Temporary ‘connections’ aid career growth

Published on Wednesday, Nov 07, 2007

Like any other working individual, Mr. Jatin Parikh wants to advance his career and move up the ladder. The difference however is that he picks a novel way to go about it!
Mr. Parikh, a networking engineer, shrewdly participates in a new database management project as a temporary team member. The assignment is beyond his current responsibilities and presents a valuable opportunity to learn new skills.
By leveraging a series of such ‘temporary jobs’, soon he earns a seat at a higher table.
Temporary assignments are opening a new and wide vista for everything from breaking into a new field to advancing in the same one. The stigma long attached to this option has been wiped clean, as no longer is it just the last resort for struggling novices.
Provisional employment has moved from back-end administrative and clerical jobs to encompass HR, IT and even management in varied fields like retail, banking, advertising and programming.
A growing number of professionals at different levels of their careers are going the ‘temping’ route to move ahead in their professions. This new approach is not only an ideal way to step up in the career but also works as a comprehensive career strategy.

Here’s how:
• Gaining experience in a new career through a temporary stint is a viable option to achieve a successful career change. Mid-level professionals can explore other specialities, industries or companies and sample the options without the allied threat of job hopping
• They can try a job for size while checking out the responsibilities and challenges involved or use it as a stopgap arrangement for earning a living even as they look for better full-time employment
• This eye-opening insight into new areas helps them develop new skills, hone existing ones, even while unearthing hidden talent
• The diversified experience coupled with the challenge of new situations lends a broad perspective that can brighten up the most insipid resume
• Also, temporary jobs help people get a foot in the door of top organisations where they want to work. ‘Temp-to-hire’ is increasingly becoming quite a common phenomenon as more companies are offering excellent full-time positions to their ‘contract’ staff
People can now opt for ‘serial temping’ even after gaining two-three years experience or more in a particular career. A succession of temporary jobs will prove valuable in future career moves and can help them achieve their new career goals.

Captaining your ‘temp’ ship
Whether you are looking to rediscover career choices, gain hands-on experience or just test the job waters, there is no dearth of choices. The range of contract jobs available is near unlimited.
As a job seeker, you can subtly propose during a job interview to take the position on a trial basis by insinuating that the management can evaluate your suitability for permanent employment! Or, you can enrol with a good temporary staffing agency based on your specialised needs.
You can join a new task force or chip in when the management is reviving an old division or expanding in your own organisation.
Carefully select contract assignments that will complement your future career direction and also look good on the resume.
Look for project work outside your department or job description where you can contribute your functional expertise whilst developing new skills and experience.
Whichever temporary work you choose, perform to your highest abilities to so that you add value to the job. Also, concentrate on observing everything carefully to learn the work style and soak up the professional environment.
Prepare yourself for the trade-offs of temporary jobs before opting for one.
You will have to compromise on things like higher salary, bonus, raise, benefits, paid leave and insurance, generally associated with permanent employment.
Though more people are turning to contract employment as a career and lifestyle choice, do not be blindly swayed by the allure of flexibility alone.
Can you really function well in a work environment that is neither stable nor structured?
Only if you can endure the volatile challenges on the road to gaining new skills, experiences, career insights and contacts, will serial temping prove to be a good occupational fit!

Payal Chanania

Get back your old job with new skills

Published on Wednesday, Oct 24, 2007

Changing careers midway is all the rage now. People ditch their established careers and set out on a new path with stars in their eyes.
Yet, dreams often turn to dust as some career changers do not like the new job as much as their old one. Call it a classic case of ‘the grass being greener on the other side’ or whatever, but the new career fails to be as satisfying or rew arding as expected.
Crestfallen with the wrong turn of events, they crave to revisit the ‘good old days’! But with more and more people being bitten by the career-changing bug only to lament the decision, returning to an old occupation is no longer considered taboo.
So, instead of rueing over the situation and hating the new job, you can and should admit your mistake and try to return to your previous career. The return journey
As it is generally not considered wise to return to an old employer, it is advisable to exercise your options and try getting a job at other companies in the same field. Yet, before considering a comeback, honestly ask yourself why you want to return. Is it because you don’t have another choice?
Again, remember that your recent experience may no longer relate to your new (read: older) goals. Are you willing to be weighed down by this liability?
However, experts advise that you can twist the seeming millstone to your advantage by playing up the knowledge and additional insight gained from the multi-faceted experience.
Market your new strengths, capabilities and broad perspective that will improve your contributions and effectiveness in the old profession.

