Disrupted! A Talent Acquisition Perspective

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Disruption happens every day across the corporate world. As employees, we experience reorgs, layoffs and acquisitions, and as disrupters ourselves we move cross country, chase ideas and challenge norms. But amidst all the disruption we all experience, some of us seem to thrive in times of turmoil.

These are the communicators who have mastered the two secret arts hidden within corporate disruption: learning how to establish a compelling brand and build an intriguing career narrative. They are skills that take time to perfect, but they’re the differentiator factors between those who are cast adrift from disruption and those who prosper from it.

We believe in this strongly…and it’s why we wrote our latest book: Disrupted! How to Reset Your Brand & Your Career.

But don’t just take our word for it. On this episode, Hurst Williamson is joined by 2 Talent Acquisition specialists to share their perspectives on the trends they see every day and what makes a job candidate successful…or forgettable.

More About the Guests

Elisa Abner-Taschwer is the Talent Acquisition Manager at FORUM Credit Union in Fishers, Indiana. She has over 30 years of HR experience, primarily in Talent Acquisition. Elisa lives with her husband of 27 years and their Mini Golden Doodle, Max.

Lauren Baksh, M.Ed. is the Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition at Graphic Packaging International. She has over ten years of talent management experience in the manufacturing industry and currently supports her team with the design and execution of holistic recruiting experiences for US salaried positions. Lauren lives in Atlanta with her husband, two daughters, and two fur babies.

Show Notes

• Careers are no longer on a straight and narrow path.

• • People will change their job/career 7-10 times throughout their career.
  • Interview determines if there will be a next change in a person’s career.

• What does it take to make a job a candidate memorable or forgettable?
• What percentage of people are good at interviewing?

• • Less than 5%
  • Not as many people are good at interviewing that think they are good at interviewing.
  • Those that think they are good at interviewing usually lack authenticity.

• What goes wrong in an interview?

• • Lack of prep – didn’t know much about the company or the interviewer.
  • Lacked confidence – unaware of body language.
  • Lacked impact – didn’t understand their experiences well.
  • Prospective employee must be interviewing the company as well as being interviewed by the company.
  • Preparation will help a candidate seal the deal.
  • Good story tellers have better impact in an interview.

• Virtual vs. In-Person Interviews

• • Same challenges exist in a virtual interview as an in person interview.
  • Candidates see virtual as more informal and have a low awareness of their setting and background.
  • Fewer people ghost virtual interviews.

• When prepping for a virtual interview, consider it the same as if you are going to meet with someone – dress professionally
• Potential employers encourage prospective employees to ask questions about the attire and the platform being used to the interview
• How many resumes for a potential position are reviewed?

• • Far too many
  • 20-30+ resumes for an open position
  • 30-50 resumes

• What really makes a candidate stand out?

• • Individuals who understand the organization and the culture
  • Candidates with confidence in themselves and the ability to have a good vision as to what they want in their new position
  • Candidates must be a good cultural fit
  • Candidates must ask questions in the interview and understand the opportunity

• The most critical skills for a top candidate:

• • Problem solving and thinking
  • Collaboration and cooperation
  • Communication and influence

• Advice to stand-out in interviews:

• • Translate the experience you had with the job you want to do. Think about things that you’ve done that have given you that experience
  • Update your resume annually and add accomplishments from the previous years.
  • Highlight how you work on a team

• Candidates approach an interview very reactively

• • Understand the resume is a list – make sure to drive the interview and conversation
  • Have a reactive and proactive interview
  • Be prepared to  highlight your key aspects
  • Be able to shape your narrative and asked questions about the company while staying authentic
  • Come with questions to make it a conversation.

• Employers are looking for people that want to work for the company not the job
• Is there a war for talent? It’s a very favorable market for talent right now
• Companies are trying to be the company that people want to join and understand that not all candidates are going to have 100% of the skills that are being looked for in a candidate.
• Candidates must show up as their authentic self.
• Employees own their development and the company and their manager are there to support the individual. Take a risk and it might change!

 

Order Disrupted! How to Reset Your Brand & Your Career today here or on Amazon.

 

Like what you hear? Hear more episodes like this on the What’s Your Story podcast page!

Disrupted! A Talent Development Perspective

Subscribe to the podcast!

 

Disruption happens every day across the corporate world. As employees, we experience reorgs, layoffs and acquisitions, and as disrupters ourselves we move cross country, chase ideas and challenge norms. But amidst all the disruption we all experience, some of us seem to thrive in times of turmoil.

These are the communicators who have mastered the two secret arts hidden within corporate disruption: learning how to establish a compelling brand and build an intriguing career narrative. They are skills that take time to perfect, but they’re the differentiator factors between those who are cast adrift from disruption and those who prosper from it.

We believe in this strongly…and it’s why we wrote our latest book: Disrupted! How to Reset Your Brand & Your Career.

