Navigating the Challenges and Opportunities in the Modern Job Market

Hiring is a challenge for any size company.

Here is a collection of my thoughts and what I learned from my recent hiring process.

The talent pool is deepening; make sure you put your best foot forward.

What tips would you add for job seekers and small business owners?

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Podcast Transcript:

0:01 Kiva Slade

Hello and welcome to collab with Kiva. I'm your host Kiva, Slade. From the marbled halls of the US Congress to my racing themed office chair. I've learned that there is no perfect path to the life of your dreams. My journey over the past 20 years has included being a legislative director for a member of Congress, policy director for a nonprofit, stay at home mom, homeschooling mom, jewelry business owner, and now the owner of a service based business, whether your journey has been a straight line, or full of zigs and zags. Join me and my guest as we share insights, hope and lessons learned from our female entrepreneurship journeys. Made the collaborative sharing of our stories be the tide that lifts your boat, let's dive in. Hello, and welcome to another episode of collab with Kiva. I am your host, Kiva, Slade, the owner, founder of the 516 Collaborative. Today, I want to talk about hiring. And I'll be honest, more of this is probably more applicable to those that are looking to hire in the online space than necessarily a brick and mortar office space. However, I think there are some universals when it comes to hiring. And for me this particular time around because I feel like I have these takeaways every time I hire, but I feel like for me this particular time, there are more and more people coming into a space of wanting to have flexibility in their employment.

1:56

So whether that's working from home, whether that's having some work from home opportunity in their work week, whatever that might look like. And I could be propelled, obviously, from COVID, the great resignation that we see happening, there can be a lot of factors. For some, hey, you might have young children in with everything that's been going on and happening, it's just easier for you to work from home, whatever that situation is. It has resulted in I feel more people looking for work, especially in an online space. And I share that because in my own experience this time around, I actually had to shut down the application a week. Yeah, about a week actually a little more than a week prior to when I had it initially set to close. And the reason for that is it had already garnered like 35 applicants in a process of four days. And I was like, There's no way I can continue to leave this open. Because the numbers were going to scare me, and probably have me feeling like, oh, no, this is way too much and overwhelmed. So I closed my application process early, and started to weed through those 35 applicants. And actually one other one snuck in right before it goes in. But what I found interesting is what I'm going to share today in first, though, I want to say that some of this is applicable to those that are looking for work. But I also think there's takeaways for those of us who are looking to hire someone. And the first thing is the removal of bias in any way that you possibly can. For me, since again, I was hiring in an online space, I had a Google Form set up that as to questions. And as we know, Google Forms can connect to Google Sheets. And so I hit the columns that had people's names. I did this not only to remove bias, but let's be realistic. In some of our circles, there are six degrees of Kevin Bacon, some of us don't even get to the full six degrees. So it was really important for me, because I figured there might be people who I knew from one circle or another, there might be people who knew me from a friend of mine in one circle or another. So to remove that I hid names. I actually also hid How did you hear about this because some people would put your friends such and such or cable you posted it, whatever it might be, I hid columns that I felt would lead me to know or possibly have an inkling of who that person was. So the removal of bias or as much as you can remove it, I think is super critical to having In a, I don't want to use the word fair, but an unbiased, let's go with that unbiased approach to the hiring process. And we see that trying to be replicated in much, you know, different areas in HR, encouraging people not to have to put names on things and so many other things that could really factor in to a hidden bias that we may not even know that we have. So for me, I hit those things. Until I had reached in, you guys know, we're a little organized, they're just a little, you know, until the spreadsheet was color coded with red for No, we don't want to talk to this person, yellows, maybe green is definite. So until all of that had been, you know, worked through based on responses to various questions. That's when names were on, hidden. And I just feel like that gave me a sense of peace. And a sense of, I was not swayed one way or another based on who that person was, or who I know they worked for, or anything else of that sort. So that's one thing that I think those of us who are looking to hire should definitely look to do, or have those who are hiring for us actually do as well, because I do the same thing with those clients of mine that I hire for. Because I don't want to be swayed one way or the other. So moving on, speaking about that application process. This is really for those who are looking for work.

