In this downright weird economy it can be hard to find the humor in a career search, but it turns out humor is a great teacher.  Here’s a story about a square peg and a round hole – and what can be learned from finding a way to make a square-peg prospect’s personality fit with the round culture of the hiring company.

I was heading a retingency search for a VP-Technology for a cloud services start up with 45 people. In developing a search strategy to guide the selection, I worked with the CEO to define the position: skills, educational profile, past experience, management style, all the many attributes of ‘culture fit’. After a long meeting where we crafted a job description and a better sense of their authentic employer brand – and in which I privately thought, “I hope Jesus Christ is looking for a job,” I headed off to my favorite coffee shop to regroup.

As usual clusters of animated people gathered around power outlets debating the benefits of various technologies. One man, sitting off in a corner, was watching the nearest group with a smug smile on his face. I sat with a latte to simply watch the fun (I love to people watch).

Midway through a heated discussion of security in the cloud, the lone guy – dressed like a hard-core software ninja in ponytail, Birkenstocks and shorts – leaned towards the group and launched into an explanation of cloud-based spam, phishing and virus protection approaches. I realized, as I watched him work the small crowd, that I had found our candidate. My 3-D vision told me he had the technical chops; although he was wardrobe challenged, he mesmerized the group he addressed; and he had self-confidence and a touch of arrogance – all attributes we were looking for. I picked up my latte and asked to join him.

In an interesting hour’s discussion I extracted more information: Jake had a wry sense of humor, was looking for a job, spent a lot of time alone developing software, and needed a brush-up on his social skills. The next task was to convince my CEO that we had our VP-Technology.

After looking at dozens of resumes and enduring interviews with people who were well qualified on paper but lacked the certain spark of the guy in the coffee shop, the CEO agreed to interview him.

Of course Jake showed up for the interview in sneakers, jeans and someone else’s logo polo shirt. He asked challenging questions and displayed impatience when he didn’t get the straight answer. He bluntly told the CEO what he thought about the company’s website, its product claims, and then offered three areas where he thought he could make a difference. In meetings later that day with the start-up’s technical staff he was greeted with suspicion which quickly warmed to acceptance as it became apparent he not only knew his stuff, but was advocating for positions the staff thought were right but hadn’t been able to socialize with the senior team.

It took a bit to convince the CEO – we still conducted a selective search using all the ‘right’ methods, including job advertising on the internet, new media, contacts in my private network and more – but nowhere did we find the flash of brilliance + something unique this guy had. I was able to convince the CEO that Jake’s lack of ability to dress well and his challenging interview style were actually pluses – because he had the right technical skills, a certain edgy charm, and credibility with the technical team.

It turns out that every career search demands that we challenge our assumptions and remain open to possibilities. Hiring processes are essential but creativity and that 3-D sense I mentioned are just as important. Each search comes down to people hiring people. The ability to see the various angles and gifts of each candidate – while keeping a sense of humor, and looking beyond the square hole/round peg trap – can mean the difference between the right hire and a long-term staffing retention issue.

Tell us how your intuition or spidey-sense has helped in a job search – and let us know your thoughts on humor!

Guest Blogger: Meghan M. Biro, founder of TalentCulture, is a globally-recognized expert in talent acquisition, creative personal and corporate branding and new media strategies that accelerate talent acquisition.

Photo Credit, R’eyes

Wandering around on Facebook yesterday, I encountered a comment from Chris Brogan that stated the following:

Chris Brogan It’s weird having too many ideas. You end up having to throw them somewhere like storage, and they grow dusty. Give them all away. You’ll make more.

So, this got me thinking about the previous post on Virtual Talent Reality.  One of the challenges that I brought up was that with a decreased level of recruiters and an increased demand for talent… the prospect of recruiting through third party agencies is going to get expense – very expensive!

While Chris’ comment had nothing to do with recruiting, it has everything to do with collaboration.  As the wheels on my mental bus went round and round, I started thinking about the competitive climate that we have created in recruiting.  Why is that?  I know that agencies like to make money and I know that companies like to attract and hire the best people… but why aren’t we helping each other more?

There are a ton of holes in the plan I’m about to present, but I think that it’s possible on some level.  Yes, the kinks will need to be worked out… but, just go with it for a minute.

Let’s start with the challenge again:

Fewer Recruiters + Higher Recruiting Demand = Higher Fees = Expensive Strategy

Instead of living in our little secret recruiting worlds, what if corporate recruiting departments were to partner up.  What if they were to join forces with other companies in order to filter through the talent.  There are some candidate confidentiality concerns with this, but I’m sure it can be dealt with if the companies approach this with a high level of transparency.

Think about this:

• ATS Systems allow companies to connect their talent databases.
• Companies want to hire skilled candidates that want to work for them… if the recruiting partners both want a candidate, it can still be left to a candidate to make the right decision for them.  Did I mention “transparency”?
• Companies, working collectively, could negotiate better rates for everything from job boards to job fairs to ATS Systems.

Some challenges that could come up:

• Ensuring that candidates realize they are applying to a central database.
• Creating a channel where the candidate can confidentially apply to one company (needs to exist).
• Figuring out the distribution of financial obligations based on volume of recruiting.

Collaborative Vs. Competitive Recruiting

I can understand how some companies would look at this and say… that’s crazy!  I get it – it’s a bit out there.  But, consider the amount of money that could be saved, the increased access to desirable candidates and the ability to collectively create better recruiting processes.

We don’t need to fight over talent… we need to figure out how we can best serve talent.  Ensuring that candidates are choosing the right position will have an immediate impact on your employment branding and retention.

