There are certain people groups that the federal and state government have determined are underserved when it comes to finding well-paid jobs. These people groups include those with economic, physical and other challenges. Military veterans are also a part of this group. People who receive welfare, food stamps or other types of government assistance, as well as those who are ex-offenders or who have been unemployed or facing a layoff may also qualify your company for tax credits for hiring veterans and other underserved groups.

Veterans, because of their military training, are excellent candidates for many positions in the civilian workforce. Your company can earn federal hiring tax credit benefits of up to $4,800 per employee, most especially if the veteran was previously on government assistance or unemployed. If your business is located within one of California’s enterprise zones, you may also qualify for a state enterprise zone hiring tax credit for each veteran that you employ, in addition to the federal tax credits.

Federal hiring credits range from $500 to $14,000 per employee that meets the federal requirements. Some work opportunity tax credits require that the employee lives and works within the enterprise zone, for example. When federal hiring credits are combined with WOTC California tax credits, the savings can be substantial to companies.
These are Location Based Incentive Credits, LBIC, and when the federal and state locations match in geographical location is when businesses may be able to claim the highest percentage of hiring tax credit.

Another benefit to businesses in California is that work opportunity tax may be retroactive. Both federal and state enterprise zone hiring tax credit programs allow for up to three years of retroactive claims. These benefits add up quickly, and will help improve your company’s bottom line, to the benefit of your employees, yourself, as well as your shareholders.

In order to learn more about work opportunity tax credits and how they might benefit your California-based business, contact a certified public accountant today for more information.

Wayne Hemrick writes about how to Receive A Hiring Tax Credit.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wayne_Hemrick

If you are going to incorporate recruitment software into your business profile you should also look into using staffing CRM. CRM refers to customer relationship management and it is important for every business to understand all areas of customer relations from the first meeting to follow ups. When you have a software program that will help you track these things it will be a lot easier to manage your CRM and understand why you may not be as robust in business as you had hoped you would be. Many businesses find after using CRM software solutions for just six months that they have a better understanding of who their target customer is and what they want so that they can better serve them.

Applicant tracking is another important tool that you can take advantage of through recruitment and HR software. Applicant tracking is the ability to maintain a database of current and past applicants and their job information. This is a great asset to any company that is hiring and seeking the assistance from applicants regularly. Through applicant tracking software the business is able to match job openings with applicants in a time and cost efficient manner. No need to post information online or send out company wide announcements of job openings, the tracking software can help to establishes matches in less time than it would take to write the email.

Recruitment software is becoming the mainstay for organizing information in business. Whether it be current employee and customer information that is stored or all applicant information, having this type of information stored electronically means that it is able to be accessed within just moments. This puts the information at the disposal of those who do the recruiting whenever they need it. No need to wait or sift through resumes or applications, it can all be done electronically, which is the most efficient way to get the information. If you are not currently using this type of software in your business, look into the ways in which you can incorporate it to make hiring and recruiting much easier.

Caitlina Fuller is a freelance writer. Using software for recruitment is something that more and more business and corporations are doing. Applicant tracking is another important tool that you can take advantage of through recruitment and HR software.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Caitlina_Fuller

Isn’t that a great comment? I heard it the other day from someone talking about the true measure of leadership. When things are going well and the “wind” is blowing strong, even the very average person can fly high and lead reasonably well. It is, however when there is little or no “wind” as there is at present, that the true leader emerges, the one who can fly high against all odds, using his/her own resources.

These are the leaders whose soft skills are as well-developed as their technical or hard skills. They also have a good balance between their soft skills and hard skills. These are the kinds of exceptional leaders we need in challenging times.

So What Really Are Soft Skills?

They are the people skills, social skills and interpersonal skills that, when well-developed, enhance the quality of our relationships with people.

They are reflected in our personality, attitudes and behaviour.

They are the intangible, difficult to measure skills whose existence, nevertheless, impacts significantly on our personal and professional development and on the culture of our organisation.

They are the skills related to self-development, self-management and self-awareness.

What Then are Hard Skills?

