Managing your brand through the interview process

I have been helping a client to recruit a new team member over the last week and it’s reinforced how important it is to manage your brand the whole way through the recruitment process. One of the leading candidates came very close to us rethinking our decision by not thinking through an email in the closing stages of the process.

We had completed the interview and were keen to let them know they would be going through to testing and reference checking. We had sent an email asking they contact us. They could then talk more openly as I am always conscious in open plan work environments it’s not that easy to taking personal calls, let alone one about a potential new job! Within a short time I had a reply to my email that stopped me in my tracks. The email started out telling me if they hadn’t got through to the next phase of the process I was to advise them by email. If it was good news they of course where happy to speak with me.

I expect it was not the intention of the candidate but it certainly gave me the impression they were not resilient to bad news. Not a good sign for a role that required resilence and was client facing. There was the flash of “are we making the right decision” racing through my mind. I decided to reply with a simple “you will want to call me”!

When we spoke about an hour later I pointed out to the job candidate that their email didn’t do their personal brand any favours. Although initially a little surprised the person agreed with me it wasn’t a smart response. The person had decided they hadn’t interviewed well so had decided they were no longer being considered for the role. Moral of this story is take care in how you communicate with others especially when emailing.

Flawed, but willing to turn the ship around…

Great review by Kandy Woodfield on two leadership books. Have put both on my reading list.

Pushing at the edges...

I’ve been lucky enough to have some down time over the last couple of weeks and in between packing up the house for our impending move to York I’ve had the chance to catch up on some reading. I’ve devoured a fair few novels but what really stopped me in my tracks were two books ostensibly both non-fiction and on leadership. Honestly, usually I pick up books on leadership and by the second or third chapter I need to take a break, there’s something dehumanising about a lot of leadership writing which doesn’t speak to me. Not so these two, both kept me rapt, eagerly turning the page for the next chapter, and importantly both have really made me reflect on my own leadership style and actions. They spoke to me with a persuasive, gentle authority, based on very personal experience and the expertise that comes from the practice of leadership, rather than the practice…

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Getting Unstuck from Writers Block

This is just what I need for my writers block. Thanks Ann Handley.

by taniacreative.

– See more at: http://www.annhandley.com/2015/04/08/writing-gps-step-by-step-guide-to-creating-content-infographic/#sthash.jvzti5mg.dpuf

Returning this Friday!

Hi there strangers,

Watch this space! I have made an important committment to myself to get back into blogging.  The second step in making this happen is to make you a promise that I will post a new blog this Friday afternoon.

Being your Best on the Job: The Case of Thriving at Work

Really interesting video. Are you thriving in your current role?

Mappalicious

A couple of days ago, I shared some videos where Kim Cameron elaborates on his ideas about organizational energy. Yesterday, I stumbled upon an adjacent concept that I find equally interesting: Thriving (at work). It was first described by a group of researchers comprising – among others – Gretchen Spreitzer and MAPP lecturers Jane Dutton and Adam Grant.

Striving is a seen as a two-dimensional construct. In short, we experience ourselves as striving when we feel a sense of a) vitality and b) learning. More precisely, vitality represents a sense that one is energized and has a zest for work. Learning, in turn, is signified by the acquisition and application of knowledge and skills to build capability and confidence.Together, these dimensions capture both the affective (vitality) and cognitive (learning) essence of the psychological experience of personal growth (Porath, Spreitzer, Gibson & Garnett, 2011).

There is some preliminary evidence that the experience of thriving…

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Habitat | The Bacon Factory

This is my talented cousin. He is a great example of following your passion.

Press Print Co

Clint Harvey smiles wryly when asked how long it takes to clean the ink stains from his hands. It’s a mark of the trade he’s not sure he’ll ever be able to remove, but for the founder of Brisbane Museum of Print ’s The Bacon Factory, the look is fitting. Harvey, a graphic designer of 25 years and Head of School at Design College Australia, moves fluently around the hidden inner-city space he and a handful of others have devotedly curated for the past four years. This is a vast collection of vintage print machinery, weathered tools and cabinets full of intricate treasures housed within the shell of an old small goods factory.

