by Beth | Feb 8, 2023 | Employee Hiring
When I bought my house several years ago, I hung a Texas Longhorn flag over my garage. It has become a marker!
My friend, Meryem, came over on Sunday and said, “Your flag needs to be re-hung.”
“It tore from the wind. I need to order a new one,” I responded.
“Well, whatever you do, don’t get rid of it! That flag is how I know your house,” she exclaimed.
She isn’t the only friend to tell me this.
So, what does my Longhorn flag have to do with hiring and recruiting?
It is your job as a business leader to lead your candidates through the hiring process with signposts. Your process should be clearly marked, so your candidates know where they are and where they are headed. In other words, don’t make your candidates jump through so many hoops that they get lost. Your ad should be short, sweet and to the point. Your website should have a button that says apply here. Your applicant tracking system (ATS) shouldn’t make your candidate input all of the data that is written on their resume. It should NEVER take a candidate HOURS to apply. They will get frustrated and rightly so. Tell them in the interview when they will have answers from you and meet that deadline.
Lead your potential candidates through the process with a clearly marked trail. They will be so grateful, and you will have your pick of great staff.
POWER THOUGHT: Flag great candidates with a clearly marked hiring process.
by Beth | Dec 14, 2022 | Employee Hiring, Interview Process, Interview Techniques, Selecting Good Candidates
Over the Thanksgiving holiday a few years ago, 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 candidate’s 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 important in an interview which can lead to a bad hire. You can also really embarrass yourself in front of your beloved daughter.
POWER THOUGHT: Did you really hear what you thought you heard?
by Beth | Sep 21, 2022 | Employee Hiring
For the past several months I have spoken to 11 groups of CEOs, and every group has asked the same question: “Where are all the people?” “What secret island has all of the employees on it?” AND the unemployment rate isn’t zero, so where are all of the candidates?
In February, The New York Times published an article https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/02/briefing/labor-shortage-part-time-workers-us.html that talks about part-time workers in this market, and many of those want full-time.
Bottom line: there seems to be a disconnect between workers wanting full-time employment and the employers who want full-time workers. What is that disconnect???
What if it is artificial intelligence? As a certified recruiter for Indeed.com, we have noticed that several of the job boards are sending resumes that are titled “Most Compatible” (even though most applications AREN’T), which means that you aren’t receiving the “less compatible” applications. In other words, some computer program somewhere is deciding for you whose application you get to see, and whose application you don’t get to see.
To be fair to Indeed.com and ZipRecruiter, most job boards have some sort of artificial intelligence to help employers sort resumes. They are trying to solve the problem that employers have been complaining about for years; they are overwhelmed with applicants. In order to pare down the candidate pools, artificial intelligence has been incorporated by most job boards to pre-sort.
From a recruiting standpoint, I am giving my clients these 5 tips:
1) Don’t just rely on job boards for recruiting
2) Utilize your website for applications
3) Utilize job fairs (there are a number of them going on!)
4) Use Craig’s List, because it doesn’t utilize artificial intelligence
5) Use physical job boards outside the office of your child’s school or grocery stores
And finally, keep the faith. This will sort itself out. It always does.
POWER THOUGHT: Maybe the labor shortage is a computer glitch.
by Beth | Jul 27, 2022 | Employee Hiring, Employee Retention, Interview Techniques, Recruiting
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by Beth | Jun 15, 2022 | Employee Hiring
I had a client call me last week with a question of whether or not to re-hire a former employee, and I am positive that he isn’t the only one thinking about it. In addition, it seems that employees are thinking about it too. According to Monster, 30% of former employees are trying to go back to their old jobs, with an additional 20% are thinking about it:
So, what I said to my client is “well, it depends.” Here are some things to think about if you want to re-hire a former employee:
1. Did your re-hire “leave well” by giving you notice and wrapping up projects before their departure? Did they leave on good terms and help with creating a job description or training their replacement? Remember that the way your employee left you the first time will most likely be the way that they leave you the second time.
2. Will your re-hire add value to your current culture? Chances are your business has changed since your employee has left. Make sure that this person is still a fit for your business and the position.
3. Realize that it may be short term. If your re-hire left once, it is most likely because certain needs were not being met. Are those needs being met now? What has changed since their last period of employment with you? Make sure that you both address those un-met needs before bringing them back on board.
One of my former colleagues in the restaurant industry often had kitchen staff that would periodically leave for more money, less hours, etc. He always thanked them for their service and let them pursue the new opportunity. Invariably, they would realize that life was not always greener on the other side of the fence and would try to come back. The ones that left well with integrity and honesty were hired back immediately. Those who left ungracefully, were not hired back.
POWER THOUGHT: Going back to an old employee is sometimes just that: going backwards.
by Beth | May 4, 2022 | Employee Hiring
I am interviewing with one of my favorite clients for a high-level employee making in the 6 figures. A gentleman that we interviewed trashed his last boss, and then asked what type of product we sell. The name of the product is in the company name. He continued to ask questions that would have easily been answered if he had gone to the website for a mere 5 minutes. He chose not to do any research.
My client said, “He sounds like the type of guy that shows up to the gym in jeans.”
Being prepared when you are interviewing for a job is simply a MUST. If you aren’t willing to do even a little bit of research on the company with whom you are interviewing, that is a direct reflection of your (dis)interest in the company and a job.
On the flip side, you as the employer must also be prepared for your interview. Know their name. Have the job description in front of you, so that you can answer questions about expectations. Also, know ahead of time the pay, who the supervisor will be, what the training program will look like and who will be in charge of that process.
POWER THOUGHT: Don’t sweat hiring! Show up raring to go! (In the right clothes, of course!)
