Author: Kim

Tips for Interview Questions

Remember your first interview for a professional job? Like me, I am sure someone told you to have questions prepared to ask. It can be difficult to come up with questions to ask that will help you vet the company and that the hiring manager thinks are good questions. The tips below may help you if this is your first interview or if you are a seasoned veteran.
Hiring Manager / Team tips:

Dos: Most of us like to understand the team, culture, and what the manager would be like to work for. Here are some sample questions that will help you understand these areas and what hiring managers might like to hear.
Sample questions to ask:
1. What makes someone successful in this role?
2. What does a typical day look like?
3. What recent successes has the team had and what recent challenges?
4. Have you implemented any new technologies and/or processes in the past 6 months?
5. What is your favorite thing about working for this company? What is the biggest challenge?

Don’ts: Typically you don’t want to ask the hiring manager or team about pay or benefits. If you are interviewing for a contract role then don’t ask about pay or benefits since that is likely handled by your recruiter. Pay, benefits or policies are best to ask your recruiter.
Human Resources:

Dos: HR usually is the first or last interview you have with a company. If first, then it is all about them getting to know you. It is best to keep this conversation positive across the board. If this is a direct hire role, then it can be useful to ask about benefits or policies but in a positive way.
Sample questions to ask:
1. This is what I learned about your company online (provide info), what else you would like to add?
2. What makes someone successful at your company?
3. What is your favorite thing about working for this company?
4. I am open to working any schedule needed, does your company have flex time or a specific schedule?
5. Do you mind providing some information on your benefits?

Don’ts: Typically HR won’t have a lot of specific info to provide on technology, so it may be best to avoid those questions until you speak with someone who has an IT background. You typically don’t want to ask about pay since your TNE recruiter will help you negotiate the salary and if you are interviewing for a contract role then don’t ask about pay or benefits since that is likely handled by your recruiter.
Always feel free to contact your TNE recruiter before an interview if you would like any advice on what questions to ask in your interview. Hopefully, these tips will help you in your next interview and take away some of the nervousness when it comes to good questions to ask.

Target Your Resume

At TNE, we create custom marketing packages for our candidates for each opportunity. One of the most important parts of the marketing package is a targeted resume. A targeted resume means you adjust it for each opportunity you pursue in three main areas.

1. Professional Profile / Summary- write a description of why you are a great fit for the specific opportunity you are applying for on the top of your resume. You may be thinking, I put a lot of work into my summary and don’t want that time and effort to be wasted. Good news, you can use most of the content you already wrote but make additions and subtractions based on the job description.

2. Technical Skills / Skills- if you are an IT professional then having a Technical Skills / Skills section is a great idea. Make sure all the technologies in the job description that you have experience with are also in your skills section. Note, hiring managers may ask technical questions based on your skills section so be prepared to talk about your experience with each technology. You can add in the soft skills that the job description is looking for as well.

3. Professional Experience- add bullet points including responsibilities and skills the job description is looking for that you have experience with. Note, be sure you are comfortable explaining what you are adding with a hiring manager, don’t oversell, and put everything in your own words, no copying and pasting from the job description itself. It is impactful to write bullet points as accomplishments and that won’t be in the job description anyways.
You may feel your resume is too long after adding information in all three areas listed above. No problem, just take out some of the experience and/or skills you have that the job description isn’t looking for. Keep all the variations of your resume you create so it will be easier each time to make changes.

Your TNE Recruiter is always more than happy to help you with your resume, especially when we are putting together your marketing package for a specific opportunity. Give us a call if you have any questions and we will be here to help you.

#1 Best Place to Work DBJ 2022

We are so excited and proud to announce that TNE was voted Best Place to Work by Denver Business Journal. Here is what Ryan and Bridget had to say about running an amazing company.

Year founded: 2012

Top local exec: Bridget Haith, owner/CEO Ryan Haith, President

Company website: talentnavigation.com

Location: Castle Pines

Full-time Colorado employees: 12

Have you made any changes since last year that you think might boost your scores? We have adapted to the new world that we all live in, and we have listened to our employees.  We value our employees’ input and we often take polls on different topics to make sure we truly understand everyone’s view.  We have transitioned to a 100% remote company (we voted on this 3 times – it was unanimous each time) but we put a lot of energy into making sure we don’t lose the culture we built while in the office. We still get together as a team on a monthly basis (at a minimum) but, if someone can’t join us in person, we utilize technology to make them feel like they are still there. We have helped build out everyone’s home office and get them all the tools they need to be successful. Working remotely has really allowed our team to be involved in their family and even pets’ lives on a more consistent basis. We know it is important to get out of your house when working remotely, so we have committed to making sure that we send our team to sporting events throughout the year. Last, we have done a really good job of recognizing our team for their exceptional performance and our culture is one that this happens peer-to-peer, not just top-down.

How does your own focus on culture influence or impact the companies and talent you connect? The positive culture we have established carries over into our approach to recruiting and how we partner with our clients.  We aren’t trying to force placements but rather truly trying to partner with our clients and candidates.  It’s the same approach internally at Talent Navigation, if you are treated fairly and you know that your teammate is going to do right by you, then you want to offer that same courtesy outside of our company.  We have had more positive feedback from clients and candidates about our level of customer service and what a positive experience it has been to partner with us than we ever have.  AND our numbers as a company have been the highest they have been in the 10 years we have been in business.

What is your No. 1 piece of advice for companies that want to transform their culture? Be open to change and listen to your employees!

Working from home or the office? We are working remotely from home.

How have you maintained a healthy culture over the past two years? We really try to make the employees feel valued. We make sure that everyone is recognized for their achievements. We also bond as a team outside of work with team bonding events. We are always in communication with each other on group texts or phone calls. We do not rely on emails. This weekend several members of our team are heading to the Rockies game together.

What would you say sets your culture apart from the competition? Our collaboration. We have created a culture where you are not competing against each other but, with each other. We all help each other out and seeing each other succeed is just as fun as the personal win.

What’s been your team’s biggest accomplishment of the past year? The quarter approaching our 10-year anniversary was the biggest quarter in the history of TNE. We are so excited to see where 2022 takes us.

Company culture in three words: Collaborative, teamwork, competitive