When facing major career change, most people I coach are most concerned about what the outside world regards as traditional success: how much you earn, having a degree, not being too young or too old, where you work. Recruiters who use a tick list approach probably re-inforce these insecurities and suddenly making a career change becomes daunting and seemingly unachievable.
I believe that social networking and technology have changed the traditional traits of success. A lot of people who network online find that:
- There is no specific age or generation bias
- Education doesn’t matter
- Type of employment situation doesn’t matter
So what are the keys to networking success in an online world?
Developing authentic relationships with or as a mentor is a great starting point for kicking your career into high gear.
For example, Janet Hanson the first woman in history to be promoted to the sales management floor at Goldman Sachs New York, found having children and being housebound for a few years incredibly isolating. So in 1997 she launched 85 Broads so that women in her position wouldn’t feel as helpless as she did.
The "founding members" of 85 Broads were women who worked for Goldman Sachs at 85 Broad Street, the firm's NYC headquarters. Today the network consists of students and alumnae of the world's leading colleges, universities, and graduate schools are invited to join 85 Broads from every corner of the globe and from every possible career path. As a multi-cultural, multi-generational network, 85 Broads members live, work, and study in 82 different countries and work for over 3,500 for-profit and not-for-profit companies worldwide. These women established an authentic relationship with Janet Hanson and her vision for success.
Continued learning is also a great way to nurture relationships online. Even if you feel that your professional development has stagnated, there are huge opportunities to learn from likeminded people by joining special interest groups and sharing resources.
The bottom line is that creating authentic relationships with peers is smart networking, and that works in the world of social media just as it does in the offline world.
It is key to remember when building relationships that it is all about giving rather then getting. Ernst & Young’s Director of Social Media, Ken Burbary, specifically used the phrase “pay it forward” when he talked about how he communicates with and promotes other professionals. He says this was one of the things that has helped him to catch the attention of his peers.
Conclusion
Networking online gives you the opportunity to learn from those who are on the fast-track to success in their careers. You’ll find your own career success by developing genuine relationships with your peers and mentors, being ahead of the curve in your business sector, and always be willing to pay it forward and help those coming on behind you.
If you would like to develop a powerful career strategy and credible online visibility, contact Katherine Wiid, Career Management Coach on +44 (0)1780 484910 or visit www.recrion.co.uk.
I saw Katherine present yesterday and was inspired by the simplicity of her 'networking' message. I immediately went away and applied her teachings. The very next morning (i.e. this morning!) I was arranging meetings with potential new clients for photography and copy-writing services. Brilliant!
John Sootheran, Owner, www.madaboutmedia.com
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I picked up a thread on a forum I belong to about a 1 day event for Leaders and Managers on engaging and motivating people to deliver sustainable business and great customer service.
This has never been more relevant.
Employee engagement is at an all time low as millions of employees emerge from the recession battle-scarred and de-motivated.
“Engaging for Growth” is a 1 day event on 14 April with the keynote address by David MacLeod, Chair of the MacLeod Review. I thought the topics and line up of interesting speakers will make this a worthwhile event to attend – I'll be there!
For more information visit http://www.engagingforgrowth.com/
Recrion is a Career and People Management Specialist who consults on employee engagement and retention. Visit www.recrion.co.uk or call 01780 484910 for more information.
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Thank you so much for giving your time and expertise to help our members yesterday. I know from speaking to them afterwards that you certainly gave all of them something to think about.
For those who are using sites such LinkedIn already it reinforced the message that they were moving in the right lines, and for those who were not it gave them the incentive to get on with it! Even those that were old hands at social networking gained insights they were not aware of.
Everyone was agreeing that your talk was one of the most enjoyable they had heard – they are not used to audience participation, so the novelty was very welcome.
Thank you again for a most enjoyable and informative seminar yesterday.
With very best wishes, Alan Boyer, Facilitator, Back to Business Club, Peterborough
Would you like to accelerate your career success? Take a look at www.recrion.co.uk/career or call Katherine Wiid on 01780 484910 for a chat.
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After living through 2009 and surviving it with a few more lines and lots more wisdom, I am of the firm opinion that many positive and unexpected opportunities will arise for people in the work place in the near future.
The rules have changed.
The "we have always done it this way" mentality will be frowned upon as businesses recognise the need to be open to change and become more fleet of foot.
Career resilience is often viewed as something to aspire to rather than something that is possible right now in the current market place. In my opinion, it is a mindset change that is required and an active realisation that there has never been a better time to grab at the numerous opportunities for personal and professional development that abound.
