Should Recruiters Use Klout

Should Recruiters Use Klout A little while ago, there was a lot of chatter in the blogosphere when the CEO of Klout, a social media analytical tool which attempts to measure influence, tweeted a Salesforce job post that required a Klout score of 35 or above. This kicked off a debate about whether a Klout score is a useful requirement when recruiting. Social media has revolutionised the way that recruiters work, so is Klout the next step in gaining an edge when sourcing the best talent? For those who have never heard of Klout, it is one of a new breed of companies that uses the big data available on social media and attempts to analyse it to deliver insights that may not be immediately obvious. In this case, Klout attempts to work out how much influence you have online. To do this, you register your social media accounts to the application (e.g. Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook) and it then applies a complicated algorithm to give you an influence score of between 1 and 100 the higher the score, the more influential you are. Klout isnt the only company doing this, Kred is another company with a similar product. At first this sounds great from a recruiters perspective, as it is another tool to give you insight into the quality of your candidates. After all, who wouldnt want a candidate with a high level of influence? Everyone knows how important influence is in your professional life; one of the best selling books of the 20th century was Dale Carnegies How to Win Friends and Influence People. An influential candidate must be a good candidate. Unfortunately, there are several things wrong with this picture. Frankly, the idea of being able to quantify something as qualitative as influence is laughable influence as a concept is about as nebulous as a sparrows fart. To create a score of influence makes several false assumptions: Influence is a linear scale (i.e., a score of 40 is a consistent amount better than a score of 20). This dramatically oversimplifies the nature of the world and human interactions. This assumption has to be made because otherwise the score would be meaningless. Influence is objective. This assumes that we will all be influenced to the same extent by someone. Influence is about as subjective as you can get Justin Bieber has an incredibly high Klout score (the first person to briefly achieve a score of 100), but I couldnt give two hoots about what the annoying Canadian teenager is up to. To one of his fans however, his every word is gospel. Influence can be accurately measured online. This assumes that as social media becomes more and more ubiquitous, our lives will increasingly be lived online. However, the average time we spend on social media each month is measured in hours the rest of the time, we are out in meatspace, interacting in the real world. What happens in the real world is far more important than what happens online, and that is where real influence is to be found. What we do on social media may have no bearing on our professional and real-world selves: one software developer I know only uses his Twitter account to post bad puns. Even ignoring those critical errors in assumption that Klout makes, there is one big reason why you should avoid using Klout: we have no idea how its algorithm works. We do have some details about how Klout works for example on Twitter it measures how many people are talking about you, what you talk about and what gets retweeted. But, for the most part, we have no idea what calculations go on to arrive at that score. My most retweeted tweet ever, for example, was a story about my wife playing a dirty word in a game of Scrabble with my gran and mother to get rid of her Q tile. It was retweeted by Neil Gaiman (a very influential figure on Twitter) and received dozens of retweets and dozens of replies. Unfortunately, that tweet has nothing to do with my professional experience (recruitment or management studies). Klout, however, may well assume that I am therefore most influential in the fields of Scrabble and [dirty word]. Without being able to see Klouts algorithm and critically appraise it, any number is completely arbitrary and, as a result, meaningless. There are stories of Twitterbots being given high Klout scores despite only being an automated feed. And, despite the fact that we dont know exactly how the algorithm has worked, a number of people have come up with various ways to game the system and artificially inflate their Klout scores. If it can be manipulated that easily, then it loses whatever shred of credibility it had left. Network theory, the academic subject that studies how humans interact with one another, is incredibly complex. In networks, all the vagary, irrationality and chaos of human nature is multiplied and refracted in our interactions with one another. People have been studying it for years and we are still yet to come up with a consistent model of human networking behaviour. Yes, there are patterns that we can pick out, but there is no mathematically consistent model to predict human behaviour in networks to a reasonable degree of precision and accuracy. The idea that a company in California has managed to do in a few brief years what decades of some of the worlds best academics have failed to do is something I find very hard to swallow. So, for the recruiter wondering whether to start using Klout as a metric as a recruitment tool, please think again. It isnt going to make your job easier or improve your candidate quality.

