The new year means a fresh slate to achieve and accomplish things you couldn’t in the year prior. Setting resolutions is a task that many people take part in on New Year’s Eve, stating their intentions for the year and what they hope to accomplish. The downside is that most people only stick with their resolutions for January, and then completely forget about them, or adopt the mindset that they have the whole year to accomplish them and push them to the wayside. Setting realistic goals with measurable ways to view them is essential to making sure they are achievable. Through this article, we discuss tips and tricks for setting goals and sticking with them, and provide free tools to help you manage your goals for the year. Our success here at Optimum RTS is measured by the success of the companies we work with. 

Common goal-setting mistakes to avoid:

The most common outcome for New Year’s resolutions is for them to be forgotten and not met. It’s easy to avoid goals, but the most common reason goals remain unmet is that we struggle with setting reachable and attainable benchmarks. 

Setting goals that are too vague, for example,  “get fitter” or “be happier”, are not reachable. What does “fitter” or “happier” actually mean? Does it mean losing weight and smiling more, or is it gaining muscle and feeling content? Vague goals are easy to set aside and feel unattainable as they are subjective. The subjectivity of goal outcomes also makes them hard to track. Not being able to track progress through goals doesn’t allow for any reflection on the steps being taken and what is working and not working.  

Additionally, taking on too many goals at once causes confusion and can become overwhelming. By setting many goals at once, you can lose focus and not allow enough time and effort for the things you wish to achieve. Prioritizing specific goals rather than generalized desires allows you to pinpoint specific actions that you need to take to be successful. 

When prioritizing goals, focus on forward progress and not perfection. Setting goals and believing that one must perfectly meet them is not possible. The chances that we perfectly meet and achieve our goals are not realistic. Focusing on forward progress instead of perfection allows you to succeed and be pleased with your achievements, increasing personal motivation. 

How to set effective goals (the foundation):

To create the highest possibility for success in achieving goals, goals must have the proper foundation. There are many ways to set goals, although the easiest and most successful type of goal structure is the SMART structure. Why create harder goals when you can set SMARTer goals? The acronym SMART is the easiest way to set approachable and achievable goals, forcing you to think realistically. SMART stands for: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. These are all conditions for a solid foundation for effective goals. For the sake of this article, the example goal will be to “Increase Optimum RTS Newsletter engagement (measured by open and click-through rates) by 20% within the next two business quarters.”

To start, let’s talk about being specific and measurable when choosing goals. Both of these conditions go hand in hand as you are choosing precisely what you want to achieve. The “Specific” criteria include what you would like to accomplish, the people involved, the actions needed, and the explanation for why it matters. From the goal above, the “Specific” part applies to “increasing Optimum RTS Newsletter engagement”. It also outlines how the progress will be measured, “measured by open and click-through rates”. To make goals measurable, you must set a benchmark. For example, the frequency something occurs, the percentage increase or decrease, or another measurable metric. In the goal above, the measurable aspect is “increase by 20%”. 

Onto the ART, portions of the SMART structure goals:  attainable, relevant, and timely. Whether a goal is attainable or not is very subjective to the person creating the goal. Essentially, it is asking, “Do you think this is actually possible?” With that, there needs to be support for why a goal is believed to be attainable. For the example goal, let’s say that Optimum RTS just purchased new marketing software that will track and monitor newsletter engagement. This software could be a reason to believe that the goal is more attainable. As for relevancy, you must decide how this goal pertains to your life or position. As the Director of Marketing for Optimum RTS, increasing newsletter engagement is relevant to the position. Lastly, the timely aspect is used to create a reasonable timeline for when goals should be achieved. Adding a deadline puts positive pressure on achieving the goal and not pushing it off. Deadlines force time management and ensure we are always working towards something. If there were no deadline for completing a goal, then it would most likely never be completed. For the sake of the example goal, the time in which the goal should be completed is “two business quarters”. 

Break Big Goals Into Actionable Steps:

To be successful, it’s important to find a way to make big goals seem more manageable. If you are setting a high goal for yourself this year, the last thing you want is to be overwhelmed by the size. Find a way to break ambitious goals apart into smaller steps. As Desmond Tutu once said, “How does one eat an elephant? One bite at a time”. By breaking goals apart into smaller steps and focusing on consistency rather than intensity, ambitious targets are more easily met. An easy way to consistently work towards a goal is to set up a routine. For example, the goal of “get healthier” is too vague and subjective. If the aim is to achieve a healthier lifestyle, actionable steps could be “work out 3x per week for an hour” or “cook a low-carb meal twice a week”. These are two steps that can now be consistently repeated and thus propel you towards your main goal. 

