Preparing your Job Search for the New Year
Posted by adminIn: Recruiting
9 Dec 2009
With the holidays coming up and all the activity that surrounds it, the last thing you may be thinking is preparing for the New Year. Busy with shopping, cooking, and entertaining for others, you may be neglecting the most important person on your list – yourself! It may be getting cold outside but now is a good time to light a fire under your job search. Have you reached out to your contacts recently? Signed up to new social networks? Taken the time to think about all you hope to achieve in the coming year? Well, let’s get organized! As nothing helps secure a good feeling during the end of the year rush as knowing you have secured your career prospects.
Making a list and checking it twice.
A great way to begin a list is to take inventory of all you accomplished in the past year, good and bad, to give yourself healthy perspective. This could be related to your job performance, your business leads, your interactions with others, or meeting personal and professional goals. A written list provides a visual of where you are making strides, where you need improvement, and to find common motivators. As you narrow down what is important to you in this juncture of your life, it will become your own personal mission statement.
Additionally, to provide yourself with a complete picture of your strengths, values and interests assess your personality type. It reveals what you may already know, but is a nice reminder of the type of work environment you may be best suited for. Try it and see. How did you score? Did it surprise you? With this analysis, you can better strategize where to focus your efforts.
Though the holidays are upon us, stay motivated in your job search by:
• Setting up a job search agent with your targeted role
• Reevaluate your resume and update accordingly
• Prepare your references
• Make a note of upcoming hiring trends and targeted business intelligence
And, as you acquaint yourself further with social networking sites and contact building, keep in mind a few often overlooked details:
• Keep your voicemail message mature, clear and concise
• Create an email address that is better suited to your job search
• Check your public profile – is it current, accurate and professional
• Think twice about uploading that wild holiday party photo or other unflattering details that may be an area of concern for an employer
In the hiring cycle, just as with the seasons, this dormant time period is critical for anticipated renewal. Now is the perfect time to organize your tools and resources so you will be sure to be ready in the New Year.
From our family to yours, we wish you all a very Happy Holiday Season!
Speaking a Common Language
Posted by adminIn: Recruiting
3 Dec 2009
Even though LifeSize is headquartered in the US, we have offices and employees throughout the world. So international recruiting is part of our daily hiring achievement. Granted the world is a vast place, but it becomes quite small after all. Not only does videoconferencing, in and of itself, bring people together throughout the world, but the interconnectivity of global companies in general allow us to speak and work with individuals of many languages. This learning from, and building product with, one another is very exciting.
One such team resides in our Bangalore Design Center. This LifeSize group is responsible for the communications side of our product and are instrumental in helping bridge the gap that allows our products to “speak” with one another. Once again showing how creating a common language can be achieved, though this time spoken through bits and bytes. Other amazing LifeSize teams throughout APAC and EMEA lend their expertise towards communication with our customers and connecting the world.
With such diversity, international recruiting can sometimes be challenging. The array of employees within our organization, and the candidates I speak with daily, are a constant education to me. I feel fortunate to help in hiring new employees for a particular region as we continue our growth. But are there specific challenges to recruiting internationally? Well, mostly, time zones! And though mindful of the different cultures and customs, I have found people to be gracious and accommodating overall in explaining their skills and working around complicated interview schedules.
But how cool is it to speak with people from all over the world and be able to understand their distinction and needs despite our outward differences? It seems not to matter what core language we may speak, we are understood. For in the end, we all speak a common language, that of innovation and team work.
Embracing Change
Posted by adminIn: Recruiting
13 Nov 2009
As nothing that grows stays static, companies will make logical decisions everyday that affect employees, products, and their market. Change is inevitable and a part of doing business. Though riding the wave of change implies going with the flow on situations that appear beyond our control, embracing change indicates positive ways to turn these transitions into happy experiences.
Recognizing change as another step in the evolutionary growth of your career, and working with these ebbs and flows, will help during uncertain times. Naturally, employees will question, what does this mean for me? Particularly as this is happening more and more frequently in our society. Once the initial shock has worn off, recognizing why change is ultimately an important part of your growth can help you move forward in making healthy decisions that will impact your work life.
Gathering information necessary for navigating your new environment will help ease your stress and put you on firmer ground once again. Ask about your company’s employee assistance programs; work with human resources on benefit questions you will have; assemble a thoughtful list of issues that need to be addressed during transition and integration; highlight your value to the company and understand roles and goals; and trust in your team. Continue to keep the lines of communication open and transparency throughout the organization.
I see change as an integral part of growing up. Some people welcome it and others try hard to avoid it. But it is in your best interest to understand its nuances. Certainly as an employee, the expectation of hard work paying off in a huge way is undeniably there. However, having a realistic view of how business works and what is necessary to give birth to innovation and expansion should also temper your view.
Let’s face it, the workplace has become an evolving reality - one where best practices are being re-written. But you too can take part in this discourse by understanding the necessity of embracing, and adapting, to change.
Exciting times ahead!
Sowing Seeds for Success
Posted by MercedesIn: Networking| Recruiting
30 Oct 2009
I received my H1N1 flu shot yesterday, and it got me thinking about preventative maintenance and planning for success. It’s a no brainer when it comes to my health, but do I apply the same logic to my career? Do I know where my job is headed and what options are available for advancement? Am I effectively planning for that now or just rolling with the punches and hoping my employer will acknowledge and reward my hard work with a promotion?
Most people approach their careers with a casual attitude and never ask themselves these questions. I think this is a big mistake, especially when we are in a tough economy. This is not when great opportunities land on your doorstep on a daily basis. You need to create the right environment that fosters career growth and sow the seeds for your future success.
