Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
La Critique believes
in living a life full of
experiences rather thanpossessions, which is why we
designed a concierge servicejust for Vegas locals.
We're all busy, and can any ofus really keep up with all the
changes around town?
And yet, we still crave qualityexperiences when we go out and
spend our valuable time andmoney.
Now, imagine having a personalassistant whose credentials are
(00:23):
quite literally hospitality snoband expert event planner.
Seriously, leave all the detailsto us.
Recommendations Personalized.
Reservations?
Done.
More time enjoying our city andless time researching it?
Absolutely.
Subscribe today atLaCritiqueLV.com or give the
gift of service by purchasing asubscription for your favorite
(00:46):
person.
Welcome to the Vegas StrongRevival Podcast.
Buckle up because we're takingVegas Strong culture to a whole
new level this season.
I'm Britt Whelan, your host,alongside co-host Desiree Wolfe,
event professional and host ofthe Slightly Unfiltered Podcast.
This season, the gloves are offand we're ditching the scripts
for raw, relatable, and evenshocking conversations, tackling
(01:08):
real issues locals face, andbringing in voices from various
industries like fitness,charity, aviation, and more.
Don't forget to follow us onsocial media and visit Loughran
Well, I'm so excited to be herewith you today, Desiree, because
(01:30):
you had a very recent hiringexperience.
Yes.
You got a new job.
I did.
You went through the wholeinterviewing process.
Yes.
And today we're talking aboutbest practices as an employer in
the hiring process and bestpractices if you are a Thank you
so much for joining us.
(02:06):
Cannot get good employees.
I'm struggling because they'renot listening to my training.
I'm struggling because theydon't want to work.
It's all them.
You know, it's the employerpointing at the employee.
It's almost like doing thisweird blame game thing.
Yeah, yeah.
I was just having a conversationwith somebody just yesterday
about jobs and job descriptionsand when people are hired and
(02:31):
the, well, that's not my jobwhole thing that's happening.
And it's just reallyinteresting.
I think you're right.
I think it is an epidemic of thehiring vicious circle, employee
versus applicants versusemployers.
And it's just a hot mess.
Well, just like there is thecustomer experience, right?
CX.
(02:52):
Customer experience is one halfof your business.
Employee experience is anotheraspect of your business.
If you are not promoting thebest practices with your
employees, you're not You're notmaking them feel valued.
You're not making them feelwanted or rewarded or whatever
it is, right?
(03:12):
Like all the things.
If you're not giving youremployees the best experience of
working there, guess what?
Your customers aren't going toget the best experience either.
Right.
Because your employees are yournumber one asset.
It's not the product or serviceyou're selling, okay?
Your employees sell for you.
So if you're not payingattention to this stuff, you're
(03:34):
missing out.
All right.
I think it was the late TonyHsieh who had put out a comment
and said, your first customer isyour employees.
If your employees are not happy,they will not be happy selling
your product.
Yeah.
Period.
And that's so true.
So I think there's a lot ofstigma that comes around hiring
(03:55):
right now.
Oh, here's one.
Here's one.
I'm going to throw Amazon underthe bus right now.
I for sure thought, I don'tknow, that they got an employee
discount when they shopped onAmazon or at the bare minimum
that they would get a primemembership included with their
employment.
Right.
Right.
Like at the bare minimum, ifthey work for the company, why
(04:16):
can't they get two days shippingfor themselves?
Right.
It would entice them to spendmore money with Amazon.
Like, hello, they don't.
That's crazy.
They get every calendar year,every employee will get$100
credit on Amazon.
$100.
$100.
Okay.
A prime membership of less thanthat.
I was going to say.
just give them the primemembership for crying.
(04:38):
Oh my goodness.
Well, let's, let's back it upeven more to the, to before they
even get the job.
What are some of the things thatyou're seeing and hearing from,
let's start on the employerside.
What, what are you hearingemployers say about the hiring
process from the company?
First of all, everybody'sfucking hiring.
(04:58):
Yes.
Okay.
Yes.
Which I just want to put acaveat.
When I hear people say nobody'shiring, I always, I just want to
go, fuck you.
Everybody's hiring.
Every, Everybody's hiring.
Yes.
Like even if they're notadvertising that they're hiring,
they're hiring.
So if you as a resident here inVegas find a company that you're
like, oh, I would love to workfor them.
You need to just reach out tothe HR person or the manager or
(05:20):
the owner or whoever.
Yep.
And you just need to say, look,I love your company.
I love everything about yourcompany.
I love what your company standsfor.
I would rock it in that job.
I would love to give you myresume.
And even if you can't hire meright this moment, please keep
me in mind.
You know, like thoseopportunities are out there in
Vegas right now, especially withthe massive growth of sports.
(05:44):
Okay.
Our town is exploding right now.
This is the prime time to getany job you want as a resident
in Vegas.
So that's first and foremost.
Second, I believe the problemwith hiring currently is that we
lack a lot of leadership here inVegas.
