Practice to Avoid This Common Interview Mistake

After interviewing thousands of job applicants, the most common error I observe is talking too much. A candidate starts to talk and five or ten minutes later, they are deep into left field as one thought leads them to another. A hiring manager may start to think that you dominate conversation, don’t listen very well, may talk more than you work, and even that you’re undisciplined. All things you want to avoid, of course.

Some people subscribe to the philosophy “answer the question you wish you were asked,” and that’s fine--as long as you still answer my question, too. In case you’re wondering, I do notice when you don’t answer my question and most of the time, it won’t work in your favor.

If you know that you’re a big talker or tend to ramble when nervous, you need to practice, practice, practice. Practice:

Listening for the question. Jot down a few key words if needed. Practice giving a complete answer succinctly. Glance down at that note to make sure you’re on track and you’ve answered what was asked.

Different kinds of questions gathered from a number of sources. Include some off-the-wall ones, e.g. “Which movie is a metaphor for your life?” or “If you were an animal, what would you be?” You are not trying to memorize answers; you are practicing to observe your thought proces and finetune your response under pressure.

With different people. Not just your best friend, but someone you don’t know as well; perhaps even someone who intimidates you. Or try using your family as a panel interview.

Using different media. Writing or diagramming responses can be invaluable especially when questions involve a decision tree. You ensure you cover all bases and give the tightest, most thorough response. Then practice your answer in spoken conversation.

Place holders to buy time. For example, “That’s an excellent question, how have I contributed to the bottom line at ABC Company.” As you’re saying that, your mind is preparing your response. If your mind is completely blank, ask to return to the question later.

What are your best tips for interview practice? I’d love to know.

image by Darren Moore

I'll Settle for Less-Paper HR

Like many, last December found me humming holiday songs. But while others dreamed of a white Christmas or a Happy Hanukkah, I dreamed of paperless HR. Yep, I'm an HR Nerd; I admit it!

I work at a nonprofit, where resources, time and budgets are tight. As I compare technology in the nonprofit and the business worlds, I see the latter forging ahead while I fear nonprofits fall behind at an exponential rate. It's a bit alarming to contemplate the lag that expands relentlessly every year. Many of us don't have IT departments. We don't have much money for consultants or new technology. What we have is a great work environment, the World Wide Web (free or almost free), our connections (free), and our ingenuity, resourcefulness and persistence (free, free, free).

Less-Paper HR

It is in this context that I try to reduce the amount of paper I amass, track, store, and ultimately shred. At the moment, Paperless HR is a pipe dream, but for now I can happily settle for "Less-Paper HR." Some thoughts for other nonprofits who may agree:

1. Consider Scanning to your HRIS. Think about the cost/benefit ratio not just now but later; in what electronic format will those documents be stored, and how will that impact conversion/implemention costs when and if you choose a new HRIS down the line?

2. Consider Less-Paper Recruiting. Rather than relying on paper applications or emailed resumes, use free or low cost Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to post positions, house resumes, and respond to candidates. Some possibilities I've started to play with: Resumator, Simplicant, and Credentify (thanks @FrankBoese of Twitter for the tips). Each has its own spin, whether posting, automatic/canned email responses, or screening capabilities. Check them out!

3. Force a Change. To implement #2 may require culture change. Believe it or not, a small but significant proportion of my staff and applicant pool don't regularly use the Internet or have a Yahoo email account. At some point, that's gotta change. I'm deciding that point is 2009.

4. Shorten Forms. I just shortened my HR Coordinator interview format by 75%. I now only print resumes of candidates I'm interviewing. If I could similarly reduce all paperwork, my file cabinets would start to fear being put out to pasture! What can you shorten or eliminate?

5. Go Online Whenever You Can. Enroll benefits online. Have new employee enter their information into the state New Hire database rather than completing, faxing and filing a form. Store Workers Comp, FMLA, correspondence and other records online whenever possible.

6. Think Before You Print. Regardless of the task, think twice. When you print, you have to collate, organize, file, track and shred.

Good luck! Less-Paper HR, here we come! Please share any Less-Paper HR ideas in the comment section below.


flicker pic by Howard Roark

Shelter Me!

