SkyWater Blog

As an entrepreneur running a small-but-growing business, your hiring decisions are some of the most critical – and risky – decisions you will make. Every organization, regardless of size, is impacted by every new hire. But the smaller your company, the bigger the impact. Indeed, a study conducted by Guidant Financial and LendingClub found that for small business owners especially, employee recruiting and retention is a challenge in a strong labor market.

You’re looking for your next career move, and you’ve drawn up a list of target employers. How many of those are small companies that may not have the obvious pull of an instantly recognizable brand like Apple, Google or Microsoft?

Big doesn’t necessarily mean better in career terms. Here we present some of the advantages of working with smaller organizations:

You have an interview lined up. You’ve rehearsed answers to typical questions and you’re fairly confident you’re prepared for whatever the hiring manager will fire your way. You may know what you should say, but are you certain about what you shouldn't?

At SkyWater Search, we specialize in a number of disciplines and are often asked for advice on how to secure a job in a specific sector. Here, we explain what it takes to succeed in the role of sales engineer.

7 Easy, High Impact Ways You Can Change the World, Starting Today 

At SkyWater Search Partners, we never miss a chance to have a little fun. We had a whole day of tax prep planned for April 1st, but then the unthinkable happened! Aliens took over the SkyWater Twitter account totally throwing off our day.

Here's what we think happened:

As a candidate, it’s essential to pull out all of the stops to enhance your chances in a job interview, especially where a vacancy is hotly contested.

Sending a post-interview thank you note is your final opportunity to remind the employer why you are the ideal candidate for the role by demonstrating where your skills and background are an ideal fit for their vacancy. If you’re guilty of sending a standard ‘thank you’ note – or not sending one at all – try the following after your next interview:

In your organization, communication skills are important. You expect employees to work as a team, help customers, and, as an expert in their discipline, you expect them to make important recommendations to help you drive the business.

These are a few of our favorite interview questions that help test candidates communication skills during the interview process.

As employers seek to improve the cultural richness and success of their organization, they turn to new hires to bring new skills and fresh perspectives to teams. In terms of hiring practices, we are seeing a shift away from an emphasis on hard skills in favor of a closer focus on soft skills.

Hard skills are the technical, specific abilities that can be taught. Soft skills, on the other hand, are generally more subjective and elusive, referring to personal and interpersonal qualities and characteristics. The advantage of soft skills is that they give employers a deeper insight into their potential hire.

Below you will find some of the most important soft skills to consider when recruiting for your next vacancy:

Today's post is short and sweet, and very much in celebration of International Woman's Day 2019.