I sent out 63 inmails through linkedin a few weeks back and received only 2 responses.

My mistake… I did not tailor my message to the individual. Now, 8 months ago those same messages were getting on average a 52% response rate, so what happened?  

With all the noise fighting to get people's attention, It is easier than ever to get ignored. When the messaging you send seems way too common or anything at all like a templated message, you will fail.

Now, more than ever, the language you use when reaching out to prospective employees matters. And thoughtful messaging designed to align with a person's personality style is the most effective way to win-win a response!

Our guest today: Greg Skloot, Co-Founder & CEO of Crystal Knows.

Crystal is the app that tells you anyone’s personality. Using Artificial Intelligence, Crystal accurately identifies a person’s motivations, communication style, and other behavioral traits. 

Greg and his company have been featured in Inc, Fortune, CNN, Fast Company, MIT Technology Review, Wired, and the Guardian. He is the co-author of a book published by Wiley in 2019, Predicting Personality: Using AI to understand people and win more business. He was recognized by Forbes as 30 Under 30 in enterprise technology.

Today we discuss:

• Why people are NOT responding to your outreach

Challenge today?

• Tough to get people top of the funnel

• Information overload

Why is this important to the company?

• More important now due to the tightness of the labor market

Rick’s Nuggets

• Messaging from 6 months ago is really not working right now

• Way too much noise

How do we solve the problem? 

• Learn DISC

• Dominance, Influence, Compliance, Steadiness

• Expectations for the role

• Communicate how the other person WANTS to be communicated with

Rick’s Nuggets

• Hit someone with the PAIN first

Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today!  - Value:

• Use personality insights to break through the noise when emailing candidates cold

Host Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-girard-07722/

Company: https://www.stridesearch.com/

Podcast: https://www.hirepowerradio.com

Authored:  "Healing Career Wounds"  https://amzn.to/3tGbtre

HireOS inquiry: [email protected]

Guest Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregskloot/

Company: https://www.crystalknows.com/

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/crystal_knows/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crystalknowsme/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregskloot

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crystalknowsme/?hl=en

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9BjRz6BlFNdQE1WRpFGIDQ/videos

----------

Criteria Corp: https://www.criteriacorp.com/

We all have bought into the belief that following hiring best practices will ensure that we make the correct hiring decisions. Yet those best practices really do not produce consistent results. Why?

First, “best practices” are guidelines that trickle down from the big name-brand companies who all have the advantage of a much fatter wallet… And they are Transactional!

Second, what works for large companies does not work for startups. The truth is that you are needing to hire totally different people. Startup companies need “builders” to fuel company growth. And builders are not all about the $$money. They are about personal & professional growth. 

This requires that you approach these people in a way that is counterintuitive to “best practices” and centered upon answering the question, “what’s in it for me”.

For those of you who are new to the show or don’t know me yet:

• Cut my teeth as an Executive Recruiter for Tech Startups in the Silicon Valley

Today we discuss:

• Why it is critical to break away from hiring best practices

Challenge today?

Beliefs

• There really is NO right way to hire

• Cost of doing business

• Google today is much different than Google at your stage.

• They may be…. If they are builders

• More candidates = time loss

Focus

• Top of funnel

• Reliance on job boards 

Execution

• Interview training

How do we solve the problem? 

What to believe

• Strong hires come from someone in your network

• Positioning is in a person’s DNA

Focus on the interview, not the funnel

• The Interview process is what wins hires, not the number of candidates

• 10-15 minutes on a “screening call” 

• Selling the company

• Biggest time investment is to be made

Make Interviewing your strongest talent

• Solidify your process

• Timing 

• from first contact to offer acceptance

• Interviews start and end on time!

• Questions must be designed to surface evidence of value alignment

• Make it known that the interview is challenging

• Interviewers need to be trained!

• Roleplaying 

• Either a “Hell Yes” or a no

Rick's Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-girard-07722/

Company: https://www.stridesearch.com/

Podcast: https://www.stridesearch.com/hire-power-radio

Authored:  Healing Career Wounds (Amazon)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094TL14CD/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

HireOS inquiry: [email protected]

This show is proudly sponsored by Criteria Corp: https://www.criteriacorp.com/

Emotional Intelligence is defined as the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one's emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.

