ItsDevelopmental - content + technology + people

As psychology and technology move closer together . . .

This is an area I'm becoming increasingly interested in - why we do things and act in certain ways online.

The Positively Media blog at Psychology Today looks like an interesting read. In particular I like the article on techno-cultural trends for 2011.

In it, Pamela Rutledge argues that this year will be the year tools will take a back seat to human experience ie the focus will be on understanding how we use tools.

A couple of trends stood out for me:

Shifting Psychology = Shifting Power
2011 will bring a psychological shift in individuals and groups. Social media, social networks, and mobile technologies have caused a fundamental change in the core assumptions about how the world works. People are more publicly expressive and vocal.  The hurdles for producing and publishing are almost nonexistent, defining new norms of participation, content production, and message facilitation. Expectations of having voice don't exist in a vacuum. If you speak, you want to be heard. This will redefine relationships at all levels of society: between business and consumers, governments and people, teachers and students, and social and cultural groups.

This redefining of relationships will be really important for anyone who produces content. As content becomes a prompt, a start of a conversation so our expectations of how we engage around the content will change.

The Old Spice and Tippex adverts last year were a good example of how relationships are changing. Both used narrative to enable the brands to start a story and let users finish it.

Aesthetics Matter 
2011 will place new premiums on aesthetics in physical and technological environments.  Usability won't just be about function. It will become more broadly defined to include the qualitative sensory foundation of user-experience. Aesthetics and design will finally make the leap from luxuries to necessities, driving improvements in productivity, innovation, and general well being.

Designing for mobile and apps has changed the game for user experience - efficient, fast interactions through apps means the user has higher expectations from web sites. This should see greater focus on design and UX.

Psychological Content Ownership
Ownership isn't just physical property rights. Psychologically, ownership comes from a different type of investment: emotional.  Interaction comes from motivation and emotion manifested as behavior. The act of engaging creates ownership.  Whether it's forwarding a joke, making a mashup, or creating a mixed media novel for mobile devices, each step of participation puts skin in the game. Each act of participation is an act of individual agency and creates empowerment.

If engagement does leave us with a sense of ownership (it certainly leaves us with a sense of connection) then anyone working on content needs to understand how to engage with users - looking at it from this perspective you can see how time consuming it can become to effectively engage with your readers, customers, potential customers. I think this has very interesting implications for the job design of anyone who creates content.



/blog/positively-media

Networking 1, recruitment consultants 0

Last week was my first week looking for work. As it turned out the job search didn't really happen - my daughter was in and out of hospital so (thankfully) I was around to look after her brothers (she's recovering now).

I did manage to get a few other things achieved:

• I ran two guest posts on the blog - one about what jobseekers can expect from employers in 2011 and one about what jobseekers can expect from recruitment conslutants
• I got an article published on The Media Briefing - hopefully this will be one of many. Really enjoyed writing that
• I had a meeting with Giles Colborne, MD at a user experience agency CX Partners. This was really interesting as Giles gave me a lot of pointers as to how I might get work with my content experience and (developing) ux experience. I basically asked him what I needed to do to get work in his world. More on that chat in another post
• I sent my CV to a recruitment consultant for an internal comms job. OK, so the job is a slightly different direction for me but it was a short contract and I figured my experience of content, running an internal blog for a team of 65 and running a weekly knowledge sharing event using Yammer, blog and face to face events might be of interest. Plus I am very excited about how new social media tools can help drive engagement within organisations.

The reason I give the score 1-0 to networking is that my meeting with Giles was very useful for me - he shared a lot of his experience and was encouraging. The recruitment consultant, on the other hand, just sent me a stock reply email.

Thank you for your interest in the above position. Unfortunately, I have received applications from candidates whose experience more closely match my client's specific requirements. I will not, therefore, be progressing your application on this occasion.

There was no other contact. Made me realise I am going to have to work hard to get the attention of recruitment consultants.

