Black Belt Dojo

Lab partners

Quick question: As a candidate, when you're going in for a first interview with a prospective employer, what actions, behaviours or questions can really put you off? Or rather (in a more positive, sunny, kind of way) what makes you feel good about an interview? People have such varied reactions to first interviews - it would be interesting to find out if it's something more than just simple chemistry.

Google Alerts - quality!

Thanks to Alex Manchester I set up a few Google Alerts recently so that I can keep abreast of all the latest postings about internal communications and HR stuff.

By and large, this has been a rewarding experience (although a few odd things have dropped into my inbox).

But today, I got  this link to Know HR blog and found an old posting I'd never seen before.  Highly recommended...

Liam

Building a body of knowledge...

Had a very interesting trip to the doctor this morning for a three-month follow-up on some work I had done on my knees.  My ego is enormously flattered because it seems my surgeon is thinking of writing a paper about MY knees - that's right!  I could be a medical curiosity!

I won't bore you with the details (well not here, but I'll drone on about them at the drop of a hat so avoid raising the subject in conversation) but what interested me was the expectation that a surgeon will publish papers on interesting or novel cases.  My surgeon probably won't mind me saying that he's not a young turk on the way up.  He's already made his name (and judging by the big Audi he drives - his fortune) but his professional ethos is that he should continue to publish (OK maybe discovering my knees isn't that important).

I guess there are few people in our profession who see it as their duty to contribute to the literature.  People like Shel Holtz, Angela Sinikas, Roger D'Aprix, Lee Smith and Mark Darby come to mind.

And wouldn't it be good if everyone got into the habit of producing a case study or some findings from practice now and again.  Perhaps the occasional paper for a conference?

Would it be a good item to stick in your development plan for the next twelve months?

And to make it even better wouldn't it be good if someone, somewhere, organised a conference where the speakers were expected to report their work and findings supported by data or some form of analysis?  Maybe we don't need  Richard Dawkins levels of proof, but surely it would do us a lot of good if people got into the habit....

Liam

Tracking your reputation on-line...

Found this very interesting tutorial from Simon Wakeman - on how to track your reputation on-line.

Interestingly I found it because I'd set up Google Alerts to tell me stuff about internal communications and about the UK's CIPR.

The same alert also told me that... I'm a communications guru!!!!  Where as in Watford I'm just a simple dad... There's nothing like believing your own PR!  My happiness will be complete when PR Week run a front page banner splash on my beautiful lycra clad legs!

With a week to go, many thanks to all the people who have sponsored me so far (and if you're still thinking about it check out www.justgiving.com/LiamFitz).

More lycra photos due soon.

Liam

Relationships and reputation

I've been recently following the perennial debate in PR circles about what PR is all about.

For ages PR people have said it's all about reputation. "What you say about yourself and what people say about you" is how we used to phrase it when I worked at Bell Pottinger.  And that's what our clients wanted to know about. 

So a posting by Lee Smith caught my attention.

Lee, as a committee member of the UK CIPR, has been asking how should IC be represented in the 2008 International Festival of PR that's coming to the UK (I can't get an image of a trade show out of my head with people in national costume wandering around asking visitors to sample a regional delicacy...).

It's a poignant issue as many IC people question whether they belong in the PR camp anyway.  I know Sue has some deep misgivings about the dangers of being associated with a profession that enjoys less public trust than real estate agents and politicians.

And I think the answer to Lee's question is that IC people can teach the rest of the comms world a thing or two about relationships.  After all, we live a closer existence with our audiences than most other branches of PR.  When we get it wrong it comes back to haunt us much quicker, for much longer and with more profound consequences.

And the PR World, despite its official definitions, is only now starting to wake up to the importance of relationships.  A quick look at PR blogs around the world will lead you directly to the discussion.  Look at Brian Solis' blog when he quotes a well known tech blogger who bemoans the fact that New Social Media just seem to be used as new channels rather than as ways of developing a deep mutual understanding.

The implied allegation is that PR's spend their time trying to massage what is said rather than think about the deeds and events that really shape people's experience.  In the UK, there were a number of allegations that government policies in the last few years were created on the hoof for presentational reasons rather than out of a desire to effect real change.

If this is increasingly true of PR, then PR is in trouble.

