Brainware

What's the Best Job Network?

The people who really study and understand networks have found that there are two kinds of networks:  strong ties (social networks) and weak ties (casual acquaintances).   In a previous post on who should be in your network, I talked about work networks and the role of strong ties for getting things done inside the company.  You need to have strong ties with people to spread information, manage teams and build influence inside the organization. And, long term, it's very important to build those strong ties.  But for certain tasks, like job search, weak ties are more valuable than social networks.  When most managers talk about the power of networks they're usually referring to networks built on strong ties.  Job search is a different animal.   

In Christakis and Fowler's fascinating new book, Connections, the authors take up the strength of weak ties and discuss the research of Mark Granovetter who wanted to find out the best kind of network for those of us who are looking for a new job.  Granovetter surveyed technical, managerial and professional workers in a Boston suburb who had recently "relied on a personal contact to get a new job." 

Here was his simple question:  "Prior to switching employers, how often did you see the person who helped you get the new job?"  The responses were revealing.

• 17% responded "often."
• 55% said "occasionally."
• 28% said "rarely." 

When he dug into the detail Granovetter found that most workers got jobs via old college friends, past workmates or previous employers (another reason to never burn bridges).  The contacts that he had with these people were "sporadic," and very few of the workers had ever spent any time with the job contact outside the workplace.  And surpisingly, most of the workers had never had a strong relationship with their contacts.  "Chance meetings or mutual friends reactivated the ties."  In other words, most of his (Granovetter's) subjects had acquired their jobs by relying on the kinds of strangers.

The conclusion has an implicit recommendation:  people find jobs by searching beyond their immediate social network, beyond their immediate ties.  Wayne Baker studied the job search process nearly 20 years ago and learned that most people find their job through a friend of a friend of a friend.  That's the same weak tie method.

That, of course, was before the web.  It's important to recognize that the web does not make the old methods obsolete.  Instead, it just provides additional ways to find a new job.  But don't ignore the old ways.  Most of my friends who are beyond Gen-Y age, still get their jobs the old way.  If they're having a great deal of difficulty, often, it's because they have a limited social network to begin with.

How Do You Assess a Job Opportunity?

Recently a reader in an email asked me a pointed question:  How do you assess a job opportunity?  He has been giving thought to his career and has decided that now is the time to move on to another firm.  He has a couple ripe opportunities (lucky guy in this recession) and wanted some guidance in how to make the choice.

Before I answer the question, I need to lay out some career development assumptions.  You should be thinking three to five years ahead.  Admittedly, in this recession that seems difficult.  Still you have plenty to gain from the process and a lot to lose if you don't develop some kind of career strategy.  I also assume that if you have been in a position more than three years, have learned everything possible from the work and the people in that situation, can't move on within the company, then it's time to start looking.  Continuous development is the rule, not stability.  Successful careers are always messy. 

I think it's important to attempt to work with talented people, those who have more brains and ability than you, if possible.  However, it's still more important to work for a firm that has a number of cutting-edge processes in place and has demonstrated its strategy success with its financials.

Find out as much as you can from organizational filings (if they're public corporations), web info, trusted colleagues and industry reps.  Vendors, however, are often the best source of information regarding firms.  Not merely because they know a lot about their customers, but importantly because it's to their advantage to ingratiate themselves with potentional employees of a firm.  If they help you, they'll expect repayment in the form of business and contacts.  Vendors are nearly always a win/win for information.

So what kind of questions would I ask to surface the information I need from the interview?  Let's suppose that I'm being recruited for an HR training position.  Here are the kind of issues that will give me decision information:  

• Does HR sit at the executive table?  How is HR brought into the strategy decisioning?
• What is the training relationship between HR and line managers?
• What vendors does the firm use for training materials?
• What proprietary training does the firm regularly provide?
• Describe typical training offered to the various organizational levels?
• How is training success measured?
• How do they prioritize training programs?  And who prioritizes the programs?
• What training over the past five years has worked exceptionally well?
• What training needs to work a lot better?
• Who has input to training needs, and how is that input gathered?
• What are your training expectations over the next five years?  And why are they important to you and the firm?
• Why did the last three training directors leave the firm, and what are they doing now?
• What training programs has the firm actually developed over the past five years?  Describe their strengths and weaknesses?
• Where would you like organizational training to be in the next three years?
• How do the various organizations of the firm perceive HR training?  Which organizations have a relationship with HR and which do not?  Why?
• What kind of support has management given to HR training?  How is that support demonstrated?
• How do decisions get made in the firm?  Walk me through a couple important decisions.

That's probably ten hours of discussion, but after they've interviewed me, I could readily pick and chose the important questions? 

