June 2014 Newsletter
JobSeeker Want the J ob
? First You’ll H to Meet th ave e Wife! Page 0 7
THIS MONTH 03
The Right Way to Answer: What is Your Greatest Weakness?
05
Grade A Job Advice for New Graduates
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Want the Job? First You’ll Have to Meet the Wife
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June 2014 Newsletter
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Article by David Reese | January 17, 2014
June 2014 Newsletter
03
The Right Way to Answer:
“What is Your Greatest Weakness?”
Thomas Jefferson once said that “honesty is the first chapter
Full disclosure: I work at a startup, and it’s my job to quickly build a team of the right people.
in the book of wisdom”. Though truth-telling abounds in
Throughout my earlier career in larger companies, honesty and being self-critical have always
grade school platitudes, it seems scarcer the older we get. But
been obvious qualities to look for in candidates, but it wasn’t until I joined Medallia that I
this decline in honesty — let’s call it dishonesty — isn’t
realized their special significance for startups. Brandon Ballinger’s now famous blog post
necessarily innate. Dishonesty can be taught. In my
about his experience with Y Combinator’s Paul Graham shows why. To cut a long story short,
experience, I’ve noticed that, of all culprits, college career
Graham told Ballinger (to his face) that his startup idea sucked — a tough-love approach
centers are exceptional traffickers of such miseducation. In
Ballinger now extols. Why? Well, in a startup, it’s much more comfortable to be a “team player”
the process, they’re hurting their brightest students’ chances
than “the bad guy,” as Ballinger describes it. The real hard work in a startup, however, is being
of making it in the world of startups by convincing them to
able to openly admit that the current strategy is just not working — no matter how
give dishonest answers to tough interview questions.
uncomfortable it is, or how much has been invested in getting to that point.
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original article: http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/01/the-right-way-to-answer-whats-your-greatest-weakness/
Article by David Reese | January 17, 2014
The Right Way to Answer:
“What is Your Greatest Weakness?”
June 2014 Newsletter
continued from previous page
In other words: one of the biggest dangers for a young company is that a roomful of smart people who aren’t being honest could easily be steering their rocket ship into the ground. And yet college career centers continue to operate in a 20th century world in which top talent was funneled into careers in mature, staid organizations and industries. These are cultures where people are much more likely to divulge their net worth than a weakness. While a mature organization might have once been able to get by with a “don’t stick your neck out” culture, that attitude is simply lethal to startups. Nonetheless, the importance of this simple truth seems to still be elusive for the Office of Career Services at many of the nation’s top colleges and universities. Besides guidance on basic items like resumes, cover letters, how to dress, and how to eat, many of these schools are providing either no advice or bad advice on how to adequately answer important questions. Take a very common question that I always like to ask, for example:
The truth of that matter is that a quick search of career center websites indicates that students are being encouraged to apply this type of spin to their answers. Even for those that advocating for honesty, there’s often still the contradiction that one’s answers must always be positive. The result of which? Answers that focus on lesser skills (but still skills) rather than actual problems or challenges.
say what’s not working — the opposite of what a startup needs.
One school goes as far as to call it an “angelic weakness.” And if you’re pressed to give a real answer about a flaw, nearly every career center in the universe has apparently decided that “public speaking” is an appropriate response.
The candidates take a minute to evaluate whether I’m somehow tricking them. If they lean into their discomfort and take me at my word, the level of conversation improves dramatically — we have a great time getting to know one another in an authentic way. I’m not really looking to find out whether their organizational skills could use improvement, or that they struggle with presenting to large groups or even leading large teams. I’m trying to find out whether they have self-awareness; whether they are able to be critical; and most importantly, whether they’re able to tell the truth — when it’s difficult.
What is your greatest weakness?
Others are more direct at giving the advice that everyone seems familiar with — to make weaknesses into strengths (and vice versa). Northwestern tells grad students, “Turn a negative into a positive.” Boston College advises students to “Turn your weakness into a positive (for example) ‘Because I tend to procrastinate, I have learned to work well under pressure in order to always get work done on time.’”
