Leadership has acquired even more emphasis in the current business climate, as it appears more and more that leaders are putting their own self-interest ahead of the organizations for which they are responsible.

What can you do to upgrade your leadership skills? Here are a few tips from business analysts John Coleman and Bill George.

One thing you can do is find a good mentor, Coleman and George say. This is very important for developing skills as a leader. A recent study showed that people who had mentors were more likely to succeed and to be happier in their careers than people who did not have mentors. When looking for a mentor, try to find someone with whom you get along well and who has your best interest at heart. And recognize that the character and values of your mentor are just as important as his or her success.

Another strategy for developing leadership skills is to form a leadership development group. This is a group of generally six to eight people who get together on a routine basis to talk about their challenges and what is important to them. It gives members of the group an opportunity to think exclusively about leadership, what defines a good leader, how good leaders face the difficulties that confront them and how good leaders have a long-term impact on their organizations.

Volunteering for a civic or service organization is another way to develop leadership skills. It gives you an opportunity to take a leadership role and to get in touch with people in the community, broadening your perspective and experience. It gives you experiences you cannot get just from work alone.

Travel also is a way to gain leadership skills, according to Coleman and George. In the age of globalization, being able to deal with people of diverse cultures has become almost a requirement of good leaders. A survey of top MBA candidates revealed that most of them had worked in at least four countries before they enrolled in graduate school, and they expected to work in several countries after they graduated.

Finally, if you want to develop your ability as a leader, you need to keep an open mind and a curiosity about the world. It’s not always about having the right answers, but in the age of information overload, about knowing what the right questions are

If you have managerial experience and want to move into a more important leadership position, contact a recruiter at Winston Resources. We can present your qualifications to some of Manhattan’s finest employers. We look forward to helping you take your career to the next level.

If you are looking for work right now, you may want to take a look at larger companies.

Recent poll results show that larger companies – those with 500 employees or more — are more likely to be hiring than smaller companies. But the survey showed that almost 75 percent of companies are doing some hiring for full-time employees.

The survey of more than 2,000 companies was conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management to gauge the ongoing impact of the recession  on companies’ hiring and their bottom line.

Most of the hiring, about 75 percent, is for levels below management — hourly and salaried positions. More than half of the businesses surveyed are hiring for management positions. About 20 percent are hiring at executive levels.

Almost three-fourths of the companies surveyed said they had lost about 10 percent of their employees or fewer in 2011. That is actually up from 2010, where about two-thirds of companies said they had lost 10 percent or fewer employees. Only about one-tenth of the companies reported laying off between 10 and 20 percent of the workforce. About one-tenth of the companies surveyed reported laying off between 20 and 50 percent of their workforce.

As far as the financial health of businesses is concerned, most reported little change from 2010 to 2011. Two-thirds said things had pretty much stayed the same or had improved a little, while the other third said they had experienced a small decline.

In 2011, a majority of companies, nearly two-thirds, indicated that they were hiring to replace people, but only about a third  are hiring for new positions. Only about one-tenth of the companies surveyed said they were adding new duties to current positions.

The survey also showed that the small companies, those with fewer than 100 employees, were most likely to be hiring for new positions.

More than half of the new positions created require new skills, along with the same kinds of skills needed in the past. About 15 percent of the new jobs created, however, require completely new sets of skills. About one-fourth of the new jobs require the same skill sets as jobs did before the recession. When a job required new skills, almost two-thirds of the companies surveyed said they had difficulty finding people to fill the positions, especially smaller companies.

When you’re looking for work, look to Winston Resources. We have connections with hundreds of New York City’s best companies – both small and large – and we can help you get your foot in the door through a temporary, temp-to-hire or direct-hire assignment. Contact us today!

Although getting laid off can be a traumatic experience, experts say you shouldn’t panic. You need to be calm and levelheaded to plan a course of action for while you are unemployed and to plan a strategy for finding another job.

There are several things you can do to help yourself get through this tough time, according to Chuck Koeber, a professor at Wichita State University.

One of the first things you should do is apply for unemployment benefits. If you wait to file, you might not get reimbursed for the time before you applied.

Many employers and unions have resources available for employees who have been laid off, such as job counseling. Check with your former employer and union to find out what they have available and how you can access them.

Labor departments, at the state or county level, also have resources for people who have been laid off, such as help centers. You should make use of these resources as well.

