…don’t answer a question you don’t understand
…my candidate didn’t understand one of the questions he got asked …and he knew he didn’t understand it when it was asked…
instead of simply saying, “i really don’t understand, could you state it again,”…he started to answer it…he actually started to answer everything he thought the question might be…he went on and on…
the only way he could have said less was to talk longer…and he did..
end of interview…
lesson: if you don’t understand the question, get clarification then answer…
….what to expect from your recruiter
most people don’t know what to expect from a recruiter…they will act like they do because the don’t want to appear ignorant…
there are at least 9 or 10 different types of recruiters and they often function very differently…retained search folks, contingency recruiters, “placers,” internal corporate recruiters…all work quite differently..
often when potential candidates contact or are contacted by a recruiter their expectations are not met because the recruiter failed to set them and the candidate didn’t ask…
read the article on the Babich web site that discusses the different types of rercruiters…those of us with lots of experience always try to expain what we expect from our candidates and what our candidates should expect from us
the imporant lesson is to be sure you aks, “what can i expect from you?”…that way, you won’t be disappointed
…stories
one of the most powerful strategies you can develope in the interviewing process is to be able to tell stories about yourself that prove you are a good employee and that you will be an assett to any organization..
stories tell…they are more than enertainment, they train us in the art of being human…stories remove the listener’s immediate prejudices to you as a person and get them to focus on what you are talking about…
so, as you develope the presentation portion of your interview, make sure you tell stories that demonstrate your advaqntages and benefits..
keep the stories short and to the point…they will make a difference in how you are received
…dealing with “bruised credit”
we hear it weekly…candidate gets into the finals of the interviewing process…is told they are a finalist…will have their references and credit checked…
then, oh my, the candidate reveals that they have “bruised” credit…this can be everything from very, very bad credit to poor credit…
in these difficult economic times, it is not suprising that many people’s credit is “bruised”…slightly to very badly..
these days, employers are more prone to check credit on most candidates, even if the position is not a financial oriented job….it use to be that a candidate’s credit was checked only when the job had to do with financial positions…i.e. where money was involved..
these days, though, hiring authorities have a hard time checking references with previous employers, who, more often than not, adopt a “we don’t give references of any type” policy…so, they resort to other objective reports like criminal records and credit reports…
the assumption is that, if your credit is poor, you are a poor employee…
it does no good to argue this issue…if you have bruised credit, best assume you will be eliminated from most any financially oriented job…we even had a candidate lately who was eliminated from an insurance adjusters position because of his poor credit…
we recomend not sharing a poor credit issue unitl you find out that your credit will be checked…(by the way, you can’t refuse this being done without immediately being eliminated from contention)..
once you are informed, tell the hiring authority that your credit has been bruised and ask him or her if that will be an issue…you might share with them the reasons for the situation…we had a candidat a few years ago whose identity was stolen and she was still “recovering” from a poor credit issue through no fault of her own…
some hiring authorities may be able to work with you if they really like you…sometimes they may not have any choice depending on company policies..
you want to be sure that, if you find that a credit report will be reviewed and you have had challenges, the employer does not find out from the credit report itself…especially if you are told that the report will be part of the screening process…
if an employers thinks you are withholding information from him or her, you won’t get hired…
…a little thing you never thought of
your voice mail on your cell phone….make sure is says somethng like, “this is (your name) leave a message and i will return your call.”
why?…well, when people calling you hear a simple number like “214-823-9999…leave a message at the tone” they don’t know for sure if it is your cell phone…and many people ..especially potential employers…are reluctant to leave a message on a voice mail this way…
three years from now, one of those hiring authorities may pull your resume out of the file and try to call you..they won’t know if you still have that number or not…if they get simply “214-xxx-yyyy ..leave a message” they won’t do it
sooooo, record your name on your voice mail…you are missing some great calls
…till your butt’s in the chair
two weeks ago, one of our candidates got a verbal job offer…$150,000 plus commissions, etc…start date, end of november..maybe december…maybe the first of the year (..almost 3 months away)
i said, “that’s really strange….doesn’t make sense…” …i told him not to trust it…he should keep looking and not stop..he marginally agreed…but he was convinced he had found a job
friday, they call him and tell him the position has been put on hold..we feel so badly for him but there is nothing anyone can do.
lesson: don’t count on anything in this job market…until your butt’s in the chair (…and even then) …don’t stop looking for a good opportunity… keep interviewing…even if you get a written offer…once you start a job…and have been there a while, then shut the process down..
