ELENA CRUZ
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
APA STATEWIDE PA STATEWIDE CONFERENCE
SEPTEMBER 13, 2013
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Agenda
• For job seekers
• Find out where to look
• Make yourself marketable
• Interview prep tips
• The salary discussion
• Networking
• Top positions in accounting and finance
• For employers
• Identifying your workforce needs
• How to find the talent
• Tips on conducting a successful interview
• Improve your hiring process
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So what does this mean for you as an…
Job seeker?
•Learn how to market yourself in today’s economy, from your
resume and social media presence to your networking and
interview skills.
•Educate yourself on where to look for jobs and what to do
once you’ve found the one you want.
Employer?
•Learn how to recruit, retain and inspire your workforce so as to
maintain the highest functioning team for the success of your
business. It’s becoming increasingly important, in these
particular economic times, for employers and those in
leadership roles to understand the how and where potential
employees are looking for jobs.
•It’s important to make sure you nail down the right candidate–
and getting the right fit starts even before the interview, with
you!
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Job seeking? Know where to look.
Between job boards and LinkedIn, finding the perfect employment
can be tough. Make sure to:
•Go through the proper platforms:
• LinkedIn
• Online postings
• CareerBuilder
• Monster
• Indeed
•Talk to a recruiter, they’ll have the most inside information on
job availability.
•Make sure you fit the job description.
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Stay polished
There’s a few things you can do to make sure
you’re seen as hirable in today’s highly
competitive candidate pool…
•Tailor your resume to the position (with the company
in mind)
•Make sure you pass the “Google test”
•Update LinkedIn Profile and reach out to individuals
for recommendations.
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Before an interview
• Do a test run and become familiar with traffic
patterns and delays.
A few questions you should be prepared to
answer:
• What are your short-term and long-term
objectives?
• What do you look for in a job? Why did you choose
to apply here?
• Why should we hire you?
• What is your biggest strength? Weakness?
• What are the most important rewards you expect in
your career?
• How long would you stay with us?
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Before an interview
A few things to remember.:
The prospective employer will make his
or her hiring decision based on these key
factors:
• Attitude and business poise
• Image, presentation and
communication skills
• Experience and skill set
• Education and certifications
• Transferable industry and technical
background
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Do your homework
On the company: Try these sources for information:
• Your recruiter
• The internet
• Periodicals and trade journals
• Annual reports and 10K reports
• Friends and business associates
On the position: Be prepared to ask questions like:
• Who has been successful and why?
• Who has failed and why?
• Who does the position report to?
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Do your homework
On yourself: Review your career history thoroughly.
• Review all dates, positions, responsibilities and
accomplishments.
• Know your strengths and weaknesses.
• Be prepared to cite specific examples of
achievements and how these experiences can
help the company solve some of its problems.
• Concentrate on your most recent positions but
make sure to highlight your progress
throughout your career.
• Reflect on your successes so you can
adequately impart your strengths when given
the chance.
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The salary discussion
•Most companies want to make a fair offer.
•Manage your expectations.
•The position is the single most important element of
your decision.
•Compensation packages are a combination of
salary, bonus, titles and perks. These elements can
be arranged and rearranged — sometimes very
creatively — to satisfy both the individual and the
company.
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The salary discussion
•Keep your recruiter involved. Part of our job is to
handle sensitive negotiations and move both parties
to a fair and acceptable compensation package.
•If you are asked directly what salary you are looking
for, try to avoid quoting a specific figure. It is best not
to name a figure if at all possible. You don’t want to
over-or-under price yourself, so remember to discuss
all relevant salary and benefits issues with your
recruiter
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Close strong
Just as important as making a good first
impression is leaving a lasting positive
impression. If the interviewer has failed to
elicit some important information about
you make that information known before
you leave. Lastly, always find out what the
next steps will be and when they are likely
to occur.
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Follow through by following up
Even after you’ve shaken hands and said
goodbye, the interview process is not over.
•Craft a follow-up letter
- Remind the interviewer about your skills.
- Communicate anything else you forgot to say
-
during your discussion.
A hard copy letter is preferred but an email is
acceptable.
Be as brief as possible– it demonstrates respect
for the interviewer’s time.
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Follow through by following up
- The body of the letter should accomplish four
main objectives:
1. Thanking the interviewer for their time.
2. Reiterating interest and enthusiasm in the
company and position.
3. Highlighting your experiences and
accomplishments.
4. Asking if you can proceed to the next step.
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Follow through by following up
•Sending the follow-up communication:
• Make sure to send the letter as soon as
possible. This allows you to convey a sense
of urgency and a high interest level in the
opportunity. Ideally, your communication
should go out the next day.
• A follow-up letter is more than a courtesy, it
is an imperative.
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Quick interview tips
On the day of, remember to:
-
Arrive early.
Fill out all applications neatly and completely.
Bring several copies of your resume.
Be enthusiastic about the position and the company.
Ask specific questions.
Do not discuss salary or benefit packages.
Sell your attitude during the interview.
Practice makes perfect.
Organize your answers.
Do not answer questions with a simple “yes” or “no.”
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Quick interview tips
On the day of, remember to:
-
Stress your achievements and accomplishments.
Answer all questions clearly and succinctly.
Do not speak negatively about other companies.
Always represent yourself honestly.
Mitigate your negatives.
Answer every question, even the tough ones.
Make the job you’re interviewing for your chief
objective.
