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Most hiring managers recognize the telltale signs of a rehearsed answer: polished, perfect and typically devoid of genuine insight. Lorraine K. Lee, a career expert and author of the forthcoming book “Unforgettable Presence: Get Seen, Gain Influence, and Catapult Your Career,” notes that most interview questions are wholly predictable — and with the most obvious questions come largely pat answers. “Candidates may give answers that sound good but don’t necessarily reveal how they think, adapt or solve problems,” she said. Once, when Lee was hiring for a position that attracted more than 1,000 applicants, she relied on behavior-based questions to differentiate between them, to positive effect. For example: “Can you tell me about the last time you received constructive feedback and how you acted on it?” “Tell me about a time a project did not go as planned — how did you respond?” The interview, Lee said, “was the time to go beyond responsibilities and accomplishments to understand how we would work together.”

In the high-stakes business of talent recruitment, the questions employers ask candidates may well make or break their hiring success. And if they still rely on the most obvious questions for which prospects have carefully rehearsed answers, they’re likely missing out on the most valuable insights, according to workplace experts. We explore this and more in this week's edition of the newsletter.

According to the survey, fewer than 25% of some 800 respondents said they’d stayed at a job because of a work friend, while more than half actively avoid forming connections at work, preferring to keep a wall between their professional and personal lives. “If I build trust and make a friend, great, but that’s not my primary objective,” confessed one Glassdoor user, echoing the sentiment of many others who clock in, do a day’s work, then head home — no friendship bracelets exchanged in the process.

Remember when everybody in the office was simply a manager, salesperson, vp or assistant? Those days are fading fast as companies embrace job titles with a creative twist. And what’s driving that shift is more than just wordplay. According to Mark Baldwin, CEO of Baldwin Digital Ltd, a digital marketing and design firm based out of Ireland, the trend represents a strategic approach to both branding and talent acquisition. “Creative job titles serve multiple purposes beyond just sounding different,” he said. “They can communicate company values, attract attention in crowded job markets and even boost employee satisfaction.”

In today’s workplace, a sinister trend is undermining team cohesion and organizational trust: blame shifting. A new study exposes a striking paradox HR professionals may want to take note of: While nearly two-thirds of employees tell of being thrown under the bus by their colleagues, most people deny ever engaging in such behavior themselves. Resume Now’s report “Dirty Moves in the Workplace” pulls back the curtain on this phenomenon, painting a troubling picture of workplace dynamics as business leaders aim to foster a healthy culture. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eKNHkake

For a workforce returning to the office and a sense of normalcy, teamwork has never beenso vital — and fresh research uncovers precisely which habits separate high-performing teams from those struggling to reach their potential. A comprehensive study by U.K.-based workplace research and consultancy firm Strengthscope® analyzed data from more than 1,500 team members across global businesses, revealing both the best and worst habits impacting performance. It found that while teams excel at building trust, with members freely sharing ideas and supporting one another, they simultaneously struggle with providing constructive feedback and maintaining accountability. In this piece by Tony Case, we speak to Paul Brewerton and Shanna Milford (She/Her/Hers).

While some employers are launching bold mandates requiring workers to ditch remote work, some are still looking at how they can sweeten the deal and make the trade-off worth it. Cameo, a celebrity video platform, recently announced it was offering $10,000 raises to staff in the Chicago-area, where it’s headquartered, who come to work out of its office four days a week. Cameo has about 50 staff, with about half residing in the Chicago area, and the rest scattered across the U.S. and the globe. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dnKYTptV

Boston agency Boathouse’s fourth installment of its CEO study took more time to understand the CEO’s position as it relates to leadership as well as marketing. One troubling insight in this era of drastic transformation brought on by the after-effects of the pandemic as well as the onslaught of AI: 87% of CEOs say they have yet to fully realize their transformation strategy — in fact, averaged out they’re only about halfway there. And while growth and profitability dominate their priorities, there’s a void created by a disconnect between financial performance initiatives and organizational health issues. CEOs tend to blame external forces — specifically economic conditions, competitive pressures, and financial market dynamics — as the primary obstacles to strategic execution. In this piece by Michael Burgi, we speak to John Connors, and Sharon Cantor Ceurvorst of Gartner.

As more companies make changes to diversity, equity and inclusion programming and other organizational priorities amid political shifts, many are maintaining and continuing to expand some of their inclusive benefits – like fertility care. Nearly 70% of employers are planning to expand family health benefits, which include fertility care, in the next two to three years – a 44% increase year over year, according to a report from Maven, an employer- sponsored fertility care provider, including responses from a survey conducted among over 1,500 respondents in the HR and benefits space. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eb5JFTS6

In a job interview, asking a candidate questions like “Where do you see yourself in five years?” is so over. How about putting this to a prospective hire instead: “How would you explain your job a five-year-old?” “What have you learned about yourself from a dream?” “If you had your own billboard, what would it say?” “Which are you, Batman or Robin?” In the high-stakes business of talent recruitment, the questions employers ask candidates may well make or break their hiring success. And if they still rely on the most obvious questions for which prospects have carefully rehearsed answers, they’re likely missing out on the most valuable insights, according to workplace experts. 📰 Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/eYydYnmG In this piece by Tony Case, we speak to David Garcia of ScoutLogic Background Screening, Lorraine K. Lee, Wendy Makinson of Joloda Hydraroll, Julia Y. of Keller Executive Search, Richard Birke, and Seb Morgan.