July 16th, 2009
Picture this:
You are tasked with interviewing candidates for work in a food manufacturing facility. The job requires maintaining high sanitation standards, meaning that hairnets and beard restraints, coupled with long sleeve shirts and long pants must be worn in a wet, hot, work environment. The first job candidate for you to interview walks through the door wearing a gold chain, cut-off shorts and sandals. He is not wearing a shirt, and is sporting a mane of un-combed shoulder length hair.
On the strength of the information alone in this true story, should he get the job? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: interviewing
Posted in interviewing | 335 Comments »
July 9th, 2009
With national unemployment moving higher each passing month, candidates encounter significant competition for jobs. No matter what career field you are (or were) working in, there is undoubtedly knowledge and skill you possess that could appeal across many industries and fields. Do not limit yourself. Identify those skills and look for them at potential future employers. Following is a list of skill areas having broad application: Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: interviewing, resume writing, resumes
Posted in interviewing, job advice, resumes | 2,368 Comments »
June 30th, 2009
You have probably heard that many hiring managers claim they can tell in an interview if the candidate is right for his/her organization at “the handshake.” Alas, I suspect it is true. I worked for a busy corporate vice president once who was very proud of the fact he could tell immediately if someone was “the one” we were looking for. If true, it is a shame, because I sense there is much more to a person than can be observed in the first five seconds with them. That said, we must accept for the moment that some number of managers make hiring decisions all too quickly, and now is the time to plot a strategy for beating them at their game.
As the job candidate, you must seek to control everything within your power and not worry about the rest. Following are some suggested behaviors everyone can control: Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: interviewing
Posted in interviewing | 190 Comments »
June 23rd, 2009
Picture this:
You are tasked with interviewing new college graduates for work in a “fast-track” manager training program. The job requires participants to work in each functional area of the company then be assigned to a position in operations. Most candidates are the “cream of the crop” with impressive academic credentials from top business schools. Each of them spent time abroad studying or traveling. They have excellent grades, a fine resume, speak intelligently, and present themselves with aplomb.
But one of the candidates is different from the others. He had “B” –level grades in college, went to a well-known but smaller university, and was employed full-time as a parking lot supervisor for a downtown professional sports stadium while attending school. He worked many nights and weekends, and had responsibility for hiring/managing as many as sixty people. On the strength of the information in this true story, should he be considered for the job?
Education Is Good, But What About Experience? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: executive resumes, resumes
Posted in resumes | 74 Comments »
June 19th, 2009
Alice: “Would you tell me which way I ought to go from here?”
Cheshire Cat: “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to!”
Alice: “I don’t much care where….”
Cheshire Cat “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”
– From Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Unmeasured Hire Practices:
Competition for talent in key positions is fierce, even in these difficult economic times. In the past, many organizations preferred the flexibility and informality of unmeasured hiring practices. This approach was satisfactory provided the practices were executed effectively and administered with consistency. Experience has proven that in many cases unmeasured hiring processes perpetuate themselves and result in misunderstanding, inefficiency, and hiring the wrong people. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: hiring practices, job advice
Posted in Hiring | 500 Comments »
June 17th, 2009
Job candidates in this economic recession are frequently turning to professional writers to create resumes that will attract the attention of employers. In today’s labor market, a good resume should help you land the right interview, for the right job, to start work sooner rather than later. With selected industries experiencing major shake-ups, like automotive, financial services, banking, real estate, and others, many people are finding job search time required to find a new position is much longer than in recent years. So why consider a professionally written resume? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: resume writing, resumes
Posted in resumes | 473 Comments »
June 16th, 2009
To transform the total organization or their little part of it, new managers must gain the support of internal and external groups. This means identifying and understanding key players, recruiting support, making quick tangible progress, and creating momentum. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: job advice, management
Posted in job advice | 141 Comments »
June 4th, 2009
New managers head straight for problems when they fail to communicate. Good communication involves sending a clear message about priorities, conveying important values, and clearly defining expectations. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: job advice, management
Posted in job advice | 550 Comments »
June 3rd, 2009
Most new managers inherit a variety of employees, a few of whom perhaps they would not have chosen. Some will have the knowledge, skills, and ability needed to drive the business forward. Others will not. Some may have aspired to your job, perhaps even have been told in the past that the job was virtually theirs. Others may have hidden agendas because you represent a potential threat to their positions. Often, a new manager finds their “senior team” is less than they hoped for. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: job advice, management
Posted in job advice | 3,259 Comments »
May 28th, 2009
In my last post, we discussed the first six “best practices” for a winning cover letter. Unfortunately, the cover letter is often an afterthought However, the cover letter is a very important part of the resume, giving the first impression an employer will have of you. Following is a list of the second six “best practices” that your cover letter must and/or in some cases must not reflect. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: cover letters, resumes
Posted in Uncategorized | 15,364 Comments »