Career Coach eNewsletter
Issue No. 9 December 2002
Brought to you by Career Design International: "Helping you take your career to the next level – internationally."
Web site: http://www.careersnet.com
Editor: Margaret Stead, margaret@careersnet.com
Subscribers: 1056 copies, worldwide
Welcome to this issue of Career Coach – a free newsletter for those interested in using coaching to improve their career performance. Please share this newsletter with colleagues and contacts who will benefit from reading it.
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CONTENTS
- Editorial: 'Twas The (Politically Correct) Night Before Christmas
- Job Hunting notes: Our 1994 Christmas Newsletter – Special Edition
- Author's Note: Job Hunting Secrets Revealed
- Career Tip: How to Access the 80% of Jobs that are Unadvertised
- Success Story: Dream Job?
- Career Tip: Top Ten Tips for Managing Your Career (Part 2)
- Just for a Laugh!: Santa's Simulator
Editorial: 'Twas The (Politically Correct) Night Before Christmas
'Twas the night before Christmas and Santa's a wreck...
How to live in a world that's politically correct?
His workers no longer would answer to "Elves".
"Vertically Challenged" they were calling themselves.
And as for the gifts, why, he'd ne'er had a notion
That making a choice could cause so much commotion.
Nothing of leather, nothing of fur,
Which meant nothing for him. And nothing for her.
Nothing that might be construed to pollute.
Nothing to aim. Nothing to shoot.
Nothing that clamoured or made lots of noise.
Nothing for just girls. Or just for the boys.
No candy or sweets...they were bad for the tooth.
Nothing that seemed to embellish a truth.
And fairy tales, while not yet forbidden,
Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden.
So Santa just stood there, dishevelled, perplexed;
He just could not figure out what to do next.
He tried to be merry, tried to be gay,
(you've got to be careful with that word today.)
Something special was needed, a gift that he might
Give to all without angering the left or the right.
A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision,
Each group of people, every religion;
Every ethnicity, every hue,
Everyone, everywhere...even you.
So here is that gift, it's price beyond worth...
"May you and your loved ones enjoy peace on earth."
Job Hunting Notes: Our 1994 Christmas Newsletter – Special Edition
In the 1994 Christmas edition of our newsletter we described how a client of ours had gained his 'dream job' after completing a three month Career Development Programme with Margaret Stead at Careers International. We thought we’d reproduce the original article, followed by an update on his career to date!
Guess Who?
Originally a senior name in distribution and logistics, our client had been concerned for some time that global changes in demographics and lifestyles leading to increased customer sophistication would result in a steep decline in demand for his services. Despondent, grey and prematurely ageing our client was feeling very very down. At once we set about analysing his strengths, finding out what he enjoyed doing and what he was good at! Using psychometrics and a series of especially developed exercises it was not long before our client had reviewed his considerable potential.
Nervous
A charismatic leader with the ability to inspire and motivate both workforce and would-be customer, he has worked to tight deadlines and handled complex distribution projects. A multilingual individual, he is practised in relating to and building long term relationships with a wide variety of people of all ages. Values, such as the desire to give something back to the world featured strongly on our client's wish list. Though at first feeling low and unappreciated, it was relatively easy to re-focus and re-enthuse by matching his many talents to the opportunities in the marketplace.
Headache
We felt that the present loss of confidence that ‘nobody believes in me,’ feeling would rapidly disappear once a plan of campaign had been drawn up. Our client has strong people skills which means in practice that he is inclined to be over generous. With an inability to delegate and a tendency to commit to improbable timescales this has meant intolerable personal pressure.
Technophobe
"I'm too old" was an oft-heard refrain. Impulsive, perfectionist, with a touch of megalomania "I always end up doing it all myself! " Our client was facing considerable challenges to his dominance on the world stage. Combined with his reluctance to update and take on board new and computerised distribution systems, the lack of skills in this area was starting to show. To top it all, there was the un-nerving trend of OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) distributing directly to customers rather than through middlemen. This was squeezing markets through the blossoming of networks of independent distributors.
