Friday 28 November 2008

Career change from mortgage sales to technology sales

Matt Youngquist, an Executive Career Coach & Outplacement Consultant from Seattle, WA asks: As a career coach, I'm currently in the process of working with a mortgage sales professional who is intending to make a career shift into the field of technology sales. I'm therefore wondering whether anybody out there has any tips, advice, or insights on the specific skills or courses of study that a highly motivated individual might acquire to make himself as marketable as possible to technology product/service companies - or whether there are certain technology sectors that would be easier to penetrate for an individual with a proven sales background, but no direct high-tech experience. Any great ideas?

In answer:
Most people who work in the technology industry have a technology background – most often a degree - or at least proven enthusiasm for it, such as a successful website. Technology and particularly IT is the highest trained sector and most degree orientated measured on a global basis. It is hence easy to tell a non-tech in an interview, as you either love it and will hence understand all the TLA’s, or just don’t get the sector.

The reason for this is that most technology sales are complex sales – long time scales, brought about by much customer customization of the solution at both the product (most likely system integration), financial and program/rollout level. This hence most often results in team working, which is a core competence most technology people don’t recognise they have.

Your client comes from a financial services background, so why is he choosing technology? Most look simply at the money and think “it’s just a sale” – but it is the training and long sales timescales which define the rewards, not simply sales ability. The good news is that like IT and technology, particularly in the telecom sector, financial services is heavily regulated. This knowledge of regulation is a transferable skill which some who may attempt the leap in won’t have.

Unless your client has base degree level training in a technology or science orientated subject, I would look at in-company training versus a return to college – both would take around the same time scale, with one an income and training opportunity, while the other is pure cost. Pick a consumer end or SME level sales position where the need for technological training is minimized, and a successful sales background is more appreciated in the job description. We have recruited for SME business cellphone sales people before, and a couple of well referenced good years in the UK version of Circuit City was good enough to get you a position with most of the major cellphone telecoms companies, or IT and technology business solutions companies. If he is successful there, then he will rise quickly and be given appropriate training.

The bad news at present is that, much as though the IT and technology sector works behind the rest of the economy – it’s those long sales and integration time scales again – the whole sector is heading fast into recession at present, with most companies globally announcing lay off’s and redundancies. No where is now safe from those sub-prime mortgage sales of the past, including IT and technology.

Good Luck!

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Thursday 27 November 2008

Redundancy rates rise, Pyramid schemes return

It has been reported by many media and investigative journalism programmes that the number of illegal pyramid schemes is on the rise.

This fresh outcrop seems to be particularly prevalent in South Wales (our back garden, so hence why I am writing about it), and to be on the rise thanks in part to the credit crunch. Many of these new schemes also try to add legitimacy through charity donation, and as one of my interests is in raising money for charity through old mobile phone donation through schemes run by SimuSimu in partnership with local councils, it is personally disturbing that both individuals and charities are being wholly mislead.

Since the introduction of the Gambling Act 2005, pyramid schemes are wholly illegal in the United Kingdom. If you want to know in detail about how these schemes work then please read the guidance at consumerdirect.gov.uk. Pyramid or sometimes called gift giving schemes work by a layered pot of money creation:
- one member donates an amount, and then recruits two or more additional members who form the second layer
- these people in turn donate the same amount each, and recruit two or more additional members to create a third layer

Most of these schemes then pay out to the first member, once the entire fourth+ layer is full. Now, if the scheme is based on just recruiting two additional members, and pays out on layer four being full, and each member puts in £1000 (typical investments are around £3000 per member at present - a decent Christmas budget), then the first member would get a sum of £15,000 on payout: Wow!

This return on investment is why people join - but here's the problem. To get that sum you need to find 14 other people to join, and then keep joining for the scheme to pay out. A scheme in the Isle of Wight in 2001 collapsed in six months because it ran out of people, and almost made the local NatWest branch network run out of cash. In 1998, the newly liberalised country of Albania almost collapsed due to imploding pyramid schemes. Pyramid schemes need to suck in new members at such rates, that the Isle of Wight trading standards office used the illustration that if membership was only drawn from new members, then the entire world's population would be needed with 18months to fulfil the Isle of Wight scheme.

So how come people are getting money out of the scheme? Well often, the first member is the scheme runner - all they have to do is find 14 more people and they have at last £15,000 in their pocket. May be a few more lucky early people do as well, but by layer 10 there is a need for at least 1,000 people. To keep people being drawn in, much like bingo their are prises for turning up or reaching specific layers, which are withdrawn from the prize fund - and these "cost" fee's go to the originator, the only person who makes a guaranteed return.

These are the reasons why since the introduction of the Gambling Act 2005, pyramid schemes are wholly illegal in the United Kingdom. If you want to know in detail about how these schemes work then please read the guidance at consumerdirect.gov.uk.

In 2001, new schemes appeared which targeted their audiences and tried to get around the then bad publicity. They used names like Hearts, or the classical Women empowering Women. The new scheme which has appeared in South Wales and Bristol areas uses the name Take and Gift or Gift and Take, which increase "costs" by adding a legitimising charity gift - but they are all illegal pyramid schemes.

Be very aware with your money. As a first step with your redundancy cheque, however big or small, take some free advice from either the local citizen's advice bureau or your local bank manager. And if you think you have been approached to join a pyramid scheme, please remember that they are illegal and that you are highly unlikely to get your money back.

Look after yourself, and Good Luck!

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If you can't afford a coach, what are professionals doing to support their professional growth?

Francine Allaire, Chief Life Strategist at The Daring, LLC asks: If you can't afford a coach, what are professionals doing to support their professional growth?

In answer:
I love (?) the assumptive nature of this question: that everyone needs a coach; and that those who don't clearly can't afford one.

A better question personally would have been "how are you ensuring your professional growth" - something which everyone has to do, but which most don't.

Specificly "hired for results coaches" are a relatively recent development, the rise of which has been heavily tied to the wider awareness of NLP. Before this, and to way back in time, business people talked to their friends and other business people - yes, even their commercial rivals - about the state of the market, the problems they saw and how they addressed them, and what they were doing to develop commercially and personally. These relationships often ended up in what could be seen as bitter rival companies employing the others former executives to create the same results, but through the new and upcoming managers of the company.

Do professionals need coaches? No, certainly not. But they do need to manage their own careers and development, and there are many proven strategies and tactics with proven longer term success records than that of picking a coach with a single NLP certificate: that is far riskier than doing nothing.

Good Luck!

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Wednesday 26 November 2008

Facebook – a cyber cool website that is the employee’s liability

I’m on Facebook, the social network: you can find me here: http://profile.to/recruit/

A very socially cool website valued at over $1Bn US dollars, on Facebook you can: see comments from your friends and new people; play scrabble or poker with them during work hours; find out where right now; what they think of many, including you; what’s in their social diary; and who they are dating/going further with. And you know that in a few hours time, thanks to a 2MegPixel camera in their mobile phone the resulting evidence of the pub crawl will be online and in their Facebook page. I mean, how really cool of an inside look in any friends life is that – possibly too close?

But on a work basis, Facebook is both a godsend and a nightmare. Do you really want everyone from the North Pole to the South Pole, and any potential employer to see the photographic evidence of your weekend away?

I am hence very careful on who I am connected to on Facebook; and I don’t put stuff on my Facebook profile which could harm my personal or business reputation.

Two stories have recently hit the headlines about employee’s being disciplined from entries they made themselves on Facebook:

Australian call centre worker Kyle Doyle, who after a grand night out and resultant hangover, pulled a sickie. His HR manager alerted by his manger asked for the certificated evidence, which then was responded to by an reference to his Facebook entry
Virgin Atlantic sacked 13 staff at their Gatwick hub who criticised the company for lack of cleaning, and rated customers as “chav’s.” I think they could have got away with the former with a caution, but not with the later which potentially brought the company into disrepute

Much as though employers have to be more aware of the use of social networks and make allowances in employment contracts, that doesn’t mean it is all flowing in the employee’s direction. Hence when I am searching for people for clients, half the reason I have a Facebook page is that I can both find new and check on recommended potential employee’s – it is constantly amazing what you can find out, and how daft many are with their personal reputation.

Please, please, please – be aware of what information you place in public. Social networking and Facebook can be fun - but it can also get you sacked, or rejected from a job search.

Good Luck!

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Tuesday 25 November 2008

How to undertake a secret “new job” search – much like an affair, take precautions and turn the heat up slowly

One of the advantages for the casual job seeker of the internet is to be contactable, but also to appear to your current employer that you are happy where you are. The number of business orientated social networking sites – including LinkedIn and VisualCV – means that you can say to your existing employer that you are “just” networking, while you know that your details are out there being found by recruiters and HR people.

However, suppose you need to escalate that job search to reach a quicker conclusion, to get you out of your existing hole: what tactics can you use?

The first problem and key tactic is that, much like having an illicit affair, you have to be discrete and appear to carry on in the same old routine or path. Appearing to look like a job seeker sends out all the wrong messages to both your existing employer (untrustworthy), and any potential employer (desperate), and is likely to end in an extended period of unemployment over gardening leave.

