in

http://www.inc.com/
==================================

A Resume Will Never Get You the Job You Really

Want

You send in your resume. You include a hopefully eye-catching cover letter. You ask
someone to put in a good word for you.
Then you wait. And wait. And don't get the job.
Why? You didn't put in the work.
There are many things you can't control about the job seeking process. Cumbersome
application systems, automated filters that identify keywords instead of talent, lazy
hiring managers content to simply find round pegs for round holes, people who make
the biggest hiring mistake of all....
But there is one thing you can control: the amount of work you put in.
If you're struggling to land the job you want, don't complain. Don't blame others.
Sure, the system often sucks -- so accept it sucks and then figure out how to beat it.
Commit to doing more. Commit to doing what other candidates aren't willing to do.
That's how you stand out. That's how you get the job you really want.
Try this:
1. Determine the company you want to work for.
Obvious, right? Not really. Many job seekers play the numbers game and respond to
as many job postings as possible.
Shotgun resume submissions results in hiring managers sifting through dozens of
potential candidates to find the right person. (Good luck emerging
from that particular pile.) To show the hiring manager you are the right
candidate, you have to do the work.
Instead of shotgunning your resume, put in the time to determine a company you
definitely want to work for, and then...
2. Really know the company.
Pretend I'm the hiring manager. "I would love to work for you," you say to me. What I
actually hear is, "I would love for you to pay me."
You can't possibly know if you want to work for my company unless you know a lot
about my company; that's the difference between just wanting a job and wanting an
actual role in a business. Talk to friends, relatives, vendors, customers... anyone you
can find. Check management and employees out on social media. When you know
the people, you know the company. Learn as much as you can.
Then leverage what you learn and...
3. Figure out how you will hit the ground running.
Many companies see training as a necessary evil. Training takes time, money,
effort... all of which are in short supply. An ideal new hire can be productive
immediately, at least in part.

While you don't need to be able to do everything required in the job, it helps if the
company can see an immediate return on their hiring investment. (Remember, hiring
you is an investment that needs to generate a return.)
Identify one or two important things you can contribute from day one. Then...
4. Don't just tell. Show.
Put what you can offer on display. If you're a programmer, mock up a new
application. If you want a sales position, create a plan for how you'll target a new
market or customer base or describe how you will implement marketing strategies
the business is currently not using.
A show and tell is your chance to prove you know the company and what you can
offer. Your initiative will be impressive and you'll go a long way towards overcoming
concerns that you're all talk and no action.
Is it fair you're doing a little work on spec? Should you have to create a mockup or
plan in order to get the job? Not really and probably not... but doing so will definitely
set you apart.
Never let "fair" -- when the only person "disadvantaged" is you -- get in the way of
achieving your goals.
5. Use a referral as a reinforcement.
Business is all about relationships. We've all made made bad hiring decisions, so a
referral from someone we trust is like gold.
You may have to dig deep into your network or even forge new connections, but the
effort will be worth it.
Knowing that someone we trust is willing to vouch for you is a data point that often
tips the decision scale towards giving you an interview... and even giving you the
job.
6. Be the one who knocks.
You don't have to wait to be called for an interview. You don't have to wait for an
opening to be posted; after all, you've identified ways you can immediately help the
company you want to work for. Wrangle an introduction, meet with someone who
can actually influence the hiring decision, and pitch away.
Think it won't work? It will -- as long as you show the person you contact how they
will also benefit. Say, "I really want to work for your company. I know you're in
charge of social media marketing and I've developed a data-driven way to analyze
activities, ROI, brand awareness... I'd love to take you to lunch and show you. If you
hate my ideas, at least you got a free lunch. If you love them, you learned
something. What do you have to lose?"
A friend of mine who runs a tech company has hired four people in the last six
months who approached him in a similar fashion. He's a go-getter; he loves hiring
go-getters. And he loves when they find him.
Just make sure you go straight to describing how the company will benefit from
hiring you. Say, "Your website is good but it could be a lot better. Here are changes I
will make in the first month and here is how those changes will improve conversions
and SEO results. And here's a mock-up I created of a new site design."
Approach them right and people will pay attention -- especially entrepreneurs and
small businesses. I don't know any smart people who won't drop everything to learn
how to improve their business.
7. Assert yourself.
Many people are poor interviewers. That's especially true for small business owners;

