Posts Tagged ‘Colleen Aylward’
Next Step after first Executive Job Interview
From a Yahoo Answers question about executive job interviews:
My dad applied for a job at alcon and he passed all the tests and they promised him a second interview.?
Does that mean he got the job?
Well, here are my thoughts for you, from 20 years of giving executive job interview tips:
Corporate recruiters have a process to follow, and that includes several steps that are done iteratively per candidate and concurrently with other candidates who are in the same process for the same job. This makes it a numbers game in many cases — similar to a sales funnel. They need to push X number of candidates through the first screening step to produce X number for the second screening step and so on.
Having said that, this process of recruiting is highly influenced by the humans who are running the process, including their personal preferences (often called their "gut feel"), their inside knowledge of the hiring manager's personal preferences, and the overall corp
What many people on the outside don't know: recruiting is as much an art as a science. There are really no cut and dried formulas (though some HR software vendors would have you think so) in determining the perfect candidate for a job. In one company, the process may depend heavily on skills tests or a combination of skills and personality tests. In another company, decisions may be made on statistics: GPA, number of sales, number of years of C# experience, or even number of connections in Linkedin! Other firms may screen on intellectual agility in a high-stress group interview. And still others may lean heavily towards team fit.
So, if one person inside a recruiting function tells an executive job interview candidate that they would get a second interview, it could mean different things:
- on to a second screen in a series of X more steps
- on to someone else who will review the first screener's notes and ask more questions
- on to the first round of panel interviews
- on to a final interview with the decision maker
So, if your father passed the first round, you/he may never know exactly why he passed, unless the recruiter tells him specifically.
Tell your father that, at the end of any interview, it is fine to ask what the exact next step will be, and with whom — especially if it is an executive job interview.
I might also add some unfortunate truisms that we find in this economy: job seekers tend to read a smiling comment about next steps as a promise, and internal recruiters tend toward making candidates feel good when they leave an interview. So tell him not to be disappointed if he actually never gets a call back. This economy, as you know, has more great executives vying for job interviews than at any other time in my recollection. And if internal recruiting is a numbers game, then so should your plan be as a candidate!
Colleen Aylward, Founder of InterviewStudio.com, to Speak at Onrec Online Recruiting EXPO 2009 November, 3-4 in Chicago
(CHICAGO, Ill. – DATE) Colleen Aylward, Founder & CEO of InterviewStudio.com is presenting at the Onrec.com and Kennedy Information Online Recruitment Conference & Expo 2009, to be held at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center, in Chicago, on November 3 & 4, 2009. Onrec.com EXPO 2009 is widely regarded as the “must attend” online recruitment event of 2009.
http://www.onrec.com/conferences/031109/default.html
Onrec.com is the world’s leading information resource for Human Resource professionals and recruiters using the Internet to recruit. Onrec EXPO 2009 is the only global gathering of online recruiting leaders and game-changing technologies.
Colleen’s industry knowledge and overall unique approach to recruiting will provide a great opportunity to those who attend Onrec EXPO 2009, in which he will be among over 40 expert speakers in attendance.
Session Topic:
Applicant Videos. Are they a Risk or the Next Advancement in Effective Screening with the Capability to Limit Discrimination?
Session Description:
From the muddy playing field of the video controversy in today’s applicant screening market, there arises a glimmer of hope that technology has indeed afforded us another game-winning opportunity in accessing rich, necessary applicant data and yet limit the potential for “hidden” discrimination in the process.
The first onslaught of stand-alone candidate videos brought “boo”s from the stands in the recruiting world, with applicants at first, second, and third base all tagged out for poor quality, or irrelevance. Add to that the double play of discrimination fears regarding the visual appeal of the candidate, and not one video made it to home plate.
Enter the next phase of technology tools for intertwining the EEOC and OFCCP guidelines with the screening process. There really is a way to start merging all data about your potential players and viewing it in relevant order. There is a way to narrow down the candidate pool legally using video as it should be used by recruiters and hiring managers.
Don’t strike out with applicant videos just because you’re not sure how to play. Come join us for this lively interactive session to learn how they can be used correctly, legally, and within compliance standards.
Leave this session with the latest White Paper containing information about all the video product vendors on the market today and the 15 Best Practices Paper about the Use of Video in Applicant Screening.
Speaking for the second time at an Onrec conference on the use of Video in the Employment marketplace, Ms Aylward takes on the controversial discussion of legal liability on the part of the Employer, and outlines the latest “best practices” guidelines for the use of video for applicant screening.