Hence, the first and only rule is to leave no evidence of your job searching in your work place. Hence while searching for work, do not use your employers infrastructure, including computers or phones. A majority of employers monitor systems usage through a clause in your contract called “bringing the company into disrepute,” they can hence keep details of websites visited by computers and calls made from phones. I have heard of people being sacked after expense accounts included the receipt for purchase of heavy weight paper, or cardboard-backed envelopes which showed up on the accompanying paperwork as “12 x CV/Resume no-bend envelopes!” All expenditure goes to a personal account, and choose to take a preference for paying cash for items and services – particularly including stationary. And don’t go using the company photocopier – a personal printer which includes a copy function can be bought for under £100/$100

Your first task is to separate your existing personal and current job contact details from your new job search self. You must keep your CV/Resume, eMail correspondence, and anything and everything related to your job search on your home computer. This may mean obtaining:

• a new free web-based eMail account specifically for job searching. For instance, if you have AOL and Hotmail accounts, get a gMail account
• a new PAYG cellphone. You could use your home phone answering machine, but it is often difficult to access and always comes with the “I have to tell the other people who I live with” secrecy consequence compromises of your job search. As it is initially for incoming calls, no need for more than the standard starter credit which can cost you from £30/$50 upwards. Please make sure that you record a voice mail message, that clearly states your availability and eMail address
• I would also recommend optionally a PO Box for mail. At around £15/$20/month, a relative bargain

Security of these details is sacrosanct – any leak and unemployment is almost inevitable, so don’t leak them to anyone outside those who need to know. For instance, if you have a Plaxo account, or similar MSOutlook back-up service, don’t put these in your own Plaxo details. They will replicate to all of your contacts, which probably includes your boss! Only once in the job search do you get the excuse in this entire exercise to create a new person identity, so call it something different to your normal choice, which could be for instance: a holiday destination; a name from your year of birth in the phone book; or a name from the newspaper. At NO point will you be using this “identity name,” it is just a point to store your new job search contact details.

Secondly, create a new CV/Resume, or polish up the old one. Make sure it reflects your new career goals and requirements – and include your new job search contact details. But you must be very careful where you post, so only post on job sites where you can keep your employer history and contact information confidential. Monster for instance provides such a facility, which means you can still be found by recruiters and HR people, but your details are confidential and they can only post to you – it is then your choice whether you respond. Store the final document at an easy-access secure document location, such as Google Docs, which allows you quickly to send it out to any CV/Resume requests – but clearly don’t publish it in public!

Thirdly, you can now polish up your existing online profiles. Make sure these are aligned with your new skills and new CV/Resume. On LinkedIn, you can tick a box from an options list which states whether or not you wish to be contacted, while an other option asks if you are interested in new job or contracting opportunities. Most professionals do tick these boxes, and they are just options – but it is not as blatant as posting your CV/Resume across an open jobs site.

During your search, you may find it difficult to make contact with potential employers during work hours – and hence although you may get some contact, following this up will prove difficult. Everyone should take a lunch hour, so use yours to find:

• a place or location where you can go which is away from the work place, and quiet enough in which to conduct a 15min conversation. Your car could be a good option, but make sure the location you park has great cellphone coverage
• a public library or alternately an internet café which gives access to computer terminals. Libraries are good as they provide “cover story” opportunities as to why you are going to the library. Alternately, find a public access Wifi location, such as Starbucks

You now have locations in which to take lunch, and follow up on job search eMails and detail requests.

When you get to the interview stage, try scheduling them at points of the day when it is easier and causes less suspicion. This could either be in the morning or late afternoon, and away from normal office “busy” periods such as monthly or quarterly target or finance period closes. On the day of the interview, if you don’t wear a suit in to work normally, then don’t on the interview day – use a suitcase, or leave your clothes in the car and allow time to change on the way. Men, at the start of your job search, start shaving in a presentable to interview fashion every day – if you want to keep your beard, then trim it. If you suddenly turn up on one day well shaven, then you either have a hot date or are going for an interview!

During your job search, keep a diary and plan of progress – monitoring will tell you what channels are working, to put more effort into them.

Most importantly, always be discrete and try to keep the number of people you tell below four. Only tell those you can trust, which I suggest is family only and no co-workers – it will some how inevitably always get back to your boss!

Job searching can be fun, but you always need to take some sensible cautions just to make sure your existing job is not lost before you have a signed contract for the new job: until that point, it is never secured and assured.

Good Luck!

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Monday 24 November 2008

Sunday Thoughts: old Labour solution, but will the consumers spend?

Sunday Thoughts on a Monday? What is going on? I was going to write something a bit different, but this on reflection now seems more appropriate.......

In an inevitable “new Labour” way, Gordon Brown has made good on his “it’s just Labour” comment at takeover. In a series of weekend leaks to the press (one wonders what the job description for a New Labour PR guru is? Talk as loudly and openly as Vera Duckworth would seem high from what has been seen), it is fairly easy even for my three year old niece who can write her name what the main emphasis will be in Alastair Darling’s budget – tax and spend.

The tax element is that VAT gets cut, while the rich get taxed more – over £150k, expect to pay 45% from the next election. The spend element is – well, as you were, with more going out on unemployment benefit and Job Seekers allowance.

The interesting thing that has struck me watching some of the street level interviews undertaken today (Monday) by various media outlets with us ordinary folk, is that the message is pretty clear: “It is not a lot of money, and as my job is not secure, after paying my higher energy bills I will save just in case I am made redundant.”

Are the government the only institute in this recession who is not cutting their cloth to match their lowered income, higher risk to it through potential redundancy and higher energy bills? Everyone else is, so why not the government?

I think most economists would argue that in a recession there is much a spending Government can do to soften the bottom and define the likely hood of an up turn. But could the Government cut their cloth, like the rest of us are now doing?

The bastion of the blue collar right, The Sun, today created an article from a Westminster financial oversight committee report, which lists civil servants who all earn over the new proposed 45% tax cut rate, and yet have failed in their jobs. Of the five highlighted, four have lost their jobs: Paul Gray (paid £257,891, resigned over Revenue and Customs lost child benefit data scandal); Dr Ken Boston (paid £330,000, who oversaw the SAT’s); John Tanner (paid £445,621, ex-CEO of the FSA who resigned over the Northern Rock crisis); Sir Callum McCarthy (paid £480,553 at the FSA); and Clive Briault (paid £883,711, including a £500,000 pay-off, when he resigned over the Northern Rock debacle). The report finds some The report also revealed that 387 civil servants earn more than £150,000 a year, of which 200 are paid more than Gordon Brown — who gets £187,000 for being PM.

Much of New Labour’s spending is good. The Thatcher government had cut too much, and the huge amount of money required to be invested in school, hospital and transport infrastructure is evidence of that. But I think some of the spending has become too proliferagate, through lack of simple value measurement and common sence. Gordon Brown talks about record spending levels, but it is not necessarily therefore record value to the tax payer. When the Westminster committee of MP’s describes John Tanner, then CEO of the FSA as “not asleep, but comatose” during the Northern Rock crisis, one has to wonder how far in reality New Labour spin versus reality actually places Downing Street from the British recession?

I hence hope that the cold seasonal wind being now felt in the weather, on the high street and in people’s expectations of their employment prospects; is met with a renewed view for taxation value at 10 Downing Street, and not more leaky PR press releases of recording spending.

Good Luck!

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Should I mention my personal blog in my Resume?

Shrinidhi Hande asks: How good do you think it is to mention about your personal blog in a professional resume?

In answer:
My standard answer Shrinidhi would be "no" with an aside of "it depends."

The key here is relevance to the job you are applying for, and as a business analyst as opposed to a journalist unless the blog was wholly business analyst orientated and the job advert asked for such evidence, then the answer is no.

However, having read your blog, I would definately say no. Firstly, the first words any reader comes across are "A professional amateur" - what impression does that give? And secondly, one of the top five commented subjects is "Public toilets can be made free." It would be a good blog for someone who wanted to be a local political representative, although at present it reads more like a personal diary.

The other opportunity you have with a blog, is that it appears in your GoogleCV. If you undertake a Google search on your own name, then it appears high in the results. Any recruiter, HR professional or employer who found this could conclude that your main focus may not be on the job - something to think about.

Good Luck!

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Friday 21 November 2008

When not to look for a new job

There are times when, looking for a new job is not a wise idea or a good risk. Such times could include, for instance, a credit crunch – anyone seen one recently?

However, if you are feeling frustrated in your current job or with your existing employer, there is much you can do to freshen up your outlook and future job prospects when the outlook does look better, and improve existing skills or create new one’s which recruiters are looking for employers seek.

Firstly, let’s take attitude – is the existing job really that bad? Yes, you may have found that you are paid 10% less than a work colleague, or 20% less than a friend doing a lesser job at a rival firm: but are they really being paid that much more? If you think yes, then why not ask for an out of cycle review with your boss to asses performance. Even if the outcome is good, are you likely to get more money doing the same job? No, but if the review is good you should be offered more responsibility, and that should equal more pay – plus as a well assessed employee, you have just reduced your chances of redundancy in that employer by at least three fold

The other in-house problem may be work colleagues, or even the boss. If that is the problem, then chat to a trusted third party in a casual conversation, to see if they feel that the other person has a reason to have something against you, or whether its just them. If you find a reason, then change your self first and then change them. Talk the other person about how you feel, and what you are willing to do to solve the issue and what you would appreciate them doing. May be it is as simple as saying hello in the mornings, or occasionally making the coffee/tea – problems can be quite small but harmful. But honestly, no one wants to work in an unhappy atmosphere, and you will probably be amazed that they also don’t feel happy and would be happy to find a better way forward.

