Company Culture: 7 Tips On How You Can Plug In

But where does company culture really begin, at least where job seekers are concerned? Plugging into a company’s culture can be a tough task for an outsider (job seeker). Here are some tips to gain confidence on that fit:

1. Build The Major Connecting Bridge

Fitting within a company’s workplace culture means finding a link between your background and demonstrating a common vision and passion for their organizational mission, and this process begins in the interview. You need to connect your assets to their mission to make the first big plug-in to their culture; personal values linking to company ones are like a marriage – there has to be a solid match from the start (but there is always room for some compromise).

2. Look Out For Potential Landmines In A Company’s Culture

On one hand, hiring managers are looking for chemistry, personality, and genuine ability to fit into an already-established culture paradigm you must be able to fit into. But on the other hand, cues about this culture are difficult for job seekers to pick up on because no one is going to out-and-out tell you the way things REALLY are on the inside.

But job seekers can find out a great deal in the interview by watching the interviewers carefully. Who defers to whom? Are there sideways glances? Does someone cut someone else off? Do they seem happy to be there? Are you greeted cheerfully when arriving for your appointment? Trust your intuition on the “vibe” – if you rely on your gut instincts, almost 100% of the time you’ll find that you are reading the situation correctly.

3. Dig Up The Dirt On Company Culture

I always advise clients to ask this interview question: “What kinds of professional development does your company offer?” Employers need to be able to connect the dots of the value of professional development to being tools to do a good job. But the deeper question is this: Does the business value employees enough to invest in them?

How a company treats their employees (either as valuable assets to be invested in or thrown away after being used up) is a question that should be on every job seeker’s mind in an interview. Training and professional development activities add to the mosaic of company culture while bringing in new ideas to share and excite others.

Outside educational opportunities encourage employees AND companies grow… together. It’s a win-win situation: Companies are more productive; staff gain skills.

4. Realize Transparency Impacts Company Culture

Learn what you can from your inside contacts and also during the interview. Don’t be afraid to ask how previous organizational challenges have been handled. How the executive level handles significant strategy shifts or restructuring initiatives is indicative of that company’s core culture values and overall treatment of staff.

5. Realize Communication Styles Matter

Communication is another broad term, but think about it: What clues do you pick up on during the pre- and post-interview contact with the employer? Are the interviewers clear? Do they make you feel comfortable and well-informed? Or is it more ambush-style? How do the interviewers respond during your face-to-face interview? Is it a stiff conversation, or more of an open, easy communication style?

Companies with positive cultures have leaders who are open to new ideas and are focused on empowering their employees. Communication styles that allow for free expression of thoughts, ideas, and suggestions in a constructive way without negative repercussions are good indicators of what a company culture is like.

6. Find Out What The Interviewer Likes About His Or Her Job

Ho hum. If the interviewers are not fired up about what they do, how on earth do they expect to draw in top talent? No one wants to work at a place when the interviewers can’t even sell them on the benefits of working there.

One of the advantages to consider includes an upbeat work environment. People who are passionate about their jobs positively bubble enthusiasm and are excited to answer this important job seeker question. Staff will provide insights on important cultural benefits of working at this company. If they are happy, they’ll be providing a cultural transmission of happiness throughout the interview, and you’ll pick up on this right away.

7. If It Doesn’t Fit, Don’t Try To Wear It

Ever make a mistake and take a job that you needed but once you got in there, you realized that you were NOT going to fit in? It could be the result of a complete culture clash, or realizing after the fact that the supervisor that you are reporting to is your worst nightmare.

If you have picked on any negative vibes during the interview, and can afford to walk away from that job, be fearless, and do it. Ultimately, in the long run, you have to weigh the mental costs with the compensation… is it worth it? Some people rally and bravely try to make a “go” of it, but come to the understanding that this position is not meant to be.

