Level Up Your Recruiting Like a No. 1 Best Place to Work

Level Up Yur Recruiting Like a No. 1 Best Place to WorkJen Paxton, Director of Talent at LevelUp, drops in on The Growth Recruiting Podcast and dishes on how her team built the 1 place to work according to the Boston Business Jurnal. Youll learn Jens candidate experience strategy, goals, and the pillars to her hiring process. She also offers advice on how to get out of your comfort zone with HR technology. Get ready to level up your recruitingThe Growth Recruiting Podcast is available in iTunesShow elendes115 Jens path to LevelUp429 Transitioning from agency to corporate HR601 About LevelUp758 How LevelUps recruiting works920 Jens recruiting goals1030 Jens pillars to hiring1250 Getting out of your HR tech comfort zone1436 Deciding how to investigate HR tools1550 Creating an award-winning employer brand1934 Jens candidate experience strategy2209 Initiatives to improve company culture2751 Fostering career growth3037 How to make HR programs stick3329 Jens favorites3644 Jens contact info Resources mentioned on the episodeLeverStack OverflowLevelUp Careers pageContact info Jens LinkedIn, Married_2_IT jenthelevelup.comTranscriptJosh Today I am joined by Jen Paxton, the Director of Talent at LevelUp, which is building next generation digital experiences for over 200 brands nationwide empowering businesses to engage customers, grow sales, and build a longterm scalable digital strategy. LevelUp welches ranked the number one Best Place to Work by the Boston Business Journal and named one of the top 10 Boston Globe Best Places to Work in 2017. Jen joins the podcast with an amazing track record in HR and talent acquisition at some of the fastest growing companies in the Boston area and Im excited to chat with her today about the strategies and initiatives that shes been a big parte of. So Jen, welcome to the show. Hows it going today?Jen Good. Good. Thanks so much for having me.Josh For sure. Im excited to chat with you, so probably best place to start, give us a little bi t of an introduction to yourself, your current role, company, anything you want to share.Jen Great. Yeah. So its probably worth noting that I did not start off in a recruiting background. Um, I actually graduated from the Boston Conservatory within masters in vocal performance back in 2008. And then I was actually going on a lot of auditions and was not finding a ton of auditions being very lucrative and kind of financially lucrative, really. So I actually started working at a recruiting agency called Job Spring Partners, and thats kind of how I kind of cut my teeth was on the agency side. I was working with various tech companies here in Boston, fruchtweinly placing system administrators and network engineers. I did that for a little while and then hopped over to another agency to place people on contract and temporary roles as well. I had so much repeatable business, and I really liked that kind of opportunity to foster relationships and really focus on one company. So thats when I made the switch to an in-house corporate recruiting role. Started working over at Fiksu, which was this mobile marketing company. I actually joined them when theyre about 150 people and grew them to over 300 in that first two years That was amazing and crazy all at the saatkorn time. That first year I was doing most of the recruiting on my own and then on that rapid growth kind of warranted us to bring on another member of the recruiting team. I recruited basically everything on the company side from sales to finance to engineering, and also learned how to really work on a really lean recruiting budget over at Fixsu. Then I did a small session at this company called Logentries before they got acquired by Rapid Seven. And then after Rapid Seven, joined a very small startup called TrueMotion they were actually a team of 20. And they wanted to really start rapidly growing. So in that first year I grew them from 20 to 40 people and we moved out of the Harvard Launch Lab into an actual space in Chinatown. So that was my first kind of real, kind of grassroots startup and now Im over at LevelUp, being able to grow their team. I actually started with them at about 150 and now were about 216. Its really been a great experience. Helping the company scale, improve efficiencies in their bewerbungsgesprch process, and just try and scale faster and smarter.Josh Thats awesome. Yeah, thats really cool. I love a lot of the things youre saying. I love the idea of running a lean recruiting operation because you really have to maximize every tool and every strategy and really every channel to produce good recruiting results. I think its awesome that youve recruited for so many fast growing startup companies. I mean, like you said, growing from 150 to 300 people, like not many people get that experience to work at a company and handle talent for a company where youre literally doubling the company size in a short period of time. So Im sure youve taken away a lot of learnings fro m there, but Im interested. So you started on the agency side, Jobspring, Robert Half, and then you moved into the corporate side. So what was that transition like? What were some of the learnings from your staffing experience that you took with you to the corporate side?Jen Yeah, well I think starting off on the agency side is really valuable, especially if youre going to go to a company that is scaling or growing quickly, which I feel like so many startups in Boston are now in that kind of rapid scaling, kind of rapid growth phase. Really at an agency, I learned how to get comfortable working with high volume reques and managing multiple hiring managers with various competing personalities no, some competing priorities, not personalities, sorryJosh Maybe a little of both.Jen True. Kind of getting exposure to working in kind of that fast paced environment where, things change a lot. I think I developed kind of this hustle mentality that I just kind of kept as I went in-house becau se you think that things might slow down when you go in-house, but nope, they move just as quickly. Especially if youre at a high growth startup kind of like LevelUp is. I think kind of getting that foundation at the agency also helps, if that agency has high recruiting standards and also if they have a solid training program, which Im both Jobspring partners and Robert Half, the agencies I was at, had a really solid technical training program and just kind of solid recruiting training program.Josh Thats awesome. Nice. So lets talk about current company Levelup. So if I were a candidate, because Im assuming thats most of the people that youre talking to on a daily basis, if I were a candidate, how would you explain to me what you guys do?Jen So Id probably just start off first by saying I joined Levelup because it was disrupting the market and in high-growth mode. So what Levelup does is we empower restaurants to capture and engage both existing and new customers everywhere. So that s where they live, they work, they play. We provide a seamless digital ordering/payment and loyalty experience for behauptung consumers. Level up is extremely employee-focused and Im really proud actually to work with such an inclusive and collaborative group of people.Josh Thats what it binnenseems like. I was checking out your guys careers page, and a lot of the content youre putting out. It seemed like a really good, diverse, fun group to be a part of. So thats really cool that youre a part of building that. So you said about 216 people