Happy Holidays to you all. As we enter in to the new year here are some tidbits to think about as you move forward in your career and your life. I hope all have had a successful 2007 and here's to a prosperous 2008 for all!!!!
Nine Things People CARE ABOUT!
People DON'T CARE how good you are...
THEY CARE how good you're going to help them become!
People DON'T CARE what you've done...
THEY CARE what you've LEARNED and how those lessons can help them!
People DON'T CARE what you can't do...
THEY CARE what you CAN DO!
People DON'T CARE what they hear you say...
THEY CARE what they SEE you DO!
People DON'T CARE what you do for a living...
THEY CARE what you're passionate about!
People DON'T CARE if you're having a bad day...
THEY CARE how you're going to help them have a better day!
People DON'T CARE about price...
They care about value, convenience and risk!
People DON'T CARE about your company...
They care about the problems your company can solve!
People DON'T CARE about being apologized to...
They care about answers, solutions and resolutions!
The Perfect Labor Storm
Back in 2002 Roger Herman, Thomas Olivo, and Joyce Gioia wrote a book on a subject that many companies paid little attention to in a marketplace that recently saw the technology and stock market bubble burst. The book is called Impending Crisis: Too Many jobs, Too Few People. Over the next few years white papers started to be published about the topic, but the majority of those who saw the writing on the wall were still those focused in recruiting and staffing. This past year experts and top executives have started to discuss better recruitment and retention plans for the future. Well, the future is here and the statistics are chilling. Whether we want to believe it, react to it, or choose to ignore it, as the cliche goes "numbers don't lie" and organizations need to be prepared. As Herman writes, "The labor shortage will be much more severe than most people realize. By 2010, we'll be 10,033,000 people short in the United States. Bottom line: corporate leaders must begin now to change the way they do business otherwise they risk extinction." This means, when an individual starts to exlore other career opportunities, there will not just be one or two options but five or ten. Companies will need to sell why their company is better. They will need to become flexible and be able to make quick decisions. Once on board companies need to also focus on retaining their superstars. Those who are unable to change and lose the war, will suffer the same fate as the Dinosaur. Not the fortune 50, some will say. Anyone remember the retailer Montgomery Ward?
For those who need the straight numbers here they are:
•November 2007 US Unemployment Rate: 4.7%
- Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
-Economists put full employment from 4-5%, since that would be the percentage of the population who are unable or unwilling to work
•There will be 29 million unfilled jobs in 2008
-Source:U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
For those who need the straight numbers here they are:
•November 2007 US Unemployment Rate: 4.7%
- Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
-Economists put full employment from 4-5%, since that would be the percentage of the population who are unable or unwilling to work
•There will be 29 million unfilled jobs in 2008
-Source:U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• By 2008 the number of young adult workers, from 25 to 40 year olds, will DECLINE by 1.7 million. That's 1.7 million less workers to replace the nearly 77 million baby boomers who will be eligible for retirement.
•The population of the 60 year and older group in the developed world will expand from 99 million in 1950 to 248 million at the turn of the century to 298 million in the year 2050.
•The 50 and older population from 2000-2050 will grow at a rate 68 times faster than the rate of growth for the total population
-Source: Beyond Workforce 2020, Hudson Institute
•One-fifth of this country's large, established companies will be losing 40 percent or more of their top- level talent in the next five years.
-Source: Development Dimensions International
•The replacement pool of 35 to 44 year olds will decline by 15 percent during the same period.
-Source:U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
For additional facts visit http://www.perfectlaborstorm.com/facts.html
For an except of The Bermuda Triangle of Future Jobs visit http://www.perfectlaborstorm.com/sample.html
Managing a Telephone Interview
Telephone interviews are becoming more common it today's marketplace for a variety of reasons. Many hiring executives are over worked especially when they have an opening on their team which means they have more travel, meetings and deadlines which correlate to tighter schedules for interviewing. Many positions will also look at individuals outside of their local area making it more difficult and more expensive for a first round face to face interview. Whatever the reason, it is important to realize that telephone interview skills are different than those in a face to face environment and are just as important if you want to move forward in the process. It is important not to overlook a telephone interview as trivial. Here are a few tips to help you have successful telephone interviews:
The most important thing to remember about phone interviews is that there is no body language advantage to show your enthusiasm and interest, so you must let it be known in your tone and statements.
1) The main goal of a telephone interview is to move forward to a FACE to FACE interview.
2) Have your resume, paper, pen and a glass of water handy.
