Interviews via ZOOM

Learning to conduct interviews via ZOOM or some other virtual platform takes some skill to keep the conversation going in addition to asking relevant questions. Some managers have commented that they miss the information that came from in-person meetings.  It takes some thought and preparation to make the interview process a good experience for everyone. If possible send a schedule to the candidate and the interviewers who will be participating in the interview process. Allow breaks for the candidate in between interviewers. A big consideration. If you engage in a panel interview make sure that the questions are prepared ahead of time and are assigned to individuals. It’s a big distraction for the candidate to have interviewers overtalking each other.  It can be confusing and does not give the candidate the best opportunity to showcase their qualifications and strengths.

Interview preparation

Preparation has always been important in the interviewing process and it’s still important if the interview is virtual.  Part of the preparation is ensuring that the technology used works and that the candidate has access to the platform that will be used.

A review of the job description and the candidate(s) resume ahead of the scheduled meeting is important for both in-person and virtual interviews. The hiring manager bears the responsibility to prepare the interview team ahead of time and reviewing both the job description and the qualifications of the candidates who will be interviewed. This preparation will ensure that no one on the interview team will be reading the candidate(s) resume during the interview. A discussion about the important and relevant points to cover can more surely lead to a good interview for both the candidate and the interview team.

Make the candidate feel welcome

Because an interview is virtual doesn’t exempt making a candidate feel welcome.  Be sure to minimize distractions and create a non-distracted environment for everyone on the call. Come to the call with a professional appearance.  Please, no multi-tasking while you are interviewing. Make this a rule and non-negotiable requirement for the interview team.  Inform the candidate that you’ll be taking notes and invite them to do so, too if they are so inclined. Take notes on paper. It’s a big no-no to type during the interview.

Virtual interviewing can be stressful for both the hiring manager and the job candidate. Be conscious of the possibility of miscommunication on both sides of the monitor. You, as the hiring manager, will want to convey a positive image of your organization, company and yourself. The candidates are wanting to portray themselves as skilled, qualified and good hires for your team.

Make sure to let the interviewee what the next steps will be after the interview such as when to expect to hear back from you. Be as specific as possible and keep your word about the time frames. Good candidates have been lost because a hiring manager didn’t adhere to the promised times.

Close the interview with appreciation for the candidate’s time and allow time for the candidate to ask questions.  After the interview a debrief with your interview team to review what worked and what didn’t work will gradually make the experience more productive. It matters for you and the candidates.

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The post Virtual World for Hiring Managers & Recruiters first appeared on Lane Business Consulting.

It’s a hot job market

It’s a hot job market so it’s tempting as a hiring manager to rush the let the important details slip. One of those details is the deep dive into making sure that the candidate and the organization are compatible. Be cautious. There’s a cost of going too fast – you’ve heard the saying, “Go slow to go fast”. It certainly applies here.

The workplace culture is made up of the values, beliefs and behaviors that influence everyday interactions. According to Peter Crist, Chairman of the executive recruitment firm, Crist – Kolder Associates, “About 30% of executives taking new jobs fail to figure out the company’s culture correctly and end up leaving relatively soon”. This means that 3 out of 10 hires leave the company within months of being hired. A negative impact on the business for sure. And this turnover contributes to a loss of productivity for the organization.

Job seekers say that culture is as, if not more, important than salary.  Hiring managers need to be prepared to speak to the culture of the organization and paint a realistic picture of the values and beliefs that drive the business. Help the candidate to make an informed decision is a responsibility not to be taken lightly.

Know what contributes to the success of team members

Be ready to answer the question about why others have left the organization or why the current job is open. How would you answer the question about the vision of the leaders?

Conducting useful and strong interviews includes giving a realistic picture of what it is like to work for your organization. Both you and the candidate have a responsibility to learn as much as possible about the “way things are done” so good hiring decisions are made.

Even if a candidate doesn’t ask the following specific questions, be prepared to answer them. It will help you to give a picture of the work environment.

• How long have you been with the company?
• What do you like most about working here?
• How does the person in this job contribute to the organization’s mission?
• How is the impact of work measured?
• Does the company promote from within?
• How do team members give feedback to one another?
• How does the company give back to the community?

