John Schmidt’s Post

Do you problem solve during the interview process? Everyone complains about multiple steps in an interview but is it really a bad thing? Ever thought about the opportunity there? Round 1: Client tells you they're having trouble optimizing SAP because they implemented it 10 years ago but never used it. What do you do with that information when you get the opportunity to walk into Round 2? Most of you do absolutely nothing. Some people research this issue and walk in with solutions or potential solutions anyway. They go above and beyond and they moved to Round 3. And then they get hired. Ask me how I know this. #interviewing #preparation #motivation

If I reach out to you next week and you're in sales it's because I have a client looking to hire a Director of Sales. They are a global company with multiple divisions but this role is in their fastest growing. Why is it their fastest growing? Because they're watering it the most. In other words - it's getting more investment than any of their other divisions because of the potential. Mama told me there are winners and losers in every economy and this one is a winner. If you have experience selling manufactured products to big box - feel free to shoot me a note if you'd like to connect. #hiring #sales #businessdevelopment #business #cxo

I don't know about you but I go through different "seasons" if you will with what I'm doing from a fitness perspective. My first weight set was a blue Hulk Hogan set - maybe I got that when I was 10 or something. Then I had a bench press in my bedroom when I turned 13 or 14. It wasn't until I got into public accounting that I didn't do any fitness related activities. I couldn't because I was at work 24/7. Many of my peers weren't because they were good at it. I was not. But after leaving public with 50 more pounds than when I started - I knew I had to get back into fitness so I did two things: I bought a bicycle (this was near the end of the Lance dynasty so a Trek it was for me) and I started running. I preferred cycling but running is quicker. I did both but this story is about a marathon I'd do a few years later - in 2010 in Chicago. I'd been running pretty regularly for a few years at that point but running 3 miles and running 26 miles are 2 really different things. My goal was to run the 26 miles in under 4 hours. And for the first 19 miles me and my running partner were on pace to blow that time away. And then he stopped. Walked off the course. In true Forrest Gump fashion. If you've seen the movie when Forrest stops running across the country - that's what my partner did. Now that I think about it - I never saw him again at all. But initially I thought - I've only got 7 miles left - no problem. And that was my mindset for maybe 2 miles before the wheels came off. At the end it was don't stop and 1 foot in front of the other. My goal went from under 4 to don't die. And I think about that now when things get crappy. 1 foot in front of the other and just don't stop. If you're in a bad job search or whatever else - keep moving forward. #motivation #socialmedia #marketing

Do you work hard? Do you think others work harder or less hard than you? I think a lot of people don't know how hard some people are working. I had a person in my personal life one time and she was constantly worried about what everyone else was doing - she was consumed by it - I told her you can be anything you want in your life but you've got to start focusing on where you're spending your time - not where others are. I was talking to a Director of HR recently - she's a client - she's actually in the job market if you're looking to hire someone and I'd highly recommend her but we were having a conversation about our personal lives. I asked her about her husband and what he does and she was telling me a little bit about him - he sounds like an amazing guy and I hope to meet him one day - I probably will at a country music or Jimmy Buffet tribute concert (RIP Jimmy) - but she told me their and his story. Which was this - for the first 10 years of their marriage he'd work his job from 8am-5pm - come home - eat dinner - and go to sleep at 7pm. And then at 10pm his alarm would go off and he'd go to his second job where he'd work 8 hours there. He did this for the first 10 years of their marriage. That second job is now his profession and he's at the top of it or close to it. You know what she did? Supported him. Coached him on areas where he needed to develop. And that inspired me and I wanted to share it with all of you for two reasons: 1. work hard 2. we have an HR leader who is phenomenal if you're hiring for that skillset - and she won't be on the market long #hiring #humanresources #shrm

Do you connect with everyone who views your profile on LinkedIn? I got a connection request from a young lady years ago who was a competitor of mine. At that time I wasn't connected to a lot of my competitors and certainly wasn't sending them connection requests. My line of work is competitive. I've had firms that I've worked with and who I would have considered friends try and go after my clients. It's cut throat for sure. But I accepted her request that day and asked her - why'd you send me a request. Her response: I connect with everyone who views my profile. I thought it was a wise strategy. Do you? #networking #linkedin #socialmedia

