You want to be the best you can be in 2012 … so how do you do that?  Here are a few thoughts …

1.  Decide what ”being your best” looks like … eg. perhaps you want to be seen as a professional, accomplished, career oriented employee.

“The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear” … Socrates.  (Clearly this is not a new concept!)

2.  Ensure that your actions always support that “brand”  … so that others will associate your actions to the type of person you want to be.  The following might be examples that support the “professional, accomplished, career oriented” brand.

a.  Dress professionally;

b . Invest in training … always be learning;

c.  Take on more responsibility;

d.  Always take accountability … do not look for excuses;

e.  Be a cheerleader at work … glass half full attitude;

f.   Look after your health … stay relatively fit (don’t need to be an athlete); eat (relatively) healthy (don’t need to be a model);

g.  Look for ways to give back … to charities, to the industry, to colleagues;

h.  Be a team player.

3.  Ensure that any actions of yours do NOT upset that image.  Following the same concept, that you want to cultivate the “professional, accomplished, career oriented” brand … here are some don’ts!

a.  Don’t use abusive language in the workplace … especially never in writing.

b.  Don’t let your communication style be “un-business like” … you may use IM shorthand with your friends, but business communication should be understandable to everyone;

c.  Casual work days should not mean ratty jeans and well worn sweat shirts … adopt a smart casual approach (always dress just a little better than you need to);

d.  If you write “stuff” outside of work (blogs, facebook posts, articles etc) you might want to be sure that if your boss read them they would not raise their eyebrows;

e.  Don’t compromise your own principles … work somewhere that has your kind of principles;

f.  Don’t let your personal life encroach unduly into work … its OK to be proud of your kids, but most co-workers don’t need a blow by blow of their lives, they certainly don’t want to be dragged into your personal “dramas”.

Some other thoughts on this subject …

1.  I wrote a blog entry called Create and Protect Your Image about three years ago.

2.  Accountability is one of the biggest areas that people can differentiate themselves … this blog entry references a story from Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence.

3.  I wrote a blog entry called Be True to Yourself back in April, that was designed to make you think about this stuff.

4.  Walk Fast and Smile!

5.  Read a book on the subject … maybe the brand called You by Peter Montoya.

Many of you will have some time over the holidays away from work, relaxing and recharging the batteries.  Take a few minutes to think about how you can set yourself up to have a GREAT year in 2012.  Consider (a) what you can do to position yourself for success and (b) what you can avoid (or stop doing) that might be hurting your chances for success.

Have a Wonderful Holiday Season and I wish you all every success in 2012! 

—————————————————————————————————————————————– 

Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)

Want to know where Canada’s hot jobs are?   Visit the Eagle Job Centre!

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

This is Eagle’s Holiday Card this year … and hopefully it demonstrates what this season should be all about.  Giving!

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)

Want to know where Canada’s hot jobs are?   Visit the Eagle Job Centre!

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

People who lead their lives focused on the positives will always lead a more fulfilling life.  Companies that focus on the positives are likely to be the more successful companies.

In my life I try to avoid the “glass half empty” people … they suck the life out of me.  I want to spend time with the people that seek out opportunity, that take on challenges, that make things happen … rather than those that “things happen to”, that moan about how hard life is and that always focus on the negatives.

This is the season of hope … a time to rejoice, to spend time with family, to give more than to receive and a time for positive thoughts.

It would be a nice thought if we could all enter 2012 with that same attitude … perhaps you could watch this video and think about it Life vest. 

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)

Want to know where Canada’s hot jobs are?   Visit the Eagle Job Centre!

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

A few days ago I wrote a blog entry called A Personal Checkpoint, asking readers to take a look at 2011 and see how they did against their expectations (or goals).  It is a complement to a blog entry I wrote in January 2010 asking What Will You Make of 2010.  Those who set goals in January of each year would be able to benchmark themselves against those goals, and those who did not set goals would only have a general feeling that it was a good year, or not. 

This is one of those subjects that I have written about many times.  Here are 5 things to think about …

1.  If you set goals and create a plan to reach those goals you will ALWAYS do better than if you have no goals.

2.  If you have NO goals then you will always be using other people’s benchmarks to see how you are doing.  Your boss, your parents, your friends, your partners etc.