May be the problem is your home life. Have you in the past six months moved, changed partners, had a new addition to the family – pets can be as troublesome as babies – or is a family member going through some tough times, and it’s reflecting through you? Changing everything at the same time adds a lot of stress to anyone’s life, and much as though the job may be boring or not want you want right now, getting stability in your home life would improve your view of it. Plus it can be a sanctuary of normality and stability away from the stress of the home. When ever I see people in Ajiri not feeling happy, I always ask them to sit down and chat, and make a point of asking about how home life is. My rule is always: home first, work second - if your home life is stable, then your work life is a lot easier.

May be none of the above are the reason, and you are just bored and in need of a change. That can always happen, but always remember not all job changes work out – with some employers, as low as 20% will be there one year later. Plus if you are last in, and redundancies are required, you WILL be first out – under most law, you have few retention rights or redundancy package rights for at least the first 6monts, and possibly as long as a year – all career change is a risk.
OK, so you think you want a change. Firstly, before you look at any adverts or jobs boards, have a look around your work world. What is it that is so boring, under whelming, and not fulfilling in your current job? Is there anything you could add to it which would make it better, by doing something else – or even gaining promotion?

Secondly, before you start looking at job adverts, get a plan and a goal together – what you are looking for may well be right where you are, plus a little bit.

Thirdly, once you have the plan you can have a look at the jobs boards and adverts in local media. If your ideal next job exists, then you will see it advertised – no adverts for it, then it might not exist, or be in demand right now: this is a sign of increased unemployment risk. If you do see jobs like the one you want, are they asking for more qualifications than you have, or wider experience? Note these down, and place them in your plan.

Now go back to your boss, and chat about your job. Bring up that you want job enhancement and development, and suggest the areas you noted. Ask for the training you spotted in the adverts as a development exercise – you may not presently get sponsorship for training, but you may get released for college on agreed hours. All of these steps means that you increase your value to your existing employer, and your desirability to your future employer; both of which add up to a lower chance of a period of unemployment.

It is natural that people will from time to time get bored with their jobs, and look for change – most outside their existing employers. If they looked at the reasons why, made a plan and asked for a few inputs from the boss and changes from co-workers, life may well look a whole lot better where they are – and they would be in a far, far more secure position in these dangerous economic times.

Good Luck!

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Is there employer discrimination if applicants state knowledge of Arabic and/or Russian?

Rick asks: Is there employer level discrimination if applicants state a knowledge of Arabic and/or Russian on a resume. Is this a taboo subject? If someone's resume states that they know Arabic and/or Russian language, how likely will they be discriminated against by potential employer/recruiter? Job market: U.S. and Western Europe. Should people who know those languages not mention them on their resumes, unless the job description specifically asks for them? Assumption: Although it is possible to tell that the applicant has a foreign-born name, their native country/language is not recognizable just by their full name.

In answer:
The first thing to say here is that for the markets you are targeting, there are clear discrimination rules protecting citizens and residents from employer level discrimination on many levels, including racial which this would be classed as.

Is it possible that candidates will stand a lesser chance of being employed, as opposed to being discriminated against, if it is stated or clearly obvious that the local language is not their first language? Yes, because that often means they are immigrants, and there is a clear paperwork burden on the employer to engage such people - ie: even if they are EU citizens moving within the EU. Employers want easy and quick employment decisions, and so diverting from that means your chances of employment are lowered. One piece of advice I offer all non-local nationals, is to always get at least two well educated locals to check their application through - even my Aunt who has spent 50 years in the Netherlands can be spotted by a native as English from her writing.

Should you mention your language ability on your application? It is your application, so its your choice, but as you conclude the default advice would be not be mention it if the job description doesn't require a second or third language capability.

There are still premiums paid for certain language capabilities in certain markets/posts, with Arabic and Russian being two clear requirements in the banking industry of two years ago. Clearly that has changed as banks have down sized; but I wouldn't totally dismiss this valuable asset in some markets.

Good Luck!

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Thursday 20 November 2008

How do executive resumes differ from those of non-executives?

Jill asks: What makes an executive's resume stand out and how are executives' resumes differ from the resumes of non-executives? I'm writing an article for a national publication on executive resumes. My article will provide some practical tips for creating a stellar resume and will offer advice about collaborating successfully with a professional writer to write the perfect resume.

In answer:
An executive CV or Resume is about focus, layers and preparation which show the reader the resultant delivery; as opposed to pages.

Simply, most executives are older or will at least have progressed through more positions. This should relate to a greater volume and hence more pages. However, the same old CV/Resume rules of focusing on the position being applied for and the last five years of work means that many early career positions can be cut down through focused summary. This enables the resume to focus most of the words on the what was the problem and how you approached it to gain the eventual result of delivery.

Most jobs are defined around the hole in which the employee fits - there is some creativity, development and management opportunity; but the main focus is around skills/competencies of the applicant and social fit within the wider company/customer team. Executive positions are defined around either problem solving or business growth, and all include team leadership and financial control. Some executive positions also encompass public reputation and management in the case of plc and national/global corporates.

It is hence important to show in the CV/Resume those softer skills and the associated hard results, through an almost project like manner: defining the problem/target required; strategic choice and selection; getting the team built and working together; the financial control; and the successful outcome in business measured terms.

With an executive, my normal approach is to create two outputs:

- A portfolio which addresses wider issues around the CV/Resume, giving greater details on key accomplishments and projects, includes personal and professional references, an elongated CV/Resume and a personal statement
- A 2page CV/Resume, which focuses on that job application. When you take into account all applications must have a Cover Letter, by adding more pages you look less focused and hence less like an executive

If you think about the differentiation in the skills/requirements of a job hunter, as opposed to the problem solving soft and hard skills of an executive; then the main differences come down to skills breadth and combination to create assured delivery. With that in mind when writing, those are the main differences that should be seen in any executive resume when it is read.

Good Luck!

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Wednesday 19 November 2008

Beyond the Resume and CV: is recruiting via web 2.0 that different?

BMany people in the recruiting and HR world are talking about recruitment 2.0. These people are those in that world who are totally web aware, and probably have a blog – so no wonder why I am writing about this phenomenon!

But, is recruitment web 2.0 style really any different to recruiting properly? In my personal opinion – NO!

Recruiting web 2.0 style is seen as a free flow of information between candidates and employers – there by cutting out the recruiters – where by employers find passive candidates through use of amazing tools and online social networking; while candidates find hidden opportunities in amazing employers.

Well, here’s a shock. Great companies have always hired for talent – they may not have had a position, but they do have systems which recognise talent, and they have captured it. For example, until 1998, who had ever heard of the UK Secret Service MI5 recruiting? Why did they have to do this – because the European Union in effect forced them to do it through legislation, plus not all situations required a while male Oxbridge graduate: in fact in certain situations, it was a hindrance to your future prospects of breathing. The UK Secret Service had to diversify their recruiting channels, and advertising when you are perceived as a wholly white male Oxbridge bastion can help to change potential recruit’s perceptions – they could widen the net, and get better quality candidates for new situations

What still shocks me today, is that much as though web 2.0 proponents suggest it brings freedom and a far lower cost process of recruiting to the employer, most employers still don’t use their own two greatest tools of cheapest cost recruiting and retention: their own brand, and their own workforce. The issue any recruiter has to deal with is not just skill competency of any candidate, but also social fit within an employer. Most honest recruiters will accept that even the best at this only get around 50% of placement right on the social fit measure: it is hence why the head hunters always put more than one candidate forward; while the bottom end and high street will put more than 10 forward because there’s bound to be one that fits in there somewhere! If you were employer, and were looking to expand your team of nuclear fission research scientists, where would you go to find more of them? Most employers send out an advert or pay a recruiter, where as less than 1 in 10 employers speaks to and incentives their existing people – who know the social fit of the company better than any external resource could ever – and who probably just flick through their own diary to earn a fee of less than 10% a half competent recruiter would charge. Who needs Facebook or LinkedIn when you have a workforce?

One thing web 2.0 can do is reduce the time to recruit, and the efficiency of that process. Aaron Strout, Vice President of New Media at Mzinga.com correctly points out that web 2.0 recruiting means that an employer can get a far, far better rounded view of any employee. Web 2.0 cuts out the need to contact them, bring them in and interview, and then ask for references: they have already given you the references thanks to their open social networks profiles. In fact, one of the things I have suggested to many candidates when they decide that they want to find a new job, is to firstly clean up their social networking profile, and then secondly increase that profile by changing a few key words and taking some simple actions. Hence, any candidates you do invite in for interview via a web 2.0 process search are hence more likely to have social fit, and be able to be offered a job – but I still think, that process still won’t be perfect, just better.

