I have written about networking in the past … the last time was an article called 10 Tips for Networking in Today’s World.   Today I read a decent article in BNet called Three Big Lies About Networking, which is more good advice about how to network, and some myths about networking.

Given that there is a lot written about “How To” network, I thought it was worth talking a little about the “Why” because I think (a) some people just do it because they think they should, (b) others don’t do it when they should and (c) some do it for all the wrong reasons, and with unreasonable expectations.

Here is my theory … networking is a way to build out your contacts such that, potentially, at some point, those contacts might be able to help you.  

I work in the staffing industry so our recruiters need to network so they can build out a strong set of contacts willing to work with them, our sales people need to network with potential clients and hiring managers.  Beyond the staffing industry (or any industry0 benefits when the leaders network and work together to raise the professionalism across the whole industry.

I believe that when networking it should be (a) with a long term view, and very few “short term” expectations; (b) with the expectation that we will be “giving” more than “receiving” for some time; (c) the new “contacts” we meet just might move up our hierarchy of relationships (from acquaintance, through various levels to potentially close friend) over a long period of time … so treat them accordingly.

Business networking is just that, a BUSINESS activity … so it should be done professionally.  As a relationship does “deepen” it moves to a more personal level, but there should always remain that “professional” aspect to it if there are to be business dealings too.

I am very turned off by people that are too pushy in trying to network with me … they have very overt “needs” and it is clear they want something from me.  I would suggest that any networking should be low key, non-threatening and certainly not with a view to “getting something” … if anything it should be with the expectation of “giving something”.

So … why should you network when (a) it is hard work (b) you have no expectations of anything (c) you may actually be expected to give something?

1.  Think of it as planting seeds … it is a rewarding exercise that results in something growing, in this case a relationship.

2.  We all need friends, close friends or even acquaintances are much easier to deal with than strangers.  So, even if we expect nothing there is always something in it for us.

3.  Giving is the one sure way to success … those who give selflessly will be rewarded.   I say this a lot, and the only way people understand it is if they are already sold on the concept … which means they have to sell themselves. 

Networking is about business, but people like to “do business” with people they like … so go find some new friends and see what happens to your business.  Just understand that planting seeds takes effort and patience before you see results.

Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)
Let Eagle find your next Finance and Accounting Professional anywhere in Canada?

Change is a good thing … especially if it is change for a good reason!  After about four years of blogging at Blogger I am switching allegiance to WordPress and an address on our eagle website!

This is NOT a reflection on Blogger, which has been a great tool to use.  It is however a recognition that “fresh content” on a regular basis is a good thing for a website … and since I post to my blog most business days AND Eagle is my company it only makes sense that we “put it all together”!

I will continue to write about the staffing industry here in Canada and the value it brings to our clients and the Canadian economy.  I will also blog about the sales profession, of which I am a staunch supporter, and critic in the same breath!  I will continue to write about personal development topics … and hopefully awakening some passion and personal accountability with the occasional reader.  Now and again I will review  a book of interest and you will continue to see my regular monthly updates on the Canadian Job Landscape and the IT Industry News.  I expect I will also continue to comment on Government issues of relevance to businesses and in particular the staffing industry.

So … only the address will change, I hope that those people who have enjoyed reading the Eagle Blog from time to time will continue to visit us at our new location here!

Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)
Have you tried Eagle’s (very cost effective) VirtualRecruiter service?

It seems a little strange to make a statement like that … certainly anyone who knows me knows that I am someone who does have fun. However I am also a very busy person, running my own business, involved in the industry association, involved in charitable work, involved with my family etc. It would be easy to let “busy” get in the way of fun!

I make this statement because I believe FUN should be a PRIORITY! That is very different than just taking fun where you get it.

On Saturday evening we had a party, with about 70 friends. It didn’t just happen. it took a bunch of work … but 70 people had a ton of fun!

You can choose to plan fun into the future … book a show, plan a weekend away, plan a day trip or any number of things that willincrease your fun factor!

Alternately, you could just let life happen and there will be some fun in there somewhere but circumstance will determine how much fun you have.

Does this sound at all familiar?

I have blogged many times about taking charge of your life, taking charge of your career, taking charge of your days … in EXACTLY the same way, you can take charge of how much fun you have!

Tenacity is a quality that I can admire … it is a quality displayed by people who (a) want something; (b) recognise that in order to get it they need to make some kind of sacrifice and (c) they suck it up and make it happen.

Tenacity can come in many forms … big and small, but in almost all cases it can be an impressive quality and a lack of tenacity tells me something about a person.