With the advent of perfectly formed computer type, the art and trade of letter press may well have vanished entirely, were it not for curious people like Harvey, drawn in by the soft thud of an inked-up…

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Sharing one of my goals for 2014

It’s my last full day as a beginner camper. It’s been an interesting experience living so close to people you don’t really know. We are staying with my Uncle who is a seasoned camper and has been coming to this camp ground for many years. For the regulars it’s a real community and when someone heads to the shops they quickly whip around to see if they anyone needs anything picked up. People pop in for a quick visit throughout the day. If someone camping in your area leaves the camp ground they let the campers around them know , nothing seems to be locked up and off they go. Everyone looking out for each other and their property. It’s certainly an environment of mutual respect for your neighbours. It got me wondering if they all do this at home or if this is just camping etiquette.

It had made me appreciate more than ever how valuable friendliness and kindness is towards one another. I think in our busy lives we often forget these two qualities as members of our community. I’ve decided that this year one of my personal goals is to be more community minded in my neighbourhood.

There will definitely be an increase in the random acts of kindness and taking the time to check in on my neighbours.

One of my 2013 personal highlights

One of my highlights this year was participating in a spinathon at Habit Evans Bay to help Chris Watson raise funds towards his 8 day 800km charity bike ride in Thailand in January 2014. The annual event raises money to support Hands Across the Water (HATW ) centres and also a number of projects. Check out there website http://www.handsacrossthewater.org.au

There are two reasons this was one of my highlights, first HATW is an amazing charity and I have been able to see first hand the great work they do particularly for the children of Baan Than Namchai. Secondly I committed to completing six hours spinning which included two one hour spin classes and the remainder spinning at my own pace. Thanks to a number of generous sponsors this was more than I had planned to complete when I decided to participate.

I started getting lots of advice from people on how to survive the six hours and some people even told me I was pretty much setting myself up to fail. The thing that surprised me the most was my reaction. I started to get more and more focused and determined I could do this. I spent time visualising completing the challenge and the feel good factor I would experience at the end of the spinathon. The day of the spinathon I think it’s fair to say I was the most focused on achieving a fitness challenge than I had for years. I got Into the zone, downloaded some spin music and off I went. Rather than doing my four hours at a relaxed pace I kept up a steady pace using the music to keep me motivated. I ended up spinning for six hours 30 minutes, raised $1630 and felt really good the day after.

The lesson here for me was if I put my mind to a challenge I can achieve it. I am going to set another challenge this year so watch this space.

Nothing wrong with being a street walker!

I was struggling to come up with a title for this week’s blog without it sounding like I was making another suggestion!

One of the most effective and easiest ways to proactively undertake career networking is to get away from your desk (or home) at least a couple of times a week and head out for a walk around the business district.  It’s amazing who you can bump in to and I have countless examples when this strategy has paid off in an exciting job opportunity.   It’s so easy to slip off people’s radar when you spend too much time behind your desk or if you are between jobs limiting your visits in to the city.

I have experienced the value of this first hand numerous times since I have been running my own business..  One of the early occasions was when I bumped in to an old boss who had moved on to become CEO of a large organisation. Following the standard “hello, how are you” came “what are you doing these days”.  Here was me thinking everyone in my network knew what I was doing. The coolest thing that followed was him saying “you better give me your business card, we need people like you”.

Another example how this strategy can work is a client who had decided they wanted a new career challenge but told me they had a limited network. I suggested the increase their street walking and within three weeks had added 25 people to their LinkedIn network simply by reconnecting with them during their street walks.

Your challenge from me for next month is to schedule in a couple of street walk’s a week over the next month and see how many new people you can add to your LinkedIn network!