Have a plan, Koeber says. Draw up a written plan of action with the things you are going to do, the strategy you are going to follow, in looking for a job. And use the plan to schedule your time. Don’t just make things up as you go along. This will only extend the time it takes you to find a job, needlessly drawing out the anxiety that goes along with it. Do a self-assessment to help identify your skills and abilities. There are many sites on the internet than can help with this, such as www.jobskills.info.

Don’t shut yourself off from your family. Talk with your spouse and children about what has happened and how they feel about it. Ask for their support.

Keep an eye on your budget. You are going to have to make changes in your lifestyle. Try not to run up too much debt. Watch your credit card use. Try to stay away from using retirement funds. If you need some financial counseling, groups like the Consumer Credit Counseling Service can help.

If you are depressed, or otherwise emotionally disturbed as a result of what has happened, look for professional help. Many communities and universities offer low-cost counseling.

And don’t forget engaging the services of a staffing service such as Winston Resources. We can help you secure temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire assignments with some of New York City’s best companies. We often find that our temporary workers eventually find regular, full-time work via a temporary assignment. Contact us today!

In work, as in life, there inevitably will be failure along with success. Some failures are more spectacular than others, ones we think we may never recover from.

Losing a job could fall into this category. Perhaps you lost a job because of a major mistake. It may seem as if you’ll never recover from it.

But there is a road back. Regardless of how big the mistake or how steep the fall, you can resurrect your career. It is more a matter of attitude than anything else. In fact, it’s more about you than your circumstances. It’s about your resiliency, your ability to bounce back from a setback. Studies of leaders, including corporate leaders, have shown that it wasn’t their successes that made them, but how they reacted to and recovered from failure. It is really this recovery from failure that is key to molding and defining leaders.

Life, as Walter Lippmann has said, is elastic, not brittle. Your error does not cause things to shatter, but to bend. The key is not giving up. You are not a failure when you fail, only when you quit. Or, in other words, fall down seven times, get up eight, as a Japanese proverb has it. You will have to contend with your past as you work your way back, as it is likely to come up, but you cannot let that stop you.

It is also important to understand why you failed, so that you can take steps to remedy the problem.

You want to assess your strengths and use them. You need to put the knowledge and the skills you have to use, according to Suzanne Lucas, a human relations counselor.

You should also be willing to make big changes, Lucas says. You may have to go in a different direction. You may have to try things that are completely new.

And this ability to start over will be a test of your energy and purpose and resilience. You will need to realize that the climb back up will not be easy. It will require a lot of hard work, and it won’t happen overnight.

If you’ve had some career setbacks, give one of Winston Resources’ recruiters a call and discuss – we may be able to help you get back on your “career” feet. We look forward to hearing from you!

You are out of work and actively looking for a job. You have had an offer, but it’s something you are not thrilled about. You are way overqualified for it, and it doesn’t pay nearly as much as you had been making. What should you do?

Some would counsel passing on the offer. It is not the right fit, they would say. If you don’t like the job, you won’t be happy doing it and that will show up in your performance. Also, being hired at a lower salary level will affect future earnings and benefits.

But there are advantages to taking the job. You know the old saw, “A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.”

The fact is that with the unemployment needle stuck at more than nine percent, you never know how long you will be waiting until another offer comes along. And there is also the unfortunate reluctance on the part of many companies to even consider people who are currently unemployed. Also, the longer you remain unemployed, the more your skills deteriorate, which will in itself affect your employability.

And sometimes, taking the lower level job leads to something better, along with a better salary. You might be able to learn new skills. Also, you will meet new people, giving you the opportunity to network and find out about other positions. And being employed will make you a more attractive candidate for other job openings.

The fact is that today a steady climb up the job ladder may not be as realistic as it may have been in the past. You may find you need to make some lateral moves or even a few steps back required in order to get back on track.

Being employed also has other intangible benefits. It certainly helps your self-esteem. And it also helps if you take a different perspective on the situation – not letting yourself be defined by your job. It may be an opportunity to broaden your life, to try new things outside of work, develop new interests, to become a more well-rounded person. In short, in may help you to realize that you are more than your job, and help you to take a more balanced view of your life.

Getting employed quickly in a down market is where staffing services such as Winston Resources can be of great help. Apply with us and we could have you working quickly within temporary, temporary-to-hire and even direct-hire assignments with some of New  York City’s best companies. Contact us today!

