WAI Staff, Author at Whitman Associates, Inc.

The 6 Best Jobs for College Grads With No Experience

May 4, 2022Last updated on September 24, 2024 WAI Staff

Finding a job just after graduation can feel challenging if you have no internships or prior professional experience. You’re often competing against people with a fuller resume and years of work experience behind them. What are good entry level jobs you can do with no experience? It’s very easy to feel like you’re caught up in a catch-22 situation where you need work experience to find work.

However, the fact is that there are numerous opportunities open to people with minimal or no experience. There have to be, or else no one would ever be able to build a career. Plenty of companies out there make it a point to take in entry-level candidates for job categories that are a perfect fit for recent graduates.

Some of the best entry-level positions for college grads provide fair compensation for candidates with the right skills and commitment. Let’s look at the 6 best jobs for college grads with no experience.

1. Salesperson

Sales jobs often get a bad rap, but they’re a great way to build vital skills that will be invaluable to you later on in your career. They can help develop your soft skills and teach you how to deal with rejection. It also makes you a good listener and an effective communicator in any situation. It’s a great job to apply for if you’re seeking an entry-level position.

It’s one of the 6 best jobs for college grads with no experience because most companies out there need salespersons to sell their products and services. Not all sales deals happen at the same level, but the skill sets involved are the same. Moreover, salespersons are on the ‘frontlines,’ so to speak. They’re the ones interacting with the customers every day and they often have a better understanding of their pain points, industry dynamics, and the pros and cons of the company’s products. This is knowledge you can use to make a lateral shift into other company departments, such as marketing or product development.

2. Data Analyst

What are good entry level jobs in the tech sector if you have no experience? Everyone from financial service companies to consumer goods manufacturers, healthcare organizations, and hospitality companies need them. We are living in the age of Big Data, and this covers a wide spectrum of industries. Moreover, the need for collecting and understanding data is only growing. Data analyst is one of the 6 best jobs for college grads with no experience because these positions are ubiquitous.

A data analyst interprets and structures data into information that a business can use. Responsibilities include collecting, interpreting, and organizing the data and then analyzing the results to pull business insights. It’s ideal for people with a head for numbers, but it’s also a job that requires creativity and business acumen. The way you present your data and how compelling your insights are can make a big difference to your business. With the right company, it can be one of the best paying jobs for college grads with no experience.

3. Real Estate Agent and Broker

Property management can be a rewarding career even if you’re an entry-level candidate finding a job right after graduation. In most cases, all you need is a high school diploma and a state broker’s license to get started. You might have to put in a little bit of time prepping for the real estate exam that gets you your license, but it certainly doesn’t dissuade the millions of Americans who opt to try their hand at real estate.

Like any industry, there are ups and downs in real estate. However, it’s also an evergreen industry in that people are always buying and selling properties, both residential and commercial. If you’re personable and willing to work hard, it’s one of the 6 best jobs for college grads with no experience. In a recent survey, 85% of real estate agents said they were happy with their career choice and 71% of them were attracted to the earning potential of the job.

4. Project Manager

A quality project manager can be an indispensable commodity for a business. From troubleshooting problems to clearing bottlenecks and ensuring cross-functional communication, a project manager is a vital cog in the enterprise machinery. As with many of the other 6 best jobs for college grads with no experience, project management can teach you a range of skills, such as diplomacy, risk management, communication, and more.

Moreover, it’s often something that requires a learning curve even for experienced candidates. Each company and project has its own features and challenges. In most cases, project managers have to adapt to the processes, structure and dynamics of the company in question, which makes it ideal for candidates to find a job after graduation.

5. Nonprofit Assistant

If I want to make a difference in the world, what are good entry level jobs I can get with no experience? If this is your mindset, you should consider working for a nonprofit. Nonprofit organizations often have limited budgets, which means that this may not be the most high-paying job right out of the gate. However, these organizations often look for commitment and a willingness to work hard more than anything else.

