Guest Article: 66% of Employers Prefer This Type of Resume #SHRMTalent by Ben

Earlier I posted on career growth and development and some ideas and insights from the SHRM Talent Management Conference, and as I was looking through some of the results from a SHRM survey released this week I realized that there is an interesting disconnect. While we want to look at employees as more valuable than their current job title for development purposes, we don’t want to do do that up front when they approach us as candidates. In fact, 66% of organizations prefer chronological resumes to functional resumes (source: SHRM).

For reference, chronological resumes list jobs in order from most to least recent; functional resumes focus on skills and experience instead of job history.

Now I will admit that when I’m recruiting, I prefer resumes in chronological order. I’ve seen too many instances over the years where people use functional resumes to make themselves seem more qualified for a position than they really were.

However, it is interesting to note that I’ve also seen high level professionals make use of functional resumes with no discernible negative results. When someone has 15-20 years of experience in a specific field and a variety of specialized skills, the functional resume might serve a better purpose than chronological format.

Additional information from the survey available below. Check it out–there’s definitely some good stuff in there for you to review.

Shrm 2013 survey findings resume v5 from shrm

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Starting a career blog – to blog or not to blog?

 ‘To blog or not to blog, that is the question!’ 

Blogging is rapidly emerging as a great new way to advance your career. Blogs have become a ritual reading, an indication of a person’s professional reliability and at the very least an opportunity to have your name on the internet. As the saying goes ‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know’- With the added bonus of introducing you to a whole new circle, establishing a strong base of professionals who read your articles frequently can be beneficial to you, and your career.

When’s a good time to start blogging?

If you’re a university student or coping with pre-career decision struggles, this is the best time to start blogging. Why?

• You’re more likely to connect with countless students who are experiencing the same highs/lows as you are
• Just as many people do, you’re giving the readers a chance to read about your journey and connect with you throughout your career- if you keep them interested that is.
• Taking this initiative looks great on a resume!

Whether you’re a university student, a graduate or an employed professional, everyone has experienced situations similar to yours and I can guarantee that someone else is going to experience what you’re going through. Blogging will become a source of comfort for your readers and subsequently an outlet for your own frustrations, although be sure to follow our guidelines to prevent anything career damaging ending up on the internet!

Establish Yourself

Showing readers that you’re a reliable source is how you strengthen the degree of respect that’s associated with your name, and subsequently this could open up avenues for media sources to contact you- a little publicity never hurt anyone. For example, if you’re an early career psychologist, writing material relating to current issues in the field of psychology is one way of establishing yourself.

Passion

If you’re not passionate about blogging, then don’t do it. Your blogs will receive a lot more positive feedback if your passion for your work is portrayed through your writing. Blogging will become nothing more than a daunting task and a reason for procrastinating in any way possible if you don’t enjoy it.

A blog is not the same thing as a personal diary

• If you are relaying personal experiences, make sure it still has something of value. Ask yourself, what would the reader take from this?
• Though you are dealing with social media, try to make sure your spelling, grammar and general flow of text allow readers to take you seriously.
• If you’re not the most creative and influential writer (you don’t have to be!) be sure to share your work with friends or colleagues before going live. This is especially helpful in finding areas that don’t make sense to others that may seem perfectly normal to you.
• Be careful not to name names or expose companies. If you need to vent, mention annoyances at the general department or type of worker, not the person or company. This will help people relate to you more which is what you’re trying to achieve!

Happy blogging!

Guest Article: 2014 SHRM Talent Management Conference by Ben

Next week I’ll be attending the SHRM Talent Management Conference in Nashville. It’s an event focusing on recruiting and talent, and I’m excited about attending and sharing some of the sessions I’ll be viewing.

If you’re going to be there and want to connect, hit me up via email and we can try to make it work.

As a preview, here are the sessions I’m planning to check out during the event.

Big Data: Your Best Bet In The War For Talent

Why: As our organization has grown it has become harder to source from some of the same pools that we’ve used repeatedly over the years. I’m hoping to learn more about using data to help find the next person I hire.

