Fantastic, your offer letter will arrive shortly. When you come in on your first day get settled in your office. You know, look around, go through the drawers in the file cabinet, find where everything is. We’ll set you up for lunch to make sure everything is going well. Welcome aboard!

This must be a script passed around like a scammy email chain to upper level execs — because I have personally heard it no less than 3 times in my career. Maybe I passed the litmus test and got those jobs precisely because I am a self starter, don’t need hand holding and like to work independently. Maybe I was easy because I wear my Special Agent badge on my sleeve like a scarlet letter — less work than other candidates would have been had they been hired.

It’s no way to intro someone to their job though.

Walk into said dark office early the first day after guestimating where to park because you wasn’t assigned a spot yet. People looking at you like you broke in the joint because no one was told you were hired.. No PC log in, no phone extension, no key to your own desk drawer?

No welcoming committee… or card on the desk signed by the team saying they are grateful to have someone to pick up the work they have been burdened with since the last chicken flew the coop…

I’m looking for examples — both good and bad, for a presentation I’m writing this weekend for THE Conference on attracting and retaining top talent.  What’s your story?

Oh… and if you would like to come to THE Conference, a whole day of business learning and fun in Wilkes-Barre, PA, with 6 tracks and 30 sessions for $99. –> Sign up, what are you waiting for? ~ SA Porter

Traditionally, the job fair has been of the standard variety with employer booths and newspaper advertising. My contributions to the event in my first year as a planning partner were the upgraded website & blog, social media and seminar.

There was nothing wrong with the job fair as it had always been for the past 19 years except that in my opinion it lacked modernity of the times, the use of technology and an educational component. Actually, it wasn’t just my opinion. As a vendor in past years I often heard the word on the street that every year it was

The same old thing

I vowed not to allow that happen another year since now I was empowered to have influence and make change. Here are some reflections on what went down and what I learned.

Contrary to what you might think, the most popular seminar session was not using social media for job search (it was 3rd place). The most attended was how to get government employment. It requires no networking at all… The attraction is all too understandable why all the seats were taken and the overflow of people stood in the back of the seminar area.

The second most popular session was how to do well in an interview. There were a lot of questions on what to say, how to say it, how to cope with nerves, how to know if it went well.. Attendees appreciated hearing the “real deal” because the process is confusing to a candidate who doesn’t understand it. We could do a much better job on our websites and in our candidate selection process of letting job seekers know expectations, time lines, process..

Social media for job seekers was interesting, a lot of questions on Myspace (I attribute this to a cosmic vortex) and what to do once one creates an account. In other words, what does one do to “social network”? This is making me think a lot. There were a lot curious people there that either haven’t created accounts because they don’t know what to do, or started accounts and didn’t do anything with them — because they didn’t know what to do…  It seemed the crowd was comfortable visiting websites and job boards but they didn’t “get” the networking angle. So, we covered the basic principles, and because an hour is not nearly enough time to really delve into technique — I promised to hold workshops.

These are people who have been out of work a really long time — some go to the library for internet because it isn’t within their monthly budget. Perhaps a sponsor will offer to help. If not, I’ll do a series for free because I can’t fathom charging the unemployed for this.

The résumé tips session was fraught with questions on what and what not to include, what style to use, how many pages it should be, if references are required, the normal stuff… What was clearly obvious to me was that the average job seeker doesn’t understand the document is a marketing piece for Me Inc. I referred them to the free résumé writing classes offered at the local branch of the State one stop shop. It’s not the gourmet service offered by some of my certified résumé writing friends.. but none of these individuals was in the situation to be able to afford paid services.

What do you people want from me??? That was the question answered in the session on employer expectations. You would think this is work 101 stuff — but not.. Some people think they should be able to bring excuses to work and not be charged PTO, others don’t agree sick dependents should affect their attendance or be cause for separation when it does. How to “move up in the company” is interesting to many and “I shouldn’t have to so someone else’s job” is common. We need to do a better job with employer branding and marketing to educate prospective employees on what our expectations really are so that they are empowered to be decision makers in the process too on whether employment with XYZ would be a good “fit”.

