Author Archives: CPstaffing

Welcome Lindsay!

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ComputerPeople would like give a warm welcome to our newest team member, Lindsay Olewniczak!
Lindsay will be joining the ComputerPeople team officially as an Administrative Assistant, but she will also be providing support with our blog, social media, and other digital marketing efforts. Lindsay has many years of experience working in the fast paced automotive industry. She is a very quick learner with high attention to detail and a heart for helping others. We know she will be a great addition and we cannot wait to watch her succeed in her new role. We got together with Lindsay before her first day to get to know her a little bit better. Read on to see what she had to say.
What drew you to ComputerPeople Staffing?
I heard about ComputerPeople from a friend and decided to check it out. Once I met some of the amazing employees, I knew I would be lucky to be a part of the team.
Other than your work related duties, what skills or knowledge do you bring to the team?
I enjoy baking and trying new recipes. I also have three young kids, so I am pretty up to speed on all things Disney.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?
I think it would be cool to be able to fly. I could go visit Florida and be back in time for dinner.
We are so excited to have you on our team, Lindsay!

Wellness In the Workplace

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The end of summer is quickly approaching, kids are getting ready to go back to school, and you may be starting to evaluate your summer fitness progress (or lack there of). Eight hours at a desk five days a week can really take a toll, but at least over the summer, many people have highly active nights and weekends. As we all start to get ready to spend more time indoors, you may be wondering how you can make your workplace a healthy space to aid in your health goals. Read on to learn about our top three tips on how to have a guilt free workday.

Avoid the candy jar. We all know where the candy jar is located at work, and after a long morning, it can be difficult to avoid. A couple M&Ms may seem like no big deal, but they can add hundreds of unnecessary calories to your diet every day if you are not careful. If you are hungry or absolutely cannot go without that 3pm pick me up, try keeping natural sweets on your desk. Grapes, Cherries, or Apples work wonderfully!

Drink lots of water. Staying hydrated is good for pretty much everything. It provides energy, promotes weight loss, helps your skin, prevents headaches, and boosts your immune system, just to name a few benefits. Bring a water bottle to work, and make it your goal to fill it up three, four, or even five times throughout the day. You can also set an alarm if you need that extra reminder.

Walk and Stretch. Walking throughout the day is a great way to promote health and fitness in the workplace. Take a walk during breaks, long conference calls (if you have a headset), or even just every couple hours to reward yourself for finishing a task. It may seem like no big deal, but getting up and moving around can make a huge difference in staying energized. If you are unable to get up regularly, try stretching at your desk multiple times per day to get moving and get a mental break from work.

How have you had success staying healthy at work? Comment below!

Written by Kaitlyn Gahagen

Defining Dress Code

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Dress code in the workplace can be a touchy subject. You might think you know what the rules are when it comes to each “level” of dress code, but then your boss shows up in something unexpected and blurs the lines. The truth is, dress code is often not completely black and white. Because of this, we used this blog to address four levels of  dress code and what they really mean.

Professional/Traditional Business Attire

This is the highest level of dress code for the workplace. If you are attending a professional event as a woman, you should wear skirt suits or pantsuits with formal business blouses or tops, stockings, closed toe and heel leather shoes.  Appropriate business accessories include a briefcase, a leather folder, and a conservative pen. Women should also try to keep jewelry, makeup, and perfume subtle and elegant. If you are attending this type of event as a man, your options are suit and tie, upscale sports jackets with ties and a business shirt, and leather dress shoes. Appropriate accessories include briefcases, portfolios, and diaries. Men are encouraged to keep accessories like watches and cologne subtle. You should always wear professional attire when you go to an interview.

Smart Casual Business Attire

Smart Casual is just a step down from traditional, formal attire. If you are attending a smart casual event as a woman, you should wear a jacket or dressy sweater, dress pants or skirt with a blouse, shirt, turtleneck, hose, and dress shoes. Accessories that are appropriate for this level of dress code are the same as traditional business attire. Men should wear a sports jacket with a tie, dress pants, button-down or traditional business shirt/nice turtleneck and dress shoes. Utilize the same rules for accessories as described in traditional business attire.

Business Casual

More and more offices and events are switching from professional business attire to business casual. For women, business casual is nice pants or skirts, blouses, tops, sweaters, vests, occasionally an informal jacket, and attractive leather shoes and accessories. For men, business casual consists of khakis, dress, or Dockers-type pants, shirts or golf-type shirts with collars, sweaters, vests, occasionally an informal jacket and tie, and attractive leather shoes and accessories.