Know that you are being interviewed by the candidates that you are interviewing. Are you listening to them when they answer your questions? Or are you distracted and not paying attention? That communicates something about your company’s culture that you might not intend.

Fitting in is as important for the job seeker as it is for the manager who is bringing on a new team member. No one wants to deal with a culture misfit.

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The post Culture Fit or Misfit first appeared on Lane Business Consulting.

What is Prescreening?

Prescreening is a process that, when executed well, can save you hours of time and lots of headaches. It pays off because you’ll bring in only the qualified candidates for interviews, and your interview team will be grateful that they will be interviewing job seekers who have scored well in the prescreening process.

What Does Prescreening Include?

Prescreening includes an in-depth review of the candidate’s resume, cover letter and whatever social media is allowed by your company’s policies. This last element varies from company to company and can have legal implications, so commit yourself and your team to follow the guidelines. Even though you may think online postings are public and therefore allowable for prescreening, there may be legal reasons your company does not agree.

The Purpose

Some say that the purpose of prescreening is to eliminate applicants who are unqualified, but I prefer to view it as more of a selection of qualified candidates. Which of the applicants has presented a case for you to move to the next step, a screening interview? This interview gives both you and the candidate an opportunity to decide if a full interview with you and your team is warranted.

The prescreen interview can be a phone call, but now with our virtual world, most hiring managers arrange for a Zoom meeting which will give you even more information than a phone call. You will see body language, emotion, motivation, etc. You will also be evaluating professionalism and rapport. And a Zoom meeting allows the candidate a better opportunity to evaluate you as well.

“Maybe” – “Yes” – “No”

Prescreening lets you move “maybe” candidates to either “yes” or “no.” The prescreen interview, whether using phone or video, should be no longer than 15 – 30 minutes. Always have a plan for this interview and make sure you get the information needed to decide if someone should be brought to the next step, a formal meeting with your full interview team. For every prescreen call, prepare a list of questions you will ask, and please do take notes. Don’t try to squeeze these calls in between meetings or rush through them. Rather, set aside time for them. You won’t make good choices otherwise, and if you’re rushed and distracted you certainly won’t be giving the candidate the consideration and opportunity to present themselves.

Let the candidates know that this is a screening call and you have a few questions for them. Know that how you conduct the session can either build confidence with the candidate or diminish it.

We’ll cover more about the prescreening process in our next blog.

The post How to Get the Best Job Candidates By Using First Rate Prescreening Tactics first appeared on Lane Business Consulting.

As the economy is revving up, hiring qualified candidates to fill the inevitable job openings will renew the race for talent. The hiring process is time consuming, and hiring managers would do well to get it right, as we describe in our recently published book, Get It Right. Get It Here!

After the long and arduous process of writing a job description, sorting through resumes for qualified candidates, conducting pre-screening, and bringing in the top candidates for interviews, hiring managers are surprised when their job offered is declined.

Let’s look at some of the reasons that I’ve seen most often.

One of the important skills a hiring manager needs to develop is selling. Yes, selling the company and its benefits. The ability to paint a picture of the company and its vision and mission to a potential employee is important for satisfying curiosity and engaging a “yes” to your offer.

Certainly, another main reasons an offer is declined is compensation, which includes both salary and benefits. I encourage hiring managers to be prepared to talk about the company’s benefit package and not leave this question to HR. When hiring managers aren’t able to answer a candidate’s inquiry about benefits, it doesn’t speak well for the benefits or for the manager.

Pay careful attention to the candidate’s answers to your questions. If candidates indicate they are in the job market looking for a better workplace culture, make sure you speak to the inclusive and better culture in your company. Remember, it isn’t always the salary that motivates candidates to be searching for other employment.

Make sure that you provide a great experience for the candidates you selected to speak with, whether in a pre-screen conversation or a more formal interview. Prepare your interview team, too. Stress that being on time and ready for the meeting is important. You’ll be noticing if the candidate shows up on time, whether in person or virtual, and the candidate will notice the same about you. Know that you too are being interviewed! If you’re late or not prepared for the interview meeting, you are likely to communicate something you don’t intend. Job seekers are researching your company and noticing how you are treating them. If you ask obvious questions about their resume, or if every interviewer asks the same questions, your candidates won’t be impressed.

