lynningham

[lynningham]

The 2022 Roller Coaster Ride

The only advantage to aging is perspective.  Only after a person has lived through a myriad of tumultuous times and experiences can current chaos be truly understood.  For a recruiter, the most challenging times are during industry contractions, where both clients and candidates often react out of necessity and not choice.  When a candidate loses a job through absolutely no fault of their own, there is an understandable period of loss, disconnection and sadness or grief.  We pour so much of who we are into our work and to suddenly lose that connection is disorienting.  It can be freeing - sometimes those left behind WITH jobs are as emotionally affected, or even more, as those let go - but let’s face it.  They still have a paycheck, so their difficulties are slightly cushioned. 

Here is where perspective is helpful.  If you are in my recruitment sphere, your talents now and for the foreseeable future will be badly needed and desired. 

You read that right. 

This is a momentary blip on your lengthy career radar screen.  It might be painful, it is likely a bit scary, but it is momentary, I promise. 

Take your moment.  Feel your feelings. Then connect with your friends, with me and with other recruiters, think about where you want to go next and jump back in.  We’re all here waiting for you. 

[lynningham]

Where Has 2022 Gone?

In a meeting yesterday, when I noticed it was actually August 1st, I felt as if I were waking up from an extended .... something?  Not a deep sleep, certainly, and no small nap, but rather a period of activity - marred by an acute and painful slow healing injury - that made the past few months a blur.  I can’t remember the last time I updated here but upon my “reawakening” I did realize it was time to start talking about the inevitable changes that are coming to the recently red hot job market.  Is there cause for alarm you ask?  There is no reason to panic, I assure you.  Changes ARE afoot however so there are things you job and/or candidate seekers can be thinking about. 

One is that business remains remarkably stable for my clients, and so they are still looking for you talented candidates.  They are looking for fewer of you than they have been as they hone in on optimum productivity with more minimal growth, and they are discerning as they now fill those more unique roles that require specific talents and experience.  There are still fewer options for “training up” or “training into” these kinds of roles - no infrastructure has yet fully cracked the hybrid/WFH environment we now find so commonplace. 

This means, as a candidate, you should get as much support for your professional positioning as you can.  Lots of candidates reach out to me for resume advice or guidance, which I’m happy to provide as time permits.  I’m not a resume writer - a good one of those is worth their weight in gold!  I promise you! - but I can spot weaknesses in positioning and the like.  Be proactive in talking with peers and trusted professional friends and advisors so as many people in your sphere as can safely be entrusted with your desire to make a change have all the info they need to help you watch for these fewer but available open roles.

That means, as a client, you should really examine your current candidate criteria and your role expectations.  This is a time when talent may not fit quite into that mold you envision and my best clients are open to thinking at least a tiny bit out of the box when it comes to talented candidates who may need some initial support in transitioning to a new role.  I know this contradicts my statement above, but for smart, talented, focused candidates, you should find a way to at least temporarily bridge that training gap.  It will be well worth that investment in time and support.

And what about money, you ask?  Well - it is NOT as free flowing as it was during the intial Covid hiring uptick.  Budgets and belts are tightening, layoffs are starting, trimming is on the horizon as companies see some uncertainty looming.  (And - It is always this way as elections near.)  BUT - better transparency on both sides is emerging as some states have begun to mandate that comp ranges be a part of all job postings.  We have a ways to go on this front, but when my best clients (who are always up front about comp ranges) and my best candidates (who offer realistic expectations and have the confidence - and the right - to ask for what they are worth) come together with integrity, good things happen. 

I remain extraordinarily optimistic about the quality and the strength of the current job market ... no matter what the headlines. 

[lynningham]

Hiring, Recruitment and Retention Issues in 2022

Resources and Context:  A Challenging Market

 As the great recruitment challenges posed by Covid have begun to oh-so-slowly recede, recruiters and hiring managers are facing a new normal that is proving difficult to navigate.  Retention is an issue for all companies, not just those who are attempting to bring unwilling remote employees back into the office space. A vast majority of workers are still reassessing their options and trying to ensure they are well placed in what has truly become a candidate’s market.  Everyone is being recruited, and so most the focus of most hiring managers is not just on finding new talent, they are also struggling with making a compelling case and providing the right cultural and professional environment to retain the strong talent they already have.  

