Must Read That Other Black Hole Job Seeker Amnesia (Tom Bolt HR and Recruiter Expert)

Must Read That Other Black Hole â€" Job Seeker Amnesia (Tom Bolt HR and Recruiter Expert) I was going to say go read this post but as I read through it I found there were too many gems that I didnt want you to miss. So really, go read this blog post from Tom Bolt, an HR and recruiting expert : That Other Black Hole â€" Job Seeker Amnesia Here are the things I LOVED from this post: Tom starts off empathizing with the job seeker who gets a call and isnt ready for the call.  He says that when asked about a particular job you have applied for, and it doesnt go as you probably planned.  He says: How do I know this happens? It’s because I’ve been that voice on the other end of the line. I can’t tell you how many times this has happened while calling a job seeker and the conversation went strangely silent. How about you?  Have you gone strangely silent yet?  Its embarrassing. He then talks about the irony that if a recruiter doesnt remember you (even if you are absolutely not a fit for the job), the recruiter is considered thoughtless, lazy and stupid. And he says: When the shoe is on the other foot and the recruiter is sucked into the job seekers’ bottomless void of amnesia, is it really so different? Read that again.  You have probably bashed that stupid, inconsiderate and rude recruiter (or youve heard others bash).  Dont you think that recruiters think of you, the unprepared, the forgetful, the unorganized, as thoughtless, lazy or stupid?  Or perhaps uninterested, aloof or simply not the right person for the job? Recruiters are looking for people they can confidently present to their client (the hiring manager).  If you are any of those things the recruiter isnt going to CONFIDENTLY present you! Tom goes on to say: it is absolutely imperative that you keep detailed records of all of your contacts, applications, leads, conversations and anything else that could keep you on track. ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE.  Seriously.  Ive thought that since I started JibberJobber.  Some people, rookies, beginners, think they can remember this stuff.  I tell you, as your job search goes on longer and longer, you cant remember it. ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE. He continues: JibberJobber is an excellent online contact manager designed specifically for the job seeker and leaves little to be added other than  entering your data every day of your search. And, with our Email2Log feature we make it easier to enter data every day. You simply send an email to your contacts and blind copy JibberJobber and thats it!  It is SIMPLE to update your data every day. He says: Really, the reason for keeping records is not just to prevent embarrassment. Youll need to read his post to learn why and what his finally advice is. Great post, and thank you to Tom Bolt for the props about JibberJobber! Must Read That Other Black Hole â€" Job Seeker Amnesia (Tom Bolt HR and Recruiter Expert) I was going to say go read this post but as I read through it I found there were too many gems that I didnt want you to miss. So really, go read this blog post from Tom Bolt, an HR and recruiting expert : That Other Black Hole â€" Job Seeker Amnesia Here are the things I LOVED from this post: Tom starts off empathizing with the job seeker who gets a call and isnt ready for the call.  He says that when asked about a particular job you have applied for, and it doesnt go as you probably planned.  He says: How do I know this happens? It’s because I’ve been that voice on the other end of the line. I can’t tell you how many times this has happened while calling a job seeker and the conversation went strangely silent. How about you?  Have you gone strangely silent yet?  Its embarrassing. He then talks about the irony that if a recruiter doesnt remember you (even if you are absolutely not a fit for the job), the recruiter is considered thoughtless, lazy and stupid. And he says: When the shoe is on the other foot and the recruiter is sucked into the job seekers’ bottomless void of amnesia, is it really so different? Read that again.  You have probably bashed that stupid, inconsiderate and rude recruiter (or youve heard others bash).  Dont you think that recruiters think of you, the unprepared, the forgetful, the unorganized, as thoughtless, lazy or stupid?  Or perhaps uninterested, aloof or simply not the right person for the job? Recruiters are looking for people they can confidently present to their client (the hiring manager).  If you are any of those things the recruiter isnt going to CONFIDENTLY present you! Tom goes on to say: it is absolutely imperative that you keep detailed records of all of your contacts, applications, leads, conversations and anything else that could keep you on track. ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE.  Seriously.  Ive thought that since I started JibberJobber.  Some people, rookies, beginners, think they can remember this stuff.  I tell you, as your job search goes on longer and longer, you cant remember it. ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE. He continues: JibberJobber is an excellent online contact manager designed specifically for the job seeker and leaves little to be added other than  entering your data every day of your search. And, with our Email2Log feature we make it easier to enter data every day. You simply send an email to your contacts and blind copy JibberJobber and thats it!  