now. Whats the breakdown of engineering, support, and sales? What does that look like?Jen Yeah, I would say we have a really strong focus on engineering and support. If I had to give you complete, formal numbers, on the engineering side, we have about 89 people. This includes software engineers, mole? developers and product managers. On the support side we have around 56 support professionals, which includes both our bilingual and our English-spea king support professionals that are working daytime overnight and weekend shifts. And then we have about 27 people that makeup our design and marketing team and some sales people are in there too. And then GA is about 21 people and then our account managers and strategic partnerships make up about 23 people. So I did my math right. I think that is around 216 people.Josh Sounds good to me. Well call it that. So, recruiting for orts and they all span, you know, a variety of skillsets. I think you even said something about bilingual support team. So how many people are on the talent team?Jen I have a three person recruiting team. Pretty lean here at Levelup. We have a technical recruiter, Pat. Hes amazing. He has a great growth story. He actually started off at Levelup as a sales co-op from Northeastern. He did really well in his co-op and my predecessor, Aneek, saw a spark within him that he might be a great member of the recruiting team. So when Pat graduated, they reconnected and Pa t joined our team as a coordinator. Pat has actually grown, with the team to take on full cycle recruiting and now he actually is handling most of our technical recruiting. We also have a very bright co-op Lauren on the team. Shes handling some of the coordination now and a few other projects. I see that kind of same spark in her and Im excited to have her continue her growth at Levelup and join full time when she graduates in May. Even though I said were a team of three here at level up, it really is kind of an all in this together mentality. So really everyone at level up is a member of the recruiting team. A good portion of our hires actually come from referrals I think are actually around 30% at this time.Josh Nice. So what are the goals this year? Do you guys have like aggressive targets? Youre trying to hit a certain number of people, youre trying to hire, ersatzdarsteller staff. What does that look like?Jen Yeah, so I came on board right after we received $50,000,000 in fundi ng from JP Morgan Chase last May. So this really kind of paved the road for us to hire about 50 new employees before the end of 2017. So 2017 was really our breakout year. We pretty much doubled the entire company in size, we rolled out a new product called broadcast and that support team that I talked about tripled in size that year. So the 2018 hiring for us right now is mora going to be about strategic hiring. So in the month of January, we actually hired 17 new employees, mostly mobile developers and members of our support team. So looking forward at the growth for this year, things can definitely change from our new partners and potential new product developments, but were not going to probably have as rapid growth this year. I think itll be a little knock on wood slower at this point.Josh Well it sounds like either way, if it was fast youd be ready for it.Jen Yeah, definitely.Josh Cool. So I was doing a lot of research, I was a scanning of your linkedin profile in heavy deta il and it looks like I found several consistent themes across all the companies that youve worked at, talent acquisition strategies that youve been involved with. So, correct me if Im wrong, but these seem to be big things to you using verfaulen software and tools, and I see it looks like youre using lever right now at levelup as, as your ATS, employee branding, candidate experience, company culture, career growth. These all seem to be the big focus points for you. Is that fair to say?Jen Yeah, totally fair to say. I mean, I think that, building a successful recruiting function, you need a mix of kind of operational and strategic strategies. So having a software that actually elevates the recruiting and vorstellungsgesprch process is definitely key. I mean it comes down to like if hiring managers are not enjoying the recruiting software, then its going to be a lot harder for them to put in their feedback, which then that slows down the entire process. You dont know if youre going to move the candidate onto next steps or youre constantly schmelzglasing back and forth as a hiring manager, which might actually slow down your process completely and you might even lose a candidate that way. And then on the candidate side, you need to build out this employer brand that excites candidates, entices them to answer your email or your linkedin message. And this also starts, initially with just having a positive company culture. And I really believe this positive company culture is really shaped by the employeesJosh For sure. Thats awesome. So I guess lets go through some of these points, rapid fire here a little bit. Well dive into each one and hit on them because I think its, I think its unique. I think definitely when I was looking at your experience like its very unique that youve been able to bring all these things together and just come up with like a really cohesive recruitment strategy. I think theres a lot of companies that do one of these things or some of these things or they do all of them, but they dont really do it that well. It seemed like you guys really have your ducks in a row. So it was pretty cool to see. So I want to touch on each thing very quickly. As were talking about modern tools, I know we talked about Lever as your ATS. And you mentioned that its obviously really important if your recruiters and your hiring managers dont like the software youre using, theyre probably not going to use it very much or use it very effectively. So obviously that has a big impact on the results that youre seeing. So for the people that are listening for people that are in talent acquisition and theyre thinking about trying new tools or new solutions, like what can you say to them that will help them get out of their comfort zone? Because a lot of times people are just satisfied with the status quo and they dont want to try something new. So what would you say to people to get them to take that next step?Jen Yeah, I would probably, you know, ev en take a step back. So it doesnt have to be the newest or the hottest tool out there. I mean, I have some tools that Ive used, you know, linkedin, is a tool that is been around for a long time. Its tried and true. Ive also used Stackoverflow that Ive also been using for years. So it doesnt have to be kind of the hottest, or newest tool out there, but it needs to work for your team. So you really have to look internally, ask yourself the question, What is this tool going to do for my team and is that actually going to impact my teams productivity?Thats a big thing to talk about first. And some of the newer tools out there, they may be great, but also some of them are just repackaging of kind of the same ineffective tools from before that I used, but just maybe have a better UI potentially. Or a better, you know, X. You really do have to think about, Is this going to make my team more effective? And if it isnt then move on to something else or explore something else further. I also t hink getting sandboxes from vendors is important as well so that you can kind of use the tool and see if its gonna work for you. There have been tools that