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Ways to Find a Job You Will Love!

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Finding a job you will love can be challenging. You might apply to a job posting, interview for the role, and discover the position or company was not what you expected. As a result, the job does not turn into a long-term relationship.

A job you will love fits where you are in your career and where you are going. It serves as a stepping stone you will enjoy for an extended period of time.

Conversely, if you accept the wrong job and it does not work out, you have to start your search over. This takes additional time to find the right match.

As a result, focus on finding a job you will love rather than settling for less than what you want. These tips can help.

Follow these guidelines to find a job you will love!

Write Down What You Want

Make a list of the most essential traits that attract you to a job. You may want to complete a career assessment for guidance.

Use your list of qualities to search for jobs online. You can find roles that match your skills, experience, and interests.

Network

Talk with your professional connections about your search for a job you will love. Include the type of position you seek, your skills and experience, and other relevant information.

The members of your network may know of opportunities that fit what you are looking for. Or, they might introduce you to hiring managers or other professionals who can help with your job search.

Set up informational interviews with employees in roles like the one you desire. Find out more about what they do and why they enjoy it. Determine whether the position is a good fit for you.

Consider Company Culture

Determine whether the company’s mission, vision, and values fit with your personality and beliefs. Include how the organization is structured, what the work schedule is, and whether there are opportunities for advancement.

Read online employee reviews of the company. See what current and former employees have to say about how things are done. Use your findings to determine whether you would love the job or should continue your search.

Ask Questions

Bring a list of questions to ask employers during interviews. Include the topics that are most important to you when deciding where to work.

Ask to meet your potential manager and colleagues. The people you might work with affect the job offer you accept.

If you need additional time to consider a job offer, ask for it. Set a reasonable time for the employer to hear back from you.

Ready to Find a Job You Will Love?

Work with RightStone to find a job you will love. Visit our job board today.

5 Tips to Improve and Encourage Employee Engagement

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Employee engagement measures how strongly employees feel connected to their work and employer. This includes employees’ motivation to perform their best, commitment to the organization, and desire to refer others to the company.

Sustainable employee engagement is based on intrinsic motivation. This includes mastery, autonomy, and purpose.

Your employees’ engagement levels impact their performance, productivity, and morale. It also affects retention and your bottom line.

Engaged employees are passionate, energetic, and committed to your organization. They go above and beyond to support company strategy and elevate your employer brand.

As a result, you must do what you can to improve and encourage employee engagement. Here are some suggestions.

Choose among these five tips to improve and encourage employee engagement.

1. Live Your Company’s Culture

Convey your company’s mission, vision, and values in your behaviors. This encourages your employees to follow suit. It also shows they are part of something bigger than they are.

Using your actions to demonstrate your culture enhances the work environment. It also adds meaning to your employees’ jobs.

Living your company’s culture shows your values align with business functions. This encourages buy-in from your employees.

Employees who understand the company’s culture feel inspired. This encourages employee engagement.

2. Prioritize Onboarding

Your onboarding process impacts how your employees view your company and their jobs. It helps your new hires align with company culture and understand how their role impacts your organization.

Use your onboarding process to show what makes your company unique and why your new hire’s role is essential for team and business success. Include information about the role and expectations. This promotes employee engagement.

3. Emphasize Career Development

Work with each employee to customize a career development plan. Include the knowledge, skills, and experience required to advance within your organization.

Provide the necessary training and development to move to more senior roles. This may include stretch assignments, cross-training, or mentoring. It also could involve seminars, conferences, or classes. Having a clear path for advancement supports employee engagement and retention.

4. Provide Employee Recognition

Regularly point out each employee’s accomplishments. Include the actions your employee took, their results, and how they impacted the organization. Provide a bonus, pay increase, or promotion when appropriate.

Recognizing your employees shows you appreciate their contributions and results. This encourages employee motivation, performance, and engagement.

5. Encourage Feedback

Remind your employees to give and receive constructive feedback. This helps your employees feel informed, heard, and respected.

Your employees can uncover inefficiencies in performing their work and suggest improvements. This enhances work processes and creates a more productive environment.

Consistently finding ways to improve employee and company performance helps reach career and business goals. This encourages employee engagement.

Need to Improve Employee Engagement?

Partner with RightStone to help improve employee engagement. Learn more today.

Tech Industry Outlook for 2023

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The coronavirus pandemic significantly impacted the tech industry for the past few years. Although the use of technology increased in many areas, such as videoconferencing platforms, it also decreased in other areas, such as the Internet of Things (IoT).

