A desire for employer approval drives over half the workers in Europe to adopt a different personality at work than in their home lives (according to a recent survey by psychology consultants OPP). The research highlights the fact that many of us, perhaps rightly, lie about our personality, our strengths and our weaknesses at interview. Are we right to do so, or should we be more open and honest about our failings when asked?
Picture the scene: You are at an interview and you are asked if we have any weaknesses? “Oh no”, you say, “if I do have a weakness, it is that sometimes I am too tenacious and do not know when to give up”. Does this type of answer sound familiar? Many people tell ‘white lies’ about their personality at interview, only to find that when they get the job there is a significant mismatch between what they are expected to do and what they are willing to do. Nearly half those polled in a recent OPP study (49 per cent) claimed that they have adopted a different personality to their normal one during an interview. The trait is more prevalent among Irish workers than other European workers, with 61 per cent of Irish employees saying that they lead a double life.
The reasons why workers wear personality masks at interview and at work are varied, but chief among them are that they feel it makes them more appealing at interview; positions them as being more effective in their jobs; helps give the impression that they will fit in better with their future team; and enables them to project and image that fits in with the organization’s culture.
While the advantages of adopting a different persona are obvious, it can also lead to a great amount of stress: Imagine you a naturally introverted, shy and reserved person, but convince someone at interview that you are an outgoing, gregarious person who loves nothing better than selling and driving a bargain. You subsequently get a job offer for a sales position, with an attractive base salary and a new company car. Then, during the first three months of the job you spend the day driving around, under-performing in sales presentations, losing out on commission, and coming bottom of the office league when monthly sales targets are released. Would you be happy in this situation? Probably not, so the obvious answer is to balance selling your strengths with over-selling your potential at interview.
Research indicates that the trait most Irish employees suppress is their fun-loving side while the trait that is most accentuated is their decisive side. Interestingly, studies of why Irish people are hired internationally often show that interviewers consider our fun-loving side to be our key advantage over other nationalities, which suggests we may be selling ourselves short!
Candidates who lie about their personalities can pose a problem to potential employers: The cost of hiring a person with an inappropriate personality can be as much as three times annual salary, so recruiters and interviewers need to be aware of masks skewing the interview results. Psychometric and other tests can help, but many of those who can wear personality masks at interview can usually adapt to other tests too.
The important thing, for interviewers and interviewees alike is to be honest in their dealings with each other when it comes to describing the personality traits they are seeking and which they can provide.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
How can I recession-proof my CV?
The short answer to your question is that a CV should always contain the same types of basic information (contact details, work experience, education and personal) but you should also tailor your CV to reflect the context in which it is being sent. More importantly, you should prepare a different CV appropriate to every job to which you apply. Think for a moment about the direct mail that gets posted to you or the leaflets that come through your letter box at present. The products and services they offer are the same as they always were, but you will probably find that the mail highlights low price, value-for-money, cost-savings, etc. Your CV should do the same. Of course, it is not just your CV that should change, but your whole approach to job search as well. Here are 10 things you can do to stand out from the crowd:
Become more creative about your job search: Do not restrict yourself to positions advertised in newspapers and on recruitment websites. There has been a marked reduction in the number of these in recent months – partly because there are fewer jobs (a 20 per cent reduction in the past quarter alone), but also because companies do not need to advertise when demand for jobs outstrips supply. Recruitment agencies say that even when their clients have positions available they are not approving spend on advertising at present. This means many have jobs that are not appearing in the press or on websites.
The first thing to do is cast your search net wider and deeper: Read the newspapers and search the Internet to find out which industries and companies are planning to expand and which remain the most profitable (over 800 new jobs were announced last week alone). Find out what roles they are filling. Network with your contacts – both directly and via social networking websites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Bebo. Attend industry conferences, breakfast briefings, meetings, training events, etc. Be seen and heard.
Customize your application process: With email, people have fallen into the habit of writing one-line cover notes that just say ‘my CV is attached’, but a well written cover e-mail or letter will make your job application stand out from the rest. Instead of writing an email, consider if you could telephone the employer and tell them why you should be invited in for an interview, then follow up your call by sending in your CV. Few people do this and much of getting a job is about doing what the masses aren’t.
Aim to get your CV on a maximum of two pages: All managers, and particularly HR managers, have less time to read CV’s at present, so don’t waste it for them. Remember to emphasize what you can do for them, rather than what they can do for you. Don’t bother listing useless facts such as ‘I was head of the debating team at school’ if that was 20 years ago. Use the KISS principle – Keep It Simple Stupid.
