Tag Archives: New England

Flextime Workplaces: An Update

Posted on by Bill Ryan

As has been widely reported over the past couple of years, workplaces, particularly in the knowledge economy, have either undergone or are being pressured to add flexibility features to their operations. The combination of Covid-related adjustments and technical innovations has resulted in a reassessment of what productivity and by extension appropriate workplace agency looks like in the modern workplace. 

A 2021 Ipsos survey revealed that globally 30% of workers would attempt to leave their jobs if required to return to the pre-pandemic office setting. Many of the ever-plugged-in younger cohort of workers see only an upside to having jobs with flextime. Benefits such as managing the complex demands of modern living, taking care of children and elderly parents, reducing commuting time, and functioning when one is most energetic and constructive during the day are among the advantages cited as desirable with pliable scheduling and task requirements. 

Flextime features are now much more present in recruiting job descriptions. Some of this is undoubtedly because of the increased demand for flexibility from a workforce that seems to be sorting itself into those oriented toward results-only vs. traditional workplaces, but also due to the uncertainty of the future. Covid has not completely gone away and with further environmental changes said to be coming from climate change, who knows what is next? Disruption is at least as likely as stability when planning operationally. 

However, workplace changes of the sort being described here need to be assessed and designed thoughtfully. It can be easy to dump on traditional workplaces as having rigid, arbitrary, and ineffectual routines, like for example, habitually scheduled staff meetings laden with fill-in blah, blah, blah. Yet, as resiliency transformations occur it can be useful to see not only what is gained, but also what is lost by such modifications. 

A case could be made that as customary practices dissolve not all the consequences may be necessarily positive. Of key importance is what it means to be professional. Parameters were established over time to separate work life from non-work life. We got used to sliding in and out of work modes with a regularity that brought predictability, certainty, and some semblance of balance. 

One negative element of blurring the distinction between work and leisure time is the always “being on” phenomenon. When flitting in and out of work mode multiple times per day, including answering supervisor emails at 8:30 pm and being ready to respond to the Amsterdam office at 6:30 am, cumulative work time can approach 10-12 hours. It begs the question of who benefits. Probably not the worker. 

Also, professional norms and protocols used in performance reviews and advancement decisions have been based on an in-person work context. Are the expected actions of workers who work from home holding up fairly to legacy achievement standards? Managers still wedded to the notion that time on task always equals productivity may be less inclined to favorably view fragmented work as effective, even if the results are of similar quality or perhaps even better than before. 

This can be especially problematic for new hires onboarded with a company practicing flextime. How well can management really get to know their direct reports when they are working remotely? Perhaps fine — or perhaps not. New workers are motivated to do well at their new jobs and are trying to navigate expectations and learn company culture digitally. Might they be ripe for various types of exploitation, such as working exceptionally long hours or having to face other unreasonable demands from management or co-workers in a flextime environment? The possibility is certainly there. 

Decentralization does have its benefits. But it also could have liabilities. As we redefine what it means to be professional in a flextime world, we need to be mindful of how to achieve efficiency in a way that rewards both management and front-line workers. This challenge is a subset of organizational agility and a crucial one going forward. 

A Coming Workforce Transformation

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Career prospects for women during the economy of the past couple of years show significant disillusionment. By the end of 2020, 140,000 jobs in the U.S. which had been held by women were lost in female-dominant industries like education, hospitality, and retail according to Business Insider. The National Women’s Law Center reported in 2021 that about two-thirds of all minimum wage jobs are held by women. Unemployment rates remain high for women of color and women with disabilities. 

The past years have also not been encouraging for professional women seeking to secure leadership positions, particularly in highly capitalized businesses. Julia Boorstin of CNBC reported in 2020 that of the 500 largest American companies only 6% of CEOs were women. Not only that, but there is this occurrence of women being placed in CEO positions of troubled companies struggling to hang on. The phenomenon is known as the “Glass Cliff” problem. If the ship cannot be quickly righted to profitability, then it can be easier for some to say how a woman was given a chance to show leadership, but it just did not work out. 

McKinsey reveals another stunning circumstance. The proportion of women in jobs declines as the amount of responsibility embedded within these jobs increases. Women make up 50.8% of the American population, but account for 47% of entry-level positions, 38% of management assignments, and 33% of senior management occupations. For every 100 men who move into management roles, there are 85 women who do so. 

The history of women in the workforce facing discrimination, unequal pay, and harassment in one form or another is a painfully long one. However, there are some other statistics which curiously suggest more positive changes may be coming for women in the workforce. 

The writer David French points to some recent education stats showing men are slipping in acquiring the schooling necessary to stay highly qualified and competitive for the good jobs, and for leadership roles particularly. For example, at the end of the 2020-2021 college academic year women comprised 59.5% of the overall student body, the highest ever, and men only 40.5%. This data is from the National Student Clearinghouse, a nonprofit research group. 

Furthermore, the 2020-2021 school year showed a decline of 1.5 million students relative to five years earlier. 71% of that drop was in men leaving U.S. colleges and universities! For a reason I cannot explain, men’s attendance has fallen such that they have become a minority cohort in higher education. Can a drop in men’s career prospects relative to women, including in leadership, be far behind? 

One does not have to look far to notice an unmistakable correlation between levels of education and career success. Acquisition of knowledge, skill, experience, contacts, and confidence are all derived from furthering one’s education. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics most recent data concerning earnings and unemployment rates by educational attainment show median weekly earnings for those holding only a high school diploma to be $781, but with an unemployment rate of 9%. The bachelor’s degree college graduate in comparison earns on average $1305 per week with an unemployment rate of 5.5%. 

To be sure, the traditional four-year college degree program model is under serious review, as it should be, by those who foot the high cost. More targeted and lower cost education and credentialing options are providing increasing competition to legacy college and university programs. That’s fine. But if men think the good jobs and leadership positions will always be waiting for them as in the past, while women are actively preparing to compete and hold those occupations for themselves at rates superior to males, then men may be in for a rude awakening soon. 

As women gain more of the good jobs and leadership roles, they are likely to open more doors for other women to participate more fully in quality education and work opportunities. As education attainment shifts more to women, so too will their employment and leadership strength. 

Career Advancement and the Management Myth

Posted on by Bill Ryan

An odd convention has fixed itself into the career psyche. It involves widespread practice that when a worker has demonstrated specialized competency and efficiency over a period of time, then the next step in that person’s career must naturally be an elevation to a management position. A causation is assumed linking proficient performance with an ability to lead direct reports. 

This assumption may be oversold, resulting in the selection of many managers who find themselves unhappy and detached from what they do best. 

Surely, there are many cases when a stellar individual contributor turns out to be an excellent manager of workers who does what they once did. As managers, they know intimately the challenges their subordinates face and having been skilled in addressing them formerly they can guide teams with heightened awareness and credibility. A once knowledgeable and experienced provider, who is also an inspiring leader, is a great combination indeed. 

Unfortunately, there are times when the “advancement” of a well-versed individual contributor to management is misplaced. During these pandemic times, it is no secret that many workers are reassessing their roles. This includes managers. It is not uncommon for some managers to feel a nostalgia for work that was more purposeful and fulfilling compared to being supervisory. They remember the satisfaction they felt at being an excellent contributor, and with reflection, may realize they like that better than being a boss. 

However, we are ingrained to think hierarchal. Once we have moved up, it is considered a disgrace to move back down. What will people think if I give up this management post and return to a job I once had? That will be seen as a demotion, right?  

Thoughts like these would discourage many managers from reversing course. If the future of one’s career is a choice between continuing in a less than satisfying management role or risking possible shame by returning to a former position, then one is very likely to feel stuck. This is not a good place to be. 

One thing helping with such a conundrum is the fresh post-pandemic attitude allowing for workers to search for more meaning in their work. Just as there is now more evidence of hiring managers being more accepting of job-hopping over the past two years when they look at resumes, there may now be greater acknowledgment of managers leaving to search for greener pastures. 

Reframing your traditional ideas about hierarchy may also help. Get out ahead of any perceived criticism or doubt from others by publicly admitting that returning to a role, which again makes possible more autonomy and the practice of mastery, is a better fit for yourself than management. It is possible to state that your career and the organization can both profit from such a move. This can be communicated in a way which is both believable and face-saving. 

Leadership, as well, can be viewed with old-fashioned limitations. Management jobs need not be the only way to lead. An individual contributor who trains and mentors colleagues through sharing of expertise and proven methodologies can have a greater leadership impact than someone who is overly consumed with analyzing productivity metrics of direct reports. By claiming you prefer to lead more by guidance and coaching than the old management job allowed for, it can help to substantiate your re-entry move. 

Then there is the possibility of retaining your management position on the hierarchy by proposing a new strategic venture that better incorporates both your individual contributor and management values. From your perch within the organization, you may be able to see more creative ways of approaching potential opportunities, which call for just the right fusion of skills you can provide. 

Greater agility does not just benefit organizations, it enhances careers as well. If you are questioning your contributions due to limitations placed on you by being a manager, the time may be right for a change. 

Career Adaptability in a Time of Economic Resilience

Posted on by Bill Ryan

As a people, we habitually want to return to normal after a sudden disruption. To seek stable ground after a storm is what we are hard-wired to do. The pent-up desire to reclaim regularity throughout this pandemic is palpable. We want so much to snap back to a 2019-era lifestyle that it may be hindering our capacity to plan for what increasingly looks like an uncertain future. 

A combination of Covid’s aversion to disappearing and more general workforce changes promote doubtfulness in the minds of many about future economic, and by extension, career directions. Questions as basic as, will my job be permanently home-based and remote, or will my job, which is centered on being face-to-face with many people, forever now to be risky? These are existential questions. 

Career resilience, or the ability to navigate one’s professional life through the turbulent vicissitudes of the 21st century employment environment, is not a new topic. Remaining nimble and adept enough to reapply one’s skillset to changing situations has been advised by career professionals for years now. Of course, such advice has most often been given in the context of technological automation and cross-market globalization. 

The unsettled world of Covid, however, only adds to the urgency. Emerging variants of the virus and the patchwork way nations and regions respond to the emergency leaves Covid-fatigued people feeling discouraged that we can get past this anytime soon. Optimism rises and fades like the graphs of infection rates. As far and as wide as we can see, the economy is being buffeted by winds of Covid-generated incertitude. Career resilience becomes but a subset to the larger challenging phenomenon of economic resilience. 

The National Association of Counties identifies economic resilience as, “a community’s ability to foresee, adapt to, and leverage changing conditions to their advantage”. The U.S. Department of Commerce is more blunt in its description. Commerce questions an entity’s proficiency to endure and to rally from a severe disruption, and its ability to avoid crises in the first place. The take-away inference is that acceptance of the proverbial new normal and requisite mitigation planning is to be standard operation. 

The interests of non-entrepreneurial workers are served when employees understand the sustainability planning and related past practices of the employers for whom they work or want to work. If an employer is overly relying on luck to get them through or is in denial about change occurring, these should be warning signs. Do not let the miscalculations of others derail your career. 

What we want to see instead are signs of employers envisioning and assessing risks to their markets and assets. These are sometimes known as steady-state actions. From there they should be prepared to deploy a response strategy when crisis strikes.  

Included in this overall approach can be interventions such as sustainability budget planning; diversification efforts to reduce exposure to high risk sectors; gardening of workforces which will ride out disruptions and not quickly bail; alignments with business, government, and educational resources to keep forecasting and preparedness skills sharp and ready; and agile management capable of shifting available talent to meet unexpected needs effectively. 

Continuity planning for an organization or an individual share certain processes. Key among them is to know the weak areas. Where are the shortcomings? How can they be managed or strengthened? Which metrics apply to indicate success is being achieved? 

Another key process is in knowing the threat indicators early on. Take advantage of utilizing a natural or trained inclination to be preventative and farsighted. 

Above all, establish systems, procedures, and habits, which have resiliency built into them. Facing turmoil requires a degree of fortitude. Until Covid is somehow controlled worldwide the economic and career challenges related to the virus will continue. Confronting the menace clear-eyed and purposeful is a potent response. 

Workers Are Flexing Their Muscles

Posted on by Bill Ryan

An unmistakably big story in the 2021 career space has been about what is being dubbed “The Great Resignation” or “Turnover Tsunami”. Of course, I am referring to the throngs of workers in both the relatively high paying knowledge economy, but also in the lower income sectors, like hospitality and retail, who are leaving or not returning to their pre-pandemic fields of employment. 

A whopping 40% of the global workforce has left or is planning to leave jobs this year. The U.S. Labor Department has never seen such an acute spike in resignations in the twenty plus years it has been tracking such statistics. 

The popular media has for months now been pumping out pieces referring to the phenomenon and the suspected reasons behind it, such as higher savings rates thanks to government financial assistance, fear of catching the virus at work, insufficient childcare options for working parents, and a growing realization that a lot of hiring is now going on.  

However, the monumental reason for this employment churn appears to be a dignity factor. The Covid pandemic is allowing for a massive reassessment, and by extension, a realignment of what truly matters in one’s work and life. 

Shelter-in-place directives, social distancing, and closed office buildings, restaurants, and stores shook people’s mindsets in numerous ways. Many front-line “essential” workers who were heralded as heroes early in the pandemic are now either burnt out or tired of the abuse they get, like healthcare workers. Many well compensated workers ensconced in jobs pertaining to information flows and the means of production are bailing from positions because of the stress levels and long hours. Those on the low socioeconomic end feel abused, disrespected, and exploited and are not going to take it anymore. The number of workers and the type of worker taking the employment shift plunge are both expanding. 

This spectacle is causing economic hardships for a range of stakeholders from business owners to customers. The flux in employment is helping to fuel in part the larger pandemic-related worldwide economic convulsion. Shouldn’t we all be really concerned about this dramatic and disruptive turn of events?  

Yes, we should be, but not of fear for the interests of the wealth holders becoming suddenly inconvenienced, but in support of workers who are all in different sounding ways and from different points of view collectively saying they want and expect fair compensation, respect, and a voice in how their careers are going to develop. This brief period in history may be seen as a possible inflection point in the 21st century morphing of work and career into something different from the way it has been in the past. 

I come back to the three intrinsic motivators for professional workers eloquently described by Daniel Pink about ten years ago. Pink wrote and spoke about the need and quest for autonomy, mastery, and purpose as to what gets successful and satisfied workers out of bed in the morning. We are more motivated and driven to perform well at our jobs when we feel we have relatively free rein to innovate and produce, when we feel we are developing a skill or talent, and when we feel that what we are doing at work matters in a value sense. 

It seems to me that what many of these job searchers are looking for comes very close to what Pink is describing. Combine dignified levels of compensation with workplace cultures that honor worker autonomy, mastery, and purpose and a job can become more satisfying and sustainable. 

I get that some just want a decent job and not a career, but what makes an employee want to stay and thrive is fundamentally not very different between a highly educated contributor and an hourly employee. Dignity and respect can go a long way. 

Revitalizing Meritocracy

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Merit denotes goodness. It is a word synonymous with excellence, value, and quality. We strive to live meritorious lives, because to do so brings happiness to others and distinction to ourselves. When society thrives, it does so largely due to the actions and contributions of people displaying merit. 

There is no hotly contested debate about the virtue of merit. It is generally thought to be a desired attribute, particularly among employees. What boss would not want to have positive, reliable, and worthwhile workers on her team? And yet, another term derived from the word merit, meritocracy, seems to be under fire. 

Broadly speaking, meritocracy refers to an institutionalizing of talent, ability, and skill which when present and operational results in optimally run organizations, whether in business, government, or the nonprofit sector. Compensation and power are steered toward those individuals who best demonstrate the desired traits of a meritocracy such as intelligence, valued credentials, and solid performance. 

I always thought meritocracy was an affirmative construct, so I have been surprised to see that meritocracy has now become, counter-intuitively for me at least, a controversial concept. To see why, I decided to examine what the dispute is all about. 

Examples of meritocratic administration are historic reaching back millennia. More recently though, it turns out the word meritocracy was originally coined and used derogatorily in 1958 by a British politician who was criticizing the British education system as overly favoring student intelligence and aptitude above other characteristics, leading to elitism. 

It was not until 1972 when Harvard sociologist Daniel Bell put a positive spin on the term by championing a combination of intelligence and energy as ideologically desirable. Today, there are many proponents and critics of meritocratic systems. Their divergent views seem to rest on differences in how one determines what is fair in an organization or institution. 

For example, Jim Whitehurst, who is now president of IBM, is bullish on meritocracy. He sees only advantage in strongly rewarding the best people with the best ideas. Establishing a culture that encourages listening and sharing and where every associate can contribute makes it easier for management to discern which inspirations result in high end gains over time. By enabling leaders to spot emerging talent and to position this ability where they can create the greatest value, followed by generous compensation for the quality influencers, is the hallmark of a highly functioning meritocracy. Keeping associates engaged and identifying in-house leadership makes for a stronger organization. 

A recent significant criticism of meritocracy was released in 2019 in the form of a book, The Meritocracy Trap by Yale law professor Daniel Markovits. He sees meritocracy as “a pretense, constructed to rationalize an unjust distribution of advantage.” According to Markovits, meritocracy has two profound liabilities — it is often an unfair system that benefits those of a certain traditional type of leadership, say white males over women or minorities, and that those seen as meritorious find their lives consumed by competition and long hours devoted to the company. Hence, the trap. In practice, not all talent really percolates to the top and if one is “lucky” enough to be among the chosen, then one’s life becomes less than satisfying. 

So, does meritocracy need reform? It depends on how “fair” is defined within an organization that purports to practice it. The style of meritocracy described by Whitehurst sounds fair to me, if and only if, the culture is truly open to high quality ideas no matter who puts them forth and that selection of those with desired aptitudes are chosen for their skills and abilities alone and not for extraneous considerations. And Markovits’ point about exploitation of expertise is also in need of monitoring, primarily by those whose careers and lifestyles are most affected. 

One thing advocates and critics alike can agree on is that merit is a virtue to be promoted and defended. We all benefit when it is. 

Questioning the Future of AI

Posted on by Bill Ryan

When I drive my E-ZPass-less car through the tollbooth on I93 in Hooksett, NH, I intentionally swing to the right to hand a dollar to the tollbooth attendant. When checking out from a shopping trip in a big box store, I prefer paying a person at a cash register rather than using the self-serve payment scan system. 

It is not that I am some sort of crotchety Luddite who shuns digital progress. I pride myself on maintaining some decent level of technical functionality as I age. But I have come to question why those who design and build our Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are obsessed with things like automation. In fact, the more I investigate AI the more surprised I am that AI is being utilized so narrowly, unevenly, and menacingly. 

The AI movement is powerful, significant, and potentially authoritative regarding how our personal and work lives will be lived in the coming years. The scale of its reach places it in a class far beyond the technological tinkering improvements we generally see with new phone models or app developments. Machine learning is far more enigmatic than a better video camera or gaming platform. 

Momentous changes are likely in a broad range of fields from mechanics to medicine and are expected to reshape work and modify markets. Many of these transformations will be welcomed, perhaps cherished, but others perhaps should not happen at all. 

When looking at AI today it seems too much of it is focused on building systems that either automate functions, collect data, or conduct surveillance. This should be concerning. The likelihood of jobs being lost, governments and companies holding vast quantities of our personal information, and our personal freedoms becoming threatened is not some far-fetched paranoid delusion, but an ugly scenario we should work to prevent. 

There is progress and then there is degeneration. AI could give us either or both. As an analog, I think of my attitude ten to fifteen years ago about social media. Then, the crowdsourcing of unregulated input from the global community augured richer and more transparent conversations about any number of topics. Or so I thought. Today social media looks like a cesspool of disinformation and disgruntlement ushering in social breakdown. Not all innovations should be welcomed. 

In our democracy, while we still have one, the general public needs to be actively engaged in monitoring the AI powers that we have and weighing in on policies to determine what AI engineers develop. Living with a laissez-faire attitude of, ‘Well, whatever the markets come up with will be fine. Markets know best.’, can lead to costly and offensive ruptures in the very framework of society. Citizens should insist that AI be deployed in a generally advantageous manner as described by utilitarian philosophers like Jeremy Bentham — “the greatest amount of good for the greatest number”. 

Instead, it looks like AI development is being driven more by the acquisition of corporate profit and power than by what benefits society. One does not need be a wild-eyed Socialist to question whether a disruption as encompassing as AI could potentially pose hazards to society. Those who control the development and deployment of AI will have a lot of authority and say in how our economy operates and how our future day-to-day lives are experienced. Concentrations of power have traditionally been held suspect in America. Well, we have one in the making. Let’s pay attention. 

The ultimate direction AI takes does not have to be decided solely by engineers and corporate C-levels who find business in selling only surveillance and automation tools. AI could be targeted to complement and improve the work done by real people, while also creating new activities and opportunities that keep workers gainfully employed. We have a choice — let AI rule us or we rule it. Hopefully, we will choose wisely. 

Green Values Meet Manufacturing

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Increasingly, we see workers wanting to aim their careers in the direction of green pursuits and sustainability. Many careers are being chosen to align one’s environment-friendly values with their need to earn a living. Jobs ranging from LEED building inspections to ecotourism to aquatic biology and much more are under consideration. What is rarely considered by the environmentally conscious job seeker is a career in manufacturing. 

Manufacturing gets a bad rap among the green crowd. Although we all heavily rely on the diverse range of products yielded by the sector, it is nevertheless often viewed as unclean and a source of resource depletion. The 20th century image of soot-stained smoke belching factories beside lagoons of toxic waste still clings to many minds. Choosing work between an industrial plant and say a green initiative nonprofit is a no-brainer for the ecologically inclined. 

But wait! There may be reasons to look at the modern manufacturing sector as harboring some initiatives that could make even the most devoted tree hugger stop and slowly nod in the affirmative. 

Gradually, we see evidence of manufacturers attempting what is known as a circular business model. This approach seeks to establish supply chains that involve recycling and recovery of constituent materials used in the making of products. If the circle is really tight, supply chains swirl themselves into a continuous loop, whereby new raw materials are rarely needed in the reproduction of products. 

Imagine knowing that once the usefulness of a manufactured product has expired it can be returned to the industry from whence it came, rather than a landfill, and be reused or repurposed into future products. Sounds pretty green, doesn’t it?  

Beyond the PR-positive social responsibility and environmental gains of instituting green practices, there are other economic benefits for the manufacturer by going circular. These include reducing production waste and utilizing raw materials more efficiently, both of which are cost saving activities. 

Implementing a circular business model can involve up to three strategies, according to operational experts Atalay Atasu, Céline Dumas, and Luk Van Wassenhove. They identify the following as practical schemes manufacturers can apply to adopt a circular model. 

The first is known as Retain Product Ownership. Typically, this involves leasing rather than selling products. Once the product is past its usefulness it goes back to the manufacturer for reprocessing. This approach may work best for products with a lot of components and complexity, and which can be transported back to the manufacturer relatively easily. 

Another direction may be in Product Life Extension. Here products are made more durable and longer lasting than the competition. Gaining a consumer reputation as a quality enduring product makes premium pricing more justifiable and builds consumer loyalty. Throw in easy exchange policies for worn or defective products and people take notice. 

There is also the intentional Design for Recycling action plan. Designing and creating products built to be fully recycled ensures the eventual reuse of products or at least their elemental parts. It is surprising we do not see more of this in general manufacturing now. To have an infrastructure that efficiently captures reusable products that are made to be recycled would be a very exciting development in manufacturing, indeed. 

To be sure, management may have to get creative with how to weigh these different approaches to reduce both costs and their environmental impact. What is most important is for the manufacturer to see that value can be reclaimed from their products. With value comes profits. Re-energizing product value time and time again at lower costs may make good business sense. 

So, when searching for “green” lines of work consider whether these circular business model techniques align with your eco-consciousness. You may find manufacturing is the place where you can best express your environmental principles. 

Gender Discrimination in the Workplace

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Here it is, the year 2021 and gender discrimination is still, unbelievably, an unresolved issue in far too many workplaces. Despite attention being drawn to the issue for nearly fifty years there still exists a fundamental unfairness in how women are treated in employment environments that are either directly dominated by male senior management or at least influenced by the attitude, mindsets, and practices of traditional leadership. 

Although women make up about 50% of the workforce, they still experience discrimination in several significant areas. These include unequal compensation, a dearth of organizational upward mobility, a paucity of key decision making power, and sexual harassment.  

These are profound work culture deficiencies and injustices. The time is now to eradicate these stubborn blemishes from our workplaces. Such defects are not only ethically unrighteous, but they depress productive potential heretofore unrealized from among half of the workforce. 

It is not as if there have not been attempts to remediate workplace gender inequities. Many senior management teams acknowledge the historic existence of male-oriented favoritism and sexism embedded in their workplaces and others. This recognition has been acted upon with initiatives to make their businesses and organizations fairer and more equitable. 

Yet the problem persists. Instances of gender discrimination continue to be documented and contested within management offices, HR departments, and law firms, resulting in deployments of considerable resources for a seemingly unending management of the consequences of bad behavior. 

Elisabeth Kelan of the University of Essex in the UK has been researching gender equity issues for over twenty years. She has determined that there is widespread agreement gender inequity is prevalent overall, but interestingly these same individuals will not admit to such incidents occurring in their own specific workplaces. 

Why is this so? Dr. Kelan sees several reasons for this. To begin with, many see discrimination as the fault of their competitors or of other companies, but not of their own more virtuous workplaces. Secondly, there is a belief the issue was worse in the past, but is largely being resolved, affirming that all the mitigation efforts made thus far have worked to reduce it to a minor issue. Finally, there are those who do not fully appreciate gender equity as a big deal and if it occurs at all it is not their fault. 

If we accept Dr. Kelan’s findings as authentic it begs the question, “What are people thinking?!” What I think they are thinking is what has always been thought. At levels great and small men see themselves as better leaders, sharper decision makers, keener managers, stronger deal makers, and superior competitors. And let’s face it, there are some traditionalist women who think these roles are more masculine in nature as well. 

Even if one sees the data and intellectually accepts gender discrimination as a problem it does not automatically follow that requisite behavior changes will occur. When I reflect on my own past, I see pertinent examples. I have long believed that gender equity in the workplace was a quality worth pursuing. It is a no-brainer. 

However, have there been instances where I was more inclined to accept a fellow male’s opinion over a female’s during a meeting, or thought a woman colleague was too sensitive and not tough enough, or paid more attention to a woman’s looks rather than listening to her thoughts? Embarrassingly, the answer is yes. It is these small, but meaningful actions that keep us from achieving progress in accepting women as full and equal partners at work. 

Anti-bias training programs and the like may make some difference in altering operational behaviors, but greater progress may result from each of us looking more deeply into how we interact with each other beyond surface manners. Clarifying the personal values that motivate our behavior patterns may reveal more to us individually and strengthen needed improvements than any mission statement or management protocol might. The time is now to end gender discrimination. 

Self-Awareness and Your Career

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Psychology plays a significant role in the development of our careers. It starts with identifying our work interests when we are young and expands over time to include interpersonal relations, self-motivation, passion for what we do, attitudes toward superiors, team cooperativeness, and many other job-related aspects. Perhaps most importantly psychology speaks to how constructive we are on the job and the way we manage our mental well-being and stress levels while on the road to productivity. 

Effective performance is dependent on how a worker feels at work. Safety, security, and freedom from harassment are basic. Beyond that, feeling appreciated and being prepared to work efficiently sets up an employee to be a valued contributor. Quality management can be instrumental in establishing and maintaining such workplace conditions. But realizing the benefits of positive psychology is not just the responsibility of management. The state of our psychology is ultimately up to each of us individually — in life as well as at work. 

Perhaps the key psychological quality determining how well we will flourish in our careers is self-awareness. Individuals with keen self-awareness possess a nearly full perception of their emotional makeup, potential, imperfections, requirements, and what energizes them. They are well equipped to capitalize on their strengths while managing their weaknesses. Self-aware professionals carry with them a quiet self-confidence based on honesty and realism knowing they do not have to fake it to make it. Their success results from a work product competently delivered, but not exceeding their capacity to perform effectively. They know what they know and “know” what they don’t know. 

Self-awareness need not be thought of as some metaphysical trait held by only a few anointed people. We all practice it to some degree. For example, if we know that too many scheduled meetings packed closely together stress us out, then we work to make sure the meetings during which we are expected to participate are spaced such that we can contribute optimally. 

If we get anxious when seeing our email inbox overflowing with superfluous messages, then we let our co-workers know to only send messages of significant importance. If we know our best work comes from meeting deadlines, then we structure our workflow such that tasks needing completion by a specific time are stacked accordingly. (You don’t have control about such conditions with your job? You may be in the wrong job.) 

An additional benefit of self-awareness is its extended usefulness to co-workers. The self-aware colleague is less likely to lash out in frustration or to make unreasonable demands of others. They have a leg up on assessing the capacity levels of their fellow associates and can sense how each best accomplishes their assignments. Team functioning and work yield are enhanced the more self-aware team members are. Self-aware coworkers and managers can serve as models, if not unofficial mentors, thereby improving the overall workforce. 

Self-awareness is internally cultivated over time. Developing this ability is largely linked to how reflective we each choose to be. Reflection is a chief component of critical thinking. As we refine our reflective skill, we find ourselves more adept in examining, analyzing, and assessing experiences, which better informs how we address future challenges. 

For some of us, building in time and effort to be reflective may need to be more intentional. If we observe that our default mode is to keep plowing through the details and minute-by-minute demands of our jobs without purposefully reflecting on what insights we can gain from the approaches we take, then we deny ourselves the richness that can come from reflection and by extension self-awareness. 

In short, self-awareness brings increased clarity to our work values and goals. Our decisions are improved and our objective of strengthening and deriving more satisfaction from our careers becomes more likely. 

Don’t worry. Very few of us have reached self-awareness nirvana. So, give yourself a break and start or continue to polish this aptitude wherever you are on the spectrum. 

Assessing the Dignity of Work

Posted on by Bill Ryan

A lofty phrase that has been around for a while, but has gained newly found prominence in recent years, is the term “dignity of work”. It is uttered across the political spectrum, because it is widely thought to have universal respect and acceptance. Who could possibly argue with a concept which conveys cherishment of commitment, skill development, and above all personal responsibility to provide for oneself and their family? Dignity of work harkens not only to a pride of traditional labor honestly performed but can also inspire and motivate all working-aged adults to do their part for the economy and community. 

The dignity of work is seen as a sublime end in itself. We were raised to accept a lifetime of work. Work is contributing. Work is doing your duty. Work is good and more selfless work is better. Achievement of a profound sense of satisfaction that comes from doing a job well is the ultimate reward for our labors, or so we are told. The grateful pat on the back from a coworker, the smile and nod from the boss, the eloquent testimonial from a delighted customer together represent just some of the energizing commendations that make work invaluable. 

So, why then is work not felt so favorable or worthwhile for so many? We do not have to look far to see people unhappy with their work. The dignity of work is elusive for more workers than it should be. A Harvard Business Review survey in 2019 of 500+ workers found the vast majority (90%) expected to find joy in their work but given time on the job only 37% experienced joy. A few years ago, Gallup reported only 30% of workers engaged with their jobs. Forbes cited a survey of 411 workers, 19% of whom were satisfied with their jobs. I could go on. 

Dignity is not inherent in work. Labor cannot be dignified unless some basic conditions are met. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops advocates for fundamental worker rights as a prerequisite for work dignity such as availability of productive work, fair and sufficient compensation, and a permission structure allowing for organizing and unionization among other rights. 

Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio calls for enhancements of wages and benefits, healthcare costs, and retirement programs as a way of assuring dignity. Ezra Klein in the New York Times points to elimination of harmful and oppressive workplaces and for management to encourage workers to remain healthy and have leisure and family time. 

I would add removal of tyrannical management, toxic coworkers, and workplace cultures that devalue portions of the workforce. 

However, beyond stating what is not wanted to engender dignity in work, let us focus on practices likely to lead to dignity. Workers by and large want the chance to be self-motivated. There are three key situations which encourage this. As pointed out by Daniel Pink in his book Drive, fostering an environment where workers are urged to develop mastery of their profession, exercise autonomy in decision making, and define personal and professional purpose in what they do all matter greatly. 

Workers want to be respected and given the freedom to grow. They want to be able to sustain reasonable financial needs by working only one 40-hour per week job. They want executive management who understand the principal capital in their firms are their employees, who need to know they are valued. They want the support of customers who intentionally direct their dollars toward businesses that treat their employees with dignity. (It begs the question, is a business model that requires employees working for only $7.25 per hour worthy of staying in business in this day and age?) 

Dignity of work should continue to be a universal value, but let’s not cling to some notion it arises spontaneously, especially under adverse conditions. It does not. Dignity may be felt individually, but it takes a community to see it is broadly shared. 

Strengthening Knowledge Sharing Online

Posted on by Bill Ryan

The news is not that we are continually shifting most of our knowledge-economy work time online, but rather that we are learning more over time about what works and what does not work when doing so. Take the Training & Development (T&D) field. Here is an industry which experienced a head start long before Covid in providing digital and distance learning opportunities. By designing and preparing virtual and hybrid instruction programs for a relatively long period it is reasonable to expect there are lessons which can be derived by this industry informing other business sectors about how to disseminate intelligence in an online environment. 

Another area sharing distance learning, admittedly more than they want to currently, is the education arena in both K-12 and higher ed. Like T&D, their shared mission is to leverage the power and ubiquity of computers and similar devices, along with the public’s basic tech literacy abilities, to deliver teaching and learning possibilities when it is impractical to house students in traditional classrooms. Here too, best practices are being identified as teachers, schools, and communities face the challenge of providing quality education online. 

Together T&D and education are revealing methods and conditions to consider establishing when the online workplace involves information sharing, change management, customer engagement, and staff development. An analysis of peer-reviewed literature, the T&D/education marketplace, and anecdotal reports from distance learning practitioners suggest key practices when formulating and implementing remote instruction courses and programs. However, it is insightful to understand the finest of these procedures are not merely disjointed techniques produced through trial and error, but rather rest upon a philosophical foundation. 

Lev Vygotsky was a Soviet-era psychologist renowned worldwide to this day for his scholarship on how humans make meaning, in other words, cognitive development. His theory in short is that people acquire cultural values, beliefs, problem-solving strategies, and practical knowledge through collaboration with others, especially more knowledgeable people. Comprehension and meaning, according to Vygotsky, is derived in a social context, which makes community the fertile ground from which people learn. 

Today, Vygotsky’s theory compels developers of online educational and training curricula to migrate characteristics of in-person community to the digital environment. In doing so, instructors and trainers are better able to facilitate concept and knowledge acquisition among their students and trainees. 

We need therefore to trust in the interconnectivity and interplay possible through virtual contact. Although still a novel concept for older generations, society is clearly moving toward a norm characterized by remote connections with others, whether through our use of social media, FaceTime, or online short-term credentialing courses.  

