Bad Bosses: What Kind are You?

Time to Face Your Reports
The day of reckoning has arrived. Your leadership skills need an overhaul, and I've detailed why in the following clasification. Any of these shortcomings sound familiar?


1. Don't Know Your Job

You're the invisible man, the one who doesn't delve into the details or pitch in. You insulate yourself, telling us it's "not my job" and to "just do it." We know your dirty secret: You're out of touch. It's time to step away from your precious spreadsheets and get your hands dirty. You can't channel talent, time, and tools if you don't know how they're already being deployed.


2. Don't Listen

We've seen it all. You fiddle with your BlackBerry (RIMM) when we're speaking. You interrupt constantly to make your points. And you roll your eyes and grow impatient—unless you're talking. No matter, you disregard our input anyway. So we've given up; we don't come to you anymore. And we both suffer for it. If you want to succeed, rebuild that goodwill. It'll require time and toil, but the best relationships always do.

3. Closed-Minded

You're gifted and accomplished, the best and brightest. And that has made you susceptible to pride. Now, you're quick to reach conclusions. Everything is one-sided, with no room for discussion, differences, or dissent. You may view yourself as all-knowing, but conditions change. And talent doesn't stand for "my way or the highway" for long. Pride goeth before a fall. Question is, can you open up and adapt before then?

4. Poor Preparation

Another emergency meeting. Drop what you're doing, they need it now. We're changing direction and working late again. It's always last minute, make it up as you go along. Maybe it fosters teamwork and creativity sometimes, but you can only cry wolf so many times. In reality, the unexpected drama reflects your inability to set expectations, plan ahead, and think it through. And it's just wearing us down.


5. Not Building Skills

"People are our most important asset." Well, it's empty rhetoric here. Maybe you want to be hands-off or encourage self-reliance. Whatever the intent, you're not helping us grow. And that's your real job as a manager: to broaden our outlook, push us beyond our comfort zones, exemplify the corporate values, and focus us on learning, serving, persevering, leading, and advancing. Don't take that responsibility lightly.


6. Overzealous

History remembers the tyrants but rarely the subjects who did the heavy lifting. It's no different here. You've created a divide-and-conquer atmosphere, all stick and no carrot, where everyone should be the same workaholic reflection of you. Eventually, your bullying and rah-rah intensity produces one question: "Why?" You may think we should be in "for life," but what are you giving back in return for that blind loyalty?


7. Don't Maintain Discipline

All the workers come and go as they please, living according to their own rules. No one knows who is where or doing what, and the result is chaos. Maybe you want to be our buddy—or experience how a sweat shop atmosphere fosters only resentment. Either way, coddling does no favors to anyone. Like it or not, you need to set rules and hold people accountable.


8. Never Heard of Tact


You always remind us that we're replaceable and working at your pleasure. Yes, it's your legendary bluntness. Your talent and tenure shields you from scrutiny. Sadly, your lack of self-awareness results in everyone—superiors and reports—maligning or marginalizing you. Brains take you only so far; eventually, you'll need to build and nurture relationships. And that requires people skills: listening, charming, understanding, and compromising. Think you're up for that?


9. Lack Influence

It's funny how we're usually last to get face time and resources. Our mission is vital and performance exceeds expectations. You'd like to believe it's jealousy, but maybe the messenger is undercutting the message. Look at your variables: appearance, body language, and speaking and writing styles. Do you always convey the image of a polished professional who can work in a team and get the job done? If you can't, you'll never get anyone's ear.


10. Blindside Us

Illustration by David Foster
Ah, there's nothing like a surprise. Whether you're singling us out in public or ambushing us in private, you're not afraid to render judgments and deliver lectures. Despite our advanced degrees and track records, you still treat us as servants. Instead of dropping the news all at once, give us fair warning when our performance doesn't meet expectations. Always take action immediately—and discreetly.

From: BusinessWeek

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The Secret to Finding a Job Now - Five reasons to use a staffing firm

What if I told you that I knew how you could find a job without having to dig through hundreds of job postings, wait for weeks to hear back from an employer, negotiate your salary or blindly walk into an interview ... and you could do it all for free?


I bet you'd say, "Where do I sign up?" I would answer, "With a recruiter."

