Quarter-life crisis and over communication

24/7 standby

In today’s high-tech, 24/7, global communication , we are seeing a pace of communication that is super charged. This is something  we would have thought should lead to rapid, informed and correct decision-making.

Everyone happy… right?

My observation is that the reverse could indeed be true.

I would even go as far as to say that in many cases we are creating a pattern and expectation of communication that is totally overwhelming which is damaging performance.   I have noticed this particularly in junior and mid-level employees, who unlike other generations cut their teeth on this notion of being constantly in touch.  As a consequence their boundaries are not as distinct. It’s great fun receiving updates from friends around the clock, but becomes very different and stressful in a professional context.

A friend’s daughter recently wondered somewhat perplexed,  why privacy is really important to our generation!   I believe the lack of it, is contributing to what is becoming known as Quarter Life Crisis in hers.

Permanently “on call” 

Working across multiple time zones and constantly on stand-by,  leaves many junior and mid level employees overwhelmed, over supervised and exhausted.  Matthias a young and highly successful marketing executive in a Fortune 500 company, a Director despite being  in his early 30s, says he starts checking his emails at 0600 and as late as midnight. He told me he hears alerts on his iPad  throughout the night.

Shouldn’t he just turn it off I suggested naively and respond in the morning ?  At the beck and call of senior management located on all continents, failure to respond instantly he told me is perceived to be “a lack of energy or engagement.” He is now questioning his commitment to a corporate career as he examines his work/ life balance.

All company mail

Another unforeseen outcome of the wide-reaching and easy communication technology is increased control and policing. This can be so tight that it leaves many employees so fearful of making a mistake  they become paralyzed. Factor in the viral consequences of the reporting of any misdemeanour, then the culprit is faced with company wide shame and humiliation via the ubiquitous all company e-mail.

Take Marianne. She has a  postgraduate qualification in HR management and  is a junior recruitment coordinator for a  major international company. Despite having three years experience in the function, plus a professional qualification, every aspect of her job is supervised by a barrage of emails and reporting instructions so time-consuming she is almost unable to learn the skills of her function. Six months ago she made a minor scheduling error.  This was picked up and circulated on a global all department email where she felt international humiliation. As she said “if God could have been cc’d he would have been, it was escalated so far up the chain.” She also wonders about her corporate future.

Take Lucien.  A marketing graduate, slightly dyslexic, made a typo on an email to a client. His boss instead of addressing the situation professionally, copied the whole company (yes everyone) in what he thought was a riotous joke.  Suitably shamed Lucien could barely face going into work  where instead of  creating some Outlook templates to support him, every email was scrutinised individually. Massive delays were created and customer satisfaction fell off. Lucien finally left and has no intention of returning to corporate life.

Everything urgent 

Others report receiving non-urgent mails and texts from bosses during vacations and on public holidays  many carrying  a high priority red-flag. Amanda told me “ my boss made it very clear that he was unhappy that I couldn’t respond to a query on my expenses when I was in a wedding! ”  

Re-wind

Back in the day when I started work, communication was significantly slower. Would I want to turn the clock back to those days?  I am no Luddite,  so not at all. I love fast communication. But there were certainly advantages from days gone by.  If someone made a mistake it would probably take a few days for it to come to their bosses attention via laborious manual processes which were imputed into the system and eventually printed out on continuous computer listing pages the size of breeze blocks.

Things clearly went wrong, but nothing too horrendous. Only a small number of people were usually aware of the issues and certainly not the whole company. Mobile phones did not exist. Neither did the internet.

So although we see many significant benefits,  not all technology is without a downside.   Needs will vary from one organisation to another, but what is needed is clear protocols about appropriate frequency of contact and what constitutes an emergency!

Why parenting is an HR issue

One of the areas of greatest disconnect between corporate culture and the wider world, is the issue of parenting.  This is going to present significant challenges to many organisations in terms of H.R. policy  in the upcoming years, especially for those that don’t confront those issues.

The successful running of organisations is largely dependent on a fully functioning nuclear family. That is: a revenue generator (usually the man) and a childcare/homemaker (usually the woman.)  Any move to deviate from this model impacts the employee and therefore ultimately the organisation.

