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What To Do When HR Calls...Generally, when you present yourself as a prospective candidate for a new employment opportunity, your information will filter through the Human Resources department. Since every company has their own hiring process, understand that you cannot always control when HR will call you. Our philosophy is that a prepared candidate will have a higher chance of success than an unprepared candidate. Here are a few things to keep in mind if HR does call: 1. Remain calm: Very few HR departments will take the time or effort to call candidates they are not interested in. Regardless of the tone or tenor of their voice, a call from HR should be seen as a step forward in the process. Even if it is only telephone contact, you do have a chance to make an excellent impression. Be confident, sound interested, and engage the person on the other end. You only get one chance to make a first impression. Make it count. 2. Always be prepared: Yes, it could turn out that the HR representative knows nothing about your skill set or area of expertise. Actually, that is the case more often than not. Take this in stride and make certain you answer all their questions as appropriately as possible. We generally recommend staying away from questions concerning your salary history or desired compensation. Rather, keep this item open for discussion at a future time, preferably the face to face interview. Always keep a copy of your resume handy, preferably next to the telephone. 3. Collect contact information and topics of discussion: If not during the call, do this immediately afterwards. Write down all pertinent information including questions or topics covered. Be certain to get the name and other contact information from the person you spoke with. Finally, if they did not specify what the next step was, make certain you do. Ask directly what the next step in the process will be and when it will occur. 4. Offer additional information: For candidates that normally maintain additional career information such as coding samples or art portfolios, make certain you offer to supply these as further evidence of your skills and interest. Do not assume that the HR person knows to ask for this. Offer it. It will generally benefit you in the end. HR departments, and their representatives, are generally the first chance a candidate has to make a great impression. Knowing how to handle calls from HR will assist you in the process from start to finish. Executive recruiter William Werksman is a frequent columnist to job boards including http://www.NevadaJobBoard.com addressing both the candidate's and employer's perspective. Werksman's expertise has been featured in business magazines, national newspapers and television news segments. His firm, Resource Partners, is recognized as the leading source of specialized and executive talent in the Casino and Gaming industry. He manages a staff of recruiters out of his firm's Las Vegas, Nevada headquarters. He may be reached at: Bill@CareerInsider.com |  | | | RELATED ARTICLES Mystery Shopping Mystery shopping is an excellent way to make extra money. In fact, some people make a full time living doing it. Always Have a Current Resume What is the biggest mistake people make with resumes? Taking a Survival Type Job Is Good For You. Ugh! Arg! How can a survivor type job be good for me?I'm barely hanging on to what I found and at minimumwage. (I have been promised a ten cent an hour increasein one month). Job Interviews: Identifying & Using Your Most Important Asset When you're looking to get hired or get promoted, what do you think is your most important asset? Your experience? Knowledge? Skill? Talent? Job Search Tips - How to Increase Your Success Finding a job can be a painful and difficult experience. Here are three things that you can do to minimize the pain and increase your chances of success. Top Career Advice ... More Choices and A Better Way of Life Why Career Advice Is So Important The Ripple Effect of Fear Unemployment carries a lot of emotional baggage for most of us and fear is a major component. We fear the financial fallout of no longer receiving regular wages. We fear the impact of our lack of productivity on relationships: our marriage, our family, our friends, and our social and community activities. We fear losing the respect of our children when we can no longer give them what they need. We fear approaching acquaintances for help in identifying potential positions. We fear the humiliation of the job hunt and the personal rejection we expect to encounter. And finally we fear the most basic concept we hold within: that we're just not good enough, that we can't cut the mustard, that we're an incurable loser. A Career With The FBI Do you have what it takes to become an FBI special agent? Do you have a sincere desire to enforce federal laws and investigate crimes? How To Write A Resume, Avoid These Resume Mistakes HOW TO WRITE A RESUME-MISTAKE #1 Surviving Corporate Politics Part 2: Keeping Up Appearances Never a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression, or so the saying goes. We all know that when someone is introduced into your work environment for the first time, their peers size them up immediately. How they are dressed, how they talk, and how they set up their workspace. Especially in large companies, where there is constant personnel movement, keeping up your appearance is a full time task. In smaller companies, how you compose yourself from Day 1 is of utmost importance. We will start with the basics: Job Search -- One of the Secrets of a Trade Show A trade show is a great place to network, look for a job, find a new employee or develop a partnership. What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up? Something That Hasnt Been Invented Yet! Most of us were brought up to study hard, get good grades, choose a "practical" college major, and strive for a "good job." How To Choose The Right Resume Format After a thirty (30) second glance lots of resumes get thrown into the wastebasket. One of