Paul Duxbury

When Did Learning & Development Become So Complex?

I read a lot of articles, papers and indeed books about Learning and Development as you might expect. It’s good to keep abreast of the latest thinking, hear about people exploring new ideas and approaches and testing out what works and doesn’t work.

However, sometimes I do wonder if we as Learning & Development Professionals have a tendency to over-complicate things. One of my passions throughout the time that I have been involved in L&D is to make learning accessible and to communicate with people in a way which makes sense to them. Of course it’s right and proper that we as professionals in our field stretch ourselves, reflect on our learning and share things with others. But do we always need to dress it up in seemingly obtuse language or come up with some clever description for it?

I was discussing this the other day with a fellow L&D Professional and one of the comments that they made was that they thought that sometimes we do it in order to express our uniqueness as a profession. They pondered whether, in a world where many organisations still bundle L&D responsibilities into the remit of an HR. Generalist, we might feel the need to carve out a very distinct identity for Learning & Development.

That set me thinking about what L&D is ultimately about and why having spent some time throughout my career with HR. Generalist responsibilities I chose to specialise in L&D. I can well remember one of the first events that I attended which opened my eyes to the impact that Learning & Development could have. Having participated in a number of “Train The Trainer” events since I first started to drift into the L&D area I was a little sceptical about this event, assuming that it would be more of the same. However, it was to be a revelation. The trainer was enthused about their topic and they conveyed that enthusiasm to the group.

I call it an “event” but in reality it was more of an informal discussion with a group of us sat comfortably around the room and a flipchart set to one side. No high-powered laptops, PowerPoint presentations or other fancy gadgets and distractions. It was a discussion about “How do people learn?” The Trainer/Discussion Facilitator acted as a guide as we explored all the usual suspects (courses, books etc.) and then explored what we didn’t know that we knew. He opened my eyes to the wealth of learning opportunities that we don’t even realise we are experiencing as we go about our daily lives. He skilfully helped us to consider how we could reflect on that learning, apply that learning to our work based challenges and keep on learning.

I remember his closing sentiments to this day which were along the lines of “Our job as L&D people is to help others learn how to learn and to provide them with the tools, resources and opportunities to learn. We need to enthuse people with a passion for learning; to enable them to see that learning is easy; learning isn’t about the when, where, or the how it’s about the what; the ability to learn is a lifelong skill and like a passion for reading it’s a gift which we can awaken in others.”

For me that has been a guiding approach ever since. Whatever the latest fad is, be it eLearning, mobile learning, blended learning, social learning, unstructured learning, is largely irrelevant. Whatever deep and meaningful ponderings we come up with to explain our latest approach are all irrelevant.

What matters is that we as Learning & Development Professionals are encouraging a real passion for learning and once we awaken that passion in others we are making a real difference. I will close with a comment I made on Twitter earlier today:

L&D’s mission, if they choose to accept it, to help people to learn how to learn & then provide the tools to feed their desire to learn.

Are you ready to accept your mission?

Should You Ever Disconnect From People On LinkedIn?

When I was living and studying in Rome one of my favourite activities on the way back from lectures at the Gregorian University was to sit in Piazza Navona for an hour with a cup (or two!) of coffee and watch the world go by.

I have always been a great people watcher because just by observing people you can learn so much. As I am sure those of you who are familiar with Piazza Navona will be aware there is no better place to people watch. Observing the jugglers and entertainers, the tourists rushing to their next historic sight and of course the residents of Rome going about their business can give you some great insights.

So what’s all that got to do with the question I posed as the subject of this post you are wondering? Well a little like sitting in Piazza Navona watching the activities of your LinkedIn connections can be fascinating (you can find me here: Paul Duxbury) and insightful. You get to see the interesting people they are connecting with, they share posts that they find interesting and they offer their own posts and insights to engage you. Well, most of them do! Isn’t that what LinkedIn is all about? Building relationships, sharing interesting content and supporting people in your network? So why on earth would I be suggesting to a job seeker that you should consider disconnecting from people?

Let me set the scene for you! Early one morning a few weeks ago I received an invite to connect from someone I didn’t know, who had no photograph and who had used the default LinkedIn connection request with no personalisation. Now ordinarily I would have declined the connection. However, that particular morning for some reason I accepted the invitation. I say “for some reason” but perhaps on reflection I was opening myself to a learning experience without realising it and of course all learning experiences are good! Yes, I know it’s the Learning & Development Professional in me! For the sake of this post let’s call the person in question “Josephine.”

An hour or so later I logged back onto LinkedIn and was met by a long list of “Josephine has connected to…..” which I assumed must have been because the person in question was relatively new to LinkedIn and was connecting to people they knew – so I thought nothing of it.

