What was once a seldom occurrence now feels more routine. Chances are you or someone you know is in career transition. For some, the situation is a voluntary move full of excitement and promise. However, others may have found themselves looking for a new position because of unexpected job elimination.
Keeping the talent and experience of our collective workforce mobility population engaged and aware of available support to stay in our industry is critical. If you are asking yourself how you can help, stay tuned. Through this article, subject matter experts from different perspectives share their insight on the best means of providing assistance during career transition.
Talent Acquisition in 2009
Mike Chernesky, talent acquisition manager at McDonald’s Corporation, Oak Brook, Illinois, suggests truly knowing your own company’s hiring process so that a prospective candidate you recommend receives the best possible exposure.
“Given the state of the economy, there is an abundance of referrals coming into the corporate recruiting department today. What we are finding is a greater tendency for candidates to be somewhat disconnected from the referring employee. They may have a few additional degrees of separation,” Chernesky said. As such, mine for quality referrals that are meaningful and aid the prospective candidate to garner the attention of the recruiter.
Start by understanding your company’s application process for positions outside of the company, and ask about employee referral procedures already in place. Before referring someone to your company, analyze if a strong cultural fit exists for both the candidate and the organization.
If you are ready to make a recommendation, reach out to the appropriate contact in HR or the hiring manager directly to discuss the skill set and experience this person offers. Be ready to make a strong case as to why this individual will be an asset to the organization.
A candidate’s scope and ability to effectively articulate his or her skills and experience is critical to the job search. Chernesky emphasized that candidates must focus on and be concise about the specific type of position they seek and also be able to demonstrate how their talents will translate well for that role. Many employers have reduced the amount of external hiring they do, so it is important for any candidate to demonstrate how their skill and knowledge translates into the role and its responsibilities.
Chernesky encourages candidates to keep in touch with the recruiter and hiring manager beyond the interview process to continue to build on those relationships. Placement might not be immediate, but this is the best way to stay in the queue for future opportunities.
Chernesky adds that staying in touch with your network is easier today than ever before. Through e-mail, instant messaging, websites, and social technology such as Facebook and LinkedIn—some specifically aimed at professional networking—candidates now are able to keep channels of communication open directly with contacts at the organizations they would like to join. Chernesky advised that corporate recruiting departments are very focused on driving traffic directly to their career sites and do not rely as heavily on the big board job placement sites for referrals; which are now more of a safety net than a primary engine to source candidates.
Supporting Transferees at the Symposium
Podell says, “being aware of opportunities to help friends and colleagues in career transition is a mindset”—helping friends and colleagues in career transition is part of our mission with the Worldwide ERC® Career Center. So, at the 2009 Global Workforce Symposium in Chicago, Illinois, in October, job seeking attendees were greeted with a special offer from the Worldwide ERC® Career Center to include their résumé in a package of résumés distributed to the hiring managers and recruiters at the event’s registration desk. The final package included 10 résumés and gave job seekers, hiring managers, and recruiters a valuable opportunity to meet one another and potentially interview while on-site at the Symposium.
The career networking opportunities extended beyond the Symposium because job seekers, hiring managers, and recruiters in attendance were given a code to use to post their résumé and/or job online in the Worldwide ERC® online Career Center for free. The homepage of each computer at the Symposium’s Cyber Café was set to list these and other new preferred résumés and job listings from the Career Center.
And, we are still making it a point to keep helping with career transitions. Visit the Worldwide ERC® Career Center online today at jobs.worldwideERC.org. It’s the premier niche job board for the global workforce mobility industry and new jobs and résumés are being added continuously.
The Need May Be Short Term, but the Process Continues
Patricia Siderius, managing director, Career Transition Practice, BPI Group, Chicago, Illinois, specializes in career transition and advises that career development should be a continual process for all professionals regardless of the stage they are in. If you are not already consciously doing so, Siderius recommends always assessing what you offer your organization and stand ready to re-assess this level of job skill and knowledge.
