The Perfect Fit

Social Media Can Propel Your Career Growth

While that headline seems ridiculously obvious, apparently not everyone gets it yet.

It's amazing to me how few marketing professionals really take advantage of the possibilities that social media provides.  These are the people who are supposed to be learning how to utilize social media for the benefit of their clients.  I have to wonder if they're qualified to give that advice, when they apparently don't have any idea how to use it themselves.

I'm in the preliminary stages of conducting a search for mid-level designers and Sr. level account people with packaging experience.  I've just found two potential designers, and one account person that I wanted additional information on, beyond what's already in our database.  Neither designer had a portfolio online (that I could find), and neither had provided me with portfolio samples when they originally contacted Bishop Partners.

My first step was to go to their LinkedIn profiles.  While all three had LinkedIn profiles, they were not detailed enough to be of any real value.  Only one of the three had a personal email available. One of the designers had a dead link to a Creative Hotlist portfolio, and the other had an Etsy portfolio page with nothing on it!!  Between the three of them there was only one LinkedIn recommendation.  These "professionals" are missing an opportunity to be "found" for a potential career opportunity.  Believe me when I tell you, I'm not the only person searching.

The point is, if you're going to spend time on professional social media (LinkedIn, Plaxo, any number of others) do yourself a favor and add some detailed information that tells the reader what you've accomplished, what your passions are and why/how you're adding value to your employer and/or your clients, your community, etc..  You should have recommendations.  When you're complimented by a client, co-worker or boss, ask that person to "put it in writing for you" (and add it to LinkedIn for you).

I know you've heard this before, but headhunters and employers really do use online resources as means to identify specific professionals for job opportunities.  The better "face" you put on your online social media efforts, the better it will be for you.  Make it easy to be found by detail (and keywords) in your profile.  I think letting the public see a gmail or hotmail account is a reasonable thing to do.  If you're going to network, allow (help) someone to contact you.  A weak effort is almost worse than none at all.

In 2009, Internal Hires Dominated. Will It Continue In 2010?

Im finally climbing back in the saddle after missing almost a full week due to some very nasty chest cold!   In catching up on some professional reading, I can across a blog posting from John Zappe called, "Internal Hires Dominate Job Filling in 2009".  That sounded interesting so I read further.  You can see the blog posting here. Here's what I found:

"The ninth Source of Hire report from CareerXroads is out and it shows the CareerXroads impact of the U.S. recession on hiring patterns over the last few years while offering some encouraging news about hiring in 2010.

The white paper’s top-line findings show that, on average, 41 of the nation’s larger companies filled just over half their vacancies in 2009 by internal transfers and promotions. This is the largest percentage since CareerXroads first reported the data in 2002.

For 2010, however, 48 percent of the participating companies expect to hire and hire robustly. The prediction is for 29 percent growth in hiring. Only 10.8 percent of the surveyed participants expect to higher fewer workers this year. Compare those percentages to the Source of Hire report issued last year at this time. Then, 100 percent of the companies predicted they would hire fewer workers.

Recession boost internal hiring SOH 2009 (Source of Hire) “The spike in internal movement is a strong artifact of the recession and suppressed many other sources of hire,” says the report, authored by Gerry Crispin and Mark Mehler, founders and principals in the recruitment-oriented CareerXroads consultancy. “Expect internal movement to fall to more normal levels in 2010.”"

The free white paper is posted to the CareerXroads site, you can download it here.

I didn't realize that more companies don't hire from within more consistently.  I have to wonder why.  You'd think that it's a perfect way to reward employees for doing excellent work.  It's exactly the kind of opportunity premier employees expect.  It's one of the best ways to retain those top performers.  In addition to whatever their function skill set is, they have the added benefit of "institutional knowledge" and expertise in whatever their vertical category is.  I would think all that would combine to make internal hiring much more of a "best practice"!

In the discovery process of every search we conduct, one of the first questions is "Are there potential internal candidates who should be considered for this position?"  If there are, we put them through the same interviewing process as the external candidates we also identify. 

As I discussed in my recent post "The Same Company For An Entire Career?" there is value in longevity with the same employer.  While I certainly understand that in some cases there are not appropriate internal candidates, and in other instances, there's a need for "new blood" or thinking, management too often doesn't "take a chance" with a promotion.  The thinking is "Well, that employee's never done that before," and so they're passed over.  My experience is the premier performers raise their game to the necessary level . . . it's how they grow and feel that professional satisfaction of an upward career trajectory.

It seems the recession caused what I consider to be an obvious benefit . . . It's strange most employers don't agree and won't continue the process.

I wonder how many times you've either been the victim of an external hire, or you saw a colleague passed over for someone from the outside, who isn't at strong an employee as your colleague? 

The Same Company For An Entire Career?

I attended a seminar this morning presented by the St. Louis Business Journal, "The New Economy".  Michael Forster, Managing Partner of Sandberg, Phoenix & Von Gontard and Doug Mueller of Mueller Prost PC were the presenters.  The discussion centered around what businesses can/should be doing as we move (slowly) out of the recession.

While much of the discussion dealt with business operating methods and protocols, there were times when issues affecting employees were discussed.  Actually, it was more like how employees affect businesses.  I was struck that there was no mention of the need for programs to support (if not assure) employee retention. 

I've written previously in this blog about how employees have a responsibility to themselves to find appropriate training and grow professionally (The Workplace Has Changed . . . Have You?).  Hopefully, employers are supporting (and paying for) that effort.   I've also talked about the need for the retention of premier employees (Are you Being Taken Care Of . . . Or Taken Advantage Of?)  Employees need to grow in their careers, and employers should want to keep those employees who consistently do that.

There was what I considered to be an interesting observation made by Mr. Forster.  He suggested that in the "new economy", we had to behave more like in the "old economy".  He talked about the need for dedicated hard work for everyone, no matter what you do.  Hard work like in the "old days".  Hard work like our parents and grandparents talk about.  Interesting . . . that seems to fly in the face of theories of accommodating the newest generations X & Y. 

Further, it was suggested that the development of "real expertise" is being eroded by automated systems, and the reality that employees no longer stay with one company long enough to develop or enhance that company's specific expertise.  Another interesting point.  Think about how few people in the workforce now rise through the ranks from the bottom to the top of the same enterprise.  Can you think of any?

Obviously, innovation in any business creates advantage.  Innovation will be essential to fuel the "real" growth of the US economy.  I'm not talking about getting back to where we were, I'm talking about significant, job creating, lifestyle enhancing, growth.  Innovation is the result of happy, experienced employees. 

It seems like the way things are going, we are not on a track to have many of those!

Think about how your existing job and career might change if you decided you were going to become the CEO of your company.  You wouldn't let those little "issues of the day" bother you.  You'd find better ways of doing things.  You wouldn't take "no" for an answer.  You'd become Indispensable to your employer . . . and in so doing, become immeasurably more valuable ("Are You Indispensable Or Vulnerable?").  If all that happened in the longer term, you'd get promotion after promotion. You'd rise through the ranks, until you reached the top.  Interesting . . .

Do you really have a career strategy to reach career goals, or are you just looking for what you perceive to be a "better job" . . . ?  Are you expert enough to innovate?

Just curious . . .!