So what can you do to navigate your career forward? Here are a few tips to help you cultivate success.
- Update your resume on a quarterly basis. It’s always good to be prepared. Additionally, you are more likely to add specific achievements while they are fresh in your mind.
- Spice up your LinkedIn profile. It’s a constant calling card working for you even when you are happily employed and not interested in making a career change. Make sure to keep it current and ask former colleagues for recommendations.
- Schedule one networking lunch a month. Make it a point to stay in touch with old friends and previous associates. This will help build your social network and keep you in the loop regarding new developments at their companies.
- Helps friends connect. Whether you are referring a former co-worker to a job at your company or simply forwarding on a job description to your network, remember that one good turn deserves another. If you help a friend in need, chances are they will return the favor in the future. As my mom always said, you reap what you sow.
So don’t wait until you are ready to quit or your company downsizes and lays you off. Start thinking about career plans and take small steps to ensure your future is ripe with choices. You might be surprise how planting a few seeds now can lead to amazing new opportunities knocking on your door.
How to Handle a Counter Offer
Posted by adminIn: Recruiting
23 Oct 2009
You made a decision to seek out a new job, interviewed with a prospective company, an offer was extended, and all was going great until you gave notice to your current employer and they hit you with a counter offer. What to do now?
If you are a valuable resource to your current employer and boss they won’t want to see you walk out the door, particularly to the competition. They will entice you with a counter offer with the hope that you will stay. Although being made an attractive counter offer can be validating to your ego, you should question a few things before giving them your answer:
• Why didn’t the company recognize your worth while you were there and adjust your compensation and title accordingly?
• If your employer truly thought you were worthy why didn’t they improve your situation earlier? Do you need to resign every time you want to increase your visibility within a company?
Of course not.
Let’s face it, there were reasons why you considered leaving your current job. Those reasons still exist. If money was a prime motivator for resigning, receiving a better counter offer will not change the current situation or state of play. Before accepting the counter offer ask yourself why the employer has made it in the first place. Much research has been done over the years which shows only 6% of employees who accept a counter offer are still with their current employer after 12 months.
Counter offers are often a reactive attempt by employers to keep their knowledge base from walking away. There is a concern now they may not be able to fill your role in time so they will want to keep you there in the interim while they search for a replacement. Then consider you a risk and start contingency plans, for you may no longer be seen as a dedicated member of the team.
Part of the initial discussion with a prospective company and internal recruiter revolved around the best way to manage your career. You were asked why you were looking to begin with, your compensation expectations for a new job, and what ultimately is important to you. With this information a picture was formed on whether or not the new opportunity would meet your needs. If you have just received an offer from the prospective company then in all likelihood all your key points had been addressed. Why would you now consider a counter offer?
Leaving a job you have invested a lot of energy in is hard but there are a couple things to help make this transition go smoothly:
• Decline the counter offer in a respectful way and thank the current employer for the time you spent there. Be nice on the way out.
• Provide a plan to help transition your work and train a replacement, however, with some companies don’t be surprised to be walked out the door.
Either way, this will help ensure your moving forward with a clear conscious, knowing the reasons you decided to take the new job was based on informed decisions.
Much success!
Retaining Employees through Good Times and Bad
Posted by adminIn: Recruiting| Teams
19 Oct 2009
In this NYT article, CEO David C. Novak states there are two reasons people leave companies: either they don’t feel appreciated or they don’t get along with their boss. He continues by pointing out in order to retain your employees it is important to first recognize the talent within your company, take an active interest in them, and then find ways to help them succeed and grow in their career.
One would venture to say that it is the intent of most companies out there to retain their employees through good times and bad by finding ways to keep them continuously engaged and challenged. For what is important to an individual right after college is different eight years later, or twenty years into a career. It is often said that an individual will change careers at least three times in their lifetime.
So what prompts an employee to stay at a company of their own accord beyond monetary considerations? Priorities may change as an indiviudal moves through different phases of their personal and professional lives, but in speaking with employees at LifeSize, what emerged was a view in common with Mr. Novak’s charter above.
Namely, they felt it was important to be challenged and have interesting work; to work with a company that has great leadership and smart co-workers; to work on products that are successful and useful in the real world; and to like the people they work with and the environment they work in. Here are some additional thoughts on leveraging the talent within your company to retain the best employees:
Celebrate successes.
Listen to employees and tell them what you appreciate about their contribution.
Recognize their strengths often, acknowledge areas for growth and mentor them.
Help employees grow their career by initiating succession planning early on.
Provide a warm reception within company.
Create mutual and open communication with managers.
Keep them motivated by providing obtainable goals.
Help them stay connected by cross-pollinating teams.
Keep them actively involved in the company by having a say in your growth,
and include often in team decisions.
How are we doing? It was pleasing to hear consistent views on the strength of our company and how our employees felt included in our growth. LifeSize represents many of the qualities employees not only seek in a company, but stay with as well.
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- Tags: Career Growth, Retention, Teams
About Us
The Recruiting Department at LifeSize Communications started this blog to share information with our talent community. It's a great resource for anyone interested in learning more about working at LifeSize.
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- Preparing your Job Search for the New Year
- Speaking a Common Language
- Embracing Change
- Sowing Seeds for Success
- How to Handle a Counter Offer
- Retaining Employees through Good Times and Bad
- Feel Like You’re Getting the Run Around?
- Where’s the Love in Job Hunting?
- College Recruiting on the Flip Side
- Staying the Course
