Our draw was pretty large, and we couldn’t include all the contents last week during our first installment, so here is our second and final installment of cleaning out the draw.  

1) As a small business owner, one of the traits I have to learn continually is patience. During the hiring process, patience is vital for a candidate, too. Hiring will never move as quickly as you would like, and your mind can play games with you as you re-play interview answers in your mind. Expect delays, and be pleasantly surprised by speed. 

2) I hate to be that guy, but don’t forget to use manners, please and thank you, liberally. Manners are becoming a lost art, and for candidates and manners before, during, and after the interview are noticed.

3) Speaking of manners, thank you notes are an excellent touch for interview follow-up. But if you send one, especially if it is via email, use a formal approach. Represent yourself well and think of what you want to say before you write. Don’t be informal, turning what should be a positive into a negative.

4) The impacts of Covid have been impactful and, unfortunately, deadly. But relative to our little segment of the healthcare facility management world, the pandemic has positively impacted the role facilities management plays in the patient experience—a positive outcome in a difficult time.

5) During the interview process, candidates assess organizations. I was speaking to a person interviewing with an organization (not our client). They left her alone in an interview room for long periods, even displacing her once from the room to hold a meeting. As a person who took time away from her work to interview, she felt her time was not valued. She left the interview with a negative impression of the organization.

6) We always talk about skills needed for success in the FM world, and I always return to the core, the foundation we learned in school. Yes, technical aptitude is required, but the ability to ask good questions is critical. You don’t necessarily have to know how everything works to ask good questions, though it certainly helps.

7) People who ask good questions are likely good listeners. Once they ask a question, they listen to the reply. It seems simple, but I’ll bet we have all worked with people who ask questions and don’t pause long enough to hear the answer, or just go ahead and answer their own question. With situational awareness, listening can be improved. 

8) The number one request by a client to us before beginning a recruitment? I need a communicator. Technical skills are assumed. Communication is required. 

9) The Information Interview is likely one of the least utilized tools by today’s busy healthcare professional. If you don’t know what they are or just want to find out how to conduct one, research the informational interview.  It may launch your career to new destinations.  

10) In his 1965 article “What is Leadership,” written for Reader’s Digest, former General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote:  

“One day during my White House years, I called in an assistant – a highly competent man of fine personality – and asked him if he would like to have a more responsible and remunerative job which was then open. I explained that he would be operating rather independently, largely responsible for his own decisions. He thought for a moment and then said, “No, I’d be no good at it. I am a No. 2 man – and I think a good one – but I am not a No. 1 man. I am not fitted for such a job, and I don’t want it.” 

“Although his answer startled me, I respected his honesty. Moreover, this world always needs competent No. 2 men, and each, on his own level, can be a good performer.” 

Ike’s number 2 knew where he wanted to go; he was already there. Not everybody wants to climb to the number 1 spot, don’t hold it against them.

Read Part I from last week, please see

https://gosselin-associates.com/quick-hitting-hcfm-insights-and-thoughts/

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