Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Why dont they call you back?

By Jacquelyn Smith2 hours ago

flickr/bendjsf You might be waiting for the follow-up email or phone call forever.

Have you ever submitted an application and your perfectly tailored résumé for a job you knew you'd be perfect for, and never got any sort of acknowledgment of receipt? Can you remember a time when you left an interview thinking you aced it, only to never hear back?

You're not alone.

"One of the biggest complaints we hear from job seekers is that employers don't respond to them," says Sara Sutton Fell, CEO of FlexJobs, in a recent LinkedIn post. "Not hearing back after sending in a job application is one thing, but not hearing back after going through an actual interview? That's just plain rude. And apparently it happens pretty often, based on the 159 comments (and horrible stories!) we received on one of our blog posts about the topic."

If employers take the time to vet candidates and conduct a series of interviews, why can't they take a couple minutes to let applicants know they didn't get the job?

Sutton Fell and her team at FlexJobs talked to recruiters and hiring managers to uncover the real reasons they sometimes don't follow up. "We got some pretty surprising and candid responses," she says. "And while they might not make job seekers feel much better about the situation, it'll at least offer some insight into one of the most unfortunate and disheartening experiences in a job search."

Here are four of the most common reasons:

1. They chicken out.

We all know people who will avoid confrontation or disappointment at all costs, and hiring managers are no exception, Sutton Fell says. But they shouldn't be exempt. "The thought of emailing or calling someone to tell them that they have not gotten the job is just too big of a burden to bear, especially after they've met and spoken to the person. So they just procrastinate on the task endlessly, or until it's just been too long and they think, 'the candidate has moved on anyway, no need to bring up bad news.'" This is unprofessional behavior, but it happens all the time.

2. Telling an interviewee they didn't get the job is a tricky legal limbo to walk.

"We live in a litigious society, and hiring managers want to stay on the right side of the employment law," she explains. Candidates who aren't hired will often ask the employer for feedback on their job application or interview performance. "Sometimes, hiring managers will opt to not respond at all, rather than opening themselves up to potential liability through inappropriate feedback," Sutton Fell says.

3. The job isn't available after all.

Sometimes employers start the recruiting process and interviewing external candidates, only to realize someone internally is the perfect fir for the job. Or, halfway through the process they learn that the funding for the position has come into question. "There are a lot of 'structural' reasons that a job opening might fall through that have nothing to do with your quality as a candidate," she says. But it's no excuse for not following up.

4. Some people are just rude.

Sutton Fell says most hiring managers are "responsible, upstanding, and kind people," but some are just plain rude. They don't want to "waste any more time" on a candidate they don't intend to hire, so they move on. "The silver lining? You probably wouldn't want to work for that person anyway."

Sutton Fell says employers who fail to respond to job candidates "are incredibly short-sighted because it gives [their] company a bad name — not just in hiring, but in general."

Friday, July 11, 2014

Friday, April 25, 2014

How to Handle Some Tricky Questions

5 Great Answers to Awkward Interview Questions

By Dominique Rodgers

Monster Contributing Writer

“I see all the time I spent studying up on Company X’s competition was a total waste. I wanted to offer some new product suggestions in my interview, but obviously I should have focused more on determining my spirit animal!”

Have you left an interview with similar thoughts before? Most people have. Whether you are dealing with an inexperienced interviewer or a pro who’s deliberately trying to catch you off guard to see how you handle yourself, sometimes these awkward questions come out of left field. And it’s your job to deal with them.

Here are five great answers to awkward interview questions.

Tell me about yourself.

This one seems deceptively easy. Who knows more about you than you, right? This question gets awkward, though, because it’s so vague and broad. Rather than race through potential topics on the spot, you should be prepared beforehand.

“I recommend memorizing a few general statements about yourself. Here is an example of what to say: My name is (X) and I have (X number) years of experience in (X field). My strengths include (choose 3 strengths) and I’m currently looks for a position because (X reason) and this position interests me because (X reason),” says Tracey Russell, a recruited with Naviga Business Services, a national sales and marketing recruiting firm.

What’s your passion?

This one gets awkward because candidates assume the interviewer wants to hear a work-related answer. That might work if you’re applying to be a zookeeper and your passion really is animals. Otherwise, no one will believe bean-counting is your life’s bliss, so don’t pretend.

Russell explains, “You want to choose an answer that is not work related. Give an interesting tidbit about yourself that will help you stand out from other people. For example, if your passion is health and nutrition, don’t just say you like to workout and eat healthy. Instead, describe how you’ve recently taken up Bikram yoga and grow your own organic vegetables in your garden.” The more details you provide that show you’re a well-rounded person, the better.

Why are you looking to leave your current job?

