Jay Graves of Pathfinder Business Consultants interviews Don Alexander of GeneCoda® about the impacts of the COVID-19 / Coronavirus on recruiting, hiring and retention during the pandemic (24 Minutes).
Blog
Networking: What are people doing?
Don Alexander (GeneCoda), Ted Benson and Jerel Bonner (Corralling Chaos)
Introduction
On Monday mornings millions of professionals like you look at their calendars and think “I’ve got too much to do!”
Most professionals hear that they need to be networking, though they don’t know how to fit in into their schedule and whether it will really be worthwhile. They wonder if they’ll get real value, or just waste time.
So, we wanted to find out: What does it mean to network successfully? How do professionals maximize the value of their networking? What might an “ideal” networking event look like?
Ghostwrite Your Own Introduction
In the search and recruitment industry, we get numerous requests to make connections between professionals. These requests include our primary focus on professional matchmaking between candidate and hiring manager, introductions of sales professionals or consultants that bring value to our clients, investor introductions and other forms of connectivity. If we’ve established a good working relationship and believe there is value to both parties in an introduction, we are happy to facilitate mutually beneficial connections. As we all know, warm introductions are better than cold ones!
5 Employment Myths Busted
Don Alexander (GeneCoda) and Ted Benson (Corralling Chaos)
Introduction
Standing at a networking cocktail party, your friend says,
“I need to network more – it’s the best way to find a job!”
Everyone hears claims about employment that sound plausible. It’s easy to accept them without thinking. Especially if the claim comes from a friend, and we’re on our third drink…
But are those claims true? For instance, is networking really the best way to find a job?
As any scientist can tell you, a hypothesis – or claim – should be testable, to see if it’s true.
The Real-World Importance of Corporate Culture
Don Alexander (GeneCoda), Ted Benson and Jerel Bonner (Corralling Chaos)
Introduction
Crafting and activating corporate culture can be challenging. Many papers, speakers, and books discuss various aspects of corporate culture, from time-worn standards like Jim Collins’ “Good to Great” to new classics like Dan Ariely’s “Payoff”. There are also company founders who are outliers in crafting unique cultures, like Jim Goodnight at SAS and Tony Hsieh at Zappos: leaders who’ve blazed new trails getting employees to completely buy into, and sustain, company culture.
But less often considered is how working individuals in the real world evaluate the value of workplace culture. For example: Do they think that the company actually cares about culture? How important is a company’s culture to current employees? How do candidates consider it when researching prospective employers, and how do they do investigate it? Do they find it easy to identify corporate culture from their research and interview? Will their impression of the culture influence their decision to accept a job offer? Once onboard, can they actually recognize the culture and does that match their expectation created during their research and interview? And does the culture support their growth and development, proven key factors for employee retention?
This study explored these questions by surveying several hundred individuals. The respondents serve in a range of functions, from individual contributors to executives, in a variety of private firms across several scientific and technical industry sectors. Continue reading “The Real-World Importance of Corporate Culture”
Think Networking is Going to Get You Your Next Job? Think Again!
Sources of hire information is of value to anyone involved in the hiring process because it helps determine the origins of a hire. Armed with this information, hiring managers can make better decisions on where to allocate resources.
Likewise, it is important for job seekers to prioritize where their likelihood of success is greatest. Since companies use Sources of Hire information for their benefit, as a job seeker, why shouldn’t you?
Continue reading “Think Networking is Going to Get You Your Next Job? Think Again!”
Commercial Launch, a Time of High Expectations and Greatest Risk
Recently, I met with a long time colleague, Chris Morrison. In our discussions regarding bringing novel products to market, I reflected on the many times I’ve witnessed the premature scaling of a commercial sales force and asked Chris to author the following blog to better assist company leadership in assessing the best inflection points for hiring sales professionals.
Continue reading “Commercial Launch, a Time of High Expectations and Greatest Risk”
The High Cost of Unplanned Employee Turnover
Many articles I’ve recently reviewed about employee turnover describe various methods to calculate the unplanned turnover costs of an organization. For example, a study from the Center for American Progress in 2012 cites figures that range from 16% of annual earnings for jobs paying $30k or less up to 213% for very highly paid jobs and those at senior or executive levels.
Continue reading “The High Cost of Unplanned Employee Turnover”
Armageddon: Hiring, Teamwork, and Leadership
I had the opportunity to watch one of my favorite movies over the holidays. It is hard to believe this is the 20th anniversary! Armageddon is a 1998 American science fiction disaster film directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and released by Touchstone Pictures.
The movie has an interesting plot and cast of characters with several funny, intense and emotional scenes. Armageddon also presents a compelling story of hiring, teamwork and leadership. If you haven’t seen the movie, watch it first and consider the following clips/quotes!
Continue reading “Armageddon: Hiring, Teamwork, and Leadership”
Resume Quips and Resources
Although I’m not a language or communications major, I have read thousands of resumes over my career and thought I’d offer up a short list of thoughts and resources as a guide.
Most of us think our resume is well written which is why, when we are finished with v 1.0 of our “masterpiece”, we should ask the following types of people to review it.