Spring Break

It’s Spring Break time! Along with the desire to run off to some sandy beach and unplug for a week is the requirement to stay in touch and connected. As long as you are bringing that phone along, you might as well get the most out of it!

Attached is a recent article on how to make the most of your phone technology while on the go.

Enjoy!
David Lammert

Smartphones to go: Apps you'll want to pack
Abridged: CNN.com, By: Lisa Respers France

Everyone knows traveling can be stressful, but having a smartphone along can make the trek a little more enjoyable.

Both iPhone and BlackBerry have applications that can do everything from help keep you on time for that flight to mellow you out in the midst of those oh-so-annoying delays.

The following are just a few of the many offerings:

Pocket Express -- This nifty little app acts as a "mobile concierge" and provides a package that includes news, sports, weather, movies and travel.

"Travel" offers several helpful features, including the ability to check your flight status and schedule, a currency converter and a listing of nearby hotels. The application is free with an optional subscription to MobileCierge personal assistant for a fee. (Available for BlackBerry and iPhone)

WorldMate Live -- This free app is like having your own personal assistant with the ability to craft an itinerary, sync with your calendar and check out weather forecasts.
The free version also has a hotel booking service and a feature which allows you to find out if someone you know is where you are when you are.

A gold version of the app is available for purchase which includes flight alerts for more than 175 airlines and alternate flight suggestions should you need to reschedule. (Available for BlackBerry)

Stanza -- Why load down your purse or carry-on with paperbacks and magazines when you can load everything on to your phone?

The free Stanza reader app boasts a robust online catalogue of books, newspaper and magazine content. With links to more than 100,000 books from classics to contemporary novels, there will be plenty to read while en route or after arriving to your destination.

Some book downloads are free while others may be purchased from sites like Fictionwise or BooksOnBoard. (Available for iPhone)

Kindle for iPhone -- If Stanza's catalogue isn't enough for you, the recently introduced Kindle application offers access to the hundreds of thousands of books at Amazon's Kindle bookstore. Readers using the free app can adjust text size, add bookmarks and download previously purchased Kindle books.

And for those unsure as to whether they want to purchase a title, they can download a sample of an early chapter to take a test drive before they buy. (Available for iPhone)

Pandora -- A road trip wouldn't be complete without cool tunes and Pandora Internet Radio has plenty.

Users can select an artist whose songs become the basis of a "station," which will play that artist's music and music from performers with a similar sound.

By rating songs either thumbs up or thumbs down, the user can effectively craft a streaming playlist suited to his or her musical tastes. There's little chance that Michael Bolton will pop up if Led Zeppelin is more your flavor. The app is free. (Available for iPhone)

GoodFood -- No longer do you have to depend on your taxi driver to get a good recommendation of where to eat.

Once you arrive at your destination, check out GoodFood by GoodRec for nearby restaurants and user reviews. Zoom in on the Google powered map, pick a listed establishment and tap for information and directions.

The "Want to Go" feature allows the user to create a list of favored places which will then appear with a bright blue pushpin when viewing the map. You can also add your own recommendations and photos on this free app. (Available for iPhone).

What to Expect When Using our Services

Since all expenses need to be justified like never before, the thought of using and paying for recruitment services might seem out of reach. However, when you begin to analyze the time it takes to source, advertise, screen, conduct preliminary interviews, perform background checks, and all the other tasks that go into selecting the right candidate for your opening, you can see that it is a justified expense.

What can you expect from us during the process? The following blog highlights some of our basic commitments to our clientele and explains why we consistently incur repeat business from our much appreciated clientele.

We look forward to hearing from you!

David Lammert

* Pinnacle Placements represents all of our clients confidentially. This means we do NOT tell our candidates the name of the hiring organization until you agree that you are interested in interviewing them.

* We will conduct an extensive interview on each candidate we present to you. Along with their resume, you will receive a written candidate summary of their experience and why we feel that they are a fit for your position and organization.

* Following an interview by one of our candidates with someone from your organization, we will provide you feedback from the candidate within 24 hours.

* We agree to conduct approximately 3 reference checks on each candidate we present to you.

* Pinnacle Placements is always looking for talented candidates for our client searches. Even so, we never recruit a candidate we have placed from one of our clients (without written client approval).

* Pinnacle Placements never recruits or solicits employees from any of our current clients.

* We stay in touch with the candidates we place throughout their career with your organization. We are happy to provide you updates on their overall happiness if you wish for us to do so.