Small opportunities to demonstrate tenacity come every day … it could be the difference between taking a few extra minutes to put some thought and effort into a task; or just rattling off a quick “throw away” response.

I see it demonstrated in sports, when two players battle for a puck or a soccer ball … tenacious players don’t give up.

I see it with sales people … winners keep on trying.

I see it with businesses that battle through adversity.

I see it with young people that have a vision of what they want in life and they are willing to go and get it.

One of the other things I often see in tenacious people is that (a) it either is just a natural state, or (b) it has become second nature … to the point they don’t even recognise it as a special talent. I like to applaud tenacity when I see it … it is a quality to recognise, to encourage and to reward, even if that just means saying “way to go”!

Tenacious people are winners in the small things … but ultimately they are the people who go on to achieve bigger things, and to have the opportunity of really “living” their lives.

General Observations:

In August Canada gained 80,000 full time jobs and lost 44,000 part time jobs, for a net gain of 36,000 jobs … however an increase in people entering the workforce meant that the unemployment rate went up, albeit marginally, from 8% to 8.1%. The Canadian Staffing index for August was up 4 basis points, suggesting strong growth in the temporary help and contract world in August. As we have seen for some time now, any good news appears to come with a little bad news too … so, while the recovery continues in an overall positive trajectory, it is slow and with a “2 steps forward, one step back” motion.

The markets continue to be volatile, however at time of writing the TSX is up a little at 12,144, from last month at this time when it was 11,788. The Bank of Canada introduced its third hike in three months resulting in the prime business rate hitting 3%. The intent being to fight inflation, however there is still concern that the recovery is not yet stable enough to put it at risk by increasing the cost of borrowing. The housing markets have slowed down and the banks are getting competitive with mortgage rates to try and generate some business that way.

Eagle focuses on the supply of both IT professionals and Accounting professionals and at a high level we are seeing a continued increase in demand across the board, with some markets getting quite hot (GTA), some “getting there” (Calgary, Montreal) and other still improving but not yet there (Vancouver, Edmonton). There are also markets where things are just not even warm yet (Ottawa).

More Specifically:

As already indicated, the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) continues to be the hottest market in demand for professionals. The financial sector drives the demand but we are seeing other sectors heating up too, notably the communications sector and insurance industry with increasing demand almost across the board. More and more we are seeing savvy clients “locking in” on longer term contracts, and ensuring that their hiring processes are “slick” to ensure they don’t lose great people through indecision. The best candidates are in great demand and enjoying “multiple offers”, so clients are again looking at attraction and retention strategies. The Ontario government market has been somewhat slower than expected, but the pent-up demand is expected to hit some time in the Fall

Alberta continues to lead the way in demand in Western Canada, but is certainly not back to the “boom days” of a couple of years ago. One trend that appears to be increasing is the awarding of large scale outsourcing contracts which will see more work move offshore. In the meantime there is still a pretty healthy demand, and the “great” resources are being snapped up quickly. August, while a traditionally quieter month due to vacations was actually quite busy, so September is expected to “raise the bar” in demand for talent, even higher. The rest of the West was a little quiet in August, with some talk of coming initiatives in the Fall, but not a lot of action.

In Eagle’s Eastern Canada Region Montreal continues to be quite busy, most particularly in the permanent rather than temp/contract world, and like the GTA it is the financial sector, telcos and system integrators that have the biggest demand. Ottawa has been very quiet of late, with word that employment in the Federal ranks reduced year over year (from 165,500 to 159,000) for the first time in a long time(lowest since 2005). Once again the Fall is anticipated to bring an increase in demand, which will be welcomed by most suppliers.

The following are some facts/indicators we are watching as of time of writing:

> The price of oil is a little over $75 a barrel, about the same as last month … activity in the oil patch continues to be busy.
> Natural Gas prices are pretty steady.
> The markets continue to be pretty volatile, however the TSX was up a little to 12,144 from 11,781 last month.
> The Canadian dollar remains about the same at $97.83c US.
> Prime rose to 3% after three recent increases!
> Canada added 80,000 full time jobs, lost 44,000 part time jobs resulting in a gain of 36,000 jobs, however there was a slight increase in the unemployment rate to 8.1% from 8.0%.
> Eagle continues to see a pickup in activity in most sectors … banks, energy companies, and telcos in particular. Clients are recognising the need to develop recruitment and retention strategies, in addition to having smooth efficient hiring practices.
> The Canadian Federal government seems to have slowed spending and reduced its employment ranks. Suppliers in this market are all hurting a little.
> Canada’s Staffing Index gained 4 basis points to 89, against the benchmark 100 set in July 2008 … another significant step towards recovery.

