The Trend Towards Flexi-Hours and Work From Anywhere

Talk about flexi hours has been around for some time now but the execution is slow in coming especially among the more established organizations. Start-ups somehow understand this as the new work trend and adopted it quickly. I think for the others, it’s a situation of when things don’t need fixing, you do nothing.

But when talent is scarce to come by and the ones you want to keep decided spending time with family makes more sense at certain point of their lives, employers need to give “flexi hours” a good hard look.

And frankly, it’s not so hard to implement flexi hours, thanks to technology. So if your work can be done with a phone, computer or internet line, that basically means you qualify for flexi hours.

Some time back, one of my Consultants decided to cut down on her working hours as she wished to spend more time with her young children. I have no problem introducing flexi hours because the nature of our work is such that it’s possible to work from home. If a meet up either with client or candidate needs to be done, it’s possible to schedule the appointment that suits both parties and not necessarily need to be at the office.  As for other tasks such as research and screening of candidates, the Consultant can perform them via a computer with internet access and all these can be done in the comfort of one’s home. So it was a win-win situation for us. My Consultant gets what she wanted and I managed to keep a good staff.

But certainly not all jobs qualify and make the case for flexi hours. We can’t expect a job as a Receptionist to qualify for that. If a job is office-bound, i.e., you are hired to be present at the office or the site so called your work place, such as Site Supervisor or Retail Shop Sales Assistant, then flexi-hours might not be applicable. So if your job is valued on piece-meal basis or by the results you generate and the process of how you get it done is immaterial, then flexi-hours makes huge sense. Think Writers, Programmers, Consultants and Designers.

The other factor that is worth a mention would be those that have proven to be reliable in an environment in which no or limited supervision is required. And that can only be established when an employer had already built some level of trust with the said employee, hence such implementation without doubt will be successful. 

With our work revolves around technology more and more each day, and people increasingly advocating a work-life balance, i.e., quality life, the idea of flexi hours in employment is going to be more of a reality than ever before.

In fact, people are already talking about working from our smartphones. Our whole office is in that little device, almost everything can be accomplished with it. So I guess flexi hours and work from anywhere are work trends that are here to stay.

10 Things Recruiters Won't Tell You

It is normal for job seekers/candidates to enquire their Recruiters or Job Interviewers on why they were not short listed or recommended for a job. If there is a mismatch in terms of qualification, skills-set or salary, telling candidates point blank is not a problem. However, on many occasions the reason can border to personal and may come across as hurtful, offensive or downright embarrassing and that makes the job of telling the truth not an easy one.

Furthermore, Recruiters are usually trained to be diplomatic in their approach, therefore delivering "not so pleasant news" is not something they enjoy doing. 

So most of the Recruiters in the name of professionalism, will weigh what to tell and what not to tell. In the end, the big question is: by telling, will it make any difference? If not, should I risk my reputation of being the bad guy? 

For job seekers/candidates, if you think the reason given by the Recruiter was a bit wishy-washy and you have a feeling that they may be hiding something from you, chances are they might. 

Top 10 Things A Recruiter Won’t Tell You

1. Bad breath
2. Bad body odour or overpowering perfume/cologne
3. Interview attire out of fashion or too flashy (OMG, she came in her grandmother's clothes!)
4. Too much saliva till they covered half of the Recruiter's glasses.
5. Swearing (even mildly)
6. Too pushy or dogmatic about certain views 
7. Your eye contact is intense or worst, they wander at places you should not.
8. Overusing certain phrases or words, for example, words like "Am I right?" at the end of every sentence.
9. Awkward facial expressions (and you are not interviewing for Stand-up Comedian)
10. Partial deafness or misinterpret questions (was told more than twice you got the question wrong)

A job seeker that genuinely wants to improve his hiring chances should always seek to know the truth of the rejection. Hence, convincing the Recruiter that you can handle the truth is crucial. After all, we do have our own blind spots, job seekers or not. 