One thing that makes a nonprofit assistant one of the 6 best jobs for college grads with no experience is that you have such a wide variety of organizations to choose from. You can focus on finding an entry-level position with an organization involved in something that interests you. If there’s a cause you particularly identify with and feel you can contribute to, this might be one of the best jobs for you, even as a college grad without experience. It’s also a chance to meet a lot of different people and get some real life experience under your belt, which is always going to be beneficial later on. There are lots of different kinds of nonprofits to choose from, including public health advocacies to legal aid offices, social rights groups, and diplomacy nonprofits.

6. Client Relations

Managing client experience is a very important function for any business. Everyone from IT firms to consultancies, marketing agencies, and more, employ people to manage client relationships. Among the 6 best jobs for college grads with no experience, it’s one of the best ones out there. All you need is a positive attitude and a nimble mindset to succeed.

Are you wondering what are good entry level jobs you can apply for with no experience when you want to work with people but don’t really like selling? Client relations could be for you. Unlike sales, you don’t have to worry about bringing in new clients and meeting quarterly targets. Client relations is more about maintaining existing relationships and ensuring compliance with contractual agreements. In this role, you’re often the primary point of contact for the client, a supplier and partner interface, and bridge to service-level teams in your company.

Don’t Let a Lack of Experience Stop You

Woman shaking hands with a man sitting at a desk

Recent college graduates sometimes complain that no one wants to hire them because they lack experience. This creates a dilemma, as they can’t get experience until they get hired. Fortunately, things aren’t really so dire. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 70% of recent college graduates aged 20–29 were employed. So we know plenty of companies are hiring, even for entry-level positions.

It’s a myth that the best jobs are off-limits for college graduates with no experience. Finding a good job after graduation is all about identifying your priorities. What are you really after? Higher pay? A relaxed lifestyle? Experience in a specific industry? With a targeted approach, you can find a job that both fulfills your goals and offers you professional exposure. Do your own research on the 6 best jobs for college grads with no experience and see if one of them is right for you.

Temp of the Month May 2022: Shawnte Morris-Gray

May 1, 2022 WAI Staff

Prior to working for Whitman Associates, Inc, Shawnte supported the federal government working as a contractor for Culmen International, LLC. This included working for over 13 years supporting the Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration maintaining the travel budget and handling travel logistics for Federal employees as well as supporting Federal management with various administrative and Human Resources operations.

Shawnte holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Stratford University and is a commissioned Virginia Notary Public. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling to new places and spending time with family.

Interview Prep and Tips

April 29, 2022 WAI Staff

While every interview situation is different, we have created an ultimate interview prep guide to help you learn how to prep for an interview and will increase your chances of impressing the hiring manager and successfully landing a job offer.

One of the first interview tips is to always arrive on time. Plan to arrive ten minutes early for your interview. Potential employers will assume you have bad time management skills if you are late for a scheduled interview. This is almost more important with video interviews. If you have no commute or traffic, being late is inexcusable. Don’t forget to test out a video link prior to your interview, so there won’t be any technical difficulties to hold you up.
Talk positively about your former employer. Talking positively about a former employer will show loyalty and respect, which are both traits employers look for in potential candidates. If you didn’t have the best experience at your previous job, a good way to interview prep is to talk about the positive aspects, and frame any downsides in a respectful manner.
Another way to nail your interview prep is not to forget to bring a few copies of your resume with you. Even if you are not asked to bring a resume with you, you should always have a few copies on hand just in case you need them. If you are on a video interview, be sure to have your most up to date resume ready to share via email.
In interviews, you should avoid oversharing personal information. While it’s important to share your work experience and skills in detail, you should avoid talking too much about your personal life and opinions.
Another first interview tip is to get your interviewer’s contact information so you can follow-up. It’s always a good idea to follow-up after an interview with a note thanking them for their time and consideration. Be sure to get the hiring manager’s business card, LinkedIn or email.

