by Beth | Mar 27, 2024 | Employee Hiring
Ah, the broken hiring heart…
A few weeks back, a client of mine professed their undying love for a candidate, and another person on the interview team suggested that they might be setting themselves up for a broken hiring heart.
You know the one… that candidate that you get so excited about! They use all the right terms. They say your name in the interview. They did their research and asked great questions. You can’t WAIT to send them an offer letter!
Then, they ghost you. They turn you down. They do something egregious in the process. You try to call them…to convince them to work for you, but it NEVER works out.
You have a broken hiring heart, and it really is disheartening when this happens.
Here is how to heal that tender heart of yours:
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Take the next day off from interviewing. You really do need a day to be sad that this fleeting relationship didn’t work out. Be disappointed and feel the feels.
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Remind yourself of why you do what you do. Get re-connected to your purpose.
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Do some self-care: work out, drink water, walk outside, and sleep. You really will feel better in the morning.
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Go back to your ad. Does it still say what you need it to say?
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Finally, have heart: If they didn’t want to work with you now, they really won’t later when the going gets tough. You dodged a bullet.
Now, get out there and find “the one” that makes your heart sing! You got this!
POWER THOUGHT: Your heart was broken by a heartless candidate. It happens. Take heart! The “One” is on their way to you!
***Shout out to Jodie Reed for the idea!
by Beth | Mar 13, 2024 | Employee Hiring
A few weeks ago, I was meeting with my Indeed team and my A-list Interviews team over an ad that I had posted. It wasn’t getting much traction. And if you know me at all, you know that I review traction on ads as closely as my financial advisor looks at stock reports.
It can make or break my whole day.
Anyhoo, this particular ad was giving me heartburn, until one of my people said, “We need to figure out the Lateral Wiggle.”
Huh?
“Lateral wiggle.” In other words, what are the surrounding skill sets that can substitute for the ones you want? For example, Google sheets and Excel. Not quite the same but close. For my lenders, I have a bank that just hired a lender with no banking experience, but she came from many years with Enterprise. Lateral wiggle. For my Customer Service Reps, any experience with Starbucks, Chipotle, or Chick fil-A. They have the best customer service training programs that I have ever seen.
Approximately 50% of information on a resume is either exaggerated or an outright lie, so resumes are already suspect at best. When you are struggling to find the right fit, broaden your scope with lateral wiggle and a solid interview process, and wiggle your way into an amazing new employee!
POWER THOUGHT: Can’t find your great fit? Maybe it is time to wiggle.
by Beth | Feb 28, 2024 | Selecting Good Candidates
I am working with a client who is seeking a high-level executive. We received an application from a woman who wasn’t qualified for this particular position, but she was highly qualified for another opportunity within the company. The problem was that the salary for the position she qualified for was about 30k less. I called her to discuss the new opportunity, and I very clearly pointed out the difference in annual salary. She was in!
She interviewed with us 4 different times: the phone, 2 via zoom, and 1 in-person. She completed 3 different assignments, and she nailed the interviews. My client was very excited and made her an offer at the TOP of the range that we posted for that lower position.
5 days later, she requested 35k more than the offer.
In other words, she requested the salary from the original job that she applied for but ultimately wasn’t qualified.
My client called me to discuss this, because he had to cut her loose. Paying her that much would have thrown off the comp structure for his whole organization. But did we miss something?
Yes, we did. She never applied for the position that we considered her for. However, I still believe the risk in redirecting her was worth the potential reward. Why?
Because my client did something that REALLY good CEO’s do: he tried to take the opportunity and turn it into a win. He saw a highly talented person and tried to put her in a place that she ultimately didn’t want to be. It took us a while to figure this out.
I am proud of my client for taking a chance. Who knows? It could have worked out. And, when an applicant applies for a position and you offer them another one, make sure that the salaries are comparable. You will have a much better chance of success.
POWER THOUGHT: Pay attention to the position for which the applicant is applying. Maybe your round peg ends up being square after all.
by Beth | Feb 14, 2024 | Interview Process
My interview team and I had an amazing first interview a few months back. We were all talking about how great it went, when my client, the CEO, says, “Let’s blow the doors off and just hire this person!” The whole team looked stunned, until I said…
“Cool your jets, dude. We have the second interview, the third interview and reference checks before we make an offer.”
The CEO was mollified.
The second interview was even better. The Candidate REALLY knew their stuff, and the whole team was impressed. Again, the CEO says to me, “I am telling you, just hire them! Make a job offer!”
“Dude! Cool your jets! We have a third interview and reference checks!”
He said, “I really don’t think all of that is necessary.”
I said, “I know you don’t. I also know that you need this position filled. However, taking your time does benefit you in the long run. You will see.”
The third interview with this candidate was a disaster. They were late, not engaged, and “annoyed by having to come back a third time”. Boy, did their annoyance show.
The CEO was dead silent. The whole team was quiet. I said nothing. The CEO said to me “Did you know this was going to happen?” “No, I didn’t”, I said. “I can’t predict behavior, but when I am worried about nothing going into a third interview, I might as well tell them to not come. They will blow it every time.”
“Well thank God for the third interview. We really dodged a bullet.”
We didn’t hire that candidate, and the amazing candidate that we were looking for was right around the corner. We DID hire that one, and wow is she awesome! When you are too fast in an interview process you can make mistakes.
POWER THOUGHT: Slow your roll and cool your jets. You will be so glad that you did!
by Beth | Jan 31, 2024 | Employee Hiring
I had a client call me the other day and ask me this: “Beth, what do you do when you have a candidate that shows up late?”
“Tell me more about that,” I said.
“Well, we had a candidate show up late for their third interview. They just walked in 7 minutes late, sat down and didn’t say anything about being late. They have all of the skills that we want, they were great in their interview, and they are very friendly. We really like them!”
I responded with this: “How important is it that they are on time? How important is it that they meet deadlines? And, how important is it that they own up when they are late or going to miss a deadline? Do you want to take that risk?”
There was a long, long heavy sigh… Then, my client said, “Well shit.”
Here is the short answer to any interviewing dilemma: Let them.
Let them be late. Don’t save them. Don’t ask them to explain it, just let them be late. And for goodness sake, don’t hire them!
Let your candidates not do their homework. Let them not turn in homework early. Let candidates not answer your question fully and completely.
Trying to change a candidate in the interview process is going to be disastrous. And frankly, it just won’t lead you to the results that you are looking for.
POWER THOUGHT: Struggling with a candidate? Let them be who they are going to be.
***Conceptual credit to Mel Robbins
