Tag Archives: Candidate

What is Your Favorite Interview Question & What Does it Reveal?

My favorite interview question is:

Tell me about your first job.
Often this reveals an entrepreneurial spirit and strong work ethic. Some candidates start working in their teens and have run their own businesses well into college. These are candidates that get excited about start-up opportunities.

 

You’ve accepted an offer……..now for the resignation

Although this is how we sometimes want to resign…
we shouldn’t be burning any bridges when we resign from our current roles to move on to others……Here is what I would suggest:
  1. Set up a meeting with your boss to resign.
  2. Tell him/her you have something to discuss and would appreciate being able to get all the way through it before he/she responds.
  3. Hand in a written resignation letter. Tell him/her that you are giving your notice (2 weeks is appropriate, if possible).
  4. Tell him/her that you have reached an irrevocable decision and that you would like his/her respect and support of that decision.
  5. Tell him/her that you have an incredible opportunity that will allow you to accomplish things in your career that you can not accomplish here.
  6. Tell him/her that you are not here to “hold him/her up for money” and that you are not interested in a counter offer.
  7. Ask him/her what (if anything) you should tell your co-workers.
  8. Thank him/her for the opportunity and the experience.
Good Luck on your resignation and your new career opportunity!!

10 Reasons A Recruiter Kicks A Job Boards Ass!

Great Article from ere.net thought I would share.

1.  Find the passive jobs!

Often times recruiting firms and hiring companies will not go straight to the job board route due to time constraints and costs. They will not only source candidates internally but will make a quick call to a recruiter to see who is actively searching right now, or who is “keeping and eye out” for the right job.

2.  Break into a company that you have been targeting
A professional recruiter will have contacts with the top employers as well as those that are in dire need. A recruiter will be your insider who can find the jobs by going directly to the source.

3.  See what is going on behind the curtain
A good recruiter will have valuable insight into a companies culture, hiring trends, and financial strengths in order to make good placements.  They will also give you guidance as to who you are meeting, what are key qualifications, how to get the offer, and assist with interview feedback and even salary negotiations.

4.  Protect your current job
In today’s connected world employers have searches set up to not only see which candidates they may want to hire, but also for who may be thinking of leaving their own company!  Having a third party doing the search will protect your privacy.

5.  Step out of the herd
Swarms of people put themselves out on job boards and hope an employer will see them.  A recruiter will be proactive and make calls on your behalf making a candidate stand out from the rest.

6.  Simplify
A recruiter working on your behalf will help you manage your schedule and interviews, track your resume, and help in keeping the job search organized.  It can be a full time job on its own.

7.  Be “the one”
Hiring managers hope for “exclusive” candidates.  When they receive a resume through a job board, or through several recruiting agencies their impression is that the candidate may be one of many and perceive lesser value.

8.  Control your personal information
There are many stories of posted resumes pulled from job boards being sent into job listings without permission.  There are even unethical agencies that send first, ask later.  A professional recruiter should always get your permission before sending your information to anyone.

9.  Would you go into surgery without a surgeon?
A professional recruiter will be an expert in resume preparation, interviewing skills, negotiating, salary evaluation, and the competitive landscape.  Having a recruiter in your corner will build your arsenal for this challenging process.

10.  People helping people for free
Recruiters are paid by employers to handle the many hours of sourcing and recruiting qualified candidates. But recruiters cannot find jobs for every candidate and thus do not earn a fee for all of their work.  Yet they will bring a personal, hands on approach to one of the most important decisions a person can make, their livelihood.  Why leave that in the hands of a computer program?

Clearly we are in favor of working with a recruiter.  And job boards can and do have a good purpose.  But relying on a job board exclusively to find a job in today’s world is not only not recommended, but lazy.  Your job is a big part of your life.  Give it the professional attention it deserves.

Hiring Managers – Are Candidates Cocky or Confident?

How many of you are sick of interviewing really talented technical candidates that you can’t hire because they are so cocky that everyone on your team would quit if they had to work on a team with them?  Confidence is great in a candidate, being cocky is just annoying! What do you in this situation? Do you take a risk and hire the candidate because they have kick-ass tech chops or do you cut them loose?

Are You a Lazy Jobseeker?

I am becoming increasingly aware of YOU the lazy jobseeker.  Why don’t you take my calls?  Why won’t you return my emails?  You are openly advertising that you are seeking a new job.  WTH! How bad do you really want a new job? I am attending SXSWi in Austin and I am seeing people pass out resumes, network, some are wearing T-Shirts with their skill sets on them.  What are YOU doing?  Posting your resume on Monster or Dice? LAME! It will take more than that for you to get in front of the right people.  Competition is fierce people…get out there and network.  you are competing against candidates from EVERYWHERE! Not just active jobseekers but also passive jobseekers that are employed and are checking out new opportunities now that the market is getting better. YOU need to stop being lazy and get yourself out there! Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date…if you’re not on LinkedIn SHAME ON YOU. Contact a local recruiter.  A great recruiter will know about the best opportunities in your market.  A great recruiter will give you a list of local networking events that you should be attending.  A great recruiter will help you with any resumes changes and help you with your LinkedIn profile as needed…….If you are a lazy jobseeker, a great recruiter can’t help you unless you are willing to do your part.  Are you willing to do your part for the right job?

WHY SHOULD I HIRE YOU?

This is one of those broad questions that can take you down the wrong road unless you have done some thinking about what to say ahead of time.

Answers that WON’T get you hired -

“Because I need a job.”

“I am a hard worker.” – LAME! Anyone can say they’re a hard worker. This does not set you apart from other candidates.

