Career Development for the Over 60s

Welcome to Discuss HR, the HR blog written by Human Resources UK. 

The new format of Discuss HR is well and truly up and running and you should be getting the gist of things.  Following on from her previous post “Stress and the HR Professional” we welcome back Wendy Mason who looks at how the over 60s can still develop their careers. (Ed Scrivener)

Career Development for the Over 60s

First I have to admit to a personal interest here; I am well over sixty.  Second, I have to make a confession; I still don’t really know what I want to do when I grow up.

David Willetts, the higher education minister, has spoken recently about encouraging older people take up degree courses. Quite a lot of over 60s take up degree courses already of course – in 2011/12, nearly 2,000 started a first degree.  Most of them were with the Open University with “The Arts Past and Present” being the most popular course, apparently.

               

But a history of art course is not what Mr Willets (who was known as “Two Brains” to my generation of Civil Servants) has in mind. No, what dear old David wants us to do is to “train”, so that we can cope with the pressures we will face as we work “well into our sixties”.  His comments follow a government report which has found that the country’s future economic success will depend on the skills and contributions of older workers. One in four people will be older than 65 by 2033.

So we are asked to abandon our studies in art, history, classical studies, English, philosophy, music and religious studies etc and concentrate instead on the skills that will be required at work in 2020. 

Dare I say it, I think the very intelligent Mr Willetts is starting in the wrong place. Based on my own experience, it isn’t what happens after 60 that matters so much as what happens in the years up to 60. 

I’ve had an extremely lucky career. Many moons ago, I joined a sector that was by its very nature conservative; the Civil Service. But it was also, at that time, one of the most enlightened with regard to equality of opportunity.  Let us not be naïve here.  I am not claiming that the organization I joined, the massive Department of Health and Social Security, did not reflect the prejudices of the age.  But the Civil Service was, and remains, committed to open competition. Once in, there was very little I could not compete for, after a period of time. I was not always on completely equal terms. but not usually that far off either.

So, being the gritty, determined “Midlander” that I am, I tried to talk my way into the famous “fast stream” of the Civil Service.  Note, that I had a nursing qualification rather than the conventional degree.  I was in the Fast Stream at about the same time as David, although there was a significant age gap between us. I think I came as something of a challenge to some of my peers but it shows you what could be done, even then.

Towards the end of my Civil Service career, the climate of equality and opportunity definitely outshone anything I’ve encountered since I left.  And that includes how they treated people of a certain age. Even in my late fifties, I still felt encouraged to develop, train and aspire. I received my last promotion, changed roles and changed departments at the age of 57 and it wasn’t considered odd.

So when I chose to leave at 60 – note the words “chose to leave” – it was quite natural to think in terms of what next and a new career. No, I did not commit to three or four years in University but I did do some further training and set off with confidence in to work in the private sector.

I’m pretty sure I would not have done so, without the encouragement I had had from my employer in the years up to 60.  They had not excluded me, made me feel too old or shown they felt I was unworthy their investment. My knowledge, experience and willingness to learn were respected and my personal development was encouraged.  All that meant that at 60 plus, I continued to see work-related learning as still relevant to me.

Looking round now I believe I was very, very lucky. I wish more people in the years up to 60 had their confidence boosted in the same way that I did.  Perhaps then they would be much more willing to take up the challenge that David Willetts has set them.

Read about Wendy and our other authors here

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Discuss HR is the HR blog written by members of Human Resources UK, the 10,000 member strong LinkedIn group dedicated to the HR professionals in the UK.  Discuss HR is published twice weekly and looks to take an insightful, informative and sometimes irreverent view on the world of HR – all with the purpose of generating a discussion.

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If you would like to be a guest writer for Discuss HR, you can find more information here.  Our next guest writer week is the week commencing 29^th April.

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Employer Brand & Gen Y

Welcome to Discuss HR, the HR blog written by Human Resources UK. 

