If you are jobless and currently seeking employment, there is both good and bad news in the marketplace.
Good news: The market is more active and offers more opportunity than it has for several years.
Bad news: As was widely predicted, the floodgates have opened. People who already have jobs and hunkered down to wait for the turnaround are now entering the market in droves, competing for available positions.
For candidates in outplacement at The Ayers Group, there’s more good news to help temper the bad. "We’re responding to candidates’ needs and the realities of the market by modifying and enhancing our offerings," says Terry Ebert, Managing Director of Career Transition Services. According to the Ayers executive, one way the firm has adapted is by stepping up the emphasis on networking through new and existing programs.
- How to Network a Room Seminars, a recent addition, are designed to help introverted candidates overcome their discomfort with networking and work a room like pros (see sidebar).
- Executive Networking Teams are an update of Ayers’ highly successful Peak Performance Teams. ENTs are small groups of comparable-level executives from different industries. Each is self-directed but facilitated by an Ayers consultant. Mutual networking support is the primary focus of the new groups. Members are expected to share networking connections and work their networks aggressively on each other’s behalf.
- ENT Yahoo Groups serve as a platform that allows candidates to remain in contact with ENT colleagues when their formal outplacement programs are over and enables consultant/facilitators to provide ongoing counsel.
Ayers also has added hands-on workshops that provide simulated interviewing experience to supplement what candidates learn in formal seminars. In the workshops, candidates break into pairs and alternate in playing the role of interviewer and potential employee. Feedback is provided through mutual critiques and videotaping.
Wrap-Up Seminars, long a feature of outplacement at Ayers, have taken on new importance in the current market. These workshops put everything candidates have learned about job search into a framework and provide methodologies, strategies, and direction that will enable them to continue the process on their own once formal outplacement has ended. "Wrap-Up Seminars are intended to make people more active participants in managing their careers," Terry comments. "And, of course, candidates continue to have access to our online career tools 24/7 from anywhere after they leave us.
"What differentiates us is that we’re flexible, adaptable, and we customize our approach to each candidate and corporate client," he continues. "Our competitors tend to have structured, process-driven approaches. Most other outplacement firms are rigidly standardizing their programs, minimizing contact with consultants, or in many cases, no longer assigning consultants to candidates.
"While they generally provide access only to the candidate’s assigned office locations, we give our candidates access to all the offices of Ayers and our CPI partners worldwide. This is important, particularly now, because people are more likely to relocate or travel farther afield in search of a job. Flexibility simply allows us to do a better job, and that’s especially important in a competitive environment."
| As career-management professionals, The Ayers Group is constantly monitoring and addressing job market trends that affect our clients and candidates. Following is an overview of four evolving trends and corresponding Ayers' initiatives designed to promote effective search strategies for our candidates. |
Trend
Five years ago, it cost a company or recruiter $5-7 to discover a candidate’s availability. Internet technology has reduced that to $.02-.03. |
Job-Seeker Impact
Candidates need to know how to leverage the Net to get their resumés in the right hands. Internet-savvy candidates have an advantage. |
Ayers Solution
Our job-search portal combines premier subscription-based services with best-in-class job-related Web sites and services. Our research team mines the Net to bring candidates the latest resources and news. Candidates participate in group and one-on-one training to learn how to tap the Net to conduct aggressive, productive searches. |
Trend
Behavior-based interviewing is gaining favor. Intensive, two-hour+ interviews, known as chronological in-depth structured interviews (CIDS), are being used to “top grade” candidates in the top 10% of their field. |
Job-Seeker Impact
In an increasingly competitive market, candidates who are prepared for a variety of interview techniques have an edge. |
Ayers Solution
We offer interviewing seminars, one-on-one role playing with trained career consultants, and videotaping exercises that enable candidates to practice interviewing in a supportive environment. |
Trend
Employers are conducting more in-depth reference checking and even asking the references for additional contact names. |
Job-Seeker Impact
Candidates need to actively monitor and audit the reference-checking process. |
Ayers Solution
We teach our candidates how to manage their references to ensure that both sides communicate a consistent message regarding the candidates’ value added. |
Trend
Employers increasingly look for a good cultural fit as well as the right skills. |
Job-Seeker Impact
Job seekers must find ways to show how they can quickly add value to an organization and develop search strategies that differentiate them. |
Ayers Solution
Candidates partner with their consultants to define their personal brands; develop a consistent, targeted message; and communicate their value in resumés, cover and marketing letters, and bios. This significantly improves the chance of getting in front of decision makers. |
