The Executive Update

Honesty is the Best Hiring Policy

I was reading the news about Baseball legend Roger Clemens being acquitted of lying to Congress and I started to think about professional ethics. Sports are not the only place where cheaters don’t prosper. There has been a lot of corporate scandal recently in the news, from the Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson resigning after it was found he lied on his resume to Richard Schulze resigning as CEO of Best Buy for turning a blind eye to an inappropriate office affair between a senior executive and a subordinate.

In business, ethics are everything. So if you are looking to get ahead or move on, you need to make sure your reputation is squeaky clean, especially online. Anything discoverable on the Web or elsewhere can come back to haunt you.

What steps can you take to maintain a clean record? They’re pretty simple. Here’s what Deborah Jacobs of Forbes recommends:

1. Remain trustworthy. You need to be reliable so others can rely on you. If you can prove to senior management and your coworkers that you are trustworthy, then they will trust you because they know they won’t have to look over your shoulder or police your conduct. Especially in senior positions, where if something goes wrong it could impact the company’s performance, you want someone who knows right from wrong and who can be trusted to report wrongdoing to the board or the appropriate senior managers.

2. Stay beyond reproach. Follow your own code of ethics and do the next right thing, even if you believe that course of action may not be what others want. If you can be true to yourself, no one can question your motives.

3. It’s okay to say “no”. If your boss asks you to do something you feel is wrong you have a right to say no, or even to disagree on gray areas. As Jacobs points out, saying “yes” to the boss all the time elevates that manager go “deity status”, and that’s when weaknesses are eclipsed by power and influence. Retain your right to disagree.

4. Watch your back. We live in a world of open data exchange, which means transparency. If you do something that could come back to haunt you, it probably will. Be honest and admit when you make a mistake so someone doesn’t have to point an accusing finger.

5. Project your image. Whether in business affairs or online, maintain a profile that projects integrity. Think about how others perceive you and your actions. Do you tend to hide or are you forthcoming? Knowing how the world perceives you will help you maintain your integrity.

In the age of the Internet your life is an open book. Be careful what your history says about you because you can be sure that someone will read it.

Your Gadgets May Be Cool, But NOT at a Job Interview

Here’s an interesting new problem I never anticipated – job candidates showing up for their interviews armed with iPads, tablet computers, and laptops. Granted, these toys are becoming more prevalent in a host of business settings, such as meetings and presentations, but at a job interview? Apparently it is becoming a prevalent problem, so much so that U.S. News had a recent article on the subject.

Granted, laptops, iPads, and smart phones have become ubiquitous. Everywhere you look there are people walking down the street, with their eyes glued to their cell phones. Or they are sitting in Starbuck transfixed by their tablet or laptop computer. And that’s the real problem; the technology detracts from the interview and, more importantly, from the interviewer.

According to etiquette experts Diane Gottsman, even using a small device for note taking gets in the way of the interview:

"I have spoken with many hiring managers and recruiters that say they're not positively affected by an applicant that comes in and opens their laptop to start taking notes," she says.

The exception is if you have a creative job and your tablet or iPad could be useful for displaying samples of your work. Or if you need to use a tablet or laptop for some sort of interactive discussion with the hiring manager, then it might make sense to use your computer or iPad. But remember to bring paper backups. There is nothing worse than having all these great ideas or examples ready only to have the presentation technology fail when it comes time to present them. And there may be multiple people in the meeting, so trying to crowd around a small screen would be very awkward.

However, technology always gets in the way of making a personal connection with the interviewer. How many of you have experienced the frustration of trying to hold a conversation with a spouse or friend who is immersed in their smart phone? If you are looking at your phone (or computer, or iPad), you can’t make eye contact, and you aren't giving your undivided attention to the interviewer. Most hiring managers will tell you that they find it distracting and disturbing when a candidate breaks out their iPad or laptop to take notes. They should be paying attention to the interview, no their computer.

So if you want to avoid technology trauma in an interview, remember the basics:

1. Be prepared. Do your homework and prepare with as much information about the hiring company and the position you are looking to fill. Don’t be afraid to ask beforehand what the interviewer would like to see during the initial interview so you are adequately prepared.
2. Rehearse beforehand. Think about the most common interview questions and how you would answer them. Be sure to preplan to arrive on time. If for whatever reason you do decide to make a presentation or use your laptop, be sure to arrive sufficiently early to set up and make sure everything is running properly.
3. Follow their lead. Remember, the interview is the hiring company’s agenda, not yours, so even if you have a killer presentation, wait until it’s clear that it’s time to pull out the PowerPoint. You will be given the right opportunity to produce your laptop only if the opportunity is right.
4. Paper is still useful. Be sure to bring paper copies of everything you may want to leave behind, starting with your resume. Hard copies are always useful to reference and share with other managers, and if you don’t need to worry if your laptop fails.