Earn More respect as a Young Professional Woman

Earn More respect as a Young Professional Woman During my first year out of college, I worked in a legal organization that assists men and women from all over the world.   Many of the clients are men from countries where women aren’t highly valued, let alone taken seriously or even allowed in professional atmospheres. This is especially true for women my age. It goes without saying that there were some difficulties when I had to build working relationships with these men. And to make things more difficult, the relations my co-workers witnessed between my client and me affected the way my co-workers treated me too. Gone were the days of my simpler problems â€"  dealing with my clients posed a much bigger challenge. So, out of necessity, I had to take a step back and re-evaluate my mannerisms and self-presentation to learn to command respect in order to get my job done on a daily basis.  And, (just because I’m a go-getter) I decided why not shoot for the moon and adjust those mannerisms so that I would not only be taken seriously, but could also become an influential member within workplace? Although work ethic and knowledge should be the only determining factors when an employee is striving for influence and respect, we are all social creatures and so both appearance and communication come into play as well. Unfortunately, Ive witnessed that young women have it much tougher when pushing for influence and respect in both co-gender and male dominated work environments. But on the reverse, it makes it that much more rewarding and valuable when you finally do earn that influence and respect. We may have to push harder, but it says a lot about a young girl when shes able to finally strut her stuff as a capable woman. Here are a couple of tips and adjustments that have worked for me and may help you when dealing not only with male clients and co-workers, but with anyone who is giving you a hard time and undermining your value because you are a young woman. 1. Be Statuesque, Rather Than Sexy It’s pointless to attempt to hide the fact that both men and women like to look their best and even attractive in the work place. My physical appearance undoubtedly affects my confidence and even happiness on a daily basis so I do my best to look nice. Men seem to easily be able to strut their clean cut and suave looks in the workplace and of course women should be able to do the same.   But it is more difficult for women to escape the accusation of using sex appeal in the workplace, which is why I advise that young women make a conscious effort to present themselves in a statuesque manner, rather than a sexy manner.   Aiming for grace, dignity and poise rather than seduction or desire can help you overcome the fine line between what your co-workers may consider either a sexy distraction or an elegant contribution. For women, a huge part of the look they present is how they wear their makeup.  While youll want to cover up that under eye puffiness from a late night, you dont want to come off looking like a vamp.  Class and moderation will earn big points, trash and trying to be too trendy is likely to lose them. 2. Keep the Maintenance Low, and the Sleeves Rolled Up High I know that there are some of you out there that still need to hear this so I’m going to throw it out there! You’ve got to be able to do the sophisticated work and the dirty work too. So dress to impress, but with the ability to tough it out too. I absolutely love cute and professional dress, because just like the men in my workplace want to look sharp, I want to look magnificent.   A classic skirt paired with a blouse and cardigan is an office appropriate outfit that looks great and shows that you mean business. But my jewelry is never too dangly, my heels are never too high, my sleeves are never too feathery, and my hair is never too loose to handle a crisis, last minute deadlines, a frustrating board member or a panicked client with ease. 3. Get Chummy with the Men… and the Women A lot of young women feel like the best way to earn respect and be treated as an equal is to chum up with the men in the workplace and completely separate themselves from the women.   But a member that truly deserves respect and has what it takes to be an influential voice and perhaps even a leader is a member that knows to respect and value all of the other members on his or her team. Further, how could any motivated female expect to gain respect in a hypothetically male dominated workforce, if she herself doesn’t respect her fellow women? You’re going to gain the most respect, and more importantly support by building good relationships with both the men and the women in the office. No matter what youre trying to achieve, always focus on the team. Thats what truly makes leaders. 