A hypothetical example :  “Sport Counter Inc. breaks new ground by releasing a cutting-edge software suite, a disruptive technology that will change the way people count the calories they intake and burn.” Sounds pretty great, huh?

So is all that hype simply the product of marketing departments making the use of their college vocabularies?  Well, the short answer is “yes.” This poses a bit of a problem for the general populous at large:  If every software or technology  is trumpeted as ‘modern’ than how are we supposed to know what’s  good and what isn’t?  Sure, every aware consumer needs to do their homework and find out what the meat behind the marketing is, but it also helps to lay out some ground rules.

So here are a few ground rules on what a business or consumer user should be looking for in their  ‘modern software’ “:

1.  Modern Software is online

At this point, all software should be working online in some shape or form.   If a software is called ‘modern’ but requires a hard-disk installation, it is definitely a misuse of the word.    New technology can work ‘in the cloud’ and pull data from a number of resources which makes accessibility easy whether on-the-go, at home or in the office.

2.  Modern Software promotes collaboration

Enough with software that runs in a cave and forces us to work in a cave.  Today is an age of social networking:  tweeting, greeting, buzzing, waving, and pretty much any other action you can think of that lets people share data with one another.  Whether your modern software is a business or consumer tool, it should make the most of the new collective mindset:  collaboration is king.

3.  Modern Software makes us work LESS

Sure, you can find some new software with a billion bells and whistles – features for everything you could ever imagine to ‘make your experience better.’  The one question that should be important to you is : does it make things easier? (especially for business software users)  Modern Software makes you do less, for more.  Modern Software solves a problem by making a goal or task easier or more efficient.

4.  Modern Software gives you feedback

Not only do we not want to be working in a cave, we also don’t want to be working in a vacuum with no feedback whatsoever. The old way of doing things is pushing forward towards a goal without analyzing the data along the way. The new way of doing things should be to use precise collected data to adapt and solve a problem. Your modern software should have an analytics feature that allows you to examine everything you’ve been doing and make it better the next time around.

5.  Modern Software is Easy

Unless you are flying satellites (which should be easy as well), Modern Software should be quite intuitive.    Especially for corporate software users, it makes sense if someone can be trained to use a software suite in a minimal amount of time.  The longer it takes for someone to figure out a piece of software, the harder it will be to repeat the training process.

There was a time back in the day, when folks looking for jobs circled the help wanted ads in the classified section of the newspaper. They then showed up at the job site to fill out an application and were called in for an interview. Today, the help wanted ads have been replaced by online job sites like Monster and Craigslist. Companies have turned to outside firms to fill their staffing needs. And smart recruiters are utilizing professional hiring software programs to streamline the applicant process. With the constant need to be competitive in this global marketplace, the demands of company and industry staffing have never been more crucial. A qualified recruiter should meet those demands head on with an expert hiring software system.

As companies downsize and reorganize in these turbulent economic times, they are going to need a staff that can keep up with increasing levels of productivity. This might mean current employees taking on more assigned tasks. More importantly for recruiters, it could also mean identifying those prospective applicants who can rise to the challenge of a new diversified workplace environment. If hiring software provides easy access to complete information about a new hire then you’ll be able to meet the needs of management without wasting anyone’s time.

Here’s what you should look for with a complete hiring software program:

• Ability to Integrate Databases and Contact Information: Hiring software should help you merge the data you collect from applicants into easily accessible formats. This will help you instantly target specific areas of staffing needs from upper management to service.
• Defines Personal and Interpersonal Competencies: As any human resource representative will tell you, technical competency is not always the primary reason for terminations. At lot of the success of an employee is based on their ability to work with others, manage effectively and maintain a professional attitude. A hiring software program should provide you with the resources to evaluate those qualities and track them through the employee’s performance history. This information is also helpful to have on hand after you’ve evaluated prospective applicants and keep them on file for future hiring possibilities.
• Aids in the Interview Process: A decent hiring software program should provide you with a complete interview tracking system which will allow you to focus in on the specific areas of needs for your clients. Making the initial applicant interview as simple and as complete as possible can help facilitate what will surely be a large number of applicants for a few positions.
• Manage Evaluation Conclusions: A solid hiring software program should also allow you to easily correlate all the  information you’ve gathered. You should be able to categorize and target those  applicants who have shown the highest aptitudes.