How to become engaged in the workplace

According to extensive studies conducted by Gallup Management Journal, only 29% of employees are engaged in their work and what’s more surprising is that 54% are disengaged (mentally checked out).

In this critical economic time where employers are actively looking to streamline their employee base, it is more important than ever to become engaged in order to continue long-term employment.

Below are some ways to do just that. Enjoy!

David Lammert

12 Ways to Become an Engaged Employee
Abridged: The Fordyce Letter
By: Maureen Sharib

Assisting your employees now with these 12 common-sense guidelines is one strategy you can implement to improve your company’s ability to preserve and develop what has become its most valuable asset – its people. Happy and satisfied employees accomplish amazing things.

1. Evaluate what you’ve done right. Continue or increase your commitment to the positive ways you currently contribute as an employee.

2. Treat your employer right. In all likelihood, your employer pays you a competitive salary, some give you benefits, and training and many of them acknowledge your contributions. Give it back. Let them know you appreciate all that they do for you and the opportunity they have given you. Remember, much of this “opportunity” comes with great risk to them. Give them credit for their belief in you.

3. Get your financial information organized. If your finances are in disarray it’s a pretty good chance your work is too. Get organized and resolve to reduce and finally eliminate your debt. Check your credit reports periodically. Pay your bills on time.

4. If you’re customer-facing, increase your efforts with your employer’s best customers. Help your employer stay the course by not being one of the companies your customers “cut bait” with. Work with them, serve them well, and make sure your company is unforgettable!

5. Market yourself. In down-turns, one of the first things that get the sharp axe in most big companies is the employee roster. It’s a fact of life; stock prices drive corporate decisions. It’s nothing personal but you need to be in a position that allows you to land on your feet. If you keep up with your own “marketing” your own market share will increase! Market, market, market (yourself)!

6. Diversify your income stream. If you’ve always wanted to own your own business, begin now. Nothing happens overnight. Just about every successful enterprise starts out small and grows daily. Begin now. Use your weekends/ evenings. Today will never come around again. (Use caution: Many people use the phrase “multiple streams of income” to lure you into bad investments or second businesses you know little about or don’t have time to manage. Don’t fall into this trap.)

7. Make friends with and network with recruiters. You never know when one might come in handy.

8. Save money. $50 a week will compound into a fortune over 40 years. A savings account in the lean times will give you courage and help you stay the course.

9. Develop an annual business plan for your enterprise (yes, that’s YOU!). Just like for a business, develop one for yourself. Start thinking of yourself as a business and learn to make decisions for one. It can be a simple plan, but do it!

10. Attend trade shows, conferences, seminars, take classes, and gather new skills, read things! Stay up-to-date in your industry. Create a blog, talk about what’s going on for You, Inc. Contribute something somewhere. Bring more to the table than you take away. Do stuff! Lose the 9-to-5 mentality.

11. Think of yourself as an asset because that’s what an engaged employee is. Your brain is your most important business commodity. Add to it - nobody can ever take away what’s in it.

12. Finally, remember what truly matters. Tell your loved ones what they mean to you. Become the person you always wanted to be.

Being a Leader in the Workplace

Unfortunately, the economic slowdown and the financial crisis facing our country have long reaching affects in the workplace. Employees are nervous and can be easily distracted. Obviously the pressure is on to keep morale up and employees working at their optimal level in spite of these challenging circumstances.

It’s a great time to test your leadership skills and truly mentor your employees to their most productive level. Not all bosses are leaders, but the very best supervisors embrace this role and mentor their employees to success.

Being a leader takes strong commitment, dedication and passion for others. It is not simply the belief or desire to be a leader, but the fact that others believe you to be that is important.

Below is an article from Forbes Magazine which gives useful tips and advice on how to lead during tough times. We hope you enjoy.

How to Lead in Tough Times
Abridged: Forbes Magazine, by Dennis Zeleny

Leading an organization through hard times is challenging by definition. It requires a deliberate focus and extra attention to a few critical areas that can make the difference between a quick rebound followed by sustained improvement in performance--or by a downward spiral that may become irreversible.

Here are five essentials for leadership through difficulty:

Communicate continually and honestly.

Authenticity and frequency in communications should be your constant goal.

Explain your company's current circumstances and also how it got there. If there are things you as a leadership team could have done better, come clean and talk about them. Share what you plan to do about the fix you're in. And, of course, solicit and respect the input of directors, peers and staff members. Also listen intently to employees' descriptions and perceptions of the problem--and their own suggestions about what might be done.

