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We all want the best job, right?  We spend more time with our work partners than our spouses so time at work should be pretty satisfying.  And rewarding.  And sometimes fun.

But how do you get to this place?

The most important factors of great work are:

• Scope
• Manager/Team
• Location
• Money

These are like legs on a stool.  They are all important but sometimes you can get away with one leg being a bit shorter than the others.  If one is way too short, then you are sure to fall on your ass. (in a career sense)

Scope really is the most important.  What do you do every day?  I am not talking about having coffee or reading the paper.  Who do you help?  What do you solve?  How does your activity move your group ahead?

If you are firefighter, it’s pretty easy to figure this out.  If you are one person in a team of fifty, it can be trickier, especially if it feels like you spend all your time in meetings about nothing!

Think about the main objective of your job.  Is it to support someone?  To make something better?  To create something new?

Once you can hone in on your day to day objective, you can decide if this is what you want keep doing.  Sometimes you realize that you are no longer doing what you signed up to do.  This happens often in companies with rapid change (growth, decline or acquisition) and sometimes the changes are subtle, slow and kind of creep up on you.

This takes some time.  Be prepared to do some walking and thinking about this.  Sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night with a flash of realization that you need to quit your job and start a brewery but this is not how it happens for most of us.  We slowly come to the conclusion that we need a shift, not a complete flip.

Now you can start to target places where you can be better and more satisfied.

More on that step next week.

Are you playing Pokemon?  If you are not, you probably know someone who is.  It’s pretty fun to stumble across a little digital creature, toss a few balls at it and add it to your collection.  I am at level six which, apparently, is pretty good for someone my age.

Part of the reason kids are successful with this game is that other kids tell them where to look.  I was parked in front of a store yesterday and was not allowed to pull out of the spot because the folks in the back seat heard there was a rare Pokemon in the parking lot.

Imagine if we were this vigilant in helping people find jobs.  When was the last time you forwarded a job posting?  When you see roles open up at your company, do you pause for a moment to think about anyone you know who might be interested?

You should.  You would want your friends to think of you, right?

Most of us stumble across interesting corporate information all the time.  We are usually going too fast or too inwardly focused to think about others.

Let’s take a lesson from the kids.  You don’t have to go to their extremes.  I am not suggesting you end up on private property or jump in the lake in search of a great job lead for your brother-in-law, but you could certainly be more open and more thoughtful.  We could all do that.

I had an interesting situation this week.  One of my candidates, who had been on a long and successful interview journey, ended up with several offers in his inbox.

He was really stressed.  He said he could not understand how this happened.  He was not even looking.  He really likes his job and his team. 

How did this happen?

First of all, he is an interesting and curious person.  When I told him about my client and what they needed to do, he thought it made sense to explore the opportunity.  He felt that it would allow him to build up his skills in a new area.

The first two interviews went really well.  He and a couple of senior managers had wide ranging conversations and he felt really good about it.

Guess what?  After that second interview, he was walking around with just a bit more confidence.  He had third party validation that he was doing some really good work in a really good way. 

It’s not as noticeable as a haircut or new glasses but that kind of confidence shows.

Seemingly out of the blue, he got a couple of networking requests and coffee invitations.  Those led to more casual conversations. Casual, because he had moved beyond the “interview panic prep” and into “this is just a business meeting”.

On top of that, his boss started to let him know about a some longer term projects that he be leading. 

To be clear:  he was not a disgruntled employee complaining about things at work.  No one was trying to placate him or keep him in order to get though the busy cycle.

I suggested that he look at multiple offers as a positive thing not a stressful thing.  It’s a successful measure of how he is navigating his path through the industry.

After weighing the teams, the work, the manager and the future possibilities, he chose.  I think he is going to be very happy. 

So, get off the merry-go-round of your job and take a look around.  Because looking when you are not looking may the best time to look.

In most searches, the final step is reference checking.  The candidate provides three or four people they have worked with or reported to.  Those people are asked a series of questions about the candidate’s work style and reliability and if the references are done right, they are also asked about areas of improvement and for an explanation of why they left the company.

