March 28, 2006

NACE to meet you
Posted by at 11:39 AM

One of the resources I use most often is NACE, the National Association of Colleges and Employers. NACE's mission is to

Facilitate the exchange of knowledge and insight among individuals and organizations focused on the career development and employment of the college educated.

NACE is a member organization of college career center employees and industry recruiters. With a national conference held each year NACE is one of the single best ways for industry recruiters to meet and network with college career center staff. This year's national meeting is in Anaheim, CA in late May. The website is also a valuable resource, with many articles available to the public. A brief look at the site today shows articles ranging from recruitment metrics to salaries.

I highly recommend this resource and hope to see losts of Bostonians at the national meeting in May!

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March 27, 2006

Bush voucher plan threatens career centers
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 10:58 AM

The government-backed, community-based one-stop career centers, which provide critical grass roots career management assistance for tens if not hundreds of thousands of workers nationwide, may be in jeopardy:

. . .The future of those centers is in some doubt. As part of its fiscal year 2007 budget, the Bush administration is proposing $3.4 billion for "career advancement accounts." The initiative would allocate $3,000 in federal training funds directly to workers each year for two years, potentially obviating their need to use one-stop centers.

Read the piece from Workforce Management magazine online.

(A tip of the hat to Elaine Sullivan of Lee Hecht Harrison for the find.)

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March 20, 2006

The decorated millennial
Posted by at 2:16 PM

The Utah Daily Herald recently ran a story on body art and the perceptions different generations hold. Not surprisingly, there is a significant difference of opinion on this topic. To one generation, 'body art' is an expression of self; to another, it is a visible hallmark of --gasp---hooliganism.

"Given the labor shortage, it's important to look toward diversity," said Devon Reese, an attorney at CDHK. "But sometimes looking beyond appearances can be hard."

Not all companies share his philosophy, and sometimes management is stuck in the middle by trying to adopt more flexible dress codes while protecting a professional image.

While a Gen-Xer in the office might not look twice at exposed ink or metal, a baby boomer might find it offensive to display body art at work.

At least in northern Nevada, there is a lot of talk that the problem of generational differences is starting to rear its ugly head," Reese said. "Younger folks are into body art and have a good work ethic, but older employers can be turned off by it.

On college campuses, the dialogue goes on. When I was the Director of Career Services at Wentworth Institute of Technology, I had a number of heart to heart talks with students about chin studs, pink hair, ear spreaders and tattoos. Students felt very strongly about these expressions as visible signs of their individualism. I knew that some employers wouldn't see them that way. Take out the chin stud and risk landing a job in a company where you couldn't 'be yourself' or wear it and risk losing the job?

The ultimate end result of every conversation was that students had to do what felt comfortable for them, and understand that like any other decision related to job seeking, choices about fit are highly personal.

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Where did all the women lawyers go?
Posted by Diane Danielson at 8:48 AM

The New York Times takes a look at why women are graduating law schools in equal numbers to the men, yet the women are still not making it into the partnership:

Although the nation's law schools for years have been graduating classes that are almost evenly split between men and women, and although firms are absorbing new associates in numbers that largely reflect that balance, something unusual happens to most women after they begin to climb into the upper tiers of law firms. They disappear.

According to the National Association for Law Placement, a trade group that provides career counseling to lawyers and law students, only about 17 percent of the partners at major law firms nationwide were women in 2005, a figure that has risen only slightly since 1995, when about 13 percent of partners were women.

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March 18, 2006

Another side to the "opt-out" story
Posted by Diane Danielson at 7:29 PM

The New York Times finally prints an article that doesn't promote the media myth that all women are opting out.

HIGHLY educated women are getting a bum rap from the press. There has recently been a spate of news and opinion articles telling us that these women, especially graduates of the best universities and professional schools, are "opting out" in record numbers, choosing the comforts of home and family over careers.

And because there are now 1.33 women graduating from college for every man, the best and brightest women will either have to "marry down" or, more likely, we are told, remain single. Taken together, highly educated women will have either family or career. Half of it all, rather than "having it all."

But the facts speak loudly and clearly against such suppositions. Women who graduated 25 years ago from the nation's top colleges did not "opt out" in large numbers, and today's graduates aren't likely to do so either.

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March 16, 2006

March Madness begins - at a cost
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 12:11 PM

It's here, possibly the most sustained water cooler topic of the entire year: the NCAA Basketball Tournament, aka March Madness.

And why? Because of the brackets, baby, and the betting pools that now seem to be ubiquitous in the US workplace.

The cost to American companies? Not insignificant, says career and outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas:

Challenger estimates that if college-educated employees spend 10 minutes a day during the 15 work days around the tournament, that comes to about $94 million a day, or $1.4 billion in lost wages for the run of the tournament.

But, says the firm's CEO John Challenger, it may all be worth it:

"Especially with all the worries about the war, terrorism and the economy, companies need to find ways to build morale right now," Challenger said. "The NCAA, and the betting pools in many offices, are a way to bring employees together, to build rapport. These are the kinds of things that allow people to work well together. It's a good expenditure for companies."

