Back in the Day

Previous roles are changed as life cycles evolve.

Today is Gerry Crispin’s birthday. He’s over 55 which is one of the thresholds for deeming a person as old, or ready to retire, or antiquated, or no longer useful. In other words, a target for age discrimination, whether passive or overt. Yet those who are 40 and older, even as old as in their late 80s, are still active in the work marketplace via many forms of employment and engagement. There is still a need for their knowledge, skills, and talent. Those attributes, those assets, provide a great deal of value to whatever enterprise chooses to include them in their mixture of talent.

I used this day to post a (as usual) teasing birthday wish to Gerry that read: “Have people started asking you about what you did back in the day? I just know you have a great response for that.”

For those of you who are curious about how “back in the day” is defined, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English says it means “a long time ago, when you were much younger.”

Actually (never short on words or responses), Gerry did have a great public response, while also laughing at himself. It was:

lol. When the dinosaurs roamed the earth, recruiting was different but, as a candidate, you could physically apply to more companies then on a given day (Saturday before noon) with envelopes, paper resumes and stamps than you can in an entire week online. We could do a test…if there were any newspaper classifieds left but there isn’t so you’ll just have to take my word for it.

He raises some good discussion points. Undaunted, I had a response to his observations.

In the days of classified ads, all people were paid a minimum, livable wage. Thus, they were able to afford the cost of paper, copies, envelopes, stamps, transportation costs. But then, mailboxes were on every other street corner or the postal worker picked up the outgoing letters while delivering the new.

In those days, also, there wasn’t as much research required (or at least invested in) finding a job.

Now, in this digital age, there is less volume in terms of sent resumes because there’s more need for research. The challenges of making online applications can be time consuming if the employer doesn’t have a good webmaster.

Additionally, people are so busy working two, and up to five, jobs (as well as gigs) that they simply don’t have the time to do as many applications as back in the ’60s.

Then there are the discouragement and disillusion factors.

Gen Xers and Millennials (and even some who are older) have no qualms about expressing their belief that gray hair is an indication of being old, retired, and no longer active in the workforce. They will politely inquire about what it was like “back in the day” while forgetting that there are many who have gray hair and hold very responsible positions in businesses, while sitting on boards of directors, practicing from the bench (Associate Justice Kennedy), and being very involved in their consulting and training professions.

These gray- and white-haired stoics are not out in the pasture. An elite number have managed to stay afloat in the relevant and needed arena and are proving their worth in gold. And there are those who have been worn down to the rim and taken out of the game, many times not by choice.

Applying for work “back in the day” was more reasonable in many ways. No longer is it possible to simply take the “Help Wanted” sign out of the window and hand it to the owner while saying, “I’d like to apply for the job,” and get considered (even hired) on the spot. Job search was supposed to get better because of technological advances and the reach of cyber presence which also reduced the cost associated with conducting a search and vying for the gold ring along with that younger group.

There’s a vast amount of value in these vintage competitors. The training and preparation during their early days of school was different, more sound. There wasn’t a mass flocking to garner a degree, or even an advanced degree. There was substance being taught and concepts demonstrated in classroom discussion. There was actual experience gained through internships and volunteer work that didn’t detract from earning a meaningful living wage. Wage earning and work experience happened through various channels. For most, that experience and education was recognized and rewarded. But that was back in the day.

References:

• From guns to gay rights, Justice Anthony Kennedy was the Supreme Court’s swing vote, Richard Wolf, USA TODAY (3:32 p.m. ET June 27, 2018 | Updated 10:24 p.m. ET June 27, 2018)
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
• Age Discrimination
• EEOC Head On Age Discrimination By Employers, Chris Farrell Contributor, Next Avenue (Aug 17, 2018, 01:00pm)
• Facebook will remove 5,000 ad targeting categories to prevent discrimination, Nick Statt, The Verge (Aug 21, 2018, 1:23pm EDT)
• Try These 7 Smart Strategies to Find a Job, Randy Lilleston, AARP (March 23, 2018)
• Avoid the Seven Mistakes Job Seekers in Their 50s Make, How to sell yourself in a digital work world, sharpen your interview skills and write a look-at-me résumé, James A. Martin, AARP

Resources:

• Unfinished Work: The Struggle to Build an Aging American Workforce
• HR Genius

Over 50 and Counting

Experience-based Qualification

One of the things I’m an advocate about is inclusive employment for those over 50. They bring to the table a wealth of experience and knowledge that can be crossed over to other matters. It’s because of the awareness.

These are people who, actuarially speaking, have a lot more and a lot longer to making the social and business milieu better and we should avail ourselves of those benefits rather than shove them into a space and make them vegetate. Practice keeps abilities sharp and honed. Think of tools that rust and deteriorate from lack of use and maintenance.

