Talking About People

Flying the nest

I don't know how long this blog will stay here, but if I could do one thing with it, it would be this; I thoroughly recommend this organisation to anyone considering joining it. It is a great place to work, it has an outstanding cast of talent. And what's more, it's a pleasure to work with them. They make it what it is... I hope that translates through technology. My reasons for moving on are personal, but include the need to relocate, which means it would be incredibly hard to commute to my present working environment. There is also a need for me to embrace the next challenge. And I leave in the knowledge that I have been able to make the most of the many opportunities Jobsite has laid in front of me. I would urge anyone reading this to do the same. So cheers, and here's to the future :0) PS last day 6th June, it seems to be hurtling towards me pretty quickly!

Stress = Leaving? Maybe not...

We read a lot about people leaving their roles due to stress, and it is obviously an emotive subject. I think we all recognise that no person should be ill because of their job.

]]> Sitting down with your manager is a first step. If your manager is unresponsive there should always be a way of escalating things if all is not well. HR should be the next port if satisfactory resolution cannot be reached.

Discussing the things which are making you uncomfortable / stressed / or the environmental factors. Are these things which can be addressed in a reasonable manner, and can the organisation sort this? Is it a person or group of people causing the stress?

I am personally, a bit of a worrier, and I can see in others that is not necessarily just the work itself, but the pressure which comes with it, the worry about "gettting it wrong" and the consequences which might result, which might lead to stress. So there are things one can do to reduce those pressures.

Ask for a risk assessment to be carried out on your work space, or even on your role. Part of this will assess the risk, but also the likelihood of risks occurring. If the likelihood is high then the recommendations from the risk assessment should be to take preventative measures.

Diet and exercise are crucial to maintain a work life balance. If you sit down all day, it is best to try and make the most of the leisure time :0) If the job makes you think a lot, make sure there is some quiet time.

Ultimately there are also some jobs which are not suited to certain people. That sounds a little harsh in some ways, but it is also a fact of modern working environments. Culture fit is important. If it is a fast moving environment, yet an individual prefers working at their own pace, there can be problems. If the organisation or role is heavily reliant on technical expertise and the person in a role is not technically proficient, again there may be issues.

But these are not obstacles which cannot be addressed. Even within fast moving environments there are often roles which require a more considered approach.

We have an excellent Occupational Health support network here which I would urge all employers to become involved in. HR people and Managers can only be experts in a finite number of areas. What happens when conditions are new or unknown? Having OH gives us the comfort of knowing that if there are areas outside of our comfort zone, there are those who have dealt with any number of situations and can point in the right direction. Professionals in work place stress. Even if there is no formal agreement between a person's company and an OH organisation there are ways of consulting one on an ad hoc basis, helplines and other consultative services.

Then perhaps, employees and managers can sit down together, formulate a plan as to how to proceed without allowing the pressures to build up to boiling point.

Stress is covered under the DDA, so will be taken seriously. But don't wait till it gets too late...

Preparing for interview

Just a quick one really.

]]> It still amazes me, the number of people who turn up at interviews without knowing anything about the organisation they will be joining; who have not looked at the corporate website; who have not re-read the job spec before attending interview; do not know the name of the person interviewing them / get the name wrong; do not check the route out before the day, just to check train times; leading on from that last one, who turn up late...

Blah blah blah

(insert recruiter ranting here)

Anyway, I was writing this and I thought. Strike some balance here, Joe. Things which have made me smile, or I have enjoyed people asking me.

"Why do you work here?"
Great question. If I can't answer that, then I can't convince someone to work here.

"What do you think are the best things about working here?" Again it speaks for itself.
Someone once asked me if it was a "social environment" and was "heavy-drinking" frowned upon, which made me slightly alarmed, (and chuckle at the same time).

"What is the worst thing about working here?" A little negative, but it is important to get balance.

My answer, slightly tongue in cheek was "Not being able to work all weekend".

"What tipple would I need to buy you if you gave me the job?" Bribery is cheap but effective! Of course it never works...