It is SIMPLE to update your data every day. He says: Really, the reason for keeping records is not just to prevent embarrassment. Youll need to read his post to learn why and what his finally advice is. Great post, and thank you to Tom Bolt for the props about JibberJobber! Must Read That Other Black Hole â€" Job Seeker Amnesia (Tom Bolt HR and Recruiter Expert) I was going to say go read this post but as I read through it I found there were too many gems that I didnt want you to miss. So really, go read this blog post from Tom Bolt, an HR and recruiting expert : That Other Black Hole â€" Job Seeker Amnesia Here are the things I LOVED from this post: Tom starts off empathizing with the job seeker who gets a call and isnt ready for the call.  He says that when asked about a particular job you have applied for, and it doesnt go as you probably planned.  He says: How do I know this happens? It’s because I’ve been that voice on the other end of the line. I can’t tell you how many times this has happened while calling a job seeker and the conversation went strangely silent. How about you?  Have you gone strangely silent yet?  Its embarrassing. He then talks about the irony that if a recruiter doesnt remember you (even if you are absolutely not a fit for the job), the recruiter is considered thoughtless, lazy and stupid. And he says: When the shoe is on the other foot and the recruiter is sucked into the job seekers’ bottomless void of amnesia, is it really so different? Read that again.  You have probably bashed that stupid, inconsiderate and rude recruiter (or youve heard others bash).  Dont you think that recruiters think of you, the unprepared, the forgetful, the unorganized, as thoughtless, lazy or stupid?  Or perhaps uninterested, aloof or simply not the right person for the job? Recruiters are looking for people they can confidently present to their client (the hiring manager).  If you are any of those things the recruiter isnt going to CONFIDENTLY present you! Tom goes on to say: it is absolutely imperative that you keep detailed records of all of your contacts, applications, leads, conversations and anything else that could keep you on track. ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE.  Seriously.  Ive thought that since I started JibberJobber.  Some people, rookies, beginners, think they can remember this stuff.  I tell you, as your job search goes on longer and longer, you cant remember it. ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE. He continues: JibberJobber is an excellent online contact manager designed specifically for the job seeker and leaves little to be added other than  entering your data every day of your search. And, with our Email2Log feature we make it easier to enter data every day. You simply send an email to your contacts and blind copy JibberJobber and thats it!  It is SIMPLE to update your data every day. He says: Really, the reason for keeping records is not just to prevent embarrassment. Youll need to read his post to learn why and what his finally advice is. Great post, and thank you to Tom Bolt for the props about JibberJobber! Must Read That Other Black Hole â€" Job Seeker Amnesia (Tom Bolt HR and Recruiter Expert) I was going to say go read this post but as I read through it I found there were too many gems that I didnt want you to miss. So really, go read this blog post from Tom Bolt, an HR and recruiting expert : That Other Black Hole â€" Job Seeker Amnesia Here are the things I LOVED from this post: Tom starts off empathizing with the job seeker who gets a call and isnt ready for the call.  He says that when asked about a particular job you have applied for, and it doesnt go as you probably planned.  He says: How do I know this happens? It’s because I’ve been that voice on the other end of the line. I can’t tell you how many times this has happened while calling a job seeker and the conversation went strangely silent. How about you?  Have you gone strangely silent yet?  Its embarrassing. He then talks about the irony that if a recruiter doesnt remember you (even if you are absolutely not a fit for the job), the recruiter is considered thoughtless, lazy and stupid. And he says: When the shoe is on the other foot and the recruiter is sucked into the job seekers’ bottomless void of amnesia, is it really so different? Read that again.  You have probably bashed that stupid, inconsiderate and rude recruiter (or youve heard others bash).  Dont you think that recruiters think of you, the unprepared, the forgetful, the unorganized, as thoughtless, lazy or stupid?  Or perhaps uninterested, aloof or simply not the right person for the job? Recruiters are looking for people they can confidently present to their client (the hiring manager).  If you are any of those things the recruiter isnt going to CONFIDENTLY present you! Tom goes on to say: it is absolutely imperative that you keep detailed records of all of your contacts, applications, leads, conversations and anything else that could keep you on track. ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE.  Seriously.  Ive thought that since I started JibberJobber.  Some people, rookies, beginners, think they can remember this stuff.  I tell you, as your job search goes on longer and longer, you cant remember it. ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE. He continues: JibberJobber is an excellent online contact manager designed specifically for the job seeker and leaves little to be added other than  entering your data every day of your search. And, with our Email2Log feature we make it easier to enter data every day. You simply send an email to your contacts and blind copy JibberJobber and thats it!  It is SIMPLE to update your data every day. He says: Really, the reason for keeping records is not just to prevent embarrassment. Youll need to read his post to learn why and what his finally advice is. Great post, and thank you to Tom Bolt for the props about JibberJobber!

