Category: Job Seekers,

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.

“Here Be Dragons” – Taking the Path Less Travelled:

Paul Wagenaar

Terror often isn’t loud. It’s the email sitting unsent. The draft opened and closed five times. The fear of bothering someone. The tight chest. The overthinking.

Cold calling feels like entering dragon territory.

But when 70–80% of jobs are never posted, waiting quietly is often the riskier move. Email outreach creates space, space to think, regulate, and act without real-time pressure. You’re not asking for a job. You’re starting a conversation.

You don’t have to be fearless. You just have to press send.
Go make the dragon smaller.

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.

“A Reasonable Expectation of Humanity”

Paul Wagenaar

We move through and interact with dozens of organizations and people every day, healthcare, government, work, housing, commerce, and community spaces. Most interactions are brief, yet over time they quietly shape our sense of dignity, trust, and belonging.

This post explores a simple idea: a reasonable expectation of humanity in those interactions. Not perfection or special treatment, but clarity, respect for time, basic human regard, competence with humility, fairness, and accountability when things go wrong.

As you read, notice where these standards are present in your own interactions, and where they quietly fall away. And if you work inside an organization that holds power over others, consider how humanity is supported by design, not just individual effort.

As with most of my posts, this is a little longer than most, thank you for taking the time to read.

You Don’t Need a Perfect Resume … You Need a Path, a Place to Start When the Usual Advice Doesn’t Fit

Paul Wagenaar

This is a longer blog. I won’t pretend it isn’t.

But job searching is exhausting, and the usual tips often make it worse. So I wrote something slower, steadier, and more honest.

It’s a practical framework to help anyone looking for work, or someone supporting them, to see where they are, what’s working, and what deserves energy next. No judgment. No rush. Just clarity.

You don’t need to fix everything. You just need your next step.

📌 If that resonates, it’s worth a read, and please share it with anyone you know who’s on this journey.

The Job seeker’s Playbook

Paul Wagenaar

You can find a job on your own, but it’s easier with the right tools.

As a career advisor in a non-profit organization, I know that one weekly meeting isn’t enough. Job searching is an acquired skill, built through practice, reflection, and momentum, not perfection.

With direct input from job seekers, we created The Job Seeker’s Playbook, a practical, strength-based tool designed to reduce feelings of being overwhelmed, protect confidence, and turn job searching into small, winnable weekly actions.

Built from lived experience, not theory, it helps job seekers build skills, stand out, and take ownership of their search, at their own pace.

Redefining the Perfect Hire: Who’s in Your Blind Spots?

Paul Wagenaar

Does the best candidate always get the job?

Does everyone who can do the job get equal consideration?

Or do our unconscious biases, misconceptions, and traditional image of the “ideal candidate” create hiring blind spots preventing us from seeing different and perhaps better hiring solutions?

… a process and a journey

Paul Wagenaar

How does someone become motivated?

In life, at home, and in particular when they are searching for a job. Motivation becomes more complex when people experience stress and frustration. Whether neurodiverse or neurotypical, we all all affected.

I find it helps to think of motivation as a learned skill, a journey, and a process of a series of small steps that will get you where you want to be. Today’s post, lays out a path you or someone you know might consider.

Bipolar Disorder Does Not Erase a Person’s Potential … misunderstanding does

Paul Wagenaar

Did you know more than half a million Canadians live with bi-polar disorder? About 3 out of 100 people in your lives experience this medical condition but few of us really know much about what they experience. Most of what we know likely falls into myths, misconceptions, and stigma unfortunately.

This blog is a very short introduction into what we should all know, whether we are employers, co-workers, friends, family, or community members. By learning more we can help them open more doors to employment and understanding. We can help them overcome the barriers society and our lack of knowledge has created.

We owe them that.