Be Careful What You Say

Posted by Joe Alonzo – Director of eDiscovery/Computer Forensics at Glenmont Group

If you’re a news junky like me, you may have caught a recent Yahoo! headline about a high-profile high school football player who got himself in hot water for what he said on this Twitter account about Jeremy Lin.  The athlete didn’t lose scholarship potential but still put himself a bad light as viewed by his community.

This has been a common theme recently amongst highly recruited high school football players.  In an earlier instance this year, Yuri Wright, another star college recruit also took to Twitter and made several profane remarks.   His actions received national recognition; he was expelled from Don Bosco Prep, the number 1 high school football program in the nation, and caused at least two Division 1 schools to back off from recruitment.   Epic Twitter Fail.

Why am I writing about high school football players?  While it is true I was a big fan Al Bundy from Married With Children, there is a more important point here.   Social media platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and others are now a part of life.   It is a common practice for hiring managers and HR professionals to go online and check to see if anything “out of the ordinary” comes up when considering candidates for career openings.  Trust me, they do it for sport.   Like Mr. Wright, it doesn’t matter if you are the top eDiscovery or litigation support candidate.  If anything obscene or offensive can be found online with your name attached to it, you will be DQ’d…not the delicious kind either.

I was having a conversation with a client of mine recently about the real reasons employees leave an organization , and if it’s OK to talk about it.  “If it feels good to say, don’t say it”, he mentioned to me.  Those are wise words to consider when talking about people and/or companies during an interview process.  Don’t EVER talk about about anyone from past organizations in a negative manner.  Hiring managers do not want to hear this and you will likely cost yourself a good opportunity.

There is an old adage that says do not do anything that you wouldn’t want your mother to see on the front page of the New York Times.   Keep this in mind when applying for that new Lit Support Project Manager role and you should be OK.

Please Don’t Tell Me About Yourself — Behavioral Interviews

Posted By Dana Fink, Director of Staffing at Glenmont Group

Managers have a very important job in today’s business environment. Interviewing and selecting the right personnel are two of the most critical things they must do to reach organizational goals. The hiring decisions made today will influence their organizationfor years. Developing a profile of the behaviors you want your employees to exhibit is a critical component of the selection process. Many managers utilize a behaviorial interview as a way to measure future actions employees will make If hired. This behavioral-based interviewing program was developed by Dr. Paul C.Green, president of the consulting firm Behavioral Technology, located in Memphis. Dr. Green created this selection process through his human resources experiences with a broad range of organizations. The approach reflects his strong belief that scientific research can be combined with practical experience to provide a meaningful way to conduct employee selection.

 The article below gives a short synopsis of this meaningfull hiring tool

By: Mark Murphy, author of Hiring for Attitude (McGraw-Hill, 2011)

A seismic shift from skill to attitude has taken place in the hiring world. Technical proficiency, once a guarantee of lifetime employment, has become commoditized in today’s job market. Between the global labor market and the high unemployment of the Great Recession, there’s a large supply of technically-qualified candidates for almost every available job.

Job skills are necessary, but they’re not sufficient.  It’s attitude — not skill — that is the best predictor of new hire success. In a Leadership IQ study of 20,000 new hires over a three-year period, 46% failed within their first 18 months.  And 89% of the time they failed because of attitudinal reasons; technical skills barely made the list.

Hiring for Attitude How are the best companies hiring for attitude? First, savvy leaders identify the specific attitudes that create success in their unique cultures and environments.

We call these key attitudes “Brown Shorts” — a strange name that pays homage to Southwest Airlines and their culture of fun.

Brown Shorts draws from a story I heard from a former Southwest executive about a round of hiring for new pilots (typically serious folks dressed formally). The Southwest interviewer invited this serious bunch to get comfortable in a pair of Bermuda shorts (brown in our story).

The shorts were part of the Southwest summer uniform, but it was an invitation that seemed too ridiculous for many of the pilots who immediately declined the shorts. And that told Southwest that these folks may be great pilots, but they just weren’t going to fit a fun-loving culture.