3.  Goals, and the plans associated with them, do not need to be complicated … just reality based.

4.  Society sets goals for us … career (traditional management path, income level etc); personal (education, marriage, kids, retirement etc).  It is WAY MORE rewarding to set your own goals!

5.  There is great satisfaction from meeting and exceeding goals … only people that have met goals will experience that.

So … do yourself a favor and set some goals for 2012.   I wrote a blog entry in December 2006 called Goals … 2006 wrap up and 2007 Planning.  the same principles apply to revisiting 2011 and looking at 2012!  Read it, and get some ideas!

One final thought … resolutions are easy to make, delivering on them takes commitment and I had some thoughts on that with my blog entry called Will Your Resolutions Fizzle … or Will You Do Something Different?

Nobody can lead your life for you and it is always easy to “float” … but if you REALLY want to do more with your life then read ALL of these entries and create your own plan!! 

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)

Want to know where Canada’s hot jobs are?   Visit the Eagle Job Centre!

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

When we started Eagle 15 years ago I had never started a company, had never raised cash, had never even been a President of a company.  The process we went through in a relatively short period of time involved all aspects of creating a net new company, but with the assets (contracts) that we had bought.

There was the opportunity for me personally to own the whole thing … but I chose to create this company with a group of partners.  Obviously there are pros and cons to this, but 15 years later, and indeed throughout those 15 years, I have no regrets.

Had I chosen to own the whole thing … I would have had more money, but I valued partners higher.

So … how does a good partnership work?

1.  A good partner looks out for their partner(s).

2.  A good partner will do everything in their power to help their partner(s) to be successful.

3.  A good partner will NOT undermine their partner(s).

4.  A good partner will communicate openly and honestly.

5.  A good partner will be happy for the success of their partner(s).

6.  A good partner will TRUST their partner(s) … and expect to be trusted!

When you have a symbiotic partner group there is strength in their common support, their bond and in their shared success.  A “team” will always operate better than a group of individuals!

It is not unlike any strong relationship … and possibly second only to family. 

Just like a marriage, when a partner starts to operate in their own best interest, to the detriment of their partner(s) then you have problems.  If that goes on, the trust is eroded, the relationship deteriorates and unless things are fixed then “divorce” is likely!

It is lonely running a business on your own … partners share in the equity, but also increase your chances of success.  I’m happy I made that decision.

________________________________________________________________

Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)

Have you tried Eagle’s (very cost effective) VirtualRecruiter service?

________________________________________________________________

General Observations:

The job situation in November 2011 was not much changed from October, which is a product of the ongoing uncertainty facing world markets.  This is typically one of the busiest hiring periods of the year and certainly some sectors are hiring, but hiring managers also have one eye on an underperforming world economy.  This puts a damper on hiring and most particularly on full-time hiring.

Statistics Canada reported that Canada lost 19,000 jobs in November, following a big loss of 54,000 jobs in October.  This resulted in another increase in the unemployment rate from 7.3% to 7.4%.

The dire state of the EU has caused a strengthening of the US dollar, and so at time of writing the Canadian dollar has dropped below par to around 96 cents US.  This will be good for exporters but reduces Canadian global buying capacity.  The fluctuating dollar is unlikely to have much impact on employment in the short term, but in order for companies to plan effective growth strategies they need some stability in the economy.  So longer term it might have a dampening affect on full time hiring.

All of this turmoil is reflected in the stock markets.  This time last month the TSX had gained about 300 points from the previous month, however this month it is back down again … a whopping 750 points then!  Oil prices have also been dropping, about $8 a barrel since last month, to approximately $94 a barrel.  The oil patch in Western Canada remains a fairly active job market, although the fallout from the US Keystone XL “non-decision” is still expected to result in cutbacks on projects and some layoffs (as opposed to the thousands of new jobs that had been anticipated if the project had been approved).

Here at Eagle we supply our clients with technology professionals, executive & management consultants in addition to finance professionals across a broad spectrum of industries.  We continue to see steady demand for these resources and have experienced growth each month.  In November the number of requests for resources increased about 20%.  There was however an offsetting slowdown in decision making, resulting in less growth for Eagle than in previous months.

More Specifically:

Not much change in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) where generally the market is active, and it is still the financial, insurance and telecommunication sectors that are driving that demand.  The demand for full time resources cooled off a little in the last couple of months.  We attribute that to the uncertainty in all markets.  The South West Ontario area is experiencing some angst as large employer RIM continues to struggle and how that might affect the Waterloo job scene.

