The big question on the minds of recruiters and candidates: is what do these hirers want?
Rather than guess: I started interviewing some of my clients and here is what they said.
Candidates:
a) They want good attitude before skills.
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Well that sounds easy enough.........but what the heck is that really?
What it boils down to is: enthusiasm for their company.
The biggest complaint we hear about older candidates is that once hired, they spend a lot of time saying: We always did it this way at XXX company......why do you do it differently?
To the new firm: you are wasting their time. They dont care how other companies did it unless they specifically ask for advice. They simply want you to learn their systems and get up and running as fast as possible.
They dont want challenges they want you to forget most of what you specifically learned in the last 20 years and do it THEIR WAY.
The bottom line is they want you to think their way is the BEST way you have ever seen it done.........something they DO get from younger less world wise candidates.
You think you were hired for all the knowledge you bring to the game to actually apply that knowledge.
Not so much.
You were hired because you have a CORE UNDERSTANDING of the industry: so they dont have to lay the groundwork: but thats really it. Now they want you to play on their team.
If they are the Leafs! The Leafs are the top team.
If they are the Senators: then they are.
Forget whatever team you played on before: They dont want to hear it.
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b) Someone who wants THIS exact job: right here: right now.
Hirers unanimously say: Bring me someone who passionately wants the job I am offering: not just A job and not the next job up the ladder.
.. this exact job at this exact pay with this exact level of power.
In fact: you are probably being interviewed because you are already doing a nearly similar job.
This shows up as at interview when candidates are asked what they know about the firm and why they want to work there..........that blank stare that comes from only having browsed their website wont cut it.
In other words: that stale old interview question: Why do you want to work for us?.......has increased in its value to the employer............
Cant stress enough how much effort candidates need to put into that research pre-interview.
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c) Fit over skills:
You see these horrific job postings with lists of skills: you consider painstakingly each and every one of them and reach the decision you match those criteria. You might even get an interview: but you dont get hired. You are left wondering what went wrong?
Fit. The company didnt see you on their team. They didnt "get" who you were as being "like them"
Hirers want to hire people: "like them".
Skill just isnt enough. Its only 50% of the job these days.
Having a lot of skills and experience gets you through the door: but only "fit" gets the deal.
So what is "fit"???
Let's be real here. some of it sounds prejudicial and illegal.
"Like Us" can mean: all M.I.T. educated engineers with young techno minds.
No way around that: it does exclude older people. It can exclude those without modern educations.
The hirer thinks you wont fit in with the rest of the team.
Well: you will never know anyway: you likely wont get an offer.
Fit is generational attitude........
Fit is visual.........
Fit is values......
Fit is a simple test: Who is your favourite musician?.........if you mention Johnny Cash in a company that plays Lincoln Park........you probably wont get hired.
Yup: folks: thats the folly of fit..........
Heres the advice: if its a retailer: walk through their store: if you dont sound act or look like them: you arent them: you wont be hired. Dont be fooled into thinking they are looking for something different in support roles at head office.
What you see is what they are hiring. Dont waste your time even applying.
Select companies that will value what you have to offer: not companies that will need to make you over into their profile employee: they wont bother.
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Lets take Visual Fit:
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A young lady was recently sent for an interview as a Bilingual Office Admin person. Pretty straight forward. She was bi-lingual and skilled at office work.
However, she wore something dowdy to the interview: really surplus clothing but otherwise clean and neat. .......to an interview with a fashion retailer.
Nothing wrong with her skills: she didnt "fit" the image they have of themselves......and Army Surplus wasnt it.
The underlying message: If you look like a model: apply. If not: dont.
But thats their "fit" and they arent alone. Every company gets to decide who "fits" and who doesnt.
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Lets take values:
They all say "Customer Service" which really means what?
Not much really:.....each company teaches or preaches it to the level they require.
It mostly means: friendly.
Yes folks: friendly personable people are in big demand.
Add to that: calm under pressure, sensible and every other skill your Mom told you to have.
Be polite.
Be fair to co workers.
Be nice people.
Nice people are saleable in the hiring market.
Be prepared to show niceness at interview.
