Pinnacol Systems Administrator

Pinnacol has a current vacancy for a Unix Systems Administrator so I thought I'd touch base with the hiring manager, Stewart, to get his insights into what he is looking for and what the position actually entails. I know that Stewart and his Data and Network Services team are very proud of the support of Pinnacol operations they provide, and as a non-technical user of a lot of the systems I always appreciate how infrequently service interruptions occur. I know enough about what Stewart's group does to know that there is a ton of work behind the scenes to ensure that our systems are up and running on a continual basis. If you have the right skill sets we'd love to hear from you as a potential addition to the team!

Job Announcement for General Accounting Manager!

We have an exciting new opportunity that has just opened on our Finance team. We'll be advertising this position in several places. Here is the actual ad:

General Accounting Manager
Pinnacol Assurance, Colorado’s leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance and recognized as one of America’s Best Places to Work, is seeking a General Accounting Manager to oversee all accounting activities including general ledger journal entries and account reconciliations, Accounts Payable, and Accounts Receivable. Position is responsible for developing and maintaining accounting principles, practices, and procedures to ensure accurate and timely financial statements while providing support for corporate financials. Bachelors Degree in Accounting, minimum of five years accounting experience including management responsibilities, and CPA certification is required. Insurance experience is preferred. For immediate consideration, please apply on-line at www.pinnacol.com. To see what it’s like to work at Pinnacol check out our careers blog at http://pinnacolcareers.blogspot.com/.

Please note that this position does require a CPA designation!

I also had a chance to speak with the hiring manager for this new position and get her thoughts on what this position was all about:

 
If you, or someone you know, are interested in this rare opportunity to join our Finance team please submit an expression of interest via our company website at www.pinnacol.com/careers/.

Pinnacol Launches Corporate Blog

If you've spent any time on the Pinnacol Careers Blog, you know how highly we value our people. So it's only natural that our new company blog feature employees doing what they do best: sharing their expertise in all things workers’ compensation, from risk management and workplace safety to return-to-work programs, and much more.
Since we're a Colorado native, our company blog will focus on issues and trends that are most important to the businesses and organizations in the Centennial State. So drop in and take a look at http://www.pinnacolblog.com/ - and let us know if there's a topic you'd like our people to talk about.

Have you seen it?

Pinnacol recently unveiled a new ad campaign and you'll likely be seeing it both in print and on TV. It’s themed around the concept of "Good Makes Good" which is based on the belief that when we do good for our policyholders, they do good for Colorado.

In print you'll be seeing it in publications around the State and on television you'll be able to see it on some of the more popular shows.  If you'd like a sneak peek of the TV spot click here.

Are You Ready?

For winter, that is. As I write this the view outside of our building has gone from a bright, sunny, relatively warm November day with the clear blue skies Colorado is famous for to an ominous dark cloudbank rolling in from the mountains as a harbinger of all the winter driving delights that living in this region is infamous for.

Its that time of the year to check your vehicle. We had shared some tips from our Loss Prevention staff with our employees on steps to make sure they could handle winter's worst. This year a couple of our Loss Prevention staff have volunteered to spend a couple of hours helping employees who don't know the difference between transmission and power steering fluid run their vehicles through the following checklist:

15 – Minute Winter Vehicle Checklist

Date of Inspection: _____________

Vehicle License Plate: _____________

Items marked with an asterisk (*) are recommended checked or rechecked by a qualified mechanic

Required Documents
Current Vehicle Registration? Yes ____ No ____
Expiration date: ____________

Current Proof of Insurance? Yes ____ No ____
Expiration date: ____________

My Drivers License is current? Yes ____ No ____

Expiration date: ____________

General Inspection
Vehicle is routinely serviced and the oil and filters changed per the manual? Yes ____ No ____

Is there any body damage that might affect the vehicles safe operation? Yes____ *No ____

Tires
Tires are properly inflated consistent with the manual? Yes ____ No ____

Spare tire is present, in good condition,
and properly inflated? Yes ____ No ____

Tire tread is: adequate ____ questionable ____* poor ____* unknown ____*

Lights are in working condition?

