Pleasure or Pain

It has been such a long while since I wrote a Blog for you but my pen is back!!! This is a different blog as a one off experience for you all and I promise to return to HR and business topics soon. I have been on holiday for the last couple of weeks and wanted to give you the highlights and/or lowlights of my time away. This will be an unputdownable, laugh-out-loud blog for you. I dare you not to comment and say it never happens like this. All of what you are about to read is true. Of course it is my version and maybe others might interpret it differently - the decision is yours.

The purpose of the blog is my travelogue over the last couple of weeks and you have to decide Pleasure or Pain. 

1. Pleasure or Pain

My journey started at 0330 one morning just before Christmas, as i left the house to travel to Manchester Airport. A minor miracle happened. I travelled all the way there - M62, M6 and M56 - without any other vehicle passing me and I did not break any speed limits. Honest!!! There was hardly a car, van or lorry on the motorway and certainly no police cars. So Yippee, since it meant a good start to the trip.

All of this meant that I would be under starters orders for the G-trail at extra early time. What? You don't have G-trail? It is the ritual of having at least 2 pints of Guinness before embarking on any plane. Magnificent way to start the day. The only problem is that you never know when the next Guinness might be. So it inevitably brings pain, wondering when  the next might come, and there's normally somebody asking me when I will stop drinking.

All flights on time but not much time between transfer so it is not a major surprise that my suitcase failed to appear on the carousel. Problem Number One. I don't speak a word of Moldovan, Romanian and barely any Russian - other than Da and Piva. (Yes and beer).

So i just followed the queue. Actually it wasn't a queue at all but more like a scrum down at Twickenham or Murrayfield. And in true fashion, when i eventually got to the front of the queue, actually because i was the last one there all i did was point to a coloured piece of paper illustrating my lost suitcase and then go to the next queue!!! A queue of one now, obviously, to tell them where to send my suitcase when it arrived!!!!

You decide - Pleasure or Pain?

2. Pleasure or Pain

I have previously blogged on this topic but want to reiterate to you how good Moldovan wine is. There are probably very few of you who have drunk it unless you've been to the area or been to Russia. The bad news for Moldova, already the poorest economy in Europe, is that even Russia has decided not to buy its wine. But for me and my wife give us Purcari, or Cricova or Vartely or Milestii Mici any day of the week or even weekend. Indeed, I will go so far as to say that I might even give up drinking Guinness. Well, ahem, maybe not.You know how it is.

I will forever champion their wine making and this is not due to any overindulgence apart from drinking every day!!!! No more than you are obliged to do with fine food and company I assure you.

On the other hand let me turn to the customer experience apparently known as breakfast in most parts of the world. And before you ask - no wine was involved in this report!!!

It is true to say that the hotel was not busy despite it being amongst the best around - in the old days the elite from Moscow used it as their hotel of choice when in town. On three days we had a full choice of breakfast options but on the other days.........  I hated cheese before. Most days we had a choice of cheese, the like of which Jerry, of Tom and Jerry fame, used to eat with all those holes in it, plus others too many for even my wife to eat. In fact she didn't like most of the offerings either. 

The there was the choice of salami or salami or salami. No bacon for me then. I lived on fried eggs and omelette's.

As for the waiters and waitresses. I think they had been to the Basil Fawlty school of serving food. Whenever we entered the dining room area, they disappeared Red Arrow like to all corners of the room or into the kitchen; i.e, as far away as possible.It was almost like this was the training because they did not speak English.  

On day two, we changed our tack, and decided to use the pincer movement on them. Firstly, I complained in English, which they did not understand apart from me wanting to speak to the manager. Then when the manager arrived, I complained in English and my wife pounced in Russian!!! Would it work for the following day?What do you think? Should I start to write a Lesson Plan for them? It would look good on My CV.

Yes - you guessed correctly. Our concern for their inability to serve breakfast proved fruitless. For all of the following days, they still flew in unison to all corners of the building. In fact, I am sure one of them did no serving of any description all the time we were there. 

One day, Subbuteo 1970 World Cup like, I positioned us at a table where I could monitor all their moves (or rather lack of moves), and i was able to see that they did sod all but the coup d'etat in this was that I could also now see that the Reception area spent most of its time on the internet. The Alan's, Hansen and Shearer, would have a great time describing that master goal movement by me.

