July 2014

Yeah, it’s nothing new, the growing lack of soft skills is a problem for companies, and senior-level executives recognize they have this problem. Increasingly, more and more people lack the skills we take for granted. In a company environment this deficit has a wide ranging effect, negatively impacting every aspect of an organization’s effectiveness, dragging down overall performance, which, in turn impacts profitability and by extension, share prices. It’s a lose / lose proposition; those at boardroom level get it even if, at the lower echelons, they do not. I contend it’s the result of a digitally-connected world where we virtually interact; meanwhile, we’ve disconnected and separated ourselves from the real world and real people. I am sorry but video conferencing and Skype are no substitutes for face-to-face meetings, which involve an actual handshake. It’s no wonder there are so many

My blog is focused on empowering the individual job seeker; that is my stated goal. My aim is not one-sided, I am not anti-corporate or anti-management. For many years, I conduct my work on behalf of both job seekers and company managers who all seek the same objective -- but view it from their own perspective. In the case of this blog entry I want to focus on the company, the hiring side of the process. That which companies claim they want is increasingly at variance with what they do or, more appropriately, the manner and conduct of the interview process is often a clear contradiction – the result of which can leave both sides frustrated and dissatisfied with the end result, or lack thereof. It is repeated so often we don’t even notice it because it should be obvious and

I’ve noticed a lot of advice for job seekers is very direct, about how an individual is supposed to behave or in what manner they should conduct their activities when seeking a job. I myself am not shy about suggesting people be more directly engaged and pro-active, but I have a suggestion; when you read anything you should always take the source into account. True objectivity is rare, and especially when you read articles that project the writer’s own perspective – this is good advice anytime, regardless of the advice or commentary you read, see and hear, because you need to draw your own conclusions from whatever information is offered. Too much of the advice I see being offered suggests that you should not actively engage or take any significant initiative, as if to do so is breaking the rules. They

Last week I suggested you are wasting a lot of time if you are predominantly applying for jobs online, playing the jobs lottery and hoping your number comes up -- this is not a winning strategy by any standard! Before the advent of the internet, snail-mailing lots of resumes was no more effective, but at least back then your envelope did land on the desk of real people and those to whom it was addressed. Currently, in our time, it may be easier and less labor intensive; you can send emails faster and more widely, but that’s a panacea to make yourself feel as if you’re doing something when you aren’t, really. You do realize that by usual methods, following other people’s rules, you are in reality reaching very few real people, so all your efforts amount to 90% smoke