Welcome to the Keith Bagg & Associates Personal Career Management Newsletter!
This newsletter and our Career Support Program© have been created to assist business professionals in realizing their career ambitions to the fullest potential.

Every quarter we will send you our career-support newsletter. It is full of inside information from our recruiters. You will learn about:

• Market news or changes in the marketplace;
• Tips on how to position yourself for advancement within your present company;
• Active search assignments;
• The "do’s and don'ts" of managing your career; and
• Other useful career enhancing advice from our recruiting professionals.
  

We also try to work with you for the long-term. If you have interviewed with one of our consultants but are not the "perfect fit" for the position, we have a network in place to keep you informed proactively of other opportunities that could be a better match.

Whether we can assist your career in the short or long term, we strive to create a winning scenario! So remember…. Keep in touch with us! Let our Career Support Program© professionals know about the changes and advancements in your career. Or, turn to them for free personalized career advice.

At times it is in your best interest to grow your job with your present company. Other times your career will grow through an exciting new opportunity. Regardless of whether you are considering a career change, check into this career management newsletter. The Career Support Program© is here with your best interest in mind!

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02. MARKET NEWS

The most recent news about the recruiting front from our top executive recruitment team. This section is divided by specialty but be sure to read each one as it may pertain to you!

Finance & Accounting

Sales & Marketing

Operations, Logistics & Engineering

FINANCE & ACCOUNTING

Market Tip
John Maybury, Consultant

For some candidates these can be difficult times. You may have found yourself downsized at a time when there appear to be fewer job opportunities. You may also find yourself working much longer hours and wondering about your future.

Both of these scenarios may lend to thoughts of accepting job offers below your market value or even moving from a permanent position into a contract position.

Careful thoughts need to be given to both. Taking jobs at below you market value can lead to thoughts of regret and your continued activity in looking at other opportunities. Eventually, your career suffers as you move too quickly between jobs.

Contract work can be rewarding and it does lead to exposure to other cultures, systems, and skill-sets in a short speed of time, however, it can also be difficult to devote your time to a search for a permanent position causing you to miss good opportunities.

Think carefully before accepting positions below your market value or contract positions and discuss thoroughly with someone you trust.

Our Finance/Accounting Consultants:

Market Tip

The market has made a definite shift from being candidate driven to being employer driven. Gone are the days when employers would trip over themselves trying to offer you ever bigger compensation packages in an effort to be the first to attract top talent. With this change comes a need for candidates to change their strategy and use the same selling skill that makes them a performer on the job to land that critical next position.

Here's how to do it - get a list of companies that you want to approach. The companies on this list should be exactly what you are looking for in terms of product, service, environment, location and compensation.

Next, talk to your recruiter. He or she might already have a relationship there that can be leveraged on your behalf, even though there may not be a position advertised. Critical though, is that you come prepared to stand out from the crowd. What this means knowing your numbers, keeping track of great accomplishments and realizing that every single employer, no matter what caliber, is looking for A + sales personalities.

Success in your job search is very similar to success in your job. You must have a good strategy and, at the end of the day, be able to close the deal.

Our Sales & Marketing Consultants:

Click here to view current positions on the bagg.com website!

Tip: Cover Letter Writing
Joe Braccia, Consultant

Here are a few tips for candidates writing cover letters which accompany your CV.

Indicate in your letter what you consider to be your greatest work accomplishment or something you have done in your career that really excites you. Leave the more traditional statements for the end because once you have created momentum in the beginning it will carry you the rest of the way.

Start by using informal language in your letter, you may want to pretend you are writing it to a friend. This will help loosen you up. Later, when you review it you can dress up the language to reflect a more professional image.

Keep your sentences and paragraphs short because they are easier to read and make more white space, thus making the page more attractive to the eye.

Suggest an action at the end of the letter offering a direction for the hiring manager to take. This shows imagination and confidence. If a phone call is your intention, don't ask them to call you but tell them when they can expect to be contacted by you.

