What Does Your LinkedIn Profile Say About You?

If you’re busy on the job hunt, don’t overlook the impact your LinkedIn profile has on a prospective employer. Your LinkedIn profile may be one of the first things your employer looks at when they are trying to find out more about you. Many employers will simply do a Google search of your name or check out your profile on LinkedIn to see your work history and get a better idea of who you are — beyond your resume. This is why it’s even more important to make sure your LinkedIn profile contains key information your employer is looking for and also presents you in the best possible light. Here are some things your LinkedIn profile needs:

Attractive Presentation of Accomplishments

You want to highlight your accomplishments, but avoid being boastful. Make sure to talk about all of your accomplishments in a professional way. For example, you could talk about how you led your team to secure a large contract with a big client instead of simply talking about how you won a large contract. Be detailed and sincere when sharing information about your awards and accomplishments.

Make Use of the Open Candidate Feature

If you’ve been worried your current employer will see you making new connections or showing interest in other jobs, you can make use of this feature for that extra level of privacy. LinkedIn rolled out this feature in late 2016 to make it easier for candidates to connect with recruiters or potential employers without a current employer noticing. This also helps recruiters choose from a larger pool of available and qualified candidates.

You can post recommendations from former employers and clients on your LinkedIn profile for public viewing. This can improve your reputation and help future clients or employers make an informed decision about hiring you. Recommendations are just like star ratings and reviews for businesses — the more positive recommendations you have to share, the more attractive your profile becomes to a potential employer.

Partner With a Leading Financial Staffing Agency in Chicago

Taking some time to update and revise your LinkedIn profile will help your job search. Take the next step and work with an award-winning financial staffing agency in Chicago and contact Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Work with our great team of financial recruiters today to advance your career!

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What Are the Best Ways to Deal with Co-Workers Who Annoy You?

You may try hard to get along with everyone at the office but there will always be at least one co-worker who you can’t stand to work with. The good news is you’re not alone. Many people end up working at jobs where they can’t stand a co-worker’s work habits or have difficulty communicating with certain people. While you might not be able to change jobs to get away from these people, there are some things you can do to make your days at the office more manageable. Here are some of the best ways to deal with co-workers who annoy you.

Ask Yourself What Really Ticks You Off

Sometimes it’s just a personality trait, quirk, or even way of speaking that makes you feel annoyed. Maybe that person reminds you of somebody you dislike or didn’t get along with in the past. It could be something as simple as this but you simply aren’t aware of it when you interact with this person. When you identify where these feelings are coming from, it may be easier to deal with that annoying co-worker. Taking a step back to determine what is causing your frustration makes it easier to find a resolution.

Don’t Be in Reactive Mode

If you find yourself spending a good portion of your day getting irritated by something a co-worker says or does, you may be stuck in reactive mode. Some self-awareness will make you realize that you have a knee-jerk reaction to this person. If you can make an effort to recognize a trigger and simply not react right away, your days at work may be a lot more tolerable. As soon as you hear that trigger, remember they probably aren’t pressing your buttons on purpose and it’s just part of who they are. (You may be doing the same thing to someone else!)

Be Comfortable with Not Liking Everybody

You don’t have to be best friends with everyone at the office but you do need to find ways to simply get along. Get comfortable with the idea that you are not supposed to like everybody — and they aren’t supposed to like you, either. You can maintain a professional relationship even if you don’t personally like someone. Just keep a friendly distance and stay focused on your work and more positive relationships.

Is it time to change jobs because of annoying co-workers? Consider working with an award-winning financial staffing firm like Casey Accounting & Finance Resources to find a job and workplace that is the right fit for you.

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Do You Know Your Company’s Online Brand Can Be the Difference?

What people think about your company can make a big difference when you’re trying to attract the best talent. Bad reviews, negative ratings, and complaints from customers are easy to discover online and anybody searching for information about your company will usually find these statements and pages first. If you have disgruntled employees or employee satisfaction is relatively low, there’s also a good chance that some are posting negative reviews online or sharing negative information with friends, family members and future co-workers.

Here are some things to consider when monitoring your online brand.

What Does Your Company Look Like to Potential Employees?

