Recent Ask the Recruiter Question

What do you do to put the interviewer at ease when you’re 15 years older than them?



One of the first things we recruiters will tell you needs to happen in an interview is to create commonality.

Obviously, if there is a large age difference, you have to look elsewhere for commonality.

Any signs of hobbies, children, schools???? If you don’t know or can’t tell by the personal items in the room, skip this. You should also ask plenty of questions about themselves. That alone, usually builds repoire. People are usually at ease talking about themselves. Transition that into this question:


What can I do walking in the door to help you and this department be successful meeting your goals? (or some version of that).


Other than that, make sure you do not take the “been there, done that” approach to an interview. Interviewers in general want to think that their opportunity is fresh and exciting and nothing dampers the mood more than the know it all. Play up your enjoyment of learning new things and don’t go into the interview that your experience outweighs the interviewer.

Also, make sure you bring up the fact you are comfortable with technology (the younger generations rely on it a lot)
and use examples, sparingly of course, of your ability to work in a diverse setting including different generations.


On a personal note, my father tells a story of interviewing once with a very short guy (My father is 6’3). He had to look down to shake hands and figured that wasn’t a good start. On the way to his chair, he had is briefcase open up and papers fly. He had to get down and pick it all up which in its own way, leveled the playing field and made his interviewer at ease. He got offered the job.

New Column on www.rsgexecsearch.com

We have continued our series on Interviewing questions on our website. This column addresses Behavioral Interviewing questions.

You can check us out at www.rsgexecsearch.com---which by the way, is one of our new domains since we gave our original site rsghunt.com a face lift.

Please let me know if there is additional info that any of you folks would find helpful and we will try and oblige.

Where was I in August?

Ok folks--this blogging thing is new to me and it is hard to remember to keep everyone in the "know" on my whereabouts at any given time--Shoot, its hard for me to keep up with me sometimes. But in August I went to Napa, Mendocino and San Francisco and drank a lot of wine while I pondered the state of recruitment (No, not really that much---more on how I was going to get all that wine back to Memphis).

Other than that, it was recruiting as usual and trying to stay out of the Memphis heat. So Now September is almost up and our clients are clammering for talent now that vacation time is over.

Did you know that someone turns 50 every 7 seconds?

That is just one of the stats I learned at a talent conference in Chicago that Marcus Evans threw a couple of weeks ago. Recruiting leaders at many global companies were there and the buzz revolved largely around Baby Boomers impending retirements, new generational priorities and how any of us were going to find talented people in the future.

I'll be talking more about this subject in our upcoming JobTalk--which will be late by the way-- but nonetheless, a good read --I promise!

New Column on RSGHUNT.com

As those of you who know us here in Memphis, sometimes we are in a writing mood and sometimes we're not---so if you have gotten through our reading list, check out our Ask The Recruiter column on our site, www.rsghunt.com where we talk about the topic of Trick Questions on an Interview.

And on a personal note, I am actually attempting to clean up my office which doesn't sound like a big deal--but you probably haven't seen my office! Although I work well with a certain amount of chaos--I wouldn't dare add a web cam to this blog!

Any helpful temps from your lean experts out there on how to organize 12,000 resumes (yes, I have them in a computer database as well) , info on hundreds of corporations and dozens of trade journals, send your suggestions PLEASE.

Employer Branding

My office went to a seminar last week about how to create a great customer service focused business. The focus of the talk was on creating a company culture that drove customer service at all levels. Our speaker's line was "Company Culture eats Strategy's Lunch every day of the week."

I liked that. You can have a great strategy or plan but it is the employees that either buy in or not. Same thing is true with creating an effective Employer Brand as well. So for this week we ask you to think about
these 5 Points in Building a Company Brand:

1.Companies are what they do, not what they say.
Don’t wrap your brand around a nifty slogan. Wrap it around your actions. Treat all applicants with the utmost respect and make sure everyone walks away with a good experience whether they are hired or not. Remember all applicants are potential stockholders or consumers.

2. Remember your Company’s place in people’s lives:
Communicate your company’s citizenship and involvement in the community—be it local or global.

3. Sell the Company—Sell the Assignment
Assume applicants don’t know why your company is a great place to work. Spell it out. Make sure the position itself is sold also: the challenges, the path, the destination.

4. If your employees don’t get it, no one will.
Building a brand as an employer of choice starts at the point of delivery. If your own employees don’t know the strategy and agenda and the role they play in building that reputation, it won’t happen. Inform and educate.

5. Be Consistent.
Becoming an employer of choice doesn’t happen overnight. It requires both a plan and true heart felt
Beliefs about people and what drives them to be great.
When you create the plan, stick with it.

Humor for a Monday

The trouble with unemployment is that the minute you wake up in the morning you're on the job. -- Slappy White

Gus, The Official RSG Office Dog

Our Recommended Reading List this Summer

If you can pull away from your cell phone, you PDA and do a little reading this summer, we have a great reading list that can help jump start your career and/or give you some valuable tips on how to be a better leader.

We created this list from our own reading and some of our client's too:


1. Know How: The 8 Skills that Separate People Who Perform From Those Who Don’t Author: Ram Charan

2. The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels Author: Michael Watkins

3. You’re in Charge: What Now?
Author: Gerald M Czarnecki

4. The New Leaders 100-Day Action Plan: How to Take Charge, Build Your Team and Get Immediate Results
Authors: George Bradt, Jayme Check and Jorge Pedraza

5. Fit In, Stand Out: Mastering the FISO FACTOR—The Key to Leadership Effectiveness in Business and Life
Author: Blythe McGarvie

6. The World Is Flat
Author: Thomas L Friedman

7. The Job Search Solution: The Ultimate System for Finding a Great Job Now!
Author: Tony Beshara

8. They Don’t Teach Corporate in College: A Twenty-Somethings Guide to the Business World
Author: Alexandra Levit

9. Corporate Rise: The X Principles of Extreme Personal Leadership
Author: Curtis J. Crawford

Climbing the Corporate Ladder in High Heels
Author: Kathleen Archambeau

Bit of Funny Truth for a Thursday

You can build a throne with bayonets, but you can’t sit on it for long.
--Boris Yeltsin

Let's Hear It!

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Now!

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