Does it really matter what gender your boss is??

Do you care if your boss is male or female?  That is the question the Wall Street Journal recently addressed in an online article.

They based their question on some research from the Harvard Business Review which found that fewer Americans have a preference for a male or female manager.  The research, which surveyed over 60,000 women and men, found that a small majority–54%– said they had no real preference as to the gender of their boss.  Compare that with a similar study from way back in a 1953 Gallup poll, which found that only 25% of respondents didn’t care whether they had a male or female boss.  By 1983, the workplace had progressed to where 36% had no preference for a male or female manager.

The most interesting result was when respondent were asked to rate their current bosses – most tended to favor bosses of the opposite sex, e.g. female bosses were rated more favorably by men and male bosses got higher praise from women.

Having worked for both males and females, as you would guess, there are pros and cons from both.  The guys I have worked for tend to get right to the point on business issues and are less interested in your personal life, but then were also not as good at conflict situations or on feedback.  The woman I have worked for were always balancing an active family life as well as work so the non-business discussions were always kid-centric.  They also seemed a little more patient with business issues.  But I tend to believe some of this is also impacted by which generation your boss comes from.  For example, my male Baby Boomer bosses would tend to be less willing to offer ongoing praise and recognition.  Their expectations were more this is your job; it’s what I expect you to do, so I don’t see any reason to constantly be providing you “atta-boys” for achieving what was expected.

My other career observation is that women tended to have more issues reporting to a female boss.  Their personality differences seemed to be more accentuated.  My female coworkers generally seemed less willing to “go-with-the-flow” and just focus on their job, ignoring differences in personality.  But note that all of my comments are non-scientific and based on my 25+ years in the work place.

So what do you think?  Do you have a preference?  A male or female boss?

Companies Still Having Holiday Parties — Some Suggestions

Scrooge, take a seat.  Even with weak economy, it sounds like a majority of companies still plan to hold holiday parties this year, according to a report released by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

The study reported that nearly 68% of businesses reported that they still plan to throw a year-end event, down of course from the pre-recession period of 2007, when about 90% of companies surveyed had such plans.  Even it f the slow economy has left some companies with little reason to celebrate, many refuse to abandon the holiday party, perhaps as one small way to demonstrate appreciation for employees’ hard work throughout the year.  To help keep control on expenses, 60% of those surveyed said they will cut down on the guest list by limiting attendance to employees only

I wanted to offer some suggestions having had the pleasure of being in a wide range of these events in my work career. 

It’s Still Work:

The most important thing is to remember it’s still a work function – it’s not just your friends gathering for a good time.  So you should act in a professional manner.  Stay away from the cocktail station.  I would think that by now most people have figured out that the annual holiday party isn’t an opportunity to get sloppy drunk (although almost half of the companies surveyed said they plan to offer alcohol at their holiday event) or paw your favorite co-worker. In fact, few things can derail your career faster than acting inappropriately at such a work event. 

Dress Professionally

Wear something a bit more festive than you might wear to work, but more conservative than what you would wear to a nightclub.   For women, this is not the time to show up with a super low-cut blouse or a skirt cut up to your hip.  Some “experts” even suggest avoiding wearing all black.  I’m not a fashion expert on that but I can tell you that if your event is a more formal gathering, and you plop down in some of those  strapless dresses I’ve seen, you almost will look naked to anyone sitting across the table from you. I’m not sure that’s the kind of impression you are looking for is it?

Men, if it’s a more formal gathering, consider getting a new tie.  That one you haven’t worn in a year of more looks like you picked it up at the Salvation Army.  The more festive ones are ok, but don’t go too far.

Bottom line:  keep an air of professionalism in mind when you choose your attire.

Speak to the Big Bosses

Use the office party as an opportunity to rub elbows with executives at your company with whom you don’t usually.   While it’s always easier to just go mingle with your buds, or spend the night sending out tweets, get out of your comfort zone and use the party as a chance to have the upper level executives learn who you are, even put a face to your name.  Most of those senior level people got those jobs on a combination of skills, the ability to communicate with others, and develop relationships.  They enjoy casual interactions with the rest of the staff.

