YOU CAN JUST TELL
As I arrived at my local grocery store, I noticed a “We’re Hiring” sign posted at the front door. This is not unusual these days: the unusual thing was what was next:
“Hiring interviews on site. You could be hired in an hour!”
I found this intriguing, but since I was not looking for employment, I went ahead with my shopping.
A bit later, while checking out, I noticed a table in front with forms on it and a woman seated behind. I overheard her tell a colleague “I just hired 11 people.”
I couldn’t resist asking, “Wow, tell me. How did you decide on those 11? What was the winning factor ? A confident smile?” I was partly joking.
“Oh, yes, well, that’s part of it,” she said immediately. “It’s personality. You can just tell.”
I asked, “How can you just tell?” She then explained that she could sense an applicant’s energy and confidence and that made a difference for any type of grocery job – from bagging to stocking to cleaning the floor. “Most of the time, she said, “it doesn’t matter if they have experience.” “It’s how they present themselves.” (And again she said)”You can just tell.”
Hmmm. I asked if she did a lot of interviewing, and then she revealed that she was the hiring manager for several stores. So, yes, she did A LOT of interviewing!
I am a communication coach and instructor, and In my classes we discuss nonverbal communication: smiling, eye contact, body posture and more. But we don’t often get a chance to prove how they make a difference. Theory says yes, but here in my grocery store was a living testimony. Energized nonverbal presence gets jobs!
Since that day I’ve shopped at my store several times. The hiring table in front is gone. But as I observe the various stockers and deli clerks and clerks in the store I can’t help but wonder what they did or said that passed the hiring manager’s criteria: “You can just tell.”