PS on a separate matter, it is not a good idea to add your boss as a friend on Facebook during working hours, and then five minutes later edit the "how you know each other?" tab. You know who you are! I couldn't help but chuckle a little when I saw it. The word "BUSTED" appeared in bright neon letters in my head.

Mike Harris of Garlik joins Be My Interviewer

The latest (the eighth I believe) person to be added to the Be My Interviewer line up. And possibly the most exciting yet.

]]> I think this one is most exciting for anyone who is looking for a role in the banking, finance or IT sector.

His present role is working as Executive Chairman of online identity experts Garlik who develop software and services to help control and protect your personal information and identity online. Just a slight responsibility there then!

Aside from that, as the founder of Egg Finance and First Direct, Mike is one of the most influential people of the last 20 years, working in that sector.

One of his most interesting present titles is as Chair of Group Innovation at RBS. I love those job titles!

So I for one, will be interested in what he has to say. It will hopefully add another dimension to a wonderful tool. Happy virtual interviewing!

PS On a separate note, it was interesting to see the amount of flak the newspapers gave Prince William for landing his helicopter in his girlfriends garden, and for using it on a jolly on the Isle of Wight. It's not a common problem I grant you. Most of the ladies I have been out with do not have room in their garden for a Prince in a chopper.

However, when does convenience become abuse of power? What is the difference between that and a company car? Obviously cost is one, but security for the Royals must cost so much anyway it probably saved money. Do you think he had sign off for this before hand?

Eeking out the positives

Sometimes you look around the office and you can see the people who are unhappy in their jobs. They are slumped, red eyed, and their heads pop up every now and then to check the time on the office clock.

]]> There should be a note of caution here. It might be that the job is dissatisfying, the hours long and the recognition minimal. It might be that the clock is ticking until the next opportunity presents itself. But it is as important to leave a good impression at the organisation which is being departed, as at the new organisation. In fact, keeping a smile on your face when everything is falling apart is a unique approach which helps others get through difficult situations.

Why drag everyone down with you?
Why jeopardise an excellent reference with a performance / attitude in the last few months which overshadows all of the brilliant work already produced? Some organisations now check back a long way through referencing companies to check candidates are sqeaky clean non-trouble making.

When years later, employees you have worked with might be asked to remember you to a prospective employer, do you want them to remember a miserable so and so who murmured "woe is me" every 20 seconds.

Or do you want them to remember someone who was professional despite obvious provocation, various obstacles and a less than productive working environment?

And there's the other thing. Future employers pick up positivity. And you can bet that most will pick up the opposite as well.

Funny questions

Someone round here asked me whether it was OK to disciminate on the grounds of smoking, and it started me thinking...

]]> On the smoking side of things, with recent laws regarding the marginalisation of smoking in the workplace, discrimination against smokers is (maybe) no longer an issue.

I suppose smokers may take more frequent breaks. Suffer more health problems. So maybe it is more economical to employ non smokers (though ironically smokers now probably get more fresh air than other groups!) in the long term.

People often presume that there is a lot more protective legislation than there actually is, out there.

However, the fashion industry has built its reputation and its success over many millenia (or so it seems) on discriminating against "ugly" people. A controversial point, but it is true. If Kate Moss had not been at least partly blessed with her looks, would the catwalk hyenas have taken her on?

So the questions continued... What about obese people? Can someone discriminate against them?

Well there may be health and safety reasons why a person could not do a job due to their weight. But we are on dicey ground here. I mean when you start discriminating against anyone for any reason there is a chance other factors may come in. For instance, if you were to weigh all candidates, what happens when a heavily pregnant person comes to an interview? Would that person not get the job on the grounds that they are heavier than a non pregnant person?

Dangerous, not to mention bad practice. And simply not in the spirit of what we are looking at when we looking at discrimination. Usually. Discrimination legislation is about protecting those who are being marginalised, not providing rules for how we can get away with marginalising people.

So those of you looking for a non-P.C. but legal ad. Look somewhere else!

