Take up the challenge, show how good you are at work

Published on Wednesday, Apr 15, 2009

Enough has been said about today’s turbulent economic times and the accompanying uncertainty. We all know that we are spiralling dizzily into a recession with a dismal depression looming on the horizon.
But what about the predicament on the personal front? With rampant downsizing, layoffs and pay cuts, the depth of our troubles ranges from finding a good job to holding on to the job you have to paying the unending pile of bills. Unhappiness and insecurity are rampant as people’s emotions dangerously seesaw between abject fear, worry, anger, stress and downright cynicism.
Well, it’s true that we have no idea what the future will hold or when the tide will change. It’s also true that our very innate sense of security has flown out of the window and there is no certainty at all. But does this mean that we are destined to be helpless victims, spending our precious time either catastrophising the ‘doomed’ future or even sinking into an utter denial?
My friends, the answer is a categorical NO! In fact, there are various small measures for dealing with the uncertainty – measures which itself will help us to derive a certain sense of certainty once again.
Making the best: The first step is to manage your emotional state and not let the troubled economic times drive you into a state of panic. Remember it’s all in the mind. So strive to maintain your sense of perspective by inculcating positive thinking and a healthy atmosphere. Talk about the difficult situation with people around you, but in a positive manner and not with a spell of doom.
This sense of positivity will definitely stand you in good stead as it is bound to come through in the interview as well as on the job.
Further, taking care of yourself by eating, sleeping and exercising regularly will help you to maintain a healthy mental attitude. When things do get to you, practicing simple deep breathing can calm down your worries to a great extent.
Empower yourself: The other trick up your sleeve is to empower yourself to take charge of the situation instead of being overwhelmed by it. For this, you have to start believing in yourself – you are valuable and competent, not nervous or doubtful. This will beget the confidence to approach problems head on and tackle them in the best possible manner.
Moreover, many forward-thinking companies encourage their employees to come forward and help address the challenges that lie ahead. You have to grasp the opportunity by thinking of useful solutions or alternatives and then expressing them as productive ideas and suggestions. As it has been rightly said, “We are all part of the solution, and in times like these,every challenge is an opportunity.”
For instance, you can explain that the raging uncertainty in the workforce where no one knows what will happen, is harming productivity and results. You can further put forth that involving employees in decisions that concern them or keeping them abreast with developments will foster some much-needed certainty. Such measures will go a long way in building your credibility and even secure your position in the organisation.
So, take the challenge and show how good you are. Learn to enjoy your job despite the uncertainty by focussing on what you can and will accomplish. This will increase your efficiency, thus leaving a lesser risk of being fired!
Also, keep yourself aware of what is happening and try to adapt accordingly. Be creative and look out for new possibilities thrown up by the changing economic trends.
For example, the downturn can actually open up fresh and lucrative domains if you are willing to change careers.
On a more personal level, it makes practical sense to assess your financial situation with a calm and clear mind.
The frugal times demand that you budget your expenses, minimise your debt and strive to build a safety nest for emergencies. This requires careful planning, wise choices and conservative investments – never operate out of fear or haste as it will only lead to poor decisions.
To sum up, it is vitally important that you should be prepared. After all, that is the only certain thing amidst the hysterical uncertainty!

PAYAL CHANANIA

Professional sourcers help cut hiring time, costs

Published on Wednesday, Apr 08, 2009

Many employers are realising that they are now actually weighed down by weary recruiters who have reached a dead-end when it comes to sourcing fresh job candidates. And why not, as the small pond of Internet job boards and resume banks are fast running dry. No matter what the job criteria, it turns up the same pool of jaded candidates who are approached by various recruiters left, right and centre.

This has spawned a new breed of ‘strategic sourcers’ or ‘power sourcers’ who have quickly realised that the job boards only account for a meagre 10 per cent of the entire working population. The vast ocean is still out there, calling your name and asking to be tapped.

Process: What these sourcers actually do is cast their web wide beyond the traditional sources like job boards, online postings, classified ads and job fairs because while these may spurn copious resumes, the results are often unsuitable or even dated or inactive.

Instead, the sourcers identify and uncover talented candidates hidden in untapped nooks and corners by using proactive techniques.

The most common mode is directly cold-calling possible candidates who are otherwise not accessible in any public forum like the Internet.

They also source the Internet, but rather than the ubiquitous job boards, they turn to harder-to-reach places like personal home pages, alumni groups, blogs, social networking sites and other forums. Apart from this, sourcers also regularly tap their own private databases and contact networks to track down new names.

