Harsh maybe, but I really do feel that in today’s competitive global economy we need to start addressing the fact that we’re ill equipping people for the expectations we have of them if we let sub-par performance go unchecked. Now I recognise that for there to be high performers there must be those who are not and indeed there then exists in-between the two poles a raft of average performers. Interestingly a speaker recently suggested to his audience of business professionals that most people in the room were probably good at what they did, but that being good was the new average. Quite simply he said, “you need to be exceptional, you need to stand out and you need to be very, very good”.
In the past ten or twenty years we’ve propagated at every opportunity from kindergarten through to the boardroom, this idea that doing your best is all you can do. Everyone is a winner if you’ve tried your hardest and thereafter you should just be proud of your efforts.
We increase the debilitating effect of accepting average performance with a social phenomenon known as Tall Poppy Syndrome (TPS) whereby people of genuine merit are resented, attacked, cut down, or criticised because their talents or achievements elevate them above or distinguish them from their (more average) peers.
I suggest it’s now time to shake off the need to encourage everyone with false praise and recognise the realities of competitive markets. There are winners and losers; there are people who excel and those that don’t. We certainly need to help people identify their place within this sphere and we also need to help them develop (if they want to), but let’s not call everyone a success unless and until they actually succeed.
This one’s an interesting question because as a six year academic graduate myself, I would strongly advocate the need to pursue and attain formal recognition of your skills and abilities. These skills offer business grounding, they offer a learning framework for the future and they offer evidence of your commitment to see a course of learning through to completion. But those six years were quite a few business cycles past and when I reflect now on whether they currently aid me in my day-to-day job I would have to question at least some of the content I studied.
Today more than ever we live in a world that’s pacing itself for a sprint race and without doubt the drivers in attaining formal qualifications have changed substantially to those of past decades. Consider in the past, the essential requirement to hold a degree before any blue chip employer would consider you having the aptitude to work in their computing/technology department. Similarly business and trade qualifications were of a value that appears to be dropping year on year as employers place more significant value now on whether an individual has successfully demonstrated the skill rather than whether a certificate says they have that skill.
The telling marker in this story is perhaps best indicated by the fact that the learning landscape itself has changed. In the past knowledge was passed quite deliberately and structurally from person to person (think teacher, student) but today with all the available mediums this is no longer as doctrine a process.
Always on, self-serve, immediate access, instant gratification are just a few of the catch-phrases which embody the learning environment we now find ourselves within, and if you don’t believe me then go Google it yourself!
So are we beyond the academic measures of the past? Well we know Universities are struggling to fill places as they wrestle with a youth unconvinced of the value proposition for three of four years of degree level study. Perhaps its cyclical and once the learning Institutions create a new, modern approach to meeting the educational needs of today then demand will increase again. Perhaps indeed.
In the meantime for many today it appears more important to achieve the Foursquare Major of Starbucks than it is to hold a bachelor’s degree.
I’m sure we’ve all seen those job advertisements stating 10+ years relevant experience essential. But what does that really mean?
Learning and development models today no longer follow the same linear model they did twenty or even ten years ago. Classroom led training has been supplemented and sometimes replaced wholly by computer based training (CBT). What this has created is an ability for self-paced learning that can be accelerated, paused or protracted to meet the needs of the learner.
And therein lies the dichotomy with the traditional request for years experience when hiring employees. There is a diminishing correlation between the ability or skills of an individual and their likely performance, when based solely on years’ of experience. Put more simply a twenty-one year old who has a passion for a skill and who spends all his or her time bettering their ability with it, is often more capable than a forty-one year old with 10+ years’ work experience. It’s a notion backed by common sense in a lot of ways yet still somewhat perversely, far from commonplace as a method for employers to filter appropriately skilled candidates from the rest.
So what can you do about it?
Well as a recruiter I advise my team to probe for evidence of ability to perform the tasks to the required skill level, irrespective of how long the applicant has been practicing said skill. And for job seekers I’d recommend a strategic approach to any job search that pits your ability to actually do the job verses the employer’s belief in what they think you need to do the job.
Trust me it isn’t easy to change engrained and long-standing beliefs but the times they are changing and if my six year old can use MS Word now then he’ll be well equipped to tackle an office administration role in say two or three years!