I am away...

Even HR Managers get holidays sometimes...

]]> Be good, I'll see you on my return.

Things which really annoy me as a recruiter / human

Now we hear a lot about what annoys candidates, and we sympathise. We really do. Because sometimes there are certain things that the candidates "do" which really annoy recruiters. Think of these as things to avoid. And if you really don't like me, and want to wind me up, do the following things:

]]> 1. Saying "yes" when you mean "no". I get it. You have another offer on the table. You want to keep your cards close to your chest. But let me know. I'll understand. It's your career and it's important to you. I can take rejection honestly. I am a big boy. The first I hear of it, should not be when you do not turn up on day one. Or when I bump into you in the street the day you are meant to be starting with us and you are wearing the uniform of another establishment. It is a surprise. Not a nice one though.

2. Not mentioning the fear of offices / staplers / people named Ted / email / which makes you unable to attend work more than one day per month. If we know about it before you start it won't stop me giving you the job. It will help us work together on a way in which we can work through whatever it is.

3. Not turning up for interview is one thing. Not turning up without any explanation is another. I absolutely love sitting in the office at 6.30 in the evening waiting for people to arrive. No really. I do.

4. Being late. It's a job interview. Unless there is a two hour jam outside, the excuse of "I could not find it" is not an excuse. It is going to be however, one of the reasons why you have not got the job.

5. Not researching the job. When we establish that the job is not for you after 45 seconds we know we have wasted both of our days. (See also point 4. If you do your research you know how long it takes / how to get there). Hmmm.

6. Waiting until after you are offered the job and have accepted to issue a set of demands akin to the pre-concert backstage set up of Elton John or Cher. "I want iced water, chilled to exactly 12 degrees". You may gurgle into your coffee when you hear this, but some people ask this. A recent one: "I only travel by taxi". Interesting.

7. Thinking job hunting is some kind of E-bay auction. Using the job offer we send you to increase your salary where you work. And staying there. Or just annoying your present boss enough to get them to phone me to "have a go". Nice.

8. Arriving really early for the interview. I get it. You are keen. You are Mr Keen of Keenland. You want the job. And arriving at work before I do is going to get you that job, even though the interview is in the evening. Or the next day. It's not queuing for Kylie tickets. Camping outside overnight won't get you in. It freaks "us" interviewers out. We are like Wildebeest on the plains of the Zambezi. We scare easy. Don't jump out of the pond at us, whilst we are drinking. Great.

9. Wet hands when you shake. And "it's all right, I have just been to the toilet" does not inspire me with confidence either. Smashing.

And last but by no means least:

When reading a job advert, not checking the location. When I phone you for half an hour and it's going swimmingly, it is a tad annoying at the end of said conversation when I invite you to an interview and you act surprised that the job is not actually within walking distance but in a different location in the British Isles. Which would necessitate travel. Commuting. Or even relocation. Portsmouth is not a suburb of London. Chichester is not on the tube map because the Tube just doesn't go there. Lovely.

Now I have that off my chest. I can rest easy. In my easy chair on Easy Street.

Thanks for the therapy. We must do this more often. Sitting in your chair was rather comfortable :0)

PS I did not want to make this so negative, but when I started it just kept coming. Lots of interviews, over a long period of time have led to this. But the good outweighs the bad. By an awful amount...

I don't want to leave but I want more dough!

How (not) to ask for more money...

]]> There are lots of approaches one might take in such situations and I suppose it would be good to know the history or the likely reaction of the manager concerned. If there is a long history of definitive "No" answers to such enqiries then it should be known that there is likely to be a battle on the horizon. Some employers resent their employees actually asking for more money, and there are arguments that good employers should recognise a salary gap before the employee needs to ask.

If a person asks for more money through an "all guns blazing" approach, including the unsubstantiated words "I deserve more", or compares themselves to what they heard from Mildred in the canteen say she was earning, then the likely outcome is no salary rise.