Back to square one
At worst, you can even find your way back to your old job. It’s hard saying, “Can I have my old job back?” but you have to eat humble pie and admit your mistake.
So, first assess whether the conditions that made you leave have really changed. Most often, fond memories impart a rosy hue and make an old job seem more satisfying than it really was. It pays to research the corporate scenario and talk to erstwhile colleagues about the internal environment to apprise yourself of changes, if any, in your absence.
Again, the job may not be yours for the asking. The previous employer may smirk at your over-confidence and refuse to take a once-errant employee back into the fold.
You have to argue that your new skills will make you bring more value to the old job. Also, highlight that you already know the ropes and can hit the ground running, eliminating the mandatory break-in time a new employee would take, not to mention the inherent recruitment and training costs.
Managers may even worry that the ‘refugee’ will jump ship again at the first sign of a more lucrative career opportunity. Job consultant Robert Gerberg advices, “You can make the point that, after being away from the field for a while, you realised how much you enjoyed it, and how right your talents were for it, so that the employer is not likely to find a more enthusiastic and motivated candidate for the job.
You can reassure them that you will never be looking over your shoulder, wondering whether you might be happier doing something else!”
Also, be prepared for the fact that the manager may reinstate you, but in a different position.

Is the door really wide open?
Going in expecting a red-carpet welcome is downright foolish. Do not delude yourself that things will be easy. It takes great courage and determination to ride out the derisive ‘I told you so’ and sniggering antagonism.
Try to reconnect with your old colleagues and earn their trust. Rebuilding relationships with managers and co-workers by supporting their efforts will help make the transition much smoother.
You cannot ever glide back into the job as if you were never away. Re-adjusting back takes time as the set up from working practices to organisational culture to office politics may have changed dramatically.
Try to adapt yourself to the changed scenario. All said and done, irrespective of whether you were away for six months or 60, only a well-executed job change can spell success in returning to an old occupation.

PAYAL CHANANIA

Broadband pay structure is truly skill based

Published on Wednesday, Oct 31, 2007

The corporate world is witnessing a surge of flatter organisational structures. Traditionally large and hierarchical organisations are moving away from their inherent rigidity and are seeking to flatten themselves. The multi-tier pyramidal framework gives way to a more horizontal set up by eliminating the myriad management levels.
Consequently, a flexible compensation concept called ’Broadbanding’ has also come into vogue. This salary structure strategy takes the flat organisation model a step further by consolidating a large number of pay grades into fewer ‘broadbands’. Therefore, there is a wider salary range for each band or level.
For instance, if an organisation earlier had a graded pay structure with 50 narrow ranges, now they are clubbed together into say, 10 broad ones.
For such broadband classifications, diverse jobs with similar responsibilities, accountability, knowledge and skill requirements are grouped together after a thorough job analysis.
The bands of job families carry generic job titles describing the general body of work, and not pertain to the specific duties of all the jobs included under a classification.
By reducing the job taxonomy into fewer categories with a broader scope, there are less chances of overlap with other pay ranges.

Development-‘wise’
Broadbanding brings into play a performance-based salary structure wherein compensation is based on job complexity, responsibilities and skills. This approach values the role of employees and lays emphasis on skill enhancement to perform the job successfully.
Employees are paid on the basis of the skills they develop rather than just the individual work they perform. Management rewards employees for substantial capability improvement with salary increases, thus encouraging them to broaden their skills and abilities
By focussing on performance and rewarding employees for their competencies, the accent shifts to individual career growth as opposed to mere promotional advancement.

Employee-‘wise’
The grouping of numerous jobs in a single salary range with large mid-point differentials creates more income opportunities for employees. Managers get the latitude to determine pay raises within salary bands with or without the ‘vital’ promotion.
Whilst employees get pay raises even while moving within the same salary band, there is still scope for staggered promotions. But the advancement criteria are based on attainment of a broad set of skills.

Employer-‘wise’
Broadbanding is a panacea for companies as it simplifies the compensation structure and facilitates organisational flexibility. Managers can make compensation decisions faster and better administer team rewards.
Not only does the streamlined mechanism result in lower salary administrative costs, but management can also control the salary growth of individual employees. Then again, employers can cash in on the benefits of flexibility in fixing salary levels for new hires.

Market-‘wise’
Collapsing group work and pay also establishes a consistent and common pay standard that is closely aligned with the market conditions.
Management can easily capture appropriate market pay differentials and become nimbly responsive to the dynamic business environment. Such a compensation system can be easily maintained and flexibly adapts to the competitive pressures of a changing marketplace.
According to compensation specialists, Keith Fortier and Christopher, in their Salary Structures white paper on www.salary.com, “Whereas the design characteristics of traditional structures emphasise internal equity and focus the employee’s attention on the world inside the firm, broadbanding focuses employees on the changing needs of the organisation and helps them experience an internal culture that more closely reflects the external business environment and the competitive recruiting market.”
With these advantages, broadbanding has become a recognised practice for corporate compensation. A top salary consultant encapsulates it as, “Broadbanding broadens the focus from job content and scope to include the knowledge, skills and abilities of the individual doing the work, thus enhancing the pay for performance system; better maintains a competitive job and compensation structure to aid in recruitment and retention; and, streamlines administrative processes.”
Yet, the inherent difficulties like widespread allegations of pay discrimination within the same band and fewer promotion opportunities will rear their head sooner or later. If unchecked, they can even translate into morale and productivity issues.
Therefore, management should step up to the plate and try to absorb the benefits of traditional salary structures into a predominantly broadbanding framework.

PAYAL CHANANIA