But if PR people are thinking about how to develop relationships in a world where their audiences can talk to each other about their experiences, they would do well to study the mindset of IC people.  I've always said that IC audiences know the truth and where the bodies are buried.  They know as much as the communicators about what's going on - a picture of the world that is starting to emerge for external communicators.

IC has evolved into a craft where trust and relationships are the essential currency in which we trade.  I've often observed that very few (indeed hardly any) Directors of Communications come from an IC background - media or investor relations seems much more common.

But if the future is going to be about relationship management skills - where better to learn your craft than in IC?

Liam

Show me love - and other interview tips

Fans of Robin S will remember her sage words in 1993: "So, if you want me, you’ve got to show me love Words are so easy to say, (oh yeah) you’ve got to show me love."

Now I’m pretty sure that Ms S wasn’t referring to how to behave at recruitment consultancy interviews, but she could have been.

As your recruitment consultants, our job is to promote you as accurately as possible with our clients, so meeting with us is your one chance to get us ‘onside’.

You know this already – but in that hour you’ve got a great opportunity to get us working for you.

We want passion!

Some candidates are open about the fact that recruitment consultancy interviews are not as important to them as actual job interviews. Of course, we know that there’s more at stake when you pitch up for an interview with a prospective employer. But don’t underestimate the recruitment consultancy interview – we’re your route to market and we’ve got a full understanding of what our clients are looking for in a candidate.

Enthuse us, show us that you have a genuine passion for what you do and that’s half the battle for finding you a new job, especially in a niche market like IC.

Obviously passion in the absence of provable skill is just hot air, but we’ve got you in because we like your CV (more tips on this soon), so you’ve passed the first ‘skill assessment’ already – this is your chance to win us over.

So enough ranting: We did a quick survey in our office and have come up with some useful tips that you might want to consider when you’re next face-to-face with a recruitment consultant:

1. Grip and grin – it worked for Gordon, make sure you’re suited and booted and present yourself as best as you can. Palm to palm handshake please.
2. Practice your ‘story’. Rehearse a good 5 minute overview of your career so far, starting with your first job. We’ll do the delving.
3. Listen. Be succinct. Rambling puts the kybosh on any interview. Less is more.
4. Engage us. Use quick, practical examples to illustrate where you’ve been successful or where you’ve learnt valuable lessons.
5. What makes you special? Accentuate your top three strengths (Team management? Strategy setting? Intranet development?) You decide, pick your best and tell us.
6. Explain. Avoid acronyms and corporate jargon, especially that which is particular to your current organization – we don’t know what the ‘SHINE programme’ is – explain in simple terms.
7. Be honest. But positive – be open about your CV and career decisions, it gives us a better idea of what you’re looking for.
8. Ask questions. If you want to input into the conversation, please do – it’s your chance to steer us too.
9. Treat us as ‘business partners’. An ongoing two-way relationship. You’re honest and collaborative with us and we’ll do the same.
10. We’re not the jealous type! Don’t be scared to mention other roles you’re interviewing for or the agencies you’re using – it helps if we know what you’ve got going on.

And bring us biscuits. We like them ;)

What do you think? Helpful? Would any consummate interviewees like to add anything?

Shel Holtz...

...has quite a good post up about HR people and communications at http://blog.holtz.com/

Liam

Measurement or spying?

I've just seen this story on the BBC about how the UK post office has been condemned for carrying out a spot of communication measurement.

Am I jet-lagged and fuzzy-headed, or is it a bit of an over-reaction to describe using mystery shoppers to check whether customers are getting accurate information about why their local post office is closing as "spying", "sick", and like using "the tactics of the secret police to demand Maoist conformity to their line"? 

All the more so that it's coming from a political party who, I'm sure, would never do anything as terrible as - shock, horror - media training their politicians to use consistent key messages.

Am I missing the point here?

Sue

Social media - a risky business?

Well, not to make you envious or anything, but I'm just back from a few drinks in Darling Harbour on a lovely warm evening here in Sydney.

