What is the Most Important thing to Consider when Hiring?

The most important consideration when hiring is that the candidate is qualified for the job...  Right?

Not completely. Beyond that, you have to ask yourself, “How will this person fit into my company?” You certainly don’t want to hire someone who won’t feel comfortable coming into work every day. An unhappy employee that doesn’t fit in could pose difficulties to the rest of your team by changing your carefully maintained company atmosphere. Even if you're using all of your best hiring practices, you could be overlooking something.

5 Vital Considerations to Consider when Hiring the Perfect Candidate

1. Getting their message across

Every company has its norms, its customs and habits, and how your employees communicate is a vital part of company culture. How do your employees tend to talk to each other, or with managers? Do they email, instant message, call, make appointments in a calendar app, pass notes or face time? 

Take some time to examine how the potential hire communicates. Do they seem like a good personality fit, and is are they an effective communicator? Vast differences in communication and work styles can cause disruptions with others, and lead to problems with productivity. Make sure that you screen for these things before you pull the trigger on a new hire.

2. Level of Supervision

Management style is a fundamental aspect of company culture, and it’s important to note when considering a candidate. When one of your employees is undertaking a task, how often do you or another manager check in on them? How often do you offer assistance? And how much do you expect to be contacted for help?

It’s necessary for a candidate to understand how much they can reasonably expect to be managed. Make sure that your organization's preferred method is one that the candidate will thrive under.

3. Social Time

Do your employees take breaks together, or is it an ‘every man for himself’ situation? Neither is better than the other, but if a candidate isn’t a good match, it can make for an uncomfortable workplace. Go ahead and ask them what they're used to doing on their lunch break. Do they bring food, do they like to go out with co-workers, or do they order takeout with others? Checking on these traits can make the difference between a lifetime employee and a two-year hire.

4. The View From The Bottom

A big part of a company’s culture is what employees and managers define as winning, and how that’s achieved. Make sure you know what traits are highly valued in your company. If that’s the ability to work alone and come up with a perfect product, or to be an excellent team member, then you should test your candidate for these things. Asking about their work style (if they prefer to work alone, or in teams) can be a very good indication of whether or not they are a good match for your company.

5. Is your Office Space a Picture of Harmony?

How personalized is the office? Are there pictures of your team's success, or are you as spartan as can be? Do your employees heavily customize their space, or is everything there specifically utilitarian? Having an overall pleasant space and making sure that your current employees and potential hires have similar or complementary styles can help to create a unified atmosphere in the workplace.

Use What You’ve Learned

Now that you’ve examined your company’s traits, make sure you start looking for harmony right from the beginning with a new hire. In your interview:

• Ask candidates how they preferred to communicate in their previous job.
• Ask how they are accustomed to being managed, and if they are flexible in their style. 
• Ask yourself if this candidate shares your company’s values.
• Give your team a chance to meet them, get their feedback, and absolutely let it inform your judgment.

Remember, there’s a person behind that resume, and some candidates are adept at making themselves look good on paper. Dig a little deeper and get to know who they are.

In the search for top talent, employer branding has increasingly become is a key component of any good recruitment strategy. Particularly in the tech sector, where there is a shortage of skilled talent, companies can no longer simply rely on databases and candidate tracking systems. Well-qualified candidates have choices, they know they can shop around for the best placement.

In order to attract the best talent, you have to make certain that candidates arrive at interviews pre-disposed to working for you, and one of the best ways to achieve that is to make certain your employer branding is up to date and reflective of your company culture.

Here are 5 Strategies for updating your Company’s branding

1. Culture Is Key

Millennials, unlike previous generations, are looking for a work experience that places a high value on their overall well-being. And in the search for a placement, they are willing to accept lower pay in exchange for an employer that puts the focus on professional development, performance recognition, clear communication, loyalty, and respect. In other words, they are looking for a satisfying work/life experience.

Companies that fail to create a culture geared toward employee engagement and satisfaction are finding that they suffer higher turnover rates. In fact, 80-90% of employees (not only millennials) who have left a position, report it was due to a clash with company culture or management. Or, to put it in a more positive light, engagement leads to better performance and increased loyalty. And since your employees are your best brand ambassadors, you must focus on creating a satisfying work experience.

