“If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” – Confucius You’ve likely heard the quote and understand why you don’t want to be the smartest person in the room. But how about being the dumbest person? How often do you seek and take opportunities to be the dumbest person in the room? It’s intimidating and…
Here are tips to prepare for an online video interview: 1) Smile! Be positive, energetic, and happy. Who wants a grump on their team anyway? Bring some energy to the interview. 2) Show real interest in the job and the company. Do some research on the company and write down some questions to ask of them. It looks bad to…
Offering equity in a company can be attractive to candidates and employers alike. When an employer provides equity to an employee or candidate for employment, they are giving you some ownership in the company. Private companies including startups, as well as public companies, can provide equity. The most common methods of equity are: Stock Options: You give employees the opportunity to…
Congress is currently negotiating a new round of potential relief for citizens, businesses, and local and state governments impacted by COVID-19. Let’s hope there is support coming for Americans to pay their utility bills. Americans are using more electricity, gas, and water because they are working from home and engaging in remote schooling. Higher utility bills during a time when…
As an employer there are several ways to reach candidates when you have a job opening. You can post a job on job boards as well as your own website. Internal recruiters can reach out to potential candidates, or an external recruiter can reach out to candidates on your behalf. When that first encounter takes place, it is important that…
There is an enlightening question I like to ask my clients’ executives: “If I gave you $10M to start your own company, who from your current team would you take with you?” If their answer isn’t “every single one of them” that illuminates a likely need to upgrade. Even when things are going well and the team is humming, it…
A few weeks ago, I wrote an article for LinkedIn called “Top 10 Utility Industry Trends”. At that time, I was toying with including the concept of the graying of the utility workforce as a trend, but this issue certainly is not new; the aging workforce has been a known concern for utilities for the last 15 years. So, while…
A broad and common definition of diversity is an environment where people of all backgrounds, races, religions, sexes, and perspectives are welcomed. This includes diversity of thought which happens when there are employees that bring different perspectives, upbringings, and experiences to the table. Yet due to recent events, in this article we will focus on the lack of diversity associated with the African…
Bored with the same old interview questions and getting the same tired answers? Whether you are the one doing the interviewing or sitting on the other side of the desk as a candidate, you know how monotonous the interviewing process can be. Bringing a fresh approach to the interview can be done simply by asking new and different questions…questions that are…
If you are a professional and are wondering if you should get a certification to increase your market value, read on. Certifications are quite popular these days, and in fact the popularity of certifications has caused there to be less of a pay premium over non-certified professionals than ever before. However, there are still many good reasons to obtain a…