You should make consistent eye contact with your interviewer. Displaying confident body language and making eye contact will help you further engage with the interviewer.
Avoid wearing a lot of cologne or perfume. As in-person interviews are on the rise again, you don’t want to aggravate your interviewer’s allergies or distract them with an overabundant fragrance.
It’s important to present yourself appropriately. This includes everything from dressing professionally for an interview, to choosing a neutral virtual background and good lighting for a video interview. Being dressed inappropriately or having your background be a distraction is one way to discount yourself from consideration.
Don’t be shy about conveying your interest in the company and position. Although you know you’re interested in the job, you have to convince the hiring manager. Potential employers want to see just how dedicated you are to working for them. Be sure to do your interview prep by researching the company, so that you can speak with confidence.
Avoid chewing gum, snacking, food or other distractions. Chewing gum during an interview is rude, and it can be distracting.
Our last piece of advice on how to prep for an interview is to remember to turn off your cell phone. You don’t want your phone ringing in the middle of an interview, so make sure you turn it off before the interview begins. Even silenced cell phones can vibrate or make noise, so turn your cell all the way off to avoid any unwanted distractions.

5 Common Resume Mistakes To Avoid

April 29, 2022Last updated on October 14, 2024 WAI Staff

Having a great resume is key to being successful in your job search. Your resume is typically the first impression an employer has of you, so it’s important that it properly represents you. Recruiters often receive hundreds of resumes for each open position. To speed along their process, they’ll often throw away a resume as soon as they note certain mistakes. We don’t want you to fall into that trap! To help, we’ve listed five resume mistakes you need to avoid that job hunters often make.

Scrabble letters spelling pause, breathe, resume.

1. Spelling and Grammar Mistakes

The most frequent resume mistakes are errors in spelling and grammar. Common resume mistakes like this are the easiest way to get your resume rejected because employers are likely to assume you are careless or sloppy in your work.

Make sure to edit your resume several times before submitting it. It also helps to have someone else read it over — a new set of eyes is more likely to pick up on any small resume errors. Or, there are a plethora of free, online grammar and spell-check sites you can run your resume through before submitting it. Grammarly and Scribbr are two popular options.

2. Length

Submitting a resume that is too long or too short is one of the five common resume mistakes you need to avoid. While it’s important that your resume is not excessively long, you should not exclude relevant work experience just to fit everything on one page. You don’t want a potential employer to discount you because you left off relevant experience.

At the same time, you don’t need to include every position you’ve had since the beginning of your career. Some of your past jobs might not be relevant to the current position you are applying for. Feel free to leave off the coffee bar you worked at through grad school if you have more relevant experience to include.

However, having too short of a resume is also a common resume mistake. If you are a recent college grad or just out of high school and have only worked at one or two positions, try to expand upon your responsibilities to lengthen your work history. Also, you can include extracurricular activities you participated in if the experience you gained seems relevant to your career.

When expanding on specific positions, include quantitative details when describing your responsibilities. For example, if you worked as a sales representative, be sure to mention numbers such as your sales close rate, average deal, and number of sales per month.

3. Too Much Personal Information

Getting too personal is another one of the five common resume mistakes you need to avoid. Employers are going to hire you based on your work experience, not on your favorite hobbies. You can have a section for “Skills and Interests” on your resume, but you should avoid listing more than one or two interests unrelated to the job. It’s better to allow your interests to come up naturally. In a job interview, if your interviewer mentions their love of volleyball, then that would be an appropriate time to mention you share the same interest.

It’s not necessary to mention your marital status or children on your resume — these are also common resume mistakes. Again, a potential employer is only interested in your professional background.

Don’t include your picture on your resume. At this stage of the application process, it is better to allow the recruiter to judge you solely based on your qualifications and work history — not your appearance. The exception is if you are applying for an acting or modeling role.

Close-up image of a person writing with a pen

4. Too Busy

You want your resume to be easy for the recruiter to read, allowing them to quickly note how qualified you are for their position. Creating a resume that is too busy is an often overlooked one of the top five common resume mistakes you need to avoid.

For example, some people choose to use more than two fonts. Instead, keep it simple, so that an employer’s eye can easily follow your work history down the page. There is no need to go crazy with bold and italicized fonts in different colors.

Avoid using borders and underlines to separate sections on your resume. As long as you have everything labeled appropriately, an employer will be able to understand it.

5. Missing Critical Information

Don’t make the common resume mistake of forgetting to include pertinent contact information. Make sure the header of your resume includes your full name, phone number and email address. You can also include a link to your LinkedIn profile or your address. If an employer doesn’t have your contact information, they won’t be able to reach you to set up an interview or offer you a job.

