• Hiring Options: W2 Employees

    Hiring Options is a series to outline some of the different options you have for growing your team. I’ll cover W2 Employees, Freelance/Independent Contractors, and Interns. I will include things to consider before deciding what kind of employment relationship you want and where to find people once you’ve decided.   What does W2 mean? This…

  • Don’t Clone Yourself

    Okay, I’m going to warn you right off the bat: I am pretty passionate about this topic. So many well-meaning people give trite advice without realizing the advice they are giving is flawed. One of the pieces of advice that is often erroneously given to entrepreneurs who are hiring is to “Clone Yourself”. This is terrible…

  • Hiring Options: Should You Hire Interns?

    Hiring Options is a series to outline some of the different options you have for growing your team. I’ll cover W2 Employees, Freelance/Independent Contractors, and Interns.  I will include things to consider before deciding what kind of employment relationship you want and where to find people once you’ve decided. Ahh, the wonderful idea of getting…

  • 3 Simple Ways To Improve Your Employer Branding

    As a business owner, you may not have spent a huge amount of time thinking about your employer brand, but as you continue to grow your business your employer branding will start to take on more and more importance.     These are 3 simple steps you can take – starting with your next interview.…

  • Why I Recommend A Phone Interview

    I’ll admit, one of the main reasons I do a first interview via phone is because most of my clients are across the nation, while others are in a different nation! It’s just physically impossible for me to drive or fly from place to place simply to conduct interviews. I can’t be in California at…

  • Leader VS. Manager – What’s The Difference?

    You could probably find a good, heavily researched answer on Wikipedia. But, you’re on “Rikkapedia” so, I’m going to give you the Rikka answer.   Leader VS. Manager – What’s The Difference?   For me, the difference is that a manager believes deeply that people do what you inspect, not what you expect.  A leader,…

  • Contrary Evidence: The Trick I Use To Reduce Hiring Mistakes

    One of the best trainings I’ve ever had happened when I was a new management trainee at a department store. They had us watch a video about contrary evidence. It discussed how interviewers make up their minds within a minute of the interview. At the start of the interview, they would think, “oh, I really…

  • Reference Checks Are A Waste Of Time

    I believe in the power of the interview. I think there’s more value in spending time interviewing, doing assessments, doing some testing, giving them pre-hire projects — than calling to see what someone (who I don’t know) thought of them at a job that may or may not be closely related to the job your…

  • 7 Clues Your Recruitment Process Isn’t Working

    In a perfect world every time you had a job opening, filling it would be as simple as placing a hand-lettered ‘Help wanted’ sign in the window. In this fantasy, you’d receive the exact right amount of applicants – not so many that you feel overwhelmed, not so few that you feel like you’re settling.…

  • How To Get The Most From Your Recruiter

    So you’re ready to work with a recruiter – wonderful! You’re going to get better applicants who will bring in more money and clients and you might even enjoy the hiring process. It’s possible! Really! I don’t know why you’re working with a recruiter – maybe you’re working around a less-than-ideal benefits package, maybe you’re…