As for experienced Recruiters, they would know better whether to tell or not as experience would inform them that there are people who won't and can't handle the truth. 

     

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Job Hunting Techniques That Destroy Hiring Chances

It’s no fun to be out of job or unemployed. I don’t claim I know better but looking at some of the job hunting techniques used by some job seekers, I realize desperation can sometimes drive people to do things that harm their career or hiring opportunity instead of helping them.


The following are some of the glaring ones that I observe recently.

Send out resume to employers/head hunters in one email

Some job seekers resort to sending out masses of unsolicited resumes. They thought by sending as many resumes to as many people as possible, the chances of getting an interview will increase. It’s not totally fruitless if some planning is in place. However, what is a BIG No-No is sending a cover letter with resume to potential employers and head hunters in one email, with the recipients of the email display for all to see. Yes, what I meant was they don’t even bother to use the bcc. This is disastrous.

Apply every job advertised by the company

To increase their odds, they apply for every single job advertised by the same company. With online job portals, it’s just a matter of clicks. But by doing so, they only managed to achieve one thing: annoy the Hiring Manager. In other words, even if they do fit into one of the positions, they might be overlooked because of this silly act. Job seekers need to be focused; be targeted. The right approach is to pick the job that fits their skills and experience.

Use Only One Resume and Cover Letter

There were so many occasions when I read a cover letter that was attention to another employer and when confronted, they did not even react with shock as though this is a common anomaly. Job search should be a serious business. If no attention is paid to such details, how do you expect employers to trust them for the jobs that need even greater attention and precision? Sure, with emails and online job portals, job hunting has never been more convenient, yet if no deep thinking or deliberation is dedicated to carve a proper and targeted letter, this exercise is futile to say the least.

Job seekers need to plan ahead and use job search techniques well.

If you are unemployed, avoid the above. Do not let desperation takes over and destroy your chances of being short listed as a potential candidate.

Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before You Accept A Job Offer

 

You received the good news - you are hired! Are you going to sign on the dotted lines and call a party for celebration immediately or take some time to do a bit of thinking work first? Although we hate to admit it, most often than not, we allow our emotions to get the better of us and rule most decisions. If you find yourself accepting an offer when… “I think I’ll take the offer since the hiring manager is so gorgeous”, then this is a red flag. Knowing this is part of our human flaws, we should develop some kind of formula to help us to be as objective as possible so that our decision will be a “thought-through one” backed by good common sense.

So what are some of the relevant questions you should be asking? Perhaps this list will be helpful.

1. Is the job scope what I’m looking for?
2. Can I perform the job? [to be found incompetent can be a stressful ordeal]
3. How stable is the company? Have I done enough research?
4. Can I work with my immediate superior [usually the Interviewer]? Do I think we have a good working chemistry?
5. Is the location appropriate? Can I see myself traveling to the office day in day out in the next few years and will not be affected by the distance?
6. Does this job provide me the opportunity for growth? If I have to leave the job in two years time, what kind of opportunities await me? [similar to if you are buying a new car, the question is,  what’s the resale value?]
7. Am I fine with the business philosophy or ethics practiced by the company?
8. Is the package offered a fair and reasonable one?
9. I started out hunting a new job with this reason – is this being answered upon me taking this offer?

If your answer is “Yes” to all or at least 80% of the questions, then you should open your champagne to celebrate. But if you answered “Yes” only to 50% or less, this opportunity is probably a questionable one. If that’s the case, take some time to evaluate again. This exercise seems simple and sensible enough and the questions are by no means exhaustive. You might want to add a few more that are unique to your situation. The purpose of this approach is simply to make you think.

Do not accept an offer without much thinking and when another better offer comes along, you change your mind. That’s bad job ethics. Never accept an offer when you are not sure you are going to start work for certain.

What Really Annoys Me… (telling this to Hiring Managers)

Time and again, we hear grouses from employers about the lack of ethics on the part of the job applicants. I think we should sometimes turn the table around and find out what the other side has to say. And mind you, they have their portion of complaints too.

