Are you Strategically Planning your Career?

Working within the Recruitment Industry, the core part of our responsibility is identifying and engaging talent in the market whether they are actively looking for new opportunities or not. While conducting this exercise we speak to a large number of professionals who have different goals and aspirations as well as having diverse career backgrounds; and in some cases, their aspirations doesn’t always fall in line with their previous and/or current experiences which brings me to this question....

Are you strategically planning your career progression?

To strategically plan your career progression, you need to map out where you are now, where you’re going and what you need to do in order to achieve your objective. Just like everything in life, there are sacrifices that need to be made. Some sacrifices may be bigger than others and may also include a salary reduction, local/regional/international relocation, a demotion in hierarchy and the list continues. However, in some cases the price to pay may not be so high, it may even be just the financial investment in professional programmes but with all this in mind one shouldn’t lose focus on the objective at hand.

With the evolving and frequent changes in the economy, business have been forced to implement transformations to accommodate such. As a result of this, it is mandatory that as a professional you have to consistently review and renew your skill set to remain relevant in a competitive market and demonstrate the diversity in your experience.

These days just working in one sector alone doesn’t give you the vast experience businesses are looking for in order to thrive. However this applies mostly to roles that operate in cross – business sectors such as HR, Finance, Business Development, Sales & Marketing etc. Roles that are more technical and specifically aligned with a sector must regularly review how their skill set or/and transferable skills will be an advantage in a highly competitive market and leverage on academic, professional qualifications and attributes.

For example: Working as a Talent Acquisition Manager has its technicalities and can be found in every sector ranging from Oil and Gas to the FMCG sector. However, if your only used to sourcing talent from the oil and gas industry your talent pool will be limited to those who work in that sector which could limit your profile appeal to hiring managers of other sectors. So a strategic plan to ensure that you remain relevant is to explore other sectors by undergoing a short course that covers the fundamentals of another sector, or slightly downgrade to a Talent Acquisition Officer role to gain experience in an industry.

Downgrading doesn’t mean demotion! it also doesn’t mean that your less talented than the next person. What is means it that you are strategically planning your carer progression. A few years gaining experience in a sector that you knew nothing about coupled with your current experience will align you with opportunities that you wouldn’t have been ripe for several years ago. A back track is not a set-track, it’s simply a diversion that will set you a mile forward to where you want to be as opposed to where you used to be.

While some may factor in the decrease in remuneration, the inconvenience of relocation etc. when you are strategically planning your career you will see beyond the now and focus on what this experience will bring to your career objective.

\Throughout my career as a recruiter, I have seen people make considerable career jumps that have contributed immensely to their success, crucial career suicides that some people would think that they would never recover from and still land with both feet firmly on the ground. But as someone who is passionate about their profession are you ready to take a calculated yet profitable risk that may not yield fruit immediately but will do in the long run?

Now please don’t get me wrong, careful thought and planning has to go into every strategic plan you make regarding your career. I’m not recommending that you should take every offer presented to you. What I am saying is that the road to our chosen career destination is not always a straight forward one. As a result of this, some sacrifices need to be made. So don't miss out on excellent opportunities because the remuneration may not meet your expectation or the designation/job title doesn’t sit well with you. What you need to ask yourself is:

Does this position fit in with my career objectives taking into consideration the role, sector exposure and responsibilities?

Working in this position, what would my next step be (in regards to the next role I acquire) and where would I fit in within the organisations succession plan?

Working for this organisation, what would my market value increase after this engagement? (Increase my diversity, exposure and responsibilities?

If you can produce significantly positive answers to these questions then don’t let anything stop you. Feel free to ask a mentor or a professional who you respect and admire and you may even find they have faced similar scenarios. There is power in sharing and even more power in achieving.

Delegation Vs. Dictation - What impact does your Management Style have on your team

There are different types of leadership positions within an organisation. There are team leaders who are usually employees who have stood out from their team members as a key talent and also demonstrated good leadership skills. A Manager would normally appoint this person to be their second-in-command to manage the general day-to-day operations of the team whilst they focus on the general management side.

