6 Reasons Why You Will Not Get A Promotion

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Hard work and patience are necessary to get a promotion, but sometimes they are not enough.

Passed over one too many times on the job?  You might want to self-examine for the reasons why.

Chances for PromotionNo matter what we think, there are remarkably few promises in life.  A work promotion is no different.

Most workers want to move up in an organization: they need more power, move away from a tedious job or just get the keys to the executive washroom.

Advancement is usually a combination of hard work and perseverance. Unfortunately, there are times when it is not enough.

If after all your energy and effort, you still have not received a promotion, it might be time for a little self-assessment.

Six reasons you might not be getting that promotion you want:

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U.S. Small Business Hiring Plans Drop in May

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Small business is looking up in the U.S., but small business hiring took a hit in May.

Small Business HiringAlthough small business optimism increased a bit in the U.S. in May, small business hiring plans took a dip compared to April, according to the National Federation of Independent Business’s Index of Small Business Optimism.

For the second month in a row, U.S. small business confidence edged slightly higher, increasing 2.3 points to reach 94.4 for May. Although this reading is the second highest since the beginning of the recession in December 2007, this doesn’t necessarily reflect strong economic growth.

Planned job creation fell a full point, which seems to be stalling after five consecutive months of gains.

An overall optimistic small-business economic sector is certainly a good thing, but when coupled with an unenthusiastic view of future small business hiring, the result brings the whole outlook down.

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SMS Recruitment: Connect to the One Thing Every Candidate Owns

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The way to connect with the one thing every candidate owns–a cell phone–is with SMS recruitment.

SMS Recruitment

Almost everyone owns a mobile phone, but SMS (Short Message Service) in recruitment is amazingly underutilized. SMS recruitment is an untapped market, one that saves money and time, something which can clearly be appealing for any organization.

The advantage of SMS recruitment is that it saves administration costs. Bulk SMS communication takes only seconds to send, where individual phone calls take hours or days.

Everyone carries cell phones–including candidates

In a recent study, 80 percent of mobile phone owners carry their phones all the time. Text messages have become the most reliable form of contact.

Consequently, SMS is also an effective way to get the right person for a job.

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Obsessed With Social Media? Why Not Get Paid For It!

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A new study by the University of Florida reveals a social media skills gap.  Businesses want to incorporate social media into their marketing and recruiting, but lack qualified personnel to use it to the fullest.

Social Media Obsession

Are you one of the millions of people who obsessively check their Facebook and other social media pages?

Do five minutes without a peek at your Twitter feed stress you out?

Now, a study arrives showing your social media addiction could be your next brilliant career move.

More companies than ever have recognized the importance of social media—for anything from marketing and advertising to recruitment and hiring. A social media expert is now accepted as a valuable asset, one that can directly affect the bottom line.

Today’s MSM online infographic—How Your Social Media Obsession Can Become a Career—comes from the University of Florida. It uses research on social media trends, predicting job growth in the industry by 2018 to be around 13 – 24 percent.

The biggest takeaway: an estimated 30 percent of business brands are not using social media well, due to the lack of employees with relevant online skills.

Of all businesses with a strong social media presence, 85 percent report increased market exposure, with 70 percent committed to expanding their online “footprint.”

Smarter1A business needs to know the different uses for social media platforms.  They will succeed by using the differences in each one to its greatest advantage.

For example, a shorter tweet—with 100 characters or less—will actually have higher participation rates than one closer to the 140-character limit.

Of course, as someone who spends time on Twitter, you probably already knew that.

Pinterest is also becoming an online powerhouse, especially for changing browsers into buyers. More than two-thirds of online consumers found a product they wanted to buy after visiting Pinterest.

However, only 25 percent of Fortune 100 companies have a Pinterest account.

More than anything else, this should be a wake-up call to entrepreneurs. There is a definite demand for social media experts. Companies are just waiting for the right person (or people) to fill that need.

Identifying the newest trends, especially with social media, could take your passion (or obsession) and get paid for it. Remember, that is how great fortunes are made!

Infographic after the jump…

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6 Interview Questions To Make Any Employer Want to Hire You

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We often focus on interview questions from the standpoint of the interviewer.

This blog post from Ragan’s PR Daily finds some interesting questions for candidates to ask that can help them get the job.

Interview

Via Ragan’s PR Daily:

Common advice among job seekers is that when you attend an interview, you need to interview the employer right back. After all, you’re the one who will potentially fill the position. You need to know if it’s going to be a good fit, right?

While salary ranges, benefits and schedule flexibility are important details you deserve answers to, hiring managers don’t appreciate questions like those until at least your second interview (or maybe even after they make you an offer).

During your first interview, the “impress me” dance is still in full swing. When a potential employer asks if you have any questions, she doesn’t want inquiries about parking validation; she wants to see if you’re prepared, educated and inquisitive.

Here are six questions to ask at the end of your interview that will help you master the twisted tango of getting hired:

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Three Useless, But Common, Interview Questions

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Most common interview questions don’t get to the heart of the matter – knowing if the candidate is the right person for the job.

Interview QuestionsThe majority of standard interview questions actually discover little about a job seeker. Of course, all interview questions are the same question—why should we hire you?

As for the candidate, they obviously have one mission—to get the job.

However, the average hiring manager is extremely busy, and they often they execute a series of offenses:

  • Answering phone calls during interviews
  • Not taking notes, acting bored or distracted
  • Bad-mouthing their companies
  • And the worst of all—asking those “gotcha” questions without a good reason

The cost of asking terrible interview questions can be anything from hiring the wrong people to driving away fully qualified applicants. What can make things even worse; poorly trained hiring managers can leave employers open to legal liability by asking biased questions.

The concepts behind successful interviewing are simple—better interviews lead to better employees. Asking the right questions can get enough information to get the best people for the job.

Avoid these three useless interview questions, and incorporate some few well-worded replacements:

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How to Get Exceptional Things From Average Employees

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How to Get Exceptional Things from Average Employees (via http://hrnewsdaily.com)

Not every employee is a superstar, but everyone can provide exceptional performance. Five brilliant ways to get great things from even the most mediocre employee. Excellent employees are no guarantee a company will be great. Even with several star players, a sports team can still lose.Not everyone…

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