Introduce yourself on a personal level and asking about hobbies or interests. A little reconnaissance before the event to decide which execs you’re eager to chat with and anything you could mention in the conversation.  It could range anywhere from how their college football team is doing (most executive profiles have their academic info on them), or hobbies they have (what kinds of things do they have in their office – that stuffed bass they caught last year, or the golf ball from a hole-in-one). Though it can seem intimidating, a quick chat during the holiday party can go a long way toward establishing a work relationship. You are never going to be closer to senior executives at the office because they’re so busy, than you are at an event like this.  It is a key opportunity.  Take advantage of it.

Keep it Casual

No matter who you end up speaking to, this isn’t a business meeting. This is the one time to keep the conversation casual and avoid talking shop. Instead, get into lighter topics such as an upcoming vacation, wedding or holiday plans. The holiday party is not the place to complain about your boss, pitch your next great idea, or even lobby for your next promotion.  There’s plenty of time for that latter.

And I’m amazing I would even have to remind people of this but, avoid gossip or your uncle’s favorite off-color jokes.  Sure, we’re all human. We want to have fun, but be mindful that it’s still a company event. There’s still a level of professionalism you must maintain.

Don’t be a Bummer, Man

There’s a lot of gloom and doom in the news these days, and perhaps even at your company as well. Try to push away the dark clouds for the duration of the party with a sunny attitude.   No one wants to work with someone who is a downer.  You want to appear as an upbeat, positive, can-do type of person.

Prep Your Date/Spouse/Significant Other

First off, be sure you are suppose to be brings a guest.  Smaller parties may mean that spouses and partners are not included in the festivities, even if they have been in years past. If you’re not sure if you can bring a guest, definitely ask.

If you are bringing someone, even if you say all the right things when schmoozing, your date may slip up. Before the party, simply let your date know who’s who, good topics to discuss or issues to avoid completely.  If it’s not someone you know well, I would suggest you avoid bringing a date altogether.

Thank the Hosts

Don’t treat the holiday party as a given. Show the organizers you appreciate their efforts by thanking them before you leave.  Yes, many companies have cut back on these extravagant expenses, so if you have a company party, you should be thankful.  At smaller companies, a more formal way of thanking the hosts such as a handwritten note or direct email after can show you’re enthusiastic to be part of the firm.

And after all that, have some fun (if you can).  Merry Christmas….

Why Aren’t You Using Those Vacation Days??

If you hadn’t noticed, it’s already December 1^st.  For those of you with vacation that has not been taken this year, you are running out of time to use it, and fast.

Most surprising to me was a survey from the online travel site Expedia (the “Vacation Deprivation” online survey) that the average American worker earned 14 vacation days this year but will only take 12 of them.  This follows a similar survey by Hotwire released in November which found that the average American employee leaves 6.2 days of paid vacation days unused at the end of each year.  Another survey by JetBlue also released last month found most Americans will forfeit an average of 11 days — more than two weeks off — this year.

While even just two forfeited days of vacation may not seem like a lot to you, it can really add up. Altogether, at two forfeited vacation days a year, Americans would be giving up 226 million unused vacation days this year. If you use the Bureau of Labor Statistics calculation that the average full-time worker earns a little under $40k a year ($39,416 to be exact), that means at least $34.3 billion worth of off time is being squandered.

Why wouldn’t you use all of your allotted time off?  The Expedia survey suggests that the most common reason most workers say they chose to stay at work, is that they really can’t afford to travel, Expedia also said that “lack of planning” was the second-most-cited excuse among those surveyed.

But other experts believe the current economic malaise is equally to be blamed, As “…companies are doing more with less, people have a hard time taking vacation because there’s so much work to do,” said Jennie Dede, vice president of recruiting for job placement firm Adecco.  No doubt there is also a feeling among many that they need to put in the face time in the office,  Stuart Rubinstein, managing director at TD Ameritrade said that “…they worry that being out of the office might make them next on the list.”

Hotwire’s survey even went as far as indicating that 57% of working Americans will have unused vacation time at the end of the year.  However, I’m not totally buying the one comment from Clem Bason, president of the Hotwire Group that “too many Americans are getting caught up in their everyday routine and are either forgetting to use their vacation or assuming travel for the remainder of the year is too expensive.”

Heck, take a day off and go spend a day seeing local sights.  You’d be surprised how many interesting things there are within just a couple of hours by car.  State parks, zoos, and museums are just a few examples. The reality is most managers know you should take the time to enjoy your family, your life, and come back recharged.

So when are you taking off, even if it’s just for a day or two??