Keep the contact information (your name, postal address, phone numbers and email address) to a minimum. Save space by, for example, putting your postal address on one line (rather than three or four) and your home/mobile phone numbers on one line. Do not add any other personal details such as hobbies to your first page – keep them for page two.
Provide a summary of your key achievements, skills and qualifications at the start: Make it easy for the reader to assess whether or not they need to read your entire CV as quickly as you can. Begin the CV with a short description or some bullet points that summarise what you have to offer: Begin with a statement about your current or most recent role e.g. ‘Experienced Production Manager with 15 year track record of successfully coordinating operational teams’. Ensure that you also highlight your key skills in the summary e.g. ‘A person who has excellent negotiation, influencing and selling skills’. Add any significant or recent qualifications to the summary e.g. ‘Holds FETAC Level 7 Award for Tourism Management’.
List each job you have done in reverse chronological order: Make the Job Title, Employer Name and Dates of Employment clear e.g. ‘Marketing Manager, XYZ Ltd., 2002 – 2009’.
Do not try to tell them about everything you did for each organization: Selectively describe key areas where you have achieved or made a difference e.g. ‘Introduced team working in place of piece working in order to save costs and increase output’. Emphasize areas where you have grown revenue or reduced costs e.g. ‘Grew sales by 12 per cent per annum over the last three years’. Show evidence of success where you can e.g. ‘Reduced production finishing costs by 18%, benchmarked against German plant which reduced costs by only 11% during the same period’. Use quantitative as well as qualitative information where possible.
Include both formal and informal education in your CV: Often it is a long time since we were awarded a degree or diploma, but we have updated our skills with short one-day courses that should be included. List these in a simple to read format e.g. College, Dates, Award or Training, without giving too many details.
Show that you take responsibility for your own, on-going education: We recommend that anyone in a redundancy situation considers doing a short-term course that keeps themselves busy and helps them update/upgrade their skills. Employers like to see an on-going commitment to learning, and it also gives you an appropriate answer at interview when you are asked: What have you been doing since you left XYZ Ltd.? If you are an avid reader of business books, for example, tell your potential employer that you have been self-educating.
In your personal information section show that you are a rounded person: If you are unemployed for a significant period of time consider volunteering to help fill the gaps in your CV. Above all, make sure that you have some information that gives the impression that you are a good all rounder.
People Matters provides one-to-one coaching to those who have been made redundant and are seeking advice on job search. Each coaching session includes discussions on career direction, writing a winning CV and preparing for interview success. A half-day (four hour), one-to-one coaching session costs only 250 Euro! Employers often pay for coaching sessions on behalf of those whose roles are being made redundant and full and half day training events can be organised with us. To book a session or find out more call us on 01-296-1578 or email admin@peoplematters.ie.
Become more creative about your job search: Do not restrict yourself to positions advertised in newspapers and on recruitment websites. There has been a marked reduction in the number of these in recent months – partly because there are fewer jobs (a 20 per cent reduction in the past quarter alone), but also because companies do not need to advertise when demand for jobs outstrips supply. Recruitment agencies say that even when their clients have positions available they are not approving spend on advertising at present. This means many have jobs that are not appearing in the press or on websites.
The first thing to do is cast your search net wider and deeper: Read the newspapers and search the Internet to find out which industries and companies are planning to expand and which remain the most profitable (over 800 new jobs were announced last week alone). Find out what roles they are filling. Network with your contacts – both directly and via social networking websites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Bebo. Attend industry conferences, breakfast briefings, meetings, training events, etc. Be seen and heard.
Customize your application process: With email, people have fallen into the habit of writing one-line cover notes that just say ‘my CV is attached’, but a well written cover e-mail or letter will make your job application stand out from the rest. Instead of writing an email, consider if you could telephone the employer and tell them why you should be invited in for an interview, then follow up your call by sending in your CV. Few people do this and much of getting a job is about doing what the masses aren’t.
Aim to get your CV on a maximum of two pages: All managers, and particularly HR managers, have less time to read CV’s at present, so don’t waste it for them. Remember to emphasize what you can do for them, rather than what they can do for you. Don’t bother listing useless facts such as ‘I was head of the debating team at school’ if that was 20 years ago. Use the KISS principle – Keep It Simple Stupid.
Keep the contact information (your name, postal address, phone numbers and email address) to a minimum. Save space by, for example, putting your postal address on one line (rather than three or four) and your home/mobile phone numbers on one line. Do not add any other personal details such as hobbies to your first page – keep them for page two.
