Fired is the New Retired - The idiocy of axing older employees.

By Ellis Cose NEWSWEEK
Published Oct 29, 2009
From the magazine issue dated Nov 9, 2009

This may be the worst time in the last 60 years to be old and looking for work. Some 6.8 percent of workers over 55 are unemployed (not as bad as for younger workers, but still a historic high). You have to go back to 1949 to find employment stats nearly (but not quite) as bleak as they are now. The bad news does not stop there. On average, it takes employees over 55 roughly 33 weeks to find new jobs, nearly seven weeks longer than for younger workers, and nearly 13 weeks longer than it took just two years ago. Bad as things are, the Supreme Court has made them even tougher—at least for those who believe they are victims of age discrimination and are inclined to try to prove it.

The court's 5-4 ruling last June came in response to a suit filed by a demoted employee, Jack Gross, under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967. It was not sufficient, concluded the majority, to show that age was among the reasons for an employee's bad treatment; age had to be the reason. In his dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens called the decision "unnecessary lawmaking." The majority, he said, misread Congress's intentions. Last month, in introducing legislation to nullify that decision, Senate Judiciary Committee chair Patrick Leahy also accused the court of thwarting congressional intent.

At a Judiciary Committee hearing focused on recent Supreme Court workplace decisions, Jack Gross told his story. (The committee also heard from a former Halliburton employee who says she was raped by coworkers in Iraq but was denied the right to sue because she had unwittingly signed a binding arbitration agreement.) Born in 1948 in a small Iowa town, Gross grew up imbued with the value of hard work. As a schoolboy, he labored at numerous jobs despite the constant pain of ulcerative colitis. As an adult, he found work with Farm Bureau Life, an insurance company, and eventually became a vice president. But in his 50s, he was abruptly replaced by a younger woman. The company, he surmised, was systematically trying to weed out older workers. A jury found in his favor but an appeals court vacated the verdict. The case eventually made its way to the Supremes, whose decision "mortified" him.

The AARP was similarly disturbed—especially in light of statistics showing a 29 percent jump in age-discrimination complaints from 2007 to 2008. Dan Kohrman, senior attorney with AARP, concedes that the numbers don't necessarily prove a commensurate rise in age discrimination, but he insists they show something bad is going on. During hard times, he says, many employers resort to "crude practices" that drive older workers away. They may force supervisors to rank employees on subjective criteria—such as mental "flexibility"—that are essentially a license to discriminate. Or they generate paperwork alleging drops in performance that have no clear explanation.

Linda Barrington, an economist with the Conference Board, agrees that older workers are often stereotyped. Obesity," she observed, "is more of a health-care cost than age for those between 30 and 50." And older workers show every bit as much stamina as younger workers when called upon to put in long hours. Yet in all too many cases, employers see age as a much larger liability than it is.

Earlier this year, after another Supreme Court ruling made it harder for women to fight discrimination in pay, Congress passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to restore rights many legislators assumed they had already protected. Congress ought to do the same for older workers, who should be given every legal weapon they need to fight discrimination. But even if that happens, age discrimination will not simply go away. Very few workers have the resources to bring a case to court. As Joanna Lahey, an economist with the Rand Corporation, has noted, "the majority of people who sue under the ADEA are white, male middle managers or professionals." And even if more people did have the financial resources to sue, many who are discriminated against don't have the smoking gun that will prove their case. They may just know the job or promotion they wanted went to someone else.

The larger problem, as Barrington points out, is how we tend to view people, the stereotypes we impose on workers of a certain age. It would be great if correcting that were as simple as changing a law. Instead, we face the more daunting task of changing ourselves.

Find this article at http://www.newsweek.com/id/220144 © 2009

With Jobs Scarce, Age Becomes an Issue

by Dana Mattioli
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
provided by The Wall Street Journal

Age discrimination in the workplace has long been a concern for the 55-and-older set. In this downturn, however, younger workers may have as much to fear as their more-mature colleagues.