Even if you’ve only had just one professional interview in your life, then you’ve probably still been asked some version of this question. Do you remember how you answered? Did you say that you work too hard? That you have perfectionist tendencies? Or that you’re too passionate? Be honest.
This is terrible advice. Responses like these tell me little about how a candidate faces challenges and immediately implies a lack of sincerity. It doesn’t demonstrate to me how they think — beyond their ability to creatively avoid being honest or self-critical. It indicates to me that they’re not willing to stand up and
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That’s why my recent interviews with college graduates have all started to follow the same pattern. I start with two sentences: “Forget what your career center has taught you about interviews. I want to have a real conversation with real answers, and I promise to do the same.”
For those candidates who don’t buy in, however, I spend the majority of the interview trying to pry off their layers of canned responses. I leave the interview wondering: Who are you? And what’s worse — I’ll never know. Because they’ll never get the job.
original article: http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/01/the-right-way-to-answer-whats-your-greatest-weakness/
Article by Elizabeth Garone | May 12, 2014
GRADE A
June 2014 Newsletter
05
JOB ADVICE
FOR NEW GRADUATES Depending on where you live, university graduation season is approaching — or already in full swing. Those who have already nabbed job offers will greet graduation day with joy. But many others, who have not nailed down a job yet, face it with dread. In 2013, there were 74.5m unemployed young people aged 15 to 24 worldwide, according to the International Labour Organisation, and that number is expected to grow this year. The good news? It is never too late in the game to land that dream position — or at least an interim one that can help get you there.
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original article: http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20140509-grade-a-job-advice-for-new-grads
GRADE A
JOB ADVICE
FOR NEW GRADUATES Become an expert
June 2014 Newsletter
continued from previous page
to exhaust all your possible campus contacts.”
Carpenter. First, search for alumni who work in your industry and who have a shared interest with you,
Standing out “Attention is the scarcest commodity in the new
Think beyond the school’s career services department.
whether it’s the same major, sport or other activity.
economy,” wrote Ritvik Lukose, CEO of Vahura, India's
Talk to coaches and professors and ask them if they can
Second, look for alumni who either work in your industry,
leading legal and governance search firm with
put you in touch with alumni who have gone into the
or work at companies that appeal to you. Request
headquarters in Mumbai. Therefore, it’s imperative that
industry (or industries) in which you are interested.
informational interviews.
you make yourself stand out.
A creative approach
Lukose suggested getting the attention of your top-five
“Contacts generated this way are incredibly valuable since you don't only share a college in common, you share a mentor,” wrote Carpenter.
“Identify companies or organisations that [you] would like
target employers by giving them something useful to At Sonoma State University in Northern California, some
their line of work: a piece of research, a marketing pitch or
to work for and use all appropriate channels to target them
Don’t stop at mentors. “[Talk] to all of your senior
44% of graduating seniors won’t have a career job when
and find out as much as possible about them,” wrote Sally
a new product idea, for example. “This shows both a deep
classmates who have gotten jobs in your chosen
they graduate, according to Ken Heinzel, a marketing and
Walker, a UK-based career coach with SW Career Coaching,
interest in that employer as well as your competence on
industry,” wrote Carpenter. Finding these classmates
management lecturer at the school and a former
in an email. The easiest way to do this is through LinkedIn,
the job,” he wrote.
shouldn’t be too hard: ask the school’s career services
executive headhunter.
she suggested. “Follow the company, join relevant interest
department, or just ask around, he suggested. Once you
groups that they might monitor, follow them on Twitter, try
find them, “arrange to have a cup of coffee with them and
While statistics like this may make you feel better to know
to engage with the organisation in a professional way. [This]
“Remember, if they don't call you, it’s because you are not
pick their brains on how they accomplished what you
that you are not alone, it also means that there are a lot of
shows the organisation that you are truly interested, shows
on their mind.”
want to do. Since the pressure is off these students, they
people competing for the same jobs.
initiative and differentiates you from others.”
will likely have plenty of time to talk and would be happy
If there aren’t any paid positions, see if you can volunteer
It’s up to you to grab their attention, he said, adding:
to tell you to what they thought they did right, and what
“I tell students that it's their value to a prospective firm
they did wrong, during their job search.”
