Bet On Vets: My Challenge To You

How was your Labor Day?  Did you BBQ with friends and family? Chill out at the beach? Pound out a round of golf at your local club? For most of us, this Labor Day is spent doing anything but labor.  Heck, most of  us don't even want to think about our jobs on this holiday. We are content to take a nap, garden and get off the grid all together. 

There is however an important part of our jobless population that would love to be forgetting about the job they wish they had and those are veterans who have completed their military service but have yet to find employment. On this day, many unemployed veterans are sending out resumes and applying for jobs on Monster.com or other job sites. Sure, they are spending time with family and friends but many wish that today was simply a day off from a job that was theirs.

So, my question and challenge to employers is this: Do you have a deliberate hiring strategy that focuses on hiring veterans? Sure, you might be open to hire a veteran if they apply but my point is different that merely being open. I am suggesting that you develop an intentional hiring strategy, approved by the executive staff and shared with the board that will accomplish the following objective: At least 10% of your workforce will consist of veterans you hire over the next 2 years and then at least 15% in the years to follow.

Why hire veterans? They are motivated, committed and disciplined. They bring an array of skills to your company that many other candidates don't. Veterans don't want to be given a hand out. They want an opportunity to compete for the positions you are seeking to fill. Military service prepares veterans for all kinds of jobs in the private sector and you should be considering veterans for every appropriate position they could be qualified for.

As you go back to work this week and begin to look at Calendar Q4/FY2013 hiring plans I challenge you to make hiring veterans a key performance indicator (KPI) for your HR and talent acquisitions teams. If you do, future Labor Days will have even more significance than simply a day off.

Time To Hire Gen - Y!

They’ll make up 33 percent of the workforce by 2014. In fact, they comprise nearly one-third of all Americans living today (as estimated by the Harvard Business Review). They’re Generation Y: the offspring of Baby Boomers and the new crop of employees clamoring to the top.

I’ve said before that the job market has changed in favor of applicants.  If you don’t believe it, try to quickly hire a Ruby on Rails developer in San Francisco. It won’t happen fast or inexpensively. As the economy slowly recovers, the hiring in technology companies has quickened. They’ll be competing for the best new talent, which means if you want a stake in this promising workforce, start paying attention to what the Gen – Y talent pool has to offer.

First, we need to alter our perceptions of today’s talent. Once you do, you will begin to see the positive characteristics of Gen-Y.

1)  They’re redefining what makes a great place to work: Foosball tables…. oh so yesterday!  They are looking for an opportunity to make an impact.

2)  They are choosy, despite a tough job market. Strange? Not really. It’s up to you to be an employer of choice. Top talent out of top schools are highly recruited.  That’s an easy one. The talent that will give you the best return on your hiring dollar may not be from a top school. They are driven, focused and have a competitive edge.

3)  Certain attitudes, behaviors, and skills set them apart from Gen-X and make them highly valuable employees. What do I mean? Two words. Social media. They live it, know it and breathe it.  It is in the enterprise and these workers can exploit it to business’ advantage. They are self-confident, socially connected, and digitally savvy.

4)  They have a strong work ethic, but well-defined needs: “We’ll come in at 7 and stay until  8, but let us hit the gym at 11 if we want to.”

Alright, for those of you over 40…stop rolling your eyes. It took me a while to embrace what this prized population has to offer. I am now fully on board and I suggest that you jump on this train before your winded self gets left behind.

There are many good reasons to hire Generation Y.  I will address all of these, and more, in later posts.  There’s no doubt that investing in this unique group will pay off. 

Hire them. They will work hard and make a positive impact on your business.

5 Steps To Interview Success

You have done everything right so far. Great resume, strong phone interview, made it past the internal recruiter and now you are scheduled for your first in-person interview with the hiring manager. It is at this point that the well prepared candidate can differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack. That's what you want to do, right? Blow away the competition for this job! You are going to sit down in front of your soon to be new boss and wow them with your wit, personality and expertise. You are going to get this job! Confident? Ready? Not completely? Well, follow these five steps and you will be:

1) Research the industry and company: Everything you need to learn about your next employer is on the world wide web. Amazing! Look into the industry the company serves, how they are positioned, what market share they hold. Become familiar with the company's  services and products so you can refer to them in the flow of the interview. Be ready to present their product or service if asked. Smart candidates walk in to the interview knowing how to sell or market what they will be selling or marketing for the company they want to join. Type up several pithy and insightful questions that are relevant to the industry, company or role to ask during the interview. 