Tips to Stick With Your Goals All Year Round: 

Progress is rarely linear, especially when it comes to achieving ambitious tasks. You will often fail and have to restart, plateau, and struggle to build momentum, or take off fast with a running start. The idea is that no matter which path you journey towards success, remember to keep moving forward. 

Starting small allows you to build momentum towards the long journey towards success. Taking actionable steps, as we discussed in the section prior, will allow you to absorb the ambition and achieve smaller victories, thus adding up to a big win. 

It is important to track your progress, as this is truly the only way to view progress. Whether it’s through journaling, data entry, keeping a checklist, or a calendar, it is essential to document progress. Not only will this show progression, but it also creates a sense of accountability.

Expect that there will be setbacks, and plan for them. This doesn’t mean that being ambitious means you will inevitably fail, but you will encounter pushback, delays, or obstacles. Having a plan will keep setbacks from derailing progress. Additionally, understanding that goals can be changed saves room for grace when it inevitably happens. 

Optimum RTS is committed not only to helping our clients and candidates with their hiring and training needs, but we are also here to promote success for everyone personally and professionally. It’s our job to help you and your company become the best they can be. With this, we have created a free-to-use Goal Tracking Sheet to help you stay on track and accomplish everything you hope for. Feel free to follow the link and follow the steps to download the Goal Tracking Sheet. Additionally, we encourage our readers to contact us for more information about how Optimum RTS can help you and your company accomplish all of your 2026 goals. We are here to help you every step of the way: hiring, training, and consulting. 

The new year is not about perfection; it’s about consistency. With this, we hope that you take time to plan some intentions for the year and create a roadmap to accomplish them. Goals do not have to be dreams. With the proper setup, support, and strategy, they can become a reality. 2026 is your year to accomplish whatever you desire; you just have to set your mind to it.  

Click the Button for  the Optimum RTS Goal Tracking Sheet: Optimum RTS Goal Tracking Sheet

Be the Four-Leaf Clover in a Field of Applicants: How to Stand Out

Picture this: You’re one of many job applicants, all vying for the same position. How do you make sure you’re the one that stands out? Like a rare four-leaf clover among a sea of threes, you must be distinct. This article will guide you on how to set yourself apart from other candidates and catch the eye of employers by showcasing your unique skills, experience, and personal brand.

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The Power Of Personal Branding

How you present yourself professionally is essential to setting yourself apart from the rest. The personal brand that you hold yourself to not only allows employers to see what your values are, but they can examine what type of assets you will bring to their company and your position. Personal branding both in-person and virtually allows companies to see what you bring to the table and quickly understand who you are. Creating your personal brand can be done through many avenues, but there are a few requirements; identify your strengths, values, and passions. These variables are what make you stand out from the rest of the candidate pool and can act as the tie-breaker between you and another candidate. 

Using the strengths, values, and passions you have identified, you must create an engaging way to showcase them. This can be done through creating an online portfolio using sites like LinkedIn, or portfolio websites. Lastly, you need to be prepared to explain your brand to anyone who asks. Preparing an elevator pitch allows you to be ready to market yourself in any situation. Remember, when it comes to creating a brand for yourself, you are always working, and you should be ready to showcase your brand at any point in time. 

Tailor Your Resume and Cover Letter

When it comes to standing out to employers and recruiters, customization is key. Tailoring your resume and cover letter to a specific position that you’re applying for not only highlights how you will fit into that specific position, but it shows your dedication to presenting yourself. Employers admire dedication to being specific with personal image, as it highlights how you will represent them as a company. Tailoring your resume emphasizes how you will fit into the specific needs of the position you are applying for.

Highlight relevant skills and accomplishments. By drawing attention to your skills, employers can envision you as a worker and examine what benefits their company would gain from hiring you. Drawing attention to accomplishments further puts you ahead by showing the recruiter what makes you special and what past success has looked like for you. 

Incorporating key words and or action words will catch the eye of the recruiter and encourage them to take a deeper dive into your application. Employers and recruiters do not always have the time to read every word of your resume, and that is why it is so important to catch their attention. By attracting them with key words, you are enticing them to read more and therefore setting yourself ahead of the rest in the applicant pool. Additionally, it is important to remember to highlight your expertise. Use your knowledge to stand out. Use your education, work experience, and certifications to draw the most attention so that employers can see what you have done to enhance your performance within the industry. 

