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If you are reading this my guess is that you have just secured a brand-new role, so a huge congratulations are in order – exciting times ahead! Obviously securing a job offer for your dream position is incredibly exciting but, understandably, sometimes that excitement can be overshadowed by the looming prospect of having to break the news to your current employer that you are leaving them.It’s almost never the easiest of tasks to give the news of your departure to your manager but as it’s an unavoidable task on the road to the next step in your career, so here are some tips to make the process as smooth as possible for all parties.Time is of the essenceThis is key to you, your current employer, and your future employer. Obviously, your new company will be keen to have you join them as soon as possible and get stuck into your on-boarding process and your current employer will appreciate you giving them the courtesy of as much time as possible to find your replacement. It would always be the “dream” situation if they had sufficient time to find a new colleague who could join whilst you are still there so there could be a hand-over process and whilst this is not always possible, ensuring you’ve given as much notice as possible will keep everyone happy!Counter-offersThis is a tricky one; sometimes when you let your company know that you’re leaving them they are all of a sudden and (often all too late) desperate to show how important you are as an employee and will present a counter-offer to you. This can be tempting as, after all, increased responsibilities or earnings are always exciting but accepting a counter-offer can actually be extremely damaging in the long-term and set you back further in your career. Realistically, you were looking for a new opportunity for a reason and though the immediate prospect of a salary increase or promotion can be attractive, the long-term reality is that you’re likely to be left with regret for not having taken the new opportunity that provided you with what you were missing. Statistically, 80% of candidates who accept a counter-offer from their current employer actually end up leaving within 6 months after realising that their original reasons for looking are still valid and haven’t truly been addressed. As unfair as it may be, as soon as your company know you were interviewing elsewhere, a level of trust is often lost and your employer may be suspicious that you are interviewing again whenever you take time off work. Lastly, it can also damage your relationship with the other company if you accept an offer and then retract it, putting you in a disadvantaged position if you want to work with them in the future.Honesty is the best policyIt can be tempting, and may seem like the easiest option, when asked why you’re leaving to simply say something generic along the lines of “I loved it here but just wanted a fresh challenge” and in some cases this might be true, but often there is a bigger reason behind closed doors. In reality, you are doing your employer a disservice to not share your honest reasons behind your motivation to leave as it can actually help the company to realise areas where they’re potentially not doing so well and their short-comings and how they can better support and retain staff in future. Think about what made you look elsewhere, was it down to the remuneration, lack of training or perhaps there were a lack of opportunities to advance your career? Respectfully and constructively sharing these insights with employers can really help them to improve. That said, be sure to also share everything you have gained from your time there and thank them for the opportunity that they gave to you, which leads me onto my next point...Always be professionalSometimes it can be tempting once you have already secured a new role to let your professionalism go slightly out of the window, particularly if your reason for leaving is down to a negative relationship or unfair treatment in the workplace. This is never a good idea, namely because you never truly know who knows another professional in the industry, negative information could be passed on and come back to bite you in your career down the line so do not burn bridges and always remain professional as it puts you in the best position.Get excited!Once the task of handing in your resignation is complete, make sure you give yourself some time to celebrate your imminent new chapter! When times are “normal”, it is always a great idea to attend any social functions that you may be invited to with your new employer so you can begin to integrate with the team and get to know your new colleagues. That way, the first day will not be so daunting and there will already be a few familiar faces!I hope these tips help in some way to make the process of moving onto the next step in your career as smooth as possible. Most of all, it’s important that you don’t feel anxious or guilty about resigning – always prioritize your happiness, job satisfaction and personal/professional development above all!