Hoping to add a second dog to our family, I stopped by a local shelter at 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon. I had no obligations until a 5 p.m. family birthday party, so I thought I had plenty of time to submit an adoption application.

I was wrong.

A cute Chihuahua mix caught my eye. I waited for slip to visit with him. Then I waited at the kennel for the introduction. When I decided the pup wasn't right for us, I had to start the process over for the scrappy little black and white terrier mix.

He was perfect; I immediately decided I wanted him! But not so fast, Bucko: after waiting to meet him, the next step was to take a number, deli counter style, and wait for 45 minutes for an application. (The kennel staff apparently aren't trusted to give them out?) When the worker reviewed the application instructions, she stressed that I couldn't just leave the form; my signature must be witnessed by shelter staff.

Long story short, at 4:55, 20 applicants were ahead of me. I gave up, thinking I didn't want to adopt from a facility with the apparent philosophy that applicants aren't "pet-worthy" unless willing to jump through multiple hoops, withstanding considerable, needless inconvenience. I've stopped by pet store adoption shows with a more consumer-friendly approach. Applications are displayed for the taking; better yet, you may submit one online for pre-approval. Animals are freely accessible to visitors. What a different experience!

I've been thinking of the needless rigmarole at the animal shelter as it may parallel HR and employment processes. While I understand doing the best one can on a shoestring budget, it highlights the dangers of not stopping to evaluate processes and ask whether each step assists--or hinders--one's goals. And I wonder: Are there ways in which we as HR professionals unknowingly construct unnecessary obstacles to employment? Are we (God forbid) displaying that attitude that you're not job-worthy if you won’t put up with needless and annoying bureaucracy?

I hope not. But to be sure, let's all audit our own hiring processes and eliminate unnecessary steps, delays, and other inconveniences along the way.

image by katsuma, flickr

So You Want to be in HR? My Suggestions

HR professionals are often approached by people wanting to get into the profession. We also meet HR newbies wanting advice and guidance to move ahead.

I love mentoring new HR professionals, so I’m happy to offer advice, most of which falls in to these categories: Find your voice and use it. Get connected. Embrace life-long learning. And new on the scene: start creating your digital resume.

How do you get started in HR? Well, sometimes the perfect HR opportunity does fall from the sky with no prior planning. It happens. However, it’s more likely that you will have to demonstrate you’re serious about the profession before you land the dream job or launch into HR rockstardom. Here are some ways to show that you’re serious:

1. Continual learning:

If you have a degree in an unrelated field, such as psychology, don’t rely on learning HR via Google. Go to seminars. Take classes. Try your community college to get started quickly and inexpensively while you figure out long-term educational goals. Don’t stop with Intro to Human Resource Management; take a business class, Intro to Accounting, Economics, etc. You will be taken more seriously with business coursework under your belt.

If your degree is in HR, you still need the habit of lifelong learning. Employment law constantly changes, management theory evolves, recruiters are always onto something new. There is no such thing as mastering HR once and for all; if you don’t enjoy the need to constantly learn new material, this is probably not the field for you.

2. Get certified: Consider testing for your PHR. Even if you aren’t yet eligible, start studying and using the information now. And expect to stay up on a ongoing changes over the years.

3. Network: Join SHRM. If it’s too pricey, check to see if your local chapter allows joining without a national membership. If that doesn’t work, look for other professional and business associations. Or hey--start your own.

4. Join twitter. I am a huge twitter fan for many reasons; two of the more compelling for you:

-The opportunity to connect with people that might ordinarily be outside your circle: VPs of HR, HR Directors, SPHRs, CEOs, SHRM officials, nationally known HR bloggers, great minds on the cutting edge of the new HR. They are almost without exception approachable and delighted to share thoughts and expertise.

-Constant exposure to HR, recruiting, talent management articles, blogs and ideas. If you connect to a decent-sized group of dynamic HR professionals, you are virtually swimming in a sea of creativity and new information, an evironment that continually challenges you forward.

5. Join LinkedIn. Don’t just join; connect to others, give and get recommendations; join groups and discussions, share your reading list.

