Category: HR/Associate Development

There will be a variety of posts, encompassing everything from hiring checklists to training ideas and documents based on more than 25 years of experience and learning from the best people in the business.

What Employers Miss in Job Ads

Paul Wagenaar

Some people will read every word of this guide.

Some will skim it and take away only one idea.

Both are enough to make a difference.

I didn’t write this to create another checklist or another compliance document. I wrote it because I believe one simple truth:
Job advertisements are not administrative documents; they are human invitations.

Every word we choose tells someone whether they belong, whether they will be valued, and whether they can picture themselves succeeding before they ever walk through the door.

If this feels longer than most hiring advice, that’s intentional.

Hiring shapes organizations, careers, families, and futures. It deserves more than a template copied from ten years ago.

Take one idea. Take ten. Come back to the rest later.

Because sometimes changing a single sentence in a job advertisement changes the person who decides to apply, and that one decision can change the future of an entire team.

Stop Treating Everyone the Same – Accommodations aren’t the problem … our assumptions are

Paul Wagenaar

This is a longer read than usual, but it’s written that way intentionally.

Because the way we think about accommodations, fairness, and performance in the workplace is often oversimplified, and those oversimplifications shape how people are supported, evaluated, and sometimes misunderstood.

If you’ve ever questioned whether “treating everyone the same” is actually fair in practice, this is worth your time.

Keeping a job – a short guide to standing out

Paul Wagenaar

Most people don’t lose jobs because they can’t do the work, they lose them because of how they show up, day after day.

Everything you do is a test, and your reputation is built in the small, ordinary moments most people overlook.

Stand out by being reliable, curious, and willing to learn, consistently, not occasionally.

Coaching Minor Sports: If They Come Back, You Got It Right

Paul Wagenaar

Children’s and youth sports start and finish all the time, whether at the beginning, middle, or end of a season. What matters is not the scoreboard or the record, but the experiences they carry with them during the season, and especially when it ends.

Coaching minor sports is not about winning games. It’s about building confidence, creating belonging, and giving kids a reason to come back. If they come back, you got it right.

Inside the Interview Part 5:

Paul Wagenaar

Most people think hiring decisions are about choosing the best candidate.
They’re not.
Hiring is about removing enough doubt to say yes.
And once you understand that interviews start to make a lot more sense.

Inside the Interview – Part 4

Paul Wagenaar

Most candidates walk into an interview hoping they’ll say the right thing. The best candidates walk in already understanding what matters to the employer.

Preparation is the one part of the job search you fully control, and it’s where most people fall short. When you take the time to understand the organization, align your answers to their needs, and follow through with intention, you’re no longer just another applicant. You’re someone who made it easier to say yes.

A Simple Tool to Expose How Candidates Really Think

Paul Wagenaar

Most hiring mistakes happen before the interview begins.

Resumes can be polished, charm can be rehearsed, and yet the person you hire may not be the one your organization truly needs. A simple pre-interview questionnaire reveals how candidates think, respond under pressure, and treat people they believe won’t influence their outcome.

Hiring isn’t about perfection—it’s about understanding real thinking before it costs you.

Inside the Interview – Part 2: What Happens When a Hire Goes Wrong

Paul Wagenaar

Most managers hate admitting when a hire isn’t working out.

So they delay the conversation.

They hope the problem fixes itself.

Or they quietly tolerate issues that affect the whole team.

But ignoring a bad fit rarely solves anything. Sooner or later every leader faces the same reality: not every hire works out.

In the latest article in my Inside the Interview series, I talk about what good managers actually do when hiring goes wrong, and how to handle the situation professionally, fairly, and responsibly.

Part 1:  The “Why” Behind Interview Questions

Paul Wagenaar

Most job seekers think interviews are about giving the “right” answers.

After conducting hundreds of interviews, I’ve learned something different.
Employers are not just listening to your answers, they are deciding whether you can solve their problem.

Strong candidates understand this and approach every question differently.

Here are some of the most common interview questions and what employers are really trying to learn.

BUILDING FUTURES: Hiring Summer Students

Paul Wagenaar

Every summer, organizations hire students to fill short-term roles. Few stop to consider that they are shaping long-term futures.

For many students, a summer job is their first real encounter with responsibility, accountability, and workplace culture. It is where reputations begin. It is where habits are formed. It is where confidence is either strengthened or quietly eroded.

For employers, hiring students is not simply a staffing decision. It is a leadership decision. It is a choice about whether to treat young people as temporary labour, or as emerging professionals.

When approached intentionally, summer employment becomes more than seasonal work. It becomes mentorship, community investment, and the foundation of someone’s career.