Show Your Passion and Enthusiasm

Employers want to know that the candidate they are hiring is going to bring a good mindset to the job, which means you need to show them that you are passionate for the position. Employers want someone who is excited for their position and is not just treating it like any other job; you need to be their top choice, and they need to be yours. Demonstrating your enthusiasm can be done through research and first impressions.

Researching a company before applying is essential, as it shows the employer/recruiter that you care about the position you applied for. If you’re not researching your future company, how do you know that it will align with your strengths and values? By researching the company, the company senses that you are serious about working for them, and you know if it’s a position you’re interested in. 

First impressions can be the make or break when it comes to making yourself a top candidate. By expressing your excitement for the position and asking strong questions through the interview, employers can sense whether you’re interested in their position or not. The impression that you make on the person conducting the interview carries power, and making sure that you make a good impression is essential. 

Make a Lasting Impression

You want to stand out, and that is done by making the employer think of your name first. Making yourself memorable is critical to the recruiting process, and it is what makes employers choose you over anyone else. The quality of the interview is essential to ensuring that employers walk away with a good impression of who you are and what you will bring to their company. Simple behaviors such as maintaining positive and confident body language, being punctual, actively listening, and asking good questions creates a professional persona showing recruiters that you are taking their time seriously. 

Be prepared to answer any questions that may be thrown your way, and most of all, be ready to explain what makes you unique from the rest of the applicants. When it comes to answering these types of questions, this is your moment to truly shine. If there is a quality that you are proud of, shine a light on it. Make the recruiter see how you are better than the rest, and how you are the lucky candidate they have been looking for. Answering this question, think back to when you set up your personal brand. Now is the time to share the things that make you unique and how those will be incorporated into the business you are interviewing for. 

Lastly, the impression you leave with the interviewer goes beyond the interview. Staying in contact with the interviewer can remind them that you are interested in the position and keep you at the forefront of their mind. This can be done through reaching out to thank them for their time after the interview was conducted. This keeps your name in their mind, as well as further promoting a sense of gratitude and professionalism. 

With the right strategies, you can stand out from the crowd and be the lucky candidate employers are searching for. By building a strong personal brand, tailoring your resume and cover letter, and showcasing your passion, you can separate yourself from the pack. When you walk into that interview, remember: a memorable first impression is the key to leaving a lasting mark.

Now is the time to take action—refine your approach, show off what makes you unique, and make your job search as lucky as finding that elusive four-leaf clover. Good things are just around the corner, and with the right mindset and tools, you’ll be well on your way to landing the job of your dreams.

February of 2025 marks Optimum RTS’s 11th anniversary as a company. Since the beginning, we have been dedicated to bringing quality services and candidates to companies across Florida and the nation. At our formation, Optimum RTS was built on three main pillars: Recruiting, Staffing, and Training. Now starting our 11th year, we are not only an award-winning employment agency and staffing company, but a locally and nationally sought-after sales training and consulting group. Whether you have interacted with us as an employee or an employer, we are so grateful for over a decade of support. Remember, it’s our job to understand your job, and all of you have made that mission a reality!

Fall in Love with Your Career: How to Find the Job That’s Right for You

    Every day millions of Americans and people worldwide wake up and get ready to head off to their jobs, but how many of them are looking forward to their day? Having the right job can determine whether your day is something you look forward to or dread. Just like a relationship, the right job should make you feel excited, appreciated, and valued; so it’s time for you to fall in love with your career.

Understand your needs and desires

To find that perfect match, you need to address your standards: what are you looking for? Think about your values, passions, and goals. Are these essential to your work environment? Are you able to be flexible with some of them? Once you have addressed what your requirements are for your job “partner” it’s time to determine what your motivators are. What aspects of your job make you feel excited to get up in the morning? Lastly, determine how happy you are in your current position and identify what aspects you like and dislike with that position/company. Knowing your desires can help you filter through the available jobs and find the perfect match for you.

Evaluate your skills and strengths

Once you have determined what you are looking for in your career, look inward and identify your skills and strengths: How will you make yourself attractive on the job market? First, identify what you are good at. What past job positions were your favorite and what did you excel at in them? Assess your talents by asking yourself, if I were an expert in a skill what would that skill be? Identify what paths you are interested in learning more about and align these with your strengths. Find a job that requires the skills you are strong in and translate those skills into a role that excites you.

