Was I Really Rejected for the Job Because I'm Not Qualified?
Is there any way to know if I was rejected for a job because I wasn't the best candidate, and not because I wore a hijab - a Muslim woman's head scarf - to the interview?
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Is there any way to know if I was rejected for a job because I wasn't the best candidate, and not because I wore a hijab - a Muslim woman's head scarf - to the interview?
When I went to apply for a job with the post office, we were told to list any past arrests or convictions because no criminal record is ever really expunged and they'll find it. Is that true?
I learned that I'm pregnant and got my dream job on the same day. Now I'm afraid that if I tell my new boss about my pregnancy he'll take back the job offer. When's the best time to let him know?
Our new temp keeps to himself and doesn't talk much and a lot of people think he's a snob, and they want someone different to be brought in. He's a great worker and seems like a decent guy so I'm reluctant to let him go. How can I get him to try to open up more AND get my regular team members to be a little more tolerant?
Is it wrong to ask employees to pay $1, which goes into the petty cash we use to pay for office parties, etc., for the privilege of wearing jeans on Fridays? This is a department-wide policy, not a company one.
Which social media Web site is the best for connecting with the kind of highly motivated, go-getting candidates that I want working for my company?
Some people from our company were laid off recently and we're all feeling a little bummed about it. What can I do to lift the spirits of the remaining members of my team?
Is it true that a woman who crosses her legs during an interview could come across as being "flirty?" What if the interviewer is another woman?
My friend wants me to quit my job and help him run his new business. How can I tell him that being an entrepreneur isn't really my thing, without hurting his feelings or our friendship? He's convinced I'll love it as much as he does.
The company where I'm interning has offered me a full-time position, but I'm only a junior in college? Should I try to find a way to take the job and stay in school or should I just quit school and take the job? Are there better options?
Some people have told me that I need to prepare the perfect elevator pitch for my upcoming interview because it's a great way to answer "tell me a little about yourself." What is the perfect elevator pitch? How long should it be ... 30 seconds or one sentence?
I received an invitation to attend a job fair that will be hosted by alma mater, but I've heard from friends that they're pointless wastes of time. Is that true? If I go, should I take a resume or business cards (my dad had some made for me as a graduation present)?
I'll be starting college in the fall, majoring in Liberal Arts, but I'm still not sure what I want to do. A lot of people are saying I should stay with Liberal Arts because it makes me valuable to more companies, but others are telling me to find something I really love and focus on that because people who specialize in one particular area are more valuable. Who's right?
When I applied to get a second job, my current employer gave a negative reference, even though he has been telling me that I'm doing well. I got the job, anyway, because the employer is someone I had worked with before. He said if he didn't already know me and my work habits, he probably would have hesitated to hire me; he said I should sue my current employer for giving a false negative reference, but I don't want to do this. I still like my job, and I think my boss gave the negative reference because he thought I was trying to leave the company "on the sly." What can I do? What should I do?
I let an employee go when she told me that she "just couldn't be nice" to the coworker I assigned her to collaborate with on a project because the woman was "too boring and talked too much about nothing." When I told her that refusing to try to work amicably with someone else was the same as saying, "I quit," she told me that I was really firing her and that she would sue me. Does she really have a case? Was I wrong to let her go? She's the only person who seemed to have any complaints about this so-called "boring" employee.
The most commonly known causes of employee turnover are typically poor communications by management and favoritism. Year after year these rarely change.
In response to this issue we beg companies to focus on the communication styles of your management staff. If you consider the investment made in each hire your company makes and then take those dollars and put them in the hands of incompetent managers, what exactly do you expect your return to be?
Communications is so broad of an area however it really requires just a few skills to become expert at it. Those skills are:
Listening- if your employee has something to say it should be heard. And not just heard, but truly listened to. Although the answer the employee receives might not always be in their favor, they need to know that their feelings are being considered. If your managers are simply going through the motions then you can be assured that problems will definitely follow.
