Remote interviews – how to break through the barriers

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As the UK finally begins to ‘unlock’, people are tentatively venturing out. Meeting in person is beginning to be reintroduced, with family members able to reunite, albeit it socially-distanced. This is allowing people a certain degree of normality to return to their lives. However, in terms of a working environment, many companies are actively encouraging the ‘work from home’ ethic to continue. This is fine if you have become used to working from home, or sometimes worked from home as part of your job anyway. But what if you were in the course of looking for a new job, to transition into a new role in a new sector for example?

Preparation is everything

The landscape has changed immensely of how people are hired and inducted. Anyone applying for a job now is doing it remotely. It’s important then to think how to project your personality in a remote interview, to come across well. Somehow, you have to depict your personality, without being there in person. Play to your strengths and use your communication skills to convey your skillset. Before any remote interview, you need to give some thought to practicing and getting used to using remote video conferencing tools.

One answer could be a video CV. This is not a new concept and has been around for over a decade. However, in these present times, it might be a useful way of preparing for an interview, even if you don’t end up using the actual video CV. The more practice you get at this sort of media, the better you’ll become at it. It’s not appropriate for all sectors, but when it works it can be a useful tool.

Remember to be confident and plan what you need to say. This will stand you in good stead for the interview itself. Good preparation will allow you to get your personality across in a relaxed manner and perhaps most importantly, smile. Looking surly onscreen won’t ignite a potential employer’s enthusiasm. While a smiley countenance will always endear yourself to the viewer.

Remotely interesting

Once you have video CV you are satisfied with, you should also be more familiar with video conferencing and how to project yourself onscreen. You’ll have a better idea of what works and what doesn’t. How to present yourself, and how to sit and act. Your posture onscreen will say as much about you as it would in person. Make sure you choose where you are going to sit carefully and check that your laptop or computer is at the right height for you to appear on screen properly.  It’s also well worth making an effort in your appearance. You will feel more confident if you are dressed as though you were attending the interview in person. Think about what a potential employer might ask you and rehearse some responses. Don’t gesticulate too wildly when you speak either.

It’s employers that are having to get used to this ‘new normal’ too. For example, they might feel uncomfortable about hiring a senior person in their company without seeing them face-to-face. However, they are having to accept it as the new norm. Posts will become vacant and will need to be filled and some sectors have been relatively unaffected by the lockdown, in terms of productivity and access. It has also made many people aware of the possibilities of global communication and perhaps their new work opportunity won’t even be in the UK. With the endless possibilities of technology, if you have internet access and a computer screen, you can communicate across the world.

10 signs your team would benefit from coaching

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Times are changing

Change is an inevitable part of life, especially within the working environment. But the changes we have seen in 2020 have been unlike anything we’ve experienced in our working lives before. Even in this lockdown period, changes to work methods and practices can lead employees to start feeling unable to keep up. Working remotely, for example, can seem very alien to someone who is only used to an office environment.

With the uncertainty surrounding the shape of what work and workplaces will look like next year, career transition may be forced on many people. It’s important that companies monitor their staff to look for tell-tale signs in these insecure times, particularly with more senior members of staff, who can become lost or even left behind by the pace of change. Coaching can help them, especially in the current economic climate.

Noticing the signs

Changes in a staff member’s behaviour can be a key sign that they are not coping well with company adjustments.

Here are 10 signs which could indicate that your staff are not managing effectively with change:

  1. Frustration – with themselves and their colleagues
  2. Stress – anxiety and general unhappiness
  3. Isolation – lack of conversing and reduced sociability
  4. Unprepared – looking or feeling lost and out of their depth
  5. Increased periods of time off – through illness, or an unwillingness to be in work
  6. Boredom – a reduced enthusiasm for their job
  7. Disputes with colleagues – becoming resistant or more argumentative
  8. Lack of confidence – in themselves and their work
  9. Punctuality – issues with continual lateness
  10. Procrastinating – being unwilling or unable to complete their tasks.