By the end of the holiday, we were getting the eggs brought to us without even ordering.. Sometimes bread might appear. Sometimes even more cheese with the odd appearance by peppers. One day we even saw milk!!!  I will start crying if you ask me to describe what happened on our last day - so don't ask.

You decide - pleasure or pain?

3. Pleasure or Pain

One of the pleasures of going abroad is to enjoy the different cultures and languages. Normally I can understand, either reading or hearing, something about what is being said in most languages but for Moldovan and Russian I don't have a clue!!! Fortunately there's always the BBC to rely on wherever you are in the world. But there's only so many times I can put up with hearing the same news about somewhere in the world. I can now pass myself off as an expert in the South Sudan emergencies and the politics of Turkey and Egypt.

I didn't spend all my time watching TV but Moldovans definitely like the music of their country (I don't!!!) and the Russians like a good discussion or a piece of nostalgia television. When it came to the celebrations for New Year, things were a little overshadowed by the occurrences in Volgograd, but there were excellent fireworks in the main square along with music. We even saw a very young Rod Stewart interviewed in English with subtitles and he never mentioned Celtic or Scotland. Back to the TV, I longed for the warm noise of Kenneth McKellar, Moira Anderson,Andy Stewart or even my dad singing "I Belong to Glasgow". I would have loved to hear the Rev I M Jolly. So click on this for your delight.

You decide - Pleasure or Pain?

4. Pleasure or Pain

And now it's time to go back to work. I wonder what the M62, M6, A50 and A38 will be like.

I'll tell you about that some other time!!!

PS. I still don't know where my suitcase is - somewhere in Europe I guess, but certainly not home.

5. Pleasure or Pain

I hope this was a pleasure for you to read. Share as wide as you want. I'm going to write an HR or Business related blog at least once a month for you. So keep tuned for the latest updates.

All the best for 2014 to all my readers.

(C) Iain Williamson 2014

Talent Management - The Fergie Way

It's been one seismic football week. What with Wigan plundering the FA Cup and Celtic retaining their Scottish Premier crown in addition to Sir Alex Ferguson announcing his retirement from the management of Manchester United.

What can HR professionals learn from Sir Alex Ferguson? One of the areas is Talent Management. Let's make it clear I'm not a United supporter particularly but you have to marvel at the achievements over the years since he took up the reins at Old Trafford. Not much of an impact really!!!! 

One of the most difficult things to do in any business or otherwise is to build a winning team and keep it successful. It is no fluke that United have continued to successfully implement talent management - it was all part of the Alex Ferguson strategy right from the start of his career in the deepest recesses of Scottish football through to the momentous events of today. 

In fact you might even argue that Celtic played a big part in his success with the art of building teams and managing talent. This is despite the fact that you would normally expect that he would have been more likely to learn from Rangers but not so. He did not take that route. 

Many of the readers will not know the name of Sean Fallon who recently sadly died. He was a stalwart of Celtic football club and although highly tipped to become a Celtic Manager he never did - Jock Stein took the role and proudly led the team to be the first British team to win the European Cup. At Mr Fallon's recent funeral, the main eulogy was delivered by Sir Alex who fondly remembered that it was Sean who showed him the route to success was to bring young talent to the fore and build from inside. And upon that he started his plan for success. You can't avoid its returns - Leagues and Cups aplenty and the introduction of "Fergie Time" and "Squeaky Bum Time" to the football vernacular.

Yes of course he has spent money to bring players to the club, but there have been many players brought through the ranks.

For an HR professional, it is always a challenge to recruit and retain the best staff. In order to do that your business has to utilise strong and resilient approaches to managing its cohorts of employees and build up sound training and development strategies as well as comprehensive performance management regimes. Always be looking to stretch staff and reward them well for their work. Establish your benchmarked salary positions and stick to it. Recognise that your business doesn't always need to pay the highest salaries. Often providing development challenges and planning internal career moves and opportunities will show staff that they can have the career they want with your organisation; so no need to move to other businesses.

And importantly tell them often how much they contribute. People like to be praised and thanked. 