We are already seeing major repercussions.

Outdated model

By 2015 Gen Y will out number Boomers in the workforce.   They are the 21st century generation of men and women who want something different for themselves, their careers and their families than their parents.  Added to this we see the emergence of other demographics:

1. the rise of the single parent
2. the rise of the two career family,
3. men who don’t want the stress of being the single bread winner or to be pigeonholed into gender stereotyping roles assigned in a bygone era.
4. Reverse parenting: elder care

These significant cultural changes render the old school model  flawed and potentially ineffective.

Crusader vs Realist

These developments impact organisations in a number of areas and requires some out of the box thinking to adapt to changes in the supply side of the employee market. Some organisations have evolved, yet for most their systems remain resolutely unchanged.  In the last two weeks I have been conflicted in my roles as crusader for change and realistic coach,  fully aware of the all too prevalent discrimination that exists around family obligations for both men and women.

I have discussed with candidates the wisdom of embracing motherhood on their CVs and LinkedIn summaries. How to handle resume gaps of 15 years for stay at home Mums is a frequent challenge, with lack of continuous service heavily penalised.  Cap that with the dilemmas facing men who have taken  or wish to take paternity leave  when they are viewed with suspicion.  Or more serious still,  STUDS (Spouses Trailing Under Duress)  who have given their partner’s career priority.  And of course stay at home dads.  I know of some couples who don’t broadcast their non stereotypical approach for concerns about social stigma.

This blinkered thinking impacts human resource programmes in a number of key areas, as organisations are slow to  recognise and respond to the pace of change.

What we see is an approach to find people to suit the model, rather than changing the model to suit the workforce

Where does this happen?

Recruitment:  with as many as 30-40% of families  in some geographies now being headed up by a single parent oftentimes the mother, organisations are struggling to attract the best talent to suit their corporate culture. They are obliged to restrict themselves to candidates who are available,  rather than the best. Combined this with stereotyping prejudice related to childcare  responsibilities in the recruitment process where illegal questioning is still commonplace, many excellent potential candidates are cut or not fully considered.

Absenteesim:  Many single parents do not have the 10 hours per day required by many employers locked into presence rather than results models. What they could offer is core, prime time hours contracts with flex time covering non core hours. Lack of flexibility leads to increased levels of absenteeism. U.S. companies reportedly lose $3 billion each year attributable to childcare related absences.

Lack of mobility:  many single parents cannot be geographically mobile. They may be restricted by custody and access arrangements under divorce agreements to relocate or travel. Perhaps they are reliant on local family members for support. Two career couples are also in the same situation having to factor in the overall responsibility of running their families. In a recent 3Plus Mini-Coaching event on Having it All ,  one participants told us that in her couple when it comes to travel “the first into the Google calendar wins.” This impacts recruitment cycles.

Retention:  with schools still operating on the same schedules that they have done probably for a hundred years, closed for 14 weeks a year with a 3.00pm or 4.00pm pick- up,  making that after school gap until they get home from work  a parent’s worst nightmare to fill.  This has spawned a host of after school businesses which eat  into the incomes of all involved with no tax breaks or support.  Add to this routine medical care and possibly emergency  attention for kids,  there are a number of different demands made on parents which contribute to making life hard to manage.  There might also be an element of senior care and reverse parenting as their own parents age.  Under duress many women in particular leave their companies unable to find that elusive work/life balance.

Under-performance:  Other employees work below their potential accepting lower level jobs in exchange for flexibility.  Men who would be willing and want to share in these responsibilities and take paternity leave  are also discouraged by macho cultures. It is reported that men are twice as likely to be refused flex working conditions as  a woman.  Any investment made in employees early in their careers is  therefore not maximised.

Succession planning: Research from Right Management suggests that  an increasing number of Boomers are postponing complete retirement with a shift to working part-time. This can be attributed to the devaluation of savings and pensions,  but as the Boomer divorce rate surges many men at least,  go on to have second families well into their 50s. This makes early retirement a pipe dream with family commitments for an increasing number as late as mid- 60s,  reducing turnover at senior levels and therefore development opportunities for employees lower down the hierarchy.

