Virgin Medias Secrets to a Great Candidate Experience

Virgin Medias Secrets to a Great Candidate Experience According to Virgin Medias Employer Branding guru Neil Chivers, delivering a great candidate experience starts with thinking about the end user  and whats going through their thought process when theyre applying for a role. And even actually trying to understand what motivates them to apply for a job. Is it the brand? Is it working for a Virgin brand? Or is it actually about the job that theyre doing and actually the projects that theyre going to get involved with? He believes in taking an individual approach to the candidate experience identifying individual people and opportunities that suit them, that will grow with them. He admits its a difficult task Virgin hires about 3,000 people a year! Trying to tailor that experience  is a huge task, but one thats totally worth it. You can listen to my interview with him below, or read on for a summary of our conversation. Building a great candidate experience I think from my perspective, if I did have that step by step guide, Id be a multi-billionaire and be selling lots of books around the world. But the way I approach things is kind of always thinking about the candidate. We should be putting their needs first. Yes, ultimately were here for jobs and to help our business. But actually, sometimes we dont help ourselves because we dont give the candidates every opportunity that they can be, to be the best that they can be. So always put them first. And I think from the inside out, so think about, as a business, where are we trying to go and what are we trying to achieve? Quite often, when we get hiring managers that come to us saying, I need to recruit for this person. Well, just because somebodys left and you need to replace them doesnt necessarily mean that you should just recruit a like replacement. Actually, its an opportunity to think about the future of the business. Quite often, we are encouraging our stakeholders internally to think about future-proofing our business and actually thinking about whats right for the business, not just today, but in years to come. And another key thing, I think, its just being authentic and being genuine. So one of the things that we have a big challenge with is the sheer volume of applications that we get. And partly because people see the Virgin brand and think, Well, Virgin Media. I know them. Im very familiar with them as an organization. They may be a customer or they may know somebody else that is. And their perception of who we are might not actually match up to the reality. I think as a business, I would encourage any employers out there to just be quite genuine and authentic in the message they put across. And actually, the reality is, youre going to be expected to do some things in your job that actually a lot of candidates wont want to do or cant see themselves doing. Dont be afraid to include that because were looking at the amount of people that are applying for our jobs. And to be quite honest, in some areas, the amount of applications we get just is too high and we want to give people real expectation of what its like to work here. So by being genuine and authentic, I think thats one way of dealing with that. Whats your tech stack for  employer branding and recruiting? Theres quite a few different platforms. Some of the big ones, Avanade is our ATS. We moved to Avanade at the end of 2016, that enables us to source candidates. Its got all of our jobs on. We can sample from it. We can obviously put in analytics to look at source of hire, which is significantly going to help us in terms of identifying where the best talent comes from. In addition to that, we have relationships with LaunchPad that we use for video interviewing. Probably something that well explore a lot more in 2017, actually, how we can get the best out of that, ensuring that the experience that somebody gets using LaunchPad is just as we would expect it to be with them engaging with us on our career site. So changing the look and feel of it so that actually they get a Virgin Media experience, even though theyre using a third-party provider. We have Meet and Engage for our volume recruitment which enables candidates to have live web chats with recruiters. Yocto our partner is there. And weve got a lot of tools at our disposal that we have internally that were trying to leverage those relationships that weve got with our digital team and marketing team. One of them being an employee advocacy platform called Dynamic Signal, which I know a lot of businesses will use to distribute and share content from their employees to their wider networks. And were actually using that to ensure that all employees have access to our Twitter handle and our LinkedIn profiles, so that they can share content and updates that are more career specific and career relevant. And were starting to see some great results from that and we continue to do so into 2017. Follow Neil on Twitter @Chivoir and be sure to subscribe to the Employer Branding Podcast.

