Having a good outplacement provider is a bit like having house insurance. With insurance you hope you never need to use it, but when your house gets burgled and you feel devastated – you are so glad you have it. The thought of insurance helps you get over the initial shock and anguish, then the money helps you replace what was taken and move forward more positively.

I tend to think of outplacement in the same way. From an organisational perspective you hope you don’t need to use our services but when you do, you are glad you have us. This was brought home to me in a very real way the other day when someone I had provided career transition support to, who was devastated when she heard her role was being made redundant, called me to tell me about her new role. She was so excited and full of optimism and joy, it was infectious to hear plus there was a whole lot of relief in her voice.  

I want you to imagine, you were this person, perhaps for some, you have in fact been this person. She had a plan for her life and career, prior to being violently shoved off that track through no fault of her own. The shock was devastating for her. When we first met, she was angry, sad, terrified, frustrated, bitter and fearful – all rolled into one. Through our work, she came to see this as an opportunity to think about what she really wanted to do and to learn how to go out and get that for herself. She developed her skills, her confidence and got her ‘mojo’ back – her words not mine.

Speaking of words, when she called to announce her new job, she proceeded to tell me how the outplacement had really helped her. I felt incredibly humbled. She told me that I literally saved her life. She felt she couldn’t see what to do nor envisage a way to start to move forward prior to meeting with me. She said, I helped her realise she wasn’t a ‘failure’ – again her words, not mine. She learnt what to say to her family and friends without feeling embarrassed. She then started to see all her strengths and what she had achieved in her career that was of value to others. She started to speak positively about herself without stumbling. She developed skills and confidence in many ways. From my perspective, I also looked forward to our sessions as she was a wonderful human being, whose company I enjoyed.

If you are in Human Resources or are a Head of People, or a Senior Manager, I am telling you this, not to say how great I am, but to say how great outplacement is and how it really does help those we work with in a deep and profound manner. According to a 2018, Workplace Trends survey, 75% see employers who provide outplacement as attractive and something they consider when making a job acceptance decision.   Maybe candidates think about outplacement like insurance too.

If your organisation doesn’t provide outplacement, I implore you to consider it, I don’t even care if you don’t use Selection Partners. I do care however that you provide this service because I see firsthand know this truly helps people and that’s got to be a good thing.  

Since then I have worked hard to develop confidence and now I no longer resemble the shy young girl my father takes pride in reminding me about. I do remember however making a conscious choice that I had to take a deep breath, speak up and push through my shyness. Perhaps that’s why I am now an executive coach – helping others push through what for them holds them back.

This blog is about pushing through and gaining confidence, it is written primarily for women, however, it will equally apply to men – young or old who may suffer from a lack of confidence, which could be inhibiting productivity or limiting career progression.

To follow are some suggestions to consider which I hope are of assistance in boosting your confidence.

1. Focus on your strengths & own your success. Focus on what you are good at and what you have achieved. Write down all the projects and initiatives you have delivered on. Read this list and own it. We all have areas we need to develop, however focusing on what you do well and stepping up and going for it, will build your confidence. Some people, generally more women leaders, shy away from speaking up about their accomplishments for fear of being boastful or conceited. Sometimes women shrink themselves to seem non-intimidating. Shrinking does nothing but delay our voice from being heard and taken seriously. So feel the fear and do it anyway - if you need a good book on the topic, Susan Jeffers has written a great book on this subject.

2. Focus on adding value – Think about what you need to do in your role to be successful and though it sounds simplistic – just do that! Often this may mean focusing on what generates revenue, on where you can save money, increase efficiency or develop new products etc. Many of us can be busy with being busy and therefore not direct our attention to what makes us successful in the role. Focus on the future, add value and speak positively about what you are doing.

3. Focus on you and not others – Be clear about your values, and be true to yourself. Knowing you can’t please everyone and that not everyone is going to get along with you, are two important things to accept. Believe in yourself and your worth; and don’t worry about what others might think or say if they are being derisory. As long as you are being true to yourself and your goals, other people’s opinions shouldn’t matter.

