Job

Company Culture – does it affect your Career Change Decisions

What is Company Culture? Company Culture isn’t just the mission statement, but also the values, ethics and goals of the company and how they affect you and the way the Company conducts its business. Like people, Companies have their own unique personality and so do departments within each company. This personality will decide whether you love your job or not.

Company Culture is now a major factor to consider when planning on a career change. 20 years ago you went to work, did your job and you left. 9 to 5 wasn’t just a movie, it was the company culture. Clock in at 9 and out of there at 5. An hour for lunch which you ate at your desk or you went to a restaurant. Most professional companies didn’t have lunch rooms, if you were lucky there were vending machines for coffee. Sales departments used to do team building events and some departments might have had corporate baseball teams, but that was it.

I remember when Ontario Hydro went to the open concept office. Walls came down, everyone sat in pods. One big happy family. Oops – within a month, buffer panels came in for individual departments and groups. Walls went back up for key positions, ie HR, CFOs etc. It was a nice concept but unfeasible. Too noisy and distracting. Now we have the innovative Google office, new technologies and company culture has become an important part in career planning.

You will spend 1/3 of your life at work. Not only do you have to like what you do, but you have to like the company and the people you work with. Your company and your group within that company are like a baseball team. Would you stay on the team if you weren’t enjoying yourself? If you hated the Team Captain and didn’t like the way he was running the team, you would be out of there. Yes it is harder to leave a job but if you don’t like the culture eventually you will move on. Companies want you to fit in with their culture. Retraining and rehiring new people is time consuming, costly and disruptive to running a business. The Company will be assessing your culture fit. It is important for you to recognize what the company will expect from you. Experience, job satisfaction and salary are important parts when assessing a new career. But so is the atmosphere in the company.

Start assessing the company as soon as you walk in the door.

Are the people in the elevators, hallways, reception desks friendly? Look at everyone and everything as you walk through the office. Does the atmosphere seem positive? Or do the employees look bored and disgruntled.

Assess yourself honestly?

Are you the type of person who wants to show up, do your job and head home? Do you like to read your book at your desk at lunch? Or do you want to go into the lunch room and play ping pong? Do you like team building outings or do you consider these an infringement on your free time? If you have the attitude I’m paid for a 40 hour work week and that’s all you are getting from me then you need to make sure you find a company that only expects that from you.

Technology has changed the face of company culture.

Companies provide laptops and phones to their employees. Along with that comes an expectation that they can reach you whenever they want. Deadlines don’t fall within a 40 hour work week.

Team Building is becoming a fact of life in organizations

Find out what is expected of you.

Are there ping pong tournaments, Ax throwing parties (yes I said Ax throwing parties).

Dinner nights, weekends away.

Is the atmosphere very competitive as a team or is it based more on the individual.

1/3 of your day will be spent with your team members and your group. Enjoying the atmosphere and camaraderie where you work will make a big difference in your attitude about your job. During the interview be sure to ask about the company culture. At the interview with your actual team members assess their characters, are you on the same page, will you be able to get along. Your team is like your family with less space to escape from them. Do you like them? If you do then grab this position, there is nothing better than wanting to get up in the morning to go to a fulfilling job.

Job Hunting – Little things to help you overcome those tricky obstacles

Job Hunting can be mind boggling. Knowing what kind of job you are qualified for can be intimidating. Don’t let things overwhelm you. Think of the positives and form a plan to accomplish your goal. First thing I do when anything is overwhelming me is make a list.

