The way we look for jobs has been changed, but the way people get hired is still the same. With the internet, people all over the world are able to apply for a position, where before jobs were more location specific. We know the economy is improving and jobs are being created. Although a sign of improvement, job seekers like myself know the difficulties of having fantsatic job skills.
One of the books I’ve found most instructive in this new job search is by Orville Pierson “The Unwritten Rules of the Highly Effective Job Search”. Many recruiters use it, it's the most valuable job-seeking book i've found...i don't really know what else a job-seeker would to read to learn the process.
Most job-seeking books focus on the obvious elements of a job –seeker: resumes, cover letters and finding your passion. Important things sure, but hardly rendering a job-seeker ready to toil against the difficulties often at hand. It hardly give attention to the effective search itself.
Pierson gives job seekers another method. A systematic method to combating our process problems of a job search: seeking out networking events, tracking responses to people we email; targeting companies, and even ways to network into a job.
As pierson points out. The average person is going to look for a job 10-15 times in his or her life. Why not learn the skills to gauge involvement in this often difficult process of looking for work.
Here is are some tips about what a good job searching week looks like
25-35 Hours
Creating/Modifying a Target Company List
15- 30 contacts that week
Having a Core Message, with 6 stories to back it Up
Establishing communication with several decision Makers
Follow-uping up with your contacts, and scheduling people with multiple contacts
Deciding on Tracking the Progress of all contacts related to the job search
5 to 50 letters, notes emails a week
There are little tips like that, but the joy of the novel is that Pierson works you from the beginning: the problems many job seekers face (most of which are poor attitudes, and ignorance on networking), and leads you to a complex, but practical method in the job search.
Find a few other inspirational poems to put on your refrigerator, and i'd say your ready to play ball.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Powerful Questions: Peter Block's Advice from "Community"
So I finished Peter Block's "Community". A book formatted with a colorful cuban exterior, and rich pages in between, "Community" (2010) is Block's investigation into building solid communities. I'm not going to dive into the whole book, but rather would want to dive into a section of the book that could be applicable for a lot of people
Do you know the power of a question? Block says a powerful question is more important then a powerful answer. A powerful question can be dissenting, it can be building, it can be timely, it can be thought-provoking and it can lead to the unearthing of higher values.
Often our questions in everyday life are pitifully bland.
How are you? What's new?
Nothing wrong with these questions, but they do keep the status quo. They are questions you ask that will get regular responsive answers. I guess thats good if you like the status quo, but they are not growth questions.
Block shares that powerful questions have three qualities
1) They are ambiguous - These questions are not linear, they make no attempt to give the other person the "right answer". Ambiguity, ironically, grabs a listener's attention. If a question is asked and the intent is unknown, it leaves the possibily for a deeper understanding. The most immediate example I can think of is flirting. You aren't going to get very far with someone asking surface level questions. Ask something daring, be playful, be coy, be anything but boring, right? Or in a professional manner, beneath a critical question, maybe you can ask it with the intent to help grow a person. Help a person up when their down through a deep-cutting question.
2) They are personal - Every great question is going to relate to the listener.
Even when a politician speaks in a vast crowd, they completely target the speech to individual action. If you can speak to a person authentically, then you have a clear line of communication. Non-personal questions are okay, "what's the weather like", "that's a pretty cool car, isn't it", but don't expect them to lead to individual or community growth.
3) Evokes Anxiety - We need a call to action. Why does it matter now? What happens if we don't make this decision? A powerful question taps the immediacy of the situtation. As Block writes "No edge, no power".
Using these three qulaities in substanitive way, we can take a person from being crestfallen to being estatic.
Consider these great questions (all from Block)
How valuable do you plan for this effort to be?
What is your contribution to the very thing you complain about?
What is the crossroads you face at this stage of the game?
What is the story you keep telling about the problems of this community?
Don't wait on some "leader" to ask the powerful questions. You have the power, you have the ability, just ask the questions.
Do you know the power of a question? Block says a powerful question is more important then a powerful answer. A powerful question can be dissenting, it can be building, it can be timely, it can be thought-provoking and it can lead to the unearthing of higher values.
Often our questions in everyday life are pitifully bland.
How are you? What's new?
Nothing wrong with these questions, but they do keep the status quo. They are questions you ask that will get regular responsive answers. I guess thats good if you like the status quo, but they are not growth questions.
