One of the evening as I was going home from work, 94.5 was playing Rihana’s “Take a Bow” For the 1st time, I hear the lyrics & realized it was for her ex. Call me slow if you want. And ever since then, it has been playing in my mind because it’s very applicable, very appropriate for someone’s situation and a particular person, this song is so appropriate. With a little tweak to the lyrics, although it may not fit into the song, but it fits perfectly to her situation:
Certainly a round of applause with standing ovation Acting dumb right now, trying to apologize
You look so ugly, please, just cut it out
Don’t tell me you’re sorry ’cause you’re not
You’re only sorry you got caught
You put on quite a show, really had me going for a really long time
But now, time for curtain to finally closing ?
It is quite a show, but it is not longer entertaining
Go on and please take a bow
Talking ’bout, Girl, I love you, “You’re the one”
This just looks like a rerun, Please, what else is on?
Don’t tell me you’re sorry ’cause you’re not;
Don’t tell me you love me ’cause you’re not
Oh, and the award for the best liar goes to you
For making me believe in you, No I don’t wanna hear another rerun speech
In all business dealings, we expect people whom we are dealing with are professional, matured, well educated, competent & capable, reasonable…etc. However, pretty frequently, our encounter tell us otherwise, shockingly otherwise. The 3rd week into the new charter, I had this issue came to me from one of our client who outsourced their front office operation to us.
Here goes the entertaining storyline
In a packed & busy lobby, a beautiful bouquet of flowers was delivered to the front office. Before the officer is able to decifer the info on the DN, a manager, K, who happened to be around at the lobby stepped in, acknowledged the DN and told the officer to call A to collect the flowers. The young officer was in an utter confusion because she did see a different name in the DN. It was for L not A. Since she was still a junior in that role, she asked the opinion of her more senior colleague. However, her senior colleage was busy attending to phone inquiries and didn’t pay attention to the happening, thus can’t advice her. The young officer figure, maybe A = L, maybe A is the English name & L is the chinese name. So, she called A to inform her of the flowers for collection.
With the flowers, there is a little card that says, “Happy anniversary. Your Hubby”. No name was mentioned.
A came to lobby, picked up the flowers, went back to her office, rang the husband and a furious fight ensued. Following that a serious complaint was lodged by A to K about the young officer for the “error”. K, instead of taking ownership of her part contributing to the situation, stormed to our service coordinator and demanded the young officer be fired right away. Not only that, even threaten should we failed to do that, she will withold our service fee payment.
As part of any account & service management, the vendor’s senior management representative will have to stepped in what a havoc happened. And there I was, in the client’s office, attempting to calm the situation & restore truth. To do so, I had the officer run through the sequence of happening in front of K, the service coordinator & myself. What amazed me most was, after the young officer finish her story, K, in a desperate attempt to shift responsibility, said she stepped in to acknowledge the floral DN because she saw the young officer was struggling to figure it out. She claimed that by way of telling the young offier to inform A to pick up the flower was not an instruction but an advice. She further state that if the young officer were act purely on her advice instead of seeking clarity, then she’s stupid.
I was utterly dumb founded, inside. I almost fell of my chair. I felt like my inner systems was in a confusion of not knowing whether to laugh or to cry. ”WHAT ? DUHH !!!” was the word that almost got out of my mouth. Thank God it didn’t.
But, I was there for a purpose. an objective. I was there to dissolve the tension not to make it worse. So, intead of telling her, “Duh, who is the no brainer here?”. I took the longer route, exercise my patient, use the approach of questions asking and shift the blame to no man’s land but a series of unfortunate coincident happening. It works. We left the meeting having peace. Bravo to the young officer who knows it was not her error to bravely offered to apologize. Sxxxxx to an educated, supposedly more experience, incompetent, immature & coward manager.
Total of about 6+ years of search. I had loads of fun time helping clients to find THE candidates they want. It is a thrill each time when I managed to do just that. The closure is not just an objective delivery but it was a climax of satisfaction & fulfillment. It is beyond the billing revenue & the earnings. I am thankful to have the opportunity to do this repeatedly in these past years.
And now it has come a time to shift gear. Shift gear for expand, shift gear to grow. It is always good to get into a job not knowing everyting that needs to be known. The unknown keeps you humble, keeps your feet firmly on the ground, it keeps you real. There will be a lot of learning, a lot of adjustment, a lot of adapting. It is going to be a whole new dynamic not just at work but also in personal life. Things & schedules will have to be shifted here & there. Yes, manage. Life is about management. It’s a new realm, Zen.
Headhunters assist organization in their executive level & above recruitment needs. The interesting thing is, often time, hunters themselves also get hunted themselves.
3 plus week ago, I got a call from, lets just call this company ”the big red”, out of their SG office. It is not uncommon for me to receive calls like this. But this call certainly didnt help their reputation especially when I have heard quite bit of them about how their consultants handle candidate, their approach with clients, the level of playing field they are at and their internal environment. And how they approach this call with me had me shaking my head.