Mental and physical practice are also tools that deserve to be kept sharp. Like a well-seasoned cooking vessel, they get better with time and continued use. Here’s evidence of one such person – who also realized there was “another door” that could be opened.

Resources:

• 5 Factors That Affect Your Employee’s Productivity, National Business Research Institute
• Media Professional Turned Personal Trainer, AARP
• Businessman Turned Prison Tutor, AARP
• Retiree Lands Bike Tour Job on Venice Beach, AARP
• Retired Teacher Gets Girls Into STEM, AARP
• Another Door
• SCORE
• ADEA

Additional Resources:

• Older Workers: Enhanced Communication among Federal Agencies Could Improve Strategies for Hiring and Retaining Experienced Workers: GAO-09-206
• Prolonged Employment of Older Workers: Determinants of Managers’ Decisions Regarding Hiring, Retention and Training (NiDi Books)
• Read The Desk on Kindle

Job Search and Job Application Fees

August 25, 2017

Making the Right Choice

It was May 23, 2017, the day I embarked on applying for temporary jobs and researching temporary agencies. It was also the day I started applying for online work. Finally, it was the day I was greeted by an onslaught of mail from various sources holding out information about open positions or interviews ready for me to attend. (Many of those messages are still in several of my email Inboxes.)

Not to be outdone and with the recollection about some very disappointing experiences with another virtual gigs site from a year before, I decided to explore some of those notices. Alerts for the type of work that would be suitable for me and my talents were created. A new onslaught of notifications began to arrive. I finally picked through a few of them, read the description, and decided on one or two that seemed to be a good match.

On the very first one where I was about to submit my resume, I was greeted by a notice that an application fee would be required in order for my resume and application to be accepted. (No guarantee they would be reviewed, just accepted.) Just a minute. Somewhere in the recesses of my legal memory lay a recollection of research that said an agency cannot charge a fee for making an application for work. There was something curious about that particular website. I withdrew my resume and application. I also forgot to take note of which site had that requirement. What I do remember is the only thing they offered was a menu of new openings as well as a submission portal. There were no additional services offered.

The experience made me remember a site that no longer exists and was known as “Sologig” which was an outgrowth of “Hot Gigs”, that became CareerBuilder, and (like Dr. Who) has experienced several re-generations. The freelancing side of its operations is completely different these days. Circa 2006 and ’07, a freelancer seeking work would pay a subscription or membership fee in order to be found for work.

This protocol was very similar to the one eventually used by Remote.com. To justify charging a fee to be hired, the cost was considered a subscription to a community that offered additional services and enhancements. Additionally (you’re going to like this news), the subscription fee was tax deductible as a job search expense. (Please don’t ask me how that type of fee will be treated under the newly-inked tax bill. It’s too soon to have analyzed and comprehended the 10,000-page document.) However, in January 2006, Sologig advised in its newsletter:

Your Sologig membership is tax deductible

The tax season is upon us and, as with other business expenses, your Sologig.com membership fees are tax deductible. The IRS has many valuable resources available to independent contractors. You can find more information about filing, deductions as well as other tips to save you time and money. Read the Sologig News article on filing your taxes as an independent contractor. (The archived link takes the reader to this article.)

So that may be the key to determining whether the job search site is a scam. Is the fee for registering to be found by potential employers as well as apply for work include special services such as training, resume services, skills testing and certification, and so on? Then perhaps this is a legitimate fee-for-services site.

But if you’re paying for the privilege of submitting your application and resume to the company’s website ATS (applicant tracking system) where the only human eyes that will eventually see them are pretty far down the road, you’d best move on to a more robust site with more than artificial intelligence examining what’s been submitted with no fee for your diligence and effort.

Resources:

• Can you charge a fee for a job application?, SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney (2010)
• Common Job Scams and How to Avoid Them, Allison Doyle, The Balance: Job Searching (Updated October 12, 2016)
• Learn About Fake Recruiter Scams and How to Avoid Them, Allison Doyle, The Balance: Job Searching (Updated October 06, 2017)
• Beware of This Increasingly Common Job Scam Using FlexJobs’ Name, Sara Sutton Fell (13 Sep, 2017)
• Are Membership Dues Tax Deductible?, Network for Good, Posted in Best Practices (April 2, 2009)
• Are Nonprofit Membership Dues Tax Deductible?, Craig Berman, Sapling (February 11, 2011)

Sponsored Links:

• Talent Genius
• PHR/SPHR Recertification

Screening: How Much Experience

It’s an awakening time – again. But this time in another area.

Mistake One: Need-based Promotion

The first awakening was in the mid 1980s when I was a supervisor saddled with several rather mindless tasks that were also time consuming. One of them could be easily delegated. The receptionist wanted to grow out of her position and into something more responsible. She politicked. She told me about her endeavors in paralegal self study and how much she was reading. It seemed putting her into that administrative role could be helpful to both her and me as well as do the firm a service. I petitioned my supervising attorney who asked me to create a job description. He cautioned that her training and supervision was my responsibility. Accepted.

