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byline: Beth A. Berk, CPA, CGMA

Getting to your finish line

There is a lot of noise when it comes to tracks. I am not referring to race tracks — although Virginia has its share of those — or train tracks. I am talking about the topic of career tracks and where they’ll ultimately take the Baby Boomers, Generation Xers and Generation Y, otherwise known as the Millennials.

You may have noticed lately that the spotlight in the workplace, the media and online seems to be on the Millennials, and understandably so. They are the up-and-coming generation in the workforce, and there are a lot of them. I have heard discussions and seen many an article about how to attract, hire and work with Millennials, and about what to do so that all of the generations in the workplace can get along.

Although I am all for succession planning and grooming employees to climb up the corporate ladder, there are many Boomers who will be working (and living) longer. Many of them have the time and energy — and, in many cases, the right attitude and skills, too — to make it to the same finish line as what a Millennial may be expected to achieve (although the number of years a Boomer may work are going to be different than those for a Millennial).

I suggest that employers determine how to provide a variety of career tracks that meet the needs of employees based on their “career life-cycle stages.” That includes emerging, starting to climb, arrived, maintaining or transitioning, which could mean a new or different career path or part-time work. Employers should also focus on one’s skill sets and ability to contribute to the organization’s goals instead of making assumptions about an employee or prospective employee based on the generation to which they may belong. Employees move through stages at different times, and the sequence of stages may not always be the same order for everyone (e.g. a woman marries young, has children and then goes back to school and/or work).

From what I have heard over the years, there are fewer members of Generation X in the workforce than Boomers or Millennials. And, not all Xs and Millennials want to climb the corporate ladder or become a partner or business owner, either (think work-life balance).
In the last 10 years since dedicating myself to working as an independent recruiter — and being a Baby Boomer myself — I have spoken to, met and viewed resumes of many Boomers who have risen and want to continue to rise to the top. Yet some organizations have mandatory retirement policies, or may downsize folks if their salaries reach a point whereby less expensive labor may be available.

I am not recommending which generation should be considered for which job, since a lot depends on the job, the duties and each employee’s physical and technical abilities. And it is quite possible that if someone needs to work or wishes to work, they may be very willing to take a different role within your company and make less money rather than having no role at all, especially if one lives in an area where there may be less job opportunities. Again, you can’t assume what another is seeking without asking.

Before you set up your tracks, you may want to make sure you have clearly written job descriptions, duties, tasks and educational and skill requirements and salary ranges. You may also wish to consult with an employment professional (legal or human resources) to ensure you go about laying down the foundation for your tracks in a way that supports your needs and strategic goals while complying with employment related laws.

You also will likely need to take a look at how you and your hiring staff vet prospective employees, including your interview questions and processes. Don’t forget to consider your existing staff (or someone who already may have left) when a position opens up since you may find that an existing employee would rather take that position, than possibly lose their job.
Most likely, your organization still will have many generations working together in the years to come. Hopefully every worker will be happy with the track they are on, allowing them to cross the finish line as a winner — and adding to their employer’s bottom line, too!

Beth A. Berk, CPA, CGMA works as an Independent Recruiter, providing services to organizations in the metropolitan DC and Baltimore areas as well as employers within other regions in Maryland and Virginia. She can be reached at [email protected] or at (301) 767-0670.

Diversity: Where do you stand?

Take a look around, and you’ll see diversity across Virginia. Diversity exists not only in the state’s terrain, which offers mountains, beaches, lakes and more, but also in the people who live throughout Virginia and the types of jobs and companies the commonwealth has to offer.

In my role as a recruiter, aided by extensive travel in the United States and abroad, I have had the opportunity and privilege to interact with people from diverse backgrounds (education, cultural, socioeconomic, religion, etc.). I tend to ask a lot of questions to better understand the differences among the diverse, as well as to find common ground. I won’t claim to be the most open-minded person. However, based on my experiences in life, I think I am more open-minded than many.

I am bringing this to your attention because I believe the more open you are to diversity in your life on all fronts (the people in your life, the places where you socialize and travel, etc.), the more opportunities you will have professionally — and personally, too.

I was asked to participate in a panel discussion at an organization’s national convention in August about tapping into your entrepreneurial skill set within the accounting profession. While at the convention, I attended some panel discussions myself. I found it eye-opening when several women from a specific cultural background mentioned that they were raised to respect their elders and authority. And what I gathered as well was that maybe at times they didn’t think it was appropriate to speak up or make suggestions in a group setting — possibly because they were women. As a result, one woman told a story whereby one of her peers spoke up before she did at a meeting with a similar suggestion to hers and wound up getting credit for the idea.
When I thought about the comments and challenges I heard from these women, I thought to myself how I didn’t face some of those same challenges. At the same time, I am sure I have faced challenges that they didn’t face.

