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Category Archive: Human Resources

Jan 24

What Can HR Do To Reinvent Itself

I chose to devote my career to Human Resources due to a passion for business and an understanding of the value human capital brings to a company.

Human Resources BlogI fear however, that many professionals choose to pursue a career in HR to utilize their soft skills or the desire for a quick route to a corporate job.

Whenever HR professionals gather  – either in person, or in a thought-based endeavor — there is always a debate about why organizations seem to not value Human Resources enough, and, how to go about fixing that.

How to avoid to HR status quo

Here’s what is wrong with Human Resources today and how I have avoided falling down into the status quo:

  1. I refuse to consider myself an administrative employee. My job is not planning the company picnic, creating wacky “Sweater Wednesday,” or — please don’t make me say it! — completing faxes for anybody other than myself. I understand the importance of special events and perks to keep employees satisfied, however, these tasks can easily be spearheaded by administrative staff members (including receptionists or office managers). HR needs to stay as far away from unnecessary administrative duties as possible.
  2. Keeping a continuous focus on ensuring decisions and actions are strategic and beneficial to the business as a whole. I prefer not to spend my time following specific directions in favor of giving me more highly defined direction, especially as it pertains to human capital. It’s important to prove to your bosses that you need very little guidance and to gain their trust in order to implement new processes and procedures that increase your value as an individual employee — as well as the value of the company. This is done by providing defined metrics on HR issues including, but not limited to, employee retention, turnover, satisfaction, etc.
  3. If there is a payroll issue, direct it to accounting! Accountants are very good with numbers while I am largely more confident in other areas. Make an attempt to direct the majority of compensation related issues to accounting; it will leave your schedule open for other duties. HR’s time is much better spent on bigger picture issues compared to the monotony of processing payroll. (Thank you accounting!)
  4. Align yourself with the right people. When I first started at my current company, I reported to a middle manager and helped with administrative recruiting duties. Today is my one-year anniversary and I now report directly to the CEO. I have consulted with the business owners on numerous strategic decisions — including where and how money is spent, leading the charge for employment decisions, and presenting detailed information to other decision-makers. My advice: make sure that you are aligned with the right people to make the largest impact possible.

Obvious answers – but how many get them wrong?

All of these remedies may seem obvious, perhaps even simple-minded, but take a moment to consider how many HR professionals get these few things wrong.

A number of HR professionals, whether because of company history and expectations or a lack of business knowledge and confidence, have created and fostered the image HR has in the minds of so many today.

Over time, getting these few things wrong has allowed the value of Human Resources to greatly decrease, and, has provided the largely accepted concept of the HR department as being a necessary workplace evil.

It’s time to turn that around.

This blog post is written by Angela Smitha .Angela is a Human Resources professional who is currently working at a Dallas-based IT staffing firm. She leads all HR efforts with a focus on employee relations, retention, and development as well as joint-employment issues. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management from the University of Oklahoma. Contact her at[email protected].

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Oct 26

Time To Have “Human” Back in Human Resources

“Human Resources.” When it comes to your career, those two words will ultimately influence whether you are hired or fired, have to relocate your family to move up or move out, and whether you receive a holiday bonus or that dreaded membership to the “Jelly of the Month Club” a la Clark Griswold. If there’s one area within a company that should focus solely on the “human” side of human resources, that should be it.

Big data and the perpetual pivot

But somewhere along the line everything started to change. Instead of seeing employees as people, some companies started to think of them purely as resources or commodities.

That might not sound too bad until you start to think about some of the other resources that are out there–coal? wind? water? machinery?

Don’t get me wrong, those are all great. I’m just not sure you’d want to be grouped in with them when the powers that be are making decisions that will directly impact you both professionally and personally.

Putting the “human” back in human resources

Companies have to make tough choices. And some of those will undoubtedly involve their employees. When that happens, it’s critically important for both morale and talent retention to evaluate everyone on your team as individual contributors–not line items on a spreadsheet, percentages, or some predetermined dollar amount.

Instead of focusing solely on “the numbers,” companies must take a more holistic approach to broader staffing issues by looking at 360 feedback, performance reviews, and the impact those changes will have on specific departments and the organization based on each individual.

The ills of human resources and the rise of the free agent workforce

Human resources needs to get back to what it was intended to be–an area dedicated to attracting and retaining the best employees by providing a healthy work environment, opportunities for career and professional growth, and a “human” approach to the way organizations think about staffing. If and when that fails, employee morale usually isn’t too far behind.

We’re all free agents. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. In a corporate environment where employees are seen as resources, you have no choice but to think of yourself that way. If you’re lucky, you’ll avoid getting caught up in all of the layoffs and restructuring. In reality most employees are not much more than one performance review, bad boss, or corporate shakeup away from being shown the door.

Short-term fixes create long-term morale killers

Big data, the speed of information, and a ridiculously competitive global marketplace are forcing companies to pivot at the drop of a hat. Each economic downturn and dip in quarterly earnings has the potential to trigger a shockwave of headcount reductions and corporate restructuring that send hundreds if not thousands of employees into a tailspin. Some of those who are let go are poor performers. I get that. But a lot of others aren’t.

Balancing “human” capital and long-term outcomes

Appeasing anxious shareholders, reacting to unexpected dips in the economy, and managing the day-to-day personnel issues that arise at large companies can be taxing on even the best of human resource areas.

Organizations that “get it”–those that are able to focus on the “human” elements of staffing and balance those considerations with the short- and long-term goals of the business–are the ones who are doing what human resources was intended to do.

This article is written by Shawn Graham and appears on fastcompany.com .Shawn is a marketing and brand strategist for startups and small businesses. 

Thanks

Jappreet Sethi

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Oct 19

What are the Career Options in HR

HR is not just about liking people. HR isn’t the job for you if you’re not a ‘people person’, but liking people won’t be enough on its own. More precisely, you have to be interested in
getting the absolute best out of people.