many are terrible interviewers. (As a friend of mine says, "I don't work in HR. I run a
business.")
So be direct and to the point. Explain what you can do. Describe your background.
Don't talk about what the job will mean to you; talk about how the company will
benefit from hiring you. Show you know working for their company is different (every
company thinks they're different) and how you're excited by the challenge. Sell
yourself: use what you know about the company and how you will make an impact to
back up your pitch.
8. Ask for the job.
Most people don't mind being closed. Plus a decision put off until tomorrow is a
decision added to the to-do list; no one wants more on their plates.
If you truly know you want the job -- and you should by this point -- ask for it. You
have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Who knows: if you've worked hard to
truly set yourself apart, you might get hired on the spot.
I know what you're thinking: That's too much work to put in, especially if there's
no guarantee your extra effort will result in a job.
Flip it around. Doing what everyone else does is very unlikely to result in a job.
Decide you will be different -- and then work hard to actually be different. Then you
will stand out. Then you'll have a much better chance of landing the job you really
want.

Comments:
Jennifer Napolitano
Talent Acquisition Specialist / Recruiter
Completely agree - especially with #8. I love when candidates spell it out for me and confirm we're on the same
page. Also, I think it's a confident move and confidence is always important. Another thing to remember is at the
end of the interview, a good interviewer will make sure they leave time to answer your questions, so you should
make sure you have some! After reviewing the web site, reading about the job, listening to me talk about the
role and the organization, you should reasonably have at least one question. It shows you're paying attention
and that you care. You have to be 100% engaged in the process if you expect to get the job.
Becky Cole
Chief Capacity Builder
This seems to be yet another mindless post by someone who hasn't actually been job seeking recently. It's full
of fluff and a lot of hot air, but no real substance. And the worst part is that it seems to perpetuate the "god
complex" myth and validates the games a lot of employers play. The assumption that resumes aren't necessary
is asinine. Even when you meet someone through networking, they will always ask you for a resume before you
are considered for the job. This moron also takes the "one size fits all" approach and assumes that all recruiters
think alike and will have the same response to everything, when nothing could be further from the truth. Finding
a job is a twisted guessing game, and it's the person who can best guess the mood the hiring manager will be in
when it comes to your application will be the one who gets considered.
Josh Hare
Writer/Director/Editor
Why do so many hiring companies (especially on sites like craigslist) NEVER include their own identity? That
makes "knowing" the company um...not possible.
Amanda Thomas
Sr. Corporate Recruiter at Affiliated Monitoring

Great article. It's a competitive market now, you can't just submit a resume with no research, no cover letter and
expect to get a call. Do research, write a cover letter (even though it may go unread), and please please apply
only for positions you are quaified for. If I were to receive an email from a qualified applicant that did research
on my company and expressed their interest in contributing, of course I would call them.

http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/5-questions-great-job-candidates-ask-interviewers.html

5 Questions Great Job

Candidates Ask
BY JEFF HADEN @JEFF_HADEN

Many of the questions potential new hires ask are

throwaways. But not these.
Read more: http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/5-questions-great-job-candidatesask-interviewers.html#ixzz31XpO9fln

Be honest. Raise your hand if you feel the part of the job interview where you
ask the candidate, "Do you have any questions for me?" is almost always a
waste of time.
Thought so.
The problem is most candidates don't actually care about your answers; they
just hope to make themselves look good by asking "smart" questions. To them,
what they ask is more important than how you answer.
Great candidates ask questions they want answered because they're
evaluating you, your company--and whether they really want to work for you.
Here are five questions great candidates ask:
What do you expect me to accomplish in the first 60 to 90 days?
Great candidates want to hit the ground running. They don't want to spend
weeks or months "getting to know the organization."
They want to make a difference--right away.
What are the common attributes of your top performers?
Great candidates also want to be great long-term employees. Every
organization is different, and so are the key qualities of top performers in those
organizations.

