The first step in the process, Samuel says, is to write down your most important goals for the year, or any time period you want to work with. She recommends having no more than three major goals here, and to put them at the top of your spreadsheet in large letters, so that they jump out at you.

Then, add all of the activities you are currently involved in or expect to be involved in. Put them all in one column, one activity per row. Some may be a lot more significant than others, and that’s OK. This part of the process may take a little time, so you don’t need to be in a big hurry to get it done, she says. Look at your list and realize that you are not going to get to the things that really matter – those three big things at the top of the spreadsheet – if you try to do everything on your list.

Sort your activities into related areas, and then label how important they are and how urgent they are, Samuel says. She uses different colors to categorize her tasks. Then try to determine which of these tasks can help you get to one of your major goals, and which tasks you can farm out to others. In order to do this, you may have to schedule meetings with others to work this out, and explain the situation

Then, get rid of the tasks you don’t plan on doing at all.

Then take another look at your list. Is it manageable, or is there still more on it that you cannot reasonably do and still chase your big goals? Look again to see if there is anything that you can cut or delegate – it may be tough, but better to admit that you cannot get to these things rather than have your truly important goals get lost in the shuffle.

If one of your New Year’s Resolutions was to find a new position, put THAT at the top of your spreadsheet and then contact a recruiter at Bayside Solutions. We have many positions for IT and other professionals at companies throughout the Bay Area.

According to business consultant Bill Barnett, an effective way of doing this is to establish what he calls a “personal value proposition.” It is similar to value propositions for a product, Barnett says, that is, the benefits a product provides and its cost.

For example, one job seeking manager set his target market for companies that are operations-based, firms that can benefit the most from making improvements in their performance. This person targets companies that are in trouble, businesses that need to have new things built, new management practices put in place. He isn’t a turnaround specialist, or someone who comes in with a cutting knife. But he also isn’t interested in taking the helm of a smoothly running operation and just maintaining the status quo.

He looks for private companies with sales between $150 million and $1 billion. He is not interested in start-ups or huge conglomerates. This person also looks for the right environment. Companies which for him pose an ethical dilemma – such as alcohol, tobacco, and gambling enterprises – are also not on his list of preferred employers.

It may sound like he is unnecessarily limiting his options. But he is recruited regularly by companies who are aware of his strengths and his preferences. He doesn’t get calls from the companies that don’t fit his preferred employer profile, but he does get calls for jobs that fit his personal value proposition.

To develop a personal value proposition, you need to set clear parameters of the kind of place where you would like to work — a place that needs what you have to offer. You naturally want to take your career in a certain direction, so clearly defining what that direction is – as in the example above – will enable you to be more effective at your work.

But the real bedrock of your personal value proposition is establishing what your strengths and weaknesses are – what you know and what you can do. You need to be very clear about these.

The last step in developing your personal value proposition is connecting your strengths to your ideal job, showing an employer how your strengths fit with what the company needs. There should be a clear, firm connection. One way to help make this connection is to give evidence of your value by your accomplishments through reports and other measurable achievements.

If you’re looking to bring value to a company in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Bayside Solutions today. We can help you find work in some of San Francisco’s best firms. We look forward to hearing from you.

Dealing with diversity has now become more important than ever because of population shifts happening in every marketplace, making them look more multicultural, according to noted business consultant Sylvia Ann Hewlett. For example, in the United States, Latino, African-American and Asian-Americans make up one-third of the population and contribute to 85 percent of U.S. population growth. In the United Kingdom, minorities make up 10 percent of the population, but contribute to 50 percent of population growth. Developing countries now produce more than half of the global GDP and are expected to grow twice as fast as the United States and European Union.

Because of these changes, companies now have to reevaluate how they attract, develop and keep good workers, Hewlett says. Business can no longer use the same management techniques for everyone. How employees are managed needs to be tailored to different groups, according to Hewlett.

To attract top workers, companies are focusing more on women. Intel, for example, was losing many of its mid-level female workers, so it organized career development workshops to help women find and move into more challenging projects.