But over the ensuing days I noticed, in fact I couldn’t fail to notice, that Josephine was connecting to between 10 and 30 different people every day. They hadn’t responded to the message that I sent them shortly after accepting their connection request nor had they shared anything, commented on anything or interacted in anyway. I reached the stage towards the end of last week that I started to wonder how many people they would have connected to since I last logged on! I also became aware of others who seem to have the same approach to their use of LinkedIn. I started to question the value I was getting from learning how many people they were connecting to each day. More importantly I began to realise that because my timeline was full of these “Josephine has connected to…..” I was missing updates from my other connections.

So over the weekend I decided to purge my LinkedIn connections and remove those that appeared to be simply treating it as a numbers game and adding dozens of connections every day.

So yes in my view there comes a point when you should disconnect from others on LinkedIn. If you are getting nothing from the relationship and the other party (Josephine) doesn’t appear to want to engage or interact then that’s the point at which to say “not tonight Josephine” – sorry a little corny I know!

LinkedIn is a professional network where you can engage with others, interact with them, learn from them and hopefully add something to the relationship. It’s not like Twitter where your sharing of content is on a much more superficial level because with LinkedIn you allow people into your network and share a lot about yourself that you may not choose to share elsewhere. Below is a brief Prezi that I created a little while ago which may help you with building relationships on LinkedIn.

Top 10 Mistakes To Avoid While Seeking a Job

I am fairly certain that there’s one 10 out of 10 that none of us want to score. That top score is making all the Top 10 Mistakes that Jobseekers make based on my recent discussions. None of us set out to make mistakes when we are job searching but I am sure we all do. Mistakes such as interviews which get off to a bad start by us addressing the interviewer by the wrong name, or going completely blank when we are asked for basic information, or by appearing too eager which some say can come across as desperation.

From my discussions recently, as I have been focusing on my job search activity it seems that some job seekers make the same mistakes time and again. So below are the top 10 mistakes made by job seekers and how you can avoid making those same errors.

The Generic Resume/CV

The first mistake that a lot of job seekers seem to make is sending out resumes (or CVs as we call them in the UK) in a generic way. Whether through online websites, email or snail mail. It’s all too easy, especially with online job sites to simply click “apply” and send the same resume for every job.

Instead always look to customise your application (both CV and Cover Letter) to address the specific requirements of the role you are applying for.

Outdated Information

The second mistake is having outdated information on your CV and not including appropriate changes, new information, qualifications etc.

Instead you need to take the time to have a professional looking CV which includes keywords related to your roles and the roles you are applying for. If you can’t do it yourself or you want to know what is currently working then it is worthwhile talking to a professional CV writer. In some instances, your CV is the only shoe you will get in the door of the company. You want it to look as brightly polished as possible don’t you.

Spelling Errors

The third mistake job seekers often make is having grammar or spelling mistakes in resumes, on the cover letter or in correspondence with the company. If grammar and spelling isn’t your strong point, then do ask someone you know is good at it to proofread it for you. Even with spell checkers you may still get mistakes.

Dressed Inappropriately

The fourth mistake people make is showing up for an interview dressed inappropriately. Personally I take the default position of always wearing a suit and tie even if you know that the company has a casual approach to dress in the office. You want your image to say, “I’m a hardworking professional” who values the fact that you are interviewing me for this role.

Lame Excuses

There are going to be situations which make you late even if you have done everything you could to make sure that you were there on time. I can well remember going for an interview in the centre of Manchester, arriving early and then as I approached the offices of the organisation that was interviewing me discovering a “police incident” which meant that the offices were inaccesible! You might have though that the organisation would have tried to call me to warn me but they hadn’t. However, because I was well prepared I had the recruiting manager’s and the recruiter’s mobile ‘phone numbers stored in my ‘phone and I called both to let them know I was in the vicinity but couldn’t get through. That counted in my favour when it came to the re-arranged interview.

However, I have also interviewed people who have made the fifth mistake of offering lame excuses for being late for the interview. If you are late and haven’t been able to call to let them know, apologise and if you have a legitimate reason then of course give it. However, if it’s because you couldn’t find their offices, then I have to say that’s not a good reason for being late! Make sure you look up directions ahead of time, telephone the reception of the offices beforehand if need be and check where they are (especially if it’s in a newly developed area of the town or city) and make sure that you give yourself additional time to get there.

Taking The Opportunity to Rant!

When I was interviewing one of the things that frequently surprised me was the number of people who made the sixth mistake of taking an interview as the opportunity to rant about their previous employer. When asked about leaving your current or former job, however you might feel about them do not on a rant about your last boss or previous company. No matter how awful it was or is, you really need to stay professional.

