WorkPuzzle

Understanding the Pinterest Phenomenon

Have you spent any time on Pinterest yet?  If not, you probably will soon.  Pinterest is one of the fastest growing websites on the internet this year, hosting more than 11 million unique visitors per month. 

What is Pinterest?  It is a site where members post pictures, images, and artwork on topics that are of interest to them.  The name is intended to conjure up a cork pin board where you might post a collage of pictures you find interesting and significant.

Now, imagine you can look at other people’s pin boards, copy images of the interesting things you find on your own board (re-pin), and comment on the things that others have posted.  Similar to Google, you can search for images, but instead of just getting a long array of sterile images, each image has a person and comments attached to it.

Here is the question I’d like to consider today:  Why did Pinterest suddenly (it was founded in 2008) get wildly popular?  What bit of the human existence did the founders of this site discover and successfully tap?  And, how can the same ideas be used to make your business more popular? 

For some help on this topic, we’ll turn to Dr. Christopher Long and an interview he recently did with Fast Company.  Dr. Long makes these observations: 

1. Pinterest has mastered the art of sharing.  Like Facebook, Pinterest relies on people generating content that interests other users.  So, once a critical mass of people comment and re-pin, it reinforces others to generate content.    

So what’s different?  Pinterest boards are like its users’ personal happiness collages.  They represent things that they appreciate, desire, and that express who they are...whether the things are cupcakes, shirtless David Beckham, or an inspirational quotation. 

In an ironic way, Long says, this frees many people to be more public about who they really are and who they want to be, because it’s less focused on the kind of personal content that sets off privacy and security alarms.  

Dr. Long concludes, “Pinterest is a place where we can demonstrate:  ‘If it weren’t for all those mundane things that I do that I post on Facebook, this is what I would be doing and consuming.  Here is my real self.’”  

2.  Pinterest has figured out how to integrate business (brand) interests with personal interests.  Facebook has notoriously struggled with the integration of business life and personal life.  But Pinterest makes the transition with surprising success—it is currently driving more referral traffic (someone clicks on something in Pinterest that takes them to another, usually commercial, site) than YouTube, LinkedIn, Google, and Reddit...combined. 

“Pinterest boards are essentially collections of 'Likes,' the expectation is that users curate these more carefully than they may curate their Facebook Likes.  When I pin or re-pin something related to a brand, I am saying that I care about this content enough that I want to hold onto it or that I want to show other people that it is important. 

[As people tell me about the things they love], I don’t feel like I’m being sold anything directly, even though each pin will eventually take me to the source.  I feel like a service is being provided for me to totally enjoy something that I am passionate about and find images I didn’t know existed."

So, we’ve answered my first two challenge questions...how about the last one: How can these insights be used in your business? 

I believe every local real estate office has the opportunity to connect with the citizens and businesses in their area, due to their physical location within the community they serve.  And, this need is being largely unmet. 

In our next discussion, we’ll explore this idea in more detail.  In the meantime, check out Pinterest and tell me what you think of it!       

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Fear of Change

Here is a great quote I came across today: 

"Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind.  To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse.  To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better.  To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better."  King Whitney Jr.   

Have you ever thought about how fundamental “change” is in your recruiting pursuits?  I submit that many of the people in your pipeline are fearful of change, at least as it pertains to their career.  Addressing those fears during your dialog may help you in your efforts to develop authentic relationships.   

Anyone whom you wish to onboard will be facing a change, either the minor change of switching companies, or the major change of pursuing a completely new career.  How you address that with them will make all the difference in your recruiting success.  

Jorge Barba, a self-professed “Innovation Insurgent,” made this observation in a recent blog he authored:  

“When employees do not feel understood, they resist change more fiercely.  But when they are included in the decision-making process and treated as valued resources, they can be the staunchest champions of new initiatives.”  

This statement is certainly valid in terms of managing your existing employees, but let me re-frame it relative to recruiting...  

As a hiring manager, you have a tough job.  You’re tasked with helping a person come to the realization that their current job circumstances are mediocre or poor.  And, to fix the situation, they are going to have to overcome their fear of change and envision something better for the future. 