One thing Strout has asked his candidates to undertake for the companies new Citizen Marketer post is not to send him a CV or Resume, but to blog and socially network with him and others to get an interview. Is this a web 2.0 tactic or strategy? In this case it is not, it is a test posing as a web 2.0 cutting edge development. Simply, if you want to hire an X, you need to test during interview and assessment for the core competencies that an X would need. A Citizen Marketer apparently needs to be able to use web 2.0 tools such as social networking and blogging to satisfy Mzinga’s client’s requirements – this application process merely tests for those skills. A business acquaintance who runs a private dining catering company asks all new potential employee’s to peel a potato (its not a test about peeling potato’s, it is a test about cleanliness); while in BT and many other telecoms companies, field workers are asked to pick out certain copper cable colours from a piece of cable (it is a test of eye sight and colour blindness). They, like the blogging test set by Strout, are all just tests to test core competencies of the potential employees against a defined role.

Web 2.0 as a technology does offer more – its offers both candidates and employers the opportunity to access a wider network of opportunity: and that’s good for all, as long as you make sure your online reputation is in order first, and continually updated. Is it the answer to every HR teams recruiting question – no, probably not. For employers, using a better employment process and focusing on improvement of a talent management system will still bring the best results, which web 2.0 can bring new tools to – and that’s all folks!

Good Luck!

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Tuesday 18 November 2008

Political discrimination in employment law

In light of the news tonight that a former Welsh employee of the British National Party has published the entire 2007 membership database of 10,000 people on the internet - some current members, some past members - I think it is worth a quick review of discrimination law and how it effects employment in the UK.

However, firstly a quick legal statement. As both employment law and internet law is covered by certain legislation in the UK, and as the list contains individuals personal information which is covered under the Data Protection Act, there is a potential breach of UK law, and as the publication of this list is subject to a complaint by the BNP party leader Nick Griffin to Dyfed Powys Police who are presently investigating, I will not be making a link to the source or any duplications of the list from this blog. If you find such a link, this has been placed here in error, and I request that you inform me immediately of this link which will be removed as quickly as possible. If any comments are inserted which include links to the source list or copies therefore, they will also be removed as quickly as possible. It is therefore requested that you do not place links in comments which link to such sources. I will also freely state that I am not nor have never been a member or sympathiser of the BNP, and have only ever been a member of the UK Labour Party by default when a member of the Post Office Telecoms Union between 1979 and 1982, when I opted out of paying the political levy.

There are clear laws and excellent legal precedents on many potential issues of employment discrimination on many issues, including sex, age, race, disability and religeon. You may not agree with some of these, but personally I think these are good laws for the entire UK population and its long term harmony, and employment. From a business view point as well, these laws are excellent - your market probably has many different people represented, and addressing the needs contained within these laws means you should resultantly be able to address your market in a better manner.

However, one potential area of discrimination not addressed in these specific laws, or the generic law of the UK or the EU, is political discrimination.

Employees have the enshrined legal right to join a trade union, thanks to the Labour government of Tony Blair which repealed the majority of the Trade Union law installed by Margaret Thatchers Conservatives. However, there is no direct legislation in England, Wales or Scotland which protects a person from political discrimination in the work place, but there is such legislation in Northern Ireland.

An employee has the right to join a trade union, and should not be refused a job, dismissed, harassed or selected for redundancy because they are a member of or want to join a trade union. A member of a trade union has the right to take part in its activities, whether it is recruiting members or attending meetings.

Some employees face dismissal in certain defined jobs on the grounds of evidence of membership of some political activities, including the BNP. This includes certain government jobs, which for the BNP members since 2004 includes not being able to be a police officer: "This is because such membership would be incompatible with our duty to promote equality under the Race Relations Amendment Act and would damage the confidence of minority communities" has commented Peter Fahy, of the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Northern Ireland:
Inequality between Catholics and Protestants in employment was a key issue at the heart of the conflict in Northern Ireland. Over a long period, successive administrations introduced fair employment legislation, outlawing discrimination in employment on the grounds of religion or political opinion.

The Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 introduced far-reaching provisions on equality. It imposed duties on public authorities to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity across diverse situations and identities, and regard to the desirability of promoting good relations between persons of different religious belief, political opinion or racial group.

In the whole of Northern Ireland, it is illegal to discriminate against anyone, including a child or young person, on the grounds of religious or political belief. If a person has suffered religious discrimination they may be able to take action against the organisation or individual responsible.

The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has more information on political discrimination, and publishes an excellent booklet.

European legislation:
The only piece of legislation where discrimination against individual's political belief may be protected is under the European Union Human Rights Act, which became part of British law in 1998, although there is no specific legislation regarding political discrimination under the act. Examples where part of the act could work are:

- Article 10: Freedom of expression
- Article 11: Freedom of assembly and association

How these are interpreted by the courts remains unclear, but an example where a person may not be discriminated against, using Article 10 or 11, could be when taking part in any demonstrations.

Suggested actions:
On all occasions where you feel you may have been discriminated against, your first point of call should be to a employment law specialist solicitor. If you can't find one, then use the Law Society website "Find a Solicitor" service using Employment Law as a pre selection. Often, initial consultations are free (always check first), and it is quick to discover if you have a case. If discrimination is suggested, then in many cases there are multiple grounds of discrimination - ie: disability and sexual. Always follow your solicitors advice in such cases, and do nothing without prior consultation or their agreement - you are paying them, so take their advice.

If your name is on this published list, them I recommended that you complain in writing to the website where you found the listing as well as their listed ISP service provider/hosting company.

If you are no longer a member of the BNP, but your name appears on the list, then when you next go to work ask for a meeting with your manager and/or the HR manager. Explain that you are no longer a member, which they may request to be followed up in writing - don't do this until asked to do so. The reason for this is that if you are dismissed after the date of your resignation from the BNP, then the reason for your dismissal can not be political - discrimination can not be applied retrospectively.

Good Luck!

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Unemployment: temp or part time job opportunity into fulltime career

As the unemployment circle bites, many are now looking at the prospect of job hunting for the first time in many years, if not decades. On that note, I have sympathy with Harry Blackwood, the journalist turned college lecturer who now finds himself unemployed after 35years.

However, much as though sympathy and understanding is fine, it is finding work quickly which is the key; and from some, only in the right sector.

I have written here before about changing sectors, but how about if you can’t get the dream job, but just want a job in your dream company or ideal sector? The reason you probably can’t get in to your ideal job if you have tried every tactic and lesson possible, and had your CV checked over, is then based on:

- Your skills
- Your experience
- The competition is better qualified

If you still really want that job, how about getting it from the inside rather than the outside? How about a contract or part time job then? And in the credit crunch, this tactic works even better.

Most employers today want flexible workforces. People unlike chocolate bars don’t come in half size pay scales, but there is the option to take on half a wage or less than a 28day notice period, either through part-time workers or agency staff/contractors. The immediate advantage to the employer is that they get a flexible workforce, and their pay costs better match their income profile.

However, there is a distinct advantage to the job seeker. This choice by an employer means you have a far better chance of becoming an insider when a new job post comes up. The advantages to the employer of this tactic is that they know you and your capabilities. Should a suitable job come up, any issues you may fall short on with regards skills, qualifications or experience are made up for by the taking the risk of hiring out – if they are considering letting you on to the applicant list, its says: “we think we can bridge that gap with training.”

If you know your ideal sector or employer, check the local newspapers for adverts. These may not always have the employers logo or details stamped on them, so if in doubt ring the employer/s HR department and ask for a list of the recruitment agencies on their Preferred Supplier List (PSL). Then call these agencies, and register ONLY for this employer or sector.

Be flexible in terms of the types of work you will do when an opportunity comes up. It doesn’t have to be your ideal job in your ideal employer, as my sister found out when temping as a typist having just finished her degree, and being offered graduate training posts for HR and finance work: it just has to be in your target sector or employer.

Once on the inside, be clear on communication and the targets expected of you. One thing you need to discover are the high performer targets, and to make sure that within your first 20 days of working there you hit them at least once. Yes, it might mean long hours and not a lot of social life, but it will be worth it.

After 28days or at the end of your period of employment if less than that, ask for a meeting with HR. Get them to review your work and agree you have done a great job while working with them. To confirm this, ask for a written reference – say it is for your portfolio if asked. Now you have that check knowing that they think you are great, ask if there are any job opportunities? They may say no, but having just handed you a fresh hand written reference they are more likely to say yes or at the very least say “stay in touch.” Make sure you do that, and in either case make it clear you don’t expect a job on a plate – you are happy to compete, and prove you are the right person.

Job hunting need not be hard, and getting your ideal job may not be difficult. But it may require the job seeker to deploy some thought and tactics to get what they want from the inside.

Good Luck!

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Monday 17 November 2008

How to explain a period of unemployment on your CV/Resume

Kim asks: I retired from the military in 2005, having served honourably for 25 years. Since that time I have been going through a very expense divorce that just finalized. The legal fees drained my nest egg so I now find myself having to dust off my resume and get back in the work force. Will the 3 years break in employment be a turn off to potential employers? And how do I acknowledge/explain the break in my resume (and job interviews) in the most positive manner?