As a seasoned recruiter with a decade of experience under my belt, I find every year brings new opportunities and new challenges. The past two years have brought more than their share of change, and I am constantly asked for advice on how to navigate these somewhat choppy waters.  I read about and research this market constantly to stay vigilant and current with my own recruitment methods, and I’ve complied a number of resources and articles I have found interesting and helpful in shaping my current outreach and advice.  I’m summarizing key points with links to entire articles below.  Feel free to find your own particular current challenge and do a deeper dive or simply skim the toplines.  Hopefully either path will lead you to helpful information to guide your way.  

 The Great Resignation Continues

Nearly 4.3 million people quit their jobs in January, a slight monthly decline but still near the record level set in November, the U.S. Department of Labor said. The elevated level in early 2022 comes off a year in which almost 48 million people quit their jobs, an annual record.

“The Great Resignation is still in full swing, even if quits are moderating somewhat,” Daniel Zhao, a senior economist at career site Glassdoor, said in a tweet.

Job resignations are still up 23% above pre-pandemic levels, he said.

The takeaway here would be that your recruitment efforts should be two-pronged:  while you look for new workers for your open roles, make sure you are doing all you can do to keep current valued employees happy right where they are.  These times require renewed efforts at listening and responding to employee needs and concerns, as statistics say that nearly one half of all currently employed workers … are thinking about or looking for a new job elsewhere.  Beyond an inflation-driven quest for higher salaries, employees are looking for meaning in their roles.  They are interested in diversity and inclusion. They are worried about the planet. They seek environments where they can continue to learn and to grow.  Way too many of them are still “on the move”.  

Full Article:  The Great Resignation shows no sign of slowing down (cnbc.com)

How Historic Was the 2021 Great Resignation?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics began to chart and to report the number of US workers who quit their jobs in December of 2000.  The 2021 number of “quits” is 47.8 million workers, nearly four million workers a month. See the 20 year history and full chart below:

Interactive Chart: How Historic Has the Great Resignation Been? (shrm.org)

 Renewed Focus on Company Culture and Retention

Recruiters and HR teams are spread very thinly as they navigate the Wild West of remote vs hybrid vs in-office employment in what could also be called The Great Return To Work. Things that we all took for granted pre-Covid (a safe and healthy work environment, for one, and reliable schooling and childcare for another) simply vanished overnight.  This left all of us wondering, at moments, about the very meaning of our lives as we pondered an existence where so many things were simply out of our control.  After the fear of the unknown began to subside, a changed national psyche (still being dissected and yet to be fully understood) emerged.  What do people now most want?  

One theme is very common. As a recent Forbes article posits: “There is a renewed focus on culture and values that puts employee needs front and center. Workers are expecting more in the way of flexibility, training and compensation — or they are happy to jump ship to another job. There’s also still work to be done to unlock certain labor demographics, bring their talents back to the jobs market and then hold onto them.”

Full Article:  The Three Biggest Staffing Challenges For 2022 (forbes.com)

 The Rise of the Empathic Leader

Inc. recently published a thoughtful piece about the reasons behind The Great Resignation which resonated with me from the hundreds of candidate interviews I’ve conducted over the past couple of years. It seems there are many years when recruitment progresses at a fairly predictable rate and the challenges that present are understandable and surmountable.  But there are moments in time (9/11 was one of those, Covid a more recent one) when a monumental shakeup forces people to rethink their goals.  As people were forced to go home and to stay there, isolating, for large stretches of time (often while juggling work, children, parents, roommates, or complete isolation), they had plenty of time to think. And one of the things they thought about was the environments in which they had been (and would be again someday) working.  Not all those work environments measured up.

