What Employers Want: Creativity

Creativity is a must have in today’s workplace.  Its one of the 4Cs all employers want.  People who can think outside the box are in demand, and always will be.  But I would take it a step further in that people who have the ability to redefine what the box is will always have a job, and many of them create that job for themselves. Fast Company featured the 100 Most Creative People in Business last month.  The #1 person was Nate Silver (the Money Ballguy) who is a prime example of what it means to redefine the box. He

2 Tips for Resolving Conflict Wisely

THE SHORTEST DISTANCE TO SOLVE A CONFLICT DOES NOT TAKE THE PATH OF A TRIANGLE. One of the best interview questions to ask, regardless of the position is, “Tell me about a time when you had a conflict with another person and how did you resolve it?” This question was asked in a recent interview panel I was a part of and I loved the applicant’s response.  She started by stating, “I don’t practice triangular conflict resolution,” and then proceeded to describe a situation in which she went directly to the person the conflict was with in order to resolve

What do employers want? The 4 Cs

Employers want people who can do the jobs that require their business to be successful, and certain job titles and skills are more in demand than others. However, after working as corporate recruiter and with hundreds of businesses, I have a short list of skills that I think are absolutely sought after by all employers, regardless of the industry or job titles they hire for. The 4 Cs Conscientiousness Creativity Collaboration Communication Time spent developing these skills is critical to the success of anyone preparing for or in the job market. I’ll spend the next few weeks describing what these

Hiring Slow

3 THINGS THE PROS DO I think we’ve all at one time or another been on the side of the recruiting process where it felt like a hurry up and wait game.  Applying for a job and jumping through the hoops to get it always seems to be a mind-numbingly slow process.  Even in my days as a recruiter, I often became frustrated with the slow process, particularly when I had a candidate that was perfect for a job and I was anxious to hire him or her. Despite the snails pace of hiring that can become frustrating, I was

Are your employees on the border of “boredom and anxiety”?

5 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF ABOUT FLOW IN THE WORKPLACE I’ve recently finished reading,Flow, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, which discusses how people can improve their lives by cultivating optimal experiences.  Flow is a state where people control their inner experiences, regardless of outward influences.  Many people describe flow as a state in which they loose all track of time in what they are doing because they enjoy it so much. People who experience flow report feeling “strong” “active” “creative” “concentrated” and “motivated”. The author describes a flow experience as one where people are in-between the states of “boredom and anxiety” and