Congratulations! You found a great candidate who has the skills you need and appears to be a good fit for your team. You’re ready to check references and make an employment offer. That’s an exciting feeling. And yet, it’s also a bit scary. Why? Because you’ve been fooled in the past. Maybe your perfect candidate[…]
Life is filled with puzzles and solving them can be both exciting and challenging. To relax, I do traditional puzzles where you put together a picture with a few hundred tiny pieces. However, there are other kinds of puzzles, and they are everywhere when you stop to think about it. Have you ever tried to[…]
Recruiting often gets a bad rap. Its practices are often slow, outdated, and cumbersome for candidates. Unfortunately, it’s rarely a delightful candidate experience for job seekers. The good news is many organizations are starting to realize how they treat candidates matters and it can be an important differentiator in attracting their ideal employees. Just like[…]
The words you use have power. Remember the old 1930s Laurel and Hardy “Who’s on First?” skit? It’s a classic that is still funny today. We may laugh at the miscommunication—and growing frustration—between Laurel and Hardy. However, there are important lessons about the way in which we communicate embedded in this skit. Words have power[…]
Hiring great employees is hard work. Even in the best of times, hiring isn’t easy. You can no longer rely on posting a job and having plenty of qualified candidates come to you. Finding these great employees requires strategic planning, creativity, and some fun search techniques. Fun? Yes, hiring can be an enjoyable process. Here[…]
It seems we’ve been hearing about a skills gap for the last ten years or so. If you Google “skills gap,” you will see differing opinions about its existence. What’s fascinating is some organizations are feeling this gap while others aren’t. However, recent research sheds light on why a skills gap is a myth for[…]
I recently stumbled on a NY Times article about the uselessness of the job interview. The article described a situation where an interview panel hired a candidate based on their misperceptions rather than the truth. While I disagree with the reporter’s views and the relevance of the research cited to job interviews, I agree that[…]
Job ads are the most common way of letting your potential candidates know you are hiring. Unfortunately, most job postings are poorly written and miss a critical opportunity to attract the talented people you need to build your business. The truth is you have about 20 seconds to capture your candidates’ attention and make them[…]
Merry Christmas! I love this season of giving because it makes me reflect on the many gifts that do good and feel good we give and receive as business owners. In the stress and busy-ness of the season, we often forget to pause for a moment of gratitude for our many gifts. So, I am[…]
I’m obsessed with the holidays. Maybe you are too, but I would hazard a guess that my obsession is much different than yours. I’ve read all the social media posts about decorating, baking goodies, putting Christmas trees in every room of your house, and let’s not forget the deal-chasing shopping frenzy. That is so far[…]