A short post today but an important one.
Watch the third video on this link http://help-them-grow.com/Videos.html called What Employees Want From Their Careers.
Ask your boss some of those questions next time you see them. Analyse your current job in this context. Seek workplaces that can answer these questions. Answer these questions for your subordinates and see what happens.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Preparing your references
One often under-developed part of getting a new job by a job seeker is references. Typically, a job seeker gets all the contact information of someone who will say nice things about them. They may even go so far as asking permission from the references to us their name.
Again, the Government of Canada has a great (free) resource http://www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/plcy-pltq/guides/checking-verification/app-ann-3-eng.htm. Here are the recommendations made that are suitable for any job seeker:
1. Your references should have had an adequate opportunity to observe you in job-relevant situations. Therefore, the referee should have an in-depth and direct knowledge of your work and be able to answer specific questions pertaining to your achievements and strengths. Too often, job seekers use references that have superficial knowledge of their work behaviours. Focus on people that you deal with on a day-to-day basis. Also, a good practice is to "refresh" your references memory about what great things you accomplished. If someone asks me to be their reference, I ask them to email 10 things they are proud of doing while working with me/for me (I can choose whether I agree or not but at least it gives me a starting point).
2. Your references should have worked with you recently and generally for at least six months within the last five years. Trust me, many references can't remember what you did last week, forget about 7 years ago.
3. Your references should be open and candid in communicating relevant information about your work performance. If a reference is going to be brief and not provide details, they will not give the hiring manager the information they are looking for.
4. You references should be available. I know this is obvious, but in my experience, some references are impossible to track down and some never return phone calls. If possible, use a reference's mobile contact information so they can be reached away from their desk or home.
5. Consider providing your referees with a copy of your résumé that you submitted, a copy of the job advertisement and any other relevant information. This can give them the context of the job and they might give examples that "fit" with the job requirements.
Spend as much time managing your references as you do rewriting your resume. Your resume gets you the interview; your references likely will get you the job offer
Again, the Government of Canada has a great (free) resource http://www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/plcy-pltq/guides/checking-verification/app-ann-3-eng.htm. Here are the recommendations made that are suitable for any job seeker:
1. Your references should have had an adequate opportunity to observe you in job-relevant situations. Therefore, the referee should have an in-depth and direct knowledge of your work and be able to answer specific questions pertaining to your achievements and strengths. Too often, job seekers use references that have superficial knowledge of their work behaviours. Focus on people that you deal with on a day-to-day basis. Also, a good practice is to "refresh" your references memory about what great things you accomplished. If someone asks me to be their reference, I ask them to email 10 things they are proud of doing while working with me/for me (I can choose whether I agree or not but at least it gives me a starting point).
2. Your references should have worked with you recently and generally for at least six months within the last five years. Trust me, many references can't remember what you did last week, forget about 7 years ago.
3. Your references should be open and candid in communicating relevant information about your work performance. If a reference is going to be brief and not provide details, they will not give the hiring manager the information they are looking for.
4. You references should be available. I know this is obvious, but in my experience, some references are impossible to track down and some never return phone calls. If possible, use a reference's mobile contact information so they can be reached away from their desk or home.
5. Consider providing your referees with a copy of your résumé that you submitted, a copy of the job advertisement and any other relevant information. This can give them the context of the job and they might give examples that "fit" with the job requirements.
Spend as much time managing your references as you do rewriting your resume. Your resume gets you the interview; your references likely will get you the job offer
Monday, April 16, 2012
Becoming a professional
Last week I blogged about the 9 essential skills for ANY job. But it is not that simple. For self-fulfillment and recognition (income-earning potential), I became a professional. I took the required education, joined the accepted professional association, gained the required experiences, and built the skills to be a professional. This can be done for most any job out there & can help position yourself on the top of everyone's hiring list.
Here is how;
1. Use an occupational profile site, typically run by your provincial government. In Alberta, the site is called ALIS and can be found at http://alis.alberta.ca/occinfo/Content/RequestAction.asp?format=html&aspAction=GetHomePage&Page=Home. Under each job title are the duties, personal characteristics, educational requirements, and associations. This can be used as a professional roadmap for education (including post-graduate), subject matters you may want to get experience in, and abilities that you may want to focus on.