It’s not just the softer ‘people skills’ that are important. You’ll have a strong interest in business and the strategy that underpins its success. You’ll need a good level of numeracy and analytical skills. Being able to work closely with your colleagues and earn their trust and respect is another critical factor

Each organisation is unique and the scope of the HR function adapts accordingly. HR departments often embody the values of their organisations. You should look first for organisations whose values you share. Then you can choose between generalist HR positions and a wide variety of specialist roles.

What does a HR generalist do?

When you’re an HR Generalist, variety is the order of the day and you’ll get involved in a wide range of specialist areas. One day, you could be working with management to decide on the people you need to deliver your business strategy. The next, you could be running an employee focus group, getting to grips with the issues that motivate teams. You could even develop a new benefits package or make sure a new HR information system delivers streamlined processes and support.

As an HR Generalist, you may often find yourself supporting – and even challenging – managers as they lead their teams. Your insight into building lasting performance will be a vital tool of your trade.

What does a Recruitment /resourcing / talent planning person do?

If you’re working in a recruitment, resourcing and talent-planning role, you’ll need to manage resources (people in the organisation) to meet the changing needs of the business and in particular to fulfil the short and long-term requirements of the organisation’s strategy. To do this, you need to plan around changing demographics, supply and demand, staff turnover and scarce skills.

You’ll also be responsible for identifying and attracting key people who can create a competitive advantage for the organisation. In times of economic uncertainty where recruitment is frozen or limited, this might include keeping talent engaged and interested for when roles arise and developing effective networks of talented individuals that you can tap into cost-effectively.

Additionally, you’ll have an important role in developing processes to identify talent across the organisation and integrating them with succession planning and other HR activities such as performance management.

What does a Learning and Talent Development person do?

Getting the best out of people and linking their skills and capabilities drives performance. It can also help people find their strengths and potential. That’s where learning and talent development (L&TD) comes in. L&TD specialists manage learning and potential. In this role, you may deliver activities as diverse as firearms training for police officers and mentoring programmes for fund managers. Or you could be involved in supporting managers in your business to act as a ‘coaches’ to their team.. L&TD specialists But it won’t just be about the delivery of these learning and talent development events. Having the analytical skills to evaluate the benefits to the business will be vital.

Learning and talent development professionals are involved in supporting, developing and accelerating learning in order to build agile and responsive organisations with the capability they need to execute their chosen strategy.

What does an Organisation Development Expert do?

Organisations are constantly reinventing themselves. ‘Change-ready’ and agile businesses are best-placed to cope with the challenges of a fast-changing external environment. If you’re involved in organisation development (OD), you’ll have a crucial part to play in change management. You’ll also be maintaining the health of the organisation in the long term.

The change activities you lead or deliver could be about developing the organisation’s culture or the capability of its people. Or they may involve re-organisations and creating more effective and customer-focused processes. You’ll also require a focus on how you communicate with employees. Additionally, you need to paint a picture, not just of what successful change will look like, but the risks and challenges that lie ahead.

Organisation development practitioners work in a planned and systematic way – diagnosing issues using relevant data. They consider the whole organisation and look to achieve sustained business performance by involving its people.

What is the role of Employee Relations professionals in HR?

Employee relations (ER) professionals have a wide-ranging brief to maintain and develop effective working relationships across the organisation. You’ll be looking to create a trust-based culture that drives long-term performance. To do this, you need a good understanding of what drives your organisation’s strategy, goals and performance. You’ll also need to speak the ‘language of the business’ and understand how people management drives organisation performance.

In practice, the job involves supporting line managers in motivating and engaging the workforce, treating people as individuals and ensuring fair access to opportunities. You may be involved in managing the organisation’s relationship with its trade unions and managing workplace conflict. A commitment to diversity and ensuring fairness in the workplace is an important part of employee relations. Another key aspect is supporting effective internal communications inside the organisation. Employees will perform best where they have a good understanding of the goals and purpose of the organisation. They’ll also be more motivated to deliver when they have the opportunity to feed their views upwards to senior management.

What is the role of Employee Engagement Resources in HR?

Employee engagement can sit alongside responsibilities for areas such as the employer ‘brand’ and internal communication. It also forms an important part of today’s employee relations roles. It’s about understanding what really makes your employees get out of bed in the morning – and what motivates them to go the extra mile when they get to work.

An ability to use quantitative and qualitative information is important. You’ll need to help develop and analyse surveys to measure the attitudes of the workforce and, for example, gauge their understanding of company values or the trust they have in senior management. You’ll also need to sense the ‘mood’ of the business. You might do this through informal and formal means, such as focus groups and workshops, to make connections and share insights with your management colleagues.

Building a successful business depends on making sure people understand and want to deliver the organisation’s objectives. Your analysis and advice will be vital here.

What is the role of Performance and Reward Expert in HR?

Performance and reward is about ensuring people’s skills, behaviours, values, attitudes and contribution to the success of their organisations are rewarded and recognised in a fair, market-based and cost-effective way.
You’ll be involved in a wide range of reward activities such as establishing salary levels and allowances and managing pay relativities. You may create incentive and recognition schemes, establish the case for employee benefits, and manage the benefit package and evaluate its effectiveness. This is all part of the organisation’s aim to create and sustain a high-performance culture.

As well as being numerate and aware of legal and regulatory requirements, performance and reward specialists need to be able to communicate and educate employees and line managers about the reward strategy; work with colleagues in other departments to create a ‘joined-up ‘total reward’ approach and support people related programmes initiatives such as talent and diversity. You will need to identify and manage the risks around pay and benefits. You’ll be able to get involved in government consultations relating to reward. As well as taking part in public policy discussion and consultations on the subject, with issues on your agenda as important as pensions and bonuses, you will also be involved in facilitating senior management discussion around the role of reward.

The beauty of a career in HR is that you get such great insights into all aspects of business.

 
The original article appears on the website of The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) ,the world’s largest Chartered HR and development professional body.

