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Monday July 26th, 2010
Second annual Social Media for Recruiting Survey
We've just launched our second annual Social Media for Recruiting survey!
It'll only take 4 minutes, and you could win a $50 VISA gift card (more importantly, it's the only comprehensive survey of social media for recruiting use in Canada - and we all need those statistics!).
Just click here to get started!
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Monday July 19th, 2010
Struggling to create a personal brand? Think of yourself as a chocolate bar.
Want to build a big personal brand or just raise your profile among recruiters in your field? Start by taking a lesson from candy bar brands.
Four basic ingredients.
Almost infinite positioning.
No industry has done a better job of branding a commoditized product than what the North American confectionery industry has done with chocolate bars (or 'candy bar', if you're in certain parts of the USA).
Fundamentally, 99.9% chocolate bars are exactly the same: 50g of the same four basic ingredients (chocolate, sugar, caramel and peanuts), combined in different ways.
And yet somehow we know that
It's time to start thinking of yourself as a chocolate bar
These days, anyone who takes their career seriously and is even moderately ambitious knows they need to have some kind of personal brand, even if it's just something they use to position themselves in the job market or workforce.
So what's stopping them?
Most of the time, it's that they don't really believe they're all that different or special than everyone else.
"I mean, I'm good at my job and I know I've learned a lot over the years, but I'm not exactly a visionary," they say. "There are lots of other people doing what I do, and I'm not kidding myself that I'm some kind of genius. So what would my brand be about?"
While that thought is admirable - the people most likely to think they're geniuses (and aren't shy about it) are the ones least likely to be geniuses - it misses the point.
Branding is all about turning a commodity product into a special, premium or beloved one.
Sure, there may be 6 billion people on the planet, and quite a number of them may be smarter, harder-working, or just plain better-looking than you are. That doesn't mean you can't stand out from the crowd.
It's just a matter of positioning your professional equivalent of 50g of chocolate, peanuts, sugar and caramel in a way that makes people think: "Whenever I need to solve a [insert business challenge here], I always think of [insert your name here] because s/he is an expert on [insert solution to previous business challenge here]."
For example: "Whenever I need to find top talent in the oil and gas industry, I call Bob Smith because he knows the oil and gas talent marketplace better than anyone else."
It's all about how you combine your 50g of basic ingredients
Whenever I'm looking for insights into interviewing, resume writing, or long-term career management for recruiting professionals, Maureen Carroll is the first person I call.
Is she the only person in North America who knows this stuff? No. Heck, Googling 'resume expert toronto' gets 2.8 million search returns alone.
But that doesn't mean Maureen doesn't have a terrific USP (Unique Selling Proposition).
Her recruiting knowledge and experience is her 50g of basic ingredients - in other words, she's not unique. But her USP lies in the fact that she's the only recruiting professional I know who not only enjoys doing media interviews, but is great at doing them. She can churn out the kind of pithy soundbites mainstream media producers love, with less than 10 minutes lead time.
In other words, she's taken her 50g worth of basic ingredients and combined/packaged them in a unique way. More importantly, that combination is one that solves a business challenge: "Whenever the media calls me looking for a resume/interviewing expert, I think of Maureen because she not only knows her stuff but comes across really well on radio and on-camera."
You do have a great USP.
You just don't know what it is (yet).
Here's the thing: If you really are (a) good at what you do; (b) trying to be a little bit smarter today than you were yesterday; (c) looking to be better than just 'average'; and (d) genuinely passionate about your career and your profession, chances are you're already combining your 50g of basic ingredients in some kind of unique way - you just don't realize it.
So ask 5 colleagues for their input:
- Ask your boss why s/he hired you. What made you stand out from the other applicants?
- Ask your co-workers what they think you're particularly good at
- Ask subordinates/direct reports what they've learned from working for you
...and prepare to be surprised by the answers.
Once you know whether you're a moment of bliss or a nice light snack, coming up with your personal brand 'angle' will suddenly get a lot easier. Really.
