How to Strengthen Your Position

As company’s look for economies of scale, and the need to justify each and every head count is at an all time high, increasing your value and strengthening your position within your company is paramount in order to stay employed. This blog will focus on some simple measures which you can use to solidify your position even as cut-backs occur within.

Even the very best employees can apply themselves even more than they have in the past. By doing these things you will set yourself up for short-term stability and long term growth.

Thanks for reading and good luck!

David Lammert

* Set some quantifiable goals and objectives for yourself. Research what your company’s current goals and objectives are and make sure that your personal goals compliment these.
* Be proactive – don’t wait for your boss to point out deficiencies during your review.
* Start each and every task with a goal to be part of the solution, not merely a manager of the problem at hand.
* Try to identify cost cutting measures before you are asked to do so. Look to your own position for ways that you might be able to limit expenditures.
* Work at becoming even better at what you do best, rather than only looking at the items that need improvement.
* Take as many relevant training courses as you can. Many courses are offered online with little or no cost.
* Become the expert at something – try to make yourself indispensable in this area.
If you’re currently succeeding at all facets of your job, volunteer to take on more responsibility, without additional pay.
* Sign up for every committee and focus group that you encounter and are eligible for on the job. Participate and be prepared to contribute at each and every meeting.
* Network within your own company – who you know is sometimes as important as what you know.
* Do not get involved in office politics or rumors. Keep your ears open, but your thoughts on individuals to yourself.
* Leave personal problems at home. Come to work ready to do just that.
* Develop good relations with your boss and make every effort to assist him or her with the challenges at hand. Even if you don’t agree with every decision, make sure your supervisor receives honest feedback that concludes with words of encouragement.
* Don’t be high maintenance. Keep your complaints to a minimum.
* Show up. Try not to plan lengthy vacations, take multiple personal days or duck out of the office early. The less you are visible, the less you will be perceived as being necessary.
* Stop all personal emails from coming to your work email address. You never know what someone might send to you that could be flagged by IT. This is a list you want to stay off of at all costs.
* On a bad day at work, try using the mantra “I’m just glad to have a job”.

What to Look for in a Candidate

As an executive recruiter, one of the first things I typically ask an employer at the beginning of a search process is: “what are some of the traits, skills, and experience that you are looking for in a potential candidate?” Although some managers are assisted by a few probing questions in order to articulate the laundry list of ideas on their wish list, most are able to give a general description of either an individual who has been successful in the past, or their dream candidate.

I wanted to write this blog to give some concrete strategies on how to go about finding the best possible talent in a time where every employee needs to prove themselves quickly in order to justify their position, and every employer needs to justify their expenditures.

Of course, we at Pinnacle would love to assist with you with this process. Even with current high unemployment, top level talent will be interviewing you as much as you are interviewing them. There will be competition to employ these star performers. Pinnacle acting as your advocate and adviser can assist in making this as efficient and successful of a process as you’d hope it would be.

I hope you find the following helpful and look forward to your feedback.

David Lammert

The Search:

Whether your company has an opening or not, the best managers always have their eyes open for fresh talent. You will want to establish a base profile for the positions that report to you. Have clear expectations about what you are looking for in a candidate for each of these positions. The “I’ll know when I see it approach” is really nothing more than a guess.

If not already implemented, also begin the process of using an objective employee review process so that you can evaluate the talent you have – skills that are required, responsibilities of the role, and action plans if the current individual has deficiencies. If there are deficient employees, try your best to get them on the right track, but spend some time thinking about where problems are stemming from in order to try to avoid the same issues in the future.

Compensation:

Take some time to review the compensation plans for your direct reports. Compensation plans can be a curse for a company if the wrong behaviors are rewarded by the plan. Take some time to meet with Human Resources to see if there are areas of a plan that can be improved. Find out their approach for developing the right compensation plan for the company. See how they determine which behaviors to reward, when, and how. Give your input on what changes or additions might encourage your team.

Take the time to conduct a market analysis to see if the compensation plans for your direct reports are in line not only with your industry, but also for the level of talent which you are seeking. Champagne taste on a beer budget when hiring will only lead to disappointment.

Skill development:

All managers should look at having a skill development plan for their team. How will you as a manager inspire the overachievers to continue to overachieve? How will you manage the underperformers and lead them to either perform or deselect from the company? Decide how you will be a leader for your current team members and those yet to join. Leadership skills and retention work hand-in-hand. Strong leaders keep their strong players on the team for the long haul.

Cultural Fit:

Spend some time coming up with the cultural motto of your company and determine how best to articulate it. Being able to honestly describe this important component of the job will be critical for potential employees. You’ll want to share this aspect with them to make sure that the environment that they will be working in will be cohesive with their personality.

An onboarding program developed by Human Resources with input from your department is crucial. The program should begin day one and is vital to long term performance and retention.

Interviewing

I recently read an article titled “The eight weirdest interview mistakes” [posted on: www.careerbuilder.com]. The article includes lighthearted occurrences and descriptions, items that as you read you think “I would never do that”, but in the heat and stress of the interview, who knows? It is always good to take a moment to brush up on what to do, and not to do during an interview, whether for a new job, a promotion, or even an employee review. In this time of economic upheaval and budget cuts, it's crucial to bring your “A” game to any important sit-down meeting.

