All The Things You Don’t Say

Congrats! You’ve gotten an interview. That’s great! Are you freaking out? Are you pulling everything out of your closet? Are you finally touching up those roots?

Believe it or not, all the things you don’t say are just as important as the things you do. Sure you need to answer their questions (hopefully using the STAR method – but thats for another post), but more importantly, you are presenting yourself. It’s kind of like a modeling gig. All eyes are on you.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to look like Cindy Crawford to get a job. But you do need to dress for the job you want. Even if a company has a corporate casual dress policy they still expect applicants to show up in a suit or appropriate dress. It’s like dating. You don’t show up for your first date in sweats, you go all out. Same thing here. I usually suggest the following:

Women – a nice pants suit. Dark colors are best, but if it’s the middle of the summer a light grey or tan suit will work as well. Punch it up with a pretty blouse. You don’t have to be too bland. Color is fine. Showing some personality though your clothing is fine as well! Wear nice jewelry. Nothing over the top, but don’t be afraid to wear a nice pin or necklace. And do your hair! If you’re like me – that means pulling out the straightening iron! And please, make sure your clothes are pressed and stain free. There is nothing worse than seeing someone come in with a pony tail and a too tight suit with a stain on it. The interviewer at that point is thinking – If they look like this now (when they are supposed to be making a good impression) what will they look like a few weeks after they start? If you have tattoos cover them up. If you have a lot of piercings take some out. If you have a nose ring either take it out or put in a very small diamond stud. Other facial piercings have not yet become acceptable in the work place. Even the nose ring will be a no-no in more corporate settings. 

Men – Just like your line for the bathroom, your list is short. Wear a suit and tie. Cover the tattoos. Anything other than an earring is not acceptable.

OK, now that you are dressed and ready to go, get there early! Give yourself plenty of time for traffic or getting lost. Ideally you should arrive no more than 15 minutes early. So if you are super early, wait in your car or in the Starbucks on the corner. Being too early is just as bad as being late!

When you walk in, talk to the receptionist. They may try to make conversation – if they do – talk! Sometimes they are part of the interview process without you even knowing it.

If you are offered water or coffee take the water. Even if you aren’t thirsty you may get parched with all that talking you will do in the interview.

When you meet your interviewer make sure you shake their hand and introduce yourself. Ladies, sit with your legs crossed at your ankles. Try to remember to smile. They know you are nervous, but secretly they are nervous too!

Make sure you have done some research on the company before the interview. When they ask “So what do you know about our company?”, silence is not golden.

Lastly, make sure you speak up when the interviewer says “So, do you have any questions for me?” Not talking at this point is the worst thing you can do! Even if they really covered the job description and you can’t think of anything directly related to the job to ask, you can always ask any of the following:

How long have you worked here? What are some of the things that you really like about company xyz?

What are the next steps in the process?

What is the company culture like?

And if its the first interview, don’t bring up salary or benefits unless asked. The HR person should have screened you for salary before you even came in, so you don’t need to bring it up. If you are later in the process it is ok to ask about the benefits.

So with all that being said, try to relax and be yourself! You just have to follow the employee/employer mating ritual in the beginning.

You Gotta Know When To Hold ‘Em, Know When To Fold ‘Em

Know when to walk away, know when to run. You never count your money when your sittin’ at the table, there’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealin’s done.

Now that I put that gem of a song in your head, I’ll explain. There comes a time in everyone’s life when they know they are just “DONE”. Be it at a job or relationship etc. But so many people don’t do anything about it. They just continue on in their soul crushing experience. Well I am here to say – it doesn’t have to be that way.

Many companies have an Employee Assistance Program. This is a great first place to start if you are having problems at home, with an addiction or with your work life. Many offer free phone counseling as well as free in- person introductory sessions. They also have a wealth of material on-line that you can search through. As a human resources professional I have used them myself with issues ranging from problem employee behavior, to bringing in grief counselors after an employee passed away. It’s an often under utilized benefit that is really incredibly useful. So go check with your HR department to see if you have one.

When it’s really time to move on, make sure you have a support system around you. If its time for another job, a great thing to do is find a good recruiter. There are lots of terrible ones out there that give the good ones a bad name, but trust me, when you find them you will know. A good recruiter will help you with your resumé, discuss all options with you, prepare you for an interview and follow through on the process.  Also, with a recruiter you can be sure the hiring manager is going to see your resumé. Recruiters have established relationships with their clients, and they know what they want. Yeah sure, most HR folks would love to find their own employees, but if they have to worry about benefits, employee relations and performance management they may not have the time to spend sourcing the best candidates.

