Meet the Felons!

Another job fair yesterday; 22 new hires! However, a large amount of
"Have you ever been convicted of a crime?" I guess I'm a soft touch.
I wanted to give these guys a chance. They seemed like nice young
men, really working to get their life together. I spent extra time
with them in our interviews and wished them luck.

One of the things I've found myself looking for in our interviews is
the ability to tell a story. "Tell me about a time you gave excellent
customer service." Or even, "Tell me a story about a time..." It's an
advanced communication skill and I'd say less than half the people I
asked were able to do so on command. I only had a couple who could go
even farther and "act out" parts of their story. It's not a
requirement but it is interesting to see how they handle the question.

Stories enchant. It now occurs to me that part of our interviews were
my chance to tell some stories, about my history at Borders, about
the new store, about what it's like to work with our customers...
I'll have to think about what stories I want to use during out
"induction."

I also ask them to tell me about a favorite book. I want to hear them
talk with some passion (and clarity). Many people can't think of a
book to talk about.
"Do you like to read?"
"Yes!"
"Tell me about a good book you've read in the past year."

1) "I haven't read anything in the past year."
2) "I don't remember."
3) "What's that book...? Da Vinci Code...?"

That's almost as bad as, "Why Borders?"
"I really need a job."