What’s Wrong With Interviews? The Top 50 Most Common Interview Problems

What’s wrong with corporate job interviews? Pretty much everything.

Interviews are the second most used and “flawed” tool in HR (right afterperformance appraisals). They are used and relied on around the world for hiring, transfers, promotions, and for selecting leaders. After studying and researching interviews for over 40 years, I find it laughable when people think they can become interview experts simply by conducting a few of them.

Despite their many flaws, the purpose of this article is not to tell you to stop using interviews. Instead, the goal is to make you aware of the things that can negatively impact the results of an interview. My premise is that if you encounter these problems and you understand their causes, you can take steps to avoid or minimize them.

A Complete List of the Top 50 Most Common Interview Problems(split into five categories)

A) The 15 most critical problems that can occur with interviews

1. Some things should not be measured in an interview – few start an interview with a list of the things they want to assess. Many things just can’t be measured accurately during an interview including: many technical skills, team skills, intelligence, attitude, and physical skills. Giving them a work sample or test is often superior.
2. Using historical information to predict the future — interviews cover what happened in the past. Unfortunately, “the way you did something yesterday” simply wouldn’t work in today’s “new normal.”
3. Interview questions are not directly related to the needed skills – most questions and “solve-this-problem” scenarios are developed independently and are not tied to a specific “required” skill or knowledge. There is no script or plan to ensure the right things are covered so that interviewers don’t just make up whimsical questions.
4. Inconsistent questions – there is no interview question script prepared for most interviews, so that the same questions are not asked of each candidate, which causes serious comparison and reliability issues.
5. No weights – interview questions are frequently not “weighted” or prioritized, so minor questions receive the same weight in the final rating as the most important ones.
6. No scoring sheet — there is no scoring sheet to ensure that interviewees are rated consistently on the same factors. Many final decisions are made based solely on memory. Scoring sheets forces the interviewers to make their decision based solely on the factors on the scoring sheet.
7. No agreement on good answers — almost universally, interviewers asked questions without first determining what is a weak, good, and great answer. As a result, the exact same answer will get different “scores” from different interviewers.
8. Interviews are inherently misleading – the basic foundation of the interview is based on the premise that during the interview, candidates are acting normally and are telling the truth. This is unlikely because most candidates are scared to death before, during, and after interviews.  The interview situation is by definition “unreal” and words often should not be taken as proof. It is not “the job” and therefore what happens during the interview might not be representative of what one would actually do on the job. The goals of many interviews are unfortunately focused on finding faults in the candidates, as opposed to finding their positive aspects.
9. Saying what they want to hear — interviewees frequently provide the answers that they believe that the interviewer wants to hear, rather than the most accurate answer. Interviewees frequently lie or omit key facts; unfortunately, interviewers do the same.
10. Non-job related factors influence decisions – numerous subjective factors like body language, accent, height, handshake, dress, and coming late may distract from a focus on the answers provided. Because of stereotypes, demographic factors (race, sex, age, national origin) may also impact the results.
11. Practice makes perfect – preparation changes interview results. So if you think you are getting spontaneous answers, be aware of the thousands of Internet articles, sample questions, and videos that can super-prepare candidates for anything. Individuals who have not been in a job search for a long time might be rusty in their interview skills. While unemployed candidates that have recently gone through numerous interviews could benefit from their extensive practice and do better.
12. Your specific interview questions may be known in advance — in addition to generic questions, with the use of glassdoor.com, be aware that whatever specific questions your firm has asked in the past (and their answers) are likely to be posted.
13. Behavioral interviews have inherent weaknesses — behavior interviews rely 100% on candidate-provided (and possibly exaggerated) descriptions of how they handled a problem in the past. Also be aware that they may have acted that way because of cultural rules and constraints that would be completely different today, at your firm. Extrapolating forward on how they would act six months from now, even though they have long since changed, and in your unique culture/environment can be misleading. Asking candidates to describe how they “handled” a certain situation has some serious inherent problems. First: what the candidate is describing to you may have happened, but you can’t actually know the extent of their contribution to the described action. Second: if their verbal descriptions or their delivery happens to be clumsy, their accomplishments will likely be underrated (even though they actually did what they described). And third, in our current fast-changing world, you might not even want them to act the same way.
14. Lack of future view — most interviews and all behavioral interviews focus on the past but whoever is hired will be working in the present/future. Most interviewers fail to ask candidates to forecast the future and to provide an outline of the plans that they will use to identify and solve upcoming problems.
15. Not hiring for “this” and “the next job” — hiring managers can be shortsighted. They frequently interview and hire based 100% on their own short-term needs. Companies should hire individuals for both “this” and a future job but most interview questions are not designed to assess future competencies that will be needed in their next jobin the company.

