2009 June | Career Moves

Going green at work

Jun 252009

With global warming and climate change making headlines on a practically daily basis, we’re all becoming more aware of the need to conserve energy. In general the more energy we use, the more of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide we emit into the atmosphere. The more CO2 we emit, according to scientists, the more we contribute to the global warming phenomenon.
Faced with a global problem it’s easy to be dismissive of the seemingly trivial changes we can all make as individuals. But it’s important to realise that even the smallest change can have a significant impact if enough people make it.

Ways you can save energy on the way to work

Walk or cycle: the obvious one – but not practical for everyone. If it works for you, try cycling or walking at least part of the way into work. You’ll save money, reduce your carbon emissions and stay fit… so its a win, win, win scenario. Even taking the stairs instead of the lift will save some energy.
Use public transport: one person travelling in a car is one of the least efficient ways you can travel to work. If you live in the city, and public transport is a viable option, try to use it whenever you can.
Drive efficiently: When you do have to drive, accelerate and break gently. Anticipate the road ahead and avoid sudden changes of speed which increase fuel consumption, wasting energy and money.

Working from home in Ireland: living the dream

e-working, home working No Responses »

Jun 252009

Image by fras1977 via Flickr

Imagine waking up in the morning and not facing the horror of the daily commute. Imagine sauntering into work after a leisurely breakfast at home with your family. Imagine at the end of the working day simply shutting down your PC and being home in no time at all.

No road rage, no traffic gridlock, no hassle….

It sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? But according to estimates it’s already a reality for more than 60,000 Irish people around the country – at least for part of their working week. Every year more Irish employers are realising the productivity, cost and lifestyle benefits associated with letting their employees work from home.

Information and communications technology today makes the option of e-working from home more affordable and accessible than ever. With a computer and a broadband Internet connection you can often work from home just as effectively as you could at the office – sometimes even more so, because you avoid the myriad distractions typical of an office environment. A lot of work can even be done off-line, then e-mailed to clients or colleagues over a standard dial-up connection, and you’d be amazed at how many jobs are suitable for home working, at least for part of the time.

Help yourself to a better career!

books, Training No Responses »

Jun 252009

Cover of The Secret (Extended Edition)

Take a look at the non-fiction shelves of your local bookshop and you’ll find them groaning under the weight of countless self-help manuals. There are books that claim to help you find your inner anything. All you have to do is part with your hard-earned cash, make the author a smidgen richer, and invest a bit of your valuable time to be smarter, wiser, richer, happier, more attractive, better at your job… or whatever else you want.
Self help books are sweeping the world. Millions are printed every year, claiming to do everything from helping you into that “size zero” to catapulting your career into the stratosphere. The hub of this phenomenon is, of course, the United States, where, according to research company Marketdata the self help industry is set to be worth a staggering US$11 billion by 2008.

The idea of self-help books is nothing new. They’ve been around since the mid to late 1800s, when famous titles included William Maher’s “On the Road to Riches” (1874) and Edwin T Freedley’s “The Secret of Success in Life” (1876). But today they’ve gone stratospheric, and it seems we’re not just buying them, we’re also buying into them.

Six month back-to-work window for unemployed

Back to work, Redundancy, resume, Surveys/Reports No Responses »

Jun 192009

US Whig poster showing unemployment in 1837

Image via Wikipedia

Today around the world thousands of people just like you are losing their jobs.

It’s an enduring, if unpalatable fact that due to the economic circumstances we’re living through workers are being made redundant through no fault of their own. That’s generally accepted, and being made redundant in itself won’t necessarily tarnish your impeccable employment record. But when it comes to your CV, just how much leeway do you have? What’s an acceptable gap between periods of employment, and when does the dreaded label of "long term unemployed" start to rear its head?

Six months! That’s the magic number, according to research carried out in Britain recently.

The Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) surveyed more than 1,000 managers on the topic. The results show that being unemployed doesn’t carry the stigma that people losing their jobs so often fear. At least not at first. In fact more than 80% of them said that the current employment status of applicants was completely irrelevant, as they didn’t consider it an accurate reflection of ability or performance given the current climate of mass redundancies.

But there is a limit to this benign outlook: spend six months or more out of work and a quarter of employers say they’d be less likely to give you a job, considering you to be "long-term-unemployed" at that point. Of course it’s not as cut and dried as that: studying for relevant vocational or academic qualifications, getting involved in voluntary work or perhaps pursuing your own entrepreneurial enterprise in the interim can bridge the gap, and demonstrating that you’ve been keeping up-to-date with developments in your industry while out of work can also help your credibility.