Inevitably, how well employees are able to deal with changes can strongly affect the business. At Career Evolution, we understand how crucial it is to help staff throughout the company cope.

A positive change

Through our expert coaching programme, designed to aid members of staff at all levels – including those at more advanced positions, such as senior managers and directors – our highly-qualified coaches will assist your staff to handle change effectively. This includes helping people before, during and after transition periods, offering bespoke support on a one-to-one and group basis.

Tailored specifically for how to best suit your employees’ needs, our coaching enables individuals to recognise their value, and most importantly, how they and their company can continue to succeed in the face of change.

Change for the better

The most effective method for your staff to deal with change is to embrace it as a positive element,  not as something to be feared and treated with scepticism and suspicion. Change is vital for businesses to adapt and survive in an uncertain environment, where many companies have already buckled under the pressure of not keeping up with the times. The other side of lockdown will be a testing time, economically and socially. Helping employees to take control of their changing role or situation, and formulate a plan for a future that will work for them, is the key to helping individuals thrive and prosper. It will aid both staff and the business forge ahead, and bring about positive change together.

Focus on skills not sectors

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Did you know that many of the skills learned from working in one industry can be easily transferred across others? Transferable skills allow you to broaden your search for new roles in an array of different directions. If you are going through career transition or looking at your options post-lockdown, there’s a risk that you will look for the exactly the same job in exactly the same industry. However, it is important to remember that your opportunities are not limited to your existing role or sector. Many industries go hand-in-hand when it comes to skills. It’s worth looking at where the intersections occur.

Acquired skills

Each new role you have had within a company allows you to develop numerous additional skills. Some skills are targeted at specific roles and require a level of expertise. However, even with some of these, there are elements that are transferable. For example, if an operations manager has developed excellent knowledge of processes within the pharmaceutical industry, this can easily be transferred into the food sector. This is due to the importance of processes, which is a major element of both sectors.

Widen your outlook

Recognising and identifying these transferable skills allows you the flexibility to work in different sectors. This in turn provides a broader horizon of career prospects. Having a wider outlook can be particularly beneficial during times of transition and redundancy, where finding a new job can be more challenging than normal. Opening new opportunities and routes can be positive and uplifting. This will work to build the confidence of any jobseeker, particularly in times of uncertainty such as these. It is also useful to research which sectors are thriving in the current climate, as well as identifying sectors that remain stable and those that are suffering.

Identifying opportunities

Having someone on hand who understands exactly what acquired skills can mean for future prospects can be a huge advantage. An outside, independent voice can steer candidates into new directions, instigating great new opportunities. A Career Consultant can help you through the process of identifying your skills and matching them to new roles. These could be within industries you might always have wanted to work in, or never even previously considered. It might be that expert advice will be the springboard to launch your career, not only to brand new heights, but also in new directions.

The Human Touch

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Telling someone that they are being made redundant can unleash a great deal of emotion. After the initial shock, it can leave a person feeling scared and uncertain – or even angry. They’ve lost their security and need to find a way of rebuilding that assurance, both for themselves and their families. This is understandable, as it can be a daunting situation for anybody to be in – and a helping hand at the time can make all the difference.

Clearing the obstacles

In order to help employees cope during these windows of change, it’s important to look at redundancy on an emotional level, not just from a business perspective. Applying effort can help any employee adapt and ultimately, they will emerge from the experience with positives. Each individual reacts differently to change. Some resist, while others are more adaptable. It presents each individual with different obstacles and challenges. When this happens unexpectedly it can cause upsetting consequences. Providing an individual with a steadying hand, to comprehend what is next, can be very valuable.

Change for the better

Taking a holistic approach to this is beneficial. Some employees might not have updated their CVs in years, or considered obtaining further qualifications. It is important to make the time to find out what an employee wants to do next and establish what value-added skills they can offer. Do this before talking them through building a CV, interview practice and learning new skills, all of which can set them up to move on to their next role. As part of the career change, employees might take stock and decide to pursue a completely new career – something they have always dreamt about but have never had the chance to try. A bit of extra support to help them get there can make the world of difference.