Jumping on Google to do a basic keyword search and looking at the results on the search engines can make it easier for you to understand what a prospective employee might see if they were interested in your company. Negative reviews and ratings from employees on Glassdoor may appear at the top of search engine results pages, which means potential employees may have a biased view of what working at your company is really like. Take some time to disarm some of these reviews, if you can, by posting follow-up messages and making sure all profiles about your company are filled out accurately.

What Are You Doing to Promote Company Culture and Values?

Is your human resources department being proactive to promote company culture and values, or is it difficult for people to figure these things out from your website and marketing materials? Make sure you are taking extra steps to convey your core values and culture through your website, email marketing, and any correspondence related to the hiring process.

How Do People Learn About Available Jobs?

How easy is it for people to learn about available jobs with your company? If you’re not advertising jobs on your website or making updates on social media about available positions, you may be missing out on attracting a pool of quality candidates. Take the time to write up compelling job descriptions and information about your company that gets posted on all the major, reputable job sites and is also in the hands of a staffing firm. Staffing firms can be especially helpful for matching you with the right candidates and ensuring your company is presented in the best possible light.

What Are Employees Saying Online?

Websites such as Glassdoor, Indeed and Vault list information about different employers, including salary listings and responses from survey respondents. If your company has garnered many reviews from employees, this will attract the attention of prospective employees interested in learning more about the company from an insider’s perspective. Take the time to review what is being said about you in detail and consider making internal improvements, if needed. Encourage happy employees to post positive reviews to outnumber the negative posts.

Your company’s online brand can make a difference when trying to attract top talent. Working with a Chicago financial staffing firm like Casey Accounting & Finance Resources can help you find top talent and get you the professional representation you need.

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Quiet Personality? Loud Workplace? Here’s How to Be Successful

If you’re an introvert by nature and prefer to work alone, finding the right fit in the modern workplace can be a challenge. People who are quiet, reserved, and introspective may seem like they don’t get along with others, but that is usually far from the truth. These types tend to thrive when they have their own space but can do well in a group setting with some self awareness and self confidence.

Use the following tips to be successful in the workplace if you are an introvert.

Be Prepared for Meetings

If the idea of being singled out in a meeting or having to give a presentation makes you nervous, make sure you’re prepared. Review documents and materials that will help you give an intelligent response if you do end up getting asked a question during the meeting. Ask for an agenda from the meeting organizer so you know what to expect. Being well prepared for meetings can make it easier for you to get through those few hours with minimal stress and anxiety.

Learn to De-Stress in Any Situation

Anxiety and tension can make your work days a little more stressful. If you have a hard time relaxing and staying focused at work, take the time to de-stress using natural methods and techniques. Take deep breaths before a meeting, make sure you get to work early so you aren’t getting anxious about being late to the office, and try and stay focused in the middle of workplace conflicts. If you work in a very loud work environment, use headphones or take breaks when things get stressful, so you don’t feel too stressed out all day long.

Be Confident in Your Abilities

Be confident in your strengths and continue to build your skill set, nurturing your talents and appreciating the unique qualities you bring to the table. People will see results no matter what your personality type may be — you don’t necessarily have to be the loudest or most visible person in the office to do a great job. Stay focused on what you do best, don’t feel threatened or intimidated by colleagues, and do what you can to contribute at your best level.

Get Connected

You don’t have to struggle all by yourself in an office setting. Build an alliance of people who have similar personality traits as you, so that you can spend time together and develop camaraderie with your co-workers. Share an encouraging word with other introverted co-workers and build trust. Make a sincere effort to get to know people and don’t be afraid to speak up and share your ideas. Your friend will be able to support you during meetings and may even put in a good word for you when you are looking for a promotion.

If you need help navigating the modern workplace or are looking for career opportunities in the accounting and finance field, talk to some of the top financial recruiters in Chicago by contacting Casey Accounting & Finance Resources today.

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You Can Find Talent, but How Can You RECRUIT Them to Make the Move?

The internet and social media have made it easier than ever to recruit talent and network with potential candidates. However, you need to make an effort to sell the job effectively in order to attract and retain the right candidates. Getting the candidate interested and on the phone or in the office for an interview is an important first step, but you also need to make sure the candidate is truly interested in the position and has good interpersonal skills to handle the job. After that, you will need to position the company appropriately and share important information to keep the candidate interested.

