All posts by cmperkins

Client Director at TMP Worldwide UK
Establishing career goals, General Career Management

A careers lesson from mountaineers

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Mountaineer

We spent a few days in Aviemore recently. I’ve never done any climbing, but I was reading an interview with a mountaineer who was asked ‘When do you get disheartened?’ His reply was, ‘When bad weather sets in’. But it wasn’t because the climb gets harder or more dangerous, it was because, ‘That’s when you lose sight of the peak’.

So in the midst of what might be an arduous climb he didn’t get disheartened because the conditions had got worse, it was because he had lost sight of his goal. He couldn’t clearly see the thing he was aiming for.

If you’re in the midst of climbing the career ladder and things seem tough, maybe it’s because you’ve lost sight of the goal you’re aiming for. Recreate it clearly and vividly. Use images, or write something down using descriptive language – use the senses and bring it to life.

That way when the career equivalent of bad weather sets in, you’ll still be able to see what you’re aiming for.

Uncategorized

Well that went well!

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OK, I promise to now post more frequently than once a year!

I’ve now moved on and joined TMP in the UK as Client Director and it’s a role I’m really excited about. I did a marketing degree (a long time ago!) and always thought I’d end up in advertising – it’s taken a while but here I am. Actually we’re far more than a recruitment advertising business. Our core focus is on employer branding – what we call brand led direct resourcing. Our approach can have significant benefits in areas such as employee engagement and talent management.

So there’s a lot for me to get stuck into! This is week two and I’m relishing that ‘new starter’ experience again.

There’s even more reason for me to focus on the world of work, careers and how to land that dream job – so watch this space….

General Career Management, Networking, Self-awareness, Uncovering opportunities

My very own career detour

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detour1-271x300

Well, after a hiatus of just over three years (!) I’ve decided it’s time to start blogging again. Why now? Well, I’m now working in the career management field again, I’ve learned a lot over the last three years (some of which I think might be helpful for others), and I want an outlet for some of my thoughts and observations about work and careers.

So, here’s what’s been happening since my last post…

At the end of 2010 I got into a conversation about joining a bank as an internal HR Consultant. For various reasons, including having been in consultancy for ten years, it looked like a great move. It was an opportunity to apply some of the things I’d been helping clients do inside an organisation I was part of, it wouldn’t involve a sales target, it was a great package and they were saying all the right things. In April 2011 I moved.

It turned out not to be a good decision. The organisation’s culture just wasn’t for me (the last corporate HR role I was in, with a big retailer, ended for the same reason). I’ve come to trust my gut instinct over the years and, just at the point at which I was thinking ‘This isn’t working out’, I was called to a meeting by my boss. This was the end of 2011. I thought the meeting would be to discuss the projects I’d be working on the following year; but it turned out that I was caught up in another round of restructuring and was being made redundant. I felt a mixture of shock and relief.

The company provided outplacement support, which I took up (obviously!) Even though I’d been an outplacement practitioner for several years prior to this role, there were two questions I wanted to answer that I knew an impartial career coach could help with: ‘Is there a corporate HR role that would suit me – just not at this organisation?’ and, ‘If not, should I go back into consultancy or do my own thing?’

I was amazed at how the answer to the first question popped up just by doing a few basic exercises – a skills and values card sort and a career map. Clearly corporate HR roles did not play to my strengths, and a conversation with a headhunter made it clear that I couldn’t compete for them credibly against others who were in the market for those jobs.

So that left the second question. I had an idea for a business that would play to my strengths and it’s something I’d considered before. Again, using fundamental career decision tools the answer became clear: the risks and resources required in starting up a business (as the main breadwinner with two young children) outweighed the potential upside.

So very quickly I had a clear focus. A consultancy role. And the single most effective strategy to uncover new opportunities is networking – fortunately, something I’ve always sought to do since my very first days in a B2B role (see this previous post for a great networking philosophy).

One of my first calls was to a member of the Savile Group board; not to ask for a job, but because this person is so well connected – and I’d spent the last year immersed in building an internal network at the bank – that they could provide me with some useful market insights into what was happening in the big wide world and where I could look for new opportunities.

As it turned out, a combination of circumstances meant that there might be a new role at the Group and I was delighted to return in February 2012.

I can’t believe a year has passed already. I look back on my time at the bank as my career detour. I thought the grass was greener and inadvertently stepped into a role that didn’t suit me. I thought I had done sufficient due diligence and it was going to be a good move; but it wasn’t. Fortunately, employing some tried and tested career management techniques helped me land back in a role that I love.

A few client experiences have reminded me of my journey recently, and I thought it was about time that I started putting some of those thoughts in writing. I intend to post more regularly now and hope you get something useful from some of my ideas. Feedback and comments always welcome!