Defining a company’s culture is sometimes like trying to tackle a marshmallow- you can’t quite get your arms around it and you aren’t quite sure what you are going to get once you are inside. The best you can do is be smart, do your research, take a temperature “check” during the interview, and base your decision there. An accurate understanding what key values are to a company can help you plug in quickly and become welcomed as part of the team.

Read more at http://www.careerealism.com/company-culture-6-tips-plug/#V1zXt8gJRfLAePPg.99

via Company Culture: 7 Tips On How You Can Plug In | CAREEREALISM.

Company Culture: 7 Tips On How You Can Plug In

How to avoid hiring a Mini-Me

Managers are inclined to hire people just like themselves: data can prove it – and help stop it happening where it is hurting the bottom line.

So says Talent Analytics Corp chief executive Greta Roberts, who was visiting Sydney from her base in the US last week to explain how predictive analytics can help employers make smarter hiring and promotion decisions and reduce employee churn.

Speaking from a forum held by the Association for Data-driven Marketing and Advertising, Roberts says “unless managers are incredibly aware, they tend to hire people who are like themselves”.

“It blows people away when they look at a manager and who they have hired [based on data alone],” Roberts says. Usually their profiles are so similar you can almost pick which manager hired which staff member, she adds. For example, a risk-averse person is likely to hire people who are similarly risk averse, even if it is for a role that would suit a risk-taker or a team needs diversity, she says.

Predictive analytics for the workplace is used in much the same way as it has been used for years by marketers trying to find good customers, Roberts says. It is about collecting a set of disparate data on some 50-60 variables for a large group of employees and working out what variables “top performers” in that group have in common, and what things the “bottom performers’ have in common.

Then it is a matter of hiring more people with the same traits as stars and avoiding those whose profiles match the lowest performers, she says.

Changing employer assumptions

The use of data in hiring decisions has critics. Roberts, who is a faculty member of the International Institute of Analytics, says “the biggest fear is that it’s going to become this rogue model for hiring that people have to obey, or it’s going to have a negative impact on employees”.

She says data should not be relied on to the exclusion of other things like job interviews.

But she argues it can help managers see the “real person” and their potential rather than making biased assumptions.

“You don’t know what they [job candidates] look like, where they went to school or what gender they are.

“ It’s a lovely way to value the person for the person and what they are able to contribute,” she argues.

Roberts says data has challenged assumptions about what sort of person would make the best hire and would stay in the job the longest.

It might seem sensible to hire friendly people who have that “smile” in their voice when hiring call center customer service staff, she says. But Talent Anayltics found quite the opposite.

”The talkers don’t listen as much, they can talk too long and take too long with each call,” she says.

She adds that predictive analytics can also help reduce staff turnover by identifying what sorts of people will enjoy a role . Her firm was called in to a Hawaii-based bank to determine why the attrition rate for bank tellers was 65 per cent annually.

They found the bank, known as a relatively creative organization, had hired creative types as tellers. Yet creativity was “negatively correlated” with success in the job, she says.

The bank has also begun to revamp its career structure, she says. It had been promoting tellers to personal business bankers, despite the roles having different demands.

“We were lining up top performing tellers to stick them in a role where they weren’t going to fit,” she says.“The career path didn’t make sense.”

via How to avoid hiring a Mini-Me.

How to avoid hiring a Mini-Me

How To Maximize Video Interviews [Useful Tips]

A job interview can be a nerve wracking experience. At interviews you are not only being appraised for what you say or for what you can do, but also you are being examined on the way you present yourself, on whether you will fit within the company’s corporate philosophy, and on your general demeanor.

In recent years the format of job interviews has begun to reflect the increasingly technological world we live in. Video conferencing is now a popular choice when it comes to personnel selection. There are dedicated software programs, specialist interview techniques, and a wealth of advice on how to do well in a video interview.