So in an era of a declining population in most developed economies with aging populations to support,  organisations have to move away from out of date thinking and come up with some new approaches.  It is essentially basic maths. Something’s got to give.   The nuclear family is no longer the mainstay of our wider culture and cannot continue to be the lynch pin for our corporate environments.

Which parenting benefits would be most helpful to you? Please take the poll:

After work socialising: Do you feel pressurized?

Business and pleasure have always been uncomfortable bedfellows. It is widely considered than an informal off site or out of hours coffee, lunch, dinner or drink can oil commercial wheels and resolve tricky office situations much more smoothly than dealing with them in the office. Networking both internal or external are considered to be political skills necessary for professional success.

However, I am increasingly hearing  from a number of sources the difficulties of dealing with the unspoken pressure to socialize outside offices hours with either co-workers, vendors or clients.

Processing this can be challenging for any number of reasons. Meet four people who say ” No”.

• Childcare responsibilities:  many working  parents manage tight schedules when it comes to childcare. Many have  teenage children at home unsupervised,  others need to relieve nannies or collect kids from nurseries and day care. Very often there is also some after school participation in the early evening.  Suzette an IT Recruitment Manager told me “it’s  part of our office culture and routine to meet good clients for a drink on a Friday after work. My son plays football for a local junior team and I simply have to be back to take him there. My partner’s commute is much longer than mine and he can’t make it back in time. I  know this puts me in the poor team player category but it can’t be helped.  Sometimes I ask one of the other parents to cover for me with my son, but I resent feeling pressurized when I’m doing a good job in office hours and have excellent relations with all my clients .”   
• No interest:  Some people simply don’t want to go to cafés and bars with their colleagues.   Aashif, an associate with an international law firm with suggests “ If I have been in the office since 0800 and if I can actually leave the office at 1800 –  I wouldn’t choose to go for a drink with people I have been working with all day. I  have given enough time. I just want to get home,  not because I have a wife or children,  but I want to do other things. I also don’t drink alcohol so it’s not a lot of fun because as a non-drinker I can see the impact that even one glass has on some people.  I am always happy to meet clients for lunch. I know I am viewed as anti-social”
• Blurring boundaries:  Chloe a Fund Manager at a large bank finds the pressure to go to after work outings with colleagues and clients  frustrating and even annoying.  “There is a lot of blurring of boundaries at these post work drinks and some bad behaviour.  If people really want to socialize with their work colleagues or clients  they  can have coffee, lunch or even breakfast.  Very often some of these functions turn into late night events which I think can be inappropriate. ”   
• Damages reputation:  Behaviour outside office hours can be quite often misconstrued and lead to office gossip and even reputation damage. Martin heads up an all female team and found that he was the subject of water cooler whispering following after work social events with a group of only women.   “They were perfectly correct occasions and genuinely intended to cement the team. But  the best of intentions back fired and there was a lot of open sniggering from outside the department,  so I simply stopped suggesting them.”

So do you feel pressurized to socialize with clients, colleagues or vendors after office hours?  Take the poll. 

15 Tips to finesse an online interview

Today your face can be beamed onto cinema size screeens

Why?  Online interviewing skills are a must have…

Increasingly organisations are wanting to replace first contact screenings or even an initial interview with a Skype call or other online call.

This is something that is given insufficient priority by job seekers or even totally disregarded. Research from Right Management in 2012 indicated that at that time only 9% of interviews take place via web cam. Their prediction was that this will increase to 43%  over the next few years. So although cutting out extended travel time can  be a bonus for job seekers, online interviewing skills are now a must have.

Offering a Skype call can also help arrange an informational interview. A network connection might be reluctant to give up hours for lunch or coffee, but a Skype call,  which can be more easily scheduled into a busy calendar,  might be more appealing.

However, simple as it might seem,  it can be challenging for most of us to be our sparkling best with our job search A game on tap for an online interview. Sometimes even the best internet connection and web cam don’t do any of us any justice at all. Today, with advanced technology our faces can be beamed onto over sized plasma screens in conference rooms the world over. “Skyping” is no longer associated with hunching over a lap top screaming into a pilot size headset, sounding like a goldfish.