Reindeer
We worked hard on his Curriculum Vitae, creating a portfolio of high impact qualitative and quantitative achievements. Full of "Snap and fire," as Bertie Wooster, would say. Including such gems as:
"Created 'from scratch,' a global distribution/logistics service delivering up to I billion items annually, resulting in 100 per cent repeat business."
"Became 'Household,' name worldwide, implementing closely targeted customer service - second to none."
"Recruited, developed and trained first class production work-force of dimensionally-challenged individuals, working round the clock, 364 days a year."
Challenge
We decided privately, that his ideal role would be 'Chat Show' host on satellite TV. This would capitalise on his rapport-building talent, whilst using his particular skill in getting audiences to suspend disbelief.
Sleigh
Other options included hosting telethons such as 'Children in Need'with Pudsy Bear or 'subbing' for Anneka, (if he could squeeze into the cat-suits. ) Fighting apathy with Esther was another possibility. Networking began by drawing up a target list of big events and the names of the decision makers. "Who do we know… who knows?”
No Lottery
Luckily we knew a clown who knew Noel (the other one) who was overheard complaining loudly about Branson (likewise I'm sure) who knew Adrian C., who knew GTech (US) who knew Nigel Brocklehurst (formerly of ICL) and now Director of HR for Camelot.
Gnome
After a quick trip to Watford for a 'business,' meeting my client got 'the call.' "How would you like the opportunity to host a £5 billion turnover all- singing, all-dancing show complete with silly games, celebrity guests and millions to give away?" "How would you like to do this every week not just once a year?" "No travel- No animals - No children " "When do I start?!"
Santa Claus
If you haven’t guessed whom we were talking about then you are in good company. We found many people in 1994 had not recognised who we were referring to in spite of the paragraph headings, although they did click that it was about the top job at the (then) Lottery. As you probably know, we like to look after our clients long-term and in 1996, due to popular request, we produced the following update:
Santa's Programme
After a thorough career analysis and executive coaching programme, second to none, we networked dear Old Nick into a prime position at Camelot plc and the opportunity to host a £5 billion turnover show giving millions away!
Not a Lotto
After 18 months of enjoying the ‘challenges’ of giving away more millions than he could ‘shake a stick at’ with the help of a frolicsome blonde, St Nick felt it was time to move on.
We retouched his CV and added the achievement – “Managed multi-billion turnover ‘charity’ specialising in robbing the poor to give to the unwary, effectively ‘delighting the customer! Seeking another post where the impossible is made possible every day.”
We congratulate Noel on having successfully using his networking skills to Head-Up the World Wide Web.
Santa Today 2002
Santa recently popped into the office for a cup of coffee and a mince pie. Coincidentally we were just complaining about the Internet ‘Pop Ups’ that were appearing on our screens with annoying regularity. “Its SpyWare” said Old Nick. “It’s your fault for downloading initially-amusing parrots and gorillas to your desktop. You need a little freeware programme called Ad-aware
This is an award-winning, multi-spyware removal utility that scans your memory, registry and hard drives for known spyware components and lets you zap them.”
“You sound a little disillusioned with the World Wide Web?” we offered gently.
“I seem to have lost touch with people.” Old Nick replied, “Nowadays I just sit at a PC creating silly domain name suffixes and it’s getting to me.”
“It can’t be all bad. There’s some great shopping to be had on the Web, if you know where to look.” We added - looking at each other a bit sheepishly in fact, it’s easy to get hooked.”
“You’re right.” said Old Nick, “Shopping addiction is a hangover from the days when women had to put food on the table or their folk starved.” Good food and fuel gathering were essential survival skills, they had to shop or drop!
Perhaps we suggested “What people need is someone to advise them on their shopping, where to shop, how to shop … how to stop?” Maybe we added, “You could use your distribution and logistic skills combined with your WWW skills and love of personal contact with people to offer your services on the Net as a Virtual Retail Therapy Coach?!”
