How to Improve Your Business Email Marketing Campaign

How to Improve Yur Business Email Marketing CampaignCredit RawPixel/Shutterstock By the end of 2019, the number of schmelzglas users is projected to grow to 2.9 billion people. In the United States alone, there will be 254.7 million schmelzglasle users by 2020. Thats a lot of potential customers for your schmelzglass to target.However, many geschftslebenes dont segment their email lists and as a result, everyone on their lists get everything whether they like it or not. If youre guilty of doing the same thing, its time to rethink your email marketing strategy. People simply dont open emails they dont want. Those just end up in the trash.What people want is a mora personal approach. In fact, according to Experian Marketing Services, personalized emails delivered 6 times higher transaction rates (clicks, opens, etc.), but 70 percent of brands dont use them.An easy way for you to stand out from the pack is to personalize your emails. Start by segmenting your lists to achieve higher open and click-through rates.What is email list segmentation?Email segmentation is an email marketing trick where a business splits its email list based on different criteria. That criteria might include geographic location, age, education level, job function, industry type, persona and knowledge by the company which previous email campaigns a customer may have interacted with. How a company chooses to segment its list will vary based on the needs of that business.Here are a few ways to get departureed segmenting your list.Editors notenzeichen Looking for an email marketing service for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you with information.1. Subscriber quizzesQuizzes are a great interactive lead generation tool. They also provide an easy way to have subscribers self-identify what they are most interested in so you can easily tailor what you send to them based on their interests.As an example, Daniel Ndukwu, founder of KyLeads, discussed how this could work for a business in the fitness space You would create a quiz to measure someones body type with three potential result outcomes ectomorph, endomorph and mesomorph.During the process of answering a series of questions that allow you to provide them with a relevant result you receive a host of valuable information about the individual such as their gender, exercise habits, eating habits, etc. In the end, they get a result and are added to your mailing list. Interested in email marketing services? Check out our best picks to find the right one for your business.When it is set up correctly, each of these categories tags the individual and allows you to easily segment your list into different demographic or interest profiles within your email service provider to provide greater customization and utility in your email marketing efforts.2. Behavioral segmentationWhen you first meet someone you find interesting, you take the time to get to kn ow mora about them. Behavioral segmentation works in much the same way but in a way that is scalable and valuable for your business.First, you identify the behaviors you want to pay attention to. For most online businesses, this will include things like new leads, cart abandoners or inactive subscribers. To do this effectively, you will need to link your email marketing service with your website or e-commerce platform. Then, you will need to create automated nurture sequences that target the identified behaviors.For example, if you have a new subscriber who has been exploring your website, but hasnt made a purchase, you may want to begin with offering highly valuable content based on their interests to build a sense of brand loyalty. This can be done by tracking the pages they visit and offering additional content around preferred topics.If its a brand-new customer who just made their first purchase, you can send them tips for getting the most out of their new product, a thank you n ote with a discount for a future purchase, or a follow up to find out if they were happy with their shopping experience.3. Opt-in surveysDo you want to know what your email subscribers are passionately curious about? Just ask them. When you offer an opt-in gift its easy to add a short survey that allows the subscriber to tell you a little more about themselves. Even asking a simple question such as, What are you most passionate about?, can yield a wealth of information.Automate this process with predefined options from which they can choose and you will know exactly what email sequences, offers and incentives to provide that will make them feel understood and valued. In providing incentives that make your customers and prospects feel like you get them you quickly build trust while enhancing their experience with your company.4. Personalized onboardingOnboarding is an important process that is often overlooked in the world of email marketing. It is an opportunity to introduce a new m ember of your community to your company and gives you the chance to learn more about them at the same time.Start with personalization. Be sure to use the subscribers name and in the subject line, let them know you have something special for them. Within the body of the email provide several different ways for them to access your content and then, further segment the account based on their selections (such as via an invitation to join a facebook inc group, view a video tutorial or get a free download). By noting what your new members are interested in you will have a better idea of how they prefer to engage with your company and can further customize their experience.According to the latest research, relevance is one of the most important considerations when trying to improve email engagement. You can increase the relevance of your emails through careful list segmentation and thoughtfully prepared nurture sequences. While this does take a bit more planning and organizational effort, the numbers clearly demonstrate it is time well spent. If you truly want to maximize the potential of your email list, effective segmentation is a must.More Ways to Improve Your Email Marketing CampaignYouve segmented your list. Now what? Here are a few ways to make sure youre catering to that personal experience your customer is looking for.1. Have a dedicated welcome emailWhen you do start using email marketing, dont rely on