7. Quality rather than quantity

Don’t fall into the mind-set that you have to work the room and hand your card over to everyone there. You will quickly get found out when you take this approach. Be realistic when networking, you are not going to connect with everyone – this simply isn’t feasible. Instead focus your efforts on making solid and meaningful connections that are memorable for both people involved.

8. Leave the event properly

There is no need to stay at networking events for the full allotted time. If you find that the event has served its purpose make sure you leave professionally. Thank who ever organised the events and also thank the people you connected well with for their time. While doing this let them know your intentions to follow up your interest with a brief telephone call. People will remember this and they will look forward to hearing from you again.

9. Follow up

As mentioned above you should follow up the conversations you had as soon as possible while it is still fresh in both parties’ memory. Show how much you listened and how much you took from your brief time together. A meaningful follow up conversation is what could solidify and cement your business relationship.

progressiverecruitment.com

Примерно 7 лет назад в компании Google появилась команда кадровой аналитики, которая занималась сбором и анализом данных, предназначенных для улучшения политики управления. (Именно этих людей следует благодарить за отмену печально известных вопросов-головоломок от Google.)

По словам одного из руководителей Google Прасада Сетти, выступившего с докладом на конференции re:Work в октябре, изначально цель команды была очень проста.

"Все кадровые решения Google должны быть основаны на анализе данных", - сказал он. - "Мы с самого начала придерживались этой цели и хотели, чтобы аналитика в буквальном смысле порождала все решения".

Компания Google была основана инженерами, которые до сих пор составляют большую долю штата. При расширении руководству пришлось задуматься о способах управления, поэтому в течение последних нескольких лет информационноориентированный подход использовался крайне активно. Тем не менее, далеко не все можно описать цифрами. Даже для самые продвинутые алгоритмы имеют естественные ограничения.

К примеру, в самом начале команда аналитиков вывела формулу, которая позволяла определить, кого из разработчиков необходимо повысить. Процесс повышения в Google отличается повышенной сложностью и запутанностью. Решения принимаются комитетами, в которые входят старшие разработчики. Они всегда встречаются за пределами офиса (по словам Сетти, излюбленным местом встреч является отель Hilton в Санта-Кларе) и просматривают сотни кандидатур сотрудников, достойных повышения.

Команде кадровой аналитики показалось, что технические умы наверняка захотят использовать математическую формулу, чтобы упростить работу. Вот что у них вышло:

Формула оказалась довольно сложной, но она сработала!

"Мы протестировали формулу и выяснили, что она дает стабильно достоверные результаты. Вышло, что мы могли бы принять примерно треть кадровых решений, не прибегая к обсуждениям", - говорит Сетти.

Команда аналитиков была заинтригована. Им казалось, что они смогли бы сэкономить комитетам по найму массу времени, оставляя им лишь самые сложные решения.

Но инженеры отвергли формулу, и она никогда не применялась на практике.

"Они не хотели прятаться в "черном ящике", предпочитали нести ответственность за принятые решения, а не списывать все на модель", - говорит Сетти, до прихода в Google возглавлявший отдел кадровой аналитики в компании Capital One.

Сетти сделал вывод о том, что кадровые решения должны принимать люди. Команда кадровой аналитики существует для того, чтобы предоставлять всю необходимую информацию, а не разрабатывать алгоритмы, подменяющие умственную деятельность.

Этот вывод изменил подходы Google к управлению персоналом.

Команда аналитиков до сих пор значительно влияет на процесс работы с новыми сотрудниками. Например, она доказала, что средний балл в аттестате не имеет ничего общего с такими важными понятиями, как "интеллектуальная скромность" и "познавательные способности".

hr-portal.ru

Looking forward into the immediate future of the coming year, a lot of companies are doing a lot of planning, particularly when it comes to their people. This makes sense.

After all, it’s human capital is one organizational factor few organizations overlook (no matter how mixed the actual results of these efforts might in fact be).

Today more than ever before, it’s imperative for employers to critically question what’s working – and what’s not – when it comes to their current workforce and whether or not HR is truly acting as a business partner or as a bureaucratic prohibitor, as is too often the case.

Figuring out whether HR is an asset or a liability is absolutely critical for establishing the long term success of any organization – and it’s that success that means the right time for taking a critical look at the function is right now.