It now requires an element of finesse and one job seekers should factor into their prep work.

So where to start? —

1. Treat it  seriously:  just because it’s  online doesn’t mean you are not being professionally evaluated. You most certainly are…. and it’s even more difficult than a face to face.
2. Have a professional photo:  as well as your USP in your Skype  profile. This is part of your consistent branding. Many choose funky pictures for their Skype  profiles,  forgetting the professional associations of this technology. Re-visit that thought.
3. Make sure your name and Skype address is easily traceable. We all like to think we are unique only to find there are dozens with the same name or handle.
4. Test the technology: Don’t download Skype or any other technology five minutes before your appointment . Test your microphone and headset.
5. Understand the technology:  know how to Skype type, screen share and what to do if the signal drops,  which it does sometimes  (turn off your camera.)
6. ——Request a time that suits:  one where you can be guaranteed calm, the kids are in bed,  the dog isn’t running amok or the dishwasher  gurgling in the background, and so on.
7. —Location: you need a tidy, quiet,  professional or neutral background with writing materials to hand.  If your computer is in your bedroom or kitchen,  try to angle the computer away from your unmade bed or dirty dishes. I once interviewed someone sitting on the sofa in his living room with his partner ironing in the background and the kids fighting in the corner. It didn’t go well.
8. —Dress code, grooming:  it’s very easy to take Skype or Face Time calls in your PJs, chilled,  having a coffee. I even had someone drinking what I suspect was a bottle rather than a glass of wine. But it’s not professional. Dress code should be as for a face to face interview.  
9. —Watch your posture : sit up straight.  Elevate your computer if you have to on a pile of books. It avoids your interviewers looking up your nose.
10. A wifi head set is best otherwise we can all look like pilots on a space launch.  —
11. Look at the camera and not the screen. Minimize your own image.
12. Close down any sound alerts: incoming mails, Twitter and so on. Nothing is more distracting than hearing constant pinging in the background.
13. Turn off your other phones: land line and mobile  – also potential  distractions.
14. Have any documents available for easy sharing – either via screen share or download
15. Use mobile technology  judiciously.  We are all on the run – but taking an important interview via Skype on a Smart  Phone or Tablet can be tricky.  I have been involved in these situations and they don’t favour the candidate. I recently talked to  an interviewee literally running between meetings including a period in a lift. She was so out of breath she sounded as if she was experiencing a cardiac arrest.

So don’t forget to be prepared for this latest development! It could well happen to you sometime very soon!

Why there’s only one new year’s resolution to make in job search

Make it a big one!

Why you only need one new year’s resolution in job search

“In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently.”  Tony Robbins

I’m a well documented contrarian when it comes to New Year’s resolutions. I think particularly with job search that goals should be ongoing and strategic. It’s no use setting any goals  in January and only to forget about them during the rest of the year. But there is a lot of hype associated with the start of a professional new year and this week is the first back to work after a protracted break for many.  It’s perhaps better to tap into the momentum of the zeitgeist than ignore it.

So instead of setting multiple potentially short-lived, minor goals  – go for  just one. But think big.

Commit to taking control of your job search.

This is particularly important for the behavioural and serial procrastinator who avoids taking on any tasks because of the complexity of choice, perfectionism, or fear of failure.  Procrastination is ‘the art of keeping up with yesterday and avoiding today.”  says Wayne Dyer.

I worked with a client this weekend for the first time who bemoaned the inequities in the recruitment system, only to find that two days before a major interview he was not familiar with the content of the hiring company’s website.   His lack of past success and confidence,  I suspect can be attributed to the fact that he was simply inadequately prepared.

That is his responsibility and totally within his control. 

But with a new year and new challenges,  the task can seem daunting. To avoid falling into the trap of  “in one year out the other” what can be done going forward?  Simply make a basic commitment to taking control of the elements of your job search where it’s feasible and possible to do so.

So much of this process  is in the hands and at the whim of others or  impacted by happenstance.

