The Job Hopper

Countless times this has been the road block for many talented individuals. Frankly, I've always wondered if this is a blessing or a curse. You are probably thinking... Blessing? How can she define it as such? Well the reality is you would have had to be hired for several jobs in order to be defined as a job hopper and that means you were chosen by the employer and embraced as part of their team. They saw potential and had hope in you. The fact is, there are many people out there that are not as interview savvy and did not get that frequent of opportunity to join. Isn't that sort of a blessing to have that type of skill? You also have to wonder if that skill translates to the important skills needed in this job!

Yeah, yeah US employers don't want to invest in a person's training and ramp to productivity, only to have to restart that process a year later. However, I have to wonder if they are leaving for a reason and don't actually have the intention of being a job hopper, but are instead being held back from their ambition, micro-managed to death, or avoided a lay-off (jumped ship).

So, how long is long enough? Say you were under the circumstances above, would you stay for the sake of longevity on your resume? A lot of people would... in fact I've heard that before so many times, "I at least have to hit the (#) mark before I consider leaving... I don't want to be perceived as a job hopper".

Don't get me wrong, I don't pick sides on this debate. I just think it is food for thought. So many employers disqualify a candidate based on resume alone because the candidate is perceived as a job hopper, but the reality is if you don't know their situation... how can you truly classify them as such and maybe, just maybe this person just had some bad luck?! The employer should use precaution for sure, but a flat out no seems rigid to me.

Maybe what we should be delving into is why they have made such poor employment decisions repeatedly and make them think hard about what they liked, didn't like and how your environment, managerial style and culture fit affect them in the role? Do they want the same things you are providing? Do their behaviors in past situations point to favorable future circumstances with you? AND... most importantly - Can you keep them?

Some risks are worth taking.... but you should also take the right precaution. Balance is key.

What sort of feelings do you have on the job hopper topic? Ever interviewed and hired someone who shocked you because they made the cut long-term?

Culture or Context?

Culture is one of those buzz words that candidates ask about and employers try to articulate, but in my opinion - you really don't fully know the culture until you are breathing it, living it and judging it for yourself.

Sure employers want to identify culture and use or spin it in a positive light for purposes of branding, attraction and retention. Why not use every arsenal possible?? However, the reality is that often times the way an employer describes their culture is not actually how being in the culture is. If you had an opportunity while investigating whether the company was right for you, wouldn't you like to ask several people of different levels how they would describe the culture of the company? Objective people that have no care for whether you get the job or not? The answers vary sometimes and don't always line up....but when they do, that is also something to pay attention to. I've experienced many cultures in my staffing days and then also as an employee for several.

I have defined a few below (but I am sure there are many other definitions my blogger friends have too):

Brainwashed: This is where the employee brand, mission, vision and values are drilled into the minds of all employees (over and over again) in an attempt to have a uniform voice. Makes sense strategically, but what happens when you start the job and you are subjected to said brainwashing only to find yourself in the job 3 months later going...this is well....Bologna!

Severed Voices: This is where there is no real message and no actual work done on defining the culture. When you ask multiple people, you get varying of answers. One says something cliche' like "we work hard, play hard", while another spouts off some canned response like "our culture is one of collaboration and innovation". These are meaningless to a job seeker because they do not actually represent the culture.

Real Transparent: Very rare, but sometimes employers are open enough to allow a candidate to shadow for the day or attend a company event with the hopes of allowing the candidate to define the culture for themselves. This is unique and it takes a level of confidence on the part of the organization to say, "Who am I to define it? Define it for yourself!"

Foundational: This is usually found in organizations that have the money to actually pull off the whole culture branding thing. There is a person in a desk that owns accountability for this and probably a team of deployment peeps as well. From the website, to the office and through on boarding - you see consistency and the culture is representative even when the honeymoon phase  is over. This is a hard fete and some big companies can't get there because their vision and corporate politics clash.

My advise to a candidate is this: Ask the culture question, hear the answers but know that you will never really know the culture until you experience it for yourself. Each person's experience and definition will vary inevitably. Even the company with the best plan for cultural immersion and employment branding still has the office gossip, the negative nancy, the company champion, the canned responder and the blank stare person.

When on the interview - take in your surroundings. Are people smiling? Are people working together? Or are they whispering by the water cooler? When deciding on the offer - visit the companies facebook and social media pages and look at their pictures and posts! Scope out the LinkedIn profiles of their employees and past employees too. If you see a ton of people who came and went - maybe that is a red flag, but maybe it's not. Be careful with sites like Glassdoor.com, because people typically review a company when they are pissed off. Very rarely do people go.... I love my company culture so much I think I will post a review on Glassdoor! What I think is the most telling is when a company has a high percentage of employee referrals!

So maybe the right questions are:

What percentage of your hires come through employee referrals?
What is the average tenure of your employees?
What do your people like most about the culture?
How can I get a better feel for what it will be like to work for your company?

Cube Life

Cube Life: Those who spend 40+ hours working in a corporate, 4-walled, open–roofed workspace. This is also where you spend the majority of your waking hours. 

I was walking around the sales floor today and couldn’t help but notice all the cube decorations in everyone’s space. I swear some looked like artful masterpieces of sales and company-name puns on selling. People tacked up wrapping paper backgrounds, hung pictures and others clipped photos of the Officespace characters with open message bubbles. In passing conversation I found out about a 7ft. cardboard cutout bear and even threw out a suggested viking hat…because why not?!  I thought, you know what - when you are "dialing for dollars" in your cube… at least it’s something to look at. You can casually make work fun by swapping out some items each day. Of course we need to keep it clean and appropriate, but a 7ft teddy bear is hilarious and about as clean as you can get. I guess the top performer gets the bear in their cube as recognition. Cool idea - HR agrees.

This reminds me of a funny story…

When we first opened the office we had a consultant working with the leadership team. We were touring the office before closing on the lease and I said, “these are nice cubes!” His response was, “Don’t call them cubes, it’s bad for recruiting. Call them workspace.” Huh?? Seriously?

Well, let’s keep it real here... they are cubes! They also happen to be workspaces. These technicalities are made of ridiculousness. The fact of the matter is whether you call them workspaces or cubes, if your pipeline is backing out because of that…you have bigger problems! Like say... employment branding maybe?  He is not and never was a recruiter, but regardless how can one make a blanket statement like that? As if all people would be turned off from the word - cube. Businesses everywhere have office environments that are cubicle concept. I would Imagine our candidates even expect the job they are applying for requires them to work in a cubicle. So, let’s not paint a Zebra blue here… and just keep it real.

What fun things does your office do with their cubes? Any fun non-monetary sales reward ideas or experiences you would like to share?