My Secret Ingredients to Interviewing

Over the years I've interviewed for a variety of jobs. In the early part of my career I was...well...not even close to qualified for some of them. But that didn't stop me from getting hired.

What was the secret combination of magical spells I put on the hiring managers to give me a shot?

Three Secrets
1. Preparation

This first step may sound obvious, but sadly, I've seen this noticeably absent over and over again. Candidates come to interviews (even at middle and senior management levels) ill-prepared to grill me and my colleagues about the opportunity.

Conversely, I have always wanted to be the most prepared person in the interview process...particularly when I was the candidate. That's right...I wanted to be far more prepared than those interviewing me.

Exhaustive reviews of company websites, Linkedin profiles, google searches of leaders, and detailed questions based on each person who would be interviewing me were mandatory. 

2. Confidence

Being timid is lame. Being soft is lame. Being meek inspires absolutely zero confidence. Sound hokey? I don't care. 

It's true. I'm never going to hire someone to join my company if they are not confident in their initial presentation to me. 

After all, I'm only asking them to talk about them self. If they can not do that, how are they going to thrive in any corporate culture? 

3. Energy

How does one exude confidence? With lots of energy, that's how. Work is more demanding than ever. The ability to keep up with the crazy pace we're all expected to maintain requires lots of energy. If that doesn't show in the interview, how in the world will a hiring leader have any confidence that it will mysteriously show up once you start the job?

How About You
What are your secrets to successful interviews? What would you add to my list? 

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.


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Rockstars Want to Work for Rockstars, So Build Your Personal Brand

Recently I had an opportunity to be a guest on Jeff Hyman's terrific podcast - Strong Suit! Jeff and I roared through the show so quickly I couldn't believe it ended so fast.

Here's the kickoff to the show...click the link below and give it a listen!

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STRONG SUIT - we only recruit rockstars

If you hope to have even a prayer of recruiting Rockstars, you'd better be one yourself. 

Because they simply won't consider working for someone they can't learn from, grow from, and one day replace (you, when you're promoted!)

So to do that, you need to communicate to candidates that they'll be working for a top performer...

Check out podcast here!

...and as always...

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Pick Up the Full Armor

Leadership in the digital age is a curious thing. On one hand we try to inspire, motivate, and encourage other leaders to be as impactful as possible. We share positive images from our lives, we call each other out, we push ourselves...all wrapped in an online presentation that seems...just right.

Sometimes Things Go Wrong
Despite all the effort we put into sharing our world online, sometimes that world turns upside down.

Who is to blame?
Why did it happen?
What will happen next?
What should happen next?

My world is no different than yours. Once in a while something happens that gets me all worked up. It's frustrating. It's usually unnecessary. It's always a pain in the neck to resolve.

But, it always gets resolved.
Always.

The Most Important Part
Getting things fixed is not always easy. But for most of us, we are not performing brain surgery. We are not responding to a domestic violence call that could turn deadly. We are not on the front-line of a war zone wondering if today will be our last.

We are blessed to have jobs that allow us to not not only be challenged with problems, but we can also resolve them for our organizations; and in so doing, make our organizations even better than they were previously.

It only happens if we are willing to put on the armor and go into our own "battles."

It can only be successful if we are willing to be fully engaged in understanding our role, and then making decisions to keep things moving forward.

It will only matter, if we elevate our leadership presence to one that is passionate and driven and unwavering on the quest to be world-class.

How About You
Do you need to pick up the full armor this week and make a difference? You are not alone. 

The need for bold leadership is everywhere, particularly when life isn't all unicorns and rainbows. Now, get after it!

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Generation 'Leadership-Do-Your-Job'

"Parents [and leaders] often talk about the younger generation as if they didn't have anything to do with it."
- Haim Ginott

The People
I'm not a big fan of focusing exclusively on one generation or another when I think about job satisfaction, leadership behavior, or strategic workforce planning. However, there are some realities to the world we live in that can not be ignored.

For example, there are a heck of a lot of people turning sixty-five every day (as in, 10,000!) We affectionately call these folks baby-boomers and seem to hold them in high regard. 

Deserved for some, but not for all.


We also have another group of employees that are making a huge impact in our hiring, leadership development, and retention activities.