In answer:
Simply Kim, as long as you have a fair and clear explanation as to why you want to work, and why you didn’t work for that period; then as long as you pick the right jobs that match your skills, no employers will not see the break as a turn off.

One thing many ex-service people think is that the fact that they did serve will be a deterrent to future employers. It is not, as it shows a commitment beyond the call which all employers want – the problem at present is with those who are signed up to the Territorial Army or the Ranger units. The real problem for many ex-service people is showing that their military skills can be deployed into high street employer requirements; and secondly showing they have made the transition to civilian life – around one in five don’t, and many HR managers are aware of this statistic.

The key here in explanation is to be honest, but – don’t get to close to the emotions, and be clear in your statement that the period is over and behind you, and that you want a new challenge. For instance:

“I spent the time dealing with some personal business, and now that it’s resolved, I’m looking to re-enter the workforce.”

You don’t need to go into too much detail, but it’s important that what you do say is honest. However, does this statement close the issue, and explan the why back to work question? If you have some bad news or a situation to deal with in a CV/Resume, try to package it between positives, such as:

“I served in the military for 25 years. Since that time, my spouse and I have divorced and having spent some time travelling, I am now eager for the opportunity to reenter the workforce into a job which will engage my X skills.”

This sandwiches the negative (time out), between two positives (25 years service, wanting to work), and leaves the reader with a reason as to why you want to work now.

Good Luck!

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Sunday 16 November 2008

Sunday Thoughts: When will the economy recover? When both a family in Florida and you know what your house will sell for

There is much talk in the Sunday newspapers about the economy, and the comments of UK Shadow Chancellor George Osbourne. The question is – how long will the recession be?

Simply, at present I don’t know anyone who knows the answer to that question. The answer to part of that question is: do you know what value your house would sell for tomorrow? OK, November is not a great time to be selling a house, so what would it sell for say next April, as Easter is traditionally a high spot for the home sales market?

You may think “well its worth X,” and there are many people still believing that – just take a quick look at UK house marketing website RightMove, and see how many properties have the words “Offers in Excess of” tagged before the price. But really, all that is a view of hope over economic reality.

When I was in college, there was an argument between the electronics lecturers and the business lecturers over a project they lead us through, to design and market a product. The electronics lecturers said that the price of the product was cost plus fair margin; the business lecturers said it was whatever the market was prepared to pay. Siding with the business lecturers was what eventually made me end up going into business – its economic and market reality, as in theory the value could go to zero.

My view is that those who put “Offers in excess of” would have sided with the business lecturers – but then, watching those properties, they have now been on the market on average in excess of six months; and those that don’t have those words are starting to – slowly – turnover and sell. These are either fire sales by mainly what seems like buy-2-let owners, or repossession resales by mortgage companies – of buy-2let flats. I have said to friends now for a while, that this recession could well be a middle-class one, where by the buy-2-let dream becomes a reality of “prices can go up as well as down.”

But fire sales always happen in markets, as do repossessions – it’s the growing volume which is concerning, and those growths are not signs of a stable market. It’s the sales price of the average family home which is where the problem of valuing assets is currently the part answer to the recession question.

On Friday, various mortgage lenders re-entered the tracker-mortgage market. The products though, as economists had predicted were changed. The changes were in the form of: a larger “gap” between the Bank of England base rate and the mortgage rate – with some predicting new products may well be based soon on LIBOR as opposed to BoE rates; and the amount of deposit required – there are now less than 50 mortgage products on the entire UK market which require a 10% deposit, and nothing below this level.

What does this data say? It says that most mortgage lenders, already short of cash, can’t take a bet at present on house prices dipping by a further 10% in the next two years. In fact what it is saying, is that that is what is going to at least happen. In most stable markets, a 10% deposit would be enough to take care of most economic changes - at present it is not, and until it is this recession will not find a bottom.

The hailed for and resultant stock market rallying – possibly Gordon Brown lead, I think so – injection of capital into the banks together with buying of so called “toxic” debts has still not occurred. In the United States, Henry Paulson stated that the US Treasury had so far with its $700Bn cash pile only bought shares in banks, not the toxic debt – which resulted in more turmoil on the global stock markets; while new RBoS CEO Stephen Hestor still debates the how and when of the proposed BoE cash injections. All this means that the lack of trust between banks continues, resulting in the continuing instability of the interbank markets reflected in LIBOR, resulting in less lending, and hence to the stock markets falling and climb like the Red Arrows – the whole problem that the Gordon Brown solution was supposed to solve.

The economic storm was started by: over lending in the United States mortgage market; and packaging of these debts in to the world finance market, and purchase by global bankers who didn’t know what they were holding. This storm will continue until the banks can trust each other, and know that either they have sufficient cash to pay back debts, or can sell assets to pay these debts, and know the value of those assets. While the lack of cash-injection continues, and a resultant lack of lending, the value of those assets will fall, and hence the cycle will continue downwards.

What about specifically the UK? Downturns are when Governments should spend, and that what Gordon Brown is proposing – from listening to the media, a tax cut in a pre-Christmas budget. However, as one commentator said yesterday, even a 10% tax cut putting in £30 a week in the average pay packet will be swallowed up by rising fuel prices rather than high street spending – so I don’t like that idea.

My view is – if you don’t have any savings in the cupboard (which the UK doesn’t), and you need to spend (which we ought to), then spend on long term projects, which you would have had to have borrowed for anyway. Transport is a good sector for such projects – which creates many jobs in the construction and operations phase - so why not revive plans for a high-speed link in the UK? Virgin had plans in their bid for the East Coast mainline a few years back, and there is always the old “rebuild the Great Central Railway” which is still relatively untouched post-Beeching; and I can’t see why electrification of the old GWR can’t be undertaken, or a review of the long term location of London’s main airport can’t be undertaken – there are far fewer homes in the Thames than the M4 corridor.

So, when will the recession end? It will bottom after Mr Paulson and Mr Dowling get on and inject their cash into the banks; after Barack Obama gets into the White House; and once you know the price of what your house will sell at next Easter, and the banks will give the buyer of your house a mortgage on a 10% deposit from a choice of more than 250 products, knowing that it provides a fair risk/return. Until that point, and no matter what Gordon Brown spends on or George Osbourne says will make little or no long term difference – it will only add to the peaks and troughs which say: neither I, nor you, nor the bank know what your house is worth.

Good Luck!

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Friday 14 November 2008

Thinking of changing roles or market sectors for employment? Pick one with a future that you enjoy

The down turn is bringing forward many individual’s plans to change employment sectors. Having seen many jobs disappear in their sector, they suddenly seem to be bringing forward long held plans to do something else, which they have never yet put into action.

Is this a time when you should put long term held dreams into action? Possibly, but probably not if you are in secure employment with a great employer – that would be just daft at present. Jumping in this case means a change of employer, skills and sector and resultantly higher financial insecurity. This kind of change only makes sense if you are looking on a daily basis for a new job, and everything you look at reminds you of what you unhappily previously did.

To undertake this task, start with four blank A4 sheets of paper:

Sheet1: what I have done/this skills I have
Sheet2: my life, my family, and where I would like to be with both
Sheet3: where I would like to be in work in 10years

Sheet 1 tells you what you have got to work with now – this could form the basis of a CV or Resume. Sheet 2 defines your personal priorities – you and your family, and what you want. Sheet 3 fits effectively inside Sheets 1 and 2 – you have (Sheet 1), you want (Sheet 2) and you expand on part of the want in Sheet 3. Clearly there is a compromise here, for instance: you want more children, and yet travelling far away from home for your dream job means you need a very supportive partner, and need to let them have some form of support system when you are away; which probably means that the family home is located close to the mother-in-law, and that means you need to get on with her.

You can play these scenarios and go back and re-write the pieces of paper as often as you want, and I would encourage you to do so on a six-monthly basis. But eventually you will get down to a mix where by you have played out everything you can think of, and the amount of change/addition is minimal. The result should be that you have a clear plan, which you have talked through and agreed with your partner, and which as a result you are more enthused – and will resultantly be loved by any future recruiter you meet or employer who engages you.

This blog entry is focused on Sheet 3, and picking a sector of employment that means you (hopefully) won’t end up in the same situation again – ie: thinking what you were doing was useless/boring, and wanting to change sectors. It may be the case that you enjoy the sector, but just want to move roles within that sector – that’s fine, and there are former shop floor workers in the coal, ship building, motor and pottery industries who are still enjoying work in the UK, just not on the shop floor.

If you want to pick a new sector, then look for signs that include:

Technology change – IT, or applications of are good signs
Market liberalisation – often seen at a government level, such as the entry of the low-cost carriers into the airline market
Legislation improvement – this often means more paperwork, such as in the case of recycling or employment law
Social trends – such as the divorce rating is rising, so more divorce lawyers and support staff are required; more women want to return to work, so there is a shortage of child care workers

In cases where you want to stay in the sector, but can see the sector is on decline, then look towards:

Creativity – much as though production may move, design teams most often stay and expand
Customer orientation – sales and marketing still need to be in-country, even if a product is produced internationally
Consultancy – new market entrants and competitors to your old employer have probably come along as a result of cost efficiencies in developed markets. All of these companies need help in launching and developing their products

But above all, in all cases – PICK A SECTOR YOU WILL ENJOY! There is no point in spotting a trend or a gap, and not having your heart go quicker and your face smile. If it will not, then recruiters and employers will pick up on that.