Ive signed up for on contract before and Ive gotten into using them and for some reason or another, my brain just does not work the way the tool wants it to work. So being able to actually try out the tool first and make sure that my brain is going to understand whats going on with the tool and its going to work. Thats really important as well.Josh Nice. And so as you guys were thinking about the tools that youre using in your recruitment strategy, are you like meeting as a team and coming up with goals or things or metrics that you want to improve on and then trying to identify certain tools that youll want to look into in the future? Like are you planning ahead, you know, lets say 90 days from now, you know, were hoping to have looked into, tools x, Y and Z or what does that planning process look like for you guys?Jen Yeah, wer e definitely thinking about the tools that we want to use and actually trying to think as strategically as possible on whats going to help us. Trying out anything thats going to maybe streamline our interview process or potentially even in our sourcing process. I talked to a good amount of vendors, at least at least one vendor a week now, where they will do a demo with me on their product and I have a running list of all of these softwares and Im kind of seeing if that solution is actually going to solve a problem that I have right now or, as you kind of alluded to it, is it going to solve a problem in the future? Um, that I feel like that regularly occurs at this point.Josh Right on. Lets jump into employer branding. Obviously this is a big focus for you guys and definitely a strong point. I mean, number onebest place to work. Its not a bad honor to receive but that definitely doesnt come without strategic efforts being put towards, achieving that type of goal. Right? I mean, its n ot just something that happens. You guys definitely have a big focus on it. So what are you guys doing right now to showcase your employer brand to tell the story of your employees? Like what do you guys doing?Jen Yeah, I mean, I honestly think it is a team effort. Like I dont think one person creates the employer brand. Were using our entire team to really help us define our brand. Its the people that are working on the product really shape it, getting an understanding of what they do and why they joined Levelup is important to help us actually create a story. What makes them stay at Levelup and the things that theyve learned while working here. I feel like that ignites these talking points from me when Im talking with candidates on my phone screens or when we talk with people on site. I can talk about these individual employee stories and that helps the candidate to personally engage with members of our team. Even if it is not a candidate that is interviewing for a specific role t hat this other person has been on, but showing and talking about the growth path, that employees have had here. That just alludes to the the employee-first nature, that Levelup has.Josh Sure, sure. And you guys do a really good job though of not just building that but showcasing it. So just in my communication with you, I saw in your email signature youve got a link to your glassdoor profile, youve got a link to an article about you guys being a best place to work. So its something that youre strategically inserting into these touchpoints with your candidates. Im on your careers page, I see quotes from employee testimonials from people that work there. It seems like you guys have a really well thought-out approach to making sure that not only do you have a good employer brand, but youre showcasing it and youre telling that story and youre getting that content in front of candidates.Jen Yeah. We can help the information to the candidate marketplace pretty much trying to leverage any publication we can. We work with VentureFizz, we work with Belts in Boston. We post things on our Levelup blog. Another thing that we implemented recently, about two months ago at this point, and we did an amtsstube tour video and so we have put that into our phone screen. So anybody who gets a phone screen invite will also get a link that says, To familiarize yourself with Levelup, take a look at our office tour and it goes through our entire office, it talks about all of our employee perks, you get to meet some of the people in the office and hear from them why they joined the company. So its just another way for us to highlight our kind of culture to potential employees.Josh We just did something super similar. We have some sales candidates that were introducing that arent local, so we wanted to give them like a tour of the office. So we had a sales manager do like a selfie style. Probably didnt seem as professional as the one it sounds like you guys have, but we did like a selfi e-style tour just showing the different floors of the office and the different spaces and I think it goes a long way. I mean it really gives candidates because theyve never stepped foot in your office so it kind of gives them an idea of like the type of people that work there, what are people dress like, what are they doing and whats the energy like, what does the office look like. So its a good behind the scenes differentiator I guess, right? Your candidates are talking to other companies too, so those are the types of things that definitely sets you guys apart. So thats awesome. You guys are so ahead of the curve there. So lets talk about candidate experience. Is there anything you guys are doing strategically to focus on the candidate experience? Like making the whole hiring process better for the people that are trying to work at Levelup?Jen So I think candidate experience is really important. Each time somebody interacts with our company, its important. So I think going in wi th that mentality that how we treat every candidate impacts the overall experience of Levelup. So having the mentality of even if theyre not the right fit for this position that theyre interviewing for right now, they may be a fit for the future or they might know somebody that knows, somebody that might be a good fit. So I feel like making sure every candidate has a great experience at Levelup has been really important. So we try and train our managers on that. Were going to be rolling out later next quarter at this point, a candidate survey so we can actually just improve our process. But we also have started to build in this baseline for interviewers. So not just asking the candidates what theyve done, in each of their roles, but focusing on specific traits that the hiring manager thinks would be a good attribute for the person coming into this role. Having those focused interviews to be specific to one or two traits I would say thats also improved our candidate experience and I feel like it makes it more enjoyable for the interviewer and for the candidate because theyre not asked the same question, during five interviews, you know?Josh Yeah, for sure. And I think, subtly, having a good candidate experience is also a recruiting advantage. So not only are they having a good experience that are going through a hiring process, but it just says a lot about your organization that you put thought in these types of things. And thats the type of company that I think any candidate would want to work at. So while yes, in the moment its creating a great experience and the candidate will tell their friends about it, how amazing the hiring process was and how seamless it was now organized it was, subtly its making them really want to work