“New methodologies and technologies are always met with skepticism, resistance, and even fear in the beginning because they represent change which can be disruptive,” says Aylward, author of the industry White Paper on this subject untitled Unmuddying the Waters of Video as an Employment Tool. “In the HR world, the hesitancy can also come from fear of discrimination litigation due to “too much data” about a candidate.”
“In fact,” says Aylward, “The proper use of new technologies such as Video and Multimedia in the candidate screening process can actually assist employers in avoiding potential discrimination in their hiring practices — and can offer job candidates who may be in protected classes a richer set of tools to use in providing a complete profile of themselves — rather than just the standard resume which could include a name, a neighborhood address, a member organization, graduation dates, or even a photo – all data which can lead to immediate discriminatory conclusions. Using best practices in incorporating these new tools into the corporate hiring process will not only help ensure compliance and fair recruiting, but will shorten the hiring timeline and reduce interviewing travel and accommodation expenses as well.”
Speaker Bio:
With a business degree from University of Washington, followed by 24 years of high tech sales and management experience in large and small companies, including NCSS, Dun & Bradstreet Computing, Comshare, Carlyle Systems, and GEAC, Colleen Aylward came to the Recruiting industry in 1990 on a soapbox of Change.
Drawing on twelve years “on the other side” in Tech Support, Sales, and Regional Management, she transitioned to high tech recruiting in 1990 in the Seattle area. She founded Devon James Associates, Inc., one of the country’s first RPOs, to answer the progressive demands of local software vendors seeking MORE/BETTER/NOW. Her small firm has compiled an impressive repeat-client list simply by word-of-mouth (Visio, SPRY/CompuServe, Amazon, Alias/WaveFront, Cranium, InfoSpace, Rhapsody Networks and others). High energy, funny and slightly irreverent, Colleen and her unique approach have been mentioned in publications such as Barron’s, Forbes, Fast Company, Washington CEO, Smart Money, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Puget Sound Business Journal, and others.
From her work in the recruiting industry, Colleen’s passion has come to focus on technology solutions to solve the angst of those hiring managers she deals with on a daily basis: How to save time and money on recruiting and HR processes without sacrificing quality hiring results.
Now, launching her 3rd small company, InterviewStudio.com, Colleen Aylward can be reached at Devon James Associates, Inc. at colleen@devonjames.com or at InterviewStudio.com at colleen@interviewstudio.com
About InterviewStudio
Launched in 2007, InterviewStudio offers a SaaS model portal for employers and recruiters to quickly view complete Candidate Showcases before bringing the candidate in for the first round of interviews. InterviewStudio is driving a new paradigm shift in the hiring and job-seeking marketplace, bringing the total view of a candidate to the very beginning of the screening process. Visit InterviewStudio at www.interviewstudio.com or contact us at 425-466-7887.
The Onrec.com Online Recruitment Conference & Expo 2009, will be hosted by both recruiting powerhouses Kennedy Information and Onrec – for more information visit:
Two Recruiting Conference Powerhouses Join Forces
For more information on The Onrec.com Online Recruitment Conference & Expo 2009, contact RD Whitney at rd@onrec.com or go to www.onrec.com/Expo2009
InterviewStudio
14150 NE 20th St, Suite F1-518 Bellevue, WA 98007
www.InterviewStudio.com
Phone – 425-466-7887
Fax – 425-378-1683
Info@interviewstudio.com
Contact: Kevin Scott, kevin@interviewstudio.com
Office: 425.466.7887
WTIA Partners with InterviewStudio to Showcase Washington State Technology Executives
Washington Technology Industry Association Partners with InterviewStudio to Showcase Washington State Technology Executives
InterviewStudio platform to power special section of WTIA website devoted to tech visionaries and entrepreneurs
SEATTLE, WASH. – July 15, 2009 – The Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) <www.washingtontechnology.org> and InterviewStudio <http://www.interviewstudio.com/> have partnered to offer a special site to showcase Washington state technology executives who have contributed to the success of the local technology community over the last 10 years. Launched today, the “Profiles in Technology” project kicks off by spotlighting local technology innovators such as Ben Elowitz (CEO of Wetpaint and founder of Fatbrain and Blue Nile), Jonathan Sposato (CEO of Picnik), Jeremy Jaech (CEO of Verdiem, formerly with Adobe, Visio and Trumba) and Bill Baxter (CTO of Cozi.com, co-founder of Bsquare). The first profile can be seen on WTIA’s Web site at: <http://www.washingtontechnology.org/pages/resources/resources_profilesintechnology.asp>.
The Washington Technology Industry Association chose InterviewStudio for this project for several reasons, including its relationship with long-standing WTIA member Colleen Aylward, founder of InterviewStudio and the recruiting firm, Devon James Associates. Creator of one of the country’s first vendor recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) services, Aylward has assisted many WTIA member start-up companies with progressive solutions for their recruitment needs over the last 15 years, utilizing her “Onsite Recruiting War Room” methodology, that is still in use today.