3 HR Trends Every Recruiting & Talent Pro Needs To Know in 2016 (And Beyond)

In 2016, HR professionals must evolve and shift the status quo away from business as usual to put a focus not on minimizing risk and ensuring compliance, but on finding new and disruptive ways to fix what’s broken and more effectively, efficiently attract, retain and develop the top talent they need for business success today – and tomorrow.

Here are three of the top trends and topics impacting the evolution of human resources that every recruiting and talent pro needs to know.

HR Trend: People > Process.

If you’re an entrepreneur who’s actually competitive in today’s cutthroat market for human capital as well as actual cash flow, you already know the difference a single worker can make – and the need to continually ensure that their experience as an employee is highly personalized for them, that they’re seen as a “workforce of one” by HR instead of just another employee or one of the unwashed masses.

Not that those exist – every employee needs a red carpet experience, lest their competitors beat them to the punch. The premise of contemporary employee experiences will be built and driven around our people, not policies, programs or platforms, as has been costing organizations too much for too long – and needs to stop now.

To address this endemic problem, employers must question whether or not there’s a positive business case to be made to abandon their often inordinate investments they’ve made in legacy systems and outdated software, which were designed to standardize and industrialize the employee experience, with an emphasis on automation over personalization and limited options for differentiation.

Every employee had a consistent experience, on the one hand – on the other, it was almost unilaterally a poor one. Replacing these outdated systems with next generation cloud technology is more than a smart move – it’s essential for creating the kind of personalization managers and employees need – and desperately want, too.

As more capital pours into the human capital space, as more startups and early stage companies spend seed money planting the roots for new functionalities and approaches to productizing the way the world of work works, we will see an alignment across business disciplines. Technology, marketing, sales, finance & cost management, psychology, sociology, anthropology and supplier & vendor management, all of these seemingly disparate disciplines in fact will all collide in the ongoing evolution of the kinds of experiences we’re able to offer our employees.

Companies will increasingly need to find a balance between modifying existing processes for new functionalities, as the latter come to market at a rate much faster than the former, frankly – and there’s no way HR can keep up with the continuous updates of SaaS products and the real time data they really represent.

Business leaders will have to do their due diligence about what experience they’re able to deliver, and ensure that employee expectations around level of service are met consistently and have the capability for flexibility. That’s why it’s so important for business leaders to carefully select the technologies and partners they choose to use; if employees – the end users – won’t actually use the system, then there’s no point in having it in the first place. The most important fit any HR software should be evaluated for is organizational culture. The rest should come fairly easily.

HR Trend: Employee Self Service, Not Subservience.

Most organizations have come to realize that they’ve got to ensure their business models are flexible enough to evolve along with their employees, and that their policies, processes and programs continue to resonate with the internal stakeholders who matter most.

Chances are, your employees now are more inclined to engage digitally than using some outdated technology like an intranet or, heaven forbid, a face to face meeting. That’s the fact of living in the future.

As consumers, the fact is that your design for employee interactions with your digital systems has to be built with humans, not human resources, in mind.

If your systems aren’t immersive, easy to use and connected with their existing workflow and augment, not annoy, what they’re already doing, then it’s time to rethink your approach to HR Technology.

The key to success relies on creating a model that enables any employee to use a system that they can access – and is available – anytime, anywhere, for anything, really.1

This, of course, requires rethinking and reinventing the way employees actually interact with HR – and realize that digital adoption is a key determinant on the employee experience across all parts of the employee lifecycle that has the potential to alter the entire landscape of employee relationship management.

Through technologies and the “appification” of human resources, HR will have an opportunity to drive increased awareness and alignment around organizational vision, values and behaviors; technology also provides a tool for promoting a culture that values proficiencies, performance and passion – all of which, of course, are required to help any worker really reach their true potential – for themselves and for your organization.

The proliferation of new HR technology, tools and the shifting systems landscape has led to manifold technologies capable of not only changing the HR function, but also, the way every employee experiences and engages with your organization and your efficacy at recruiting and retaining those employees to ensure you’re only investing in the best and the brightest.