So give a recruiter a try. At least you know your resumé won’t be floating around in cyberspace in the Jobs@bestcompanyever.com mailbox. (No thats not an actual link!) It will land on the hiring managers desk, giving you an even better chance at that dream job. And you can count that money when the deal is done!

To visit the HR Chick’s recruiting page click here.

To hear “The Gambler” click here.

Training Without a Training Budget

Lets face it, the first thing that gets cut when times are tough is the training budget. Unfortunately this often results in a complete training void. For some reason, organizations tend to just give up on the topic if they don’t have the funds to send people out to a seminar, or bring someone in-house. I think this is one of the biggest mistakes a company can make.

Why is it that people think their best trainers are outside their office walls? Look around – who knows the corporate culture, clients, strengths and weaknesses of your company the best? Thats right – all those folks on your payroll! You have to have some guru’s lying around. Tap them. Heck, this is the easiest, possibly most measurable goal you can set for someone – design and deliver a one hour professional development session on a topic relevant to the company’s current needs. Send out a quick staff survey with a few broad questions to assess those needs. You may be surprised with the detail responses you get. What may be even more surprising is seeing how much staff members actually care about training.

Working is a give and take. Unfortunately, giving all I have - including being shackled to a Blackberry so I can answer questions any time of day or night in exchange for a paycheck –  isn’t always enough to keep employees happy. In fact, salary is usually one of the lesser reasons why somebody enjoys their work. People want to know that what they are doing is meaningful, that the company values them and more importantly that the company wants to invest in them.

Trainings don’t have to be high-tech, but they have to add value. Take those Intel commercials for example. You know the one – Our Rock Stars Aren’t Like Your Rock Stars? You can check it out here if you have no idea what I’m talking about. I’m willing to bet that if people at Intel had the opportunity to have a Professional Development session with Ajay Bhatt they are going to show up.  Additionally, giving people the opportunity to develop their own session, and feel proud about a niche they know so well, is motivating and empowering. So many people feel like they don’t have enough time to coach, train or manage individuals. This is a great way to show both the trainer and the staff just how important these things are.

So why not pleasantly surprise your staff with something they probably haven’t had in a while – some Training or Professional Development. Before you know it you may have a whole catalog of offerings at your fingertips. Not a bad way to utilize your most valuable resource!

We Are The Music Makers And We Are The Dreamers of Dreams

Oh yes, that Willy Wonka was a smart man, and oh so fantastic recruiter. Ok, maybe the pool of 5 random individuals wasn’t ideal, but you get the picture.

So Dreamers, its 2010. New Year, New Decade and oh wait…let me guess…New You! I knew it! And I bet for some of you that means a little game of musical chairs in your future. So for those of you that didn’t heed my last post to job search in December, and are starting now, I’d like to officially welcome you to the game. And just for playing, you’ll get to hear about all of my pet peeves when it comes to recruiting. That way, you can send in the standout resume and get the job! Oh, and just in case your bag is PR or Web Design – I am looking for a Web Designer in NY and PR professionals at various levels in NY and San Fran. If interested click here.

So as I was saying, with all the competition for jobs out there, you are lucky if your resumé gets 10-15 seconds of viewing in the initial screening process. So you need your resumé to stand out. Or at least not contain common mistakes, or more importantly common pet peeves of recruiters/HR staff. I know lots of HR people and recruiters, and yes, sadly this is often topic of conversation.

1. Chances are (I’m thinking 50% given the amount of genders we have) that the person reading your resumé is not a man. Please do not address your cover letter as Dear Sir. There are so many other appropriate greeting such as: To Whom It May Concern; Dear Hiring Manager; Dear Selection Committee; heck, even Dear Recruiter is better. Because even if you are pretty with-it, when I see Dear Sir, I think you live under some sort of Corporate America rock. That, or maybe you watch Mad Men way too much.

2. The cover letter. I know – its probably the part you dread most about the whole process, but really it has some importance. Personally, I am not a fan of the long cover letter. That’s what the resumé is for. In a cover letter I want to see the following: the position you are applying for, where you found it, salary requirements and contact information. A sentence or two about why you think you are a great fit is fine, but not even necessary if you fit the other criteria. I’m cool with a form letter  – just make sure you reference MY job. 

3. IF I SPECIFICALLY ASK YOU TO INCLUDE SALARY REQUIREMENTS IN THE AD – PUT THEM IN!!!!!!!!!!!!  Did you get that? This is big. I mean really, if you can’t follow simple instructions, are you really the detail-oriented individual you claim to be? And NO – Salary open or flexible does not count. Put a number. Put a range. Put SOMETHING.

