10 really good reasons to talk to references You’ve done a great job of screening, interviewing, negotiating and courting your new hire. You’ve done the background check and verified employment eligibility – everything is good, right? Not so fast! Did you talk to your new hire’s references? At least twice a week I talk with…
3 Principles for Career Success I had a very stimulating conversation with Brian Simons a few weeks ago. Brian is the President and CEO of Altavera Mortgage Services – one of the busiest growing companies in Denver that you’ve probably never heard of. Anyway, I had just returned from a mentoring event at CU in…
Is your fear of making a bad hire impacting your business? When I coach individuals in their career searches, one of the characteristics I listen for is what I call “head trash.” This is a collection of thoughts and ideas, both objective and subjective, which have accumulated over the course of your career and can…
Are you headed for a Career Crash? I often use driving a car to illustrate the job search process with candidates. Let’s imagine your career is a coast to coast road trip. There are many stops along the way; some occasional side roads, hills to climb, valleys to navigate and even some bad weather here…
Talent Acquisition – The Accidental Competency I was having a conversation with a client last week during a kickoff meeting and he asked, “Where did you learn how to interview so well?” I had to stop and think about this for a few minutes. I have spent my entire career in the recruiting and human…
The trendy new HR term right now is “employee engagement.” I must read 4 articles a week that talk about how some major percentage of the employee population is “disengaged.” Where in the world did this come from? Are you really “this word,” or are you actually dissatisfied with your job to the point where…
The credit for this month’s article goes to Don VanWinkle. Don is a management savant, master of small business finance, and generally brilliant man. I have been honored to know him as a friend, mentor and banker for more than a decade. Don and I were having lunch a few weeks ago and one of…
The hardest part of the interview process is preparing for situational or behavioral questions. The reason for this is that you really don’t have a clue what will be asked. How in the world do you prepare for the unknown? Here are some tips that will allow you to trump your competition. Become a…
As a search consultant I have the unique opportunity to talk with many executives across a number of industries and in companies of all sizes. I gather a bunch of information each year about the shifts in compensation, benefits, fringes and perks. One of the hardest positions to accurately compensate is sales. Inside sales, outside…