Do You Like Me? Check Yes or No.

You probably wouldn’t ask someone to marry you after the first date because it is risky to jump into a long-term relationship without spending time learning all you can about a potential partner. Yet, that’s exactly what employers do when recruiting candidates for a position within their organization. After an initial round of interviews, a job seeker is either welcomed into the organization – or not. So, what are we really trying to learn about a candidate before hiring them into an organization?

The Leadership Vacuum

In one of his classes, Deepak Chopra, the founder of the Chopra Foundation, talks about what he calls “the soul of leadership” and says “that leaders appear when awareness meets need.” He goes on to suggest that there is a hierarchy of needs that contributes to what roles a leader has to address once that person steps into this void. Even though this premise feels reasonable and pragmatically comforting I am not at all convinced in the practicality of this theory in real terms. Are leaders really made not born? In the midst of chaos and stress can someone who knows what a group needs really prioritize and fill the Leadership Vacuum?

How Tough Love and Pizza Changed My Career

Whoever came up with the term “tough love” clearly met my father.

I never had any doubt that my dad loved me. He would always plan family vacations and would give my sister and me anything we ever wanted. There was a saying in my house that the Davis children weren’t spoiled, just well taken care of.

And sometimes being well taken care of meant going to live theater. I was completely taken with the magic of theater and the arts but, as my father found out as I got older and started to think of a career, cultivating my love of the arts had some undesired consequences.

Critical Corporate Interviewing Improves Retention

When trusted employees are promoted into management, generally what is their first task? Replace themselves. How do they interview candidates for their replacement? Go to HR and ask for a list of acceptable questions to ask. If they are lucky, HR has a list of “approved questions.” Are the questions targeting the skills required to be successful in the position? Generally not, they are simply acceptable interview questions.

The Eeyore Candidate

Many months ago, I was interviewing candidates for a recruiting position. The position had been open for months, and I felt like I was never going to find a candidate who had the unique experience I wanted. That was until I found the perfect resume.

Your Sourcing Confidence, Your Sourcing Results

How does confidence relate to sourcing? I am referring to the entire process of sourcing for any position you work on. How many times do the following questions hit your mind before starting to source candidates for a requisition? How will I fill this requisition, what are my sources, what are the channels I can get help from, will my job postings bring great results with candidate applications – and if not, then what kind of impression will it deliver to my recruiters, am I choosing the right source in the beginning, and many more.

Let’s Keep It Simple: Recruiting Is Just Pushing or Pulling

It amazes me how many conferences, current technologies and new technologies are available for recruiting. I have been recruiting for over 15 years and it makes my head spin, and I can only image what an entry level person must think. In the past week alone here are some of the things that I have seen.

Post and Prey Recruitment

As I chat with companies regarding a potential recruitment contract, it has become apparent that many companies follow the same process as candidates. They post jobs on the Internet and pray they will receive the best replies from candidates. You see evidence of this on Yahoo Groups and occasionally in various LinkedIn groups when recruiters ask where they may post for different types of candidate.

Use Positive Visualization to Succeed in Job Interviews

It’s normal to be nervous before any interview, but some job seekers are especially affected, and so are many of the recruiters who interview them. In fact, at many small companies where hiring exactly the right person is so important, interviewers fret for days before each meeting with a top candidate. Some people are so fearful and apprehensive before any interview that they become tongue-tied, talk too much or say the wrong things.

Paying H-1B Filing Fees Makes Sense in the Long Run

Recruiters with their eyes on the global talent pool know that the most efficient way to recruit and employ international professionals often is through the H-1B visa. This is an employment-based, temporary visa category for foreign-born workers whose jobs require at minimum a four-year degree or its equivalent.