Employees in their 20s and 30s are finding themselves more at risk of a layoff, according to labor lawyers, as employers look to avoid age-discrimination lawsuits by adopting a "last one in, first one out" policy and turn to tenure as a means of conducting layoffs. In some cases, young, childless professionals say they feel they're being targeted in layoffs, while employees who have families to support are given special consideration.

While no age group is exempt from layoffs, younger workers seem to be shouldering a larger percentage of the burden, according to recent Labor Department figures. The unemployment rate for those between the ages of 25 and 34 was 9.6% in April 2009, up from 4.9% a year earlier. For those ages 55 and older, the unemployment rate was 6.2% in April 2009, compared with 3.3% a year earlier.

Wary of Lawsuits

While younger workers tend to earn the lowest salaries, making them the least-expensive workers to retain, companies are becoming wary of laying off older, better-paid workers. In fact, Gerald Maatman, co-chairman of the class-action litigation practice at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, which represents employers, says he has been fielding more inquiries about laying off younger workers than in years past, especially from companies in states like New Jersey and Michigan that have laws to protect workers as young as 18. Age-discrimination lawsuits brought by older workers can cost more than the salary of the worker who was laid off and can hurt the company's reputation, according to Andria Ryan, partner at Atlanta law firm Fisher & Phillips LLP.

"Younger people, in general are a lot less of a risk [for lawsuits] when you do a reduction in force," says Ms. Ryan. While most states protect employees 40 and older from age discrimination, only a handful of jurisdictions extend this protection to employees as young as 18, she says.

"Companies don't like [layoffs by seniority], but [they're] also the easiest to defend," says Gerald Hathaway, co-chairman of the business-restructuring practice group with employment law firm Littler Mendelson. "If you have a bona fide seniority system it's a defense for any type of discrimination," according to the law, he adds.

Seniority in Education

This is particularly true in the education field, where many colleges and schools are taking measures to protect tenured teachers and professors. David Schauer, superintendent of Kyrene Elementary School District No. 28 in Tempe, Ariz., sent layoff notices to 68 teachers in anticipation of budget cuts. The cuts target only first-year continuing teachers, most of whom are in their 20s, says Mr. Schauer. "My worst fear is that really good people will leave teaching," he says.

Nicole Ryan, a 24-year-old sixth-grade math teacher for Fox Lane Middle School, in Bedford, N.Y., received such a layoff notice. The notice was sent out to teachers and staff based on their seniority. So, despite strong performance reviews, budget cuts mean she may not have a job to return to in the fall. "I knew it was coming because, based on seniority, I was lower on the totem pole," she says. "It didn't make it any easier."

The emotional impact of layoffs can affect a manager's decision when it comes to choosing who gets the ax -- and that can also disproportionately affect younger workers. "It takes a tremendous toll on managers," says Mitchell Marks, a professor of organizational change in the College of Business at San Francisco State University. Mr. Marks says when layoff decisions come to a tie breaker, personal and family situations often come into play.

"I've had plenty of managers sit me down and say 'Joe's spouse just got diagnosed with cancer but Jane's spouse is an M.D.,' " says Mr. Marks of the explanations of how a layoff has been decided. The same decision-making process can occur when choosing who gets laid off between a single 20-something employee or, say, a 50-year-old employee with two kids in college.

Svetlana Gelman, 24, worked in the marketing department of a law firm until December when she was laid off. She feels strongly that her age and the fact that she doesn't have a family to support put her at greater risk before the layoff. Ms. Gelman says she was competing head-to-head with another employee with a child, who was hired a few months after Ms. Gelman and often would use her sacrifices as a parent to tout her dedication to the firm.

"The person was very tactical, she would bring the child in, spoke about him all the time and would say things like 'My child is sick but I'm still here,' " says Ms. Gelman.

And as work became more scarce and layoffs loomed, Ms. Gelman says she was let go while her colleague remained, despite the fact that Ms. Gelman earned less and often worked longer hours because of her co-worker's child-care responsibilities.

Staying Safe

Still, there are ways younger workers can go about safeguarding their jobs. High-maintenance attitudes typical of younger workers also make them more prone to the chopping block in a down economy, says Bruce Tulgan, author of "Not Everyone Gets a Trophy." Twentysomething professionals tend to demand flexibility, responsibility and high pay, he says -- all things that aren't going to be well-received in this environment.