Career success stories, CV, Job Boards/Online, Personal branding, Uncategorized, Uncovering opportunities

The SlideShare presentation that got me hired

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I received this in a SlideShare newsletter last week. It’s a great example of a creative campaign to get hired (for a job that wasn’t being advertised – it was being tweeted).

Yes, it’s American; yes, she works in PR; and, yes, this won’t apply to everyone for every role. But there are some very important lessons to be learned from Laura’s story:

  • The impact of technology on the job search is unrelenting and you need to a) keep up, and, b) start using it to your advantage
  • Thinking creatively about how to market yourself usually creates a very good impression with a prospective employer
  • You create your own opportunities to stand out from the crowd

So read Laura’s story and think about how you could market yourself more creatively…

Resumes are Old School, Use SlideShare & Twitter to Get Hired

Laura Gainor wasn’t always the PR & Social Media Strategist at Comet Branding and this is the story of how that came to be.

When Laura found out she and her husband were moving from Charlotte to Milwaukee, she reached out to companies in the area, including Comet Branding who tweeted about a job opening.

Laura set out to get herself hired by launching a #LauraGainorToMilwaukee campaign that mixed in Twitter, FourSquare and SlideShare.
Laura and her husband had already planned a trip to Milwaukee. She made a poster out of the Comet Brand logo and posted pictures of the poster in various venues at Milwaukee with a Foursquare check-in and a tweet. The campaign was fun, spontaneous and creative and showcased Laura’s personality and creativity.

But Laura also wanted to showcase her experience as well as creative and strategic talents. So she uploaded a presentation to SlideShare and periodically tweeted links to that presentation.

“SlideShare allowed me the opportunity to publicly explain what I did and how I did it, to get the attention of Comet Branding,” said Laura.

Laura pulled together photos to create a virtual resume as well as screenshots of her Foursquare check-ins from Milwaukee. “My goal for my SlideShare presentation was to create a story about who I was, my professional experience, showcase my talents that would make me a good fit for Comet Branding, as well as pull together my #LauraGainorToMilwaukee story into one place,” Laura explained.
The very day Laura’s presentation was uploaded, it made it to SlideShare’s ‘Most Popular’ and was passed around on SlideShare and the Twittersphere. She got tweets and direct messages from all over.
There were even teachers downloading the presentation to show their classes and example of presenting yourself as a brand to possible employers.

Comet Branding also noticed Laura. They contacted her to setup a first interview. On March 1st she went in for a second interview and was immediately offered the position!

Laura says, “I feel very honored to have had my first day in my new desk at Comet Branding on Wednesday, March 3rd.”

If you are looking for a job, take a lesson from Laura’s book – showcase yourself through a presentation and use Twitter or Facebook to get the attention of the company you want to work at.

Establishing career goals

Any trance of a job?

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Paul McKenna was speaking to a group of jobless young people at Hampden today – at a cost of £20,000!

Skills Development Scotland had brought him up here to boost the confidence of young unemployed people. Paul McKenna is good at what he does, and SDS argued that his slot would engage young people.

But that £20,000 could have funded 20 new apprenticeships.

Undoubtedly, confidence is a huge issue for job seekers. Especially for the long-term unemployed or young people with little work experience. But I don’t think this was the best use of taxpayers’ money.

Confidence is built when you experience a track record of success – for example, successfully completing application forms, gaining interviews, getting a work placement.

A ‘sugar high’ motivational confidence boost is all very well, but will it actually help people be more purposeful looking for work, be more motivated to apply for jobs and be more confident in interviews?

If you want to feel more confident in your job search, reflect on what you’ve achieved at each step in the process. Confidence comes from repeatedly having success at something – that doesn’t mean just landing a job – it’s successfully completing each step.

Who needs motivational speakers? Consider the successes you’ve had along the way, and in your career to date – successfully performing at interviews in the past, for example.

Unfortunately, getting a pep talk from a celebrity isn’t going to land you that dream job. Being clear on your career goal and focused on how to achieve it will. Go for it!

Job Boards/Online, Personal branding

What is your online presence telling employers?

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In a recent survey of over 1,000 HR professionals, 64 per cent of them said they considered it appropriate to search the web for information on a job candidate – and 41 per cent of them had rejected a candidate on this basis!

In a parallel survey of jobseekers, only 37 per cent of them thought it was their responsibility to protect their online reputation.

This issue is mentioned in a previous post about personal branding. I suspect Googling candidates will become even more commonplace – especially for senior or public roles.

John Lees makes the same point in an article in the last issue of People Management: “think carefully about entries on social networking sites”. Talking about being memorable, he also makes the comment that “It’s vital you manage the things people say about you when you’re not in the room.” If someone’s found an embarrassing picture of you on Facebook, what’s that going to do to your chances of getting that job or promotion?