Thanks

Jappreet Sethi

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Sep 08

HR as a Career: How did I end up in a job in HR ? -Tom Haak

How did I end up in a job in HR? Did you ever meet people who told you that already at age ten they wanted to become an HR manager?

I was trained to be an experimental psychologist (at Groningen University in The Netherlands). My specialism was in Traffic Psychology, and my final paper was on the  influence of Diazepam on driving behavior (see “Diazepam Impairs Lateral Position Control in Highway Driving“, Science 2 July 1982). After my studies the plan was to work at a research institute for applied psychology.

I could work there for 18 months, instead of military service (still mandatory in those years). The only military training you had to do was six weeks light training somewhere in the north of The Netherlands, and then it was 18 months doing research. In November 1981, when I had nearly finished my studies, I phoned the institute and asked when I could start. My name was unknown, and I was not on any list. It took me a couple of telephone calls and then the reason became clear.

The only condition for participating in this scheme, especially developed for men with a university degree, was that you had to pass the military officer test. I had done that test years earlier, in 1977 or so, and I had never heard back. It turned out I had not passed the test. Weeks later I was able to have an appointment at the test center, where they had dug up my file. The file showed good results on all tests (intelligence, personality), and also the assault course I had finished within the required time.

My interview with the military psychologist had not been good. They showed me his short report, and the final sentence read “Maverick, unsuitable for officer positions”. I had vague recollections of this conversation.

He had asked me about my view of the NATO (“No problem, we need to defend democracy”) and then he had asked about my hobbies. Why had I not filled in any hobbies in the questionnaire I had completed at the beginning of the test day? I was a young psychologist in training with principles. My question to the test officer was: what conclusions can you draw when you know my hobbies? Is reading a good hobby? Is a team sport better than running? If I answer “playing war games”, is that a red flag or a positive sign? And what about my large Barbie collection? And so on and so on…. The psychologist just took notes. And I probably thought: he will appreciate a man with solid principles, that is what you need as an officer. No way. He wrote down ‘maverick’ and my file was transferred to the section Infantry. Unfortunately I only learned this four years later.

The next stop (again: weeks later) after the explanation at the test center was the Military Hospital in Utrecht. With my serious hay fever and lung problems I should be unfit as foot soldier I had reasoned. It took the assistant who conducted the test just one of my blows through the lung capacity measurement machine to draw his conclusion. “Simulator” he wrote clearly visible for me of the graphical paper where my test results were recorded. And I could go.

In the end I found another way to avoid the military service (all legal). Philips Electronics was the only company that had been willing to write a letter that could help me to get exemption from the military service (“Mr. Haak can be part of a unique training program, if he turns down this opportunity there will be no other chance…”), and to show my gratitude I turned to Philips after my pre-military adventures. This is the background about my start in HR .

Would I recommend anybody to start in HR today? Sure. Working in HR can be very rewarding. The HR profession is changing though.

The HR profession is slowly divided in two clearly distinct groups.A group of HR specialists in various disciplines (recruitment & selection, training, assessment, talent development, coaching, compensation & benefits, HR administration) and a very small group of high level HR generalists. The middle group is disappearing. HR generalists who do not have a solid specialism, and who do not have the potential to grow to a senior HR leadership/ advisory positions will be out of a job.

So: think twice before you start in HR, and if you choose this profession, developing a real specialism has the best perspective in my view.

HR as a CareerThis article is contributed by Tom Haak. He is the Corporate Director- HR for ARCADIS. Tom has over 30 years of experience in Human Resources.

 

 

Tom Haak publishes a weekly blog on http://tomhaakhr.wordpress.com.

Thanks

Jappreet Sethi

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Aug 29

My 30 years in HR: 10 lessons learned

On July 1, 2012, I worked 30 years in HR. What did I learn?

 