So here you go… the things the Hiring Managers/Employers do that annoy the job applicants.

1. Was told during the interview that the applicant’s experience does not match with the job scope. You got to be kidding? And ends with this, “I’m sorry. I was too busy. No time to read your resume beforehand.” A “Sorry” is not quite good enough, don’t you think so?

2. Being interviewed by several people at different times and questions asked were repeated. At the end of the day, the applicant suffered from a hoarse “sexy” voice. C’mon, can the employer plan ahead and get their act together?

3. Called in for second interview and was told the company can’t match the asking pay and therefore can’t offer the job to him/her. This is a waste of time and needless to say, giving false hopes to candidates as most often than not, a second interview usually ends with the deal sealed. On another hand, it’s amusing because a rejection can always be done via a phone call or email. Is the employer trying to be courteous? Then you got it wrong!

4. Verbally offered the applicant the job but changed their mind after that. Whatever explanation given after, no amount of justification can mend the damage. If an employer can’t keep his word, that speaks a lot about the company.

5. The classic one has to be this: made to WAIT for a job interview, not 10 minutes but it can be as long as an hour. Where’s the respect? I think employers should not justify their action by saying it’s a test of patience. Lousy excuse.

I believe job search ethics apply both ways. If you want the applicant to respect your time and be punctual, you should do the same too as the Hiring Manager. Agree?

Do you have an annoying experience to share with us?

Don’t Interrupt Candidates or Finish Their Sentences

Are you one of those that like to interrupt others or finish their sentences? Most often than not, we did not realize we actually do that until someone pointed out to us.The act might have become invisible to us.

I have to admit I did that, not all the time but enough to realize I actually did it. It happens at times when I encounter someone that is a bit slow in his speech. To speed the conversation, I’ll finish off the sentence knowing that’s probably the word or words he is struggling to verbalize. It’s a bad habit. I’m ashamed of it.

And bad habits like this unfortunately do not remain in your personal life but invade our professional realm too. So for the longest time I have unconsciously let this bad habit slip into my job interviews. And the outcome is usually not a good one. Imagine when I hurry someone along, interrupt someone, or finish his sentence, I made the candidate and myself hurried in our speech and that makes two people rather nervous and irritable at the end.

And truly, how can an interviewer really listen to what the candidate is saying when the interviewer is speaking for that person?

So if you are like me, let’s remind ourselves to be patient and wait.

Enjoy the conversation rather than rush through them.

Google Did Not Get Their Pay Strategy Right

Moving to staunch the defection of staff to competitors, Google Inc. is giving a 10 percent raise to all of its 23,000 employees…

Chief Executive Eric Schmidt disclosed the raise in an email to employees, saying the company wants to lift morale. "We want to make sure that you feel rewarded for your hard work," Schmidt wrote. "We want to continue to attract the best people to Google."

To read more….

At first glance, this seems to be good news to all Google staff. Applause to the management for their generosity, for showing appreciation to their staff and for taking an important step to prevent exodus of staff to other rival companies (rumor has it that many are joining Facebook).

But a closer look reveals something else – if the 10% raise is to apply to all staff regardless of their performance, this strategy might breed more harm than good.

To Abby who has been worried about not meeting her yearly KPI, this news naturally come as a reprieve, perhaps too good to be true. So, it’s okay not to meet my KPI after all? Yippie...back to my Farmville...

To David who has been working hard throughout the past year exceeding his yearly KPI, this news is an insult to him. Ya mean, all my late nights amount to nothing? I certainly deserve a higher raise than that tiny 10%?

You see the problem. A good HR practitioner will point out right away that this pay strategy is a lousy one. The right message is not being sent out.

Watch out, Google. You better get this sorted out fast. Otherwise, without having to put up a fight, Facebook will be winning all the talent over in no time.

How to attract and retain talent?