Sir Alex got this down to an art. His business doesn't always pay the highest salaries. But he was always resolutely setting objectives for the individuals and the team and getting the best out of them. He knew how to get the best out of them and was always willing to move them to new roles to support the bigger objective of the overall business. He might give them the "hairdryer" but in public there was always a solid team ethic.

Follow Sir Alex's road as an HR professional and you won't be too far off.

New HR Consultancy Launch and Job Search Procrastination

Launching IWHR Consulting

I hope you'll forgive me. Apologies for not blogging for a while but I've been rather busy with my new interim role, getting my teeth into some interesting challenges and activities. Over and above that I've also written and launched a new HR Consultancy website, showcasing the full range of Human Resource activities that I can undertake - whether that be on a long or short term interim arrangement, one off project support or a call off type arrangement.

Please look over the website - www.iwhrconsulting.co.uk - and contact me for a confidential discussion to see where and how I can add value to your business. I'll be happy to have those discussions either on or off site and at a mutually agreeable time and date.

Job Search Procrastination

It's the Bank Holiday weekend and hopefully wherever you are the sun is shining. Your other half is either asking you to cut the grass or take a trip to the local garden centre or put the kids and the dog in the car and visit the local beach for a picnic.

And all you're thinking about is either what can you watch on Sky Sports or I should be looking at job boards. You decide to take another cup of tea and flick through the channels to see when those live games start and how you can manufacture being sat down at the most opportune of moments to catch the game - not pre-planned at all!!!

But if you're out of work or looking around for your next role make good use of this "spare" time and get yourself ahead of the game. In the days of the Internet, new roles are constantly being uploaded to job boards 24 hours a day and remember it's not a Bank Holiday all over the world.

So use the time to get your Internet presence refreshed. Use the following tips:-

• Review the content of your CV - does it still reflect you and does it include powerful relevant achievements? If you need some help with a review or a new CV then contact me for your professional help and support - ABespokeCV
• Refresh your CV on the job sites where you are registered - this way it brings your CV to the top of the recruiters virtual inbox of applicants
• Review and adjust the email alerts you have set up. Either make the parameters wider or narrower depending on the returns you are getting
• Review the job boards with whom you are registered. Do they give you valid returns? Turn them off and don't waste your time. Some job boards trawl them all and give you the aggregated returns. Try Indeed

Don't forget though that your family is important to you. So negotiate a time when you can do these things over the weekend. Spend valued time with them and set aside time for your job search that doesn't interfere with their needs.  Don't let job search activities run your life and overwhelm you. You will get that job some time soon.

The End of Contract Scenario and Your Actions

It's that time again. My current interim contract is coming to a close soon so I need to be making plans. All in all not an easy time and anxiety creeps in. No matter what happens bills need paid and not being in employment is not good on either the financial or psychological front. 

For me it's not a new phenomenon, so I know the timetable of recruitment into roles and I have been proactive and already found another contract. So all is good, fine and dandy.

But even so it has been a frustrating time and again a reminder to me of how volatile the recruitment industry can be. I believe that I have an excellent record of achievement in my career to date, across a number of business sectors, both private and public, in local, national and international organisations. My CV and my Linked In profile speak highly and positively for me (in my humble opinion). I have an extensive list of achievements to be proud of across that time and have many personal recommendations.

In these days of the Internet being all pervading and so powerful in its reach it is still the case that just following a path of applying for jobs via this route is the road to madness. Firstly, there are still a major number of roles that never get to the advert stage. The power of Linked In and your connections will be a help. I got this new role via a connection remembering me and asking me if I'd be interested. In addition, some other HR contracting work that I undertake also came about through an old, in the nicest way, connection.

Secondly, when a role is advertised there is the likelihood that literally there will be hundreds of other suitors applying as well. And if you play the lottery or gamble in any way you will see that the odds are stacking up against you. You do well to get even to interview stage. So my advice here, is that you must not rely on the advertised roles as your only tool in a job search.

When you are getting into the job market again, whether it is because of the end of a contract or as a result of redundancy, it is important that you review your CV and its contents. Make sure that it sells you well - because that is what its task is. Check spelling and even the simple things such as having the correct telephone contact numbers on there. You need the recruiter or the recruiting organisation to be able to get you to invite you to visit them. 

