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Evenwiththecurrent job shortage, many small- to mid-sized businesses are still facing the age-old problem of finding good people to add to their teams. The Washington Post reports that "60 percent of small busi- ness own- ers and managers say finding skilled workers is their company's great- est challenge when it comes to hiring and man- aging staff." The major- ity of the blame for this can be placed on today's skills gap — the current phenomenon of a country- wide mismatch between employers' needs and job candidates' abilities. And, with so little top talent out there, it pits small- and medium-businesses against large corporations in the hiring battle. So, what's a business to do? Competing against big business and attracting quality workers can feel impossible, but it doesn't have too. Small business owners and leaders will need to put a little extra thought and effort into their own hiring processes to continue to see success. RECOGNIZETHATPAYISN'T YOUR STRONG POINT The first thing businesses have to realize is that money will probably not be what attracts quality employees to their doors. Most small- to medium-size companies don't have the budgets to compete against large corporations in the area of pay, and that's okay. "That's where small busi- nesses have the competi- tive edge," Steve Strauss, author and senior small- business columnist at USA Today, said. "If you offer a fun place to work, peo- ple like coming to work, they're engaged — that makes a difference. They feel like they're listened to and they like what they do. If you can give them that, you're ahead of the game." According to Yast, an online time-tracking ser- vice, employees' top rea- sons for staying with their current employer are because they enjoy the work, they have work- life balance and they feel connected to the organi- zation. Small businesses are more likely to offer those benefits to their top candidates than their large business competi- tors. PINPOINT AND PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS Identi- fying the assets you have to offer employees is the next step. An article from Fast Company echoes that same sentiment. "By truly understanding what your team and potential can- didates desire, you can better compete with the larger companies that ap- pear to offer it all. Take a close look at what your team is truly passionate about inside and outside of work. Talk to them and get their feedback on what means the most to them." Business leaders can then take this knowledge and use it to attract the tal- ent they need. And small businesses really do have something to offer top per- formers. The Washington Post recommends point- ing out to candidates that within a smaller company, they have more opportu- nities to develop as a pro- fessional, while having greater visibility in front of, and access to, the lead- ers of the business. DON'T LIMIT YOUR CANDI- DATE POOL Just as busi- ness leaders are asking candidates to keep an open mind about what they want from an em- ployer, they must also keep an open mind about the type of candidates they're considering. In an article on Forbes.com, Ken Sund- heim proposes that em- ployers should consider broadening their require- ments to bring in more qualified applicants. "The number one thing that prevents companies from procuring the most tal- ented people is overly stringent requirements," Sundheim said. "The more specific the needs of an employer, the less appli- cant choices they're going to have, the more expen- sive the employee is going to be and the longer the job search will take." Focusing on personality, culture fit and potential, rather than just strictly ex- perience, education and skills, will greatly widen the candidate pool and allow businesses to find amazing employees they might have otherwise by- passed. There are positives and negatives to every size and type of business, but constantly losing the hir- ing battle doesn't have to be a struggle for smaller companies. Talking about what the business can offer, marketing its as- sets, and loosening po- sition requirements will allow small- to mid-size companies to square off with big businesses in the battle for top talent. Because in the end, hir- ing the best candidate is more important to the success of the small busi- ness than the big, which means this is a battle small businesses have to learn to win. LisaHansenownsExpress Employment Professionals at 243 S. Main St. in Red Bluff. She can be reached at (530) 528-3929. PERSONNEL Hiringtipsfora competitive market Lisa Hansen The new Corning Health Center, formerly Corning Medical Associ- ates, will host Corning in the Evening at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. This is an opportu- nity to see what is new at Corning Health Cen- ter, 155 Solano St. Feather River Hospital is the new owner of Corning Health Center and is pleased to be providing health care services in Corning. The hospital worked closely with former own- ers Don and Connie Massie as well as the Te- hama County Healthcare District to negotiate the transaction, which en- sures that medical ser- vices will continue to be provided at this lo- cation. The clinic staff and providers were all offered opportunities to stay and become Feather River Hospital employ- ees, so patients will con- tinue to see familiar faces. As they assess the needs for services and specialists, new employ- ees and contracted pro- viders will be added, such as dental services which are already in the planning stages al- though they have not yet finalized a timeframe for when those services will be available at the Corn- ing location. As a long-time health provider in the region, Feather River Hospital is very pleased to work with the community of Corning to ensure their health and well-being. If you have any questions about the services provided at Corn- ing Health Center, please