Now, just because you put on the shorts was no guarantee of a job, but it was a good indication that you just might fit their fun attitude.

Your Brown Shorts probably won’t to be “fun.” But they will be a list of the key attitudes that define your best people and your worst people. And when you model your interview questions around those Brown Shorts, you’ll discover who will (and won’t) succeed in your organization.

To hire for attitude, you’ve also got to interview for attitude. And that means ditching interview questions that don’t help you assess candidates’ attitude. For instance, the best interviewers no longer ask:

• Tell me about yourself.
• What are your strengths?
• What are your weaknesses?

These questions are too vague, inviting canned answers that don’t reveal attitude. (If every candidate gives the same answers to a question, it’s not worthwhile asking).

Behavioral Interview Questions So-called behavioral interview qustions  are also often ineffective for assessing attitude. Yes, asking about past behavior can work, but most behavioral questions contain a “tip off” that tells candidates how to give you the “right” answer.

The main issue with behavioral questions is that they rob you of your chance to find out if someone is a ‘problem bringer’ or a ‘problem solver.’ Let’s say you ask a candidate a pretty typical behavioral question: “Tell me about a time when you had to adapt to a difficult situation.”

This question may sound fine, but the word “adapt” ruins it. That single word signals that you only want to hear about a time the candidate “adapted” (instead of the hundreds of times they failed to adapt).

In the case of true high-performer candidates, these folks have plenty of examples to share that describe a time when they successfully ‘adapted’ to a difficult situation.

If you asked them about a time they “faced” a difficult situation, they’re naturally going tell you not only about the difficult situation, but also about how they adapted to it. For high performers, it’s practically impossible to even imagine ‘facing’ a difficult situation without also successfully ‘adapting’ to it.

But for problem bringers (low performers), the word ‘adapted’ renders this interview question ineffective. Problem bringers have faced countless difficult situations. But it’s unlikely they’ve successfully adapted to any of them.

In fact, the times they successfully ‘adapted’ probably constitute such a tiny fraction of the times they ‘faced’ difficult situations that it wouldn’t even occur to them to search their mental database and find an instance where it happened. And that’s something you want to know about.

But when you introduce a leading interview question, you’re not giving them the chance to disclose that information.

Just remember that attitude is the key driver of new hire success. And if you’re willing to rethink your hiring process to discover if your candidates have the right attitude, your hiring success will skyrocket.

Sneakers – One Style Does Not Fit All

Posted by Geoff Zodda, Managing Director at Glenmont Group

Nike Lunar Safari, Ranson X Adidas Strata FTD, Nike Air Flight 89, Rebook Zigs, Lebron 9’s and of course the coveted Nike Air Jordan Collection. What do all of these sneakers have in common?  A sizeable amount of the population that wears sneakers will be sporting these when spring arrives. A big reason is the flashiness, style and aesthetics which have grown popular amongst the masses.

LeBron 9

Nike Lunar Safari

Same could be said for those cream of the crop IT candidates, who have the perfect industry certifications, longevity in their current position, large organization experience and exposure to the newest and greatest technologies. Their resume is exactly what the client is looking for and these candidates tend to receive the lion’s share of interviews with major law firms and software organizations.

Keds, Chuck Taylor Converse, New Balance. These are sneakers that most individuals won’t run out to their local shopping establishment to grab off the rack before they are sold out. They are overlooked, but are comfortable, work just as well as any other sneaker (depending upon the purpose) and are durable.+

Keds

New Balance

This parallels to candidates who may have flaws in their resume or skill sets. Whether it’s their tendency to jump from position to position, working at a smaller venue, or that they just don’t have the type of background that pops out to hiring authorities as “you need to interview me ASAP”.