Take the time to prepare and plan. It will serve you and your potential candidates well. If your job offers gets turned down, ask why. Don’t assume you know why. The answers might surprise you. If your process isn’t working in your favor, it’s time to revise it so your offers get accepted.

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#talentacquisition #managementtraining #corporatecoach #performancemanagement #talentmanagement #recruitment #screeningandselection #recruitmentprocess #sourcing #getitright #joboffers

The post Are Candidates Turning Down Your Job Offers? first appeared on Lane Business Consulting.

The most important step for finding qualified candidates for your job opening is writing a good job description. Using a job description written 15 years ago may appear straightforward and easy, but in reality it will probably drive away the most qualified candidates. It only makes sense, doesn’t it?

A current and well-crafted job description provides enough information for candidates to understand the role and see themselves doing the job. When you include outdated information, candidates disqualify themselves.

A job description outlines the important responsibilities, activities, qualifications and skills. It should also include pertinent information about the company, its mission, culture, benefits, location and other important details so that candidates can determine if they are qualified and interested.

Use a strong and attention-getting hook in the opening summary and highlight the job’s day-to-day activities. This level of detail helps a candidate know if they and the company are a good fit. A good job description is a first and important step in attracting the best candidates.

When it comes to the qualifications and skills, specify the required education and experience as well as any required certifications and technical skills. Keep the list concise; it can be tempting to create a long list of desired qualifications, but this can lead candidates to disqualify themselves. Know clearly the difference between what you must have and what would be nice to have.

After writing your job description, pass it around to other staff members and departments who will be interacting with the person who fills this opening. Get feedback to see if you’ve hit all the important details and factors required for this job.

If you aren’t attracting qualified candidates after listing your opening for a couple of weeks, do another review of your job description. You might be too prescriptive or asking for too much in the way of skills, education and qualifications. If so, you will need to make adjustments so your job is more attractive.

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The post Job Description – Get It Right first appeared on Lane Business Consulting.

Millennials will make up 50% of the workforce within the next 2 years and 75% in the next 10 years

Make it a priority to get to know what Millennials consider important in the workplace. While no one likes to be put into a category with his or her individual characteristics dismissed, there are nonetheless some general considerations to take under advisement. Millennials are known to change jobs frequently so the natural loyalty of the Baby Boom generation isn’t to be expected from this generation. The resulting increased turnover is said to cost the US economy $30.5 billion annually. Who can afford this expense?

In addition to pay, the Millennial generation is looking for frequent meetings with managers, so be prepared to meet that need. And consider making it important because when managers meet frequently with Millennials, they are more apt to be engaged and stay with your company longer.

They expect integrity in dealings with employees and customers. A lack of honesty will send them out the door fast.

If you don’t have flexible working hours or some options that allow for diverse working conditions, it’s a good idea to start the conversation now because flex time is one of the top considerations of these potential employees.

The company culture and work environment must be one of trust and open communication. Be prepared with honest answers to describe the company culture. Candidates and new hires will surely ask, and they will have already done research on Glassdoor and other social media. Know what’s out there about the company culture and answer honestly.

It’s a different world and changing by the minute! As hiring managers it’s important to be prepared and ready to answer questions truthfully.

Next week our topic is: How to Prepare Talent Acquisition Managers

The post Recruiting with Retention in Mind first appeared on Lane Business Consulting.

Does your office feel cluttered? Does your desk have any part of its surface that’s free for you to work on? Are you shuffling piles of paper from one place to another?

As an aside, weren’t we told that computers would make our offices paperless? Well, don’t hold your breath… as someone wisely said back in the early days of computers, the paperless office is just as likely as the paperless bathroom

Back to today, if you are constantly walking into your office resolved to get rid of the clutter, you are not alone, and here are some ways to go about the decluttering process. (Of course, you could always order one of the 239 books about decluttering on Amazon, though hopefully you wouldn’t lose it under one or another of the piles.)

