Good News - Employee Engagement on the Rise

According to Modern Survey’s September 2012 National Norms Study, employee engagement is on the rise. This is good news as employee engagment is directly linked to productivity, market performance and happier workers. Questions on the survey included:

-I take pride in working for my company/organization.


-I intend to be working for my company/organization for a long time.

-My company inspires me to “go above and beyond” my normal job duties to help the company/organization succeed.

-I often recommend my company/organization to others as a great place to work.

-There is a promising future for me at my company/organization.

In the context of the recent recession and slow recovery of the U.S. economy, confidence in senior leaders, belief in the organization’s direction, and faith in the organization’s future remain the strongest drivers of employee engagement.

Helping Clients Prepare for Telephone Interviews

The initial telephone interview serves great purpose for the employer. Not only does it cut down on the time and expense of bringing a candidate on-site and gathering a selection committee, but it is also a tool to narrow down the pool of applicants. I have had several clients lately who are getting initial telephone interviews. These can be quite intimidating if adequate preparation and role playing has not taken place. This blog will highlight telephone interview tips that we can be utilizing with our clients. First, we want to encourage our clients that during a job search they should never answer a call from an unfamiliar number. There is nothing worse than taking a call from a potential employer and not remembering the job details or having background noise. Ideally, clients should let the call go to voice mail and then quickly respond from a land line once they have reviewed their records of the specific job for which they applied and are in a quiet environment. As for any interview, review common interview questions, know your strengths, relevant skills and experience, and have a copy of your resume handy.


The following are some common telephone interview questions that we can role play with our clients.

• How did you learn about this position and why are you interested?

• What do you know about our company?

• What skills make you particularly qualified for this position?

• What was your most recent salary? What is your salary expectation?

• Why are you leaving your job or are no longer with your last employer?

Additional strategies would be to make sure clients have a glass of water, pen and paper, and a list of their accomplishments close. Encourage clients to speak slowly and smile during the call. Studies show this helps project a more positive voice tone. The goal of any telephone interview is to set up a face-to-face interview. At the close of the interview, clients can certainly ask for a face-to-face meeting to further share their qualifications. Lastly, be sure clients get the name and contact information of the interviewer and send a thank you note. The coaching our clients for telephone interviews, they will be best prepared and more likely to secure face-to-face interviews.

Make Plans Now For National Career Development Month - November

November is our month and I always enjoy making plans to help promote career education and career development, not only in my workplace, but within my community and in my children's schools. Each year I dust off my copy of A Celebration of Work and pick an idea or two to implement. This year I will enjoy meeting with the Kentucky Career Development Association for a November best practices meeting. We will also enjoy some career game icebreakers. At work, we will hold an assessment workshop and present some career-related webinars. What will you do this year to celebrate National Career Development Month? Perhaps hold a career fair or write a column for your local newspaper. Offer to be a guest speaker at your local middle school and role play interviewing with students. We look forward to hearing from you as you embrace our month.

NCDA Free 1 Year Membership for GCDFs

Consider Taking Advantage of this great offer. Carla and I are both NCDA members.

FREE NCDA MEMBERSHIP OFFER EXTENDED!

The National Career Development Association is pleased to offer individuals who successfully complete a NCDA Career Development Facilitator (CDF) training program, from an NCDA approved training provider, a FREE One-Year Trial Membership to NCDA.

Since Carla and I meet this requirement, you qualify for this FREE One-Year Trial Membership to NCDA. This offer excludes individuals who are currently members or previous members of NCDA.

Complete the FREE One-Year Trial Membership by visiting the following link:https://www.tcslabs2.com/cgi-bin/PRIMA/tcsPRIMA2.pl?Action=DisplayRegForm_Step1&EventID=159&RegNo=1&StartNewReg=1&UID=NCDA,130285

You will need to create a login and register for NCDA regular membership and use CDF5000 as the comp/promo code. Use the above link in order to take advantage of this offer. OFFER EXTENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!!!! This offer is only valid for those CDF completers living in the United States and individuals who have not been or are not currently NCDA members.