Key advantages of video interviews for employers

The advantages of using video conferencing to interview job candidates can be classified into employer benefits and candidate benefits. Among employer benefits, the following can be highlighted:

• Video interviews allow for greater consistency. By using a pre-determined script and format, all candidates are asked the same set of questions

• Video conferencing captures the moment, and it does so permanently. Therefore, employers have the opportunity to replay, review, and rate the interviews online. Interviewers can also make use of videotaped material to compare candidates’ answers and performance during the interview

• Having visual material associated to the interview can help employers better remember outstanding candidates. This is especially true when video interviews are compared to audio interviews (for example, Skype-based interviews). By using video, employers can associate a candidate’s name to a face, so in fact, video interviews can help provide a more personal touch

• Time is at a premium for most human resources departments. Video conferencing allows employers to carry out a large number of interviews in a short space of time. This interview format is particularly useful when it comes to interviewing candidates who live in a different city or country. Video interviewing can cut recruitment costs by 50%

What are some of the benefits that job seekers can draw from video interviews?

Here is a (non-exhaustive) list:

• Video interviews are also advantageous to candidates in terms of time and money. There is no need to stress about being late to the interview because of traffic, and similarly, there is no need to travel to another city (with the associated expenses that come with it). The only investment you need to make is a computer with Internet access and a webcam, and almost everyone has that kind of equipment these days

• There are psychological benefits associated to video interviews. A job interview can be a lot less stressful if you can go through it from your own home

• You can practice for a video interview by recording yourself answering typical interview questions. You can then assess your performance and make the necessary changes, so that you feel confident and prepared on the day of the interview

• Video interviews are ideal if you already have a job but are looking to move elsewhere. Online interviews do not require you to take days off, something that could arouse your boss’ suspicions.

Can a video interview improve my chances of getting the Job?

The good news is that if you approach it correctly, a video interview can help you be successful in your job search. If you can perform well using video conferencing software, you’ll show that you’re at ease with modern technology. You’ll also have the opportunity to practise with the software until you’re comfortable with it. If you have picture-in-picture during the interview, you’ll be able to observe the appearance you’re projecting to your interviewers and adjust if necessary, which is something you don’t get the chance to do in a traditional interview format.

By preparing thoroughly for your video interview and taking care to give the best impression possible you may be able to secure the job without even entering the office!

Essential Video Interview Tips

Prepare yourself ahead of time: As you are not meeting your employer face to face, you should think about emailing the interviewer your CV and any other applicable documents before the day of the interview. Two days before is the best time to send all the relevant papers.

Practise: If you are not comfortable being in front of a camera then a good way to feel at ease with it is to practise the video interview with a friend over Skype. Get your friend to ask you the questions you expect to be asked and then ask for feedback. This way, you will also hopefully gain more confidence which can be used to your advantage when you’ve got the real video interview.

Background and light: If you have the video interview in your own home then make sure you test the software and also check your background and lighting. If the sun is shining, the light often blocks out the screen so make sure that that doesn’t happen by checking everything first.

Look in the camera: You may be tempted to look at yourself when you have the video interview but it is extremely important that you look throughout the interview at the webcam and not the screen. This will ensure you are keeping good eye contact with your interviewer and also gives the impression that you are very confident.

via How To Maximize Video Interviews [Useful Tips].

How To Maximize Video Interviews [Useful Tips]

3 Sneaky Ways To Research A Company

When you apply for a job, it’s important to do your homework on the company. Otherwise, when you get an interview and your interviewer asks, “So, what is it about us that drew you to our company?” you aren’t left stumped or jobless.

Not only that, but it’s important to figure out if the company is a place YOU would enjoy working for. So, before you send off that resume, check out these sneaky ways to research a company:

1. Learn About The People Who Work There

Most companies have a staff page on their website. On this page, the company will list some, if not all, of the employees at the company. Here, you can get names (and sometimes contact information) of people who you’d be working with if you got the job.

How to learn more:

• Check out their LinkedIn profile to see what kinds of work/projects they do

• Get a conversation started (Here are some tips for doing this appropriately!)

• Request an informational interview. (Find out how to prepare!)

Warning: Don’t be creepy or demanding when contacting these people! Simply reach out to them in a professional manner, introduce yourself, and tell them you’re interested in learning more about the company and work environment. If they respond, go you! If not, move on and leave them alone.