  1. Most people have no clue what  people in HR actually doHR , Career, What to do In HR
    The photo by the side of this blog is made by Natascha Libbert, a Dutch photographer. This photo hangs on the wall in our kitchen at home. When my son brings friends to our house, they often ask: “Is that your father?”. And they wonder why my wife allows me to show this photo. It is not me, and the stewardesses are not real stewardesses. It is at an air-show, where the guests can be photographed. This is the picture my children have of my job. That I am traveling around the world, hiring and firing people, like George Clooney in “Up in the Air”. I leave it at that, I think it is a nice image.
  2. My engagement is mainly determined by the people I work closely with
    Of course there are many drivers of my engagement. The company I work for.The challenges.The opportunity to make a difference.The international aspect of the job. But most important are the people I work closely with. My boss, the other people in the teams I am part of, and, most important,  the core team I lead. Fortunately I have always been able to build my own team. What works best for me: a small team with ambitious professionals with whom it is fun to work. This is probably the same for most people, but I sometimes wonder why people accept mediocre teams around them. It is very difficult to build great things with a mediocre  team.
  3. Do not quit your job to quick,but also, do not stay too long
    The shortest period I have worked somewhere was four years (at KPMG). The longest eight years, at Aon. At Philip I worked in total 12 years, but in two big chunks of six years. In my experience my jobs have become richer after a couple of years. The challenge is to keep renewing yourself. If  you can do this successfully, the reward is big. What helped me in times I was more negative about my job was to say to myself: ” I do not      have to work here…”.
  4. Human Resources as a profession is developing slowly
    Last week I was talking to a friend who is also approaching 30 years in the Human Resources arena. The question on the table was: what are the “Human Resources laws/practices” of  which we think that every organization should implement these, as the evidence is clear that they contribute to the success of companies?Unfortunately our list was not very long. On top of our list: “Real attention to the people”. This is of course very obvious. Do you need HR for this? Probably not. But why is it that in many organizations this basic HR/ leadership law is not practiced to the fullest extent? Talk with people, listen to people, challenge people, have constructive fights with people, and you will be more successful. Some Human Resource Professionals (performance management) try to facilitate constructive conversations between people. Often the process becomes the goal, and the effectiveness can be disputed. Ask around you: how many people are really looking forward to their annual performance review (if they have one)? Selection is another good example.There is ample proof that interviews are a very poor selection instrument. Still, in most organizations, most selection processes use interviews as the main instrument.
  5. HR should be tougher
    I am convinced that HR can contribute a lot to a high performance culture. But Human Resources Professionals should be willing to be tough and persistent. In most organizations I have worked in, performance issues were not dealt with in an appropriate way. Of course, when the performance is really poor and obvious, there is no problem. It is mediocre performance that is the issue. We blame the market. We hope next year will be better. We hope a new financial director in the team will make the difference. We do not want to be ruthless and give another chance. Often the signals of mediocre performance have been there for years. Employees see it, and wonder why management is not taking action. The main lesson for me, which I try to practice: HR step up to the plate, and take your leadership role seriously. If you only consider yourself as just an advisor, you cannot be effective.
  6. Big companies can learn from small companies
    Often smaller companies look at the Human Resource practices of big multinationals as Shell, GE and Philips as the holy Grail .But often these big companies are struggling.They have become so big that it is difficult to find the right human scale.They implement global systems and procedures. They publish guidelines and committees to check if the guidelines are followed. They put people goals in the balanced scorecards of their leaders. They design rigid career tracks that should be followed if you want to be successful. Many good things, but the question is if all of this leads to the desired result:engaged people, from diverse backgrounds,who feel connected to their organization, who feel attached to the vision and who are willing to give their best to the company. A father I meet regularly at the soccer field,  when our sons are playing . He has his own company with more than 200 people. Hiring new people is important for him, and he is constantly busy making his company more attractive for new people and for the people who already work for him. Every Monday town hall meeting to inform everybody about plans and results. Every month something fun/ nice (a small party, a treasure hunt on Saturday). He does not have the Human Resources  department, but the way he takes ownership and deals with Human Resource issues can be an example for many leaders in big companies.
  7. Change is difficult, and will remain difficult.
    The ability of people to change, is continuously over-estimated.  Human Resource Professionals often fuels these expectations. How can we transform poor people managers into empathic coaches? (Preferably in one week). How can we transform obedient employees into entrepreneurs? (Preferably obedient entrepreneurs). How can we transform high-level technical experts into global account managers? (Take your time, the results are only expected next year). Human Resource Professionals should temper high expectations. Old habits are very difficult to change, even when there is a burning platform (e.g. all the fruitless efforts to tackle obesity).
  8. HR to change from followers to leaders.
    The times are ideal for Human Resource Professionals to have a big impact on the organization. But Human Resource Professionals should step up to the plate.Organizations are struggling to create the conditions where people can flourish and give their best to create an exciting future. Organizations are struggling to accelerate from hierarchy to network. HR, with their knowledge on people, organizations and change management, is ideally positioned to take the lead in realizing the necessary changes.
  9. The social media revolution has just started.
    In 1994, 18 years ago, I had my first experience with internet, and in 1995 I got my first mobile phone. In the last years the use of social media has accelerated. Organizations are wondering how to use this development for their benefit. Tackling the challenge with traditional approaches (“We need a Social Media policy”, “We should ask Communications to develop a plan”) is a dead-end street. Again, big chance for Human Resource Professionals, as recruitment and marketing are areas at the front of social media usage.
  10. Let’s finally get rid of “One size fits all”.
    “One size fits all” or the socialistic approach to Human Resource are difficult to get rid of. HR often has its roots in “Rules & Regulations”, and with these roots it is difficult to promote diversity and segmentation. HR can learn here from other disciplines (as marketing and advertising). Modern advertising agencies develop several versions of their marketing material and test on-line what works for what group. The yellow version might work for women over 50, the red version for men who own a Harley Davidson etc. Then they use the different versions to approach the different target groups. How can Human Resource Professionals transfer these lessons, e.g. to learning and development, or career management?

This article is contributed by Tom Haak. He is the Corporate Director- HR for ARCADIS. Tom has over 30 years of experience in Human Resources.

Tom Haak publishes a weekly blog on http://tomhaakhr.wordpress.com.

Thanks

Jappreet Sethi

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Aug 25

Ten Things Your HR Head Should Be Doing Now

If you ask a CEO “What does your HR leader do?” he or she is likely to say: “You got me. I just know I need to have one.” We expTen Things Your HR Head Should Be Doing Nowect our HR execs to look after employee records, hire and train people, administer performance reviews, and see that comp and benefits practices chug along. Beyond that, the mission can get fuzzy, fast. Most CEOs I know don’t have a ready answer to the question “How does your HR leader help your organization compete?” nor do they have a handy list of must-do activities for an HR exec charged with boosting the organization’s competitive mojo.

It’s every HR chief’s highest calling to make sure his or her employer has the most excited, switched-on, and capable people on the market. Here’s a list of the things your HR head should be doing right now:

  1. Collaborating with you and other leaders to design and communicate a vision for the company, using every communication vehicle you have.
  2. Selling your company to the “talent population,” in person, online, and via print and broadcast media. An HR leader should articulate the organization’s culture and story, not only for recruiting purposes but to fuel all of your activities with clients, vendors, media, and the business community.
  3. Teaching all employees to tell the truth at work, especially when sticky interpersonal or political wrangles crop up. (Note to CEO: This includes telling you when you sound like a crazy person.)
  4. Reinforcing a culture that emphasizes ingenuity over irrelevant, one-size-fits-all metrics.
  5. Building a pipeline of qualified, energized people to fuel the company’s growth—scrapping the requisition-by-requisition, transactional recruitment model.
  6. Shifting the HR function away from a break/fix model (“Benefits question? Second door on the left.”) to an embedded function in your business units.
  7. Installing just enough HR process to meet your company’s regulatory compliance needs but not so much that people are stymied or treated like children.
  8. Building a culture of collaboration that fuels every important program at your company. If your HR chief isn’t the advocate for people and evangelist for your culture, that’s a bad sign.
  9. Asking your team members every day for their input on your business, their own careers, and life in general—not via a sterile, once-a-year “employee engagement survey.”
  10. Replacing fear with trust at every opportunity, in policies, training sessions, management practices, and via every conversation in the place.

