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Upskill Your Workforce and Bridge the Skills Gap

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Finding new candidates who have highly sought after skills is challenging. Competing for them is even tougher. But you don’t need to join the pile and wrestle your competition for every single new candidate. Instead, you can bridge the skills gap by upskilling your employees. 

 Upskilling allows you to train your current team in these in-demand skills while keeping them in the same role. 

You Can’t Hire Your Way Out of the Skills Gap 

One reason upskilling (and reskilling) is so important is because it’s physically impossible to hire your way out of the skills shortage. The problem is too vast, and in-demand skills change too rapidly to ever keep up. One statistic says only 20% of today’s workforce has the skills needed for 60% of the jobs that will arrive over the next five to ten years. 

What’s more, hiring for technical skills won’t necessarily work. You can teach or pay for upskilling in cybersecurity or engineering.  But finding those candidates doesn’t mean that they’ll also offer essential soft skills, like communication and creative thinking. And those things can be much harder to teach. 

Upskilling Contributes to Professional Development 

Surveys suggest that employees are already upskilling, but they’re doing it on their own time and without support from their employer. You might think that’s good news, but it’s not. 

Employers who don’t offer the kind of professional development that keeps teams learning, growing, and preparing for the future find themselves with unengaged employees.  

Employee engagement is critical for your business’ success, but as many as 70% of employees aren’t engaged at work. Disengaged employees are less likely to be invested in their work, and when they do upskill, they’re more likely to take all their handy new skills to your competitor. 

By actively pursuing upskilling programs, you’re making your current employees more valuable to your company and you’re making them feel more valuable. You’ll see that value quickly: companies with engaged employees have revenues that are 2.5x those companies with low engagement levels. 

The Best Time to Upskill is Now 

Upskilling your employees will help you bridge the technology skill shortage and make you more competitive. Not only does the practice address the root of the problem, but it’s also a valuable investment in your company’s biggest assets: your workers. 

So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to start thinking about your plan for upskilling to complement your hiring practices. 

Are you looking for the right expertise for your team? Ready to add new skills? Want to know how we find and place skilled candidates with the clients who need them? Get in touch to learn how our RightStone 360 program can help you do all of the above. 

 

Ace Your Next Virtual Interview

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A few years ago, virtual interviews were the ‘future of recruitment.’ Today, they’re a necessity for employers who want to hire new team members. And if you’re looking for your next role, they are an asset.

Virtual interviews are those that take place using video conferencing technology. They’re not just a glorified phone interview: they allow both parties to parse the nonverbal cues you’d miss over the phone.

Are you staring into the face of yet another virtual interview? Here’s how you can ace it and win your next role.

Prepare Like It’s an In-Person Interview

Virtual interviews are in-person interviews, even if you’re not in the office. So rather than preparing for a preliminary chat like you might with a phone interview, treat it like a normal interview.

What does that mean? Think about potential questions, come up with helpful anecdotes, and write down your questions. You also need to dress the part, so make sure to come in your best business casual (at a minimum).

Test Your Technology Half an Hour Early

You wouldn’t be late for an interview on-site, and you definitely can’t be late for a virtual interview. There’s little leeway for tardiness if you don’t have to leave your house, so make sure you rule out everything that could get in your way beforehand.

The most common reason virtual interviews start late is because of a technology fail. To prevent that from happening, test out your speakers and microphone early. If you’re not familiar with the web conferencing tool, read a quick how-to before the interview starts. 

And if it’s an app, download it earlier in the day. Don’t be caught waiting for it to install when your appointment rolls around!

If you’re having any technical problems or you think there’s an issue on their end, acknowledge it. Don’t be afraid to say you can’t hear or see your interviewer well. It’s better to let them know than to try to fly blind.

Practice Your Pace and Tone

Given the role of the camera, many people focus solely on the video aspect of the interview. While your background, lighting, and appearance are very important, you shouldn’t forget to focus on the audio.

Lag, noise, accents, and other issues make virtual interviews trickier than asking a candidate into the office. To help them out, you should focus on speaking clearly and at a reasonable, natural pace. Use your pauses wisely and use your nonverbal communication to make it clear when you’re finished speaking.

Be Yourself to Ace Your Next Virtual Interview

Virtual interviews are a great way to speed up the recruiting process and save everyone time. They’re not a replacement for a final, in-person interview, but they’re a great substitute, particularly right now as companies try to hire while social distancing.

