by Beth | Oct 16, 2019 | Employee Hiring, Hiring Managers, Interview Process, Interview Techniques, Interviewing Questions
I have a client who asks candidates this question: “If you were a type of cheese, which would it be?” The question makes people laugh and we have had some pretty clever responses. “Pepper Jack: I’m spicy!” and “Any one of them except blue cheese, because that one stinks!” are among a few of the responses I’ve heard so far.
For a cheese maker, a chef and perhaps a dairy farmer, this question might be appropriate. Perhaps even a marketing position could warrant this question as you might be measuring a person’s creativity.
However for most industries and positions, the information you are getting by asking that question is like just like Swiss cheese – full of holes. How does a description of cheese really evaluate the candidate’s qualities, passion for their work and integrity? Would you eliminate them from your candidate pool if they described themselves as Velveeta?
Focus on asking measurable questions in your interview and truly listen to your candidates. It is really the best way to get the relevant information that you need. Anything else is, well… cheesy!
by Beth | Oct 2, 2019 | Good Management, Hiring Managers, Leadership
I am excited to be featured on a very important podcast today on the Future of Leadership. Please check it out by clicking the links below:
by Beth | Aug 14, 2019 | Good Management, Leadership, Lifestyle
This year, I’m taking two weeks off work to move my daughter to college. While this brings about a mix of emotions for my family, I know how important it is for me to be there with her to start her journey as a college student. It brings up an important topic that I preach to my clients often – everyone needs time away from work, whether it be for important milestones in their personal lives, or for a vacation that allows them time to rejuvenate, recuperate, and come back to work in a better place!
The fact remains that people need time away from work, even when you own the company, like me. Some of my clients get really excited when a candidate will tell us in an interview that they NEVER take vacations. I actually think that this is a negative. Inspiration rarely comes to someone sitting in their office answering emails. Inspiration comes from experiences and usually those come after office hours.
As a nation, we are not good at taking vacation anyway. We feel that we can’t get away, we can’t unplug or we might miss something. I think we miss things when we DON’T take time off.
So, when your employees want to take vacation time, praise them for it. Say thank you. Then ask them what you can do to help facilitate their vacation time so they are not performing work while away. Not only will they think that you are the greatest boss ever, but they will come back recharged, renewed and inspired. Your business will benefit, and therefore, so will you. Maybe then you can take some time off too.
I will be back in the saddle soon enough, grateful I took the time to be with my daughter on her journey to college, and ready to tackle work with renewed energy and vision. And, with any luck, I will have that killer tan!
by Beth | Apr 25, 2019 | Adventures in Interviewing, Interview Process
I am currently interviewing for a Vice President in an up and coming technology company. We recently flew in a promising candidate in order to discuss the position further. When asked to describe the best job he had ever had, he said, “I was a hot dog vendor in the red-light district, and I got to hang out with the ladies of evening.” Then he laughed.
This candidate checked off all of our other boxes: he had held the position before in another growing tech firm, he had the leadership skills that we wanted, and he was eager to get started, but this comment stopped us in our tracks.
As we discussed the candidate after the interview, one member of the interview team said that the candidate was “just joking” and we shouldn’t hold that comment against him.
But what if he wasn’t joking? There is a really big potential risk to take on when a candidate alludes to sex in an interview.
The bottom line is this: referring to and/or alluding to sex in a professional interview is completely inappropriate, no matter what the company, the product, the experience or the position. Whether this candidate meant to or not, you as the employer can’t under any circumstances take on that risk. It puts all of your other employees in a terrible position should this candidate not limit his inappropriateness to the interview process.
In other words, we can’t assume that he was joking. Next!
by Beth | Feb 28, 2019 | Leadership, Recruiting
About ten years ago, I had a chance to meet with a very successful venture capitalist to discuss my business. I had an idea that someone in the v.c. world might be a great referral partner for me, as great staff increases value in a company.
The kind gentleman who I connected and scheduled with thought that I had come to make a pitch for money, which I wasn’t interested in at the time. So, to be fair, our agendas weren’t in alignment from the beginning.
I walked into the office, and he had a speed chess timer set for 15:00 minutes. He started the timer rolling and waited for me to begin.
When I was about 3 minutes into my spiel, he stopped me and said, “Staffing professionals are all the same. They drop the same statistics and do not talk about how to solve the problem of hiring the wrong people.” With this statement, he rose. Our interaction was clearly over. I left at 6 ½ minutes.
That 6 ½ minutes changed my life.
I realized that my “pitch” was totally wrong even if my intention at the time was not about raising funds. It occurred to me that focusing on the fear around the issue of hiring did not inspire anyone, from venture capitalist to employer to my client. Everyone knows that the hiring process is broken; my repeating that fact helps no one.
Since then, I have changed my pitch completely to EXCLUDE any fear-based language, and to INCLUDE my story (the bad hiring mistake that made national news) and educational language. I talk about how I can help my potential clients find the right people so that they can grow their businesses and meet their missions.
If you are really struggling to find the right people, if you cannot seem to get the outcome that you want, change your messaging. Change the wording on your job advertisement. Describe the position differently. Talk about WHO you want, not what skills you want. In other words, transform your pitch.
And to the Venture Capitalist that I met so many years ago, thank you for the 6 ½ minutes of your time that completely change the trajectory of my business and my life. I am deeply indebted.