I can't speak outside of Vegas.
So I'm just going to talk aboutVegas guys.
(06:05):
We lack a lot of great leaders.
It's really unfortunate.
I'm not entirely sure how ithappened.
I think it's just kind ofevolution over time when
companies are stressed out.
Our economy was so just in thetoilet for so long after the
2008 recession.
I mean, it took a decade.
And employers got tired.
(06:29):
Owners of businesses got tired.
And they just started hiring.
Whoever was conveniently there,right?
Rather than spending the timeand energy and money to hire the
best person for the job, theyjust promoted from within
because it was the easier routeto do.
I was just going to say, youknow, companies for a long time
(06:50):
used promoting from within as aselling tool when hiring an
employee.
Yeah, it's an incentive.
Right.
Yeah, growth.
But I think it got to the pointof it was just easier to move
people to leadership positionsthat had no experience and
frankly, no business being inleadership positions because
they were already on thepayroll.
(07:11):
You don't have to train somebodyon all the SOPs and the standard
stuff of the company becausethey already know that.
So let's just move them up.
The team already likes them.
They've already been there.
Let's just make them a managerwhen really you should have
brought in somebody with theexperience to lead a team.
And I would say, unfortunately,that's probably the majority of
(07:33):
the time.
Promoting from within is greatif you have somebody who is
either willing to learn or has alittle bit of the experience
that they can bring from theoutside you know the thing is is
that like when you're the ownerof your business okay i think
what's been lost is that trueownership it's okay i own the
business but i hire so and so mymy general manager to actually
(07:57):
do the business because i don'twant to be a part of it well
guess what you still own it andyour success your profit all of
it Your name is on the line asan owner.
And I have seen so many ownerswant to just step back and take
their hands off of all of itbecause they're tapped out.
And I would love to encouragethat if you own a business here
(08:19):
locally in Vegas, that you get alittle bit more hands-on if
you're not currently.
Get more involved.
Understand who your people are.
Understand what motivates them.
Understand how the operationsand the customer experience
could be better.
Understand how you're inemployee experience could be
better because all of it willend up bringing money into your
(08:42):
pocket your reputation willincrease all of the things will
happen organically when you putenergy and time and focus on
these aspects of your business100 so knowing who your
employees are is huge you mighthave somebody that you hired and
in your mind you have a path forthem but they might have a
(09:06):
completely different skill setthat you don't know about simply
because you didn't ask them.
Yeah, so I went, when Iinterviewed at the Bellagio,
this is funny, this is a goodstory.
So I interviewed at the Bellagiofor catering sales.
Yeah, sales, not services.
And the person who interviewedme was the director of that
(09:30):
department.
And one of the questions heasked me was if you could have
any job at the Bellagio, whatjob would you want?
Being just like not reallyknowledgeable about what the job
titles were at the time.
Like, I don't know.
I think I told him I'd want tobe like the director of
weddings.
(09:52):
Oh boy.
And he, I think he kind ofchuckled because he knew that
that wasn't like an actualposition.
That wasn't a thing.
But yeah, that's what I said.
And you know, it's, he knew thatmy, my heart at that time was
passionate about weddings.
I absolutely loved working atthe Bellagio.
They have an incredible internalculture.
(10:12):
Everybody is a guest at theBellagio.
That's great.
And that's not just the peoplewho are paying to be there.
That's the employees too.
Front of house and back ofhouse, if you work at Bellagio,
you are a guest.
It doesn't matter if you're theperson collecting the trash.
It doesn't matter if you're theperson at the poker table
dealing cards.
It does not matter.
(10:33):
You are a guest.
That's great.
Front of house and back out.
And I loved that, you know, andI wish that more local
businesses could embrace thatbecause it's a culture that
really makes everyone feelvalued, you know, and important.
Yeah.
Doesn't, you know, it's notabout your job title.
So let's encourage more of that.
(10:53):
First of all, second of all, inthe hiring process, everybody
wants to come.
If you're an employer, everybodywants to complain.
You can't find good people.
I can't find good people.
Okay.
Well, when did you stop doinginterviews?
When did you stop hiring?
Why aren't you always hiring?
Always hiring.
Yes.
Right now, as already stated, alot of people are hiring, but
(11:13):
some people, the minute theyfind the employee that they want
to hire to fill the one specificjob, then they take all their
posts down.
They don't promote that they'rehiring anymore.
They don't continue theinterview processes because they
found their one person.
Okay.
Well, why?
Why did you stop?
That means that you got to startthe whole process over.
(11:34):
You're not going to build upyour bank of potential employees
when the next person quits, oryou might have a position open.
That's not the one that theyapplied for, but they might be a
better fit.
Yeah.
That's what kills me.
You have all these people whohave shown interest.
They want to work at yourcompany.
Yeah.
Yes.
They applied for a specificposition, but keep looking at
them because there, there mightbe another opportunity that
(11:57):
actually happened with me withstation casinos.