Over the past year, EQ has become less important to companies because of the NEED for someone to fill the seat. This is just creating more problems, as less care is invested into uncovering the fit into the organization. 

We need to understand that high performers are taking their time to find the right opportunity. So this is your wake up call to SLOW down!

Now, more than ever, it is critical to cultivate our own emotional intelligence & implement intelligent hiring practices into your organization. 

Our guest today: Nada Nasserdeen, Founder of Rise Up For You

With over 10 years of experience as a college professor and former top executive for an education corporation, Nada understands the importance of fusing education, empowerment, and leadership together as she works with her clients and speaks to audiences worldwide. 

Her company, Rise Up For You has been featured and worked with brands such as CBS, Google Next 19, and various Fortune 500 companies as well as small businesses.

Nada has been awarded 40 under 40 professionals in Orange County, California, and Women of Influence for Entrepreneurship in 2021.

She is a #1 Best Selling Author on Amazon, Leadership and Career Confidence Coach, and 2x TEDx Motivational Speaker.

Today we discuss:

• Emotional Intelligence and Why it needs to be front and center 

Challenge today?

• Building technology at such a fast rate

Why is this important to the company?

• Result 

Rick’s Nuggets

• Feeding frenzy from the company end 

• Candidates are taking their time

How do we solve the problem? 

• Vales need to be activated around EQ

• Take each value 1 by 1 and figure out how to activate it in the culture.

• On going, not a 90 minute

• Gauge on where the company is as far as strengths and weaknesses

• Survey to uncover where the work needs to be done

Rick’s Nuggets

• Making the values a language

• Decisions made by the north star

Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today!  - Value:

• Do an assessment - understand who and where your company is

Guest Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadalena/

Company: https://www.riseupforyou.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/riseupforyou/about/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RiseUpForYou/

Twitter: :https://twitter.com/riseupforyou?lang=en

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/riseupforyou/?hl=en

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RiseUpForYou/featured

FREEBIE: https://calendly.com/riseupforyou/freetraining

This show is proudly sponsored by Criteria Corp: https://www.criteriacorp.com/

Rick’s Book - Healing Career Wounds: 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094TL14CD/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

How do you compete against a huge company like Amazon or even a really well funded startup? 

If you are competing checkbook to checkbook, you will lose… Every time! 

The only way to tilt the odds in your favor today is to really understand the career wounds of the person and to be able to connect the dots as to how your opportunity fulfills their desires. 

This requires you to listen. Stop selling and start understanding what is important to the individual. This will allow you to stand out from the competition and allow the person you need to hire to see value above and beyond the paycheck.

Our guest today: Michael Downing, Founding Partner of MDSV Fund 

Michael is a Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur, has co-founded 6 software companies over a 28 year career, 3 of his companies were acquired and one had an IPO in 2006.

For the last 3 years, Downing has focused on investing in promising early-stage tech companies via his venture capital fund MDSV. Michael has recruited, hired and managed hundreds of employees over the span of his career.

Today we discuss:

• Why leading with the checkbook is a very bad idea

Challenge today?

• People are getting paid crazy numbers

Why is this important to the company?

• Key positions are being filled by people doing side hustles

• Full Time at companies like facebook

Rick’s Nuggets

• People are jumping ship because they no longer align with the company values

How do we solve the problem? 

• Be new, bold, unique, disruptive concept- big vision

• A new way to solve a problem, product in a totally different way

• Thoughtful about who the members are

Rick’s Nuggets

• Have a interviewing process (you are being judged too)

• People to take you seriously

Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today!  - Value:

1. Set Yourself Up For Hiring Success: It's got to be a Big, Bold, Kickass Vision

Guest Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldowning/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.downing.7161953

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/michaeldowning

This show is proudly sponsored by Criteria Corp: https://www.criteriacorp.com/

Asking for help as an entrepreneur is often a difficult thing to do. But it is the one thing you MUST do if you want to succeed. 

I learned this from my friend, Lori Torres, the founder of Parcel Pending. Lori was able to grow the company from $0 to a $100M exit in six years … and the reason it was such a success is because she asked for help… a lot!