“Accept that you may need to re-invent yourself slightly along the way and be open to doing so,” Siderius said. “You should think of ways to consistently incorporate yourself into an organization.” Siderius expanded on this by stating that today’s candidates are approaching the job search process like they are their own business; a trend she calls “Me, Inc.”
A common question: what can a person already in a good place professionally do to support friends and colleagues in transition?
“Communication is everything,” Siderius said. “The ‘lift’ an industry colleague will feel from proactive outreach to see how they are doing is significant. People in career transition need to keep in touch with their contacts and that support keeps them going.”
Siderius shared that even spending just 10 minutes connecting through the social and professional networks you have access to that others do not may be meaningful to helping you land an opportunity. Reaching out to personal and professional associations, alumni groups, or other affiliations to see what job bank and career information they have available could result in a strong lead on a position. Collecting cards and contact information from organizations and industry groups that are hiring and then sharing that information is of great value to those in career transition. Also, sharing a reading list of recommended books on new industry topics, interviewing skills, understanding your “career self,” or negotiation can be very helpful. Information and experience that helps the candidate continue their learning helps them to be ready to answer a very important question during the interview process: “what have you been doing?”
Siderius emphasizes that many professionals entering a career transition stage benefit by enhancing their learning through major course work, earning certification, and being a community volunteer. These opportunities to improve and develop skills are valuable to job candidates—so if you know of any that are a good fit for your colleague or friend, be sure to pass on those suggestions and provide any introductions you can.
Staying in touch with colleagues in transition also is a great opportunity for both parties to keep the creative juices flowing, as does understanding the role emerging industries can provide today’s job seeker. Devoting thought and discussion to business related to our industry, but perhaps more on the peripheral edge, may connect a colleague with a great opportunity and solidify a strong connection for future business potential.
Being aware of opportunities to help friends and colleagues in career transition is a mindset. Siderius noted, “We must all be conscious of capturing information of value and then making a point to pass it on.” Siderius noted that she routinely shares with the candidates she is coaching to “remember that what goes around comes around,” so if a candidate bumps into a job opportunity that is not a right fit for them, she encourages sharing the information with others who may benefit.
Leveraging Your Network
Both of the professionals interviewed for this article emphasize the importance of communication. Each of us offers an untapped wealth of information and resources available through our associations. But what we may not consistently do is leverage this experience.
Worldwide ERC® has redesigned its website through their online Career Center. The new site offers more options for job seekers and employers searching for candidates to fill positions. In addition, job seekers can post anonymous résumés, view posted jobs, create job alerts that match their search options, and develop a “job seeker account” to manage the job search. Employers and recruiters can view, post new positions, and create employer accounts to manage online recruiting efforts.
An added benefit of a Worldwide ERC® PERC™ membership for those in a job transition is that it is portable, and moves with the member. Job seekers can have Worldwide ERC® forward information to those who leave their company simply by providing a personal e-mail address and alerting the staff if you need to have your membership communications sent to you at a different e-mail if your work situation changes.
Worldwide ERC® stresses that it is critical to stay connected to your professional association during a transition, and to continue building and demonstrating your knowledge and personal brand. In addition to continuing to stay involved through your PERCTM membership, consider joining Worldwide ERC® forums through its website, www.WorldwideERC.org, such as the Global Workforce Mobility All Members Forum; and the U.S. Domestic Relocation All Members Forum. Worldwide ERC® also has an active LinkedIn group to share your perspectives.
We are all very fortunate to be a part of an industry that promotes open communication and information-sharing. So, please keep in mind the thoughts and suggestions shared by career management experts and lend a helping hand to our members in transition whenever you can.
Cathleen Podell, CRP, is assistant vice president for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Schaumburg, Illinois. She can reached at +1 847 240 7832 or cathleen.podell@wellsfargo.com.