Real World Example The Logic Recruiters Use To Find Candidates

Real World Example The Logic Recruiters Use To Find Candidates 5 Knowing how recruiters reason can help improve your chances of being chosen as a candidate. This is a guest post by executive recruiter Todd Porter. If you’d also like to guest post here on JobMob, follow these guest post guidelines. The following is a unique micro-perspective on the recruiting process as it applies to one specific search I'm currently working on (August 2009). The classic recruitment problem Hiring managers and job seekers often feel like they are being shortchanged in the recruiting process.eval Hiring Managers see too many candidates that don't fit what they are looking for, whereas… Job seekers often feel that they are perfect and don't understand why they aren't being considered. Have realistic expectations Here is an e-mail I sent to one of our Israeli customers in Houston. It explains why I had not been successful in filling a controller position. This exercise had these goals as objectives:eval Explain the points we thought were important in the search Make sure the compensation range was right Explain our main problem Explain what type of candidates we are seeing Let our customer know we are NOT giving up From the information provided, the customer can adjust the search criteria or they can decide they will try another method to fill the position. The e-mail said: Avi, I've been trying to analyze why the search for your Controller has been so difficult and why we haven't been successful, “YET”. I really don't think the issue is compensation. I think candidates with the skills you are looking for should fit into that (US) $70k to $85k base range, where you have asked us to search. The trouble has been there are a lot of people that do not fit the profile. If I condensed our interpretation of what you need/want in a Controller, I came up with these items: Nuts and Bolts accounting (preferably with a CPA) Small company as opposed to large Main Finance person at that company Must be a similar environment that relates to a your company (i.e. Manufacturing and Inventory) I understand the environment of a ‘smaller company' that you want the individual to come out of. I think the main problem is your COO's point of reference is Israel, where there are 3,000 to 4,000 businesses. Most of these companies are in the size (if not necessarily the industry) where an individual has to perform the type of position you are trying to hire. I think the make-up of most (or a very high percentage) of the companies in the U.S. and Houston don't fit this profile. They are much smaller or very large. On top of that, the vast majority of finance people don't come close to the exact scenario you and the COO want. First, most CPAs are probably going to have the wrong background with most just being Tax and Audit people. Most large company Finance people or even Division Controllers aren't going to have the breadth of Finance to do the GAAP, FASB…. type of accounting you need/want. So, when we look for the types of companies and environments where these people live (or have lived), we then find them in these flavors: Imposters individuals faking it and not performing, willing to move butyou won't want or need Climbers just passing through and tough to land because of compensation Plodders not motivated to move to another position Attached fully happy with what they are doing and nothing could get them to look other places Unemployed not working for the wrong reasons. At best â€" caught in a situation of either the economy going bad or internal politics or company being bought Our goal has been to find those Attached individuals where we can motivate and convince them to consider your position. We're also considering individuals that are unemployed, if for the right reasons. We're networking through the financial community and have partners assisting us on the search. To see if the financial people you are looking for exist, we have skimmed the Internet resume boards looking for the right combination of characteristics. Few candidates come close to fitting the profile and none of them have hit the bull's eye of the target. On top of all this we still need to spread your desire to have an individual with High Energy, Maturity, Right Chemistry to fit the environment….. I had to go through this analysis in my head (and writing it down here) to better understand why we haven't found the person and maybe come up with a different approach to solve the problem. I don't want you to think this is impossible or that we are giving up. The number of candidates is just very, very limited. We're adjusting and looking for new ways of finding the right individual, as well as convincing them to consider your opportunity. We will touch base early next week. Todd Test your expectations Almost every individual I spoke to about this opportunity thought they could do the job. Many told me they were perfect. Some could have probably done the job but few would have satisfied our customer. The information in the e-mail allowed me to measure individuals on all the points, to know if they hit the target and more importantly, the bull's eye. Conclusion The week after I sent this e-mail, we sourced an individual that hit all the bullet points. The customer quickly agreed and told me, “…background and experience matches our search criteria.” The interview is set for next week. About the author Todd Porter started H.T. PROF Executive Search in 1997. Located in Atlanta and Boston, the company recruits primarily for Israeli companies hiring anywhere in the U.S. He can be reached directly at TPJOB [at] HTPROF [dot] COM. This article is part of the 3rd Annual JobMob Guest Blogging Contest. If you want Todd Porter to win, share this article with your friends.