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Sunday July 18th, 2010
Getting candidates who don't reflect your brand? Ask these 5 questions.
You may be getting lots of candidates - from your recruiting agency, recruiting team, or company website - who look great on paper, but if they just aren't a good fit for your company, you're not attracting the right people.
A hamster may fit in the shoes of the previous person in the role, but ultimately he's not going to be able to walk in them very effectively.
Anyone who's worked in recruiting for more than 5 minutes is familiar with the problem: The client - internal or external - gives you a set of criteria for a role (skills, experience, education, etc.); you find candidates who fit the criteria to a tee and send them on interviews, only to have them rejected one after the other.
You ask the client for feedback, and all they can say is "He wasn't a good fit."
After Rejected Candidate #10, you try to pin the client down, but the client's still talking vaguely about 'fit'.
RECRUITER: "But, Ms Client, he had all the criteria you asked for, and I know he presents well in interviews. So can you give me some more specific feedback?"
CLIENT: "I just think we're kind of a dynamic environment here, and he seemed too conservative or something."
RECRUITER: (sigh)
Clients understand about brand personality and how it's expressed through employees.
They just don't always know how to articulate it to recruiters.
Recently, American Apparel generated a lot of negative buzz in the blogosphere when their recruiting and hiring practices were made public. Former employees say that American Apparel only recruits/hires good-looking people, even if they're incompetent; American Apparel says they hire people with a good fashion 'style', and that it's perfectly reasonable to want employees in a retail clothing chain to reflect the spirit of the brand.
Both groups have a point: No one should be rejected out-of-hand simply because they don't conform to some perceived stereotype of 'beauty'; at the same time, we all know that employees are the most effective marketing tools organizations have - so they need to reflect the brand just as consistently and positively as other marketing efforts.
But 95% of clients aren't marketing professionals themselves, so they don't always know how to articulate feedback beyond talking about "fit".
And of course most employers are petrified that if they talk about a candidate's appearance or personality or style, it'll come across as discrimination and they'll be in big trouble. But saying "Our brand is all about being unobtrusive, serious and discreet; an employee with a green mohawk doesn't reflect our corporate values" is the same as "Our brand is all about being unobtrusive, serious and discreet, which is why we require all our client-facing staff to wear suits and ties at all times."
5 questions to help you identify the candidates with the 'fit' the client is looking for
Asking these 5 questions before the sourcing starts will help reduce the amount of candidates rejected on the basis of 'fit'.
- In terms of your organization's personality, would you say you're more like Google or more like a big bank?
- You've given me the required skillls, experience and education for this role. What about personality and temperament? Do you need someone who thrives on change, deadlines and adrenaline, or someone more slow-and-steady?
- If you could choose 3 words to describe the ideal candidate, what would they be? How do these relate to the company's overall brand and positioning?
- What kind of personal 'style' seems to be most successful in your office? Quiet and reserved, or outgoing and effusive?
- Do new employees get training/guidelines about 'living the brand'? Can I see a copy of these?
These questions not only ensure the client rejects fewer candidates on 'fit' - they'll generate better feedback when they do.
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Sunday July 11th, 2010
The beach vs the GDP: Climate and workforce productivity
WORKIDEX (noun; fr. 'humidex'): How much work you aren't getting done because it's too bloody hot
Now that we're into the second week of this brutal heatwave in Toronto, I often find myself wondering: How the heck does anyone in Florida, Louisiana or even South Carolina ever get any work done, especially in the summers? Or maybe it'd be more accurate to ask: "How the heck does anyone without air conditioning get any work done in these places?"
Turns out someone has done a little research on the connection between temperature and productivity. A recent study by Alan Hedge, a human ergonomics researcher at Cornell University, says that once the office temperature dips below 23 degrees Celsius, productivity declines.
Unfortunately, this seems to be another one of those pseudo-scientific 'studies' which end up 'revealing' what we knew already: When workers are comfortable (not too hot, not too cold), they stay at their desks longer, take fewer breaks and are more focused on their work and are therefore, unsurprisingly, more productive.
