“When it comes to bias, it seems that the desire to believe in a meritocracy is so powerful that until a person has experienced sufficient career-harming bias themselves they simply do not believe it exists”

This article ‘How the Sex Bias Prevails’ by Shankar Vedantam in The Age on 15 May 2010 is a must read for men and women. The well-written article incorporates a lot of current research that explains the subconscious gender biases that are prevalent in the workforce and perhaps why it will take many lifetimes for these to alter.

The article recounts the career highs and lows of two transgendered people, and how their careers altered with their respective gender changes. Though no great shock – as a woman, each found their career struggles far greater.

The article has attracted over 30+ comments all coming from all different perspectives. It would be nice to believe that discrimination based on gender, age, race and so on does not exist in the workplace however this would just be plain ignorant. An example being pay – with women on average earning 18% less than men for performing the same/similar job.

As the research demonstrates a lot of this discrimination may well be sub-conscious which is why this article is so important.

Share your views and experiences on the topic.

Job boards continue to remain an important channel for executives to find a job. While only 11.6% of executives credited job boards for finding direct employment, the vast majority (67%) planned on using job boards in the next twelve months. Karen Jenkin, Six Figures, believes that executives will continue to endorse job boards because “they are an important gateway to other channels like recruiters and employers, especially as the survey found that 77% of executives are ready to leave their current employer.”

The report also highlighted the ubiquity of recruitment firms in the Australian employment market, with a majority 64% of executives having found a job at least once in their career using their service and 23.2% of executives crediting recruitment firms for delivering their last job. However, 33% have negative opinions of recruitment firms and only 18.66% considered them to be effective.

“Executives continue to have a love-hate relationship with recruitment firms. While many executives are critical of recruitment firms, they are also the most successful channel to find a new job” said Phillip Tusing, author of the report. “Executives appreciate the role of recruiters, but are weary of below-par performances.”

Other successful channels to find a new job includes personal networks and referrals, accounting for 22.3% and 20% respectively. Cold calling employers worked for 1.1% of executives, while social networking sites delivered only 0.8% of new jobs.

Besides their job searching behavior, the report explored various facets of the work life of executives including remuneration, education and views on employers.

The report is a joint project between Six Figures and Destination Talent, and has been produced with the support of the following organisations – Peerlo, Talent Acquisition Specialist; Australian Institute of Management (AIM QLD/NT); Graduate College of Management, Southern Cross University; and Dutton Direct, International Luxury Circle.

The report is available for free download on the Executive Monitor site.

Six Figures has previously undertaken various research projects on this subject before (the High Income Earners Report & the Executive Job Market Confidence Report), which confirmed this point. Most of our members, who are professionals and 30 years plus, are looking for the opportunity to do something a little different and are even willing to take a significant salary cut to do so; yet the reality is that there are few opportunities in the market where this occurs. It’s rather sad really when you think about it – all that wasted talent.

Now ‘The Age of Unreason’ is 20+ years old and was written whilst I was still at high school. What has shocked me most about reading this book is how little has changed when it comes to how organizations attract and retain talent.

Prompted by this book and looking through various job ads on different sites, it struck me that most job ads are a shopping list of what an organization wants – i.e. must have x,y,z. I don’t think I have ever seen a job ad that says must have the potential to do x,y,z. It seems that potential, desire and motivation have no place when it comes to seeking employment – it’s all about what you must have and must have done before. Now I too am guilty of this, however I will certainly make more of an effort when writing job ads to not be so limited to ensure that I don’t screen out the talent before I have even begun hiring.

What are your views on recruiting based on potential, be it as a job seeker or recruiter? Have you ever seen a job ad that actually highlights the fact that they are looking for someone with the potential to do x,y,z?

Note: I have since discovered this book was rated in the top 10 business books in 1990 by Business Week. So it’s well worth a read.

I am pleased to say that I am not alone in encouraging job seekers to hold off disclosing their current salary and future salary expectations for as long as they can as they progress throughout the interview process. Ideally you want the recruitment consultant or employer to disclose the salary first. Ask the Headhunter has a great article on the topic ‘How to make more money: Withhold your salary history’. As the article states “The advice is simple: Don’t disclose your current salary or your salary history when a prospective employer asks you for it. The reason is also simple: When you disclose your salary information, your negotiating leverage is gone.”

