The World of Human Capital

The Daily Recruiter posted a nice article that lists 10 questions you can ask the interviewer.  It is always a great idea to have questions prepared to ask about the position, the company, culture, etc.  If you are lacking ideas, here are a few to get you started:

• Can you describe a typical day for someone in this position?
• What are this position’s biggest challenges?
• What are the prospects of advancement?
• Why do you enjoy working at the company?

This is a good article covering ways in which you can improve your communication skills:

1. Be receptive to what others say
   While it’s good to enter the communication with a clear objective of what you want, don’t be so focused on it that you tune out on important messages the person is trying to communicate. Don’t expect the answers to come in a certain manner and certain style. Have a focus and at the same time keep your mind open.

   Even if the people come across as critical, learn to deal with critical people and be open to criticism. Many people are quick to shut out criticisms but in the process they lose out on a lot of valuable advice and feedback. Don’t take criticisms personally. Look for the message in the criticisms instead. Ask yourself: “What made the person say this? What lessons can I take away from this? How does this relate to my situation?” With an open mind, you can have more answers to what you seek.

2. Look out for the subtext
   Subtext is the underlying message of the communication. It’s more well-known as “reading between the lines”. Many misunderstandings between people (especially between females and males) occur because they take each other too literally, vis-a-vis responding to the subtexts. To sieve out subtexts accurately, you have to listen actively to what’s communicated and be observant. Watch out for hand gestures, body language, speed of voice and tonality of voice. The most important points of the communication are usually not openly articulated. Knowing how to read the subtext will take you a long way in building great relationships.
3. Be positive
   By being positive, it means to be generous with your emotions, such as love and kindness. Have you ever communicated with emotionally stingy people? These people are critical all the time. They keep harping on a small mistake and pinpointing every “issue” they can find. It feels suffocating and draining to be around them.

   On the other hand, being an emotionally generous person makes you more endearing to be around. Focus more on the positive areas and not the negative ones. Show genuine care and concern for the person’s well-being. Give praise where it’s deserved. People will look forward to interacting with you because they feel happier and uplifted doing so.

4. Respect the person
   Any successful communication can only take place with mutual respect. If you don’t respect the person first and foremost, it’ll show itself during the conversation.

   Acknowledge the person’s background, expertise and capabilities. Acknowledge the person’s position as the owner of his/her life. Even if it’s a colleague you dislike, respect him/her for what he/she has done. How do you feel if the people who speak to you don’t respect you? That’s going to be how the other party feels. Not only that, you can’t expect others to respect you if you don’t first respect them, can you?

5. Maintain eye contact
   Looking at the speaker in the eye is a reassuring way of letting the person know you are there and listening. You don’t have to be staring 100% of the time. Just maintain the gaze long enough whenever he/she looks over, and give a reaffirming nod every once in a while. You don’t want him/her thinking you are zoning out when you are really listening.
6. Don’t interrupt the person (unless there is good reason)
   Don’t cut in unnecessarily. Even if the person is long-winded, at the very least give him/her a few chances to fully express himself/herself before jumping in. Sometimes, you may think you know what the person is going to say next, but you may actually be wrong. There have been times when the other party says something that’s completely different from what I thought he/she would say.

   I’ve been out with people who are extremely long-winded – they can literally go on-and-on for 30 minutes, talking and talking, without realizing the people around have switched off. When you face such people, let them finish talking for the first few times. If subsequent replies are as lengthy, then chances are the person is very fogged up in his/her thinking pattern. Help him/her zoom down to the answer through the right questions. (Tip #9)

7. When in doubt, ask
   It’s easy to assume, but as the old saying goes, when you assume, you make an ASS out of U and ME. Everyone you talk to is a whole new person, so don’t think what applies to person X will automatically apply to person Y too. Erase all beliefs you formed of others and start off the communication on a whole new slate. When in doubt, ask for more details. Get all the facts before making any conclusion.

   A good habit is to ask a clarifying question every time the person finishes talking so you know you got the right message. This goes a long way in a good conversation (and relationship).

