three thoughts on · identifying what makes a good boss involves assessing who you are as an...

1

Three Thoughts OnConnecting the objectives of candidates,

companies and recruiters

Volume II

By Cheryl Bedard

2

Choosing the Right Boss

Key Questions Every Candidate Should Ask: Why? What’s First?What’s Next?

Onboarding: Welcome to the Family!

What to Expect from a Recruiter

Diversity – Part 1

Diversity – Part 2

Getting Started on a Job Search

3

6

9

12

15

18

21

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CO

NTE

NTS

Cheryl Bedard represents the best interests of candidates and

clients. She identifies opportunities for success for talented

executives and companies and reconciles hopes and dreams

with reality. Three Thoughts On Volume II is a series of articles

offering insight on the hiring process. Volume I is available here.

https://www.mccormickgroup.com/team/cheryl-bedard/

3

C h e r y l B e d a r d | P r i n c i p a l , T h e M c C o r m i c k G r o u p | c b e d a r d @ t m g - d c . c o m | 7 0 3 . 8 4 1 . 1 7 0 0

THREE THOUGHTS ONChoosing the Right Boss

I have the pleasure of speaking with talented people every day. We discuss their career goals and future plans. In my work as an executive recruiter, most of the people I speak with daily are fully employed and considering options about furthering their careers. They have the benefit of searching for their next job from the security of their current one.

Candidates freely discuss what they desire in their next job regarding the role, title, compensation, commute and size of the company. They seldom discuss what they want to find in their next boss. When they do, it’s often in the context of avoiding a bad boss because of prior experience. Most of us have ready thoughts and opinions on what makes a bad boss. Fewer of us are ready to discuss what makes a good boss, especially, what would make a good boss for the next phase of our career.

Identifying what makes a good boss involves assessing who you are as an employee and who you aspire to be. Whether you want to maximize your personal potential in the work you do, or you someday want to be a boss, it is useful to think about what your current boss can do to help you realize the future you desire.

Here are three thoughts on choosing the right boss.

1. Personal Inventory

Who are you? What kind of worker are you? What kind of subordinate are you? What do you know? What don’t you know? What do you need from your boss?

Early in our work lives we need a manager. A manager sets expectations for work performance, teaches and trains basic job skills, and literally tells us what to do. A good manager also recognizes our strengths, our weaknesses, our gaps in learning and our potential. A manager rewards us with more hours, better shifts, more responsibility, promotions and increased compensation. A manager also corrects us when needed.

4

As you develop sharper work skills and consistently deliver good work product, your manager can also help you develop better personal skills. From creating and delivering presentations to understanding the financial performance of the business to effectively communicating our ideas, the right boss will willingly teach you all they know.

As you prepare for your annual review and a discussion about your past performance, also prepare yourself to discuss your future with your boss. What skills do you need to master? What additional training or education do you need to get to the next desired step in your career? What can your boss do to help you acquire those skills?

2. Moving On

The best boss I ever had eventually told me I was ready for a bigger job, and since I wasn’t getting hers, she needed to kick me out of the nest.

The right boss wants you to grow and develop, then move up or leave. The right boss is not resentful when it is time for you to leave the business unit or the company. The best boss will advocate for your advancement and increased opportunities. The best boss will refer you to recruiters and other business leaders who may have a terrific opportunity for you.

Once we no longer need a manager to tell us what to do, we need an effective leader. A leader sets goals and objectives and lays out the strategy. Where a manager tells us what to do and how to do it, a leader tells us why we are doing it.

The best boss will help you understand the relationship between your work and the organization’s goals and strategy. The best boss will also help you tie your personal objectives to the work you’re doing.

The right boss will challenge you to do your best and be the best you can be. They will help you face your own reality. What are you really good at? Where do you need to improve? Are you developing the managerial and leadership skills you will need to achieve your career goals? Have you mastered the art of receiving criticism?

The best boss is often also a mentor, helping you plan larger life goals, not just work-related goals. The best boss will also help you figure out how to identify what you need from your next boss.

3. Asking the Right Questions

How will you know when you find the right next boss? Part of your interview process must include interviewing your future boss for fit. You must ask questions.