The key to handling this discussion well, starts early.  Reread the above quote.  When do people stop resisting?  When they see themselves included in the decision making process.  

How do you get a candidate involved in this process?  The first step is to truly understand the person’s fears.  We all want to be understood in general, and that is certainly something you should strive to do and demonstrate, but taking it a step further and addressing and empathizing with one’s fear of change is important too.  

Once you have conveyed an understanding of their feelings around change, you can begin the conversation about how they can empower themselves to improve their situation.  This conversation does not start with what you can do for them, but rather listening to their ideas about what they think would help them get to a better place with their career.  

In doing so, you will begin to move the conversation away from fear and towards hope.  Wouldn’t it be nice to be the catalyst for that conversion?

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Editor's Note: Lee Gray is the Senior Account Manager at Tidemark Inc. Lee is a guest contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Another "Awesome" Blog

I just received an email from my truly "awesome" 77 year-old Dad who, over the years in his teaching graduate business students, has witnessed a dramatic increase and overuse of the word "awesome."  They have, in his observation, used the word so frequently in speech and writing, that it has lost its original meaning. 

How tired are you of the word "awesome?" 

Although I infrequently use the word, I'm embarrassed to tell you that I probably am guilty of its overuse and its misapplication...and I'm almost 52 years old.  I seem to recall the overuse of the word having its roots in my vocabulary around the year 1978...just prior to the debut of Fast Times at Ridgemont High.  I was graduating high school and remember a friend using this word to describe nearly every experience he encountered.  He was an avid skier, but had he lived in Southern California, he would have been a surfer-- if you get my drift?

In a search on the internet, I found a long list of efforts dedicated to banning the word.  Because the number of people who are becoming offended by the overuse is growing, it might be helpful to strongly encourage your agents and those who represent your company to actively monitor their own vocabulary, for proper usage. 

My dad (who has been a well respected professor and favorite among students) is about to retire from teaching.  Here is a one page handout that my dad is distributing to his last class of graduate students:

 

Optional Words for “Awesome”

 (You must learn to speak & write correctly.)

One of the most overused and incorrectly used words today is “awesome.”

The dictionary definition of “awesome” is:  “Overwhelmingly grand, breathtaking, astounding.”  Therefore, “awesome” is a suitable word to describe the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls.  You might also say that these scenes are awe-inspiring.  

Expand your vocabulary.  Rather than use the word “awesome” incorrectly, try using some of the “optional words” or other similar words listed below as more suitable to describe your feeling or observation about an object, person, or occurrence. 

OPTIONAL WORD	MEANING & Other Similar Words
Incredible:	-Hard to believe, astonishing, amazing
Fantastic:	-Expressing pleasure at something incredible
Extraordinary:	-Unusually excellent or strange
Magnificent:	-Unusually beautiful, superb, exceptional
Unprecedented:	-Unparalleled, a record, a first time, unique
Phenomenal:	-Perceived by your senses as remarkable, unusual, or rare
Unique:	-Only one of a kind, special, exclusive, distinctive
Wonderful:	-Exceedingly pleasing, outstanding
Miraculous:	-Regarded as caused by supernatural intervention, astonishing, unbelievable, and marvelous
Fabulous:	-Typical of fables, tremendously wonderful, marvelous, or great

OK Dad.  You've convinced me.  I will, from this day forward, stop over-using the word "awesome."  But, instead of using any of the words from this list.....I think I'll reintroduce the word "swell." 

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Why Do People Leave Your Office? Lessons From Google

Take a minute to envision your dream job and the organization in which you’d most like to work.  Maybe some of you had Google float through your head during this exercise.  The extravagant nature of the Google workplace has been well-publicized over the last few years.  

In case you missed it, here is a little intro from Google’s career site: 

“We provide a standard package of fringe benefits, but on top of that are first-class dining facilities, gyms, laundry rooms, massage rooms, haircuts, car washes, dry cleaning, commuting buses – just about anything a hardworking employee might want.  Let’s face it:  programmers want to program, they don’t want to do their laundry.  So we make it easy for them to do both.” 