8. Mirror the person
   Mirroring is the behavior in which one person copies another person usually while in social interaction with them. It may include miming gestures, movements, body language, muscle tensions, expressions, tones, eye movements, breathing, tempo, accent, attitude, choice of words/metaphors and other aspects of communication. (Wikipedia)

   Mirroring is more of a strategy to facilitate communication, rather than the key to good communication. Avoid relying on it solely, and don’t overdo it too. Trying to mirror someone 100% will only make you look like an empty shell. That being said, mirroring does help you to ease into the right “state” for communication. The next time you speak to someone, try to mirror the key body movements. If the person is sitting in a slouched position, slouch and match your eye at the same level. If the person is smiling, smile along with him/her. This will encourage him/her to open up more.

9. To get the right answers, ask the right questions
   Every conversation is made up of questions and answers. Being a better communicator requires you to know what are the right questions to ask, so you can forward the conversation the right way. The direction of the conversation and the type of answers you get is dependent on the quality of your questions.

   There are several types of questions. The 1st is open questions. You ask these when you want the person to openly share about something. Example: “What happened?” or “How did the meeting go?”. The 2nd is probing questions. These are pin-pointed to uncover more about a particular topic. For example: “What made you think this way?”, “What are you unhappy about?” or “What did he do to you?”. The 3rd is close-ended questions. You ask these to get a quick yes/no answer on areas you already have specific thoughts on. These help to advance the conversation quickly. Using a combination of these questions help you create the best communication experience.

10. Connect with genuinity
    Ultimately, it’s all about genuine connection. As long as you are communicating with the best intentions, and a sincere desire to know the person better, nothing can go wrong. When I talk to others, I prefer to let my best intentions guide me, and leave other technicalities as secondary. I find that’s the most effective way to reach out. For example, even though I’ve never studied NLP on a professional level, I found that many things I intuitively do in communication are in line with what is taught in NLP (such as mirroring, matching). In the end, let your heart lead the way and the rest will follow.

I stumbled across an interesting article that discusses why HR should not be involved in the hiring process.  For the most part, I agree with what was stated, but some organizations have made a conscientious effort to bring in subject matter experts as recruiters to filter through the resumes.

Below is the full article by Lorraine Arams (or you can read the entire article here).

Why Human Resources Should Not Be Involved in Hiring

What a statement! Of course, most would say, HR is the logical department to receive resumes, review them and send the “best” candidate resumes on to the hiring manager for consideration. I say it is not.

First, the reliance on computers to do resume scanning is a poor idea. There is nothing like scanning resumes with the human eye. The human to human connection cannot be duplicated by a computer which is based on data, matching fields and precision.

The applicants may not have the exact phrasing or words to meet the parameters set by the HR department. We all know that there are thousands of words which mean the same thing especially in the English language where the nuances of any particular word or phrase can be at opposite ends of the spectrum.

It is said that you “beat the scan” by looking at the ad and populating your resume with the same words as utilized in the ad.

That’s disrespectful and dishonest. Why? Because it is only regurgitating what people want to hear – just like in university – your paper has a better chance of getting an A+ if the paper reflects and proves the ideas of the professor. Is that thinking? Of course not. Yet, it is said a person goes to university to learn to think.

Same principles apply to resumes. If you only tell people what they want to hear, then you, as a candidate are disrespecting yourself and your achievements. Yes, I realize, a person needs to get their foot in the door and “play the game”, as ridiculous as it is. When reviewing resumes, the person reading them must first understand the job, know the type of person being sought, and get the “feeling” of the person applying by reading their cover letters. HR cannot possibly understand all those factors – they are not the manager.

Second, HR generally has no idea what it takes to do the job, what characteristics would be ideal and what “out of the box” knowledge and experience would enhance the performance on the job. Again, it’s a human factor and, if the manager is involved with the people she/he supervises, the manager would understand those nuances. No amount of training can be a substitute for this human understanding.