Beyond questions about the actual work you’d be doing, ask the boss about their personal style of leadership and management. How do they prefer to communicate? What is their style of delivery regarding praise and criticism? Note: the best bosses praise loudly and publicly, and chastise and correct privately and quietly.


5


Ask what key traits are shared by their most successful subordinates. Ask what happened to the person who previously held the role you’re interviewing for. Were they promoted or fired? Ask about the success stories of the people they have trained and mentored. Ask about their relationship with their own boss and whether they get the support they need to be successful.

Ask about how they deal with difficult employees. The worst bosses ignore bad behavior. The best bosses know how to encourage competence and compassion. They work to train underperformers and give people clear instructions on how they need to improve. The best bosses do not let chronically poor performers drag down the production of the team. The right boss recognizes there is room for different personality types and approaches on the team, but draws the line when an individual negatively impacts the harmony of the team. The best boss does not allow underperformers to drive away productive ones.

You can sometimes luck into a great job, great career and great boss. You can improve your chances to find a great job, great career and great boss by planning. Ask yourself the right questions. Ask your current boss the right questions. Ask your potential future boss the right questions.

Pay attention to what you really want, and face the reality of whether or not you can get it where you are, or where you plan to go. Reward yourself when you achieve key milestones. Remember that sometimes the reward for career accomplishments means giving yourself permission to move on. When your boss kicks you out of the nest, remember it’s because they recognize you’ve developed your wings and you’ll be able to fly.

6


As I talk to people about why they want to leave their current job, they often express the feeling that their job is not aligned with the overall objectives of the company. They express disappointment that they are not working toward a goal that is also important to the company’s goals. Worse yet, they sometimes have no idea what the company’s goals are.

When I ask them how the work they focus on compares with what they were told to expect during the interviews, I learned the topic had never been discussed.

Companies and candidates have a bad habit of discussing what candidates and companies do, and how candidates and companies should do it, but seldom discuss WHY.

Companies should make certain they express what the organization’s objectives are. They should explain how a particular job fits into executing their strategy. People should understand the purpose of their role before they accept the job.

Candidates should make certain they ask these key questions if the company’s interviewers fail to address them. Interviewers can set themselves apart by offering this information, even if they aren’t asked.

Here are three thoughts on key questions to ask during the interview.

1. Why?

The worst moment in most jobs is when you find yourself asking, “What is the point? Why am I doing this?”

THREE THOUGHTS ONKey Questions Every Candidate Should Ask: Why? What’s First? What’s Next?

7


Companies trying to recruit motivated, talented people should know why the company exists. Companies should know the point of the work they do, the services they provide and/or the products they produce.

Companies should be able to describe their three year strategy to candidates succinctly. People participating in interviews should be able to describe how their role and responsibilities, and that of their department, fit into the overall scheme.

In an interview, candidates should ask what the company’s three year objective is. What is the company trying to accomplish over the next three years? Why is the company trying to accomplish that?

2. What’s First?

The main point of an interview from the company’s perspective is to evaluate if candidates are capable of doing the job and to decide which candidate will be able to do it best.

The point of an interview from the candidate’s perspective is to understand the job, and decide if they are capable and willing to do it.

What will you actually be responsible for doing? How will your work matter? Understanding the company’s objective is the important first step. Understanding what the job entails and how it helps advance the company’s mission is the next important step.

Take the time to discuss the actual work you’ll be doing. What does a typical day and week entail? How will you be observed and evaluated? What are the most basic elements of the job? What are the loftier objectives? How will what are you working on lead to meeting the company’s three year objectives? Ask about your work, your team’s work, your leadership’s work, your business unit’s work… ask all the way up the chain.

3. What’s Next?

Over a three year period, a job should evolve or lead to promotion. How will your role evolve as you meet the three year objective? If it won’t, why won’t it? Perhaps the company knows and understands that the job has a three year arc and expects most people to move on if they can’t be promoted. Perhaps they never give clear thought to how careers develop at the company.

After you acknowledge your interest in the company’s three year objective, and emphasize how your skills and experiences will lead to your successful performance in the initial role, ask what’s next. It is more artful to ask what your next three year challenge will be as opposed to asking when you’ll be promoted. It can be very powerful to ask your potential boss what is next for them after they lead you and the team successfully through the initial three year challenge. The response leads nicely into a discussion of what’s next for you.