It’s a new day in HR. Is your company on the cutting edge, or bringing up the rear?

This article appears on the management blog of businessweek.com and is written by Liz Ryan, who is an expert on the new-millennium workplace and a former Fortune 500 HR executive.

Thanks

Japreet Sethi

The author uses real life stories to demystify the day to day Human Resources Challenges we face at work. His HR Blog – Human Resources Blog endeavours to simplify the HR jargon.

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Jul 28

How Becoming a Leader Can Help You Get a Promotion

Many companies today are looking for leaders, not just managers, to take on greater roles within the organization. As a result, competition for higher-level positions can be fierce. Leaders have the ability to inspire others and foster teamwork, which leads to achieving results. No matter what your current position is, becoming a leader can help you stand out and increase your chances of securing a promotion.

Qualities of Workplace Leadership

A leader is someone who motivates, unites and guides others towards a common goal. Leaders are usually highly effective communicators who are competent, trustworthy and organized. They are also often charismatic and inspirational. In order to be recognized as a leader in your workplace, you should seek to exhibit the following:

  • Honesty – this builds trust with your co-workers and superiors
  • Passion – enthusiasm and excitement are positive and contagious, which draws others to you
  • Commitment – a strong work ethic and discipline make you highly productive and can create a favorable impression of you in others
  • Goals – by setting and working toward goals you show others that you are able to strategize and execute work to accomplish something meaningful
  • Humility – giving credit where it’s due and emphasizing the team’s efforts instead of just your own makes people more inclined to work with you and go the extra mile

In addition to the traits listed above, leaders are also adept at planning, strategizing, managing change, solving problems and creatively addressing opportunities and difficulties.

How to Show Your Leadership Skills

Most jobs offer opportunities to exhibit leadership qualities, no matter what the level or job title is. Below are a few key opportunities that you can use to demonstrate leadership skills and set yourself on the path to promotion:

Day-to-Day Work: By developing and maintaining a high standard of quality and productivity in your own work, you show that you’re ready to take on more responsibility. The absence of a good job performance will likely mean that you will be passed over for other opportunities to develop and display true leadership qualities.

Take on a Project: Projects can be one of the best ways to show leadership skills. You can volunteer to participate on projects or create your own opportunities by looking for steps you can take to improve a process or output. No matter what your role is on the project team, you should seek to exceed expectations. Meet or beat deadlines, show yourself to be a team player by giving credit to others when appropriate and offering a helping hand when needed, and produce work or results with excellence.

Assume a Formal or Informal Leadership Role:

If you’re in a supervisory capacity, your leadership quality may be judged mostly on your team’s productivity and quality. By helping your team set and achieve goals, prioritize work and maintain or improve quality, you can show that you’re ready for higher levels of responsibility. Even if your current position isn’t supervisory, you can still exhibit leadership qualities, which can positively influence co-workers and position you as a role model.

By implementing these suggestions, you can develop and demonstrate the leadership qualities that will help set you apart from other employees and can get you noticed when an opportunity for career advancement arises.

This guest post was provided by Jessica Edmondson who discusses online education in the business leadership and management industry.  

Thanks

Jappreet Sethi

 

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Jul 03

20 Ways to Kill Your Job Application!

We spend a great deal of time talking to recruiters, employers and human resource staff every week. I recently sent an email asking some of them what they would list as their top 3 peeves when it came to receiving resumes and short-listing candidates. You should have seen my inbox fill up with responses! Many were repeated, so I thought I would share a list of the top 20.

Straight from the mouths of the people reading your resumes:

  1. Rambling! I wish people would get to the point. I haven’t got time to read a novel.
  2. Resumes that are a straight list of duties. Tell us what you did differently, what you did well.
  3. I want people to tell me how they meet my need. If not, I move on to the next resume. Simple.
  4. People who don’t meet the criteria for the role. If you don’t have the essential skills required, then don’t apply. Essential and desirable criteria are listed for a reason.
  5. Career Objectives. OMG, these are so annoying. I don’t want to know what you want. I want to know what you can do for me!
  6. Incorrect contact details. If an email bounces or the wrong phone number has been given, I won’t search for them, I’ll just move on to the next application.
  7. Poor grammar and spelling mistakes. It amazes me how many people apply for a role where written business communication is a major component of the role and send me a resume riddled with errors. These people usually claim they pay attention to detail as well!
  8. An application addressed to someone else. Its obvious they use the same application for every job and haven’t changed the salutation. These usually hit the shredder.
  9. Clutter. Personally, I can’t stand looking at resumes that are jammed so tight and written using the smallest font to get as much information on the page as possible. They are too hard to read and very unappealing.
  10. A cover letter that repeats, verbatim, what is in the resume. Why bother? You’ve wasted my time and yours.
  11. Long resumes. Resumes longer than 3 pages lose me.
  12. When you call a candidate about a job application and they say something along the lines of “Sorry, what job is this about again?” Keep track of your applications.
  13. Resumes without dates for each position. My first thought is “What are you trying to hide?”
  14. I’m sick of reading that everyone is a team player, has attention to detail and can see the big picture. Really? Prove it.
  15. When I ask about salary expectations and get the “What is this role offering?” question in return. You should have an expectation and be prepared to discuss it.
  16. Candidates who can’t make the time for an interview. I spent close to 20mins on the phone the other day with a woman who couldn’t seem to lock in a time to meet. It interfered with soccer practice, music practice, a monthly ‘girls’ movie night, and of course, her current role. If you’re serious about job hunting – make the time to be available for the interview.
  17. Template driven resumes. One day recently I saw 4 resumes, the exact same format, and in some sections, the exact same wording! Write it yourself or get a reputable writer to do it for you.
  18. Resumes that are not in chronological order. It is too hard to follow resumes that jump all over the place.
  19. Trying to figure out locations of positions. People who have worked internationally or nationally need to include this information – I am not an atlas!
  20. Gaps in employment that haven’t been explained. I know you will have a reason for it, but try telling me, I’m not a psychic.

