Recruiting In Yoga Pants

Dressing up is for suckers

Month: September 2022

Unsuccessful Interview = Waste of Time?

September 30, 2022 /

This is a tough one y’all.

A lot of job seekers are understandably frustrated when they get rejected after an interview. The process can be absolutely grueling at many companies, and a lack of feedback (or God forbid – closure!) can feel like salt in the wound. Believe me, I get the urge to go straight to LinkedIn and fire off a post asking how Company had the actual audacity to interview me knowing they weren’t going to hire me. (Yes, we’ve all seen posts like this)

EXCEPT – the company likely did NOT know they were not going to hire you. That’s why they interviewed you. To figure all that out. Check out “What’s The Point Of An Interview Anyway” for more on that topic.

So what’s a job seeker to do? Even if we have the most positive outlook on this, being rejected still stings and doesn’t get us any closer to a regular paycheck. NOW WHAT?

Change your thinking.

We tend to look at interviews as a one time event that results in a clear yes or no. While this is technically true, what if I told you that you could use your interview as a networking opportunity? Think about it – whatever field you’re in, you’re likely going to interview with people who also do the same thing. If you’re an electrical engineer, I would be SHOCKED if you didn’t have at least one electrical engineer on your interview panel. This pretty much goes for almost any industry, don’t you think?

So here’s the specific next step I want you to take. Once the interview dust has settled, the decision is in, closure has been received, send a note. This will likely be a LinkedIn message or invite, unless you have specific contact info for folks you met (which frankly, is pretty rare). Try something like this:

Hi Interviewer,

Thanks so much for the time you spent interviewing me last month (or whenever) for the (Title) role. I was bummed to hear from (recruiter) that I wasn’t selected, but I really enjoyed getting to know everyone and would love to keep in touch for future opportunities.

I hope you’ll consider connecting, and I hope our paths will cross again in the future!

You

So why does this work?

Simple! You’re just making friends/connections with people in your industry. Now this isn’t an immediate fix or automatic re-consideration of your interview – it IS an opportunity to stay connected to someone who does similar work. That person may go work for a new company, and when asked “who do you know” by their new recruiting team (I promise you we do this) well – they know YOU!

The reality is this – we’re not going to overrule a hiring decision. While it would be WONDERFUL to get feedback, I want you to also keep in mind that feedback is highly subjective and only relevant to three things:

  • The Company
  • The Team
  • The Role

If you want to work for that company in a different capacity, it’s fine to ask if it makes sense to reapply, target different roles or different levels. Also find out if there’s a cooling off period (of course I have a video on that TOO). Beyond that, feedback about this specific interview may not be as actionable or constructive as you might hope. My failed interview at Meta did nothing to keep me from moving on to Google.

Now go make some new professional friends! You never know what doors they can open in the future.

Years Of Experience In Job Descriptions!

September 23, 2022 /

I know this one really frustrates people. ALL people! Recruiters, Hiring Managers… definitely candidates.

WHY do we list years of experience in job descriptions anyway? Isn’t that just another way to inject bias or keep people from getting a chance at a job they can clearly succeed in?

Well, hopefully NO.

Here’s the deal with YOE – it comes down to COMPLIANCE.

I know I know, you’re tired of hearing me blame OFCCP for everything. I’m tired too, but I also understand the logic behind it, and I’m going to do my best to explain it here (and in the accompanying video).

From the DOL website:

So how do we create these objective, noncomparative and job related requirements? Noncomparative means we are not comparing candidates to each other. We’re merely comparing them to the expectations of the role. A recruiter MUST compare the person’s resume to the JOB – and it must be objective and measurable.

“Must have excellent Excel skills” is NOT an appropriate BQ – but “must have at least 2 years experience working with Excel” is! We can MEASURE that. “Excellent” is entirely too subjective. My excellent might be your just ok. With YOE, a candidate either has the required years of experience, or not.