for your organization because they had such a good experience and a good impression of your company because you guys are the front lines. Youre essentially in the face of the company. Its really important. So a company culture, obvious ly thats something that youre putting in your employer branding, youre showcasing on the website. I think its really easy obviously for everybody to say we have a great company culture, in their job ads and everything and talk about how awesome it is to work there. But its another thing, to see that happen in real life. So what are you guys doing? What are some of the initiatives, maybe the outings or what are you guys doing as a team to really foster that family-type of environment?Jen Yeah. So we have an organization within Levelup called the Fun Rangers.Josh Thats awesome. I love it.Jen Our head of HR wanted to call them the Power Rangers and this is before I joined but they eventually came to the name of Fun Rangers. So they meet actually about once a month and they talk about different events that they want to put on for the organization. So we have some consistent events that happen each month. So we have a birthday celebration that happens each month where well have various birthday cakes that will be brought in. We also have what we call nosh and knowledge where different members of our organization will actually get up and present on a specific topic. So one of them thats coming up will be on public speaking. Another one thatll come up later on in the year will be on a cooking class. And then actually we have a cookie decorating as well, our Director of Workplace Experience will do one on cookie decorating. It kind of gets us in the mood for the holidays. So its usually in either December or November and shell do that one. Every year we have a summer outing where well go to either a destination, last year we went to The Lawn on D and just did outside games. Before that weve actually gone on a boat cruise, and then during December or January well have a holiday party where everybody and their significant others are invited to attend and just eat some delicious food and maybe take some crazy pictures, uh, and, and just get to hang out with each other and close out, close out or even open up the year. So we have different events that are placed throughout the year to keep employees excited, but also it gives them the opportunity to kind of engage with people that maybe they dont get to interact with on a daily basis. We also have trivia nights that are scattered throughout the year as well where employees can be on different teams. Youre not, placed on a team, its really organic and you get to actually know, more of the people that you work with by just talking with them and working together to solve these trivia problems.Josh Thats awesome. It sounds like a lot of fun. So would you say as far as like building a really good company culture, do you think like the outings and the team events are really what pulls everything together? Because obviously theres a lot of stuff on the day-to-day, the different perks and what the actual work environment is like. But do you feel like the strongest contributor to a good company culture is just bringing everybody together for these non-work related outings or events?Jen I think they all play a part. I think that the events definitely become a catalyst for people to get to know each other in maybe more of a comfortable setting and actually get to know each other as humans instead of, This is my coworker that I need x from. You actually get to know, you know, oh, this is my coworker and they own like five corgis. Its fun to get to know people as people instead of people as that project manager or you know, the software engineer. Were not defined just by, the job that we do. That also leads to, talking a little bit more about our diverse background of people here. As I mentioned, I have a degree in vocal performance and opera. We actually have people that come from being circus performers. We have people that are part of the fire throwing community here in Boston. We have people that are involved in various other organizations as well throughout the company. So its cool to actually get to know other people and what they do, like their side hustle pretty much.Josh Yeah. No, I think everything youre saying makes total sense. Like its really important to get to know people like outside of actually what they do. But along those same lines, I think its really easy, for a company, where youve got all these different teams, youve got engineering, youve got sales, youve got support, everybodys kind of siloed, right? Because theyre all doing their work, they collaborate with each other throughout the day, but they dont really know exactly what this developer does, versus other developers, what the salesperson does, verse this account manager. So I think some of those events are outside of work, but even stuff that you can do in the office to like bring everybody together and have these different teams mingle with each other is really important because thats where like people really get to see what others are actually doing within the organization and how th eir role on a specific team might be different from another persons role. So I think thats definitely a big aspect of company culture is getting to know those things as well.Jen Definitely. And another thing that we do to have transparency is every single month we actually have a department or a company-wide lunch where we actually talk. Each department actually gets up and talks about the projects that theyre working on right now. Its a quick one to two minute hit the highlights of what your department is doing, but its also just interesting to get to know what every department is doing and their successes and share and celebrate in their successes of what they accomplished over that last month.Josh For sure. For sure. All right, well this brings me to career growth. I know I said I was going to circle back to it. So one of the things I wanted to get back to you, because I know its obviously really important to you. That was one of the stories you brought up earlier in the conversa tion and it pops up a ton on your linkedin profile. Just how youre trying to foster growth for employees that all these different companies that youve worked at. So is this something that, obviously you have a strong focus on it within the organization, but is it something thats a key part of your recruiting strategy, like as youre talking to candidates, youre talking about how they can grow and where you guys can see them moving up within the organization?Jen Yeah, I definitely think it is a key focus of mine. So I kind of take a matchmaker approach to recruiting. I know that candidates are interviewing me justice and members of our team just as much as were interviewing them. Especially with this market, candidates can be pretty picky with the roles that they want. So you really want to ensure that, theyre going to find the right role for them that is truly fulfilling. I actually ask a speic question to most candidates and I say, when youre vetting out companies, what is the most important thing to you when youre vetting out either a new company or a new position? And I like this question because you really get to know the candidate and understand what motivates them and whats going to drive them to take a new role. You might learn a little bit more about their career path or career progression that they want to have or you might learn that maybe