Calgary remains the hottest job market in Western Canada however there does remain some concern about the potential for cancelled projects and associated downsizing related to the US decision not to proceed with the Keystone XL pipeline.  There was good news for Victoria, BC which has attracted attention from Microsoft and a gaming centre that will generate about 60 jobs on the island.

In Eagle’s Eastern Canada region, Montreal seems to be the market with most demand.  There has been some pick up in government work as “year-end” budgets need to be met, but generally things are slower than the norm and it is likely to be May before we see new budgets approved and demand increase again.  Shared Service management has indicated that it will need to spend $375 million to achieve future efficiencies … so that might translate into some work soon.  The East coast tends to be quiet on the jobs front, and we have seen no big increase in demand.

Summary:

As we head into the holiday period the demand for resources declines somewhat, and decisions are postponed until the new year.  The Fall in Canada has seen decent, but not exciting, demand for contract resources with a slowing in demand for full time resources.  The unemployment rate is higher than we would want, and until stability returns to the world markets we are unlikely to see much improvement.

The Toronto market is busy primarily because of the banking, insurance and telecommunications industry.  We expect the Ontario government to start to get busy again in the new year, although that might be accompanied by some downsizing.  The Western markets rely heavily on the price of a barrel of oil, and that looks like it will remain fairly high, so we anticipate the Western demand for resources to remain high for a while.  Ottawa remain very dependant upon the Federal Government and cut backs, strategic reviews and the shared services initiative will determine the pace of demand there for some time … which is not promising.  Montreal however seems to enjoying a resurgence, again because of the financial services and telecommunications sectors.

I am an optimist, and expect 2012 to be a continuation of the long slow improvement in our economy.  The realist in me however says that in order for that to happen the EU needs to fix its own house (by printing money and devaluing the Euro) and the US needs to find a way for the two polarised parties to make some decisions.  I prefer to remain optimistic that sanity will prevail because those situations will have a profound effect on Canada’s economy and the demand for people.

I expect to see a continued increase in demand for skilled labour over the coming months … most particularly at the very senior level, and specialists that can help companies prepare for growth.  The hottest markets will continue to experience some skills shortages, therefore hiring managers need to keep this in mind, despite the doom and gloom around the world!  As has become my recent practice, I will end this write-up with my “standing advice” to ANY company needing people:

(a) Start the process now with a strong PLANNING phase;

(b) Develop very clean processes to find, screen, choose, hire and onboard these new resources;

(c) Know that you will have a lot of competition and therefore speed in decision making will be critical;

(d) The job doesn’t stop there … retention becomes the next challenge!

That was my monthly look at the Canadian job market and some of its influences.

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)

Want to know where Canada’s hot jobs are?

Visit the Eagle Job Centre!

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

This time of year is a great time to think about others … and then actually DO SOMETHING for those less fortunate.

There are a ton of charities in need of help, support, money and time.

Everywhere we look there are stories of people who are down on their luck, can’t afford presents for their kids, can’t afford a nice holiday dinner, maybe they don’t even have a roof over their heads.

There are kids in need of snowsuits, families in need of food and lonely people in need of a little caring.

What are YOU going to do this holiday season?

Get out and help the local organizations that serve meals to those in need.

Collect clothing from your friends and family to donate.

Give food to the food banks.

Give some dollars to help all of these causes.

Get a few friends together and help out at a shelter.

If you really want to feel better about your life, then spend some time with those less fortunate than you … helping them will make you feel better about you. 

So maybe IT IS all about you … so help YOU by helping them! 

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)

Want to know where Canada’s hot jobs are?   Visit the Eagle Job Centre!

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

As you head into the final working days of 2011 take time out to understand how you are doing … and what you might do differently.

1.  Are you doing a GREAT job?  Are you the best?  If you were your boss would you be very happy with your employee’s performance?

2.  Are you growing/learning/improving over time?  Has the “learning curve” straightened out?

3.  What could you do differently?  Who could you emulate?  Who could give you good advice?

4.  Start to develop a plan for 2012 …  identifying what you could work on and how you will do that.  A plan has specific tasks and goals and dates.

