Cartesian Merger

This week I helped one of my clients hire their first employee. The women they hired is a perfect match for the organization and I look forward to working with her. During her interview the new hire asked several questions about the work culture within the organization, her questions came out as more of a cautious inquiry - What days and times she need to work? If there were weeks when she worked less then her contract 20 hours was that ok, could she work more hours if needed other weeks?

Much to her surprise and pleasure when she had asked her questions my face lit up, I might even have giggled. I immediately told her to relax. What is important to the culture of this organization and to me is the work gets done with excellence, in a timely manner and that the people doing it love what they do.

I have file folders full of templates for work plans, paper and digital systems for project and time management which provide the architecture for working in a more organic and individualized fashion.

This management style plays to individual strengths - some of us work better in the early morning, some of us (ME!) crash hard at 3pm and need to get out and get some exercise before returning to work, others like to work in the evening, standing up at their desk, working with music or without. Thinking about the merger of work and life rather then the separation of work and life provides flexibility, creates a more productive work environment, encourages creativity and in the end the product, whatever that may be, is better for it.

Dennis Crowley the CEO of Four-Square was interviewed on Marketplace a few days ago and I love what he had to say about going to work, it is a feeling a share and the type of work environment I help my clients create.

Crowley said, "I never think of it as going to work everyday. It's just, hey this is where I go to do the stuff I like to do."

Attention Job Seekers.

No not me, I am still content running my business here in New Hampshire.
This is the second time in six months I've worked with an organization as part of a hiring team. In the summer of 2010 I managed the hiring of a part-time program staff person for a small nonprofit. Right now I am in the middle of the search process for an Executive Director, again for a small nonprofit.

When applications arrived this summer for a part-time program coordinator, my expectations were rooted by entry level nature of the position. I was pleasantly surprised by the caliber of the candidates and simultaneously shocked at the number of applications which were assembled carelessly. I wrote off the amazement reminding myself, you are hiring for an entry level position. I won't leave you wondering, we hired an extraordinary young women who has mastered her job and then some in less then six months.

I am back to the hiring game. This time the stakes are higher. I am on a team working to fill the shoes of women who started her work with this institution doing part-time administrative duties and today she is now a power house fundraiser, manager and leader.

This hire is a year in the making. The group brainstormed, planned, convened ad hoc committees and in December the posting went out. Credit where it is due, we received many strong applications. In addition we received others that stopped me in my tracks, several applications arrived screaming for a reminder about simple measures which can make or break an application.

I am not a career coach or a veteran HR professional.

I have a background in visual arts drilled into my brain, an obsession with detail and the ability to find value and intrigue in a-typical candidates, so long as they present themselves well.
Here are a handful of tips I wrote down while reflecting on these two hiring processes, share them, use them personally or to help evaluate your next hire.

1) Don't try to be cute

I love the color pink, dresses and small bossy dogs. I am completely turned off by applications: on colored paper, which included clip art graphics, catchy slogans or cheesy fonts. Even if you are working with small children or animals a hiring committee expects professional applicants, be one.

2) Formatting Nightmares: Don't be one

Imagine twenty plus applications (resumes, cover letters, letters of reference) sitting in your inbox. Now imagine opening the documents to find these documents are a formatting disaster. Regardless of the content these candidates start out at a deficit or don't start the process at all.

What can you do?

Save as a PDF! It's simple and will ensure what you see on the screen is what the hiring team sees.
Use bold, underline or italicized text for emphasis when appropriate and if you use it be consistent.
(Ex: Bold one company you worked for....bold them all)
Only send what your asked for and offer access to further information if requested. A pile of attachments takes time to print and organize, if you weren't asked to provide them you are likely adding more work and frustrating someone.

3) Proof Read

No one is perfect. Second only to my mother, I am pretty sure I am the world's worst speller so I am especially attentive in grant writing, applications and professional writing to triple check for errors. Cook dinner for a trusted friend, babysit for a professor, bake cookies for a co-worker....bottom line make sure your eyes are not the only eyes to fall on these documents.


4) Right Resume, Right Time

This one may cause you to sigh deeply and stop reading...I'm not sure who perpetuated the idea that one resume works for every job but it doesn't in my world. Consider carefully the wording of the job you are applying to, highlight the skills you have that match that job specifically. Edit your resume so it presents the education and experience that will serve you well in the position for which you are applying.

5) Your time and mine

If you are applying for jobs that doesn't just mean sending out applications and going back to business as usual. After your applications go out, be attentive to your email and voice mail messages. If you know you will be away or unavailable, be proactive and include a note in your application with the details on when you will return or how to contact you while you are away. Return calls or emails within 24 hours, great general rule of business and critical in a hiring process.

6) First rule of sales: Know the product

Applying for a new job is about sales. You are selling yourself to a future employers with the promise of being a future sales person for their company or organization. You will find lots of information out there about how to present yourself and significantly less about the impotence of knowing the company or organization you would like to work for.
Do your research - check their website, look at staff profiles, check their social media sites for photos, comments and any other information that can provide insight into the culture, values and vision of the company.


7) Voice on the machine

Like many people many I only have one phone, a cell phone and I hold great disdain for cutesy voicemails messages. I outgrew my taste for entertaining voice mails in highs school. This isn't a judgment just fact, I spent untold hours of my youth recording creative, musical messages on my home answering machine. Be sure your contact information and associated replies are professional.


I'll sign off with a lucky seven. Happy hiring, good luck applying and feel free to add your own best practices in the comments section of this blog.