If a person approaches their line manager with a justification, with well-reasoned arguments and a potential attitude which allows for negotiation, there is a better chance of success. The person still might respond with a no answer, but the likelihood is that the manager will justify such an answer with good reasons. Often the frustration in such situations is not the fact that the employee is not getting a raise, but not finding out the reason why the raise did not go through.

Worth thinking about...

And it also alters the way in which you approach looking for another job, if that is the ultimate result of the salary discussion. It might be that a salary discussion provides insight into the market place. There are a few salary comparison sites out there which monitor salary trends within sectors and locations. It might be that the line manager benchmarks against such salary sites, or even against what other companies are paying (adverts on job boards spring to mind). They may then judge that, with the performance of the employee and the current market patterns, that person is being paid a fair and reasonable amount for the role in which they perform. It might be that the employee would need to move to another area where there is a shortage of their primary skill sets, in order to achieve the salary raise they are seeking. Or wait until their skills are more marketable. Not rocket science, I know.

Of course you could wait until salary review time, and list the exceptional performance areas.

And if anyone who works for / with me at Jobsite is reading this, ignore everything that I have just said! Just kidding obviously. No really...

Be My Interviewer

I am sure you will have noticed the newest feature of the site, the BeMyInterviewer section.

]]> I have been here over 8 years now and rarely have I seen such excitement over a new feature on Jobsite.

I have spent (what seems like) most of the last few years interviewing people as we have expanded greatly, and it is great to see the different techniques of interviewers on BeMyInterviewer. Of course, I often sit next to line managers who have their own techniques, but you sometimes forget there is a much wider range of people out there, each interviewer having a unique style. It is fascinating to watch the differences for instance, between Duncan Bannatyne and our M.D., Keith Potts.

There are a number of different styles on BeMyInterviewer which will prepare anyone for the types of interview that they may face. Also featured are the sections which many interviews will include, including "Killer Questions", "Experience and Ambition", "Selling Yourself", "Personality" and "Money".

Of course there is also room for expansion, and the interview surgery allows an interactive approach.

It is getting a lot of exposure across the press and rightly so... It is going to make it harder for employers as so many of the people they interview will be better prepared, and again, rightly so!

I am off to have another play, and hopefully learn something new! It looks like the recruiting world will again have to up its game to keep up.

Billy the hero

You may have seen the shot of a young lad from Havant and Waterlooville's game against Liverpool, losing control of his emotions when Havant took the lead at Anfield last weekend.

]]> This is none other than Jobsite F.C.'s biggest and only fan, Billy Parker, who through rain or shine has been Jobsite F.C.'s only consistent fan over the past few years. Watching us strutting our skills on the football pitch, it is no wonder that he cries at football matches. In all seriousness he always supports us and it is great to see the young lad getting his 5 minutes of fame, hanging out with superstars, and generally being pampered. Henceforth, he will be known as that guy who was famous for five minutes. In ten years time he will be the subject of a documentary on UK Gold on "What happened to ..."

Well done Billy, in an act of great PR I hear one of the National newspapers have invited you back this weekend as a guest of honour in the VIP section, and you will get to meet the players at the training ground.

Well done Havant. And well done Bill "Watership Down" Parker.

Beat the Blues

Well! We made it through the most depressing day of the year. And we are all back today. And if you think about it that way, today has to be an even better day.

]]> We tried to enliven things here by providing refreshments, having a dress down day and having a "bring a joke to work day". Of course sometimes these things can backfire when you realise most people only know jokes which are rude (and therefore unsuitable to send to others) or offend a particular group (and therefore unsuitable to send to others). Have we actually got to the stage when jokes which are not about particular groups and which enforce stereotypes, are not actually funny?

Three non-descript people walk into a bar....

PS I am a football fan and my team is Tottenham. I should probably be writing a blog today about celebrating too much on week nights and then not feeling too great the next day at work... But I won't!

Pah! Most Depressing Day of the Year, I don't think so...