What kind of jobs does your education qualify you for
What experience do you have and is it transferable from industry to industry, ie banking to government
Who do you know in the industry
- Call them and set up an information interview to find out what types of jobs you would be qualified for or that would interest you
Network – let everyone know you are looking. Do you volunteer, let the board know you are looking for a new job. Play sports or children play sports, teams are a great place to network. The gym, yoga studio – everyone knows someone who knows someone and most people are more than happy to lend a hand.
Use a Recruiter. Recruiters have job boards sometimes exclusive to them. Research your recruiter and find the one who deals with the companies on your list of places you would like to work. Also find the Recruiter who deals with your skills. Recruiters specialize – IT, Finance, Admin, etc so make sure you contact the right one. Be diligent don’t them forget about you, keep in touch with him/her.
Check the job boards. Don’t be afraid to recontact your Recruiter and let him/her know about job openings.
Check specific company websites. Again before applying online check with your Recruiter to see if he has a contact there.
Connect with people on LinkedIn who work for specific targeted companies that you are interested in
And then go back and do it all again

There is a job out there with your name on it.

References – when Job Hunting have them ready to go

“References available upon request” – the most unnecessary sentence on a person’s resume. Every job hunter, interviewer, Hiring Manager knows that the chances of being offered a position without references are NIL. Even worse than that sentence is “Referees available upon request”. Yes it is amazing the number of resumes I have seen with that sentence on it. LOL please don’t bother applying if you are sending me your referees!!!

Applying for a Job:

Read the job description carefully, references are usually only requested when you are getting to the offer stage. Don’t send them in if they aren’t asked for. Don’t put them on the bottom of your resume. References are doing you a favour, don’t pass along their information until necessary. Yes there are exceptions. There are a number of online company resume submission sites (usually large companies like Banks, IBM, etc) who ask for everything up front: Resume, Cover Letter and References. Don’t bother submitting to these sites unless you have all the information requested.

Interview:

This is one of the times when you may be asked for your references. Employers don’t want to see letters from your references starting with “To whom it may concern”. They don’t want a list of your LinkedIn recommendations. They want a straight forward copy of your references. So be prepared. Take a copy of your references with you, in the following format:

Offer Stage:

Most employers will ask you for your references when they are getting to the offer stage. You may be given a verbal offer dependent on your references. When it’s a hot job market, employers know that you may be interviewing for more than one job. They want to let you know that they want you, but your references are the final stepping stone.

References:

3 minimum – including someone from your current employer. Nothing better than having a reference from your current boss, this might be difficult so a colleague or team member will work. Job appropriate references are nice to have, if you are interviewing for a job as a programmer in a financial institution and you have worked for a bank before then a colleague who can relate to the actual position is a bonus. If you are a new graduate then a reference from a professor/teacher is better than your parents.
Keep your references up to date. Make sure they are willing to do a positive reference for you. Send them a copy of the job description and your resume so they know what you are up to. Ask them what the best number and “time” to be reached at is. Employers use reference checking services now so calls can be made before 9, during lunch, after 5.
Try and get references that would answer the question “Would you hire them again” with an emphatic “YES”. References are very careful about how they answer questions and companies don’t want to get sued so they will tend not to say anything negative, but sometimes a non answer speaks volumes.
Use LinkedIn – keep in touch with the colleagues you would like to be your references. Ten (10) years ago you would call your reference and if they had left their job good luck finding them. LinkedIn makes it so easy to keep track of people and communicate with them. Keep the relationship fresh and up to date.

References are an integral part of the successful job hunting journey. Always try and leave your last job on a positive note and you won’t have to worry about your reference check. Keep them up to date and keep in touch with them.

Is This the Right Move?

Resignations – 7 Things Not to Do When Resigning

The goal of resigning is to protect your reference for the future. If you have done great work for the last few years, don’t screw it up with a bad resignation.

Waltz in to your bosses office and announce “I’m out of here”

Well, so much for the courteous approach.

Prepare a letter stating you are resigning with a last day noted. Give 2 weeks’ notice. Be sure to account for any outstanding vacation.

Present the letter in a face-to-face meeting (no slipping on his/her desk or sending an email). Yes, it’s uncomfortable, but part of being professional.

Do nothing, take long lunches, take extra sick days, come in late/leave early during your notice period.

The deal is to be professional. Create a list of everything that’s on your plate divided into what will be completed by the time you leave and what will not, with the status it will be in when you leave.

Present the list in the resignation meeting.

This list helps to make the meeting less tense.