If I have to spend as much time networking with them as with potential employers, I am minded to try and get to the employer whenever I can. Or maybe I will end up talking to the likes of Mervyn, whose post for me filled me with more confidence in what some consultants will be able to do for me in my job search.

One thing rings true - my outplacement consultant said my next role would more than likely come from networking. If my first bit of networking is anything to go by then then I think she could be right.

This point is backed up by Mervyn:

I believe that 2011 will be a year of who you know as companies supplement direct sourcing with a strong referral approach. Networking, engaging and conversing through social platforms, and leveraging those relationships, will give you a good chance of getting in front of the right people.

My other job search posts.

 

 

My article on marketing from behind a paywall

Delighted to see my article on marketing from behind a paywall on The Media Briefing. Really enjoyed writing it - got lots more related posts I now want to write.

Live webcast: Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales talking in Bristol

What can jobseekers expect from recruitment consultants in 2011?

After yesterday's fine guest post from TheHRD on what jobseekers can expect from employers in 2011 I am delighted to present the recruitment consultant's view.

With the rise of blogs, Twitter, Linkedin etc I assume that recruitment consultants will be less reliant on CVs and more interested on what a job seeker has been doing (by looking at their online profiles etc) and building up relationships using these networks.

But that's my assumption. So, I asked recruitment consultant and blogger Mervyn Dinnen to write a guest post on what he believes jobseekers can expect from recruitment consultants. As with yesterday's post, there are some great takeaways here. Many thanks to Mervyn for this great post and also to TheHRD.

Worth saying also that had it not been for Twitter, their blogs and connectingHR this little project would not have happened.

What can jobseekers expect from receruitment consultants in 2011?
I suspect that this year will prove to be a challenging year for the recruitment industry, with recruitment consultants in particular feeling pressure from both clients and candidates.

On the client side, with more companies looking to reduce their spend on 3rd party recruiters through a mix of direct sourcing and tough rate negotiations, consultants will find themselves working on roles with very tight specs and timescales. They will need to find candidates that the client cannot find themselves, and quickly.

As for the candidates, well they now have more channels through which they can connect, and more on which they can become be visible, yet the challenge to appear on a recruiter’s radar may become even greater. The need for a flexible approach and for the job hunting process to become a 24/7 quest will be strong.

So what should the 2011 jobseeker expect from a recruiter?

Market knowledge
The best recruiters will be the ones who know their market, can bring knowledge, context and insight to the search. They are likely to have a more consultative relationship with their clients which will give them opportunities to challenge the client’s perception of what the role really requires. This will be important as the majority of candidates are likely to be ‘square pegs’ trying to fit into a very specific, job description centric ‘round holes’, and will need the recruiter’s insight to get in front of hiring companies.

These recruiters are likely to be trying to build a network of good contacts, not just filling jobs.

No end to the CV yet!*
Whilst social media gives candidates a great opportunity to show off many of their skills and creative instincts, and to create a digital footprint visible on a wide range of platforms, not many people are looking yet! The physical CV is still the door opener for most companies and recruiters.

Whilst there has been much online debate recently about the future of the traditional CV, the reality is that the vast majority of application processes and applicant tracking systems rely on the CV.

Getting noticed
The last point presents the jobseeker with two issues – how to create a CV that can appeal across disciplines and sectors, and how to get their online presence noticed?

The first one will be something that you will need to do in collaboration with a competent recruiter. If they have the market knowledge, and a good understanding of what the client wants, then they should be able to help you write a CV that will contain the most relevant achievements. If they try to pigeon hole you by sector or skillset then the likelihood is that they will only be submitting your CV rather than presenting you with a view to recommending you for interview.

The online presence is something that will ultimately get you noticed by a potential hirer. As yet very few recruitment consultants are actively sourcing through social networks other than LinkedIn, so this would be the platform that a lot of your updates should be channelled through, and which should contain your full profile and recommendations.  You should also be dealing with a recruiter who recognises the relevance of your online portfolio and will use this as way of selling you in to a company.