Three ideal practices which take advantage of social cohesion include: 

Being Present – This can range from presenting direct instruction in a synchronous or live-time manner to being available for individual student/employee questions to mentoring. There will be occasions where asynchronous (non-live time) communication, such as message boards, forums, and course policies, need to be visible for all participants, but in general being directly available or on call during set hours leaves participants feeling less abandoned and insecure. 

Interactions – Encouraging participant interaction advances information sharing and social learning, which leads to literacy. Three key dialogues to learning involve teacher to student, student to student, and student to content. Promoting such exchanges generates effective growth-oriented connections among teachers and students; purposeful explorations conducted within a student-to-student context; and investigations between a student and the topic areas’ facts and concepts. 

Discussion – Promoting opportunities for students to participate in synchronous and asynchronous discussions creates substantial educational value. Encounters involving questions, reflections, responses, and decisions support participant growth. Thanks to digitization, well-structured discussions and deliberations can strengthen any course. 

When tasked with planning for distance training and teaching opportunities keep in mind the importance of generating social coherence. You may find less has been lost going virtual than you initially feared. 

Employment Struggles for Older Workers

Posted on by Bill Ryan

It’s happening again. One of the perverse hallmarks of the Great Recession ten years ago was the expulsion of many older workers from the workforce. A significant number of experienced employees found themselves forced into sudden unemployment or premature retirement. Many never fully recovered financially or emotionally and their careers were left scarred and lacking in dignified closure. 

The current Covid-induced recession is again presenting similar employment hardship for mature workers. Since March, the labor market has shed many senior-aged men and women, who possess both high and low skill levels. In other words, this elder layoff is widespread. 

Unfortunately, this is not turning out to be simply a temporary furlough for these workers, but rather a longer-term separation marked by an acceleration of egregious trends. Again, as during the last recession, newly trending labor shifts are weakening older workers’ employment security. 

Previous examples included labor-saving technologies and increased workloads for younger and less expensive staff, which combined to lessen the management need to restore previous personnel levels. Once again, mature employees find their bargaining power diminished when facing dismissal and rehiring. Weak or non-existent unions, the rise of the gig economy, and continued lenient enforcement of age-discrimination laws, not to mention the harmful economic disruption from Covid, leave senior workers feeling increasingly insecure and inadequate. 

The New School’s Retirement Equity Lab studies the factors impacting the quality of retirement, which necessitates an examination of when a retreat from work is chosen or forced. Their assessment of the plight of older workers is sobering. Even for those older workers who have not yet been laid off there is considerable uncertainty about their futures. This cohort more and more knows they are less employable than younger workers. Those over age 55 often realize that if they were to quit their current jobs the chances of transitioning to a job that is comparable or better is doubtful. For many, it becomes prudent to stick with a less than satisfying job, then to risk unemployment. 

Relatively robust earnings have traditionally been an expectation for long-term commitment to a profession and/or an employer. Seems fair, right? However, these days when an older worker is rehired after a job loss hourly wages are typically lower than with the former job. Workers aged 50-61 receive 20% less pay with their new job while workers 62 and older see a decrease of 27%. In addition, once a worker hits their fifties, periods of unemployment after a layoff are longer than for workers aged less than 50. 

The growth in ambiguity and low confidence older workers face add to the weakness of their bargaining power. Employers know in most cases that they have the upper hand with older workers, except for those situations in which the worker possesses a unique or hard to find skill. This is unfortunate. A lifetime of work deserves value and respect. Retirement in the modern era should be a reward for the toil, dedication, and achievement for decades of work, not an imposed isolation or banishment due to the vicissitudes of employment economics. 

As the Retirement Equity Lab points out, policy makers may need to intervene with schemes designed to lessen the hardships for prematurely laid off older workers. For example, employers could offer rainy day or emergency savings plans through payroll deductions, which become available when needed to augment unemployment benefits. Or the federal government could step in with a guaranteed retirement account savings option to supplement what retirees receive from Social Security. Of course, more stringent enforcement of The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 would help immensely. 

Careers for many are a vocation and a calling to develop mastery and contribute to society. For others, work is simply a means to a paycheck. Either way, growing old should not be viewed as a liability or a deficiency to take advantage of. 

Future Career Planning

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Disruptions. Unforeseen events. Misguided strategies. All of these are possible for businesses. Also, for careers. In 2020, we do not have to look very far in the past to see how the best laid business and career plans can go awry due to a surprising and unpredicted event. 

We could conclude, well that’s life. No one ever guaranteed us long-term certainty. This is true. Unannounced and unintended curve balls are part of life’s churn, but that does not mean we cannot proactively prepare for sudden changes and develop an agility which may result in competitive advantages and success despite unanticipated perturbations. 

Many of us still operate by a model which views the most difficult parts of executing a career as first determining which career path to follow, followed by education and training, landing the great job, retaining employment, and staying current with best practices. As important as these features are, I would encourage the addition of at least one more — enhancing your ability to foretell where your career may be headed and what hazards may ambush your planning. 

Regarding our careers, it is wise to allocate time and energy to a style of future planning which embeds intentional forecasting of trends and movements that carry the potential for threat and disruption. Although no one can definitively predict the future, by practicing the formation of projections over time we can hone our capacity to more accurately make predictions, test our hypotheses, and peer ever deeper into what makes our professions tick. Sharpening our prognostication skill could be the difference between thriving or losing in today’s turbulent economy. 

Preparing for the future requires at the outset a shift in attitude and a challenging of our assumptions. Here are some basic conjectures I encourage shaking up. The good times do not roll forever. Luck can only carry you just so far. The world is more dynamic than static. That said, alter the way you plan for tomorrow. Future planning should not be confined to assessing the present and then looking forward. Rather, determine as best you can the most likely future prediction and plan backwards from there. 

Interpreting the future is a matter of creating a vision. This vision displays greater resolution the more in-depth is our knowledge of our profession, including the proclivities of markets and customers. Vision is not certitude, but an estimation of what is possible. 

The more we know the closer we get to refining our analysis. Therefore, structured ongoing learning is the core activity to practice. By looking at every angle of our profession, including the influences and disorders impacting our lines of work along with practice in making and reviewing our predictions, we better refine our ability to forecast. 

When estimating the direction of our professions, assume opportunities will always be out there. Become your own agent of change and a magnet for locating these possibilities. How best to proceed? Smart organizations deploy a strategic method known as scenario planning. It involves forecasting and integrating a large degree of flexibility into long-term planning. Scenario planning assumes adaptation is necessary for survival. 

The same mindset applies to our careers. In general, this process involves merging known facts about the future, such as demographics, geographic limitations, cultural characteristics, government structures, etc. with social, economic, political, technical, and environmental trends. From this blend we can formulate simulations that function as prototype strategies. 

For example, is it feasible to think climate related disruptions may manifest in novel ways over the next three decades prompting potentially sudden market fluctuations? Are you confident the U.S. has learned its lesson about pandemic preparedness and is ready for the next such assault? 

Developing a heuristic approach to prepare for uncertainty may very well be the necessary system to best weather whatever the future is going to throw at us next. 

Employment and the 2020 Election

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Here we go again. Time for another national election to choose a new Congress and a new president. The feeling in the air is that this election is more urgent and consequential than our garden variety face-offs, particularly at the presidential level. This choice of president is viewed as fundamentally determinative of the direction of the country and with starker contrast than most such contests. Or so both Republicans and Democrats claim. Great attention is being paid to this election and hopefully significant participation will be realized, which together should lead to a substantive and declarative outcome — like it or not. 

Typically, “It’s the economy, stupid!”. This time the sense is, “It’s the culture, stupid!”. Without getting into the developmental concerns related to our civilization’s maturation or lack thereof, economic claims, projections, and promises will likely continue to drive much of the partisan discussion. 

Are we Americans going to orient ourselves toward the past in an attempt to retain economic successes driven by tried-and-true practices previously delivered by legacy-styled business operatives or are we instead going to innovate and design for a paradigm-shifting economic future characterized by increasing competition, transformation, and multiculturalism? The decision we make will have consequences for the vitality of the economy going forward and for the quality of the employment it will spawn. 

Conventional wisdom states that if the economy is sufficiently robust, then vigorous employment will take care of itself. Indeed, high employment levels are intrinsic to a strong economy. Widespread employment matters. So, it is worth examining the economic approaches both parties are offering to see who is most prepared to fashion a jobs-rich environment over the next four years. Here is my broad summary of the selection before us. 

Donald Trump has shown us his economic priorities through past performance, which included low unemployment rates. Given that Republicans did not present a party platform this year we have to assume they are thinking ‘steady as she goes’. 

The Trump administration’s economic focus has been on individual and corporate tax cuts, deregulation targeted primarily to the energy and financial sectors, trade protectionism, immigration restriction, and rejection of a federal role in providing universal healthcare. In recent months there have also been attempts to resurrect the economy from the devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic by promoting a reopening or ‘get back to normal’ agenda. 

Joe Biden, despite pressure from the Democratic Party’s left flank, is not proposing sweeping or revolutionary changes to the economy, but does advance ambitious federal interventions, nevertheless. Principally, he is centered on reinvigorating America’s middle class by encouraging greater inclusivity across lines of race and levels of education with less income inequality and a reclamation of optimism born of opportunity. 

He wants to expand Obamacare, impose a more progressive tax code, eliminate middle class student debt, raise the federal minimum wage, encourage low-carbon manufacturing, combat climate change, and much more. Biden/Harris also have a 7-point detailed plan to defeat Covid and plan for future such threats. 

Both the incumbent and the challenger want full employment. Which ideology is likely to produce this universally desired outcome? Excluding all other factors which will influence who gets my vote, I see the following as salient with regards to employment. 

The past 150 years have generated great economic advancements resulting in profound improvements in the lives of many millions, both as consumers and as producers. We have learned a lot about how to engender wealth and to provide life enhancing products and services. There are lessons from the past worth carrying on. 

But the past is gone. What we must look forward to is the future with all its uncertainty and ambiguity. Meeting this challenge requires a mindset that sees more opportunity than threat from the future. I think it is this frame of mind that impresses me more than candidate tactics and positions. Durable, but resilient employment will best come from an outlook that sees the world as it really is and that enthusiastically leans into the contest. 

A Case for Working Class Unions

Posted on by Bill Ryan

We have heard in recent years the oft used terms wealth inequality and its subset income or wage inequality. Quantifiable evidence showing a multi-decade trend toward wealth inequality has been presented by left-leaning economists and think tanks fueling in large part the political activism of the left wing of the Democratic Party. An example of this type of data was released by the Urban Institute showing how in 1963 families at the top of the wealth distribution had six times the wealth of families in the middle, whereas by 2016 the rich families had twelve times the wealth of those in the middle. 

Currently, the Covid-19 pandemic is starkly revealing what can reasonably be seen as another economic misfortune of those on the lower end of the wealth spectrum. Many of the essential frontline workers, such as janitors, grocery store employees, health care workers, and childcare workers, among others, are those who have jobs that cannot be done via Zoom, email, and phone from home. They are at higher risk for contracting the virus given the in-person customer-facing demands of their work. This increased hazard in combination with relatively low pay for workers providing services we all need during these tough times bolsters an argument that this cohort deserves more respect and economic clout. 

It is hard to ignore how the decline of labor unions correlates rather neatly with the rise in wealth inequality. Many believe it is not just correlation we are seeing, but causation. The loss of a collective voice from the working class due to the long-standing chorus of anti-unionism has led to not only their diminished political leverage, but also to a drop in their living standards relative to more affluent sectors. Perhaps the income disparity argument is now poised to go beyond just a claim supported by longitudinal data and charts to one of fundamental fairness for workers who are crucial, especially during a national emergency. 

Now can be a time to talk about structural reforms that benefit the working class. The overarching goal should be to reorient the economic system such that everyone, no matter where they live on the wealth spectrum, can live healthy and safe lives while contributing to the common welfare of the country. This will mean examining and improving macro norms governing compensation, health care, the environment, safety regulations, family-friendly working hours, immigration, workplace grievances, and race relations. 

Increasing the power of low-income stakeholders need not be seen as a zero-sum redistribution simply for the sake of rebalancing a ledger. Instead, by empowering these workers we restore and reinvigorate a united voice among working people thereby enhancing overall prosperity and a strengthening of democracy.  

Working in concert to fortify one’s economic interests is widespread among the ‘Haves’. Chambers of Commerce, business associations, and national trade organizations fill this need for business owners and management. Why shouldn’t working people also be given capabilities to drive policy decisions through collective action? 

Unions fill this role. Many of the worker and social protections now codified into law which we enjoy today began as union initiatives. Social Security, child labor laws, antidiscrimination laws, workplace safety laws, unemployment insurance, minimum wage, 40-hour work week, and workers’ comp laws are just some of the now commonplace benefits realized because worker unions conceived, supported, and fought for these standards. 

It is unlikely we will snap back to the exact same economy we had before the pandemic. In the future we may look back on several social changes the virus will have jolted us into. Hopefully, one of these modifications will be a reckoning for how the working class portion of essential workers is to be treated and prioritized. A resurgence of unions for these workers is justified and past due. 

Hospitality, Crisis and Promise

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Such wreckage. Such devastation. Such uncertainty. The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the present, shattered futures, and taken lives. In a quick couple of months life, as we have known it has been turned upside down. There is much to despair about this shock to our previously well-constructed world. Looking for hope can seem unattainable, especially for those whose careers, livelihoods, and businesses have been heavily damaged. 

I especially mourn for what is happening to the hospitality industry. Restaurants, hotels, resorts, amusement parks, theaters, concerts, sporting events and the like are where we go to refresh and rewind by enjoying time with friends and family, interacting with others, and being treated warmly by caring staffs. 

Hospitality is in many ways one of the most human of all career choices. Here is where your value is largely determined by how well you engage with others and how well you make others feel. Being socially distant is aversive to hospitality. It is like trying to paint landscapes with only two colors. The genial experience is catastrophically abridged when we are apart. 

Hospitality was to be the great redeemer for a world becoming increasingly technical, remote, and isolated. At its core, hospitality resisted the forces of automation and outsourcing, which is transforming so many other lines of work. It benefited from an economy relatively flush with disposable income. This industry really has made the world a better place to live. And now we ask ourselves, what happens to us all if our capacity to be social beings is painfully curtailed for the long term? 

In the US it is unlikely we will see the government stepping in to support hospitality for more than several months. Projections point to the second half of 2021 before a widely distributed and effective vaccine is put into place. Therefore, social distancing is expected to be among the chief tactics we have available to mitigate outbreaks during our slow build up to herd immunity. 

Then there is the very real fear people have about mingling as before. Think of the questions we could have while in crowds, such as who among these people is asymptomatic and carrying the virus? Why is that person coughing? Is it right to hug or shake hands with this friend anymore? How can I keep my glasses from fogging when wearing this darn mask? Many may and probably will opt for staying home. 

There are no easy answers or quick fixes for hospitality. That said, two broad ideas come to mind that may point to some sort of solution for the future of those whose hospitality jobs are evaporating. 

This is a time for hospitality professionals to reflect on their skills and the value they bring to the public. My advice is to inventory what it is about your engagements with people that activate your energy and bring deep satisfaction. Then think about other more employable areas where these talents can be expressed. For example, healthcare related services benefit from a workforce rich in soft hospitable skills infused with those of the technical expertise providers. Sales and customer services also are enhanced by those who can deliver personal, attentive, and solution-oriented care and advice. Think about it. There are many fields in which a hospitable mindset and presentation can find a home. 

Secondly, now is a time for the entrepreneurial, innovative, resourceful, and ingenious among us to design and develop novel ways of offering hospitality contributions that have not been tried before. The pent-up public demand is certainly there. Necessity is still the mother of invention. Let us please be pleasantly surprised by having creative hospitality professionals discover new and refreshing ways of building community, strengthening social interaction, and giving us respite from these stressful times, all while maintaining safe and prudent distancing measures. 

Times were dark in the economy ten years ago and they are even darker now. But if we are lucky, it may be our friends in hospitality who can shine a light when we most need it. 

Distributive Work Gets A Boost

Posted on by Bill Ryan

One of the significant consequences foisted upon the economy during the Covid-19 outbreak has been the rapid scaling of work completed outside of the office, i.e., at home. What is commonly known as remote work, now increasingly being referred to as distributive work, has been increasing over the past twenty years or so. But in its short history it never has experienced a shot of practice like it is getting now. 

My guess is that distributive work is conventionally thought of across most businesses as secondary in its productive impact relative to being onsite, not unlike the way online courses have tried shaking off their reputation of being course lite. However, the severity of social distancing to break the chain of virus transmission is forcing the knowledge economy to rely on high quality distributive work to stay alive as never before. Indeed, it is in the knowledge economy, comprised of smart and skilled workers producing goods and services worldwide, where distributive work holds its greatest promise. 

It may be useful to know the thoughts of someone who has pioneered and cultivated distributive work for years and is now a leading voice in the movement. Matt Mullenweg was one of the founding developers of WordPress, the digital content management system, and founder of the diversified internet company Automattic with ~1200 employees distributed over 70 countries. He continues to not only evangelize distributive work but leads a set of companies that practice it daily. 

He is also convinced distributive work need not be just an off-the-shelf option management reaches for during times of disruption, but a model of productivity capable of surpassing the performance of traditional office-setting work. 

Mullenweg promotes worker autonomy as key to motivation and efficiency and is much more concerned with worker output than input. While retaining some in-person collaboration, but in a much more reduced and targeted manner, he recognizes the impediments of cramming a lot of people onto a single site. A myriad of distractions such as office politics, intrusive co-workers and managers, long off-topic chats with co-workers, shared facilitates, a narrow set of expected in-house behaviors, and a feeling of having little control over likes and dislikes from the office temperature to the smell of someone’s lunch can all negatively factor into the worker feeling a lack of autonomy. 

With that in mind he identifies five levels of distributive work from low to high effectiveness. To quickly summarize: 

  • Level 1, which is now old-school, has workers using telephone and email offsite to augment their work, but with the belief that the “real” work is done at the office. 
  • Level 2 is an attempt to recreate the office elsewhere by use of VPN and conferencing software to supplement voice and email. Most business is still mired in levels 1 and 2. 
  • Level 3 demonstrates an intentional effort to adopt the best software and equipment available to share knowledge seamlessly and transparently across the organization. This can include good lighting, microphones, and communication tools like Zoom, Slack, and P2. 
  • Level 4 places a premium on asynchronous and written communication, meaning to move away from an over-reliance on live interactions. The goal here is to improve the quality of decision making even if its pace is slowed. 
  • Level 5 is where production capability is shown to be measurably improved over traditional work methods. 

Mullenweg contends the manufacturing factory model of all employees looking busy at the same time and in the same place does not always translate well into the cognitive economy. By valuing quantifiable and qualitative output primarily and providing workers with the means necessary to cooperatively join forces across distance the “workplace” can be not only redefined but rendered more fruitful. 

Looking for a humane and profitable opportunity amidst a global contagion may be difficult. Perhaps, refining distributive work is one such occasion. 

A View from Spain

Posted on by Bill Ryan

I have been fortunate to have spent much of the winter of 2019-2020 living along the southern coast of Spain. Occupying a rented casa near the center of an old town for an extended time, which inevitably involved engaging with locals, including commercially with shop keepers and the like, gave me a great opportunity to observe how daily economic life is lived in a place far from my New Hampshire home. 

To be clear, I really do have a life outside of economic and career monitoring, but for purposes of this piece, I will focus on a small anecdotal contrast between how people conduct commercial exchange in a corner of Spain and in NH. To further set this up, note that I deliberately lived without a car and had no data plan for 3 months, relying instead on public transportation and WiFi (or Wee-Fee as they cutely say there). 

These near-monastic practices aside, let me tell you a bit about my provisional Spanish hometown. Fuengirola, a small city of about 75K residents, lies along the Mediterranean coast about 25 miles west of Malaga, the big city in those parts. It is in the autonomous region of Andalusia (like a US state), which is the largest of these self-governing areas in Spain. Given that it was controlled by the Islamic Moors for about seven centuries the architecture and culture is a unique blend of Christian and Muslim influences not seen elsewhere in Europe. Andalusians have a reputation for being emotional and fun-loving. I concur. 

What is most evident commercially is how old-fashioned things seem, at least to a guy in his late sixties. In NH of course we get in our cars and drive to large supermarkets and big box stores to purchase our stuff, or as is increasingly the case, we order things online and have them shipped to our homes. But here, the small “Mom & Pop” shops are alive and seemingly well. The sidewalks each day, except Sunday, are teeming with people doing their daily marketing of fruits, vegetables, medicines, clothing, breads/pastries, alcohol, and lottery tickets (Really big here!). 

I must admit that despite an apparent inefficiency with going to one shop for your bread, to another for your vegetables, and to another for meat, I enjoyed the quaintness and personal touch of getting to know the people who worked at these establishments. Levels of personal service always seemed high, and I never felt rushed. Sure Amazon.es and big box stores like El Corte Ingles exist, but small brick & mortar retail is hanging on here quite well. 

The cafe culture of Europe is legendary, and it is in full swing in Fuengirola. People sit with family and friends for what seems like hours chatting over coffee and beer during workdays and weekends alike. Cafes and bars are everywhere spilling onto sidewalks. The jabber is lively and boisterous and leaves a Yank with the impression that life really should be fun and lived with gusto.  

I must admit I have wondered more than once, “How does any work get done around here?” But it does. It is a highly functioning, prosperous, and safe feeling community. Police presence is minimal. 

The Euro is the currency. And right now, its value is only about 10% higher than the US dollar. However, prices for most commodities seem lower here. I am often struck by how much value I am getting for so little money. Granted, gasoline is more than in NH and I do not have a good sense of the costs of other energy and big-ticket items, but overall costs seem cheaper in Spain. 

Also, this is a more cash-based society. My pocket often is weighed down with these heavy coins (a First World problem, I know). Sure, people use credit cards and phone pay apps, but cash is still quite prevalent. 

I could go on, but I will finish by saying that one expression of a culture is how commerce is conducted. In Spain, it is refreshingly traditional and effective indeed. 

The Impracticality of Too Much Socialism

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Socialism as an answer to our nation’s economic problems just will not go away. And it is not likely to during any period, such as ours, when there is a widely accepted view that wealth inequality is too flagrant and demeaning to lower- and middle-income Americans. 

Inadequate social cohesion or a feeling that society is too fractured between those that have and those who do not have enough wealth and resources, leading to a lack of shared prosperity, continues to fester in the public mind. A strong case can be made broadly identifying economic collectivism as a unifying principle, which best ensures financial stability across all class and demographic sectors. If we agree societies are best measured by how all people are treated, particularly those at the edges, then an economic system, in which production and distribution of goods and services is a collective responsibility, as socialism claims to be, can look appealing. 

However, there is a serious theoretical disconnect between the widespread ends socialism proposes and the practical means of getting there, especially given the American values mindset and economic tradition, based as it is on capitalism and individualism. 

Socialism prides itself on believing there really does exist a profound rational approach to achieve a moral objective. Well defined policies, detailed planning, targeted interventions, distributive actions, and data-driven predictions, all executed by like-minded proficient and professional managers will achieve universal goals from which all will benefit. All that is needed, we are told, is for the country to place its trust in a single administrative class of skillful specialists and what will follow are resources being allocated reasonably and wisely, thereby eliminating all want and suffering. 

Of course, this socialist managerial group of supervisors need unfettered power and control to achieve these ends. They cannot have their time interfered with by negotiations and compromising with others who may disagree with their approaches. To do so would dilute the effectiveness of their policies. Insular command and control of the nation’s decision-making apparatus must be maintained if progress is to be realized. Indeed, a unified rationalist process is foremost in a socialist governance structure. A single on-high leading voice must be heard for economic benefits to best be disseminated. 

Socialism is highly concerned with distribution. In fact, apportionment of wealth would appear to be the only concern we need to address. What is glaringly absent in socialist rhetoric is barely any mention of production. Where does the money to be distributed come from? As best I can make out, socialist production is to come from mandated and deliberate economic planning, supported by a commonly accepted ethic stating we are all in this together and therefore we will all work for the common good, like it or not. Can we look to examples throughout history where this has successfully worked? China and Vietnam, maybe. Are these realistically models for the United States? 

There are those who give rise to wealth. Entrepreneurs, corporatists, and businesspeople generate economic value, but they are disparagingly referred to as the problem, because they hoard wealth for themselves and their ilk. Raiding their coffers is just and fair, because they are greedy and self-interested, or so the rationale goes. 

Perhaps socialists and far-left liberals should find solace in the meaningful ways socialism has already permeated our lives at a policy level. Let’s face it. We already are partly socialist. Social security, Medicare, Medicaid, labor protection laws, minimum wage, industry subsidies, government mandated work standards, and soon to be universal healthcare are obvious examples. The political debate is about balancing socialism with free-market neoliberalism, not choosing one solely over the other. 

No one ideological group holds the all the required reason and knowledge to dictate a one-size-fits-all economic order. A mix of views debated vigorously brings any hope all constituents’ interests will be addressed. 

The Good and Bad of Personality Testing

Posted on by Bill Ryan

I’ve always been fascinated by personality tests, in particular the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). As a young education major many years ago, focused on the psychology of growth and learning, it seemed natural to accept a need to categorize people, whether students or employees with all their variability and complexity, into types, identities, and groupings. I came to believe that this knowledge could be used in many organizational ways including team building, workplace efficiency, student body cohesion, leadership training, personnel development, and general hiring to name a few. 

Today, there are many personality tests on the market with the MBTI remaining among the most popular in use with HR departments and management/training teams. DiSC, Color Code, CliftonStrengths, and Insights Discovery are also well known tools in this field. Other personality inventories are continuing to come on the scene as the science of type and application of AI becomes more refined. 

We are now looking at a $500 million industry with future growth rates estimated to be robust. Corporate, and in some cases small business America, are always in search of higher efficiencies. Some see personality testing as a means of achieving such an outcome. 

Business leadership may ask themselves, “Why wait for organizational culture to evolve when it can be shaped and structured according to my wishes?” As flippant as this sounds, there may be a sound rationale embedded in the question. Throwing a group of people together in the hope that company goals will be realized based on the strengths and experiences as seen on resumes and evaluations alone may be strategically weak. 

Individuals bring a myriad of personality characteristics, some of which may translate into positive contributions, while others may interfere with business processes. Applying tools that assist management in assessing their direct reports’ strengths and weaknesses more effectively could potentially result in more efficient sorting and assignment of talent. 

A doctrine underpinning personality testing is that there are no bad people, only bad fits of people. Someone who fits well with kindergarten students will probably make a lousy state trooper and vice versa. Cooperation, collaboration, and camaraderie are critical soft-skill practices for any workforce. Establishing conditions to encourage developing these soft skills can be a worthy management goal. If the edges of chaotic interpersonal dynamics can be smoothed and negative workplace politics mitigated, then why not intervene with data internally yielded by widespread use of personality inventories? It stands to reason productivity will be improved within a more satisfying work environment. 

A powerful criticism leveled for years concerns the lack of scientific validity of personality tests. Indeed, the MBTI is the least scientific of them all despite its prevalent use. Based on type theory developed by Carl Jung, a psychologist contemporary of Sigmund Freud, it can be said to be more art than science. Despite the MBTI’s uncanny ability to accurately identify a range of personal attributes as noted by the many people who have used it satisfactorily, including myself, there remains a persistent skepticism of its applicability due to a lack of experimental stringency regarding its claims. 

Additionally, there are claims by workers of being denied promotions, hiring, or leadership opportunities because of personality instrument results. Is it reasonable to expect there will be misapplications of these tests by managers whose skills lie in areas outside of psychology? As one who was trained in the interpretation and administration of the MBTI, I can attest to the deep levels of complexity and nuance to be considered in its use. Worth mentioning also is the likelihood of having employees who simply are uncomfortable with the ‘hocus-pocus’ of anything based on psychology. 

Whichever test is used, there should be trained professionals involved in an appropriate application of results. Regardless of potential downsides, personality instruments can occupy a favorable and constructive place in organizational management. 

Shareholders, Stakeholders, and Careers

Posted on by Bill Ryan

When an assessment of a long-term economic operating procedure and theory becomes a key element of debate during a presidential election, then the practice in question, and its rationale, has reached a level of weighty significance. Such is the ongoing case of a possible post-neoliberal corporate economy. Neoliberalism, a commonly used term by economists referring to the late 20th century style of free market fundamentalism, is facing its biggest challenge to date. 

Going back to the mid-century writings of Milton Friedman, which focused on monetary policy, taxation, deregulation, and privatization, there has been widespread acceptance of his economic philosophy of unfettered free markets as the best way to support both a free society and national economic wellbeing. The economic low tax, low regulation, and small government principles of the Republican Party continue to be driven by the Chicago school of economics, of which Friedman was a principal contributor. 

A current widely held view, particularly by the political left, and increasingly the center, is that this neoliberal style of capitalism has led to well documented wealth inequality being blamed for much of our economic and political angst today. It is argued that despite the claim of free markets as best providing economic expansion, the benefit of such growth is limited to a small and wealthy segmented slice of the population and therefore is an inadequate model for the greater good. 

To a large degree, the public debate emerging in the presidential election race is a referendum on whether free market economic conservatism first preached by Barry Goldwater, a Republican presidential candidate in 1964, is relevant any longer when so many Americans are struggling to maintain a middle-class lifestyle. 

Shared prosperity is the new buzz term. It suggests that a system, including government and private business, should together have a more inclusive outlook about how generated wealth should be diffused across the country and citizenry. This contention goes on to state that wealth inequality is not just unfair, but contrary to robust economic growth, because most of the people who would spend broadly for goods and services are unable to do so if capital is sequestered to the richest top strata. In other words, there is a call for both social responsibility and economic invigoration. 

To take this thinking to the employment level, especially among corporations, it is enlightening to look at the production and governance paradigm used by many large businesses. Friedman advanced the notion of shareholder primacy. Shareholders assume the greatest risk through their investments and therefore should receive the largest reward. Employees and management exist to create wealth for shareholders. Plain, simple, and very hierarchical. 

It turns out however, there are other stakeholders within or close to a corporation who also have a vested interest. They include employees, management, and the ancillary businesses relying on corporate success in their communities. Marginalizing these other stakeholder groups can minimize the financial gain they receive. 

Milton Friedman once said, “Few trends could so thoroughly undermine the very foundation of our free society as the acceptance by corporate officials of a social responsibility…” (Adam Smith Institute). Extrapolating from this belief to the practice of shareholder primacy is not hard to do. Could exceptionally high executive compensation also stem from this persuasion? 

And what of your career? I hypothesize not many employees are content with simply serving shareholders. True, shareholders make possible their very jobs, but would not productivity, innovation, and morale be enhanced if there was an ethic of shared gain in corporations’ achievements? Perhaps, a more intentional perspective of collective advantage could boost profits for all involved. 

The election appears poised to devolve into a silly, “Which is better, Socialism or Capitalism?” debate. Let’s not get caught up in that bumper sticker. This is a time for a serious and measured examination by all of us to decide for whom an economy is supposed to work. 

Factor AI into Your Career Plans

Posted on by Bill Ryan

It does not matter what career field you are in, anything from finance to fashion is being and will increasingly be impacted by Artificial Intelligence or AI. Whether you believe AI will create lives of no-work luxury for us all or will end civilization as we know it, our challenge in the 21st century is to understand and participate in shaping AI’s repercussions. Therefore, when pondering your career long-game a critical planning component is to consider the impact AI will have on what you do for a living. 

So, what is AI? I like Kathryn Hume’s working definition (Director, Product & Business Development Product for Borealis AI), which is that AI is whatever computers cannot do until they can. This implies that AI is a moving target, compiling and sorting vast amounts of data one year to leveraging machine learning that promotes employment obsolescence the next. 

What once passed for AI is now integrated into standard operating procedures across many industries. Currently, we are wondering about and bracing for unexpected consequences derived from ever more sophisticated machines “thinking” like superhumans. 

AI certainly engenders anxiety. Sam Daly (Builtin.com) reports on a 2018 survey in which 72% of respondents conveyed concern for human jobs being subsumed by technology. Even Elon Musk of electric car and SpaceX fame refers to AI as more dangerous than nukes. And of course, the current US Presidential campaign includes a candidate, Andrew Yang, who showcases a universal basic income for all Americans to help offset the workforce changes and employment displacement being caused by increased automation or AI. 

Given this AI anguish, what is a career planner to do? To begin, it may help to view AI as something old-school, as in business development processes which require change management procedures aimed toward adoption of innovations which lead to competitive advantages. In other words, AI may be no more threatening than any other big change. In this case, the adjustment is in the area of human-machine collaboration. (But we did that once during the Industrial Revolution, right?) 

Also, let us not think of AI as Alien Intelligence. There is nothing otherworldly going on here despite how opaque AI may seem to the layman. AI is constructed by the design and application of algorithms, which are sets of executable instructions leading to an output. Algorithms can be written to consist of one or many criteria or inputs, ranging from if…then… statements to text, images, videos, voice, and more. As the algorithms become more complex it can be unclear which criterion establishes dominance, but this does not diminish the validity and importance of the outputs. 

The quality of the inputs determines the caliber of the results. For example, if data sets that “train” algorithms are too narrowly selected, i.e., too old or demographically skewed, then that limits the scope of the output. We can think of such algorithms as biased. When relying on AI to plan market capture strategies, for instance, this can matter a lot. 

“Decisions” made by computers can also be fickle, as in different from one day to the next, requiring retrospective pattern analysis. In short, algorithms now are good at processing relatively restricted tasks, but far from totally taking over the universe of human capabilities. 

Many professional job descriptions will change due to AI. To prepare, develop a nimble and adaptable perspective to change. Do not wait to have your job transformation be forced onto you. Get out in front of the inevitable and think, for example about how AI can be used to eliminate mundane parts of your job to free you up for more innovative endeavors.  

Influence the way AI can improve your performance and the service you provide. By thinking critically about what AI can and cannot do you have a better chance of determining your professional relevance moving forward. 

Careers that Create Value

Posted on by Bill Ryan

We want our careers to be fulfilling, sustainable, and enriching in several ways. Beyond obtaining desirable compensation other paths involve intrinsic satisfaction with an important one being a belief we are contributing to making the world a better place. When reflecting on how effectively our careers are performing toward achieving such a lofty but worthwhile goal it may be beneficial to determine if value is being created as a result of all the hard work we do. 

A way to begin this career assessment is by asking ourselves if our professional pursuits add prosperity to society as a whole or detract from it. Simply put, we are either creating wealth or we are just transferring it from one party to another. By wealth I am not restricting myself to capital alone but refer more broadly to a wide range of functional and emotional life improving gains. Creating value powerfully addresses the needs of many consumers and by extension the greater society, whereas orchestrated wealth shifts benefit a relatively small segment of society. 

Economists identify rent seeking as a concept pertaining to the practice of acquiring shares of wealth created by others. Visualize the ubiquitous economic pie. Value creators are best at growing the pie’s size. Rent seekers in contrast are adept in figuring out ways to grab more slices of the existing pie. Rent seeking is expressed in various forms, for example corporate monopolization, opaque government subsidies, reduction of competitiveness, and exclusive resource ownership. 