It also helps your boss save face with her boss when she announces your departure. She shows she has it under control.

Tell them where you are going.

This is optional. It may just give your boss the opening to dump on the new company.

Why not say, “I shall call you when I get settled”.

Get upset if they walk you out.

It may be just an HR policy against the worst case scenario.

Assemble all your key possession in a single drawer before you meet your boss so you can exit quickly if necessary.

Resent negative reaction from your boss.

Your boss may react poorly to the news. That can include yelling or worse.

Your boss may deploy tools to slow you down.

These include:

Guilt – How could you do this after all I have done for you?

Intimidation – If you think I shall give you a good reference in the future, think again

Flattery – Your team can’t go on without you.

Bribery/Promises – Gee, I was just about to set up a meeting to give you a raise/new project/promotion

These are just ways of giving your boss time to prepare for your eventual departure which may be your choice or may not. Resigning is usually a sign of serious disaffection with the company and they usually can’t change that. If you resign as a ploy to get a raise for example, it’s seen as immature and erodes trust.

Make a loud announcement in the middle of the office, “I’m out of here you bunch of losers”

Give your boss time to announce your departure. Don’t be a focus of discontent. If other people want to leave, they need to take steps on their own.

Neglect to capture the cell numbers and home addresses for everyone you liked working with. They may make a move in the future themselves.

After you’re gone, send them holiday greetings and stay in touch. They are valuable nodes on your personal career network. . You may want to reach out to them, for a reference or even a job one day.

Nadine is one of the original members and owners of Planet4IT, and has watched the company become something great.
She is the Chief Financial officer here, and her hard work ensures everything is kept in tip top shape.
Another role she has is to help companies find the top talent out there.
Her track record speaks for itself.
Nadine can be reached through email, or by calling Planet4IT

WHAT IS AN INFORMATION INTERVIEW

Boring, you can’t bear another day going into your job. You thought you were a salesman but hate cold calls. Graduation day is approaching and you don’t know what to do. Now is the time to set up some Information Interviews.

An Information Interview is just what its name implies. It is a way for you to find out information about different types of jobs and companies.

Your first step is to:

Make a list of companies and jobs you think you might like.
Research these companies and job types, both through their webpages and through job search engines like Workopolis and Monster.
Make a list of questions about the companies and the different positions they have

Networking is your next step:

Ask people you know who work for these companies if they could recommend someone you could go and talk to about the company and types of jobs
Look around your community. If you are thinking about banking then the bank manager is a great person to talk to or he/she may be able to recommend someone in head office that would be helpful
Sports teams and gyms are great places to network. Right away you have something in common so ask them who they work for and how they got started.
Coffee shops, if there is a specific company you are interested in, yes go and hang around the closest coffee shop to their office. Strike up a conversation
LinkedIn is a great place to find people who work for specific companies. Ask to connect with them and then follow their updates. LinkedIn Groups are also a great way to find out about different things that are going on in your field and to connect with people with the same interests.

It is important to remember that this is an Information Interview not a Job Interview. So you are the one asking the questions, you are in control. Break your interview into 4 parts:

A brief introduction of yourself: your education, your achievements and your interests. This gives the person you are interviewing an idea of your skills and how they will relate to different positions in their company. Explain to them you are trying to get into a new field or have just graduated. Tell him “I really don’t like doing cold calls”, “I love working with numbers”, “I have a real interest in people”, etc.
Next would come questions about the company: trends, challenges, organization, etc.
Specifics about particular jobs will be the most detailed part of the interview:
1. what training is required
2. what type of things would be done in a typical day
3. what do you enjoy most/least about your job

4. Finally a thank you for their time and ask if they can recommend/refer anyone that may be able to help you in your job search/analysis

This person is doing you a favour so remember:

Be punctual
Be prepared
Be polite
Bring a resume but DO NOT give it to them unless they ask you for one.
Dress professionally
Don’t waste their time

Finally as with anything in life, this person has done you a service and set aside some of their time to help you so remember to send a Thank You Note as soon as possible after the interview. And don’t forget to add them to your network on your social media sites.