2. Use the professional association’s web-site for required capabilities. My association, CHRP, has 187 knowledge, concepts, skills, abilities and other attributes required for demonstrating success as an effective human resources professional.
3. As always, when in doubt, Google. I found a great information source on HR Consulting from Alan Weiss He has tonnes of free articles on his web-site about consulting best-practices http://www.summitconsulting.com/articles/index.php. I have adopted many of them to the public sector with great success.
Best of luck becoming and presenting yourself as the consumate professional in whatever you do!
Here is how;
1. Use an occupational profile site, typically run by your provincial government. In Alberta, the site is called ALIS and can be found at http://alis.alberta.ca/occinfo/Content/RequestAction.asp?format=html&aspAction=GetHomePage&Page=Home. Under each job title are the duties, personal characteristics, educational requirements, and associations. This can be used as a professional roadmap for education (including post-graduate), subject matters you may want to get experience in, and abilities that you may want to focus on.
2. Use the professional association’s web-site for required capabilities. My association, CHRP, has 187 knowledge, concepts, skills, abilities and other attributes required for demonstrating success as an effective human resources professional.
3. As always, when in doubt, Google. I found a great information source on HR Consulting from Alan Weiss He has tonnes of free articles on his web-site about consulting best-practices http://www.summitconsulting.com/articles/index.php. I have adopted many of them to the public sector with great success.
Best of luck becoming and presenting yourself as the consumate professional in whatever you do!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Getting ready for the job interview
So, I found out late on Friday that I have an interview outside of the Government of Canada on Monday. The first thoughts were joyous and after that it was all work...
Here are some effective steps to get ready for a job interview:
1. Use your networks. First thing I did was call a friend I knew worked there. We chatted about what he knows, who he knows, what his interview experience was like. He helped focus me - he told me the organization typically probes knowledge of the organization, they use situational questioning, and they prefer to hire within, amongst other things
2. Do your research. I went to the organization's hiring page and clicked on every link and read everything. I read the union agreements, the leadership competencies, and the learning program. I looked for their brand - which often is simple statements that show the more lengthy corporate vision, mission, and value statements.
3. Read and re-read the job advertisement that you applied to. Focus in on key sentences & look for repetition. In the first paragraph there is "showcase your ability to manage multiple priorities". In the bullet list, there is "prioritize workload requirements and create and utilize tools and practices to support efficiencies". In the qualifications section, there is “demonstrated ability to effectively manage large work volumes". This leads me to believe there will be a question on this factor.
There are two ways a skilled interviewer will ask about a skill or personal quality - behavioural (your past) or situational (hypothetically). So, for this factor I will think of 2 or 3 great stories in my past where I have handled large workloads AND I will consider what key steps to successfully managing lots of work are.
4. When in doubt, Google. Some organizations have jargon and you are best to figure out what they mean. In my job as, there was the phrase “Performance-based recruitment". My Google search led me to Lou Adler's book Hire with your Head - Using Performance-Based Hiring to Build Great Teams. Google books had a preview of the book on-line so I read a few pages, including the table of contents. Now I know what is it and can prepare.
5. Check over your resume and understand your stories. My resume has "Advises Government of Canada Executives, Senior Managers, and Middle Managers, HR professionals on HR issues including HR planning, organizational design, recruitment, assessment, and on-boarding.” So this afternoon I will spend recalling in detail my advisory success stories that displayed good judgment, good passion, or good leadership.
6. Create a binder. I like to hole punch and organize all my work. I stick in the job advertisement that I have been carrying in my pocket for the last 3 days, the copy of the resume I submitted, all my hand-written notes on the organization, the key competencies, my dissection of the job advertisement, the questions I have for the interview board, and the stories from my past on the key concepts. I use this prepare and I bring it into the interview in case it is acceptable to refer to my notes.