Technology certainly has its place, but usually not in a job interview. Bringing the new toys to show off your stuff is not the best way to make a first impression, and too often the tools get in the way of the message. It’s always better to show up for a job interview prepared, but without the additional bells and whistles that get in the way of presenting the genuine you! After all, they are hiring you, not your PowerPoint or your toys.

The Growing Need for Unsocial Networks for True Networking

I recently came across an interesting article by Ben Kunz titled Facebook, Google Must Adapt as Users Embrace ‘Unsocial’ Networks. In discussing Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram, Kunz suggests that there may be a move to smaller, more closed networks with some users, citing Zipf’s Law: “If all nodes are not equal…in any system of resources there exists declining value for each subsequent item.”

This got me thinking about the different ways I use networks. As an early adopter, I’ve been using LinkedIn since the beginning of 2004 and of course, NETSHARE since 1992! I can attest from personal experience that Zipf is right, all nodes, or all networking channels, are not created equal. To demonstrate, let me explain how I use LinkedIn versus how I use NETSHARE.

I use LinkedIn for two reasons: 1) to research people and companies that I don’t know, 2) and to create an online presence so that I can be found. If I want something to be broadcast and become part of my digital trail, I am likely to use LinkedIn updates, groups, etc. It’s like going to the new hot club in order to be “seen.” When I want to know who knows whom I want to know, then I go to LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is incredibly helpful, but using LinkedIn for research and exposure is not the same as networking. Real networking requires some selectivity, yes, even privacy. I may not want everyone to know my business or what I am after. I may want to talk to specific people about specific issues rather than broadcast my queries and concerns across the Web. That’s where a smaller, more intimate, closed network comes in – what Kunz referred to as the “unsocial” network.

One reason I was so excited about Google+ was that the Google social media pundits seemed to get the idea of unsocial networks by using circles for sharing. The concept is designed to give you the best of both worlds – you can broadcast the information you want to share and that you want to be known for, and you can narrowcast the more specific information you want to share with targeted groups. Unfortunately, like many users, I tried Google+ for a while but it just became one more time suck that doesn’t deliver the intimate networking experience I was seeking.

This brings me to NETSHARE. Without really thinking about it, I realize that we have been building an unsocial social network with NETSHARE. Unlike LinkedIn, the hot new club where you want to be seen, we have worked to create more of a smoke-filled backroom where deals get done. Sure, you want the exposure of the big social network to build personal brand awareness, but the real networking goes on behind the scenes. That’s why we vet all our job descriptions to make sure they are for real positions that suit our membership. That’s why we have personal introductory calls, weekly career coaching calls, online networking groups and educational events for members only. There’s an intimacy and a camaraderie that we cultivate, because true networking is about learning from one another, sharing leads and insights, and helping your peers, because you know they will help you in return.

So while there is a place for the big, impersonal social networking arena, like LinkedIn, it’s hard to distinguish yourself among the LinkedIn masses in any way that promotes a sense of common purpose and mutual support. That’s why you want to be seen on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, but you want to find smaller, more targeted networks where you can actually interact, network, and get to know your peers.

The Unicorn Theory – Why Companies Take So Long To Hire

Guest post by Matt Gill

Matt Gill, is the Managing Partner and a founding member of MICA Consulting Group, a retained recruiting and consulting firm specializing in connecting people in marketing, interactive, creative and advertising disciplines. Matt has been a key participant in the recruiting industry for the past 17 years. He is also a certified Behavioral Interview Trainer.

Marketing teams have been re-orged and RIF’ed - some of them multiple times over the past few years. As the tide rises, slowly but it is rising, companies are approving headcount additions to their marketing teams. Good news. Unfortunately, the hiring managers are hesitant to pull the trigger.

I’ve consulted with a number of CMO’s over the past couple of quarters on how to get the most out of their precious few hires. The conversation usually starts out with the CMO trying to figure out how to get all the skills and capabilities from three hires that are approved when he really needs seven people to get everything done. For example, they may have a position approved with a list of requirements that looks like this:

· 12+ years mobile, Ecommerce experience – (one of my absolute favorites)

· 10+ years in consumer goods marketing with expertise in channel development with major retailers

· Brand planning expertise with products for the baby boomer demographic

· Social and digital media expertise for new product launch in the infant care category with significant experience managing a co- branded product launch

· 5-7 years managing a global PR campaign

· One horn protruding no less than 12” from the middle of the forehead

I know CMOs and marketing folks fancy themselves able to solve difficult problems, but no matter what the impact of the recent economy, it hasn’t changed the rules of common sense. Unfortunately, the apprehension about making the wrong hire and the hope that this person exists is drastically impacting the length of our jobs recovery and why hiring managers will pass over great candidates.