How to work with a recruiter had an executive gathering of note takers. So many people think the title recruiter has one definition and clearing up that misnomer is important. When and how to follow up, what to do with the feedback, everyone was curious and confused about these things. I’m thinking we don’t put out enough information on what a recruiter does… like it’s some secret order or something. OK, maybe it is =)

Imagine if everyone understood the importance of psychology in the job search and workplace. The session on emotional intelligence was incredibly interesting, if not too short and poorly attended. The presenter understood why. People in general aren’t really in touch with their emotions, don’t understand how they sabotage quality of life, and many push them away and are horrible at managing them. When it came time for interactive exercises it was men in the session that volunteered. There were some women sitting there with their eyes glazed over. <— Look, this is just my observation. I’m trying not to be judgmental.

I thought adding a Job Seeker Strategy seminar to the job fair was a good idea. Now I think this seminar needs to go on a road tour to high schools and colleges, one stop shops and job fairs in every community and town across the country.

If you work in HR or recruiting, please implement it in your community. Or if you would like to sponsor my roadshow, let me know. I could really dig a national tour…

Guest Post by Peter Lanc

Wedding day blues and getting a job what’s the difference? Not a lot…. Aren’t we all looking for superior performance?

I was speaking to a friend recently who is getting married.

She asked how she could know what it would be like after got married. I told her it’s a bit like my recruiting job. The candidates look great but how can I know what are they really like?

It’s all good up until the day, kind of like a probationary period, but as they say current and past performance is no determination of future success!

That’s got us thinking, so off to the bar we went for cocktails to muse over this delicate  topic. Over a few drinks we continued to ponder what would it be like to ask a soon to be spouse the following questions:

1. How can I be sure that you are who you say you are and that you’ll stay that way?
2. What will you be like when I am having a baby or mother in law troubles– will you stick around or move on?
3. Will you always remain as a high performer or will you (like the Who tune) ffffffade away….
4. How can I know you will treat my friends right even if you don’t like them and not have emotional outbursts and cause relationship problems?
5. Will you continue to put me at the center of your world and not go off with your buddies all the time?
6. Will you stay the course, not get bored and go somewhere else?

Oh and what about references!! That caused some chuckles I can tell you. Now would that not be something… Can you see their face when you say, “Give me 3 names of people who you have dated so I can check you out, I want to see how you were with them!!!”

Can you imagine the response? Well that’s not fair they will never give me a good reference because….. etc etc.

There were even more questions we thought of. Oh what fun we had, the more we had to drink the better and more incisive and personal the questions were that we came up with. Oh boy, well maybe some of us do this and some of us simply think it over cocktails, with our buddies and girlfriends.

I guess a job is a job yet it is much more and how many take the same time and thought over it as my friend who was getting married, and oh my those references!

Who would you not want your prospective employer to ask a reference of?  Just think, who are we really and for how long?  How many masks do we have and what shadow do we really cast? What are we really like? I mean really…

Its all so important, just like a marriage we have to be the right fit… all of the time!

Once a year there is another type of event at the Arena that is totally different. It’s an interactive event that can literally change your life. It’s the NEPA Job Fair. Similar events are held in cities across the country every year. So, if you’re lucky enough to have landed here through finding this blog in a Facebook or Twitter post or Google search it’s for you too.

Now of course, you can walk in the Arena doors and on to the floor and weave in and out of the maze of employer booths like a spectator – that’s what most people do. Then you’ll go home and talk about how it was, “OK but nothing special, there are no opportunities around here.”

That’s the big mistake most people make, they treat a job fair as a spectator sport. Find out how to work the job fair over at the NEPA Job Fair blog…

Marginal or good doesn’t work when jobs are scarce and candidates are plentiful. Marginal or good works when jobs are plentiful and candidates are scarce.

Painful to hear, someone gets the job when there is an opening. Not getting the job doesn’t mean you weren’t a worthy candidate or that there isn’t a job for you.

If you are objective you’ll realize it means someone else:

• Had more relevant experience
• Presented herself more impressively
• Had more refined persuasive skills
• Showed more passion for the company’s mission
• Expressed more desire to do the job the way the company wants it done
• Left the hiring manager(s) feeling synergy and they missed her the moment she left

In other words.….….…. someone else was the better fit.

