Managing careers in today’s work world (HR Manager's bookshelf)

Advice on how to get ahead, as well as some negative realities about the business climate you have to work in. Cynical? You decide.

Human resource professionals often have a dual interest in books on career planning and development. First, these books can be helpful in our work as we coach and assist employees to pursue their career goals and develop their capabilities. Second, they may serve as a catalyst for us to review and renew our own career directions.

Career advice and resources are featured in several new books. It’s Your Move is a comprehensive guide to career transition and job search for Canadian managers, professionals and executives. Be Hunted! gives an in-depth look at how to work with recruitment professionals, a.k.a. headhunters. Be Your Own Mentor shares “strategies from top women on the secrets of success.” And individuals and companies will find extensive information and resources in The Canadian Guide to Working and Living Overseas.

The other three titles reviewed here were not written specifically for career planning purposes, but are of interest to anyone thinking about today’s work environment, its problems and how to improve it. White-Collar Sweatshop presents a chilling view of today’s corporate cultures, The Living Workplace calls for physical, emotional and spiritual well-being at work and The Forward-Focused Organization deals with change management and the creation of a new culture geared to the future.

It’s Your Move
By Marge Watters and Lynne O’Connor, 284 pages, HarperBusiness (2001). At bookstores or see www.harpercanada.com

The authors of this self-help manual are with Toronto career transition firm Knebel Watters & Associates. They share elements of their professional approach, including tips and tools for dealing with the psychological, economic, legal and practical job market realities involved in changing jobs.

Part one works through the starting point — deciding to make a move, receiving termination notice, informing family and others, saying goodbye. Detailed help is provided in worksheets on understanding your financial picture, as well as identifying the changes and feelings you’re experiencing.

A substantial part of the book is devoted to reflection: reviewing your accomplishments, understanding your best fit with a corporate culture and identifying your strategic advantage (style, skills, knowledge, interests, and what is important to you in the workplace). This section helps identify your options — whether in employment, your own business or retirement — and then assists in developing a go-forward plan for moving toward your ideal situation.

Part three is all about resources for moving forward: an effective resume, other marketing materials, correspondence. There’s a strong chapter on research including how to focus efforts, doing research through people and accessing resources through associations, publications and the Internet.

Interview preparation and tips centre on understanding the different types of job interviews and how to respond to questions, preparing “sound bytes” to express your key strengths, achievements and other messages, and debriefing thoroughly following each interview.

The next part of the book paints a clear picture of an active job search, in contrast with a passive approach, and helps readers understand the implications of fully committing to the process. Also valuable are tools for identifying and expanding your network and getting ready for networking interactions.

The final section, entitled “Cross the finish line” includes a structured tool for evaluating opportunities and offers, and a framework for negotiating on your priority issues.

In addition to the wealth of practical advice and models, the authors offer a mindset for taking charge of your destiny. For example, there’s a worksheet devoted to preparing for the new position and advice on planning for your next moves now, rather than waiting for the future.

The Living Workplace
By Ann Coombs,
188 pages, HarperBusiness (2001). At bookstores or see www.harpercanada.com

This book by Canadian consultant Ann Coombs deals with “soul, spirit and success in the 21st century” and examines the workplace’s impact on quality of life.

Readers will find clear indicators of the toxic workplace:

•lethargy;

•absenteeism;

•verbal and physical intimidation;

•sexist or racist comments; and

•foul language.

Coombs also supplies a contrasting description of the truly living workplace that is characterized by respect, honesty, acceptance, appreciation, love and integrity.

In the introduction, the author writes: “It is my conviction that as the 21st century unfolds, the workplace — and workers — will demand that this hunger for spirituality be satisfied, and will insist on a new language and a new approach to workplace relationships. It is also my conviction that few corporations are prepared to accept or understand the legitimacy or extent of this hunger and that they are, as a consequence, ill-prepared to make the radical shifts that will be demanded of them.”

Be Your Own Mentor
By Sheila Wellington, 302 pages, Random House (2001). At bookstores. For information on Catalyst: www.catalystwomen.org

This title was written at Catalyst, the New York based research and advisory group with a focus on women in business. It begins with some stark facts:

•only 12.5 per cent of corporate officers are women;

•4.1 per cent of top earners are women;

•6.2 per cent of top managers are women, such as CEO, president, COO, or executive VP; and

•just 7.3 per cent of revenue-generating line positions are held by women.

Next, some important misconceptions are challenged:

•“It won’t matter that I’m a woman.”

•“As soon as I prove myself, they’ll forget the gender thing.”

•“Talent and hard work bring success.”

Central to the question of getting ahead is the mentor relationship. “The single most important reason why, among the equally talented, men tend to rise higher than women is that most men have mentors and most women do not.”

This book is designed to give readers a form of mentoring input and guidance. It incorporates experiences and thoughts from a range of women, called “pioneers,” who have made it to senior executive levels. Areas covered include planning your career, what to expect at a firm, making your life work, networking as the number one success strategy and how to become known.

