One very good way of learning about how things are going at a company and the atmosphere of the company is to listen to the stories employees tell about their work experiences.

You may hear more positive stories – about the hard work that people do to keep their customers happy, or how they work with customers to determine new products. But the stories also may be more negative – how management didn’t like an idea, or how management expected too much without providing the needed resources to get the job done.

The question is whether the stories employees tell help to promote the culture that you want at your company, or whether the stories of your work culture will be a hindrance to your success.

Human resource consultant Susan Heathfield argues that the stories people tell are potent influences in forming the culture of companies. What employees talk about and the stories they share, can set the tone for the entire organization. It is an important part of the working life of employees, Heathfield says.

These stories have an even greater influence on new employees because they become part of the new person’s learning process. They are instrumental in forming expectations about the company and in expected behavior.

Since these narratives about the company are so important, what can you do to promote positive stories?

Heathfield says the first thing to do is to listen. Find out what kinds of stories are making the rounds at your company, and are they the kinds of stories that are good for the company.

If you don’t like what you hear, get together a team of employees that represents different levels and areas of the company. It will be their job to listen to the stories in the company, to monitor the atmosphere.

Tell stories of your own. When you have meetings, make sure to tell positive and inspiring stories. But also make sure that you have a culture in your company that makes these stories believable. You have to be able to back up your stories with action. Also, make outstanding employee contributions part of your company history, something you highlight on your company website or handbook, and something you pass on to all new employees.

Putting together the right workforce is one of the most important tasks a company can do. If you’re a Washington Metro construction, engineering or architecture firm looking for help in planning for your staffing needs, contact RealStreet Staffing. We have many flexible staffing options to serve you.

As you try to fill openings at your company with the most talented people possible, you are obviously working to come up with the best questions to ask job candidates. Naturally, applicants have questions of their own, some more probing than others. But it is to these more probing questions that your human resources department should have good answers if you want to compete for the best candidates.

Some of these questions applicants are more likely to ask than others, but all of them are the kinds of questions that human resources professionals should be asking themselves. Dealing with hard questions also will help your company clarify goals and values to help employees perform better.

Some things that applicants might be curious about are why employees like working for the company, what brought them to the company and what the work atmosphere is like.

Other questions might include the philosophy of the business and its strengths and weaknesses.

Other queries are more of the nuts-and-bolts type, such as what the day-to-day responsibilities of the open position are, how quickly the company wants to find someone for the job, and the next step in the interviewing process. Although perhaps not a common question, a candidate may ask how his or her skills compare with other applicants.

Candidates also might be interested to know what the company values the most in terms of what its employees contribute.

Other questions might include whether there is a career path at the company, chances of advancement and other opportunities the position might offer.

A candidate might want to know where most of the company’s senior management comes from – a particular area of the company or a variety of areas and he or she also may ask about any major problems facing the company or department.

An applicant might also ask about how the open position contributes to the bottom line.

RealStreet Staffing can help your Washington, DC-area engineering, construction, architecture company finds killed, reliable professionals. Contact us today.

“Tell me a little about yourself.”

That’s a common line in any job interview. It’s something you should know is coming and something for which you should prepare. You should have some idea as to how you are going to answer such a question, so you’re not left stammering or giving a rambling, hard-to-follow answer.

If you are not sure how to answer the question, here are a few tips on how to approach it.
When the interviewer asks a question like this, he or she is trying to determine how good a fit you will be with the company. The hiring manager is trying to get a sense of your personality and attitude. If, for example, you come across as a sober and straitlaced type, and the company or department has a more informal, relaxed atmosphere, that might raise some reservations in the hiring manager’s mind as to whether the company/department is the right place for you.

The irony of the situation is that a hiring manager doesn’t really want to know a lot about you personally.  You can save the biographical information for another time.

What an interviewer is most interested in hearing about is what you’ve achieved in career or job history. And now is a good time to expand on what you have on your résumé, to go beyond the bullet points and talk about what you have done, the contributions you have made, and to do it in a bit more depth. The interviewer wants to know what kind of job you are going to do in his or her company/department and telling him or her what you’ve done in the past will give the hiring manager an idea of how you’ll be able to contribute in the future.

You can also add a little information here about your attitude and personality, how you see yourself, what personality traits define you.

