Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes

Question: I had read your article “Reference checking tips for job hunters and employers“. It is very informative. Thanks. I have a related question and need your opinion. What do you feel about using my current boss as my job reference? How risky is such move? If a prospective employer asks me for that should I do it? 

My concern is that my current employer may be very angry to know that I am looking for another job behind his/her back. As a result, he/she may say something bad about me to the prospective employer. Even a prospective employer asks me for reference that is no promise that I will get that job. That means I will be stuck with current job and will have a bad relationship with my current boss because my current boss will know that I had looked for another job behind his back.

Job Hunter

Answer: “Do you ask your current boss to serve as a reference?” is a question I bet many job hunters have faced during the job hunt process. Every situation is different, so am going to discuss a number of approaches that you can take depending on the relationship you have with your boss or company and your performance within the company.

The Safe Job Reference Approach

Let’s face it, sometimes there is not a good match with our boss or job and it shows up in average to poor performance. Poor performance does not necessarily mean you are a slacker, it may mean there is a poor job fit with the company, your boss or position. In different circumstances, you may flourish!

It is best to avoid asking your current boss for a recommendation. Secure a recommendation from someone who has already left the company. Alternatively, use personal, professional or earlier company references.

The Ideal Job Reference Approach

You have a great relationship with your boss and the company thinks of you as an average to poor performer. This situation may work to your advantage – though you still need to approach it with caution.

If your boss wants to help you be successful in your career, there is a greater chance s/he will aid you in finding a new position. Why? You could be in a job that is not a good fit for you or the company. In fact, the company may be trying to figure out what to do with you. If you leave for a new job opportunity, it might be a win-win for both parties.

Often bosses know when their employees are dissatisfied and want to do something to help someone they like!

Here is a strong clue to know if your boss would be open to helping you. You and your boss have ongoing career discussions and discuss “what if” scenarios – what do you really want to do, what if you left etc.

If you do not have those conversations openly,  I would recommend using the safe approach.

The Unlikely Job Reference Approach

Your boss and company love you because you are one of their top performers! It is very rare that your current boss will aid you in moving to a new company unless he or she is an exceptional unselfish boss.

For example, your boss is your mentor and you have had discussions about the benefits of leaving your current company to grow professionally. There are probably only 5-10% of bosses who fit in this category.

How do you know if your boss would do this for you? Well, if you have to ask, then you have your answer. My recommendation – find a safe job reference with someone who has left the company.

What to say to Prospective Employers

When asked to give job references, it is not unusual for prospective employers to talk to past co-workers from your current job or earlier jobs. Rarely are prospective employers or recruiters able to talk to anyone within the organization you are working at – for good reason. Your current company wants to limit liability and have guidelines about what can or cannot be said. For example, most companies do not want current employees to give either good or bad recommendations.

What happens if you are pressed by the recruiter or prospective employer to give a current reference (someone who works within the company today)?

Very politely tell them that while you are seeking to advance your career, you are not willing to do it at the risk of your current position. You have a good working relationship with your boss and company and when the time is right you will tell them.

Offer alternative reference contacts using the safe job reference approach. If you have no one that can serve as a reference, it looks like you have some work to do to create the right experiences and relationships.

Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes

The circle of work harassment continues to get wider each day – cyber-bullying is making its way into organizations and not everyone is prepared to handle it.

Not too long ago, harassment cases that Human Resources or managers dealt with were verbal or physical harassment that occurred during working hours and on work premises. After a while, location became less of a factor and harassment cases included employees dealing with vendors or suppliers offsite or other company sponsored events.

Today the scope of harassment broadens as the world becomes more global and technology pushes our reach to…cyberspace.

That’s right, cyber-bullying falls under the workplace harassment umbrella and it has major implications for employers and employees.

“Cyber-bullying involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others.” -Bill Belsey

Isn’t cyber-bullying limited to children?

Unfortunately no. Once thought limited to children, the same type of behavior is found in adult communication and may be called cyber-stalking or cyber-harassment.

Where do you find cyber-bullying?

Examples of information and communications technologies include e-mail, discussion forums, chat rooms, instant messaging, text messaging, webpages, blogs and other social media venues.

What is cyber-bullying?

A rule of thumb, if the behavior threatens the person’s earnings, employment, reputation or safety, cyber-bullying needs to be addressed.