3) Take the call in a quiet area where there are no no distractions and disable “call waiting” if your phone has that service. On my phone it is *50 prior to the time you are expecting the call to disable and *51 to enable it back after the call. You will have to check with your service.
4) “SELL” what you know the interview needs. Make sure to go over the description ahead of the interview and have specific examples to pull from your background to support the requirements.
5) Mirror your interviewer’s voice: If he/she speaks fast, you speak at a comfortably fast pace—If he/she speaks slowly, you speak at a comfortably slow pace.
6) If you don’t understand a question, or wonder what they are really looking for, ask for an explanation.
7) Be aware of the length of your answers. Try not to speak more than 3 minutes without reengaging the interviewer
8) Don’t try to evade an answer. If you don’t know the answer, tell the interviewer you will find out the answer and call back.
9) If things sound good to you, say so, don’t play poker. The interviewer can’t see you, so he/she can’t read your body language. Ask the interviewer at the end of the conversation where you stand and what the next step is.(i.e. face to face, 2nd telephone interview, etc.)
10) Do not initiate a conversation regarding compensation! That is only appropriate at the end of a face to face meeting when the employer knows you and you know everything about the job and company. If he/she brings it up during the phone interview, feel free to discuss it, but keep it in general terms. Let the interviewer know you would be more willing to discuss compensation in person, after viewing the site and learning more about the job opportunity.
The interview is basically a verbal resume…with animation. Appropriate enthusiasm is absolutely necessary. If you like what you are hearing then let it show in your voice...its the only thing you have over the phone.
The most important thing to remember about phone interviews is that there is no body language advantage to show your enthusiasm and interest, so you must let it be known in your tone and statements.
1) The main goal of a telephone interview is to move forward to a FACE to FACE interview.
2) Have your resume, paper, pen and a glass of water handy.
3) Take the call in a quiet area where there are no no distractions and disable “call waiting” if your phone has that service. On my phone it is *50 prior to the time you are expecting the call to disable and *51 to enable it back after the call. You will have to check with your service.
4) “SELL” what you know the interview needs. Make sure to go over the description ahead of the interview and have specific examples to pull from your background to support the requirements.
5) Mirror your interviewer’s voice: If he/she speaks fast, you speak at a comfortably fast pace—If he/she speaks slowly, you speak at a comfortably slow pace.
6) If you don’t understand a question, or wonder what they are really looking for, ask for an explanation.
7) Be aware of the length of your answers. Try not to speak more than 3 minutes without reengaging the interviewer
8) Don’t try to evade an answer. If you don’t know the answer, tell the interviewer you will find out the answer and call back.
9) If things sound good to you, say so, don’t play poker. The interviewer can’t see you, so he/she can’t read your body language. Ask the interviewer at the end of the conversation where you stand and what the next step is.(i.e. face to face, 2nd telephone interview, etc.)
10) Do not initiate a conversation regarding compensation! That is only appropriate at the end of a face to face meeting when the employer knows you and you know everything about the job and company. If he/she brings it up during the phone interview, feel free to discuss it, but keep it in general terms. Let the interviewer know you would be more willing to discuss compensation in person, after viewing the site and learning more about the job opportunity.
The interview is basically a verbal resume…with animation. Appropriate enthusiasm is absolutely necessary. If you like what you are hearing then let it show in your voice...its the only thing you have over the phone.
The War for Talent
The War For Talent, Forbes.com
Dennis Zeleny 10.29.07
The biggest key to sustainable success for your company is hiring the right people to run it. After decades of chasing would-be silver bullets including Total Quality, Six Sigma, branding, restructuring and more, many determined CEOs have made their companies significantly better. But you’ll never be able to set the enterprise confidently on the path to long-term prosperity until you become a leader in the worldwide hunt to find and keep the right executive and management talent.
This may seem more banal than profound and arcane. But the truth is that relatively few CEOs have understood, at least until lately, the crucial importance of this principle. Other than the occasional General Electric, IBM, PepsiCo or McKinsey, whose CEOs long ago recognized that talent is paramount, few companies have been excelling in this arena.
That is why about two-thirds of senior leaders quit or leave an organization within the first three years of being recruited. With the retirement exodus of aging baby boomer executives and managers in Western economies in full flight, the underlying pressures on CEOs to recruit and nurture the right talent will only increase. Also adding pressure is the increasingly globalized demand for talent, including the quickly rising need for executives and managers in the developing world.
As a CEO, you’re painfully aware of the consequences of being on the wrong side of the talent equation--of the instability and disruption it causes internally, with your customers, and with other constituencies. You may have a brilliant strategy for making the numbers better every year, but over time, it’s people who will make it happen or fail at doing so. CEOs can put together marketing, sales, production and business-development plans all day long, but their companies cannot win in the marketplace if they don’t have the right people to carry out those plans.