To combat the Unicorn Hunter you have to start early on in the interview process. Work very hard at uncovering what the priorities are for the job. These will vary based on who you ask during the interview process, not only do you have to prioritize for the position but you have to assess the influence of the person you are asking. For example if the CEO ranks “Brand planning expertise with products for the baby boomer demographic” as #1 and the junior team member ranks it as #6 you can estimate where it sits on the overall list. If you make uncovering the “experience priorities” part of your interview process from the very first contact and all of your research you may be able to coach and consult your potential new employer in the direction of your strengths. At the very least it will allow you to self-select out if you don’t fit so you can focus your time in higher potential opportunities.

Features, Benefits and the Principle of Timely Relevance

If you have participated in one of my strategy calls, you know that I like to use marketing and sales metaphors when talking about job search and career management. One of the most important concepts to understand in either case is the difference between features and benefits.

Features are your skill set - your innate skills, as well as everything that your experience has taught you.

Benefits are the positive outcomes produced by your skills – what your features enable you to accomplish.

So why is the distinction important? People buy and hire based on benefits not on features. This simple distinction should inform every part of your search process. Take your resume, for example. I see a lot of resumes and sadly, more of them focus on features than benefits – responsibilities rather than accomplishments. The same goes for most elevator speeches - long on experience and short on deliverables.

Where it really falls apart, however, is when you get in front of the decision maker. If you are still trying to get by on features without bothering to understand the benefits, it is unlikely that the conversation will result in a positive outcome for either of you.

If you lead with your one size fits all resume, trusting that your experience will speak for itself, you are behaving like an inexperienced sales person who dumps every brochure he has onto the prospect’s desk and says, “Just tell me what you need.” Like the hapless salesman, you need to do your homework and understand what they need. You must then be able to articulate how your features will benefit that company – and it doesn’t hurt to have a tailored resume!

If you can’t turn your features into benefits and answer the decision maker’s unasked question “what’s in it for me?” you are wasting time, no matter how impressive your experience is.

Finally, there is the “Principle of Timely Relevance”, a phrase coined by Nicola James in her presentation for Experts Connection. Nicola used the expression in discussing how to get on a recruiter’s radar – i.e. you have the experience I want for a search I’m conducting now! Relevance and timing are everything when it comes to a successful landing. Understand that it’s not personal. You can be recognized as the best electrician in the world but if I need a plumber, I’m not going to call you.

Jobless, but with Industry Expertise: 4 Ways to Become an Online Expert

This is a guest post by Nadia Jones who blogs at online college about education, college, student, teacher, money saving, movie related topics. You can reach her at nadia.jones5@gmail.com.

There are many professionals today who have found themselves unexpectedly thrown into a career transition, even after years of high-level experience in their field. Whether less experienced professionals are bargaining to fill the same positions for lower pay, or their company has simply downsized, scores of talented professionals are now faced with finding new ways to profit from their skillsets. If you are currently looking for a new position, you may want to consider the benefits of establishing an online presence within your industry as a means to improve your chances of landing the job you deserve. Here are some ways to take your expertise to the next level online and turn a few heads in the process.

1. Start a Blog

The popularity of blogging exploded in the last decade, and for good reason. Bloggers who have something to say, especially to a niche audience, can find their readership expanding by the millions before they know it. In fact, blogging has been named among the fastest growing career paths today, and many bloggers do so full-time, bringing in enough AdSense dollars to make up an entire years’ salary. Running a blog is the perfect way to share your knowledge, connect to the people who are looking for it, and control every aspect of how you do so.

2. Tweet about Your Topic

If you have a blog going, or even if you don’t, you can expand your online presence by tweeting about industry-specific information. Choose a recognizable Twitter handle and start following experts and major players in your industry. Then start replying to tweets, tweeting your own thoughts, and asking questions. The more active you are on Twitter, and the more people you reach out to and follow, the more followers you will generate. This can help you make connections in many ways and build the value of your own personal brand when it comes to negotiating future work positions.