Block shares that powerful questions have three qualities
1) They are ambiguous - These questions are not linear, they make no attempt to give the other person the "right answer". Ambiguity, ironically, grabs a listener's attention. If a question is asked and the intent is unknown, it leaves the possibily for a deeper understanding. The most immediate example I can think of is flirting. You aren't going to get very far with someone asking surface level questions. Ask something daring, be playful, be coy, be anything but boring, right? Or in a professional manner, beneath a critical question, maybe you can ask it with the intent to help grow a person. Help a person up when their down through a deep-cutting question.
2) They are personal - Every great question is going to relate to the listener.
Even when a politician speaks in a vast crowd, they completely target the speech to individual action. If you can speak to a person authentically, then you have a clear line of communication. Non-personal questions are okay, "what's the weather like", "that's a pretty cool car, isn't it", but don't expect them to lead to individual or community growth.
3) Evokes Anxiety - We need a call to action. Why does it matter now? What happens if we don't make this decision? A powerful question taps the immediacy of the situtation. As Block writes "No edge, no power".
Using these three qulaities in substanitive way, we can take a person from being crestfallen to being estatic.
Consider these great questions (all from Block)
How valuable do you plan for this effort to be?
What is your contribution to the very thing you complain about?
What is the crossroads you face at this stage of the game?
What is the story you keep telling about the problems of this community?
Don't wait on some "leader" to ask the powerful questions. You have the power, you have the ability, just ask the questions.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
World Cafe - A New Way to Engage Big Groups
Have you ever felt marginalized in a big group? Ever felt like the group was so big, your voice hardly mattered?
It's not that uncommon and it can feel like the bigger the group, the more order is needed for it. Let's face it, there are some things you can get from a small group - consensus, engagement, and order, whereas much larger groups can breed chaos. Much worse, even if you have a large group that is working togther, the level of discussion may be shallow. Some people hold back their thoughts, ofters monopolize the conversation.
Enter: The World Cafe
The World Cafe is a new technique used to create engaging big group discussions. This method was created by Juanita Brown and Davis Isaccs in their book "The World Cafe: Shaping Our Futures Through Conversations that Matter" (2005). Peter Block goes to discuss the method extensively in his new book "Community" (2010).
A World Cafe is a method in which the large group can optimize with everyone and share thoughts.
It looks a little like this
1. Facilitator puts a large sheet of paper in front of a class with questions. In this example there are 5 questions.
2. The big group lets say, 40 people, distributes into smaller groups in individual areas (let's say 4-5 people in a small group).
3. Each small group will explore and discuss question 1. It's a small group so the level of engagement and discussion will be. high
4. Facilitator asks each group to go around and discuss 1 or 2 thoughts.
5. Each small group disperses, and 10 completely new groups are formed for Question 2.
6. The new group starts by looking at the work that the last small group did, discusses that briefly, and then starts again with their new insights for questions 2.
It may not look that different from small group discussions but it is. The unpredictability of new groups, the new interactions allow for networking, ideas do not get stale. It's fun for the whole group, and can be sustained for some time.
In april, I was able to experience a World Cafe event at the Organizational Development Network. It was a really interesting experience, because when your in it, you realize how each group has it's own short development, and how the ideas processed in that individual group might be different then the group only 5 feet away.
Hopefully more training and development experiences optimize their experience in a WorldCafe, that allows for some facilitation and a lot of peer to peer learning
It's not that uncommon and it can feel like the bigger the group, the more order is needed for it. Let's face it, there are some things you can get from a small group - consensus, engagement, and order, whereas much larger groups can breed chaos. Much worse, even if you have a large group that is working togther, the level of discussion may be shallow. Some people hold back their thoughts, ofters monopolize the conversation.
Enter: The World Cafe
The World Cafe is a new technique used to create engaging big group discussions. This method was created by Juanita Brown and Davis Isaccs in their book "The World Cafe: Shaping Our Futures Through Conversations that Matter" (2005). Peter Block goes to discuss the method extensively in his new book "Community" (2010).
A World Cafe is a method in which the large group can optimize with everyone and share thoughts.
It looks a little like this
1. Facilitator puts a large sheet of paper in front of a class with questions. In this example there are 5 questions.
2. The big group lets say, 40 people, distributes into smaller groups in individual areas (let's say 4-5 people in a small group).