Asking for help gets people engaged. It allows them to gain insight into the business and is critical in getting over the business humps. It also sets the stage to hire outstanding people.

And guess what, people will do it because they want to help. 

Our guest today: Vincent Kimura, Co-Founder of Smart Yields. 

A Hawaii-based and globally recognized agriculture technology company that is revolutionizing the way small- and medium-scale farms operate.

Vincent was named the 2016 Clean Tech/Ag Entrepreneur by the Hawaii Venture Capital Association and a 2016 finalist in the Pacific Business News Business Leadership Awards. 

He was also named to the Pacific Business News 2016 40 Under 40 cohort, which recognizes outstanding young business professionals in Hawaii. He lives in Honolulu with his wife Lisa and their three children.

Vincent faces the daily challenges of start-up life and is here to share his learnings. 

Today we discuss:

• Why it is important to ask for help 

Challenge today?

Asking for help to support your hiring process as a startup founder? 

• Understanding how a person is positioned

Why is this important to the company?

• Wasn't able to grow in a natural way

Rick’s Nuggets

• Big difference between people who want to do the work and those who do the work for the paycheck.

Hey Subscribers!  Keep an eye out for our newsletter as we are giving away 10 signed copies of Healing Career Wounds! Simply complete the linked survey and your name will be entered in the drawing.  You'll also be able to download a free chapter of the book just for participating!

How do we solve the problem? 

• Define what the business needs

• Core values

• Go Slow

• Discovery call

• Your ego, wants and assumptions

• Stop doing everything yourself!

Rick’s Nuggets

• Help someone else's business while they help you build yours

Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today!  - Value:

•  Don’t wing it….

Guest Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincentkimura/

Company: https://smartyields.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/smartyields/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smartyields

Twitter: https://twitter.com/smartyields

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smartyields/

This show is proudly sponsored by Criteria Corp: https://www.criteriacorp.com/

Rick's book - Healing Career Wounds (Amazon)

The reason we do this show every week is to dispel the commonly held belief that “there is no right way to hire”. Most entrepreneurs & investors believe that you just have to find the right skills and “trust your gut”. Hoping that the person works out.  

The consequences of this thinking results in countless sleepless nights, missing project deadlines, unstable mental health, increased capital burn and ultimately company failure.  Which is NOT good for investors, leaders or the people who follow us. 

Here’s the truth... There is a right way to hire! It just requires that you learn from your peers who come on to share their hiring success. They all have developed a structure and a process that allows them to stand out from their competitors.   

Lead a person through an impressive process that allows you to gain evidence of impact and you will build an amazing team. 

Our guest today:  Darrian Mikell, Co-Founder & CEO of Qualifi, A SaaS platform that powers the fastest phone interview experience in the world and helps recruiting teams hire great candidates faster than ever before. 

Darrian graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2013 with a Bachelor's Degree in Entrepreneurship and Finance. Darrian was a 2-sport athlete in both Basketball and Track & Field and was a national champion in the Long Jump. He is based in the Indianapolis area and is a dedicated husband and father of 3.

Darrian is building a ridiculously successful business because he already conquered his hiring challenges.

Today we discuss:

• Why it is important to care about your interview structure 

Challenge today?

• Candidates have options

Why is this important to the company?

• Not hiring the right people limits growth

• Wrong people take you down the wrong path

• $7mm wasted!

Rick’s Nuggets

• You must stand out to draw people in

How do we solve the problem? 

• Planning out hiring

• Proactive to get someone in the seat on time

• Pre-planning your process and mechanics

• Phone interviews

• Pre-recorded, audio-based questions

• First to candidate can be important factor

• Assigned interview questions (round robin)

Rick’s Nuggets

• Phone screen (discovery call) is the biggest missed opportunity

• Opportunity to understand the person. 

• Consistent plug n play- same questions for every person

Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today!  -Value:

• Proactively plan

• Understand who you need to hire, when you need to hire them, and how long it will take

Guest Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrianmikell/

Company: https://www.qualifi.hr/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/qualifihr/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/qualifihr

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DarrianMikell

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darrianmikell/

This show is proudly sponsored by Criteria Corp: https://www.criteriacorp.com/

We are in full swing of this “Great Resignation” and a record 4.3 million people quit their jobs in August. 