Empathy- yes some employees can never be satisfied, but for the most part this is not the case.....if it is....you need to examine your hiring practices. People not only need to be heard, they need to know you care, and I do not mean nor do I recommend parenting your employee. The message is to put yourself in their shoes and try to understand their frustrations or fears. Then speak to those issues in a manner that shows you understand. If a manager attempts to "fake" empathy, it will be transparent. Although I do believe empathy can be learned if a manager has some level of compassion. If not ....this should be a warning sign regarding this manager.
Honesty- share what is happening as much as is permissible. Employees that feel that they have been "lied" to, or kept in the dark, will have a difficult time recovering from this. However when a company shares information, again as much as it is able, the strongest and most engaged employees, those employees that you are trying to keep, will likely step up to the plate and help to support the company in their time of need.
Guest post by Tina Hamilton of hireVisionGroup, Inc.
Is it okay to serve wine at a retirement party for a colleague if it's held after business hours? Is there anything I should know about the legalities of this?
I'm expanding my business and need to hire a few people to help. What interview tips can you give to help me make sure that I hire people who will be as patient, kind and understanding with my clients as I am?
I got a promotion that one of my colleagues believes should have gone to him. He'll be reporting to me directly from now on and I want to be able to keep the office peaceful. What can I do to make this happen?
I just saw an internal ad for a technical writer position on the company bulletin board and I'd really like to apply for it, except I don't have any experience or education for that type of writing. How can I show the person in charge of the department that I'm right for the job even though I don't have any experience?
My boss made me the team leader on a current project, but everyone keeps asking the person I elected as my second in command the questions that they should be asking me. What am I doing wrong and how can I make things right without having to enlist my boss' aid? I want her to have confidence in my abilities as a leader.
As we moved into the 21st Century, retention of employees became a top priority. Now that we are in the midst of an economic downturn, Retention is even more important.
Why? Several reasons, both for now and the future, come up.
It has been easy for companies to find excellent talent to fill open slots today. Here they are, but what will keep them from being lured away by recruiters and great opportunities as the economy gets better, which it will? We just don't know when, so preparing now is crucial.
There is much talk now of the new word onboarding. Onboarding is the process of acquiring, accommodating, assimilating and accelerating new employees and team members, whether they come from outside or inside an organization.
This process of bringing new hires into a company, system, culture, or methodology is creating new thought. Books are being written on the subject. The book, The First 90 Days, by Michael Watkins came forth in 2003, and that was the beginning.
Executive Coaches often now get assignments in New Leader Assimilation. Without attention to leadership and assimilation of new executives, the whole process can fall through the cracks. It costs a lot to find and hire leaders with the right skill-set background and either leadership skills or the potential to develop these skills in place. Hiring mistakes are costly and lack of attention to creating a platform for leadership is even worse.
Losing employees means having to hire yet again. Everything has to start from the beginning, causing goals and objectives to be re-evaluated and creating a feeling of lack of stability in the organization.
Building a shared culture is essential for retention. Proper onboarding of new team members can be important, increasing productivity and creating this needed shared culture.
Retention is closely tied to hiring the right team members in the first place. Recruiting the right candidates is, therefore, going to be one of the most important components in retention
During this downturn, recruiters have been terminated in high numbers in companies, so forward thinking companies need to be considering their upcoming recruiting practices and personnel seriously.
Recruiters within companies will turn out to be on a contract basis initially, until it can be determined which individuals can contribute on a long-term basis to the organization. This will create some interesting compensation issues, as in the past, recruiters often preferred to work on contract. We may be looking at serious issues of compensation particularly as this relates to recruiting or talent management within company human resources departments.
So here is the question: What can employers do to retain their best employees and prevent recruiters from wooing those employees away to competitors?
Happy employees will stay. That's the bottom line. Employers need to keep a handle on what that means to their hand-picked workforce. Recruiters and other companies will always be attempting to lure top talent away.
Retention is THE issue for maintaining your top workforce.
Article by executive career coach, Beth Ross, Ph.D.
www.bethross.com 1-800-496-0996