I could start by qualifying these comments as specific to a job interview but in fact they’re not, they can actually be applied to any interview situation you face. You see an interview by definition is or should be a two-way flow of information between parties. The key element being the need for everyone involved to gain information from the process, save the interview (at best) be found lacking or (at worst) becoming a complete waste of time.
And in that first paragraph is the key to overcoming nerves for most candidates. Too many interviewees view the interview as a test which they must pass to be successful else fail under the guise of personal rejection!
Take a step back and re-read the first paragraph. The interview may still be a test but it’s a two-way test not one-way. If the interviewer doesn’t impress me with his job, or company information or even his personality then I may not accept his offer should he decide I’m the employee he wants in his business. On the more traditional view If I don’t represent myself in the best light, summing up skills and experience and demonstrating a personality matching what’s being sought, then I’m unlikely to be offered the position on offer.
Now with a more level appreciation of the process that’s taking place in an interview, I’d invite you to refocus your approach to interviews in the future. Sure you should prepare and invest time in performing your best at an interview but only in return for an expectation that your interviewer does the same. When you view the balance of power as equal you are much more likely to relax and perform naturally to your best ability.
Salaries within the Infrastructure space continue to be stable rather than spectacular. Nervousness surrounding economic conditions in Europe is tempered by China’s continued rise to prominence and our own resources boom, creating somewhat of an impasse in permanent salaries especially. Contract rates are more open to fluctuation and are increasingly influenced by client and industry sector.
In contrast to the Applications market we are seeing an increasingly popular trend of on-shoring/insourcing of local customer facing IT support functions. Subsequently and more-so in a contract context this is somewhat inflating rates at the lower end of the market as companies scramble for the limited number of available talent. It will be no surprise to see that as a consequence of this lower end elevation there may well be some fluctuation in rates in the coming 12 months at the higher echelons. Read more…
Infrastructure support is an interesting area in the market place right now. As the common market entry point for recent IT graduates, it can present some very frustrating challenges. Typically a candidate is stuck in a catch twenty-two; “I need an entry level position because I don’t have experience, but…all the jobs require at least 6-18 months experience. How can I get experience if no one will give me a chance?” The answer, you need to understand the market.
You have two options to enter the market;
1) Apply to companies that are considered training grounds in the industry
These companies typically have lower requirements than working for the internal IT staff of a large ASX-listed company. In addition to this, they hire year-round and often take people on straight out of TAFE or Uni, with the easiest job to secure being a customer support or call centre type role. The key to making the right career choice here is, choosing a position in companies that are either IT companies themselves or have room for you to move into the IT support side of the business. Working 12 months with one of these companies will give you the experience you need for other opportunities and also give you the right kind of customer service training required for a Service Desk position.
2) Look for a company that is willing to train and mould you to their way of operating
These companies can come in all different shapes, sizes and industries. The key thing they are looking for here is; drive, ambition (but not too much), aptitude, the right attitude, clear and professional communication, proper understanding of what good customer service is and obviously a demonstrated commitment to a career in IT. All of which can be quite difficult to portray in your CV, nevertheless, a poorly constructed or laid out CV can see you overlooked during the application process. Likewise, using language that oversells what you have done in the past can make you come across as arrogant and unwilling to learn/be trained, which goes back to having the right attitude. Read more…
For as long as they have both been around, the Linux versus Windows argument has raged on amongst their respective loyal subjects. On the surface, Windows is more widely adopted, is the standard business environment operating system, is more end-user friendly, and has more commercially developed programs supported than Linux. Linux on the other hand, is being adopted exponentially faster, is free to download, use, distribute and modify as needed, has an open source version (albeit not always up to the same capability) of just about every commercially developed program a windows environment can offer, and because of its design, is not susceptible to viruses or spyware.