they dont know what it is yet and that leads into the consulting side of recruiting where you might help them find their way. I want to make sure that candidates, if they choose to come work at LevelUp, they have a successful time and always feel fulfilled working here. But then in addition, if there isnt a role right now for them here, were a startup, we grow and lots of new positions come available. So, I want to keep them in mind for future opportunities as well. So I definitely like to talk about career growth internally and how weve seen it fostered internally. But I also want to know what the candidate wants f or career growth because I feel like each person I talk to has a different key point in mind about what they are, or how they view career growth.Josh Alright. So I hope everybody wrote down what is the most important thing to you as an interview question to ask because Im definitely stealing that and asking that and all future interviews. Cuz I love it. Thats awesome.Jen Its one of my favorite questions. I really, really like it.Josh Cool. Well thanks so much. Thats awesome. So I guess, as far as for the people listening, right, theyre listening for a reason. They want to learn something. I know theres a ton of stuff that theyve been able to take away, but is there anything like the thing that I hear as Im listening to you talk is like youve just done a really good job at putting programs and strategies in place and making sure they stick. It sounds like you guys just have a really well-balanced recruitment strategy. Its really well structured. You know what your goals are moving f orward. You know, the things that you want to try out and then you know to make sure, you know how to make sure that people stay accountable for keeping these programs and these different initiatives in place. So for people that are trying and are very ambitious to build out a recruitment strategy like the one you guys have at LevelUp, what advice can you give them? Like how can they emulate some of the things that you guys have been doing at their own organization and making sure that it sticks.Jen Yeah. I think that the first thing that you have to do is build trust. So one thing that I actually came in with and was very, very, very fortunate with is everyone within the organization has this level of trust and also this level of involvement in recruiting. So recruiting for LevelUp is really a team sport. Everybody here is a recruiter and I think that comes down to building that first baseline of trust. So understanding what each hiring manager is actually looking for and being abl e to communicate with them, keep them updated, making sure they never feel like theyre in the dark. Thats really important. And then as far as an overall recruiting strategy, I definitely think that we do use data a good bit to kind of inform our decisions. So, we dont set hard numbers as far as I have to hit this many per week, but we are cognizant of how many calls will translate to onsites and how many onsites will translate to offers and offers to hires. You definitely want to be aware of those kinds of metrics, but you also want to make sure that youre communicating those metrics to hiring managers as well.Josh Thats awesome. Yeah. And if you know those metrics, your recruiting process becomes somewhat predictable, right? Like, you know with certain inputs youre going to get certain outputs and then if theres new strategies that you implement and you can increase and improve and optimize some of those results, your strategys still repeatable and predictable, but now its just yi elding better results. So you just got to change some those inputs and you have more of the output. Thats awesome. So lets run through. Ive got five questions to ask you about some of your favorite things that you ready?Jen Okay.Josh Okay. So favorite place to find candidates.Jen Oh, that is a tough one, actually.Josh Theres a lot of sources out there, but you gotta pick one.Jen See, its funny you say that because I would probably say favorite place to get candidates from is our employeesJosh Ah, I love itJen Our referrals are great. Right now were about 30 percent on referrals and we might bump it up a little bit this year. When I was at Fiksu, we actually got it up to like 65 percent. It was kind of crazy. I think that that is a phenomenal resource. You know your employees networks are really huge. If I had to pick a software that would be really or like a tool where Im having to leverage it, that would be difficult because I mentioned stack overflow and I mentioned LinkedIn a li ttle earlier and those are great resources, but if I was being completely honest, I think my employees are my biggest resource and biggest champions.Josh Yeah, thats a great answer and probably leads to like your best long term hires, right? Like Im sure youre getting obviously great people from those other sources too, but theres nothing like an employee referral, so thats awesome. Great answer. What about favorite part of your job?Jen Oh, everyday is so different. I feel like I talked to a lot of candidates with different backgrounds and different personalities and I never have the same call. So I like that kind of unpredictability I guess.Josh Cool. Favorite sports team?Jen Oooh. Um, Boston Red Sox.Josh Okay, nice. I was gonna guess Patriots and then I was going to say Im sorry that they just lost the Super Bowl.Jen I appreciate the Patriots, but Im not a major football fan.Josh Okay, cool. Favorite hobby?Jen Uh, favorite hobby. So favorite hobby is sewing. For the past few years , I have made my Halloween costume for myself, my husband, and our now three year old.Josh Wow. Thats pretty impressive. Thats awesome. All right, now this, this is the tough question because theres so many options. What is your favorite TV show to binge on Netflix?Jen Oh, okay. This is so tough because I have two ways I would go about this. So I love New Girl. It is just great comic television to watch it over again. But I have a place in my heart for Greys Anatomy. I fall asleep to watching Greys Anatomy at this point and I know exactly where I left off in the episode. Ive watched way too many times. Its my guilty pleasure.Josh Nice. Right on. Awesome. Well, those are some great answers. This was an awesome podcast and conversation. I think everybody that listens to it, is going to learn a ton. I think you should look into doing some speaking at some conferences. I feel like there are a lot of events out there that could get a lot of value from what you have to say. So thats a goo d takeaway for you to look into, for sure. So if people want to connect with you, where can they find you? Whats the best place for them to reach out?Jen Yeah. So they can, um, they can look me up on Linkedin and they can actually find me on Twitter. My Twitter handle is married to it. And they can also just email me as well. Im at Jen at the level up.Josh Great. And if people are interested in a career at LevelUp where should they go?Jen Right. So they should go to the LevelUp careers page.Josh Perfect. Anything else youd like to add before we sign off?Jen For anybody who is interested in getting into recruiting, I think, if you have a fascination or a passion for people and customer service that this is a great line of work. It is extremely fulfilling when you actually find somebody their job and it makes me happy.Josh Great. Jen, this was amazing. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast. Hope everyone enjoyed it and thanks. Have a great day.