the automated opt-in messages that your email management software provides. Instead, create an automated series of custom emails that subscribers receive.A custom email series, also called an autoresponder sequence or sales funnel, helps new subscribers learn more about your business and guides them toward making a purchase. And out of all these emails, the welcome email is the most important.Sending a welcome email allows you to direct your new subscribers attention back to your business right after they have signed up for your list, which is when they are mo stly interested in what you have to offer. In fact, welcome emails generate, on average, 320 percent more revenue than any other type of promotional email.These emails should be automated so that they are sent based on when a person signs up for your list. Emails sent in real time landsee 10 times more interaction from new subscribers than emails sent in bulk.The best plan for your business is to have an entire sequence of emails that are automatically sent when someone new subscribes. But if you have to pick just one email to customize, make it a welcome email.2. Be mobile-friendlyAs more and more people use tablets and smartphones, your customers are more likely to read your emails on a mobile device. A full 51 percent of email is opened on mobile devices, and people are more likely to look at email on an Apple iPhone than on Gmail.Before you schedule your promotional emails, though, make sure your design looks as good on mobile devices as it does on a desktop. If your emails look odd or format strangely on mobile devices, customers arent going to save them to read on a desktop. Theyll just delete it and move on to the next message. Having a mobile-friendly email design, often called a responsive design, will keep all your promotional messages looking professional.If youre worried about how your design will look, you can always stick with a plain-text email, which looks the same no matter where its opened. You dont even have to worry about whether customers will like it across industries, plain-text emails have higher open rates than those designed with HTML.3. Play with your subject linesIf you want customers to open your emails, you need to play around with your subject lines and figure out what catches their attention. Try out different subject lines by asking questions or teasing content. Avoid words that can be off-putting, like donate, which can reduce your open rate by 50 percent or more.Adding emojis in subject lines is also becoming more common The use of emoji in email marketing increased by 775 percent between 2015 and 2016. Just make sure to use emojis as emphasis or decoration, rather than using them to replace actual words, as some email servers may not display them.To figure out which subject lines work best, try A/B testing, or sending different subject lines to segments of the same email list to see which one gets a higher open rate. The key is to experiment and learn what your customers respond to.The goal of email marketing should always be to connect with customers and increase their loyalty to your brand. Focus on customer experience and response, as you would with any other form of marketing, and tailor your email marketing campaigns to your audience to see the best results possible.Additional reporting by Katharine Paljug. Marisa Sanfilippo Marisa Sanfilippo is an award-winning marketing profe ssional who has more than six years experience developing and executing marketing campaigns for small and medium sized businesses with a focus on digital marketing. After graduating Stockton University with a B.A. in Communications and minor in writing, Marisa worked as a freelance journalist for numerous publications, ultimately earning a position as an e-marketing specialist for a credit union. While in that position, she earned HubSpots Inbound Marketing Certification and helped build the organizations digital marketing strategy from the ground up. Her efforts helped lead the credit union to success on and offline including a 200%+ organic increase in Facebook followers, a sales generating blog, and much more. Later on, she worked on a social media campaign that gained recognition by The Huffington Post. 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Why You Should Still Interview Even When You Love Your Job

Why You Should Still Interview Even When You Love Your Job You have virtually no commute, the best boss ever, and legitimately love the work you do so why on earth would you ever interview anywhere else? We have six reasons that might make you reconsider.1)You just never know.Have you ever declared your undying love for something (like your new iPhone or grilled cheese sandwiches) only to discover there was abedrngnisher version that was even better than you ever could have imagined (like latest version of the iPhone or grilled cheese with brie)? Well, the same concept applies to your job. Stick with me on this one its possible that you might find a job that is even better than the one you love now. Why not look?2) Youll expand your network.Having meaningful, one-on-one conversations with colleagues, recruiters, and leaders in your industry is an incredibly valuable opportunity and its often hard to come by. Networking events, while completely worthwhile, tend to be a bit hectic. Its tough to get more than a few minutes with anyone. Interviewing, on the other hand, guarantees that youll have someones undivided attention as you discuss your role, your goals, their company, and the job market. Pretty great, right?Think of interviews as another opportunity to expand your network. Connect with the people you meet on LinkedIn, send them personalized thank you notes, and do your very best to make a great impression. Even if you end up respectfully declining an offer, youll walk away with a few new professional contacts. And you never know when theyll come in handy.3)Youll strengthen your interview skills (practice makes perfect).This may be hard to hear, but someday you might actually be ready to leave your current job. When that time comes, youll be glad it hasnt been years since you last exercised your interview skills. This is also a great opportunity for you to take inventory of what you do every day, what youve accomplished since stepping into your role, and what youd like to do next. Having the ability to