How do you stand out in a sea of other high-quality businesses in your industry? It’s a question faced by many entrepreneurs and startups eager to carve out a niche in the online realm.
The encouraging news is there are plenty of opportunities for companies that want to get an edge on the competition, from tailoring your branding and bringing in the best talent, to finding ways to improve your efficiency.
These tips from The Hiring Headquarters—Upwork’s resource for entrepreneurs, executives, and freelancers—will point you in the right direction when it comes to taking your business to the next level.
Look Beyond the Resume
Resumes may still be a widely-used tool for evaluating prospective additions to your distributed team, but their usefulness for pinning down the actual skill level and value of top prospects is waning. A freelancer’s work history and established reputation can be far better indicators of their qualifications.
“To Hire the Best, Companies Need to Move Beyond the Resume” explores why innovative companies are taking a more hands-on approach when expanding their distributed teams.
It discusses the value of getting third-party feedback from others who’ve work with the professionals you’re considering, and considers how online reputations can affect the hiring process. Among other tips, the article also recommends giving candidates a paid test project to see what they can do, then use the results to help determine their fit for future projects.
Learn to Amplify Efficiencies
Running a smooth operation isn’t just about having a network of skilled contingent workers to complement your in-house expertise. That helps, of course, but anything you can do to improve your business operations will help you get ahead.
Efficiency is often the cornerstone of many successful companies, which is why it’s useful to find ways to streamline your processes and ramp-up productivity across the board.
From managing the nitty-gritty aspects of communication and workload delegation across your team to testing your products and fine-tuning your marketing, there are tons of tasks that can be done more efficiently when you have the right tools in hand.
“10 More Tools to Boost Your Business’ Efficiency” offers recommendations of both downloadable and cloud-based software tools to aid many different facets of your business. The article focuses on cost-effective options that are ideal for companies spread across multiple locations or that work with remote freelancers. It also builds on another list of excellent picks you’ll find in “Stay Agile with Collaborative Tools.”
Make a Big First Impression
If you’re launching a new startup, considering how you want to shape your company’s identity is a critical component of a successful launch. Even established businesses prepping for a major pivot can benefit from fine-tuning their image in a few areas. After all, public perception can play a huge role in spreading the right message about your business.
“Corporate Identity: Look Like a Million Bucks (or More)” examines the importance of having consistency across your messaging, your logo, and other important aspects of the public persona your brand puts out into the world. It offers tips and on naming (or rebranding) your business, ensuring your logo is on-point, and other ways to fine-tune different facets of your public-facing imagery.
Looking to find more ways to level-up your business or brand? Head over to The Hiring Headquarters for more insightful articles.
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