4th Quarter Hiring Outlook Is Mixed

It looks like the fourth quarter of 2011 will be an interesting one from a hiring prospective.  A flood of statistics have come out recently which paint contrasting views of where the job market stands. Historically hiring is lower in the fourth quarter.  Add on a still sluggish economy and one would expect nothing but negative comments.  But not so fast. 

CareerBuilder in its fourth-quarter hiring survey indicated that when looking for talent, companies are still having a difficult time filling certain positions despite the stiff competition for most jobs.  Two thirds of employers (67%) expressed concern over the education and skills gap in the US and corresponding deficit in talent for specialized positions.  The top areas employers are seeing the most significant skills gap are engineering (37%) and information technology (33%).

According to the U.S. Department of Labor the unemployment rate for those with a four-year college degree is only 4.2%. This is in sharp contrast to the overall unemployment rate of 9.1% for the U.S. population at large.

The Alder Group, an executive search firm and LinkedIn then weighted in with the results of a yet-to-be-published employee job-seeking survey indicating that only 17% of the fully-employed members on LinkedIn are “actively looking”  for another job.   28% of the balance of the 4,550 who participated in the survey indicated that they’re “super passive”.  Only 40% indicated they’d be open to talk to a recruiter about a possible career move if called.  Some 15% said they were starting to tiptoe into the market by connecting with former close co-workers.

Compare that with a similar survey conducted last year that indicated only 22% were super passive, with those open to talk with a recruiter shrinking the most (from 44% to 40%) and the other categories each declining slightly.

US Government data paints a different picture.  For each U.S. job opening in August, there were 4.6 unemployed workers, according to the Labor Department. Using their data, if every available job was filled immediately, that would still mean 11 million people are jobless.

Reuters then reported that weak earnings reports from U.S. businesses, a continuing European debt crisis and spending cutbacks may be setting the stage for more layoffs.  Experts say things like. “I think people are in the process of dialing back 2012 expectations and that will bleed into whatever they were planning,” (Michael Neal of General Electric. About a quarter of CEOs at large companies say they’re planning to cut jobs in the next six months, according to a Business Roundtable survey.

Add all this open and it confirms my belief that the 9.1% national unemployment number is deceiving.   Opportunties are out there if you know where to look for them:

• Location matters:   The highest unemployment rates in August were registered in Las Vegas-Paradise, NV, and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA. (14.2 and 14.1%).  Fourteen additional large areas had rates of 10.0% or more. The lowest jobless rate among the large areas was recorded in Oklahoma City, Okla., 5.0%.
• White collar positions are not suffering as badly as blue collar positions
• Those with hi-tech or specialized skills are still in demand
• If people have a job, even as miserable as they may be, most are not ready to venture forth into unknown waters seeking a different one.
• Small businesses will have to work even harder to retain their star employees and lure top talent away from larger companies.

 

Speaking of hiring, Names & Numbers does have openings for sales Account executives.  If you are an experienced B2B sales professional looking for a stable company which sells products that truly help our customers grow their businesses, provides you with an unlimited earning potential, and advancement opportunities, we want to talk with you.

This is an outside sales position in which you will help a wide variety of businesses to develop and implement marketing programs which bring customers to their doors.  Our products are heavily utilized resources in the local community and come in a range of formats – print, online, and mobile.

We offer:

• Typical first year earnings (at plan) are in the $70k+ range, but commissions are only limited by your desire to make money.
• Career advancement opportunities (we prefer to promote from within)
• Health, dental, vision, life and 401K benefits
• Professional sales training

We currently have openings in:

• Aspen, Breckenridge, Vail, or Montrose, CO
• Midland, TX
• Springfield, MO

If interested, get me a resume ASAP so we can schedule some time to talk…

 

Please don’t say this in a job interview

Ok, we all know that job interviews are not fun.  It’s real easy for me to say it’s not life or death, it’s just a job. But with unemployment running at just under 10 percent, you have to be prepared to go through the process of getting that job.  If you’re currently unemployed, your job is finding a job so you need to approach it with the same discipline as you would in a real job.