Provide a summary of your key achievements, skills and qualifications at the start: Make it easy for the reader to assess whether or not they need to read your entire CV as quickly as you can. Begin the CV with a short description or some bullet points that summarise what you have to offer: Begin with a statement about your current or most recent role e.g. ‘Experienced Production Manager with 15 year track record of successfully coordinating operational teams’. Ensure that you also highlight your key skills in the summary e.g. ‘A person who has excellent negotiation, influencing and selling skills’. Add any significant or recent qualifications to the summary e.g. ‘Holds FETAC Level 7 Award for Tourism Management’.
List each job you have done in reverse chronological order: Make the Job Title, Employer Name and Dates of Employment clear e.g. ‘Marketing Manager, XYZ Ltd., 2002 – 2009’.
Do not try to tell them about everything you did for each organization: Selectively describe key areas where you have achieved or made a difference e.g. ‘Introduced team working in place of piece working in order to save costs and increase output’. Emphasize areas where you have grown revenue or reduced costs e.g. ‘Grew sales by 12 per cent per annum over the last three years’. Show evidence of success where you can e.g. ‘Reduced production finishing costs by 18%, benchmarked against German plant which reduced costs by only 11% during the same period’. Use quantitative as well as qualitative information where possible.
Include both formal and informal education in your CV: Often it is a long time since we were awarded a degree or diploma, but we have updated our skills with short one-day courses that should be included. List these in a simple to read format e.g. College, Dates, Award or Training, without giving too many details.
Show that you take responsibility for your own, on-going education: We recommend that anyone in a redundancy situation considers doing a short-term course that keeps themselves busy and helps them update/upgrade their skills. Employers like to see an on-going commitment to learning, and it also gives you an appropriate answer at interview when you are asked: What have you been doing since you left XYZ Ltd.? If you are an avid reader of business books, for example, tell your potential employer that you have been self-educating.
In your personal information section show that you are a rounded person: If you are unemployed for a significant period of time consider volunteering to help fill the gaps in your CV. Above all, make sure that you have some information that gives the impression that you are a good all rounder.
People Matters provides one-to-one coaching to those who have been made redundant and are seeking advice on job search. Each coaching session includes discussions on career direction, writing a winning CV and preparing for interview success. A half-day (four hour), one-to-one coaching session costs only 250 Euro! Employers often pay for coaching sessions on behalf of those whose roles are being made redundant and full and half day training events can be organised with us. To book a session or find out more call us on 01-296-1578 or email admin@peoplematters.ie.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Flexible Time Working
One of the buzzes in human resources at the moment is the concept of flexible work-time. While the concept is not new, the way that it is being applied is different in these recessionary times. Here we explain what it is and why employers and employees should consider it as an alternative to pay cuts and redundancies.
What does the phrase ‘flexible work-time’ mean? Put simply, it is where the employer asks both the owners/directors/managers and employees in a business to voluntarily change their terms and conditions of employment for a specified period of time.
What does it involve? New employment contracts are drawn up or, more likely, a letter of agreement is signed between both parties. These specify that terms and conditions are changed for a specified period of time, after which the ‘normal’ contract terms and conditions are returned to.
What terms and conditions are changed? Those that are modified are usually to do with hours/days worked with a pro-rata change in pay. The new terms allow the firm to ask volunteers to work additional hours when required e.g. working on a Saturday for those who normally work a five-day week; and to reduce hours worked when not needed e.g. working a four-day or three day week; using their leave in a particular week or month; or taking unpaid holidays on particular days when they are not required e.g. Good Friday. In non-busy periods e.g. during the Summer school holidays, staff can take long periods of leave (up to 12 weeks) at 25 – 50 per cent of their normal pay. Usually there are clauses about how much advance notice must be given by both parties.
How long should the period of time the flexible time contract be? That depends on the organization and the industry it is operating in. We are hearing of cases where flexible futures are specified for 6, 12, 18 or even 24 months. It does not really make any sense to go beyond a short time-scale as the main reason for adopting a flexible time contract is to reduce costs, flex costs and create short-term certainty.
What are the benefits to the employer? The main benefits to employers are cost savings, and perhaps more importantly, flex-costing. Flexible work time allows employers to optimize their use of the workforce by having ‘all hands on deck’ when they are needed, but not having a surplus of people underutilized when the business is not busy. For this reason, flexible work-time is generally more appropriate for service industries where the rate of work is not constant, but is usually predictable over the short term. A good example is St. Patrick’s Day which falls on a Tuesday. Many employees with families would also like to take the Monday off, and many employers may prefer to close their business on that day as there will be fewer customers. Another significant benefit is that the company retains top talent who might otherwise leave if pay cuts alone are made. This means it is poised to ‘get back to work’ when the upturn comes.