So how do you do that?

2. Set Clear Expectations 

If you haven’t already, develop a robust and honest picture of what it takes to be a successful employee. Showcase in your branding the skills and talents you are looking for while painting an accurate, yet enticing picture of the work-life you offer. In order to attract relevant talent, (and talent that’s invested in working for you for the long term) make it clear what it is you offer, be it flexible hours, a specific technology you work with, diversity, etc.

3. Give Your Employees A Voice

Offer your workforce outlets to tell their stories. Feature employee profiles on your website, blog and/or newsletter. Celebrate their achievements and big wins, showcase their talents. In other words, put a spotlight on the individual, not the position. By encouraging employees to act as “brand ambassadors” in social media you’re not only engaging your target audience, you’re also letting it be known that employees are thriving and are valued.

4. Foster and reward innovation. 

Rather than seeing workers who challenge parameters, as a threat, create incentives for intrapreneurs. Always give credit where credit is due and be certain to include employee created innovations in your branding materials.

Just as you offer training and opportunities for education, leaving room for employee-led innovation is a powerful way to demonstrate that you are not only investing in your employee's futures, but you also make it clear to candidates that there’s room for growth.

5. Test It

Once you’ve looked at these areas, you want to be certain to test it. There’s no point in creating an employer brand that is not reflective of the actual work-a-day culture. In order to make sure that your branding matches the actual experience of employees, poll them on their perception of your brand:

• Does their experience match the brand you are touting?
• If not, how does it skew? What are you missing/ under-representing?
• Do they feel valued?
• What percentage of your employees would recommend their friends come work for you?
• Are they invested in the company’s success beyond their paycheck?

And on the Candidate side:

• Are your job postings garnering the right kind of candidates?
• Does the interview experience match what was promised?
• Do new hires complain that the company culture they were sold on is not, in fact, what they find in the day-to-day work experience?

If the answers to any of these questions are not what you are hoping to hear, then chances are you’re putting out a skewed picture of your business, and need to align the actual experience with how you represent your company culture.

All of this is by way of saying, it’s important to present your business as you are, not as you hope to be, or wish to be one day. As in all things, by being clear, transparent and honest, you are ensuring that the right kind of talent will be attracted to come work for you.

Hiring managers know that filling vacancies can be time-consuming. Reading through resumes, conducting phone interviews, and vetting potential candidates can end up taking you away from your other responsibilities.

But taking the time to get the job done right from the very beginning, even before you start collecting resumes, can end up saving you time, money, and headaches. Spare yourself the struggle and do it right the first time.

Here are some important aspects to consider before you start seeing candidates for an opening.

Understand The Company

Let your mission statement be your guide to success!

A well-crafted mission statement, one that reveals the character of your company is one of the best ways to attract desirable candidates. Make sure that the key qualities that your company values are easily identifiable in all of your materials. If a company’s main focus is “Going Green” and the potential candidate disregards the practice of taking care of the environment, then maybe they're not the best pick for the position. When interviewing a candidate, ask how their personal goals intersect with the company’s goals. If both are in alignment, you could have a very good match on your hands.

Understand the Role

Before the interview process, it's important that you understand the open position and obligations that are embedded within it. Any vacancies should be thoroughly explored before you hand a job description off to human resources. Discover faults or pain points in the role. Find out why the position requires certain specifications.

A study from the National Business Research Institute has shown the two leading factors that attribute to a failed hire are poor skills match and unclear performance objectives.

This isn't to say that you need your human resources department to become experts on all company roles. However, you do want them to be familiar with the tasks that are performed during an average day, so the filtering process can run at a much more efficient pace. Putting yourself in the shoes of the candidate could further help your search to find the most qualified employee.

Also, take the time to understand why this certain position was left vacant. See if you can look through old employee concerns and reports. If you can assign a problem, then you can apply a solution. 

Now, Take Your Time (But Not Too Much Time)

Hiring managers need to strike a balance between finding qualified candidates and doing so in an efficient and respectable amount of time. Taking too long to close a hire can result in the loss of a worthy applicant, and rushing the process can lead to a bad match. According to the National Business Research Institute,  43% of employers cited that filling vacant positions in a limited amount of time resulted in unfit and unqualified hires.