Apparently research has proven that Monday is singly the most depressing day of the year. Too many reasons;

- a long time since the last pay day
- a long time since New Year Christmas
- lots of angry people who are really suffering from their abstinence, whether it be alcohol, caffeine, smoking, lots of delicious toxins or as in my case, shaving.

]]> So how will you get through the maelstrom, surrounded by similarly de-motivated individuals?

Without the aid of alcohol or excess amounts of caffeine, I would suggest.

- Don't be hungover (not that anyone reading this would ever be).
- Perhaps exercise in the morning before work, get those natural endorphins going.
- Suggest a dress down day at work. We are having a dress down Friday on a Monday. Someone read this and emailed back and mentioned the fact that the day after Friday is Saturday, and that his weekend would then start on Tuesday. Nice try Martin, but no cigar.
- Have a meeting on getting to work, and have a positive brainstorm to enliven you.
- Arrive inspired. Listen to something positive on the way in. Avoid Radiohead.
- Have regular breaks.
- Leave on time on Monday. If it is the most depressing day of the year, make sure it is a shortish one.

And the last one, bring a joke to work. If you can't cheer up yourself, cheer up those around you.

Good luck, and hopefully we will all see Tuesday in one piece.

I would love to hear any other suggestions that are out there. We could steal them :0)

Be determined, and don't let the down days upset the upside.

You're probably too busy to read this...

Today being the busiest recruitment day of the year.

]]> Apparently so!

Our research has shown that today is the day for looking and posting jobs.

Nearly half of all UK employees are likely to search for new career options online on Monday 7th January, which also makes 7th January the best day of the year for recruiters to post job vacancies.

The research also reveals that posting vacancies online will be the most effective method of attracting candidates this year, as candidates are now most likely to search for a new job via the internet (48%).

Good news for us then! I'll leave you to it, you are obviously very busy people!

Happy New Year.

Another year closes...

So the wind howls outside, the conscientious office workers dim the power saving LEDs on their computers. The Works party season is nearly over. The apologies for inappropriate behaviour are almost forgotten and the dry cleaning is still to be collected. Secret Santa prizes lie uncollected under melted plastic trees.

Another year draws to a close.

- Smoking is now banned just about everywhere.
- Mums are slightly better off in terms of the length of their maternity periods.
- Carers now have similar rights to parents in terms of requesting flexible working.
- It is easier now to get a trade mark for the first time.
- Websites and emails needed to contain full company details for the first time.
- We have experienced a year of anti-age discrimination (in theory).
- There are tougher rules for mobile phone users in cars, including company cars (points most definitely do not mean prizes).
- The statutory holidays now have increased to include half of the bank holidays.
- Corporates now have to dispose of electronic equipment responsibly (WEEE regulations).

That was 2007.

So what do we all have to look forward to?

Toasters which brown the bread in 50 seconds, leading to less indigestion for commuters. House prices stabilising and cheaper loans (apparently). Relocating for work purposes has never looked so good. If, of course, you can sell your house. The other half of the bank holidays are to be covered off...

- the government is looking to extend the rights for parents to request flexible working to the parents of older children
- Bearded entrepreneurs are likely to take over the FTSE 100. 2008 will be the year of the hairy-faced man.
- employee tribunals are likely to increase the number of small businesses which fold.
- The government may or may not extend the right of temporary workers who have worked with an agency for more than 6 weeks, to reflect those of permanent workers. It has been mooted for years, but has just been blocked again by Mr Hutton.

And that's just for starters. Have a great festive period, and if you are lucky to be off, re-charge your battteries with whichever method "floats your boat", ready for a smashing 2008.

]]> PS Many people have asked about the beard. It is suitably straggly and I don't think it will survive beyond 2007. I hope that is not a snapshot of the general beard picture. We should encourage the survival of endangered species in our midst.

PPS I believe that May 16th 2008 is a volunteer day across the country, where companies are invited to get out into the community and get involved in green issues which help the local area. We are participating, maybe you could encourage your present or your new employers to do the same. Here is a link to the London version, I believe this will be extended across the country www.londonbettertogether.org.uk