Is your name helping or hindering your career?

LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network with more than 100 million members worldwide, today released LinkedInsights data that reveal interesting findings about the top names of CEOs. The LinkedInsights data also showed surprising correlations among the lengths of names that dominate certain fields. For instance, CEOs in the United States often have four letter names (like Jack and Fred). According to the LinkedInsights data, the top five names for male CEOs globally are:

1. Peter
2. Bob
3. Jack
4. Bruce
5. Fred

The top five names for female CEOs globally are:

1. Deborah
2. Sally
3. Debra
4. Cynthia
5. Carolyn

“It’s no secret that people often associate their title, employer and even their education as part of what defines them and their professional brand,” said Monica Rogati, LinkedIn’s senior data scientist. “What’s interesting about this data is that we were able to discover a correlation between a professional’s name and the industry or functional area in which they work.” For instance, in the U.S., there’s an interesting relationship between the amount of letters and top names for professionals in certain functional areas. Sales professionals tend to have short names, around four letters (like Chip, Todd and Trey), while engineers tend to have longer names, around six letters (like Rajesh, Jeremy and Andrew). U.S. professionals in the food and restaurant industry tend to have longer French names (like Thierry, Philippe and Laurent). “Typically hypocorisms, the shorter form of a given name, are used in intimate situations as a nickname or a term of endearment,” said Dr. Frank Nuessel, the editor of NAMES: A Journal of Onomastics (a publication of the American Name Society) and a professor of classical and modern languages at the University of Louisville. “It’s possible that sales professionals in the U.S. and male CEOs around the world use these shortened versions of their name as a way to be more approachable and accessible to potential clients. Interestingly enough, female CEOs appear to prefer to use their full names and not nicknames, which could signify that they want to be taken more seriously and want co-workers to think of them in a more professional light.”
So what Linked In are saying is, think about your name and what you call yourself to others in your profile.. it is giving off signals you might not have considered.
But don't foget this is global research with a  US bias.
BUT Bruce, really? are there lots of CEO's called Bruce? Apologies to you if you are called Bruce.......

Is customer led housing design ending family life?

I'm not an expert in housing, I'm an expert in career planning and coaching but that does not stop me having thoughts and opinions. Doesn't stop me from worrying or wanting to sound off. So sorry if my facts are wrong.. happy to be corrected but here are some of those thoughts.
The other night the three members of my family were all sat in separate rooms on separate computers. Family life eh? Well it's easy. We don't argue, we don't relate, we don't have tension or communication or affection or all the roller coaster that the phrase 'family life' implies.
As i write there is a TV programme about how little time parents spend with children, how families don't eat together and children don't learn how to eat. And we are not a workless family on a sink estate.
So thinking of this sceanrio I was reminded of a comment said to a friend who went to look at a new build house. She commented that the living room was rather small for a four bed house. Ah said the sales person, people don't want big lounges cos they don't sit in them as a family anymore, the kids are all in their bedrooms [on their computers, TVs etc] So the customer wants space in the bedrooms not in communal areas. So customer feedback had led to shifts in design of the homes we are going to live in.
Those of you that re familiar witrh the history of social housing and town planning ; or who saw the excellent BBC documentary on the hsitory of social housing will know that in an earlier age planners and architects had no qualms about engineering the size and shape of properties to produce certain social outcomes. The invention of the kitchen diner (rather than small scullery)  was to get families to be together.
So the philosophy of meeting customer needs has surplanted the 'we know best' of the authorities. But has this been at a cost?
I worry that my family find it hard to play together, sit together, watch together (we do eat together and we have lots of vigorous debates.. last night it was on membership of the EU a good or bad thing.. and the boy is only 14!) But if we can't live as a community than what hope is there for wider social cohesion and community? Bedrooms with braodband may be what our customers want but maybe the consequences will not be ones that society as a whole needs?
All of this has nothing to do with my expertise but I can't blog about how to do a good interview or how to write your Cv all the time.. i'd be bored too! Visit my website, blog and twitter for more of all those things!