"This is a really great time to come in early, stay late, dot your i's and cross your t's," says Mr. Tulgan. He says young employees should volunteer to do grunt work, take advantage of free certifications their companies offer and be compliant, rather than demanding.

Staying Valuable

Ms. Ryan, the attorney, says now is the time to make yourself as invaluable to a company as possible. She recommends cross-training in another department, learning as much as possible about different areas of the company and expressing a willingness to relocate to less desirable locations (something those with families often can't do).

You might also try to align yourself with someone in senior management. This could be in a mentor relationship or as a volunteer on a big project a manager is working on. Although executives are busier these days, they often view being asked to mentor as a compliment, says Mr. Marks. And if it should come to layoff decisions, "It doesn't hurt to have someone in the executive conference room on your side," he says.

9 Recession-Proof Careers

Despite the economic downturn, these careers are still growing.
By Cathie Gandel and Hilary SterneAdditional reporting by Neena Samuel and Kathryn M. Tyranski

These industries project promise—and jobs—for the future, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Occupational Information Network database.

1. Education
Math and science teachers will be in demand as the U.S. struggles to compete with other countries in engineering, technology, and medicine. A growing immigrant population means more English-as-a-second-language classes will be needed.

Postsecondary teachers - Median salary: $56,120 Education: bachelor's degree and often a master's or doctorate

Teacher assistants - Median salary: $21,580 Education: some post-secondary education or vocational training

Educational, vocational, and school counselors - Median salary: $49,450 Education: secondary education, associate's, bachelor's, or master's

2. Energy
Some of the jobs in this field are the result of projects started a year or more ago. But the real boost will come from the new administration's commitment to a more efficient national energy system. "Growth of energy consumption around the world will keep this sector strong," says Laurence Shatkin, coauthor of 150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs.

Power plant operators - Median salary: $56,640 Education: vocational training and several years of on-the-job training

Insulation workers - Median salary: $31,280 Education: secondary education and vocational training

Electrical power-line installers and repairers - Median salary: $52,570 Education: vocational training and several years of on-the-job training

3. Environment
Green is getting the green light in a nationwide push to make homes and office buildings more energy-efficient and to develop alternative energy sources (solar, wind, nuclear) as well as fuel cell technology. "Anything involved with wind power, either the design or related products, will be big," says Laurence Stybel.

Environmental scientists - Median salary: $58,380 Education: master's

Environmental engineers - Median salary: $72,350 Education: bachelor's

Hydrologists - Median salary: $68,140 Education: master's

4. Financial Services
Rising from the ashes of a very bad year, financial services have a bright future. Corporate America's wretched excesses mean more government regulation. Workers who are retiring will need advice on how to make their money last. Small businesses may outsource accounting services. As we get to the middle of the recession, there will be a wave of mergers and acquisitions, Stybel predicts. "People with experience in managing the process-corporate attorneys, investment bankers, and accountants-will be in demand."

Financial advisers - Median salary: $67,660 Education: bachelor's

Accountants and auditors - Median salary: $57,060 Education: bachelor's

Sales agents (securities and commodities) - Median salary: $68,430Education: bachelor's

5. Government
More than half a million federal employees will retire by 2016, leaving open positions at agencies from the CIA to AmeriCorps to NASA. There will also be opportunities at the state and local levels. "In addition to police work and homeland security, government inspects and regulates many industries," says Shatkin. "Workers can sometimes capitalize on their experience in an industry by moving into a regulatory job."

Government property inspectors - Median salary: $48,400 Education: vocational training, associate's or bachelor's

Immigration and customs inspectors - Median salary: $59,930 Education: bachelor's

Urban and regional planners - Median salary: $57,970Education: master's

6. Health Care
Health care pops up at the top of just about every list of hot careers. All of us are getting older and living longer, sometimes with chronic health conditions. What's more, health insurance practices may undergo a radical revision during the Obama administration, which has announced plans to address three central issues: coverage, cost, and quality of care. "Health care is a growing industry," says Bettina Seidman, "and not just for health care professionals. There will also be jobs for secretaries, accountants, and administrators."

