HR Insights

Benefits to Using a Staffing Agency

Tiffany Moore

August 23, 2017

According to a recent infographic released by American Staffing Association, staffing agencies are among the top 5 job search resources. Surprised? We aren’t. Here’s why:

Options, options and more options. We focus on finding temporary employees, employees that begin as temps then can be hired on full time or employees for direct hire. So you can decide what option is right for your open position. Whatever you choose, we’ve got options.
Take your pick. You tell us what you need and then we deliver a selection of candidates for you to choose from.
Save time. According to the most recent benchmarking study from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the average time it takes to fill a position is 42 days. Our goal is to provide you with resumes for review within 24 hours. That’s 98% faster than average!
Deep bench. We have a deep network to find folks for your position fast. Every day our trained recruiters are actively interviewing candidates. They get to know their technical skills, but also those important soft skills that you didn’t even know you were looking for.
Listen Up. We listen to what you need to understand what type of employee would be a good fit. Then we head to our aforementioned bench to find you top talent.

You deserve strategic staffing solutions, not some one-size-fits-all quick fix. We’re known in Indy for our personal, authentic approach to staffing that delivers long-term results. Reach out today and I’ll show you.

Job Advice

Tips to Be a Rock Star Candidate

July 17, 2017

We’re in the people business. We’ve been finding the right people for the right jobs for nearly 20 years. We LOVE working with our candidates. How can you be a rock star candidate? When you come in to meet with us, take heed of these simple steps:

Be honest. Let us know your expertise and your expectations so we can match you with the perfect placment
Polish your resume. Make sure you’ve got a current resume uploaded to our site. Don’t have one handy? Use our resume template to create one.
Update your LinkedIn profile. Daily, 45 million profiles on average are viewed on LinkedIn. Will yours stand out? Make sure it’s up-to-date and puts your best foot forward.
Be patient. Even if we don’t have an opening right now that’s a match for your skills, our phone is always ringing with new opportunities.

Now, you’ve met with a recruiter and you have been placed in your first assignment. We are just as excited as you are. So, what can you do to continue to be a rock star? Don’t worry, we’ve got a plan for that too.

Share feedback. We love to hear feedback. Feedback is important and helps us for future placements with companies and type of position.
Be resourceful. Don’t understand something that is going on? Utilize different resources to find the answer. Ask a fellow coworker in the same situation, reach out to your recruiter or try a quick Google search.
Keep in touch. Keep us updated if anything changes with you. Don’t be shy about checking in with your recruiter if your status changes. Send a quick email or call once a month so we know what’s happening with you.

Whether we’ve already met or you’re a rock star waiting in the wings, we will work to get you the right position at the right time. After all, we’re in the people business. Check out our latest job opportunities online.

HR Insights

Interview Questions: What Not to Ask

Amber Crosby

June 28, 2017

Interviews are a great tool to discover candidates’ backgrounds, qualities, personality traits, and even hang-ups. But with a long list of off-putting—and possibly even unethical or illegal—questions, handling an interview wisely can feel like tip-toeing through a minefield. Not to worry, we’ve got you covered.

So, what can you ask and what’s strictly off limits? As a general rule, you want to avoid personal questions. These include direct questions about age, religion, gender, country of origin, disabilities, marital or financial status, and childcare arrangements.

You’re likely already astute enough to steer clear of blatantly inappropriate questions. However, sometimes these topics may be relevant to the role being filled. For example, your job may require a employee to be on-call after hours, and your candidate is a single mom. You shouldn’t directly ask if she has childcare in place, but you can describe the on-call hours needed and inquire if this work schedule would be doable. Best practice: stick to questions about the job itself and not about specific personal details.

Examples of Questions to Avoid

How old are you?
Where do you go to church?
Do you have a history of mental illness?
Are you married or single?
How many sick days did you take last year?
Do you plan on having kids soon or are your pregnant?
How’s your credit?

Examples of Acceptable Questions to Ask

Are you over 18?
This position includes duties after 5 p.m. Are you available to work evenings when needed?
What languages are you fluent in?
Are you eligible to work in the United States?
What are your career goals?
Can you lift items that could weigh up to 50 pounds?

Sometimes a candidate volunteers personal information, and while you can’t prevent it, it’s best not to jot it down. Ultimately that information cannot legally be used when making your hiring decision.

To stay on track during the interview, make a list of questions ahead of time. Not only will you be better prepared, but it’ll also help avoid any accidental slips with inappropriate or unethical questions. Or better yet, call us. At That’s Good HR, we’re experts at asking the right questions and finding you the right candidate. Let’s chat! Get in touch today.