What’s included in that “standard package of fringe benefits,” you might ask?  I won’t republish the whole list (it is quite long), but here are a few things Google considers standard: 

• A full 12 weeks of paid maternity leave for Mom and/or seven weeks of paid paternity leave for Dad.  Stressed out when you bring the baby home?  No worries -- Google will pay for $500 worth of take-out food so you don’t have to cook. 
• Want to go back to school?  No problem.  Google will pay up to $12,000 per year for education expenses. 
• Want to adopt a child?  Great.  Google will pick up the first $5,000 worth of adoption expenses.  And yes, you still get all the maternity and paternity benefits. 

Here is a complete list is you care to read more: http://www.google.com/jobs/lifeatgoogle/benefits/ 

I think it is safe to say there is no real estate company on the planet who could match these types of benefits.  

So, here is an important question to consider:  If an individual worked in such a great environment, why would he/she leave?    

Some light research was recently conducted on this question by Matt Lynley at Business Insider, and I think the results might surprise you.  Here is some of what Lynley reported: 

“People leave Google because… 

1.  They are not part of the ‘well-respected’ group.  If you aren't an engineer, get ready to be below everyone else.  At most companies, it's the product manager who's more valuable than the engineer.  At Google, engineers get the final say in just about everything.  That leaves designers, ad operatives and just about everyone else in the dust.  

2.  They are bored and want something new.  Sometimes, it's time to move on.  Two former Google employees we spoke with said they had been at Google for an extended period of time and wanted to try something new.  A lot of them move on to new companies. 

3.  Feel disconnected and not part of a team they enjoy.  If you're at a satellite office, you might feel disconnected.  The former Google Wave Team left because they felt like they weren't getting their say.  One former Googler said that New York wasn't really a satellite office, but just about everything else was.  You have to make your presence felt in Mountain View if you want to have a say in the company. 

4.  Some are feeling the entrepreneurial itch.  Chris Dixon tweeted just a short while ago some Google diaspora:  Ev Williams, who founded Twitter; Kevin Systrom, who founded Instagram; Dennis Crowley, who founded Foursquare; and Ben Silbermann, who founded Pinterest.  One former Googler we spoke to did just that, and got a nice acquisition deal out of it. 

5.  They want to diversify their experience.  Facebook is the largest company where former Google employees end up.  Seriously — who wouldn't want Facebook, Google, and Microsoft all on their resume?  One former Googler we spoke with said this was a huge draw." 

As Dave Mashburn wrote earlier this month (Why Money isn’t the Right Incentive), money is often not the primary reason people leave their job.  Now, as Google alumni have shown us, the same rings true about benefits.  

As a real estate manager responsible for hiring and retaining agents, I’m sure this is hard to believe. Most discussions you have on both ends of the spectrum (hiring or retaining) center on splits and benefits. 

While you’ll always have to deal with the money issue, don’t make it the center of your discussions.  Instead, focus on the reality of the human condition that the Google research teaches: 

Human beings have an insatiable capacity for dissatisfaction. 

Become an expert at detecting dissatisfaction.  Everyone has some.  Once identified, spend time helping individuals relieve that dissatisfaction.   

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Recruiting and the Dignity of Work

While watching my favorite news show, 60 Minutes, last Sunday, tears came to my eyes as I witnessed a remarkable story, detailing the importance of work to our fellow humans.  

It was a story of a non-profit organization's attempt to help those who have been unemployed for more than two years, build tangible hope in finding a job, and ultimately place them with great success.  I won't go into the details of the program, but the primary take-away was the remarkable importance work plays in the general dignity of people. 

The carnage of emotional devastation discussed among the initial meetings held by a new class of the unemployed became even more profound when, as a viewer, you were led on their journey through training, internship, and finally productive work.  

The graduates of the program literally cried at the awareness of how “wonderful” it was to hear their alarm clock go off, announcing that it was their time to prepare to go to work.  