So how do we land on the RIGHT years of experience? This is tricky. We basically need to start from the business problem we’re trying to solve and work backwards from there. We ALSO want to minimize the YOE and make that number the absolute smallest we possibly can, in an effort to screen in as many potential applicants as possible. Here’s how that works:

ABC Company needs to hire a Production Supervisor. The Production Supervisor will oversee a team of 20 assemblers and they’re expected to churn out 100 widgets a day. The Production Manager wants someone who has experience in the widget industry AND significant people management experience, as the team is expanding to 40 in the next 18 months while also bringing a new shift online. Basic Qualifications will look something like this:

  • 2+ years people management in a warehouse or assembly environment
  • 5+ years production experience in a warehouse, logistics, or manufacturing environment

MEASURABLE! OBJECTIVE! NONCOMPARATIVE!

But why those numbers exactly? It comes back to the minimum requirements/capabilities needed to do the job. This person will be a supervisor. They MUST have some background in hiring / firing, people management, mentoring and growing employees in their careers. Someone who’s been a leader for 6 months simply wouldn’t have as much opportunity a someone who’s been doing it 5, 10, or even 15 years. HOWEVER – we don’t want to make that number too big, as we’ll rule out people newer in their career who’ve accomplished some big things. So we land on 2 years, knowing this likely means someone’s seen at least 2 annual review cycles and done some hiring or even firing in that time.

Same with the 5 years of production experience. This person will lead a whole initiative, including expansion. Ideally this person has shipped lots of widgets, built teams over time, and is well versed in the ins/outs of a production facility. Maybe they’ve even stood up new facilities. We’re not necessarily married to an industry (say consumer electronics), so we’re keeping our options open there. BUT – we definitely know we need someone who’s been around the block a few times and gotten several t-shirts.

OK FINE – but what if I only have 4 years and 6 months of relevant experience? You’re really not going to call me?

It depends. If you’re CLOSE – I recommend at least throwing your hat in the ring. It’s entirely possible that the manager isn’t finding what they need, and will be willing to reduce the requirements (this involves creating a new position for compliance purposes, but can be done). Perhaps they’re also hiring a Production Lead with a rapid trajectory towards supervisor. If you are VERY CLOSE – it may be worth applying, as long as you understand you’re competing with others who may fit the minimum requirements and then some.

A red flag to watch out for is MAXIMUM years of experience. A job post that says “2-5 years of experience in X” sets off all kinds of alarms for me. That can be (unintentional) code for “we want someone young”. Nope!

This idea around MEASURABLE requirements and using minimum years of experience has been beaten into my head as long as I’ve been in recruiting. Recruiting managers, OFCCP trainers, lawyers, you name it – they’ve all told me this is the way to do it. If someone has a workaround, please share!

Until then, I’ll be following the guidance I’ve been given and keeping myself out of the auditor’s office.

Automation In Recruiting??

September 16, 2022 /

Yes, dear readers. Even I, Bot Slayer of Recruiting, believes in automation done right.

Automation can be such a time saver when implemented correctly. Repetitive tasks like note taking, or scheduling can be automated (or at least made easier) with technology. Where I’ve personally seen the biggest impact is through SOURCING.

Shout out to my friends at HireEZ! I use this AI sourcing tool ALL THE TIME. In fact, I don’t go to a new hiring manager meeting without labor market insights. I encourage my sourcers to use the AI sourcing function. It’s been an absolute game changer for me over the last 10 years or so I’ve used it. There are other similar tools out there so this isn’t necessarily a plug for one particular system, but I do love it and encourage you to check them out!

Like any form of automation, the tools are only as good as the recruiter using them. We can screw up badly if we have the wrong inputs. It’s a fact. THAT is how you get mismatched outreach, or delivery driver roles texted to you at 6 am. Someone used their “automation” badly.

Very, very badly.

As always, holding the end users (in this case, recruiters) accountable is a GOOD thing – automation is only as positive or negative as the person wielding it. Keep that in mind and ASK the recruiters representing the companies you want to work for.

