July 2015

When I look at the changing trends that have taken place since I became a headhunter in 1992, the most notable is the advent and increased reliance on technology that is supplanting traditional human interaction. One of the areas where it is most evident, for me, is the job application and interview process. The downside is the obvious degradation of soft skills and interpersonal communication abilities of all involved in the hiring process. For all of the technology at our fingers tips, which is indeed useful and necessary, our abilities to communicate are suffering. When it comes to interacting directly with other people; when we can’t hide behind our devices, we’re more uncomfortable and awkward than ever. And when I do speak with some people what comes out of their mouths has little relevance. Increasingly they speak in generic terms and

Any accomplished and successful salesperson reads the title and knows immediately to what I am referring. The best way to sell any product or service is to present the benefits, thus demonstrating to potential customers why they should choose what you have to offer to them rather than someone else. When you interview, it is, or I suggest it should be, the very same concept you use when you interview for a job. Simply replace the word buy with the word hire and the advantage of this approach should be obvious. Applying this logic and making the appropriate adjustments to your efforts can make a notable difference anytime you are presenting yourself in pursuit of a new job, for a promotion or even a pay raise. This concept goes to the heart of the interview process and exemplifies your task when you

We live in a period of great change, which in-turn, has a lot of people glancing over their shoulders wondering what’s next to change. The biggest concern for many is their job status and security; most everyone knows someone that’s been negatively affected the last few years. Among those who’ve been impacted, some spring to action, do what is necessary, make adjustments and with effort they regain their footing as best they can and move forward. Yet increasingly, others really have a tough time recovering. In light of all the changes, it astounds me there are still a majority of people doing nothing to be better prepared, just-in-case. Human nature is such that unless there is a need to be on alert, most people get comfortable and settle into a routine resulting in atrophy, their senses dull and so if/when

Would you take an important exam without studying beforehand? Of course not, so why would you attend an interview without first investing some time researching and familiarizing yourself with the company for which you claim you want to work? As a job-seeking candidate, there are a couple of questions you should always assume you’ll be asked at the interview.  Being ready for questions like “What do you know about us (our company)?” and “Why do you want to join our company?” is about as basic and fundamental as arriving to your interview at the appointed time. Considering there are others who would like the same job for which you are interviewing, why would you throw away an opportunity, waste your and the interviewer's time, by not having done the most basic of research? Is it even necessary to suggest that you