Registered nurses - Median salary: $60,010Education: associate's or bachelor's

Dental assistants - Median salary: $31,550Education: secondary education, plus a few months to one year of on-the-job training

Medical records and health information technicians - Median salary: $29,290 Education: associate's

7. International Business
Corporations, consulting firms, nonprofits, and even governments are going after global markets. People with international expertise, foreign-language skills, or a willingness to move abroad will be in demand. "The global economy is only going to grow," says John Challenger. "U.S. involvement will expand, short and long term."

Interpreters and translators - Median salary: $37,490 Education: bachelor's

International management analysts - Median salary: $71,150 Education: bachelor's or master's

Market research analysts - Median salary: $60,300 Education: bachelor's or master's

8. Law Enforcment
International terrorism makes daily headlines, and fear of financial insecurity is matched only by concern for our physical safety. "Crime doesn't go down in a recession," says Shatkin. "It may even increase."

Probation officers - Median salary: $44,510 Education: bachelor's

Court reporters - Median salary: $45,330 Education: postsecondary vocational training

Paralegals - Median salary: $44,990Education: associate's degree in paralegal studies

9. Technology
New uses of technology in services and products like electronic health records mean that this sector will continue to be strong. "We have just begun to use the Internet as an entertainment medium in publishing, music, and film," says Peter Weddle.

Computer systems analysts - Median salary: $73,090 Education: bachelor's

Network systems and data communications analysts - Median salary: $64,600 Education: bachelor's

Computer, ATM, and office machine repairers - Median salary: $37,100 Education: high school or vocational training

And We'll Always Be Looking For..."Think of basic human needs, the things we can't do without," says Shatkin. They provide what he calls "little islands" of employment in this economy. For example, he says, we will always need sewage and water treatment. Challenger says the food industry is a core area: "People have to eat, and the global population is increasing."
In a down economy, people don't buy new cars—they repair their old ones. People turn to their clergy for comfort. Funeral directors will always have jobs. And since pets are very much a part of the family, veterinarians and veterinary technicians will continue to be in demand.

Employment Situation

It's official: the U.S. economy is in a recession. The Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research announced last week that, after six consecutive years of healthy growth, the U.S. economy peaked in December 2007. "The peak marks the end of the expansion that began in November 2001 and the beginning of a recession," the committee stated.

Employment is one of the primary measures NBER uses in tracking the economy, and it noted that U.S. payrolls peaked last December and have declined every month since.

Historically, temporary and contract employment drops precipitously during recessions. In the last recession, for example, staffing employment began to fall several months before the recession actually began. Over the course of a year and a half, the industry lost 29% of its jobs, according to the quarterly ASA staffing employment and sales survey. In year-to-year comparisons of employment data during that period, there were four consecutive quarters of double-digit rates of decline.

So far in this recession, the pattern has been different. Unlike with previous recessions, staffing employment remained relatively unchanged for 10 months. For example, staffing employment declined only 2.5% from the first quarter through the third quarter of this year, according to the ASA employment and sales survey. And the ASA Staffing Index, which measures changes in temporary and contact employment, had been flat for most of the year, until it started showing sustained weekly declines in late September.

The November employment situation report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests that precipitous declines in employment may now be upon the staffing industry. How long those sharp declines persist will depend in part on how long the recession lasts.

This recession is already longer than the last one. The 2001 recession lasted eight months. The U.S. economy, according to NBER, is currently in the 12th month of contraction. Until now, there had been 10 recessions since World War II, and they lasted an average of 10 months each. The longest recession in that period, in 1981–82, lasted 16 months. Even if this recession becomes the longest since World War II, it is probably more than half over. Many economists predict that the economy will begin to pull out of this downturn by the middle of next year.

Steve Berchem
Staffing Week December 8, 2008
American Staffing Association

Four Secrets to Always Being Employable

By J.T. O'DONNELL, NATIONALLY-SYNDICATED WORKPLACE COLUMNS

Never before have Americans been as responsible for keeping themselves skilled and employable as they are today. I tell people to expect to have as many as nine different careers in their lifetime, with an average of three jobs in every one. In short, for those who don't keep a focused eye on their abilities to adapt and grow with the changing workplace, a day could come when it becomes tough to find a "good job."