Quality of Attrition: Management’s Favorite Human Capital Metric

Why: We have a long-standing discussion at work about the difference between retention and turnover. For our purposes, retention is preventable, turnover is not. I’m hoping to learn more about attrition, what the market averages are, and how we can leverage that for better organizational metrics.

Beyond Performance Reviews: Influencing Performance Improvement

Why: Thanks to my buddy Chris Ponder, I’ve been getting more interested in the field of performance improvement lately. I’d like to look at ways we can take our paper (shudder) performance reviews to another level with more impact to the business.

Effectively Managing a Remote Workforce

Why: We have more people outside our local office and we’re adding new work sites regularly. It becomes difficult to make sure everyone feels included and engaged when they are not physically in the same workplace. I’m looking for ideas on how managers can lead those people as well as how to make sure we’re taking care of the remote staff adequately.

Strategic Talent Acquisition: The “Talent Advisor” Approach

Basically, how valuable would your leadership say your recruiting function is? Do they think it enhances the overall business by finding the right people at the right time? I think we do this pretty well, but I am always looking for ways to improve our service delivery on the recruiting side.

Well? Anything in there look interesting to you? What would you like me to share about?

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Guest Article: The recruitment industry: Giving back in a big way by Ross Clennett

Three months ago, in InSight 315, I mentioned the great fundraising and community work that a handful of recruitment agencies undertake. I invited readers to advise me of any other recruitment agencies doing great in this areas. A handful of people responded. Here is brief summary of what I received (I have edited much of what was sent to me for the sake of brevity): ManpowerGroup:

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Guest Article: HR Lands at #71 of the 100 Best Jobs by Ben

Recently the list of the 100 best jobs was published for this year, and HR was again on the list. This time it ranked number 71 out of 100. It’s always fun to look at these lists to see how they compare, because we all want to think we’re working in a field that others see as important and valuable. It’s difficult to do that in HR, because many people have never run across someone working in human resources that truly cared about their wellbeing and success.

So, what were some of the 70 jobs that beat it out?

Jobs that are (supposedly) better than HR

Accountant. (Even during tax time, this somehow managed to beat HR?)

Meeting planner. (I thought planning events was an HR function…)

Compliance officer. (Ditto-doesn’t HR do compliance? Also, how in the world is compliance better than human resources?!?)

Bill collector. (Wow. Calling people to harass them about money they owe is better? Really? Now we’re just getting ridiculous.)

How to get an HR job

From the article:

If Segal was hiring a new specialist, she says she would consider “someone who is smart, understands that HR is part of the management function, has business savvy and a keen analytical mind.” Like other areas of business, HR focuses on innovation and return on investment, she says. “HR needs creative, innovative thinkers to take us past the traditional paper processing and compliance focus to show our value and ROI in the global economy in new ways,” she says. In addition to having fresh ideas, Segal says you must demonstrate good writing skills, be able to work with financial data and have a solid understanding of your industry. “Being in HR in a startup tech company is not the same as being in HR in a bank or a manufacturing company or in the entertainment industry,” she says. “While there is some obvious overlap, if you want to be truly effective, be seen as more than a paper pusher and have a seat at the table, you need to show that you understand the business you’re in and how HR can support the bottom line.”

I agree with some of this for sure, but it’s also funny to see that some of these comments still don’t align with how a large portion of the HR population works and thinks even today. Many of those in this profession don’t put any stock in reviewing/analyzing financial data or even having a firm understanding of their industry. They are content to make policies, fight to keep fun out of the workplace, and collect a paycheck until they retire. It’s why blogs like this one have become so popular–because people like you realize that there is more to this profession than what we were told when we started. There’s certainly more to life (and HR) than what meets the eye.

More on breaking into HR, for those who are interested. Also, if you want to check it out, the US News article is here.

What are your thoughts? Is this job better or worse than the ranking they assigned? Why?

