Training I want to attend

Peter D. Leffkowitz

CEO

Since 1986, Peter Leffkowitz has trained 60,000 recruiters worldwide and has been invited in-house, to evaluate, gut and reposition 700+ search firms, into what many consider to be the Who’s Who of the staffing industry. In addition to leading Morgan 20/20 Search, he is the Founder and CEO of the Morgan Consulting Group (www.morgancg.com), the most respected international training firm to the world of high performance contingent and contract consulting firms, having mentored some of the highest billing producers in the executive search industry.
In 1986, after 5 years of record breaking performance at one of the largest Midwestern search firms, Peter developed Morgan Methodology. He realized that techniques in the placement industry were primarily based on “pitching people jobs”, rather than gathering honest candidate opinions and career wish lists, prior to exposing them to an opportunity. It was “bait and switch”, rather than listen and fulfill. He did the same thing on the client side, developing empathy for the long term goals of a department head, then bringing them the human tools necessary to reach their personal managerial goals inside their firms. It was all about “healing” personal career and corporate wounds. Blending this with his reputation of brutal honesty and acute people reading skills, he magnetized a group of clients, now 2,700 staffing firms, strong.
He is the first and only consultant to the industry that has established a training campus designed for corporate and 3rd party recruiters and their management. Tall Pony Ranch, on the outskirts of Kansas City, hosts a 75 acre executive retreat visited by an average of 1500 Talent Acquisition specialists per year. For 3 days, they are trapped in log cabins buried in an oak forest and don’t come out until they are meaningful recruiters. From that point on, their success depends on their companies’ managerial follow through.
Now, at 54, Peter has decided to return to the front lines of search and has let the industry know of his intentions. Some of the strongest players in the industry have come out to become a part of his legacy team. He has chosen his partners in Jennifer Spicher and Phillip Guillen to launch Morgan 20/20 and support them in the building of a totally unique offering of advanced skills to our clients.
Peter is one of the most sought after speakers for corporate Talent Acquisition teams in North America and Japan and offers his training services to the search clients of Morgan 20/20, as a compliment to their trust in Morgan 20/20’s search services. He has the ability to razor sharpen the interviewing edge and non e-boarding sourcing skills of a corporate recruiting team, allowing them to skillfully compete with the 3rd party world.
Peter and his wife, Cindy, parents of 3 sons and a daughter, live in Kansas City, Missouri, on their 75 acre Tall Pony Ranch. Peter has had a lifelong commitment to training and selling, gaited, mountain trail horses and enjoys working his ranch with teams of draft horses.

10 Questions to ask (From Monster.com)

Own the Interview: 10 Questions to Ask

By Larry Buhl, for Yahoo! HotJobs
For many job seekers an interview can seem too much like an inquisition. That's usually because they're doing all the answering and none of the asking.
"Somewhere in the interview you have a chance to impress the employer on your own terms and see if the job is a good fit for you," says Florida-based career coach and executive recruiter Jonathan Milligan. "And you absolutely should take this opportunity. By asking the right questions you can determine if the job is right for you and also show you're engaged and interested in the job."
Employment experts identify five key question areas where you can gain insight, put yourself in a good light and take some control in the interview.
Identify Their Pain:

• "What is one of the biggest problems the company faces that someone with my background could help alleviate?"
• "If I started in this job tomorrow, what would be my two most pressing priorities?"

Find Out Where the Company Is Going:

• "Where do you see this department/company in five years?"
• "What are the long- and short-term goals of the company/department/work group?"

Determine Whether You'd Fit In:

• "How would you describe your company's culture?
• "What tangible and intangible qualities attracted you to the organization?"

Show You're Really Interested:

• "What additional information can I provide about my qualifications?"
• "What are the next steps in the selection process?"

Ask Follow-Ups:

• "Can you clarify what you said about...?"
• "Can you give me some examples of...?"

"By requesting clarification or examples, you show interviewers you care and that you're thinking deeply about the issues they brought up," says learning and development consultant Bill Denyer. He suggests taking notes in the interview, using keywords to jog your memory of what was discussed but not burying your head in your notebook.
What you don't want to ask are questions with obvious answers, according to Susan RoAne, author of Face to Face: How to Reclaim the Personal Touch in a Digital World.
"You really need to do your homework," RoAne says. "Before the interview, go to the company Web site and use search engines to get up to speed, and browse social networking sites to see who knows what about the company."
And never, never ask an interviewer, "How long is the vacation?" or "What does your company do?'" RoAne added.
Some experts suggest waiting for the inevitable "Do you have any questions for us?" at the interview, while others recommend looking for conversation openings to ask appropriate questions.
"It depends on the situation," Milligan says. "If the interviewer seems to be reading from a sheet of questions, don't interrupt. If it's a more casual conversation, you may have chances to turn the questions back on the interviewer."
RoAne advises job seekers to remember "the job interview is a two-way street."

