40pluscareerguru: Marcia LaReau

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Carillion reveals the real threat to jobs - debt

By Neil Patrick

The Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi Hotel built by Carillion. Photo credit:Rob Alter

When I started work on my book with Marcia LaReau, Careermageddon, we did not have an agenda. Our view was that the evidence will take us where it will.

But after three years research, even I was surprised where we ended up as we sought to discover the real destroyers of jobs.

Careermageddon is a politically neutral book. The conventional ‘wisdom’ about jobs from the left is that government must borrow and spend to create jobs. Amongst the right it is that the free market is more efficient, therefore tax cuts and business friendly policies are the best framework.

The trouble with the free market is that if government uses private contractors, it does not absolve itself of risk, because private companies act primarily in the interests of shareholders and investors. And this can lead to some pretty nasty outcomes for employees and customers.

This week we have seen the unravelling of Carillion, one of the biggest construction firms in the UK. It holds numerous government construction contracts including the UK's high speed rail network expansion, HS2. I flagged this three years ago here as an example of government spending folly.

Carillion is massively in debt. The debt burden is so great that the future of the firm and around 20,000 UK jobs and a further 23,000 overseas jobs hang in the balance. It has a £900m debt pile and £600m shortfall on its pension plan.

It is just the latest in a long and sorry catalogue of failed businesses which are massively over borrowed to the point that even the smallest shortfalls in revenues compound over time to become catastrophic.

The biggest threat to jobs which we identified in Careermageddon is not technology. It’s not migrant workers. It’s not globalisation.

It’s debt. Personal debt, corporate debt, and government debt.

Whatever happens to Carillion, the debt spiral will be even more compounded – it won’t be written off, it will just move and spread elsewhere.

Which leads me to three simple conclusions. Government needs to take greater oversight of the debt vulnerability of firms it contracts with. Business needs to borrow less and invest more not in executive bonuses and shareholder dividends, but in long term assets and debt reduction. And people need to reduce their personal debt so they have greater financial resilience when disaster strikes.

It might not be fun, but if you want to make a worthwhile new year’s resolution, reducing debt is a much more worthwhile one than most that I have heard.

What no-one tells us about the jobs crisis

By Neil Patrick

Your vote won't help solve the jobs crisis - as long as politicians pull on the wrong levers.

Three big things have happened in my life in the last few months.

First, I finished writing my book, Careermageddon with Dr. Marcia LaReau of Forward Motion Careers. What started as a small project to try and create a helpful guidebook for people frustrated about their work opportunities, grew and grew as we uncovered layer upon layer of complexity as we sought to understand the real mechanics of the jobs crisis.

Then political events took over.

On Thursday 23 June last year, the EU referendum in the UK returned a result that almost no-one expected. Over 65% of registered voters voted, and the die was cast. Despite 'experts' warning that such a decision would be economic suicide for the UK, large swathes of the UK especially those who felt let down by their political leaders, voted to leave the EU.

The outcome of the US election was no less of a shock to most expert observers. Donald Trump campaigned largely on an anti-globalization platform. Jobs for US citizens and stricter border security were to be high priorities. These policy promises resonated with large numbers of non-metropolitan people in the US, left behind in a globalized economy which delivers immense wealth for a few, and less and less for most who either have a job or those who cannot get one.

The shocks of these two outcomes are still reverberating. I am not going to argue for or against Donald Trump or Brexit. Yes I have my opinions, but the point is they really do not matter.

I’ll say it again. My personal opinions and political beliefs do not matter.

Yet I’m very much in a minority. People on both sides of these arguments are endlessly busy championing their support for their choice, and denigrating those who have the opposite view. Meanwhile, the mainstream media under assault from Mr Trump is railing against fake news, quite oblivious to the fact that they are doing nothing at all to help provide greater understanding of the realities of the jobs crisis. They report ‘news’ (in reality arguments and scandal) but are truly hopeless at conveying insight.

These political outcomes have divided societies in the UK and the US, like none before. The reason it is pointless for me to argue for one political side or the other, is that the thing I care most about is jobs and incomes. Not about winning political debates. And jobs are not primarily made or lost by decisions about immigration, or who wields political power.

The jobs crisis is not fundamentally an outcome of political decisions. Yes Donald Trump is committed to getting jobs back for US workers. Yes the Brexit campaign succeeded because many people in Britain felt that unrestrained migration into the UK was creating unbearable pressure on our nation. They believed (contrary to much evidence), that immigrants were ‘taking our jobs’ and altering the fabric of our society for the worse.

The real drivers of falling incomes, long-term unemployment, and social unrest are nothing to do with immigration, or the UK’s membership of the EU, or who is in the White House.

We have a jobs crisis because the world is undergoing changes so immense that policy makers have no reliable models they can turn to with confidence that tell them what to do.

Pulling the traditional monetary levers of interest rates and money supply have proved completely incapable of reigniting sustainable economic growth. They have failed in the Eurozone, failed in Japan, failed in the UK and failed in the United States.

And that is because the changes going on are deep and structural. They are so deeply rooted that even the most sophisticated economic forecasting models and policy levers are completely inadequate to represent and remedy the complexity of what's happening and worse what will happen. They just don’t work in times like these.

In January this year, in an almost unheard of admission of failure, none other than Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England was forced to admit that the Bank’s economic forecasting models just didn’t work when a change as great as the Brexit vote occurred. These models work reasonably well in period of slow and gradual change. They fail completely when changes are large and rapid.

He went even further as I reported here. He admitted that up to half of all jobs in the UK would be eliminated by technology in the coming years.

The real drivers of job creation and destruction are what Marcia and I describe in detail in our book. We call them The Six Engines of Change. They are:

Globalization and offshoring
Technology, artificial intelligence and robotics
Disruptive business models
Education and the speed of institutional change
Demographics and the aging population
Fiscal policy

Firms are able to control their decisions about the first three of these. And they will make decisions based on their raison d’etre. I.e. they will do whatever makes the most money.

Government can do little other than play around the edges of these things unless we wish to submit to a centralized and totalitarian state. On the other hand, education, demographics and fiscal policy are areas where government policy can achieve greater leverage.

Yet none of these are a silver bullet which can reignite economic growth. They are blunt instruments as the central bankers would say. They impact slowly. Which is not helpful when people are struggling to make ends meet week in week out.

In a world which is changing faster than ever before, and where more and more people are feeling that their governments have failed them, we should not be surprised that politicians who promise sweeping change are able to win more votes than those who can only promise more of the same.

We can only hope that instead of playing to the gallery, they grasp the real fundamentals of what is happening and implement policies which truly reflect these complex realities of the 21st century world.

I really cannot predict what is going to happen next, but I have nagging feeling that real change is going to be harder to deliver than we’d all like.

The new C-suite titles – stop sniggering at the back!

By Neil Patrick

Over the last few years, there have been lots of stories about a spate of new senior job titles, which evoked great mirth or at least a little derision.

Last week I was discussing this trend with my good friend, Marcia LaReau, President of Forward Motion Careers. We both felt that the sniping was wide of the mark and obscured the reality of what's really happening.