You can think of the hiring process as oddly similar to the dating game. In a technical aspect, two parties engage, shape a bond, and establish goals that pursue together. When a company hires someone, they are granting them access to numerous resources and assets. An unsuccessful match can result in loss of time, money, and in some cases, can lead to security vulnerabilities.

Having to refill a position after a failed hire is a time consuming and costly endeavor. Find your balance and place the right candidate the first time.  

You contract an executive recruiting firm for the benefit of their expertise with top talent and the quality of their relationships. You know working with recruiters may cost you more than your in-house HR department, but they're worth the price. But, just as there is no such thing as one-size-fits-all hiring practices, there isn’t just one engagement model.

Knowing the difference between contingency search, retained search and the new, innovative option known as the hybrid recruiting model, can mean the difference between making the right hire and losing time and money on an unproductive search.

3 Recruiting Models

CONTINGENCY SEARCH

You're No-Risk Option.

Signing a letter of agreement for a contingency search is binding only IF the search results in a hire. Yes, you’ll have agreed to a percentage of the closing salary, but if the recruiters don’t bring you the A-level talent you’re seeking, then the search doesn't cost you anything. You’re not bound by an exclusivity agreement and can work with multiple search firms at once. And most firms offer a guarantee period, anywhere from 30-90 days. The recruiters carry all the risk- if they don’t deliver, you don’t pay.

But Nothing Is Truly Free.

The contingency recruiter search process can often be costlier, carrying higher percentage fees. And what you might not get is fully-dedicated resources or the full force of the search team’s focus to fill your positions. With no guarantee of payment, a contingency search firms will only dedicate so much of their time and resources to your search.

RETAINED SEARCH

We’re There For You.

There are some hires, such as C-level suite and marketing manager level positions, that are just too important to leave to chance. You need a focused search dedicated to building your team. When you engage a recruiter in a retained search, they’ll be looking not only for the candidates with the right resumes, but also mining for hidden talent -- candidates who are primed to take on new challenges but may fly under the radar. This is where the recruiter’s reach and relationships come into play. You get all their time and attention focused on your search by paying them an exclusive, pre-determined percentage of the final salary. Usually payable in three installments (1/3 at the time of engagement, 1/3 at an agreed-upon point in the middle of the process, and the last installment rounded out based on the actual salary). With a retained search consultant model, you know your money is hard at work for you.

What Will It Cost You?

Retained searches are structured to mitigate the risk for both you and the recruiter. However, in the event that the search does not end in a successful hire for either internal or external reasons, that first 1/3 of the fee is non-recoverable - though many firms will apply it to a future search. This is the time to work with a search firm whom you trust and who has a solid, long-standing reputation in your business sector.

THE HYBRID RECRUITING MODEL

Quality Service At A Discount.

You need quality talent, and you need it fast, but you’re not looking to pay premium recruiting fees. You may be a start-up needing to fill out staff, or an established firm looking to test the waters with a new recruiter. Either way, the Hybrid model may be the perfect solution for your staffing needs. You’ll pay an engagement fee, but in exchange for a small outlay at the beginning, you’ll get treated like a retained client AND you’ll pay a discounted rate. The upfront fee is deductible from the final percentage based on starting salary. Think of it as a down payment. Recruiters like it because they get a targeted search that’s more than likely to end in a hire, and you get exclusive service at a discount.

Is There A Downside?

Sure there is, but it’s pretty slim for you. The only way your engagement fee won’t go to work for you is if the recruiting firm can’t fill any of your staffing needs within the agreed-upon specified time, and even then the fee can be applied to a future search.

There are, of course, other models for engagement, solutions that are tailored to special needs, such as filling out a new branch or for contracting short-term hires. If you find yourself faced with one of these situations, talk to your recruiter and explore what works best for you.

To say that your time at a conference or industry trade show is at a premium is a gross understatement, to say the least. Your days are packed with pitching your products and ideas, to network, to check in on the competition, and to foster business development opportunities. What you're not there to do is collect resumes and conduct an endless stream of interviews.