   “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

4. Share your voice – Especially if you are a woman who is sitting at the decision-making table (or anyone in important meetings in fact), speak up and just know your perspective is important. Include others and be collaborative.

   “Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.” — Peter T. Mcintyre

5. Build alliances with decision-makers –Build healthy relationships with advocates, create a strong personal brand, establish guidelines before each project, position yourself as an expert in your field, and communicate with confidence.

6. Ask for money – Know your worth and channel your inner Tom Cruise to confidently show you the money. This may not just be salary, it may be anything to do with money – not charging enough, being afraid to ask, under pricing, not asking for your organisation to pay for training, and giving away services for free. My advice is to learn to master sales and get confident in your skills so you price properly, get the salary & development you deserve and build respect.

7. Manage your negative thoughts – One of the biggest challenges my clients face is they allow for the negative thoughts that arise in their mind to take control of their life. My advice is to take control of your thoughts by becoming consciously aware of them and to either replace them with more positive and encouraging thoughts, or to accept them and decide to move forward despite them.

Confidence is something you can build. Like a muscle, the more you put it under stress in different ways over time, the stronger it becomes. When I reflect back on my career, I realise that all of the situations I put myself in and all of the things I was nervous about but said ‘yes’ to, helped build my confidence and resilience.  

I am interested to hear from others what helped you to build your confidence.

“Just believe in yourself. Even if you don’t, pretend that you do and, at some point, you will.” – Venus Williams

June Parker is an Executive and Career Coach and Director at Selection Partners. June coaches both women and men in mid to executive management positions, develop their leadership skills and position themselves to obtain their next career promotion. June is ICF and CDAA accredited.

If we can be of any assistance to anyone please feel free and reach out. June@selectionpartners.com.au

Visualise a young person close to you, this could be your son / daughter / nephew / niece / friend’s child. Imagine they really want to get into the A team for the sport they play. Their sport might be cricket, netball, tennis – the sport is not important, I simply want you to imagine, that this young person, who is dear and important to you, has a dream to get into the ‘A’ team. You know they have talent and potential and you watch them train really really hard, they practice their sport, show up for the training, practice at home, practice with their friends, watch youtube videos of great players and work really hard to achieve their dream.  After 12 months of continued effort, they finally make it into the ‘A’ team. 

Would you then turn around and say to them – their entry into the ‘A’ team was luck, or that they didn’t really deserve to be in the team?   No, I am sure you wouldn’t, so why do many women do this very thing to themselves? 

In coaching I often hear amazing talented & experienced women, doubt that they deserve to be where they are, doubt their skill and question whether they warrant further career progression despite having a proven career of success. 

Unfortunately more women than men put their success down to luck and harbour self-doubt that holds them back from taking the chances that would propel them forward in their career. This factor has a name which is called the Imposter Syndrome.

The term was first coined in 1978 by psychologists Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes, who were looking for a better explanation as to why high achieving women often attributed their success to luck rather than accomplishment. The term now applies to both male and female achievers who are psychologically uncomfortable with acknowledging their role in their success.  This psychological discomfort is often rooted in pressures — from self or others — to achieve great success. Many psychologists, including the two that coined the term, believe this should be referred to as “impostor experience,” since it’s not a clinical diagnosis or mental illness, but rather a temporary state of being.

Typically, the stressor that triggers impostor syndrome involves a new success or opportunity. These negative thoughts, which are often referred to as ‘cognitive distortions,’ are based on fear and anxiety and not based in objective facts.

For example, in the case of interviewing for a new job, you may begin to tell yourself that you’re not really qualified — that the wins listed on your resume are just flukes, and feel worried your interviewer will somehow find that out.

Impostor syndrome doesn’t discriminate, and can happen regardless of the level of success a person has achieved.  I have witnessed this in front line managers as well as Executive Leaders.