In short ask yourself, does my career serve the greater population by expanding the pie or is it designed to assist relatively few, generally wealthy people, by shifting more slices their way? 

Diving more deeply into defining value creation we can look at the elements that comprise value. A few years ago, several marketing strategists from Bain & Company, the management consultancy, comprehensively identified four kinds of consumer needs that can be met with combinations of thirty different “elements of value”. They arrange these four domains and corresponding elements into a pyramid for easy comprehension. Their rationale is that by appealing to the right amount and configuration of consumer needs business will grow and customers will be retained. 

I suggest applying the same model to our careers. If we can assert that our work enhances people’s lives by producing value elements, we should be able to feel confident we are creating value. 

To summarize this model, recall another pyramid, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. You may have run across this visual in one college class or another. That pyramid is structured to display a progressive arrangement of psychological needs ranging from base requirements such as food, water, and warmth to an optimal state of self-actualization. 

The Elements of Value Pyramid, on the other hand, presents the four fundamental clusters of consumer needs: Functional, Emotional, Life Changing, and Social Impact. Within each category are the elements that describe the nuanced values of products and services as perceived by the consumer. For example, Functional needs include value elements such as reduced effort, time saving, improved organization, and cost reduction. Emotional needs include items like anxiety reduction, therapeutic value, attractiveness, and fun. Life Changing needs contain motivation, providing hope, and affiliation. The Social Impact need is solely comprised by self-transcendence, which means a paradigm shift in vastly improved personal growth. 

We do not have to match in scale the impact realized by such power value creators like Steve Jobs, or Kia Silverbrook, inventor of high-speed color printing technology, or Sally Fox who developed a means of mitigating pollution found to be inherent in the bleaching and dying of cotton. Rather we can distinguish those discreet and profound ways we do make lives better every day by adding beneficial features to people’s lives like enhanced speed, quality, convenience, customer service, etc. 

Careers that create value are what make this a better world. 

How Neurodiversity May Improve Your Workforce

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Trying to recruit and retain talented workers who can assist in producing and delivering high quality products and services, leading to business growth and enhanced profits, has always been a formidable challenge. Typically, hiring teams seek individuals who not only most closely match the letter of the job description, but who also are predicted to be a good fit for the organization. In other words, companies want employees who can execute at what has been determined over time to be an optimal level that is consistent with the firm’s performance culture. 

Let us set aside for the purpose of this piece an admittedly huge hiring consideration, talent and ability, and ask might there be an inherent and unforeseen flaw in settling for only those candidates who appear during the hiring process to be consistent with traditional workforce practices and operational structures? By limiting a hiring search to simply those foreshadowed to be team players, could organizations be potentially restricting their chances of introducing and benefiting from innovative thinkers and value-added achievers? An increasing number of talent managers and human resource departments say this conventional thinking may indeed be a liability. 

There is a largely untapped element in the general candidate pool that may deserve a closer look. This cohort is becoming known as the neurodiverse. Neurodiversity refers to those workers possessing conditions frequently labeled as disorders, including autism, dyslexia, attention deficit, and social anxiety. You might be inclined to think that these types of job candidates should be weeded out of the search process due to their disruptive potential, but others are taking a chance at reframing the common perceptions of the neurodiverse and noticing positive traits where others see possible burdens. 

So, what might be favorable attributes of co-workers who may be seen by many as idiosyncratic, standoffish, ambiguous, or just plain different? Consider for a moment an organization comprised of workers who think largely in terms of doing things the way they have always been done. Change is minimal because it is seen as disorderly and therefore unnecessary. Risk aversion and homogeneity are commonplace. Company culture and individual behaviors are driven by such values and will perform accordingly. 

Sounds like a possible recipe for competitive disaster given current market requirements for innovation and agility. Neurodiverse employees could bring fresh perspectives and abilities not typically present to the work site. 

Neurodiverse skill sets can include high levels of intelligence, pattern recognition, systemic approaches to problem solving, exacting attention, comfort with repetition, deep-dive analysis, and even customer facing. Numerous industries can use resources with these skills, particularly technical and data-oriented ones. 

Another advantage can come from workers who are not motivated by office politics and the phrasing of opinions and conclusions in a group-think manner. As hard as it may be to hear, sometimes the straightforward truth is the best information to be communicated to colleagues and management. Neurodiverse employees may be best at delivering such news. 

Of course, recruiting and positioning neurodiverse talent can present difficulties, perhaps novel ones, for human resources and other department managers. Rather than using traditional interviewing it may be useful to set up teamwork simulations, case studies, or actual problem-solving sessions to see how productively all candidates function.  

Strategically integrating personnel who may provide unique services, but also potential breaches of protocol, could require careful planning, diplomacy, and tact. Flexibility and nimbleness, characteristics in short supply in many established organizations, may need to be adopted by company culture. 

We have reached a historic point where differences among people are more accepted than in the past. In fact, this seems to be a desirable attribute of the millennial generation. Developing such an ethic could aid businesses while also fostering more humane treatment of all people. 

Thoughts on Career-Long Learning

Posted on by Bill Ryan

As has been frequently reported, the nature of work is undergoing profound changes due largely to automation, technology, artificial intelligence, and globalization. This exacerbates fears among students and workers of how to succeed in an ever-transformative economy and contributes to the current and expanding situation of a workforce not possessing the skills required by modern and future-oriented employers. 

To keep up with groundbreaking changes in employment requires an educational approach to training and learning that is flexible, relevant, and targeted to the capricious and volatile state of the economy. At present, traditional education institutions of high school and customary higher ed bachelor’s degrees appear to be lagging behind innovative industry methodologies like short-term credentialing and user-responsive professional development. Businesses recognize the value in foresight and pliable learning strategies necessary to uphold a workforce prepared for unpredictability. 

Education systems are not known for their elasticity and capacity to adjust to change. Take a typical public high school curriculum, the stage through which most American workers first pass on their way to employability. Has there been much reorganization in the basic course load or method of earning a diploma since the mid-twentieth century? I think not. This is an area where increased pressure to innovate is warranted. 

Beside a reassessment of curriculum relevance, another key concept we can hope for from high schools is that the message is getting through loud and clear to students that education does not stop with a diploma. The modern world is one in which continuous learning needs to be embraced if there is any hope for enjoying the fruits of professional mastery and robust compensation. Linking the pursuit of happiness with the pursuit of learning is a valuable lifelong lesson. 

To this end, workers will benefit from a more accommodating and welcoming world of pathways designed to prepare entry-level professionals, upskill existing workers, and assist career changers in a manner consistent with the metamorphosing economy of work. In addition to an acceptance of the importance of career-long learning is to realize credentials matter. 

From a college degree to a professional license to an industry-specific certification, possessing evidence from a reputable instructional source, in which a worker can demonstrate training and education within an area of expertise is critical to advancing one’s career. The challenge becomes how to best earn pertinent credentials in a time effective and affordable manner. 

Career, employment specialists, and economists are suggesting several practices to ease credential acquisition. Kelsey Berkowitz is a Policy Advisor for Third Way’s Economic Program and has looked closely into this issue. Among the suggestions she makes is to: 

  • Increase the amount of credential stacking that is available. In other words, design short-term credential modules that can be combined into larger certifications or degrees. This could provide highly relevant on-demand training while also providing a means for adult workers to achieve higher education goals in more easily managed steps. 
  • Develop more apprenticeship programs. Evidence exists, particularly in Europe, of the effectiveness of industry-based programs that onboard entry-level workers and within a year or two produce trained and credentialed employees committed to the profession. 
  • Recognize prior experiences related to work by offering credit. It is not unusual for individuals to gain skills and insights applicable to their current jobs from events that occurred before being hired. Examples include acquired knowledge from the military, school programs, previous jobs, or other situations where pertinent learning took place. 
  • Streamline onerous licensing mobility. Twenty-five percent of all workers today are in fields requiring a professional license. However, in too many instances licenses are not reciprocal across state lines, creating burdens to reacquire licenses for those pros relocating to a new state. 

The need for instructional and training flexibility will become increasingly necessary in order to keep a nimble and ready workforce. Let us reform learning to better address this imperative. 

A Call to Appreciate the Direct Care Workforce

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Rebecca Bryant, the president and CEO of Lakes Region Community Services, a New Hampshire social services organization, penned an impressive opinion piece in the March 1-14 issue of the New Hampshire Business Review that concretely highlighted the plight of direct support professionals, those who care for the elderly and disabled. To this cohort I would also add childcare workers. 

As a whole, this segment of the New Hampshire workforce is underpaid, under-appreciated, disrespected, and lacking in the placement of esteem they deserve as employees tasked with providing key services to needy populations. 

Why is this? Unfortunately, social services have historically been viewed as somehow less urgent or worthwhile than economic pursuits resulting in manufactured goods and services supporting commercial viability. The money has not flowed to caregivers. Since money appears to be a solid metric of worth and value the unmistakable conclusion drawn is that giving care to young children, old citizens, and the disabled just does not carry that much weight. 

Interesting. Economics is all about the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services to improve lives. How is it that the life improving work of caregivers is different? 

Many would say that the individuals who make up the direct care workforce are generally under-educated with many also coming from low income backgrounds. Thus, the thinking goes they are not meritorious or qualified enough to receive living wage compensation. The time has come for us to stop assuming there is a causal relationship between low valued work and low paid workers in the direct care context. 

We are faced with a contrarian situation of low paid workers toiling through high valued work. Even though low paid direct care services continue to attract, albeit at inadequate levels, those willing to work for low pay in order to do something they like and are good at doing is no reason to continue the practice. It is time right a wrong. 

Let us first look at the root of the problem. Direct care services are historically performed by women. Presumably, they have been drawn to this work, because of the longstanding social and cultural expectations for women to nurture others. It is fair to say that women have performed laudably with direct care services for many years. The benefit to society is immeasurable. 

However, as we know, compensatory equity has been and continues to be elusive for women. “Women’s work” has rarely if ever received reparation on par with what men make. Let’s be honest. Traditional views regarding remuneration says that an occupation primarily composed of women will not be seen as worth paying much for. 

It took men becoming teachers and nurses to spur the evolution of living wages in those fields. Regardless, it should not take a replay of that model to boost the earnings of competent and hardworking direct care service providers, whether female or male. 

There are two reasons for a balancing of resources to occur. Firstly, we should recognize that high quality care directed to those among us who are not or can no longer be high producers is virtuous and enriches lives. This alone should diminish any resistance to fair pay. That said, there is another factor to consider: unequivocal changes already underway to reshape the nature of employment are ushering in a reevaluation of what it means to “work”. 

Many jobs will be refashioned and eliminated as automation and artificial intelligence increasingly impact the economy. Labor directed to personal care may emerge as progressively appreciated employment. A paradigm shift recognition of the value added to society by direct care givers may finally remediate this excessive pay disparity. This transformation in attitude is needed. 

In a state ranked third for the percentage of the population growing old you would think New Hampshire would be intentionally reaching out to strengthen its direct care workforce. We have a chance now to show the country how fair pay for our direct care providers can be accomplished. 

Weaponizing Employment Against the Poor

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Albert Einstein elegantly once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly but expecting different results. This adage comes to mind when we see that yet again work requirements are being used as a bludgeon to combat Americans who live in poverty and who need safety-net programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), HUD housing assistance, and if President Trump has his way, even Medicaid. 

The White House Council of Economic Advisers has recommended work requirements for the most extensive welfare programs and the current administration has mandated that federal agencies alter their presumably lax welfare program standards. These moves are premised on the continuing notion that the poor are a drain on federal resources due to their laziness, recklessness, and lack of ambition. So here we go again, concluding that the poor are so, solely because of their own deficient behavior and must be made to work harder to receive assistance from this government. 

It is not that simple. 

Is this work requirement approach fair that those recipients of aid (excluding children, elderly and disabled) should be made to show an attempt to earn their government supports, which allegedly incentives people to not be poor, or is this a kick to the poor and disenfranchised when they are already down? 

It is worth examining a few of points about welfare work requirements: 

  1. According to the US Census Bureau the 2017 poverty rate was 12.3%, a 0.4% decrease from the year before. Since 2014 the poverty rate has fallen 2.5%. So, if the current trend line is a declining poverty rate why is a harsh condition like work requirements for the poor necessary currently?
  2. This effort was last tried under Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich with their 1996 welfare reform legislation. We have had a couple decades to see how that has gone and studies like those from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and in the book Making Ends Meet (Edin and Lein) show that despite short term marginal improvements in employment they were not sustainable, mostly due to necessary and increased living expenses, absorbing any work generated financial gains.
  3. Where are these jobs that the poor are supposed to get? If you have spent most of your life in poverty, chances are quite low you can pick up a knowledge-economy job quickly. We have all heard how the traditional manual labor jobs are drying up, so what is left? Lousy-waged part-time jobs with unpredictable and changeable hours is what’s left.
  4. If the government feels the need to pick on somebody shouldn’t it be the employers of vast numbers of unskilled and low-skilled who pay their workers, including the working poor, insufficient wages that in turn need to be underwritten by the American taxpayers?

Now one place where there could be political agreement is in the government providing subsidized high quality work training requirements targeted to helping the poor get the knowledge and skills needed for a globalized and digitized economy. Currently, training requirements can be in lieu of work requirements, but their effectiveness remains questionable. 

The causes and cures for poverty are varied, complex, and far beyond the scope of this piece. But if we as a society are truly interested in ameliorating the condition of poverty (as we should be!) we need to be looking for demonstrably beneficial interventions that measurably make positive differences. Requiring the poor to get a low-end job that increases their childcare and transportation costs just to prove they are not milking the system or making them pay unreasonably for a hand-up from those of us with tax paying means is not a humane way to go about it. 

The State Experiencing an Economic Revival

Posted on by Bill Ryan

In rural 19th century Sutton, New Hampshire population declined following the sheep boom in the late 1840s as farmers abandoned their farms in search of better land in places like Ohio and Indiana. Sutton was not alone. Rural living was proving to be too difficult for many New Hampshire residents of small towns. Young women, if they could, were among those who traveled to Lowell, Massachusetts to work in textile mills and live in boarding houses. This was seen as a step up and better than a life of struggle on desolate unproductive farms. 

At America’s Credit Union Museum on the west side of Manchester is a turn of the last century photograph of hardscrabble young boys posing not in front of their school, but rather beside one of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company’s mills in which they worked. Injuries, death, and child labor among both boys and girls, were common then. The closing of the mills in 1935 hit the Manchester economy hard as did the closing of the Nashua Manufacturing Company in Nashua and the Brown Company paper mill in Berlin, both of which occurred in the 1940s. 

During the summer of 1987 Allied Leather Corp. of Penacook, NH announced it was closing, putting 300 out of work. The New York owners referred to the “tight labor market” and “continuing problems” treating the tannery’s waste. The company had been fined the year before for moving chemicals without a permit. Most of the employees were on their summer vacation when the news of their job losses broke. Plans were made for combining the tannery’s operations with other plants in New York and Pennsylvania. 

New Hampshire has many such economic hardship tales from its 230 years of statehood. When I was young in the 1960s and 1970s, and from Massachusetts, we would hear of the poor people in New Hampshire or “Cow Hampshire” as it was disparagingly called. The people were known as tough, conservative, and independent, but hardly prosperous. 

So, it caught my eye when U.S. News and World Report released its rankings of the Best States for Opportunity this fall. And guess who came out on top, Numero Uno, King of the Hill, #1 out of 50…you guessed it, New Hampshire! To quote them, “New Hampshire, which enjoys among the highest median household incomes in the nation, stood out as No. 1 for opportunity.” 

Let us take a moment to soak this in. Yes, we are surrounded by rancor, political polarization, culture wars, stagnant wages, opioids, automation, globalization, white nationalism, and on and on, but here on this rocky, thinned soiled, forested, mountainous, tick infested, small patch of America we are in the estimation of one journalistic source, with a methodology to back up their claim, the best state in the nation for opportunity. Wow! 

What happened? Some fun facts may help to explain why New Hampshire is now enjoying the most prosperous time in its history. Advanced manufacturing, technology, professional services, healthcare, and of course tourism are strong economic sectors here. Median household income in 2016 was $70,936. Given that the national average that year was $57, 617, we are not doing too badly. 

No personal income or sales tax probably helps, but that has been the case for a long time. Lots of retirees like it here. In fact, we are among the top 3 states with lots of old people. During the Great Recession and its aftermath 246,000 people moved away, but another 247,000 moved in. 

I cannot say exactly what has been New Hampshire’s secret success sauce, but one obvious observation is that modernity is being kind to the state. Somehow, we seem to be converting economic, social, and demographic changes into prosperity. Despite all the bad sky-is-falling news we are bombarded with daily this is a cause for all 1.3 million of us in NH to celebrate. 

Applying Technology in Hiring

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Human contact, whether through professional networking, social connections, or by earned reputation still matters significantly and should in no way be minimized when describing the recruitment and hiring process. If anything, it is paramount. However, another very important track to cover when developing one’s career is the one driven by existing and emerging technologies meant to streamline and optimize the employment process. 

Today this ranges from online job boards advertising positions to Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that parse resumes for HR and recruiters. Also, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning tools, designed to assess the employability of candidates, are now present.  

How to advantageously position yourself for these digital aides and gatekeepers needs to be a key component of a well-planned career growth strategy. Let us take a current look at each of these technical features. 

Online job boards are not very new, in short supply, or complicated. They are little more than interactive web sites that post job descriptions from employers. More recent are job search engines like Indeed and Simply Hired that rummage the internet aggregating job postings from a variety of sources. 

These sites are seductive in that they give the appearance of a job store with profuse amounts of positions just ready for you to pick up while shopping. A common and ineffective ploy is to spend hours responding to jobs on the boards with the only thing generated being recruiters trying to lure you to high turnover 100% commission sales jobs.  

Nonetheless, working with job boards is not a complete waste of time and decent jobs can be yielded. Recommended is to spend about 10% to 20% of your job search time utilizing the boards while being careful and discriminating about what you respond to. 

ATS software allows recruiters to organize vast lists of applicants and their pertinent criteria such as qualifications, employment history, degrees earned, etc., which are most useful to hiring managers when determining who to contact for interviews. For those of us trying to secure an interview we need to be mindful of preparing resumes (and LinkedIn Profiles) that are keyword-rich with contextually used terms aligning our skills and knowledge with responsibilities and deliverables mentioned in job descriptions. 

Therefore, given the need for an ATS-friendly resume that simultaneously is attractive for human readers the challenge is to strike a visually appealing format that won’t confuse the ATS. This can be tricky. If you want a designer resume that looks like those on Pinterest, then forget about passing ATS muster. And with so many companies employing ATS the best strategy may be to pay homage to the many conditions needed to not be digitally rejected in a millisecond, while adding enough optics, and of course solid content, to not have your resume look like just another slice of white bread. Achieving this level of resume optimization is a necessary goal. 

The latest trend, which is expected to proliferate in use and sophistication, involves the impact of AI in hiring decision making. There is a growing perception that relying on a candidate’s skills alone is not consistently producing better employees. The evolving thought is to assess personality more with the goal of finding a well-rounded and compatible colleague.  

To this end, AI is being deployed to identify personality traits gleaned from resumes, online profiles, social media presences, video appearances, you name it. Apparently, this is seen as less biased than human observers. We shall see. (Cannot algorithms be biased too?) 

At any rate, developing a consistent brand and value proposition that includes both your technical talents and your work style/interpersonal characteristics across all platforms may be wise for presenting to human and technological appraisers alike. 

Being prepared for the changes and encroachment of technology into hiring decisions, and by extension career development, has become imperative in today’s employment world. 

Is an MBA Worth Pursuing?

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Earning a Master’s in Business Administration or MBA has long been considered both a difficult challenge to confront, but also a career boosting achievement. An MBA has been shown to increase promotion and employment opportunities and to jump start compensation. However, by the time most business professionals consider returning to school to earn the degree chances are good there is a family with children in place needing considerable attention and a mountain of bills to juggle, including a mortgage. Not to mention, MBAs can cost from $25K up to $100K in tuition, fees, and transportation costs. 

The inevitable question business managers ask themselves is, “Is this worth it?”. Don’t you hate it when someone answers such a question with, “Well, it depends.” So here goes, the answer to whether an MBA is worth pursuing or not is, “Well, it depends”. 

The value of an MBA should depend on more than compensation and promotions as alluring as those are. To obtain the most benefit from the work and expense of earning the degree largely comes down to if you think it is in your career’s interest to develop your talent in several key areas. And it turns out, these are the same attributes many executive managers look for when considering whether to hire a candidate who holds an MBA. 

You probably think I’m talking about astuteness in topics like organizational behavior, finance, accounting, supply chain management, enterprise IT systems, and economics. Of course, these and other subjects comprising an MBA curriculum are important, but what really sells the executive hiring managers are competencies like leadership, communication ability, strategical thinking, interpersonal relationships, and entrepreneurial spirit. These traits can be thought of as the building blocks to managerial excellence. Therefore, it is important to select an MBA program that assists you in developing these strengths. 

Some other useful facts about MBA programs can assist one in their decision making about whether to take the plunge or not. MBA programs most often occur over 18-month to 2-year time periods with students typically earning approximately 40−60 credits representing about 500−600 class hours of graduate-level work. Some programs allow up to 6 years to complete the program. 

A full time student must be dedicated to a concentrated approach but given that many mature MBA students are full time employees there are several alternatives. These include: 

Accelerated: Fast-tracked program with a greater course load and more condensed class and examination schedule over one year. 

Part-Time: Taking three or more years students attend classes after usual working hours, including weekday evenings and/or weekends. 

Modular: A tightly prescribed approach involving a progressive curriculum of class components presented in one to three-week segments. These programs seemed most often to be aligned with EMBA degree programs (see below) or Accelerated programs and are most often to be completed within one to two years. Also, modular often means on-site residency for the length of the given module. 

Executive MBA (EMBA): Designed for working professionals with 10 or more years of management or executive experience. These programs allow earning the degree in two years or less while working full time. 

Distance Learning: Involves classes held off-site from a campus and can include courses held via correspondence, broadcasts, videos, teleconferences, videoconferences, and online formats. 

Hybrid: Also known as blended programs these are a fusion of distance learning with traditionally styled face to face classroom instruction. 

Mini-MBA: This method combines on the job training regimens and requirements that can also be counted as credit-earning coursework toward a university MBA program. Typically, this requires a partnership between a work setting’s training program and a university MBA program. 

Finally, it is important to make sure the program you select is reputable within your industry. Not all MBA programs are of the same caliber, and you do not want to work hard only to find out later that your degree is not enthusiastically embraced by your superiors. 

It is a lot to consider but seeking this level of mastery may just lead to the breakthrough your management career needs. 

A Reason for Employment Inequality

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Much is made of the dearth of economic opportunity and income equality across the U.S. workforce. Though a perennial issue, the conventional wisdom these days more than most appears to be that there are segments of the American population for whom high paying jobs are elusive or non-existent. This belief persists despite the lowest unemployment rate we have seen in nearly twenty years. 

The primary reason, we are told, for this situation boils down to the fact that an automated, globalized, and corporate-led economy produces winners and losers — a somewhat different set of winners and losers apparently than the more nationally-based economy of yesteryear. 

Inequality, or even the perception of it, tends to raise the hackles of key constituencies such as left-leaning individuals and nowadays working class folks who find that many low to mid-skilled jobs are evaporating. These groups agree there is a fundamental unfairness to inequality, and they are inspired to fight against it, sometimes in dramatically different ways, whenever possible. 

One element of inequality that I do not see getting too much attention however pertains to the number of people with a college education vs. those without one. As we look over the last half century or so we can see that this is a significant economic phenomenon. Indeed, the discrepancy between those with and without higher education impacts a variety of inequality factors, including not just income, but housing, community makeups, cultural upbringing, socioeconomics, and social status. 

The number of working-aged Americans with college degrees is steadily rising and now is at or slightly above 40% according to the Lumina Foundation. That is ten times the number compared to a hundred plus years ago when Andrew Carnegie, of all people, claimed college was irrelevant and even damaging. Despite the high cost of college, projections are that attendance will continue to grow another 15% by 2025 (Inside Higher Ed). 

Bruce Cain, a Stanford University political scientist, points out that people with knowledge-based characteristics attributed to being college educated, such as professionally oriented behaviors, digital familiarity, an understanding of financial services, and innovative inclinations, tend to congregate residentially and in employment. In today’s world the “Haves” are most often the ones with a college education, and they like to stick with and hire others of their own kind. It is easy to see how this can appear unequal. 

Many Baby Boomers were raised with the notion that getting a college education would lead to greater economic gain. Although the message is more nuanced these days the central point remains the same. One unintended consequence of this virtue is that it also leads to economic inequality and resentment among those not sharing in the bounty. This acrimony can sometimes be heard among those who have taken an anti-intellectual / anti-education stance, such as when expressing skepticism (to put it politely) regarding the viewpoints of the “elites” and the “establishment”. 

Addressing this imbalance requires initially a level of respect and acknowledgement that we all have something of value to offer. Working toward an economic system that honors and tries to achieve an opportunity-for-all ethic could arise from such a belief. Those who benefit from the hard work and commitment of pursuing higher education can assist those for whom college has not been a viable option through assistance measures designed to encourage greater and more affordable college attendance. 

And for those not choosing to pursue higher ed? The means of providing employment training, entrepreneurial support, and apprenticeship alternatives, along with other opportunity options, could be made more available. Full employment across all socioeconomic groups should always be our collective objective. 

Sharing prosperity across all segments of a pluralistic society is a great challenge. Perhaps we need to see more committed action from those who have succeeded, many of whom profess liberal leanings, to drive opportunity-for-all programs so that no one’s economic prospects are left behind. 

Avoiding Employment Burnout

Posted on by Bill Ryan

It is widely agreed that burning out on the job, any job, is anathema to a satisfying professional life. To be clear, by burnout I am not referring to boredom or lack of inspiration with work, but rather the fear-based high anxiety and psychological debilitation that is the result of overly stressful attributes associated with your job. 

There are some broad points to highlight about employment burnout. For starters, it leads to depressed economic activity. Also, it arises following repeatedly demoralizing dynamics that taken together is negative for the individuals involved and for those close to them. Finally, efforts to structure workplaces and assist people in making wise career choices so that burnout does not occur is progressive. 

I suggest approaching the issue by looking at mitigation solutions that can be practiced by both employers and employees. My premise is that employment burnout is transactional, meaning that both parties play significant roles in its emergence, and they can also collaborate to see its demise. 

It is in employers’ interest to not contribute to the burnout of their talent. Employees cost money to recruit, onboard, and train and they provide the productivity skills needed to keep an enterprise profitable. What employees are not is a consumable resource. Yet, this is how they are often treated. Too many workers toil for longer hours with no appreciable boost in compensation. This includes receiving after-hours emails from management. 

A downside for technology is the way it allows for the workday to be extended and therefore the workload to grow. Reasonable limits on work-creep need to be instituted or employers will see their workforce turnover rate increase. 

In addition to management exhausting their labor pool there is the issue of too many employers not showing adequate understanding of what motivates and energizes employees. High compensation and judicious work hours certainly help, but also to be considered are the conditions that feed the career aspirations of workers, and by extension the profits of companies. When management recognizes the synergy between employee career development wishes and how those can best align with company productivity or organizational mission, we create a win/win situation. Such a happy union is not fertile ground for burnout. 

It is easy to pin all the blame on employers for employee burnout. But that is not entirely fair. When a worker goes into a job with their eyes wide open, knows clearly what is required to succeed, and intentionally tries to find the alignment between their own career development needs and employer enrichment they take ownership and responsibility for avoiding their own burnout. 

I recommend that an employee be guided by some fundamental principles when deciding to select and sustain a particular job. One is to always try to put yourself in a context where you are capitalizing on your strengths and managing your weaknesses. Do well what you are best at doing and allocate as little time as possible to handling those aspects of the job you just are not that good at performing. If these priorities are out of balance in your job, burnout is sure to follow. 

Also important is to make sure your job allows for and hopefully encourages you to continually develop your professional skillset; to interact and collaborate with colleagues and partners such that you are contributing optimally given your talent level; and that you leave each work shift feeling as if you are making a significant difference for yourself, your employer, and the world. With these arrangements in place, you are unlikely to feel the drain leading to burnout. 

Jobs, markets, competition, business success, and profitability are all tough to get just right. It can often seem things are beyond our control. But reducing and eradicating employee burnout is a goal employers and employees can achieve together and prosper from mutually. 

Employment Skills Gap or Lack of Fit

Posted on by Bill Ryan

During the Great Recession and ever since we have heard about a skills gap in America. This is in part responsible for slow productivity, and by extension, slow economic growth. There does seem to be evidence of an employment gap. There are currently 6.2 million jobs unfilled, up from 5.6 in 2016 (Forbes); 45% of small businesses cannot find work-ready candidates (National Federation of Independent Business); and the results of a January 2018 survey of 500 senior executives found that 92% think the candidate pool is not as skilled as it needs to be (Adecco). 

There is plenty of finger pointing going on. Some of the principal criticisms include: 

The education system is outdated and is poorly adapted to preparing students for a fluid economy — one that is heavy on technical and math-based skills. 

Employers at both the corporate and small business levels are not allocating adequate resources to training and apprenticeship programs, leaving workforces skill deficient. 

There is a growing cultural bias against the machine and tool-oriented skills useful in construction, manufacturing, and the trades, discouraging younger workers from selecting those careers. 

Increased automation is creating demand for a more technically proficient job candidate than the current labor market can supply. 

Old jobs are becoming obsolete while newly created ones are being generated at a brisk pace which the economy struggles to keep up with. 

Soft skills, such as those which emphasize collaboration, communication, and teamwork are not being acquired sufficiently at home, school, and in the community. 

Job creation is so fast and unemployment so low given the robust economy that labor does not have the time or means to adjust. 

The problem is unmotivated workers who do not want to take menial jobs or work the night shift, or who like their drugs more than work, or who are spoiled youngsters used to having everything handed to them. 

It is likely that all these factors play some role in why there are so many unfilled jobs. One would think this is a simple supply and demand problem to remedy. Identify the specific skills needed by most employers and then have the education and training providers upskill students and workers to learn and master the required competencies. But apparently doing so is not so simple. 

What strikes me in the research on this topic is that there are practically no lists of specific skills that are in short supply. We can find the career areas where there are shortages, for example in nursing, industrial technicians, computer network specialists, and so on, but exactly what the elusive skills are appears to be largely a mystery.  

This suggests to me that there may not be a skills gap at all, but rather a failing in the way individuals are aligned with work for which they are best suited. In other words, there may be a lack of fit between too many workers and employment opportunities. 

This lack of fit problem is not new. Over the past century or so it has been a challenge to match increased numbers of workers with burgeoning career options. Indeed, the career development field arose out of a need to address this issue.  

What is new, perhaps, is the escalating scale and scope of unprecedented numbers of prospective workers and career opportunities. The degree of guidance, counseling, and training by schools, businesses, professional associations, and other stakeholders to better improve aligning available labor with employment demand may need greater attention than has been accessible to date. 

If true full employment is to be achieved, and with it the benefits of economic growth and widely spread prosperity, then it seems it is in everyone’s interest to insist on refining the processes whereby workers can access high quality counseling and training to best meet employment scarcity. Government, education, and business could partner more effectively to forge solutions. 

The gap we are now facing may be more of shared commitment and engagement rather than of skills. 

Reclaiming Civility in the Workplace

Posted on by Bill Ryan

As I pen this piece, during one of the final days of 2017, my mind reflects over the tumultuous year just passed. In my judgment, it has not been a good one. A dominant reason for my opinion has to do with what I see as stark evidence of the deterioration of civil behavior. 

This year exhibited degradation of civility on two fronts. One is the startling revelations in recent months of sexual impropriety in the workplace and beyond that are historic and pervasive. The second, which is relatively new to the scene, is the detestable leadership style being practiced and modeled by the President of the United States. 

The civility downturn issue I raise here elevates to a cultural level, but in keeping with the career and employment theme of these pieces, I’ll confine my thoughts to the effect declining civil discourse and offensive interactions are having and could continue to have in the places where we work. 

To begin, let us contemplate the monumental disclosures and resulting tolerance shift commonly known as the #MeToo movement. Since women increased the pace of sharing professional employment roles in far greater numbers than ever approximately fifty years ago, true workforce equity has been elusive. The combination of rigid gender stereotypes, the inherent inequality of hierarchical structures, and the sexual tension palpable among some co-workers establishes an environment in which predatory behavior occurs. Women who forcefully reject such treatment and men who understand its fundamental unfairness are now letting those in power know enough is enough. 

This social shift is long overdue and compels management across all industries, still mostly occupied by men, to participate and collaborate with female colleagues on equal footing and to dissolve outdated norms. It is hard to imagine that the clock will ever turn back. Managers and co-workers alike are on notice that behavior which violates basic decency against others in a sexual manner could well result in career ending consequences. 

The other and more recent challenge to our declining pattern of civil engagement with potential impact to the workplace is embodied by President Trump. To be clear, I am not interested in scoring political points and my claim here is not intended to be partisan, but Donald Trump’s model for success and leadership is debased, contrary to decency, and a disgraceful example of how those in powerful positions should act. 

The serial lying, bullying provocations, juvenile name calling, lack of intellectual engrossment, and pathetic narcissism represent leadership at its worst. Is there really a political ideology or set of guiding principles so valuable that it justifies these leadership behaviors? Having such a role model speaking on behalf of our nation, occupying a position that influences our youth, and demonstrating that this is what American success now looks like is an embarrassment and affront to our values as a country. 

It is imperative that Americans of moral character and basic virtue rise above the example set by our president and to show the true spirit of civility in the workplace and elsewhere. It can reasonably be argued that as a people over time we have abandoned shared responsibility in a move toward a selfish and a self-centered style of economic individualism. Perhaps President Trump’s mannerisms reflect how far this has gone. 

The year 2017 has given us a wake-up call. We can rally and repair by first admitting some deep-seated flaws exist in the way we interact in the areas of mutual respect and collective caring. The forces against us are formidable. Our positive tendencies are for the time sidelined. Let us not just hope for a better and more civil 2018 but let us actively work toward making it happen. We are better than this. 

Networking Can be More than Self-Promotion

Posted on by Bill Ryan

A difficult career development concept for many to accept is the notion that networking, by which means the building and cultivating of a group of professionally oriented contacts, is necessary to grow and flourish a career. Many smart and valued contributors to the workplace are uncomfortable with an exercise that for them feels unnatural, contrived, and manipulative. There are of course those who are extroverted and who blossom at opportunities to engage in lively social interaction, but for many others the tedium of incessant outreach is viewed as an awkward burden and obligation. 

