communication Archives - Page 5 of 5

…things that come back to haunt a person

had a candidate that was an employer of mine who hired people from me…four years ago, he was interviewing candidates and, as many employers do, didn’t really communicate with all of the candidates he interviewed.. in fact…he was rude to them…telling them he’d call them, then never do it…telling them they were good candidates but never following up with them..

now everyone is busy, but it is courteous to do what you say you will do…many, many hiring authorities don’t do this..in fact, it is one of the biggest complaints we hear, that the hiring authority said they’d be in touch then don’t..

well, one of the guys he treated this way is now a hiring authority…i presented the man ..the original one that was rude to the new hiring authority…he laughed and said there was no way he’d interview him because he’ been so rude four years ago…

what goes around…comes around

By Tony Beshara|2015-02-20T19:53:12-05:00May 20, 2008|communication, interviewing, psychology|

good grades in school

we are at Wake Forest this weekend…our youngest son is graduating from there…it made me think about how getting good grades in college can really makes a difference in your future…

now, many of us, like me, got by in undergrad with C’s…we still did OK, because we work hard…

BUT, it sure makes a big difference if you can show folks that you are smart..yes, even, “book smart”…common sense has to be there…but being smart sure helps you in life…and employers love it..

so when interviewing, even if you have been out of school for a few years, if your grades were really good, let the hiring authority know you did well in school…

if you didn’t do so well in the first year or two of college and did well in the last couple of years …or you had good grades in your major, but your overall gpa wasn’t so hot…don’t hesitate to share with a hiring authority that you did well in those situations…

if your grades in college were not that hot, whatever you do, don’t justify poor performance…something like, “My grades were not as good as I would have liked. If I had it to do over again, I would have studied harder,” works well. Then emphasize working hard at “other” things, like a job during school, or social activities, i.e. fraternity, sorority, organizations, politics, etc.

You will never be able to make reasonable excuses for poor grades, so don’t try.

If your kids or someone you know is starting college, tell them that Tony said that few things take the place of being smart…you can open many more doors in your career with good grades…

By Tony Beshara|2008-05-18T14:25:36-05:00May 18, 2008|communication, education, interviewing, job search, job search strategies|

…so this is what we decided was the right thing to do

…great candidate..she decided that she should tell potential employers that she was pregnant..

two of the companies she spoke to loved that she told them..said that they had lots of moms there and she would fit right in..one of them is strongly considering her..

two of the companies she interviewed with quietly said very little, but “passed” on her…never said a word as to why..but we all know why..

here was our rational..if she didn’t tell them and she went to work..left to have the baby and didn’t come back to work, which is always possible, that firm most likely would be very upset with her…

no matter what anyone says, it can really put a company in a very awkward position if they hire someone who leaves to have a baby in six or seven months…especially if they are a small firm that depends on every employee..

if a candidate who becomes an employee puts the company in a real pinch like this, the people in the company may really resent her not telling them…so, the right thing to do is to “treat others the way you’d want to be treated”…don’t suprise folks…

By Tony Beshara|2008-05-14T22:03:30-05:00May 14, 2008|communication, interviewing, job search|

…pregnant candidate

..one of our candidates says she is 2 months pregnant…still needs a job, as she is unemployed…

asked us if she should tell people when she is in the interviewing process that she is pregnant…

an employer cannot ask if a candidate is pregnant…but a candidate can offer it if she wishes…

what do you think she should do???

i’ll tell you what we advised her later…what do you think?

By Tony Beshara|2008-05-13T22:05:38-05:00May 13, 2008|communication, employers, interviewing|

…never talk about the money you want on the first interview

My candidate last week was perfect for the job. She goes to the interview and things are going great…until…she starts talking about how she has been under paid and she is now going to make up for it by being sure she gets paid “what she is worth”.

The hiring authority, naturally, asks her what she thinks she is “worth”…she tells him $20,000 more than what she is now making.

The interview went south after that….

Don’t ever, ever, ever talk about “what you are worth” until you have established your value to an employer.

By Tony Beshara|2018-02-21T16:38:23-05:00May 3, 2008|communication, interviewing, job search strategies, negotiating|

…never take it personally

Today one of my candidates got called by an employer I sent him to a month ago. The candidate called him to check in as the employer told him to do. In fact, the candidate called the employer close to 25 or 30 times over two or three weeks and never got a return call.

Frankly, you and I know that is rude, but I kept telling my candidate to keep calling. Don’t take it personally. These hiring folks will tell you that hiring is a priority but not call you back even though they say they will…rude, rude, rude.

Well today, out of the blue, the hiring authority calls the candidate, tells him that he’d like to see him tomorrow and talk about an offer. He never apologizes or acknowledges his never returning the calls. Nothing.

Well, the job is a good one, so my candidate is going to go to the interview tomorrow and talk to the hiring authority.

The lesson is: never take it personally. We won’t know why the employer didn’t return the calls, but the job is still a good one and the candidate should still consider it.

By Tony Beshara|2016-08-31T16:55:23-05:00April 30, 2008|communication, employers, job search strategies, psychology|

…great questions

my candidate got hired…in the second and third interviews he asked great questions:….”what is my competition like?…what do i need to do to make it clear that i am your best candidate?…are there any concerns about my experience that i need to make clear?… what, in your eyes, might be concerns about hiring me?…what, in your eyes, are my greatest strengths relative to this job?”

he asked strong, hard, confident questions..he wasn’t afraid to lose…he got hired!

By Tony Beshara|2008-04-24T20:18:08-05:00April 24, 2008|communication, interviewing|