And while more CEOs finally are waking up to the talent linchpin, their recognition doesn’t guarantee success in the competition for the best people or effective performance by those executives and managers once they’re in place. It may be sobering for leaders to realize that, with a given promotion or a new hire, they’re making a decision that could have significant ramifications for the company for five or 10 years, or even longer.
Yet, many CEOs wrongly believe that getting a handle on "the talent thing" is as simple as putting greater trust in their skills as a people evaluator and being sure to measure up candidates during the crucial job interview. Sometimes, given the press of other duties, they can neglect to put in the proper preparation for optimizing this crucial time with their potential new hires. It should be like the tip of an iceberg: The preparatory work before a CEO even begins the interview process must be done thoughtfully and deliberately.
Another mistake is hiring what they’d like to have instead of what they need--recruiting people in their own image when that’s not what a particular job requires. These CEOs don’t do proper reference checks. They may not even understand enough about what the job entails in terms of organizational requirements and fit.
Instead, CEOs need to take the hunt for good talent as seriously as any of their priorities and more seriously than most. In doing so, they should apply some very clear and powerful criteria to their overall talent-development efforts and, in fact, to every single executive and managerial hire and promotion.
In a multi-part series on Forbes.com, we’re going to examine the six steps to success for CEOs in the war for talent. We’ll take a deep look at each of them, present a strategy for harnessing them, and suggest some tools to help. In this first piece, we’ll present an overview of the criteria:
Due to the length of this article, for the full version from Forbes.com, email michelle@mrvancouver.com and I will forward it to you.
Dennis Zeleny 10.29.07
The biggest key to sustainable success for your company is hiring the right people to run it. After decades of chasing would-be silver bullets including Total Quality, Six Sigma, branding, restructuring and more, many determined CEOs have made their companies significantly better. But you’ll never be able to set the enterprise confidently on the path to long-term prosperity until you become a leader in the worldwide hunt to find and keep the right executive and management talent.
This may seem more banal than profound and arcane. But the truth is that relatively few CEOs have understood, at least until lately, the crucial importance of this principle. Other than the occasional General Electric, IBM, PepsiCo or McKinsey, whose CEOs long ago recognized that talent is paramount, few companies have been excelling in this arena.
That is why about two-thirds of senior leaders quit or leave an organization within the first three years of being recruited. With the retirement exodus of aging baby boomer executives and managers in Western economies in full flight, the underlying pressures on CEOs to recruit and nurture the right talent will only increase. Also adding pressure is the increasingly globalized demand for talent, including the quickly rising need for executives and managers in the developing world.
As a CEO, you’re painfully aware of the consequences of being on the wrong side of the talent equation--of the instability and disruption it causes internally, with your customers, and with other constituencies. You may have a brilliant strategy for making the numbers better every year, but over time, it’s people who will make it happen or fail at doing so. CEOs can put together marketing, sales, production and business-development plans all day long, but their companies cannot win in the marketplace if they don’t have the right people to carry out those plans.
And while more CEOs finally are waking up to the talent linchpin, their recognition doesn’t guarantee success in the competition for the best people or effective performance by those executives and managers once they’re in place. It may be sobering for leaders to realize that, with a given promotion or a new hire, they’re making a decision that could have significant ramifications for the company for five or 10 years, or even longer.
Yet, many CEOs wrongly believe that getting a handle on "the talent thing" is as simple as putting greater trust in their skills as a people evaluator and being sure to measure up candidates during the crucial job interview. Sometimes, given the press of other duties, they can neglect to put in the proper preparation for optimizing this crucial time with their potential new hires. It should be like the tip of an iceberg: The preparatory work before a CEO even begins the interview process must be done thoughtfully and deliberately.
Another mistake is hiring what they’d like to have instead of what they need--recruiting people in their own image when that’s not what a particular job requires. These CEOs don’t do proper reference checks. They may not even understand enough about what the job entails in terms of organizational requirements and fit.
Instead, CEOs need to take the hunt for good talent as seriously as any of their priorities and more seriously than most. In doing so, they should apply some very clear and powerful criteria to their overall talent-development efforts and, in fact, to every single executive and managerial hire and promotion.
In a multi-part series on Forbes.com, we’re going to examine the six steps to success for CEOs in the war for talent. We’ll take a deep look at each of them, present a strategy for harnessing them, and suggest some tools to help. In this first piece, we’ll present an overview of the criteria:
Due to the length of this article, for the full version from Forbes.com, email michelle@mrvancouver.com and I will forward it to you.