We welcome another new writer that you’ll recognise from previous guest posts.  Paul Goring completes our Gloucestershire trio with a fantastic piece on employer branding. (Ed Scrivener)

Employer Brand & Gen Y

Regardless of the state of the labour market, we all know that attracting and keeping the top talent in any sector is still tough. The phrase Employer Brand has been around since it was first coined in I guess the 90’s and as Minchington (2005) said, it is all about ‘the image of your organisation as a great place to work,’ which is all fantastic as a concept until you start to look more closely at what that means and ask questions like; for who, how much will changing things cost and what is the bottom line business benefit?

So perhaps you know that your Employer Brand needs your attention and that the business needs to accept that people choose employers for a range of reasons...blank piece of paper time; What is it like to work here? The first and biggest question of the whole piece I think because you are now going to have to introduce the idea of generational preference because different people of different ages or generation types choose employers and more importantly stay with employers for very different reasons?

I will come clean; my focus professionally in this sphere was on Generation Y, working for a big pan-Global insurance business I was asked to help the business answer the huge question of ‘how do we attract and retain sufficient top level talent from the top schools globally’ this meant understanding, talking to, researching and reaching out to Generation Y and specifically looking at what they really want from an employer and what might encourage them to hang around for a few years.

The list of ‘must have’s’ for that top talent globally was indeed a revelation. Using a mixture of focused Exit Interviews, round table discussions and travelling to many careers events around Europe the list became very consistent in its content.

What did Gen Y want from an employer? Well salary was not at the top of the list; quality training, career mobility, flexible working, information and environment all featured in their top ten and we did something about them all because they were all things that could be focused on and worked into our offering and indeed most existed already but were not being communicated well enough or in the right way.

So you move heaven and earth to change the way that your future talent sees your business in terms of your Employer Brand but what do the Gen X and Baby Boomers that you employ already think about that? Is it possible for you to develop your Employer Brand and not impact the people who work for you and do a great job but who also want and need different things from you as their employer and who would define a ‘great place to work’ very differently from Gen Y.  What about your non-Gen Y candidates too? How can you possibly be all things to all men...

The crux of the problem I believe.  I think that www.employerbrandingtoday.com have some very interesting things to say on the issue and appealing to the right people in the right way without trying to appeal to everyone is one of their key messages. Your EVP (Employer Value Proposition) is a unique set of offerings, associations and values that should be cross generational and coalesce into your Employer Branding both looking outwards and inwards to be truly congurent and effective; there is no point saying something to candidates that you would not be prepared to say to your current staff.

The process of reviewing, understanding and honing your Employer Brand and then allowing it to evolve and be informed by what staff and candidates think is alot tougher than it appears because afterall how easy is it to create a ‘great place to work’ anyway?

Read about Paul and our other authors here

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Discuss HR is the HR blog written by members of Human Resources UK, the 10,000 member strong LinkedIn group dedicated to the HR professionals in the UK.  Discuss HR is published twice weekly and looks to take an insightful, informative and sometimes irreverent view on the world of HR – all with the purpose of generating a discussion.

*****

If you would like to be a guest writer for Discuss HR, you can find more information here.  Our next guest writer week is the week commencing 29^th April.

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HR as Curators of Skills

Welcome to Discuss HR, the HR blog written by Human Resources UK. 

We welcome our latest new writer to the blog; although Mervyn Dinnen couldn’t be described as a new writer as I am sure many of you will already know and read Mervyn’s numerous blog posts.  Today he looks at the workforce of the future. (Ed Scrivener)

HR as Curators of Skills

“The world is moving forward exponentially. We are preparing students for a world that we don't know, for jobs that haven't been created yet, and many that don't yet exist, using technology that has yet to be invented”

My son is in his A Level year and I’ve recently been accompanying him on university visits. Given the current levels of unemployment amongst the under 25s it’s not surprising that employability plays a big part in the open day presentations. There is usually an impressive list of jobs that alumni have obtained over the last 4 years and a wide variety of career paths that people with a particular degree have followed.