I applied for a position at thesame time they were hiring other
people and they had made anoffer to somebody at the same
time they were interviewing mefor the position.
And the director of cateringsaid, you know, we did just make
an offer, but I think you wouldbe a great fit for the team.
We have another position open.
It's not exactly what you'relooking for, but I think you'd
(12:20):
be a good fit for it.
And I took the job.
See, it happens.
Yeah.
Additionally, a lot of employersare hiring managers.
Their excuse is that they don'thave time to continue doing
interviews, like say every weekor once a month or whatever,
because they're strapped fortime.
Well, hello, do a groupinterview once a month.
Invite all of your applicantsonce a month to come and do a
(12:42):
group interview.
Group interviews are provingmore and more effective anyway,
because when you get a group ofpeople in your space, you
actually see how they interactwith each other.
I was just going to say,especially in the hospitality
industry, that's crucial.
You have to make sure thatyou're bringing people in on
your team that know how to workwith a team.
I heard an activity, kind oflike a icebreaker activity in a
(13:03):
group interview.
It was like a dance competition.
competition.
Everybody would take their 30seconds and the best dancer won.
So the exercise wasn't to seewho was the best dancer because
dancing had nothing to do withthe fucking job.
But it was to see who wascheering on the other people who
are currently dancing.
And those were the people thatmatched the culture of the
(13:25):
company.
There are lots of different waysto hire new employees and to
also save your time, energy, andmoney in the hiring process.
I love that more large companiesare embracing having this
internal culture within thecompany.
I would say not a lot of localbusinesses, medium to small
(13:47):
businesses are actuallyembracing that aspect.
Can you think of any off the topof your head that are?
No, actually, to be honest, I'mtrying to think of what smaller
companies and I don't.
Somebody who worked for stationcasinos, I can tell you they do
it very well.
You are a member of the team.
(14:08):
Like you're saying about theBellagio, you are a guest.
And everybody, back of house,front of house, for station
casinos, is made to feel thatway.
And so I take my experience atsome of the larger properties.
I worked at MGM.
I worked at Planet Hollywood.
And the successful teams havethat internal culture.
And I think the smallerbusinesses can really learn a
(14:32):
lot from that.
And it speaks volumes when youlook at...
organizations like the largerproperties, like the MGMs, the
Bellagios, the Mirage familythat are now looking for other
roles.
They are a family.
Some of the people have workedon property for decades and
there's a reason why.
(14:52):
And it's that internal culture.
Yeah.
That's so crucial that smallerbusinesses need to be looking at
why is this working?
So when I'm in an interview, Ihaven't done an interview in a
very long time, But one of thethings that I always try to seek
out is what is your internalculture like?
How do your current employeestreat each other?
(15:15):
How do employees come tomanagement with problems or
situations that arise?
You know, what's thecommunication line like?
Is there an open door policy?
Is leadership really strong inyour company?
Here's a great one.
All businesses have challenges.
Yes.
We all have problems.
We're all fighting fires, but isyour company fighting fires all
(15:39):
the time or trying to preventthem from happening?
Yes.
Are you guys proactive inproblem solving versus just
putting out constant fires?
Because I'm sorry, life isstressful enough.
I don't want to work somewherewhere I'm constantly putting out
fires that were preventable.
It's exhausting.
And it leads to burnout quickly.
(16:00):
Oh, burnout.
I know.
Do we have our episode onburnout yet?
We have not yet.
And I think we've talked aboutit in almost every other episode
we've recorded so far.
So it's a hot topic in thehospitality industry.
And, you know, we'll do a wholenother episode on it.
But if your company is runningat that constant, putting out
fires and state of emergency,you're going to go through high
(16:23):
turnover.
What are some of your favoritequestions as an applicant to ask
the employer inside of aninterview?
How important is your familytime is actually a question that
I like to ask because you cantell a lot about how a company
is run by how much time that theleadership goes home.
(16:46):
Yeah.
Because I'm no longer at a placein life where I want to be
working 50, 60 hours a week.
And there is a little bit ofthat pressure when I meet with
either a manager or a businessowner, CEO or whatever, and they
don't spend a lot of time withtheir family or friends or away
from work.
That's stresses me out.
(17:06):
The thought of that, because ifyou're constantly working, is
that going to be expected of meas well?
And I've got, you know, I'm asingle mom.
I've got two kids and one ofthem plays hockey for crying out
loud.
So, and it's, it's one of therules that him and I made a
commitment that we made to eachother is I'm going to try and be
at every game that I possiblycan.
It's important to him, whichmeans it's important to me.
(17:27):
So if I'm interviewing and theytell me, you work until 6pm and
you know if you're not going tobe here then that's going to be
a problem well then this is notthe job for me yeah and enter
that interview knowing what yournegotiables are and what your
(17:48):
non-negotiables are if you're aparent and you require some
level of flexibility then thatis a non-negotiable it's a
requirement you don't want towork somewhere where they are
not flexible to specific needsthat might arise in the future.
Just like any time being aparent.