This question is an absolute minefield. Does the interviewer need to know that your kids’ tuition just increased and you really need more cash? Or that your current boss aggravates you like a week full of Mondays? Absolutely not.

You don’t have to reveal every reason you’re considering leaving, says career coach Caitlin Graham. You should also never reveal anything personal or financial as the basis for the change. It may make the interviewer question your professionalism. Instead, Graham recommends “anything that comes from the desire to make a professional transition” such as “looking for more of a challenge” or a desire to enter a slightly different area of the industry.

How do we know you’ll stay?

If you’ve made a few job transitions lately with different companies, you should be prepared to answer questions. It may be that your industry is a volatile one or that you just had numerous great opportunities. Either way, the company you’re interviewing with will need some reassurances.

A great answer would be one that focuses on your learning and adaptability at each position, how in-demand your skills are, and how in making these changes you’ve come to appreciate a stable work environment and the sense of accomplishment that comes along with that, says Fred Cooper, managing partner at Compass HR Consulting.

If you were a fruit or a pizza topping, what would you be?

Yes, interviewers do occasionally pull out the random questions just to see what happens. Executive and business coach Beth Carter recommends answers that will showcase your skills and personality. Her responses: an apple or ham and pineapple. An apple is tough on the outside and sweet on the inside, showcasing Carter’s strategic implementation and soft skills. Ham and pineapple seem like a bad combo, but their diversity actually goes together beautifully, and Carter likes to use diverse teams to accomplish common goals.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Watch out for these!

As a job seeker, you might occasionally think about padding your experience or exaggerating your role on a key project. But has it occurred to you that your interviewers may be misleading you right back? Interviewers regularly deliver statements to job candidates that aren't entirely accurate and sometimes are outright false. Here are eight of the most common.

To be clear, these statements aren't lies every time an employer says them. But they're inaccurate enough of the time that you shouldn't take them at face value when you hear them.

1. "We'll keep your résumé on file." This statement is often found in rejection letters, but what does it really mean? Job seekers usually assume that it means that they'll be kept in a database of candidates and contacted again if a promising opportunity opens up. In reality, it usually just means that their application materials will be filed away, not that they'll be looked at again in the future. In fact, every law-abiding employer keeps all the applications they receive on file, because the law requires them to store applications for a period of years before disposing of them. So this statement means little more than " we'll comply with the law." Related to that...

2. "We'll let you know about future opportunities." If you're a very strong candidate and/or you had an unusual rapport with your interviewer, this might happen. More often, though, employers say this to candidates and then don't follow through. They might say it with the best of intentions and truly mean to follow through -- but when employers talk to hundreds, if not thousands of candidates a year, even the good ones can get quickly forgotten. What this means for job seekers is that you should never assume employers will reach back out to you when they have new openings; if you want to work for them, you should proactively check their listings and apply.

3. "We'll get back to you in two weeks." As most job seekers know from hard experience, interviewers' promises about timelines often end up being wildly wrong. What this statement really means is, "Off the top of my head, I'd think we should probably be able to move forward in a couple of weeks, if nothing else gets in the way. We'll get back to you if we want to talk further, but otherwise you might not hear anything."

4. "We'll let you know our decision either way." Interviewers often promise this but then don't follow through -- leaving legions of job candidates frustrated and anxious, wondering if they should move on or whether they'll ever get any post-interview closure.

5. "We were really impressed with you, but we had many qualified candidates." This might be true, but it's also routinely said even when it's not true. In fact, many companies include a statement like this in the form rejection letter that they send to everyone who applied and wasn't hired, and it's unlikely that they found every one of those people impressive. This is a nice way of cushioning rejection, nothing more, and job seekers shouldn't read anything into it.

6. "We have an amazing culture here." Employers love to talk up their cultures, but the truth is in the details: Do they allow flexible hours? Can you telecommute? What kind of professional development do they offer? How competitive are their salaries? Why do people leave? What are the internal politics like? Even companies that score badly on all these fronts like to talk up their culture in interviews -- so do your own research.

7. "We offer excellent benefits." For some reason, companies claim this -- and maybe even believe it -- even when their benefits aren't competitive with other companies in your field. Moreover, some companies offer generous vacation time on paper, but not in practice. If you can never get your time off approved and your manager frowns on taking vacations, it won't matter how much paid time off you're supposedly earning.

8. "They went with a candidate with more experience." Maybe they did and maybe they didn't, but this line is often a standard response given to candidates who ask why they didn't get the job. While it can certainly be true, it can also mean "we hated your personality" or "you talked too much in the interview."