Do agencies really hate working with in-house recruiters as much as people think?Not at all.In fact, Adaptive has some great partnerships with Talent Acquisition teams that have generated amazing results and built outstanding sales teams for SaaS clients.But what makes these internal recruiters so good?It’s a cliché as old as the recruitment industry itself that agencies hate working with internal (or in-house) recruiters."They’re our competition!" or "they steal our candidates!"Well, sure… if agencies and internal recruitment teams don’t establish a good rapport, there can be some overlap and some friction.But over the years, we’ve been lucky enough to work with some exceptionally accomplished internal recruitment professionals. People who not only make the process of working with an agency smooth and productive, but who add massive value to their employers are a vital ingredient in the overall mix of business growth. So what makes these guys stand out? Let’s get the obvious things out of the way first....They’re super responsive, of course. Though they’re probably among the busiest people in their companies, they keep everyone in the recruitment process looped in with frequent updates. They don’t let communication backlog while they wait to find time to hammer out long reports – instead they give quick, simple feedback on the hoof that lets people know where they stand.It helps keep us (the agency) engaged and on top of our game, and it does wonders for the employer brand. Even unsuccessful candidates have a professional, responsive interview experience and are way more likely to recommend the company to their networks.Obviously, they’re organized. From automating scheduling via tools like Calendly to laying down the law with agencies on how they want resume files named and submitted, they prioritize automation and efficiency in their work, which in turn helps them keep on top of their communication and stay productive.Most importantly, though, they drive the recruitment process internally.For those who’ve never put themselves in the shoes of an internal recruiter inside a fast-growing company - it’s a tough gig.The common vision among some agency recruiters that our internal counterparts sit around waiting for profiles to roll in and then spend the rest of their time managing calendars is a million miles off.Great recruiters don’t blindly continue to send resume after resume to the desk of a non-responsive VP who’s nixed ten great candidates in a row – they walk down the hall and ask what’s going on.They also protect their own time, which often means pro-actively re-qualifying roles and priorities instead of waiting to be told that a search has been pulled.And how do they build this clout?Because the real rockstars in the talent acquisition world know that none of their company’s goals can be hit without the right team in place, and they take that responsibility as seriously as any founder.Top internal recruiters are highly invested in their company’s growth, and they earn the seniority and leverage needed to continually ensure recruitment makes it as a priority onto the calendars of busy people absorbed in other challenges.They don’t visualize their roles in terms of clearing reqs off their desk, they see themselves (rightly) as growth architects playing a pivotal, strategic role in assembling the company’s human capital.On behalf of the whole team at Adaptive, thanks to all the internal recruitment teams we partner with who work so hard to build the sales teams that power their companies’ growth. Know a great internal recruiter? Tag them in the comments below. You can learn more about the SaaS sectors Adaptive Tech recruits forhere.

Earlier this month the world’s attention turned to France, to one of the most iconic landmarks in the world.Notre Dame Cathedral was in flames, and the streets of Paris were lined with residents and tourists mourning the devastation of an iconic building.Luckily, a large portion of the stonework, including the two towers which make up the front façade of the Cathedral, were saved – but much of the damage was already done and the restoration is said to take years. The sad truth is that it’s unlikely to be restored exactly to its former glory.However, the following days were filled with good news stories – with public funding and billionaires clubbing together to donate millions of Euros to the rebuild and restoration project – the French president, Emmanuel Macron, has estimated that it will take around five years to complete.With such a huge build about to take place, it got us thinking about how the language services will help contribute, particularly in the translation side of construction.As we know at Adaptive Globalization, Translators are necessary in any industry, and construction is no exception – it’s a much more complicated industry than people first think, especially when you consider there are multinational engineers, architects and even multilingual labourers.You can’t just pull up to a site and start laying bricks and come up with a masterpiece, very strict planning must take place beforehand; case in point for a project on the scale as large as the Notre Dame restoration.Paris is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, as well as this the Catholic religion also crosses many languages, and construction is an incredibly diverse industry, with many levels to it needing linguistic skills, so a project such as this would actually require more translators than one would think.What do translators do in construction?They can cover a multitude of roles and come in at a variety of levels, ranging from the hugely vital translation of important documents, such as manuals, daily reports, quality assurance documentation, architectural drawings or plans of a project to also being on hand to assist site managers, machine workers, and even labourers should they need to be.With this in mind, finding a qualified translator who can work in the field is essential to ensure swift completion of the project, and using a specialist LSP who knows your industry is key to ensuring that you receive error free translation on time and that you can trust.Especially with a building as iconic as Notre Dame – a project that will take years and, no doubt, use hundreds of different construction professionals from many different walks of life.Feel free to get in touch to discuss hiring or career development: info@adaptiveglobalization.comYou can check out Adaptive Globalization’s vacancies for PMs, Account Managers, Loc Engineers, BDMs and more in our job listings here.

Weary-eyed after the weekend? Need something to ease you in on the commute? Or simply just fancy brushing up on your knowledge of Adaptive's industries?We've got the answer.Sit back, grab a coffee and have a look through our latest newsletters; LocRecruiter, brought to you by Adaptive Globalization, TechRecruiter from our guys at Adaptive Tech and, of course, DigitalRecruiter from - you guessed it - our Digital desk.Published quarterly, these magazines aim to give you an insight into some hot topics, offer something a bit different to lighten the mood and a selection of jobs across the globe in your market.Often we like to sit down with experts in the fields, and our sales team offer their opinions on some trends in the industries, or even something that's caught their eyes lately.Included in the Q1 2019 triology:Get to know working with AdaptiveGreat questions to ask at the end of your sales interviewMake yourself stand out on LinkedInTop reasons people have given for being lateAnd more! If you'd like to find out more, or you have an idea to be featured in the next edition, please email: marketing@adaptivebusinessgroup.comTo check them out, simply click the hyperlinks below:DigitalRecruiter Q1 2019LocRecruiter Q1 2019TechRecruiter Q1 2019We hope you enjoy reading! 

