by Beth | Dec 23, 2020 | Uncategorized
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, my daughter and I were listening to the radio. A song came on that we both love. I began belting out the tune at the top of my lungs and sang along to the chorus of the Zac Brown Band song. I sang “Long Gone” along in perfect pitch (to me at least). My kid laughed uproariously. “MOM”, she yelled, “Those aren’t the words!” I said, “Yes they are!” She giggled “No, really. It’s not ‘Long Gone’. It’s ‘Home Grown’!” She had to Google it for me to believe her.
This misunderstanding happens in interviews for new employees all the time. Someone on the interview team will recount what the candidate said and someone else will have heard the words from the person completely differently. The very first step in the analysis of an interview for the hiring team is to agree to what the candidate actually said. The actual choice of words that they used are very important. For example, “My boss is really great to work with”. Did they really say “with”? Are you sure they didn’t say “My boss is really great to work for”? That simple word changes the entire meaning of the sentence as well as the intent of the comment. The word “with” denotes that the candidate doesn’t acknowledge their bosses’ authority, and if they don’t acknowledge it in the interview, they really won’t when they have direct deposit.
I talk about listening to the exact words all the time to my clients to ensure they get to hire someone who will fit with the company culture, leadership style and even the position itself. If you are not paying attention, you can miss something really important in an interview which can lead to a bad hire.
You can also really embarrass yourself in front of your teenage daughter.
by Beth | Dec 9, 2020 | Employee Hiring
Last week I had a conversation with one of my clients who was telling me that he is terrible at hiring. I said “Good.” He looked at me like I had grown a third head. He said, “why would you say that?!?” “Because if you have trouble with hiring, it is usually because you are a good human being and you want to give people chances.”
Here is the bottom line: we are biologically wired to connect to people. That is how our species has lasted all this time. We are connected in groups, and we help each other out. Hiring, though, is about rejection. You get 300 resumes. You will reject at least 299 of them, if not all 300. Then, you get 300 more resumes, and the process starts all over again. We HATE to reject people! It isn’t in our DNA to do so. We hire someone not good for the role, and we hang onto them forever because we hate to reject people.
I want you to hire the right fit and be a good human being to THAT person. I want you to be surrounded by great employees, so that you can be good to everyone on your staff. You can coach, mentor, and teach to people who love their jobs and are happy to be working for you.
If you are terrible at hiring, then you are a great human being.
I really like that about you!
by Beth | Nov 26, 2020 | Uncategorized
My daughter and I would like to wish everyone a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving holiday. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to all of my clients, friends and family for supporting A-list Interviews as we continue to grow and thrive. A giant thank you to my team for a great year as well.
I am grateful for every one of you!
Yours in success,
Beth
by Beth | Nov 11, 2020 | Employee Hiring
Two weeks ago, I had the following conversation with my daughter, Katy:
Katy: “I am posting your online dating profile tonight.”
Me (horrified): “WHY??:
Katy: “Because you aren’t getting any younger.”
Sigh.
After about a week, I had over 100 invitations to meet. Don’t get too excited: the one that chased me
the most was named Scooter and he was missing several teeth.
Those of you who haven’t been in the dating pool for awhile are probably wondering, how does this
experience relate to hiring? In a surprising number of ways, it is exactly the same. You create an Ideal
List for your next candidate/date with attributes, like honesty, integrity and bi-cuspids. You put together
a job/relationship description. You write your ad/profile. You wade though resumes/profiles. And then
you start interviewing/dating.
The key difference between dating and hiring is that in hiring someone for a job, you as the employer
have all the power. You dictate the criteria, the Ideal List, the interview process, the salary, the title, the
office/remote arrangement, and the job. Your potential employee has very little say in any of this until
they get hired.
In dating, the two people come together as equals, each with the ability to adjust to the needs of the
other. And this is a very big difference between dating and hiring.
And as far as Scooter with his missing incisors? Alas, we will not be meeting. I wish him the very best of
luck in his search.
Stay tuned!
by Beth | Oct 28, 2020 | Company Culture
To say that life is strange in 2020 is an understatement. The virtual workplace is a struggle! Do you log into Zoom and see Zombies disguised as employees? Those lifeless bodies that stare off into space? Does it feel like your company culture is dead?
Now that we are 8 months into the pandemic, we are starting to hear about concepts like “pandemic fatigue” and “Zoom fatigue”. People are so tired of not getting together in person, not having that daily interaction with others, and staring into a screen is causing our beloved employees to look and act ghostly!
If you look around the virtual Zoom room and see zombies on your staff, it is time to take stock of your current company culture. The pandemic has made relationships so strained, and when your people are looking ghostly, check in on them more often.
Now that some of the daily adjustments to the workplace have been made, take the time to address the humanity of your employees. Start your department meeting with updates from your people, both professionally and personally. Encourage your people to take time off, to log off at a reasonable time at night, and take care of themselves. A virtual happy hour is definitely better than nothing. A little appreciation in these trying times will go a long way toward employee health and well-being. And yours too!
And if that doesn’t work, try chocolate. (the real stuff- not virtual!)