The ILM also warns those who’ve lost their jobs against splashing some of their redundancy cash on an extended career break; managers typically described candidates taking a gap year to travel or volunteer overseas as "unattractive" in the poll.

"Unemployment isn’t necessarily an indicator of ability, especially in the current climate when hundreds of talented individuals are being made redundant through no fault of their own," explained Penny de Valk, chief executive of ILM. "The good news is that most employers will treat unemployed applicants exactly the same as other candidates.

"The research shows that it is important for job seekers to try and get back to work as quickly as possible. They should use their time not only job hunting but finding ways to put themselves in front of the competition. The most effective way for job seekers to boost their future employment prospects is to play to their strengths, freshen up their knowledge and skills and keep up to date with developments in their sector," she added.

When you’ve been made redundant, picking yourself up and getting into the right frame of mind to look for work can take time – and in one of the most competitive job markets in decades finding a new job can be a long and drawn out process. So start early, and stay focussed. It’s tough out there — and that six month window identified by the ILM could slam closed much sooner than you think!

Training: the next generation

Training No Responses »

Jun 172009

Image by angermann via Flickr

A new breed of employee is entering the Irish workplace, and according to some commentators they’re set to radically change not only the way we do business, but the way we teach it.
Young workers today are the first generation that has grown up in a “wired” world. From birth they’ve been surrounded by technology: by computers, mobile phones, the internet, e-mail, instant messaging and more. They’ve grown up with it, watching it evolve and accepting it seamlessly into every facet of their lives. It’s changed the way they think – and by extension the way they learn.
According to international education consultant and author Marc Prensky this generation of technophiles – a group he dubs “Digital Natives” – has a tremendous amount to offer employers, who should be looking to harness their unique talents.
“This generation is better than any before at absorbing information and making decisions quickly, as well as at multitasking and parallel processing. In contrast, people age 30 or older are ‘digital immigrants’ because they can never be as fluent in technology as a native who was born into it,” he explains.

Constant quest for key talent

Surveys/Reports No Responses »

Jun 172009

Image via Wikipedia

You would think, with so many people out of work and actively seeking employment, that filling the few vacancies that do crop up should present no problem to employers today… but looking at the global picture it seems you’d be wrong. According to the latest global "Talent Shortage" survey by recruitment firm Manpower almost 1/3 of managers surveyed worldwide say they are struggling to fill key positions in their organisation.

"Despite high levels of unemployment in many markets, this year’s talent survey suggests a mismatch between the type of individuals available for work and the specific skills that employers are looking for," commented Jeffrey A Joerres, chairman and chief executive of Manpower. "In an environment where companies are pressured to shift their mindset to think more strategically and creatively about how to do more with less, the same approach is being applied to how they manage their talent.

The Apprentice Interviews… lessons for job-seekers

CV, Interviews No Responses »

Jun 102009

Image by jovike via Flickr

Last week saw the remaining 5 candidates on the BBC‘s popular The Apprentice television show go through a gruelling round of interviews with four of Sir Alan Sugar‘s high-flying business associates.

Watching Apprentice hopefuls being put through the wringer by a cohort of seasoned business leaders certainly makes for entertaining television, but have you considered that it could also help you in your job search?

While the process on the TV is extreme, and doesn’t mirror your average interview scenario, there are still valuable lessons for real-world job seekers looking to secure employment in one of the most competitive labour markets in decades.