However, networking is not to be entirely avoided. One does not have to research too deeply to find that networking has powerful advantages such as increasing the amount of job, business, and advancement opportunities available; deepening one’s understanding of their profession’s best practices and current trends; and enhancing one’s reputation and status within their chosen profession. Taken together it is reasonable to say that networking leads to greater career satisfaction. 

So how can one bridge the gap between a practice that should be followed, but which also invokes such negative feelings? The answer may be in re-framing how networking can be viewed. Instead of seeing it as an inauthentic and unscrupulous display of self-promotion, try embracing one or more of several different outlooks. These can include: 

Networking as a learning opportunity: Approach interactions with fellow professionals and others related in some way to what you do as chances to learn. Other stakeholders in your career field have had similar, different, and varied experiences that together can provide you with valuable information and perspectives leaving you more informed and open to more possibilities. As you approach more knowledgeable resources for assistance to become more educated when needed, think of the individuals with whom you interact in networking similarly. 

Networking as sharing and teaching: The converse of the point made above is another method to be considered. You undoubtedly have information that can enrich and inform others in your field thereby initiating and establishing quality relationships simply through sharing. Be open to disclosing what you understand professionally in addition to what you do not know. Also, be clear in your own mind about what you have to offer others. Comprehending what you know that may be of value to others could be difficult, especially if you are reticent to recognize your accomplishments. Therefore, try to not hesitate to share your achievements in the spirit of helping others. 

Networking as finding common ground and shared concerns: It is a typical practice when we meet someone for the first time to look for a piece of information or experience that we have in common. Doing so gives us a connection from which we can build a relationship. Networking is no different. Reach out to others with the goal of finding common ground, areas of agreement, identical perceptions on trends, similar problems to solve, or networking contacts you both share. The list can go on. Finding where your spheres of experience intersect can make these types of interactions more pleasurable and productive. 

Networking as group representation: A significant part of the discomfort with networking is that it is seen as too self-centered. What if you engaged in the practice by seeing yourself as a proxy for your employer, professional association, or for your career field as a whole? By doing so your promotional oriented outreach becomes part of a larger goal or aspiration intended to benefit others on behalf of your profession and not just abetting yourself. While presenting yourself on behalf of others you will necessarily be authenticating your own position, standing, and reputation. 

In a world where extroverts are in the majority, it can be arduous for the one third to one half of the population who are introverted to function in highly social situations. Hopefully, re-orienting how you view networking activities can make them more positive and advantageous for your career. 

Consider a Career in Gaming

Posted on by Bill Ryan

I recently conversed with an old friend who was transitioning into retirement from a lifelong career as a golf course owner and superintendent. He shared with me his observation of a decline in the golf business in recent years not only at his course, but at others in his region (South Coast Massachusetts), and indeed nationally. 

Not being a golfer myself I did a little research and found that the industry is either thriving or declining depending on who you talk to. PGA officials point to statistics that paint a rosy picture of the game’s future, but other sources, such as The Economist for instance, show years of net golf course closures since 2006 and a drop of five million players since the game’s participant high point. 

In the case of my friend there was an unmistakable reduction in players at his course. I asked why this was the case thinking that recreational activity in general seems robust. His unscientific conclusion is that younger game players are choosing online gaming over golf. 

Online or digital gaming is big business. In looking at sources that track gaming data I found the following: Worldwide revenues in 2017 reaching $109B this year with 42% coming from mobile gaming (Newzoo); $18.4B of those revenues are being generated in the U.S. alone (Statista); and in May 2017, 9% year-over-year market growth was measured (SuperData Research). Unless you live in a cave, it is obvious anecdotally that lots of people enjoy spending lots of time gaming on devices. 

To try getting a better understanding of this phenomenon and how it relates to current and future careers I spoke with Ryan Smith, a New Hampshire-based game programmer, consultant, and game design instructor. Before our conversation, my image of a video gamer was restricted to adolescent boys in front of a console tethered to the family television. Ryan, who has been a gamer all his life and who earned a degree in game design from SNHU, has considerable background in this field both technically and culturally. 

Ryan began by sharing that digital gaming is now an entertainment industry double in size to the movie and music industries combined. Increasingly, women and older players are indulging in digital gaming. Gaming devices are grouped into PCs, consoles, and mobile categories with the first two losing market share to mobile.  

As interesting as these facts are, what I really wanted was a sense of what motivated players to play. Not being a gamer myself, I was curious about what is so appealing about this pastime to produce such a high level of engagement. 

According to Ryan, the attraction rests in otherworldly immersion where one can live out dreams and fantasies not possible in reality. There exists a level of interactive control, instant gratification, and risk taking that is not possible in ordinary day to day life. This leads to an expressive activity that is more stimulating and satisfying than the passive receptivity one gets from watching movies or listening to music — and it would seem more provocative than trying to refine a physical skill such as golfing. This type of engrossment is centered around action themes, stories, and scenarios, but is so enthralling apparently as to become a unique experience not found in more traditional amusements. 

The industry is trending toward more social, networked, and global gaming experiences with platforms known as Massively Multiplayer Online or MMOs and identity/community simulations. The other game changer, if you will, is the introduction of Virtual Reality (VR), a technological sensation that places a player more realistically into an imaginary environment. 

There are benefits to gaming aside from entertainment says Ryan. Discipline, motivation, eye-hand coordination, faster decision making, brain training and yes, even social skills can be enhanced through gaming. 

Digital gaming is a classic case of a newly disruptive industry changing a traditional landscape and presenting new employment opportunities not previously available. Despite the playfulness implied in gaming, a market this big must be taken seriously. 

Educating for Impending Careers

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Many of us in the United States were educated as children and young adults so that we could succeed both as citizens sustaining our democratic way of life and as productive workers able to sustain ourselves and our families economically. For the most part, the combination of public and private K–12 schools and higher education universities and colleges has served us quite well. We are by and large a well-educated and constructive populace. 

But can we rely on the old-school methodologies to sustain us for a world of work that will be characterized as mercurial and erratic calling for agility, adaptability, and rapid evolution? There is reason to think not. An economy that is experiencing increased speed and transformation will not be well served by an educational structure and model designed to prepare students for a relatively static and predictable work world. 

Let us examine the existing paradigm that traditionally and currently defines most American high schools and colleges. There are two patterns at play based on the concepts of liberal education and career-focused education. By the time a student reaches high school they select or have selected for them one of these persuasions or the other. 

Liberal (or liberal arts) education refers to an approach that encourages a broad and diverse exposure to fundamental and diverse subject matter with the goal being to educate a student for a complex world requiring a variety of perspectives, skills, and areas of knowledge. When and if college is reached, the student fits into this mix a concentrated focus in one or more disciplines. 

A career-focused or vocational path on the other hand focuses much more on preparing the student for a relevant job that is in demand in the workforce. Breadth gives way to depth in that a craft or skillset demonstrably employable is chosen, studied, and eventually mastered by the student. 

To be clear, I am not suggesting that there is anything fundamentally wrong with these models. My concern is in the traditional modes of delivery of the designs. We are still under the assumption that a high school diploma and/or college degree program that terminates upon graduation is enough to provide a student for a lifetime career. It used to be. However, projections are that it will not be enough going forward. 

The workplace and its career needs are becoming increasingly digitized and globalized, resulting in an urgency for malleable, resilient, and entrepreneurial workers to address the ever-vibrant economic demands across the planet. To maintain these attributes workers will need to accept and embrace continuous lifelong learning, upskilling, and training to keep up and stay ahead. Schooling will never end. In fact, it will become an integral and ongoing part of any advantageous job worth having for most people. 

We will likely see a time when liberal and career-focused methods become more of an as-needed hybrid with a greater proliferation of skill and knowledge-based certification and training programs not necessarily tied to slow moving traditional education settings. Students, employees, and educators will begin migrating more intentionally into online, virtual, and yes, brick & mortar learning facilities that offer the highest quality, data driven, short and long-term instruction essential to the requirements of the emerging economy. 

As an educator myself with 31 years in public schools and 5 years as a part time college adjunct I can say with some certainty that this industry will not on its own move in this direction without a lot of resistance. There are many entrenched interests compelled to resist such changes.  

A more responsive and pragmatic instructional delivery will likely arise from a combination of innovative educators and demanding students and employees requiring relevant reactive instruction. We can all begin by getting our heads around the concept of lifelong learning. I predict it will be far more energizing and efficient and much less stuck and draining. 

The Continued Evolution of LinkedIn

Posted on by Bill Ryan

The professional, business, and employment social media online platform LinkedIn is at it again, but in a bigger way this time. As individuals who regularly use LinkedIn to source talent, post jobs, display professional profiles, or network with other users we know that LinkedIn frequently tinkers with the interface to “improve” usability. It has always been a dynamic and growing service and one must assume they are doing something right with $3B+ in annual revenue and 460+ million user accounts worldwide. Not bad for a novel concept that first went live in 2003. 

The latest big set of changes has been rolling out for the past couple of months following the completed acquisition of LinkedIn by Microsoft in December 2016. Time will tell of course if this will be a good move for both parties. Let us hope this deal does not go the way of doomed Microsoft ventures like Nokia’s handset and aQuantive software. However, given the financial heft and prominent position in the digital services market Microsoft enjoys it is reasonable to expect that this takeover will boost LinkedIn’s standing and influence in the career and employment services space. 

Without getting into the weeds of all the many new minute interaction changes of the website, and there are enough, so that a new learning curve has appeared to get familiar with the site, it nevertheless appears to someone like me that I am increasingly finding LinkedIn to be my digital place to go to work. And I am not alone, Logging into LinkedIn.com is becoming my virtual commute to a real job. 

As in a traditional workplace there are those I work with frequently and closely on a project, those I know remotely, and those I am reaching out to as potential sources of value and opportunity. It is in these areas of taking connectivity among professional people to a more functional, transparent, and far-reaching level where LinkedIn holds great promise. 

The effects of globalization have thankfully become a hotly debated issue politically, but in the world of e-commerce impacted as it is by the powers of social media and crowd sourcing, the players are not waiting around for slow moving governments to set the rules. Global inter-connectivity and commerce is just starting to get ramped-up via international platforms like LinkedIn. It looks like we are heading into a world in which small-scaled and remote outreaches among millions of entrepreneurs, freelancers, microbusinesses, and small businesses across the planet can be exchanged 24/7. 

LinkedIn, and now by extension Microsoft, are betting on this proliferation of e-business, so much so that there is a mission to “economically graph” the world through its site. What does this mean? As Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn’s CEO puts it, they are committed to digitally mapping the global economy by building a profile for every member of the international workforce and for every company in the world. 

Further they intend to digitally list every available job in real refreshed time, list every skill needed to perform those jobs, and identify every school or training facility providing the skill instruction needed to perform these jobs. Facilitating an efficient, timely, and rich flow of information that connects these dots completes the goal. 

Given this infrastructure the potential for enriching current employment, business development, and career needs while also fulfilling the talent requirements for the innumerable jobs of the future seems highly likely. 

An expansive vision of the possibilities e-commerce and e-networking can deliver should be embraced. Many new careers can be made from leveraging a dynamic global economy. Engaging in international business does not any longer have to just be reserved for large multi-national corporations. If one can get a higher quality business or career solution from New Zealand rather than from New Hampshire no matter where in the world one lives, we should expect that to be the new normal and compete appropriately. 

The Challenge of Working Class Employment

Posted on by Bill Ryan

The recent presidential election has put the demands and anger of the working class front and center in America’s attention. The economic and cultural influences brought on by encroaching globalization and automation are changing employment — and by extension many people’s lives, in ways that are deeply unsettling and unpredictable. 

The short-term fix appears to be an electorate choosing a new president who has a penchant for, shall we say, over-promising what he can do about the situation. If these promises are combined with under-delivering in the creation of jobs for this cohort over the next few years, then we will likely be playing out another struggle for what, if anything, the government can do about employment during the 2020 election. 

I hesitate to look to the professional class for solutions to the employment and lifestyle anxiety being felt by the working class. Ultimately, this more economically disadvantaged group needs leadership to help them assess and adapt to the new world order that is increasingly being driven by globalization and automation. 

Neither political party is adequately providing the needed tough love leadership and straight talk to the working class. We hear plenty about nostalgia for the good old days or that the real problem was due to hoarding by the rich, but when has anyone acknowledged that world markets are moving toward knowledge-based economies that call for fundamental changes in the way workers plan for employment? Unfortunately, we never hear it. 

We are witnessing large-scale worker displacement. I for one do not see an end in sight. So, when contemplating the best course of action for those who have chosen to curtail their education at the high school level and work in traditional industries it is difficult to see a quick and easy fix. 

To say everyone should go to college is over-simplistic. To say we should reverse the march of time is unrealistic. This country has a serious problem on its hands and if nothing else the presidential election of 2016 has given us substance for a serious debate about where we go from here. 

One thing is clear — employment will continue to go to those with skills and expertise that are marketable. Increasingly, these jobs will be technical and specialized and require considerable education and training. However, not everyone is going to be driven to be a maven in some area. It still should be okay that some people just want a half-way decent job with reasonable compensation and not be looking to set the world on fire with their careers. The question becomes how should an individual with limited education and a strong desire to work in a traditional or straightforward job plan for their future? 

I was recently drawn to the November 2016 New Hampshire Economic Conditions issue published by the state’s Employment Security department’s Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau. Their feature story looks at both “Specialized” and “Baseline” skills most in demand in New Hampshire’s labor markets as derived from an analysis of online job postings. What struck me when reading this report is that it is a window, albeit a small one, into a way of measuring what employers want, in other words what is marketable. And given the context of this piece it is the baseline skills I’m most interested in, since as the qualifier suggests these are skills that do not require a lot of education. 

The most frequently listed baseline skills were communication, writing, multi-tasking, time management, detail orientation, planning, and being organized. Nothing too earth- shattering here. These are the kinds of things someone can do that are desired in the workplace and do not require sophisticated preparation. Perhaps, identifying the basic old-school abilities is where the working class should look to begin or restore their marketability in an uncertain world. 

Let us keep this conversation going. The people showed they are willing to overlook a lot of things in a new president in order to be heard. So, what should they be hearing? 

Workforce Shortages and Your Career

Posted on by Bill Ryan

I guess it is a sign of improvement when a new problem can be seen as less egregious than a previously harder to solve problem. For much of the past eight years we have concerned ourselves with getting people back to work — any work. To a large extent that has happened. Unemployment rates and the number of workers who can say they have a job are back to pre-recession levels. So now we have the “luxury” of concentrating on a replacement problem. That is the issue of workforce and labor shortages. 

U.S. employers are struggling to find qualified workers in several fields, resulting in business expansion difficulties and by extension national economic constraints. It does not sound as bad as the employment bounce-back the recession threw at us, and it should not be. However, if left unsolved it could become another factor reducing our global competitiveness and economic growth, spurring calls for talent immigration, automation, and offshoring. 

At an individual level, the college student trying to select a major; the college graduate attempting to launch a career; the established professional looking to make a career transition; and the entrepreneur seeking lucrative opportunities, are among those who may benefit from an analysis of where the workforce shortages currently exist and where employment projections are anticipated. Although such knowledge and considerations are not necessarily paramount determiners of one’s career development, they are worth investigating to see if an alignment exists between these trends and one’s enduring or potential value proposition. 

There are several reasons for the decline in qualified workers with demographics being the big one. The aging of Baby Boomers is naturally leading to more retirements. Domestically, there are not enough replacements for these retirees. Ten years ago, 400,000 workers retired per year . That number has risen to 1.2 million today. 

Also, the older population creates increased demand in fields such as healthcare where more workers are needed than in the past. For example, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and even doctors are already in short supply and are still expected to be in the future. 

However, it is not just in healthcare where shortages exist. To be honest it does not appear that labor deficits are confined to just several industries, but rather that it is a more widespread phenomenon. Even declining industries, such as manufacturing, are experiencing acute scarcities. 

Of course, not having enough workers trained with specific skillsets compounds the problem, but largely it is coming down to some basic math. Our bench is not populated enough to fill the number of vacating positions. 

This should be good news for working-aged people. It suggests there could potentially be many fields and openings to pick from. Other benefits over time should include rising wages and continuously improving working conditions designed to retain talent. 

To best position yourself to take advantage of this general opportunity some other trend lines should be considered. The Bureau of Labor Statistics foresees service sector jobs capturing 95% of newly created positions between now and 2024. Healthcare as mentioned above, and social assistance jobs together will become the largest area of employment, surpassing government and business services jobs. 

Technical occupations will also grow in number and demand will increase looking forward. Automation will eliminate some jobs to be sure, but more likely is that technology will transform jobs that still need a person involved. The energy, transportation, and data analysis sectors are among those in need of technically trained people who can interact with and leverage technology productively. 

I do not want to treat too lightly the menace workforce shortages can have economically and socially. It is a serious issue, especially for some businesses poised to grow and expand. Yet, compared to the recessionary years, I see more opportunity here than threat for the existing workforce. This allows new workforce entries to ensure they are selecting careers that can best fit their skillsets. 

Being What You Were Meant to Be

Posted on by Bill Ryan

In general, career competitiveness is likely to get, well, more competitive in the coming years. There are several factors indicating that to secure and retain a truly meaningful and satisfying career each of us will need to manage stiffer headwinds. We may not be able to change the wind velocity or direction, but we can adjust our sails. 

What headwinds am I referring to? Well, as anyone who has read my pieces before knows the two principal factors impacting the future of work in the U.S. and around the world are globalization and automation. These alone are introducing a host of competitive actors, both living and non-living. Being able to offer more employment value than other people around the planet, and more than the machines which are getting better at reproducing routine and now even sophisticated tasks, makes for a tough challenge. 

Beyond the gales emanating from an increasingly integrated and technology-based economy are those of our own making. We all tend to make unforced errors that result in establishing the right career more difficult. These are the impediments we throw in front of ourselves that come from flawed thinking and behavior patterns residing deep in our psyches. And with career competition expanding due to forces beyond our control, let us at least agree it is wise to confront the missteps we tend to cause ourselves. 

Who among us cannot identify imperfect responses of our own making, many of which are based in the way we make decisions? Perhaps, we are too impatient and restless wanting quick resolutions to problems and clarity to uncertainty before the best course of action has been adequately determined. 

Stress also affects the way we decide, and it usually does so in a way that quickly mitigates temporarily the stress at the expense of a better longer-term outcome. Any actions that take us away from a carefully planned and systematic approach to making the big decisions in our lives, such as choosing and setting courses for a career, will weaken our competitiveness. 

Decision making can be thought of as a process with sequential steps to be followed. It begins with clearly identifying the decision to be made, then gathering necessary information, spotting alternatives, assessing evidence, selecting options, acting, and reviewing the chosen conclusion. Doing this well requires discipline and strength of mind, but the higher quality decision making that can emerge better positions us for career competition we will face. 

The practice of reflection also can play a powerful role in navigating through uncharted waters. The Benedictine nun, author, and speaker Joan Chittister is quoted as saying, “Find the thing that stirs your heart and make room for it. Life is about the development of self to the point of unbridled joy.”   

The same can be said about our careers. As we reflect on what matters most to us and what jobs need to be done in the world, then we can best merge the two to find our career choice. Our way to realizing our career becomes more apparent. 

The signs of how we should work have always been there. They began in childhood and have followed us through maturity. How we perceive and become aware of things, people, events, and ideas followed by the conclusions we make about these phenomena shape who we become as people and as career professionals. 

The interests we cultivate, the values we hold dear, the motivations that propel us, and the skills we develop lead to a unique set of criteria that form the foundation of our value proposition. In other words, they make us competitive. Reflect on what that is for you. 

We can look ahead and fear the storm clouds, or we can accept the adverse winds as a call to action to improve our competitiveness and to be the professionals we were meant to be. 

The Growth of Cognitive Careers

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Economies, and by extension careers, reward those human characteristics most in demand. When muscular strength was most in need during times dominated by agriculture and mechanical ability became required to operate and maintain machinery during the industrial age, those abilities were rewarded and revered leading to employment for those possessing such skills. 

The age we have now entered, particularly since the invention of the microprocessor, is one around which cognitive competency or intelligence is highly honored. High paying and stimulating jobs are increasingly going to the smartest among us and there is no end in sight of this trend. 

Historically, there has always been a need for intelligent people, but the correlation between cognitive ability and compensation was never as strong as it is today. One could have been an astute lawyer, financial planner, or mathematician at the turn of the 20th century, but the economy just did not reward those people at the levels that can be done today. We have created a much more complex economy requiring well-informed, inventive, and knowledgeable people who can navigate and derive value from what is for many of us a puzzling network of esoteric information in so many areas. The employment landscape for people with certain kinds of cognitive capacity is flourishing. 

For years we have heard about high unemployment rates and at the same time we have heard there is not enough talent to hire for hard to fill positions. The jobs that are vacant seek individuals with know-how in management, engineering, data analysis, and many other areas where information processing, creativity, and workforce resourcefulness is called for. 

Professionalism is deepening across fields that include medicine/healthcare, law, higher education, the sciences, the military, advanced manufacturing, and finance. Routine and relatively low-skilled operations will not bring competitive advantages to these career categories. Only accelerated thinking will. 

As a result, we are seeing the growth of an educated class. According to the U.S. Census Bureau only 4.6% of the U.S. population had attained bachelor’s degrees or higher in 1940. Today it is 32%. As this educated class continues to earn at relatively robust rates it appears to create an impression of inequality and disenfranchisement, such as we see being exploited in our current presidential election. 

However, meeting the cognitive demands of a more intricate and perplexing economy requires educated people. Blaming success is not enough to improve the lot of us all. Directing one’s individual energies to where the expertise is most needed will. 

The number of us prepared to optimally function in the globalized cognitive economy is not enough if we are to continue being among the world’s leaders in innovation, business, and social transformation. Without relatively easy access to higher education for those with the potential to take the most advantage of this opportunity means we all lose. Let us agree that lifelong learning is essential for each one of us and entry into a college experience that challenges and pushes us to maximize our cerebral capacity benefits us personally and collectively. 

However, the expense of higher education is too high and makes going to college prohibitive for too many Americans. The cost of college has risen too much and too fast. To put this cost hike into perspective the New York Times’ Economix blog shows that since 1985 the cost of general consumer items has jumped 200+%, gasoline prices have risen approximately 300%, and medical care 350%. But college tuition and fees — 575%! Are you kidding me? How is this in our best interests? This destructive level of inflation needs to be controlled. Our long-term economic development relies on it. 

Equality of opportunity is a virtue and should be the basis of much of our public policy. Opportunity is stifled when only the rich can afford to go to college. Opening the doors to higher education invites more participation in cognitive careers and expands the education class to more inclusiveness. 

The Employment Challenge of the White, Blue-Collar Worker

Posted on by Bill Ryan

So, here we are amid the 2016 Presidential race, an election cycle that is likely to go down in American history as one of the most unusual and unpredictable contests ever for selecting our next president. A chief factor contributing to the volatility of this election concerns a rarely seen and powerful reaction coming from a cohort that has been with us for well over a hundred years — the racially white, economically middle class, high school-only educated worker, once commonly referred to as the blue-collar worker. 

The anxiety, fear, uncertainty, and anger of this significant electoral group has shaken up and defined this cycle’s race in a way that most of us, including the political pundits who follow this stuff for a living, did not see coming. This class angst has led to the rapid rise of at least two presidential candidates, who were not expected to be major players when they entered the fray and is driving much of the conversation among all of those still contending for the big prize. 

There are concrete and measurable reasons for the white, blue-collar worker to be apprehensive and they fall across economic, racial/ethnic, demographic, and educational domains. Technology is eliminating many low and mid-skilled jobs. Globalization is increasing competition. Whites are seeing minorities increase in numbers and power sharing. Having less than a college degree puts one at a greater employment disadvantage. When members of this contingent, particularly males, see that their fathers had an easier time achieving the middle class dream than they can, then a deep demoralization sets in. 

A report by two economists that received much attention at the end of last year showed that death rates for white, less-educated Americans aged 45–54 have increased since 1999. Drug/alcohol-related deaths and suicide are propelling this boost. Clearly, something is amiss, and it appears to have reached a breaking point with this election. 

The social and economic causal conditions mentioned are colossal and not reversible. Oversimplified diagnoses coupled with over-promising, which is what presidential candidates largely seem to be offering, will not allay the real fear people are feeling. Strong leadership that empathically acknowledges the discomfort, unease, and confusion people are feeling is a start. But rather than offering unrealistic and bombastic “solutions” it needs to be recognized that as a country we need to rally around outcomes that do not pit one class, race, or ethnic group against another, but instead meet these complex challenges with national resolve. 

In a word, jobs are at the crux of this issue. It is reasonable to ask, what is the white, blue-collar worker with only a high school education to do? To begin answering this I go way back to Aristotle who said that in order to achieve true happiness we must depend on ourselves. Of course, collective action politically and economically is important, but most fundamentally each of must assess on our own the world we are now in and determine for ourselves the best course of action to take for sustainable employment given the daunting headwinds we face. This takes clear, critical, and reflective thinking, resulting in high quality decision making. 

Each of us needs to think of ourselves as an entrepreneur. No, we are not all going to start businesses, but we are going to be approaching our careers similarly by developing, organizing, and managing the enterprise of “myself”. This involves initiative, risk, and when done well, reward. A good entrepreneur finds opportunities from among many distractions, they are innovative when conventional approaches do not work, and they are organized and productive in meeting their goals. Does being like an entrepreneur require a college degree? For many yes, for others no. 

There is a lot of need in the world. We are far from saturating all the actual and potential jobs that are or will be available. Triggering an action with an uncertain outcome is not easy and it is fraught with unpredictability, but our careers depend on it — even for the white, blue-collar worker. 

Promote Your Expertise with LinkedIn

Posted on by Bill Ryan

There are significant reasons for sharing your career field expertise with others. Doing so, 

  1. a) establishes you as a qualified and trusted resource among colleagues, management, and customers;
  2. b) aligns you with other experts, thereby enhancing your comprehension and skill capacity;
  3. c) better positions you for future career advancement opportunities; and
  4. d) brings you the profound satisfaction that comes from becoming an emerging master within your profession.

LinkedIn, the professional social media platform where we have all heard we are supposed to be present, has developed into an excellent tool for communicating, sharing, and promoting your expertise. Utilization of LinkedIn and its core features can result in you having the means of crafting a powerful and multi-dimensional message for all those seeking the sound judgment and competence you can provide. 

Given the LinkedIn development team’s commitment to dynamism and continuous improvement, today the site is a fine-tuned mechanism for you the career specialist to hone and project your know-how. Let’s review the ways this can happen. 

I predict the online profile/portfolio hybrid will eventually replace the traditional resume. I cannot say exactly when this will happen, but we seem to be headed in that direction. Easy access to your profile will be mandatory and expected. So, there is no better time than the present to start getting on with this trend. 

LinkedIn allows you to tell your professional story in the first person without the constraints of resume conventions. Fill out your profile as completely as possible. Use the Summary to introduce yourself in an engaging manner that discloses how your journey began, how your passion was ignited, and where you see the industry and your role in it headed. 

The Experience section should be packed with accomplishments — the more quantifiable the better. 

The Skills & Endorsement piece should be keyword-rich, and your headline needs to communicate your career title, not your current job title. Oh, and don’t forget a professional headshot, not a detail cropped out of a wedding picture. 

LinkedIn’s advancement in becoming a repository for work samples, slide shows, videos, and yes, your traditional resume among other valuable pieces, has been a smart move permitting professionals to now have the means to post performance evidence that can speak louder than words alone. Populate this area with artifacts that pop and make your efforts shine. Show future employers and potential business opportunities what level of quality you can deliver. 

Blogging and publishing online pieces where you expound on industry-related topics and issues of the day is now available with LinkedIn. Have something of peer interest to write and the readers will come out of the woodwork. Let this feature be a megaphone for your expertise. Clarify current trends and best practices. Showcase pertinent strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats impacting your terrain. Detail the steps that need to be taken to improve conditions. Be a regular contributor and become a respected voice. 

Perhaps, one of the strongest elements in LinkedIn is the Groups. Here is where you can boost your industry presence and generate and cultivate high value connections. Involving yourself in timely and relevant subject matter with other experts and stakeholders benefits all participants and deepens your career association. Not only can you increase your visibility, but you can amplify your knowledge to those wanting and needing to hear your input. Also, being able to contact individuals directly gives you favorable circumstances for building that all important professional network. 

I still hear from too many clients something that goes like, “Yeah, I’m on LinkedIn, but I don’t really know what to do with it.” Well, I hope this is in part, somewhat illuminating to you in this cohort. In short, if you are serious about your career, you need to be serious about LinkedIn. 

Your Identity and Your Career

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Many of us tend to think of ourselves in terms of what we do. When asked, “Who are you?”, we give answers such as, “I am a dental hygienist,” or “I’m a firefighter,” or “I do banking.” The work we do, which takes up large amounts of our time and energy and that we are particularly proud of doing, can serve as the springboard for our identity or how we come to think of ourselves. 

There is nothing inherently wrong in linking our self-concept to our work and careers. When we apply labels to ourselves, we feel a kind of stability and having an identifiable place in society. However, there can be a degree to which we perceive ourselves too closely to our career pursuits, such that we risk isolation and identity confusion should our work routines and conditions change in ways that are beyond our control. 

The phenomenon I am trying to describe became glaringly obvious during the many years of recession layoffs. Millions of professional workers whose self-identification had for years been bound to their careers suddenly found themselves not only out of work but feeling severed from a specialist status they had long enjoyed due their inability to any longer find suitable employment in their respective fields. 

To compound this disruption, especially for those who held employment with the same firm or institution for years if not decades, came the loss of the day-to-day affinity with co-workers, many of whom became close friends. Often we find spending as much or more time with colleagues as with members of our own families not at all unusual. The undoing of these compatriot relationships was quite jarring. 

So, how do you know if you are dedicating too much of your identity to your career? If you are fearful of a resulting void should your career dramatically change or dissolve from under you that is an indication you are investing too much of your identity in what you do for work. If those closest to you frequently remark that you are a workaholic, then it is possible you are too hitched to your career. If your social network amounts primarily to those with whom you work on the job, then you are truncating what could be a more expansive community. 

But you might ask, if we strip ourselves of our career identity what is left? Our careers are certainly major players in our lives. They deliver more than just a livelihood; they consume so much time and energy that it can become natural to think we are what we do. 

The challenge is to expand the vision of ourselves so that it comprises a 360-degree perspective of which career is a part, albeit a big part. When we think of ourselves as primarily a teacher or an accountant or whatever, we give short shrift to those other valuable elements, which together compose a full personality or identity. Our emotional, behavioral, intellectual, and spiritual attributes expressed during, but also beyond the workplace, contribute to making each of us a unique collage not easily summarized. 

Perhaps, now is a good time to begin thinking of our legacies. Now, I am not trying to rush anyone into an early grave, but by imagining how we will be remembered allows us to get a clearer view of who we are.  

We are made up of a vast number of qualities that hopefully make us interesting, trusted, and pleasant to be around. Basically, we want to be thought of as exemplifying positive traits and contributing to making the world a better place. Reliance on just career accomplishments, as important as they are, can limit our reputations and identities. 

Establishing and cultivating an overall dignified distinction and legacy of merit just might leave us with an identity with which we can be content. 

The State of Careers in New Hampshire

Posted on by Bill Ryan

The 2014 In Review: Recovery report recently released by the New Hampshire Employment Security Department and the Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau is a very detailed and informative analysis of New Hampshire’s post -recession economy.

In addition to being concerned about the economic health of my state as a citizen, I am also intrigued by the report’s implications for the careers of all New Hampshire workers. I have read the report in an attempt to identify some useful indicators in determining the current and future status of career development opportunities for the state’s workforce. What follows are my career-related takeaways from 2014 In Review: Recovery:

There are several labor market-related indicators used to view the economic health of New Hampshire. The ones I think that can be used to derive the desired career information are Unemployment and Current Employment Statistics; Employment by Supersector (broad employment-industry categories); Average Hourly Earnings; Business Employment Dynamics; and Population. When taken together a picture emerges of a state with career promise for many, but within a limited number of industries and a long-term pattern of slow economic growth.

News flash! Unemployment rates rose during the Great Recession! So where are we now? The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for this past March in New Hampshire was 3.9%, which was eighth in the nation. We are essentially tied with Vermont in having the lowest rates in New England. Nationally, the rate in March was 5.5%. Statistically, eighth out of fifty does not sound too bad. Anecdotally, the “Help Wanted” sign are reappearing in business windows state-wide.

This sounds like good news, but if we dig into the data deeper we see some sobering facts. New Hampshire has a shrinking labor force that appears to be influencing the unemployment rate. As an aging state we are experiencing a trend of fewer people participating in the workforce. This fact, combined with low rates of in-migration and limited entrepreneurial expansion, is resulting in slow economic growth. To be sure there are a few bright spots, such as in advanced manufacturing, but this is not translating into being a game changer.

In looking at employment by Supersector we see that the four most robust categories of hiring are in Trade, Transportation, and Utilities; Education and Health Services; Professional and Business Services; and Leisure and Hospitality. Among the hiring laggards are Manufacturing and Construction. When we examine earnings in these Supersectors there have been increases in Education and Health Services and in Trade, Transportation, and Utilities. Pay reductions occurred in Manufacturing and Professional/Business Services. Leisure and Hospitality held steady.

Viewing current hiring in the context of near-term economic and demographic trends, including steady or declining population growth, a low level of in-migration, relative high levels of well-off retiree disposable cash, and a listing as sixth nationally in median household income tells me hiring tendencies are not likely to change dramatically. If you intend to live for a while in New Hampshire, plan your careers accordingly. We do not have an economic climate that is significantly attracting many skilled workers from other states or countries. Therefore, competition for jobs is likely to come from other NH residents.

Taken together, all of this news may suggest that careers oriented toward a graying population, such as in certain types of retail and niche services given this population’s spending capacity, financial management and wealth preservation wishes, leisure and hospitality, and of course healthcare needs should be considered.

Beyond that, Professional and Business Services hiring has recovered well from the recession. New Hampshire businesses still need accountants, HR professionals, operations managers, and technicians among many other business service pros. Career areas to watch out for include those feeling downward pressure from an aging population, such as public school teachers facing declining enrollments and construction workers encountering curtailed building expansion.

A direction that would be encouraging to see turned around is our level of entrepreneurship. More creative ideas and risk-taking on the part of individuals willing to start businesses targeted to improving the lives of New Hampshire residents just might enhance our standard of living and boost economic growth simultaneously. Now there is a career option!

 

 

 

Preparing Your Career for a Binary Star Economy

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Career Development is as fluid a field of study and method of personal improvement as can be found anywhere. Its progressive elasticity and growing erratic nature are due to the changing state of the world of work. In an environment that requires continual improvement, adaptability, and thorough planning as does ours, long-term career design can be a difficult and uncertain endeavor. 

