Communicating with your candidates is always important, but maintaining strong communication with them during a crisis can set you apart from your competitors. Thanks to COVID-19, our economy came to a grinding halt in March, and businesses are facing unique challenges. On one hand, millions of businesses were deemed “non-essential” and were forced to close their doors, putting them in danger of shutting down permanently. On the other hand, some employers in industries deemed essential are having problems attracting candidates amid the crisis. Whatever your struggles are now, there are real benefits that come with staying in touch with candidates throughout this crisis. Everyone gets to a point where they want to learn a little more or get some motivation, to do better in their career. But who has the time to go back to school, or take an online course, or read a bunch of books? Luckily, we live in the golden age of digital audio, with new podcasts coming out all the time to provide information on just about any subject under the sun. That could lead to another problem, though: Too many choices! Here are some suggestions to get you started. Grab your earbuds and give these a listen: A company is only as successful as its employees. A good manager knows this and wants to do all he or she can to make sure their team feels appreciated and valued. The good news is, appreciating your employees doesn't necessarily mean having to shell out bags of cash in the process. Here are some ideas on how to thank your employees without wrecking the bottom line: We've all been there. Searching for a new job can be stressful, frustrating, and lonely work. Whether you're in a position you're no longer happy with or breaking into the market for the first time, a job search can feel like a 10-mile slog uphill with the wind in your face. You've sent out dozens of resumes, maybe even had an interview or two, but nothing's coming of it. You're starting to feel stuck and discouraged. You wonder whether you'll ever get called on a job. Good news: It doesn't have to be that way! Hiring managers, HR reps, and team leaders know intuitively why it's essential to keep your best workers happy and under your roof. When a good worker goes somewhere else, it creates a bottleneck in production. It hurts efficiency, lowers morale, decreases institutional knowledge, and it brings on a period of reduced productivity until a new person is recruited, hired, trained, and ready to work. But when top talent is being contacted by other companies, or if someone's unhappy and starting to look around, what can be done to retain them? It doesn't necessarily mean cracking open the vault and offering a hefty raise (but that might be something to consider if the person is especially valuable or holds a set of rare skills). Here are some ways to keep your best workers on your team: Feedback doesn't have to be a dirty or scary word. It's of the utmost importance that employers, managers, and team leaders know what's going on with their subordinates. It's crucial for productivity, morale, and retention. But why? Isn't feedback just another word for complaining? That might be the way it was in the past -- think of those old suggestion boxes that went overlooked and ignored -- but we're wiser now, more considerate and more interested in hearing from our workers. As you're polishing up the resume in preparation for looking for a new job, you'll want to highlight all the impressive skills and experiences obtained during your career. Most ads will indicate the skills that are key to the job, and for HR and administrative positions, organizational skills will be at the very top of the heap. Keeping things on track, on schedule, and budget could not be more critical for an office, and the sharper your organizational skills, the more you're likely to stand out from the rest of the applicants. But which skills are most important? And what, exactly, are organizational skills?
The longer a person is in business, and in a position to make personnel decisions, the greater the odds of making a bad hire. A person can look outstanding on paper, make a great first impression and feel like a perfect fit for your team, but after the first few days, it's more a round peg in a square hole situation than hand-in-glove. Bad hires can breed resentment, kill productivity, slow momentum, and foster anger among a team. And after the loss of an employee, hiring a new one that doesn't work out can be very frustrating. It's not the end of the world, though. For decades, we spend more of our time working than we do nearly anything else. And yet, have you ever had a day where you felt like you didn't do enough? Eight hours a day, five days a week, can seem like an eternity on paper, but we all have times when we get distracted or feel less productive than we could be. Here are some tips and tricks to try to maximize your time every day:
Looking for a new position is a daunting task. You've gone over your resume dozens of times trying to make sure all bases are covered and all details are perfect. But after a month or more of applying, the phone still isn't ringing, or interviews are happening but the offers aren't coming in. What's going on? 