In a Forbes article in 2012, C Is For Silly: The New C-Suite Titles, Jeanne Goudreau noted that many large organizations have adopted new and often amusing titles at the top executive level. A quick search revealed the following firms and titles:

Kodak and Dell — Chief Listener
Facebook — Chief Privacy Officer
Microsoft — Chief People Officer
AOL - Digital Prophet
Zappos - Chief Happiness Officer

Nearly every department head has been knighted with new, inventive ‘chief’ titles likely dreamt up by the marketing team in collusion with HR.

The detractors were quick to criticize. “It is all corporate Kindergarten playtime title-making,” said Mark Stevens, author of Your Marketing Sucks. “It’s a puppet show. These people have absolutely no power. Most of these vanity titles don’t even report to the CEO.”

Mark felt this trend was “too much idle time and interest in making the company sound “cool.”

Peter Cappelli, management professor at the University of Pennsylvania, commented that the new titles are meant to signal—internally, to customers or to governments—that a particular function or task is important and that the people at the top are listening. They may also be a form of ego appeasing and identifying who the important senior people are. Peter said, “The main question is whether there’s any real substance behind them.”

All this misses the point

I’m not entirely in agreement with these commentators. Yes some of these titles sound a bit odd after decades of us being used to senior job titles changing very little. And yes they may not always carry the power that the title infers. We all knew what was what and who was who in the ‘old’ hierarchy. It was easy to understand.

The reason I think these comments are missing the mark is that they assume it’s simply vanity and corporate posturing at work. Sure, there is always some of this going on, but this isn't what’s really at the root of these changes.

What is really happening is that the most developed organisations have recognized that in the new era of super-connected consumers and business, the old hierarchies which reflected the analogue world are no longer very helpful in addressing the challenges of the digital economy.

IBM carried out 17 studies over ten years, and conducted 23,000 face-to-face executive interviews to obtain insights into how private and public sector leaders think. They explored how the C-suite is evolving in the digital era and how they are working together in support of the enterprise.

Collaboration trumps competition in the digital age

Whereas competition, power struggles and silos were characteristics of the analogue world, the digital world demands cross-functional collaboration. Many of today’s most senior people climbed their career ladders when competition and winning at all costs was the name of the game. But today, sophisticated employers recognize that silos, power struggles and internal rivalries destroy value and sap the strength of the organisation. Leaders that cannot easily foster collaboration across the disciplines face a rapid decline to obsolescence.

The IBM study reported:

“ The most collaborative leaders are self-aware, emotionally intelligent, good at listening and building relationships. They lead by inspiring others. But as everyone knows, we get the behavior we reward. And the qualities for which business executives are usually rewarded – ambition, assertiveness, a goal-orientated attitude and so forth – aren't directly associated with the ability to collaborate.”

What you call something or somebody is important. It sets expectations for both the job holder and those around them about what they are there to do. This is a further reason why the adoption of new senior job titles is helpful to everyone and not just a vanity play or attempt to appear ‘cool’.

Ann Morton, chief operating officer of Maine-based advertising firm The VIA Agency said, “We adopted Chief Knowledge Officer because we feel it’s a better representation of what’s really needed to be an effective advertising agency today. It’s about bringing wisdom to our clients, not just information.”

The agency’s “CKO” oversees strategy, planning, analytics and research capabilities. She conceded, however, that as more unique titles crop up, leaders should be careful that the title reflects the job and the person’s experience. Using the word “ninja” in a job title isn't big or clever…

Whilst important sounding titles proliferate, in reality, the C-suite is shrinking

Just as technology is stripping out jobs at all levels of the organisation, the C-suite is being impacted too.

This evolution of structures is leading to the blurring or even merging of senior leadership roles. In the analogue world, the Marketing Director headed up all the activities delivering customers to the business, identifying and satisfying his or her needs. Their key skills base was around things like market research, product development, packaging, promotion, media planning, and customer retention. Data and insights were slow in coming and often expensive to obtain. But today, a marketing director obtains immediate and actionable insights from a flood of digital data.

This might be electronic point of sale information, social media reactions, website traffic tracking, or any other number of digital information streams. And because most marketing directors earned their spurs in the analogue age, many are feeling a tad uncomfortable as their world has undergone such a rapid and radical transformation.

One outcome is that some organisations are merging the CMO and CIO role or at least requiring that the Marketing Chief knows as much about IT and digital as they do about the more traditional marketing skills sets. Suddenly being just a marketing or just an IT expert is no longer enough.

You can enjoy the joke by all means, but it’s not corporate vanity or silliness that is behind what’s happening. It’s a very real attempt to adapt to the nature of a digital economy.

What do the best career coaches actually do?

By Neil Patrick

Do you need a career coach? How do you find the best career coach for your requirements?

Career coaching is a new and high growth industry. There are over 300 coaches following me on Twitter alone. It’s arisen because as job search becomes ever more competitive and challenging, people are discovering the hard way that being really good at what you do is no longer enough to ensure that you have a successful career.

The best career coaches provide the insight and key skills that people need to reach their career ambitions. Whether that’s finding and getting hired into a new job, moving forward in an existing career, or making a complete change of direction mid-career.

But with so many coaches out there, how do you know what to look for to find the best coach for you?

Do you even need a career coach?

So I turned to my good friend Marcia LaReau, founder and President of Forward Motion US to try and find some answers to these questions. Marcia is exceptionally well qualified to deal with this subject. Since founding Forward Motion, Marcia has helped hundreds of people succeed in overcoming their career obstacles.

NP: Marcia, why do you think career coaching is needed at all?

ML: Thank you Neil. First I’d like to say that the definition of career coaching has changed dramatically with the economic situation. As we become a global, technology-driven economy, the very core attributes that are needed for businesses to succeed is changing. That in turn has changed career coaching.

Prior to the Great Recession we believed that we could define what we liked and enjoyed and pursue that as a career. At that time career coaches helped their clients identify what they liked and enjoyed and then helped them find a place where they could do those things, get paid a living wage and hopefully, grow their career. It was a long-term outlook.

Today this isn’t enough. It’s still important for a person to understand what they enjoy; however, businesses have been under a mandate to cut costs, increase profit margins and get everything out of their employees that they can. I don’t’ mean to infer that businesses are all being run by inhumane ogres. Many businesses are simply trying to survive. I also don’t mean to infer that there isn’t a fair amount of inordinate greed that causes companies to drive their employees past what is reasonable.

Let me get back to career coaching—the point here is that companies do not have the capacity to focus on the career growth of their employees (unless it is part of their succession plan and directly benefits the company). So today, everyone who wants to work is in charge of their career development and the direction they will pursue.

The scope of doing this is huge! People have to be aware of their core attributes from a business perspective. They have to position themselves both online and in the business community as a viable, credible resource in their areas of expertise. Then they have to understand the changes in their industry and how they can remain viable in a changing market. It’s a lot!

Today’s career coach is also a job coach and understands the hiring processes and the employment market. A career/job coach guides their clients to maneuver through the distractions to identify the employment goal and scope out an effective path to get there. In the process their client should (in my opinion) learn how to manage their career so they are proactive with regard to their future security.

