Two of three breakout sessions down and sitting in the third and final one for the day.
So far this year's quest for knowledge has taken me to "On-boarding New Hires Effectively" and "Understanding Reality Bytes". The first on the components of a successful process of bring on new hires, whether interns, co-op students, or permanent employees. Robust content covering the full range of the experience for new hires. Next was a look at one school's work on recruiting and deploying student bloggers for driving up student awareness of services and career related issues. Solid introductory content in that.
And now I'm in "Strategically Assessing the College Recruiting Function". This session comes out of a NACE committee's work this year. Case studies on streamlined tools for, well, assessing college recruiting processes.
Two of my three choices have been employer-side, an unusual choice for a college-side member. Then again, if I'm here to connect with employers, what a great place to find them. Plus it gives me a better idea of their world, their concerns, and their language. This makes it easier to relate to and serve them.
While process focused, this last session has a strong strategic element in the background and integrated into the answers of the Q&A. Members looking for a peek at the tool can find it at naceweb.
Forums@4 is next up with 8-10 topics set.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Exhibit Hall
Walked around the exhibit hall yesterday evening to get a feeling for who is there. A great mixture of service providers, employers, and schools. I didn't count but there are probably 100 exhibitors. Unlike some exhibit halls, this one is in the center of the action and not stuck off in a corner someplace so the organizations which have invested the time and money necessary to have a booth should see a nice return.
Daniel Pink - What Talent Wants
How many political speech writers also write books on business and use Japanese Manga as a medium for career development? Yeah, Daniel Pink.
For an opening keynote Mr. Pink delivered a brisk and energetic speech. Beginning with a humorous overview of his life and career track in all its meanderings, he moved into a talk on the shifts and emerging drivers of the world of work. At the core was the intersection of economics and values.
Economic forces are so "baked in" that they are uninteresting and below the radar of recent college grads. The first of the three is the demise of corporate paternalism. Second, changing economics of production. Third,
1. Demise of corporate paternalism - culturally it was expected and assumed corporations would take care of their employees. Implication? Shift from loyalty/security transaction between employer and individual to talent/opportunity transaction. The axis goes from vertical to horizontal.
2. Changing economics of production - Marx stated revolution would come when the workers controlled the means of production. Did not work in the industrial era, but has become possible in the new tech environment. Factories are big, expensive, and difficult for one person to operate. "Talented people need organizations less than organizations need talented people." Daughter's web comic - www.squirmtheworm.com cited as example of new knowledge and production equation.
3. The emergence of the meaning gap - per capita GDP has tripled over 50 years with no recognition, simultaneously the rate of satisfaction has remained level. Prosperity has liberated us, but not elevated us. More people are now pursuing fulfillment through other channels now available via that prosperity. What does this do our understanding of the nature and inherent value of work itself?
Autonomy, authenticity, mastery, and purpose are the 4 drivers of young contemporary workers. People want autonomy over their time (results oriented work), tasks, techniques (let me do it my way as long as its right), team (do not underestimate the interest of good people to work with good people). They want authenticity, to feel they are themselves in their work. No masks. No Stepford Workers. Mastery or the drive to improve. Give me my feedback so I can get better and master my work. Millenials especially are accustomed to regular, almost continuous, feedback systems. Gaming, E-Bay, Digg It, etc. "They crave it." Finally, purpose is the drive to have transcendence, meaning. Jeff Immelt - "If you want to be a great company, you have to be a good company. The reason why people come to work for GE is that they want to be about something larger than themselves." Increasingly grads want to do work that has a positive impact. Cycles back to autonomy of tasks. "Honoring these values is essential", if companies want to recruit good talent.
The experiment in reaching college students and recent grads - "The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need", Pink's manga-styled career guide.
Tactical vs strategic information: which is what and how do we deliver it? Tactical info is gleaned online, students do not seek it from books or campus offices. It is timebound and grows stale quickly. Strategic information is where career service offices can excel by being curators, guides to the tactical information.
What is the animating question for the early 21st century worker? "WTF?!" - Daniel Pink.
For an opening keynote Mr. Pink delivered a brisk and energetic speech. Beginning with a humorous overview of his life and career track in all its meanderings, he moved into a talk on the shifts and emerging drivers of the world of work. At the core was the intersection of economics and values.
Economic forces are so "baked in" that they are uninteresting and below the radar of recent college grads. The first of the three is the demise of corporate paternalism. Second, changing economics of production. Third,
1. Demise of corporate paternalism - culturally it was expected and assumed corporations would take care of their employees. Implication? Shift from loyalty/security transaction between employer and individual to talent/opportunity transaction. The axis goes from vertical to horizontal.