FYI:  I suspect budget responses are meaningless, however I'd want to know how the recession impacted the training budgeting, and how budgeting was cut in other functions.

With this framework of issues for HR, most would be able to create a similar framework in IT, Finance, Marketing, R&D, etc.  The tough issue is understanding the responses to the questions.  So you'll need to ask them to explain their answer, give illustrations, be specific about data, etc.  Tone is always important, supported by warmth, a lot of listening and a bit of obvious smarts.  Some of these questions will be threatening, but your livelihood is also important.  I'd be ruthless about getting answers to the important questions--but I'd do it tactfully and with a smile.  I've found that it really pays off to be direct, but supportive, clear and almost demanding of information, and fairly transparent. 

This all sounds very tough, callous and demanding.  However, any hiring manager will describe an interview with me as direct, but a lot of fun, a lot of laughter and even teasing.  But I've all my antenna out as I insert relevant questions.  And that's the model that I've found works best.  It may sound contradictory to the questions, but it's very complementary.

FYI:  Gen-Yers need to get a lot of interviewing under their belt.  Take every possible opportunity to interview.  You need to build that skill for your future.  You have nothing to lose in fumbling when you're not especially interested in an opportunity, but you've got a lot to gain from developing the skill.

FYI:  The hiring manager never makes a decision alone.  There always other people giving input to hiring decisions.  Depending on the level and the importance of the decision, there could be as few as three decision makers, and as many as ten or twelve.  You want to work the hiring manager so that he/she wants you to interview with the decision makers.  That's his role.

Remember:  No interview is a life or death matter.

Four Recruiting Secrets of a CEO

Recently, Lawrence Kellner, the CEO of Continental Airlines, laid out his secrets for recruiting.  Kellner's secrets are those every professional should understand because they show you how to manage your career--in case of job loss--more effectively.  Although Kellner obviously gets involved only at senior levels, his recruiting guidelines are typical all the way down the hierarchy with most of my clients. 

Kellner doesn't believe you can figure out in a one or two hour interview whether anyone is going to be a success.  Talent is not very easy to identify, and the smart managers recognize this.  Pfeffer and Sutton point to research that indicates that though most think I.Q. is the key performance issue, the notion is quite suspect.  Intelligence acounts for no more than 16% of the variation in performance.  In short, "for most jobs in most organizations, assessing talent and ability is fraught with error and bias."  Recruiting is a crapshot.  Bob Sutton's comments on bosses fills you in on the kind of boss humility that's important, not only about recruiting but other stuff as well.  Still, if I were interviewing for a job, I'd do a lot of preparation for the interview.  Same if I was recruiting.

Kellner's second approach is to go through his rolodex to figure out whether he has worked with someone who'd be really good for filling the job.  What that means to me is that most professioals need to focus on performing well and self-advocating to the relevant managers so they'll know who you are and how well you perform.  This is not rocket-science, but so few professionals self-advocate and keep managers up to date on their performance that it's no wonder there are so many high-performers on the street. 

Third, when there's no one in his rolodex, Kellner widens his search to people he trusts and asks them about people they've worked with.  "Who do you know that can . . . .?" is a common strategy among successful managers.  If they know you as a high performer, you're liable to get an opportunity.

The final strategy is to find someone he trusts who knows the person he's thinking of hiring.  Kellner believes, like all the managers I know, that "the best possible interview is miniscule in value compared to somebody who's got even a couple of months of work experience with somebody."

With flattened hierarchies and constant organizational changes, a number of implications surface from Kellner's conclusions--that is, if you want to manage your career successfully. 

Make it a practice to get outside your work silo and narrow area of expertise.  Needs and opportunities change constantly and your expertise may be of little value unless you've got the experience and smarts to leverage it in different ways.

Second, learn to self-advocate without being perceived as a "careerist," someone who's always trying to "play the game."  I refer to self-advocacy in a post about Gen-Yers managing Gen-Yers, but astute self-advocacy is always a necessity. 

Third, maintain a shoulder length network, not merely defined by your friends--the birds of a feather syndrome.  Get to know people outside your organization and outside your expertise and keep building that network.  I rant about this networking issue regularly, and hope to see more and more professionals take-charge of their career by networking.

"11 Things About Your New Career," by Joe McCannon

“11 Things About Your New Career”

This absolutely marvelous set of career recommendations for graduating seniors (and graduates to come) is written by Joe McCannon, VP of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Cambridge, Mass.  McCannon graduated from college in 1999, and has been with the same firm since graduation.  He writes that he wanted “to share the unvarnished truth with the kid who is packing up this week or next month.” Here are 11 lessons for people about to embark on their new job.”