Without a career coach, many people have become resigned to the idea that if they get a job that gives them a living wage, then they should be grateful and settle…even if they don’t like what they are doing for eight to 10 hours a day (or more), five to six days a week.

NP: Should someone use career coaching when they have a job, or is it really just for when they are facing unemployment?

ML: Businesses, industries are changing at record speed today. In my opinion, everyone should have a career coach and check in with him or her at least once a quarter and more often if there are signs that a business is losing its place in the market. Further, it is expected that everyone will change jobs every three to four years. It could be within a company, but not necessarily.

I believe every person who wants to work for more than five years should engage with a career coach as someone who is watching their industry and market and identifying potential disruptions that could cause an unwanted financial situation. In addition, the career coach should be looking for opportunities to grow potential earnings and help the client maintain their credibility in the industry and move their career in the direction that suits their long-term goals.

All the people that I talk to want to end their career strong. Today that is easier said than done!

NP: Does everyone need it, or are some job sectors more suited to it than others?

ML: Disruptive innovations such as Big Data and social media are changing the landscape of every job sector. So in my opinion, everyone should have a regular “career checkup” with a qualified career coach.

NP: If someone loses his or her job and money is consequently really tight, how can anyone justify spending money on coaching?

ML: How can they NOT justify it? One of the primary goals at Forward Motion is to reduce the time to employment. A good career coach should reduce the number of weeks of unemployment significantly.

Let’s say that a standard (non-executive) job search costs between $2K and $3,500. If a person makes, let’s say $52,000 a year. So the job search costs less than one month of salary. AND if the average job search is approximately six to eight months, and the job coach reduces that by four months, then the client is now $12,000 ahead because they spent $3K on a career coach.

Also, with a career coach, the chances a person will get a better job at a better salary, increases significantly.

NP: Tell me about the typical problems people come to you with?

ML: Their situations run the gamut of the imagination. Some people just have no idea how to go about the job search. They are bewildered and overwhelmed. Others have tried everything they can think of and used every available cost-free option they could find—nothing worked and the finally called me.

Some people are in industries that are failing or have already died and need to assess their transferrable skills and/or re-credential themselves and figure out how to get a new career path without having to start from scratch at as an entry-level employee.

And then there are the early-career millenials who see record-high unemployment numbers in their college friends. They don’t just want a job, but they want to do something that brings value and doesn’t just fill the pockets of corporate business owners and investors.

Finally, about 30% of my business includes executives, who many times have reached out to their network and come up empty. Executives, more than any other group, come to me earlier in their job search. They know they need help and that they aren’t an expert and they want someone who can advise them.

NP: And how does coaching help people overcome these problems?

ML: A good career coach knows the market and the current hiring practices. They can put together a customized program that will reduce the time to employment through a carefully designed, flexible search strategy.

A truly dynamic jobsearch strategy is anything but a shotgun approach where people apply for a ton of opportunities and hope something happens.

I believe that an effective program sets a foundation for the search by identifying the most viable employment opportunities where the jobseeker is found credible, and where they qualify for the jobs. Then they must create an airtight identity both online and through their application materials. That includes a stunningly polished and customizable cover letter and résumé. With the foundation in place, we apply for 5 jobs and find out how what happens. We then rework the materials and apply for five more jobs. Within two or three iterations, the client is getting calls for jobs that are a good fit.

NP: What can you tell me about your success rates?

ML: First, I don’t abandon clients. If they are diligent and conduct themselves in a professional manner, then we will work until they are hired. It’s harder in some industries than in others.

Nonetheless:

- 98% of Forward Motion clients get hired
- 76% of mid-career clients get hired in 68 days
- 96% of early-career clients get hired in 45 days

NP: If someone is considering career coaching, how should they go about finding the best coach for them?

ML: First, there should be a good fit from a relationship perspective. In other words, there should be open communication. A good career/job coach sometimes has to say things that are personal and private. The relationship should develop so that when comments are made, that are difficult to hear from the jobseekers perspective, the jobseeker knows it is being said with his or her best interest in mind. So the relationship must be candid and comfortable.

Second, the career coach should be someone who diligently wants to get place his or her client in a new job. This is tricky since the jobseeker brings in income for the career coach. There are some career coaches who want to sustain the relationship to earn more income. I am sorry to report this. I handle this by putting a cap on the cost of the jobsearch. So the jobseeker knows that expenses won’t get out of hand.

NP: What does it cost? And are there any things you’d caution people about?

ML: I try to provide my clients with choices around the costs. An early-career search may go as high as $2,500. A mid-career (non-executive) search may double that number although I haven’t had anyone do that. Executives are a different ballgame and it depends on how much he or she wants to do and how much I would do. So an executive search might be as little as $2500 and include no more than a stellar résumé, or it could be as high as $20K and include the total management of a jobsearch.

NP: Thanks Marcia.

ML: Thanks Neil.

I'd like to thank Marcia for the time she has taken to share these valuable insights. You can find out more about Forward Motion US and their resources and services here. Do please post any comments or questions below and we'll do our best to answer them.

The full lowdown on ATS systems

By Neil Patrick and Marcia LaReau

ATS systems are now in widespread use by HR teams and recruitment firms. If you don't know how they work, you are at risk of getting caught out by one when you apply for a job.

It doesn't matter how well qualified you are. Or how keen you are to take the role. If you're unaware of how ATS systems filter applications, you risk being rejected without any person even looking at your resume or application. It's that serious!

My first post here on applicant tracking systems or ATS attracted a lot of readers and comment. After that, I knew I needed to get more information to share here.

So I turned to the one person I know who probably knows more about this subject than anyone else in the world right now. My friend, Marcia LaReau, the President of Forward Motion US has spent two years testing and evaluating these systems!

Last week I interviewed Marcia to find out as much as I can and I'm pleased to share this information in this post. NB This is a long post...but if you want to go straight to the action points just scroll to the end!

Marcia LaReau Phd.

NP: Why did ATSs come into being?

ML: What I’m about to tell you here is based on my experience and information I collected from hundreds of conversations within the hiring communities.

The birth of Applicant Tracking Systems was before the Great Recession in 2008. They came about because available technology filled a need and could be sold to a huge market.

The Applicant Tracking Systems began with the job boards and when I started Forward Motion in 2007, I began by studying Monster and CareerBuilder, which were among the first. CareerBuilder (formerly NetStart) was launched about 1995 and Monster in 1999. Both sites sold subscriptions to companies and posted their job openings. They were able to report demographic information and served as a searchable repository of résumés.

The Great Recession brought a flood of desperate job seekers applying for every possible position. Hiring professionals were overwhelmed and unable to satisfactorily filter all the applicants manually. Although they were in their infancy, the ATS platforms offered a tempting solution, despite their shortcomings.

NP: What type of jobs are ATSs used to screen for? How widespread are they?

ML: ATSs are used for every conceivable kind of position you can imagine. Since a company can own and customize its own system or simply rent a system on a monthly basis, or just pay for candidates who click on their postings, everyone can now use them - from big companies right down to tiny ones. A company does not even need a website; an email address is all that is needed.