As discovered by ancient mariners when navigating vast and strange oceans, it helps to have a North Star to serve as a beacon and guide. As we each seek to chart an unclear and enigmatic career development landscape for purposes of changing existing careers or determining new ones, we too can benefit from a North Star. However, Binary Star may be the more apt metaphor — a system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common center of mass. This is because the duality we must now regularly consider are the two interdependent powerhouses known as globalization and automation. 

The future of work appears to be heavily influenced, if not governed, by these two harbingers. In tandem, globalization and automation are in a process of modifying the way we live, and therefore how we work. The expanding utilization of technology combined with the spreading integration of people, businesses, and governments around the world is altering economic history in a way that has not happened since the Industrial Revolution. 

As paradigm shifting as the change from hand work to mass production was a hundred plus years ago, we are now witnessing a transformation just as groundbreaking, if not more. When people like Ray Kurzweil, the 67-year-old Director of Engineering at Google, predicts that by 2029 computers will be able to perform all tasks humans can now do, only better, then I pay attention — and you should too. 

It is not just the prognostications of one man that matter (and he has some doozies), but the unmistakable short and long-term trend lines indicating rapid proliferation in new and disruptive technologies and business models (think Airbnb, Uber, SaaS, MOOCS) and increased activity in what the International Monetary Fund refers to as the four basic aspects of globalization: international transactions; capital movements; migrations of people; and knowledge dissemination. 

Ask yourself, how well do your career plans hitch themselves to the forces of globalization and automation? It is wise to look for some connection. Enough current work is already being made redundant and new ways of organizing work tasks are in the process of being discovered. If I was as prescient as I wish I could be, I would now present a neat and tidy list of specific and guaranteed jobs of the future. But alas, I am not that farsighted. Nevertheless, here is what I think will help in preparing for the Brave New World and strengthen our decision making as we move forward. 

Paramount is the need to remain optimistic in the face of uncertainty. Pessimism and hand wringing will not fortify us against ambiguity. Those who will find success are those with a positive attitude allowing themselves to see and grasp an opportunity others do not or cannot. 

We also need to get back to having big ideas. The Hoover Dam, the Golden State Bridge, and the Empire State Building were all built during the Great Depression. Winning World War II, constructing the Interstate Highway System, and launching six crewed moon landings followed. Today we are all in a twist about whether to extend health insurance to the uninsured and whether to fund bridge repairs. Big problems exist that need substantial solutions. Let us find our lost courage to make grand proposals and realize lofty outcomes. 

Free thinking of the type that stimulates innovation and entrepreneurship also needs to be encouraged. This has always been America’s strong suit and it demands continuation, if not invigorating, in an ever-competitive global economy. Our schools for one can do a better job of transitioning from the mechanized industrial-aged model to one more consistent with a broad-minded enterprising ethos. 

Business dedicated to sharing, rather than old fashioned consumption and disposal of resources is becoming fashionable — and profitable. Making money by sharing homes, cars, locally grown foods, breweries, office spaces, etc. is becoming increasingly common. Disruptive of legacy business models to be sure, but isn’t that the way it is going these days? From an ecological viewpoint, an economy that utilizes resources in common with others may in part reverse the throw-away trend of the last half century. 

Reframing our attitudes and ways of thinking about the binary impact globalization and automation is having on our economy, careers, and ways of life may be the best approach we can profitably take away from this economic conversion. 

Finally! Get Prepared to Be Hired!

Posted on by Bill Ryan

This has certainly been a long time in coming. The hiring picture is the brightest it has been since the economy was in danger of “melting down” in the late 2000s. A strong pattern has developed showing robust monthly hiring numbers. Employment has increased by an average of 336,000 jobs per month over the past three months. The national unemployment rate is 5.7%, down from a recession high of 10.0% in October 2009. In New Hampshire, the unemployment rate stands at 4.0% — the lowest rate in New England. Could things be better? Sure. But given what we have collectively gone through, this is news to celebrate. 

So, where is the hiring occurring? In looking at the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Highlights report, gains are being found in retail trade, construction, healthcare, financial activities, manufacturing, professional/business services, and leisure/hospitality. Statewide, according to the New Hampshire Economic & Labor Information Bureau, the strongest hiring is in healthcare, wholesale/retail trade, utilities, transportation, construction, hospitality, manufacturing, and professional/business services. The Society for Human Resource Management sees strong job growth in healthcare and technology. In other words, unless you are in the oil and gas industry, most sectors are looking great indeed. 

There are even signs of mass hiring being planned. Fire example, Home Depot announced on February 10 that they intend to hire 80,000 additional workers for the Spring season. 

However, those of us involved in job transitions need to be aware that the road to the next great gig is not paved with yellow bricks. The conditions of competitiveness that applied during the tooth and nail employment scramble of recent years are still to be put into use today when presenting yourself to potential employers. 

Business leaders will continue to be cautious and strategic about whom they hire. It should be accepted that these executives are clear on how they have or want to achieve and maintain success in the marketplace and that they will want only new hires who fit their profitable paradigm. Therefore, let us view this new boost of hiring from the perspective of the key decision makers as we prepare to introduce ourselves for their consideration. 

I recommend assuming the following: 

Just like any of us who shop for quality we tend to return to those sources that have consistently provided value in the past and that have earned for us a reputation for reliability. Employers are no different. So, think, from where might you be reliably sourced? Perhaps it is your current or former employer, your alma mater, someone “in-house” where you would like to work and who is in your professional network, or possibly a retained or contingency recruiting firm with which you have worked in the past. Aligning yourself with and promoting yourself from an identifiable source is tactically sound. 

A smart employer who does not want to burn through several bad hires (and the expenses associated with them) will take the time to specify key selection criteria for positions to be filled. The more detailed and definitive the job search candidate is about what comprises the value proposition contained in their marketing collateral, i.e., their resume and LinkedIn profile, the more likely a solid match can be established between the position and the candidate. This can save both parties from wasting time on lack of fit. 

Those companies and organizations with a grapevine stature of fair, honest, and dependable lines of communication among all employees, customers, and other stakeholders are also more likely to keep candidates informed throughout the hiring process, compared to those obnoxious firms that never seem to let a post-interviewee know what their status is. (Let’s face it, these outfits that have positions to fill, request applications, conduct interviews, and then leave those who followed the process in limbo should be called out on it.) Assume that if a business has a good reputation for communication, then at least you will know where you stand if you apply for a job with them. 

Times are as good for the job searcher as they have been in a long time. If you have been holding your nose in a less than satisfying job for years, the time has come to take a serious look at transitioning. Just know that planning and implementing a wise approach to this all-important change with an eye to employers’ hiring methodologies is the way to go. 

Keeping Your Workforce Productive and Happy

Posted on by Bill Ryan

When assessing the state of our careers we quickly turn to determining how satisfying our workplaces are. After all it is hard to feel our careers are on track if the place where we work is lacking in some fundamental ways. Since each of us is ultimately responsible for growing our individual careers as optimally as possible we rightly feel justified in influencing our workplace environment to be the best it can be. 

Also, business owners and organizational executive directors naturally care a lot about the productivity of their respective workforce. It is certainly no secret that a happy workforce is a productive workforce. Therefore, it is in the direct interests of bosses to facilitate their workplaces to be environments that increase satisfaction, and by extension, production. 

The question then naturally arises as to what are the steps that need to be taken to create and sustain a positive workplace? Ideas can be derived from a variety of spots, including in-depth research done by organizations such as the Society for Human Resource Management, but other sources of opinions and suggestions can come from surveys, blogs, and LinkedIn threaded discussions that give a more candid and authentic perspective into the issue. 

My eavesdropping of the chatter reveals several consistent themes centered on values such as respect, flexibility, equity, stability, fairness, and jocularity. When we listen to the concerns about women in the workplace, for example, we find that work-life balance competes strongly with income. Accenture, the management consulting firm, concludes that women prefer work-life balance first, money second, and recognition third. Given that women make up 47% of the national workforce, their opinion matters a lot. 

Google still holds a reputation as one of the best places in the world to work. It topped a recent survey of 6200 companies conducted by Great Place to Work, a global consulting firm. So, what is it about this place? Yes, we know about the perks such as massages, horseshoe pits, and slides that take you from one floor down to another, but is that all there is? 

Well, it certainly helps that every employee is a stockholder, and a share is worth north of $500, but there is also a community culture that encourages giving, growing, and being bold along with supports for creativity and risk taking not apparent in many other places. Google management has made a science of calibrating the right mix of benefits and cultural values resulting in high retention rates and maximum productivity. 

But it is expensive to offer Google-esque perks to employees. For most companies and organizations, it may be worth noting the coming changes to the workforce, so that benefit and culture changes can be considered knowledgeably and possibly implemented without breaking the bank. For example, the definition of workplace stability may be undergoing a change whereby more workers may be thinking of freelancing, temp working, and short-term contract working as the new stability. Flexibility becomes key. 

Another workplace condition to prepare for will be the increasing number of older workers who cannot or do not want to stop working. What might this cohort want? We can start with respect for their historic knowledge and proven dedication to employers along with wellness programs, good lighting, and diminished information overload. 

Another key morale enhancer may involve candid discussions of how technology is used. It is great when tech increases productivity instead of being a distraction or job killer. However, many employees will become increasingly distrustful of how management leverages technology given its workplace disruption potential, so bringing employees into conversations about the role of technology could show worker respect. 

Yet, the most apparent ideas to foster great workplaces are quite old-school and effective. Most of us simply want to trust the people we work for, have pride in and recognition for our accomplishments, and enjoy the people we work with. Is that too much to ask? 

New Hampshire’s Career Outlook

Posted on by Bill Ryan

In reading about the current and projected employment picture for New Hampshire we can draw some conclusions about which careers are likely to thrive going forward. Such information can be particularly useful for workers and residents who have decided New Hampshire offers a desirable lifestyle and who therefore intend to live and build their careers in the state for the long-term.

The local sources I like going to in order to find the information necessary for getting the state’s big employment picture include the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies, including anything written by NH economist Dennis Delay; The Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau from NH Employment Security; and of course regular reading of the New Hampshire Business Review.

By looking at these resources over time impressions are formed about the direction our state is going with regards to employment and careers. This is very helpful when advising clients, students, and others about where their energy should be directed in making career choices, whether at the start of a career of during the evolution of an ongoing one.

A couple of points help frame my outlook about career decision making in New Hampshire. One is that we are not a poor state. In both Median Household Income and Per Capita Income we rank 6th in the country. Secondly, we are a graying state in that our demographic trend favors an aging population. In general many of our young people go elsewhere to build their careers and there is not a robust in-migration of youth coming here to live and work. My own adult children form a case in point. One lives and works in LA and the other is just outside of Boston. My takeaway? Jobs that serve an older and somewhat affluent population should be considered.

Another trend of note is how strongly linked New Hampshire’s economy is to Massachusetts. When our friends to the south do well, so do we. Fortunately, many of Massachusetts’ numbers are looking good. The bad news is that NH has lost its former status of being a place with lots of job growth. The Boston area is attracting population and jobs more than NH is.  It is not appearing as if we have the same level of economic prosperity relative to metro Boston, but some of their economy does spill into NH, at least as far north as Concord.

So with all that said where are the relatively bright industry sectors NH residents and workers can look to start and develop careers?

For reasons having to do perhaps with our state’s high percentage of college educated workers we see sectors such as business services offering opportunities. Professional services, for example consulting, accounting, architecture, engineering, company management, and staffing services are high paying jobs that have recovered beyond what we lost during the Recession.

Another sector showing an increase in jobs beyond those we lost during the economic downturn is leisure and hospitality. Tourism remains strong in NH, especially when the unpredictable weather cooperates. So food servers, hotel and inn staffing, and related jobs will be around for some time.

Health services would appear to be stable if not growing due in part to the aging population. Nursing, home health aides, dental hygienists, medical assistants, medical secretaries, and physical therapists are examples of positions likely to grow.

Computer system design and other IT and technical jobs have a bright outlook. Computer user support specialists, computer systems analysts, computer-controlled machine tool operators, IT administrators, and software developers are career areas with a future for now.

Also now with the foreclosure crisis having largely abated carpenters, plumbing, electricians, and other building trades, while not necessarily very strong, are seeing some resurgence.

Beware though of many manufacturing and government jobs, including in K–12 education. They are shrinking.

New Hampshire still offers a great environment in which to raise a family, enjoy nature, and build a career. And those factors looking forward are not going to change.

 

 

 

 

The Future of Careers

Posted on by Bill Ryan

The official U.S. unemployment rate is down to 6.1% (in New Hampshire 4.4%). This is the lowest it has been since September 2008, the month we all realized the U.S. economy was in a tailspin. The raw number of employed workers has also recovered from the start of the recession. 

So why do we still feel in a funk about the employment recovery clearly underway? Perhaps it is because the recovery is taking so long. Or maybe it is due to the poisonous political relations turning into a national fratricide. It could also be the growing mainstream realization that capital has become densely concentrated among a relative few while the middle class feels its power and influence waning. 

I think all these developments play significant and disturbing roles in our continued malaise. However, there is another factor tugging at our collective insecurity. It is an insidious threat running just below the surface and not yet apparent to most, except for those who see their jobs and careers steadily dissolving. Call it automation, robotics, technology, or robo-sourcing. Whatever you call it, the reality of machines replacing people in the workplace is as historic as craftsmen and artisans being replaced by factory workers during the Industrial Revolution. 

I am not talking about just low-skilled jobs which do not require much education being erased. We all know that has been going on. The news is that computers are becoming better at replacing mid-level jobs and there is no end in sight to this trend. 

Here are some examples of a possible near-term future: Why hire a paralegal when computers can research and collate case histories and precedents? Let’s reduce family expenses by eliminating auto insurance, since our new car is autonomously operated. Who needs mid-managers when employees are now empowered by sophisticated software to give them direction? 

Examples such as these (and there are plenty more) of automation reaching into and killing traditional careers will become more numerous. No wonder we feel unsettled. Uncertainty for our jobs is the new certainty. 

Every great story involves individuals or groups trying to handle adversity with the goal of regaining equilibrium in their lives. Among the great stories of our age will be how working people adjust, manage, and flourish given the challenge of ubiquitous career disruption. This will not be easy. There will be a lot of anguish, questioning, indecision, and yes successes as we share in the development of a new economy characterized by new rules and choices. 

How we as individuals adapt to a world in which technology handles all the work tasks comprised of rote, logical, ordered, and sequential attributes will be centered around one fundamental question —What can people do that computers cannot do? 

In answer to this question there appear to be at least two areas in which people are superior to machines. One, people can be creative, innovative, and novel. We have viewpoints and experience leading us to devise new and exciting ways of doing things. We can make decisions and present new perspectives as opposed to merely accomplishing tasks and computations. 

Secondly, Hollywood movies about falling in love with operating systems aside, people can relate emotionally with other people. We can touch feelings, inspire and comfort others, understand, bless, and believe in other people. To date no automaton can do that. 

Careers subsisting on creativity and human contact will survive and thrive. They are already the basis of many careers currently and jobs requiring facility in these areas will likely expand. We will have our machines, but above all we will still need and have each other. Maybe even the Creative Arts could experience a boom the likes of which we have not yet seen. Time will tell. 

So yes, we feel that despite the hopeful employment numbers we are not very hopeful. Since we are not going to return to the past let’s start looking forward to and planning for a future that will certainly be different, but not necessarily bleak. 

Mid-Career Considerations

Posted on by Bill Ryan

So, you’ve reached mid-career. How can you tell? I would say there are three signs: Your age is north of 40 but is less than 55; you have developed a substantial skill set in a particular field of expertise; and you have established a solid and growing base of enduring professional relationships. So now what? Engage in complacency? Cruise to retirement? Be satisfied with inertia? 

Mid-career is actually a very good time to appraise where you have gotten to with your career and where you see yourself headed next. Most long journeys require a time or two to pause and reflect on how you are navigating things and calibrate as needed. Given that many careers are now approaching 40 years in length it certainly qualifies as an odyssey in need of careful attention. 

Since we live in a time when there is always some new trend, phenomenon, practice, or competition coming down the pike we cannot risk becoming too smug with our career status or else we risk becoming outdated, irrelevant, and unemployed. It is probably best to have an advancement, expansion, or improvement plan of some sort. By this I mean a strategy designed to differentiate yourself from others in your field to leave you positioned for realizing outcomes of your own choosing. 

Mid-career is a great time to set meaningful and achievable goals for yourself. Ambitions that take you in the direction of stimulating engrossment, a sense of purpose, continuous professional mastery, and durable autonomy. Your career objectives should move in the direction of capitalizing on your strengths and interests while accommodating your weaknesses. And they should have long-term prospects. If your career is headed for obsolescence, now is the time to plan for a more enduring future. 

In general, you do not need to re-invent yourself or propel yourself on a course in which there is a lot of daylight between what you want to do and what you have done. Usually, the task before most mid-level careerists is simply to get especially good at what you do. Strive toward becoming a genuinely great mechanic or insurance executive or golf course superintendent. Be clear what passes for success and value in your industry and align your efforts and abilities with those indicators. 

For those areas where you do not excel, find and utilize the people and resources that can help you compensate or counterbalance so that you are still coming out ahead. 

It is worth evaluating how you are doing in the soft skills department as well when pondering your career at the mid-way point. You know what I mean by soft skills, that constellation of personal attributes like communication, social habits, friendliness, attitude, and so forth, which most people will remember you by. If pervasive anxiety makes you grouchy at work, or you wear your stress on your sleeve too often, or you are consistently misunderstood by co-workers, then work on remedying these inhibitors. Career progress is measured by hard and soft skills alike. 

Among the relevant factors to accompanying your career refinement strategy is looking at how well you are taking care of yourself physically and mentally. Sound fitness, diet, sleep, and mindfulness practice can keep you energized for the career work ahead.   

Since there really is not that much difference between work and life, maintaining health allows you to approach everything you do with vitality, confidence, and positivism. With these traits it becomes easier to learn new things, interact with other healthy people, and grow professionally. 

Mid-career is a great time to take stock, plan for the times ahead, and make the moves that matter for your career. You make plans for most other things. Here is a plan worth making for yourself. 

Seven Must-Have Transferable Skills

Posted on by Bill Ryan

As career adjustments and job switching pick up pace, resulting from a somewhat improved employment picture and with the trending migration from long-term employment with one employer to a more free-lanced economy, the need for establishing and cultivating transferable skills becomes more important. 

Transferable skills are those capabilities one develops in one employment context that has currency in another. For example, a teacher may find that her or his skill in curriculum instructional delivery translates well to a training & development position in business or that a police officer’s ability to confront behavioral conflict situations with the public translates well to managing order and productivity among a large retail workforce. 

Transferable skills are most often not specific and discreet competencies, such as being able to make a metal forming roll in a tool and die shop, but rather more general qualifications that lend themselves to a variety of expressions. Convertible skills describe proficiencies that have value across a diverse set of employment situations and for this reason are skills the aspiring employee should know about and develop. 

Here is my list of seven transferable skills each worker with a proclivity for a lattice rather than a linear career should work to expand and refine to increase their chances of customizing their career the way they want. 

  1. Making Quality Decisions — Knowing how to make high impact and consistent decisions that take into proper perspective and consideration relevant information and that balances risk appropriately is a strong skill appreciated almost anywhere. Decision theory is like game theory, involving a durable ability to rationally reach an optimal outcome. If you are making decisions based mostly on fear and inertia, then you have something to work on.
  2. Solving Problems — Name me a business or organization that does not have a significant need for someone who can find resolutions to perplexing problems both big and small. Refining a problem-solving approach that is orderly and technique-based with a track record of success is best. Being able to cite examples of accomplishments as performance evidence of your steady problem-solving methodology is even better.
  3. Persuasion and Negotiation — What is the thing most workers hate about their boss or irritating co-workers? It is when they bully and intimidate to get their way rather than engaging in a thoughtful and genuinely persuasive argument. And yes, although it does not appear to be practiced by members of Congress anymore, reaching compromise through good-faith negotiations usually yields outcomes that satisfy the greatest number of stakeholders.
  4. Analysis — Being able to examine a task, phenomenon, procedure, or problem can go a long way to interpret the meaning of data or to determine the best course of action. By reducing complexity to constituent parts, a better understanding and new prospects can result. This can be useful when trying to assess and grasp the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a venture, business, or mission.
  5. Synthesis — Conversely showing the skill of combining, mixing, and merging ideas or materials into new and novel concepts and products is the basis of innovation and creativity. Sometimes perspectives need to be reframed so that new and different viewpoints can emerge, from which a competitive edge can arise. Freeing up and training the mind to develop unusual, but valuable means of expression allows organizations to provide improved ways of doing things.
  6. Collaboration — Working in concert with colleagues and stakeholders increases productivity, more efficiently achieves quality outcomes, and effectively reaches shared goals. The process of sharing knowledge and reaching consensus is essential at a time when the means of production grow ever more complex. Let’s face it, having a workplace where people get along and work together is energizing and spiritually uplifting, dare I say even fun.
  7. Networking with Talent – Ambitious and competitive employers know that having talent in their organizations is a good thing. Now, if that talent frequently interacts and learns from other gifted individuals then there is a value-add. When you fertilize your career with esteemed people who you respect and who respect you there comes an increase for the mastery of your career and perhaps even the bottom line for your employer.

May Luck Be With You

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Striving for quality and building a solid record of achievement in one’s profession is what rightly motivates the most successful among us. Impressive and valuable companies, organizations, and careers can be the result of targeted and sustained execution of talent and skill. 

Indeed, when I work with clients a substantial amount of my effort is in helping individuals define what specific capacity they have for realizing achievement. The premise being that if one knows succinctly what they are best at producing, then they can more effectively promote their value to those most willing to pay for it.  

At a social and political level much is made about creating and maintaining economic conditions whereby motivated individuals can freely apply their aptitude and inventiveness to achieve professional success. It has become deeply ingrained in the world view of many that a near-divine correlation exists between incentive and success. Such belief drives our national self-perception and serves as the basis for many of our political debates and battles. 

I am hardly able to dispute the sanctity of a system whereby private production in pursuit of profits leads to economic success for many. It clearly does. But I would suggest that in our zeal to elevate the virtues of expected and proper economic behavior in a market economy we not neglect to consider the power of luck. 

Those of us who have the great fortune of realizing economic success tend to believe quite strongly that it is solely the result of our smarts, hard work, competitive abilities, and willingness to take risks. Undoubtedly, these criteria and others have played a significant part in our individual success stories. Many of us take the extra step in proclaiming with unwavering certainty to all who will listen that if they too follow the conventional and tried-and-true capitalist formula of business measures, then advancement, prosperity, and happiness await them also. 

What is seldom if ever said, however, is that economic fortune in the capitalist sense is often, perhaps always, as much a result of luck as it is savvy decision making. If we are true in assessing ourselves and taking stock in how we got to where we are we must acknowledge that, in most cases, we have not been tripped up by big impediments beyond our control. 

Bad things happen to good people. And these bad things often have nothing to do with how we behaved or acted. They simply just happen. Someone runs a red light and smashes into your car. You discover your 7-year-old daughter has cancer. A greedy businessperson causes the company stock and your pension to collapse. The list of unfair and uncalled for misfortune goes on and on and on. 

If we have attained great professional things, then we deserve to pat ourselves on our back for all we have accomplished. We should also thank goodness that we have been lucky. And when we evangelize about what it takes to be outstanding, we should keep in mind that not everyone’s life circumstances follow our own.  

Many among us have been presented with great adversity not of our own making. Fortune is not always an equal opportunity employer. Where and when and to whom one is born and raised can make a huge difference in one’s future. 

Sure, overcoming adversity is to be greatly admired. We all have heard the stories of people who have been terribly knocked down by misfortune only to rise, dust themselves off, and go on to accomplish great things. These are the stories that inspire all of us. But in assisting everyday common people to succeed economically we need to be mindful of not only practices that correlate with success, but with the compassion and kindness needed to create conditions whereby all have a chance and helping hand to succeed when needed. 

A great society is not measured by how many prosperous citizens it has, but by how effectively it assists all its citizens to flourish. 

When Did the Job Seeker and Employers Become Mortal Enemies

Posted on by Bill Ryan

In my last piece I shared with readers the perspective of a long-term job seeker who had engaged in the job search process and the employment success she eventually found. Of course, for many others who ultimately get hired, “success” can often mean being underemployed or taking a pay cut from their previous position. It is a difficult pill for too many to swallow. 

For this piece a very different job seeker viewpoint, that of Linda Norris. As you will see the arduous hunt for employment can leave the searcher questioning what has gone wrong with the selection process. For many trying to obtain employment today, it has become an agonizingly slow, frustrating, and demoralizing slog. Below are the comments of an actual job seeker with a professional background and what she has found to be the new normal. In short, a daunting and often frightening search for work.
 

In years past, a job seeker would create a clear, concise resume, purchase a few local and city newspapers and apply for new jobs. The process would continue with a few phone calls, one to two interviews, a salary discussion with dual party agreement and a few distributed benefits brochures. The candidate would agree to the new job description with all its trimmings, dress professionally and start their new job. 

Then the internet arrived and the race for every company to get their job postings online. This worked for several years, until the arrival of Big Data, job coaches, job recruiters, job boards and concierges, job consultants, online job applicant profiles, pre-pre-employment online testing, candidate profiling, and other assorted job seeker tools that employers now use to weed out, but not hire candidates. 

Job seekers today must sort through a maze of confusing, conflicting, often out of date job boards and misleading employer web pages. There are lengthy job applications, which consume hours and hours of job seekers online time and resources. 

We are expected to willingly participate in online Pre-employment testing, Pre-Candidate quizzes, candidate profiling, multiple resume and document uploads, software testing downloads, Skype interviews, video conferencing from home, and multiple, time-wasting phone screens. 

Many job application interviews run into 5-hour stretches. These multiplex, invasive candidate selection processes are like the torture methods used in the Middle Ages. While the job seeker is not actually tortured physically, they often are intellectually. 

Once the online job seeker profile is completed and submitted, then there is the Candidate’s Application, EEO statement, resumes/documents to upload, the Pre-employment tests, applicant’s job scorecard and the applicant’s dashboard to be reviewed. After that there is ongoing, internet searches of the applicant to gain insight to their inner thoughts and deeds. If they have a Facebook page, a Google page, etc. this too is evaluated before the candidate can be hired. If the candidate rejects social media, then that rejection is also interpreted. 

Educational GPAs are evaluated, from grade school to college. The amount and fluency of foreign languages spoken or not spoken, is a criterion for hiring a job seeker. The candidate’s neighborhood, city, and state are also used as criteria for hiring. Driver’s license numbers are requested on applications, so that driving records can be interpreted, even library cards, overdue books, and fees paid are subject to interpretation by a future employer. 

What does all this invasion of a candidate’s privacy have to do with a new job? How does all this over-detailed, invasive micromanaging of a potential candidate’s lifestyle prove abilities to an employer? 

Why has the job seeker been placed in the position of being a mortal enemy, all for want of a job? 

Leave No Stones Unturned In Your Job Search Strategy

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Barri Wyman, formerly of Keene, NH is the kind of employee every company would want. She is hard working, loyal to her employer, dedicated to keeping up with the changes in her profession, and consistently driven to bring about a high quality work product. 

However, the Great Recession has not been kind to valued workers like Barri. She, like millions of other Americans, was laid-off and has spent many anxious months trying to find work in an employment market with few jobs, especially for the mature worker. 

Barri recently landed a great job. Although it involved a pay cut, she is pleased that the new position utilizes her years of experience while offering challenges and opportunities for professional growth. I asked Barri to share what she has learned from a long hard job search and below are her thoughts and advice for today’s job seekers. 

Have you heard the expressions, “Leave no stones unturned” and “thinking outside the box”? These suggestions ring true for managing a successful job search!  

Your most critical resource for landing the right job is your network of direct contacts with potential employers and agencies who know your capabilities, your work history, your work ethics and your value as an employee. Grow this network constantly through in-person and online business networking opportunities. Introduce yourself and ask your existing contacts for introductions. To build a network, I recommend attending every function you can manage in person that even remotely connects you to new people. Don’t just go to job fairs. Network heavily in every imaginable way – in person, through LinkedIn and other professional online networks, local chambers of commerce, volunteer work, talking to people you meet when out and about socializing – leave no stones unturned; be creative and use “out of the box” approaches; and be very, very courageous and assertive.   

Always research companies you are following and/or applying to and search for people in your business and/or social network who have direct connections to the company and are willing to be a spokesperson on your behalf. With hundreds of people applying for each position, employers and agencies appreciate recommendations from individuals whose opinions they respect; it’s the most effective filter of the applicants. Otherwise, you are dependent upon your use of the exact buzz words in your resume and cover letter that company is using as an applicant filter, and you still may not make it to the top of the list. 

Your network of contacts should involve a two-way relationship; don’t just “take” – offer your contacts something of value to them in reciprocity. Stay in touch frequently and always thank these people for their support. Hand-written thank-you notes and help with projects continue to be important and take more effort than just a quick email or online thank you message. And always follow up an interview with personal thank you notes to everyone you met. Even if you don’t land the job, they will know you valued their time; they will remember you, and they might lead you to another opportunity. 

“Leave no stones unturned” in your job search resources; follow specific companies and apply directly through their websites; check public and unemployment job boards for opportunities, then start following those companies that post jobs, and apply direct if you can; ask for referrals from your business connections; and, seriously consider working with agencies for temp-to-hire or temp jobs that can also lead to full hire and/or new business connections. Spend at least six hours daily Monday through Friday pursuing all these resources and keep track of what you’ve done so you can keep checking in until you land a job you like.  

Create and maintain a list of your skills, experience and accomplishments with real “stories” that support your claims. When preparing for an interview, fine tune a copy of the document to fit the job you are interviewing for and review it to have the information fresh in your mind. There’s no worse feeling than drawing a blank when asked a question! 

The job search, especially if you are unemployed, is a bit nerve wracking, but it is also a tremendous learning opportunity in many ways and opens new insights and connects you to people you might never have encountered otherwise. 

Six Characteristics of Success in the Modern Workforce

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Entering this twenty-first century, post-Recession, globalized, and digital workforce can be daunting. Whether you are young and just entering the job search fray, middle aged and trying to maintain or build upon your competitiveness and value, or mature and desperate to stay relevant, securing meaningful work that is well compensated is still a major challenge. 

Just look at the principal obstacle facing us. Job creation is anemic. Sure, it is better than a few years ago, but way too many workers are either underemployed or have given up looking. While Wall Street booms, employment lags. Anxiety remains high for even the employed who still seem reluctant to leave jobs they have, but do not like, for fear of not finding anything better. Why is this? I see several reasons at play. 

  • More and more wealth and power are continually concentrating on the very rich and they do not appear incentivized to be creating many jobs with it. 
  • Perhaps because of #1 the incomes and purchasing power of the middle class is shrinking, which depresses both demand, supply, and jobs. 
  • Globalization has increased competition and innovation, meaning if you are not an over-caffeinated go-getter, you are finding yourself at the back of the line. 
  • Technology expands productivity with fewer workers needed to produce than in the past. 
  • The nature of many jobs is changing. New and ever-changing skills and knowledge bases are in increasing demand. 
  • Government is being constrained to help. There seems to be nothing government can do anymore that is welcomed. Imagine trying to start a Roosevelt-like CCC program today? There would be a revolution from the political Right. 

What’s a job seeker to do? To begin with realize it is tough, but not hopeless. There are characteristics I believe it is wise to possess that will increase your chances of being seen by employers as valuable and desired. These traits transcend most careers and specialty areas and have as much to do with attitude as with training and education. Here is my list of must-have work style attributes for the times in which we live: 

  1. Stay Connected: Build and cultivate your network however you can. Meet face to face, connect on social media, join and participate in groups, volunteer, email and text, and outreach, outreach, outreach. Isolation can be a career killer.
  2. Stay Optimistic: Project hopefulness and positivity. Downers are a turn-off for people, especially co-workers and bosses. Sure, there is a lot going on to depress us, but being angry and negative rarely builds dreams or improves challenging situations.
  3. Stay Confident: Showing a can-do spirit prepares a person for difficulties and inspires others. Confidence, along with its cousinsself-motivation and goal-orientation, generates an energy that leads to high quality outcomes.
  4. Stay Technologically Current: Be curious about the skills and products surrounding us and which define our times. Keep an eye on the latest innovations that will shape our future. Resist the urge to be a luddite who thinks the old ways were always the best ways. Truth is the good old days were not in many cases.
  5. Stay Diverse: Accept and thrive on a multiplicity of ideas and perspectives. Get energized by all the richness inherent in different viewpoints. Varying ideas come from the mixed gender, ethnic, racial, and multigenerational makeup of workforces. The more sources of input the higher the likelihood of success.
  6. Stay Educated: Embrace lifelong learning as a key to staying abreast of current trends, best practices, and what works in your field. Continuous training and education enrich you professionally and will make you more of an asset to employers both current and potential.

Reframing the dismal jobs picture as an opportunity to better your employability and improve your position as a valued employee is one way to cope and perhaps succeed in the modern workforce. 

The Declining Middle Class and Its Jobs

Posted on by Bill Ryan

The middle class is being displaced and with it the jobs typically held and performed by labor. This trend is threatening the way of life for millions of Americans and could change the economic, social, and political fabric of the United States. 

There are two principal occurrences underway driving this phenomenon with no end in sight for either: 

  1. The migration of low and mid-skilled jobs to developing countries with cheaper labor compensation.
  2. The automation or robo-sourcing of tasks typically performed by minimally skilled employees.

If you are now in a job that can be outsourced or automated start making plans immediately for an employment change, because chances are your job is not going to be around much longer. 

This is a good news/bad news story for business. As more relatively lower-skilled workers are finding themselves increasingly irrelevant their erstwhile employers are finding productivity does not suffer as a result. On the contrary productivity is increasing.  

Outsourcing and robo-sourcing are growing in popularity among business owners because they increase productivity and decrease costs. Good deal for the bottom line…bad deal for labor. Look at the stock market. It booms while the employment numbers generally lag. 

Much of what has historically made the middle class possible has been the availability of mid-level jobs — those that require more skill and knowledge than menial tasks, but not the more sophisticated, analytical, and critical decision-making work performed by well-educated executives. Manufacturing is where many of these jobs used to be found. But the decline of U.S. manufacturing means the loss of mid-level blue collar work. 

Thankfully, there are still mid-level service sector jobs in healthcare, hospitality, retail, the trades, and elsewhere. Unfortunately, these jobs do not often satisfy the middle-class standard of living we have become used to. The jobs are hard to come by and many of them do not pay very well. 

The labor movement is in trouble. The collective strength of labor, which in the twentieth century helped assure decent middle-class compensation and placed the worker in a position where he and she could share in the fruits of production, has been significantly weakened. These days unions only represent about 12% of the workforce and the competition for fewer and fewer good paying jobs is growing fiercer. Even government work is drying up.  

The guy with only a high school diploma is competing against cheap labor from overseas and increasingly robotics here at home. This is not a solid negotiating position to be in for finding and retaining a decent paying middle class job. 

