Career Success Radio asks these questions amongst others to those involved in the employment and social media space across the globe. In this special 2 year birthday special Career Success Radio looks at where things are currently at in relation to employment in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia with experts offering their views on how to navigate this new landscape of economic turmoil and social media to come out on top. I was fortunate enough be involved and took away some great information which I will share briefly.

•    Use LinkedIn wisely! Even if you don’t want to use it for job searching, ensure that you take advantage of all the information it offers on prospective employers and hirers
•    If you are comfortable having your CV publicly available, explore applications like Box.net that enable you to attach your CV to your LinkedIn profile and Twitter
•    Advice I have received and also given; when you are job searching remember that people want to hire you, so long as you can convince them that you can solve their problem/s
•    In the USA the length of time it takes to hire is on average 10 months! You would have thought that the job or skill set would be redundant by the time they came around to make an offer! In Australia we are seeing length of time to hire of 6 months or so which seems crazy enough
•    As to be expected with length of time to hire going up, those declining offers is up to 50%
•    If you are actively using social media to source new employment, Bill suggests belonging to the 49 plus group quota you can join on LinkedIn to offer you a more targeted job search and networking opportunities
•    Dalton from the USA talks about people having hybrid careers due to the GFC – those made redundant went on to consult or set up their own businesses. However with the market picking up many have gone on to secure full time or part time employment while they run their own ventures on the side.
•    Skills shortages – it is happening all over again. As Bill in the UK stated, the need for more education and retraining is going to be an ongoing problem

You can listen to this show on Career Success Radio.

Note: Career Success Radio is an Internet radio show broadcasting weekly on Tuesday mornings from Melbourne and is co-hosted by multi award-winning Career Management and Personal Branding Strategist Annemarie Cross as well as Career Change Coach and Social Media Specialist – Keith Keller. To listen to the show live, download the Podcasts or access the fantastic resources go to: www.CareerSuccessRadio.org

Having participated in a few mentoring programs – both as a mentee and a mentor – this post by Jim Brennan really got me thinking as I had not even considered this fact before.

Through his research Jim found that of the 25 HR or Compensation professionals he polled, none offered any special rewards for mentors. As Jim cites, “the lack of a formal recognition option for mentors says something loudly.”

He goes on to write that “Tracking the identity of the mentors responsible for successfully developing your current home-grown talent should not be that difficult.  Providing appropriate and meaningful rewards to reinforce their stalwart efforts is not impossible, either.  Simply ignoring their invaluable contributions, however, runs the risk of starving the goose that lays your golden eggs.”
This is an insightful post and one worth reading if your organisation has or is considering a mentoring program.

It also begs the question, should mentors be financially compensated? Share your views.

Are you job-seeking right now?
Perhaps you should be out marketing and selling yourself – it is far more empowering!

I have recently come to have issues with the term “job seeking”. The reason being is it’s not empowering to be seeking new employment. Seeking implies that you are out there trying – you may even be desperately seeking just hoping something happens!  However, you may just end up seeking forever.

As a job seeker you really are at the mercy of the market, which includes recruiters, HR, executives and the like. I propose that job seekers change the language and their thinking to be that they are out there selling. Yes, they have something that others need and they are marketing and selling themselves (their skills, experiences, values etc) to the right and/or highest bidder.  By taking this approach you are in control. You are also out there looking for the right buyer, rather than job seeking where you tend to be hoping someone picks you or that you stumble upon the next job.

No more “job seeking” I say! It is all about marketing and selling yourself – you are in control.  Remember, you have spent all this time (and often money) on educating yourself and developing all these terrific skills and experiences – you have a lot to offer. Don’t let yourself and your career down by failing to execute at the final stage – the marketing and selling yourself stage. Take control, approach changing employers with confidence and get out there and market and sell yourself.  Banish “job seeking” from your language today!

Do you agree – is a word change and mind shift required to help those looking to change employers have a more positive and successful experience?

The interview content will include:
*   In which situations would you consider negotiating your salary?
*   When and where is the most appropriate time to do it?
*   Is there a time when you wouldn’t negotiate your salary?
*   How do you deal with a negative reaction to the discussion

To listen to this  evenings webinar with Kelly Magowan from Six Figures on Salary Negotiation click here . For other webinars on interesting career topics visit WINC.

On the Great Leadership blog a little while back there was a post that resonated with me: Don’t settle for a job that’s making you miserable. It got me thinking about so many career clients I have worked with who were miserable in their current roles and who had finally taken the steps to address this – which granted can be very tough.

This post is a personal account by Dan of how he came to realize how his work was making him miserable and what he did to change it. He came to the realization that in his former job he did not like the person he had become – that your work affects your attitude, your values, your relationships, your self-esteem – i.e. just about everything that matters.