A chapter on basics for getting ahead touches on making diverse assignments happen, negotiating salary increases and handling harassment situations. Another is called “Style matters,” and deals with communicating with men, strategies for being heard and developing confidence and executive presence.

The “pioneers” are profiled, along with details of their career paths to date. They include:

•former GM Canada president Maureen Kempston Darkes;

•Hewlett-Packard Chair and CEO Carly Fiorina; and

•Presidents or other top leaders at Xerox, Allstate Indemnity Company, University of Pennsylvania, Atlantic Richfield, Avon, Colgate-Palmolive and Hearst Magazines.

The Forward-Focused Organization
By Stephen Harper, 259 pages, Amacom (2001). Available from McGraw Hill, 1-800-565-5758, www.mcgrawhill.ca

Breakthrough leadership, anticipatory management, innovative systems, revolutionary culture — the qualities we most admire in a company culture — describe the business environment proposed by University of North Carolina management professor and consultant Stephen Harper.

Among the main premises of the book:

•what worked well yesterday will be less effective today, ineffective tomorrow and obsolete the day after tomorrow;

•change is no longer an exceptional occurrence but the rule. Change can be either evolutionary or revolutionary, depending on how executives approach the future; and

•traditional leadership techniques that served companies well in times of continuous improvement will not be sufficient to allow the company to break away from the pack.

This could be a motivational read for leaders willing to look at their own role in creating change.

Be Hunted!
By Smooch S. Reynolds, 278 pages, Wiley (2001). At bookstores or available from Wiley Canada, 1-800-567-4797, www.wiley.com

The book is subtitled: “12 secrets to getting on the headhunter’s radar screen.” Reynolds, a California-based executive search consultant, provides an overview of the business aimed primarily at individuals who want to further their career progress.

However, the book can also be useful to HR and recruitment practitioners. It describes the various types of recruiters and firms: in-house, retained, contingency, and Internet. It also explains their differences in approach, services and fee structures.

Readers will also learn about global versus boutique firms, industry-specialized, functional and generalist firms, as well as the step-by-step description of a search process from beginning to end.

Advice to individuals in dealing with recruiters includes answers to questions such as:

•Should you call them, or wait until they call you?

•Is it best to express an interest in an opportunity, even if you don’t really want the job?

•Should you provide your compensation information to a recruiter?

•What’s the best way to deal with career problems you may have experienced?

There’s also common sense advice on how to dress for interviews, following up when you haven’t heard back from the recruiter, using resumes and photos and what to say, and not say, about past employers.

The book also contains perspectives on career positioning in general: making yourself known to the recruiting community, building a relationship with recruitment professionals before you really need them, effective interviewing, negotiating compensation, choosing references and gaining the benefits of a mentoring relationship.

White-Collar Sweatshop
By Jill Andresky Fraser, 278 pages, Norton (2001). At bookstores or www.wwwnorton.com

Fraser is a business writer who portrays a grim picture of the deterioration of work and rewards in corporate America. The chapter titles tell the story of an increasingly negative deal for employees at all levels:

•“The pace was insane: less time, more stress;”

•“Working three times harder and earning less;”

•“The disappearing benefit blanket;”

•“They used to use a ball and chain: technology’s impact upon the workplace;” and

•“My full intention was to be there forever.”

Examples of companies destroying trust, quality of life and careers reads like a who’s who of the corporate world: AT&T, Xerox, Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, Kodak, IBM, Intel, GE, Scott Paper, Citigroup, Levi Strauss and more.

In fact, says Fraser, the situation has worsened as companies have prospered: “Unlike their business counterparts of 50 years earlier, these large corporations and their executives believe in the bottom-line benefits of a workforce motivated by fear, insecurity and ever-increasing job demands, and they have acted accordingly.”

The positive corporate “spin” placed upon the new world of work is something like “career-change opportunities.” Employers boast that they don’t offer employment security, but rather, touchy-feely motivational programs and enhanced employability — elsewhere.

Part of the final chapter outlines some ideas for a way out of the sweatshop method of management: shorter work hours, reasonable productivity goals, enhanced health and pension benefits, employee stock ownership, limited use of contingent labour and greater trust linked with less reliance on layoffs and job cutting.

The Canadian Guide to Living and Working Overseas
By Jean-Marc Hachey, 972 pages, Intercultural Systems, third ed. (2000). At bookstores or University of Toronto Press, 1-800-267-0105, www.WorkingOverseas.com

Those beginning their career, and seasoned professionals alike, will find information and advice here on all aspects of working and living abroad. Work and study programs, job search, freelancing, teaching diplomacy — all are covered, along with contact information and almost 1,700 Web sites and numerous print resources.

HR practitioners may also find the book useful as a primer for employees considering or preparing for an international assignment. Readers can access comprehensive updates to the book via the Internet as well.

Ray Brillinger is a senior consultant with the IBM Consulting Group. He provides change management, business transformation and organization effectiveness services to client organizations. He can be reached at (905) 316-8733 or [email protected].

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