Thirdly, there is no accounting for chemistry. What attracts people to other people? No one knows. In the centuries humans have existed, it is still a mystery how that magical force between two people can manifest itself. Often, a manager, by reading the cover letter, will get a message that simply cannot be transmitted in a resume, especially one designed for computer scanning and with which HR simply cannot connect.

If any company truly wants to hire the “best person for the job”, it would get rid of computers for scanning resumes. Computers simply cannot “understand” the nuances nor do proper matching mainly because no human can be that exact.

Next, only the manager should review any and all resumes. I can hear it now – there are a couple of hundred resumes coming in – how can the manager have the time to review them? They can. There have always been a lot of resumes received for job postings – it’s nothing new. The resumes don’t arrive all at once. Many of the resumes submitted and cover letters can be read very quickly. How do I know? Because I’ve done it – always – no one could possibly know or understand what I could while reading these documents.

Lastly, only the manager can pick up on the “chemistry” that matches her/his own. No one can do that for the manager. And since the manager should understand the jobs of the people she/he supervises, then they will also understand the “extra factors” which may enhance performance in the job.

So often I reviewed resumes to find skills and abilities I had not thought to include in the job description or ad but my instinct and understanding told me that, though the person’s experience was not precisely what we were looking for, there were many skills, abilities and experiences which could very well fit. Often, I found, in these situations, very good employees because I chose “outside the box”, outside the parameters first laid out. No one can ever dream up all the different combinations of knowledge, skills and experience which can easily transfer into an opening.

Hiring is an art, it’s not data driven. The sooner we understand that process, the sooner we will return to sane means of hiring, human ways of engaging the “right” people and get managers back “on the floor” of their department, understanding exactly what their people do and what it will take to replace them.

That’s why Human Resources should not be involved in the hiring process. No matter how skilled, experienced or knowledgeable they are in the HR Department, they simply cannot possess a duplicate what is in a manager’s mind and, therefore, understand what a manager will “see” that HR cannot.

My experience has been garnered within many types of industries. My forte as a consulting is in designing and implementing organization appropriate systems and procedures to effect positive changes in efficiency, effectiveness and productivity. Along with my consulting practice, I offer personal coaching and workshops.

This is one of the more frequently asked questions that I get every day as job seekers want to know how long their resume should be.  Unfortunately I usually answer with “it depends”.  I don’t like this answer and neither do most of the people who ask the question.  I believe it depends on how many years experience you have.  As a rough rule of thumb, if you have less than 5 years of experience, you should be able to keep your resume to one page.  If you have over five years, it MIGHT be necessary to go onto the second page.  I use the word “might” as you are not required to have a two page resume if you have over five years of post-undergrad experience.

If you have determined you need to have a second page, make sure you fill the page entirely.  Don’t have a second page with three lines or bullet points on it.  If you needed that second page, then fill the page.  By looking at it from this point of view, you will  realize that you don’t have enough important and relevant information to put on your resume to warrant a second page and you will trim some fat from the resume to clean it up.

Feel free to offer up some questions if you are unsure if your resume should be one or two pages.

Well you made it through the interview and now the waiting games begin.  The evening of your interview, when you are at home, send a thank you email to everyone that you met with.  Important, do not CC everyone you met with, send them all a separate email.  If you are unsure what to say, I would be specific in mentioning a couple areas of the discussion that were most appealing to you.  Whether it was a function of the job or a hobby that you both have in common.  Then mention that you look forward to working together in the near future.  Lastly, thank them for taking the time to meet with you.  You want to keep it short and simple.

I am also a bit old school in that I think a hand written thank you letter is a nice touch as well.  I recommend the email as it is more immediate in case the hiring company is moving quickly through the hiring process.  If you know that the process is going to take a while or that nothing is going to happen for a week, then you can just write a thank you letter and put it in the mail.  Once again, keep it short and stick to the couple topics that I mentioned above.