B) Problems with the interviewer

1. The interviewer – the sex, age, and experience of the interviewer dramatically impacts their assessment of any candidate. If the person they are interviewing is different than them, the result will also be different. All too often, interviewers act like they are junior psychologists and may make snap but inaccurate judgments about candidates.
2. Bias and prejudice — some interviewers have biases or make stereotypes that eliminate individuals for nonbusiness reasons.
3. Interviewers are not trained – almost everyone assumes that interviews are easy and don’t require training. Managers only receive cursory training and don’t know the pitfalls that can lead to bad interviewing and hiring results. Because “mystery shoppers” are not used, HR has no direct way of knowing what might be happening during an individual manager’s interviews.
4. The interviewer has arbitrary knockout factors – many interviewers seem to arbitrarily make up subjective “knockout factors,” which prematurely and often unfairly screen out qualified candidates. Many of these knockout factors are based on personal prejudices.
5. Interviewer fatigue — after many interviews in a row, the interviewer is tired and their judgment weakens.

C) Common interview process errors –the actual design of the interview process can cause many problems.

1. No structure — the less structure, the less reliable are the results. Using the same structure around the globe may be a problem because local cultures and laws vary.
2. The timing – the time of day that the interview was held has an impact upon its results because the energy level of interviewers and interviewees changes. Someone that has gone through five back-to-back interviews will perform differently than someone who had a break. And because multiple candidates are involved at different times of the day or on different days, it makes accurately comparing interview results that occurred at different times or days difficult.
3. The length of interviews varies — interviews are often very short, making realistic assessment difficult. And due to time and business pressures, managers often eagerly make snap, first-impression decisions, which can be inaccurate. Comparing candidates who had interviews of significantly different lengths is also difficult.
4. The order of the interview — If you are the first among all candidates in the interview process, you’re less likely to be hired then if you are the last candidate. Unfortunately, where you appear in the order of interviews impacts your odds of success.
5. Consistent location – even the place where the interview is held (if it is not consistent for all candidates) can influence the candidate’s assessment (i.e. lunch interviews produce different results than conference room interviews).
6. Interviews are held in person — This makes them expensive, because of the use of an interviewer’s time. Also requiring an in-person interview means that many working people simply won’t show up. Advances in technology now make it possible to hold inexpensive live video interviews over the Internet. Live video interviews and telephone preliminary interviews can save both travel costs and candidate time without impacting quality.
7. Travel fatigue — often interviewees are flown in for the interview the night before and jet lag makes them underperform. Interviewers can suffer the same issues.
8. Selling is limited – not enough time is spent during the interview selling the candidate, so those with multiple choices might not accept.
9. Skills demonstrated in the interview are not required for this job – interview scores tend to vary based on the candidate’s interpersonal and communication skills, but this particular job might not require even average interpersonal skills. Thus some jobs (i.e. receptionist, salesperson, and recruiter) lend themselves to being assessed through interviews, while for some other jobs (like programmers, artists, and meter readers), interviews may be horrible predictors of the candidate’s on-the-job success because they work alone.
10. Panel interviews – panel or group interviews are often intimidating because of the number of people in the room hurling question after question at the single interviewee. Often an assumption is made that panel interviews reduce the chance of bias or prejudice, but that is not automatically true if the team leader is powerful and successfully encourages others to share their bias. Candidates can also become frustrated when “the wrong person” asks a question (for example, when an HR person asks a technical question and a technical manager asked a question that should have been asked by HR).

D) Psychological issues and problems –if you study the research on interviews, you will find that there are many psychology-related issues.