But don’t just take our word for it. On this episode, Hurst Williamson is joined by 3 Talent Development specialists to share their perspectives on what makes an employee a high-potential candidate and what traits they look for in tomorrow’s leaders.

More About the Guests

Alexandra Daily-Diamond is the Northwest Regional Talent Development Manager at Gensler, a design and architecture firm. In her role, she identifies people-focused solutions to HR challenges. She focuses on organizational and employee development and engagement, talent management, coaching, and HR strategies that promote wellbeing.

Hilda Curry is the Enterprise Learning Management Systems Administrator for Methodist Health System, a non-profit healthcare organization located in Dallas, Texas. Hilda has over 25 years of experience in corporate & healthcare learning and talent development, and has held a series of progressive positions in the training and development field.

Megan Breiseth is the Senior Director of Learning and Development at InsideTrack. Megan has worked in employee development since 2006. At InsideTrack, she coached online adult learners and eventually moved into Learning and Development leadership. During her career, Megan has built and managed learning programs that unlock the potential in coaches, managers, and support staff.

Show Notes

• • Disruption is happening across the board in companies and for employees. Employees no longer have a mapped-out career path.
  • Seek opportunities to expand your skills and repackage your potential.
  • What do companies think about talent development?
  • What percentage of the workforce has needed to do some kind of rest in 2020?
  • • 100% of the team had a reset in priorities, personal goals, and how they do the work.
    • All training was converted to virtual learning, 10% of corporate employees shifted to work from home.
    • 100% of people’s jobs changed and circumstances changed. Staff neededg to focus on what is most essential for students and institutions to meet their basic needs. Prioritize safety, wellness, and how to set up systems to support employees so they could show up.
  • Pandemic aside – What other things would be examples of organization disruptions?
  • • Integrating separate systems into one
    • Transition from for profit to nonprofit business
    • Change roles to be more scalable and sustainable
    • More efficiency changes in the workplace
    • Pandemic heightened changes that would have happened otherwise but pandemic made it more urgent.
    • Economy is a general factor in disruption. – Global company and global economic impact.
    • Companies are shifting to have a clear focus to elevate the human experience.
  • What is the organization’s responsibility in an employee’s development and what is the employee’s responsibility in that?
  • • Company being intentional to listen and empower.
    • Employees seek out feedback on what the individual could do better.
    • Ask the questions that are going to get employees thinking deeply.
    • Empower employees to own their career and see themselves.
    • Have a specific program for leaders.
    • Offer employees training or tuition reimbursement.
    • Encourage them to play a visible role in committees.
    • Offer the opportunity to get input from coworkers and managers.
  • What happens when an individual hits a wall where they don’t have the skills they didn’t know they needed to advance but were still good at their current job?
  • • Push employees to get the skill – many companies will work with employees to get them to develop the skills they need to continue.
    • Encourage employees to have a conversation with managers to get the skills they need.
    • Library of competency to get measured on.
    • The goal is to look within the company but they will be open to hire outside the company if a specific skill is needed quickly.
    • In times like this, a person would lose the job for somebody who has that skill if the employee has not done anything to grow.
  • When a person is having their potential assessed, being great at what they can do isn’t always a great indicator that they can stretch when a skill is needed.
  • Examples of employees that were hired from other industries to do a new job:
  • • Head chef- great head of customer service
    • DJ as a sales person
    • Zookeeper as a head of operations
  • 3 key attributes that talent development looks for in any position
  • 1. Ability to communicate and influence others
    2. Agility during changes or times of uncertainty
    3. Problem solving and critical thinking
  • Debunking of the rumor of “There’s never enough “top talent”
  • Personal brand and feedback
  • The book goes over the importance of hitting the reset to create your brand you must make yourself visible.
  • • Participate in programs.
    • Volunteer for outside organizations.
    • Champion specific projects.
    • Use talent and skills on a broad perspective.
  • Personal brand is how people think about and talk about you when you aren’t around.
  • • Asking for feedback removes the barrier and opens it up for an honest conversation.
    • If you dread feedback, work on your mindset around feedback, your mindset will share your reality. We can’t grow unless we get negative feedback. Seek feedback and control the narrative.
    • Participate in a performance review for yourself and from your manager. Feedback should be given on a day-to-day basis.
    • Not all feedback is useful but it’s important to put yourself out there. Seek feedback from individuals that make you nervous.
  • You can’t grow without stress or change – everyone deserves to love what they do. Always seek to grow and chase meaning and purpose.

 

Order Disrupted! How to Reset Your Brand & Your Career today here or on Amazon.

 

Like what you hear? Hear more episodes like this on the What’s Your Story podcast page!