7. Chill out. Unclutter your brain, find perspective and balance. A job seeker often assumes success or failure resulting in over-confidence or under-confidence. Find the mid-point and take control of what you can. The organization is investing in an interview with you so that is a sign they think you could be the right person.
Here are some effective steps to get ready for a job interview:
1. Use your networks. First thing I did was call a friend I knew worked there. We chatted about what he knows, who he knows, what his interview experience was like. He helped focus me - he told me the organization typically probes knowledge of the organization, they use situational questioning, and they prefer to hire within, amongst other things
2. Do your research. I went to the organization's hiring page and clicked on every link and read everything. I read the union agreements, the leadership competencies, and the learning program. I looked for their brand - which often is simple statements that show the more lengthy corporate vision, mission, and value statements.
3. Read and re-read the job advertisement that you applied to. Focus in on key sentences & look for repetition. In the first paragraph there is "showcase your ability to manage multiple priorities". In the bullet list, there is "prioritize workload requirements and create and utilize tools and practices to support efficiencies". In the qualifications section, there is “demonstrated ability to effectively manage large work volumes". This leads me to believe there will be a question on this factor.
There are two ways a skilled interviewer will ask about a skill or personal quality - behavioural (your past) or situational (hypothetically). So, for this factor I will think of 2 or 3 great stories in my past where I have handled large workloads AND I will consider what key steps to successfully managing lots of work are.
4. When in doubt, Google. Some organizations have jargon and you are best to figure out what they mean. In my job as, there was the phrase “Performance-based recruitment". My Google search led me to Lou Adler's book Hire with your Head - Using Performance-Based Hiring to Build Great Teams. Google books had a preview of the book on-line so I read a few pages, including the table of contents. Now I know what is it and can prepare.
5. Check over your resume and understand your stories. My resume has "Advises Government of Canada Executives, Senior Managers, and Middle Managers, HR professionals on HR issues including HR planning, organizational design, recruitment, assessment, and on-boarding.” So this afternoon I will spend recalling in detail my advisory success stories that displayed good judgment, good passion, or good leadership.
6. Create a binder. I like to hole punch and organize all my work. I stick in the job advertisement that I have been carrying in my pocket for the last 3 days, the copy of the resume I submitted, all my hand-written notes on the organization, the key competencies, my dissection of the job advertisement, the questions I have for the interview board, and the stories from my past on the key concepts. I use this prepare and I bring it into the interview in case it is acceptable to refer to my notes.
7. Chill out. Unclutter your brain, find perspective and balance. A job seeker often assumes success or failure resulting in over-confidence or under-confidence. Find the mid-point and take control of what you can. The organization is investing in an interview with you so that is a sign they think you could be the right person.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Winning Negotiations
When the job seeker and the employer are ready to make a commitment to each other, then the fun begins - the negotiations. Most public servants have not developed these skills in these situations since all the conditions of employment are collectively bargained and published, including salaries & benefits.
Here are some critical behaviours needed to "win" a negotiation:
1. Plan carefully, do your homework
2. Be committed to yourself and your position
3. Understand Human Behaviour
4. Communicate well
5. Be creative and flexible
6. Be patient and persistent
7. Be self-aware and confident
8. Know when to stop
9. Remain Objective
10. Have a win-win orientation
11. Enjoy the negotiation
12. Be aware of tactics
Stress can hijack your mind and lead you into negative negotiation behaviours. Here is a tip - USE YOUR PCV Valve.
P- pause for 3 seconds
C - control you body including your face, and voice
V - value what they just said by showing understanding.
I will keep you posted - it is so easy to give out advice or to research what the experts tell you but to actually live and practice all of these good job seeker strategies is not so easy.
Here are some critical behaviours needed to "win" a negotiation:
1. Plan carefully, do your homework
2. Be committed to yourself and your position
3. Understand Human Behaviour
4. Communicate well
5. Be creative and flexible
6. Be patient and persistent
7. Be self-aware and confident
8. Know when to stop
9. Remain Objective
10. Have a win-win orientation
11. Enjoy the negotiation
12. Be aware of tactics
Stress can hijack your mind and lead you into negative negotiation behaviours. Here is a tip - USE YOUR PCV Valve.
