>> business news from the capital region. this is "washington business report" with abc 7 national correspondent rebecca cooper. captioned by the nationalal captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> welcome to this weeks look at business and finance in the washingtonegion. jojob numbers are regarding.g. small businessesre hiring. we will tell y how to fi the right person. the roundtable discussion -- the president's latest claims aboutt the economy, and whether t numbers back him up. he bece a household name because e of his popularity on "top chef," d he decided to leave to new york t to beefef ue d. restaurantt s scene. spike ndelsohn is heating things up. his reaurants are staples. pizza.uff eatery, we the

we sat down with him. branch out to his chicago makes him nervous. >> spike mendelsohn, welcome. washingtgton claims you, b you are not a native here. tommy where you grew up. -- tell me where you grew up. >> i grew up in montréal. a big greek family. in all sorts of facets of the restaurant industry in montréal. we moved to spain when i was 13, 14 years old. it was an amazing exposition, the world's fair -- one of the most successful ones they had for a long time. we had six different venues in the fair. it was an amazing experience. we were there for about three

years off and on. instead of moving back to montréal, i moved to where my grandmother was living, florida, and that is how i got my start in the united states. >> did they come looking for you for the competition, w did it work? fan -- sister had been a >> my sister had been a n. she had been watching "project runway," and she said there was this new reality show. i watched the first season. there was a lot of drama. i said i could do that, and i am my career on an reality show -- i have trained with the best chefs. i wanto earn my stripes. i had this whole different philosophy of what my career was going to look like and where business was going to go. -- , i started

> were you bored? >> i learned so much french food. you can always learn more, but i have done so much, so long. then i did the enemies food, which was exotic and a revived my career. -- vietnamese food, which was exotic and revise my career. and i had the opportunity to o o something fun and competitive. i had been n in the restaurant business since i was 15. i i just took a risk. it was very lighthearteded. i had noing to lose. i was really 100% myself. >> how do you think you were portrayed? >> the villain that everyone loves. >> is that true in your life? >> i think that is a little true. i have a little bad boy going

on, but at the end of the day you feel like i am real. it,show, you can do well in but it is up to you after, how you can carry the brand, represent, how much time you can devote. what wilill keep people at the restaurant? "top chef" kind of changed my life overnight. >> let's talk about that. you placed sixth place. you are a fan favite, a media sensation. then what happened? >> we rolled with it. i had these opportunities. my parents, my sister and i decided to jump back into the restaurant business together and we opened up good stuff eatery in 2008 my parents had been retired and they were e driving us nuts, soe try to convince them to get back into the business and they had and everything from fine dining to fast casual, to fast food.

washington -- now we are seen as a foodie town, but you took a chance. were you thinking the way? >> -- no way? >> yes. when you are in the new york food scene, and you are a chef, new york is the placace you want to be. >> washington would not have been in the top 10. >> n no, not at all. you had great guys like sé andreas paving the way, but in 2000 and we were still very -- 2010, we were still very pedestrian we were growing slowly. we have made some mistakes, correct them, and we are still learning. it will be interesting. chicago is the first city we are spending too far away, so that relationship is to be determined. i am sure we will have to work

out kinks and adjus i think he will be good for our company to take this s step to chicago anand do a franchise. being -- do you envision the nationwide? >> the time. we envision being international. whenople roll their eyes they hear abou congress, capitol hill. succeedeel you haveve to despite -- >> i love being in the middle of washington government. it has added to our brand. how come? -- >> how come? >> being inspired by young , people here who would like to make a change. i had en moving around so much, i did not have a sense of community, and d.c. is the first time as an adult that i i felt e community and support.

>> spike mendelsohn, making a difference in washington, d.c., thank you for jojoining us. >> thank you. >> and when we reteturn, our sml business spoight focuses on hiring thehe right people -- wht traps to avoid, and what