Maybe your top performers work longer hours. Maybe creativity is more
important than methodology. Maybe constantly landing new customers in new
markets is more important than building long-term customer relationships.
Maybe it's a willingness to spend the same amount of time educating an entrylevel customer as helping an enthusiast who wants high-end equipment.
Great candidates want to know, because 1) they want to know if they fit, and 2)
if they do fit, they want to be a top performer.
What are a few things that really drive results for the company?
Employees are investments, and every employee should generate a positive
return on his or her salary. (Otherwise why are they on the payroll?)
In every job some activities make a bigger difference than others. You need
your HR folks to fill job openings... but what you really want is for HR to find
the right candidates because that results in higher retention rates, lower
training costs, and better overall productivity.
You need your service techs to perform effective repairs... but what you really
want is for those techs to identify ways to solve problems and provide other
benefits--in short, to generate additional sales.
Great candidates want to know what truly makes a difference. They know
helping the company succeed means they succeed as well.
What do employees do in their spare time?
Happy employees 1) like what they do and 2) like the people they work with.
Granted this is a tough question to answer. Unless the company is really small,
all any interviewer can do is speak in generalities.
What's important is that the candidate wants to make sure they have a
reasonable chance of fitting in--because great job candidates usually have
options.
How do you plan to deal with...?
Every business faces a major challenge: technological changes, competitors
entering the market, shifting economic trends... there's rarely a Warren Buffett
moat protecting a small business.
So while a candidate may see your company as a stepping-stone, they still
hope for growth and advancement... and if they do eventually leave, they want
it to be on their terms and not because you were forced out of business.
Say I'm interviewing for a position at your bike shop. Another shop is opening
less than a mile away: How do you plan to deal with the new competitor? Or
you run a poultry farm (a huge industry in my area): What will you do to deal
with rising feed costs?
A great candidate doesn't just want to know what you think; they want to know
what you plan to do--and how they will fit into those plans.
Read more: http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/5-questions-great-job-candidatesask-interviewers.html#ixzz31XpIK47J

14 Revealing Interview
Questions
BY JEFF HADEN @JEFF_HADEN

Smart entrepreneurs from a variety of industries

share the interview questions that tell them
everything they need to know about a candidate.
Interview questions: Everyone has them.
And everyone wishes they had better ones.
So I asked smart people from a variety of fields for their favorite interview question and,
more importantly, why it's their favorite and what it tells them about the candidate.
1. If we're sitting here a year from now celebrating what a great year
it's been for you in this role, what did we achieve together?
"For me, the most important thing about interviews is that the interviewee interviews us. I
need to know they've done their homework, truly understand our company and the role. . .
and really want it.
"The candidate should have enough strategic vision to not only talk about how good the year
has been but to answer with an eye towards that bigger-picture understanding of the
company--and why they want to be here."
Randy Garutti, Shake Shack CEO
2. When have you been most satisfied in your life?
"Except with entry-level candidates, I presume reasonable job skill and intellect. Plus I
believe smart people with relevant experience adapt quickly and excel in new environments
where the culture fits and inspires them.
"So, I concentrate on character and how well theirs matches that of my organization.
"This question opens the door for a different kind of conversation where I push to see the
match between life in my company and what this person needs to be their best and better in
my company than he or she could be anywhere else."
Dick Cross, Cross Partnership founder and CEO
3. If you got hired, loved everything about this job, and are paid the
salary you asked for, what kind of offer from another company would
you consider?
"I like to find out how much the candidate is driven by money versus working at a place they
love.
"Can they be bought?
"You'd be surprised by some of the answers."

