4 Minutes

Dynamic, collaborative relationships are desired.  Most companies that I get to work with are often eager to find professionals who understand how to make an impact with the skill set they have while being respectful of the authorities in place already.  Smart employers often seek to find these exceptional people with vigor.

So, where are these people?  Do they exist?  After speaking with some of the ones we get to work with at Humareso, I would say 9 out of 10 have become discouraged about the talent pool.  Whether it’s a non-committal attitude, a desire for a list of all benefits offered by the company prior to the first interview or an awareness that the depth of work ethic displayed falls short of what’s actually needed in the workplace, these employers have dejection written on their metaphorical faces.

People, let’s display what should be displayed, not just as an appearance, but as a true picture of the qualities we possess.  Do I think that all candidates fall into the descriptors above?  No.  However, do I think that these employers are wrong?  No.  They are responding to what they see.  And remember, what they "see" is not always viewable.

I sometimes wish that everyone’s skill sets could be viewed, such as what a model has to do for his/her interviews.  Show me what you can do.  You can sit all day and tell me how great you are, but it’s better when I see you get up and walk the catwalk.  The tangibles are visible.  How do you move?  What does your face do when you walk?  Do you capture the look we want?  It takes about 4 minutes to know.  So, theoretically, can you show what you must in 4 minutes?

Most potential employers conducting interviews say they can tell within a few minutes if you have what it takes.  So, if the interview is a half an hour or longer, what is happening in the interviewer's mind?  You’ve got to make a quick, competent impression as an applicant.  The shortfall here is part of the reason that these potential employers feel that there is a lack in the talent pool.  They struggle to know what you know because it’s not presented in a coherent way.  If you have four minutes, what do you want to share?  Practice.

OK, naysayers, I hear you.  “Yeah, but John, when I walk into an interview, I don’t get to dictate the questions.”  After years of witnessing interviews, I would have to say that more than half of those times begin with a potential employer asking one of the following questions to start out:

• Can you tell me a little about yourself?
• Why are you leaving your current employer?/Why did you leave your last employer?
• Why did you decide to apply for this position?
• Why should we hire you?

Think about what you can do with the answer to any one of these questions.  Can you give them a great snapshot of your competencies, personality and work ethic in four minutes by answering one of these first questions?  Heck, yeah (Sorry, I will tone down the language moving forward).  Practice what that response is.  Look in the mirror and work it out.

However, I have to address those who do practice the answer.  Can you act like you believe what you’re saying?  The words are not the only important part, but the facial expressions, body language, inflection and lilt in your voice, etc., too.  Robots are not attractive and will not communicate who you really are (unless you really are a robot, and in that case, please be sure to check “other” in the Self-Identification section of the application).  Being believable is done when you are believable.  Crazy, right?

Authenticity begins with a belief in who you are and a confidence in it.  You might not be a fit for every company, but you are a fit for a company.  Your disillusionment with the process of finding a job can be seen clearly in the first four minutes, even if you’ve practiced your answer.  The spark in your eyes is dim, the life in your voice is weak and the enthused body language is replaced by a slouch.  Be prepared, yes, but be engaged, too.

I do believe that the talent pool needs to get stronger in certain skill sets (technology, written communication and mathematics) and in presenting those aptitudes.  I believe it takes work to get the job you want to get.  I don’t believe that you should just hope it works out.  Rather, work it out.  Do what you have to do to be enthusiastically ready for an interview.  Share with those potential employers why it would be great to have you as an employee based upon a clear and vibrant expression of your competencies.  Believe in who you are.  You’ve only got four minutes.  

Talk Talk

The previews for the movie, The Internship, already have me laughing.  I mean, getting in with Google's intern program is awesome, but to do so as Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn means hilarity will ensue. They say too much, share too much and expose too much.  So, it's a reality movie.