“I saw your ad and it looked like something I could do.” – Really?

Anyone can do this job, but not everyone can do it the way I can? –At this point…STOP TALKING! It’s time for you leave the interview.

You should hire me because of my commitment, I am very committed to my job – Better, but what can you do for me?

Hiring Managers want to know what you can do for them, that’s why they are asking…they really want to know.

This is a time to let the hiring manager know what you can do for them and why they should listen to what you have to offer. The more detail you give the stronger your answer will be. This is not a time to talk about what you want. It is a time to summarize your accomplishments and relate what makes you unique and therefore a viable fit for this position.

ANSWERS that will get the right attention in an interview—

“Because I have six years experience supporting customers in a very similar environment.”

“Because I have what it takes to fill the requirements of this job – solve customer problems using my excellent customer service skills.”

“Because I have the experience and expertise in the area of customer support that is required in this position.”

Think of yourself as a product and practice your sales pitch.

Dungeons and Dragons, I think not!

Interviewing for a programming job is like walking into a game of Dungeons & Dragons. Even brilliant coders can crumple under interview pressure. Here’s a few tips on how to handle a complex brainteaser without losing your mind.

Question: Suppose you are in a hallway lined with 100 closed lockers. You begin by opening all 100 lockers. Next, you close every second locker. Then you go to every third locker and close it if it is open or open it if it is closed (call this toggling the locker). Continue toggling every nth locker on pass number n. After your hundredth pass of the hallway, in which you toggle only locker number 100, how many lockers are open?

Break it down. Smaller is more manageable. To solve the locker riddle, John Mongan and Noah Suojanen advise using only 12 lockers versus all 100 of them.

Talk out loud. An interview is often structured like an exam, but a lot of answers can be worth partial credit. If you’re talking out loud, an interviewer knows where you are and can give you hints.

A problem shouldn’t be too easy. The obvious answer is almost never the right one. Many problems are difficult because they suggest an incorrect assumption that leads to a wrong answer. Identify your assumptions early in the process and brainstorm all of the possibilities to identify the one piece of information that you’re missing.

A problem shouldn’t be too hard. Although answers can be complex, they rarely require time-consuming computations or math past trigonometry. Spending time crunching numbers? You’re probably on the wrong track.

Don’t get discouraged. Draw a picture, play with all of the possible uses of objects in a problem, and trust your process. The answer is there; it’s just a matter of your moving the pieces around until the puzzle comes together. As long as you keep moving and voicing your process to the interviewer, you’re bound to solve it.

Compliments of “Programming interviews exposed: Secrets to Landing your next Job (Programmer to Programmer) and Fast Company

Hiring Managers: WTH! 200 candidates applied for this job. Part 3

Your job as the interviewer:

  • Make sure that the candidate is comfortable so that he/she can perform their best
  • Always ask open-ended questions
  • Let the candidate do most of the talking, your job is to listen and evaluate
  • Get a feel for candidate’s enthusiasm about the company and new technologies
  • Discuss the company culture and your management methodology
  • Keep a positive attitude throughout the interview.
  • Focus on the candidate. We know you have other things that you would rather be doing, anything other than interviewing candidates but this is critical to your business so focus on the task at hand.
  • Give the candidate a chance to ask questions.

Here are some interview tips to make the candidate comfortable in the interview so you can really get to know them.

1. Consider business casual. Why not allow business casual interview attire? If you are wearing jeans and a t-shirt, why shouldn’t they dress comfortable as well?

2. Assign someone to manage the process for you. You should assign a person who escorts candidates to and from interview rooms. It’s easier for candidates to relax when they feel wanted. If you are working with an outside Recruiter, ask them to handle that for you.

3. Smile.

4. Give a tour.  Consider starting the interview with a walk around the department or the office to introduce the candidate to the company.

5. Allow for conversation. This is more beneficial to candidates, because they’ll learn more about the company. And it gives you an opportunity to see the candidate’s real personality.

6. ENOUGH WITH THE GENERIC QUESTIONS! Ask what you really want to know, questions that will help you decide whether a candidate is a good fit for you and your company, rather than falling back on the typical questions.

7. Always be yourself while you are interviewing candidates.

Good Luck!

Hiring Managers: WTH! 200 candidates applied for this job. Part 2

Now that  you have your “shortlist” of candidates to interview…what do you do next?

Great question.  I am of course assuming that you have already decided who will be involved with the decision-making process and what type of interview you will be conducting.

  • Telephone Interview: 15-20 mins asking a couple of key technical questions to quickly determine whether or not this candidate is someone who you should bring in for the full interview in person. DO NOT ask HR questions such as salary requirements, etc unless you are HR or the internal recruiter. If you are currently working with an outside recruiter all of that information will be disclosed as the candidate’s resume and employment summary are sent you.
  • In person/on-site interview: Will you be conducting a panel interview? Will there be a whiteboard session? Will HR be conducting a portion of the interview? Will there be any written assessment such as IQ or personality tests? MAKE SURE THE CANDIDATE IS AWARE OF THE INTERVIEW PROCESS. Candidates are nervous during the interview, it doesn’t matter how much experience they have. Interviews make people nervous, period. If they know what the process is it will alleviate some of the anxiety as they interview with you.
  • If you are conducting a panel interview, make sure you coordinate with the other interviewers who will be asking what types of questions. If your interviewers are meeting with the candidate one after the other, again make sure to coordinate who will ask what types of questions.  What happens in this scenario most often is that the same questions are asked over and over and not only do you not learn what you need to from the candidate, the candidate also walks away from the interview feeling as if it was a waste of his/her time. After all, the candidate is interviewing you as well.