Body Language During Interview

 

It is important what you have to say during job interview, but it is also imperative to be conscious about your nonverbal communication- your body language.  

Here is a great article reminding us about the proper body language during the interview. 

From Monster.com. 

 

Body Language Can Make or Break a Job Interview

Are You Looking for a Job? You Have to Use Your Body

By Robert Ordona, for Yahoo! HotJobs
Savvy job seekers know how important choosing the right words is when communicating with prospective employers. But what about nonverbal communication?
"You could be saying how great you are, but your body could be giving your true feelings away," says Alison Craig, image consultant and author of Hello Job! How to Psych Up, Suit Up, & Show Up. Mark Bowden, author of Winning Body Language, agrees with Craig -- and with the highly regarded Mehrabian communication study, which found that if what's coming out of your mouth doesn't match what your body is saying, your audience is more likely to believe your body.
Here's some expert advice on how to effectively let your body do the talking in a job interview:

Making a Great Entrance
Craig and Bowden agree that the interview starts even before you get to the interview room."You don't know who could be in the parking lot with you, looking at you from a window or standing next to you in the elevator," says Craig. "Your body should tell anyone who might be watching that you're confident and calm. It's not the time to be frantically searching through your portfolio for printouts of your resume."
Show Your Good Side
Hiring managers often ask receptionists for their take on people who come to the office for interviews, so Bowden suggests letting them observe you without letting on that you know they're watching. "Sit with your profile to them," he says. "It makes them feel comfortable, and if they're comfortable, they're more likely to form a good impression."
Craig suggests trying to predict the direction your interviewer will come from, so you can sit facing that direction. It'll make the greeting more graceful.
First Impressions
While waiting, don't hunch your shoulders or tuck your chin into your chest, which will make you seem closed off. Sit with your back straight and your chest open -- signs that you're confident and assertive. "But don't take this to the extreme," cautions Bowen. "Elongating your legs or throwing your arm across the back of the chair can make you appear too comfortable, even arrogant."
Also, says Craig, don't have so much stuff on your lap that you're clumsily moving everything aside when you're called. You want to rise gracefully, without dropping things, so you can smoothly greet the person coming to get you.
Shake It -- Don't Break It
Job interviews mean handshakes -- so what are the secrets to the perfect handshake? The overly aggressive shake, or "death grip," as Craig calls it, can be as off-putting as the limp handshake, so practice with a friend before the interview to find the right balance.
You're going to be shaking with your right hand, so prepare by arranging your belongings on your left side. Offer your hand with the palm slightly up so that your interviewer's hand covers yours. "It's a sign that you're giving them status," says Bowden. And never cover the other person's hand with the hand you're not shaking with -- it can be interpreted as a sign of domination.
Important Steps
The walk to the interview is the perfect time to use body language. Always follow that person, whether the person is the hiring manager or an assistant, to show you understand the protocol. You're saying, 'I'm the job candidate, and you're the company representative -- I follow your lead.' Bowen adds that you should try to "mirror" that person's tempo and demeanor. "It shows you can easily fit into the environment," he says.
At the Interview Desk
In the interview room, it's OK to place a slim portfolio on the table, especially if you'll be presenting its contents, but put your other belongings on the floor beside you. Holding a briefcase or handbag on your lap will make you seem as though you're trying to create a barrier around yourself, cautions Craig.
Avoid leaning forward, which makes you appear closed off, Bowden says. Instead, he advises sitting up straight and displaying your neck, chest and stomach area -- to signal that you're open.
When gesturing with your hands, Craig says, you should always keep them above the desk and below the collarbone. "Any higher and you're going to appear frantic," she says.
Bowden advises that you keep your hands even lower, in what he calls the "truth plane" -- an area that fans out 180 degrees from your navel. "Gesturing from here communicates that you're centered, controlled and calm -- and that you want to help," he says.
It's fine to sit about a foot away from the table so that your gestures are visible, he says.
The Art of Departing
At the end of the interview, gather your belongings calmly, rise smoothly, smile and nod your head. If shaking hands with everyone in the room isn't convenient, at least shake hands with the hiring manager and the person who brought you to the interview space.
You may be tempted to try to read your interviewers' body language for signals about how the interview went, but don't, cautions Bowden -- because they're likely trained not to give away too much. "Don't allow any thoughts into your mind that may [cause you to] leave the interview in a negative way," he says.