These are the elements outside your control:

• The number  and quality of  other applicants
• The organisational structure
• The recruitment process
• The perception of others
• The personalities of others
• The questions posed
• The decision-making process

So that means we should firmly take control of the things where and when we can.

Within our control we have:

• —Our mind set
• Our personal appearance and image
• —CV content and presentation
• —Online presence & content
• ——Non verbal communication
• Verbal delivery
• —Responses and pitches prepared
• Constructive and effective interaction

If a job seeker struggles with any of these critical components in  job search on an ongoing basis,  and can’t  or doesn’t take control,   then some basic questions need to be asked perhaps with professional help.

Dickensian: Zero-hours contracts

Zero-hours contracts

I’ve just had two astonishing conversations with two young people. This wasn’t related to wild nights out or any inappropriate behaviour, but their employment conditions.

Both are working on zero-hours contracts.

For the uninitiated zero-hours contracts are apparently a particularly British phenomenon. A  bit like Christmas pudding and red double-decker buses, just infinitely less wholesome

They are understood to be an employment contract between an employer and a worker, during which the employer is not obliged to provide the worker with any minimum working hours, and the worker in turn is not obliged to accept any of the hours offered.

Increasingly, many companies  across all sectors  are taking on staff on ‘zero-hours’ contracts.  These contracts effectively provide employers with a pool of  employees who are ‘on-call’ and can be used when the need arises.

At one end of the spectrum  the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development suggest that they provide  great possibilities for  individuals to strike a work life balance or supplement fixed incomes on an ad hoc basis. Students and pensioners particularly value this arrangement .

On the other hand,  they are viewed as yet another component in the exploitation formula with rife mal-practise reported.

Risk reduction

Zero-hours contracts are becoming increasingly popular as a way of tapping into a pool of labour to meet operational requirements and reducing recruitment and employee costs. They are also a way of minimising risk connected with workforce planning or it would seem planning of any kind really.

Research indicates that those on zero-hours contracts earn less than those on staff or on fixed-hours contracts,  with no rights to sick pay  and holiday pay  often refused.  They are also more widespread than is generally thought and increasing used for  hiring young people in the 18-24 demographic.  They are fast becoming a way of circumventing corporate statutory obligations. Although officially associated mainly with unskilled labour, anecdotal evidence would suggest that this is not consistently the case.

Victorian

There is something very Dickensian about this system with workers lining up, albeit at the end of their mobile phone and a few being selected,  with the rest remaining un-contacted.  Peter is on a zero- hours contract with a London  based call centre company.  Earlier this month he paid for travel to his place of work only to be told that there had been a miscommunication between the account manager and the client and there was no work until further notice. The contacted group was sent home after thirty minutes without pay.

Peter an arts graduate told me ” The choice to refuse work  in reality doesn’t exist.  If you refuse you are labelled as inflexible. Very often the management is poor with minimal training given. There is no accountability. The manager screws up and the workforce has their shifts cancelled.  Communication is erratic and anyone who speaks up is regarded as a ” trouble-maker. ”

He continued  “It’s made clear when you are hired any employment rights are restricted and there is  no job security until anyone has been employed for two years. But usually any long-termers are terminated just before they reach  the two years service point. Very often employees are given spurious official warnings for the slightest contravention to create an HR paper trail to “justify” a termination. One colleague was five minutes late after his train broke down and was given a written warning even though he sent an explanatory text to say  why he had been held up”

It is generally agreed that zero-hours contracts are effectively becoming licences for poor management and a pathway for potential employment abuse.

Kara with a degree in Psychology,  has been working on zero-hours contracts in the hospitality and retail sector. She explained “with no job security it is impossible to plan or save. My daily worry is how I am going to pay my most basic bills. Many of my friends are forced to live with their parents even though they are in their mid 20s. I work two jobs to make sure I have enough money to eat and cover my rent.  I’m 26 with a degree and it seems crazy that I can’t get a job to keep myself above the poverty line. When I do go for interviews for “proper jobs” I am told I don’t have the right experience. It’s like being on a treadmill ” 

Although the U.K. government plans to outlaw any restrictions  on employees on zero-hours contracts working elsewhere,  they are still allowing the concept to remain.