3. Post Videos

Along with blogging and tweeting, posting videos is another great way to provide expert information to an industry-specific audience. How-to videos, interviews, and opinion compilations are all the rage on YouTube, so if you have knowledge about your industry and would like to share it in an entertaining format, you may want to consider making your own videos. Try posting them to your blog or sharing them through Twitter for extra impact.

4. Be a Contributor

There are plenty of well-known online publications looking for people to occasionally contribute content about niche topics. Rather than searching for positions within your industry, try searching for positions writing or speaking about your industry online until another opportunity presents itself.

Ask the Coach: Getting Recruiter Attention

Every week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from this week’s session with career transition coach and career management consultant Randy Block.

We had a number of queries in this week’s coach call from executives looking for a new position and in transition. The common theme seemed to be how best to deal with recruiters.

One employed executive asked about the most productive way to reach retained recruiters. Randy’s response was to address your correspondence only to those recruiters who conduct searches in your target market or discipline. Also be sure to narrow your search by geography and other factors. If you can, get a friend or associate to introduce you, but before you reach out, be sure to have a clear idea of where you want to go with your career. If you are looking in “stealth” mode, the next session of Experts Connection is focused on “The Undercover Job Search: Stealth Tactics for Employed Executives,” and will include tips and techniques on how to work with recruiters and stay under the radar.

Another caller in transition asked about the value of signing with an outplacement firm. Are they worth the money? Randy noted that these firms are used to soften the blow during a layoff, but they charge between $20,000 and $25,000 for their services. They have started marketing to individuals as a sign of hard economic times. You want to assess the value of working with an outplacement firm versus a personal career coach who will work with you one-on-one. Both have to bring personal accountability to the process and help keep you on track with your job search, but beyond that you have to assess their real value for yourself.

A third caller asked why he wasn’t getting any positive responses to his cover letters and resume. He notes that he spends considerable time research each target company and targeting his marketing materials. Randy replied there can be any number of factors, but in the current job climate you need to match what the recruiter or hiring company is looking for pretty closely. If you are not a 90-percent match to the job specification, then you may not get a response. If, however, you are a close match to the job criteria and you still aren’t getting a response, then go directly to the hiring manager who needs the position filled. He or she may have a more precise set of hiring criteria than the recruiter or HR department.

Remember that NETSHARE hosts an Ask the Coach call for NETSHARE members on Monday at 2:00 Pacific time. The next Ask the Coach call is scheduled for January 23.

Some New Year’s Resolutions for Your Career in 2012

It’s a new year, and that means a renewed effort to manage your career. If you are like most people, you have made some New Year’s resolutions to improve performance for the coming year, and you may abandon those resolutions before January is over. However, if you are serious about making a positive career move in 2012, consider hanging on to some of these New Year’s resolutions:

1. Complete your LinkedIn Profile – If you haven’t done it already, complete your LinkedIn profile, and if you have completed it, consider revising it. Spend some effort reworking your profile to integrate the right key words and make it compelling. Talk to co-workers and others who can offer recommendations. Add a professional photo. Think like a hiring manager and look at your profile and ask yourself, “Would I contact this person?”
2. Network with a Purpose – Networking is important, and with social media it’s easy and it’s free! However, remember that you get what you pay for. Making thousands of LinkedIn connections has no value unless you know what those contacts can do for you. Identify a handful of networking groups and dig in so they know who you are. If you identify four LinkedIn groups, for example, each with 50 members, and you target those four groups, you emerge with 200 people who know who you are and what you have to offer.
3. Clean up your digital dirt – It’s time to do some housekeeping. Look at some of those old accounts you never use and close them, or refresh them if you have to. Do a Google search on yourself and see where you might have to do damage control, or where you might have to focus your energies to improve the rankings for content that matters to your personal brand. Try to remove those embarrassing photos on Facebook and check for past rants about your coworkers and your boss on Twitter and elsewhere. Resolve to be a clean and sober cybercitizen this year.
4. Determine your true value – Times have changed. Rather than chasing the salary you used to get three or four years ago, determine what your true market value is today. What are your skills worth today’s market, and how can you maximize your value? Check out Payscale.com, Glassdoor.com, Salary.com, and your peers and network contacts to reset your market value.
5. Focus Your Efforts – Don’t throw your resume at any job that appears. Don’t pursue arbitrary networking opportunities to build your contact list. Focus. Determine where you are going to get the most traction. Identify your skills, what market you want to work in, and focus your efforts to network into that industry, targeting company and people who can help you achieve your goals. Apply laser-like focus to your career goals.

Of course, these aren’t just New Year’s resolutions but are useful the year round. The beginning of a new year is a good time to re-think your career objectives, and how best to achieve them.