Here are six things you never say in an interview.  Why just these six?  In reality, it could be a lot more.  But these are some of the most basic mistakes that I see in the job interviews I conduct.  So, drumroll please.  Here they are:

1. Tell me the same thing the last 10 applicants told me

The truth is some people just love interviewing others, and others detest it.  The difference?  The lovers seem to come up with all kinds of creative and compelling questions to ask you in a constantly changing flow. Others interviewers seem to ask the same dull questions they’ve been asking for years. Whether your interviewer is inspiring or barely breathing, your job is to come up with new answers to what will likely be the same old group of questions.  But please, please, please don’t tell me:

• “I’m a people person,” (What does that mean?)
• “I’m looking for a new challenge” (Really?  I thought you were just here for the coffee and donuts.)
• “I can sell anything” (But the resume has no indication of success in any of your prior efforts)

Instead, prepare and practice your answers beforehand to those generic, stock questions.

2. I need Thursday afternoons off

In a first interview, it’s really important that you seem to want to work for us — badly.  Yet I am amazed at the list of issues some candidates will immediately inject in that first interview.  Some examples:

• You can’t work past five because of your daughter’s volleyball.
• You’d like to work from home three days a week because you really don’t like to commute.
• You expect the company to provide every single item you might need for your job, cover the cost of several professional magazines, and oh, by  the way, you need alternate Thursday afternoons off because you’re in golf league. 

When I start hearing things like this it’s not clear that you’re looking for a full-time job or are interested in being a professional.  Gimme gimme may work for kids but it’s not a good way to start off a job discussion.  Specific questions about salary, benefits, or vacation time are appropriate and most definitely should be asked.  The list of demands?  Perhaps you should wait on thise.

3. You did no prep for the interview

Nothing is more irritating than when a candidate comes into an interview and their response to the generic question of “what do you know about our company” is: “very little”, “not much”, or similar types of comments.  It takes all of about 20 minutes to do some research on the Internet or God forbid even look at our company website so you know little bit about us.  If someone’s going to be this unprepared for a key interview, how prepared are they going to be once we put them in front of our clients? 

4. Going negative

I realize you probably detest your former boss, coworkers, and company, but doing a dump job on them is not why we brought you in for the interview.  It also injects an immediate question in the interviewer’s mind as to whether things are really that bad, or is this just someone who is a habitual complainer?  Let’s face it, who likes working with negative people all day long week in and week out?  My suggestion is don’t be negative about anything.  There are certain times when pressed that you can be “constructively critical’ of your former job, boss, or company, but be very careful.  Going negative will only be relevant when you can demonstrate how you were able to improve their situation with your skills and efforts.

5. That you have no weaknesses

OMG.  In every interview, in some shape or fashion, you’re going to be asked what your weaknesses are/areas for development/things you are not good at/etc., or some variation thereof.  Whatever you do, don’t say that you can’t think of any weaknesses unless you are a perfect human being.   The better response is to acknowledge two or three areas you may not be the strongest in and be prepared to talk about what you’re doing to improve in those areas.

6. No, I don’t have any questions

In every interview, usually somewhere towards the end, you’re going to be asked if you have any questions.  If you don’t have any that’s going to raise a huge red flag with your interviewer.  My suggestion is that you have questions at three levels: industry level, company level, and at the job level.

Again, I get ahead whole bunch more onto this list but these six are certainly the ones you can prepare for prior to any interview.

Speaking of hiring, Names & Numbers does have sales openings.  If you are an experienced B2B sales professional looking for a stable company which sells products that truly help our customers grow their businesses, provides you with an unlimited earning potential, and advancement opportunities, we want to talk with you.

This is an outside sales position in which you will help a wide variety of businesses to develop and implement marketing programs which bring customers to their doors.  Our products are heavily utilized resources in the local community and come in a range of formats – print, online, and mobile.

We offer:

• Typical first year earnings (at plan) are in the $70k+ range, but commissions are only limited by your desire to make money.
• Career advancement opportunities (we prefer to promote from within)
• Health, dental, vision, life and 401K benefits
• Professional sales training

We currently have openings in:

• Aspen, Breckenridge, Vail, or Montrose, CO
• Midland, TX
• Springfield, MO

If interested, get me a resume ASAP so we can schedule some time to talk…

 

Grumbling in the Trenches – Is Your Workforce Eyeing the Exit Doors?

We’ve noticed a significant uptick in the number of stories like this one in the Wall Street Journal, all with the same message – many of your employees are carefully eyeing the exits.

With the significant changes in the work force that many companies had to go through during this economic recession, everything from downsizing to reduced cash compensation to fewer benefits, many workers were happy just to have a job. Now, as the economy slowly improves, many disgruntled employees who waited out the worst of it are ready to jump ship.  So it shouldn’t be a surprise that about one in three employees are seriously evaluating leaving their job according to a survey from human-resources consultant Mercer LLC. That’s result is up from 23% in 2005, which was the last time Mercer conducted the survey.  In addition the survey says that 21% have a negative view of their employer and have largely checked out of their job, even if they aren’t actively looking for another one.