(18:11):
You never know what's going toactually happen.
You don't even have to be aparent.
If you have things in your lifethat are important to you and
you would really start to hateyour job if you couldn't do
these things because your job iseating up all your time, you
might like to go running at fiveo'clock in the morning.
But if your job needs you thereby six, it might be impeding on
(18:32):
the time you enjoy running.
That That's a negotiable for youas an employee looking at these
jobs saying, you know, that'sgreat.
I understand you need me here atsix.
Could I do 630?
Yeah.
Because it's important to youand you will start to resent
your job if you give up thethings that are important to you
for work.
Absolutely.
Don't negotiate on the thingsthat are really, really
(18:55):
important in your life just toget the job because it's not
going to end up being worth itin the end.
Right.
Plus the employer is going tosense every time you come in
late because Because you weredoing the thing that you love in
the morning.
You couldn't get there by thetime that they said that you
needed to be there.
And then there's going to createall this tension.
And then guess what?
Your employment is not going tolast very long.
(19:16):
So yeah, do one way or another.
You're either going to quit orget fired.
Do yourself a favor and do thebusiness a favor.
Okay.
As applicants, you also have tounderstand employers spend time,
energy, and money to go throughthis process with you of
interviewing you and how hiringyou.
Okay.
(19:36):
As Vegas residents, we need tobe respectful of that fact.
We don't want to waste employerstime, energy, and money by a no
showing to an interview.
Okay.
Never fucking no show.
Always give the employer a headsup.
It's so rude, especially at thisday and age.
99% of the people have a phoneattached to their fricking hand.
(20:01):
They have access.
I don't, I don't care if it's atext, an email.
It doesn't have to be a phonecall because if you're like me
phone gives you anxiety but senda text message hey i'm so sorry
something came up not gonna makeit yeah period i mean yes you
know the employer might be upsetbut oh well you if you no show
no call no show yeah okay to aninterview you will never be
(20:22):
hired there right period everit's disrespectful it's rude and
it's unnecessary just send atext call like do something okay
don't no show it is so rude wehave to do better ask As a
community, we cannot be doingthat bullshit.
Don't do it.
There's no reason for it.
Now I feel like I'm lecturing achild on this.
(20:42):
Oh my gosh, I'm a parent now.
Okay, enough on that.
Well, some of them need to hearit.
Well, we didn't learn this stuffin school, right?
That's right.
The other thing, know what youwant in the job that you're
applying for.
If you need to make a certainwage, hourly wage or yearly
salary, know what that number isbefore you go into the interview
(21:04):
If you get to a conversation inthe very first interview about
money, then you're alreadyprepared.
Some interviews are just aone-time interview, depending on
the business, okay?
You might only have one shot.
And if the interview is goinggreat and they love you and they
say, okay, well, I can pay you$19 an hour, but your
(21:25):
requirement to live is$25 anhour, that's a big discrepancy.
They can't afford you, period.
So in that moment, let's talkabout negotiating.
Yeah.
Which I actually just wentthrough in my interview process.
Tell me.
Yeah.
So they, and here's, here's abig part of it, um, to go along
with that is do your research,ask around what other people in
(21:49):
similar positions are making usewebsites like glass door, um,
and research what wages are inthe area for that position.
It gives you a slider of howmuch experience you have and
what you can bring to the table.
I mean, just do your researchand know what you're worth and
be reasonable about it.
Realistic, realistic,reasonable, and don't approach
(22:11):
it as, you know, don't you knowwho I am?
I don't agree with that, butknow what your reasonable worth
is.
And for me, I got the offer andI replied to them that it was
very close to what I was lookingfor.
And here's three bullet pointson why it should be X, Y, Z
(22:31):
more.
And they replied with, we canmeet you in the middle I said
great because their middle wasactually my goal good no because
I asked for a little bit moreknowing that they would come
back with another number so thatthe number that they came back
with was actually what I wasreally wanting or yeah yeah and
and I've gone through similarconversations where I've said
(22:54):
you know that's a little bitlower I'd be taking a pay cut
and they came back and saidunfortunately that's the best we
can do and I said thank you butno thank you you have to stand
strong in in confidence in yourposition of what you are a worth
and what you need to live.
No job is worth strugglingunless you're like young and
interning and you're just tryingto get the experience to build
(23:16):
up your resume.
That's worth struggling for.
I struggled to get to where Iam.
Guys, I got paid$10 a fuckinghour to work my ass off at this
DMC when I was in college.
And before they even hired me, Idid 200 hours of free interning.
200.
100 hours.
Yeah.
You definitely have to do yourdue diligence and serve your
(23:39):
time to be able to get theexperience.
Yeah.
If you are searching foremployment, think about some of
your personal goals.
Long-term, not just short-term.
You know, short-term, yeah, youmight need a job because you got
to feed your dog.
Organic food.
Yeah.
But think about long-term, likewhere do you actually want to
(24:00):
be?