6. Blog and read blogs: If you enjoy writing, try your hand at blogging. Whether or not that’s for you, develop a list of HR and business blogs to follow and read. Look for authors that challenge the HR status quo. Don’t just read, jump in the discussion. Find your voice, add your comments.

7. As you tweet, blog and chat on LinkedIn, remember all this content is searchable. You are building your ‘digital resume’, your online career portfolio. Does this sound scary? I hope not; it can be exciting. The sky’s the limit!

8. Bonus tip: While you explore social media and emerging technologies, don’t forget your ‘old school foundation,’ e.g. MS Office Suite. Employers want you to efficiently solve real world challenges through technology; e.g. how do we get these 400 names on name tags without retyping them one at a time? True story: I ask candidates about Word skills and they often quickly say they are intermediate or advanced. So I ask how to do a mail merge. More often than not, they answer, “A what?” Lesson: don’t forget the basics. Get good at them so you can handle those everyday challenges.

In my last post, I mentioned that new HR folks often define their jobs as “helping people.” If you take the time to involve yourself in the HR community in some of the ways I describe, you will quickly learn that yes, we help people, but the profession is so much more. If you implement some of my suggestions, you will probably find yourself moving in a direction of greater understanding of the evolving HR profession, greater visibility within it, and bigger and better opportunities.

Good luck!

Want advice on your new HR career? Email me and I’ll give you my two cents and/or look for someone else who can help.

flickr photo by Gary Hayes

Five Weeks Into My Search for an HR Assistant

Looking for an HR Assistant in 2009 has been interesting to say the least!

I ask candidates to share their favorite HR discipline and the most frequent answer is, “Helping people.” I’m sure they really do love helping people; so do I. But helping people is not one of the established HR disciplines. (I'm also thinking: if you want to help people, start with me, your future boss!)

Seriously, don’t tell me you love people, explain how you will advance our organization’s business objectives through your mastery of benefits, compensation, technology, etc. Show me you 'get' what HR is, that your understand your role. Tell me how you'll crank out the work, 'cuz there's a lot of it.

Why do I bring this up? Because if applicants were doing more of activities recommended in my next post, they would have the HR foundation to give an answer that has me thinking “yes, yes, yes” instead of “next, next, next.”

Another angle is the social media boom since I last hired an HR assistant. This time around, I check out web footprints of promising candidates. I stay away from FaceBook, but I google to see if they blog or are on LinkedIn or Twitter.

What am I finding online? Not as much as you’d think. No carousing, profanity, offensive behavior….but not much of anything else, either. Most had a LinkedIn profile, but none was especially robust or active. Some applicants’ information was outdated, most had few connections and few if any group affiliations or other signs of life. I found a couple people on Twitter, one person who started a yahoo HR group, and no blogs, not a single comment on anyone else's blog, either.

This was a bit surprising to me. I meet so many earnest people who want to get into HR and profess to be absolutely passionate about it. Yet many of them don’t seem to be taking advantage of the technology that would connect them to HR leaders, colleagues and groups at great advantage to their careers.

As you can imagine, I have some thoughts about that and also five tips (plus a freebie) for developing your young HR career. More about all that in my next post: So You Want to Work in HR?

flickr photo by Michelle13

What my Ride Can Teach About the New Leadership

I admit this may be just a cheap way to work my scooter into my professional blog. But humor me: the other day while I putt-putted along, thinking about the joys and benefits of scootering, it occurred to me that some of the lessons apply to the cuurent lessons we are learning about leadership, after scandals, bankruptcies, meltdowns, and more.

Riding a scooter can remind us to:

See the world in new ways. Participate: Maybe you’re taking a new route, or driving five mph slower than before. You might notice landmarks you wouldn’t otherwise come across. Or be forced to learn some new skills and habits. Your whole world feels different.

Take-Away: How can I be more present to both what is and what is possible? How can I, open up my creativity and spark it in my team? How would that benefit my organization, the bottom line, my industry, the world?