1. Looking for reasons to reject — often interviewers spend almost all of the time trying to find a reason to reject the candidate, and as a result, they miss the candidate’s positive aspects. In some cases, negative responses are given twice the weight, so a candidate can be mentally rejected after a single error.
2. Halo Effect issues — often the evaluator is overly impressed by one or more personal characteristics (i.e. great looks). And they mistakenly assume that everything about the candidate is positive because of that single exemplary factor.
3. Recency comparison (the contrast effect) – if an interviewer has several bad interviews in a row, the next person who performs much better may be inaccurately rated as outstanding, simply because they are so much better than the recent poor performers. The reverse effect is also possible.
4. Personalities come across differently — shy, nervous, and slow people can be assessed poorly even though the job does not require speaking up or boldness.
5. Fooled by enthusiasm — some interviewers are so smitten with candidate enthusiasm and passion that they fail to accurately assess other important job requirements.
6. “Fit” assessment — many managers use interviews to measure an individual’s fit with the team, job, or the corporate culture.  Unfortunately, there is little evidence that untrained managers can accurately assess “fit” in 60 minutes. In addition, if innovation is being sought, individuals who do not “fit” may instead be the correct hire. Often candidates who are “just like me” (the interviewer) are automatically given higher ratings even though the job does not require someone “just like you.”
7. One-way conversation – unfortunately, many interviewers spend more time talking then listening during interviews.  Most interviewers don’t leave equal time for the candidate to ask questions and to present information that they want to present, which can frustrate them, and then limited information is used to make the decision.
8. “Too perfect” performance — occasionally interviewees with a lot of experience interviewing (often from HR) get extremely high ratings but they are rejected because they are “too perfect” and the evaluator assumes that something is wrong (cheating).

E) Legal issues

1. No accuracy check – the validity or the predictive ability of interviews are not checked by later on comparing whether those who received high interview scores turn out to be top on-the-job performers and vice versa. Interviews are a test, according to the EEOC, but most firms do not formally validate interviews or individual questions. The reliability of interviews is also not assessed.
2. Illegal questions – it’s not unusual for illegal questions to “pop out.”  It’s also possible for candidates to inadvertently volunteer illegal information.
3. No written record – because most interviews are conducted without being taped or even with a written record, there is little evidence (should legal or EEOC issues arise) as to what actually occurred or didn’t occur during interviews. When notes are taken, the unfettered handwritten notes taken by interviewers can be embarrassing should they see the light of day in a court proceeding.
4. Language, cultural, and disability issues — interviewees who normally speak a different language may be slower and may provide less precise answers merely because of language or cultural issues. Disabilities that affect speaking may impact scores, even though accommodation may be required and speaking is not a major job requirement.
5. Icebreaker issues — the interviewer may offer an icebreaker story or joke that may be inappropriate or illegal. It may negatively impact the responses from the interviewee.

F) Candidate-experience related issues – most candidates either hate of fear them. Further angering or frustrating candidates may cause you to lose top candidates, hurt your employer brand, or even harm product sales.

1. Candidates are forced to lie to their boss — because most interviews are held during work hours, currently employed candidates coming to an interview are essentially forced to lie to their current boss as to why they are away from their current job.  This can cause them to prematurely drop out of the hiring process.
2. Uncertainty and being kept in the dark — abuse of candidates occurs when managers keep them in the dark about the interview process and what is expected during it. They are not told what will occur during the interview and what skills will be assessed. In addition, they are not told who will be there during the interview, the role of each interviewer, and who will make the final decision. Failing to educate the candidate may cause them to under-prepare in key areas. Candidates also get frustrated when they are left in the dark and not given feedback about where they stand after an individual interview or after the process is complete.
3. Candidates are given no input — the interview process and whom they will interview with is determined by the organization. However, top candidates should be asked for their input, who they need to talk to, and what information they need in order to make their decision. Because without this information, they may drop out or reject your offer.
4. The number of interviews for each job — “death by interview,” which is where an excessive number of interviews over many days wears out a candidate. There is also death by repetition, when candidates during multiple interviewers get frustrated when they are asked the same questions over and over because interviews by different managers are not coordinated.
5. Scheduling difficulties prolong the process — when multiple candidates are brought in for interviews, the time that it takes to schedule all of these interviews almost always stretches out the hiring process to the point where most top candidates will be lost because of the long time delay.
6. Managers act inappropriately during interviews – sometimes interviewers act inappropriately by taking phone calls during interviews, canceling and rescheduling interviews, appearing disorganized, or even asking illegal or silly questions. Such behavior is disrespectful but it may also scare away the top candidates. Candidates often say they rejected an offer because of the way that they were treated during the interview process.
7. Ghost interviews may frustrate — in order to meet legal requirements, external interviews are often held even though an internal candidate is already preselected. This wastes candidate time and adds to frustration.