Here’s another one:  Nearly two-thirds of employees are testing the job market, according to the 2011 Deloitte Human Capital Trends report.  And finally, according to a recent survey from Business News Daily.com, 84% of American employees plan to look for new jobs in 2011.

Many employers are quick to blame the economic recession for the root of the problem, but studies report that workers have not been happy in corporate jobs since the early 1990′s. Many “experts” believe senior management is disconnected from the fact that their employees are struggling to make ends meet, most with two income families and still facing economic shortages in their household. Increased living costs, higher gas prices, and shrinking home values has resulted in lost plans for retirement, college, and nice vacations as many workers are focused on living paycheck to paycheck, while struggling to keep the old clunker running, worn out appliances working, and going another month before addressing homes in need of renovation.  I’m not sure that there is a good solution for making people happier right now.

But for smaller companies like Names & Numbers, we are still hiring because we are still GROWING.  When you are an established leader in local advertising across the 11 state area we serve for over 36 years our team of Account Executives makes an above industry average income working with local companies on innovative print, online, and mobile Yellow Page programs.  These are outside sales position in which you will help a wide variety of businesses to develop and implement marketing programs which bring customers to their doors. 

So what are looking for?  We would like to talk to experienced B2B sales professionals who want to join a stable, growing company, one which provides them with an unlimited earning potential, and advancement opportunities, selling products that truly help our customers.  We currently have a limited number of openings in the following markets:

• Bentonville, AR
• Killeen, TX
• Santa Fe, NM
• Midland/Odessa, TX
• Lubbock, TX

Here is what we offer:

• Typical first year earnings (at plan) are in the $70k+ range, but commissions are only limited by your desire to make money.
• Career advancement opportunities (we prefer to promote from within – our managers in Lubbock and Midland are recent promotions within the last year)
• Health, dental, vision, life and 401K benefits after 90 days
• Paid professional sales training

For more information about the opportunity, you can go to:  www.namesandnumbers.com/Careers/account-executive-ad.pdf

Interested?  Send your resume to me at kclark@namesandnumbers.com.  And we are an Equal Opportunity Employer.

How’s your “elevator pitch”??

If the term “elevator pitch” is new to you, it is defined as that classic moment in your business career when the Senior Vice President or CEO gets into the elevator with you, and by the luck of the draw they are standing right next to you, in a ride that will only last for some fleeting minute or two at best.  In that short time span you need to have a prime opportunity to have some discussion/exchange/comment which will cause this key senior person take notice of you, certainly something more substantial than how the weather is today or how about that great ballgame last night.. 

While you may not have many real life elevator scenarios, you will encounter a similar situation when you are in any job interview.  This post deals with how to structure an elevator pitch to get that next interview.

Often the first question you will be asked in an interview is “tell us a little about yourself”.  This question is not intended to be an opportunity for you go on a 15 minute War & Peace rendition of your full life history.  Instead it should a short, tight, 2-3 minute summary to set the stage on why you are the candidate they really should want to hire – essentially an elevator pitch!!.  Unfortunately for most of us, it feels awkward, embarrassing, even unnatural — like you’re hawking a product on a late night infomercial screaming at the top of your lungs. Yet it’s such an important part of the job search that everybody should have one ready to go.

Let’s create a job interview elevator pitch for me as a strawman. First, the normal way I use to create one, and then suggest an alternative way to do this. Since I’m pretty proud of a lot of my accomplishments, and I want to get across everything I’ve done in one big breath, let’s take my LinkedIn profile and turn it into my elevator pitch.  This first effort is similar to what most of us try when we make our elevator pitch, is this:

“I have 24+ years of recognized business experience in sales, business development, and operations roles in the Yellow Pages industry, both domestically and internationally.  I led the industry association efforts to expand revenues beyond their current channels.  Currently I am the Director of Recruiting for Names & Numbers, a print and online yellow page publisher where I am helping to rebuild their sales team.  In addition to my recruiting efforts, I publish YP Talk, an information newsletter distributed to the greater Yellow Pages industry. I have an MBA, was the Mayor of a small town in Maryland, hold a patent, and have been married for 32 years with two grown, successful children….”