Just as an auto mechanic needs to reeducate themselves about hybrid car engines, a successful recruiter needs to stay ahead of the curve with the best tools at their disposal. Hiring software that allows you to perform your role as recruiter at peak proficiency will insure you own job security.

I’d like to take a walk down memory lane and look at internet software at the start of the millennium, and then survey where we are now in three distinct yet intertwined arenas.

Email

Email was one of the original hallmarks of the internet – a simple yet efficient way to demonstrate the power of the web by digitizing the long-standing concept of mail service.

During the last decade, free email services like gmail and yahoo mail have perpetually dominated the arena – providing large amounts of data storage for free to the masses and proving that ‘online only’ applications can be a viable alternative to local email software like MS outlook.

As we head into a new decade, email seems yet again ready to morph, as inboxes are perpetually fill with spam and people clamor for new modes of communication.  Google Wave claims to have an answer, but can it really replace email?

Online Media

The last decade has been a Topsy-Turvy roller coaster for online media – from the tiny startups that became media moguls to the media conglomerates that desperately sought out new models of business.  The year 2000 marked the height of Napster- a new breed of P2P network that allowed people to download pirated MP3 music files.  Since then, illegal networks like Napster have both flourished and fallen, eventually paving the way for legitimate music hubs like itunes.

Online video also has gone on quite a ride, highlighted by the creation of YouTube in 2005.  The viral video boom has not only changed the way that people consume and publish video, but also has disoriented the TV and film industries.

As the decade comes to a close, we are still seeing  industry experimenting with new models of business that can adapt to online video culture. Although some methods of providing free, high quality, syndicated content online (ala Hulu) have garnered popular approval, a stable revenue source still remains elusive.

Business Software

The way that businesses, both small and large, interact with one another and an online consumer base has drastically changed due to various facets of evolving business software technology.

Sales departments can now more efficiently give online presentations through Webinar technology like Dim Dim.   Salesforce has pushed the boundaries of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, allowing companies to improve their communication with customers and sales prospects.  Hiring managers and recruiters can now efficiently track and manage job applicants online through solutions like Newton Software. Paypal has revolutionized online payments, allowing web stores and companies with Software as a Service (SaaS) business models to easily install a revenue stream.

All in all, this past decade of software has enabled tech savvy businesses to perform their functions more efficiently, honing in on niche models that add value for both consumers and other businesses.

However, once this happens, and there is a surplus of job openings and available talent – then what happens?  For the past year and a half businesses have been in hibernation, attempting to run as lean as possible due to the economic downturn.

Downsizing has been the norm and hiring has definitely become somewhat of a rarity for the majority of US companies. When the job market picks up, and we have a surplus of talent as well as openings, how can businesses best get back on track and manage their resources for the hiring onslaught?

Open Up the Gates

Whether you are a small business that receives help from the stimulus or a larger company that suddenly gets a ton of green contract work; open up the gates to let the talent out there know that you are hiring again.  For the past year and a half you’ve probably let many of your new talent funnels get outdated – whether it be the employment section of your website, or a job board you regularly post to.  Take the time to make sure you are up to date with all the previous resources you utilized, as well as some new tactics that have emerged since you’ve been out of the hiring game.

Hiring Software

One new management resource for hiring that is constantly evolving is hiring software.  Modern day hiring software can make the lives of hiring manager and recruiters within your company far easier.  Not only does hiring software make recruiting simpler, it makes it more efficient.  Whether it is tracking a large number of job applicants, auto posting to job boards, sending out automated thank you letters or keeping up with a variety of statistics, hiring software can pretty much do anything nowadays.