1st up, in response to his qualifying question “if I am open to explore oppotunities?”, I asked what’s the specific position & role he is considering exploring with me. To this simple but deciding question, he was not able to provide precise answer. Best of all, he knows my profile & background experience. Instead he said, he will submit my profile to his mgmt team and see what position & role they think I am suitable for. :S. (MINUS POINTS !!) Well, shouldn’t you have determined that before you even call, especially when you have the full knowledge of my background experience ? And submission of profile for selection is really your internal thing, nothing to do with me. Nvm, I take it as different people has different approach to qualifying. The very next morning, I got another call from the same guy. This time, it’s about arranging me for an interview with his mgmt people who is coming into town in the next two days. But he still unable to tell specifically for what role. (MINUS POINTS !! AGAIN)
In executive search, you ought to have it very clear in mind what the one position, or 2 max, that you want to explore with the individual. This is expecially true in the case of senior & mgmt level positions. I told him if he were to put me down to meet his mgmt team, then he has to give me the specific role with the job details as well as who are the mgmt team people I am to meet with their respective designation before 4pm that day. I believe there are homework to be done before every meet. Well, 4pm came & went. Nothing. (MINUS POINTS !! AGAIN) 5pm, I called up their local office, got his details & shot him an email. By 6pm, yes, I got an email with an attachment file named GM. Content of the document is nothing more than the common company intro which anyone can find from the internet. (MINUS POINTS !! AGAIN)There is no details of position scope claiming the position is sensative, will only share during the meet. Fine!
While sitting in their office, I can’t help but notice there’s a row of lockers at the entrance to the office portion. Lockers in professional office ? I can only think this is for staff to deposit their bags before going into the office. If this is really the case, I can see there is a major trust issue with this company. (BIG BIG MINUS POINTS !!)
Most search consultants are experience industry professionals who has a good 8-2o years of working exprience. If this company is in search, I doubt they can retain these kind of quality expereince professional. This affirmed what I heard from the market, they are in the low level recruitment.
Although I was told I will be meeting 3 mgmt people, in the end, it was just one Singaporen who has spent umpteen years with the company. That explain her ill search skill as her exposure was just recruitement. She led me to the room, pressumably a manager room, approximately 4.5 x 6 feet. (Gasp !!) Without initial rapport building but went straight into my profile. She is obviously not interested in relationship building. An important factor in Search. (MINUS POINTS!! AGAIN) Her approached was like interviewing a junior officer position, going though what was already in the profile. It speaks volume to me about them.
1 hr 45min, there were no pitching of the company, the company direction or the specific position, except the emphasis of “we are one of the fortune 500 companies”, and all she is interested was what would I like to “cheong” next. Yes! she used the word “cheong”! So Singaporean! In the end, she made a comment, “you are very close up”.
If she is experience in search, she should know relationshiop is foremost in all hunt. Rapport is priority to gain another expereince professional’s trust to share his/her personal story including career aspiration, passion & goal. This clearly shows she is most certainly not a search person but simply a lower level recruitment, hiring between fresh & RM48000/pa type.
Well, so much for the big red, the known reputation of pushy & rude consultants, the practice of throwing CVs, and now the short of growing ideas that you need to resort to using interview with potential talent to fish business strategy/idea. You claimed to be one of the fortune 500 company but you are shamefully short of that professionalism & standard.
Now I am safely affirmed of what I have heard of the big red from my candidates & clients and will certainly warn them of the black sheep.
I am not sure if it is because of the current economy climate that has rendered many job lost or going to be job lost, there seems to be a fair bit of discussions / talks about jobs seeking / job interview. Take for example, there is a career doctor slot now @ BFM. While all these are good but many of these are but just text book answers except this one.
This was the bigger picture segment of BFM. Jenny Strachan, from Lorna Whiston was on air with Shazmin Shamsuddin on Job Seeking & Interviewing Skills. Her explanation for the pointers she gave were excellent, covering homework to be done before attending the interview, making connection & building rapport, how to calm your nervousness, etc.
She has also recommended the book called “What Colour Is Your Parachute ?” It is a yearly updated job hunting guide. (PM me if you found any pdf copy
So, if you are in the midst of a jobhunting or scheduled for an interview, listen to the podcast over & over, read the book.
In addition, she has contributed another session with BFM @ Live & Learn segment, with Shazmin as well, talking about presentation skills. Presentation is not just going on stage to present but also includes presenting in interviews & etc. And Jenny sure has quite some golden nuggets there.
So, practice & create your presence !!
Enjoy the podcast from BFM and all the best to you in your job hunt !
Ideal for people who are looking for Flexi-Hours / Home-Office Based arrangements;
More than 6 years of business2business working experience in any of the industries – Financial Services/Banking, FMCG, Oil & Gas, Pharma & medical, Legal, IT & Telco. Experience in Recruitment, Project Management, Corporate Sales, Account Servicing, Customer Service, Executive Personal Assistant, preferred.
Self & Focused-driven, tenacious individual with a strong desire to succeed but are unable to do so in a corporate setting due to family/home commitment. Our corporate-driven work from home setting will be ideal to career mother who needs flexibility.
The company is positioned to recruit middle to senior executives. We are looking for individual who are matured and possess good command of written and spoken English. Those without recruitment experience must be prepared to undergo at least 3 months of induction and learning curve before they can be productive.