And is the interview that youjust accepted over...
at this company going to at somepoint help you?
Is it truly a stepping stone oris it a space filler?
Okay, so in your interview.
Yes.
Tell me if the company had anywow factors in the interview
(24:20):
process with you.
Specifically for this interview,the wow factor for me was
when...
Because I interviewed withthe...
He's the owner, the founderslash CEO.
Because I have a sales position.
He made a comment about howthey're looking...
something about marketing and Igo, oh, marketing is actually a
passion of mine.
I've done a lot of my owneducating.
(24:40):
I've taken courses.
I've studied with marketers formany years.
I, you know, I did emailmarketing on the side for five
years and he goes, oh my gosh,that's so great.
I would love your input as wecontinue to grow the marketing
team as well.
So it was that conversation ofhere's something she's
passionate about.
It technically has nothing to dowith her specific job duties,
(25:03):
but I want her expertise youknow and it really just value
add yeah it really just spoke tome that he was willing to say we
want your input on that and youknow what he said to me too is I
don't have a lot of experiencein that so I would love somebody
that I can bring on board thatcould help guide me and I
thought CEO of a company openingtheir second location obviously
(25:27):
a super smart guy just admittedto me in the interview that
there's something he doesn'tknow and he looking to hire
people that know more than hedoes on the topic.
Was it an in-person interview?
The first one, yes.
Okay.
And the second one was?
The second one was via Zoom.
Okay.
Yeah.
So your very first in-personinterview.
Yeah.
Here's the example I'm going tothrow out there of a story I
(25:50):
heard that one company in thecountry is crushing.
For every interviewee that comeson their property, they reserve
a parking spot in the very frontof the parking lot, like right
by the front doors.
Yeah.
And they put their name on it.
No.
Okay.
Welcome.
Welcome, Desiree Wolf.
Yeah.
And then at the front desk, whenthey are greeted with the
(26:12):
receptionist, the receptionistis like, oh, hi, Desiree.
Welcome.
We're so glad that you're here.
Your interview is with so-and-sotoday.
And let me take you to theconference room.
Here's a bottle of water.
That's fabulous.
That's fabulous.
That, that right there is alevel of customer service.
(26:33):
Yes.
that is not currently happening.
Yes.
In that example, they aretreating their interviewees as
guests.
They are VIPs.
100%.
What?
Yeah.
You haven't even hired thisperson, but you're interviewing
them and you put their name ontheir parking spot.
And frankly, how much resourcedid that take?
(26:55):
Five minutes of time?
Right.
A piece of paper instead of ink?
I mean, hello?
Yep.
You're not spending thousands ofdollars wooing somebody into
them to dinner, you're puttingtheir name on a piece of paper
on a parking spot and usingtheir first name when they walk
in.
And a smile and a greeting andhere's a bottle of water.
Like.
Yeah.
It costs you one sheet of paperand some ink.
Yeah.
A bottle of water and theemployee you already pay to do
(27:18):
the job.
Right.
That level of treating everybodywho walks through your door as a
guest.
Yes.
Is lacking in Vegas.
I agree.
We have to step it up.
Period.
And I think when I asked you,was there any wow factor I think
that's the story that came to mymind.
When you went and interviewed atthis company, was there any wow
(27:40):
factor that made you feelvalued, important, wowed?
Yeah.
And this is actually a simpleone.
When he introduced himself, hetook his phone out of his pocket
and put it on silent.
And I know that sounds sosimple, but what it said to me
was that his time with me wasjust as important as any message
(28:01):
that was going to come throughwhile we were standing there
talking.
And that I was like, I don'tknow how I feel about that.
See, no, no, no, no, no.
You know, you want to know why?
Why?
Because there is a psychologicalexperience that happens when you
are with another person.
Even if I was just here with youon this podcast.
Yeah.
And I'm just holding my phoneand I'm not looking at it and
(28:23):
it's not on, but you don't knowit's not on, but I'm holding it.
Right.
What does that tell you?
That your mind is on your phoneas well.
Half, at least half of my energyis going to whatever is in my
hand.
Well, he put his phone away.
But he pulled it out to beginwith.
It should have never been shown.
It should have been off beforeyou walked in the room.
(28:44):
It should have never been evenpulled out of his pocket.
That's for me being prepared.
I can see that.
Because that psychologicalthought of I didn't think to do
this before you walked in theroom.
Now I have to do it while you'restanding in front of me?
What?
Well, and here's me playingplaying devil's advocate how
(29:05):
many people don't show up tointerviews and he got his phone
on silent waiting for them toshow up why would his number be
no I'm saying you know you takeyour phone out before somebody's
supposed to get there and youput it on silent and they don't
show up and now your phone's onsilent and you forgot I'm just
saying I'm just I to me it was anice touch because even though
(29:27):
he did it in front of me itstill felt like the next few
minutes were focused instead ofhis being interrupted.
He took the opportunity of beinginterrupted away.