Research and explore job opportunities

Now it’s time to put yourself out on the market. Use online sites such as LinkedIn and Indeed to see what is available and market yourself. In addition, you can visit the Optimum RTS website and click on the “Find Jobs” tab to see what current positions we are filling. Once you have identified a job you are interested in, send us your resume’ and we will match you with your dream job.

Trust the process: Recognizing a job that is right for you

Lastly, you know when you have found The One. Having a healthy relationship with your job means more than just finding the available job, it means feeling like you found the right fit. When you feel you fit in the position, you are energized and excited for the work you are there to complete. Follow your intuition and trust your gut; you will know when you’re in the right place.

Finding a career that truly excites and fulfills you is possible—it’s all about aligning your passions, skills, and values with the right opportunity. By taking the time to understand what you want, evaluate your strengths, research your options, and trust the process, you can pave the way toward a job you genuinely love.

Remember, career fulfillment doesn’t happen overnight, but each small step you take brings you closer to the job that’s right for you. So, whether you’re just starting your journey or rethinking your current path, don’t be afraid to pursue a career that makes your heart race with excitement. You deserve to fall in love with your work, and you can make it happen with the right mindset and actions.

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Embrace and growth mindset:

Understand the importance of the desire to learn and grow. This means challenging yourself and pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone and using criticism as feedback rather than failure. This allows you to shape yourself into the best version for both your job and employer.

Develop key skills:

Identify skills that are crucial to your career or position within your company and work continuously to strengthen them. Invest in both the hard skills your position requires and the soft skills that allow you to be a stronger team member.

Build a strong personal brand:

Define and communicate what sets you apart professionally. This can be done through enhancing skills, learning new techniques, and promoting a desire to always learn more. Using platforms such as LinkedIn not only allows you space to shine, but they can also draw attention to the work you and your company are doing.

Master time management:

Improve productivity by effectively managing your time and devoting your time to what matters most. Eliminating distractions and minimizing multitasking allows you to produce a higher quality of work in a more timely manner, leading to higher overall productivity. By analyzing what you are allocating time for, you can better schedule and shape your day-to-day, creating a higher yield of success.

Foster a collaborative spirit:

Build a positive and welcoming work environment that enhances both personal and team success. Achieve this by actively contributing to team goals and encouraging colleagues to meet their goals. By sharing knowledge and helping the team around you, success is both personal and shared.

Adopt a results-oriented approach:

Focus on delivering tangible, impactful outcomes that align with the company’s objectives. Assess how you contribute to the success of the organization. Take the initiative and propose solutions to challenges that the company may face, increasing productivity.

Network and build relationships:

Expand your web of people both inside and outside the company. By increasing your number of connections you are also increasing the resources you have at your disposal. Participate in industry events to build professional relationships. Regularly check in with peers and mentors to build a strong network, and lastly offer to help and support others, leading to mutual success amongst team members.

The path to achieving your ideal outcome in 2025 is not set in stone, you must take active steps to ensure that this goal becomes a reality. Through an effort to hone new and old skills, network, support, and challenge yourself, you can truly grow into the best version of yourself. The actions you take today will shape the professional you become tomorrow, and it’s our job at Optimum RTS to help you through that process. Whether it is finding your dream job or the perfect candidate, our services can help ensure that 2025 is your best year yet for both you and your team.

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Let’s start off by defining who your customer is. Immediately, you envision the person currently utilizing your service or products. Typically, these people would be called your prospect, patient, client, shopper, patron, etc. Other people fall into this category as well, however, when you examine this a little closer. A customer is not always only the person using your services. It could be the parents of a child in school, the family members of a parent using your services. It could be the candidate you’re attempting to hire or the employees in your organization, or even your manager or one of the company’s vendors. In brief, it is everyone you come into contact with during the course of your work day. Beyond your work day, the term “customer service” can be substituted for just being polite in your interactions with everyone you meet. 

