I regularly observe career coaches and recruiters encouraging candidates to send handwritten thank you letters to their interviewers. I have even seen hiring managers say that receipt of a thank you note is part of their decision making process and they judge candidates negatively for failing to comply. In some cases they even cut candidates…

The hiring process for most organisations is flawed throughout and riddled with unconscious bias. Despite good intentions, there is no doubt that unconscious bias is the barrier to diversity. It’s important you understand how to make your interview process more inclusive as part of your hiring best practices. Inclusive hiring Inclusive hiring is an equitable…

Our recruitment systems are riddled with hiring biases They always have been. But we need to manage them more urgently than ever post COVID19. If anyone had said on January 1, 2020, that within four months most of those who could, would be working from home, would you have believed them? If they went on…

Navigating office politics and making sure you are visible for the right reasons, to the right people has always been a challenge.  But the difficulties have been heightened as we are all working remotely more and travel and meeting restrictions are in force. The notion of intrapreneurship has shifted in the office-less workplace. It is…

We are in the middle of a tumultuous convergence of three crises: health, economic and social justice. In some areas we need to layer on political upheaval. And we are not talking emerging markets here. The “Coronacoaster” as it has been named, is creating upheaval and uncertainty in most markets. Some have been decimated. Many…

A hot topic in the career sector is whether job seekers should declare on LinkedIn via a hashtag system or a green circle offered by LinkedIn, that they are #ONO (Open for New Opportunities) or saying they are “Open to Work.”  A significant number of people suggest this is a “sign of desperation” and are…

There is no doubt we are all part of a Covid19 collective trauma even though we all have different experiences of this crisis. Some are actually positive. Introverts love it and people who wanted to WFH actually want it to go on for ever.  But for many, the impact has been negative ranging from discombobulating…

People are slowly returning to work in different stages in various geographies. I have been very surprised to hear some of the experiences HR leaders are recounting around the implementation of pandemic safety protocols. This is not just an HR issue, but also a business and leadership issue. They are seeing a strong polarisation of…

One of the main paradoxes of any HR conference focusing on digital and tech, is there is always  as much discussion around the human element as the technical stuff. This year at UNLEASH18 I felt it was even more pronounced than usual. Threaded through the event was a strong emphasis on soft skills, emotions, relationships,…

Devising little tests such as a hiring lunch and other tricks have always been around to test job seekers for cultural fit. Thomas Edison is famously reported to have served candidates a bowl of soup when he was interviewing for research assistants. He seemingly wanted to see whether they added salt or pepper to the…