Although you’ll find the link to the article at the end of this blog, I want to list the recommendations and add a few comments to them.

1. Seek interesting problems, not prestigious positions.  I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to ignore salary and position issues at the start of your career.  Find a job that you know will be interesting.  Be aware, however, that after two to three years, the most interesting jobs will become boring, and you’ll need to seize every opportunity, often creating your own opportunities.
2. Seek responsibility, not income.  Responsibility motivates and supports your own career development—the ultimate key to work success.
3. Work is all about relationships.  Research from the Dallas Fed indicates that the best opportunities are reserved for professionals with a technology and great people skills.  People skills are learnable.
4. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.  This is a highly networked world, and a diverse network remains the most effective entre to opportunity.
5. Be good to people.  Sure, jerks can be found in every vocation, but never forget that success is a contact sport.
6. Competence can be a trap.  You may get overused, but your competence can provide future opportunities.  The old managerial tradition of keeping the most competent rarely works anymore.  Keep your eyes open for opportunities and let your bosses know that you’re always on the make for more opportunity. 
7. Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.  I’d say failure to change will inevitably be fatal.  But different cultures have different attitudes toward failure.  One of the really important interview questions should be to find out an organization’s attitude toward failure.  You can’t learn without failure.  McCannon’s view on failure is dated.  The better companies understand that creativity and innovation which drive success will have their share of failure.
8. Make things.  For me, this is McCannon’s most intriguing statement, and deserving of thought.  “My friends who are happiest in their work make things—laws, furniture, better students.  Those who complain maintain things—buildings, markets, the status quo.”
9. Find balance.  Most Gen-Yers work at life/balance, but it remains a fundamental task for every generation.
10. Find a mentor.  McCannon’s notion of a single mentor is passé and nearly impossible for lower level professionals.  It’s absolutely necessary to get mentoring, but you’ll have to develop a network of mentors.  Furthermore, finding a single, well-rounded mentor is difficult if not impossible.
11. Stick around.  McCannon’s basic recommendation is to stay with the same firm.  However, many of the best opportunities are in small firms, which limits the number of available internal opportunities.  Many of the larger firms are quite selective in their workers, often requiring an MBA.  McCannon also rejects the notion of grad school.  His attitude toward grad school is dated and unwise.  Today's bachelor's degree, unless from a top school, is the equivalent of a high school diploma forty years ago.  What’s imperative, though, is McCannon’s observation that organizational success goes to those who really “understand the organization and master the work.”

McCannon’s 11 things cut to the heart of work success for graduates.  These 11 things should be bottled and gifted to every college grad.

Here’s the link to 11 Things in the Minneapolis Star Tribune:  http://tinyurl.com/nwedfc

Jobless? Only the Employed Need Apply

The WSJournal says that many employers want to hire only the employed.  With the jobless rate at 9.4% many employers are bypassing the jobless to hire the employed, thinking that they represent the top performers.  Recruiting firms indicate that the bias extends from front-line employees to execs and explain:

If they’re employed in today’s economy, they have to be first string,” says Ryan Ross, a partner with Kaye/Bassman International Corp., an executive recruiting firm in Dallas. Mr. Ross says more clients recently have indicated that they would prefer to fill positions with “passive candidates” who are working elsewhere and not actively seeking a job.

In the New York area a survey by Infinity Consulting found that 59% out of 417 job hunters agreed that employers gave preference to candidates who are currently employed.

Can job searchers get around this hurdle?  Dana Mattioli of the WSJ encourages job-seekers to do everything possible to assure an employer that your termination was not the result of poor performance.  Arm yourself with strong letters from your former employer, indicating you were laid off for economic reasons and that you're eligible for rehire.  She says that if you can't get formal letters, get references from senior-level employees at your previous company.  If only half of your group was let go and you're in the losing half, recruiters antennas are up.

If you're fortunate, have a job now and want to keep it, this is a reminder that there are number of essential skills necessary for success in the new world.  It's still another reason to make certain you're managing up, have learned how to avoid a pink slip and can think like your employer.   

Job Search Through Your Alumni Network

Today's Washington Post describes a slightly different focus on networking for jobs than I've stumbled across in quite a while--using your alumni network to find a job.  (A caveat:  I work with networking processes, but I don't stay up on job search issues.  You'll need to go elsewhere for that.)  If you've kept up with your friends from business school, you may well have a gold mine on your hands, but, to stick with my metaphor, you've got to work the mine for a while.

