Overcoming Networking Knots

Does the mere thought of attending a networking function tie your stomach in knots?  You’re not alone.  Meeting a room of complete strangers, even if you do share interests, can be daunting. 

Perhaps it’s the label… networking. It sounds so clinical. Why does it need a label anyway? Why not just think of it as meeting new friends in the business. We do that ALL the time, don’t we?  We meet new colleagues, new agents, new brokers. Each new contact expands our network.  What if we approached these events like we were meeting new contacts, new colleagues, or new friends?  Does that feel less daunting?

Many professional organizations hold mixers for their members to meet each other and mingle. Some groups have great leaders who make an effort to meet newcomers and make them feel welcome; others don’t.  You may have to try a few before you find the right fit, but do keep trying.  You may even drag a colleague along for moral support, but make a pact that you will encourage each other to meet new people at the event. Set a goal to meet and exchange cards with 3 new contacts. If you attend one event each month you’ll net 36 new contacts each year!

If a mixer isn’t your style, see if your local professional organization has a Speakers’ Series.  That limits the mixing to about 30 minutes and then the onus is on the speaker. Chat up folks. Exchange cards. Make notes.  

Once the event is over, thank your host.  Offer a compliment about the event.

That evening or the next day, shoot off a few emails to the contacts you made. The big idea is to make new contacts within your field, not land a job.  So tell the person it was great to meet them at the event, mention something you took note on (congratulations on your new job, hope your cat didn’t get too upset that you went out last night, the name of the wine we were talking about is …) and that you look forward to meeting them again at the next event. (Now, you’re committed. Someone is looking for you.) You could even ask your new contacts to get involved too! Make a sort of “networking game” and agree to introduce each other to at least one new person each time you meet at an event.

Change your focus from “networking” to “building relationships” and the rewards will follow.

Tips to make your Resume Remarkable

If you’ve been looking for work, you know that the job market is tough at the moment, but it’s a great time to take stock and spiff up that ho-hum resume!

Having the right design, layout, and content for your resume is what stands between you and a new job.  Many times you only have twenty to thirty seconds to capture the attention of your reader so approaching this endeavor with a clear strategy and plan of action is important.  We’ll tackle your resume one step at a time over the next few posts and give you tips on how you can update your resume to stand out from the crowd.

Content is King

Consider your resume like an online dating profile.  Not only does the content have to adequately cover your experience and capabilities, but it must be interesting and even enticing.  Keeping the reader’s interest means not having a War and Peace sized autobiography; cover the most important topics by giving just enough information to leave whoever is reading your resume the desire to know more.  The idea is even if a hiring manager had the extra time to read your finely detailed pedigree they would no longer need to interview you, they already know more than enough.  What you divulge with your content needs to be setting yourself up for that first date, the interview. 

 Here are some of our suggestions:

Highlight your accomplishments - Did you cut costs? Increase revenues? Deliver projects correctly ahead of time? Below budget? Break a company record?  If so, your resume is an excellent place to call attention to how awesome you really are!  You want your potential employer to visualize how you are going to help them and one way to help this process is to use numbers and percentages.  Don’t spell it out when you can show it with numbers.

Call out the value you would bring to the target company – If you’re a sports fan or even if you just hang around one, you’re familiar with this idea.  When a new player joins a team everyone voices their opinion on the value that new player brings with them.  Your resume is the perfect place for you to assert the value you would add to your prospective employer’s team.  Make sure you are speaking the same language that your potential employer speaks, especially as it relates to the position you are applying for. 

Identify five assets that make you remarkable –   No doubt you’ve seen an infomercial.  They’re loud. They’re bright. And surprisingly, they’re effective (Be honest, you have at least one product seen on TV in your house right now)!  The reason they are effective is they highlight the assets of the product and show how those assets benefit the user.  In the same way, show your depth by identifying your professional assets and highlighting the benefits to the hiring manager and the company.  Professional assets are things like your background, experience, abilities, knowledge, and specialties.

By addressing this content in your resume, you’ll set yourself apart from the competition, pass the employer’s screening process and get the interview! 

The right job for you is out there.  We can help get you to it.  Visit our website to view our current employment opportunities and receive the support that will help you go forward confidently!

It's Time to Get Back to Work!

If you work in the real estate industry, we don’t need to tell you that the past few years have been tough. You’ve lived it. You’ve seen talented hardworking individuals cut from the team. You’ve agonized over your position. But, take heart! The team at JWilliams Staffing has declared 2012 is the year that we get back to work! 

There is excellent news to share for employers and candidates!  For employers,  the talent pool is brimming with brilliant candidates who eagerly want to earn gold stars for you and your company!  For candidates, there are employment opportunities from employers looking for people with your skill set and enthusiasm to take their company to the next level.

JWilliams Staffing not only pairs the best candidate for the position available, but cultivates and nurtures talent.  In addition to the candidate vetting process, we offer training on professional dress and etiquette. This means the company will be represented well, and the individual will exude confidence when working with your clients, which will translate into more deals.