For example, if an entrepreneur is looking for a marketing manager or a part-time administrative assistant, s/he can easily use a system to find the right help at a reasonable price.

Two years ago, I spoke at the Connecticut Library Association Conference on the topic, “The Library as Employment Center". The librarians bemoaned that local supermarket chains and even small businesses sent job seekers to the library to “apply online” for jobs such as stocking the shelves and unloading the trucks. Sadly, some of these individuals did not have any basic computer skills and had not even used email.

What hope would such a person have of getting through an ATS system?

NP: How did applicants respond to the use of ATS?

ML: With the recession, thousands of people began applying for jobs. HR was overwhelmed with the number of applicants and the first real “Tracking Systems” were quickly upgraded to help with the screening process. New job boards were cropping up daily and ATS companies began competing for market share.

This is what I call the first generation of ATSs. I don’t think anyone thought they worked very well.

Job seekers realized that keywords were important and tried beating the system by loading their documents. The problem was that once they “got through” the verbiage was unreadable and many were quickly eliminated. Some companies were so overwhelmed that they actually outsourced the résumé review process overseas - which didn't work either.

NP: You've tested these systems extensively Marcia - how did you carry out the tests?

ML: Since I had been in HR prior to being laid off, I was able to connect with many of my former colleagues and ask them how these systems were being developed. Importantly, they were willing to allow me to test their systems with imaginary candidates.

Over a period of two years, I learned about their hiring process from end to end. With my contacts' permission, I created several imaginary job seekers and started applying for positions at their companies to see if I could get through. I wanted to know what it would take to get a phone call. This way, I was experiencing the systems from the job-seeker side.

At this time, the experience was rather dismal from both sides. I never managed to meet more than 80% of the requirements with my imaginary candidates. Over a period of a year, I developed a system that was able to get through about 65% of the time.

NP: Tell me about the second generation of ATS. What changed?

ML: The next generation of ATS came fairly quickly and by 2011, price wars had begun. As of today, it currently costs over $400 to post a job on CareerBuilder or Monster. The aggregate job boards (e.g. Indeed.com and SimplyHired) frequently use Pay-Per-Click (PPC) pricing with charges between $.25 to $1.50 for each click.

These second generation of ATS began using more sophisticated filtering systems. ATS companies began selling directly to large corporations and offered additional customization. (Examples are Brassring, Taleo, HRM, iCims…)

NP: Is it true that the right keywords alone were no longer enough to get a résumé through the system?

ML: Yes. Some companies used a public job board for initial screening and then applied additional criteria and invited select candidates to enter their information into their internal databases. This second generation of ATS was more sophisticated, but the experience on both sides was still less than acceptable.

I might add that the many new cost-effective options allowed even small businesses to use the systems for initial screening. This was far better than their “Craig’s List” attempts at finding candidates.

NP: What's the current state of play?

ML: We are now embarking on a third generation of ATS. New levels of sophistication have been added all along. At this point, the companies gladly give me a 90-minute review of their “latest and greatest” so I think I’m up-to-date on the functionality. With my help, my clients get through the ATS at least 90% of the time now.

This new generation is certainly the most sophisticated. They typically integrate the whole hiring workflow that includes tracking and compliance with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as well as the Affirmative Action Plan (AAP). Since AAP is based on demographics and since the demographics are changing with regard to Hispanic and Asian populations in the U.S., these new systems have really taken on new roles. There are other features such as auto-responders and electronic scheduling that saves time and hopefully improves the experience for the job seeker as well.

These latest versions are better able to select qualified candidates, as they are able to read context. This is a double-edged sword for the job seeker though. Getting through to a person now requires a great deal of care. But it isn't rocket-science by any means. It is caring in ways that are meaningful to the hiring process, which begins with the ATS as well.

The articles I read that focus on beating the system and working around it (to get right to the hiring manager) are shortsighted from my perspective. Better, in my opinion, to work with the hiring communities rather than against or around them; especially since we all want the same thing - the right person in the right job.

NP: What in your opinion are the biggest shortcomings of ATS systems?

ML: This is an excellent question. Before I answer you, I’d like to give a bit of context.

I believe that we are still coming to grips with the fact that we are now a global economy and we have yet to fully comprehend the impact of the Great Recession. Add to this the technologies that are changing and influencing every area of our lives. I’m referring to Big Data, 3-D Printing, biotechnology, the demise of Moore’s Law, and disruptive innovations. (I’ve put 11 videos on YouTube about this topic.)

Add to this the number of baby-boomers who are retiring in record numbers (now that the stock market has restored some of the value of their retirement) and we can easily see that companies are scrambling. At this time, key concerns include “employee engagement” and succession planning.

So…let’s try to tackle “employee engagement.” We are learning that just because an employee can document that they have the needed skills, knowledge (experience) and abilities (SKA), doesn’t mean s/he will be engaged.

Business models have focused on measuring everything as proof of their success. Examples include Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, Balanced Scorecard and many, many others. But how do we measure employee engagement? And how do we devise a filter for it in an Applicant Tracking System?

Now, what about succession planning? With the record number of retirements, companies are losing their knowledge base. Succession planning is a challenge with a smaller Gen X. As we look to Millennials, we are finding a less-than-enthusiastic labor pool when it comes to corporate culture. So this takes us right back to the engagement question.

NP: So you're saying that the problem isn’t really with ATS at all?

ML: How many times do job seekers go through the interview process to find out that they have been eliminated because the position included something that was left off of the posting? Recruiters continually tell me about their frustrations when companies really don’t know what they want (or need) in a position.

The recruiter goes through long lists of candidates and scores of interviews and learns what the company is actually looking for through the process of learning what they don’t want. (The job seeker gets the frustrating response, “The company has decided to go in a different direction for this position.”)

Finally, the internal hiring professionals are enormously frustrated at the number of unqualified candidates. They are also deeply concerned that after careful vetting and attention to their hiring process, they are still hiring the wrong people.

The good news is that their attention to employee engagement is, in my opinion, exactly the right concern!

I have yet to see a job posting that sufficiently addresses this concern. Instead we get verbiage like, “Must be able to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.” …now isn’t that inviting?

The root of the problem is how we think about the work that the employee will actually do. So the needed change will first require a shift in our thinking. Then we can ask the right questions so we can communicate with jobseekers. This is a whole new dimension about employment. From this point, we can easily manage the ATS questions to address the concerns about engagement.

NP: What should job seekers do to avoid being eliminated?

ML: That’s the right question as well Neil. The Forward Motion Differentiation Workshop was designed in 2009 and has undergone 17 major upgrades and over 32 minor versions. I say this to make the point that as the hiring processes change, so must the jobseeker understand the phases of elimination in the ATS (usually 4 or 5) and adjust his or her cover letter and resume to fit with this.