Don’t Overdo It

Learn something from the past two years.  Running trim and slowing down your hiring lets you hone in on the important parts of your business: the cogs that are integral for survival.  Although the lean, mean days are starting to disappear, don’t suddenly jump into needless spending mode.  Get a hold of some statistics to determine what worked and what didn’t and capitalize on this newfound knowledge.

In the past, antiquated ‘bulk’ pricing methods often left companies high and dry without the desired results from a software application. Software as a Service changes the game completely, allowing companies to choose their own pricing plan and get the most bang for their buck, so to speak.

One question that often arises is: why didn’t SaaS happen before?  If it’s so great, why now?  The answer is, cutting edge internet technologies have recently allowed SaaS companies to provide their technology to clients at minimal costs by leveraging cloud computing, open development, and flexible software models.

If your business hasn’t tried out a SaaS specific to your industry, here are several reasons to get going now:

1. Ready-Made

Just as you would save time from cooking by picking up some ready-made food, SaaS is also ‘ready made’ for specific industries.  For example, SaaS Recruiting Software is tailored specifically for hiring managers and recruiters, and is often developed by them. The cost and time it would take for a company to ‘cook up’ their own tailor-made software package would be enormous compared to utilizing a SaaS solution. Deploying SaaS for your company is fast, and will have immediate results.

2.  The Most Bang for Your Buck

Many SaaS providers charge a monthly fee that can be cancelled at any point if the services provided are not adequate.    This low risk program allows a business to evaluate the success of the software package on an ongoing basis to decide if they want to continue its use.   This is in strict opposition to the B2B software models of old, that often had large upfront costs and strict contracts that required a customer to take a big risk.

3.  No Installation Required

The majority of modern Software as a Service solutions live ‘in the cloud.’  This means that these programs are fully accessible online and don’t require  installation onto a specific computer for use.  Not only does this save a business time and resources during the installation process, but it also allows a company’s employees to access the system anywhere, anytime.

4.  Expert Support

Because Software as a Service is often industry specific, many SaaS providers also are experts in that industry.  This industry expertise translates to far better support than your traditional ‘broad spectrum’ software package.  How many times have you spent countless hours on a support line, just trying to get to the right person within an organization?  With SaaS support, anyone you get on the phone will most likely be able to answer your questions.

5.  Real Time Collaboration

Because many SaaS packages live online, they tend to stress a collaboration and ‘social networking’ aspect that many older software models tend to forget.  We live in a world where Facebook and Twitter are mainstays of communication, allowing for real-time updates and news.  Online SaaS takes a similar Web 2.0 view of business, allowing employees to communicate and view incoming data in real-time.

So how do you pick which Resume Creator is best for you?  To help you out, I’ve taken the liberty to try four of the most popular resume builders.  Basically, I created a resume on each of the following sites and evaluated the program’s performance:

Visual CV

VisualCV differentiates itself by allowing users to add videos, images, and links to your standard resume.  The software also utilizes a very simple job search functionality as well as privacy settings over who has access to your profile.    This is a great program for users that are looking to showcase portfolios within their resume.  Think artists, web designers, film makers and more.

ResuWe

ResuWe is a free site that lets a user optimize their resume by uploading a current version of the document.  It points out the key components of a resume and automatically breaks up the information with very little data entry required. Although ResuWe is easy to use, some of the site seems a bit slapped together.  ResuWe also allows a user to search jobs through Indeed.com.  The service provides some basic SNS and promotional tools as well.

Job Spice

For the time being, Job Spice is free.  This program runs much like an application created during a school project, rather than software that could be valued by a business or paying consumer.  The service concentrates on making your resume visually appealing through the use of a number of preset templates.  One problem I had when demoing JobSpice was successfully exporting my resumes to .pdf format.

Pongo

Pongo has several options for subscription: a free trial account, a monthly fee or an annual fee.  For the fee you can download a resume you’ve created and also utilize tools like advanced job matching and task management.  The free option is fairly elementary, taking you through a step by step list to build your on site resume.  Overall, Pongo’s UI is not very efficient at all.