But this doesn't really address my question, which was more about the effects of weather/climate on the productivity of workers overall.
Do workers in 'extreme' climates work less (and less productively) than workers in more temperate climates?
Now, I'm no statistician, but looking at the productivity indices across 50 countries, here's what I see: The majority of the top-performing countries are 'cold' ones (Iceland, Poland, Finland, etc.); the majority of the less productive countries are 'warm', I'd-like-to-vacation-there ones (Italy, Portugal, Spain).
['Productivity' here is defined as GDP per hours worked.]
Looks like the hot countries work a little less, too.
Hours worked per person per week (average):
Iceland 35
Poland 38
Finland 33
Italy 35
Portugal 34
Spain 31
AVERAGES:
Hot countries 33.33
Cold countries 35.33
My admittedly unscientific conclusion?
You now have the data you need to ensure you get more vacation time this summer: "The thing is, Mr Manager, studies have shown that when it's hot like this, my individual contribution to GDP plummets, and that's not good for the business - or the country! So it's better if I take 2 or 3 weeks off now, and just make up the time in January/February when I can be more productive."
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Friday July 2nd, 2010
Strange but true: Stories from the recruiting front lines
The front lines in the war for talent can be as strange as they are rewarding. Get a couple of recruiters together, and the stories - hilarious, heartwarming or horrific - will flow like water.
Our favourite stories – the best stories – and the times that we learned the most are almost invariably the same ones. Just as in any campaign, some of the best recruitment battles are won by situations that force us to think creatively, improvise, and handle sudden changes in tactics -- not to mention take a tough hit or two.
We've seen it all: Attempts to stand out that work a little too well (like the fellow who put his picture and phone number on a billboard by the side of the Gardiner Expressway); ultra-creative applications (like the fellow whose resume was set up as a newspaper article, complete with headlines like "Man spends $210,000 on post-secondary education"); and thank-you-for-the-interview notes spelled out in icing on giant chocolate-chip cookies.
Or great-sounding candidates who show up in biking shorts and Birkenstocks, accompanied
by their spouse or mom along for support.
Inappropriate hobbies and interests listed (a href=" http://community.ere.net/groups/strange-but-true-recruiting-horror-stories-and-les/discussions/18307/">really, we don't need to know!).
There are even people like that candidate who decided that he’d had it with being interviewed – and now he was going to control the conversation.
And that's just scratching the surface. Have a great recruiting story? We’re sharing some of our favourites – funny, horrible, triumphant and touching – in our Great Recruiting Stories series on the Head2Head blog throughout July, and would love to hear from you.
All stories will be attributed to their respective authors, complete with links to your site or blog (unless, of course, you’d like to remain anonymous). Post your stories in the comments - and come back to read them on Friday afternoon while you're waiting to leave work early!
Until next month, happy recruiting!
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Thursday July 1st, 2010
Interview 101 for Supply Chain Professionals
What supply chain professionals need to know
There's nothing like a new job opportunity to help us take a step up the professional ladder, to give us the chance to acquire new knowledge, or even to reinvigorate our promise and potential.
Whether you're actively looking for a new position, or just 'staying open' to possibilities, here are some important interview guidelines that all Supply Chain professionals should keep in mind:
1. Interviews are your opportunity to sell yourself
In the same way you would communicate with a new client for your company, you communicate with a potential new employer…only the product and the service is you!
2. Create and practice your 'elevator speech' whenever you can
Great salespeople have an
'elevator pitch' prepared at all times. When you're job hunting, you need to have one for yourself, too. That two-sentence script about who you are and what you do shows immediate confidence, competence, and knowledge.
3. Research the company and the interviewer as much as you can before you meet anyone
Web sites, company brochures and, most importantly, professional reputations will tell you how a company works, their position in the industry, and whether it’s a place you want to work.
4. Have a good understanding of your value in the marketplace.
While you’re conducting research online, make use of salary calculators and surveys in your region and industry so that you know how much to ask for. Asking for too much or too little will just make you look deluded or easy to take advantage of.