You've accepted a new position - NOW WHAT?
After the excitment of getting a position and accepting an offer with a new company wears off, individuals often feel the weight of "what do I need to do next". Below is information that can help make the resignation process feel a little less daunting. Resigning from a job and taking on a new role encourages people to look ahead – planning the next months and years of their lives. So with a new job offer in hand, it’s not surprising that some people put little time or effort into making sure they resign from their previous job on a good note. Here are our tips…
Prepare: Think of resignation as you would a job interview. Put time and thought into it. Prepare what you are going to say, in what order, and to whom. You can do serious damage to working relationships if you tell the wrong people first (even in confidence) and somebody influential finds out second hand.
Be honest: Don’t withhold the truth from your employers and colleagues. Tell them up front that you are leaving.
Be succinct: Whether telling your boss in person or in writing, get straight to the point. Explain why you are leaving, but try to avoid expressing negative feelings.
Be flexible: If you can, negotiate a finishing date that suits your employer as well as you. Cooperate fully in handing over the files, documents, projects and clients you are working with prior to leaving.
Be realistic: If your resignation is coming "out of the blue," expect a reaction from your employer. Allow time for the reaction to your news. If your manager becomes aggressive, confrontational or upset, don’t respond with similar behavior. Revert to your prepared comments.
Be diplomatic: If you think it is important to express your negative experiences, do it face to face.
Don’t do it in writing. Again, use your prepared comments rather than doing this off the cuff.
Be appreciative: Thank your employers for past training and other opportunities. Thank your colleagues for what you have learned from them. Accentuate the positives – find something good to say.
Follow up in writing: Always send a letter of resignation to confirm – in writing – when you are leaving the organization.
Don’t burn your bridges: You might need to rely on your previous employer for references, advice or even a job! You also never know where people from your current place of work may end up in five or ten years’ time.
Look after number one: Make sure you know what you are entitled to when you leave, such as unused vacation or sick time. Get someone senior in the company to give you a reference.
Keep in touch: Be proactive about keeping in touch with the valuable contacts and friends you have developed in this role.
Dealing with a counter-offer: If you receive a counter-offer, take time to consider it. Has anything really changed? Is this what you really want? Think about the reasons you decided to take the new position in the first place. Given that you have already resigned, will it be easy for you to continue working in the same company? If you are seriously considering accepting the counter-offer, think about the impact it may have on your relationship with your new employers – you may deal with them again in the future.
Information from MRINetwork
Prepare: Think of resignation as you would a job interview. Put time and thought into it. Prepare what you are going to say, in what order, and to whom. You can do serious damage to working relationships if you tell the wrong people first (even in confidence) and somebody influential finds out second hand.
Be honest: Don’t withhold the truth from your employers and colleagues. Tell them up front that you are leaving.
Be succinct: Whether telling your boss in person or in writing, get straight to the point. Explain why you are leaving, but try to avoid expressing negative feelings.
Be flexible: If you can, negotiate a finishing date that suits your employer as well as you. Cooperate fully in handing over the files, documents, projects and clients you are working with prior to leaving.
Be realistic: If your resignation is coming "out of the blue," expect a reaction from your employer. Allow time for the reaction to your news. If your manager becomes aggressive, confrontational or upset, don’t respond with similar behavior. Revert to your prepared comments.
Be diplomatic: If you think it is important to express your negative experiences, do it face to face.
Don’t do it in writing. Again, use your prepared comments rather than doing this off the cuff.
Be appreciative: Thank your employers for past training and other opportunities. Thank your colleagues for what you have learned from them. Accentuate the positives – find something good to say.
Follow up in writing: Always send a letter of resignation to confirm – in writing – when you are leaving the organization.
Don’t burn your bridges: You might need to rely on your previous employer for references, advice or even a job! You also never know where people from your current place of work may end up in five or ten years’ time.
Look after number one: Make sure you know what you are entitled to when you leave, such as unused vacation or sick time. Get someone senior in the company to give you a reference.
Keep in touch: Be proactive about keeping in touch with the valuable contacts and friends you have developed in this role.
Dealing with a counter-offer: If you receive a counter-offer, take time to consider it. Has anything really changed? Is this what you really want? Think about the reasons you decided to take the new position in the first place. Given that you have already resigned, will it be easy for you to continue working in the same company? If you are seriously considering accepting the counter-offer, think about the impact it may have on your relationship with your new employers – you may deal with them again in the future.
Information from MRINetwork
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