Feedback
If there’s one thing that annoys and upsets candidates more than anything else it’s the lack of feedback. Not knowing where you are in the process, or why you aren’t suitable, or when you will hear back after your interview.

In 2011 you should be expecting better, quicker and more informative feedback. The immediacy, transparency and advocacy that social media platforms can bring mean that hiring companies and recruiters alike are becoming more mindful of the ‘experience’ and are well aware of how a bad candidate experience can affect their perception in the market place, both as an employer and as a brand.

Finally, I believe that 2011 will be a year of who you know as companies supplement direct sourcing with a strong referral approach. Networking, engaging and conversing through social platforms, and leveraging those relationships, will give you a good chance of getting in front of the right people.

 

*Mervyn is currently looking for a new role and is taking a purely social approach to this ie not using a CV - read about that here (and good luck with that, Mervyn).

Mervyn blogs at T Recs.

What can jobseekers expect from employers in 2011?

Soon after it was announced my role was being made redundant (back in early December) I decided I needed some advice from an employer and a recruitment consultant on what I could expect from both in 2011. 

The reason I wanted to get these views on the jobs market is that I don't see the type of job I do being advertised so wanted to get a handle on how recruiters go out looking for newer skills (I'm thinking of the social media type skills I have).

Also, I have not been active in the jobs market for quite a while so wanted to see what, if anything, has changed.

Luckily, through social media and the ConnectingHR community an HR director and a recruitment consultant agreed to write me a post.

Today I am delighted to be running this post from anonymous blogger and HR director, TheHRD. If you are not aware of TheHRD then check out his blog My Hell is Other People or find him on Twitter.

Thanks again TheHRD for taking the time to do this for me - it's a really interesting read. Tomorrow, I'll be running a piece by recruitment consultant Mervyn Dinnen.

Taking risks with recruitment. Why different is the new black.
Last weekend I went to the opticians to replace the glasses that had spectacularly broken before Christmas leaving me literally fumbling in the dark.  I got in the door and one of the smiley happy people in there bounded up to me and asked me how they could help. Resisting the urge to say, “I’d like to buy a new car” I explained and they asked me what I was looking for, “umm basically the same as these”. They politely explained to me that fashions change and that time moves on and that I was essentially out of date.

Several years ago I took on the role of managing the Head Office HR team for a big FTSE100 organisation.  As part of my snooping around and trying to work out what was going on I sat down with the HR Assistants who were responsible for most of the recruitment. They had a list of unfilled vacancies that was long enough to make you cry.  When I asked them why this was the answer was pretty simple, “we find candidates but then the manager turns them down”.

You’ve got it…..essentially the manager was doing what I was doing in the opticians…they were asking for more of the same. And more of the same didn’t exist.

There were a number of things that were broken there. The HR Business Partners have devolved recruitment down to the lowest level and of course these guys were just eager to please the managers. No-one was having the honest conversation with the managers about their expectations versus market availability.

I remember having a conversation about replacing a candidate and saying, “So basically, you’re telling me you want to recruit the person that has just resigned?”

Is that normal? Sadly I think it is…but I also think it is human nature.  We like the known, we like the predictable. Ultimately, we like people like ourselves. Looking further afield and taking risks is harder and more uncomfortable. Taking risks…..well it is just risky.

But that is where a good HR person can and should step in. Not in terms of telling, but helping and encouraging managers to look further afield, to bring in skills and experience that will both grow and challenge the teams, whilst at the same time growing and finding challenge within the role.

We can’t expect to keep on finding off the peg talent. It is virtually impossible,  financially impractical and it is both short term and naïve. There is competitive advantage to be found in pulling together a collection of talents and talent is very different to experience.

