Rejection... unfortunately something we all face at one point or another. It stinks being on the receiving end of it, but in life rejection is a necessary evil.
The reason I picked this topic today, is because of a conversation I had with a job seeker late last week. She said, "I am tired of applying and interviewing for jobs and never getting a call or an email back". I understood where she was coming from....if you took the time to apply, phone interview, take time off to go into their office; the least they could do is communicate their decision. However, being the one who delivers bad news more than good news gives me some ...er....perspective.
I understand that recruiters carry heavy work loads and don't always have the time to get back to everyone. I am not excusing it, because that is not my M.O. I have met recruiters that just don't like sending rejection letters or making that dreaded call. It's not fun. I get that, because I don't enjoy it either. One of the reasons that I love recruiting is giving someone who deserves the job - the job! The thing is, it IS a necessary evil... because it is vital to candidate experience.
So what about other forms of rejection? In Sales? In Sports? In getting picked last? In not getting the promotion? In not getting the guy/girl? We all have to experience this (unfortunately), but what I will leave you with is this... What did you learn from getting rejected? Have you taken the time to ponder that?
I am a firm believer in learning from negative experiences. Maybe you will practice more to make the team? Maybe you will learn to coach instead of play? So, you didn't get the promotion... what did the person have that you didn't? Was it a political decision? Should you develop your skills more in one area or another? Is it time to move on and get the recognition you deserve? You didn't catch that awesome fish in the sea... was it a blessing in disguise? Do you need to spend some time working on yourself?
There are a lot of questions you can be asking yourself when you experience rejection. I am not saying that you should blame yourself or be hard on yourself - that is NOT what you should do. What I am saying is that reflection is important. Understanding your weaknesses is a step forward in self improvement and I am a big advocate for self improvement (I have the braces at 34 to prove it!).
Now as for the Art of Rejection....
You have probably been subjected to the "sandwich methodology" - you know where you get two compliments sandwiched between the negative feedback (or in this case rejection). In HR, we tread lightly when giving feedback (if at all), because it mitigates risk. People misinterpret what you say sometimes, twisting kind feedback and turning it into a discriminatory remark. As such, a recruiter will never tell you exactly why you didn't get the job (or at least they shouldn't). Where the "art" comes in is... crafting a rejection that is not ego destroying.
For example: "Thank you for all the time you invested in our interview process. While your background was most impressive, we have decided to hire someone who better fit the requirements of the positions. We hope that we will cross paths again in the future. Best of luck in your search." Yes, there is a compliment in there, but it's not just a simple sandwich. It is more of a positive let down. This approach will leave a favorable impression of your company and is what the candidate experience friendly rejection should feel like. Positive, open for the future, encouraging respect for their time investment and still promoting the employment brand.
Thoughts?
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Friday, September 13, 2013
Starting the Fall Campus Trail
Fall is my favorite season! There is a distinct smell in the air that comes with Fall and what's not to like about hoodie weather, pumpkin spice everything and leaves in every color! The other reason I like Fall is because it's back to school time... not just for my son, but for my candidate pool as well.
This week I've booked my campus travel schedule and mapped out which Sales Managers and Alumni Account Executives will be joining me as I road trip to various campuses across the Midwest. I've also mapped out the next two campus season(s) branding strategies and how we will pipeline for the large ramp of new hires we plan for Q1, Q2 and Q3 of 2014.
I can hardly contain my excitement. For me - I'm in my element on campus, as I love the energy level I get to exude. I often refer to it as hustling, "Everyday I'm Hustling" (Cue LMFAO) haha!
It surprises me how wrong people can be about the Millennial population sometimes. I see this first hand on campus. Sure, there are some entitled kids out there that went to school because mommy and daddy paid for them to go and it was an excuse to get out of the house, join a frat and party. However, I see a great deal of smart go-getters out there that want to make an impact on a company, learn and absorb as much as they can. It is those "go-getters" that are our future! They make a difference and are part of the war on talent from a grow-your-own talent perspective.
The key is having a recruiter that can spot the go-getters and sell the opportunity of making an impact at your organization. Sure branding is a HUGE component, but that is a different post. Weeding out the entitled from the go-getter is not all that hard, but is indeed a learned skill. Some of the things I look for on campus are:
This week I've booked my campus travel schedule and mapped out which Sales Managers and Alumni Account Executives will be joining me as I road trip to various campuses across the Midwest. I've also mapped out the next two campus season(s) branding strategies and how we will pipeline for the large ramp of new hires we plan for Q1, Q2 and Q3 of 2014.