Good luck!

Our Operations, Logistics & Engineering Consultant:

click here to view current positions on the bagg.com website!

03. Food For Thought

Each quarter we present a topic that we feel would be of special interest to our candidates. This quarter we have included two sections: The Most Powerful Financial Planning Tool in the World and Wellness Tips for the Professionals. Enjoy!

Based on a recent study, the most powerful tool to plan your financial future is the pencil. This is simply because the pencil is the minimum required to create a plan. Writing out your plan allows you to see the wisdom in setting goals. It clarrifies your purpose: buy a house, retire at a certain age or provide for your children's education. In other words, defining your goals sets the ultimate destination.

Secondly, you write out what your course of action is to be. This may be visiting your bank manager/financial advisor, setting up monthly withdrawals from your paycheque, differentiating between short-term and long-term investments. With this step you put the plan in motion.

How will you stay on track? This means to periodically review the progress, measure results and make the necessary adjustments to ensure you stay on course. This is where the assumption you made will come under the test. Remember long-term plans cannot always be accurately assessed by short-term measures. You will have questions that are best answered by someone you trust.

Perseverance is the final key to bringing your plan to a successful completion. When markets are down are you continuing to dollar-cost average? Will you be able to trade-off the short-term appeal of a Cuban holiday to ensure you are maximizing your RRSP contributions? Very few people are not tempted in some way. The best antidote is to review your plan's goals and reconfirm these are still your overall priorities.

Karl Ruban, B.Comm. (Hons), C.A., C.M.A., C.F.P., R.F.P., is a Financial Advisor with Assante Capital Management Ltd. Karl may be reached by phone at 416-494-2300, fax at 416-494-3030, or email at kruban@assante.com.

• personal issues
• job stress
• relationship issues
• eldercare, childcare, parenting issues
• harassment
• substance abuse
• separation and loss
• balancing work and family
• financial or legal
• family violence
  
  

Some EAP providers are also able to offer other services including retirement or lay-off assistance, and wellness/health promotion and fitness (such as weight control, nutrition, exercise, or smoking). Others may offer advice on long-term illnesses, disability issues, counselling for crisis situations (e.g., death at work), or advice specifically for managers/supervisors in dealing with difficult situations.

1. self-referral where the employee seeks help on their own. (No record of this type of referral appears in the employee's personnel file.)
2. the informal referral where a supervisor, friend or co-worker recommends the EAP. (No record of this type of referral appears in the employee's personnel file.)
3. a formal referral is based on job performance and the supervisor recommends the EAP. This recommendation may or may not appear in the individual's personnel file depending on the situation. Often, no notation is made unless there is a need for formal disciplinary action. What is discussed during the sessions, however, is not reported to the employer in either case.
   

• strict confidentiality
• open to employees and their immediate families
  
• recognition and commitment by management, employees and union (if there is one) that an EAP is needed
  
• policies and procedures supported by top management, employees and the union
  
• establishment of both formal and informal referral procedures
  
• promotion of the EAP and encouragement to use the service
  
• managers and employees educated in the workings of the EAP
  
• periodic evaluation of the EAP to be sure the needs of both the employee and the employer are being met
  

• How many years has the provider been serving these clients?

• Examples may include:
• stress management,
  
• child care or elder care referral,
  
• wellness program,
  
• counselling for crisis situations (e.g., death at work)
  
• advice specifically for managers/supervisors in dealing with difficult situations
  

   

  Exactly how would the organization provide services to our employees? For example, would the provider use an 800 number, referral network, on site service, etc.

  What is the policy on returning calls? How long before a call-back is placed (e.g., within 24 hours, 48 hours)?

• What services are available in non-typical business hours?
• What is the availability for swing shift employees?
  