Changing sectors need not, if you follow some simple rules and looks at the long term trends, be such a daft or wholly risky choice – as long as you make a better choice.

Good Luck!

PS: On a personal note……. I know this system works, because I apply it every three months! This is the system I used to move from call centre design to the internet market in the late 1990’s, through joining the team in my company involved in Data Centres. I saw the long term trend was towards mobile and the internet, and hence knew I had to get a job in either one or the other sector. Five years later, I choose self employment as I could see the long term staff reduction trends in BT – there is far more staff reduction to come there. The reason I became involved in the mobile phone recycler SimuSimu (Simu is Swahili for telephone…), was because I enjoyed telecoms, and could see the legislation on reuse and recycling increasing. I got involved in the recruitment market place because of effectively a consultancy engagement – there are staff shortages in certain telecoms sectors. I had the contacts and abilities to find gaps and fulfil them. I stayed because I could see the challenge for career management for the average person would be more difficult in a more liquid employment market, and if a good recruiter existed we could help candidates long term – hence the creation of Ajiri Ltd

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Thursday 13 November 2008

What is the difference between a CV/Resume and a Job Application form?

A decision to move jobs or apply for employment takes a number of steps:

• You desire/fancy/need a new job
• Dust down old CV, realise its out of date, and create new one
• Start sending it to various online job boards
• Buy newspapers, and start responding to adverts
• Get a response – if this is less than 1 response per three applications sent, you are doing something VERY wrong. It is either your CV or what/where you are applying
• Have a telephone interview
• Have a physical interview
• Wait – and wait some more!
• Get a response, which means the whole process starts again OR you need to write a resignation letter
• Wait for notice period to expire while you are sent to work place hell for its duration OR get round to doing that long term gardening/painting honey-due that you have always promised
• Start work at new job

During this process, there will be four key pieces of paperwork you will need:

• A CV or Resume
• A Cover Letter for each application
• A completed Job Application form
• A Resignation Letter

One of these pieces of paper is not like the other three, which one is it? You probably guessed that it’s the Job Application form, and apart from the fact that it is not written by you, there is one key difference: the Job Application form can be legally sued on if your responses on it are false or lies.

The other difference is that a Job Application form can pretty much ask whatever question it likes. Yes, some of these questions may seem at first glance discriminatory – your age, or ethnicity for instance: but they can be included as both essential for candidate checking (age), and workforce balancing (ethnicity).

Let’s take this current Job Application form’s set of questions:

• If you use a nanny for child care, have they been fully legally checked and certified? What are their names?
• What clubs are you a member of, or have been in the last 10 years? List all, including dates of joining and current membership status
• Please provide the URL address of any websites that feature you in either a personal or professional capacity (e.g. Facebook, My Space, etc.)
• Have you ever been investigated, arrested for, charged with, convicted of violating any law, regulation or ordinance? How about your spouse? Your child? (You may exclude traffic offenses for which the fine was less than $50)
• Have you, your spouse, or any member of your immediate family ever worked with a financial, banking, insurance or mortgage institution currently the subject of federal government intervention as part of the financial meltdown? (This question includes but is not limited to, the following: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, and Washington Mutual.)
• Other than from relatives, or from close and longstanding personal friends on occasions such as birthdays or seasonal holidays, have you or your spouse ever received a gift exceeding $50.00 in value? Please identify the donor, the value of the gift, the date received and the circumstances in which the gift was received
• Provide a copy of every book, article, column or publication you have authored, any speeches you have given, any testimony delivered, any resume you've issued

Question 13 is:

• If you have ever sent an electronic communication, including but not limited to an email, text message or instant message, that could suggest a conflict of interest or be a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family, or the President-elect if it were made public, please describe

Are these questions being asked by President-elect Barrack Obama’s transition team - and obtained by the New York Times - legal? Yes, as the key question for any judge in most jurisdictions (UK, EU or USA), if a case was brought by an applicant on the grounds of discrimination, is a test of reasonableness – ie: is the question reasonable and related to fair employment in that position, or is it discriminatory?

In example, one of the questions being asked in the same Job Application form is: "Please list all aliases or 'handles' you have used to communicate on the internet." If you were applying for a job on the checkout at a local Grocery Store, then no it would not be legal; but on the grounds of national security, or for a bank worker for instance, both areas where security checking and vetting of staff is legally required for regulatory licensing, then yes it is legal.

You can gain a view on the length of any possible Job Application form a job will require you to complete, by looking at the last paragraph of any job advert. This is where the legal counsel of any employer has won the “yes, but we want great employees, and to do that we need to sell the job” argument from the CEO and HR director, and all the legal pieces will be stuffed into as few words as possible. Here they will need to state any set criteria for candidates (must have qualifications/experiences), age or ethnic criteria (look at Government social worker adverts for jobs where legally allowed discrimination can be justified), and any checks or tests to be passed. What this paragraph should remind you is that any lies are illegal, and will be found out.

So, please never lie on your CV or Resume – but if you do, just remember that you can be sued on anything you write in a Job Application form, however long ago you wrote it: so don’t ever lie!

Good Luck!

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People Competency Improvement versus People Capability Improvement

Robert asks: What is the difference between People Competency Improvement & People Capability Improvement, and how it is related?

In answer:
If you understand the difference, then as a business owner or director you can ask your HR team to build your companies HR strategy and business decisions around these two key areas:

Competency = Skills: the skills that are required for an individual to perform the job. Managers can deliver solid impact by hiring people that have demonstrated the competencies key to fulfilling the job. For instance, it is logical to assume that an artist will be less capable to work as accountant than a mathematician: an artist has different type of competency. If your organization is not capable to do something, look for misplaced talents and perform HR assessment. Ongoing coaching and performance management/evaluation can help sustain and improve those results (motivation is also a layer here).

Capability = Capacity: look at this as the process in your organization, resulting in efficiency and effectiveness. For instance, if an engineer is competent, they will find and fix a problem quickly; where as if a painter is competent they will use the right brushes to paint. If an individual is not capable of painting, you could invest a lot in brushes, but will never get a painting in return. By continually assessing and working to improve your processes a function of people, tools and approach/process), the overall capacity of work done by your teams will rise, as will the quality. You will also end up driving out unnecessary cost and waste.

Good Luck!

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Why has Wales suffered so much in the credit crunch – and why it should not have

There are many pieces of news hitting the headlines over various layoffs and redundancies at present. It is unfortunately inevitable that companies will cut expenditure in light of falling revenues – because if they didn’t survive, where would the jobs come from in a revival?

However, from various pieces of government funded analysis, the Welsh economy is presently suffering more in the down turn than most economies, with redundancies around one quarter higher than the average in the UK. The excellent Jamie Owen asked a commentator last night on Wales Today why, and the answer was at best fudged: so here is a personal view.

The Welsh boom time lasted 100 years, from about the 1820’s when the first pits were sunk, to the post war 1920’s when the great depression hit. Since then it has been a slow bleed from employment to unemployment, investment to decay; with around two thirds of the pit jobs lost by the start of World War Two, and Maggie Thatcher just finishing the inevitable in the 1980’s.

At that point, Wales had a clean slate and was offered investment – according to a talk I heard from Ieuan Wyn Jones, from 1973 to 2003 it had some £930million pounds of grant investment made into it, and it’s in how that money was spent as to why Wales is now suffering.

Firstly, 60% of it was invested within 12mile radius of Cardiff Bay. Now partly that should not come as a surprise – that’s about equivalent to the amount of Welsh GDP generation – but that doesn’t reflect the distribution of the Welsh population. Merthyr Tydfil sits at a radius of 18miles from the bay, and has the highest unemployment rate of most towns and cities in the UK.

Secondly, the way the money was invested. Most of the money was given to large incoming investment projects by non-EU head quartered companies. Sony is probably the best example at Bridgend, which was held up as a world class centre by even Sony themselves; the same can be said of the GE engine facility at Caerphilly, or the BAe facility at Wharton. But some of those projects didn’t come off – the LG Philips plant at Newport being the highest profile example, and the film studio at Valleywood presently looks like a missed opportunity. Most of the money was placed in singular large profile projects, around a strategy of “hub and spoke” with the WDA investing in hubs and the companies themselves creating spokes in the local economy. They even created a series of large industrial estates for the developments of these spokes, many of which are still empty rows of large steel sheds. However, unlike the Scot’s the Welsh picked no core hubs, and so there were no world class spokes – which would have led to more hubs.

Thirdly, the local grants were handed out at a local business initiative level in an adhoc and splash the cash manner. A conversation I had 18months ago with a council based business development unit went:
• Me: how many of the following skilled people do you have? (I knew they had the answer, as they would come up with such stat’s when we were looking to place call centres in the UK)
• Council: well, we offer a grant to find out such answers in developing your business. We pay £X for such investigations and reports, and it will cost you £Y (about twice X) to buy the report from one of our approved consultants
• Me: how often do you get asked this question?
• Council: about twice a week at minimum
• Me: so to answer a common question, I have to get a grant to pay someone to answer it for me?
• Council: yes!

