Lately, I’ve been reminded that business Web sites often come in one of two flavors.  Perhaps you can recognize them:

1. What we do – These are sites that focus on attracting business.  They devote most of their pages to describing their services, human capital resources, success stories and the like.
2. Who we are – These are the sites that have chosen to focus on attracting talent.  A significant percentage of the site is devoted to recruiting, so they showcase the work experience, profiles of their office locations and career opportunities.

These are broad brush-strokes and there’s nothing inherently wrong with either approach.  Of course, some overlap occurs when talking about the work experience (showing a potential client how thorough you are) or describing your services (showing potential recruits the level of impact they can have).  Many sites dedicate space to both services and recruiting.  But they could be so much more.

The best sites offer a third option, one that combines the flavors above with a way that keeps clients, prospects and potential new hires coming back again and again.

The knowledge site

Call it the Neapolitan solution because it’s three flavors in one – services, recruiting and knowledge.

The difference, of course, is in what knowledge you make available.  The idea is to make the knowledge you share valuable and useful without giving away the store.  Give them just enough new information on a regular basis – or provide access to a database of information if that aligns with what you do – to whet the appetite or keep you top of mind when the time comes to actually purchase your services.

If you’re a design firm, for example, you could offer case studies on how good designs have made a difference between success and failure in a campaign, or offer tips for how to approach branding, color or layout.

Professional services firms can present examples of best practices in operational efficiency or performance management.  Publishing companies can offer reviews and insights culled from their latest editions.  Industry news, white papers, articles, summaries of round table events – the opportunities to position your organization as a valuable resource are endless.

This isn’t a difficult or particularly new concept but for some reason it’s a rare one to see being utilized.  But examples can be found: just look at what Paladin is doing by publishing these blogs.

What kind of a Web site are you?

It’s not easy to do this.  It takes imagination, management appetite, resources and, just as important, maintenance.  It takes collaboration over the long haul to create the content and promote its existence on a regular basis.

It’s long past time when a company could get away with being an electronic brochure.  The war for talent and the fight for business demand that you reach out to clients and prospects – or give them a reason to reach out to you.

Small businesses are especially vulnerable these days and are looking for ideas to generate revenue.  The good news is that those ideas are right in front of them, in the knowledge gained through the experience of their people, the tools they use, and the services they provide.  The not-so-good news is now that knowledge needs to be transformed into a format where it can be shared.

But it can be done.

Do you have any examples of favorite sites that exemplify the Neapolitan approach?  Remember what your mother said about sharing…

I’ve been fortunate to deal with some great recruiters, both as a client and as a candidate.  And I’ve been unfortunate, on occasion, to have run across some who clearly should have pursued careers in trench digging, coal shoveling, grape stomping or other fields requiring aptitude in wielding a blunt instrument.  The lack of functional expertise, responsive service, and simple finesse in professional staffing is sometimes laughable, and not in a funny ha-ha way.

True story:  A recruiter, who maintained he “knew marketing up one side and down the other,” asked if I had experience in preparing advertising and brochures, promotional materials and the like.  I said I’d developed numerous integrated campaigns with advertising and collateral.  He replied, “Collateral is fine, but what about brochures and promotional materials?” He wanted me to drop everything and immediately re-write my resume, which I did, and then he didn’t follow up for weeks, even after repeated phone calls and emails.  When he finally called, he said he’d never presented me to the client, and commented snidely, “you’re not a good fit but do you know anybody else who is?”  The problem wasn’t that he’d decided not to present me — my issue was that he refused to explain why, that he took so long to do it, and that his attitude reflected the clear assumption that he held the more important position in our relationship.  I was disappointed — but more importantly, I was unimpressed and vowed never to work with the guy in the future.So here are just a few basic tips I think could potentially be valuable for both recruiters and candidates as we all navigate the (hopefully) soon-to-come swell in recovery-related hiring:

 Know the WorkCandidates should know something about the client’s business, even if industry experience isn’t required. Recruiters should know something about the actual responsibilities – don’t just take the client’s job spec and dump it into your template. Ask questions until you get what’s really required.

Follow Up ProperlyThis is so simple, but it’s amazing how many candidates can’t find the right balance between staying top of mind versus being a stalker.  Recruiters should tell candidates when they expect to present to/hear from the client. If the recruiter doesn’t discuss a follow up plan, candidates should simply ask “how/when may I re-connect with you on this? Both clients and candidates should return phone calls promptly; it’s basic courtesy.