These new technologies work best when they’re not built for any specific silo, niche or specialty, but rather, can holistically impact every stage of the employee lifecycle and provide a cohesive, unified and compelling user experience for everything from digital onboarding, mobile learning content, real time social and career management feedback, 360 assessments and integrated employee relationship management tools.

recruitingdaily.com

No matter how motivated you feel to complete a task, sometimes ‘tomorrow’ seems like a more appealing option than ‘today’…

Whether you’re putting it off because you know it’s going to take a lot of time to complete, you’re not interested enough in the topic to research it, or there’s something far more ‘urgent’ taking up your time – we’re all guilty of procrastination.

But, what if we told you that you can beat procrastination, just by making a few simple alterations? Here’s how to make productivity come first over procrastination:

1. Be honest about your distractions

First things first, you need to figure out what the main culprits of your procrastination actually are.

It could be that you’re prone to excessive workplace chatting, you can’t resist checking your phone every five minutes, or you always manage to find a series of other ‘incredibly important’ jobs to do to avoid your main task (e.g. emailing, desk cleaning, making tea, deciding to feng shui your entire workspace because you’ve decided your office isn’t quite ‘Zen’ enough, etc.)

Once you’ve figured out what distracts you most, you need to cut them out from your day-to-day as much as possible.

Try working with headphones in, for example, or, you know, actually turning your phone off. And if you can’t handle surrounding mess – clean before you start working.

Everyone’s idea of a perfect working environment is totally different, and doing your best to make yours work for you is absolutely vital to adopting an efficient work ethic.

2. Identify your productivity triggers

Let’s face it, all of us have been given a task we’re just not in the mood for. You want to do it, but your brain just doesn’t quite feel like cooperating on that particular day.

To tackle your potentially fickle moods, use them to your advantage. Because if you’re selective with the tasks you choose to do (and pick them accordingly), you might find your work gets done quicker as a result.

For example, if you’re not feeling particularly creative, choose an admin-based task. That way, you’re avoiding wasting time and effort on something you probably won’t even manage to start – and your work could be done to a better standard as a result.

Figure out when you’re at your most productive, and you’ll start using your time more effectively.

3. Make a deadline diary

Having a lot of deadlines loomingover you at once can make it even more difficult to tackle them.

To avoid confusion or stress-induced procrastination, always organise your tasks and deadlines into a succinct and doable list. Categorise them according to level of importance, estimated amount of time they’ll take, and the type of task they are.

Depending on your working style, you might find it easier to do certain tasks before others. Leaving the more time-consuming ones till last could ensure they get (and maintain) your full concentration. Additionally, grouping similar tasks together might make them easier to complete

By adopting a more streamlined way of working, procrastination won’t seem as tempting.

4. Break tasks down

When your tasks are seemingly too big to even imagine completing, breaking them up into individual components could help – not to mention make starting them much less overwhelming.

With more manageable projects, you’ll be able to track your progress as you go, giving yourself a boost of motivation each time you tick a box – instead of potentially getting halfway through a huge piece of work, and feeling like you’ve gotten nowhere.

Not only will this make you feel more productive, you’ll also be able to better visualise your end goal. Just remember: never bite off more than you can chew, and be realistic with your expectations.

Ambition is good, but trying to tackle a week’s worth of jobs in one day is not.

5. Give yourself consequences (and rewards)

Giving yourself something to work towards could be exactly what you need to boost your motivation and actually get things done.

Trial working on a reward and consequence basis, and make sure the ones you set yourself are something you’re actually likely to enforce.

For example, allowing yourself to have a quick coffee break after finishing a task is a realistic and achievable incentive. But rewarding yourself with the afternoon off probably falls into the unobtainable field.

The same goes for consequences. Setting up a system that you’ll actually follow through with will provide you with a real incentive to get things done.

6. Don’t beat yourself up

For reasons out of your control, sometimes you just won’t be able to get everything done.

But pushing yourself too hard or stressing too much over deadlines will only make you less likely to achieve them.

After all, procrastination is often caused by being too overwhelmed to tackle a task, or from fear that you won’t be able to do it – causing you to give up all together.

So, instead of simply powering through with no end, give yourself the occasional break. This will avoid burnouts, and make you even more productive when you get back to work.

So, you’ve finally landed yourself an interview for your dream job. But what now?

