Thursday, September 1, 2016
Sea J's Cafe – Port Townsend, Washington
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Stranger than family
Have you ever gotten a phone call from someone pretending to be a family member? They might say it is an emergency – maybe somebody is in jail, in the hospital, or being held hostage. What's common to all of these calls is that they end with the caller asking you to send money. These calls are scams no matter how convincing they sound.
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Phone Screening: A Guide To This Essential Recruiting Step
This is a guest post from our friends at Kayako
Are you using phone screening as part of your interviewing process? If not, you should be! Hypothetically, you've made it to the other side and are now working for a company you love. But rather than trying to get a job, you're trying to find the right employees for your company. Crawling through job applications and resumes can be tough, but there is a way to do it that is less painful, and even fun!
What you shouldn't be doing
If you're like a lot of internal recruiters, you're spending way too much time inside the hiring process – this isn't as effective as it could be.
You might be:
- Spending too much time on lengthy face-to-face interviews.
- Interviewing candidates who are totally unsuitable for the role.
- Missing out on suitable candidates because you don't have time to interview everyone.
While you're spending time managing your process, you're wasting valuable time that could be spent on other recruiting activities!
I want to show you how the first stage of the hiring process can be conducted over the phone.
It may sound cynical, but screening through phone calls is an effective way to streamline your recruitment process, benefiting both your company and prospective candidates. It saves your time, and theirs – especially if used well.
You don't want to be messing around meeting all your prospective candidates in Starbucks, only to find that the majority are completely unsuitable for the post. Video conference calls also help to reduce running costs.
How to conduct effective phone screening
We've got some best practice methods for you to follow to ensure you get the most out of the phone screening process, and can sail off into the sunset with your new employee (hopefully).
At Kayako, we use all of these methods to smooth out our hiring process, because we know that our customer service team is our company's greatest asset.
Here are some of our best practices that could be useful to you and your recruiting team:
1. Explain the process
As with anything in life, make sure everyone knows what to expect. As soon as you start bringing a prospective candidate into the pipeline, tell them how the process of the interview is going to go.
Let them know when they can expect a phone call, when they will know if they have been successful, what the next steps are and when they would receive an offer. This stops candidates from becoming confused and frustrated, and being driven to a different offer. This will also give a great impression of the efficiency of your company and the power of your brand. Every interaction you have with a non-employee is a brand experience, so make it a great one by providing an efficient and delightful candidate experience.
2. Make notes of their answers
When you're actually conducting the phone interview, make sure you're taking detailed notes. Always follow a predefined structure so your notes on all candidates are consistent, and easily interpreted by people conducting follow-up interviews. Even your future self will struggle to decode a mess that your past self has written.
If your Applicant Tracking System has a mobile app or desktop app, you can even keep notes within the software to review later. The more data you put in, the better data you'll be able to get out.
Detail is key here. When you finish each call, you may want to set some time aside to finish up your notes. It will benefit you to review what you've written while you can still remember the interview to make sure it makes sense to your hiring team.
3. Focus only on essentials
While you'll want to capture the details, you'll also want to keep the phone call as brief as possible – no more than 20-30 minutes. If you subconsciously know you have limited time, you'll be less tempted to waffle and stray off-topic, or let the candidate do so.
At this stage, don't bother asking about their specific experience of technologies or technical details at this stage. Leave that to the next phase interview, as your job here is to uncover the most important information about the candidate – which is whether they will be a good fit for your company.
Always keep the same questions for the position you're hiring for, because thinking of fresh ones every time can be exhausting. Then you can focus on whether you're getting enough information to invite them in for an interview, not what to ask them next.
For example, what this looks like at Kayako, as customer support is a job that needs attitude before skills, our customer service interview questions will find that passion using these:
- Why are you leaving your current role / what interested you in this role?
- What are your career goals?
- What are you really good at professionally?
- What are you not good at or not interested in doing professionally?
- Who were your last five bosses, and how would they each rate your performance on a 1-10 scale when we talk to them?
- What are your salary expectations?
- Any questions for me?
Remember to: dig deep into their answers with “who, how, what.” And take notes, at this stage it is super important for collecting what you may want to follow up on in the in person interview.