6:42

I know, some of our applications may be a bit long, I might be talking about myself in this instance. And you may be tempted to quickly answer the questions. And this is where I caution you kind of like the little carrot cartoon characters on your shoulder saying don't do that. Don't quickly answer the questions. Give them some thought. whoever that person is, who's looking to hire or who's hiring for someone else. These questions were actually created, crafted, designed, included, for the purpose of extracting information, information about you information about you, that would separate you from the rest of the pack. And if you quickly answer those questions, or it's like a bunch of one sentence responses, I'll be honest, many of us will just quickly say that's a no, because of the simple fact there's not a lot of data there, there's not a lot of information, it feels like okay, boom, boom, I just wanted to get this in and get it done. We're looking to better understand you. And unfortunately, for that initial pre interview stage, the only way to do that is through asking questions. So for those that are looking, don't breeze past the application process, put some thought in to your responses, put some thought in to what it is that you will say, for those questions. Because again, if you kind of go through it quickly, and there's not a lot of stuff that you respond with, it doesn't really give a full picture of yourself. And let's be honest, and application is about selling yourself. That's what it comes down to at the end of the day. So in that application process, and in my process, there's typically a question like, why do you want this job? Or like, Why do you think you'll be a good fit for this? Something along those lines? For the love of all things holy, please do not have a response of because I need money. Because I want extra income. Hello, honestly, who doesn't want extra money? Who doesn't want some additional funds coming in? That's like everybody. So having that as your response? Hey, get it. I'm just trying to be honest. Let's just say you can be honest and dress that puppy up with a bow so that it's just not running around being just honest. Okay. And honestly, again, who doesn't want extra money? We all do. That's why we're working. In most cases. If we could get paid to do only the things that we want to do, then we wouldn't have any need for jobs. So this is an opportunity when you have a question like that Want to highlight how you and your skills can make a difference? How are you uniquely qualified and the best person for this position? Once again, we are back at the same thing that we were at at the last point, which is, this is an opportunity to sell your self. That's, that's what it is. And to respond with I need money. I'm looking for some extra income, aren't we? Why we pick up pennies quarters dams in the street, were happy when we find money in our own couches. It's our money in most cases. Unless you sit behind my husband who leaves money, like just falls out of his pockets, okay? Like, seriously, we all want money. Don't let that be your response. Another tip, what I've seen happen a few times, people want to send a video.

11:02

I love video. Okay, and I'll have a caveat for this. Because, again, to eliminate bias, I did not look at any videos until I had already decided, yeah, I want to talk to this person, or No, I don't want to talk to this person. But if you're going to send a video, if you're going to take that extra step to send a video, again, with the love of all things holy, please personalize it. Do not send a generic intro video that you have probably recorded three months ago, two weeks ago, five years ago, whatever, and send it to someone where you don't use their name. You don't mention anything about their business, and how again, you and your skills are uniquely positioned to help them to partner with them to collaborate with them. On generic video, Hey, my name is this is what I do. Dudes, all of that was already shared in the written form. So if you're going to take the step to make a video, make a video that is personalized to that person who is hiring. Hey, Kiva, my name is Sally Sue, and I am so excited about this opportunity. Because of my experience as a biller, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, I see myself bla bla bla bla bla bla bla. But don't just tell me hey, I'm Sally Sue, I run blah, blah, blah, company, this is what I blah, blah, blah, do you? Nice to meet you, blah, blah, blah. No, nope, nope. Okay, next point, to your research. Well, I actually encourage you to research before you apply, to really ensure there's like a sense of alignment. If you're granted an interview, please do your research before you have that interview. In a small business, you are not some cog, you know, that's just going to be out there never gonna see the boss or something of that sort. That's not how that works in the spa business, there is going to be an end and relationship there. That's taking place because the team is small. And so connection is super important. And connection is strengthened by you doing your research. And I'm not talking platitudes. Just be like, Oh, I saw XYZ about you, or you know, things of that sort. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking real areas where you can make a connection by what you've learned about this person in their business. If the person has a podcast, hello, it's not gonna kill you to listen to an episode or two. And the person has a website, please go look at it. Go figure out something about them in their business, to show that you actually understand and that you comprehend what they do and how you can actually help them and just if you let's be honest, nowadays most of our existence is online somewhere if they have an Instagram or Facebook or something else, you know, there it's fine to go look at those things to see if there's something that you and this person share in common that you can mention. You know, for me, pretty much everyone who knows me knows I'm gluten free. You start talking gluten free food. My ears are perked especially if we're talking sweet Eat some desserts, okay? That's something that you can literally have a genuine connection with me about, because everybody pretty much knows it everywhere. So I say that again to say it's important to do your research, know who the person is that you are going to be interviewing with. Another thing is have questions. This can easily fall under, or be a part of doing your research. During the interview, you will be given an opportunity to ask questions. Don't squander that opportunity. There's always something you should be curious about, or need clarity on. I would recommend preparing at least three questions, you might need to switch out one or two of those based on information that comes about in the interview.