5. Remember, it’s all about details
Be prepared to talk about the tools and methodologies you use in your day-to-day activities. This is where you will be able to show how your experience and expertise are put to good use in the job…wherever you may work.
6. Don’t be afraid to show your personality
It's easier to build rapport with the interviewer - and to come across as personable and a good team player - if you're genuinely friendly. Revealing your personality in the interview stages will also ensure that when you're offered a job, it'll be the right cultural fit.
7. Know your resume inside and out
Be able to talk to the metrics with confidence, as well as accounting for any gaps or areas that could cause concern.
8. Come prepared with metrics
All organizations are looking for people who have made a demonstrable, measurable difference. In supply chain, this is particularly important, because employers are looking for people who'll help them reduce costs, increase the bottom line, improve efficiencies, etc. Part of the reason you got the interview in the first place is because you included metrics on your resume; make sure you have additional details to talk about in your interview.
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Sunday June 27th, 2010
Why isn't there more hard data about social media for recruiting?
From 'anecdotal' to 'fact-based'
The biggest challenge social media for recruiting (and leveraging employees' social media channels for recruiting) is simply lack of hard data.
Sure, everyone's got an anecdote or two ("I found Bob on LinkedIn last year, and he's turned out to be our best new hire in ages!"), and we've got lots of information on the demographics of social media.
But when it comes to drawing a straight line from 'time spent on social media for recruiting' to 'quantitative results' (time-to-hire, cost per hire, quality of hire, web traffic, application volume, etc.)...well, the data just isn't out there.
This is for two reasons:
- The mainstreaming of social media is relatively recent
Most organizations have only been using social media for recruiting in any systematic way for the past couple of years. The job market has changed so much during that time that it's been difficult to establish benchmarks.
- The results haven't been as spectacular as the evangelists said they'd be
For the past 3 years, social media for recruiting early adopters have been saying that social media would 'transform' the recruiting function. And it is, and it will - just not, perhaps, quite as quickly and dramatically as we thought.
(It's sort of like mobile software applications: In 2001, early-adopter types were saying that mobile applications would transform communications in the next 2 years; the transformation did indeed happen - it just took 7 years instead of 2.)
Until the results look better, no one wants to say too much, lest their organization gets the wrong idea and pulls the plug on social media for recruiting initiatives before they've had a chance to succeed.
Send me your social media for recruiting results.
We'll give you a great case study.
I'm pretty sure some of you have some metrics around social media for recruiting in your organization (or for you personally as a recruiter).
By themselves, they may not be too dramatic. If I combine them with others' metrics in a blog post, however, they'll at least start to create a picture of the real results of social media for recruiting.
Which may prove handy, the next time you walk into a boardroom and have to sell a comprehensive social-media-for-recruiting strategy to the larger organization.
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Friday June 18th, 2010
Egregiously Bad Candidates V!: Bad Cover Letters
Another in our series of blog posts designed to help you (recruiters and hiring managers) help candidates. You don't have time to give every candidate an 'Applying For Jobs 101' tutorial - just send them this link!
It's been a while since the last installment of Egregiously Bad Candidates, but the past week or two has seen a sharp increase in the number of unsolicited emails from job-seekers who don't know the cardinal rule of applying for jobs: Imagine you're reading this letter/resume for the very first time. Does it really communicate what you want it to?
Sometimes when you close a door, you should close the window, too
We've all been there: You're unemployed/about to be unemployed, the job market is depressed, and you're starting to panic. You're at the point where you're ready to take 'anything' as long as the salary meets your basic living expenses, and you're worried that if your resume and cover letter are too specific, you'll lose out on other opportunities.
But it doesn't really work that way.
PROTIP: If no one in the office can figure out what it is you do, it's unlikely we can help you find somewhere to do it
Today's gem:
TO: info@head2head
FROM: [name redacted]
Hello,
For the past 17 years, I have enjoyed working in the financial and education industries servicing various other industries while gaining valuable experience and knowledge in such areas as P&L management, product development, sales and marketing, strategic planning/execution, product pricing, team building and negotiation amongst external clients and internal departments....As an impact player who has had a history of success at every level, I look forward to working with you and your staff in finding my next success story....