that will get them hired,” said Heinzel. “However, before
with the organisation in order to gain some work
they can explain their value, they must get the firm's or
experience, Walker suggested. An alternative: find volunteer
There’s nothing wrong with inquiring about contacts
hiring manager's attention.” In a tough job market, like
work at a different company in the same field. That could
they used to get their foot in the door and, in a tactful
today’s, that can be difficult.
help you build relevant skills, extend your network and
manner, whether they’d be willing to introduce you to
“show that you are doing something constructive rather
those same contacts. Finally, ask them if they would be
Heinzel recommends students take a creative approach
than just sitting at home reacting to job adverts,” she wrote.
willing to meet with you again after they’ve started in
and make an information packet that they can send to
their new jobs, Carpenter suggested.
the hiring manager or manager in the department where
Don’t give up “Keep talking and keep interviewing,” wrote Ben Carpenter,
06
Staring you in the face
the target job opening is. The packet should contain a short cover letter, a resume and a creative item designed to get the manager's attention. For example, one
author of The Bigs: The Secrets Nobody Tells Students and
Many soon-to-be graduates don’t take full advantage of
candidate who was applying to a position at a firearms
Young Professionals About How to Find a Great Job, Do a
their school’s career services office despite the fact that
company included his highest scoring paper target from
Great Job, Start a Business, and Live a Happy Life, in an
it’s expressly designed to help them. One of the best
a target-practice range, according to Heinzel. He got the
email. “As the school year winds down, you need to attempt
resources it offers is the alumni directory, according to
interview.
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original article: http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20140509-grade-a-job-advice-for-new-grads
June 2014 Newsletter
Article by Michelle Goodman | January 29, 2014
Want the Job?
First You’ll Have to Meet the Wife
07
Where's my easy button?
Gone are the days where recruiters and hiring managers interview a promising job applicant, check their references and make a quick decision. Now credit checks, background checks, skills tests, personality tests and a tour of candidates’ social media profiles are just the beginning. Ask a roomful of job hunters about the oddest interview tactics they’ve encountered recently and you’re bound to hear an earful about bizarre curve-ball questions and off-the-wall proficiency tests they never expected. Blame the global recession. In its wake, job candidates — even mediocre ones — have become well-versed in the art of interviewing. “Everyone knows that they’re going to get asked ‘Where do you see yourself in five years?’ ‘What’s your strength?’ ‘What’s your weakness?’” said Debby Carreau, chief executive officer of Calgary, Alberta-based Inspired HR Ltd, which handles human resources for dozens of American and Canadian employers. To cut through the canned responses, employers have increasingly embraced new and unusual hurdles. While larger firms may be more concerned with adhering to hiring protocols in a way smaller firms might not be, extra wacky steps are popping up at big companies, too.
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original article: http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20140129-weirdest-interview-tactics
Want the Job?
First You’ll Have to Meet the Wife Snakes, err, candidates on a plane...
June 2014 Newsletter
continued from previous page
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themselves during life’s less predictable, often stressful activities — flight delays, cramped quarters and all.
Are you ready for the zombie apocalypse?
Ohanian schedules these one-way confabs to coincide with business trips he’s already taking. He meets candidates in the departing city’s airport lounge, takes
Ashley Morris believes in the power of off-the-wall interview questions. For the
them to dinner upon arrival and, if the candidate stays overnight, breakfast the
past three years, the CEO of Capriotti's Sandwich Shop, a US chain with 100
next morning. He estimates he’s conducted 10 such interviews annually for
locations, has ended each interview at company headquarters in Las Vegas by
more than a decade — $3,000 to $5,000 a year in added hiring costs that he said
asking: “What would you do in the event of a zombie apocalypse?”
is well spent. No candidate has ever refused, and he’s extended a job offer to 90% of his seatmates.