Hmmm. . .we'll let each of you decide that one for yourselves (meanwhile, have you filled out your brackets yet?).

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March 15, 2006

"Beware the Ides of March"
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 10:44 AM

How many of us remember this line from our high school reading of Shakespeare's tragedy, Julius Caesar? Today, March 15, marks the Ides, and these words were the seer's warning to Caesar to be wary on that day which, in 44 BC, was to be his last.

Being a Roman Emperor was a hazardous job indeed. But through self-aggrandizement, Caesar had perhaps already assured his own demise:

The Romans had no love for kings. According to legend, they expelled their last one in 509 B.C. While Caesar had made pointed and public displays of turning down offers of kingship, he showed no reluctance to accept the office of "dictator for life" in February 44 B.C. According to [assistant professor of classics at Georgetown University, Josiah] Osgood, this action may have sealed his fate in the minds of his enemies. "We can see [now] that that was enough to get him killed," Osgood said.

Lessons for the modern workplace? I will let you ponder, friends and countrymen, the meanings within.

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March 14, 2006

Microinequities and recruiting
Posted by at 7:19 AM

An excellent article in this week's issue of Time magazine highlights the issue of microinequities:

As corporate America struggles to promote more women and minorities up the ladder, a new workplace buzzword is moving from executive suite to lowly cubicle. Part pop psychology, part human-resources jargon, the term microinequities puts a name on all the indirect offenses that can demoralize a talented employee.

As a recruiter, I firmly believe that candidates are won and lost by what I now can call microinteractions. It is logical to assume that if the slights build up a sense of disconnection, then intentional inclusiveness will have the opposite effect. When recruiting highly sought-after candidates, attention to microinteractions like tone of voice and use of words can make all the difference between wooing a candidate and losing her.

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March 13, 2006

Can millennials read, write and add?
Posted by at 1:40 PM

Having just finished a long week of reading intern cover letters, I am on the precipice of depression about our nation's youth. I have been hearing about a new study indicating that college students' verbal and quantitative literacy rates are shockingly low, but wanted to find the actual source after last week's reading. The report from the American Institutes of Research is available here and provides statistics including these:

More than 75 percent of students at 2-year colleges and more than 50 percent of students at 4-year colleges do not score at the proficient level of literacy. This means that they lack the skills to perform complex literacy tasks, such as comparing credit card offers with different interest rates or summarizing the arguments of newspaper editorials.

The news isn't as Chicken Little as it may appear at first glance. These dire and headline worthy statistics, however, the press release here assures us that

“Despite the lackluster performance of many graduates on quantitative literacy, we should nevertheless be encouraged that current college graduates are not behind in terms of literacy when compared to graduates from earlier generations,” says Emerson Elliott, a former Commissioner of Education Statistics at the U.S. Department of Education.

Although the study doesn't specifically address writing skills, it does give an overall context for last week's cover letters. This report is essential reading for any of us who recruit in from the new college grad pool.

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March 10, 2006

Glass ceiling or sticky floors
Posted by Diane Danielson at 8:53 AM

Rebecca Shambaugh of www.shambaughleadership.com raises the question of whether there are certain things holding women back rather than just someone keeping them down in a recentWashington Business Journal article.

Social barriers still exist. But when I see women capable of C-suite leadership mired in middle management, I don't look toward a glass ceiling. Instead, I look toward a sticky floor.

In fact, our most useful insights may come from exploring what keeps us stuck: our outmoded, self-defeating and, let's face it, unconscious behaviors. I am not saying this to discount women.

Quite the opposite -- I say this because I want women to reap the professional and financial rewards they have earned. I believe we are stuck because of habits we learned years ago.

I'll address more sticky floor issues in future columns, but here's one example. Women are generally good at building friendships that are nurturing and supportive. But those relationships will not leverage a workplace promotion. Instead, women need to develop contacts with people outside their circle.

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March 9, 2006

More on the Mommy Wars
Posted by Diane Danielson at 10:14 AM

BusinessWeek has the latest on the "Mommy Wars." Click here to read the extended version on their new parenting blog.

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College recruiting heats up again
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:30 AM

It was hot, then it cooled off, now it's hot again: the market for recruiting college grads for those entry-level jobs. So says Workforce Management magazine in a new feature article:

The job market for new college graduates hit a peak in 2001 and then declined with the recession. Since then, the market has steadily improved and more companies are back actively recruiting on college campuses. All indications are that spring 2006 will be the most competitive environment since prior to the recession.

So how do corporate recruiters stand out from the competition when vying for young talent's attention?

"It is all about how they are treated in the campus recruiting process and the feeling that they get from the people they interact with," [college recruitment consultant Mary] Scott says.

Students gravitate toward companies that convey the feeling that their work will matter, and they are looking for companies that make them feel valued, she says.

"They make that judgment almost exclusively from the company representatives they interact with," Scott says.