The quote above was taken from one of them. It was from a slide -as a regular conference blogger/tweeter I invariably have a tablet ready to take notes, even in a presentation such as this!

For me it also sums up an interesting conundrum for HR when it comes to attracting tomorrow’s workforce. Several of our businesses don’t yet know what jobs they will be recruiting for in 5 years’ time, or what skills they will need to find.

One thing we do pretty much know is that our workforces will become more flexible, so the need to be able to find, engage and keep in touch with a range of skills will become vital.

Last year I was at a two day conference and saw Heidrick & Struggles present their global talent report, which included a look ahead to 2015 and beyond. One of their key predictions was that today’s entrants in to the job market will have had at least 14 jobs by the time they are 38 – which is probably correct given the fragmented, part time, project nature of many of today’s roles.

It did lead me to wonder where the leaders of tomorrow will come from. How someone who shifts between so many roles/projects will acquire the capabilities to lead a business or function. I had the opportunity to facilitate an unconference session the following day and threw this out to a dozen senior HR people.

The conversation was interesting. Starting with today’s graduate recruitment and current staff projections and gaps, we then thought ahead. A lot of today’s pre-occupations – culture, engagement, talent development and staff retention – would be very different in a flexible workforce where people would be working on a project basis, remotely and possibly internationally. Being engaged for their proven skills rather than a track record of positions, and possibly using contracts that bind them to an outcome not an employer.

The conclusion we drew was:

‘Maybe in the future HR will be curators of skills, not developers of skills’

There is little doubt in my mind that HR will need take on an increasing workload of workforce planning, becoming the people who know how to put together project teams for a whole range of tasks. They will also be the link between the business and the outsourced workforce.

I can’t believe that businesses will continue indefinitely to pay third party recruiters for temporary or flexible staff, particularly on hourly or daily mark-up/margin basis. It will be within the HR function that relationships with individuals are maintained, necessary skills are identified and validated and outcomes are monitored.

And I’m pretty sure that the necessary organisational transformation from a predominantly employed workforce to a largely flexible one will keep most HR professionals occupied.

So those are some of my thoughts on HR and the future workforce…let me know what you think

Read about Mervyn and our other authors here

*****

Discuss HR is the HR blog written by members of Human Resources UK, the 10,000 member strong LinkedIn group dedicated to the HR professionals in the UK.  Discuss HR is published twice weekly and looks to take an insightful, informative and sometimes irreverent view on the world of HR – all with the purpose of generating a discussion.

*****

If you would like to be a guest writer for Discuss HR, you can find more information here.  Our next guest writer week is the week commencing 29^th April.

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Ed Scrivener - 2012

Continuing our review of our writers’ posts during 2012, today we arrive at none other than myself.  To avoid any criticism of being narcisstic I won’t eulagise about how great the posts are! (Ed Scrivener)

2012

• Missing the social point January 19^th
• Beware of big brother March 29^th
• HR, get out and network! June 7^th
• Too many roles July 18^th
• Not another remake October 17^th

2011

• Full back catalogue

About the author

Ed spent the best part of 10 years being an evil HR recruitment consultant.  After finding redemption he now works on the other side helping organisations optimise their direct recruitment channels, a role which allows him to focus on his passion, namely social media.  He manages Human Resources UK and organises regular networking events for the group across the UK.  He is also Editor of Discuss HR and occasionally his humour will creep into articles!

Blog | Email | LinkedIn | Twitter 

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What Did You Do in the War, Grannie?

Welcome to this week’s Discuss HR, the HR blog written for and by members of Human Resources UK.

This week we welcome back our resident HRD, Sheena McLullich who once again has written a thought provoking post.  Her article also heralds the last of the year from our panel of writers.  We will then be welcoming two guest writers before the end of the year.  In the meantime enjoy Sheena’s post. (Ed Scrivener)

What Did You Do in the War, Grannie?