Then you have the Department Heads, Regional Managers and Directors whose roles are more strategic. Their objectives are mainly focused on business processes and consumer growth. Regardless of your hierarchy as a manager, you are in-charge of a team of people and responsible for their productivity.

When it comes to Delegation and Dictation, there is a thin line, so what I'm asking is 

"Where do you draw the line to differentiate the two?"

One style of management encourages communication, explores possibilities and promotes team work; Whilst the other is authoritative, and derogatory that causes tension and isolation.

Delegation is successful when every team member understands the common objective. As a manager, it is your responsibility to enlighten them on current/upcoming projects, new products/services, and also any directives coming from senior management. This not only brings about the sense of belonging as a part of a team, it also provides a platform for employees to share their own ideas on how to achieve it. By enlightening your team on the bigger picture, you are nurturing team work and a sense of ownership. So as you delegate responsibilities, they would be welcomed seamlessly with the objective and knowledge that "teamwork makes the dream work!"

Dictation on the other hand is more harsh in reality;

Telling your team what to do with no explanation only gives you half-hearted respect as a manager but with little or no commitment to the job. This can result in employees lacking motivation and sooner or later, they will start looking for other career opportunities. When you look at application forms and you get to the section that asks why you left/leaving your job, or in an interview when discussing with a candidate, you'd be amazed at how many people mention that it was their superior's people management style that is part of their reason for leaving.

Dictation conveys a "master and slave" environment within a team, because there is no communication. It's usually the manager talking and the other just nodding, accepting what's being said and following instructions just to please because at this point they're more concerned about getting paid at the end of each month and have lacked the passion and drive they once had.

In such cases where dictation is evident, as a manager you may find yourself questioning your team's loyalty to you, and/or the organisation as a whole is in tact. This creates paranoia and isolation, and the person who usually gets isolated is the manager who has shut themselves out from their team due to poor people management skills.

So the question is... "How do I manage my team successfully?"

You need to find a balance! Firstly you need to understand your team, their needs, strengths and weaknesses. From this you will be able to able to determine how best to manage them, In every team, there are personalities that reoccur in every organisation.

You have the social butterfly, an individual who gets on with everybody and always willing to lend a helping hand. Then there is the quiet one that likes to just get on with tasks and is not as sociable, then there is the analyst who likes to ask a lot of questions and likes to go above and beyond the call of duty,

Each of these characters have their own management style that can work to your advantage. Focus on the social butterfly, she/he is your team leader who has their eyes closer to the ground. This employee will know everyone's concerns, and be able to help in ensuring that everyone is in sync to the business objectives.

The analytical employee doesn't need micro-managing once they have all their questions asked and the resources they need, they just get on with it. The employee who is usually quiet and gets on with tasks may need you to just check in on them, not to undermine their ability but to show that you're always available should they need you

Understanding your diverse team and catering to each of their needs will make you an excellent manager who delegates instead of dictates.

Creating your people management style, stems from the hiring process. Identify talent that has management experience or the attributes to grow into a management position through training and on-the-job exposure so that when you are designing and establishing your succession plan, it would be a seamless process to delegate authority while you concentrate on other business development and strategic planning activities.

How well do you prepare for an Interview?

"You have an excellent CV! You've conveyed your experience well, your academically at the level we're looking for, plus you've highlighted your soft and transferable skills. We're impressed and would like to invite you for an interview!" 

The hard bit seems to have been accomplished, you've gotten the attention of the Hiring Manager and they have shortlisted you for an interview. So what's next? the next thing would be to prepare!

You would be surprised at the level of preparation that goes into nailing an interview successfully. While we take on board your personal presentation, your time keeping and body language (including the delivery of your voice, it's tone and it's clarity) there are other fundamentals that needs to be taken into consideration.

Every organisation has its various styles of interviewing, some are more formal, some are informal, some are based around your technical ability, and if they are happy with that, then they would proceed to determine whether you are a good cultural fit. In most cases, organisations use a combination of all to identify the right talent that they feel will assist in achieving their business objectives.