At the heels of watching this dramatic story, a friend of mine told me of his story of having just visited Madagascar as a part of an organization restoring the mangrove trees along the barren coast of their waterways (to restore the animal life), by employing villagers to replant and protect their growth.  As a result of these endeavors, the villagers are now able to buy supplies for fishing, pay off their debts, and make a living.  

One villager, who invited my friend into his hut (containing six family members) for dinner, boasted with pride that, because of his newfound “success,” he has “enough rice to last one dry season.”  He went on to say that, as a result, he is “truly content.”  

There are several lessons here with regard to recruiting, not to mention our general work life, in both of these stories.  For one, you should never fail to remember that those you interview might be carrying a great deal of emotional baggage (loss of dignity), if they’re coming to you from the pool of unemployed.  Whatever your decision regarding their suitability for your company, be mindful to treat them with respect, and not further demoralize them or treat them with contempt.  (Although...I’m sure that there are some among these ranks who don't want to do any work, and want it to just come to them—That’s a separate subject for another blog.) 

The other lesson is very clear:  We must actively look for ways to challenge those around us to never lose sight of the privilege of work.  Not everyone gets to do it.  And yet, it is an essential piece of the very fabric from which we are made.  God says that we are made in his Image.  This is the same God that created and sustains this incredible Universe.  It’s no wonder that tears come to our eyes regarding these stories of productivity.  The meaning and purpose run incredibly deep.  

How often do we become ungrateful for our work?  What impact does this tendency have on our company’s culture, or on our company’s reputation, or on our productivity?  Is there a way to keep our pulse on our team members' enjoyment and appreciation of work?     

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

The Secret To Getting Things Done

Have you ever had an idea to change something about your routine, your family life, or your organization, but never seem to find the time to get around to it?  We all do it...and probably way too often.  Why do we do it? 

Humans are creatures of habit and routine.  We typically resist change, and as a result, end up delaying action.  By the way, we are not born this way.  Kids love change; They change daily.  But for adults, all kinds of intricate central nervous system stuff (like the fight or flight reaction) start to fire when we begin to think about change, much less actually do something differently.  Add negative self talk to this, like...“It's probably a stupid idea anyway,” and it's no wonder only a very small percentage of people become innovators and culture changers. 

There are a multitude of reasons for our preference for routine and ritual over the possibility of constant change and impulsive decisions, and although this preference can be beneficial in a myriad of ways, it can also stymie our development and growth, especially in business and management.

We’ve written several articles about the Growth Mindset and Resiliency that touch on this very important topic (WorkPuzzle 1, 2, 3, 4).  Research confirms repeatedly, that physically taking action will move the ball down the field, either through discovering something new, ruling out a plan, or innovating something that builds upon something else...that eventually becomes a key difference maker. 

Here is a very short list of why we need to build in room for innovation, experimentation, and change:

1. Stagnant companies die
2. Team members are best engaged in their work somewhere between boredom and anxiety -- Managers must find the balance
3. Experimentation precedes innovation
4. Doing something may lead to mistakes, but we also learn a great deal through our mistakes. 

I’ll leave you today with this list of quotes on preferring “action” that I found on the Tom Peters blog: 

• "We have a 'strategic plan.' It's called doing things."  —Herb Kelleher

• "This is so simple it sounds stupid, but it is amazing how few oil people really understand that you only find oil if you drill wells.  You may think you're finding it when you're drawing maps and studying logs, but you have to drill."  —John Masters, Canadian oil and gas wildcatter, The Hunters

• "Can do!"  —Motto, U.S. Navy Seabees (U.S. Naval Mobile Construction Battalions)

• "Execution is the job of the business leader."   —Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

• "Ready. FIRE! Aim."  —H. Ross Perot (versus the far more common "Aim! Aim! Aim! ...")

• "BLAME NO ONE. EXPECT NOTHING. DO SOMETHING."  —Locker room sign
posted by NFL football coach Bill Parcells

• "Thinking is the enemy of creativity.  It's self-conscious and anything self-conscious is lousy.  You simply must ... Do things."  —Ray Bradbury

• "To Be somebody or to Do something."  —John Boyd

• "Fall seven times, stand up eight."  —Japanese proverb

• "You miss 100% of the shots you never take."  —Wayne Gretzky  

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Authenticity: The Power of the Real You

It is so common in our society to tell people what we think they want to hear in an effort to get them to do what we want them to do.  I am willing to give the most talented people credit for seeing through that transparency.  It is pervasive, and I wonder...is it working?