>> welme back. numbers out friday are encoururaging g at the natil level,ere in the nation's capitatal, economy contues to slow witpotential employees looking for a job. if you are one of the employers doing the hirg, you want to do

it right. joinin us now is mary abbajay hd of careetone group, taing about 10 points to follow to make surure you hire the bt and the brbrightesest. i love t this topic -- how to gt the most out of an interview, t from the side of the person doing the interview.w. we hear r so much about how to prep for doing the interview, but this is a great l list. hiring the wrong person is really expensive because then you have to start the process over. if you are a small business, you do not have that margin. >> i have to admit there have been times people i have knonown have been hired, they never called me for references. is most important operation do your homework. > do your homework, and that means b be realally clear on n t skills you're lookingng for. whatre the skills, tents, attitude, perienence -- make a list. resume.. read the

so many people will ance at the resesume five minutes b befe ththe interview. >> maybe it is the reporter in mebut i would have read the resume, googlgle them, learned everhing about them. >> my manager w will not let meo the fifirst round interviews because e i will just say i will breeze through it, but you have to prepare. >> you and i would apply -- rely on this -- you say establish h a rapport in the interview. >> unless the job is something where they have to be intimidated to survive for a highressure job, do not turn into an interrogation. turn it t into a conversation. make them as comfortable as popossible and explain the process, what will happen, and whe they are unit. get some informatition. do not leave them hanging i in e cold washis came to mind when i a producer, i would h have to interview the first round of

peop to replace m myself, and dy always hired women because she felelt t they were hd back,o she had a bias toward women. she ended up hiring a guy, and she had to overcrcome her minds. >> we tend to re people that i like us because we l like ourselves, rigight ? you have to be careful you are not hiring yourself. studiehave shown interviewers make up their mind in e first two minutes othe interview. try y to stay openen-minded. >> persistency matters -- - askd the same question of all? >> impair appl to apples, and yes, it - -- compare apapples to apples, and yes, you will have some questions you asked one and not another, but make sure you arare compmparing the same t th. click k another piece of good advice -- use -- >>nother piece of advice -- use behavioral presse. >> how would you deal with the

customerer -- you willll give me answer you resrch. stead, if i saidell me aboutut a time you handl an anangry customer, how w did you resolve , and what was the rest? you want to make people speak from experience. ununlike the stock market, pasat performancnce is indicative of ture performance. find out what they have done. >> mbrotheher in high school never got thee job at pier one because the question saiaid with every situation you could imaginehat would m make you madd enough to punch a customer,nd the honest answewer yes, was the wrong answer. numberer six, take note. would everyonene do that? >> of people right words or smile faces, but you have to take notes or you wiwill forget. >> i take pictures of where i rked my card can't -- car, so they really do help. you need reminders.

>> you can m make a matrix chart -- these a the things i'm looking for. that itoo organized for me. >> -- running g out of time. you say follow-w-up questions ad do not forget to sell. >> do not forget to sell -- it is a two-wayay street. you have to make the job appealing to your candidate. >> i love number 9 -- chcheck wh your reception staff what are you going to check? >> how they treated people. how arare they with everybybody else? >> i love that. excellent. following up -- it always incumbent on the person intervied, why is it important one? >>ou are a brand. peoplealk. you wantnted intervi process that is full of f dignity and respect. you may find them another time, or they may talklk about you. always follow up on thehe good r ba

not leleave them in the dark. that performance, babad etiquet. >> mamary abbajay thank you. our roroundtable is next. president obama seems p pumped about economic gains, but not evereryone is convinced. about economic gains, but not evere[ male announcer ]. at northrop grumman, we know in the cyber world, threats are always evolving. at first, we were protecting nworks. then, we were protecting the transfer of data. and today it's evolved to infrastructure... ♪ ...finance... and military missions. we're constantly innovating to advance the front line in the cyber battle, wherever it takes us. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman.

>> welcome back. it was another busy week in wawashington business group -- news. f fever wearing the red, but the family is looking for another move in real

estate. all eyesere on the jobs numbers -- unemployment dropping to 5 5.9%, the lowowest level se the recession began in 2008. with gains in private sector jobs, one startup fofounder gota new job of hisis own. here to talk a about the topicsn our roundtable, steveoverly," reporter for "shington post," and michael hirsh, editor of "politico" magazine. welcome. , all eyes have been on the nationals b baseball teamam and the fbi headquarters, and where it wilmove, and the lerner family came in with a surprise bid and proposal at their site in maryland should be considered. it was a surprisise bid, but it ended up a top three finalist. you arare repeporting that at te very time the nationals are playing a playoff ga, the coo was making t the bid. how did it go?

