career

Let's Have a Few Words

There are words that have power and evoke an immediate reaction. Catastrophic, terminal and devastation are all words that command our attention, causing all else to fade into the background.

On the other hand, distraction is a word I would put right up there with “stuff”; in fact, if it had a color it would be beige. I recently heard myself give the excuse that I was “distracted” as a reason for not paying attention while doing some mundane task that I bungled. A few days later I was flipping through the TV channels as a diversion from a cruddy day at work, and came across the History Channel. The commentator, in a French accent, spoke of the grisly details of a torture method used centuries ago known as ‘distraction’- literally the pulling apart of someone by tying their arms and legs to horses who ran off in opposite directions. The word suddenly took on a whole new meaning, yielding the same power of catastrophic, terminal, and devastation. Nothing worse than literally being pulled apart. The color of this word, red.

No “BIAS” About It

Last week I fired a long-time client. Hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past several years were earned working with this person, and nothing to indicate that was going to change – until I learned that he was a racist.

I’m honored to have “CPC” at the end of my name. And as a Certified Personnel Consultant, I’m also proud to be an EEOC supporter:

How to Rock Your First Days as a New Sales Leader

It’s been an eventful year so far. We just watched a new leader take his presidential oath ... Millions of people marched in angry protest against said new leader … Now you’re starting your own new path as manager, director or VP at the startup/company of your dreams. Whether you’re preparing to influence a sales team or the Western Hemisphere, making the transition into a new leadership role is no easy feat. Here are seven things you can do make it a smooth start:

Make 2017 Your BADA$$ Year

A close friend of mine has been having trouble in her current job.  She had been trolling all the job boards every day in hopes of finding her “dream” role, with little luck. The ensuing daily disappointment of her fruitless search along with the uncertainty of what she should be looking for, had her feeling frustrated and aimless. As her friend who also happens to be a recruiter, I have given her many suggestions, but with no success.

I Wish You Extra Seconds

Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year.  As depressing as it sounds, this December day also marks the "turning of the Sun" and the days slowly get longer. With each passing 24 hours there will be a few extra seconds of daylight. For those of us who are solar powered this is an important date to reach.

All About That Base

Why do sales people get so fixated on base salaries? This is a question I have continuously asked myself since I started recruiting salespeople for tech companies, but is something I have come across a lot lately. I get it, you want to be guaranteed money upfront. You are worth “x” at your current company so you think it only makes sense to make a move unless you get a nice big bump up on your base salary. Right? Not exactly…

All Lies Matter

If I had the proverbial dollar for every time a candidate’s defense to my question about a, let’s call it “mistruth”, on their resume was “Because a recruiter told me to” I could by a pair of Louboutins.  And who are these recruiters?  Coaching candidates to omit, embellish, or outright fabricate on a resume is a fireable offense in my office.

My team and I review close to 500 resumes weekly and with a survey from CareerBuilder of more than 2,500 hiring managers finding that 56% have caught job candidates lying on their resume, we’re potentially reading more fiction than I did in my Freshman Intro to American Lit class. While I’ve spent my career in Executive Recruiting learning much about human behavior while guiding people through the major stress of job change, this pervasive attitude that it’s ok to be less than truthful on a resume still leaves me shaking my head.

Showing Off

I recently I decided to take myself out of the comfort zone and make an appearance at a Pharmaceutical trade show. You're probably thinking, “Yes! He gets to leave the office, travel, face-time with clients and candidates…” What’s so tough about that?

As great as it is to get out there and “schmooze”, I must say that trade shows are lots of work and preparation- involving marketing calls, setting up meetings, and making reservations. Then comes the actual appearance at the show. 

Guilt, Pie and Opportunities

This is the time of the year when many of us are getting ready for the Holidays. First up, Thanksgiving: A time to take stock of all that we have to be grateful for, before letting loose with the credit cards. We bow our heads in shame as our religious leaders remind us that a few of us will start our day trudging to the local watering hole to compete for drinking “water” with beasties, which can’t be said for most of the world’s population.  We feel a little guilty for taking some of the most basic things like food and shelter for granted.

Which Piece Are You?

Chess has always impressed me as a game that challenges two players to use all of their cognitive capabilities and outwit, outsmart, and out strategize their opponent.  I consider it to be a thinking person’s game, just like my job in staffing and recruiting, where skill, planning, strategy and some degree of gamesmanship are paramount.