When exploring why more women than men suffer from this feeling,  Maksimow, a psychologist provides the following reason- “As children, boys are socialized to be more risk takers and girls not as much, girls are socialized to be more risk averse than boys, and it often comes out in adulthood and in situations related to career. In careers that are more male dominated, women feel isolated and begin to doubt themselves and their ability to be where they are — despite the evidence that they deserve to be there.”

“Achievers might describe their success as ‘luck’ because they have been taught to not bring attention to themselves or not promote themselves as being better than others”

Those who experience impostor syndrome often find themselves locked into what’s called the “impostor cycle.”

Carla Lundblade, a clinical therapist explains it in this manner. “So-called impostors think every task they tackle has to be done perfectly, and they rarely ask for help”  This means  perfectionism typically leads to two responses.

1. An impostor may procrastinate, putting off an assignment out of fear that he or she won’t be able to complete it to the necessary high standards. Or,
2. She may over-prepare, spending much more time on a task than is necessary.

If procrastination breeds a successful outcome, it’s written off as luck or a fluke. Success from over-preparation reinforces the idea that the “impostor” needs to work extra hard for it, and would not have succeeded otherwise.

Impostor syndrome contributes to increased self-doubt and persistent fears of failure.  All up, it limits talented women from stepping into their greatness and achieving what others feel they deserve.

If this resonates with you – there is good news, you can counter imposter syndrome, the first step of which is to recognise its presence.  So if you acknowledge this exists for you, step one is taken.   Steps two and three are to get to the root of why this belief exists, then adjust your locus of control by making accurate assessments of your performance, then perhaps getting feedback from other leaders to confirm your strengths.

By tackling imposter syndrome or as I’d prefer to call it the imposter experience, you will be better able to develop your career and advance your leadership to support an increase in gender balance at the top. 

Is your recruitment process slick, or does it lose you great candidates or even damage your brand?

As an employer here is what to do.

1. Write captivating and motivating advertisements about what you want
2. Respond to applications in a timely manner
3. Have an objective set of criteria from which to shortlist
4. Keep the interview process down to a maximum of 4 weeks
5. Ask relevant questions during the interview
6. Give feedback during the application process
7. Make sure to not ask biased questions or make assumptions based on gender, age, nationality etc
8. Prepare for the interview
9. Offer a salary that is on par or higher than advertised
10. Understand what is important to the applicant

Career Arc surveyed 1200 people, if you are involved in recruitment, here are some results you need to be aware of:

• Nearly 60% of candidates have had a poor candidate experience.
• 72% of those candidates have shared their bad experience online or with someone directly.
• 60% of employers have read at least one piece of online negative feedback about their applicant process.
• Candidates who are NOT informed of the status or decision of their application are 3.5x less likely to re-apply to that company that declined them.

One of our clients just lost a candidate after three interviews; the reason – it took too long and the candidate knew there was one other hurdle still to jump, in the meantime another company interviewed the person twice, made an offer and got a contract out and signed all in 10 days. The irony is that the candidate preferred the other role, but it was taking too long and there was no guarantee of success!!

Another hard to find engineering candidate, had two interviews with a client over a protracted period of time. It was mutual appreciation – for the role and the candidates skills. Despite the process dragging out longer than it should, the candidate was still very keen until the hiring organisation offered him $10k less than he was currently on. Needless to say, they lost the candidate. The candidate was so disappointed. Not only has the organisation lost a good candidate, they also damaged their brand.

Maybe it’s time you did an audit of your recruitment processes or had a fresh pair of eyes provide you with a diagnostic and recommendation on ways to improve your attraction & recruitment process. If you need any help, contact us, we have a terrific diagnostic process.

One area, less spoken of I would like to highlight which helps women tremendously in advancing their career is sponsorship. To me a Sponsor is a Mentor who advocates for their mentee or protégé. By advocating I mean going beyond simply providing good advice or ideas, to actually talking about their protégé to others favourably. A Sponsor also introduces their protégé to the right people who can help progress their career, and actively puts their name forward to take on stretch assignments to build their skills and profile.

As a woman having a Sponsor is incredibly beneficial. The benefits to the protégé are obvious; support, advice, access to more opportunities. As a female Sponsor having a mentee for whom you advocate is equally as powerful. Either way you win! Be a Sponsor or have a Sponsor.

