HR Insights

Feeling Lucky: Finding the Best Candidate for your Company

Greta Cline

Partner, CFO/COO

March 11, 2022

Sometimes finding the best candidate to fill an open position can seem even harder than hunting down a four-leaf clover. Sure, some of the interview and hiring processes may rely on luck, but ultimately, we think you make your own luck. With a little help from the staffing experts at That’s Good HR, you can take steps to identify a new employee that you’ll feel lucky to have at your company.

Recognize the need for strategy

One of our favorite quotes about luck comes from Louis Pasteur, “Chance favors the prepared mind.” Anybody can get lucky with a great candidate who randomly applies for your open position, but when you have a strategy prepared, you’re that much more likely to have multiple great candidates in your application pool. That’s Good HR knows that you deserve better than a one-size-fits-all approach, which is why we meet with clients one-on-one to understand their business goals, culture and staffing needs so that we can create a strategic hiring plan.

Leverage your connections

We often hear the phrase “It’s not what you know, but who you know,” and that doesn’t just apply to candidates looking for a little extra luckon the job search. Be sure to spread the word about your open positions, and the more you do so the more likely you’ll be to identify a number of qualified applicants. Partnering with That’s Good HR will also help you track down a candidate who will make an excellent fit. We can help you really woo your potential hires in the hiring and interview process, especially when you share why you feel lucky to work for your organization and how they could too.

Feeling lucky after a hire is made

Once you’ve made your perfect hire, you may be tempted to bask in your good luck instead of looking ahead to retention and employee engagement. This is a big mistake! We all know that The Big Quit is taking a number of people out of the workforce or encouraging them to move into different career fields, so make sure that you are paying attention to your current employees by attaching meaning to their work, offering flexibility and investing in your team culture and benefits/perks.

If you are ready to strike it lucky with your candidate search, contact the staffing experts at That’s Good HR today at 317-469-4141!

Job Advice

Can You Ever Recover from a “NCNS” Situation?

Amber Crosby

October 6, 2019

Our #1 priority at That’s Good HR is finding great candidates for great clients. It’s what we do every day and we do it because we know we can help people. That assistance includes helping people avoid one of the biggest mistakes that can be made. That mistake is getting labeled as a “NCNS”.

The term “no call, no show” (NCNS) is attributed to a person that doesn’t show up to an assigned place or time. This could be for a day of work or for an interview. It is deemed as highly unprofessional and often can have repercussions beyond just that one day. This situation should be avoided at all costs but ghosting becomes more prevalent in a tight job market. If you find yourself in a seemingly impossible situation that will result in a no show, you need to make every attempt to communicate to your manager or hiring manager and recruiter. In this situation, over-communication is best – call, email AND text (yes, all three). Your job – either keeping one or getting one – is your priority and TGHR can help you manage that priority.

Is it possible to recover from a no call, no show situation? Yes, but it is extremely difficult. First, you need to have a valid reason for your manager or the hiring manager. This needs to be true and monumental, like an unfortunate death in the family. But stick with the truth, fabricating an excuse will make the situation worse down the line.

Next, you’ll want to apologize to any coworkers if you are currently working. Your absence likely impacted them, and an apology would begin to repair broken trust. If you are currently working, you need to know the applicable policies that are in place. Is there a no tolerance policy? What are your company’s repercussions? Knowing the policy will help you understand the consequences you will inevitably be faced with.

Finally, don’t forget to communicate with your recruiter. They need to be made aware of the situation as soon as possible. The same courtesies need to be extended and a valid reason needs to be shared. TGHR recruiters are experts in staffing and experts in knowing when something does not add up, so be forthcoming as an attempt to salvage the relationship.

Bottom line – it’s best to avoid this situation altogether. If there are extenuating circumstances, relationships with your manager, hiring manager, co-workers or recruiters may be able to be salvaged, but do you really want to take that risk?

Tips

Job Searching? There’s an App for That

Madison Schacht

Manager of Talent Acquisition

September 9, 2019

The Android App Store has more than 2.46 million apps to choose from, while the Apple App Store boasts 1.96 million apps as of the end of the second quarter of 2019. The phrase “there’s an app for that” applies to job hunting too!