Whatever the case may be, it is clear that in all hiring processes, 60% of an interview is based on competency while the other 40% is made up of your knowledge of the organisation, and your aspirations (i.e. your drive for career progression, and learning and development)

So my question is " How well do you prepare for an interview?"

Let's assume (and I would like to believe) that before you applied for the position within the organisation that you would have done some level of research about your prospective employer, but how far did you go?

When researching about an organisation you want to work for and represent; it's all well and good knowing the products/services that they offer but have you looked at the following:

Company Turnover: You should be interested on how well you're prospective employer is doing for two major reasons. Firstly, if it is an SME, you should use these figures to attain knowledge on their growth and also their stability. If their revenue is increasing year by year then obviously they are doing something right, and it is a great time to come on-board. However if they are not, then you need to ask yourself if you are ready to take a calculated risk. Secondly it shows the interviewer that you really do care about the organisation. You can also use this information to form part of the questions that you may want to ask the interviewer.

For example: " I can see you did really well last quarter with a turnover of...... what was the product/service that contributed to that success? and do you see it as a front runner as the key product/service that will sell next quarter?"
In most cases, these details can be found on their company website and if not use the most powerful search engine called Google (it is your best friend!)

Their Current Success: Everyone likes to feel special and the representative of an organisation is no different. A Hiring Manager wants to know that you are aware of what they have been up to, and their current successes. It shows that you have been following the growth of the brand and also why you want to be a part of a winning team. Find an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge, if there is a suitable opening in the dialogue to pitch, then take advantage of it. If there isn't then poise it in form of a question, when you are given the opportunity to ask the interviewer questions.

For example: "I was reading the article on your organisation that you won the innovator of the year award, that is amazing, it would definitely bring in more business. So how will it affect the structure and dynamics of the team to ensure that we win next year?"

I used the word "we" on purpose; this subliminal message shows the Hiring Manager that you already see yourself as part of the organisation and this subliminal remark coupled with a sensible question should be a winning combination.

The Hiring Manager and the Organisation Structure: You will be surprised at how many people do not know the name of the CEO of the organisation they could potentially be working for. It is actually alarming and one of the key things that can let you down in an interview. Some people may wonder "why is it important ?" For those who might be thinking that, let me give you an example: If someone came to your house, sat down, ate your food, wined and dined with you, exchanged a meaningful/interesting dialogue and at the end of the night they asked you for your name, i'm sure you'd be pretty upset. It's the same kind of scenario, you cannot expect to work for an organisation without knowing about the person who governs it, it demonstrates a lack of interest in the organisation as a whole.

Do a little digging on the CEO, their professional background and their career to date, the same goes for the Hiring Manager. Doing research on the Hiring Manager can give you an insight into his career, his personality etc. (Social Media, including LinkedIn are always useful tools!) even taking note of the kind of posts they like on LinkedIn can also tell you a lot about a person. This can make you more relaxed as you prepare for your interview knowing that you have a little edge over your interviewer.

Company Objectives: Every organisation has current and future business forecasts, and use this to build business modules/departments and identify key hires. Knowing about their business objectives is very important. It shows that you are walking the journey with them, and that you understand where they are going. So use this as a marketing tool to sell yourself, showing them where you can fit in to meet those business objectives

For example: If their objective is to build a data recovery centre before the end of the year, they would definitely need experienced talent in IMAC (Install, Moves and Changes) to fulfill this project. This can be made up of desk support staff, software developers, System Engineers etc. Selling your skill set and your soft skills based on your knowledge of their future projects shows that are ready to jump on board and integrate well with future projects.

The objectives of an organisation as a whole can usually be found as part of their mission statements on their website. In other cases, short term projects and objectives can also be found in online media interviews, and press releases.

All companies have goals for the next 5 - 10 years, and your knowledge of what they are will differentiate you from other candidates.

So when you have been shortlisted for an interview, take your time to really understand the organisation want to represent.

As much as they are looking for key talent to meet their business objectives, they also need to feel that you want them just as much as they want you.