How do some people always manage to be employed and on track for continued success? They follow the four secrets to staying employable.

1. Keep your definition of a "good job" reasonable.
As we progress professionally, we acquire skills and experiences that often afford us greater opportunities in terms of salary and benefits. The problem lies in making the assumption that once we are offered a larger compensation package that it becomes the starting benchmark for any job we take in the future. The result is the "golden handcuff effect" - a sense that we are held hostage by our current job because there's no place else to go.
Smart workers know each job opportunity provides criteria that must be weighed differently against our wants and needs. Staying employable means simplifying our list and planning for the day when we won't have the same level or type of perks. This keeps job options more plentiful and movement to new positions easier.

2. Use the "3x3x3 rule" to create and implement your own professional development strategy.
Forget about waiting for your annual review; smart workers take the review process into their own hands. Assess your professional strengths and weaknesses. Then build a game plan to leverage the first and minimize the second, you can identify how you plan to stay employable. I encourage individuals to follow the "3x3x3 rule" for skill development:

A. Choose three skills you want to enhance.
B. Identify three ways in which you could learn and grow each skill.
C. Articulate three examples of how you can demonstrate your enhanced skills in this area to your employer.

By taking professional development into your own hands, you remain focused and in control of your employability.

3. Be the "go-to" person for something employers need.
Like depositing into a retirement fund, employees use the early part of their careers to develop skills to accumulate professional wealth. Sadly, after a decade or so, some employees believe they've earned the right to live off of the interest accrued from their efforts. Mid-life often brings about changes in how an employee wants to allocate his or her time (ie. want more time with a spouse, family, home, hobby, etc.). Smart employees know this doesn't have to diminish the quality of the time they put into their careers. To stay employable, focus on being the "go-to" person for a particular problem, task or technique. Building subject-matter expertise in a specific area that's in demand within the workplace will create a personal insurance policy that ensures you'll always be the "go-to" employee who's in demand.

4. Create a board of advisors for your company-of-one.
Smart individuals don't do surgery on themselves, pull their own teeth or represent themselves in legal matters. They defer to professionals who have the training and expertise that gets the best results. Smart employees do the same with their careers. In an age where employees are in essence a company-of-one -- responsible for keeping the services they deliver in demand -- doesn't it make sense to seek the counsel from those who can help you make the best career decisions? Smart employees solicit the advice of individuals they feel approach career success in a manner they admire. Whether it's a relative, co-worker, former manager or even a professional career coach, seeking advice from those who know more than you will give you the perspective needed to be proactive and successful at staying employable.

Career paths are full of twists and turns; they're rarely straightforward. To avoid roadblocks, use the four secrets outlined above and you'll be able to make course corrections that will help you stay employable.

J.T. O'Donnell, career development specialist and co-author of the nationally syndicated workplace column "J.T. & Dale Talk Jobs" distributed by King Features Syndicate.
Copyright 2008 J.T. O'Donnell

How to Quit Without Guilt

If you are worrying about quitting, the conventional wisdom about the subject is:

Money talks. At the entry level it says: “Easily replaced.” If you are paid a low salary, the office is not going to be disabled if you leave. If you are so important and so difficult to replace, employers can pay to hire someone quickly.

If you have a good boss, your boss knew you were looking. Most people are job hunting - at least passively - all the time. It should not be news to your boss that you would quit if someone offered you a better opportunity. In a robust economy, the odds of you leaving at any moment are material, no matter how nice your boss is to you.

Your company has only a reasonable amount of loyalty to you. If your company laid you off, they’d give you no more than two weeks’ notice. That’s how the work world works. Play by the rules. Give two weeks notice. The two weeks’ rule is there because once people know about an upcoming separation, the workplace dynamic changes, and the less time you have to deal with this dynamic, the more productive everyone will be.

Good mentors care about you and want to see you grow. As your boss has been a good mentor to you, you owe it to him or her not to handle separation unprofessionally. If someone has been a good mentor and you have been a good “mentee,” then he or she should want the best for you.