Chances are you’re feeling slightly apprehensive (see also: terrified) about the big day, as every nightmare scenario plays out in your head:

‘What if I forget everything I’ve ever learned in my entire life when I’m asked a question?’, ‘what if I trip on the way in and fall flat on my face’, ‘what if I get lost on the way there, lose one of my shoes and get rained on?’

Feel like you’re suffering from an irrational fear of interviews? To help you officially de-stress, here are some of the best ways to battle interview nerves and make sure you stay confident, calm and collected (and/or dry) on the big day…

Relax, breathe, and take your time

So you’ve arrived at an interview filled with nerves; your palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy – you may also have been listening to Eminem on the way, but we digress – to put it simply, interviews are a scary ordeal.

Anxiousness is inevitable, but it can be controlled with a few simple words – Breathe. Relax. And, Repeat.

Remember that you’ve been invited to an interview for a reason; you’ve obviously done something right, and good news, they already like you, so try not to dwell on the fact that you might not impress.

Slow your speech down, so you’re not speaking at a thousand words a minute, and take the time to think through your answers before you say them. Remember: pausing for thought is always a good idea.

Nail your interview answers

Many people make the mistake of trying to ’wing it’ when it comes to interviews.

However, even if you feel as though the ‘wild risk taker’ approach works best for you, struggling to respond to a question you haven’t prepared for won’t do anything for your stress levels and, more importantly, won’t get you the job.

Avoid awkward silences by preparing potential answers a few days in advance. That way you’ll have a clear, unstressed head to store all your newfound knowledge, and all you’ll have to worry about the night before will be a quick refresh and an early night.

Think of the interview as a conversation, not an interrogation

Interviews are often just as much about finding out whether you’re a good fit for the role as they are about skills and experience. And despite all the confusing questions that might come up, never underestimate the importance of compatibility.

With this in mind, try to act naturally. A professional attitude is important, but you also don’t want to come across like a robot reeling off memorised quotes. Try and remember at least five skills, or areas of experience you have that make you a right for the role, and weave them into your answers naturally. Remember: It’s a two-way conversation – not Question Time.

Just make sure you’re not too natural. A friendly chat to get to know each other is fine, but you probably shouldn’t be sharing intimate details about your soon-to-be ex just yet.

Remember that your interviewers are actually human

Forget about the formalities and remember: your interviewer/s are just human*

So, chances are, they might be nervous too. Imagining them as infallible bastions of professional perfection is often the root of a large share of interview jitters – and can be avoided.

A few mind-easing facts for you: they are able to feel human emotions (who knew?) and are often understandably aware of interviewees being slightly anxious on the day. They also understand that people sometimes make mistakes, and won’t judge you if you slip up once or twice as a result of nerves.

There will, however, be a limit. Anywhere upwards of 100 and you might be on your own…

Don’t overdo it with the caffeine intake

Downing as much coffee as you can directly before an interview might seem like a great idea at the time, but a caffeine overload will often have the opposite effect, and only end up making you shakier than ever.

Let’s face it, the last thing you want is to be frantically fidgeting in front of your interviewers, while they assume you’re simply not interested enough in the role to concentrate.

Caffeine also increases your heart rate and can add to the sweaty palm syndrome we mentioned earlier, and you definitely don’t need these things to be amplified.

Instead, get an early night before the big day and make sure you’re fully rested and energised without the overreliance on beverages to give you a buzz. Remember: energy drinks are not your friend.

Added bonus: you’ll get to spend more time in bed, and that’s what really matters.

Final thoughts

The main thing to remember about keeping calm during an interview is: don’t stress about being stressed, or you’ll just get more stressed.

As long as you’ve done enough preparation beforehand, and you follow these simple tips on the day, we have no doubt that your irrational interview fears will be a thing of the past.

If not? Hey, there are always umbrellas…

*This may vary from interview to interview

reed.co.uk

Struggling to set your CV apart?

With a number of jobs seemingly requiring similar skillsets, CVs can often end up looking like virtual replicas of one another, making the hiring process more difficult (and more irritating) for recruiters. And much of it simply comes down to an overreliance on the same old stock phrases.

