We live in a world of “make it work.” When there’s no oregano, we substitute rosemary. Or when we have a cold, we take a Dayquil and get ready to tackle the day. When our company grows too fast, we piece together an HR function. You’ll notice that one of these things is not like the other. The first two will affect your pasta sauce or how alert you are. The third may determine if your company will go out of business or still be able to win government contracts.

As a recruiter, I'm often talking with candidates about potential new job opportunities on behalf of my clients. I understand that looking for a new job can be very stressful. There are always so many unanswered questions while going through the process. For job seekers who are currently unemployed, you have the added pressure of getting that stream of income to flow again. For those who are working, the last thing you want is for your employer to find out something is wrong and you are looking to leave. To be found that you are looking for a new role before an offer has been extended could be detrimental to your current job security. All of this stress is put to ease that moment a simple email or phone call comes through. It’s the call that you impressed everyone in your interview and are being offered the position. Phew! Now all that stress is over...or is it? There can actually be a few last hurdles to jump. Here are some various questions and suggested responses that I would recommend to help make the easiest transition possible.

When we talk with rapidly growing government contractor executives, recruiting is almost always a top concern. Many have done recruiting in an ad-hoc manner, with individuals doing recruiting while wearing other hats.

The Cultural Problems of Reclassifying Exempt Employees to Non-Exempt under FLSA In June 2015, the Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a key change to the provisions for determining exemption from overtime by raising the minimum standard level for salaried workers from $455 per week ($23,660 per year) to $970 per week ($50,440 annually). While the rule is not yet final and is not expected to be in place until 2016, organizations all over the US are preparing for the impact, both financially and culturally. Many times the latter is overlooked.

We’ve all been there... You filled out your annual self-evaluation. Your manager reviewed it. Your manager reviewed your performance and sent their review and your self-review to your second level manager for review and approval. You have a meeting with your manager to review the appraisal. You sign off on the appraisal. Your manager signs off on your sign off. Your second level manager signs off and finalizes the appraisal.

Defining “work-life balance” is difficult. Eventually, as you stay committed to finding what works for your organization, the definition becomes less nebulous. At Helios HR, our definition centers around integration instead of balance. When we first start, we work with our mentors and team leads to determine what works for us: when to answer immediately, when to allow the email to sit until morning, and when to leave the phone altogether.