Talent Tips: Organizational Success

Talent Tip #162: Dating Advice from My Parents…for Hiring Managers

May 21, 2024

Claire Kittle Dixon

Back in the day, my parents gave me a ton of dating advice.

And trust me when I tell you that I needed it. (Next time you see me at a social function, preferably one that serves copious amounts of alcohol, ask me to tell you about “Mean Dean” or “Mr. Insaneholtz”.)

We were just reminiscing the other day about all of the gems of relationship wisdom they shared. And as we talked…

Talent Tip #155: What Promposals Can Teach Us About Hiring

July 18, 2023

Picture the scene. It’s prom season at Brookdale High School. Emotions, hormones, Taylor Swift, and the faint scent of benzoyl peroxide permeate the air.

Brandy is a popular and pretty senior who is perceptively aware that she is both popular and pretty. She makes it clear to all of her friends, enemies, frenemies, and the entire social media universe that she is excited about prom…but does not yet have a date.

After sending out her social SOS, she…

Talent Tip #149: Hiring Horror Stories: (Just in Time for Halloween!)

October 25, 2022

Katelynn Barbosa, Stephanie Keaveney, Lydia Ocampo, Katy Gambella, Claire Kittle Dixon

In the spirit of Halloween, our team wanted to share our best hiring horror stories with you. Names and identities have been altered to protect the innocent (and the ghoulishly guilty!).

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When a Stranger Calls
Years ago I arranged a phone interview with a candidate for a search I was managing. I called at the time our interview was scheduled, but my call went directly to voicemail. I…

Talent Tip #148: Six Things The Movie Castaway Taught Me About Hiring

August 24, 2022

Katelynn Barbosa

I don’t know about you but for some reason, the dog days of summer make me nostalgic and I start re-watching old movie favorites. This past weekend, on the docket was the 2000 film Castaway starring Tom Hanks.

If you haven’t seen the film, let me give you a brief summary. Tom Hanks plays an extremely busy FedEx systems analyst executive (don’t ask me because I don’t understand either) who runs all around the world…

Talent Tip #146: 5 Reasons Candidates Decline Job Offers

June 27, 2022

I know a thing or two about rejection.

I once went on a blind date with a guy who, from the moment the date started, clearly did not want to be there. He had this disapproving look on his face the entire evening, almost like he was a member of the Royal Family or maybe had just gotten a whiff of woefully expired cottage cheese. Alas, this was just his natural reaction to me!  His eyes kept darting…

Talent Tip #144: The F Word

April 19, 2022

I love the F word.

I use it frequently, in fact. I say it in front of my clients and candidates…in front of mature audiences and young professionals….even kids. Heck, I say it in front of my mother-in-law. I’m shameless about it.

No matter when or where I use it, it never fails to raise eyebrows.

I don’t think people are offended by it; they just don’t think about it that often.  But they should.  Because it’s absolutely…

Talent Tip #143: Courting in a Candidate’s Market: 5 Ways to Stay Competitive

March 22, 2022

Many moons ago I was dating a gentleman we’ll call “Bob”. Things were getting pretty serious when, as fate would have it, I ran into my ex-boyfriend. We’ll call the ex “Josh”. Josh and I made small talk and caught up on life. Just as we were about to part ways, he hinted at maybe going out again sometime. I gently let him know I was dating someone else. I remember walking away feeling kinda bad for the guy.…

Talent Tip #140: Lessons from Potty Training: 6 Hiring Mistakes Nonprofits Make

November 16, 2021

Katelynn Barbosa

Labor Day weekend of this year, my husband and I decided that it was time to get serious about potty training our two-year old and we decided to commit to the three-day method. For the uninitiated (untraumatized), the three-day method is a very popular potty training method where you stay home with your toddler for three straight days, never take your eyes off of them, and anytime they start to do their…

Talent Tip #138: What HGTV Can Teach Us About the Market for Talent

September 21, 2021

Katelynn Barbosa

A couple of years ago, I was home sick with a bad sinus infection and chose to spend that time in the most productive way possible – reading seminal novels I had never gotten around to. Just kidding. I binged watching HGTV. If you haven’t watched HGTV before, the basic format of every HGTV show involves the following:

Act 1: Couple wants to buy house and meets with realtor to tell them what they are…

Talent Tip #136: On Cake and Virtual Work

July 20, 2021

By Katelynn Barbosa

I’ll never forget the day my daughter first discovered cake. Her eyes lit up in a feeling of pure bliss, discovery, and shock. How had we been keeping this food from her?

Ever since, cake is never far from her mind. We recently hosted a large family gathering where she walked around to every person in attendance inquiring “Cake? Cake? Cake?” And now, even in the midst of a classic two-year old tantrum in…