Good Luck job huntingLynne Carlson started her career off in administration, moved to Cobol Programming and for the last 14 years worked in all things recruitment. Absolutely loves social media and excited about all the new innovations appearing every day!

Is This the Right Move?

While standing in line at The Bay over Christmas, a couple behind me were having a conversation about asking for a counter offer during a job resignation attempt. I couldn’t help myself; I turned around and said “I’m a head hunter and I would advise against doing that”.

So, why not ask for a raise?

It’s the blackmail element you must avoid. In your boss’s eye’s it is blackmail when you come to her/him with an offer from another company with which he/she must compete.

It may not seem that way – the boss may flatter you and tell you the company can’t go on without you. Promises of promotions, or new projects will pop up. Wow, but, should you have to resign to get these changes? It’s really just management doing its job to stabilize the situation in the short run, while they gets organized to shed you in the long run.

Reasons Not to Initiate a Counter Offer

If you use this ransom style, it erodes the trust between you and your boss. This could have unwanted consequences related to the day-to-day atmosphere and your career progress/shelf life in that organization.
Will more money change the fundamental reason why you went out to look for a new job in the first place? If you ignore that reason and accept a counter offer, the satisfaction will be short lived. Remember, they can’t change the company for one person.
What is the motivation for your current company to match/exceed your other offer?

Perhaps you are on a mission critical project. The raise is a band aid to keep you on the project until the end. But, watch out once the project is over.

You may find you are not assigned to projects that will enhance your skills or prove your capabilities to qualify you for promotion. The company knows you are dissatisfied and thus a risk to any key project. The belief is that you may leave after the glow of the raise has faded. Why invest in you if you are on your way out?

Sure, ask for a raise if you think you are underpaid, either related to others or because you feel you are doing an outstanding job and deserve a premium.

Do your research. Are you underpaid, by how much? What is an appropriate premium? A good head hunter can tell you what the going rates are at the top and the bottom.

Approach your boss at a non-distracted time and explain why you believe you should get a raise. If it goes well, super, if not you may gain insight into your performance perception, or you may just have to try to find a new job. At least you gave it a shot.

Remote, Telecommuting a growing trend and with wi-fi the world is the limit!!

Remote, Telecommuting a growing trend and with wi-fi there is no limit!!

Starting off my career in computer programming at Ontario Hydro, I watched the 80’s bring in some of the first contract workers and consulting houses. By 1985, I joined the contract team, but still had to go into the office to do my work. The years progressed, laptops appeared. We could now take our work home with us. Then the internet arrived and home/virtual offices are becoming the norm.

1985 the year I started contracting, 1988 the year I started working from home. My computer used floppy discs, took forever to boot up and I had to go into the office to pick up and deliver my assignments. There was no email, only a few faxes, no webinars or yahoo chat or msn messenger. NO INTERNET. But there were people. Lots of personal contact, either on the phone or in the office. Job interviews were F2F, based on your typed resume with no fancy fonts or pictures. No online surveys, video interviews or phone generated generic interviews. Nope not back in 1988, show up at the company’s office – early, in your best suit or dress. Preparation for the interview – friends/family who knew about the company, newspapers, maybe the library. My desk came equipped with an electric typewriter, my computer, my phone, and a drawer for my paper files. When I first started working remotely our numbers were mostly made up of 20 year old computer wizs or stay-at-home moms. In 2014

“The typical telecommuter is a 49-year-old college graduate — man or woman — who earns about $58,000 a year and belongs to a company with more than 100 employees, according to numbers culled from the Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey.” The New York Times

The technology, the hardware, the firewalls, the ability to work remotely just keeps on improving. After the winter of 2014 where we couldn’t get out of our driveway for 3 days and we only live 30 kms from Toronto systems were put in place to make access to your work place easier and more secure.