If you're in an interview andthe employer has their phone out
and they're looking at it orwhatever, and they're distracted
(29:47):
by it, I'm going to say don'twork there.
Yeah, I agree.
Because if that's their firstimpression with you as their
boss, that will continue.
You will never be the priorityif you aren't even the priority
for a 20 minute interview.
I agree with up.
There are so many creative ideason how to just treat people who
come through your door as aguest.
(30:10):
Do you have any off the top ofyour head?
I think the welcome, introducingthem to other people of the
team, that has gone away.
And I do like to meet the peoplethat I might potentially be
working with.
I'm not talking to that.
I don't have to sit down andhave an interview with them, but
to be introduced.
On a first interview though,we're only talking about first
interviews.
(30:31):
Yeah, actually.
Yes.
Yes.
because I'm a first impressiontype person and I don't want to
waste my time if I'm seeingsomebody on the team, if I'm
introduced to somebody who isrude or sloppy or I don't know,
just somebody that I get badvibes from.
If it's somebody that I'm goingto have to work with on a
regular basis, yeah, I'm okaywith meeting them on the first
(30:51):
interview.
Plus, I like to move kind ofquickly in the interview
process.
Please don't drag it out, whichthat's a whole other topic we
can talk about.
I know.
I think I had three separateinterviews with Bellagio.
Yeah.
And on the third one, I got theact That's something too.
Can we segue into that?
The lengthy applicant processthat these companies are putting
(31:14):
potential employees through hasgotten out of control.
At the time when I was beinghired by Bellagio or any of the
other resorts, three interviewswas really standard in the
industry.
Well, three interviews is great.
What was the timeframe of thoseinterviews?
I believe three weeks.
One each week?
Yeah.
(31:35):
I'm talking about I'm hearingfrom people that their interview
processes are taking months.
Oh, hell no.
And I think that's disgusting.
And I've had that experiencetoo.
I've interviewed with companiesand I think this happens
probably a little bit more.
I would say just because it's myexperience of tech industry can
have a really lengthy interviewprocess.
(31:55):
But I'm hearing from peoplelocally too who are interviewing
with physical locations and theydon't hear back for months.
and then suddenly it's, oh,well, can you start tomorrow?
I would laugh.
I'd giggle and I'd say, that'scute.
Yeah.
Yeah, no.
Guys, if you're hiring andyou're hiring seriously, be
(32:18):
transparent.
Don't drag it out.
If you really like somebody, butthey do have some competition
because you're actually thinkingabout hiring somebody else
instead, you know what?
Be honest about it.
Say, look, surprisingly, we gota really good batch of
applicants for you.
for this job.
And it's just taking us a littlebit longer because we're having
to do repeat interviews.
(32:39):
Second, third, and fourthinterviews are happening because
it's just this position gotreally competitive.
It's not that we're blowing youoff.
We are actually interested inyou.
We're just not certain who we'regoing to pick.
There's a lot of that honesty.
There's a lot of wait whenyou're transparent hiring
applicants.
I would be more apt to be like,oh, okay, I can wait a little
bit longer instead of feelinglike I got ghosted and then
(33:02):
suddenly hear from them.
Oh, this.
So just as frustrated as I wasabout applicants, no showing, I
get equally as frustrated withemployers who interview people
and don't follow up.
Yes.
If you're an employer and youinterview somebody, you damn
well better give them an answer.
Yes or no.
Yes.
(33:23):
And you better give it to themin a timely manner because that
shows integrity on your part andcommitment to your level of
employee experience yeah if youinterview 20 people in a week
you find the one that you wantto actually hire send the
message to the other 19 yesplease give them a no please
(33:46):
stop ghosting your intervieweesdon't do that it's so rude I
interviewed with a company andthree months went by and I
finally got the oh thanks but nothanks I'm like I didn't even
remember interviewing with themto be honest I was like I had an
interview I was like oh Oh, Idid have an interview with them.
Oh my God.
(34:07):
Like I can't even, I was like,this is ridiculous.
Three months until I got thethanks, but no thanks, but no
thanks.
I've already moved on.
Oh, oh my gosh.
And you know what?
You employers want to blame iton you.
You ran out of time or you'reforgot or this or that.
I'm calling bullshit.
Yeah.
You're just a chicken.
Oh, now I'm not even being niceabout it.
You're a chicken and you don'twant to tell somebody no.
(34:29):
Or you're so disorganized thatyou didn't remember or you
didn't take the time to do it,which I call bullshit on because
every applicant software outthere has a feature where you
can send thank you, but no thankyou emails.
Exactly.
Like you don't even have to handwrite it.
It'll do it for you.
(34:50):
Yeah.
And it'll send it.
Yeah.
You just click a button.
That's all you have to do.
And you're waiting three andfour months to send these.
To me, it just says that you'redisorganized and you don't have
your shit together.