A plan for your clean-up project is a good place to start. Sort through the papers, notes and piles on your desk and be willing to toss! Save only those papers that have real value and put them in categories so they will have a home. Make as few categories as possible.

Stop using your desk as a filing cabinet. Review and revise your filing system in your file cabinet and make good use of it so the files you need on a regular basis are close at hand. Color coding is always a good idea. And moving the files you don’t need regularly to another room, garage or closet is a good way of clearing space in your office.

One suggestion that seems to be just plain common sense – though worth mentioning just in case – is to rid yourself of the habit of printing things out to read later. Print only what is really necessary. It saves both paper and space.

Get in the habit of clearing your desk as the last action of the day so you’ll come to a clean desk and space in the morning. It will be more inviting to start fresh without having to first clear up yesterday’s clutter.

If you need space-making or organizing products such as shelving or drawer sets, get them. The ability to stash and store the junk that accumulates in and on your workspace is worth the investment.

Get rid of old magazines, books, articles and other stuff that just sits around gathering dust and creating distraction. It takes a bit of determination, ruthlessness and a willingness to go through the accumulation and get down to the bare minimum. But it’s worth the effort.

The post Ways To Make Your Office Neater first appeared on Lane Business Consulting.

Do you feel tired, overwhelmed and slightly burned out? With Q4 upon us, we are in the home stretch, and we need to get our mojo back to finish strong. Do you want to crawl across the finish line, or do you want to be a winner in this race? Let’s do a little review and revamping so we go into the final quarter with the attitude of champions.

What are your daily habits? Seriously!

Do you have a morning routine that energizes you for the day ahead? Do you do some sort of exercise, reading, journaling, review of your goals, setting of intentions, meditation, affirmations? If not, why not?

Most successful people have a powerful morning routine. It doesn’t have to be long. It could be 10 minutes, but it sets the tone for the day. Give yourself every opportunity to be successful. From the list of possible choices to adopt into your morning practice, select one that you know you can commit to and then just do it!You’ll see that it does make a difference.

What do you do to advance your market intelligence? Do you read, listen to a blog, watch a video on YouTube?

Do you make lists of your intended actions for each day? Do you follow up with referrals? Do you do whatever you need to do to move one step closer to achieving your goals?

It’s time to GO-ALL-IN!

Win this game. It’s yours for the taking. Do the right thing at the right time for the right reasons!

The post Q4 Is Here; Finish The Year Strong first appeared on Lane Business Consulting.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could step into your promotion fully prepared to take on the responsibilities and communicate effectively with all levels in the organization?

There’s a lot of pressure to perform as a new manager and 99% of the time, there is no training or preparation to step up to the challenge.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could wave a magic wand and your wish to make the shift from coworker to manager with ease and comfort, knowing that you have all skills that it takes to successfully step into your new role?

All of this is possible. Want to know how?

Your past performance is what motivated your management to promote you.  However, continuing to perform as a proven achiever will derail your career.  What you need to do to prepare for this new responsibility is to shift your mindset to move into your new role.

I help new managers develop into high-performance managers who know how to manage their time, communicate effectively, set clear goals and expectations and encourage productivity and hire smart to positively effect retention.

My method is not a 3-ring binder approach. We start with the vision of what good management is for the individual and the organization.

As an executive coach, I focus on you as an individual with strengths and skills that we build on. Knowing how to meet the challenges you face is our focus.  It’s important both for you, the new manager, and your staff and the organization that you take on your new responsibilities with a mindset that you can be the leader who is needed to fill the role you’ve taken on.

Because employees leave managers not organizations, it’s important that you quickly develop solid relationships with your staff.  It’s costly to have employees leave a company because they are not managed well.  My mission is to help managers create an environment that supports and encourages productivity.

If this mission resonates with you, we should talk.  Let’s have a conversation about your role and how you would like it to be. Give me 15 minutes to show you how I can help you move into your new role with proficiency and confidence.

The post Go From Coworker To Manager With Ease first appeared on Lane Business Consulting.