Her job description was written. It was given to her and she liked it. She accepted it. I thought she was doing well because her questions became scarce and she seemed busy. I was mistaken.

I was also responsible for training the securities paralegal and our new lawyers on handling corporate matters, especially forming a corporation. In the long run, I learned the receptionist who became the keeper of the library of corporate kits, was going to the securities paralegal (a 25-year-old, chauvinistic Bostonian man) for guidance and knowledge and then began considering him as her supervisor. She forgot that she reported to me. He felt he was superior to me and he had the support of a very popular securities lawyer.

Knowledge based on training

There were many issues that brewed in the office. So many that I forgot to monitor the growth of the corporate kit keeper’s knowledge and the depth of it. I should have kept better track of her work – even though there were many times when I found myself needing to work deal miracles. Perhaps I should have done a better job of teaching her new aspects of the work. But I definitely needed to help her realize that merely reading the book was not the same as being qualified to do the work. Perhaps more of an open-door policy with regard to learning opportunities would have resulted in a better outcome.

Doomed Destiny

There were other ethical issues that plagued all of the offices of that firm. The writing was on the walls and there were no erasers. The practices fed on themselves. One example was the lateral hire who was being interviewed from one office to another while carrying his plate lunch with him. Interviews continued as the firm’s convulsed its way toward its demise. Prudence dictated that interviewing stop, but it didn’t.

I was able to get out several months ahead of the collapse. Like a scorpion, the firm killed itself. But the collapse was because of the practices of many of the lawyers. There was also too much competitiveness and too many hidden agendas. There was also an enormous number of those who (like me with the corporate kit keeper) shirked their responsibilities in deference to billable hours and trying to hold down the fort.

We all should have been paying attention to the most important things. We should have been screening for experience and had a willingness to train if there was budget to do so.

Translatable Lessons

Screening for experience is something we do in many professions. The plumber brings their apprentice with them in order to train the learner about the proper way to use their tools and to identify what the issue is. The apprentice is not set loose on a project with no supervision until the trainer is certain of the skill that is going to be applied to the job.

The learner has seen the right way to do things. The conditions are explained to them. Also explained are the consequences and outcomes of taking a wrong step or making a bad turn. Terminology is explained so that both the learner and the teacher are conversing about the same thing. In that way, they can adequately talk to the client about the job, provide an estimate, form a contract for services, and then complete the job so that the bill is paid. Communication is a very critical element in screening.

Examples

How much experience does this potential worker have? Where are their references or testimonials? How many similar projects of this type have they done? Is this the first one? (Maybe they’re a volunteer who’s in transition and building a new portfolio.) Perhaps they have lateral experience that translates to what is needed for the job that’s open. Find out. Evaluate. Have them explain why this is a valid example of the type of work that can be expected from them. At the same time, you’ll be able to evaluate their ability to communicate, comprehend instructions, convey their appreciation and assessment of a situation, and depth of knowledge.

If they’ve merely been reading a book or simply talking (networking) with others in their target career option, that doesn’t necessarily mean they have the qualifications to be considered anything more than a newcomer.

Careful Evaluation

It’s one thing to read the book. That exercise provides the foundation for the knowledge. There’s more to learning than the mere visual intake of words. Learning comes in three ways: visual, auditory, and manual. Some people learn by using only one of those modalities. Others use two, and still other learners require all three.

Cementing the knowledge means actually using it. It’s best to practice the discipline before attempting to execute in the real environment. That’s why athletes and musicians practice and do drills. That why actors rehearse and block scenes. It’s why doctors and lawyers go through various stages of preparing for their discipline and developing their body of knowledge.

The motivation for getting into that career path and opportunity is evidenced by not just the portfolio of past accomplishments. That shows a history of experience. And that experience could have met with unexpected detours and interruptions. But the focused endeavors to practice the craft, science, art will have examples and work product. Where can those be found? If they’ve been deleted by some unethical hand, it’s a loss for everyone except those who actually saw or experienced it and can attest to its value. Another witness to experience is how well the candidate can discuss the project in detail. Perhaps there were no external evaluations that contained constructive critiques. Then evaluate how well the candidate did a self assessment and grew from that self counseling.

The amount of experience a person has is also evidenced in whether they’re capable of coming up with adaptations. Whether they’re successful or not is not the initial consideration as much as they have sufficient appreciation of the circumstances to enable them to come up with alternative methods of attack in order to reach the desired goal – ethically. It’s because they have a deep appreciation of the foundation principles that they will be able to identify a reasonable facsimile or substitute if the proper tool simply isn’t in the toolbox. They’re almost like MacGyver. Even if there are no longer work samples available, the knowledge (even long unused) is still there to benefit those who need and want it.