Hiring for a Growth Mindset A New Trend in Graduate Recruitment

Hiring for a Growth Mindset â€" A New Trend in Graduate Recruitment My daughter is about to move into Year 2 and at a recent transition evening to let parents know more about what would be expected  of the children next year, I was delighted to learn that her school promotes a growth mindset in the classroom. When pupils show they have a fixed mindset by saying something like Im not good at this, they are encouraged to think What am I missing? This TEDEd video  Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset gives a clear introduction to these ideas. I’d first heard about growth mindset at a conference workshop for HE careers and employability professionals called  â€˜Forget graduate attributes, it’s all about mindset.’ by Rebecca Fielding and Kylie Cook from Gradconsult.    The workshop explored the work of mindset researcher Carol Dweck and gave practical insights into how this can be applied to a career. A variety of employers are already recruiting for a ‘growth mindset’.  This is predicted to be a trend with other recruiters who are keen to employ staff who have a strong work ethic and who will persevere to get a job done and not give up at the first hurdle. Growth versus Fixed Mindset In her book on Mindset [1], Carol Dweck explains why it’s not just our abilities and talent that bring us success â€" but whether we approach them with a fixed or growth mindset.  If we are operating from a ‘fixed’ mindset, we believe that our talents and abilities are somehow set or predetermined.  We’re either innately good at something or we’re not. When we adopt a ‘growth mindset’ we view achievement through the lens of effort and have a belief that skill development is possible regardless of initial capacity. Carol Dweck believes that praising talent can jeopardise success. So how does this translate to career thinking? Gradconsults session got me thinking about careers conversations I’d had with students and some of the things they had said about their career planning which would give a clue as to their mindset: I know that the numeracy tests for X employer are really tough but I’m sure if I practise enough I can pass them.  (Growth Mindset) I’d like to work for X employer but I’m hopeless at maths and will fail the numeracy tests. (Fixed Mindset) I’ve made so many applications for publishing internships and been rejected, so I asked for some feedback about my last application from careers. It’s really helped me understand where I was going wrong, so I’m going to keep applying. Careers also put me in touch with a graduate who is working in the field who is going to meet me to talk about how they developed their career. (Growth Mindset) I applied for loads of publishing internships last year and wasn’t successful. I’m doing an English degree and I’ve always got top grades, so it’s been hard not even getting rejection letters. I think I’m going to have to re-think my options. I’ll probably end up carrying on working in my old Saturday job having paid £9,000 to do my degree. (Fixed Mindset) Can You Develop a Growth Mindset? So what if you identify more with the statements above which relate to having a ‘fixed mindset’? Is there anything you can do to develop your ‘growth mindset’? Some of the ideas here might seem obvious but here are a few suggestions based on my favourites from Saga Briggs blog post  25 Ways to Improve Your Mindset : 1. Acknowledge and embrace imperfections Hiding from your weaknesses means you’ll never overcome them. 2. View challenges as opportunities. Having a growth mindset means relishing opportunities for self-improvement. 3. Replace the word “failing” with the word “learning.” When you make a mistake or fall short of a goal, you haven’t failed; you’ve learned. 4. Celebrate growth with others. If you truly appreciate growth, you’ll want to share your progress with others. 5. Portray criticism as positive. You don’t have to used that hackneyed term, “constructive criticism,” but you do have to believe in the concept. And the future? Given that large tech companies have been early adopters of recruiting for a ‘growth mindset’, what does the future hold?  At the moment we know that many organisations have shifted from competency interviews to strengths based interviews. Research is showing that thinking through a growth mindset lens can be fruitful in lots of different areas of life â€"  education, sports, business.  So if companies in the future are going to be hiring staff who have a ‘growth’ mindset, it could be time to take this mindset questionnaire . [1]  Mindset: How You Can Fulfil Your Potential by Carol Dweck