The best trick for virtual interviews is to treat them like a normal interview and prepare accordingly. Be early, know where you’re going, and above all, be yourself.

Ready to move forward?

Are you on the hunt for your next job? We can help you get there. Get in touch to learn what roles are available.

Best Practices When Working Remotely

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Remote work was once considered a perk, but it’s now becoming more than ‘desirable.’ For many businesses around the world, it’s essential. In 2019, 3.4% of U.S. workers skipped the office and worked from an off-site location. It goes without saying that the figure is much higher in 2020. Facebook and Google just extended their work-from-home policies until the end of 2020.

Working remotely is a big change, and while there are many benefits, adjustments must be made to succeed. Because so many jobs in IT and tech cater well to remote working, employers are looking for candidates who bring remote work skills to the table.

To help you out, we put together some of the best practices candidates and employees can use when making the transition to remote work.

Choose Your Working Hours Carefully

Finding the right hours requires some careful experimentation. Because whether you’re easily distracted or tend towards workaholic tendencies, working from home (or a coffee shop) requires you to know what you want to accomplish and when.

If your company doesn’t require you to track your time and has flexible hours, start by playing around with your most productive working hours. For some people, prime time starts at 7 AM. For others, nothing gets done before lunch.

Don’t try to force yourself into the typical 9-5 at home unless it’s required by your employer. By giving yourself space to find your most productive periods, you can then create a structure that allows you to be productive and consistent and say “pencils down” at the end of the day.

Find a Work Station 

The first big wave of remote workers started in March, and about two weeks in, they all realized that working on your computer from your sofa or kitchen table is fairly untenable. 

It’s important to find a space in your home where you can work that’s not only private but also not in a space where you otherwise spend your time.

One of the biggest problems remote workers have isn’t being productive but switching off at the end of the day. Working from your sofa makes that much harder.

Make finding a place to work each day a priority, and if that means getting out of the house when things reopen, don’t be afraid of that either!

Play with Task Management Methodologies

Because you’re not physically at work, it can be difficult to prioritize or manage tasks. Ideally, you’re working with a project management app or channel, but even then, it’s easy to look at the long list and not get anything done.

Consider adding other methodologies like the Pomodoro technique to help you complete tasks and refocus when you need to. Other apps and techniques you can try include:

  • Flowtime
  • Cowrkr
  • Swiff

Are You Ready for Remote Work?

Remote work was already a force to be reckoned with, but the Covid-19 pandemic has transformed it from an experiment in employee perks to a way of life. It’s very likely that even when businesses can return to work as normal, many will still seek to keep certain staff working off-site.

Learn more

Are you on the hunt for your next role? Get in touch to learn more about how we place consultants like you with projects that match your skills and work-style.

Reveal a Candidate’s EQ with These Interview Questions

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You have a shortlist of candidates who check all your boxes. They have the education, experience, and skills needed to fill the vacant role at your company.

Hiring a new employee requires you to find someone who does more than tick boxes. You want someone who will fit in, work well with other people, and even lead someday. You want someone with high levels of emotional intelligence (EQ).

You won’t find a candidates’ EQ profile in their resume. But you can figure it out before you hire them by asking the right interview questions.

What is Emotional Intelligence (EQ)?

A person’s emotional intelligence or EQ is their ability to understand and manage their own emotions both to deal with their own experience and to empathize with others.

You can spot a person with a high EQ because they usually:

  • Communicate clearly and effectively
  • Show empathy for others
  • Deal with stress using healthy mechanisms
  • Defuse conflict rather than create it

Attracting people with a high EQ to your company should be a top priority. They’re not only great workers and colleagues, but they also make great leaders. But how do you figure out whether a candidate possesses the kind of EQ that you want? You ask.

How to Use Interview Questions to Reveal a Candidates’ EQ

The best interview questions for revealing a candidate’s EQ go beyond asking about their strengths and weaknesses. It’s rare that someone will articulate their abilities simply because you ask them to spell them out.

Instead, you can learn more by asking them about specific scenarios and their response.

A few good questions include;

  • Share the worst piece of criticism you’ve ever received at work. How did you respond?
  • Talk about a time you saw a dispute between two co-workers. What did you do?
  • Tell us about a time you faced an ethical dilemma at work. What did you do?