Salary Discussions

The seventh mistake job seekers sometimes make is to start asking about salaries too early in the process. Assuming that you responded to an advertisement that gave a salary range then you should know that you are applying for a role that will pay in the region of what you are looking for. I am very aware that there seems to be a growing tendency to advertise roles without a salary range and that can be frustrating. I know that I have seen roles advertised that appear to want the candidates to be super heroes with more skills and experience than you could imagine without any mention of the salary range. It then transpires that they don’t want to pay at the level you would expect for the role. Why do companies do that? Lots of reasons but that’s for another article!

For now, let’s just focus on the fact that I would recommend that you should only start to discuss salary options after learning about the job requirements and when the organisation is looking to make you an offer, not before. You should focus on what you can do to catapult the company forward, not just on the salary payment and benefits.

Lack of Preparation

The eighth mistake many job seekers make is failing to do their homework on the company they are applying to. In my opinion this really is unforgiveable as it indicates to the interviewer that you are not that interested in the organisation. As a minimum you need to review the company’s website, social media accounts, press releases etc. and try to gain an understanding of how they operate and what their future plans are. By doing this you will then gain insight into the organisation which will put you in a better position to convey how you will add value, bring skills that they can use and hopefully fit in perfectly.

Overplaying What You Have Done

The ninth mistake that people make is lying on a job application or padding a CV. As an interviewer it becomes very obvious to you that someone has not got the experience they claim in their CV when you start to probe a little about what they as an individual actually did rather that what the team they worked within did. Let your experience speak for itself and if you don’t have experience, just be honest about why you’d like to work for the company and start out learning from them.

Not Networking

Finally, the tenth mistake that some people make and one which can stop them finding a job as fast as they would like is failing to actively network. I know that it can be all too easy to get caught up in all the activity of your current role and not have the time to network with others. However, your networking contacts can be be a great source of advice and help when you are looking for that next role. Nowadays with sites such as LinkedIn (you will find me at Paul Duxbury) it is very easy to start building a network of contacts.

So how many did you score out of 10? I hope it was zero but if you did identify some areas that you could do more about then today’s the day to start addressing those issues.

6 Steps to LinkedIn Success

When Paul asked me to write a post for his new blog, ‘Job Search Advice for 2014’ I knew I’d have to write about something current and when it comes to job search techniques, there’s nothing more current than social media.

The big player in the ‘Social Job Search’ is undoubtedly LinkedIn, so for this post I’m going to take a closer look at how you can make the most of it.

Create a Strong Profile

In the past LinkedIn profiles were thought of as merely an online representation of your CV. Nowadays the LinkedIn profile has morphed into so much more. Whilst a CV is limited to 2 pages, a LinkedIn profile gives you the opportunity to tell an employer a little bit more. To ensure that your LinkedIn profile is showing you in the best light you need to include the following:

A professionally taken headshot
An eye catching headline
A summary that oozes personality and passion
A detailed experience section
Keywords that relate to your role or industry – This will help recruiters to find you when they are scouring LinkedIn for new staff
Recommendations and endorsements from past or current colleagues

Set Your Privacy Settings

Just like the drunk at a party who tells you way too much about their personal life, your connections don’t want to hear about every little change that you make to your LinkedIn profile. Be sure to turn off activity broadcasts and change the setting to “select who can see your activity feed” to “only you.” You can always change it back when you want to tell your network something important such as actively looking for work or that you’ve just gained a new qualification.

GarnerNew Connections the Right Way

There’s an art to making new connections on LinkedIn and from experience I’ve found that a lot of people are doing it wrong. It seems that a large proportion of people are using LinkedIn’s auto connect requests and stock messages. These are to be avoided like the plague (read a little more about this here). Make the effort to write a personalised message explaining why you should connect and include the following:

A reminder of where you met or a little information about where you found out about them
Why you’d like to connect with them – Ensure that this isn’t one sided, it’s not just about what they can do for you; primarily it should be about what you can do for them!

Become a Groupie

One of the best ways to find new connections within your industry is to join industry specific groups. Being a member of interest groups will enable you to interact with people in your industry by taking part in discussions. Ensure that your answers are well thought out and insightful and you’ll be able to show that you’re a thought leader, impressing would be connections. Being a groupie gives you the chance to reach out to new connections that aren’t already contacts, allowing you to expand your network without upgrading to LinkedIn premium.

Revisit Old Connections

Whilst you may talk to some of your LinkedIn connections regularly, for others it may have been a while. Reconnecting with old connections can be a great way to reinvigorate your LinkedIn network. I challenge you to pick 10 connections that you haven’t talked to for a while and send them a message asking them how they are, checking what they are up to nowadays and letting them, know a little about what you’re doing at the moment. Importantly, they may have changed roles, got a promotion or they could even be in a management position with a need for new staff. Rekindle those old connections and breathe a little life into your LinkedIn network, you never know what it might lead to!