In my experience, most interviewers have a cavalier attitude toward interviewing. That is partly because they will never know if a major mistake was made and a top candidate was never hired. However, if you 1) study and fully understand the potential problems; and 2) have some empathy for what the candidates are going through and how much they will suffer when rejected, the quality of interviews will automatically increase.

7 удивительных уроков жизни от Опры Уинфри

Увидьте, кем вы хотите стать.

«Когда я смотрю в будущее, оно так ярко зажигает мои глаза».

Что вы видите, когда смотрите в будущее? Это важно, ведь вы видите то, что вы желаете получить. Когда вы смотрите в своё будущее, загораются ли ваши глаза? Если да, то это то, что вы собираетесь получить. Если вы видите своё будущее обычным и мирским, это именно то, что вы получите. То, что вы видите, то вы и получаете. Начните видеть то, кем вы хотите быть.

2.Сила страсти.

«Страсть – это энергия. Почувствуйте силу, которая приходит к вам от сосредоточения на том, что волнует вас».

Страсть приходит, когда вы делаете то, что вы любите. Когда вы испытываете страсть, вы можете работать ночи напролёт. Страсть – это сила, это горючее, которое необходимо вам для успеха. Найдите свою страсть и посвятите свою жизнь её реализации, и на самом деле не важно, сколько времени это займёт.

3.Фокусируйтесь на хорошем.

«Будьте благодарны за то, что у вас есть, и в конечном итоге вы приобретёте больше. Если вы концентрируете своё внимание на том, чего у вас нет, вам никогда не будет достаточно».

То, на чём вы фокусируетесь, увеличивается. Если вы фокусируетесь на чём-то хорошем, вы получаете больше этого. Если вы фокусируетесь на недостатке и бедности, вы получаете больше этого. Научитесь находить что-то хорошее в своей жизни и будьте благодарны за это каждый день. Вскоре ваш фокус изменится, а значит, изменится и ваша жизнь.

4.Вы должны меняться.

«Мы не можем стать тем, кем хотим стать, оставаясь тем, кто мы есть».

Для того чтобы иметь больше, вы должны стать больше. Ничего не изменится в вашей жизни, пока вы не начнёте расти. Что вы делаете каждый день ради роста и изменения? Если вы не меняетесь, вы не можете ожидать изменений от жизни. В той степени, в которой изменяетесь вы, изменяется и ваша жизнь. Если вы продолжаете делать то, что вы делали всегда, вы будете продолжать получать те результаты, которые получали всегда. Ожидать что-то другое было бы безумием.

5.Мы все терпим неудачи.

«Сделайте одну вещь, о которой вы думаете, что не можете сделать. Потерпите неудачу. Попробуйте ещё раз. Во второй раз у вас получится лучше. Единственные люди, которые никогда не терпят неудачи – это те, кто не взбирается на большую высоту.»

Представьте себе, что маленький ребёнок после двадцати падений подряд сказал бы, что ходьба – это не для него. В жизни вы будете терпеть неудачи, вы будете совершать ошибки, вы можете даже расстраиваться, но вы должны пробовать ещё и ещё. Лишь те люди не терпят неудач, которые не пытаются выходить за рамки своей нынешней зоны комфорта. Смейтесь над неудачей, до тех пор, пока не добьётесь успеха.

6.Увеличьте свой потенциал.

«Весь смысл жизни заключается в том, чтобы полностью стать тем человеком, которым вам суждено быть».

Используете ли вы свой потенциал на максимум? Используете ли вы свои способности, таланты и знания на все 100 процентов, или же вы находитесь в застое? Смысл жизни заключается в росте, чтобы полностью стать тем, кем вы должны быть. Ваша цель заключается в том, чтобы вырасти настолько, чтобы вы могли помочь другим людям, так что вопрос заключается в том, используете ли вы свой потенциал на максимум?

