Smart Savvy

The following comes to us from Jessica Stillman at BNET.  Boomers and X’ers everywhere would be well advised to adopt a Millenial on your team and embrace the reverse mentoring.

Stereotypes about the youngest workers now entering the workforce are not always flattering. Gen Y has been called self-absorbed, coddled, entitled, and even diagnosed as suffering from an epidemic of narcissism. After hearing all this, why would anyone want to hire a twenty-something? Gen Y is not without its faults, but thankfully we also offer valuable traits that can benefit any organization. If you get the sense that someone you work with is a little skeptical about this, point them in the direction of this recent post from Fast Company blogger Lindsey Pollak, where she rattles off five reasons she loves her Gen Y assistant:

* She brings up things that never occur to me. By digging into her experiences and hearing those of her friends and peers, I widen my view of what’s important to her generation. For my business and many other businesses today, Gen Y is either our entire customer base or a large and ever-growing percentage of it. Gathering Gen Y input is not only a good idea; it’s become essential.
* She’s just tech-ier. Gen Y has a natural facility with technology that even many of us active in the digital space cannot beat. I didn’t even know what I was missing in time-saving tech shortcuts until I watched my assistant.
* She understands personal branding. Gen Y understands the importance of personal branding, because they’ve been branding themselves since their middle school AIM profiles. Whether you’re a writer, speaker, entrepreneur or just working on your professional image, it’s important to have someone who intimately understands personal publicity on your team.
* She’s not really into the 9 to 5. She’s more of a 24/7 kind of girl. If I email my assistant at 11 p.m., she responds. If I unintentionally interrupt her dinner, she isn’t caught off guard. She’s attached to her iPhone, and as her employer, I reap the benefits.
* Her energy is phenomenal. When I do find myself running on empty, my young and savvy assistant swoops in with a burst of positive energy that jolts me back on track. Her eagerness and excitement are quite contagious, and I’m loving it.

Check out Pollak’s post for her complete run-downs of the advantages of employing Gen Y.

I came across the following article - written by Paul Hawkinsons of FAST, a search agency located in the Midwest US - and think you’ll agree it definitely provides some food for thought. While a counter offer may provide a temporary ego boost at a precarious time in one’s career, on closer examination it may not be the saving grace it first seems.

Hawkinsons astutely sums up the perils involved in making  yourself open to and accepting a counter and leaves little doubt as to the potential for career suicide to anyone who is tempted to venture down this dark and dirty path…

Mathew Henry, the 17th-century writer said, “Many a dangerous temptation comes to us in fine gay colors that are but skin deep.” The same can be said for counteroffers, those magnetic enticements designed to lure you back into the nest after you’ve decided it’s time to fly away. The litany of horror stories I have come across in my years as an executive recruiter, consultant and publisher, provides a litmus test that clearly indicates counteroffers should never be accepted. EVER!

I define a counter offer simply as an inducement from your current employer to get you to stay after you’ve announced your intention to take another job. We’re not talking about those instances when you receive and offer but don’t tell your boss. Nor are we discussing offers that you never intended to take, yet tell your employer about anyway as a “they-want-me-but- I’m-staying-with you” ploy.

These are merely astute positioning tactics you may choose to use to reinforce your worth by letting your boss know you have other options. Mention of a true counteroffer, however, carries an actual threat to quit.

Interviews with employers who make counteroffers, and employees who accept them, have shown that as tempting as they may be, acceptance may cause career suicide. During the past 20 years, I have seen only isolated incidents in which an accepted counteroffer has benefited the employee. Consider the problem in its proper perspective.

What really goes through a bosses mind when someone quits:

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We interview a lot of people and fortunately none have been as ‘protracted’ as this one –although some have come close. This is a team favourite and we debated whether or not to post it. In the end, humor won out over political correctness. Thoughts?

The following blog is reposted from Mindy Slobodkin Fineout’s posting on recruitingblogs.com .  I thought it was clever and potentially enlightening.

I recently read an article written by Jonathan Littman and Mark Hershon, summarizing their new book called “I Hate You.” This comedic take on a traditional workplace self-help book shows you how to identify the “Ten Least Wanted” –the people you hate in the workplace–while revealing the strategies to neutralize them.

It got me to thinking about identifying candidates in a similar light. In uncertain and stressful times especially, people aren’t on their best behavior, and this poor behavior often leaks its way into the interview process. Candidates respond in a variety of ways when put on the spot and asked to answer questions about themselves – some treat you like a telemarketer interrupting Thanksgiving dinner, others determine they have built an instant rapport with you, and feel compelled to tell you about the colonoscopy they are going in for next week.

Regardless of what you experience, there are ways to identify, counter and neutralize these behavioral faux-pas.

1.) The Oversharer

This guy is extremely likeable at first. He often starts the conversation with friendly banter about the weather, talk about his upcoming vacation, or shares the information that “this is a perfect time to talk,” because he has just returned from walking the dog. In moderation, these can be smart tactics to engage in on an interview – showing your personality and ability to quickly build rapport, however when taken too far it can be fatal. The Oversharer will often mention things that leave the interviewer stumped in response, such as his mother passing away last month, his divorce being finalized tomorrow, or that he keeps running to the bathroom due to the flu bug he has. Regardless, it is up to the interviewer to keep things on track, and important to stay focused on the task on hand, bringing the conversation back around to the job and the resume. Counter his oversharing with something like “I only have a limited amount of time before my next meeting, and need to get through all of my interview questions….” If he has good listening skills, he should get the message.