But don’t just ask them about the scenario. Use follow-up questions to learn more about their responses to learn not only how the situation unfolded but how it shaped their experiences.

Don’t forget to pay attention to their body language and tone. Candidates who look or sound pained when answering these types of questions usually don’t respond well to stress or conflict, which also reflects their EQ.

Hire Emotionally Intelligent Teams

You know you want team members who have the skills and experience to get the job done, but their EQ is as important as their IQ. By asking the right interview questions and using follow-up questions wisely, you can choose candidates who are both good at their jobs and pleasant to work with.

Learn more

At RighStone, quality is part of our process. Get in touch to learn how we find candidates who not only fit your required skills but your corporate culture and personality.

Make Text Messaging an Effective Recruitment Tool with These 5 Tips

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Do you ever worry that your emails get lost in the shuffle? Think your lead times are longer because email is now ‘work’? Text messaging could be the answer.

Texting is a fast, inexpensive way to reach out to candidates. When your message arrives, it sits in an inbox surrounded by friends and family rather than random advertisements and emails from businesses the candidate visited once. What’s more, candidates are now more likely to apply for jobs on their phones than ever before.

We put together some simple rules to make text messaging a more effective tool for recruiters.

#1 Get Permission First

Did you know marketers can’t just text you? The law says they need to get your permission first.

While recruiting isn’t advertising per se, the rule still applies informally. You should always be getting permission when sending out the first text. Be sure to provide a reason for texting, too, and let them know how often they’ll hear from you and what kind of information you’ll send.

#2 Time It Right

It goes without saying that texting after dark is an unprofessional move. But you shouldn’t just avoid obviously anti-social hours.

Keep your texts strictly within business hours to keep it professional and avoid stressing out your candidates.

#3 Pick Up the Phone for Big News

Firing off a quick text may save you time, but candidates don’t want to hear big news via text. 

When you have interview feedback or the results of a big decision, pick up the phone and call. No one wants to hear they didn’t get the job via SMS.

#4 Make Unsubscribing Easy

Unwanted texts are effectively spam, even if you’re a real person just trying to do their job. You don’t want to be spam, so you need to make it easy to opt-out of your messages.

If you’re texting manually, add a note to their candidate profile. Using software? Make sure your unsubscribe settings are on.

#5 Proofread Your Texts Every Time

Texting candidates isn’t like texting your friends. You shouldn’t rely on their ability to interpret typos and understand what you really meant.

It’s much easier to send out a typo-ridden text because you’re working with a smaller screen and fewer spell check tools. That’s why it’s essential that you read every text — and then read it again — before sending it to your candidate.

Turn the Perfect Candidate into Your Next Team Member

Texting can be a helpful tool to turn quality prospective candidates into great hires, but only if you use it the right way. Are you looking for more ways to simplify hiring? RightStone can help you attract the right fit for your project. Get in touch to learn more about our 360 process.

3 Ways to Demonstrate Confidence in an Interview

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Interviews often feel like you have been transported back to high school. You need to go meet new people, your clothes and appearance matter, and no matter how much you study, you still feel nervous before a test.

Just as in high school, confidence is key during an interview. Confidence makes you sound authoritative and can even make you more personable. 

Don’t worry: you don’t need to be confident. You just need to act like it (and ideally know your stuff, too). To help you conquer your first-day-of-school fears, follow these three interview tips.

#1 Make Regular Eye Contact

Eye contact can be one of the hardest things to achieve when you’re nervous, but it is important. If you look at your lap or out the window, you appear as though you’re too anxious or even distracted.

When you prepare for the interview, make sure you practice making eye contact, either with yourself in the mirror or with someone sitting opposite you.

#2 Prepare Questions Ahead of Time

“Do you have any questions for us?” It’s one question you can guarantee will come up, but will you have an answer?

This is perhaps the best opportunity to demonstrate your confidence in an interview because you get to interview them.

You may find it helpful to come up with these questions while researching the company. Make a note of them, and read over the questions in the car before you head into the building to keep them at the forefront of your mind.

Asking the right questions shows them you’re engaged both with the role and with the interview process. It also demonstrates both critical thinking and confidence.

#3 Get Rid of Negative Self Talk

What about your experience makes you least confident? Is it your skills, experience, or even when (or if) if you went to school?

