Job hunting: WOW, WTF or MEH
And why getting it wrong can cost you the right candidates
Hey,
I hope you are doing very safe and well. It's good here - the kids are off school on their Easter break, and I have a couple of days off for Easter, so planning on some special family time.
Welcome to all the new subscribers - been a few lately, so thank you - and I hope you enjoy this newsletter.
There was no "Here's an idea worth playing with" this weekend, as I pretty much solidly lost my voice and wouldn't have done it justice. It will be on Saturday this week due to Easter Sunday.
I did manage to just about squeeze in a recording of my other podcast, Stationery Freaks, before my voice gave way!
I'm not quite ready to release Take a day off just yet. I want to modify one of the chapters, so will try and find some time this weekend to do that.
I will say, the creation of the associated artwork and posters is not going as well as planned. I'm sure we've all been there before: where your vision outstrips your competency to bring it to life?
What I see in my mind (imagination) doesn't always come through in the creation (creativity).
My skills using Affinity Publisher are just not there yet and as for my ability to choose the right colours..... But I'm keeping at it - that's the only way to get better. Some artwork is better than others, but I still have 35 posters to create!
I did cheat a little by buying a cool little book called "Japanese Colour Matching" which lists the CMYK and RGB colour palettes for amazing Japanese art. This has helped greatly to see how certain colours work with each other.
Job Hunting
My son was preparing for his work experience and as such, had been sending application letters to various local businesses. I won't mention names but there is a local farm shop that he really wants to work in. He's interested in food, business, nature, biodiversity and animal welfare.
They responded initially with a positive call for an interview, and then it went silent. The deadline for allocations with his school ended (and he secured something else in a different field entirely), and then they responded again with a call for an interview months after the deadline. And now, silence again.
He was downtrodden by this as you can imagine. Even with my help to craft clear and positive responses - all he gets are months of silence.
And although I was there to support him, I also let him know (gently) that this is a good primer for the corporate world. The recruitment and interviewing process (and associated communication) from many businesses is terrible. Truly very bad indeed.
It's why I wrote a book about how to get this right.
It's not that hard if you care.
It's not that hard if you develop good communication skills.
It's not that hard if you optimise for the applicant.
Yet, people (including my son) are at the mercy of companies and hiring managers who simply cannot get it right.
As a HR and Leadership professional I find it frankly wasteful that companies often behave this way. They put themselves and their processes above the needs of the applicants. And in a market that is still (just) in favour of the employee, it's a sure-fire way to lose good candidates. Good people have options - so you need to make it clear why they should choose you as an employer.
Anyway.
I thought I’d share the following chapter from Join Our Company as it would make a light hearted newsletter edition for you.
If you're recruiting, I would suggest you make your process, communication and systems WOW, rather than MEH.
If you don't pay attention to the process (by stapling yourself, metaphorically, to the candidate and studying how pleasant their journey is (or isn’t)), then the process will meander, stagnate and soon you'll have a recruitment process that alienates good candidates. It will be MEH - like the one my son is facing.
And when good candidates won't engage with your company (or you lose them due to your shoddy process and communication), you'll be left with candidates who have fewer options (i.e - may not be the best on the market). There are always people willing to suffer awful recruitment experiences - and in turn it makes companies believe they’ve got it right….
And, if you've been reading this newsletter long enough, you'll know that recruitment is one of the most important roles of a manager. Get this wrong and everything else in your world of work becomes harder (results, performance, collaboration, improvements).
Set the bar high for getting a job in your company, improve the process and you’ll get the right candidates....and your business will be better for it.
Job Hunting
Ever wonder why people stay in jobs they don't enjoy?
Day 1
You decide to apply for a new job. Promotions are few and far between and opportunities are scarce in your current company. The culture is toxic and you’re burning out.
Now is the time to make the change.
Day 2
After scouring internet job boards you begin to wonder whether you're still qualified for the modern world.
How do you become an influencer? Or a productivity ninja? And what the hell is a growth hacker?
Day 3
After signing up for several job alerts you receive 9063 new emails about jobs overnight.
Day 4
You fine tune your CV which ultimately results in re-writing large chunks of it, with depressing thoughts of all the years you’ve wasted in jobs you hate.
You move onto LinkedIn and are immediately depressed due to how successful everyone else is.
It's especially frustrating that the bad-boy leader of the cool-crew at school, who was so mean to you, is now a start-up investor and living in New York. He has a private jet and front row seats to the NY Knicks. You feel useless.
Day 5
You sift through your emails and spot a gem of a role. It’s just down the road, has a good salary and is for a well-known company. Result.
You eagerly prepare a cover letter, fine tune the CV further and run a spell check. You apply for the role and sit back awaiting a call.
Day 6
No call.
Day 7
No call.
Day 8
You receive an automated response from the company recruitment team thanking you for your application.
Apparently, Leonard will be in touch very soon.
Day 11
You phone the company to speak to Leonard. An office junior tells you that Leonard is on leave, but Sarah is now taking over. You are told Sarah will be in touch.
Day 15
You apply for another role that sounds far less impressive.
Day 16
You receive an email from Ted who has taken over from Sarah, who is off work on sick leave. Ted informs you that you have the wrong "keywords" on your application, so you are not eligible for the role.
You are miffed and phone Ted. Ted is out at lunch so you speak to Darren, who promises that either Ted, Sarah or Leonard will get back to you.
Day 17
No call.
Day 18
No call.
Day 19
Dave calls. Apparently, Ted has quit, Sarah is now Vice President, and nobody has seen Leonard for two weeks.
Dave informs you that having the word "ninja" on your CV is essential to pass the recruitment filters for this role. As your CV does not have the word "ninja", Dave is "not processing this further" as a ninja is apparently what the hiring manager wants.
You ask Dave what the word "ninja" signifies, whether you can simply add it to your CV and what are the real capabilities the manager is looking for?
Dave takes offence at your incessant questions and hangs up.
You phone back but Dave is now out to lunch and Sandeep is now handling this application, but his speciality is not "Ninjas", so he really cannot help you.
Day 20
No call.
Day 21
No call.
Day 22
You receive a phone call from Ted who has moved companies and is now heading up recruitment for the company you sent your second application to.
He informs you that your application does not contain any of the "keywords" needed for the role, such as "Cultural Ambassador", "Blue Sky Thinking" or "Hacker".
Day 23
You sleep all day. And drink.
Day 24
You realise you are very happy where you currently work.
Day 25
Leonard calls. You hang up. You like it where you are.
Interesting Links
Can you build the habit of creativity? It seems like you can - and it makes you feel better too.
What is deep learning? Although this article is about schools, there is much we can learn. The secret sauce is apparently within these three domains. I’ve ordered the book :)
Identity
Mastery
Creativity
Good write up on Semafor about the rise of killer AI and the potential for it to go very wrong indeed.
Really liked this a lot - the wish fountain. Visit the site, grab a stone/pebble etc with your mouse and drop it in the wish fountain. Type in your own personal wish - and get someone else’s back. Joyful.
Until next week
Rob..