Mark Hirschfeld

I was conducting a workshop with a group of people who had lost their jobs because of a plant closure. They all knew and worked with each other. I had given the group an exercise for each person to think about their successes at work, which can provide insights into strengths.

One gentleman couldn’t think of any. His colleagues all jumped in to remind him of several successes he had. He told the group he “just thought that was what he was supposed to do in his job.” Although that may have been true, his friends reminded him he did those things very well!

You may have done some things for so long that you don’t realize how special that ability could be to another employer:

~ Think about your successes, where you received recognition from others, won a contest or had a “personal best”.

~Take time to get feedback from others about your successes. Have them look at your resume to determine if there’s something missing that would be valuable to another employer.

What you’ve achieved in your prior work could be the exact kind of work another employer is looking for, so spend time thinking about your successes, even those you may consider modest.

To keep myself occupied and out of the hair of Mrs. Hirschfeld, I planted an herb window garden. Included in my assortment are the “Simon and Garfunkel” combo—parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.

The fledgling plants bend.

They bend toward the sun.

Toward the light, which helps them grow and thrive.

If you’re in the job search, you too should bend toward the light, toward what will help you thrive.

Bending toward the light will mean something different for each of us, but here are a few ways:

~ Get a coach and some good friends who will provide encouragement, guidance and inspiration,

~ Network, network, network. Interacting with new contacts can be difficult, but most often is positive and affirming.

~ Work hard on your search, AND take time to recharge. I find being in nature is helpful, but others it might be a good book or a satisfying movie.

~ Your “bending” may also mean you avoid negative people. That isn’t often easy, but think about who brings you light and who causes darkness.

~And don’t forget you can bring light to others, including .fellow job seekers

It can be a long and challenging road to securing a new job. Spend your time bending toward the light.

A group of high potential leaders were at a corporate meeting, and that evening there was a group dinner. For the entertainment there was a singer who was from a different generation and the group was initially not terribly excited.

But one of the leaders said: “Hey, let’s be the best audience ever for this singer.”

The group got excited about the idea and decided to be “the best audience ever” for the singer that night.

A now engaged and attentive audience brought out the best in the singer, and the group ended up having a magical evening.

How many of our team members would be inspired if we chose to become their best audience ever? Would we also see talents emerge and increased levels of performance?

Yep, we would.

Let’s commit, today, to be the “best audience ever” for someone with whom we work.

#ThankYouThursday #recognition  #appreciation #gratitude #grateful #inspiration

So much of our life has been dramatically changed by the pandemic, including our work. Many companies have employees performing different duties, some employees are now remote, and new roles have emerged.

Are you ignoring these new realities? Are you:

· using the same competencies and persona for a job that has changed?

· still using the same sources to recruit, even though you may be looking for different employees?

· communicating the same messages to attract employees even though roles have changed?

· assessing employees for a set of competencies that are no longer relevant?

· failing to train and reinforce to managers the importance of having a slate of candidates that is inclusive of all prospective employees?

· not understanding the link between your work culture and your ability to recruit?

It makes sense to review this work regularly, but in the midst of our changing world of work it is even more important we ensure our recruiting and hiring process is aligned with and supportive of our changing needs.

My thanks to Amy Stern, Merle Riepe, PhD, Shane Bernstein and Matt Givand for helping me think through these questions!

#hiring #recruitment

While most of us want our dream job, the reality is we may have to find something, even in the short-term, this doesn’t meet that standard.

If an ideal job isn’t available, you can choose a “bridge job”, which I define as less than ideal but one you can be employed now and use to “bridge” to that better opportunity.

Sometimes a bridge job is just about getting a paycheck. But here are some other ways you can think about this tactic:

· Learn a new skill. Consider bridge jobs where you can learn a new skill or gain experience that would make you more valuable for your future dream job.

· Make new contacts. Choose a job where you could make some contacts that could help you in your career.

· References. Be awesome in your bridge job so that you earn a reference.

Not all bridge jobs are created equal. If you choose this route, pick a bridge job that helps you move forward, which gets you from one side of the bridge to the other.

