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Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Astronology - Valentine's Day: Friend or Foe of the Workplace?
Friday, February 05, 2010
Questions (Not) To Ask During an Interview
assertTrue( ) has a list of 9 question to ask during an interview on their website but I figured it would be a good idea to expand on their list of questions not to ask from the candidate and the interviewer. Here are 5 for each:
For the candidate:
1. Don't ask about time off. If you have a vacation planned after you're supposed to start the new position, there's a time and a place about it. But don't start your relationship with a hiring manager or human resource professional by talking about how much time you won't be spending in the office
2. Be careful about how you talk about your last/current employer. There are good reasons why you want to leave your job and then there are reasons that will send up huge red flags at your new company. Don't hide anything from them that they need to know...but don't start by talking about the body odor of your current boss.
3. Don't ask any question about the company you can find out on the website. There is a fine line between being interested about a company and finding out more and being lazy and just not searching the company's website before the interview. Actually, it isn't a fine line. Do your research before you step into the office.
4. Leave something non-essential off the resume. I feel that some question will come up that's best described by something that's not essential to be on the resume, but something which will describe you well. If you were president of an organization but that was years ago, you can talk about the initiative you took to climb up the ranks without having it as one line in a resume. Also, if there's something on your resume just to pad it, it may look like you're confused about your career path and/or using a generic resume. Don't do that.
5. Don't go in without any knowledge of who you'll be speaking with. Not everyone has a bio up on the website, but if they do, give it a little study. If they don't, ask the person who sets up the interview to tell you a little bit about who you'll be interviewing with. Eventually you'll get a chance to ask a question and you don't want to be totally stumped/totally unoriginal. If you've done the research into them, it'll pay off.
For the HR Professional/Hiring Manager
1. Don't be nervous. I guarantee the person sitting across from you is 100x more nervous that you are. If you're nervous, it'll make them nervous and make for a very awkward interview. Some people hate operating in this type of setting but you need to find a way to feel comfortable doing this.
2. Force the interviewee to go off script. Basically, don't ask only generic questions. Ask them something they will have to think about for a few seconds and show some creativity/problem solving skills in thinking. Maybe talk about a problem and see how they would solve it or ask them how they feel about something in current events relating to the job (or to something else). In one of my interviews for my current role, I spent more than half the time speaking about A-Rod opting out of his contract with the Yankees. It had nothing to do with the role, but it allowed me to show how I spoke, how I solved problems and my creative side. But most importantly, it forced me to go off script.
3. Read the resume before the interview. I've had way too many interviews where I could tell the person interviewing me had no clue anything about me. If you're expecting the candidate to be prepared and do research on the company, you should provide the same courtesy and do the minimal amount of research required to read their resume. It can also help you frame questions for #2.
4. Keep the interview moving. You're like the producer of a radio show. If the host or callers get off topic for too long, you're job is to move it along to the next step. Don't cut anyone off, but you can't allow an interviewer to just ramble. Part of any job is fitting what you need to say within a timeframe and this is great practice for it. Also, you don't want the interviewee veering into too many personal details, so keep it on track.
5. Know what the position requires. This seems like it should be above for "candidates" but I think this is just as important for interviewers. I had an interview where the job description, HR representative and hiring manager all gave me a different shpeel about what the position required. There's no easier way to confuse a candidate than not being all on the same page. I was asked about certain licenses that had nothing to do with the job and the HR rep thought I was wholly unqualified by the time she got done speaking with me, when, in fact, I had all the requirements listed on the job description. It's not considerate to the person being interviewed.
Hope those are some good hints. I figured it was a few non-obvious Dos and Do Nots for the interviewer and the interviewee.
For the candidate:
1. Don't ask about time off. If you have a vacation planned after you're supposed to start the new position, there's a time and a place about it. But don't start your relationship with a hiring manager or human resource professional by talking about how much time you won't be spending in the office
2. Be careful about how you talk about your last/current employer. There are good reasons why you want to leave your job and then there are reasons that will send up huge red flags at your new company. Don't hide anything from them that they need to know...but don't start by talking about the body odor of your current boss.