In the recent interviewing I have been doing for a variety of roles, I have found a few elements bubbling throughout which are very much from the movie.  Some candidates are sharing too much.  I don't mean as far as work-related or skill-related sharing.  I mean, telling me about a child's soccer team drama, a parent's goiter issue or a previous employer's unknown legal issues that could be brought to light.  Why are you telling me this?  I have kids, parents and previous employers, and I guarantee you that I will not be joining you on that path.  An employer wants to know what you can do, not the issues you swim in.

Too harsh?  I know there are some reading and thinking, "Well, I have to use those vignettes to show my personality so cultural fit can be known."  OK, let's say I give you that.  Where is the culture where town-league sports politics, parental health abnormalities and threatened extortionistic testimony is upheld?  If you find that place, please tell me so I can avoid it at all costs.

Candidates, be just as planned with the "personality" sharing as you are with the skill set sharing.  Put thought into what you will share and what you won't share.  The passing introductory mention of a love of the Phillies, for example, is fine as you and the interviewer take a seat if the initial conversation allows for it.  But don't throw it into the mix between aptitude and knowledge-related questioning.  I know that it's public knowledge that I am a Phillies fan.  Trying to bring it up forcefully so I can know that while you are floundering in the main questioning won't work with me.

And yet, I know that there are employers conducting interviews that spend too much time talking about the unrelated rather than the core competencies.  We like the "buddy" that can fit personality-wise and forget that there is actually a job to do.  Again, too harsh?  Consider the amount of complaints, lawsuits, and online write-ups from former employees concerning bad conditions, poorly explained job requirements and terrible management.  Who hired these people?  Someone interviewed them and hired them.  Regardless of whether every former employee is right in their post-employment view, initially he/she was hired for a reason.  There was something in the candidate that made someone hiring said, "yes, a fit."

The challenge is to be mindful of the talk.  What is it that you're talking about in an interview?  Why are you talking about it?  If you are the employer in the interview, consider this progression:

• Ask questions related to the job description and based on the candidate's experience
• Explain how the role works in the organization
• Use some behavioral or situational questioning to get a sense of application
• Allow for questions from the candidate

I am not trying to be overly-simplified in approach, but this short list might be enough to get an employer started on a right path of interviewing.  I would suggest a deeper dive once this progression is more comfortable and used.  There are some other techniques and tools to accompany this basic outline.

I have no doubts that the movie, The Internship, will be hilarious or at least have funny parts (let's be realistic), but in our organizations, we aren't hiring funny necessarily.  We're hiring for skill, for knowledge, for abilities, for fit - all of it.  The candidate ought to be looked at through the lens of growth - Can this individual make a positive difference in the advancement of our mission and vision?  How will he/she do that?  How has he/she demonstrated that previously?  It's a good flow and perspective to write down and keep in front of you as you interview.  

Hold onto those questions that aren't job-related for another day down the road.  Like the company barbecue.  Nothing like chowing down on some ribs while asking an employee how his mom's goiter is doing.

What Makes You Beautiful

Stop screaming!  No, I don't mean because of your stress at work.  I mean, because I just used a One Direction song for the title.  Whenever One Direction is on at home, screams and full blown performances happen...I figured it must be the same loudness everywhere else, too!

I often wonder why we value surface characteristics in our employees.  Don't act so outraged!  We do.  Our culture loves good looks, well-dressed, well-spoken people.  Business Insider, along with a number of other articles, reveal statistics about compensation for attractive versus non-attractive people (http://www.businessinsider.com/attractive-people-are-more-successful-2012-9).  Earnings can be up to four times higher for pretty people.  Is that just a coincidence?  I don't think so.  We are the HR professionals that are involved in the hiring process.

But, even deeper, those pretty people are more likely to advance up the corporate ladder over the unattractive ones.  I have not seen nor created succession plans with attractiveness quotients, but somewhere our biases are creeping in.  How?  Well, what makes something beautiful?