Research suggests that men who sponsor women benefit too, especially very senior men such as CEO’s, or those on the executive team or in roles of leadership and influence. They are generally more engaged, and are better leaders when they actively sponsor women. One reason is that the more senior you are in an organisation, the less ‘truth’ you hear. By sponsoring a high performing woman, senior men get to understand what is going on in their organisation from a perspective that is different to theirs. Diverse ways of thinking and view points only strengthen their ability to lead and motivate others. The mentor/mentee relationship is such that the protégé can be more honest and candid than perhaps a direct report who may feel they have to play the political game. In addition, the Sponsor has one or more people who are loyal to them, who supports them, and they become more connected to the needs of junior colleagues.

As a woman being a sponsor for someone from a different background to yourself provides a lens by which to view the organisation and its operations differently. Sponsors learn often as much from their protégés as the protégé does from the sponsor.  Not only do Sponsors get the ‘feel good’ factor by advocating for someone else and helping develop their careers, they also learn and are seen positively by their organisation. 

I therefore encourage all senior women and men to sponsor high performing women in your organisations as a strategy to help retain, develop & grow women into leadership roles. As a sponsor it’s important to select someone who will likely be successful and who demonstrates the traits you want in your organisation. You need to be confident they can deliver and will do well – as this is a direct reflection on you, and you want others to follow your lead.   

With International Women’s Day coming up on Friday, this could be the impetus to think if you don’t currently sponsor a woman – is this something you could proactively do?  Imagine if everyone in a senior leadership role proactively sponsored one capable ambitious women inside their organisation where would Australia be in 2-4 years time?  

#genderequality #internationalwomensday #womenhelpwomen #sponsorwomen

However, what do you do when you feel you can’t afford outplacement – perhaps because the very reason the redundancies are being made are because finances are tight! We understand how frustrating it can be when you want to help your impacted employees but you feel hamstrung.

Whilst some outplacement programs do cost many thousands of dollars, don’t think all outplacement support has to cost this much. Outplacement support can be tailored from as little as $100 per person for a 6-months online outplacement support system, to on-site group outplacement workshops which can cost as little as $200 – $300 per person to one on one coaching programs which can be less than a couple of thousand dollars.

“Outplacement can cost as little as $100 – $300 per person”

Obviously, the more support a person is provided, the smoother their transition from an emotional and psychological perspective, and the quicker they generally find alternative employment. BUT some help is better than no help. An on-line system teaching people how to tailor their CV for jobs they want to apply for, or how to update their LinkedIn profile so they are more visible to hiring managers does help. Helping people to understand how to position their experience in an interview could be the difference between your ex-employee getting a new job and someone else.

At Selection Partners, we offer a wide variety of outplacement options to suit our client’s budgets. From experience, I know the more support people are given, the less stress and anxiety they feel. The majority of outplacement and career transition programs we provide do cost between $3,000 – $5,000 per person, however outplacement doesn’t have to cost this much and trust me, from the impacted employee’s perspective, something is better than nothing. 

Please contact us if you need our support or would like to know more about our outplacement or career transition service offerings.

Written by June Parker, June is an CDAA & ICF accredited career coach at Selection Partners. Selection Partners provide outplacement support nationally and in New Zealand. www.selectionpartners.com.au  03 9832 8100  

As the end of 2018 draws ever closer, and the festive season becomes ever more present, we naturally are drawn to reflect on the year that was and share our hopes and plans for the year to come. 

2019 will no doubt see a continuation of the upward trend in demand for skilled contingent work forces, slimmed down large businesses and enhanced AI capabilities. These factors, among many more, will pick up speed and impact the ‘where, when, why and how’ of the ways we all work. 

While you are contemplating a New Year’s resolution, consider making it one that will ready you for another year of professional change, disruption, and growth. 