4. Avoid the BFF Tendency Try not to buddy up too much. The BFF tendency that none of us can deny having is a drawback in the workplace because it makes you look less independent and therefore less capable. There is absolutely nothing wrong with our tendencies and desire to be close to and share with one another. Women value relationships so highly. But you honestly shouldn’t be walking through the workplace attached to someone else’s hip all the time, or vice versa. When your boss or your team members think or speak of you, you want them to think of you and only you. Not you and … so and so. 5. Don’t Be A Maneater Charging in like you have something to prove by consciously trying to mow over other co-workers doesn’t earn you respect and nor does beating out all of your “feminine” qualities. I remember reading a chapter in the book Secrets of Six Figure Women, by Barbara Stanny  ( a book that I HIGHLY recommend) the other day. She was interviewing a top level female executive who said that when she first started working in her office she charged in every morning in all black suits, a hard walk, and a tough chick persona. I cringed at the thought of this, and she lamented that she regretted it. I refer to the term “maneater” because I overhear and observe a lot of young women who only think that they’re winning when they contribute to their male counterparts failing. But that’s not what work or success is about, and the sooner that you learn this the better. Influential members, and eventual leaders support and enable, they don’t break their own team members, male or female. In terms of learning to value your “feminine” qualities I’m definitely not suggesting that women must be submissive, that they have to cower or congratulate their teams with smiley face stickers, or that they have to be emotional and constantly nurturing. Women, or course can and will drive hard bargains and lead with assertiveness and aggression too. But our tendencies to collaborate, our ability to read and take advantage of emotional cues, our cautious demeanors, listening skills and scrutiny, all qualities that are particularly unique strengths for women may be lost if we’re too busy trying to mimic male co-workers and their qualities. Remember to play to your own strengths, which could be a combination of any. 6. Use Strong Rhetoric ( I like to refer to it is Male Rhetoric) This may be more relevant for young female employees, but I’ve noticed that many friends of mine, many of my interns and many of my co-workers habitually use rhetoric that lacks certainty and expresses doubt and second-guessing. Work on not using words that express doubt or uncertainty. Also, try and use fewer words that could be considered intimate or emotional, such as “feeling” or “hoping”. I started practicing this when I was in college and since then, people who have first time encounters with me through writing still assume that I am a man before they meet me. Still though, I have to practice in the mirror before interviews or meetings, cutting phrases like I would love to out of my vocabulary. Now, before I ruffle any feathers, my point is not that you should try and sound like your male co-workers. But I do want to point out that you may be able to pick up some tips from them that can help you establish yourself and provoke more action in the people that you’re working with. Like tone of voice, body language and other cues, certain types of rhetoric will elicit different responses from your audience. For example, if my boss is asking for decision or I am making a proposal I will choose words such as: I am sure that, versus I feel like I am looking forward to, versus I’d love to It would be beneficial, versus it would be nice I want to, versus I would like to I recommend, versus maybe we should These words push and convince my superiors and co-workers to act on my opinions and suggestions much faster because they convey more certainty in and ownership of the idea being communicated. Men and women alike trust me more, and I sound more firm in what may still simply be a belief and therefore reliable. You see, I may still just be offering a belief but my firmness gives my listeners more confidence in that belief. Believe it or not, these subtleties do have an effect on your influence within your office and amongst your co-workers. A strong team player can only become a strong influence by communicating her ideas with certainty and strength. If you are looking to improve your communication skills, you can always take online classes. I understand that going back to school may not be a priority, but it might actually be exactly what you need. For example you can be learn about negotiating and conflict engagement or dispute resolution online by following an online Mediation Training program. Plus, they have a class about culture, gender and power differences that will give you many considerable advantages in which ever your position you hold in the company. 7. Study Hard and Know Your Stuff My dad always told me that I should always work to be twice as good as my male counterpart. And though it should never be a competition, if it has to be you need to make sure that you know your stuff and remember these three things. Your best weapon is your ability to contribute more to the team than your competition can. Knowing that you know your stuff fuels your confidence and increases your ability to both hold your weight against the competition and communicate with strength. Knowing your stuff keeps you at the table, in the discussion and gives you influence. Now go for it! And please share comments! This is such an important topic for female professionals especially with so many of us entering the workforce, and Im always so interested in hearing stories and opinions on it!

