The Career Encouragement Blog

Carnival of HR!

It seems we HR types are a curious bunch.  In true blogging spirit we are asking and answering questions all over the place, and challenging our readers to ask and answer as well.  There's an African proverb that says "The one who asks questions doesn't lose his way."  If that's the case, than this month's offering is evidence that we are all well on the way!

Deb at 8 Hours and a Lunch leads off with the question Why does HR stink?" Ann Bares at CompForce picks up the theme of "stink" with "Do we stink at pay communication?"  John Agno at Coaching Tip has some ideas to address concerns about how well HR is performing overall and offers several questions to help you figure out if your CEO and HR have the same priorities.  Jon Ingham chimes in with "What can we all learn from Google?"

Once we get the HR group straightened out, we're ready to tackle talent management for the rest of the company, right? Ryan at World at Work wants to know is "talent" merely the word of the day...or is it the word of the decade?  He's joined by Alice Snell at Taleo who asks "Why talent management now?" Not to be outdone, Wayne, the Cranky Middle Manager, jumps in with What War for Talent? 

After we address Wayne's concerns we should have no trouble recruiting good people to good jobs.  Jackie over at Consult Cameron has a handle on the talent pool out there because she is currently helping a group of young people get ready for their upcoming job search.  She answers your questions about "What are the differences and similarities for Generations X and Y?"  Michael Haberman at HR Observations has some ideas about what to look for in candidates and asks and answers his own question - Enthusiasm! Should you hire for it?  Meanwhile, Maren at Fistful of Talent has some cautionary words about the hazards of title inflation and asks "what's in a name?"

As we bring all that great talent in the door, we'll want to make sure the policies are clean.  Jon at the Employers' Law Blog asks us to consider both the legal and human considerations of policies in The Softer Side of Employment Law.  Susan Heathfield at the Human Resource Blog answers the question why legislated paid sick days may not be a win-win after all. and Lary Crews at TrendWatcher answers your questions about how telecommuting affects employee morale and productivity. 

Speaking of policies, Kris Dunn at HR Capitalist exposes how dangerous the simple question "You're with us, right?"  can be in his posting about the proposed Employee Free Choice Act.  And speaking of things that are dangerous, Nurse Ratched relates a very scary story of workplace violence and explains why she asked her HR Director to "please don't stop needling me."

But policies are only the beginning.  Then the real fun begins as we help people grow as performers and develop their careers.  Dan McCarthy at the Great Leadership Blog was inspired by a question on the ASTD website and writes about great leadership development on the cheap.  Wally Bock at Three-Star Leadership has some thoughts about this complex endeavor and wonders Can leadership development be simplified into a step-by-step schematic?

Of course, as we invest in developing all these people, we want to make sure we are developing and rewarding the right things.  In his Last Lecture, (NOTE - Beg, borrow or steal or otherwise come up with 72 minutes to watch this video!!) Randy Pausch says "when there's an elephant in the room, introduce it." Jake Flanagin at Maximize Possibility introduces a pachyderm when he asks "Are your top performers really top performers?"

Whew!  All this work to manage talent is making us tired! Lisa at HR Thoughts wants to know how good leaders can sleep at night when there are business problems to resolve.  Nina Simosko offers some relevant insights on this same topic when she asks "What can leaders learn from Marion?" 

And bringing us home with one final question, Guatam Ghosh wants to know how often do employers fail to analyze attrition data to improve retention?  He's got a detailed slide show to help you think through this important topic.

Happy Carnivaling!  The next carnival will be hosted by Michael Moore at the PA Employment Law Blog.

 

Great Thought To Start the Week

Almostgotit has a great posting on coping when we feel insecure.  Okay - she called the posting something else, but the essence is on pulling ourselves together and moving forward even when we feel incapable.  She says:

Target Moments are what we have when we forget that everyone else is the same as us, scared to death much of the time and desperately wanting to be loved.  Remembering this is even better than thinking of the audience sitting in their underwear.  Generally speaking, no one really has it together any more than we do, and we’re all just bumbling along best we can.  This includes 100% of those well-dressed, efficient-looking EMPLOYED people, including those who might possibly consider hiring us.

Read on to learn about how using the "Schmuck Theorem" can pull you through this insecurity...then go on and have a great Monday!