Establishing career goals, General Career Management, The labour market, Uncovering opportunities

Firms fail to meet employees’ career aspirations

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Today the Chartered Institute of Management published its survey results, which show some interesting things career wise:

Resignations have increased over the last year – and these aren’t redundancies – these are people leaving voluntarily. Requests for internal transfers are also down. So, despite the volatility in the jobs market, more people are choosing to pursue career opportunities elsewhere.

More than half the employers questioned (53.8 per cent) admitted that restructuring and job insecurity caused many of their staff to ‘jump ship’.  A significant proportion (38.5 per cent) recognised that their ‘failure to offer career opportunities and training’ contributed to employees leaving.  Given widespread recognition that engaged staff are more loyal, it is alarming that 61.5 per cent also admitted that their employees’ heads had been turned by head-hunters and recruitment consultants.

My sesnse of one of the best things to come out of this recession is a new intelligence about careers. I congratulate the people who’ve had the courage to move on to something better (sacrificing significant employment rights if they had more than a year’s service with the former employer), and I am disappointed that employers still don’t place enough emphasis on career management.

Too often, when someone hands in their notice, the manager says something like ‘I wish I’d known, I had big plans for you’. WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL THEM THEN?!

If you are considering a move, why don’t you take the initiative and ask for a chat with your manager about your career goals? You don’t have to be totally upfront with them about your desire to move on. Something like ‘I’ve been thinking about how I could add more value, and these are the things I’d like to focus on over the next year or so…’ will test the water. See if your manager responds with an open and authentic discussion about your career with the organisation.

In most cases, he/she won’t want to lose you and, assuming there’s a good cultural fit between you and the organisation, there are several advantages to staying with the same employer and shaping your job to play to your strengths more (longer holiday entitlement, established relationships, better visibility of new career opportunities, etc – and, if the worst does happen, your long service will entitle you to a bigger redundancy package).

So if your employer has been a bit remiss about helping you to manage your career, why don’t you get the ball rolling…..what have you got to lose? Looks like there’s still healthy demand for good people out there.

Career success stories, General Career Management, Job Boards/Online, Job Search Resources, Personal branding, Uncovering opportunities

Lessons from LinkedIn’s founder

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I read an interview with Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, last night. Successful internet entrepreneurs seem to have that proverbial ‘overnight success’; but, like anyone else, his career has been an interesting journey.

He graduated with a Master’s degree in philosophy from Oxford and initially saw his career path as academia, “But I realised academics write books that 50 or 60 people read and I wanted more impact.”  He decided that an entrepreneurial career would provide him with a bigger platform.

He returned to California in 1993, just at the start of the internet boom, and began to pursue a career in software. However, he had come up with a checklist of skills he wanted to acquire. He purposely set out to acquire them and, within four years, which included stints at Apple and Fujitsu to develop the skills he sought, he launched his first internet venture – a dating website called SocialNet.com

Whilst there were other online dating services, this was way before the terms Web 2.0 and social networking had been coined. You can see where Hoffman was going….

SocialNet.com wasn’t a great success. Hoffman realised that his early adopters were only customers for about three and a half months – either they found someone in that time or they got frustrated and moved on to try something else.

He realised that, “The ideal characteristic of a startup is where people don’t fully understand if your idea is any good or not but where you prove it is in two or three years.” (That certainly describes my experience with LinkedIn – I signed up in 2006 because it looked interesting, but it took a couple of years to realise its full power and its benefits).

In 1999, Hoffman moved to PayPal, becoming part of the founding board and then a full-time employee as VP of Business Development. He played a key role in the sale of Paypal to eBay in 2002.

From there the rest is history. He took what he learned from SocialNet and founded LinkedIn. It’s now pushing 50 million members worldwide and Hoffman’s goal is to sign up “25 per cent of the globe” (that’s his estimate of how many people could be described as ‘professional’).

He also likes to point out that “Every individual now is a small business. You no longer work for one entity for a lifetime. Part of the mistake is that you think you have to go and search and find a job. But there is a massive ecosystem of people out there who might come and find you.” And LinkedIn has certainly facilitated that!

Career management lessons:

  • Figure out where you can make the most impact with what you do.
  • Come up with a ‘checklist of skills’ to be the best in that field. Audit yourself – do you have all those skills or do you need to acquire them?
  • Test your ideas and, if something doesn’t work, don’t consider it a failure; learn from it.
  • (At this point it helps if you can make a huge pile of money from an IPO, but that’s not essential.)
  • Apply what you have learned.
  • Develop and maintain your professional brand (including LinkedIn profile!)