A recent report by the Henley Business School’s Corporate Learning Priorities Survey 2010 reveals that organisations are pouring their resources into employees with the potential to lead them into an "uncertain" future. It found that developing middle managers’ leadership skills and equipping them to deal with change were among participant organisations’ top priorities for 2010, along with succession planning, attracting new talent and developing a coaching culture.
John Mahoney-Phillips head of human capital at UBS bank re-iterated that aspiring leaders must be continuous learners.
“You need a certain amount of emotional resilience to put yourself in a position that is uncomfortable, difficult, uncertain and unknown and you need another set of skills that allow you to reflect and think how you can change your behaviour on the basis of what you’ve experienced,” he said.
Are you making the most of the development opportunities available to you?
If you are facing redundancy and are currently at risk of losing your job, you may be reading this blog with a sceptical eye. However, you may be surprised to learn about several free learning and development opportunities that are available to you right now.
- The R2R scheme is available to anyone living or working in the East of England whose job is at risk and will provide you with professional careers advice and access to a training fund of £1200
- The Institute of Leadership and Management is offering 6 months free membership to managers being made redundant
Contact Katherine Wiid, a Career Management Coach and facilitator of R2R funding for more information on 01780 484910 or visit www.recrion.co.uk/free – your career is in your hands.
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Despite the general optimism that the UK is officially out of recession, I am continuing to see a steady number of redundancies in the East of England in both the private and public sectors.
An article by insolvency practioner Begbies Traynor in Business Weekly highlights the fact that the lack of availability of business finance in the first half of 2010 will put several hundred businesses at risk.
Fortunately there is help at hand for employees whose jobs are put at risk under such circumstances. The R2R (Responding to Redundancies) scheme offers free careers advice and access to a training fund of £1200 to employees living or working in the region.
To access support to help ease the burden of redundancies, contact Katherine Wiid who is actively facilitating the R2R scheme on 01780 484910 or visit www.recrion.co.uk/free.
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Over the last year I have introduced hundreds of job seekers who have faced redundancy to the power of social networking. My favourite business tool is LinkedIn and my lectures on networking revolve around its functions and the successes it has had to aid business and careers.
I was sent a link to a video spoof on LinkedIn touting it as a job search tool by a savvy delegate looking for my reaction.
Apart from the fact that it is a simplistic (and not entirely accurate) view of LinkedIn, it does raise some interesting thoughts:
- If you play on Facebook and LinkedIn at work all day you'll get yourself in trouble. If you wait until you get laid off to create your accounts and try to network, you'll seem desperate. However, if you keep track of all your professional associations over time, you'll build up a large group of leads to tap into when you need to job hunt again.
- The links do nothing on their own…it's what you do with them! It's up to the user to reach out, generate connections and develop relationships. LinkedIn is making it very easy to gently nudge people in the direction of networking.
- This video is misleading as LinkedIn never claims to find you a job. That really isn't the point of it. LinkedIn benefits people who are genuinely interested in networking for business reasons and for establishing contacts with industry people who may be able to help you with your business endeavours and/or ideas.
- LinkedIn is not an end in itself, but – if your connections, recommendations and of course your CV are up to it – it'll help you find out about open positions and land the job you're looking for.
For more information on using online and offline networks to make connections to power your career, keep an eye on our regular blogs at www.recrion.co.uk or come along on 4 February 2010 to the Back to Business Club in Peterborough where Katherine Wiid, Career Management Expert will be talking about "Networking – the railroad that runs beneath your career".
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My cold, snowy Friday afternoon brightened considerably when this email popped into my Inbox from David, who received careers and training advice from Recrion at the end of 2009 through the R2R scheme.
He has followed his dream of becoming a tennis coach using the £1200 training fund:
Hi Katherine
I thought I would let you know that I successfully passed the tennis course that you helped arrange for me on being made redundant.
The course was great and I got some really good experience and feedback. Passing it just makes me more determined to succeed and I will be looking to take the next level, to get full "Coach" status, in April. With this Level 2 accreditation I am able to coach group sessions and in schools so I feel that when my temporary assignment comes to an end in April I do have a second string to my bow.
I really appreciate your help in getting me the funding for the course. Warmest regards David
If you are at risk of redundancy and would like FREE advice on your CV and job search plus access to a training course of your choice, please visit www.recrion.co.uk/free or contact Katherine Wiid on 01780 484910.