Learn more in the full piece.

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Best of the bloggers
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 8:05 AM

Every now and then it's nice to get a little recognition from the outside world for one's labors. That's exactly what Human Resource Executive magazine has kindly bestowed upon BostonWorks' HR Blog. We were top of the list of general HR blogs in an article from their February issue titled "Best of the Bloggers":

The HR Blog Bostonworks is the jobs section of Boston.com. This is a "group blog," with entries from more than a half-dozen industry experts, and it has quickly become one of the more prominent and reliable sources for HR news and commentary. It has an unmistakable Boston flavor, but also deals with many national issues.

Troublesome issue [cited by HR Blog-gers]: Diane K. Danielson, executive director of the Downtown Women's Clubs and one of the group of bloggers writes that it's " 'Generation Y' employees (born 1980-1993) who won't tolerate many of the corporate values, policies and structures established by their baby boomer parents."

Be sure to check out the list - sixteen total HR-related blogs, all with links - across benefits, training, employment law, and other topics. (Note that registration on the HR Executive site is required, but it is one-time only and is free.)

A word of thanks to all the BostonWorks HR Blog-gers for their fine contributions, and a word to our readers that we will endeavor to keep up the same work going forward.

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March 7, 2006

Keeping the customers in mind
Posted by at 1:07 PM

I've been interviewing quite a bit this week and talking to a number of millennials. I have to constantly remind myself that there is not only an age difference, but a cultural one between us as well. I stumbled upon a new blog, the College Recruiter Insight Blog and plan to keep it on my regular rotation of reads. Postings such as these keep me mindful that every piece of paper on my desk is a person:

Nowadays I've noticed that companies don't even bother with a rejection letter. Just pretend like they never received anything from you. But then people tell me I need to be unique, need to be a machine, but I see that as being sooo fake. I often internalize my job-hunting frustrations because I realize that I don't have a 'network' and its my fault that I can't attract an employer's attention--and it is. But I can only handle blaming myself for so long before I feel utterly incompetent. I'm a likable guy but it seems no one knows I exist. If you couldn't tell already, this has been an off day.

I'm going to keep this site on my list of regular reads to remind myself that no matter how badly the interview is flubbed, how poorly a cover letter is written, or how many times the candidate snuffled into the phone, each application represents a little bit of hope to the applicant.

So, keep your chins up millennials! There is a job for everyone.

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March 6, 2006

Finding the right job fit
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 12:56 PM

Even though you're in HR - and you may even be in recruiting - it's not always easy to find the right job for yourself.

The March issue of HR Magazine from SHRM feaures a career development article focusing on the issue of finding the right fit, addressing self-assessment, interviewing tips, and fit with your boss, among other issues:

Fit is essential because it allows you to feel good about your job, says Carter Womack, president and chief executive officer of Leadership@itsBest in Columbus, Ohio. People who fit in at their workplace are better able to perform and grow, he says. Ignoring warnings of a bad fit can lead to serious repercussions.

Here's a sample from one of two sidebars, this one carrying the "top 25 questions to ask during a job interview to determine whether you will be a good fit":

1. Why did you join the company?
2. What surprises have you seen since coming here?
3. How many people have you brought in from outside lately?

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March 3, 2006

Good times for the Johnson family
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:37 AM

Today's Globe reports that profits at Boston-based mutual fund behemoth Fidelity Investments "rose 20 percent to $1.3 billion in 2005. . .the second-highest net income figure ever" after the record profit of $2 billion in 2000. That's good news for Fidelity Chairman and CEO Ned Johnson, whose family founded and still controls the firm.

After some recent management changes at the company, things appear to be headed in the right direction. And job creation continues apace as more growth is seen ahead:

Johnson also said the company's expenses reached a record level, "driven by head-count growth." Fidelity had about 37,000 employees at the end of last year, a net increase of 4,358 and the largest increase since 2000. Fidelity said it had 2,400 job openings at the end of 2005, a sign of more growth to come.

Just to top things off, Johnson and daughter Abigail, president of Fidelity Employer Services and the parent company's largest single shareholder, were named the two wealthiest individuals in Boston Magazine's just-released list of the 50 wealthiest Bostonians.

Buddy, can you spare a dime?

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March 1, 2006

Menino, local execs brainstorm job growth
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 1:08 PM

We're all concerned about the recent string of acquisitions of high profile Boston companies, many of which are household names: Gillette, John Hancock, Fleet.

So is Boston Mayor Tom Menino, who is especially concerned about the potential impact on the city's economy and employment base:

Mayor Thomas M. Menino has led a series of meetings with some of the city's A-list business leaders to figure out how to retain and increase employment in the wake of high-profile takeovers of Boston companies and significant relocations by others.

During a session this month at the Parkman House, Menino's business residence on Beacon Hill, the group filled six easels with ideas about how to attract and keep more jobs, such as an advertising campaign extolling Boston's business advantages. . .

Read the full story.

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