2. Changing economics of production - Marx stated revolution would come when the workers controlled the means of production. Did not work in the industrial era, but has become possible in the new tech environment. Factories are big, expensive, and difficult for one person to operate. "Talented people need organizations less than organizations need talented people." Daughter's web comic - www.squirmtheworm.com cited as example of new knowledge and production equation.
3. The emergence of the meaning gap - per capita GDP has tripled over 50 years with no recognition, simultaneously the rate of satisfaction has remained level. Prosperity has liberated us, but not elevated us. More people are now pursuing fulfillment through other channels now available via that prosperity. What does this do our understanding of the nature and inherent value of work itself?
Autonomy, authenticity, mastery, and purpose are the 4 drivers of young contemporary workers. People want autonomy over their time (results oriented work), tasks, techniques (let me do it my way as long as its right), team (do not underestimate the interest of good people to work with good people). They want authenticity, to feel they are themselves in their work. No masks. No Stepford Workers. Mastery or the drive to improve. Give me my feedback so I can get better and master my work. Millenials especially are accustomed to regular, almost continuous, feedback systems. Gaming, E-Bay, Digg It, etc. "They crave it." Finally, purpose is the drive to have transcendence, meaning. Jeff Immelt - "If you want to be a great company, you have to be a good company. The reason why people come to work for GE is that they want to be about something larger than themselves." Increasingly grads want to do work that has a positive impact. Cycles back to autonomy of tasks. "Honoring these values is essential", if companies want to recruit good talent.
The experiment in reaching college students and recent grads - "The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need", Pink's manga-styled career guide.
Tactical vs strategic information: which is what and how do we deliver it? Tactical info is gleaned online, students do not seek it from books or campus offices. It is timebound and grows stale quickly. Strategic information is where career service offices can excel by being curators, guides to the tactical information.
What is the animating question for the early 21st century worker? "WTF?!" - Daniel Pink.
early activity
...lots of buzzing about the band last night. And the food was excellent! I hope everyone got a chance to try the gumbo- almost as good as mine!
Plenty of choices today....I'll be the whirling deverish going by....
Plenty of choices today....I'll be the whirling deverish going by....
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
It Begins...
I am setting in the middle of NACE Quarter having just experienced my first NACE opening session and the exhibit hall. Wow! The marching band sure got things started and the jazz was top notch.
Although I have been a NACE member for a number of years, a Community College Career Center Director doesn't often have the budget to attend conferences out of state. Career Services was not my career of choice; it found me and wouldn't let go despite many interviews and job offers in other fields. Perhaps it was because I didn't consciously choose this path but I never felt like part of a profession. I have always been excited about what I do but a benefit from my new institution is certainly attendance at the NACE Conference. Sitting in the hall with approximately 1900 others, I felt differently about myself and my career. If I get nothing else from this conference (highly unlikely) I will have that new feeling. I am thankful to Iowa State University and my Director, Steve Kravinsky, who believe in professional development.
To all those who have never attended a NACE national conference, who don't know what you're missing.
Let the 2008 Conference begin!
La Nouvelle Orleans Ballroom - 5:38
The Jazz infused opening session is about to begin. The hall is filling with weary travelers and Habitat volunteers, but a buzz, as every year, hangs int he air with networking and reconnecting with old friends and colleagues.
The session kicked off with an energetic jazz marching band leading a NOLA-styled parade complete with beads tossed into the crowd. Welcome to the Big Easy!
The Jazz infused opening session is about to begin. The hall is filling with weary travelers and Habitat volunteers, but a buzz, as every year, hangs int he air with networking and reconnecting with old friends and colleagues.
The session kicked off with an energetic jazz marching band leading a NOLA-styled parade complete with beads tossed into the crowd. Welcome to the Big Easy!
Louisiana Association of Colleges and Employers Annual Conference
Later today I speak about how employers can destroy their brand by incorrect using Facebook, MySpace, and other social networking sites. Today's presentation is at the University of New Orleans for the annual conference of the Louisiana Association of Colleges and Employers.
One of the interesting things that I've been encountering these past few months about this topic is that the vast majority of employers still have no presence on Facebook and no strategy for incorporating it into their recruiting strategy even though it is far and away the highest traffic site used by Gen Y. But for those employers who are starting to use Facebook, the consensus is that it is not a place to source but instead to network. Makes sense, doesn't it? A social networking site should be used for networking, not directly for hiring.
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