Shannon Fisher on workplace sexual harassment When in doubt, dont

Shannon Fisherbei on workplace sexual harassment When in doubt, dontShannon Fisher on workplace sexual harassment When in doubt, dontWith the recent societal focus on workplace sexual harassment in America, many people are asking what the line is between friendly workplace banter and behavior that could be perceived as anywhere from overly flirtatious to downright predatory. Men and women alike seem unsure what is acceptable in interaction with their coworkers, especially when happy marriages often stem from workplace romances.Following are some simple guidelines.Unacceptable BehaviorTouching a coworker/client/customer other than during a handshake or high five.This includesPutting your arm around a parts shoulder.Putting your arm around someones waist.Putting your hand on a persons back while walking.Standing close to someone and brushing against him/her.Hugging a person (unless you have a close friendship outside of the office and if you have to wonder whether youre close enough f or a hug, you arent).Touching and holding someones hand across a table.Putting your head against aleidher persons head or shoulder across a table or sitting next to him/her.Straightening a persons clothing or hair. (Helping someone with their outer coat is polite and can be done without touching them.)Grabbing that person anywhere on his/her body.Making sexual or suggestive gestures toward or about a person.Making a pass at someone or trying to kiss him/her.Giving gifts of a sexual nature, even as gag gifts.Making sexual comments or verbal innuendo. (This includes talkingtoa person andaboutthat person to others in the workplace.)Asking for sexual favors. (Asking for favors in exchange for professional advancement is especially egregious).Sending someone material of a sexual nature via email or text.Leering up and down a persons body in a sexual manner (or at all).Asking someone to spend time with you outside of the workplace if (s)he has previously turned down a social invitation.Pe rfectly Acceptable BehaviorCompliment a person on his/her work and ideas.Compliment a person on his/her wardrobe. There is a difference between a genuine compliment and a sexual compliment. The delineation is very clear.You look very nice today. is always acceptable.That color looks good on you is always acceptable.That dress really shows off your curves. is under no circumstances is acceptable.Wow, loo-king gooood is under no circumstances acceptable.And How YOU doin? is acceptable if said in a buddy-buddy tone - but it is never acceptable in a Joey-from-Friends tone. You know the difference. Everybody knows the difference.Keep jokes with coworkers/clients/customers PG-13 rated, whether in public or in private.Only factor someones gender or sexual orientation into workplace discussions when specifically seeking or assessing the opinions of different demographics for workplace purposes (focus groups, advertising targets, etc.).Develop genuine platonic friendships over time with peo ple with whom you form a bond. Socialize outside of the office if both people wish to do so.There is only one circumstance under which it is in any way appropriate to have romantic interaction with a coworkerIf you are single and available, looking for a serious relationship, have real feelings for a coworker who is also single and available, and you are 95% sure the object of your affection is also romantically interested in you, you might want to say something away from the office to gauge his/her level of interest. Even this borders on inappropriate behavior, but sometimes people do meet the love of their life at work or at a work function - and sometimes it is worth taking a risk.What you say and how you say it are extremely important because sometimes what you THINK has been an expression of romantic interest on a persons part might have been wishful thinking and analysis on your part.When you are in a public place but having a private conversation (restaurant, cafeteria, walk ing down the street - never while traveling or alone in a room with the person), say something friendly along the lines of, You know, youre really great. I like you a lot. If (s)he responds in kind, ask in a non-creepy or suggestive manner if they mean romantically - or say in that same manner something like, We should date.If the person is interested, (s)he will respond with a resounding, Yes, I do. or, Yes, we should If the persons response is negative, nebulous, or noncommittal, take it as a no and do not try again.Important ExceptionsIf you are in a position of authority over someone, do not suggest a romantic relationship. Period. No good can come of it.If you are single and available but only seeking casual encounters, look outside of your workplace.If you are married, do not make advances toward anyone in your professional life. (Ideally, dont make a pass at anyone other than your spouse, but for the purpose of these guidelines, well leave it at workplace advice.)If you are unsure whether a coworker is romantically interested in you, do nothing. If you cant discern whether (s)he is sending you signals of romantic interest, assume there is no interest. (There are countless anecdotes about people who misinterpret a friendly gesture as a romantic overture when someone is merely being warm and friendly or making a joke to a group and happened to be looking at a specific person when they winked to indicate they were kidding.)Unless you have that confirmed interest and are single and available, looking for a serious relationship, and have real feelings for the (also single and available) coworker who has expressed interest, keep every professional interaction you have completely platonic and appropriate. If you have confirmed mutual interest, proceed with great caution.Workplace romances can lead to great happiness, but they must begin carefully and respectfully - with a refusal to engage in sexual behavior of any kind until interest has been confirmed and re-affirmed - sober, and with clarity.Is the potential for a lasting romantic relationship worth taking the risk of a workplace romance gone awry? Sometimes, yes. But if the odds are long that a relationship will be long lasting, it is usually not worth the risk of damaging a professional relationship or office environment or - in the worst cases - negatively impacting someones career, including your own.When in doubt, dont.Shannon Fisher is a radio talk show host and a social and political commentator. This article first appeared on Quora.

