GRANTED: Wondering about whether to hire overqualified people and how to improve reference checks

June 2018

After receiving help, don't say "I owe you a favor." It reduces an act of kindness to an accounting transaction.
 
Instead of offering to repay a debt, signal a willingness to be generous: "Let me know if I can ever be helpful" or "I stand ready to pay it forward."
 
Or better yet, just say thank you and tell them how much you appreciate their help.

Without further ado, here are my answers to three of your questions from this month and resources on ten others:

• When calling references about a job candidate, what questions should I ask?

• Should we believe the hype about employee engagement?

• Is it a mistake to reject applicants who are overqualified?

Submit your own questions to wondering@adamgrant.net. Include your first name and city, or ask to be anonymous, and I'll pick a few next month to answer here.
 

Cheers,
Adam

Adam Grant, Ph.D.
Host of WorkLife, author of ORIGINALS and GIVE AND TAKE,
coauthor of OPTION B, and Wharton professor