But, it is not that simple. Leaving a job is as difficult as saying good-bye to your loved ones. Getting into a job is tough but quitting one is tougher.
Nearly everyone fears the thought of quitting a job. Not because we are not sure of getting a better opportunity, but because we just don't want to step out of the comfort zone and the uncertainty that causes. Most importantly, we do not want to hurt the feelings of managers and coworkers who invested in our success.

It is normal to contemplate missing the people you will leave behind by accepting a new job, and feel that you are letting them down somehow. Consider, however, that work is essentially an economic relationship, not a social one, so people have to do what's best for them. It works both ways, managers who lay off employees, feel the same way, even as they do what they know is right for the organization. In truth, your employer will survive without you. They survived before you were there and they will survive after. If making a move to a new position is the best thing for you, by all means tender your resignation in a compassionate and professional manner, giving appropriate notice.

The main reason people quit jobs is to better their career. Who could feel guilty about providing better for themselves and their family? You have to do for yourself, before you can do for others. Guilt is lessened when you realize that you would be inclined to do what is best for your loved ones before your employer, regardless of the quality of these work relationships.

When people leave jobs under normal career-progression circumstances (not when the threat of termination is present or because of extreme job dissatisfaction), most feel guilty and worry about “leaving in the lurch” managers and coworkers held in high regard. In contrast, after resigning is actually done and a little time has passed, the majority report that these feelings lessen as thoughts about the new position bring about excitement and positivity, characterized by certainty or acceptance.

When it comes to making tough decision about quitting, above all, you must know what you love and what you are good at. The ideal job is one that enables you to channel your best talents into what you best love doing. While that seems like a simple and obvious truth, it's not easy to implement. It requires effort. Perhaps that is why most of us prefer to compromise and settle for something that is “acceptable,” rather than take the less trodden path to seek out and accept the kind of job would most make us happy, where our passions and strengths are put to best and rewarding use.

Remember: Nothing worth doing is ever easy. If you want less than 100% job satisfaction, you don't need to take action. But if you want more, there's no shortcut. Self-awareness is the first step—realize that by receiving a viable job offer, your job-seeking activities is a statement of proof that your current job satisfaction is in serious question—consciously or unconsciously. The next step is to be courageous and quit, you have contributed to your employer commensurately with how you have been compensated—you can feel good about parting ways amicably, knowing that you are going forward in all fairness and good standing.

Make Your Company a Talent Factory

Key ideas from the Harvard Business Review article by Douglas A. Ready, Jay A. Conger

An astonishing number of companies are struggling to fill key positions. This talent shortage is putting an enormous strain on their potential to expand into new markets. One real estate development firm recently had to pass on a 500 million major reconstruction job after realizing it hadn't groomed anyone capable of leading the project.

Talent shortages have two causes: Companies' talent development strategies are out of sync with their strategic goals. And senior executives lack a deep-seated commitment to talent management.

To create a free-flowing pipeline of current and future leaders, Ready and Conger recommend marrying "functionality" (rigorous talent processes that support your company's strategic objectives) with "vitality" (a passion for talent cultivation among executives). At Procter & Gamble, for example, the CEO and senior team personally teach all the leadership development courses for the company's top 300 executives.

The Idea in Practice

Building Functionality
Ready and Conger recommend these processes to help you put the right people with the right skills in the right place at the right time:

Help people understand your strategic objectives. For example, financial services giant HSBC holds conferences to educate employees about the firm's strategy for increasing cross-unit collaboration and to highlight collaborative initiatives. At one conference, some general managers explained how they transferred a client from the commercial banking unit to the private banking unit. Previously, the first unit to "own" that client wouldn't have shared him with other units, because the original unit wanted to still be associated with that client's revenues. After each conference, participants are asked to commit to doing one or two things differently to strengthen the firm's collaborative capabilities.

Groom people for complex, challenging jobs. Consumer products company P&G's growth strategy hinges on winning in emerging markets. To help high-potential employees advance, the company moves them through a portfolio of senior-level jobs categorized according to strategic challenges, size of the business, and complexity of the market. First-time general managers might initially take a relatively small country-manager position and then be placed in charge of larger countries and, later, of regions.

