Humor Resources - Serious Business

Applications are for everyone! Yes, I mean everyone!

Suppose your young daughter is being courted by a very charming individual who drives a very nice auto. He presents himself as a kind, stable and genuine person. However a few phone calls and you discover he has been married twice before, has been reported for abusive behavior, and has never kept a job. How enthused are you going to be about his advances? His past behavior gives credence to your concerns about his future behavior.

Likewise an applicant will present themselves as a model employee. How do you discern whether or not it is a con job? The application is the gateway to research past behavior.

What about professionals and executives? Isn’t it insulting to ask them for an application? Won’t they be offended? Yes, I have seen individuals offended when asked to fill out an application. Where is arrogance a positive trait? In Good to Great by Jim Collins the special characteristics of the leaders of great companies is identified. Great companies had leaders that were humble. If a person is insulted by having to fill out an application, do not consider the person any further. End of discussion.

An application is a legal binding document. It provides the authorization to research past behavior, and past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. There is much information on an application that is not included on a resume. It standardizes the data process. It is the most valuable tool in the hiring process. It is the gateway to the applicant’s behavior.

So, everyone fills out an application. Everyone!

Now some advice for job seekers. Use resumes, introduction letters and cover letters almost exclusively. Never fill out an application unless required to do so. Then fill out the application with great meticulous care and a positive attitude. Fill in every blank. Make it extremely neat and accurate. Never write across it, “See Resume.” Let your enthusiasm for this task be evident in the finished document (whether written or computer based). Infuse it with personality. With a few minutes extra effort you can make your application stand out from the crowd.

Next? References are easy!

Resumes are autobiographical at their best and fiction at their worst. In the same category are cover letters and letters of introductions.

Now, I like fiction and autobiographies. Resumes are wonderful and everyone, yes everyone should have a resume and use it in the job search process. But if those responsible for hiring do not understand that these are fictional works, they will err greatly in the hiring process.

This is not to say that any resume is not totally honest as most of them are. Fiction does not equate to dishonesty. Louis L'Amour was a prolific fiction author. He meticulously researched his books and consequently the works are detailed and accurate, but they are still fiction.

Additionally, consider this example: When I purchased a new car I had to buy the oil separately and bring it to the dealership to be put into my motor before I got the keys to the car. With that statement one is left with a negative opinion of the dealership. Now consider this statement: While waiting for final detailing on my new car I happened to mention to the salesman that I would immediately replace the oil with synthetic oil. The salesman said they would do that free of charge but did not have synthetic oil on hand. I offered to quickly get it from the parts store and the salesman said they would be glad to put it in along with a new oil filter at no additional cost. This leaves a different and favorable impression. Both relate the same incident from different perspectives. If you were to ask the salesman, he would tell the story in yet another fashion. There is no deceit here.

Likewise resumes and such are meant to persuade. However, they are not predictors of behavior. From this document one cannot tell a persons integrity or emotional intelligence and resumes do not predict success on the job.

And for those readers who do not have hiring responsibilities but rather are, or may be, job seekers, I have a bit of advice. Develop a very good resume with professional guidance. You do not even have to pay for that guidance. An easy way is to find some arrogant know-it-all HR person (like this author) and ask for their advice. It is sad to say, but true, that a good resume will help you get the job. In fact, resumes, cover letters, and introduction letters (as well as phone calls) are the only tools I use to get a job. They are highly effective. And as good as I am with these tools, a con-artist is even better.

Which gives credence to this whole premise. Ones ability to craft a good sales flyer (resume) does not reveal the characteristics necessary for a productive employee.

Next: Applications for everyone!

Just what are we looking for anyway?

What do we really want in an employee? The adage “hire for skills, fire for behavior” illustrates how important behavior is to successful employment.

I enjoy high school students and get several opportunities to address large groups. Because I am privileged to hire for the best employer in the region, I am often asked how they can get a job. I ask them if grades are important to which the group replies a resounding YES! OK, if you were doing the hiring and you had two candidates, one was an A student and the other was a B student. A student had a chip on his shoulder, was often late or tardy, and was known to lose his temper. B student was always in class on time, enjoyed helping other students, and was a delight to be around. Who would you hire? The students always get the right answer.

