• WHAT’S YOUR WORKOUT
• May 6, 2013, 6:58 p.m. ET

… Continue Reading

Below is a recap of Xtra Effort client hiring activity for Q1 2013.

The data may help you with your own planning, or at least provide a comparison.

As a frame of reference, Xtra Effort clients are small to medium sized enterprise scale technology companies (products and services) that hire Sales, Sales Engineers, and Professional Services personnel throughout the USA.

LINK TO RECAP

Observations:

• Hiring      sales staff has increased among professional service companies. These      companies are hiring because they are reaching their targets

• Cloud      infrastructure, Big Data and BI companies are experiencing considerable      growth and/or have significant funding for expected growth – hence hiring

• Hiring      … Continue Reading
  

During this morning’s cereal and coffee I was reading the Boston Globe magazine and was disappointed that it was not the typical format, including Tales of the City, Dinner with Cupid,  houses with porches by the water (or some other strange attribute), and reader comments from the most liberal and right wing zealots. 

Instead, this week’s issue was dedicated to recognizing  “Top Places to Work companies”.  Seeing our clients (some active, some inactive at this point in time) Kronos, Globoforce, Imprivata, and Click Software make the list  featured created a big smile, knowing Xtra Effort helped them grow over the years with critical … Continue Reading

Xtra Effort’s client required an experienced executive client account manager with a background in risk management, property and casualty insurance, business process, and client management/growth.

Chuck Saulino was thoughtful enough to recommend the perfect candidate.

Our client hired Chuck’s recommendation, and this morning he was issued a $500 Amazon.com electronic gift certificate from Xtra Effort. Just in time for the holidays.

Thank you Chuck!

Today, Xtra Effort Solutions issues Joey Moawad a $500 Amazon.com Electronic Gift Card for referring a Technical Consultant.

Xtra Effort’s client provides enterprise field service management and mobile communications software. They required a consultant (“permanent”, full time, salaried hire) with hands on .net skills and customer-facing experience to define client requirements, configure, implement, training, manage expectations, etc.

Joey came through with a referral to the perfect candidate. All parties are happy, most importantly the client and candidate.

Thank you Joey!

Xtra Effort has created a white paper with a suggested process for enterprise technology companies to improve sales and professional service personnel recruiting and interview outcomes.

Specifically, the outcomes include:

1) Improved internal consensus on what the most suitable candidate looks like

2) Increased volume of suitable candidates

3) More timely and objective review of candidate resumes, and who should be interviewed

4) Less time for the internal team to agree if a candidate is a fit, post interview

5) Enhanced impression among candidates of your company as having achieved operational excellence… Continue Reading

Xtra Effort recently had an internal meeting to try to make additional sense of Big Data.

We asked and answered the below questions.   See this LINK for the answers.  This exercise and related LINK was intended for the average person who keeps hearing Big Data, not the proud propeller head or Gartner analyst, so don’t hold us accountable for its exact accuracy.

1) How is Big Data different than traditional Business Intelligence?

2) What technology trends drive the increase in unstructured data?

3) What are the most compelling “Big Data” applications?

4) What is MapR and Hadoop?

Employers hiring Sales Engineering and Professional Services talent may be experiencing unnecessary loss in productivity, revenue, customer satisfaction, and profit because of too many search criteria when recruiting candidates.

The more successful Xtra Effort clients find the best talent in a timely manner because they agree with certainty on the most critically required candidate technical attributes and experiences, and they also invest sufficient time to evaluate cultural and soft skill fit.

The less successful Xtra Effort clients place excessive emphasis on finding the maximum amount of desired skill and experience qualities, wasting time and often … Continue Reading

Xtra Effort recognizes the majority of our target candidates are now inactive or passive in their career search.

We also have learned most candidates still want to be kept informed about what is “hot”, and we continue to receive feedback about the value of Xtra Effort’s simple spreadsheet (click) that details:

1) What types of technology companies are hiring?

2) What roles?

3) What they are paying?

4) Where are the positions are located?

5) How much travel is required?

Security, Business Process Management, Business Intelligence, Compliance/Risk Management, and cloud computing systems management (application development, deployment, and performance) represent the enterprise technology companies with the most frequent hiring … Continue Reading

Dan Schwendler received a $500 Amazon.com Electronic Gift Certfificate for referring a Professional Services Director.

Xtra Effort’s client required a Project Director (permanent, full time position) who could manage a complex, multi year, global workforce management customer engagement. Dan’s recommendation resulted in a satisfied Xtra Effort client and candidate.

Thank you Dan!