Not Your Average Interview

We’ve all been through the typical interview process, either as hiring manager or prospective employee, where you learn all about a job candidate’s background, what they hope to bring to the position, etc. But have you ever been asked to estimate the number of golf balls that might fit inside a school bus or how much a 747 weighs?

Questions like these are being posed to candidates vying for positions with some of the nation’s top technical corporations such as Microsoft, Google and eBay. These out-of-the-box hiring practices are becoming more common as “companies aren’t as interested in the correct answer to a tough question as they are in how a prospective employee might try to solve it. Since businesses today have to be able to react quickly to shifting market dynamics, they want more than engineers with high IQs and good college transcripts. They want people who can think on their feet.”

The key is to ask questions that will still give you an insight to the candidate’s ability to reason, as they complete the task at hand. There may not be a “correct” or “incorrect” answer, but the true test may lie in how the candidate chooses to approach the problem.

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Test your hand at some additional brain teasers

Posted by Shelly Paul, Career Management Coordinator, The H.S. Group

Hold On: Business Brush Up

More than once over the past week I have run across individuals in both business and my personal life that must have missed class the day we covered the basic handshake with regard to relationships. Though handshakes can falter both directions, either too strong or too weak, more often than not I’ve found they are entirely too weak, often noted as the “dead fish” syndrome.

You’ve probably already know that you can learn a lot about prospective employees and business relationships alike simply through the initial handshake. However, according to a study by human resource professionals, “Prospective employers said they’re more likely to overlook visible body piercings and tattoos than an ineffective handshake.”

Also, people are two times more likely to remember you if you offer them a good handshake upon first meeting, according to the Incomm Center for Trade Show Research. (It kind of makes you question TV personality Howie Mandel, host of Deal or No Deal as he refuses to shake hands due to his mysophobia, or fear of germs.)

Brush up on your handshake, and don’t be afraid to practice it to ensure better business and personal relationships.

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Posted by Shelly Paul, Career Management Coordinator, The H.S. Group

The Next CEO: Could It Be You?

Do you know the name of your company’s next CEO? What about successors for the positions of CFO, Marketing and Sales? Does your company have a succession plan in line when needed -- one that’s not gathering dust?

According to the National Association of Corporate Directors, approximately 50% of companies have no formal succession plan. And considering CEOs are retiring at a younger age, that is cause for concern. Booz Allen Hamilton reports that “17.5% of CEOs who retired in 2004 were 55 years old or younger.”

So where can you begin looking for your next CEO? Chances are, you might be growing them in your own backyard. “Every large organization could have the next seven CEOs on board today…the average global tenure of CEOs is 7.6 years, and, because of natural age gapping, there are potential CEOs in every age and experience category, down to the newly hired summer intern. That means there are potential CEO candidates who are now 52, 48, 36, 30, 24, and 18.” Given the fact that every company, no matter the size, faces employee turnover, your best bet is to start looking now and have multiple individuals in mind when examining potential successors for your C-level roles.

Not sure where to start when identifying top talent within your organization? The H.S. Group offers comprehensive succession planning assistance as you assess the future of your company.

Do You Know Where Your Next CEO Is?

Posted by Shelly Paul, Career Management Coordinator, The H.S. Group