Casual Attire

Just because casual days are called casual, it is important to remember that the workplace is not the beach. On casual days, it is appropriate for women to wear casual pants, skirts, and jeans, blouses, tops, sweaters, vests, sweatshirts, casual shoes including sandals and athletic wear. For men, casual attire means casual pants and jeans, shirts with collars or not, sweaters, vests, sweatshirts, casual shoes including sandals and athletic wear. Shorts and leggings should be avoided unless management specifically states they are acceptable.

If you are unsure about what dress code you should be wearing to work or an event, the best thing to do is always ask. Pay attention to what those around you are wearing, and remember, it is better to be more formal than less.

Hope this helps! What dress code do you follow in the workplace?

Written by Kaitlyn Gahagen

 

WNY Destination Spotlight: Elmwood Avenue

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Western New York is a thriving community filled with diverse places, people, and activities. We know that many of our candidates are new to the WNY region, so we decided to ask our ComputerPeople team one question – What is your favorite WNY destination and why. We hope this helps new WNY residents to get out and explore and that it inspires long time residents to try something new! Our first response is from Kaitlyn Gahagen, Marketing Contractor and Consultant.

Screen Shot 2018-08-16 at 8.43.17 PMKaitlyn’s favorite WNY destination is Elmwood Village. This area is a vibrant neighborhood that features everything from restaurants, bars, juiceries, art galleries, and cozy coffeehouses. There are beautiful tree lined streets and many dog friendly shops. Almost every shop and restaurant on Elmwood is locally owned and operated, and there is always something new to do or see.

Elmwood Village is Kaitlyn’s favorite WNY destination because she thinks it is one of the most beautiful streets in Buffalo. She loves being able to walk to various locations and spend time exploring with her friends and family. Kaitlyn believes that there is something for everyone on Elmwood, but you should definitely visit elmwood if you like shopping local!

Thanks for the tip, Kaitlyn!

What is your favorite WNY destination?

4 Tips For a Productive Weekend

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That feeling of walking out of the office on Friday afternoon is something that everyone looks forward to.  Though the weekend is most often a time to relax it may be who of you to consider different activities that could promote higher productivity and overall more success in the upcoming work week.  These activities may include:

1. Make time for your family and friends.

Having meaningful interactions with those we care about increases our overall outlook as well as positivity.   This in return results in more productivity in the work place.  So call a friend who you haven’t talked to in a while or make time to go to lunch with your mom.  These little things will make you feel good as a person and at work.

2. Exercise.

Let’s face it working out during the week always seems to be a challenge.  Either you have to wake up even earlier and hit the gym or try and motivate yourself to go after work when you are really just thinking about the commute home and what you are planning to have for dinner.  Regardless, for many exercising during the week always seems to be pushed to back burner.  Using the free time that the weekend often provides to exercise can increase your endorphins making your brain and your body feel good, allows you to focus on one activity to help clear your head and often increases your likelihood of a better night’s sleep.

3. Get Creative.

Using the creative side of your brain doesn’t have to just be a part of your weekly work day.  In fact when using creativity to do simple tasks such as organizing your closet can make you feel good as well as boost your creativity for the upcoming work week.

4. Sleep.

We all know that it is recommended that we get 7-8 hours of sleep per night.  But often times due to a busy schedule, stress etc. during the week this does not always occur.  Use the weekend to catch up on the lost hours and give your body a chance to recharge for the busy week ahead.

These four activities will make you feel good after a stressful week but also prepare you for the one ahead, happy weekend!

Mercy Flight Visit 7/22!

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Our team was at Mercy Flight on Sunday to volunteer at the open house!

Mercy Flight is an independent, not-for-profit provider of emergency and non-emergency air and ground medical transport and supporting services; ensuring rapid, safe and cost effective delivery of expert response teams.

Their goal of helping others who need it most is very inspiring to us at ComputerPeople, and we are proud to have partnered with them this past Sunday. Alongside the wonderful Mercy Flight team, we welcomed people from the community to learn more about what Mercy Flight does, see the hangers and helicopters, and meet the Mercy Flight crew including pilots and paramedics.

If you would like to learn more about Mercy Flight or donate, please visit their website here.

 

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Written by Kaitlyn Gahagen

Reminder: ComputerPeople will be on-sight at Mercy Flight 7/22!

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ComputerPeople Staffing will be on-site at Mercy Flight’s Open House on July 22nd from 1:00pm-5:00pm. Come join us!

Check out Mercy Flight’s Headquarters and see their helicopters, get a firehouse tour, have a BBQ chicken dinner and much more! Hope to see you there!

