I had the employee’s supervisor with me at the time the employee returned, and we were flabbergasted to see she was dressed in a white, “angelic” dress, had put on makeup and done her hair, and she proceeded to state that the President of the Company and other managers had been “drugged” by a co-worker and we were all under her [the co-worker's] direction.

She also asserted that this co-worker was trying to steal her boyfriend (some 30 years older than the co-worker) and made various other wild statements.  I continually had to interrupt her to give her the details of her termination package (benefit continuation, etc.) and stay focused on the issues causing her exit, not the outlandish claims she kept bringing up.

The Supervisor sat through the whole meeting quietly, pale-faced and fearful the employee would become violent, since she was so out of touch with reality.  It was quite scary at the time, but one of those moments that you look back on and say “I should write a book about the things that have happened in HR!”  Then think, no, it’s too unbelievable!

We monitored John’s comings/goings for a couple of days and observed if he was taking company property without permission.  Our worst fears were confirmed: John was leaving the premises while still “on the clock” and using his truck to take copper tubing and other building materials.

Upon confronting John, he denied everything and alleged that the company was singling him out???  He reminded me about his seniority (10+ years) and excellent performance ratings, etc.  I explained that we had undisputable proof (i.e. pictures and other evidence) which clearly showed his guilt.  Turns out John were helping prepare his wife’s health club for its grand opening.  He used the stolen materials for various building needs and platforms for exercise equipment.

When John realized we had the “smoking gun,” he attempted to negotiate.  He actually asked if he returned the materials, if we would let him resign and not block his unemployment.  No way!  I explained that he was terminated for cause and we required the return of all materials promptly.

To our surprise, John brought back some of the materials and wrote a check to help offset some of the company’s losses.

Back to the beginning.  I applied for an administrative assistant position.

After two interviews, I thought I had it but received a call on a Thursday to say, “it was a tough choice, but I offered the position to someone else.”  I accepted that, but one of the things I was taught as a follow up on phone calls like that is to say, “Thank you very much for the phone call.  Could you tell me what the deciding factor was in your choice so that I can know going forward with other agencies, what made the difference in your decision?”  The response I got was not quite what I was ready for.

The response I got was, “Yeah, I don’t think your personality was the right match for what my needs are.”  It doesn’t end there though.  A week later, the very same person called me back to say”  “Are you still interested in a position here at _____________?  So, I did reply yes because times are tough and I needed a job.  She then offered me the very same position that I was not the right personality for.

I worked for this person who would whistle for me as I walked by because she needed me.  Sending her children to my desk to ask for things because she was “too lazy to get up.”  OR on the other extreme, leave me a pile of papers to “three hold punch” because “it’s your job as my assistant.”  She even once called me into her office so that I could scan the football pool sheet, so she could email it to her husband.

I have since moved on to a more respectful job.

You would never dream of submitting a résumé to a company without first looking at their website.  Maybe you’d follow them on Twitter or LinkedIn. Perhaps you’d like them on Facebook.  You want to know who works there.  You wonder about their culture.  There is no better way to find that out than from current employees.  Online information is easily accessible and free!

On the flip side, no longer does a hiring manager or human resources manager call you in for an interview without doing a bit of social media research.

I know what you are thinking: Wait! Isn’t there a law against using social media in the hiring process?  The answer is NO.  There is no law prohibiting the use of Social Media in the hiring process.  There is a lot of murkiness around this issue, however.  Although smart, savvy companies should have a social media hiring policy in place and make you aware of it, it often applies only if you are an actual applicant. When a potential employer finds your resume on a résumé database, like Monster or Career Builder, or finds you on LinkedIn, and is interested in learning more about you, they will ultimately Google you or look for you on other networking sites to learn more about you. You may never know whether or not a company has employed social media research in their hiring process.

LinkedIn

LINKEDIN gives you the tools to control your online identity. Have you Googled yourself lately?  LinkedIn profiles rise to the top of search results, letting you control the first impression people get when searching for you online. It is estimated that 70%-80% of people are not leveraging LinkedIn efficiently.  Do you have a recommendation that is simply a space holder? It might hurt your image more than help it.   Most recruiters go to LINKEDIN first, before posting a position or even searching resume databases. If you don’t have a noticeable online presence you may as well not exist for some hiring authorities.

Your profile should include:

• Your photo
• A summary of your skills
• At least your 3 most recent positions with a brief description
• Glowing and truthful recommendations

Facebook

One or two flip comments on Facebook or an embarrassing photo can push you out of the running for a position and you’ll never even know why.  Completely blocking your profiles may offer some protection. You should modify your privacy settings so that only your closest friend can see your activities and status updates.  If you want true privacy, select “Friends Only” options from the search privacy setting page.

Twitter

Remember, Tweets are searchable and show up on Google.  You should be extra careful about the image you portray on Twitter. Did you Tweet that you skipped work in favor of a day at the beach?  Imagine you are a hiring authority and you read this on a prospective employees update.  Would you feel comfortable that this person has a good work ethic?  Remember: There is No Privacy on the Internet!

Although, some of these points may seem trivial, many employers don’t need to take chances on candidates who seem less than perfect.  In this tough job market, the little things make a big difference in whether or not you are considered for the job.

My advice: Your on line image should be a reflection of you at your best.  Present yourself as a professional, mature individual.  What you put in cyberspace, stays in cyberspace. Make sure you understand the ramifications of your tweets or status updates, and use sound judgment when posting.

DON’T LET INFORMATION UNINTENDED FOR PROPSECTIVE EMPLOYERS KEEP YOU FROM LANDING YOUR DREAM JOB!