>> it went well, and by most accounts they are proposing 88 acacres of land in landover to e considered the future site of the fbi headquarters. >> they want the old landover ma to be considered. >> exactly. it is one of three finalist considered. we will not know which will be chosen until next year, but they are in the running. the l lernere heart of business. >> the winner gets the current fbi headqrters, so there is a lot at stake. >> andhey are demanding a lot. michael hirsh, also a lot at stake -- we are closing on the midterm elections, one month aw. president obama had been hoping to focusus on the economy. ni outf 10 voters in a recent poll say the economomy wl be thehe number one priority and --o the new, but t he has been midterms, but nonow he has been overwhelmed with international affairs.

the white house is tried to say job numbers are e doing better,, but still get it, there are people in pain. >> the numbers are certainly going his way. the news outut today from the bureau of labourur statistics, s you mentioned, 5.9%, thfirst time i it is drop below 6%, july of t that year, predating the ama esidency. obammade a a big speech yesterday at northwestern university and will l give anotr today in indndiana trying to tt thisis news before the midterms. but, you know, the overall recovery has been rocky, slow. two steps forward, one step back. the poll numbers reveal that. there is still distrust in his leadershship. the latest "politicico" poll showed 57 percent of vototers in the battleound states they need to keep the senatate think his econic leadership has really fallen short.

it is a tough sell. >> when you lolook at his base, wages have not kept pace with job recovery,, andnd he is goinn that on republicans, s saying ty want tax cuts for the rich and they do not want to raise the minimum wage. are people in the mood to l lisn and blame the republicans? a lot of people say if you look at the sate, they looked poised to win back c control of the senate. >> those are the latest numbers, and even though hohouse republicans ratings are far lower than the president in general, he is still thehe guy n the white house. that is the case he made in n te speech yesteay and has made repeatedly -- it is really republican obstructionism that has csed incomenequality, but people's perception is t thy mply have not gotten ahead. household incomes are still not sing. wages have been flat for years, decades, in fact, with a lot of backsliding the last five years. then, you're going to blame the

guy in the oval office. >> it goes with the tertory, the title. steven overly, a new job for a successful starting -- startup fofounder, the founr of livingsocial. even with a bumpy road they had lately trying to maintain momentum, undeniably a successful startup. he stepped down this year note in the company needed new leadership. he is the son-in-law of donald graham, best known f the family that owned "the washington post." they have sold the post. what is the new job and wha will they be doi now? >> he was named president oa company, graham holdings, and he will o overseeee acquisitions. don graham admitted the company is setting itself in a new direction. it has long been known as the owner of "the e washington post" newspaper, and now they are goinon to other endeors.

>> they want to be focused d on digital revolutions, startups,, and other things. it is intereresting tt his daughter is a successful startup. investeindings as her companany. >> it is a successful business, and he announced he was at new generation. >> we will be watching that closely. michael hirsh, pple have also been wating very closely t this weweek, ebola. ta to a little bit about what you thi thehe concern here in the u.s. might mean for business travel, for international trade. e obama admdministratio has worked very hard, and d the c cc has woworked v very hard t say t a prproblem here in th u.s., we'veot this, but it is hard to cononvince people when you sy it is s a viral virus spreading faster than anyone we have ever seen. do not worry, it isine in the u.s.. u think business will slow down at all?

>> not immediately. there is fear in the air. some of these assurances saw my fitness last words. assururancesese sound like famous last words, like the one we heaeard about in d.c. onhe whole, there arare reasons to be assured abt the united stateses themselves or the b bue here are unlike anything in africa, and r now the disease can only be committed d through bodily fluids, not through the air, or ything like that, so it d does seem c contained for e moment, but you do not know where it could go -- could it mutate into some other form, as some doctors have suggested? i i think the nger africa stumbles over its own respspons, the more fear in t the air over international avel.. >> we spent lot of time at dulles international airport hearing from travelers saying

they would like to see moree testing at the airport, people willing to give up liberties as the disease spreads. peopople arere nervous. thank y you so much. thank you for joining us this weekn "washington business report." we wilill be right

this week on "government matters." >> it's clear that our security plan was not properly executed. i take full response ability. >> the first female director of the u.s. secret service re-signs. >> they can't just go and deploy a new system because it uld potentially bring down the entire enterprise. >> i.t. challenges facing the department of veterans affairs. deregulated the financial system in this country. >> in court case could overturn the ban on contractors donating to federal elections. "government matters" starts right now. >> this is "government matters." to our viewers around the world the mac andac forces network and those