eWeek posts an interesting article about the incredible security flaws MSFT experienced in the 90s, from an insider, and what they’re doing about it now.
October 31, 2005
Does Your Recruiting Agency Do What You Pay For?
Of course, nobody expected this to happen.
That’s why it all went wrong.
Staffing Industry News Bulletin for October 28 reports that a RemedyTemp franchise in Texas was nailed for I-9 fraud:
It started when a “high-level al-Qaeda operative” in Pakistan was captured. He identified a food-services company in Texas as a possible terrorist target. It ended this week with a judge ordering a staffing company franchise to pay a $20,000 fine, a $414,000 penalty to the Department of Homeland Security and to be banned from doing work on Department of Defense contracts for five years… MORE (subscription required)
Frequently, as I work here in Utah Valley, questions arise about our processes, procedures and even costs/fees relative to other companies. I often hear myself saying, “We don’t have the reputation as being the bargain-basement recruiting company on the block. But we do have the reputation of locating and providing you with excellent people, and of doing our best to get things right the first time.”
This desire to do our very best extends over to our back-office records and employment authorizations. Of course, I am not an official spokesperson for my company, but I can tell you as an insider that the highest standards are kept with respect to ensuring the legal authority and right for our contractors and consultants to work here in the US. That integrity is a key reason I am here instead of any other company. That integrity is clear to my clients and potential clients as I meet with them. Hopefully, you can tell that I am honestly more interested in all of our success than my own success–that includes my clients and their companies, my consultants and their families, my company and my co-workers, as well as my own family and our collective community.
The truth is–and I am not ashamed to say this–our fees are exceptionally competetive. Yet, in light of all we do because of external regulations (and our own internal procedures to ensure compliance), we’re providing a value-add that our clients enjoy–peace of mind. It doesn’t show up as a line-item on our invoices. But it does show up on the faces of our contractors and clients who are working together, doing hard work for a good company.
I can see the Mastercard commercial now: “Right person to do the job? Priceless.”
That integrity helps me sleep very well at night.
If you’re a manager and you didn’t sleep well last night because you’re worried about your workforce… maybe we should talk.
October 27, 2005
Maybe You're Writing It Wrong
If your job ads aren’t pulling, maybe you’re writing them wrong. Here is one of our recent job postings, translated by Gizoogle to match a, um, younger generation:
Database Designa
SOS Technical has an immediate need fo` a Database Designa fo’ sho’. Our client has an external web site focused on gangsta interaction. The site has grown over tha years ratha quickly n now they need a Database Designa ta go bizzle n perform some clean up mah nizzle. Behind tha scenes is Postgres databizzles T-H-to-tha-izzat is tha foundation of mizzy of tha site. This is where our client needs assistance. They is straight trippin’ fo` logical design skills where the sun be shinin and I be rhymin’. Specifically, someone ta spend a couple of weeks summariz’n tha total database design fo’ sho’. Tizzle mackin’ wit someone else, ta begin changes in database normalizizzles table design, view design, etc. Some of they primary concerns tizzle kniznow they dizzay have are: tha normalizizzles optimized, security wasn’t really considered in tha original design but mizzay be included nizzy n tha design must be scalable fo` future growth. Someone wizzill be spend’n time work’n on tha chillin’ side, modify’n code.
Qualifizzles . Holla!: Candidate should have database design skills, preferably in Postgres or Oracle. Also some web develizzles skills such as PHP, Pizzerl, HTML would be helpful upside yo head. It would be good if tha candidate has some basic/dizzles PHP, SQL, HTML cod’n skills n dippin’ worked on a web site is a real plus .
Minimum Education Level: N/A
Hustla Level: N/A
Job Tizzle: Temporary
Job Status: Fizzle Time
Compensizzle: Depend’n on Experience. SOS Technical offa a fizzle range of benefits.
Interview Attire Idea: Let Everybody Know...
I like this way of answering the age-old question of what to wear to your interview. Eric Porter chose to make sure everyone knew why he was at Microsoft that day by wearing this t-shirt.
