CPG & Associates

If anything is a sign of the times, it’s this: I recently read that at Harvard, one of the most popular lectures is a course called Leadership and Happiness. It teaches future business leaders how to cultivate team happiness. 🙁🙂😄 We are in a time when the war for talent, the struggle to ensure retention, and the sheer competitive nature of business in every industry means leaders have to try harder than ever before to make sure their employees like their jobs. According to Dr. Arthur Brooks, who teaches the Harvard class, happiness comes from four key areas of life: 1. Meaningful work 2. Family  3. Friends 4. Life philosophy/spirituality The class kicks off with the question “In which area are you over-indexing?” You don’t have to go to Harvard to ask yourself this question as a leader, and as Dr. Brooks reminds us, happy, well-rounded employees start with happy, well-rounded leaders. As a recruiter for 20+ years, it’s refreshing to see this concept of work-life balance being legitimized by business schools.

When David Novak, the longtime CEO of Yum Brands (think Pizza Hut,  KFC, and Taco Bell) was a college student, he made ends meet serving tables at a Holiday Inn, where Engelbert Humperdinck once stiffed him on a tip. Novak credits this experience with helping form who he is as a leader today. He wrote in his biography, “I’ll remember until the day I die how bad that made me feel.” The lesson? Treat your employees well, and always reward them for their work. This lines up with the fact that a lot of employees tend to leave their jobs because they don’t feel appreciated. Lately, we’ve all heard so much about candidates leaving their jobs due to not feeling valued by their employer. In my own line of work as a Managing Partner at CPG & Associates, it’s obvious that making employees feel appreciated is more important than ever. 

“So, Brett, tell me about yourself.” It’s not a trick question, but if you’re interviewing for a job, you want to be thoughtful about how you answer it. Most people freeze when they hear this question in an interview. Or they get nervous and overshare, starting with the very beginning and progressing year by year through the documentary film reel of their life.” The real key to answering this generic question is to make it specific to the company you’re interviewing with. If you’ve done your research and you know what they look for in an employee — and more specifically, for this role — you’re more likely to answer the question in a way that will capture the interviewer’s attention. The first clue, by the way, is probably right there in the job description. Look for key phrases like “must have” and “what we’re looking for.” Of course, you don’t want to blurt out the answers verbatim: “I have strong computer and communication skills!” But find ways to tell the story of how you do. And practicing in advance is always a great idea. Yes, you want to be authentic and sincere in an interview. But when you’re nervous, it’s also a good idea to have some memorized bullet points to fall back on. Of course, when you work with a CPG & Associates recruiter like myself, we'll guide you on what the client is looking for so that type of question doesn't surprise you!

Does your resume have a headline? I’m not talking about your name in lights at the top of the page. I’m talking about a catchy headline that will grab the attention of hiring managers. For instance: VP Finance with Private Equity Acquisition Integration experience Or: Controller with Experience at Fortune 100 companies As an A&F recruiter for 20 years, I’ve seen candidate anxiety levels go up around whether their resumes are being read. Using a recruiter is certainly a smart way to get your resume in front of the right people. But that resume has to stand on its own, too. Just as you probably choose which articles to read based on the headlines journalists use, hiring managers are more apt to read a resume that grabs their attention right away. The headline — typically right above your summary — is one great way to make an impression.

“Brett, should I put references right on my resume or in another doc?” This is a question I often field from candidates. My answer: Don’t worry about including references when you apply for a role. In fact, don’t even bother to write the phrase “References available upon request” on your CV. Prospective employers are not going to call your references until after they’ve interviewed you, at which point, they’ll ask you for them. Listing references in advance is a waste of space, and it’s also old fashioned. Hiring managers assume you’ll give them names and contact info when they’re ready. That said, definitely have your references ready to share. That means having a list of good references (at least three) and giving them the heads up that they may receive a call. Typically, hiring managers want a name, company, title, phone number and email address. Having this information organized and handy will help you respond quickly when they ask. Working with a CPG & Associates recruiter, we make sure your references are not bothered until you are further along in the process and a offer is imminent.