Enhancements, such as continuing education or next grade level training, will make the candidate even more valuable. Age is not so much a factor as is adaptability and depth of knowledge, as ability to move with change – or cause it because of that underlying experience.

Also keep in mind that now that we are a global society, we still use different terms (or labels) for things depending on where we are. What is call “The Plough” in the United Kingdom is known as Ursa Major elsewhere. So it’s important that the terminology or jargon is matching up between the parties.

How Much Experience Do You Have?

It would be nice to find credibility and proof of ability on the store shelf. Unfortunately, it takes time and practice to properly evaluate a candidate. Application of knowledge in projects directly related to the present goal or indirectly via a similar or lateral endeavor can prove to have enduring benefits. Repeated practice, with successes, build on the portfolio. Sending your employees off to a training and then never having them put into practice what they learned at the training is money thrown out the window three times over. There was the cost of the training, the cost of the personnel who covered the absence, and the wages paid while the employee was attending the training but left with no way to use it. Make that thrown out the window four times.

I’m not certain how a candidate can adequately convey knowledge and experience gained from being in the trenches. That type of insight provides a very deep awareness and appreciation of what the customer/audience wants and needs. It also gives a deeper appreciation of why one tactic will work compared with what the textbook said. Being in the trenches gives the practitioner more genuineness. When you pull out of the trenches, the landscape may still look the way it did when you entered it. But there have been changes on both sides of the picture.

Epiphanies

Incidentally, I’m finally about to embark on a long delayed step in my professional endeavors (which has spawned some of this writing). The handouts for a talk I’m doing later this month will be created as digital content. I’m learning about creating and publishing an ebook. The simple act of talking about “front matter” became a six-hour exercise of following instructions based on old technology and obsolete protocols. The updated information is now available. Meanwhile, there’s been searching for what was discussed under the old protocols. There’s been applying the principles to test runs. And there’s been time to recognize distractions and time management issues – in addition to the need for trial runs.

The term “front matter” is not the same in every genre. Which brings me back to terminology and jargon. Make certain you’re talking about the same thing as the experience is being discussed or described. Also be certain of what is considered proficient and standard in that part of the world compared with where the work is to be performed. Avoid throwing out the proverbial baby.

Resources:

• Training and Experience (T & E) Evaluations
• Evaluating Experience: The Key to Successful Selection of Outside Counsel
• Evaluating Personal Experience
• Ability and Tenacity
• Who’s Responsible for Getting Bob Hired?
• Ia This What You Want?

Sponsored Links:

• Evaluating, Awarding and Transferring Prior Learning Credits in Higher Education: The New Paradigm in Awarding College Credits for Work, Life and Learning Experiences in the 21st Century and Beyond
• PHR/SPHR Certification Exam preparation

Evaluating Character

There are candidates who present themselves and proclaim that they have a passion about a particular cause that makes them uniquely qualified because of the insights that passion caused them to discover. For the most part, this is a very real facet of gaining knowledge and expertise. It supplements knowledge of the primary discipline that, in turn, creates the ability to forecast consequences of one act compared with another on future outcomes.

Sometimes the interview will aid in discovering the candidate’s growing interest in their passion and how it’s applicable to the work they seek. Some will be insightful and bring this interest into the conversation at some strategic time. Caution needs to be used if the added awareness and qualification for the position is couched on this passion and not direct experience.

Sometimes this “passion” is fleeting; it exists only for the sake of gaining a better position over the competition. One sign of a fleeting passion is the inability to have a detailed conversation about it as it relates to the position, the work, the overall direction of the company and its target. Or there may be detailed knowledge. The false passion is more like a moving target as discussion of it evolves in relation to the position – or anything else. Scrutiny comes into play to discern whether the knowledge is tantamount to merely parroting marketplace rhetoric. One with real passion will be able to offer unique insights; they have ideas that are more than the typical hyperbole.

We all have biases of one type or another. It’s important to be aware of them and to admit to them so that those biases can be put aside when making critical decisions, especially about hiring qualified talent. That’s why evaluating a candidate who professes a special interest that makes them more qualified than others needs special care.

Melania Trump’s passion about children, especially abused children, became a matter for closer scrutiny and an example of necessary care when evaluating a candidate. Because of her association with an unpopular, high-profile figure (not to mention some very public gaffes), she does not have the usual adoring audience. In fact, her background shows behavior that’s been quite the opposite of the reaction that is usually expected of someone in her position.

We look at the woman who is noted as having a favorable university education. A rare quality is that she speaks seven foreign languages. She is noted as having a strong interest in art, architecture, and design. On paper, it’s expected that she would be the one making decisions about her destiny and being very outspoken in that area. Yet, the public gaffes that follow and haunt her show she has poor discretion and depends on others to do her speech writing.