Following My Own Advice

At this time in my life, part of my career is my work as a PhD student.  I recently applied for a summer funding opportunity in my department that I thought I was a shoe-in for.  My Advisor told me that she felt my application was very competitive, and she wrote a glowing letter of recommendation for me.  Last week I received the news that the funding went to someone else.  I'm not proud of my reaction, but the truth is that my immediate response was to cry "Foul!" - that underhanded politics were clearly at work.  I moved on from that attitude quickly to, "They just didn't understand my application because clearly I am the most qualified."

I was down in a funk for about a day and finally pulled it together.  After all, I am the Career Encourager.  So what would I advise me to do in this situation?  I began reading my past postings.  There is some good stuff there!  I've written before on what to do when you don't get the job.  I said it's important to be gracious and to accept the fact that if it's not a match on both sides then it's just not a good match.  I've also written about how if you don't get something you wanted, then maybe you didn't want it after all.  Here's the conclusion I've come to in my current circumstances:

First, I'm not going to second guess whether my application was good enough, if I could have worked harder/longer on it, or phrased things differently.  My Advisor reviewed it and said it was competitive. She's helped me write winning applications in the past, so I am going to accept her judgment on this one.

Next, I am going to run from the tendency to be suspicious and question the "politics" of the decision.  I've been on enough committees in my career to know that the criteria for what makes a "right decision" varies depending on the context.  Sometimes the right decision is the one that will have the most grass roots support.  Sometimes the right decision is the one the executive unilaterally deems is right.  It all depends on context.

Third, I'm going to humbly accept that in this case I am not a match. In hiring, often the right decision has to do with which candidate is a match for a particular context, not necessarily who has 3% more skills and is therefore "most qualified."  Those of you familiar with university funding procedures know that the concept of "match" is important in this arena as well.  Funders usually have very specific goals that go beyond funding students with the strongest academic record or the most experience.  There are a variety of reasons why the funding is spread around.  In this case, I was not the candidate who was the best match for the funder's goals.  I don't like it, but it's the truth.

Finally, I'm going to move on.  The best way to overcome a disappointment is to get busy on Plan B.  When I think about it, my whole career has been a combination of Plan B's and Plan C's with the occasional Plan A thrown in.  Overall I am pretty satisfied with how things are turning out, so I'm going to get busy with Plan B for my summer, and have a good time with it.  :-)

Surviving Economic Downturns

Last week I talked about the career value of economic downturns.  I shared information from the employer's side of the table so that employees can understand what goes into a layoff effort and take steps to protect themselves. This week Workforce.com has a great article further explaining how organizations can think through layoffs strategically - they advise employers to handle a recession with care.  It also offers great insights that can help you think through how you are handling your career. 

The Workforce.com article makes several great points - two that I want to highlight are:

1. First, a savvy organization will recognize that when other companies are doing layoffs, it can be a great time to pick up new talent in preparation for the long-predicted global talent shortage as this decade comes to a close.  This means that if you are a talented player who unfortunately gets caught up in a bad layoff situation, you have a chance to land in a more strategic organization who is using the economic downturn to grow their ranks rather than slash them.
2. Secondly, the article reiterates the important point that in a layoff situation, poor performers will usually go first.  As one boss said,  "I’m not going to let the high salaries go...I’m going to look at the lowest performers." So it's really important that you don't rest on your past efforts, but you assess if you can truly consider yourself a "high performer" in your current role. 

In my line of work I run a lot of search committees and I am privileged to hear what hiring managers and executives have to say about candidates on a regular basis.  Despite the looming threat of a recession, and HR Magazine's recent prediction that 2008 will be the biggest year for layoffs this decade, I remain convinced of the following:

• There is no shortage of need for good strong talent in the workforce today - great career opportunities abound!
• It is not that difficult to be a star performer in an interview.  Sadly - from the employer perspective - there is not a deep talent pool to draw from for most jobs. 
• Many people who have the tactical skills to do a job fall down on the soft skills - self presentation, interview savvy, interpersonal skills, etc.
• There are abundant resources to help you develop these skills - three favorites are: Ask A Manager (who better to learn from than someone who makes hiring decisions all day long?), Evil HR Lady (she's not really evil, and she has a lot of good insight to help you in your job search), and Awareness - Choices - Change by Jackie Cameron (she's a development coach, but a lot of her advice relates to the job search). 

