HR | A-Plus Career and Resume, LLC

Ghosting: Will It Ever End?

May 20th, 2021

This is a recent article where I shared a little about how companies are shocked that jobseekers might ghost them as well.

Ghosting is a huge problem, and the biggest irony, as your comment pointed out, jobseekers are doing this to companies. From scheduling interviews and not showing up, to being AWOL for the first day of work, this is a karma issue. Not surprisingly, companies are shocked someone would do this to them. One of the most disturbing trends are companies now ghosting all the candidates they interviewed, then re-advertising the job positing with a different title in order to pay someone less to do the same work. Truly, these are all trends that must end, but won’t anytime soon.

https://www.indeed.com/lead/impact-of-covid-19-on-job-seeker-employer-ghosting?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=TalentCulture_Q12021

Categories Job Search
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Micromanagement: A Lack of Trust

March 26th, 2021

This article dovetails with the “bad manager” article comments posted last week. Micromanagers are one of the worst type of “bad managers,” as they lack trust in their employees, need to always have ultimate control, and over-manage their every task.

The sad thing is that micromanagers don’t think they are micromanaging. I had a family member whose company did an employee survey for their department. Every employee and lower management staff complained of micromanagement by the managers above them. They were detailed – you micromanage use to death, crazy micromanagers, when will you stop micromanaging, why don’t you trust us (you get the drift). The management staff ignored it stating “I don’t know what they mean, we don’t micromanage,” and they really did believe there was no issue. When brought up to the management group by executive level management, they just blamed it on employees not liking the extra hours they were working. Not the first time I have heard of this type of denial, and I doubt it will be the last. The executive suite should have taken notice to the point of action, but never did. To them, as long as the work was done, they didn’t really care.

If You Can’t Trust Your Employees to Work Flexibly, Why Hire Them in the First Place?

Categories Career Coaching, Career Management, Talent Management
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Dangerous Promotions

March 18th, 2021

A current topical article discussed the danger of bad managers. From loss of your best employees to de-motivation of your workforce, bad managers and leaders run amok creating turmoil. My comment to the article originally featured on LinkedIn is below:

Companies will never retain their best employees until they invest in training for managers. They also must have the willingness to take a bad manager out of their position and either dismiss them or put them in a position where they do not have employees. Corporate America, stop promoting people just because they do “good work” in their current role, and instead promote for ability to lead and manage others. #leadership #management #humanresources #careers #talentmanagement #morale #training #employeeengagement #leadershipdevelopment #coaching #culture #success #hr

Categories Career Management, Human Resources, Talent Management
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The New Candidate Profiles and Their Impact on Your Job Search or Business

November 24th, 2020

How many times have you heard the statement to be careful what you post online? Well, it turns out that companies are exploiting information they can access in the public domain about job candidates, including those posts you wish you had never made. Whether full-time, part-time, contract or temporary worker, a company may wish to know just as much about an entrepreneur contracting with them for a month, as they do about a full-time employee. While there’s a bevy of software available to scan resumes for keywords, more-and-more, organizations are seeking to create a full-fledged profile on their candidates. Is it creepy and Big Brother-esque? Yes, but an unfortunate reality the Internet has facilitated.

What information are they targeting? Old and new resumes, blogs, and social media profiles, including those posts you so often believe are private (they aren’t), certifications, licensing, professional development, academic histories and degrees, military service, awards, presentations, and papers, just to name a few.

While this offers a broader perspective on a potential new hire, the profile they develop on you can be polar opposite of what you are attempting to convey on your resume and in the interview. Hence, why what you post matters, and why those old YouTube videos of you, particularly the live videos that tend to be less than flattering, need to go. From throwing your computer out the window during a temper tantrum, doing live makeup applications with friends in high school and college, and nearly crippling yourself doing wild skateboard jumps, to smoking pot on camera, all can eliminate you from consideration for a job. Any job! Not to mention get you featured on the show Ridiculousness. Certainly, you may have been intending to garner this attention at the time – but let it go for the sake of your career!

Ask yourself: should the company believe your resume and interview, or the comprehensive profile they developed containing contradictory information? Make them ask that question and we can guess what will happen. Ultimately, I see this technology impacting any aspect of a career, from job search to promotion, entrepreneurs, and for college admissions.

So, what can we do to stop past poor decisions from haunting us? My advice to clients is to go through their social media and to Google themselves to see what else comes up that they have forgotten about over time. First up – scrape all social media, videos, and blogs and get rid of nasty comments (particularly you fighting with others online, and political and religious insults and articles). Be sure to go back to the beginning and clean up your posts. This isn’t about stating you love a particular political candidate or God, but the negative comments and articles that cause issue. Why should a company hire someone they believe will come and start political arguments or push religion or non-religion on others? Trust me, they won’t!