What is it with the T-shirts today?
Know Thyself...
I don’t know why T-shirts are prime targets for geeky wittiness, but this one had me laughing:
Self-referential T-shirt
Get it at Blogoscope’s store at CafePRESS. No, I don’t get paid anything if you buy one, and please don’t email me if you “don’t get it”… just keep scrolling.
October 26, 2005
Today, Not Tomorrow
Oops. I didn’t notice this before, but yesterday’s post about the Connect Ignitor Series Luncheon included the wrong date on my part. The luncheon is today, Wednesday, from 3:30 to 5:00pm at Los Hermanos in Lindon (395 N. State Street).
October 25, 2005
I'll Be There...
I will be at Thursday’s Utah County Business Ignitor Luncheon with Josh Coates, Founder of Berkeley Data Systems.
Paul Allen says:
If you are in Utah Thursday, you have to pay $10 to hear Silicon Valley transplant Josh Coates speak about how to start a company and raise money. He is an incredible technologist with a disruptive business model and he knows how to raise capital. He likes to challenge the way the Utah angel and VC community fund startups. Josh likes the Silicon Valley way. The event will be at Los Hermanos in Lindon at 3:30 pm. Don’t miss this.
Looking forward to some good stuff!
Google To Launch Free Classifieds?
Joel Cheesman of HRSEO just sent me an email about this. He’s saying, “ready or not, here comes google classifieds“.
See his blog post for more details including screenshots and other details.
He ends the post by asking:
If they launch job listings, how long will it take employers to jump the Good Ship Monster and list their openings on Google and leverage the power of the world’s most powerful information provider … for FREE?
This should be very big, boys and girls.
For one, I applaud it. Craig’s List has already turned the world on its ear, now Google is seeming to smooth the process and add Google’s excellent, feel-good, touchy-feely, bright-colored UI to the whole thing.
But here’s a thought — What’s really so different about this and making a blog on blogger.com about the house you’re selling, or the job you’re recruiting for?
Web publishing has been free for some time now (price). But the other three Ps in marketing’s mix seem to point to why Google Base will work:
- Product (this will likely be easier to use and easier to make your product look ‘good’)
- Placement (what better way to ensure Google visitors find your site than to post it on Google in the first place!?)
- Promotion (Google’s brand makes it a simple choice for people to use. Back to placement, why not put your ad on google for the whole world to find? Plus, Google has a reputation for being clean and orderly… so I predict people will ‘feel’ like posting their information there will keep it from getting ‘lost’)
If others worry that this will drive the final nail into the coffin of big-board job postings as we know it, I personally believe it’s a nail that should have been driven long ago.
Job ads, I maintain, carry no inherent value on their own. The reason the boards have been able to charge so much for them before is not because of the ad, but because there was a barrier to entry, prohibiting an easy and clear alternative to get your job posting in front of that many (hopefully) qualified individuals.
As I said in June concerning this:
…In my opinion, the market is realizing that the value behind the ad is the people it connects�the recruiter and the candidate. If an ad will not adequately connect good candidates and the people willing to hire them, it is useless. To that end, since current job-posting technologies are doing little more than spamming recruiters with millions of resumes, the value is dropping rapidly.
Think quality contacts, not quantity of names, and you will begin to see why I am so interested in… next-generation technologies growing out of the disconnectedness of the job-boards as they currently stand.
Yet, more shocking than this announcement would be a post on Monster’s blog tomorrow that they are giving up and quitting the fight.
I hope that Monster, Career Builder, Hot Jobs, Dice, and others will continue on. Innovate and reach out to find new ways to attract and intelligently retain talented people! That is the value-add. That is exactly what I am looking for!
That's the way, uh-huh uh-huh, I like it...
I love getting emails like this from my clients concerning new contractors in place:
(Consultant) started yesterday and is working out GREAT! He is so fast, I can’t keep up.
Sweet.
October 19, 2005
Utah County a 'concentration' of techies
Rocky Mountain News reports (pop-up warning!)a new survey that tracked 20 different technology-related behaviors believes Denver to be the epicenter of technies in the US.
