VETALI

Job Hunting, part 4: the second interview

Geoff — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:41:47 +0000

This post is about the all-important second interview, in which most employers decide who they want to hire. So how do you approach it? The most important point for you to remember here is that they’re looking to see if the emotionally intelligent person they met during the last interview is the real you. Also, you’re not looking for a job, but rather a job offer. You’re still selling yourself, so do not negotiate; simply show that you’re the right person for the job.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Job Hunting, part 3: the first interview

Aaron — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:03:56 +0000

Dr. Geoff talks about the purpose of a first interview, which is to get a second interview. You need to be the person they want to hire, and most interviewers usually make their decision within the first 30 seconds of the interview, then spend the rest of the time justifying their decision, so the how you present yourself walking in is extremely important, as is emotional intelligence throughout.

Click here to view the embedded video.

HR Roundtable June 2010 — Workplace Accommodation

Aaron — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:03:39 +0000

On Thursday, 24 June 2010, Vetali Training Centre held our monthly lunchtime roundtable discussion for Human Resources professionals at The Hub in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Workplace Accommodation. The session was attended by Human Resources professionals from Corrections Canada, Border Services Canada, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Jazz Air, and Gerald Walsh Consulting; it was facilitated by Vetali’s Aaron Bihari and Geoff Crinean.

The discussion revolved a lot around job accommodation, and the compensation of employees who have moved positions. The space had a lot of ambient noise, so while we did our best the sound, it is unfortunately a bit echo-y. The recording is just over an hour long, so feel free to hop around and find the juicy bits.

Audio MP3

nb. our next Human Resources professionals’ roundtable will be in late July (date tbd) and will focus on well-being. We hope you can join us!

Job Hunting, part 2: the cover letter

Aaron — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:20:53 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dr. Geoff talks about what should go in your cover letter. While the resume is to stop you from not getting a job, the cover letter is about more positive things. First, that you understand what the job is about, second, that you can write, and that you have passion for the job.

Job Hunting, part 1: what’s a resumé really for?

Aaron — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:03:23 +0000

In the first of a 6-part series on job hunting, Dr. Geoff talks about the purpose of a resumé, which is not to get you a job, but to get you an interview.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Save Us from Heros!

Geoff — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:09:37 +0000

Post by Geoff Crinean.

Maybe it’s just the clients I have seen lately, but I am getting a sinking feeling about the isolation of employees and managers in many, even the most reputable, organizations, in the face of complex challenges.

There is so much being learned and published in chaos theory, leadership development, neuroscience and other disciplines, and many organizations seem to be learning nothing from it!

As the business environment gets more complex, and the solutions to challenging problems become more complex too, so our managers and leaders seem to be becoming more isolated from the resources they need to solve them: other people. Jobs seem to become more structured and demanding of hands-on, individual problem solving, even at quite senior levels. Throughout most organizations’ hierarchy (yes, most organizations are still in command-and-control mode) workloads seem to be mounting, there seems to be weak internal communication, and a low level of collaboration, coaching, and innovation.

As leaders become overwhelmed, crises arise, with some organizations are now operating in continuous crisis mode. Managers and leaders retreat into long, closed, meetings while employees feel isolated and suspicious. Productivity and work fulfillment drop, and employee disengagement increases. This creates a nasty cycle.

Senior people seem especially isolated, and don’t seem to understand that when the environment is as complex as it has now become, the probability of one person (our hero) solving the complex issues the organization faces is very low, no matter how experienced and intelligent they are. There seems to be time to go off on management retreats on planning or behavior change issues, but not enough time to cultivate internal relationships. Executives miss the opportunity to tap the intelligence and experience of non-management, those often in close contact with customers; those who can understand clients’ changing needs and desires. Relationship building is a key component of good leadership, and leaders seem determined to eliminate it from their jobs!

Tapping Shared Resources

To tap the depth of resources available to the whole organization, we need to be sure these key conditions are in place:

A sharing of information about the challenges faced throughout the organization;
A sensible communications process to discover and bring in the people who have the skill to address some aspect of each challenge;
A collaborative approach to ensure that the right people address each challenge (for example, temporary working groups); and
A realignment of responsibilities to sustain changes needed in the organization.

Many organisations may go the way of failing corporations unless realignments of this kind happen soon. Who will write the first book on BP? As Einstein so aptly put it “problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.” Complex problems require a higher level of complexity to solve them than the level at which they were created. Isolated leaders need to realize they cannot hack it alone. They need to tap the experience and intelligence of others in the organisation, systematically.

The age of the Hero-Leader is over.

Video: Workplace Diversity

Aaron — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:16:05 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

How not to manage a spill (thanks BP & UCBComedy!)