04. Feature Article
      

The Leader's Challenge:
The First Ninety Days

by David Bratton

Most effective leaders have continually faced new challenges in their careers. As their career has progressed they have moved through a series of more and more responsible positions to the point where they are among the ranks of the leaders of Canadian business. Along the way they make an important shift in behaviour from doing things for others to getting things done by others as they move to positions of responsibility for leading and directing others.

The trouble is that these leaders are rarely given direction themselves. Instead, they get an office, a staff and a series of tasks to perform. The usual coping mechanism is to impose some kind of order on their world. The order is based on everything they've done in the past because that's where their experience is rooted. They use their past to structure their future.

The inherent risk in this strategy (and the reason that the failure rate is so high for new executives) is that they will continue in the past when new and different behaviours are necessary for success in a new situation.

The question then becomes "as a new leader how do I break out of this dilemma, quickly and effectively, during the first few months in a new assignment?"

Well, the answer lies first in your level of awareness of how others are perceiving your appointment. For instance, the higher you go the more visible you become. The people that hired you are looking you over to find validation from your performance that they made the right decision.

Your new staff is looking you over to see what kind of leader you'll prove to be and whether you can live up to your advanced billing! That includes individuals who may have been in the running for your position or who may have thought they should have gotten the job.

The organization at large has heard a lot about your appointment through rumours, newspaper articles and some limited company information. So they are interested in your performance as a leader of the management team.

If you've been brought in from the "outside" (heaven forbid!) the public, or at least the financial community and your industry cohorts are keenly interested in whether the organization made the right choice.

Finally, as you discover more about the situation you've been asked to fix, you are looking yourself over, wondering whether this was as good an opportunity as it seemed when you first discussed it.

High profile in the initial stages -- you bet it is!

So who's going to advise you how to get started and what to do in what order to get off to a good start. The answer, of course, is nobody! You know that the usual practice is to have a short chat with you, wish you the best and leave you to sink or swim. Whoever in the world created that expression anyway? You're not a rock nor a marathon swimmer. You are a human being trying to exercise that elusive quality called leadership. So let's get on with it and try to figure out what to do.

The phenomenon of leadership has been the subject of extensive research over the last several decades. Two basic dimensions have been identified, relationship-oriented behaviour, and task-oriented behaviour. The former dimension, pertaining to more equity and human relations has been the focus of behavioural science research far more often than task behaviour or specification of performance standards. The managerial importance of directing effort in appropriate directions has been quite overlooked until recent times.

High performing managers, people who in successive positions had attained outstanding levels of performance have a number of things in common. One key factor was a common pattern in the way these executives settled into their jobs -- in determining and communicating feasible objectives during the so-called "first 90 days".

How They Did It

The first thirty days were characterized by open discussions with members of the department, by actively listening to various points of view of problems and opportunities. During this period the high performing leaders were sizing up the situation and implicitly building relationships with executives and staff.

The next sixty days were marked by discussions to test out alternative objectives and plans, assessing feasibility, obstacles and support. The ninety days usually ended with a radical change in behaviour, from listening to directing. The direction to employees came in the form of a thank you for input and assistance followed by a statement of the objectives for the organization during the next performance period. From that point on, the achievement of the goal, with a gradual opening up of relationships as time and goal achievement went on.

High Performing Leaders -- Their Characteristics

High performing leaders are goal-oriented with an ability to size up the performance possibilities in a situation, and to communicate a sense of direction. They have a common ability to manage attention through vision (objectives) and to communicate that vision in meaningful ways.

Jack Welch, Chairman of General Electric is a prime example of a leader who successfully manages through the effective use of vision. His vision as quoted in GE's annual report is "To be number one or number two in any business we are in and to take quantum leaps ahead of our competitors in technology". He subsequently directed that GE's management development effort be focused on LEADERSHIP and created the "work out" program to reorganize and refocus the efforts of GE management.

Fortunately, the high performing leaders of this world have left their mark. By studying how they tackle each new assignment you can learn to do what they do. The pay off?

