September 2016

I am in contact on a regular basis with many very well-qualified and dedicated people who want to pursue good jobs and, lately, the job market is improving and some sectors are doing rather well and experiencing growth. I have client companies with needs for everything from receptionists to senior management with a lot in-between. So you’d think people are snapping up jobs left and right. Yet I talk to many, who are frustrated they can’t get beyond the 1st or 2nd interview. Meanwhile I have hiring managers who lament they can’t find the right people to hire. So what’s wrong; where’s the disconnect? Well, the problem often stems from the candidate / applicant side in too many situations. Here’s what is happening: an applicant goes to the interview, they like what they hear about the job and they begin to

When you are engaged in an interview process, far too many people sit mute and do little on their own behalf. Reciprocal dialogue is part of the process but, to do so effectively, requires the ability to effectively communicate. It is an interactive event and there is an aspect of self-interest in that it is incumbent upon you to make a thoughtful effort to gain the most information possible, in order to make an informed decision by the end of the process. To do this you’re supposed to also be asking some questions and, if you do well enough, your interview becomes a negotiation that can lead to a job offer, with a mutually beneficial outcome for both sides. It may sound complex but it isn’t. We live in a period when individuals don’t really communicate, regardless of all the means available