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Guest Article: Preventing Conflict in the Workplace by Ben

If asked, many HR professionals would say that preventing conflict in the workplace is one of their key job duties. However, I’d like to step back from that well-known requirement and re-examine the need for civility at all costs. Let’s kick off with a quote:

It means caring a lot about not offending someone. Let’s be clear, to be civil is good. Civil behavior is a useful part of a healthy team. However, it can’t be the defining characteristic of the team. Great performance means tough conversations, which is why candor should always trump civility. Candor refers to interactions defined by honest, frank and, forthright exchanges. No sugar-coating, just professional and somewhat blunt conversation. Credit: Lynda.com

Recently I was evaluating some training for some of our supervisors, and I ran across this comment. I think within the realm of human resources management, this type of thinking is more critical than almost any other area of the business. Think about it: we’re supposed to facilitate civility in the workplace. We’re supposed to help eliminate friction, prevent hurt feelings, and ensure a sense of “peace in the family.”

Preventing conflict in the workplace? That’s our job

In fact, if you’re an in-the-trenches HR kind of person, you probably thought of an ongoing situation where you’re trying to facilitate civility as you read that last paragraph. It’s just what we do, right?

But maybe we shouldn’t?

Recently I wrote about the relationship between the Chief Executive Officer of an organization and the key HR leader. The thing that CEOs want most out of HR? Candor.

[Related: Here's what 76% of CEOs appreciate about HR]

Not only do CEOs want to share candidly with HR without fear of the information being used against them; they also want HR to speak candidly with them about problems and opportunities. The relationship is too critical to allow it to be hampered by the desire to pursue civility at all costs.

The next time you’re looking at a situation that requires you to choose between being open and honest (and possibly causing conflict at work) or trying to smooth things over to prevent any negative response, make sure you are not diminishing the message so much that it loses all value.

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Predictors of job performance: How important is Personality?

It is considered that experience and skill are important predictors of job performance, and traditionally the hiring process has been based on these qualities. In recent years, however, personality has increasingly been recognised as an equally important predictor of job performance. 

Business mogul and entrepreneur Richard Branson is known to place more value on personality than skill set when hiring. Branson maintains that most jobs can be taught relatively quickly, and suggests “if you can find people who are fun, friendly, caring and love helping others, you are on to a winner”. Indeed, more and more businesses are incorporating personality testing into their hiring processes.

Attributes that make up Personality

Motivation, resilience, flexibility, and the ability to take initiative are examples of personality characteristics that strongly affect individual job performance. When planning your next workforce addition/s, it is important to underline which mix of these attributes equals ‘getting the job done effectively’ for the short and long term in your unique setting.

For example, the way individuals approach and complete tasks, adapt to change, and deal with stress are strongly influenced by personality and can have various connotations to performance depending on the environment and culture, not just the role at hand. A receptionist at a health clinic may have to be far more open to sudden adaptation and change than a law firm receptionist.

Predicting environment match 

Personality may also determine the workplace environment in which an individual is most likely to be successful. For example, introverted individuals are more likely to perform well in a job involving independent work, whereas extroverted or outgoing individuals are generally better suited to jobs involving more human interaction. 

Matching personality types together

Employers should also keep in mind how the workplace dynamic is influenced by the personalities of employees, who are more likely to stick around if they are happy in their workplace and get along with their co-workers. Matching younger up and coming employees to more experienced mentors can have great benefits for both parties, but be sure that there isn’t a large clash in flexibility or openness.

Recruiting based on personality therefore has a noticeable effect on your organisational goals. Being sure that your chance of turnover is significantly reduced is ultimately going to save costs, knowing that your staff members are adaptive to change will allow larger changes to become successful more quickly, and knowing that your staff are resilient during times of stress will reduce complaints and increase openness to job rotation and potential promotion.

Whilst experience certainly counts for something, the role personality plays in predicting job performance should not be discounted. Businesses can benefit from including an aspect of personality testing early in the recruitment process.

Want to learn more about testing personality directly related to your role and company?