It’s important to remember that once a candidate gets through the ATS screening, there are seven or eight more steps to get an offer. They have to appeal to HR first and then make it all the way through to the final approver. The ATS is step one. If we isolate that one step, then I offer the following suggestions:

1. Carefully vet the job posting and the company and apply only for those positions that are truly a good fit.

2. Narrow the information on both cover letter and résumé to address the skills, knowledge and abilities specific to the position. Customize accordingly.

3. Don’t assume that software can make a leap of understanding regarding experience. For example, if the job posting is for an Event Planner and asks for “project management” experience. If the résumé only addresses “event planning” the ATS won’t be able to translate. That résumé will be kicked out because it does not cite “project management.”

4. Different ATS set-ups have filters that may include a myriad of questions. These are critical. Many jobseekers do not fill out demographic information about themselves. Yet, with the AAP compliance, they may be eliminating themselves.

5. There should be ample demonstration of the needed skills, knowledge, and abilities in your résumé. These should come under the bullets in the Work Experience section.

6. Use Times New Roman font. Nothing smaller than 11pt. Despite the on-going concern over tables and bullets: they work just fine because the ATS is reading text strings.

7. If, after carefully entering your information into an ATS, you receive a link that takes you to another ATS and asks you to do it all over again…be encouraged! You've been invited to the “inner sanctum” of the company.

I believe the ATS is here to stay and it’s going to get better and better. As we look to new ways of finding the right people who can genuinely contribute to their employer’s success, it is only going to get better. I’m excited about it and looking forward to continuing to be a bridge between the job seeker and hiring communities.

I'd like to thank Marcia for the time she has taken to share these valuable insights. You can find out more about Forward Motion US and their resources and services here. Do please post any comments or questions below and we'll do our best to answer them.

How to get your social media working for you in your job search

By Neil Patrick and Marcia LaReau

What does your online profile tell people about you?

I think by now, everyone knows that when you are job hunting, you need to make sure that your social media profiles contain nothing that might show you in an unfavourable light.

That’s the trouble with social media. Because it’s in the public domain, what you post there can and most likely will be examined by the recruiters and HR people you come into contact with.

Don’t let it ruin your chances of securing that job!

In case you have any doubts about why this is vital, the stark facts are that today, 92% of companies use social media for recruiting and 3 out of 4 recruiters check candidates’ social media profiles at some stage in the recruitment process.

So this isn’t optional anymore. It’s mandatory.

If you want some tips on cleaning things up, this post by David Hunt contains some useful (and amusing) tips on what to do.

But that’s just the first step. You also need to make sure not just that your social media doesn’t embarrass you, but that it works hard for you to make you stand head and shoulders above your competitors.

This means you must understand what recruiters are looking for when they search your social media profiles.

And it’s not what you might think.

Misunderstanding this is what tempts many people into either telling lies on their profiles (especially LinkedIn), or trying too hard to turn their profiles into advertising copy which is full of overblown adjectives about how great they are.

Both of these tactics are a bad idea. Do not fall into the trap!

A commonly overused adjective is the word ‘passionate’. You’ll see it all the time on Linkedin profiles which are trying too hard.

My good friend Marcia LaReau at Forward Motion US explains how this backfires:

“I have a passion for project management.”

Hiring professional thinks:

“Really? Is that the message I’ll find when I check you out online? Is that what you talk about to your FaceBook friends? Is that the kind of books you are reading? Do you go to the PMI chapter meetings? (PMI=Project Management Institute) No? Well … as a hiring professional, I thought you said it was your passion. Hmm … I’m not seeing it so that raises questions for me. I’d better take a closer look.”

So what ARE they looking for?

Simple: hiring professionals are looking for a consistent message. When inconsistent messages are found, it brings up questions that beg for answers.

For fun: Check out some of the FaceBook timeline covers and see if that content matches what the owner indicates they want to do next in their career … be prepared for a shock.

So the good news is that you don’t need to come up with some fancy sales copy, or try and inflate your achievements and status.

Back to Marcia, who provides this great step by step process anyone can follow:

First, answer these questions:

What kind of job do you want? Teacher, Marketing, Theatre Technician, Retail Operations, Medical Office Manager, Finance, Engineering, Business Analyst, Writer?

In what kind of a setting? Large corporation, non-profit, small business, manufacturing?

Do you have specifics about how you work best? Work-at-home, small team, large division, lots of direction, minimal direction?

What is most important to the companies that you want to hire you? Make a list. Don’t be tempted to think you can skip this step.

Check your cover letter and résumé.Do they both send a message that you are right for the jobs for which you are applying?

Now:

Find three LinkedIn profiles of people in your industry that are doing what you want to do. The closer the match, the better. Take time with this step. Find people who have been careful with their profile. They should be profiles that make you think, “Wow. I’d like to look like that! I’d hire that person in a second.” Use what you learn to create your profile.

Be completely honest in your content. And remember that hiring professionals look first from 5,000 feet and then focus on what’s most important to them with regard to skills, experience, and cultural fit.

Finally:

Positively expand your online image:

What books are you reading about your industry/expertise, career? Not reading – why not? Post on LinkedIn (look at what others in your interest groups are reading.)

What kind of postings are you making on LinkedIn? Stop sharing pictures of animals, brain teasers and other valueless content. Start sharing the insightful content you read about your professional area of interest.

What industry-related meetings do you attend? How about classes you are taking. Share your activities on FaceBook, on LinkedIn, on Twitter. Can’t find a meeting – create one. Get 4 or 5 job-seekers who have your “passion” and meet weekly to keep current in your industry. Check your local Meet-up Groups.

Check your LinkedIn Groups – are they the groups that relate to your career goals? Are you active in your groups? If not …that’s not good. It sends a mixed message: “I like this stuff, but I’m not really doing much with it.” So much for your “passion”…

Check out your timeline image – what is it saying? It’s a huge first-impression-smack-me-in-the-face message. What’s yours look like? Here’s mine…while you’re there, if you found this information helpful, consider clicking on “Like”.

Do an Internet search on your name and derivatives of your name. If you find unwanted publicity, check out the article on Digital Dirt.

Check your cover letter and resume again to confirm that your online image is consistent with what you send to hiring professionals.

This is the right way to develop your online image. It doesn’t involve lying, bragging or cheating. Leave that to your competitors, who will get found out.

In the words of a well-known vitamin ad…it’s ’You, but on a good day’.

Job fit - the key to understanding who gets hired

BY MARCIA LAREAU

Recruiters talk a lot about finding a good fit. Do you know what this really means? The answer may surprise you as Marcia La Reau explains here.

After an interview, jobseekers often say, “I hope I get that job…it’s a good fit.”

When I read Human Resource and Recruiter blogs about hiring, they are constantly asking about job fit. And yesterday, a potential client spent about 90 minutes telling me about her current job, which could be summarized by, “It’s just not a good fit.”

What amazes me is that everyone is talking about something different. Job security is greatly dependent on fit, so attending to this single factor is critical.

* * *

Sam was escorted to a room for his interview. There was a table with a chair and a few other chairs were pushed against the wall. A small side table sported a few magazines.

He checked the papers in his portfolio and felt his tie to make sure it was straight. He was early. He picked up a magazine and found an interesting article.

