Doing Or Helping

This may sound like a fine delineation, but I thought it was rather profound.  One of our customers mentioned that he had people who could “do” certain tasks in a hiring process.  However, these people were not able to provide “help” in the hiring process.  That may sound like he is splitting hairs, but I find that point to be extremely important. One of the struggles in assisting companies in their hiring process is that most companies, unless quite large, tend to hire on a need basis.  This means they do not spend their entire time hiring.  In fact, it often is pushed into the margins of their day.  Other… Read More

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End My Hiring Misery

Here is a good read from Inc.com on improving your hiring process.  The pull quote for me: In my opinion, one of the reasons people do such a poor job in hiring, is that they just want to get it over with,” Matuson says. “Really take your time, do it right, and ask yourself the question, constantly, ‘is this person good enough? Is this really the right person, or am I just trying to end my misery?” Umm, yes, I have seen that first hand on many occasions…from my customers!  Anyway, there is some good information in the article along with some cliché advice.  Here is some of the good:… Read More

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Hiring Without Knowledge

Selling Power’s Hiring One of the Team focuses on finding superstar salespeople that will fit into your existing team.  Clearly that is the goal for all sales hiring and this article supplies some sound advice.  Other parts of it I will leave to your judgment. Here is a quote I enjoyed (emphasis mine): “Hire and promote first on the basis of integrity; second, motivation; third, capacity; fourth, understanding; fifth, knowledge; and last and least, experience. Without integrity, motivation is dangerous; without motivation, capacity is impotent; without capacity, understanding is limited; without understanding, knowledge is meaningless; without knowledge, experience is blind. Experience is easy to provide and quickly put to good… Read More

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2009 Prediction Time-Talent Management

The Herman Trend Alert offers up some expected predictions, some insightful ones and some surprising ones for 2009.  Here is one that falls in the expected/not surprising category: 1. Certain Skill Sets Continue to be in Short Supply. In spite of the global economic slowdown and massive layoffs, certain skill sets are in short supply. All but the most short-sighted employers will continue to respect talented workers in all fields for their contributions. I don’t think that is surprising at all, but not all companies subscribe to that approach. Here is an insightful prediction: 3. Fear and Apprehension Reduce Productivity. As we have written about some months ago, there is… Read More

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Employment Branding

We work under a premise that my father is fond of saying, “They typically don’t need longer to say yes.”  This is a truth of life that plays out time and again.  There is one group of people that truly understands this principle…candidates.  If they do not receive any feedback for a disproportionate period of time, they (properly) assume they were not a fit. What I don’t understand is why recruiters and hiring managers simply don’t tell the candidate they are not a fit.  I have read many articles that discuss employment branding.  In a simple vein, it seems obvious to me that one of the best branding approaches is… Read More

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