I’m In Love With Viggle!

What’s Viggle you ask?  It’s a cool app for your smartphone that lets you earn points for doing what we all do everyday…watch television.  That’s right, while you are relaxing on your couch, downloading from your day, you can be earning points towards some pretty cool items by using Viggle.  Think of it as Shopkick for television.  What’s Shopkick?  That’s another blog.  😉

Viggle is very easy to use.  You can download it from your app store straight to your phone.  Once you launch the app, it allows you to set up your profile where you can link your Facebook and Twitter accounts.  Tap the check-in button and hold it by your television.  Much like Shazam or SoundHound, Viggle will listen to your television to determine what you are watching.  For me, these days have been centered around the Olympics.  Once confirmed, it gives you options to share what you are watching with your friends, read the twitter feeds regarding the show or even play some trivia games to help you earn extra points.  It’s that easy.  It will even set reminders for you when to watch certain shows from it’s list of Featured Shows. When you are ready to cash in your points, just tap on the Rewards button and choose from some cool stuff.  You can get them directly through the app.  It’s kind of like getting rewarded for being a couch potato, and who wouldn’t love that?  Enjoy!

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• Meet Viggle: The new app that lets you get stuff for watching TV (techi.com)

Running the Hiring Guantlet

Obstacle-course training at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Français : Entraînement avec obstacles au Collège militaire royal de Kingston (Ontario, Canada). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Why is your company’s hiring process so long?” Great question right?  I’m sure at some point you’ve either asked this question and/or had it asked of you.  My answer usually depends on the position. The higher the level, the more layers involved.

Some companies have quick turnaround on hiring.  They interview one, maybe two levels deep, then a decision is made, the offer is extended and the on boarding process begins.  But what if your process is three, four, five levels deep?  I’ve even seen some as many as seven layers.  How do you keep your candidate engaged?  Now pay attention, this can be tricky.  You use honesty and communication.  There, I’ve said it.  Whew, what a relief.

If your hiring process is long, tell that to your candidate when you first talk to them.  Let them know how many steps they have to go through and if there are any assessments involved along the way.  Assure them that you’ll work to get them through as quickly as possible but you may be at the mercy of multiple managers schedules. Make sure you communicate with them after each interview to gauge their involvement and feelings about moving on.  Make sure you have a very open and honest dialogue.  Are they interviewing with another company?  Where are they in that process.  Above all, provide them with feedback after each interview to guide them through the next.

The Power of a Thank You Note

Cheerful letter/message (Photo credit: bamalibrarylady)

So you just finished an interview, now what? Follow up with a thank you note!  It sounds so simple but you’d be surprised how difficult it is. So difficult that according to CareerBuilder, only one-third of candidates actually follow-up after an interview.  What?  Really?

For those skeptics out there that say a thank you note is pointless, let me enlighten you.  Picture this:  a VP of a very large company, that you’ve been fortunate enough to gain an interview with, just spent about a grand to fly you out to their corporate office. They then spent an hour out of their incredibly busy day listening to you pitch to them why you are the perfect employee.  They’ve endured your questions and even sat through that side story you told about how cute your kid was this morning before you left. If you think that doesn’t warrant a thank you note, you have just single-handedly killed your chances of moving forward.  No matter how qualified you are.  Think about this for a second.  If you were in their shoes, how would you feel?  Remember your mother always telling you as a child to, “say thank you”, after you had received something?  The same rules apply.

The impression you could be leaving is that you are incredibly rude and lack common courtesy.  Their logic; if you can’t follow-up with them, how will you follow-up with your coworkers, boss, or customers?  Yes, it may seem shallow, but it’s reality!

Don’t be impolite!  It’s so easy to handwrite a note or send an email of thanks.  From the recruiter that initially interview you to that final decision maker, you should send some kind of a follow-up note thanking them for their time. You should also set a regular follow-up schedule that has you checking in each week during the process.  A little effort can take you a long way.  Now send a note to your mom to thank her for being right.

Lessons From My Father

I’m a total “Daddy’s Girl.”  I admit it.  Even though I am without my father for the first time ever this Father’s Day, I can still hear his lessons repeating themselves in my ear like a great sitcom on late night television.

“Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t when your gut knows you can.”

My father empowered me.  He taught me that it didn’t matter that I was a girl, I could do anything.  A big statement given the fact that I was raised with a Greek mother who had more traditional roles for me in mind.  I was a bit of a tomboy and very outspoken (ok, I still am), but he made me stronger.