In WorkPuzzle, we talk, almost endlessly it seems, about building relationships as part of recruiting and coaching.  I would think any good retention plan would incur some degree of value added coaching/mentoring, especially with newer agents.  Is it not in the coaching that you have the opportunity to build and maintain solid relationships with your agents?  Fundamentally, authenticity is what people take away from their experience with you.  

So, let me ask you a question:  How much does your outside reflect your inside?

Simon Sinek, a leader in inspiration and innovation, offers this as his definition of authenticity:

“Authenticity means that the way we present ourselves to the outside is a perfectly accurate representation of who we really are.  That means, the outside world should be able to guess what it would be like to work there based on their experience... This is not idealism, it's good business.  The more the inside and the outside match, the more those on the inside will invest of their own blood, sweat and tears to see the company succeed.  This makes it much easier to match the expectations a customer has with the experience they will actually get.  And when that happens, when authenticity really exists, loyalty results.”

There are two compelling dynamics in Sinek's observation:  The first can be found by reading this concept relative to your existing agents.  If they see the real you and that relationship adds value to their life, a sense of loyalty will prevail and you will be more successful in your retention strategy.  

Second, by extension, those agents in your market and new-to-business prospects, will also experience, either directly or indirectly, that same sense of “realness” and be inclined to want/choose to be immersed in your environment.  

I am not suggesting that your authentic self is the sole motivator for retention or recruiting, but I do believe it will take you a long way towards achieving a higher success rate in these two aspects of your job. 

Here's something else to consider…the trickle-down theory of authenticity.  Coaching your agents to incorporate their authentic selves in their business strategy will draw potential customers to them, and instill the same kind of loyalty that can lead to repeat business and referrals.  That one word can improve retention rates, recruiting goals, and market share…now that’s efficient!

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Editor's Note: Lee Gray is the Senior Account Manager at Tidemark Inc. Lee is a guest contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

To Recruit 100 or Date 25?

It has been my tenet over the past three years, as I've grown into my role with Tidemark, that we don’t "recruit" - we build relationships.  Every now and then I have a little epiphany.  For example, two years ago, while folding laundry, it occurred to me that the essence of recruiting is relationship building, and most all of the managers with whom I have worked with have a natural talent for that.  So, the question then became, “How do I promote this paradigm shift?”  Well, I had another mini-epiphany the other day...With whom do you WANT to build a connection or relationship with over time?  So, let’s "Reframe Recruiting," as Dr. Dave Mashburn would say.  Dave touched on this topic a couple of years ago, from a slightly different perspective -- I recommend reading that brief blog as well.

I have consulted with hundreds of managers on this topic.  When I ask how many agents are in a manager’s pipeline, I often get an answer that is in the hundreds.  Now that is a daunting and exhausting task!  Developing quality relationships with hundreds of people?  That explains, at least in part, why 75% of the respondents to a survey we conducted reported the part of their job about which they hear the most complaints is recruiting.  No wonder!  Imagine trying date 100 or more people at once!

It is my belief that effective recruiting comes from selecting a smaller subset of candidates and nurturing that pipeline.  As I have said in the past, most managers are excellent at building and cultivating relationships.  They are good at this aspect of their job because they enjoy it.  However, everyone has a saturation point.  I think it is safe to say that managing and keeping track of hundreds of relationships at various stages could be counter-productive.  When you sit down to the task of recruiting with this mindset, you run the risk of facing “paralysis of analysis,” and may be more inclined to find another task you rationalize as being more important.  

You are not going to win everyone over, but by narrowing your focus, you will become more engaged in the process, and more inclined to enjoy this critical component of your job, thereby engaging in it more often...and ultimately getting closer to reaching your goals.

