A close friend of my wife invited us to a celebration of her daughter’s high school graduation. Jenna’s a great kid who did very well in school and was involved in several extra-curricular activities. But at 18, she’s never had a real job. She applied at several boutiques in the mall but never made it…
Imagine that you have one opening you’re trying to fill, and sixteen eager applicants aged 17 to 22 — all with more than adequate skills for the job — awaiting their second interview. Before the interviews begin, you discover that among those candidates are five recovering addicts, two pregnant unwed teens, three who are on…
Michele Klein, HR Manager for Fidelity Exploration and Production (a large player in the booming oil and gas industry) was doing an exit interview with an engineer who was leaving to take a similar job with a competitor. As her final question, she asked, “If we had known that you were thinking about leaving several…
“…but he interviewed so well!” the frustrated manager lamented at a leadership conference I presented for last week. “He was so sharp…so prepared. I thought he’d be a great fit. But when he came in for training, he was like a totally different person.” “That’s because you didn’t interview him. You probably interviewed his parents.” I…
It made for a dreadful commute. The crater-like potholes dotting the main thoroughfare near my office were wreaking havoc on my car’s alignment. I wasn’t the only unhappy camper. The city was inundated with complaints from angry neighbors and shopkeepers who demanded repairs. Finally, a road-crew was sent to fill the gaping cavities and restore…
…they want a career. They may not openly confess to their employer that this is what they want. (Heck, they may not even admit it to themselves.) But while we continue to hear so much political rhetoric about “creating jobs,” what Americans really want is a career. And there is a monumental difference between a…