Whether you are currently unemployed, completing your degree, or considering other career opportunities, volunteering is a great way to:

• Develop new skills and competencies
• Apply your existing skills in new ways and in new environments
• Keep your skills sharp
• Explore new career paths: For example, if you are an accountant by trade, try volunteering in a role where you are recruiting volunteers or writing press releases.
• Expand your personal and professional networks: get to know the important people, board members, committee members and fellow volunteers.  Each one is a valuable addition to your network and may put you in touch with your next career opportunity.   To improve your odds, volunteer at places where your potential clients or co-workers volunteer.
• Get on the radar of hiring professionals and be seen as a doer, a giver, a contributor
• Give back while assessing or actively pursuing your next role
• Keep a work-based routine: getting up every day and having somewhere to go and duties to perform, keeps you in the game!
• Stay involved in the community
• Help fill in the gaps of a resume when you have got been out of work: be sure to list you volunteer experience on your resume!
• Build up references: Get letters of recommendation from the directors of organizations where you volunteer or board members, who are often business leaders.

In addition to building up your network and helping to gain new skills, volunteering is the right thing to do to keep our communities strong.  We practice what we preach!

Some of the organizations we support and lend our time to:

• Camp Ketcha Scarborough Maine   www.campketcha.org
• The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital   www.mmc.org
• Crossroads for Women    www.crossroadsforwomen.org
• Portland Trails             www.trails.org
• Lion’s Club                 www.epping.nhlions.org
• Rotary Club                 www.portlandrotary.org

The Employee Engagement Survey Pitfall and How to Avoid It!

In my recent blog http://www.cmacareer.com/for-organizations/2011/06/employer-satisfactionengagement-survey/ regarding employee engagement surveys, I discussed reasons to conduct a survey, choosing a vendor and addressing employees’ expectations after the survey. The single biggest pitfall in conducting a survey is that employees will expect change (in short order!) after taking the time to tell you what they think! A great challenge faced by many organizations is allocating enough resources to post-survey action planning and communication.

Survey specialists caution employers from administering surveys in the absence of a commitment to addressing low scoring items. An option, then, could be to proactively tackle the areas which often diminish engagement levels, without actually conducting a survey. While this approach does not provide data specific to your organization, it relieves the pressure of taking immediate action when time and resources may be limited.

In my experience, 4 of the areas which often receive a low score in an employee engagement survey are:

• Communication
• Recognition
• Training
• Advancement

It is possible to tackle these 4 opportunity areas through the creation of initiatives (organizational level) and action plans (manager level).

For example, within the communication sphere, it might be decided that organizationally, company-wide communication could be strengthened through a newsletter, and video and email messaging from the organization’s leader (or better yet, more regular in-person visibility from the leader). At the department management level, communication could be enhanced by instituting “managing by walking around”, thereby engaging individuals regularly, on their “turf”, as well as initiating a formal communications plan – daily, weekly, monthly and/or quarterly meetings – where both one-way (up-to-date information sharing) and two-way (soliciting input and questions from employees) communication can occur.

I have recommended this tactic to organizations considering participation in surveys where the results are ranked and made public, and that may be concerned about their survey “performance”. This approach also provides a forum for improvement without creating unrealistic employee expectations…..and it saves the cost of conducting a survey.

CMA can assist you in auditing your organizations’ performance within these “Big 4” areas and establishing initiatives which can position your organization to achieve a higher overall engagement level, while providing a focused and manageable improvement plan.

Valerie Mercer is a Senior Consultant at Career Management Associates an HR consulting firm
that specializes in Professional and Executive Search, HR Consulting and Services, Outplacement
and Career Transition, Executive Coaching, and Contract Employment. Please contact her
at vmercer@cmacareer.com or 207.780.1125.

We have the world at our fingertips and we have no patience to read about it. It’s true. Today, you can Google anything and find any information you were seeking.

That said, how long did you look at the result? 10, 15, 30 seconds till you move on to the next thought and search?

The Internet has made us a nation of scanners, not readers. So how you write your resume and what you put in it to capture the reader’s (HR, Owner, VP, etc) attention is critical. The average resume is looked at for less then 30 seconds!

Will your resume standout?

Here are some quick tips:

• The top ½ of the resume is critical. Why? When the reader opens your resume they only see the top half and they have to do “work” to scroll down to see the rest! You know its true. How many times have you not taken the time to read further when you have to scroll?

• Bullet points.
  • CRITICAL – Make sure that you put the most important points first and second.
  • Also keep them short (2-3 lines is best)

• Use Bold but use it sparingly. Key points or key titles. This is a case where less is more.

• Use italics to break up the sea of print. Again less is more and keep the theme of what you are using this for consistent throughout the document.

• Numbers. Using 1200, instead of the words twelve hundred, breaks up the page of words and is more likely catch someone’s eye. Remember use 123′s to show quantifiable results.

• Caps means you are SHOUTING!!! Do not get cap crazy!

Keep the resume to one or two pages and 1)Please 2)Please 3)Please NO TYPOS!

David Ciullo is President of Career Management Associates an HR consulting firm that specializes in Professional and Executive Search, HR Consulting and Outsourcing Services, Outplacement / Career Transition, Executive Coaching, and Contract Staffing. Please contact him at cmacareer.com, dciullo@cmacareer.com or 207.780.1125.

In today’s show, Ray, Ted and David discuss growing employment needs today and for the future.

Today’s segment is about the fact that “Great talent will get found”, some interview tips, and yes we have some fun!