But Utah county made the list as well, running up third overall for geekiness
“Other areas with big concentrations of early adopters included the Northern Virginia-Washington-Baltimore area and the Salt Lake City and Provo, Utah, areas.
“Income wasn’t considered a key factor for determining who the early adopters are, with young people spending a key chunk of their pay on devices and tech services.
“To gauge who is tech-savvy, the survey looked at 20 different technology-related behaviors. They included everything from making phone calls via the Internet, to using Wi-Fi wireless networks outside the home or office, to ditching traditional land-line phones in favor of cell phones.
…
“They included, among others, such types as ‘affluent families’ earning $75,000 or more; ‘high-speed homeowners’ who own more than three home computers; ‘online singles’ who watch digital cable TV or listen to National Public Radio; ‘telecommuting techies’ who have a broadband ISDN line and make travel plans online; and ‘high-tech wannabes’ who make $25,000 or less and who shop via wireless Internet and watch MTV.”
How to send out your resume--when you don't care if anybody reads it
ATTACHED OPEN WITH WORD
That (see above) was the only text in the body of an emailed resume I received this morning. I might open it now only because I took the time to blog about it, but normally it would just stay right there–unopened. Why?
- Nobody likes to be told what to do.
- This message was flagged for SPAM because I am one of many people it was sent to.
- An unexplained email with a Word attachment begging to be opened is too much like a virus for me to play with.
Would 100 more seconds to write a personal note (with punctuation, and a little less yelling) have gone far to keep this resume from staying in my spam bin?
ABSOLUTELY!
October 18, 2005
Ahhh, Orem in the Morning
Okay, so that title doesn’t put the right smell in my mind, but this morning was beautiful!
October 14, 2005
What If Everybody Read It?
I will pass this along because I think it’s a great idea:
No, not you. You already read books about leadership and business and change. I’m talking about your colleagues, the ones who count Who Moved My Cheese as their last book about business.
Today is World Big Moo day. Today’s the day to visit Amazon.com or The Big Moo Page and buy 100 or 1,000 for everyone. No, it’s not the coherent narrative you usually look for from Guy or Tom or Malcolm. But yes, it’s just the right sort of buffet to get everyone talking.
Take a look at this picture. That’s part of the work of The Acumen Fund. That’s one of the charities that benefits from 100% of author royalties.Thanks for making change happen.
What If Everybody Read It?
I will pass this along because I think it’s a great idea:
No, not you. You already read books about leadership and business and change. I’m talking about your colleagues, the ones who count Who Moved My Cheese as their last book about business.
Today is World Big Moo day. Today’s the day to visit Amazon.com or The Big Moo Page and buy 100 or 1,000 for everyone. No, it’s not the coherent narrative you usually look for from Guy or Tom or Malcolm. But yes, it’s just the right sort of buffet to get everyone talking.
Take a look at this picture. That’s part of the work of The Acumen Fund. That’s one of the charities that benefits from 100% of author royalties.Thanks for making change happen.
October 13, 2005
Classic ASP Developer -- US-UT-Provo
SOS Technical is immediately seeking talented Active Server Pages (ASP) programmers who are experts in VBScript, have knowledge of SQL statements and SQL Server, can write some JavaScript, and have fair understanding of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).
This position begins immediately, is located in Provo, Utah, and pays between $16.50 to $26.60/hr. This is a long-term position.
To apply, send a Word-formatted resume to: apply056@sostechnical.com or call our Orem Technical office: www.sostechnical.com
October 12, 2005
Spamming for a Job
Louise at Bluesky Resumes rants appropriately:
I just received an email asking me for a job with my PR department. I don’t have a PR department. Why does this person think that I do?
Answer: Because she has done NO research at all. Instead she either bought or harvested email addresses and then sent out a mass email advertising her availability to an audience that truly doesn’t care.
Spam doesn’t work with knock-off Rolex watches, so it’s certainly not going to help anyone find their next job.
October 11, 2005
Geek Find: $2.99 Domain Name Registration
Just scanning through my email, I found this link to domain name registration for $2.99 for a year through Yahoo Small Business. This is pretty nice.