Be prepared: it’s astonishing on a programme like The Apprentice that some of the candidates don’t do their homework before the show. Knowing as much as you can about the organisation and job you’re applying for before interview helps you stay calm and composed under fire. It also helps you to anticipate awkward questions so you’re not thrown by them.
Know your application inside out: you should not be surprised or flustered when an interviewer plucks out a fact or statement from your CV or application form. Remember what you said in your application, and be prepared to provide more information on any aspect of it when asked.
Don’t tell them everything: your application is a sales document that’s selling you. It’s your opportunity to highlight your strengths, play down your weaknesses and to guide the interviewer to specific areas of your career that demonstrate your suitability for the job. Throwing down everything can make your application confusing, introducing irrelevant detail that can prove counter-productive at interview. Tailor your application to suit the specific job.
Candidates aren’t the only ones doing their homework: while your application can help steer your interviewer’s questions, you need to remember that while you’ve been doing your homework on them, they’ve also been checking up on you. So don’t be shaken if they throw in a questions from left field about an aspect of your career not mentioned in your application.
Let your personality shine through: while maintaining a calm, composed and unruffled demeanour is a very positive thing to cultivate at interview, you don’t want to come across as an automaton either. You need to establish a rapport, connect with your interviewer on a human level and let your personality come across.
Stand out for the right reasons: with so many applications landing on employers’ desks at the moment, it’s more important than ever to make yours stand out from the crowd — but you want it to stand out for the right reasons. By all means get as creative and innovative as you like… as long as you stay focussed on the positives. Avoid going for shock-factor: it will almost certainly flag your application for the wastepaper basket.
Don’t be afraid to admit to your shortcomings: nobody’s perfect — and coming across as "too good to be true" can actually have a negative outcome at interview. Don’t be afraid to put your hands up and admit to mistakes… just make sure you highlight how you learnt from them, and what steps you’ve taken to make sure you never make them again.

Being able to perform well in an interview situation is something that will stand any job seeker in good stead, and the more practice you get, the easier it becomes. If you treat every interview as a learning opportunity, a chance to refine your technique and hone your skills, pretty soon you’ll stop dreading them.

Look at it this way: every interview you do moves you one step closer to securing the job you want.

Is it time for a career change?

Career change No Responses »

Jun 092009

Image by Delkarm via Flickr

Less than a generation ago people tended to spend their entire careers not just in the same profession but in the same organisation. Fast forward a few decades and that position has changed radically.

These days it’s not unusual for people to switch companies two or even three times before their thirtieth birthday. We’ve taken control of our own careers like never before, and it’s opened up a whole new world of opportunity.

Adrian Carty, manager of Brightwater Recruitment‘s Cork offices, has noticed a significant shift in the pattern of career progression over the last five years. He describes the recruitment market in Cork now as “candidate driven”.

“In the dynamic economic climate of the 21st Century, the nature of career management has utterly transformed,” he said. “The onus for career development now lies with the individual and not with the company they work for.”

With some 70% of the Irish workforce reporting that they’re unhappy at work, one of the options we’re looking at more and more is the complete change of career direction. Whether the catalyst for change is redundancy; a major family event or simply a re-evaluation of priorities, values and goals; changing careers has become not just a viable option, but also an extremely desirable one for many of us.

While it’s certainly not something to enter into lightly, if you find yourself unhappy in your chosen career, and would like to explore other options, there’s absolutely nothing stopping you.

Some things to consider before leaping headlong into your new career…

Know what you really want from the start: before taking the plunge, analyse what you really want out of your career. Unless you know what it is you’re really looking for, how will you recognise it when you find it?
Look before you leap: investigate a number of prospective fields before making your decision to switch. Remember what seems like a good fit on the surface may be less suitable when you do a bit of digging.
Don’t be tempted by trends: be wary of selecting your new direction based on what are currently considered “hot” careers. It’s much more important that the career you choose is something that interests you and motivates you to excel.
Make your own decisions: whatever you do don’t let other people choose for you. Talk things through with family, friends, colleagues, peers and advisers – but always remember that this is your career, not theirs, and make the final decision for yourself.
Give yourself time: a successful career change can’t be implemented overnight. It takes time. Allow six months to a year or more to make the transition successfully.

Find a career you’re passionate about, and you’ll find yourself achieving more, and enjoying yourself in the process. Studies reinforce the fact that truly successful people do the things they really love. Why not get out there and join them?

Psycho what?

Assessment, Interviews, Tests No Responses »

Jun 092009

Image via Wikipedia

Psychometric testing has become commonplace in today’s sophisticated selection and recruitment world – but what is it, and what does it mean to the average job candidate?

In a nutshell, psychometrics is the field of psychology concerned with the design, administration, and interpretation of quantitative tests for the measurement of psychological variables like intelligence, aptitude, and personality traits. Originally developed for use in educational psychology, this type of testing was quickly adapted by occupational psychologists as a selection tool for screening job candidates.

It’s a method that’s growing in popularity. Psychometric testing is now routinely used by more than 80% of the US Fortune 500 companies and more than 75% of the UK Times Top 100 companies. Many Irish employers have also integrated psychometric testing into their selection process. So, if you haven’t run into them already, you probably will before too long.