In this day in age, there are exceptional contenders that we run into who are the latter type of candidate. They have some missing pieces in their resume, but could be a really good fit for any organization – big or small. Given the opportunity to interview and explain any flaws in their background, they can really impress. It is just a matter of the interviewing team not looking at the candidate as having a strike on their record. In a world with new Nike Lunar Safari’s and Lebron 9’s, and even more Keds and Chuck Taylor’s, those organizations that take a strong look at the imperfect individuals will be pleasantly surprised with the type of sneaker they end up wearing.

To Search Or Not To Search…

Posted by Susan Beck, Project Coordinator at Glenmont Group

I find myself taking at least a half-hour each day to read the stories through LinkedIn Today. Very often there are links to articles and blogs that I find extremely interesting. Either the little man in my computer knows me so well that he can just pull the stories from the internet that he knows will pique my interest, or it may just be due to the fact that I have custom-picked the industries in which I am interested.

There was a blog I read not too long ago by Daniel Gulati about reasons why people choose not to leave their current jobs for new endeavors. (http://bit.ly/zyOpVD) It was very informative, and I don’t disagree with Mr. Gulati’s points. I agree that many people truly feel the need to stay in miserable jobs for a multitude of reasons, more than just what is stated in his blog. However, I remember thinking, “In reality, those are just excuses!” and then I shook my head in a blasé manner and went back to work.

And then, today… I opened my Internet Explorer, logged onto LinkedIn and checked out my LinkedIn Today news stories. I came across a blog entitled “Why You Will Quit Your Job This Year” by Kathy Caprino. (http://onforb.es/AzqD4e) To my surprise, she cited Gulati’s blog and went on to say exactly what I thought those few weeks ago. She even went on to cite a few reasons you should leave your miserable job for a new undertaking.

However, there are more kick-starts to looking for new opportunities than your unhappiness. Why do people even let themselves get to “miserable”, or even “unhappy”, in their current roles? Changing jobs can happen even when you have a decent situation going on. If something better arises and you have the skills to take the plunge, why not entertain the idea or have a conversation with the hiring manager? Now, I’m not saying that changing jobs should not be something you do every year. That will only show your future employers that you have no interest in their company or the well-being of the organization. It may give off the impression that your eyes are always open for the next big dollar sign. Something like that can stand in your way. I’m just saying that you don’t need to be afraid. Don’t let yourself get to the point where your job can’t be done without ripping your hair out. It’s not good for you, your job, or your hair.

My mother once told me that I wouldn’t find the man of my dreams if I kept looking for him – that the good guys only appear when you’re not looking. (Truth be told, Prince Charming came when I had my blinders up…although you’ll never hear my tell my mother she was right.) So I pass on the good advice: Keep an open ear. Most times, the best positions pop up when you aren’t even looking for them.

What can we all learn from Victor Cruz (NY Giants) & Jeremy Lin (NY Knicks)

Posted by Michael Potters, CEO at Glenmont Group

Here is where Jeremy Lin has been sleeping

FIRST THE STORY BEHIND THE LESSON

OK let’s get the obvious out of the way – unless you are a diehard Giants or Knicks fan (like most of our office) you did not have a clue who Victor Cruz or Jeremy Lin were until recent press has put them in the headlines. You likely assumed they were guys that were buried deep in your IT department.

Two years ago, Cruz, a great speedster receiver that grew up in the old mill city of Paterson, NJ (think Detroit on a good day) , went to school at University of Massachusetts  which never sent a receiver to the NFL, went undrafted at the 2010 NFL Draft. He was a walk-on at 2010 Giants training camp and impressed a number of the Giants coaches and a few Giants fans that recognized the blazing speed, sure hands and great moves after the catch. The Giants ended up signing him to the team for the league minimum $490k

After a good preseason he started 3 games, caught nothing, pulled a hamstring and is out for the season. GAME OVER…………..wrong!

After starting the season as the FOURTH! Wide Receiver Cruz got a break when injuries to 2 Receivers moved him to the number 2 slot…That was the break he needed and he never looked back.