So although much is written about leadership and employees being valued the reality is that those leadership priorities are often disregarded to increase shareholder value and benefit business balance sheets regardless of the longer term implications.

Short term solutions

These are very short term solutions which will come back to haunt us. Together with it’s bed fellow unpaid internships  with zero-hours contracts we are seeing a reverse trend to Victorian era style employment practises which has a multi-generation impact.  Nicknamed KIPPERs (“kids in parents’ pockets eroding retirement savings”) in the U.K., we have a huge demographic who are spending what should be a formative period acquiring key professional skills,  in employment and economic limbo. This in turn is impacting their parents who continue to be forced to support them.

What will we see next? The return of the truck shop? 

Do you need a “staycation”?

Do you need a stay-cation?

The festive season is upon us and for many it is a time of acute stress and busy-ness. Honouring our professional commitments and personal obligations becomes almost a full-time job at this time of the year.

Many look forward to taking a vacation to get away from it all.   But sometimes the process and planning to get away is equally tiring.  This  might involve extensive periods in traffic,never-ending queues in airports, followed by often delayed long haul flights.

Planning

One candidate told me he was so exhausted at the end of 2012 “trying to get to the Maldives” that this year he has decided to stay put on a “staycation.”

As quite often happens,  over the next few weeks I heard the same word  “stay-cation” repeated.  I had never come across it before. It involves apparently simply staying in or around your home and chilling and relaxing. But staycationers complain that when they talk to alpha vacationers,  that  they have to be almost apologetic when they mention their “staycation” plans.  Extreme vacationers it would seem are not happy unless they are abseiling off cliffs,  skiing off-piste in places the more remote and far-flung the better, spiced up by a dose of horrendous adverse weather for good measure.

Vacation snobbery

We seem to have created a vacation hierarchy, and “staycationing” it would seem is definitely not near the top.

One job seeker has given herself permission to take time off from her job search other than tracking some key emails and some light seasonal networking.  A keen outdoor pursuits and nature lover  is she heading for an exotic destination? “No” she told me in an almost guilty whisper  ” I am just staying home“. Since when did the vacation police become so powerful?  Shortly after, my own daughter, an intrepid international traveller herself,  told me how she is looking forward to her own “staycation.” She lives in Dubai so there are worse places to chill in December.

I have also subsequently read pieces about “planning your staycation” to make them more effective.  Vacations are supposed to be relaxing surely? The origin of the word is 14th century “freedom from obligations, leisure and release.” 

There is nothing in there about location or the nature of the activity. Perhaps this is just me,  or do we also need to be released from the obligation of planning?

What do you think?

The return of the office Christmas party

Raise your visibility for the right reasons!

The festive period is now upon us.   After several years consigned to the doldrums by diminished, recession ravaged budgets,  I have it on good authority that this year, with the green shoots of recovery the good old office party is back in full force.

With an optimistic outlook about an upturn,  many organisations are going back to hosting their annual office Christmas knees-up.   A simple Google search on the topic produces almost one million results in 57 seconds would testify to this hearsay.   The physical reminders are all around us. Tacky earrings, seasonal ties and notices about Secret Santa gifts.

Post recession

For most companies the lavish pre-2007  budget, with no expense spared events at restaurants or hotels are still history.  I’ve only ever read about  the ones  featuring ice sculptures,  flowing Veuve Clicquot and cabaret artists that people have  actually heard of.  My experiences, especially in my early career,  have been more centred around parties characterised by Micawber like frugality:  a few mince pies thrown together in the staff cafeteria,  accompanied by a solitary glass of something singularly and poisonously unpleasant. My first ever boss invited me  for Christmas lunch,  ordered two cheese and onion sandwiches, before knocking back five double G & Ts and then going on to eat my leftover onion to take away the smell of the gin.

But for a great number, these renewed office festivities are a return to the dread that they faced prior to the economic crisis. This is synonymous with being forced to make small talk with the boss (or worse still his/her partner) eating limp canapés and  drinking inferior plonk with co-workers they would prefer to spend less time with, not more.