15:59

But if you have no questions, you have none prepared and you have none at the end. It's like, Okay, interesting. Are you sure about that. And I think it's just, it shows again, that you have an interest, it shows again, that you've taken the time to be prepared. That's what I think it comes down to, to a level of preparedness. The next thing some might feel is old fashion. I don't I find it just simply being kind. And that is to follow up, come on people. I teach that to my kids, since they were younger, send a thank you email. It can be short and sweet. You can highlight a moment from the interview, whatever suits your style, decide for you. But kindness always wins. That follow up is important. I feel like it's a part of closing kind of the loop as it relates to your side of it. And on the other side, for those that are hiring, I want you to follow up as well. It's important that you close that loop for whether it's those that don't make it forward or those that do that you close that loop and people are not just left hanging. If you say hey, next steps are gonna start second round interviews next Wednesday. And next Friday comes around and these people haven't heard from you to say, Hey, you didn't make it. Like, yeah, they probably figured that out. But how much kinder is it if you actually have informed them, that they did not make it. And in that, if there's something you can share a kind word about something they could either do differently, maybe something they could work on, that would help them in their future pursuits. That is also I think, something that is nice to do. Because it really people they've laid themselves out there, you know, they've put themselves out there in the application process. And to be able to spend a few moments to give that feedback, especially for those that you've interviewed, I'm not talking about people who you didn't even interview. But you know, those that you interviewed and who may not make it from round one to round two or round two, round three, whatever however many rounds you have, in your process, I think it's important to say what it is that they could possibly have done better. And in some cases, it may not be anything that they needed to do better. You just felt someone else was a better candidate. I think that's important too. Because in all actuality, it's probably a very good thing, that you're not hiring that person, you know, it's sometimes hard to see, or except in the process of it all. But in all actuality, let's be real, we sometimes have dodged bullets on both sides of this equation, when we have not accepted something that when we were rejected for something, and also when we weren't, you know, given the opportunity to move forward. There's some there's just some opportunities that just aren't for you. And that's Oh, okay. Not everything you apply for. Are you going to get in some of it, you just need to say, well, thank you. I don't need that. It wasn't for me, and that's okay. So I share all that to say that the process of interviewing and hiring and all of the things that come with that. It's so important, especially with a small business, that there's a lie Amen on values. And I don't mean just full on alignment, like you have the same values, I mean the respect of each other's values. Because again, you are coming into an environment where there's a small team, it's a few people. And it's just going to be important that there is respect that's mutual. In that, whether that's values, skill set, and the ability to you, you really get to see your areas of growth for leadership,

20:33

I say the same about parenting. I think they're just saying about kids being a mirror. I've many cases, most of our bad habits. And it's those are the things that you really get to see about yourself as the person who is hiring, as what you need to work on where your blind spots are, and how you can have a level of vulnerability, even in your leadership. So those are some of my takeaways from the hiring process. And I seem to like I said, always have these takeaways whenever it comes to it, because there's always things that come up and some instances, they're things that I've seen repeatedly. So I'd love to hear what yours are, feel free to definitely reach out and share and say these are some of the things that you think are points for those that are looking for work and also points for those that are doing the hiring. I think that's important to you that we work on bettering the system that is utilized in many cases to hire for various positions. So thank you for listening to this episode of collab with Kiva on hiring in small businesses, especially those in the online space. Again, if you have some feedback, some tips, make sure to reach out to me and share them. And I look forward to you joining us joining me on the next episode. Take care. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of collab with Kiva. You know my heart and it wants you to know that you are uniquely made and that your business path is unique to you. I hope that now you have some clear takeaways from this episode that have left you inspired and motivated to keep pressing forward on your unique path. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss out on any future episodes. And of course, your reviews on Apple are greatly appreciated. If you are a small business owner, and you are ready to build out your business playbook, and you're ready to document and delegate what takes place in your business so it can grow beyond you. Make sure you visit me on my website, the 516 collaborative.com and let's schedule a time to talk. I'll see everyone next time. Bye.

Meet Kiva Slade - the Founder and CEO of The 516 Collaborative. With a unique background in high-power politics on Capitol Hill and sixteen years as a homeschooling mama, Kiva found her calling in the online business world as a trusted guide for entrepreneurs looking to build the business of their dreams.

Kiva's work began behind the scenes, orchestrating the back end of businesses and managing teams. But her inner data diva couldn't help but notice that small businesses needed help harnessing the power of data for growth. So she and her team set out to uncover and tidy up the data required to enable clients to grow their businesses confidently and easily.