Instead of having self defeating feelings, if you were not selected for a job you have interviewed for, it means you probably wouldn’t have thrived in that position (or maybe that culture) as well as the person hired. You wouldn’t want to work somewhere that isn’t a great match, you wouldn’t be happy. So, learn from the experience. Analyze how you can refine your search for a better fit and and any other area you might improve on. Write it off and keep looking for the opportunity that is a match.

Keep on searching, look for unpublished jobs. They do exist. This week, a company in Wilkes-Barre told me they have grown to the point they need another person on staff and asked me to help them find an office manager with exceptional organizational skills and bookkeeping greatness. It’s a laid back, progressive, very cool place to work, with very competitive pay and benefits. –» This isn’t posted on a big job board or even their company website.

When someone lands the job of her dreams, it is huge cause for celebration. Check out JT O’Donnell’s Job Jam to see how it’s properly done!

For instance, there once was a woman named Reina.….. It’s your lucky day for I will spare you the very gory details.

It’s not a common name in the US and it had been a few years years since I had been subjected to it. About 7 years ago as a call center manager I received a calendar appointment to interview a “Reyna”. The hair stood up on the back of my neck. Immediately, all I could think of was there was no way I was going to deal with that even though I knew with 100% certainty that it was not the same person.

I got up and took a walk.  I needed air. And as I walked I talked with other personalities that reside in my mind and as we conversed and sorted it all out we came to the conclusion it was important to give this person a chance.

It’s not the same Reina so what are you worried about? She doesn’t even spell it the same way. You can’t judge a person by her name, don’t be ridiculous. What if you dismiss her because of something in your past that nothing to do with her, miss out on a great hire and do her an injustice? Just get over it.

I took some deep breaths, convinced myself to do the right thing and accepted the interview. Reyna turned out to have very high performance reviews over the next 5 years and in most respects really was a model employee.

This is a true story! I’m glad I recognized it wouldn’t be fair to judge someone on something that wouldn’t be performance related. Had I allowed my personal bias over a name to influence my decision it would have been a very big mistake.

What personal bias have you had to deal with? Was it difficult to recognize it existed? How did you overcome it?

#9   Do you restrict Internet access?

#8   What time would I have to work until?

#7   Do you do background checks?

#6   Do you drug test?

#5   How many sick days do I get?

#4   Can I work from home?

#3   When can I apply for a promotion?

#2   When will I get a raise?

#1   How long will this interview take?

Job seekers, have you ever regretted something you asked in an interview? Recruiters, Hiring Managers and other interviewers, what are some of the most damaging (or funny) things candidates have asked you in interviews?

That was my disclaimer, how I started the bare all session for 7 job club members who were facing the end of unemployment compensation.

They had all sent countless resumes, received calls and attended interviews. They were turned down every time during more than a year of searching. After longevity ranging from 7 — 30 years, and one odd duck that had never held a job more than 2 years, they were hurt and confused why no one “wanted” them. They had been loyal and hard working and considered themselves “lifers” at their jobs. They felt put out on the street even though they all acknowledged that it wasn’t personal.

“I go in, they look at me, see I’m in my 50’s and I can see it in their faces… they’re thinking, what are we going to get out of her, she’s old”.

“What happened to paper applications?”

I asked each of them what they considered to be their profession or career and how long they had held their longest job for. I found that they felt it necessary to manufacture resumes that look like lengthy to do lists rather than career marketing pieces with examples of strengths and accomplishments because they were proud of every single thing they did well.

“How do I know if they got my Internet application, there’s no name of anyone to call?”

“The job was taken down off the site a week ago and I still haven’t heard anything. How long should I wait to call?” Call about what,” I asked. “To see if I am being considered”, the professionally dressed 50 something asked. She wanted to know before she went on vacation so she could stop thinking about it.

“Here, let me help you”, I said.  I let her know that if the job was taken down it meant the search was over and a decision had likely been made or at the very least final candidates selected. She didn’t get it because she continued on. “What if I am one of them and I’m not home to get the call because I’m on vacation?” I tried to be gentle as I explained it was over… I asked if she needed to hear the rejection.. She said yes. I saved her the call and suggested she enjoy her vacation and get excited about new opportunities that might be available upon her return.

The patriotically dressed woman who was concerned about her age had difficulty coming up with her most important career accomplishment. After all, she was just an Admin Clerk who maintained hospital departmental records and administered the database over the past 30 years. “I don’t know you”, I said, “but let me guess what your strengths and accomplishments were and you tell me how accurate I am”.

