Posts Tagged ‘employment’

Finding New Employees, via Social Networks

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

A NY Times story by Julie Weed

‘Alan Kennedy… did what many job seekers are now advised to do: he set up profiles on Facebook and LinkedIn.’

‘Mr. Kennedy’s former co-worker used a software tool to search the profile information of his Facebook friends and LinkedIn contacts. He flagged Mr. Kennedy as a possible match to a job listing. Mr. Kennedy, responded to the invitation, scheduled an interview and within a week, was working as a support engineer there. “I landed a job I might never have even heard of otherwise,” he said.’

Read the full New York Times article:

NY Times Article

So can I suggest… its now time to write your resume, ( use the blank resume form )and join Facebook & Linkedin

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Posted in blank resume, career advice, curriculum vitae, employment, free blank resume form, job search, job seekers, resume writing help, résumé | No Comments »

WANT TO BE MORE ENTREPRENEURIAL? YOU MUST PLAN YOUR LEARNING

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

…and of course you must learn your planning!

Entrepreneurs are active continuous learners

If we are to capitalise on future business opportunities we need as entrepreneurial leaders to be ‘entrepreneurial learners’!!! The old think, decide, act and asses (or plan, do, assess and adjust) single loop corporate learning cycles advocated in the past are no longer appropriate in modern learning organizations or for the managers/owner that work in them. The problem is that in the fast moving business climate of today too much time thinking and planning will mean short term windows of opportunity for new business will be gone (taken by others) before we have a chance implement our activities.

In addition to a change in the traditional learning model to be true entrepreneurial learners the time in which the cycle takes place needs to be much more rapid and based on trying new ways of doing things regardless of ‘right or wrong’ outcomes. The ‘6P’, PROPER PLANNING PREVENTS PISS POOR PERFORMANCE advocates and the idiot who said ‘DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME’ at this stage would be calling for my head.

Learning Facts.

All learning takes place outside our comfort zone; Entrepreneurial learning is primarily experiential; Entrepreneurial learning means taking a risk; Learning is severely hampered by our paradigms; We can too easily become victims of our own past success; The rational learning model (traditional) expects us to decide if we like a new type of food without first tasting it; Truth is merely a perspective of reality; Reality is what we need to learn.

DECISIONS NEED TO BE REALITY BASED NOT TRUTH DRIVEN!

AT YOUR PLACE, DO YOU OR YOUR MANAGERS CONFIRM THE OLD PARADIGM’S TRUTH… OR REPORT (AND LEARN FROM) THE CURRENT REALITY?

A major key to being entrepreneurial is how we learn.
Traditional Learning (SINGLE LOOP)
Scanning, Sensing, Planning (THINK) >>> then >>>
Comparison to norms (DECIDE) >>> then >>>
Initiate action (ACT) >>> then >>>
Adjust (GET FEEDBACK) >>> then >>>
The process restarts with Scanning, Sensing, Planning (THINK) and so on.

Due to the ‘need for experimentation and speed’, entrepreneurial activity means less planning and more doing. The traditional learning model is no longer appropriate or effective.

Entrepreneurial Learning (EXPERIENTIAL-DOUBLE LOOP-ADJUSTED)
Scanning, Sensing, Acting (ACT) >>> then >>>
Reflect on what happened (FEEDBACK) >>> then >>>
Compare to norms (THINK QUICKLY), plus
2nd loop Question the norms (THINK QUICKLY) >>> then >>>
Adjust (DECIDE) and the process continues with,
Scanning, Sensing, Acting (ACT) and so on.

ARE OUR KEY PLAYERS LEARNING FROM MARKET REALITIES OR ARE THEY STILL DOING FIVE YEAR PLANS BASED ON AN IRRELEVENT PAST…

If you want to be part of a vibrant future and you work for a company that doesn’t employ a continuous planning (and learning) process perhaps it time to start looking for another job… free blank resume template

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Posted in blank resume, entrepreneur, entrepreneurial, entrepreneurial management, entrepreneurship, leadership, learning organizations, management, organizational learning, planning | 3 Comments »

Do Something Different, Don’t Just Dumbly Crawl Along With the Rest

Saturday, June 6th, 2009

Truly great advice from Tony Haley Author of The Invisible Candidate

‘The story of the Processionary Caterpillar illustrates human behaviour, or rather human habit, so well. It probably illustrates typical [behavior in life, work and at the time of posting] job hunting activity in particular better than any other example of behaviour.’  

“The larvae of the moth Ochrogaster lunifer has the common name ‘Processionary Caterpillar’ because as it walks along, it leaves a thread of silk which enables the caterpillar behind it to follow the thread. As each caterpillar follows the silken trail, they begin to walk in single file, nose to tail and move along like a miniature train.

The French naturalist, Jean Henri Fabre, studied these insects in detail. What makes this caterpillar special is its instinct to blindly follow the one in front of it. This behaviour not only gives the caterpillar its name, but also a deadly characteristic. Fabre demonstrated this unique behaviour with a simple experiment. He took a flowerpot and placed the caterpillars in single file around the circumference of the pot’s rim. Each caterpillar’s head touched the one in front. He then placed the caterpillars’ favourite food in the middle of the circle created by the procession around the rim of the flowerpot. Each caterpillar followed the one ahead, thinking that it was heading for the food. Round and round went the caterpillars for seven days and seven nights. After a week of this mindless activity, the caterpil¬lars started to die from exhaustion and starvation. All they had to do to avoid death was to stop the senseless circling of the flowerpot and head directly towards the food which was less than six inches away from them. However, the processionary caterpillars were fixed into this routine, this habit and could not extricate themselves from this mindless behaviour.

They mistook activity for accomplishment.

As human beings, we are different from caterpillars. We surely have the ability to change our direction in life. Or do we? We often confuse motion with meaning and activity with accomplishment.  

When we see the critical mass of job hunters using job boards and responding to adverts by blindly sending in their CVs, we think that is what we have to do because everyone else is doing it; we assume it to be correct. We don’t even know if they have the success they are looking for or not; we just follow their activity anyway.  

As a job hunter, you need to break the circle you are in: stop following the crowd and go directly to the right job opportunity. It is there, but you are not looking in the right direction because you are more interested in following the activity of the other job hunters.”

Job hunter or not, to excel, or perhaps even just survive, you have to have your own vision of where you want to ago and where life’s rewards are for you and head off in own direction.

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Posted in career advice, employment, leadership, vision | 2 Comments »