Well, the pay off for you is success and with success comes confidence and an increase in self-esteem. Better get at it now than to stumble just as you're getting going.

Behaviour Skills of the High Performing Leader

The traditional, rational leader sets goals and objectives and manages against them. Policy, rules, order and professional management skills are the concerns of this kind of leader. This style works well in stable situations.

The TRANSFORMATIONAL leader is able to set goals and objectives, but thrives on doing so in a period of active change. Innovation, risk-taking and problem-solving are the skills that a good transformational leader exhibits.

High Performing Leaders

• Are conventional risk takers.
• They approach each situation from an untraditional viewpoint and give signals that they are different.
• They have an ability to bring focus to situations, set an agenda for action and send signals that "I know the pathway and I'll take you there".
• They use emotion to inspire confidence.
• They use inspiration or symbolic management practices "We will be the leaders in our industry". "We will be number one".
• They have learned to use images in public speaking.
• They know the importance of putting on events that can get employees excited about doing something.
• They have a remarkable ability to match the needs of the organization by carefully sizing up the situation and taking bold steps to improve things.
• They personally show a high positive regard for themselves and almost never worry about the downside.

How High Performing Leaders Get Started

Step One -- Sizing up the Situation

Start out by remembering that your job is not to take personal responsibility for problems that your direct reports will bring to you. Remember that your job is to support your people and hold them accountable for results! Hold on to that thought with all your might!

Step Two -- Getting to Know the Organization

Step two involves getting to know the people you manage. What better way than to sit down with them and ask these key questions:

1. Tell me what you do for this organization. What are the results of your efforts.

2. Tell me about the obstacles you face in trying to accomplish your responsibilities.

3. Describe for me the ideal state in your mind. That is, if all was going really well, what would you say?

Notice here that you avoid the trap of being perceived as the most knowledgeable person. Your intention at this point is to LISTEN to everyone's point of view. We are an over-verbalized society. To be successful everyone thinks they must talk, to "tell and sell". But in your case, you want to listen and learn. The people that work for you will appreciate the opportunity to be listened to. They inevitably want to be heard and, in fact, will have a wealth of insight into how the organization really works.

Subtly, but surely you will begin to get to know your staff -- their knowledge, their hopes, their fears and their dreams. That's called BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS and is just as important as gathering information.

As they begin to open up, their level of trust will increase and more and more information will come tumbling out. At the same time, you will be able to gather a sense of the issues and challenges facing you. You can then begin the next step.

[NOTE. Talk to everyone you can. Peers, subordinates, your boss, anyone who comes in contact, is serviced by or gives service to your operation].

Step Three -- SITNA Alternative

You'll hear about every problem large and small. Your challenge is to "reframe" those problems in terms of the SITNA alternative (Situations That Need Attention). You can focus on what you are concerned about, then engage in action planning, with participative management. The process can turn you into a facilitator of the procedures by which your subordinates and others participate in developing plans to improve situations that are or may jeopardize goal attainment.

Step Four -- Developing Your Vision

Patience in situational analysis is a virtue. But virtue must be translated into action. Therefore, the next step is to decide for yourself what you want to happen. Dream a little bit, allow yourself to speculate on the best outcome for the situation. Then translate that dream into your personal vision.

Your vision is simply a short statement of what you want. It comes after listening and gathering information and identifying the situations that need attention.

The Shift

Now comes the time to shift your behaviour from listening to acting and more importantly directing the behaviour of others. It goes something like this:

"I have listened to what everyone has told me. I have sifted it all out with your help and here's what we are going to do."

Then take your vision and translate it into goals for the organization. If you want to be the best, articulate what you mean by best. If you want to raise standards then articulate the new standards.

From this moment on your personal goal becomes one of focusing attention on the goal or goals you have articulated. Structure every situation based on those goals. Develop ways of tracking and measuring movement toward goal achievement.