• You have superior time management skills
• Your can learn on the fly and implement new processes and technology rapidly
• You are good at training and working well with others
• Attention to detail and accuracy are finely honed skills you possess
• Your attendance record is excellent and your personnel file lacks disciplinary action

And I went on… And her face lit up. Her demeanor changed as she agreed with what I was saying. “Yes, that’s me”, she said. I asked how many records the department maintained and the policies for record retention. I talked about converting the to do list into an achievement oriented resume that captured her skill as a repository specialist with great capacity for knowledge management.

She asked me to slow down so she could take notes. She was getting it…

There are people who need your help my friends. They are good people but they do not understand what we look for. It’s not their job to understand and we really shouldn’t expect them too. We’re out there looking for expertly crafted resumes and polished presenters. Fortunate individuals do not spend a significant amount of time between 18 — 65 searching for work. Why should they be expected to be experts at job search, resume writing and interviewing?

The light bulb went off for me the first time I was invited to speak at the local job club. I felt the questions were from far left field. Each time I go back I hear the same or very similar questions. So if it’s a bunch of people that do not know each other, at different times and places with the same questions… is it them or us?

It’s us. We’re expected to do more with less, we look for the perfect candidate on paper. It’s easier to put a resume in a no pile than the maybe pile and pick up the phone to help make that determination. We pop out the job postings electronically and sit back for ATS alerts that there are incoming. We don’t think about the effort and time put into each web application filled out, each resume and cover letter crafted.

We look to disqualify candidates, not qualify them.

I challenge you to pick up the phone. Call a local job club, state employment agencies (one stop job shops) all have them. Volunteer to speak. You’ll learn from them as much as they learn from you.

Pay attention Letterman, you never know when your number will come up.

1. Write a cover letter.
   Most people don’t these days and if you do you WILL stand out. Make sure that it is customized for each company you are applying to. Templates are fine, you can’t change your life in every letter. Just make sure you at least name the position, company contact name if available and reason for wanting to be employed there. And please, explain your gaps in employment and reason for a change in career objectives if applicable.
2. You have an objectives statement that is customized and meaningful or you leave it off.
   If you keep pasting ‚“Employment with an organization that allows me to reach my potential and has room for advancement” the Recruiter is just gonna’ puke — so don’t do it, OK?
3. You don’t fall for putting “References Available Upon Request” on your resume.
   We Recruiters are pretty darned smart as a breed. Put it this way, we don’t need references unless we’re really interested in you. If we get to that point and ask you for them and you can’t cough them up you’re toast… So, we know they’re available, OK? No need to take up room with that. It will help you keep it to 2 pages.
4. You fore go submitting a novel for a well constructed, aesthetically pleasing, maximum 2 page resume.
   No matter how tempting your autobiography is, we are not Literary Agents, at least at the day job. This means you too CEO, CIO, COO, CFO and all your alphabet friends. Even if we called you first and asked you to consider the position we’re still going to need a resume and it can’t be a white paper on you. Save the white papers for your portfolio.
5. You have a portfolio.
   It could be your website, examples of your work, white papers, power points, whatever, but it exists and you present it well. Oh, and it is your work, you didn’t copy and paste.
6. Your social networking profiles reveal you are squeaky clean.
   A Google search doesn’t trigger sirens and red strobe lights. You know, like this…

   

7. You study up for the interview.
   You research the top players, you know the mission statement, you comment on recent achievements authoritatively. In other words, you took the time to investigate through LinkedIn contacts you went after and asked for advice, you read industry reports and you got on the good side of the Receptionist and you gleaned insider knowledge which you use during the interview to show you don’t miss a beat and you are pro-active, full of energy and ready to assume the position.
8. You leave panel interviewers feeling like if they don’t select you it will be their loss.
   You are “the one” and it’s not going to get done right without you, woo hoo!
9. You do judicious customized follow-up with each interviewer by name and sprinkle in reasons why you are even more interested in the position after the interview.
   Even if you regurgitate back what they told you they were looking for do something… don’t leave empty airwaves.
10. You negotiate the offer with finesse and send me a thank you email.
    I’m going to start collecting a dime for my words of wisdom. Let’s see where that gets me. When the market gets going good again I’ll be bumping that up to a quarter so speak now if you want a good deal.