3. Each small group will explore and discuss question 1. It's a small group so the level of engagement and discussion will be. high
4. Facilitator asks each group to go around and discuss 1 or 2 thoughts.
5. Each small group disperses, and 10 completely new groups are formed for Question 2.
6. The new group starts by looking at the work that the last small group did, discusses that briefly, and then starts again with their new insights for questions 2.
It may not look that different from small group discussions but it is. The unpredictability of new groups, the new interactions allow for networking, ideas do not get stale. It's fun for the whole group, and can be sustained for some time.
In april, I was able to experience a World Cafe event at the Organizational Development Network. It was a really interesting experience, because when your in it, you realize how each group has it's own short development, and how the ideas processed in that individual group might be different then the group only 5 feet away.
Hopefully more training and development experiences optimize their experience in a WorldCafe, that allows for some facilitation and a lot of peer to peer learning
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Toastmasters - Speak Your Mind
I highly encourage young people to get involved in public speaking.
I've been an active member of my Toastmasters organization - Toastmasters Plus! for almost 2 years. There is no skill more valuable then having impeccable communication skills.
Most of us dislike public speaking. Many of us fear it. It's not unreasonable really for a number of reasons. But consider how valuable the skills to speak in front of others truly is. There are times in your life you will be called on to speak. Maybe at a wedding, maybe at a board meeting, maybe at your son's little league championship. Are you going to have the confidence in yourself to speak up?
I joined Toastmasters and continue to go to improve my skills. I've worked on a number of different types of speeches: persuasive, humorous, impromptu, storytelling and technical. I can tell you, every experience is unique. I always learn more about myself. I always feel like I can communicate with others a little easier.
Even if Toastmasters is not the right option for you, right now. Consider the idea that speaking is a skill. Some are born with the encouragement to speak their mind, and receive the positive reinforcement to excel. Others need to challenge themselves, and develop this skill.
The important thing is to always improve and develop ourselves.
Speak up, speak well, speak often,
Greg
I've been an active member of my Toastmasters organization - Toastmasters Plus! for almost 2 years. There is no skill more valuable then having impeccable communication skills.
Most of us dislike public speaking. Many of us fear it. It's not unreasonable really for a number of reasons. But consider how valuable the skills to speak in front of others truly is. There are times in your life you will be called on to speak. Maybe at a wedding, maybe at a board meeting, maybe at your son's little league championship. Are you going to have the confidence in yourself to speak up?
I joined Toastmasters and continue to go to improve my skills. I've worked on a number of different types of speeches: persuasive, humorous, impromptu, storytelling and technical. I can tell you, every experience is unique. I always learn more about myself. I always feel like I can communicate with others a little easier.
Even if Toastmasters is not the right option for you, right now. Consider the idea that speaking is a skill. Some are born with the encouragement to speak their mind, and receive the positive reinforcement to excel. Others need to challenge themselves, and develop this skill.
The important thing is to always improve and develop ourselves.
Speak up, speak well, speak often,
Greg
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Lincoln Electric Story - Are Layoffs Necessary?
Here are some of the destructive consequences of mass layoffs, from the point of the view of the book we've been looking at "Spark" (Koller, 2010).
Laid off workers make less money at their next position, often never climbing back to their original payscale level.
Laid off workers have been casually shown to have shorter life spans. This stems from the lower-class (SES) difficulties of health care problems, mental health problems and general stress
Organizations suffer the ironic fate of being underemployed and having to rehire to be adequately staffed.
Short-term economic gains for the organization may not create long term gains. Further organizations may suffer from retraining costs, and the lost of talent from employees who want to quit before getting the laid off ax.
Layoffs are almost completely acceptable now. We hardly flinch when we hear about mass layoffs in the news. Starting as a phenomenon in the 1970s, it has quickly become a reality. It could be because it is so commonplace, that organizations accept it as the norm. What is deemed a good idea comes across as so short-sighted.
The last half of the book "Spark: How Old-Fashioned Values Drive a 21st Century Corporation" shows a huge disparity between the way American businesses are running, and how their competing global adversaries are taking the market by actually focusing on the employee. In India and Japan, the rise of solid and reputable companies has been possible because of process improvement and an investment in employees.