5 Keys to Mastering Employee Engagement

5 Keys to Mastering Employee Engagement If youre looking to  improve performance and productivity within your organisation, then you may want to focus on boosting your employee engagement. Your employees  satisfaction within their job has a large impact on their performance at work and by creating a level of mutual respect between employer and staff, this can result in improved commitment and loyalty within  the organisation and in turn a grown sense of enthusiasm for work . Disengaged employees cost American businesses an average of $300 billion a year in productivity losses, as unhappy staff are unlikely to put their full effort into their work. They are also more likely to start looking for opportunities elsewhere, resulting in high  recruitment costs and training of new staff. However, this can be avoided by following these five elements to mastering employee engagement, courtesy of our friends at Bonusly  and the benefits of an engaged workforce are endless. 1) Recognition: By recognising your employees achievements, they will feel valued within the organisation and therefore feel driven to achieve the best for the company. 86% of employees are reportedly motivated by recognition and 65% say that they would work harder if they were better recognised, so it is important to build employee recognition within your company culture to achieve the best performance from staff. By acknowledging  hard work  from staff, you will also reinforce actions and behaviours you would like to see more of. Employee recognition can be implemented in a number of ways, from praising  good work directly in the moment, to written thank you notes and gifts. When creating an employee recognition scheme it is important that all employees are treated equally, so that anyone who displays a certain behaviour will be commended for it in the same way. You also want to be sure that the recognition matches the effort and results displayed and show that you really mean it. 2) Rewards: As well as recognising outstanding achievements from employees, you may also wish to reward them for their actions. These can include anything from a gift card or lunch out, to a bonus scheme in place for when professional targets are met or at the end of the year. The most effective way to boost motivation and positive behaviour has been found to be with small, regular awards, that acknowledge achievements at the time that they occur. 81% of employees think that year-end bonuses are nice, but shouldnt be expected; whereas smaller rewards for personal accomplishments throughout the year are better  appreciated by staff, as they show that their employer is aware of their efforts. 3)  Culture: Building a positive company culture that employees feel happy and comfortable within, can be the key to maintaining engagement at work. A  combination of company values, systems, beliefs, habits and relationships are all contributing factors to the formation of a  company culture and although building a strong company culture is easier said than done, there are a few things that a leader can do to help create  a positive working environment; such as  respecting your employees and including them in business decisions, allowing staff a level of freedom, appreciating hard work and making work enjoyable. 88% of employees want a collaborative, rather than competitive work culture, so a level of openness and exchanging  of thoughts and ideas is a win win situation for both the employer and employee. Relationships at work play a significant  part in how happy people are at work and 70% of people state that their work friendships are the most crucial elements to a happy working life and peers can also motivate staff to go the extra mile at work. 4) Purpose: Employees want to know that they have a purpose within the organisation and that they are making a valuable contribution. When searching for a job, a key factor that people look for in a role is the opportunity to make a difference Millennial employees in particular are looking for this level of fulfilment from their jobs and 2/3 of graduating university students say that making a difference through their next job is a priority, even if it means taking a pay cut. By showing your employees how their work positively affects the company, they will be more driven to achieve their best and remain engaged at work. 5) Autonomy: Allowing employees a bit of freedom and control over their time can make them happier and more  productive. 79% of employees value feeling empowered at work and by taking charge over their work schedules, or the way that they wish to complete their work, employees can see  an increased job satisfaction. Lots of organisations have been introducing flexible working hours and the option to work from home as a bid to introduce a level of autonomy within their companies and 74% of employees reportedly would like a flexible work schedule. This may work for individuals  who work well independently and excel when taking responsibility for their own work; however others need a little extra direction, so it is important to make an informed decision about whether this would work within your organisation. This being said, by allowing staff the freedom  to make choices in the workplace and be accountable for their decision, it is likely that they will be happier and more productive.