Super party-ers 

However,  there are always the super office party goers who regardless of the economic climate subscribe to the theory that if the drinks are on the house they are most definitely going to make the most of it.  These are the ones whose drunken aberrations (which  they don’t remember happening and have no wish to recall … ever)  provide the high-octane fuel of office gossip, well after the half-year results have been published.

Opportunity

For the savvy networker they can represent a great and unique opportunity to raise internal visibility and make strategic alliances. On what other occasion is the whole company brought together under the one roof,  at the same time?

By that I don’t mean chasing the co-worker who figures in their sexual fantasies around the photo copy machine with a sprig of mistletoe.  Or slurring to a senior executive that a box of cereal contains more strategic elements than the latest sales plan. That is a true story.  Nor obsequiously trying to ingratiate themselves with executive Board Members who wouldn’t recognise them in a line up thirty minutes later.

The office party can be a great opportunity to look into your own organisation to simply identify the people whom it would be great and useful to know. How can you best help each other and work together?

Research them.  Introduce yourself and tell them exactly that!

Have a great time!

10 Barriers to successful promotion

I see many people in transition who struggle to advance in their careers  internally within their own organisations, in almost the same way as if they were involved in an external job search.

Today,  many companies have very rigorous internal promotion processes which can be as daunting as looking for a position outside a current organisation.

However,  there are many common elements and they require the same structured approach to achieve success. Just like an external  job search,  the process can take up to a year, further complicated by competition against colleagues,   some of whom may have become friends. Some companies even go to the expense of conducting external executive searches to benchmark the quality of their internal talent pipeline.

Over the years I’ve noticed what has become an all too familiar pattern with ten barriers to success:

1. Lack of expertise in self-promotion:  many are unused to dealing with this type of process and are simply confused. This is compounded by a refusal to ask for help. Many in established positions have no idea how neutral input can make a difference to the outcome. Very often organisations will fund transition coaching especially at a senior level. Ask, and if they say “no”,  don’t hesitate invest in yourself.
2. Lack of self-awareness: most people make very little time to think about themselves – their skills, goals, achievements, vision and passions. Those who are still employed are equally as guilty as  job seekers of this, perhaps more so because they know the organisation and the players.  They think they can ” wing it ” on the day.  A thorough inventory of achievements and skills should always be made as part of any on going career strategy. Internal candidates quite frequently have less interview exposure than externals so their self presentation skills can be more rusty.
3. Stuck in “yes / but” :  Many want to make a change and explore new methodologies but get stuck in self-sabotaging thoughts and behaviours. They are unable to make that paradigm shift to get there.  As Einstein pointed out “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different  results.”
4. Avoidance strategies:  transitioning professionally takes a lot of work and many are not prepared to run the hard yards.  They get caught up in the cyber black  hole of “busyness” , unproductive work on computers of all sizes,  convincing themselves they are working effectively, when they are clearly not.  Business plans have to be prepared, strategic value to market statements must be created, plus whatever other activities organisations demands  (personality and psychological testing for example.)  All of this is time-consuming.
5. Low self-esteem and or anxiety:  these two psychological states are frequent bed fellows which feed on each other to produce the  “busyness” above. Fear of failure maybe at the root of these dangerous emotions or perhaps there have been some missed  or failed opportunities in the past. Falling into the low self-esteem cycle undermines productivity and ultimately success. Find a coach, a mentor or a neutral friend or colleague to support you.
6. Poor time management: whether in employment or on a job search a structured approach to time management is critical. Goals should be set, plans made and implemented and time planned.
7. Failure to set goals: internal candidates are well-known to their management which has  both negatives and positives. It’s not enough to pitch up, suited and booted to give a brilliantly polished performance on the day. Strategic preparation over an extended period is critical, including professional image management. If your appearance look like a sack of spanners most days in the office,  a one day transformation for the interview will not be enough.
8.  Lack of both mentors and sponsors: for the necessary support. Implement some visibility raising strategies to  raise your profile within your company. It is really easy to neglect an internal network. Create some strategic alliances.
9. Failure to evaluate the competition.  Is your manager sponsoring you? If so, is he/she also sponsoring others for the position? Find out what you need to do to get full and unqualified support. Be aware of who the other candidates might be and their relative strengths and weaknesses.
10. No Plan B: in very  competitive internal processes which might have long-term career impact,  as part of the planning process ask yourself what you want to do if you are not successful.   Having a “Plan B” is key – will you stay on and try again? Does this mean your career will have stalled? It’s important to understand what your next steps will be and create a plan in advance. Knowing that a potential key resource may leave an organisation can be a factor.  Make sure your external network is in place too,  as your ” just in case” safety net.