These are the technical skills that relate to our specific profession or industry group, for example, engineering or accountancy skills, IT skills, building and construction skills or skills reading financial reports.

They are the tangible and measurable skills of the profession or business that enable us to do out job and produce results and outcomes.

They are the skills in which people can be trained.

Why Are Soft Skills So Important For Leadership?

Leaders lead people. They need to be able to bring out the very best in their people so they can put that talent at the disposal of the organisation and their own career development. They therefore need to really understand their people well. They need to be insightful and intuitive and be able to tap into the motivations and aspirations of their people. They need to know what makes them tick, what stresses them and what they need to do as leaders to engage their loyalty and commitment. They need to know how to inspire them to commit to the organisation’s vision and make it a reality. They need to be genuine and people of integrity because their people will see through them if they attempt to manipulate them.

These are all the skills you didn’t get taught in your professional or vocational training courses. They are the people skills, the interpersonal and communication skills that see exceptional leaders stay on top, be resilient and manage the change in these challenging times and inspire their people to do the same.

At the moment, leaders are challenged. Many businesses have their backs to the wall and there are high levels of stress in leaders and managers of companies. This can easily flow through to employees and before you know it the entire organisation is living the provisional life, doing nothing, just waiting to see what happens, not taking any risks and living on the edge. The diagnosis: “Business has drastically slowed”. Much of the problem has been led from the top and the lack of soft skills at the leadership of the organisation to create a more robust and resilient culture.

We have 8 essential soft skills that we believe will enhance leadership in these changing and challenging times. They are:

1. Self-awareness, that ability to reflect on and know ourselves, become conscious of our own leadership style and how it impacts on those we lead. Being in tune with ourselves is a necessary pre-requisite for being in tune with our employees.

2. Resilience, that capacity to bounce back from any adversity, to not get stuck and to move forward positively and constructively.

3. Emotional Maturity and Intelligence, that awareness of how our emotions impact on the way we think, behave and react and how the way we manage them can either enhance our relationships with our people or be very destructive of them.

4. Pro-activity, that positive, empowering mind-set that allows us to take responsibility for shaping our lives and our work, rather than merely reacting to what happens to us in a negative and disempowering way.

5. Embracing Change, that capacity to work with change, rather than be threatened by it.

6. Making Connections, that commitment to grow and develop our careers through building relationships and networking.

7. Engaging People, that knowing how to give feedback; how to motivate, inspire, empower, value and appreciate people; engage loyalty and commitment; constructively manage conflict and difficult people; communicate effectively; coach and mentor.

8. Self-management Skills, that capacity to manage time and stress effectively and to develop good work-life balance.

If leaders have these 8 skills they will manage and inspire their people to greatness. It has never been more important for leaders to look after their people because if they do their people will look after their organisations. These 8 soft skills for leadership are the skills that will help leaders do just that.

Dr Maree Harris PhD, is a coach and workshop facilitator who is committed to empowering people to create the personal and professional lives they desire. She is the author of “You Empowering You For Personal & Professional Success”. Visit her website at http://www.peopleempowered.com.au and subscribe to her mailing list to receive your complimentary copy.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr_Maree_Harris_Ph.D.

There are many different software options out there for you to choose from, but each of them will help you get more organized when you are hiring. Not only can you accept applications, you can keep them on file so that when you need to hire you can simply call on the previously submitted information. This can save you a lot of time and effort because everything is stored electronically using the software.

Staffing software is a bit different from recruiting software but works in much the same way. Staffing software helps you to see who you have on staff, when they are available to work, and what shifts you need filled. This is a simplified way of scheduling and because it is all done on a computer it is a lot more efficient and you’ll find that it is much easier to find the right employee to fill a specific shift. Who knew that writing a schedule didn’t have to take days to get just right? With the right staffing software you will take a lot of the frustration out of writing schedules.