How to Beat Unconscious Bias in Recruitment

How to Beat Unconscious Bias in Recruitment Is your hiring process prejudiced? Recent research from Mckinsey  shows that a gender and ethnically diverse workforce produces greater company return than a homogeneous one. So why are we still hiring the wrong people? Well its not for the lack of trying. Western companies spend billions every year on trying to de-clone their workforce. In 2015, Google alone invested $150 million  into diversification. Improvements, however, are slow â€" and recent reports of Facebook’s failing efforts to create a more diverse workforce  isnt good news. After all, if Facebook can’t do it, no-one can. So what’s the problem? Is the talent really not there? Of course it is. The problem, my friends, is not the candidates. It’s the recruiters. Jennifer or John? We all know the basics. Men dominate tech firms, C-suites and finance. Women rule primary care, counselling and HR. But is this imbalance caused by a genuine gender divide in good candidates? Or is it a problem with company hiring methods? In an experiment conducted by Corinne Moss-Racusin of Skidmore College, more than a 100 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) professors from across the U.S. were asked to evaluate two CVs: one belonging to a Jennifer, the other to a John. The CVs were identical, apart from the name at the top. And yet, in the feedback given from the professionals, John’s competency was considered significantly superior to that of Jennifer. Not only were the professors less willing to hire Jennifer as a lab manager, but Jennifer was offered an average salary of $4,000 per year (13%) less than John. Chances are, few of the professors involved in Moss-Racusin’s trial would have classed themselves as sexist prior to the experiment’s results. It was their unconscious gender bias that tipped the scales in favour of John. Nor is gender bias unique to STEM fields. Across all fields, recruiters subconsciously expect men to perform better in examinations, offer women lower salaries and tailor high-paid job adverts towards males over females, according to Medreps. Of course, the scales tip the other way too. Particularly in fields such as primary care, as this author has written in the Guardian, men are much less likely  to be recruited into roles than women. Whether this is down to significantly lower male applications, and male expectations of higher wages over modest teacher salaries, is up for debate. Lakisha or Laura? Racial bias remains a strong issue in many fields â€" and not always because of recruiter preferences. A study  by  NBER, similar to the Jennifer/John experiment but only using ‘ethnic minority’ names, showed that candidates with minority names are 33% less likely to receive a call-back for a submitted CV. In fact, studies like this one in Fortune, indicate that many companies shy from hiring ethnic minorities for a more difficult reason: they fear their customers prejudices. Unfortunately, a study by Cornell  found that many ostensibly un-prejudiced hiring managers tend to employ people of their own ethnicity  â€" not necessarily because they are racist, but because we tend to empathise most with people similar to ourselves. Whos hired? There are plenty of other preconceptions that affect hiring decisions. Recruiters are, like all of us, human. They make assumptions based on height, weight and race. Studies show that, thanks to the ‘halo effect’, attractive people are more likely to both be hired and progress rapidly within an organisation. The ‘affinity bias’ ensures that recruiters show preference for candidates with a similar background to themselves, whether it’s the school they went to or their preference for techno music. And then there’s the contrast phenomenon â€" where we pick a candidate purely because their CV stands out from the others, whether the reason makes them good for the job or not. And finally you’ve got simple confirmation bias â€" that is, when you’re more likely to hire someone about whom you’ve made a previous positive assumption. In the end, it doesn’t matter what your recruitment team’s unconscious prejudices constitute; they’re causing the best candidates to be passed over, and that’s neither fair nor beneficial to your business. Taking action The first step to ensure that you’re hiring fairly is to look at your typical job ad. Job postings can, famously, be misleading â€" and  Harvard  found that they are often gendered too. Popular words like ‘ninja’ and ‘dominant’ are likely to discourage female applicants, while ‘caring’ and ‘collaborative’ will do the same for the boys. By ensuring your ad appeals to men and women equally, you will be reaching out to the maximum available talent pool. A simple answer to name-based prejudice is to knock it out at the source. In October 2015,  the UK government announced plans for UCAS to begin considering student applications only with the attached names erased. This ‘name-blind’ approach, intended to start from 2017, would ensure candidates were not discriminated against for racial or class-related reasons at the application-reading stage. Such an approach could, of course, be extended by recruiters to include other details that should be irrelevant to the hiring process, such as age and gender â€" as several companies in Australia have recently demonstrated. Recruiting firm TMPW suggests video interviews  as a possible solution. Their reasoning? “Because multiple individuals can view the video, the probability of unconscious bias is reduced.” Of course, videos themselves offer possibilities for potential discrimination, by revealing the race, attractiveness and accent of the candidate involved. But, as TMPW acknowledges, “with the right amount of education and monitoring, this type of discrimination can be resolved, and companies can ensure that managers focus on the relevant criteria.” There is, of course, a simple solution to all these issues: robotisation. Already most companies use some form of computerised selection to narrow down potential candidates from the pool of applicants. Over the next few years, even the final stages may be decided by AI. Apps like Joonko and Blendoor are already seeking to combat the bias inherent in recruiting processes. They’re inexpensive to use and could be a valuable training tool, if nothing else. So next time you’re hiring, honestly ask yourself: can I be confident that no bias will be present in this process? If the answer is no, remember that there are things you can do to buff up your hire. Your candidates â€" and business â€" will thank you for it. About the author: Susanna writes for Inspiring Interns, a  graduate recruitment  agency.