7.Думайте о большем.

«То, что предназначено вам Богом, гораздо больше того, что вы можете себе представить».

Оглянитесь, в мире так много людей, которые живут ниже своих возможностей, всё потому, что они рассеиваются с чувством вины. Ваш создатель дал вам шанс иметь лучшее из того, что вы можете иметь и стать лучшим из тех, кем вы можете стать. Лучшее было сделано именно для вас. Если не вы, то кто?

Tools and Training Prepare Managers for Workplace Flexibility

By Kathy Kacher, Career/Life Alliance Services

 

Kathy Kacher

During the past decade, much of work/life research has been dedicated to identifying and measuring the bottom-line benefits of workplace flexibility to an organization and its employees. Unfortunately, far less attention has been paid to the challenges that managers face when integrating flexibility into their work groups.
A 2010 survey report, Alternative Workplace Strategies in the Current Economy: Results from New Ways of Working’s Benchmarking Study, cited executive buy-in and manager resistance as two of the top three barriers to wider implementation of workplace flexibility. Similarly, the 2011 WorldatWork Survey on Workplace Flexibilityillustrates the importance of engaging managers in the culture change necessary to building a flexible workplace, finding that only 12 percent of organizations that are developing flexibility initiatives provide their managers with training and resources.
During a recent focus group with managers conducted by Boston College Center for Work & Family, Career/Life Alliance and Life Meets Work, managers at organizations with workplace flexibility programs said they did not have the understanding, tools or training needed to lead flexible work teams successfully. Also, they said that the focus group was the only time they had been asked how well they were doing in the flexible work environment.
Given that managers hold the key to effective, full-scale implementation of flexibility but that most are ill-prepared or unable to manage in a way that supports a flexible culture, it is essential to enhance their knowledge, provide them with tools and develop their skills through specific workplace flexibility training.
Enhance Knowledge
Introducing managers to the business case for workplace flexibility can increase their understanding of and appreciation for the benefits that flexibility brings to their organizations. They learn that by increasing autonomy and commitment, flexibility enables employees to become more innovative in their jobs and able to identify problems better—and to go the extra mile in solving them. As a result, managers are positioned better to meet their business objectives.
One method of enhancing managers’ knowledge is to communicate fully the challenges employees are experiencing—including metrics about turnover,absenteeism and engagement. Using corporate data and anecdotal evidence can show how these issues impact the organization’s bottom line.
The next step is to have managers share stories illustrating their teams' challenges, followed by how these challenges impact the effectiveness of their departments.Managers can understand workplace flexibility as a business strategy better when they are provided with external case studies as well as examples of how flexibility is working throughout their organizations.
Tools and Training
Proper tools and training can ensure that managers have the tools they need to succeed in a flexible workplace. Among the issues that should be addressed are the following:

• Performance management. Organizations can assist managers in reviewing performance as part of their daily responsibilities, especially in a flexible work environment. One example of ongoing performance management is a daily check-in call, e-mail or other outreach to confirm that employees have what they need to meet their objectives.
• Communication. Flexible teams need to determine how and when to communicate using tools such as instant messaging, text messaging, Skype and Twitter. But managers should be mindful that the digital word can be misinterpreted easily from afar. It is important to provide training to ensure that they keep their written communication clear of ambiguity that can cause confusion or lead to offense.
Creating a communication strategy to use when an urgent matter arises is an additional process that must be developed. Managers should work with their employees to identify one communication tool that will work for all members, and outline the response time expected when a critical issue arises.
• Virtual meetings. Flexible work teams must determine in advance when to hold meetings and how to conduct them. Technology provides a variety of choices—including Webex, GoToMeeting and Skype—for sharing presentations. To engage team members, managers should create a feeling of meeting in the same room by making introductions and ensuring that people understand why they are attending the meeting. This approach improves the discussion and the decision-making.
• Team culture. Maintaining team spirit in a flexible work environment can be a challenge for managers. They need ideas on how to maintain the social aspect of their work group. Leadership training can provide managers with ideas on how to create time for the team to learn about each other’s personal lives. For example, sharing pictures of home offices, family and friends can be a great way for teams to feel connected. Other ideas include remembering birthdays, special occasions and recent successes and announcing them during team meetings.