Fostering Vitality

To foster vitality:
Build commitment to talent development. P&G hires 90% of its entry-level managers straight from universities and grows their careers over time. It also sponsors a college intern program that offers participants chances to assume real responsibility by working on important projects. The company takes on former interns as full-time employees at a percentage well above that of most competitors, modeling commitment to talent development.

Encourage engagement. HSBC requires each unit to have a talent implementation strategy. These plans explicitly link a unit's growth objectives to its people development activities. The corporate head of talent works closely with each unit to develop its proposed strategy and presents the aggregated plans to the group head office, highlighting any talent gaps that could threaten the firm's growth objectives. This process keeps talent management high on the agendas of line and corporate leaders, and prevents them from getting distracted by seemingly more pressing problems.

Ensure accountability. Hold all managers and executives accountable for doing their part to make talent processes work. P&G's CEO A.G. Lafley claims ownership of career planning for all the general managers, vice presidents, and talent pools involved in the company's top 16 markets, customers, and brands.


Copyright 2007 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.

Watch for Interview Warning Signs

Hindsight may be better than 20/20, but if you pay attention during an interview, you might be able to head off a bad fit.
By LIZ RYAN

I got a call from my friend Candace, and she was in low spirits. She had just returned to Wisconsin after moving to Florida to take a job. She took the job, she hated it, she lasted six months, she quit, and she moved back. "I should have known, " she said. "I should have picked up on the signs during the interview. There are always signs, aren't there?"

"I'm torn, " I told her. "If I tell you 'Yes, there are always signs' then you'll feel bad. If I say 'No, sometimes things just get weird after you're hired,' then you'll think the universe is capricious and you won't feel like you have any better odds of finding the right situation the next time around."

"Forget about my feelings!" she cried. "What do you really think?"

"I think you should tell me what you saw or heard in the interview process that you now feel you should have taken more seriously," I told her. "Then we can talk about what that sign might have meant, and what you could do differently in your upcoming job search."

The Red Flag

"O.K.," said Candace. "Well, there was only one sign, really. I was applying for a marketing communications job. I've always done a lot of writing and editing, and as you know, I have a Master's degree and I consider myself a really good writer. So there was one point in the last interview where my manager indicated that he was very interested in me and he was considering making me an offer. At that point he said: ‘You're an adequate writer, and I could make you better.'"

"GAAACK!" I said."

"That was a big sign I missed, wasn't it?" Candace asked.

"Well, " I told her, "the thing is that hindsight is 20/20. Hindsight is better than 20/20—it's LASIK. Through rear-facing glasses, it seems obvious that your ex-boss had issues."

"Right, well, he turned out to be a total control-freak and a guy who's impossible to please," she said. "That's why I left. Am I a complete idiot for missing that red flag?"

A Sick Ticket

"It's so easy to overlook those bizarre statements in the frenzy of the interview process," I reassured her. "Look, Candace, I've missed every sign in the book. I hired a guy in a human resources role who said in the interview that every 10 minutes, he asks himself: 'Am I having fun in my work?' I should have asked him a few questions about that. You mean literally, every 10 minutes? Who does that? It turned out that the guy was using his company cell phone to call some offshore gambling line every 10 minutes."

O.K., back to your ex-boss. I'm an HR person and not a psychologist, but I'd call this guy a Sick Ticket. What kind of boss tells the person he's about to hire: 'You are adequate, but I could make you better?' That's totally passive-aggressive. It means that he wants to test you before hiring you, to make sure you're O.K. with being insulted. He wouldn't want to hire a person who would say something in his own defense."

So I should have said something," Candace said.

"Hindsight is LASIK," I repeated. "Now listen. Let's say that you or any other candidate had said: 'Excuse me? You think I'm an adequate writer, but you want to hire me? I'm terribly sorry. I want to work for a company that I think is outstanding and that thinks I'm outstanding, too." Then your boss would have known that that person wasn't going to put up with his leadership style, if you want to call it that."