It's not always easy, but with thoughtful planning and effort you CAN have a great career no matter what is going on in the economy!

It's Okay to Move on When You Don't Have a Match

Back in January, I posted about a career lesson I learned from dating.  Here's another random lesson I picked up along the way...

Many years ago I briefly dated an athletic, academic fellow with a slightly quirky personality.  Let's call him Hal.  Hal's quirks included that he had a minimal sense of humor - he rarely found things laugh-out-loud funny - and he had a tendency to think he was right about most things.  I, on the other hand, love to laugh.  I really appreciate a good sense of humor in the tough times as well as the good times. 

Hal didn't laugh at many of the things I laughed at, but he had a redeeming quality - he loved to dance.  I don't know what the options are for women who are in the dating scene these days, but 'back in my day' it seemed that there weren't a lot of guys who would admit to enjoying dancing (maybe I hung out in the wrong places?)  Anyway, Hal was an exceptionally good dancer and loved to organize groups to go hear bands and dance.   

So Hal and I began dating.  We connected rather intensely on a couple of things at an academic level, and we both loved to dance.  Not a perfect relationship, but definitely better than some other relationships I had  seen. Then an incident occurred where Hal revealed a fatal flaw that caused me to break up with him. Hal had an accident that cause him to lose 50% of the sight in one eye.  It seems he was holding a BB gun and for some reason decided to hold the barrel of the gun to his eye.  The gun randomly discharged a BB into his eye; hence the loss of sight.  I quit seeing him pretty soon thereafter. 

A few of my acquaintances chided me for breaking up with him right after a disabling accident - they said I was being harsh, and it wasn't "cool" to leave someone in their time of need.  But I felt differently.  I've always been a rather pragmatic person, so my approach to dating was never to just hang out and have fun forever.  I was dating because I expected to marry someday and share a lifelong commitment.  I didn't want to spend a lot of time an energy on a relationship that ultimately would make me and the other person unhappy.  And when I heard about Hal's accident I knew I could never marry him. I took gun safety class in high school.  The number one rule of gun safety is to always treat every gun as if it is [say it with me now] LOADED.  I simply couldn't trust a man with such poor judgment as to hold a gun to his eye and look down the barrel to be the father of my children. I would never feel safe leaving them alone with their dad!  When I put it all together - no laughter, always needing to be right, and poor judgment, I knew that the fact that he could dance, and the fact that he "needed me at this time" simply wasn't enough to make me stay in the relationship.   

So here's the career lesson...I have often talked with people who are unhappy in their job and want to leave, but "the company is going through some changes, and my boss is really relying on me." This happens at small companies when there are few resources to get the job done, and at large companies when an employee wants to move to another department, but his boss wants to hang on to him.  Essentially, they tell me they are staying in their job because they would feel guilty leaving.  Guilt is never a good foundation for a relationship - not for romantic relationships, and not for professional relationships.

If you are unhappy in your job, and you know that long term it is not going to be a match for your needs, don't feel guilty about moving on.   Of course, that's not to say you should jump ship immediately without making sure you are going to a better situation.  In my case with Hal, I firmly felt it was better to be single and "alone" rather than connected with someone whose judgment I could not respect. In the case of work, this means you need to consider your salary, benefits, training you are receiving, network you are building etc.  If, for example you hate your job, but you are building skills that will help you achieve your future goals, you may want to stick around.  Or if your boss knows you are considering other opportunities and says he needs you and offers you a decent retention bonus to stay through the end of the year, you may decide that it's worth it to stick around.  On the other hand, if the money, benefits and training don't stack up and you are only doing it because you feel guilted into it by a needy boss whose judgment you cannot respect, then it's okay to move on if you don't have a match!

A New Twist on References

Young and Frugal has an interesting posting on asking a potential employer for references - that's right, before you take a job with a company, ask if you can have some references on the boss and his leadership style.  I'm intrigued. I've advised people to do their background research before accepting a new job, but never specifically suggested that candidates ask for references on the boss. 

As someone who does staffing consulting and runs a lot of search committees, I can't say I'm opposed to the idea.  Like everything, I suppose it's all about how the idea is put into action.  I could see being impressed with a candidate who asked for references on the boss.  I could also envision being put off by it, depending on how it's done.  With that thought in mind, here are a few do's and don'ts to consider...