How do employees limit their risk?

In an ideal world, I would just tell you to be a responsible adult; however, sometimes anger gets the best of us. Before you know it you may have done something stupid to someone else or your company. Let’s be clear, these are actions you should not do:

• Send threatening e-mails or messages
• Orchestrate a campaign to bombard your target with unwanted e-mails or messages
• Engage or encourage others to make negative comments in a public forum or chat room
• Leave negative or abusive comments on blogs
• Impersonating the person or company to set them up for negative feedback
• Setting up a blog or post to defame someone or the company

When in doubt, don’t do it. Figure out a different way to let off your steam in private.

If you are a victim of cyber-bullying, gather your facts and evidence and contact your Human Resources department or the company CEO.

How do employers limit their risk?

Fundamentally, cyber-bullying is an extension of a company’s culture. How companies handle their company reputation and how employees act with one another does extend the normal work day.

Employers basically have two choices. Try to mitigate the risk or react to the threat.

When employers choose to react to the threat, they play the waiting game, hoping that something doesn’t happen. Sometimes the size of the organization gives the employer a sense of control – after all we are a family, what could go wrong?

If you think about it, those are the situations where things can become more volatile because you know each other better and frankly, you know what buttons to push.

Employers who try to mitigate risk have two approaches. The first is to over control the situation by setting rules that prevent employees from engaging in social media or other cyberspace communications. This often backfires because employees feel their personal rights are being violated. For example, I have heard instances of companies telling their employees not to use LinkedIn or Facebook.

The second approach is to be proactive about social media and cyber space communications with your employees. Companies pioneering this approach encourage employees to tweet, Facebook or write comments on blogs that promote the company’s image – with guidance.

Develop a program that teaches employees the – who, what, how, when and why of social media practices. Train every employee on the principles and embed it into your marketing strategy.

When employees feel trusted and engaged, the majority step up and the bad apples will become glaringly clear. That’s when companies step in to deal with the problem and employees know it’s a great place to work.

Reading time: 3 – 5 minutes

What is the big deal about Personal Branding? To be blunt – everything because it is about you and the impression you want to make with other people – whether they are co-workers, bosses, friends, recruiting agents or employers. Let’s be honest, what people think or how they feel about you can directly affect your career or business.

Think about product branding when you go to the grocery store, there are probably some products you buy based on their brand name – such as, some of my favorites are: Pepperidge Farms Croutons and Knorr Vegetable Bouillon.

If the store is out of stock or decides not to carry the product, I shift to a grocer that carries my favorite products. While I am at the new store, I buy other groceries so the first store loses out on my business. The first store may never get a chance to win me over again unless I go there and find my brand name products back on the shelf.

Why am I so loyal to those brands? Bottom line – I know what to expect when I buy the products; there is a clear value proposition. Quality is consistent and I understand how I can use those products when I prepare my meals. Both companies have developed trust with me.

How does that story relate to your personal brand? Ask yourself:

• Do people know what to expect when they work or interact with you?
• Are you consistent in what you say, how you say it or what you stand for?
• How well can you communicate your value proposition?
• Do you stumble when someone asks “What’s your story?” or “Tell me about yourself.”?
• Do you cultivate trust with others?
• How well are you “walking the talk”?
• Do you know what other people think of you? Is their perception different from what you think or hope to be?
• Are you confident with a healthy ego?
• Does your team or organization get what’s important to you or what stand for?

These questions underpin your personal brand development. If you describe yourself inconsistently or communicate with low confidence, it’s a clear signal – your personal brand is suffering.

Depending on your situation, you may need to refine your personal brand message or start with basic confidence building and value proposition development.

Let’s say you decide to work on your personal brand. Here are some of the situations where having a clear personal brand will be useful:

• Instead of being uneasy with your 30 second elevator speech, you will exude more confidence with a personal brand statement.
• Avoid wasting time on organizations whose cultures are misfits.
• Interview more effectively with clear and consistent responses.
• Colleagues and bosses will articulate your strengths and actively promote you.
• Networking events become easier to navigate because you are talking about what you believe in and not what someone has told you to say.
• Increase your messaging consistency – refine your résumé, CV, marketing materials and other social media channels (Facebook, blogging, Twitter) to reflect your personal brand statement.
• Improve team and organizational effectiveness and confidence.