Instead of relating these things in a negative manner, write them down and then re-write them in a positive sentence.

By getting rid of that negative self-talk, you’re less likely to believe it and far less likely to repeat it in an interview.  If you don’t talk negatively about yourself, then you won’t give your interview a reason to think that way about you.

Confidence Wins You New Opportunities

Being confident at a job interview isn’t something that comes naturally. It’s a skill you work on overtime.

Fortunately, a job interview isn’t high school. Your interviewer is judging you based on what you present to them, and you’re in control of that.

Are you looking for your next big opportunity? RightStone can help you ace the interview. Get in touch to learn more about what we do.

What’s the Career Outlook for Developers in 2020 and Beyond

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that the future is bright for software developers. Not only is the job outlook expected to grow by 21% between 2018 and 2028, but the career is perfectly suited to remote work, which is good news in 2020.

It’s hard to say what the career outlook for developers will be given the current pandemic and looming economic crisis. The good news is that developers are a core function in the digital economy.

What can you expect for the next year and beyond? Here are a few predictions.

The Tech Skills Shortage Will Come to a Head

For years now, there have long been more in-demand jobs than there are skilled workers to fill them. These two forces aren’t unique to tech, development, and IT, but the scale is something to be in awe of.

It is possible that demand could shrink, but it also seems unlikely given they’re looking for specialist skills. What’s more, in the period just before lockdowns swept the nation, there were 114,000 job openings for software and application developers, making them the most in-demand IT staff in February and March.

Did all of those openings result in a hire? Probably not, but they did exist. What’s more, there was a huge influx in job posts that noted the option to work from home, which signaled that industry knew what was coming.

Expect Contract Work to Pick Up Eventually

If you’re in a top, senior-management position and you’re on the hunt for a new job, then you may find you need to wait. The inability to meet and travel will likely mean there will be an informal senior-level hiring freeze — at least for a while. 

Even still, while permanent positions might slow altogether, you might expect contract work and temporary jobs to pick up. Choosing contractors means employers can skip the long-term commitment and need to pay benefits. It will appeal to employers navigating economic recovery and dealing with tight budgets. 

Though, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economy (CARES) Act Paycheck Protection Program doesn’t allow employers to use loans to pay for contractors. So, the recovery funds might not be spent on your services just yet.

Developers Are in a Strong Position Going Forward

The good news is that developers are an essential role, and you were on an upward trajectory until the pandemic stood in your way. Whether and how those new jobs appear over the next five to ten years largely depends on what happens over the next few months.

Are you a developer looking for work? Contract work may be the way forward, at least for now. At RightStone, our goal today and always is to connect the right consultants with the right clients. Get in touch to learn more about how we’re weathering the storm.

 

 

 

The IT Talent Shortage Is Still On – How Are Companies Connecting with Top Talent?

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It’s common knowledge that IT staff with in-demand skills are in short supply. The combination of the allure of big tech and the high demand for specific skill sets are making it harder than ever to attract top talent. At the same time, if you can’t hire those in-demand workers, you can’t compete.

Workers with skills in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science, and Python are some of the most sought-after in the country. Everyone wants them, but they have skills that you can’t learn overnight. Many of these workers dedicated years to building up these skills, and now, they’re reaping the rewards.

How do you connect with top talent if you can’t compete with Google and paying sky-high salaries isn’t an option? 

Improve Your Image

In-demand employees know they can seek out top salaries. While big money is attractive, it’s not what matters most, particularly to many millennials and members of Gen Z. They place as much weight on who they work for as they do what they earn.

Before you start trying to lure in new talent, ask yourself: what makes your company attractive?

Does your website include up-to-date information about what it’s like to work with you? What are your Glassdoor reviews like? What are your current and past employees sharing about you?

Your image needs to be stellar so that when a prospective candidate looks you up, they like what they see.

Ask for Referrals

You already have one of your best recruiting resources: your employees. Employee referrals are a phenomenal way to hire new staff. Not only are they cost-effective compared to advertising a position, but employees only refer the kind of people they want to work with.

Let your employees know that you have a referral scheme in place. You might be surprised by the number of employees who have a friend who would be a good fit!

Consider Contract Staff

The current hiring landscape means more and more skilled employees are also using contractor roles rather than hunting down full-time gigs. What’s more, today’s IT landscape also means that you don’t need to hire full-time permanent employees for every role. 