Conclusion
Flexibility is an elevated form of teamwork, dependent on managers who have the skills to define expectations, delegate and adapt to different work styles. Employers need to establish resources, such as the tools and training outlined above, so they can help managers create a flexible culture inside their work groups and help companies leverage workplace flexibility as a business strategy.
Kathy Kacher is president of Career/Life Alliance Services Inc. in Minneapolis. She can be reached at kkacher@clalliance.com.
Related Articles:
Experts: Telework Still a Hard Sell for Managers, SHRM Online Benefits Discipline, November 2011
Experts: Flexible Workplaces Should Rely on Social Media, SHRM OnlineBenefits Discipline, November 2011
Quick Links:
SHRM Online Benefits Discipline
SHRM Online Workplace Flexibility Resource Page

http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/benefits/Articles/Pages/WorkFlexTraining.aspx

Девять лучших способов, как без денег мотивировать людей

Всем людям нужна мотивация. Чтобы поднять боевой дух команды, есть простые, действенные и почти бесплатные способы. Вот девять из них. Применяйте и смотрите, как меняется отношение людей к работе.

Не показывайте людям деньги, даже если они у вас есть, пишет один из авторов Inc.com. Дело не в том, чтобы сэкономить копейку на мотивации. Просто боевой дух команды можно поднимать и другими способами. Вот девять примеров.

1. Будьте щедры на похвалу. Все хотят услышать доброе слово. Похвала от генерального директора дорого стоит. Хвалите людей за каждое достижение или просто хорошую работу. Начните с похвалы один на один, а потом старайтесь хвалить людей в присутствии других.

2. Избавьтесь от менеджеров. Работать без менеджеров? Это же глупость. А вы попробуйте. Не назначайте лидеров команды или руководителей. Вместо этого дайте людям простор для командной работы. Упадет моральный дух руководителя? Гораздо хуже, когда падает дух команды. Подумайте об этом. Позвольте людям работать в команде на равных правах. Люди будут приходить раньше, уходить позже и отдавать больше сил решению задач.

3. Сделайте свои идеи их идеями. Люди ненавидят, когда им указывают, что надо делать. Не заставляйте людей, а дайте им почувствовать, что ваша мысль ― их собственная. «А что, если мы будет делать это вот так [ваша мысль]. Как думаете, это будет лучше?».

4. Не критикуйте и не поправляйте. Никто (вообще никто) не хочет, чтобы его тыкали носом в ошибку. Если хотите демотивировать человека, критика ― лучший для этого способ. Не бейте в лоб, зайдите с фланга. Помогите человеку (в мягкой форме) стать лучше, помогите осознать ошибку и исправить ее. Спросите: «А лучший ли это был способ? А как можно сделать иначе?». Тогда это будет разговор, а не тыканье пальцем на промахи.

5. Сделайте лидером каждого. Укажите людям на их сильные стороны и дайте понять, что их совершенство служит примером для других. Установите высокую планку, и люди будут стремиться оправдать репутацию лидера.

6. Приглашайте людей пообщаться за обедом. Удивите сотрудников. Обойдитесь без официального запуска политики обедов с боссом. Просто подойдите к человеку и пригласите вместе перекусить. Это простой способ показать, что вы заметили и оценили работу человека.

7. Признавайте и вознаграждайте. Это можно делать в разных формах. Громогласно заявите на совещании об успехах одного из сотрудников. Запустите внутренний конкурс или игру, повесьте доску на видном месте и фиксируйте на ней ход соревнования. Небольшие подарки (которые не сильно бьют по бюджету) тоже работают: попробуйте обеды, трофеи, СПА-услуги, памятные тарелки или таблички.

8. Устраивайте вечеринки. Собирайтесь на пикники, празднуйте дни рождения, назначайте счастливые часы. Не ждите официальных праздников, устраивайте вечеринки круглый год, чтобы сотрудники ощущали сплоченность.

9. Разделяйте с людьми радость и боль. Если в компании все хорошо, празднуйте. Люди будут знать, что вы благодарны им за их нелегкий труд. Если дела у компании идут не лучшим образом, не отгораживайтесь от команды. Вы же рассчитываете на преданность людей. Не кажется ли вам, что люди вправе рассчитывать на правду о том, что происходит с компанией? Будьте честными и прозрачными в общении.