From the article:  Bolstering the notion that the unrest is far from over, YPulse surveyed 1,450 Millennials in mid-December and found that 29 percent anticipate starting a new job in 2022, with a whopping 81 percent now saying that having a "meaningful career" is somewhat to very important to them. Employees today, across all age groups, want to be treated with dignity and respect. They want to be recognized for their contributions and treated fairly when they fail. They want to feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves and to work for people who strive to make their lives better. They are leaving companies in droves right now in search of these leaders. And they will keep leaving until they find them.

Many of you already have empathetic and amazing leaders.  Make sure you give them great internal visibility to existing and returning staff and make sure your recruitment outreach emphasizes your company’s focus on things that matter.

Full article: What the Latest Data Tells Us About the Great Resignation | Inc.com

 What’s Next?

One of my new favorite resources for insight into the experience of employees and employers is Glassdoor, where they have gotten very adept at drawing insights from a rich database of millions of employee reviews, salaries, conversations.  With all that data, they can help the rest of us to better understand how employees are feeling and acting.  A recent report by Daniel Zhao called “Glassdoor Workplace Trends for 2022” highlights emerging trends that they are seeing in a job market and workplace that is undergoing unprecedented change.  

 Trend 1: Hiring won’t be easy in 2022

Labor shortages defined the 2021 job market. As customer demand roared back to life, employers faced acute hiring challenges as workers trickled back into the labor force. The increased competition for workers has made it exceptionally difficult to both hire and retain employees. Employers may be ready to write off the tight 2021 labor market as a pandemic-era anomaly, but they shouldn’t. Instead, 2021 should be a template for what to expect in 2022.

  Trend 2: Remote work will boost access to top talent, but at a higher price point

 While the consequences of a new emphasis on remote work will take time to play out as remote work spreads, two tangible implications should start to show up in 2022: First, more employers (especially in tech) will walk back or reduce location-based pay adjustments as they compete against other employers for top talent. Second, local employers are likely to see rising competition for workers in jobs that can be done remotely, as far-flung employers compete more aggressively for local workers.

 Trend 3: Employers will prioritize DE&I action and accountability

 A desire for more transparency is shared by employees and job seekers. A September 2020 Glassdoor survey shows that more than 3 in 4 employees and job seekers (76%) report a diverse workforce is an important factor when evaluating companies and job offers. Companies that don’t invest in DE&I thus risk losing out to competitors—both in terms of failing to communicate commitments on DE&I to employees and job seekers and in developing their ability to meaningfully engage in conversations on solutions. Ultimately, company investments in DE&I efforts are both a social good and a critical part of a company’s workforce management strategy—a particularly salient consideration at a time when finding and retaining talent is so difficult.

 Trend 4: Workplace community will expand beyond company walls

 The employee-employer bond has intensified over the last decade. Employers increasingly compete for talent by emphasizing employee engagement and workplace experience. The pandemic, however, has made staying connected with increasingly dispersed coworkers and peers more difficult. Many companies previously leaned on the physical office to facilitate this sense of community, offering attractive in-office perks. But what employees miss now is not the office. At a time when the flexibility offered by remote work is valuable for employees, maintaining and enhancing employee connection and community requires special attention from employers.

 Full Article: Glassdoor Workplace Trends for 2022 - Glassdoor

[lynningham]

This was so fun and there are some great resources in here!  Give a listen!

[lynningham]

Even though I personally fall a tad into the Covid Oversensitive spot, I am truly always (sooner or later, ha!) glad to receive good feedback about my work. It isn't always easy but it is worth learning - both how to give and how to receive.

[lynningham]

This is so timely and thoughtful.  

[lynningham]

I remember grappling with all of this in every role described - very practical advice and guidance and a realy great read.  

[lynningham]

So many new things to think about in 2021.

[lynningham]

Awestruck

I think what excites me most about talking to candidates in this busy "return to some normalcy" time in the work world is how much more mature and focused and centered my candidates seem to be.  It is as if that "hit pause" moment - that no one asked for or really wanted - gave everyone some badly-needed time for reflection and assessment and if my candidates have chosen to return to the work for which I recruit, they have done so intentionally.  They seem motivated and relatively peaceful about it all in ways that are hard to explain but beautiful to witness.  Human resilience - it never ceases to amaze me.