A young man entered the room and sat down at the table. He was wearing shorts, a wrinkled tee shirt and tennis shoes—no socks. He sat down at the table and placed a tablet and some papers on the table. Sam nodded and returned to his magazine.

After several minutes, the young man said, “Hi. I’m Cam…Cameron.” Sam smiled and said, “I’m Sam.” …and returned to his magazine as he checked his watch.

After a few more minutes, Cam said. “Well, how about if we get started with the interview.” Sam couldn’t believe it. THIS was the person who was going to interview HIM?

The interview continued for about 10 minutes and finally Cam said, “If you are having a problem with me, and that’s obviously the case, then this place is not going to be a good fit for you.” The interview was over.

* * *

Recently a client was telling me about a lesson learned earlier in his career. He reported to the CEO of a large multi-national firm. They were interviewing for a Senior Vice President of Sales for North America.

After a finalist left the CEO’s office, my client said, “ He seems to be a perfect fit.” The CEO replied, “We will not be hiring him. His suit was slightly wrinkled, and it didn’t quite fit.” The decision was final.

* * *

Job fit—by whose definition?
When I have a spare moment, I spend my time reading and listening to hiring professionals from recruiters, HR professionals to hiring managers—anyone involved with the hiring process.

What do recruiters look for?
This topic is central. Jorg Stegemann is a leading international recruiter with Kennedy Executive. In a recent post, How To Hire Someone: Checklist (7 Tips), Jorg asks if the candidate has 70% of the technical requirements and 100% of the personal requirements.

Other questions on Jorg’s list included:

Do I trust the candidate?
Do I want him to represent the company when I’m not around?
Can I imagine the candidate with my team? Does it look good to me?

Only one of his seven points address skill sets. The other six are about fit! Now do you see why I blog about this topic a lot? Most jobseekers think it’s all about their skills! It isn’t.

Candidates tend to focus their idea of job fit on skills and experience. Managers concentrate on the ramp-up time and the energy it will take to get a candidate to the point of adding value.

How about HR? Same as recruiters…or different?
A recent survey of online HR chat can be summarized in this article on the top 10 HR issues.

The top three issues cited here are retention, recruitment, and productivity.

Here are a few quick excerpts that reinforce the point:

Employees are the lifeblood of the company.
Your business will also have invested significant time and money into ensuring maximum productivity wherever possible.
The second major challenge facing the Human Resources’ department is recruitment of talent. Finding staff with the correct blend of skills, personality and motivation is difficult.
The HR department needs to provide each employee with the right combination of culture, remuneration, and incentives.

My point is this: Human Resource professionals define job fit in terms of productivity. Also consider that when a company doesn’t make its profit margins, HR gets blamed for not hiring the right people…no pressure huh?

Please consider reading this article on The Science of Hiring. It focuses on job fit from the HR perspective.

What is important to the hiring manager?
The criterion of Hiring managers may not be essentially different than HR, however, the manner in which it is expressed will be.

Hiring managers look for the candidate that will be able to quickly become a member of the team and bring tangible value. It’s a combination of the time it will take to integrate into the team, embrace the tools to do the job, and produce the product that meets the need at hand.

This article sites three essentials and all of them assume that the skill sets, education, and experience are in place.

What are the essentials?

Credibility and reliability. The real issue was dependability.
Teamplayerism. This was about social skills.
110-percentism. This addresses “self-directed enough, without a lot of hand-holding…”

Note that none of these are tangibles like an MBA or 7 years experience in a lab, or the ability to use specific software. The success factors deal with personal attributes and character traits.

And what about the jobseeker?

Jobseekers rarely think in terms of the concerns outlined here. Their idea of “fit” focuses on how comfortable they are with their colleagues, whether they get along well. Jobseekers concern themselves with the energy level of the environment, whether they can work at home, and if there will be work-life balance.

There is nothing wrong with those concerns and they are prime considerations. However they should not be the focus during an interview. The consequence of taking this mind-set into an interview is to send the message, “This is all about my comfort in the office.” That won’t win an interview.

Do business ALWAYS look for job fit?
The answer is YES and NO.

A careful read of a job posting should reveal whether the position is part of a change initiative. When a company is going through change, then they may look to hire people who have a different approach to problem-solving than the current staff. AND…yes, most companies are going through continuous change.

However, a prime candidate will be someone who can bring change with the least amount of angst—someone who can smoothly work through change without undo interruption to productivity as work-flow processes adjust to meet new business directives.

Understanding the differences in the needs of each player in the hiring process is critical and I hope this article helped. The next step is to clearly and succinctly demonstrate your attributes on your cover letter and résumé so each audience understands your value.

Need help?
That’s what we do in the Forward Motion Differentiation Workshop. This workshop is offered all over the U.S.

Website: http://forwardmotioncareers.com/
Blog: http://forwardmotioncareers.com

Job Security: Two Key Factors You Can Control

BY MARCIA LAREAU

Unemployed jobseekers routinely tell me that they have two concerns about their future. The first is about job security. The second is the fear of being stuck in a job they dislike.

About 30% of the people I work with are currently employed and are looking to change jobs. Their number one concern is job security. More often than not, they don’t like their current job and want to change to something they can enjoy.

RecruitGroup reported that the 2006 data indicated that people would change jobs 5 to 7 times in their lifetime. So if a person begins their career at age 22 and works until they are 65, they would change jobs every 6 to 8 years.

In 2010, researchers conducted a study showing that respondents between the ages of 18 and 42 had held 10.8 jobs. That’s a new job every 2.2 years. It does seem reasonable that a person in their early career might change jobs more often.

These studies are siting career changes and freely admit that they have a difficult time identifying what exactly a career change is. This article sites the Department of Labor:

Career change statistics suggest that the average person will be making a career change approximately 5-7 times during their working life.

[However] with an ever increasing number of different career choices on offer, about 1/3 of the total workforce will now change jobs every 12 months. By the age of 42 you will probably already have had about ten jobs. [DOL]

If one third of the total workforce changes jobs every 12 months, then 3 years is the average time in a job.

What can you control as you manage your future?

I started asking questions:

What can we rely on to manage this many transitions in our career?
What can be done now to make these transitions as smooth as possible?
What are the factors that will allow a person to ride the waves of change and prepare for their future?

What are the qualifying factors?

We qualify for jobs with our skills, experience and education. For example let’s say that a job posting requires a Bachelor of Science, 10+ years of industry-specific experience and other skills such as contract negotiation, supervision, and perhaps a specific software.

If you have these qualifications, then you apply for the job …along with everyone else that has similar skills, experience, and education.

Do you think that your 12 years of experience will be that much more impressive than the person with 10 years of experience…probably not.

So these qualifications leveled the playing field. You aren’t unique, you aren’t different and so far there is no reason for this company to look at you rather than the other candidates. You haven’t differentiated yourself.

The key qualifications are important, but they simply qualify you for the position. They don’t differentiate you in the least. There has to be more. There has to be something else.

What are the two differentiating factors?

Assuming you made it through the Applicant Tracking System (we get through about 80% of the time), and someone determined that you truly qualify for the job, you become part of an ocean of applicants that all look alike.