Luckily, this preparation is good for your whole work-life balance:

• Stay curious: Make a point of learning or doing something new. Novel experiences condition our minds to react quickly to unpredicted experiences and not to be unduly stressed by change.
• Get Going: We all know the benefits of exercise. Eating and sleeping well and mixing in some physical activity produces hormones which make us happier and focused. It also gets us away from the desk…
• Take breaks: There’s something to be said about working until the job is done but taking a break every now and then has been shown to actually increase productivity over time. Spending a break scrolling through social media does not help though. Get away from screens, talk to a human or take in some nature.
• Resilient habits: Scheduling in journaling, meditation, practicing deep breathing during moments of stress, and developing left/right brain connections through brain teasers is like personal training for your brain, leaving you able to bounce back to productivity after a setback. 

We hope these tips set you up for success in 2019, and that it is a year of wins for you all. If you are considering a ‘new year, new career move’, our team of talent consultants in recruitment and HR would be happy to chat about making that change. 

If you are a business looking to redefine areas of your talent attraction or development in 2019 to meet the challenges of the future, we can help there too. 

From everyone at Selection Partners, we wish you a very happy festive season and a prosperous 2019!

1. Tell me about yourself and your career to date.
2. What do you know about our organisation and why do you think you are suited to our sales role?
3. Give me an example of where you made a sale that you were particularly proud of?
4. Tell me about your typical prospecting approach?
5. What has been the hardest sale you have every made and why?
6. How do you keep abreast of your industry?
7. How do you plan to achieve your budgets? 
8. What preparation do you do prior to a client visit? Tell me why you choose this approach.
9. How would you sell our products / services to a potential client?
10. Have you ever not met budget? If so, tell me why and what you did as a result?
11. Tell me about a recent pitch you made. How did you go about it and what was the result? 
12. What is your most and least favourite part of your sales job?
13. Who are you most comfortable selling to and why?
14. What is the best way to manage you?
15. How would your clients / customers / peers / team describe you?

Once you have thought through all these questions, and got your answers fine-tuned – research your interviewer or interviewers to become comfortable with their background.  This may give you a piece of valuable information to help you establish rapport.

One last thing, remember the difference between confidence and arrogance is a thin line.  Be yourself, be authentic and be relaxed, people like people they can relate to, not who sell themselves in too forceful a manner. The interviewer will be thinking that the way you come across at interview and the way your present yourself, will be the way their clients will see you. So put your best foot forward and all the best.

For tailored interview advice, contact one of our career coaches at info@selectionpartners.com.au or call 03 9832 8100.

Time have changed for sure! Organisations that offered stable careers when a baby boomer was working now rarely do.  A job in the petrochemical, steel or telecommunications industries made sense in 1968. For Gen Z, Fortune’s top 25 in 2018 reflects only five firms from 1968 and there is a profound change in the mix of leading industries. Today retail, health and financial firms have displaced petrochemical, steel and telecommunications companies that garnered top spots decades earlier.

One of the challenges moving forward is the need for people to keep learning and embracing change, technology innovations and new ways of working.  Buckminster Fuller coined the idea of knowledge doubling which suggests that knowledge, in a given field or human endeavour, doubles at a predictable, but accelerating rate. Fuller argued that in 1900 human knowledge doubled about every 100 years and by 1950 knowledge doubled every 25 years. A 2006 IBM study forecasted that human knowledge might be doubling every 11 hours! Today it is widely accepted that knowledge doubles, but at different rates in different fields. Medical education provides a startling example. One researcher projects that by 2020 medical knowledge might double every 73 days.  This means change and continuous innovation and learning will be the only constant.

Even for tech savvy Gen Z, the accelerating pace of technological advancement will soon transform their smart phones and smart speakers into technologies reminiscent of brick phones and high fidelity stereos.  Augmented reality, AI and robots will continue to transform our work places.  We all know younger generations seek more feedback than their older peers, so maybe once robots are employed in greater numbers, a robot may give this feedback or maybe the Gen Y is giving feedback to a robot!

The world is changing for sure! Where older generations once held the authority and power, younger generations may be the ones holding the golden ticket to a place yet unknown.