So there you have it …. 20 ways in which to kill your application and lose an opportunity. I hope by sharing these, you will be able to avoid some of these pitfalls in your job search.

This article is contributed by Michelle Lopez of One2One Resumes.

E: [email protected]

W: www.one2oneresumes.com.au

© Michelle Lopez, Owner/Career Consultant

Thanks

Jappreet Sethi

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Dec 30

Redefine Your Limits – Live to your Full Potential

We are limited by the beliefs we set in our mind, history shows that successful people are able to break these shackles and unleash their potential. The difference is the “ T ” between Can Do and Can’t Do. The “ T ” is your Thought.

Achieving your Potential 

Steve Jobs was one of the best examples of breaking free of boundaries set by human mind; he questioned the traditional thoughts and his failure and unleashed his potential to create history.

Steve Jobs said in his autobiography:

I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life. [...] Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did .We limit our growth by putting limitations and glass ceiling on them and tell ourselves that I cannot go any further.

Where do these Self Limiting Beliefs come from?

These beliefs may have a represented a valid limit in the past, like your inability to write a speech when you were a toddler. As you grow you learn / unlearn skills and progress in life, it would have been logical to move beyond the original limitations set by you. Incidentally for some of us, this does not happen and we continue to hold on to them.

Failures are building blocks of success and not meant to be chains of trauma which will never let you live that way you wanted to live. Life will throw brickbats at you and it may be a different one each time, don’t accumulate all of them in note book, some of them may not repeat. Like Steve Jobs you can make your greatest failure into your greatest success.

Thoughts which ground you to do the same things day in day out and blame destiny for it will never allow you to live fullest to your potential.

The Flea Experiment

Put Fleas in an open transparent jar ,they can jump extremely high and are fully capable of jumping right out of the jar. Then if you put a clear lid on the jar, the fleas jump and bump their heads on the lid feeling the pain. The fleas eventually realize that they are unable to escape the confinement of the jar . Over the next hour or so the fleas give up  and only jumps to the brim of the jar. Its a very Intelligent way to adapt to situation and avoid pain.

Later on when the lid is removed the fleas will not jump any higher. It continues to believe that it cannot get out of the jar and stops trying. The barrier has vanished physically but mentally it still present and hard coded.

And further more each flea is totally convinced that it is trying to escape just as hard as they can. But they are wrong! There was a barrier, but it’s no longer there!

So what are your Self Limiting Beliefs?

It is difficult to think outside the set beliefs. We use our beliefs to predict the future as connection is old data and experiences. You must look at things differently, Try to identify your self-limiting beliefs and see how you can break free of them.

How long have you been jumping just to the height that keeps everybody happy, without taking the risk of trying that little bit harder? Occasionally it may be worthwhile to bang your head against the limit; you may discover that the barrier is no longer there.

We all have our self-limiting beliefs, look at things you would want to do but have a coding that you cannot do it. Then re-look at the environment and your resources. Maybe you have acquired new abilities that will make you succeed this time. Knock the ” T ” off.

Jappreet Sethi

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Nov 29

How To Switch Jobs In A Market Slowdown

All things considered, this is not the best of times for switching jobs in India. This country has seen a fair bit of negative fallout of the economic problems in Europe and the US, and most MNCs in India are tightening their belts on recruitment. If you are looking to get a senior-level job in one of the bigger corporates, you will need to rethink the traditional job switching strategies.

Move Beyond Job Portals

To begin with, move beyond job portals like Naukri.com and Monster.com. In the current scenario, these platforms may not offer you what you are looking for. While they do serve their purpose at certain job levels, they may not be of great help to those seeking high-level placements. In times when good jobs are hard to come by, all you will find on these portals is the jobs that are not being filled because they are less than lucrative.

Remember that the HR departments of most MNCs have their own trusted recruitment routes and networks, and turning to job portals is usually their last option. Even when the occasional senior management job pops up there, your chances of your application getting short-listed are pretty slim. The queue is simply too long.

How To Get Through To Real Decision Makers

If you are looking for a senior management job today, your only real hope is to get face-time with senior decision makers within such companies. If you attempt to do this via the company’s HR department, the odds are heavily stacked against you. As already mentioned, the HR department of this company would already be in contact with the most suitable candidates in their database. You, as a stranger to this database, are therefore a wild card at best.

How do you manage to meet the senior decision makers and bypass the HR route? Tap into your own industry contacts and start working upwards till you get an email ID, a mobile number or a direct line. Remember not to shoot straight for the top. There is no point in talking to the CEO, since he or she will probably not be aware of the company’s managerial needs. Also, CEOs are unlikely to entertain unsolicited calls or emails, which would usually be fielded by their PAs. What you need is a direct line to the head of the department you are aiming to join.

Upgrade Your Resume to Reflect Your Achievements

Sit down with your existing resume and mercilessly edit out everything that looks like window dressing. Forget about your hobbies and club memberships. Never mind your personal objectives or ‘mission statement’. In a job recession, the only things that matter are your abilities to beef up a company’s bottom line.

Succinctly state how your skills can help make a difference to the department in terms of increased sales and greater visibility. Mention your past successes in some detail. Do not forget to include credible references. If you find yourself stumped, using a good resume writing service may be a good option.

Make A Strong Case In Your Covering Letter

Once your resume has been amended, compose a brief, winning covering email, attach your updated CV and send it to your designated ‘mark.’ If you have a phone number, follow up with a call later in the day. Explain that you are eager for a personal meeting to discuss your potential worth to the company. This direct and forthright approach is very likely to get you noticed. It emphasizes the fact that you have courage and conviction, and that you know what it takes to get something done.

