Category: Candidates

ABCs of hiring in Asia

[framed_box]A) My contrarian position that there is no ‘shortage of talent’ continues. There is plenty of talent, and thus plenty of potential. No new hire is a ‘finished work of art’, ‘ready made’, and knows the job to be done at the outset. Yet many internal stakeholders are too busy or seldom in the office…
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Seeing, but not believing

When it comes to senior level hires, there is often talk of chemistry’, how pleasant or well liked the company and/or candidate was, the overall bonhomie and friendliness of the interview and conversation. Without question it’s an important component, but insufficient to make a decision, based on some talks and gut feel. Whether you’re hiring…
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The CV of interest

I look at many CVs, rewrite a fair number, and often tell people that under “Interests” there should be something beyond the anodyne ‘reading, hiking, traveling, listening to music’ line. This is important–not because of any blather of ‘work-life balance’, but because it distinguishes the person as having a passion, another type of innate intelligence…
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From lowest to hire! Vignettes from the trenches

Who sets the hiring pace within an organisation? The hiring manager? HR? CEO? CFO? Board? External stakeholders? Peers? All of ’em? When one group wants a specific candidate profile, and another group has a different perspective on what is needed, trouble is ‘a brewin’… All the ‘war for talent’ chatter quickly erodes into corporate turf…
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My rules of how not to drown at the outset

Onboarding? More like waterboarding… …So said a friend to me the other day when I asked him if his new company was on-boarding him at all. And recently met up with someone else who said the new company’s on-boarding was to go around the office and meet the COO, CMO, CIO (who said, “Don’t bother…
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The more I see you

The more I want you Somehow this feeling Just grows and grows As the old song goes, so it is true in business. If you want to be known and have a profile that counts, you must be visible. If you want to be courted, you must be compelling. If you want to be seen,…
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8 steps to (interviewing) heaven

When I receive mandates for a search, clients often remind me of urgency and completion by a certain time. All well understood and expected. The fast time frame, however, is often not adhered to, sliding into a “hurry up and wait” cadence. Why is that, given such urgency and need? I have observed that many…
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HR: value-add or vapour

[framed_box]A man in a hot air balloon realised he was lost. He reduced his altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted: “Excuse me, can you help? I promised a friend I’d meet him an hour ago, but I have no idea where I am.” The woman below yelled back…
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Talent, where art thou? A tale of two leaders

Some organisations–and leaders–seldom have a problem attracting good talent(and not just huge branded MNCs). If asked, these people would likely say that if you want strong talent, spend time knowing the market–who is where, a lot of effort meeting and interviewing people, hire only on strength, and when ready to get them on board, act…
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The interview addict

I wrote this last year for the Straits Times, and have gotten a number of requests for it, so here it is again.. [framed_box]Use your time to search for the right job, don’t squander it on attending as many interviews as possible. People panic when looking for a new job. This creates a mindset of…
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