FortySouth

A little while back I wrote about how job references are increasingly becoming irrelevant to smart managers because the said referees have the propensity to tell them what they want to hear – that you have a fine candidate. In essence, references inadvertently degrade to a factor of lesser significance when selecting “the candidate” from the herd.

Well I held that view until recently when I happened upon a slightly dated yet insightful excerpt from Dr. Pierre Mornell’s Hiring Smart! in my reading that struck me as genius:

Here’s the simplest, most effective reference check that I know. It’s also fast and legal. Call references at what you assume will be their lunchtime–you want to reach an assistant or voice mail. If it’s voice mail, leave a simple message. If it’s an assistant, be sure that he or she understands the last sentence of your message.

You say: “Jane Jones is a candidate for (the position) in our company. Your name has been given as a reference. Please call me back if the candidate was outstanding.”

The results are both immediate and revealing. If the candidate is outstanding, I guarantee that people will respond quickly and want to help. Take such a response as a green light. Proceed to the next level by checking out the individual.

However, if only 2 or 3 of the 10 references selected by the candidate return your call, this message is also loud and clear.

Now then, would your references initiate a callback? What would they say of you?

By the way, the excerpt is recommended reading for hiring managers and job seekers alike. Better yet, get the book.

Yes, they do, within the context of respective online presence, at the very least:

Note that it was in June ’08 that Nation moved their content from www.nationmedia.com (now the host of their corporate brands) to www.nation.co.ke.

So why is the Daily Nation (DN) the more popular site?

Let me count the ways: Continue reading

The Obama Administration recently announced proposals for revision of the US Tax Code, including the imposition of tougher regulation for when profits earned abroad by US companies should be taxed in the US.

Currently, a company that offshores a business process from it’s parent in the US to one of its subsidiaries overseas, can claim an immediate tax deduction on the resulting foreign income that is the difference between the foreign country’s corporate tax rate and that of the US. The US combined federal-state statutory corporate tax rate currently sits at 39.3%, second among OECD countries to Japan.

The claim can be made while the company defers paying taxes until later when the income is brought to the US, if ever. Continue reading