Follow Up Strategically

Sending your resume is the start of the game, not the end – the action starts now. Make sure you follow up periodically. Find out if someone else knows the decision maker and get a reference call to him or her. It is all about making your case stronger than that of other possible applicants. However, temper your follow-ups with prudence – you do not want to seem desperate, either.

Networking In Conferences Works

The other way is to increase networking opportunities so that you can bump into senior executives at conferences, seminars and panel discussions. It would work best if your are actively participating in the event, since you could strike strategic conversations. In the course of such conversations, it becomes easy to infer that you would be interested in working for the organization. Often, companies sponsor executives for such events. However, my advice would be to not shy away from investing in an entry ticket. It pays off in the long run.

Jappreet Sethi

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Nov 26

How To Achieve Career Mastery

You have worked hard at mastering yourself – your habits, your outlook on life, your relationships and your finances. Now is the time to master the course of your career, as well. You achieve career mastery when you can integrate your personal development and growth into your professional growth and development.

There are different elements for career mastery.

  • Becoming Proactive: The most important aspect of career mastery is going after what you want. This means identifying your goal and taking the necessary action towards it. It will not be easy, which is why you have avoided taking these steps in the past. Getting proactive about your career also means that you will regularly have to overcome barriers and limitations. You do not have to overcome everything at once; all that is required it consistent action
  • Networking: Obviously, you will need to interact with other people and build your treasury of valuable contacts. If you have not been very successful at this so far, you may have overlooked one very important aspect of connecting with others. You need to understand that to effectively connect with other people, you need to connect with yourself first. In other words, you have to gain a thorough understanding of who and what you are. Once you have this understanding, networking with the right people becomes effortless.
  • Becoming Informed: Have you put all your time and effort into staying informed about issues related to your current profession – to the exclusion of everything else? This is a mistake, because it closes you off from other career options. Career mastery may involve changing the current story-line altogether. Inform yourself about other professions that may interest you, as well.
  • Knowing Your True Potential:  It is important to know your potential and your strengths and weaknesses. This will allow you to focus on what is feasible and workable in your professional life, and save you the wasted time and effort of Quixotic endeavors.

These principles hold true whether you are working for an organization or self-employed. The idea is to take charge of your career, no matter how and where you are placed right now. Remember that the onus of career mastery is completely on you – the world does not owe you better opportunities. Other people will not promote you in your professional life – only you can do that. Throughout your professional life, you will have to accept total responsibility for right and wrong career decisions.

Here is a fundamental standard to guide you in whatever you do from now on – you will only succeed at something if you love doing it. Successful people do not create and build their careers or businesses for economic reasons alone. They succeed because they love their company, their jobs or their business.

Probably the biggest challenge here lies in knowing what you really love to do. It is difficult to find and attain your true potential when you choose to act solely on the basis of logic and common sense. Peter Senge, the American scientist and director of the Center for Organizational Learning at the MIT Sloan School of Management, has correctly pointed out that adults have little sense of real vision. Most of us have goals and objectives in our lives, but having a vision and following up on that vision is a very different ballgame.

Changing or shifting your career as a professional or an entrepreneur is not easy. You have to master yourself first before you start changing. Career mastery begins with self-mastery. Self-mastery, in turn, begins with uncompromising self-examination, facing up to the immutable truths of one’s abilities and potential, and following through with determined, concerted action.

Jappreet Sethi

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Nov 22

How To Do A Good Performance Review

The ingredients of a bad performance review are haste, lack of focus, a non-empathic attitude and a mechanical approach to the process. A good performance review obviously calls for a diametrically opposite approach. Here are some tips for managers whose duties include conducting performance reviews of their team members.

Be Prepared: The intention behind a performance appraisal is to have a fruitful discussion based on previous findings. Meaningful preparation for a team member’s annual appraisal includes referring to old emails, memos and other communications as well as mental notes pertaining to his or her performance. This is, in fact, a two-way process. The employee should be asked to complete a self-appraisal against the previously set goals, backing this up with all possible documentation. This reduces potential fireworks and enhances the quality of the discussion.

Set A Positive Tone: A manager should keep in mind that most employees tend to be anxious about their annual performance appraisals. After all, a lot of things that affect them directly depend on it. Reaffirm that the purpose of the meeting is to help both the employee and the organization to benefit from his or her work. The last thing that a manager should do is allow the employee to feel trapped or confronted. The best way to begin is by asking the employee to present his or her self-appraisal. During this, the manager should pay careful and courteous attention while the employee relates key achievements during the year.

Identify Performance Gaps: After the self-appraisal, the manager can proceed with his or her own appraisal of the employee‘s performance. This should focus on whether the employee‘s perceived accomplishments are in line with the performance goals set in the previous year. The purpose here is to identify gaps between the actual and expected performance. The employees should be made aware of how a particular performance deficit or achievement/goal imbalance impacts the organization. Employees tend to agree if they see how their work fits into the larger picture. The manager needs to watch out for signs of defensiveness or any kind of negative reaction, keeping in mind that the objective is not to confront but to find solutions.

The manager should:

  • Allow the employee to articulate disagreement
  • Not pass judgments or make depreciating personal comments
  • Stick to areas that matter
  • Use praise as well as criticism

Agree On An Action Plan: The employee should be allowed to suggest an action plan first. There should be no spoon-feeding from the manager at this stage. The manager should, however, ensure that the plan is smart, doable and addresses the established performance deficits.

Summarize And Set New Goals: The performance review discussion should lead to the establishment of new goals, or amendments to the previous goals. Again, this is a two-way process which should take into account the employee‘s skills and capabilities. The manager should explain how these goals relate and lead to organizational success, and how business would suffer if the mutually agreed goals are not achieved.

Set A Follow-Up Plan: Even if the conversation has been tense, the manager should ensure that the final summary includes performance strengths. The final task is to set up monthly meetings for following up on the mutually agreed plan.