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Job search etiquette has been the topic of conversation on a Career Change LinkedIn Group I belong to. “Is your Cover Letter an Ineffective and Obsolete Tradition?” received 78 reponses (several heated) in the space of a couple of weeks.
What do you think is happening to your cover letters?
According to research carried out via a LinkedIn poll of hiring managers, HR staff and recruiters:
- HR staff don't forward cover letters to hiring managers
- Hiring managers spend an average of 15 seconds making an interview/non interview decision – you can't read both a CV and a cover letter in 15 seconds!
- HR and Hiring managers admit that 80% read the CV first and that 66% don't even get cover letters
- The majority of hiring managers related that they have denied interviews to candidates because of information on their cover letter even though they are qualified by their CV
- Job Boards and Applicant Tracking Systems don't keyword search cover letters, only CVs
- 96% of candidates either customise a cover letter sent with a virtually static CV, or don't customise anything at all. Only 4% send a customised CV!
If this research is the view of the majority of HR and hiring managers this means that:
- Cover letters are rarely part of the hiring decision
- When considered, they work against the candidate more often than for the candidate
- The cover letter effectively decreases candidates’ interview chances
- Candidates can increase their chances by spending time heavily customising their CVs, and ignoring cover letters.
The most obvious conclusion to draw from the above research would be:
If you want your letter read, don't attach a CV. And visa versa, if you want to submit a CV, don't waste your time with a cover letter!
Now this is where the debate on LinkedIn got really interesting.
A few diehards said that despite the research:
“ I would still spend the time to customize a cover letter and include it. Why not give yourself some extra marketing muscle? After all, that's what it is: a marketing document”.
“I would send a short, succinct, and clear cover letter identifying the top 5 criteria the company was seeking, and concentrate on just those.”
“As a long-time hirer-turned coach (Heather Goodwin), I *know* that cover letters are not only not read, they rarely make it to the hiring director's desk. But the content of the letter isn't necessarily what a HR officer or recruiting manager is looking for. A cover letter is an indication of good manners – something sadly missing from many applicants' kit-bags these days. I like to see that someone has bothered to send a cover letter. It's an indication of respect. It's a *politeness*, not just an adjunct to a CV. It says: please let me introduce myself, and thank you for considering me".
The debate continues! Which camp do you sit in?
For coaching on CV and job search skills contact Recrion, People and Career Management Specialists on 01780 484910 www.recrion.co.uk
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A number of my clients that are facing a career transition are senior managers and executives. When working with them to prepare for job interviews, I often ask them to differentiate between leadership and management skills.
“Why?” you might ask.
Leadership skills can demonstrate much more about you than just task based activities.
Let me demonstrate this statement by listing some of the qualities that some of the leaders of our day such as Sir Richard Branson, Barack Obama and others share:
- They have learned to simplify appropriately so that people know what they are supposed to do and why it is fun and important to do it.
- They have learned to listen extraordinarily well with genuine interest and respect. Then they (mostly) act on what they have heard, especially if they heard it from a 'junior' member of the team.
- They practise and develop very good memories.
- They engender a sustained sense of enthusiasm and make people feel they are important.
- They are overwhelmingly positive, optimistic and future-focused.
- They are very persistent. Very persistent indeed.
These “values based” qualities are compelling and important to get across in an interview.
Do you share any of these skills? The best way of demonstrating them is through story telling. Here's a link to a previous blog I wrote about interview skills for senior executives - A good leadership story has the power to engage hearts and minds.
Recrion is a People and Career Management Specialist that works with groups and individuals to differentiate themselves in the job market. Visit www.recrion.co.uk or call 01780 484910 for more information on how we can help you.
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2010 has arrived and the icy weather has kept the state of the economy and level of job losses off the front pages.
The big freeze in terms of pay cuts, job losses and cutbacks are continuing however and not just in the public sector. As a business owner or HR professional it is a challenging time in which to make employee related decisions. I found the latest CIPD barometer predicting employment trends for 2010 extremely useful to plan for my own business needs in the next 6 months.
Click here for your FREE HR Trends and Prospects 2010 Report.
One of the points raised in the report was that many employers aren't taking advantage of government backed support when making redundancies. There are some very helpful schemes available to help "at risk" employees access training and careers advice to prepare them for the job market – visit www.recrion.co.uk/free for more information or call 01780 484910 to speak to a Career's Advisor.
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