I wanted to know what caused hiring professionals to move people from the qualified pile to the phone-call pile. So I went around and asked them that question.

Factor number one:

Believe it or not the primary differentiating factor is your innate work attributes and how you use them to benefit the organization. It’s a combination of who you are and how you work that is then focused on achieving the mission of the company by promoting their values and driving business results.

This information, presented clearly and succinctly on your cover letter and résumé will help you get a job. It will separate you from the ocean of applicants. It will identify you as a person who will consistently deliver value as companies manage change. It’s about who you are and your understanding of the company and their key drivers.

This is the information that answers the question, “Tell me about yourself.” It is how you should respond to, “Why do you think this job is a good fit for you.”

Factor number two:

You can control the people you engage with as you build your network. They need to understand your value. They need to know who you are and how you bring value to an organization that is beyond your skills, experience, and education.

When anyone in your network promotes or champions you, it should be about your value rather than your qualifications. Again, this differentiates you from others. It’s why you don’t have to talk about your skills, experience, or education. Those things have to be there but the critical factor is about “who you are.”

Do you really understand your value?

Some people call this your Unique Value Statement or UVS. That’s fine. Do you know what your value is—from an employment perspective? Do you know how to apply it to a company mission statement? Can you demonstrate this value on your résumé and during a 30-minute phone interview?

If not, consider the Forward Motion Differentiation Works hop. We offer it as a webinar and in person, in groups, and privately. We call it The Differentiator!

Called a Creative Thinker, Career Futurist, and a person of unusual solution, Marcia LaReau founded Forward Motion, LLC in 2007. Since that time, she has become a recognized leader in the employment industry, and Forward Motion has spread across the United States and abroad to help jobseekers find jobs that fit.

Website: http://forwardmotioncareers.com/
Blog: http://forwardmotioncareers.com

How to protect yourself from employers' bad recruitment practices

BY MARCIA LAREAU

Unconscionable treatment of job candidates this week has made me angry and determined.

Note: The names and places have been changed.

Client One: Tony

After numerous Skype and lengthy phone interviews, Tony was invited out for an interview. Salary requirements and other contract expectations had been discussed. The reputable regional organization (with a national reputation) informed Tony, a city planner, that he would need to pay his way for the interview. After finding out that there were only two finalists, Tony decided to go. The organization offered to pay for half of the plane fare.

The interview went famously. Tony integrated extremely well with the teams. He reviewed reports, attended planning meetings with the community, and advised members of the organization on handling current concerns. It turned out that the other candidate was internal to the organization and he and Tony hit it off as well.

He spent over $2,000 for the five-day interview. He lost a week of wages and time off from his current job, and was told after he returned home that they realized early on that they were not able to hire from outside. They knew this prior to the interview.

Client Two: Keri

Keri had several initial phone interviews with a recruiter. She had wanted to get into this specific company for several years. The first round of interviews went very well and the recruiter called to talk through salary figures for the second time.

Then Keri was scheduled to meet with several executives with the company. That went well and the final round was scheduled. When it was over Keri saw the Director in the parking lot who said, “I told them to just hire you…you were the best candidate, and I usually get what I want here.”

A few days later at midnight, Keri received an email from the recruiter indicating that they had selected another candidate!

Client Three: Geoff

Geoff received an offer from an organization in Los Angeles. It was a fair offer, however another organization had indicated they were interested and the position was higher in the organization.

So Geoff emailed them and said, “You’ve mentioned interest in me however, I have an offer. I understand that you are at the beginning stages of interviewing and if a decision is going to take two to three weeks, let’s save each other the trouble.”

The organization emails him back and asks if he can fly down three days later to interview. So Geoff talks to the L.A. office and they graciously extend time for Geoff to go to the interview.

Two days later the interview is pushed later in the week. It goes well and Geoff is told that they are speeding up the interview process. After Geoff flies home, he gets a call indicating that the decision will probably take two or three weeks.

How can jobseekers protect themselves?

Obviously, companies have been duped by jobseekers who have lied on their resume. This article indicates that 53% of resumes and job applications contain falsifications and 78% of resumes are misleading. So I can understand why hiring entities are on the lookout. But does that justify the mistreatment and misleading of jobseekers during the hiring process?

Here are some thoughts and actions that jobseekers can take to try to protect themselves.

First and foremost, it is critical that jobseekers know their fair market value for the position (and location) that they are applying for. This allows them to confidently give a fair salary range when asked. Consider www.payscale.com to learn this information.

Jobseekers should remember that if the hiring entity isn’t spending any money to bring them to the interview, there is only marginal investment on their part.

1. Ask specific questions before deciding to self-fund an interview:

How many candidates are being interviewed?
Is the company/business/agency able to meet the salary that we’ve discussed?
Are there and hiring restrictions that might hinder my being hired if I am selected as the most qualified candidate?

2. Carefully vet the company:

The website www.glassdoor brings enormous value to jobseekers. There is salary information by company as well as information about company interview practices.
Search for the company at the Better Business Bureau website. Even if they are not a member, customer complaints are published as well as the company’s ranking from F to A+.
On LinkedIn, check out the company profile and also search for former employees that worked for the company. Request a 30 minute conversation with them.

3. Get all points of the contract agreement in writing.

4. Trust your gut. If it doesn’t feel right…

5.Give people the benefit of the doubt.

What if the company doesn’t meet their part of the agreement?

Jobseekers are finding that once they are employed, the terms change. Perhaps they were promised a company vehicle because their job requires a lot of travel and hauling of product. Perhaps it was a raise after six months. Whatever the agreement, if the company doesn’t follow through, then the employee is free to look for other employment.

And the response is: What if they ask, “Why are you leaving after six months?” Answer: “We had agreements in place based on hopes of higher profit margins. But they didn’t happen and the company simply hasn’t been able to meet our agreement.”

You’re unemployed and can’t be picky…

This is a clear concern, especially when there is reason to believe that the company is taking advantage of the current economic situation and tries to hire under the market value.

If a jobseeker accepts the position, then my advice is to do that job as if the pay were excellent, build references and credibility, and if the company doesn’t rectify the situation, then move on.

Determined!

I am determined to do what I can to help. I will reach out to Human Resource professionals this week and begin a search for information that will lead to better practices. I ask ALL jobseekers and hiring professionals to re-establish the credibility of our business practices.

These are very difficult times. I encourage jobseekers and hiring entities to diligently and intentionally establish a foundation for trust. I challenge every employed person to do their job, to the best of their ability, to help create more jobs and get our nation back on track.

Do you need help finding a job? Forward Motion helps U.S. jobseekers worldwide. Call for a free consultation: (860) 833-4072.

10 Tips to access the hidden job market

By Marcia LaReau

It can be very disconcerting for a jobseeker when the media reports that 80% of the available jobs are not posted online. This has become one reason that many people tout and believe that the only way to get a job is to network. Adding to this approach is the idea that applying online is like sending one’s résumé into the proverbial “black hole”. None of these statements are true.