There are no quick fixes or easy answers for the middle class. Sure, aspiring to great paying management and executive work can and should be a goal for many, but realistically that is not for everyone. 

Sustaining a viable middle class will require availability of mid-skilled employment that can be achieved with mid-level education, say the equivalent of an associate or bachelor’s degree. This type of employment should also pay a salary between minimum wage and executive compensation. What a critical mass of those jobs will be moving forward is unclear. But if we are to be more than a nation of haves and haves-nots in the 21st century, then we had better figure this one out soon. 

Career Web Services Review

Posted on by Bill Ryan

It is no secret the Internet is where people go for almost everything from house hunting to car buying to job searching. Although I, and most career advisors, will not tell you to sit for hours searching for jobs on Indeed.com and CareerBuilder and call that a job search, there are nevertheless some interesting and potentially beneficial job search related services popping up on the web besides job boards. 

Here are four applications that attempt to combine and leverage well tested and proven job search best practices with the ease and power of Internet use. Conceptually I find these apps promising, but I want to be clear that I am not endorsing them. At best I have dabbled in them and do not claim to be a power user. But as more of our functionality, including career development, becomes digitized it is worth seeing what the entrepreneurial class is cooking up out there. One never knows where the next great Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn will come from. 

  1. VIZIFY — In this age of versatile multimedia it can seem odd we still place so much on a black & white paper or word-processed document called a resume. Vizify asks why don’t we spiff up that boring old doc and present it instead as a visually more appealing graphic display? Here is an opportunity to import resume and online profile data, essentially your value proposition or professional brand, into a graphical bio. This can then be included on email signatures, QR codes for business cards, and online profiles to show a brighter side of you. For job candidates looking for placements in more hip work settings this may have possibilities.

[Vizify was acquired by Yahoo! in 2014.] 

  1. JOBS WITH FRIENDS — Here’s a cool idea. We all know (or should!) that networking is the best route to go for finding meaningful employment. I recommend to clients they spend at least 70% or more of their job search time outreaching to contacts in their networks in searching for employment opportunities. Jobs With Friends identifies all your social media connections and friends and gives you tools for finding who they list as their employers, what the current job openings are where they work, and a means of asking for referrals from them to give to their employers.

[Jobs With Friends is now a service offered by CareerCloud.com.] 

  1. PERFECT INTERVIEW — Although this is an array of multimedia interactive interviewing solutions for job seekers and HR departments there is one feature, I’d like to focus on called Interview Coach. Ever notice how being videotaped can be a great learning tool? Watching yourself played back teaches you more about your performance than any other method. Interview Coach places you in front of your computer and webcam, shoots tough questions at you from professional interviewers, and records your responses. You get to see how you answered and can then better refine your interview technique.

[This service is still alive and well in 2022.] 

  1. VIZIBILITY — Here is a service that totally gets the future of career development and brand management tied into one’s online identity. Vizibility tries to cover all the bases by offering the user data analytics to show how often you are being searched, mobile business cards, ways of finding common social media connections, your Google ranking, online identity sharing, and other ways to help you push your profile to potential high value decision makers. If you believe exposure leads to opportunity, then check this one out.

[Vizibility is now vizCard, maker of digital/mobile business cards with analytic features.] 

As clever as these and other services are I think it is best to view them as tools to help the job searcher implement tried and true practices such as networking, self-promotion, and determining what efforts are time wasters vs. what has value. It is hard to imagine at this point that good old face-to-face communication can ever be completely replaced by web-based services. But meanwhile, have fun seeing how career and software-as-a-service development merge in some innovative ways. 

Careers are Idiosyncratic — and that’s a Good Thing

Posted on by Bill Ryan

I had an opportunity last week to hear Dr. Temple Grandin deliver the keynote address at the National Career Development Association’s annual convention, held this year in Boston. And am I glad I did! The animal science professor and autism rights activist definitely has something to say, not only to career professionals, but to all of us. 

I have only recently learned of Temple Grandin from hearing her being interviewed recently on NPR. That piece made me stop and ask out loud, “Who is that?” 

She clearly has a message and delivery style that is out of the mainstream. However, beyond her unique and unconventional look and enunciation is a powerful exposition about individualism and the priority we should all place on honoring people’s differences when assisting in career decision making. 

Temple Grandin has become a renowned spokesperson for the humane treatment of animals and for encouraging tolerance and civil behavior directed toward individuals impacted by autism — a reality she has lived with for 65 years. Her advice for the mainstream of society goes far beyond telling us to be respectful and kind to people who act, speak, and think differently from the norm. 

Dr. Grandin is putting us on notice that the talent diversity necessary to fuel an innovative workforce and culture requires us to encourage and cultivate the very idiosyncrasies so many of us shun and dismiss. 

It is no secret that STEM careers are all the rage. Many of the most lucrative and potentially available jobs for the future lie in industries seeking employees and contractors strong in science, technology, engineering, and math. To those of us not immersed daily in these jobs we tend to think of STEM work as heavily rules-based, formulaic, and straight forward. 

It is helpful to have been reminded that American ingenuity results when deep scientific knowledge and creative thinking merge. The development of the light bulb, integrated circuit, Internet, and many other inventions came from just such thinkers. NASA is chock full of geeks and nerds. Think about it. Where would we be as a nation without them? 

Although it may be human nature, there is a downside to building a society that places too strong a premium on conformity when it comes to career development. You do not have to be on an autism spectrum to sense the fear, insecurity, and lack of self-confidence that can come from the pressure to think and behave like everyone else around you. In so many ways we give each other the message that to be different is bad, but to conform is good. 

Yet our American value proposition as a key player in the global workforce is defined by our inclination to be innovative, inventive, and groundbreaking. This cannot be done unless a holistic individualism is encouraged and enriched. 

Careers flourish when individuals engage in purposeful work leading to mastery. Careers are also undergoing dramatic shifts and transformations as the global economy and technology change the employment landscape. Allowing for and encouraging creative ways of combining, expanding, and morphing careers helps to assure we Americans continue to have economic viability in a rapidly changing world. Embracing individualism, even when it is outside of the norm, can pave the way for successful careers and a competitive economic edge. 

Temple Grandin’s call for acceptance and advocacy is positive and relevant for our time. Let us join in giving power to all the people. 

Know What Your Performance Evidence Is

Posted on by Bill Ryan

“Hiring me will add value to your operation.” 

“I am prepared to take on the biggest challenges and come out a winner!” 

“You can count on me to tackle all obstacles and generate profit growth simultaneously.” 

Having the confidence and drive to be strongly competitive in this dog-eat-dog hiring climate is great. The meek unfortunately do not appear to be in the lead in inheriting this earth in any way that says employment success. Reaching out, promoting, in short, selling yourself is as combative as ever in employment and those with the stomach and skill for it can come out ahead. 

But making claims of greatness can be as fragile as a house of cards in the wind unless there is substance to back up your superlative declarations. You cannot call yourself a star performer if there is not some credible performance evidence to show in fact you can do the things you said you could do. 

Knowing what counts as solid performance evidence in your field and being able to clearly cite examples of your achievement in these areas boosts your standing among those making hiring decisions. These deciders can be listening about your performance affirmations at a networking event, job fair, or in an interview. They can be reading about them in your resume or on your LinkedIn profile. However, it is that they learn about those valuable accomplishments of yours that scream, “I’m qualified!”, the better off your career can be. 

So, what really matters in the work you do? Is it meeting quotas, raising profits, mitigating threats, improving lifestyles, expanding market share, stopping hunger, bringing joy to others, elevating student test scores, saving lives, or any number of the important things that show you have done what you were hired to do? We all have a rather limited set of crucial outcomes or objectives to realize in our jobs. Knowing exactly what they are and keeping track of your attainment of these goals is a good place to start identifying your performance evidence. 

Examples of execution carry more weight when they are quantifiable. Numbers can take a statement from subjective to objective, from opinion to fact. But be strategic about the quantities you select in your power statements. 

Now let us say that I am trying to prove to stakeholders that I am an excellent retail store manager. Do I talk about how demanding it is to track inventory, handle customers, and make good hourly-wage hires. That may all be true, but they do not speak to key performance indicators. Instead talk about numbers of units sold and employees supervised. Mention specifically how much you reduced operational costs and grew annual sales. Point out the increased percentages of surveyed customer satisfaction ratings and improvements made in associate training sessions. 

If vetting a candidate, which would you rather hear or read about concerning that person’s accomplishments: 

“Reduced expenses related to manufacturing operations.” or “Reduced costs, inventories, and cycle times of manufacturing operations, resulting in 52% – 68% gross margin increase, 4% –10% annual inventory turn increase, and 25% cycle time decrease.” 

Or how about this: 

“Managed operational and capital budgets.” or “Furnished operational and capital budgets for 18 commercial properties, comprising over $30M in expenditures for over 3.5 million square feet of space.” 

Not all professions embed the collection of performance data into their jobs like sales, financials, and medicine, among others. Sometimes it may be necessary for you to do your own quantitative logging, even if it is retrospective. 

Sure, it is a hassle, but in less than an hour, and maybe with some help from those who know your work well, you can compile a generous list of quantitative achievements from your recent past. This information can then be presented as demonstrations of your good efforts and workplace worth. 

Communicating in terms of performance evidence to hiring managers and recruiters strengthens your position as a job search candidate. So, go ahead and announce with confidence your capabilities and potential, but reinforce the message with the important deeds that count. 

The 70/20/10 Career Model

Posted on by Bill Ryan

70/20/10. It is a development model that is turning up in a lot of different places. I think it should play a role in career development as well. (My apologies to anyone who has gotten to this realization before me. If so, I have not yet seen your work.) 

So, what is it? Let me explain. I see it is a breakdown of time and energy spent on evolving an undertaking. Think of it as 70%/20%/10%. Some examples of its application may help: 

In education: Learning often comes from recognizing problems and the need to solve them. According to this approach 70% of our time is spent performing day-to-day and challenging tasks that contain problems we ponder by trying to think of solutions. 20% is occupied by interacting with others to collect data useful in solving these problems and 10% comes from formal course work or training to build one’s expertise. 

In business: To be innovative (and what business does not need to be?) requires what Eric Schmidt of Google says is a 70/20/10 approach. 70% should be on basic operations, i.e., making the doughnuts. 20% of the time should be spent dedicated to experimenting with different ways of implementing the core business. 10% should be on completely novel concepts not related to the core business. 

Diet: Livestrong promotes eating 70% proteins, 20% fats, and 10% carbs. 

Social Media Marketing: There is a posting rule for business to get the most ROI exposure while on social media. It goes 70% brand building, 20% sharing others’ posts, and 10% advertising and promotion. 

Job Search: Heck, even I and other career types find we recommend to clients that when job searching spend 70% of the time networking, 20% reaching out to recruiters, and 10% on job boards. 

70/20/10. It is infectious. Isn’t it? Perhaps even elegant. 

This is what I am thinking in terms of using this formula in career development. Assuming we want to mature and progress in our careers it may be useful to have a grand action plan for doing so. This plan should be easy to remember and not very complicated. Starting with 70/20/10 is good, because it is easy to keep in mind. Here is how I propose using the 70/20/10 career plan: 

70% of our time, energy, and spirit can be committed to practicing our craft. This is what we do to attain our 10,000 hours, Malcolm Gladwell’s mastery threshold. It is what gives us our sixth sense of professionalism. Sure, we may be on cruise control to some extent, but the repetition, the deep experience, and the number of times you can say, “I’ve seen this one before,” will over time build expertise. 

20% is what we devote to trying things out of our box. We allow ourselves to play a little with our career. The rule now is to think creatively and experimentally. The time has come to approach the same-old with a fresh perspective and novel approaches. Embrace change and look for new ways to perform tasks and meet responsibilities. Always improve and refine. Do not get locked into thinking the 70% is where 100% of your time should be spent. Allow yourself to play with the 20%. The 20% is not to be set aside. It is crucial. 

10% of our work time, yes 10%, is spent doing something completely different. It may be difficult to see that it is even tangentially related to your day job. Are you an accountant? Spend 10% of your time watercolor painting. Are you a parole officer? Spend 10% of your time learning how to play the clarinet. Are you an artist? Spend 10% of your time studying nutrition. But here is the connection, be mindful of what new things you learn and how they may have applications to your fundamental work. Remember, you are looking for new avenues to grow professionally. And maybe you will enrich your life at the same time. 

70/20/10. Lots of possibilities with these numbers. Think of using them with your career. Growth, purpose, and success may result. 

The Changing Face of Workforce Talent

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Finding and retaining talent for your company or organization used to be relatively straightforward. You inquired about availability of valuable workers from your network, posted job descriptions on widely disseminated job boards, or hired recruiting firms to provide you with temporary or temp to hire personnel. Chances were that eventually the talent you desired was discovered and incentives were applied to keep them with you for the long haul. 

But today we notice forces are at work modifying this process and causing those who source talent to change their game plan. The makeup of the workforce is becoming more global, mobile, independent and less local or rooted in one spatial location. Also, and critically, their long-term loyalty to any one employer is more tenuous. To find the expertise employers need to remain productive, innovative, and competitive means having to adjust methods for finding such moving targets. 

And it is not just the workforce that is changing. Employers’ talent demands reflect the shifts occurring in business driven by the rapid expansion of global and technical interconnectivity. Businesses increasingly need to dial up and down budgets, priorities, and the size of their workforces quickly and efficiently. Agility is a survival skill. 

With that in mind new types of employee-employer relationships are being formed which are often characterized by highly valuable, short-term, project-based connections that are mutually beneficial. The organization gains profitable contributions from their talented associates and the valued participants benefit from career enhancement. 

Given the changing nature of business and of employment both parties are becoming more cognizant of the types of exchanges called for and are positioning themselves to make the right connections when needed. The range of associations goes from fully employed individuals to outsourced service arrangements that satisfy small but critical parts of the larger organizational need. Partnerships, independent contractors, and more engaged outsourcers are playing a greater role in how business is done. 

For the job searcher and those committed to developing their careers, awareness of the ways business and work itself is transforming is crucial. Even though most of us have been brought up to think traditionally about employment — few job changes, development of a single skill, and living near your place of employment — a problem arises if we do not see how the other options mentioned above are becoming available, possibly preferred. We are approaching a time, if we are not already there, when designing a career around portfolio type assignments is as prudent as striving for full time employment with few different employers. 

Global skill markets with their individual players are as diverse, multi-functional, and ready to produce as any talent pool has ever been. The technology that exposes, promotes, and defines them, based primarily on a keyword-rich social media model, means that a fluid and robust recruitment industry can play an important role in facilitating valuable connections. We already see the expanded use of LinkedIn, essentially an international expertise database, becoming a primary means of sourcing talent. This and other human-technological applications are sure to boost the effectiveness of employer-employee matchmaking. 

The importance of mobility and lack of geographical tethering is also worth noting in the way workforces are evolving. Talent can be secured virtually from anywhere that has an Internet connection. Many projects can be advanced using contributors from a variety of places around the world. Although physical face-to-face collaboration certainly has its advantages it is by no means the only way to produce at a high functioning level. Cost alone may sometimes dictate that remote collaboration be activated. 

A flatter operational arrangement seems to be one way of describing the changing face of the workforce. Businesses need talent and talent needs businesses. Sure, this has always been true, but what may be different this time is that the parties are on more equal footings. A clever and spry talented professional has a greater chance of experiencing a nimble career when he or she can negotiate with potential employers from what may be becoming an enhanced power position. 

Rethinking Career for Mature Workers

Posted on by Bill Ryan

In general, we think that getting old has many more downsides than upsides. What with declining health, reduced relevance, and being closer to death perhaps among the most egregious. And as has been noted many times in the past few years, the rapid and widespread ejection of many older workers from the workforce has left many feeling depressed and inconsequential at what they feel is a premature conclusion to their careers. 

Aging and career do not have to be oil and water. Rather, let us view the career of the mature worker as needing serious reform as they look toward a future in which work can still be engaging, satisfying, and lucrative. Fortunately, one of the great advantages of aging is a growing realization to make one’s remaining years count more than ever before. This can be a powerful motivator to approach life and career with renewed vigor. 

A process to reestablish a derailed career later in life begins by accepting that the old rules for finding work do not apply much anymore. Being overly reliant on searching for job postings that may be a fit can waste too much time. Instead, direct yourself toward conducting a thorough self-assessment. Identify all those traits, skills, qualifications, and most importantly experiences, which when combined define you as an asset. Leave nothing out of this list. If needed, query those who know you well to see how they perceive you. 

At this point reflect on this rich attribute inventory with the goal of selecting what Dick Bolles, the author of the perennial What Color Is Your Parachute, elegantly calls your favorite skills and your favorite experiences. This is when a cognitive exercise becomes emotional in nature. By recognizing the most energizing of what you have done and can still do, you appreciate what is possible in your future work. 

Making the most of your remaining work years is made possible by acting on your strengths. We do not have to accept a bitter end to our working years. Alternatively, we can construct a career made meaningful by capitalizing on the best of what we have to offer. But a significant part of doing so involves remembering those changed rules I mentioned earlier. There is a good chance the best of you may not fit neatly into a single job for which an employer will compensate you. 

Multiple income streams result from orchestrating a variety of work lines that together make up your favorite performance characteristics. Investigating and implementing various means of monetizing your sweet spots can lead to a satisfying hybrid career. 

There are some things to keep in mind about patching together multiple income streams. For example, you need to remain quite flexible in dovetailing your diversified ventures. Determining what can be scaled up and down due to parameters of time, money, and energy will place you in the role of being your own career choreographer.  

Achieving a degree of sustainability with each stream may take time but think how rewarding it will be when you get there. Having this new career be enjoyable is what it is all about. This life puts a new twist into the notion of being your own boss. 

I started this reframing of career for the mature worker by suggesting a self-assessment. There is no better time to reflect on where you have been and how far you have come, than near the end of your “productive” years. Now is the time to give yourself permission to approach life with a different flavor and approach than has been done before. Allow yourself to feel free, mix it up, and experiment. Benefit from all you have accomplished. Exhilarate at being at the top of your game. 

Is It Becoming a Women’s World?

Posted on by Bill Ryan

As an aging male with 60 years of perspective, I cannot help but note the huge change American women are undergoing in terms of their career options. As women have demanded and experienced a shift in social, political, and economic power sharing there is a wide and growing range of work choices available to them. 

I still remember how odd I thought it looked to see my first uniformed female police officer and big rig female truck driver and woman on a construction crew. It is not that I thought it wrong, but it did seem out of place. Growing up in the 50s and 60s I basically thought as a young person that work for women outside of the home was limited to being a secretary or an elementary school teacher or a nurse. 

Now women seem to be in nearly every profession, including the running of companies. In retrospect, I suppose observing the integration of women into traditional male jobs was my first eye opener to cultural change. It has since only increased in pace. 

For those of us who think increased equality among citizens is a good thing, then the news is great. The power structure long dominated by male viewpoints is yielding to a more balanced approach enriched by ideas contributed by women. Conventional wisdom suggests this is leading to a society that is fairer and representative of every person’s interests. 

While I applaud this historic development and in no way wish for a regression, I also notice an angst and relative lack of direction on the part of men. In general, while the career prospects for women are expanding men appear to be more adrift with their changing role. Here are some of the signs I see: 

  • Men took a greater unemployment hit during the recession than woman. Jobs requiring brawn like construction and traditional manufacturing were being shed faster than jobs requiring nurturing and education like healthcare and business services. 
  • Women now outpace men in receiving college degrees. In a world that is going to rely only more on an educated workforce, this bodes well for those individuals embracing higher learning. 
  • The trend in leadership roles is to become more gender neutral. As women move more into management and executive positions it displaces the men who formally held those spots. 
  • The competition field for securing jobs is getting deeper. Not long ago, men had to form job search strategies that pitted them against other men only. Not anymore. Now men must compete against women. This is not a comfortable place for many men to be. 
  • The nature of work is changing in that physical strength, the greatest value point men have traditionally had, is increasingly less in demand. Technology, mechanical engineering, and robotics are already handling much of the digging, lifting, and carrying once done by strong men. And as time goes on, there will be even less need for physical strength on the job. 
  • Increasing numbers of men are wanting to spend more time with their kids. Men putting their careers on hold or at least slowing the pace of development in favor of parenting seems to be becoming quite acceptable among the children of Baby Boomers. How this choice is seen by hiring managers once the man wants to re-engage with the workforce is still unclear, but potentially damaging to his career. 

How this all turns out is hard to say. Perhaps work is becoming completely gender neutral, and we will no longer think in terms of male and female jobs. But for men who like things traditional, facing these employment adjustments may be rocky for the foreseeable future. 

Make Music When Tooting Your Own Horn

Posted on by Bill Ryan

One of the most difficult practices for people to pull off when advancing their careers is verbal self-promotion. Known commonly as the elevator pitch or the power statement, this self-promotional introduction can have the strength to leave a lasting impression about you with an influencer, or by contrast leave you forgettable. 

Being able to professionally introduce yourself to decision makers or those connected to them, when your objective is to seek employment or career advancement opportunities, is an important practice to master. Typically, there is often not much time to make a strong impression when opportunities to do so come about. People are busy. Time is short. If you cannot communicate relevance and practicality to the listener pointedly and in the moment, then you run the risk of being boring, extraneous, or even a nuisance. 

As if this is not pressure enough, think how awkward and stressful it can be to make a sales pitch about yourself if you are introverted, shy, or lacking in confidence. Well, that describes a whole lot of us! No wonder so many of us take feeble solace in saying, “I don’t like to toot my own horn.” 

We have convinced ourselves that to not display traits about ourselves is a virtue. We may even blame this weakness on our parents. “I wasn’t brought up to make a spectacle of myself.” True, to not draw attention to yourself is preferred in some social situations, but it does not help us to make a mark in our career development. 

Your professional introduction summarizes your expertise and value to the workplace. Making one need not be a major hurdle or social faux pas. There is a way to compose, practice, and eventually master the introduction. To make the spiel impactful, it should be short, perhaps 30 to 90 seconds, and rich in content. To begin follow a simple formula. For example: 

My name is

. 

I am [use job title or subject matter expert descriptor]. 

I have

years of experience as a
. 

Add Power Statement 1. 

Add Power Statement 2. 

By Power Statements I mean a line that includes a competency and an accomplishment. 

Let’s look at an example: 

My name is Jane Smith.  

I am an expert in dental office management. 

I have thirteen years of experience as a dental office manager, including eight with a $2M practice. 

I am highly organized. For example, I was fully responsible for all ordering of supplies, negotiating with dental supply vendors, and conducting inventory control. 

I am also great at personnel development, having hired, trained, and evaluated all seven of our non-medical staff. 

These pitches can contain your soft “human connection” skills, or they can highlight your innovative solutions to significant problems, or they can describe how you added value.  

So, now that we have a professional introduction framed out, we must make sure it does not sound too clinical. If you come across resonating as too rehearsed and scripted it will sound so — and not be impressive. Practice making these points as a real person would sound. Recite your pitch to others without worrying about word memorization and get feedback. Is it sounding natural? Is it coming across smoothly and genuinely? 

Another interesting approach is to begin your intro with a question. Questions have a way of focusing our attention at the outset. For example, “You know that stress you feel every spring as April 15 approaches? My name is Jim Smith and I’m a Tax Preparer…” 

For those of us who are not naturally smooth-talking salesmen, who can have just the right persuasive words roll off your tongue at just the right moment, you will need to prepare and practice. Developing a strong professional introduction can help accelerate your career. So go ahead, toot your own horn and make music while doing so. 

Telecommuting and the Innovative Environment

Posted on by Bill Ryan

A very interesting and potentially watershed story has emerged in recent days in business news. It concerns the top-down working conditions decision made by the recently selected CEO of Yahoo! Marissa Mayer. Ms. Mayer has announced that telecommuting among the company’s employees is to be eliminated. Although this decision was intended for internal dissemination only, it quickly leaked to the rest of us and has sparked a rapid and vociferous debate about productivity and innovation in cutting edge companies — and by extension to the rest of us. 

To be clear, I have been and continue to be an enthusiastic proponent of any workplace practices that promote creativity, collaboration, autonomy, productivity, and civility. Among the exciting changes emerging within the post-industrial workplace has been employer recognition to adopt flexible working conditions, many of which achieve these very goals. 

Common examples include open concept “office-less” workplaces that promote interaction and sharing, remote working via technology whether from home or other places conducive to production, and work settings that include benefits like childcare, gyms, and ping-pong tables. 

The underlying management belief in these types of arrangements is that workplaces should be results-only-work-environments, encouraging employees to produce individual and even idiosyncratic styles, if measurable deliverables are realized. 

A management approach embracing an attitude that trusts its employees to be value-producing when they are given freedom to choose schedules, environments, colleagues, and problem-solving approaches is the trend in working conditions. So why has Ms. Mayer, a product of Google, Silicon Valley, and data-driven decision making, made the move to eliminate one of the fastest growing flexible workplace practices, telecommuting? The apparent answer is to re-establish a lost culture of innovation. 

Innovation has become the holy grail of business, particularly in the fast-paced Internet-based industry of services and content. Yahoo! was once a big player in the early days of the web. It was one of the first to establish one-place shopping for search, email, news, shopping and much more.

Since its mid-1990s launch, however, it has been losing market share to much bigger innovators such as Google, Apple, and Amazon, who currently dominate the web. Yahoo! is in trouble. Survivability is in doubt. 

So, is corralling all employees back to the ranch going to reinvigorate an innovative edge and competitive advantage or is this a desperate move based in fear that if old fashioned business standards are not reapplied the company is going to sink? Time will tell, but this story does raise the question of what it takes to create work conditions that inspire workers to innovate and produce at optimal levels. 

Encouraging high levels of creative performance in any workforce will result from valuing original problem solving and adaptability. When management applauds new ideas, the exercise of imagination, and learning from rather than avoiding mistakes, then innovation flourishes. 

For most of us, unlearning the way we were educated can lead to more creativity. Our schools were designed to produce workers for the industrial age, not the much more sophisticated information age we have only just entered. Sameness, rigidity, and compliance characterize the way most of us were educated. Assessment methods have been little more than a means of measuring accountability or adherence to these standards. 

This outdated education model is often replicated in too many businesses that value hanging on to tradition more than innovation. As a result, innovation is often stifled at a time when it is needed most to stay competitive and relevant. My concern with Yahoo!’s latest move is that it appears to be a reach for an old-styled accountability practice during a time of anguish. It is as if the thinking is non-traditional workforce practices are not giving us a competitive advantage, so let us go back to what worked in the old days. 

I have no doubt Marissa Mayer will use data over time in determining what works and what does not work for fostering innovation at Yahoo!. For the rest of us we will have an interesting experiment to observe with lessons to be derived for the future of business and the facilitation of innovative workforces. 

Internet Privacy and Our Careers

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Social media appears to be growing in functionality beyond being just a way for friends to share interests. Marketing professionals, for example, generally accept that getting their product or service shared and discussed among connected individuals is now a solid and preferred part of any business’ promotional plan. Facebook and Twitter have become an essential part of many marketing campaigns. 

The power of social media is also playing a factor in career development. Sharing career related tips, job openings, employer reviews, and more is occurring among trusted peers. But perhaps the most powerful advantage of social media is the way it exposes individuals to those sourcing and background checking talent. Each of us has the option of crafting our information and building dynamic profiles that reinforce the professional brand we wish to project. 

In fact, we are at the point where not having a robust presence on social media places us at a distinct disadvantage in advancing our careers. Remaining in the digital shadows could very well mean we do not get found by the very stakeholders we need to have find us to move forward. This phenomenon is particularly a problem for the older end of the workforce, who still do not accept or who harbor a mistrust of social media and its implications. 

Despite the growing advantages of leveraging social media for talent searchability it does raise a significant social issue that is increasingly becoming relevant, the value of individual privacy in the digital age. A disconcerting correlation is now evident — the more we increase our Internet presence the more we diminish our privacy. 

The web is becoming ever more invasive. Cookies that track our Internet use, location tracking apps, and other user-identification functions means others can and do store and re-purpose data about us. Simply using the Internet engages us in personal data sharing of some sort even though we rarely or ever give anyone permission to collect and use our personal information or Internet-use behavior. 

Maintaining some semblance of personal privacy in the Information Age may soon become the next big civil rights issue. What we now know is that keeping a relatively unregulated Internet yields individual privacy rights in favor of those with some degree of economic power and capital, i.e., big business. So, what is new? Power always seems to concentrate on the haves vs. the have-nots in an unregulated environment. In time we will see how it all turns out. 

There is a legitimate concern when we use websites for information gathering and research purposes that our personal data or web use is collected and tracked behind the scenes. The use of social media specifically is intentional sharing of information about us. When we essentially advertise ourselves online via social media, we have a harder time crying foul when we are found out. 

Each of us needs to weigh the potentiality of an Internet display with the concurrent erosion of anonymity. Although this is a very personal decision, the reality is that being searchable is a best practice in job searching and recruiting. 

Controlling what is known about you online with a professional-looking profile and website is the recommended way to go. Applying a 20th century concept of privacy to these times is not practical for career movers. At least to some extent we need to get over the privacy angst. However, each of us does need to advocate for stronger opt-in controls of what is displayed about us online. There should be options beyond no web involvement at all and full unregulated exposure. The Internet should serve us, not the other way around. 

Are Job Boards Worth Your Time?

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Job boards, such as Monster, CareerBuilder, Indeed, and SimplyHired are getting a bad rap these days. The word is out that job boards are no longer effective or relevant for job searchers. Their image problem can be summed up in the words of a client who recently said to me, “C’mon, have you really heard of anyone getting a job from Monster?” 

It was not that many years ago job boards were seen as the next great thing. Instead of going to newspaper classifieds, job seekers could now go online to these supercharged job listings that held many more postings of descriptions from all over the country. Not only that, but they were being constantly reviewed by recruiters searching for talent. I remember speaking to a recruiter in 2008 who told me most of his day was spent trolling Monster and CareerBuider. They certainly were an improvement on the old and restricted methods available pre-Internet. 

In the meantime, however, the job searcher experience has deteriorated using these sites. Users now find themselves flooded with cheap emails from for-profit “career” schools asking them to spend money they do not have or from New York Life and Aflac and the like trying to convince them to become 100% commission salespersons. Oh and of course, starting your own franchise for whoever will really change your life for the better. Right! I have gotten to the point of recommending to clients who heavily use job boards to dedicate an email address to their job search, so that their regular email does not become inundated with this junk. 

Another concern for many regards posting their resumes to these sites. Yes, many more eyeballs will be on them, but maybe not all the eyeballs belong to people you want to see them. In particular, is the worry about contact information. Of course, you need to have a way for potential employers to reach you, but do you want your home address seen by a large anonymous audience? This is one of the reasons why more and more people, particularly women, are opting out of having their mailing addresses included on their resumes. 

Probably the biggest problem is that many jobseekers think sitting at the computer for a few hours each day submitting their resumes for positions that have great sounding job descriptions, but for which they have no networking connections at all, is job hunting. It may feel like you are doing something valuable, but the truth is very few jobs are acquired this way. Too much time can be wasted, and your frustration increased. 

So, are job boards passé? Not necessarily. They still have practical uses. I often recommend they be used for research. For example, individuals who are either trying to enter the job market or who are hoping to transition to some different type of employment can find the job descriptions included on job boards revealing. By finding appealing descriptions you can more easily determine how you are a fit for such jobs. Does your list of qualifications closely match the required skills for the job? If not, what can you do to reinvent or improve your professional status? 

Another great use of job descriptions on these boards is to use them for harvesting relevant keywords. When tailoring your resume, it is important that it contains keywords like those contained in the job description you are targeting. Alignment of what you have to offer with what a potential employer needs is key to securing an interview. 

And yes, sometimes people do find jobs on Monster. I place it far below good networking and even outreach to recruiters in effectiveness, but it can happen. In general, I recommend spending about 10% of your job search time looking at job boards, 20% getting the attention of recruiters, and 70% on effective networking. 

The challenge for job boards is to stay relevant in the ever-changing world of job searching and career development. Time will tell if they can do it. 

Ten Best Career Development Practices for 2013

Posted on by Bill Ryan

A couple of years ago I penned a piece called The 10 Best Career Development Practices. It remains one of my most read blogs. But in the time since it was written I have come to feel that this list needs some slight adjusting. A combination of more time delivering career development services on my part along with a growing recognition of the realignment occurring with effective career practices leads me to revise this list. What follows is my 2013 take on the ten most advantageous steps a professional person can do to enhance their career. 

  1. Know Your Professional Value — Conduct a self-assessment resulting in you feeling comfortable, confident, and focused about your value proposition. Think of yourself as a subject matter expert with reliable and consistent qualities that set you apart from the competition.
  2. Develop the Three Capitals — Consistently be involved in building and growing your intellectual, social, and emotional capital. This leaves you well informed, well connected, and energized about your profession. Career growth is a 3-legged stool. For balance, work on all three simultaneously.
  3. Write a Strong Resume — The document that most anchors and communicates your value proposition is the resume. Although its primary purpose is to secure an interview do not forget that its overall marketing potential can be crucial.
  4. Prepare Intriguing Cover Letters — Making that first impression is of course key. Promoting your own skills while aligning them with the potential employer’s needs and following up with a great resume may open the all-important door to an interview.
  5. Engage in Networking — Yes, who you know and who knows you does matter. Most of the high-quality employment arises from referrals among trusted contacts. The best way to get to a hiring decision maker is to know them in the first place or know someone else who knows them.
  6. Manage an Online Profile — Recruiters and hiring managers tend to fish where the fish are. If you are not in the pond, then you will not get caught. The Internet is the pool where talent is found and investigated. Additionally, being online helps you to share your brand, build your network, and cultivate your professional relationships.
  7. Engineer Your Job Search Process — Knowing what comprises a truly comprehensive job search involves implementing a complex set of procedures. Understanding what techniques can motivate you and using an organization tool like a career management CRM can make the process much more manageable and successful.
  8. Use Power Statements and a 30-Second Pitch — When introducing yourself to high potential professionals realize their time is tight and attention spans probably short. Making impactful statements that leave you remembered and hopefully valued requires an economic delivery.
  9. Conduct Informational Interviews — A research technique that assists you in building intellectual and social capital is the informational interview. Seeking out and conversing with professionals who can provide useful information you can use in determining the direction of your career is a powerful tactic.
  10. Perform Well in Your Job Interview — This age-old conundrum is as elusive as ever for many, but it does not have to be that way. Preparing without cramming by rehearsing your upcoming performance such that you dovetail your background knowledge with the potential employer’s needs is well worth the effort.

You may have noticed that developing a career is an ongoing pursuit not limited to the times when you receive a pink slip. It helps to get over the natural but inhibiting desire to be complacent with a single job or relatively unchanging career.  

For those not held back by inertia, but rather eager to enter the career fray this list of practices should help the career-oriented individual form a continual improvement strategy. 