She has declared FLOTUS causes that are vogue since the late days of the campaign only to abandon one for something else that seems to be taking public attention by storm and then abandoning that cause as well. Does this FLOTUS have a cause, a passion?

There is a consistency in her behavior. Using recent audio clips of statements she’s made, we find she is noted for her defense of her controversial husband with the averment, “while her husband is fair and treats everyone equally, he will ‘punch back ten times harder’ if he is attacked.” Perhaps that defense was pulled from a statement her husband made a year earlier.

Those who speculated about her refusal to move into the White House in January. She made a campaign declaration that she wears the color of the place where she lives. Many thought that meant she eagerly looked forward living in the White House. After hearing one fabricated-sounding excuse after another for keeping her distance from her husband’s new domicile for five months, speculation rose that she may be suffering from abuse and wanted to keep the distance for whatever reason could be manufactured.

In May, the President and his wife took their first official trip outside of the United States. In the initial days of the trip, the relationship showed strain. It wasn’t until the flight that brought the couple home to the White House that the tension dissipated. Uncharacteristic of previous behavior, she seemed animated and happy, even in the presence of her husband. That was also the day when Melania’s interest in fostering her FLOTUS cause was announced, care for children of abuse.

Attention to children of abuse seems like a legitimate cause. The speculation about the atmosphere in the First Family home points to the possibility that this is the cause that will endure. However, the reasoning for her absence from the home evaporated when it was reported that she had Secret Service escort her son to and from school while she stayed in the Trump Tower penthouse alone. Yet she seemed to blossom when in the company of abused children in foreign countries.

The legitimacy of her cause to support abuse victims also wears thin when we hear that campaign support of her husband repeated in speeches after the inauguration and as more damaging headlines emerge about the leadership abilities of her husband. “. . . he will ‘punch back ten times harder’ if he is attacked.” Has Melania developed Stockholm Syndrome and it’s being evidenced by way of this repeated statement in his defense?

This candidate is stellar on paper. But once the background investigation begins, the visage falls apart. Perhaps the abused children cause is yet another cause du jour.

Resources:

• What Are Employers Looking For? Skills and Qualifications
• Resume Interests Examples: Resume Hobbies and Interests Examples and Tips
• Melania Trump: Donald will punch back ten times harder – video, Reuters (April 5, 2016)
• Melania Trump stands by her man saying: If Donald is attacked, he will hit back 10 times harder!, IWB (April 5, 2016)
• Trump Warns GOPers: ‘Anybody Who Hits Me, We’re Gonna Hit 10 Times Harder’, Fox News Insider (November 3, 2015)
• Melania Trump refuses to change one thing about her style now that she’s in the White House, Hannah Kramer, AOL.com (Jan 26th 2017)
• Melania Trump’s Miserable As First Lady:Refuses To Move Into White House, Samantha Wilson, Hollywood Lit (February 15, 2017)
• Melania and Barron Trump Allegedly Won’t Live In the White House, Sammy Nickalls, Esquire.com (Nov 20, 2016)
• Melania Refuses to Move to White House Until 1 Thing Is Done, Libs Outraged, Mad World News (November 21, 2016)
• Melania Trump Refuses To Move Into White House? No Signs She’ll Leave Trump Tower,
  Sophie Radvan, Hollywood Lit (April 23, 2017)

• Trump Announces Cause Melania Will Be Championing As First Lady, Randy DeSoto, Western Journalism (February 16, 2017)
• Melania Trump pledges to combat cyber-bullying as first lady, Eliza Collins, USA TODAY (Nov. 3, 2016)
• What’s up with Melania Trump’s cyber bullying campaign? It’s’a work in progress’, Maria Puente, USA TODAY (May 10, 2017)
• Michelle Ruined School Lunches. Now, Melania is Calling For The End Of… [VIDEO], Terresa Monroe-Hamilton, Right Wing News (31 Mar, 2017)
• Melania Trump Nailed Her First Foreign Trip as First Lady, Kate Andersen Brower, Cosmopolitan Magazine (May 30, 2017)

Sponsored Links:

• The Right Talent: The Agility-Focused Interviewing Approach(TM) to Hiring the Right Candidate Every Time
• Hiring The Right Candidate: Forms, FAQs And Resources For Every Employer
• Great Resumes If You Are Over 50

Terms of Art: Multitasking

Multitasking gone wrong

The job ad called for someone who know how to multitask. The interviewee said they’re an expert at multitasking. In actuality, they were probably talking about being hyperactive and distracted while doing multiple things that are not in any way related to the other. What they’re actually talking about is double (or even triple) scheduling several tasks that aren’t related and then getting burnout because the person’s attention is being simultaneously pulled in many directions. Guess who’s going to drop the ball. Guess who’ll get blamed for the mess that results.

Terms start out meaning one thing. They’re an evolution of the language we use. Eventually the term becomes accepted and used without having a sense of what it actually means. It just gets used at an increasing rate and in more places until it’s just a more sophisticated sounding term that people assume means one thing. But in actual practice, what the person is thinking it means is a totally different situation.