Positive outcomes

Companies that look after employees facing redundancy until they define their new role will leave the employee with a good memory of the business and its practices. Just because it is the end of their employment, it doesn’t mean the relationships needs to end badly. It just takes a helping hand to ensure an employee knows they have that support in place to move forward.

Outplacement specialists such as Career Evolution can help make this difficult process easier.  They are run by industry experts, who are professional coaches and mentors. As a result, they have a great deal of experience and knowledge of how to approach employees who are undergoing periods of transition in their workplace, which are often not of their making.

Coaching support creates the leaders of tomorrow

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Career Evolution is working with Queen Bee Coaching, with free coaching supervision sessions for its coaches. Queen Bee Coaching is a Pankhurst Trust service, established to empower women

In a new support initiative, Kate Howsley, our Principal Coach has been offering free coaching supervision to Queen Bee’s own team of volunteer coaches. ‘Coaching Supervision’ is an established way of professionalising coaching and supporting coaches. It provides them with encouragement, time and space to reflect on and ask questions about their coaching practice. The time also enables them to consider any issues around coaching ethics and boundaries. It also provides accountability, through peer support.

Alongside coaching supervision, Kate has been providing a monthly CPD (continuous professional development) workshop for the Queen Bee coaches. These explore a range of coaching techniques, contracting and developing the coaching relationship.

Recently, of course, these supervision sessions and CPD workshops have been on Zoom, just as both our Career Evolution coaches and the Queen Bee coaches have got used to working with their clients on Zoom.

During lockdown in the UK, the way we do business across all sectors has changed dramatically. In particular, face to face meetings have become a rare occurrence. Remote working rather than travelling into offices to work have become the norm. This has had a particular impact on career and executive coaching, where face to face meetings and personal interaction are an important part of the process.

Bee the best

The ethos that drives Queen Bee Coaching is empowering women who have demonstrated leadership, to improve their skills and confidence. This will enable them to move into senior positions and accelerate their positive impact on society. Queen Bee Coaching ensures its service reflects the diversity, demographic and dynamism of Greater Manchester. This chimes with Career Evolution’s own aims and objectives also.

Queen Bee Coaching originates from the 100-year anniversary of some women receiving the right to vote. It believes that enabling women to realise their full potential will ultimately redress the balance of power across Greater Manchester and close the gender pay gap. The initiative strives to help women develop their skills and provide the confidence to take the next step in their career and increase their impact and influence.

Inclusivity is key

This inclusivity is crucial in creating a new dynamic. It can drive home the thinking that women rightfully belong in senior leadership positions and will make organisations stronger. Queen Bee’s six free coaching sessions are open to women already working in leadership within Greater Manchester and do not have financial or organisational support to access coaching. Queen Bee also regularly hosts recruitment sessions for clients and coaches, to outline what coaching is, its benefits and what exactly is involved in the process.

Kate’s group coaching supervision sessions last around two hours. Groups consist of around four-to- six people. The sessions are initially being held quarterly and there has been very positive uptake. The sessions in March and June were fully booked, and the next session is taking place on 2 September 2020. One-to-one coaching supervision is also available.  Career Evolution is very pleased to be partnering with Queen Bee Coaching and to be guiding future generations of women to the top echelons of business.

Closing the loop

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Whatever the circumstances, keeping your staff informed should always be your first priority. Internal communications are the most vital link between managers and staff. This is particularly true during times of uncertainty and transition, such as during this prolonged lockdown period.

There are various types of internal communications that can be utilised to keep your staff engaged. For any changes or updates on the company, early engagement is essential. Presenting your message to all staff simultaneously and keeping them informed with a consistent voice and message throughout are vital in keeping them ‘in the loop’.