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Editor's Note: Lee Gray is the Senior Account Manager at Tidemark Inc. Lee is a guest contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

How Do People Look For Jobs? Part 2

Earlier this week, I challenged you to spend some time learning what a person goes through when they look for a job, change companies, or investigate new career options.  By better understanding a candidate’s mindset, you’ll be more equipped to engage him or her during the recruiting dialog. 

As you spend time contemplating this topic, I thought it might be helpful to connect you with some companies that have put a lot of time and effort into growing their knowledge in this area.  To do this, we’ll take a look at a recent competition that you may have missed.   

For the last eight years, Electronic Recruiting Exchange (ERE) has sponsored their Recruiting Excellence Awards.  In essence, this organization highlights those companies that have successfully learned how to engage candidates. 

Like Super Bowl ads, some of these sites and ideas are a little over the top.  So, don’t think you have to “keep up with the Jones” regarding their methodologies.  Instead, as you look at these examples, focus on what these companies are saying about, and to, the candidates.  How are they engaging people who are considering a career change? 

And now, for the competition results (with my selection on what is most relevant for real estate companies).  The envelope please… 

1.  Best Company Career Website:   

RMS.  You may not have heard of this company, but lots of candidates know who they are.  One judge says that the RMS career website is “...hands down, one of the best sites I’ve seen.  Graphically and emotionally intelligent, not too heavy on graphic elements.  Tells the story.  Interaction.  Heads and shoulders above all of the other sites.”  

Check out their website:  http://www.rms.com/careers/ 

2.  Best Employee Brand:  

Sodexo.  This company quickly launched an enhanced employer brand aimed to be compatible with the new, consultative/solutions consumer brand.  In the 2011 fiscal year, Sodexo hired about 50 specialized and tough-to-recruit professionals within a few months. 

Doing so involved positioning the company as an expert in the energy field, which meant delving into such things as guest blog posts on websites for the energy industry, as well as having people speak at industry conferences.

Check out their website:  http://www.sodexousa.com/usen/careers/careers.asp

3.  Best Employee Referral Program

Improving Enterprises.  This is a great example of how even small companies can do great things.  Even after its recent growth (adding 50+ employees), this company has just 148 employees.

Briefly, the way its referral program works is this:  If employees refer someone, they get a point.  Points add up and are paid on a quarterly basis.  Points are considered when the software-developer distributes its profit share.  Top performers are recognized at Town Hall meetings.

It has a "Two by Tuesday" program designed, the company says, to mitigate “extremes in the ebbs and flows of recruiting.”  Every Tuesday, the company spreads the word regarding their most important openings.  People have a week to submit referrals.  There’s a race to be the one who refers the most, with daily updates provided.

The company might get 100 referrals in five days, with two or more hires made.

There’s a lot more...open houses, pizza parties, several mini-conferences on the weekends, Monday Night Football and Movie Nights...all aimed at having referred candidates show up.

Check out their website:  http://www.improvingenterprises.com/

4. Best College Recruiting Program

US Navy.  In 2011, the Navy implemented two new recruiting strategies that significantly improved the NUPOC program.  NUPOC — the Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate program — involves recruiting college students and graduates with science and engineering backgrounds for five-year positions to work on nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers.   

With the first program, the Navy funded trips for 121 educators to experience a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier or submarine, visit a submarine learning facility, and interact with sailors.  The goal was for faculty to then tell their students, and other professors, about these opportunities.

Also, the Navy Recruiting Command partnered with a group called the University Engineering Alliance — formerly the Big 12 Engineering Consortium — allowing the Navy to provide keynote speakers for engineering summits, nuclear experts for classroom presentations, and otherwise work with faculty to present material in classrooms.

In the end, 242 students were hired through the NUPOC program last year, and the accepted applicant’s average GPA was up 5% to 3.43.

Check out their website:  http://www.navy.com/careers/nuclear-energy.html

5.  Best Military Recruiting Program

AT&T.  AT&T provides localized job notifications to the Transition Family/Support Centers of all branches of the military.  In 2011, AT&T participated in more than 50 traditional and virtual military career fairs.