But just because you don't have the bandwidth to devote to interviewing doesn't mean that you shouldn't take advantage of being under the same roof as the very best professionals in your field. In fact, a conference is prime real estate for connecting with and nurturing relationships with some of the top talent out there. After all, the professionals who get sent to represent their companies at conferences are the brightest that business has to offer, and they also happen to be the same folk you're looking to recruit.

Here are 4 ways you can make the most of your time at a show to meet and connect with top talent.

1. The "How Do You Do"

Whether you spend most of your time at your booth or roving the floor, you're going to be meeting lots of people. The mood is more convivial, people tend to have their guard lowered even the dress is more casual. So, you'll have plenty of opportunities to chat and feel people out. And this is why you want to have a pitch prepared, a friendly "script" if you will when meeting people who intrigue you.

This isn't a hard sell as much as an overture, and because time is short you don't want to have to make it up on the spot. Just as you have an elevator pitch for your company, have a succinct, yet enticing, a preview of what you do and what you're looking for in employees.

Do keep in mind, not everyone you'll meet and is excited by is looking for a new opportunity, but savvy professionals know that their next great job could come out of the blue. Both they and you have to prepare to make the most of the moment. If you're only focused on clients and prospects you might just miss connecting with your next top performer.

After you're back in the office the following week be certain to follow up and make personal contact (above and beyond connecting on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook). Even if you're not ready to pursue them any further at the moment, take advantage of that face-t0-face interaction to lay the groundwork.

2. Go Where The Talent Goes

Surely you've got your own busy schedule to keep up with: panels to attend, break out sessions to participate in, and keynote speeches to catch.

But in addition to going to track sessions that speak to your needs or pain points, take some time to attend tracks that the talent you are looking for might attend. In addition to seeing how people conduct themselves in a forum, you also may learn something new about the concerns of people in this position are having, and you'll certainly gain insight into what they're looking at to do their jobs well.

Again, this is not actively recruiting as much as name gathering and relationship building -- a golden opportunity to meet and cultivate future relationships. After all, you're far more likely to form a clearer impression of someone you've met and had contact with than just by reading a resume. You'll also have a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses long before you sit down for your first interview with them.

Conferences are a prime real estate to practice the central tenet of: always be recruiting.

3. The Coffee/Lunch/Dinner Date

While carving out time off the floor and away from clients and prospects to hold an interview is not a good use of your time, meals offer the perfect opportunity to meet with a candidate that you're already engaged with.

Let's say you've already had the phone interviews, a video call and now you're looking to have a face-to-face. Assuming the candidate is also attending the show or is willing to fly in to meet you, meal breaks are a great time to meet. As they say, everyone's got to eat, right?

You stand to gain an unexpected bonus if your candidate is also working at the show as you very well might have the opportunity to see them in action. Not that you'd be spying on them or risking compromising their present position, but you can certainly get a real-life glimpse into how they comport themselves and if they are at ease outside of the cubicle.

4. The Final Round

Although it's not a regular occurrence, we certainly have had our clients meet candidates at shows that they've already made an offer to, or are in negotiations with. Not only is it a perfect setting for hammering out final details over a meal in a convivial atmosphere, but it's also an opportunity for other members of your team who might not be part of the vetting process to meet the soon-to-be new hire.

And assuming you are close enough to a closed deal, if it suits you, you'll also have the opportunity to begin introducing them to vendors, customers, and other industry contacts. It might just provide the perfect early training ground for you and your new hire.

What do you think? Do you have any room in your day or your head for thinking about recruiting or interviews while you're at a show? We want to hear from you, share your thoughts in the comments.

If there's one thing we know about what drives the top SaaS sales talent that we place, it's that they're always looking to get involved with the next great technological leap. Innovation, disruption, and a team of proven leaders are all prime motivators. So when they go looking for a new position at a new company, they are inevitably confronted with a choice between one of two ways to go: Public or Pre-IPO.

While one is popularly considered to be the safer, more reliable bet, there are very specific advantages to both. You do yourself a service to look at both sides of the coin when considering a move.

THE PRE-IPO APPEAL 

Even as the rate of IPO's have slowed this year, we still see well-funded start-ups that are proving to be enticing to our sales candidates right now. And while there are risks associated with moving to a new/unknown entity, the rewards, as you know, can be enormous. That is, if you’re moving to the right company.