6 Things to Consider When Accepting a New Job

6 Things to Consider When Accepting a New Job A lot of time the job search is regarded as the employer choosing who they want to work for them, but what about the other way round? We dont all have the privilege of being too choosey when it comes to landing a job; but when making big career decisions you dont want to make them lightly. There are a number of factors you want to consider before accepting a job, in order to find a role that aligns with your personality and  career goals.  We spend a large amount of our time working, so you want to spend it in a  job that you are happy in and suits you as an individual. However there will always be matters  such as salary and benefits to consider as well. If youre in the process of searching for a new job or have even received a job offer, here are a few  factors that you may want to give thought to  before you make your decision. 1) Salary Receiving the salary that you think you deserve and are worth is highly important when accepting a new job, but you need to have a realistic salary expectation. Usually you will be looking to earn more in a new role, however there are exceptions to this, if a new role offers other desirable qualities. Sometimes it may be worth it to take a pay cut if a new job offers other perks and benefits or a great company culture. This also applies if you are looking to change career or enter a new area of work, as you may be required to take on a more junior role to begin with, which may result in a smaller salary.   2) Perks and benefits Most companies offer some kind of perks to their employees, some better than others. For example, some organisations  may have gyms or child care, available to their employees; while others may cover the cost of their staffs transport or let them clock off early on a Friday. Flexible working is something that a lot  of employers now offer, so if the option of working from home or working flexi-hours is important to you, this may be something that you want to negotiate on. You may also want to look into whether the company has a pension plan in place. In the UK all employers have to provide workers with a workplace pension scheme by law in the near future. 3) Advancement When considering a job offer, research the company’s structure. Is there room for professional development, or does it look like there will be any advancement opportunities within the company? If you are aiming to  climb the career ladder, you may want to consider which position will look better on your resume or provide you with the best gateway to bigger opportunities later on.   4) Location   The location of your workplace is important. Can you get to your office in a reasonable amount of time? Are you willing to commute? You may not want to drive two hours to the office and another two hours back home. If you don’t drive, can you get there by public transport? When considering a role, make sure that you  have factored in the cost of your commute, both money-wise and time-wise, to see if the job offer is as attractive as it sounds. 5) Work environment   When you went to the company for your interview, did you notice what the work environment is like? Some people prefer to work in cubicles, while others like to work in an open plan office environment where the whole team works together. Considering that you’ll have to be in the office for 8+ hours a day, it’s very important to work in an environment that you can maximise your productivity and not feel overwhelmed by distractions. Its important that you choose a company with a company culture that suits you as well, so ahead of accepting a role, make sure that you are familiar with the companys nature and values. 6) The immediate supervisor If you haven’t already met the immediate supervisor of the position you are being offered, ask if you can meet him or her before you accept the offer.   Pay attention to his or her attitude and demeanor to get a feel of of his or her personality. Do you think you can work with this person? Chances are youll be spending a lot of time with this individual, so it could be crucial to your experience in the job.

UMIP Fellows paid p-t roles for PhDs University of Manchester Careers Blog

UMIP Fellows paid p-t roles for PhDs University of Manchester Careers Blog Wouldnt normally cutnpaste an ad for an event   but this is too good an opportunity for our STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) PhDs to miss: UMIP Fellows Programme Launch â€" Information Day Wednesday March 20th 2:45pm â€" 4:30pm Core Technology Facility, Grafton St, Manchester Are you an early stage researcher or full time postgraduate student registered at The University of Manchester? Do you have: An interest in technology transfer and intellectual property commercialisation, and/or prior experience in business or commercial environments? A commitment and availability for up to 8 hours per week to undertake paid project work? Demonstrated professionalism and ability to adhere to deadlines? Enthusiasm to gain valuable business-related experience to enhance your CV? We are looking to recruit a number of high calibre early stage researchers and postgraduates to become UMIP Fellows to work in their spare time alongside UMIPs Commercialisation Executives to undertake a range of time critical short project assignments. Our new UMIP Fellows Programme is modelled on the similar, highly successful Columbia Fellows Programme run at Columbia University in New York. Typical project assignments will include: Conducting scientific, market or prior art and patent research and analysis in order to inform decisions relating to patenting of inventions Assessing new inventions for commercial viability Writing technology summaries for marketing Identifying potential licensees or investors for new technologies Successful Fellows will receive structured training from UMIP staff and from a Columbia Fellow in order to complete assignments, and the opportunity to participate in enterprise training from the Manchester Enterprise Centre. We expect that Fellows will be at least 2nd year PhD level in a STEM related discipline, and will be able to commit to the Programme for at least one year. To find out more about the UMIP Fellows Programme, our aims and expectations, the entry criteria and the assessment process, and what you could gain from it, register here to attend the Information Day. All Postgrad-highlighted Postgraduate academia jobs work experience

A Bergen County Resume Writing Service Helps You Out

A Bergen County Resume Writing Service Helps You OutIf you have tried out several times to find a skilled resume writer, but could not get the right people for your resume then you can opt for Bergen County resume writing services. With a professional resume writer at your service, you can write your resume in just minutes so that it stands out in the search engines and gets hired by the right companies. One such Bergen County resumes writing service is the Saraveza Resume Writing Service.The Saraveza Resume Writing Service is an online resume writing service that has been in business for many years. The Bergen County resume writing services are one of their leading clients. Their experience, expertise and state of the art technology to help you write your resume in just minutes.One of the reasons why companies are on the look out for Bergen County resume writing services is because they can save time in terms of processing. This translates into savings in terms of expenses as well. Once you know that you need to hire a Bergen County resume writing service, you can also opt for one that will give you complete help and guidance.One of the things that most people do not realize is that they write the same resume over again, which could be a complete waste of time and effort. If you hire an expert, you can get your resume changed by just giving him or her a few short instructions. They will make sure that the correct information is present in your resume. The Saraveza Resume Writing Service has experts who will know how to customize your resume to fit your needs.When you hire a Bergen County resume writing service, you also get access to their email support, as well as their online resume editing system. These tools can be of great help to you. The resume editing system can be used to check the proper spelling and grammar in your resume. If you find that your resume does not meet with your expectations, you can use the editing system to fix the problem.The Bergen County resume writing service also gives you templates for your resume. You just have to fill in the details in these templates. Most of the time, the custom templates that you get are what are called graphical templates. You can use these to make your own graphics for your resume.However, you need to be careful when choosing job vacancies. Make sure that the position you are applying for is a good fit. Always avoid posting your resume on junk mail sites or spam mails. You need to ensure that the information you are posting is relevant to the job.Remember that if you want to get full-time employment or permanent employment, you have to take the time to do the job properly. So, if you have a solid and high quality resume ready then you can go ahead and find a good job.