summarize your stunning array of skills and career accomplishments in a clear, compelling fashion wont just serve you well in an interview itll also be incredibly useful during your upcoming wertmiger zuwachs review or the next time you ask for a raise or promotion.4)Youll get the inside scoop on the competition.Interviewing with another company is a great opportunity to benchmark your current responsibilities, projects, benefits, compensation, and work environment against what is going on in the marketplace. This could either serve to affirm that you are in the right job with the right company, or reveal a potentially more interesting, lucrative, or flexible role.Taking the time to investigate what your skills and experience are worth in the job market and understanding the opportunities that may be available to you is a super savvy career move. Even if you conclude that you arent ready to take on a new job right now, you may be in a year or two. Whenever that time comes, youll be ahead of the game.5) You might end up loving your current job even more.You know that feeling you get toward the end of an awesome vacation? The trip was great, but theres no place like home. You cant wait to get back, sit on your own couch, cook in your own kitchen, and sleep in your own bed. Something similar may happen when you decide to explore other opportunities.If the interview doesnt go well or the company doesnt meet your expectations, youll just end up loving your current job even more. Youll feel a renewed sense of excitement about going into work every day, and the tough days (everyone has them) may not seem quite so tough.6)Youll still be in control.Saying yes to an interview doesnt mean that youre definitely going to leave your job. Only you can make that decision. Dont lose sight of the fact that youre the one in the drivers seat. If at any point in the interview process you realize this job isnt the one, you can respe ctfully withdraw yourself from consideration. Just be aya that you arent backing out of scheduled meetings or calls at the eleventh hour the more notice, the better.Admittedly, if you know you have absolutely no intention of even entertaining a new opportunity and are completely unwilling to make a change, it doesnt make sense to move forward with an interview. Recruiters and hiring managers put tons of energy into the interview process, and theres no point in wasting your time or anyone elses.But.If there is a part of you thats curious and could potentially be incentivized to make a change, dont hold yourself back from exploring interesting opportunities. Sure, you may decide to stick with your current job in the end, but expanding your network, strengthening your interview skills, and gaining a better understanding of your industry are all pretty great reasons to at least have a conversation with a prospective employer. Even better? Theres always a chance that youll find a new jo b that you love even more.--Jaclyn Westlake is a career advice columnist, creator of the Job Hoppers Job Search Strategy Guide and founder of The Job Hop. With more than ten years of experience in the recruiting and human resources space, she is passionate about empowering job seekers to achieve their career goals. Shes also particularly fond of coffee, every dog in the world, and the city of San Francisco.Fairygodboss is committed to improving the workplace and lives of women. Join us by reviewing your employer

Writing a Excellent Resume Secrets That No One Else Knows About

Writing a Excellent Resume Secrets That No One Else Knows About What Everybody Dislikes About Writing a Excellent Resume and Why Know the purpose of your resume Some men and women write a resume like the intention of the document was supposed to land work. When writing a resume, it helps to review resume examples that are associated with your occupation. Therefore, writing a resume ought to be regarded as as writing a bit of marketing paper with the aim of selling yourself to the employer. Once youve reviewed resumes in your field, peruse resumes across fields to learn how to vary using action verbs and receive a feel for what makes a highly effective accomplishment statement. Your own personal writer can help you create a modern resume, dependent on your career story and meeting all of the high standards of your industry. The reader of your resume is searching for indications that youll suit a particular opening and that reader uses your resume to establish if an bewerbungs interview ought to be scheduled. Resume writing must be carried out professionally because your career is dependent on it. An expert editor, or possibly an expert writer, can help you acquire the resume as close to perfection as possible. The Bizarre Secret of Writing a Excellent Resume On occasion, you desire the resume immediately because you own a work post you would like to apply for. A good can be difficult to locate so following is a good sample resume to assist you begin. Got The Job resume is ranked among the greatest and top resume writing services around the planet. Finding the most effective affordable resume writing services is a challenging task. If your resume hasnt proven that you may fit, you will likely not be called in for that interview. Your resume provides a window in your history and is among the principal files in your job hunt, since it gives the crucial preliminary impression on a hiring committee. You might want to highlight unique facets of you r experience, based on the particular necessities of the position available. If you have little teaching experience, include volunteer positions and co-curricular pursuits that involve teaching in some manner. Still, a resume can demonstrate you have accomplished goals. Youll incorporate the exact abilities and experiences, but you will concentrate on the points that are relevant for that specific position. The Definitive Strategy for Writing a Excellent Resume Writing general duties is a typical mistake because applicants think that nursing resembles distinct hospitals and departments, but in fact, your duties will differ between different facilities. Possessing a perfectly written resume with all the qualifications necessary for the job may be enough if there are just a couple of applicants for work. If youre talking about a present job, they ought to be utilized in the current tense. If thats the