All business owners will struggle with this at one point… hiring reliable, honest people who can simply Get Stuff Done. Now, I am not writing this to tell you what work ethic is or how to get it — go to Google for help on that and you’ll get 26.7 million results. I am here to share with you my experience in hiring a great project manager. I can’t claim to be the expert…but I have had my fair share of the trial-and-error approach.
When I had just turned 20, I got a job selling Cutco Cutlery (knives) to housewives. Not exactly what I saw myself doing for a career, but I was look for anything outside of restaurant jobs and it had to be flexible with my college classes. As it turns out, I was really good at this job. But let me tell you why…
I was good at this job because I was recognized for my results. This is Rule #1 - When you do hire your project manager, you MUST recognize that person for even small accomplishments. You may be thinking ‘I shouldn’t have to do this recognition thing…They should just do the job I hired them to do’. Wrong. Recognition goes a loooooooooooooooooong way. Your PM will start to go above and beyond to please you and your clients. I practically wrote the book on it!
Fast forward 3 months after I started this summer job. Out of probably a couple hundred college students that was in the same office that summer, I was the one promoted to become an Assistant Manager. Recognition went a loooooooooong way for me. I kept trying harder and wanting more. Marty, my current employer, always brings up to new clients that my motto is “Bring It On!” See it starting to unfold?
In my 5 year career with Cutco, I interviewed a couple thousand people (90 minute group interviews), trained close to a thousand people (3-day seminars), and helped run training conferences for upwards of 300 people at a time. Throughout that time, I honed my interviewing skills, people skills and ability to develop and manage people to far exceed their own expectations. It was a blast!
I probably take a different approach than many people who write fancy books on recruiting and training – blah blah. No offense to those people, but you’ll see what I mean in a minute…
Rule #2 – Run your business and hire your people with heart.
I am a very intuitive person. I can tell when people are leading with heart or leading with dollar signs in their eyes. I have worked with a lot of people in lot of different industries in the past 11 years since I first started working – From now on, I will only work with people that lead with heart.
Caution: There is a very fine line here. Leading with heart means showing a compassionate side if your employee makes a mistake, being extra generous to a top client every once and a while, allowing your staff to take the lead instead of you, etc. But, as an employer, you have an absolute responsibility to control this side of you in a professional manner. There still must remain a separation between business life and personal life. Enough said.
So far, I’ve given 2 rules that will give you employee retention…but now I’m going to switch gears to what will give you that hire in the first place.
First, the technical stuff:
Where do I like to advertise that I need someone?
Craigslist. Yep – I still am a HUGE fan of good ‘ole Craigslist. I placed an ad for an assistant back in January. I got 50 replies in 3 hours, and I’d say 65% were amazing candidates. Wanna see the ad I wrote? Click Here!
The screening process:
So I place the ad and wait. As the email notification come pouring in I check very carefully to see if the applicant followed my simple instructions that I left in the ad.
“Reply with your name, email, phone number, availability, and give me an idea of your experience. Feel free to send a resume in addition to the above – not required.”
It amazes me when people respond without giving me their availability or an idea of their experience. Come on people. So….I immediately delete those applicants. And let me tell you, this is HARD sometimes. You’ll screen some really promising people. BUT, I tell you, if they can’t follow my simple instructions from an ad (when they should be trying to impress me the most!)… that will be a clear indication of what is to come if you hire them.
Now, in Cutco, we had 90 minute in-person group interviews with up to 30 people at a time. A question I loved to ask during the screening process is “On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate your communication skills, and why?” Such a simple and kinda boring question, but rarely did I get bored waiting for the answer. I was able to tell a lot about an applicant from the way they responded.
Brief sidebar –> Other things I look for…
- Posture and body language – how confident are they in themselves. Do they believe they will do a good job for you?
- Are they organized? Did they bring a pen and paper to the interview, did they prepare everything you asked them to prepare? (ALWAYS ask them to prepare something!)
- Are they polite, respectful and upbeat? It is best if you have a receptionist or assistant to greet them. How does the applicant respond to that employee, and to you? In Cucto, I would often ask my receptionists what they thought of applicants and who they liked best. I only have one perspective…who else can I ask?
Back to screening….
If you plant to hire someone over the Internet, narrow down your applicants, (meeting in person is optional I think)…here’s what I did next…
Out of the 50 applicants from my Craigslist ad, I picked 5. I sent all 5 the same email to screen further. To see the email I sent these applicants, Click Here!
After that email, I didn’t hear back from 3 of the 5 applicants. Was I insulted? Heck no! If you’ve read my ad and that 1 of 5 email…you HAVE to see how I’m different by now. I was very open, I was honest about what I needed and didn’t need. I openly said “if this is not for you, it’s ok…I don’t what to have to hire again in two weeks”.
Rule #3 – If you are transparent about what you want, people rise to the occasion.
The final 2 applicants both stepped up to the occasion. I received to very lengthy emails, both had attached headshots and both were very open about what they wanted and how they were. It was a tough decision (they always are). I hired one and was very pleased. This applicant turned out to be EXACTLY what I needed and even more.
Last I am going to share with you a few things that I strive to do as Project Manager to keep my boss happy, my clients happy, and myself happy. You can even share this with the people you hire as “good things to strive for”…
- Return client emails and calls promptly. I strive for within 10 minutes, but naturally, a few will slip through the cracks and take me a couple of hours. Clients LOVE that responsiveness and attention! Want me to prove it? Look at my testimonials page.
- I am extremely organized. That is an essential quality of a good project manager. I have to-do lists, folders for each client packed with all of their information (contact info, passwords, what they want in a website, etc.) I have great attention to detail.
- Time management and learning how to prioritize is key. I usually plan a little extra time to get things done – you’ll always use that time, and if not, you just hit a home run.
- Dropping what you are doing – and being ok with that – if something comes up that your employer needs. As Marty says, “Know in your mind where every project is and be able to switch gears to any of them at any moment.”
- Avoid complaining or being negative on the job. Vent elsewhere. Complain elsewhere. This is a job, and you must treat it as such. This extends to your clients as well. Clients need to feel comfortable contacting you about anything, at any time. Are you approachable? DO you work with heart?
- Treat each client account as if it were your own business. How would you approach your job differently if it was essential to the client’s business? News flash, your job is essential to your client’s business.
- A good PM needs to know how to lead. You will be responsible for a team in most cases. How do you take the rules, tips and ideas in this post and apply it to the PM position? I recognize my team, laugh with my team, but also demand their respect. Also, if your team didn’t deliver what you needed, you need to take the fall and learn from that experience to grow your team collectively and consistently. You are only as good as your team. I believe that.
With everything I’ve just shared, hopefully you will at least take away a few pieces that can help you in your search for a great Project Manager to lead your team and company into a better direction for 2009.
I would LOVE to hear your feedback! What do you do in your recruiting or screening process? What has helped you become a better leader?