Alternate Job Search Websites for Retail

Alternate Job Search Websites for RetailAlternate Job Search Websites for RetailIf you dont want to get lost among the millions of people competing for a retail job, then you might want to consider job search websites other than the big ones (CareerBuilder, Monster, Indeed, etc.). These alternate job sites are often less populated and therefore, less competitive. There are many internet job search websites specifically focused on retail industry employment, but they can be overlooked and underutilized just because theyre not household names. Listed here are job websites where you can find job openings that may not be listed on the major job search engines. The best job search resource for you is the one that will connect you to a job thats perfect for you. Your right fit retail job could be waiting for you on any of the websites listed below, so its worth your time to check them all out. If you cant find a good fit in one of these nine places, you may want to seek professional help - from a recruiter, that is. All of the websites are free to use, and some have paid premium options available. This list is arranged in alphabetical order - not in order of popularity, size, or any type of evaluation of the quality of the services. ?All Retail Jobs All Retail Jobs has hourly and management job search listings from more than 12,000 retail employers and recruiters. You can get email notifications when jobs are posted matching your saved search specifications. You can also post your resume on the site. Careers in Grocery Careers in Grocery allows you to search grocery industry job listings from clerk to general manager in all 50 states. The site encourages you to create a profile and upload a resume to make it easier to apply and for employers to find you. You can also choose to get notified by email when new job listings match what youre looking for. Write a Killer Cover Letter Your cover letter is often your first impression on an employer - so, make it coun t, and make sure its tailored to the retail job that you want. Start by checking out tips for writing retail cover letters, as well as samples of ideal ones. Groove Job Groove Job focuses on part time jobs, student jobs, teen jobs and hourly jobs, many of which are in the retail industry. It also covers part-time and seasonal jobs. iHire Retail iHire Retail posts nothing but retail job openings, some of which are exclusive to their website. As of June 2019, it was adding more than 5,520 jobs daily. Theres also a premium edition available for $35 per month, which includes many additional features, such as resume match scoring, featured applicant status, and a dedicated career advisor. National Retail Federation (NRF) Job Board The NRF Job Board is offered by the worlds largest retail trade association. You can search for retail jobs by keyword, job title, location, job function, and more, and you can also sign up to receive job alerts. Create a Standout Resume A strong re sume will help you stand out in a large schwimmbecken of candidates. Be sure to check out sample retail resumes and writing tips to find out what to include to help you get noticed. Oodle Retail, Merchandising Wholesale Jobs Oodle aggregates job listings from small and offbeat classified sites. It offers both national and local searches. Retail Gigs Retail Gigs focuses exclusively on retail, merchandising, and purchasing jobs. You can sign up to have job listings emailed to you that match your desired job title and location. Simply Hired Simply Hired aggregates retail listings from several different medium-sized job search sites. It offers a salary estimator and the ability to easily search for jobs near where you live. Work In Retail Work in Retail focuses specifically on retail jobs at all levels and it can send you job recommendations as they are posted. Its created in partnership with the NRF Foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of the NRF. Ace Your Interv iew Prepare ahead for your interview by reviewing some common retail interview questions and their ideal answers.

Heres Why You Shouldnt Have 2 LinkedIn Profiles

Heres Why You Shouldnt Have 2 LinkedIn ProfilesHeres Why You Shouldnt Have 2 LinkedIn ProfilesAsk Amanda Can I Have 2 LinkedIn Profiles?Two LinkedIn profiles may seem like a good idea, but heres why it will trip you up.Q Do I need two LinkedIn profiles for two careers?My experience is diverse enough at this point that I could go in a couple different directions with my next career move. Should I create a LinkedIn profile for each of these paths while Im looking for work?While it may seem like a good idea to have two LinkedIn profiles if youre considering two very different career paths after all, we advise folks to create multiple versions of their resume if theyre interested in pursuing job opportunities in completely different fields the rules are a bit different when it comes to LinkedIn.LinkedIns platform was designed to help professionals all around the world connect with one another, exchange valuable information, find new job opportunities, etc.But the true power of your Lin kedIn profile is derived from the sheer size of your network. The more people with whom you connect on LinkedIn, the easier it will become to find and connect with others who can help you reach your career or job-search goals. If you create two separate LinkedIn accounts, then you are dividing your connections between two profiles and diluting the strength of your LinkedIn network.In addition, managing and maintaining your LinkedIn profile takes time and energy. Looking for a new job is already a full-time job do you really want to double your workload on LinkedIn?If this wasnt reason enough, it is against LinkedIns User Agreement to create two profiles. While youre allowed to publish your profile in more than one language, creating more than one profile for the same individual is against the rules. If another computer-nutzer notices you have multiple accounts and reports you, LinkedIn reserves the right to shut down all of your profiles without notice.If you have two careers, youl l need to decide which one should take the lead on your LinkedIn profile. You can work in information that supports either career, but realistically, one of those careers will need to take the back seat on LinkedIn.Create a summary for your LinkedIn profile that marries both of your careers into one cohesive narrative. As youre brainstorming the content for this section of your LinkedIn profile, think about what led you to pursue both of these career paths. Are there aspects that both fields have in common that you find particularly interesting? Do they require you to rely on any of the same soft or hard skills?Not sure how to consolidate your two LinkedIn profiles or just feel a little overwhelmed when it comes to your LinkedIn profile in general? We can help Check out our LinkedIn-writing services today.Amanda Augustine is a certified professional career coach (CPCC) and resume writer (CPRW) and the resident career expert for Talent Inc.s suite of brands TopResume, TopCV, and Top Interview. On a regular basis, she answers user questions like the one above. Have a question? Take a look at her career advice or ask a question on her Quora page.Recommended ReadingResume and LinkedIn Profile Writing How Different Should They Be?How Do You Contact Recruiters on LinkedIn?Heres How to Get Noticed on LinkedIn

Cafeteria-Style Benefit Plans Give Employees Choices

