Thursday, June 11
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Recession Strategies Threaten Loss of Your Best Employees

Thursday, May 28th, 2009
by Rachel Singh

Something interesting: HIPOs. You might be harbouring one right now. You may even be one — and I’m not talking about large, mostly plant-eating mammals (not that there’s anything wrong with that); that’s spelled HIPPO. I’m talking about High-Potential Employees, the most upbeat and engaged people in a company’s roster. These are the folks who want a challenge. The ones a company puts front-and-centre in strategic decision-making sessions, who they develop quickly and reward generously. They’re also, interestingly, the most likely employees to quit their jobs during a recession according to Sirota Survey Intelligence, specialists in attitude research:

The actions taken by many companies in response to this recession (e.g. layoffs, cutbacks, reduced compensation, less transparency) may cause High-Potential employees (HIPOs) to leave. During a recession, [these] actions can start a process that unintentionally devalues employees, by seeing them as costs to be controlled, rather than assets to be valued. While the average performer rarely considers leaving their job during a difficult economic period, high potentials do. Smart companies know this and are willing to go out and hire them right from under an often flabbergasted management.

I happen to know a few HIPOs. I called up five  and asked each the following question, with the promise they could remain anonymous: Are you thinking of leaving your job because of things your boss/company has done/doing/plans to do in reaction to the recession? Their responses:

Anonymous 1: Yes.
Anonymous 2: Yes.
Anonymous 3: Yes.
Anonymous 4: Yes.
Anonymous 5: Yes.

It would be great to broaden this discussion. What’s your response to the question, HIPO or not?

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Posted in Careers, Daily Blog, Editorial Comments, Job Machine | 1 Comment »

Cool Businesscards

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
by Craille Maguire Gillies


Here’s a video of Adam Mayer’s digitally designed business cards with cool little gears [via Bre Prettis]. And if you want to make a business card like the one in the video, go to Thingaverse for the pattern. Not into gears? Then maybe try meat. (Warning: Not appropriate for every industry.)

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Posted in Daily Blog, Gadgets, Job Machine, Marketing / Branding, video | No Comments »

Finding Your Dream Job at Summer Camp for the Laid-off

Thursday, May 14th, 2009
by Rachel Singh

The laid off and unemployed now have somewhere to turn other than the bottle. LaidOffCamp. Unlike summer-camp for kids where they’re all forced into the woods by their parents to be eaten alive by animals, LaidOffCamp brings together unemployed adults to share ideas about their career trajectories. The 24-year-old founder Chris Hutchins, a one-time management consultant who knows from being downsized, explains, “Getting laid off is an opportunity to find what you’re passionate about. And not only what you’re passionate about, but how you can leverage that passion to sustain yourself.” He started workshops in San Francisco, but they’ve spread to other major cities.

Here are some areas the workshops focus on:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ari/3328231398/in/set-72157614802471142/

(more…)

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Posted in Careers, Events, Job Machine | No Comments »

Weekly Round-up

Friday, May 8th, 2009
by Craille Maguire Gillies

The Zappos Way of Managing
What it is: A profile from Inc. magazine of 35-year-old “happy” e-commerce whiz Tony Hsieh.
Who it’s for: Zen and wannabe be zen managers, anyone who’s ever had their luggage/mail/online shipment lost in transit. Shoes lovers take note: Yours truly has tested Zappos’ service in Canada and highly recommends it.
And we quote: “At a time when most business leaders are retrenching, Hsieh is thinking big. In late 2006, he launched an outsourcing program to handle selling, customer service, and shipping for other companies, and last December, he started an educational website for small businesses that charges them $39.95 a month to tap Zappos executives for advice. Hsieh has said Zappos will eventually move beyond retail to businesses such as hotels and banking — anything where customer service is paramount. “I wouldn’t rule out a Zappos airline that’s just about the best customer service,” he announced at the Web 2.0 conference last fall.”

Eluta
What it is: Have you heard that loud sobbing coming from exam halls all across the country? That’s the sound of thousands of university students finishing their final exams and thinking, now what? If you’re a new grad or a veteran worker, this is a good resource to add to your job search toolkit. Eluta’s job search aggregator is a simple, quick way to hunt for work across Canada.
Who it’s for: First jobbers (they’ve got a section devoted to new grads) and anyone looking for a new gig.
Tip: Sign up for its email notification service so positions that match your criterion will land right in your inbox.

Posted in Careers, Current Events/Social Studies, Daily Blog, Job Machine, Weekly Roundup | No Comments »

The Imposter Syndrome

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
by Stephanie Sparks

Guest blogger and proud phony Stephanie Sparks discovers the cure for feeling like a fake

At the Alberta Women Entrepreneurs’ “Innovative Approaches to Success” event last week, a stranger called me an imposter. But I’m okay with that, because you’re likely an imposter, too. That stranger was Valerie Young, who says her job title is Dreamer-in-Residence, though she is, in fact, a career counsellor and motivational speaker from Massachusetts.

Young told the crowd that about 70 percent of professionals have “Imposter Syndrome,” a fear among successful and competent employees that they will be found out as fakers, phonies or just plain lucky in their careers. Successful people, she noted, often make excuses for how they got where they are, or why they should have done better.