Alison Green writes the popular Ask a Manager blog, where she dispenses advice on career, job search, and management issues. She's also the co-author of Managing to Change the World: The Nonprofit Manager's Guide to Getting Results, and former chief of staff of a successful nonprofit organization, where she oversaw day-to-day staff management, hiring, firing, and employee development.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Interview No No's

By Catherine Conlan
Monster Contributing Writer

Job interviews can be stressful, especially if you’re nervous about making mistakes that could sabotage your chance of getting the job. Fortunately, many errors are easy to avoid with a little preparation. Here are four of the most common ones and some tips for steering clear of them.

Getting Too Personal

One common error is revealing too much personal information during the interview, says Anastasia Kurylo of Fortified Communication Consulting. “I have conducted interviews in which candidates inundate me with their personal life story,” she says. “Voluntarily revealing this much personal information can make an interviewer uncomfortable and raise legitimate concerns about how confidential the candidate will be with company information.”

Takeaway: When answering interview questions, it’s best to stick to work-related answers.

Not Picking Up on Cues

Another common mistake is not following the interviewer’s lead in the conversation. Kurylo says she once had a student who wore a business suit to the interview for a fun and casual job. The interviewer made several comments about it, questioning the candidate’s understanding of the company culture.

“The candidate assumed she’d blown the interview the moment she put on the suit,” Kurylo says. “The interview had been blown by the candidate not providing a good response about her choice of clothing. The interviewer repeatedly told her how much she loved the candidate’s credentials and experience.”

Instead, the candidate could have laughed off her clothing choice and blamed it on advice that went against her own judgment; something she wouldn’t do again. “Then the interviewer -- who clearly wanted to hire her -- would have had more to latch onto in order to excuse the poor clothing choice. If she had persevered rather than given up in the interview, they might have been laughing about the suit over a business lunch weeks later.”

Takeaway: When the interviewer gives you an opportunity to course-correct, take it.

Not Doing Your Homework

Many candidates continue to make the mistake of not researching the company before the interview. “Hiring managers want to know that interviewees are interested in their open positions, not simply that the interviewees want a job, any job,” says Cheryl Palmer, owner of Call to Career. Candidates who can speak knowledgeably about the company and how they can contribute to the organization’s success show that they’ve done their homework and have a high interest in the business.

Takeaway: Take advantage of any resources (online and offline) you can get your hands on to learn about the company’s mission and culture.

Not Taking Initiative

Stu Coleman, partner and senior general manager at WinterWyman, says another common mistake is taking too passive of a role. “It’s important to determine, for both parties, if what each has to bring to the equation is a benefit to the other,” he says. Candidates need to interview the company, as well. “You have to be respectful and professional, but don’t forget to be real. This is a big decision, one that hopefully you will live with for years, so make sure it is as good for you as you are for them.”

Takeaway: Come with your own list of questions about the company’s strategy and culture.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

What to Say to Recruiters

The 5 Best Things You Can Say in a Job Interview

By Hannah Hamilton

Monster Contributing Writer

Interviewing for a new job can be incredibly nerve wracking and it’s natural to feel nervous about it. But if you take a deep breath and focus on preparing to say the things recruiters want to hear, you’ll be fine.

Just take these five tips from experts.

“Let me tell you about a time that I solved that problem.”

Even if an interview question could be answered with a simple “yes” or “no,” you want to be sure to say more so you highlight the value you’d bring to the organization if you’re hired for the position.

“Always have an anecdote or story about your previous experience that relates and can give more insight into yourself on the job,” suggests David Morgan, President of IT and Engineering at Addison Group.

“Can you clarify?

Asking follow-up questions such as “does that make sense,” demonstrates to an interviewer you’re intent on communicating thoroughly and accurately, a skill most employers appreciate.

“Checking-in with the interviewer by asking him or her whether things are clear and establishing a common understanding is a good way to not only engage, but also demonstrates a certain amount of care, both of which do wonders in getting that follow-up interview,” says The Workforce Consultants Managing Director Lynda Zugec.

“I read about that project on your web site.”

When two people meet for the first time, it’s polite to ask questions and express an interest in each other. In a job interview, though, you demonstrate your interest in the company by doing research before you show up, so don’t have to ask basic questions and can move on to having an intelligent conversation about it.

“I don't mean memorizing the About Us page on the company website. I'm talking about doing your due diligence (read: research!) and knowing the company you're applying to,”

says Voices Human Resources Manager Jessica Campbell.

“What made you decide to work here?”

Well-thought answers to an interviewer’s questions demonstrate your knowledge, experience and communication skills. But companies also want to see you’re curious about what they do.

“One of the best things you can do at an interview is come prepared with thoughtful questions for the interviewer,” says Cheryle Palmer, owner of Call to Career. Doing so demonstrates an interest in the company and the job, and shows you did your homework before the interview.

“I’d love the chance to join this team!”

There’s a huge difference between begging for a job and expressing a genuine desire to work for a company and fill the role you’re interviewing for. Recruiters are looking for people who are excited about the company and have a real interest in their prospective role.

