Welcome to our first vlog from Career Evolution!
We will be sharing weekly advice and updates from the industry on outplacement, career management, and coaching.
In this first video our director, Sue Thomas, rounds up some of our posts from April, including authenticity, proving yourself, and finding the right blend of hybrid working.
Watch the video below:
Every individual is different and methods and techniques that work for one person may not be appropriate for another. Coaching can help all kinds of people to focus their careers and identify where their strengths lie. Every Coach has their own style and knows what works and what doesn’t, when it comes to helping an individual reach their full potential. But in the current work environment, is a blended delivery style the way forward, to deliver the best service and most effective results?
To truly engage with a client who is undertaking coaching, it’s important to make sure the delivery of the coaching is suitable for them. The conventional way to deliver coaching was via in-person, face-to-face sessions.
The in-person approach is ideal for fully understanding the personality and capabilities of the Coach’s client. You get a much better sense of someone’s character, their presence, confidence, strengths, and so on. But now, with ever more employees requesting – or being encouraged/forced into – working from home, a more blended delivery approach is now required.
For a variety of reasons, staff are increasingly working from home or adopting a hybrid work pattern. Many companies are downsizing their office space, while others are recognising the myriad advantages of staff working in a hybrid model of home and office. The increasing prominence of online meeting and communication platforms for everyday office business – the deployment of Google Teams, Zoom and other tech – has allowed a much greater focus on efficiency and productivity. There’s no commute and preamble to an online meeting, so business can be discussed, in theory, at a greater pace. In coaching too, remote learning has become a great way to undergo training and guidance.
Setting up online meetings for coaching should perhaps not be carried out from the outset. The initial contact ideally should still be in person, but the remote aspects of coaching can conserve resources, such as time and money, in the long term. It also, of course, means that distance is no object, when it comes to the coach-client relationship. Coaches can engage with and guide anyone, anywhere in the world. The content of the coaching will remain the same, but the mode of its delivery will change.
A combination of these two methods means that coaching can still be ‘fit for purpose’ and deliver high-quality, expert advice, whilst embracing the latest technological advances, work practices and approaches. This ensures that both client and coach reap the benefits of this 21st Century blend of coaching.
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What separates one candidate from another? When we’re looking to advance our careers and move onwards and/or upwards, we strive to make ourselves appear an ideal candidate for our new role. We can do this a number of ways – via contacts on LinkedIn or other social media, researching the business and sector, filling in application forms. But our main tool in this is our CV. How it is written, how it is presented, is crucial from differentiating us from other candidates. But it is just words and qualifications. How can we prove beyond that, that we are the ideal candidate for the role?
It’s interesting when you look at two comparable candidates on paper. You’re up for a role against someone who has exactly the same qualifications and experience as you for a single job. How do you make yourself appealing, so that the interviewer or manager can make a judgement call in your favour? How do you prove yourself when the margins are tight? Connections online that align with the new firm are a good indicator that you’d be a good fit with the company – online business platforms such as LinkedIn or local business groups or forums can help with this. But when it comes to any kind of in-person contact with your prospective employers, you have to make an impression. It’s somehow proving what you’ve achieved against that job description, rather than simply carrying out the requirements of a job description. You have to be able to demonstrate the value you add to an organisation, which is usually about the bottom line – how will the organisation become more successful, and therefore increase their profits, as a result of hiring you?
You can demonstrate this in a CV to a certain extent – think of our recent blog where we talked about using STAR to show how we overcame challenges in practical situations. But part of this too is the added value, the over-and-above bonus you can bring to the company, its team and ethos. Take the example of a marketing manager. The job description may include such elements as developing strategy, writing and posting social media posts, writing and issuing press releases, conducting interviews, creating web copy or physical literature, such as fliers or brochures. But the remit is cast much further than that – to include personal communication skills, the day-to-day operation of the business, managing staff, managing clients, and having a deep and plausible knowledge of a number of sectors. It’s not just getting a marketing degree and some work experience writing copy.
If you’re able to demonstrate and prove your value to the business in more ways than your CV, then you’re more than halfway there. There are additional elements, such as how you present yourself visually, your personability, posture and manner, that will also feed into your business persona. But as long as the interviewers like you and feel that you would be a good fit in their organisation, you’ve got the job!