Here’s details from the email:
The Yahoo! Domains product includes:
? Domain name registration
? 24-hour toll-free customer support
? Easy-to-use control panel with DNS management
? Bonus starter web page
? Domain and email forwarding
? And more!BONUS � Customers will receive a special offer for Yahoo! Web Hosting when they are completing the domain registration process. If a customer decides to upgrade to Yahoo! Web Hosting during the domain registration process, they�ll receive 25% off the monthly service price for 3 months.
Take advantage this great offer!
Kind regards,
The Yahoo! Small Business Team
I’ve been using Dotster.com, which I love, but at this price, I can register five domains for the price of one!
Get ‘em while they’re hot!
Senior SQL Server Engineer/Architect -- US-UT-OREM
SOS Technical has an immediate need for an SQL Server Database Developer to play a key part in the design, development, and implementation of its application, a unique blend of automotive expertise and innovative technology in a system that increases service technician productivity and customer pay repair sales. The ideal candidate will be doing the following duties:
* Design and build SQL Server databases, scripts, views, and stored procedures.
* Utilize DTS to transform and migrate data from a number of sources into a common schema.
* Enhance the design of various databases to support new application features.
* Stored proc optimization and index tuning.
Qualifications: We are looking for a bright, enthusiastic and energetic team player who will help implement our database infrastructure on Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and MSDE.
* 4+ years as a SQL Server Developer.
* Highly skilled in Transact SQL (T-SQL).
* Working knowledge of database design concepts.
* High proficiency in SQL Server tools.
* High level of analytical skills.
* Strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills with demonstrated ability to work in a team environment.
Optional Skills:
* ADO.NET and C#.
* SQL Server Reporting Services.
* OLAP and Data Warehousing.
Education:
* BS/BA in Information Systems or Computer Science.
* MCDBA certification preferred, but not required.
* Minimum Education Level: Bachelors Degree
Career Level: Senior
Job Status: Full Time
Compensation: Depending on Experience. SOS Technical offers a full range of benefits.
To learn more about SOS Technical, visit us at www.sostechnical.com!
To apply send a word formatted resume to: apply056@sostechnical.com
SOS Technical â?? Uniting Talent with Technology
SOS Technical is an Equal Opportunity Employer
MP3 File
Your Next $100K Position
I received an email today from TheLadders allowing me to offer you $10 off a premium membership. If you are a job-seeker interested in $100K+ positions only, then I highly recommend this service. I like the results available to me on the recruiting side…
Bookmarklets Every Blogger Should Have
This is a keeper.
Lifted without (much) remorse right from Micropersuasion, here are several bookmarklets (a what-let?) that I strongly recommend you keep.
Here’s a bunch of bookmarklets that I use every day in Firefox. I highly recommend them. To use these, drag each one individually into your Favorites or Links toolbar (in IE), or your bookmarks folder/toolbar in Firefox. (Hint: in Firefox you can also assign a single keystroke to each. Then all you need to do is type that letter in the address field and hit enter and the bookmarklet activates.)
- Post this to del.icio.us - select some text first and it gets excerpted in the del.icio.us summary
- Post this to del.icio.us and My Web - simultaneously send a link to Yahoo! My Web and del.icio.us
- Subscribe to this site on Bloglines
- Subscribe to this site on Newsgator
- Subscribe to this site on Google
- Wikipedia look-up - select some text and click this link and WIkipedia will look it up
- del.icio.us look-up - tells you who has bookmarked a page you’re reviewing
- Flickr look-up - search for multiple tags on Flickr, separated by commas
- Alexa this - will look up any site you’re visiting on Alexa, a great resource for statistics
- What’s similar? - searches Google for similar pages to the one you’re on
- BugMeNot - for news sites behind a registration gate
- TinyURL this - create a short URL for the page you’re visiting
- Bloglines this - see who has linked to a page on bloglines
- Technorati this - does the same for Technorati
October 10, 2005
Gada.be works for me
Aggregating 140 different services, gada.be, launched today by Chris Pirillo, aims to aggregate the aggregators–and it’s easy on your cell-phone too–just dial 4232.2233 into your handset browser for quick info on the go.
