Pretend You Are Dating When Hiring

Recently I have been thinking that interviewing is a lot like dating…only daters seem to be more savvy.

These days daters are smart! They know despite what they hear about someone from a friend, or read about someone on a dating service…there is always more to the picture.  It all starts with the background check, research. Almost always today, there’s Googling and social media creeping. The point is to get as much information as you can, as quickly as you can before you meet, to see if the person is even worth the time.  In a busy week, there is limited time for dating, and it needs to be productive!

In the business world, employers often begin and end their initial hiring stage by just reviewing resumes. Resumes that paint the rosy picture, which is often not the accurate or complete picture.  Rarely do employers Google potential candidates, or review their social media profiles to learn more about the candidate before investing valuable and expensive resources to conduct an interview.

In dating, only after the research shows that there is potential does it make sense to proceed to a casual date – with no time commitment like a coffee or a walk. It is a waste of time and money to start with a full 5 course dinner date until you know that there is some kind of connection. In addition, the casual setting is also less stressful, reduces the pressure to behave in a particular manner and the conversation is usually more relaxed depicting more accurate personalities.  Only if the casual mini-date is successful would daters take it to the next step and go on one, or a couple real dates to see if there is relationship potential.  It has become a very streamlined, thorough and efficient process for finding true love.

Employers on the other hand, typically jump from resume review to a full interview without even screening the candidate first. They often spend a forced 30min-1.5hrs with someone without knowing if there is even a potential fit. Plus, interviews are often very formal, and interviewees don’t show their true personalities, strengths and weaknesses.  It would be wise for employers to spin off the ‘mini-date’ idea and have recruiter evenings, or short meet and greets to narrow candidates and see them in a more relaxed setting before holding formal interviews. Doing something like this would allow for quality over quantity and minimize an employer’s time commitment and resources, as well as enable true fit.

Next time you are interviewing – pretend you are dating.

- Aleya Suleman

Social Media and Social Class in Organizations

With the multitude of varying definitions of social class, I want to start by summing it up to the simplest and most relevant definition for my post.  Social classes are the hierarchical arrangements of people in society into groups.  Social stratification is defined by unequal access to desirable resources.

Based on this simple definition, it is clear that organizations have a social class system which is arranged hierarchically into groups such as senior managers, middle managers, first line managers and regular staff.  As you move up the hierarchy, decision making abilities and access to desirable resources increase. These desirable resources in relation to career development are exposure, information sharing and connections to the right people.

In the past, these resources were not accessible to all employees which was a significant barrier that made advancement within an organization challenging.  With the rise of social media, exposure, access to information and good networks are no longer luxuries that are exclusive to the “upper class” in organizations.

Today, any employee now has access to online social media resources such as Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and several other communities that can be used to communicate thoughts and ideas increasing exposure, gain knowledge of an industry, competition, trends etc. and network with the right people.

Social media is helping to level the playing field and creates more opportunity for advancement in organizational social class.  Are you leveraging your social media resources for your career development?

- Aleya Suleman

Bring the Janitor into the Meeting

In my last job as a Marketing Manager for a building materials manufacturer I worked very closely with the architectural community.  My goal was to have architects specify our products in the early stage of building design, which would help to drive sales.  As I worked with forward thinking companies, I learned that progressive firms were investing far more time in the decision making process in order to provide attractive, sustainable structures with low operating and maintenance costs.  To do this, it was clear that they would need to consider every angle before finalizing product choices in order to ensure optimal designs.

One story I heard was that an architectural firm held a meeting with the usual decision makers, but also invited one representative from every area that would be impacted by the design, including the janitor who would clean the building. After the round table discussion a lot was learned from the janitor like how certain materials were hard to clean, impractical and lacking durability.  These types of non-traditional perspectives added considerable insight to the process, which allowed the architects to design a far superior structure than they had ever imagined.

What I have learned is that it is essential to get the perspective of everyone who is impacted by a decision you make in order to provide a solution that is considerably better than one you imagined yourself.

So next time you have an important decision to make, bring the janitor into the meeting!

- Aleya Suleman

Manage Yourself!

If you would like to be more successful in anything you do, it is time to begin managing yourself!

According to Wikipedia, “Management in all business and human organization activity is simply the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives.”  Therefore, managing yourself is simply the act of getting yourself together to accomplish desired goals and objectives. HA! I guess it is that simple? It is not that simple, is it? How do you actually do it?

To manage yourself you have to think like a manager and act like a manager.

What does a manager do?

Effective managers take their desired goals and objectives and deliver results.  In order to achieve this, they create a plan, organize resources to implement the plan, measure results, communicate progress and make adjustments.

So, to manage yourself:

1. Outline your personal desired goals and objectives. Start by identifying a broad goal, then determine specific measurable objectives to reach it within a certain time frame.
2. Formalize your plan.  Write out a plan outlining exactly how you intend to achieve your goals & objectives.
3. Organize your resources. Assess what tools, people, etc. you have access to.  Determine what you need, and what you can do to get it.
4. Measure your results. Develop a structure to measure your results regularly to help you stay on track.
5. Communicate your progress. Share your experiences, successes and challenges.  Review what is working and what is not.
6. Adjust your plan.  Revise the plan where needed to ensure success.

Like with management in general, managing yourself fails when there is weakness in any of these areas.

Take control of your success and start managing yourself!

- Aleya Suleman