Highlights

Advice on Avoiding Interviewer Bias

Two businessmen shaking hands surrounded by female and male coworkers

It can be a daunting experience to remain unbiased while interviewing candidates for a position within your company. Many recruiters have predisposed ideas of what the candidate should look like or possess to do the job correctly and fit within its culture.

Maintaining a level of fairness in finding the right candidate can cause us to choose a candidate who made the best first impression. Still, after 90 days in the job, he or she failed to meet the job’s responsibilities successfully.

The following article may shed light on the best practices for reducing the bias in which we possess. LinkedIn Talent Blog by Lou Adler, 10 Ways to Reduce Interviewer Bias, this article sheds light on ten areas we should consider as a plan of action before starting the interviewing process.

One of the ten pieces of advice includes: use panel interviews, be a juror not a judge, treat candidates as consultants, and more.

We hope this article helps your business in creating a strategic plan for your interview process. Hence “you’re not only seeing the strongest and most diverse talent possible but also ensuring each person is objectively assessed,” said Adler, LinkedIn Talent Blog.

SWFL’s Economic Development

The Southwest Florida region consists of 5 counties: Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, and Lee Counties.

Even though these counties are part of the entire Southwest Florida region, each one is quite distinctive in its own economic development.

We had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing each County’s Economic Development Leaders about the following questions:

  • What are your county’s best assets for business attraction and expansion?
  • What are your county’s best assets for workforce attraction?
  • What are your targeted sectors or industries?
  • what does your strategic plan consist of?
  • What will your county look like in five years?

And here is what individual Economic Development Office had to say about their respective county:

Charlotte County Economic Development Office Video

Collier County Economic Development Office Video

Glades County Economic Development Office Video

Hendry County Economic Development Office Video

Lee County Economic Development Office Video

We hope you enjoyed listening to each county’s Economic Development Managers about the future of our SWFL’s region!

Free Online Training Resources

Turn a challenge into an opportunity!

Free online training can help you upgrade your skills, increase your knowledge and perhaps even change your career path.

Metrix Learning Skillup – no-cost online training for individuals who want to upgrade their skills or explore new career pathways. Click here to watch the video.

Not all courses on the following websites are free but most are! Several offer a free trial period – just do not forget to cancel before the deadline.

Alison – free online education and skills training. Fee charged only for issuing Certificates and Diplomas.

Coursera – Some courses are free, others including Master’s Degree have tuition fees.

Duolingo – learn a new language!

edX – over 120 colleges and universities provide massive open online courses with no tuition fee.

LinkedIn Learning – wide variety of work-related courses. The first month is free.

Microsoft Learn – free technology-related learning.

Remember to never stop learning!

*CareerSource Southwest Florida does not endorse these websites, this post is merely for informational purposes only.

Soft Skills are Essential!

Young Business people

You probably heard of the term “soft skills” regarding interviews or resume writing but are you aware of how important these skills are for your success?

We want to share with you a great article by Lou Adler, CEO, Performance-Based Hiring Learning Systems, on LinkedIn called “Soft Skills Are Too Important to be Called Soft“.

This article lists the top 12 most important “soft skills” and explains why a term change to “non-technical skills” instead emphasizes the importance of these skills.

You can also take a survey included in this article to rank your own non-technical and leadership skills.

MSFW Outreach Program Page

Are you a Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker? Do you know about additional services our career centers can provide?

Visit our new page to request referral for supportive services at MSFW Outreach Program

Referral to supportive services may include the following:

  • Family Care
  • Medical
  • Housing
  • Food
  • Job Opportunities: Agricultural and Non-Agricultural
  • Assessment of Employment Skills
  • Career Counseling
  • Employability Workshops
  • English for Speaker of Other Languages (ESOL)
  • General Equivalency Diploma (GED)
  • Vocational Training and more

Contact your outreach specialist to discuss your specific needs by visiting our page MSFW Outreach Program

Skip to content