The art of conversation

Even in the digital age, there’s no substitute for conversation. Whether it’s during one-to-one or team meetings, or large-scale presentations, having an active dialogue is worth its weight in gold. In the present situation, such meetings can be carried out remotely, using platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Attaining the right balance between the various media is crucial, so that your important messages and news updates are not lost in a wall of noise.

A live and active spoken dialogue can also better ascertain the mood. It will help assess if more needs to be done to assure staff. After all, you can’t read someone’s body language and tone via an email. There really is no substitute for conversing, where matters can be resolved in ‘real time’, without the need for lengthy email trails. A quick chat can save time and get to the crux of the message, with little chance of misinterpretation.

Conveying the message

Internal communications are sometimes referred to as employee engagement, internal marketing and company communications. The channels used to communicate your messages to your audience, i.e. your staff, are varied. These days the most frequently used channel is electronic media – this works equally effectively if your staff are present in the office, working from home, or furloughed.

It’s important that the message is consistent, regardless of whether you staff are working from home, or in the office. There shouldn’t need to be a context or explanation to make the message clear. With electronic messaging, there’s a certain flexibility, both to how the message is delivered and how the message is accessed. A digital message can be accessed a number of ways, from a computer or laptop, by phone, tablet or other devices. Tone of voice is the reader’s own, so it must be clear what the message is trying to convey.

Lines of communication

For office-based and remote working staff, the most direct way to keep all your staff in the loop is by email. This is especially useful if you have a large staff, with many different departments. Emails can be distributed easily, quickly accessed and are environmentally-friendly. Newsletters or bulletins can be issued electronically, and internal communications can be distributed efficiently via the company’s intranet. Some companies distribute both a physical newsletter and an electronic one, with the identical design being developed for both.  The response is instant too – the recipient can ping back a reply as quickly as they can type it.

Physical media

For your wider staff, who may not have readily available email access outside of their own personal accounts, physical media remains important too. These include, for example, posters, printed newsletter and other ‘desk drops’, which will still be essential in a post-lockdown working environment. These can keep staff informed of developments in the business and what the changes mean to them, reinforcing the message already presented in face-to-face communications and keeping your staff informed. Whatever your message, and however you transmit it, nothing beats the personal connection.

It’s all about you

Coaching isn’t just confined to the world of sport. It can be just as effective when used in business. Like a sports team, a business is made up of individual employees, who as a group drive the company towards its goals. If an employee is feeling unmotivated and unhappy in the workplace, this in turn will affect the business. One-to-one coaching enables employees to be at the centre of their own development and learning. This helps them focus on their specific needs and find answers to enable adjustments and improvements to be made.

Team coach

For coaching to work effectively, both the employee and the coach need to be fully engaged. This will ensure that positive benefits are achieved. Although group coaching has its place, if it’s not carried out correctly it’s all too easy to have some members not entirely on board, or competing for more attention. This situation makes it more difficult for a coach to successfully help each member of the group. One-to-one coaching allows the coach to adapt to the employees preferred learning style and understand the employee’s needs more thoroughly. Ultimately, making it easier for them to achieve their goals. As well as face to face, this can be carried out in the short-term remotely via the internet, which with the current lockdown situation is the sole option.

Challenging thinking

With coaching, each individual has the opportunity to decide on their own solution to the challenges they face.  The coach will help the individual, by working with them to develop different solutions. Each individual will be unique and so will each solution. Coaching can help generate new ways of thinking to solve problems. It is adaptable and flexible in its approach. The individual can choose to undertake coaching when it suits them. This means that it can fit in around their work life in a way that adds benefit, rather than causes additional stress.

A boost in confidence

Following one-to-one coaching sessions, it has been proved that employees demonstrate huge improvements in their levels of confidence, productivity and work ability. It’s a recognised and valued approach to managing employees that is mutually beneficial to the employee and the business. This way, the team member feels valued and supported through their time working at the company. Coaching can make all the difference between merely a good employee and a champion. It is something that every company should consider as part of its business game plan.

