Interviewing | Jennifer McClure`

How HR, Recruiters And Job Seekers Can Prepare For The Future Of Work

Recently, I had the opportunity to be a guest on the Copeland Coaching Podcast, which is hosted by Angela Copeland – Career Coach and the CEO of Copeland Coaching.

Angela had some great questions related to typical challenges faced by job seekers, such as how to prepare for an interview, how to work with HR in the process, and how to ask for – and get – constructive feedback.

We also talked about the importance of managing your career like an entrepreneur, and why we must all become life-long learners – because the world of work is changing so rapidly that we’ll be left behind if we don’t.

[Read more…]

Written by Jennifer McClure

Interested In Career Growth? Let’s Chat! #VZWHRChat

Do you currently have a job – or a career? Chances are, you have some version of both, or you’re aspiring to claim them.

Unfortunately, most of us only think about our careers when we’re looking for a J-O-B, but the smart ones (that’s you) know that nurturing a career is an ongoing activity.

One aspect of managing your career is maintaining an attitude of continuous learning. Reading articles, blogs and news related to your industry and your profession will always be helpful – and so is networking and connecting with business leaders, industry experts, and fellow career navigators to learn from and help each other.

I’m excited about co-hosting one such learning and networking opportunity next week on April 22, 2014 from 12:00pm – 1:00pm ET, and I’d like to invite you to join me!

I’ll be partnering with several HR and Recruiting leaders, job seekers and seasoned career professionals for #VZWHRChat on Twitter.

This Twitter chat is the first in a #VZWHRchat series, where the team from Verizon will be partnering with HR experts across the Midwest to host various Twitter chats related to finding a job that’s more than a job – it’s a career.

Why is the team at Verizon coordinating these Twitter chats?

Because they’re convinced that by sharing information and helping professionals to grow in their careers, a few sharp-minded, solution-oriented folks might be interested in joining their team. They’re growing – and growth fuels careers.

However, you don’t have to be interested in a career with any specific company to receive value from joining in. During the hour-long Twitter chat, we’ll be discussing the following:

During an interview, what should you ask to determine growth opportunities at the company?
Once you start the job, what critical steps should you take to advance your career?
What are examples of career development programs/training that prepare employees for individual success?
You’ve been in the same position for years and haven’t been promoted. What should you do?
What should you avoid doing that could hinder your ability to grow with your company?
What lessons have you learned working for (or with, on the HR side) companies that both provide/don’t provide opportunities to advance?

So drop in on April 22, 2014 and chat with us from 12:00pm – 1:00pm ET!

Answer questions, ask questions, share your experiences – and help others. It’s an open event, so please invite anyone that you think may benefit or have something to add to the discussion. (If you’re new to Twitter chats, there are useful tools like TweetChat.com that can make following live chats easier.)

I hope to see you on April 22nd! I’d love to hear from you!

Be sure to visit the Verizon Job Center to learn more about career opportunities with Verizon your area.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have received compensation from Verizon to partner with them on this initiative. Regardless, I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers. For real.

Written by Jennifer McClure

Join Me: The Lost Art of Interviewing – FREE Webinar 9 23 2010

As someone who has spent their entire career sourcing, recruiting, interviewing, selecting and hiring candidates, you’d think I would have learned a thing or two about how to interview well.

But it’s one thing to be the interviewer – and another to be the interviewee. Like most people, I’ve had my share of interviews where I left feeling like I had nailed it – and I may have bombed at least once. I blame Canada. Just because.

But for you – there’s hope! I’m honored to be one of the panelists in a FREE webinar on Thursday, September 23, 2010, where we’ll be sharing tips, hints, do’s and don’ts on the “art” of interviewing.

For more information about the webinar and people involved, see below. For more details and to register – go HERE.

Also be sure to check out more of what’s coming in the future from Mark Stelzner, Laurie Ruettimann and Yasha Stelzner through New Media Services, LLC. They are the Voice of HR. They are the Voice of Careers. Basically, they’ve got you covered!

The Lost Art of Interviewing

Thursday, September 23, 2010
Noon EST | 9:00am PST

You’ve used all the tools at your disposal, networked until your hands were sore, revised your resume a hundred times, survived the online application process, passed the personality assessments and FINALLY landed a job interview. But did you save enough energy to make the most of this rare occasion?

Let’s face facts – with competition for jobs at an all-time high, how you perform during your interview can either be your shining moment or result in complete self-destruction. The bad news for many is that interviewing is the weakest link in their career arsenal. The good news for you is that we’ve assembled a terrific panel of experts who can offer pragmatic advice and answer your most common questions, including:

How do I best prepare for an interview?
What are today’s employers likely to ask?
What can I (the applicant) ask during the interview process?
What are some of the more common mistakes to avoid?

