Where Talent Strategies + Social Media Intersect
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This is the first in a series of movies I’m creating on the joy of work.
I got bored with blogging, so this is my attempt at a little expression, creativity, and hopefully some entertainment value.
I would imagine that anyone whose ever interviewed for a job – or interviewed candidates for a job – will be able to relate on some level.
Above all…enjoy!
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Cartoon by Hugh MacLeod
Recently a blog post on tlnt.com by the fabulous Laurie Ruettimann caught my attention, “Don’t Facebook Me: Why You Shouldn’t Google During the Recruiting Process.”
Laurie writes, “I don’t believe it is appropriate for Human Resources professionals to hop on Google, root around the Internet, and look for incriminating pictures and create reasons not to hire qualified people during America’s worst recession in decades.
Googling is a sloppy, lazy, and unseemly method to verify a candidate’s character. And who the heck is HR to put itself out there as a judge of character? I told the audience, “Some of us in the room are human and screw up on a daily basis. If you can’t use Facebook to post pictures, where is the joy in life?”
My first thought was, “But I am not looking for information to rule candidates out. I am looking for information to rule them in.”
When I am using Google or any other search tool as a part of my sourcing and recruiting efforts, I am seeking information about individuals’ professional experience and expertise. When working on a search, the goal is to find the most qualified candidate. Most of the searches that I work on are highly-specialized; clients hire me to find qualified individuals at a certain level within a small, very specific niche.
There is typically an extremely limited pool of these people that I am looking for. So, when I start researching someone’s professional background, I am hoping to find information telling me they are the right candidate for the job.
I WANT this person to be the right person for the job – so I can fill it and move on to the next one!
The problem arises when things pop up during this research that provide some doubt as to whether the individual may be the right fit for a client. The reason I am always writing on my blog about how it’s not a good idea to have drunken, naked, or otherwise unprofessional photos that are available to the general public is that we recruiters don’t want to find that stuff when we are doing our research! If we do, it might give us pause: ”Well, now, what if my client researches them and finds this and I didn’t tell them about it?”
Let me give you an example.
During a search I was working on several years ago I came across a potential candidate’s resume. He was a consultant for a Big 4 professional services firm, and his education and work experience were impressive.
The problem?
His resume was outlined on his MySpace page…right next to pictures of him, um, hugging the Porcelein God if you know what I mean. 
There was also a lot of commentary about how he likes to drink and get drunk and there were pictures of naked woman all over his page.
My first thought was that if the partners of his firm saw this they would be mortified. And what if a client or potential client of theirs found it??
And then I thought the same thing about if the partners of the firm I was representing at the time saw that. They would be equally mortified. To have the name of the firm right there next to all of that…I still shudder at the thought.
Fortunately for me, it turned out his experience was not a direct match for what I was looking for so even if I had not seen all of that he would not have been a fit for that particular role. However, I just kept thinking…what if he had been? Then what am I supposed to do with that information once I have it?
Part of being a good fit for certain MOST roles is demonstration of good judgment. That, was not.
I think it’s perfectly fine to post your pictures on MySpace or Facebook or wherever. Naked or drunk or otherwise.
I think it’s also a really, really good idea to think long and hard about whom you want to see that stuff and whom you do not…and to USE PROTECTION THOSE PRIVACY CONTROLS THEY GIVE YOU.
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Cartoon by Hugh MacLeod
These are actual tweets that I found by doing a few simple key word searches on Twitter…this is a friendly reminder that what happens on the internet STAYS on the internet!
Think before you tweet…
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Cartoon by Hugh
A: The above exchange occurred over the weekend when my brother, my wife and I went out to eat at a nice restaurant. It turned out to be one of those terrible dining experiences we have all been through at one time or another. Everything went wrong — bad service, cold food, wrong orders, etc.
But it was when the young waitress started crying at our table that we knew it was time to go.
We actually should have left much sooner. When we first walked in we were seated at a “special” table, even though the restaurant was fairly empty. Soon, the manager came up and pointed out that if we wanted to stay at that table we would have to pay an 18% gratuity, per the sign on the table. When I pointed out they were the ones who sat us there, she didn’t care and actually made us move — to a different part of the empty restaurant.
This really struck a chord with me.
WTF.
Why, why, why would anyone treat a customer like that?
Did that manager forget to wear her brain that day??
In the article the author goes on to ask, “How many times have you encountered a business that seems far more interested in following their own rules and procedure than in making you happy, even when it would be a simple thing to say yes to you instead of no?”
Do you empower your employees to make good decisions, or do you have them so hell-bent on following the rules that they might as well be braindead?
When I worked for Evil Boss Lady she had a lot of rules.
Stupid, stupid, ludicrous rules that were clearly designed for one reason only.
To be sure everyone knew that she was The Boss.
The Queen Bee.
The only way she knew how to make herself feel more powerful and important was to impose a wide array of the utterly ridiculous and useless rules on all of us so that there was never any doubt just who was in charge; who was calling the shots, and that the thought never, ever left our minds.
The result? Not only were we collectively miserable, we were unimaginative and uninspired. We did precisely what she told us to do, exactly how she told us to do it – without question, without any creativity, and not a single ounce more for fear of feeling The Wrath of Evil Boss Lady.
When I worked was held captive in Evil Boss Lady’s Theatre of Cruelty I had one client in particular who I became very good friends with.
And, I don’t know why, but it actually surprised me when he told me one day that from the moment he met her, he wanted nothing to do with her.
He saw right through her and he told me that the only reason he was doing business with that firm was because of me. As soon as I left he terminated that relationship – which was nearly half their revenue.
Let’s look at several companies that are known for their customer experience.
Think about how you feel when you spend a day at Disney, shop at Nordstrom, or stay at the St. Regis Hotel.
I know how I feel.
Who doesn’t want some of that??
And just how is it that these companies are able to provide such consistently phenomenal customer experiences and the ultimate customer loyalty and repeat business?
This starts at the top.
Corporate leadership must set this tone and live by it.
Lead by example.
If you don’t have the confidence in your employees’ abilities to make good decisions you should fire them.
If you don’t have the confidence in your employees’ abilities to interact successfully with your customers you should fire them.
And, you should set corporate policies on how to deal with customer issues as they arise. Talk about getting creative when needed. Teach them how to determine where the line is and how far they can go. And talk to them them about how to make good judgment calls.
Let go and you just might be surprised by what happens.
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