Where will future leaders come from?

Graduates shun public sector

An online survey by Totaljobs reveals that fewer than one in ten (9%) graduates would choose to work in the public sector in preference to the private or charity sectors, with nearly half of them (47%) put off by job cuts.  (This is despite the fact that a fifth (20%) of recent graduates claim to have been looking for work for over a year, with almost a third (31%) saying they’d take any job that came along.)  If these intentions are borne out, the resulting gap in the talent pipeline could be a big problem for the sector in the future.
Totaljobs’ graduate director Mike Fetters (pictured) says “We all know that the graduate market is tough at the moment with further public-sector job cuts looming, but it’s surprising to see so few would choose to work in the public sector.  Only a few years ago the public sector was a top graduate job destination and, despite the cuts, there are still positions available, all of which provide good training, career progression and, despite reports, a wide range of employee benefits.  With this in mind, it’s really important for graduates to at least dip their toe in and look into this diverse sector and the opportunities it has to offer.”
The survey also indicated that confidence among graduate job-seekers continues to decrease, with 82% believing they’re in a tougher jobs market than that of two years ago (at the height of the recession).  However, the research also revealed that almost a quarter (24%) of respondents spend less than an hour on applying for a job, while nearly half (49%) spend only 1-2 hours on a single application.
“Graduates should be reassured that work is out there for those who are willing, but it is important that they spend time on each application,” adds Mike.  “Graduates must be extra vigilant to ensure that each application is tailored to the employer they are applying to, as well as being absolutely sure it is free from errors to allow themselves the best possible chance of securing an interview.”
With confidence low, wage expectations among those questioned are also on the decline.  At the start of their courses, over half thought they’d be earning £20,000 a year or more in their first graduate role.  But now, only 45% of those still studying think they’ll get £20,000 or more, with the majority (55%) anticipating less than £19,000.

family life..makes me think

Family life, three people, three computers, three rooms. Who says technology connects? We could all be living in, we are all living in separate realities. (On the other hand i had a lovley msn chat with a friend in Sweden earlier)

Apparently houses are now built with small living rooms because families don't spend time together. Individual space is the order of the day. Council houses were  built in 1930s  with large 'dining kitchens' to encourage family life, now we are undoing good work in the intersts of customer design requirements.

Makes me think, if we don't have a sesne of community in a small family unit then how can we create a wider sense of community across a street, village, town or city?

A parenting campaign on the scale of 'five a day' is not going to change the behaviours in this house, I can't get them to eat fruit and veg either!

Building alliances

If you look anywhere at information about how people find jobs or work the data will tell you that somewhere in the region of 70% of people get their jobs through networks or contacts. So the building of those networks is critical.  The old adage 'it's not what you know, it's who you know' holds true.

So how does one build alliances with others? 

Networking is all about reciprocity.  It's not about what can you do for me but what can I do for you. It's not about can you give me a job but about how I can help you along your journey so you can help me. If networking is about finding information, it’s also about giving it.

Many years ago I read Dale Carnegie’s  'How to Win Friends and Influence People' and it’s message stays with me. There are great wisdoms here, whether you are networking in the real world or virtually. So here are some of those great words of wisdom

Don't criticise, condemn or complain

Give honest and sincere appreciation

Arouse in the other person an eager want

Become genuinely interested in other people

Smile

Remember the other person's name

Be a good listener, encourage people to talk about themselves

Talk in terms of the other person's interests

Make the other person feel important- and do it sincerely

The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it

Show respect for other people's opinions. Never say ‘you’re wrong’

If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically

Begin in a friendly way

Get the other person saying 'yes  yes' immediately

Let the other person do a great deal of the talking

Let the other person feel the idea was theirs

Try honestly to see the other’s point of view

 My other advice is.. do small goods along the way. That is the way that you will get remembered.