And, while many job applicants are under the mistaken impression that they need to be as brief as possible in their answers, you do need to watch so that you don’t wander off topic. Before you answer, take a little time to collect your thoughts and come up with a general plan as to what you are going to say. And again, it’s perfectly acceptable to talk for a few minutes about your background and experience, but watch that you don’t take any detours from your main point.

Got the job interview jitters? We’ll help calm you and give you some great tips when we send you for an interview with one of our client companies. Call RealStreet Staffing today so that we can help you find temporary and direct-hire positions with some of Washington DC’s top architecture, construction and engineering firms. We look forward to hearing from you!

Now that social media has gained a real prominence in our society and in the workplace, employers are using it more and more to check out job candidates.

Career counselors are telling those looking for jobs to be careful regarding what they put on their Facebook pages or what they tweet on Twitter because potential employers could be watching. Job applicants should only put information on their sites that will help their chances of finding employment.

But employers need to be savvy as well when perusing social media sites, to be aware of the conventions and customs that are in general use so that they don’t misinterpret things.

For example, a social media site is not a résumé, and should not be treated as one. If you are looking at a job applicant’s site, don’t be too worried about misspellings or grammar problems. Online slang has become common usage, phrases such as “lol” are tossed around a lot. People use shortcuts all the time, so it would be a mistake to look at it any other way than as casual, conversational writing.  Don’t take it as a sign of the candidate’s writing ability.

Other things to ignore are rude remarks. Again, looking at someone’s personal profile, you will see personal conversations, teasing and back-and-forth bantering that will likely have some coarse language. That doesn’t mean that the person will behave the same way in a professional setting.

Also, avoid personal photos. These really have nothing to do with the hiring process, and you don’t want them to affect your opinion. Other information not to take too seriously are remarks about job histories that a candidate might have on his or her Facebook site. Don’t regard these comments as anything definitive about the candidate’s qualifications – use the résumé for that.

Finally, federal law prohibits job discrimination based on race, religion, gender, national origin, and against people with disabilities. If you think this kind of information might affect your hiring decisions, it might be best to avoid looking at social media sites completely, since some of this information will be on the site.

RealStreet Staffing can help your Washington, DC-area engineering, construction, architecture company gear up for major projects — or gear down when the project is complete. Contact us when you need skilled, reliable employees!

Looking for a job is an arduous and time-consuming process. It takes a lot of effort. But when that effort begins to pay off, remember the work is not done until you have a definite job offer in hand. That means don’t slack off too soon – follow through with all the details.

You may think your work is done after going through the interview process, but following through after the interview is just as important to increase the odds of your getting the job.

The follow through process actually begins during the interview. Get the business cards of the people you talk to so that you have accurate contact information for your follow up note. Also, during the interview, ask when you can expect to hear from the company about its job search. This puts the ball in the hiring manager’s court, creating the expectation that there will be a response, and creating the opportunity for further communication.

Then follow through with a thank you note as soon as you can, using the contact information you have from the business cards. Today, an e-mail message usually is the most appropriate form to use. In the note, you can re-emphasize any points you feel need to be highlighted, and also add any information you  forgot to mention during the interview.

If you have been working through a staffing agency, get in touch with the recruiter to discuss the interview and how it went and to figure what to do next. The interviewer at the company will expect the recruiter to get in touch, and so if you have met and talked with the recruiter, he or she will be in a good position to sell you to the interviewer and provide any additional information.

One thing to avoid, however, is a follow up phone call, as this may appear to be an unnecessary intrusion into the busy schedule of the interviewer. But, if the interviewer told you that you would be contacted by a certain time, and that has not happened, then a call may be appropriate.

And finally, if you need help punching up your résumé and marketing your skills, many staffing agencies offer career services to help you.

RealStreet Staffing, in fact, will be happy to help you craft a great résumé. Contact us today so that we can get to work on creating a document that sells your skills and experience to employers in the Washington Metro area. We look forward to hearing from you!

In the past, orienting a new hire was usually relegated to some lower-level worker in the human resources department, and after that brief introduction to the company, the new employee was on his or her own.

Now, however, things are different because businesses realize the importance of getting a new employee up to speed, making him or her feel welcome and at ease in the company. Businesses realize that doing a good job of orienting a new employee — now referred to as onboarding — can have great benefits when it comes to productivity.