How to Resign with Class
J. Steven Niznik from About points us to How to Resign with Class: Resignation “Do’s” and “Don’ts”.
Since last impressions can be more powerful than first, it’s a good idea to do all you can to be remembered as a professional and keep your references intact. During reference and background checks, potential employers might contact your former employers as far back as ten years or more.
20 New Rules for Recruiting
And Talentism reposts 20 New Rules for Recruiting. I like these:
1. Talent is more expensive than capital.
2. A portfolio is more important than a diploma.
8. Great recruiting organizations design for reward.
9. Bad recruiting organizations operate to manage risk.
12. Talent is not a person. Talent is a capability.
13. Talent is not an employment contract. Talent is the delivery of the capability.
'Don't blah blah blah'
An employer posted the following rant on Craig’s List about why 95% of the resumes he gets are dumped in the trash without a second thought. There’s some gems in here that every job-seeker should pay serious attention to!
Dear prospective job hunters.
Thank you for taking the time to look at our site, and thank you for being interested in working with us.
Most applications I receive go straight to the deleted-items folder because of a few simple mistakes. I’m beginning to feel bad, so if you are going to make the effort to apply for a job here, or anywhere else, I’d like to offer you some advice.
To successfully interest me in hiring you, you need understand what we as business owners face on the other side of the fence. Hiring is the most important task I face, but it is also 76th on my list of a hundred other things to do today. When we put a posting on Craigslist, we usually get around 100 responses within 48 hours. They flood into my inbox, and I have to push them aside until I have time to give them the attention they deserve. In the meantime, I have phones ringing, deadlines to meet, problems with our systems, employees with questions, and much more to compete for the limited capacity of my brain.
But, don’t let this put you off. It doesn’t take much to distinguish yourself. Here’s how :
He goes on to give 5 steps to getting noticed, with examples!
- YOUR COVER LETTER MUST ANSWER OUR NEEDS.
- Don’t blah blah blah.
- Don’t make the mistake of attaching your cover letter as a word document.
- Respond with the title of the job advertisement in the subject heading.
- Win me over by being open and honest.
See the full-post here, before it expires!
Hat tip to Steve Rubel which led me to LiveMarks, a live del.icio.us ‘viewer’… that’s how I found this post.
October 07, 2005
Jared Smith Presents on Asterisk
The Utah Valley Linux User’s Group is meeting tomorrow, Saturday Oct 8, to get a presentation from “Jared Smith, co-author of O’Reilly�s recent top-selling book ‘Asterisk: The Future of Telephony’.” Here’s the full meal-deal along with time, location, and hints of free stuff:
On Saturday Oct 8, Jared Smith, co-author of O’Reilly�s recent top-selling book “Asterisk: The Future of Telephony? will present to the Utah Valley Linux Users Group on Asterisk and VoIP.
About Jared
Jared is a Linux systems administrator with several years of telephony and VoIP experience. While working for a previous employer, he rolled out one of the world’s largest Asterisk phone system installations. That installation alone saved the company $20,000 (USD) a month and paid for itself in less than five months.
He is also responsible for inventing a feature in Asterisk known as ‘IAX2 trunking’, allowing concurrent calls between two Asterisk installations to minimize IP overhead, and thus increase the number of simultaneous calls over a particular network link.
Jared�s Asterisk book is currently the fifth-best selling technology book on Amazon.
Read on for more about Asterisk and the meeting time:
About Asterisk
Asterisk is a complete, open-source PBX which does VoIP in many protocols and interoperates with almost all standards-based telephony equipment using relatively inexpensive hardware. Asterisk is fully featured PBX with voicemail, caller ID, conference calling, three-way calling, call queuing, user directories, interactive voice menu options, and much more.
Asterisk runs on Linux, BSD, and Mac OSX. Check the website�s features section for more complete details.