Luckily I haven’t been asked this question – yet!

However, I’m about to make a confession which will, I fear, immediately invoke a prejudice in many people’s minds.  This could seriously impact my chances of ever being head-hunted or of being recruited into another company and could in fact destroy my future employability. 

Anyway, here goes …. I am a Grandmother – of five.

Actually, I’m called ‘Grannie’ (after my own Grannie who also spelt it that way) and, in my defence, I was 21 when my eldest son was born and my son was 22 when his son was born.  Do the maths, as they say.  Even though my oldest grandson is now five, this doesn’t make me old or even vaguely approaching retirement age, but it does invoke strong responses in some people when I’ve told them.  ‘I don’t think we’ve ever had a grandmother before’ was the response of one director and someone else suggested, in all seriousness, that I might want to reduce my working hours… he never got to finish that particular sentence!

My present CEO said to me during my interview ‘we have a young, metropolitan workforce and you don’t fit that model’.  He went on to say that in his view, that was a good thing as I’d been there and learned from the experience, which made me better able to advise and empathise with others and less afraid to make a  tough decision where necessary.  I’m really glad he did that as it gave me an opportunity to bring the subject into the open and to discuss how my life experiences could enhance the organisation.  Unfortunately not many CEOs share Jon’s candour or his attitude to diversity.  

I’ve been present at too many job interviews (both as candidate and interviewer) where someone has been rejected purely on the grounds of age.  ‘They won’t learn.’  ‘They won’t adapt.’ ‘They’ll be too slow’  ‘They won’t like change’ are common misconceptions. 

Like many ‘baby boomers’, I started my working life in the early ‘eighties.  Back then, the personal computer was just coming into common use.  There was no email, no social media, no internet.  If you wanted to find something out, you had to look up a reference book or ask someone else.  (Networking is not a new concept by the way!)  Since then we’ve mastered numerous versions of increasingly sophisticated software packages and coped with radically different ways of working – ‘won’t learn, won’t change’ – I think we’ve proved that exactly the opposite is the case. 

During my career I’ve had to deal with almost every challenge that working with people can throw at you.   I’ve struggled through recessions, coped with redundancy (from both sides) and had to handle some very traumatic situations, including some real human tragedies.   As you get older, I think you become less emotional and more resilient.  You’re less likely to panic when faced with something unfamiliar and more inclined to step back, assess the situation and decide on a course of action that won’t make things worse.   These are not skills that are taught in business schools – I know, because I’ve been there too. 

So, on my desk at work you’ll see a photo of five smiling little faces whose Grannie has a wealth of experience to share with them (when they’re old enough) but who isn’t ready to retire to a rocking chair for some considerable time yet.  

But I wonder, what will you see the next time you interview an older candidate?

About the author

Sheena began her career in Training & Development before moving to a generalist HR position in 1998.  Since then she has held senior HR roles for several SMEs in a wide range of industries. A Fellow of the CIPD and Member of the US SHRM, she has a keen interest in Employee Development, specifically in coaching and supporting managers to enable them to get the best from their people.  She was appointed as Director of People for SPA Future Thinking in September 2011.

Email | LinkedIn | Website

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Discuss HR is the blog for Human Resources UK, the leading LinkedIn group for those involved with HR in the UK.  

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Not another remake!

Welcome to this week’s Discuss HR, the HR blog written for and by members of Human Resources UK.

In a change to the schedule I am writing this week’s post (the stampede is defeaning) and I am really taking my penchant for tenuous links to breaking point!  This week I look at how recruitment processes mirror the world of the Hollywood blockbuster. (Ed Scrivener)

Not another remake!

Peter Sellers he was not!