Always list the month and year you started and finished each position on your resume. Job seekers avoid adding dates to their work history for various reasons, but this is a huge common resume mistake to avoid! Omitting dates makes employers feel that you are hiding something.

List the appropriate job title for each of your positions. New employers will most likely conduct employment verifications on your work history and reference checks, so it’s important you have all the correct information. If there is a discrepancy with your job title or dates of employment, your new employer will be suspicious.

Lastly, one of the biggest of the five resume mistakes you need to avoid is leaving off software or programs that you’ve used. Be sure to list these, especially since an employer may be screening resumes electronically, and you don’t want to be overlooked because of what you left out.

Find Your Dream Job

Keep these five easily avoidable common resume mistakes on hand next time you update your resume and you’ll be sure to land a great job in no time! If you’ve been struggling with the job search for some time, consider working with a staffing agency for a qualified partner in seeking your dream job.

Ace Your Phone Interview with these Tips

April 26, 2022 WAI Staff

Phone interviews are common because they provide a great way for hiring teams to narrow down their pool of applicants prior to in-person or video interviews. For that reason, preparing for a phone interview is important if you want to move on to the next round. The following are our initial phone interview tips to help you prepare for your next interview.

1. Avoid Distractions

While on the phone with a potential employer, you should limit distractions. A good phone interview tip is to make sure you have a quiet and distraction free environment in which to talk to the hiring manager.

2. Be Articulate

Your voice is the only tool you have to express yourself on a phone interview, so make sure you speak articulately and clearly. You also want to avoid trailing off or rambling when answering the interviewer’s questions. Pause occasionally so that your interviewer can process what you are saying and digest the information fully.

3. Prepare

An initial phone interview tip is that it’s a great time to ask any preliminary questions you might have about the job opportunity, so you should have a list prepared before the call. Also, keep the job description handy and be sure you’ve researched the company to ensure you are fully informed.
While preparing for a phone interview, it helps to brainstorm examples of your past experiences that you can talk about. For example, compile a list of examples where you took initiative, demonstrated your organizational skills, or worked as a team player.

4. Be Yourself

It can be difficult to convey your personality over the phone in an interview, but don’t forget to be personable and friendly. While you want to maintain professionalism, you also want to be yourself.
Try not to come across as if you are reading a script when having a phone interview; you want to come across confident and friendly, not rehearsed. Smiling while you talk can help improve the sound of your voice and put more energy into what you’re saying.

5. Express Interest

At the end of the phone screen, be sure to thank your interviewer for their time and consideration. If you are interested in moving forward with the interview process, don’t be afraid to say so! Hiring managers will be more inclined to move forward with applicants who are visibly interested in and excited about the position.

We hope these tips will help you with preparing for that next phone interview. Check out the rest of our blog for additional job searching and interview tips.

Temp of the Month April 2022: Lilly Karim-Nejad

April 1, 2022 WAI Staff

Lilly graduated from George Mason University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. She plans to attend law school in the fall, and hopes to find a career that merges her interest in the law and passion for environmental science and urban sustainability. While at Mason, she was a member of the 17 Rooms-U Team, a collaborative effort to implement the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals on campus and in the Fairfax community.

Outside of work and school, she enjoys weightlifting and going on runs in downtown DC. In addition, she loves watching documentaries and reading about all things related to world history and ecology.

Being Punctual

March 23, 2022Last updated on August 27, 2024 WAI Staff

Punctuality is a critical quality for any professional and is one mark of a good worker. From arriving on time to the office to submitting punctual work, meeting these timing expectations creates a solid foundation for your career. While this may seem obvious, many professionals need help learning how to be punctual. From constant distractions to an over-reliance on navigation app ETA predictions, it’s easy to be late accidentally. Even unemployed job seekers must know timeframes and deadlines when interviewing and applying for jobs. For now, we will focus on the importance of being punctual for a job interview and provide some rules to help make sure you are always on time in the future.

Rule #1: Don’t be late.