To help you ditch the clichés, here are five lines you should steer clear of when you’re writing your CV:

1. ‘Although I don’t have much experience in…’

Hiring managers aren’t immediately attracted to candidates that constantly apologise.

Not only does it show a lack of confidence in your ability to do the job at hand, it also emphasises your shortcomings instead of focusing on what skills you actually do have.

If it’s a skill or qualification that is essential for the job you’re applying for, apologising isn’t going to persuade the employer to consider you, and if it’s not 100% necessary, why mention it?

Either way, you’re unlikely to ever come out in a positive light after your admission. In fact, if you doubt yourself, the employer will probably doubt you too.

Remember: think about what you can offer in a role, not what you can’t.

What you should do: Focus on what skills and experience you have that make you a good fit, and draw attention to those instead. Be positive, confident, and sure of your abilities – and recruiters will be too.

 2. ‘I’m great at multi-tasking’

Let’s face it, multi-tasking is important for almost every role.

Unfortunately, this has led to a phrase which has been so overused in CVs, that it’s probably lost all meaning to employers.

We’re not saying that the ability to multi-task isn’t a valuable attribute. However, simply including that you’re good at it provides very little value to recruiters. You actually need to back it up.

Think of relevant examples of when you’ve put your multi-tasking skills to the test, and how they’ve been employed to benefit the business.

It’s all about how you say it – not just about what you say.

What you should do: Talk about any tasks you’ve done that exemplify your multitasking skills, and use them to quantify your claims (i.e. how you managed multiple tasks to achieve a successful outcome – and what the outcome actually was). This way, you’re avoiding the clichéd phrase that almost everyone has in their CV, and replacing it with a tangible example that makes your CV unique.

3. ‘I’m a team player, who also works well alone’

Chances are, you’ll be good in a group and working individually. Most people are.

However, the real problem with this phrase isn’t the fact that it’s notoriously overused, it’s that it doesn’t really say a lot.

To an employer, saying you’re ‘a team player, who also works well alone’ just looks like a slightly lazy trying to cover all bases, because you feel that maybe, one of them might be a necessary requirement. Essentially, it’s the CV equivalent of sitting on the fence.

So, instead of including both, why not focus on the one the role requires the most? If you’re going to be working in a team, then focus on that. And if it involves working independently, utilise those skills instead.

Simple.

What you should do: To avoid recruiters skimming over this point, make it mean more. Demonstrate a time where you’ve proved your success of working in a team, or how you’ve completed tasks independently. It’ll sound much better than the generic wording, not to mention represent your skills more accurately.

4. ‘I’m a perfectionist’

Whether you use this phrase on its own, or couple it with its even more irritating prefix ‘my biggest weakness is…’, this point simply has no place in your CV.

Even if you genuinely are a perfectionist, this over-exaggerated character-defining phrase often translates as: ‘I’m really picky over minor details’.

In reality, nothing is perfect – especially in the workplace. If an employer reads about your obsession with perfection in your CV, they may be left wondering how you’d really react when things don’t go to plan.

Either that, or you’re trying to pretend you have no real weaknesses, other than your pursuit of greatness. Which, unfortunately, is something recruiters can spot a mile off.

There aren’t a lot of positive outcomes.

What you should do: Be honest. If you give recruiters enough of your skills, achievements, and experience, they’ll be able to make an informed decision on what you’re really like. And never, ever bring up weaknesses on your CV. Save that for the interview…

 5. ‘I’m a people person’

Although this attribute is incredibly important attribute to have for a number of jobs (particularly customer facing ones), it’s a bad idea to include it in your CV.

As with most clichéd phrases, it doesn’t have much meaning. Doesn’t everyone have the ability to speak to other humans, at least to some extent?

Additionally, it’s likely that your CV will be sent to someone in HR, and members of this industry notoriously dislike this phrase – so not only will you be using an overused line, you’ll also risk mildly irritating the person with the power to move your application further.

Without any context or elaboration, this is essentially just a fancy use of alliteration – and one that your CV could definitely do without.

What you should do: Don’t be afraid to demonstrate your ‘people skills’, but display them in a way that effectively describes your communication skills, customer service experience, and affability, all at the same time. Proven instances and examples of successful interactions and good relationships with colleagues or customers will always work in your favour.