Well, after watching the debate between republican candidates last night, I've decided it is going to be one LONG year of politics and bashing.
You know, in our business, one of the first things you learn before going out on an interview is to never, never talk bad about a previous boss. You also don't talk negatively about your colleagues, former or present. Wouldn't it be nice if that was the policy in politics as well. It sure would save a lot of time and make those one minute sound bites richer in content. Whoops! Maybe that is the problem. Content. Actual Answers versus mud slinging. Actually real mud-slinging would have been far more entertaining last night--all those guys in suits in a ring of mud going at each other, fair and square. Get it out of their system in one fell swoop and let the winners try a content based debate next month--and if they don't stick to the subjects asked, they forfeit their turn and have to sit in a dunking booth and let folks from the audience try their hand with water balloons. Ok. I'm dreaming now, but re-training these guys to stay on track is going to require some out of the box thinking.
Bottom line, is if any of this year's presidential want to be candidates were interviewing for a corporate job, they would have to try a different approach than bashing each other and circling around the questions. Perhaps I should send them all our interview prep book and highlight "the good manners" section.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
Don't forget to pack the Imodium!!!!
Good morning, I am Suzanne, one of the recruiters working with Whitney at RSG, Inc.
Of course we always want to be current in our blogs so I gave it a little thought over the weekend. As I was doing my weekly grocery shopping the idea came to me.
Roaming the aisles I was thinking about what I would have for my lunch this week since I do tend to brown bag it. I thought gee a peanut butter sandwich would be good, though peanut butter has had a recall. How about a good healthy salad with fresh lettuce and spinach - oh no better not do that - it has had a recall too. Well one of my favorite quick lunches has always been a chicken pot pie… once again, been recalled!
We try and help to prepare our candidates for successful interviews with our clients. Do we now have to prepare them for the possible onset of salmonella due to a bad salad…..?
What is going on with our food supply? As a firm that has clients and candidates having to travel for meetings and interviews do we have to start worrying about how and where their next meal is being purchased and prepared? Even the best burger place can cause one to think twice about ordering a nice fat juicy cheeseburger! Should restaurants start to include bar codes and expiration dates on their menus? It can be stressful enough just preparing for an upcoming interview. Now a candidate has to worry if the meal they ate for breakfast or lunch may come back to haunt them in the middle of their interview process.
Seems to be an unlikely event but with more recalls on different foods one needs to be prepared for anything.
Oh well, as far as lunch goes for me… guess I’ll stick with a diet coke and a bag of cheetos…..LOL!
Of course we always want to be current in our blogs so I gave it a little thought over the weekend. As I was doing my weekly grocery shopping the idea came to me.
Roaming the aisles I was thinking about what I would have for my lunch this week since I do tend to brown bag it. I thought gee a peanut butter sandwich would be good, though peanut butter has had a recall. How about a good healthy salad with fresh lettuce and spinach - oh no better not do that - it has had a recall too. Well one of my favorite quick lunches has always been a chicken pot pie… once again, been recalled!
We try and help to prepare our candidates for successful interviews with our clients. Do we now have to prepare them for the possible onset of salmonella due to a bad salad…..?
What is going on with our food supply? As a firm that has clients and candidates having to travel for meetings and interviews do we have to start worrying about how and where their next meal is being purchased and prepared? Even the best burger place can cause one to think twice about ordering a nice fat juicy cheeseburger! Should restaurants start to include bar codes and expiration dates on their menus? It can be stressful enough just preparing for an upcoming interview. Now a candidate has to worry if the meal they ate for breakfast or lunch may come back to haunt them in the middle of their interview process.
Seems to be an unlikely event but with more recalls on different foods one needs to be prepared for anything.
Oh well, as far as lunch goes for me… guess I’ll stick with a diet coke and a bag of cheetos…..LOL!
Friday, October 5, 2007
Birthday lunches and employees that count
So yesterday was Anna's birthday--for those of you who haven't talked to Anna, she is our frontline recruiter.
We took Anna out for lunch to celebrate at YiaYia's, a restaurant in Germantown. Our service started out OK, but swiftly went downhill as drinks were not right, food didn't come out in the correct scheduled order, etc....Now one note: Anna demands very good customer service and speaks up when she doesn't get it. (This is also one of the traits that makes her good at assessing talent) As our meal progressed, it became apparent our table wasn't happy and the manager, Brad, came over and apologized.
But Brad didn't just apologize. He made things right. He comped part of our meal, gave us discounts on the whole bill and gave us all gift certificates for future meals. Brad did all of this without being asked and without knowing that this was the third year in a row we had celebrated office birthdays at YiaYia's. Not only did he save the day, but he instilled a loyalty with us that could have easily walked out the door and chosen not to return.
My point? Finding employees and for us, potential candidates, that can exhibit the ability to not only resolve a problem but turn it into an opportunity to create brand loyalty--is a trait that we all look for and unfortunately, is not always easy to find. Creating customer satisfaction is part of everyone's job and occasions like this are are a strong reminder of the power of one person, one employee.
Our hats go off to Brad Skinner. We will be celebrating future birthdays at YiaYia's in the years to come.
We took Anna out for lunch to celebrate at YiaYia's, a restaurant in Germantown. Our service started out OK, but swiftly went downhill as drinks were not right, food didn't come out in the correct scheduled order, etc....Now one note: Anna demands very good customer service and speaks up when she doesn't get it. (This is also one of the traits that makes her good at assessing talent) As our meal progressed, it became apparent our table wasn't happy and the manager, Brad, came over and apologized.
But Brad didn't just apologize. He made things right. He comped part of our meal, gave us discounts on the whole bill and gave us all gift certificates for future meals. Brad did all of this without being asked and without knowing that this was the third year in a row we had celebrated office birthdays at YiaYia's. Not only did he save the day, but he instilled a loyalty with us that could have easily walked out the door and chosen not to return.
My point? Finding employees and for us, potential candidates, that can exhibit the ability to not only resolve a problem but turn it into an opportunity to create brand loyalty--is a trait that we all look for and unfortunately, is not always easy to find. Creating customer satisfaction is part of everyone's job and occasions like this are are a strong reminder of the power of one person, one employee.
Our hats go off to Brad Skinner. We will be celebrating future birthdays at YiaYia's in the years to come.
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