Understanding the tech industry outlook for 2023 provides insight into how your industry and company may be affected. This lets you strategically plan and hire employees in line with your expectations.

Learn about the tech industry outlook for 2023 and how your company may be impacted.

Internet of Things

IoT Analytics estimates there will be 30 billion IoT device connections by 2025. This averages out to be four IoT devices per person.

International Data Corporation’s 2020 Worldwide Internet of Things Spending Guide estimates global IoT spending will attain a compound annual growth rate of 11.3% during the 2020 to 2024 forecast period. This data indicates the steadily growing use of IoT.

IoT devices are popular in the form of connected lights, smart refrigerators, and other items in smart homes. Smart glass, activity trackers, and other wearable technologies also use IoT applications. Urban safety monitoring, traffic and waste management, and water distribution in smart cities use IoT technologies as well.

Security is the top concern for IoT-connected devices. Hacks, data breaches, information leakage, and other attacks are common. Because IoT-connected devices do not come with security features, these features must be added.

5G Networks

5G networks offer faster transmission speed than almost all home broadband. As a result, what used to be done only through computers can now be done with smart devices.

IoT devices can interconnect more smoothly using 5G networks than 4G networks. Also, 5G networks let drones, autonomous cars, and smart cities carry out more complex operations than 4G networks.

Currently, 5G networks are available only in certain countries and areas. Also, greater bandwidth means less coverage and more signal drops. Additional cells must be built to support the network’s high speed. Plus, the networks may be unable to penetrate walls and other materials.

Chatbots

Chatbots simulate conversations with humans. These bots use artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and natural language processing (NLP) to provide customer service for companies.

Chatbots are being used by more businesses than before. These bots serve as responsive, intelligent, conversational agents. They significantly decrease the amount of time and money spent on answering questions and filling customer requests.

Chatbot development is impacted by developments in NLP. As a result, customers may become frustrated when chatbots give limited or repetitive answers.

Chatbots with robust and complex functionalities are costly. Therefore, companies may not have the budget to use them as customer service tools.

The IT Labor Market Will Be Tight

If you need help hiring tech professionals, include RightStone in your process. Find out more today.

Industry Leaders’ Suggestions for Climbing the Current Technology Management Ladder

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Virtually all companies value technology. This increases the number of opportunities available for technology professionals to be closely involved in business activities.

Companies’ increasing dependence on technology creates jobs at every level of the organization. This includes executives who lead technical teams and other leaders who help manage the business.

Industry leaders are one of the most reliable sources of information about management paths for tech professionals. Following their advice for climbing the corporate ladder can increase your career success.

Implement these industry leaders’ suggestions to move up the technology management ladder.

Plan Your Career Path

Determine where you want to be in 5 years. Then, make a plan to get there.

  • Discover the qualifications and steps for advancement.
  • Gain the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to reach your goals.
  • Develop your understanding of the tech side and business side of the company.
  • Understand the needs of the internal customers and how their role fits the bigger picture.

Stay Adaptable

Be ready to change. Adapt along with the company and industry.

  • Continue to add to your skill set.
  • Surround yourself with employees who complement your abilities.
  • Change your strategy until you discover what works.

Diversify Your Skill Set

Focus on developing your hard and soft skills. This helps you more effectively manage employees.

  • Live the company’s mission, vision, and values.
  • Understand the organization’s strategic plans so you can attain business goals.
  • Gain a comprehensive knowledge of fields beyond the one you work in.
  • Continue to find new ways for technology to solve problems.

Network

Develop a network within the company. Include employees at all levels and areas of the organization.

  • Take advantage of the opportunities to meet fellow employees, especially with a remote workforce.
  • Invite colleagues, coworkers, and leaders to lunch.
  • Focus on understanding other parts of the company.
  • Work with your team to overcome the organization’s tech challenges.
  • Use technology to promote innovation and advance the company.
  • Collaborate with your team to innovate business models and increase productivity.
  • Participate in an organization created for tech professionals.
  • Find a mentor for career guidance and advice.

Get Certified

Earning advanced tech certifications can help you move up the management ladder. Examples include the following:

  • Project Management Professional
  • Certified ScrumMaster
  • Certified Business Process Associate
  • Certified Business Process Professional
  • Certified Business Process Leader
  • Certified Brand Manager
  • Certificate in Analytical Skills

Ready to Find a Technology Management Job?

RightStone has the technology management jobs you need to reach your career goals. Visit our job board today.