Moderated by JobAngels Founder Mark Stelzner, our panel will address these items and more, including an opportunity for you to pose your own questions directly to our experts. Please welcome recruiting and HR experts Jennifer McClure, Deirdre Honner and John Nykolaiszyn as they help you rediscover the lost art of interviewing. And if you’re on Twitter, please follow our hashtag #voc10 to participate real-time with your fellow attendees. This is sure to be a popular event so sign up today!

Our Distinguished Panel

Jennifer McClure is President of Unbridled Talent, LLC a Cincinnati based consulting firm providing services to clients in the areas of attracting, recruiting, developing & retaining key talent in their organizations. Jennifer is passionate about helping businesses to improve their people strategies through providing consulting and training services and she’s also a popular speaker who is regularly engaged to present at conferences, associations and to HR, Recruiting and leadership teams at a variety of organizations – including Fortune 100 clients. Prior to launching her own consulting business, Jennifer led the life of a full-time Human Resources Pro with leadership and executive-level experience in privately held and Fortune 500 companies and also worked as an Executive Recruiter and Executive Coach partnering with C-level leaders to find, recruit and develop key leadership talent. She writes frequently about a variety of talent management topics on her personal blog Unbridled Talent and can be found on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

John Nykolaiszyn is an accomplished human resources professional living and working in South Florida. He started his recruiting career working for The Maxim Group, a division of Aerotek. Capitalizing on a unique opportunity for growth, he joined a boutique firm in 1999, becoming a partner in 2000. He then made a successful transition into corporate HR in two very challenging industries, healthcare and quick service restaurants. He’s been a senior recruiter at one of Miami’s largest private, teaching hospitals and a generalist at a high tech laboratory startup owned by one of the largest private hospital chains in the country. In addition to his corporate recruiting responsibilities at Burger King Corporation, he was a key member for promoting the employment brand in the social space. John is now an Associate Director at Florida International University where he is responsible for representing the College of Business Administration to employers on a local, national and yes, even international level. John’s direct recruiting background totals over twelve years. He has an MS in Health Services Administration from Barry University, and is a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). An avid reader, and lifelong learner, John also writes about his professional and personal experiences at his blog; “Fast Food HR”. In his spare time, you’ll find John spending time with his wife and daughter, smoking cigars, and cooking or grilling on his deck. John can also be found on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Deirdre Honner is the Associate Director of Human Resources at Calvin College in Grand Rapids MI. Joining the college in 2001, she is responsible for staffing, training and development, immigration, classification, HRIS and employee relations. Prior to Calvin College, she worked in human resources in southern California for a large semiconductor company; and spent years in staffing and training and development. She is active on all social networking sites and writes three blogs. She has a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and has received the SPHR (senior professional Human Resources) certification. When not writing about HR or technology, she usually has a camera in her hand. Deirdre can be found on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Written by Jennifer McClure

What Are the Best Interview Questions to Identify Leadership Potential?

In my role as a Consultant focused on recruiting, coaching and developing Leaders, I think I know a good Leader when I see (i.e. get to know) one. This super-power comes from a combination of my experiences – I’ve worked with several great Leaders and I’ve also had exposure to some pretty bad ones too – and the formal and informal training that I’ve received throughout my career.

However, sometimes for me – and I’ve certainly seen it with hiring managers and clients – it’s hard to guard against that “gut feel” you get when you just know that someone has what it takes to be a successful leader. In short, we’ve all fallen victim to the “I just like ’em” syndrome that almost never is a predictor of actual results.

Recently, Dan McCarthy shared Three Questions for Potential Managers to Ask Themselves over on his blog Great Leadership. While the three questions Dan posed are good ones an aspiring leader should ponder before pursuing a managerial role (“Why do I want to be a Manager?”, “Do I have what it takes to be successful?” and “What do I want to become?”), I found the listing he shared of predictors of leadership success to be of particular interest. Here’s a snippet from Dan’s post:

We know there are certain skills and attributes that can be demonstrated in a non-managerial role, that if done well, are predictors of managerial success. For example, Development Dimensions International (DDI) has developed a set of criteria that they say will accurately predict executive success, based on their own experience and research, and research by others.