А как вы относитесь к «безденежной» мотивации?

Александр Шенаев, E-xecutive.ru

http://www.e-xecutive.ru/community/life/1564900/

Landing an Employment Date

By Lin Grensing-Pophal

 

 

Although there are clear differences between finding a perfect mate and landing the perfect job, Fortune 500 recruiter Yolanda Owens says there are also some similarities. She compared the job scene to the dating scene in her book How to Score a Date With Your Potential Employer (iUniverse.com, 2010).Owens says the analogy first struck her back in her college days, when she noted that dating and job seeking rituals had a lot in common: looking for the perfect outfit to wear, considering ways to impress your date/potential employer, trying to make a positive first impression and so on.
Here are Owens’ top five tips for landing a date with an employer:

• Reflect on stories from your employment history that really display your strengths and abilities. Just as you’d work to put your best foot forward with a date, consider how you’d like to position your strengths, leadership abilities and professional dexterity during the job interview. Importantly, she cautions, while you should rehearse, don’t make your stories seem overly planned or often-delivered. “Have that same enthusiasm whether you’re telling it for the first or the one hundred and first time!”
• Use job search as an excuse to hit the bar and club scenes -- though not in the traditional sense. What Owens means is getting involved with trade and professional associations and groups and taking part in their social events, which are great opportunities to mingle and make connections. But, she says, “Keep it classy and subtle; you don’t want to be that person who cruises the bar asking everyone for a date with the hopes of getting lucky. Desperation is never a desirable quality in any dating scenario.”
• Update your dating profile. By this, she means your social networks and resumes. “A hot item in the recruiting scene right now is creating websites that showcase your work and some of your talents,” she says. “Seeing you not only on paper but also through PowerPoint presentations or video clips from presentations you’ve done can provide a more tangible sense of the things you’re able to do.”
• Use your social networks to flaunt your “brainiac muscle.” “Intelligence is a very sexy quality that all employers are attracted to,” Owens says. She also recommends using social media to stroke employers’ egos by posting comments on their social media sites, re-tweeting employer insights and so on. “This kind of flattery gets you noticed in a very positive way,” she says.
• Ask friends to set you up on “blind dates.” Employee referrals are one of the best ways to get noticed by employers, says Owens, who as a recruiter says that those individuals who come with referrals get moved to the top of the list. Learn to use your “six degrees of separation” to connect with recruiters and other key contacts. “For recruiters, it can get maddening when you get all of these e-mails from individuals you’ve never met, asking you for a position,” she says. She recommends using LinkedIn to find mutual connections and ask for an introduction.

As ambitious New Year’s resolutions seem further and further removed from day-to-day reality, she says, it’s easy for job seekers to lose hope. “One of the key things they need to keep in mind is to keep that same energy, ambition and self-confidence throughout the year. Plan for each ‘dating’ experience like it’s New Year’s Eve.”

http://www.shrm.org/HRCareers/Pages/0112date.aspx

The Best (and Worst) Questions Asked by Interviewees

By Lin Grensing-Pophal

 

 

“Do you have any questions for us?”
If you’ve landed an interview, you know that question is coming. One thing is certain: “Nope, I think you’ve covered everything” is the wrong response. That kiss-of-death answer can communicate a lack of interest in the position and a lack of preparation.
our interviewers expect you to ask intelligent questions, and may even make a hiring decision based on what you ask. Part of your interview prep should include thinking of effective questions to ask your interviewer. The questions should be well-thought-out and pertinent and should convey a positive impression of you. Sarah Hulsey, talent manager with Rising Medical Solutions Inc. in Chicago, says: “I expect interviewees to have some questions for us. In fact, if they come to the interview unprepared, it definitely detracts from their viability as a candidate.” Some good questions she’s received include:

• “How does your company perceive its culture?”
• “Can you describe the relationship between the hiring manager and the team?”
• “What sort of culture initiatives does your company engage in to motivate and keep employees?” Stephanie Daniel, a career transition expert and vice president at Keystone Associates, a career management company with offices in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, offers some additional suggestions:
• “Is there a work issue that keeps you up at night? And, given what you know about my background, is there a way I could help address it?”
• “What is the most gratifying aspect of the work you do for the company?”
• “I’m sure you have a number of goals you’d like to achieve in the coming year. Do you have a particular one that is top priority?”
• “How would you describe the top performers in this company?” Tracy McCarthy, senior vice president of HR at SilkRoad Technology, a talent management firm headquartered in Chicago, recommends asking what your performance would be rated on and how soon you would be rated. “Not many people ask this,” McCarthy says, “but it is a great question to ensure that the candidate understands what the performance criteria are. It also shows that the candidate is focused on and motivated to meet metrics and performance expectations.” Remember how your teachers told you there’s no such thing as a bad question? In an interview setting, that’s not entirely true. Among the questions that are likely to turn off your interviewers:
• “Do I have to pass a drug test to take this job?”
• “What kind of vacation leave do you offer, and how soon after you’re hired can you start taking it?”
• “How do raises work here?”
• “Could you tell me about your work/life balance policy?”

Questions like these, or any others that are related to pay, benefits or personal perks, should be held for discussion after an offer is made.
In addition, avoid asking questions that you could have (and should have!) easily found the answers to through your research about the company. With all of the information available today via the Internet and social media, there is no excuse to ask basic questions such as “Could you tell me more about what your company does?”

http://www.shrm.org/HRCareers/Pages/0112questions.aspx

Building Communication Skills to Be a More Effective Manager

By Kelly Botto

 

 

Communication is a critical skill for any HR professional. But for those hoping to move into managerial ranks, it becomes even more critical. Workplace communication can run the gamut from composing important e-mails to running a staff meeting to delivering difficult messages—maybe even delivering presentations to board members or shareholders.The first step for improvement: conducting a communication skills assessment.
An assessment will help you pinpoint areas that need improvement. Perhaps you need to beef up your presentation skills. Or, you may need to improve your one on-one or small-group interactions. Maybe you need to learn to deliver difficult messages well, or maybe you need to work on your communication via technology, such as by e-mail.
Seek opinions from others. Ask a trusted colleague to give you constructive criticism about your communication abilities. For instance, if you need to improve your presentation skills, the colleague can help you target where to start: Do you need a stronger introduction? Are you able to effectively engage your audience? Are you dynamic? Are you defensive in addressing questions? Getting specific feedback will help you further strengthen your skills.
Once you have completed your assessment and know which skills need sharpening, you can then focus on improving your techniques. Here is a six-part framework to consider when developing a more effective communication strategy:

1. Who is the audience? Are you speaking to board members, colleagues at a staff meeting, new clients, a department, the entire organization or an external audience? Consider the setting as well—there is a vast difference between a one-on-one meeting, a small-group gathering or a speech in front of thousands. Know your audience and what they are looking for. Communication is not one-size-fits-all; it should be customized for each specific group.
   
2. What is the goal? What are you trying to accomplish with this communication? Are you giving a report or trying to start a dialogue? Are you answering questions or asking them? Are you brainstorming ideas or trying to solve a business issue? Think about what you need as an end result as a way to frame the communication.
   
3. What are the messages? You may want to relay one main message or several. It is important to be succinct and to have a deep understanding of your messages so you can get your point across successfully. If you aren’t able to clearly articulate your messages to another person without stumbling, you need to develop them further.
   
4. What is the content? The content is the actual information you will include in the communication. How will you structure the information? What is the best format? What is the sequence? What technologies will you need, and do you have a mastery of them?
   
5. Where can I get feedback? Reach out to others for feedback. Where does your communication style need strengthening? Are the messages clear? Does information need to be added, removed or more clearly explained? Many of us develop “tunnel vision” when crafting a speech, proposal or presentation, and a fresh set of eyes can lend depth and perspective to the project.
   
6. How can I refine it? Use the information gathered from your feedback sources to polish your communication.

Effective communication is vital to being a successful leader. Yet, most of us could use improvement in at least one area of communication. If you identify that area and follow this framework for honing your skills, you can develop the skills that will prepare you for a management role.
Kelly Botto is a partner at Camden Consulting Group (www.camdenconsulting.com) in Boston. She specializes in the management of Camden’s strategic coaching programs as well as driving business development and client relationship management.


http://www.shrm.org/HRCareers/Pages/0112botto.aspx