An organisation will not compromise on that enthusiasm because in the long run, if you do not demonstrate what is expected and they have to let you go, it will be a costly hire for them and as a result will have to go back to the drawing board.

Recruitment Blunders - Are you selling yourself short?

In a climate where talented professionals are many and the opportunities for career growth are very few, we seek various methods to get ourselves noticed by organisations we aspire to work for. Whether it's cold calling, reaching out to prospective hiring managers on LinkedIn, or attending networking events to pitch yourself. Professionals are going beyond the job boards and company career job portals to differentiate themselves from the competition.

Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with being innovative in your job search, in fact I actually applaud it. However if you want to be noticed for all the right reasons. there are certain innovative job hunting traits that one should avoid:

Bulk CV Sending: Sending your CV to 8, 9, or even 10 recipients in one email doesn't really convey a high level of professionalism. You lose your exclusivity as a valuable candidate. No consultancy, in-house recruiter, or hiring manager wants to feel 2nd, 3rd, 4th or even 5th best.

If you want to work with a consultancy to secure your next role, do your research on the best consultancy that you feel will work best for you. Consider the sectors/roles they recruit for, their candidate engagement level, and their credibility.

If you want to approach an organisation directly, do some digging; Find out who handles the recruitment on a local (in-country) or regional level. ( for example EMEA, or West, East, or Southern Africa) In some organisations it's the HR Manager that oversees the recruitment locally and in others, they have dedicated recruitment teams who look after a region, (it does vary from company to company) Send them individual messages expressing your interest in working for their organisation and your suitability if you are applying for a specific position.

Applying for the same position several times: This gets you noticed all for the wrong reasons. Making multiple applications doesn't make your CV look any different from the first time you applied, What applicants need to understand is that hiring managers receive hundreds of applications and it is very time consuming to go through them and select the candidates that seem best suited to be shortlisted. Seeing 7 applications from one person doesn't help speed the process up. What you should be focusing on is ensuring that you capabilities, competencies and transferable skills are well conveyed in your CV so that you will be noticed for all the RIGHT reasons (even when you apply once).

Applying for jobs that do not fit your Skill Set: Soft skills that are transferable but skills that are acquired from working in a specific sector are not. For example, Project Management skills are transferable, and can be applied to a role in any sector. Working as a Paediatric Doctor and then applying for a Civil Engineer job is not a transferable skill because they are specialists.

Don't just send your CV to any role advertised to get noticed, unless an organisation doesn't have a talent pool in place ( a place where they keep talented professionals for possible upcoming vacancies) it will actually go unnoticed because you do not fit the bill for what they are currently looking for.

Salutations: In our very diversified corporate world, you need to be careful about how you address people, especially when writing a cover letter or introductory email. Not every hiring manager is a man "Dear Sir," not everyone is married "Dear Mrs" and not everyone likes to be addressed as "Ma" or "Maam" This is the first line (the attention grabber of every correspondence) so how you start means a lot.

Open your letter/message with Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening (name) or To whom this may concern or to the Hiring Manager or HR Department. This is a more universal approach because you are not discriminating against any gender and you're not assuming anybody's marital status.

The market is very competitive, the growth of talent is increasing with professionals gaining diversified experience and furthering their education by obtaining a specialist accreditation to differentiate themselves.

Even the smallest details are taken into account when hiring managers are shortlisting candidates for a position. Someone can have the same experience, educated to the same level, obtained the same accreditation but the deciding factor can be as a result of your written communication and how you can applied yourself during the initial stages of the recruitment process.

Transferable skills and its benefits in a highly competitive market

When we are looking for a new opportunity in our career, we tend to focus on the strict deadlines on what each job description requires in order to be eligible to apply. Now while that is very important, do not sell yourself short by not validating your transferable skills.

What are your transferable skills?

These are skills that a variable and not specific to a sector or type of job. These are skills that can be applied to across the board and should not be ignored because they are additional attributes that are an asset to both your professional and personal development, as well as the organisation that is blessed to have you utilise them to meet their corporate objectives.