 

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Staying Focused In The Summer

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Whether you are busy starting a new job, immersed in a career search, or just trying to keep up with your usual workload, summer can be a difficult time to achieve your goals. Vacations, beautiful weather, and kids home for the summer all make it harder to stay focused.

If you are having trouble staying focused, have no fear. Follow these tips to make your summer as productive as it can be.

Shift your schedule with the season. During the hot summer months, you may want to start work earlier so that you can leave at a time that allows you to still enjoy the summer day. If that schedule is not for you, consider going in later than usual to enjoy the peaceful and cool morning hours of summertime.

Increase your offline work. Who says vacations can’t be productive? Use your time at the pool to brainstorm your next big idea, read a book that will improve your management skills, or listen to a podcast that sparks your creativity.

Work on your biggest priorities in the morning. This is a good strategy year round, but especially when you are facing distraction. Tackle your biggest job first, and use the rest of the day to take on your small tasks.

Take time to relax. If everyone else in your office is going on vacation, you are sure to get vacation-envy. Carve out some time for yourself to get away and come back refreshed and ready to go!

Have a great summer and make sure to stay focused!

Employee Spotlight: Stephanie Joy

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Stephanie is our newest ComputerPeople employee. She has been with ComputerPeople since mid-April to assist with accounting duties. Although she has only been with us for a few months, she has known our team for almost a decade because she utilized FinancialPeople to staff her team when she was at Wilson Farms. Next time you are in the office, please make sure to give Stephanie a warm welcome!

We sat down with Stephanie to get her initial reaction to working with us at ComputerPeople. Here is what she had to say.

What sets ComputerPeople apart in the recruiting/business world?
Everyone here at ComputerPeople is genuine and kind.  They are looking out for the best interests of their clients and applicants.

What is your favorite office tradition at ComputerPeople?
I haven’t been with the team long, but I have already had the honor of celebrating milestones like birthdays and anniversaries. They are so much fun!

What is something most people probably do not know about ComputerPeople?
The team truly puts so much thought and energy into placements.  It is much more involved than I would have ever imagined.

What is something most people probably don’t know about you?
I don’t have much time for hobbies with my 5 and 3 year old daughters keeping me busy.  However, when I have time, I enjoy refinishing furniture.  My latest obsession is painting with an airless paint sprayer which I’m currently using to refinish our patio set.

Thanks, Stephanie! You have added so much expertise to our office, and we couldn’t be happier to have you as part of our team!

Written by Kaitlyn Gahagen

So, do you have any questions?

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Your interview is wrapping up, and the interviewer asks; “Do you have any questions?”

Some candidates have no qualms about this – they can think on their feet after a long, nerve-wracking hour of interrogation. Others struggle greatly.

The purpose of this post is to help the latter with this final question.

1) Preparation is key.

Sit down the night before your interview and put some thought into the initial list of questions that you’d like to ask during your interview. To get started, think about what questions you need answered to know if this is the right opportunity.

Some examples might be:

  • How do you measure success in your company? Tell me about the best person you have ever had in this position and what made that person
  • What are some of the common denominators that exist with the more successful employees of this company?
  • What are the biggest challenges one will face in this role?
  • What are the two most important problems that need to be addressed/corrected in the first six months by the person in this position?
  • What are the key responsibilities for this position and which are most important?
  • What results are expected of this position? What are examples of the best results produced by people in this role?
  • Why did my predecessor leave this position?
  • Tell me about your background and what attracted you
  • What advancement can a person expect, in this company and in the industry at large, after doing this job well?
  • What are some of the company’s short and long range objectives?
  • In what areas does this company excel? In what areas does this company have some limitations?
  • What are the company or department goals for this year and next?
  • How will I be evaluated, and how often?

2) Never just say “No”.

Never reply with a “No” – even if all of your prepared questions have been answered. (If you prepared thoroughly and your interviewer doesn’t just happen to be a mind reader, you should have at least one question left!)

You can come up with new questions throughout the interviewing process as others on your list get answered. Instead of asking a question during the interview, write it down and wait until the end.

If you feel that thinking of questions while trying to answer questions during your interview would distract you, you can reiterate the questions you had with the answers already given by your interviewer. This will assure him or her that you are in fact interested in the opportunity and the company, that you were listening, and that you were prepared. The more you can extend your face-time with the interviewer, the more likely you are to stumble upon a shared subject of interest, a sought after skill, or some other common ground. Your last impression is often just as important as your first. Ending on an abrupt note will leave a lasting, negative impression on the interviewer.

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So, do you have any questions?

Written by Faith Drew