PajMon Information Blog

Posts Tagged ‘hiring’

Good help is not easy to find – and that’s true even when the unemployment rate is high. For your car dealership to thrive, it’s critical that you find and hire the right people for the job the first time out.

So do you run ads in local papers, screen and interview, and try to fill job positions yourself? This can be a very time consuming process and takes you (or somebody else) away from your own work. Not a very good use of your time.

There are two other methods for filling open positions to consider: Temporary Employment Agencies and Professional Recruiters and Headhunters. Both can relieve you of much of the burden of finding and hiring your next employee and both have an upside and a downside.

Especially for administrative work, temp agencies, or outsourcing work, can be a great option. It may be more costly to you hourly, and you may not have complete flexibility about how the work is done. However, when you have to layoff you also are not faced with having to fire somebody. All you do is end the contract.

This is not the best option for for everyone, especially if you like controlling every aspect of your dealership. On the up-side, good agencies and outsourcing services can provide better qualified workers since they have many clients all looking for the same type of service.

They are also better able to be informed of the latest trends in their area since they are focused on it. Trading off a little control may prove a smarter move with the expertise and efficiency you will gain.

When it come to higher paid employees, the best option is working with a professional headhunter or recruiting firm. These professionals take all the burden of the searching, interview, and reference check of condidates on so when the potential new hire is presented to you, you can be more sure they are qualified to do exactly the job you are hiring for.

A qualified recruiting firm, like Successful Hires, can reduce the expenses associated with choosing the wrong person for the job significantly. (Download a copy of The High Cost of Hinding Worksheet available on the Successful Hires web site.)

No matter what position your dealership is currently in, it is worth considering the hiring strategies that are proven to work. Even if you do not need anyone today or this week, you may need to find a skilled employee very quickly to fill an unexpected, but critical gap.

The market will turn around eventually. You want your dealership – with the best employees – to be in a good position to capitalize on the turnaround when it comes. Hire the best now whatever it takes.

It is not easy nowadays to get a job interview, so you should make the most of every chance you’ve got. So it goes without saying that you must be well prepared for any job interviews that come your way.

Ok so what can you do to secure that job? Firstly, you should be taking steps to research and prepare before the job interview itself if you already haven’t.

Secondly, when you go for the actual job interview, be sure to go alone. Why do i say that? Well, imagine that you are the intervewer and one of the applicants comes along with their parents. Or friends. Or relatives. What would you be thinking? This person isn’t very confident of themselves right? That’s exactly what they’ll be thinking.

Next point: don’t be late. While you may be late a few minutes from time to time with your friends, understand that your job interviewer has never seen you before. They will base your potential and ability based on first impression. So what you want to do is try to come in a few minutes earlly so you are relaxed and ready.

Next, always be polite and friendly to the people worrking there. While you may be applying for that manager position and think the ‘little people’ may not matter, think again. Give a bad impression and after the interviewer is done with you, they are mostly going to ask around, ‘so what do you think of him/her?’ So it pays to be cordial and polite to the people working there.

When you meet the interviewer, give a good handshake to give a good first impression. What is a good handshake. Firstly, it should not be flimsy and lacking in grip. Secondly, you should not be trying to crush the interviewer’s hands either! Go for a middle ground: Grasp firmly but not tight. Keep steady eye contact and smile while you’re at it.

Ok, so now we’ve come to the interview itself. What should you look out to maximize your chances and what should you avoid? Firstly, when you are not sure of a question an interviewer is asking, ask him or her to repeaat the question. You can try to re-phrase what they were asking to see if it was what they meant. Nothing can be worse than answering a question that you did not understand. The interviewer is going to think you don’t listen very well.

So what other critical things you should look out for during the interview? And what about after the interview?

KSA’s stand for Knowledge, Skills and abilities and are narrative essays that are requested, along government resumes, for Federal job applications. KSA’s are mandatory and essential being, in some cases, more determinant than a resume to land you a job.

A Knowledge is a factual or procedural data applied to the job. A Skill is a competence in managing data, things or people. An Ability is a competence in performing a mental or physical action.

KSA’s feature 3 to 5 questions, each question being answered with an essay written in a narrative style. The purpose of KSA answers is to demonstrate that you are a good candidate for the opening. You can use examples found in your past experience, education, trainings, awards and activities as long as they are relevant to the question and job.

KSA’s are graded from 1 to 10. Your total score must be above the job announcement’s minimum educational and experience requirements (selective factors) to be eligible for a Federal position. However, you can get a higher grade if you meet or exceed quality ranking factors, which will demonstrate that you are a great match for the job.

Regarding the format, each KSA essay should not be longer than one page and should list in order the job title, the announcement number, your name, the KSA number and then the essay that answers one KSA point.

Because KSA statements are so important, you should make sure to deliver the best answers possible. Before you start writing your KSA’s, it is a good idea to take some time to brainstorm to find elements from your experience and education that perfectly match what recruiters are looking for.

Also, when it comes to writing, be clear, concise, proactive and very detailed, to make it easy for the government recruiter to see you are a good fit for the position. Of course, avoid any typos and ensure the grammar is correct. Once you first draft is ready, wait 24 hours and review it. You can also ask a relative to have a look at it.

Writing KSA answers requires being a good writer. If you’re not sure you can prepare flawless KSA answers, don’t risk jeopardizing your career. It is recommended to get professional KSA writers to prepare your KSA’s, as not only they have years of experience writing top-scoring KSA answers but they are also aware of the latest Federal government hiring guidelines.