I also chuckled to myself when I thought about that woman’s reluctance to speak up. I’m not sure if it’s from cultural or environmental factors — or just genetics and my personality — but I was encouraged to speak up. I also learned early on to challenge ideas and situations instead of taking things at face value. This trait did help me very early on in my career as an auditor and certainly has helped me as a recruiter and being self-employed.

My takeaway — and hopefully the women I met at the conference took away something similar — is that you have to understand where you come from and where you have been to know how to get to where you want to go.

Although surrounding yourself with like-minded people may provide comfort in your personal life, this could work against you and limit you in the workplace.
Hopefully you are satisfied where you are in today’s business world. Although from the telephone calls and emails I receive, many people seem to be frustrated with their situation for many different reasons. However, when I make suggestions about how to go about and make changes or come up with a strategy to make changes, I seem to get a lot of resistance. So what can you do to diversify your options?

I could come up with a long list of ideas as to how to add diversity to your life and get out of your comfort zone if that is hard for you to do. I am not saying you need to totally revamp your life; however, what you may uncover and discover may be just what you need. And if I take my own advice, I, too, need to continue to expand the diversity in my life, including exploring and standing in the many great diverse areas of Virginia!

Beth A. Berk, CPA, CGMA is an independent recruiter who lives in Bethesda, Maryland, in an area very close to the Virginia border. She has lived and worked in Virginia and socializes and networks there regularly. She can be reached at [email protected] or at (301) 767-0670.
 

Opportunities in your backyard

Whether you live here, have lived here, vacationed here or just driven through on your way elsewhere, I think you will agree with me that Virginia is a beautiful state. For those who do live and work in Virginia, have you stopped to notice what and who are in your backyard?

When job seekers come to me, especially when there are potential commuting challenges or location limitations or they have been with their same employer for many years, I tell them to take out a map and draw a circle showing where they are willing to drive each day. I also suggest that they drive around within that to find out who is in their backyard in terms of types of employers. From my experience, most people who are working tend to be focused on the job in front in them, and are not even aware of what types of businesses are in their backyard! 

For employers, especially those that seek specifically skilled workers and may be located in smaller cities or towns, ideally they would like to hire those who are in their backyard. Assuming an employer does not wish to wait too long to hire or contribute toward relocation costs, what can a hiring professional do to attract or find a qualified skilled workers who may be in their backyard?

Many people need to work longer than expected and are potentially overlooked because they look overqualified on paper. But hiring professionals may be missing out on a great pool of potential employees.

I have learned, as have some of my clients, that hiring experienced workers turns into a true win-win situation. From my experience, many workers who have “been there, done that,” so to speak, are extremely happy when they can find an opportunity that allows them to contribute their knowledge and skills in an environment where they truly can add value.

Too often I see hiring professionals project from their own vantage point and career experiences. They will make assumptions about why someone may not want to work in the role they are offering or take what they perceive as a salary cut. They may also be holding out for a specific list of requirements that may not be easy to fill with less experienced workers, as opposed to looking at transferrable skills. It is also possible that the staff tasked to review resumes may not be able to see the forest through the trees.

Based upon where someone is in his or her career lifecycle, one’s needs and wants change, and hiring professionals should consider this in their hiring process. So how does a hiring professional find this out without spending too much time to screen potential hires?

I would advise job seekers to write their résumé in a way that tells a story, accounts for all of their time (even if in summary form for their early career, while accounting for gaps), uses language that describes the roles and duties they have performed and what they have achieved, and includes the industries they have worked in and descriptions of their employers (e.g. privately held, family-owned, publicly traded, nonprofit, etc.). Job seekers should also use words that speak to transferable skills, quantify where necessary and even include why they left each job.

Job seekers should research employers of interest, inquire about an informational interview, network within their communities and more.  I would also suggest that you consider what I sometimes refer to as the “non-sexy” industries that offer stability, especially in today’s market, and industries where there may be less competition. 

I wanted to come up with an acronym opposite to “NIMBY”, which stands for “Not in My Backyard” for those Virginians who want to be a part of the “in my backyard” movement. I came up with “WIMBY”, “Working in My Backyard”.

Maybe you can create your own “in your backyard” acronym and movement or join me in my movement and philosophy. To employers and prospective employees, good luck in finding the right fit in your backyard!

Beth A. Berk, CPA, CGMA, is an independent recruiter who lives in Bethesda,  Md. She can be reached at [email protected] or at 301-767-0670.