This is a people-oriented business. Individual must enjoy people interaction (face-to-face and via telephony) and be comfortable liaising with professional managers and senior executives in any organisation
A rewarding compensation plan with long term career prospect in share-option partnership opportunity for those who excel in the search and recruitment business.
Role :
Interact and understand the clients organizational profile and requirements
Determine channel(s) of search, perform ground market search.
Interview & Evaluate candidates suitability
Shortlist, appraise & present to clients Close follow up with Clients & candidates
Negotiate / advise appropriate compensation package for selected candidates
Manage & ensure payment collection
Conduct Reference Check and review of comments made by referees with the client;
Continue Securing, servicing and retaining corporate clients;
Network & research market practice, industry trends, competitors to enrich work & team
Home Based Requirement :
A home phone line (phone / fax) and a 24/7 internet access
A PC/Notebook with MS Office Suite as much of our communication & correspondence are delivered electronically.
A quiet & conducive home environment for work from home office operation.
Willing to put in committed effort to see regular ongoing income based upon your personal effort and for ongoing success.
Others :
Ideally possess at least a diploma / advance diploma / degree in any field;
Must be Malaysian Age preference : 33 – 48
Important note : This is NOT a short-term part-time temp job
Must be able to provide track records with 3 ex-superior referees contacts
Qualified candidates please submit your detailed resume complete with 3 ex-superior referees contacts.
Promise yourself never to settle. Never settle for less than you can be / do / give /create.
Never go back to the same standard. Hold the new higher standard. Surround yourself with the right people. Commit to MUST and not should. Find what works, shift your belief system, get stronger. Step UP !!
Plateau, a word that is ever so frequently used in sports.
A plateau, also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain
So, in sports, it basically means one has come to a “flat”
in their training regime, it’s just not improving, not producing performance result.
in their motivation / drive / interest in doing their training / races,
there is a mental stale-ness in the pursuit
physically, one may find that he/she is just not up to the job anymore
Similarly, I think, at work, in career, there is such a plateau phase too. It’s called a different name but similar meaning.
Burnout.
We often heard of people say they are burn out in their job / work / career. It’s phase where one just do not find that drive, that interest, that gangho-ness in meeting the demands / challenge anymore, often time, not rising to the challenge even.
Common to both Plateau & Burnout is prior to it there is a phase of extended total immersion on what one is doing. Some established large organization has a mandatory rotation of employees to different departments. I guess, it’s partly a way to address the issue of staff Burnout and in the process create a sense of belonging to the business.
However, majority of the organizations out there do not have / support such arrangement thus partly contributed to attrition rate, especially in organization with highly demanding & stressful work environment, eg. long hours, no work life balance. Instead of recognizing the issue & nip it at the bud, many employers brand such employees as having short attention span, jumpy, no tenancity, easily bored, etc etc. Now, let me make clear the exclusion of people who change job every other year in the name of seeking career advancement, better pay & in hope for better position & bla bla bla. They are totally different.
Back to the subject. Often time, people who has burn out are people who has given their best to their organization. They are usually the hardworkers, committed & most of all, performers.
In sports, this phase is expected and one can plan ahead to tackle the issue. One can take a short break from the training schedule, have a retreat and plan radically change of one’s training regime to totally shake it out, set new goals & heights in order to come back stronger.
What can an Employees do then ?
I do not have the expert solution here. But applying it to myself, it just affirm my observation of late.
Employees have to anticipate the plateau, the burnout themselves. In anticipation, other aspects will have to be considered in the plan. The key one will be financial planning. An employee with a strong foundation of financial planning, ie.
having an allocated sum for x number of months forward without a job, commonly 6 mths to a year. This will allow one to take a slower pace by doing freelance job & etc
has multiple streams of income, ie. one is not totally dependent of the employment income alone for living.
Yes, it is easier said then done. However, it’s the employees’ life at stake. Unlike our parent’s time, it’s not the corporate’s responsibility to give you the job / income security in this year & age anymore.
So, do you want to hand your security to someone else who doesn’t care and be “killed” during a plateau or do you want to be smart, plan & execute a solid financial portfolio, take charge of your job / career & thus your life ?
Today, my Anthony Robbins Master coach tweet a statement : “Try not to become a person of success but a person of value” - Albert Einstein and posted this video. Awesome one, Steve. Thanx
His devotion to what seem like the lowest of rank job, handing out water, keep the team enthusiastic, toweling down the players sweat for couple of years. Yes, he carries the title “manager” and he serves humbly. 2 years. and this is the awesome day after he was at it for
Welcome to a Headhunter’s Weblog! It’s about jobs postings, some 2cents worth of ideas & opinions abt career, and anything & everything about work, daily laugh & crap, life, health, financial mgmt, investment, sports, fitness, faith, politics,………whatever…:) Thank you for visiting. Pls proceed to subscribe/register so that you will be notified for new postings or to view older postings. Hope you like it, benefited from it and come back often. Do drop me a comment or email to touch base. Would love to hear from you. ~~ LIVE WITH PASSION !!! ~~