#jobsearch #careers #hiring

“Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve tackled every new big problem the same way: by starting off with two questions…Who has dealt with this problem? And what can we learn from them?” ~Bill Gates

If you’re in leadership at a company, this is terrific advice. But it also can help you in your job search:

~ If you’re targeting a specific company (let’s say it’s Microsoft since I’m quoting Bill Gates), there are people who have just been hired. Network your way to them and gain their advice and guidance about why they got hired. What was the company looking for? What were their challenges? You can learn a lot from someone who just wen through the process.

~ If you’re wanting to move into what is a new industry for you, someone has already done that. Follow the same path to gain insights about how this person navigated these challenges. How did they showcase their “transferrable skills”, for example? What homework did they do to gain an understanding of key industry trends?

Most every challenge you are facing in your job search has been addressed by someone else. Take the advice of Mr. Gates and learn from those who have set at path of success before you.

“The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry.”

I’m a big fan of the film “The Shawshank Redemption”, and this is one of my favorite lines. We have gotten a big hurry in this world of ours, often to our detriment.

This is true for those in the job search. Yes, you need to have a plan and work your plan, but you should also set aside time, perhaps a day or so, to slow it down.

For starters, get off the computer and social media. (Ironic I’m using social media to tell you this, right?

Find an activity that nourishes you. Perhaps you should spend some time in nature (socially distanced, of course), walking in a park or on a lake.

Or how about a good book? Lose yourself in a good story. I enjoy a good mystery—how about you?

Maybe a way to slow down is to be with family or friends (you know what I’m going to say about safety again), particularly with those who can provide some joy or levity or health distraction.

Slow it down.

A final way you may need to slow down is to get some professional help to walk along side of you in these difficult times.

Yes, your job search awaits you, but do take time to recharge and refresh.

#jobsearch #career

I’m looking at a gift card I received over the holidays to redeem.

I was excited about using the card and had a couple of items in mind. The items cost a bit more than the value of the card, so I’ll have to pull a few bucks out of my own pocket when I redeem.

Employers often give gift cards to employees with the intent of them being a reward, and in some ways they are. But if you’re like me and you end up spending some of your own money along with the gift card to get what you want the gift card then ends up being a discount, not a reward.

There may be value in providing a gift card as a way of saying thank you to an employee, but my experience is similar to others such that the gift card rarely, if ever, fully pays for something we want.

If the card doesn’t pay for the item, shipping and applicable taxes, don’t call it a reward.

It’s a discount.

Why do I call this out? If you’re an employer, you want to invest your resources in a way that provides the greatest return for your investment. A reward that isn’t a reward won’t likely inspire as much as a reward that is paid for in full by the employer.

Want to inspire employees? Know the difference between a discount and a reward.

#recognition  #appreciation #gratitude #grateful #inspiration

On this day I’m taking a moment to reflect on the legacy of Dr. King, and specifically how far we have to go in erasing racial bias from our society, including our places of work.

Over the past few months I’ve heard of a few things that are designed to moderate (not eliminate) hiring bias:

~ Some companies have chosen to send hiring managers resumes where personal information is been redacted. Hiring managers review only the qualifications of the candidates before choosing who to interview. Some “applicant tracking” software offers this as a feature.

~ Some companies now no longer ask about the salary history of applicants. In fact, some states and jurisdictions outlaw the practice. Asking about prior salary history has been shown to bias African American and female candidates. Eliminating this practice levels the playing field, and a recent study shows it has improved pay equity.

This topic deserves more than the length of this post, but I hope you will join me in considering how we can honor the legacy of Dr. King today, and every day, by working to create more inclusive places to work.

In these challenging times, it is hard for organizations to predict and plan for the future. Interestingly, the same problem is encountered with our employees.

Our academic collaborator Michael Ahearne has noticed a number of organizations moving the timelines for goal attainment toward a shorter time period…

“Win the Week.”

Rather than thinking about goals for a quarter or a year, Dr. Ahearne has found that helping employees focus on a shorter-term goal can help folks stay more productive. And, of course, you “win the week” several times in a row you’re going to have a great quarter.

He saw this effort to be successful with sales teams, but could be applied to any employee group—think about key tasks and outcomes that can be achieved in the shorter team, and celebrate those smaller successes on the say to longer-term goal achievement.

Where could you implement a “win the week” strategy and, in doing so, help employees increase their chances of success?

#ThankYouThursday #recognition  #appreciation #gratitude #grateful #inspiration