Here are some tips to help make a great and lasting impression:

Before the interview:
* Perform a full dress rehearsal; try on your intended outfit to make sure there are no issues and drive by the scene of the interview so you know exactly where it is and how long it should take you to get there.
* Plan to dress to impress; it’s always better to be over- rather than under- dressed. Unless the interviewer specifically tells you that a suit is not necessary and to please dress accordingly, a suit is required.
* Practice discussing your resume in detail, explaining why you changed jobs or made shifts in positions.
* Think back to each position you have had and come up with a one or two sentence summary of the job, with a specific example for each that can be used to discuss strengths, weaknesses or challenges on the job.
* Practice answering the question "Tell me about yourself". You should have a one minute response which is confined to a broad statement about your career with one or two specific highlights and a closing statement which demonstrates the benefits that you would bring to a potential employer.
* Research the company in detail. Ask around. Look at and study the website and press releases that are posted on it. Come up with questions to ask based on this information such as:
“What do you see from the company in five years?”
“Who do you see as your major competition?”
“What were the major strengths and weaknesses of the last person who held this position?”
* Have a friend play the part of the interviewer and practice answering their questions. Have them ask as many tough questions as possible.

The day of:
* Always arrive early; plan to arrive at least ten minutes prior to the interview, and account for potential traffic and other occurrences that could cause you to be late. Once at the location, take one last look in the restroom mirror and double check your appearance. Better to have an extra few minutes to catch your breath than to appear rushed and out of sorts.
* When you meet your interviewer, use a strong and firm handshake and look them directly in the eye.
* Always bring a clean copy of your resume with you to give to the interviewer
* Take your lead from the interviewer and follow their cues as to what to discuss and how long to discuss each item. When asked specific questions, answer just that question before pausing for their response.
* Don’t ramble; It's easy to keep talking about your past successes and accomplishments, but don’t keep adding to your story. Once you have provided the specific answer, stop talking. The interviewer will ask a follow up question if they require additional information.
* Don’t be afraid to pause to collect your thoughts before answering. Ask for a moment to collect your thoughts, take a deep breath, and remember your dress rehearsal and the specific examples that you thought of.
* Be sure to have a strong response to each question; don’t use a theory or a vague response to answer any question.

Difficult Subjects:
* Compensation; try not to discuss specific compensation amounts during the first interview. If the interviewer brings the subject up, try to respond with something like “I know I have learned a lot today and I feel like this position would be a great fit for me. I feel confident that you will make me a fair offer”.
* Expectation Setting; it is a great idea to discuss the employers’ expectations in order to make sure that you feel confident that you can achieve them. Try inquiring as to what the #1 achievement or goal to be accomplished within the first 30 days? 90 days? 6 months? 1 year?
* Closing the Interview; ask a solid closing question such as “Is there anything you can see that would prevent me from further consideration?” You can tell a tremendous amount from the response.

For additional details and tips please check out the “Candidate Services” section of our website. I also would recommend reading "What Does Somebody Have To Do To Get A Job Around Here? 44 Insider Secrets That Will Get You Hired" by Cynthia Shapiro, MBA, ELC, PHR. It is one of my favorite books on the subject.

I hope you are enjoying the new site and I look forward to hearing from you. Good luck!

David Lammert
Pinnacle Placements

Introduction

“The man who says he can and the man who says he cannot are both right”
- Unknown

Since this is the first blog I’ve posted on our redesigned website, I thought that I should spend some time introducing myself and our company philosophy, rather than diving into industry and recruitment specific topics as I plan to do in the future. I hope that you check back regularly as we plan to have new blogs with topics of interest on a weekly basis.

For now, let me introduce myself. My name is David Lammert and I am the President and founder of Pinnacle Placements, a boutique recruitment firm which specializes in the security industry. If you take a few minutes to tour our site, you will find specific information about our services, my background, and how we work, but perhaps as important is to explain why we are passionate about our industry and placing individuals within it.

The security industry is extremely diverse – from global safety and security concerns, to product protection, to the protection of a company’s employees here at home (and providing the employees to do just that), one thing remains constant: People. This is an industry centered on human beings as the key component. Even as the system side of the industry grows and becomes increasingly important, it is the people behind the product which drive sales, design, innovation and client relations.

I love that my assistance in providing people will never become obsolete. In a time of economic turmoil and downsizing, security and safety is a constant. We are faced with threats to our country’s safety and security on a daily basis, and the individuals tasked with maintaining the security of a corporation, a building, a team of security professionals, is more important than ever.

Which bring us to the introductory quote above; I believe that an individual’s disposition is essential to their overall success both as an Employer and as a Candidate. Matching a job and an employer with the right employee is more than just matching a job description to a resume. It’s what isn’t stated in that professional document that is as important as what is stated. The “who you are” along with the “what you’ve done” creates a match and a successful placement for both sides.

I hope you enjoy the new site and I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

David Lammert
Pinnacle Placements