There is clearly a difference in being an employed candidate with low urgency and high leverage, compared to an unemployed candidate who needs to land the job. The more secure your current role is, the more (politely) belligerent your questions can be. If you have the luxury of evaluating your next role from the security of a perfectly good job, then make it a priority to get these questions answered before you accept the offer.

8


Carefully consider what it means if your interviewer can’t answer the questions. Are they put off that you even asked? Do they think the questions are not important? Or do they acknowledge, “Great questions. Let me find out the answers.”

How an interviewer or company responds to these questions provide important clues about the company’s vision and understanding of their mission. Maybe the disconnection is just the interviewer’s failure to convey the information. Or maybe the company lacks a clear vision and purpose. Perhaps the culture of the company is no one cares why we do what we do, just do it.

However the interviewer(s) respond, pay attention to what you are learning about their culture. Pay attention to whether the attitude toward you is annoyance or welcoming for asking these questions.

Timing is important. These are generally second or final interview questions, although the three year strategy question should be discussed in the first interview for anyone considering a management or leadership role.

9


Many aspects of the recruiting and hiring process are comparable to dating and marriage. One part that is often overlooked is the onboarding process.

My parents, Eugene and Terry Bedard (pictured above), got married on June 4, 1955. While that is the day they officially became part of each other’s family, the process of joining their families actually started much earlier.

My mother always told guests in her home, “The first time you visit, you’re a guest and I’ll serve you. After that, you’re family, so help yourself.”

For some families, you are “family” as soon as you become a frequent guest. For others, you might be considered family after dating for a year. Perhaps the proposal launches the family relationship, and you stop calling your future in-laws Mr. and Mrs. Sometimes, the family relationship doesn’t launch until the actual wedding day. In hopefully rare instances, the families never really join, even after the wedding.

Recruiting and interviewing activities are often likened to dating and wooing. Companies recruit or “date” candidates, and then more actively woo them during the interviews. The proposal comes in the form of the offer. The wedding date is the candidate’s start date. When does the candidate join the family?

Here are three thoughts on onboarding, and how companies can better make candidates feel they have joined the family.

1. The Dating Game

Recruiting and interviewing candidates is a complex dance of trying to attract the attention of top candidates at the same time as using a process of elimination to screen some candidates out of consideration. As a candidate, you know the company is dating others. As a company, you should recognize that candidates are usually

THREE THOUGHTS ONOnboarding: Welcome to the Family!

10


interviewing at other companies at the same time. The way a company engages a candidate during the process can greatly affect a candidate’s interest. Even if the candidate is not ultimately the right fit for the job, or if they decide the job isn’t right for them, how they feel about the way they were treated during the process impacts what happens next.

Companies should assume that every candidate can be an ambassador of good will. What they say about their experience will impact what other people think about the company. In the best cases, a candidate who is not the right fit will refer someone else who just might be.

Consider treating every candidate as if they will be hired, and welcome them to the family at the first meeting. You don’t need to disclose proprietary information, just as you wouldn’t tell every family secret during a first date. However, companies can create a dynamic where the candidate feels warmly welcomed as opposed to interrogated. Candidates who get a comfortable feeling about a company’s culture and environment are far more excited about the opportunity. Dates that love the family can see themselves marrying into it, but the opposite is seldom true.

2. The Proposal and Engagement

You’ve interviewed multiple candidates. You have finally narrowed it down to “the one.” You are ready to propose the candidate join your company. How will your company handle the offer to get an answer of YES? Sadly, sometimes the answer is the company will do it poorly.

Surprise proposals look great in the movies. One person has no idea the proposal is coming. A ring is presented, tears flow, people kiss, and a wedding is scheduled. It doesn’t always work that way in real life, and certainly not in the hiring process.

An offer of employment should not be a surprise to the candidate. Either the recruiter or Human Resources should make certain the candidate is prepared to say yes before the offer is formally presented.

Once the offer is accepted, the company should work to make the candidate feel like family during the time between acceptance and the start date. Smart companies make the candidate feel welcomed during the engagement period. Lunch, phone calls, even sending first day paperwork in advance is helpful. Candidates love getting benefits information early.