Contractors add real value and desirable skills to your team over the short-term. By turning to contracts, you get access to desirable skills when required without requiring a full-time commitment from either party.

Are you on the hunt for someone with cybersecurity or AI skills? We’re ready to help connect you with talented candidates who will add real value to your team. Get in touch to learn how we do what we do.

Why Customer Service Still Matters in a Technical World

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In today’s world, it’s not uncommon for the entire customer journey to happen solely online. From discovery to purchase to service, there’s nothing you can’t do with just your website. They particularly love the option to connect via live chat, which has a customer service satisfaction rating of 73% compared to just 44% for chats over the phone.

As a business owner, you see these channels and you spot ways to save money and maybe win over a new customer demographic. But you shouldn’t be too quick to adopt a bot: human customer service is as important today as it is now.

Are you reconfiguring your customer service strategy? Read this before you go any further.

Only Humans Can Empathize Like Humans

No one has ever hung up the phone after chatting to an automated system and said, “I’m so glad I got to talk to that voice recording.” It’s never happened. You can only have neutral experiences with a non-human.

Whether you’re considering a chatbot or an automated phone system, it’s important to remember that there are many situations where these technologies are suitable. The nuances of language and tone can mean a lot for the customer experience, and your bot can’t pivot when a customer feels frustrated.

Yes, these technologies have a role to play in the way customers get service, but they need to be deployed carefully.

You’ll Miss Out on Valuable Insights

Automating your customer service seems like a win-win: it’s cheaper for you, frees up your team’s time, and helps customers get speedy results. While your program will offer you some helpful data, you’ll miss out on the kind of insights that only human-to-human communication can provide.

For example, data from a bot might tell you that a system isn’t working. But will it be able to tell you why? Only if it’s spoonfed the information by the customer and programmed to ask.

Technology Amplifies Customer Service

Ultimately, your technology won’t replace your customer service. Instead, new tech should amplify it. Technology provides new ways to provide superior service, but remember that the point of customer service isn’t busywork: it’s a huge part of your engagement strategy.

Go ahead and automate the rote tasks that eat up staff’s time, but make sure you keep a human at the other end of the line. Your customers will miss them when they’re gone!

At RightStone, we understand that the human connection is more important than ever, especially in our technology-focused world. Get in touch to learn how we can connect you with qualified workers, who provide the customer-focus you need to grow your business. 

 

Do You Still Need a Cover Letter When Applying to an IT Job

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Due to the fact that most IT jobs primarily require a high degree of technical experience and ability, many job candidates in the industry assume that sending a resume to an employer on its own will sufficiently demonstrate their qualifications for a particular role. Resumes, after all, are intended to be clear-cut and straightforward documents that lay out the bare facts of your professional experience and skills.

While resumes are undoubtedly a crucial component that should be included in every job application, they don’t necessarily provide employers with an in-depth feel of an applicant’s character or unique abilities. In order to communicate those qualities, it’s essential to include a cover letter in every application that you submit in your IT job search.

What are the benefits of a cover letter?

As mentioned above, a resume – while very useful – should only be communicating the bare-bones facts of one’s career: work experience, education, technical skills, awards, contact information, and so on. A cover letter, on the other hand, should paint a picture in an employer’s mind of who you are, why you’re passionate about what you do, and how, specifically, your unique background, skills, and experience make you the best possible candidate for the role that you’re applying to.

In other words, it should take the facts that are contained in your resume and turn them into a story about how you’ve come to be who you are and where you are today.

What are the components of the ideal cover letter?

Compared to resumes, cover letters typically require a bit more time, thought, and effort. To simplify things a bit, here are four basic components that should be included in every cover letter:

 

  • Greeting, such as “Dear Mrs. [insert name of hiring manager].

 

  • Body paragraph containing an outline of your experience and the specific reasons why you’re a uniquely good fit for the job.

 

  • Role and Industry-specific keywords placed strategically throughout the letter.

 

  • Appropriate closing, such as “sincerely,” or, “thank you for your consideration.”

 

To learn more about how to format a compelling and effective cover letter, check out some of these templates.

At RightStone, we’re passionate about providing job candidates with the education and resources that they’ll need to advance to the next stage in their careers. To get started on your IT job search, contact us today!