If you realize ahead of time that you are running late for an interview, call your interviewer immediately and let them know your situation. Be sure to apologize for the inconvenience, and don’t make up any crazy excuses if it’s not the truth. Hiring managers deal with this constantly– they can tell when somebody is not being genuine.
In a tough job market, hiring managers have their pick regarding capable candidates. Being punctual is critical – even showing up five minutes late for a job interview could disqualify you for a position.
If a hiring manager can’t trust you to show up on time for an interview, they have no reason to trust that you know how to be punctual or will submit work on time. Remember, this is their first impression of you. Even if being late is out of character for you, the employer won’t know this and will be forced to decide based on this interaction.

Rule #2: Being too early is the same as being late.

Being punctual is better than being too early. Only show up at most fifteen minutes early for a job interview unless you were otherwise instructed.
Showing up too early for an interview can make you appear desperate to hiring managers. Think of a job interview as attending a party—you wouldn’t want to arrive too early as it would be impolite and you would look too eager. Plus, you could inconvenience a busy hiring manager by being too early.
If you are early for an interview, a hiring manager will attribute your showing up a half hour early to your bad time management skills rather than think of you as punctual. Instead, if you find yourself too early for an interview, you can find a nearby coffee shop where you can wait. You may even be able to do some last-minute interview prep while you’re there!

Rule #3: Know where you’re going ahead of time.

Just like you would plan out project milestones in advance to ensure punctual work, you’ll want to plan your route to the interview to ensure a punctual arrival time. If you have time and are unfamiliar with the area, visit the company’s office before your interview so that you can prioritize being punctual by knowing exactly where you’re going and how long it will take you to get there.
Suppose you don’t have time to scope out your route physically; use the Internet to plan it. Think about all the steps involved, such as figuring out where you’ll park or if your car has enough gas. You don’t want to be late because it took twenty minutes to find a parking space.
While scoping out the route and the area to plan for your interview, take the time to review whether this commute would work for you and if you could be punctual to work in the long term. Remember, job interviews go both ways. You are also deciding if this office is the right fit for your needs, and your commute and surrounding area are two critical factors in job satisfaction.

Rule #4: Show up early, but don’t go in.

The best advice we can give you is to allow extra time for your interview. Even if you run into unforeseen trouble, such as traffic or delays on public transportation, cautious planning will help you to be punctual. It’s better to waste some of your own time by adding wiggle room into your commute than to waste your hiring manager’s time.
If you don’t hit any delays and end up outside the office twenty minutes early, don’t go in! As mentioned above, find somewhere nearby you can kill time before your interview, such as a coffee shop or deli. Use the extra time to review your notes one last time.

Additional guidance and advice

At Whitman Associates, Inc., we’re rooting for you! We aim to help you find the perfect fit for your next job. Being punctual is just one of many attributes potential employers seek. For more insightful career advice, explore our blog for additional tips and guidance. Want some more personalized job-hunting strategies? Reach out to Whitman Associates today with your resume!

4 Disadvantages of Remote Working

March 18, 2022 WAI Staff

The pandemic has changed many things about the structure of work within our society. Many offices adapted well to work-from-home culture, but others are experiencing difficulties. Whether it’s issues with collaboration or concerns about security, working from home comes with some serious hurdles for certain industries. Learn more about a few of the disadvantages of remote working and discover solutions to those disadvantages here.

1. Difficulty with Collaboration

With your employees spread all around the city or even the country, it’s a lot harder to get together for collaborative work. Sometimes, different time zones, technical difficulties, and distractions at home make finding meeting times that work for everyone a challenge. Working together over the phone or a video call is a communication barrier that can disrupt even the shortest conversation. Worse, it’s no longer possible to just walk to a coworker’s desk for quick answers! Instead, employees must opt for communication via phone, email, or office chat.

Resolving Remote Collaboration Concerns

This disadvantage of remote working is primarily due to a lack of a flexible, fast, and responsive communication platform. Since emails and phone calls aren’t as efficient or effective as talking to someone in person, teams need new tools to battle this disadvantage of telecommuting for work. Many companies are turning to file-sharing applications that already come with chat features for better communication with the team, including Google Docs and Slack.