One of the best companies I’ve worked with had a very formal onboarding process. The candidate heard from their boss weekly between acceptance and start date. The candidate was contacted by internal recruiting to make sure any questions they had were answered. The candidate was presented with a calendar (regular meetings, upcoming conferences) so they could plan in advance. The candidate told me she felt like she was part of the company before she started.

3. After the Wedding

Some companies stop wooing after the candidate starts. Smart companies know that retaining top talent means never giving the candidate reasons to consider going elsewhere.

11


All marriages require nurturing. Date nights, family celebrations, and acknowledgement of why two people happily joined in marriage in the first place are important elements of staying married. Boredom and a lack of appreciation kill marriages, just like they kill employment relationships.

The best companies recognize that recruiting talented people is the beginning of managing a successful relationship, not the end. Don’t just plan for how an employee will do the job they are hired for. Make a plan for their future with the company. If they are as successful as expected in their initial job, what’s next? If your company grows as planned, how will your best employees’ roles also grow? Most importantly, share those plans with your employees. People who know what to expect in the future from their company are difficult to recruit away.

No one thinks about getting divorced on the day they get married. However, few employees accept a job thinking it will be their last. How you welcome new employees, how you handle them during the recruiting process, and how you plan for their future can change that.

When you welcome new employees to the family in the right way, they won’t want to leave. Joining a great family makes one excited about committing to the future and helps one imagine forever is a real possibility.

12


As an executive recruiter for the past twenty years, I have had many discussions with clients and candidates about my role as their recruiter. The crux of those conversations is about their experiences with other recruiters. Especially any time a recruiter has failed to meet their expectations.

What should you expect from a recruiter? Whether you are the client or the candidate, there are basic things you should expect from a recruiter. Just as we all know what to expect from our favorite TV game shows, you should expect consistent help from your recruiter. Figuring out the puzzle, finding the right mix of skills and experience, and pricing it right are what your recruiter should help you do.

Here are three thoughts on what to expect from a recruiter, based on our most popular game shows.

1. Wheel of Fortune

As a company, identifying the right candidates to add to your team is like playing Wheel of Fortune. You know the puzzle category (what the job is called.) You know how many letters and how many words are in the puzzle (the position description.) You don’t know the exact letters that will make the correct puzzle, or how they will be properly arranged. Some letters bring tremendous value (big money on the wheel), while others cost you to acquire (you must pay for vowels).

A recruiter should help companies identify which candidates to focus on to best complete their puzzle, and how to compete to get the right candidates. If you are looking for a ‘T’ or an ‘S’, a recruiter knows they commonly available and usually not difficult to find. A ‘Z’ doesn’t belong in every puzzle, but occasionally, it’s the perfect missing letter. Some recruiters are great at filling the commonly available jobs. Other recruiters are at their best finding more specialized talent. A recruiter should also advise the client about how to compete for the candidates’ attention. I can find you a ‘Q’, but unless you have a ‘U’ available, it’s going to be hard to attract the ‘Q’.

THREE THOUGHTS ONWhat to Expect from a Recruiter

CATEGORY 1

$200

$400

$600

$1000 $1000 $1000 $1000 $1000

$600 $600 $600 $600

$400 $400 $400 $400

$200 $200 $200 $200

CATEGORY 2 CATEGORY 3 CATEGORY 4 CATEGORY 5

13


As a candidate, a recruiter can help you understand how the market views and values you. Are you an ‘R’ or an ‘L’, generally available and useful in many situations? Are you a vowel they must pay a premium for? Are you a less-frequently sought letter, like an ‘X’ or a ‘V’? A recruiter can also help you understand why you don’t fit particular roles or companies.

The recruiter helps the company describe the puzzle and recognize the missing pieces. Then the recruiter searches for the pieces to complete the puzzle, identifying candidates who might be a good fit.

2. Jeopardy!

Jeopardy! is a game that tests contestants’ knowledge. Given the answer, can you figure out the right question? What do you know? How quickly can you problem solve? How do you respond under pressure?Recruiters help companies and candidates answer these questions. Some Jeopardy! contestants have a broad base of general knowledge. Others can run through categories quickly and show deep knowledge of particular subjects. Some can answer every science question and miss all of the history ones. Some know the questions to the easier answers, but not to the most difficult ones.