You're probably did me a favorby not hiring me anyways exactly
and if you're not delegatingsome of these tasks because
you're you're too busy or xyzyou're not performing to the
(35:12):
level that your role requiresmaybe you shouldn't be the
hiring manager you can't dothese things if you can't do
them to the level that they needto be done yeah you shouldn't be
in that position maybe yourfirst hire should be hiring
somebody who can handle thehiring for you especially with
these smaller companies youmight have to spend a little bit
more work with a recruit agencyif you don't have the bandwidth
(35:35):
to be able to handle the hiringprocess for your own company.
There's no excuse on why youshould be treating applicants.
And it's not rocket science,right?
It's not rocket science.
As far as interviews go, you'vebeen in a lot of them, I
understand.
You're like a serialinterviewer.
I have a friend who says Ishould write a book about the
(35:56):
interviews that I've gone on.
So yes, I went through a phasein my life where I think I
enjoyed the interview process.
I'm one of those people that I'malways keeping my options open.
And I struggled a long time withwhat did I want to be when I
grow up.
So I went on a lot of interviewsto weed out, well, I don't want
to do that.
(36:16):
But yes, I do have a lot ofstories about interviewing.
Tell me your favorite story.
What's your worst interview?
My worst is my favorite.
Yeah.
Okay.
So you're ready for this.
Yeah.
So I, for a long time, I wantedto go into weddings.
So ironically, just like you.
And I had the opportunity tointerview at a independently
owned wedding chapel right offthe strip.
(36:39):
I will not say the name of itbecause it's still in business
and she's actually veryprominent in the wedding
industry.
You can tell me off air.
I don't even know that Iremember it.
I think it's changed names a fewtimes anyways.
Whatever.
So, okay.
So I get to the interview.
I'm, you know, 10 minutes early,like you're supposed to.
I am greeted by the gal at thefront desk.
She offers me water, shows me,you know, kind of the front area
(37:01):
and has me sit down with that.
Okay, great.
I'm sitting there and I'mwaiting and she comes from out
of the back room and she goes,oh, I'm so sorry.
You know, so-and-so is runningjust a few minutes late.
She's on her way.
I thought, okay, no problem.
I can be graceful.
30 minutes goes by and I'mthinking, okay, well, I took
time off of work.
I'm on PTO today to do this.
(37:22):
So I have the rest of theafternoon technically.
So I can wait a little bitlonger.
45 minutes goes by.
Then I said to the gal at thedesk, I said, do you know how
much longer it's going to be?
And she's like, I'm so sorry.
She was very, she wasembarrassed.
You can tell that that she feltbad.
Then finally the owner's sonslash photographer comes in and
he's all worked up and he'slike, my mom's always fucking
(37:45):
late for everything.
And this is my first impressionof management, right?
So, but with this, now I'minvested.
Oh gosh.
Now I have to carry through thisinterview process regardless of
what the outcome is.
Oh my God.
Because I have the wholeafternoon now.
And now I'm going to add this tomy repertoire of crazy ass
(38:06):
interviews.
It gets better, right?
So finally the owner comes inand she gives me a whole tour
and she says, all right, comeback to my office.
And we go out the front door andaround the back to this weird
little kitchenette.
It almost looked like it was acasita.
It had a kitchenette and alittle living room area that she
had her desk in.
And she sits me down and she'sgoing on and on and on about how
(38:28):
long she's been in Las Vegas andhow long the wedding chapel's
been open and how great she is.
And then her son comes in andwalks right in, right in.
And he was older, probablymid-30s.
So we're not talking a youngkid, right?
Somebody who should know betterat this point.
And he comes in and he's talkingto her about photos.
(38:48):
And she looks at me and she'slike, one minute, let me deal
with this asshole.
No.
Yeah.
They start getting into anargument right in front of me.
Like I'm watching a mother-sonargument about the turnaround
time that he's taking to getthese photos done and she's just
(39:08):
going to hire somebody else andshe doesn't know why he works
here.
And right next to her desk was atall, fake plant.
She looks right at him and goes,I thought I told you to get this
fucking plant out of here.
Britt, I'm not shitting you.
She picks up the plant, chucksit across the room into the
(39:30):
kitchen and says, you lazy ass,don't get anything done that I
asked you to.
And I'm now frozen in my chairbecause I feel like I should get
up and leave at this point.
But we're in the middle of aninterview.
Holy shit.
Yeah.
And so I've now sat in thisplace of business for close to
(39:52):
two hours from the time I walkedin and she just doesn't stop
talking about herself the entiretime.
And so finally she asks me, sowhen can you start?
No.
And I go, well, can we talkabout the pay?
And she's like, oh, you know,it's blah, blah, blah.
And it was something like$10 anhour, but you're going to make a
(40:14):
lot of money in commissionbecause we're so busy.
We're so busy all the time.
And I was like, okay, well, doyou, do you mind if I think
about it?
And she's like, well, yeah, butI have to hire it pretty
quickly.
So I'll call you tomorrow andyou can give me your answer.
Okay, great.