Just an idea…

What do you think we can do with this?  How can we collaborate instead of compete in the recruiting space?

Photo Credit, Rennett Stowe

This is more of a question than an opinion…

How many organizations are currently living in a false reality when it comes to talent?

Sure… they may currently have access to stellar talent due to the economic climate… but have they prepared for recovery.  Have they prepared for a potential talent exodus?  What happens when the talent pool realizes that they have spent the past 2-3 years underpaid and under appreciated?  What happens then?

I would normally recommend the use of agencies to help fill the gaps… but, there are two problems with this…

First, a whole lot of third-party and corporate recruiters left the industry during the downturn.  They’ve moved on.  Perhaps they can be attracted back… but, it will take time.  The second question is expense.  Reactive recruiting (often the type of recruiting agencies get called to help with) gets very expensive.  With higher demand and fewer third party providers, that will drive prices up.  This isn’t going to be cheap.

So, what’s the solution?

I don’t know how to fix this issue overnight, but if I were a betting man, I would put my money on paying close attention to your current employees’ needs, wants and desires.  There may still be a chance to make things right.

Oh, and if you are the type that sits back and says “Well… I gave them a job!” – you’ve lost your mind.  You are probably the same person that thinks it’s okay to treat employees as numbers instead of as human beings.  Good luck to you when the economy recovers… your people will be more than willing to speak with recruiters about how green the grass really is on the other side.

So… who knows?  What’s the solution?  What steps should employers be taking now to improve their internal employement branding?  What would you like to see more of?  Less of?

Your thoughts are valuable!  Thanks for sharing

Photo Credit, Scumfrog

Most everyone likes to know that they are appreciated.  Your kids, family members, neighbors… a simple and sincere compliment can often times help in building better relationships.  I’m not an advocate for making up compliments just for the sake of doing it – that would be counterproductive in the long-run.  What I’m talking about is simply taking the time out to recognize people around you when they do something that makes you happy.  Simple, right?

So, how does this apply to work?

Well, we spend a pretty good amount of time working.  In fact, if you take the amount of hours that you are around your co-workers as compared to your family, friends and neighbors… you are very likely balancing your life between the two realms.  So, just as it would apply to your home life, making an effort to recognize others can and should build goodwill at work.  So, why don’t more people do it?  Great question!  This could be a late night television list…

1. I’m too busy to worry about that stuff.
2. We are here to do our jobs.
3. We are adults, we don’t need special attention.
4. I gave him/her a raise – doesn’t that show I care?
5. I rated him/her high on their review.
6. It’s not really our culture.
7. I’m not into all that fluffy stuff.
8. Gold stars are so Jr. High!
9. They already know that I think they do good work.
10. We save our recognition awards for the monthly ceremony (wooop teee dooo!)

A SHRM Conference “Stand Out”

This was my first year attending the annual SHRM conference.  Press pass in hand, I wandered around looking for interesting things to write about.  I had been approached by at least 75 different companies to do an interview with their various experts – I wasn’t interested in that route.  I was hell-bent to find something different, interesting… something that made me sit back and say, “That’s going to matter!”  I found that in a company out of Michigan called Baudville.

To me, this was the diamond in the ruff I had been looking for.  You see, I wanted to share information about the SHRM conference through blogging and tweeting, but talking about hundreds of vendors really didn’t seem all that enticing.  The true interest, for me, was in finding a company with a fresh message, a staff that actually liked what they were doing and, last but not least, a keyhole to the “most interesting” for those of you who weren’t able to make it.  You are coming next year, right?

Baudville does something that other companies do.  They specialize in providing tools necessary for recognizing your employees.  Not a big deal in itself.  What is a big deal is the way that they present it and the how they encourage workplaces to be better.

In my conversation with Brad Darooge, CEO of Baudville, he made a comment that I had to write down.  “Recognition is just a word.  Ultimately, what we are trying to do is improve the relationships between companies and their workers.”  From a different person, I would have taken this as a canned response… but, Brad is not just saying it.  Baudville is pushing to change the way we exist at work.  Watch this.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHKbc2gxi-8

So, the question turns to “How?”

Through the use of funny, ice-breaking, artistic and cost-effective tokens of appreciation, Baudville is giving managers the ability to do more in a way that stands out.  Recognition should not be complex… it should be commonplace and easy to deliver.  It does not require a monthly meeting or a special ceremony.  It requires a sincere attitude and the understanding that people work for people, not companies.  If you disagree on that point, I invite you to sit with me for a day while I recruit people away from some of the “Best Places To Work.”  Come see… it’ll be fun!

Stephanie Lloyd wrote a great piece the other day on how our current economy is breeding a very dangerous situation for companies.  The delusion that paying less and getting more will last for any substantial amount of time is deconstructed with a powerful argument by Stephanie.

Losing great people isn’t cheap.  If giving them a small pat on the back could change that situation and save your company money, you may want to consider a more robust recognition program.  Baudville, in my opinion, is positioned very well to be a part of that growing need as we move forward into some pretty turbulent times in the area of retention.

Here is a list of some Baudville employees out on Twitter:

Brad Darooge – CEO

Kristy Sherland – VP of Product Development

Lilly Maric – Product Art Manager

Cori Curtis – PR Coordinator

Cindy Gilman – HR Manager

How are you recognizing your employees?  Have you seen anything truly innovative in a while?  Share your thoughts!

Disclaimer:  I was not compensated by Baudville in any way to write this post.  I chose them because I was impressed.  Their product, their people and their forward-looking approach left me feeling compelled to share more about this great organization.