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Nurture Small Business
Nurture Small Business shares small business growth ideas, survival strategies, and stories of how women entrepreneurs creatively nurture their businesses for success. Join us as we amplify our voices as one, uplifting and creating a thriving space for women-owned small businesses.
Topics included: Bipartisan Legislation that Impacts Women-Owned Small Businesses, Resources for Women Business Owners, Self-Care for Women Small Business Owners, Business Development, Boundaries Within a Family Business, Workplace Culture, Talent Management, Exit and Continuity Plans for Your Business, New Technology, Forecasting, and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
Nurture Small Business
Getting Past the Ambiguity as You Hire
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Hiring can feel like a guessing game—especially when candidates show up with pumped-up resumes but lack the real-world skills your business needs. In this episode of the Nurture Small Business Podcast, host Denise Cagan continues our hiring series by breaking down how to cut through the ambiguity and polished answers to make smart, confident hiring decisions.
If you've ever hired someone who interviewed beautifully but struggled on the job, this episode is a must-listen. Denise shares how to move past surface-level, rehearsed answers and structure your hiring interviews to reveal a candidate’s true capabilities.
Key Takeaways from This Episode:
- Spotting the "We" vs. "I" Trap: Learn how to identify candidates who rely heavily on team achievements, and get practical tips on how to probe deeper to clarify their actual, individual contribution.
- The Power of Structured Interviews: Discover how approaching candidates with structured curiosity and clarity helps you evaluate actual job performance instead of just good interviewing skills.
- Aligning Your Hiring Process: Learn how to use a Critical Skills Matrix to seamlessly connect your job description, interview questions, and interview criteria into one aligned system.
- The Working Interview: Explore how practical, real-time working interviews can give you direct insight into how a candidate thinks, organizes, and executes under realistic conditions.
Stop guessing and start building a high-performing team. Subscribe to the Nurture Small Business Podcast for more actionable small business hiring tips and management strategies!
About Your Host
Denise Cagan has been working with small businesses for 25 years. She has served on the boards of professional organizations and nonprofits. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Quality Systems Management from James Madison University and is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program, which is a program for small businesses that links learning to action for growth-oriented entrepreneurs.
Recognized as a facilitator, problem solver, and builder, Denise enjoys working with small business owners who want to create a solid foundation. Her past experience includes 10 years in manufacturing with various awards plus inclusion into Marquis Who’s Who.
Denise is the CEO of 3 companies: DCA Virtual Business Support, DCA Association Management, and Denise Cagan Business Consulting. In her downtime, she enjoys spending time with her granddaughter, cooking, and cuddling with her dogs.
View and listen to Podcasts with Denise Cagan.
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