What would you add to or subtract from this list? It’s a working document not the 10 Commandments set in stone so chisel away!

Is that right? Does every one feel and express happiness and sadness in the same way? Do these emotions affect everyone the same?

Gianni is a Senior Account Executive at Eudaimonic Creative, an ad agency that employs 25 others and where the creative juice is proportionate to the amount of coffee consumed. Everyone that works there is truly talented, as their portfolios and resumes demonstrated when they were interviewed and hired. He has a collection of Life is Good t-shirts and generally walks around with a look of contentment on his face. He gets above average performance reviews and hits or supersedes his goals. Life is good.

In fact, there’s a kind of Zen going on in the office. Everyone is able to bounce ideas off one another, they socialize after hours once in a while, and they work very well independently and as a team. It’s a great place to work and no one is looking to walk.

Max has a similar position at Hedonic Inc., a competitor agency on the other side of town. They pump out some mean ass campaigns. A few weeks ago Max landed a much sought after account, partied for 3 days without sleep, called off when he needed to recuperate and now the client’s demands are consuming him. He’s not smiling. No one wants to get too close to him for fear the cloud he walks underneath will start to dump a torrential downpour at any moment.

It seems there are a lot of characters like Max at the agency. There’s either jubilation or devastation going on in more than one office on any given day.  They all cover for each other but it’s like a soap opera over there and it gets hairy sometimes. In fact, it gets draining after a while. The agency has had some difficulty retaining key associates and some accounts have been jeopardized because of this.

If you were looking for a job which agency would have more allure? As an employer or manager what kind of culture do you wish to establish and be known for?

There is no right or wrong answer. It’s about preferences and the culture you wish to work in, or establish if you are the boss. Both personality types contribute equally to the rich tapestry of life.

Gianni has a Eudaimonic personality — the eudaimonic or psychological well-being tradition (PWB) emphasizes positive psychological functioning and human development. Eudaimonic theories of well-being assert the importance of achieving one’s full potential through engaging in inherently meaningful endeavors. This creates a sustaining feeling of well-being, satisfaction and fulfillment. Eudaimonics do not exhibit “roller coaster” emotions. It’s not to say they do not exhibit emotion, on the contrary. It’s simply that their emotion is sustained.

Max has a hedonic personality — the hedonic or subjective well-being (SWB) tradition emphasizes constructs such as happiness, positive affect, low negative affect, and satisfaction with life. With hedonia, happiness is the goal sought and the greater extent of pleasured experienced by the person the better. There is no consideration given to the source or depth of happiness a person is encountering. Hedonia involves feeling excited, relaxed, and content, losing track of time, and forgetting personal problems. The hedonic “treadmill” or roller coaster is inevitable for people like Max. He craves feeling good and flinches away from pain in very visible ways.

Understanding eudaimonic and hedonic aspects of personality help in the selection process in terms of fit. As you can see, the executives at Gianni’s company overtly hired a crew of eudaimonics. It has resulted in their Zen like culture. Max’s company primarily hired candidates with hedonic personalities and the result is a roller coaster culture in the office.

Awareness of these personality attributes is essential in the selection process when considering teams, strengths and weaknesses. While a balance is favorable, a team of all hedonic personalities is chaotic. It’s also important to be aware of our own eudaimonic or hedonic tendencies since it assists in the prevention of hiring everyone in our own likeness. Unless that’s what we consciously choose to do.

When selecting a vendor and products for psychometric personality assessments ask if this aspect is evaluated. If you do not utilize this type of assessment consider doing so. Even with the use of these assessments, behavioral interview questions formulated to evaluate the eudaimonic and hedonic tendencies of candidates is essential to a successful selection, the performance and harmonious culture of your organization, and retention.

Give me an example of a time you achieved a much desired goal. What was the day after like?

Tell me a time you experienced a major professional disappointment. What method did you use to move on?

For the record, I’m eudaimonic.… I love life and I’m happy 99.9% of the time.

Reference: Beyond Self-Report in the Study of Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being: Correlations with Acquaintance Reports, Clinician Judgments and Directly Observed Social Behavior — Christopher S. Nave, Ryne A. Sherman, and David C. Funder