This company's recruiters reach out to military transition offices, Army alumni programs, and elsewhere.  They created a program where veterans working at AT&T provide job search assistance to veterans applying for AT&T jobs.

Perhaps most importantly, it’s educating hiring managers and recruiters on the value of veterans, how to make heads or tails out of military jargon on resumes, and on the myths about veterans’ ability to integrate into corporations.

Check out their website:  http://att.jobs/military 

Hopefully, the work that these and other companies have done will inspire you to consider how you can better engage those who are considering a career change.  Who knows, maybe you’ll land your company on one of these "best of the best" lists in the years ahead...

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

How Do People Look For Jobs?

As real estate professionals, I’m sure that most of you have put countless hours into trying to understand the process a person goes through to buy or sell a house.   

I’m sure you’ve even documented “trigger events,” such as a job relocation, a change in marital status, financial changes, etc...all of life's events that cause a person to start moving forward in the process.    

Absent a trigger event, you undoubtedly also teach the agents you manage the importance of maintaining a relationship with a large group of people who are potential buyers and sellers, who may be at different stages along the pre-sales continuum. 

As a real estate agent, it only makes sense to become an expert in what people experience in the process of buying and selling a house.  After all, it’s much of what an agent’s livelihood depends upon. 

Fast forward in your career... Now you’re a manager who is responsible for hiring new agents and retaining those who generate revenue for your office.  Let me ask you a question: 

Are you an expert in the process a person goes through to find a job, change careers, or determine when it is right time to leave a company? 

If you think about it, the mastery of this body of knowledge is much of what your livelihood depends upon!  I would encourage you to become a student of this topic.  And, as you do so, focus on sources outside the real estate industry. 

How do you find these sources?  I’ll give you some specific ideas later this week in my next WorkPuzzle posting.  But, to whet your appetite, here are a couple things I ran across this week that helped to build my knowledge on this topic: 

Job Board Research.  Last summer, the International Association of Employment Web Sites or IAEWS, conducted a benchmark study for job boards, and the results were just published last month. 

Part of this study focused on candidate behavior and found that 75% of the people who visit/use job boards and career sites are “window shoppers.”  These “window shoppers” are individuals who do not register on the job board’s site, rather, they come and go without applying to any jobs. 

What does this mean?  Well, the first lesson to be learned is that there are a lot of people who start a job search long before they are willing to make commitments and put noticeable action towards the process (ie. they are not desperate, but are starting to consider a change).  Supplemental research shows that that this talent pool tends to contain the highest quality candidates! 

The second lesson here is that huge opportunity exists for hiring managers who learn to how to coax people in this group to engage in their employment process.  The study cited that the average job board gets between three and five responses/applications from each job posting.  This metric can and should be used to measure your effectiveness at engaging candidates from this important group. 

Understanding Entrepreneurs.  You probably know intuitively that those individuals who make the best real estate agents have an entrepreneurial bent.  But, do you know how entrepreneurs (especially younger ones) think?  It seems it would be a good idea to spend some time learning about this topic if you hope to attract these types of individuals to your team. 

Well, you’re in luck!  Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, just co-authored a book on this topic.  Here is part of a summary that was recently published in 800-CEO-READ: 

“Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha’s The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career makes the point that that all humans are entrepreneurs.  At some level, each of us has the will to create and survive. 

When you start a company, you make decisions in an information-poor, time-compressed, resource-constrained environment.  There are no guarantees or safety nets, so you take on a certain amount of risk.  

In today’s work environment, the same challenges tend to characterize a traditional job -– you never know what’s going to happen next.  Information is limited.  Resources are tight.  Competition is fierce.  The world is changing.  

This means you need to be adapting all the time.  And if you fail to adapt, no one – not your employer, not the government – is going to catch you when you fall.”  

If this is what people are experiencing in the workplace, are you able help your candidates identify and articulate these fears and concerns?  If so, you’ll be much better equipped to communicate how a real estate employment opportunity may be the best option for some people.   

Later this week, we’ll take a look at a few specific companies that have figured out how to engage candidates successfully.  I think you’ll be surprised by what you'll learn.  

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.