The question — which Morris asks in all seriousness — may be ludicrous. But the replies are telling. “Now you’re really going to get who this person is,”
Ara Ohanian cares deeply about how potential leaders in his organisation will
Among the characteristics he seeks: humility, a sense of humour, comfort in
perform under pressure. What better way to gauge this than a crowded flight
one’s own skin and empathy for, say, an overextended restaurant server or a
on a commercial airliner?
frazzled flight attendant. “It gives me an indication of how they will be toward
Among the characteristics a candidate’s answer reveals: “whether they think
other members of their team,” he said. “You’re forced to catch them off guard…
quickly on their feet, whether they are a planner, what their priorities are and
Their dominant traits start showing.”
most importantly, whether or not they had fun with the question.”
Finalists for critical management roles at Certpoint Systems, the software
Morris said.
company he founded with his father in 1996, are asked to join Ohanian for a six-hour cross-country flight from New York to Los Angeles. The only luxury:
That last point is particularly important, given the tight-knit, light-hearted
the interview is usually in business class. Think snakes on a plane, without the
culture of the franchise’s 25-person corporate office.
slithering serpents, but with all sorts of other unknowns. How will the candidate react to being trapped in the air with crying babies and
“We try to have a lot of fun,” said Morris, who has lobbed the question at
stomach-churning turbulence? “I’m more interested in learning about people’s behaviour,” said Ohanian, now vice president and general manager at Infor, the global enterprise software company based in New York that acquired Certpoint last year. “You have an opportunity to observe individuals that you want to be a part of your team in a less structured but more complex and demanding setting than a one-to-one interview,” he said. In other words, he gets a sneak peek at how a person carries
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original article: http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20140129-weirdest-interview-tactics
Want the Job?
First You’ll Have to Meet the Wife
June 2014 Newsletter
continued from previous page
Now, meet my wife...
Show me your script...
Most people expect their final interview will be with their boss, or perhaps
Handwriting analysis firm Graphology Consulting Group evaluates the
their would-be boss’s boss. Not so at M & E Painting LLC, a commercial and
scrawling of job candidates worldwide — to the tune of more than 5,000 job
residential painting company with two locations in Northern Colorado. There,
seekers a year, said director Ben Luck. More than one-third of the New
the final interview is with the boss’s wife.
York-based company’s clients ask for that service. (Outside of human
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resources, Graphology clients have included the US Federal Bureau of Before extending a job offer, CEO and founder Matt Shoup asks finalists — and
Investigations, Interpol and Scotland Yard, religious figures and celebrities.)
their significant other, best friend or whomever is “the most important person in their life” — to meet with him and his wife, who co-owns the company.
How it works: with the consent of the job applicant, an employer sends a short handwriting sample to Graphology — often just two or three sentences. “We
Why? Shoup hires people he hopes will stay for a long time and he wants new
screen the handwriting to fit the job description,” Luck said.
members of his growing dozen-employee team to wholeheartedly support his company vision. That means the most important person in their life must
For example, does the person take direction well and pay attention to detail?
believe in the company, too, he said. “If you’re not happy at home, then you
Are they wildly imaginative? Leadership material? Are they a procrastinator?
bring that problem to work,” Shoup said.
Do they have integrity? In all, Luck said, Graphology can look at more than 300 personality traits its experts say are revealed through handwriting.
Since adding this extra step to his interview process two years ago, M & E Painting was named one of the best US places to work by Inc magazine and
DiMare Enterprises, a family agricultural business in Newman, California, has
Shoup said he hasn’t had any employees leave the company because of job
been using Graphology’s handwriting analysis to help make managerial hires
dissatisfaction, although he has made fewer offers.
for 25 years, chief executive officer Tom DiMare said. Although he doesn’t use the handwriting results to decide whether to hire a candidate, he does use
potential hires about 50 times during the past three years. “Sense of humour is
Last year, after a meticulous vetting process that included a 19-item written
Graphology’s reports as a guide when checking a finalist’s references. “It helps
very important.”
questionnaire, a panel interview with several of Shoup’s entrepreneurial pals
us in asking the right questions,” DiMare said. For example: Does this person do
and a couple of unpaid work samples, Shoup hired Eric Cooper as his new
well on collaborative projects? Or are they more of a lone wolf?
So is truthfulness. Morris is not impressed by candidates who feebly reply that
executive assistant. Cooper will be the first to admit that Shoup’s interview
despite their impending doom at the hands of blood-thirsty zombies, they’d
process was unusually thorough.
still make it into work that day.