Companies also are trying to build global networks among their employees, Hewlett says. At Cisco, for example, the firm puts together workers from different job areas in locations around the world together with senior level managers from different geographical areas and also different ethnicity and gender, which helped make global connections.

Companies also are putting more emphasis on making work times and locations more flexible for employees. Studies have shown that a large majority of the employees favor these kinds of options in the workplace, according to Hewlett. For many workers, offering a flexible workplace is the major criterion in choosing where to work. Citibank is an example of a company focusing on a flexible work environment. At Citi, employees can set up different schedules for the days they will come into the office. The company began the program in a few cities, but plans to expand it worldwide.

When you need a flexible workforce for your San Francisco firm, call on Bayside Solutions to source, vet and place them. We look forward to hearing how we can help your company attract top talent; contact us today!

The news focuses relentlessly on layoffs and the long-term unemployed. As unemployment remains high, people become anxious about job security and the stability of their employer. It appears as if the job market has crashed and burned, that no one out there is hiring. Reading the headlines, it is easy to believe this myth, but it is exactly that, a myth. Companies are still hiring. In fact, some human resource consultants say the number of job offers made during a recession remains about the same as in a more healthy economy. Even in a recession, innovation and entrepreneurship are still at work, and companies are working to bring new products and services to market.

But, reading the doom and gloom in the headlines sometimes makes people feel that it’s not even worth the effort because the economy is so bad. But this is not true. The job market still exists; it has just become more selective. People who are valued for their skills, experience and accomplishments will have little trouble finding a job, and can get a job offer in a relatively short period of time.

Those in the worst position during a recession, however, are the long-term unemployed. They stand little chance of getting a job offer during a recession. They might even have trouble gaining employment in a growing economy, because there is little value placed on their skills and competencies.

The economy doesn’t stop during a recession, it just slows down, and the same thing happens in the job market – it slows down. Companies make more effort to avoid risk, and so hiring decisions tend to take longer. But, eventually, hiring managers reach a decision – they must, because they need to continue their operations so that they can serve their customers.

So, if you are a job candidate, you can be pretty sure there is a company out there that needs your help; you just need to be smart and savvy in your job search. Network, persevere and look for the companies that are attempting to start new projects.

Working on short- and long-term temporary assignments with Bayside Solutions in San Francisco can be a great way for someone to keep skills current and learn new ones. Contact a recruiter today to learn more about the different type of assignments we have available.

There are several different strategies you can use to try and address this situation. One is talking to your boss to discuss different options – taking on more responsibilities, for example. Another option is a transfer within the company. If these alternatives don’t work, your next choice might be to look for work elsewhere.

If this is the course of action you are considering, you might also want to think about contingent work. Contingent work is not often thought of as a way to boost your career. Many consider it a stop-gap measure, a way of keeping your skills fresh if you get laid off.

But, while temping doesn’t offer the security of a permanent job, and benefit plans vary, it does have advantages if you are trying to jump start your career.

By working in different companies in different jobs, you get to add to your skills, which can help you down the road in looking for a permanent job. You also get valuable experience in seeing how different organizations work. In fact, the skills you pick up doing the temporary work will make you a better candidate when you do apply for other jobs.

Another advantage of contingent work is that you get to meet people in various companies, allowing you to build up a network that might eventually help you when you look for full-time employment.

A good personal support network is helpful while going through this transition. Family and friends who are supportive can offer the stability to help balance the change in your work life.

If you’re looking to make a change, contact Bayside Solutions. We have many direct-hire, temp-to-hire and short- and long-term temporary assignments with some of San Francisco’s best firms. We look forward to hearing from you.

They are told that they are overqualified, or that they cannot learn new things, even though that is what they have been doing their entire careers.

To try and prevent discrimination against those over 40, Congress passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act in 1967. But if you believe that you personally have been discriminated against because of age, there really is little recourse. Few have the time and resources and energy to take a company to court because there are many reasons for denying someone a job.