Here are the defining characteristics that make a Pre-IPO appealing.

Disruptive Technologies with an Achievable Plan.

A disruptive technology is one that either displaces an existing technology or introduces a ground-breaking product that opens up a new industry. It’s exciting, it’s cutting-edge and it’s potentially important. You won’t find better salespeople than those who are looking to be engaged with the product they’re selling, who need to feel that they are helping to build something new, innovative and/or helpful. And truly, what salesperson worth their salt doesn’t want to be selling the world’s next great technological breakthrough?

But above and beyond the technology itself, savvy salespeople are considering the marketplace for this product. How addressable is the market? Are there too many players? Is the company engaged in a red ocean or a blue ocean strategy?

Confidence.

A top salesperson got where they are based on the value of their relationships, and the depth of their network. There’s no point in making a move where you can’t carry those relationships forward with you. It’s not enough to only believe in the product you’re selling, it’s vital to consider if it’s one you can sell to a marketplace/customer base you know well. How well will you be able to leverage your existing network? And, more importantly, does this new product solve a real problem for your current customers?

Top-Level Management.

When it comes to startups, who is just as important as what. Top management leaders who’ve scaled a company before, who have the knowledge, experience and following to build a successful company are nearly as important as the technology itself. Savvy salespeople look to the management team as a good barometer for potential success. They’re looking for managers they not only they feel they can work with, but who have a track record of success and can move the company toward profit and beyond.

It’s also important to remember that more people cite lack of faith in, or a conflict with, their manager as the number one reason for leaving a position. And while you can’t know how you’ll get on with a manager, doing due diligence on the people you’ll be reporting to is a key consideration to make.

High-Scaling.

Look, salespeople know a worthwhile lead when they see it, and they can also recognize a dead-end long before it comes into view. Yes, there has to be a belief in the technology and an investment in the worth it adds to business, or society at large, but more than that, there has to be the potential for a high return.

Always consider who is involved. Is this a purely VC backed venture, or PE? Where are they in their funding? While getting into a company while they are still in series A funding might promise higher returns later on, we are currently finding that the majority of our sales candidates are interested in series C or beyond. This may be attributable to the fact that the first quarter of 2016 has seen the lowest number of companies going public, or it may be that they are looking to move only to companies that are further along in their development. Either way, the real potential has to be there for a company to attract top sales talent.

Getting in on the ground floor of a disruptive technology insures that a salesperson is both challenged, engaged and invested in the company’s success. The only gamble of course, is whether the tech will catch on or not. If they’ve judged well and have gone where the smart money is sitting, they can expect to find themselves post-IPO in a very comfortable position, and their reputation as a sales leader greatly enhanced.

THE PUBLIC APPEAL

On the other side of the coin, public companies, long considered a safe and reliable bet continue to be attractive. With a few caveats:

The Company That’s Gone Public, But Has Not Been Acquired.

There’s a big difference between a public company with an institutionalized culture, and the company that has managed to maintain its pre-IPO identity. What this means is that the original structure and charter remain in place, and that the company has not allowed its identity to change in order to fit that of its parent corp. Because of this attitude, they are able to attract and retain an 'A' level sales team that is more deeply dedicated to the company's brand, culture, and continued growth.

A good example of this is Zappos. Even after they were acquired by Amazon, Zappos has been able to buck convention in the interest of preserving their independent spirit. And this has served them quite well as they are widely regarded as one of the top companies who have gotten company culture right.

The Company That’s Already Been Acquired, But Is Siloed Under An Umbrella.

Rules were made to be broken, so we know that not all acquisitions mean the termination of a company’s identity. Depending on the terms of the merger or purchase, it’s entirely possible for an innovative company to hold on to their identity: as long as they are siloed under the umbrella of the larger corporation.

A good and timely example is the pending acquisition of LinkedIn by Microsoft. If early reports prove to be correct, LinkedIn will exist as an independent entity under Microsoft’s umbrella. Rather than being an integrated brand, they will remain singular, retaining their identity, feel and flavor while benefitting from the reach and technological edge that a parent company like Microsoft can provide.