Dan’s advice is

“Don’t settle for a job that’s making you miserable. Because it’s not just a job – it’s a huge part of your life, and unless you’re coated with Teflon, a bad job could turn you into a bad person. Life’s too short – no job is worth selling your soul.”

For a terrific collection of complimentary career and job change resources visit the Six Figures Job Seekers Resources area.

Whilst workforce planning may seem boring to some executives who believe the function of dealing with talent should be relegated to HR, this is an unwise approach in many instances. There are countless research papers and surveys on this topic, such as the Workplace Barometer Report discussed on the Six Figures blog, that highlight that the majority of companies don’t invest in any sort of workforce planning. That is – they don’t know what people power and skills are required to achieve their business objectives.

It is a scary thought, particularly when you look at medium to large organisations who one would hope have very a clear vision for their business yet are lacking in a fundamental part of the execution strategy. The point I am trying to make here is that the benefits from a financial perspective are enormous if an organisation really does invest in the attraction and retention of people, particularly for those key roles upon which the organisation’s success hinges. Certainly a new approach (or perhaps for some even just having an approach) is essential – whether at the senior levels or preferably across all levels of staffing in the organisation.

As Peter Wood’s article states:

“The next generation approach to talent management is about moving from good processes to high quality decision making. By this we mean integrating workforce planning with the business strategy process, and using technology and modelling to create a dynamic talent management plan that delivers great opportunities for talented people while supporting the company’s growth plans.”

Organisations can be far more strategic when it comes to talent management. Again, it does not have to be done solely by HR – it is the responsibility of anyone holding a position of influence.

Share your views. Should workforce planning and talent management be left to HR or should the business really be driving it?

This reorganisation of work time has the potential for people to work less and enjoy it more; it provides more time for education, family, home management or hobbies, and an opportunity to enhance the quality of life. It can appeal to those with the ambition to develop new approaches to their juggling of time allocation between conflicting priorities.

One of the advantages of job sharing is that it can be adapted to a very wide range of occupations. It has made flexible working arrangements possible in many professions not suited to conventional part-time work. Among responsibilities which job sharers have successfully divided are those of university lecturers, journalists, accountants, librarians, doctors, research officers, lawyers and teachers. There is a growing acceptance of job sharing by employers, and sharing arrangements have been operative for some time now within several major companies, insurance firms and banks.

According to HRdaily, a survey by Rubicor has found that “almost nine in ten employers in Australia and New Zealand have established flexible work practices, but many admit their employees are unaware of the benefits”.

So have you explored what flexible work benefits your employers offer? And have you considered job sharing?

Read more of this article from Paul Stevens to find out if job sharing is for you and to review the checklist for a good job-sharing agreement by reading the Have you Considered Job Sharing? article in our Six Figures member resources area (requires login).

Women in New Careers – ‘Ripe for the Picking’ Career Series has just launched and features a series of interviews with the best Australian recruitment and career development experts. Topics range from Personal Branding, to Salary Negotiation, Unpicking Selection Criteria, Getting the Perfect Job and more (see below for more detail)

The benefits for you include:

•    Free expert advice from career development specialists and recruiters.
•    Take away ‘can do’ tasks to motivate you to take action
•    Develop your approach to and understanding of contemporary job applications and procedures.
•    You’ll be able to match your knowledge and skills with employer needs.

These webinars beginning on the 17th August, on Tuesday evenings, 8.30-9.30pm, Australian Eastern Standard Time.  To find out more or register visit Ripe for the Picking Career Series

Lots of us would like to earn more, but we’ll compromise a bit for job satisfaction and prestige.

That’s one of the findings from the Executive Monitor, produced jointly by jobsite Six Figures and recruitment specialists Destination Talent. It tracks the recruitment and job attitudes of Australia’s executives.

It also shows a highly confident Australian workforce. We expect to be paid more, promoted regularly and, if we don’t like it, we’re supremely confident that we’ll find another job, no trouble at all.

So are we kidding ourselves? Phil Dobbie from BTalk ask David Langdon, chairman of Six Figures, what he thinks.

Download the full findings of the Executive Monitor survey and visit BTalk to listen to this short interview.

Where you work changes too. In fact, it never ceases to alter. It’s an important ingredient for the continued existence of your employer. Personal career management may demand that you are constantly making choices. You can make better choices when you examine your options in detail, by weighing each one against the other(s) and exploring how each could benefit you and those you care about who will be affected by your decision. If you know why you are taking a particular course of action in your career, you are more likely to achieve your aims. One reason is that as self-knowledge increases, self-confidence also rises along with commitment to achieve your goal.

What is right for you?

Yes, ten career action options are likely to be more than you first considered you have. Now comes the hard task of evaluating each option and selecting one. Here are some thoughts to consider as you evaluate what really is right for you.

For a quick overview of the options available, view the Ten Career Action Options table. For more detailed information on these options, read the Ten Career Options to Consider article in our Six Figures member resources area (requires login).