How to Answer Why Do You Want This Job in an Interview

How to Answer Why Do You Want This Job in an Interview So why do you want this job?  Answering that question should be really easy! Often the answers are: Well, I want a job I want to work I want to pay the mortgage/rent…. I want a promotion, it’s a bigger job I hate the job I’m in, I need to do something different My family are moving so I need to change jobs I got made redundant I’m a bit bored I like the sound of it I could go on. The difficulty with all of those answers is that they may well be true and they may well explain why you have applied for a new job but they do not tell the interviewer any good reason why you should have the job. When you are going for an interview or applying for a job you need to give the interview compelling reasons for giving you the job and that starts with the basic question:  Why do you want it? So how do you give them that compelling reason? By treating this question as an opportunity for your sales pitch. By thinking about what it is that the interviewer wants in a candidate and what it is that they need to hear. Ever been turned down for a job because you did not sound very enthusiastic? Been told that they were not sure if you really wanted it?  It is actually a pathetic bit of feedback to give someone. Surely the correct logic is that they offer and if you don’t want it, you turn it down. If you are the best person for the job they should offer, but, it happens, so you need to make sure that it does not apply to you. This is your chance to sound enthusiastic, if not actually passionate, but how do you do that without sounding gushing and false? Here are 4 key steps to selling yourself into that job: When you are asked about why you have applied for this role, why you want it etc… start with: Step 1: ‘This is a great company /organisation because…….’  Everyone likes to be flattered, so tell them why you think they are a good company, what it is you like about the company…. Step 2: Describe the challenges of the role, even if it is a job that is pretty routine. What are the issues they face  in getting someone to do the role well? Step 3: Tell them the things that float your boat, the things you have just been doing, the challenges you really enjoy and give some brief examples. Step 4: Think about why they might not want to hire you and refute their logic. So if I was going for a job in my local Co-op shop I might say: I think the Co-op is a great organisation, I admire their ethical stance and I was very impressed when they had no issues over horse meat. That’s the sort of company I’d like to be in. I know you need staff who can work shifts, who are good with customers and who will make sure that the shelves are kept stocked and tidy. I really enjoy working with customers, helping them find things, explaining the difference between products and I hate untidy shops. It’s really important to me to be polite and friendly, when I worked in the garage I tried to get every customer to smile before they left!   It has been a while since I have done shop work but I don’t think you lose the passion to please the customer and make sure they always come back â€" I haven’t. Remember this is your sales pitch and this is where you can bring together your knowledge of them and your enthusiasm. It is all about why they are great to work for not why you need the job. RELATED: How to Sell Yourself Effectively in an Interview