What these types of companies offer sales people is the ability to have one's cake and eat it too. It provides the foundation and stability of a public company as well as all of the perks that come with greater financial reach— all the while being energized up by the innovation and forward culture of a startup. 

If there is one constant, clear thread we are seeing, it is that independence and innovation are of prime importance. Top SaaS salespeople are looking to be ignited by disruptive technologies, and excited by the opportunity to represent the next great products out in the world, and they are looking for the right company to support their growth.

J. Patrick and Associates serves Information Technology firms that are looking to improve or expand their teams in mission-critical functions, where the success of the firm is highly dependent on the quality of certain hires. Whether you’re a candidate looking to move to one of our top-end customers, or a vendor looking to build your sales team, contact us today. 

Hiring managers know that filling vacancies can be time consuming. Reading through resumes, conducting phone interviews, and vetting candidates can take you away from all your other responsibilities. But taking the time to get the job done right can save time, money, and headaches. Spare yourself the struggle and do it right the first time!

Here are 3 strategic methods for gaining an asset to your organization.

Understand the Company

Let your mission statement be your guide to success! A well crafted mission statement, one that reveals the character of your company is one of the best ways to  attract desirable candidates. Make sure that the key qualities that you value are easily identifiable in all of your materials. If a company’s main focus is “Going Green” and the potential candidate disregards the practice of taking care of the environment, then maybe they're not the best pick for the position. When interviewing a candidate, ask how their personal goals intersect with the company’s. If both are in alignment, you could have a very good match on your hands.

Understand the Role

Before the interview process, it's important that you understand the open position and obligations that are embedded within it. Any vacancies should be thoroughly explored before you hand a job description off to human resources. Discover faults or pain points in the role. Find out why the position requires certain specifications.

A study from the National Business Research Institute has shown the two leading factors that attribute to a failed hire are poor skills match and unclear performance objectives.

This isn't to say that you need your human resources department to become experts on all company roles. However, you do want them to be familiar with tasks that are performed in an average day, so that they can filter for your job properly.  Putting yourself in the shoes of the candidate could further help your search to finding the most qualified employee.

Quickly But Not Too Fast

After a promising first date, would you be ready to walk down the aisle?  I didn't think so! However, you also don't want to take too long, creating the opportunity for another to sweep in and steal your true love.

The hiring process is eerily similar to the dating game. In a technical aspect, two parties engaging, shaping a bond, and establishing goals that can be executed together. When a company hires someone, they are granting them access to numerous resources and assets. An unsuccessful match can cost you time, money and can in some cases lead to security vulnerabilities.

Hiring managers need to strike a balance between finding qualified candidates, and doing so in an efficient and respectable amount of time. Taking too long to close a hire can result in the lose of a worthy applicant, and rushing the process can lead to a bad match. According to the National Business Research Institute,  43% of employers cited that filling vacant positions in a limited amount of time resulted in unfit and unqualified hires.

Having to refill a position after a failed hire is a time consuming and costly endeavor. Find your balance and place the right candidate the first time. Nobody wants to repeat the process!

Related Blog:

HOW TO REEL IN CANDIDATES WITH A KILLER JOB DESCRIPTION

Looking for a new job or to relocate? Give one of our recruiters a call!

J. Patrick & Associates, Inc is an Executive Recruiting firm that focuses on Executive Mangement, Sales, Marketing and Technical roles within Information Technology markets. We have over 20 years of experience recruiting in every aspect of AV/VTC/UC, Application, Storage, Information/Network Security, Mobile Technologies, and Telecommunications.

When you think of a sales leader it’s likely that you think of the person with the 85-90% wins, right? Well sure, that’s one way to think about it. But a sales leader is many things  - above and beyond being a top producer. They understand the art of the deal in a way others don’t, and that’s what get them to the top of the heap. Yes it’s numbers, but it’s also about leadership, attitude, style and approach. 

9 Traits of a Sales Leader

“Leadership is the ability to translate vision into reality.” -- Warren Bennis

1) Insight

Building success for both yourself and your team requires vision, being able to see the big picture, and to always be looking for a new way through a problem. Sales Leaders allow themselves to not only think differently, but they also encourage their team to.

