Posts Tagged ‘Job Search’

Why More Choice is Making Women Unhappier!

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

“According to the General Social Survey, which has tracked Americans’ mood since 1972, and five other major studies around the world, women are getting gloomier and men are getting happier.” This flows on from the theme of choice outlined in Brian Schwartz presentation the ‘Paradox of Choice’

In an article in the NY Times, ‘Blue Is the New Black’ it seems that while women start their lives more fulfilled than men, as we age and achieve more women become less happy, whilst men get happier as they get older.  Woman are taking on more in all aspects of their lives and men are playing a greater role in helping care for the family and doing the housework, so the argument of women carrying all the domestic responsibilities has dwindled. With this change, we are also seeing men relieved of some of the financial pressure that they once carried as the breadwinner.  As one of the interviewers clearly articulates “Choice is inherently stressful,” and “And women are being driven to distraction.”

This is an interesting article for both men and women, demonstrating the dramatic shifts in society when it comes to the world of work and the positive and negative impacts it is having, particularly on women.

The secret to happiness according to Schwartz is having low expectations!

What are your thoughts?

Free Guide on ‘How to Select a Career Coach’

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

This Free 10 page Guide on ‘How to Select a Career Coach’ has been developed for Six Figures by Paul Stevens. Paul is the founder for Worklife Counselling in Sydney in 1979 following a 21 year career in Human Resources Management and The Worklife Network – a national and international affiliation of adult career specialists – in 1986. Paul has authored countless books such as Win That Job!, closely followed by Stop Postponing the Rest of Your Life.  Paul has published over 35 further titles, booklets and career assessment instruments and is one of Australia’s leading Career Professionals, whose knowledge about successful career transition is unquestionable

* If you are a $100K+ salary earner, we encourage you to register and become a Member of Six Figures to receive great career support and job seeking resources (such as this free guide) plus access to great $100K+ Job and Contract opportunities.

* If you earn under a $100K and would like to receive a copy of this Free Guide ‘How to Select a Career Coach’, please email us at info@sixfigures.com.au including in the subject line ‘Free Guide on ‘How to Select a Career Coach‘ or via our Cosmalllogontact Us Page

Six Figures offers a lot of great free Job Seeking, Interviewing, Resuming Writing and Career Change Resources that are publicly available on the site in Job Seeker Resources to assist you in securing your next job.

Interviewers and hot beverages – can a drink impact their decision making?

Wednesday, December 31st, 2008

Tonight I was watching a program on SBS, ‘Foolproof equations for a perfect life,’ a look at the decision making process and the human brain.  The show itself was interesting and engaging on a number of levels. The show had a couple of experiments which highlighted potential pitfalls of the interview process in bringing about objective and rational hiring decisions.
The first was a couple of Scandinavian academics from Harvard who ran an experiment showing the subject pictures of two different faces. They were then asked to select which face they preferred and to say a few words as to why they made this decision. They were then given the card of the face they selected, or so they thought. Now and then they would be slipped the card of the face they did not select. None of the subjects said anything to the contrary and went on to explain why they selected the card, even if it was not the card they selected. The deduction being that we all post rationalize our inconsistent bad decisions! So what does this mean for the interview process, be it for the interview or the interviewee? Taking this even further with a panel interview or an interview process that involves a number of stages and interviewees – do we go along with the most senior person’s decision about the interviewees to keep our jobs or to fit in?

The second experiment was one that sounds ludicrous yet was incredibly consistent.  A group of subjects each separately met with and had a brief chat with a guy. Prior to the chat they were given a hot beverage to drink. After chatting with the guy in a room, they were asked by the person running the experiment if they would hire him. All three subjects had a resounding yes and spoke positively about the guy. A new group of subjects were brought in and were all given a cold beverage to drink and hold before the meeting with the same guy. Again after the meeting the same person running the experiment asked them if they would hire the guy, the responses were all negative, with a definite no from one guy.  The deduction being that when interviewing, if someone has a hot beverage before meeting or during meeting with you they are more inclined to view you more favorably than those who have a cold beverage. One is therefore provoked to question the randomness of the interview process. Are we selecting the best person for the job or is it a series of random events!