This exercise is not meant to confirm that the person can do the job.  It provides verification of the good things you saw in the candidate.  And when you see common themes in what people have said, it’s a pretty sure thing.

Sure, this can seem like a bit of a rubber stamp.  But that’s okay.  If every reference check gave you crappy feedback, then you would soon realize have a major problem with your vetting and interview process.

Sometimes impatient or unsure hiring managers take this into their own hands and call people who have worked with or know of the candidate.  Many industries are small enough that this is possible.  This is called back door reference checking.

From a privacy standpoint, this is totally wrong and really crosses the line.  There is a reason we ask a candidate for people to call.

If you hear something bad, what will you do?  Call the candidate and tell them that their former manager said they were unreliable?  What if that manager was on leave for harassment?  You don’t know.  You have no context.

What if you call a former colleague and they happen to mention it to someone else in the organization?  What happens to that candidate who was quietly exploring a new role and all of the sudden everyone knows?  Bad news.

Do don’t play fast and loose with people’s careers.  If there is a particular point of view you want included in the reference, just ask.  That’s the best way.

Picture this: you are at a job interview and things are going really well. The hiring manager leans back in her chair and asks if you have any questions. Bang! Here is your opportunity to cement everything and nail the job.

So, what do you ask?

Hint: Do not begin with when does the job start. If they really want you, they will have already asked that question.

There are a couple of ways to go. One is to focus on the hiring manager. When did they start with the company? What do they like about the organization? What is the most meaningful part of their work?

You can also dig deeper into the company and it’s culture. What challenges does it face? What sets them apart from their competitors? What is the style of the senior leadership team?

Or you can ask about the role itself. You can ask about the compensation. Careful though. Sometimes employers don’t want to talk about that until quite late in the process. You could ask about whether there is variable compensation and how it’s tied to your performance. The answer to that could be quite insightful. You could also ask for more detail about other other
perks such as savings plans, company discount programs or tuition reimbursement. This one is nice because you could get a follow up question about your future goals around learning.
( so be ready for that).

There are lots of choices. The important thing is to think about it before you get there so that they are ready at hand. You don’t want to end an interview with a blank look and a shrug.

Leading studies have shown that not taking vacation leads to burnout.  In order to prevent burnout at work and in my relationships, I have taken this week off.  It’s not a truly unplugged vacation – we are not in the south of France or padding on the Nahanni River.  It’s more like nine Saturdays in a row.  No makeup.  No ironing.  No commute.  No meetings.  It’s been really, very lovely.

I highly recommend it.

This week, my Facebook feed is full of graduation photos.  It’s been a while since Prince Charming graduated so it’s been refreshing to see all the big, shiny smiles. It’s hard to tell whether they are actually happy or totally panicked.

This is true for both the parents and the kids.  There is an awful lot of pressure about what happens after school is done.  Of course we want our kids to be educated and contribute but I think we need to reevaluate the importance we place on agonizing every step of the journey.

What your child does in September may not, in any way, be related to what they will be when they grow up.  Whether they start with college, university or a gap year, it’s all progress.

I was at a summit put on by Colleges Ontario and it was amazing to hear about how closely they are working with industry to develop supportive curriculum.  New programs are being added every year and they lead to occupations that are new and exiting.

Think about the world of digital media and all of the new jobs in that industry.  And what about app development?  Is there an industry that is not moving toward being more connected?

This is our big frontier.  The fourth revolution ( after the industrial one) is the digital one and it is just packed with opportunity.  Things are changing faster than ever before and you can either keep up or get out of the way.

When your kids want to sign up for a one year program that leads to immediate work, try hard not to be discouraging even if you feel that university is the only real way to build a great career.

If you believe in lifelong learning (and who doesn’t?) then expect your kids to do a combination of college and university over the first 10 years of their career and then continue with courses as things change in their lives and in their jobs.

So relax.  Listen to their rational and help them sort out they best way to maximize the experience.  Then sit back and let it happen.