“Federal employees in Washington who worked from home during four official snow days saved the government an estimated $32 million, according to Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics, and its research arm Telework Research Network.” The New York Times

“Telus is now working toward a goal of having 70 per cent of its work force telecommuting by 2015.” The Globe and Mail

“More than half of us will be working remotely by 2020, said executives, entrepreneurs and business academics at London Business School’s Global Leadership Summit”. London School of Business

It soon became apparent that I had to set rules and guidelines for myself and family members. My first and most important mandate was:

This is your career treat it with respect.

From this statement I was able look at my issues and set up some standards for operating my business. This included simple things like:

Setting up a private office. I set up a room in the house that was out of bounds for children and visitors (my cats were and still are welcome).
A proper desk and comfortable chair are a necessity.
Getting out of my pajamas when I went into my office. I still do casual office attire, but my makeup is on and it makes me feel more professional.
If you have children be prepared to get a babysitter for your busy times.
Shut the door so there are fewer distractions. Make sure all family members know the rules. They can’t be yelling for you when you are on the phone conducting an interview.
Take your lunch break away from your desk. Go for a walk outside. Stretch your legs and relax your mind for 60 minutes.
Set up mini deadlines. These tasks have to be finished before I can succumb to another cup of tea.
Set up a schedule for checking your personal email, etc, that way it won’t become distracting.
Separation of job and family time. Don’t work on the weekend just because it is there and easy to access. It is so easy to say “I will just go and finish that report”. If you aren’t late with the task then use your weekends/night time for family time.
If your work is computer related, then unplug it and take it to the coffee shop for a change of scenery.
Keep your equipment up to date, if your computer needs upgrading then do it. Otherwise you will lose productive time with a computer that is slowing down and freezing.

When you respect your career you automatically respect yourself

These small guidelines have helped me work successfully from home for the past 25 years. When I started treating my job like a career, it didn’t take long for my family and neighbours to follow suit. I’m still working on the cats O:).

I am becoming known as “have computer and wi-fi will travel”. This week my computer is in Fort Lauderdale, no snow, no cold, no driving, no stress. I have worked on sunny patios, docks, North America and Europe. Can’t wait to see where it takes me next.

Being able to work remotely is becoming a strong bargaining point when changing or improving your career. One day a week up to only coming in for meetings. Companies are accepting this practice more and more. Are you thinking about joining the bandwagon? Would love to hear about your thoughts and experience on working remotely. Let me know what you have done to make it a successful experience.

A New Year, Time for a Fresh Start, Where to Begin

2015, a new year. Maybe you are still looking for a job or you feel like a change. Whatever the reason, new years, new seasons tend to encourage us to start looking at lifestyle and goal changes. As in everything I do in life, I make a list. Whether it’s in a little notebook or on your iPad, start jotting down things that can help you in your job hunting or career change.

Update your resume. Always have your resume ready to go. You never know when or where you will hear about the perfect job that you have been looking for. It could be at the coffee shop, lunch with friends, on the internet (job boards, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn). Have a good look at the format:
- is the font easy to read (arial, tahoma), minimum 10 point, black (for most professions: IT, Finance)
- keep the format simple: profile, education, technical skills, experience
- take out the superfluous information: hobbies, references, pictures, age, etc.
- get rid of any fancy boxes, they don’t copy over properly and things can be missed
- use tabs and returns, not spaces for formatting. If you aren’t sure how, go on to Google and take a quick lesson. Basic formatting is really quite easy and will save you a ton of time in the long term
- make sure your contact information is up to date and shown on every page
- save as a Word document
Update your on-line profiles. Set up new on-line accounts. Don’t have a twitter account, then get one. Network with your contacts. Send out a quick “Have a great 2015, btw I am looking to change my career” or “Thinking of changing my career to … any advice on courses or places to apply”.
Look at the jobs you have been applying for and be truthful with yourself. Do you need another certificate or upgrading of your skills, then maybe now is the time to do it.
Check out the job boards and the business section of newspapers, etc. to find out what is happening out there. What’s HOT, what’s NOT.
Volunteering is a great way to meet people and show off your skills. There isn’t a lot of competition in volunteer groups, they are made up of people who want to help other people. So let them know that you are looking for a job or planning on changing your career. And to top it off volunteering is good for your self esteem and makes you feel great.