This illustrates that we all know behavior matters and is the premise behind behavioral interviewing. So what behaviors are important?

INTEGRITY - Above all else is integrity. Now I am not talking about being moral police but basic integrity. What type of person are they when no-one is watching? Can you depend upon what they tell you? Can they admit to a mistake?

ABILITY TO LEARN – This is not just rote learning, but rather the ability to apply such knowledge. Behavior must change as a result of the learning. We are in an ever changing world. A saying I used to have on my wall was “The future belongs to the learning. The educated find themselves perfectly prepared for a world which no longer exists.”

EMOTIONS – There is a body of evidence that says emotional intelligence (Emotional IQ) is the greatest predictor of success. To be productive an employee must function in a team environment. Behaviors that are destructive to others will destroy more value than the person can contribute.

What about skills? To a degree they are an entrance exam. If you need a clerical person, it is reasonable to expect some basic level of keyboarding skills. If you need an Electrical Engineer, a degree is required. Every job has some basic skills required. However, to seek the highest skilled person over and above behavior is a mistake.

Next? Resumes and other works of fiction

1. The list is not comprehensive
2. I will not be able to stay on task (back to the ADHD non-professional diagnosis)
3. You don’t know anything about Leon or Justin

OK, I know that I am not good-looking, but this picture is the ugliest picture of me that I have!

It has been one year since I started the “new” Walter program. I lost 50 pounds initially and though I gained some back over the holidays, the weight has stabilized. The treadmill is still abused by me a few times a week.

One thing that absolutely amazes me is the confidence and quiet satisfaction that came as a result of being able to lose weight and exercise. The mental change is many times more graphic than the physical change.

Are you interested in a new you? There are tons of self-help books out there. The trick is actually doing something rather than just reading. Self-discipline is tough! One good book is Reinventing Your Self - 28 strategies for Coping with Change by Mark Towers. This book is an easy read and gives small actions that help develop your self-discipline.

Build a “new” you! You deserve it!

How would you like a ¾ page newspaper article that speaks highly of your company? Yeah, wouldn’t everybody.

Such publicity helps locally in recruiting and reinforces a culture of pride within the organization. In an earlier blog I mentioned that our company quite often gets such favorable press and the weekend edition featured us again.

We hired a person who was deaf. The newspaper article featured a nice picture of the employee and more than a dozen quotes from me. The quotes used were a compliment to the entire company but also mentioned directly 8 other employees. Today there are many copies of this article floating around the office and the new employee bought 5 for himself!

The first coach I ever had on dealing with the media was Lorrie Allen, the SoundBite Coach (www.soundbitecoach.com). She has a particular savvy for training people not only what to say to the media, but also how to say it. Within a few short weeks of her seminar I found myself in front of the media answering questions concerning an employee who lost both legs in an industrial accident. This was in a major metropolitan area that was hundreds of miles away from our corporate headquarters and my home. Her advice was invaluable.

The second coach was Jeff Crilley (http://www.jeffcrilley.com/) who wrote the book, Free Publicity. I treasure my signed copy of his book as well as the knowledge that he shared during a seminar. Jeff is an Emmy Award reporter and shares his inside expertise on what makes news and how. None of us want to wait until our workplace is afflicted with a disaster to capture headline news. We have a multitude of good stories that we would like to see covered. If you think a well-written press release is all you need, then you desperately need Jeff’s advice.

The CFO was talking with me about this article and mentioned that another company in town had previously employed this person and yet received no publicity. The CFO then said, well they should have hired an HR professional! Nice compliment but the truth is I only followed the advice of the media experts who had so diligently shared from their own expertise.

So today, I lost ground on the mountain of paperwork sitting on my desk. I dropped further behind on emails and phone calls; those daily tasks that are part of all of our jobs. And yet, this one accomplishment has pleased my boss and many others within the organization.

Please, in your own job, tackle the big, unusual, and extraordinary. There is so much more recognition and satisfaction.

Also, constantly learn from others.