OBJECTIVE: Senior management position - Plan, organize, and direct through a management team business development/operation activities and initiatives utilizing my executive management experiences with developed abilities in team leadership, strategic visioning and P&L management. This will contribute to enhancing profitable sales volume through process and performance improvements while maintaining customer satisfaction.
Salary Expectation: $110k - $170k plus incentives depending upon the overall package and level of challenge.
Um...but what is it you do, exactly?
The more vague you are about your skills, experience and desired job, the more difficult it is for a recruiter or potential employer to understand just how you'd fit into the organization and how you'd contribute to overall business goals.
A $60,000 salary range just makes you look desperate
You (the job-seeker) may think that using a range like this will make you look senior ("By saying $170k at the top end they'll know I'm a senior executive!"), flexible ("There are more jobs at the $110k level so I don't want to lose out on those opportunities!") and not entirely motivated by money ("A big range shows that I will consider the right opportunities, not just big paycheques!").
Not so much.
What the recruiter sees in a range like that is someone who (a) doesn't really know the marketplace for their skills/experience; (b) probably doesn't have a realistic grasp of their value in the market; and (c) is so desperate for work that they'll basically take anything.
1 interview for the perfect job is more effective than 25 discarded applications
Job-hunting really isn't a numbers game, especially at the senior levels.
Spending 4 hours refining your resume and cover letter for one specific job (for which you know you'd be a perfect fit) will always generate better results than spending 16 hours sending generic resumes and cover letters to hundreds of jobs for which you aren't really a good fit.
And here's another thing to consider: Applying to hundreds of jobs per day without getting a single response is more demoralizing than only applying to one or two jobs per day!
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Tuesday June 15th, 2010
Just how bad is your recruitment brand? Ask IT contractors.
Contract IT professionals are mobile, connected, and cynical - and they don't mince words. Asking them about how your recruitment brand is perceived could be the first step towards attracting better candidates across the organization.
(I don't think I get this, either. But I'm pretty sure there's an A-list programmer out there who thinks this is hilarious.)
Today I was talking to a senior Java/PHP developer who's in town for the weekend but who lives and works in St Louis, Missouri.
'Missouri' isn't the first place that comes to mind when I think of 'great career opportunities', so we got to talking about the major employers in the area, career paths, etc.
Turns out that St Louis has more businesses than you might think, and is home to some great brand names, including Anheuser-Busch (now owned by InBev, the same group that owns Labatt). Quite a few companies - like Wells Fargo, AT&T, DaimlerChrysler, Monsanto - have midwestern or divisional headquarters in the area, and it's the world headquarters of the Energizer battery brand.
"Wow," I said to the IT contractor. "So you have lots of options if you want a new job, then."
"Well....," he responded, "I don't think I'd work for [insert name of one of the companies above] or [ditto], and apparently [ditto] is a terrible place to work, especially for IT."
"Oh, I didn't know you'd worked at all those places," I said.
"I haven't. Actually, I haven't even interviewed at any of them. I've just heard they're terrible."
"In what ways?"
[ruefully] "You know, now that you ask me, I don't really know. I've heard that a couple of them pay pretty badly, but the truth is that I've never really investigated it. It's just sort of the word on the street."
How many passive candidates are you losing -
without even knowing it?
Now, my IT contractor friend isn't actively looking for a new job. But contractors - especially IT contractors, who often work on projects which have a specific beginning and end - in general tend to be more or less permanently in the job market.
In other words, they're the 'passive candidates' that recruiters like best: The ones who are hard-working, always employed, and willing to consider a new opportunity if the right one comes along.
However, like most A-list IT contractors, my friend gets called by recruiters all the time - scarcely a week goes by in which he doesn't get a voicemail or email from a recruiter, telling him about 'a fabulous opportunity at [some place or other]'.
