Celebrating the Best Employer Brands in Canada

Yesterday at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, we celebrated the best employer brands in Canada, with business leaders from across the country. 9,500 Canadians picked the most attractive employers in 2015 as part of our Randstad Award survey, the largest piece of independent employer branding research.

To know more, visit randstadaward.ca

Congratulations to all winners, they all exemplify how important it is to cultivate a strong and compelling organizational culture.

Make them stay: 7 ways to improve your employees’ experience

In our most recent Employer branding report, we asked over 9,500 Canadians to share their expectations and perceptions on today’s workplaces. The results were crystal clear: if money attracts them, it won’t be enough to keep them happy and engaged.  When asked what motivates them to stay with their employers, Canadians said work-life balance is the top factor, followed by salary and flexible working arrangements. More women than men are likely to stay if they feel they’re recognized for their work. Young workers are motivated by different factors, such as career growth opportunities (8% above average) and strong relationships with direct manager (6% above average). 

To begin to impact your employer brand, you need to look at ways to improve the employee experience. Here are seven ideas to start conversation in your company.

 
1. Internal polling: Companies with effective employer brands poll their organizations asking about the mood of their employees, gauging the success of management and the engagement of teams. Measure by department, region, division and as the company at a whole. If you represent a large organization, it is unlikely that you’ll have a one size fits all solution. Be ready to take action on the recommendations or on the scoring of the polls and try to do this regularly.

2. New tools: New equipment or technologies makes everyone feel better about where they work. There are newer and more efficient ways to work investing in these advances increases the value employees feel they receive from their organization. If your teams have reasonable requests for new equipment make the investment – the purchase may be what it takes to keep them over the long term.

3. More training: Canadian companies in many industries are investing in half the value of training as our southern neighbours. We’re behind Sweden, Austria, most of the OECD in non-formal training. Now is the time to invest in your people, training their skills, bring them new certifications and upskill them for today’s world of work. These investments will reap dividends in the quality of work and the engagement of your teams and over the long term the quality of their lives.

4. Opportunities for growth and advancement: In our Employer branding report, we have found that salary and benefits, workplace flexibility and opportunities for growth are keys to attracting great people. We also find that those opportunities are the leading reason why people stay at a job over the long term. If you have a department where there is little in the way of skyward or lateral growth, there will be lower retention. Build layers of seniority or management to add those opportunities and give your teams new things to do and learn. Assign your top performers to cross-departmental projects, where they will have the possibility to gain valuable insights from other teams and functional experts and to develop their leadership skills.

5. Cognitive and personality testing: When you are hiring new team members, it is important to understand who is who on a team. Through personality and cognitive testing, you can gauge the work style and strengths of your team. This will make it easier to make hiring decisions and move people within an organization.

6. Customized benefits: Some people don’t want a deal on a gym membership, or a cell phone plan. They might want better dental care or care days for family. Allowing people to pick and choose the benefits they want and leave behind the ones they don’t will give them more control of an important part of their compensation package, this will also increase engagement in your total rewards programming.

7. Idea sharing platforms: With the immediacy and omnipresence of social media, people are used to share feedback and connect. Encourage people to share information and ideas through platforms like Google + for example, or develop your own in-house solution, like Indigo and their virtual community sharing platform Galileo. Feeling part of a community is very important to the next generations of workers, so organizations should provide them with the tools that allow them to develop strong ties with their colleagues and management.

Want to learn more about employer branding? Visit, www.randstadaward.ca to learn about the 2015 Randstad Award and a survey conducted of 9,500 Canadian workers and job seekers. Find out what attracts them to companies, what helps them stay and how to build your employer brand.

Want to learn more about leading strategies to recruit or retain? Ask us anything on Twitter @RandstadCanada #RandstadAward.

A closer look at IBM Canada’s successful community-building, social media presence and employer branding development efforts

At our recent Randstad Award ceremony held on April 22^nd, IBM was voted the best employer brand of 2015, based on an independent employer branding research polling 9,500 Canadians. The organization has been perceived as having the best salary and employee benefits, career progression opportunities and training. Over the years, IBM has time and again innovated in technology. But to Pat Horgan, VP, Manufacturing, Development & Operations, IBM’s true innovation resides in the tight, proud community they created: the IBMers. I had the chance to see that community in action, when we announced their big win online on Wednesday night. A flood of IBMers tweeted their support and pride.  And it struck me that this was in no way a one-time thing.  To build such a strong community, you need to nurture it.