5 Things I Learned Running HR for a Tech Startup

5 Things I Learned Running HR for a Tech Startup Startups: the ideal place to land if you like kegerators, free food, and a dress code that requires no more effort than jeans and t-shirt. On the work side, agile teams, direct and constant access to leadership, and ideas that launch at the speed of light life at a startup certainly has its perks. Startups are where dreams flourish, questioning is ideally encouraged, and more than 3 years of tenure is celebrated due to its rarity. I’ve spent the majority of my career in organizations that may not necessarily call themselves a startup, but they certainly had startup qualities in terms of their growth stage and ability to capture market share. I loved the fast pace of these environments, as well as the ability to build and implement ideas and see quick and meaningful results. Before I gave into my entrepreneurial spirit, I was the head of HR for a tech company in Chicago. I joined a few months before we received a chunky round of VC funding, the bulk of which went to improving our technology and rapidly growing headcount. Over the course of one year, we built out an entirely new C-level team, moved into an amazing new office, and almost tripled in size. We managed to do this fairly seamlessly, maintaining our culture and learning as we scaled. With my talent-focused colleagues on the ITA Talent Advisory Board  to keep me sane, I was able to learn a ton and grow both personally and professionally. Below is a quick summary of my key learnings in hopes that I can pay it forward to others on the verge of explosive growth.  Sharing is caring, y’all. 5 Things I Learned Running HR for a Tech Startup 1. Hire leaders who have done it before Find people who have worked in a startup environment, worked at the c-level, or worked among employees on the front line. Startups are different from the more traditional corporate world (that’s the point, right?) in just about every way. They aren’t for everybody. If your leaders are accustomed to leading a team of 50 and using an admin for everything, they are in for a rude awakening. Startup leaders are doers  and employees like the fact that they can build personal relationships with folks that have a C in their title. While it’s an interesting branding technique to say that you hired someone from XYZ billion dollar company, they may not have the right tools or desire to get their hands dirty and lead while doing. 2. Be as transparent as possible Employees put in long hours and make many sacrifices in order to push your business forward. Be upfront and honest with them about wins, struggles, and expectations. They will surprise you with ideas and methods that you may not have considered. They have a different perspective and in many cases, chose the startup route so that their ideas can be heard. Don’t deny them that ability. 3. Get to know your employees Listen to their ideas.  Help them work through the small challenges.  Ask them what they love about their job and what they would change. Sometimes culture can take a hit in light of a recent change or shift.  Make sure that it doesn’t affect your retention by giving your employees a chance to vent, question, and understand.  If they feel like you truly have their back, they will weather the storm with you. 4. Not everyone is ready for constant change Strategies shift quickly at a startup.  Employees will pour their heart and soul into something that ultimately won’t make it to market.  Make sure that you set up the changing culture from the start and properly praise efforts when things go south. Some folks are initially attracted to startups solely due to the employee perks. It’s up to the leaders and the recruiters to set expectations around continuous change so that they don’t hire people who crave security and who will jump ship at the first sign of high waves. 5. Have fun Richard Branson is right, If it’s not fun, it’s not worth doing. Startups can require hard work and long hours. Those long hours are partly due to the fact that people are surrounded by brilliant minds and comfy chairs. With free beer on hand, there isn’t a strong push of folks departing at 5:01. Enjoy your colleagues, celebrate your growth, and do great work together. While my time working directly for a startup is behind me, I feel incredibly lucky that I get to help many startups do the thing that I love most: build. Related Post:  4 Ways to Get  Capital for Your New Business

Tell Me About A Time When You Demonstrated Leadership Skills - Algrim.co

Tell Me About A Time When You Demonstrated Leadership Skills - Algrim.co At almost anytime during the interview, you might hear the question, “Tell me about a time when you demonstrated leadership skills.” Having a prepared answer for this behavioral interview question will go a long way in making sure you tell the interviewer exactly what they’re expecting to hear. Most people think this interview question is only pertinent for those who are applying for management positions or operations positions. But that’s not true. More commonly, this question is asked of those who are individual contributors. That’s because the interviewer wants to understand how you might show signs of leadership to the rest of your team, increasing overall morale. Let's go ahead and dig into how you can answer this question in an effective way. What The Answer Should Contain When you are thinking about answering this question, you should be sure that you highlight the situation but also ensure that you highlight a few other components. They would be: The number of people you demonstrated leadership to What your particular leadership action was A strong correlation between the leadership action and the job function that you are applying for The impact your action had on the business or other team members A relatable example so that the interviewer feels comfortable with your answer One layer above this would be trying to map and understand your team's motivations so that you can better achieve the companies overall goals, all within this situation that you are putting in place for the interviewer. This can be very difficult to do in one fell swoop. But if you can find the perfect example from your past, utilize it. Related: 13 Behavioral Interview Questions & Answers: Guide, How To Answer The STAR Method With Behavioral Interview Questions Since this interview question starts with “Tell me about a time” that means this question is classified as a behavioral interview question. This is when the interviewer is searching for a situation that you were apart of and how you demonstrated particular skill sets to get out of that situation. The STAR method is Situation/Task, Action, Result/Resolution. And that’s how you should be thinking about the way you answer. Set up the situation you were in, the action that you took and the result it had on the situation as a whole. That is how we can briefly cover the STAR method. Related: 6 Underutilized Leadership Skills For The Workplace Or Resume 2 Example Answers To “Tell Me About A Time When You Demonstrated Leadership Skills” “When I was at my previous company, there was a couple of weeks where we had a lot of our managers leave the company. It was a hard time for our employees and team members. They felt as though their job security might be in question. There was about 12 of us in the team. And I realized after the first few weeks that our team wasn’t getting together to discuss our work in progress. The previous manager was the facilitator of that. So I decided to step in and schedule a meeting to where we could all discuss our work. It was a moment where I don’t think we consciously realized how important those meetings were for our team. And everyone was appreciative of the fact that I recalled those meetings and made sure we kept doing them.” “When I was my previous company, we had a few weeks to complete a really important project. There was about 12 of us involved in this project. And our team felt a little uneasy about the fact that we didn’t have a strong grasp of the needs of the project. We continued forward and unfortunately made a few mistakes. The management team wasn’t entirely pleased with our team performance. I was one of the first ones to take the onus on our performance and say there are a few things we can improve next time. The fact that I wasn’t scared to admit that we tried, did our best but learned some lessons made the rest of the employees follow suit. Management respected us for taking ownership and gave us another shot on another project. We crushed that one.”