Before you concluded your interview, the hiring company should have given you a time frame on when they are going to move onto the next step in their hiring process.  If you haven’t heard anything by this date, feel free to send the HR contact or hiring manager an email and mention a couple days and times that would you be available to come in and meet with them again.  You can also ask if they would be interested in seeing a list of your references.  At this point, they will either give you another update and it will either include a possible interview date or worst case scenario, that they hired someone.

At least this will provide you with information as to the status of this job and you can update your notes and either wait for the next interview or cross if off your list and move onto the next one.

The big day is here and you have your interview later today.  First, make sure you got a good nights rest and had a good breakfast.  It is the simple things that help you start off on the right foot.

Time to get dressed – dress professionally, for every interview.  Even if you know the client is business casual, dress up as you need to make a strong and lasting first impression.  Limit the amount of jewelry that you wear and try to take out all piercings (other than ear piercings).  Also don’t wear perfume/cologne as everyone has their own definition of “too much”.

Before you leave the house, make sure you have printed out a map with directions of where you will be going.  Also, print out extra copies of your resume.  If you will be meeting with three people, bring four (4) copies.  This is a precaution in case you end up meeting with one extra person.  Put all your resume copies and notes into a portfolio and off you go.

Make sure you get arrive 15-20 minutes early.  Take a few minutes in your car to compose yourself, put everything together and relax after any road rage you had on the drive over.  About 10-15 minutes before your interview, head into the building and greet the receptionist.  Use your cell phone to check this time as it will be more accurate than your car clock.  When you are done, put your cell phone in your glovebox or arm rest.  Yes, leave your phone in the car.  It will be okay to be away from your phone for an hour.  I know, the separation anxiety might hurt, but it is better than your phone going off in the middle of an interview.

Depending on the size of the company you are meeting with, the receptionist can play a part in whether or not you get the job.  Be nice, treat them with respect, and feel free to start small talk with them.

When your interviewer shows up, walk over and shake their hand.  Many people have talked about the handshake previously.  It is important, but keep it simple.  The handshake should be firm and brief.  You don’t want a limp hand and on the opposite end, you don’t want an extra firm handshake that lasts too long.  Keep it strong, confident, and short.

As you walk back to the interviewers office, feel free to start some small talk if they haven’t.  If it is a Monday, you can ask about their weekend and if they did anything interesting.  If you live in Colorado or another outdoors state, ask if they did anything exciting, skiing, hiking, bike ride, etc.  You can also try general questions.  Instead of asking “how are you”?  Try something like, “how is your day going”?  This might give you insight to a project that the department/company is working on and might lead to another conversation piece.

Once you arrive at their office, find a good time to stop the small talk and let them know you are ready to get down to business and start the interview.  Most interviews will start with the “tell me about yourself” or “what do you know about XYZ Company” or “what do you know about the job opening”.  Be prepared for these questions and other typical interview questions.

Also make sure that you have questions prepared for the interviewer.  This is a big mistake and I have seen candidates not offered the job as it gives the impression that you haven’t done your homework about the company or the position.

When you feel the interview is wrapping up, ask the interviewer if they have any other questions or concerns (about your background/skill set).  Then, if you are still interested in the job after the interview, express it.  Tell them that you are very interested in the position and ask them what is the next step in the process.  Then ask them for their business card and thank them for their time.  Later that evening or the following morning (within 24 hours) be sure to write a thank you letter.  I tend to prefer handwritten letters, but when the interview process is going to move quickly, send an email as they may not receive the letter in the mail before making their decision.  Or do both – best of both worlds.

Do you have any areas of the interview that you struggle with?

The majority of people I speak with ask if they should include a cover letter when applying to a job.  My suggestion, don’t include a cover letter.