[lynningham]

Sharing this because Rishad continues to speak to the best in me - and sometimes I really need that reminder!

[lynningham]

This is the kind of action that will serve us all well as we weather the pandemic - wonderful insight for healthy, intelligent behavior ... in spite of it all!  

[lynningham]

A beautiful essay on life now and life ahead.  

[lynningham]

How About That Resume?

Series Overview:  2020 was quite a year.  We’ll be talking about it forever.  Right now, however, it is time to get everyone back to work.  Job searching is a uniquely reaffirming personal journey to reclaiming one’s rightful place in the workforce, and this is the second installment in a series designed to support and strengthen your efforts.  Feel free to reach out personally (lynn@digitaltalentguide.com) if you have any questions or ideas about the kind of information you would find helpful.  

 Week Two:  The Importance of a Strong Resume

In our rapidly-changing world, few things are as relevant today as they were a few years ago. Resumes however have stood the test of time.  While there might be new formats to consider, new (and mostly unwritten) rules about what to include, what to leave out, etc., the bottom line is that you need one of these to move forward in your job search. So let’s figure out some ways to ensure that yours stands out from the crowd.  With a small bit of thoughtful work, you can enter 2021 with a strong profile that represents The Very Best You.  

Your resume is you on paper. It is sometimes the only thing a hiring manager will see as they decide whether or not to move you forward.  So this part deserves your deepest attention.  Yes, by all means list all those amazing roles and duties you have performed with an eye to showcasing your skills and experience. But don’t forget all those other myriad accomplishments that make you … well … You!  

And what are some of these, you ask?  For one, it is helpful if a bit of your personality and values shine through.  Hiring managers are looking for people who will fit well into their companies almost as much as they are looking for people who can do the role.  This is not discriminatory.  This is an accurate understanding that some environments (for example - small, nimble, all-hands-on-deck, fast-paced vs. larger, more silo’d, less chaotic) are more desirable to and for some candidates than are others.  And that’s what you want – to find a professional and cultural home that fits well with who you are and which aligns with your best self.  When that match is properly made, the role will last.  And it will be the best environment for learning and growing in your career.  

So let’s look at some practical tips:

1.       To “One Page” or Not?  Somehow it became conventional wisdom that resumes should always fit neatly on one page. Is that accurate?  The correct answer is sometimes.  But not always.  If you have extensive experience and skills that you want to showcase, I have never, and I mean absolutely never, seen a hiring manager throw out a resume because it was longer than a page.  Perhaps a few applicant tracking systems are trained to discard those (although I can’t imagine why), but humans are not.  So take the space you need.  I promise.  

2.       To Write Your Own Resume or Not?  OK, I was once just like you.  A journalist by degree and training, I was confident of my own writing skills, and I misplaced that confidence when I extended it to resume writing.  I truly felt that all a resume needed to be was well-written.  Pretty. And of course, complete.  But somewhere along the line, a wise friend advised me to seek professional help.  For the resume, I mean, although during job hunting, we could all probably use a dose of therapy as well.  But I digress.  

 I broke down and hired a resume writer, who also helped me match my LinkedIn profile to my resume so that I would present all my professional stories in the same professional way.  And here was the payoff:  I did of course expect that resume writer to help me with form and function.  What I didn’t realize was that the added benefit of her ability to distance herself from my work and from my ego and from my waxing and waning confidence level as I trudged through the job search process would help me develop a much stronger story.  The real benefits of hiring a resume writer are that they have some distance from your experience and that they do this job day in and day out.  They study the current trends, they understand the formatting needed to get through applicant tracking systems, they know how to pick up on key words, and perhaps most importantly, they know how to draw from you all the accomplishments and skills and experiences that will help you move to the front of the line.  They know much more than you or I about what this piece of paper should include, and they will guide you through a process you didn’t even realize existed.  They are typically not expensive (they will cost less than the outfit we used to have to wear - before Zoom - to an interview), and you will be repaid handsomely with callbacks that might never have come otherwise.