case, your resume can nevertheless be quantified, and provide the hiring man ager a concrete idea of the range of your abilities and abilities. Written Communication Writing well is a big part of your professional presentation. Writing the ideal research assistant resume objective or summary can be complicated. If youve got many abilities, the previous skill paragraph may be called Additional Skills. At times the Skills and Accomplishments section is an individual section. What Everybody Dislikes About Writing a Excellent Resume and Why The majority of the times your prior work experience will be absolutely the most significant part the resume, so put it at the top. The next three strategies for writing a resume can be employed by anyone in any area. Dispose of the thought that youre writing the resume to obtain work, but focus on how best to produce the employer interested in you. Simply take a minute to write down the most frequent mistakes youve seen in resumes.

Whats Truly Going on with Resume Tips 2017

Whats Truly Going on with Resume Tips 2017 The Little-Known Secrets to Resume Tips 2017 You ought to be able to produce a column of dates and locations for each job by developing an appropriate tab. Include keywords featured in desirable job descriptions to be certain you get noticed by the correct folks. Also, make certain youre using your private contact info, rather than your work. If youre employing a functional resume format instead of a chronological one, you have to fix that, stat. Speaking of unique, the principal aim of your resume is to make you stick out from the remainder of the folks applying for equal job and another means to create that happen is to use action verbs and power words (also known as resume verbs). Frame yourself in how you would like to be seen and indicate position types for which you wish to get considered. Bear in mind, the words you use to spell out the job might not be the exact ones a recruiter would utilize to search, so make sure to incor porate all words and variations that may apply to the job that you seek. Help make your work search easier by curating a master list of places you wish to apply to, together with the folks that youll need to acquire in touch with. Get serious about your private brand and the way you provide a remedy to an employers desperate need. Basically, you would like to quickly portray that youre a best candidate for those forms of jobs youre pursuing. Its simpler to read and works well with internet job application systems. Actually, you can begin a business on a few dollars. Things You Wont Like About Resume Tips 2017 and Things You Will Save your final version for a PDF to make certain everything stays just as is. Outlined below are a variety of strategies and examples that demonstrate proper letter formats and the way to compose a prosperous document. After, you must open a new document and begin writing. Any written resume is a type of marketing document and the chief purpose o f such document to offer your candidacy and receive the job. Just pay some attention to the formatting such that the entire information is correctly arranged and is readily readable. While Canadian resumes are available in many distinct formats, they share some standards that you ought to know about. In other instances, in case you made a decision to use one resume format. When you format your resume you need to make certain your leave enough margin space to permit for printing. The Most Popular Resume Tips 2017 When hiring managers are reviewing hundreds of resumes, attempting to choose the very best bewerbungsinterview candidates, they need to know what you could do for them. Your LinkedIn profile should showcase who you are and what youve got to offer to prospective customers and employers. If you would like to catch the interest of the hiring manager, youve got to give them what they want. You may even have to tweak resumes in the saatkorn sector to better position yours elf to match up with the work description. LinkedIn is a favorite business-related social media website. Hiring managers might want to speak to you. Recruiters read plenty of resumes, so they dont need to need to devote a lot of time looking over yours. Generally speaking, an all-purpose, one-size-fits-all resume isnt powerful. Since you get an excellent possiblity to incorporate the most important and worthless info to your resume. Make certain you leave a working email address or contact number. Thus, its advisable that you place your contact details right at the start of your resume. What is Really Happening with Resume Tips 2017 A highly effective phrase or statement can be a fantastic way to bring in interest. The info on your resume is a significant element in landing you your dream job, which explains why you should find out the best advice for writing a great resume. There has ever been a particular writing style when it has to do with writing resume content. A work objective is a statement that explains what youre searching for in a career and that which you aspire to accomplish. Bear in mind, landing the interview is the very first step to receiving the position that you truly desire You list your latest position first. If a new position, career change or expert advancement is in your future, make certain you take the steps required to realize your aims. The 5-Minute Rule for Resume Tips 2017 Well, so are thousands of different folks that are also searching for employment. Most folks look at writing a resume as just something youve got to do to have a job. So, you shouldnt count on job websites, but you should be prepared to speak to all of your pals and people whod be prepared to give you a job. If youre searching for a some new opportunities, its recommended to craft yourresume 2016. The Tried and True Method for Resume Tips 2017 in Step by Step Detail A growing number of employers are using ATS systems with each year which goe s by. Its possible to communicate you have the most suitable experience utilizing challenge, action, result statements. Generally, you only ought to demonstrate the most recent 10-15 decades of your career history and just incorporate the experience applicable to the positions to which youre applying. From the info its possible to gather here, you will see it isnt as challenging to understand how to compose a resume as you might have thought.