The Continued Growth of the Independent Worker

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Among the workforce phenomena already underway prior to the recession, but which has picked up pace since, is the increasing role of independent workers. These soloists are typically defined as part- or full-time workers who do not violate the employee-defining guidelines set by various state labor, revenue, and employment security departments. 

They are called by a variety of names, such as independent contractors, consultants, freelancers, self-employed, temporary, on-call workers, and even solopreneurs. Whatever you call them, their ranks are growing. 

In September, MBO Partners, a service provider for independent workers and companies that hire them, released their second annual “State of Independence in America” survey. What they found was that the trend toward project or portfolio work was increasing across all demographic cohorts of today’s workforce. Conditions appear to be coalescing that allow for growth in this non-traditional employment sector. 

My own speculation is that the combination of more workers accepting, perhaps begrudgingly, the new normal of an uncertain economic environment both domestically and globally, in combination with affordable technology improvements, is allowing for expansion of independent contracting. 

Time will tell if independent contracting is a sustainable, non-cyclical, and viable career option. However, this survey reveals some interesting points of transition within a population historically used to finding economic security by way of a single employer. Nearly 17 million workers operate as independents currently, up one million from last year. Projections are that 23 million will be their own boss in five years. 

The number of independents who claim satisfaction and reduced anxiety with this career choice is also growing. Many in fact intend to hire employees as resources allow, suggesting that independent contracting may be a gateway to larger entrepreneurial ventures. 

The GenXers, those aged 33 to 49, seem to embrace this concept the most out of the demographic groups measured. Given their relative vitality coupled with some years of actual work experience they are more open to taking control of their career and lifestyle destinies, certainly more so than their employer-loyal parents. 

Perhaps somewhat counter intuitively, the Gen Y (aged 21–32) workers appear to have a more mixed view of independent working, at least for now. The difficulty they have been facing in recent years entering the workforce and gaining valuable work experience may be skewing their attitude. After all, independence may not be a choice for them, but simply their school-of-hard-knocks reality. 

Many Boomers (aged 50–66) on the other hand have their own reasons for resisting migration to this level of work autonomy. In short, they were not brought up this way. Rather, dedication to an employer who in turn provided economic security has been their norm. But increasingly this generation too is seeing the benefits of more self-reliance and determination as evidenced in the survey. Increased flexibility, less workplace politics, more control over scheduling, and greater opportunities to practice their individual skillsets on their terms is being seen as attractive. 

I see significant advantages for our collective careers in encouraging individual economic independence. Although it may never, and perhaps should not ever, entirely replace the traditional employer-employee relationship there is nevertheless value in workers adopting a more flexible and adaptable economic position within the general workforce. 

Maybe we could start preparing our youth by insisting that our schools replace some of their course load, which is of marginal importance for the mainstream, like algebra and medieval history, with financial literacy and entrepreneurism.  

And Boomers, accept it. You are being ejected from the traditional workforce sooner than you expected. Your choice is becoming the pasture or carving a niche that matters to the marketplace. 

Change is only going to become more exponential, not less. Preparing yourself for independent contracting may be the best way to position your career for it. 

Questioning Holiday Pandemonium

Posted on by Bill Ryan

These are tough times for those of us who really dislike shopping. We are not only bombarded by holiday shopping advertising everywhere we turn but are told by economists and those who report what they say that shopping is practically a patriotic duty. Apparently, the economic health of the country is largely dependent on how robust consumer activity is. The more we buy the better it is for the economy. 

Now I understand retail makes up about a third of retailers’ annual revenues between Thanksgiving and Christmas and that $465B is expected to be spent on gifts, food, and decor this year alone. Clearly the 8% of the GDP driven by retail needs consumer spending. But I cannot help but to be bothered by some consequences of an economy so reliant on consumerism. For example: 

Material Overindulgence: Do we really need all the stuff we have? American households are bursting with things, many of them tangential to what is necessary for survival or even a reasonably comfortable lifestyle. We collect, clutter, and hoard more and more items to fill all the space made available by our ever-larger houses. 

Resource Depletion: To build, make, and produce all this stuff we are consuming vast amounts of the planet’s resources. From oil to water to minerals and beyond we voraciously harvest the earth for the by-products needed to leave ourselves saturated with products. 

Global Reputation: It does not take Henry Kissinger to see why the rest of the world resents us. We consume vastly more than most of the world’s other countries. We have an insatiable per capita appetite that leaves an impression we are selfish and bottomless. 

Does this holiday season again have to mean that we feel pressured to spend money that in many cases we do not have? Look how many of us cringe every January when we get that credit card statement. So much for the previous month’s Happy Holidays.  

The buying binge will help retailers, (many of whom are now becoming required to work on Thanksgiving) but it comes at a cost to a society that could be placing its monetary value on more substantive and meaningful purchases. 

Maybe we can temper our consumerism so that the dollars we spend reduce waste and hoarding while at the same time going into the pockets of as many of our fellow citizens as possible. Buying locally produced consumables whenever possible is one important way of strengthening our local economies. Consumables like show tickets, restaurant gift certificates, and locally grown produce put money into our communities while stemming the tide of junk purchased from national big box outlets. 

But more importantly let us give serious thought to mitigating the frenzy now occurring every holiday season. Black Friday near riots and Cyber Monday shopping while “at work”?! What are we doing to ourselves? 

We seem to accept that working ourselves into a holiday shopping mania is the new true meaning of Christmas. Can we just chill? Let’s bring holidays back to a simpler time of recognizing family and friends in a more calm and loving way. Can it be possible to have a season of spiritual warmth without dumping a truckload of detritus on our loved ones? 

Finding a way to spur economic growth that does not rely on binge buying will be significant challenge for a society hooked on ho ho ho=dough dough dough. If I had the answer, I would print it here. All I know is that there is a downside to the type of consumerism characterizing the current state of the holiday season.  

I wish my friends in retail, marketing, and manufacturing happy holidays, but I also hope that the way they approach the last two months of each year will eventually change to something less frenetic. 

A Call for Future-Oriented Education

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Encouraging and supporting a high quality system of educating both youth and adults is fundamental to our being a thriving and competitive country in today’s global marketplace. A nation that would short-change its schools and training opportunities gets what it pays for — an unmotivated and unskilled workforce. 

But the role of educational institutions is under pressure to change not just some of its practices, but its core mission. Preparing citizens for the future is not what it used to be. Historically, it was accepted that a relatively limited set of skills were needed to fortify a person for the world that awaited. We had the canon of reading, writing, and arithmetic (still important, of course) and threw in some knowledge to encourage citizenship. However, beyond that, students were largely on their own to determine which of several career paths they would choose. 

Not so in the 21st century. Even a bachelor’s degree may not be enough to suffice for an entire career. The nature of work and professionalism is changing too rapidly. In fact, it is estimated that today what one learns in college will in many ways be outdated before the student loans are paid off. Even the so-called blue-collar jobs are becoming more technical and require skills and certifications that did not exist in the recent past. 

Also, blue collar no longer equates to low skill. To think that achieving a certain level of education will be adequate for almost any career today is shortsighted and rooted in old-fashioned ways of thinking. 

For those dedicated to teaching, training, and helping people learn, this news is good. It means your job never ends. Education is ongoing. Learning is lifelong.  

The ones who most need to reframe their thinking are all the rest of us who need to wrap our arms around the reality that obsolescence will always be nipping at our heels and that learning, relearning, and unlearning are now constants. Complacency is the greatest threat to our careers. Growing accustomed to changing skills and demands is the greatest benefit. 

Workforce growth is linked to sophisticated skill development. However, according to the U.S. Labor Department there is a lack of talent in the STEM careers (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), healthcare, and business. One thing this recession has made clear is that economic recovery is not about recreating conditions whereby people can return to their old jobs. It is much more about realizing that successful long-term employment is in preparing a workforce capable of performing in relevant jobs of the future. And that future is now. 

Companies that do the hiring are increasingly concerned about the lack of necessary skills available. This problem is now as egregious as other competitive issues such as location, transportation of products, and procurement of materials. 

The problem grows larger when you look out over the legions of unemployed and see that three-fourths of them only have a high school education. If you want to be a player in the workforce of tomorrow, you must accept that a high school diploma is not enough. Be ready to get higher ed, vocational ed, or other skill training however you can do it and know that learning will be continuous. For many of us this will be the only path to living the lifestyle we want. 

Schools should start getting this message to students at a young age. Society needs to shake loose this notion that education is something you do before living. Rather, it is what we do as part of living. A thriving, dynamic, and competitive nation is one that is always learning and adapting. 

Job Hopping Has Its Advantages

Posted on by Bill Ryan

So many of us just want a job with a decent employer so we can go about our lives free of the stress and turmoil of job hunting. It is not such a bad thing to want employment complacency, as in cruising along doing something we like in exchange for the security of a steady paycheck. Unfortunately, trying to find that level of contentment in today’s job market is becoming less and less likely. 

The harsh reality is that loyalty ain’t what it used to be. You may want to display loyalty and commitment to your employer, but in many cases do not expect it to be returned. The convention has become that companies and their managers are not loyal to employees. Oh, they may rely on you for the skill you can bring, and they may appreciate you when it suits them, but thinking they have your best career interests at heart is dreaming. A basic survival tip is to rely on yourself and on your own talents. 

Job transitions have become more common and are expected to continue to be in the future. Although you need to be careful not to compile a history of leaving a series of jobs under negative circumstances, you do have permission to hop from a good situation to a better one. If you can make the case that the reason you are leaving a job is because your work with them is essentially completed from your perspective and that you are ready to transfer your skills to a new challenge, then why not? 

There are several reasons job hopping can be good for your career. Let us begin by looking at the way multiple positions broaden your horizon. By working in a variety of settings you build a better and more realistic understanding of how companies run because of experiencing different work settings and cultures. Your network of contacts expands and your career portfolio grows. Taken together, this deepens your knowledge of your profession and makes you a more well-rounded employee. 

Who knows where your future will be? Careers develop in a non-linear fashion and are likely to be a hybrid of competencies taken from many places. By adding diversity to your work history, you open the future up to greater opportunities and possibilities. 

An additional value to having many jobs is the adaptability you develop. Employment maturity characterized by flexibility and an ability to change is more valuable than knowing just one organization’s way of doing things. 

If you know yourself to be a high performer, then expect your talent to be desired. You may find putting yourself into a strong negotiating position is enhanced by having an attitude that you are willing to shop for the best employment opportunity at any given time. Now, if your current employer checks all your boxes, then of course stay and thrive, but if you are treading water in a ho-hum job, go ahead and actively seek an alternative. 

And what may be holding you back from embracing job hopping as a career development strategy? Well, fear of course! You mind is probably going through a bad episode of the “What Ifs”. What if managers think I’m unreliable? What if there is nothing better out there than the devil I know? What if I cannot maintain the expensive lifestyle I have grown accustomed to? 

So, in addition to those questions ask yourself this: Am I a go-getter or not? Am I willing to take a risk to improve? Am I as good at what I do as I think I am? If you can answer “Yes!” to these questions then job hopping may be the plan for you. 

Communication Can Enhance Your Career

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Every line of work can benefit from a workforce that knows how to communicate clearly and effectively. A free and comprehensible flow of information among colleagues, across departments, and between customers and companies leads to optimal productivity and profitability. Conversely, poor communication diminishes competitiveness and the quality of service. 

Normally we think that mastering a specific skillset is the surest way to advance one’s career. Obviously, the better you can advise clients on financial plans the better a financial planner you can be and the greater your command of building cabinets the more proficient a cabinet maker you will be. But a competence that is of equal importance in boosting your career across all industries is the mastering of communication. 

Speaking, listening, writing, reading, and viewing are the typical communication methods that come to mind when defining what communication is. However, if we investigate these activities more carefully to see how they can affect workplace functioning we can be more mindful of how to enhance our careers by increasing the quality of work done for our employers. 

I was introduced to a blog recently posted on onlinecollege.org in which the writer does an excellent job of identifying twenty-one communication mistakes to be avoided at work. Whereas all these weaknesses should be noted as important, there are some themes that stand out to me warranting further elaboration. 

Taking the time to self-examine the role our individual egos play in how we communicate is well worth the effort. Look at how often we get consumed by trying to save face at work. No one wants to be seen as incompetent, which is natural, but this can lead to poor communication habits. For example, think of all the times we did not ask for clarification or help on a project or task, because we did not want to look stupid or weak. 

“I’ll figure it out on my own”, we may tell ourselves only to find out that we went too far off on a tangent instead of getting to the heart of the problem to be solved. Rather, requesting clarity or assistance can be approached from a position of competence and as part of commanding style. 

In writing resumes for clients, I sometimes come across performance reviews that they share with me. Here is a communication error I see managers complain about a lot — overuse of email. It may seem that we can increase the quantity of communication with email, but that does not always translate into quality. Getting on the phone or meeting face to face may take more time, but in many situations, it means better listening is occurring, leading to more cogent points being made by both parties. 

Determining who is in the loop and keeping them abreast of developments in a timely manner is a sound practice. Participants on a project work best with open collaboration. It is fine for there to be a moderator but using the “Reply to All” feature in all forms of communication is often the best policy. 

Good communication promotes strong teams. Given the workforce evolution toward greater teamwork, applying co-production communication techniques is a win/win for employees and employers alike. 

Perhaps the most harmful communication mistake is going negative. So many workplaces are drama factories in which grown adults communicate with the level of sensitivity and self-awareness found in a junior high school cafeteria. Put a bunch of insecure and immature egos together in the same building and watch out. Management can have a big task ahead trying to herd the cats. 

Martin Luther King, Jr. probably addressed this issue best when he advised that before we say something about someone else, we should test the comment by applying three conditions: Is it true? Is it fair? Is it kind? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then it is best to keep it to yourself. 

Getting ahead with your career can often be little more than becoming a strong communicator. Do that and you will be noticed. 

Tips for Women in Compensation Negotiations

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Negotiating terms and conditions of contracts following a hiring offer can be a daunting experience for everyone. It has been noted by many observers, including women, that women have not been as savvy as men in negotiating compensation packages. This has resulted in depressed wages for comparable work being performed by men. Breaking that mold has been hard. In many ways “business” has been set up to be a man’s world with male behaviors dominating the way business is conducted. 

One of the biggest impediments for women has been the inclination to not cause what they perceive as conflict. By asking for optimal compensation, they too often feel they are rocking the boat and making waves. Throughout much of their lives they are making peace and taking care of others, which does not necessarily prepare them for the give and take and struggle of compensation negotiations. 

Here are some tips that I think will help to balance the situation and benefit women in their career development. 

  1. Negotiating is a combination of art and science. Doing your research prior to negotiating is very important (which I will get into more below), but the art is equally important and has to do with body language, eye contact, authoritative voice, and the general vibes you give. I believe one’s interview and negotiating stance is enhanced by accepting that both domains deserve attention.
  2. When being given a job it is expected that you will be thrilled about being offered the position. I would caution against letting exhilaration dictate too much of your negotiating posture. Try for a little detachment internally and in negotiations with the new employer, such that you do not lose sight of a degree of objectivity which can strengthen your hand.
  3. Be clear on what you want as components of your overall compensation package. In addition to salary try placing an emotional and financial value on things like vacation, personal leave, and sick time; a telecommuting option; a degree of work autonomy; bonuses; a desire for a results-only-work-environment; appraisal methods; etc. You may be willing to dial salary down to ratchet some of these other benefits up.
  4. You are in a better negotiating position the clearer you are about “internal equity”, i.e., what the employment market supports regarding your position. Many mention going to Glassdoor.com and Salary.com, which is fine. But I would expand the search to include Vault. com; The Occupational Outlook Handbook on bls.gov; onetcenter.com; and most importantly Pay Scale. Pay Scale does a great job of providing detailed salary reports for a variety of positions. They offer a free customized one for people who are starting to check them out. I recommend ordering one of these. You will feel better armed with data.
  5. Yes, ask for relatively high compensation but without eliminating you from consideration or causing them to rescind the offer. Support the request with as many examples of transferable and related accomplishments from current and past experiences as possible in addition to tactfully communicating that you want to be lured away from your current compensation package where you now work. This is your “value add” pitch.
  6. You may want to consider asking for performance benchmarks, perhaps in six months, communicating to them you would like the entertain the notion of a “raise” in the near term, if it is looking like their final offer may come in a bit low for you.
  7. Keep in mind the long-term career benefit when negotiating the short-term details. This job may mark a turn that can lead to career development benefits in your chosen field far into the future. This development potential may outweigh some “lost” benefits you may experience over the next year or two.

Women are already making significant gains in education and employment in this fast-growing and knowledge-based economy. It only makes sense that compensation should follow. 

Expertise Drives the Future of Employment

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Everybody wants a job. You want to go out, get hired by somebody, perform some pre-determined tasks, get paid, and go home. Simple, right? It’s the way it has always been. 

But hold on a moment. The news is that working at a job will not be the same for much longer. The nature of the job is undergoing a radical shift as we become more of a knowledge-based economy. We are being told those who do not keep up with how employment is changing will be at a disadvantage in the employment marketplace going forward. 

Because American workers are having to engage much more directly with global competitors, companies are required to shift the way they structure operations and employees are being forced to face a new definition of what being successful means. 

The knowledge-based organization and its talent force must be more agile to meet growing business demands. They need to learn fast, communicate clearly, and adapt to change. The old method of presenting a long list of past experiences on your resume as evidence that you have current value is giving way to demonstrating that you have just-in-time needed expertise that can be applied from day one. 

It is expertise more than experience that separates the future oriented worker from the old-fashioned one. If you can link your past experiences to applicable expertise that is desired now, then great. You are ready to move forward. But if you think that just having a long history of meeting the same type of responsibilities in a similar manner over time is going to separate you from the pack, then think again. 

Legacy skills are taking a back seat to modernized specialized skills. Preparing for a world that honors creative and deep specializations expressed within cross-functional teams, which are not limited by borders and silos, is the future for the successful worker. 

Becoming specialized is not anything new, but it is becoming increasingly important. Traditionally we have looked at our interests and early skills, matched them up with a pre-existing list of career options, and made a choice about what we would do for work.  

But increasingly it is too hard to fix a list of stable careers. Technology is generating new specialties both directly and indirectly all the time. From mobile branding experts to global collaboration facilitators, the brave new world is characterized by more speed, more innovation, and greater challenges requiring novel solutions. This can also mean blending your skills into new and valuable hybrids that reflect both your interests and what sells. 

Refining a set of skills, collecting quantifiable and qualitative data as evidence of proficiency, and continuously scanning the employment horizon for companies coveting your expertise is the strategy to best position yourself for opportunity. 

This strategy is helped enormously by logging your accomplishments. Each professional should have a portfolio or running record of their achievements, summarized in a resume, telling the story of how expertise has and is developing. There is a big difference between telling what your expertise is and presenting confirmation of what it is. 

Much is said about the importance of well-functioning teams in the workplace and with good reason. Shared and collaborative expertise enhances the strength and competitiveness of organizations. Merging common and related spheres of expertise not only benefits companies, but each of the internal players as well. Organizations that encourage continuous learning, demonstrate a culture of agility, and hire innate potential over raw experience increase their chances of attracting and retaining a high level of expertise in their workforce. 

So, instead of everybody wanting a job we may soon see everybody wanting a project requiring their specialty. Adjusting your perspective now on what a job means will help your upcoming employment prospects. 

Making a Resume Recruiter-Ready

Posted on by Bill Ryan

As is the case with most industries, the profession of resume writing is trending in new directions and undergoing changes. As writers, we know that to make resumes effective for their primary purpose, getting the job candidate an interview, we must please not only the job searcher, but perhaps more importantly the recruiter or hiring manager viewing the resume. 

Career Directors International, a global professional organization for career professionals, recently published their 2012 survey of hiring authorities, so that we in the business can track the latest preferences of recruiters, hiring managers, and others who source talent when viewing resumes to make hiring decisions. 

As one who wants to present my clients in the best possible light to these stakeholders, what they think and want matters to me a lot. In sharing some of the more salient, and frankly unexpected, findings of the survey, we can also review what many believe to be conventional wisdom, or should I say old fashioned thinking, about the construction of resumes. 

At the top of the list is the notion that resumes need to be one-page only. Only 6% of the respondents felt that way (21% did regarding blue collar resumes) with 34% preferring two pages and a surprising 37% feeling that length is not an issue if the content is quality. 

Given how busy these people are you would think they would want as brief a document as possible, but apparently not so. Let us not assume this means they want pages of verbose fluff. Three-quarters of the respondents already think that there is too much embellishment in resumes, and they want less irrelevant wordiness, not more. 

Functional resumes are the type that are focused on skills and competencies rather than chronological work histories. They are often used by people who have gaps in their work experience or who are just entering or returning to the workforce after a long absence. General thinking is that recruiters do not like them because of the perceived lack of consistent work experience. But a whopping 72% said “yes” or “maybe” they would consider interviewing a candidate with a functional resume and without a first-impression employment history timeline. Looks like what you can do might be starting to trump your longevity at work. 

One of the big challenges in resume preparation is writing the professional summary that serves as a lead in grabbing the attention of the reader. It should tightly communicate brand, strength, and achievement. The question often is whether to include one, and if so, should it be short or long. 

Again, a surprise finding is that 43% are fine with a longer summary version, 18% with a shorter version, and only 17% saying to skip it entirely. A combined 61% of respondents are therefore saying to have a professional summary. The unexpected part in this response comes in that reading a longer summary is okay with busy people. I am getting the message that good information is desired even for those with full schedules. 

Finally, there is a tendency to include new elements into resumes, such as links or QR codes to social media profiles or to present resumes as web-based videos. My assumption has been that most recruiters do not like straying too far from predictable, if not traditional, resume styles. Two-thirds said looking at external links is something they would consider, but only 13% would bother with video resumes. Sounds like putting time and energy into your LinkedIn profile may get more viewership than your self-promoting YouTube video. 

The bottom line is that there are few, if any, certainties when it comes to preparing your resume for competition. What is in today probably will be out tomorrow. But one absolute appears to remain: Having a resume that communicates high quality accomplishments and core competencies and that speaks to the position to which you are applying. 

Is There Really a Talent Shortage?

Posted on by Bill Ryan

There are some common claims being tossed around in the national self-diagnosis now occurring of why hiring is not significantly picking up. Declarations such as employers are learning to do more with fewer employees and that there is too much economic uncertainty to risk hiring employees, especially after how bad businesses were hurt at the start of the recession, are two assertions often heard. 

There is another claim that does not get quite as much play but is starting to be heard often enough. It is that employers cannot hire as much as they would like because there is a talent shortage. 

Apparently, the workplace is changing so rapidly that schools and the individuals attending them cannot keep up with newly designed job descriptions, many of which contain specialty requirements. This seems particularly true in industries such as IT and engineering.  

However, the alleged shortage is occurring throughout the workforce — or so many employers tell us. We can easily be left with the impression that growth in innovation is now so exponential that it is the fault of our lagging workforce not preparing themselves briskly enough for the new world order. 

So, is there really a talent shortage? Upon closer examination it may be that employers are unwittingly perpetuating a shortage and dampening hiring as a result. 

Yes, employers do feel there is something wrong with the candidate pool. And that something is that candidates are not qualified enough. If there were more qualified candidates, there would be more hiring. This seems to be their charge. It must be the candidates’ problem, right? 

But let us look at how the employer landscape has changed for potential employees. Employers are extremely cost conscious because of the recession. This has caused them to reduce and consolidate their workforces. Specialty hybrid positions have been created to produce more multiple-skilled positions than existed pre-recession. Therefore, when an opening occurs, a candidate is supposed to be specialized in not just one skill set but in more than one. Obviously, the pool of likely candidates just shrunk a lot. 

Let us dig a little deeper. Among the costs being saved is in reducing or eliminating training and development. Why spend on onboarding when you can hire plug and play defacto independent contractors for specific projects? With no onboarding activities the expectation is that candidates must be ready to produce with little to no ramp-up time. This may discourage candidates from applying or is the cause of early departures once hired.  

Another issue employers must contend with is the huge number of applicants sending in applications. A screening process must be used that selects out all but the “best”. This increasingly means use of applicant tracking system software. Two issues with this type of software. One is that it is not always very nuanced enough or sophisticated. Second, use of even the most effective software requires skillful and dedicated HR use, another area seeing cost cutting. 

Potential talent is being screened out. A related issue for employers is maybe they could at least let applicants know that their application was received and processed, then they wouldn’t be left wondering if their application ever made to you, reducing the number of times they apply for the same position. 

Sure, the workplace is changing, and it is important for candidates to keep skills current and to apply to only those positions for which they are qualified to succeed. But employers also have a responsibility to examine their hiring practices to see if they are contributing to not only their own “talent shortage”, but also to the stubbornly low levels of hiring nationwide. 

Retail Sales as a Possible Career Choice

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Lots of people work in retail. Whether one has chosen it as a career or is parked there temporarily as they try to put their career plans together, retail employment occupies the time and energy of millions of employees. 

Retail is viewed simultaneously as both career-lite by some and then again very seriously, particularly for managers and people passionate about the product they are selling. Trying to determine if long-term work in retail is right for you requires a bit of contemplation and planning. 

By retail we generally mean selling products in a brick-and-mortar store. How much longer this will last is uncertain. On the one hand it is obvious that millions still love to “go shopping”, i.e., getting into a car, driving to a store where you can browse, selecting items to buy, packing them into the car, and taking them home. 

But buying products is migrating much more to an online shopping practice that leaves the driving to UPS and FedEx. Come home from work and there awaits the product you ordered two days ago from your phone while watching TV. Even Best Buy, which appeared victorious when defeating Circuit City in the consumer electronics war a few years ago, is now in trouble. Are they being challenged by another big box outlet? No. They are being threatened by Internet shopping. 

So, expecting a long career in retail is like expecting certainty in any kind career today — do not count on it. But does that mean devoting your career to selling products is a dead end? Not necessarily. Let us look at a company that knows a thing or two about the Internet, but that also performs retail selling at a high end. 

Apple Retail Stores, yeah, the computer guys, manage to create a superior shopping experience for consumers. Ever walk into one of these glass and white steel shops? They are as clean and antiseptic as the spacecraft on 2001 A Space Odyssey and occupied by intelligent, enthusiastic, and hip salespeople. Apple has done a great job of not only creating a compelling store, but they have mastered providing high quality customer service and an overall attractive customer feel.   

They have a way of dividing and training their sales teams into Experts, Specialists, Geniuses, and Creatives. Experts determine what you need and then send you to Specialists who understand the products inside and out or to Geniuses who are real live human tech support. Maybe a chat with a Creative is needed so that you can truly geek out with someone who knows your Mac at a higher level. Together they work to deliver the revered Apple brand at the most personal of levels while leaving the consumer feeling that they are being well cared for. 

It is possible to work in high quality retail as our friends at Apple have shown. And it stands to reason that this model could work with other products as well. Perhaps a way to look at a career in retail is to think about which of these Apple-like categories you may fall into and then hone your skill in one or more of these select selling areas. 

Combining product expertise with person-to-person outreach to consumers looking for solutions can develop into a wonderful career, whether it is in a real or in a virtual store. 

Preparing For the Changing Workplace

Posted on by Bill Ryan

I recently read an article in a statewide business news publication written by a respected and intelligent business pro who was also an obvious Baby Boomer. In it he directed a subtle jab at LinkedIn, the social media website dedicated to professionals, and with it a not-so-subtle poke at social media in general. 

Although I agree with his point that time is too valuable to waste on frivolous or trivial matters, I do not think this necessarily applies to social media. But what struck me more was the tone of the piece, which I place as another example of a problem older generation workers have in succeeding in today’s job market. 

As I have indicated in the past, we are living through a period of age bias when it comes to hiring mature workers, many of whom were laid off aggressively during the recession. To date, much of this age cohort is struggling to get re-employed. A key reason for the reluctance to bring mature workers back on board, despite their vast experience and accumulated wisdom, is because they are not keeping up with, and in many cases resisting, technological changes that are largely being driven by the generation of their children. And with each passing day it is this emerging younger section of the workforce that is setting hiring policies. 

Rapid innovations of a technological nature seem to fall into two main interrelated areas: Information Search/Management and Interpersonal Connectivity. Efficiently reaching out to grab the data you want when you need it and connecting to people you need to when you want them is driving much of the hardware, software, and web-based applications currently available and under development. 

The necessity of achieving this efficiency is reflected in many workplaces today and that is expected to grow in time. As a result, the current and future workforce is expected to be adept with the tools and apps of information management and connectivity. Just as many employees now are expected to use email and word processors, a similar familiarity is becoming expected with various types of social media and Internet navigation. 

There is no question that keeping up with these new demands can be daunting and intimidating for some, particularly for the older folks among us. When we look at the younger generation and see that their daily use of Facebook and smart phones is as common to them as telephone and television are to us, it can leave us feeling out of touch. 

One option often taken by older workers is to develop an attitude that the way young people act is superficial, misguided, or even wrong. We think that we got by just fine without these gadgets and that these changes are not necessary. Now does it sound familiar from our distant Boomer past that an older generation just didn’t get the younger one? 

The larger issue is accepting change. Adaptability is one of the most important and employable traits a person can have, especially during the time of exponential change we live in now. Unfortunately, older workers are too often feeding the perception that we are not adaptable and even potential impediments to innovation. When we observe a now common practice and describe it as a bandwagon or fad, we place ourselves out of the new mainstream. If you are trying to present yourself as relevant in today’s workplace this is not a message you should be broadcasting. 

The challenge for mature workers is to merge their attributes of solid work ethic, tenacity, and big picture viewpoint with the obvious and fluid developments of conducting business in the modern era. We do not have to necessarily embrace and personally adopt every new practice, but it is in our interests to at least try to understand the trends that underlie them. 

When you think about it, Baby Boomers were the ones who once prided themselves on agitating traditional thinking and setting out to create a new world. If any generation should be able to show flexibility and have an appreciation for new ways of doing things it should be them. 

How To Deal with Three Sticky Interview Questions

Posted on by Bill Ryan

The good news is that you have been called in for an interview! But wait just a minute! The bad news is that you have been called in for an interview! 

The long-awaited interview can be your ticket to a new and better job, but it can also be an anxiety producer that keeps you up nights worrying. You are going to be called on to perform at a high level by people who may determine the course of your career and therefore your future. There is no easy way to say it — this is a critical chance to show them what you are made of. 

Getting into the proper mindset is important. First, know that you need to prepare for the event. Second, realize you cannot memorize and rehearse every move you are going to make. (Translation: over-preparation can hurt you.) Third, you are going to have to rely on some confidence, instinct, and self-knowledge. 

Preparation for an interview involves a few basic things. Among them is researching the potential employer, which will make you better able to align your skill set with their needs. Also, anticipate that you will need to communicate with a positive attitude, subject matter expertise, interpersonal skills, and problem-solving ability as well. 

But knowing the type of questions you may be asked is one of the best ways to prepare. The purpose here is to see if you are a good fit for the open position. This is accomplished by directing questioning to see if you have the required skills, knowledge, and abilities to perform optimally. To determine this, interviewers usually select questions that are behavioral and situational. 

Behavioral questions are designed to analyze actual instances that you have faced in the past to see how you performed. A school principal may be asked how they handled an irate parent of a student, for example. Situational questions are similar except that the context is hypothetical. So, a structural engineer may be asked what immediate steps she would follow if metal fatigue was identified in bridge supports. 

But an interview team is probably going to want to get a general sense of your overall character beyond just your specific qualifications. There are three questions that often come up to elicit this: 

#1: What is an example of a time you made a real difference for your employer? Even if you felt that you were just a cog in a machine, being prepared to explain why you were a good cog will help your cause. Telling how you increased production, saved costs, and handled unique challenges are ways of answering this question. Have a pertinent story or two prepared to tell. And I do mean story, not just a short one or two sentence response. 

#2: How do you deal with conflict on the job? No matter the industry, one of the most common complaints of management involves employees, including managers, who cannot get along with colleagues or customers. Poor communication and mismatched personality types lead to lost productivity and poor morale. Having examples of how you did not contribute to and even improved a negative social climate at work will show you to be the team player every employer wants. 

#3: Why did you leave your last job? Be honest. If the reason is because you truly see the next opportunity as an advancement for the new employer and your career, then the question is a softball. But if you were terminated, then answering honestly becomes more challenging. Still, do not come across victimized. Focus on what you learned and how it has made you grow and explain how you are now even better prepared for adding value to their operation. 

Here is your chance to shine, not shake. Do your part to turn the interview into a golden moment. 

Enhancing Your LinkedIn Profile

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Establishing a solid LinkedIn (LI) profile is the first step to managing your overall professional online profile. If you are in the market for a new job, it is helpful to know that recruiters are all over LinkedIn looking for talent. Not being present at all on LinkedIn is a big mistake in today’s technical and connected world. But almost as bad as not showing up is having a mediocre or shoddy profile. It screams of a lack of professional effort. So, to make the most of your LI profile building time here are some tips that will leave you looking sharp. 

Before starting enhancements, you should know about a couple of privacy controls. If you are like most busy people, you may be thinking that you will chip away at your profile improvements piecemeal when time allows. But as any LinkedIn user knows, you get periodic updates that show the activity levels of your connections. Now there may be occasions when you do not want your LI world to know that you are upgrading your profile too frequently. It can give the impression that you are looking for other work, which may be off-putting to your current colleagues. If this issue is one of yours, then look for the “Turn on/off your activity broadcasts” link in the Privacy Controls sections of Settings. 

You also have the option of selecting who can see your activity feed in the same Privacy Controls area. You can choose from everyone, your connections, your network (connections plus group members), or “Only you”. The latter essentially eliminates anyone from seeing your editing activity. 

With activity viewing determined, you are ready to start tinkering with your Introduction field: 

  • Headline: This is important. It should begin with a short description of your professional expertise rather than just listing your current job title and employer’s name. Make this headline searchable by selecting key words that home in on your specialty. 
  • Picture: Do not just crop a decent looking detail from a larger JPG. Get a headshot taken by a professional photographer. 
  • Connections: Sure, the more you have the more connected you look. But do not just invite anyone to be a connection. Choose from people who you respect and vice versa. Quality professionals provide more opportunity than a stuffed ballot box. And I must admit that I have a gripe when one’s contact list is closed. Shouldn’t a viewer be able to see who your connections are? After all, networking is what LI is all about. 
  • Recommendations: Try to get at least three. These do not have to be essays either. Well written and complimentary short paragraphs can be just fine. 
  • Website links: You can include up to three. Your employer, a professional organization that you belong to, or better yet, your own website can all be included. 
  • Public Profile link: Go into settings and customize this to show your name without any of the trailing digits. Consider placing this link in the contact data section of your resume. 
  • Twitter feed: Short timely tweets interfaced with your LI account keep the Profile fresh. 