Top 10 Tips for increasing employee morale

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Even in normal times, morale is an essential part of how a company functions. But during this period of lockdown and remote working, employee morale is even more important. A happy and healthy workforce ensures the working environment – wherever that space may be – is a positive place. As you interact with your staff, on the phone or via video conferencing, you may notice signs of fading morale. Read our 10 top tips to boost morale and instil pride in your employees.

Appreciation

It’s always important to celebrate success. It might be a small achievement in the grand scheme of things, but it helps to ensure every employee’s success is appreciated. Even if it’s just by saying a simple ‘well done’.

A sense of community

Getting teams involved in local community projects or fundraising can help build teamwork skills and boost team morale. It will also build your reputation within the community and with your staff. While you can’t participate in such activities at the moment, you can plan ahead and look at future opportunities in your local area.

Enjoy it

Even working from home, employees spend a huge percentage of their time each week in work, so it’s important that they enjoy themselves. Make sure they are taking some time out for short breaks throughout the day, to change activity, clear their heads and focus on something else.

Smile

Smiling can be contagious. Even on the phone it’s important, as the tone of your voice reflects a cheerful demeanour. If you are communicating via video conference, a smile is pretty much your only way of demonstrating emotion and personality, as hand gestures and expression can be lost onscreen, while a lot of gesticulating can just look busy and confusing. Keep it simple and smile.

Please and thank you

Politeness is another important virtue that can be greatly appreciated at work. Show respect to your team by using ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ when speaking to them. Making a point of saying ‘thank you’ after a job has been completed can really make a difference to an individual’s sense of self-worth.

Office comforts

Make sure that an employee’s place of work is comfortable. For many people at the moment, this is literally a space in their home. We’ve had plenty of time to get used to this working arrangement and our ‘workspace’ will have become very familiar to us. It is important as employers to make sure our staff aren’t becoming jaded or complacent, and to identify and address issues if they arise.

Be flexible

Offering flexibility to employees as a gesture of appreciation is a cost-effective way of increasing motivation and decreasing stress levels. Home working is often seen by some employees as a sign of trust between employer and employee. Having been forced into making these adjustments to our working lives, perhaps going forward employees will enjoy more flexibility.

Value your team

Ask for ideas, listen to opinions and take on board any suggestions. This can really help make your team feel valued, which in turn will automatically boost morale. This aspect of communication is essential now more than ever.

Communication

Despite many offices not functioning as a physical office space at the moment, make sure you inform employees and keep them updated on any developments. Nothing can disrupt morale more than employees feeling like they are ‘out of the loop’ and in these uncertain times this is even more imperative.

Believe

Employees need to be aware that they are part of something bigger. The lockdown may have separated us physically, but employees need to be reminded that they are still a fundamental part of the business. If they share, believe and live by the company values, then this will have a positive onward effect, even in these unprecedented times.

What do employers look for in a CV?

Keeping your CV updated regularly will save you a headache, if and when you need it. Like cleaning the oven, tidying the garage or visiting the dentist, it’s never something some of us do until we absolutely have to. The jobs’ market is a highly-competitive landscape and making an impact isn’t always easy. Today we look at what recruiters are looking for and how to make your CV profile stand out from the crowd.

Striking a balance

A CV is the blank page that allows you to impress and convince potential employers that you’re the perfect candidate for the role available. Sensible employers will look at CVs as a guide to what the candidate’s capabilities are. In some cases the best person for the vacancy won’t necessarily be the one with the best qualifications. It’s sometimes about assessing a candidate’s suitability and striking the balance between being an impressive, interesting candidate – who is capable and qualified for the job – and an appealing personality who will be a great addition to the company.

Making introductions

Try and sum up in a short introductory paragraph who you are and why you’d be the ideal fit for the role. Keep this profile updated, to include new skills and areas of expertise. If you attend events such as networking, you can also use an adapted version of this profile as an introduction, to sum up who you are, what you’re about and your skillsets. But never create a standardised CV that goes out time after time. Your CV should be subtly tailored to each individual role you apply for.

