Recruiting In Yoga Pants

Dressing up is for suckers

Month: March 2023

How To Prep for a Coaching Call!

March 31, 2023 /

Even professionals can benefit from professional help.

It can be hard to admit we don’t have all the answers, but that’s why mentors and coaches exist! For job seekers, there are plenty of options when it comes to coaching. There are tons of coaches providing paid services (you can check out my recommended list here) and lots of recruiters who provide the occasional session (paid or free).

So how do you PREPARE for this session?

First of all, know your goal. You won’t have it all figured out (that’s why you need a coach!) but you should at least have a goal in mind. What do you want to learn during this session? Is there a specific issue you need help with? It could be anything from “I don’t know what I don’t know and need direction” to “I’ve done a lot of introspection and I need help with this specific thing“. For most of us, it’s probably somewhere in-between. It’s perfectly ok to not know EXACTLY what you need, but at least think about what you want to get out of the call.

Set expectations! The coach may help drive this as well – for a first introductory call, it may be pure discovery. The coach needs to get to know you a bit and understand your situation before proposing solutions. Other times, you’re able to quickly dig into problem areas and brainstorm potential fixes.

Some questions worth exploring during your coaching session:

  • Is my perception of my situation ACCURATE?
  • Is there NEW information that may help me?
  • Do I need to COURSE CORRECT my current strategy?

Finally, give yourself permission to drive the conversation. A great coach will help you come up with solutions on your own – not hand you a one size fits all playbook. Everyone’s situation is unique! Take the time you need to think through what is best FOR YOU.

For more information, check out the video HERE.

The “Right” Way to Reject A Candidate??

March 17, 2023 /

Y’all. Why are recruiters the way they are??

Alrighty let’s dig in – a recent LinkedIn post had my head spinning. It said (I’m paraphrasing a bit here) that recruiters should ALWAYS reject candidates over email and NEVER by phone or video call.

ALWAYS.

NEVER.

The two most dangerous words in recruiting.

But let’s get back to this idea around rejecting candidates. First of all, we have to acknowledge the very real rule that many companies have – CALL. That’s right. The last several employers I’ve personally worked for had a rule that if someone had gone through a full interview round, they got a CALL with the news (good or bad).

Now unfortunately many of those companies also have no feedback rules… so that call can be a little awkward in spite of our best intentions. Here’s how I do it:

Interview Prep
During this conversation, I let my candidates know two things: 1. I’m not able to provide specific feedback and 2. I will pre-schedule our outcome call if possible OR send them a link to schedule a call once we have a decision. If I’m able to kick off my candidate’s interview day (probably 70-80% of the time) I use those few minutes to schedule our follow up conversation. If I don’t do a kick off, I send an email include my calendar link so candidates can self schedule. It looks like this:

Hi CANDIDATE, thanks so much for taking the time to interview with us! I have an update for you. Here’s a link to my calendar (hyperlinked 15 min time slot) – feel free to schedule whatever works best for you. Otherwise, feel free to text me directly at (number) whenever you’re free for a chat.

I really want my candidates to feel empowered to tell me what works for them, and particularly WHEN works for them – no one should get a “surprise” call especially if it’s’ bad news.

The Call
This is more or less the “script” I follow when having this conversation. It should be an organic, free flowing conversation and candidates should feel comfortable asking questions or sharing any feedback / thoughts they may have about the process or anything else!

Hey Candidate, unfortunately we didn’t get the outcome we had hoped for. While we won’t be moving to an offer on this role, we definitely saw strengths in (positive areas).
(If true/appropriate) We didn’t see enough (strength / scope) in X, but would love to keep in touch for (future role, different role/level).

Obviously every recruiter needs to pick the language, style and verbiage that works best for them AND follows their company policy. This is also a good time to share if there’s a cooling off period, or if/when a candidate should follow up for future opportunities.

Great – so what’s a job seeker to do?

Clarify timing! It’s perfectly acceptable to ask the recruiter WHEN you can expect an answer. If the recruiter doesn’t offer to schedule something, request it yourself! Get confirmation on when you’ll hear back, or confirm yourself when you’ll be following up.

For more thoughts on this, check out the video HERE.

Resume & Job Search Advice – Who Do You Trust?

March 10, 2023 /

This can be tricky.

I’ll be the first to admit that it can be very difficult to know who to believe. A common complaint from job seekers is there is no single “right” way to do… well… any of this.

Let’s take resumes for example. This recruiter said 1 page only. That recruiter says PDF only. And another random recruiter is picky about font size.

Sigh. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.

Here’s the thing though – there is no universal standard to MOST of this. I’d like to think we can all agree that clean, concise, and clear accomplishments are key. So what’s a job seeker to do?

Relevant Advice

Let’s face it – not all advice on the internet is meant for you. And that’s ok! Even in my recruiting world, I’m pivoting from engineering to high volume production hiring. The advice I give MY candidates will shift greatly – because it’s a very different skill set with a different set of expectations, resume guidance, and interview best practices. Make sure you’re asking questions (and following the guidance of) people who actually KNOW what you’re trying to learn – and can help you get there.

Trusted Sources

Before you take advice from ANYONE, you should vet them! If we’re talking resume advice, recruiters are often a great source for feedback because they are ultimately your audience. Don’t you want to know what the person responsible for reading your resume wants to see? Career coaches and resume writers can also be great – but are they familiar with your particular industry, seniority, and skill set? Like recruiters, coaches and writers can be generalists too – but are they knowledgable about the companies and industries you want to work in? Do they have the trust of recruiters and hiring leaders? Are they trusted or even recommended by recruiters (check out my list here).

Ultimately, you have the responsibility and opportunity to decide what’s best for you. YES, there’s lot of advice out there – and lots of self-proclaimed experts that have perfected the manipulation game and only want to get their hands on your hard earned money. Some services (if it’s affordable for you) can be worth every penny. Sometimes you just need to focus on QUALITY advice, and stop trying to listen to everyone.

For more on this topic, watch this week’s video HERE.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

© 2024 Recruiting In Yoga Pants

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