic list of achievements followed by an alphabetical list of accomplishments. In the beginning it was usual to write a resume at least six to eight pages, however, nowadays a much shorter version can be used.A dynamic resume is in contrast to a static one. It requires less writing effort and is considered to be a better and more efficient one. However, it does not need a computer to accomplish the task, as long as the applicants can type at least four to six words using the keyboard. The data that must be included in a dynamic resume is the title of the company and the position that need to be filled.While the idea of writing a resume might sound simple, in reality it is a serious job. Inmates who wish to acquire a good job and improve their working conditions have to go through a long process of application, interview and all the other formalities before getting hired. In this process the applicant must be very proficient in the field in which he wishes to apply.They must be well-informed and experienced in the work being carried out in the place where they wish to get employed. The written information must be logical and can be answered easily. For instance, if an applicant writes 'In order to get a bet ter job,' it means that the applicant would like to acquire better employment opportunities. If the applicant feels that he needs to overcome difficulties that might occur in his work, he should mention these on the resume.The resume is used by the employer in order to make an evaluation of the applicant's capacity and ability to get the job. While the employer is satisfied with the resume, he also needs to check the credibility of the applicant in case he fails to get the job. If the employer discovers that the applicant is lying, he will lose the opportunity to get good employees.If one has the qualities for a good job, it is better to start writing a credible and a reliable resume. At this point, it will be a good idea to start seeking employment in the company. Find out how the company functions and then seek information on the financial operations. These details can be gained from the company's board or the secretary.