Herein is the rub.  What are the criteria?  Nice smile/teeth, wavy hair, strong chin, great figure?  Uncomfortable, I know, but somewhere someone is making the decision as to what is pretty.  Many moons ago, I worked for a national restaurant chain.  I was "encouraged" to hire "the pretty ones" as hostesses and don't hire guys for those roles.  Um, really?  By whose criteria is pretty?  Mine.  No problem.  Needless to say there were all kinds of hosts and hostesses hired in those roles...I saw lots of pretty people. 

Often, our interaction with beauty is not as obvious as that example shows.  Mostly, it's a psychological affinity to a certain look or feature.  It may have no impact on the skills, abilities or knowledge that the employee or candidate has (obviously, if the role is that of a model, then it does!).  There is no real performance appraisal box to check on how pretty someone is (but there may be one on hygiene).  And yet, again, we're paying pretty people 3-4 times more than average/unattractive people.  

Bias is a tough thing to address internally.  Most biases are not egregious.  If an employer does not want to hire someone in a protected class because he/she is in a protected class, then that company opens themselves up to lawsuit, penalties and a host of other issues, not to mention how incredibly ridiculous that is.  The government has seen to it to address those groups of people that need protection, and rightly so.  However, as far as I know, there is no pending legislation concerning the protection of unattractive people.  I know that may be shocking, considering the amount of bills under review, but perhaps part of the issue is classifying who is unattractive.  I mean, do you want to be the congressperson from "x" state to say "I ain't pretty?"  Those of us who may consider ourselves average or unattractive remain unprotected.

As HR professionals, we have to be conscious of this.  What makes someone beautiful in our organizations? Think of qualities like production, teamwork, leadership, work ethic, loyalty, etc.  Aren't they beautiful qualities?  Wouldn't you rather have an "unattractive" employee that makes a real difference in the productivity and positivity of the organization rather than an "attractive" person who brings little excellence to the job?  Of course!  So, let's be sure that our systems align appropriately.

I know you may be thinking "why is he talking about this?"  Well, two reasons.  First, upon doing a simple Google search of the topic, I came across at least 10 pages of results with different articles and studies for each page.  Wow.  And secondly, I like to spend time instructing and coaching college-aged students.  Last night, in fact, I had the privilege of presenting to a group from Rowan University.  There were so many great ideas and such good energy that it was invigorating to me.  After doing some of the research I did in prep for this blog, I thought about companies that might not engage with such bright individuals due to some surface-reaction to attractiveness.  Now, I'm not saying that there were unattractive students in that class last night, but rather, I thought about the personal preferences of the hiring managers that will interview these seniors preventing them from being hired.

It's silly, really, but we are a society obsessed with looks.  We value people based on this.  Despite the fact that we fight the Miss America pageant and the like, we still tune in to see who wins.  We say we don't allow something so superficial as looks to impact business decisions, but the actions show differently.  Check your biases.  Check the biases in certain departments.  Check the cultural biases - beauty, age, sex, clothing, etc.  There are real ways that we unintentionally discriminate based on non-skill-related characteristics.

When I sit with my children, I share with them how beautiful they are.  What I make a point to do is to share why I think they're beautiful.  I talk about their kindness, compassion, excellence as a student, obedience, friendliness, service...things that will matter in the long run rather than looks which are fleeting.  I believe that my children are physically beautiful, too, but that can't be the emphasis.  I want them to use their brains, their hands, their feet to be recognized and to show accomplishment, not their looks which did not require much effort on their part (showering is an effort, according to my son). 

We should want our employees to know that the basis for their participation in the success of the company is based on their contributions.  We should want them to know that their value is based on real data and impact.  We should want them to know that's what makes them beautiful to the company, not their looks.  After all, what has Brad Pitt done for your company lately?

Hello, Is it Me You're Looking For?

The latest statistics show a decrease in unemployment numbers.  Regardless of which way your political bread is buttered, the economy is beginning to open up and that means growth.  For many companies, they struggle with how to implement healthy growth strategies.  Humareso desires to help these companies have a plan.