Summary:

Job seekers in the Canadian market enjoy the fact that Canada is faring better than many other countries. Canada is generally adding jobs on a regular basis, enjoys an unemployment rate of 8.1% compared to higher in the EU and the US. The Canadian dollar is also consistently strong, helping many Canadian companies and many indicators are good that our recovery is continuing.

We are however still recovering from recession, and while there is increasing demand for the most qualified workers, there is still reduced appetite for investment in new entrants to the workforce, or in retooling employees. This will change as the economy continues to recover and we truly start to see the skills and labour shortages reappear. Until that time job applicants will need to work hard to get jobs.

In most of the major markets we are seeing an increase in demand for “skilled”, experienced professionals. The end of the summer vacation period should see an increase in activity and we are expecting a very busy hiring period

We are educating our clients on the need to develop excellent retention strategies, contract for longer periods and move quickly when in the hiring cycle. These best practices will ensure that they don’t lose out on the best candidates because someone else was that bit quicker, or had slightly better “selling messages”.

Next month I anticipate telling you about just how busy the market has been … let’s hope I’m right!

Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)
Eagle finds GREAT Technology employees for our clients across Canada!

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Attitude is one of my favorite topics for this blog, and I have to be careful not to over do my “obsession” with the subject. I have written about it many times, its importance to individuals, to companies, to teams and to family.

Everyone wants to be around the positive, outgoing characters … they just make you feel better. Yet we ALL have the ability to develop and display the kind of attitude that we want!

As a regular reader of Seth Godin’s blog I was struck (once again) by a recent blog entry suggesting that in previous times Your Smile Didn’t Matter. Its a thought provoking piece, because he suggests that today its ALL about attitude!

Its funny that he talks about smiling, when he talks about attitude … and as usual, he is right on the money!

Take a few minutes and re-visit a couple of my older blog entries. Back in 2006, not long after starting this blog I wrote an entry called Attitude – The Answer!

It must have been on my mind because that year I also posted a blog entry called Smile … its contagious.

In August 2007 I referenced a study that suggested you should Be Positive and Live Longer!

And of course … one of my first blog entries is also one of my favourite sayings … Walk Fast and Smile!

Some clarification:

Everyone can adopt a positive attitude … it is all in your own hands.
It has NOTHING to do with personality types, Zodiac signs, how you are raised, wealth or any external thing … it is all in your head!
It costs you nothing.
You WILL feel better.
You WILL make others feel better.
Like Nike says … Just Do It!

Seth Godin suggests that the new world (and I’m always talking about how everything is changing) requires you to have a great attitude … he’s right! I just think that the “old world” wanted it too … its just more important now!

Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)
Let Eagle find your next Finance and Accounting Professional!
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Ladies and Gentlemen … I am a recovering Salesperson!

Let’s admit it … salespeople can be frustrating. They tend (generalisation) to be sloppy with paperwork, they might not be so good at following process, sometimes they might even bend your rules a little.

Every company has its own way of doing things and certainly all companies need to work with their sales team to make sure that process is followed, that paperwork is done and that their own application of “the rules” does not put the company at risk.

There WILL be time when the behaviour is just not acceptable.

Having said that … here are some truths!

• Every company NEEDS sales.
• The sales organization drives business.
• Without salespeople there is no business.

What a connundrum! Whatever can you, as a business owner or executive do?

Can’t live with them … can’t live without them!

EDUCATION!!!!!

1. Work with the team … continuously!
2. Have established processes … and train them about how to use them.
3. Explain why the processes are there, don’t just tell them “do it or else”.
4. Listen to their input.
5. Encourage lifelong learning.
6. Encourage professionalism.
7. If in Canada, get them to join the Canadian Professional Sales Association.
8. Develop a sales methodology for your company … and train them.
9. Have regular learning sessions.
10. Teach them about the ethics of your comapny … just where is that hard line!

It is easy to find regular sales related articles and share them with your team … and encourage them to comment/discuss. Here are just a couple of VERY recent articles from Profit magazine:
> 5 Fast Ways to Spur Your Salespeople
> Help for Timid Cold Callers

The sales organization can be the BEST part of your company … it can also be the most frustrating. Make it the best!

Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (Canada’s Professional Staffing Company)
Have you tried Eagle’s (very cost effective) VirtualRecruiter service?

I was talking with someone recently and they were regaling me with stories of conflict in the workplace, and how often HR organizations are need to deal with “interpersonal issues”, “personality clashes” etc.

I have written on this subject a couple of times previously (having almost 1,000 blog entries I guess I have “spouted off” about a lot of things!) … but here are a couple of links you might find interesting.