Respect the ConnectionThe best recruiters and candidates know that establishing a strong relationship is key to years of future success for both. If you’re a recruiter, try to remember that candidates (especially those who are in transition) are not commodities – they’re flesh-and-blood humans whose lives may well depend upon your engagement; if you’re a candidate, remember that your recruiter works for his/her client, not for you, and has to pay attention to the buttered side of the bread.  If you can unite — finding that middle ground of mutual respect — you can cement those relationships effectively and enjoy many successful placements as a result.

Monica Levy blogs about the good, bad and ugly in marketing and communications at http://www.monicaonmarketing.blogspot.com.  You can follow her on twitter at http://twitter.com/mjlevy.

It’s hard enough sitting through a chart-dense PowerPoint presentation on the state of an industry or how to streamline operations at a client.  So why do we continue to make presentations so unnecessarily cluttered and complicated?

You could pass out cans of Red Bull as I have when I was making a presentation after lunch (who knew it came in regular and diet versions?).  That might keep people in your audience awake but it won’t necessarily get them to pay attention to you.

But even if people are paying attention – in fact, especially if they’re paying attention – every one of them is multitasking.

Your audience – sitting still, hanging on your every word – is actually pretty busy.  Parsing it out, here’s what they’re doing as you speak:

• Listening to you
• Reading your slides
• Taking notes
• Deciding whether or not what you’re saying has an impact on them

That’s quite of bit of work for your audience, so naturally we make it harder for them.  Not only do presenters often cram each slide chock-full of ideas and information, many of them suddenly consider themselves to be graphic specialists and they develop layouts that would make Jackson Pollack look like a minimalist.  By the time the audience can figure out where to look, the presenter has moved on to the next slide.

The drive to put everything possible on each slide isn’t entirely irrational.  Presenters usually have a limited amount of time to get a great deal of information across that knowledge gulf to the audience.  So on one level it’s understandable that if there is any white space on a slide, we fill it.  Ironically, instead of informing an audience this approach can go a long way towards confusing it.

So here are five basic but critical points to keep in mind as you develop your next presentation:

1. What is your governing thought? Also known as the “so what?”  This is a deceptively simple question that you must ask of every slide (as well as your presentation as a whole) to focus your message.  You should be able to state it in one sentence in the heading.
2. Support the governing thought. If the content below the heading supports the governing thought, great.  If it doesn’t support the governing thought, it doesn’t belong on the slide.  When in doubt, leave it out.
3. Keep it simple but not simplistic. Say what you need to say but don’t clutter up the message by using more than you need to make your point.
4. One idea at a time. It takes just as much time to present five ideas on one slide as it does to present five slides with separate ideas.  For your audience, presenting one idea at a time makes it more likely that each one more will be understood, remembered and incorporated.
5. White space is your friend. It can be easy on the eyes but also help to direct your audience’s attention to what is important.  Have a graphic specialist help you, if possible.

Let’s not forget that the audience could also be doing other things entirely unrelated to your presentation.  They might be checking e-mail, revising their itineraries, wondering how they’re going to network with the group, whatever.  You may not like it – it may be rude – but there it is.

This just makes it more of an imperative to simplify.  Remember, the audience is busy.  Save the Red Bull for that next all-nighter.

Contributed by: Frank McGee
Business writer, trainer, coach

Okay, we’re a creative group of people, it comes natural to heighten our style in thought, action and fashion. So, chances are, falling into the blue suit/skirted suit category is not always a good fit.

However, you will find no argument from me when a candidate shows up dressed like they are ready to go to work. ‘He’ is dressed in a sport jacket, pressed collared shirt or even a cashmere turtleneck, well tailored trousers, and perhaps even polished shoes! ‘She’ is wearing an outfit that she could walk from work to dinner in, or meet a client…comfortable, solid colored jacket, with a layered shell, paired with Hollywood slacks that match the same material as the jacket. Heels and bracelet compliment the statement and present smart simplicity with strong self-image.

Less is more. Adding bohemian flair to casual outfits or business attire is a great idea, but do not show up in ripped or dirty jeans, or any wrinkled clothing at all! Stay away from an inordinate amount of jewelry, or indulging the interviewer with plunging decolletage. Perfume/cologne – a little bit goes a long way. Subdue tattoos.

The basic premise is that perception and presentation is everything. You might as well figure the manner in which you ‘package’ yourself in presentation is just as important as what you say during your interview. It helps to know in advance how formal or informal the company dress code is – ask your recruiter if they haven’t provided that information.

Appearance should enhance your presentation, not overwhelm it.

Try to be remembered for your skills and your ability to reflect that in dressing smart.

When in doubt, it is better to be [dare say] too conservative than to be too flashy.

Use the best hardware…your brain – or a web cam!

http://career-advice.monster.com/interview-preparation/Dressing-for-the-Interview-by-Indus/home.aspx

http://mensfashion.about.com/od/theoffice/a/4interviewtips.htm