Jason Monastra

My life and thoughts out on the web

Hiring managers are looking for the ability to be engaged, to hear an authentic answer over the book answer and I believe that more candidates will see success when they approach their interviews this way.

Unfortunately, most hiring manager as a whole are not great interviewers, either by design or culture, their interaction with the candidate has been parred down to a few approved questions that inquire little of the person in front of them but more of the skill set that they might have developed at their past employers. 

So how to differentiate?  Simple, be yourself.  Be authentic.  One of the hardest things for a hiring manager to hear and a sure shot way for you to not get the job is to give the book response, a canned answer that sounds like you read it straight out of the academic novel that was trying to teach you.  The answer needs to be believable, something that perks the ears and sounds as if it came from a human being and not a robot.

Quick answers that offer statistical backbone, supporting your answer and making your answer correct and quantifiable.  For example, ” I introduced new business process that increased uptime by 27% in the first 4 weeks”.  That is something the manager will remember.  Plus, managers like to write…they cannot write elaborate long winded answers but to the point and easy numbers are simple to jot down.

I know for some of you it might be overkill, for some it might be a fresh reminder, and for some it might be a new refreshing view.  But remember, looking for the right role and finding it is not the hard part….getting the job offered to you is a whole other world.  Hopefully we can assist you with making that easier.

Have a blessed day.

There is nothing easier to combat than the counter offer.  A simple and short term strategy employed by the current employer to retain key personnel in which they were not paying attention to in the first place.  Counter offers are tough to see through when the main motivational strategy for the employee is more pay.  They go through the hassle of securing a new role, offer the tough part of their resignation, and then are recoiled back into the fold with a simply paper signing and an few thousand dollars.

As a company recruiting talent, this will be the most common and easiest area of the recruitment process to combat.  First and foremost, address reasons and motivation for change in the beginning.  Ensure that interviewers are addressing the subject frequently throughout the process to ensure accuracy and do not work with people that simply want more money.  More money is a simple matter and there is normally reasons why that is their only motivation.  Look into the history and you will uncover other reasons why bringing that person on board might not be the best move.

Motivators are key and they can really strengthen your recruiting position if you address key areas of the potential employee.  If the employee is having issues at work with advancement and staying abreast of the technology, your company may provide the perfect next move and technology fit for where they are taking their career.  This all ties back to the counter offer.  Most of the time, some sort of counter offer will make its way around the table as the company about to lose their key asset realizes how hard it will be without them.  The band-aid approach of more money to pasify the employee is a cheap method of addressing a variety of issues, but is a catch all that they think speaks to the heart of the issues.  They are wrong.

Counter offers are wrong for the employee in so many ways.  Lets start with the majors:

Once you have accepted another role, to recant and then go back to your present employer burns the bridge with the offering company going forth.
When you accept the counter, the current employer knows your soft spot and will exploit you at any given time for their gain
If things slow down at your current employer, you will be one of the first on the chopping block as your faith with the company has been shattered and you have showed you only stick around for more money
The recruiter you worked with has friends.  He/She will definately speak to their counterparts letting them know of the situation.  It is a black list within the people in the industry.
More money never solves the other issues.  If money was the issue to begin with, then the company should not have been working with the person.  If not, the band aid approach will work for a moment, and the issues will begin to revisit the candidate soon after the spark of a raise has worn off.
Employers make sure that you are attracting the people with the right skills and the right motives.  If not, you are only setting yourself up for disappointment.  Candidates, be focused and diligent in your efforts.  Consider all the scenarios and circumstances, so when you make a choice it is the one that you stick with.

Happy hunting.

How does your company look from the outside looking in?  What do prospective employees think about your company?

Very few companies have a pulse on what their company looks like from the outside.  Candidly, some simply do not care.  They have branded themselves through media outlets that have portrayed them as the upper echelon of their respective verticals eliminating them from the need to care about employee interest or love of the company.  However most companies do enjoy such solitude and require company branding for a positive outcome in their recruitment efforts.

Understanding what your company feels like for an outsider allows you to establish a methodology for recruiting that embraces or combats those images, making it easier to overcome objections and leverage the benefits of working with the company.  For example, if ABC Technical Services is one of the leading Northeastern infrastructure services firm, but has a reputation for not caring about its employees, skimping on bonuses and working people to the bone - don’t you think it makes sense to know about that when recruiting.  What if they are not true and a prospective candidate spoke to a sour employee, or looked up a social media board where that is the only reference to your company.  Your hiring managers can defuse the situation by addressing those circumstances up front making the candidates feel more at ease.

The recruiting process starts well before the posting of a job, a whisper of an opening, or a sit down for an interview.  The recruiting process begins with image.  What do people that do not know you think about you or what information is easiest to access on working for your company?  Ensure that it is positive, use every opportunity to impress the potential employee, and show them real life scenarios so they can see it for themselves.

Be conscious of your interview process when attracting new professionals.  This can be a real life image for the candidate on what the company will be like to work for if they come on board.  If the process is too short, it can appear that they do not qualify their employees and therefore are not considered “selective” making the attractiveness of an offer from the company not as appealing considering anyone could receive it.  If it is too long, the selective and carefulness turns into hyper-analysis and ridiculous behavior not taking into account the candidate’s time and making the image of the company appear dismal.  They key is well balanced interview - if multiple parties are needed, do it all in the same visit and ensure that you communicate the required time to the candidate previous to scheduling.

I get a laugh every time I read it, and I have read it quite a few times.

A boss wondered why one of his most valued employees had not phoned in sick one day. Having an urgent problem with one of the main computers, he dialed the employee’s home phone number and was greeted with a child’s whisper. ” Hello ? ”
 
“Is your daddy home?” he asked.
 
” Yes ,” whispered the small voice.
 
May I talk with him?”
 
The child whispered, ” No .”
 
Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, “Is your Mommy there?”
 
“Yes .”
 
“May I talk with her?”
 
Again the small voice whispered, “No”.
 
Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, “Is anybody else there?
 
” Yes ,” whispered the child, ” a Policeman “.
 
Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee’s home, the boss asked, “May I speak with the policeman?”
 
“No, he’s busy “, whispered the child.
 
“Busy doing what?”
 
“Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman ,” came the whispered answer.
 
Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise in the background through the ear piece on the phone, the boss asked, “What is that noise?”
 
” A helicopter ” answered the whispering voice.
 
“What is going on there?” demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.
 
Again, whispering, the child answered, “The search team just landed a helicopter .”
 
Alarmed, concerned and a little frustrated the boss asked, “What are they searching for?”
 
Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle…
 
“Me.”