For every Ocean’s Eleven there are three Alfie’s, Clash of the Titans or Total Recall or more pertinently seven Police Academy’s!  The film world seems to be increasingly intent on remakes and sequels.  In the last year alone the list of remakes in production includes the likes of The Dambusters, The Great Gatsby, Excalibur, The Twilight Zone and Dune to name but a few.  Rather than pen a new story, Hollywoodfeels the easy choice in this economy is to copy and tinker with an original idea.  The common theme with the vast bulk is that the original was a success, hence the belief the remake will be a success too.

This is not my attempt to become the next Barry Norman, although being paid to watch films would be a rather good profession!  I am sure some of you will have already guessed the analogy I am using.  Films are remade due to the commercial success of the original.  Invariably due to the success of the original the remake will prove a financial success, but nowhere near the original.  It will be remembered as a poor relation and fans will all prefer the original.  Let’s now use this analogy for the recruitment world.  How often are roles recruited with the intention of replacing the current incumbent with a copy?  The incumbent has been a success, so the belief is that hiring someone from the same background will also prove to be a success, but how often is this the case?  The new hire may do a good job, but were they the best person?  Of course, there are times that hiring an exact replacement proves to be a real success – in film terms Scarface, The Departed or Father of the Bride – but these occasions are due to a clear understanding of what made the original successful and using that to make the remake equally so.  Again, putting this in recruitment terms, it is not someone’s background but their aptitude and emotional intelligence that makes them a good hire and this is what needs to be focused on.

Unfortunately in both recruitment and film terms we are seeing more and more remakes at present.   A remake offers the safe option and due to the economic strife we’re all in, organisations are risk averse at present.  They feel the easy option is the safe option, but is this the best option?  Invariably no.

And for a bit of fun...

Worst Film Remakes

Psycho
The Wicker Man
The Stepford Wives
Alfie
The Pink Panther
The Ladykillers
Clash of the Titans

Best Film Remakes

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (the Donald Sutherland version and not the Nicole Kidman version which should be on the list above!)

Ocean’s Eleven

The Magnificent Seven

Scarface

Father of the Bride

The Departed

The Thing

About the author

Ed spent the best part of 10 years being an evil HR recruitment consultant.  After finding redemption he now works on the other side helping organisations optimise their direct recruitment channels, a role which allows him to focus on his passion, namely social media.  He manages Human Resources UK and organises regular networking events for the group across the UK.   He is also Editor of Discuss HR and occasionally his humour will creep into articles!

Blog | Email | LinkedIn | Twitter | Website

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Discuss HR is the blog for Human Resources UK, the leading LinkedIn group for those involved with HR in the UK.

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Too many roles!

Welcome to this week’s Discuss HR, the HR blog written for and by members of Human Resources UK.

No long winded intro as I’m writing this week’s post, so we’ll go straight into it… (Ed Scrivener)

Too many roles!

This week I have truly been afflicted with writer’s block.  I thoroughly enjoy writing, but I have found my initial drafts on topics such as the G4S debacle and the poor weather to be rather turgid and stale – any comments of “so what’s new” will not be warmly received!  Instead I finally found a topic worth writing about that truly brought together my two passions, namely recruitment and rugby!