In June this year i wrote a piece called Professionalism, which talked about establishing your “Professional Brand”.

In February this year I wrote a piece called “How to Behave in the WorkPlace“.

AND … here are a few rules that I think you should remember.

1. Your co-workers did not choose to be your spouse, your partner or even your friend (although that happens sometimes) … so when at work be a “work colleague”.
2. If you have issues in your private life, then you should deal with them during your own time … and not let them affect your work time.
3. Your lifestyle requirements should be formed based upon your income … not the other way around.
4. Your boss, your HR department and your colleagues are at work to focus on work so they appreciate everyone else who takes that same approach.
5. Build balance in your life … work should not be your life, yet it should be an important part of your life. Give each part its due.
6. Take the emotion out of your dealings with colleagues … it doesn’t matter if you like them or not, you all have a job to do.
7. Make decisions based on facts, business realities, best practices etc.
8. communicate professionally with all around you.
9. Always treat the other person the way you would like to be treated in the workplace.
10. Get thick skin.

Some people will think this harsh … I think its just common sense.

My background is in sales, and as CEO of my own company my role is a sales role too.

As a salesperson I have a couple of competing emotions when dealing with members of that profession:

a. I have some empathy for them, understanding the challenges they face and having “been there” myself;
b. I have high expectations of them, wanting them to represent the “good things” about the profession of sales.

It is a tough job, and learning to be successful is a lifelong task. One of the toughest things to master is that fine line between aggression and persistence.

Perhaps one of the toughest things about that particular challenge is that we (the clients) are all different, and the positioning of our “barriers” is different. What is acceptable to me might be “obnoxious” to you, and vice versa.

I have always tended to the conservative side of that equation, but with sufficient persistence that I shouldn’t be missing out on opportunities. However, the aggressive competitor just might scoop some business from me if I am not persistent enough.

A tough quandary for which every salesperson needs to find their own answer.

Here is an example … I read a sales advice column that suggested a tactic that might work with prospects who are not returning cold calls. The suggestion was to send that person a calendar entry, scheduling yourself in for a conference call to talk about your service or product.

That tactic has been used on me a couple of times, and it really ticked me off. I told the offending companies to remove me from their mailing lists.

So … what is the right answer? Here are a few thoughts …

1. If the salepeople using that tactic had positive results from 10% of their clients, then that might be a whole lot more than if they did not use the tactic.
2. I got mad and told them to take me off their list … but I wasn’t going to buy anyway. Maybe they were better knowing I was “no prospect” rather than wasting their time with me?
3. If the downside results in bad press, how far will that spread and what is the damage done vis-a-vis the increased response rate?

Interesting eh? The aggressive sales guy would get more business than me in this scenario … but its still not a tactic I would be comfortable using.

What do you think?

Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers suggests that it takes 5,000 hours of “practice” to master a skill … he gives examples of professional athletes (soccer and hockey players) and even some tech leaders (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs etc.) as examples of his theory.

Here is the thing … going to work every day and “doing your job” is not the same thing as 5,000 hours of “practice”.

• If you want to get better as a soccer player then you invest time in soccer specific training. Playing games is the best type of practice!
• If you want to be better as a recruiter then you invest time in recruiter specific training, including learning on the job.
• If you want to be a GREAT salesperson then you need to be constantly willing to learn about the profession of selling. Again, on the job training is one of the best ways to learn.

Ask yourself some basic questions …

• Do you try to learn from others?
• Do you read books and literature that will help you in your job?
• Do you assess what is most effective under which scenarios?
• Do you debate with your colleagues about what works and what doesn’t?
• Are you open minded enough to accept input, and try new things?
• Do you take advantage of the opportunities your company provides for learning?

The people who excel and get to be great at what they do, apply themselves all the time.

Professional athletes don’t achieve their level of skill without “working at it”, Bill Gates did not get to be as proficient as he is with computers, that led to his ultimate success, without “working at it”.

Every day we go to work to do the job that we are paid to do … since we have to do it anyway, doesn’t it make sense to apply ourself to be the best we can be?

I think a lot of people don’t apply themselves because they feel like they are doing it for “the boss” or “the man”. Some think it is far better to try and get by with the minimum possible effort. Those people are really hurting themselves with that strategy.

We should make the effort, learn and get better for ourselves … because ultimately it is us that benefits. We benefit in increased skills, which are the ONLY job security in our 21st century workforce … but we also benefit in increased self-esteem, personal satisfaction and a feeling that we are doing something worthwhile, not just “putting in hours”.

Are you building up your hours of proficiency … or are you stuck in the rut of “working for the man”?