I recently had the opportunity to watch a new reality show on CBS called “Undercover Boss”.  For those that missed the premiere of this CBS reality show, the premise is that CEO’s and chief executives of large corporations “leave the comfort of their corner office for an undercover mission to examine the inner workings of their company.” The first episode highlighted the President and C.O.O. of Waste Management out in the trenches working the garbage shifts alongside his employees.    Admittedly, the show … read more

We’re currently hiring four Belmonsters (a senior designer, a lead generator, and two interns) and through the flood of resumes, cover letters and portfolios, we’ve learned a lot about candidates and what makes one stand out to an employer. As a company and a group of people who hang their hats on creating meaningful connections with those around us, I thought that it might be helpful to share some of the best practices that we’ve recognized in the job application process. This might be similar … read more

What is your personal brand?

This is the same exact question I asked a friend of mine recently as he complained about the challenges he has been having trying to find a new job. He looked at me skeptically and rolled his eyes.  How can branding help him find a job?   He told me that he was applying for jobs in a very conservative industry and that ‘branding’ will not work.   His view of branding was fancy colors and catchy taglines.  I explained that … read more

As a small business owner, I want to be sure a potential employee will be a good fit to our organization.  Hiring the wrong person costs money, damages the team dynamic, and is an overall unpleasant experience for all involved.

Over the years, we’ve managed to rely on value-based hiring to guide our recruitment process.  To be honest, I thought we made the term up until I started writing this blog post.  After a quick Internet search, I found that this is actually an existing term … read more