2. Find Out What They’re Sharing Via Social Media

These days, everyone is on social media – including employers. Look them up on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, and so on.

Look closely at what they’re tweeting, posting, or filming. This is a great way to get a feel for the company’s values. When browsing the social channels of companies, ask yourself these questions:

• What events are they promoting?

• What articles are they sharing?

• How are they interacting with their followers?

Take note of anything that jumps out at you. If something fascinates you, mention it in your cover letter or interview.

3. See What The Employees Are Saying

Ever wished there was a place that rated companies based on how much people like working there?

Well, now there is!

Sites like Indeed and Glassdoor are great places to learn about a potential employer and how people like working there.

With these sites, individuals can comment on the company, culture, work, benefits, and more. Not only that, but they can rate a company based on how much they like working there. You can also learn more about salary and past interviewing experiences!

According to Indeed.com’s Employer Branding Survey, 83% of job seekers said their decisions on where to apply are influenced by employer reviews. So, before you apply for a job, make sure you do your research.

Doing a little research can go a long way in your job search. Don’t be lazy – Learn more about your dream company now!

via 3 Sneaky Ways To Research A Company | CAREEREALISM.

3 Sneaky Ways To Research A Company

Can Mobile Technologies and Big Data Improve Health?

Medical data is a hot spot for venture investing and product innovation. The payoff could be better care.

 

 

 

After decades as a technological laggard, medicine has entered its data age. Mobile technologies, sensors, genome sequencing, and advances in analytic software now make it possible to capture vast amounts of information about our individual makeup and the environment around us. The sum of this information could transform medicine, turning a field aimed at treating the average patient into one that’s customized to each person while shifting more control and responsibility from doctors to patients.

The question is: can big data make health care better?

“There is a lot of data being gathered. That’s not enough,” says Ed Martin, interim director of the Information Services Unit at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine. “It’s really about coming up with applications that make data actionable.”

The business opportunity in making sense of that data—potentially $300 billion to $450 billion a year, according to consultants McKinsey & Company—is driving well-established companies like Apple, Qualcomm, and IBM to invest in technologies from data-capturing smartphone apps to billion-dollar analytical systems. It’s feeding the rising enthusiasm for startups as well. Venture capital firms like Greylock Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, as well as the corporate venture funds of Google, Samsung, Merck, and others, have invested more than $3 billion in health-care information technology since the beginning of 2013—a rapid acceleration from previous years, according to data from Mercom Capital Group.

100,000

Number of health apps available for smartphones

This MIT Technology Review Business Report looks at the technologies and companies most likely to survive the boom and the challenges they will face as they push to remake health care.

The groups that control the most medical data today are insurance companies and care providers, and their data analysis is already beginning to change health care. Express Scripts, which manages pharmacy benefits for 90 million members in the U.S. and processes 1.4 billion prescriptions a year, has scoured its data from doctors’ offices, pharmacies, and laboratories to detect patterns that might alert doctors to potential adverse drug interactions and other prescription issues. Doctors can now know 12 months in advance, with an accuracy rate of 98 percent, which of their patients may fail to take their medicine. Taking steps to avert that problem could improve patients’ health and reduce the $317 billion spent in the United States each year on unnecessary ER visits and other treatment.

Today many companies and health-care providers are adding other layers of information to create an increasingly precise, patient-specific brand of medicine. New mobile technologies, for example, could provide information about a patient’s everyday behaviors and health, creating opportunities for care providers to influence patients far more frequently. Data brought in from electronic health records would add doctors’ insights, test results, and medical history. Genetic data would offer insight into whether patients are predisposed to certain conditions or how they might react to treatments.

“We want to believe that most of the things we do in medicine are based on evidence,” says Malay Gandhi, managing director of Rock Health, which funds health-care startups. “Some are, but most aren’t.” The opportunity, he says, is that medicine could become more analytical and evidence-based.

