Hello Everyone,

I was thinking about topics & a good friend suggested interview tips for hiring managers & what interview techniques can I use to make sure I make the right choice? I think that this is something that we can look into.

Staffing Tips For Hiring Managers

First, lets take a look at some resumes. This is probably the most time consuming & most tedious part of hiring. You are looking for a specific skill set & are receiving resumes that make no “sense”. Take a look at the job description & ask yourself, “Is this a realistic description”. Meaning, are the must have skills listed clearly & are the pluses listed clearly. Is the salary posted realistic based not on surveys but on what the market is actually paying. The best place to get this information from is from a trusted recruiter. I always tell my clients to ask me any questions that they may have about anything, even if they can’t use me for a specific position. Most recruiters are looking to build long term business relationships & would love to answer any questions that clients or future clients may have.

After looking at the job description, & resumes start coming into your inbox, you will have to take a look at them & decide who is “worth” interviewing. I always suggest that if someone looks like they “might” be a fit but you’re not 100% sure, they are worth at least a 10 minute phone call to rule on. In today’s IT business, communication skills & attitude are almost equally if not more important than technical skills. If someone might have 3 years of experience instead of the required 5 years, but they have excellent communication skills, that is someone you might consider. That said, if someone has poor interpersonal or communication skills, they may not be the right fit for your open position no matter how strong they are technically. This is another place that an honest recruiter can step in & guide you to save you a ton of time.

Now the time has come to think about interview process. Who will the candidate have to meet in order to hire them. Besides meeting you, will they need to meet your manager? The rest of the team? HR? A technical specialist that will do a full evaluation? Will they have any peers that want to give input on this hire? In this fast paced IT job market my quote is always “TIME KILLS” If your process involves the candidate coming back more than 2 or at a maximum 3 times, your process is probably too long. Momentum means everything in a hiring process, so if you can schedule multiple interviewers in the same day, this will keep momentum high & will impress the candidate as to how many people took the time to meet them. Just make sure they know that they will spend an extended period of time interviewing that day, & taking a lunch break is perfectly acceptable. If the candidate knows that there is a 2 or 3 step process ahead of time, then they will be more prepared to wait a little longer, especially if they are very interested. Also, while on this topic, if a candidate does very well on an interview with you & all of the parties involved, I would strongly suggest that you keep them moving along in the process while you are still conducting first round interviews. Most candidates will not shut down their search because they had a good first round interview. They will keep interviewing. I have seen numerous candidates take other jobs who surely would have been hired by my clients because the client took too long to do first round interviews before bringing them back in for a final round. Keep momentum high & be ready to decide on a candidate if you feel they are a great fit.

The candidate is now waiting to meet with you. I strongly suggest that you take a good look at the candidate’s resume before the interview begins & be prepared for the interview. You will find that when you are prepared for the interview, you’ll be able to make the most of your time & the candidate’s time during this process.

Next, ask the questions that matter. What I mean by that is ask questions about the candidate that will show you if they will have an immediate impact on your group or division. Take a look at the candidate’s past experience & ask them what they did in certain situations & WHY they chose to go with that decision. The question WHY can show you a great deal about a person.

The next piece of advice I would give is to be honest about the challenges that this position will give the candidate. I don’t mean scare them away, but it is good to show the positives & negatives of a position to a candidate. This will make them feel comfortable & feel that you are being up front with them. Also, if the candidate seems hesitant after an honest conversation, then you may reconsider hiring them.

Finally, if you feel that the interview went really well or if the interview went poorly, give the candidate or the recruiter representing the candidate appropriate feedback. I have seen so many good candidates accept other offers that they would not have considered had the manager just told them that they were interested in moving forward. On the other hand, if the feedback was not positive, that will allow the recruiter to screen out candidates that you feel may not be qualified. Job descriptions change as managers interview. As recruiters, we understand this & the more feedback we receive the better we’ll be able to screen candidates for you. Our job at the end of the day is to save you time. We can do just that with feedback. The more details that you provide, the better we can screen.

