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Something must be done about women! Within the past three weeks, I talked with several professional engineering women about their careers. One long term manager shared with me that she quit a few months ago, despite the economy. When her boss changed her responsibilities to coordinating projects, not people, she realized her career was in a downward spiral. She said that the graying of her hair seemed to diminish her ability to continue upward mobility. Under-utilized and unsatisfied, she left in disgust.

A “30 something” woman, with two young children, a nanny, a traveling husband and a big house payment, was told she must complete a project by a certain date “no matter what” or her job would be in jeopardy. She started this job about six weeks ago and she wants to quit. Her nanny can’t stay all hours of the night and the past week-end left no time with the kids. Where is the fairness? Is this the way to treat anyone, male or female?

Recently another woman queried a friendly former CEO on the plight of women. His response was fascinating. He indicated that most “successful” women (translate that continued upward career mobility and leadership roles) are childless or have just one child. He thinks, when the second baby arrives, the woman is just so exhausted with child care, home responsibilities and guilt that her motivation to succeed wanes and she might decide to stay home, rather than pursue her career.

For 50 years Catalyst, a “think tank” regarding working women, has researched what is happening. Women in the past decade gained ground but appear to be moving backwards right now. You might want to visit their website as their research will astound you. Women held only 7.7% of the jobs in engineering management in 2010, yet they hold 21.1% of the Masters degrees and 16.5% of the PhDs.  So why is this? Has the economy played a role in holding back promotions for females? Have women been laid off in disproportionate numbers? Maybe they’ve decided to start a home based business and will never return. That might  make sense, don’t you think?

What can be done?

1. Treat all employees with as much fairness as possible.
2. Try new ways to allow flexible time for both men and women. They need to see the kids after school games and be at home for dinner most of the time. They can log in later.
3. Try new ways of evaluating. Could your top 10% acquire this level only if they are single, no children and no aged parents in their care?  How could you rectify that and still be fair to the childless workers?
4. Monitor your direct reports for evidence they are providing adequate coaching for those they supervise.
5. Hire, hire, hire! If you’ve have permission to hire, get it done. Your requisition can be closed quite unexpectedly.
6. Don’t look for the perfect candidate. Were you perfect when you were hired? Look for candidates with potential. What have they accomplished in the past? The past is a good predictor of the future.
7. Realize there are NO perfect candidates any more than there are perfect hiring managers…well, maybe you are the exception to that!
8. Prepare, prepare, prepare for interviewing; do not decide to hire in the first five minutes of an interview. Choreograph a good hiring process with careful attention to interview guides and assignment of specific questions to team members.
9. Realize that the introvert may fit better than the loud mouth, braggadocios idiot you hired last time, who lasted less than 60 days.
10. Encourage your children in math, science, the arts and sports, regardless of their sex.

If you manage both men and women, feel free to suggest ways to encourage female engineers to continue their march to success. How can we improve this situation?

Upcoming Professional Association Meeting
Especially for Power Management Engineers

Professional associations are important for your career. Attending conferences not only helps you learn new technology and update your current skills, but also creates the chance to meet new people for future contacts and resources. Next Sunday, March 6-10, the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APECS) takes place in Ft. Worth, Texas at the Ft. Worth Convention Center. Be sure to check the website at http://www.apec-conf.org/ for all the information.

I’m very excited about the event as I’ve been asked to participate on one of the Rap Sessions, titled Jobs and Careers: Are Corporate Hiring and Recruiting Practices Helping or Hurting? Several Senior Recruiters and Engineers will participate in what will be a lively discussion on the good, the bad and the ugly, which we all experience in today’s labor market. This session takes place from 5:00-6:30 p.m. in Room 203A in the Convention center on Tuesday, March 8. You can still register for the whole conference, a day or simply for the vendors and attend this particular session. I am wearing an “iron rain coat” so if anyone throws something at me, I’ll be protected!

The main speakers are bound to provide relevant information to assist you with your career in various ways. Be sure to visit with me, if you attend. You know where to find me!

Regards,
Ruth Glover
President of Career Consultations

Perhaps your employees are overburdened and you plan to add headcount this quarter. We have a saying in Texas. “Let’s git ‘er done!” Let’s lower the unemployment rate and increase the hiring! The statistics demonstrate the need to move forward.

November 2010 Labor Market for Texas
Presented by TWC Chairman Tom Pauken

Texas employers have added jobs in eight of the last 12 months, setting the pace for the rest of the nation. More than 19,000 jobs were added in Texas for the month of November. That’s a total of 192,100 positions over the past year.

Professional and Business Services increased by 5,600 jobs in November. Leisure and Hospitality employment increased by 4,700 in November in the state of Texas.

Employment in Education and Health Services increased by 4,300 jobs in Texas in November. That’s a total of 47,900 jobs that have been added in this industry in our state since November of 2009. In addition, Financial Activities employment increased by 2,000 jobs in November.

In November, Information employment in Texas increased by 1,700 jobs; Construction added 1,000 jobs; and Mining and Logging grew by 300 positions.

