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?

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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.

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?

In 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!

Key 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.

Last 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/

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