Last week, our local police force announced that they are going to spend the next few years modernizing their organization. One of the pillars of the plan is a hiring freeze.

I just about exploded when I heard that.  If a major culture change is prescribed, a hiring freeze is the last thing they need.

Putting the brakes on hiring people has long term consequences.  It ripples all the way back to students choosing their fields of study. We are still seeing the effects of this in the utility sector. There is a big gap in mid-career managers because no one was actively recruiting new graduates for the sector in the late 90’s.

Change requires the acceptance of a new point of view.  Different people react to this in different ways.  Once you identify the people ready to embrace the new view, what do you do with the rest?  Offer a graceful way out, that’s what.

People will self identify as well.  They will take a look at the impending changes and decide to move out on their own.  Organizations lose a lot of good talent when a change is imminent but not fully explained.

So now you have holes created by people choosing to leave and people being asked to leave. If you expect to just spread the work across your existing folks, it will surely take a big toll.  You will see the effects on morale, productivity and an increasing level of drama around everything.

And you are going to need evangelizers.  People who come to your organization because of the changes you are making.  They are already wired to believe in them and to spread their passionate views throughout the organization.

When I add this up, it looks like they will actually need to hire quite a few people.  Recruitment should be careful and deliberate but definitely not frozen.

Contrary to popular belief, the summer is a great time to get a new job.  Sure, hiring managers go on vacation but that does not mean that all activity stops.  Business goes on and plans for the fall often require new skills and more people.

Summer is rich with networking opportunities.  A bunch of my colleagues did the Ride to Conquer Cancer last weekend.  Aside from accomplishing a tremendous physical challenge, they spent two days with 5,000 other riders, many of whom were on corporate teams.  It is not hard to pick out someone wearing a team jersey of one your most admired companies and strike up a conversation about bike gear.  It’s safe to say you have more in common than just saddle sores.

And let’s not forget sports tournaments.  Whether you are at a charity golf thing or your kid’s soccer tournament, you will be spending time with people you don’t know.  These are prime opportunities to learn about new industries, companies and jobs.

If you meet someone interesting, jot down a couple of notes on your phone.  When you get back to your regular life, find the person on LinkedIn and ask them to connect.  Mention where you met in case they don’t remember.  The next time you see a job posted at their firm, you can hit them up for information.

Sometimes the conversation can turn serious pretty quickly.  If you find yourself talking about your work and the person says “We should talk – give me a call on Monday”, then get their card and ask what time would be best.  Do some research on the company and make the call.

Be ready.  This stuff really happens.  I cannot tell you how many times I have asked someone how they got their role and they start with “Well, it’s kind of a funny story…..”

When I tell people what I do for a living, they nod knowingly but I know the truth.  People have no idea what “headhunters” really do.  The label conjures images of short, hairy people with spears out looking for the perfect specimen of nuclear engineer who will let nothing stand in the way of bagging the big catch.

That all sounds very glamorous but frankly, a bit far-fetched.  We are really about relationships, balance and respect.

It’s kind of like being the host of a big dating game.  We listen to the hiring manager and learn about the kind of person they are looking for.  We ask a lot of questions about the situation, previous relationships, places where possible candidates might be hanging out and so on.

Then we start researching.  We sift through resume databases.  We talk to people who know other people.  While we are doing this, we are watching for patterns and styles that are going to fit well with what the client needs.

When things begin to line up, introductions are made.  The first interview is really a blind date.  We hope it goes better than the one with your neighour’s cousin, but it’s the same kind of thing.

If that first date goes well, then the next step is like going on a dinner date – something a little more formal, perhaps with some other people in the group, maybe you get a tour afterwards.

And if all of that falls into place and both parties are presenting balanced and enthusiastic feedback, then you start the process of meeting the in-laws, looking at the dowry and begin to plan the wedding.

Notice there was no mention of spearing, yelling or shoving?  Recruiting is about making people’s work lives better and at it’s best, it’s done with the highest level of care and respect.