Psychometric tests come in a variety of “flavours”, and are generally multiple choice format. They fall broadly into two categories: aptitude and ability tests (the traditional IQ test falls into this group), and personality and interest questionnaires.

Aptitude & Ability Tests

These tests analyse your reasoning ability, how effectively you think on your feet and solve problems. They can include a variety of question types – numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning, abstract reasoning, mechanical reasoning, spatial awareness and data interpretation– but the two you’re most likely to encounter in the recruitment process are numerical reasoning and verbal reasoning questions.

Aptitude and ability tests are usually multiple-choice format tests that you will be asked to complete on paper in a given time limit under typical test conditions. Increasingly you may be asked to complete these tests on a computer.

Questions are generally short, and have only one correct answer.
Although you can’t really study for these tests, you can get more comfortable with them by practicing.
In the run up to the test you can “prime” your mind for logical thought by tackling as many word and number problems and puzzles as you can get your hands on.
The actual tests are designed to be difficult to complete in the allotted time. It’s important to pace yourself, and not to waste time. Read each question carefully, give it your best shot, then move on to the next.

Personality & Interest Questionnaires

These tests are designed to assess the “fit” of your personality and interests with the organisation and job. They typically provide the employer with a “personality profile” for each candidate, which they then can then compare.

Unlike Aptitude and Ability tests there is no one right answer here. Answers are typically aranged on a “sliding scale” (e.g. from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree).
Remember that althought there are no “right or wrong” answers, the employer is obviously looking for something – otherwise why give you the test?
Be honest, but remembere that you’re undergoing a selection process. You may want to consider what the employer wants and the job you’re applying for as you answer each question – but if you do make sure you apply the same approach consistently throughout the test.

Find out more

You’ll find plenty of information on psychometric testing, along with free practice tests, on the internet. Simply type “Psychometric Testing” into your favourite search engine and browse through the results.

Interview success: after the interview

Interviews No Responses »

Jun 092009

Image by aloshbennett via Flickr

After the undeniably stressful experience of an interview, it’s only natural to feel relief washing over you: relief that it’s over, that you’ve survived the ordeal, that you did your best and now the ball’s in their court. But before you relax there are still a few things that can enhance your chances of success and help you hone those all-important interview techniques for next time.

It ain’t over ’till it’s over: just because the formal process of the interview is complete, don’t assume you can let your guard down. You’re still being evaluated – maintain your professionalism until you’re well outside the employer’s building.
Contact details: get business contact details for each of your interviewers. Ask for business cards at the end of the interview, or call reception once you get home and ask for them.
Say thank you: always send an individual thank you letter or e-mail to each of your interviewers within 24 hours. This is a great way to appear professional and courteous. It also gives you another chance to reiterate your strengths, and puts your name squarely in front of them again while they’re still making their decision.
Don’t appear overeager: you want to look professional and courteous, not desperate. Send a thank you e-mail or a letter, not both, and avoid picking up the phone and ringing the interviewer immediately after an interview – it smacks of desperation.
Review your performance: within a few days of the interview review your own performance: what went well, what not so well. Make a check-list of things you can improve on for next time.
Keep looking: even if you’re feeling confident about the outcome of the interview, don’t stop applying for other jobs. Maintain your momentum, so that if this job offer doesn’t come you already have other things in the pipeline.
Follow up phone call: although you should avoid the phone immediately after your interview, it’s perfectly acceptable to call and ask for a decision if you haven’t heard anything a week to ten days afterwards. Remember to be professional and courteous, and to build on that rapport you established during the interview itself.
Don’t burn your bridges: even if you don’t get the job this time around, be sure to keep your options open. The successful candidate may turn the job offer down, or the company may be hiring again in the near future.
Ask for constructive feedback: this probably wasn’t your first interview, and it’s unlikely to be your last. Whether you’ve been successful or not, contact your interviewers for feedback on your performance. What were your strengths and weaknesses, was there anything in particular they feel you need to work on? A lot of interviewers are happy to volunteer this information if asked, and it can do wonders to improve your interview technique for the future.

If you get the job, congratulations! If not, remember there’s always the next time, and by applying what you’ve learnt this time around, you’ll be in an even stronger position to succeed.

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Career Moves

Going green at work

Ways you can save energy on the way to work

Working from home in Ireland: living the dream

Help yourself to a better career!

Six month back-to-work window for unemployed

Training: the next generation

Constant quest for key talent

The Apprentice Interviews… lessons for job-seekers

Is it time for a career change?