Be more resourceful, tighten our belts. You might save some money on a scooter…and not just from the obvious: 100+/- MPG. Savings may derive from critically evaluating the need for every trip. Or because you plan your routes in advance, look at all the contingencies, weigh every expenditure.

Take-Away: Many of us need to tighten organizational belts. Organizations who are truly lean and green have an advantage. How can we plan, execute and evaluate to get the most bang for our bucks?

Be an original. Be yourself. I don’t know anyone else with a scooter; I bought mine because it met a need and sounded like a whole lot of fun. I’m not saying you should duplicate what I did; I’m suggesting you think for yourself! Have your own identity, color outside the lines.

Take-Away: An adventurous quality is needed more than ever, don’t you think? The old way is gone. The status quo will sink your ship. Think beyond what was done before, do something unexpected, make your mark.

Move through adversity. The other day, I expected eighty degrees and sunny, but it was cold, or foggy, or wet and stormy. I could suck it up—or I can look for plan B or C. Either choice is more interesting—and challenging--than sitting in my car in rush hour traffic. When I’m challenged, I’m alive and present and at my best.

Take-Away: We live in tough times. Do you make the most of challenges? Does adversity kick start your creativity muscle or send you scrambling for cover?

Be more transparent. The first time I rode my scooter, I felt nekkid! Occupants of vehicles have at least a modicum of privacy to lip-synch to their favorite song, apply eyeliner, or argue with their spouse. On a scooter or motorcycle, there’s nothing to hide behind. You are on display for the world; not for the faint of heart of the extremely shy.!

Take-Away: In the last few years, we’ve realized we need leaders to be more transparent. Hiding away making decisions for people without participation hasn’t served anyone. Tell us, show us the way. Involve us. Go out on a limb. Get out there.

Be an ambassador. Be visible. Be accountable. Within days of buying my first scooter, I learned there was no private citizen status, no anonymity. I am routinely cornered in parking lots, peppered with questions. “Where did you get that? Is it hard to ride? Do you need a special license? What’s the MPG?” And yes, without fail, they ask: “How much did it cost?” One day, a commuter even flagged me down to interrogate me about my shiny new red Kymco. I stopped only because I thought something was wrong, i.e. it was on FIRE. I was running late, but I did not mind the interruption too much: She was so excited as she launched into her questions. And I am an ambassador for what I love.

Take-Away: Can we bring that excitement, that ambassador nature, to our work? Can we be “on” even when we’d otherwise be “off?” Can we become comfortable expanding the the borders of our transparency?

Have fun! Many adults rarely have laugh-out-loud good times. Scootering is the most exhilaration I’ve found in my own daily, grown up world. But you don’t have to scoot to have a good time: the point is: are you *having* fun? Fun, of any type?

Take-Away: Understanding that non one has good times all the time, in the broad sense, if it ain’t fun, why do it? So: are you having fun? If not, can you make it fun or move to a situation that is? How can you add more humor, exhilaration and joy to what you do? What benefits would a more joyful vocation provide?

So there you have it. What scootering can teacher us about the new leadership. Tomorrow, what kayaking can teach us about the new HR.

Uneaten Donuts: Influencing Culture Change

I was recently struck by Jan Aylsworth's blog post on the Organizational Psychology (http://z.pe/fv4). She said this social science can be used to "Try – notice I said 'try' to implement culture change." Culture is not an easy thing to influence; even the science of O.P. doesn't have it the bag.

After being hammered with yearly double-digit health insurance premium hikes, the agency I work for has been trying to increase the health of our employees for years now. We've put into place a wellness committee, Stategic Plan initiatives, walking challenge, health articles, healthy cooking classes, subsidized gym memberships, Weight Watchers at Work. Have these efforts been successful? Definitive ROI would come from claims data, but since these efforts are longterm, we don't expect to see an impact on claims and premiums for several years.

While we wait, my next indicator of culture change is behavior. See exhibit A: the photo of uneaten donuts. At my office we love to eat! But recently, some kind soul brought donuts on a Tuesday morning and at noon on Wednesday, I snapped this photo of these poor dejected uneaten pastries. No one wanted to waste calories or points. Culture change? I hope so.

More about our wellness efforts in future posts.