Why do you think IBM is such a powerful brand in Canada?

Over the last 100 years, IBM moved from making cheese slicers, clocks, scales, card punches to innovating in areas like cloud, analytics and mobile technology to help make the world work better.

IBM stands for progress. We want to be essential to the clients we serve, and the best way to do that is have our employees – our IBMers –take the lead in bringing our values to life and adapting them to a changing world.

We believe, as an innovation-based company, in the importance of open exchange — between IBM and its clients, and among the many constituents of the emerging business and societal ecosystem.

We make important contributions to the world, to the future of business and technology, and to public dialogue on a broad range of societal issues. It is important for IBM and IBMers to share with the world the exciting things we're learning and doing.

How do you foster employee engagement?

We believe that,  at the center of our communities should be IBMers—as the greatest source of influence to build belief, not only in our products and services, but in our role as the agenda setter for the industry.

As  the IBM brand is primarily experienced and embodied through IBMers , we give them a set of practices that define how we behave (practices that were developed from IBMers own ideas of what really mattered), and we are providing an internal framework for brand stewardship as experienced by the IBMer.

These practices are reinforced with seminars, education, and unnumerable blogs written by IBMers on how they are living the practices in their daily lives, to help others understand how to embody the practices.

What initiatives and tools have you launched to encourage exchange and interaction?

We use video blogs. Our CEO, on her second day on the job, posted a video blog for all employees. She had 205,000 visits, 751 comments, and 175 likes.  Half of IBM saw that video within 48 hours.  

IBM’s Think Academy is another relatively new initiative, supported by a community. It’s IBM's social/digital platform to educate employees, clients, partners and friends on growth topics critical to our success.

We recently launched ThinkFridays where once a month the Corporation focuses on a strategic initiative and encourages all employees globally to participate in 2 hour learning module.

Our IBM Expertise Locator, allows us to reach out to IBM experts for internal collaboration and external engagement.

How social is IBM?

IBM has been “social” in the online sense of the word for decades. In 1997, IBM actively recommended that its employees use the Internet —when many others were seeking to restrict employees' Internet access. We actively share brand experiences on social media – designed for employees internally and also for them to amplify externally.

In 2003, we made a strategic decision to embrace the blogosphere and to encourage IBMers to participate. We also undertook the first reexamination of its values in nearly 100 years. Through "Values-Jam," an unprecedented 72-hour discussion on IBM's global intranet, IBMers came together to define the essence of the company. The result?  A set of core values, defined by IBMers for IBMers, that shape the way we lead, the way we decide, and the way we act.

Since then we’ve continued to advocate IBMers' responsible involvement in social media, internally in applications like IBM Connections, and externally via third party applications (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube), for sales, communication, marketing and recruiting efforts.

The most recent example is Canada’s “country twitter” handle -- @IBMer_CA , a new way to engage IBMers we just launched in January of this year.

What would you say to other organizations who want to develop a strong employer brand? 

Don’t divide brand and culture: one of our senior leaders, Sandy Carter, likes to say “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”

Listen –crowd-sourcing employees ideas have helped us strengthen the brand and given employees a real stake in its success.

Stay authentic – don’t base success on a product or technology but on the reflection of your corporate character – and define that first before you expand brand responsibility outside marketing.

Don’t be afraid to ‘give up’ some control of the brand in favour of having employees take a greater ownership stake in its success.

Collaborate even more than what you think is required.

Trust your colleagues and employees to be interested in maintaining brand health and help them understand what that means and the role they can play in the brand’s success – if required.

Who knows who will be voted Top employer brand at next year’s Randstad Award. Will IBM replicate West Jet’s extraordinary winning streak with three consecutive wins? One thing is for sure, IBM has all intentions to continue to strive for innovation… and to keep their employees tweet, share, and promote their pride of being IBMers.