Jeopardy! players, like candidates and companies, have different playing styles. Some contestants go for broke and bet large amounts on Daily Doubles and Final Jeopardy!. Others show a much more conservative approach. Recruiters help companies and candidates articulate their personalities and playing styles, see where there will be a good fit, and avoid poor matches. Companies looking to enter new markets need talented people to help them. Some companies are risk takers and even if they fail and lose, they want to pursue a big goal. Other companies are risk adverse, and need talented people with personalities that fit their approach.

Recruiters can help candidates distinguish what they are capable of doing from what they really want to be doing. Recruiters help candidates position themselves correctly by identifying the problems they want to help solve, the deliverables they want to commit to, and their tolerance for risk.

Recruiters should help their clients identify what candidates must know, reasonably test candidates’ basic knowledge and aptitude, understand what candidates are interested in doing, and point out potential matches.

3. The Price Is Right

Contestants on The Price Is Right must guess the prices of products without going over. Companies and candidates are trying to figure out what a job is worth, also without going over the right price. How much should you bid on that showcase at the end of the show? That depends. If the car included in the showcase is a compact car, you’ll bid a bit less than if it is an SUV.

Recruiters help companies and candidates figure out the right price. A car is a car, but what you expect from it and what you expect to pay for it varies. Recruiters can help companies figure out competitive compensation for talented people. Recruiters can also help candidates express their value and set competitive compensation goals for their skills.

14


On The Price Is Right, you won’t usually win the prize if you bid too low. You also won’t win if you bid too much. Clients and candidates need to figure out the right price for what they value. Your recruiter should help you tailor the correct bid for the prize you want to win.

The right recruiter helps companies describe and search for missing puzzle pieces. The recruiter helps identify who has the right mix of knowledge and skills, and whose personality will be a likely fit. Finally, the recruiter helps both parties arrive at the right price.

Your recruiter should help you play to win, no matter the game.

15


From the Merriam Webster Dictionary, the definition of diversity:

1: the condition of having or being composed of differing elements: VARIETY especially: the inclusion of different types of people (such as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization

2: an instance of being composed of differing elements or qualities

As recruiters at an executive search firm, my colleagues and I have been engaged in conversations about diversity with companies, candidates, and potential clients throughout our 45 year history. We are often asked about our ability to help our clients recruit a diverse slate of candidates. Candidates frequently ask about companies’ commitment to diversity. Candidates are also asked about their own commitment to creating a diverse work environment, especially when they are interviewing for leadership roles.

As with all other aspects of recruiting and job searching, preparation is the key. As a company, you probably already have corporate objectives to create a diverse work force. There are things you can do to ensure your strategic and tactical plans lead to successfully increasing the diversity of your workforce. As a candidate, you can identify and explain what makes you unique and diverse. As a recruiter, you can expand your sources of referrals and prospects to increase your awareness of talented people with diverse experiences and backgrounds.

Here are three thoughts on addressing diversity as a company.

1. Define Diversity

As a Company, bring clarity to the discussion about diversity by defining what makes a candidate diverse in your company. One Fortune 50 company told me a diverse candidate was someone who worked their way through

THREE THOUGHTS ONDiversity – Part 1

16


college at a non-Ivy league school. They were interested in candidates “who had not ridden the conveyor belt to success.” One client, a non-profit focused on addressing the interests of women of a particular ethnicity, described diverse candidates as men who were not part of their ethnic group.

Avoid narrowly focusing on diversity in terms of gender or ethnicity. Diversity of ideas is the goal. That can be achieved by building teams of people with different life experiences, educational paths, geographic origins, age, weight, physical ability, prior career experiences, and life styles. Your company classical music enthusiast, Deadhead, country music lover and rap music fan can make a very effective working team (though they may argue about the music to play in the car on the way to visit a client.)

While you certainly can’t ask candidates questions about their ethnic background, marital status or love interests, you can make clear the company’s commitment to creating a hospitable environment for all employees. One company employee told me they are redesigning a call center with gender-neutral bathrooms, not because a demand has been made, but to send a clear message that all kinds of people are welcome to work there.