Ilya Pozin, Ciplex founder

4. Who is your role model, and why?
"The question can reveal how introspective the candidate is about their own personal and
professional development, which is a quality I have found to be highly correlated with
success and ambition.
"Plus it can show what attributes and behaviors the candidate aspires to."
Clara Shih, Hearsay Social co-founder and CEO
5. What things do you not like to do?
"We tend to assume people who have held a role enjoy all aspects of that role, but I've found
that is seldom the case.
"Getting an honest answer to the question requires persistence, though. I usually have to ask
it a few times in different ways, but the answers are always worth the effort. For instance, I
interviewed a sales candidate who said she didn't enjoy meeting new people.
"My favorite was the finance candidate who told me he hated dealing with mundane details
and checking his work. Next!"
Art Papas, Bullhorn founder and CEO
6. Tell me about a project or accomplishment that you consider to be
the most significant in your career.
"I find that this question opens the door to further questions and enables someone to
highlight themselves in a specific, non-generic way.
"Plus additional questions can easily follow: What position did you hold when you achieved
this accomplishment? How did it impact your growth at the company? Who else was
involved and how did the accomplishment impact your team?
"Discussing a single accomplishment is an easy way to open doors to additional information
and insight about the person, their work habits, and how they work with others."
Deborah Sweeney, MyCorporation owner and CEO
7. Tell me how...
"I don't have one favorite question because I believe a great interview takes on a life of its
own, becoming more of a conversation than a formal process.
"Ultimately we're looking for people who are motivated, disciplined, good spirited,
possessing skills and passion, so I ask indirect questions about the creative process, about
articulating and demystifying the process of creating great food and great service.
"Then I trust my instincts. Reading the eyes of the candidate is a final test I've come to rely
on--because the eyes never lie."
Eric Ripert, Le Bernardin chef and co-owner
8. What's your superpower, or what's your spirit animal?
"During her interview I asked my current executive assistant what was her favorite animal.
She told me it was a duck, because ducks are calm on the surface and hustling like crazy
getting things done under the surface.
"I think this was an amazing response and a perfect description for the role of an EA. For the
record, she's been working with us for over a year now and is amazing at her job."
Ryan Holmes, HootSuite CEO
9. Why have you had x amount of jobs in y years?
"This question helps me get a full picture of the candidate's work history. What keeps them

motivated? Why, if they have, did they jump from job to job? And what is the key factor
when they leave?
"The answer shows me their loyalty and their reasoning process. Do they believe someone
always keeps them down (managers, bosses, etc.)? Do they get bored easily?
"There is nothing inherently wrong with moving from job to job--the reasons why are what
matters."
Shama Kabani, The Marketing Zen Group founder and CEO
10. We're constantly making things better, faster, smarter or less
expensive. We leverage technology or improve processes. In other
words, we strive to do more--with less. Tell me about a recent project
or problem that you made better, faster, smarter, more efficient, or
less expensive.
"Good candidates will have lots of answers to this question. Great candidates will get excited
as they share their answers.
"In 13 years we've only passed along one price increase to our customers. That's not because
our costs have decreased--quite the contrary. We've been able to maintain our prices because
we've gotten better at what we do. Our team, at every level, has their ears to the ground
looking for problems to solve.
"Every new employee needs to do that, too."
Edward Wimmer, RoadID co-founder and co-owner
11. Discuss a specific accomplishment you've achieved in a previous
position that indicates you will thrive in this position.
"Past performance is usually the best indicator of future success.
"If the candidate can't point to a prior accomplishment, they are unlikely to be able to
accomplish much at our organization--or yours."
Dave Lavinsky, Growthink co-founder and president
12. So, (insert name), what's your story?
"This inane question immediately puts an interviewee on the defensive because there is no
right answer or wrong answer. But there is an answer.
"It's a question that asks for a creative response. It's an invitation to the candidate to play the
game and see where it goes without worrying about the right answer. By playing along, it
tells me a lot about the character, imagination, and inventiveness of the person.
"The question, as obtuse as it might sound to the interviewee, is the beginning of a story and
in today's world of selling oneself, or one's company, it's the ability to tell a story and create a
feeling that sells the brand--whether it's a product or a person.
"The way they look at me when the question is asked also tells me something about their
likeability. If they act defensive, look uncomfortable, and pause longer than a few seconds, it
tells me they probably take things too literally and are not broad thinkers. In our business we
need broad thinkers."
Richard Funess, Finn Partners managing partner
13. What questions do you have for me?
"I love asking this question really early in the interview--it shows me whether the candidate
can think quickly on their feet, and also reveals their level of preparation and strategic
thinking.

