Lessons From the Oddest Places

I am always on the look out for new information to share with my readers and my clients.  I read books, magazines, internet posts, and newspapers to gain new insights.  So, when I am hit with strong messages without even trying and from the oddest places, I am always torn between believing it is a gift from God or a cruel mocking of my intentional attempts to gain knowledge.  I am going with God.

As I watched mindless TV. as a reward for a day of hard work, I was faced with one such message.  On the horrible Bravo TV series, "Kell on Earth", a woman is interviewed, hired and fired within twenty minutes!  First, she is hired by a guy who, with all of the best of intentions, finds out nothing about her.  While holding her resume he asks, "Do you have PR experience?"  If she didn't want to get the job, she couldn't have justifiably blurted, "You're reading my resume!  What does it say?"  But she didn't and with nothing else to go on, the gentleman hires her.  That was the first lesson.  Hiring authorities, know the resumes of your candidates and ask deeper questions to find out the quality of the person's work and the transferable skills and behaviors. 

Second, don't hire someone on the spot.  Check references and compare her to other candidates.  Don't hire someone without thought and reflection.  If you are afraid you will lose the candidate without an immediate offer, use the time to sell her on the position and company and even blanket her with compliments.  If you hire her out of desperation on the spot, you have screwed up the balance of power and not done your due diligence.

Well, even with the horrible hiring practices, the candidate found a way to get fired before even starting.  With NY traffic (the show is filmed in NY),  I am not sure she even made it home.  How did she manage this?  She tweeted on her way in to the interview and on the way out of the interview.  One of the employees at the PR agency happened to be googling the company's name to find out what the current buzz was about the company and found the full Twitter history.  Shocked by the lack of discretion, they retracted their offer.  Many companies are using the internet to research their candidates and keep up on the pulse of their industry and reputation.  Show good judgment so you don't get hurt by what seems like an innocent or private action on the internet.

See, there really are lessons to be learned from the oddest places.