by Beth | Feb 9, 2016 | Employee Hiring
About 5 years ago, I had an injury to my eye, and the eye doctor said that I could never wear contacts again. What a shock! I wasn’t happy about it, but the diagnosis was very clear. I had no choice. I bought a pair of glasses that I really liked, and I never looked back. Then, at my annual eye exam last week, my doctor suggested contacts. I couldn’t believe it. Apparently, contacts have dramatically improved, and there was a healthy option for me to now use. I was ecstatic!
So, imagine my surprise when I began wearing my new set of eyes, and I felt like something was missing. I would walk by a mirror and think “Who is THAT?” I noticed that I pushed my no-longer-existing glasses higher on my face several times a day and even poked myself in the eye. I smeared my mascara multiple times, and one time, I put my glasses on AFTER I put my contacts in. OOPS!
The adjustment period for me after I ditched my spectacles was at best unexpected, and at its worst, really uncomfortable. However, now that I am through the transition, I am loving life and seeing clearly!
In business, we often expect an adjustment period after an employee leaves. But honestly, the bigger adjustment happens when a new employee starts. Adding someone new to your team is a big change that can be awkward, even when you have hired the ideal A-list employee. The adjustment period not only affects you, but also the new employee, the other employees, clients and vendors. Now you may walk by their desk and think “Who is that?” or even poke yourself in the proverbial eye a few times while you all adjust, but as the employer it is your job to make that transition easier for all parties involved. Be patient with yourself and your team. As a result, you will all be able to see more clearly.
by Beth | Jan 22, 2016 | Adventures in Interviewing, Selecting Good Candidates
My daughter, Katy, received a text from a potential suitor that said “Your so pretty!” She showed me the text with a horrified look on her face and said “I’m sorry. If he doesn’t know the difference between your/you’re and to/two/too, then I am not interested!”
In my business, we receive hundreds of resumes for jobs per week and at least half of them have some sort of grammar and/or spelling error. Sometimes we interview them anyway because they have the experience that we are looking for, they wrote a “nice” cover letter or we decide to forgive that “one tiny mistake.” But here is the hard and fast truth: The easiest way to determine if the candidate is serious about the position is whether or not they took the extra 2 minutes to run spell check and proof their work. It really isn’t hard. It really doesn’t take much time. It really does make a difference.
So for those candidates that are continuously asking me for interviewing help, my best advice to get the interview is to please do a review of your materials before you send them. Better yet, have your neighbor, friend, significant other read your resume and cover letter, just for that extra set of eyes. And for my clients who ask, Yes! Grammar counts! Just ask my beloved teenage daughter!
P.S. May all boys within dating age of my daughter make grammatical errors like these. Amen.
by Beth | Dec 2, 2015 | Adventures in Interviewing, Employee Hiring, Interview Process
My personal trainer is Christine Neff, (a.k.a. Marquis de Sade). She has this wicked sense of humor as she gleefully kicks my butt all across the gym. I looked at her with this evil stare and she yells “Now there is that ‘I love you, Christine’ look!” Last week, she made me do push-ups. I hate push-ups! The reason that I hate push-ups is because I really struggle with them. They do not come easy to me. So, she says to me one day that the push up that I only ½ do is the very best one… Huh? “Your strength comes from the struggle,” she replied.
Finding the right person to hire is always a struggle, which is why my clients have difficulty with interviewing. You cannot just go online and place a special order for the right fit. You especially cannot get any deals or shortcuts when it comes to finding the right employee. You have to go through the 7 step interview process fully and completely, and yes, you may struggle. The person that you hire out of desperation, out of fear or out of panic will never work out for you. You have to complete the interview process in order to hire the brightest and the best; then when you finally do hire, it is SO satisfying!
When I met with Christine before Thanksgiving, I was able to finish 4½ whole push ups! The ½ push up was by far the hardest. But with arms shaking and sweating profusely, I struggled and I continue to get stronger.
Fist bump!
by Beth | Nov 18, 2015 | Adventures in Interviewing
There are some days when I help my clients with interviewing where we speak to people all day only to find no one qualified to move to the next interview. This can be really discouraging, but when we understand the importance of finding the right person for the job, we also understand that having no one to move forward is inherent to the process.
After a particularly difficult interview day where this exact scenario occurred, my client turned to me and said “I just want to thank you for your hard work and for hanging in there with me. I am really grateful for having you here.” WOW! It is wonderful to work with people that understand we do not always find the right person immediately. I am even more grateful that when this happens, they still see the value of the A-list Interviews process. As I drove home from the session, I had such a warm glow in my heart and it got me thinking…
Do I say “thank you” often enough, even in the face of adversity? I certainly hope so. If you have not heard “thank you” from me recently, I want to express my gratitude now. Some of you on this distribution list are amazing clients; some of you are incredible network partners or even people I have only met once at an event; some of you are people I perhaps have never met. Regardless, I sincerely appreciate your readership, partnership, trust and support over the years for myself and A-list Each and every one of you have contributed to my success in some way.
During the month of November, I find it timely to remind you all of my gratitude: gratitude for my clients, my vendors, my employee, my family and my friends. Quite simply, thank you.
And just as my client reminded me earlier this month that a simple thank you speaks volumes, I now pass it along to you and yours, and please know that I am eternally grateful for you all.
Muchas gracias! Merci! Thank you!
Beth Smith
by Beth | Oct 20, 2015 | Employee Hiring, Employee Retention, Leadership
Do you walk into your office and see Zombies disguised as employees? Those lifeless bodies that wander around thoughtlessly in packs? Have you ever thought about how they got that way?
New employees are so always excited to start their new job. I have heard many new hires talk about their first day on the job just like they talk about their first day of school… with excitement and a lot of awe. So how is it that years or even months into their employment with a company, they lose their passion for the job?
Because we suck the life out of them with too many constraints and not enough direction. We make it hard for them to do their jobs with petty rules. We don’t spend enough time training our new people, and we really don’t take the time to explain our expectations to them. All of the sudden, we have a lifeless body of the previously excited employee.
If you look around and see zombies on your staff, it is time to take stock in your interviewing process, your training program and your employee handbook. If you are dictating when someone can go to the bathroom, you are running a daycare, not a professional office. It is time for a re-do.
And if that doesn’t work, try chocolate.