So whether an external or internal candidate,  the career transition process carries many common elements! What would you add?

Good luck!

Maternity leave – then what?

Maternity leave: then what?

Making decisions about going back to work after maternity leave is always challenging.  D-day looms large and is unavoidable. Decisions have to be made eventually. The period leading  up to the return to work can be one of great stress.

What goes on for the new mother?

• Guilt and angst : this plays a massive and understandable role. The arrival is a bundle of joy who has become the centre of your new-found universe. You love being with your new-born and are fearful of missing major moments in your baby’s life.  You worry about his/her well-being, developmental needs and even safety if you make other childcare arrangements.  Only you can make that call. It might be helpful to put this phenomenon of a full-time stay at home Mum into historical perspective. The notion of a stay at home mum whose sole activity was to focus on children and home is rooted  in the post World War II  demand to keep jobs open for soldiers returning from the war and a need to increase a decimated population. At the same time we saw a distinct separation of work and home and the development of a child centred culture.  However, throughout history children have been raised by many people other than their mothers,  or by their mothers who took on  economically related tasks. In lower income groups women always worked and the upper classes farmed their offspring out to wet nurses and nannies. So this “mummy” dilemma in the overall historical scheme of things is relatively new.
• Too much work: it is a lot of work. There is no other way to say this. But with good organisational skills and outsourcing low value work then there are ways  to prioritise. Many couples now use workplace practises in their homes.
• Cost of childcare: there is a real need to be strategic and think long-term. Childcare costs are indeed high and women should campaign for tax breaks to defray expenses. If governments are serious about encouraging women to return to the workplace, they will make sure that happens and also cap childcare costs. But the short-term burden of childcare expenses should be benchmarked against the longer term impact of lost salary, career gaps and reduced future pensionable earnings caused by opting to work at a lower level or part-time to accommodate childcare responsibilities.
• Lack of support network: women express concern about managing the responsibilities of career and family. The workload does increase exponentially with children. But very often the toughest negotiations are needed within the woman’s own home and relationships. In most developed economies where women make up 50% of the work force and are the most qualified, they are still carrying out 80% of household chores. There is something wrong with that picture.
• The partner will have an affair with the nanny:    Any number of high-profile husband’s have had dalliances with their nannies: Ethan Hawke, Jude Law and Tiger Woods to name but three. But  if  the thought of finding the father of your baby in flagrante in the playroom is a real deterrent to returning to work, then that might suggest serious reflection is required.    Although it’s normal for any new Mum to feel a little insecure after giving birth, there are lots of hormones whizzing round.  Retaining your professional self  and financial independence is even more important long-term with divorce rate impacting as many as 50% of marriages.
• Paternity leave: there is a growing movement to encourage men to take parenting leave to share the load.  In Sweden studies by the Institute of Labour Market Policy Evaluation suggests that higher levels of involvement by both men and women in childcare result in stronger earnings potential for women and a reduced divorce rate. What we are seeing is the pendulum swing and the emergence of the ” daddy factor” where men are acknowledged  for soft skills related to  parenting. Women of course are not generally afforded the same recognition.
• Exploring new options: for many women, motherhood is a catalyst for other career transitions to find that elusive work life balance with as many as 33% leaving the corporate workforce never to return.

But after all the soul-searching,  the only people who can make those choices are the individual parents. For those that stay together they must also deal with the future consequences of those decisions. For those that don’t,  it is quite often the  single mother who faces those challenges alone.