Data is also changing the role of patients, offering them a chance to play a more central part in their own care. One way is by using mobile technology to monitor sleep patterns, heart rate, activity levels, and so on. In development are even more advanced devices capable of continuously monitoring such key metrics as blood oxygen, glucose levels, and even stress. And companies like Apple are hoping to become repositories for all this information, giving consumers new ways to track and perhaps improve their health.

This kind of information may be useful and interesting for anyone, but it can become essential for the millions living with chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and depression. WellDoc makes a prescription-only FDA-approved “patient coaching” system, which advises users on how much insulin they should take in light of information recorded on their smartphones: blood sugar levels, recent meals, and exercise. It also offers tailored messages of encouragement and provides the patient’s doctor with treatment recommendations based on the data and established medical guidelines. A feature under development would enable the system to predict a hypoglycemic reaction and help users avoid it.

Ginger.io uses data collected (with permission) from a phone and other sensors to assess the behavior of people with mental illnesses such as depression. Are they calling loved ones, or getting enough sleep? When a patient is showing signs of struggling, someone can be alerted.

Over time, both companies will aggregate this information to help doctors study and improve treatment overall. “It’s like one of the largest clinical trials in history,” says Chris Bergstrom, WellDoc’s chief strategy and commercial officer. “And it’s not even in an artificial environment—it’s in real time.”

Families affected by Phelan-McDermid syndrome, a rare condition in which a deletion on chromosome 22 causes problems such as learning and memory deficits, are building a database of information from genomic tests, clinical medical records, extensive family surveys and histories, and more. The goal is to create a central repository where researchers can examine multiple sources of data simultaneously. That’s increasingly important as researchers begin to see connections between Phelan-McDermid, autism, and other conditions. Another benefit: data that once would have been locked up in one academic researcher’s lab will now be readily available to many different experts.

“So much of that data is already out there,” says Megan O’Boyle, whose daughter Shannon was diagnosed in 2001, just two years after chromosome 22 was sequenced. “It’s just sitting there waiting to be used.”

via Can Mobile Technologies and Big Data Improve Health? | MIT Technology Review.

Can Mobile Technologies and Big Data Improve Health?

How To Write Career Documents To Influence Your Reader

We use writing skills to engage, inspire or persuade people in our personal and work lives. In a career transition or active job search, writing skills are under sharp scrutiny.

Each transition task, whether it is completing self-assessment exercises, creating a resume, crafting a cover letter or preparing additional marketing tools requires focused writing – one that is targeted, has meaning for your reader and clearly outlines your value to the potential opportunity.

1) Strategy – focus and purpose:

Why are you writing? – The purpose of your writing must be clear. Is it request for a networking conversation? Is it to apply for an open position? Is it to share research information with a decision-maker in your target company? Give the reader a reason to read your letter!

What do you want the outcome to be? – The clearer the intended outcome, the more effective the writing. A reader typically asks, “Why am I getting this letter and what do you want me to do with it?” Invite the reader’s curiosity with compelling reasons.

Who is your audience? – Different readers make different meaning from the same piece of writing. Is it someone from within your field of expertise? Or is it someone who will not understand the terminology used from your field? Or will your writing reach people beyond your intended audience? Understand your audience and tailor your writing in content, tone and language to meet the needs of your audience.

2) Style – organization and design:

Decide on the content – Research the opportunity first. Second, identify and prioritize information according to importance and value to reader. Is your paragraph organized around one main idea? What kind of supporting statements can elaborate or explain your main idea? Are you using active verbs to engage the reader?

Match the style to the document – Understand industry writing standards for your document. Each document, for example resume, cover letters, memos or addendums have unique writing attributes. Can a reader find information easily where s/he expects to find it on the document? Are profile statements or headings clearly identified? Have you emphasized your main ideas using italics, boldface or underlining as appropriate?

Organize the information – Each document is typically divided into separate sections. Select information carefully for each section so that your writing flows quickly and easily. Use examples, charts, numbers or tables as appropriate to inform and persuade your reader.