3. Don't ask any question about the company you can find out on the website. There is a fine line between being interested about a company and finding out more and being lazy and just not searching the company's website before the interview. Actually, it isn't a fine line. Do your research before you step into the office.
4. Leave something non-essential off the resume. I feel that some question will come up that's best described by something that's not essential to be on the resume, but something which will describe you well. If you were president of an organization but that was years ago, you can talk about the initiative you took to climb up the ranks without having it as one line in a resume. Also, if there's something on your resume just to pad it, it may look like you're confused about your career path and/or using a generic resume. Don't do that.
5. Don't go in without any knowledge of who you'll be speaking with. Not everyone has a bio up on the website, but if they do, give it a little study. If they don't, ask the person who sets up the interview to tell you a little bit about who you'll be interviewing with. Eventually you'll get a chance to ask a question and you don't want to be totally stumped/totally unoriginal. If you've done the research into them, it'll pay off.
For the HR Professional/Hiring Manager
1. Don't be nervous. I guarantee the person sitting across from you is 100x more nervous that you are. If you're nervous, it'll make them nervous and make for a very awkward interview. Some people hate operating in this type of setting but you need to find a way to feel comfortable doing this.
2. Force the interviewee to go off script. Basically, don't ask only generic questions. Ask them something they will have to think about for a few seconds and show some creativity/problem solving skills in thinking. Maybe talk about a problem and see how they would solve it or ask them how they feel about something in current events relating to the job (or to something else). In one of my interviews for my current role, I spent more than half the time speaking about A-Rod opting out of his contract with the Yankees. It had nothing to do with the role, but it allowed me to show how I spoke, how I solved problems and my creative side. But most importantly, it forced me to go off script.
3. Read the resume before the interview. I've had way too many interviews where I could tell the person interviewing me had no clue anything about me. If you're expecting the candidate to be prepared and do research on the company, you should provide the same courtesy and do the minimal amount of research required to read their resume. It can also help you frame questions for #2.
4. Keep the interview moving. You're like the producer of a radio show. If the host or callers get off topic for too long, you're job is to move it along to the next step. Don't cut anyone off, but you can't allow an interviewer to just ramble. Part of any job is fitting what you need to say within a timeframe and this is great practice for it. Also, you don't want the interviewee veering into too many personal details, so keep it on track.
5. Know what the position requires. This seems like it should be above for "candidates" but I think this is just as important for interviewers. I had an interview where the job description, HR representative and hiring manager all gave me a different shpeel about what the position required. There's no easier way to confuse a candidate than not being all on the same page. I was asked about certain licenses that had nothing to do with the job and the HR rep thought I was wholly unqualified by the time she got done speaking with me, when, in fact, I had all the requirements listed on the job description. It's not considerate to the person being interviewed.
Hope those are some good hints. I figured it was a few non-obvious Dos and Do Nots for the interviewer and the interviewee.
Monday, February 01, 2010
The Onion Takes On Job Performance Reviews
Since we all need a little laugh for our Monday, The Onion takes on job performance reviews, goal setting, inspirational posters, company retreats and many more subjects. With end-of-the-year performance reviews just completed, this may hit too close to home for some, but at least you can get a laugh out of it. Enjoy (a NSFW word slips out right after the 2 minute mark so if you're watching this at work, you may want to stop it at 2 minutes):
Obama To Hold Job Performance Review With Every American Worker
Obama To Hold Job Performance Review With Every American Worker
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Office Etiquette and Facebook as a Hiring Tool
We start off here on our Thursday with an article from Yahoo! and Forbes on Office Etiquette Essentials (H/T Wendy). This is not good news:
Next comes from itWorldCanada and says that using social networking platforms like Twitter and Facebook as talent sourcing tools may open up a company to potential legal repercussions.
Lastly, from Business Insurance, a court ruling from Florida that says that illegal immigrants are due workers comp benefits (H/T Jennifer)
Christine Pearson, professor of management at Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Ariz. and coauthor of The Cost of Bad Behavior, says 96% of Americans report experiencing rudeness at work, and 48% say they are treated uncivilly at least once a week.Ouch
This kind of manners meltdown can have a direct effect on the bottom line. According to surveys conducted by Pearson and her colleagues, 48% of poorly treated employees have intentionally decreased their productivity and 12% say the boorish behavior compelled them to quit. Workplace rudeness costs employers an average of $50,000 per worker. "There are very high costs associated with even seemingly inconsequential inconsiderate words and actions," adds Pearson.
