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Ten Things I Couldn’t Care Less About When I’m Hiring

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Jul 19, 2016 @ 12:45 AM

 Liz Ryan

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Hiring people is such an organic and human activity, it kills me to see how many companies do it badly. They try to make recruiting a linear, data-driven and analytical process, but that’s impossible, because recruiting is all about the energy that flows between and among people.

It has nothing to do with data. It has nothing to do with particles — like all human activities, it is all about waves!

Recruiting has nothing to do with keyword-searching algorithms. How sad it is to see how my HR profession has devolved!   Read more…

 

8 Signs an Employee Is Exceptional (Which Never Appear on Performance Evaluations)

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Many are good. Some are superior. And a few–just a few–are exceptional. Here’s how to tell the difference.

By Jeff Haden
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CREDIT: Getty Images

We can all spot a great employee: she’s dependable, proactive, hardworking, a great leader, and a great follower. She brings a wide variety of easily defined–but hard to find–skills to the table.

Some employees, though, are exceptional. They have skills and qualities that aren’t evaluated on performance appraisals but make a huge impact on that individual’s performance, the performance of the people around her, and especially on the company’s results.

Here are eight signs an employee is truly exceptional:

1. They think well beyond job descriptions.

The smaller the company, the more important it is that employees can think on their feet, adapt quickly to shifting priorities, and do whatever it takes, regardless of role or position, to get things done.

When a key customer’s project is in jeopardy, exceptional employees know without being told there’s a problem, and they jump in without being asked, even if–especially if–it’s not their job.

2. They’re quirky…

The best employees are often a little different: a little eccentric, sometimes irreverent, even delighted to be unusual. They seem slightly odd, but in a really good way. Unusual personalities shake things up, make work more fun, and transform a plain-vanilla group into a team with flair and flavor.

Read more…

These 5 Power Words Can Land You Your Dream Job

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Job interviews aren’t about your opinion of your own character; they’re about whether you can get the job done.

By Geoffrey James
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CREDIT: Getty Images

When my editor suggested I write a column about powerful words for job interviews, I started by researching what other people had written about the subject.

To my surprise, most articles about interview “power words” were full of puffy, self-descriptive adjectives, like ambitious, confident, diligent, honest, etc. That is just SO wrong.

Why in heaven’s name would ANYBODY care about how your see yourself? Or what happy-sappy words you use to describe yourself? Especially since you’re unlikely to express any opinion that’s not positive!  It’s like the A.A. Milne poem:

I went to the Zoo, and they waited to say:
” Have you been a good girl? ”
” Have you been a good girl? ”
Well, what did they think that I went there to do?
And why should I want to be bad at the Zoo?
And should I be likely to say if I had? 

Look, I’ve gotten a job offer every time I’ve interviewed and I’m 100% certain I never used any of those words because–shock!–I would never waste an interviewer’s time expressing my personal opinion of my own character.  Why would they care?

Spouting self-praise is especially silly when you’re in a conversation because the interviewer(s) can see and hear for themselves whether you actually possess the traits you’re claiming to possess.

For example, if you repeatedly insist you’re “self-confident” but are sweating bullets during the interview, the interviewer will immediately know you’re either fooling yourself or lying to them.

So, no, words like “ambitious” and “loyal” aren’t going to land you your dream job. What you really need are these five honest-to-goodness job interview “power words”:…Read more

Career Transitions for Librarians : 5 Questions with Ray Pun and Davis Erin Anderson [INALJ]

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June 13, 2016

by Naomi House, MLIS

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In this post, I interviewed the co-editors of Career Transitions for Librarians and asked them 5 questions about the book!

 

  1. Tell us about yourselves and your new book, Career Transitions for Librarians: Proven Strategies for Moving to Another Type of Library !

Ray Pun: Thanks for inviting us to speak about our new book! We are excited to be sharing what we think would be helpful to INALJ readers!

So I’m the first year student success librarian in Fresno State in California. I thought about this project in 2014 when I was writing a blog post for ACRL on career transitions. At that time I made a move from NYPL to NYU Shanghai and I thought this was an interesting transition; many colleagues asked how I did it and I tried outlining it in the blog with some tips. I started speaking to more and more library professionals and seeing how many used to work in corporate, public, school and academic libraries and I thought this would be a great story to tell. There has not been much literature about career transitions in our field and it’s time there should be one!

 

Davis: I work for a wonderful non-profit that’s a hub for librarians, archivists, and museums where we focus on the nexus all kinds of different library types. Read more…

 

You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Great Leader

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If you can influence and have an impact on others, you’re a leader.

 President and CEO, Lead From Within
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CREDIT: Getty Images

Many people believe leadership is something that’s conferred along with a title or attained when you direct a a team of people, but true leadership is never about authority or power. It’s about helping others grow, and that’s something anyone can do.

If it’s your desire to influence and have an impact on others, you have leadership qualities. And if you can inspire people to do something they thought they couldn’t do, demonstrate how the impossible is possible, believe in someone when they didn’t believe in themselves, you’re already a leader.

People don’t set out to be great leaders, they set out to make a difference. It’s never about the role or the title, but about influencing others, helping and supporting them.

Here are seven questions to help you gauge your own leadership:

1. Do you act with integrity? Leaders allow their good character to speak for them. If you are the type of person who is consistent in your actions, values, methods, and principles–regardless of who’s watching–and if people know what say you do you will do, and do it to the highest standard, you’re a leader.

2. Are you a great communicator? Great leaders are great communicators. Are you the type of person who likes to share information? To keep people informed and make sure they have all the guidance they need? Do you communicate with openness, candor, and honesty, and without drama or wordiness? You’re a leader.

Read more…