There are several reasons I believe that cover letters are a waste of time and are rarely ever read by HR or hiring managers.  Everyone has a busy schedule and never enough time in the day.  When companies are receiving hundreds of resumes a day for job openings, they don’t have time to read everyone’s cover letter.  They want to get to the resume and see what you can bring to the table.  So they get to the meat of the resume and want to see your professional experience, accomplishments, education background, and professional affiliations.  The WSJ published a story a few years discussing how long it takes a professional to review a resume and on average they spent 7 seconds.  That means you need your information to stand out, be easy to read/scan through, and to make an impact.  Once that time was up, they would then make a determination if they wanted to spend more time reading the resume or move onto the next one.

There are a few companies out there that will require a cover letter.  If you are stuck having to write one, please write a cover letter specific to the job you are applying for.  Make sure it isn’t referencing another job you applied for or talking in generalities.  Look at the job description and the bullet points under the job responsibilities and experience requirements.  Then sit down and formulate a plan to write out your cover letter addressing how you are qualified and summarizing why you can do the job.  Don’t specify a quantified salary requirement – say negotiable.

It is okay however, to write a few brief sentences in the body of the email introducing yourself and stating that you have attached your resume.  I am curious how many of you are including cover letters when you apply to a job?  Feel free to comment.

We are in a unique job market that many people have not experienced before.  Over the past two years, employers have been going through layoffs and reducing headcount.  Some of these employees who were let go saw this coming and to others, it was a total surprise.  Currently employers are doing whatever they can to retain their best employees even though they have increased the cost of medical coverage for their employees, or eliminated all bonus, or even reduced salaries.  On the flip side, employees are being recruited now just as much as before and top talent is always in high demand.

Even though many companies might be struggling to grow or business might be down, there is that inherent drive to further one’s career and to be better.  To move up in the corporate ladder and to be challenged.  This has driven employees to consider new opportunities in their career and have an open ear when someone tells them about another possible job.

The difficult part comes when you have to tell your boss that you are leaving for a better opportunity and they lay a guilt trip on you.  And since your boss can’t afford to lose anyone else on the team, they will say and do whatever it takes to get you to stay, including a counteroffer.  They will promise you more money, a promotion, and/or more challenging work.  What should you do now?  Say “NO”.

By accepting a counteroffer, you are only putting a band-aid on a bigger problem.  Now your employer knows that you aren’t happy, they know you aren’t loyal, and they know it is only a matter of time before you will leave.  You should ask yourself, what did it have to come to this in order for my employer to finally give me a promotion or a raise.  If you Ggoogle “Should I accept a counter offer” you will find a plethora of websites instructing you not to EVER accept a counteroffer.

Below I have copied an article from Paul Hawkinson that was originally published in the Fordyce Letter:

Counteroffer Acceptance Road to Career Ruin A raise won’t permanently cushion thorns in the nest

Matthew Henry, the 17^lh-Century Writer said, “Many a dangerous temptation comes to us in fine gay colours that are but skin deep.” The same can be said for counteroffers* those magnetic enticements designed to lure you back into the nest after you’ve decided it’s time to fly away.

The litany of horror stories I have come across in my years as an executive recruiter, consultant and publisher, provides a litmus test that clearly indicates counteroffers should never be accepted…EVER!

I define a counteroffer simply as an inducement from your current employer to get you to stay after you’ve announced your intention to take another job. We’re not talking about those instances when you receive an offer but don’t tell your boss. Nor are we discussing offers that you never intended to take, yet tell your employer about anyway as a “they-want-me-but-I’m-staying-with-you” ploy.

These are merely astute positioning tactics you may choose to use to reinforce your worth by letting your boss know you have other options. Mention of a true counteroffer, however, carries an actual threat to quit,

Interviews with employers who make counteroffers, and employees who accept them, have shown that  as tempting as they may be, acceptance may cause career suicide. During the past 20 years, I have seen only isolated incidents in which an accepted counteroffer has benefited the employee.

Consider the problem in its proper perspective.

What really goes through a boss’s mind when someone quits?

• “This couldn’t be happening at a worse time.”

• “This is one of my best people, If I let him quit now, it’ll wreak havoc on the morale of the department,”

• “I’ve already got one opening in my department. I don’t need another right now.”