My single best tip

My single best tipMy single best tipIn fifteen years writing this newsletter, the single best tip Ive given, that has come back to me over, and over, and over again, is thisWhen it gets to that part of the interview with your future boss where they ask, well, do you have any questions for me?, say yes, and askHow do I help you get a gold star on your review next year?This bit of advice has helped mora people in more interviews than any other bit of advice Ive shared in the belastung decade-and-a-half that Ive been writing to you.Why?Well, the interview process lends itself to self-absorption. We spend so much of the time talking about ourselves that we can sound like one of those people who talks only about themselves.Or, conversely, we become job analysis engineers and ask all sorts of questions about the job and reporting structure and how it fits in with the companys five-year plan and so on. I love getting questions from candidates in interviews, but I do have to admit that I fee l theyre not quite getting the point of a face-to-face interview when they pull out six pages of typed, single-spaced questions and promptly bury their nose in their papers without making eye contact.We get so obsessed with the details of the job that we forget about the work.Working together and being a good addition to the team mean being concerned with how you are making the team successful. And that means being concerned with how well you are helping your boss succeed.Asking this question shows that you have empathy. It shows that you have an interest in your boss career and future success. It shows that you are not just a self-absorbed whats-in-it-for-me kind of person. And it shows that you know you are there to give as much as you are there to get.Hundreds of members like you have told me how the interviewers face lights up when asked this question. I have heard time and time and time again from our almost ten million members how effective its been in interviews.(And, remembe r, you want the vibe to be a cool relaxed Vince Vaughn, not an obsequious Steve Buscemi.)The gold star question is an easy tip to implement in your job search its easy to do, easy to understand, and its easy to measure.And that makes it my best bit of career advice in over a decade of doling it out.So thank you, folks, for paying attention, trying it out, and letting me know how it goesIm rooting for youMy Single Best TipThis bit of advice has helped more people in more interviews than any other weve shared. In the decade-plus Ive been writing this newsletter, the single best tip Ive given, that has come back to me over, and over, and over again, is thisWhen it gets to that part of the interview with your future boss where they ask, well, do you have any questions for me?, say yes, and askHow do I help you get a gold star on your review next year?This bit of advice has helped more people in more interviews than any other bit of advice Ive shared in the last decade-and-a-half that I ve been writing to you.Why?Well, the interview process lends itself to self-absorption. We spend so much of the time talking about ourselves that we can sound like one of those people who talks only about themselves.Or, conversely, we become job analysis engineers and ask all sorts of questions about the job and reporting structure and how it fits in with the companys five-year plan and so on. I love getting questions from candidates in interviews, but I do have to admit that I feel theyre not quite getting the point of a face-to-face interview when they pull out six pages of typed, single-spaced questions and promptly bury their nose in their papers without making eye contact.We get so obsessed with the details of the job that we forget about the work.Working together and being a good addition to the team mean being concerned with how you are making the team successful. And that means being concerned with how well you are helping your boss succeed.Asking this question shows that yo u have empathy. It shows that you have an interest in your boss career and future success. It shows that you are not just a self-absorbed whats-in-it-for-me kind of person. And it shows that you know you are there to give as much as you are there to get.Dozens of subscribers have told me how the interviewers face lights up when asked this question. I have heard time and time and time again from our nine million subscribers how effective its been in interviews.(And, remember, you want the vibe to be a cool relaxed Vince Vaughn, not an obsequious Steve Buscemi.)The gold star question is an easy tip to implement in your job search its easy to do, easy to understand, and its easy to measure.And that makes it my best bit of career advice in over a decade of doling it out.So thank you, Readers, for paying attention, trying it out, and letting me know how it goesIm rooting for you

Refresh Your Career in Time for Spring