Skills such as Leadership,Time Management, Prioritisation, Delegation, Listening, Communication and Analytical skills are all valuable in the workplace and shouldn't be downplayed on your CV.

In this very competitive market where there more professionals looking for the next step in their career than the opportunities that are available to them, one needs to differentiate themselves to be the more preferred hire. By including your transferable skills in your CV, your prospective employer can see your versatility and can also make a constructive judgment about how well you will fit into their team and the value to add to their organisation.

Transferable skills are learnt along the way, either in previous employment, voluntary work or natural attributes that people are born with. For example when someone is referred to as a "born-leader" this generally means that this natural attribute has been capitalised on to become an asset.

To convey your skills successfully in your CV you can include them in the following places:

Cover Letter: As you are summarising your experience, you can mention your transferable skills and how it has enabled you to be successful thus far

Summary: At the beginning of your CV, where you are summarising your experience you can bullet point your skills and how it can be of value to your prospective employer

Job Responsibilities: As you list your experiences include your attributes or your transferable skills that enabled you do that task successfully for example

"I am in charge of the payroll for the regional office, this task requires careful attention to detail as well as excellent prioritisation skills to enable that accurate figures were produced within the designated time frame"

If you are unsure of what your key attributes or transferable skills are, ask a friend, family member or colleague. It is always best to receive constructive criticism for those you engage with on a regular basis, they will be able to give you their candid experience which you will be able to ponder on and evaluate.

What you may find from this exercise is that your weaknesses may also be identified which is alright, because we all have weaknesses. We all have areas that we are don't excel in but that as well can be used to our advantage if applied correctly. For example

"I'm a perfectionist, so I always spend time on tasks to ensure they are done perfectly and as a result, some tasks do not get done and my workload increases. However I have learned the art of time management and prioritisation which means I prioritise my workload in accordance with their deadlines and ensure they are all given the necessary attention they need."

So revisit your CV and ask yourself "Are my transferable skills really conveying my true abilities?" and if not work to to demonstrate how much of an asset you can be to any organisation.

Traditional Recruitment Vs. Technology

Now this is a topic that has many complexities, especially because we are in a world that has become so reliant on technology and it's evolving everyday. Technology just doesn't make our day to day lives easier both personally and professionally, it is now one of the largest if not the largest revenue generator in the world.

Over the years, Human Resources has seen a huge increase in the development of softwares and Information Management Systems that have successfully managed different functions within the department which has not only made information easier to manage but has created a centralised forum for HR employees regardless of their location to access information wherever they are in the world.

Focusing on Recruitment, I have never been here or there on the use of systems for recruitment as I believe certain systems can be used for some stages of the recruitment process and not all.

With Talent Acquisition, there should be a more personable approach. How you interact with a potential hire whether it be a passive outreach to build up a pipeline or a direct source for a position is very important and critical to a brands' representation in a highly competitive market.

As the focal point that bridges the gap between the talent pool and the organisation, how you engage with professionals speaks volumes about the organisation you are representing. Your objective working within Talent Acquisition is to identify key talent and get them to work for your organisation, not just only work there, but to RETAIN them and ensure that what they bring to the brand is being rewarded and recognised. This requires one to one interaction, something that a system or software cannot do.

When it comes to managing candidates during a recruitment drive, systems are essential to keep track of those who have applied for positions, interview notes, and tests results. With these systems you can create numerous of talent pools of candidates that may not be right for the role you're currently recruiting for but may be right for future recruitment needs.

It also proves to be a good tool to evaluate and produce reports on your recruitment drives to measure the calibre of candidates you are attracting, where they have been generated from (i.e. job board, print media, social media etc) and which avenue generated the best results.

However I feel that the traditional style of identifying candidates is best done traditionally. Building a relationship with candidates is essential, when a candidate knows that you genuinely care about their professional development and not the commission/recognition at the end of the quarter is what differentiates you from the masses in the market and essentially earns you every candidates' loyalty.

Systems/Softwares only work with numbers, scenarios, and probabilities. However, when you are dealing with people, it is only your fellow person who will understand you as an individual to attain whether you're best suited for a role technically or a cultural/personal fit for an organisation.