Impressed?? While it is all true, frankly, you’re probably wondering: “Why is he telling me all this? What his purpose for bragging like that?”  It does me sound like a boastful, pompous stuffed shirt, whose you-know-what doesn’t stink.  Also it sounds a little old doesn’t it?  Why is this not an effective pitch?  Because it only focuses on my accomplishments, achievements, and awards.

This is not how real people talk to each other, so of course, if I were to say all of that, it should sound awkward.   I’m not sure about you but when somebody spends too much time telling me how wonderful they are, instinctively little red warning flags start going up.  Following this dissertation, the logical next step for the interviewer is to question the person’s character and personality. Sure, this person has lots of nice accomplishments, but where are they looking to go from here?  What really cranks them up each day?

Well of course we want the elevator pitch to help us get a job, so why don’t we take another crack at it? And this time, instead of trying to sound like a stuffed shirt, I’ll try to be human and more real:

“My passion for the past two plus decades has been make things happen.  Sometimes it’s been putting together people and companies.  Other times it has been trying to get people to work together to achieve results, sometimes almost impossible ones.  I’ve even had the privilege of developing some of the “out–of-box” thinking that became the game plan we executed.  But in all of those situations nothing has been more fulfilling than being part of an effort that achieves goals.  Over the years the technologies have changed, the name of the company over the door has changed, the marketplace has changed, but the passion and drive achieve results hasn’t…”

OK, so which person do you want to bring in for an interview? The professional accomplishment elevator pitch or the conversational motivations pitch?   I hope you’ll agree with me that the second one is far more effective. Why?   Because it’s about my motivations.   Sure the accomplishments are an affirmation of results.  But what I’m telling you is why I like getting up in the morning to go to work.

In our culture, we seem to trust people and believe them when they tell us what their motivations are. It feels like they’re being open and honest, and that they are sharing with us something about themselves. From a tactical standpoint, you are helping the recruiter/HR person/hiring manager know a little bit more about what makes you tick, and how and why you want this particular job.

So let’ make your pitch real.  Try “The Reality Test.” If you can’t say your elevator pitch to friends and buddies while sharing an adult beverage at the backyard barbeque, it’s probably not going to be an effective elevator pitch.  See if you can frame your answers to these questions in a “real” voice, like you’re speaking to your college buddies or a couple of friends on the golf course.

• Say, _____ (fill in name), why do you really like your work?
• Why have you been doing this for the last ____ (insert number) years?
• What do you like about this industry?
• Why do you want to stay in this field?
• What is it that you find interesting about it?
• No, seriously, _______, don’t talk to me like I’m your boss, what do you really find interesting about it?
• When you’re in the shower in the morning, what types of challenges at work make you excited to get the heck to the office as soon as possible?
• When are you having the most fun?

Then take those pieces and merge them into a conversational elevator pitch that focuses on your motivations, not your accomplishments. Practice it a couple of times to a friend, spouse, even the dog (if yours listens). 

Your ready.  Go nail that interview.

It’s all about the name

Found an interesting post over on Career Builders –“The Work Buzz” blog which asks whether women using full names at work to appear more professional, while men are using casual names to seem approachable?

The article is based off  a new survey from LinkedIn which analyzed its own data from 100 million members to discover which names are most common among CEOs, engineers, human resources professionals and other fields.  For example, these are the five names for each gender most popular amongst CEOs throughout the world:

For women:

1. Deborah
2. Sally
3. Debra
4. Cynthia
5. Carolyn

 For men:

1. Peter
2. Bob
3. Jack
4. Bruce
5. Fred

Now stay with me on this – the writer noted that the female names are either two or three syllables, while the men’s are mostly one syllable. So does that mean you can climb the corporate ladder faster if you don’t have too many letters in your name?? To support their theory they of course found one “expert”, Frank Nuessel, the editor of NAMES: A Journal of Onomastics (a publication of the American Name Society) and a professor of classical and modern languages at the University of Louisville who suggested that “…it’s possible that sales professionals in the U.S. and male CEOs around the world use these shortened versions of their name as a way to be more approachable and accessible to potential clients.”

Now I have always chosen to use just “Ken” in my online and business world efforts.  It just sounds more real to me than “Kenneth” which seems a bit stuffy.  Perhaps if I had a royal title or something I would feel different, but I can assure you my parents didn’t give me the name just so I could rise in the corporate world.