About our Meeting
WHERE - UVSC, Room CS404. View an UVLUG Map.
WHEN - Saturday Oct 8, 2005
TIME - 10:30 AMO’Reilly has promised to send some swag –probably books and tee-shirts.
We will attempt to post a video or audio recording for any out-of-towners. Check back a few days after the presentation.
October 06, 2005
This is why I like Seth Godin
I’m writing this for people who are given the freedom to solve problems or create opportunities at work. [more…]
They will be changing everything
Found a great blog today, “>Productivity Hacks wich has this to say:
According to Business 2.0’s Om Malik and Anders Lotsson there are 7 technologies that will change everything. They include Ajax, High-Def Radio, Hybred Cell Phones and Small Micro Fuel cells. They are in use today, some in small ways and others without us even knowing it.
(Blogrolled? Check. Subscribed? Check.)
October 05, 2005
Job-Seeking and Dating
I missed this before, but it’s worth a re-visit. MSN Careers shows you how Interviewing and Dating are so similar. Thanks, Jim Durbin, for the laughs.
Simple, Useful--and FREE
37 Signals does it again. Backpack, Ta-Da List, and now Writeboard. Worth a good look! [Linked from…]
Really Make a Difference With Your Company
In March of 2000 when I first rode the Cluetrain, I felt like my hair was on fire. I couldn’t sit still. That work voiced something within myself that I felt I had been waiting my whole life to say: If your product, business model, or company is not making a real difference to society–people– then why are you doing it?
In 2002, I heard Paul Zane Pilzer explain that, post-dot-com, the next revolutions in business will move beyond simply technologies (like the Internet), which simply makes things easier/faster/cheaper, and move toward actual, measurable, valuable things that make life better. In his words, the next revolution of companies will develop products and services that aim to make a child smile, and keep you warm at night.
Today, as Seth Godin says, “Web 2.0 isn’t new, but it’s now.” And you have the choice to drive your company’s future building on these incredible technologies–are you going to make a difference, or just make a profit? Of course the latter is crucial, but is the first any less? It’s your call–but the distance you cover once you make it seem like the difference between life-long satisfaction, team-building and opportunity or terse “thank yous” when the ride is finally over, and the money tree has been shaken bare.
One final pitch? Don’t forget that Love really is the Killer App (thanks, Paul, see also), and please call me if I can help you find incredible, passionate people to drive your own company’s revolution. Good luck!
Books Referenced:
October 04, 2005
Book: Master Your Interviews?
Monster published a new book recently called “Monster Careers: Interviewing : Master the Moment That Gets You the Job ” written by Jeff Taylor and Doug Hardy.
I will be visiting my local bookstore during lunch to pick it up and see what it has to say. Only one online review is currently on Amazon, touting the book as “A must read for any candidate - Executives to Engineers who wants to increase their chances of a successful interview and ultimately recieve a job offer. ”
Have you read the book? Please share your comments as you do. After you have read it, I encourage you to set it free and share the wealth using bookcrossing or some other way.
Not Your Father's Job Search Tool
Boston.com posted an article Monday showing the rapid market shift away from now-traditional players in Internet job-hunting: Monster, HotJobs, and Career Builder. The article begins with an interesting anecdote between a father giving some advice to his newly-graduated son–except this father used to run Monster.
Earlier this year, when Hans Gieskes’ son graduated from Connecticut College, Gieskes suggested that he post his resume on Monster.com, and start job hunting. Gieskes the Younger had a different idea. ‘’He said, ‘Dad, I’m using SimplyHired,’ because it gives him all the Monster listings, the listing from HotJobs, and all the other sites in one single search,” Gieskes recalls.
It was a surprising answer, since Gieskes was for a brief period the president of Maynard-based Monster. But now that Internet job hunting is more than 10 years old, the established leaders — companies like Monster, Yahoo’s HotJobs division, and CareerBuilder, a joint venture of several newspaper companies — may be showing a few flecks of gray, as a generation of scrappy young sites elbow in. SimplyHired, headquartered in Silicon Valley, is one new player, pulling together job postings from across the Web. [full article]
As technologies are rapidly driving down the transaction costs in recruiting, I am keeping my eyes and ears wide open to the newest and most-valuable ways to close the gap between companies and excellent, talented people. Above all, I welcome the change that is coming, though many in the industry may fear it.
