The challenges of working in a small town

Living and working in a small town has its advantages.
But it can also pose real challenges.

A while back, I received an email from a friend: happily announcing the hiring of a new sales person.
For the following several weeks, my friend would update me on how well things were going with their newest team member.
The normal training, going on appointments, etc.
Less than a month later, barely out of the “honeymoon stage”, the relationship ended abruptly.
My friend was frustrated – the training hours, with all the time and effort that went into it – what a waste!

Working in a small town comes with its own set of stumbling blocks.
A company looking to fill in a job opening may only have several applicants for the job.
Often, because of a limited selection, the chosen candidate may not be fully qualified for the job.
And will need more training.

It can be just as frustrating from the other side: good employees don’t find as many job opportunities in a small city.

Both, employees and employers, need to be creative.
Employees
You need to continually update your skills.
Brush-up on your networking know-how. You need to know about a job offering BEFORE it’s posted in the local paper or on line.
Also consider working from home. (Be aware, however: when an offer sounds too good to be true, chances are is a scam.

Employers
A large employer moving to a small town may want to consider starting a trade program at the local college.
This will ensure qualified applicants will be available when needed.

Small employers who need only one or two part-time employees:
Partner with others small employers.
Two or three part-time job openings (in a similar field) can be combined to offer full time employment.
Often times that’s a good incentive to get (and keep) good employees.

And when things are going right,
everyone wins:
employees find a good company to work for.
Businesses hire great employees with good,
small-town values!

Mariana Fieraru

Mariana Fieraru, an Eastern European transplant, fell in love with her new home shortly after landing in New York. She "discovered" pizza! Years later she still loves pizza. And so do her two feathered-kids, Sunny and Flipper

Mariana worked on both, the east and the west coast.
Big or small, each project she worked on helped define the importance of gaining and sustaining a competitive edge in an increasingly complex business environment.

Business know-how, love of teaching and writing – all combined in 2006 to form OBI.
Its mission: to make learning fun! And easy.

Through its training, consulting, and publications OBI builds bridges of knowledge to take you from where you are to
where you want to go. Using a mix of serious, informal, analytical, and optimistic approach, OBI truly makes learning fun.

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