Santa ate another mince pie and pondered, “I could call it ‘Shop Till Ya Drop,’ or ‘Shopping Debts RUs.’ “Did you know?” he added “It was ‘Try Not to Shop Day’ globally on November 30th? A lot of people are anti-consumerism and increasingly environmentally conscious and think there are other ways to celebrate the solstice. One has to go with the flow, you know.”
We could see that he was already thinking about where he had stashed his headphones and formulating plans for an interactive web site giving people the tools to make the ‘right’ retail therapeutic decisions. So we left him the tray of pies and headed out the door to do
How to Access the 80% of Jobs that are Unadvertised
As few as 20% of jobs go to candidates replying to an advertisement. (My mate, Jack Chapman – ‘Negotiating Guru’ – would say only 10%!) So if you are looking for a new career or taking your first steps, finding a job in keeping with your qualifications and ambitions can be a considerable challenge.
Especially when you realise 3 out of every 4 appointments and many posts at other levels may never be formally advertised. Leading recruitment and career-change consultants estimate that, of those positions that are publicised only 1 in 5 is filled by a candidate who actually responded to an advertisement!
You need an edge – a way around the possibility of being consigned to the vast stack of applications attracted by advertised vacancies!
This is precisely where Career Design International (a.k.a. Margaret Stead et al/ www.careersnet.com) can help. We not only show you how to network effectively but we introduce you to people from the many thousands of people we have worked with. They can give you ‘insider’ information about a targeted industry or refer you to a decision-maker you can talk to. By networking with like-minded people you can access the unadvertised opportunities and re-create yourself as a ‘short-list of one.’
There are not only the people we know. The key is finding where there is change going on! As you know, where there is change there is opportunity! Now you can have full access in your own home to a unique job seeker’s information tool that identifies organisations in a dynamic or changing business situation – circumstances that increase the possibility of responsiveness to a proactive approach!
The database contains thousands of organisations where the natural process of business operation is creating a stream of vacancies and other opportunities of a part-time, interim and full-time nature. More companies are added on a daily basis as part of a process of continuous corporate research.
Our partnership with Execubank means that you have the chance of getting a foot in the door first and being at or near the head of the candidate list. The database gives you the advantage of being better informed about a target company and where it is going.
This is massively in your favour as you introduce yourself to organisations in letters of application, during the course of exploratory telephone conversations, at networking meetings and of course at interview.
You don’t have to sift through the entire databank. There are 21 different industry sectors and organisations can be selected according to search criteria:
Geographical area
· Industry sector
· Organisational restructuring
· Product and service development
· Financial position and performance
· Acquisitions & fund raising
· Premises & plant developments
You can also arrange to automatically receive, by email, details on newly researched organisations that conform to your selection preferences and also weekly listings of all new records that are added to the databank.
Access to the databank of companies and alert services is password protected. We arrange it for you and provide you with the support and guidance you need to maximise its use.
If you’d like to start the New Year with a New Job then call Kathryn Kelly on 0845 130 4344 (UK Locall) or +44 (0) 1564 779932 or margaret@careersnet.com
for a free introductory coaching session today.
CAREER TIP:
Ask yourself these questions? Do you define yourself by what you do and how you get it done, or simply by your job title?
1. Can you describe three to five roles that you perform in your day to day work?
2. Can you identify three roles that you play that are independent of your particular job that you could transfer to another setting?
E.g. facilitator – implementor – team builder – innovator – trouble shooter – individual contributor – leader – change agent – coach – problem solver – start up – mentor Build Financial Independence?
JUST THIS MINUTE - BREAKING NEWS - FLYING: Congratulations Tomas on becoming Worldwide Marketing Manager at Tektronics, have a good trip to Oregon, see you around Thanksgiving.
HOT NEWS: EQUAL i–work update
In our March 2002 edition of this newsletter we told you about our i-work project under Equal.