The bright side, says career coach Priscilla Claman, is that since the Baby Boomer generation, being over 40 is not perceived as that old anymore.

If you are over 50 and looking for work, there are several things you need to pay attention to, Claman says.

The first is whether you are still enthusiastic and excited about your work. Or has your attitude become more negative because of your experiences? If you come across as sullen or grumpy, you are really hurting yourself. No one wants to work with complainers or someone who is not upbeat and pleasant.

The next thing to take note of is your personal appearance. Have you kept up with the times, or are you wearing clothing that proclaims here is an old person? How long have those shirts and pants been in your closet? Maybe some new clothes, a haircut and a gym membership are needed. They will not only help you look better, but you’ll feel better as well, which in turn will help your self-confidence.

Have you allowed some of your skills to become outdated? Do you need a refresher course on the latest technology or regulations? Take the time to bring yourself up to date, Claman says.

And finally, look for ways to sell your age and experience. How is being older helpful in your field? In many jobs where expertise is required, you need to have experience in order to achieve that expertise. The point is that you cannot get it unless you are older.

Assess your career strategy and look for ways that you can leverage your age to your advantage, Claman says.

No matter what your age, is you’re looking for work in the San Francisco area, give Bayside Solutions a call. We can help you find temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire assignments that can go a long way to invigorating your career. We look forward to hearing from you!

But that doesn’t seem to help much. The conventional wisdom among some employers is that if you were making more in your previous position than they are willing to offer for this one, you won’t be around that long because you will be looking for greener pastures. They will assume that you are overqualified for the job.

How do you handle a situation like this?

One way to blunt the problem is by focusing on your skills and experience and how much they can help the company. If you can provide the expertise they need, if you can help them solve the problems they have, the company might not be so focused on salary.

Another way around this problem is to work through a staffing agency, taking a position as a contingent or contract worker. This will help you on several levels. First, you will be employed by the staffing agency, not by the company where you will be working. All salary and benefits issues are with the agency, which will not be so concerned with past salary history. Second, you will get a foot in the door at a company, and if you perform well, you may get a job offer that way.

You also can try avoiding talk of past salary altogether. It may be tough to do, but it’s always worth a try. What you could do is research what the salary range is for the job you are applying for, and focus on that if you get the chance to interview.  Be sure to focus on a salary range, rather than pinning yourself down to a specific figure.

Finally, if company officials are still convinced that a previous high salary is a disqualification because it means a worker will soon move on, you should let hiring managers know your circumstances have changed and that you understand you may not be able to command the type of salary  With the high unemployment rate, and many workers underemployed, people are just glad to have jobs, and are much more likely to hang on to them.

Produce positive results in your career by bringing your résumé to a Bayside Solutions recruiter. We can help you contact some of the mover and shakers at some of the Bay Area’s finest employers. Give us a call today!

So you apply and land an interview. The interview is a great success. You get along well with everyone there, and they seem to really like what you have to say.

Afterward, you send a thank you note and wait. A few days go by, then weeks, and still no word. Finally, you get a letter of rejection in the mail. You are dumbfounded. It looked like the perfect job. You breezed through the application process.

You may get the urge to take this rejection personally, but don’t. There may be many reasons why you didn’t get the job, some of which might come as news to you.

The first thing to remember is that this isn’t an exact science. There is no fool-proof method that hiring managers use to choose people. Some of the selection is actually taking place at a subconscious level. It is more intuitive. So the whole thing is not really about you, it’s about the recruiter.

Another thing to keep in mind is the competition, especially with the current high unemployment rate. There were probably 200 or more other people who applied for the same job you did, and only about 10 (if that many) even got called for an interview. So, in a way, you can consider yourself lucky that you made it to the interview stage. This is actually an opportunity for you to take advantage of – apply for other openings at the company for which you believe you are qualified. Since the hiring managers now know you, and you have made a good impression, you may end up with something better down the road.