In a business sense, you might think of multitasking as similar to supply chain management or SCM. SCM is a large scale multitasking endeavor. It involves more of the picture and more points of reference to track and manage. It involves managing and coordinating different parts of a process so that the entire thing comes together at the same time. This is very important when you have schedules that need to be kept. The degree to which the project is well organized and orchestrated indicates there will be few glitches.

Still in a business sense, a prime example of multitasking would be in the kitchen of a restaurant (or even a fast food establishment). You start with preparing the tools in order to cook the food. Then you begin the food preparation while the stove (or oven) is heating. Maybe it’s the pot or skillet that needs to hold the food. No matter. While those are in process, it’s time to cut, peel, dice the items that will go into the cooking container. Likewise, the food that needs the longest duration for cooking will be the first into the container. Meanwhile, whatever utensils that were used and are no longer necessary for the preparation can be washed and stored as the dish continues to cook. All the items for the plate are being processed to reach the plate at the same and with the same temperature.

In a domestic setting, it’s entirely possible to start washing a load of laundry while another load dries. Since neither of those activities need to be monitored, it’s possible to start the dishwasher as well as vacuum (or sweep) the floor. The machines are minding the long duration, automated activities while the one task that requires human management is done.

So when you’re talking about multitasking (or any other jargon of the day), make certain you know the proper definition of what you’re doing and discussing. To do otherwise may bring you to the end of a conversation filled with misunderstandings and disappointments. Make certain you’re both talking about the same thing and that you understand the concepts behind the definition.

Sponsored Links:

• The Myth of Multitasking: How “Doing It All” Gets Nothing Done
• Advanced Multitasking

Troubled Landscape: Generations

So much of the time the typical comments heard about the new work force is in relation to generations that are post Baby Boom. There are comparisons. There are complaints. There are acknowledgements of positive attributes. There are concerns about the pressures they are already beginning to endure and sympathy for their conditions. There is awareness that they are deferring many of the usual inroads into adult life.

The majority of the complaints are with regard to whether the younger workforce is actually qualified to manage the needed tasks in a responsible way. Indeed, there are many instances wherein the complaints are justified. Quality of service and quality of workmanship is missing. The customer winds up needing to explain the concepts to the one doing the serving when the situation should be the reverse.

But the stream of soft, dewy faces continues to bombard the large and small silver screens. The older faces that either bear white hair or none at all become more faint and then drop out of view. Finally, a storyteller (read scriptwriter) allows us to be part of the scene being painted and we begin to see the cycle of life happening whereas we thought we were standing in a timeless environment. We are aging; it is time for the younger, newer to prepare to over the positions we once occupied. Our roles need to change.

At one time, we considered the younger generation as self absorbed and like a petulant child that demands what has yet to be earned. In a more reflective moment, we realize the Millennials are mimicking what we ourselves did some 40 to 50 years ago. We considered ourselves quite sophisticated and adult. We knew everything and were exquisite. We deserved not only what we had but had earned (and were entitled to) even more. Not only that, today’s Millennials and every generation before them feels their compensation should be much higher so that there is the ability to put their foot out of the nest in order to create their own.

And there’s the difficulty. The compensation seems misaligned in many instances. Not only that. There seems to be too little money available to be paid to the growing numbers of those who would like to be employed. Compounding that situation is the fact that inflation continues while the dollar’s buying power continues to shrink. That phenomenon is not merely because of inflation. It is also impacted by the fact that we now live in a global economy. It is simply good business to manufacture as cheaply as possible in order to sell at the highest possible markup and reap the best profit for the efforts to get to market with quality product or service.

And then there’s the issue of quality service – and training. In the rush to fill the orders and seats that are needed to create delivery, there’s something that’s being overlooked or given short shrift. It’s a precious asset. Few appreciate just how valuable it is. It’s called training. It’s sibling is mentoring. Good training will bring about quality service. Good training (and quality practice) will bring about quality product. And good mentoring will provide the insights not available in the textbook. That mentoring will also be the barometer of when the next plateau of development needs to be approached.

Previous roles are changed as life cycles evolve.

The difficulty with this easy-to-read picture is that the workforce is now a collage of generations. Some are just commencing Life. Others are in reboot mode because their previous industry collapsed or because they were downsized and cut out in order to cut costs. Difficult as it may be, there are many who are willing to subsume their ego and thoughts about their previous status in order to be included in the numbers who are employed and actually earning a living rather than being supported by government stipends or the kindnesses of strangers and family. Everyone is going through the spin cycle in order to come out still fresh and sparkly and equipped to produce because of the quality of knowledge, skill, education, experiences, and eagerness to be all they can be – and to help the business get there.

Today’s world of work is a difficult landscape.

