CPG & Associates

“Brett, should I put references right on my resume or in another doc?” This is a question I often field from candidates. My answer: Don’t worry about including references when you apply for a role. In fact, don’t even bother to write the phrase “References available upon request” on your CV. Prospective employers are not going to call your references until after they’ve interviewed you, at which point, they’ll ask you for them. Listing references in advance is a waste of space, and it’s also old fashioned. Hiring managers assume you’ll give them names and contact info when they’re ready. That said, definitely have your references ready to share. That means having a list of good references (at least three) and giving them the heads up that they may receive a call. Typically, hiring managers want a name, company, title, phone number and email address. Having this information organized and handy will help you respond quickly when they ask. Working with a CPG & Associates recruiter, we make sure your references are not bothered until you are further along in the process and a offer is imminent.

Why do job seekers who seem so eager for a job interview end up ghosting the interviewer? This is a phenomenon I am often asked about in my role as a recruiter at CPG & Associates. These are the most common reasons for ghosting: 🔹  An overall bad experience in the interview process 🔹  They got specific information in the process that made them think twice about the job 🔹  There was a detail of the role or your policy or culture that was a deal-breaker for the candidate  🔹  They simply decided to take another offer In any case, ghosting shows a lack of respect. But as a hiring manager, you could really use the feedback to improve on the next round. On your own, you may find yourself wondering, was it something I said?? When you work with us, of course, you are far less likely to get ghosted. Our recruiters do a darn good job at profiling the candidates before the interview process making sure it's the right candidate for the right job. Our recruiters at CPG & Associates follow up with the candidate and stay on top of it...no matter what.

Live vs Remote interviewing - THAT is the question... Remote interviews are convenient and low-risk. You can interview candidates from anywhere. In-person interviews are more personable, and a lot of people think they give you a better idea of whether a candidate is the right fit. You can introduce more of your staff, and give the candidate a feel for the company culture in person. Remote interviews mean everyone involved needs a strong internet connection and EVERYONE needs to have patients for glitches and unforeseen issues. For candidates who aren’t tech-savvy, it adds an extra layer of complexity. But then again, in a world where remote meetings are a common thing, in-person interviews don’t allow you to test a candidate’s ability to navigate Zoom or Teams and be able to handle the rigor that comes from speaking into a camera. As a recruiter, I've experienced on-site work companies, doing remote interviewing and making an offer but the candidate didn't want to accept until seeing the office and meeting everyone in person. Ultimately, you’ll probably choose one method over the other for practical reasons. And the format you choose isn’t nearly as important as how you conduct the interview. But if you want tips on how to better conduct either kind of interview, contact me at CPG & Associates today.

As Summer approaches and the Dallas job market starts getting hotter, CPG & Associates is ready to assist. Or, perhaps your gears have shifted, and you now need to hire where you didn’t before. How can I help? As an A&F recruiter for 20 years, hiring is my number-one focus. So as you handle all the other aspects of being a leader right now, I can step in to help you find the right people for your open positions. I’ll handle: 1. The pipeline — finding the right pool of candidates in the first place 2. The screening — narrowing it down to the ideal few 3. The interview setup — getting you and the prospective employees on the calendar in a pain-free way 4. The negotiation If you’re ready to hire a candidate that's guaranteed to be "THE ONE," and you want the hiring process to be seamless, contact me today.

The age-old argument burns on: Is it better to have a messy desk or a tidy one? Proponents of the former say it indicates creativity and productivity. Some research has shown that people with messy desks tend to be non-traditionalists who often come up with creative new ideas. The “tidy desk” contingent insists emphatically that lack of clutter makes it easier to focus, even dissolves stress. There’s an entire Eastern practice called Feng Shui based on the concept of one’s environment being directly responsible for one’s health, wellbeing and prosperity. One University of Minnesota study concluded that people working in messy environments and clean environments come up with the same number of ideas. So ultimately, it probably doesn’t matter how neat or messy your desk is, but instead, focus on what makes you happy. CPG & Associates recruits top A&F talent no matter the "desk" type. What matters most is the character of the candidate. Pedigree is important, but so is having qualities of being honest, trustworthy, fair, responsible, and caring, and having the moral courage to do the right thing.

