In This Issue

• A Note from Dave
• New Workshop - Managing Time for Success
• Feature Article - Telephone Screening Interview Do's and Don'ts
• Resume Special - Beat the HST
• Strange but True
• About Dave Hagel
• Contact Us

A Note From Dave

Hi and welcome back!

I just returned from a four day visit to Saskatoon.  It was part business and part pleasure. Saskatoon is my second home. I went to the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon and lived there for ten years.  My brother and sister live in Saskatoon too.  I'm biased, but I think it's a great city. 

It's been an unusually wet spring and summer in Saskatchewan.  I was shocked at the amount of water that is standing around. Some of the ditches look like canals and a number of fields are under water.  And, there are about 18 gazillion mosquitoes.  They sure loved me - the fresh meat from Ontario.  I've got bites all over my legs! What a change from two or three years ago when drought was the big concern.

I expect the e-store to be launched during the week of July 19^th.  It's going to be called The On-line Human Resources Department. There will be approximately 50 products for sale in the initial offering.  More will be added over the next few months.  I'll keep you posted on the exact launch date.

Enjoy the summer and stay in touch.

Dave Hagel, President
High Performance Human Resources

Here's something to think about:

I've developed and delivered a half day seminar on Time Management. The essence of the workshop is that you should focus on high pay off and high value activities.  If you follow Pareto's rule (the 80/20 rule), 20% of your activities will provide you with 80% of your results. 

If you'd like more information on this workshop and how it can benefit your organization, please contact me at dave@highperformancehr.ca 

Do's

• Your interview should be a mixture of casual conversation and some probing questions.
• Ask specific carefully prepared questions. This will allow the candidate to provide examples and/or to demonstrate their knowledge in a specific area.
• Communicate clearly the position and what it entails.
• Clarify discrepancies or concerns. Each applicant is unique and so are their qualifications. After you have completed your list of questions, be sure to fill in any missing information and ask for additional information if needed.
• Start by asking "knock-out" questions. Salary would be an example of a "knock out" question.
• Use the KISS principle. Keep your questions short and easy to understand. Use every day language. Avoid acronyms where possible.
• Ask the candidate to clarify their answer or be more specific if they have not answered your questions to your satisfaction.
• With technical skill questions, test the candidate's knowledge. For example: "What is the purpose of the Auto Filter function in Excel?" Another approach with technical skill questions is to ask the candidate a question like the following: "Tell me about a time when you had to use an advanced feature of Word to complete a work related assignment. What was the feature and how did you use it?

Don'ts

• Don't allow the candidate to ramble or control the interview. Provide boundaries or time limits in which to answer questions and politely bring the candidate back in line if they get off track.
• Don't ask leading questions. For example: "I bet you don't mind working long hours?" Instead, ask: "What type of commitment can we expect from you?"
• Don't break the silence. If the candidate responds to a direct question in a vague manner, tries to divert the conversation, has a long pause, or stumbles over answers this should not be ignored. These are all indicators that there might be something amiss. These are red flags and should not be ignored.
• Don't ask questions that yield low-level information. For example: Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Did you enjoy working at your last job?
  These are "fluff" questions.  The information is nice to know but doesn't tell you whether the candidate has the required skills to perform the job.  You might want to ask these questions in future interviews.  However, I would avoid using them in the telephone screen.
  Remember, you only have a short period of time for this interview - approximately 20 minutes - so you want to make the most out of it and capture the information that is critical to making a good decision.  Instead of asking the above questions, I would ask opened-ended behavioural type questions that focus on specific soft and technical skills
• Don't ask hypothetical questions. They result in hypothetical answers.
• Don't ask any illegal questions.  

Does your resume need upgrading?  Do you have a resume, but it doesn't seem to be getting you any interviews?  Or, do you have a resume that's so out-of-date a new one is in order?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, take advantage of my August 2010 resume writing special.

For the month of August only, I will not charge the HST. That's a savings of 13%!

Call or drop me an e-mail to take advantage of this one time offer. 

Strange but True

Here are some of the excuses managers have heard from their employees when asked to explain their tardiness:

• I got mugged and was tied to the steering wheel of my car.
• My deodorant was frozen to the window sill.
• My car door fell off.
• It was too windy.
• I dreamt I was already at work.
• I had to go to the hospital because I drank anti-freeze.
• I had an early morning gig as a clown.
• A coach crawled in my ear.
• I saw an elderly lady at a bus stop and decided to pick her up.
• My dog swallowed my cell phone.

High creative but not very convincing!

A Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP), Dave draws on his 30 years of experience in union and union-free private sector businesses across Canada to conceive and deliver value-added outcomes that elevate human resource capital and maximize operational results.

Dave has combined his passion for training and development with public speaking to design and deliver thousands of hours of training. He currently teaches the National Knowledge Exam (NKE) preparation workshop for the CHRP designation exams and is tracking toward become a Certified Accelerated Learning Trainer. Dave is also a certified trainer with Development Dimensions International and Achieve Global. He has also achieved the designations of Competent Toastmaster and Competent Leader.

Dave has completed the Co-Active Coaching program offered by the Coaches Training Institute and the certificate program in Conflict Management Studies Program through Conrad Grebel College at the University of Waterloo.  He also has a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours.  

Dave's media credits include co-hosting Main Street, a cable television news program focused on current and community events, and Business Network News.  He has published numerous articles in Enterprise Magazine, Biz Magazine, Canada's SOHO Magazine, Canadian Manager and The Bottom Line and has been quoted in the Globe & Mail. 

High Performance Human Resources
1327 Treeland Street
Burlington, ON L7R 3T5
Phone:  (905) 637-5673
Toll Free:  1-866-878-4134
Fax:  905-631-2383
E-mail:  dave@highperformancehr.ca
Website:  http://www.highperformancehr.ca/