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The Fordyce Letter

Straight Talk for the Recruiting Profession


Articles tagged 'interviewing'

Ask Barb

Too Much Information Can Be As Bad As Not Enough

by 15 hours ago


Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

Is it me or are people just giving out too much information. I can’t believe what some of my candidates have shared on recent interviews that cause them to be screened out. How do you tell a candidate to keep their personal life out of the interview? How do you teach candidates to only talk about appropriate topics? How can we teach these candidates to have a filter?

We’ve had several candidates eliminated from consideration and have had some of our contractors fired before the completion of the contract for their inappropriate discussions at work. What ever happened to business acumen? Some of my recruiters also share too much during interviews. I’m a very private person and I thought it was me until we’ve had so many nightmares with our candidates and clients. I don’t know how to stop this; have any ideas?

Michael C.

Augusta, GA

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Closing, How-To

How To Make A Successful Hire

by on Apr. 12, 2013


Job interview

Job interviewAn indisputable fact: the job market is heating up. Candidates seeking employment no longer go months without returned phone calls, but rather, quite the opposite. Recently, when speaking with a candidate who declared he was ‘actively looking’ for a new role, I was informed that since beginning his career search just a few days before,  he had received 152 emails regarding job opportunities.

Another candidate, who was directly recruited out of her organization, had to choose from one of four offers – all with a 10% increase in base salary and a significant equity component.

These are all very solid signs that the job market is better than last year. But with a positive shift in the economy comes a new set of challenges that hiring managers must be prepared to combat. In a candidate’s market, what is the best approach when at the offer stage? Below are some suggestions to help you and the team make a successful hire.

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Interviews, Technology

Your Clients Are Video Interviewing and So Should You

by on Mar. 28, 2013


Video interviewing

Video interviewingWith the popularity of video interviewing soaring on the corporate side, now is the time for agency and independent recruiters to give it a try.

The advantages of using video to meet and vet your top candidates are obvious: convenience, no travel required, and speed. Less obvious is the opportunity to see how well your candidate performs in front of a webcam, something that will never show up in phone screen. That’s no small detail considering fully 80% of the largest employers in the U.S. — those with 10,000 workers — use live video interviews at least sometimes.

Why? Cost is the number one reason companies use video interviews, according to a GreenJobInterview survey. Of the corporate leaders surveyed, most of them in HR, cost was cited by 88% of them. Second, cited by 56%, was improved time to hire.

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Interviews

How To Understand and Interview Military Veterans

by on Mar. 15, 2013


Army guy - freedigital

Army guy - freedigitalEditor’s note: Veterans can make excellent employees. Their military experience gives them an appreciation for discipline, provides leadership experience, and teaches them skills that may not be readily apparent to civilians. In this article,August Nielsen offers guidance on understanding veterans and how their military experience translates to civilian work.

When the same peer group surrounds an individual for an extended period, movements, actions and language of that group become second nature. Often times, this is seen in members of the United States Armed Forces.

With this in mind, Human Resources professionals should understand that it is common to witness specific lingo or actions that have become second nature during their tenure in the military. And, as many members of the Armed Forces return home to a progressively competitive civilian job market, you will see more terms, MOS numbers (Military Occupational Specialty codes), and job descriptions that may catch you by surprise.

To ready yourself, read further and learn how to prepare a superior interview experience for both the veteran and yourself.

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Closing, Interviews

The Parable of the Two Principals: A Tale to Share With Clients

by on Feb. 14, 2013


Lone woman at conf table - freedigital

Lone woman at conf table - freedigitalShe’d found her calling as a teacher of kids with special needs. She loved her job, and enjoyed working for the person who’d graciously given her a start. She was constantly engaged, challenged, and acclaimed in this role.

Her commute to work, however, was two hours roundtrip; 10 hours a week, 40 hours a month in freeway traffic. For personal, economic and safety reasons, working closer to home made sense if she could find an equally rewarding position, and boss. After much encouragement from friends and family, my daughter Ryan reluctantly decided to explore alternative job options.