Among the intel he’s gained about candidates: how well they handle criticism (watch those wide-looped lowercase d’s; they signal someone who’s more
But, he said, the working double date was more confirmation he was signing
sensitive) and how open they are to people of different backgrounds (a
His favourite answer came from his marketing coordinator, a former US Marine
on with the right team. For starters, he explained, meeting Shoup’s wife gave
full-looped lowercase e indicates open-mindedness), which is important in
Morris recently hired. His response: if the zombies showed up, he’d want to go
him more insight into the type of person Shoup was. Plus, getting his own
farming, DiMare said.
out peacefully:
wife’s take on his future boss gave him more confidence in his decision.
“‘I’d go to my house and kiss my wife and lay in my bed and let them take me.’,”
To say the meeting went well would be an understatement. “My wife told me
Morris recalled him saying.
she would be okay with me working late because she found a new friend to
DiMare shares the results with people who’ve had their handwriting analysed.
drink wine with,” Cooper joked.
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(So far, no candidate has refused to submit a sample.) “The people that have taken the test have said it’s 85% accurate,” he said.
original article: http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20140129-weirdest-interview-tactics
Want the Job?
First You’ll Have to Meet the Wife
June 2014 Newsletter
continued from previous page
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Those that aren’t up to Selectbidder’s pop quiz are eliminated accordingly. If hired, new customer service reps continue to work with the voice coach as “I can't recall anyone giving up on the test, but some don't finish in the 15
needed. Faith said he believes the screening process also helps the company
minutes and leave a lot of blanks,” Bodnar said.
keep turnover down.
Not surprisingly, they’re usually shown the door.
Faith has even called on Welsh for a vocal tune-up. “I can’t change my accent,” said Faith, a British expat. “But I can change my tone
Pencils up for a speed quiz... Ken Bodnar, chief technology officer of Selectbidder.com, is extremely picky about the web developers and programmers he hires. The New Brunswick, Canada, e-commerce company runs on proprietary software that’s more complex than most job candidates are likely to have seen elsewhere. “We use advanced web and mobile technology that they don’t teach in school,” said Bodnar, who manages a 12-person team. So he needs to hire what he jokingly calls “trainable monkeys” — coders smart and skilled enough to pick up rapidly changing technology on the fly. Put another way: “We want to know if they can think,” he said. To weed out the “non-thinkers,” candidates who make it past the in-person interview are given a 15-minute, 15-question word-problem quiz. “Some of the questions are really stupid,” he said. “It goes between the trivial and the stuff that is really difficult to figure out.” For example: There are 10 birds in a field. Two are shot. How many are left? Answer: None. Shoot at a flock of birds, and they’ll all fly away. In the two years since Bodnar started giving the test, he’s weeded out more candidates who he believes wouldn’t have cut it at the firm. In an industry rife with referrals that aren’t always well-thought-out, this screening tool has been incredibly helpful.
CV People Africa - Where the jobs are!
and my pace and my pauses and my speed. He’s worked with me a lot.”
You can type, but can you speak well? Mike Faith takes the voices of his customer service representatives very seriously. So much so that he asks potential hires to do a phone interview with Australian vocal coach Ken Welsh before he offers them the job. “If someone’s on the phone all day, which (people in) most of our positions are, that’s really important,” said Faith, CEO of Headsets.com, a San Francisco based provider of office telephone headsets. Hence the call with Welsh — after candidates make it past an initial Headsets.com phone screen, in-person interview and IQ test. What, exactly, does Welsh look for? Whether someone speaks too quickly, slowly, loudly, softly or clearly enough, Faith explained. To gauge this, Welsh runs candidates through a series of linguistic exercises and tongue twisters, offering suggestions for improvement as they go. “He’s looking to see if they are open to learning and changing and realising the importance of their voice,” said Faith, who added this step to his interview process a decade ago and usually brings on three or four new customer service reps one to three times a year, both because of growth and turnover. Depending on the year, the company might pay about $12,000 in vocal coaching bills. If hired, new customer service reps continue to work with the voice coach as needed. Faith said he believes the screening process also helps the company
original article: http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20140129-weirdest-interview-tactics
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