Sheila Greco ----Time To Do Your Own Talent SWOT Analysis 8/25

Exploit your strengths

Work on your weaknesses

Identify opportunities that you should be taking advantage of

What potential threats are out there limiting your career advancements?

From time to time it is a good idea to do your own talent SWOT Analysis. What a better time than now. With the month of January behind you and your review something of the past, it seems appropriate to do your own talent SWOT Analysis now. As a habit I do this twice a year due to industry and personal changes. Let me also add that I do 2 separate ones, one for me and the other for my company. I like to review the company's personnel so we too, as a team can achieve more. But today the focus will be on you and how you can do your own talent SWOT analysis.

What is SWOT analysis? By definition, S = Strengths, W = Weaknesses, O = Opportunities and T = Threats. As for the Strengths (S) and Weaknesses (W), these are considered to be internal factors which you do have some measure of control, As for the other two, opportunities (O) and Threats (T), they are considered to be external factors which you have little control of. Got it! If not read this great article to learn more.

Let us get right to it. To assist you with your personal talent SWOT analysis, feel free to use the following as a guide.

As for strengths. Try to think about why you would be chosen to do a task or get a job over others. Ask yourself what have I accomplished throughout my career? Remember it is great to compare yourself to your peers for this and also ask yourself a few questions to include the following; What are my strongest skill sets? How do they compare to others in the company and the industry. Throughout my career, what skills have helped propel my journey?  Am I more results driven then others? Are my many accomplishments above average with regards to others in the company?  Am I always the first to complete the task, naturally on time while accomplishing the objective being requested? With regards to education, do I possess a better educational background then those around me? Please take note, depending upon where you are in your career you must not forget about specific certifications, grade point averages and class rankings, all of which can benefit you versus others. Also, ask yourself,  how am I perceived by others to include my boss, clients, customers, and peers? What would they consider as my strengths? Remember you do need to be objective during this exercise therefore I just want to caution you to this.

As for your weaknesses. How do my skill sets match up to my peers? Am I okay with my level of education or do I need more?  Take a look at what you may tend to avoid because of your perceived lack of confidence or interest. Do you have negative work habits? Are you disorganized? How do you handle stress on the job? How do you deal with negative people? What would others say your weaknesses may be? This is a time to look at your personality traits to reveal anything that may be limiting you in your field. A few other things to consider are; How am I with presentations, taking a stand with my opinions and beliefs? Do co-workers consistently outperform me in specific, important areas? Be realistic with yourself, for it is best to face any unpleasant truths as soon as possible. Remember this exercise is more personal so look at it internally and externally as well.

Now let's look at opportunities. How can you get ahead inside your company? How about the industry, is it growing? If yes how can you take advantage of it? How is your network? Does it include those who can help you get ahead career wise. Thinking about making a move? Look at the competition and companies that you believe your background can help them in any way. Don't forget your customers too. Can you help them in any way?

Part of this can result in creating opportunities for yourself. If you feel you need more to create opportunities get more involved. Attend conferences, networking events, ask to work on something new within your company. Seek out a mentor if you don't have one. There are no limits to what you can do. I always say don't limit yourself by staying idle and being happy with status quo.

Now lets look at the threats. Take a look inside of your company, how are you perceived? Are there potential obstacles that exist at your workplace. I am sure there is internal competition and specific demands that may be changing in your company, so take a look at what they are. Again, ask yourself, are you learning how to do more things or just avoiding them? How are your technology skills? Things are changing so be sure you are staying up on new technology advancements that are required for you to do your job. Look back at your weaknesses and see if any may be a threat for you?

One last thing to do. See below.

Start with the drawing the letter T taking up the entire page of your paper. In each box put Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. After you do this, refer to this great link for help filling in the T. For ease I have a link to an example that will definitely help with this part of the analysis.

Good luck.  Any suggestions, please comment.

Happy Hunting!

Sheila Greco

Be That Athlete The Hiring Managers Desire. Train like an Olympian!

I can't remember hearing, " recruit us an Olympian!"

But I often do  hear I want an athlete for this job!

Are you  training  to be that athlete?

Becoming an Olympian takes a lot of hard work, much more than the average hard-working athlete. It is about dedication, the desire to be the best, passion and a lot of sacrifice! Do you want to be the athlete recruiters and hiring managers are seeking? You have to train today and every day!