4. Resume names are important. They often show up as an attachment. It’s a tiny glimmer into what is to come. Personally, I think it’s great if you have a few resumes tailored towards different positions. However, if you are applying for a job in HR, the title of said resume should not be Accounting Resume. Firstname.lastname usually works best. Especially for those poor recruiters that don’t have a fancy smanchy resume data base. They have to save your resumé in a folder and when they go to look for yours, it’s a bit of a pain if it’s called Resume475.

5. And finally, make sure your resumé is tailored to the type of position you are looking for. For example, if I am looking for a technical person, I want to see all the fun computer language stuff at the top. I want to see links to past work or a portfolio if appropriate. Spell things correctly, but it’s not necessary to be a literary genius too. Just make sure it’s grammatically correct and highlights all of your technical knowledge. On the other hand, if you are an Editor, Copywriter, Marketing or PR Person, your resumé needs to be spotless. We’re talking grammar, descriptors, formatting – the works. I remember I was looking for a Copy Editor once, and their little resume tag line (in the search function) had a major misspelling. Part of me wanted to click on it, email them and tell them, but after seeing it month after month like that in the database, I thought that well, maybe they should work on their follow-up as well.

I think that was enough for one post. I apologize if it sounded like a vent. But there are days that I just look at so many resumes! Let your’s be the glimmery gold wrapper in the Wonka Bar. There may just be a big reward at the end of the search.

Don’t Drop The Job Search During The Holidays!

With the economy being the way it is, there are plenty of folks out there looking for jobs. Many people, for some reason or another, feel like the time between Thanksgiving and the New Year is a giant job search vortex, and simply take time off from the hunt.  I am here to say – don’t do it! December can be one of the best times of the year to find a job. Reduced competition (because of all of those silly folks taking a job hunting break), new budgets being approved for the coming year, and people scrambling to spend budgets.  Most people are in the office most of the month opting instead for the week between Christmas and New Year’s off, so setting up interviews is often easier than working around summer vacations. Oh and did I mention networking opportunities? December is party time! Its time to schmooze and impress, get together with friends and spread the word of your availability. Local industry specific chapters often have holiday get-togethers as well. Get out there and mingle! And apply for those jobs you see on-line. If a company has an ad up, they are hiring. And they want to hire the folks that don’t let something silly like the month of December get in the way of their career goals. I know my company is hiring, and we’re not waiting for the post-holiday dull-drums to set in to get it done!

So get those resumes out! Network, mingle, and connect with old friends and colleagues on sites such as linkedin.com or look out for tweet-ups on twitter.com. Maybe you’ll even have some fun in the process!

And let me know how it goes, I’d love to hear from you.

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year….

…well sort of. I mean there are usually parties. And if you are having a party this year it’s probably to celebrate living though the crap-tastic year we’ll call 2009. Lets face it – it wasn’t a winner for most, but the year-end party is way to recognize all the hard work you and your employees did throughout the year to keep your company afloat. They probably worked even harder than usual amidst layoff’s and lack of raises. So now its time to party!

They come in all forms – big blow outs to a gathering at the bar. Maybe its a team building or drinks in the conference room. Regardless, its important to let your employees know that you do appreciate them by supplying them with a few hours of fun.

Now for my no-nonsense advice. There are tons of sites that tell you to not drink, or not even take part in the party scene. I think this is nuts. It really comes down to your company culture. If you are a group that goes to happy hour once a week, well than that’s the atmosphere that will work for you. If you are a mom and pop company, maybe a nice dinner with employees and their spouses is the way to go. If you work in an office where everyone runs out the door at 5 and only sees each other within the confines of your office, there is always a team-building adventure. Whatever you decide to do, make sure it fits your culture and your employees feel like they can breathe. If you have worries about possible overindulgence or harassment issues, well here are some things you can do as HR or a Manager:

• Remind people that even though it’s a party – it’s still a company event. If you don’t tolerate people dancing on their workstations, then dancing on the bar may be a no-no.
• Maybe send out a reminder about the harassment policy. Perhaps you are a really close-knit bunch and you don’t think thats an issue. I am here to say – know your audience and don’t be surprised if someone gets offended by a co-worker. This is especially true when guests are invited. The jokester in the office may act a little differently around their spouse. Just respect that and move on.
• Know your drink limit. While I am totally ok with alcohol at a party, make sure you know your limit. And just in case you aren’t sure – it should look something like 3 or 4 drinks, not 10 shots with a beer chaser. We’re talking the socially acceptable limit vs. your “I’m smashed and kissing the floor” limit. Remember – you are setting an example as a manager – your subordinates will follow your lead.
•  Don’t talk about work. Don’t talk about your boss or your employees. Just don’t do it. Talk about anything else. OK – maybe not religion or politics, but you get the picture. There is plenty to talk about beyond the weather that won’t offend.