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It is often the case that we behave and interact slightly differently to our ‘normal’ selves with colleagues at work. This is not that unusual, as often we don’t know our work colleagues as well as we do our friends. It’s a bit like having a ‘telephone voice’. It’s you, but a bit more well-spoken. Perhaps this has now been supplanted by having a ‘Zoom’ or ‘Teams’ manner – how you behave when you’re using an online meetings platform. However, authenticity is a very important part of your working life and your work persona shouldn’t be forced or ‘an act’. When it comes to business relationships, the name of the game is authenticity.
I always deem authenticity to be particularly important when taking part in job interviews. It’s a word that has been in the dictionary for centuries, but authenticity is being used more and more in relation to how people should present themselves to others. Being your authentic self means trying not to mould yourself to meet other people’s expectations, which we can often try and do when attending a job interview, for example. If we don’t present ourselves according to our skills and personality, it could be that we become a wrong fit in the company, which wouldn’t be beneficial to anyone. It’s entirely counterproductive to secure a position at a firm by convincing them you’re the ideal candidate for the job, when in your heart you know that’s not the case.
Think about how you present yourself, your ‘public persona’ if you like. Many people feel the need to ‘conform’, to be very much part of the mould, to meet others’ expectations. And some people are scared to be seen as too different. But one person’s ‘different’ is to another person an innovator. In an interview situation, it’s a balancing act between being yourself and ensuring your potential employers like what they see – without trying to be someone else. Speak well, clearly and concise, but don’t overdo it, by overenunciating words, or using terminology or jargon that you wouldn’t normally use in conversation – you’ll only get caught out, when you don’t know what they mean.
In an interview situation, there’s a big difference between being confident and being overconfident. Importantly, if you have pre-rehearsed a couple of answers, don’t make them sound too trite. Retain a natural delivery and not speak as though you’re trotting out an opinion, parrot-fashion. Retain what makes you ‘you’, and play to your strengths. If you feel you are the kind of person who is a little shyer and more reserved, then it helps to have some practiced responses to stock questions you may be asked. This will give you confidence and in its own way allow you to be more yourself in the interview, despite your nerves. Authenticity is something that is impossible to fake however and people will know if someone is being insincere, or even misleading. Being yourself means that an interviewer can assess your personality fit for their culture as well as you being able to assess them. That is, as long as they’re being authentic with you too, of course!
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In many instances, the ‘hybrid’ model has emerged as the most prevalent way of working, if your role has been traditionally office-based. This involves a merging of working from home and working in the office, with specific days allotted to both each week. It has been welcomed by many as allowing staff a much great degree of work-life balance, and the flexibility of the system can help things like commute times and fuel consumption. But it can also become a headache for managers, when they are left in the dark as to who is working where, and when.
Which days are worked in each location can be a flexible arrangement – with days decided on a week-on-week basis – or it can have more structure. The structured approach can be more important in larger firms, where organisation for access to the building and to desk space may require greater thought – especially if social distancing measures are needed occasionally, due to employee numbers. This can be especially true of health locations, such as GP’s surgeries or consultancies, where there is a degree of mixing between office-based staff and the general public.
The ‘new’ hybrid working method, which for some savvy workers has already been part of their work routine for many years, has impacted businesses in all kinds of ways. It’s made managers think about their office space, their best use of their resources and if indeed the same degree of office space is needed. Staff can be allotted certain days to be in the office, to log into a specialist computer system for example, that they cannot access at home, but these visits can be scheduled not to overlap with other staff. In this way, a more ‘hot desk’ approach may work best – with desk space used by many individuals, with no set ‘placements’. Of course, this will lead to an end of the personalised desk tradition, but will perhaps result in tidier offices.
Working from home necessitates a much more coherent approach to technology across businesses too. With everyone familiar with online meeting tools and platforms, it’s easy to keep in touch with staff, whilst also allowing them the freedom to work at home, managing their own workloads, at their own pace. Of course, some general rules still apply – such as working hours and the times of day you’re getting you work done. There’s no point working until three in the morning if your job requires you to interact with other businesses in normal working hours on UK time.