Adding positions within a company may be a part of the growth strategy.  Sourcing and recruiting for these candidates should be more than just posting an ad online and hoping for a great candidate.  The amount of resumes in response can be overwhelming, and what occurs more and more is a weak resume review.  

So, what can you do?  How can you do more to stand out?  How can you be prepared to be what a company wants?

Well, I wouldn't recommend sending a singing telegram or having your mom call on your behalf.  I would have your knowledge and skills ready.  Start with these:

• Adaptability: Are you flexible?  Can you multi-task?
• Problem-Solving: How do you handle problems?  What reasoning skills do you use?
• Leadership: Who has followed you (what type)?  What style do you use?
• Work Ethic: How have you demonstrated that you are self-motivated?
• Passion: Do you have the ability to generate enthusiasm around you?
• Willingness to Learn: Do you handle change well?

These are only a handful of skills to review in creating a resume and in preparation for an interview.  There are many more skills that should come up, but for all of them, be ready with examples to back up what you affirm.  An employer wants to understand who you are and how you will benefit the company.

So, it really could be you that an employer is looking for.  Get motivated to put that best foot forward.  If it means playing Lionel Richie to motivate you, then do it...just be sure your windows and blinds are closed.

Call Me Maybe

So, the usage of a cell phone has changed dramatically over the past five years.  It's really unbelievable to consider what a smart phone is capable of.  I remember watching "Hart to Hart" on ABC in the late 70's (no comments, please...I loved Stephanie Powers) and they would talk to each other from a car phone.  I thought that technology was amazing!  And then came the bag phones...

With smart phones being the most popularly used cell phone type today, it's important for companies to make a plan to utilize the apps that these devices have.  For example, the new millennial generation thrives on technology.  Many of those folks use their smart phones and even tablets to apply for jobs.  When companies don't have mobile-ready sites or applications, direct recruiting will be hindered.  CareerBuilder and Monster have those apps in place already, but that may not help an organization with its recruitment strategy if those partners aren't included.

There is no denying the daily reliance on cell phones today.  Grabbing your keys and wallet/purse before you head out the door now means grabbing your phone, too.  My parents and in-laws, who are in their 60's, are texting and updating their status on Facebook using their smart phone app (I mean, it's important to know that Bingo is happening in 10 minutes).  If that generation is attacking the technology this way, imagine what it's like for the up and coming generation.  There is no room for companies to ignore the interfacing that has to be done and done well with the tablet and smart phone app users.

Remember when the phone was used to make calls...that's so 2004.

Back to Life, Back to Reality

Ah, school days.  Such a great time of renewal, especially for learning.  A time of new relationships and new authority.  As a parent, freedom...hallelujah.

What I see from a business flow is also a time of new relationships and new authority.  Companies begin to get back into the swing after the last couple of months of vacation-covering and vacation-experiencing.  Growth of the employee base that is purposeful for the corporate mission will lead to long-term health.  Whereas my children are only going to be in the new grade from September to June (I hope!), new employees should be in the role for longer than that.

Companies struggle with knowing HOW to find those employees who are excited to enter into a great time of learning.  Sourcing, selection and recruitment are skills developed.  It is not automatic that every manager or director will be competent in finding great talent.  Who is teaching that management level to interview well?  I walk into many companies that do not offer any type of training or coaching in the recruitment process to their management.  How would we expect success?  What about the liability of EEOC violations in interviewing?  A shot in the dark cannot be the way.

Yes, this season is about getting back to life, but it's time to, also, get back to reality.  A realistic approach to finding qualified, compatible candidates has to be defined.  When were the last job analyses done?  When has the desire to be diligent about understanding the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for a particular job be encouraged?  Do you understand the long-term benefits of such a commitment?

Maybe by the time the leaves begin to fall, some of those great new hires will be sitting right next to you because of the changes your company has made to the hiring process.  A new classmate at the office.  You could trade that bologna sandwich...it's been in your desk for two weeks.