I can hardly contain my excitement. For me - I'm in my element on campus, as I love the energy level I get to exude. I often refer to it as hustling, "Everyday I'm Hustling" (Cue LMFAO) haha!
It surprises me how wrong people can be about the Millennial population sometimes. I see this first hand on campus. Sure, there are some entitled kids out there that went to school because mommy and daddy paid for them to go and it was an excuse to get out of the house, join a frat and party. However, I see a great deal of smart go-getters out there that want to make an impact on a company, learn and absorb as much as they can. It is those "go-getters" that are our future! They make a difference and are part of the war on talent from a grow-your-own talent perspective.
The key is having a recruiter that can spot the go-getters and sell the opportunity of making an impact at your organization. Sure branding is a HUGE component, but that is a different post. Weeding out the entitled from the go-getter is not all that hard, but is indeed a learned skill. Some of the things I look for on campus are:
- Dressed professional and prepared at the career fair
- Mapped out a plan for which employers to speak with, their openings and did some research on the company
- Prepared with copies of their resume and pitches for why they are a candidate that should be considered
- Activities, Philanthropy, Student Government, Internships, Sports, Collegiate Activities/Groups on their resume that showcase that this person is INVOLVED and used to juggling responsibility
- Energy level and willingness to introduce themselves (you would be surprised how often this is missed)
- BONUS: Prior to fair, emailed resume or applied online and mentions they will visit your booth (I love this one - extra points!)
- Sloppy appearance
- Not prepared
- Crumpled resumes
- No research, no map, no plan, no clue
- Busy socializing with their friends and not actually engaging employers
- Resume with only school and summer jobs
- Low energy level (I am not talking introvert here - but literally like they had an all night keger the night before and decided to show up anyway)
- No real clue as to what types of jobs they are targeting
- Just hitting the booths for free swag or chotchkies
Saturday, September 7, 2013
If data is not important...then I dont know what is!
Does anyone out there still keep manual spreadsheets? (My hand is raised btw)
Data is so important.. I know this, you know this and everyone else across the globe knows this. However, myself and a bunch of my corporate recruiting friends all have the same complaints - reporting!!! Now maybe it is because the group of people I know work at companies that have not made applicant tracking system reporting a priority or maybe there are more people out there with these same issues than I personally know?
In terms of fortune 500 level companies or companies with employees under 2500 (which I am most familiar with) they do not invest is systems that I drool over like Success Factors or Kenexa. We typically have Taleo business edition, PC Recruiter, Virtual Edge and even icims. What is frustrating is that a lot of these ATS systems are not designed the same as the actual recruiters workflow. Maybe even the person who implemented the system didn't understand the workflow (which is more likely the culprit). Therefore, the data is not recorded in the same fashion. Most of the systems are customizable (which is one of the reasons it was purchased in the first place) but there are a ton of add-on costs in order to configure dashboard reporting. Instead of getting fancy dashboard reports that executives want to see (let's be honest we want to also see), you get raw data that you dump into Excel.
Mind-numbing raw, stinking-freaking RAW data. So, then you have to manipulate it to make it fancy but that is a lot of bloody mindless work.... when surely a system can do that, right?!
I've been fortunate enough to see the before and after of what good HRIS consulting can do to configure Taleo. It still wasn't perfect, but you know your reports are only as good as the tracking of data in the system so... Plus, improvement is good - perfection is unrealistic.
Any commiserate-rs? Any braggarts that want to share their awesome reporting (I am guaranteed to be jealous)?
Data is so important.. I know this, you know this and everyone else across the globe knows this. However, myself and a bunch of my corporate recruiting friends all have the same complaints - reporting!!! Now maybe it is because the group of people I know work at companies that have not made applicant tracking system reporting a priority or maybe there are more people out there with these same issues than I personally know?
In terms of fortune 500 level companies or companies with employees under 2500 (which I am most familiar with) they do not invest is systems that I drool over like Success Factors or Kenexa. We typically have Taleo business edition, PC Recruiter, Virtual Edge and even icims. What is frustrating is that a lot of these ATS systems are not designed the same as the actual recruiters workflow. Maybe even the person who implemented the system didn't understand the workflow (which is more likely the culprit). Therefore, the data is not recorded in the same fashion. Most of the systems are customizable (which is one of the reasons it was purchased in the first place) but there are a ton of add-on costs in order to configure dashboard reporting. Instead of getting fancy dashboard reports that executives want to see (let's be honest we want to also see), you get raw data that you dump into Excel.
Mind-numbing raw, stinking-freaking RAW data. So, then you have to manipulate it to make it fancy but that is a lot of bloody mindless work.... when surely a system can do that, right?!