2) Integrity

Where there is trust, there is progress. Only a leader who is honest, ethical and fair can create a team that is loyal, honest and respectful. Lead by example and your team will rise up to your level and help carry you all to greater success.

3) Innovative

The tried and true might always work, but can they ever deliver anything but the same results? Real breakthroughs come from new approaches, trial error and daring to fail. Striving to maximize potential beyond the way things have always been done can lead to better results, higher numbers and greater rewards.

4) An Effective Communicator

Just as effective communication is what leads to an increase in your own sales numbers, it’s equally important that you effectively communicate with your team. Being able to clearly relay your thoughts, intructions, goals and ideas helps the overall performance of the sales force and allow them to work autonomously and effectively.

5) Analytical

Certainly gut plays a good role in sales, but a sales leader knows to dive into the data to expose what’s working, and what’s not. But they also know that the numbers don’t tell the whole story, that any data set requires a critical eye to discern the true story they are telling. Knowing the difference between being data driven and driven to do better makes all the difference to the bottom line.

6) Creative

Being able to think beyond the playbook is vital if you want to be a sales leader. And sometimes creative solutions are the only way to get through a crisis successfully. Modeling the ability to think past the established lines and build new solutions also tells your team that there will always be a way through to success

7) Delegatory

Understanding that a leader is only as strong as their team is vital. The ability to recruit and train a team of strong performers puts a sales leader at the top of the heap. But knowing how to retain that team is equally important. Sharing the load, being sure to always be teaching, training and rewarding your team helps create a stronger unit.

8) Empowering

Knowing how, when and what to delegate to the team not only allows you to focus on leading, but also sends the strong message that you trust and value the input of your sales team. The leader who micro-manages or refuses to delegate is not maximizing the potential of the group, nor are they investing in the future of the company. Always be building both your team and the abilities of the individuals.

9) Positive

It falls to the sales leader to set the tone for everyone else, and a negative outlook will never build anything but doubt. Knowing that there is always potential, that failures are an integral part of success, and that your attitude informs everyone else’s is a sure sign of a sales leader.

Related Blog:

WHAT GETS ENTERPRISE SALES-LEADERS EXCITED THESE DAYS

J. Patrick and Associates serves Information Technology firms that are looking to improve or expand their teams in mission-critical functions, where the success of the firm is highly dependent on the quality of certain hires. If your goal is to build a star sales team, or find a new position, contact us today.

When thinking about security for your business, you’ve no doubt seen to it that your office building is well-protected. You’ve got an an alarm system, security cameras and/or a guard posted at the front at your building.

But there is another vulnerability that you might be overlooking that could do way more damage than anything lurking outside.

Increasing Costs of Invisible Threats

The alarming acceleration in the growth of cybercrime is making it difficult for analysts to zero in on what the real cost to businesses is, but it’s reaching record levels. One of the latest findings, according to the IBM Cost of Data Breach Summary is that attacks are growing in both volume and sophistication, increasing overall by 64% in 2015 from 2014, and steadily rising.

The higher complexity of these recent attacks are costing companies more than ever before. The study found that each compromised record can cost $158, with an even higher cost impact in regulated industries like healthcare - a whopping $355 per record. That can add up astronomically when there are thousands of entries.

It’s not Just About Virus Protection Anymore

These sophisticated attacks are getting smarter and stealthier, and can wreck havoc on your business unless you’ve got someone watching specifically for them. An undetected breach, even it it's only for a short period of time, can result in a potentially severe impact to both your business and your customers.. Each minute that the data remains vulnerable, the costs of containing the hack skyrocket.

The only way to mitigate the damage is to have a cyber security response team at the ready to perform incident forensics, stop data leakage, and report the breach to the appropriate agencies, partners, legal and customers immediately. A surprising amount of organizations, even ones in critical sectors like energy and utilities, are not prepared enough to deal with a serious attack.

An Ounce of Prevention…

With the cost of the average data breach climbing up to $4 million an incident, the only offense is to build the strongest defense and apply enterprise risk management. Given the growth and strength of the threats, security breaches have to be factored into the cost of doing business at this point. Investing in cybersecurity failsafes before you face a catastrophic problem is crucial, as it may be it’s too costly and difficult to play catch-up after an attack.