The challenge for actual Retail Work: is that these might be the skills HR wants to see you demonstrate at interview:
and so you should.......
but real success in retail takes one heck of a lot more than niceness to succeed.
It usually takes flat out greed. Good retailers are hungry retailers.
Thus the most successful retail people can tell you what they sold two months ago:
but often cant tell you why Mary is upset that she was short changed 5 minutes on her break or even notice that she was.
Thats the oxymoron of retail:
its a people business
but not necessarily a social business.
Team players are rewarded more than high achievers..........thats the new normal.
So take heed in interviews superstar retailers!
They dont care at that stage that you can generate dollars:
they want to see how nice you are:
think
What Charities do you support?
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Generational Fit:
Well foks this is a new buzzword. It means you better understand everything thats "new".
.........from fashion to technology.
You better have an active LinkedIn account.
You better know how to use the Cloud.
You better know ecommerce inside and out.
You better be enrolled in educational upgrades.
Why? because not so much where the firm is now: but where it thinks it is going. Hiring is done with the future in mind.
No one wants to buy old technology: nor people associated with old technology.
Your ability to get hired is directly related to how current and innovative you can show you are.
I was working with one senior candidate for a top level construction role:
he seemed to be a perfect fit.........except he didnt have a degree in anything:
just loads of practical experience.
Well this fact was a key issue at both his interviews:
Why?
Not so much about where the company is today but where it is going in the future.......what knowledge they anticipate they will require.............not about how something was done 10 years ago.
When I suggested he enroll in some online college upgrade courses: about $200 each: he balked.......he would only do that IF he got the job: NOT to get the job..........a $100k job.
Huh? ....200 dollars to make 100,000 seems like a good investment to me
This is where a lot of candidates are going wrong.
What you have to invest to get the job probably outstrips what you have to do to keep it.
If your education isnt current: you are at a disadvantage for "fit" to todays hirers.
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d) Near perfect matching to the job description:
If they say they want Apple Peelers with 6 years experience and a fork lift permit:
thats what they mean........
Well I have most of it: I am a quick learner and can pick up the rest easily.........doesnt cut it.
Look very carefully at that job description:
if you cant tick every single box and demonstrate that you have every single skill and experience in every category they list:
you better be prepared for the fight of your life if you get called to interview:
and you likely still wont be hired.
Why? because hirers honestly believe that if they just look hard and long enough: there is someone out there who will match their request perfectly.
Forget the old: Transferrable Skills thing: no one cares anymore.
If you are a store manager in groceries: you probably arent going to be a store manager in fashion.
If you are a fashion store manager in young trend dont think luxury fashion is interested in you.
Nearly all hiring is a lateral move..........from where you are to where you still are; only the name changed and maybe the pay got better.
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Summary:
Most of my clients anticipate that 2012 hiring nunbers will be the same as 2011........but less at the executive level and more at street level........more boots on the ground.
They also agree they are going to use job boards much less and social networking incuding recruiters more.
Candidates have to be aware that once you are posted on LinkedIn etc:
your skill set is going to match every other retailer at your level of career.
Its going to be who best can brand themselves.......
How your style and personality stands out from the others
that will make the difference between being selected and not
Personality and fit to the hiring firm is now deciding your career path:
in terms of who will hire you.
Senior workers and those without specialized education will have to work harder than ever to compete by upgrading and being able to present themselves as current.
Each client of mine say they will be introducing more and more technology to retail:
more innovations in merchandising, more to define their shopping experience from others.
There is no way to escape the generational gap that older workers face in retail. Its upgrade or go the way of the horse and buggy.
Even fashion retailers are increasingly asking for specialized degrees or diplomas in Fashion Marketing, Design, Purchase Management:........Retail is no longer the Default position until you get a REAL job.
For this one factor alone: most hirers see the bulk of their hiring going to the 30-45 age crowd.
Yet because of this demand: retailers that do "fit" are in great demand. Never has retail paid as much as it does today for this age group. Many roles compare favourably with engineering jobs.
We can agree or not: but hirers get the ultimate say in who they choose to hire and this is how they are thinking right now in retail.
In my next blog: the point of view of recruiters for 2012 will be put forward to compare.
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