But should you?

As one of the leading temporary staffing providers in Sacramento, California, Pacific Staffing knows that the true answer is: It depends. Taking on someone who is more than qualified for the position can definitely have its pros and cons. Here’s a look at each side.

Pros of Hiring an Overqualified Worker:

Hit the Ground Running.

Hiring someone who is overqualified can mean they will hit the ground running. If they already have the skills to do the job and perform to expectations, you can rest pretty easy knowing they will be able to get the job done. They will have a short learning curve and will likely be able to contribute valuable ideas.

A Bigger Picture Perspective.

Someone who is overqualified can add value beyond the position you’re hiring them for. People who are overqualified will think beyond just their role and responsibilities to the big picture. They will bring more experience and a broader perspective to how they do their job.

More Bang for Your Buck.

As long as you pay an overqualified worker within your means, you may be able to get greater value for them. In other words, you may get higher level work for the same amount of money you’d pay someone who’s less skilled. In addition, they can act as a mentor or advisor to more junior workers.

Cons of Hiring an Overqualified Worker:

Demand Higher Pay.

Someone who is overqualified may expect or demand a salary that’s outside of your budget.

Less Than Committed.

An overqualified worker might be looking at the opportunity as a temporary Band-Aid – a way to earn an income while they continue their job search.

Possible Turnover.

They may also become bored quickly because they’re not being challenged and leave as a result. And when someone leaves, it can have a big impact on morale and productivity, creating a less-than-healthy environment.

If you’re interested in hiring someone who seems overqualified, but you’re still uncertain, then offer to bring them in on a temporary basis. For instance, bring them in for several months so they can put their skills to use. If it works out from there, then consider hiring them full-time.

Want to Learn More About Temporary Staffing?

Let Pacific Staffing know. As one of the leading temporary staffing providers in Sacramento, California, we can give you fast access to the professionals you need in a variety of fields. Contact Pacific Staffing to learn more.

Leverage the full power of LinkedIn with these tips:

1. Clean Up and Optimize Your URL.

Your LinkedIn page is automatically given a URL that includes numbers and letters. You can better optimize it by creating a custom URL that includes only your name or certain keywords. For instance, rather than http://www.linkedin.com/in/marysmith/5/792/58a, you can change your URL to http://www.linkedin.com/in/sacramento_nurse or just http://www.linkedin.com/in/mary_smith.

To edit your URL, login and go to your “Edit Profile” page. Then go to the “Public Profile” section and click on “Edit” next to the URL to create a new one.

2. Network Your Way to the Top.

LinkedIn offers so many different opportunities for networking, not just among people you already know, but also by connecting with people from around the country – and around the globe – in your profession. For instance, you can search for industry or professional groups by clicking on “Groups” in the top navigation and search for a group you’re interested in. You can also filter results using the checkboxes in the sidebar navigation.

3. Make Sure Your Profile is Complete and Up-to-Date.

This is especially important for job seekers. Hiring managers will undoubtedly Google you and your LinkedIn profile will likely come up in the search results. So use that as an opportunity to make the best impression possible. Make sure your profile has been completed and is up-to-date with your education, skills, and work history. Also reach out to your network for some recommendations.

4. Do Your Homework.

Almost everyone wants to move up in their careers. But do you know the kinds of skills and education you need to land that next promotion? If not, then search the job titles you’re most interested in pursuing and learn more about the background and skills of the professionals who hold those titles.

5. Search Status Updates.

Connect with people in your industry who are interested in the same topics as you by switching the search bar in the upper right to “Updates” and searching status updates. You can even filter your results by using the checkboxes in the left sidebar.

Ready to Promote Yourself to a New Job in Sacramento?

If you are, we can help. As one of the leading employment agencies in Sacramento, California, we can identify your strengths and skills to help us find the job that is right for you. Contact Pacific Staffing today to get started.

So why is this important?

Because, as one of the leading staffing agencies in Woodland, we know that not taking a lunch break is a dangerous habit to get into. Obviously, there will be days or periods of time during an important project when you’re extremely busy at work and have to skip lunch or eat a hurried meal standing over the sink of the employee kitchen. However, don’t make it a habit.

Not only is this not good for your health – but it may not be good for your career either.

According to experts, when you don’t give your brain a break throughout the day, you will experience diminished returns over time. In fact, if skipping lunch is the norm for you, burnout could be just around the corner. In addition, trying to squeeze the most work out of every second of the workday can actually reduce your output over the long run, rather than increase it.