“The best you’ll ever get is the least you are willing to settle for.”

He drove me to become the person I am.  My work ethic, my sense of humor, my deep sense of family and my fearlessness I owe all to him.

So today, on the day that we honor all of our fathers, I tilt my head back towards heaven and say, “Thank you Dad, for making me the person I am. I miss you and I love you and hope you are smiling back at me because you are proud.  Oh, and please tell Mom I love her too.”

Happy Father’s Day!

Characteristics of a Recruiter

I’m often asked by people interested in the staffing industry, what characteristics make a good recruiter.  While there are many, I’ve narrowed it down to what I feel are a few key qualities.

Curiosity

Having an innate curiosity helps a recruiter ask questions.  Asking questions is how they get to know their candidates.  They have to genuinely be curious about a person’s background and the choices they’ve made in their career.  What was their favorite job?  Why did they leave?  What gets them excited about the opportunity?  In a lot of ways, its like being a reporter uncovering a big story.  Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it helped the recruiter find the right person.

Passion

I’ve hired and trained a lot of Recruiters in my career.  Most of them came to me with no previous recruiting experience.  What they did have was passion. If a Recruiter doesn’t have passion about their job or the company they are recruiting for, I guarantee the person their trying to recruit won’t either.  Passion is infectious.  You can see it on your face and you can hear it in your voice.  If you’re passionate about what you do and the opportunities you present, people around you will feel it and get excited too.

Persistence

Finding top talent takes time.  You’ll go through a lot of people who will tell you they have no interest in looking at your opportunity.  If you’re instinct is to crawl under your desk, you’re not cut out for recruiting.  You have to be persistent.  When a candidate says no, it doesn’t mean forever.  Recruiting is all about building relationships and trust.  You approach a candidate and they say no.  You check in with them a few months down the road, they say no again.  You check in a few months later, they’re now ready to listen.  Persistence pays off.

Honesty

You’ve got to be honest.  If you’re candidate doesn’t get the job, being honest with them on feedback can help them with their next interview.  If they didn’t interview well, tell them.  If they didn’t present themselves professionally, tell them.  If their resume isn’t formatted well or doesn’t contain what you are looking for, tell them.  It still amazes me when I coach candidates, how many of them tell me I’m the first recruiter to take the time and give them honest feedback.

Tech Savvy

This day and age, you’ve got to be a little geeky.  Social media has become a huge source for finding and stalking great candidates.  If you aren’t tech savvy to use the sites or join the online communities, you aren’t going to be very successful.  Complex boolean strings, x-ray searches or surfing the web for research are all part of it.  If you’re still relying on newspaper ads and job fairs, you’re going to be left behind.

Above all, you have to be personable.  Recruiters spend a lot of time talking to people.  If you’re introverted and don’t like to engage in conversation, recruiting isn’t for you.

Your Attitude Limits Your Altitude

Golf courses (Photo credit: eutrophication&hypoxia)

I dislike motivational posters.  Do you really need that picture of a golf course hanging in your office with that catchy phrase at the bottom to change your attitude?  If so, you’re in the wrong position.

Attitude is a big word that is thrown around a lot on those posters and it has a big impact on a lot of things.  Let’s take interviewing for a new job as an example.

I phone interviewed a candidate recently that applied to one of my open positions.  On paper, he looked great, but what stopped him cold in his tracks was his attitude.  After spending just five minutes with him, that chip he is carrying on his shoulder, barged its way through the phone line and settled right on top of his resume on my desk.

Sure, I get that you’re frustrated having applied to a lot of jobs and not gotten any responses or that your company decided to offshore your position and shut your local office down.  But you know what?  You are not alone and what’s making you different from countless others that have been walking in your shoes is your attitude.  How you are dealing with all of it is coming through loud and clear on the phone and it’s really turning employers away.  So how do you fix it?  Well, that’s up to you to decide how, but FIX IT.

It’s not the interviewer’s fault you are in this situation.  It may not be any one persons fault at all.  But your attitude needs to change.  Stop playing the blame game and complaining about your current situation to those that could change it.  I guarantee if you broadcast that spite and bitterness over the phone, you’ll never get the chance to do it in person.  Put your head up, throw your shoulders back and smile.  Don’t let a bad attitude be your first impression.

Please Refer To My Resume

Ok, I have to rant about this one.  I can honestly tell you that two of the most irritating words I see on an application are “See Resume.”