In his first full year as a receiver Cruz set the Giants record for receiving yards in a season at 1536 and was a contributing factor to making Eli Manning look so good in the 2012 Giants’ Superbowl win over the New England Patriots

Next we come to Jeremy Lin (BTW I hate pro basketball but am hooked on this Lin story)

Once again, in 2010 Lin goes undrafted in the NBA draft and why wouldn’t he? He came from an Ivy school (Harvard) not Duke or North Carolina. Eight teams invite him for tryouts; he was eventually signed by the Golden State Warriors. He played a few games, but mostly in mop up rolls and showed very little to the team. During the NBA lockout, in an attempt to free up some salary cap room and not have to pay Lin’s $800k salary, the Warriors cut Lin and put him on waivers. The Houston Rockets then signed him and played him for 7 whole minutes in 2 preseason games, when they made the brilliant call of giving up on him too. The Knicks then claimed him off waivers to sit on the bench and be a backup’s backup. He moved to NYC and ended up sleeping on his brother’s couch in his Manhattan since he undoubtedly thought “no way am I buying a condo in the City if I am going to be cut”.

The Knicks who were thought to have a great team this year were floundering and the fans and press were becoming very vocal and relentless. Then fate steps in, two players get injured, and the last man on the bench has to step in. On February 4^th Lin scores 25 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists (all career highs). The Knicks win. Next game against Utah (his 1^st start ever) 28 points, 8 assists…Knicks win. Next game against the Lakers 38 points and 7 assists…Knicks win (outscoring Kobe Bryant) …Next game against Timberwolves only 20 points and 7 assists ..Knicks win again…Last night Lin nails a 3 pointer with 3 seconds left to beat Toronto and surpass Shaquille O’Neal’s NBA record for most points scored in his first 5 starts!!  2 Weeks ago you had no idea who this person was.

NOW THE LESSONS LEARNED

If you are a Law Firm, Vendor Consultancy or Corporate Legal department looking to hire someone:

1. Look outside the box, not all the successful recruits come from the best schools or the top companies: 32 NFL teams and 30 NBA team passed on these guys with all of their high paid research.

2. Be patient, give people a real chance to show their stuff: The Warriors and the Rockets are shooting themselves right now for having Lin and letting him get away.

3. When you realize that you may have the gem, let him/her loose to succeed. Don’t become an impediment in their growth.

4. Make sure your team embraces their success and all raise their games accordingly

5. Don’t be cheap. Just because you lucked out and got this person for a steal, pay them what they should be paid -or you will lose them as easily as you found them.

 

If you are the candidate looking to break into this very demanding field:

1. Don’t ever believe that you can’t compete with the big boys from the better colleges or companies, you can! 50% of the top people in our industry fit into this category.

2. If given the chance by a client, don’t blow it. Work hard, perfect your craft and when the door opens a crack (due to promotion, attrition, and firing), kick your way through it and do the job the better than you ever imagined.

3. Don’t be greedy, if the only way into the firm/company is to take a lower than desired fee, do it. You can prove yourself once you are in there and make all the money you want.

4. Don’t be selfish. Look to make your team better around you. They will appreciate it and pay you back by making you look better- which will of course earn you more money & security.

 

Final message to hiring authorities- Two years ago the GM of the Giants had no idea who Victor Cruz was….Two weeks ago the GM of the Knicks had little idea who Jeremy Lin was and certainly did not think that he would be a Knick.

They both look like geniuses now and are likely going to be rewarded for the serendipitous nature of these events………….Think outside the box!

When One is Better Than Two

Modern Day David vs. Goliath

Posted by Adam Weissman, Director, IT & Legal Technology, at Glenmont Group.