Review again your achievements in your roles. Are they still appropriate or have you more powerful and recent ones that can really sell you? Be ruthless with yourself on this, hard though it might be. Use a friend or colleague to critique it. Remember you probably only get the one chance to impress enough to get the interview. Don't lose it.

You may wish to use the services of a professional CV writer to craft a powerful and strong document for you. Clearly it won't guarantee interviews and job offers for you but it will give you an advantage. Have a look at my website for ABespokeCV .  I'll be happy to help you with your job search activity, whether it be writing a CV, redrafting your current one or supporting you through the interview and selection process. It will be an investment in you that will be well rewarded when you secure the job and career prospects you deserve. I'm happy to have no commitment discussions with you so that you can fully understand what I can do to support you in your employment endeavours.

One of the other frustrations in your job search will be your interactions with Recruitment Agencies and their representatives. It always feels like they return your calls when they need you, but when you need them they are slow to respond. There are very many of these folks who are fantastic at their job and will be excellent allies to you in your job search. Make them your friend and ally and also find the ones you will be happy to represent you to companies. if you don't like them, then don't use them!! Simple really. But you would be foolish not to use them for their range of contacts which inevitably because of the animal that they are will be much wider than you will have.

One of the irritations will be that multiple agencies may well be handling the same job. Sorry but that's business!!! They'll tell you if they have exclusivity, or just ask them. Make sure they have you in their mind when they take a brief from a potential client so they will then call you first. 

Remember though, you must also behave professionally towards them. I had a situation only this week where a potential placement was lost by somebody who mislead the agency. It didn't reflect well on that individual and now I am sure that agent will think twice before considering that person against any roles. Don't cut your nose off to spite your face!!! That individual has lost the respect of a rather large and widespread national organisation.

Let me ponder a bit on the power of Linked In as a support for you in your job search. In my view the jury is out at the moment in terms of what it can do. 

Absolutely it can help your job search in terms of finding out about companies and, indeed, individuals who work there. But as yet I have not experienced a positive outcome to any applications I have made directly to a role, permanent or interim, that has been advertised there. Indeed, I've only ever had one interview as a result of a direct application.

On the other hand, my profile has generated a lot of interest from recruiters. And as I said earlier, these folks are an important strategic tool in any job search. Grow your connection list and one day it will be a fruitful outcome. It only needs one of those connections to come through and as I said earlier my latest venture has come about via that particular route.

As always, thanks for reading my blog and please share it widely. I'm happy to talk further to anybody on future roles or any HR support you or your business may need. Have a read of my Linked In profile and get in touch. All requests for connection will be gratefully accepted.

Happy job hunting.

(c) Iain Williamson 2013

The Spiral of Despair and The Way Out

It's been quite a distressing few days or so in terms of redundancy announcements or companies choosing to go into administration.  You will have read about Jessops, Honda and HMV and I'm sure there are other sad  and disappointing news stories of that ilk around. Any time that somebody loses employment is bad but just after Christmas and New Year when optimism for the future should be at its highest, is even more badly timed.

It's also difficult for somebody who is job seeking when they read these stories. If you're unemployed, all these stories shout out to you that the competition for jobs has just become even more competitive - and that can be even more depressing. Will I ever find a job?   

This is the time when you need to maintain positivity because I am absolutely sure that negativity will show itself through. So when you speak to a recruiter or you're at an interview then you'll not be displaying the vibes that showcase you well - and so you don't sell yourself and don't get that job offer. And you feel that there are no jobs around for you. A spiral of despair.

What can you do? Well the first thing to do is to maintain the confidence in yourself and the skills and competences that you have. Remind yourself of what you achieved in previous roles and use those accomplishments in your job interview.

You should also take solace in the economic reports including this recent one from Reed Global. It basically says that the job market is good for 2013 and should get better. It's the light at the end of the tunnel syndrome and might feel like journalistic licence but it does have substance.

Keep your eyes open for free opportunities on the Internet for help in your job search. There are lots of it around - look on YouTube, look at the main job boards  -  use their free advice. I've recommended him before but I don't apologise for doing it again, but Steve Nicholls is a great fountain of knowledge for you. Here's a link to one of his recent publications  http://www.stevenichollscareercoaching.co.uk/staying-motivated-job-hunting/

The other thing you need to do is to make your job hunting tactics much more refined. Setting up automatic job alerts can be time consuming, but it means that you can get quick access to your job, rather than having to trawl through each job board on a daily basis.