Enjoy the following NCDA benefits:

·         Complimentary copy of the latest issue of the NCDA professional journal – Career Development Quarterly.

·         Complimentary copy of NCDA’s magazine – Career Developments.

·         Discounted NCDA member registration to attend the NCDA global career development conference in Boston, Massachusetts, July 8-10, 2013.

·         Discounted NCDA member registration to attend the Career Practitioner Institute in Chicago, IL, Oct. 4-6, 2012 and San Diego, CA, Feb. 7-9, 2013

·         Discount NCDA member rate on NCDA published materials.

·         Resources – The member’s only section of the website offers a wealth of information to assist career practitioners to provide excellent service to career clients.

Questions or comments regarding this FREE One-Year Trial Membership may be directed to Mary Ann Powell at mpowell@ncda.orgor phone (918) 663-7060.

Latest Social Recruiting Survey Results

Sometimes our clients just need some data or statistics to further convince them. This I find true, especially with older clients, when trying to educate them about the importance of using social media as a job search tool. The recent Jobvite's Social Recruiting Survey for 2012, shared some fabulous statistics. They polled more than 1,000 human resource and recruitment professionals regarding their social recruitment activities. Here are some highlights.

-92% of U.S. companies are using social networks and media to recruit talent (up from 78% five years ago)
-LinkedIn is still the most popular recruiting network and is used by 93% of the respondents
-Facebook and Twitter have seen significant growth in the past year
-2/3 of polled companies now use Facebook to recruit
-More than half of polled companies use Twitter to find new talent

As for what employers like to see (or not see).
-Over 75% positively reacted to candidates listing professional organizations and volunteer work
-As could be expected, candidates using profanity in posts and tweets, making reference to drinking and illegal drugs or using poor grammar or misspellings all received negative responses from employers

Recruiters  and HR professionals  say they like social recruiting because it is inexpensive, they receive a better pool of candidates and it takes less time to hire. Interestly, the survey also found that 2/3 of surveyed companies offer referral bonuses to current employees who make a successful referral. In 1/3 of the instances, the reward is more than $1,000.

10 Characteristics of A Successful Job Seeker

I recently saw a blog post referencing 10 Characteristics of a Successful Job Seeker. Before I hit the link, I grabbed a pen and scratched out what I thought the list might include. I encourage you to do the same now. In thinking back over the years about characteristics of clients who have conducted a successfully job search or made a smooth career transition, they certainly have had some things in common.  Focus and persistence seem to rank high as well as a positive attitude. Ironically, during a client’s intake process when I ask them to describe their strengths, these traits never seem to be shared. Aren’t these things employers are also seeking in a good candidate? This made me think of a new tool for working with clients. In the future, early in our relationship I will ask clients “What do you think are 10 characteristics of a successful job seeker” and see how they respond. This question could certainly give some insight into how aware they are of what is needed to conduct a search or transition. It could also help me realize how in tune they are with what employers are seeking in today’s world of work.

Post to the blog your thoughts on the list and what you would add.

Resume Padding

Although one can make an innocent typo or mistake when compiling a resume that doesn’t get caught in proofreading, intentionally misrepresenting credentials can get you into serious trouble. Resume padding has been in the news again lately as Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson was recently fired for claiming to have both a computer science and an accounting degree. When people throughout an organization have put their trust in someone who has lied to them, directly or indirectly, it becomes an issue of confidence and credibility.  According to a recent blog Resume Padding: What’s the Problem?, “The judgment and ethics of the individual who has perpetrated the lie are called into serious question, spurring concerns about the reliability and trustworthiness of that individual in other areas of his/her work and life. If an individual can justify lying about something on the resume to get a job, who’s to say he or she wouldn’t decide that other lies are equally justified down the road somewhere? Where does the line get drawn?” 

 Most Human Resource departments have stories of situations where they have to let an employee go due to misrepresentations on their resume or application. As GCDFs, let's educate our clients on the importance of accurate and truthful application materials.