My super power - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

My super power - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog I got this in an email today: You know, if we all lived in a comic book, your super power would be making people happy. You really do have a knack. Thanks Greg, that would be my super power of choice :o) Interestingly, though I am a comic book fan, I cant think of a single superhero or -villain who has that particular power. There are plenty that can generate fear but none that have happiness as their primary talent. Maybe the time has come for Happyman! Another email came in from Rodney North from Equal Exchange who also spoke at the best business conference ever (WorldBlu Live in New York): I just wanted you to know that one, good thing that I definitely got from the WorldBlu conference was your talk. More specifically it was the importance of making eye contact, and maybe a touch, and saying and really meaning good morning to my colleagues. It has, of course, made a positive difference for me, and I think to others, too. Its like I always say: Happiness at work is not rocket science. It doesnt come from reports, strategies, policies or white papers it comes from the little things that you and I do here and now. Of course stuff like saying good morning and making eye contact is banal thats why it works! Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Communication Gone Bad (And Viral)

Communication Gone Bad (And Viral) Have you ever sent an email in anger or frustration? Who hasnt, right? Well, heres an example of an email communication gone bad and how it spread across the internet. This is the saga of a young job seekers outreach to a senior exec. Theres a twist in the plot but both newbies and seasoned pros should pay attention. When DM (name withheld to protect reputation), a young job seeker relocating to Cleveland, OH, sent an email and followed up with a note on LinkedIn explaining her qualifications to the head of a popular local job bank, she was shocked by the response she received.   And by the way, this is also an example of email communication gone bad! Never reprimand or insult anyone through email.   This is the email the job seeker received from the leader of the local job bank: Credit: Imagur Whats missing from this story is the exact wording in the job seekers initial message, but you can see her follow-up message to the head of the job bank here, to which she got no response. She decided to share the story across social media. Credit: Imagur 7 Lessons Learned From Email Communication Gone Bad Job Seekers Deserve Better Looking for a job is tough. It can be even tougher for people without a network, such as new college graduates. Be empathetic to their situation and perhaps the fact they may not know how to network (or would network as you would). Remember your roots! And treat job seekers as you would want to be treated. Not Everyone Uses LinkedIn The Same Way On one end of the spectrum of LinkedIn users are LIONS (LinkedIn Open Networkers) who will connect with almost anyone who invites them. On the other end of the spectrum are LinkedIn users who will only connect with people they have met face-to-face and know well. And in-between are many others with varying opinions on who and how to connect. Dont assume everyone uses it the way you do. Anything Can Go Viral Whatever you communicate online can and will be shared elsewhere. Heck, anything you say or write can be recorded too. This can be good or it can be very, very bad, depending on what you say. Your Reputation Is On the Line Though the job bank head sent an apology, the damage had been done. Her reputation as a helpful volunteer job board founder and senior leader has been shattered. The job bank heads reputation was destroyed and even more people came forward with similar complaints. So it doesnt sound like this was her first offense. Social Media Isnt Evil The highlight of this story is the support the new job seeker received from total strangers, proving that social media isnt all bad! How Will You Respond to the Next Plea For Help? If someone you didnt know asked you for help, would you blast them out of the water? If it were a face-to-face request, unlikely. Theres something about email and social media that distances us from our audience. Maybe we feel immune from the impact of the message we send or we just become complacent or lazy in managing our emotions. Always Assume Positive Intent Seasoned networkers could and should serve as mentors. There are always teachable moments. Tech-savvy Millenials have valuable skills to teach us too! Lets be willing to learn from each other. Lets give people the benefit of the doubt.