2. Challenge Assumptions

Corporate attitudes and assumptions sometimes need to be challenged. Companies can look for ways to create jobs and careers for people who are often excluded from consideration because of narrow standards. Requiring that your senior level corporate finance and accounting team have accounting degrees is reasonable. Failing to acknowledge years of experience in lieu of a degree for a billing clerk or payroll manager may be short-sighted.

A past client had a senior executive who desired to hire a successful employee from his prior employer as a Director of Sales. It turns out the new company had an absolute rule that Directors must have degrees. The candidate did not have a degree but did have a very successful record as a Director of Sales. The prior employer didn’t have a degree requirement for that role. The new company could not adjust the rule for just one person, having previously denied promotions to existing employees who lacked the college degree. That rule precluded them from hiring a highly-desirable, proven performer as a Director, all because of a lack of a degree that was irrelevant to the candidate’s ability to do the job successfully.

There are many ways to establish hiring standards that evaluate comparable experience and do not create impediments to hiring talented, successful people. No one is automatically too young to lead or too old to learn new skills. Skills are transferrable from one industry to another. Smart and competent people bring their knowledge and experience and their desire to succeed to every job. While the best predictor of future success is past performance, it is not the only predictor. That point was made in the movie, “Can You Ever Forgive Me”, as Melissa McCarthy, known for her comedic talent, proved she was a successful dramatic actress and earned a Best Actress nomination for an Academy Award.

3. Sow Seeds

“The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is today.” This proverb nicely describes how companies can look at creating a diverse workforce. Deciding today that a company needs diversity among its leadership team is admirable and important. Companies recruiting executive leaders from outside the company are wise to create a diverse talent pool to choose from. It is even wiser to incorporate a recruiting strategy that

17


creates diverse talent pools for every hire every day. Sowing the company with diverse talent today increases the chances that the management and leadership ranks remain diverse as the company grows.

Creating a diverse workforce takes more effort than just enforcing nondiscriminatory practices. Creating a dynamic work environment that attracts talented people is the goal. Celebrating diverse experiences and perspectives creates a vibrant corporate culture, and companies doing that successfully attract and retain the people they need for future sustained success. Do your part to challenge your company’s staid practices. Help your leadership understand the potential rewarding result of challenging traditional expectations and the benefits of creating room for unconventional candidates.

18


From the Merriam Webster Dictionary, the definition of variety:

1: the quality or state of having different forms or types: MULTIFARIOUSNESS

2: a number or collection of different things especially of a particular class: ASSORTMENT

3a: something differing from others of the same general kind: SORT

b: any of various groups of plants or animals ranking below a species: SUBSPECIES

Smart companies value diversity. Smart companies desire variety. Smart companies realize that diversity means more than differences in physical appearance.

Smart candidates understand the importance of selling how they will stand out at the same time as they are selling how they will fit in.

Candidates regularly ask for advice on how to prove they are what a target company says it is looking for. It’s a great starting point when you “match” what the company desires. But that leaves out a key question. How is a company going to know to choose you if you are the same as all the other candidates? As in definition 3a for variety, “something differing from others of the same general kind,” you need to stand out from the other candidates. You need to have the expected skills and experience, but you need to separate yourself from the pack. What makes you different? What makes you a diverse choice?

Here are three thoughts on addressing diversity as a candidate.

THREE THOUGHTS ONDiversity – Part 2

19


1. Identify and Celebrate Your Uniqueness

Every person is unique in some way. Even identical twins have some differences they can point to. Spaghetti with tomato sauce is usually really good. Sometimes it’s just okay. Occasionally, it’s divine and sublime. The difference is in the sauce. What makes the sauce special? Did it include an unusual variety of tomatoes? Was an unexpected herb or spice added?

What makes you different affects how companies assess your fit and value. The shopping list may just say “spaghetti sauce.” The key to competing for the job is in understanding what they really want when they ask for sauce. One can buy a can of tomato sauce. It won’t make great tasting spaghetti, but it will get the job done. Or one can spend a bit more on jarred sauce. Should it be store brand or one of the national brands? We can all agree the best sauce would be made from scratch, from a unique execution of a sauce recipe.