4. Selling the company and job
Don't be fooled into thinking that the only factor is deciding which candidate you want to hire. Many hiring managers have been thwarted when they think they've locked the perfect candidate, only to be told that the candidate accepted a job elsewhere!
Use the phone interview as an opportunity to “sell” your organization to the candidate. Expand upon what they have absorbed from the job description, your company website, and social media profiles. Make the best first impression you can to attract top candidates.
Briefly explain the job requirements and be sure to include key information about why you think the job role is worthwhile and challenging. Great candidates will respond favorably to opportunities to grow professionally.
What to do next
Once you've conducted all your phone interviews, take a closer look at who's left, and decide who you feel is a good candidate for an in-person interview.
You must focus on your the ultimate goal of finding the best person for the entire time you are conducting this screening process.
The goal is to select only candidates who are likely to be the right fit for the company based on their personality, career history and attitude. If any one of these qualities is missing, then you're sadly wasting your time.
So, ditch the old habit of meeting every prospective candidate in person, and start scheduling in phone screening interviews with everyone who you think could be a good fit (limit the interviews to a certain number of people if lots of candidates catch your eye). With SmartRecruiters's built-in interview scheduling, it's easier than ever to get these coordinated.
Clearly explain to each candidate the process you are expecting them to follow, with dates and next steps included.
Make detailed notes during each interview, while at the same time restricting yourself to a maximum of thirty minutes. With practice, you'll get a lot better at setting the pace, and, if you think you might run over, just politely tell them you have another appointment in your schedule.
Don't forget that you are the ambassador for your company, and it's your job to let the candidate know exactly why it's a great place to work. Don't be afraid to let your natural enthusiasm shine through in the interviews, and you're all set for success with phone screening.
Saturday, August 6, 2016
The world's coolest flume water slide is hidden in an American jungle paradise
Hiking through steamy forests, through pitch black, waterlogged tunnels, and alongside narrow, and incredibly tall cliffs seems pretty intense, but the reward at the end of this dangerous trail is too good to pass up-- the world's most gorgeous hidden flume water slide.
Located in Hawaii's Waipio Valley, to get there, head to the Flume Water Slide Trailhead at the end of White Road just outside of Waimea-- there, apparently, there will be a wooden gate that leads to the trail. Along the way, you'll pass hidden waterfalls and breathtaking overlooks offering views of the Waipio Valley. To get to the slide, you have to hike through a tunnel for about half a mile before you arrive at your destination. Once you reach the slide, grab ahold of the rope and climb up through the rushing water to the top, then get ready for the ride of a lifetime! You can even bring along an inner tube to inflate when you reach your destination for a smoother ride down.
The hike is off-limits unless you're granted special permission, but it's worth the trouble if it means getting to visit the one-of-a-kind slide. This video gives you an idea of the crazy path to the flume-- and an idea of just how insanely incredible it is to slide down!
Check out Slide Rock State Park, Alpine Sliding Rock, or North Carolina's Sliding Rock for more splashy waterslide action!!
Header via surf-kona.com
More aquatic adventures...
The Treehaus Resort comes with its own lazy river
America's most insane waterpark pool is nicknamed "The Grave Pool"
Discover underground rivers and Mayan ruins at Xcaret
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Should take the parenting class when you divorce in Nevada?
Clients often ask us why they have to take the parenting class. It comes up sooner or later in every conversation we have with divorce clients.
We all have too much on our plates; that's a fact. When we are going through a divorce, there's even more to do, not to mention the stress it adds to your already over-scheduled day.
So, who wants to add one more thing to their to-do lists by taking a parenting class, even if it's online?
First off, if you live in Clark County, Nevada and file a divorce here, it's required by the court. Your divorce will not be granted otherwise. The court made it mandatory in the hope that it would remove bickering divorced parents from the very busy court calendar.
Luckily, it's now possible to take it online, so no driving, parking, and blocking out a particular time on a particular day. Just take it whenever you can fit it in, in the middle of the night even, if that's what works best for you.
You might feel resentful at being told by a court that you have to take it in order to get your decree of divorce, and this can affect how you receive the information.