Here are some important things to consider with your recruiting efforts.

Hiring During a Good Economy

When unemployment rates are low, it can be difficult to find people who are actively looking for a new job. Even if you have plenty of great positions to fill, there’s a chance that there just isn’t enough talent readily available to apply and fill those positions. Hiring during good economic times means you will need to be more proactive and creative with your recruitment efforts. You may also need to raise the bar on your offerings and attract high-quality candidates with higher-than-average salaries and benefits packages.

Identifying What Your HR Department Does Well

If your recruiting efforts aren’t paying off or you just aren’t able to tap into a large enough candidate pool, it may be time to review your hiring process. Take some time to identify what your HR department does well, and where it may be lacking. Consider which recruitment efforts are paying off and which ones are not attracting enough candidates. Whether it’s your social media and online job posting activities, or your efforts to attend career fairs and networking events, make sure you have a clear idea of what is working and what isn’t, so you can recruit higher-quality candidates consistently.

Learn From New Hires

If you have managed to recruit and retain a good group of new hires, consider sending out surveys about their experience, so you can figure out what you did right. Sometimes the best way to learn about your effectiveness with various hiring initiatives involves going straight to the source. Consider asking them what part of the selling process made them come to your company and what made them stay. Was it the way a job was presented? Was it how the hiring manager explained the role and followed up? Take the time to learn what worked — and what didn’t — from some of your best candidates.

Finding top talent can be a challenge, but there are several things you can do to improve your recruitment process and ensure qualified candidates make the move to secure the position. If you need help finding and retaining the right talent, let Casey Accounting & Finance Resources, a top financial staffing firm in Chicago help! Call us today for more information.

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5 Tips for Working with a Recruiter to Find a Great Hire When Time is of the Essence

Need to hire a great employee, like yesterday? It’s a candidate-driven market, which means it’s getting harder and taking longer to hire talent than ever before. At the same time, company human resource teams are shrinking and there are less people to conduct the tasks needed to recruit suitable candidates. What’s a company to do that needs to hire people right away? The solution is to partner with a staffing firm in Chicago.

A staffing agency has many advantages, including:

  1. The ability to reduce costs of hiring new employees because the agency absorbs all the upfront fees. From advertising and interviewing to background checks and drug screens, the temporary staffing agency you work with can handle all these details. Staffing agencies will screen the candidates originally and keep a database of options to pull from when your job opening meets the profile of their job candidates.  Staffing organizations have dedicated recruiters spending 100 percent of their time recruiting candidates!  When you are ready to hire, they are ready to provide candidates.
  2. The speed and efficiency at which talent can be found. Have a special hiring need? Staffing agencies can easily work with your company to get a profile of your ideal employee; then start the process of finding the right person for the job. All candidates are carefully screened and ready to start work on the day promised.
  3. An increased pool of talent for your company. Instead of hiring people just to replace others all the time, a staffing agency can support long-term growth of the company by bringing in talent that matches the culture of your organization. This network of talent is much larger than one a company can build alone.  It can be in the best interest of a company to cast its net wide to find the best job candidates and employees.
  4. Increased flexibility of staffing options. If your company needs immediate hires for a short-term project, a busy season or just to cover a large contract, the good news is that this is possible. Bring on some employees in a temp-to-hire position. Then you can choose to hire the best after a few weeks or months.
  5. Job Market Conditions.  Not sure your salary expectations for a position are accurate?  A recruiter specializing in accounting and finance positions can quickly tell you if your salary is in the correct range for the person you are trying to hire.  This feedback alone can save you time and energy when recruiting candidates.

These are just a few of the many reasons a temp-to-perm staffing agency and a team of recruiters can help support speedy hiring while providing your company with quality talent and cost-effective services.

Work With a Leader in Financial Recruiting in Chicago

At Casey Accounting & Finance Resources, we can help your financial company find the right job candidates for your job openings. Contact our award-winning team of recruiters today to learn how we provide great candidates who bring value to your organization.

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