Author: Naomi Marshall

Don’t Overdress for your Job Interview

Posted on by Naomi Marshall

We’re all really busy. More so than ever. Everything is at our fingertips providing instant results. It’s the age of technology and it’s amazing.

 

However, there are some things that haven’t caught up to this go-go-go revelation. And probably should. Common courtesy and politeness are two things that come to mind.  It is only too often these general manners have been lost or forgotten in our fast paced ever-ready indulgence.

 

The one thing that I find completely disheartening is the lack of response in returning phone calls, both as a prospective candidate and on the job. I’m sure this fits into the common courtesy category.

 

As an experienced Executive Assistant currently looking for new opportunities, I’ve had to swiftly adapt to the changing market and methods to a get a look in. The job market moves very quickly, blink and you’ve missed an opening.

 

Occasionally the standard thank you email comes through. Occasionally the phone rings for a great chat about a position, which may lead to interview. Sadly a large proportion simply don’t respond. I’ve experienced positive conversations ending with “you’ll receive a phone call by the end of the week either way”, yet that phone call doesn’t come. I’ve experienced being the final candidate with referees lined up to never hear about the role again. But these types of behaviour happen in the every day workplace too. I’ve experienced people not responding to me on the job simply because I am the EA and not the boss.

 

A good EA is integral because they are organised, savvy and well connected. We know as much about the goings on as our boss. We’re the movers and shakers behind the Executive, the glue that binds the pages of the book, if you like. We can be influential and we usually have good memories.

 

Take a moment out of your busy schedule. Call if you said you would. A short email is quite acceptable, even the standard response is ok, at least then we know exactly where we stand. Either way, have the common courtesy to respond. It is always appreciated.

 

Written by Sharon Herzog

Which Interview Style Yields the Best Results?

Posted on by Naomi Marshall

Structured or Conversational Interview? Which yields the best results?

If you’re not a seasoned interviewer (or sometimes even if you are), it can be hard to decide on the right interview approach to gain the most (or most useful) knowledge from prospective candidates.

Here at Sprint HQ we interview a number of candidates on a weekly basis and each and every interview is different. The style of interview depends largely on the role that we are recruiting for, and the style of the company that we are interviewing the candidate for.

I personally like to make my interviews more conversational as I feel as though I really get to know my candidates that way. After honing my interview technique over the last 6 or so years in the industry I have found that candidates tend to be more truthful about their future plans and objectives when I take this approach. They open up about their personal lives, and I feel that I get a true insight into what company cultures they would perform well in.

This being said, while I like to keep it fairly conversational, that’s not to say that behavioural questioning doesn’t have its place. Asking candidates to provide detailed examples of their experiences is essential to find out if they are simply “talking the talk” or if they actually have the experience that they claim to.

I do like to ask candidates about, their strengths, personality etc. However, I find that that most candidates have pre-rehearsed answers for these questions (and let’s face it, every candidate thinks they have great communication, presentation and time management skills). To avoid this, I often make a slight adjustment to the question by asking the candidate to see themselves through someone else’s eyes. E.g. “What do you think your last manager would say your strengths are?” Or
“How do you think your current work colleagues would describe your personality, and why?” It can sometimes be easier for candidates to critique themselves by putting themselves in others shoes.

However, with this in mind, there are times when a more structured formal interview is more appropriate. This has a lot to do with the style of environment that I am interviewing, for example if I am recruiting for a corporate business, where the manager has a more formal style, then it can be misleading to take an informal approach with the candidate.

As an interviewer it is always our role to make sure the candidate leaves excited about the prospect of the role that they are interviewing for. However, it is important to ensure they have realistic expectations about the process to come and the environment that they could be working in.

So as a professional interviewer, what do I recommend…?

Ultimately you need to find a style that you are comfortable with, and that most encourages candidates to be open and honest in the recruitment process. Two people can ask the same question of a candidate, but receive a very different response due to the way that they phrase the question, the tone they use and or the body language they are showing. So don’t copy your colleagues, or follow a strict template. Do what yields the best results for you!

If you would like to chat more about perfecting your interview technique, please get in touch with either myself or Naomi – we’d be delighted to help. Alternatively, we have plenty more tips on our website at Sprint Coach.

 

Sprint Social

Posted on by Naomi Marshall
Here at Sprint HQ we believe spontaneity is the spice of life! We like to keep things interesting and we all love the element of surprise in our daily lives. So we’ve created our monthly team building event ‘Sprint Social’.

Our terms of engagement are simple: Face your fears. Live a little.