You might be tempted to take it in a hurry just to get the certificate you need, and you might not want to pay it much attention, but here's why you should pay attention and give it as much time as it requires for you to retain the information in it and actually be able to use it later. Figure out how to see it as something valuable to you rather than just one more chore.
Because it is valuable to you. Very valuable. Even if it's not a requirement where you live, you should strongly consider taking it.
Essentially, you're trading the three to five hours it will take you to go through the course against possibly hundreds of hours of frustration with your ex (depending on how long you'll co-parent your child(ren) with him or her), as well as saving your children from emotional damage associated with putting them in the middle.
Here's how you will benefit:
1) You will learn the skills you need to avoid your children emotional harm caused by certain behaviors too often typical of divorcing parents:
o Having your child carry messages rather than communicating directly with your ex
o Questioning your child about what goes on in your ex's house
o Putting you ex down verbally to your children
o Discussing money problems with your child
o Issues related to long-distance parenting
2) You will learn strategies with which to deal directly with your ex, which will benefit both of you as well as the children you must parent together:
o Deal with your ex in a respectable manner
o Learn tactics to control any anger you might feel toward your ex
o Learn to not play the “loyalty” game with your children. Your children love both of you and should be free to be loyal to both parents.
Think of the time and aggravation you'll save yourself by simply having the tools to deal with potentially explosive situations with your ex and weigh it against just a few hours of your time now. We think you know the answer now as to whether or not you should take the parenting class when you divorce in Nevada.
The post Should take the parenting class when you divorce in Nevada? appeared first on Nevada Divorce Blog.
Monday, July 11, 2016
MLB The Show 16: All-Star Week Celebrations, New Low Price
If you're not one of the lucky ones attending the MLB All-Star Game this week in San Diego, we've got you covered with fun activities for the community throughout the week. Again this year we'll feature our Home Run Derby simulated prediction (which we got right last year!), we'll have a “man on the street” at the All-Star Game covering everything from our head-to-head Home Run Derby competition at Fan Fest to behind-the-scenes looks at your favorite events, and more!
Check out below for a few videos from our first few days in San Diego:
Join us later tonight at 10:00pm to 12:00am Pacific as we're going behind-the-scenes at the MLB Players' Association party to host an AMA with a mix of current players and legends, including Eric Hosmer of the Kansas City Royals. And don't forget to submit your burning questions for the MLB players on MLB The Show's Twitter and Facebook as well as directly through the stream.
Later in the week, we're hosting an intense Fans Vs. Developers competition on Twitch, featuring four hot shot MLB The Show fans playing against our All-Star roster of Developers from San Diego Studio. First rounds of the competition start on Wednesday, July 13 from 3:30pm – 6:00pm and we'll crown our ultimate All-Star champion during our stream on Thursday, July 14 from 3:30pm – 6:00pm!
Below is our schedule of livestreams from the All-Star Game:
MLB The Show AMA at MLBPA Party
Monday, July 11 at 10:00pm – 12:0am Pacific
Fans Vs. Devs – Round 1
Wednesday, July 13 at 3:30pm – 6:00pm Pacific
Fans Vs. Devs – And the Winner is…
Thursday, July 14, 2016 at 3:30pm – 6:00pm Pacific
To cap off our All-Star celebrations, we recently dropped the price on MLB The Show 16 and made it easier than ever to join! Right now, you can get The Show physically and digitally on PS4 for only $39.99 and on PS3 for $29.99.
For all your latest and greatest MLB The Show news and videos, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or go to theshow.com to learn more.
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Visit the real-life places that inspired Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls
There's nothing quite like New England in autumn. Falling leaves, hot coffee with a pumpkin spice bouquet, hayrides, scarves, peacoats, and long, meandering conversations about Paul Anka, Doris Day, and Christiane Amanpour. 'Tis the season for Gilmore Girls! But, let's be honest, every season is the season for Gilmore Girls. If you're like me, you've enjoyed your fair share of GG binge-fests, complete with candy, pizza (and in my case copious amounts of alcohol), and glitter nail polish.
