Screening for Work Ethic

You can look at a résumé or read a freelancer's reviews, but can you screen for work ethic?

I remember back in the day when I worked at a national healthcare company for almost 17 years. I was managing a communications department. We were always busy, and I was constantly looking for highly efficient producers to come in and relieve my overworked team members. I recall a specific conversation with an executive named Jack. He asked how someone he recommended was doing, and we were talking about what a great relief this new older gentleman had been to the team. And as Jack was walking out of my office, I said, "If only I could find two or three more just like him..."

Jack said, "Well, why can't you?" I said, "Because I don't have a crystal ball and I don't know how to screen for work ethic." Jack walked back in and sat down. We had a conversation about trying to interview everyone with the same set of interview questions and comparing all candidates on an equal playing field. I told him that most of the time, my "trick question" ("Tell me about a time when you work working on a very complex project, and despite your best efforts, something slipped through the cracks. What happened, and what did you do?") pointed to personal accountability, and that was as close as I could get to work ethic--but that didn't always workout in the end.

Jack shared a couple of tips with me, like looking for times the candidate was promoted or rewarded, and ask how much of their college they paid for themselves. Those would surely indicate work ethic was present.

In the end, that did help. But what I always looked and listened for was someone convincing me that they wanted the job and they had skin in the game.

So... How can I convince you that I can be trusted with your company's work and reputation?

Three ways spring to mind:

1. Let you hear/read what other clients have said about me/my work;

2. Tell you my answer to that "trick question" (above) and let you understand my background;

3. Share with you my core belief that this is my business and my reputation, and both of those are on the line each time I do work for a client!

You'll notice that I have added a way for clients to leave reviews on this website (https://www.keyva.co/testimonials). I do not filter out the bad ones and/or only share the good ones. If a client doesn't make their way over to my site to leave a review, I share what they give me permission to share. There hasn't been a single bad review since I started KVA. I'm not saying I'm perfect by any stretch of the imagination; what I am saying is that I strive to meet and when possible exceed my clients' expectations. And you know what? It makes my business grow!

~K~

#workethic #productivity #goaldigger