Now that we have defined who a customer is, let’s dig deeper into why understanding their emotional state might be important to a successful and positive interaction. To do this, think of a child and his or her parents going back-to-school shopping. In this scenario, there are two clients you will be faced with, and both may have very different emotional states. The child may be excited about going back to school, buying their new binders, pencils, and backpacks, whereas the parent is cranky about all the money they are spending, and trying to corral their children, the traffic, or crowds in the stores and malls. In both cases, how they are feeling has a direct relation to the way you or your employee will need to interact with them. For the child you will need to show that same excitement, and for the parent you might need to just be courteous and efficient. Now let’s look at a new patient being referred to a Home Health Agency. What could be the mental state of this customer? They could be scared, feeling vulnerable, tired of being sick and within the healthcare system, ready to be home, and concerned for the potential financial burden they might incur. Initially, the patient is not your only customer in this case, and each one of those involved may have one or more of the aforementioned emotions going on. As an example, when speaking to Mr. Smith and his wife, your ideal customer service would lead with empathy, reassurance, competence, and the timely nature of nursing, therapies, and caregivers. Whereas, when dealing with Mr. Smith’s daughter or son, you may want to switch the focus of your customer service to being efficient, actively listening, and providing concise descriptions of services and cost. This sounds easy, like basic information, but honestly, in most interactions, everyone is only thinking of themselves. For instance, the cashier at the office supply store in the first example might only see a grumpy lady and an obnoxious kid, or the staffing coordinator at the home health agency might be put off by the curt conversation Mr. Smith’s son is having with her. In both cases, the person who should be providing customer service has focused on themselves rather than the customer.

As you begin to read this list of best practices, think about your customer and their emotional state and how you would need to modify these best practices to be most effective.

Top 7 Customer Service Best Practices:

1. First Impressions: How your client initially interacts with you has nothing to do with you. Do not personalize a person’s attitude or behavior.
2. Observe and Drive: In face-to-face interactions, look your client in the eye, and all interactions use active listening skills to determine what the needs are and the driving force behind their need or question.
3. Be the fixer: Be concise in your response and only promise or solve issues that can be done at that time. Apologize and explain how you will get the information to answer the question or solve that problem. Be as specific as you can about the expected resolution time frame.
4. The Follow-up: Follow up on what was promised by keeping your client aware of your progress, should the timeframe you set move.
5. Make it personal: Personalize your customer service by introducing yourself and using your customer’s name when appropriate.
6. Smile: Smile. Really, it’s that simple. This applies when you are face to face or talking to someone on the phone. A smile can be heard as loudly as it can be seen.
7. Remove yourself: Remember, this interaction is not about you.

In my 26 years in recruiting, sales management, and national sales as a trainer and now a business owner, I have seen communication and customer service lead to unbelievable successes and an equal amount of failures. The primary causes of those failures occur when the person providing the service did not fully understand the “why” behind an attitude or question of a client. Without that understanding, even the best customer service plan will fail.

About the Author: John Dalton is the owner of Optimum RTS, a medical employment and consultant company. He has taught and consulted for clients that have just opened their doors to Fortune 100 companies. He can be reached at jdalton@optimumrts.com and you can visit his website at www.optimumrts.com

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Happy New Year! I trust this message finds you well and that you had a joyful holiday season. As we step into a new year, I want to extend my warmest wishes for an excellent and prosperous 2024. At Optimum RTS, we value the relationship we’ve built, and as always, we remain committed to supporting your hiring needs. If you find yourself in need of talented professionals to join your team, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Our team is ready to assist you in finding the right candidates to drive success in the coming year.

Thank you for your continued partnership, and we look forward to contributing to your success in 2024!

Best regards,

Daniela Giraldo

Manager of Staffing Services

New Year New Goals!

Start 2024 strong, by setting clear intentions for your career.

As we stand at the threshold of a new year, it’s the perfect time to reflect on our professional journey and set forth on a path of self-discovery and growth. Creating new career goals and intentions allows us to redefine our aspirations, chart a course for success, and ultimately cultivate a more fulfilling and purposeful professional life.

Here are some easy ways to fulfill your 2024 career goals.

Break your goals down into smaller steps: By breaking your large goal into smaller, more easily achievable actions, you can proactively work towards the big picture.

Create specific but flexible goals: Understand that you are not going to be able to achieve everything in one day, being successful is all about being adaptable. Not everything goes as planned. We may have to change our course, but we must maintain our focus.

Make your goals challenging: To grow we must push ourselves out of our comfort zones. Your goals should push you to achieve the things you desire.

Hold yourself accountable: Remind yourself daily of what your goals are. Each of your daily goals should push you towards your main goal. You can hold yourself accountable by creating reminders or expressing your desires to a non-judgmental third party that will help motivate you towards personal success.

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