Perception is everything

We have all had that moment in a conversation where you are thinking one thing, about to say something about it, and then the other person in the conversation says something completely opposite that causes you to pause about what to say next to either validate or contradict that comment.  Before I get too philosophical about this idea, let me share a few stories from just this past weekend that made me reflect upon this blog topic.

The first occurred at my son's first baseball tournament of the season.  With the bad weather in Iowa we have not had a chance to be on the fields much.  So my expectations were pretty low going into the first game.  Of course the first opposing pitcher looks to be about four years older than my son, is twice as big, and is throwing heat.  I figured my son would step up to the plate terrified and just praying for his at-bat to be over quickly.  Instead he took the second pitch he saw over the second baseman's head for a solid hit.  When he got into the dugout I was tempted to say, "Man, that pitcher was throwing heat.  How did you manage to get a hit??"  Instead I asked how he felt after the hit.  He nonchalantly replied that it wasn't a big deal.  The pitcher was throwing strikes and all he felt he had to do was throw the bat out there and let it do all the work.  I let him roll with that thought instead of having him think anything more about it.

The second occurred when I was catching up with a neighbor as he put a "For Sale" sign in his front yard.  They have a pool in their backyard, which I figured would be a tough sell considering we live in Iowa and pool season is only about 3-4 months tops.  I was tempted to ask him if he thought the pool would prevent buyers from stopping by.  Instead I decided to ask him how he felt the market would respond to his listing.  He immediately said, "This could be the perfect time to sell considering a pool could be hugely appealing to someone wanting to enjoy summers in the backyard relaxing by the pool with a cold beverage."  Touche!

So how does this relate to a job search?  In a lot of ways!  Here are just a few to consider:

1)  Recently a candidate of ours was asked about work/life balance.  This individual happens to have a young family.  The employer said that life would never be the same in this job.  Family will have to take a back seat to career.  How well do you think that was received by the candidate?  I'm sure the employer didn't intend to break up a family, but you can imagine it did not instill a lot of confidence in the candidate that this is a place to work for long term.

2)  More often than not candidates feel like interviews went well when de-briefing afterward.  While employers are much more 50/50 and can even say that things went horribly wrong while a candidate felt it was a good conversation.  Red flags include all the usual - candidates complaining about current bosses, saying bad things about people in the industry, and one time we even had a candidate admit to wanting to not work very hard any longer.  That went over like a ton of bricks.

3)  Employers can get a bad rap when people leave.  If a candidate hears about something that can be perceived as a bad trait, it must be met head on.  Too often we have employers just shrug that off as a bitter former employee talking trash.  But if not talked about with some degree of acknowledgement can be even worse than trying to dig into the topic to see if the rumor can be dispelled.

I could go on and on with stories, but many of them are so bad that it is tough to consider repeating them.  The bottom line is that we have the luxury of seeing both sides of the story as the third party intermediary.  That can also be the hardest job in the world as the employer sees the kitten while the employee sees the lion in the mirror and vice versa.

Can you relate?  Have you ever had an interview experience that was perceived vastly different than your impression?

Why your story matters (as an employer)

Last week I blogged about the importance of your story from the candidate's perspective.  Today I thought I would tackle the same subject, but from the employer's point of view.  Does it matter as much?  If so, how do you tell the story?

For any of you watching the March Madness unfold you may have seen some of the snubs from the selection committee.  The one getting the most press this morning is SMU not getting in despite winning their conference tournament and being ranked in the AP Top 25 to end the season.  Why would this happen?  It is their story that mattered.  Their early season non-conference schedule was very weak compared to other teams, and that mattered at the end of the day to the committee.

While this selection process received much more national attention that a candidate choosing to work for any given employer, there are some similarities we can draw:

1)  It is important to think ahead.  The NCAA selection committee is nothing if not consistent.  They have told teams for a number of years that early season non-conference games are important.  If teams choose not to strengthen their schedule ahead of conference play, they only have themselves to blame.  Similarly employers know there are some things employees look for consistently - good working culture, long term tenure of current employees, employee benefits and vacation schedules, room for improvement, and much more.  What will help attract the next generation of employee?  Figure that out and start implementing little things as soon as possible.

2)  It is okay to change.  As much as SMU can be proud of the season they had, they now know without doubt that if they want a chance at the NCAA tournament next year they better put some marquee names on their schedule for early next year.  It may stretch them a little, and they could even lose a few of those games.  But they might win, and that could propel them to being selected next year.  Perhaps you have seen other employers add a week of vacation to new offer sheets, and you have not wanted to do that.  Or maybe you see other employers having more of a public presence on social media or in the community.  It could be time to do more of that and not be afraid to advertise that fact.

3)  It is good to make a market comparison.  I am confident that the coaches and administration at SMU will look back on this year and see how what they planned stacks up against other schools that got into the tournament.  Not just looking at RPI, strength of schedule, and conference opponents.  But a comprehensive look at recruiting, off-season workouts, film study, and much more that could prepare them for a different type of early season schedule next year.  Too often employers live in a bubble and don't know what their competition may or may not be offering to new employees.  And oftentimes that information is public knowledge on websites, social media, and much more.  Why not take advantage of this information to see how you stack up against your competition.  If your story is better, why not tell everyone you know.  If your story needs some tweaking, put a plan into place to make some changes.

There are many more examples I could give or stories told about some of my clients that do tell their story well.  On the other hand, there are some that could take lessons from the best employers to tell their story even better.  It does matter if you really want to recruit the best long term employees.

What examples do you have about what your employer does to tell their story?

