Back filling an existing position is usually easy.  Hopefully the person leaving the position took the time to write up a complete job description along with instructions on his or her regular tasks.  In this case you have a clear blueprint of the type of skills and experience required for the job.

The situation gets tricky when you’re filling a new position or when the last person got fired for incompetence.  In either case, you may not be quite sure what this job requires.

To write a job description, follow these three steps:

1. Start with the bottom line – what is the product you want this person to produce?  Is it sales revenue  or number of assembled products?  Define exactly what you want along with the metrics of the position.  For example, if you hire a new salesperson, you can easily work out the revenue he would have to bring in within 6 months to justify his salary.  That would be a minimum.
2. Once you have the product fully worked out, make a list of the actions he would have to perform to obtain that product.  Then describe your ideal employee for that position, even if you think that person would be out of reach for your company. At this point you should be able to easily list out the skill sets, experience and education that would be required for your ideal candidate.
3. Finally, think of the soft skills and your company culture.  What type of person would fit in well with your other employees and customers?  Get this all stated and written down.You may need to get some of your staff to weigh in on this position or at least agree with what you have written.  It’s important to take the time to work this out before you start your hiring process.

Once you have it all worked out and written down in a concise manner, you have a blueprint for the ideal employee and you can start looking for candidates that match what you need.

If you would like to avoid these kinds of pitfalls altogether, Continental excels at finding you the right person for the job, with the skills you require and the personality that fits your corporate culture. Cut your risk with new hires and call Continental.

Joe Taylor needed a program manager for a key development project.  He started searching for candidates, but was unsatisfied with what he was finding.  Later that day he saw his old friend Steve Morgan.  Steve had just been laid off and was looking for a new job.  Joe only knew Steve socially, but thought he was a good, solid guy and always enjoyed seeing him.

Joe invited Steve to interview for the open position.

It became quite clear during the interviewing process that though Steve had industry experience, he had never led a project before.  This job would be a stretch for him, but he was eager to try and very enthusiastic about the job.  Joe decided to give Steve a try.

It is still early in the game and unclear whether Steve will be able to manage the project, but what is clear is that Joe put himself and his company in a risky situation.  Joe has maybe a 50/50 chance of Steve working out.  If he does work out, then it will be a win for Steve, Joe and the company.  But if it doesn’t work out, then the company will have lost valuable time on completing the project, Steve will have “egg on his face” and Joe may lose a friend when he has to fire Steve.

Of course, even the most qualified hiree can fail and a good personality often wins the day.  However, the best situation is a qualified hire with a good personality.  If you settle for less than that, you are taking a risk with the project and the company’s finances.

Continental excels at finding you the right person for the job, with the skills you require and the personality that fits your corporate culture.  Cut your risk with new hires and call Continental.

Some markets pay higher wages than others.  Our same accounting clerk in 1990 working in New York City may have been paid $12.00/hour.  A small town may have lower wages than a large city, even if it is nearby.

It is important when setting compensation to have an accurate job description for the position and then to compare salaries of others in that position in your market.

2. Amount of responsibility of the position: It is common that wages follow responsibility.  The President of the company gets paid more than the accounting clerk.  Often a new hire is started in a position of lower responsibility, but is given the opportunity to increase his pay as his responsibilities increase.

3. Technical skills and education: Advanced technical skills will require a salary that is commensurate with the skills.  Usually an employee with more education, if relevant to the position, will command a higher salary.

4. Experience: Experience usually translates to more skills and better performance.  However, this is not always the case and you must make sure the experience is relevant to the job you are hiring for.  A good, experienced engineer may not make a good salesperson.

There is a final factor that can turn salaries upside down – anomalies in the job market.  For example, when the dot com boom was in full swing, even the weakest programmers were being offered six figure salaries.  After the dot com bust the best programmers had to take massive salary cuts just to get a job. Same employees, but different economic times make very different acceptable wages. But watch out, as these great programmers will jump ship as soon as the market heats up.

Continental routinely performs wage and salary surveys in Central Indiana and assists clients in establishing and negotiating competitive wages for new hires.  Contact us today to learn more about this service (765-778-9999).

You and your budget just spent $900 on airfare, $220 on hotel rooms, $120 on rental cars, $40 on gas, and $70 on meals. $1350!! And it wasn’t even your problem!

What could you do different?

You have to protect your customer and your Company. Call Continental Inc. at 765-778-9999 and let us put a Customer Quality Rep. (CQR) at your customer. We may already have one close to your customer and they can do upfront visits to your customer, not just when there is a problem. They can let you know about an issue before the customer calls you. They will collect accurate data and feed you information in real time. Your customer will be happier and they won’t be charging you with scrap that is not yours or blaming you for something that is not your Company’s issue.

The cost: you will pay for the CQR by not having to fly your people all over the US and Mexico. Take a look at what you spent last year on travel expense to your customer locations with your people and I am sure we can save you money and reputation.

Call us and we can give you a quote. 765-778-9999 x321

Unfortunately Sam did not have the experience or qualifications to be an executive. Harry found himself spending most of his time coaching Sam and doing Sam’s job along with his own. Needless to say, this situation could not go on. Harry soon left to start his own company and Sam was left to flounder in his job. This story is repeated in countless companies around the world.

On the other hand, there are numerous success stories of children stepping into executive roles at their family firms (i.e. Mars Candy) and many firms rely on the work of generations of families to keep their business going.

Nepotism is defined as “favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power (as by giving them jobs)”. It is often looked upon as a negative because it is implied that these people got their jobs because of their connection to the employer and not because of their skill or experience.

However, in many family businesses, nepotism is the standard way of hiring and often a son or daughter is groomed for a position in the family business from a young age. Hiring family is not always a bad thing, especially if they have an ownership position or hope to inherit the business some day. The employer often gets a loyal and hard working employee with a vested interest in the business succeeding. Also, many employers know that a relative of a productive employee often has the same work ethic and will look favorably at hiring within the same family. In many cultures this is very common and the employer finds that the family will handle any employment issues with an errant relative way before the employer has to intervene.

Negative situations occur when the employee brings family conflicts into the business or has an attitude of entitlement. This and many other issues can create a bad employment situation.

Therefore there are no hard and fast rules about hiring relatives and friends. The key is to hold the relative to the same rules and standards as the rest of the employees. Ensure they are truly qualified for the job they are assigned to and help them improve their skills and knowledge so they can take on even more responsibility.

See: 3 Keys to Hiring Relatives for more information on hiring relatives

Learn How Continental Can Help You Avoid Hiring Mistakes

Want to avoid costly hiring mistakes. Continental Professional Staffing and Services can help. Click here to get started.

• Minimum Education – Bachelors’ Degree
• Functional Area – Cell Engineering
• Years of Experience – 2 or more

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Assist in new battery chemistries development activities.
• Operate analytical equipments such as XRD, SEM, ICP
• Assist in the development and testing of battery cells and packs
• Operate battery test equipment (Arbin, Bitrode and Maccor)
• Generate test plans, test matrices, and test reports
• Report on project status and make presentations as required
• Assist in patent research to benchmark competition
• Participate in design reviews and design analysis.

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE & SKILLS:

• Battery development experience highly desirable
• Experience in test plans, matrices and test report writing.
• Bachelors Degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science or a related discipline but Masters or PhD degree preferred.
• Must be able to work effectively in a team environment.
• Excellent planning, organizational, analytical skills.
• Ability and desire to achieve in-depth knowledge of the industry and customer base.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• The ability to work effectively in a rapidly changing environment.
• Work experience in the automotive, powertrain or battery industry a plus.

To Be Considered For This Position Please Send Us Your Resume Using The Form Below.