P- pause for 3 seconds
C - control you body including your face, and voice
V - value what they just said by showing understanding.
I will keep you posted - it is so easy to give out advice or to research what the experts tell you but to actually live and practice all of these good job seeker strategies is not so easy.
Friday, April 13, 2012
The 9 Essential Skills for Any Job
Working for the Government of Canada for the past 8 years has opened my eyes to so many free resources. Well, are they actually free or did we all pay for them....
One resource I keep going back to is a 2007 HRSDC (Human Resource and Skills Development Canada) Essential Skills project. The gist of the project was to identify skills that are universal, skills that in some way every job requires.
This can be an excellent tool for employers for the standardization of hiring. If every job requires these skills, then every assessment of a job seeker (resumes, interviews, reference checks) should include all the essentials.
For a job seeker, this can be an equally powerful tool. When crafting a linked-in profile or an untargeted resume, a job seeker should ensure that all the 9 Essential skills are addressed. These "portable" skills will increase your chances of looking like a fit for any job.
The 9 Essential Skills are:
1. Reading Text
2. Use of Documents
3. Writing
4. Numeracy
5. Oral Communication
6. Thinking Skills including problem solving, decision making, critical thinking, job task planning and organizing, significant use of memory, finding information
7. Working with Others
8. Computer Use
9. Continuous Learning
To integrate these skills into your on-line profile or untargeted resume, focus on past situations that exemplify your skills (known to HR professionals as behavioural-based assessment). You will need to:
A. Describe the situation (be specific as it make the situation more real)
B. Talk about the actions you took (additionally, you can show why you chose those actions)
C. Describe the results of your actions (most organizations are results-based so don't leave this out).
Here is my example for Essential Skill #5:
- developed and delivered presentations on the internal government job board to employees and managers. This increased usage of the tool by both parties and has resulted in 300 users and over 10 staffing solutions in the last year.
To access the entire guide, visit: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/LES/tools_resources/tools_audience/general/readers_guide_whole.shtml
One resource I keep going back to is a 2007 HRSDC (Human Resource and Skills Development Canada) Essential Skills project. The gist of the project was to identify skills that are universal, skills that in some way every job requires.
This can be an excellent tool for employers for the standardization of hiring. If every job requires these skills, then every assessment of a job seeker (resumes, interviews, reference checks) should include all the essentials.
For a job seeker, this can be an equally powerful tool. When crafting a linked-in profile or an untargeted resume, a job seeker should ensure that all the 9 Essential skills are addressed. These "portable" skills will increase your chances of looking like a fit for any job.
The 9 Essential Skills are:
1. Reading Text
2. Use of Documents
3. Writing
4. Numeracy
5. Oral Communication
6. Thinking Skills including problem solving, decision making, critical thinking, job task planning and organizing, significant use of memory, finding information
7. Working with Others
8. Computer Use
9. Continuous Learning
To integrate these skills into your on-line profile or untargeted resume, focus on past situations that exemplify your skills (known to HR professionals as behavioural-based assessment). You will need to:
A. Describe the situation (be specific as it make the situation more real)
B. Talk about the actions you took (additionally, you can show why you chose those actions)
C. Describe the results of your actions (most organizations are results-based so don't leave this out).
Here is my example for Essential Skill #5:
- developed and delivered presentations on the internal government job board to employees and managers. This increased usage of the tool by both parties and has resulted in 300 users and over 10 staffing solutions in the last year.
To access the entire guide, visit: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/LES/tools_resources/tools_audience/general/readers_guide_whole.shtml
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Attending a job fair
In Saturday's paper was an insert for a Career Fair today at the Mayfield Trade Centre. Usually, I attend these in order to recruit students and graduates to Federal Government Jobs. Now, I think I will go as a job seeker.
The goal of attending a job fair should be to enlarge your network. The challenge is that will have a very short time in a busy environment to make a connection with a recruiter. How to succeed is to be prepared, focus on the initial conversation, secure a secondary conversation, and then initiate a follow-up conversation after the job fair.