What does personal brand mean, how do you build one… and do you need it to sell software?The idea of ‘personal branding’ doesn’t seem to fit naturally into the software sales space at first. Personal branding for, say, a life coach?Sure. Life coaches are what they sell, so it stands to reason that they work hard on building their own reputation as much as that of the service they offer. Software sales rep? Perhaps not so obvious.Sales reps concentrate on promoting an existing brand – that of the software manufacturer whose product they’re representing. Why would they need – or want – a brand of their own?And yet some of the world’s greatest brands (many of them in tech) are closely linked to the reputations of the key individuals who are behind their success.Apple had Steve Jobs, Microsoft and Bill Gates are inextricable for many, and the visionary leadership of Jeff Bezos continues to push Amazon to new heights.In these high-profile instances, personal brand and corporate success intertwined to create an enhanced reputation and ultimately drive spectacular results.In the era of social selling, can sales reps learn from this marriage of personal and commercial brand-building pioneered by entrepreneurs, and what benefits can it bring?What is a ‘personal brand’?It can be helpful to start by clarifying what personal brand is not.Despite the efforts of many would-be internet entrepreneurs, a personal brand is not about working meticulously to create a public-facing image which is at odds with a concealed reality.Instead, personal branding is about taking action to ensure that your passions, values and experiences are clearly and authentically communicated to an audience – ideally a targeted audience that moves within your commercial field and will derive value from being included in your network.In it’s simplest form, personal brand is how others see us.While sales reps may work for someone else’s organization, represent a product they didn’t build, or earn a living by selling a solution they didn’t design, each person is an individual with a unique trajectory and set of experiences.Throughout their careers, sales reps (while following a broadly similar career pattern):Help different customers in different marketsEncounter and solve different commercial challengesRead, analyze and react to different news sourcesNetwork with different peers, managers and out-of-industry contactsAttend and learn from different events, conferences and trainingsDevelop different methodologies, approaches and valuesThe sum of these factors – plus many others – creates a unique profile.If the prominent characteristics of this profile can be accurately and regularly shared with a relevant community, the result is the development of a personal brand.How does it help?The way we develop our professional personas can have a direct impact on our ability to exert influence, attract opportunity and ultimately drive sales.An easy way to understand personal brand in action is to take a moment to think about the people we would turn to in our personal lives for guidance or advice.They often have a lot in common with one another.They’re usually people we trust, people with integrity, experienced in the field in which we’re asking for assistance, and – if they’re outside of our immediate circle – people we’ve heard positive things about from our own close contacts.Personal brand in business replicates this pattern, and helps professionals in all disciplines to establish a reputation in their domain which draws business and opportunity towards them.That reputation can differ greatly from one individual to the next.One person’s personal brand may be anchored in work ethic, another’s in innovation.Someone else may build their brand around thought leadership within a niche field.Whatever the foundation, personal brand provides people with a platform from which to communicate with an engaged audience – ultimately creating the opportunity to impart advice, generate discussion, facilitate introductions, share content or recommend a purchase.How do you build your brand?Although the power of personal brand lies in its authenticity, it does require careful definition in order to be consistently communicated. As with any brand, this exercise involves some fundamental categorization:Your audienceWho is it that you help, what is the market sector in which you hope to attract a following and develop a reputation?Your valueWhat core problem do you solve, and what value does your network and audience derive from their connection to you?Your authorityWhat is your credibility founded on, what is your experience and what have you accomplished?Your identityWhat’s your story, what are you passionate about, and how does this fit your brand narrative?Defining and brand and inventing a brand are not the same thing.Where inventing implies plucking a set of values from thin air in order to create a desired (and unsubstantiated) veneer, definition means working out what’s at the heart of your professional identity and making sure brand-building activities are aligned with this.***Once you’ve defined your personal brand, it’s time to put yourself out there and engage with your audience.Opportunities to develop brand identity are all around, as long as activity supports brand objectives by sharing relevant value with a target audience.Common steps to build personal brand include:TwitterLinkedIn (articles, vlogs, groups and thread discussions)Podcasts (personal and guest participation)YouTube channels (explainer videos, Q&As, tutorials, reviews)WebinarsBlogs (corporate blogs, Medium articles, industry publication guest blogging)Meetups and networking events (hosting, organizing and attending)Conference and event participation (panel moderation, roundtable participation, keynote speaking)Whether it’s solving a specific business problem, reposting an article or patting yourself on the back by sharing positive customer feedback, there are abundant opportunities to connect your daily professional experience with your target audience in a way that creates value for them while strengthening your persona.Telling stories, teaching and entertaining all help to reflect your values and interests.Build the right connections with the right people, and the rewards will soon follow.***Adaptive Tech recruits on behalf of high-growth SaaS vendors, filling roles at all levels including SDR, CSM, AE, Sales Engineering, VP and more.You can check out Adaptive Tech's SaaS sales vacancies in our job listings here.