Use an app like LinkedIn or Indeed to find jobs to apply for – and apply right from the app on both platforms. On LinkedIn, the app makes it easy to keep track of how many jobs you either saved or applied for – it is handy to have this information in one place! The Indeed app makes it easy to access your recent searches for specific position titles so you can check if anything new was posted.

Once you’ve applied, it is time to prep for an interview. Practice makes perfect – check out and download an app like Job Interviews Questions and Answers. This app helps you practice common interview questions you might encounter and gives you suggested answers that you can customize based on your experiences.

Next, before heading to the interview, you’ll want to make sure you’re headed in the right direction. Tap and open Google Maps to make sure you know how to get to the company. It is always best to arrive about 15 minutes before your slated interview time. Last month alone 174 people used Google to navigate to our office.

While you are waiting to meet your interviewer, take a moment and make sure your mind is clear and focused. Using an app like Headspace or Calm can help calm your nerves ensuring that you present your best self. Another app, Breathe, let’s you check in on physical and emotional feelings and recommends a meditation based on those feelings – some meditations are as short as 3 minutes. Have an Apple watch? Take a minute to use the breathe function before you exit your car!

Apps are designed to enhance all aspects of your life – even finding a job. An app is not a replacement for human contact though, so make sure to check out our job board and reach out to one of our staffing specialists. But if you need to know how to tie a tie – don’t worry there’s an app for that!

Job Advice

Four Simple Steps to Prepare for a Second Interview

April 11, 2019

You have gone to a job interview and left with the sense that the interview went well. Then your recruiter calls and says the company would like to talk to you again. Your first thought may be “why?”, but this is often a necessary step in today’s tight job market. How do you prepare? Here’s four simple steps to ensure you rock the second interview, just like you did the first time.

Dress the same. Whatever professional outfit you wore for the first interview, match that level of professionalism in your follow-up interview. Don’t assume that you should be more casual when meeting with the company for the second time.
Prepare questions. It is possible that you will be meeting with different people than you did the first time you interviewed at the client company – your recruiter can let you know. If this is the case, you can use some of the questions that were asked in the first interview. However, make sure you have at least three new questions to ask of your interviewer.
Be prepared. Whenever you are headed to an interview, you should be prepared. Your recruiter at That’s Good HR will help you with this step. For a second interview, review your answers from the first round interview, because it is possible that you might be asked the very same question. Check out these answers to the 31 most common interview questions.
Write a thank you note. It’s always a good idea to follow-up with a thank you note. Write one to each person you interviewed with. If you do not know what to say, not a problem – we’ve got you covered. An example can be found on our online resources page.

If a company is interested in talking to you for a second time, take it as a compliment. It means they liked you and want to get to know you more before moving forward. Once your second interview is complete, let your recruiter know and hopefully they will have good news for you shortly. Best of luck the second time around!

Tips

How to Make Sure Your Social Media is Job Search Ready

March 7, 2019

Social media can be an asset in your job search. It can help you network with potential co-workers and research employers. But job seekers are not the only people spending time on social. According to a 2018 CareerBuilder survey, 70 percent of employers use social media to research potential employees. In addition, 57 percent of employers found content that caused them not to hire a candidate. How do your social profiles look?

If you are job hunting, your first stop is to make sure your LinkedIn profile is up-to-date. List all your positions and a few key responsibilities or successes you had while in those roles. According to LinkedIn, profiles with photos get 21x more views. If you chose to include a photo, your photo should be a headshot with eye contact and a smile. Avoid having items like sunglasses or other people in your pic.

Next up on LinkedIn, go to the upper right-hand corner and select Edit URL. Personalize your URL to be your name, removing the additional characters that is assigned to you. For example, a LinkedIn URL of www.linkedin.com/in/john-smith will make it easier for employers to find you. While you are at it, make sure your settings reflect that you are open to opportunities and recruiters contacting you. To do this, go to Account – Settings & Privacy and scroll down to “Job Seeking Preferences”.

For social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, in general it is a good idea to think before you post. For Facebook, since chances are you might have had your account for a while, check your settings of who can see what posts from both the past and present. Facebook has a handy guide with simple steps to follow to limit past posts. You can also turn off search engine indexing in your privacy settings, which helps prevent old posts from resurfacing.

For Twitter and Instagram, if you think some content may not appeal to all employers, you can make your account private. By doing this, you will have to approve all new followers on your accounts. Your current followers would not be impacted by that switch on either platform.

