I had a few frustrating experiences today, so I'd like to take a few minutes to talk about customer service, what is it, and what it means for a professional. The term implies some function that many organizations have formalized and passed on to a particular devision, but I would like to argue that customer service affects every part of our work, every day, no matter what your particular role.
Customer service is hard to define. One option, which I will propose (borrowed from http://www.customerservicepoint.com/customer-service-definition.html), is:
"A customer defines good customer service as how she perceives that an organization has delighted her, by exceeding to meet her needs".
You can insert the word "client" for "customer" if you prefer.
So if providing good customer service means exceeding your clients' expectations, then you cannot leave it in the hands of your "customer service department". Customer service happens in every transaction, and in every piece of work you put together, because in the end it affects your service or product.
And if everything you do indirectly affects your clients, then you have to take responsibility for doing the best job that you can on every piece of work that you do.
Today, I saw a number of people fail to take responsibility for things that were happening around them. A client waited for an hour and a half for someone to ask her if they could help her - and my then she had missed her scheduled appointment. Another client was referred to three different offices before being provided with the information he was looking for, because nobody took the time to ask him exactly what he wanted.
Incidents like those bother me, because they show a lack of responsibility, a failure to "own" what is happening and deal with it. There is nothing more frustrating for a client than "passing the buck". Don't pass the buck - be the one who takes the responsibility for figuring out where it belongs.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Using Your Portfolio
It is becoming more common for job seekers to put together and use a portfolio at interviews. Portfolios allow you to prove the claims you make about your skills and experience. (For more on assembling a portfolio, see the George Brown Career Services website.) I have noticed that many job seekers do not know how to use it effectively during an interview - you don't just give your portfolio to your interviewer(s) and say, "Here, look at this." Here are a few scenarios where the effective use of a portfolio can help to land the job:
USING A REFERENCE LETTER
A reference letter is a great way to prove a wide variety of things: skills, experience, achievements/accomplishments, reputation, interpersonal manner... anything that the letter talks about!
Imagine the interviewer gives you the fabulous opening, "Tell me about your last job." Ta-da! While you're talking about your last job, open up your portfolio to the reference letter from your last supervisor and point out the part where s/he talks about the major project you completed, ahead of time and on budget. Proof! Make sure you have a photocopy for the interviewer to keep (never give an original - you'll never get it back.)
USING A CERTIFICATE
Say you have a certificate in conflict resolution. If the interviewer asks you, "How do you handle conflict?" that's a perfect opening to show your portfolio. Tell the interview about a real-life work scenario where you handled a conflict, and show the certificate and explain that you felt strongly enough about wanting to handle conflict effectively that you went and got trained on it (or, if you got the training before the example you gave, explain how the training helped you to handle it). Proof!
USING A SAMPLE OF YOUR WORK
If the interview is kind enough to ask you something like, "What kind of work did you produce for your last employer?", be glad! Open up your portfolio and show them the example of a document you created for a particular event at work, explaining key items on it and why you made it look (or read) the way that it does.
As I said before, make sure you have a photocopy for the interviewer to keep (never give an original - you'll never get it back.) It shows organization and leaves them with proof that you can do the job.
As you can see, it isn't that hard to make great use of a portfolio. Proof sells! Use your proof to promote yourself and land that job.
USING A REFERENCE LETTER
A reference letter is a great way to prove a wide variety of things: skills, experience, achievements/accomplishments, reputation, interpersonal manner... anything that the letter talks about!
Imagine the interviewer gives you the fabulous opening, "Tell me about your last job." Ta-da! While you're talking about your last job, open up your portfolio to the reference letter from your last supervisor and point out the part where s/he talks about the major project you completed, ahead of time and on budget. Proof! Make sure you have a photocopy for the interviewer to keep (never give an original - you'll never get it back.)
USING A CERTIFICATE
Say you have a certificate in conflict resolution. If the interviewer asks you, "How do you handle conflict?" that's a perfect opening to show your portfolio. Tell the interview about a real-life work scenario where you handled a conflict, and show the certificate and explain that you felt strongly enough about wanting to handle conflict effectively that you went and got trained on it (or, if you got the training before the example you gave, explain how the training helped you to handle it). Proof!
USING A SAMPLE OF YOUR WORK
If the interview is kind enough to ask you something like, "What kind of work did you produce for your last employer?", be glad! Open up your portfolio and show them the example of a document you created for a particular event at work, explaining key items on it and why you made it look (or read) the way that it does.