• DO keep in mind that the interview process is about finding a match between your skills and interests and the potential employers needs and opportunities.  Therefore, position your request for references as further exploration of this match and not as a background check.
• DON'T come across as self-focused.  See the point above - stay focused on the possibility of a match!
• DO explain what you are doing.  Since this is a novel approach to the career search, there is a possibility that people will be surprised when you ask.  Be prepared with a clear statement of what you are doing.  e.g., "Based on everything I have heard so far, I am really excited about the potential of working here.  As you go through your process of checking my references you'll have the chance to learn more about what I can bring to the table here. I would like to have a similar opportunity to learn about how joining this department at XYZ company can help me grow in my career. So I would also like to speak to 2 or 3 individuals who can tell me a little about what it's like to work with Ms. [hiring manager] as a colleague and a peer.  Would you be able to give me some people I can call."
• DON'T make your reference check process more formal than it needs to be.  One of my clients has all finalists for any position in the company meet every member of the leadership team and many of the staff before extending an offer.  If you go through several interview session like this, take advantage of those opportunities to ask your "reference checking" questions.  In a case like this company, if a candidate with through the full interview process and then asked for references on the hiring manager, I would wonder if he had been engaged in the interview process since he would have already had ample time to ask his questions.
• DO keep context in mind.  If you are applying for a job as a creative intern at Pixar and you are among the hundreds of art student hopefuls who are beating down their door every summer, and you luck into an interview think twice before asking to do a reference check on the boss.  It's possible they will refer you to their latest blockbuster dvd's as their references before gently showing you the door as they wave in the next candidate.

Growing a career requires that you constantly develop your skills and make a contribution - doing some reference checking to make sure the job you are about to accept will allow you to accomplish both of these activities well is a wise idea!

The Difference Between Ordinary and Extraordinary

Do you do ordinary work or extraordinary work?  You may be thinking, "Well, I'm ordinary, but at least I have balance.  I'm not going to become a workaholic just so I can be extraordinary."  What if you didn't have to be a workaholic to be extraordinary?  Chris at the Maximize Possibility Blog says that the difference between ordinary and extraordinary is simply "that little extra".  He notes that:

• "The Daytona 500 and the Indy 500 - auto races that take over three hours to complete are rarely won by more than a couple of seconds.  The average over the last 10 years has been just 1.54 seconds. 
• The difference between a gold and silver medal performance in timed events at the Olympic games it rarely more than 1/10th of a second."

What would "that little extra" look like in your job?  Would it be smiling when you answer the phone?  Proofing your e-mails before firing them off?  Getting input from a couple of peers before planning a project?  Most of the little extra actions that set you apart will require little in the way of actual time and effort and can yield big payoffs in results.

"Hmmmm," you may be thinking, "I'm just not convinced that I won't turn into a neurotic workaholic if I go around doing "that little extra" all the time.  Robert Kriegel to the rescue.  In Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers Kriegel busts the myth that being willing to give 110% all the time is what it takes to get ahead.  Instead he suggests that you can perform better if you work smart - usually at 80-90% of your current pace. 

Okay, so I'm going to work at 90% and still do "that little extra?"  Yep.  F. Scott Fitzgerald said, "The test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function." By eliminating franticness, and applying better thinking you can be more successful at work and have a more full personal life. It's up to you to figure out what 90% looks like - but rest assured that 90% is NOT a contradiction with "that little extra"! 

Get a good start to Monday!

What if you could enhance your career and feed the hungry at the same time?  You can!  At FreeRice.com you can take a fun vocabulary test and for every word you get correct, they will donate 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program. 

Why would you bother for only 20 grains of rice?  Easy:

1. First, learning new vocabulary has many benefits including helping people be more effective and successful in their jobs.
2. Second, when you see the grains of rice piling up as you answer questions correctly, it's fun to think about the people who will have another meal because of you.

WARNING - this is a highly addictive game!   But it's a good addiction since it improves your mind, and the lives of others at the same time - a great start to Monday, for sure.

Click here to play and see how high you can go.  I got to level 42 - can you top that?   