2.) Mr. No Manners

One of the mysteries of the universe in my eyes is getting a rude response from a candidate upon first contact. Whether or not you are an active or passive candidate, you never know whose hands the fate of your career might land in, so it’s safe to treat every recruiting call like it is important, whether or not you think it is. Mr. No Manners will treat your interruption of his day as if you’ve called him before 7:00 and woken him out of bed. He will tell you he is too busy to talk, cut you off, and engage in general naysaying before you’ve even described the position. There are a few ways to deal with Mr. No Manners. Depending on the position, sometimes it is best to end all communication at that time, for example if the role involves heavy interaction with customers or teams. If you do choose to proceed, often times the best tactic is to call his behavior out in a non-confrontational way. For example, “I’m picking up from you that perhaps this is not the best time to talk, is there a time that would work better?” Often times this will catch Mr. No Manners off guard, and once acknowledged, he will correct his behavior. Otherwise, it may be time to turn Mr. No Manners into Mr. No Hire.

3.) The Yes Man

Candidates always want to appear competent, and often do not want to admit when they do not know something or have not worked extensively in a required area. When asked if they’ve have experience with XYZ, they will say yes. When asked how they rate themselves on a scale of 1-10, it’s always a 9 or 10. But peel back the onion a bit and you may discover they didn’t develop the code from cradle to grave, but actually just sat near the guy who did. Eventually it will come out, maybe in a technical screen further down the road, but this can disperse time better spent with other candidates. Since we can’t actually polygraph our candidates, develop your inner polygraph. Listen to their answer – are you confused by it? Usually candidates that can’t clearly explain their responsibilities leaving you foggy on the details are covering up for lack of knowledge. If their answers bring you on a circuitous route, never really addressing the question specifically, they are not the expert they claimed to be.

4.) The Groupie

While we can all commend enthusiasm, The Groupie takes it to a whole new level. He’s on your linked in profile, reading your blog, messaging you on Facebook, and overstepping countless boundaries in order to impress and show his interest. He will call to check in, on a sometimes daily basis to ask for a status update. Once declined, he will insist on knowing specifically why he didn’t make the cut, and then most likely continue to submit his resume to positions he is not qualified for. He acts either out of being desperate to get into your company, or just being desperate, period. Depending on which kind of desperate he is will depend on the best way to neutralize his behavior. Candidates that apply to every job you post, call every other day, and tell you of their financial woes quickly make their way onto the D list. However, if the candidate is passionate about what your company does, and has some relevant transferable skills for an opening, he may be a loyal long-term employee which the return on investment will over time, outweigh your irritation. *

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I read an article this morning on BNET that tackles the issue of attitude vs experience. 

Experience tends to equate with baggage. Behaviour is learned. We do what we do on the basis of it having led to success in the past. We’ve all been annoyed by people who insist on telling us how things were done in their last company or last job. There are benefits to learning how other people do things, but the underlying message is that what we’re doing is no good, and that can be demoralising.

So what about hiring on potential? This, too, comes with some small print.

For “potential”, read “lack of directly applicable experience”. That means giving the individual time to learn, which implies training, coaching and the provision of development opportunities.This one of the reasons many companies fall back on what they hope is the quicker-fix solution of hiring so-called experienced people — it takes less effort.

I think we can add one more identifier- process. Attitudes can be fleeting and short lived. Experience can leave large blind spots. But a person’s process (how they look at problems, deal with conflict, persaude) is consistent.

The right people have processes in place that allow them to adapt to different situations- and those are the people you want to have on your team.

Link to full article

“Life is like a box of crayons. Most people are the 8-colour boxes, but what you’re really looking for are the 64-colour boxes with the sharpeners on the back.”
John Mayer, Singer-Songwriter

I’m perpetually surprised by how few companies know “who” they need. Some can identify a needed skill or two but even those are the exception rather than the rule. And the temptation in a tight job market is to take a narrow set of skills, a beating heart and be damned to the rest.

Mistake. Potentially costly. Possibly fatal.

The adage, “hire for character, you can always teach skill” is a useful framework particularly when hiring someone who is responsible for critical intangibles like media relations, artistic direction or marketing strategies.

A great character hangs from the solid framework of a balanced ego – all the positive “self” qualities: self-aware, self-motivated, self-restrained, self-confident. The balance is maintained by a reasonable sense of judgment or perception – an ability to gauge yourself in relation to others in diverse situations - and a desire to self-correct. You don’t have to be right 100% of the time (because you wont be!), but you should always be willing and able to correct yourself when you’re wrong.

On the other hand, an imbalanced ego creates a framework with potential weaknesses – all the negative “self” qualities: self-centred, self-seeking, self-righteous, selfish, and sometimes self-conscious. Unfortunately, these are often compounded by a lack of perception and an unwillingness to self-correct.

With a balanced ego to anchor them all, desirable characteristics like curiosity, creativity and eloquence, become further assets for your company. The curiosity of a balanced ego is inspired by ideas and plans generated by others not just themselves. They are capable of focusing their creativity on other people and their projects, not just their own. They bring their communication skills to bear as fluent interpreters between client and customer, or product and consumer.

A person with this kind of character doesn’t just work for your company they are your company.