Cafeteria-Style Benefit Plans Give Employees ChoicesCafeteria-Style Benefit Plans Give Employees ChoicesAre you looking for a way to customize your benefits plan to meet the needs of your individual employees? A cafeteria-stylebenefits plan may be the best way to go. This custom-selection option is an employee benefits plan that allows your employees to choose among a variety of offerings to create a benefits package that best meets their needs and those of their family. Cafeteria-style plans provide a special exception to federal income tax rules that apply to an employees earnings. In a cafeteria-style plan, employees are allowed to select among various nontaxable benefits and cash. Benefits to Employees In a cafeteria-style plan, an employee generally receives a certain number of dollars from the employer to purchase particular elements of a benefits plan. This enables employees to purchase benefits, such as health insurance, with pretax dollars. Cafeteria-style plan options c an include various levels of health insurance plans and otherbei insurance options such as short term and long term disability insuranceorgroup term life insurance. Other options may include 401(k) plan contributions for retirement, dependent care assistance, adoption assistance plans, and contributions to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Not All Employees Want the Same Benefits This type of customized menu provides employees with mora take-home pay and several additional benefits. The advantage of a cafeteria plan is that employees can choose what most makes sense for them. For example, a young employee with no health problems might opt to spend his or her cafeteria plan dollars on a minimal health plan. An employee with four family members might choose to spend their cafeteria dollars on a comprehensive health plan with a lot of coverage. The employee without a family, on the other hand, might choose to spend his or her benefit dollars investing in a retirement plan. Regulat ion of Cafeteria-Style Plans Cafeteria plans are governed by Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code.No matter what the goal of the employers cafeteria plan, the plans are named after Title 26, Section 125 of the United States Code where cafeteria plans are specifically excluded from the calculation of gross income for federal income tax purposes. Section 125 plans allow employees to contribute pretax dollars into the plan. Contributions toward plans are not subject to federal, state, or social security taxes. The contributions are placed into an account the employee can use to pay for allowed expenses (e.g., premiums for health insurance, dependent care costs, medical supplies). Since no federal, state, or social security taxes are taken out and the dollars are not included as gross income, the employee saves anywhere from 27 percent to 50 percent on these purchases. When the Employees Choices Exceed the Amount of Money In a typical cafeteria plan, an employee might choose op tions that exceed the number of dollars allowed by the employer. In these cases, the employee pays a part of the premium for his or her chosen benefits, so the cost to employers is lower. For example, an employee with health problems or an employee who is age 55 and order, might choose to buy up to a more comprehensive health plan that includes the services they need. Working with Benefits Professionals In all cases, working to provide employees with a cafeteria-style benefits plan deserves the assistance of a knowledgeable benefits plan professional who can advise the employer about the various options. Given the complexity of the U.S. tax code and the unpredictable changes in laws, employers should always seek the assistance of a professional. You want to make sure your plan is legal and that it benefits both employee and employer. Do Your Homework The web abounds with sites offering help and advice about customized benefits plans but employment laws and regulations vary b y state and country, so no website has the definitive answer. When in doubt, always seek legal counsel or assistance from the state, federal, or international government resources to make certain your legal interpretation and decisions are correct.

STARS Book Second Edition Debut

STARS Book Second Edition DebutSTARS Book Second Edition DebutSTARS Book Second Edition Debut February 28, 2019Exciting New Update Stars are Lined Up for Military Spousesfor Federal Careers, 2nd EditionSpecial price $6.50 per book for 50 or morePostage is $20 per 25 books.Total 50 books $365.00

The Fundamentals of Computer Science Student Resume No Experience Revealed

The Fundamentals of Computer Science Student Resume No Experience Revealed Computer Science Student Resume No Experience - the Conspiracy Guarantee the skills are related to the job that you desire. You may not have much work experience to include, so concentrate on personal and professional skills and your educational background. From time to time, a particular experience feels relevant and you would like to add it. As most of your IT experience is via your training, you will need to really showcase your learning. Leadership doesnt have to be in a job to have the hiring managers interest Computer Science graduates may have a multitude of careers. For instance, some students may include things like internships or part-time positions, which arent in precisely the same sector or just like the role theyre applying for, but that could be advantageous for their application. Most students are simply as confused as you are. Our resume builder will provide you with tips and example s on how best to compose your resume summary. With some important data in the perfect order, everyone can create one. Make a list of absolutely whatever youve done that may be useful on a resume. Not all sites offer such a function. Regardless of what resume structure you select, if youre able to quantify your experience, do it. If you cant clearly communicate the work which you do, you wont be thought of as a strong candidate, even when you come up with the right solution. If youre able to add 2 or 3 to each experience, then youll demonstrate that youre a goal-oriented individual. It is very important to remember you need to only add skills that are pertinent to the position youre applying for. The Appeal of Computer Science Student Resume No Experience The applicant also indicates they can manage the pressure of being responsible for a gigantic budget. If, naturally, you dont understand how to format a resume correctly, you could save yourself time by utilizing an onlin e resume creator which does the task for you or download a resume example with the fundamental structure already set. When you make an application for work, you make your very first impression via your curriculum vitae. You only have to be real, add your informations and you may use the job add to compose your document. Simply take the skills that you have, and show how they translate into success where you opt to apply them. Everyone is aware of what networking is, but not everybody is good at doing it. Put simply, to discover ways where its possible for you to create your experience and exhibit your abilities. You may display your work history, but in addition fill in mora space by talking about your abilities and other knowledge youve got. The men and women in the department appear to have fun together. Therefore, you dont have a good deal of experience in your resume. Your experience for a cashier at Burger King isnt likely to help you receive work at an IT consulting f irm. Generally, computer science-related occupations pay pretty well and, because of the increasing demand for skilled computer scientists, very good salaries are sure to remain for many years to come. Actually, employers are often looking specifically for the people who are able to show they have tech abilities but didnt major in computer science or a different tech-related field. In addition, it is possible for you to learn about technology careers and search for computer science jobs on Monster. Furthermore, you can look for computer science jobs on Monster. A technical resume, therefore, should showcase your curiosity and urge to engineer. In case you have any questions, please dont hesitate to contact me. As stated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the variety of computer and data research scientist jobs is anticipated to grow 11% during the next decade, which is faster than average. You dont require a 4-year education to begin Research assistants harness their underst anding of computer science and statistics to create sense of huge quantities of information. To attract attention, you will need to compose a fantastic computer science resume. You just need to select the appropriate computer science resume template which goes with your profession. Bear in mind, its important to create your resume stand out. The career fair is on September 14, which might mean that you dont have a lot of time to produce a resume. So maybe you really want to observe some resumes.