"I often find you can learn more about a person based on the questions they ask versus the
answers they give."
Scott Dorsey, ExactTarget co-founder and CEO
14. Tell us about a time when things didn't go the way you wanted-like a promotion you wanted and didn't get, or a project that didn't
turn out how you had hoped.
"It's a simple question that says so much. Candidates may say they understand the
importance of working as a team but that doesn't mean they actually know how to work as a
team. We need self-starters that will view their position as a partnership.
"Answers tend to fall into three basic categories: 1) blame 2) self-deprecation, or 3)
opportunity for growth.
"Our company requires focused employees willing to wear many hats and sometimes go
above and beyond the job description, so I want team players with the right attitude and
approach. If the candidate points fingers, blames, goes negative on former employers,
communicates with a sense of entitlement, or speaks in terms of their role as an individual
as opposed to their position as a partnership, he or she won't do well here.
"But if they take responsibility and are eager to put what they have learned to work, they will
thrive in our meritocracy."
Tony Knopp, Spotlight Ticket Management co-founder and CEO
IMAGE: EL_FLOZ/FLICKR

LAST UPDATED: MAR 4, 2013

More:
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10 Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read Before Starting Up (Infographic)
Mark Cuban's Bold Secret to Building an Audacious Company
Starting a Business: The New 'Safe' Career
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Read more: http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/14-revealing-interviewquestions.html#ixzz31Xqc0bPJ

The 8 Best Industries for Starting a Business (In Detail)

BY DARREN DAHL

Digital detective. Health care disrupter. Purveyor of

all things organic. These are just some of the most

promising ground-floor opportunities in 2014.

Some entrepreneurs are drawn to the New New Thing; they hunger for a first-mover
advantage. To them we say, best of luck. Others want to enter a promising industry early on,
but with some evidence that the industry actually exists and has room for new players. To
them we say, welcome.
Our annual look at the best industries for starting a business is based on a range of research,
interviews, and scouting reports. Weve identified a cross section of businesses that call for a
variety of skills, from technological expertise to retailing savvy to, above all, the ability to
innovate. Think of these industries not as New New but as Hot Hot. They are up and running
but still very much in their early days. If you have the right skills and focus, you have plenty
of opportunity not only to jump on the bandwagon but to call the tune.
Automated Guided Vehicles (a.k.a. Robotic Forklifts)

Jeff Bezos triggered a near-meltdown in the Twittersphere when he

suggested that Amazon might deliver products via drones. Closer to
earth, Amazon did spend $775 million in 2012 to buy Kiva Systems,
which manufactures robotic automated guided vehicles, or AGVs.
These devices automate many earthbound warehousing and logistical
functions, such as picking products to fill a specific order and prepping
them for loading onto good ol trucks. Though they may lack the sci-fi
sexiness of drones, AGVs such as forklifts, loaders, and towing vehicles
are increasingly in demand, as companies pursue a Warehouse 2.0
strategy, using any and all technologies available to cut costs and
speed up fulfillment.
Why its Hot: AGVs are used in numerous industries, including
pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food, automotive, warehousing, and other
businesses that require the movement of materials.
The Downside: Startup costs are high. Were talking about a
sophisticated manufacturing operation here, often reliant on raw
materials including steel, which has been getting more expensive. The
technology is also evolving fast, which means keeping up with the
latest trends in laser targeting, gyroscopic, optical, and magnetic
navigation systems.
Skills Needed: Experience in robotics and computer systems. If you
lack the capital or partnerships to jump into manufacturing, you could

focus on software or subcomponents.