I've been fortunate enough to see the before and after of what good HRIS consulting can do to configure Taleo. It still wasn't perfect, but you know your reports are only as good as the tracking of data in the system so... Plus, improvement is good - perfection is unrealistic.
Any commiserate-rs? Any braggarts that want to share their awesome reporting (I am guaranteed to be jealous)?
Thursday, September 5, 2013
The Politics for Making a Business Case
Corporate politics can be tricky. It can be even more tricky when you are driving change (or at least trying to). I realize we are not all in a position to be change agents, but your engaged employees should be trying to drive change... at the very least from a process improvement point of view.
With that said - being a change agent is one thing, but actually getting the buy-in from the business to implement change... is an entirely different mountain. Yes it is a MOUNTAIN! Corporate politics make it a mountain. There is red tape, personal agendas, egos, higher salaries, and even a dictatorship in some cases. Wow, that's enough to make anyone give up on their idea...even when it is for the good of an organization!
So, how would one go about making the business case for change (if they were brave enough to try)? A good friend and colleague (who is a sales professional) shared with me a story that sticks with me to this very day. He said, "I always go 80% there and let the decision makers fill in the other 20%. Works every time!". Having seen him put this into action, I am convinced his methods produce results. However, we can't all be a brave political warrior like him, so I have outlined a pretty good checklist to help you get there.
1.) Understand the problem. This may make you go back to your college research paper days to write out a problem statement. However, you also need raw data to prove that it actually is a problem. Do you have metrics that showcase the problem in a quantitative way? If so, you might want to include those.
2.) How does this affect the business? What is the current state under this condition and what is the worst case scenario over time (long-term or short-term) if no change is made?
3.) Understand your audience. Who will be at the table and have influence over the decision for implementing the change you are suggesting? Who is the loudest? Who is the influencer of others? Make a list and organize it by loudest, most opinionated and influential and put the quietest, less influential at the bottom.
4.) Fully scope out your solution. Will this be a project or an easy 1-off solution? If it is a project, then you need to map out timelines, human capital resources, costs and expected challenges along the way. Nothing looks worst then not having the answers. So, reverse engineer the meeting. Think of all the things they might ask you and have the answers researched and ready!
5.) Target the loudest most influential decision makers. Pick the top two and have a pre-close/buy-in conversation off on the side. Having two influential people already on your side, makes it easier to get the rest of them into group-think mode. Address the problem at hand and give them 80% of your solution. Back them into telling you the other 20% of the solution (that you already know). This gives them personal ownership in your business case. Be careful and tread lightly; you don't want both influencers thinking they own the same idea. Also, think of this as a trial run.
6.) Present your business case to the group and make sure your problem statement, solution, and project plan are well formed and organized in a nice power point. Be sure to give credit where credit is due, by verbally recognizing the 2 influential decision makers. Let them speak up and also sell your business case. Try your best not to leave the room without getting a confirmation on next steps, what additional information they need or in a best case scenario - an answer!
Overall this is a very collaborative approach, but it gets the job done. Just know that it takes an army to successfully implement change, even when it's a no-brainer to you and will save the company money, time or resources. Change is not something that the majority of people take on easily.
What strategies have you used to make a business case and skate through corporate politics?
Now get your brave-politico-warrior game face on .... Grrrr!
With that said - being a change agent is one thing, but actually getting the buy-in from the business to implement change... is an entirely different mountain. Yes it is a MOUNTAIN! Corporate politics make it a mountain. There is red tape, personal agendas, egos, higher salaries, and even a dictatorship in some cases. Wow, that's enough to make anyone give up on their idea...even when it is for the good of an organization!
So, how would one go about making the business case for change (if they were brave enough to try)? A good friend and colleague (who is a sales professional) shared with me a story that sticks with me to this very day. He said, "I always go 80% there and let the decision makers fill in the other 20%. Works every time!". Having seen him put this into action, I am convinced his methods produce results. However, we can't all be a brave political warrior like him, so I have outlined a pretty good checklist to help you get there.
1.) Understand the problem. This may make you go back to your college research paper days to write out a problem statement. However, you also need raw data to prove that it actually is a problem. Do you have metrics that showcase the problem in a quantitative way? If so, you might want to include those.
2.) How does this affect the business? What is the current state under this condition and what is the worst case scenario over time (long-term or short-term) if no change is made?
3.) Understand your audience. Who will be at the table and have influence over the decision for implementing the change you are suggesting? Who is the loudest? Who is the influencer of others? Make a list and organize it by loudest, most opinionated and influential and put the quietest, less influential at the bottom.