Besides impacting your health and productivity, not eating away from your desk can have other negative side effects, as well.

For instance, even if you do eat lunch each day, but you’re at your desk when you do so, colleagues won’t have any trouble interrupting you. So you really don’t get much of a break at all.

The reality is that everybody needs a bit of downtime each day to recoup energy and regain focus; some more than others, especially if they’re in a high-demand, high-stress position.

And if part of your inability to get away from your desk for lunch is due to a staffing shortage, let us know. As one of the leading staffing agencies in Woodland, we can work with you to understand your organization’s unique staffing needs – and ensure you have access to the qualified professionals you need, when you need them. Learn more now.

Maybe not, according to new data from Leadership IQ, a research and management consulting firm. Their research demonstrates that “corporate cultures pushing happiness actually have lower engagement scores than more competitive and challenging cultures.”

“Now wait just a minute,” you’re probably thinking. “Don’t happy employees translate into more productive and motivated employees?”

Not necessarily, according to the research. It shows that the happiest employees act more selfishly, have a hard time defending their opinions, and are less creative.

This does not mean miserable employees = high productivity and great results. It just means that instead of presuming that happy employees will produce positive results, employers should focus on enabling and empowering employees to achieve more. And when employees are able to do so, then happiness and fulfillment follows.

In other words, according to Leadership IQ, many employers have the formula backwards. Rather than happy employees = positive results, it should be achievements + positive results = happy employees.

What about you? Do you think the research is right on? Or, in your experience, do you believe that when employees are happy, then they in turn produce positive results? As a leading staffing services firm in Florin, we want to know what you think!

So is there a way you can lessen your stress load so that you can be a more effective leader?

According to a recent study there is – and the answer is simpler than you might think.

A study conducted by researchers at Northern Illinois University and published in the Journal of Business & Psychology found that stressed out managers vent their frustrations less on employees when they exercised regularly.

The study involved 98 MBA students and their 98 supervisors. In it, the students were tasked with rating their perceptions of how abusive their supervisors were; for example, rating statements such as: “my supervisor puts me down in front of others.” Meanwhile, their supervisors were asked to answer questions about how often they exercised and to rate their level of workplace stress.

Not surprisingly, the research indicated that when supervisors were stressed, but engaged in regular, moderate exercise, their employees reported lower levels of abusive behavior. According to the study, the types of exercises the supervisors performed were irrelevant; it was the act of exercising one or two days a week that mattered.

The lesson here?

If you’re in a leadership position and are feeling the pressure, then hit the gym. A few hours of exercise each week can help you deal with stress in a more productive way, rather than directing your anxiety at your employees. Not only that, but it will also improve your overall mood – along with your waistline – in the process.

And if some of your stress is being caused by staffing headaches, then give us a call. As one of Sacramento’s top staffing firms – with more than 25 years of experience providing staffing and workforce solutions – Pacific Staffing has developed distinctive programs designed to respond to all of your staffing needs. Learn more now.

Read the entire article: Job Front: Interviewers say asking for social media passwords is off-limits.

What’s Up With Hiring?

Hiring motivated by the need to grow workforces in Sacramento will rise above hiring only for replacements for the first time in several years in the Second Quarter of 2012.

In direct contacts by phone with Sacramento’s top regional companies, Pacific Staffing has discovered significant indications of economic improvement as seventy-one percent (71%) of employers say they are hiring in April, May and June 2012. For the first time in years, forty-two percent (42%) of planned hiring was motivated by the need to grow existing workforces. While just thirty-eight percent (38%) of Sacramento regional employers, polled directly between February 27th and March 17^th, attributed hiring needs to attrition, or replacements within their existing workforces. Hiring attributed to growth demands has trended up for three Quarters in a row among Sacramento employers surveyed.

Warmer temperatures are also heating up hiring demand as Sacramento’s regional agriculture, recreation and hospitality companies begin seasonal hiring. Ten percent (10%) of hiring demand in Q2 is attributed to seasonal change. While most of the regional economy is improving, some of those involved in residential construction, property development and some peripheral industries remain slow. Three percent (3%) of those surveyed report they will consider reducing workforces in the next three months as business remains slow for their individual companies.

Workforce Challenge?

