The candidate experience is the chameleon of the business world – whether you notice it or not, it is influential in every aspect of a company’s performance and growth. To ignore it is to disregard an essential building block in an organisation’s growth.

Recent data shows that 49% of candidates have some relationship with a company prior to applying and 1 in 5 of these…

It's time to face the music as a manager: You don’t always have all of the right answers. Your “it’s my way or the highway” approach to management isn’t going to encourage anyone to help you in your problem solving endeavors.

Managers and leaders are often referred to synonymously, but only leaders allow their employees to solve problems with their own insight. The truth of the matter is this: Every leader may not be a manager, but every manager should be a…

I recently interviewed an excellent candidate for a position at our growing startup, Likeable Local. The woman had an incredible resume, an infectious personality, and, seemingly, a great work ethic. She was dressed for success, with a style fitting our…

First things first: Confidence is not bravado, or swagger, or an overt pretense of bravery. Confidence is not some bold or brash air of self-belief directed at others.

Confidence is quiet: It’s a natural expression of ability, expertise, and self-regard.

I’m fortunate to know a number of truly confident people. Many work with me at HubSpot, others are fellow founders of their own startups some of whom I've met…

Everyone agrees no business is better than its employees. So if hiring the right people is so important... why are most interviewers satisfied with being mediocre interviewers?

Maybe they assume the burden of greatness lies solely with the employee. (“Hey, it’s his job to impress me.”) But that's short-sighted and, well, stupid.

To find the best employees you possibly can, you must be the best interviewer you possibly can.

Here are the…

There are job interview questions that strike terror into the hearts of job-seekers, and then there are interview questions that are merely depressing.



Certain interview questions are depressing because they cause a job-seeker to ask himself "The person could have constructed any number of thoughtful and provocative questions, and all s/he could come up with was this lame-ass leftover from 1963?"



There are interview questions that convey so…

A lot of our clients ask us, ‘What’s the big deal with LinkedIn and how can I use it for recruitment?’ 

So here you go! LinkedIn is the largest professional network in the World with over 187,000,000 members and the platform is continuing to grow at a rate of 2 new members every second. Over a million of these users are in the UK so it makes sense for both companies and recruiters alike to be on there too.

As a brief guide to being successful as a company or recruiter on…

To view the article: http://sdpsolutions.com.au/2013/06/14/south-australia-state-budget-2013-payroll-tax-relief-for-small-business-source-adapted-from-www-adelaidenow-au/

South Australia State Budget 2013: Payroll tax relief for small…

SDP welcome the recent NSW Budget measures, the announcement for payroll tax reforms to boost jobs and will aim to kick-start business with payroll tax relief.

So, what exactly is changing and what does it mean?

• Under the changes announced in the Budget, the payroll tax threshold for business will be raised from $689,000 to $750,000 on 1 July 2013.

• The changes will provide tax relief to thousands of businesses…

Sometimes I wish I would wake up and be one of those recruiters with $5,000 suits from Dubai who tool around in their choice of Ferrari to get to the office. 

I've had this client since 2005.  Back then, I cleaned up, threw a suit on, and made my way to their office.  I met their VP of HR at his office and he was half my size.  I remember.  They were in a mode of expansion.  Within a few months, I had a few placements and soon enough he had hired an HR Generalist to take over the…

The show was a little sedate today. My good friend @ChrisRussell went to a meetup and saw a young guy named @GeorgesJanin speak about cold calling. He teaches a course on the topic so…

First impressions are so very important in the business world. That first day, nay, that first hour is when a new employee is going to form their opinion about the organization. And that opinion isn't easily changed. All of us make snap judgements. The average person makes their …

New York City has become the latest area to pass a law banning what has been called "unemployment discrimination."

So just what is unemployment discrimination? It refers to denying candidates employment based solely on the fact that they are not currently employed. It's no secret that companies have probably always preferred actively employed candidates, but some companies took it a step further in the wake of the recession by stating in job postings that unemployed…

Finding a qualified bookkeeper who is also trustworthy is not an easy task. Whether the company is a large corporation or a small business, the right bookkeeper can make the difference between raking in huge profits and bringing in just enough to get by (or not even that much). In some cases, the wrong bookkeeper can result in a business not only losing money, but even in it going under.



Background checks are par for the course when it comes to this type of hire. Obviously,…

Here's a question we received from an HR professional:

Q. Hi, I have read a lot about how and what interns need to do during their internship, but I would like to know more about what a company should do to ensure the internship is a beneficial and rewarding experience for itself too in the process. – Selma K.

A. Hi Selma, very interesting question indeed. Also considering that the internship season is upon us, this question is a relevant one…

You simply can't imagine what an experience it is to live in the greater Detroit area.

Oh, man, cue the circus music!  It's our annual "Let's FBI'nd Hoffa!" festival.  This year it's being held at a farm field in the neighboring Oakland county.  The Feds were sneaky once again and it wasn't until some of our brightest scholars in the area noticed the huge piece of earth moving equipment and all…

Employee retention is on the minds of many businesses and HR managers. Employee turnover can cost a business a lot. Time spent recruiting, hiring and training pales in comparison to the actual cost of replacing a new hire. In one post about staffing,…

These younger candidates are looking for technology, flexibility and guidance in their candidate experience. You can offer them all of the above with video interviewing. In fact, quite often, this new generation of workers will choose these things over monetary compensation. Attracting talent, means knowing what they're looking for.

Lure Them In…

Referral programs can do wonders for a business. Referred employees have higher retention rates and increase employee engagement in their company. But generating a successful referral program takes a lot more than a few free toasters. A good referral program starts with …

Last year, U.S. companies spent a staggering $467 million on wage-and-hour settlements according to the global firm, NERA Economic Consulting. They also found that the average wage and hour case costs approximately $4.6 million to resolve. Overtime claims represented the highest number of cases brought…