If you are one of the business leaders who have been losing people, please realize that it is not them, It is YOU! People are quitting because they no longer align themselves with your company values … especially the mandated policies in and around the pandemic. 

Right now, there are much better options in the form of growth and career satisfaction. Which is why people are taking their time in locating the opportunity that they really want. 

So, if you want to stop the attrition and be able to hire strong people, get solid on your values and focus on what each individual is desiring in terms of their personal career growth. 

Today we are discussing exactly what you need to do to become an employer of choice to start winning great people!

Our guest today:  Leilani Quiray, Founder & CEO of Be The Change HR

A conscious company and social enterprise, providing  HR support for small-to-medium sized businesses in any facet of HR from pre-hire to post-term and everything else that happens in between. Her and her team also teach free job readiness courses and provide free coaching to individuals who’ve been trafficked, homeless and veterans in transition.  Her team is not only HR Pros, they are Life Changers. 

Today we discuss:

• What people really want today from their careers in this great resignation

Challenge today?

• Why employees REALLY are choosing new employers?

• Money 

• “Experts stress that people are leaving their jobs as workers across the country are demanding higher pay, better employment conditions and critical support in their daily lives.”

• Data source

Why is this important to the company?

• Companies need humans

• More engagement = more profitable of a company

Rick’s Nuggets

• Flexibility: Personal freedom is a real issue!

• Attrition is happening due to continued company vaccine policies

• Compensation

How do we solve the problem? 

• Ask your people

• Needs are different

• Education and where (Harvard?) - biggest hurdle

• Market Value

• Free tools BLS

• What do you look like publicly?

• Get ahead of the bad reviews by getting good ones

• Take a look at who you are hiring

• Do you have them?

• Tool?

• We ask “are we living our core values?”

Rick’s Nuggets

• Are your values real?

• Form of conscious bias

• Value alignment is the only true measure to ensure performance and tenure

Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today!  -Value:

• Do Pulse Check Surveys!

Guest Links

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leilaniquiray/

Company: https://bethechangehr.org/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bethechangehr/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bethechangehumanresources/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bethechangehr

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bethechangehr/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqsQa5CXid2I0xQwiVyE2nw/featured

This show is proudly sponsored by Criteria Corp: https://www.criteriacorp.com/

While everyone is chasing the same people, ie: those who work for competitors or the 3-7 year up-and-comers, there is a huge pool of talent that are on the sidelines waiting for a well positioned opportunity to present itself. 

I’d like to challenge you to think about the concept that outstanding talent comes from the most unlikely places. 

Last week we heard the story of a top sales performer at Swag.com who had no sales experience at all. But the Desire alignment was through the roof and now this person is absolutely thriving in their organization. The creativity & outside the box thinking is what sets the stage for success! 

Today is all about hiring outstanding sales people in an environment that is ridiculously competitive. 

Our guest today:  Chris Beall, CEO of ConnectAndSell

For 30 years Chris Beall has led software start-ups as a founder or early-stage developer. He believes the most powerful part of a software system is the human being, and that the value key is to let the computer do what it does well — go fast without getting bored — in order to free up human potential. 

Chris and his team provide a SaaS solution for sales teams to talk to more prospects, and hosts a podcast, Market Dominance Guys.

Today we discuss:

• Why you are looking in the WRONG places for sales talent

Challenge today in hiring sales people?

• Can't find people

• Everyone is chasing the same (wrong) people

Why is this important to the company?

• Adopting a 2 tier model you 

• Always invest in the bottleneck

Rick’s Nuggets

• Value alignment within the organization is more important than ever before

• Connecting the dots between values & desire avoids bidding wars

How do we solve the problem? 