All of this orientation will still include the more traditional first-day routine – filling out the requisite paperwork.  But at the end of the day, the new person should have more to look back on than just filling out forms. The new worker needs to feel that her or she made a good decision by coming to work for your company.

While human resources will handle the routine types of things, the important job of orientation will be a part of the manager’s job.

As part of introducing a new person to the company, don’t overlook the views of employees already at the company, which can be very helpful. You can find out what they would have liked to have known when they came onboard. Find out what plans other employees have to help the new person get up to speed. You don’t have to do everything yourself. You can delegate.

One person should take on the responsibility of taking the new person to lunch every day, and the entire team should take the new person to lunch on the first day.

There are routine checklists for orienting a new employee readily available, but there are also the little things that should not be overlooked. For example, notify everyone by e-mail about the new hire so everyone can welcome the new person. You should set up the new employee’s computer and get his or her e-mail account in working order, along with making sure he has all the background information he needs on the software he or she will be using. You should also get his or her phone system up and running, along with instructions on voicemail.  Fill the new employee in on how to use the fax, copier and any other electronics her or she will be using. Have business cards already made up, if appropriate. Have a nameplate ready and waiting.. You also should have an organizational chart ready for the new person, so he or she knows who is who and how they fit into the company’s and department’s structure.

Two final tips: 1) Have someone who can act as a sponsor or mentor to the new employee, someone who can be a role model. 2) Take the time to talk to the new hire about performance goals and expectations.

RealStreet Staffing can help Washington Metro construction, engineering and architecture firms meet and exceed their strategic staffing goals. Contact us today so that we may work with you to craft a staffing plan that will help your business grow and prosper.

In today’s super competitive business arena, even those who are considered giants of their industry are no longer considered to be in a safe position – and sometimes are even the first to be relieved of duty.

For many senior executives, the time when they will be eased out the door is approaching – and often it will arrive sooner than they would like.  This is really no big surprise.  For many of these people, their job is intimately connected to who they are.  It is tied up with their sense of self-worth and their identity. They will miss the power and prestige and influence they have now.

John Baldoni, a leadership development consultant, argues that those who are beginning their tenure as leaders need to keep this in mind.  Their legacy is formed by the accretion of all their actions over the span of their career.  It’s not something created just during the final episode, the last year or several years in the CEO’s office or executive suite.

But when the time comes to step down, leaders often are at a loss.  They don’t know what to do.  Their job has been their whole life.  Often their personal lives, as well as avocations or hobbies, have been sacrificed to their career, so  when the career ends, they’re left with a gaping void.  So what Baldoni advises is that leaders — and leaders of the future — take the time now to develop their lives outside of work. Don’t wait for that first day of retirement and think that suddenly you can reorient everything.

Baldoni suggests several ways to do this.  One way is to cultivate friendships.  Also, do what you can when you can with your family.  You may not always be able to be there, but when you have the opportunity, you should always take advantage of it.

Another way to build up your life outside the job is to find something you love to do – other than work.  And whatever it may be, make time to do it.

A third way is to contribute to your community through volunteerism.  This is an excellent way to enrich your life and make it much more satisfying.

Make the time to do these things now, Baldoni says – don’t wait until it is too late, and you find yourself retired with no interests outside of your job.

If you’re looking to work your way up the management ladder at companies in the Washington Metro area, contact RealStreet Staffing. Let us help you work your way up in management. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sooner or later, every person in a position of leadership is going to make a mistake, one that will also entail the obligation of an apology.  We’re only human.

It might involve a snafu on the job, some action that was taken or not taken, or something that was said that shouldn’t have been.  Once it has occurred, what then?

The first thing to do, according to Dorie Clark, New Hampshire communications director for Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign, is admit that you made a mistake.  If you are in charge of a business and something embarrassing has happened, you need to get it out in the open.  Without doing that, no one will be able to concentrate on business issues because they will be focusing on the mistake. Ignoring it may make you feel better, but it won’t make the problem go away.  Once you address the problem, you speed up the recovery.

Another thing that might help, according to Clark, is showing a little humor.  You have to be able to laugh at yourself.  You can’t take yourself too seriously.  If you do this, you let your workers know it’s all right for them to blow a little steam off that way, too.

