Are you trying to hire people to help you with your business? Lots of companies are, and yes, there is competition for good people.

The job market is hot! Heck, it’s my day job to help professionals find great opportunities – and business is great!

If you’re interviewing people, please don’t ask the question that’s been bouncing around on LinkedIn about how did the candidate use 2020 to uplevel their skills. Just don’t. You will potentially look like a big jerk.

You know how white privilege is up in our face regarding law enforcement and diversity and inclusion issues? I think I’ll start calling this question pandemic privilege, because it sounds better than dochebaggery, which is what it actually is.

I have incredible admiration for people who were able to get anything accomplished during the chaos and trauma of last year.

I had a colleague kill herself because the stresses of 2020 were too much on top of her depression, leaving a loving husband and young family behind. Do you want to hear about that in our interview?

How about my dear friend who has lost 4 family members in the past few months to COVID-19. He might not have a lot of energy for learning anything new.

People of color have been more impacted by the pandemic. Double jerk on you for asking that question to them.

And now we’re back to white privilege, or insensitivity, or douchebaggery – you pick.

However, if you’re interviewing and you passed your PMP® exam in 2020, as a current client of mine did, feel free to mention that. Bravo for passing a hard test during a difficult time!

I called getting out of bed and getting dressed a major win some days in 2020.

And you know what? A lot of folks are just barely making it through these rough waters. As a reminder, we’ve never been through anything like this, and we’re not even close to “back to normal” (whatever the new normal will be) yet.

Be kind.

Have a heart.

I want to share what my client, Kristina Sorrelli, posted on LinkedIn. This applies to someone struggling with their business with a few word substitutions. It might be the balm for your soul that you need.

You should hire Kristina if you need a badass operations and process improvement expert.