HR Insights

Hiring a Temp Through That’s Good HR: What to Expect

Tiffany Moore

May 18, 2017

Do you feel overwhelmed about hiring a new employee? Are you too swamped to even think about sorting through resumes or holding interviews? Or maybe you just don’t know where to start. That’s okay; we’re here to help. Let’s walk through what to expect when you work with a staffing firm like That’s Good HR.

For starters, just get in touch. You can reach us through our website, send an email, or just pick up the phone (317-469-4141). You’ll be connected with Tiffany Moore or Mary Springer, who have been working with businesses like you for decades. They’re happy to walk you through the process. No strings attached and no pressure. Just a friendly chat to find out how we can help.

If you have a specific position in mind that you’re hoping to fill, it’s helpful to gather information before you call. Here’s what you should try to nail down:

Placement type (temp, temp-to-hire, or direct hire)
Preferred working days and hours
Targeted start date (and end date, if temporary)
Basic company background
The culture of the company & department
Duties and expectations
Necessary skill sets
Desired experience
Ideal personality
Pay (if it were an in-house employee)
Interview preference (whether you want to be involved or just let us handle it)

Next it’s time for you to take a break. Phew! We’ll wade through all the info you provide, comb through our candidate pool, and get back to you with possible matches (often within a day!). But our work isn’t done yet.

After the initial call, we’ll pay you an in-person visit so we can meet with you personally. It’s a great way to get to know you and your needs better, to answer your questions, and tour your facility or office. This visit also allows us to better describe your workplace and company culture to candidates, making a better match possible.

Finally, we concentrate our efforts on finding the best fit for your position. Once you sign on, our goal is to send you 3 resumes within 24 hours. From there, your feedback lets us know if we’re hitting the mark. Next we schedule interviews, handling all direct communication with the candidate so it’s super easy for you. We spend time with selected candidates, doing face-to-face interviews and getting to know them well. If background checks or assessments are involved, we take care of the time and expense of those, too! Once the right match is chosen, you’re off and running! Even then we continue to handle details and expenses for you like health insurance, holiday pay, payroll taxes (including unemployment), and vacation pay.

Hiring your next employee doesn’t have to be an overwhelming task. Staffing firms like That’s Good HR are here to take the burden of finding the right candidate off your shoulders. One quick call is all you need to get started. Ready to get the ball rolling? Contact us today!

HR Insights

Soft Skills: Hiring the Right Candidate

Tiffany Moore

March 21, 2017

Resumes tell us a lot about job candidates—work experience, education, and training. But more and more, employers are placing a heavier emphasis on soft skills when hiring workers. So what exactly are soft skills and why should you look for them when hiring?

Soft skills are a set of personal qualities that equip someone to interact well with others and perform well on the job. These often overlooked abilities can have a huge impact on your business. Some examples include:

Communication skills
Self-motivation
Leadership qualities
Teamwork capacity
Creative problem-solving
Time management
Resilience
Adaptiveness to change

While education and job experience are key components to filling a role, soft skills may surprisingly be even more significant. In fact, this career builder survey says 62% of employers consider these qualities as super important. Here’s why:

Soft skills are a good predictor of future success.
According to a study out of Harvard University, the Carnegie Foundation and the Stanford Research Center, 85% of job success comes from a developed set of soft skills. That means education and job experience are not as important as having an ability to relate to others, good time management, and resiliency.

Soft skills are a valuable resource at your company.
New research from the University of Michigan says training in skills such as communication, time management, problem-solving, and decision-making boosts productivity. When you hire people who can manage stress, communicate, and adapt to change, your company is more efficient—tasks are completed on time and employees can handle more responsibility. Also, your pool of leaders to be groomed for advanced roles will be bigger and better.

Soft skills give your company a competitive edge.
Hard skills—education, work experience, and technical training—are great, but they’re fairly easy to come by. However, finding someone gifted at learning to relate to others, manage projects, and develop leadership qualities can be much harder. But snagging these candidates means hiring a powerful group of employees who can take your company to new heights.

Employees with soft skills give your company a leg up, but the hard truth is these candidates can be hard to find. Don’t rule out people who may possess soft skills not outlined in a resume. Make use of the interview process to evaluate your candidate’s abilities in these key areas. As you talk, keep in mind the most qualified candidate on paper may lack the necessary interpersonal skills to be successful. And if necessary, consider a lesser qualified applicant if they exhibits well-developed soft skills. Once you know what to look for, you’ll be more likely to secure a well-rounded employee with the right mix of skills and talents.

