You’re No Better Then the Next?

Getting noticed in the job market is easier said than done. Employers are looking for people with skills specific to the job they need done. You most likely don’t have anything that they haven’t seen before. Since the job market is an essentially even playing field, you’re going to have to have a lot more to offer than just a degree and some volunteering experience.

It’s too bad, especially since we spent so much money on education, that the only thing our degrees get us is these days is an interview with the hiring manager. Forty or fifty years ago, a degree would ensure a high paying job. These days, not so much. There’s a lot of reasons why this is, but here’s just a couple.

If you went to college forty to fifty years ago, you came out of the experience with new skills, both social and specialized, that would actually help you complete tasks specific to a job. Today, there are many more graduates with the same degrees and experiences competing for the same job.

Location also played a big factor back then because the family dynamics of the time tended to lean towards staying closer to home. These days, relocation is easier and more affordable for new graduates. Furthermore, technology has closed the location gap and encouraged outsourcing.

If you want to get a meaningful career, having a degree doesn’t entitle you to anything. It may give you a chance at an interview, but it certainly won’t guarantee securing a position in the workplace.

You’ll have to stick out to the employer when he or she interviews you and demonstrate why you would be the perfect fit for the position that you want. You’ll have to have valuable experience that is related to the job at hand. You’ll have to be able to have better conversations with the interviewer than all of the other job candidates. In other words, you’ll have to make them believe that there isn’t a better option than hiring you.

There are plenty of great positions out there. Just be forewarned that many entry-level positions are neither glamorous nor exciting if you aren’t interested in learning. If you’ve already made your mind up that you’ve “arrived,” then you’re going to have an excruciating career ahead of you. However, if you are willing to learn and are interested in gaining skills in the industry of your choice, then the sky’s the limit.

 

How Fire Inc Atlanta Continues to Dominate

Below is an interview with the president of Fire Inc (Atlanta, GA), Malcolm Elavia conducted by Patrick Boneville of Inc Reviews. We have been granted permission to post this content in its entirety.

What is it about Fire Inc that makes it one of the best places to work in Atlanta?

Well, I’m sure everyone has their own idea about what makes our company great. You might hear some of our employees talk about our culture and work environment, which is definitely one of the main things that attracts top talent to work with us. From other staff members, you might hear them talk about the opportunity for advancement. We’ve got some high performing “entrepreneurs-in-training,” and like a lot of us, they are fueled by an opportunity for advancement and a career path. Personally, I think it’s our compensation packages combined with our upward mobility that keeps us ahead of the pack.

You mentioned the work environment at Fire Inc. What about it makes people want to apply to work at your company?

We have a lot of young people working here. A lot of these guys and girls come from the hospitality and customer relations industry. In those industries there are two types of people. There are people who complain and like to gossip and there are those who get the job done and are great with people. The latter of those two groups are who we hire consistently and it’s a breath of fresh air for those people to get away from the first group. Everyone works together extremely well and has a great attitudes towards business and life in general.

So you’re saying that a key component to your success is hiring people with great attitudes?

Absolutely.

Ok great. You also mentioned opportunity for advancement within your company is something that is held in high regard. So people have a pretty good chance of moving up?

That’s a little understated, but yes. We’ve got a track-record of success in expanding into new markets and taking on additional clients in different verticals throughout the United States. So, that gives our staff great confidence in our company’s procedures and internal promotion structure. However, we’re not to the point where we need to be yet, so there are many more markets available to us and several clients knocking on our door. These companies are huge and they desperately need someone to take the reins on their marketing campaigns and get the ball rolling. What this means for our people is a simple concept, really. Those who do the best work for our clients and show merit in training, leadership, and administration get promoted into managing partnerships pretty quickly.

For more information regarding career opportunities at Fire Inc, please visit our main website. For business tips, visit Fire Inc on Tumblr.

 

Components of a Marketing Plan

Every successful business has strategies for marketing their products and services. The most effective way to organize and assess multiple marketing strategies is to create a marketing plan. This multi-sectioned plan will outline your company’s purpose, intended marketing strategies, and more.

As with any report or plan, a marketing plan should begin with an introduction. This is where the company’s mission statement and marketing plan’s purpose are outlined. This will enable the reader to become familiar with the company and its goals.

The next section analyzes the current market and where the company stands. This section should cover current products, target markets, distributor networks, competitors, financial analysis, and external forces.

Following the market analysis is the company’s marketing strategy and objectives. This should answer any questions about which strategies will be used, what the financial objectives are, and what the marketing (non-financial) objectives are.

