NSoW IS HIRING A NEW ASSISTANT
I don’t have much turnover in my group. Everyone has been with me for between 5 and 10 years. Sadly, Darla, who I only hired last year, has had to leave. She did wonderful work and we all loved her. And she liked it here too, but something unfortunate came up.
So, I’m hiring again.
We placed an ad in Craigslist.
Within three days, hundreds of people replied. If they were interesting, or they asked good questions, I responded, by sending them everyone’s questions and answers.
If a candidate was still interested, I then invited them to attend one of a few open houses.
We had our first yesterday where I met nine interesting and wonderful people.
I introduced myself, the team, and described the work. Because there are so many of them, and only one job, I suggested that, rather than having them all try to compete to impress me, we all work together to help everyone get a job. That way, I can differentiate the people who are only good at selling from the ones who like to help others.
If you are one of my applicants, please feel free to post a comment about your experience of this way of hiring.
Thanks,
Brooke
Last Thursday, Brooke Allen and his quant trading team treated us to a delightful pizza lunch and we discussed the complexities and contradictions of the employment situation these days. None of us at the interview had a full time job. And while companies have been laying off workers indicating a shortage of work opportunities, in the marketplace, Brooke suggested that in reality, there was no shortage of work to be done.
In fact, currently, it seems that there is actually a huge demand for innovation and for work to be done. As a result, he asked all of us to work together to find solutions.
I attended one of Brooke’s open house meetings tonight. The meeting started at 5:30p and concluded about 6 hours later. During the meeting Brooke discussed some of his ideas with the group and asked us about some of our own experiences and ideas. It was a long and exhausting evening but I also learned more from this group meeting than any other interview I’ve ever been on and I had the most fun doing it. With all the competition in today’s job market it was inspiring because this wasn’t and didn’t feel like a competition at all. I enjoyed meeting the other candidates and learning about their situations. I was able to see what I did or did not have in common with the others, what some of their talents and weaknesses were and ways that we could benefit each other. I left feeling motivated and empowered. If this hiring process was the norm, I feel that companies and employees would be much better for it. Thank you, Brooke for inviting me to meet you and your team and allowing me to have this experience.
I attended the open house this past Monday, and enjoyed it so much that I attended again on Thursday – if only for the opportunity to meet more like-minded individuals who are in the same (unemployment) boat as me. Both days were great – while Brooke provided some structure by discussing the expectations of the position, showed us around the office and introduced us to his team, the majority of the day was spent discussing typical job-hunting tactics (and why they almost never work), and Brooke sharing his experiences and advice for navigating this difficult job market. His insight and advice is all about putting job-seekers back in the driver’s seat, and realizing that we are not victims of a jobless economy. Brooke is someone who is making a genuine and determined effort to help people find better ways to not simply get a job, but find work that they will enjoy doing.