Then, in order to get back on track, you need to refocus attention back on the task at hand and away from the gaffe.  You might want to take a different approach in addressing the problem, or get feedback from workers on how best to proceed.

The most important thing is maintaining the trust of your team.  If your error has disturbed that trust, the first order of business is to reestablish it.  If you or your business has made a mistake – it could be a new product that didn’t work out in the market, something you said that was inappropriate, or a public relations plan that went off track – there always will be some people who will be pitiless when you look for some sign of forgiveness.  You can’t worry about them.  What have to work to do is fix that trust with your team.

Errors happen, but communicating effectively can go a long way to repair the problem.

RealStreet Staffing can help Washington Metro construction, engineering and architecture firms meet and exceed their strategic staffing goals. Contact us today so that we may work with you to craft a staffing plan that will help your business grow and prosper.

We have lots of ways of measuring our physical well being that help us determine when our bodies are healthy and when we are pushing them too much.  But what we don’t have is a good measure of our mental well being, and it’s something we need because we’re pushing ourselves like never before.  We are doing more things, with more speed, being deluged with information, and scattering our attention as never before in history of humankind.

We really have no reliable information on good mental habits.  Business treats workers as if their mental effort were inexhaustible, an automatically replenishing resource. Yet in many organizations, the sense of being overwhelmed is one of the biggest problems workers face.  And if people don’t have reliable information about the mind and the brain and under what conditions they operate best, workers may not be aware how that is affecting their performance and their living.

Two physicians, David Rock and Daniel Siegel, have developed seven activities for mental well being.  By doing these activities every day, you will help improve your mental well being.

The first activity is focusing on a task.  When we do this in a goal-oriented way we make strong connections in the brain.  Another activity is simply taking the time to play, to do something spur of the moment or something creative, which helps make new neural connections in the brain.  Taking time to interact with other people also is important for building connections in the brain. Another way to strengthen the brain is through physical activity, as is simple reflection, turning inward to think about our thoughts and feelings.   We need to take time to relax, to just let our mind wander occasionally to help it recharge.  And we need to get enough sleep, which is crucial to mental health and the best functioning of our brain.

The physicians aren’t recommending that businesses drop everything and radically change in order to allow employees the time to incorporate each activity.  But they are saying that people should be more aware of these activities that help lead to good mental health and should make an effort to engage in some of them as often as possible.

When you’re looking for a position in the engineering, architectural or construction fields, contact a recruiter at RealStreet Staffing, your Washington Metro staffing firm. We look forward to hearing from you.

If you were upset at hearing about air traffic controllers falling asleep on the job, you shouldn’t be, according to Tony Schwartz, a business consultant.  The problem here is basically biological.  We have evolved to be awake during the day and to sleep at night.  The later it gets, the more tired we become.  Some of the worst accidents in history occurred at night – Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, the Exxon Valdez running aground.

The government did a study about the effects of napping on the night shift and found that the more time the air traffic controllers had to sleep, the more alert they were.  Other studies of airline pilots showed the same thing.

What all of this points to is the fact that our society does not value rest and recuperation as much as it should.  And this hurts us all.  When we have a lot to do, rest and sleep usually are the first things to go, even if by cutting out sleep we do a poor job.  Businesses tend to judge their employees purely by the number of hours they put in, rather than the value they create.

But rather than get to work early and stay late, it would be better to get to work at little later and leave a little earlier, and take a few more breaks at work.  The fact is, if you do this, you will be more alert and do a better job.  And you will be more productive, because you will get more things done in a smaller amount of time.

You can see for yourself if resting more really does work, according to Schwartz.  For the next few weeks, try getting about 20 to 30 minutes of sleep between 1 and 3 p.m. You shouldn’t sleep for more than 30 minutes, or you will wake up groggy.  Then, at the end of the day, see how productive you were during the time after the nap.  You will be surprised at how much of a difference it makes.  If for some reason you don’t have the opportunity to sleep for a short time, find some other way to get some rest during the work day.  The best time schedule for this is to do it every 90 minutes.

The bottom line, according to Schwartz, is that there is nothing more important to improving your productivity and effectiveness at work than making sure you get enough rest.

RealStreet Staffing helps Washington Metro-area businesses in the construction, engineering and architecture sectors find productive and effective professionals. If you’re a Washington Metro engineering, construction or architecture firm looking for help in sourcing terrific professionals, contact us today!