2) Image is everything: Present yourself in the most professional manner possible. When you aren't sure what to wear to the interview, think conservative dress. Leave the jeans, sandals, short skirt and lounge wear for the weekends. (Believe me... at TVG Executive Search...just when we thought we had seen it all...). Be well groomed and rested. Don't go out on a bender the night before. When you greet the hiring manager for the first time, step forward confidently, look them square in the eye and shake their hand firmly without fracturing their index finger. Positive first impressions create lasting impressions. Make the introduction count!

3) Don't get too personal: Establishing a solid rapport is essential. Elaborating on you recent vacation or bragging about your kids (or parrot) isn't a way to accomplish this. Certainly, you would have researched the hiring manager's background on LinkedIn and identified a few commonalities. If so, reference them discretely and indirectly in the conversation. Don't try to lay on the secret hand shake if you just happen fraternity brothers. You goal isn't to become BFFs in the interview. Your job is to get the job. Eight five percent or more of the conversation should be devoted to the opportunity. Fifteen percent or less should be about your personal life. If they ask you about your interests and hobbies, provide an answer without great detail. You will have plenty of time to get acquainted AFTER they hire you.

4) Ask for the job: These days, there is no such thing as an "informational interview".  If you are there interviewing, the assumption is that you want this job! If not, what the heck are you there for and why are you wasting their time! Therefore, as the interview is coming to a close, take the lead and say "based on everything we have discussed, I feel I am extremely qualified for this role and know I will be an outstanding contributor to the company's success. I very interested in joining your team. What are the next steps in the process?" They can answer any number of ways. The point is to ACT as though you are the "IT" and assume they will want you. Confidence is attractive. Ambivalence is not.

5) Follow up: Within 24 hours but not within the first hour, send the hiring manager an email thanking them for the opportunity to meet and recapping 3-5 reasons why you are the right person for the job. Call them within 48 hours to inquire about the next steps. If you don't hear back within a day after your call, call them again. I see nothing wrong with demonstrating a keen desire and consistent follow up until you get the answer that, a) you are moving forward in the process or, b) for some reason they went in a different direction. Either way, invite the hiring manager to connect on LinkedIn. You never know how that introduction could be of benefit in the future.

Act on these 5 points and you will stand out from the other candidates who didn't have the good fortune of reading my blog!

Mike Vanneman

Founder - TVG Executive Search

Memo To Hiring Executives: The Market Has Shifted

While the national unemployment outlook teeters at 9.2% and California's unemployment rate "improved" by dropping from 12.4 to 12.0% in between January and March, there are indicators in the technology sector that the talent pool is contracting and it is becoming a "buyers" (candidates) market. We are even seeing companies do unnatural things to keep key employees. No, I am not talking about Google's $5,000,000 retention bonus package to keep an engineer from going to Facebook. Not an urban legend...it really did happen. I am not talking about Google giving every employee a 10% raise last November in addition to the free food. 

What we are seeing at TVG Executive Search is that progressive companies are locking down key talent by offering more incentives (options and or cash). They are promoting key employees because these are the valuable people that most likely survived the meltdown in late 2008 and now the companies are hiring back people in every department. These new employees need to be managed and many of these management positions are being filled from within. These are defensive moves to prevent experienced producers from leaving. Is it working? Yes, in many cases. In many other situations the candidates are going on the offensive.

The "passive" candidate of yesterday is now the aggressive candidate in today's market. If they don't see more upside with their current employer, they are willing to take more risk and move elsewhere.  Two years ago it was hunker down. This year it's saddle up!

What is an employer to do? The first step--face reality. Accept it. The market has shifted and you are behind the curve. Now, catch up. Don't listen to that Board Member who continues to blather on that "Unemployment is so high! Everyone is out of work! You can get people on the cheap!" Politely smile, tolerate the same bad joke he tells at every board meeting and get back to the business of building a world class company.

The second step--develop specific talent retention and acquisition plans.  What should be in these plans? This will be the subject of my next entry. I don't want to give you too much at one time. Accepting the market reality will be challenging enough. So, let's do a quick meditative exercise. Close your eyes. Repeat after me..."I accept the market as it is today, not what thought it was or told that it is...but what it really is now". Now, don't you feel better!?  

Your new motto is "Get over it and get on with it!"

Until next time.....

Mike

www.tvgsearch.com