Now let’s be honest I can’t say that I do all of those all the time but I try. 

So when you are looking for networks and seekig information remember good old Dale and embrace his principles. They might just help.

Thoughts on a rare and beautiful thing ..a One-77

Last night when driving home from Devon, we were overtaken on the motorway by an exceptionally rare thing of beauty. An Aston Martin One -77. Well I would not have known what it was.. I just said 'what on earth is that?'. And a lovely russet colour it was too. I knew it was something unusual. Now my petrol head husband thought it might be a One -77 and so we had to get up close behind it so that I could take a photo from my phone. Later he went on the web to verify the sighting. I believe he put something on another website too. It is so rare we are famous by our association of being on the same motorway.
And the point of this.

• Class stands out. I knew that I had seen something different and exceptional.
• You don't have to be an expect to recognise beauty. I could see it was lovely.
• The car did not have to show off. It was not going fast or some dreadful Lamborghini yellow
• The details required verification. No one makes a decision on one swift glance alone.
• I think this car, as with talent needs to be nurtured and lookd after.. it would not look the same dirty!
• Association with such an exceptional object conveys some glory
  
  There were only 77 ever made. It cost £1.2m new. I'll never buy one even if I could afford it; to spend that much on a car is just not conscionable.
  I've got the photo if anyone would like to see it but the whole experience made me think about talent. we can see it, recognise but still need to verify it. Talent can be expensive but it has to be affordable too or we will just walk on by. It is so far out my reach I don't even lust after it...But just by being close to great talent we can bask in shared glory and maybe even learn something!
  
  Just a few thoughts.

Should I use a personal profile statement when I write a CV or resume?

Should I use a personal profile statement when I write a CV or resume?

I’m often asked this when I am coaching and helping people write a CV, an my response has always been formed by my years as a headhunter… I never read those two line introductions. Well, that’s not quite true, I only ever read them if I couldn’t make any sense of the cv itself. That says it all? So on that basis the answer to the question would be no?  well actually the answer is maybe; it depends what you put in the profile.

Given that we know that recruiters spend very little time looking at a CV before they make a decision whether to read it; (not the wording, carefully chosen) you need to make every word on that first page count. Every word needs to add value. So if you are applying for a senior finance role in a public sector organisation having spent 20 years working in finance in the public sector: what does it add to your CV to describe yourself as ‘senior public sector finance professional’? Nothing, the reader will see that from the jobs you have had (all nicely highlighted in bold so they stand out).

According to Linked In research the following are the most common words that people use to describe themselves:

  Extensive experience

  Innovative

  Motivated

  Results-oriented

  Dynamic

  Proven track record

  Team player

  Fast-paced

  Problem solver

  Entrepreneurial

Great words, which describe a great employee but if you string half a dozen of them together it will say nothing distinctive about you as an individual.

So is it worth while putting a personal profile on your CV at all? It can be if you use the space well: to add value. Firstly it can explain what you bring to the role if your career history does not explain that very clearly. But be careful, part of the reason that I ignored such statements was that  they are assertion and  public sector recruitment, or any recruitment using competencies requires evidence not assertion. Your body copy in the CV must support your profile statement.

Secondly this is the opportunity for you to promote your uniqueness, to spell out what makes you tick, to ensure the recruiter sees what will make you stand out from all the other ‘suitably  qualified and experienced professionals’. This is your personal brand statement.

When I do career coaching with individuals I spend quite a lot of time working with them to identify what it is that they actually do bring to a role, what is different because you are involved in this work, what combination of skills and attribute make you worth employing. Personal branding is a growing element in job search. Using the common words will not make you stand out, having a very clear sense of yourself and what you can do for a new employer can attract the recruiters attention. They may not read it, but if they do and you’ve created a powerful message, it may tip your CV from the ‘bin’ pile to the ‘in’ pile.