Competition: There is no dominant player, but the top four companies
account for half the industry revenue. Savant Automation, Dematic
Group, and Bastian Solutions are among the companies that merit a
look as you research this market.
Peek Inside This Industry.
Eco-Friendly Building

The housing industry is returning to a state of market equilibrium as

supply and demand balance and prices rebound. One particularly
robust sector is green construction, which emphasizes designs and
materials that maximize energy-efficiency and environmental
sustainability. New building codes and tax credits are helping the
sector take off.
The Outlook: Demand is booming. Within the next two years, more
than half of all commercial and institutional construction will have a
decided tint of green, according to the U.S. Green Building Council.
Uncle Sam Wants You: At least half of all green construction projects
will be funded by U.S. government agencies, as new schools,
government offices, and other projects must meet more stringent
standards.
Industry Buzzword: LEED, short for the Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design program. Youll want to bone up on certification
requirements.
Barriers to Entry: Skilled workers are scarce, and an established
reputation really helps.
Competition Traditional builders have jumped into green building, and
the number of new companies is growing by 15 percent annually.
Peek Inside This Industry.
Mobile Health or "mHealth"

Talk about the intersection of two hot trends: The world is going
mobile, and everything regarding health care is up for a rethink. Put

them together, and you have mHealth, as in mobile health. An

aging population, increasing chronic illness, accelerating health costs,
new regulatory reforms, and increased consumer demand for health
information and self-care will have doctors, patients, and everyone in
between eager to see as much health information as possible made
available on every kind of mobile device.
Vital Signs: The global mHealth market is poised to surpass $10 billion
by 2018.
Bone Up: Though its not exactly a beach read, the fine print of the
Affordable Care Act can point you to opportunities in specific sectors.
Promising Niche: Remote patient monitoring. mHealth apps promise to
cut the time and money spent on visits to the doctors office by
remotely tracking measures related to many chronic illnesses.
Technical Challenge: Security. As more patient data is captured,
companies risk violating rules under the Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act, or HIPAA.
Competition: Companies specializing in everything from medical
devices to exercise gear are jumping in. HealthTap, Patient
Conversation Media, and Informatics Group offer some useful lessons
on where things are heading.
Peek Inside This Industry.
Foodie Fare

As consumers awaken to the presumed health benefits of foods such

as kale and quinoa, retail stores specializing in organic, gluten-free,
and healthful foods are sprouting up everywhere. There has also been
a parallel boom in the businesses creating the foods these stores sell.
Since 2003, an average of 4,300 specialty-food products have been
launched. Though we may not yet be at the Salad: Its Whats for
Dinner stage, were eating a wider variety of healthful foods than
ever.
Big Appetites: Total specialty-food sales in 2012 topped $85 billion,
according to the Specialty Food Association. The fastest-growing

segments are energy bars and gels and shelf-stable beverages.

Interested in something more indulgent? Artisanal cheeses are huge.
Promising Niches: Ninety-five percent of specialty-food stores carry allnatural products, and 88 percent are riding the locavore train, with
local foods defined as those produced within 200 miles of where
they are sold.
Startup Need: For retailers, a store. The size of the average specialtyfood store is slightly more than 5,000 square feet, with room for some
1,400 products. Location is key, because youll need to be close to
customers willing to pay for premium products. For would-be food
makers, you may only need a good recipe, quality ingredients, a
commercial kitchen, and a van. To start, anyway.
Competition: National chains such as Whole Foods, regional players
like Moms Organic Market, and expanding organic offerings from
traditional grocers and big-box retailers, including Walmart.
Peek Inside This Industry.
Buy, Buy Baby (Products)

One of the fastest-growing segments of online retailing focuses on the

needs of consumers who dont use computers (or at least, not well):
babies. Products from diapers, clothing, and shoes to feeding aids,
strollers, and furniture defied the recession and remained in high
demand. The demand is still intense, and increasingly it is being
satisfied online. Baby apparel alone will ring up $6 billion in e-tail sales
this year.
Growth Spurt: Experts say demand will increase over the next five
years, owing to demographic factors (primarily, an increased birthrate)
and a rise in disposable income that will prompt busy parents to shop
from their couches whenever they can grab a few minutes of peace.
Promising Niches: More than 40 percent of all revenue in this sector
comes from the sale of diapers, so think outside the training pants.
Organic skin care and branded baby clothing, however, are the kinds
of things that can help you carve out a space.

