talent Archives | Christopher Frederick

What We Don’t Learn From Most Job Ads

Posted on February 2, 2015 by peter

Quick challenge: Try summarizing all of your professional responsibilities in 150 words. If you’re like most people with jobs that involve decision making and critical thinking, that would be tough to pull off in such a limited space. So why do we put so much stock in the similarly brief job descriptions of the advertising most companies use to recruit employees?

Despite advances in social networking and automation within large human resources departments, hiring for all but the most entry-level positions still remains more art than science. Looking back over three decades of recruiting, I know first-hand that employers and job seekers alike can benefit from a more thoughtful approach to hiring.

Employers: Don’t sell the job. Sell the company.

The pace of the recovery in housing, commercial property and the full breadth of real estate is finally picking up. Likewise, the competition for talent and the urgency in filling positions critical to growth continue to mount. Dangling a title, a compensation range and the boilerplate language from a years-old job description in front of a universe of potential candidates is no longer the most effective way to find qualified people. Companies must declare – transparently and with pride – what differentiates their organizations from their competitors. Too often, these are things hiring managers take for granted. Look at policies like leadership development programs, reimbursement for continuing education and similar benefits for high-potential employees. If something stands out compared to the rest of the industry, let candidates know it when advertising a position.

Also, don’t just recruit for the immediate opening. Look for people who can grow in their leadership over time, and make that potential for advancement clear when communicating with candidates. Driven people won’t just be interested in the current role, but also how it will lead to the next career challenge a few years down the road. Let potential employees know what that looks like. Additionally, give them a sense of the culture they’ll be growing within. Is the company young and changing fast, or established and expanding at a measured pace? How much risk are employees encouraged to take? Is the style of the company’s leaders one that drives hard for a unified vision or one focused on consensus and collaboration from the bottom up? Do people leave early on Friday afternoons when the weather is too good to resist, or are Saturdays a part of the workweek more often than not? These questions don’t have right or wrong answers. But there are right and wrong people to hire to fit the culture that each represents. Creating realistic expectations during recruitment also helps set the stage for beneficial relationships with new hires.

Job Seekers: Research pays off.

By the same token, job seekers shouldn’t assume that life at another company will be the same as it is at places where they’ve worked before. Even within identical market segments, professionals in various organizations interact differently, share different values and approach business in different ways. Generic ads for the same position at two companies might make their demands sound identical. Yet a workplace that touts its support for people with families will offer a different experience than a team that never skips the chance to trade war stories at the bar after a 12-hour workday. As such, job seekers should look beyond the traditional list of benefits and compensation and try to get a feel for what it’s really like to work there. Check what current employees say about their workplace online. Network with people at the company. Ask them, and those involved in the hiring process, to describe their work environment. Is it loud’ Silent’ Competitive’ Sociable’ What personality traits do people who get ahead typically share’ It’s important to gauge these things at companies you’re interested in working for, even if you’re currently employed. That way, if and when you need to, you can enter the job market with some of the most critical homework completed ahead of time.

After all, there’s more to any given job than will ever fit on a single sheet of paper. Employees make the best career decisions – and companies retain the best people – when they have a true understanding of both the role and the workplace.

Christopher Frederick has helped match the talents of executives with leading companies in real estate for three decades. We’ve also developed a better approach to recruiting that combines the power of a 300,000-strong professional network with the discretion and one-on-one touch of a professional recruiter. Want to see this unique process up close? Contact us for a free Join.me presentation and watch how we can create a powerful search customized to your unique needs.

New Blood, New Potential: Welcoming the Next Generation of Real Estate Leaders

Posted on October 31, 2014 by peter

Members of the Millennial Generation, usually defined as those born between 1976 and 2001, now make up more than a third of the U.S. workforce, and the oldest are beginning to join the ranks of their companies’ executives. As the recovery in real estate continues, the search for executives in construction, development and CRE will increasingly rely on talent from this group. This makes it more important than ever to understand the challenges and mindset of the people who will be tomorrow’s leaders.

A Tough Start

It’s helpful to understand the broader context surrounding millennials’ careers, and for many it’s been pretty grim. In 2010, when unemployment was at its worst, only 54 percent of adults between 18 and 34 were employed. That’s the lowest percentage since 1948 when the U.S. government began collecting the data. What’s more, a Pew study found that nearly half those going to work each day did so in jobs outside their chosen careers just to pay the bills. As such, another survey in 2011 cited by Jessica Brack at the Kenan-Flagler Business School suggested that 70 percent of millennial workers planned to change jobs once the economy improved. Whether that sentiment from three years ago will actually translate into action as the economy gains strength today is anyone’s guess. But it reinforces the need to attract, retain and mentor potential leaders now, as the brutal business conditions that characterized the early years of millennials’ careers have left most with few qualms about leaving a company that doesn’t fulfill their needs.

Small Differences

When professionals talk about catering to millennial employees, much is made about their differing cultural norms, their use of technology and what’s often seen as a lack of humility compared to their older colleagues. These generational differences are real and can potentially create conflicts in the workplace, but research indicates that the most important career traits of millennials go much deeper than wanting to bring their own smartphones to the office. For starters, money is not the only yardstick. Additional research cited by Brack found that 30 percent of millennials valued meaningful work, while only 12 percent of managers felt the same way. Likewise, only 28 percent of millennials said high pay was important, versus half of managers. Many younger workers don’t just want to be rewarded. They want to be engaged and to have the chance to meet new challenges. Part of that often comes from a more prevalent desire for collaboration, rather than solitary work, than might be the case with other generations. Additionally, millennials seem to desire more coaching and feedback than their older co-workers. A survey by Price Waterhouse Coopers found that 51 percent of millennial employees valued frequent, in-the-moment feedback. Rather than a chore, savvy managers can use this feedback to challenge younger employees, encourage hard work and groom exceptional people for leadership. Their generation, after all, does not lack for ambition: 51 percent of millennial women surveyed by PwC and 61 percent of men believe they will be able to rise to the top of their organization.

The Basics Still Matter

When recruiting younger leaders, it’s also important to keep in mind that the most critical aspects of employees’ relationship with the company change little from one generation to the next. As other human resources professionals have pointed out, employees of all ages tend to desire a reasonable balance with obligations at home and a sense of job security. Additionally, millennial employees say they want a degree of respect, transparency and development potential in the workplace – things that tend to be valued by ambitious people across the workforce. As in the past, tomorrow’s leading real estate firms will be those that maintain an open mind and a dedication to professional development for their younger managers today.

Over more than two decades, Christopher Frederick has helped match the talents of executives with leading companies in real estate. Visit our website at www.chrisfred.com where you can find exclusive job listings for real estate professionals and read more about our one-of-a-kind approach to executive recruitment.