Gratitude Book Review Thanks! by Dr. Robert Emmons - VocationVillage

Gratitude Book Review Thanks! by Dr. Robert Emmons - VocationVillage One of my favorite books about gratitude is Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier, by Dr. Robert Emmons.Dr. Emmons is a gratitude guru who has dedicated his life to the study of thankfulness. Positive psychology research finds that there are health and mood benefits to practicing gratitude. Some people are naturally cheerful and thankful, but most people have to work on it.Dictionary.com says that to be grateful means to be warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received, to be thankful. Gratitude is the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful. Dr. Emmons work is grounded in the positive psychology movement, a shift in social science from studying clinical and emotional problems to studying human emotions that are healthy and pleasurable.Dr. Emmons believes that gratitude can be cultivated in a positive way and is an important component in human happiness. In one of Dr. Emmons most compelling research studies, he and fellow researcher, Dr. Mike McCullough, asked participants to keep a gratitude journal for 10 weeks. They were asked to write about things for which they were thankful: simple everyday pleasures, people in their lives, personal strengths or talents, moments of natural beauty, or gestures of kindness from others. By contrast, a second group was asked to focus on and write about neutral events in their lives, and a third group was asked to write about hassles. At the end of the study, the participants in the first group (abbreviated as GG for the remainder of this review) reported being 25% happier than those participants in the other groups. They also reported a host of other benefits, including more time spent exercising, fewer physical health complaints, and a variety of positive mood states. Even more interesting, they offered more prosocial help to other people than did the participants in the other conditions, and they reported feeling closer and more connected to others.The benefits for those people in the GG persisted for up to six months as they spontaneously decided to continue their effort. Probably because the initial results were so compelling, Dr. Emmons decided to replicate the original study, but this time with patients with neuromuscular disease. In this new study, despite the ir medical challenges, the participants in the GG (compared to the control group) showed significantly more positive affect and satisfaction with life, felt more optimistic about the upcoming week, and felt more connected with others. In addition, the participants in the GG reported physical benefits such as improved sleep at night and increased energy during the day.Positive psychology researchers speculate that the human brain cannot simultaneously hold two mutually exclusive emotional states. For example, relaxation is incompatible with stress, and depression is incompatible with gratitude.Dr. Emmons argues that the research is overwhelmingly positive about the benefits of thankfulness, so he concludes the book with specific suggestions for how to cultivate it. One of my favorite suggestions is to seek out opportunities to be grateful, even when circumstances make it more challenging. Dr. Emmons gives as an example the Dalai Lama, who says he is grateful for his enemies because t hey give him such opportunity to practice patience.My overall conclusion is that this book is extremely persuasive and if your personal goal is to be happier, this book can give you some specific strategies to achieve that.