I had an initial call with a potential candidate recently and we hit it off. Why? The kid was energetic - motivated - passionate about what he's done and what he'll do in the future. And was humble and recognized what he doesn't want to do - because he did that thing already - didn't like it - and pivoted. He gave me the sense that he knows where he wants to be in his career and has a pretty good idea of what it'll take to get him there. He's young and doesn't have a ton of experience but the kid is in command of who he is and what he wants to do and I respect the hell out of that. He isn't a wet noodle. I firmly believe this young man will be a CXO in his career. As if I wasn't sold - I get this email from him the following day: "Below are some references you may contact. One of which I will ask to wait until an offer is extended being he is my current boss and if things don't work out I don't want to lose my current position. I just wanted to show I'm in a good position with my current boss. I added an additional reference to reach out to in the meantime." He sends me his current boss but because I can't contact that person yet - he adds a 4th reference. So I'll spend a couple of hours on the phone with this person - my client will spend a couple of hours on the phone/video and then in person with him - and then we'll speak to 3-4 people he's previously worked for. Think we'll know who we're hiring? #hiring #hiringandpromotion #socialmedia

Do people get paid a certain amount of money for a reason? I believe so. I got paid like a bad accountant because I was a bad accountant. I get paid like a good headhunter because I am a good headhunter. But if you don't believe that look at the measurable stats in your favorite sport and then look at the salary of that player. The same thing happens in the following fields: Accounting Sales Operations HR Engineering Medicine Marketing Every other job on the planet I saw a guy in my field say I love pulling people out of low paying environments and placing them in high paying environments. That's like saying I love pulling Kia's away from low paying customers and selling them to high paying customers. In this case this person in my field is selling you a Kia for a BMW price and not telling you you're buying a Kia. And then wondering why the car doesn't perform up to their expectations. #staffingagencies #hiring #socialmedia #compensation #salary

I shared a post recently about no one taking the early times on my calendar - really I thought it was sort of funny - and my AM times were lonely - I did it for them really. It turned into I don't even know what in the comments. Why do I list the times I do? My general premise is give people availability before work (early AM) - at lunch - and after work - while also giving myself availability to do what I need to do during my work day. Do I speak with people at other times? Obviously (or it should be obvious in my opinion) but I have to draw a line somewhere - I can't send out a calendar link with 300 times available all day - it doesn't make sense for someone trying to pick a time and it doesn't make sense for me because I group like kind activities. My listed availability and process still makes sense to me but anyway - a CXO (He's been CEO and CRO) for roughly the last 10 years of his career - reached out to me and asked about my availability so I sent him my link. I assumed he'd book lunch or PM because he's based in California but he booked an 830am video call. I thought maybe he was on the east coast for work. He wasn't. He was in Southern California - showered - and ready to rock and roll at 530am PST. Is he an A player because he gets up early to have a conversation? Anyone can get up early. Is that an example of who he is as a professional? I think so. #marketing #success #motivation #business

There's been a lot of talk about Dan Hurley - I've been talking a lot about him myself because I think it's a fascinating display of the job market in somewhat public view. > I mean we know the offer. > We know the Lakers wanted to hire him. > We know he had a decision to make. And he made one that's presumably in the best interest of his career and his family. But on some of these posts I've seen some dialogue about his pay at UCONN. And I get it - he makes a lot of money for technically being a state employee. I'd argue being a state employee sucks. I know a couple of state employees and they tell me it sucks. When I interact with a state employee - they don't seem - what's the word - happy? They're definitely not in a hurry to help you out. I don't think any 5 year old on the planet would tell you their aspirations are to be a state employee but maybe I'm wrong. Based on most of their performance I'd say it's a fallback job - a floor job - always there - and you probably can't get fired. Is that what you wanted to be when you were 5? But here's the thing about this particular state employee: UCONN athletics generates more than $225,000,000 in economic output for the entire state - the majority of which is driven by men's basketball. It also generates a lot of money for the university so that a PhD in paperclip science can tell you why you shouldn't be working in office. So I think it's worth it. What do you think? #hiring #motivation #leadership #remote

Tommy Boy life lessons Volume 1. #interviewing #interviewtips #interview