May 09 2013

The Importance of Checking References

Every year, I have at least 3 or 4 people call to ask if I’ll be a reference.  Only about a third of the people actually call me.  And when they do, they don’t ask very insightful questions.  A recent  Globe & Mail  article does a great job of phrasing questions in such a way that you're really going to get at what your candidate was really like.

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Apr 23 2013

7 Steps to Hiring Your First Employee

For a lot of solopreneurs like myself, one of the hardest decisions you make is when and how to hire your first employee. From an economic perspective, the right time is when you either can’t outsource the work you need done or the cost of outsourcing now exceeds the cost of hiring.  

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Jan 29 2013

4 Reasons You Should Hire a Wounded Warrior

I was recently introduced to an organization, the 100 Entrepreneurs Project.  This group was "created to provide seriously wounded service members, veterans and their families with information and ideas for creating their own business. “ But what if not all these veterans want to be entrepreneurs, would you be willing to hire a severely disabled veteran?

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Nov 19 2012

Questions You Should Ask Before You Rehire

Many years ago I was in the process of rehiring someone who left for “greener pastures”. One of my clients told me it was a bad idea and that he had a policy of never rehiring someone who left voluntarily.  Unfortunately, I didn’t follow his advice and my rehire left again in less than 18 months.  Short of having a zero rehire policy, how do you determine when it might be okay to rehire?

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Sep 28 2012

The Problem with Pre-Employment Testing

More and more job applicants are being asked to take personality tests. I’d like to believe it’s one small arrow in a quiver of screening methods, but it’s likely to be the one the company weighs the most.  A recent WSJ article discusses some of the inherent biases in this kind of testing but what else is wrong with pre-hire testing?

 

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May 15 2012

Why Jack Welch Just Doesn't Get It

bias |ˈbīəs| noun

Prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.

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Apr 30 2012

The Right Way to Get a Job Reference

Former employees often call and ask to use me as a reference. It’s not surprising that anyone with half a brain will only use a reference they feel will be positive.  But what is surprising is how ill prepared the person seeking the reference can be.

 

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