What strategic steps can localization and translation agency owners take to increase valuation at exit?If you are the owner of a language services business, you likely follow industry M&A news with a keen eye: tracking deals, monitoring buyer and seller motivations, and – crucially – observing valuation trends.In a buoyant international market there continues to be a steady flow of both small and large deals featuring trade, private equity and strategic buyers, all competing to create and capture value across a fragmented commercial landscape.Although transaction details are not always published, a substantial amount of data is available to LSP owners who have not yet set their exit plans in stone and who wish to gauge the market temperature. At the lower end of the valuation spectrum, some agencies change hands for 2-3x EBITDA, while buyers have paid as much as 10-20x in instances where a high level of strategic synergy between buyer and seller was identified.Although not ‘on the market’, and often pursuing short-term goals of growth and profitability, most agency owners have one eye on the future, and are always interested to know what decisions they can be making today to increase their agency’s valuation upon exit.Based on Adaptive’s work representing both buyers and sellers in a wide variety of M&A scenarios within the language services sector, here are some actionable tactics that all LSPs can adopt to raise their exit multiple.  Focus on ‘sticky’ marketsTypically among the major drivers of buyer motivation, building a customer base in a sector with high barriers to entry from competition is a proven method for developing a high-value agency.The industry has seen plenty of high-profile M&A deals done in major verticals such as Life Sciences, IP, legal and financial, but there are plenty of other niche areas available for agencies still looking to define a specialism.Of central importance to buyers is not only that an agency have a customer concentration in a particular vertical, but that this focus be supported by a unique combination of expertise, resources and workflows - making it tough for non-specialist agencies to steal market share.Penetrate accountsDeep and durable client relationships are another significant point in favour of an agency looking to sell. From a buyer perspective, having impressive client names on your customer list is markedly less impressive if those relationships show signs of being vulnerable to attack from cheaper or higher-quality competitors.Agency owners looking to drive shareholder value over a multi-year time-frame are well advised to build strategic penetration and consolidation plans for their highest-spend customers, ensuring that they do everything possible to retain their business. This typically means establishing multiple points of contact, working across multiple client business sectors and prioritizing customer service experience at every opportunity.Build unique workflow solutionsAn additional step to cementing key client partnerships involves anchoring the relationship in the service delivery itself.Many LSPs which sell for market-beating multiples have embedded themselves as an indispensable supplier to top customers via customised solutions, client portals, technology configurations or other bespoke offerings.While enterprise-grade workflow integrations can require significant financial investments to be made by the LSP, smaller gestures nonetheless contribute to solidifying partnerships.Wherever agency owners see opportunity to deepen their engagement with their customers’ tools and teams, it’s usually worth pursuing.Lock in key staffThe stability and commitment of management teams is another item which sits high on a buyer’s priority list.As well as looking for a capable and well-organised team, potential investors will be assessing the degree to which they can depend on that team post integration.Involving upper-tier sales, technology and operational managers in equity plans which are tied to the success of M&A outcomes is a standard method of aligning incentives at this critical time, and owners who identify key personnel within their organisation should waste no time in ensuring they are incentivised to remain with the company through exit and help make that transition as successful as possible. Keep the books cleanThough neat and tidy bookkeeping seldom adds to the value of a company directly, much of the M&A process is about establishing trust and confidence between buyer and seller. First impressions are extremely important and set the tone throughout the rest of the information-sharing and negotiation processes.A company whose accounts are accurate, up-to-date and require minimal explanation is on the front foot when it comes to discussing its overall value as an acquisition target.Conversely, an agency whose finances are inconsistent, unnecessarily complex or poorly presented may be at a disadvantage in other areas of the negotiation process, simply owing to the impression created. Find the right buyerWhile it may seem common sense, it’s a critical factor very often overlooked by business owners in any sector.The single biggest value driver in any transaction is the synergy between buyer and seller. The value of any business is only what a particular seller is prepared to pay to acquire it, and that valuation is largely subjective – based on the additional value that any given buyer believes they can unlock through pursuing the acquisition.With this in mind, it’s vital that agency owners commit as much time as possible (and as early as possible) in forming a comprehensive understanding of where their ideal buyers may come from in the market. Whilst the temptation may be for owners to focus energy on ‘polishing’ their businesses ready for a sale to a generic buyer, that time could be better rewarded in working with a specialist partner to review and engage the market in depth.The ‘right’ buyer will pay more than a less synergistic acquiror, no matter what steps an owner may take internally to tweak business processes.***Adaptive M&A works with the owners of translation and localization agencies to maximize shareholder value at exit by identifying the right strategic match from a diverse network of buyers and investors.You can learn more about our services here.