I’m not sure what to make of the numbers from this short article: Job-discrimination complaints filed by workers against private employers rose in 2006 for the first time in four years. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Thursday that complaints increased to 75,768 during the 2006 budget year from 75,428 the previous year. I suspect a part of the rise complaints is due to the increased hiring that has occurred over the past few years. A 340 complaint increase out of 75,000+ total does not seem greatly significant. But it is the first increase in 4 years.
Continue ReadingSuper Quote
I just read a great quote from Peter King’s article on the SI.com website. This quote is from Peyton Manning’s press conference earlier in the week: “Chuck Noll said, ‘Pressure is something you feel only when you don’t know what you are doing.” If you are feeling pressure to hire a strong salesperson, we can help.
Continue ReadingWhat’s In A Name?
We’re still getting over the Super Bowl this morning so I thought we would start out with some lighter fare. Our local Pioneer Press offers up an interesting article on names – What’s in a name? Maybe your next job. The thesis is the fact that “old-fashioned” names tend to scream older applicant. I think the author is correct on this topic. Case in point: Larry, Mary, Linda, Lisa, Michael, James, Robert. … If one of these names is yours, you are apparently shouting to the world, “I’m at least 40, and probably closer to 60.” On the other hand, names like Taylor, Sidney, Ethan and Jacob all have baby… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Underpaid CEO
I am all for people making as much as they can in their careers which is why I do not understand the emotional attachment to CEO pay. If those CEOs can make that kind of money, more power to them. It doesn’t bother me that Bob Nardelli made big money at Home Depot – good for him. If I could make that type of money I would. Now you know where I stand, check out this article from American.com – Why Do We Underpay Our Best CEOs? That’s right – “underpay.” The article is a thorough explanation of the trends occurring in CEO hiring due to the national witch hunt… Read More
Continue ReadingTop 10 Sales Movies
I stumbled across this list on Amazon. I thought it was a fairly good list, but I would have moved Glengarry Glen Ross up to number 4. Top 10 Sales Movies Tommy Boy Boiler Room Wall Street Jerry Maguire Tin Men Glengarry Glen Ross Disclosure Other People’s Money Working Girl Cadillac Man
Continue ReadingCandidates Who Have Been Coached
Further proof of why we put limited importance on the face-to-face interview: I recommend that you answer difficult questions with SANDWICH technique. Practice writing out your answer – be sure to sandwich the negative with an emphasis on the positive. (+) (-) (+) Here is how you should fill in the blanks: (+) Begin with a positive statement (-) Slip in the negative (or weakness) (+) End with a positive statement Most likely the new employer will request only confirmation that you worked at the company. We always change plans, so it is okay to change your plans – maybe you were planning to go to college??? I don’t think… Read More
Continue ReadingBosses Gone Wild
Super Bowl week leads to this article from CareerJournal.com. I am a big Tony Dungy fan and the article provides an interesting look at his managing/coaching style (an excellent style in my opinion). The excerpt that I enjoyed: The vice president of marketing at a Silicon Valley company attributes rapid turnover at many West Coast technology companies to what he calls “screaming-bully bosses.” One such boss, a body builder who liked to show off his strength to managers by doing 25 pushups at the start of meetings, called him at all hours to scream about things that had gone wrong. A second bully boss, the CEO of a semiconductor-network start-up,… Read More
Continue ReadingHow Interviewers Affect Candidate Decisions
Yesterday I attended a Webinar from Monster and DDI titled, “Thanks, But No Thanks: Keeping Top Prospects From Turning Down Your Offer” that not only echoed many of the points from this Selling Power article, but had the data to support it. There were numerous points that I wanted to share with you so I’ll post on them in bite-size pieces over the next few days. In our previous post, point #4 talks about trust. A candidate forms their opinion about trust in 3 areas with the interviewer being the first mentioned. I’m sure some of you thought that may have been a bit far-fetched but take a look at… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Etiquette Of Retention
Does ‘Thank You’ Help Keep Associates? from CareerJournal.com takes a look at turnover/retention issues at a major law firm. Scary, I know. However, there is a good lesson in here in regards to retaining top employees. First the setup from the article: Faced with a surge in turnover of its associates, the prestigious law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP has been putting on a charm offensive to hold onto junior lawyers. The presentation showed that the New York firm, now with about 625 lawyers, lost 31% of its associates in 2004 and 30% in 2005. The average associate attrition rate for law firms of about that size or bigger for… Read More
Continue ReadingStrange Interview Occurrences
We were talking over here at Select Metrix about strange interviews so I decided to google the topic and found this site. There are some great, bizarre stories that will make you laugh. A few teasers: “She wore a Walkman and said she could listen to me and the music at the same time.” “… she threw-up on my desk, and immediately started asking questions about the job, like nothing had happened.” “… asked if I wanted some cocaine before starting the interview.”
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