We place candidates of all types from the receptionist’s desk to the C-Suite.  Whether you’re looking for temporary work, project work or a full time work, JWilliams staffing can help the right candidate find the right job at the right company.  Let us help you get back to work! 

Good News from Goldman Sachs and An Increase in Temp Workers

Jobs increase as investing in the homebuilding industry transitions from “neutral” to “attractive” in Goldman Sachs report.

In a recent Bloomberg article, Real Estate Reporter Prashant Gopal highlighted a Goldman Sachs report that marked US homebuilders an “attractive investment as the housing market starts ‘strong’ recovery.” With the Commerce Department reporting new houses selling at a pace of 369,000 in May, June saw a record plunge in mortgage rates and the continued evaporation of existing homes that led to a 4.7 percent increase in the construction of single-family houses. The recent surge has led Goldman analysts to estimate new-home sales reaching 700,000 in 2014.

According to Gopal, Goldman analysts are connecting the positive recovery to “supportive government policies and a decline in the so-called shadow inventory of homes.” The shadow inventory of homes refers to the supply of foreclosures and shorts sales still projected to hit the market. Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada and Texas report a 15 percent decrease in shadow inventory, while also reporting a 34 percent increase in demand. Goldman analysts attribute this to the supply of foreclosures being swallowed up by investors, “limiting shadow inventory and creating a floor for home prices.” “We expect any further decline in inventory,” write the analysts, “to serve as a platform for price appreciation, further aiding sales.”

In a June article for Bloomberg entitled “Arizona's New Housing Crisis: No Workers,” Gopal also described the impact this increase in new-home building has had on jobs, as Arizona contractors report an unprecedented shortage of skilled workers. One of the places hit hardest over the past few years, Arizona is now “scrambling” for workers to keep up with the demand for new homes. This scramble for workers should be considered in light of the June jobs reports that indicate, according to USA Today, a 25,000 raise in temporary workers—nearly a third of June’s 80,000 payroll gains. As concluded in the report, “many businesses are using contractors and other temp workers on an ongoing basis to better meet fluctuating demand and enlist workers with specialized skills for short-term projects.”

JWilliams Staffing has definitely felt the convergence of these new reports, with new positions and openings pouring in from a variety of locations—most recently including Los Angeles, San Diego, Tucson, Fort Worth, and Denver. Whether you are looking for employees or employment, there could not be a better time to visit JWilliamsStaffing.com.

Job Simulators: The New Interview Technique That Makes Experience Necessary

A couple years ago, companies like Google started using offsetting brainteasers in interviews to test applicants’ quick logic. The days of prepping for an interview by memorizing your answers to the expected questions and polishing your resume with buzzwords like “team player” and “motivated” were over. You now had to show your problem solving skills in real time. Ack!

Well, the brainteasers have stepped aside, thank goodness. But, employers have found a more effective way to interview applicants, by using job simulators. Applicants are put into real-time simulations for their potential job duties, the new “show us what you’re really made of” interview technique.

Certainly, there are job simulators that we’re already familiar with. Pilots spend time in flight simulators before going up in a plane and some luxury car companies test new safety features via driving simulations. But more tailored simulators are appearing on the interview scene. For example, Scenetap’s interviews take place in a bar, where they let interviewees loose to see how they interact with staff, other employees, and complete strangers. An important part of the job these applicants want is to build relationships and sell product, so Scenetap needs to see how they perform in real world situations. Some employment agencies use virtual simulators for roles such as customer service, where applicants interact with customers in a virtual environment and the employer can then evaluate their performance.

Why Simulation?

These days, most people can make an impressive resume and rattle off satisfactory answers to interview questions. Employers are keen to this and are tired of hiring people who look great on paper and perform well in interviews but can’t actually do the job. Real-time simulation forces applicants to prove their ability right there on the spot, saving the employer from hiring the wrong person.

If you are a current jobseeker, don’t fear. Job simulation is good for both the employer and the applicant.  Three benefits to applicants who must survive these simulations are:

• They allow you a chance to “try on” the job to see if it is a good fit and know what will be expected before you commit.
• If you are prepared for the job and do possess the skills listed on your resume, your performance will reflect that real world knowledge.
• They help weed out those applicants with professionally written resumes but no job experience, so you are likely to have less competition.

How to Prepare

The best way to prepare for simulations is to have been in the situation before and know how to respond—that is, to have previous experience in the role. Today, applicable experience speaks much louder than graduating summa cum laude, though having both is a powerful combination. Applicants with proven experience in the role are in high demand. But what if you don’t have any? A great way to get solid experience under your belt is through temping. Temping provides you an opportunity to learn about a position, apply yourself, and if you’re a good fit, seek a full-time role. 

JWilliamsStaffing is your resource for temporary employment opportunities. We have one of the highest temp-to-hire conversions for personnel staffing in the real estate industry. While some roles require a real estate license, others do not, and we're here to help place you in the right job. We offer excellent training and assistance to help you be successful, learn valuable skills, and build a career. Check out our jobs board to see open positions and apply online. Let our employment services help you start getting experience today!