David Bratton has over 28 years experience in managing, teaching and consulting in human resources and change management in the private and public sectors. He is an independent practitioner in the fields of human resource and change management consulting. His clients include financial services, high tech and aerospace manufacturers, airline and transportation companies. David has worked with clients in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. David can be found at his Web site, http://www.brattonconsulting.com/ or can be contacted by email at the following address: dbratton@brattonconsulting.com

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05. Career Support Program©

The Career Support Program© was created in response to a perceived need for greater and more personalized support for individuals that we have built relationships with in the past.

The mandate of this program is to assist business professionals in realizing their career ambitions to their fullest potential.

If you are interested in hearing about career opportunities on a proactive basis, please e-mail us at careersupport@bagg.com. Our career support staff will contact you and spend approximately 10 minutes with you on the telephone to create a searchable profile to be included in our database of business professionals. Then as our recruiters have positions that could be a good fit for you, we will proactively make you aware of career-advancing opportunities!

Our career support staff will also provide free advice on:

• Corporate positioning
• Resume writing
• Internet career resources
• Interviewing techniques
  

We welcome your questions and concerns! Please contact us on any matters regarding your career or professional growth. If we can’t help you directly, we will be more than happy to refer you to someone who can!

Career Support Specialist
Cathy Cheng
416-847-4988
Fax: 416-350-9659
e-mail: career.support@fulcrumsearchscience.com

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06. Career Humour

TIPS FOR SUCCESS IN BUSINESS

1. Never walk down the hall without a document in your hands. People with documents in their hands look like hardworking employees heading for important meetings. People with nothing in their hands look like they're heading for the cafeteria. People with the newspaper in their hands look like they're heading for the bathroom. Above all, make sure you carry loads of stuff home with you at night, thus generating the false impression that you work longer hours than you do.

2. Use computers to look busy. Any time you use a computer, it looks like work to the casual observer. You can send and receive personal e-mail, calculate your finances and generally have a blast without doing anything remotely related to work. These aren't exactly the societal benefits that everybody from the computer revolution expected but they're not bad either. When you get caught by your boss--and you will get caught--your best defense is to claim you're teaching yourself to use the new software, thus saving valuable training dollars. You're not a loafer, you're a self-starter. Offer to show your boss what you learned. That will make your boss scurry away like a frightened salamander.

3. Messy desk. Top management can get away with a clean desk. For the rest of us, it looks like you're not working hard enough. Build huge piles of documents around your workspace. To the observer, last year's work looks the same as today's work; it's volume that counts. Pile them high and wide. If you know somebody is coming to your cubicle, bury the document you'll need halfway down in an existing stack and rummage for it when he/she arrives.

4. Voice mail. Never answer your phone if you have voice mail. People don't call you just because they want to give you something for nothing-- they call because they want YOU to do work for THEM. That's the way to live. Screen all your calls through voice mail. If somebody leaves a voice mail message for you and it sounds like impending work, respond during lunch hour. That way, you're hardworking and conscientious even though you're being a devious weasel. If you diligently employ the method of screening incoming calls and then returning calls when nobody is there, this will greatly increase the odds that they will give up or look for a solution that doesn't involve you. The sweetest voice mail message you can ever hear is "Ignore my last message. I took care of it." If your voice mailbox has a limit on the number of messages it can hold, make sure you reach that limit frequently. One way to do that is to never erase any incoming messages. If that takes too long, send yourself a few messages. Your callers will hear a recorded message that says, "Sorry, this mailbox is full"--a sure sign that you are a hardworking employee in high demand.
   
   
   

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Fulcrum Search Science Inc.
85 Richmond Street West, Suite 702
Toronto, Ontario M5H 2C9
Tel: 416-863-1800
Fax: 416-350-9600
www.fulcrumsearchscience.com

Subscription Contact:

Cathy Cheng
Career Support Specialist
Fulcrum Search Science Inc.

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