Why do job seekers who seem so eager for a job interview end up ghosting the interviewer? This is a phenomenon I am often asked about in my role as a recruiter at CPG & Associates. These are the most common reasons for ghosting: 🔹  An overall bad experience in the interview process 🔹  They got specific information in the process that made them think twice about the job 🔹  There was a detail of the role or your policy or culture that was a deal-breaker for the candidate  🔹  They simply decided to take another offer In any case, ghosting shows a lack of respect. But as a hiring manager, you could really use the feedback to improve on the next round. On your own, you may find yourself wondering, was it something I said?? When you work with us, of course, you are far less likely to get ghosted. Our recruiters do a darn good job at profiling the candidates before the interview process making sure it's the right candidate for the right job. Our recruiters at CPG & Associates follow up with the candidate and stay on top of it...no matter what.

Live vs Remote interviewing - THAT is the question... Remote interviews are convenient and low-risk. You can interview candidates from anywhere. In-person interviews are more personable, and a lot of people think they give you a better idea of whether a candidate is the right fit. You can introduce more of your staff, and give the candidate a feel for the company culture in person. Remote interviews mean everyone involved needs a strong internet connection and EVERYONE needs to have patients for glitches and unforeseen issues. For candidates who aren’t tech-savvy, it adds an extra layer of complexity. But then again, in a world where remote meetings are a common thing, in-person interviews don’t allow you to test a candidate’s ability to navigate Zoom or Teams and be able to handle the rigor that comes from speaking into a camera. As a recruiter, I've experienced on-site work companies, doing remote interviewing and making an offer but the candidate didn't want to accept until seeing the office and meeting everyone in person. Ultimately, you’ll probably choose one method over the other for practical reasons. And the format you choose isn’t nearly as important as how you conduct the interview. But if you want tips on how to better conduct either kind of interview, contact me at CPG & Associates today.

As Summer approaches and the Dallas job market starts getting hotter, CPG & Associates is ready to assist. Or, perhaps your gears have shifted, and you now need to hire where you didn’t before. How can I help? As an A&F recruiter for 20 years, hiring is my number-one focus. So as you handle all the other aspects of being a leader right now, I can step in to help you find the right people for your open positions. I’ll handle: 1. The pipeline — finding the right pool of candidates in the first place 2. The screening — narrowing it down to the ideal few 3. The interview setup — getting you and the prospective employees on the calendar in a pain-free way 4. The negotiation If you’re ready to hire a candidate that's guaranteed to be "THE ONE," and you want the hiring process to be seamless, contact me today.

The age-old argument burns on: Is it better to have a messy desk or a tidy one? Proponents of the former say it indicates creativity and productivity. Some research has shown that people with messy desks tend to be non-traditionalists who often come up with creative new ideas. The “tidy desk” contingent insists emphatically that lack of clutter makes it easier to focus, even dissolves stress. There’s an entire Eastern practice called Feng Shui based on the concept of one’s environment being directly responsible for one’s health, wellbeing and prosperity. One University of Minnesota study concluded that people working in messy environments and clean environments come up with the same number of ideas. So ultimately, it probably doesn’t matter how neat or messy your desk is, but instead, focus on what makes you happy. CPG & Associates recruits top A&F talent no matter the "desk" type. What matters most is the character of the candidate. Pedigree is important, but so is having qualities of being honest, trustworthy, fair, responsible, and caring, and having the moral courage to do the right thing.

Has regular email stopped doing it for you? A new email service from Basecamp called “Hey” might be the first real innovation to email since Gmail came on the scene. Hey segments all your incoming emails into three inboxes: 1. The Imbox  — which is for your important stuff (Get it? Important box?) 2. The Paper Trail — that’s an inbox for all your receipts, shipping notifications and other boring paperwork you don’t want to lose track of 3. The Feed — where you filter newsletters and stuff you want to read, when you have time The key is in the training. At first, you have to sort and label your incoming mail so the app knows how to filter it later on. You can also “set aside” messages to read later and view every attachment you’ve ever gotten in one place. It’s going to be a paradigm shift for people who choose to use it, but Hey’s goal is to shift the paradigm of email back from being a chore to being a joy. Remember when the idea of getting an email was exciting? I’m not sure if I’ll try it yet, but looking forward to hearing from those who do! I hope some of my clients and candidates at CPG And Associates will report back.