A new year, a new job, a promotion. Be ready when opportunity knocks.

Happy New Year everyone.

and

Good Luck job hunting

Lynne Carlson started her career off in administration, moved to Cobol Programming and for the last 14 years worked in all things recruitment. Absolutely loves social media and excited about all the new innovations appearing every day!

5 Tips on how to stop your Social Media + Holiday Celebrations = Disaster

Are you heading off to an office party this holiday season? Or is there a chance you just may be consuming a little too much alcohol over the holidays. Then think twice or maybe three times before you post anything onto your social media sites. It is amazing what seems funny at 2 in the morning after a tequila shooter or two, makes you scared to get out of bed the next morning. I tend to get sappy at 2 in the morning, so here are a few tips I have been trying to follow:

The best advice is to just NOT drink too much. Hard to do at an office party when the alcohol is free and everyone is letting their hair down. You also don’t want to be the person who doesn’t drink too much and then thinks it’s funny to take pictures of everyone else doing embarrassing things. You won’t have many friends the next day if these pictures get posted.
Leave your phone at home. OK, I know that isn’t going to happen, but how about don’t take it out of your pocket or purse after 9 pm. The 24 hour rule is always a good policy when you are having too much FUN. Take the picture but don’t post it until after you have a look at it during the light of day.
Keep your true inner feelings about a co-worker to yourself. Don’t verbalize them at the party and definitely don’t post them on facebook, twitter, or instagram.

Selfies are dangerous. You have been very careful and your best friend at work appears and starts taking selfies of everyone. HIDE. Again, you have left your phone in your pocket and now you want to let your co-worker post a picture of the two of you stuffing cupcakes into your mouths. Maybe not.
Stay Professional. Bosses and co-workers aren’t as forgiving as family and friends. We all love telling stories about our brothers or best girlfriends at their birthday parties. These stories form part of our family history. But at work – nope. People will feel threatened, if they know you have pictures of them. This is your professional life, keep it professional.

It’s the Holidays, have fun and be smart so you will still have a job in the New Year.

Good luck job hunting

How to answer “Why are you leaving your current job?”

Companies are always interested in why you are looking for a new job. Depending on the answer they can get a good feel for you as a person and whether they want you working for their company.

Do you like to change jobs? bad attitude
Are you looking for advancement? good attitude
Are you trying to increase your knowledge? good attitude
Did you have an issue with your boss/co-workers? bad attitude

Positive, positive, positive – yes always try and keep your answers positive. Below are some guidelines that you can expand on by bringing the job opening and your skill set/goals into the answer.

I had reached the top of my level in my previous position and am looking to expand my knowledge. This position and your company will offer me the opportunity to do that.
The last company I worked for was very small and I felt it was time to move into a large corporate office to increase my challenges.
My last position was a wonderful place to work for right out of school, and now I would like to move my career into a new path.
My family life has changed and I am looking to work closer to home. Your company is closer to my home and still offers me the challenges and opportunities I need in my position. I am very excited about being able to utilize some new skills and polish up some old ones.
A friend sent me your job posting and the position sounded right up my alley. After researching your company I feel like I would be an ideal match for this position.
It is very important for me to be challenged in my position and it was time for a change. Your company is using a system I am looking to increase my knowledge of.
My last company went through a down turn and I realized that my position was being downsized. This has given me the opportunity to look for new challenges and after researching a number of companies, I feel that my entrepreneurial nature will fit in very nicely with your company…

It never pays to be negative. The last thing you want to do is sound whinny. You also don’t know if there is a relationship between the position you are leaving and the one you are interviewing for.

I couldn’t work for my boss anymore
My co-workers were impossible to get along with
They were always advancing their children

So remember:

Be positive
Answer the question
Follow it up with promoting your skill set
And finally why the new company is so much better suited to you

Good luck job hunting