by Beth | May 3, 2023 | Interview Process
Every day for several days in a row, at 3:02 pm, always from different numbers, I get a call from someone named Stephanie. In her sing-songy voice, she would cheerily ask me about my day. She sounds happy and content, while pitching questions about how she might be able to help me with a business loan and/or my car warranty. I finally clued in that she was a robot, but to be fair to Artificial Intelligence, it took me a while.
Artificial Intelligence is alive and well and now, with Stephanie’s help, robots will be conducting interviews on behalf of both candidates and companies. According to this article in the Denver Business Journal, (https://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/news/latest-news/2023/02/chatgpt-job-interview-best-practices.html?page=all) what will become even more important will be the ability to conduct effective interviews and reference checks.
Are you curious about how Stephanie is going to affect your business? I highly recommend attending this AI conference, hosted by Sam Reeve, founder of the Comp Team. (details here: https://aicompadvantage.com/register). AI experts can help you navigate how these rapid changes will affect your business, and then you too can put Stephanie in her place.
POWER THOUGHT: Best friends should be human, not robots.
by Beth | Apr 19, 2023 | Consulting
When I was a little girl, I used to play at Cherry Park. There was a bandstand at this park, and I spent hours on that bandstand pretending to be in front of an audience. I started off dancing on that bandstand (see photo above), but I knew that one day, I would be a public speaker. I had no idea what I was going to SAY in front of said audience, but that didn’t stop me from believing that one day, I would speak in front of audiences all over the world.
Today, many moons later, I have met that goal, and I continue to speak in front of groups on a regular basis. I love doing that work. However, I find myself missing working with my individual companies and clients. I miss the camaraderie. I miss getting to know the teams of people and seeing where and how they work. I miss watching the dynamics play out. And I really miss watching my clients have light bulb moments in their searches.
Don’t get me wrong: I am so glad that I learned how to present in front of groups of people. I am so proud of myself for graduating from Mikki Williams’ Speaker School and working hard to be a professional speaker. And, I am especially glad to be able to offer a training service to my clients. I think it has made me a better consultant.
Learning a new skill makes your employees more versatile and well-rounded, and this is why you MUST invest in professionally developing your people. The benefits of professional development go WAY beyond what you think it might: it boosts your employees’ confidence and makes them more willing to contribute. Developing ancillary skills will not only help your employee with their everyday job, but it also gives them self-assuredness to branch out in other areas. Win/Win
Yes, I am still on the bandstand. I am also behind the scenes supporting other peoples’ bandstand moments. How can I help support yours?
POWER THOUGHT: Support your employees’ bandstand dreams, because in turn, they will help support yours.
by Beth | Apr 5, 2023 | Interview Process
My daughter, Katy, is about to graduate from college in May. She is in job search hell. 37 job applications in 9 different states. She heard back from 25, interviewed at 17, and has had 2 no’s. She has had 6 job offers, but 5 of them aren’t in the department that she wants and 1 is in a terrible part of town. Keep in mind that this is on top of full time school work, 2 clinicals and a part time job. When I talked to her last week, she said, “Mom, I am tired. And not the kind of tired where I need to go to bed early, but ‘life-tired’.”
My clients totally get the concept of ‘life-tired’. The numbers from the last search/hire that we completed in 8 weeks looked like this:
Total applicants: 260
First interviews: 36
Second interviews: 7
Third interviews: 2
It is easy to see why everyone on both sides of the table are ‘life-tired’.
And…
Last week, Katy flew to Texas for an in-person interview that knocked her socks off. The synergy from that interview completely changed her energy, her perspective, and her excitement about her future. She said “Mom, I am no longer worried about finding the right job for myself. I don’t even have a job offer yet, but I know that one is coming. I just feel it.”
“Are you still feeling life-tired?” I asked.
“Oh no. I am life-excited!”
One interview can change your whole life, regardless of the outcome. One candidate/employer can transform you from life- tired, to life- excited. Put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward. Your person/job is on its way.
POWER THOUGHT: The middle of your search is the hardest part, and it is so easy to settle! DON’T! Stay focused through life-tired in order to get to life-excited!
by Beth | Mar 22, 2023 | Recruiting
When I was in college a gazillion years ago, I had a great friend named Beth Bratton. She and I were connected at the hip and 2 peas in a pod. Beth was Head Cheerleader at her huge Dallas high school, great GPA and cute, darling and precious. In my opinion, she was the total package.
When Beth started looking at colleges, her father told her that whatever money she received from scholarships, he would put that amount of money towards a new car. Beth immediately responded with “Game. ON!” She applied to every scholarship that she could get her hands on and had several formal interviews. She was rejected time after time after time.
She was super frustrated, because she had her eye on this hot car called the Chrysler LeBaron convertible. She was determined to be driving that car around Austin!
Finally, she had an interview with Wells Fargo. She just knew that she wouldn’t get the scholarship, because she hadn’t received any of the others. She just didn’t care anymore. She made peace with the fact that she wouldn’t get the car, and she walked into that interview and nailed it. The bank gave her a 50k scholarship, and she promptly purchased her dream car.
She and I drove all over Austin in that car, and in one particularly memorable trip, we drove to South Padre for spring break. (That is all I will say about that trip. 😊)
What does this have to do with hiring? Just about the time that you are ready to give up, your dream job or dream employee will show up. When you are so frustrated that you don’t care anymore, your ideal candidate walks in your door. When you are sick and tired of waiting, your wildest dreams come true.
It is called letting go. And it is the hardest part of your search.
What I tell my clients is when they are tired of working with me, their amazing employee will walk through their door, and all that hard work will have been worth it. And when they do, you will have more time to take off driving down the highway in your dream car.
POWER THOUGHT: Dream of yourself in a convertible with the top down and not a care in the world. Hold out until you get it.
by Beth | Mar 8, 2023 | Company Culture
If you have ever watched YouTube videos, you might have seen one about a bunch of crabs in a bucket. The crabs scramble to get out by crawling on top of each other to get to the top. Fascinatingly enough, once one crab gets to the top, the other crabs pull them back in! The group keeps all members in the bucket, instead of focusing on getting out. Instead of improving their surroundings, the group of crabs keep everyone stuck in the muck.
Turtles, on the other hand… if there is a turtle who has gotten turned over onto its back, and is scrambling to turn back over, other turtles will rush to its rescue. They, as a group, will help that turtle turn back over and land on their feet. The success of one equals the success of all.
If you want to create a thriving, synergistic and productive culture in your organization, you must fire the crabs and find more turtles. No one gets to the top without a lot of help and support, and getting to the next level isn’t easy. Having just one crab on your team can make the difference between success and failure.
POWER THOUGHT: Ask yourself this question: does your company culture revolve around turtles or crabs?