“We chose InterviewStudio because its combination of video and other information brings subjects to life like no other platform,” said Ken Myer, president and CEO of the Washington Technology Industry Association. “We see this as a great way to highlight some of the technology and business people who are so important to the success of not only the WTIA, but to the entire technology industry in the Northwest. InterviewStudio is a terrific example of the creativity and innovation that our members are known for.”
Originally designed to create a comprehensive showcase of Devon James’ executive candidates to send to employers, the InterviewStudio showcase can combine any mixture of data, media, text, icons and links in an elegant presentation format displayed all on one screen, in one place and can be emailed via URL link. In an employment application, a showcase may display a candidate’s resume, video interview, reference checks, professional assessment test results, Web page and portfolio, colleague endorsements and other data from Internet search engines and social networking sites like LinkedIn. This process allows hiring managers to view all pertinent data about a candidate in one place on one screen at one time – saving weeks of time and money in the initial candidate screening process.
For the Washington Technology Industry Association project, InterviewStudio combines executive bios, video interviews, company overviews, press releases and other links in one presentation format that can be easily displayed and viewed in a Web 2.0-type “showcase.”
“InterviewStudio is really a mash-up that combines several of the most advanced technologies in multi-media and presentation tools with your product or service highlight info,” Aylward said. “As video technology and man-on-the-street interviewing becomes the more popular way to present bios, we’ll see more of this type of media combined with clickable icons for product and service information that replace the paper brochure. As the globe shrinks, large and small vendors alike need to get their story out, and an InterviewStudio showcase is a faster, easier way to create a marketing deliverable than a traditional Web site or brochure. Additionally, you’re able to simply email your showcase link around the world immediately to promote yourself or your product and or company.”
About InterviewStudio
InterviewStudio.com is a ground-breaking technology platform that can be used to display multiple forms of data all at once on one screen: videos, data, text, images, icons, links – that appear instantly when clicked by the viewer. This is the NEXT STEP in programs that allow anyone to showcase themselves and their accomplishments, products, services, to a vast market instantly and elegantly. Visit http://www.interviewstudio.com. And follow their blog about this technology here: http://www.interviewstudioblog.co.
About the WTIA
Washington Technology Industry Association is the largest state-wide association of technology companies and executives in the world. With more than 1,000 member companies representing more than 100,000 technology sector employees in Washington State, Washington Technology Industry Association is a catalyst for setting new industry directions, sharing expertise, fostering collaboration, delivering key business services, and advancing the economic value and global impact of technology companies doing business in Washington: http://www.washingtontechnology.org
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Interviews on Video? Read Baron’s article: Match.com For Employers
Are interviews on video becoming more accepted? Apparently so. Even Barons magazine chose to mention them as long as a year ago. Article below:
Match.com for Employers? Edited by ROBIN GOLDWYN BLUMENTHAL BARONS – April 28, 2008 JOBLESS CLAIMS ARE STILL SHOWING SIGNS OF A LACKLUSTER economy, but there's now an electronic way for people to put themselves in front of potential employers — the InterviewStudio.com. The brainchild of Colleen Aylward, founder of Devon James, a Seattle recruiting firm that spent a year helping Amazon find employees, the software package lets job seekers showcase their talents on the site with their résumés, a video interview, recommendations and other helpful items for $150 a year. Companies pay Aylward $1,200 to $5,000 a month to keep an InterviewStudio link on their Websites for hiring purposes, enabling them to more efficiently screen potential candidates, without hiring a high-priced executive recruiting firm or being constantly spammed by them. "Management search savings could be in the tens of thousands of dollars," says Aylward. Consider that an $85/hour internal recruiter might screen 15 candidates at two hours each, for approximately $2,500. Calculate a six-hour round of interviews in one day with six to eight highly paid employees, at, say, $134 an hour. "That's approximately $6,500 for each day that is wasted on a round of interviews with a candidate that isn't the right fit," says Aylward. She adds that generally at least two of these exercises in futility take place in a large organization each month. Add flight, hotel and cab expenses and, well, you get the picture. (The site has a return-on-investment calculator built into the employer page.) So far, InterviewStudio is gaining fans. Recently, Gartner Group dubbed it as one of 2008's four "Cool Vendors for Human Capital Management Software." — Leslie P. Norton So, as Barons and Gartner both agree, there is a future for Interviews on Video done correctly, especially in this recent economy where saving time and money is paramount. "Cool Technology" aside, it's even cooler to get greater return on every recruiting dollar spent.