On any platform, if you think there are any potential red flags, you could clean your social media by deleting the post from any or all platforms. Types of posts to be aware of include:

Negative posts about co-workers or employers
Photos showing you partying it up from the weekend
Posts with significantly bad grammar
See what Business News Daily says to avoid on your profile here.

Overall, your social media profiles are your online reputation and it is your choice how to handle them. And depending on what type of position you are interested in, being active on social media might help you land the job. But with three-fourths of employers checking online profiles, you want to put your best foot forward – in person and online!

Staffing

How Staffing is Similar to Dating

Lindsey Curtis

February 11, 2019

February is the month we celebrate love and we love helping people find a job. Daily our superstar recruiters play matchmaker to match candidates with jobs. Often the first step is to talk with candidates to find out their interests much like you would chat with someone on your first date. Then potential employees are “set-up” with our clients, just like you’d “set-up” two single friends on a date. So how else is staffing similar to dating?

Online is all the rage. Many singles use online apps to find that special someone just like we advertise on job boards like LinkedIn and ZipRecruiter to find special candidates. See which jobs would make you swipe right on our job board.

Face-to-face is key. One of the hallmarks of our recruiting process is meeting our candidates face-to-face. This is so helpful when talking to our clients. Even if it is someone you have been talking to for weeks or even months, you still would want to meet face-to-face to continue your relationship.

Finding your type. When on the dating scene, you might go out with one person for bit, and then switch and start seeing someone new. Working at a temporary position allows you to try out a position before fully committing to the relationship – or job.

Timing is everything. Sometimes candidates need to wait or go on a few different interviews before finding the right job. Just like dating where you might have to wait until the right person comes along.

What everyBODY is saying. Body language plays an important role in the hiring process. According to study conducted by Career Builder hiring managers know within the first five minutes if candidate is a good fit – just like love at first sight.

Breaking up is hard to do. Sometimes relationships and jobs just don’t work out. And that’s ok. The beauty of working with a staffing company is if you let us know with notice, we’ll work on finding you your next sweet gig. Just like you’d lean on a friend after a breakup with your sweetheart, That’s Good HR will be there for you!

Job Advice

Spooky Staffing Stories

Tiffany Moore

VP, Client Partnerships

October 31, 2018

Job searching can be scary! Don’t let working with a staffing agency spook you – our recruiters find quality candidates for our clients every day. But there are a few things to steer clear of, just like you’d avoid that creepy clown in the haunted house.

Don’t ghost! Research shows that people are “ghosting” more than ever due to the tight labor market. Not showing up for an interview or work is one of the worst things you can do. This action can damage your reputation and have repercussions longer than just that one day. Make sure to stay in contact with your recruiter who will help you avoid this ghastly mistake.
Don’t fear a temporary assignment. You may be coming from full-time employment and taking a new assignment that is labeled as “temporary” might sound frightful. Have no fear – many of our temporary assignments turn into a temp-to-hire situation. Plus, a temporary assignment might be just what you need to make sure the company and culture is the right fit for you and you do not dread going to work.
Don’t create an eerie silence. Once you have met with one of our staffing specialists, make sure you are available via phone and email. New opportunities come in daily from clients and in such a hair-raising labor market, time is of the essence.

See what positions are available here and dust the cobwebs off your resume and apply today!

TGHR News

Tips for a Successful Indy 500

Kate Stephens

May 24, 2018

It’s May and Memorial Day weekend is around the corner. If you live in Indianapolis, you know what that means – it’s time for the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”. Getting ready for the Indianapolis 500 is just like getting ready for a job interview – it’s imperative that you are prepped and ready to go! Here’s our tips to get you race ready:

Wear comfy shoes. There’s a surprising amount of walking to watch cars drive around a track. You’ll be sporting your shoes all day, so make sure you chose comfort over fashion.
Bring sunscreen. Even if race day is overcast, you’ll still risk getting burnt being outside all day. Make sure to pack it with you so you can re-apply during the festivities.
Pack snacks. You can bring a small cooler into the race with you – size 18″ by 14″ by 14″. You’ll be so happy when your munching on a sandwich watching the cars whiz by. One thing you cannot pack = glass containers.
Bring a radio or radio headset. Quick jump over to Amazon and prime yourself a headset with an FM radio in it so you can hear all the action as it happens. What happens if there’s a crash on the back stretch and you’re sitting in Turn 1? You’ll be the most popular person in your section when you give everyone around you the scoop from your headset.
Plan your parking. Hopefully if you are headed to the race, when you bought your tickets you also bought a parking pass. If not, fear not, there are plenty of places to park, but leave with PLENTY of time to get there. Prepare for traffic to be like driving in the slow lane on 465 in rush hour traffic. Other transportation options include race day shuttle buses or you could bike to the 500.
Pack your patience. It may be slow heading to the Speedway, but it will definitely be slow as you leave. Use the time to tailgate after the fun, see the winner and ceremonies and soak up the final minutes before next year!

After your race day fun – take the next day off. We will too as TGHR offices will be closed on Monday for Memorial Day. We’ll back in action on Tuesday – well rested from a great race!

Job Advice

How the Royal Family Can Help Your Job Search

May 16, 2018

The Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is set for Saturday, May 19, 2018. Prince William and Catherine (Kate) Middleton wed not too long ago on April 29, 2011. Did you know that the Royals have a set of rules they are expected to follow? Some of these odd mandates apply to job searching too.

Bowing or curtsying is a requirement when greeting the Queen. While bowing or curtsying may be a bit much on a job interview, a firm handshake is a must. A solid greeting sets the tone for the interview and can convey to the interviewer that you are a professional ready for a new gig. Try out your handshake with three people to ensure you’re ready with a good grip.
The Royal Family has a dress code and is never seen in casual clothes. Pants are reserved for adults, so Prince George must wear tailored shorts until age 8. Hats are expected, but after 6 p.m. married women exchange their hats for tiaras. For a job interview, casual clothes should be avoided as you’ll want to dress to impress – hat optional. Skip the tiara.
Members of the Royal Family are expected to learn another language. Language skills, computer program expertise or other unique skills should be highlighted on your resume and mentioned in an interview. Review your resume with your TGHR staffing specialist to make sure everything is listed.
The Queen is not required to have a driver’s license and can even drive without a license plate. You’ll need a license, or other form of acceptable identification to complete our on-boarding process, so we do not recommend driving without it – or plates!
Royal children do not have a last name. If they need one, they use their title. Prince George uses Cambridge as his last name at school. We recommend putting both your first and last name on your resume!
When the Queen moves her purse to her right arm it signals that she is finished talking and is ready to leave. When in an interview, watch for non-verbal cues to wrap up your answer or when the interview is over – most likely they will be subtler than moving a purse from one arm to another.

The wedding may be taking place across the pond, but you can take a page from the Royal Family’s playbook!

Job Advice

The Art of the Thank You Note

Madison Schacht

Manager of Talent Acquisition

April 26, 2018

You don’t have to be an Emily Post etiquette expert to know it’s a great idea to send a thank you note after an interview. Whether your interview was face-to-face or via phone, sending a thank you note as soon as you can is a best practice.

Sending a note gives you another opportunity to emphasize what most excites you about the position, including details that you learned in the interview. It also shows initiative and can demonstrate that you are good with details and follow through (especially important if that’s key to the position).

So, what should it say? For starters, address the thank you note – or thank you email – to the name of the person who interviewed you. If you were interviewed by more than one person then send a note to each person. Emailing the note is acceptable, especially since jobs in this tight labor market are moving quickly.

Next, express your gratitude for the interviewer taking their time to get to know you. Then, include some details of your conversation, which shows you were being attentive and gives you a chance to showcase some of your strong skills that would be a benefit in the position.

Finally, close out the note with a final word of thanks and sign your name. If it’s an email, consider adding your phone number under your name for quick reference.

It is best to send the note as soon as possible, in the same day as your interview occurs if possible. That way the interviewer knows that you are interested in the position and hopefully it will help them come to a decision sooner.

A thank you note is the perfect way to communicate to the hiring manager that you are a solid applicant and that you are enthusiastic about the potential opportunity.

Sample thank you note:

Dear Jan,

Thank you so much for taking the time to discuss your opening for a customer service representative today. I am very interested in this opportunity.

I really enjoyed what you shared about your company culture and I can see myself contributing to the team. My database experience would be a real asset in this position.

Thank you again for your time, please let me know if there is any additional information I can provide to help in your decision.

Warmest Regards,

Madison