As I said before, make sure you have a photocopy for the interviewer to keep (never give an original - you'll never get it back.) It shows organization and leaves them with proof that you can do the job.
As you can see, it isn't that hard to make great use of a portfolio. Proof sells! Use your proof to promote yourself and land that job.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Networking Nitty-Gritty
"It's using people."
"It's schmoozing at big events where I don't know anyone."
"It's begging for a job."
There are a lot of misconceptions about what networking is and how to do it effectively for finding work. Networking is definitely none of the above, and in many ways it is the opposite of the beliefs folks hold about it.
It's NOT using people.
In a nutshell, networking is building relationships. This is clear when you think about who makes up your network: (former) coworkers and associates (eg, a supplier), friends, family, dentist/doctor, neighbours, hockey teammates... the list goes on. They are your allies! If you're looking for work, they're the ones who can keep their ears and eyes open for you. They will want to help you! Wouldn't you want to help them if they were looking for work?
It's NOT schmoozing at big events.
There are large business events that bill themselves as networking opportunities, but they are not intended for the faint of heart. They require an exceptional degree of comfort talking to strangers, and making smalltalk. Not all of us are up for that, and it isn't true networking. It's more like an open forum for sales. No, true networking is building relationships with people, and maintaining them. Of course you'll ask how your neighbour's chronically ill mother is doing when you also mention that you are looking for work, and would they keep their ears open.
It's NOT begging for a job.
How is letting your collected support group (family, friends, [former] colleagues,e tc) know that you're seeking work begging for a job? You're asking them to keep their ears peeled! To understand that, you should understand that 70-80% of jobs - and generally the best ones - are not widely advertised. Many are never advertised at all. Why not? Well, if I owned a business, I would rather hire someone who came with a recommendation (someone who came to me through my network of contacts) than a total stranger (who answered a job ad). It's less risky for an employer.
So I hope that clears up some of the misconceptions I hear about networking. It's how, for hundreds of years, we used to find work!
"It's schmoozing at big events where I don't know anyone."
"It's begging for a job."
There are a lot of misconceptions about what networking is and how to do it effectively for finding work. Networking is definitely none of the above, and in many ways it is the opposite of the beliefs folks hold about it.
It's NOT using people.
In a nutshell, networking is building relationships. This is clear when you think about who makes up your network: (former) coworkers and associates (eg, a supplier), friends, family, dentist/doctor, neighbours, hockey teammates... the list goes on. They are your allies! If you're looking for work, they're the ones who can keep their ears and eyes open for you. They will want to help you! Wouldn't you want to help them if they were looking for work?
It's NOT schmoozing at big events.
There are large business events that bill themselves as networking opportunities, but they are not intended for the faint of heart. They require an exceptional degree of comfort talking to strangers, and making smalltalk. Not all of us are up for that, and it isn't true networking. It's more like an open forum for sales. No, true networking is building relationships with people, and maintaining them. Of course you'll ask how your neighbour's chronically ill mother is doing when you also mention that you are looking for work, and would they keep their ears open.
It's NOT begging for a job.
How is letting your collected support group (family, friends, [former] colleagues,e tc) know that you're seeking work begging for a job? You're asking them to keep their ears peeled! To understand that, you should understand that 70-80% of jobs - and generally the best ones - are not widely advertised. Many are never advertised at all. Why not? Well, if I owned a business, I would rather hire someone who came with a recommendation (someone who came to me through my network of contacts) than a total stranger (who answered a job ad). It's less risky for an employer.
So I hope that clears up some of the misconceptions I hear about networking. It's how, for hundreds of years, we used to find work!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
A Historical Look at "Job Security"
I see a lot of clients who say that they would like to come back to school, but they don't know what they want to study. A common item they put in their wish lists in a field of work is "something with job security". I'd like to address this notion of "job security" as something that never really existed and, given the current climate of globalization and economic turmoil, is not likely to become firm again.
I am neither an anthropologist nor a historian, but I think this notion of "job security" developed post World War II and in the 1950s, when North America began to take advantage of a major manufacturing (and all the associated services) boom. It happened through the 1970s that, if you got a job with a company, in return for a lifetime of service to the company, the company would keep you on. There was a sense of commitment between employer and employee.
The massive recession in the 1980s changed that. To maintain profit levels while income dropped and inflation reduced the value of the dollar, company executives slashed operating budgets in the easiest places possible, including cutting salaries by laying off, forcing retirement, and firing large numbers of employees. Other employees took reduced hours or reduced wages to stay on. Sometime during that chaos, it seems to me as I look back at it, a social contract was broken: suddenly, employers did not owe it to their employees anymore to try to keep them on.