Overall, I give my best grade to ResuWe because it understands its target customers. ResuWe was created by experts that realize that in a resume, simplicity is the biggest factor. Their service doesn’t let you use thousands of fonts, insert videos, or export in anything but MS Word format, but it gets the job done.  In fact, MS Word docs are the standard for recruiting software programs that hiring departments utilize to upload and parse.

When we started our first company an important piece of advice we got was to develop a detailed selection process. This process involved creating a framework to evaluate our applicants efficiently and rapidly to keep up in an extremely competitive market. We even enlisted the help of an industrial psychologist to streamline our interview process, which still works today.

One thing we’ve noticed is that most of our customers are also in very difficult environments for finding good people. Engineers, IT guys, sales stars, marketing masters and various other talent is hard to come by. In addition, the recovering economy makes this pool of top talent even smaller than usual.

So how do you make your hiring process more efficient? First, get your hands on some simple and amazingly efficient applicant tracking software.

Second, start interviewing smarter. It is clear that finding the top talent is becoming harder and harder, so you need to adapt. Instead of only looking to increase your hiring throughput, try to build on the skill-sets of current employees to increase their value. Think of it like a baseball team’s farm system, structured to build talent over the long run. A well run interview process won’t only prevent bad hires, but it will also prepare for a long tail recruiting efficiency.

We practice creating simulations of real-world situations during our interviews to reduce the risk of bad hires and also to allow us to measure a candidate’s ability to adapt. Overall, there are three key characteristics and metrics that that we often refer to during interviews:

Start with Ability

Obviously, if the potential candidate does not possess the ability to do the job at hand, none of their other qualities matter. It doesn’t matter if this person can fit into the corporate culture or the long term picture if they aren’t able to complete the task at hand. There is no point in wasting your time, as well as the candidates’, if they can’t pass the test of basic requirements for the job. That is why we always start with a measure of the candidate’s ability, which most often is a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer.

Move onto Talent

Talent is most often gauged through posing problem solving situations to the candidate and seeing how they react. This will tell us how this person’s skill set can be optimized for our company’s long term objectives, like scaling a product or expanding to new vertical arenas.

Finish with Character (last but not least)

If a candidate is extremely skilled, has all the abilities to complete the job, and fits into a company’s long term objectives, they would seem like a shoe-in. However, if their character doesn’t jive with your management practices and work culture, they shouldn’t be a sure hire. Character is symbiotic with employee retention: employees that don’t fit in, probably won’t last.

Some ways to measure character are interview questions that test a person’s behavioral and psychological disposition. The person’s responses can be measured not only with the content of their answer, but also on their delivery (body language, inflection, etc.)

Even if you have the best tools in the recruiting business, your interview process needs to be polished to make good hires. This ‘balance’ between an efficient process and wise assessment requires training, feedback and strategy on all fronts.

I’d like to take a moment to go over several simple tools and methods to help small business owners keep track of and prioritize the various tasks involved in operations.

1.   Use a Whiteboard

Whether it’s a whiteboard, blackboard, bulletin board, or a simple notepad, try to keep a weekly log of primary tasks up front and center.  While there are a plethora of online programs and tools for organizing daily/weekly tasks, it helps to back it all up with a basic pen and paper list.    It is integral to have this weekly ‘grail’ to refer to when you hit a wall – try placing it in the center of your office for everyone to see.  Utilize different colors or check boxes to re-enforce accomplishments or the completion of a task.

2.  Use Google Documents

While Microsoft Word is still the standard in word processing, Google Documents has several advantages that make it the perfect online tool for inter & extra-office collaboration.   Need to brainstorm a list of potential clients for your wedding cake business?  Simply hop on Google Docs, create a new sheet, and share it with as many collaborators as you like.  The whole team can then log onto the document and make edits ‘live,’ to avoid the hassle of huge email chains or lengthy phone conversations.  Also be sure to try out Google Spreadsheets, a MS Excel alternative that allows you for seamless organization and collaboration.