The problem? As soon as he hears (or even just assumes, given the 'teaser info' in the recruiter's message) that the opportunity is in one of the organizations about which he's heard negative things, he doesn't even bother responding to the message, let alone get to the interview stage.
IT contractors talk to other IT contractors - a LOT
In many organizations, the computer geniuses - the guys actually building the back-end technologies that let the rest of us get on with our jobs - tend to be departments of one or two, or sort of separate from the rest of the organization.
Like scientists, they tend to share information with other people doing similar work in other organizations, because their loyalty is often to the work itself (i.e. solving a difficult problem) rather than to the organization they're doing it for.
So IT contractors - especially the good ones - tend to be involved in online communities and forums where they can interact with other people who actually know the difference between ASP and PHP.
It's in the process of these interactions that they end up sharing a lot of info - sometimes unwittingly - about the organizations they're working for.
All it takes is one guy in one forum ranting for one month about how he's going insane because the project manager at his company doesn't know the difference between a socket and a plug-in, or about the jerky recruiter who lied about the pay rate - and suddenly the 'word on the street' is that Acme Inc. is a terrible place to work.
These contractors have more power than you think
You may be tempted to think that it doesn't really matter what IT contractors think about your recruiting brand - heck, those guys only hang out with each other anyway, right?
But...these guys are also all over the internet and social media - it's what they do for a living. So it's entirely possible that candidates for other roles who are Googling your company prior to applying or accepting an interview, will come across these forum posts (and blogs, and statuses, and websites).
Conversely, IT guys who like where they work and are passionate about it are more likely to talk about that online, too.
A better recruiting brand may start with a conversation with your IT contractors
If your organization has a well-known, relatively strong consumer brand, but you're having trouble attracting great people, it's probably time to talk to the IT department, particularly your IT contractors. They may just have a better, objective grasp on how you're perceived in the marketplace than you think - and they probably won't mince words when they tell you about it.
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Thursday June 10th, 2010
Put your napkin on your lap - and other ways to ace the interview
Being a good dinner-party guest teaches you everything you need to know about being an A-list candidate.
(There are times when the 18th century got it right.)
It's inevitable. If you're in the job market, sooner or later someone's going to ask you: "So, where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10?"
Since the truth ("Well, if there's any justice, 10 years from now I'll be lying on a beach drinking mai-tais after having either won the lottery or sold my internet business for billions. Until then, this job will be fine.") is unlikely to appeal to interviewers, it's important to have a creative answer pre-prepared.
Mine?
"My goal over the next 5-10 years is to continue to be a good dinner-party guest."
Dinner party guest vs job-seeker:
The required skills are virtually the same
Let's face it: Having a required degree or experience only accounts for about 10% of successful job-hunting. The remaining 90% is all about presentation, communication and good manners - the same skills required to be a good dinner party guest.
Here's how:
- Knowing the sort of people who host dinner parties.
In order to get invited to dinner parties, you have to know people who have dinner parties. Especially people who have dining rooms, decent china, and a wide circle of friends. In the job-hunting world, knowing people who are smart and successful enough to know the difference between a butter knife and a fish fork translates into a valuable network. And we all know how important networking is to finding a job.
- Building relationships.
It's not enough to know people who host dinner parties; they have to like you enough to invite you to their house for dinner. In other words, building relationships with people is crucial to job-hunting success.
- Knowing when to show up.
A good dinner party guest never shows up awkwardly early or inconveniently late. Similarly, the desirable candidate never arrives so early as to look desperate, nor so late as to create a bad impression. (And good dinner party guests, like good candidates, always phone to alert the host of any unforeseen delays.)
- Knowing when to leave.
A good dinner party guest never outstays his/her welcome. The attractive potential employee realizes when s/he has answered all the questions, says what s/he's come to say, and runs the risk of scuppering his chances by taking up any more of the interviewer's valuable time or blurting out something stupid.
A good rule of thumb for both dinner party guests and job-seekers: It's always best to leave when everyone's still glad you came!
- Knowing what to wear.