All of this said, I know interviewing & hiring can sometimes be just as frustrating as looking for a job. If your company can use a recruiter, use one that you feel has a good idea of what you need & can be relied on for good candidates. It will save you a world of time. Next time, we can take a look at the candidate’s tips for having a great interview.

Thanks again for reading this & as always feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns, ideas, or anything at all I can do to help.

All the Best,

Alex

Giving Notice and The Counter-Offer

Hi Everyone,

Sorry it’s been so long since my last post. I was out of town for quite some time, but am now back in the office & finally all caught up. Anyway, this post will cover a very sensitive & stressful issue. "Giving notice and the counter-offer".

Giving notice is a very difficult thing to do. It’s a loss regardless of whether you are leaving on good terms or not. I speak to many people every day & I am asked how do I give notice to my employer & maintain a good relationship with them & even get a positive reference if they are called. My answer every time, is be 100% direct, respectful, & to the point.

Times are getting better. You found a new job & are looking forward to the next step in your career. You received more money, more room for growth, more flexibility, or a better overall position that fits what you need. It is now time to tell your manager that your time with your current firm is over. My suggestion is to first, write a resignation letter, but not to send it. It is easier when you give it to the manager personally. It goes a long way. The resignation letter should state that you are giving your notice (which should be 2 weeks) & though you appreciate your time with the company, it is now time for you to move on. The letter should be short, direct, & professional, as it will be put into your employee file (think future reference)

The time has come. You are now in a meeting with your manager in which you need to share the news…First, get to the point. Let them know that you’ve decided to make a move to a new opportunity. Let them know that you appreciate everything that they’ve done for you, all of the experience you gained at the company, & that you will miss being part of the “team” Also, make sure that you tell your manager that you are happy to give 2 weeks of notice & will be at the forefront of knowledge transfer in order to make sure it is a smooth transition. Also, let them know that you are starting a new position in 2 weeks & it will be a great growth opportunity for you. Don’t answer the question “What can I do to make you stay” It leads to many things that do not benefit you at all. Make sure that in this meeting, there is nothing negative thrown around, as you will need your manager for a reference in the future. As you leave the meeting, again, reiterate to your manager that you appreciate everything they have done for you, & even after the 2 weeks are up, you will be available within reason, for anything that they need help with.

After the initial shock wears off, management at your current employer may realize that it will be very difficult to replace you. It is also common for someone who gave notice to “romanticize” their current job. The thought “This place isn’t really so bad” & the fear of making a change to an unknown environment is very common. That’s where the counter offer comes from. Your current employer may or may not do this, but be prepared in case they do. They will make you an offer of considerably more salary, more flexibility (work from home 2-3 days a week), more responsibility, & so forth. Pretty much anything that they can do to make you stay, even for a short time. This is when you need to remember “What are my reasons for leaving in the first place?” Why are they offering me this now & why did it take me giving notice for them to notice me? How long will this stay?

I can’t say for certain everyone, but a vast majority of job seekers who accept counter offers are no longer employed by their employer within 6 months of accepting a counter offer. I have seen counter offers pulled away after 2-3 weeks or after 2-4 months, but eventually the job seeker or the employer will cut ties. Once the job seeker gives notice, they are labeled by upper management as “disloyal”. If any budget cuts happen in the future, you’ll be on the block sooner than others. Also, when you accept a counter offer, it rarely gives you the solution to the reason you were looking in the first place. Those things will usually creep up again.

In conculsion, it is not an easy choice to leave your current employer & move on to a new job at a new firm. If you have decided that it is time for you to do that, & you accept an offer, stay with it. If you are not that interested in the new position, then stay at your old one & wait for something that is a better fit. Once you make the difficult decision to accept a new job, stick to it. You’ll find yourself happier at the end of the day with much fewer regrets.

I hope this helps & good luck in your job searches. As always, feel free to contact me any time with questions, comments, or any help I can offer.

Alex Dubovoy