Next comes from itWorldCanada and says that using social networking platforms like Twitter and Facebook as talent sourcing tools may open up a company to potential legal repercussions.
Lastly, from Business Insurance, a court ruling from Florida that says that illegal immigrants are due workers comp benefits (H/T Jennifer)
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Astronology - The Rising Cost of Healthcare..Can Small Business Keep Up?
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Monday, January 25, 2010
Real Unemployment and the Future of HR
We start you off on this Monday morning with a link from the Huffington Post which says that the real unemployment number is at a dismal 19% and we're 22.4 million jobs short of having a full unemployment rate of 5%. Ouch.
Speaking of the unemployed, The 405 Club (a great blog name) has a post about what really bothers the author about not having a full-time, steady, paying job.
Lastly, UpstartHR has a look at the future of HR and asks "is it you?" Some keys they give are:
Speaking of the unemployed, The 405 Club (a great blog name) has a post about what really bothers the author about not having a full-time, steady, paying job.
Lastly, UpstartHR has a look at the future of HR and asks "is it you?" Some keys they give are:
- Know what impact you want to have
- Ask smart questions
- Identify a potential path
- Take charge of your professional development
- Stay flexible
Friday, January 22, 2010
Jobs You Want and Jobs To Stay Away From
That's the theme of our Friday links as we get you ready for the weekend on the day a decade-old age discrimination suit was settled by the TV networks and studios according to The Wrap
Fortune and CNNMoney have the 100 best companies to work for--which may be an even more important list than the Fortune 500.
Glassdoor.com has their list of the best 50 places to work for (I wonder how many of those overlap...?)
Media Bistro (the website where I actually found this job and why I'm blogging to you right now) has a list of the most desired media jobs of 2009
Complain about your job? FoundValue Blog has 10 jobs they promise are worse than yours (though I know a LOT of people who would want #10).
The Springfield News-Leader has 10 steps to workplace happiness from some great professionals in the field.
Have a great weekend!
Fortune and CNNMoney have the 100 best companies to work for--which may be an even more important list than the Fortune 500.
Glassdoor.com has their list of the best 50 places to work for (I wonder how many of those overlap...?)
Media Bistro (the website where I actually found this job and why I'm blogging to you right now) has a list of the most desired media jobs of 2009
Complain about your job? FoundValue Blog has 10 jobs they promise are worse than yours (though I know a LOT of people who would want #10).
The Springfield News-Leader has 10 steps to workplace happiness from some great professionals in the field.
Have a great weekend!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
"A Common App" for Job Applications
Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day!
When I applied to college, I was happy to find out a school I was applying to used the "Common App". For those unfamiliar with it, this is basically a general college application that you could fill out once and then submit to all schools that would accept it. It saved me time and energy and focused me on finding the schools I was really interested in rather than worrying about what their application requirements were.
The other day I got to wondering: why can't we do this for job searches? Maybe we can call it the "Professional App". Really, why can't there be one generic job application that someone could fill out and submit to any companies that accepted it? Every job application a person fills out has the same information: Name, Address, Past Employment, Education. But for every job one applies to, they need to fill out a separate job application, manually inputting all the same information. Why can't this be standardized into one form? For each company you want to apply to, you can submit this form but still can personalize your cover letter and attached resume. And like the college-bound Common App, the Professional App could have specific answers for specific jobs as well, but keep the common information the same (in college apps these are essays, but in the Professional App, it could be specific questions for the job one would need to do).
For a company receiving applications, there could be benefits as well. They wouldn't have to spend as much money to host their own job application site. The companies would be able to receive applications in an easy-to-use format and would be able to differentiate between candidates easily. And companies should receive more candidates to choose from because of the ease of applying. They may get a few more "lazy" applicants, but with a cover letter still to write and interviews still to do, the talent pool would certainly grow.
Thoughts? Do you think this would work? Would your company use it?