contact them at (530) 824- 4663. Come and meet with other chamber members as well as interested res- idents to meet and greet, find out what is happen- ing in the community and make any announcements about your business or club. Bring your business card for a chance to win a door prize. Refreshments will be served. HARVEST DINNER AND DANCE Knights of Co- lumbus, Corning Council #9135 will be having a dinner and dance start- ing at 6:30 p.m. Satur- day at the Veterans Me- morial Hall, 1620 So- lano St. The dinner will be 6:30-8 p.m. There is a choice of tri-tip or chicken cordon bleu. Adults $12.50 and children $6. The 613 Main Street Band will play from 8-10:30 p.m. There will be a raffle and proceeds will help fund local scholarships and support community proj- ects. For ticket informa- tion, call Steve Bradley at (530) 736-8313. CARDINAL MALL DEDICA- TION The Class of '67 is happy to announce that the mall that its mem- bers built at Corning High School is finished. The concrete has been re- placed, nine benches have been installed and a tree has been planted in the middle. The dedication will be at noon Tuesday, Oct. 28. VOLUNTEERS FOR RODGERS THEATRE Volunteers are needed to help clear the way for the new floor at the theater. If you want to help with labor, call Tony Cardenas at 624-5086. The plan is to get the floor in before the end of the year so it can be used for functions. CORNING CHAMBER Evening mixer set Thursday Market watch D DowJones 16,315.06 -6.01 U S&P 500 1877.70 +2.96 U Nasdaq 4227.17 +13.51 The Associated Press NEW YORK Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are donating $25 million to the CDC Foundation to help ad- dress the Ebola epidemic. The money will be used by the U.S. Centers for Dis- ease Control and Preven- tion's Ebola response ef- fort in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and elsewhere in the world where Ebola is a threat, the foundation said Tuesday. The grant follows a $9 million donation made by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen last month. Zucker- berg and Chan are making the grant from their fund at the nonprofit Silicon Valley Community Foundation. "We need to get Ebola under control in the near term so that it doesn't spread further and be- come a long term global health crisis that we end up fighting for decades at large scale, like HIV or po- lio," Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page on Tues- day. "We believe our grant is the quickest way to em- power the CDC and the ex- perts in this field to prevent this outcome." Also on Tuesday, the World Health Organiza- tion said West Africa could see up to 10,000 new Eb- ola cases a week within two months and confirmed that the death rate in the cur- rent outbreak is now 70 percent. The disease has killed more than 4,000 people, nearly all of them in West Africa. The WHO has called the outbreak "the most severe, acute health emergency seen in modern times." "The most important step we can take is to stop Ebola at its source. The sooner the world comes to- gether to help West Africa, the safer we all will be," said CDC Director Tom Frieden in a statement. Zuckerberg,wifegiveCDC$25MtofightEbola FACEBOOK CEO By Alex Veiga The Associated Press A slump in energy stocks stymied a rebound in U.S. indexes Tuesday as the price of oil plunged the most in two years. The decline in oil prices followed forecasts for weaker global demand this year and next, a sign of slowing economic growth. Chevron fell 2 percent, helping to drag down the Dow Jones industrial aver- age in the waning moments of trading. Even so, corporate earn- ings provided some encour- agement to investors, and most indexes posted mod- est gains following a three- day slump. Domino's Pizza, Citi- group and Johnson & John- son reported results that were better than analysts expected. The market also got a boost from airline stocks, which rebounded after sliding the day before. The modest rally pro- vided a breather for inves- tors, who have had a bumpy ride lately. The Standard & Poor's 500 index has four losses and one gain of more than 1 percent in the last week, a surge in volatility following a mostly quiet summer. Even before the recent turbulence, stocks have been declining for nearly a month. The S&P 500 in- dex has fallen 6.7 percent since hitting a record high on Sept. 18 as investors worry that economies in Europe and Asia are slow- ing. "The bank earnings this morning certainly made people feel a little bit bet- ter," said Joe Peta, manag- ing director at Novus Part- ners. "For the time being, at least, the panic selling is over." The major stock in- dexes remained in pos- itive territory until the last hour of trading, when they began to fade, threatening to deliver the second last-minute slide in two days. By the end of the day, the Dow had lost 5.88 points, or 0.04 percent, to 16,315.19. The S&P 500 index rose 2.96 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,877.70. The Nasdaq gained 13.52 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,227.17. The Dow went negative for the year on Friday. It's now down 1.6 percent for 2014 and 5.6 percent be- low its September peak. The S&P 500 index is up 1.6 percent for the year. Six of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 rose, with in- dustrial stocks posting the biggest gain at 1.3 percent. Energy stocks fell the most, sliding 1.2 percent. Several major banks kicked off the third-quar- ter corporate earnings season. JPMorgan Chase re- turned to a profit, but missed Wall Street's ex- pectations. The stock fell 17 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $57.99. Wells Fargo's earn- ings matched analysts' expectations, while Citi- group's results came in better than expected. Wells Fargo fell $1.37, or 2.7 per- cent, to $48.83. Citigroup rose $1.57, or 3.1 percent, to $51.47. 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