The Melcrum summit has been another of those occasions when I'm reminded how great it is to meet other comms professionals face to face. Hugely impressed with David Grossman's insightful comments as chairperson and great to meet renowned blogger and social media expert extraordinnaire Lee Hopkins (He was doing very well when he told me my photographs didn't do me justice and I look FAR more lovely in person. Until he said I looked 'a bit chubby and English' on my photos!  So hey, if you've never met me, ignore the photos - apparently I'm much more gorgeous in real life!)

Anyway, back to business. I've run a couple of social media workshops recently, and the biggest topic of conversation has been "are we ready to give up control?"  There's been a sense of "We want to give people a voice and we want to open up a dialogue ... but only if they say things we agree with."

So it was interesting to hear today from Telstra, Australia's biggest telecoms operator, who have been brave in their approach to setting up external blogs and forums through a Now we are Talking section on their website. Their guiding principle is "We provide an environment that encourages respect for the differing views of others and passionate but respectful dialogue." In other words, we're not going to throw our toys out of the pram if people say things we don't like.

Three pieces of advice they gave were:

• Develop a thick skin
• Remember it's their forum too - their voice is just as important as ours
• Respond to mis-information but don't argue back

They referred several times to the fact that you have to expect to "cop a bit of flack". So much so that their blogs have made the media a few times.

They feel they've earned credibility by being honest, human, admitting their mistakes and letting people say what they think. One of their bloggers was told his call centre was being closed and wrote quite a raw and angry post about it. It was published. They gained respect from their staff as a result.

Their approach might seem high risk (all the more so because this stuff is on their public website - forget 'the media might see them' - there's no 'might' about it), but they've thought about it carefully and their view is that these discussions are going on anyway. This way, at least they get to hear them and they get to commment.

My sense today was that social media is starting to move on. In previous conferences, I've almost drowned under the weight of experts talking in theory about social media and telling me it's coming my way, but there's been a deafening silence in terms of companies actually doing anything with it. Today, I heard real experiences from companies who are trying it out. One was HP, who fall into the IBM, Yahoo, Microsoft, you'd-expect-them-to-wouldn't-you early adopter camp. But Telstra was another, and one was a government department.

Maybe, to use diffusion theory speak, we're starting to see the early majority come on board ...

Sue

Pleased to meet you

It's amazing what you agree to after two glasses of Sauvignon Blanc. Sue and Liam, enjoy your respective holidays!

Hello, I'm the Black Belt Dojo's guest blogger for August 07.

I'm Charlotte Butler and I work for VMA Group. I'm a recruitment consultant. PLEASE DON'T LOG OUT!! Keep reading, it'll be worth it, I assure you.

If you've ever looked for an IC job or tried to hire Internal Comms people, chances are you'll have heard of VMA Group. We're the leading UK recruiter for the Corporate Communications profession, with the biggest Internal Comms specialist team, widest range of jobs of all level, nicest offices - I can feel the anti-pitch bristles rising from here. I'll stop.

Now, I'm going to come clean straight away and let you know that I have only been 'in recruitment' for a tender 5 months, but my esteemed colleagues David Broome, Rebecca Ward and Dan Chasemore have been showing me the ropes so hopefully over the next four weeks I can share some of my newfound skills and insights with you.

Only 5 months! Who is this upstart? Well, before VMA I worked for Melcrum for 5 years in various capacities, so can assert to have been at the centre of the Internal Comms world for a while really. Over the past 5 years I've probably been to more internal comms conferences/workshops/webinars and spoken to more people with IC in their job title than anyone else in the world. (Aside from maybe David Broome, Liam and Sue, Darren Briggs, Mandy and Bill Quirke). I launched internalcommsjobs.co.uk, managed the Forum, worked on the first ever Black Belt programme and made some pretty decent tea along the way.

Enough about me. What I'd really like to do with this honorary guest slot is to shed some light on the 'dark art' of Internal Communication recruitment and momentarily open the doors on a secret world of interviews, CVs, job descriptions and placements - discreetly, of course.

I'd like to find out what you really look for in a recruiter, both from a client and a candidate point of view. In return, over the next few weeks, I pledge to share some of my thoughts about what makes for a super-employable IC professional, notable recruitment trends and most importantly, how to get the most out of your Internal Communications career. We're all in this together!

Let me leave this (slightly over-indulgent) introduction with a question about social acceptance: Q. When you're at a dinner party and someone asks you what your job is, what do you say?