A couple of services I recommend:  

               Aisha Spearman - https://workinggirlsresumeservice.com/

               Blue Sky Resumes - https://www.blueskyresumes.com/

3.       To LinkedIn or not to Link?  Definitely link.  Link your resume to LinkedIn, link your signature to LinkedIn, just link.  Which means that once you have your resume in the beautiful new shape and format you want and need, make sure your LinkedIn page gets that same refresh.  Whether you like it or not, LinkedIn is still the preferred candidate search tool for most recruiters, and the editing interface is really very simple to use. Take a nice professional photo (again I recommend spending a little money here if you can but if you can capture this piece on your own, that’s fine).  A profile with a photo gets more attention than a profile without one, something I don’t really understand but I know it is true.  And start liking other people’s posts, start building your network (500+ is the magic line you should definitely plan to cross), and start actively engaging with the community.  This is a great place to gain exposure and to let people know you are open to work. The new LinkedIn designation that surrounds your photo is a high alert to recruiters to reach out to you.  It is not visible to your company network but it is visible to recruiters across the country so there is minimal risk in adding that designation.  

 4.       To be Transparent or Not?  Covid has unexpectedly upended so many lives this past year.  In years prior, a gap in a resume could be a red flag to a recruiter or a hiring manager.  Why that is, again, isn’t totally clear to me as we all know that ending a job and finding a new job doesn’t always enjoy a speedy transition, but nonetheless, we’ve all been trained to view that quiet period of down time with at least a small degree of suspicion.  The good news is that this year and well into next year, the gaps are not presenting any significant challenges or degrees of job hunting difficulty, as there is widespread and well-warranted understanding about the upheaval we’ve all been through. Tell the truth.  Your story this year is not your fault, and your story is not unique.  

 5.       To Wait and Wonder or Not?  Choose not. During the down time, when many of you are so overwhelmed with working from home, helping children with schoolwork, navigating a world on Zoom, try to do just one great thing for the professional you.  Choose one piece of your professional life that you always felt needed some TLC - and brush it up!  If your writing skills need buffing, take a writing class.  If you have industry certifications you always wanted to achieve, try to work on that now.  You’ll be surprised at how good this feels.  And then – in your new transparency you learned to embrace in #4 above - you have an achievement to talk with hiring managers about, you have something to add to your skills, and you have a new piece to polish up your resume. It’s a win win because whenever you move from inaction to action – in any way – it frees you at least momentarily from anxiety.  That is worth its weight in gold.

 There are a million more things I’d love to say about this, o.k. maybe a hundred or possibly ten, but the real goal of this piece is to focus your attention to how you are presenting yourself.  The resume is a strong piece of this story so don’t skimp here.  

And as you write this stronger representation of the work you’ve done and of who you really are in our professional world, I’d be surprised if you didn’t begin to feel a warm glow of accomplishment spread through your weary Covid-year bones. You’ve worked hard to get this far in your life, and with a little dedication to the process, you will soon be rewarded with a brand new and exciting job.  You know what they say.   Don’t give up before the miracle! You’ve got this.  

[lynningham]

Getting Started:  Steps to Tackle Inertia and Invigorate that Job Search!

(Part of a monthly series also appearing on LVIMA.com)

One of the hardest things to accept about life is that sometimes it is just not fair.  During the past year, many people either lost their jobs or saw their independent contractor roles disappear, and that happened through no fault of their own.  Not fair.  So the first step towards tackling the inertia (or fear) that descends when your meaningful work is taken away from you is to (cue the violins, but seriously) … feel your feelings. It hurts to lose a job.  It hurts financially.  It hurts emotionally.  It can hurt professionally (although there is good news here – not so much during this unique Covid time).  The bottom line is that it hurts.  

It is perfectly fine to acknowledge those feelings and to wallow around a moment there, because the feelings are real, and they deserve to be acknowledged.  AND - if you do NOT acknowledge them - they will fester, and they will continue to get in your way.  (When unacknowledged and unresolved, these feelings can manifest in interviews, and they look like victimization or whining and a myriad of other unintentional but unpleasant or uncomfortable attitudes.)