Headhunters, recruiters, staffing agents -- call them what you will -- are here for one reason and one reason only: To help you and employers find a match in long-term employment.

Unfortunately, recruitment, a $92 billion industry, is virtually untouched by job seekers. Forty percent of job candidates are unable to name a single staffing firm from memory and only 20 percent have used a staffing firm in their most recent job search, according to a recent study by CareerBuilder.com and the Inavero Institute for Service Research.

Instead, job seekers are utilizing other resources in their search for employment. The average candidate uses up to four different sources in his search and only 4 percent of people turn to recruiters as their first method, according to the survey. Eighty percent of job seekers use online job boards as their first resource.

Let's take a look at why job seekers aren't using the efficiencies of staffing firms.

The perception gap

The staffing industry bears a heavy load of misconceptions, the one of the most common being that recruiters cost money. Eight percent of job seekers are under the impression that there will be costs to them if they utilize a staffing firm, according to the survey. Most recruiters are free to candidates, however, and it's very rare that the expense of a recruiter will influence an employer's hiring decision. In fact, Eric Harrington , president of Healthcare Solutions, a California-based staffing firm, says the money lost on a bad hire is about 10 to 20 times more than what a recruiter is paid to fill the position with a great match for the company.

Additionally, 10 percent of job seekers believe staffing agents only fill temporary positions. They feel as though they are only used to "fill a hole" rather than find gainful employment, according to the survey. In reality, it behooves recruiters to find clients long-term employees. Companies are considered clients to recruiters and they get paid by them to locate talent. If a recruiter consistently delivers unreliable, temporary candidates, it's unlikely he will help that client for very long.

A third false impression of the staffing industry is the experience job candidates take away from it. Twenty-five percent of survey respondents indicated that headhunters are unresponsive or don't follow up with them. Other issues they reported included thinking that they were not advocated for and that they were treated as a "warm body" or "product" by the staffing firms.

Though every job seeker's experience with a recruiter is different and varies by the people he or she works with, there are a variety of reasons why job candidates can benefit from using a staffing agent.

Here are seven reasons why you should use a recruiter in your next job search:

1. It's free.

2. Recruiters get to know you and put you in companies where your career can flourish. You can be honest with a headhunter in terms of your likes and dislikes when it comes to an employer. Since a good recruiter should know the ins and outs of a company, he or she uses these details to find a job best suited to you.

3. They can negotiate a higher salary for you. Recruiters have better knowledge of the job market and salary ranges for different positions. Generally, it's to the headhunter's advantage to obtain a higher salary for the candidate, says Kelly Smith , a corporate contract recruiter. Usually, recruiters are paid a fee based on the overall salary that a candidate receives, so they will work to negotiate a realistic salary for both parties.

4. They can get the inside scoop. Headhunters know their clients. They work with them over and over again so they know what the company is truly looking for in an employee, says Lori Marcus , principal for Quad656. They can prepare you for a company's interview style, tell you what types of questions interviewers may ask, inform you of its pet peeves, tell you where and why others have failed to get to the next step and how to get the information from them that you may need to make a decision as to whether it's the best fit for you.

Smith says recruiters can also give the candidate the dirt on a company's corporate culture as well as requirements for the job that may not be written in the job description.

5. You don't have to wait to hear back from someone. Some human resource departments are notorious for not getting back to candidates or for taking weeks to do so, Harrington says. Recruiters have immediate contact with hiring managers so you don't have to wait for anyone to contact you. They get you an answer one way or another.

6. Recruiters can identify opportunities that may not be advertised and that really exist. Recruiters have leads on positions you may never hear about otherwise, says Lindsay Olson , a recruiter and partner with Paradigm Staffing, a staffing firm that specializes in placing public relations and communications professionals. Some companies use headhunters to fill confidential positions that they don't want to post publicly. When you hear of a job through a recruiter, you know there is actually an opening.

7. You can get feedback and guidance from recruiters before interviews. When you meet with a recruiter, you can get specialized pointers before going on interviews, says Jodi Smith , a human resources professional and etiquette consultant. From advice on purchasing a different tie, perfecting a firmer handshake and better eye contact, to specific feedback on how to phrase answers and helping you identify your strengths and weaknesses, candidates can polish their image and be prepared before meeting with a hiring manager.

From: CareerBuilder.com

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Contact

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