Once your Intro field has been polished it is time to tackle the meat of the profile: 

  • It is good to have a look that more closely resembles a well written resume, i.e., including quantifiable accomplishments. Collecting and communicating quantifiable achievements should come through strongly in your Summary and Experience sections. Always be careful to avoid just very basic responsibilities and tasks, but rather include accomplishments and results as much as possible. 
  • There are some great additional sections that can be included such as Skills, Honors and Awards, and Volunteer Activities, among many others. Try to at least add a Skills Section. 
  • Blogging or micro blogging with Twitter can keep the Profile even more dynamic and show your connections that it is being frequently updated. It also adds to the impression that you are a subject matter expert. It is not that hard to have your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages all updated simultaneously. 
  • Do you like to make PowerPoint presentations? You can design one about yourself and post it for viewers to play. 
  • Groups are one of this tool’s most powerful networking features. Joining and participating in groups allows you to learn from and influence others. It is a great way to get known by others. 
  • The Education section is straight forward enough, but if you are 45 years old or older be careful of the rampant age bias going on in today’s world of work. You do have the option of not including your graduation date. 

With a good LinkedIn profile in place, you will find that it is easier to promote yourself in a competitive employment climate. 

Meeting the Needs of Employers

Posted on by Bill Ryan

When searching for any new employment opportunity many of us tend to view the process as one focused solely on what is best for us as individuals. It certainly makes sense that we would want what is best for us, especially when it comes to such a time and energy expender as a job is. Too many of us are stuck in draining and unfulfilling jobs as it is. But by concentrating too much on what employment can do for us we may drift away from considering enough of the other side of the equation — what potential employers need from us. 

Satisfying employment is a win-win fit between employee and employer. Workers get to ply their trade in what for them is the most conducive environment for generating production and the front office gets to optimally benefit from this productivity. The sooner new job seekers understand about what paycheck providers want from their workforce the greater will be the chance of finding a fit. 

In general, employers are interested in three things: 

  1. Making money 
  1. Saving money 
  1. Becoming more efficient and competitive with achieving #1 and #2 

If you cannot address these needs concretely your chances of getting hired are slim. 

A huge contributor to the poor hiring situation these days centers around costs. Companies have become aggressive about trying to do more with less. We have all heard about how those not laid off are being squeezed by taking on the workload of those who were. And you are not only competing with other applicants for jobs, but also with cost saving procedures, equipment, and technologies. Being good is not good enough anymore. You need to convince hiring personnel that you are great. 

Think of employers as consumers out shopping for the best deal. Their logic is not different from any of the rest of us. We all want the most value for the lowest price. As demeaning as it may sound, to employers we are commodities. They won’t “buy” us unless we are seen as a valued acquisition. Being able to promote yourself as a potentially valuable possession has become Job Search 101. Fitting your value proposition firmly with their value longings is more important than ever. Once job aspirants accept this Darwinian reality the more likely they can get hired. 

Sure, when assessing an employment opportunity go ahead and think to yourself, “Here’s what’s in it for me,” but communicate to them, “Here’s what’s in it for you.” Be an answer to their questions while building emotional, social, and intellectual capital for yourself. Their goal is to succeed in business. Your goal is to succeed in your career. The two objectives need not be mutually exclusive. 

For job seekers to practice a little solution selling is not a bad idea. By focusing on solutions rather than features you can appear more appealing. Knowing clearly the threats and weaknesses faced by an employer best positions you for an outreach to them. Adequately researching a potential employer and tactically disclosing that you have done your homework in your cover letter and interview while emphasizing how you will address the three points above is smart to do. Do not just be assertive, be relevant. 

Preparing for a work search has always been strategic for the ones who got the best jobs. They have applied best practices. We can all learn useful lessons from watching how they operate. Savvy career advancers know how to promote not just their best qualities, but how they bring resolutions to the fundamental challenges of running a business. The basic strategy begins with this — believe in and champion yourself as someone they cannot do without. 

What Is Behind “Occupy Wall Street”?

Posted on by Bill Ryan

“At many stages in the advance of humanity, this conflict between the men who possess more than they have earned and the men who have earned more than they possess is the central condition of progress.” — Theodore Roosevelt, 1910. 

As any student of history knows, there is a relatively limited set of macro issues that ebb and flow in various manifestations over the long-term. This quote from President Roosevelt, a Republican, from 100 years ago seems tailor made for describing the discontent expressed by the current Occupy Wall Street movement underway today. Despite the movement’s excessively grassroots and decentralized focus it is an example of a long-held view that reemerges occasionally in American history — that concentration of wealth among a few and the consequent constricted distribution of resources can get the masses riled. 

The economic dislocation being experienced by so many over the past three years is starting to be seen from a perspective not generally voiced during this Great Recession until quite recently. That being the economic downturn is largely the result of intentional manipulation by the richest segment of society (the 1%) to protect their financial interests at the expense of everyone else (the 99%). 

 This is a dramatic change of view, which may have more political implications in 2012 than economic ones. It represents a possible shift in popular thinking that until now seems to have been dominated by hard right conservative ideology stating government is more to blame for the bad times. 

Even astute political observers did not see this one coming. Although the future of the movement is uncertain, now that the Occupy protests are here it is not all that surprising they are occurring. The two Americas made up of the haves and the have-nots seem to be becoming more starkly divided. Many of the nouveau-poor are not just experiencing temporary employment and financial setbacks, they are seeing their worlds turned upside down. The rules have changed, dreams have been shattered, and the new normal is much more insecure and harsher than in the past. 

If the discontent was somehow being shared across all classes and economic strata, then the anger might have been more muted. But it is not. Those who have slipped down the ladder are instead seeing the “swollen fortunes of the few” (another TR phrase) being enjoyed by people, many of whom seem to be culpable for creating this mess in the first place. 

Although the Occupy protesters can sometimes be seen as having a muddled message and questionable tactics, for example letting their energy be diluted by directly battling police (part of the 99%) more than the 1% they claim to oppose, there are elements of the current political narrative that do seem to be instigating their clamor. Here are three main motivators of Occupy Wall Street that I am hearing from their sympathizers: 

  • The Bush tax cuts for the rich must be maintained, because they make it possible for the rich to create jobs. Really? These tax cuts have been around ten years. It is hard to say they have been stimulating much job growth as of late. 
  • The more vigorous and vocal Tea Party movement promotes shrinking government thereby encouraging the growth of the private sector. But for all the wealth generation potential of the private sector they were also the ones involved in selling over-speculative housing-related investments and encouraging bad mortgages. In other words, greed and self-interest can rule in the private sector over the concerns of the commonwealth. 
  • No one from Wall Street has yet been sent to jail even though the collateral damage to the economy has been far worse than any robbery. This charge has some genuine weight. 

Shared sacrifice and wealth distribution appear to be what is called for by Occupy Wall Street. Whether a legitimate demand or not, this belief has become a new variable injected into the national conversation about how the Great Recession began and what kind of America will emerge from its wreckage. 

Ten Economic Trends That Can Drive Career Choice

Posted on by Bill Ryan

A prominent type of article or blog in the career development field, and indeed in popular culture, is of the “hottest careers of the year” variety. You know the kind, “Hottest Careers of 2012”, “Coolest Jobs for Today’s College Grads”, and “Present Day Must-Have Careers”.  

These make for interesting reading, but they do not represent a best practice approach for choosing careers to begin or to transition into. By the time someone gathers the training and education to move into a “hot career”, chances are that it could have gotten lukewarm in the meantime. 

I think a better approach in determining careers that may have some significant employment longevity comes from identifying longer-term economic trends. Although the pace of change is accelerating in the world of work, as it is around the globe in general, there are some directional swings that appear to be long lasting, if not fundamental, for the foreseeable future.  

Separating flavor-of-the month crazes from structural underlying movements can result in higher quality career decision making. If you are going to invest lots of time and money in preparing for a career, it is reasonable to expect some return for your efforts. 

Marrying individual talents with macro changes in the economy can lead to a higher degree of employment sustainability in an otherwise fluid and fickle world. But reader beware. I do not tell you how to convert these trends into careers for each of you individually. Without inventive and visionary thinking on your part, dovetailing your skill set and education into these sweeping changes will not magically happen on its own. 

Just as there are many jobs today that did not exist ten years ago, there will be many niches ten years from now that are not present today. Although not intended to be an exhaustive listing, what follows are ten economic and social trends I see as having great potential for driving career creation. 

  1. Aging population and care giving: The ubiquitous Baby Boomers are now retiring, or will be soon, at a rapid rate. Healthcare is obviously to be impacted, but so are industries that can take advantage of relatively high disposable income coinciding with their material downsizing.
  2. Growing Latinization: The language and cultural influences of Southern Europe are catching up with those of Northern and Central Europe in America. The melting pot is developing a distinctly Latin flavor that will affect industries across the board.
  3. Workplace cost controls and data driven decision making: Getting smarter with information was beginning before the recession and has now become a field in and of itself. Opportunities abound for those who can elevate efficiencies through sophisticated means of analyzing and drawing cost saving conclusions from data.
  4. Globalization: Economic interconnectedness already affects our daily lives and will become only further intertwined as sovereign economies morph into new and different multi-national configurations. Goods and services competing on a more global scale will require nimble, flexible, and intelligent business practices.
  5. Wireless, Mobile and Cloud Computing: There are no signs of technology reaching a plateau. On the contrary, the speed of innovation and the integration of new functional utilities appears limitless.
  6. War on Terrorism: Unfortunately, war in the 21st century may be endless. Terrorism will ebb and flow and violent conflict is now more at a citizen vs. citizen level rather than at a nation-state level. Security and international relations will continue to be in a heightened state.
  7. Organic Food Industry: Healthy eating at an affordable price from foods grown locally is likely to continue expanding. Sustainable and high-quality agriculture is becoming increasingly valuable to more and more consumers.
  8. Audiology: We are bombarded with sound continuously. And we have very effective means of shooting it into our ears. Tell me this is not going to affect the hearing of an aging noise-saturated population.
  9. Simulation Engineering and Robotics: Training, education, and gaming are just three activities that will benefit from more refined means of simulation. Resource, time, and cost savings will arise from greater use of fabricated experiences that leave end-users with an enhanced empiricism.
  10. Genetics in Healthcare: A revolution is in its infancy with molecule-specific treatment of disease and super-informed healthful advice. Ancillary industries resulting from knowledge of the human condition at a cellular or deeper level are boundless.

Long-term job seekers, start your engines! 

Holding On and Letting Go

Posted on by Bill Ryan

My thoughts are with the long-term unemployed. Those who for a year or more have desperately been trying to find work but who remain unsuccessful. For those of you who truly want work, but are continually not being recognized for your potential, the burden is heavy. Among the tragedies that can befall someone, such as the loss of a loved one or divorce, becoming chronically unemployed is a significant life challenge that only time, and persistence can heal. 

There comes a time when options seem few. Employers are learning how to cope with 1% – 2% GDP growth. Many of the jobs that existed for a few years are not coming back. And competition for the few jobs that are available is stiff. You need to be worried about your skills atrophying and your networks drying up. Politicians spend too much time in a debating society and do not seem to admit that the economy’s problems are largely beyond them. The world now seems like a hopeless place. 

But there is still you. Despite your inability to control external conditions no one has yet taken away your ability to perceive and respond to this situation. Whether you wanted it or not, this is a time to take stock. To reach deep down to see what you are made of and to get in touch with an inner strength you seldom have needed but do now. 

A big part of coping with the loss of employment is determining what to psychologically hang onto and what to let go of. What I mean by that is profoundly recognizing the value of what is most important in sustaining you as a self-reliant individual. Being able to rise above adversity and to not let it tear you down. This is your main goal. 

What and who in your life most helps you to do that? Perhaps it is family and close friends, people you serve who are less fortunate than yourself, or your community and its services. Fortifying actions that you take such as systematically following through with best job search practices despite the lack of immediate reward and keeping as current as possible with professions for which your skill set is a match are positive things to do. Be in touch with what still energizes you when it seems that most things around you are draining. These are worth holding onto. 

Equally important is observing what needs to be let go. It is possible that our egos are clinging to notions and long-held beliefs or perceptions that make this transitory time more difficult than it needs to be. For instance, linking your self-worth too tightly to your former job title and the status it brought you, still believing that you are entitled to the salary you received in 2007, seeing the world as one big competitive us-against-them environment, or keeping relationships with people who too often display self-defeating ideas can rob you of the positive energy you need most at this time. 

Do not be afraid to reach out. There are many who can be very constructive and are passionate about assisting you. Also, consider helping others in the same predicament as yourself. 

Self-reflection at the level that identifies what to hold onto and what to let go of may need to become part of your daily routine. This is best done while walking, running, or sitting quietly. Drinking and drugging tend to cloud the mind too much. Try to develop a greater degree of mastery over your mind that can come from purposeful contemplation. The benefits of doing so can last long after this very difficult time. 

Student Loans: Expense or Investment

Posted on by Bill Ryan

The burden of student loan debt on individuals, particularly young unemployed ones, is certainly starting to get a lot more attention in the media. College costs have experienced higher rates of inflation than for most consumer areas. The American Institute of CPAs for example reports that for the 2010-2011 academic year alone, 4-year state colleges for in-state students rose 7.9%, while for out-of-state students the rise was 6%. The inflation rate for 4-year private colleges was 4.5%. This compares to a general consumer rate of 3.9% for the past twelve months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s Consumer Price Index, a measure of U. S. inflation. 

Among the economic complaints raised by recent protests of the Occupy Wall Street movement is that student loan payments are creating too high of a debt position for young people trying to enter the workforce. In fact, it could be said that this issue is one of the significant catalysts of the movement. Starting out adult life faced with ten or twenty years to pay off tens of thousands of dollars of debt in this economy with no job is enough to make anyone scream. 

In my own personal life, I sense the anxiety. My daughter recently graduated with a 4-year degree and between my Parent PLUS loans and her Stafford loans we are looking at substantial debt. For my portion alone the Federal government is giving me up to thirty years to pay this off and from where I sit right now, I’ll need that much time. If it takes me thirty years to pay off this loan, I’ll be 88 years old! I have real doubts that I will live that long. 

My situation is indicative of a situation facing the generations right now. I am a Baby Boomer who has always believed that education is an investment. I have bought into the notion that there is a direct correlation between the level and quality of one’s education and the number of career options and earning potential one has throughout life. 

Even recent statistics have supported this view, such as the fact that of the 9.1% unemployed in September 2011, 78% have only a high school diploma. My daughter on the other hand is looking at her amount of student loan debt more as an expense right now and is truly questioning whether the B. A. was worth it. Time will tell. I still think the college education gives her a higher launching pad for her career and hope the debt will not diminish that advantage. 

I was chatting with a businessman from Belgium a few years ago over lunch. We were in Boston being trained to administer and interpret the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. I asked him about the income tax level he lives with in his country, and he did say it was quite high, if I remember correctly close to 50%. 

But he did not seem that upset after seeing my jaw drop. When I asked him why he was not outraged he cited two reasons. One, he does not pay any medical expenses and felt that he and his family received good medical care. The other reason was that one of his children, who was at the time enrolled in a university, could attend at no additional expense. He seemed content with the concept of receiving quality service for the high taxes he was paying. 

I do not know which system is best, the European or the American. But I do know this. The system that promotes the greatest amount of education for the most people will be in a better position to compete in the 21st century global economy. If higher education is not pursued by more and more Americans because it is seen as too much of a crushing expense, then it will diminish our talent pool and our competitiveness. This is a situation to be avoided. 

Let Us Please Place Job Creation as Number One

Posted on by Bill Ryan

I noticed the day after President Obama’s big jobs speech before Congress on September 8 that Mark Zandi, the often cited Chief Economist from Moody’s Analytics, praised it. True, he is an old-style Keynesian, but he is among the most respected economists in the country, so he deserves a listen to. Among the benefits he sees from the American Jobs Act are:

  • Confidence would return to the public and therefore a stabilization of the economy would result.
  • Just under 2 million jobs would be created with the unemployment rate being cut by a percentage point.
  • GDP growth would be two percentage points higher next year.
  • The $450 billion price tag would be paid between $250 billion in tax cuts and $200 billion in spending increases.
  • If passed, another recession could be averted.

It has little chance of being passed by the Republican controlled House. Now that would be fine except that it is not clear what the Republicans are offering for immediate stimulation to employment. In fact, it seems that they do not like the word stimulation.

We are being asked to encourage reduction of government, which will in and of itself release an explosion of private sector expansion and economic growth. So the private sector that seemed to play a rather large role in creating the Great Recession is going to lift us out of it because government is diminished? Really?

If there was a credible plan to create jobs by Republicans aside from the usual cut taxes for the rich and reduce regulations I would be all ears. I want jobs to start growing as much as anyone and I really do not care which ideology produces them as long as they get created. But now that one of the two major political parties has been shanghaied by the Tea Party, who does not place job creation as their number one priority, we are not getting a full collaborative effort from all sides.

I will give the Tea Party credit for sounding the alarm on the growing Federal debt, which if left unchecked would constitute major economic problems, including unemployment in just a few years. However, what are they contributing to the debate of job growth now? Not much from what I can hear.

They seem more committed to eliminating the President’s job than in generating new ones for Americans. They are a one trick pony. Just reduce debt and morning in America will return. They seem to think that managing the Federal budget is no more sophisticated than balancing the family checkbook.

Perhaps most troubling is the Tea Party’s reluctance to negotiate and compromise with those who have a different viewpoint. They are so confident in the righteousness of their position that working across the aisle is seen as weakness and capitulation. There is value in decisions made as a result of consensus. And now is a time for our leaders to work together to expand employment. The Tea Party strikes me as an impediment rather than as a serious partner.

I guess we’ll never really know if Mark Zandi’s ecomomic predictions will come true. Probably the most President Obama will get out of that speech is a reelection campaign position. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate stays in the 9% neighborhood.

Perhaps government really cannot effect economic change and private capital (which the private sector is not releasing) is all that matters. But don’t we elect Federal leaders to solve national problems? And isn’t that best done when collaboration occurs? This climate of polarization during a time of national crisis is very disheartening. We should demand something greater from those we elected.

Education and the Unemployment Rate

Posted on by Bill Ryan

I read a couple of interesting statistics the other day in a National Journal article about the widening talent shortage among many American companies. The first was a citing about a study done by ManpowerGroup, a Milwaukee-based workforce consultant, showing that 52% of employers cannot recruit skilled workers for their open positions. The other stat, this time by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed that of the 9.2% of Americans currently unemployed, 78% of them have only a high school education or less. 

These numbers are surprising, and they tell me a couple of things worth noting regarding our stubbornly high unemployment rate. One is that the rate might not be so high if Americans would get educated and trained in areas of shortage and need. The other is that thinking you are going to get ahead in the 21st century with just a high school education is not preparation for the future. 

The public and their proxy the media love to play the blame game for the high unemployment rate. It is the Democrat’s fault or the Republican’s fault. It is greedy Wall Street or lazy Europeans and so on and so on. Instead of finding fault, perhaps we need to hold up a mirror and look into it. We could lower the unemployment rate and all the misery associated with it significantly if we would further our education in strategic ways. Education is one of the best ways out of this mess. 

I rarely hear or read the mainstream media report about this lurking education gap as being a contributor to the unemployment rate and I pay attention to a lot of news. Why do you think that is? Why is the national anchorperson hesitant to say that too many of the unemployed are lacking in the right kinds of education? Perhaps there is a concern that to say so might be perceived as elitist or that someone’s feelings may be hurt. There is an elephant in the unemployment room that is being ignored and not fully discussed. And we as a country do ourselves no favors to avoid it. 

We should address this issue head on. If we could be delivered news we could really use such as where the human resource shortages are and what is involved in preparing to fill them, we could be much better informed. Let us hear more reports about the skills deficit for a change instead of this constant obsession about budget deficits. Let us agree that without a vigorous push for high quality education at all levels, then our chances of competing in the world marketplace are greatly diminished. 

School districts and universities need to be more engaged in this conversation as well. Of course, their mission is to provide a broad range of learning opportunities to the greatest number of people. But by not identifying and shifting resources to address critical shortage areas of the economy they are denying our workforce significant solutions needed now. Academic advisors and counselors need to work more aggressively to align emerging talent with areas of employment need. 

Let us try harder to see education as the benefit that it is. There is too much of an attitude that views education more as a cost than as an investment. Education can provide individuals with practical skills, a critical thinking ability, and confidence to succeed. It is among the best self-help techniques society can do for itself. 

We can do more to reduce unemployment than to just wait for banks, corporations, or government to release more money. We can be smarter about creating a congruence between hiring gaps and workforce development. 

The Most Valuable Career Trait for the Future

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Wouldn’t it be great if we could just look at a reliable list of the guaranteed jobs of the future and plan our careers accordingly? We could make sure that education and training choices were timely and cost-effective. Lifestyle stability would result from certain employment predictability. Anxiety stemming from career and work-related decision making could be dramatically reduced. Life would be so much easier! 

Although well researched “the careers of the future” lists occasionally pop up in the media and credit should be given to the U.S. Department of Labor for trying to identify careers with “Bright Outlooks” the sad truth is that no definitive list exists and never will that conclusively point the masses toward precise long-term occupations. The world of work has become too dynamic of a place with far too many unpredictable twists and turns, many of which are yet to come, to expect infallible certitude. 

Nevertheless, business and employment trends and patterns are emerging all the time, which should be tracked by the astute jobseeker. Even though selecting the direction of your career is not as limited and relatively straightforward as in the past, self-guiding your livelihood need not be an exercise of trying to be grounded within a vortex of random chaos. Although the top three career choices custom made for you will not likely jump off some list there is something which you can do that will benefit you for years to come. This involves adopting the right attitude for success, which can be summed up in a word ― adaptability. 

The more accepting of and prepared for change you are the greater your chances for career success will be. Employees and entrepreneurs today and in the future can and will adapt from what is relevant to what will become relevant. These changes will happen in a very short time. You must always be on top of changing technologies whether they be in software, new paint formulas, advanced infection prevention protocols in hospitals, in mobile device marketing, or whatever. There is hardly an industry that is not right now undergoing advancements, conversions, transformations, or variations. Knowing how to add value to this type of innovative environment is the task of each productive worker. 

Remember, if a job can be automated or outsourced, then be very wary of it. Look for careers that either have a skill legacy that can be reinvented for a rapidly changing world or look for one that is completely novel and did not exist a few years ago. Better yet, create a career for the first time. There are lots of jobs now that did not exist ten years ago.  

Whoever said in the 1980s that they wanted to be a search engine optimization specialist when they grow up? What need is developing right now that requires creative talent? Adaptable people are more likely to find the answer than those of us who are uncomfortable with a modulating world. 

Part of the post-recession landscape is that more is being done with less. This is not just the result of technological innovations. It is because of a growing and highly effective and efficient (and possibly overworked) workforce. Tom Friedman in a recent New York Times article pointed out that all the employees of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Groupon, and Zynga could easily fit into the 20,000 seat Madison Square Garden and not fill it. Combined these companies are valued at $64 Billion. Let us look at how these guys are working if we want some role models to follow. 

Be smart, of course. That has always separated the winners from losers. But to that add, be adaptable. Complacency and inertia are out. Versatility and reliance are in. As the old nursery rhyme says, Jack be nimble. Jack be quick. 

Networking for the Aged 50+ Worker

Posted on by Bill Ryan

There is a hiring crisis going on currently with workers aged 50+. They have been squeezed out of the workforce, as have many workers of all ages, but the difference with the mature worker is that they are not being allowed back in. Employees who thought that they would retire with long-held jobs or who thought the option of always being able to pick up something new have had these dreams shattered. The frustration, discouragement, and fear of entering the twilight of working years with no work is palpable. 

To many this reality came as unexpectedly as the body slam of the Great Recession with its disastrous effects. One of the most egregious consequences of the Recession has been for companies to shed themselves from older workers whenever possible. As counterintuitive as it may seem, it has become not only accepted, but encouraged to have hiring policies that eliminate workers with accumulated knowledge, wisdom, and experience. Combined with a historic work ethic characterized by loyalty to one’s employer and willingness to put in long hours and you would think the mature worker would be seen as desirable. But apparently not. 

Unfortunately, workers aged 50+ are seen as having more liabilities than assets. These allegedly include having outdated and counter-innovative ideas, a relative lack of technology skills, an unwillingness to accept the changing social culture with its increasing ubiquitous technological connectivity, a complacent work style, higher risk of health problems, and difficulty accepting the lower compensation packages of today. The challenge for the older worker is to tip this balance. In other words, to be seen as having more benefits than burdens. 

There is a branding process I recommend that involves displaying yourself as being a valuable prospect worthy of consideration by hiring managers. Begin by systematically and deliberately putting together a presentation package about yourself that highlights all your advantages, while directly confronting perceived misconceptions of your “old-fashioned” weaknesses. Once constructed, this message should be displayed on your resume and online profile. With this in hand, it is time for you to introduce yourself to those who are in positions of influence with regards to direct hiring or who have connections leading to potential hiring opportunities. 

This leads us to networking. By now most job seekers have heard that leveraging your contacts is the best way to get a job. But many older workers, despite all their years of working, feel that they have no network. Maybe your past work was somewhat isolated, or you have not been much of a people-person, or as is very common, you did not get the memo at the start of your working years that you should maintain and even cultivate connections with high-value colleagues throughout your career. 

If you feel you have no viable network, then get started identifying one. It is in your job search interests to do so. Communicate your value proposition and job search goals beginning with those closest to you and then widening out. Start with your family and close friends. From there move to LinkedIn (or even Facebook). Search for those colleagues both current and former and request connections. Having your expertise clearly displayed on your LinkedIn profile you can more easily ask your connections who they recommend you talk with. 

Be prepared to get into the zone of seeing most, if not all, social events as networking opportunities. The PTA meeting, the cocktail party, the church committee, and many others are possibilities for reinventing or starting new relationships. Share as appropriate your professional value during these situations. Expanding your circle and adding facetime with others should become an ongoing effort. 

Becoming part of the conversation gets you known. Joining in and participating in industry and interest groups discussions on LinkedIn and Twitter or within your professional associations increases your visibility. Sharing expertise heightens chances of making new and potentially valuable networking connections. 

Since the doors of employment are not being opened wide for the aged 50+ worker it becomes necessary for you to push them open. Accepting the new normal and being strategic about navigating it may make all the difference. 

The Need to Identify High Potential Employees

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Let us imagine a company that rightly focuses on the present business climate and is committed to not repeating its own past mistakes or the failings of its competition. To do so, management attempts to retain talent by placing a lot of resources into an employee appraisal system so that it can reward high performers generously. However, this appraisal system is kept largely confidential, between manager and employee only. Management does not want “morale to suffer”. The company also believes in recruiting externally only, because that is the only place to find new talent. 

Does that sound like a company prepared to succeed in the future to you? Not to me. Their attitude and policies are not progressive and do not consider the career development needs of high-potential talent. Companies must continually be looking to the future. Competitiveness will only grow and using past performance as the benchmark for meeting subsequent challenges is not enough. Among the most important conditions to be constantly anticipating is the need to attract and retain talent. Without high-level operatives meeting the demands of the marketplace all other business efforts may prove to be inadequate. 

Of course, all companies are different. But in sharing the need to obtain the best workers possible from both within and externally there are similar talent management practices, which should be evident in any forward-leaning organization. These include: 

  • Having in place a talent assessment system that determines key players, high potential employees, and successors for critical positions
  • High-quality training of managers enabling them to understand the career development aspirations of their direct reports
  • Executive commitment to holding frequent talent review meetings designed to reinforce and improve the company’s talent management capability to locate and procure the best strength possible
  • Acting on developing high potential workers for succession planning, cross-functional capability, and in-depth expertise building purposes

Constructing a talent management process that is transparent has a greater likelihood of improving morale, rather than depressing it. A culture that cuts one-off deals with its employees creates suspicion and claims of favoritism, whereas an open protocol that shows consistent application of best practice principles to all generates feelings of fairness. Giving the corporate message that individual career advancement is considered valuable augments the initiative to attract and hold a sharp workforce. 

Another useful piece to a talent management system is to separate distinguishing high performers from high potential. They are not always the same. Task analyzing critical operational functions and aligning them with specific worker traits can aid in selecting the right people for the right job. How many times have we heard stories of high functioning line workers being elevated to management positions for which they are not well suited? As counterintuitive as it may seem, there is not always a positive correlation between high achievement and high potential. Teasing out and choreographing a connection can be made, but only because of sophisticated inquiry. 

A big fear among company policy makers is that devoting resources to developing employees may be seen as a waste if the talent leaves the company. In fact, the feeling goes, too much fostering of workers’ skill and knowledge may make them more attractive to competitors. One thing that is becoming clear in today’s business climate is that if a company does not commit to developing their talent the champions will likely leave sooner for a company that does. Constructing and frequently reviewing comprehensive employee retention plans in addition to implementing individual career development plans will increase the chances that a company’s pasture will be seen as greener. 

Advanced enterprise-wide talent management is much more involved than the brief description presented here. But the need for companies big and small to structure a system that is consistent with their organizational culture and the best practices of talent engineering is necessary for them to prosper in the marketplace of the future — and with the greatest people possible. 

Recognize Your Career Successes

Posted on by Bill Ryan

We are largely driven to enhance our careers by the need to feel successful. The urge to link our efforts with purposeful outcomes is a primal motivator for the professional person. The desire to make a difference for others and ourselves gets us up in the morning. Capturing success may be frequently elusive, but it is a goal most think is worth pursuing. 

In today’s world, being successful implies there is continual growth and improvement. Some professionals are fortunate to find they have chosen a job that allows for and even rewards career development. New, novel, and stimulating challenges are always being presented, which provide opportunities for repeat successes. These people are happy with their jobs. They do not want to or need to enter a job search. They feel successful where they are. 

However, for many others, the chime of achievement is not sounding at their jobs, or at least not enough. This group feels stuck. For them, work does not offer enough pay-off. Boredom and too much routine have set in. These people are just as professional and talented as the above group. So, what is going on? It is called reaching a plateau. 

Here is a very typical scenario. We finish our formal education and get a job, or series of jobs, which may or may not be related to what we studied in school. Eventually we settle into a “decent enough” job. The salary is okay, co-workers become friends, and we start experiencing our first professional successes. We feel grown-up — we have arrived.  

But give it five or ten years and the dull weight of a been-there-done-that attitude takes hold. Work weeks start to feel too long and weekends too short. Frequent funks and a sense of stagnation start to become the norm. Inertia now seems to guide us more than the exciting quest for work gain. 

This becomes the time to strongly consider a career defibrillator. You need to get back to feeling worthy. Now you could look for a job change, or redefine your role with your current employer, or you could go entrepreneurial. Whichever route you take to rekindle career happiness will involve enlisting one fundamental practice to place you in the most advantageous position to reach this goal. That is to determine clearly and to be able to communicate effectively what success means to you and how in the past you have gone about attaining it. 

When you can identify your unique success metrics, you are then able to claim your professional value. You can cite contributions that have benefited others. With this self-realization you know what ball to keep your eye on. It becomes easier to envision yourself in situations, in which you can practice your craft and again be successful. 

So how do you measure success for yourself? Here is an exercise for distilling career success and happiness into practical and powerful statements, which can be used as guides for future work. This is a way to promote yourself to those who may be able to provide opportunities for future successes. 

Begin compiling a record of your greatest hits. List the achievements of which you are most proud. Have these statements contain actual, and if possible, quantifiable results. Look for the ways you found remedies to problems, resolved issues, mediated conflicts, assisted in growth, created novel solutions, improved efficiencies, and so on. For example, 

  • “Created systematic process for client interactions, deal flow, and follow-up.” 
  • “Grew occupancy from 67% to 88%. Steadily increased average guest satisfaction to 99%.” 
  • “Ten+ years of administrative, volunteer, and team experience in the coordination and implementation of educational, nonprofit, and community service projects.” 

With this valuable insight organized in your mind and on paper you are then prepared to chart a course for continuing career fulfillment. And when your work is successful, your life is greatly enhanced. 

Ten Things to Have Ready for Your Interview

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Despite the bleak employment news from May, many more New Englanders are getting job interviews than a year ago. Preparing for one is daunting to say the least. And there is no shortage of articles, blogs, and how-to tips that can be found on the web to help you make sure you are ready for the type of questions you will be asked. I have even contributed to the information pool. For a change, let us look at the real basics of interview preparation — the most concrete things you need to help increase your chances of this all-important conversation going well. 

Smart people, whether pilots before a flight or doctors before an operation, get ready for any complicated procedure by having a checklist of steps that experience shows needs to be addressed to ensure optimal performance. Here is my pre-interview checklist of simple things to have ready: 

  1. Ten copies of your resume: Do not assume all the interviewers are ready by having had your resume provided to them prior to the interview. Not all employers run like clockwork. Think how prepared you will look if you can instantly hand out resumes to interviewers who do not have one.
  2. Bottle of water: Thirty minutes or more of high-pressure answering questions can make anyone’s throat dry. Coughing, throat clearing, and deep swallowing to keep lubricated does not make you appear at your best. Have that water ready to keep the talker oiled. One caution, however, is do not keep reaching for it nervously like a beer during a first date.
  3. Breath mints: While on the topic of your mouth, having sweet minty breath leaves you feeling more confident to speak directly to someone at a relatively short distance, say when shaking hands, and it leaves the listener with the impression that you are clean and presentable. Although, I love Altoids, for many they are too powerful, so choose one more subtle, but effective.
  4. References: Having copies of two to three references, which are ready to pass out, can add to the message that you are prepared and are at this interview to do work. Distributing them without being asked shows that you are taking a level of ownership for the meeting.
  5. Pad of paper and two working pens: From jotting reminders of points, you wish to make to getting names and titles of interviewers down, it is okay to take a few notes during the interview. Remember, though, that writing too much is not good and lots of eye contact is good. And for goodness sakes, don’t doodle!
  6. Power bar: I do not know about you, but I never like eating before a big meeting, especially one in which I am the center of attention. Now what if the interview turns into a second one for later in the morning or the whole process is delayed for some reason. You do not want your stomach grumbling at an inopportune time, so have one of those power bars to eat between sessions.
  7. Tissues: Sneezes, running nose, watery eyes, the list goes on for reasons why you might want or need to wipe your face. Have one of those handy little tissue packages tucked in a discreet pocket for just those occasions.
  8. Cash: Imagine that you are asked by an interviewer to continue the conversation at the cafeteria over coffee or lunch. Wouldn’t you want to be able to pay for not only yourself, but for the interviewer? Sure, a debit card might work, but what if it did not? Be prepared.
  9. Photo ID: You probably carry one around with you all the time anyway, but be sure to when going to an interview, especially one that might be held in a setting in which you have to pass through security. Being able to prove who you are could be useful.
  10. Written information about interviewer and department: You are probably going to be nervous showing up for the interview, so have the necessary appointment data written down for reference. Your memory may not be as sharp if you are freezing at a reception desk, so have the name of the interview contact person and any relevant contact info ready to read from or to show.

Check, check, check, ready! Go get ’em!