Its Time For You to Become a Master Brand Using LinkedIn - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Its Time For You to Become a Master Brand Using LinkedIn - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, I spoke with Rich Brooks, who has an in-depth knowledge of social networks, runs his own consulting company and writes for Fast Company and MainToday.com. LinkedIn, the largest professional network, has received a lot of press lately, including an article by Rich Brooks that I discovered earlier this week. Many people arent using LinkedIn effectively in order to get jobs, network, promote Me 2.0, etc. During this interview, we will talk about why LinkedIn is important, the various features you can use and a handful of tips that will help you build a powerful brand using LinkedIn. Connect with Rich or I on LinkedIn today! What is the opportunity cost associated with not signing up for LinkedIn? LinkedIn is another networking opportunity for anyone looking for new work opportunities, whether it be a new job or a new customer. However, unlike traditional BNI meetings or Chamber events, you’re not limited by a the number of people who can fit into a hall or driving distance. People you link in with can be around the corner or around the world. LinkedIn also offers flexibility that traditional networking doesn’t. Unlike some networking groups, you don’t have to dedicate an hour or two every Tuesday to a meeting. Your able to spend as much or as little time on LI as you like, and all from the comfort of your desk. Your profile is out there for friends, associates, prospects and even old girlfriends to track you down. It’s easy to find and connect with people who you knew previously, or have interests or are in an industry similar to yours. Can you explain the LinkedIn Answers and Groups features? How can one best use these features to build their network and their personal brand? The Answers tool allows any LI member to ask questions, and then send the question out to their network via email. They can also have their question available for public response, getting answers from experts within the LI network. If you’re looking for some quick advice on a programming language or where to go for legal documents, you can often get your question answered here quickly. In addition, you can track the publicly asked questions based on your area of expertise. This is a great way to establish credibility, and often can lead to more business. Groups are a great feature as well, as the idea of networking with a billion people (exaggeration) might seem overwhelming to some, like drinking from a fire hose. Groups allow you to connect with smaller, more intimate groups that can lead to more fruitful relationships. Currently I belong to a couple of Skidmore alumni groups, two local business groups, and I started a Maine Tweetup group to support the Twitter users in Maine. What are 3-5 common mistakes people make when using LinkedIn? One big mistake I see is people not completing their profile. Every job you don’t include, every school that you leave off your profile is a missed connection with one, a dozen or a hundred people out there. I also recommend people include their photo. In this age of social media, people expect you to put a little bit of yourself out there. Another mistake I see is people setting up a profile and then putting everything on autopilot. Not participating, not seeking other people out, not networking. Having a profile on LI is better than not having one, but I feel like you’re leaving a lot of money on the table if you just walk away and hope your profile attracts new business. (BTW, I was totally guilty of this for a long time.) I’m not sure if this is a mistake or just my own pet peeve, but when you want to reach out to someone LI will send them an email with a generic message: Id like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn. Unfortunately, most people don’t alter that message. It’s got all the warmth of HAL 9000 telling Dave Bowman he’s not going to open the emergency airlocks for him. Instead, personalize the message, and if it’s someone you haven’t seen in years, remind them of your connection. “Hey, I haven’t seen you since we parted ways at that pub in Ireland. Let’s connect on LinkedIn and catch up.” What are a few of your strategies for building a remarkable LinkedIn profile? Lead a remarkable life ?? complete your profile as much as possible include a photo join groups solicit recommendations from others (something I need to get on) get a lot of connections Also, just today I saw that LinkedIn is adding applications to their offerings. You can now embed Google Docs and Slideshare presentations to your profile, which will allow you to share PowerPoint-like presentations on your profile page. How does one grow their network using LinkedIn, especially if they start with only a few people? Organically, and over time. This isn’t a race to see how many connections you can rake up. One good connection can be worth a hundred mediocre ones. That being said, here are some ideas that will help you find those powerful connections, some of which we’ve already discussed: complete your profile share your Gmail, Yahoo, etc. address book with LinkedIn to see if your colleagues are already on LI look at your contacts’ contacts and see if you see anyone you know and reach out to them ask and answer questions in the Answer section join several appropriate groups, or start your own check out the new applications LinkedIn is rolling out, and leverage them to reach more people. Rich Brooks is founder and president of flyte new media, a Web design and Internet marketing firm in Portland, Maine. He writes a monthly email newsletter, flyte log, and blogs regularly at flyte blog: web marketing strategies for small business MaineToday.com, and as an expert blogger at Fast Company on Web marketing topics such as search engine optimization, email marketing, business blogs, social media and building Web sites that sell. He teaches a Web marketing course for entrepreneurs at the University of Southern Maines Center for Continuing Education. He is also the “tech guru” on WCSH Channel 6’s evening news show, 207, and has been interviewed by the Channel 6 news team for technology reports.

