All posts in category Fridays

6+ years … still surprised.

All recruiters have funny stories about interviews, candidates, etc. Over the years, you start to get ‘numb’ to some of the silly things candidates and/or hiring manager do. However, there is always that time when you speak to someone and you are absolutely-100%-amazed at the ridiculousness of what is coming out of their mouth. For instance (this is edited a bit for easy reading):

Me: “What is your ideal role?”
Candidate: “I would like to get into something new and move into a help desk role to get away from operations.”
Me: “You have been on a help desk for 12 years now, how will that be different?”
Candidate: “You’re right, that probably isn’t … I just hate operations.”
Me: “To me, help desk roles are very operational in nature, don’t you think so?”
Candidate: “You’re right, they probably are.”

Another part of this same conversation:
Me: “From a technical standpoint, where do you feel like your strengths are; meaning what technologies does your knowledge go the deepest?”
Candidate: “I am a great people person.”

Another part of this same conversation:
(keep in mind the candidate applied to this role on the website)
Me: “Do you have any questions for me?”
Candidate: “What does your company do?”
Me: “Have you had a chance to look at the website at all?”
Candidate: “Ummm, I don’t think so. (pause) Ummm, nope I haven’t, can you tell me?”

I’m sorry to the person that I had this conversation with, but these are too good not to share.

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by RecruiterMind on June 1, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by RecruiterMind on June 1, 2012

https://recruitermind.wordpress.com/2012/06/01/6-years-still-surprised/

I lied.

I just told you that I wouldn’t be posting for a week, but I just saw this article (link below) and I love the tips they give about networking.

When I am late somewhere, I get stomach aches, so I am never late (or less than 1% of the time). However, I might have taken it for granted on how that can help in a networking situation. Great tip!

http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/223468

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by RecruiterMind on May 4, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by RecruiterMind on May 4, 2012

https://recruitermind.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/i-lied/

How to lose a job: lie

Thank you to one of my favorite readers for contributing the following recruiting war stories …

  1. “We staff for a client that has multiple locations and the desktop resources working there will travel to and from different locations throughout the day.  During these trips, a few technicians end up riding together.  It came to light, that one of these technicians was recording mileage even though he was just “riding along.”  So, the individual earned a few extra dollars from falsifying mileage, but then lost his job.”
  2. “Each week our consultants have to record a daily total of hours into the time management system.  Managers will often “reject” their hours if they know they are incorrect.  But there are times when managers aren’t physically there, and the secondary approver has to step in and doesn’t really know if the resource worked those hours or not.  So once the primary manager double checks the time sheet, it is realized quickly that it is a breach of the contract because they are getting paid for hours they aren’t working; meaning the consultant loses their job.”
Recruiters definitely talk to each other and the person/people that did this will be discussed (besides on this blog).  Lesson? Don’t lie, because you will burn bridges. 
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by RecruiterMind on April 13, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by RecruiterMind on April 13, 2012

https://recruitermind.wordpress.com/2012/04/13/how-to-lose-a-job-lie/

A Social Media Don’t.

Quite a few years back I was recruiting for a third shift data center position at a large client that I had a long standing relationship with. We had been through countless applicants for this role and many people had dropped out at different stages of the process; as always, we were determined to find the right fit and be the agency that made this match for the client. I identified a candidate through my network and was told this individual was perfect…

He had the right technical capabilities.
He presented himself well to us and the client.
He wanted a chance to prove himself in a larger company and was passionate about his next step.
AND… he wanted a third shift position (for family reasons if I recall correctly).

We performed our normal screening process (phone screen, references, social media check, etc) and it all came out great!  The client loved him and the offer was made. We started the normal on-boarding process and there were a few delays in getting in touch with the candidate… the communication frequency changed and all recruiters know this is a big red flag. My worries were put to rest when I received a voice mail stating that the candidate was on a quick vacation and would be back in 2 days to complete all of the necessary paperwork and steps to begin his new job. Life went on and I stopped any of my concern for this placement.

Then, I received a call from the client. While doing their background check on the candidate they came across his Myspace page. (I said this was awhile ago) While on vacation, he had changed his main profile picture and caption (or whatever Myspace used to call that) to a celebratory picture of getting a new job. This candidate decided to celebrate with the use of illegal drugs and highlighted the details of the activity in the caption, leaving no doubt on what he was doing in the picture. Ridiculous.

The offer was rescinded.

Moral: (I really want to say don’t be an idiot) Watch what you are putting out into the world. Even if it isn’t as extreme as this example, people are watching what you are doing.

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by RecruiterMind on March 23, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by RecruiterMind on March 23, 2012

https://recruitermind.wordpress.com/2012/03/23/a-social-media-dont/

Fridays.

On Fridays I plan to write a random short story; could be a war story from recruiting past, might be recruiting current events or could be something off the wall.  For the recruiters and past job seekers (yes, that’s everyone) reading this, I’m happy to have guest writers on Fridays as well… please feel free to contact me with ideas, stories, etc.

So today is about a candidate that we shall call Dean to protect the innocent. I met Dean back in 2006 when I first got into recruiting. He was literally one of the first few candidates that I contacted and did an initial phone screen with. I’m sure that was an entertaining phone screen as I was learning recruiting and IT all at the same time. After speaking to Dean it became clear that I didn’t have an opportunity that matched his skillset or career goals, but he impressed me and I wanted to keep in contact with him. I probably called Dean every other month (minimum) for the next few years… sometimes we would grab lunch, we even might chat about other positions, but nothing ever seemed to be ‘the match’. I continued building the relationship and realized that this had turned into a massive referral tree. He was constantly introducing me to people in the industry and referring me passive candidates for openings that I had. I realized that the relationship had stemmed to more than what I had ever intended and I can’t even begin to think about the benefits career-wise and financially that I obtained from this relationship.

Keep in touch with people that stand out to you; the long-term benefits can be immeasurable.

(and for those that are interested, yes I did eventually place Dean in a permanent role where he has been employed for the past 2.5 years) 

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by RecruiterMind on March 16, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Fridays

Posted by RecruiterMind on March 16, 2012

https://recruitermind.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/fridays/