Each athlete has a specific training program designed exclusively for them and their sport. As a "business professional athlete" are you training for your next big event? The next promotion? Does your career path show you have what it takes to make the first string? Make the Olympic Team? Your training program is your job specification, the expectations that have been set for you by the company, your manager and the goals you have set for yourself.

Your corporate experiences, and accomplishments actually show what you have done to date and will be used when you are up for the next promotion or job consideration.  Do you like what you see?  Take control of your career. Work hard, give it your all, train like a champion and you will perform like a one. As you prepare to climb up the corporate ladder you have to be prepared to do whatever needs to be done to get there.  Just as an Olympian does, you need to have the desire, the passion, make the commitment, be ready to make sacrifices and work harder than the average athlete.

In 2012 is has been proven, and we have seen it first hand, that companies are focusing on their first string. The powerhouses!  Their athletes. The Dream Team. Companies, managers and leaders alike  are coming to realize that  it takes a long commitment to make the team better by challenging the best players and working with them to improve constantly. Strong teams, make strong companies and have what it takes to win. So if you want to be part of the first string, you better be training for it!

Continuing on.....first string players do get the nod. This is true when hiring managers and leaders are recruiting. It is true that Top performers merit the attention of managers, leaders and the executive teams. So if you are looking for attention and want to be the one being asked to take a promotion you need to be training for it.  Success doesn't just happen. It takes a lot of hard work.

As recruiters we are being asked to find the best athletes in a company. Compare and contrast talent of those who are part of the candidate pipeline. The best athlete isn't always looking, active or out there, so in order to find them we need to identify the dream team, those who are considered the first string. Happy Hunting!

Be That Athlete The Hiring Managers Desire. Train like an Olympian! Go for the Gold!

Making Smart Recruiting Decisions - There is Great, There is Better ....

There is Great!

There is Better!

You only know you recruited the best when you know the potential talent pool. When you are in the know, it will assist with making smart recruiting decisions.

Making smart recruiting decisions can make or break the team, the company, market share, competitiveness  and much more.  Whether a company is recruiting a college graduate, experienced professional or senior level executive, each hiring decision needs to be a smart one.

When a company talks about branding they need to take into consideration that their people are their brand.  So as a company recruits talent,  it is imperative that they bring in the right talent, each and every time.   This means you need to know who is out there. You need to find greatness!

Yes, many will argue there is vast number of great people. Alexander the Great is a perfect example of that, however, would he really be the best fit for the particular job you are recruiting for? You don't know until you compare him to the others, based upon your company's requirements and needs.

Making smart recruiting decisions depends on knowing who makes up the entire talent pool.  Recruiters need to know who these people are. As I always say, you need to know where you are hunting for these professionals. This means taking 10-15 minutes to determine where you want these professionals to come from. Many companies do this for college graduates by recruiting from particular schools carefully chosen by the company.  This should hold true for companies as well.

So how do you know you have uncovered greatness? Or there may be someone else out there who is better than your top candidate? You don't unless you have  accurately mapped out each company and people of interest in the specific group. Once this is complete determining greatness is easier and making smart recruiting decisions can be done.

How do you do this? You recruit, network and build a pipeline from the potential talent pool and compare and contrast  these professionals that you believe are on target. Then I suggest scrubbing the list again and choose the best of the best who closely  match the job specification, company culture, needs, wants and desires of the hiring manager.  How? Begin with their background.  What makes them so great? How does he/she compare to the others in the talent pool?  Does this person deserve merit as an individual contributor, team player, leader or all three? If managing a team, is he/she  great at assembling a successful team and a great leader or is it  a combination of both?  Recruiters and hiring managers need to be in the know. Making smart recruiting decisions requires information,  that can be obtained by mapping out the desired companies of interest. Remember the list will grow as you recruit purely by networking. When this happens it further confirms that the recruiter is in the right space. So recruiters know your targets, know your potential hires know who you are looking for and take the time to know the pool and the talent within it.

Let me repeat if I may. In order to obtain your next “Alexander the Great” you need to know where he is hiding and the talent pool he is competing amongst.  Great talent is out there, so is the better talent, be sure your recruiting decisions are based upon information.  Recruiting is a process and a major part of the process is knowing who to recruit and having access to the right talent. Not just talent.

Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to speaking with you and your comments on this topic.

Sheila Greco

Hiring From Outside The Organization - "Advantages"

 

Hiring From Outside The Organization.

Hiring from outside the organization is on the rise right now. As executives take a look at internal talent and decide to recruit from the outside a few housekeeping issues need to be understood.

1. Job Description needs to be created.

2. Realize recruiting is a process.

3. Busy executives need to be aware that time needs to be made for interviews.

4. Onboarding may need to be part of the equation for certain levels. Either way, new employees need to have some sort of training and orientation.

What does all this mean! Someone from within the organization needs to be part of the process. Even if you outsource recruiting and onboarding.

Anyway I am getting off topic. Hiring from outside the organization has its advantages and disadvantages. Today we will discuss the advantages.

1. New People - New Ideas - Force the company to look at and possibly rethink the way things are being done internally.

2. Not a lot of training may be needed. Should be talented!

3. No political ties. Can actually stir the pot. Get internal team energized, more competitive, on their toes.....

4. Opportunity to hire from the competition. If this is done you have access to the "inside scoop" and have talent that could truly benefit your company!

5. If a sales role is being filled, sales could increase right away! Bring a book of business with them. Definitely these people have contacts and are great networkers.

6. Talk about networking. New hires can lead to other hires who these professionals know! Reduce cost to hire too!

7. Could potentially rid the company of lesser talent.

Again these are my thoughts! Feel free to pass  yours along to us too. Stay tuned for the disadvantages of hiring from outside the organization.

Thanks for stopping by..

Sheila Greco

Organization Mapping - A Great Way To Learn About The Competition And Be Aware Of The Talent

Where Is The Talent? Who Is On The Team?

The Latest Trend Reveals Much Needed & Wanted Information

There are tools such as SGA  ExecutiveTracker,  LinkedIn, Google,  Passive Candidate Research, Social Networking and niche ones that assist with peeling back the onion, but the best way to Map an Organziation and capture this information is by speaking with people on the inside and those in the "know."

Mapping competitors, best of breed organizations and back yard warriors are super hot right now. Organization Mapping provides a cross functional picture of an organization. Pictures speak in volumes (organization charts) and can help with making recruiting decisions, talent management strategic planning and is widely used for competitive intelligence purposes. Today, smart companies are moving toward strategically aligning recruiting with competitive intelligence teams. Should you be doing the same? Or have you been using recruiting as a way to gain information about your competitors for quite some time. If you have you are not alone.

Where Is The Talent

Organization Mapping  shows how  the target companies are organized, where the teams fit within the organization, the size,  unique titles, if there are any,  and much more.

Who Is On The Team?

Now you know where the team is, you want to know about the players.   You want to know who are the stars on the team, their backgrounds, education, years with the company, diversity, greatest accomplishments. What you can do with this information can be endless! Can this help with current & future challenges!

Building competitiveness these days requires more than just your brand name, your product/services, and customer service just to name a few. It's about talent too. You need the right people, doing the right things! You need the best talent on the market. You need superstars. As you continue to build your teams you need to be aware of who is out there. We have heard the phrase, "people are our company's greatest asset,"  I agree! There is a lot of truth to this, but  I sometimes wonder if companies really mean this and believe enough in this that as they recruit they sincerely look to hire the best available.  If you believe in this you need information that helps get you there. Please read this interesting article written by Jennifer Blanchard | HRTools.com Business Writer.

Organization Mapping is the current trend. I believe in it and can see the value it has.  Be in the know! Know your competitors, know the talent and create the strongest team you can so you can win!!! Having top talent on the team creates at a minimum competitive teams and often times winning ones! But you can only do this if you are aware of the best players out there.

Presenting Passive Candidates With Knowledge

Successful Recruiters Are Knowledgeable Ones!

Having Knowledge about The Candidates & The Potential Target Universe Makes You The Expert!

Chapter 5

Presenting With Knowledge. It says it all. You are totally aware of the potential talent pool! You sourced, networked, recruited and can say with confidence to your clients, we recruited the best from the companies you wanted! As you present the candidates you present the knowledge you gained during the recruiting process. You share with your clients the passive candidate research, organization charts, the top 7 and the 3-5 you believe are the best. Having the knowledge allows you, the recruiter to show that you listened and you are the expert.

Happy Hunting!