References:

• Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey
• Overview of BLS Statistics on Inflation and Prices
• Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey – by Demographics
• Beyond the Numbers
• Troubled Landscape: Title VII
• Troubled Landscape: Ethics

Sponsored Links:

• Can You Afford to Ignore Me?: How to Manage Gender and Cultural Differences at Work
• 21st-Century Apprenticeship: Best Practices for Building a World-Class Workforce

Interests and Hobbies for Distinction

An article recently came to my attention. The recommendations were dubious. Then an opportunity to share the knowledge with a group of recruiters arose. The group shared my reservations. The recommendation was to include one’s interests and hobbies on the resume and profile in order to distinguish special skills and stand out among the competition. The article proposed that the interests and hobbies would indicate particular strengths and abilities that can be used as indicia of success in the job that needs to be filled.

The group of recruiters voiced opinions on the matter:

• “I don’t normally pay attention to that section.”
• It doesn’t really have any relevance to the job that’s on my desk
• “I don’t use it.”

Job seekers are looking for whatever they can use to set themselves apart in a positive way. No doubt they will read that same article and believe that the advice applies to all job searches of whatever type and all manner of positions. After a lot of research in order to re-locate the correct article, one rose to the surface that made some distinguishing points about using hobbies and interests. They are helpful when the position is in a more esoteric area that requires unique skills that indicate traits such as perseverance, attention to detail, impervious to high levels of stress.

But what about the company that needs to fill a vacancy for a position in a special needs school? The person who knows and is able to use sign language may list that as a language skill and hobby in light of the fact that they do volunteer work at the John Tracy Clinic.

When we speak of job search, there’s an automatic default to ideas about jobs in the office. However, there are many types of jobs in different industries. A person could have a strong interest in health and medicine but they don’t want to be involved in working on people. There are also animals that require similar services. What about forestry as an option. Or that same person simply doesn’t want to be involved in health services but has a strong interest and keen skills in computers and programming. Perhaps their path to success is in the health sciences arena at a hospital or health facility.

So the candidate loves DIY projects. Could that mean they’re good a analysis, have strong concentration and focus skills, and are good at interpreting diagrams? Maybe there’s a niche for them in some form of construction or machine work.

The world of work is becoming increasingly complicated in regard to qualifying for a position and simply getting in the door. Occupations that you wouldn’t think of as requiring a resume now use that tool as part of the entry point. Do hobbies and extracurricular activities have a place and purpose on the resume or application? At times, they do. But they need to be used strategically if they are used at all. Sometimes they can become the bullet that shot the high school cheerleader who is applying for a mid-level management position in the foot. She’s remembered decades after leaving her application but not for the reasons she intended.

Resources:

• 9 Tips for a Surprisingly Helpful Hobbies & Interests Resume Section
• Resume Interests Examples: Resume Hobbies and Interests Examples and Tips
• Use Your Hobbies and Interests
• How to use your hobbies to get a job: top tips
• How to Write a Personal Interests Section on your Resume
• Hobbies & Interests On Resumes
• The Importance Of Hobbies and Interests On Your CV

Sponsored Links:

• Grow Up, Get a Job, Career Exploration Workbook: Activities & Exercises
• Professionalism: Skills for Workplace Success (4th Edition)

Not the Right Time

The email header read, “The State of Screening.” It’s an article about screening applicants with a criminal background. But just looking at the words of the header brings to mind the many different types of screening situations that arise in the employment as well as social fields – situations that have nothing to do with a criminal background. And the words also bring to mind the various attempts to be included in something. In the past, having a criminal background meant not getting hired; it meant learning how to deal with rejection and how to overcome it.

Excluded from access, but why?

The New Millennial form of rejection and saying “no” has taken a new form. It’s also a new bend in the exclusion (even discrimination) formula on how to do it without it seeming to be so.

Tell the one seeking admission to the venue, or opportunity, that it’s reached the maximum number of participants (no quota was ever stated) and the next time the opportunity will be available again will be in 9-12 months. That’s a good way to make them go away and keep quiet. In fact, with that much of a window to the next admission phase, the person will no doubt have forgotten about the opportunity or will have found a better substitute. Some are diligent and will show up for the next opportunity. There’s a remedy for that similar to the old fashioned way of handling the rejection.

A variation on this form of exclusion is to tell the aspirant that the opportunity was just concluded. Again, the next opportunity to become part of the situation will be in 6-12 months.

The pattern used to be prerequisites that needed to be satisfied before admission was granted. The prerequisites can be a great as performing some task or as minor as paying an admission fee that is slightly outside of the expected capabilities of the one seeking admission. Or there are materials that are required before there can be inclusion. Do we know the purpose and use of the materials? Ask about those things. Typically, there will be no response – just dead silence. The underlying message is, “We don’t want you. The requirements are merely shams in order to exclude you. We thought you understood that we don’t want you among us. Your being dense only proves that you don’t belong.”