HR Insights

Interview and Resume Red Flags

Tiffany Moore

February 11, 2017

Hiring new employees is never an easy task. Sifting through dozens—or even hundreds—of resumes and interviewing candidates can feel daunting and draining. But discerning who the right candidate is for your position doesn’t have to feel impossible. Next time you’re hiring, look for these resume and interview warning signs to narrow the pool and find your ideal employee faster.

Resume Red Flags

Multiple Career/Industry Changes: Many people change careers over their lifetime, but multiple career hops over a short period of time may be a sign your candidate lacks interest or abilities.
Sloppy Resume: Poor grammar or spelling, disorganization, and vague descriptions can be a sign your candidate lacks basic skills, education, and a willingness to put in effort.
Unexplained Gaps: While some employment gaps make sense and are unavoidable—illness, education, or staying home to care for children—suspicious employment gaps can convey a lack of motivation or inability to handle responsibility.
Inconsistencies: If information on an applicant’s resume doesn’t align with what they’re telling you verbally or on an application, there might be reason to suspect dishonesty.
Job Hopping: Unless there’s an obvious career trajectory in sight, changing jobs or positions often may indicate a person has trouble getting along with others or lacks competency.

Interview Red Flags

Unprofessional Appearance or Behavior: Wearing inappropriate or very casual clothes are warning signs the applicant doesn’t know the basics in professionalism. Also watch for candidates who don’t make eye contact or conduct themselves with good business basics like proper posture and handshakes.
Being Unprepared: Showing up without requested resumes, references, or copies of applicable documents (or even simply pen and paper) conveys an indifferent attitude. You want to know that candidates are responsible and taking the job opportunity seriously.
Talking Poorly About Others: A candidate who trash talks his/her old co-workers or bosses could be indicative of an office troublemaker or heavy gossiper. Negative work encounters and relationships happen, but you don’t want a candidate who dwells on these things or spreads malicious stories around.
Vague responses: If your applicant can’t give concrete examples of their work performance, they may have overinflated previous job roles or abilities on their resume. Look for solid, concrete, relevant details in answers to your questions.
Not asking questions: While questions regarding pay and other benefits at the first interview are sometimes considered taboo, a candidate who asks no questions at all may reveal an inability for deep thinking, low self-confidence, or a lack of interest in the job.

Still unsure about hiring the right person for your company? Working with a staffing firm is a great way to hand off hiring responsibilities to HR professionals. At That’s Good HR, we tackle the intensive hiring tasks like sifting through resumes, narrowing applicants, interviewing, and onboarding. Ready to find your next great employee? Contact us now.

Staffing

5 Tech Must-Haves for Recruiting in 2017

Amber Crosby

January 16, 2017

Today’s digital world has changed the landscape of job recruitment forever. Business News Daily writer Nicole Fallon Taylor highlights just some of the ways the digital shift has impacted recruiting—such as swapping out paper resumes, walk-in applications, and newspaper ads for an all-digital job searching, application, and hiring experience. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Successful companies looking to hire top talent must leverage new digital strategies to find and attract new candidates to their businesses. Don’t get lost in the dust–stay current in the competitive job market with these five tech tactics for recruiting your next hire.

1. Social Media for Passive Recruitment

A recent Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey says 84% of companies are using social media to search for passive candidates—those not actively seeking employment. That’s a nearly 30% increase from 2011, a clear sign social media has become a hot tool to find and woo candidates. Using social media like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to find talented individuals allows companies to gather information on work experience, education, organizational affiliations, and social characteristics on prospects. It’s especially useful for filling specialized or niche positions where companies can focus in on individuals possessing very specific or hard-to-find qualities or backgrounds. Companies are also using social media to advertise openings to select audiences. Businesses can handpick specific prospect groups to target and create very tailored, enticing messages in the ads. Users who click through the ads can be sent to custom landing pages to find more information.

2. Mobile-Friendly (now a non-negotiable)

Today’s job seekers are digitally-savvy and very likely using mobile devices instead of a desktop computer to hunt for jobs. This shift in technology use demands that businesses change the way they recruit to stay competitive. According to SHRM, two-thirds of businesses are responding by pursuing mobile-friendly platforms. Websites, job postings, and even the application process should be accessible (and user-friendly) from a smartphone. Check out our new and improved job postings as an example.

3. Job Boards

Even with today’s focus on social media, job boards—like Careerbuilder.com, LinkedIn, and Indeed.com—still play an important role in recruiting job seekers. Job boards make it easy to post career openings and many allow candidates to upload resumes into a searchable database.

