Helicopter Parents Need to Fly On Outta Here!

Every once in a while I receive an email from a parent forwarding their (adult) child’s resume.  While I can appreciate your wanting to help them, it’s best to just hand over the recruiters’ contact info and have them contact the recruiter directly.  Be sure you have them mention you in their email, especially since you are the one with the relationship with the recruiter.  On second thought, if you don’t have a relationship with that recruiter, WHY are you forwarding their resume in the first place!?

I’m getting ahead of myself.  It’s nice to want to help your children, but there comes a point when they need to help themselves.  Give them the contact info and let it go.  Don’t check in with the recruiter to see if your child followed up.  And certainly don’t try to sell your child to the recruiter.  As much as you love your child, please let HIM/HER introduce themselves!

Making connections and tapping contacts are an important part of growing your business, your sphere of influence, if you will.  By all means, do it.  But don’t do it FOR someone else.  You worked hard for those connections and you learned a lot along the way.  Let your kids put forth the same efforts.  If you don’t, you’re robbing them of some very valuable life lessons.

Is Blogging the new Black?

Blogging seems to go with everything these days!  Like quilting?  Start a blog?  Love a recipe?  Blog about it?  Run the operations side of a search firm?  Blog it, baby!

The problem comes in that you have to keep blogging.  Social media experts aren’t very forgiving when you don’t blog often.  Blog now and blog often.  Check your spelling and grammar, too, though, those can turn people off quicker than wearing white after Thanksgiving.

Be sure to get your sayings straight, too.  Otherwise you look like you don’t know what you’re talking about.  We turn to bloggers for expert info, don’t we? 

Blogging goes with everything.  Staying current with your blog makes a huge difference.  Be relevant is important, too.  Maintaining credibility with your audience is critical.  Being true to your self is imperative.

Stay golden, Pony Boy.  Remember, nobody puts Baby in the corner.  

It Just Wasn't a Good Fit (Follow up from yesterday's post)

Following up on the previous blog regarding the candidate who kept saying ‘It wasn’t a good fit’:  After several attempts, days in between conversations, and my sharing with him my concern for him not being able to articulate WHY he left, he finally shared with me his story. 

After he was terminated (previously, he had not answered the question as to whether he was terminated or he quit) he went to HR and asked what went wrong.  He said he had never been terminated before and was quite embarrassed about it.  HR said, ‘We are sorry it didn’t work out, you can simply say it wasn’t a good fit’.  Since he had never been in this situation before, he felt that per the direction of HR, this response would suffice.

Something that he had never thought about was that HR could have been walking a thin line from a legal standpoint if they told him any different.  I explained that HR no longer ‘supported’ him as he is now an ex-employee.  Their loyalty (and legal standing) is with the company, not the former employee, which is what he is now.  Their answer suited their needs, not his.

Once he understood this, he opened up about what happened.  As much as I was looking for a story that could possibly become the next great American Novel, his story was quite simple:  He made a mistake on a report that had consequences.  Interestingly, it sounded like the owner/HR took little to no responsibility in the training process for a relatively new employee, etc., but instead, made a quick decision to terminate the employee.   

While it is a blow to the ego, and goes down in the ‘fired’ category, it’s not the end of the world.  For a company who has a strong training program in place, this would not be viewed as a deal breaker.  It could definitely be looked at as a training opportunity (Do we have measures in place to fully train new employees?  Do we have a check and balance procedure in place for new employees?  Are documents reviewed for accuracy before being distributed?).

Now that we understand the situation, we can work on how we are going to communicate that going forward.  We can form an articulate response to the question, ‘Why did you leave?’.   For the record, flailing arms still scare me.  

Communication, Articulation and Gesticulation

Shortly after reading an article about ‘telling your story’ in an interview, I had the opportunity to meet with a candidate for a high level position. During our conversation I asked why he left his previous position. He smiled and politely replied, ‘It just wasn’t a good fit’. That is such a pat answer, and albeit a safe one, it tells me nothing. What wasn’t a good fit? The responsibilities? The direction of the company? What?! Too many unanswered questions, so I asked a little differently.

‘What wasn’t a good fit?’ His response? It just wasn’t a good fit. Now, to put things in perspective, I’m not being nosy or judgmental on whatever happened (unless it was theft, intimidation, violence, or any other illegal act), but communicating with me the ‘why’ can help possibly prevent you ending up in the same/similar position. So, I ask again.

‘Why do YOU think it wasn’t a good fit?’ The response: ‘I liked it there, but it just wasn’t a good fit.’ So, now I am wondering WHAT HAPPENED that you are SO reluctant to discuss with me. My mind is reeling with different scenarios, which is never a good thing. If someone at this level cannot articulate their own thoughts, I have to question their ability to perform at said level. I’m not asking to breech any confidences, betray any trusts or talk bad about your former employer, but instead I’m asking YOU why YOU thought it wasn’t a good fit.

 Telling your story can be a powerful tool. Communication your story gives great insight to the things that are important to you and indicators regarding your strengths and desires in your role. Not being able to articulate your story prevents recruiters/hiring managers from knowing what truly motivates you to succeed. In order to be in a role where you are set up to succeed is a much better place than the alternative.

I love a good story. It really helps me figure out the right environment for you. Share with me who you are and what you are all about. Let me see the real you. But please, don’t go overboard on the gesticulation. Too much animation may scare me.

There is a PS to this story, and it will be in the next blog….