Ask the Headhunter makes the valid point that your salary history is not any employer’s business, nor I suggest should it be a reflection of your future earning potential. When asked the question there are polite and professional responses you can give, which may or may not be accepted by the hirer. However, if the hirer is insistent then you have to make the call if you want to progress or walk away. The Six Figures Salary Negotiation Guide Section 5.1 looks at handling Salary Questions and offers some appropriate responses to give when asked the salary question:

1. “I would prefer to find out more about the position, the responsibilities and expectations before getting into any salary discussions”.
2. “I am sure that your company offers a fair compensation scale, and if we both decide that this is a worthwhile match, I am confident we will be able to agree on a salary”.
3. “I have researched the salaries for this level of position, with the market value of the total compensation package being within X range”.

It is your decision whether you want to disclose your salary information during the early stages of the interview process. If you can, it is best to avoid entering into this conversation too early in the process, as it limits your opportunity to negotiate further on. Being more astute when it comes to salary negotiation can earn you more – so you have to ask yourself is that extra 10% in your pay packet worth it!

What are your opinions, advice and experiences on holding off disclosing your salary information during interviews?

Experienced interviewers are very good at reading body language. They can frequently pick up when a candidate is lying, stressed, unsure, lacking confidence and so on. Being nervous is one thing that is factored in by interviewers, however candidates are not forgiven when they come across as lacking confidence or focus, desperate or intense; which of course can lessen your chances of being hired!

Creating positive body language
•    Make a confident entrance – carry yourself upright and proudly
•    Initiate the handshake where possible
•    Be conscious of your posture, sit upright
•    Hold your head up high
•    Have a positive attitude and speak using powerful and positive words
•    Make and maintain eye contact during the interview
•    Smile where appropriate
•    Use silence frequently; take time to gather your responses
•    Talk in a calm manner
•    Avoid fidgeting and excessive arm and hand gestures for example biting the lip, finger or feet tapping or folding arms

You can learn more about successful interviewing in the Six Figures Job Interview Resources area.

We invite you to share your tips for being interviewed and how to create positive body language.

Unfortunately, when job ads are not written particularly well (which is far too often – see Ross Clennents Annual AFR Job AD Review) then job seekers don’t really  have a lot to go on before submitting applications.  Sometimes recruiters come back to us with what seem like valid reasons why we aren’t suitable, particularly as they share more information about the job, company and what the client is looking for. However, when there’s a detailed job ad combined with a detailed job description, and we have done our own research on the company and critically assessed our fitness for the job, then we apply believing we should at least make the shortlist; yet sometimes we don’t.  This has happened to me on occasion and many others I know and it can be very frustrating.

There are many recruiters who have been in the industry for years and know their areas of specialization inside and out, so are making valid calls on candidate suitability for jobs. However, it appears that there are still some recruiters who do not have the knowledge or understanding of the job in question and what is actually required to make a good candidate assessment. It appears that the selection process is still both transactional and rudimentary for them – a tick box approach, if you will. Due to this, job seekers are missing out on potentially rewarding jobs that they are well qualified to do.

I feel confident in saying that when you strike the situation of truly believing that you should be considered for a role, then you are justified in getting your application in front of the employer using alternative means.  Consider the following ways below:

• If the recruiter you are dealing with doesn’t have a good grasp on the role, you can certainly contact someone more senior within the recruitment agency to explain your situation and ask them to reconsider your application for the role, stating the reasons why.

• Check if other agencies are advertising the same role, as jobs are often given to multiple agencies. Do online searches around similar terms used in the job ad you initially applied for. Then apply through another agency and follow up with a call.

• Many companies today also post jobs on their own career site, so if you know the company then have a look at their website and apply directly through the site or alternatively send your details to HR. These could be sent as a general interest in working with the company or for the specific role; you will need to make the call on what context you choose to present yourself.

• In the event you know the name of the company the job is with, use your networks to find more senior contacts within the organization. They may even have a referral program where someone can send your details through to the hiring manager. Otherwise, someone may be able to endorse or recommend you for the role even if they don’t have a formal referral program in place.

The key is not to focus on the initial bad experience with the recruiter but rather to move on and look at how to get yourself in the race. Adopt a more strategic approach to your job search if you find the current channels are not working. The reality is that the majority of jobs in Australia are handled by recrutiment agencies and the majority of job ads are advertised online (close to 80%) so these channels do need to form the bulk of your job search strategy. However, when you do hit a brick wall then try a new approach.

It’s a lot more work I realize to take a new, more lengthy approach but if you really want the job then it’s certainly worth pursuing these angles. Don’t accept a ‘not suitable’ if you truly believe you are suitable. On the flip side, don’t waste people’s time by trying all these different avenues if there are valid reasons for you not being suitable for the job.

What are your own experiences and challenges in these situations? How you have overcome them to secure the job that the recruiter was not willing to represent you for?

The alternative to all this ‘difficult people and career stuff’ is to offer the superficial perks and bells & whistles. These are easy to implement and manage; think of all the reward and recognition programs around, whether in-house or outsourced.