Avoid clichés like the plague

Try to be original in the way you outline your skills, so you avoid the clichés of CV writing. If it’s possible and appropriate to, demonstrate your skills in action with actual examples. Write well and with clarity, without being too clever. Most importantly, make sure there are no basic grammatical errors or punctuation mistakes. They will automatically put off any potential employer and undermine your credibility.

The personal touch

Other factors affecting the employer’s decision might include the applicant’s personality – and that personality must also be highlighted in the application. Potential employers won’t get a feel for a candidate’s personality until they secure an interview, so you must present yourself in a positive light, without waffling and without being boastful or misleading. Employers will ask themselves, “Do I want this person to work for me?”, “Would they fit in with the existing staff?”, “Would they change the team’s dynamic?” or “What advantages would they bring to the business’s outputs and goals?”

Also where appropriate, establish your outside interests beyond work. This demonstrates a knowledge of a wider range of subjects than those required for the job, and an awareness and experience of the world at large. Through practice, think about what works and what doesn’t. Use this understanding to further hone your profile into an attention-grabbing, job-winning CV.

Remote control

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All aspects of our working lives have been affected by the worldwide spread of coronavirus and the challenges the resultant lockdown has presented. Many people are working in places that are usually their homes, their ‘break from work’ spaces. Meaning that any associated stress and pressures of these times are centred on their own residences. This can become damaging for mental health and general wellbeing. Managers will have to adapt their management styles to consider new behaviours and conditions.

Home vs office

Self-discipline is very important in these uncertain times. Employees who possess the ability to self-manage will be a huge asset to managers, who themselves are having to evolve to meet the changing face of work. More people are still working from home and many will continue to do so – either by choice, trepidation, or necessity. Until there is a recognised protocol or an immunising vaccine, many workers will probably prefer to remain working from home.

Even if offices are spacious enough to accommodate a large workforce, it is aspects outside of workspaces that can impact employees’ decision-making on home versus office. Travel on public transport, for example, will be a big stumbling block for many people. Mixing with work colleagues and family outside the household is one thing. But sitting next to complete strangers and touching door handles, handrails and other equipment will not be acceptable to some commuters.

Managing the challenge

In this way, management styles will need to change and adapt. For one, the days of micro-management are over. Managers will need to manage and trust their teams to do their jobs, without being constantly observed and without supervision. A great deal of trust will be required on both sides. However, this is being seen as one of the positives that will need to come out of the current situation. Leadership is important in this period – listening, trust and collaboration will all form part of a manager’s role.

It’s also important to embrace technology to make communication easier and teamwork smoother. Whether it’s platforms such as WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams and Zoom, there are many remote collaboration tools out there. Some managers will find relinquishing this degree of control difficult. But coaching can help them understand their management style and adapt to new ways of working. Coaching sessions can be carried out over the internet, via video conferencing. The lockdown restrictions needn’t be seen as a barrier to this taking place. Coaching can help to identify areas where managers are needing to adapt their management style to suit the situation.

Testing times

Talking to someone else can enable managers to see the big picture. This overview can prove very helpful is assessing exactly where a business stands during lockdown. Are the staff happy, are their outputs being sustained, and are they delivering on deadlines without the day-to-day contact with colleagues and management? If the answer’s yes, then great. But if there is room for improvement, this will have to be addressed.

This is where self-discipline will prove invaluable. If you have been furloughed, then you will not be working anyway – but contact with management is still important and a weekly or bi-weekly connection should be retained. Of those who are still doing their jobs from home, some staff may be used to self-motivating. Others may struggle to find a format and routine that works for them. Similarly, adapting a  management style will come naturally to some, while for others talking to a coach will be beneficial. Even the most seasoned manager will have something to learn during these testing times that have become a learning curve for us all.