Here are some tips for success at a job fair:
BEFORE
1. Do your research. Which companies will be represented? Which jobs are active on their job boards right now?
2. Prepare your material, including copies of your resume and business cards. Put the materials in a bag that is well organized and professional
3. Consider creating cards that feature your on-line presence, including your linked-in profile
4. Dress professionally. However, be careful to not let your appearance detract from you. For instance, wear a suit without a tie or ensure your skirt sits close to your knees.
5. Schedule enough time to attend. You will want to carefully look at each booth and have some meaningful conversations at the fair.
DURING
1. Get a business card if you can with a personal email address. This will allow you to follow-up & allow you to contact them directly when you are interested in a job with their organization. You may also see if you can add them to you linked-in connections.
2. Only take material that you are interested in. I have seen many people take everything that they can from my table, take a handful of pens, and take brochures only to throw them out in the nearest garbage can.
3. Engage the recruiters. Introduce yourself and ask at least one question that you have prepared. Nearly all the material on the table is on the web-site.
4. Do not monopolize the recruiter. If a conversation is developing or you have a great interest in the organization, see if the recruiter can step away from the booth at some time and have a coffee with them.
5. Listen carefully. There are many distractions at fairs. You are there to create networks that you can use later.
6. Consider talking with other attendees. You never know what kind of networks you can make with other who attends. They might be invaluable.
AFTER
1. Follow-up with whatever you promised you would do. If you said you would apply on a job, do it. If you said you would email them, do it. I have been so frustrated when I meet a great, potential hire then they never send me their resume.
2. Consider giving something back to the recruiter. You have gained a contact and valuable information but what have they gained? Can you connect them with someone or share with them an important web-site?
3. Be respectful. You should initiate short, brief, and infrequent follow-up conversations. I have had instances when I could only help someone so much but they kept calling, and calling, and calling, and calling....
The goal of attending a job fair should be to enlarge your network. The challenge is that will have a very short time in a busy environment to make a connection with a recruiter. How to succeed is to be prepared, focus on the initial conversation, secure a secondary conversation, and then initiate a follow-up conversation after the job fair.
Here are some tips for success at a job fair:
BEFORE
1. Do your research. Which companies will be represented? Which jobs are active on their job boards right now?
2. Prepare your material, including copies of your resume and business cards. Put the materials in a bag that is well organized and professional
3. Consider creating cards that feature your on-line presence, including your linked-in profile
4. Dress professionally. However, be careful to not let your appearance detract from you. For instance, wear a suit without a tie or ensure your skirt sits close to your knees.
5. Schedule enough time to attend. You will want to carefully look at each booth and have some meaningful conversations at the fair.
DURING
1. Get a business card if you can with a personal email address. This will allow you to follow-up & allow you to contact them directly when you are interested in a job with their organization. You may also see if you can add them to you linked-in connections.
2. Only take material that you are interested in. I have seen many people take everything that they can from my table, take a handful of pens, and take brochures only to throw them out in the nearest garbage can.
3. Engage the recruiters. Introduce yourself and ask at least one question that you have prepared. Nearly all the material on the table is on the web-site.
4. Do not monopolize the recruiter. If a conversation is developing or you have a great interest in the organization, see if the recruiter can step away from the booth at some time and have a coffee with them.
5. Listen carefully. There are many distractions at fairs. You are there to create networks that you can use later.
6. Consider talking with other attendees. You never know what kind of networks you can make with other who attends. They might be invaluable.
AFTER
1. Follow-up with whatever you promised you would do. If you said you would apply on a job, do it. If you said you would email them, do it. I have been so frustrated when I meet a great, potential hire then they never send me their resume.
2. Consider giving something back to the recruiter. You have gained a contact and valuable information but what have they gained? Can you connect them with someone or share with them an important web-site?
3. Be respectful. You should initiate short, brief, and infrequent follow-up conversations. I have had instances when I could only help someone so much but they kept calling, and calling, and calling, and calling....
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