Remember what happens when you ASSUME. Get the facts straight from the source instead.

What To Wear To An Interview!

September 9, 2022 /

Yay you got the interview!! Now what do I wear? Do I still have any suits? Will they still FIT?? Ok – yoga pants it is! (actually I totally wore yoga pants to my last few interviews. Got all the offers 😉 )

Here’s the thing – your personal experience with this may vary widely depending on any number of factors. The company’s culture, dress code norms or best practices. What’s comfortable FOR YOU PERSONALLY. Of course the pandemic has messed us up in all kinds of ways, moving many interview to a virtual set up. Don’t get me started on the effects of being locked down in my house where all the food is.

In this week’s AMA Friday video, there are a couple of key ideas to consider around dress code and how to navigate this:

Ask The Recruiter!

Seriously. The recruiter knows the company best. Ask if there are any specific expectations for the interview. What’s the typical dress code for day to day? Don’t feel embarrassed or uncomfortable asking! Recruiters WANT you to succeed, and we understand you literally have NO way of knowing this if you don’t ask. So please – ask.

What Makes YOU Feel Good?

OK – I get that biases still exist. I hate it, but it’s out there. Hairstyles, tattoos, piercings, you name it – no matter what your personal style is, there’s some jackass out there who will judge you for it. Let us pray it’s not one of your interviewers. If it is, I hope you have many other opportunities in front of you so you can turn that one down. Nobody should be shamed for their personal style.

Anyway, point being, what puts you in “interview mode”? Maybe that IS a 3 piece suit! Maybe like me, comfort is key. It could also be a significant piece of jewelry (lucky charm, anyone?) or a certain lipstick. In fact, I have a favorite red that I wear whenever I’m going into a critical meeting or speaking engagement. Even if no one else notices, I just FEEL empowered.

THAT is how I want you walking into you next interview. EMPOWERED to slay that job search dragon and come out the other side with an offer!

Check out the video HERE. I’d love to know what’s the CRAZIEST interview attire you’ve ever seen – or worn yourself!

Do I NEED A Resume Template?

September 2, 2022 /

Let’s start by understanding the purpose of a resume. To land an interview. That’s it. Templates have been around for a long time (at least since word processing software has been a thing) and some are rather… creative. I’ve seen all kinds of graphics, videos, nonsensical rankings, lots of noise and unnecessary fluff that can actually detract from the resume’s main purpose.

But do you NEED a template? This is incredibly subjective and depends on your personal level of comfort in creating a doc. Some folks may stare at a blank page and not know where to begin. Others get completely thrown by having too much structure.

I’m DEFINITELY in the latter camp.

My writing and content creation style follows 3 simple steps: Write – Edit – Format

✍️ Write
Just start typing! Here is where I pull up a blank doc and just start data dumping everything I can remember about my job duties and accomplishments. Don’t worry about misspellings, or bad grammar. We’ll get to that. Right now, we’re just WRITING. Get all that info out and onto the page.

✍️ Edit
Remember that bad grammar and spelling we ignored? Now go fix it. Make adjustments to the content and review the specifics. Focus on measurable achievements, checking for numbers, percentages, or any other “proof” of the amazing work you’ve done. We can almost see the finish line!

✍️ Format
Once your content is where you want it, now you make it pretty. This is where you can adjust your font size, add bullet points, bold or italics – anything that makes your resume easy to read. This may also be a good time to grab a template you like and either mimic it, or copy / paste your revised content into the format you prefer.

It is ALWAYS helpful to sanity check your final version with recruiters and business leaders in your industry who can speak to any nuances preferred (or required!) such as portfolio links, documentation. Make sure you’re not missing anything specific to the kind of work you want to do that folks will expect to see on a resume.

If you’re completely baffled by this whole process and are looking for paid, professional help check out my list of resume writers and coaches HERE.

Check out this week’s AMA video on this topic HERE.

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