The reality TV star, Gavin Henson

Last week a person known to some of you as a bronzed dancer and to others as an unfulfilled talented rugby player was given a final shot at redemption.  I am of course referring to Gavin Henson the Welsh rugby player/reality TV star who was signed by the Oxfordbased team London Welsh (it’s a very long story to explain the quirk in location!).  Gavin Henson first hit the limelight in the 2005 Six Nations tournament where his last minute penalty defeated World Champions England and led to an historic Welsh Grand Slam victory.  He was subsequently afflicted by numerous injuries and a rather misplaced desire to be in the limelight, which rather than being about his talent tended to be more about his relationship with the singer Charlotte Church, or more often his misbehaviour as a result of an excess of alcohol.  After years of support, his club side the Ospreys allowed him to leave to join the English side Saracens in order for him to be closer to his children in London.  After a handful of appearances and several histrionics he quickly moved to the French side Toulon, immediately rendering the good natured departure from the Ospreys futile.  No sooner had he arrived he was involved in a fracas with his team mates, allegedly due to the praise bestowed on his team mate, the consummate professional and absurdly talented Johnny Wilkinson.  As such, he soon left Toulonand returned to Wales to play for Cardiff.  To his credit he managed to stay longer than the few weeks he gave his two previous clubs, but no sooner had he settled down he was back to his old antics.  After a late night game in Scotland, he ignored a curfew and proceeded to spend the night drinking, resulting in very inappropriate behaviour on the flight back to Wales early the next morning.  Cardiffimmediately cancelled his contract.  After several months without a club, he was signed by London Welsh at the eleventh hour before the start of the pre-season.  Some see him as a marquee signing, others as a circus signing; what isn’t in doubt is that this is his last chance at playing top flight rugby and he needs to deliver.

Hopefully at this stage you’re still with me!  I bore enough people on rugby forums, so I don’t want to transfer that to here.  The purpose of the some what long-winded description was to describe Henson’s situation and transfer that to the work place.  As a recruiter I regularly meet professionals who have held a number of roles in a short space of time – very few have had such a colourful career as Henson, although I have heard some stories in my time!  One of the first things I have to do when speaking with a professional with such a career is to warn them that there will be a real challenge to overcome the view that they have held too many roles.  They are perceived by hiring managers as being a risk and liability, with far safer options available.  However, is the safe option always the best? 

The venue of the interviews...

I know one HR professional who has held 5 permanent roles in 5 years and yet they are one of the most talented people I know.  She has been rejected on a number occasions due to how many roles she has held before the organisation has even spoke to her to see her ability.  Returning to rugby, Gavin Henson received very few offers after his departure from Cardiff and you do have to question whether this was due to a perceived belief that there were better and safer options available?

Both in this blog and in the group we have held discussions relating to reasons for being rejected for a role, sector experience being the most common topic.  In those instances we have found that very talented HR professionals are not being invited to interview purely due to their sector experience.  We mostly have come to the conclusion that in the vast majority of occasions this is an unfair and unfounded judgement.  Therefore, I would like to put to you the question does the number of roles a person has held really attest to their ability?

P.S. I apologise for bleating on about rugby, however, you should count your blessings that I didn’t discuss how to tender your resignation and relate that to Brian Redpath’s departure from my beloved Gloucester– now that really would have been a (very) long-winded rant!

About the author

Ed is an HR recruitment specialist and social media trainer.  He holds over 8 years industry specific experience recruiting mainly for middle and senior HR management positions. He stumbled upon social media a few years ago and has since become passionate about the subject.  He now trains job seekers and independent consultants in social media techniques. He is the Group Manager of Human Resources UK and Editor of Discuss HR and occasionally his humour will creep into articles!

Blog | Email | LinkedIn | Twitter | Website

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Discuss HR is the blog for Human Resources UK, the leading LinkedIn group for those involved with HR in the UK.  Next week’s Discuss HR will be published on Thursday 26^th July and will be written by Leadership Coach Dorothy Nesbit.

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Beware of Big Brother

Welcome to this week’s Discuss HR, the HR blog written for and by members of Human Resources UK.

This week there is good news and bad news.  The good news is that there is no long winded introduction; the bad news is that it is my turn to write the blog post!  Today I have written about how job seekers really need to be aware how they use social media as they could be harming their chances of securing work. (Ed Scrivener)

Beware of Big Brother

I suppose the title should read “Beware the Big Brothers” as I do feel any sane person should run from the recurring reality show, never mind the haunting original Orwellian Big Brother!  But in this instance this Big Brother is the spying eye of your future employer.