There are a heck of a lot of them turning twenty-something every day. We not-so-affectionately call these folks millennials.

This negative stereotype speaks volumes about the insecurities of the leaders uttering them.

The Research
Glassdoor has published an interesting report on recruiting and retention statistics for 2017 that is loaded with neat little facts, 

What I found most impactful includes:

- we need to respect our employees
- we need to focus on creating an amazing place to work to retain our employees
- we need to be progressive, competitive, and thoughtful on pay, benefits and culture

Do Your Job
So, what does all of this *new* insight tell us? It's quite simple actually.

1. Leaders are focused far too much on themselves.
2. Leaders spend too much time labeling others.
3. Leaders are threatened about their positions so anything new or different is bad.
4. Leaders lose good people because they don't practice the values that they preach.

You aren't that special..but your team members are. Stop talking, start showing them how much they matter to your company.

How About You
I know every leader isn't stumbling around like a management dinosaur. But if the Glassdoor report tells us anything, it's that there plenty of those dinosaurs left alive who are still tearing down their organizations from the inside out.

Don't be a dinosaur.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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"Who" Is Your Recruitment Strategy

I hear lots of discussions that go something like this...

P1  "So, what is your recruitment strategy?"

P2  "What do you mean?"

P1  "You know, are you using LinkedIn more, or spending money on Indeed?"

P2  "Oh, yea, we're looking into that, and definitely use LinkedIn. Yes, we're obviously doing that. So, what are you doing?"

Me  Take me now, Lord.

What
All too often talent acquisition leaders get caught in the trap of narrowly defining their strategies as a series of "whats." Sure, we need a well thought out plan, but what is missed repeatedly is that the organization's employees are the heart of any contemporary approach.

What recruitment video is on our website? (as in only one...fail!)

What digital application process will we use? (and how can we force it to mirror our broken manual process...fail again!)

What steps can we take to get the Marketing Department to pay attention to us? (even though Marketing Departments do not understand employer brand...a fail hat trick!)

Who
TA leaders have a unique opportunity to differentiate themselves from their competition if they use a "who" vs "what" filter as they develop their recruitment strategies. Consider for a moment the pride that you feel in your team, your company, and the difference you make. You have stories to tell! 

Stories are not "what" things...stories are based on people, the "who" making the magic happen each day.

When leaders focus on profiling their employees on videos and blogs, and distributing those stories across a variety of social channels guess what happens?

The competition has a heart attack, and you get the candidates you need!

Simple.
Effective.

...and only requires one thing...

Courage.

How About You
Is it time to have a very different conversation about your strategic plan? I'd love to help. Oh, and don't worry, I have enough courage for the both of us.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Social Media Ad Buys and Recruiting

If you're like most Talent Acquisition leaders, you're trying to figure out how to use social media tools to maximize exposure for your open positions. 

Well, there is far more to it than just dropping links all over the Internet!

Which platform is best for your positions?

How do you target the right talent?

Is recruitment marketing the same on each social media channel?

To learn how to rock your social media spend, check out this post from Kris Dunn over at The HR Capitalist or...

...download the new Kinetix white paper now!

It's time to get in the game!

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

Still I Rise

"I thought I had the promotion all locked up...I can't believe it went to someone else."

"This company...this opening...is perfect for me. How come they won't even give me an interview?"

"There is so much going on in my personal life, I'm not sure I can keep up at work."

"After all of my years here it's going to end like this? What am I supposed to do now?"

"They went with a different vendor...but, how? We are exactly what they need."

"My new boss has changed everything...I used to be valued here...now, not so much."

The End of Days

Can you relate to any of the statements above? If we're honest with ourselves, they might hit a little too close to home. But, for me, that means they are real. 

Real is good.

When the world seems to be crashing down around us, whether it's personally or professionally, we often feel overwhelmed. Desperation, hopelessness, and even despair can creep into our minds. It's as if everything we had worked so hard for was evaporating right before our eyes.

But, what may feel like the end of days, is quite honestly, not even close to the end.

New Days

But, how does one move from a dark place, to a place of momentum, progress, and action?

Let's frame things up first:

- it's not about simple "trust" in your organization

- it's not about just "going with the flow"

- it's actually about making your own decisions!

Put your thoughts on paper:

- get them out of your head
- work on them
- improve them!