2. Cybersecurity & Confidentiality

Even if your business doesn’t deal with proprietary or patented information, cybersecurity and confidentiality are still important. When most of your team is working from home, it can be difficult to ensure security when each individual computer needs additional antivirus software, VPN configurations, and extra firewalls. Even more challenging is providing security for employees who choose to work over public wifi, like those in coffee shops or shared workspaces.

Any confidentiality or security breach could be a potential disaster for your business. Whether it’s a non-employee overhearing a confidential discussion or seeing sensitive documents, or a team member accidentally downloading a virus, your business needs to plan for better security to mitigate the potential damage of this disadvantage of remote working.

Resolving Security Risks

One way to reduce your vulnerabilities is by storing all business data and files on a cloud management platform. Don’t let employees save important information on their laptop or home computer hard drive. You can also require that employees use VPNs when working and set up remote access to their computers in the office (if you still have a physical office space).

Regular security trainings are also an essential part of any company policy, even when working in an office. Cover typical phishing and virus scams they may encounter and educate your team on the importance of password hygiene, two-factor authentication, and the dangers of connecting to public wifi networks.

3. Inconsistent Access to Internet & Tools

Because employees are in their homes, they’re using whichever internet provider is available and affordable in their area. Unfortunately, there are significant disparities in high-quality internet access throughout the country, and a lack of reliable service is common in rural communities. This is a major disadvantage of remote working, as many people have subpar connection speeds and reliability. Even homes with decent internet connections may experience slow upload and download speeds when too many people are utilizing the network, leading to poor audio and video connections during video calls, issues with buffering, and slow loading programs.

Resolving Connectivity Issues

Your team needs access to the right technology in order to overcome this disadvantage of remote working. Bolster their internet connection with appropriate hardware, like ethernet cables, to support spotty wifi connections, and set up a remote helpdesk to deal with any IT issues that may crop up. A remote IT team trained in connectivity concerns has the power to support your teams if anything goes wrong. Make sure your IT team has a robust ticketing system and self-help SSO.

Counteracting this particular disadvantage of telecommuting may require an even bigger investment for some companies. Any team that needs to run heavy-duty rendering or editing software may need specialty computers that can process all that data. You may want to invest in additional computer hardware to outfit your team’s home office with better technology than they may already have.

4. Isolation

Isolation is a much bigger disadvantage of remote working than people think – especially for those who live alone. Without frequent face-to-face contact, your employees could be dealing with chronic isolation and loneliness that lowers morale and productivity. When people work in an office, human interaction is necessary and built into the day-to-day routines. Employees interact in the hallways and breakrooms, the elevators and parking structures, and in various meetings throughout the day. They may also commune with others while on their daily commute at coffee shops, the metro, and restaurants. Working from home eliminates the potential contact with all these people!

Resolving Isolation Concerns

Regular check-ins with your team could go a long way to dealing with this disadvantage of remote working. In addition to conversations about current work tasks and projects, it’s important to also check in with your employees regarding their personal lives. There’s certainly no need to pry, but creating a space where your team members feel safe to express themselves if they wish to can help prevent frustrations and challenges from building up. This may be a new management style that requires a more personal touch, but it will help your team build higher quality connections, better communication, and more trust.

Will Your Office Continue Working From Home?

There are many other disadvantages of remote working, but some teams are rising to the challenge. This evolution in workflow, company structure, and technology has pushed many businesses to find innovative solutions that ensure they’re stronger and more sustainable. What about you? What will your company do to combat the disadvantages of telecommuting to ensure your success?

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The 7 Biggest Hiring Trends in 2022

March 18, 2022 WAI Staff

Current Recruitment Trends of Note

While hiring and recruitment have always been an evolving landscape, since 2020, the changes have been far more extreme and frequent. As companies and employees adjust to pandemic life, HR teams will continue to see a shift in the way they recruit, interview, and hire. With 2022 here, the team at Whitman Associates, Inc. has explored what your company should know about new hiring trends in the coming year. Check out this overview of the top seven trends your HR team should be ready to accommodate.