The next thing to do, which saves even more time, is to use a job board such as Indeed. Why Indeed? Well it trawls the Internet and gathers all the adverts into one place. If you're confident enough in it, you can almost even think about just relying on this alone!!!

Of course, you also need to keep in touch with your connections. Massage their ego and remind them you're around. Otherwise, somebody else is doing it and they get that call before you do.

I'm still in my interim role and continuing to look and follow my own preachings. One day it will work, I am sure. There are a few things bubbling along including an opportunity to provide consultancy opportunities which has come via a previous manager I had. There you go, keep up your connections. It does work!!!

As always, thanks for reading and please circulate as widely as possible. My Linked In address can be accessed here and I'd be happy to discuss any potential opportunities at any time.

(C) Iain Williamson 2013

It's not Blue Monday yet but set your goals for 2013

It has been fantastic travelling on the motorway network over the past few weeks. Britain has been on its annual closedown but, being stoic, I've been going to work apart from my birthday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and NewYears Day and enjoying the free flowing journey both to and from work. If only ............ 

But just when you thought it was over - that is Christmas and New Year - I've read that "Blue Monday" is with us. No it's not today which will be the first day back on the commuting trail for most people. It's actually on the third Monday on January 21st. We've not been paid for ages, all the bills need paying and we're still in dark days with the next bank holiday at Easter time. 

There are times in your job search when you feel like every day is a Blue Monday but that's not the way to react or feel. In job search time there feel like lots of knock backs - no matter how often you review job boards, there aren't any jobs for you, recruiters aren't returning calls, it feels like your CV is not working, no interviews are on the horizon, you feel like your skills are stagnating... And you can add to that list as well I'm sure.

The start of any New Year is seen as a good time to review your life in general. People set themselves resolutions and by the second or third week those resolutions have gone by the wayside. Drinking has recommenced, cigarettes are back on the agenda and that diet and the idea of a more active life has skeedaddled off down the road.

For a job seeker though there is really no such thing as a New Year. Reviewing your CV and job search outcomes should be a constant activity. I'm not saying that you change your CV every day but sit back and consider what you have done well. Think about what has brought success. Think about what hasn't worked well. Revise your Linked In profile or get on there if you haven't done that already. Consider whether you want to use other social media outlets.

I might be mad but over the holiday period I was still on alert for my career options. I attended a webinar on job seeking. I'm never complacent - even though I know and understand a lot about the recruitment process, I never stop learning. And importantly for job hunters, there's a lot of free support available for you out there. Just invest the time in yourself and the rewards will come. 

Now that first Monday on the year has arrived and I have no "Blue Monday" reactions. It's just another day for me. But my job search continues and I'll keep up my resolutions for my job search. I'll also remember that if I don't always do what I say I will do in this search, I can start again and never give up till my goal is achieved. For you it needs to be the same. Don't be a failure in your job search, because you can only blame yourself. Set your levels high and go for it.

2013 will be the year when I find the role I want. Absolutely convinced of that. And for you it will be the same. Make it your goal and achieve it.

As always, I ask all readers to share this blog widely and if you want to know more about me then look at my Linked In profile. I'd be happy to talk further with anybody on job opportunities for permanent or interim appointments. My contact details are via Linked in or this blog. Thanks

(C) Iain Williamson 2013

MERRY CHRISTMAS. MERRY CHRISTMAS. MERRY CHRISTMAS. MERRY CHRISTMAS.

This is the educational bit of the blog.

Merry Christmas to you all. No it is not late!!!!!! The Russian Christmas takes place on Monday 7th January so these wishes to all my blog readers are well in time.

(I can't be bothered explaining the difference between UK and Russian Christmas dates for those of you who are confused with all of this).

Suffice to say, me and my Russian wife have yet another bout of celebrating to do. And, I can tell you, Russians know how to celebrate!!!!! Food and drink aplenty.

And then there's the Russian New Year. Sore head or what!!!!

(C) Iain Williamson 2013.