“If the job truly is your first choice and you would accept it if given an offer, then say it,” says Jennifer Bevan, founder of Job Coaching. “Hiring managers want to give offers to exceptional candidates who have a high likelihood of accepting the offer.”

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Highly Effective People...

“The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”: I Transformed Myself Into a Fact Finder

This post is part of a series in which Influencers describe the books that changed them. Follow the channel to see the full list.
In 1990, I discovered Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and was transformed.
Now I didn’t wake up the next day and become a more effective person. Hell no. Instead I

discovered I wasn’t a very effective person. Then something worse happened. Even when I tried to incorporate some of the seven habits into my style, my less effective habits got in the way. However, I quickly discovered that none of this mattered. It wasn’t about me becoming highly effective; it was about my candidates.
Since I was a full-time recruiter when I first read the book, I quickly realized I could become a better recruiter and assessor of talent by looking for these habits in the people I presented to my hiring manager clients for open jobs. This was the transformation. Some of my hiring manager clients even became better interviewers when I suggested they also focus on these seven core traits.
Late last year I wrote a post that got some good press, a million reads, and offered a way to measure the seven habits during the interview. It even got a Bloomberg TV mention (the post, not me). It was audaciously, but correctly, titled, The Most Important Interview Question of All Time. The technique involves spending 15-20 minutes digging into each of the candidate’s most significant accomplishments. After doing this for 3-4 different accomplishments, the person’s trend of performance and impact over time is revealed. (A full description of the process is included in my book, "The Essential Guide for Hiring & Getting Hired.") As noted, the real skill in using this question is the associated fact-finding involved. After obtaining a complete word picture of the candidate’s major accomplishments, they’re compared to the performance requirements of the job to determine if the candidate is a fit or not.
By looking for Covey’s seven habits as part of the fact-finding, it’s easier to separate those who are a reasonable fit and those who are exceptional. Here’s a quick summary on how this can be done for each of the seven habits using the most significant accomplishment question (MSA).
Be Proactive. Take the initiative. Don’t wait for things to happen. Make them happen.

As candidates describe their major accomplishments, have them describe where they took the initiative, went the extra mile, exceeded expectations, and did more than required. Patterns emerge revealing the types of work the person finds innately satisfying and motivating. Map this to the performance-based job description to determine best fit.

Begin with the End in Mind. Define the outcomes before you create the process.

When I have a candidate describe a major accomplishment, I always ask how the person developed the plan, how they managed against the plan and if they were successful. The best people always begin any major activity with a thorough plan giving full consideration to all of the various alternatives.

Put First Things First. Prioritize what’s important, not just react to what’s urgent.

Find out how people multi-task, getting specific examples and details for each MSA. As part of this, determine how the candidate prioritized different activities and how the person balanced competing objectives. Collectively this is all part of the decision-making process.

Think Win-Win. Consider the impact on all of the stakeholders; how the person deals with superiors, subordinates and peers; and how the person deals with conflict.

Ignore the generic “I’m a real people person.” Instead dig into how the candidate develops team-based consensus. Get specific examples of when the person persuaded people in other functions, including higher-ranking managers, executives, vendors and customers. Thinking win-win is not about capitulating, but about persuading and convincing others, and being persuaded and convinced.

Seek First to Understand, and Then Be Understood. Don’t offer solutions or assume your approach is the best. Understand the problem first.

One of the core MSA questions is: “Can you describe the biggest problem or challenge you’ve ever handled?” As part of the fact-finding, it’s important to find out how the person figured out the root cause of the problem and the process the person used to put together a solution. To best understand this habit, focus on how the candidate reached out to others, modified his or her approach, and achieved group consensus.

Synergize. This is team skills on steroids: working with, influencing, coaching and developing people.

Rather than focusing on personality traits to assess team skills, it’s better to find out the types of teams the candidate has been assigned to, participate in, and lead. Those who can “synergize” are typically assigned to important cross-functional project teams far more often than their less “synergistic” peers. During the fact-finding, ask who was on the teams, the person’s role, and why the person was assigned to the team. If these teams are growing in size and importance over time, you’ve found someone who can synergize.

Sharpen the Saw. Constant self-improvement is how a person remains current and relevant.

Ask people how they’ve become better. Be very concerned if they have not taken any proactive self-development action. On the other hand, keep a very open mind to someone who has done something exceptional when they were underemployed or unemployed. These are the diamonds that others have failed to recognize or hire.
Job-seekers should own these habits, and interviewers should focus on them. If you’re into the seven habits, you’ll discover I changed the definitions a bit — but you should appreciate the switch especially if you begin with the end in mind, seek first to understand and then be understood, and think win-win. Collectively, that’s how you sharpen your own saw. Quite frankly, that’s why Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” is transformational.

Top Jobs