I suspect if you ask most people what they value most in an organization and what keeps and attracts them, their answers (in no particular order) will be a mixture of good management; open communication and feedback (positive & negative); and the organization offering them some form of career support and development.

Most of us want to work for an organization doing work where we are engaged, learning, developing and being acknowledged when we have excelled. Being acknowledged does not necessarily mean monetary rewards, particularly if employees are being fairly paid and doing what they enjoy. So while companies spend thousands on fancy employee reward and recognition programs, holidays, gifts, and so on, I have always wondered if this is the best use of money. Perhaps employees would be more engaged if this money was spent on career support for employees, training and development opportunities and better-skilled management.

We hear it time and time again that people want to work for great managers and leave when they’re not so great. The statistics on the effect that poor management has on retention of good staff are high. A recent post by Michael Specht titled ‘54 Per Cent of Companies Have Bad Management’ explores this same subject of poor management and the fact that there are so many un-engaged people at work; in fact he quotes 63% of Australian employees are not fully engaged at work.  Specht’s angle is that social media cannot be blamed for this lack of engagement, which I concur with. If you get the basics right as highlighted above, i.e. good management and communication where people are in jobs where they are engaged and can progress, then all these other distractions are minimized. Combined with this, companies can invest their money in their employees rather than all these ancillary (yet easy to implement and manage), superficial programs.

What are your views on how organizations can better engage and retain staff? What keeps you engaged at your organization?

These speakers were some of Australia’s thought leaders in the recruitment technology space, including;

• Laurel Papworth - Social Network Strategist and Blogger
• Stephen Collins- Social media expert and founder of acidlabs consultancy
• Ross Clennett – Recruitment Trainer and Principal of RossClennett.com
• Brett Iredale – Managing Director, JobAdder.com
• Michael Specht – Founder, Inspecht HR technology consultancy
• Thomas Shaw – Managing Director, Recruitment Directory
• David Talamelli- Recruiter & Corproate Blogger, Oracle
• Kate Sykes - Managing Director, CareerMums.com.au specialist jobs website
• Phillip Tusing – Founder, Destination Talent
• Riges Younan – Entrepreneur and Recruiting Strategis
• Clayton Wehner - Managing Director, CapitalJobs.com.au
• Kelly Magowan - Managing Director, Six Figures Executive Jobs Website

Not sure how I made the grade, but delighted to be included! While I spoke on Niche Job Site for Quality other presentations included Social Media: Friend of Foe in the Workplace, Trends in Recruitment Advertising, How to Create a World Class Careers Portal, Blogging and Recruitment as well as many other great subjects.  Many of these presentations can be found on slideshare by typing in RecruitTECH.

Although a conference about recruitment and technology, the flavor of the speaker themes from the conference were very much on the topics of relationships, communities, trust, relevant content, choice and adaptability.

The key take aways being that the rules of have changed. Employers no longer hold the balance of power and they have to adapt and go where the job seekers are offline and online and work dam hard to get their attention.

Technology is the enabler, people and relationships still matter in recruitment.

There is nothing that saps motivation more than being paid less than you think you deserve. Often people are unpaid simply because they don’t ask for a raise. Kelly Magowan from executive job site Six Figures says employers will rarely volunteer a salary increase, so if you don’t raise the subject you don’t get the raise! What’s more, if you’re in a senior role and you don’t negotiate on a regular basis that might be sending a negative signal to your employer about the way you work.

So how do you go about negotiating for a higher salary? With the economy the way it is, is now a bad time to have your hands out for more? Listen at  BNET – It Pays to Negotiate Your Salary

Download your Six Figures Free Salary Negotiation Guide

The Job Search and Career Change Program has been specifically designed as a Do It Yourself (DIY) program. Using the program’s series of five workbooks you will be guided step by step through the process for making a successful job or career change. Price: AU$39.60

Each of the workbooks includes 28-45 pages of information essential to assist you in your next job or career change, including exercises, samples, guides and references. The program workbook titles are:

•            Workbook One: Self Reflection & Worklife Analysis

•            Workbook Two: Your Personality & Career Exploration

•            Workbook Three: Job Sourcing Strategies & Research

•            Workbook Four: Your Resume, Marketing Plan & Personal Brand

•           Workbook Five: Interviewing, Negotiating & Landing Your Next Job

Clients who purchase ‘The DIY Job Search & Career Direction Review Program’  also receive a free copy of our ‘Personal Branding Guide – It’s All About Brand You’ valued at $7.70.

To find out more about the The Job Search and Career Change Program workbooks visit the Six Figures Resources area, email careers@sixfigures.com.au or call us on 1300 780 177