When I applied to college, I was happy to find out a school I was applying to used the "Common App". For those unfamiliar with it, this is basically a general college application that you could fill out once and then submit to all schools that would accept it. It saved me time and energy and focused me on finding the schools I was really interested in rather than worrying about what their application requirements were.
The other day I got to wondering: why can't we do this for job searches? Maybe we can call it the "Professional App". Really, why can't there be one generic job application that someone could fill out and submit to any companies that accepted it? Every job application a person fills out has the same information: Name, Address, Past Employment, Education. But for every job one applies to, they need to fill out a separate job application, manually inputting all the same information. Why can't this be standardized into one form? For each company you want to apply to, you can submit this form but still can personalize your cover letter and attached resume. And like the college-bound Common App, the Professional App could have specific answers for specific jobs as well, but keep the common information the same (in college apps these are essays, but in the Professional App, it could be specific questions for the job one would need to do).
For a company receiving applications, there could be benefits as well. They wouldn't have to spend as much money to host their own job application site. The companies would be able to receive applications in an easy-to-use format and would be able to differentiate between candidates easily. And companies should receive more candidates to choose from because of the ease of applying. They may get a few more "lazy" applicants, but with a cover letter still to write and interviews still to do, the talent pool would certainly grow.
Thoughts? Do you think this would work? Would your company use it?
Friday, January 15, 2010
Avoiding Your Own Conan Situation
The late night airways have broken down into Jay Leno fans or "I'm With CoCo". NBC has decided to ditch Conan on The Tonight Show and move Jay Leno back to that time slot. This has caused a lot of animosity and bad public relations for NBC including an open airing of grievances by Conan towards his network and bosses.. But could this have all been avoided? The answer is probably "yes".
Harvard Business Review has some tips on how to avoid the Conan mistake. Although their comparison of the situation to Hideki Matsui's with the Yankees is totally off (Matsui was a free agent without a contract without any promises of future employment or promotion), the advice they give in the middle of the article is good for Human Resources professionals to take with them. The three main points of advice in the article are "avoid defensive talent strategies, place big talent bets, and diversify succession risk". Some pretty great advice there.
Gruntled Employee (a great name for a blog) talks about the situation further and said that Conan's statement put him ahead of his employer and it's shown to be true throughout the whole situation.
And, lastly, the rest of the late night hosts take aim at NBC, including, most amazingly, that second clip with Jimmy Kimmel taking down Jay Leno.
This is not a good situation for NBC, but the whole thing could have been avoided with some patience and smart PR.
Harvard Business Review has some tips on how to avoid the Conan mistake. Although their comparison of the situation to Hideki Matsui's with the Yankees is totally off (Matsui was a free agent without a contract without any promises of future employment or promotion), the advice they give in the middle of the article is good for Human Resources professionals to take with them. The three main points of advice in the article are "avoid defensive talent strategies, place big talent bets, and diversify succession risk". Some pretty great advice there.
Gruntled Employee (a great name for a blog) talks about the situation further and said that Conan's statement put him ahead of his employer and it's shown to be true throughout the whole situation.
And, lastly, the rest of the late night hosts take aim at NBC, including, most amazingly, that second clip with Jimmy Kimmel taking down Jay Leno.
This is not a good situation for NBC, but the whole thing could have been avoided with some patience and smart PR.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Astronology - Retaining Talented and High Performing Management Staff
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Be Careful How Much Data Your Employees Can Access
Gawker today has an account of why you shouldn't trust Facebook with your data. The post talks about how employees, equipped with too much access and loose internal controls on private data, have sometimes abused that data at the social media giant. One section of the post certainly resonated with me:
Sensitive data hoards inevitably attract attempts at unauthorized access. Whether it's hospital employees peaking at celebrity medical records or federal workers abusing their wiretap access 100 times in two tears (dubiously claiming it was an "accident"), people confronted with a pile of information feel compelled to start digging.Sometimes it's important to trust employees with massive amounts of data but the key is to place strict controls over personal data and limit access to only select individuals with terms of use of that data. Facebook is lucky that this problem seems to be handled in house, but lax controls on employees like Facebook seems to employ leaves the company way to vulnerable for lawsuits should this information be abused in a way which harms the user. Tempting employees with unrestricted access leaves the company in this position.
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