So aren't there field that are less likely to be downsized, you may ask? Isn't that security? Yes, of course there are. The world will always need plumbers.
I'm being facetious, because I don't believe someone should choose a career field just because it's "safe." The world would not have any art, music or literature if we all chose a career path that was "safe" or "secure."
I would like to argue instead, we should choose a career about which we are passionate and enthusiastic. Stay current and trained up in that field. And then your skill set is your job security. If you are excited and good at what you do, you will always be able to find employment.
I am neither an anthropologist nor a historian, but I think this notion of "job security" developed post World War II and in the 1950s, when North America began to take advantage of a major manufacturing (and all the associated services) boom. It happened through the 1970s that, if you got a job with a company, in return for a lifetime of service to the company, the company would keep you on. There was a sense of commitment between employer and employee.
The massive recession in the 1980s changed that. To maintain profit levels while income dropped and inflation reduced the value of the dollar, company executives slashed operating budgets in the easiest places possible, including cutting salaries by laying off, forcing retirement, and firing large numbers of employees. Other employees took reduced hours or reduced wages to stay on. Sometime during that chaos, it seems to me as I look back at it, a social contract was broken: suddenly, employers did not owe it to their employees anymore to try to keep them on.
So aren't there field that are less likely to be downsized, you may ask? Isn't that security? Yes, of course there are. The world will always need plumbers.
I'm being facetious, because I don't believe someone should choose a career field just because it's "safe." The world would not have any art, music or literature if we all chose a career path that was "safe" or "secure."
I would like to argue instead, we should choose a career about which we are passionate and enthusiastic. Stay current and trained up in that field. And then your skill set is your job security. If you are excited and good at what you do, you will always be able to find employment.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Looking the Part
I'm guilty. I admit it. I wore a plain yellow t-shirt and polka dot capris today, no jewellery, and plain shoes. It was very casual.
In my current work environment, I am fortunate that I can do that on days when I don't feel like dressing right up for work, but I always feel guilty when I do it, because I feel like I'm not setting a good example for the clients I'm working with. It's a conflict between Generation X (inherited from the Boomers) sensibilities, and Generation Y/Millennial desire to get down to work and ignore the social nonsense.
I am not currently looking for work, so I can get away with a casual-but-neat appearance. If my role had more to do with employers, I wouldn't get away with such casual attire, nor would I want to. There are still certain standards for appearance in the business world, established by generations before, which dictated that you look your best when doing business with anyone, even a colleague.
If I were currently looking for work, however, I wouldn't even go to the grocery store without dressing up at least a little bit (like what I wore today - definitely no jogging pants or old hoodies). You never know when you might meet an old colleague (a great source for job leads) or a potential employer when standing in line at the deli counter.
So because of the expectations more traditional businesspeople may have for college staff, I will do my best for the rest of the summer to dress up a little more. It's tough when it's hot, and when my Generation Y "Why?" attitude kicks in to ask for the reason behind wearing a blazer/jacket in 30C+humidity. But if it helps someone I'm working with land a job, it's worth the sweat and the drycleaning.
For more on the differences between generations, see CIO.com, on differences or BNet, on busting the myth of generational differences.
In my current work environment, I am fortunate that I can do that on days when I don't feel like dressing right up for work, but I always feel guilty when I do it, because I feel like I'm not setting a good example for the clients I'm working with. It's a conflict between Generation X (inherited from the Boomers) sensibilities, and Generation Y/Millennial desire to get down to work and ignore the social nonsense.
I am not currently looking for work, so I can get away with a casual-but-neat appearance. If my role had more to do with employers, I wouldn't get away with such casual attire, nor would I want to. There are still certain standards for appearance in the business world, established by generations before, which dictated that you look your best when doing business with anyone, even a colleague.
If I were currently looking for work, however, I wouldn't even go to the grocery store without dressing up at least a little bit (like what I wore today - definitely no jogging pants or old hoodies). You never know when you might meet an old colleague (a great source for job leads) or a potential employer when standing in line at the deli counter.
So because of the expectations more traditional businesspeople may have for college staff, I will do my best for the rest of the summer to dress up a little more. It's tough when it's hot, and when my Generation Y "Why?" attitude kicks in to ask for the reason behind wearing a blazer/jacket in 30C+humidity. But if it helps someone I'm working with land a job, it's worth the sweat and the drycleaning.
For more on the differences between generations, see CIO.com, on differences or BNet, on busting the myth of generational differences.
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