Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Is The Ability for Total Recall THAT important?



It’s really not whom you know, you still have to back it up with what you know.  I have come to understand this in my struggling search for a job opportunity.   The client only cares about NOW.  What is it NOW that you bring to the table, which will provide immediate gratification to the position?  I won’t go into the fact that many interviewers lack the skill for assessing an individuals ability, that’s a whole ‘nuther can o’ beans.

Your previous role activities and tasks are only relevant in getting the foot in the door.  They are not relevant to the immediate questioning or discussion if one is, like me, challenged when questions revolve around “how to” produce, execute, or tackle a specific operation/action on the spot.  Unless you are applying for a “mission critical role” i.e. ER medical practitioner, Airline Pilot, Police, Firefighter, Soldier etc., memorization should not be a requirement.  We’re in an age of digital referencing. The tool used to guide our minds when total-recall is not firing. 

I reference almost everything.  If individuals could recall with absolute regularity the broad spectrum of knowledge for their jobs, companies wouldn’t need policy/procedures/work instructions, would they?  They could just instruct and let people go on their way to complete the assignments/actions.

Maybe someone will recognize this fact and let people such as myself beyond the door to prove what I have proven throughout my successful career, that when given the opportunity I can succeed and make them look good in the process.

So, it’s more than total recall but, like in college, where can I go to get the information to complete the action(s)? “Never memorize something that you can look up.” Albert Einstein


Thursday, March 14, 2013

The Family Manager & Economist or The Motivation for Hiring the HouseWife


 The three previous companies under my tenure have offered me a better perspective of a talent, I believe, overlooked by many headhunters or human resource teams during job hiring, the background, talent and power of the "housewife” aka Home Economist. 

Yes, you've heard this before but being married to such an individual offers a more close comparative view of the talents within.  I am going to use my wife as an example of how these remarkable significant-others hold the key to many missed opportunities the work force is seeking.

Many such women want to be elevated and recognized for these unnoticed talents, superior to many entering the mainstream of business in general (especially what I have personally witnessed at state government facilities).

I am daily illuminated by Marie's ability to comprehend corporate "day to day" activities discussed when she asks me,  "How was your day?”   She actually understands, in most discussions, and comprehends the issue plaguing me better than most of my peers.  She too has the ability to motivate.  You know those little tid-bits like " That's never stopped you before", "You always had that ability" or " What's keeping you from doing it?" etc.  Did I just hear a Leader a Manager?  Yep!

Some of the discussions surrounding frustrations within my work processes do pose a comprehension hiccup but, by the end of the discussion she comes away knowledgeable and amazed on how people react or not in executing decisions or activities.  With that said, its little best-in-class activities that would amaze many hiring personnel.  The same back-office support i.e. budgeting/financial they require is very comparable to Maries household activities she executes daily like payables, check reconciliation, filing etc. 
These interchangeable corporate talents, many homemakers-economists have, are unsung and unnoticed when they finally make an attempt to place themselves in a temporary/short-term career.  

 They ARE already corporate readied, in most cases, for back-office activities and have the ability to listen, manage and lead if you just get over the fact that they haven't worked for a long while due to raising a family.

Don't let such individuals go unnoticed.