Think about this for a second.  You’ve made it through the initial phone screen and have been sent an application.  But instead of the completing it, you respond with a semi complete application that asks me to refer back to the resume you sent me in the first place.  Really?

Most applications and resumes get easily separated.  Do you really want someone to look at your application and find the previous employment section blocked out with a big “See Resume” written across it and then there is no resume to refer to?

A few things may go through the reviewers mind.  For one, you could be lazy.  If you aren’t willing to take the time to complete the application properly, what other shortcuts will take in your new job?  Will there be other important documents you won’t complete?

Another is you clearly can’t follow instructions.  Do you think you’ll earn that trust if your boss has to double-check everything you’ve done to make sure the proper procedure was followed?

Finally, you’re assuming that those two qualities will get you further in this process.

So was saving yourself the extra 10 minutes really worth it in the long run?  Afterall, you do only get once chance to make a first impression.

Lesson Five: Don’t Become Invisible

The invisible man (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Working from home can be a great thing. It can also be very isolating.  You don’t have any co-workers around you and some days, you may not have any people interaction at all.

It’s easy to think that you’re out of sight, therefore out of mind of the rest of your team.  You don’t hear from your boss, your customers or your co-workers.  All is quiet.  You feel…invisible.  That is the worst way to feel and very often, the reason people get depressed when working remotely.

How do you fix it?  First of all, SNAP OUT OF IT!  So you don’t have co-workers, big deal.  You also don’t have distractions.  You haven’t talked to your boss or your customers in a while…pick up the phone and call them!  Aren’t having enough people interaction?  Join a networking group and go to the meetings!  You’re not chained to your chair are you?

You don’t have to be a silo.  Relish in the quiet when you need to, but don’t let it consume you and by all means, don’t start feeling sorry for yourself.  You’re in control…it’s your home office!

Sometimes…you have to stop and enjoy.

Sometimes, I go for long walks to clear my head.  During one of these walks, I decided to use the camera in my iPhone to take some pictures of the sights of spring so you can enjoy them too.  Times like these remind me of one of my favorite movie quotes from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

This beautiful glass butterfly absorbs the sunlight only to share it with the creatures at night.

One of the blossoming trees in the neighborhood.

The sleeping angel in the memory garden. I think it wakes at night to watch the bunnies nibble on the plants.

Lovely shades of green with hints of purple.

This is how I know it is spring!

The Elusive Purple Squirrel

Everyone wants one.  That highly sought after candidate that is the absolute perfect fit for your position that you’ve had open forever, but you can’t find.   Do they even exist?  The harsh reality is no, they don’t.  Not unless there is some divine intervention.

According to Wikipedia, the term Purple Squirrel is used by employment recruiters to describe an unlikely job candidate with precisely the right education, experience, and qualifications that perfectly fits a job’s multifaceted requirements.  Whew…that’s a mouthful.   The idea is that this candidate could handle so many tasks perfectly that it allows businesses to function with fewer workers.  Really?

Now, I’m not a biologist, but I’m pretty sure squirrels don’t run purple.  (Except for our little friend here captured in Pennsylvania a while ago.)  So how close can you get?  Well, if you are working with a talented recruiting team, you can get pretty darn close.  But it takes a lot of communication.

In my previous blog, I listed the top three things you should expect from your recruiter.  One of those things (A good, thorough qualification of the position and culture) will help you.

Recruiters ask a lot of behavioral based questions from their candidates.  They try to get into their heads to see how they think and process information.   They do the same for their clients.  Set some time aside with your recruiter and make a list that includes the following:

I MUST have…

This is the list that is not negotiable.  The candidate must have these qualifications in order to minimally function in the position and in the culture of the workplace.  A lot of the knock out questions will come from this list.

I’d LIKE to have…

These are the things that would be a bonus if the candidate had them but aren’t absolutely necessary for them to do the job.  An example may be the ability to speak multiple languages.  It will also be a list of differentiators between candidates.  Those candidates that have the most attributes from this list are more likely to be taken through the process.

Deal breakers…

The name says it all.  These are things that are absolute deal breakers in bringing this candidate on board.   It could be a salary cap of a certain amount or whether or not they are able to relocate for future positions.  Most of them may even be things you don’t find out about until after an offer has been extended and the candidate is pending the passing of a drug and/or background check.

Good recruiters will stack rank their candidates according to these lists.  When all is said and done, the candidate with all the “MUST haves”, most of the “LIKE to have” and no “Deal breakers” is the one you end up going with.  If they just happen to have a purple suit on the day they start…take it as a sign!