Next, get rid of excessive cussing in posts, videos, and blogs, look through your pictures and delete most of those with you drinking alcohol (a little bit is okay, but some people are way too “thirsty” in all their pictures) and definitely all of them where you are doing drugs – I shouldn’t have to say why. The fights you get into on social media with others need to go to, and so do all those personal posts on health issues and family problems. Then find the “friends and family” that continually do the same and unfriend them. But Karen, you say, I can’t unfriend my Mom, best friend, or anyone to whom I am connected. Actually, you can, and my clients regularly do so with just a small explanation about how it can hurt their job search. If these people truly care about you, they will understand. Find the old profiles that you haven’t deleted, old resumes posted on Monster, CareerBuilder, etc., and delete, delete, delete.

Blessedly, once something is deleted, it will be increasingly harder to find. My clients have seen a job search or career revitalized after ridding their social media of questionable content, negative political and religious opinions, and old profiles they forgot existed. The impact of having a positive overall profile cannot be underestimated with so many companies doing a “deep dive” on candidates.

I realize the temptation that exists to share this information, but do so privately with friends and family in conversation to avoid having it online where it can come back and hurt you. Lastly, always take 24-hours before responding to an email (those can also get shared out on the Internet), post, video, etc., to ensure you have a calmer viewpoint with more context, which often will make you hit the delete button. Purge the negative from your overall “public” profile, and watch your career grow and your job search reinvigorated!

Karen Silins is a multi-certified, award winning resume writer, career, business and personal branding coach working with individuals and small businesses. After graduating with degrees in education and vocal performance, she made her own career transition into the Human Resources realm. Karen left Human Resources to become an entrepreneur and help jobseekers, executives and fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals. She keeps current regarding trends in the resume writing, coaching, HR, small business and marketing industries by working daily with individual clients on resume development and career coaching, executive/career management coaching, consulting for small businesses in business plan development, marketing, blogging, hiring and overall HR processes, and providing 20-50+ seminars and workshops annually to a variety of organizations in the greater Kansas City area. She can be reached via her website at www.careerandresume.com.

Categories Business Coaching, Career Coaching, Career Management, Human Resources, Interviews, Job Search, Life Coaching, Personal Branding
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Does Everyone Really Hate HR – Two Perspectives?

July 8th, 2020

Workforce Perspective: Zety, a job search/job seeker targeted publisher, polled 926 American workers regarding HR, and their thoughts on various issues in dealing with HR. You can find the report at https://zety.com/blog/is-hr-human to view the full study. Here are some of the results:

37% of people won’t report being sexually harassed at work.

43% won’t report discrimination.

84% won’t report a fellow worker not doing their work/putting in the proper hours.

57% won’t report interpersonal issues with boss.

63% won’t report interpersonal challenges with a coworker.

60% won’t report a coworker for stealing from a company.

18% won’t report an issue with their benefits or pay.

69% of those polled do not believe HR advocates for employees.

From continual inconsistency in application of the rules to HR employees gossiping to others about what was said in a private conversation, there are a variety of reasons that workers feel this way. Staff not receiving timely answers to inquiries, feeling they may be retaliated against, and in general not wanting to “rock the boat” are also part of the study. While there are many reasons for people feeling uncomfortable talking to HR, basically it comes down to employees believing they won’t be heard, or their issues valued. That dovetails directly with workers thinking that ultimately their expression of some sort of dissatisfaction could lead to them being the next position downsized or eliminated.

Zety’s overall findings:

People lack the confidence to report even the most serious issues at work.
Very few people would seek advice from HR, only speaking to them when money is at stake.
There’s a real lack of faith in HR’s objectivity and trustworthiness.
There are some genuinely weird and wonderful workplace issues out there!

Karen’s perspective: HR has a lot of work to do in repairing their relationship with the humans they are supposed to be supporting. However, I caution you not to blame this all on HR. Many a Human Resources professional has wanted to enact change, do something about discrimination or harassment, or put programs and policies in place to negate or reduce many of the issues cited in the study, but C-level/V-level and Board of Directors often stop them. While many want to make a difference, they are often told no, and if they fight it, their job will suddenly disappear. This should offer a different perspective, that the HR staff often has nowhere to go when they have issues and are quickly shut down when trying to address them. If this is the case at your company, don’t blame HR, blame the leadership.

Categories Careers, Human Resources, Talent Management
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The Ghost is not in the Machine, it’s in the Hiring Process!

August 29th, 2016

The term Ghosting has become quite popular, and a common term now utilized throughout the dating world. Even The Business Insider defines it as “the act of cutting off all contact with someone you’re romantically involved with, without offering an explanation.” Unfortunately, this term is now bandied about in describing the behavior of a company or recruitment firm that interviews a candidate and then never contacts them back about the outcome.