• Change your model 

• Make SDR as a real professional job

• Huge untapped pool of talent (over 40)

• Test people. Have them do some work

• Good voice

• Can you make people laugh

Rick’s Nuggets

• “Walk me through the process how you closed your last deal”

Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today!  - Value:

• Take the SDR role seriously and not just as a stepping stone. (your company’s bottleneck

Guest Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-beall-7859a4/#

Company: https://connectandsell.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/chris8649

Blog: http://blog.connectandsell.com/

Podcast: https://www.marketdominanceguys.com/

This show is proudly sponsored by Criteria Corp: https://www.criteriacorp.com/

Growing your company from 2 to 10 people is the most critical time in your company's life cycle. The reason for this is every single hire that is made can make or break the company. 

Every founder I meet has a story of “we hired a person that we thought was going to be a rockstar and it turned out to be a disaster”. 

So where do things go wrong when a bad hire is made?  

The interview was run from a position of need;  where we focus on selling the opportunity. So excited to get this new rockstar on board that we totally forget to take the time to understand if the person aligns with the values of the organization.

The good news is there is a solution to avoid these sometimes deadly mistakes and it just requires structure and developing your listening muscle. 

Our guest today:  Jeremy Parker, Co-Founder and CEO of Swag.com

Swag.com is the best place for companies to buy and distribute quality swag that people will actually want to keep. We work with 5,000+ companies including Facebook, Google, Amazon, Netflix, Spotify and Tik Tok.

Jeremy was named to Crain's NY 40 under 40 (Class of 2020) and Swag is #218 on the Inc 500 (2020) and #368 (2021)- Fastest growing private companies

Today we discuss:

• The importance of the first 10 hires

Challenge today?

• Hiring for the resume

Why is this important to the company?

Story:  First 2 years just the founders. Then scaled quickly to 14 people

• Who you hire in the early days is super important.  Need to be the right fit, for the right time.  They could be a great person and extremely talented but if they are not the right fit for the time it can go sideways.  

How do we solve the problem? 

• Stop micromanaging

• Guide & teach & trust that people will get it

• Failure is ok

• First meet with Department Head.  If that goes well, meet with someone who is currently in that same position in the company, to make sure they feel this person can do the job well. 

Rick’s Nuggets

• Evaluate everyone around your values

Key Takeaways -Value:

• Being ok with failure! Nothing can go wrong when you are ok with it. Failure will get you where you need to go.

Guest Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyianparker/

Company: https://swag.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/swag.com/

Twitter:https://twitter.com/promotewithswag?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/promotewithswag/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swagdotcom/?fbclid=IwAR1TnFCOQ8kv-chtsiP5wKexliw55YISu2rESPCLGUu86tEynikmspBy9xc

This show is proudly sponsored by Criteria Corp

4 Million Americans quit their jobs in July of 2021 , according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. What this means is that you have a tremendous opportunity to upgrade your talent base in your organization. 

The pandemic has magnified people’s career wounds in a way that every business will be impacted. 

While many reasons are given as to the cause of this mass exodus, the root of the fall out is that the people leaving are no longer in alignment with the company’s values. 

Value alignment is now more critical than ever to attract and hire people. Because when people align with the actual company values, they find meaning & discover their purpose. 

And their purpose is far more important to them than your profits.

Today is a special episode due to the massive number of requests from our audience about this little problem called the great resignation

We discuss:

• Why it is critical to own your company values

Challenge today?

• My people are getting poached!

Why is this important to the company?

• Who’s leaving?

• Mid- career employees have the highest resignation rates! (30-45)

• People are expecting win-win relationships with their employers

• Easiest time in history to engage A-Players!

4 Steps to Win-Win Talent in this Great Resignation

Get solid on your Values

• Key to attracting top performers

Understand your Recruiting Process

• Recruiting is how you identify people & get people to talk to you.

Understand your Hiring Process

• Start with an in depth Discovery call (phone screen)

Heal the Career Wound

• Growth, Content of work, Management

Key Takeaways -Value:

• The “Great Resignation” is real and you need to be capitalizing on the opportunity that has been presented to us!

Rick's Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-girard-07722/

Company: https://www.stridesearch.com/

Podcast: https://www.stridesearch.com/hire-power-radio

Book: Healing Career Wounds -  https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Career-Wounds-Ridiculously-Successful/dp/173580360X

This show is proudly sponsored by Criteria Corp: https://www.criteriacorp.com/