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Networking your way to the top
Networking is an important way to solidify your
ties to your professional community– from
getting your foot in the door to getting your name
on a plaque on that door, networking should be a
constant in your career journey.
APA (American Payroll Association)
Alumni Groups
IMA (The Association of Accountants and
Financial Professionals in Business)
SHRM (Society of Human Resource Management)
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Looking to hire?
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Identify your workforce needs
To find the right people for your
business, you have to examine
your current workforce and
assess your areas of need. At
the same time, you need to look
ahead to see when your
workload might intensify or
when your business may need
to expand for the long haul.
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To find this premium talent, you must…
Craft a good job description.
•Begin the job description with an overview of your
organization.
•Highlight the position’s reporting relationship(s) and
key responsibilities.
•Create a realistic set of qualifications.
•Decide on a salary and benefits range.
•Decide on a title that will make sense both internally
and externally.
•Use the final job description to create a condensed
version for job announcements on boards and
networking sites.
•Get a recruiter to help with this process.
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Post
• Job Boards, such as Indeed, CareerBuilder and
Monster, are great platforms to garner candidate
interest.
• Use LinkedIn! LinkedIn is a great way to share
jobs and really target those key candidates. Once
you have your own profile created, you can post a
job at a varying fee-level, depending on how
targeted you want your post to be.
• Use local media job boards. Though traffic isn’t
as high as those of the main job boards, your local
news stations ill frequently market their job boards.
These are a great way to garner local interest!
• Attend networking events. Bring a copy of the
job description with you to hand out!
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Before an interview
Make a list of questions you might have to ask/answer.
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Before an interview
Make a list of questions you might have to ask/answer.
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Do your homework – Read the Resume
beforehand
•Maximize the time you spend with the candidate. If you spend
the duration of the interview going over the resume because
you haven’t done so beforehand, you’ll likely miss the
opportunity to assess the candidate’s equally important
personality traits.
•Make notes of topics you’d like to expand upon or ask
questions about.
•The applicant will most likely do their homework on your
company, so you should do your best to come to the interview
with all the relevant information regarding the position, the
salary and the workplace.
•Try to look for any gaps in work history, and dig a little deeper
during the interview to find out why.
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Be consistent
Maintain Consistency Throughout the Process:
Philosophies about hiring come and go: experience
versus raw talent, leaders versus team-players,
personality tests and problem-solving scenarios
versus traditional resumes and interviews.
As with a stock portfolio, your best bet is to diversify.
But once you've arrived at a set of questions to ask
and qualities to look for, stick to your game plan.
Using the same list of questions for all candidates
helps create a structure for managing all the
information provided in their responses.
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Be a participant in the interview
Not just a conductor.
•Be prepared to engage with the candidate– they
could come with an arsenal of questions, as well,
ready to fire away ambitious inquiries in order to
impress you
•So try to guide the pace a bit– a good interview
should be a free-flowing conversation, not a onesided speech or a jarring question and answer
session.
•At the end of the interview, make sure to ask the
candidate if there’s anything else they’d like you to
know about them– give them the chance to brag a
little.
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Be a participant in the interview
•If you're looking for leadership:
- "Tell me about a time when you accomplished
something significant that wouldn't have
happened if you hadn't been there to make it
happen.”
•If you're looking for communication:
- "Describe a situation where you persuaded team
members to do things your way. What was the
effect?”
•If you're looking for customer service:
- "Tell me about a time when you had to deal with
an irate customer."
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Be a participant in the interview
But keep it within the legal parameters.
•The interview process is subject to numerous
employment laws designed to protect applicants'
privacy and ensure them a fair shot in the selection
process. You cannot ask questions about religion,
national origin, age, height, weight, marital status,
disability, or gender unless they represent genuine
qualifications essential to the operation of the
business. (For example: a church can ask potential
ministers about their religious background; a
contracting firm can ask if candidates are physically
able to perform certain tasks.)
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Be a participant in the interview
But keep it within the legal parameters.
•You cannot require the candidate to provide
personal information. Keep the job relevance in mind
throughout the interview process. If asking about offhours pursuits, say so in an open-ended way, such
as, "We’re looking for a well-rounded person. Is that
how you'd describe yourself?"
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Get the right candidate
Select interview candidates based on whether
they fit the company’s position, culture and
personality.
•In addition to what you find on a resume, look for
characteristics that will align with your company’s
cultural needs as well:
- Attitude
- Dependability
- Professionalism
- Motivation
- Flexibility
- Communication Skills
- Personality
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Get the right candidate
•However, choose the best person
for the job— not your new best
friend.
- It's human nature to base your
opinion about a candidate on the
gut feeling you develop during
the first three minutes of the
interview. It’s important to
remember– many of the best
employees might not make a
great first impression, but their
talent reveals itself more and
more over time.
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Money talks
A few things to remember when initiating salary discussions:
•Make a fair offer.
• You want to bring a new employee on board at a salary level
that provides incentive to change job and excel, while also
remaining consistent with your existing salary structure for
the position.
•Paint the whole picture.
• Compensation packages are a combination of salary, bonus,
titles and perks. These elements can be arranged and
rearranged – sometimes very creatively– to satisfy both the
candidate and your company… so make sure the
interviewee knows that!
•Talk to a recruiter.
• Part of a recruiter’s job is handling sensitive negotiations
and moving both parties to a fair and acceptable
compensation package– so keep them involved.
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Questions?
Questions?
A presentation to Company Name or presentation title
Date 00, 2011