Koller writes toward the end of his book about the exceptional employee centered company Lincoln Electric:
"The business model that Lincoln Electric has built over the past 114 years have proven phenomenally successfully by any measure used to gauge success in the American economy"(208).
Current CEO John Stopki is quoted (p.210).
"We believe that guaranteed employment is a good for all of our stakeholders - shareholders, customers, and employees. I think that is very important in understanding why we work so hard in trying to do the things we do. There are a lot of policies which you could implement, such as layoffs, terminations, all the things you hear about, which are good for one or another of those constituencies, but generally not good for all three at the same time.
If we are proven to be right and can go through these very troubling times while keeping our core people energized and committed to the company, as we have done many times before, it is pretty easy to see how our shareholders and customers will benefit from that".
As a young worker, consider the reputation of the organization you want to work for. Are you willing to work for a company 20 years, and then be comfortable with being laid off. This is a reality for millions of Americans, but we know it doesn't have to be this way. I encourage young people to explore new options. Consider that success is more than a short-term profit. Consider that when you start your own company, value what makes your company exceptional.
Laid off workers make less money at their next position, often never climbing back to their original payscale level.
Laid off workers have been casually shown to have shorter life spans. This stems from the lower-class (SES) difficulties of health care problems, mental health problems and general stress
Organizations suffer the ironic fate of being underemployed and having to rehire to be adequately staffed.
Short-term economic gains for the organization may not create long term gains. Further organizations may suffer from retraining costs, and the lost of talent from employees who want to quit before getting the laid off ax.
Layoffs are almost completely acceptable now. We hardly flinch when we hear about mass layoffs in the news. Starting as a phenomenon in the 1970s, it has quickly become a reality. It could be because it is so commonplace, that organizations accept it as the norm. What is deemed a good idea comes across as so short-sighted.
The last half of the book "Spark: How Old-Fashioned Values Drive a 21st Century Corporation" shows a huge disparity between the way American businesses are running, and how their competing global adversaries are taking the market by actually focusing on the employee. In India and Japan, the rise of solid and reputable companies has been possible because of process improvement and an investment in employees.
Koller writes toward the end of his book about the exceptional employee centered company Lincoln Electric:
"The business model that Lincoln Electric has built over the past 114 years have proven phenomenally successfully by any measure used to gauge success in the American economy"(208).
Current CEO John Stopki is quoted (p.210).
"We believe that guaranteed employment is a good for all of our stakeholders - shareholders, customers, and employees. I think that is very important in understanding why we work so hard in trying to do the things we do. There are a lot of policies which you could implement, such as layoffs, terminations, all the things you hear about, which are good for one or another of those constituencies, but generally not good for all three at the same time.
If we are proven to be right and can go through these very troubling times while keeping our core people energized and committed to the company, as we have done many times before, it is pretty easy to see how our shareholders and customers will benefit from that".
As a young worker, consider the reputation of the organization you want to work for. Are you willing to work for a company 20 years, and then be comfortable with being laid off. This is a reality for millions of Americans, but we know it doesn't have to be this way. I encourage young people to explore new options. Consider that success is more than a short-term profit. Consider that when you start your own company, value what makes your company exceptional.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Guaranteed Employment in 2010
The adage today is that people switch careers the way their parents switched jobs.
Are there any young people today interested in working for the same company for life?
Not many I talk to are interested in that...but look at this.
Today employee commitment is dramatically less strong then it was for our grandparents. 1 in 2 full time working adults believe that the management team they work for does not have them at their best interest. Besides a few examples of Japanese companies having workers for a lifetime, not many young people seriously consider working for a company for a lifetime.
There's a real disadvantage to that too. Think about how many young people take jobs that IN NO WAY give them relevant skills for their dream profession. What does 5 years working as a waiter do for you if you want to be an analyst? Why work in retail during college, if your goal is to become a doctor. Of course, people want to make money, and they are in college to find the skills to be relevant to an organization.
Here's the example I want to discuss. A little company called Lincoln Electric showed guaranteed employment is possible, and that it has been possible through several recessions and depressions. Frank Koller in his book "Spark: How Old-Fashioned Values Drive a Twenty-First Century Corporation", writes about how the 3,300 employees at Lincoln Electric survive with this unusual system. Workers here make roughly $55,000 dollars a year, and yearly bonuses are about $30,000. Most of these workers are involved in piecework, laboring in a factory setting to create manufactored parts.