3.  Use Recruiting Software

If you are a small business is the process of finding the best talent available, the task can become process intensive and  fairly complex.  Keeping track of multiple candidates, reviewing resumes and tracking progress can drastically slow your company’s forward movement.

One way to combat this small business brain freeze it to utilize a recruiting software package to track applicants, manage resumes, and provide a collaboration tool for your hiring managers.  Many modern day recruiting software solutions live completely online, making it incredibly simple to access and utilize with the click of a mouse.

4.  Prioritize with Flexibility

Sometimes, when it’s just you and 500 different tasks, there will be a tendency to jump from one task to another before completion. This can be good and bad.  It’s good to be flexible and not bang your head against any one task  if you aren’t making any progress.   Sometimes it helps to step back, breathe, and come back to something with a new outlook.   However, if your mind wanders too far and too often, nothing will end up done.  Try to find the balance between priority and flexibility that allows you to find a natural rhythm in completing weekly tasks.

5. Early Calls

If part of your business involves contacting potential clients, cold calling, emailing or collaborating with various individuals, I would suggest using the first half of the week for this.  People have the natural tendency to be more receptive during the first half of the week.  After Wednesday many potential business contacts begin to fade into their weekend shelters.  Getting a hold of these people on Monday or Tuesday will make the second half of your week far more productive.

According to the Wall Street Journal, over the next three years, the government will attempt to attract nearly 270,000 talented specialists in various fields across the board, including the health, financial and administrative sectors.  The difference between this government hiring initiative and the recruiting processes of old, is this time Uncle Sam will be actively seeking qualified candidates instead of passively sitting on his laurels.

What has prompted this large scale hiring campaign?  One factor is certainly Mr. Obama’s ambitions to take on such looming problems like health care reform and the economic downturn.   And what better way is there to combat long-term problems than to get the younger generation’s  brighest minds involved?  How else can we expect to positively affect the future of our government than to actively seek the best talent for the jobs of the future?

In order for this massive job overhaul to occur successfully, our government will need to implement some much needed change to its hiring process.  ’They’ are already on their way to cleaning out some dusty corners, but just to make it clear, I’ve listed two points that can help us move toward a new breed of government hiring.

Branding

The brand marketing of the various government sectors seeking qualified candidates will be integral to attracting talent.  We don’t often hear about ‘branding’ in reference to government work (outside of the military).  When the younger generation thinks about a federal employee, they most often picture a white-collar bloke sitting in a musty office with no windows, slowly filing through a stack of paperwork.

The bad stigma that goes along with federal jobs is a major hurdle that the government needs to overcome in order to compete with the private sector for the best talent.  Why was working at Google such a hot commodity at the start of the decade?  Company branding: they were known for a laid back work ‘campus,’ rife with badminton courts, plush bean bag chairs and organic gardens.   Today, many other companies looking to attract younger talent have also implemented the ‘Google Campus Model.’

Our government needs to concentrate on marketing to a new generation of talent.  Good benefits and patriotism are not currently enough to compete with the private sector.

Technology

Sure, the US government is known for some of the most innovative, expensive and mind blowing technologies the world has ever seen.  But when it comes to a new generation of internet tech, they are still playing catch up.  The Obama administration has certainly made big steps between its acceptance of social networking tools and the current planned overhaul of .gov portals, however it needs to concentrate on other specific tools that are giving the private sector a big advantage in talent acquisition.

New applicant tracking and hiring software solutions are allowing private companies to better announce job openings, track qualified candidates, and analyze source data to optimize the recruiting process.   Newton Software, a leader in applicant tracking software, is one such application that boasts a simple to use interface which also provides the utmost efficiency in streamlining the recruitment process.

If the government really wants to compete with the private sector for top talent, they will need to embrace the technologies currently utilized in the private sector.