Personality tests only factor in the results of what the candidate was feeling like when they took the test, it doesn't provide a full profile of an individual. We all have our good and bad days but that doesn't depict whether we can perform our duties effectively or not.

However to flip the script a bit, we do believe in tests that demonstrates a candidates' technical ability. This is a true indication of whether he or she is suitable for the role that you are interviewing them for and on that grounds alongside the personality and cultural fit can it be determined if truly they will be an asset.

In conclusion Technology has it's uses and it's an excellent way to manage information locally and globally. Technology cannot be used to determine someone's personality based on tests. I know the critical hires need more tangible methods to demonstrate and justify costly hires, however I feel this can be achieved through tests that demonstrates a candidates technical ability.

The Effect Human Resources has on your Brand Representation

Your brand is EVERYTHING! How it is portrayed in the market can have a negative or positive effect on your business.Your marketing strategy can be amazing, your customer engagement can be brilliant, and you may be even be the preferred supplier to your market.

The reason why all these operational functions are successful is because of the formation of a strong organisational structure, with exceptional talent as employees that believe in the brand and the direction it's going in.

The talent that drives the success of your business is the same talent that was identified by a recruiter whether it be an in-house recruiter (those that work for the organisation) or an agency recruiter (someone that recruits on behalf of many businesses).

Personally I prefer the word consultancy when referring to agency recruiters because I believe that this service should be more of an a extended arm of the organisation that works in-sync with their clients to identify trends, and provide talent that meets their business objective, rather than a door to door salesman approach/service.

Now when you are recruiting for a new employee from an in-house recruiter's perspective. Your approach to identifying and managing your talent acquisition process says a lot about your brand because effectively as an employee you are face of the brand from a talent acquisition perspective.

From the initial engagement, through to an offer being made, and the on-boarding procedure, every milestone in that process counts.

For example as a recruiter if you have reached out to a candidate and scheduled a initial telephone interview or Skype meeting and due to unforeseen circumstances your unable to make it and you do not let the candidate know, that immediately creates an uncertainty about the brand to the candidate and the initial questions of doubt consist of "are they organised? do they disregard the needs of their employee etc.?"

Now whether these thoughts remain permanent or not is determined by what is done to rectify the initial impression that has been created which could be something as simple as a follow up call or email to apologise to the candidate, explain what happened and provide information on the next steps of the process.

You'd be so surprised what a little transparency and honesty can do to a relationship whether it's professional or personal. By doing this you have regained strength and trust in the brand as well as the candidates' faith that the organisation is one that practices due diligence.

Another example is the actual consumer engagement, if a consumer visits your place of business and is left feeling unsatisfied with the service provided, the customer experience will reflect on the HR's learning and development strategies. The level of training will be questioned, and the attendant's exposure to customer satisfaction would be highly debatable .

While this could be the behaviour of just one employee, as long as they are an employee of the brand, the consumer doesn't differentiate between the employee and the brand, as far as they are concerned they have had a bad experience with the brand and not that individual.

As we all know the fastest method of marketing is word of mouth and as the saying goes

" if we receive great service we will tell a friend, if we receive bad service we will tell everybody"

And this is why it is important that every department within an organisation works in unison to achieve the overall objectives of the business which should not be just about financial growth, but the increase in consumer retention, and a decrease in staff turnover.

The Human Resources department sits at the head of this unison and is responsible for the development and overall perception of the operations of the business both internally and externally.

It is how you operate and engage your employees internally that attracts the right talent and it is how you engage, train and manage the performance of your employees that determine the level of your consumers, market share and your strategic place in a highly competitive market.

So as a Human Resources professional, see your role beyond your accountabilities. Put yourself in the shoes of your consumers, the talent you've identified, and also your employees.

See the areas that can be improved, and revise policies to ensure your employees are engaged enough to increase productivity, explore various methods of acquiring talent and managing them effectively and most importantly implement right learning and development plans to keep employees relevant in your industry.