Here’s Why Gen Z Is Having Difficulty in This Job Market

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According to a July 2022 report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, approximately 41% of graduates aged 22 to 27 were employed in jobs that did not require a college degree. Many of these graduates are trying to find their fit in the workforce or reevaluate their career goals.

The graduates’ decisions to take on low-paying jobs could impact their long-term financial health. This may have economic consequences for the entire United States.

Discover why Gen Z is having challenges entering the job market and the potential long-term impact on the US economy.

The Pandemic and Gen Z

The coronavirus pandemic caused significant setbacks for Gen Z. The pandemic impacted the time in their lives when Gen Z should be making their marks on the world.

The pandemic-related recession caused Gen Z to struggle to find high-quality jobs. Also, the shift to remote work decreased these graduates’ abilities to make professional connections and find careers that match their skills and interests.

Underemployment and Gen Z

Gen Z’s growing underemployment rate means it likely will take longer for the group to generate wealth. Low-wage employment typically leads to a cycle of turnover and replacement. This moves the labor market to an unfavorable equilibrium.

Underemployed workers typically see slow increases in earnings throughout their careers. The main reason is that low-wage employees work in fields that do not focus on skill development for higher-paying jobs. As a result, not having Gen Z work in jobs that require highly developed skills will adversely impact the long-term growth of the US economy.

Teenage Employees, Millennials, and Gen Z

Teenagers are willing to work for lower wages than college graduates. This makes teenage job seekers more attractive to employers than Gen Z. As a result, more jobs have been filled by teenagers than by Gen Z in the past few years.

Employers who were paying higher wages when the pandemic began preferred to hire millennials over Gen Z. Many millennials had more developed skills and work experience than Gen Z. As a result, more jobs were filled by millennials than by Gen Z in the past few years.

Want Help Filling Your Vacancies?

Partner with RightStone for help filling your IT vacancies. Get started today.

What’s New in IT Recruiting?

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According to the September 2022 CompTIA Tech Jobs Report, the IT unemployment rate was at 2.3% in August. The increase from 1.7% the previous month likely was because the overall US unemployment rate increased. Also, large IT companies laid off employees. Plus, many IT employees left their jobs for other opportunities.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) Economic News Release for August 2022 showed 3.97 million available IT jobs. Like the past 24 months, this trend is expected to continue.

As a result, the competition for IT talent should remain tight. Fortunately, partnering with an IT staffing firm can ease recruiting concerns.

Learn more about the current state of IT recruiting and how RightStone can alleviate your IT staffing concerns.

IT Job Openings

CompTIA stated that the IT industry added 175,700 jobs so far in 2022. This is 46% ahead of last year’s job gains.

Job postings for IT roles were slightly under 320,000 in August. Thirty-one percent of these jobs were in artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things, data analytics, and automation software.

IT job postings from January through August 2022 increased by 56% over last year. This shows remote work likely will remain semi-permanent.

Slower IT Hiring

The pace of IT hiring likely will slow due to the recession. CIOs are unsure of how the economic downturn may impact their bottom line. Some businesses stopped hiring and began laying off employees.

An average of 200,000 IT roles remains unfilled due to a lack of qualified candidates. According to the Mid-Year 2022 IT Salary Survey by Janco Associates, Inc., many roles are paying up to 10% higher salaries to attract the best talent.

However, this disparity is causing current employees with lower salaries to find different employers. As a result, CIOs must find a balance between the budget, employee salary increases to address inflation, and the resources needed to attain the technology and bottom-line objectives.

IT Education Requirements

Approximately 20% of IT job postings in July 2022 were for roles requiring 2 years of experience or less. Also, nearly 50% required 3-5 years of experience. Plus, 13% of the positions required at least 9 years of experience.

Many employers no longer are requiring college degrees for some of their IT job openings. Candidates’ skills, experience, and personality traits are becoming more important than their educational background. This increases the candidate pools for open roles.

Software developers and engineers are especially in-demand. There were approximately 148,000 job postings for these roles in July 2022. IT support specialists, project managers, systems engineers and architects, and network engineers and architects also are in short supply.

Roles in emerging technologies or roles requiring these skills accounted for 33% of job postings in July. Many companies began hiring IT professionals through coding boot camps, low-code training, and other non-traditional approaches.

Get Help with IT Recruiting

RightStone can match you with skilled IT professionals to fill your job vacancies. Get started with us today.