Are there any benefits to employees? The most obvious benefit is job security in these uncertain times. Recent research has shown that many employees would prefer to take a cut in pay or reduction in terms and conditions in preference to losing their job. The most important aspect, for most employees, is trust. It is usual, for example, to include a ‘maximum salary loss’ condition in a flexible work-time contract e.g. the maximum salary reduction is capped at 20% for each calendar year the agreement is in place. It is important to ensure that the revised contract relates to changed conditions for a specified period of time (usually no more than a year) and that it does not preclude any nationally agreed pay increases (or decreases) agreed by the social partners. In most cases the same benefits continue to be provided e.g. use of a company car, commuter ticket tax saving scheme, paid gym membership as these cost the same regardless of when they are used. In organizations where flexible schemes have already been introduced many employees have commented positively on the fact that it is allowing them to spend more time with their families or to use the time off to return to studies.
What is the People Matters verdict? The economic outlook for 2009 and 2010 is very uncertain and firms need to be as flexible as possible in order to respond. It is important to reduce costs in the short-term, but not risk losing talented staff who will be difficult to replace in the medium term. A voluntary flexible work-time contract or agreement to cover the next year or so is a pragmatic approach to adopt.
What does the phrase ‘flexible work-time’ mean? Put simply, it is where the employer asks both the owners/directors/managers and employees in a business to voluntarily change their terms and conditions of employment for a specified period of time.
What does it involve? New employment contracts are drawn up or, more likely, a letter of agreement is signed between both parties. These specify that terms and conditions are changed for a specified period of time, after which the ‘normal’ contract terms and conditions are returned to.
What terms and conditions are changed? Those that are modified are usually to do with hours/days worked with a pro-rata change in pay. The new terms allow the firm to ask volunteers to work additional hours when required e.g. working on a Saturday for those who normally work a five-day week; and to reduce hours worked when not needed e.g. working a four-day or three day week; using their leave in a particular week or month; or taking unpaid holidays on particular days when they are not required e.g. Good Friday. In non-busy periods e.g. during the Summer school holidays, staff can take long periods of leave (up to 12 weeks) at 25 – 50 per cent of their normal pay. Usually there are clauses about how much advance notice must be given by both parties.
How long should the period of time the flexible time contract be? That depends on the organization and the industry it is operating in. We are hearing of cases where flexible futures are specified for 6, 12, 18 or even 24 months. It does not really make any sense to go beyond a short time-scale as the main reason for adopting a flexible time contract is to reduce costs, flex costs and create short-term certainty.
What are the benefits to the employer? The main benefits to employers are cost savings, and perhaps more importantly, flex-costing. Flexible work time allows employers to optimize their use of the workforce by having ‘all hands on deck’ when they are needed, but not having a surplus of people underutilized when the business is not busy. For this reason, flexible work-time is generally more appropriate for service industries where the rate of work is not constant, but is usually predictable over the short term. A good example is St. Patrick’s Day which falls on a Tuesday. Many employees with families would also like to take the Monday off, and many employers may prefer to close their business on that day as there will be fewer customers. Another significant benefit is that the company retains top talent who might otherwise leave if pay cuts alone are made. This means it is poised to ‘get back to work’ when the upturn comes.
Are there any benefits to employees? The most obvious benefit is job security in these uncertain times. Recent research has shown that many employees would prefer to take a cut in pay or reduction in terms and conditions in preference to losing their job. The most important aspect, for most employees, is trust. It is usual, for example, to include a ‘maximum salary loss’ condition in a flexible work-time contract e.g. the maximum salary reduction is capped at 20% for each calendar year the agreement is in place. It is important to ensure that the revised contract relates to changed conditions for a specified period of time (usually no more than a year) and that it does not preclude any nationally agreed pay increases (or decreases) agreed by the social partners. In most cases the same benefits continue to be provided e.g. use of a company car, commuter ticket tax saving scheme, paid gym membership as these cost the same regardless of when they are used. In organizations where flexible schemes have already been introduced many employees have commented positively on the fact that it is allowing them to spend more time with their families or to use the time off to return to studies.
What is the People Matters verdict? The economic outlook for 2009 and 2010 is very uncertain and firms need to be as flexible as possible in order to respond. It is important to reduce costs in the short-term, but not risk losing talented staff who will be difficult to replace in the medium term. A voluntary flexible work-time contract or agreement to cover the next year or so is a pragmatic approach to adopt.
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