Don't Interrupt Or Finish Others Sentences

When I was young, I used to be reprimanded for cutting into any adults' conversations. It's absolutely rude! - that's what my parents would said. Thank God for good parents. For I know without their reprimand, my behavior would have turned to be a habit...and needless to say, it's a bad habit.

This tendency to finish off others' sentences can also make everyone in the conversation very stressful. Are you implying the other person is not speaking fast enough? (Well, perhaps not up to your speed standard)

In a job interview setting, whether you are the interviewer or the candidate, such behavior is not only annoying but it prevents you from "real" listening. How can you really listen to what someone is saying when you are speaking for that person?

No doubt this is an innocent habit but the quicker you realize it, the better it is. For the interviewer, this is to prevent from falling into the trap of leading the candidate into the answers you want. As for candidates, it only reflects your impatience and inconsideration and it would not fare well at the end.

Embrace the adage, "quick to listen and slow to speak", and you won't go wrong..:)

Hire Gardeners To Be Your Managers

I’ve been doing a bit of gardening lately and I discovered some interesting facts.

There are a few ingredients that make up a good garden. Choosing the right kind of plants or flowers is one of them. The other is to provide the right kind of environment for the plant to grow healthily.



Interestingly, these are the traits of a good manager. Identifying the right kind of plant is like hiring the right kind of people to work with you. A good gardener will tell you some type of flowers that are suitable in a temperate climate will not survive long in a tropical weather, unless you are ready to build a green house.



After getting the right kind of plants, a good gardener will need to provide a conducive environment in terms of soil, water, sunshine and fertilizers to make them thrive. Different plant needs different treatment. For example, flowers like Gailladria (below) do best when grown in full sun and light, and well drained soil. Anything short of that, they will wither easily.



Good managers will see themselves as mentors, the focus is to build people by creating environments for them to be their best and achieve the objectives of the organization.

Sorry, Boss…I’m NOT Adding You As My Facebook Friend!

That little box with the grey color text, “What’s in your mind?” at the top of your Facebook page can be the most dangerous box if you are not careful. I know some of us take the text literally and obediently type out whatever that cross their minds. Nothing wrong with that - after all, it depends on what is on your mind.

But wait a minute, do you realize your message will be published to all your Facebook friends? Probably you had figured that out by now. But do you keep track of who makes up the list of your Facebook friends? The chances are we do not, especially if you have more than 100 friends and those that you have added but never posted anything. But not posting anything doesn’t equal to them being inactive. They can be “passively active” – actively snooping into the postings of others. Who are they? Beware…they can be your boss and for a moment there, you might have forgotten all about that.

I rip the following image from this site.



Is this a warning not to be “friend” with your boss on Facebook?

Related posts:

If you're an active jobseeker, clean up your Facebook page

When jobseekers invade LinkedIn and Facebook

Hiring Tip: It’s NOT About What The Candidate Lacks

Recruiters and Hiring Managers sometimes fall into the trap of hiring by elimination.

Candidate does not meet the years of experience – into the “Rejected” folder

Candidate does not have a particular skill-set – into the “Rejected” folder

Candidate does not have a Degree – into the “Rejected” folder

“No. We can’t short list this candidate because we need someone with at least 5 years of experience. He only has four.”

Sounds familiar?

By using the elimination method, we may miss out a good candidate.

I sometimes spent a fair amount of time convincing an employer-client of why a candidate is worth a chance by drawing his attention to the candidate’s overall suitability that meets the job needs and not on what he/she lacks. Years of experience and education level seem to be the two most common criteria.

The right method is to hire the candidate for what he or she has. But before you could do that, you need to know what the job needs. Once that’s established, find the candidate that has what you need. Look through the candidate’s resume – check his strengths, skills, knowledge, accomplishments and other hints of abilities (as a whole package) and benchmark that with the specific requirements of your job vacancy.

A good tip to remember:
Focus not on what the candidate lacks but what the job NEEDS.