How Emotional Intelligence Influences Effective Leadership CareerMetis.com

How Emotional Intelligence Influences Effective Leadershipâ€" CareerMetis.com Source â€" DepositPhotos.comThe human mind is complex, and in an age when everything is driven by technology, it’s harder to decode human emotions and behaviours. That’s where the role of Emotional IntelligenceResearchers from the Swinburne University of Technologyand University of Western Australia, developed Genos EI, to measure workplace EI effectively.The Correlation between Emotional Intelligence and Effective LeadershipevalThe term Emotional Intelligence was coined by the cumulative effort of Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer in 1990. They described it as a form of social intelligence that helps in controlling one’s emotions and understanding the emotions of others. It is the collection of abilities used to identify, assess and control the emotions of the self and others. Emotional intelligence is a useful tool for developing leadership skills. It’s a critical component of establishing order and discipline in an organization.There exists a significant relationship between EI and effective leadership. It is crucial for a leader to have EI to be able to relate with problems that require human understanding.A leader must be able to gauge the requirements of the ones working under them and make them feel comfortable at the workspace. That’s how a leader constructs an exceptional team.The necessity of EI is not only restricted to leaders but also the subordinates. The subordinates need to have EI to be able to assert control themselves and function with better productivity.Transactional versus Transformational Leadership: Where Emotional Intelligence is necessary?There are two kinds of popular leadership theories that are dominantly applied in organizations. One the transactional and the other, transformational.evalTransactional leadership revolves around creating a strict line between the leaders and the subordinates. It focuses on rewarding or punishing the subordinates, and it’s driven by individual interests.On the contrary, transformational lead ership focuses on the needs of the team members and work as a unified whole. It is more emotion-based and therefore, enhances organizational performance. It a proactive form of leadership, unlike the transactional one. In any case, it is a better form of leadership.To execute this form of leadership efficiently, knowledge of Emotional intelligence becomes mandatory.When a leader thinks from the perspective of others, he can make decisions for the team; it is an application of EI. Abandoning the bureaucratic approach is the first step towards EI.evalThe increasing importance has led to the training of students with the same skill through Emotional Intelligence Leadershipcourses.The key elements of Emotional IntelligenceDaniel Goleman, an American psychologist, helped to popularise this concept by introducing 5 key elements to it:Self-awarenessEI begins with controlling your mind. It’s the first step towards being active. If you can avoid erratic decisions and manage your responses, it sets you as a good leader.Understand yourself critically to understand the world around you.Self-regulationAfter self-awareness comes the regulation of the self.EI requires you to scrutinize your strengths and weaknesses and work on them. You don’t need to stop reflecting your emotions but show them appropriately in a way that your work gets done and no interests of others are harmed.When you are good at self-regulation, you can adapt to new changes quickly. You have to keep welcoming the change that comes your way. Keep evolving because rigidity hinders progress.MotivationIt takes a lot to become a source of motivation for others. Emotionally intelligent people carry the ability to spark motivation in others.You have to become a leader who can drive their subordinates by instilling motivation in them. Set goals and involve the entire team, create a sense of togetherness and achieve.EmpathyevalIf you can think from the perspective of the others, you are empathetic. Understandi ng the situation is an immensely beneficial quality. It helps you to relate and take better decisions.When you have empathy, you are compassionate, and that’s how you become a great transformational leader.Social skillsTo be able to interact well with others is the core of EI. Social skills are essential to figuring the emotions of others and understanding your own. It comes from interacting and communicating with people daily. These skills involve communication, leadership, persuasiveness, listening and understanding.All of these put together with help in creating a shared sense of purpose in an organization. Not following the same can serve the contrary. It creates bitterness, frustration, and most importantly, confusion amongst the employees.Emotional Intelligence can Encourage OptimismThese are the salient elements that help leaders to develop collective goals and objectives, appreciate and appraise the work of subordinates, to maintain enthusiasm and optimism. They also encou rage flexibility in the decision making and establishing a sound identity of the organization.eval