I posted this discussion topic on a LinkedIn group which pleasingly started up a bit of a discussion.
One of the members commented that he had also watched the series and felt that it was not very scientific and that the sample sizes were too small and so on, which were valid points.  However this then got me to thinking that when you consider that in times of stress, crisis and so on it is common practice to offer the person in need a hot cup of tea or coffee. Likewise often children are given hot milk to help them sleep. So the hot beverage does seem to be commonly used to calm people down and create a safe and re-assuring environment, so maybe there is some psychology to it – more than we think anyway.


The Hidden Job Market – Is it an Urban Myth?

Wednesday, December 31st, 2008

Frequently I see stats cited about the percentage of jobs that are never advertised – anywhere from 60% or more.  This is something I have noticed for a number of years now and I have always thought it a little odd. Particularly when those sprouting these stats seem to have an interest in them being so high! That said as a Job Site owner – it could also be seen that it is in my interest for these stats to be lower.
Given that most people I know have secured employment through some form of advertising of the job; be that online, print, intranet, recruitment agency  etc – I question how accurate these stats about jobs never being advertised are and the so called ‘hidden job market’! This may have been the case 10+ years ago however I am not so sure now.
So I want to put it out to the market – to those of you who are unbiased to get your views.
Is the Hidden Job Market an Urban Myth?  Is there this hidden job market that I don’t know about where no jobs are advertised?

Unsolicited Recruiter Calls – Is it the New Telemarketing?

Saturday, November 15th, 2008

girlheadsetIn the last 12 months how many of you have received unsolicited calls from Recruiters about job opportunities? Of those calls you received what percentage would you say were actually jobs that you would be interested in?

There is an interesting phenomenon that is emerging whereby more and more people I speak with, particularly in the technology sector, are receiving a growing number of unsolicited calls from Recruiters. What was once perhaps considered flattering to be ‘head hunted’ now seems to be turning into more of a nuisance as you receive unsolicited calls by Recruiters, some of which have limited understanding of your background and job requirements.

Advancement in new technology has been brilliant for everyone with the likes of LinkedIn, Ning, Facebook, Google etc and for Recruiters with new specific recruitment software making it easier to find people than ever before.

I question though if recruitment is becoming more like Telemarketing whereby we are calling people (who may not even want to be contacted) about something that they don’t want and that is not relevant to them. If Recruiters have failed to understand the needs of those they are calling and what they are trying to sell them, it seems rather a poor approach and a long way from what Recruitment is fundamentally about.

A recent post on ERE by Anil Kasibhatla about Evaluation Technical Resumes discusses this topic in brief

“I was a Systems Analyst 9 years ago, and had received my share of calls from Tech recruiters trying to recruit me. I didn’t feel let down by any of them but was rather surprised that they were trying to evaluate me for a technical job when their understanding of technology was very limited. Some were quite good at selling the cultural and growth aspects of a given organization, where as others were all about matching key words with the spec they had in front of them. I was amazed at some of these Recruiters willingness and prowess to discuss technical jobs.” http://www.ere.net/blogs/Webcruiting_Techniques/1354612FA9174041A963DC3EF3F09444.asp#comments

Is it a case of some Recruiters relying too much on technology and perhaps need to go back to basics and worrying less about the new technology and more about good old research, information sharing, building relationships and service!

Job Change Checklist – Questions To Ask Yourself

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

guycouchKey Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Make A Job or Career Change

Before making a job or career change, I encourage people to ask themselves a few key questions that will inevitably minimize the risk of working for the wrong company, industry or profession.

Asking yourself questions around areas such as the role, the physical work environment, the organization, industry, people, and about your own personal needs will assist in forming a clearer picture of what job opportunities to focus on.

Role

  • What do I want to wear to work?
  • What salary do I want?
  • What benefits am I seeking?
  • What hours do I want to work? i.e. days, evenings, part time, days off etc
  • Do I want to manage staff? If yes, what type of people?
  • Do I want to work autonomously or in a team or both? If both what will the percentage be?
  • Do I want my role to involve travel? If yes, where, international, national where?
  • Do I want one role or to have a few roles?
  • Do I want to work for myself or someone else?
  • How much flexibility would I have in my role?
  • What skills would I be using?
  • What challenges would I be encountering?
  • What types of people would I be working with?
  • How do I feel about these people?
  • How do I want to feel about the work I do?
  • What work life balance looks like for me?
  • Would I be learning?
  • If I was learning, what types of things would I be learning?
  • What are the pro’s and con’s of the roles I have had in the past?