The fourth section is basically the hearth of the plan. Ideally taking up about half of the total plan, this section is for tactical marketing programs (i.e. how the established goals and objectives are to be reached). The following areas are key to this section: target markets, products, promotion, pricing, distribution, and other areas. It can also include a comparative summary of previous vs. current marketing decisions.

Now, it’s time to prove that your plan is viable. In the next section, you should cover three key topics: marketing budget, expected performance analysis, and implementation schedule.

Finally, the reader should be provided with additional information to consider, such as internal and external factors that could affect the plan. Here is also where research limitations should be brought to light. The goal of this section is to balance out the plan and prepare any potential investors for changes that could occur.

Obviously, creating a strong marketing plan will take more than just a few minutes out of your day. It is important to research thoroughly and understand the currant market’s climate. Luckily, doing so will help your company move toward success.

 

Getting Rid of Stress

Fire Inc. offers some suggestions on how best to manage your stress level.

Ok, so you normally manage your stress well (or maybe you don’t!), but this week it’s built up and beginning to overwhelm you. You might be in a meeting at work, sitting in traffic on your way home, or being asked a million-and-one questions by your daughter. Whatever the situation, it’s important to know what to do when you really feel like screaming and running away forever.

It is important to recognize when you are becoming stressed. Your body is great about letting you know—breathing patterns, heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle constriction all increase with stress levels. You can only choose to take control once you recognize what your body is trying to say.

If you’re in an environment where you can separate yourself from the source of the stress, do so. Try some calming activities to relieve your mind and body, such as exercising, taking a bath or nap, reading, or even changing into more comfortable clothing. Stretching your muscles out or practicing relaxation techniques such as Yoga or Tai Chi can melt stress layer by layer.

Creativity can also help you de-stress. Some people enjoy writing, while others may be more inclined towards crafts or music. Choose the best activity for you. Getting your mind on something you enjoy helps with positive thinking and in turn reduces stress.

But how can you relax when the situation is unavoidable? Maybe the freeway is gridlocked for another five miles and there are no exits in the near future. It’s not easy, but it can be done. First, try to find something sensory that calms you. This can be a song, a smell, an image (in your mind or real), a taste, something you can feel, or movement of some kind. Honing in on sensory input like this helps calm your body and therefore reduce incoming stress.

Of course, although these methods can certainly help reduce stress quickly, it is only on a temporary basis. The ultimate goal would be to permanently reduce stress by living a healthier, more balanced life.

 

What questions should you ask in an interview?

At Fire, Inc. we are well aware that one of the hardest parts of any interview comes near the end.  It’s when the interviewer steps back  and finishes with, “Do you have any questions?”

The situation can be a little frightening, especially since this is one of chances that the job candidate has to show that they are smart, focused, and actually interested in the position.

But more than that, this is a chance for the candidate to figure out if this is really a position that they are interested in.  After all, an interview is as much for the candidate as it is for the interviewer.

But what kind of questions should you ask?

One particularly difficult question to ask is, “do you have any concerns with my ability to excel in this role?”  As a candidate, you don’t particularly want to bring up anything negative about yourself, but at the same time this question gives you a chance to bring up any potential issues they might have with your application while you’re still within the room to defend yourself.  It’s an opportunity to share more about yourself that might not be clear on your resume, and it gives you a chance to better understand the nature of the position.

Much of your day-to-day stress and responsibility depends on who, exactly, is managing you. Because of this, it makes excellent sense to ask the interviewer about the management style of your potential manager.  Not only are you illustrating that you are a thoughtful potential employee, but you should also be able to better feel out whether or not this is the best position for you.

Another great question is, “if you could change one thing about the company culture, what would it be?”  Essentially this question helps you to figure out if there is anything actually wrong with the company, without coming right out and asking that.

Perhaps the best question, by far, is to ask about the history of the position itself.  You can word it a couple of different ways, from “why is this position vacant?” to “what happened to the last person who held this job?” or “what were the strengths and weaknesses of the person who held this job before this?”

What you are finding out with that question is essentially whether there are any unseen problems with the position you are being interviewed for, perhaps whether there is a large amount of turnover or whether there isn’t a lot of chance for advancement.

Whatever you do, however, make sure that you have some questions ready for the interviewer, even if it’s only “is there any part of my application you would like more information about?”  It’s your last best chance to impress the interviewer, and to decide whether you would take the position if it was offered.