Please don’t skip this step, but even more importantly, please then harness that acknowledgement and reckoning and allow it to herald the beginning of one of the most potentially positive adventures you may take in a number of years.  Because…while the downside of looking for a new job is that it is scary and it is hard, the upside is that it provides a rare time in your life when you can actively participate in determining your own future. Let’s be honest.  Some of you were actually stuck in jobs you didn’t really love but you were afraid to change.  Or stuck in jobs that kept you too busy to think about changing.  Or just stuck.

Here’s the exciting part. With some focused hard work, you can retake the reins of your own professional career, and you can chart new territory;  you can actually investigate new roles with an eye to what you REALLY want to do next. It may be a long time before you have this opportunity to rethink things, as I suspect most of you extraordinarily talented folks will be re-employed very soon.  So don’t waste the moment!

Oh, and don’t get me wrong. I know the goal is to find a job, to find that job quickly, and to get the paychecks and the benefits that support your life and your family’s life rolling again.  I’m with you.  But I’m also encouraging you to take a breath, to ignite your curiosity, and to check in with your spirit.  This may or may not be the time to follow your dream but if it is, the same suggestions apply.  

As you jump into the new world, there are happily some positive things to note.  For many years now, we have been predicting a sea change in the way people work.  With new technologies that better support remote and work-from-home positions, it has long seemed inevitable that companies would recognize the benefits of offering that kind of flexibility to strong candidates wherever they may be found. Until this year, however, the reality was not nearly as strong as the hype, but finally, that has begun to change. Like it or not, we’ve all had to embrace a new level of flexibility in our work environments, and most early reports are positive.  Yes, these changes have brought new challenges which will need to be addressed, but as a grand new experiment, it has worked better than anyone thought it would on such a massive (and immediate) scale.  So if working remotely or working from home (even partially) was always your dream, this is your time to pursue it!

Also, as the weeks and months have ticked by, many of you are afraid that the lengthier-than-planned blank spot on your resume will hurt your search.  In many strong employment years, employers often do look for explanations of lengthy time spent out of the workplace, and the good news is that they have already become more willing to embrace things like personally-chosen sabbaticals (knowing that the workforce is stronger when occasionally refreshed and revitalized). And decisions around tending to family first (whether childcare or elderly parent care) are also now better understood and accepted or encouraged.  If they aren’t, you don’t want to work at those places anyway, right?  But during COVID, I see employers completely understanding any and all decisions candidates have made around staying safe during the pandemic, and I also see a wide acknowledgement that many markets and many sectors have been harder hit by furloughs and layoffs than others.  There is wide recognition across the industry that people are not out of work because they want to be or because they deserve to be … they are simply out of work because the pandemic has upended many professional lives to a degree that no one could ever have anticipated.  You will get a well-deserved break for the space on your resume this year.  

In the weeks ahead, I’ll be giving you thoughts and suggestions and ideas about how to build a strong resume, what to do about LinkedIn, how to handle tough questions on a job interview and more.  I can’t wait for you to all be back in meaningful work, and I pledge to support those efforts in any way that I can.  

[lynningham]

Every once in awhile I respond to some tough love.  Sharing this just in case you do as well.  

[lynningham]

Revisiting the New Normal

So March has turned into October and soon 2020 will be over.  The year has so far been like no other. 

Everywhere around me, I see people adapting to the changing world with a lot of grace and dignity.  Moments ago, a respectful masked campaign worker knocked at my door and then went back down the steps to stand a healthy distance away.  Even though her world is so dramatically different at the moment, she still cares about getting out the vote.  I was dumbstruct with admiration for the young woman, all bundled up and volunteering her time for something she deems so important.  Whether she was visiting to discuss my favorite candidate (turns out she was) or not, I would still be humbled by the “carrying on”.  Be Calm and Carry On.  It was a timely morning lesson I take with me through my day.