If You’re Actively Job Searching – Tell the World!

If you’re on the job hunt and either don’t mind your current employer finding out or are between jobs, why not tell everyone in your LinkedIn network by including it in your LinkedIn headline. Before you change your headline you’ll need to make sure that you’ve changed your privacy settings back to ‘broadcast’ temporarily so that everyone in your network knows that you’re looking for work. Hopefully some of your connections will know of opportunities coming up or they may even be in the market for new employees themselves. It’s a great way of letting recruiters know that you’ll be open to their approaches.

Leo Woodhead writes extensively about Careers and was named as one of the Top 10 Careers Advice people to follow on Twitter by Guardian Careers.

If you want to talk about your LinkedIn networking or about your career in general he says that you should feel free to send him a tweet @thecareersblog and be sure to keep an eye on his blog here for useful advice.

How To Organise Your Job Search Records

I have been talking to various people who are in the process of securing a new role, whether that be because of compulsory redundancy (like me at the time of writing) or for other reasons. One of the challenges that I hear about quite frequently is job search record keeping. Whether it’s for your own benefit or you need to maintain records for your insurance company or for the Job Centre having an organised approach is essential. I thought that I would share how I have approached it and hopefully you will be able to adapt it to suit your needs.

Today, a mid-level manager or professionals can often spend six months or more searching for a job. Needless to say it is a more complicated business than sending out CVs. The individual actions may be simple, but the job searcher faces an extraordinary volume of information and must manage multiple applications simultaneously. It is therefore critical to keep all this data organised in order to avoid getting bogged down. This is where good job search record keeping comes in. A good record keeping system allows you to stay motivated and focused on your ultimate goal, while avoiding mistakes and confusion.

The Job Search Record Keeping System

It is possible to keep job search records in many different ways. You can do it on the computer as I do, in traditional filing systems, or with a large binder. As the binder method is simple to implement and easily portable, that is what we will cover here. Nevertheless these suggestions can easily be adapted to other methods and in fact replicate what I do on the computer.

Section: Your Job Target and Career Aims

Your filing system should start off with a clear statement of your current target job. It is a good idea to have a separate section in the binder for this, marked off with a tab divider sheet.

Also include in this section any personal branding statements, recent assessments you have completed, and reference articles on your target career.

Section: Personal Marketing Documents

This section, again delineated by a tabbed divider, should hold master copies of your biography, CV/Resume, job search correspondence, references list, personal salary history, and other documents you use in your job search. Also include in this section any letters of reference which you have, educational certificates, awards, or other documents which demonstrate your qualifications.

Section: Industry and Company Research

Here you can keep research articles and other information on the companies which you would be interested in working for or that you are planning to target. If you have collected data on industry trends and the like which is relevant to these firms, include it here also.

Section: Job Listings

Though you will want to keep a more detailed log of activity elsewhere, this section should hold copies of each ad you’ve answered. With each ad, include notes on the date you responded to the ad as well as documents which you sent over.

Section: Internet Job Search Data

Internet job searches often involve juggling many different websites. Keep records here of which sites you are using, where you’ve posted your CVs, as well as the logins and passwords to the sites.

Section: Referrals and Networking

In this section, keep hard-copy printouts of your personal “networking address book” for easy reference. You can and should note down any information about the individuals in question which is worth remembering.

Section: Agencies and Recruiters

If you are like many professionals, you will have some contact with job search agencies and headhunters. Keep notes about the ones you contact here.

Section: Interview Preparation

As you prepare for interviews, you’ll accumulate notes on what to say and do, as well as questions you’d like to ask employers. Collect them in this section. You can also include notes about past interviews, so you have all your interview-related data in one place for easy later review.

Section: Salary Research

This section holds the research and data you collect in order to determine your own “fair market value” as a job candidate, such as salary surveys in your industry. The data here will be very important when it comes to salary negotiations after you have a job offer.

Conclusion

Your job search record keeping binder or folders on your computer let you have one central place to store all the data pertaining to your job search in a single place. By keeping an up-to-date and accurate records of your activities and contacts, you’ll find your job search goes faster and produces better results. You always know where your attention should be focused and what your next task should be.

The other side of all this is that you must avoid getting bogged down in excessive record keeping. It’s important to take an organised and systematic approach to your job search, but it’s even more important to get started on it. You should never let the lack of a “perfect system” stop you from beginning the search. If you find establishing your system takes more than a few days, leave it and start looking for work. Your system will establish itself as you do so, based on the actual needs of your search at the time.