Take action each day:

- update your resume

- spend an hour making your LinkedIn profile look the way it should

- reach out to several colleagues in your network each day

- taking action means you are gaining control of your circumstances!

How About You

In the dark times, consider a new mantra..."Still I Rise." When the outlook is so bleak that you hear your self-talk machine spinning out of control...consider a new mantra...

Still I Rise!

You can be unstoppable...if you make the decision to be.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Hiring Leaders: Your Network Should Be Better

I'm not surprised anymore. I used to be...a lot...but those days are long gone. It is clear that the challenge of building and leveraging networks to find talent is the sole responsibility of HR.

Hiring leaders are simply incapable of building a network on their own. They are too scared, too full of excuses, and candidly, enjoy having someone to target when their hiring struggles persist.

Meet Director #1
This person has been a loyal and hard-working part of the organization's leadership team for years. She works hard, tries to support her employees as much as possible, and attends a conference or two each year. She's bright, and keeps her team informed of the latest equipment, clinical practices, and news about the hospital.

Problem: she has been so focused internally that she is useless when it comes time to recruit talent, spread good news about organizational breakthroughs, or to simply tell the story about what it means to be a part of the organization.

Meet Director #2
This person has also been a loyal and hard-working member of the leadership team for a long time. However, in addition to putting a tremendous amount of energy into her staff, she also has worked hard to develop her leader brand. 

When it comes time to fill vacancies, she has already differentiated herself pushing out thought leadership, stories about the hospital, and adding some personal touches as well. She has a network she can tap into, and she does.

How About You
Who are the leaders you work with that have such tight organizational blinders on that they're hurting themselves? 

Help them see the big picture. Help them understand that the investment they make in their internal and external brand, will make a huge difference.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Never A "Right Time"

I work with many leaders, and most of them are cautious. So, cautious in fact, they proclaim that they “wait until the right time” to make certain moves when it comes to recruitment and starting to build their employer brand as if it were a good thing!

Please don’t take this personally, but the right time was five years ago.

TIMING IS NOT YOUR MASTER

It’s an odd obsession…or excuse…to allow time to dictate whether we do our jobs or not. Sure, the answer is always the battle of negotiating some perceived internal political storm. But, why is human resources and talent acquisition always on the defensive?

Perhaps the time has come for us to take the talent shortages directly to those political opponents and call them out?

- They’ve held the organization back through their failed attempts to hang on to outdated strategies.

- They’ve failed the organization by not understanding and using current technologies to their fullest to attract the best and brightest talent.

- Based on these outdated attempts to cling to power, it is now human resources’ obligation to drive change as quickly as possible before the competition completely outmaneuvers the company.

BE YOUR MASTER

The data, complaints and noise that is constantly directed at human resources is no longer acceptable. These are not HR’s failures. 

They represent a culture of arrogance that wishes for everything to be perfect, yet is not willing to do anything differently.

HR is ready, willing and able to step up and lead the way. And it is now time to seize control to ensure the work actually gets done.

HOW ABOUT YOU

Tough talk? Maybe. But, how many more meetings would you like to attend where HR gets criticized…again? The same goes for me...none.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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6 Strategies to Eliminate Your Healthcare Recruiting Excuses

The world of #HealthcareHR is full of excuses. Risk avoidance, nursing shortages, compliance, a perceived backseat to the other Operational departments, and the list goes on.

Despite all of this self-inflicted pressure, HR still plays a critical role and it has nothing to do with making sure the employment records are neat and tidy for the next Joint Commission survey.

Oh, and by the way, there aren't any departments in your organization that can pull it off except HR. So, if you're ready to deliver real results and cut through the excuses, focus on the following items and make a real impact.

1  Employer Brand
I have written many times about employer brand and the power it has to change the perception of organizations in the market. The simple fact is this...every organization has an employer brand, it's just that most are absolutely invisible. Make sure yours dominates your industry.

2  Leader brand
The concept of leader brand is a spin-off of personal brand. For me, leader brand is a more important label, as it speaks to who you are as a leader for your team, your organization, and your industry. Investing the time necessary to establish a meaningful one is not difficult, but if you're trying to convince top talent to join your team and they do any research on you at all, what will they find?