Refresh Your Career in Time for SpringRefresh Your Career in Time for SpringRefresh Your Career in Time for SpringSpring for some better career habits.March is the time when many New Years resolutions have gone flat. So maybe your shiny January routine of going to the gym 4 times a week did not stick, or your healthy-eating resolve crumbled in the face of February sleet. No matter spring is here, and you can use the blue skies and the warmer days as the ultimate inspiration to refresh yourself professionally with some work organization and spring cleaningA spring re-boot is a great way to assess where you are, breathe a new life into a stagnant job search, and chart your course towards making this a great year for your professional growth. Here are five Spring steps to get you inspired and moving in the right directionGive yourself a performance review.Your manager may sit down with you once a year to go over your professional goals and deliver feedback, which is often followed by t he raise or promotion conversation. Why not do it for yourself? You might even take yourself out for a nice lunch while you are at itWhere do you abflug? Consider using the saatkorn format as your manager would, especially if you have the benefit of well-defined goals and metrics that you are being measured against. If your job does not offer a clear set of expectations and benchmarks, you can develop your own based on your job description and industry norms. Decide on what matters most, then grade yourself on a sliding scale. At this point in the process, it is best to be a tough judge of your own performance. Identify what you did well, what could have been done better, and what needs to change going forward.Pro tip for those who are unemployed and in active job search mode you might complete the same exercise to assess your networking and interviewing efforts. After all, looking for a job is your job now and you will benefit from a periodic re-boot and evaluation. Whats working? On what hard tasks might you be procrastinating? By taking an honest hard look at your efforts and results, you might just get the job search process out of a rut. Re-assess your salary.Most professionals do a formal or an informal assessment of salary levels for comparable positions when they are considering several job offers. Websites like PayScale, Jobstar and Salary.com offer a great starting point to research typical salaries for your job in your geographic location. Unfortunately, few people use these resources once they are employed. I recommend turning this into an annual exercise and looking for trends as opposed to zooming in one any one number.What you do with the information you find will depend on the results of your search and your personal situation. If you learn that you are being underpaid compared to similar positions in your area, you might begin by taking an honest look at your contributions and performance over the past year or so. Are you a superstar performe r with no raise for a year or more? Consider if your company is in a dire financial situation, and assess whether you are still getting the right opportunities and prospects to grow or if this is the time to jump ship.Freshen up your resume.Another common mistake? Dusting off the resume right before you need it for an interview That is a recipe for last-minute hassle and regrets as you realize you have forgotten to add a brand-new skill or experience that would highlight your readiness for the next opportunity.The good news is that keeping your resume up to date does not require much time. By reviewing it once or twice a year, you can be sure to update your list of responsibilities, accomplishments and awards while they are fresh in your mind. After your resume is supplemented with current information, be sure to do the same to your LinkedIn profile. Take stock of your network.Speaking of virtual and real-life networks, Spring is a great time to reconnect with decision-makers, form er colleagues and industry contacts. Most professionals dont think of reaching out to their connections unless they have a specific question or request, because they feel they need a reason to say hello. There is nothing wrong in wanting to be respectful of busy professionals time.However, remember that a friendly touch-point just because can be effective and welcome. Consider sending a quick email to share personal or professional news, a handwritten note to thank them for something they did for you in the past, or a book that reminded you of them. Small thoughtful gestures can do a lot to generate goodwillPrune down your to-do list for greater focus.Many professionals use to-do lists for work organization, but few do it effectively. Case in point if your list has had the exact same tasks pushed back day after day as you never seem to find the time or the motivation to address them, your list needs some pruning. Look at those perpetual back burner tasks critically. Do they matter? If so, must you be the one to do them? Ideally, you want to remove them from your list for good, delegate them, or get them done once and for all.You might also try creating a side by side comparison of your annual goals and your daily to-do list. If the two bear only a vague resemblance to each other, you need to re-focus your daily priorities in order to have any chance of accomplishing the big-picture goals that matter. You may want to involve your manager in this process to ensure that you have his or her buy-in.Professional spring cleaning for a stronger year.As you take a good look at your performance, resume and daily priorities, remember that no career is ever advanced in solitude You need a change of scene and some fresh airinspiration and motivation are sure to follow. Seek out professional associations, alumni networking events, conferences and other opportunities outside your office. By mingling with other professionals and exposing yourself to new ideas, you have a bett er chance of giving your career an energy boost.Need help with your resume? Take advantage of our free critique today