4.) Fully scope out your solution. Will this be a project or an easy 1-off solution? If it is a project, then you need to map out timelines, human capital resources, costs and expected challenges along the way. Nothing looks worst then not having the answers. So, reverse engineer the meeting. Think of all the things they might ask you and have the answers researched and ready!
5.) Target the loudest most influential decision makers. Pick the top two and have a pre-close/buy-in conversation off on the side. Having two influential people already on your side, makes it easier to get the rest of them into group-think mode. Address the problem at hand and give them 80% of your solution. Back them into telling you the other 20% of the solution (that you already know). This gives them personal ownership in your business case. Be careful and tread lightly; you don't want both influencers thinking they own the same idea. Also, think of this as a trial run.
6.) Present your business case to the group and make sure your problem statement, solution, and project plan are well formed and organized in a nice power point. Be sure to give credit where credit is due, by verbally recognizing the 2 influential decision makers. Let them speak up and also sell your business case. Try your best not to leave the room without getting a confirmation on next steps, what additional information they need or in a best case scenario - an answer!
Overall this is a very collaborative approach, but it gets the job done. Just know that it takes an army to successfully implement change, even when it's a no-brainer to you and will save the company money, time or resources. Change is not something that the majority of people take on easily.
What strategies have you used to make a business case and skate through corporate politics?
Now get your brave-politico-warrior game face on .... Grrrr!
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
The Job Hopper
Countless times this has been the road block for many talented individuals. Frankly, I've always wondered if this is a blessing or a curse. You are probably thinking... Blessing? How can she define it as such? Well the reality is you would have had to be hired for several jobs in order to be defined as a job hopper and that means you were chosen by the employer and embraced as part of their team. They saw potential and had hope in you. The fact is, there are many people out there that are not as interview savvy and did not get that frequent of opportunity to join. Isn't that sort of a blessing to have that type of skill? You also have to wonder if that skill translates to the important skills needed in this job!
Yeah, yeah US employers don't want to invest in a person's training and ramp to productivity, only to have to restart that process a year later. However, I have to wonder if they are leaving for a reason and don't actually have the intention of being a job hopper, but are instead being held back from their ambition, micro-managed to death, or avoided a lay-off (jumped ship).
So, how long is long enough? Say you were under the circumstances above, would you stay for the sake of longevity on your resume? A lot of people would... in fact I've heard that before so many times, "I at least have to hit the (#) mark before I consider leaving... I don't want to be perceived as a job hopper".
Don't get me wrong, I don't pick sides on this debate. I just think it is food for thought. So many employers disqualify a candidate based on resume alone because the candidate is perceived as a job hopper, but the reality is if you don't know their situation... how can you truly classify them as such and maybe, just maybe this person just had some bad luck?! The employer should use precaution for sure, but a flat out no seems rigid to me.
Maybe what we should be delving into is why they have made such poor employment decisions repeatedly and make them think hard about what they liked, didn't like and how your environment, managerial style and culture fit affect them in the role? Do they want the same things you are providing? Do their behaviors in past situations point to favorable future circumstances with you? AND... most importantly - Can you keep them?
Some risks are worth taking.... but you should also take the right precaution. Balance is key.
What sort of feelings do you have on the job hopper topic? Ever interviewed and hired someone who shocked you because they made the cut long-term?
Yeah, yeah US employers don't want to invest in a person's training and ramp to productivity, only to have to restart that process a year later. However, I have to wonder if they are leaving for a reason and don't actually have the intention of being a job hopper, but are instead being held back from their ambition, micro-managed to death, or avoided a lay-off (jumped ship).
So, how long is long enough? Say you were under the circumstances above, would you stay for the sake of longevity on your resume? A lot of people would... in fact I've heard that before so many times, "I at least have to hit the (#) mark before I consider leaving... I don't want to be perceived as a job hopper".
Don't get me wrong, I don't pick sides on this debate. I just think it is food for thought. So many employers disqualify a candidate based on resume alone because the candidate is perceived as a job hopper, but the reality is if you don't know their situation... how can you truly classify them as such and maybe, just maybe this person just had some bad luck?! The employer should use precaution for sure, but a flat out no seems rigid to me.
Maybe what we should be delving into is why they have made such poor employment decisions repeatedly and make them think hard about what they liked, didn't like and how your environment, managerial style and culture fit affect them in the role? Do they want the same things you are providing? Do their behaviors in past situations point to favorable future circumstances with you? AND... most importantly - Can you keep them?
Some risks are worth taking.... but you should also take the right precaution. Balance is key.
What sort of feelings do you have on the job hopper topic? Ever interviewed and hired someone who shocked you because they made the cut long-term?
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