The only thing that moves more rapidly than technology these days is the torrid pace at which the complexities of conducting business evolve. There seems to be no technology company in the world too niche or too large that is safe from being targeted as either a strategic, value-add merger or acquisition, or as a potential threat to an organization’s own long-term survival. Specifically, within the legal technology industry we recruit for and observe on a daily basis, the competitive landscape is practically over-populated by David’s battling a handful of Goliath’s for market-share and go-to recognition. However, some of the Goliath’s have started joining forces, making a seemingly unfair fight even more daunting for the wealth of David’s wielding their swords individually at the heels of these veritable giants. In the business of technology, thinking in the now makes you irrelevant. Only those who use the present to prepare several steps into the future (see: visionary) will have a fighting chance to avoid the vast graveyard of yester-year tech companies.

I recently read two online articles posted by wsj.com (The Wall Street Journal’s online publication) and crn.com (an online technology and business news publisher). Respectively, the first demonstrates the advantages for two “David” companies to merge forces in order to defend their stake in the marketplace against possibly the biggest technology “Goliath” in the world, Google Inc. The second details the competitive maneuver of one “Goliath” company, HP, acquiring U.K.-based information management software vendor Autonomy, a “Goliath” corporation in its own right, in hopes to better position themselves in anticipation of the future global technology community.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204422404576592923419587268.html

http://www.crn.com/news/channel-programs/232600779/q-a-autonomy-ceo-explains-why-the-hp-deal-made-sense.htm;jsessionid=CpzBxC67UOqGuEXrmY3JmQ**.ecappj02?cid=nl_vi

Glenmont Group is the largest staffing firm dedicated to the legal technology industry. In addition to staffing expertise, we also provide retained and consultative services to organizations and investors seeking to identify strategic alliances to bolster their competitive advantage. If you are interested in discussing any of these services, please feel free to contact me at: adam.weissman@glenmontgroup.com, or (973) 746-0600 x114.

Cross Cultural Behavior

Posted by Adam Malanaphy, Project Coordinator at Glenmont Group

In order to be an effective recruiter in today’s rapidly changing professional landscape one must understand the cross cultural differences amongst the people within it. A study on cross cultural behavior that was conducted at The University of Texas of Austin entitled “Cultural Retention” provides valuable insight into the act of gift giving in the context of two vastly different cultures. Focus groups composed of six American students and six Japanese students, (who were studying in the US) were used to reveal differences in the process of gift giving between the cultures of the East vs. the cultures of the West. These groups of six were evenly split between male and female to avoid offsetting the results. The group members were each asked a series of questions pertaining to the use and frequency of gift giving and these results were interpreted and analyzed in order to draw any relevant conclusions. The responses that were attained provide an example of how such a basic aspect of one’s behavior can drastically vary between cultures.

As the questions were answered by the members of the focus groups, a trend began to emerge of strong individualism in the American students and a stronger emphasis of group based thinking in the Japanese students. Some of the results suggest that Americans receive satisfaction from gift giving only when all of the givers personal needs are already gratified. This statement leads one to believe that Americans are more likely to attend to their own needs first, as opposed to the Japanese who interpret gift giving as an intrinsic aspect of their lives. When the panelists were given a question asking when they felt it was appropriate to exchange gifts the results provided a clear distinction between the two groups. The Japanese students compiled a list of twenty four gift giving occasions ranging from birthdays, to exams, and even funerals. On the contrary, the Americans compiled their list containing only eleven occasions, all of which were far more apparent such as Christmas and graduation. These results do not surprise me; however they certainly highlight the fact that Americans place a greater value on individualism than the more group-oriented Japanese.

 When the two groups were questioned about the techniques they employed to pick out and actually give those gifts, more differences emerged. It became clear that it is not just how often gifts are given. The Americans described their shopping as a casual event that can be stressful around the holidays, while they viewed their experience as a formal affair that is not at all stressful because it is so frequent. With regards to presentation of the gift the Japanese are meticulous about wrapping and showing satisfaction for their gift. On the other hand Americans did not always feel the need to wrap their gifts and found it socially acceptable to express their true feelings about their gift.