Networking is not the only way to get a job, and it is not difficult to get through the online systems with an understanding of how they work. There is no way to determine or even estimate how many positions are posted through online job boards. It should also be added that regardless of the approach, a solid résumé, solid skills, and a professional presentation, both on paper and in person, is still critical to finding employment.

Be Able To Be Found

Today, recruiters are the hub for the hidden job market. Independent recruiters and recruiting firms receive a majority of the job openings that are not posted on the standard job boards. Truly, they are the center of activity for these opportunities so it becomes important to understand their processes as they fill those positions.

Every firm has its own specific process, however, most recruiters follow similar methodologies. The task of the jobseeker is to build relationships with recruiters and clearly and succinctly educate them with regard to the jobseeker’s attributes, core competencies, skills, and experience.

10 Tips & Suggestions:

LinkedIn is THE critical business networking component for jobseekers. Recruiters use LinkedIn to find candidates. Review the article Creating an Online Image, especially Step 6: LinkedIn.

If your résumé profile differs from your LinkedIn profile, this raises a red flag for a recruiter.

Being active on LinkedIn Groups demonstrates that a candidate is keeping current in their industry.

Take time to research industry-specific recruiter firms and apply through their online systems. Be meticulous with their application intake process.

You can use Twitter to find recruiters in your field and territory. (See my Twitter lists to help you find these – Ed)

When contacted by a firm, listen carefully to the recruiter’s understanding of your profile and what kind of position would be a good match for you.

When a recruiter indicates a concern, they are giving you valuable information. Your response should be to give them the information they need to better present you to their client and respond the any concerns that their client may have.

It is important to every recruiting agency and every recruiter that the candidate they present to their client should make the firm look good and build loyalty with their client.

Following an interview, if a recuriter presses you for every detail, be aware that they may use the information you give them to help another candidate.

Once you land employment, reconnect with your recruiter every six months, keeping in mind that in the current employment market, you will likely change jobs every 4 to 5 years.

Do you have a career identity crisis?

By Marcia LaReau

Today, entire industries are collapsing at record speed. Trusted skill sets have become obsolete and new skills are in demand. In the midst of this unparalleled scope and speed of change, our future rests in our ability to sustain a credible career identity that is flexible, adaptable and embraces an inclusive, multi-cultural and global awareness.

How many times can one person experience an identity crisis?

Yes, that’s right…there have been several. When I finished high school I knew that I would major in music. There was no question in my mind that I was a headed for a music career. After college, I landed a job teaching at a state university and for over 15 years worked my way up through the ranks. Then came the first identity crisis—the “all too real” glass ceiling.

Over time I retooled my skills and conducted a semi-professional orchestra. My job was unexpectedly terminated— identity crisis Number 2. I went back to school for a performance degree and studied with a world-class conductor and pedagogue. After graduation while applying for new positions— 9/11. My entire industry took a hit***—identity crisis Number 3. I had to scramble.

I landed a corporate position as a Quality Control Analyst, then as a Training Director, but I was laid off after 15 months. With the help of some excellent career coaching I reinvented myself as a project manager and after 8 months re-entered the corporate landscape. Did you catch identity crisis Number 4?

Five years later, after I had transitioned to Human Resources, most of my division was laid off and the human resource labor pool hit market saturation. Meet identity crisis Number 5. I started my own business a year later in 2007. This is the sixth year of operations and I realize I’m going to make it.

As odd as it seems, I have already planned my next career identity and hope to achieve it within seven years. I’m no longer a victim. I’ve taken charge.

What is Career Identity?

My definition:

Career identity is the distinction given to ourselves or by an outside entity that defines the nature of the value that we bring to the work place. For example, Project Manager, Receptionist, Customer Service Representative, and Curriculum Designer.

Are people simply ambivalent about their careers?

Dr. Judith Sherven, PhD (who has over 6,400 followers on LinkedIn!), wrote the article: Why People Are So Afraid to Own Their Careers.

The primary reasons people gave were:

Self-promotion is uncomfortable,
Office politics are “demeaning” and,
Reducing one’s career to a 90 second elevator speech is unreasonable and they didn’t know where to start.

All these reasons are truly valid and they are all personal. The career crises in my career were a combination of individual crises and global and systemic changes that were completely out of my ability to influence.

NOTE: Dr. Sherven gives excellent tips on how to mentally process the primary reasons people gave for their personal career identity. She also brings action steps to manage those challenges. If you relate, please read the article.

New causes of a career identity crisis:

There are probably as many reasons for a career identity crisis as there are people who have experienced them. With the speed of change that is affecting commerce, I believe there are critical components that factors into the equation. Failure to do so is to be left on the side of the road.

The Great Recession, new advancements in technology, and demographic changes in our labor pool have, in my opinion, brought about identity crises for segments of the working population.

Here are a few examples:

In the U.S. in 2012, college grads faced a combined unemployment and underemployment rate of 52 percent. This is partially a result of the high number of Millennials entering the workforce.

Tablets and other technologies have brought changes to the printing industry, especially newsprint.

Global communications have, in part, laid the foundation for countless technology jobs to migrate offshore to India and beyond.

With the emergence of social media, the marketing industry has changed dramatically and new skill sets have emerged as the former trusted skillsets have become obsolete.

These and other change-agents have brought to the fore, the need to hone the skills to be able to change career identities throughout our work-life.

Gone are the days of the gold watch!

That’s right. There was a time when a person started their career with one specific job. Perhaps they processed orders, sold products, or analyzed business needs. They expected to stay with “their” company for the duration of their career. They looked forward, “with great pride” to the day they received a gold watch.

Not anymore.

Today, we are expected to change jobs every three or four years. The very work we perform at the workplace will not likely be there in four years (so thirty-five years…?). And finally, the gold watch. It too has become a relic.

Tips on creating your career identity:

Whether you are a recent graduate trying to establish your career identity, or you already have career experience:

Be selective in your networking activities so there is time to establish real relationships and genuinely demonstrate your value to select members in your network. Choose carefully.

Routinely and intentionally find people that you respect and can serve as accountability partners. These are people you get to know well and connect with on a regular basis. Choose thoughtfully.

Identify quality leaders and visionaries in your industry and follow them. Choose broadly. When an opportunity arises to connect with them, do so.

Especially if you are in your early career, find mentors who will challenge you and champion you on your career path. Choose wisely.

If you are in your mid or late career, select and mentor individuals who are finding their way. Choose liberally.

Make a commitment to your industry, to be informed and aware of the factors that may cause a change in direction.

Remain flexible, keep a global perspective, and be willing to embrace new cultures and new technologies.

A four and eight year plan:

Think about the kind of positions or roles you would like to fill in eight years.
Ask, “What kind of people are selected for these positions?” These become your target positions in four years. (Search for job postings and check out the Requirements to find the needed skills, experience, and training.)
Now ask what kind of position you need now to be ready for the next step in four years.
These are the positions you should apply for now.
Once you land a job, watch for changes in your industry and adjust your four and eight year goals to change with the future forecast.

*** Since 9/11 an orchestra has closed its doors every week. That’s approximately 630 orchestras.