Recruiting In Yoga Pants

Dressing up is for suckers

Tag: interviewing

Maybe It’s All Made Up

March 16, 2024 /

I know as well as most of you that there’s not shortage of clout chasers on social media.

I can’t assume that everything folks say on there is true. Especially when it flies directly in the face of common sense and compliance.

EVEN MORE ESPECIALLY when I know the players involved and can say with one million percent confidence 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏.

I have to work on letting go of things I can’t control and stay out of discussions that are not beneficial to me or my audience.

What I WILL continue to focus on is elevating my profession to the best of my abilities, working with my leaders to create fair and equitable job postings followed by a compliant hiring process, and make the best damn offers I can to folks who trust us with their careers.

The rest of the dopamine circus can three ring without me.

Before we go… let’s talk about my silly little tweet pictured above.

Here’s the problem – it’s widely reported that women apply to roles they meet ALL OR MOST of the qualifications for, and men will apply when only meeting some. I’ve even some statistics say women apply when they meet 100% of the requirements (logical) and men apply when they only meet 60%.

I know in MY world as a serious and sane recruiter who understands the definition of the word “required” – this simply means that men are going to get rejected more often. Too many times though folks interpret this to mean that women should ALSO shoot those long shots. Too many times what ACTUALLY happens is those well qualified women get passed over for someone’s frat bro or the CEO’s nephew.

If you’re a recruiter or hiring leader serious about increasing representation of under represented employees, let’s chat. Getting serious about what is ACTUALLY required and staying true to a fair and compliant process will get you there. Otherwise you’re at MAJOR risk of “going with your gut” – which doesn’t always work out for the very people you claim to care about. 🤷‍♀️

What’s The RIGHT Number Of Interviews?

December 16, 2022 /

Ooooh people love to get mad about this topic.

Lots of people claim you only need ONE interview. Just the hiring manager, THAT’S IT! Others think anything beyond maybe three interviews borders on violating the Geneva Convention. What those folks neglect to understand is the most important question of all – what is the right amount of data needed to reach a hiring decision?

The reality – like so many things in recruiting – is IT DEPENDS.

Some roles can be quickly vetted in a couple of short conversations. Other roles need a deeper dive into multiple areas with different stakeholders. The missing piece (and what really sets job seekers off) is the lack of STRUCTURE AND CLARITY.

My number one piece of advice for any recruiters or hiring authorities wondering how to do this better? Establish your interview process before you ever start recruiting. Understanding exactly what you’re looking for in an interview process is the key to setting up a successful one.

Now that your interview process is created, share it! Candidates have the right to know EXACTLY what they’re signing up for when deciding to interview. Recruiters should be able to explain not only how many rounds but also a brief overview of the information that will be covered and how to best prepare.

Check out the video HERE

No Feedback? No Problem!

October 7, 2022 /

Ultimately, feedback doesn’t REALLY matter.

Ok maybe that’s some crazy thing I made up to protect my own sanity. Recruiters have been candidates too, you know. And I’ve certainly had my share of failed interviews.

As a recruiter, there are THREE THINGS I know for sure when it comes to feedback. That feedback is HIGHLY DEPENDENT on the following:

  • Company norms/expectations
  • Team needs
  • Role specifics

We know that interviewing is a data collection exercise that tells us if we do or do not have a fit for those three things – does the person fit the org (culture fit…?) does the person add needed skills / experience to the team, and will the person be successful in this role / level. Now these expectations should be laid out during interview prep and such, but the interview is an opportunity for decision makers to learn enough about you to say “yes” or “no” to these decision points.

Sometimes, the answer is no.

That does NOT mean you’re not a great (insert title here) – it simply means you weren’t the right fit for that specific company/team/role. Sometimes one of these topics, sometimes all of them. Sometimes, it’s literally timing.

The only thing that matters is does this impact your ability to apply or interview again.

Follow me through on this – just because THIS role on THAT day isn’t right, can I still apply in the future? Can I be considered for a different role or team? Should I wait a year or more?

THAT is the only kind of feedback I personally care about. I know that what Company A thinks or me (good or bad) is not in any way related to or shared with Company B, which may think I’m great.

Don’t let a lack of feedback hold YOU back from moving forward. We’re not going to change a decision that’s already made, but we can definitely spend that emotional energy on future opportunities.

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.

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