Disrupted! A Podcast with the Creators: Why We Wrote It and What We Learned

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Disruption happens a lot across the corporate world. Sometimes, from a company’s perspective through realigning functions. And sometimes by employees themselves as they make choices to try different things. But whether disruption is caused by a company or an individual, it’s occurring more frequently.

And from our vantage point, we see individuals who aren’t ready for it…and aren’t good at resetting around a challenge or an opportunity that disruption causes. The book sets out to help individuals understand why disruption occurs and how to plan for resets.

This episode of What’s Your Story has guest host, Lia, who interviews Sally, Hurst, and LaKesha about book insights, highlights and maybe a few tips from the latest book, Disrupted! How to Reset your Brand and Your Career.

More about The Creators

Sally Williamson is the founder of SW&A and an expert in all things related to spoken communication. Sally brings more than three decades of experience, insights and a general love of connection to empower more than 15,000 leaders and managers to influence and impact any group. Disrupted! is her fourth book.

Hurst Williamson is the ultimate utility player who can uncover client needs, lead a workshop or weave an incredible tale. He owns every room and brings genuine engagement to communication. He is the heart of the career journey and a proud member of the generation most disrupted. But he sees it as an opportunity to tell your story and own your journey. And he’s helping many of our clients do just that. Hurst co-authored Disrupted! and it is his second book.

LaKesha Edwards is a life-long learner who loves research, insights and discovery. With a Ph.D. added to her own career journey, she questions what we’re learning and how we’re solving it. And with SW&A, she creates the steps to continue a development experience by thinking through what we learn, what we teach and how we coach. And quite frankly, she keeps us all on our toes. She led the research behind Disrupted!

Show Notes

• Disrupted! How to Reset Your Brand and Your Career

• • Disruption happens all over the world and it’s occurring more frequently.
  • This book sets out to help individuals understand why disruption occurs and how to plan for resets.

• Why Disrupted! How to Reset Your Brand and Your Career was written:

• • It felt like the right time for the topic and they had the tools to sell it.
  • As a communications firm they have a broad view of business change.
  • SW&A wanted to support individuals and how they deal with disruption.
  • This time, around wanted to include two new minds in the process to have fresh perspective about a topic that will directly affect their generation.
  • The timing of COVID-19 offered the space, insight, and necessity for this book.
  • This book has blended all their different talents together.

• What was Disrupted! How to Reset Your Brand and Your Career trying to uncover and discover?

• • Focus on developing the skills of current employees.
  • Noting talent strategies have shifted with business beliefs.
  • Talent acquisition is trying to bring in the needed talent to solve for gaps.
• Where does that create insight for a reader or an individual who’s thinking through their own career path and development?
  • Talent Leaders have encouraged employees to take ownership of their own career path.
  • Training for employees to directly support company goals is 82%.
  •  8% of their time is focused on development outside of company goals.
  • If your interest does not align with the company’s goals, it will not be a priority.

• Talent development is in charge of supplying the people to let that growth happen. Goals get narrow fast – if an individual doesn’t fit in the scope, they will fall behind.

• • Employees must take ownership to develop their skills to make sure they stand out.
  • Employees must not rely on somebody watching out for them- they must own their career.
  • There is not a master database of employee’s development, skills, and career goals.

• How to stay competitive?

• • Feedback – is the best indication of what an employee’s file at a company is. Seek feedback to control personal brand. Seek feedback from individuals that make you nervous.
  • Personal brand is how people think about you and talk about you when you’re not around.

• What are the critical skills needed today?

• • Communication and influence.
  • Problem solving and critical thinking.
  • Agility during times of change and uncertainty.

• To be a better strategic thinker is to be a better strategic communicator.
• Talent recruiters will look for talent outside an organization if specific skills are needed quickly.
• How are disruption and reset related?
• Disruption is what everyone feels.

• • It happens to everybody and at any time. Not always handled well.

• The rest are the people who take control of disruption.

• • How they pivot.
  • The art of how you take disruption and turn it into insight.

• What does reset look like?

• • Everybody will have to reset at some time in their career.
  • An individual will change jobs 7-10 times in their career.
  • Reset comes down to the interview.
  • In the Talent Acquisition podcast they were asked how many people are good at interviewing? Less than 5 percent.

• Talent acquisition is competing for top talent. Many people don’t understand how to explain their skills through storytelling. Acquiring skills that fit a specific job is not always through traditional experiences.
• In the book they look at different career levels early, mid, and peak career.
• People are successful in reset if they have a compelling brand and a compelling career narrative.

• • 1st half of Disrupted! How to Reset Your Brand and Your Career is about personal brand and coaching around feedback. It’s broken down between early, mid-career and peak career.
  • 2nd half pivots into a career narrative. How to think about organizing all your experience together. Mindset shifts on how you think and talk about yourself.

Order Disrupted! How to Reset Your Brand & Your Career today here or on Amazon.

Like what you hear? Hear more episodes like this on the What’s Your Story podcast page!