Often the hybrid model has not only seen an increase in productivity, but also an unconscious increase in working hours. Closing the door to the office on a Friday for the weekend can be difficult, if the ‘office’ is also your kitchen or lounge. On the whole however, the hybrid model has been welcomed in most quarters and when it works, it works very well indeed. There needs to be a degree of trust and faith on both sides – both managers and employees – but as long as the safeguards are in place, the hybrid model is well and truly here to stay.
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We must not lose sight of the importance of coaching for success, regardless of whether someone is home working, or back in the office. We’ve all seen some drastic changes to our work routines over the last two years. As of February 2022, 20% of workers across the UK have not returned to the office full-time, while in London the figure is nearer 50%. But with the introduction of greater flexibility and hybrid working models, especially where office-based staff are concerned, have we seen a sea change in how careers develop also?
Some things aren’t going to change. Even if we are going to be working from home, we are all going to undergo training and attend meetings. Our work still needs to deliver quality and we need to rise through the ranks and achieve greater responsibility and recognition, higher earnings, and more senior roles. And Coaches will still have a crucial role to play in that development. A Coach will help you improve your performance and enhance the skills you already have, to allow you to play to your strengths to become productive, informed and successful.
There’s really no substitute for working in an actual office in some respects. We all know how much we absorb unconsciously in a work environment. It’s much easier to ask a quick question in person, rather than type out a lengthy email. It’s important that that element of work – the quick tip, the hive minds group chat to crack a problem – which is very difficult to replicate with remote working with quite the same spontaneity and efficiency, is not lost. We learn an awful lot from our colleagues, whether we realise it or not. But the need remains for external guidance and specialist knowledge too.
In other words, the role of a Coach is unchanged in this new business landscape. The methods and the media for delivering this learning and coaching to clients may change – it may be that the remote working model will remain, inasmuch as coaching sessions can be caried out remotely. But this is actually a positive. It means high-quality coaching can be beneficial to anyone, regardless of their location, and can be delivered to that location, without losing its impact. And of course, where possible, face to face coaching sessions and mentoring will quickly become the norm again, as there’s nothing quite like actually meeting someone in person, to understand their true personality – their strengths, weaknesses, their confidence and demeanour. But whether they are working from home, or in the office, it’s imperative that everyone’s needs are recognised, and their career goals addressed.
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I often give my outplacement clients advice to find a space in their home which they can use exclusively as an office and one that they feel content using. This means they are in the right frame of mind when working on their campaign and then being able to close the door as well as the computer at the end of the day.
Those clients who know me on Zoom sessions often comment on my background space (bright green walls, a series of black and white photographs showing Manchester landmarks and an Andy Warhol-esque picture of David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust). In front of me I have a print of David Hockney’s Splash, a print with the words from James’ Sit Down, and a small statue of the Superlambanana. My calendar depicts Irish writers, so I have the quotes of W B Yeats, Jonathan Swift and Maria Edgeworth to give me classic inspiration, thought and humour.
It may go against the grain when I talk about non-fussy backgrounds for virtual interviews, but it works for me and I like being in my office space.
My latest addition is a black and white lino cut which my youngest has made and given to me as a Christmas present. A mole looking at the stars. A thoughtful, humorous gift based on a family joke at my expense, involving a hotel room in Nairobi, three naughty children, and my actions when I couldn’t find my glasses…
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After numerous false starts, there now is a real optimism in the air that the end of the pandemic is in sight. With the return to the office now allowed, many people are finding their feet in the new working landscape. For some working from home remains the answer, while others have returned to the office – or in many cases, embarked on a new hybrid working pattern.
At this crucial moment in time, executive coaching is more important than ever. Managers are still faced with managing teams in situations which they have never had to deal with before. Particularly where hybrid working has been introduced and they need to ensure a consistent approach in how their teams are managed and communicated with. Thankfully, the standard and availability of technology has made these new working practices a lot more feasible than they would have been 15 or even 10 years ago.
But whether staff are working onsite or from home, the pressures and behavioural issues are still increased. Executive coaching provides essential reflective space and much needed clarity of thinking in times of change. Managers need the opportunity that executive coaching provides, to deal with their own challenges, before they are able to help their team deal with theirs.
