I seem to be thinking mostly in images these days, when not thinking in terms of databases…
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Help Wanted: Zookeeper with a Good Attitude.
Most job postings are dry. Really dry. And – they usually include “must haves” which require skills and/or experience with everything but being able to both plumb AND re-enamel a kitchen sink. As one hiring manager/Art Director I spoke with last week said – if any candidate ever met his team’s expectations, there …
Interesting Quotes I Found Today.
“A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.” - Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900), The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891 “All the world’s a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.” - Sean O’Casey (1880 – 1964) “It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life that the most …
Oscar Wilde wrote ”There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” Since I’ve found few writers able to match both his brevity and wit, I frequently turn to his writings and quotes to humorously summarize a recent (or not) happening in my life. These are just a …
Swanson’s Unwritten Rules of Management was originally part of a PowerPoint presentation by Bill Swanson, CEO of aerospace contractor Raytheon made to engineers and scientists at the company. Swanson later put his rules down on paper. So he did: in 3-inch-by-5-inch spiral-bound notebooks handed out to executives and customers. While some of the …
Steven Jobs, cofounder of Apple, has been labeled many things, from visionary to egomaniac. Often I think he is inspirational too: We’re here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here? Innovation is the distinction between a leader and a follower. The system is that there is no system. That doesn’t …
A t-shirt popular within the Apple Computer team building v.1 of Quicktime read “Apple: 80 hours a week, and loving it!” So much for work | life balance. At the same time, I think Steve Jobs gets a lot of things right – including not making decisions for the short term without …
The (Really Bad) Customer Experience, Part III (or, Welcome to the Rat “PAQ”)
March 26th, 2010Recently I did a phone interview with a Seattle area consulting company which is primarily known as a “body shop” for contract workers for the local “software giant,” which resulted in this less than stellar customer experience:
The conversation consisted of a junior analyst working his way through a 10 minute perfunctory production line phone screen, and went straight to the chase, with no introductory comments about the company, specific job, or anything else:
1.Interviewer: “You graduated from University X with a bachelor’s in X, is that correct?”
Me: Yes, I did. (only after I self edited my real answer: um yeah, that’s why it’s listed on my resume; i do know fabricating degrees isn’t the best idea… HELLO?)
2. Interviewer: You worked for Company X, is that correct?
Me: Yes, I did – about 4 years ago. (but silently thinking same response as number 1, above)
The interviewer then repeated back to me as questions several achievements listed on my resume, each time rhetorically asking me “Is this correct?”
8. Then, still without any sell or information about the opportunity, then interviewer then said “i’m passing on notes of “our” conversation to the hiring manager, if they are interested in talking with you, i will then contact you to set up an in person interview with them.”
Me: “Wow, sounds like an awesome opportunity – thanks! I really appreciate you taking the the time to speak with me today, and for giving me this great information about your company, and this particular job, too ….” (but in reality was silently thinking- please don’t call me again – ever)
I decided not to name this above referenced company since they are only one of 10 or 15 body shops in the area proudly providing exactly the same customer/candidate experience. None of these 10 or 15 companies have figured out today’s candidate could have become tomorrow’s customer – but because of their customer experience (as a candidate), they won’t ever hire the agency to do any work for them, or the company they will soon join.
Or – yes, it really is all about the customer experience – especially when your consulting firm’s product is … people.
:)
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Customer Experience, Part II
A t-shirt popular within the Apple Computer team building v.1 of Quicktime read “Apple: 80 hours a week, and loving it!” So much for work | life balance. At the same time, I think Steve Jobs gets a lot of things right – including not making decisions for the short term without …
Imagine the Excitement and Satisfaction…
Unhappy job applicants/candidates share their unhappiness with their friends, coworkers, and on often, all over the internet. Smart companies understand at any point in time, a job candidate is a past, current, or future customer; and similarly, a past, current, or future customer can at any time become a candidate. So …
Guy Kawaski’s Corollary on Hiring; or, How Work Teams Go Bad
In July, I blogged about my theory “great managers hire great talent; similarly, bad managers hire themselves.” The more I re-examine the hires I helped managers identify, and then make during almost 14 years of recruiting, approximately 9 years as an independent head hunter, and 5 years as a corporate recruiter who primarily …
Help Wanted: 64 Desired Competencies, or More…?
A well known grocery chain recently posted a job for “Marketing and Community Relations Specialist,” a store level associate job, in a metro area where it has 7 grocery stores. Brand-wise, and employer brand-wise, this sounds like it could be a really good job opportunity; although the level of detail in …
I Want to Meet the Person Hired for This Job.
Yes, we’re in a recession – but even so – I can’t imagine any really strong C++ developer with a Bachelor’s Degree in CS or Engineering from any non-diploma mill would ever consider this job or contracting agency’s “benefits:” Company: Populus Group LLC Job Location: …
Scapegoat Wanted, Part II
Several weeks ago I blogged about some of the more… interesting… employment opportunities making the rounds within Seattle. Not surprisingly, at least one of them is still open… or, should I say, RE-OPENED. Two friends were contacted right around the time of my original post, but by two different agencies trying to …
Scapegoat Wanted.
Truth in advertising, especially employment adversiting, is rare enough that I think it should always be rewarded; and yet despite today’s still too weak economy, there are several jobs in the Seattle area which aren’t getting any takers: Program Manager Non Tech Position – Level 3 SharePoint, PowerPoint, MS Project and Excel Skills A …
Wanted: Agile Waterfall Process Oriented Free Agent Software Coding Cowboy
This laundry list job posting just landed in my inbox, only missing a notation the correct candidate for this one must also be extremely fluent in both Farsi and Mandarin – NO EXCEPTIONS :) Job Announcement: Technical Product Manager Company : Title : Technical Product Manager Location : Redmond Job Type : Both Date : …
Yet Another “Unique” Job Opportunities for Those in the Market …
This one was posted to a Project Management group on linkedin.com; and while it may be legal to specify the candidate’s gender in India for this type of role, it definitely does not meet US employment law standards, or most people‘s standards for good taste ;-): Life Sciences Graduates Hyderabad India …
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Posted in Strange but True, Theory, Unique Job Opportunities, Work
Tags: contract workers hiring manager introductory comments job opportunity junior analyst local software opportunity thanks person interview seattle area software giant