Ryan attended a district?wide job fair for the school system within her home community. She quickly went through second and third interviews, and was invited for final interviews for open positions at two nearby, high?quality schools.

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Ask Barb

Up-Front Interviews Keep You Focused and Selective

by on Jan. 30, 2013


Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

I heard you talking to someone at the cocktail party at the Fordyce Forum; I wanted to clarify what I thought I heard. Do you get interview times up front from clients? If you do, what do you do when you can’t surface any candidates? How far in advance do you request interview times? It just seems very risky to me because often we do not surface anyone for some of our orders. It would seem that this would ruin my reputation in the long run.

JD, Dallas, TX

Dear JD:

I think it hurts your reputation more to write orders that you don’t fill. When you know you are going to ask for interview times, you stop writing mission impossible and become more consultative in your discussion with hiring authorities. It forces you to take workable orders and represent clients you know your candidates prefer.

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How-To

How Your Sales Candidates Should Be Selling Themsleves

by on Oct. 26, 2012


salesperson wanted

After 30 plus years as an executive recruiter specializing in placing IT sales professionals, I have learned scores of valuable lessons. One that keeps repeating itself in my practices is that even the most successful sales executives in the industry often lack the ability to translate those unique skills into an interview setting. Busy, gainfully employed candidates — the ones clients pay me to put in front of them — do not realize that interviewing, like selling any product or service, is a discipline that requires preparation and practice to master.

First impressions

Let’s start with a cliché that’s probably a cliché because it’s true! “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Dress for success (OK, now I will dispense with the clichés). My advice is to err on the side of conservatism for any professional sales interview. Regardless of what the interviewer is wearing, my clients want to see how you appear when you are at your best.

Research the business

Secondly, just like preparing for any sales call, spend at least 15 minutes researching your prospective employer. Any serious headhunter will assist you in understanding what to expect, but that’s not enough. Check out the company website. Google their competitors; peruse the manager’s LinkedIn profile. Today’s technology makes this incredibly easy.

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How-To

How to Wow A Tech Start-Up

by on Oct. 18, 2012


fordyce-default

Editor’s Note: Clip and copy this article, and give it to your tech candidates. This is a terrific blueprint for how to prep a candidate. Besides reinforcing the need to do their homework, it points out how important fit is, and not only to a start-up, but certainly, especially to one.

If you’re trying to place a candidate, or if you are a candidate yourself, wouldn’t you love to know exactly what the company was thinking so you could tailor your or your candidate’s approach during an interview? Well this post is to tell you specifically what we, and other tech companies, want.

In the last article I wrote (How To Recruit  For Today’s Startup) I gave some inside information on how start-ups approach hiring in general. This time around, let’s get more specific with real-world, actionable insights.

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Ask Barb

Ask Barb: Interview Follow-Ups

by on Sep. 12, 2012


Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

What is your position on following up after interviews? I’ve asked many recruiters and recruiting agencies alike about post interview policies and I get varying answers – only to reach two basic conclusions:

  • There seem to be few standards. I ask and customize my approach based on the guidelines for each client’s policies and preferences.
  • Any follow-ups whether done by email or phone call are quite often ignored and not returned, so why put forth the effort?

If clients are interested in my candidates they will call. If they are not interested, my calling them is not going to change the final results. My manager and I totally disagree on the importance of following up. Your suggestions at this point will be welcomed by both of us.

George C., Madison, WI

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How-To, Interviews

Dazzled By the Interview, You Might Lose That Fee If the Star Is A Narcissist

by on Apr. 26, 2012


Interview pic

Narcissists do better in job interviews than the rest of us. And, if a recent study is any indication, they’re getting hired more often than the more modest of us.

How can it be that a trait most of us consider obnoxious can actually improve the chances of someone acing an interview?

Simple, says Peter Harms, assistant professor of management at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a co-author of a study to be published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology. Most of us are entirely too modest about our accomplishments. While we might start off promoting ourselves and talking about our accomplishments, as interviewers press us, we tend to ease off on our self-promotion.

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