Millennials, or Generation Y as this group of young people is known, are just now entering the workforce. They are joining the world of work at a time when unemployment is high because of lingering economic problems.

Yet, it appears that even with the precarious employment situation, Millennials are not content with what employers are offering and are demanding more perks at work. At one marketing company, they have asked to be able to come to work at 10 a.m. or later, to get free food, and a workout area, as well as to be reimbursed for personal trainers.

This example may be one of the more farfetched ones, but it is certainly not the only one. Millennials as a group seem to believe that you get the benefits only if you ask for them, rather than having to work for them.

And, according to business analyst Andrew McAfee, their attitude is one that needs to be adjusted. He says company leaders value people who can get the job done the most,  more than those who can argue the best for what they want. And while there are prima donnas in every work place, the prima donnas who have longevity are the ones who got the most work accomplished, closed on many deals, or kept the customers satisfied. They were able to show off and be demanding because of their demonstrated performance. Being demanding came after the performance, not before.

And, although companies need to have Millennials on their payroll because they are customers as well, Generation Y as a group is no more capable than any other generation.

Noting that the unemployment rate for Millennials is almost 20 percent, which is more than double the overall rate, McAfee gives Generation Y a little advice.

First, he says, if you get a decent job offer, take it. Don’t wait for the perfect job or the perfect employer, the one who really sees all your talents and how wonderful you really are.

In your job, perform better than your coworkers, but don’t demand as much. Your superiors will take note of this.

Take every chance you have to learn a new skill.

Learn how to be a good team player. Learn a little humility and selflessness.

And, finally, remember that you gain real self-esteem from what you work hard tgo achieve.

Get yourself started on a great new career or job with Winston Resources. We have many wonderful positions at some of Manhattan’s best firms. Contact us today!

When hiring for a job, it is the interview that is the most important element in the process for companies. But all too often job candidates do little, if any, preparation for the interview which, given its significance, is a serious mistake.

Personnel is the biggest expense for employers, so in hiring a new person, a company really wants to make the right decision, because a wrong one will be a great cost in time and resources. It is during the interview that the company tries to determine if a candidate’s skills and experience are a good fit.

Here are some ideas to help with the interview.

The first thing is to understand why you are there – what this process is about. It is first and foremost for you, to sell yourself, to put on, in effect, an advertising campaign for your abilities. The other purpose is for you to find out about the company and the position, to learn exactly what it is you will be doing and if it is right for you.

You are not just answering questions, but doing so with a purpose – to address the needs of the company. You and the interviewer are doing the same thing – gathering information, selling something and trying to determine if you and the company are a good fit.

Before the interview, take the time to come up with three to five achievements or skills that will be your main pitching points. Think about the times where you showed your enterprise and leadership, where you overcame challenges or solved a problem. When the interview wanders away from your talking points, see if you can steer it back again.

In the interview, try to adapt your communication style to that of the interviewer, to let him or her know you are comfortable. If the interview is very formal, you should follow suit; if more casual or lighthearted, follow the interviewer’s lead there as well. This helps to build up trust during the interview.

You can make the interview more relaxed and conversational by asking questions yourself. This will also show your preparedness and interest. You should come prepared with questions to ask.

There also are a few standard questions that almost always pop up in every interview, and so you should be prepared for them and have a good answer ready. Some of these questions include: tell me about yourself, where do you see yourself in five years, describe your strengths and weaknesses.

Finally, practice your answers, so that when you respond you can do so in a relaxed and confident manner.

Come to New York City’s premier staffing service, Winston Resources, for the chance to interview with some of Manhattan’s best companies for long- and short-term temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire opportunities. We look forward to hearing from you!

If you are a recent college graduate, you no doubt know that now is an exceptionally tough time to enter the job market. The unemployment rate is remaining stubbornly high at more than nine percent. That means there are a lot of unemployed people looking for work. So, even experienced workers are taking entry-level positions, making it all the more difficult for those just entering the job market.

So, what can you do to increase your chances of landing an interview, to make yourself stick out from the crowd?

One thing is to make sure that you are networking. Networking is something that everyone should be doing if they are looking for work. You need to make sure you are using LinkedIn and Twitter, which are the best social media sites for professional networking.

You also should check your college’s alumni office to tap into alumni organizations to see if you can make any contacts that way. In addition, check around for any professional organizations in your field or any other business groups, such as the local chamber of commerce, that you may be able to join. Volunteering also is a good way to make connections.

