Network your way to that next job Soft skills count in the workplace.

The Staffing View

On business, the workplace and employee relations

_February, 2009 

Make Networking the Core of Your Job Search

The ranks of unemployed workers are growing daily, making the competition for available permanent and temporary staffing jobs all the more fierce If you’re in the job market you need to stay aggressive While applying for openings on job boards and company web sites is important, that’s just part of a broader job search strategy

Networking with personal and professional contacts needs to be at the core of your hunt It has proven to be an extremely effective approach time and again But it takes effort, along with some forethought Who should know that you’re looking for a job? Call them? What events are happening where you can make some new contacts? Go there Keep these tips in mind as you network your way back to employment

Go back to the future Reconnect with your high school and college friends They probably have fond memories of times you spent together and would be happy to help Check the websites of your old college or high school Do you have a reunion coming up? Any alumni events? If you don’t live near your college, is there a local alumni chapter that you might join?

Meet a stranger Many of us belong to professional organizations through which we meet people who have similar skills and experiences Those are valuable connections But what about organizations of people who could use your services? Many of them allow associate members – those whose work complements the services of full members Someone in printing might join an organization of advertising professionals, for example Find the people who need what you do

Connect through your passions You might want a job right now, but networking is about creating relationships A great way for people to learn about you is by volunteering with a non-profit organization Coach youth sports, be involved in local government or help out social service groups Use your passions to build relationships and a job opportunity may follow

Find someone else a job Would you like people to help you get a job? Then you should help them Be alert to openings that might be suitable for friends or former colleagues who are in the job market The assistance you provide will inspire them to keep you in mind when they hear of opportunities Take the first step

 

The Importance of Soft Skills for Today’s Employees

Employers are placing more value on soft skills on the job – those competencies that include communication, personal, social and self-management behaviors They include your attitude, confidence, critical thinking, likeability, and more The Stanford Research Institute International and the Carnegie Mellon Foundation found that 75 percent of long-term job success depends on people skills, while only 25 percent on technical knowledge

But the training in these areas lags behind what companies offer their employees in technical skills, often because they’re viewed as more practical and more useful That means as an employee, you’re often on your own when it comes to developing your “people” skills

Though companies are spending about $50 billion today on people skills training, it’s often offered exclusively to ‘high-potential’ employees or senior executives, according to Peggy Klaus, a career coach to many Fortune 500 companies and author of The Hard Truth About Soft Skills: Workplace Lessons Smart People Wish They’d Learned Sooner Many firms fail to offer soft skills training at all, she adds

Klaus has some advice as you hone your soft skills on your own

• Make your boss look good He or she doesn’t have all the answers and would love it if you came up with a few Your success suggests he or she has trained you well and reflects on that person’s management abilities

• Tune in to WIFT-FM (What’s In It For Them?) – Listening isn’t something you do while waiting for your turn to speak It’s critical to understanding the needs or concerns of your co-workers Keep an open mind when in discussions Make your first comment a question when the other person finishes Don’t make assumptions and don’t interrupt

• It’s possible to be too nice Being too nice “breeds mistrust with others and makes you suspect,” says Klaus Likeability matters in business, but being overly nice can be a problem when you’re in a leadership position – whether it’s an entire company or just a project team Make decisions on principle, even if they cause some colleagues to bristle, and you’ll be respected for your judgment

 

Employers, Review Your Compensation Practices

Employers should note that President Obama has signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, legislation that extends the “statute of limitations” on compensation discrimination claims made by employees

Under the new law an unlawful employment practice occurs “when a discriminatory compensation decision or practice is adopted; when an individual becomes subject to a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice; or when an individual is affected by application of a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice - including each time wages, benefits, or other compensation is paid”

The legislation overrules a 2007 US Supreme Court decision in the case of Ledbetter vs Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co Ledbetter is a former Goodyear employee from Alabama She claimed that for 20 years she was paid less than her male colleagues though they did the same work Over the course of her career, she claimed she lost more than $200,000 in salary and more in pension and Social Security benefits

Congress concluded that the Supreme Court’s ruling “unduly” restricted the time period in which victims of discrimination can challenge and recover for discriminatory compensation decisions or other practices

The new law states that an employee can recover back pay for up to two years preceding the filing of the charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Additionally, the law is retroactive to May 28, 2007 It applies to all claims of compensation discrimination that are pending on or after that date