Annual performance appraisals have their place as a formal system. They serve as a discussion forum that allows all concerned to examine an employee’s performance over the bygone year. However, this process must always be balanced and complemented with abundant recognition and real-time feedback throughout the year.

 

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Nov 05

How To Manage Stress And Regain Well-being

Without doubt, wellbeing is the ultimate objective of human existence. Paradoxically, we often wind up surrendering well-being in order to earn money, and then spend a major part of the earnings in attempts to regain it. These efforts are invariably fruitless – so why do we do it? More often than not, the only real beneficiary of the eternal rat race is the healthcare industry.

For most of us, work is the central pursuit in life. We strive to move up the career ladder, putting up massive efforts at the expense of other important factors that make life meaningful. We are not unaware of the toll this takes; the effort leads to physical and mental stress, while the subconscious knowledge that we engaged in a fool’s errand leads to psychological and spiritual stress.

Managing stress is essential for maintaining a sense of well-being. Stress occurs when we face situations for which we don’t have ready-made responses. The stress factor remains in check and can even be exhilarating as long as our minds entertain the hope that success is imminent. As soon as a feeling of impending defeat or loss sets in, stress becomes unpleasant, unhealthy and draining. This also leads to loss of motivation and destroys all feelings of well-being.

The Building Blocks Of Stress

Stress is multi-faced demon which we create to drive success, and which eventually gobbles us up. It consists of:

  1. Threat perception
  2. Feeling of negativity
  3. The resultant psychological arousal

The drivers of stress are called stressors, and everything perceived as an impediment to what one desires to achieve is a stressor. The defense reaction causes a psychological alarm to go off, and makes us to muster all our energy to achieve the goal. If the situation continues for a prolonged time, the human mind prepares for long-term battle by remaining in a persistent state of active alertness. Eventually, both mind and body tire of this constant stage of red alert. Energy levels drop and there are increased chances of failure at the task level.

The Effects Of Stress

At the mental level, persistent and continuous stress leads to anxiety, insecurity and lack of concentration. At the physical level, it leads to changes in our hormonal secretion, in turn leading to cardiac problems and reduced immunity levels. In the societal realm, it leads to the steady erosion and breakdown of relationships. Burnout – emotional, physical and mental exhaustion mixed with reduced self-confidence and morale – sets in.

The Causes Of Stress

In an organization, some of the commonly observed caused of stress among employees are:

  • Very high or very low role demands
  • Lack of sufficient authority to discharge duties effectively
  • Favoritism and poorly-handled appraisal discussions
  • Lack of career prospects
  • Impending layoff or role redundancy

At a more individual level, existing personal circumstances, learned responses as well as inherent genetic dispositions cause us to react to stress differently. Major life transitions such as the death of family member, family breakdown, illness or loss of friends also play a role and make us sensitive to stressors that would have been ignored under other circumstances.

How to Manage Stress

Here are some of the most effective stress management precepts:

  • Be conscious of your thoughts and deeds, and of what your action do to you and others
  • Maintain a healthy and balanced diet
  • Draw up an integrated life plan – give equal weightage to work, family and society
  • Practice regular yoga and meditation to balance body and mind – there are very easy modules run by several agencies
  • Remember that it is not about winning at all costs but winning without any damage to you

Finally, remember that we cannot remove stress from our life. There are too many causative factors, and not all of them can be stopped. A reasonable degree of stress can actually be beneficial, because it makes us strive for more. However, it is essential to how much is enough for each one of us.

Jappreet Sethi

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Oct 08

Human Resources Jobs: Skills And Qualities

Human resource professionals are important personnel in an organization. This is because they contribute to the viability and the success of the business through the strategic organization of human capital. While most people think that ‘people’ skills are the main ingredient of a successful human resource professional, one actually needs to have a perfect mix of ‘people’ and technical skills. Most of jobs in human resources entail collecting data, dealing with complex paperwork, analyzing information, and presenting the findings of this information to the top management.

Human resource professionals require a clear understanding of applicable laws as well as of business administration. They also need to be very conversant with the goals and missions of their organization. Because of this, a majority of employers prefer hiring human resource professional possessing a diploma or degree in any field that is related to human resources.  The fields that are generally considered as related to human resource include commerce, business administration, industrial relation or any other social science.

Personal Characteristics

Hr Jobs call for a wide range of skills. A background in social sciences and a broad base of business skills and knowledge are particularly important. The best human resources professional normally possess excellent verbal and written skills as well as proficiency with computers and basic Information Technology. Not all HR jobs ask for all these skills; however, it is incumbent upon applicants to learn them as soon as possible after landing the job, or in specific training courses.

Human resource jobs fall in various categories such as selection, placement, recruitment managers, training and development managers, compensation and benefits specialists, labour and employee relations specialists and safety, health and security specialists.

Human resource jobs in the category of selection, placement and recruiting normally call for someone who is a good judge of character, is tactful yet self-confident and has excellent written, verbal and presentation skills.  HR professionals in such roles also need to be capable of ‘selling’ the organization, making cold calls and building relationships within and outside the organization.

Training and development specialists’ jobs require persons with excellent verbal, writing, and interpersonal skills. Such people also need a good sense of humour, a fertile imagination, cutting-edge knowledge in training fields and good understanding of the future knowledge needs of the organization.

Compensation and benefits specialists’ jobs require persons with strong analytical and quantitative skills, writing and verbal skills, knowledge of local and state level laws, a flair with statistics and the ability to communicate in plain language the meaning of statistical numbers.

Labour and employee relations specialists’ jobs require, above everything else, persons with high levels of integrity, the ability to speak comfortably with people irrespective of their education levels, negotiation skills and communication skills.

Lastly, health, safety, and security Specialists’ jobs applicants ought to possess outstanding levels of attention to details, honesty, communication skills and familiarity with the various human resources laws at the local and state levels, not to mention familiarity with regulatory agencies concerned safety, health and wellness.

Jappreet Sethi
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