The blog does have something that you can use in your business career — it highlights the fact that for many people, you do need to pay attention to names. Names matter because it reflects on your professionalism, and that is a big deal in many companies and in the business world in general.  So here a few things in mind (adapted from the blog):

1. Dick is not your buddy

A big AMEN.  Just because your CEO likes to go by Dick instead of Richard, don’t assume you can talk to him like he’s your Friday night drinking buddy. He’s still your boss/owner and should be treated with respect until he tells you otherwise.

2. Don’t assume nicknames are OK

My former business partner cringes when he hears “Rob” and not “Robert”, and will even correct people (several times) if they use the short form.  To me, it’s an overreaction.  But, hey, that’s his name and that’s how he wants to be addressed.  I respect that.  Net net:  follow the other person’s cue and wait for them to use a nickname before assuming it’s appropriate.

3. Don’t make fun of people’s names

Guilty as charged.  This probably sounds like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how often we all may do this. While I was in mainland China on work assignment we actually gave English names follow our Chinese workers. In truth it made it easier for me to communicate with them but each one of them wanted to know what the name meant after we had given it to them. In their culture, each name has a specific meaning. So poking fun at someone’s name may often be a direct slight at a family or cultural tradition. In the end it makes you look insensitive or just downright ignorant.

4. Choose your business name carefully

Certainly you should go by whatever name you want at work, but feel free to draw a line between your workplace name and your social nickname. And for those of you that are big Facebook or social network participants, just remember more often than not those pages are in a public forum so be careful what nickname you may be picking for yourself..

5. Monitor your name

You can set up a Google alert which will provide you regular updates on how your name is appearing on the web. My name for instance is pretty common and is also the name for a pretty well known international recruiting firm.  So I want to know if another “Ken Clark” has become the subject of an investigation or other nefarious activities. I always recommend that you keep your public profiles such as LinkedIn or Twitter account updated so that employers can see that you are the person they want to hire and not one of the other bad-behaving namesakes online.

Are you “happy”? And how would you measure your “happiness”?

We noted an interesting Gallup survey recently released of the U.S. cities rated highest for overall happiness/well-being,

Of note is that some of the more high glamour, exciting big cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago all failed to make even the top 50. Perhaps big city living isn’t necessarily best when it comes to quality of life.  However, nine of the top 10 spots in the survey went to more mid-size markets like Boulder, CO which received the top overall spot. In fact, the only big city that cracked the top 10 was the Washington, D.C. area, and I’m sure that is probably more driven by which political party is in power, and which side you support.

Here are the top 10 Happiest Cities (Overall Ranking)

1. Boulder, CO
2. Lincoln, NE
3. Fort Collins-Loveland, CO
4. Provo-Orem, UT
5. Honolulu, HI
6. Madison, WI
7. Cedar Rapids, IA
8. Gainesville, FL
9. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT
10. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

If you break it down a little further, here are the rankings for the smallest cities in the country (defined as those with less than 300,000 residents).

The 10 Happiest Small Cities

1. Burlington-South Burlington, VT
2. Olympia, WA
3. Bellingham, WA
4. Bremerton-Silverdale, WA
5. Topeka, KS
6. Barnstable Town, MA
7. Charlottesville, VA
8. Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA
9. Medford, OR
10. Amarillo, TX

For the other end of the spectrum, among the 188 metropolitan areas Gallup focused on, these regions turned up the least-content residents:

The 10 Most Unhappy Cities in America

• 179. Utica-Rome, NY
• 180. Prescott, AZ
• 181. Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ
• 182. Spartanburg, SC
• 183. Hickory-Lenoir- Morganton, NC
• 184. Fort Smith, AR-OK
• 185. Redding, CA
• 186. Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX
• 187. Youngstown-Warren- Boardman, OH-PA
• 188. Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH

How You Doing’?