Each of us is a unique execution of a special recipe. Obvious differences are only one element of how diversity can be expressed through the recruiting and interviewing process. How will you contribute a diverse perspective? What are your surprise ingredients? What is your answer to “when you hire me, you get everything you expect plus…”? As you describe yourself during the search process, make sure you note what makes you special.

2. Sell the Benefits of Your Differences

Describing what makes you different is helpful, but you must also sell the benefits of your differences. How are the variety of experiences and perspective you bring going to add value? What have you learned through your experiences that will help you be better than expected at your job? How did your personal life path mold and shape you in ways that differentiate you?

The benefits of some life experiences are readily understood in hiring process. People who participate in athletics are assumed to be team players and coachable. They are presumed to understand the importance of playing their position well. They are assumed to respond to adversity and losses by focusing on how to improve their performance. Those traits are recognized as beneficial to employers, especially when hiring people early in their careers.

How would you complete the sentence “because of this particular experience, I learned…”? Or “because I did this, I now know more about...”? How can you connect the rest of that sentence to a benefit for your future employer?

On paper, a candidate who takes eight years to earn a bachelor’s degree may appear less desirable, unless you connect the dots for them. “I earned my degree while working full time and I graduated debt free” is a great story to tell. In her autobiography, Becoming, Michelle Obama describes how early in her career, she figured out she didn’t want to practice law, but brought the benefits of her legal training and critical thinking skills into other roles.

What makes you stand out?

3. Hold the Door Open for Others

Many of us recognize the pain of having our potential go unrecognized and unrealized. As you learn to connect your unique perspective to benefits your company will derive, remember to be open minded about the way you

20


assess and value other people’s experiences. As an entry-level employee, a manager, or a corporate executive, you can practice being open and welcoming to other people. You don’t have to be the leader to lead by example. You can always look for ways to learn from the people around you. Broaden your view by expressing interest in the perspective of others. Show appreciation for the way your co-workers’ differences complement each other and make a stronger team.

If you are a decision maker or influencer in the hiring process, look for opportunities to identify talented people with unconventional backgrounds. You can look at ways to leverage the unique perspectives people bring and use those benefits to outperform your competitors. Occasionally, you can offer a second chance or help a candidate with more enthusiasm and potential than experience or accolades find a place on your team. The best way to level the playing field is to stop the cycle of unfair advantages and unfair disadvantages.

As a candidate, you must accept that your unique qualities will not always be welcomed or appreciated. The fact that you aren’t the best fit for a company does not mean they failed to recognize the benefits you can deliver. It does not mean anything discriminatory occurred. Sometimes it means that the company had a lot of really good options available. Sometimes it means that you can’t see what diverse experiences or qualities the chosen candidate had to offer. Sometimes, the priority for the hiring authority is to place the surest bet on the candidate that matches the requirements for the job.

Sometimes, you are a really quality ingredient that just doesn’t fit the recipe. Cocoa is a wonderful ingredient for sauce, if you’re making mole, but not if you’re making spaghetti sauce. You are a quality ingredient. You just have to identify the recipes you are the best fit for.

21


Happy New Year! January is a month full of promise…and promises. I promise to eat better, exercise, and get more sleep. I love my job, so making a career change isn’t on my list. For many people, January is the month they assess their job situation and think about making a change.

On New Year’s Eve, I played the board game Aggravation with my grandchildren. In order to get out of the starting block and onto the playing field, one must roll a one or six on the die. I often speak with people who want to get onto the path to a new job, but they are stuck at start. They can’t figure out how to get onto the playing field. Just as in the game of Aggravation, they need to take an action similar to rolling that one or a six.

Getting started is one of the most difficult steps in the process of landing a new job. Here are three thoughts on getting started.

1. Career Peak Goal

No matter where you are in your career, you will benefit from having a career peak goal in mind. When your mind is focused on your ultimate goal, you will evaluate every intervening move by whether it helps you advance toward your ultimate goal or not.

We don’t always achieve our ultimate career goal. Sometimes, we change our mind about our goal. Other times, life interferes or it just doesn’t work out. We may get to a point where we get to compete for our ultimate goal, and we don’t land the job. Either way, measuring life decisions by whether or not they help us advance towards our grand goals helps us to evaluate every decision.