According to DDI, the “right stuff” for future managerial success includes:

Propensity to lead. They step up to leadership opportunities

They bring out the best in others

Authenticity. They have integrity, admit mistakes, and don’t let their egos get in their way

Receptivity to feedback. They seek out and welcome feedback

Learning agility

Adaptability. Adaptability reflects a person’s skill at juggling competing demands and adjusting to new situations and people. A keyhere is maintaining an unswerving, “can do” attitude in the face ofchange

Navigates ambiguity. This trait enables people to simplify complex issues and make decisions without having all the facts

Conceptual thinking. Like great chess players and baseball managers,the best leaders always have the big picture in mind. Their ability to think two, three, or more moves ahead is what separates them from competitors

Cultural fit

Passion for results

Try assessing yourself against this list of criteria. Better yet, ask your manager and others to assess you. If you’re lacking in any key areas, that’s OK – most of these things can be improved with awareness, practice, and feedback. Other management skills are learned and mastered once in the role and with experience.

While I think most would agree that no checklist of characteristics will be a 100% predictor of future success as a Leader, I like using this approach as a starting point for both individual assessment and for developing some interview questions when selecting individuals for leadership roles. I can think of several ways to get at these qualities through the ever popular “Tell me about a time..” behavioral interviewing questions, but I’m not a big fan of interviews that rely solely upon those types of questions – especially with non-skilled interviewers.

I’m interested in your feedback and ideas in regards to the questions that you ask candidates, or have been asked as a candidate, to identify potential for success as a Leader. What questions would you suggest asking in an interview to assess the leadership qualities listed above?

Hit me in the Comments section with the best questions that either you are asking or have heard and let’s do some crowd-sourcing to come up with a great list. And it’s o.k. to share your best “Tell me about a time…” questions too – just be sure to use them wisely.

Question Mark uploaded by Marco Belluco

Written by Jennifer McClure

Networking, Job Searching and Dealing With Recruiters… Oh My

Today, I’m featuring a reader question (actually several questions in one email) that myself and other Recruiters get in some form practically every day. Networking and job search can be scary ya’ll. Networking and job searching in today’s economy can be even more scary. Throw on top of that confusion trying to figure out how to deal with scary Recruiters, and it’s a confusing and debilitating quandary for many. But it doesn’t have to be…

The Question(s)

Hi Jennifer,

I’m following you on Twitter and I’ve checked out your blog and company’s website. I’ve not looked for a new job in over 10 years – and I’ve never talked to a Recruiter, as I’m not sure how everything works. I’m employed full-time right now (in a good job), but I’m beginning to explore options. Do you deal mostly with companies or individuals – or both? How does a recruiter work? If I were interested in putting myself out there to search for a new opportunity, what’s the best strategy to go about that? Are there easy answers to these questions – or is it not so simple?

Thanks for your help in getting me started.

“Bob”

The Answer(s)

Hi “Bob”,

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step” (Lao Tzu) – so congratulations on taking the first steps toward finding your next great opportunity! (And thanks for connecting on Twitter/reading my blog!)

As for how our firm works – we are engaged and paid by the company (our clients) to find a specific type of person for a specific role within their organization. While some firms do specialize in certain industries, we don’t, but we do focus on leadership roles (typically Director level and above). We’re what’s called a “retained search’ firm – and we’re paid to search for, identify and recruit candidates that are an exact match for our client’s needs. There are also other types of Recruiters though and some will even take your resume and market you or call some companies where they have contacts to see if they may be interested in interviewing you. There aren’t many Recruiters who will do that – but there are some. So I encourage you to contact several Recruiters and ask how each one works/what their process is.

The best strategy for getting in the game is networking, meeting people, building relationships and making sure that the people you meet are clear on what you’re targeting/what you’re best at. If you’re searching confidentially, you can still do that well – just package it as you’re trying to develop your network/meet new people to stay current and grow your career. The ultimate goal is to get people to “like you” and remember you – so when they hear of opportunities that may be of interest, they’ll refer you or make you aware of them. Networking isn’t always easy, but it is truly the most effective way to find your next great opportunity. I hear from a number of people each month who’ve landed new jobs (companies ARE still hiring) and I always ask them how they connected with their new opportunity. Almost 100% of the time, their answer is through their personal networking efforts.

There are a number of studies out there on how people get jobs, and while the percentages vary a bit by the level of position, it’s typically something like 70% through networking, 20% through job boards and 10% through recruiters, so I encourage you to spend your time networking and searching for a new opportunity in similar percentages.

I hope that this information helps and I’m excited for you as you start the process!

Jennifer (the not so scary Recruiter)

More Networking Tips

Below is a link to copy of the slide deck from a recent talk I gave at a local Job Search Workshop that contains a few bullet points and tips for networking and interviewing success:

Cincy Recruiters’ Five Quick Steps for Networking & Interviewing Success on Slideshare

As always, I welcome your comments and feedback, and if you have any more suggestions for “Bob”, let’s hear ’em!

How HR, Recruiters And Job Seekers Can Prepare For The Future Of Work

Interested In Career Growth? Let’s Chat! #VZWHRChat