3  Content
There is a reason the phrase "content is king" is so important...because it's true. Yes, the content needs to be meaningful, not just plentiful. But without it, you and your company fall into the trap of repeating your press releases inside the organization and convincing yourselves that the outside world is listening. They're not. Develop your stories, and start sharing them with the world. 

4  Engagement

Using social media channels to distribute your content is not a passing fad, or something that you simply don't have time for any longer. Those tired excuses make you sound old and irrelevant. 

Put content and social media at the top of your to do list everyday. It comes first, not last. If you don't know how to use the various tools you need to reach out and learn. I'll help you, but you have to take the first step and accept that it is 2017.

5  Candidate Experience
Do you still believe it is such a privilege to work at your organization that candidates should be grateful to have the opportunity to even interview with you, let alone get hired? If so, I guarantee you have a long list of vacancies and you "can't understand why?" Focus on candidates, not yourself. No organization is that special, but in the epic struggle for healthcare talent, the candidates absolutely are.

6  Speed
This one is perhaps the hardest for #HealthcareHR leaders to grasp. Going slow, holding meetings for several weeks or months with a "multi-disciplinary team" and "fully understanding the risks involved" are all excuses for "I'm too scared to be a leader." 

Too harsh? You tell me...when was the last time a healthcare organization moved quickly to ensure they had the brand, and the talent necessary to impact the lives of their employees and patients?

How About You
Lists can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. I can relate...they do to me as well. Here's the difference, I want to help you understand these six priorities...how to learn...how to plan...how to execute and sustain. Let's be honest, if I could do these things leading a conservative hospital's HR function, you can too!

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Hey Recruiter! No Brand? No Game.

"All of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me, Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You."
- Tom Peters

It's Not A Fad
The notion that individual recruiters don't need to worry about their brand as long as they work for, or represent organizations with a strong brand, is a fallacy. Success as a recruiter is ultimately about credibility and hustle...and the tools of the trade today are digital. 

Some may feel that since they've been recruiting for a long time and have always been successful, they do not need to focus on their brand. That approach will prove to be a costly mistake. Clients expect their recruiters to be current, contemporary leaders in the industry. To say that simply because they have been doing something for a long time has nothing to do with being good at it.

Are you with me?

Getting Started Is Easy
There is good news for any recruiter that claims to be too busy, too private, or too lazy to get their own brand moving forward. It's easy to get started, as long as you do one thing...

Start!

Odds are you already have a LinkedIn profile, and maybe have a twitter account too. Hopefully you've gone further and are rocking a snapchat story every day. These channels can be very powerful outlets for you to distribute content. 

What's that? You don't have any content to share? Um, yes you do! Here's a quick list of content that you can begin sharing today.

- post your organization's content
- post your client's content
- post your candidate's content
- post general thought leadership
- post industry thought leadership (Healthcare, HR, I.T., Finance, etc.)
- post YOUR content

You officially no longer have an excuse. 

How About You
You're already working hard. But without the digital credibility, you will forever be lost among the masses of "professional recruiters" out there. Why would a client listen to you? Why would a candidate listen to you? 

It's time to step up. Let me help.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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A Leader's Interview Guide (because you're horrible at it)

I hate to break this to you, but candidates no longer need you. They don’t need to feel lucky to land a job at your organizaiton. You’re not doing them any favors, and they certainly don’t need to grovel all over your office being thankful.

You need them.

They have all the power.

…and you could not be more ill-prepared to compete for them than you are right now.

Vacancies are the Worst

Consider the pressure you face every day:

- overtime

- staff morale

- turnover

- budget performance

- vacancies

- employee behavior

- regulatory constraints

The candidates do not need you…you need them.

Three Focus Areas

You can prepare yourself to interview effectively in many ways; however the three areas below should be considered mandatory if you are hoping to compete in the market today.

a) Your Digital Presentation

- they will search you online…100% of the time

- Linkedin (if your profile is lame, assume they think you are too)

- google yourself to learn how invisible you really are

Have you invested a few minutes to ensure you appear to be paying attention to our digital world? If not, you already look old and stale (regardless of how many candles will be on your cake the next time your birthday rolls around.)

b) Your Real Life presentation

- energy

- passion

- direct, well prepared questions

- humor

- listen to them

Have you invested the time to focus, removed the onslaught of noise from your mind, and committed to focusing exclusively on the person you’ll be interviewing? If not, you will come across just like every other hiring leader in the universe...distracted and arrogant.

c) Your Attitude

- don’t judge in the first five minutes

- be clear about your expectations

- be direct

Have you allowed yourself to have an open mind, and to consider that someone who doesn’t instantly fit into your clone-like vision of your team might actually add a diverse and fresh perspective? If not, it’s time to end the interview before it starts and head to your next recurring management meeting and vent about your circumstances.