Competition: Getting noticed could be tough: By 2018, its predicted,

there will be more than 6,000 baby-product e-tailers. Look at i play,
4Moms, Babyhaven, and Happy Family Brands for inspiration.
Peek Inside This Industry.
Decoding the Language of Business

It may be a small world, but it certainly has a lot of languages. More

than 6,700, to be semi-exact. As businesses become more global,
demand for people (or companies) who can bridge the language divide
is growing. An increase in foreign tourists visiting the U.S. is also a
factor, as is the need to communicate with Hispanic and other nonnative-English speakers now living in the U.S.
Talking Points: A big opportunity can be found in website localization.
As U.S. companies look to expand into markets such as China, Brazil,
Russia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, there will be increased
demand for individuals and companies that can translate Englishbased sites into local languages. One recent study found that just 20
percent of the top U.S. retailing sites have information translated into
a language other than English.
Promising Specialties: U.S. health care companies, which are rapidly
expanding into South America, Canada, Europe, and the Asian-Pacific
market. There is also high demand for translating official immigration
documents, including birth and marriage certificates, and diplomas.
Big Threat: Automation. The use of artificial intelligence, as well as
voice and optical character recognition, is expected to increase
drastically in the next five years. And, of course, there are apps for
this.
Competition: There are about 50,000 translation businesses out there,
but 95 percent of them are individual operators, so the opportunity to
pursue this field as a true business is grande.
Peek Inside This Industry.
Digital Detectives

The proliferation of smartphones, tablets, and PDAs has brought with it

the very real possibility that people will have an increasing need to

retrieve precious data, either because theyve lost it (think a CFOs

laptop falling down the stairs) or because someone is trying to hide it
(think computer crime). As a result, the demand for digital forensic
services is booming.
Promising Niches: The crime-fighting side is where the action is.
Companies that can assist investigations into phishing schemes, bank
fraud, and child-exploitation cases will be in high demand. The ability
to recover data from compromised machines and networks is also
promising; its expected to account for half of all sector revenue over
the next few years.
Barriers to Entry: Youll need the technical chops to retrieve data from
hard drives, networks, and the cloud, which has greatly complicated
the tracking of data. Youll also need to know about regulatory and
compliance issues, and you may need certain security clearances if
you pursue government work.
Competition: There are companies that specialize in this area, and
traditional IT-services companies and large consulting organizations
are also touting their forensic capabilities. Check out AccessData
Group, D4 eDiscovery, and CaseDriven Technologies.
Peek Inside This Industry.
'Appifying' Business

As tablets become the de facto portable business device, companies

want to help employees be more productive by making sure simple
(but critical) functions are just an icon-press away. In this world, you
are really limited only by your imagination. And coding ability.
Skill Set: The hot programming languages to know for building
business apps are JavaScript and HTML5. From a software-design
standpoint, think about building simple mobile apps that can be
integrated to create larger applications.
Promising Niche: Corporate social software. Apps that help your
employees share what (and who) they know with one another, so that
one persons connection becomes everyones connection. That can
help with a number of things, from hiring the best people to landing

new clients.
Whos Buying?: The greatest demand is coming from financial
services, manufacturing, the federal government, retail,
communications, and high tech. Big companies tend to prefer big
vendors, but if you have a clever app you can get their attention.
Small and medium-size companies are more amenable to small
businesses and even sole proprietors, but they dont have deep
pockets.
Competition: Have you visited an app store lately? Its a crowded field,
so in addition to searching out companies whose apps might be close
(but not too close) to yours, also invest in social-media expertise and
create a great website. Both are table stakes for getting noticed and
can also highlight your tech savviness and industry knowledge.

And the Coolest College

Startup of 2014 Is...
BY

DIANA RANSOM

@DIANARANSOM

With thousands of votes cast, Inc. announces the

Coolest College Startup of 2014.
The fans have spoken, and this year's Coolest College Startup is: Applits.
With 4,715 votes cast in all, Applits takes home the top honor: lifetime bragging rights as the
Coolest College Startup of 2014. But the founding team also wins free tickets to Inc.'s 2014
GrowCo conference in Nashville in May.
While Applits is Inc. readers' choice, this is probably one of many honors this startup will
win. Read on to learn more about this emerging (and very cool) college startup.
Applits: Mobile Software for the People, by the People