Advantages of Doing Your Homework Prior to an Interview

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Success in interviews requires more than showing how your skills and experience equip you for a role. It also involves knowing as much information as possible about the company.

Researching the organization before an interview increases your odds of advancing in the hiring process. It also impacts whether you receive a job offer.

Discover some benefits of doing your homework on a company before participating in an interview.

Understand the Company Culture

Knowing about the company’s culture shows you intend to stay long-term.

  • Learn about the company’s history and achievements.
  • Research the products or services and how they changed over the years.
  • Determine whether the business expanded to other locations or parts of the world.
  • Find out who the CEO is.

Show Interest in the Company’s Success

Demonstrate that the organization’s success is your priority.

  • Show you have the qualifications to fulfill the job duties and responsibilities.
  • If you are applying for an entry-level position and lack experience, clarify how your company research demonstrates dedication to the business.
  • Suggest specific ways the company can operate more efficiently.

Demonstrate Interview Preparation

Clarify that preparation is key to success in a position.

  • Show your enthusiasm for working for the company.
  • Demonstrate the value you can provide the organization.
  • Clarify you take the initiative to gather information to make decisions.
  • Develop conversation topics and questions for the discussion.

Express Enthusiasm About the Company

Show you are genuinely interested in working for the business.

  • Demonstrate your willingness to invest time learning about something that interests you.
  • Clarify how you value the opportunity to secure employment with the organization.
  • Emphasize what you like best about the business, such as the fact that it gives back to the community.
  • Show you would appreciate being offered the job.

Prepare Questions About the Company

Asking questions shows interest in working for the business.

  • Demonstrate you want to learn more about the organization.
  • Ask higher-level questions not answered in your research, such as whether the company intends to expand its offerings or reach new markets.

Explain Why You Want the Job

Detail what drew you to work for the company.

  • Focus on how you can reach business goals to benefit the organization.
  • Express exactly why you are interested in the position.

Looking for Additional Advice?

Partner with a recruiter from RightStone for increased success in landing a job. Visit our job board or contact us today.

Spotting Resilience in Candidates When Hiring

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Looking for hard and soft skills when hiring is important. This includes seeking resilience in the best talent.

The increasing complexity of work environments requires employees to adapt quickly. They must effectively handle stressful situations to continue to move forward.

Uncovering resilience in candidates involves knowing what to look for during interviews. This helps clarify whether candidates have what it takes to be successful with your organization.

Implement these tips to find resilience in candidates during interviews.

Know What You Are Looking For

The ability to handle uncertainty plays a significant role in resilience. Resilient candidates can strategically prioritize, overcome obstacles, and continue to work toward their goals.

A candidate’s resume likely will not provide much insight into their level of resilience. However, investing a substantial amount of time with one company and receiving multiple promotions implies the candidate worked through issues and was rewarded appropriately.

Tailor Your Expectations for Resilience to the Role

Each position has unique challenges that require employees to be resilient. This impacts what you should expect from candidates during interviews.

For instance, decision-making and leadership roles require more resilience than entry-level positions. This is why your expectations need to be adjusted appropriately.

Ask Relevant Questions

The modern workplace is filled with volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. As a result, you must use interviews to assess how candidates may react to challenges in the workplace.

Ask questions to determine how a candidate’s emotions are triggered and how they react to stressful situations. These questions may involve recent frustrations or failures candidates experienced and how the candidates responded.

For instance, you might request an example of when a candidate last got angry at work, what they were angry about, and how they responded. Look for an authentic answer to assess their resilience during challenging times.

Evaluate Authenticity in Interview Answers

Determine the candidate’s work in previous positions and what they took responsibility for. This includes whether they worked independently or collaborated.

Ask follow-up questions about each candidate’s work experience to uncover details about their accomplishments. You need to know how dedicated they were to resolving issues and the type of value they can to your organization.

Set Up a Role Play

Describe a workplace challenge relevant to the position, then ask each candidate how they would respond to it. Ask them to detail the different aspects they would consider, and they would approach the situation.

Role-playing lets you assess how each candidate would work through a real-life stressful situation. It also provides insight into their resilient nature.

Take notes on how each candidate evaluates, works through, and reacts to the situation. This helps determine how resilient they would be in the role.

Want Additional Help Hiring?

Make RightStone a part of your hiring process. Learn more today.

Making Good Impressions in the Recruiting Process

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The impressions you make throughout the recruiting process impact how candidates feel about working for your company. This affects whether current and future candidates decide to apply with or accept job offers from your organization.

