121 - managing your career
TRANSCRIPT
Managing your career in the emerging higher education business environment: understanding the professional skills needed by the leaders of tomorrow
2 April 2012
Elliott Rae
Themes of today’s session
• Developing trends and themes in HE
• Personal development and career management
• Recruitment and selection
Current business environment
• What factors are driving change?
Current business environment
• Austerity/recession• Technology• Flexibility• Cost• Competition • Globalisation• Demise of some traditional business models
The higher education business environment (external)
• The impact of national higher education policy
• Impact of fees• Regulation and compliance • REF 2014• Impact of private sector providers• Shared services• Segmentation of the sector• Mergers and acquisitions?
The higher education business environment (internal)
• Efficiency• Uncertainty re student numbers and finances• Centralisation v devolved responsibility• Student experience/ customer service• Flexible provision• Changing business models• Challenging the divide between academics
and managers
Challenging the divide between academics and managers..?
Traditional• Administration exists to support the
academic activity of the university
New• ‘Administration’ (management) driving
fundamental changes to business models and service delivery
Skills needed?
Skills needed• Embracing change• Finding innovative solutions• Delivering excellent services• Achieving results• Using resources (efficiently and effectively)
• Working with people• Providing direction• Developing self and others• Managing self and personal skills
Lessons from our pan-public sector experience
• Increased use of interim managers• Salary caps have impact on recruitment• Clients actively seeking wider experience/
‘private sector’ experience• Governance brought sharply into focus• Use of technology to drive efficiency• Rethinking organisational structures
Current job market
• Increase in competition from within HE and outside HE
• Skill set becoming ever more broad• Expectations on individuals increasing• Rethinking structures
and responsibilities
What skills and qualities do you bring as professional managers in higher education?
Your skills and qualities
• Operating in a global market place• Managing an international client base• Managing complex funding arrangements• Managing growth and expansion• Managing quality• Managing change• Regulation/compliance/legal
Your skills and qualities
• Cultural awareness and diversity• Committed to CPD and training• Collaboration and partnerships • Work with commercial organisations and
funders• Engaged in wider agendas• Able to engage with academics
Are your skills transferable beyond HE?
Job hunting - agenda
• Introduction
• So you want a new job?
• Networking
• Understanding the process
The role of head hunters – what do we do?
The role of head hunters
• Re-define and challenge assumptions • Stimulate debate around what you need• Stakeholder management and buy-in• Search and sensitivity• Widening the talent pool and selling the role• Objectivity• Benchmarking of candidates• Manage a complex process
Why use a head hunter?
• Best candidates are often not actively job seeking• Organisation needs help to redefine or rethink a
role• Need to attract new/different skills• Provide market intelligence re what talent is
available at the salary on offer• Provide capacity to manage a senior recruitment
process• If people are your number one asset, why leave it
to chance?
So you want a new job?
• Are you sure?
• Thinking it through
• Getting specific
Agenda
• Introduction
• So you want a new job?
• Networking
• Understanding the process
What does networking mean to you?
Networking hints
• The “elevator conversation” – the story of you and what you want in two breaths
• Be systematic• Use structured opportunities (eg conferences)• Keep promises and add value.• Online resources (eg LinkedIn)• Networking is a long term approach
• Becoming almost compulsory
• A valuable resource for head hunters
• It is your personal shop window
• Decide on policies for how you will use it
Agenda
• Introduction
• So you want a new job?
• Networking
• Understanding the process
Why do we have a recruitment process?
• To cope with complexity• A process which makes simplifying
assumptions• A process which is fair• Minimise chance and maximise objectivity• A process which gets someone into the job
who can do it
Two phases
• Candidate attraction– Advertising– Search
• Candidate selection– Application– Preliminary interview– Additional assessment– Final panel
Selling yourself
• Demonstrating impact
• Demonstrating transferable skills
• Demonstrating an understanding of the wider context/environment
• Demonstrating a track record of successfully taking on new responsibilities
• Selling higher education to potential employers outside of HE
Approaching the job market
• Talk to the hiring organisation or head hunter
• Speak the language of the hiring organisation and avoid industry/organisational jargon
• Articulate any doubts and concerns: be honest
Search
• How to get searched– Networking– Having an obvious job for next step– Speaking, writing, personal reputation– An online presence eg LinkedIn– By making contact with us– By sharing a mobile number (or personal
email address) with us– By helping us!
Search
• Search calls – ‘sourcing’ or ‘targeting’
– Don’t assume that the search was pinpoint focused
– If you are interested, say so
– If there are showstoppers in the job, say so
– If you can help, do
– If you’re being over-sourced, say so
Candidate selection
• Application and CV
• Preliminary interview
• Further assessment
• Final interview
Application and CV
• Purpose of this stage– Get from an unmanageably large
number of people to a manageable number
– fairly– efficiently– and provide robust information to
the client who will then decide who goes through to interview
CVs - format
• Personal information at the beginning
– name, address
– contact info - mobile and email
• Career in reverse chronological order
• Education and qualifications, professional, honours
• Referees (optional)
And some light relief ….• I am extremely loyal to my present
firm, so please don’t let them know of my immediate availability
• Note: Please don’t misconstrue my 14 jobs as ‘job-hopping’. I have never quit a job
• Please call me after 5:30 because I am self-employed and my employer does not know I am looking for another job
• The company made me a scapegoat – just like my three previous employers
Covering letters
• Outline why the job appeals to you
• Respond according to advertised instructions
• State why you are available
• Answer other obvious questions
• Provide current salary level if requested
Interviews
• Type and style
• First impressions and approach
• Your impact
Interview tips
• PREPARE
• ANSWER THE QUESTION
• Don’t try to deny your weaknesses, show self-awareness and your strategies for dealing with them in this job
• Think about how you would manage the risks of your appointment
• Engage everyone
Your impact
• Emotional control• Sense of interest• Versatility• Affinity with others• Confidence• Sense of humor
Presentations
• Address the title• Put yourself in the role – what do you bring to
the role?• Confirm format• Don’t read, but prompt cards OK• Time limit – stick to it!• Be prepared for questioning• Practice!!
Assessment
• Psychometric tests• Personality profiles• Ability tests• Validation/ feedback discussion• Only supporting information• Usually very accurate and provides insight• No right or wrong answers
Summary
• Skills requirements in an evolving sector
• Your skills and development needs
• Engaging with the job market
• Applying for roles
• And (hopefully) being successful