JWilliams Staffing Publishes Second Annual Guide on Building Industry Compensation and Benefits

With home-buying activity the highest it has been in two years and interest rates at record lows, home builders are requesting the most permits in years, and as new construction increases, new jobs are being created. As California builders step up their hiring, they will find indispensable information in the newly-published 2012 Building Industry Compensation and Benefits Guide from Irvine-based JWilliams Staffing, Inc.

Featuring data on more than 100 relevant industry positions, the guide is designed to aid both companies and employees as they reevaluate work and assignments. Contributions from builders and developers throughout Califor-nia helped assure timely and relevant data, according to JWilliams Staffing founder and CEO, JoAnne Williams.

"Our second annual edition couldn't come at a more auspicious time," Williams says. "It will give both employers and job seekers an understanding of current, competitive salary and benefit packages that will enable them to make informed decisions as the industry accelerates the pace of home building activity."

John Burns, CEO of John Burns Real Estate Consulting, Inc. in Irvine, California, agrees with Williams that making informed decisions is more critical now than ever. "Companies that made hiring decisions based solely on gut feel are gone," he observed, "and they are being replaced by builders who are not only experienced, but who have also created new processes and procedures."

The new guide provides a year over year comparison of compensation with basic job summaries along with salary levels for a wide array of positions within the industry. There is also a section devoted to compensation according to size of the firm, making it easy to compare key responsibilities and salary levels at a range of firms. This year's industry-wide overview of employee benefits provides a more comprehensive summary based on feedback from the 2011 survey.

The guide also features an informative article by Tom Miller, president of The VisionLink Advisory Group, that discusses the importance of establishing a long-term "value sharing" plan among management and staff. Miller ex-plains why immediate compensation is only one motivating factor for employees committed to overall business growth and success.

"After a long period of low turnover, employers might expect their top talent to leave for -- or at least explore options in -- greener pastures," Williams says. "Companies must plan for a possible rise in attrition and move faster to start filling the talent pipeline. One of the most reliable ways to do that is through an effective value sharing strategy."

Williams and her team worked with the California Building Industry Association in compiling the Building Industry Compensation and Benefits Guide. In future editions, they would also like to incorporate information from other building industry associations around the country, providing the industry with a reliable assessment standard.

The Guide is available through JWilliams Staffing, Inc., at www.jwilliamsstaffing.com. Substantial discounts are available to BIA members and to those builders who participated in the survey.

Southland home sales are on the rise, and JWS is seeing the staffing needs to match!

There have been a rumbling of rumors lately about the Southern California housing market showing  signs of a healthy recovery, and with May’s sales numbers out, the rumors are confirmed! Home sales throughout the Southland (including Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties) show home sales up 21% and the median home price up 5.4% from May 2011 (Los Angeles Times).  Here at JWilliamsStaffing, we’re seeing LA staffing needs unseen since 2008, an additional indicator of a recovery. Check out our current LA jobs for immediate hire.

What’s driving the increase?

While countless articles have stated the Southern California real estate market is rebounding, this is the first time we have substantial proof of a genuine recovery starting to take root. Multiple factors are contributing to the uptick, including:

• Low interest rates: Interest rates are at rock-bottom, and buyers know they can’t stay this low for long. If there’s ever been a time to buy, it’s now, increasing demand for houses.
• Growing consensus that prices have hit rock bottom: Proof that the market has hit bottom is materializing in increased home sales and prices, driving more buyers into the market to get in before prices rise.
• Declining foreclosures: Foreclosures in May were down 19% from LY and foreclosure filings were down 4%. Additionally, foreclosures made up 26.7% of the resale market in May, the lowest level since December 2007. Fire-sale priced foreclosure homes have been a key reason home prices have been driven so low; it’s impossible for a homeowner to compete with the foreclosure next door that’s priced way below market value. With a decrease in foreclosure availability, market value is reestablishing itself at healthy levels, leaving room for profit for current homeowners.

The move-up market is back!

The move-up market is also starting to show signs of life again. Previously, buyers were unable to move up to a bigger home because selling their home at a profit was close to impossible. But with foreclosures down and home sales up, the demand is back, granting current homeowners the benefit of ownership we’ve missed so much: the opportunity to move up to a bigger home once their house has appreciated in value. LA county lenders have confirmed this, stating that they are seeing more customers with equity in a current house looking for loans to move into a bigger house. Move-up buyers and sellers keep the market active and are critical to a sustainable recovery.

Where will we see growth?

New-home construction. Builders are keen on the real estate recovery and are positioning themselves to capitalize on the influx of buyers it promises.  While foreclosures have practically obliterated new-home sales over the past 5 years, new-home sales are now on the rise, and JWilliamsStaffing have the real estate staffing needs to prove it.  JoAnne Williams, chief executive of JWilliamsStaffing in Irvine, confirms that builders have added substantially more temp-to-hire positions than last year, indicating increased permanent job creation in the future.   Specializing in LA staffing and staffing all over California, we have openings for immediate hire. Visit our job postings for openings near you, and apply online.