1. Economy Growth with a Constrained Labor Force

Economies are growing, but they’re facing the biggest labor shortage seen in decades. Despite inflation and rising costs of living, wages and working conditions aren’t always following suit. Some companies are working to correct this with higher salaries for all positions, but others are choosing a different path. One hiring trend includes companies relaxing their hiring criteria in an effort to attract more potential employees. Still, other companies are focusing on improving benefits with better perks, like student loan debt assistance, higher-quality health insurance, and additional paid time off.

2. Hybrid Work Environments

Most offices transitioned to a work-from-home model in 2020, but even with decreasing COVID cases, many have opted to continue operating remotely or adopt a hybrid approach. Some businesses are even using work-from-home as an additional incentive for potential employees! Many employees prefer working from home or a hybrid environment because it cuts their commute, reduces stress, helps them focus, and provides more flexibility to meet the demands of their job.

Most interviewees are now expecting their preferences for the ideal office environment to become a regular part of the interview and hiring process. Hiring trends indicate the need to accommodate these preferences and provide better remote learning and working tools to ensure your workforce is happy, productive, and collaborative.

3. On-the-Job Training

This used to be a regular hiring trend in the pre-80s era, but at some point, employers started requiring new hires to already possess all the business-critical knowledge for their position. Because of the labor shortage and the need to hire less experienced employees, many businesses are reviving on-the-job training to ensure they can reskill and deploy workers across multiple teams and roles. Some companies prefer outsourcing the education of their employees, encouraging workers to find programs to enhance their education. Once employees find and apply for a specific program, employers may pay for all or some of it.

Those employers working internally to reskill their employees may have to face a few challenges, including deciding which skills are critical for team members to know, developing learning platforms and training modules for each skillset, and integrating new technologies to streamline the learning experience.

4. Internal Talent Marketplace

There is a current recruitment trend to promote from within the organization. So knowing which of your current employees are looking for a career change or wanting to transition to a different department is critical! Create a talent marketplace on an internal platform to ensure that everyone is notified when new opportunities open up within the company. You won’t have to worry about vetting external candidates when you’re choosing from a pool of employees that have already proven their reliability and performance.

In the past, these career development hiring trends used to be standard, but many organizations have let these types of programs lapse due to a number of reasons, including lack of technology to update the database efficiently, an influx of top-quality external candidates, or minimal upward mobility within the work hierarchy.

5. Focus on the Employee Experience

The employee experience is a common term in corporate America that refers to keeping employees engaged and motivated, especially during challenging times. You don’t want essential people leaving because they feel they aren’t being treated fairly! Listening to your employees, identifying problems, and analyzing solutions is the first step towards ensuring you have a quality team that wants to stay put.

Don’t let frequent employee turnover become your next hiring trend! Instead, focus on ensuring your current employees are satisfied with their experience.

6. Refreshing Pay & Bonuses

Employers often try to cut costs by providing employees minimal pay raises and bonuses, but studies show that replacing disgruntled employees is actually more expensive than negotiating with your current team to reach a pay raise solution! Equitable and fair pay are among the most important hiring trends of 2022, and job seekers are more willing than ever to walk away from a position they don’t believe pays fairly. Even current employees are leaving long-held positions when they don’t get the recognition and reward they think they deserve!

If your company wants to win the war for talent, you must focus on fair wages as a recruitment and reward strategy. This hiring trend isn’t affecting the corporate world alone — people in retail, hospitality, manufacturing, and more are all realizing that better wages are far more attractive than an endless list of benefits like gym memberships, ping pong tables, and weekly catered lunches.

7. Revamping HR Technology

Companies that have an internal HR team are finding that their old platforms just can’t keep up with modern recruiting and hiring processes. Your team has to stay up to date with what’s new in hiring trends — from technology to appropriate offers — to ensure they can outperform competitors who are hiring from the same pool. Some HR teams find it easy to rise to the challenge, but more and more companies are relying on staffing agencies to fill in the gaps.

What Changes Will You Be Making?

Are these current recruitment and hiring trends inspiring you to make changes in the way your HR team operates? Whitman Associates, Inc. can help you even more with hands-on support. Get in touch with us if you need assistance with temporary placement, permanent employees, and more!