"And when he said he could make me a better writer that a signal that he didn't just want to be my boss, but he saw himself as superior to me, too. I mean, he's not even a writer,” Candace said.

The Little Weird Thing

"Well, it's just such a hostile thing to say," I added. "Certainly if you hire someone right out of school, it's fine to say: 'We hope that I, as your manager, and lots of other people here will give you all sorts of professional training and mentoring.' That's great. But when you say to a seasoned professional, 'You're adequate and I can make you better,' it's like you're telling her that only with your expert guidance can she rise above her current state of mediocrity. That says a lot. The guy wanted someone under him who didn't have a lot of confidence. Too bad he hired you."

"Yeah, too bad for both of us," said Candace. "Well, now I know for next time."

"But next time the little weird thing in the interview, if there is one, will be different," I told her. "You don't have to react to it in the moment, and you don't even have to dope it out by yourself. After every interview, call a friend—me or someone else. Walk through the whole interview. A second pair of ears, a few hours after the fact, will help you figure out what means what and how to process all the information you've taken in. It can be a lot to digest on your own."

Deconstructing the Interview

"Especially when you've already talked yourself into the job," Candace added. "I'm going to have my red-flag radar on full alert on my next job hunt."

"The good news is that you'll never be sucked into that particular vortex again," I said. "Now that you've worked in the snake pit and survived, you have more confidence. You wouldn't sit still for a prospective manager telling you you're adequate, not in this lifetime anyway."

And this is true for all of you out there. Deconstruct the interview with someone, because if you don't see the signs, your friend might.

BusinessWeek Online, September 2007

For Many Job Hunters, Money Is Not a Priority

They say money isn't everything, and that's true for many job hunters. While it may seem intuitive that most are concerned with compensation, it isn't always top of the list. Priorities change not only during a job, but also over a career.

When "early career" workers -- those up to age 35 -- and workers in their 40s have acquired skill sets and are deciding where they want to settle for the long run, they often take a look around, says Steve Gravenkemper, a consulting psychologist for workplace consultancy Plante & Moran LLP of Southfield, Mich., and that's the point at which many companies lose people in whom they have invested time and training.

A recent study conducted by consultancy Accenture Ltd. in 21 countries on six continents found challenging and interesting work topped the list of employer characteristics that job candidates sought when considering a new position. Rewards and compensation were a close second, and opportunity for advancement third, followed closely by a company's long-term prospects. But other popular concepts like corporate citizenship and workplace diversity were at the bottom of the list of 15 qualities.

"There are basic needs: compensation, challenge. But once you get employees in the door with these, they'll move on to looking for other things" like working for a responsible company or one that encourages teamwork, says John Campagnino, Accenture's global head of recruiting. "You need to offer recruits a package with as many of these characteristics as possible. Priorities shift over time."

Beyond entry level, the decision becomes complicated by more responsibilities -- not just marriage and children, but also the time workers have invested in honing their skills, where they have chosen to settle, and long-term goals such as retirement benefits.

"There's a paradox," says Plante & Moran's Mr. Gravenkemper. "At midcareer, people may realize how important job security is to them, and yet job security may be an illusion. Workers used to go into a company knowing ... that if they did a good job they would be employed for life. Now that's no guarantee. They want to know 'What's in it for me?' "

He adds, "I was working for one company with a group of high-potential employees...and one employee said, 'I'm so glad to see you -- I never knew I was high-potential before.' It's often the strongest performers who leave because they have the most options."

Maturing needs are why many alumni continue to utilize career services, says Beverly Principal, assistant director for employment services at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., which offers students career counseling for life.

Ms. Principal says she often sees former students who are trying to make the transition from entry level to the next step, or to start their own business. Five or six years after they start a career, "people may have a family and want completely different things. They need help figuring out the transition."

Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., has two staffers dedicated solely to helping alumni. "When the economy is good we see people looking to make more drastic changes," says Donna Goldfeder, director of career services. "When the economy is tight and things are scary" they will be more cautious about such transitions.

Companies can retain workers they have invested in, she adds. "Supervisors should show their appreciation, give compliments. It's really still about the human touch. Are your workers happy?"

By Teresa Rivas
From The Wall Street Journal Online