You can do a personal checkpoint several times through the year … but you should do one at least once a year!

Make 2012 a GREAT year!

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)

Want to know where Canada’s hot jobs are?   Visit the Eagle Job Centre!

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

It is my opinion that “playing nice” will achieve better results than playing hardball, or even playing mean.  That may be at odds with the old saying that Nice Guys Finish Last … but playing nice in my world does not mean “being a doormat”.

What is playing nice?

1.  Be slow to anger.  I wrote about this previously and basically my general rule is to give people the benefit of the doubt … it doesn’t mean I will never get angry, but it means that I will not just react to one or two situations; it means I will try to keep things in context; and it means I will not treat them any differently than I would expect to be treated if the roles were reversed.

2.  Take a Deep Breath.  In a very similar vein … some situations can really get under my skin, and when that happens I need to find a way to take my time before I respond.   The blog entry I wrote about taking a deep breath is just that … don’t react immediately, understand the situation, let the emotion come out of the situation before you respond.  That way you have a better chance of reacting in a productive rather than destructive way.

3.  Be proactive.  Sometimes a tense situation is just a symptom of an underlying problem.  Yes, the situation needs to be dealt with but that (emotional situation) can be dealt with as a byproduct of dealing with the bigger issue. 

4.  People in glass houses.  When you fly off the handle with someone, then you really had better be bullet proof … and I don’t know many people who are.  Nobody is pefect, so to “have a go” at someone else is not really smart.  It is likely to degenerate into a situation with a microscope on everyone’s weak links rather than a productive discussion to improve a situation.

5.  Look for the good.  When we have conflicts with people, it is a good idea to work on that relationship away from the issues.  If you can proactively create a good working relationship then you are going to work together to right any issues, rather than fight!  Sometimes it takes an issue to get people together, but afterwards there is a real opportunity for them to build a strong relationship to improve things on a go forward basis.

Playing nice means … looking for the positives, helping people, working on solutions, finding the right answers together and creating win-win relationships.  The world would be a better place if we all operated this way. 

I am also not naive enough to think this is always possible so sometimes you have to get down and dirty!  That should be the exception!

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)

Want to know where Canada’s hot jobs are?   Visit the Eagle Job Centre!

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

I talk a lot about strategy … I recommend revisiting your strategy regularly, innovating regularly etc.

The bottom line is that if you don’t EXECUTE on your plans then there really isn’t much point in strategising!

Generally accepted wisdom suggests … Create a plan, then work the plan!   Good advice … but for many people WORK is the problem.

People look for all of the reasons NOT to work.  Let me give you some examples from our industry, where the two “sharp end of the ship” roles are sales and recruiting.

Things sales people do to avoid actually working …

1.  Research … the number one time waster in sales.  You can research “till the cows come home” but REALLY, just get out there and talk to people!

2.  Drop ins … just “touching base”.  Meetings with no agenda, no goal and not just wasting the salesperson’s time, but also the person they are meeting with.

3.  Buddy calls … meetings with friends, colleagues, former colleagues to “get market intelligence”.  Funny really, why not get it from the clients?

4.  Admin … not even sure what this really is.  Perhaps entering notes in the CRM, adding contacts, doing expenses, writing reports etc.  REALLY sales people are paid to sell, and earn most money by selling … so do ADMIN at night!  Unchain yourself from your desk!

Things recruiters do to waste time …

1.  Read resumes … seems counter intuitive, but reading resumes is VERY ineffective.  You can spend a lot of hours scouring through resumes.  Find people who “look” like a fit and call them, ask them, actually spend time talking and emailing candidates NOT reading resumes!

2.  Chatting (instant messenger plays a big role here) … about orders, about the last candidate they met, about their social life, about how much work they have to do.  When at work … WORK, don’t chat.

3.  Admin … same as sales.  Don’t make a meal of it … it really should not be a task in itself, its part of the process.  Do your notes while you talk to candidates, keep up with it as you go and it just fits around everything else.

I am sure ALL industries are the same … the people that are most successful are those that FOCUS on the productive parts of their job and make everything else fit around that.

By extension … the COMPANIES that are most successful are those that manage to actually EXECUTE on their plans.

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)

Want to know where Canada’s hot jobs are?   Visit the Eagle Job Centre!

—————————————————————————————————————————————–