Why your story matters (as a candidate)

After the Olympics came to a close a few weeks ago I had an interesting conversation with a friend.  It started with the question of why the Olympic stories of individual athletes are so compelling, especially when it involves sports you otherwise would never watch.

Some of them are incredibly gripping and motivating.  A meteoric and unexpected rise to the top of an individual sport with odds stacked against them.  Heck, I even heard one story of an athlete who couldn't compete for their country, found citizenship in another country, and won a gold medal for that country.  Talk about perseverance and commitment!

How does this relate to a job search as an active candidate?  I believe it is relevant because in the day and age of social media candidates have grown very fond of over-sharing, but not with important details.  There was once a day where "hobbies" or "interests" were listed prominently on a resume.  Sometimes even right after an executive summary or achievements/accomplishments.  Why was this?  Because candidates were seeking an edge over other candidates.  Hoping that if you listed quilting as an activity of interest that the hiring manager would share that interest and you would have the inside track during an interview.

So what is the appropriate manner to share your story?  I have a few old-fashioned ideas:

1)  Make it personal.  When Bob Costas shared a human interest story during the Olympics, you were drawn to something that you could relate to, have empathy toward, or be inspired.  Not what a fabulous curler or cross country skier the individual was.  Instead of blathering about what an awesome employee you have been, tell a story of what made you such a valuable member of a team.  Perhaps you grew up on a farm and your first job taught you what it really means to work hard.  Maybe you had a parent that worked 80 hours a week to provide a good home, and that inspired you.  You have a college prof who is still a mentor today and taught you "everything you know".  These examples exhibit what motivates you and why you could make a good addition to a team.

2)  Make it relate-able.  I know that is esoteric, so let me unpack the idea.  If you grew up on a farm and have a great work ethic, but the hiring manager interviewing you grew up with a silver spoon in their mouth, your story will not resonate with them.  Or if the hiring manager played basketball for a Division I college and you try to compare that to being in the chess club in high school, you have probably done more damage than good.  Try to ask some leading questions first, and then determine from there how your story can align somehow with the story of the hiring manager.

3)  Make it real.  This one may seem obvious, but can be overlooked.  This time of year is big for March Madness in college basketball.  If the hiring manager starts talking bracketology and you don't know anything about basketball, don't dive into the concept that you love following the action on the hard court.  That is bound to end bad.  If you cannot find something in common in your story with the hiring manager, don't try too hard to make something up.

At the end of the day, your story does matter.  It may not always get you the job, but it could.  I have many examples from 10+ years of recruiting where the littlest things help push the candidate over the top to get the offer or eventually the job.

How not to choke under pressure during an interview

In the world of professional sports you often hear about someone "choking" down the stretch.  A missed shot in regulation in basketball, a missed field goal in football in OT, or a strikeout in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and the bases loaded.  What always drives me crazy in those situations is when the announcers focus only on the "choke" and not everything leading up to that moment at the end where things went terribly wrong.

Case in point is Rory McIlroy's meltdown yesterday afternoon at the Honda Classic.  He was poised to win if he could simply post even par on Sunday.  Which shouldn't be difficult considering his first three rounds were all under par.  He had a bad stretch in the middle of his round and it let to him being down one stroke on the final hole.  He had a great drive and hit a magical fairway wood from 245 yards out to give himself a chance to win the championship if only he could make the eagle putt.  As fate would have it, he missed that putt and it was quickly pointed out that he just lost the opportunity to win.  What they didn't spend a lot of time talking about right away was what went so terribly wrong for the twelve or thirteen previous holes.

Candidates do this oftentimes in the interview process.  They get down to final stages with an employer, maybe even to offer stage, and then something doesn't quite go their way.  Instead of looking at it from a broader perspective and see what might have gone wrong at step two or three, many choose to focus on how things unraveled at the end.  And as you can imagine, usually put the blame on someone else.

Instead of finding yourself in a similar unenviable position, here are some thoughts to better handle the period of time leading up to the possibly "choke":

1) Make a game plan and stick to it.  Rory likely just let nerves get the best of him yesterday at the Honda Classic.  I am certain he and his coach have spoken on multiple occasions how to handle the adrenaline of those situations.  He simply forgot his game plan and didn't execute.  On the same token, if you have been talking about a particular start date or salary range during an extended interview process, don't suddenly change at the 11th hour to see what leverage you can make.  It will fail more often than not.

2) Take a deep breath.  This may seem too simple, but it makes all kinds of sense.  If you see the finish line ahead during an interview and you get too nervous, the employer will sense that from a mile away.  Slow down, remind yourself why you're there in the first place, and finish strong.

3) Don't worry about what anyone else is doing.  I guarantee you that Rory was looking at the leaderboard during the last 3-5 holes, and it affected his play.  Sometimes when nearing the offer stage a candidate will speak with multiple decision makers.  Instead of over-thinking who might have more power or changing your story with each person, just focus on what makes you a good employee and possible match.  The rest will take care of itself.

The most ironic part about yesterday's "meltdown" for Rory was that when it was all said and done he was quoted as saying it wouldn't have been deserving had he won anyway on that final putt.  This loss will hurt for some time, but the best thing Rory could do is forget about it and move on.  Same goes if for some unfortunate reason you do lose in the final stages of an interview.  But with proper planning and execution of a game plan, hopefully you will find yourself hoisting the trophy (or offer) when the sun sets.

Have you ever heard of someone choking during the final phases of an interview to lose the opportunity?  Or have any good ideas to prevent it from happening in the first place?