Continuing the analogy of board games, remember the game of LIFE? Whether it is deciding on college or not, marriage or not, buying a house or not, being an actor or a lawyer, each decision in the game puts one on a

THREE THOUGHTS ONGetting Started on a Job Search

22


different path. You can still win the game of LIFE without going to college, without owning a home and without having the highest paid career. But you need to pick a path. And other choices and decisions should support the path that leads to your goal.

2. What Do You Want To Get Out Of Your Next Career Move?

I ask candidates this question every day. Many people are unprepared to answer because they are focused on what they want to move away from more than what they want to move towards. Decide what the top three things are that you’d like to gain by making a job change. A shorter commute? More responsibility? A chance to learn new skills? A chance to use your skills? A chance to lead, manage or supervise? A larger company? A bigger role in a smaller company? Increased compensation? Bigger commissions? Opportunity for larger bonuses? Equity? A flexible schedule? Telecommuting? A more socially-responsible company? There are no right or wrong questions or answers. The purpose is to decide what is on your own agenda.

Whatever the answers are, decide on your top three. Then, evaluate new career opportunities by whether they help you achieve any or all of your goals. Look especially closely at how the new opportunity would help you achieve your top three goals. A career move doesn’t have to address every priority, or evenly address the top three goals. The point is that you evaluate new opportunities against the ability to achieve those goals, and make a conscience choice. Compare what you will give up in your current role, including some security, against what you will gain.

3. What Do You Want To Avoid?

The purpose of this question is to focus on the risks involved in making a change. Every job change involves risks, especially for the candidate. Being clear about what you want to gain is important. Being clear about what you want to avoid is equally important. Most people want to avoid joining an economically unhealthy company. They want to avoid a bad boss or poor leadership. Some people want to avoid being publicly identified as a candidate, so a confidential process is very important. Some people want to avoid companies with particular reputations or specific market strategies. Figure out what you consider to be the biggest risks involved, and decide how you will mitigate them.

How will you know? For each of the key questions, how will this help me advance my career goals, how will this address my immediate priorities, and how will this help me avoid pitfalls of disaster ; you need to decide how you will know. Some questions can be asked and answered during the interview process. Some questions can be asked of your potential new boss or new company leadership. Some questions are best answered by peers or subordinates. Some questions can be answered by outside research or by following the company’s reputation in the business press or through industry or market intelligence. Some questions aren’t always answerable and require taking a risk or a leap of faith, or relying on your Spidey-sense. Ultimately, the question is whether or not the potential risk will be worth the potential reward.

Whether you’re playing Aggravation or the game of LIFE, you have to set your sights on the goal, pick a path, and get out on to the playing board. Remember, you can always change your path if you don’t like where it’s leading. Roll that die and be ready to start when the one or the six surfaces.

23

Cheryl specializes in executive searches for people who make things happen in areas of operations, business development, accounting, finance, and administration. Her tenacity and persistence make her particularly adept at difficult assignments. Cheryl demonstrates great insight into the needs of both employers and candidates, and uses those insights to drive mutually convenient solutions for both parties.

Working with a wide range of employers from global consulting firms, to public companies, to small businesses, Cheryl brings an understanding of the critical challenges facing each firm. Whether searching for a CEO, a vice president, a practice leader or a business developer, Cheryl identifies the compelling components of client opportunities and matches it to the interests of confidential candidates. She regularly represents candidates transitioning from government to the private sector, as well as key executives in the public sector market.

Cheryl came to The McCormick Group in 1999 after 15 years of experience in accounting and operations. She was an accounting systems consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers. During the first administration of President Clinton, she served as Chief of Operations and Special Assistant to the Secretary at the United States Department of Energy. She was Regional Controller for Earle Palmer Brown and controller at several smaller advertising agencies.

She is the lead singer and songwriter for the band Mojo Hounds and is the proud grandmother of two girls and a boy.

CHERYL BEDARD | PRINCIPAL

703.841.1700 x233

[email protected]

Matching Talented

Executives with

Deserving

Companies

“Three Thoughts On”

Written by Cheryl Bedard

Edited by Joe Supervielle

Designed by Monica Perez

three thoughts on · identifying what makes a good boss involves assessing who you are as an...

Documents