The problem this generated was a grant-dependent culture, in local small businesses, and also a series of weak SME businesses. Grants should be from a business level seen as a bonus guarantee, not an essential of business as they have become here. Every time I hear a new business proposal in Wales from a local person, the second issue on the table after the concept is the detailed list of grants available!

The result of the grant expenditure from 1972 to 2003 is that 97% of the jobs created have gone. They came to Wales, were created, and have now left. There were insufficient local roots placed down by the hub investors, so they could leave easily when technology changed – or a downturn came. And the spokes were not strong enough to survive alone.

Have there been successes in the Welsh economy? Yes – and the thing they have in common is that they were in general created by people who are or have strong ties to Wales. Such enterprises include insurance group Admiral, the only Welsh headquartered business listed in the FTSE100 – they are about to take on 500 people into a new centre in Newport; or the Lanelli based TV production company Tinopolis, without which Dr Who could never have been attempted in Cardiff.

Wales will now suffer as a result of poor central strategy – and one which missed its greatest strength: the Welsh people. On any measure, compared to an average UK worker they are three times as loyal, and as a whole are as well educated as any part of the UK thanks to large investment in the educational sector. They are also quite creative and adaptable, in part because of this love and existence of an old Celtic language. What I am trying to say here is that the Welsh people could be horribly entrepreneurial if given the right infrastructure around them, but what appears to have happened is the creation of a grant-dependent business focus. Thankfully most of the new businesses coming through from the sub-25 year old bracket can stand on their own two feet.

I think Wales will go through some tough times, probably even longer than the rest of the UK: we might just as well be in Bejing in 2012, such is the amount of Olympic money that will at presently planned flow down here. But I am convinced by the Welsh people, and that the central government – thankfully because it won’t have the cash – will change it strategy to local entrepreneurial investment focus, over one of buying in multi-national hubs. Modern businesses need to be adaptable, and such choices even by the companies themselves will need to come with far quicker payback timescales.

When faced with that unknown choice, versus a bet on your own people, I hope it is even obvious to central government where the financial investment bet needs to be placed – your own people offer a far, far better set of long term employment odd’s.

Good Luck!

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Wednesday 12 November 2008

Have you fallen foul of “Denis Atlas” and his CV/Resume security scams?

In times of reducing employment, the temptation to send your CV winging off to any old online jobs board or career related website is compelling. You need a job, you are not sending them any cash, so what’s the problem?

In a controlled experiment, supported by the Metropolitan Police and the Information Assurance Advisory Council, online CV filing organisation iProfile.org placed a job advert for a fictional company in a UK national newspaper, inviting people to apply by emailing their CV. The advert was run during the National Identity Fraud Prevention week. Anyone carrying out a simple web search for the company – ‘Denis Atlas’, an anagram of ‘steal an id’ - would have found a website telling them the company was fake. In just one week, 107 CVs were received in response to the job advert. iProfile enlisted the help of reformed identity thief, Bob Turney, to analyse the CVs and discovered that the vast majority contained enough information for an identity theft to occur.

As security expert Frank Abagnale said in a recent interview: "It's all publicly available on the internet. But actually I only need three pieces of information to get credit in someone's name: their full name, date of birth and national insurance number."

But during the iProfile experiment, the average CV received contained eight pieces of information. 61 CVs (57%) included a date of birth, despite this no longer being a UK legislative requirement due to age discrimination laws, and 98 (91.5%) included a full address. A further 20 (19%) put others at risk by providing full details of references. One even included the applicant’s passport number and national insurance details.

Protecting yourself from CV ID Fraud
Think about the information a potential employer needs to find your details inserting enough to be able to contact you. You can share your full CV and details at a later stage when you are comfortable with the identity of the company or person you are sharing the information with.

Follow the following tips to ensure you are not a victim of CV/Resume ID fraud:

BEFORE you apply:
1.Ensure your contact details are focused on you and neutral. If in doubt or if you live in temporary accommodation, get a mail box – at around £20/$30 a month, it’s a security bargain
2.Your eMail address should be adult and focused around you, and not a childish online character – Jennie69 may be fun online but is a no-employment sign on a CV/Resume. If your name is Jim Smith, then Jsmith@aol.com is fine unless you happen to be a web designer, in which case get a domain and create a portfolio
3.Get yourself a nice new Pay As You Go cellphone. You won’t be making many outbound calls on it initially, so no need for anything more than the starter £10/$10 credit. Record the message greeting in your own voice – write down the salutation before recording it in a nice quiet room: “Hello, this is X. I am sorry I can’t take your call right now, but please leave your name and contact details, and I will call you back as soon as I can.”
4.Do a Google CV check, and clean-up your online profiles

Check the organisation:
5. Be wary if the email address does not contain the name of the company but just the name of an internet service provider such as @AOL.com. It’s OK for you, but not for the organisation your are sending your details to
6. All websites globally MUST legally include: the trading organisations name (ie – Mr Smith or XYZ Company Ltd), a contact address and a contact telephone number. If you can not find these details then don’t use the website, and before submitting your details online, always call them first

In your CV/Resume:
7.NEVER state your full name, and leave out middle names. James Robert Smith comes down to James Smith, or if you use your middle name in preference Robert Smith. Never use Jim, Rob, or J Rob – this is a formal and professional application, plus middle names are often used by banks as security checks
8.Mainly for women, but also for men, never state Miss, Ms or Mrs. Never state your marital status – an ongoing messy divorce is a no-employment warning, a former marriage best left in the past
9.In your CV/Resume, state the contact details you have already lined up before. If using your home address, then just include district and city, nothing more: Manhattan, New York or Hammersmith, London is legally sufficient. No need for street, and certainly no need for apartment/house number
10.There is no legal requirement to state your Date of Birth, but NEVER state your full date of birth. “Aged 32” at maximum
11.There is a lot of debate in the CV/Resume writing community about stating certain employment dates: if you do you could look old, if you don’t it is difficult to show the level of experience. The area to pay attention to are your educational dates, often used as security checks. If you are past 20, then no need for school (I can age you from that), and probably leave out your base degree graduation date – again often a security check used by banks
12.NEVER included any government issued numbers or related personal information. This covers everything from National Insurance/Social Security numbers, Passport numbers, and Tax code references. Even if you are a migrant worker, just state “Fully able and certified to be able to work in X country, full documentation available on request at interview stage.”
13.NEVER provide personal financial details, such as bank and credit card details. Avoid any employer who asks for a process fee or application deposit – it’s a sure sign it’s a scam
14.NEVER include the names and contact details of your references, even if asked for – the same goes for them as much as you

When applying:
15. Take extra care when accessing and sending personal information when using public computers, such as those in internet cafes, or when using a laptop in a WiFi hotspot.


Please, think about what information you include on your CV/Resume. Often when candidates ask how they get their four page leviathans down to two pages, just applying the above rules would reduce it by at least a page.

If you think you may be a victim then send off for your credit-reference files from a recognised organisation like Experian or Equifax - it only costs £2/$5. They will show any fraudulent applications for credit. Inform CIFAS, the Credit Industry Fraud Avoidance System, which will put your name on an alert file.

For more information on this subject, you may like to read the following websites and articles:

- UK Government online ID website identitytheft.org.uk
- CIFAS
- Wikipedia article on Identity Theft
- Daily Mirror article on ID theft

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The 100 day old CV or Resume is out of date

As a recruitment professional, it is always satisfying to find great candidates. However, often when you find these great candidates, the answer to “and when can I have your CV/Resume?” is most often always met with: “Well, I have an old one somewhere…”

As a professional recruiter, you also know that if you find great candidates via networking and outside the IT orientated/aware professions, that "old" will mean at least as long as they have been with their current employer; and the time scale for producing it will be never. It is hence why we accept in-house that we will write it for them from initial telephone interview notes, which when sent out to the candidate via eMail is met with a relieved eMail message, and an CV/Resume attachment with some old text insertions - because they were trying to convert the only paper copy they had into a nice MSWord version, let alone an online option!

Well, here’s a credit crunch career planning thought. The Financial Director of the company you work for probably plans his budget on quarter cycles – ie: 90days. Large publicly listed companies have to announce major changes at their quarterly reporting dates that effect balance sheets and earnings, and that includes staff issues. The FD knows the company can survive the next 90days, but beyond that could be another call. Now, if your FD and company board are making decisions on your job every 90days, shouldn’t you be?

Let us say that the FD gets to the end of the quarter, and like the good FD that he is he has some reserves. But unfortunately, there is only enough of a reserve for the company to last 180 days. If he calls in the HR director and they agree with the MD to reduce staff, that whole discussion will probably take 30days; the results of the HR directors project will be delivered in another 30days; and the planning for the announcement will take another 30days. The results can be implemented pretty quickly after that.

Good career planning is about looking forward, and writing a CV is about showing applied competencies. To make sure you note down all of your competencies, the applications of them and their and successes, keep at least a weekly diary. Note down what you did, the skills you used and the results/outcomes. What you can then do every quarter is apply these to your CV/Resume. Yes, it may look long and wordy, but chopping back and focusing is far easier and quicker that creating.