4. Updated Website

The world moves fast—especially in business. Just like the latest computer or smartphone becomes old news quickly, a company’s website can become stale after a few short years. Today’s job seekers “shop” for companies online like they shop for material goods, so it’s critical to put your best foot forward online. Updated website design, savvy photography of your team and space, and digestible content will attract job candidates and invite them into the culture of your company. List job openings directly on your site, and make it possible for talented individuals to submit their resume easily, even if there’s not an open position for them.

5. Easy Application Process

Posting jobs on your website is a great way to advertise openings. But don’t lose out on hiring the right person due to an outdated, confusing, or complicated application process. Job seekers appreciate an easy, online experience that takes little to no time. If they get bored, confused, or frustrated, you’re likely to lose them quickly to a competitor. It’s also critical that someone on your team is monitoring any application submissions or communications from potential employees daily. Don’t let your next rockstar employee slip through the cracks by missing or delaying a response to their inquiry.

The truth is job recruitment will always be one of the biggest challenges in business. Finding top talent in a sea of social media and job board applicants can be tough, requiring lots of time and effort. If you’re discouraged or ready for a hand, let us help. We’re experts at finding skilled and talented people for jobs that fit them well. Want to learn more? Reach out to our experienced team members, Mary Springer (mary.springer@thatsgoodhr.com) or Tiffany Moore (tiffany.moore@thatsgoodhr.com), or call us at 317.469.4141.

Job Advice

2017 Hot Job and Employment Trends

Tiffany Moore

January 8, 2017

Looking for a new job? Changing career paths? Landing a new job or switching careers can be a little scary, especially when we talk job security. Nothing can be more worrisome than wondering if your position or industry will still be around in the future. One way to play it smart is to check out labor data at the Bureau of Labor Statistics—a nifty website dedicated to all things employment. You can even assess a job’s potential security in the BLS’s Employment Projections area, which tell if jobs are likely to grow, shrink, or stay the same in the years ahead. We combed through it for you and made a list of growing industries and jobs for 2017.

Healthcare

Due to the increasing population of older Americans, the healthcare industry tops our list of in-demand jobs. Careers range from highly specialized and technical to those requiring high school diplomas with short on-the-job training.

Medical Secretaries
10-year job growth: 20.5%
Median salary: $33,040
Typical education requirement: High school diploma/GED
Medical Records and Health Informatics
10-year job growth: 15.4% increase
Median salary: 37,110
Typical education requirement: Post secondary certificate
Home Health Aides
10-year job growth: 38.1%
Median salary: $21,920
Typical education requirement: High school diploma/GED
Nurse Practitioner
10-year job growth: 35.2% increase
Median salary $98,190
Typical education requirement: Master’s degree
Ultrasound Technologist
10-year job growth: 26.4% increase
Median salary: $68,970
Typical education requirement: Associate’s degree
Registered Nurse
10-year job growth: 16% increase
Median salary: $67,490
Typical education requirement: Bachelor’s degree

Technology

It’s no surprise technology careers are in high demand. Our world is exploding with digital advances, changing the landscape of businesses everywhere that need an educated workforce to meet the industry’s ever-changing demands.

Database Administrators
10-year job growth: 11.1% increase
Median salary: $81,700
Typical education requirement: Bachelor’s degree
Computer Systems Analyst
10-year job growth: 20.9% increase
Median salary: $85,800
Typical education requirement: Bachelor’s degree
Computer and Information Systems Managers
10-year job growth: 15.4%
Median salary: $131,600
Typical education requirement: Bachelor’s degree
Information Security Analyst
10-year job growth: 17.9%
Median salary: $90,120
Typical education requirement: Bachelor’s degree

Human Resources

This category hits a sweet spot with us at That’s Good HR—it’s our specialty! And it can be your specialty, too, as careers in HR continue to grow. The latest trend blends computer and information systems needs within HR settings.

HR managers
10-year job growth: 8.8% increase
Median salary: $104,440
Typical education requirement: Bachelor’s degree

Accounting/Finance

Now is a great time to open doors into the world of accounting. Businesses rely on detail-oriented personnel to keep track of finances, billing, accounts receivable, and analytics, just to name a few.

Accountant
10-year job growth: 10.7% increase
Median salary: $67,190
Typical education requirement: Bachelor’s degree
Billing and Posting Clerk
10-year job growth: 12.9% increase
Median salary: $35,050
Typical education requirement: High school diploma/GED

2017 is looking like a great year for job seekers! Are you on the lookout for the perfect position? You’ve come to the right place. We specialize in matching the right people to the right job. You can search our open jobs right now or contact us to begin the journey of finding the career you’ve been hoping for.