CareerBuilder.com has a post regarding an overuse of perfume and cologne by employees. The author asks a good question: Apart from sharing the story, I’m writing this to ask how you think managers should handle “strong fragrance” issues in the workplace. It seems like a sensitive issue because people wearing the cologne or perfume must not realize that it is SO noticeable for the people around them. Let me be a little crass – I heard a funny story from a sales manager we met with yesterday. He used to work for a company where he was a sales manager for one territory and there was another gentleman who handled… Read More
Continue ReadingOdd Resume Inclusions
In first reading this I thought I was reading a line from one of Jeff Foxworthy’s jokes, “You know you are a redneck if you write on your resume, “hobbies include sitting on the levee at night watching alligators.” Nope, this is one of many odd resume inclusions from an article on CareerBuilder. If you have ever run a recruiting process you probably can come up with your own list, but CareerBuilder has put together some beauties: Candidate included that he spent summers on his family’s yacht in Grand Cayman. Candidate attached a letter from her mother. Candidate used pale blue paper with teddy bears around the border. Candidate explained a… Read More
Continue ReadingAre You Really Running A Behavioral-Based Interview?
Behavioral-based interviewing has been the buzz in hiring for the past few years and rightly so. This technique brings real-world clarity to a sales interview as opposed to theoretical, positional answers. Selling Power provides a good article to assist you in your interview strategy. In order to ensure you are using a behavioral-based approach (emphasis mine): “A lot of people think that they are conducting behavioral-based interviewing when they’re really not,” says Wolf, who defines behavioral-based questions as questions that allow candidates to relate real situations and demonstrate how their strengths and weaknesses are exhibited on the job. “Many times hiring managers are asking theoretical questions, such as, ‘How would… Read More
Continue Reading8 Things Not To Do On A Sales Call
I read this post on Bnet and got a chuckle out of a couple of the points and thought I would share this article by Geoffrey James with you. I especially laughed when I read don’t flirt with the admin…who does that?! Anyway, here are the 8 things not to do: Flirt with the admin. It may seem tempting, but unless you’ve got soap-opera-quality looks, chances are you’re only going to annoy (or even alarm) the admin, who will tell the boss. Fix: Stay polite, friendly and respectful. Talk more than you listen. Initial sales calls are all about relationship building and gathering information, which you can’t do if your… Read More
Continue ReadingTips For Interviewing Sales Candidates
Too many times the process of hiring a sales person rarely takes priority in a sales manager’s duties – they have enough to do already. Unfortunately, the hiring tasks get pushed to the margins of their day. Any sales manager knows how important it is to hire strong sales people, but it all too often doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Dave Stein has 11 spot-on quick tips that can help you set the right priorities and increase your success rate. His tips are: Make sure you know what you are looking for. Prepare your questions in advance. Remain objective during the interview. Trust but verify. Don’t lead the candidate. Push… Read More
Continue ReadingInitiative In Front Of You
This is a long set-up, but you’ll get the point. I just read an interesting Q&A article on BusinessWeek.com titled Being Pushy…or Taking the Initiative? Here is the question posed by an office manager who is hiring for a sales position: I’m the office manager in a branch of an international PR firm with more than 50 offices in the U.S. I run the administrative processes, work as the liaison with our U.S. headquarters, and serve as the HR chief for this branch. Last week I interviewed a candidate for an account manager position. This man had applied for the job through an online job ad. I do the first-screen… Read More
Continue ReadingLiability Waivers And References
I have been used as a reference and I have called to talk to references – at times it can be awkward. I am extremely careful with what I say when I am the reference as I sense legal danger everywhere. When I am calling a reference, I truly enjoy the people who just roll and I only have to direct them a bit. Now our local paper runs this short Q&A article about a liability waiver. I have never encountered such a document: Q: One company I interviewed with asked me to sign a waiver saying my former supervisor would not be liable for anything he said about me.… Read More
Continue ReadingQuality Of Questions
I had a sales candidate ask an excellent, subtle question yesterday – “What other positions is this company currently hiring?” Again, the subtlety of this question provides a view into a company’s needs, growth and possible turnover. It is an excellent question to ask in any interview. The second part of this equation is for the hiring manager to appreciate the question. What I mean is this – listen carefully to the questions being asked by the candidate. We often watch hiring managers trip over themselves to answer a good question without appreciating the question itself. Some times the hiring manager cannot even recall the questions asked in the interview. … Read More
Continue ReadingMore Job Interview Bombs
CNNMoney.com offers up the latest story about this Springtime topic (must be all of the college grads hitting the interview circuit that gets these stories started). There are some beauties in here: “One job applicant came in for his interview with a cockatoo on his shoulder.” “We had one person who walked out of an interview straight into a glass door. The glass shattered.” “The candidate got his companies confused and repeatedly mentioned the strengths of a competing firm, thinking that was who he was interviewing with.” “A candidate fell asleep during the interview.” Fell asleep? I’m guessing the only way that happens is if the interviewer is doing all… Read More
Continue ReadingHow Not To Save An Interview
This article from abcnews.com starts off with a terrific interview anecdote (emphasis mine): John-Paul Lee, CEO of Tavalon Tea, a premium tea company based in New York, recently interviewed a job candidate he’s not likely to forget. “The first two minutes were great,” Lee says of the recent MBA grad. Then Lee asked the candidate who he believed Tavalon’s biggest competitors were. To which the candidate replied, “I think Tavalon Tea is a formidable one.” “I assumed he was nervous and had blurted out the wrong company,” Lee says, “so I played along and asked him, ‘Why?’” The candidate’s answer? “I don’t think they have the right management in place.… Read More
Continue Reading