And I walked out and sat in mycar laughing I thought to myself
(40:35):
nobody's gonna believe this justhappened I don't believe it
happened it was crazy and shenever even called me like I
don't even know that sheremembered that we had an
interview like I don't know thatshe even knew my name she was so
distracted by being pissed offand arguing with her son the
entire time I don't know thatshe even asked my name while we
(40:57):
were sitting there I don't thinkshe ever asked about my
background how long ago is thisapproximately Oh, I would say 17
years ago.
It was a while ago.
Okay.
Still my favorite interviewstory.
Unacceptable.
Yes.
Un-fucking-acceptable.
It was an incredible experience.
Something I have never, everexperienced anything like that
(41:20):
in my entire life for a jobinterview.
I understand family businesses,but any family business has a
level of drama.
Absolutely.
And it's prevalent here inVegas.
We have a lot of family runbusinesses.
But if you allow your familydrama to be witnessed by any
(41:40):
guest, that means employees andcustomers.
Yep.
If they can hear it, if they cansee it, if they witness it in
any regard, you are failing.
Yes.
You are not going to get theright hires.
You are not going to get theright guests walking through
your door.
Right.
Like that makes anybodyuncomfortable.
(42:01):
100%.
Holy shit.
Like know what areas inside ofyour business you can have tough
conversations in.
Be the leader.
If you overhear drama, if youoverheard it, guess who else
overheard it?
Your customers.
Your customers, your guests.
Yes.
And it is, let me promise you,it makes them uncomfortable.
(42:22):
Yes.
If you're making your customersuncomfortable, are they going to
want to come back or are theygoing to question coming back at
the very least?
And I will tell you this,applicants, are customers
because they have shown aninterest in your business
whether you hire them to workthere or not they will remember
their experience and they willshare it with people well you
(42:44):
just did I just did rightexactly and that happened 17
years ago and I still talk aboutit it's still the most
incredible interview experienceI've ever had oh yeah I can't
even imagine I I would have leftthough.
I mean, at this point I feltlike I became like I was
(43:06):
watching a reality show.
I had to see how it ended.
Okay.
Okay.
But seriously though.
Okay.
In all reality, if you appliedfor the job and you, you weren't
late, right?
You were on time or you wereearly.
Yep.
And your interviewer is late.
How much time do you give them?
I usually have for any, foranything in life, I usually have
(43:26):
a 15 minute window.
I was going to say 15 minutes.
Because 15 minutes feels like tome, if you're running late and
you're more than 15 minutes.
At this point, you've justdisrespected somebody else's
time and your own time.
I feel like 15 minutes, therewas a car accident, there was
some traffic.
I can forget 15 minutes.
Anything beyond 15 minutes isnow you're just being rude.
(43:48):
And that goes for both sides.
Both sides.
Applicants, employers, if you'remore than 15 minutes late, think
about it.
Restaurant reservations, medicalbuildings, they do give you a 15
minute window from your 15minutes from your appointment
time.
If you are more than 15 minuteslate to your doctor's
appointment, they rescheduleyour ass.
(44:10):
They don't let you in.
If I'm interviewing for a job,if they are more than 15 minutes
late, value yourself.
Value your time enough to knowthat if this is their first
impression, you don't want towork there.
Period.
They don't deserve you.
I feel like we are having a verylong, fun episode.
We are.
Almost an hour.
(44:31):
Yes.
Where Where did the time go?
Wow.
It's obviously something we areboth very passionate about
talking about.
I love this.
I love being able to help smallbusinesses, medium-sized,
whatever-sized business locallyhere in Vegas and have these
tough conversations with thebusinesses and with the people
interested in those businesses.
I hope that everybody todayfound some value in this
(44:53):
conversation.
If you have input, if you haveideas, you want to engage more
and tell us something that wedidn't have time to talk about,
oh my gosh, please reach out.
That's what this is all about.
This is our opinions.
And without naming names, I'dlove to hear other people's
experiences, good or bad, thatthey've had with interviewing.
Just because I think it's sointeresting.
(45:15):
I really do think this is aninteresting topic that we need
to continue to talk about as theeconomy and the growth of Vegas
continues.
I think we're going to continueto see shifts happening in the
hiring process.
And it's a conversation we needto keep having.
For any employers here in Andthat's a wrap on this episode of
(45:52):
La Critique LV.
of the Vegas Strong Revivalpodcast.
I hope you found our discussionengaging and even
thought-provoking.
A big shout-out to all of ouramazing listeners for tuning in
and supporting the show becauseit truly means the world to us,
(46:13):
so thank you.
Let's keep the Vegas Strongspirit alive.
Share this podcast with yourfriends, family, colleagues, and
just anyone who loves Vegas.
If you have ideas, suggestions,or want to be a guest on the
show, simply reach out online orfeel free to text us on our
super cool podcast hotline,702-723- 2343 and of course
(46:34):
don't forget to subscribe to theshow on your favorite podcast
platform so you never miss anepisode let's keep pushing the
boundaries and reviving ourcity's passion for authentic
service together stay strongvegas