 This study provides useful information to anyone in recruiting who is concerned with cultural differences in the space.  Even though globalization has become more prevalent than ever, these different cultures have managed to retain their distinctive values. As I began my career in recruiting at Glenmont Group, Inc., one of the principals that I was taught from the beginning was to try to understand the most prevalent cultural standards that exist within the litigation technology space. Analyzing one small disparity on a micro level helps to shed light on how careful recruiters must be as we conduct business across cultural boarders. In order to achieve success in recruiting one must recognize differences across cultural boundaries, incorporate this recognition into daily interactions, and implement this procedure in the most effective way possible to help overcome them.

A Day in the Life of a Legal Technology Recruiter at LegalTech 2012

Posted by Joe Alonzo, Director of eDiscovery/Computer Forensics at Glenmont Group

11am  I take a quick stroll around the floors to grease the wheels.

LexisNexis is always right in your face, to be expected of course, with the best real estate at the show.

Autonomy is sitting to the left with an impressive setup and a small army of employees. Nice job.

Coffee guys atop of the escalators, always a frenzy there. Check.

Why is IBM in a hallway??

11:30 I head over to say hello to a few clients. It’s loud in here, great buzz. People are in full Trick-or-Treat mode. They must subscribe to the “if it’s free, I’ll take three” school.

12:15 I have my best recruiter face on, shaking hands, grabbing cards and looking for the diamond in the rough. I’ve been lucky so far and have met a few great candidates who “might” be looking.  Always a positive.

1:15 I see a guy (with a LegalTech badge who resembled Santa Claus) in full sleep mode in a chair on the lower level. He must be enjoying the show.

2:00 I win an Apple TV in a raffle from EMC. Very cool, thank you EMC.

2:15 A few backs were turned on me in a booth when I said I recruit lit support/eDiscovery folks.  Do I need a mint?  Was it my tie?

4:00 I pass Santa Claus again, still sleeping.

4:50 A great day of networking and prospecting for new talent. I think that I have accomplished a lot and met some great people to whom I can present our lengthy list of open jobs.

Among the hundreds of companies at the show today, there were a few new companies that caught my eye – Palantir being one. They have an interesting idea behind their technology; it seems to be a mix of data analytics and cyber-security.  They have an interesting story, their co-founder is one of the original PayPal’ers,  and the VC money is one of the early Facebook investors. The reps wearing black to match the sleek booth made it look very streamline.

5:00 We head to the Kroll Party upstairs. It’s an impressive party with lots of people, a live band, food, drinks and very cool giveaways. I like the Belushi and James Brown guys in character. Although a very good time, it’s extremely loud in here and it’s tough to have a conversation without yelling in faces. Off to the next party, thank you very much Kroll.

6:00 We head across 6^th Ave to Warwick Hotel. A Happy Hour is being hosted by eDiscovery Journal.  It is a nice gathering of some industry folks.  Not too noisy in here; I can actually have a conversation at normal volume. I enjoyed talking with some new faces, as well as old.  Because much of my business is phone and email based, I am able to meet some people face to face that I’ve been “LinkedIn Stalking” for quite some time.  It turned out be a success, we leave with more business.   Thanks to Jason Velasco, Greg Buckles, and Barry Murphy for putting together an outstanding gathering.

Next party starts at 8. It’s at Johnny Utah’s, hosted by TransPerfect. There’s a mechanical bull there.     Alcohol + eDiscovery people + mechanical bull = lots of laughs. This ought to be good, I think. We’re about to head over when better judgment got the best of me.  I decided to head back across the river to NJ so I can avoid a hangover.

I’ll save the rest for another blog, but the early morning vibe is that many people are hung over and I hear about a poor guy from out of town who had to ride the bull wearing a NY Giants jersey.   I guess he lost a bet.  I should have gone. That’s what Advil is for, right?

The show was a complete success.  Our entire team established new relationships and solidified existing ones. 2012 was off to a fast start for the Glenmont Group, and it just went into overdrive!

Last but certainly not least, GO GIANTS! Enjoy the weekend!