Mary Lorenz
Blog entries by Mary Lorenz
New Research on Hiring Mistakes Calls for a Change to the Old Way of Thinking
Nov 14, 2008
Funny Jason Ferrara, VP of Corporate Marketing at CareerBuilder.com, should talk about how data-driven recommendation engines change our lives, because the sudden disappearance of the “recommended for you” feature on my iTunes store homepage seems to have completely disrupted mine.
In the past few months, I’ve come to rely very heavily on this feature for quick, easy help with everything from creating party mixes to adding a little variety to my workout playlist. It was like having a music-savvy friend – there when I needed it, always with a list of new music it knows I’ll like – only better because I could download the music right away, and I know it can never judge me for owning the occasional Miley Cyrus song.
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- Categories Employee Attraction, Employer Advice, Products
Every Day Should Be Veterans Day at the Office
Nov 11, 2008
Today is Veterans Day. Yesterday, CareerBuilder.com released the results from its annual Veterans Day survey, wherein nearly one in five U.S. Veterans say it took them six months or longer to find a job after getting out of military service.
Considering all the reasons to hire veterans, including their extensive training and work ethic, this news is disappointing. But then, about 20 percent of the 6,842 U.S. workers surveyed believe the biggest obstacle to getting hired for a civilian position is employers’ inability to understand how military skills can fulfill qualifications for civilian positions.
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- Categories Employee Attraction, Survey Results
Taking Innovation into Consideration: Why These 5 Companies are “Most Admirable”
Nov 10, 2008
I recently re-read Fortune’s list of this year’s Most Admired Companies, and I noticed how much the idea of “innovation” was mentioned. Because I also happened to have diversity on the brain, it occurred to me how closely diversity and innovation are combined. After all, what is innovation if not the result of divergent thinking and untapped ideas? But on top of that, it’s also about cultivating a culture that encourages new ideas, learning, skill development, career advancement, etc.
With all of this in mind, I looked at Fortune’s separate list of the Most Admirable Companies for managing talent to see what they’re doing right with regards to these elements, and how the combination invariably leads to continued success.
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- Categories Building a Best Place to Work, Employee Engagement, Employee Retention
Hiring Lessons from the 2008 Presidential Election
Nov 4, 2008
In honor of Ben&Jerry’s Free Scoop on Election Day, bestselling author Seth Godin wrote a great post analyzing the 2008 election campaigns and what they teach us about marketing and staying competitive today. I thought it worth sharing because he’s awesome hiring managers can get just as much value from his “lessons” as marketing professionals. You can read Seth’s complete post here, but below are my favorite takeaways:
Stories really matter. ”When people look back at the election,” Godin says, “they will remember mavericky winking… it’s human nature…The story is what people respond to. Mainstream media isn’t powerful because we have no other choices…It’s powerful because they’re still really good at writing and spreading stories, stories we listen to and stories we believe.”
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- Categories Employee Attraction, Employee Engagement
Latest Tip for Boosting Productivity May Surprise You
Oct 30, 2008
I knew it!! Okay, so today my boss sent me this post from The Standard which argues the case that businesses can use social media as a strategic recruiting tool. (Ah, yes. I agree.) But it goes even further, saying that sites like Facebook, MySpace and Bebo, for instance, are useful in engaging employees as well, and that, in fact, bosses should allow their employees to use social media sites at work.
While I know I’ve argued the point of using these sites to help with recruiting tactics, I was actually a little surprised but also way psyched to hear the case for giving employees the freedom to peruse these sites during business hours. But according to the Demos research the article mentions, using these sites can actually boost productivity and communication among employees.
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- Categories Employee Attraction, Employee Engagement, Social Media
How NOT to Interview Job Candidates
Oct 21, 2008
Today I came across this great tongue-in-cheek post on Datamation’s blog about how not to interview. Even though blogger Chris Nerney focuses his post on the IT industry, his list of ways to alienate job seekers is applicable across the board. And because it seemed like a great complement to my colleague Matt Wilson’s recent post about the Top 14 Interview questions, I wanted to share:
- Make sure the job’s responsibilities are unclear. This one speaks for itself.
- Bait and switch. Kind of deceitful to bring the candidate in only to try to sell him/her into another job that’s available, no?
- Trash the person who previously held the available position. Classy.
- Make the applicant wait at least a half-hour past the appointed interview time. Trying to send the message that you’re beyond rude and/or couldn’t care less about who fills the position? Mission accomplished.
- Eat at your desk during the interview. Another great tactic.
- Take personal calls during the interview. Ditto.
- Make it clear in the interview that you’re reading the applicant’s resume for the first time. The hits just keep on coming.
- Have only an HR person do the interview. No explanation needed.
- Be absolutely inflexible about benefits. Good luck staying competitive with other companies who are hiring.
- Be evasive about your company’s financial health and market strategy. When your employees find out - and they will - they’ll get out fast. (But don’t worry - nothing helps a financially struggling company like high turnover. Oh, wait…)
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- Categories Employee Attraction, Interviewing
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