Never, ever again let your CV/Resume become more than 100days old.

Good Luck!

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The pound and employment – why a falling currency should be good

In light of poor and fast declining economic data, and media comments by both the Bank of England and the Prime Minister that the UK was in a recession, the pound has dropped to low levels against the US dollar. Since July, it has fallen by 25% in value, from $2.00 to $1.50 to the UK pound.

If you look at this further, it gets to be a consistent pattern of the pound dropping in value against numerous currencies:
- 220 to 160 against the Japanese Yen (27%)
- 86 to 74 against the Indian Rupee (14%)
- 1.40 to 1.25 against the Euro, although in the past three months it has been quite stable (10%)

However, all this bad currency data could be good for UK employment: that holiday in Florida, the most popular location for Brit’s abroad, is now 25% more expensive. It makes Margate look a lot more attractive, and a lesser drop against the Eurozone makes the Mediterranean interesting for guaranteed sunshine

But that’s consumer spending – what has it got to down with your job?

When I ran a large UK Call Centre design team – we turnover £127million in the last year I ran the team – we were faced with the onslaught on the overseas location. The main reason was, it was cheaper to run. We were at a disadvantage any way, as we worked for the most expensive telecoms company in the market by around 15% to 25% - so just selling in the UK was a chore, let alone against Phuket or Mumbai!

One of the most powerful statement’s I have ever been taught was as an engineer in Bournemouth, being taught how to sell modems. The trainer taught us that learning lists of features was fine, but what was the business benefit? To find them, he taught us the statement “Which means that…..” So for instance, a dual processor design meant better up time, which means that you don’t need to design in as much redundancy to ensure critical delivery – that actual line won us a £15million contract with Chase Manhattan, and meant we also won a contract into just post communist Russia!

So, for UK businesses exporting, what does a quickly falling pound mean? Take Jaguar cars for instance – the £35,000 XJ top line saloon is now 25% cheaper at the dock in New York. That is also true of the 50mpg BMW Mini, and in a country which is running scared of their beloved SUV’s and not having enough for a deposit for one anyway, a cheap and economical branded car should sell well.

What about call centres? I always felt the flight to India was short termed in sight. The way we overcame selling at a premium UK price was to train engineers who designed whole customer service solutions, over just the flashing light telephone bit in the middle. We hence thought about market position, registration, time to answer, environment (yes, we had colour awareness training!), and follow-up. It meant when you engaged us, you engaged a whole solution over an engineer – hence why we did £127million, or 53% of then BT Solutions group turnover. Hence from my point of view as a whole solution, the mass flight of call centres to India was illogical and daft, when the majority of the customers were over 50, and couldn’t understand many UK call centre operators, let alone someone who had never been to the UK apart from watching an episode of Eastenders. The clear result would be greater market switching, which those who either choose to stay in the UK or were to slow to react would suddenly find the results of – Nationwide made a conscious decision to leave their call centres in the UK, and took a 20% boost in business.

We have in the past two years seen a flight back to the UK as annual market switching rates in financial services rose from 10% to 35% , but the back offices – rightly – have stayed in the cheaper economies of India. However, many organisations which don’t benefit from scale economies are finding the communication lines stretched, and hence projects delivered late: its why there is a boom in need for qualified project managers, but the problem is communication.

So, what will be the effect of a falling currency? We are in a recession in the UK, and reduced consumer spending (probably agitated further by higher high street prices) will result in increased unemployment: but to stay employed, you just have to get focused, there are many opportunities. However, with a quickly falling currency, the rates of UK export will quickly rise – plus financial services will recover, as UK law is open, stable and friendly: thank you Sarbanes Oxley! I expect to see the result in the UK balance of payments by mid-2009, and it’s why BMW are choosing to lay-off over redundancy until Easter: because they know what the reaction could be, and there is still a skills shortage in the UK labour market of engineers. Any decision announced to outsource offshore in the past 12months that has not yet been implemented I am sure is being looked at by every Finance Director right now – it not only requires an often capital sum to achieve, it also now is looking around 20% less cost effective.

Clearly there will be redundancies, as UK companies can’t bleed to death through lack of cash when they can’t borrow. But the depth of the redundancies may not be as high as suspected – such a sharp fall in the UK sterling is like installing a rubber floor as a safety precaution, and make FD’s listen to HR directors about long term skills shortages as there is a tightening of the pull of export sales.

Good Luck!

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Monday 10 November 2008

The problem of being low paid and self employed – but the universal lesson that doesn’t mean anyone has to be unemployed in the economic down turn

I recently gave advice to a husband of a friend’s friend, who as a Polish economic migrant to the UK had found himself unemployed.

The gentleman was an eminently hard worker, who for the past five years had worked as a self-employed body repair technician at an East London garage, specialised in repairs to that superb Eastern European brand – and probably better to drive in an economic downturn than the Bentley’s they derive many of their parts from – Skoda. In fact, so impressed was his boss with his work, when his brother decided to come to the UK the boss employed him as well. Last summer, the boss took on an a 16year old English apprentice, and my friends husband has been training him up.

When the downturn came, my friends husband was the most skilled worker, so you would have thought he would have survived any downturn. No, he was first out of the door with 2weeks notice: the apprentice he trained is half as good but cheaper on minimum wage due to his age. The concern of my friend was that her friend is pregnant, and due to give birth in December, so could I help find him a job?

Firstly can I state up front, I don’t let Ajiri deal with minimum wage work as I find that many employers don’t treat their workers well at that wage level. A low wage level tends to translate into a low respect for their employees, and you hence also see low levels of work place environment, poor health and safety and many other problems. Often the employers will tell you that the reason that it all looks so grotty is because of the way the workers treat the place, but personally I think standards come from the management and flow down to the employees, and not visa versa. However, I got into recruitment because I like people, and getting people to find their feet in the work place and reach their goals is satisfying whatever the wage level, so I agreed to a phone call.

Firstly, the guy was bright and enthusiastic – employers love that, and he had an easy to get along with personality: they adore that. Secondly, he loved what he did, but had a long term goal to get into truck/HGV driving – I translated that as liking the transport sector. And thirdly, he wanted to stay in the UK for a period. However, on the downside, although he is legal (Poland is an EU state, so there are no need for entry/employment visa’s etc), and he is paying his UK taxes, he still had no UK driving license. Also, on checking his National Insurance (health and unemployment insurance), although it was all up to date, as he had worked for his employer full time for three years, the employer had not when the legislation changed added his contributions. Further, the employer was now giving him two weeks notice, when he needed to give him at least 30days.

My friend’s husband didn’t want to hassle his employer on the NI contributions or notice period, as his own brother was still working at the establishment. So we just focused on the “what next” question.

What all people need to look at when faced with such a situation, is to answer the question: What are my transportable skills? This question is easier answered if you have a certificate for some training, which as most self-employed people need to fund themselves they don’t. Hence although my friends husband was an excellent body repair technician, he didn’t have a certificate or qualification or registration with a professional body to verify any of this. Secondly, the lack of a UK driving license restricted his UK employment prospects – most employers want a photo ID for identity, and if you are a foreign national some UK paperwork to prove you are resident and won’t walk out next week.

After our first phone call, I did some checking at jobsites for work (note – I always love the online jobsite stat’s for hits, but many in my experience are just browsing: employers, recruiters and employees to check markets. The question is conversion ratio); and found without surprise that no qualifications and no UK driving license meant he was looking at minimum wage again at best, possibly as a drivers mate (ie – a health and safety load lugger). I immediately texted him back, and gave him the address of the nearest DVLA centre in London, and told him to get down their ASAP and get a UK driving license. Apparently this was quite easy for a Polish national, but ring them if in doubt – always very helpful people, but then most of them are Welsh!

In our second telephone conversation, we talked about why driving? In my view, he still seemed very committed to the sector, which was both good (employers love enthusiasm), and bad (so I had to find him a role in transport). I had done some research, and suggested a role in bus driving:

• It's like trucking, but in often prettier looking but just as macho vehicles
• It doesn’t involve long distances away from home
• The working environment is much cleaner, and involves people over constant listening to cheese radio stations
• As the employers are subject to a higher level of regulation, they are generally more respectful of their employees
• And if you don’t like it, as a formal qualification it is fairly easy to convert from a bus/PSV to a truck/HGV license

Best of all, because of the credit crunch, there is a so great a shortage of bus drivers out in the work place at present – people can’t afford to run cars, so take the bus instead – the employers are paying people to take the qualification, as long as you stay in employment for three years: you would have to pay for your won HGV training in full. Transport for London even at present have a scheme which focuses on finding and training more women bus drivers.

So, we are now two weeks later, and my friend’s husband just rang me to tell me about his first day of training to be a bus driver – and he’s over the moon with happiness!

All people are responsible for their own career management, and particularly the self-employed. Always think about what you are putting on your CV whatever work you do, and how transportable those skills are – qualifications make them more transportable to other employers. Secondly, if you do find yourself unemployed, think about how those transportable skills could be deployed in other markets – sales in real estate is a transportable skill for sales in many other sectors.

Good Luck!

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