If the idea of using software to hire new people stresses you out, you don’t need to do any of the work. You can do a lot of your hiring through a staffing agency software program. These programs allow for you to dial into a staffing agencies catalog of potential employees and hire them or request an interview. This allows for you to take advantage of temporary services or even hire someone permanently if it all works out. The benefit of this is that you get to do the hiring but you don’t have to go through all of the work to find people, the recruitment agency does it all for you. This is the way to go if you want an uncomplicated way of finding potential candidates for your job openings or if you have found that doing it on your own simply is not working.

Caitlina Fuller is a freelance writer. Recruiting software can help you keep everything organized in such a way that you can streamline the process by putting the information out there; accept applications, interview, and hire. Staffing software is a bit different from recruiting software but works in much the same way.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Caitlina_Fuller

You see the possibilities. You recognize that your organization has capable and experienced people with great potential. And you see opportunities in various situations where a lack of people skills sabotages results. You believe in emotional intelligence and you find yourself saying, with some longing and frustration, “How do I get past the belief that emotional intelligence is too “touchy-feely” and doesn’t belong in our workplace?”

In the last 15 years I have heard that question hundreds of times. At first I believed that the question would fade away as more and more case study evidence became available that emotional intelligence, also referred to as EQ, does have a positive impact on the bottom line. Yet while more and more people accepted EQ as valuable in business, there are still a very large number of people and organizations, who cling to the traditional thinking that emotions don’t belong in business.

If you are asking yourself and others the same question, I understand and have some answers for you. Here’s five things to consider and ways to get started.

1. Don’t Take It Personally: The touchy-feely complaint is not personal or even sensible, it’s resistance to change. All of us have many years of social conditioning to overcome. We have been told many times that we shouldn’t cry or “say something nice or not at all,” or frequently in business, “leave your emotions at the door.” And we were not trained to use emotions to inform our decisions but rather to regard emotions as a sign of weakness. With that history, of course I am going to do my best to avoid dealing with emotions. Don’t react, facilitate.
2. You Can’t Reason With Them: One of the reasons that many change initiatives fail is that the change agents only tried to reason with people and to logically explain what good was in the change for them, to convince them the change was a good idea. Successful change requires that people’s emotions be acknowledged and validated. As a facilitator you must provide enough “left brain food” to keep the mind busy while you demonstrate intelligently dealing with feelings with understanding and validation. You may think you must show statistics and bottom line proof. While that is helpful, it is an emotional experience of the benefits that will actually move people to action.
3. Begin With The End In Mind: Where do you want to end up? Do you want to serve up the idea of the month, improve leadership, or transform the company culture? If you are clear on your objective and committed to it, your intention will help you influence minds and hearts. What is your plan for introducing EQ? I have talked with many who want to hold an introductory talk or program in the hopes of making a good impression and creating interest. Have a next step in mind. Maybe your next step is a series of lunch and learn programs. Maybe it is to assess the leaders. Maybe it is to conduct an initial program with thought leaders. Use your first activity to feed the next activity.
4. Get Out Of The Way: I have seen opportunities wasted and programs fail, when the facilitator got timid and apologetic about presenting emotional intelligence. You will need to deal with your own emotions and have the courage of your convictions. If you are reactive you will come across as defensive and you will undermine the value of the message. You don’t need to be a guru or an expert in emotional intelligence to be an effective facilitator of learning and change. You do need to be transparent and available, and be present to the needs and concerns of others.
5. Sharpen Your Saw: There’s no question that the absolute best way to develop emotional intelligence in others is to demonstrate emotional competency yourself. If you really want to be a change agent then prepare yourself with study and practice and learn a system for developing EQ in yourself and others. It is no accident that you are the one who is thinking of leading the way to greater awareness in your organization. As the saying goes, “we teach what we need to learn.” Embrace your role and your learning. You will be an inspiration to others.

Joseph Liberti, President of EQ At Work, consults with organizations and coaches leaders and coaches to develop emotional intelligence. EQ At Work provides certification in emotional intelligence coaching and training at http://www.eqatwork.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joseph_Liberti

I was at a wedding this past weekend and my friend “Mary” talked about a job interview she had recently been on. I think what goes forgotten a lot of the time is that we are not only interviewing potential candidates, but that the candidates are also interviewing the potential company as well.