Background
In November 2001, an innovative partnership across the Thames Valley had been successful in securing around £1.5 million of European funding under EQUAL to help marginalised groups into employment. (£3 million, including matched funding)
(Led by Reading Borough Council with lead partners: ACTVaR (Association of Councils of the Thames Valley Region), Career Design International, and the EU International Association of Jobrotation.)
i-work has a wider operational partnership drawn from a range of social partners across the Thames Valley, including 3L Innovation – Life Long learning who have the promotion and realisation of life-long learning as a tool to tackle social exclusion and barriers to employment at the core of their agendas in working with these groups.
Recap: Project Partnership Objectives:
- Supporting the reintegration of marginalised groups into sustainable employment
- Raising awareness of social responsibility amongst employers with regard to marginalised groups and the issues of racism and sexism
- Developing of Social Recruitment Companies
- Transnationally developing the concept of organisational social auditing
- Developing new career focusing and learning materials available on-line.
Update: i-work Learning Programme: 3L Innovation – Life Long Learning For an opportunity to preview one of 3L Innovations’s interactive sites(in development)
i-work is undertaking an important challenge in its learning programme, which is focusing on the ‘soft’ skills of self-management and communication. Most of the participants in the programme will have difficulty in absorbing large amounts of text and they may also associate a classroom/training room environment with past failures.
3L Innovation has therefore taken an innovative approach that not only makes extensive use of on-line learning (E Learning) that is also predominantly audiovisual in its communication with the learner. It is an approach that will also be used to complement Career Design International’s own work on career focusing and assessment tools.
The E learning approach will enable us to maintain consistent standards and overcome probable attendance problems for classroom events when the participants are free agents. There are many advantages from the learner being able to revisit material and go through it in a self-directed way. For those with Learning Difficulties repetition is essential, but very demanding as it relies on the endless patience of carers.
Training will also be provided for both facilitators/mentors and learners. Facilitators /mentors need to be able to administer and facilitate learning in a computer-related environment. Learners need to be ‘trained’ to understand how to use the various resources provided for them. Induction software that is both a tutorial and a test will be provided to address this requirement.
The classroom will still be important because there are several pitfalls to E-learning. In part, the disadvantages of using web-based learning have to do with the technical limitations associated with computers and the Internet itself. Over time these are becoming less of a problem and we know how to resolve or workaround most of the concerns. However, there are learning-related problems that will always exist. For example, not every learning event, particularly those in the ‘soft’ skills area, is suitable for web-based delivery alone. We therefore intend to introduce the soft skills programme to learners in classroom mode so that we can facilitate more flexible questioning and interaction in a group situation, but we will also provide electronic material to access as a ‘refresher’. We want the participants to identify with the programme as a whole and to endorse the issues affecting them that we will be addressing in the programme.
We will, in our E-learning material, cater for two or three of the principal employment worlds that are most available to our learners. However, our main focus will be on Issues – simulating real situations and the difficulties that they encounter in life and work. (As an example, for those with learning difficulties, the focus will be on coping with fundamental issues such as travel, time and money.) The subjects chosen and the approach taken will take them through scenarios that our socially excluded groups can identify with. The accessibility of the content in this form will also make it available for any just-in-time revision e.g. just before an interview or a bus journey.
The plan is premised on the need to get as much material as possible produced in robust but prototype form as early in the project as possible. The next 14 months will therefore be a period of focused effort and high productivity. Trials will be starting in the next few weeks using material developed for those with Learning Difficulties that simulates a bus journey. Prototyping, piloting and using the feedback will characterise all of the work on the programme.
3L Innovation’s approach is based on empathy and recognition of how difficult it is to produce excellent product. We emphasise thorough analysis of requirements and systematic design and implementation planning. We will also sustain an approach of prototyping, piloting, and continuous improvement. How receptive are the learners to the E learning programme envisaged and how well have the motivational, learning style and self- application issues been addressed? What are the needs and problems of the specific target group of adult individuals as students? Empathy and a ‘one rule fits all’ approach are contradictory. We seek feedback and we make use of it – empowerment is fundamental to the success of learning programme and strongly linked to motivation. Finally, we will evaluate what is achieved - what benefits were planned for and how does the reality compare?