Social Recruiting and Your Executive Job Search - Executive Career Brandâ„¢

Social Recruiting and Your Executive Job Search Are you a senior-level executive still hesitating to embrace social networking for your job search and healthy career management? Did you know that more than 90% of employers will use social networks and social media to find talent in 2012? Thats what Jobvite, a leading recruitment platform for the social Web, found in their 2012 Social Recruiting Survey, after polling more than 1,000 human resources and recruitment professionals on their social recruiting activities and intentions. Social recruiting has become a necessary and highly effective way for them to quickly assess a large candidate pool and identify good-fit talent. And it costs them less than sorting through thousands of resumes and saves the expense of posting to job boards. Now in its fifth year, the survey shows that recruiters no longer focus just on . Theyre relying more heavily on the other 2 in the big 3, Twitter and

Tough Interview Situation

Tough Interview Situation This week I am participating in George Blomgrens tough situations blog. Heres this weeks situationAfter several months of fruitless job hunting following graduation, Sarah finally finds herself interviewing for the company that she really wants to work for, in the field she wants to get into. The company is being quite thorough. A second round of interviews includes several with employees she’s told will be her peers. These meetings seem to be going great, until the last one of the day. An older gentleman she meets with makes several comments that are just a little too friendly. She’s really not sure if the comments are innuendo, or just a little flaky.Everything else has gone great. She likes the company, the woman she’d be working for, and all the other prospective coworkers. She’s pretty sure a job offer will be forthcoming. She discusses her concerns with friends. One says “welcome to corporate America.” Another tells her she’s crazy to even consider the job with t his red flag already present. A third tells her she needs to contact the company’s HR department and lodge a formal complaint. Hoping for a clear answer, Sarah picks up the phone and calls you for advice.Read my post and the advice of others in the careers field.

Tips For Choosing the Best Information Technology Resume Writing Services

Tips For Choosing the Best Information Technology Resume Writing ServicesBest information technology resume writing services are those that are prepared to present potential employers with a large amount of relevant experience that has been accumulated over the years. A professional resume is a vital document that will set your job prospects apart from those of all other candidates for the same position. Not all employers are looking for someone who is equipped with the skills and knowledge for the job; it's important to show them that you can put together a good package when it comes to your individual strengths.Many individuals have found that submitting their resume to more than one employer can help them find a better job. It's also likely that a well-crafted resume can also help you land a job when no other qualified candidate is currently available for the job.One way that some employers use to determine the quality of an applicant's resume is by reviewing the details of the do cument itself, such as the organization that drafted the document, the specific job experience and specific skills that were demonstrated in the document. In order to make sure that you are submitting a resume that you and your employer are both satisfied with, it's a good idea to start by seeking out the best information technology resume writing services in your area.By using the services of a professional resume writer, you can improve the speed and accuracy of your resume while also receiving professional treatment with regards to the document itself. This means that you won't be wasting time editing or re-writing your own resume, which can create a false sense of professionalism on your part.Although there are many websites and companies who specialize in hiring technical workers, no two jobs require the same kind of information technology resume. Even in the same field, a tech worker is expected to be able to write a resume that will be appealing to his prospective employer, a nd a resume that is meant to stand out in a sea of resumes from candidates who share the same skill set.If you want to be sure that your information technology resume stands out in front of all of the others, it's important to have the assistance of a company that specializes in delivering professional material. Most top resume writing services will provide clients with an auto-draft option that allows the client to enter the details of their resume automatically into a document that is created for them by the company, so there's no need to worry about anyone else reading your document.Best information technology resume writing services can be found online, where a number of companies specialize in this kind of work. These services not only offer a wide variety of writing techniques, but also allow for the consideration of a candidate's particular skills, whether they are in the form of specific experiences or expertise in a certain field.The majority of companies that offer their s ervices can help you find the experience that you're looking for, but you'll still have to know some basic requirements that will determine how many potential employers will see your resume. There are many resume writers out there who specialize in helping other people to look for the right job; this is why they're so valuable.