“I Know We’re Connected on Facebook. Who Are You Again?”

So can you identify every one of your contacts in Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter? Do you know who they are? What they do? Where they work? How you know them?

Social networking has overwhelmed us with contacts, but those connections don’t have much value to you unless you understand where they fit in your universe. As Keith Ferrazzi said in Never Eat Alone, “it’s not enough to collect names and numbers (and email addresses), we should know how strong the relationship is with our contacts” (with thanks to Jason Alba at JibberJobber for the reminder).

You should understand how each contact has value to you and your job search, and how you can assist them in return. Some networking systems like JibberJobber give you a star ranking system, with five stars being highly connected. Facebook has a new way of tagging friends, family, and acquaintances, and Google+ lets you create circles of contacts to help you stay organized. You can come up with your own system but you should be able to understand where every one of your contacts fits in your world.

If you want to use a ranking system from 1 to 5, 5 being your best contacts, consider this approach:

1. Someone you met, either in person or via email, but you aren’t sure where they fit in the greater scheme of things.
2. Someone you met and you had a good conversation. This could be the start of something valuable to both of you, but you need to see what that might be.
3. This contact is someone you have spoken to more than once and who is interested in networking because you can assist one another. This is a contact worth getting to know better because you are confident you can help each other.
4. This is a contact that is worth cultivating and you feel really good about developing a stronger relationship. Your goals align and this contact could prove to be an ally or champion in the future, and you may have contacts that are valuable in return.
5. You are lifelong chums and this contact will come to birthday parties, hang out at the ballpark, and give you the shirt off of his or her back. These are the close contacts you can call on at any time for help or advice.

If you have emails and phone numbers for people you don’t remember, then you can probably purge them from your database, or at least push them to the bottom of your contact list. Keep your contacts up to date, and remember how you know them and why you are connected to them and you will be able to do more with your network than shouting at unknown faces on the online crowd.

Time Management: The Underappreciated Skill in Job Search

Time management is one of the biggest challenges facing career changers. Where do you spend your time most effectively? How much time do you dedicate to online search? How much time do you apply to online networking? How much to materials development?

Time management is a skill set like any other and successful time management takes planning. So whether you are working on a major project or undertaking a career change, you need to have a strategy to allocate your time. Here’s a strategy outlined by Anne Lueneburger at North of Neutral:

1. Define your goals – Anne suggests you be “SMART” about establishing your time management goals. The acronym SMART stands for:
   • Specific – you want to be exact about your objectives. “Finding a better job” is much too vague. “Finding a vice president of marketing role with a major retailer within six months” is more specific. Use who, what, when, where, and why to guide you.
   • Measurable – You need to know success when you see it. If your time management strategy calls for making 30 new contacts a week, then that’s measurable.
   • Attainable – Don’t set your sights so high that you are destined to fail. If 30 contacts a week is too ambitious, for example, adjust your goal to 15.
   • Relevant – Be sure your goals are in line with your overall objectives. For example, building your personal network is important, but it’s only relevant if your new network contacts can help you achieve your objective.
   • Time-oriented – Establish deadlines and time parameters. For example, set yourself a realistic long-term deadline to find a new job, such as six months. And be sure to set yourself a short-term goal for time allocations, such as one hour a day for networking.
2. Prioritize – The challenge with time management is all the smaller tasks that are easy to accomplish, but distract from the larger tasks that should be a priority. Those things that are important and urgent usually get dealt with in a timely manner, but the important items that are less urgent often get set aside. Be sure to focus effort on action items that will accomplish the goal.
3. Overcome procrastination – We all have challenges with procrastination. The best approach is to recognize when procrastination starts and the take steps to eliminate it. There are some steps you can take to help, such as contacting a mentor or career coach for assistance getting focused, breaking daunting projects into bite-sized steps, addressing “worst things first” to get them out of the way, and setting yourself a small reward for accomplishing something unpleasant or difficult.
4. Manage disruptions – If you have incoming disruptions, manage them as part of the process. Build the new requests for your time into your priority list; are they urgent or can they wait? You can minimize disruptions by turning off your phone, shutting down your email, or closing your door. Set aside dedicated time to pursue your job search without interruption.
5. Take charge of your schedule – Set time aside every day for job search but be sure to balance your career management schedule with other demands on your time, such as family, friends, and work. Try to find a time that you can dedicate every day or every week to your career pursuits that won’t interfere with other activities.

Structuring your time is a good way to increase your productivity, but you can’t be too rigid about time management. If you don’t get everything done on your list, don’t punish yourself. Just be sure you make the most of the time you have allotted for your job search.