3) Impact – return on investment factor:

Value offered – The employer has a current and potential need. Can you solve business problems now and in the future? Use information and language that is future focused and clearly links your skills to the deliverables in the opportunity. Make a business case for hiring – What will you bring immediately? Why are you the right fit? How will you be productive and engaged in the employer’s culture?

Create a picture – Use succinct examples to create a visual image of your success stories in the reader’s mind. Pay attention to the tone of your letter. Is it personal, courteous and positive? Does it clearly communicate benefits to the reader?

Follow-up plan – Close strongly. Revisit your purpose and share a proactive follow-up plan with the reader. When will you call to schedule a time to talk? What else can you do to invite curiosity? Ask for the sale!

Keep the communication simple, specific, conversational and inviting. Above all, keep it error-free.

via How To Write Career Documents To Influence Your Reader.

How To Write Career Documents To Influence Your Reader

14 Ways To Research Company Culture

My friend and I were talking recently about how to research company culture before you start working there. In the past, we’ve both been burned by companies that looked good on the surface but eventually turned out to have a terrible culture of one sort or another.

Honestly, if it was fool-proof, people wouldn’t be suckered into it as often as they do. And since my friend and I (and others) actually work in HR/recruiting, we should know better than anyone how to unearth this stuff, right?

A Mindset Change Is Required

All too often, when we’re looking for a new job, we become blinded to the negative and would move over even if the hiring manager promised to kick us in the kidneys four times a day. I understand when you have no job that it’s important to take what you can get, but never settle for working at a company with a poor culture (or if the culture really isn’t “wrong,” but you just don’t fit in anyway). You’re giving them skills and experience that they can’t get from other candidates, and they’re trading that for money. Don’t forget employment is a two way street!

Think about it. For many of the questions below, there are no “right” answers. Everyone appreciates different things about specific working environments, and what may appeal to you actually repulses others. Consider what the ideal work environment would be for you, and filter the responses through that. Oh, and several of these methods will require you to ask unorthodox questions of the hiring manager or recruiter, but it’s the price you pay if you’re going to be serious about finding the right culture fit for you.

14 Ways To Determine The Culture

1. Ask to interview an employee or two on what they enjoy about working there.


2. Ask for a walk-through of the office-listen for laughs and look for smiles; that says a lot about the work environment.


3. Ask about previous people who held the position if you are replacing someone-find out what they did right and what they could’ve done better.


4. Look at sites like Glassdoor.com for reviews by current or former employees.


5. Keep in mind that there are “pockets” of culture within individual departments, so the overall company culture could differ from your specific work area-that’s why it’s important to try to do things like #1 and #2 above.


6. Ask what sorts of behavior are rewarded and which are punished.


7. Ask how (or if) news that affects the company is shared-does everyone learn of it at once or is it distributed to managers to trickle down to employees? Are they transparent?


8. Find out what sort of events the company holds for employees-is it a once a year Christmas party or are there monthly opportunities to celebrate with co-workers?


9. Ask if there are known slackers in the office and try to find out why they are still around (good luck with this one, but if you get a straight answer, you will have a leg up)


10. Ask about how difficult it is to get attention or funding for new ideas and initiatives-are they a “we’ve always done it that way” type of company?


11. Ask what the company’s overall mission/vision is. If a random employee can tell you (at least in general terms) it could signify a strong, unified workforce.


12. Ask about the dress code and other abrasive policies/details that,while palatable at first, can end up chafing you down the line.


13. Find out if the company offers any sort of reimbursement or support for training, seminars, or college tuition. If they value smart employees who work to better themselves, they probably will.


14. Ask how previous employees who committed ethics violations were held accountable. (General terms are fine to protect any guilty parties, but do they even care about ethics in the first place?)

So, what other ways do you know of that a candidate can use to discern a company’s corporate culture before deciding to take a job?

via 14 Ways To Research Company Culture | CAREEREALISM.

14 Ways To Research Company Culture