Feeling under valued looking for a new job? - Blair McPherson

 

According to recruiters this is the time of year when people are most likely to consider applying for a new job.

 Could be you don't feel valued by your boss, could be the prospect of returning to the same old job after the long Christmas break has made you think about your career or it could be that burst of energy and optimism that comes with a new year has caused you to look around for a new exciting challenge.

 Whatever the reason for the timing alongside an impressive CV and good interview technique you will need Emotional Intelligence.

 

These days candidates for senior management posts need more than an impressive track record, strong analytical skills, excellent communication skills, political sensitivity and financial acumen they need Emotional Intelligence ( EI).

Whilst we expect a degree of passion from our leaders we don't usually want them to get emotional.

 EI isn't about having a big heart, coming over as genuinely sympathetic or even demonstrating empathy for the staff you are about to make redundant it is the ability to see yourself as others see you, to recognise the effect your behavior has on other people and to use this insight to adapt your management style to different audiences.

 The point being that what works with colleagues won't necessarily work with partner agencies and how you get support from politicians is different to how you handle the trade unions or win over service users. 

 

It's not hard to see why a transformation agenda would require senior managers with Emotional Intelligence as well as the traditional management skills.

 So how do you demonstrate this in your application and interview?

 The key is your willingness to seek feedback and to learn from this.

 Most managers will have experience of 360 degree feedback but what did you do differently as a result?

Did you change the way you chaired your senior management team meetings? Did you stop using certain expressions?

 Did you decide to make less use of emails and do more face to face work?

 Have you experience of executive coaching where the coach observes you in a range of management activities and gives you confidential feedback on your performance as well as help to change some of the unhelpful things you do?

 Have you a mentor someone you trust to tell you how it really is as opposed to those around you who tell you what they think you want to here?

 As a manager who takes responsibility for their own development you can arrange these EI learning opportunities for yourself.

 

As a former Director who undertook a lot of senior management recruitment I would be very impressed by a candidate who could give me examples of how they had sought feedback on their behavior and how they adapted their management style as a result.

 Sufficiently impressed to give them the job over a candidate with more experience but less insight.

 

Blair McPherson author of Equipping managers for an uncertain future published by Russell House www.blairmcpherson.co.uk