Another reason for the rejection letter may have to do with abrupt changes in direction by the company. It may have wanted to hire you, but changes to budgets or other factors may have led to a sudden imposition of a hiring freeze. Again, keep in touch with the company – you may be contacted again later when it starts hiring again.

Another factor in the rejection may just have to do with the hiring manager’s impression of whether you will be a good fit for the position, or how well you will fit in with the current employees. So, again, this is not about some failure on your part, but more about the culture of the company.

Stay proactive, and don’t take things personally. If you get rejected, contact the hiring manager and tell her to remember you for future openings and ask her if r she could refer you to anyone in her network who may be hiring.

Speaking of hiring, Bayside Solutions is always looking for terrific professionals who want to work in some of the Bay Area’s best companies. Contact us today to learn more about the temporary, direct-hire and temp-to-hire opportunities we have.

Pipelining is essentially recruiting now for openings you believe you will have down the road. Doing pipelining on a daily basis, for an hour or two a day, will enable you to stay ahead of the recruiting curve and have a stable of candidates ready when you need them.

There are a few important things to keep in mind if you plan to use a pipelining approach.

The first is to be continually coming up with the names of companies where you might be able to find job candidates. Each day you would be searching for more competitors from whom you might be able to recruit new people. You should at the very least be looking for two to three new companies each day. If you are on a team that is charged with finding new candidate sources, you can get the word out about your finds using a company network drive or an online sharing tool.

The next thing you need to do to make your pipelining successful is create a list of people. Using spreadsheets is the best way to do this, setting up easy to manage classification fields. For example, the list could include name, job title, company, location, contact information, and other notes. You can sort your lists by the person’s name and company. You also want to make sure you are getting all the people with the particular skills you are looking for.

You also want to create a list of social media resources on which you can focus in order to look for candidates. These include the most popular sites, such as LinkedIn, and others, including Plaxo and Jigsaw. You can begin with these sites and then look for others.

You also need to create contact information. A good way to do this, for example, is to split up the things you will need to do, spending one or two hours one day on creating a people list, another two hours the next day on creating a company list, and then finding contact information on those people the next day.

Pipelining can save you a lot of time in looking for potential candidates, allowing for quick recruiting.

Another way to save a lot of time recruiting is to engage Bayside Solutions. We can help you quickly source, vet and place great workers for your San Francisco-are company. Contact us today!

The survey showed that about 25 percent of workers are less involved with their managers than they were one year ago. The workers say their superiors do not communicate well with them, are disinterested and erratic in their management and play favorites.

Only about 10 percent of workers believed that their management would make the right calls in a time of crisis, according to the survey. Moreover, only about 15 percent said they thought their company’s leaders were ethical and honest. A little more than 10 percent thought that their leaders really listened to them and cared about them. And less than 10 percent thought their management was completely honest.

These figures are alarming, according to business experts, and point to a real need for management to take serious steps to get its workforce re-engaged. One of the ways companies can do this, they said, is to re-examine the organization’s values. Employees need to be able to believe in the values of the company. They need to feel that they share important values with their organization if they are to feel a loyalty to it and work enthusiastically for it.

The surveys revealed the strong connection between trust and shared values. In places where employees had more trust in their leaders, the survey showed a higher percentage that believed the values of the company reflected their own values.

Employee disconnect from a company can result in less production and hurt the firm’s bottom line. In the overall economy, employee apathy results in losses between $300 billion and $350 billion a year, according to experts.

Apathetic employees are less productive, have less loyalty to their organizations, are less happy in their personal lives, and are more anxious about their jobs and keeping their jobs.

A 2010 survey also showed that high-performing employees are more disenchanted as well and are looking at opportunities at other companies. According to the survey, about 25 percent were looking to leave their jobs within a year, compared to about 10 percent who said the same thing in 2006.

Bayside Solutions can provide San Francisco-area companies with skilled employees on a temporary, temp-to-hire or even direct-hire basis. Contact us today.