Some of the old pattern still survives. If the aspirant wants to climb in the environment (and has somehow managed to get in) and has produced useful content that demonstrates their value and insightfulness, simply store it in a remote location where few, if any, are likely to find it. In the alternative, simply delete it on the basis that there have been changes and it no longer has congruence with the rest of the venue.

All of these are also part and parcel of the unanswered phone message or email; the lack of response to the application; the MIA acknowledgement of a submission.

And, of course, when the new window opens (6 to 12 months later), there’s no notice of the event. Meanwhile, many others who also had an interest seem to have been able to enter the venue much sooner (within one month or less) than the protracted waiting period for the excluded one.

Access is also used as a means of exclusion. Those who are confined to wheelchairs and cannot enter a building via stairs are also subtly removed from the pool of participants. The situation is aggravated by virtue of the fact that there is no elevator nor incline. Yes, there are other forms of apparatus that can substitute for the elevator and incline. Crutches or a walking cane are just two alternatives. But why create the barriers to something that’s supposed to be open to all who want to be members of the venue? It sends a message, not a very favorable one, that the person is unqualified or incompetent in some way and therefore does not deserve to be included.

There are other examples of exclusion. An example is when things that are suggested as desirable for a special event or consideration. Content is submitted but there are some faults that result in it not being used; maybe next time. But the rejection becomes chronic. It isn’t isolated to the first, single rejection but becomes the constant for anything and everything proffered. It’s enough to be a discouragement to the faint of heart. They will become disappointed, even dejected, and eventually will go away.  Those who are naive to the dynamic will conclude that they are inferior in every way and opt for either sublimated existence through drugs or alternative lifestyle or escape the discomfort through suicide.

One positive from this exercise in futility is that each rejection can result in fine tuning the content, whether personal or physical. That results in practice that leads to perfection and could mean that it will be accepted in a better place that will display the content to the advantage of the piece and its creator.

Will the one who originally rejected the content be displeased? No. They won’t even pay attention. Meanwhile, the one who was rejected has come to the conclusion that they are not the one who is unqualified – it’s the venue that has the problem and it isn’t a healthy place.

Sponsored Links:

• Unqualified: Where You Can Begin to be Great
• Exclusion: Strategies for Improving Diversity in Recruitment, Retention and Promotion
• Generations of Exclusion: Mexican-Americans, Assimilation, and Race
• At America’s Gates: Chinese Immigration during the Exclusion Era, 1882-1943

Do the Research

Entrances is a 360 networking forum on LinkedIn. It’s for an exchange of information and for networking with others in order to develop new connections and awareness of new opportunities. The purpose is to gain better insights about another part of the employment sector other than your own space so that better choices are made based in feedback from the other players. One goal is developing relationships that can lead to referrals.

Entrances – Making sound choices based on informed networking

While it isn’t a forum for political speech, there are a series of videos running that are produced by ColorofChange.org based on their #IfTheySpeakForMe theme . They show by various examples of what ensues if others make choices for you because you didn’t do your research; instead, you were passive and took whatever you got. In this weekend before midterm elections, the videos emphasize the importance of doing good research before embarking on an endeavor or entering into relationships.

With those compelling ColorofChange messages are scenarios of hair care dictated by a stranger and being hijacked in a taxi. Those are similar to taking on employment with a client or employer you haven’t researched.

I encourage you to do the research this weekend that will help you make the right choice for you in the voting booth. Remember to vote. Exercise your rights.

Who Is This

That being said, remember to do some research, ask meaningful questions, about where your livelihood is or will be. Find out who the potential employer is. Determine whether the recruiter is the right one for you. What does the recruiter want in terms of a “qualified candidate” and how can the resume writer or the career coach help you them reach your goals. Maybe they simply are not the right fit. Maybe their philosophies are (and never will be) in consonance with your own ethics or beliefs in good practices. Consider the video wherein the hairstyle of several women is determined by a total stranger who contravenes the women’s wishes and relationship with their hairdresser.

We’ve talked about hair in Entrances from the perspective of what is accepted by the other side of the employment desk. It was intended to look at the various styles, colors, whether it constituted good grooming, and whether hairstyle is a valid hiring criteria. A few interesting views were expressed.

Making Impressions

Has someone impressed you with their words? What did they do to make that impression? How reliable are they? Would you be willing to refer them to something that may be a good match for what they have to offer?

Bottom Line

Which is the more important emphasis? Know who the employer is. Know their product or service before going on the interview or taking them on as a client. Recruiters are held liable for the misdeeds of their clients. It is a recruiter’s duty to guide a client along the more ethical path if they are erring in their decisions or execution of their business practices. But it’s imperative to know all of these things before getting involved or else having a delicate but compelling reason for taking a different, better path to open the right door and make better entrances.