I am sure you are all aware of numerous cases of people not being hired, or even fired, due to the content of their Facebook account.  Scantily clad photos or referring to your current boss in unflattering terms is often the sure fire way of not being offered the new job.  Quite frankly though, I am sure 99% of you reading this are fully aware that you shouldn’t undertake such practices so I am not going to preach to the converted, instead my focus is on a more subtle area.

You will be reading this either via LinkedIn, Twitter or directly via the blog site.  In which case, you will have a certain level of understanding about the world of social media.  One of the key aspects about social media, in whatever guise you look at it, is that what you post is there for the world to see and invariably will be there to see forever.  It is with this in mind that I ask you to think about how you use social media and to be aware of the long term repercussions.

In recent months I have become increasingly shocked by the content added by job seekers to various social media mediums.  They haven’t been posting scantily clad photos (although some people’s LinkedIn profile photos are wholly inappropriate!), likewise, they haven’t been tweeting about how they hate HR whilst looking for an HR Manager role (although again you’d be surprised!).  These job seekers have been involved in posting what appears to be professional content, be it via URLs or simply partaking in a forum discussion.  However, when you scratch beneath the surface the content they are using does not paint them in a positive light.  Essentially what they are doing is complaining about certain professional related facets, for example tweeting they just had an interview with someone “rather boring”!  As it has been stated that over 80% of potential employers will do a search on applicants social media presence this kind of tweet is not going to be received well (especially if you are the boring person reading it!).

Don't get caught whinging!

The example I have cited is a more extreme case which again I feel most of you would know not to do.  However, there are further examples where job seekers may not understand the negative impact their content may have.  Searching for work can be an extremely frustrating process, we all know recruiters and companies alike can have rather dubious recruitment processes that leave us angry.  I believe it is good for the soul to air your frustrations as it puts them behind you.  But it is important these frustrations are aired in private with your closet friends and not in a public arena where anyone, especially the hiring manager reviewing your CV can read them.  A few months ago, a rather honest contact of mine explained to me that he had Googled a person he was due to interview and found numerous comments by that person on a variety of sites and he stated that she just came across as whining, something he really didn’t want in his team.  Whilst he didn’t say as much, I am sure he would have gone into the interview with that preconception the person was a whiner, regardless of whether that was the truth.  Again this is probably an extreme example, but it does go to show how content can have a negative impact.

It is also very important that your content matches up to what you actually feel or verbally state.  I interviewed someone recently whose comments to me verbally where at complete opposites to their social media content.  This left me rather confused as to what I should believe and what the person’s genuine thoughts were and as such it was only natural that I then cast doubts on the credibility of other statements they made.

If you are not sure of the level of impact this can have why don’t you try Googling yourself or a colleague.  You will be amazed about how much you can find and how easy it is to do.  This is what 80% of hiring managers do...

A casual look at my LinkedIn profile or for those that know me, will know I am a HUGE fan of social media.  It is has now been adopted as the central theme to how I work, simply put, I think it’s fantastic!  So this is not an attempt by me to put you off the medium, as I firmly believe you will gain far more than you will lose by using social media.  Instead, it is just to err caution when you are posting to think how that comment could be received.  Written communication is renowned for being misunderstood, so try to understand the different ways your comments can be read before you vent your spleen!

About the author

Ed is an HR recruitment specialist and social media trainer.  He holds over 8 years industry specific experience recruiting mainly for middle and senior HR management positions. He stumbled upon social media a few years ago and has since become passionate about the subject.  He now trains companies and individuals alike in social media techniques. He is the Group Manager of Human Resources UK and Editor of Discuss HR and occasionally his humour will creep into articles!

Blog | Email | LinkedIn | Twitter | Website

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Discuss HR is the blog for Human Resources UK, the leading LinkedIn group for those involved with HR in the UK.  Next week’s Discuss HR will be published on Thursday 26^th January when we will welcome back guest writer and employer and personal brand specialist Paul Goring.

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