Let me walk you through her experience:

It all begins at a job fair…a candidate arrives at a job fair after doing research on the companies that are on the roster to attend. Rule of thumb job seekers – always do your research – thank you Google!

“Mary” arrives at a booth and inquires about specific positions relating to communications and the recruiter told her, “all we are hiring for is such and such job for $10 an hour.” What’s wrong with this statement? Impression to the job candidate – when “all we are” or “all we have left” is used, how does that make the potential candidate feel? Don’t we want to hire the best of the best? I know I do. Sometimes this $10 job could be the beginning to their futures, their first step in the door, a way to learn the company from the ground up… Also, who is to say that in these times $10 an hour is a bad starting wage for a great company who has benefits (etc).? Just all food for thought.

The anxious candidate expresses her interest and had done her research on the company and deemed it to be a very “professional company.” The recruiter invited her to the main office to interview and gave her the name of the person she would meet with and directions. The job seeker arrives and is greeted by a robot at the reception desk who did not look up when speaking. When did we become too busy to acknowledge people? I find people always appearing in my office at the busiest times and I want to continue to read the hundreds of emails on my screen and listen with one ear, but I have a feeling employee’s would stop coming into my office if that were the case. No one, especially me, wants to feel like they are being “processed.”

“Mary” was then directed upstairs where she sat down for a mandatory typing test. Have you ever taken one of those? Back in the day, I took quite a few when I was interviewing for banks – how many words can you type per minute or simple computer math. This one is a new one, I had no idea typing tests like this existed! The typing test was based around chronological events and putting things in order. She was asked how to toast toast. (A. you get out the toaster, B. you put bread in the toaster, C. you plug in the toaster, D. you pull down the lever, E. you take the toast out and eat it.) I guess I had it tough when it came to typing tests…

Following this test where the job seeker wasn’t sure whether to stay or go, she waited around for another 90 minutes before any “interview” took place. Now I am guilty of making candidates wait once in a awhile, but 90 minutes?

After “Mary’s” wait, the same recruiter from the job fair reappeared at the office and asked her what my name was and what position she was applying for. The recruiter shuffled through stuff on her desk, and then asked her name again and asked if she had a resume. “Mary” wasn’t really sure what to say, as she had just met this person at the job fair and the recruiter didn’t even recognize her. Personally, I have done many job fairs and I know you see hundreds of candidates a day, and I wouldn’t remember every single applicant, but their face would ring a bell for me I hope?!

The job interview began with the recruiter asking her if she had any questions…for me this is a tough spot to put a job seeker in before telling them anything about the company, my experience or asking them any questions to get to know them. “Mary” responded well to this question and asked for a job description and what the day to day duties entailed – good question job seekers!

The recruiter replied to the question with “Sales.” The job seeker asked “so…is this telemarketing or business to business?” The recruiter said, “No, this is not telemarketing. You aren’t calling your mom and dad and trying to push for hard core sales it’s sales. I mean… you try to sell things but it is not telemarketing!” I’m not sure about you, but even I am confused at this point. So the job seeker asked again, “what do you do in this position?” The recruiter snapped back with, “You call people, businesses. You know you really don’t seem like you are interested in this position.” Okay rule of thumb for recruiting – know what you are interviewing for and have a job description nearby if you are not too familiar – we are not expected to be experts on every single job position in the entire world, but my rule of thumb is – if you are going to ask a candidate if they have any questions be prepared to have answers! And second rule of thumb is – if you don’t know the answer commit to finding out and follow-up with the candidate.

Needless to say, the interview did not end well, the recruiter said she would keep the job seeker’s would resume with her “acquired skills” on file, but the candidate felt so disrespected that she told the recruiter that she would be taking her skills elsewhere. I say good for her! Aretha Franklin summed it all up in one word, “respect.”

It amazes me sometimes how something as simple as a story told by a friend can affect so many people, which is why I wanted to share this experience and my thoughts with you. I know there are many more stories out there, I could write a book on my interviewing stories, but hopefully there are a few takeaways from this story for both sides of the playing field.