One of the most important attributes that you as a leader must demonstrate is to see the situation as it is and not as you hope it to be--and to help the company's constituencies do the same thing. Bringing this reality before the organization is critical so that everyone has a common understanding of the magnitude of the challenge and shares a vision for what must be done together to improve matters.

Hatch a plan based in reality.

Come up with a definitive strategy that addresses the crucial issues, whether they stem from the marketplace, from cost problems, management missteps, investment errors, the supply chain or the macroeconomy.

You may not be able to overcome these challenges completely, especially in the short term. But you and your employees can make things better by taking certain actions right away, which may include redoubling efforts in areas with customers, trimming costs, expanding markets, making internal sacrifices, stepping up your training, forging new alliances and even restructuring the company.
Don't overlook the achievable by reaching for the possible. Don't make promises you and the company can't keep. Be a realist above all else. That includes providing a time frame--one that you might be able to beat, not one that you likely will fail to fulfill.

Hang on to your best talent.

Even though the U.S. economy has stalled out and employment pressures have eased somewhat, the long-term reality is that there is still an underlying dearth of executive and managerial talent. This overall shortage will reassert itself once the economy begins recovering.

Reach out to your most important or highest-potential employees and emphasize that you want to hold on to them. Unabashedly remind them of their importance to the organization for the long haul. Describe what their career paths might actually look like. Harness them as a crucial part of creating the solutions that will help put your company back on the right track.

Act decisively.

This means taking definitive actions that comprehensively address the company's problems and that bid to turn the tide once and for all--rather than to settle for a series of "baby steps," each of which isn't quite ambitious enough to make a decisive difference.

And as captain of a ship in troubled waters, you've got to be visibly and steadily at the helm. But you also must be engaged in the struggle everywhere on the vessel.

Alter your perspective.

Moving around [within the organization] will help you gain valuable insights about what really might be afflicting the organization and likely will inspire ideas for improvement that otherwise never would have occurred to you. Just as important, your employees at every level will see and hear you being engaged in the struggle, and it will reassure them.

Add to your sole perspective as well. Adversity demands that you bring members of your team even more closely into your counsel, so they can help become integral to the solution.

How to Maintain your Edge with Personal Development

In today’s environment, more than ever, knowledge is power. With corporations looking to be as lean and mean as possible, now is a great time to consider alternate ways to keep your edge and maintain your value (in addition to doing your job well of course).

What is personal development? According to Wikipedia, “Personal Development refers to activities that enhance self-knowledge and identity, develop talents and potential, improve human capital and employability, enhance quality of life and realize dreams and aspirations”. Simply put, personal development is a desire and effort to continually update your skill set to remain marketable, and also can assist you in being prepared for the next step within your career path.

There certainly are plenty of ways to formally approach this goal and aspiration (advanced degrees, formal seminars and training sessions); but who has much time or money to spend? There are other ways to easily and affordably work on improving your skills as well as your resume and marketability all at once.

Below are two of our favorite sources for general training (focused on management, sales, and other general business practices). We encourage you to search for other sources that are specific for your discipline: try typing your area of interest in regards to training + the word “webinar” into Google and see what comes up.

Also consider looking for specific networking groups that you can join which will advertise recourses and training that you can participate in. Be creative and willing to take a small amount of time to invest in this worthwhile activity.

Finally, we encourage book marking our site (www.pinnacleplacement.com) to access all of the resources we offer (free of charge) that can assist you (our blog, subscription to our newsletter, industry news, featured jobs and candidate resources).

* NametagTV [www.nametagtv.com] (you can also find a link to this site under the Candidate / Resources section of our website – feel free to click this for easy access) was founded in 2007 by Scott “The Nametag Guy” Ginsberg. It is built on (and is driven by) the principle of approachability. This site teaches communication, marketing and service approaches that get noticed, get remembered and get business. It delivers concise, engaging and educational video modules using cutting edge video technology that you can watch, download and share. Finally, it promises information, tips, techniques and ideas you can put to use today.

* iLearningGlobal.tv [www.ilearningglobal.tv], is changing the way people learn and improve on a daily basis. ILearningGlobal has brought together the top trainers and speakers in all areas of self development, personal improvement, business training, life skills, tax and financial strategies, and much more within this powerful portal.