I leave the final comment to a quote from Hoffman: “Life is not like a chess plan. It’s more about what opportunities you find yourself facing and how you respond to them.”

Career success stories, Establishing career goals, General Career Management, The labour market, Uncovering opportunities

Ten careers that didn’t exist ten years ago

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This article at Carerbuilder.com isn’t a scietific survey, but it does make you think about how technology, social and environmental trends are shaping careers.

It contains an interesting example of a career shifter: the customer service rep who became a full-time blogger and more than doubled his salary!

And ten years ago, who’d have thought you could get a job as a Green Funeral Director or a Social Media Strategist?

Dom Sagolla, co-creator of Twitter, is also quoted as saying his success is down to his efforts to position himself at the intersection of two emerging new industries – iPhone apps and social media.

Nice work if you can get it! Rather than trying to predict the next big thing to get into, look for the convergence of two industries – the intersection is going to create a real hot spot and demand for people who can capitalise on it.

Establishing career goals, General Career Management

Where did all the talent go?

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Here’s an article I wrote for the January issue of HR Network Scotland (you can read the full magazine by clicking on the cover on the homepage).

It’s from the perspective of the employer, encouraging managers to be more proactive in having career development discussions with employees, but is also relevant to employees in terms of recommending they take the initiative and express their career aspirations to the boss.

If you’re suffering from New Year blues at present and are frustrated in your current role, why not follow the suggestions in this article? The solution to your job dis-satisfaction may be closer to home than you think:

“How many of your employees do you think have made New Year’s Resolutions to find another job?

Perhaps not right now, but if an upturn comes in your market over the course of this year a lot of them might be off. Exit interviews show that over 25% of leavers were moving for career advancement that their former employer could have offered them – if a conversation about career development had taken place sooner.

Do you talk to your employees about their future? Talented people want challenging assignments and good leadership. So successful career planning requires employer and employee to have mature conversations about ambitions, aspirations, potential, opportunities and growth.

So why don’t we discuss these issues? Why is HR so unsuccessful in running internal mobility initiatives? Underpinning this failure of communication is a lack of openness and clarity on both sides.

Employees are reluctant to voice their aspirations and long-term career goals for fear of jeopardising their job security. They don’t want their employer to think they are dissatisfied, disloyal or planning to leave. So they don’t ask for training or secondments that will allow them to develop the competencies they need to build on as part of their long-term career plan. Instead they leave for a role that they hope will allow them to develop these aspirational competencies.

It’s relatively rare for people to leave jobs where they are happy, even if offered higher pay, as most people prefer stability. But CIPD research shows lack of training and developmental opportunities are major reasons for staff turnover. If more organisations could get this bit right they’d improve their staff retention, make significant savings on recruitment costs and improve staff relations too.

Employers fear making the investment in training and developing people who will then leave. In addition, managers don’t necessarily advertise the fact that staff are top performers, as they don’t want to lose their best people to promotion or other departments. This means good staff aren’t enabled to fulfil their potential and may move on prematurely because managers aren’t committed to and engaged in the career planning and development process.

In an organisation that aims to anticipate human capital needs and meet them effectively, management needs to encourage dialogue about career paths, choices and opportunities. This sort of interaction can produce a win/win situation: employees improve their skills and competencies while the organisation benefits from an engaged and empowered workforce, enabled to realise their potential as well as their ambitions.

Ambitious people don’t want to wait for opportunities and often don’t have to – they move on. Good employees are looking for work that interests them and to increase their skills base. They want advancement, challenges and control over their careers. So processes and policies that go even part way to helping staff achieve their aspirations and ambitions will pay dividends. Building a talent pool is more efficient, less disruptive and cheaper than buying talent in!

Initiating such conversations may feel risky. Managers may feel that career decisions are best left to HR and top management. But balancing the interests of employer and employee is a strategic imperative if you want to protect your investment in development efforts. Employees need to willingly share their view of the future with their employers – and if career planning with their current employer can help them grow into what they want to be then that’s all to the good for both parties.

Management need to be educated in dealing with these risky conversations. They need to initiate dialogues with employees to address development needs and concerns. This has to be face-to-face. It may be sensitive, challenging and time-consuming. It requires imagination, courage and commitment on the part of the organisation. But the alternative is even more costly – losing your best people.

Openness in discussing career planning allows an organisation to improve its capability to spot talent, keep people motivated, stretched and challenged, whilst giving them appropriate support and development opportunities. Employees’ choices may not dovetail with organisational interests perfectly, but preserving the investment made in developing staff is a moveable feast. Meeting the needs of the organisation should take account of the preferences of all involved.

We all know that very few New Year’s Resolutions get acted upon – so why not demonstrate to your best employees that there really is no need to start surfing round the job boards? Start talking to them about their careers today.”