Whilst there are literally thousands of Linux distributions (or Distros) available, there are only a few major players, with most others being variations of these, namely; Ubuntu, Fedora, OpenSUSE, & Debian. In recent years however, one of these has been specifically edging out in front as a contender against its Windows rivals, Canonical’s Ubuntu. With major releases every April & October, the last three years has seen it improve not only in the traditional points, but also one of the primary measures of comparison between OSes, User Friendliness. Some dramatical changes were made to its internal workings with the release of Ubuntu 10.04 (which were further refined in version 10.10), resulting in Ubuntu finally going head to head with Windows 7, not only on speed with its 30 second average boot and 5 second shutdown times, but also usability and design. Read more…
Contactors have been part of the IT landscape since the early 1980s. Large project teams were formed to rewrite or convert manual paper based legacy systems and processes to computerised/automated processes. Contractors came into their own as a highly skilled, mobile workforce whose expertise could be used for the duration of the project and then let go when no longer needed.
Despite their long history in our workforce landscape myths still abound around the perceived disadvantages of contracting.
MYTH 1. YOUR SKILLS WILL BECOME OUTDATED
This is a common fear that, over time and without training, your skills will become redundant and it will be hard to find work. This can be a problem not only for contractors but also permanent employees who don’t invest time inself-training. You do need to work hard at keeping your skills updated and there are many courses and training materials out there to help you do it. Read more…
As the years go on and technology continues to improve, more focus is going into implementing different technology devices into the education system. In 2005 Parsad and Jones did a study that showed in the year 2005, 99% of schools with computers had access to the internet versus 35% of schools in 1994.
Over the last 10 years, government officials have started emphasising the importance of creating a technology-rich school environment. Recent studies have shown that children who have learning assistance from technology based tools are receiving higher test scores, making significantly higher academic achievements, and have higher performance scores across all subjects.
The Information and Communication Technology Literacy Group believes that the use of technology improves students’ abilities to communicate, analyse and interpret data, prioritise tasks, understand conceptual modeling, and engage in problem solving. These are critical areas for a student as well as for people in the work place. Someone who has strong skills in the above areas is much more likely to be successful in a business environment.
The article I recently read suggested that basic computer systems, tools and applications that we take for granted like Microsoft word, Microsoft excel, powerpoint, email, internet etc. are all increasing our communication and analytical skills. If this is the case, are people who are exposed to technology at a younger age predestined to do better in school, develop better communicative and analytical skills, and thus be more successful in their job?
Is it appropriate to attribute the development of these skills purely to technology? If this is the case, will there eventually be a need for teachers, classrooms, and schools or are computers and the internet going to become the global education system?
In the office my colleagues call me the Christmas Grinch, Bah Humbug and The Scrooge so to make sure I live up to my reputation I will not mention a thing about that C word!
The Year 2010 in Review
January 2010 – This was a crazy period of time for me, recruiting in the infrastructure space during January was like opening the flood gates. Budget had finally been allocated for extra head count after the GFC and managers didn’t hold back. They wanted to make sure they gave some relief to their teams before upper management changed their minds. This is traditionally the quietest month of recruitment in the year but definitely not for me in 2010. This was a good sign of things to come for 2010.
February > May 2010 – Things incrementally picked up from here as more and more uncertainty was waivered and good financial results gave companies across various sectors more budget for both permanent and contract positions. Although there were additional requirements and companies were performing well there was still the hangover of the recent GFC on everyone’s minds and threats of a double dip recession kept salaries and over hiring down. Overall, steady increases in hiring and vacancies for Infrastructure professionals continued throughout the first two quarters of 2010.
June > August 2010 – The Infrastructure recruitment market plateau happened during these months but projects started to kickoff and the business information team were very busy throughout these months employing PM’s, Business Analysts and various project leads / designers. This would impact the infrastructure market later on down the track in 2010 and 2011. Throughout the year to date companies had been cautious not over doing salary increases and were being very selective with who they brought on board to their teams. With the steady increases in staff hires throughout the year the first signs of real skilled staff shortages started to peep through the cracks and recruiters were starting to find it harder to deliver on client requirements. Honest and Smart Recruitment Consultants indicated these changes in the job market and set realistic expectations with their clients. Read more…
Harsh maybe, but I really do feel that in today’s competitive global economy we need to start addressing the fact that we’re ill equipping people for the expectations we have of them if we let sub-par performance go unchecked. Now I recognise that for there to be high performers there must be those who are not and indeed there then exists in-between the two poles a raft of average performers. Interestingly a speaker recently suggested to his audience of business professionals that most people in the room were probably good at what they did, but that being good was the new average. Quite simply he said, “you need to be exceptional, you need to stand out and you need to be very, very good”.
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