I’ve been stumping for quite some time now that the next recruiting boom is upon us, and while I won’t be so bold to say I am hanging ten on this wave, I am definetly in the current, and driving hard to keep delivering actionable, measurable results to my clients in the form of excellent people and excellent professional service.
Of course, my focus is how to best-serve my clients, and how to help people best manage their careers. An admitted idealist, I honestly believe my work adds value to each community I work in, and I know I help employees and owners sleep better at night when the right people are doing the right work!
Above all the virtual technologies available, I am most-intrigued at how incredibly valuable a five-minute handshake-and-a-chat can be. In fact, it’s virtually priceless to me.
Spyware! Excellent Security Now Podcast
Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte have given us as incredible podcast concerning Spyware–software that uses your computer without your permission, especially Root Kit Technology, that allows spyware on your computer to LIE to you and tell you it’s not even there!
It had to happen eventually, the man who coined the term Spyware, and wrote the first spyware removal program, addresses it. This is the ultimate spyware primer, what it is, how it works, and what you can do to stop it [more].
For a lo-fi 16kbps version and transcripts visit GRC.com. Otherwise, download the Podcast Here.
October 01, 2005
What Else Should I Be Asking You?
Johanna at Hiring Technical People has an excellent post about “the other half of the conversation” in an interview. Beware interviewees, I will be asking these questions! Thanks Johanna!
I taught a bunch of classes this week… At one interviewing class, a participant wanted to know, “How do I hear the other half of the conversation?” I asked for clarification, and he said, “Sometimes I feel as if the candidate has only said part of the answer, and if I knew how to ask other questions, I would gather more information about candidates.”
Meta questions, such as “What else should I be asking you?” or “What else should I know about?” or “What haven’t I asked you yet?” are a great technique to elicit the other half of the conversation. You may hear surprising information.
I was a contract VP in an organization, interviewing for my replacement. I interviewed one candidate, asking “What else should I know about?” He said, “I don’t like to work with women.” I picked my jaw up and said, “Oh? Tell me more.” He went on and on about how women were so emotional and couldn’t make good decisions, and more nonsense. I thanked him for his time and walked him to the door.
Meta questions might not show such egregious behavior, but they will show you another side of a candidate. Which is almost always a Very Good Thing. [full article…]
Re: Open Big
Seth Godin blogs about how natural it is to want the Big Bang to happen every time you decide on a job change, or announce a new product, or step out the front door–but that’s not quite how things work.
We all want to open big. We want our product launches to be instant successes. We want the resumes we send out to be opened in one day, a call the next, an interview the third and a corner office by the end of the week.
The new marketing, it appears, doesn’t work that way. [full article…]
Bang, so-called, develops when your ideas catch momentum–when your value exceeds the expected price, and people like talking about them to other people. Blogging, for example, is an incredibly easy way to build that kind equity with the marketplace, be they your potential clients or your potential employers.
Referring to Seth’s post, JD Moore of Marketing Comet gave the following advice about continuing your marketing strategy:
Your marketing efforts need to continue - even if you have as much business as you can handle. Don’t let your ego make you think that things will always be great. You need to work to keep your customers [read: job opportunities], and make new ones. [more…]
So, to summarize, Seth ended his post with the following action items:
…
Make something worth making.
Sell something worth talking about.
Believe in what you do because you may have to do it for a long time before it catches on.
Don’t listen to the first people who give you feedback.
Don’t give up. Not for a while, anyway.
In my opinion, that means you should get serious about what it is you’re trying to accomplish and start working feverishly on that. I predict that the planets will align to help you if you have lazer-sharp focus on your end result. Why? Simple. Nobody is trying to stop you, but if you have no plan for yourself, then you must, by default, fit into someone else’s plans for you.
If I can help in any way, give me a call — 801-426-6120.
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