To come up with these rankings, Gallup conducted daily interviews in 2010 with a total of 352,840 Americans (about 1,000 interviews a day), and asked them a series of questions grouped into six broad categories:

• Life Evaluation. The question here was specific to your current life on a scale of 0-10 (10 being the best) and then project your life five years out and give another rating. (Honolulu was #1 in this latter category.)
• Physical Health: Respondents were asked on whether they had any health issues that prevented them from doing any age-appropriate stuff and how many days it impacted their ability to do those things. They were also asked about current physical ailments (such as high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart conditions) and whether they had chronic pain from ongoing neck, back, knee, or leg aliments over the past year that had caused. (Boulder with #1 in this category helped moved them to the top of the list)
• Healthy Behavior: Interviewees were asked about cigarette smoking, the number of weekly workouts (at least 30 minutes long), and how many days out of the week respondents managed to eat five or more servings of fruits and veggies. (Salinas, CA was #1 in this category)
• Work: Questions in the category included: Are you satisfied/dissatisfied with your job? Do you get to use your strengths so you can do what you do best? Does your supervisor behave like a boss or a partner? Does your supervisor create a trusting and open work environment? (As the old joke goes “the beatings will continue until morale improves”.)
• Emotional. Questions included: Were you treated with respect all day yesterday? Did you smile or laugh a lot yesterday?  Did you learn or do something interesting yesterday?
• Basic Access. This section had a cross section of questions such as medical-related (whether respondents had been to a dentist in the past year, have a personal doctor, and have health insurance), to questions about general satisfaction/dissatisfaction with the city/region, the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables, and how safe it feels to walk alone at night.

All the data was mashed together and then massaged to produce an overall score of 0-100. You can download data for the 188 metro areas at the Gallup Well-Being Index site.

Net Net:  Happiness Is Relative

Having had the chance to visit many of these locations and even recruit for jobs in a bunch of them, I can tell you something the study probably doesn’t say— at end of day, “happiness” is a relative measure depending on where you are in the circle of life.

For example, while I much prefer a warmer climate, I can’t tell you how many people I have talked to in what I would consider very cold areas up north who absolutely love the weather there.  As I have gotten old, you couldn’t pay me enough to work in a place like Lincoln, NE (ranked #2).  Even Boulder, which took the #1 slot with a composite score of 73.7, wouldn’t be on my list anywhere in the 50 or so.  We also spent many years living in the Washington, DC metro area and while it is a stimulating place, we found the growing traffic congestion and cool spring time to be very unpleasant.   The flip side is that I found the Huntington W.Va.-Ashland, KY metro area to be ok when I visited.  But jobs have been an issue there for sometime, which might be a lot of what was driving the bottom score of 58.1.

But that’s me.  What about you?  How do you feel about the list?  Are you “happy”?

Morale Down As Employees Consider New Job Moves

Would you be surprised at this:  USAToday reports that “workers eager to job hunt as morale plunges”?  At a time when many businesses are still battling to stay alive in this tough economy, and jobs are not very plentiful, it’s really no surprise that employee loyalty is at a three-year low according to the MetLife’s 9th Annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends (the jobs outlook with data for all states, and 384 metro areas).  What may surprise you is that employers actually think they are just as loyal as they were three years ago.

Morale should be expected to fall as cost-cutting employers froze wages, slashed bonuses and asked workers to assume the duties of laid-off colleagues during the downturn. A recent study by the American Psychological Association indicated that four in 10 employees say a heavy workload, unrealistic job expectations and long hours have created stress for them.  With situations like that, as people sense an improving job market, many are getting restless to make a change.  That wasn’t the case over the last few years when most people though they were lucky just to have a job.

I see it in our daily recruiting efforts – many potential candidates are ready to make a move but aren’t willing to take the risk, holding on to what they have even if it’s making them miserable.  Add to that homes with mortgages under water and you have people that were very skittish to try their next career opportunity.

Even with such a larger crop of unemployed and unhappy workers, More than half of employers say they’ve had difficulty attracting employees with critical skills, according to a recent survey by employer consulting firm Towers Watson.

 If so many employers are unaware of the overall morale meltdown, recruiting and training costs will increase, as well as lost productivity while they are seeking new personnel. Some employers are listening and top performers can expect merit-based pay raises averaging 3% this year, according to that same Towers Watson study. That beats the 2010 average of 2.7%, but it is short of the average 3.5% being given out prior to the recession.

 For the Account Executive positions we are typically recruiting for at Names & Numbers, we look for at least 2+ years of outside B2B sales experience.  These are positions which require background in new business “hunter” skills, have achieved results despite objections or concerns about price, and are comfortable working in a heavily commissioned environment.   At plan, we expect Account Executives should be over $65k/year, but there is no cap on commissions and we have a number of reps over $100k.

We currently have openings in the Santa Fe, NM, Springfield, MO, and Bentonville, AR areas.  Send us a resume at jobs@namesandnumbers.com so we can schedule some time to talk