Physical Work Environment

  • What does the office I work in look like? I.e. the style of building, levels, décor, lighting
  • What is the location of the office?
  • Do I want to drive to work and will there be parking?
  • What space will I be working in, a cubicle, office, open floor etc?
  • Do I want natural light?
  • Will there be music and a lot of noise and activity?
  • Do I want tranquility and peace?
  • Do I want to work in a high rise office tower?
  • What are the immediate surrounds of the organization? i.e. parks, shops, gym, other buildings
  • What are the pro’s and con’s of the work environments I have had in the past?

Organization

  • What is the people size of the organization?
  • What is organizations culture?
  • What is the leadership of the organization like?
  • How will they manage their staff?
  • What are the organizations vision / goals / motto?
  • How is the organization viewed by the community?
  • What are the values of the organization?
  • Are they a prestigious organization, well known to everyone or an unknown entity?
  • If I want to create my own organization, what will it look like?
  • What are the pro’s and con’s of the organizations I have worked for in the past?

Industry

  • What is the industry I am working in?
  • Is it a new industry for me?
  • Is it a growth industry?
  • Am I working across multiple industries?
  • What appeals to me about the industry/s?
  • How is the industry perceived by the general community?

People

  • What will my co-workers be like?
  • What will the management of the organization be like?
  • What will my boss be like?
  • What type of boss will I be?
  • What will my customers and clients be like?
  • What types of people do I work best with and why?
  • What are the pros and cons of the colleagues and managers I have had in the past?

Personal

  • What are my key interests – work and personally?
  • What do I enjoy doing most?
  • What am I great at?
  • What do others say I am great at?
  • When have I felt the greatest about what I was doing?
  • If I could change the world, what three things would I like to see?
  • What would I have to do to bring these into my work
  • What are my own personal values that I live by?
  • What values do I expect a business that I work for to uphold?
  • What will I and won’t I tolerate at work and in life in general?

Actions

  • Write in a book or on paper your answers to all of these questions
  • Go through your resume in chronological order and look at all the roles you have had and look to see if there are any patterns
  • Using job listing sites and Newspapers print and cut out jobs that appeal to you – circle the areas that appeal
  • Talk to people who work in roles and industries you are interested in working in
  • Research courses that relate to roles and industries you are interested in finding out more about
  • After you have spent some time thinking about these questions and do your research, sit down and try to piece it all together.
  • Talk to friends of family about your discoveries
  • Should you still feel unsure about where to go from here, contact a career coach or counselor to assist you with gaining some direction and the next steps – in Australia we have the Career Development Association of Australian which is a good starting point – visit http://www.aacc.org.au/

How to Start To Find Meaning in Your Work Life!

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

faceLast year I attended a career coaching workshop delivered by Jacquie Wise http://www.wiseways.com.au/meet_jacquie_main.htm titled ‘Quest for Meaning’. The topic piqued my interest, as over my career as a Career Coach the majority of my clients have come along (be it consciously or unconsciously) seeking to find meaning in their work. This is not the case for everyone, though I do believe increasingly people are seeking more from their work life, beyond the usual trimmings of a great salary, position title, perks and so on.


Today we tend to be more self aware of what we are good at, what we want to be good, our personal values, what constitutes a good employer, how much of challenge we want from work and so on. In the workshop Jaquie spoke about the ideal ‘life split’ being 1/3 work, 1/3 sleep and 1/3 leisure – something for us all to keep in mind to follow! This led on to the topic of the ‘four purposes’ in life that we seek, be it in our work life or life in general. I am sure if you think about them, one or all will resonate.


In the work context, meaning comes from being able to articulate what our purpose/s is around the following areas:


1) To Learn (in all senses of the word)

2) To Teach (be it formally or informally)

3) To Accomplish or Contribute (both are equally important)

4) To Be (in regards to being authentic to your true self)


I would encourage you to think about what is important to you and what really drives you. Write down your responses and spend some time reflecting on these areas. You will be surprised how just by thinking about your Purpose the focus and possibilities this will open up. Should you wish to explore this further I recommend that you purchase some relevant career related books or look to speak with a career coach. In Australia you can visit the Career Development Association of Australian http://www.cdaa.org.au/