All in all, just have a good time. Be social. Mingle. Don’t brown-nose, and talk to everyone on your team. Talk to their guests. Be charming and marvelous. Enjoy the food and drink, and be merry. Not smashed, just merry.

And if that’s not enough for you, well then that’s when you can hit the after-party bars with your buddies. Just make sure you get home safe.

 

Leadership Part 3 – Counseling and Discipline

One of the biggest mistakes people use when managing someone is thinking that coaching and counseling are the same thing. In fact there are lots of web sites that perpetuate that myth. But the HR Chick is here to set you straight.

As seen in my last post – coaching looks at where performance is today and builds on strengths (and on improving weaknesses) by empowering the employee to find their own answers.

Counseling on the other hand, focuses on past performance. It examines what has been done, and what is still being done to slow progress. The purpose of counseling is to identify underlying issues affecting performance or behavior. The session is used to explain the impact on the organization if they do not focus on improvement. Simply put, counseling is used to prevent a formal disciplinary action.

When you are counseling an employee listen for the following:

• Personal or family problems
• Lack of understanding of what is expected
• Problems with co-workers

Of course some of what you hear may simply be BS excuses. It’s your job to figure that out. If they are legitimate, there may be hope. It could be as simple as really setting expectations or going over the job description. Problem co-workers may indeed be identified.

If someone is having personal issues this is a great time to suggest using an EAP (Employee Assistance Program) if your company has one. You don’t have to hear the gory details and they get help. And not only is it a benefit to the employee you are counseling, but as a manager, an EAP can give you a wealth of information to help guide your subordinates. Most people think an EAP is there if you have a drug problem or have failed in some way. Get over yourself, pick up the phone, and get all kinds of free management info. Seriously – EAP’s are the most underused benefit out there. Make those folks on the other end of the phone work for you!

Ok, so I digress. If counseling does not work, you are left with disciplinary action. Many companies use progressive discipline  – i.e. verbal warning, written warning, probation, termination. Of course if you have an employee that comes in smashing up computers, screaming obscenities you can skip straight to termination (do not pass go, do not collect $200). However, in most cases, you’ll progress through the stages and document everything. That’s right DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. When you sit down for a verbal warning you will email your trusty HR Chick letting them know the who, what, when, where of the meeting. All written warnings will have a copy forwarded to HR (even better – HR will be in the meeting).  Basically, you will keep the appropriate people in the loop. And while most states are “At Will” employment states, it is a good idea to have some documented disciplinary actions when terminating for cause. It just makes life easier.  Us HR folks don’t like going to court. Otherwise we would have been lawyers.

Leadership Part 2 – Coaching

Coaching  – another great management technique that sounds easy, but takes a little time to master. And no, we’re not talking Coach Knight’s style of throwing chairs around basketball courts. We’re talking a concerted effort to truly turn your employee’s weakness around without giving them the answer.  Would you give your 10 year old all the answers to his math homework so he can turn around and fail the test in class? Exactly – don’t give your employees all the answers either!

When you coach other employees, not only are you on your way to being a better leader, but you are teaching those below you how to lead themselves. Coaching builds personal and team morale, and it fosters a partnership where employees feel they are contributing to the success of the organization. When you coach you achieve results through others, rather than doing everything yourself.

In order to be a truly effective coach you must first understand the strengths and weaknesses of your employees. You can accomplish this a couple of ways.

• Completing a thorough performance review. This includes getting 360 feedback so you can understand the perceived strengths and weaknesses from managers, subordinates and peers alike.
• Ask questions. Some examples include: What areas would you like to strengthen, improve or develop? What is your action plan to achieve your goals? What do you need (from me or others) to help you reach your goals?