Calling in the Cavalry

Following increased reports of worsening high profile attacks, more and more companies have decided to take the proactive route, and are turning their ships in the right direction and making it a priority to recruit the right cybersecurity talent to properly protect their critical data.

Source: IT NEXT

No one wants to be the next Home Depot, (that recently agreed to pay at least $19 million to 50 million cardholders) or the Democratic National Committee, whose computers got infiltrated and combed for months only to have sensitive campaign information leaked, or completely lose the ability to provide service to customers, so what is a company to do?

According to Radware, Organizations under threat should consider:

• A cyber security emergency response plan that includes an emergency response team and process in place.
  
  
• Protecting its infrastructure from multi-vector attacks that can saturate the Internet pipe.
  
  
• Including on-premise detection and mitigation with cloud-based protection for volumetric attacks.
  
  
• Providing protection against sophisticated web-based attacks and website intrusions to prevent defacement and information theft.
  
  
• Monitoring security alerts and examine triggers carefully. Tune existing policies to allow identification of real threats if and when they occur.

If you’re considering adding cybersecurity experts to your organization, you should:

• Find the right expert for your business size and function. If you’re smaller, you can consider someone that fits a few classifications. If you’re larger, be prepared to go for a more specialized team if you need to protect a wealth of critical personal information.
  
  
• Don't delay beginning your search. Some organizations are reporting that it can take 3-5 months to fill a senior position in some sectors.
  
  
• Get help recruiting the perfect candidate, someone who fits what your business needs right now, as well as who seeks to adapt, keep up certifications and will grow as you and the tech changes.

 J. Patrick and Associates serves Information Technology firms that are looking to improve or expand their teams in mission-critical functions, where the success of the firm is highly dependent on the quality of certain hires. If your goal is to build a star cybersecurity team, contact us today:

It’s an exciting and dynamic time in the cyber-security job market. Demand for security talent is outstripping demand at all levels from CISOs to first-level security support roles. This is a field offering salaries that are typically 9% higher than other tech roles, and more than that, it offers outstanding job security.

As long as there are bad actors out there who are looking to disrupt systems and steal information, there will be work for a large field of good guys determined to protect corporate and consumer data.

The Definition of a Growth Industry.

According to an article in Forbes, the security market, currently valued at around $75 Billion is expected to grow to $170 Billion by 2020. This translates to job growth a rate of 18%, (much faster than the average). When labor markets get this tight, employers of all types have to scramble, improvise and adapt.  This means that companies, institutions, government agencies, vendors and service providers have to invest in recruiting and retaining skilled security professionals, as well as dedicate more resources to training both current employees, and new hires from related fields.  

For candidates, this means more opportunity to work on technology and projects they have not previously been exposed to, increased security-focused responsibilities and larger budgets for vendor training, industry certifications and degree programs. It also means being afforded the time to attend these trainings.  

This environment of scarcity of skilled talent and increased resources means that entry into a security-focused role from another adjacent technology domain is easier than ever. Current employees will “get their shot” at responsibilities or positions they may not be 100% ready for (that word “qualified” is loaded, isn’t it!?).  And external candidates may also get hired despite having steeper learning curves in a particular industry or field.

The Burning Glass Report from 2015 identified that four years of experience is required for two-thirds of cybersecurity job postings. In their survey,  83% of survey respondents had four or more years of experience, as illustrated below in Figure 6.

“It is also interesting to note, however, that the majority (60%) of our respondents has 10 years or less of experience, an indication that new talent continues to be attracted to the field. Both government and private industries are contributing to building the future workforce with awareness campaigns on the careers available and skills needed, as well as scholarships and opportunities to test for aptitude.”

If you’re already in tech, but not at a company that’s willing to invest in your transition to security, begin working on certifications on your own. Then, when you’re ready to look for a new position, you’ll be all the more appealing to potential employers. But remember, the smart companies are the ones who are looking for candidates with adjacent qualifications, they know the market is too tight to go shopping for perfection.

If you think you’re ready to make the transition into cyber-security, contact our recruiters to discuss your potential move into this secure, exciting and well-paying field.