On the Job #FAIL Game Over - Pathfinder Careers

On the Job #FAIL Game Over - Pathfinder Careers On the Job #FAIL: Game Over? Let’s talk turkey about a very painful topic:   Failure. Eeeek!   Run for the hills! In fact, the idea for this blog post was so uncomfortable that when I posted an APB on LinkedIn groups asking for some help writing about on-the-job failures, do you know what I got? Absolute radio silence. Riiiiiight…   so I guess that means that everyone out there is all absolutely flawless and without a fault? Ahhh….Probably not.   However, this response pretty much confirmed my suspicions and the very reason for the blog in the first place: Everyone is too scared to talk about their job failures.     In fact, most of us have probably have repressed our slip-ups instead of embracing them. So why exactly DOES job failure hurt so much, and why are we so darned scared of it? Business and quality management guru Philip Crosby once said: “Very few of the great leaders ever get through their careers without failing, sometimes dramatically.” Now we know that even the ‘big dogs’ have failed, but the sting remains: how can failure impact our own lives and / or careers? What if I really screwed up at work, as in a major boo-boo?   What about (gulp)…. me? In search of the answers, I went to an unusual source: Jason Zasky, editor of Failurehttp://www.failuremag.com/ magazine. Yes, you read that correctly.   His magazine is ALL about failure. “Failure is more interesting than success,” was Zasky’s response when I called on this topic.   “And even more importantly, it’s a universal experience.” Aw c’mon everyone, time to be honest. We all mess up at some point in our careers, including those squirming, gut-wrenching, and totally anguishing #EPICFAILS.   I’ll even admit my ‘biggie’: when I was in my early 20’s, I utterly derailed a tradeshow I had planned by neglecting the marketing.     OOP-sie   It was my first big project, and while I executed the event planning/executing flawlessly, the one small detail of working with the marketing person didn’t even cross my mind (are you cringing yet?).   End result: Gorgeous tradeshow with 100% booth sell-out.   Attendance: not so much. Ouch.   Talk about a lot of steamed (politely speaking) exhibitors… I got an earful but was able to learn from the experience… and never made the same mistake again! Zasky said that there are three things that prevents the majority of us from properly addressing reasons as to why we have failed at some point in our jobs.   “Failure itself is embarrassing, humbling, and hard to overcome… which then leads to non-action.   You’ve got to confront things head-on, learn from them, and then move on. And never give up.” So really, it’s what we DO with those failures that really matters? You betcha. Failure can keep you from reaching your potential if you let it. While it can be darned uncomfortable once you address it directly, failure can be one of the most compelling learning experiences… that is, if you are willing to embrace it. In short, you’ve absolutely got to get ‘cozy’ with your failure in order to win the ultimate take-away:   lessons learned. Today, people more willing to accept failure now and to learn from it.   You can actually see this acceptance dramatically divided along generational lines these days, according to Zasky.   While people who are in their 20’s-30’s today ricochet through failures like a pinball between bumpers, workers born in the Depression-era simply don’t accept the term ‘failure.’     It wasn’t an option offered during their upbringing, and this generation avoids it at all costs. But failure IS an option today. In fact, many companies are now rewarding employees for calculated risk-taking… sometimes the endgame has become all about rewarding the risk-taking / lessons learned from failures that can lead to those coveted ‘homeruns.’ What can you learn from this? Getting too wrapped up in failure is what can hurt your career. Don’t let fear of it rule you. Finally willing to admit a few career miscues? Take these empowering steps to confront failure: 1)         Admit it. It hurts, but it’s yours and yours alone.   Try not to externalize blame to everyone else. 2)         Do an objective, realistic autopsy of the failure. What parts did you fall down on, and what were some contributing factors that you had no control over? 3)         Discover the hidden ‘nugget.’ How can you either improve what you do, or avoid making the same mistakes? 4)         Don’t let it consume you. You need to be able to accept the failure and move on. You can and will get over failure.   In hindsight, it can be a powerful experience that no one can teach you.   Turning around and facing it can have positive far-reaching impacts on your career. Remember, failure doesn’t have to be “GAME OVER” for your career… unless you let it.

Top 10 Resume Writing Mistakes That Beginners Make

Top 10 Resume Writing Mistakes That Beginners MakeAny business person, especially the new one, will encounter some of the top 10 resume writing mistakes that they need to avoid. In order to improve your chances of landing a job or new job offer, you have to avoid them at all costs. It is really important to learn the basics of good resume writing and use it to ensure you land a good job.One of the first mistakes that you need to avoid when creating a resume is getting distracted. Make sure that you do not use the paper for other things such as talking on the phone or emails while you are writing your resume. These things can cause your resume to become distorted and not be read correctly.The second mistake that you need to avoid is applying for the same job too many times. Each time you apply for a job, you are putting yourself on the spot and opening yourself up to all sorts of potential rejection. The worst thing that you can do when applying for jobs is to try to sound perfect. It is much better to sound like a real person who has real experiences in the field.Another important thing to do is to never get too excited when you see the applications that you have. You should keep your cool and take a deep breath. You need to know when to relax and when to act so that you land the job.One of the most common mistakes made by beginners is to make the resume too short. The simple rule to follow is to always write two pages long and then read it over several times and take another look at it. If you are satisfied with the first reading, you can take a second look at it and write a few more pages if you think it needs to be longer.Another way that you can avoid some of the mistakes that you may make is to write your resume in the proper manner. You can choose from the different styles that will help you create a professional looking resume. These styles include the MLA style, the APA style, the Harvard style, the Princeton style, and the Chicago style.The last mistak e that you need to avoid at all costs is the extra paragraphs. This will just make your resume look clumsy and make you appear more like a novice. Instead, you can write in bulleted and numbered lists so that it looks well organized and professional.These are just some of the common resume mistakes that beginners often make. In addition, it will help you avoid making other mistakes as well. These are the things that you have to avoid in order to land a good job and make yourself more attractive to an employer.