Why Referees aren't important

The traditional recruitment process has gone something like this:

1. Advertise
2. Cull resumes
3. Interview 5-10 people
4. Shortlist 3
5. Second round interviews
6. Psychometric Assessment
7. Reference Check
8. Make offer.

The reference check stage has always intrigued me. The purpose has traditionally been to investigate any areas of concern which may have arisen from the interview or psychometric assessment stage, for example, are they as diligent as they say? Do they really deliver on time?

Two trends, however, have reduced the power of reference checking. First, do you know anyone who gives a bad referee? Second, our litigious society means that referees are far more circumspect and careful in what they say. Recruiters have learnt to make a subjective opinion about someone on the length of the silence after asking "Would you hire this person again?".

Social media is turning this process on its head.

Many recruitment processes, especially for specialist roles, now begin with a search through the net to see who is the best workplace lawyer or sustainability engineer. Recruiters look to see who is regarded as the best in the industry by reading recommendations, blog posts, articles and anything they can find about you. They may also find who they know who knows you. Then give them a call and subtly ask questions about how good you are.
They're doing their reference checking first.
And most likely, you have no idea who they are speaking to.

This means that you have to be proactive in managing your online profile. Contribute regular to online discussions (eg Linkedin Answers) and submit articles to magazines in your field. Occasionally Google yourself (no its not just for ego maniacs!) to see what others see about you.

But the best career advice of all: Do Your Job Well. Then your profile will only be positive.

The Two Critical Relationships for your Career

We've all seen those people on Linkedin or Facebook with 500+ friends. Is it possible to know that many people and, if so, is it useful? It turns out the answer depends on what you want to achieve.

There are two types of relationships: weak ties and strong ties. They are both useful but for different reasons.

Weak Ties are those people who you are acquainted with. These are the people where you start a phone call with "Hi Sue, not sure if you remember me but we met at the UQ Business School function last month". You have lots of weak ties with all the people you have met over the years. Weak ties are critical for job search. They provide you with information about industry developments, possible job openings and networks into other areas. The greater your career change, the more important weak ties become. For example, shifting from being an engineer to a TAFE teacher requires you to build a whole new network with different people and your existing weak ties will be the start.

Strong Ties are those people you know really well and are critical for learning and development. Phone calls start "Hey Sue, how's it going?". You know them well and can call them at any time. Strong ties provide opportunities for mentoring (informal or formal) as your in depth discussions reveal lessons from their own experiences. Strong ties are also chances to receive feedback on your progress and how others perceive you. Because your relationship is strong, insight can be shared without judgment.

Weak ties are critical for future job searches; Strong ties are critical for short term performance. Invest in both types of relationships.

People lessons from natural disasters

A month ago I wrote a post about the career lessons you personally can learn from the January Floods in Australia.

The natural disasters haven't stopped however. Major fires in Perth and now a harrowing earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. What we know is that we are resilient and with the right support we will pull through as individuals and as a community. Here are some further thoughts and reflections on the impact of traumatic events:

1. Everyone responds differently to a traumatic event. Be patient with all people as they each process what’s happened in their own way.
2. Take note of the important things in your life and where they come from. Life isn’t just work, but work is part of life.
3. Community is (almost) everything. The team work displayed in the recovery effort has been amazing. In your own career having great people around you is critical. As the Canadian Blueprint for Career Development says: “Engage your allies, and be a good ally”.
4. Sustainability ...... lets not take anything for granted especially Mother Nature and our planet!
5. Events make us reassess life. What is your sense of meaning and purpose? Why do you do what you do? Is 2011 the year to reassess your career direction?

Flexibility and adaptability are crucial skills in our lives. And resilience. One lady in the Brisbane floods lost everything in their storage facility which contained the belongings they salvaged three months prior from another storage facility...that had burnt down. That’s resilience.

The new new Psychological Contract

Here's a concept you may not have heard of for a while: the psychological contract. This was coined to describe the bond of trust between employer and employee which started as "obedience for security". In other words, if I display obedience to you Mr Employer, then you provide me with a secure job.

Of course, this psychological contract was irreparably damaged over the past two decades starting with the waves of downsizings in the 1980's.

The mid 1990's saw the new psychological contract evolve into "initiative for opportunity", that is, you provide me with opportunities then I'll display my initiative. To a degree this still exists today, however, the display of initiative has tended to benefit the individual far more than the employer.

I believe the psychological contract has shifted again. It is now "Purpose and Meaningful Work". Work is no longer transactional - the exchange of loyalty for money or opportunity for outcomes. Rather, work today is a collaborative project between employers and employees that is not dictated from the top down. Rather, the most successful companies clearly articulate their purpose consisting of their vision for the future and the values that will guide their behaviour to get there.

"Meaningful" is the glue which binds the individual to the organisation. If work has meaning, individuals will stay. The challenge is for people to communicate what is meaningful to them and for organisations to be flexible enough to provide the environment for meaningful work to occur.

What actually is a career?

The original meaning of career was 'to move headlong at high speed' as in, the cart careered down the road. Some days I'm sure your career still feels like that.

My favourite definition of career is by Michael Arthur and his colleagues:

"The unfolding sequence of a person's work experiences over time"

Lets break this down a bit.

First, unfolding, which describes the fluid nature of how careers are created. There is less orderly planning than we think as we respond to events and opportunities that come our way. Earlier definitions of career used 'evolving' but contemporary writers realised that this suggested a structured, logical flow which didn't represent the reality of a modern environment.

Second, work experiences. The term career emerged from the Chicago Shool of Sociology in the 1930s and had a broad meaning, for example, the career of deliquents. Today, career has a vocational flavour to do with work related activities, regardless of whether they are paid or not.

Third, over time. Our career is not static. It unfolds over time as we move through different stages. Often, our career appears fragmented looking forward, yet distinct patterns are noticable when we look back over our experiences.

Everyone has one career. We may have many jobs with multiple employers, go through different stages, and travel across geographic and occupational boundaries. But all these experiences coalesce into one career. Enjoy it!

Reference
Arthur, M.B., Hall, D.T., & Lawrence, B.S. (1989). Handbook of Career Theory. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Career lessons from the flood

The worst floods in Australia’s history, have been nothing short of devastating. Parts of South East Queensland looks like a war zone with rubbish strewn everywhere and the stench of the flood overpowering.


Two things stood out for me as this tragedy unfolded.


First, your life is not your possessions. I was helping my sister-in-law clean out her second-level storage unit that was flooded. The entire storage facility in Rocklea was wiped out and hundreds of people were slowly cleaning out their possessions and an enormous pile of rubbish was building on the sidewalk. I overheard one person say to another in front of the discarded stuff: “look at all those peoples lives, just thrown away”. But those were not people’s lives – it was just their possessions, some prized, some not. People were alive. That’s the most important thing.


Second, you can’t underestimate the importance of community in your life. The spirit of help was everywhere. Strangers were appearing to help people they didn’t know. In fact, so many people wanted to help that donation centres were soon full and volunteers had to be turned away. We do not live our lives in isolation and the people around us, in part, make us who we are.


Descartes pronounced “I think, therefore, I am”. But perhaps the Hindu principle of sattvic is more accurate: “You are, therefore, I am”.


In a similar vein, your working life – your career – will be most successful if you engage and support those people around you. Make 2011 the year of your career community.