Each month a different team member gets to choose the theme and the activities of a Sprint Social event, with the company contributing $50 per person. We don’t place any limitations on imagination for our social events, but we do draw the line at karaoke. I mean…..we have standards 🙂
Most importantly – the rest of the team never know what we’re in for until the time of the event, which adds to the anticipation!
A company’s culture is the backbone that holds all the pieces of the puzzle together. It’s important to ensure staff feel included, wanted and most of all valued.
Our Sprint Culture is important to us. We are a hard working, fun loving bunch of people. Important yet fun initiatives like Sprint Social help remind us our office is made up people (our #Sprintfam) and those people need to be nurtured to perform at their best day after day. Plus it helps that we all like hanging out.
We love what we do and it shows in our team culture.
Do you agree that a great company culture trickles through all facets of your business?
What does your company do to make you feel valued?
This week we have our next Sprint Social event happening…only Jo knows what is in store for us all. Any guesses what we might be getting up to?

Dealing with life’s little setbacks – what’s really important?

Posted on by Naomi Marshall

We’re all really busy. More so than ever. Everything is at our fingertips providing instant results. It’s the age of technology and it’s amazing.

 

However, there are some things that haven’t caught up to this go-go-go revelation. And probably should. Common courtesy and politeness are two things that come to mind.  It is only too often these general manners have been lost or forgotten in our fast paced ever-ready indulgence.

 

The one thing that I find completely disheartening is the lack of response in returning phone calls, both as a prospective candidate and on the job. I’m sure this fits into the common courtesy category.

 

As an experienced Executive Assistant currently looking for new opportunities, I’ve had to swiftly adapt to the changing market and methods to a get a look in. The job market moves very quickly, blink and you’ve missed an opening.

 

Occasionally the standard thank you email comes through. Occasionally the phone rings for a great chat about a position, which may lead to interview. Sadly a large proportion simply don’t respond. I’ve experienced positive conversations ending with “you’ll receive a phone call by the end of the week either way”, yet that phone call doesn’t come. I’ve experienced being the final candidate with referees lined up to never hear about the role again. But these types of behaviour happen in the every day workplace too. I’ve experienced people not responding to me on the job simply because I am the EA and not the boss.

 

A good EA is integral because they are organised, savvy and well connected. We know as much about the goings on as our boss. We’re the movers and shakers behind the Executive, the glue that binds the pages of the book, if you like. We can be influential and we usually have good memories.

 

Take a moment out of your busy schedule. Call if you said you would. A short email is quite acceptable, even the standard response is ok, at least then we know exactly where we stand. Either way, have the common courtesy to respond. It is always appreciated.

 

Written by Sharon Herzog

Lessons to be Learnt from Old Friends

Posted on by Naomi Marshall

Sometimes, bumping into an old friend teaches us an important lesson. Recently, I was fortunate enough to run into an old friend / work colleague who I had not seen in years. Reconnecting with her through randomly bumping into each other at Greg & Chris Savage’s SPRINT training last week (two very well respected industry professionals for those who are not in the industry), was a timely reminder for me that who we choose to spend time with is important.  She is one of those people who always puts a smile on my face. Before leaving, we organised to catch up for coffee and I was genuinely happy that we had reconnected.

It got me thinking, why is it that we enjoy the company of some people more than others? What is it that they do or say? How is it that they behave?

As I headed off for our catch up a few days later, I had a skip in my step as I was looking forward to spending time with her. When we reunited at the event we laughed together and reminisced of the days I would arrive at work or her family home with baked goods. Therefore for our catch up, I felt it would be a nice gesture to take biscuits that she could again share with her family.

We sat in the café and both spoke for an hour without drawing breath. It would easily be several years since we last caught up but it felt like only yesterday. The meeting only ended when the waitress asked us to move for the lunch sitting.

It was an easy interaction, I wanted to hear all of her stories and she wanted to hear mine. We shared in each other’s ups and downs. We both genuinely listened to each other and I walked away feeling connected.

The point here is simple. There are some people in your life who will make you feel amazing and there are others who are an absolute drag. They are negative, tiring and sap your energy. Without realising it they give you nothing except an empty feeling afterwards.

The one thing we all have is equal amounts of time – the minutes continue to tick on and you can never get that time back again. If there are people in your life who are not celebrating in your stories, giving you a skip in your step and truly making you feel good about yourself then start making decisions about how much time they deserve.

This isn’t to say that you never see them again, just make better decisions about who is deserving of your time (as it’s precious).

Sometimes, bumping into an old friend can remind you of what is important and what we value in friendships.