As much as I love Lorelai and Rory's delicious banter and manic-pixie-dreamgirl-esque shenanigans, I've gotta say, my favorite character on the show, is the town. That quintessential rural New England town of Stars Hollow. I mean, who didn't want to go to Stars Hollow High or hit up one of those adorable Town Hall Meetings? Well, unlike other fictional locales that are too good to be true (ahem, Rivendell), Stars Hollow is actually based on a very real place.
In fact, here's Kirk (jack of all trades, literally all trades, master of none), giving a tour of the fictional Stars Hollow:
While showrunner, Amy Sherman-Palladino was staying at the The Mayflower Grace on vacation she fell madly in love with Connecticut. For two days she drove through various towns and began conceiving the fictional Stars Hollow, a fairytale town, grounded in actual, real places.
Welcome to Washington Depot, Connecticut. Size: 38.7 square miles. Population: 3,578. This rural town in Litchfield County, Connecticut served as inspiration for the town of Stars Hollow. It's where the Mayflower Grace Inn is located, and thus the starting point for the idea that would become Stars Hollow. As a side note, it was also used for filming parts of Friday the 13th, Part 2, so that's pretty rad.
Washington is your standard white picket fenced, church steepled, one-stoplight town (Okay, I don't know if it has one stop light, but remember that episode of GG where the town installed a stop light and Lorelei and Rory were stuck at it for, like, ever, right after Lorelei decided she didn't want to marry Max? Whatever, he was kind of a jerk when he started pressuring her into changing for him, I'm glad they broke up.).
Anyhow, near the Berkshire Mountains and only 80 miles north of NYC, lots of wealthy New York City folks call Washington home, so it comes as no surprise that the town has oodles of charm by way of Colonial-period homes. Many of the families in fact have descendants that date back to Colonial times. I bet loads of residents are members of the D.A.R. (like Rory and Emily). Fun fact: I almost joined the D.A.R. because of Gilmore Girls. Then, decided against it cause it like required a ton of paperwork, and you couldn't apply online. Lame. Oh, and interestingly enough, according to the town's Wikipedia page, there's a sizable gay community that calls the place home.
Even the town's government helped inspire an important feature of the show: “Washington has a traditional New England town meeting form of government, which operates under the Connecticut General Statutes. Town meetings serve as Washington's chief legislative body, and several specialized boards and commissions, run by volunteer residents, tend to municipal business.”
And in case you were curious, the system works:
“Washington has a culture of volunteerism and active civic engagement. Many residents give freely of their time and resources to operate town government, provide emergency services, and support local community organizations. The town has unusually high voter turnout rates, and, in several elections, has had the highest level of voter participation of any municipality in Connecticut. Washington's voter turnout rate in the 2004 presidential election was 93.08%” - Wikipedia
A little bit of Washington's history:
Before the colonists arrived, the Wyantenock Native American tribe lived in the area. Then in 1734, Joseph Hurlbut established a homestead and called it Judea Parish. In 1746, an iron ore was mined, and ironworking became a major industry in the area. In 1779, Washington was incorporated and named after George Washington. Allegedly, the founding father spent the night in New Preston in 1781. But, then again, places where Washington slept are as ubiquitous as places where Elvis spent the night.
The 19th century brought the Industrial Revolution to Washington, Connecticut and factories and mills started sprouting up along the Shepaug River, which was known as Factory Hollow. Aww. In 1861 America's very first summer camp was opened in Washington by Frederick Gunn, an abolitionist. Washington was also a stop on the Underground Railroad. The actual railroad came in 1872, connecting Washington with New York City. The Washington Green was transformed at the end of the 19th century “into an idealized version of the quintessential New England village.”
Many of the houses were built before 1950, and reflect such historic architectural styles as Georgian, Greek Revival, Italianate and Shingle. There's also loads of 19th century barns, mills and other buildings, which are also remarkably well-preserved.
Washington, however, is just one source (albeit a big source) of Stars Hollow inspiration. Other towns that contributed fairytale New England vibes include New Milford, Litchfield and Kent.
So, there you have it Gilmore Girls addicts. Go forth and proudly binge-drink coffee, crank up your Bangles CDs, consume unconscionable quantities of pie and for the love of god, banter your little hearts out!