Make sure your e-mail and voicemail have look and sound professional. The funny music, jokey voices or other sounds on voicemail were fun in college, but they won’t go over well with possible employers. The same is true for e-mail. Anything that is humorous or off color will not look good to possible employers. For your e-mail, your name or initials will do.

Finally, keep your expectations realistic. The job search is probably going to take a while, and it will demand just as much effort as the job itself. The salary, the job’s duties – or both! — may not be quite what you expect. But you will get to where you want to be in time.

Aim to avoid the emotional roller coaster, the highs and lows that come with good news and bad, and keep steadily working toward your goals in spite of setbacks you’ll inevitably face.

Winston Resources can help recent Manhattan-area college grads get that all-important first “post-college” job. Contact us today so that you may learn more about how our staffing service can help!

When it comes to job interviews, there are plenty of things to think about, from the introduction, to your answers, to your enthusiasm.

But in running through your job interview checklist, don’t forget about how you dress. It is one of the first impressions you will make walking through the door. If you are not dressed appropriately, it may ruin the interview.

The way you dress should help you get across the image of yourself that you created through your résumé and responses during the interview. They should all work together.

You need to dress appropriately for the type of job for which you’re interviewing. For example, if you are applying for a job in a law firm, or in the financial services industry, a business suit is a necessity. And it should be on the conservative side. However, it is perfectly acceptable to add some personal touches to your outfit to help make an impression, although nothing too ostentatious. It helps the interviewer get a little better idea of who you are, and you will feel more comfortable during the interview.

Don’t overlook the smaller details – does your belt match your shoes, are your shoes polished? Are your fingernails trimmed and clean? Make sure you are well groomed. Getting a trim before the interview might be helpful as well.

If you are applying for a job in a more creative field, a business suit may not be necessary. But for whatever job you’re applying, you should never wear casual dress to the interview. If you are not sure how to dress, go to a business where people in your field are working and see how they dress. But if you are unsure at all what is appropriate, always err on the side of more formal dress.

Also, be careful about adding too many extras to your outfit. They might only get in the way. Try to bring no more than a briefcase or portfolio for your résumé and any other necessary documentation. That means also avoid bringing things such as cell phones, iPods, gum, cigarettes, or coffee to the interview.

Dressing the part is an essential part of preparing for any interview and should not be overlooked.

If you’re in the market for a great new job, bring your résumé to Winston Resources. We can help you move your career in a new direction with some of New York City’s best employers. Contact us today!

Sounds like the kind of “problem”  we all wish we have in this economy – feeling that we should decline a job offer.

Yet declining a job offer the wrong way can have an adverse impact on your career. Here’s how to decline an offer the right way.

1. Thank the hiring manager for the offer. After all, you were selected from dozens, if not hundreds, of applicants for the position. The company obviously thought very highly of you and you should be grateful and respectful Be apologetic as you decline the offer.
2. Tell the hiring manager about your decision as soon as you possibly can. Calling at 8:55 on the morning you were supposed to begin at the new company is just…well, there really are no words for how rude, immature and disrespectful calling at the last minute is. In fact, the only worse way to decline an offer would be to never tell your new boss that you’re not coming onboard (see number 3, below).
3. Actually decline the offer. Just don’t disappear. Contact the hiring manager via phone (e-mail is too impersonal) and tell him or her you’re not accepting the job. Trying to “hide” from giving this bad news by not responding to calls or e-mails shows a huge lack of professionalism. And don’t think the hiring manager won’t remember – and mention to others –  how immature, unprofessional and thoughtless you were.
4. Explain honestly your reasons for declining. If you feel you’re not really up to the position, say so. If something critical has come up (a family emergency, financial constraints, a counter offer by your current employer), let the hiring manager know.
5. Say no to the waffle. That is, be firm in your decision. Don’t be wishy-washy. Don’t decline an offer in the hopes that you’ll get a better salary and/or benefits package. Be honest and forthright. Show that you have backbone in your decisions.
6. Depending on how your conversation goes, it may be wise to write a letter explaining further about your decision. Be very complimentary to the hiring manager in this letter yet professional in your tone. You want to be seen as a competent individual with a good but considerate head on your shoulders. After all, you could very well find a position that’s perfect for you at this company at a future date and if you’ve declined the current offer well you still could take the company up on a future opportunity.

Speaking of opportunity, Winston Resources has dozens of terrific professional positions with some of New York City’s top companies. Contact us today to learn more!