How About You

Are you ready for 'your" next interview? Your candidates will be. In fact, they have done more research about you, than you have about them. 

What will they find? Anything at all?

Bueller?

How will you present yourself? How will you follow up after? Do you send thank you notes to candidates for coming in; or, should they leave feeling thankful for the opportunity to be in your presence?

I’d love to hear from you.

No Excuses. 

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Brand Champion? I Don't Think So

One of the core components of an effective recruitment marketing strategy is that leaders in the organization are actively engaged.

When I say engaged, I mean actually doing things...not just offering "support" during monthly recurring meetings. They have to be brand ambassadors.

Yes, the leadership. Not the HR staff. Not the Marketing staff. Not a 20 year old college dropout who "knows how to do social media."

You have to do it.

Leader Brand
Now that social media dominates the world of work (yes it does, whether you like it or not), your brand as a leader is not only important, it has already been established and is public.

What's that? You say you aren't active on social media so it's impossible for you to have a leader brand? Sorry...your absence says something very powerful about your brand...

...you don't have one.

The good news is that it's easy to get started:

- Spruce up your Linkedin profile (good pic, copy and paste your resume)

- Open a twitter account (use the same pic from your LInkedin account)

- Download snapchat. (it won't kill you...and everyone you're going to hire in the next 10 years is using it every day)

Content
Here's a little secret that will help transform you from zero-to-hero so you can finally start practicing what you preach. Your organization already develops content and pushes it out through the organization-wide marketing social media channels. This content has been vetted, approved, and is already out there.

You don't have to ask for permission, or worry about what you're posting. Just share, retweet or post it on your accounts.

Done!

Content drives engagement. Content highlights the amazing people in your company. If you're not sharing your own organization's content, you clearly are embarrassed about where you work, right? Otherwise, if you were a real brand ambassador, you would be sharing as much as you possibly could.

Are you with me?

How About You
It's time to back up all that talk at the annual years of service banquet about how "incredible your people are." Annual praise is empty. Start leading in the 21st century and set yourself apart from the competition. You'll be amazed at the results.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Snapchat, Ghosts & Not Being Old & Lame

I've been experimenting with snapchat lately. The tarnished image of the app is gone (yes, it is) and it has now moved to powerhouse status rivaling the other heavy hitters in the social media space.

What has been an unexpected surprise to me is how many long-time social media "experts" (ahem, I hate that word), have come out proclaiming the futility of using snap for recruiting, because they do not see a way forward.

Really?

Brands Love It
The last time I checked, which is daily, major brands around the world are pushing out high quality content on snapchat.

Are they doing this because it is a waste of time?
Are the doing this because "the experts" keen insight is fun to ignore?

Um...

Isn't there a direct link between employer brand and recruitment?

Now before you discount the millions of people using this tool every day, remember they are the workforce of today and tomorrow. 

Still reading? Good, I'm not done.

Ignore the Noise
Is there noise around snapchat? Of course there is. Is the ghost codes craze over begging for hearts annoying? Of course it is. 

Is snapchat's recent major upgrade a sign of massive innovation and change for a platform with unlimited upside?

You bet your closed-mind it is.

For those of you that have decided that snapchat has no future in the talent acquisition space, I caution you to hold your opinion at the risk of sounding like a fool.

"Those proclaiming so early that there is no future using snapchat risk sounding like the grumpy old neighbor yelling at the kids to "get off my lawn."

Don't be that person.

How About You
I wonder if the bright minds in the social media space that adopted facebook, twitter, Pinterest, swarm, and so many others have lost their edge? Has the fire gone out, and it's simply too embarrassing to admit that you haven't figured out snapchat yet? 

Or, do you need an in-your-face blog post to get you all fired up again so you can get back in the game...and lead the way once more?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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