The job of hiring is difficult and takes a great deal of time and energy by those involved, but so does the job search. Imagine being out of a job for several months, applying to potentially hundreds of jobs, and getting few interviews. However, you are excited about those interviews you do receive, that is, until there is no follow up, no call, no letter, and ultimately no response of any kind. How would you feel?

There is never, never, an excuse for ignoring candidates and just leaving them hanging, refusing to call them back. There is also no excuse for the following: “if we decide to interview you, we will call you.” What has happened to civility in the job hunt? Recruiters, headhunters, HR, hiring managers, or whoever it is doing the hiring or contacting of candidates has a lot of explaining to do. You simply won’t, or are too lazy, to get back with those you have interviewed. We aren’t talking about the Applicant Tracking System and the lack of response there (don’t even get me started on that subject), but we are talking about the common courtesy you should show candidates YOU called for phone interviews, or better yet, interviewed in person.

While I understand it can be awkward to tell jobseekers they weren’t selected for a position, you still owe them a call. They care greatly, and deserve to be notified of the outcome. However, you choose to leave them hanging, not returning calls, and are, should I say it, rude, if they do happen to catch up to you via phone. You started this journey – you advertised the job, they spent an hour or more on your system applying for it, you phoned them, you interviewed them, it is your job to get back with them and give them closure!

How about we come up with an easy way to give people the unpleasant news? This doesn’t mean they are going to like being told no, but the candidate will surely appreciate the gesture of a call. Here is just one example that can leave a very positive impression:

“We really enjoyed getting to know you, and wanted to get back with you as soon as possible. We had a candidate with more of the particular experience we needed, and while you weren’t selected for this position, you should definitely apply in the future for other positions with our organization. Thank you so much for your interest in our company.”

Short, sweet, tells them someone else has been hired, encourages them to keep applying. This person will now go and say nice things about your company, and your follow up skills.

Ghost them instead, and they will most likely no longer apply for any job at your company, and will gladly spread the word about how you treated them. This is the case with three of my clients within the last month who were promised a call back about the next steps within days (not weeks). Every one of them had the experience of being called, being brought in for an interview or extensively interviewed over the phone recently, and then nothing, just silence. Each followed up, and each received no response. This didn’t happen over a two day period, this is over the last month.

I then hear a lot of my recruitment and HR colleagues saying they don’t understand why jobseekers say bad things about their company online. However, you are making it more difficult for you and your company when the candidates are treated as if they aren’t important enough for a short phone call.

Yes, sometimes the candidate wants to hear why they didn’t get hired in more detail. Just tell them the other person had more experience and don’t get into the subject of what they can do better unless you are a retained or contingency recruiter advising them for a future, potential position. Let the jobseeker know again that you are encouraging them to continue to apply for jobs of interest, and wish them great success.

Leaving people hanging is just impolite. Help a candidate out and give them a call to tell them yes or no, or keep them updated on the process when it takes longer than expected – it will make you feel better, and help them to move on.

Karen Silins is a multi-certified, award winning resume writer, career, business and personal branding coach working with individuals and small businesses. After graduating with degrees in education and vocal performance, she made her own career transition into the Human Resources realm. Karen left Human Resources to become an entrepreneur and help jobseekers and fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals. She keeps current regarding trends in the resume writing, coaching, HR, small business and marketing industries by working daily with individual clients on resume development and career coaching, consulting for small businesses in business plan development, marketing, blogging, hiring and overall HR processes, and providing 50-70+ seminars and workshops annually to a variety of organizations in the greater Kansas City area. She can be reached via her website at www.careerandresume.com.

Categories Human Resources, Job Search
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Respect the Jobseeker’s Valuable Time

August 23rd, 2013

Hire Me

Whether my clients are discussing their frustrations with the current job search environment, or seminar, workshop and career fair attendees are venting, some complaints remain constant, and one of those complaints is “why are companies wasting my time?” I know organizations are busier than ever, and employee and management hours have increased, but if you are going to take the time to write a job ad, put that ad on your website, job board, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc., or gather referrals from employees, seek out retained recruitment firms, or publicize it in any way that includes collecting resumes – then review the resumes, do interviews and hire someone!!!

Would you like to know why jobseekers call and “bother” you about your job openings? It’s rarely the common assumption of desperation or anxiety issues – it’s because they receive no answers and would like to know something… anything. This is both a lack of decision-making and a disregard for jobseeker time and energy by the organizations that put these ads out there and then don’t follow through. I literally just received a call from one of my clients about a local organization which put an ad on their site for a specific job months ago. This particular job is a great fit for my clients’ experience, but they can’t even get a group of employees together to review resumes to set interviews. My client is careful about NOT bugging them, only calling every few weeks to check on the progress, but this client also needs to change their focus on this organization if the job is filled or the interview process has already started. And let’s not even get started on companies refusing to let jobseekers know by a simple email if a job has been filled for which they applied.