The world is changing faster than ever before, to be successful we need to think and see differently from the pack. We need to innovate and create, we need to pioneer and lead. To do this we need to challenge existing thinking and the acceptance of collective norms. If we also recruit in our own image, if we look for the known and the understood we diminish our ability to do so.

Human beings are cautious by nature borne of our instinct for self preservation. But that doesn't mean that they can't see the benefit of change. We worked with the managers we had a few successes (and some failures) and they started to ask us to cast the net further and wider. And we weren't the only ones. Most managers are still cautious but increasingly I see people willing to think differently. Will it continue? I think so. The progression towards portfolio careers means that the accepted "normal" career histories just won't exist or will be few and far between.

As for the glasses? Well I didn't do anything radical, but they are different. A week in though, they just feel......normal.

First outplacement session was well worth it

At last I got to see my outplacement consultant today. The previous two attempts at meeting up had been hijacked by snow and flu so today I was pretty much chomping at the bit for the meeting and was delighted it actually happened.

I had been waiting for this meeting because I'm not sure which way my career will turn next. I feel as if there are a few different directions it could take and that I need advice on how to figure out the next best steps.

I was not disappointed. My consultant works for Penna and they have a vast set of resources for people in my position. Today we looked at what resources would help me - they have a lot of online resources I can tap in to for the next six months (some for longer). We also talked about my career to date and did a quick review of my CV.

The upshot of these discussions is that I will be spending the next couple of weeks looking at my achievements - filling in gaps ie pulling in data and other evidence of what I have achieved plus using some tools to identify my key competencies.

In short, I am stepping back and taking a good look at what I have achieved. I will also be indentifying the things I have enjoyed doing and the things I think I am good at. I will start to think about the things I would like to do in the future.

It may sound as I have should have all these things at myfinger tips. I don't. I was enjoying my last role, felt at the bleeding edge of content and technology (which I was) so therefore did not give next steps much of a thought.

I can see some process emerging as to how I will approach my job search and that is a good thing. Without some process, and in a competitive jobs market, the job hunt would be so much more difficult.

The scary (and exciting) part: this is all about me now!

The relief: the look of this blog sucks, especially considering what I do, but now I am planning a complete overhaul based on how I want to present myself. This makes sense rather than changing the blog for the sake of it.

Last day at work tomorrow . . .

My other job search posts.

A spluttering start to my job search in 2011

Quite literally a spluttering start. There I was a week before Christmas thinking that, despite it being a quiet time for recruitment, I would be looking around to see what might be available, starting to get my Linkedin profile in better order, sorting out this blog and my web prescence as a whole, starting to connect with people etc. I even had my outplacement appointment booked.

But no. A bad flu virus floored the family for two weeks. We are now just recovering, which is timely as I have to be in Sutton on Friday to say au revoir to XpertHR. That said, I still have lots of admin to do. EEK.

Flu was a pain but it didn't stop me thinking about my next steps. Not being able to do much about it was frustrating. Today has been good because I feel I have actaully been able to do something about my next steps. I have been dropping notes to people around the business, talking to some peeps on Twitter and generally connecting with some of my network. This feels positive and like I am making progress. It reminds me that:

• I have worked with some really good people
• That I feel I sense of support from my wider networks, especially Twitter (and thanks for that offer, Bill!)  

I also have a couple of articles to write for other people, which I am looking forward to getting on with.

So, a slow start to the big job hunt but to be expected what with flu and Christmas.

Next big thing this week will be my first meeting with Penna as a part of my outplacement support. Really looking forward to that as I'm thinking my career could go in a few different directions.

Finally, I really enjoyed Mervyn's post about 'social' job hunting. We are both looking for new roles so will be interesting to compare notes with him. I like the use of his Wordpress blog to showcase who he is and what he does - his living CV. 

Here are the other posts in my job search series.  

Video: My Blackberry isn't working . . .

Video: the digital story of the nativity

Clever, funny and thanks to Kev for pointing it out.