how can I make sure I’m hiring people who will thrive in our demanding firm? by Alison Green on March 27, 2014 A reader writes: I’m a senior-level associate attorney at a major law firm and work in a small, close-knit practice that’s nationally known and very demanding. We’ve had several performance-related terminations and it’s become clear that part of the problem is in our hiring practices — the people we hire don’t necessarily have the characteristics […] Read the full article →
how long should I give a candidate to think over a job offer? by Alison Green on March 10, 2014 A reader writes: What is a reasonable period of time to let a candidate consider a job offer and what is best way to phrase that window? I hate to say “you have 48 hours to think it over!” but candidates generally request a week if I ask them for a time frame. In most […] Read the full article →
8 ways companies can attract the best job candidates by Alison Green on February 19, 2014 While employers often feel that in a buyer’s market like this one, it should be easy to attract great job candidates, that’s not always the case. Top candidates always have options, and they can generally afford to be picky about what jobs they apply to, let alone what offers they accept. That means that employers […] Read the full article →
5 hiring regrets to avoid before you make a job offer by Alison Green on February 4, 2014 If you’ve hired more than a handful of people, you probably know that terrible sinking feeling when you start to realize that your new hire might not be the right person for the job. The costs of making the wrong hire are big ones; you’ll generally end up spending large amounts of time and energy […] Read the full article →
ask the readers: what should a company jobs page include? by Alison Green on January 23, 2014 I’m throwing this one out to readers to advise on. Here’s the letter: We’re developing a careers page on our company website and I’d love your input, as well as the input of your readers. What is good to include? What’s lame? The primary motivation to develop this webpage is to attract the best applicants […] Read the full article →
5 qualities you really need in your coworkers by Alison Green on January 21, 2014 When you’re hiring for an open role on your team, you have a list of qualifications that you’re screening candidates against. But in addition to whatever job-specific requirements you’re looking for, there are some other qualities that you want in any new hire, no matter what their position is. Here are five key qualities that […] Read the full article →
what are the best questions to ask in a job interview, as either the interviewer or the candidate? by Alison Green on December 31, 2013 We’ve got two questions about interview questions, from different sides of the interview table. First, an interviewer asks: I’ve hired for junior-level positions before, but for the first time, I need to interview candidates for a manager role. What questions should I be asking candidates at this level? When interviewing candidates for any role, the […] Read the full article →
should an extramarital affair disqualify someone from a promotion? by Alison Green on December 10, 2013 A reader writes: I was recently in a meeting to discuss internal candidates for a prominent and sensitive position with supervisory responsibilities. When going over candidates, one participant stated they had questions about Candidate A’s judgment, given that Candidate A was currently engaged in an extramarital affair with someone else in the office. Both the […] Read the full article →
is there a nice way for an interviewer to short-circuit an interview if the candidate obviously isn’t right? by Alison Green on December 4, 2013 A reader writes: I’m very interested in your point of view (and your readers). As a manager, we all have had to interview a person where you know 5 minutes in that there is zero chance you are going to proceed with them. Sometimes it’s a lack of interest on their end, inability to answer […] Read the full article →
how can you convince your employer to hire additional staff? by Alison Green on November 26, 2013 A reader writes: What are the best tactics to take to convince The Powers That Be to hire additional staff? For context, I’m a middle manager at a family owned company. The decision maker is the owner and CEO. We would like to hire an additional entry-level associate to fill a position that became available […] Read the full article →