A Mexican feast at Bob and Jane's? Dark-wash jeans and a clean shirt are perfect. A catered 7-course dinner at Estelle and Louis'? Black tie, of course. The welcome dinner party guest just wants to fit in, look good, and avoid causing any embarrassment to the host or other guests. (It goes without saying that all his clothes are good quality, clean, and in good taste.)
All of this holds true for the job-seeker as well: Dress appropriately for the interview, and if in doubt, ask in advance.
- Knowing when to say no.
Even the best dinner party guest occasionally declines an invitation for one reason or another; so it is for job-seekers. Sometimes, you'll be invited to a dinner - or job -that just isn't the right fit. It's okay to acknowledge this and move on.
- Knowing what to bring.
Whether it's a six-pack of Mexican beer for Bob and Jane or a bottle of 15-year-old tawny port for Estelle and Louis, the good dinner party guest doesn't show up empty-handed. Likewise, the A-list job-seeker also comes prepared with thoughtful answers, contact info for references, and having done some research on the organization for which s/he is interviewing.
- Having good manners.
Remember, 'good manners' aren't about following an arbitrary set of ridiculous rules. Good manners are designed to help everyone feel comfortable and reduce distractions in social situations.
At dinner parties, this may mean avoiding chewing with your mouth open; in interviews, this may mean turning off your phone. Either way, it's less about knowing the difference between a butter knife and a fish fork, and more about making sure that the interaction is a positive one.
- Knowing when to speak (and speaking intelligently on a wide range of topics).
A good rule of thumb for both dinner parties and interviews: If you can't think of anything intelligent to say, don't say anything at all.
Not everything you say, at a dinner party or to a potential employer, has to be unremittingly positive. In fact, some of the most desirable dinner party guests are the ones who can tantalize and scandalize with a well-placed morsel of malicious gossip.
(As a job-seeker, however, 'malicious gossip' should be replaced with 'evidence of critical thinking'.)
In both cases, a touch of polymathism never goes amiss: Demonstrating your knowledge of, and interest in, current events, pop culture, history, politics, literature and even sports is the best way to make someone think, "S/he's so interesting/smart/funny/up-to-date/connected - we've got to have him/her back!"
- Knowing when to listen.
As Dale Carnegie can tell you, the best way to make other people like you is to listen to them talk about themselves.
Dinner party guests who listen attentively to their host and fellow guests are guaranteed to get good post-party reviews; job-seekers who listen attentively to the interviewer - whether the interviewer is talking about the company or just about the bad day they've been having - are guaranteed to leave the interviewer with the kind of good impression that makes the difference between getting a callback or never hearing from them again.
- Knowing when to use flattery and sincerity.
Nobody likes a kiss-up; on the other hand, very few people want to hear the truth about themselves all the time.
The good dinner party guest is free with compliments when it comes to the hostess and food, but stops short of ingratiation and doesn't attempt to make every other guest his/her new best friend.
Similarly, interviewers appreciate (and expect) enthusiastic statements about the job and the company, but don't respond well to blatant insincerity: The guy who says that he's wanted to work for Acme Inc. since he was 5 years old, even though Acme has only been in business for 10 years, just looks like (a) a guy who'll say anything to get a job, regardless of truthiness and (b) a guy who hasn't done his pre-interview research.
It's all about being a person that other people want to spend time with
Consider: Everyone needs to eat dinner, and almost everyone needs to work.
So why is it that some people stay home, eating alone every night, while others have invitations to dinner coming out their ears? And why do some people leap from fantastic job to fantastic job, while others are un- or under-employed?
The answer is simple: Good dinner party guests, like good candidates, are the sort of people that other people want to spend time with. In other words, it's all about ensuring that the answer to questions like "Would I want to spend 5 hours at a party with this person?" and "Would I want to spend 8 hours a day working with this person?" is a resounding "Yes!"
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Paul has one simple goal: To help companies hire great people - and get the most out of every recruiting dollar they spend. That's why he's recognized as one of the best recruitment-industry thinkers in Canada.