How to Choose Between Two Strong Job Candidates

How to Choose Between Two Strong Job CandidatesHow to Choose Between Two Strong Job CandidatesHeres an interesting (and enviable) dilemma for employers When two outstanding candidates are vying for the same position at your firm and they have been neck and neck throughout the recruitment process, how do you decide which rolle to hire?Many employers today struggle when conducting a candidate search because skilled talent is in short supply. But once in a great while, something amazing happens You hit the hiring jackpot. You come across two outstanding candidates whose resumes stand above the crowd. Even better, they both bewerberinterview well. In fact, you could see yourself hiring either one of them.Its a fantastic problem to have until you realize you literally cant decide which person to hire. Youre paralyzed by the thought of making the wrong choice.But the longer you wait to make your decision, the greater the risk of losing one or both candidates to another employer. So how do you make the right choice when you come to this hiring crossroads? And how can you do it quickly? Here are three strategies to considerTake a long-term viewYou are hiring to address an immediate need at your firm, but dont ignore the future. Look beyond the requirements for the open position and examine each candidates potential to grow at your firm over time. For example, does one candidates leadership potential stand out more than the others? Or does one of the candidates have knowledge or skills in an area that isnt essential for the job at hand but could nonetheless add value to your business?FIND YOUR NEXT GREAT HIREThink about fit with the corporate cultureThis is an important consideration in any hiring situation. However, employers dont always devote as much time as they should to assessing whether a candidate will fit well and thrive in their companys work environment - especially once that exciting new-job feeling subsides. One strategy for gauging fit with the schreibst ube culture is to introduce potential hires to your team before extending an offer. It could be as part of the interview process or more informally as a quick meet and greet. Getting others opinions on how a potential hire might mesh with the team and workplace culture can be very valuable.Assess both interest and enthusiasmYouve interviewed both candidates - probably more than once. Looking back on those meetings, which person seemed to be the most engaged in the process? Who asked the most questions? Who asked more insightful questions? How quickly did each person follow up with you after the interview? And, just as important, what is your gut feeling about which individual seemed to want the job the most? As you reflect on these things, its likely you will identify the more interested and enthusiastic candidate, even if its only a hairsbreadth difference between the two.Seize this rare opportunity (if it makes good sense)If youve weighed all the above factors and still cant deci de which job candidate to choose, heres another option Hire both.Of course, that can be easier said than done. The decision depends a great deal on the budget available to you and the structure and needs of your team. But if you have the means, its worth considering.The reason is simple Good people are hard to find and no company will suffer from having too many of them on board. The needs of your business can change rapidly, and you may find yourself on the hunt for another hire before long. At that point, though, you may not be as lucky as you were this time around.Just be koranvers that your decision is sustainable. There needs to be enough work to keep both hires engaged and feeling like their contributions make a difference. A good starting place is to think about projects that have been pushed to the back burner because your team doesnt have the time to devote to them. Could one of the new hires help move these initiatives forward? Could they reduce the workload for other empl oyees who are overloaded or close to reaching that point?If you ultimately decide the best course of action is to extend only one job offer at this time, keep in touch with the candidate you dont hire. Connect on LinkedIn and check in with the person occasionally to pass along news about the company and get updates on their career. You never know when your next hiring need will arise. Paul McDonald Paul McDonald is senior executive director at Robert Half. He writes and speaks frequently on hiring, workplace and career management topics. Over the course of more than 30 years in the recruiting field, McDonald has advised thousands of company leaders and job seekers on how to hire and get hired.McDonald joined Robert Half in 1984 as a recruiter for financial and accounting pro fessionals in Boston, following a public accounting career with Price Waterhouse. In the 1990s, he became president of the cowboyfilm United States overseeing all of the companys operations in the region. McDonald become senior executive director of Robert Half Management Resources in 2000, and assumed his current role in 2012. He earned a bachelors degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting from St. Bonaventure University in New York.