One basic thing to understand about coaching is that you are supporting people to learn rather than telling them the answers. You are fostering development through communication, however you are also putting the ball in their court – and they need to perform.  In order to do this well, follow these basic guidelines:

• Trust your employees – empower them and  give them the ability to make decisions
• Listen – great coaches listen to truly understand the problem – then you can develop an improvement plan
• Focus on developing strengths while also working on areas of improvement
• Give positive feedback – turn mistakes into learning opportunities, and endorse growth and effort instead of harping on failures
• Stop providing solutions – (this in my opinion is the most important) Tell them you want them to approach you with possible solutions when presenting a problem. Ask what they would do in the situation.
• Stop making all the decisions – involvement breeds ownership!
• Be constructive in your feedback

Basically, to be an effective coach you have to get people to think and come to their own conclusions.  Stop telling them what to do. You want to be a boss that develops and empowers their team - not the jerk in the office barking orders. Obviously, some people’s performance has moved past coaching towards improvement. That is where counseling and possible disciplinary action comes into play. We’ll check that out in part 3.

“Coaches have to watch for what they don’t want to see and listen
to what they don’t want to hear.”
John Madden

 

 

Leadership Part 1 – Delegation

Being that I told you in my last post that you need to be leaders and not simply bosses, I figured I’d do a series of topics to help you actually accomplish that.

So – Topic 1 – Delegating. It sounds oh so simple, just hand off your work to some chump below you right? Well, actually it’s not really like that, and I think is one of the hardest aspects of leadership to grasp.

Remember the day that you finally got to work on something interesting? The day you resolved to do it better than anyone previous; to show your boss and the company the shining star that you really are? Guess what? Someone had faith in you and delegated something. NOW – its your turn.

If we want to get technical for a moment, delegation is when part of your job is consciously passed onto a subordinate while YOU maintain accountability.

You are probably thinking – well why would I want to pass something off if I still have to be accountable? That sucks. The answer is simply leadership my friend, leadership.

Lets examine the 3 main reasons you are probably still doing all that work yourself:

• It’s quicker to do myself – I don’t have time to train anyone. This is the “short-term” view
• I can do it better myself – the “perfectionist”
• I don’t have anyone I can trust to delegate to – ego-maniac maybe?

So already you are doomed to be passed on for the next big promotion if you fall into one of these categories. You will never be a leader if you can’t take the time to train someone else, or to give someone else a chance, or to take something off your plate. Cause if you are bogged down now, you can’t move on to bigger and better things.

OK – ready to try now? Good. Here’s what you do:

Recognize and deal with any barriers to delegating. Set aside some time, identify who you can or should delegate to.

Clarify performance standards. Remember – you are still accountable for this piece of work. Make it CLEAR what you need done, and exactly when you need it by. In case you are unaware, URGENT does not equal exactly. Tuesday by 3pm does.

Establish a review method. Tell them you are going to review their work. Again – set a clear expectation as to when. Put it on your calendars.

Create a training plan – asses the underling landscape. Start with something small and let them work up to cooler projects. Give them bigger and better jobs as they prove themselves.

Give them some authority or control over resources. TELL other people on the team that they will be working on that part of the project so they don’t run up against resistance or other obstacles.

Reward outstanding performance. We’re not talking money – we’re talking a shout-out in your next team meeting or a company email telling people that they are now handling certain tasks, and that any requests involving xyz should now be directed to them.

Know when to recall delegation. Once you have the hang of it – don’t go overboard. Know when to step back when you have gone above their limits or knowledge base.

Lastly – continue to coach the company towards a culture of delegation. Delegation does way more than make your life easier, it shows employees that there is a clear career path and promotion from within is encouraged. It is an overall morale booster when people get to do new interesting tasks and its the best form of on-the-job training available.

So go ahead and delegate something – I dare ya.

You’re Promoted – Now Go Lead!

Many new (or not so new) managers think that because they now supervise someone, that makes them a leader. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Although your position as a supervisor gives you the authority to accomplish certain tasks, this power does not make you a leader… it simply makes you the boss.

Management is the process of obtaining goals though: Planning, Organizing, Controlling and Directing.

Leadership is exercising power and influence to motivate staff members by: Training, Supervising, Delegating, Team Building, Listening, Maintaining Relationships, Coaching and Counseling.

So how do you make that jump from Boss to Leader?

• Help Employees understand the company’s (dept., team etc.) overall business strategy.
• Help employees understand how they contribute to achieving key business objectives.
• Share information with the employee about company, department and personal goals.
• Take the time to train and develop your staff. A few minutes now, will come back ten-fold in the future.

Be trustworthy and be able to communicate a vision of where the organization (or department, team etc.) needs to go.

BE a professional

KNOW your job and your organization

DO provide direction and motivate

SET Standards – be technically proficient, seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions, keep your workers informed, develop a sense of responsibility in your workers, ensure that tasks are understood, supervised and accomplished and use the full capacities of your organization.

Don’t just be a boss – be a leader!

“I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” – Nader