How to get across the finish line of an interview

If you are anything like me, you are not a hard core NASCAR fan, but watch enough SportsCenter highlights to know enough to be dangerous.  An interesting thing happened yesterday with the Daytona 500.  There was a rain delay, so the network decided to show coverage from last year.  Which confused many casual sports fans, and they thought that Jimmie Johnson won.  Little did they know at the time that they were watching the 2013 Daytona 500.

This got me thinking about how many times I have seen searches and interviews get to the "final lap", only to crash and burn before crossing the finish line.  There are several reasons for this:

1)  The spotter fails to tell the driver what is coming ahead of them.  Like I said, I don't know much about NASCAR, but I do know the pit crew has a "spotter" that is always on the radio to tell the driver what is coming around the corner.  Whether it is a crash, a change in position for the leader, or an unexpected pit stop from another driver, they are always making their driver aware of those issues.  As a recruiter I feel like it is my job to do similar duties for the candidate and client alike.  If you think you can just put it on cruise control after a few good interviews, you are usually wrong.  Listen to what your gut is telling you, but also to those you trust that are trying to help you avoid pitfalls before finishing the race or in this case the interview.

2)  Someone else causes a crash in front of you.  This can manifest itself in many different ways.  Another candidate can jump into the race late and you go from the top candidate to one of three or four in the mix.  The client could have something change internally that makes an open position more of a "want" than a "need" when the candidate is ready to move right away.  The first three people on a team to interview a candidate could love that person, but the president has the final meeting and doesn't like the candidate at all.  Any way you look at it, this is something you have to anticipate and imagine happening, even though you are really hoping it is a clean race/interview from the first lap to the last.

3)  You take a calculated gamble that doesn't pay off.  In a NASCAR race this could be deciding to skip the pit stop for gas with only ten laps to go.  In an interview it is a candidate leveraging another interview too early to see if they can get the process to move more quickly.  Or perhaps countering just to counter to get more money and it leaves a bad taste in the employer's mouth.  Or a client likes a candidate, wants to interview three more people for comparison, and is then surprised when the first candidate they spoke with has already taken another job.

I could come up with several more analogies, but the bottom line here is that preparation and communication are keys to the interview process.  You can't always see what is around the next curve, but the more you anticipate it and communicate when it does happen, the better your chances of finishing the race or interview in first place.

Have you ever had an experience where you thought you were coming to the checkered flag of an interview process only to have something go wrong?

Ready for new life in your search?

For anyone living in the Midwest this winter, you know what a struggle it has been.  Heck, we have clients in places like Atlanta and Birmingham that have experienced some form of winter weather in the past few weeks.  I did see a robin last week, and hopefully spring is not too far away.  Like the weather, this time of year can have an affect on how you are feeling about a search.

So as the snow melts here in Iowa and the trees begin to bloom again with new life, how does this relate to what a search looks like during this time of year?  There are several ways:

1)  People are generally in a better mood.  That may seem like a quote from a psychologist treating seasonal affective disorder, but it is simply true.  I often get a bad rap from my colleagues as I talk about weather all the time.  But it is a great ice breaker, and everyone this year is looking forward to spring weather and activities.  You can bet big money that it seeps into conversations about hiring needs as well.  You might as well take advantage of that.  Rather than mulling over how things may not be going your way in a search right now, add some positive attitude to every call, email, and meeting you have to make the most of the situation!

2)  As the weather heats up, so do the job boards and hiring needs.  The first quarter is always a time for companies to take a hard look at new hires for the year.  It does, however, take some time to implement some of the changes.  Add in some winter weather for cancellations, postponements, and delays, and right now could really be a good time to be looking for a new role.  Be diligent in watching LinkedIn updates, company websites, posting boards, social media, and any other source of news for hiring.

3)  Hiring needs to happen before summer.  As much as we all look forward to summer, in my house at least it goes by in the blink of an eye.  My kids are home from school, involved in camps all the time, going on vacation, playing baseball, and keeping me out of the office quite a bit.  Hiring authorities at companies are exactly the same way and face the same problems.  If a hire needs to be made before summer, it really needs to happen in March or April to get someone fully transitioned before the craziness of summer hits.

4)  Bonuses are paid out in February and March.  Not every company does this, but there are a large number that do.  If someone is waiting on an annual bonus before making a job change, it is bound to happen soon.  Then the musical chairs begins in full force.  Candidate A leaves Company A, creating an opening.  Candidate B takes the role for Candidate A and creates an opening at Company B.  So on and so forth until all of the good jobs are taken.  If you can time your communication well with these sudden changes, it can certainly serve a great purpose for your long term search.  This has happened twice with clients of mine in the last two weeks, greatly benefiting candidates I had in my pipeline.

What else can you do to infuse new life into your search?  Have you hit a tipping point where something good needs to happen to keep you engaged?  I would love to hear what has worked for you in the past or maybe even something you are going through right now.