Size Doesnt Matter in Small Business Cultures - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Size Doesnt Matter in Small Business Cultures - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career The term “silos” in relation to company culture is typically associated with larger organizations. For that reason I was flabbergasted by a conversation with the CEO of a small, but very well respected not-for-profit in my community. She told me she wanted to improve teamwork in her organization. That sounded typical and not unusual to hear from a small business CEO. Then, I probed a little deeper and she added, “well, we need to break down the silos in our organization, too.” “So, how many employees do you have?” I asked. “Seven.” I replied, “Oh, that’s interesting.” Can you imagine? Cultural silo issues with just seven total people in a work environment? She chose not to hire me to help her with those challenges. And then, less than two years later we reconnected at a holiday event at which time she gave me an update. “I’m very upset with Sally (her “former” CFO), she left me in August and only gave me the standard two weeks’ notice. I just listened. As I did, I was thinking, “isn’t it odd that in such a small organization the CEO and CFO would have a relationship where the CEO would not have enough of a trusting relationship with her CFO to know she was looking to move on?” Obviously, two years later, the silos (even in the C-Suite) were still entrenched. This is an organizational culture issue. All organizations have a culture. As usual, in most things, size doesn’t matter. A couple of key things to understand about organizational cultures: They develop through one of two ways, default (the most popular) or by design. However they develop the most important influencer is the senior most leader of the organization. He or she, through their behavior and communication style, sets the tone that flows throughout. Peter Drucker, the founder and guru of present day organizational management consulting once said, “culture eats strategy for lunch,” meaning that regardless of how great an organization’s strategy, if the organization’s culture is not in the right place, the strategy will fail miserably. Organizations large and small invest tens of thousands to millions of dollars to create their corporate strategy, yet invest virtually nothing in creating a culture that will be THE driving force to move the strategy towards success. This, I believe, is a universal truth in business. Yet, it is violated in virtually every company, regardless of whether it has six, 600, 6000 or 60,000 people working in it. Only a precious few get it right. Does yours? The simple question to ask when developing your company’s strategy is, “does our present organizational culture function in a way that will support the successful implementation of this strategy?” If the answer is “Yes,” don’t stop there. Test your assumptions behind that “yes.” Chances are those in the boardroom creating the strategy have no clue whether that “yes” answer is true. Keep that in mind as you begin creating or adjusting your strategy for 2016.

How to deal with stress before results day - Debut

How to deal with stress before results day - Debut This post was written by an external contributor. Devin Thomas discusses the best ways to stay calm as you wait for those all-important results come in.   Results day is one of the most stressful days of the year for an A-level or university student. Having struggled through the build-up of a fair few of these myself, I’m here to give you a few tips on how you can minimise the dread and maximise the anticipation of what should be a wonderful day for you no matter what. Be excited for the best-case outcome Chances are, if you’ve stuck with your classes and put the effort in, you’ll get exactly the results you hope for. It can be hard to think positively about your results when you’ve been through the stress of mocks, deadlines and the exam period, but knowing that you’ve done your best and can be proud of whatever grades come your way on results day is important. Bear in mind, also, that being proud of your performance is okay. If friends don’t get the grades they hoped for, it can be tough to take pride in excelling above them. But taking pleasure in your success is important, and is necessary for taking the next step â€" be that university, postgraduate study or a grad job. Remember that it’s okay to be happy on results day just as much as it’s completely fine to be miserable. Acknowledge the worst-case outcome Hopefully you won’t have to utilise this point but thinking about your options if the worst were to happen can be a very healthy thing. There will always be options for you. If you’re an A-level student, there’s clearance; if you’re a university graduate, there’s entry-level grad jobs. Perhaps you won’t be able to do exactly what you’d hoped, but there will always be options. I went to a university that was my last choice before results day came around. This was due solely to the fact that I failed to get an offer from anywhere else. I ended up having an amazing three years because of it, and I know from experience that even what you hope won’t happen can lead to an incredible experience. Reflect If you’re really dreading opening those results, one of the best things to do is to keep things in perspective. You’re at the end of a chapter of your life, and results are symbolic of that. It’s normal to dread them. But every chapter in life must finish, and every one that finishes does so for a new one to start. Whatever happens on results day, your education will have involved great times, new friends and exciting experiences. It can be scary to leave a period of your life behind. It can be even scarier to face a piece of paper that tells you how much your education was worth. Even if your results aren’t what you hoped for, youll likely be moving onto bigger and better things. You could take this time to see your friends, and reminisce about everything you’ve shared. Relax In almost every piece of advice I write, I urge readers to relax. As any student or recent graduate can attest to, this can never be encouraged enough. Keeping calm and minimising the amount you freak out in advance over things is the best way to stay mentally healthy. If you’re not the best at keeping things in perspective, and truly believe that a C in your History exam would be the end of you, my advice would be to relax in any way you possibly can. As an anxious person and an unabashed believer in the calming and heart-warming qualities of a good children’s film, my pre-results go-to is Pixar’s Inside Out. You might want to choose something a little less traumatic â€" but whatever works for you, a distraction is much-needed in the build-up to results, and you deserve it. Download Debut  and  connect with us on  Facebook,  Twitter  and  LinkedIn  for more careers insights.