Many candidates share their impressions of a company on Glassdoor or other employer review sites. This influences whether other job seekers decide to apply to your openings.

As a result, you must form positive impressions throughout your recruiting process. These tips can help.

Follow these guidelines to make positive impressions on candidates throughout the recruiting process.

Share Clear Job Descriptions

Use simple language to describe the job duties and responsibilities.

  • Choose gender-neutral language to encourage people of all genders to apply.
  • List the top three to five requirements to open up the role to more applicants.
  • Include the most important information first.
  • Use bullet points, active verbs, and short sentences to ease reading.
  • Share whether the role involves managing team members.

Streamline the Application Process

Make it simple to apply for a position.

  • Ensure your careers page is easily visible and navigable.
  • Provide short, clear application directions.
  • Let candidates apply without creating an account and logging in.
  • Offer LinkedIn or resume parsing.
  • Limit your application process to one page.
  • Make your application mobile-friendly.
  • Ensure your file size limits are generous.
  • Provide free-response spaces to copy and paste writing samples or URL links to work samples.
  • Email a confirmation for application submission.

Regularly Follow Up

Let candidates know whether they are advancing to the next step of your recruiting process.

  • Email an interview invitation or rejection as soon as possible.
  • Use a human email address to message candidates.
  • Respond to candidate questions, thank-you notes, and follow-ups.
  • Talk with candidates over the phone before asking them to complete a skills test or assignment.
  • Clarify the directions and timeline for the test or assignment.
  • Thank candidates for finishing the test or assignment.
  • Clarify the next steps in your recruiting timeline.
  • Provide hiring updates along the way.

Clarify Interview Expectations

Send candidates a calendar invitation with interview information.

  • Include how many interviewers are involved, their names, and whether they will be live or virtual.
  • Share how long the interview should be, where to park, and how to enter the building.

Conduct the Interviews

Begin each interview at the scheduled time.

  • Offer the candidate water or coffee.
  • Explain the interview process.
  • Maintain eye contact as often as possible.
  • Ask the same questions of applicants for the same job.
  • Take notes.
  • Thank the candidate for their time.
  • Let the candidate know when you will be in touch.

Follow Up

Let candidates know as soon as possible whether they are advancing in your recruiting process.

  • Include whether you will consider the non-selected candidates for future opportunities.
  • Provide a job offer if appropriate.
  • Send a candidate feedback survey.

Looking for Additional Advice?

Partner with RightStone for more help with your recruiting process. Find out more today.

Reducing Bias in the Hiring Process

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Biases in your hiring process impact the diversity of your workforce. These conscious or unconscious beliefs cause certain candidates to be hired rather than others who may be more successful in a role.

Your employees’ diversity impacts their creativity, innovation, and productivity. This affects your company’s bottom line, reputation, and competitive edge.

As a result, taking steps to reduce biases in hiring is in your best interest. The following suggestions can help.

Implement these tips to minimize bias in your hiring process.

Educate Your Hiring Team

Train your hiring team on unconscious biases. This includes unfairly treating a candidate because of their race, skin color, or national origin. It also involves bringing aboard a candidate because their background, beliefs, and interests are similar to the decision-makers’.

  • Identifying unconscious biases helps your hiring team understand how their perspectives impact hiring decisions and workforce diversity.
  • Include what to look for and what to avoid during interviews.
  • Hold your hiring team accountable for minimizing bias in their hiring decisions.

Update Your Job Descriptions

Your job descriptions need to be as inclusive as possible to increase diversity in your candidate pools.

  • Include gender-neutral language.
  • Use a clear job title, such as “Application Developer” or “Data Analyst,” to attract the right candidates.
  • List only the three to five necessary qualifications to perform the work to increase the number of females and people of color who apply.
  • Mention any accommodations that can be made for candidates with wheelchairs or special needs.
  • Use HR software to uncover other biases involving race, age, physical ability, or other protected classes.

Require Skill Tests

Testing for the necessary IT skills lets you compare candidates based on their performance rather than personal characteristics. This indicates whether a candidate would be successful with your company.

Conduct Structured Interviews

Ask the same questions in the same order for the candidates interviewing for a role. This provides an objective foundation to evaluate candidates.

  • Use a rubric to score the answers from 1 to 5.
  • Encourage your hiring team to take notes on each candidate’s answers.
  • Discuss your team’s findings to make a hiring decision.

Get Help with Hiring

Let RightStone help add IT professionals to your team. Reach out to us today.