Sacramento’s employment marketplace is warming back to life but recent strong spikes in gasoline costs were of great concern to those polled. In anecdotal conversations with company contacts, higher transportation costs for employees; and increased company transportation and petroleum related products costs could throw cold water on hiring plans quickly forcing a renewed slowdown.

How does this Quarter compare to last Quarter, or last year? Find out for yourself by viewing our past Sacramento Employment Trends reports.

Skills Demand?

While companies are getting a large number of applicants, many are noting the first problems in selecting specific qualifications. Finding applicants with specific skills are among first concerns as companies seek customer service, sales, technical, general office, manufacturing and warehouse workers in the next three months                                       

Sacramento Regional Top Companies Polled By Industry:  

• 45% are Service
• 32% are Manufacturers
• 15% are Construction
• 8% are Retail

================ Next Quarterly Projections: July 2012 =================

Media contact: Rick Reed 916-704-0080
 

As a result, you want to ensure you make the best hiring decisions and only bring on board those who are effective, skilled, and hard working. Otherwise, you’re going to spend your days fixing mistakes and dealing with interoffice conflicts.

So with that said, what are some personalities you should avoid hiring at all costs? Here’s a look at 5 of them:

1. The “Yes” Man/Woman

Despite what you might think, you’re not always right. And you need to surround yourself with people who well tell you the truth, even if it isn’t always pretty. But if you have employees that only tell you what they think you want to hear, then the whole team will suffer as a result.

2. The Complainer

This is the person who sighs loudly or complains every time you ask them to take on a task. They might reply with “that’s not in my job description” or offer up some other snarky comment. Regardless, they will annoy everyone and kill morale in the process.

3. The Diva

While the diva personality is hard to handle, the more unfortunate thing is that oftentimes, they’re really good at what they do. As a result, you feel torn about firing them and losing the skills they posses in the process…but the fact of the matter is that you could drive other employees out the door if you don’t take a stand.

4. The Know It All

This is the individual who likes to one-up people every chance they get. There’s nothing they haven’t done before…and done successfully. And they’re attitude is enough to drive the rest of your employees crazy.

5. The Clock Watcher

While this name says it all in terms of how this employee acts, the end result is that you have someone who is less than committed to their job and the firm.

So how can you avoid hiring these kinds of personalities? Through a variety of techniques.

For instance, when you’re conducting interviews, ask some behavior-based questions, like “tell me about a project where you had to work together with a team” or “tell me about a time you failed on the job and what you learned.” These will help you garner information about how potential employees actually behaved in certain work situations.

In addition, you can have candidates undergo personality testing to determine how well suited they are not only for the job, but also for your firm’s unique culture.

And if you don’t have the time or resources to devote to screening, interviewing, and testing, then outsource your needs to a legal staffing agency in Northern California like Pacific Staffing. We have an entire division – Pacific LegalStaff – dedicated to helping law firms and organizations with legal staffing needs find the legal professionals they need, when they need them. Contact us today to learn more.

In fact, according to a 2011 study by the UCLA School of Public Health, Mayo Clinic and Vanderbilt University, patients’ mortality risk rises when nursing shifts aren’t adequately staffed. Specifically, an examination of nearly 200,000 nursing shifts showed that staffing of “RNs below target levels” is directly and causally related to increased patient mortality. Likewise, the study showed that when nurses’ workloads increase during shifts because of high patient turnover, mortality risk also increased.

And besides having a negative impact on patients, understaffing can also produce many other undesirable consequences in the form of:

• Increased stress.
  As nurses are stretched to meet their job requirements, their stress levels will rise and it may begin to impact their health, their quality of life, and their ability to maximize their performance.
• Increased personnel costs.
  High stress levels lead to increased personnel costs in the form of absenteeism, workers compensation claims, and the need for more management.
• Increased turnover.
  Even the best compensation packages may not entice burned out nurses to stick around for the long haul.
• Patient dissatisfaction.
  Issues with quality of care due to understaffing will result in increased patient dissatisfaction, which may compound the problem and impact your hospital’s reputation.
• Increase in errors.
  When nurse and hospital staff are continually forced to do more with less, attention to detail can suffer, resulting in a rise in mistakes.

If the risks above sound familiar and you’re concerned that your hospital is understaffed, let us know. Pacific Staffing is one of the top medical staffing agencies in Sacramento – and we can be your source for nurses, medical specialists and medical administrative staff. We can also work with you to develop a flexible staffing strategy that ensures your facility is staffed with the medical professionals you need, when you need them.