• “This will probably screw up the entire vacation schedule.”

• “I’m working as hard as I can, and I don’t need to do his work, too.”

• “If I lose another good employee, the company might decide to ‘lose’ me too.”

• “My review is coming up and this will make me look bad.”

• “Maybe I can keep him on until I find a suitable replacement.”

What will the boss say to keep you in the nest? Some of these comments are common.

• “I’m really shocked, I thought you were as happy with us as we are with you. Let’s discuss it before you make your final decision.”

• “Aw gee, I’ve been meaning to tell you about the great plans we have for you, but it’s been confidential until now.”

• ‘The VP has you in mind for some exciting and expanding responsibilities.”

• ” Your raise was scheduled to go into effect next quarter, but we’ll make it effective immediately.”

• “You’re going to work for who?”

Let’s face it. When someone quits, it’s a direct reflection on the boss. Unless you’re really incompetent or a destructive thorn in his side, the boss might look bad by “allowing” you to go. His gut reaction is to do what has to be done to keep you from leaving until he’s ready. That’s human nature. Unfortunately, it’s also human nature to want to stay unless your work life is abject misery. Career changes, like all ventures into the unknown, are tough. That’s why bosses know they can usually keep you around by pressing the right buttons.

Before you succumb to a tempting counteroffer, consider these universal topics;

• Any situation in which an employee is forced to get an outside offer before the present employer will suggest a raise, promotion, or better working conditions, is suspect.

•    No matter what the company says when making its counteroffer, you will always be considered a fidelity risk. Having once demonstrated your lack of loyalty (for whatever reason), you will lose your status as a “team player” and your place in the inner circle.

•   Counteroffers are usually nothing more than sales devises to give your employer time to replace you.

•   Your reasons for wanting to leave still exist. Conditions may just seem a bit more tolerable in the short term because of the raise, promotion or promises made to keep you.

•   Counteroffers are only made in response to a threat to quit. Will you have to solicit an edict and threaten to quit every time you deserve better working conditions?

•   Correct and well-managed companies don’t make counteroffers…EVER! Their policies are fair and equitable. They will not be subjected to “counteroffer exercises” or what they perceive as blackmail.

If the urge to accept a counter offer hits you, keep on cleaning out your desk as you count your blessings.

I will be writing a series of articles about the art that is interviewing.  Starting with prep work before you show up to the interview, the interview itself, and post interview.

One of the more important steps in obtaining a new position begins before you even walk in the door for the interview.  RESEARCH!  With the Internet only a few clicks away, you can access a tremendous amount of information about the company and usually who you are meeting with before you walk through the door.

Start on the company’s website and get familiar with what they do.  What is their vision and their mission statement?  If the company goes by an acronym, make sure you know what it stands for.  Now move onto the press releases and get an overview of what the company has been up to.  Have they been growing?  Acquiring or divesting entities?  Also make sure to use a search engine to see if there are any negative articles floating around about the company.  Depending on the nature of the articles, you might not be interested in the company or perhaps you will generate some questions that you will want to be sure to ask.  If the company you are interviewing with is public, then I strongly recommend pulling their latest quarterly or annual filing from EDGAR’s website and taking a read through the description of the company’s business and reviewing their financials.  I would also check to see if they received a clean opinion (from the auditors) and if they didn’t, why not.  Next, I usually suggest going a step further and reviewing the executives bio’s so you are familiar with what they have accomplished.

Hopefully you have the names of the individuals you will be meeting with.  If not, you can try to ask HR and usually they will share this information with you.  This will allow you to go into more detail and research that individuals background.  Beyond Googling their name, you can check LinkedIn to see where they worked previously and where they went to school.  Perhaps they worked at another company with someone in your network.  That would be a topic to touch on at the end of the interview as there is a good chance that if they know the same person, they will reach out to them and ask about your abilities and performance.  LinkedIn also mentions interests at the bottom of a profile and if you have something in common, this would be a great icebreaker.

Now make sure you get a good night’s rest.