This throws up a motley collection of potential candidates that are literally fresh from the oven. As in the words of Maureen Sharib, a top telephone names sourcer, “That person, many times, has never been contacted before by anyone from the ‘outside’ world offering them what you have to offer. That person, many times, is flattered you took the time to seek them out and many times will listen attentively to what you have to say”.

Candidate sourcing activity typically involves generating a list of untapped, suitable candidates with their name, job title, job function and contact information.

This is usually done by contacting people who hold specific titles in (specific) organisations. This is why sourcers are also known as name generators.

Sourcers also offer some preliminary screening where they contact the candidate to determine whether he suits the job requirements and also whether he is interested in new job opportunities.

The organisation has to apprise the sourcer of the particulars like job description, list of target companies you want him to penetrate (optional), special instructions, if any and other accoutrements.

Weighing pros & cons: Professional sourcing brings several advantages like heightened research skills, focused search abilities and layered knowledge of various candidates.

The solid experience coupled with an instinctive intuition keeps the pipeline brimming with additional volumes of latent talent.

Simply put, sourcing is nothing but primary research, which was earlier done by recruiters themselves. But, transferring this time-consuming burden to professional sourcers frees the recruiters to now concentrate on the screening, processing and interviewing of the candidates sourced.

It pays to leverage the considerable expertise of outside name generators, especially when your recruiters are struggling to find new leads or have no hope of finding them.

But, there are a few important things to consider before bringing in professional sourcers to complement the efforts of your recruiting team. The quality of the sourcer, reputation and experience in sourcing is quite critical. It is advisable to check out the sourcers’ and ensure that they implement best practices.

Also, consider the current recessionary climate and tightening purse strings before taking on the additional costs that professional sourcing is bound to incur. Still, some experts argue that external sourcing successfully fills hard-to-place positions only at a fraction of the cost of the long-drawn out traditional recruiting venues.

All said and done, at the end of the day, sourcing can only generate some good leads.

Recruiting will only happen when the middle-of-the-road prospects are subtly persuaded to accept job offers!

PAYAL CHANANIA

Beware of drowning in your own hype

Published on Wednesday, Apr 08, 2009

There is a lot of hype surrounding people in key jobs. The regular work-based hard-sell like, ‘Has a lot of people working under him….’, ‘Is responsible for a great deal of money….’, ‘People sit up and listen when he speaks….’, ‘Is constantly making important decisions…’ ‘Mobilises extensive corporate resources….’ can be quite intoxicating.

It is not confined to the executive suites either. Many a times, even middle-order job positions are touted as ‘Wielding great power and influence….’ to build up excitement.

The sailing is quite smooth as long as you are simply building the hype or even paying people to boost your image. But it’s quite easy to get caught up and carried away by the puff and glamour.

Trouble comes calling when you actually start believing in the propaganda yourself and act as if you are ‘the next best thing’!

The hype around you can make you feel quite good indeed. But once it goes to your head, it translates into a haughty and pompous attitude brimming with delusions of your ’exalted’ status, worth and importance.

Now you start insisting on asserting your status, demand special attention and expect others to act impressed, as you are a ‘very important person’.

This self-delusional sense of importance can be your undoing. Yes-men and followers who constantly reinforce that you are very important, soon surround you.

Yet, they will never respond honestly to you and may even keep bad news away from your ears.

On the other hand, the burgeoning egotism and arrogance paints you as a cold and hostile person, destroying all empathy, trust and support from your erstwhile supportive colleagues or subordinates. The supercilious condescension further instigates them to attempt to bring you down and put you in your proper place.

The end result is that your myopic view itself leaves you alienated from both your sycophants and rivals. Your stress and anxiety further accelerates, as you are paranoid about losing your importance.

What’s more, it also stands true that in today’s tough economic situation with the economy spiralling out of control, you are not doing yourself any favour by believing in your own hype.

Kick delusions: Tempting it may be, don’t be sucked in by the feel-good publicity. It’s downright foolish. What’s more, the hype is not even real; it’s simply an illusionary deception!

The trick is to rise above the hype by keeping your feet firmly planted on the ground and knowing where you stand in reality. Always strive to keep yourself in perspective – you are not irreplaceable at all; in fact the exact opposite is very well true.

This is possible only when you practice humility and detachment, even when you are in the topmost job. Be dispassionate and do not take yourself or your position too seriously.

Keep your focus fixed solely on your work instead of troubling yourself with what others think of you or how they treat you. This simple and calm outlook will help you to lighten up and free the overwhelming burden of self-importance from your shoulders.

This is easier said than done, but staying humble and focussed will open the doors to even greater success, which will sit lightly on your ego. To sum up with a popular proverb, “Don’t believe your own publicity. You can’t; you will start thinking that you are better than you are.”

Payal Chanania