Greetings!

This two fold article is a very serious message to Candidates applying for positions and Hiring Authorities who make those hiring decisions.

Enjoy!

George

Many candidates have complained to me over the years about “bait and switch” tactics to screen them out of an active candidacy because of a disability, minority or seasoned candidate status.

CANDIDATES:

My advice is the same as it is to all of my potential candidates. In order for me to present you as the “most place-able candidate” or better said……in order for [YOU] to prepare yourself to become the most place-able candidate it all comes down to the following; SKILLS, STABILITY, EXPERIENCE AND ATTITUDE

A. All companies ask me for the “skill set” first. If you don’t match the qualifications, why would I try to force a square peg into a round hole? All it does is offer frustration and a set up for a failure.

B. Job hopping is a no-no. A couple of years ago I read an article that says the Generation X & Y employees will change jobs 26 times in their career path. Now it seems that the millennials are following suit. This is an atrocious goal in life. I hear from hiring managers, “…. why doesn’t he/she stay any longer than 2 years at any given job?” And I rhetorically respond, “Good question, why don’t they?”

C. You must learn your trade and then relearn your trade every day. Our world moves fast and change is a common word in most growing business environments. If you don’t have the skill sets required by an employer it probably won’t be a match, no matter how hard you try. What did you do in the last 12 months to improve yourself? Remember that YOUR resume is only a job description of who you were. You must be prepared to demonstrate to a prospective hiring manager what you plan to be and how your presence can impact their company in a positive way!

D. There are no longer any “GIVE-ME’s” in this world. Having an attitude that the new employer or current employer “owes you” is a destination to nowhere. It all begins with you the employee. Why fall into an impossible stereotype? Why not demonstrate your qualifications by example? My grandmother used to tell me, “deeds not words!”

When I speak with employers about employees they have terminated I hear, “they just acted like they didn’t want to be here; or he/she stood around with his/her hands in their pockets waiting for ME to do it; or He/she never contributed to the conversation, never offer good solutions to problems; or when the five o’clock buzzer rang, they were out the door like a shot.”

All these actions demonstrate why an employer wouldn’t want to keep an employee. And if you fit into these categories, change or the results will be the same in the future for you.

HIRING AUTHORITIES

1. Start looking at candidates from what assets and value that they bring to the organization.

2. Look at candidates with this thought, “if he/she has only five years left to work, how can we empower them to allow us to tap into their knowledge to grow the people in this department or company?”

3. Become known as a company that is a champion of PEOPLE. This will probably include soul searching and making decisions that you have probably not made in your “job hiring” past.

4. The results will be that you will have a work place that people will WANT to work and the word will spread and it will positively affect your sales and bottom line.

5. If one of your friends or parent was noticeably older than you or walked with a disability or had a different color of skin, would you tell him/her not to come to your house because you didn’t want the neighbors to know that you associate with “those types” of HUMAN BEINGS? I think not, so why does it in happen in business?

6. QUALIFIED candidates will reward you, the company and their co-workers once given the opportunity to shine. Go forth and make this a tremendous week for you and everyone around you!

Regards,

George F. Mancuso, CPC, CEO
Client Growth Consultants, Inc. George@ClientGrowthConsultants.com