Talent assessment and development Psychologists, Psych Press have a large selection of in-house and customisable assessment tools that link personality to performance prediction for a variety of companies. One such tool, Business Personality Reflections (BPR) has been used for a multitude of roles to ascertain a strong fit for recruiting decisions. Based on a wide field of research and multiple industry norms, this assessment provides a full report for your informed decision. To find out more visit the Psych Press Business Personality Reflections page.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com.au/richard-branson-hires-for-personality-2013-9

Guest Article: Group Feedback is Ineffective and Insulting by Ben

This just in: group feedback isn’t the best tool in your performance management toolbox…

I was running through some old emails the other day and found an example I had to share. Several years ago I was working as a high school wrestling referee. It was definitely a tough job, but I learned some good stuff from the experiences (not getting overwhelmed when someone’s screaming in your face is an amazing skill).

One of the quirks of the job was that you’d get an anonymous/random evaluation on your performance once or twice a year. I never once received any specific, personal feedback on how I was doing other than informally from my peers. However, occasionally, the reviewer would send out group feedback notes like the ones below…

Overall the officiating has been good. Your hustle and positioning has been generally good. There are some opportunities for improvement. Stalling is still a problem. We need to get more aggressive in calling stalling to eliminate that from the sport. With tournaments coming up at several places, remember that it is your responsibility to ensure the restricted areas of the mat are clearly marked. Also remember that only two people are allowed in the corner and they are supposed to be seated in the chairs. Over the next three weeks, I will be looking closely at how you have responded to my comments from previous evaluation and in determining who should be recommended for the post season. We have several candidates in you Association. This is your time to convince me that you are the one who deserves to be selected.

Let’s imagine for a moment that this was a performance evaluation provided to you and your team on your collective performance. How motivated and engaged would you feel if someone sent you this group feedback in an email along with twenty of your coworkers?

Yeah, I had that same reaction.

I just wanted to share as a little reminder that despite all we know about leadership and effective talent management, there are still managers that need help doing the job of managing people. Wow.

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"The Chat" - Best approach to tell your boss you’re leaving

At some point in your career, you’re most likely going to move on to bigger and better things. Despite all the feelings of joy and self-praise that go hand-in-hand with being offered a new job, the 5 minute conversation which involves notifying your employer of your departure can be daunting and emotional for many people.

Thankfully, here are some important tips to help calm your nerves!

Don’t rush into anything

Don’t rush into the conversation, there is nothing more nerve racking than speaking to an employee who is sweating, stuttering, nervous and unprepared. Your employer has it in their interests to listen and remain open, so you should take a deep breath, hold your head up and smile when you walk into that room.Timing is crucial, if it’s a stressful morning for your boss maybe pick a better time. Ask them when would be best for a private talk.

The type of relationship you have with your employer will ultimately dictate how your conversation will pan out. As it is becoming increasingly common to have a more personal relationship with your employer, you may find yourself notifying your boss of your endeavors during the conversation. However, you should avoid letting them know that you’re looking for other work if you haven’t landed a definite offer yet.

Why are you leaving?

The awkward ‘why are you leaving’ question is most likely going to arise during the chat. The classic ‘honesty is the best policy’ line would generally apply here. If you’ve decided to leave your current position due to undesirable work hours, career advancements or clashes with existing priorities, there is nothing wrong with informing your employer of this. This is your opportunity to let your boss know why you’re really leaving, which can give them great feedback on how they manage staff. Just remember that you’re not obligated to provide specific detailed reasons for the change so It's up to you how much you share about your personal plans.

You’re still on their payroll

Yes you’re leaving and yes that will mean new tasks and projects, however it’s not okay to deliberately let your work slack as a result of this. Ensure your employer that you will continue to work efficiently on current projects and aim to have them completed before you leave if possible. Keep in mind that your CV is your life summary of experiences and work history so you don’t want your boss to leave a negative recommendation. If they are able to get a replacement in, be sure to offer that you’ll write up clear instructions or train them to help them settle.

Never forget your manners

Although you may never have to deal with your employer again, it is important to remember your manners and thank him/her for giving you the opportunity to work with them. Again, keep in mind that this is the person who will be recommending you to future employers, so you want only positive comments to be made regarding your work history and departure. A simple ‘thank you for giving me the opportunity to work here’ can ensure that if you encounter your employer at a later time in either a professional or personal context, there will be no loose ends. Do the same with other staff members once your exit time is settled, and be sure to keep your network open.

Good luck!