Many candidates have complained to me over the years about “bait
and switch” tactics to screen them out of an active candidacy because of a
disability, minority or seasoned candidate status.
My advice to you is the same as it is to all of my potential
candidates. In order for me to present
you as the “most place-able candidate” or better said……in order for YOU to
prepare yourself to become the most place-able candidate it all comes down to
the following; SKILLS, STABILITY, EXPERIENCE AND ATTITUDE
A. All
companies ask me for the “skill set” first.
If you don’t match the qualifications, why would I try to force a square
peg into a round hole? All it does is
offer frustration and a set up for a failure.
B. Job
hopping is a no-no. A couple of years
ago I read an article that says the Generation X & Y employees will change
jobs 26 times in their career path. This
is an atrocious goal in life. I hear from hiring managers, “….why doesn’t
he/she stay any longer than 2 years at any given job?” And I rhetorically respond, “Good question,
why don’t they?”
C. You must
learn your trade and then relearn your trade every day. Our world moves fast and change is a common
word in most growing business environments.
If you don’t have the skill sets required by an employer it probably
won’t be a match, no matter how hard you try. What did you do in the last 12
months to improve yourself? Remember
that YOUR resume is only a job description of who you were. You must be prepared to demonstrate to a
prospective hiring manager what you plan to be and how your presence can impact
their company in a positive way!
D. There are
no longer any “GIVE-ME’s” in this world.
Having an attitude that the new employer or current employer “owes you”
is a destination to nowhere. It all
begins with you the employee. Why fall
into an impossible stereotype? Why not
demonstrate your qualifications by example?
My grandmother used to tell me, “deeds not words!”
When I speak with employers about employees they have
terminated I hear, “they just acted like they didn’t want to be here; or he/she
stood around with his/her hands in their pockets waiting for ME to do it; or
He/she never contributed to the conversation, never offer good solutions to
problems; or when the five o’clock buzzer rang, they were out the door like a
shot.”
All these actions demonstrate why an employer wouldn’t want
to keep an employee. And if you fit into
these categories, change or the results will be the same in the future for you.
Now from the management or hiring side of these issues I
suggest the following;
1. Start
looking at candidates from what assets and value that they bring to the
organization.
2. Look at
candidates with this thought, “if he/she has only five years left to work, how
can we empower them to allow us to tap into their knowledge to grow the people
in this department or company?”
3. Become
known as a company that is a champion of PEOPLE. This will probably include
soul searching and making decisions that you have probably not made in your “job
hiring” past.
4. The
results will be that you will have a work place that people will WANT to work
and the word will spread and it will positively affect your sales and bottom
line.5. If one of your friends or parent was noticeably older than you or walked with a disability or had a different color of skin, would you tell him/her not to come to your house because you didn’t want the neighbors to know that you associate with “those types” of HUMAN BEINGS? I think not, so why does it in happen in business?
6. QUALIFIED
candidates will reward you, the company and their co-workers once given the
opportunity to shine.
Go forth and make this a tremendous week for you and
everyone around you!
Regards,
George F. Mancuso, CPC, CEOClient Growth Consultants, Inc.