The Texas unemployment rate for November was 8.2 percent. That’s up from 8.1 percent in October. The unemployment rate in our state has ranged from between 8.1 percent and 8.3 percent throughout the year. The slight increase in the unemployment rate for November can be attributed, in part, to the growing Texas labor force which continued to expand for the third consecutive month. It currently is at 12.2 million individuals.

Texas Workforce Commission • (512) 463-8942 • http://www.texasworkforce.org • Equal Opportunity Employer Relay Texas • 1-800-735-2989 (TDD) • 711 (Voice)

In a recent conversation with a fellow entrepreneur, who also owns a staffing agency, he complained that the predominant openings from his clients allow for few placements. Let’s say the client wants ZXY skill. Stanley-of-the-Staffing-Agency can find candidates with ZYX, but his clients only want contractors. Since the job requires seasoned, experienced workers with a minimum of 5-10 years of engineering work, as well as this new, specialized skill, the client may wait a long time to find the right candidate. The economy often prevents candidates from selling their homes, unless they take half of what they paid for them a few years ago. Although the road to economic recover is better in Texas than many other places, we need real jobs, full time jobs.

Hiring contractors can be the best of both worlds, as the client and candidate can ascertain whether the new job is a fit. But wait! Chuck-the-Candidate will not entertain the thought of leaving a full time job with benefits to arrive on the client’s doorstep, as the reality is contractor benefits are rarely robust and may be non-existent. Health care is a huge issue for most candidates.

Companies who sit on a pile of cash with orders they can’t fill for lack of talent, must realize the need to hire team members full time. Granted, there may be a gaggle of “nomads” who are contractors. But usually they cost as much or more than full time professionals. And loyalty may be a factor. Do you want to train people several times when the contractors leave for higher pay?

Even if the client is willing to hire full time, the offer may take an excessive amount of time, often losing the candidate in the process to a competitor. How many signatures does it take to make an offer? During the holiday season, people often travel and the offer can be delayed a long as a month, if the process is too burdensome. By eliminating roadblocks and having an excellent hiring process, our road to recovery will be faster.

If we want the economy to continue its slow progress, something must be done to increase effective hiring. A total of 39 percent of Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) members surveyed reported some level of confidence in the job market for the final three months of the year: Thirty-three percent said they are somewhat optimistic and six percent are very optimistic. However, that is a sharp decline from SHRM’s third-quarter report, which found that 49 percent of HR professionals were somewhat optimistic about the job market and seven percent were very optimistic, according to Labor Market Data.

If your openings demand top talent, decide to hire now before other companies determine new ways to secure those exceptionally talented people! Feel free to comment on ideas you may have to avoid boulders in our travel to success.

The Ladders, if you don’t know, is a job board for candidates earning over $100,000 yearly.  Executives and high level managers post their resumes (for a fee), while hiring managers and recruiters search the resumes (for a fee). Although the other “big boards,” such as www.monster.com, charge only the companies, The Ladders is a respected sourcing tool for both the candidates and clients.

Marc Cendedella, the founder of the Ladders, recently wrote a book for job seekers. His blogs contain wisdom and intelligence much of the time. I enjoy his columns occasionally, when I take the time to explore. A friend of mine suggested his new book to me, as she is a fan of his. Marc would be in Dallas on his Texas book tour. I couldn’t attend as I would be in Houston that week-end. My persistent friend mentioned he would be in Houston during my visit.  Since I was busy at the time of his appearance, I chose to visit one of the Houston Barnes & Noble stores to purchase the book, as their company sponsored the tour. This particular store never heard of him, contained none of his books and the website for the store where he appeared, did not mention his appearance.

Marc must have had quite a huge crowd in Houston, don’t you think?

I called my nearest Barnes & Noble bookstore upon my return to Dallas, more to see if that store knew about his endeavors. “We have one book with that title, Ma’am. It’ll be waiting for you behind the counter for three days.”

You’re Better than Your Job Search is a good basic book for job seekers. Although basic books abound, I am pleased with some of the information, such as salary negotiation and information about Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) but the information on “branding” leaves much to be desired. Suggesting that women wear a “structured, sleeveless, belted dress” and that men “polish their shoes” is not only amusing, but close to insulting. I cannot imagine that Marc actually read this chapter. Maybe the editor or his co-author forced this chapter upon him.

I am not rejecting the entire book. Parts of it are excellent with referrals to specific websites and relevant topics, but perhaps they rushed the book to print. The quality is not what I expected.

Why am I sharing this with you?

*           Communication to your entire team is critical

*          Attend to details (did Marc actually proof his book?)

*          Products and PR must be of value, not just promotional

*          The Ladders is only one source for hiring top talent

*          Some recruiters rarely use The Ladders

*          Exploring a new “product” may be worthwhile

If you want a list of excellent career books, I compiled a list for you. Just send a request through our “contact us” page and I’ll be happy to forward it to you. I think every book on the list will be less frustrating than Marc’s new book. I’m really disappointed to report this to you. I’m still thinking about whether to add his book to my list.