Three types of searches

I don’t know about you, but for me the month of February is almost more of a time of reflection than December and January.  Instead of being so caught up in the moment closing things out in December, or trying to get things off to a good start in January, I find it much easier to focus on goals/accomplishments in the middle part of the first quarter.  Did we accomplish what we set out in the fourth quarter and 2013 in total?  Are we off to a good start for 2014 and doing what we need to do to ensure success in the new year?

As I have experienced these reflections I find myself thinking about the three main types of searches we conduct on a daily basis.  They are listed below with a brief description:

1)  Passive contingency - this is with an agency or carrier partner that agrees to look at a resume or two that we might come across and claim is a "must see".  No harm, no foul to take a peek.  Very little risk involved, and certainly no obligation to pay.

2)  Active contingency - this is with more of a valued partner that we have known for a long time and they trust us.  They seek us out to fill a critical position, a tough-to-fill position, or even sometimes a highly confidential role to re-fill someone who is going to be departing.

3)  Retained - this is when a client needs to brand a strong story in the market that they are serious about filling a position.  Or perhaps again need a high level of confidentiality and want us to source and screen candidates first for them.

In my opinion this is a linear progression as you look at these options.  Sometimes our clients think the only value comes with option #1.  But the depth of service and true value comes with the second and third options.  The clients that value us more are moving along that progression to move into a more active partnership where we can pro-actively tell their story, actually recruit candidates with something viable, and share those results in an open forum. 

The funny thing is that contractually there is no difference between option #1 and option #2.  Other than a higher level of trust and understanding with both parties.  We seek these relationships on a daily basis and find it is usually just a higher level of communication and sharing of information.  The more we know, the better we can represent our clients’ values, goals, and vision for growth.  Sometimes this happens naturally over time and more often than not it comes when our work is referred from someone who has worked with us in the past and knows the quality we seek to bring to every search.

Where do you fit into this list?  Are you seeking a valued partnership with a firm that will help tell your story to the broader market?  Or simply looking for a transaction to fill that spot that has been difficult to fill internally?  

We can help either way, but are always looking for ways to improve our process and infrastructure to become the preferred partner going forward.  Please let me know if there are ways we can be successful together in 2014 and beyond.  I am always happy to discuss trends in the market, where we are seeing our successes, and what candidates are looking for in a new employer in the new year.

Here’s to hoping your 2014 is off to a good start!

#ifyourehappy

As soon as I saw the Heinz Ketchup Super Bowl commercial last night, I knew I had to blog about happiness in a job search this morning.  One of my very first blogs was titled "Good things come to those who wait" and I referenced ketchup.  Hard to believe I am incorporating this condiment into another blog here in the new year.

Yet I thought it was entirely appropriate as I talk with candidates all the time that claim to be happy in their current job, and they are still searching for the next big thing in their career.  Today I would like to explore the idea of what NOT to do in a job search if you are indeed happy in your job.

1)  Do NOT enter into a job search with money as your main motivation.  If that is your goal, you could get exactly what you hoped for monetarily and absolutely hate your job.  You will look back at your former employer and wish you had never left.  It also creates a new threshold for the next job's salary range.  You will chase even more dollars to validate your decision to move yet again.  You will find yourself making even more money and possibly become even more unhappy with your daily existence.  Eventually you will fall back down to earth, take less money to re-gain some happiness, and wonder why you ever left the first job.

2)  Do NOT focus only on the negative aspects of your current job during an interview.  I hear feedback from my clients sometimes that blows my mind.  They ask the candidate what their motivation is for looking for a new job and they word vomit all kinds of issues at their current workplace.  Of which they have told me nothing about.  It is fear that a new employer would not understand why they would leave an employer where they are actually happy for the most part.  Instead they believe that it is better to disparage their current employer so that a new employer would have compassion and want to help "get them out" of their bad situation.  What really happens is that an employer hears that you are running away from a bad situation instead of running toward something better.  It is usually a huge turn-off.

3)  Do NOT be afraid to admit that the conclusion of a search could end with you staying put.  I tell candidates all the time that I am happy to assist in a job search, set up several interviews, and at the end of the day congratulate them that they found out their current job is the best one on the market for them.  The grass is NOT always greener on the other side of the fence.  You may need to jump the fence and take a peek sometimes to be convinced of it.  There is nothing wrong with recognizing this before you take another job and become miserable for a few months.

Bottom line is that if you are happy and you know it, don't just clap your hands.  Sit on them, don't go looking for another job for a while, and live in the moment.  If every candidate who had a bad day threw their resume on CareerBuilder and ran for the door, the employee retention rates at most major companies would be awful.

What have you done in the past when frustrated with an employer or boss, but you ended up feeling fine after a day or two to reflect?  How did you get through that situation?