We would welcome any feedback on your own experiences and interests that may make a useful contribution to our work.
For further details on 3L Innovation’s work contact Richard Bennett Information regarding the i-work EQUAL partnership contact: Robert Morrall International Business Manager, Career Design International on 0845 130 4344/ 01564 779932 Email develop@careersnet.com
CAREER TIP: Negotiating your salary - A million dollar tip
Whenever I am coaching someone in how to get the best salary deal, one of the issues we always come across is how to defer premature fact-finding about your current wage. (i.e. before an offer has been made) Now there are many ways of doing this and I could go on for hours (and often do) about how to do this without irritating the opposition. Some people however still find it very difficult to field a direct question. Pilgrim was one of these people. (actual name)
Pilgrim came to me from another career consultant and as usual we had to start over from scratch. One of the problems he had been experiencing in his job search was that companies would ask him at interview - “What salary are you on?” and Pil would tell them! As his previous role had been more of a gap-filling exercise than a strategic career move, he was presenting himself at the bottom end of the scale for his market. Either prospective recruiters would eliminate him as being outside their brief or interviewers would offer him the new job for only a few grand more.
It became a joke between us. Pil would tell me about the interviews he had been to in detail and at the end of the description I would ask “Did you tell them?” and then we would fall about uncontrollably.
Finally I gave Pil the ‘million-dollar’ tip I had just learnt from my friend Jack Chapman, a US Guru in negotiating techniques.
Pil rang me two weeks later beside himself with glee. “Wot happened?” I asked.
Apparently Pil had been for this interview with a pharmaceutical company and the Chairman had invited him to look around the factory. It was all very interesting and Pil and the Chairman were engrossed in operational issues when all of a sudden the Chairman said, “Will 32 be OK?” Bearing in mind that Pil’s previous salary had been £18k, including peripherals, you can imagine his shock and amazement. Pil said “I couldn’t speak, only whisper 32?” and look at the ground. There was silence for a long moment and the Chairman finally said “OK, I’ll make it 37.”
Now the beauty of this story is that Pil was happier about the fact that he had managed to avoid revealing his existing salary than he was about the huge hike. Go figure, Jack.
RECRUITMENT: More Job Advertisements from Clive! This company’s growth rate is impressive. Without a doubt due in large measure to the cracking teams Clive puts together for them. If you’d like more info please call Clive Wadelin 0845 130 4344 (UK Locall) or email
JUST FOR A LAUGH! Polar Bear Pirates
‘He deserves Paradise who makes his companions laugh.’ Koran
You know when things go wrong, what a marvel it is to meet someone who is prepared to go that extra mile for you. (Memo to self – must write that book on ‘best types’ of people) Well if you are buying or selling (large) any computer hardware, need software at competitive prices or just a bloody good laugh, contact Elliot Read at Excotek on 08707 274201 http://www.excotek.com
Just networking he sent me this fantastic link http://www.polarbearpirates.com/ published by his old Sales Director: Adrian Webster. He says and I quote from his email “I would say he is probably the BEST in his field I've ever come across. Rather than ‘motivating’ as I have previously seen he simply makes people come to the self realisation that things are great - more humour than Lock Stock!”
If you’d like to buy the book or just read more about it – click here.
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If you enjoyed this newsletter, you might also enjoy Corporate Coach for senior executives and teams in organisations interested in using coaching to improve corporate performance.
Be sure to visit the Careersnet web site at http://www.careersnet.com
We hope you enjoyed this issue of Career Coach. If you would like to learn more about how we can work together, then please contact me, Margaret Stead:
Telephone: +44 (0) 845 130 4344
E-mail: margaret@careersnet.com