For people that are working from home or have adopted a hybrid working pattern, there is a real fear of being overlooked for things like promotion. Coaching for success regardless of the location of the employee should be paramount, and this should be built into the team development plans. Coaching and the coaching process is essential in helping to provide a thought process for problem solving and personal development. It’s also a reflective space with structure. Engaging with a Coach is a vital part of developing yourself and aligning success from your programme with business needs.
At this time, different sectors face different challenges, and different roles face different challenges. Coaching can provide new perspectives, an external point of view, that allows a fuller picture to be drawn outside the client’s own experiences. Leaders and managers need to be more attuned to things spoken and unspoken, and the business decisions that their companies are facing. By working with a Coach, they are able to formulate how their own businesses will develop – both in the short and long-term – and the shape work and the working environment will take.
Leaders now have the opportunities to develop themselves and their teams. There may never have been a more urgent time to begin an executive coaching programme focused on future business performance and reengaging the workforce with a very clear return on investment.
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When I started my career in outplacement in the 1990s, the CVs I helped people prepare looked a bit like the one above. To call it inappropriate now is an understatement. Printed on white paper, and produced in 12pt, Times New Roman font was the standard. And of course, contact details included home address and telephone number only – no mobile phone, email, or LinkedIn URL to be seen.
In the same way we see things constantly changing around us, so too is it important for your CV to adapt and develop – not only in terms of what is expected by today’s recruiters, but also how your own skills and experiences have grown and developed.
In these days of over-communication, there is only a matter of seconds to pique somebody’s interest enough for them to read the whole of the CV, so craft it wisely.
Don’t forget, if a job role calls for a CV and covering letter, you can tailor both to your specific skills and the requirements of the job.
The job market is busy at this time of year. So, spend some time making sure your CV is up-to-date and your LinkedIn profile reflects the messages you have shared. This should give you the opportunity to advance to the next stage, and the all-important interview.
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A traditional toast is to ‘health, wealth and happiness’, three key elements to life for many people. As the clinking of glasses bringing in the new year fades into the distance, many people use this time as a fresh start and a time to set goals and make resolutions. Many of these focus around health and wealth, but what goals can we set ourselves to improve being happy?
Dr Anthony Clare, perhaps best remembered for presenting BBC Radio 4’s ‘In the Psychiatrist’s Chair’, devised his seven steps to happiness. And, as we start 2022, I thought it was a good time to share them. Obviously, happiness is hard to quantify, but his tips might just give you something to think about.
I think this one is particularly important as if you have something you are passionate about, it helps you develop a positive mindset. This is very important, as it will help keep you focused on the good, when you are potentially facing challenges in other areas. Dr Clare also thought that to have something you enjoyed was a very important part in his model of happiness.
By this he means you need to be part of something bigger than yourself. A leaf separated from its tree has the advantage that it floats about a bit, but it’s disconnected, and it eventually dies. You have to be both an individual – to have a sense that you are unique, and you matter – and you need to be connected to a bigger organism – a family, a community, a network, a company. Building and maintaining your network – both from a personal and professional perspective is so important.
The Christmas break is often a time of reflection and evaluation, and many people decide to start the process of a career change in the new year. However, Dr Clare advises on avoiding too much introspection, as people want to be around other people that are interested in things beyond themselves.
Change is important. It is natural to be wary of change, but people who are fearful of change are rarely happy. Change can be positive and good for you. You need variety, flexibility, the unexpected because these things will challenge you.
Look at the things that you want to do, that you keep postponing. Dr Clare recommended doing what makes you happy. So, don’t postpone the things that you want to do, or what you think is worthwhile. Make them happen. From a professional point of view, think about what training you would like or what career move you want. What do you need to do to make this happen?
We all find ourselves doing tasks that take time, but don’t necessarily provide benefits. Work out how much of each day you are spending doing things that don’t make you happy. If you find it is taking more than half of your time, then think about what you can do to change it.
Act it, play the part, put on a happy face. Start thinking differently. If you are feeling negative, say, ‘I am going to be positive,’ and that can trigger a change in how you feel.
These seven steps won’t work for everyone, but being mindful of how you are feeling, specially as we head through January – often a tricky month anyway – may help you improve your happiness and approach the new year in a positive frame of mind.
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