The Post journalist interviews Lee Dudka, a Princeton alumni, who has obviously kept his finger in his college network for years.  Google Dudka and you'll find his name and relationships with his college network all over the web.  In the article, Dudka refers to a University of Michigan alumnus who visited D.C. about four years ago, meeting many of the local alumni.  He ended up working for one of them.  Check out the article Making the Grade in Your Alumni Network.

Dudka's recommendations showed an unusual level of street smarts, an absolute necessity for effective relationship building.  Here's one insight:  

Tapping your alma mater and its alumni when job hunting can be a smart strategy -- especially if you cultivate connections and your reputation before you need them. Managed well, an alumni network can open doors and even bring jobs or funds your way. Done wrong, it can smack of presumptiveness or begging, said Lee Dudka, president of the Princeton Club of Washington and a pharmaceutical and technology consultant.

Dudka makes some recommendations that I thought were especially wise:  Be sure you give enough detail on why you're worth helping; job networking needs to happen in person; and, it's who knows you that counts, not who you know.

Numerous networking studies show that jobs come through a friend of a friend of a friend, but I suspect that in this environment it may take one more level of friend.  I don't get a nickel out of this, but I regularly recommend Wayne Baker's Achieving Success Through Network for some of the best insights in the field.  Although Baker completed his doctoral dissertation on networking, his book doesn't smell like the ivory tower and it's very readable.

A sidebar:  Clients regularly talk to me about college choices for their kids, and though most are well aware of costs and reputation, I find that the one area few think about is the quality of the alumni network.  One of the reasons that top schools are so powerful is their alumni--well placed and always willing to support other alumni in their endeavors.  I've forgotten which, but one of the college books addresses network quality, and even makes serious comparisons among the various schools.

IS THERE A REALLY SECURE JOB IN ANY ENVIRONMENT?

Probably not.  Although the recession has given us new insights to the question, it has not been serious enough to really test the question.  The unemployment of the 1930s depression was in excess of 25%.  That's a lot more than our current 8.6% with only 4.4% of college educated unemployed.  It's pretty clear, though, that some jobs are more secure than others and there's a simple test to distinguish between secure jobs and jobs that may get outsourced or obliterated. 

Alan Blinder, the well-known Princeton economist, argues that the "crucial distinction" in the new labor market is not between those with more or less education.  Instead, he concludes that those whose services can be delivered over the internet are in a far less secure position than those whose services must be delivered in person or on site.  As Blinder puts it, "you can't hammer a nail over the internet."  Nor can Indians who live in India replace your bathroom tile.  This model, of course, says a lot for going into the trades, or into many sales positions.

If you're more interested in the cubicle of a major corporation, the distinguishing factor, as I've indicated on numerous occasions, is high quality people skills.  The best jobs go more and more to those with a strong functional technology plus solid people skills.  Over the years I've watched numerous professionals in all the business functions get sidelined because of inadequate relationship skills.  Indeed, the research at the Dallas Fed confirms my observations in spades about the role of people skills.   

The good news is that people skills are grown, not born.

JOB LISTINGS? DON'T PAY A DIME FOR THE SERVICE

Alison Doyle, a very knowledgeable blogger on job search and job sites has an excellent blog on job sites.  She writes that "it's important for job seekers to know that they can find all the job listings they need without paying a dime."  To back that up she provides a listing of free sites.

Her recommendations for analyzing a job site are especially useful.  In short, don't pay for job postings or listings.  If you're looking for a job, she's a primary resource.

GEN-Y: "GRADUATING WITH A MAJOR IN GO-GETTING"

For most graduating seniors, finding a job this summer is somewhere between not-encouraging and non-existent.  Yet Toddi Gutner, has a number of especially insightful recommendations for new graduates in a Wall Street Journal article.  

A more astute fact on which she focuses is that youth has its advantages--one of which is providing firms with the opportunity to get more for much less money.  Open-minded, flexible and creative are descriptives fitting many Gen-Yers, and they also can put you up-front for some firms.

Check out an this unusual column. 

CAREER CHANGE WITH A SUPERB STORY LINE

Many career changers miss the opportunity provided by creating a narrative to support their potential opportunities.  Those of us with rhetorical understanding recognize that stories are the most primitive and the most highly successful verbal means for communicating.

In a spot-on article, my friend Alexandra Levit reveals the process and potential for selling yourself into a new career with a well-developed story.

Aside from the fact that stories and how they persuade others were the stuff of my own graduate scholarship, one of my daughters recently got a superb management position with a salary most would die for--supported by her narratives.  After being hired, she made the rounds of the firm's interviewers to check in and find out why she got the position.  The responses were unanimous:  she had a superb education, unusual depth of experience, and "great stories."  That's a not too shabby recommendation for the persuasive power of stories.

Check out Alexandra's informative article.