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Which Career Is Right for Me? 4 Tips for Choosing the Right Career

March 18, 2022 WAI Staff

Imagine this: you’re fresh out of university with a bachelor or master’s degree, and you’re ready to enter the working world. You jump into the first opportunity you see, only to realize five years down the road that it isn’t what you want to be doing in your career. You start exploring other options and find a field that you really love. But you’ll need to start from square one, gaining experience and working your way up the ladder because you may not have the necessary experience to transfer laterally into that position. You feel defeated — as if you wasted years of your time working towards the wrong goal!

Many people have found themselves in exactly this position. That’s why choosing the right career path from the beginning can make a big difference in your life. Whether you’re choosing a career for the first time or you’re ready to make a swap, Whitman Associates, Inc. can help you with career planning tips that lead to a fulfilling job that allows you to live the lifestyle you want. Ready to find out which career is right for you? Check out these four tips to get started!

1. Start Thinking About Your Career Path Early

You don’t have to have your whole life planned out, but thinking about choosing the right career as early as possible can help you find your niche professionally. Which career is right for you? It’s the one where you’re doing something that interests, excites, and challenges you but also provides the financial means and benefits you desire. Make a list of things that you find interesting. Your list could include everything from numbers and statistics to design and event planning. Anything that might potentially spark your interest belongs on this list!

If you know people in careers that align with your interests, ask them about their work, what they love about their job, and what they dislike about their job. The answers you get can help you make a more informed decision when choosing the right career. Once you’ve talked to a few people and done some research into careers that align with your interests, you should be able to narrow them down into three or four options. If you’re interested in writing, music, and psychology, for example, potential careers could include:

Advertising
Publishing
Music Engineer
Concert/Event Organizer
School Counselor
Profiler for Law Enforcement
Therapist

With a career in mind, you can look into what it takes to start along each of these job paths. What type of education and experience do you need? How competitive is each industry? What’s the salary range? The answers can help you narrow down your career path even further.

2. Be Honest With Yourself

Choosing the right career is all about being honest with yourself. While sometimes it can be difficult to figure out what you really want, we have a shortcut that can help you find the answer: a Venn diagram. Create a Venn diagram that includes three circles that list the following:

What you’re good at doing
What sparks your interest
What pays enough to finance your life

The overlap of doing what you love and what you’re good at will result in you being happy but potentially unable to make ends meet. The overlap between what you’re good at and what pays well ends up with you financially stable but maybe bored or unhappy. Choosing the right career starts where all three categories overlap. Place each of your career options in the appropriate spot on the Venn diagram, and you’ll quickly realize which careers will lead to the most balanced life for you.

3. Research, Research, Research

You’ll never find answers to which career is right for you without doing a lot of research. Informational interviews are one tool you can use to learn more about careers that sound like a good fit. You’ll need to find people in those careers and reach out to them to ask for an informational interview. While some people may turn you down, others will be happy to share their personal experiences in a particular field or industry.

Ask questions to help you gain insight into the highs and lows of each career, whether the day-to-day work fits in with your preferred lifestyle, and how long it takes to progress up the ladder to the highest possible position and salary. These informational interviews can give you clarity on choosing the right career without actually having to experience it for yourself!

Some questions to consider incorporating into your informational interview include:

How did you get into this career?
What are the most common entry-level positions for this career path?
Which skills are most valuable to your job?
What do your daily responsibilities include?
What do you like least/most about your job?
What advice would you give to someone interested in this career?

You might also consider working a temporary position to get some hands-on experience in the industry without committing to a long-term position.

4. Choose Your Career & Make a Plan

If you’ve made it through all these steps, it should be pretty clear which jobs you should pursue. Now, it’s time to look back at the informational interviews with people in these positions and follow their journey. Enroll in the courses they suggest and look for opportunities to gain experience in the skills that are most needed for this job. Knowing the path those before you took when choosing the right career for them can help guide you and provide direction on the way to success.

Find More Guidance

At Whitman Associates, Inc., we’re proud to celebrate 50 years of providing expert staffing services for both employers and employees. When choosing the right career path, we can help you at any point along the way. Reach out to us today to learn more about the industries we serve and the qualifications you might need to reach your career goals!

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