Headlights: High beam Yes ____ No ____*

Low beam Yes ____ No ____*

Turn Signals: Front Yes ____ No ____*
note left and right ________________

Rear Yes ____ No ____*
note left and right ________________

Taillights Yes ____ No ____*
note left and right ________________

Brake Lights Yes ____ No ____*
note left and right ________________

Reverse / backup lights Yes ____ No ____*
note left and right ________________

Hazard Lights (front / rear) Yes ____ No ____*
note left and right ________________

Mirrors & Glass
Rear view mirror and side mirrors are present, operable, and unobstructed? Yes ____ No ____

Windshield and window glass is unbroken, clean and unobstructed?
Yes ____ No ____

Under the Hood*
Engine and Fluid Levels

Battery is in good condition (posts and connections are not corroded)
Yes ____ No ____

Coolant OK ____ Not OK ____*

Oil Level OK ____ Not OK ____*

Transmission OK ____ Not OK ____*

Power Steering OK ____ Not OK ____*

Brake Fluid OK ____ Not OK ____*

Window Washer OK ____ Not OK ____

Last service date: _____________________

Accessories
Wipers are operable and blades are in good condition? Yes ____ No ____

Horn is operational? Yes ____ No ____

Owner’s safety manual is accessible? Yes ____ No ____

Seatbelts are operable and in good condition Yes ____ No ____

Door locks are operable Yes ____ No ____

The tire jack and wrench are present and accessible? Yes ____ No ____

Emergency Kit is present and accessible? Yes ____ No ____
Jumper cables 
Tire gauge 
Can of tire sealer-inflator 
Flashlight 
Winter gloves, hat, blanket 
Basic took kit with screwdrivers and pliers 
2 bottles of drinking water and energy bars 

Other items to consider if you travel frequently: spare headlamp bulb, extra fuses, engine oil, washer fluid, emergency triangle or flares, antifreeze, duct tape, spare ignition key, etc.

Repairs Needed:
____________________________________________________________________________________

Repair / Inspection Comments:
____________________________________________________________________________________

Employees who took advantage of the free vehicle checks also had the chance to win a fully stocked Vehicle Emergency kit. Don't wait until the "Check Engine" light comes on in the middle of a blizzard. Check your vehicle now so that you can handle what's bound to come our way over the next couple of months!

Do you bother to submit a cover letter?

There is some debate among candidates and Human Resources professionals about the value of a cover letter. With the move to web-based electronic application systems, has the cover letter outlived its usefulness? Not in my humble opinion.

Do I read every candidate's cover letter? No. Do I read every cover letter of candidates who's resumes have piqued my interest? The answer is absolutely yes.

In other words, when a candidate  applies to Pinnacol for an opening the first thing I look at is the resume, not the cover letter, because I want to know what the candidate has done (or at least professes to have done!). If the resume doesn't look like a fit for the position I honestly don't spend the time reading the cover letter. On the other hand, if the resume makes the candidate appear to be a potentially good fit for our opening, then I read the cover letter. And I read it carefully.

I look to the cover letter for supplemental information. The resume tells me about accomplishments and work experience. The cover letter helps tell me about who this person is. The way the letter is written, the information it contains, whether there are any typos, who its addressed to (I actually receive all sorts of cover letters addressed to companies other than Pinnacol), all form a deeper impression than what I can gain by only reviewing the resume.

I look to the cover letter to confirm my initial positive impression of the candidate that was formed by their resume. Sometimes it does this, but if its poorly written it usually changes my mind to the point where I'll no longer consider the candidate.

Our system allows candidates to attach, or copy and paste, both a cover letter and a resume. Sometimes candidates don't submit any cover letter at all. There are occasions where I am uncertain about my interest in the candidate after reviewing their resume and a solid, well-written cover letter can convince me to further consider them. In these instances if there is no cover letter to supplement the resume, the odds are that the candidate, whom I had only mild interest in to begin with, is not going to proceed in the process.

So what does all this boil down to? Here are my thoughts...

• A well composed, well-written cover letter can get you over the hump when your resume alone fails to convince the person reviewing it
• No cover letter at all hurts your chances of getting into the "further consideration" pile
• A poorly composed, poorly written (typos! mis-addressed!) cover letter is worse than no cover letter at all

Ask 10 Human Resources people about this and you'll likely get 10 different opinions but if you want the odds to be in your favor, a well-written cover letter certainly helps.