Has regular email stopped doing it for you? A new email service from Basecamp called “Hey” might be the first real innovation to email since Gmail came on the scene. Hey segments all your incoming emails into three inboxes: 1. The Imbox  — which is for your important stuff (Get it? Important box?) 2. The Paper Trail — that’s an inbox for all your receipts, shipping notifications and other boring paperwork you don’t want to lose track of 3. The Feed — where you filter newsletters and stuff you want to read, when you have time The key is in the training. At first, you have to sort and label your incoming mail so the app knows how to filter it later on. You can also “set aside” messages to read later and view every attachment you’ve ever gotten in one place. It’s going to be a paradigm shift for people who choose to use it, but Hey’s goal is to shift the paradigm of email back from being a chore to being a joy. Remember when the idea of getting an email was exciting? I’m not sure if I’ll try it yet, but looking forward to hearing from those who do! I hope some of my clients and candidates at CPG And Associates will report back.

Virtual negotiation is one of those things people either love or hate. And whether it’s about negotiating for a job or brokering a deal, there’s a lot more of it happening via videoconferencing and email these days. One recent study found that we’re significantly worse at reading emotions over email. This is not surprising. And reading emotions (while not betraying them) is certainly important to being strategic during negotiations. But for introverts, there might also be an advantage to negotiating virtually. Research shows that introverts typically prefer to communicate by email in conflict situations. It gives them a chance to slow down, speak their mind, and separate themselves from the pressure of the situation. One interesting finding by Journal of Applied Psychology authors: using a bigger screen for video negotiation works better. And some suggest that hiding your view of your own face can decrease the distraction of self-consciousness. Just some food for thought if virtual negotiation is a part of your new normal!

Ask ten leaders, and you might get ten different answers to the question “What do you think is the most important quality in a leader today?” Here’s a characteristic to consider: CURIOSITY Curious leaders ask questions and engage with their teams. Curious leaders are okay with failure, as long as they learn from it. Curious leaders constantly want to improve — both their organization’s output and the organization itself. Curiosity is a particularly helpful character in times like we’ve endured lately, when nothing seems permanent or stable. They can adapt quickly and take to innovation adroitly. I work with a lot of curious leaders in my role as an A&F recruiter and Managing Partner, and curious leaders tend to hire curious employees, too. The question is, are you a curious leader? Could you be more of one?

With all the talk lately about upping the diversity and inclusion game in hiring, you may have heard the term “blind recruitment” and not known exactly what it means. Studies have shown that people with “ethnic names” (Fast Company’s language, not mine) typically have to send out 50% more resumes to get a callback. Blind recruitment means removing all personally identifiable information from candidate resumes before you review them. Things like: - name - gender - age - education - years of experience A lot of high-profile organizations, including Deloitte and the BBC, practice blind recruitment in an effort to take unconscious bias out of hiring. If you’re interested in getting started with blind recruitment, let’s chat. As an A&F recruiter for the past 20 years, I can advise you on best practices. :)

Fact: Taking a lot of breaks at work makes you more productive and successful. This might sound like a crazy opinion, but it's got scientific backing! One recent Harvard Business Review post featured two Canadian professors who aggregated a lot of different studies on workplace breaks and found that taking frequent short breaks is the best way to maximize concentration and elevate productivity. You've no doubt experienced a decline in your own productivity when you force yourself to sit in front of a computer screen or a particular project for too long. But social media is not the ideal break you might think, as, per HBR, "researchers find that scrolling through social media during work breaks can lead to emotional exhaustion." Instead? They suggest taking a walk, cuddling a pet, or simply stepping outside. Maybe cigarette smokers are onto something? At any rate, as the A&F Managing Partner of CPG & Associates, I work with hiring managers and company leaders every day, and employee wellness is a big buzzword. Take care of yourself, and take care of your people.