Hiring Managers, HR Managers and Recruiters tell me that they are annoyed by jobseekers calling to check on whether jobs are filled – well right back at you ladies and gentlemen. Having pointedly called you out, please don’t think I am unsympathetic to your plight. As anyone who reads my blog, LinkedIn profile, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook posts, goes to my seminars, etc., knows, I’m a former HR Director. Our company never put an ad out that didn’t include evaluation of resumes (and this was pre-ATS or Applicant Tracking System, for the company), interviews and then hiring someone within a reasonable amount of time (weeks, not months)! Furthermore, I am still involved in HR, advising organizations to facilitate their job search process, including interview and selection of candidates, so I am keenly aware of the issues around job search, the ATS systems, and time limitations. You’re crazy busy, I understand, but you’re contributing to the very issue you complain about consistently. Processes must be established to help eliminate this problem, making your job easier and offering the due respect that jobseekers deserve.

If a jobseeker spends what can be an hour or more to fill out all of your ATS system requirements, and expend time and energy to personalize their resume and cover letter, shouldn’t you offer them the respect of completing the job search process in a realistic time period. Shouldn’t you follow up and let them know the outcome with a “Dear John” email if they aren’t selected for interview. Every company I have assisted in the job search process knows up front that this will be how their process will progress – no stalling, no excuses, no posting of fake jobs or jobs for which you don’t have permission to hire yet, no complaining about jobseekers checking on interview and hiring status, and… a follow up email will go to all candidates who applied regardless of receiving an interview. I will even help the company craft a simple email template that can be sent to all candidates not selected for the available position (interview or no interview).

This isn’t rocket science and the disrespect shown is costing you good candidates. Applicants talk to other potential applicants and do tell them how shabbily they were treated. The ill-treatment of jobseekers reflects on your company poorly, and this information gets passed around to others, and many of those jobseekers may choose not to apply to your company. I hear candidates talking about this at career fairs all the time, and the other jobseekers often say they won’t consider that organization anymore because it is most likely symptomatic of the overall treatment of employees. While you grumble that you cannot find qualified applicants, some of those qualified jobseekers have decided your company isn’t worth the time for an application – as their time will be wasted with a litany of excuses, you will simply ignore them, or won’t treat them appropriately as employees. Despite the fact most jobseekers worry a great deal about finding a position, people will only put up with so much before they don’t apply to your job postings any longer or never apply in the first place.

So, why not make your life a bit less problematic as an employer, and treat the jobseekers with the respect they deserve:

–Don’t put out any ad for an employee without a plan for reviewing of resumes, holding interviews and making a hiring decision within a realistic period of time – meaning one to three months at the most.

–Do make your ATS system user friendly and stop asking so many questions that tell you very little to nothing. Instead, ask three or four specific questions that will give you real information about candidate qualifications for the actual job along with having them attach a resume AND cover letter.

–Do send candidates who don’t make the interview cut and those that do but aren’t your chosen hire a simple email or letter stating that you have “gone in another direction,” decided on another candidate with more experience,” etc.

–Answer the phone or call back those that contact you when you are slow to interview and hire. All you have to say is you will send them an email or letter if they aren’t selected and call them directly if they are chosen to interview.

Simplify the hiring process by following the above suggestions. My corporate clients do, and there are zero complaints. Candidates have even sent them thank you letters or left thank you phone messages for actually responding so their job search time can be spent wisely. Ultimately the respect you show a potential employee will pay huge dividends far beyond that individual’s experience and your time spent ensuring a quality outcome.

Categories Job Search
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The One-Page Rule

April 17th, 2012

Resume

We (Resume Writers, Career Coaches, HR, Hiring Managers, Recruiters) really need to teach job seekers to stop listening to the one-page rule. While one page can be appropriate for some job seekers it is absurd for highly experienced candidates and damages their search by becoming a chronological obituary instead of a marketing document. Two to three pages are fine if warranted and can make the difference between getting a hiring manager, recruiter and/or HR’s attention, and/or getting past the ATS scanning systems. Yes, as a former HR Director and current resume writer and career coach who still helps organizations hire new employees, we do give it a very short initial look, but if it lacks the information for us to determine you are someone to look at in more detail, then it doesn’t do its job. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to see a seven-page resume from the typical job seeker, but the one-page advice for all job seekers needs is absolutely incorrect.

See my colleague Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter’s article featured in USA today regarding this very issue: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2012/04/30/why-you-shouldnt-conform-your-resume

Categories Job Search, Resume Writing
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