It really doesn’t matter if you are in a job search process or you are now employed – honing your personal brand it can pay off dividends. How has branding helped you or what kind of challenges are you facing as you develop you own personal brand statement?

Reading time: 3 – 5 minutes

What is your opinion on performance reviews? Do you think performance reviews are a valuable tool for organizational effectiveness? Personally, I think it depends on a number of factors and knowing how organizations run, the jury’s out for me. Here’s why.

Not Enough Time

Whoever is in charge of making sure that all the performance reviews are done in an organization knows this only too well. It doesn’t matter if you give the manager 1 or 3 months to complete them, there is always an excuse. The number one excuse is “I don’t have enough time”.

The fact is they do have enough time and probably had all the easy performance reviews done.

The question to ask is “Why don’t they want to do it?” My hunch – not all their employees are superstars.  Managers stall on the difficult ones. Who wants to document their employee’s shortcomings and then be responsible for delivering the negative feedback?

Forced Rankings within Groups

Forced ranking is the process of ranking your employees in order of ability, performance or some other criteria.

Managers are asked to force rank their employees for a number of reasons, such as – to identify who gets bigger increases or who might be at risk during a layoff.  It can create an artificial system for determining true performance because employees are measured against their peers instead of being measured against their performance review results. That’s a message no manager wants to deliver to their employee.

As an example, let’s suppose you have a group of superstars that beat every goal put in front of them and the organization says to force rank your group to figure salary increase percentages. How does a manager tell his bottom superstar that their increase was lower than someone who achieved fewer goals in another group? Where is the fairness in this approach?

Measurable Goals and Behaviors

Performance reviews that use a blend of measurable goals and behaviors get higher marks for me; however, this format makes managers feel uncomfortable.

If a goal is written clearly and has a measurable outcome, that part is a cinch, the only trouble is that someone can make a goal but do it unethically and still be a hero.

The behavioral part is more problematic and challenges managers to 1) write clear behavior goals and 2) discuss behavior shortfalls. Very few managers feel confident in identifying behavior goals or discussing behavior shortfalls without some specific training.

Management hates doing Performance Reviews

It is rare that when I ask a manager if they like doing performance reviews that they say “Yes”. The majority do not believe it is a management tool and prefer to refer to it as an HR process or waste of time.

If the manager is not on board, there is a greater chance the information in the performance review will be sub par. When employees receive feedback that is nonspecific, they do not feel good about their manager or review.

It is time to throw out the Performance Review?

Performance reviews have been around for a long time. The structure and components with in performance review process have evolved, changed or been refined to meet the needs of many other agendas.

So, if management hates or is not good at doing performance reviews, perhaps, it is time to throw it all out and start over.

If you were to do that, what do you think is the sole intent of performance review process? How would you drastically change its role and contribution to the organization?

Reading time: 2 – 3 minutes

This is a true story about an independent recruiter who wanted to make a career change and work for a company full-time. Over the years, he had successfully completed credentialing as a SPHR and wanted to shift his career to a Human Resources role.

He kept his eye out for some opportunities in his vast network. You are probably thinking – what’s the problem, he’s in the business of matching up people – he should land quickly in the HR career field.

His first interview was with a local company. It was for an HR Manager with heavy recruiting experience.  A couple of days before the interview, his family got some Chinese takeout.

Everyone got sick except for him. They figured it was food poisoning and he was lucky to get a piece of chicken that was not tainted. Without thinking, he had some more of that food the night before the interview and now he was experiencing the aftermath.

He managed to hold it together during the interview though admittedly he was not at his best. Ultimately, the company decided to promote from within for the HR position.

The second interview was with an out-of-state company. It was an internal recruiting job that would allow him to set up a home office and work remotely. This opportunity sounded like the dream job.

The company invited him in to interview and he left one morning to catch the 7 am flight. The only problem is he missed the flight by 5 minutes despite being at the small airport an hour early.

The last interview was with a local company as a Recruiting Manager. On the day of the interview, he mixes up his pain and muscle relaxer medication. The kicker is he took twice as much muscle relaxer medication than he normally takes. You can probably visualize how that interview went.

So, now he is asking himself if he really wants to make a career change and become a permanent employee inside a company. Is there some greater force of nature at work? Is the universe telling him no or it is self-sabotage?

What are your thoughts?