the reasons this happens is because the resume writer has failed to use the appropriate resume format. Networking Mistakes and How You Can Avoid Them 'Fear of rejection' is the major reason why individuals looking for a career change hesitate to use networking as the most powerful weapon in their job search armoury. This is even the case with senior people who you would have thought anybody would be delighted to receive a call from. In 99.9% of cases this fear is unfounded - most professional people are pleased to receive calls from like-minded people and are a pleasure and delight to talk to. Troubleshooting Your Job Search OK. You've posted your resume online. You've sent out a dozen copies answering classified ads. You've told everyone in your network that you're looking for a job. Are You Suited for Self-employment? A recent poll conducted by Yahoo! Small Businessshowed that nearly 3 out of 4 Americans have consideredstarting their own business. In fact, of more than 2,200 adults surveyed, over half (51 percent) said they wouldlike to launch their small business within the next 5 years. Playing from the Blue Tees: Women in the Federal Government Throughout the past decade, workplace diversity issues have allowed organizations to adjust their policies in response to the need for workplace equality in all aspects. As a result of the dynamic political, social and economic changes, some companies have willingly become more inclusive, integrating women, people of color, gays/lesbians, and individuals with disabilities into their workforce at all levels of their organizations. However, others have failed to make this paradigm shift.The Federal government has failed to see the benefits of a diverse workforce, which is evident by the lack of diversity of the people it serves. Research by the Center for Creative Leadership (2002), show women in business have been required to adapt to a well established hierarchal system built around the strengths of its majority of male players. As women have entered the workplace, they initially try to create only a modest variant in a male dominated workplace. Gender diversity could be very beneficial to the Federal government, causing greater creativity in group decision-making and improved task performance. Offer Letter Limbo Recently we concluded the placement of a Senior Sales Representative for a publicly traded company. The role was ripe with potential as the company products were being widely embraced by current and new customers. The recruiting process went smoothly as the candidate progressed through several rounds of face to face interviews with company executives. Showing Appreciation to Workplace Un-Sung Heroes Millions of Un-Sung Heroes are born every minute! They are found everywhere-on street corners, in our homes, offices, and communities-wherever there are people in need of rescue. These special people, whose positive actions and initiatives are performed to benefit others, are not famous or in the news for what they are doing; but their efforts affect, enrich and touch countless lives. The Musketeer Approach Stories of intrigue, treachery, politics, lies, double crosses, and power struggles fill the history books, much like they fill today's headlines. In the world of the 17th century musketeer, life depended on who you could trust. In the world of the 21st century employee, one's livelihood may. I'm not naïve to corporate politics, competition, or sabotage in the workplace. I've held my own in corporations where silos, turf wars and power brokers delivered indigestion, sleepless nights, and distrusting cultures. But I still don't get it. When people are more focused on what's happening in the cube next to them than on achieving corporate goals, everyone loses. When corporate politics fill emails with mixed direction stalling productivity, everyone loses. And when discretionary effort and new ideas are swallowed in pits of bureaucracy, guess what? Everyone loses. The way I see it, if the company fails, we all fail. So, I believe the Three Musketeers got it right: "All for one and one for all!" Each understood his fate as an individual was tied to their fate as a group. Trusting each other was unambiguous. One was in trouble, they all were in trouble. One needed help, they all provided help. One succeeded, they all succeeded. The fiction of Alexandre Dumas, set in the 17th century, seems a good prescription for the 21st century workplace. I know it's worked for me. Arriving at a new job, I discovered the boss who hired me was away, and no one expecting me. I found no office, no desk, and no information. The person I was hired to replace was in my job, and had no idea I was replacing her. Each week got worse. Information and requests flowed like water through a clogged pipe. I was out of the loop on important issues and viewed like the enemy. Turning to my boss for guidance was like stepping into a sink hole, as I discovered his credibility and the department's lacking. I realized if I was to survive, I had to find, win over, and/or develop a handful of people I could trust. It took a difficult year, but the payoff lasted an entire career. Gradually the group of trusted colleagues grew. We never thought of ourselves as musketeers, but by our actions, we became them. Unspoken rules of ethics and integrity prevailed. We looked beyond individual interests. We shared ideas, collaborated on projects, borrowed resources, and worked together easily and enthusiastically. We wanted the best for each other and the best for the company, each of us worrying about more than our own five acres.  Unspoken commitments prevailed. If I was in trouble or asked for help, help was given. I was called upon to step up and provide help too. We all knew our musketeer roles required reciprocity. The bottom line was that helping each other succeed, helped each of us succeed. I don't know where I'd be today without the musketeer approach. My advice? Become a musketeer! (c) 2004 Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved.  |
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