10 Things to Know Before You Change Your Life

Hat tip to my friend Kristen for alerting me to More.com's great article on 10 Things to Know Before You Change Your Life.  If you are frustrated and bored with your work and seeking a career change, this is an encouraging, realistic perspective on what it takes.   Here's a teaser to get you started:

1. Size doesn't matter.

I call this the rearview-mirror effect. You know that little sign that reads: "Objects may be closer than they appear"? Well, reinvention is bigger -- by magnitudes -- than it may appear. That's because what matters is not how momentous the change seems to the outside world, but how it feels to you. My career makeover -- from editor to writer -- barely nudged the needle on the reinvention Richter scale, but it was an earthquake in my life. It wasn't until I started talking to people who were making massive life changes -- a baby at 50, ditching a lucrative career as a cooking celebrity to become a personal trainer, losing 90 pounds and running a marathon -- that I realized my fears and worries were the same as theirs, and every bit as legitimate, because they were just as real to me.

This look-small, feel-big phenomenon means you may not get the affirmation you crave from other people. Adopt a baby at 52, and friends will be awestruck. Make a subtle career change like mine, and they'll congratulate you, but that's about it. When you reinvent yourself, whatever the dimensions of the change, consider that by acting on a dream, you are becoming a role model to yourself and you don't need the world's applause. Focus on that; then when apprehension strikes, you can let it just wash through you.

Read the rest here.  Have you recently made a career change?  Are you in the middle of one?  Please leave a comment and let us know what you are doing, how it's going and what you have learned.  Your story may feel old to you, but it just may be the encouragement someone else needs!

The Career Value of Economic Downturns

It's no secret that the economy is a bit precarious these days.  The latest issue of HR Magazine reported that 2008 is expected to be one of the biggest years for layoffs in recent decades.  This is obviously concerning on many fronts.  So how do you manage your career in these times?

I've been on both sides of the table. I've been laid off and I've run layoff events.  I can assure you that it's no fun on either side of the table.  My experience with most of my clients is that they work very hard to be thoughtful in any layoff strategy and to be as humane as possible in a difficult situation. 

That said, there are still some folks that will land on the layoff list and some that won't. How can you avoid being on the list?  Typically there are three criteria that will be considered:

1. Is the position you hold "mission critical"?  That is, what is your company trying to accomplish overall, and how does your position feed into that goal?  If you are on a pet project that you really like, but it's a "nice to have" vs. an integral part of the company strategy, you might find yourself vulnerable.
2. Are your skills "hard to replace" in the current labor market?  If the skill set you have is pretty common and your position can be filled again quickly when the economy looks brighter, it will be easier for your company to put you on the layoff list.  But if you have skills that are harder to find, then your company will think twice about letting you go.  One of my HR Colleagues works in an organization that is struggling to meet their goals this year.  They will probably enact some layoffs before the year is out.  He expressed to me that there are certain professional licenses that are required and the Director level and "nice to have" at the manager level.  They will likely be cutting management staff in the layoffs.  Guess who is most likely to land on "the list"?  Those who haven't invested the time and effort to get the "nice to have" professional licenses.  Why?  Because a) the company pays for individuals to pursue these licenses, and b) It's a lot easier to groom someone for a Director role when the licensing issue is already out of the way.  The challenge for the individual is that achieving licensure is a lot of hard work.  Those licensed individuals who get laid off will have a much easier time finding employment again since a new employer would not have to invest in the licensing process for them.
3. Are you a high performer?  I'm not asking if you were a high performer in the past.  I am asking if you are a high performer in your current role.  And high performance has many components.  It includes what you do as well as how you do it.  Are you directly contributing to business results and are you doing so in a way that encourages others and is invigorating to be around?  Don't rely on past performance reviews.  Take a close look at what you are doing here and now and ask if you are doing good work.

These three criteria for layoff planning are good career development things to think about in good times and in bad.  The twin pillars of career development - and if you're a regular reader, you'll know I beat this drum often - are a) developing your talents and skills and b) making a contribution.  The third pillar is c)being able to accomplish the first two pillars within the current context you are in.  Therefore, I encourage you to do the following if you want to grow your career during these tough times.  First, realistically assess the context you are in.  What are your company's goals?  What does your company need in order to accomplish those goals?  Second, review the 3 criteria for layoffs and challenge yourself whether you have done all you can to be a high-performing, mission critical player who is hard to replace.

If you have this approach to career development, you will survive and thrive no matter what comes your way!