This is frankly unheard of today!
Consider this. Not one employee has ever been laid off (yes, some have been let go for performance reasons), and the company continues to hire great workers even today. In 2010! John Lincoln launched the company in 1895, and early on espoused a philosophy of valuing the worker.
Koller writes "At his core, James Lincoln believed every company had to earn the right to expect hard work from its employees, but at the same time he was absolutely convinced that no employer could expect to motivate his employees to work hard just by paying money. He would argue, passionately, that first and foremost employees wanted to be respected as human beings who were engaged in a process of creating a worthwhile product."
Lincoln Electric continues to maintain it's principles. They did not collapse during the Wall Street chicanery of the late 1990s, 2000s. They did not have to unionize because of distrust between the workers and management. During times of hardship workers would have hours reduced to 32 a week. Consider that the CEO would make only 16x more then their lowest paid worker. That a huge difference from the inequality of pay between most fortune 100 companies whose CEO makes over 300X what the the lowest worker makes.
Is there a lesson to learn from Lincoln Electric today?
Are there any young people today interested in working for the same company for life?
Not many I talk to are interested in that...but look at this.
Today employee commitment is dramatically less strong then it was for our grandparents. 1 in 2 full time working adults believe that the management team they work for does not have them at their best interest. Besides a few examples of Japanese companies having workers for a lifetime, not many young people seriously consider working for a company for a lifetime.
There's a real disadvantage to that too. Think about how many young people take jobs that IN NO WAY give them relevant skills for their dream profession. What does 5 years working as a waiter do for you if you want to be an analyst? Why work in retail during college, if your goal is to become a doctor. Of course, people want to make money, and they are in college to find the skills to be relevant to an organization.
Here's the example I want to discuss. A little company called Lincoln Electric showed guaranteed employment is possible, and that it has been possible through several recessions and depressions. Frank Koller in his book "Spark: How Old-Fashioned Values Drive a Twenty-First Century Corporation", writes about how the 3,300 employees at Lincoln Electric survive with this unusual system. Workers here make roughly $55,000 dollars a year, and yearly bonuses are about $30,000. Most of these workers are involved in piecework, laboring in a factory setting to create manufactored parts.
This is frankly unheard of today!
Consider this. Not one employee has ever been laid off (yes, some have been let go for performance reasons), and the company continues to hire great workers even today. In 2010! John Lincoln launched the company in 1895, and early on espoused a philosophy of valuing the worker.
Koller writes "At his core, James Lincoln believed every company had to earn the right to expect hard work from its employees, but at the same time he was absolutely convinced that no employer could expect to motivate his employees to work hard just by paying money. He would argue, passionately, that first and foremost employees wanted to be respected as human beings who were engaged in a process of creating a worthwhile product."
Lincoln Electric continues to maintain it's principles. They did not collapse during the Wall Street chicanery of the late 1990s, 2000s. They did not have to unionize because of distrust between the workers and management. During times of hardship workers would have hours reduced to 32 a week. Consider that the CEO would make only 16x more then their lowest paid worker. That a huge difference from the inequality of pay between most fortune 100 companies whose CEO makes over 300X what the the lowest worker makes.
Is there a lesson to learn from Lincoln Electric today?
Sunday, May 2, 2010
From Partnerships to Culture
Partnerships can be great, and a great leadership on top, where partnerships are strong, and there is positive energy can lead to a fantastic culture.
Why is it great companies, sometimes fail? Why is it you can hire some of the brighest people, from ivy league schools, and still have companies that flop?
The answer might be culture. From my favorite book of 2009 "Tribal Leadership", here is one of the finest TED Talks available on youtube. When you think about your attitude, and your partnerships, and eventutally your culture. It leads to a whole new understanding about what an organization is capable of.
The video speaks for itself.
Why is it great companies, sometimes fail? Why is it you can hire some of the brighest people, from ivy league schools, and still have companies that flop?
The answer might be culture. From my favorite book of 2009 "Tribal Leadership", here is one of the finest TED Talks available on youtube. When you think about your attitude, and your partnerships, and eventutally your culture. It leads to a whole new understanding about what an organization is capable of.
The video speaks for itself.
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