Monday, February 28, 2011

The sustainable business case

Young people get why businesses need to develop sustainability programs. Gen X and Y and Milleniums don’t want to give what matters to them most — their lifetimes – to promote the corporate bottom line. They want to work for companies that feel some responsibility to their communities and to issues that effect us all, like sustainability. More than that, they’ve got incredible radar for companies that are using PR to appear green — what they like to call “green washing.”

But sustainability is not necessarily a top priority for the business owners I talk to. From them I hear, “Times are tough. My job is to make a profit so I can continue to support my workers and their families. ‘Saving the environment’ is laudable, but I have to look at the bottom line.”

Making your business more sustainable and making a profit really mutually exclusive? Not according to Adam Werbach in a Harvard University video. Adam, the global CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, one of the world’s largest advertising companies, explains how big businesses can create a “sustainability culture” that is essential to their financial success.

He says that as resources like fuel become scarcer, companies that figure out a way to manage environmental factors are companies that are going to cope best. And, he says that a commitment to sustainability results in:

. better products
. engaged and committed employees
. more sales

Werbach warns that the efforts can’t be episodic. Really creating a culture that engages workers and that encourages them to come up with ideas to solve an environmental problem is critical.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

What young employees want

My friends who own small businesses complain a they can’t motivate their newest employees. “I can’t figure out what they want. It’s not money, necessarily. It’s not prestige. What makes them tick?,” they ask.

As a life coach working with 20 somethings, I can tell you what they want.

More than previous generations, they want their work lives to matter. According to What Canadians Think, a book by two of Canada’s leading pollsters, 81% of Canadian students surveyed said having an “interesting” work was important to them. To put that in prospective, only 19% said having a high paying job was important. Engaging work is really, really a priority with this generation.

And, as important, they want to work for organizations that understand their prospective that businesses need a bigger vision. If they are going to give you what they value most – their life time — they want you to show you care about burning issues, both locally and globally.

It’s not that hard to make your organization one that young workers will want to work for. You just need to commit to making a difference about the issues that matter to them.

And what are those issues? For sure the environment and sustainability. Put your young workers in charge of developing your environmental company policies and you’ll be surprised how ingenious their solutions are.

For sure, it’s enriching their communities. Make it easy for them to volunteer by providing information on local charities and events in your newsletters and emails. Give them a day off every three months to volunteer in the community.

For sure it’s the larger world. Adopting a cause – whether its global warming or world poverty – will show you care about something beyond the bottom line.

This is a generation that gets more grief that they deserve, because their values are different. Make yours the kind of company they are proud to tell their friends about, and you’ll earn their commitment.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Getting ready for your interview: U of Chicago offers step by steps




Sometimes my clients do an enormous amount of work to finally land a job interview, then back off and figure their work is done. Your goal is not getting an interview, its landing a job.

So how can you prepare? There's some great toolkits out there to walk you through the process. Take a look at the University of Chicago's Career Advising and Planning Service site. They offer a whole series of detailed handouts to guide you in every step of the job search process. And you don't have to attend one of the best universities in the world to have access to them.

Their 8-page Employment Interview Handout walks you through the 4 step process to:

1. assess what you bring to the job
2. do you research on the industry and the company
3. prepare your responses
4. practice and dress for your interview

To help you relax into the interview, they suggest that you use the STAR Method by preparing mini-stories for possible interview questions. For example you're likely to be asked, "What can you add to our team or company?' You can have a mini story ready to highlight how you made a difference as a reporter on your school paper by adding an environmental column. Using your story, you can demonstrate how you were on top of trends and were able to create something innovative that improved circulation.

Remember, you're in the home stretch when you arrive at a job interview. It's time to put forward your best effort by going in totally prepared.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Great Career Exploration Site at McGill U

Students Studying Pictures, Images and Photos

I'm often asked where to begin in figuring out what to do with the rest of your life. Not surprisingly I always answer: "With you." Before you begin to search for available jobs, you need to begin with a little self analysis. Taking the time now can save you years of going down the wrong road and having to retrace your steps.

I'll give you an example from my own life. When I graduated high school at 16, I decided to go into nursing, most likely because my older brother had gone into medicine and because my family said I could always get a job. But by choosing nursing, I ignored my own nature. I wasn't interested in sciences, not detail oriented and overwhelmed in the super stressful environment of hospitals. Years later, a fish out of water as an ICU nurse, I compounded my error by getting a Masters in Health administration. I was in my 30s before I finally conceded to myself, "This isn't working," and became a writer. I finally found the sort of work that matched my styles and interests.

Fortunately there are some great tools for you to learn what kinds of careers might suit you and walk you through the process. McGill University's website has a tools that can help walk you through a self assessment process. It offers nine steps from that all important self assessment to shaking an interviewer's hand and accepting your first job. There's links, tips, podcasts and advice at every step of the way. It's one of the best organized sites I've seen.

You can use Macgill's site to:

1) Do a Self Assessment
2) Explore Careers
3) Engage in New Experiences
4) Research Employers & Target Organizations
5) Develop Your Networking Skills
6) Look for Job Opportunities
7) Write a CV and Cover Letter
8) Prepare for the Interview
9) Know Salary and Labour Information

Check it out.