After Young’s talk, audience members shared imposter stories and talked about what kind of imposter they were. There are six types:

1. The Perfectionist’s primary focus is on “how” something is done. This includes how the work is conducted and how it turns out.
2. The Rugged Individualist cares mostly about “who” completes the task. To make it on the achievement list, it has to be them.
3. The Expert’s primary concern is on “what” they know or can do. Or more precisely, what they don’t know or can’t do.
4. The Natural Genius also cares about “how” and “when” accomplishments happen. But for them competence is measured in terms of ease and speed.
5. The Extremist focuses more on “where” they are on the brilliant-continuum at any given time. If they aren’t on the brilliant end all day-every day, they automatically banish themselves to the other side.
6. The Superwoman/Super Student measures competence based on “how many” roles they can both juggle and excel in.

I won’t tell you what kind of imposter I am. I don’t want to pigeonhole myself so early on in my career. But I will admit that Young had my number. Perhaps by rejecting my imposter identity, I’m on my way to becoming a “real” person.

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Posted in Current Events/Social Studies, Daily Blog, Events, Job Machine | No Comments »

4 Types of Job Interview Questions

Thursday, February 26th, 2009
by Rachel Singh

Three years ago I wrote a book about interviewing. Actually it was more of a scathing report from the field of my living room where I sat in my pajamas, smarting from another week of interviewing for positions I was:
a) not interested in because I had fallen out of love with my career path and,
b) overqualified for

It’s mostly a bunch of angry observations, written while unemployed and on the job hunt.The other night I came across it on my old computer and figured that while most of it won’t suit Unlimited’s daily blog, I could still offer a potentially endless amount of blog entries around the topic of interviews based on what I learned from writing a 160-page rant on the subject.

I figured I’d start out with providing:
1) An overview of some of the interview questions one might encounter, 2) What a question like it might look like, 3) A smattering of do’s and don’ts around each.

Let’s begin.

1. The Straightforward Question
a.k.a.The Let’s-Cut-The-Bullsh*t-Can-You-Do-The-Job-Or-Not? Question
A no nonsense question asked to learn more about your skill set to determine if you’re the right fit for the job/your skill set is strong enough for the job
Ex. “Tell me about yourself” or “Why do you think you’re the right person for this job?”
Do: Spend some time prepping answers to standard questions like this – practice makes perfect.
Don’t: Wing it. The best offense is a good defence – be prepared.

2. The Trick Question
a.k.a The Are-You-A-Nutcase Question
A question designed to eliminate certain types of people, like liars. Also used to determine anger issues, negative nancys, etc.
Ex. “What are your pet peeves at work?” or “What do you consider your greatest weakness?”
Do: Be positive – show how you can turn a weakness into a strength. Underscore your strong work ethic.
Don’t: Lie. Be negative – show you think you’re not capable of public speaking just because you bombed huge at that conference last year.

3. The Stress Question
a.k.a The I’m-Going-To-Mess-With-You-A-Little-Bit Question
Designed to test how you react under pressure
Ex. “How would you react if I told you your interview so far was terrible?
Do: Employ diplomacy. Think on your feet. Be articulate.
Don’t: Start crying.

4. The Illegal Question
a.k.a The It’s-Time-To-Get-Up-And-Leave Question
This is a discriminatory question posed to you by a prospective employer. Here’s a nice summary from About.com, “In a nutshell, employers should not be asking about your race, gender, religion, marital status, age, disabilities, ethnic background, country of origin, sexual preferences or age.”
Ex. “What religion do you practice?” or “Can you, after employment, provide proof of age?”
Do: Ask them what the question has to do with the job you’re being interviewed for. Report them. Move on to the next opportunity.
Don’t: Answer.

NEXT TIME @ THE DAILY BLOG INTERVIEWS:

+ The Dumb Question
a.k.a. the Dumb Question
+The Nontraditional Question
a.k.a. The Think-on-Your-Feet Question
+The Group Question
a.k.a. The How-Well-Can-You-Engage-With-X-Number-Of-People
-At-Once Question
+The Question to Ask the Employer
a.k.a The It’s-Your-Turn-To-Impress-Me-
While-I-Continue-To-Impress-You-With-My-Questions Question

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Posted in Interviews, Job Machine | No Comments »

unlimited’s Job Machine: Life After Plastics

Friday, January 30th, 2009
by uladmin

The best answer I have ever heard to the question of what to do with your future was a famous and forceful suggestion given Dustin Hoffman in the 1967 movie “The Graduate”. But if plastics don’t seem appealing, and they are certainly no longer the explosive future the young protagonist is led to believe they were forty years ago, then maybe you are still trying to figure out exactly what you want to be when you grow up. Maybe you have some questions. In that spirit, unlimited presents its Job Machine (patent pending), built to get you the kind of detailed and useful answers to your job-related queries that are not available elsewhere. In the forthcoming March/April unlimited, the Comings and Goings issue, we will endeavor to answer the suddenly salient question: how do I hold on to the job I have? Each issue we will ask your questions to a wide array of experts, feed their responses into the Job Machine, and reveal the best answers in the pages of the magazine. Get involved in the process by sending me your questions: kbruyneel@unlimitedmagazine.com. Also, if you’re looking to get a leg up, you’d do well to spend some time looking at what is available in our Up the Ladder section. Good things.

Posted in Job Machine | 1 Comment »