Women of the Channel
By Jennifer Bosavage
Don't Make This Hiring Mistake
December 01, 2011
After weeks, maybe months, of searching for what you consider to be the ideal addition to your staff, the recruiter sends over a resume that looks, well, it looks perfect. But despite setting up an interview, learning the candidate would have a 15-minute commute, discovering your interviewee knows her stuff and scheduling a second interview, she says, "No thanks, I'm going to accept another position."
What happened?
What happened is you didn't sell your company. Sometimes, management is too time-strapped to articulate the finer points of working at the company. But other times it's just unfortunate arrogance: I don't need to sell the company; she's lucky to have an interview.
Here's a real-life example: A computer scientist with a small degree of managerial experience, was out of work for several months, but recently was seeing a flurry of interest in her very distinguished vitae. According to midyear research from TechAmerica, which was based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, shows that through June 2011, the U.S. high-tech industry showed signs of slowly coming out of the global economic downturn by adding jobs. The industry added 115,000 net jobs between January and June of 2011, a 2.0 percent increase, for an industry total of 5.89 million jobs. During the same period of 2010 the industry added 21,700 net jobs, or 0.4 percent.
For my friend, the job opportunity was exciting: Work close to home, upgrading systems at a firm that got rave reviews for its company culture. The technology was familiar and it was a project at which she could accel. Or so she thought.
The job description the company gave the recruiter was literally one sentence. And the Saturday phone interview was, in her words, "a puff ball." But she was able to discern enough from it to believe she wanted to pursue it -- although she'd been offered a more lucrative offer by a major corporation paying her thousands more. The location and the work were so appealing it would be worth considering. So my friend was honest with the recruiter -- she said she had another offer in-hand, but wanted to pursue this opportunity, because it sounded interesting both professionally and personally.
Hours later, after a second interview was set, the recruiter forwarded a note from the firm's hiring manager to my friend that said to cancel the interview if the candidate was going to be "a decliner." In other words: "Don't waste my time."
Aside from the fact that the recruiter should never, ever, have forwarded the note from the hiring manager, companies with that attitude, can't expect to bring someone onboard "this week," as this firm continued to signal to the recruiter. My friend wasn't interested in wasting anyone's time -- hers or theirs. She wanted to make the best decision by weighing all options, and already had plenty of opportunity to exercise her interviewing skills during the past few months, thank you very much.
Companies have become used to having the pick of the litter during the last two going on three years, and some, it seems, have gotten arrogant. What is the point of a phone interview on a Saturday to ask questions that pretty much equate to "Can you make toast?" Who's wasting whose time? And there was no invitation for an in-person interview -- remember, it's only 15 minutes for the candidate to drive there. A face-to-face meeting, with a tour of the facility, a personal appeal to join the corporate "family" can make a considerable impression.
Finally, the company just rolled over at the thought of having to sell itself to my friend. It seems the employer here had forgotten that not so long ago, the interview process was two ways: The candidate was interviewing the employer as well. Too many companies are taking an attitude that the employee should be grateful to have any job. There needs to be some recognition that employees make the company successful -- or not.
If you're looking to hire, don't blow your opportunity. Don't waste your time with unqualified candidates, but don't waste suitable prospects' time either by being unresponsive, vague or snarky. There is still a ways to go, with regional and state unemployment rates generally little changed or slightly lower in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Employees need to put their best foot forward and consider positions that until recently didn't seem like they were in their wheelhouses. And companies need to be upfront about what type of employee they are looking for, and consider being flexible. In fact, many CRN Fast Growth companies have said they have continued to hire this year and that investing in headcount is critical to their success.
Trouble Communicating? Fix It.
November 29, 2011
A lot of press is given -- including within this blog -- to the differences between how men and women communicate. It's important to note that, while there are gender differences in communication, it is also correct to say that neither sex has a monopoly on the best way of communicating. To get ahead, you have to be a good communicator. Great communicators are often tapped to become company leaders
Managers of both genders are especially challenged when tasked with having to communicate with employees during tough times, said Denise Messineo, senior vice president of human resources at Dimension Data. Learn how to give criticism, how to listen and how to build morale. Knowing yourself -- and identifying areas in which you need to improve -- can help.
Messineo herself knows her staff appreciates her directness, but she also realizes that the newest members of her staff can be taken aback by her bluntness at times. So part of the answer is to work on toning down some over-the-top behaviors, but another part is setting expectations with your staff: "I'm very direct, and you'll always know where you stand with me. But if you have a question or feel I was short with you, please let me know so I can clarify my position." You don't need to change your personality, but you do need to understand how you're coming across.
Managers also have difficulty finding time to do "outreach," those everyday communications that nurture staff relationships. Messineo noted that this was vitally important, especially in high performance cultures like that at Dimension. Having a busy schedule and working toward daily as well as long-term goals can make it rough to find the time to understand what's going on with employees. Be careful not to pay lip service to the idea; employees know when a boss is not being genuine. Conversely, you don't need to be everyone's best friend. Make it a priority by scheduling the time. One-on-ones are ideal, even over the phone. If that's impractical, small group sessions are an option. The goal is to create an atmosphere in which your staff is comfortable enough that individuals will come to you when a problem does crop up.
Finally, Messineo advises getting two mentors: one female and one male. That way, you'll have prospective from both angles. If your company doesn't have a mentoring program, suggest one. Better yet, volunteer to help start one. You'll get exposure throughout the company and you'll have instituted something worthwhile. Becoming a skilled communicator who has spearheaded a new or improved mentoring program creates one heck of a promotable package!
Is Your Social Media Presence Annoying?
November 23, 2011
Using social media for business purposes is difficult. It's really tough to avoid a hard-sell when you know you have a wide audience just a click away.
It's important to avoid that temptation. You aren't likely to gain customers and you are probably more likely to turn people off.
If you take a leadership role in crafting your social media strategy, and win clients by working at cultivating relationships, you'll offer your employer a new sales channel. And, you'll develop a skill set that will not only be promotable, but also be desirable among potential employers.
Sites such as Twitter and Facebook can be successfully used to heighten brand awareness and increase customer loyalty. Good examples include Nabisco and Starbucks. Those companies have people dedicated to their social media efforts, and they spend time trying to connect with the audience. A good deal of time and effort is spent cultivating those relationships.(For more tips, read: How to Get Your Social Media Strategy Going.)
Technology makes it easy for us to disseminate information about ourselves and our companies. Just because you CAN send 200 people a sales pitch doesn't mean you SHOULD. Remember not to put the cart before the horse. Learn about the needs and wants of potential customers before selling your wares to them. Create interest by linking to and creating content that relates to your product or service, but doesn't "push" a sale.
That strategy requires time and interest. Reaching out to customers via technology is easy. Crafting the message isn't.
Let me know how you've been successful -- or not -- using social media to promote your business, at jennifer.bosavage@ubm.com.
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