Aaron — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:09:30 +0000

This video has been making the rounds of the interwebs for the past week. While it’s a terrible mix of funny and sad commentary on BP’s handling of their oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, it’s also a terrible mix of funny and sad commentary on bad communication styles and everything that can go wrong around a boardroom table. Any boardroom table. Perhaps that’s one reason Gens X & Y are shying away from big boardroom tables… but seriously, thoughts and comments on how this video reflects reality in any large organization is welcome below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Stress Sucks

Aaron — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:17:50 +0000

STRESS. It feels terrible, ruins your ability to think straight, concentrate or use reason, puts you on edge, gives you migraines, causes all sorts of sickness, and is a contributing factor in a number of chronic and fatal diseases. And if stress doesn’t cause illness or death itself, many common coping mechanisms — cigarettes, alcohol, et al — will do the job at least as well. Stress sucks. Stress kills. Stress is such a scourge that one would think we’d have set all of society’s considerable resources at ridding the world of it. Yet life in our brand of civilization is filled with stress, and is getting more stressful all the time.

So how do you deal with stress without turning to cures that are worse than the dis-ease? Many people are turning to meditation and yoga, which definitely help, and are rightly gaining in popularity. But there must be other ways to deal with stress. After all, these particular methods are not for everyone. And what about when you’re in the middle of a heavy deadline without a yoga mat in sight? Are you going to light some incense and chant OM in the middle of the office or on the way to an important meeting? Probably not.

This blog series on stress reduction will explore other ways to deal with stress: things that can help right now in the middle of a speedy, stressful situation, and long-term strategies to reduce one’s overall susceptibility to stress and its effects. I’ll talk about meditation and yoga, yes — and diet and t’ai chi too — but I’ll also explore other methods to deal with the problem; methods both more and less mainstream. I doubt I’ll say much that’s new, but I hope that what I offer is useful. The main goal is to compile a variety of resources, some familiar and some not, to increase the chances that one of them will be helpful for you in combating stress.

I’ve already written an entry on the skullhinge and its physiological importance for stress reduction strategies, and how to take advantage of that to get the most out of powernaps. The next approach I’d like to explore is through time management. A lot of stress results from a lack of planning one’s time efficiently. Geoff has a great article on this, and in July we’ll be starting a seminar series on time management.

Time Managing Stress

So on that theme, keeping priorities clear is an excellent way to head off stress before it has a chance to take hold. If you find that you’re juggling too many responsibilities anyway (as can happen to the best time manager from time to time), try stepping back and taking stock of your deadlines. Is that big project really due on the same day as that even bigger project, or is there a little wiggle room built into one of the two?

If you’re hyperventilating at the thought of accomplishing both tasks at once, you’re just as likely to fail at both than pull them both off. And if you do pull them both off, think about how you’ll feel the next day. I’ve pulled off a number of feats like that, and while I admit to a certain sense of accomplishment, the day after was as bad as any hangover. Do that too many times and stress becomes a way of life.

What if both you pull both tasks off, but they’re both hobbled by fatal flaws? That can be as difficult as failure. Then you’re left with all the stress of pulling them off, compounded by the stress of failure… not to mention the possible stress of looking for a new job (or two new clients) and whatever strains are put on your home life by all of the above.

Whew.

How about if, when you find yourself starting to hyperventilate, you step back and take stock of the situation? Of the two (three, or five) deadlines, are any flexible? Are both of them absolutely due in three days, or can one be pushed back until next Tuesday? If so, or if you think it might be possible, then who do you need to negotiate with to make it happen? Talk with whoever needs to be asked, as well as whoever needs to be notified, and stagger those deadlines. Your blood pressure, colleagues, and very likely your family, will thank you.

As a postscript, after writing the above I headed to the airport, and while waiting for my flight home, I saw the local newspaper had an article on time stress. Then, getting on the plane, the fellow next to me opened a national paper. What’s written on the front page banner? Time Crunch: all work and no play; why our well-being hangs in the balance. Although supporting statistics may be hot off the press, none of this is really new information for anyone over 30 in this information age. The idea of stress reduction through proper time management suddenly seems all the timelier.

Into the Twitterverse

Aaron — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 16:48:18 +0000

Over at the Inflexion Point blog, Mark Seltzner has put up this presentation on Twitter for HR professionals Besides making interesting arguments, it walks you through the process of setting up an account and using Twitter. In all, a worthwhile view if you haven’t taken the plunge into the Twitterverse yet. (BTW, you can follow us on Twitter @VetaliAB)

Twitter 101 for HR Professionals

View more presentations from Mark Stelzner.