Formula 1 represents the forefront of engineering, logistics and teamwork; supporting it are professionals of every kind, working simultaneously behind the scenes to make sure the car stays on track.

Roles like Welder Fitters, Executive Assistants and Aerospace Engineers all have their place and all work together, striving for perfection, just like the team at Randstad Canada. At Randstad, we are proud to support Williams Martini Racing and you can count on us to bring the same level of professionalism to you that race teams bring to the F1.

Find out more about the roles keeping race cars on track.

Happy Canada Day:  Randstad Canada’s half-year review in 5 Canadian-focused articles

At Randstad, we are very proud of connecting employers and job seekers all over the country and discussing various year-long trends that affect the Canadian workplace.  As July 1^st wraps up the first half of the year, we thought it would be a great opportunity to share some of our best and most popular content on how the first half of 2015 is shaping up.

We wish a happy Canada Day to all workers and employers across the country!

When it comes to recruiting, are employers putting the wrong things in the window?

Our 2015 Randstad Award survey, polling over 9,000 Canadians, revealed how job seekers perceive organizations and what makes them choose an employer over another.

While job seekers are quick to cite financial health, strong management and good training as the attributes they associate with the country’s largest employer brands, these are not the things they appreciate when looking for the right fit. Read more

5 questions to IBM, Canada’s most attractive employer brand

Our 2015 Randstad Award winner, IBM, talks about how they built such a powerful brand and a strong community.  Learn some great insights on how to nurture an authentic and compelling employer brand.

Why Randstad is one of the best workplaces in the country

Randstad Canada has been recognized as a “Best Workplace in Canada” by the Great Place to Work Institute for the 9^th consecutive year in 2015. For the first time, we also won Best workplace to work for women. This recognition speaks volumes and emphasizes all the work we have done to empower female leaders through our Women Shaping Business program. Learn more about what makes Randstad Canada a great place to work for.

Is innovation the silver bullet for Canada’s skills gap?

Many of today’s job seekers have grown up in a high tech, dynamic era where the first and fastest to market are rewarded. We believe that very innovation – and the chance to work within a team of innovators – is appealing to a new crop of Canadian workers, as revealed in our Randstad Award 2015 survey. A great piece from our President Tom Turpin.

Are you ready for Gen Z?

While you may have been distracted by watching Gen Y-ers firmly establish themselves in the workplace as a force to be reckoned with, you might have missed the tide of a new generation moving up right behind them. Introducing Generation Z, born between 1995 and 2010. Coming to a workplace near you very soon, twenty million strong in the United States, with seven million of their peers in Canada, Gen Z is poised to make their mark in business. So who are these future workers?  Learn more. 

According to the recent Randstad Canada Workmonitor survey,  40% of Canadians say they choose to handle work related matters during their holidays because they like to stay involved. With summer vacation upon us, it’s important to remember the importance of unplugging and letting yourself recharge. Do you keep answering your emails while on vacation? 

That’s the sad refrain of employers across Canada struggling to find employees trained and skilled in science, technology, engineering and math.

According to Randstad’s new whitepaper, “Confronting Canada’s Technical Talent Shortage”, even the experts can’t agree on whether or not there actually is a dearth of STEM-skilled workers. And if there is, what’s the impact on Canada’s ability to compete globally? How do we ensure we have a future supply of these individuals? And won’t that be too late? Isn’t it better to be proactive than reactive?

So if the experts can’t agree, where does that leave employers currently struggling to fill positions with qualified people who can push innovation and growth? Pundits say Canada’s record of business innovation compared to other nations is historically and sadly lacking. Maybe we’re just too polite.

Anyone running a business knows that if you’re standing still, you’re falling behind. That’s because your competitors are taking the necessary steps to ensure they lead, not follow the pack.

Our evidence-based findings – and the calls we get from frustrated employers – tell the story. And it’s a narrative we’re hearing again and again, and in increasingly higher pitched voice. Many Canadian businesses experience difficulties when it comes to filling positions for IT specialists and engineers left vacant by retirement, fewer new graduates into the field, or simply a skills mismatch.

All, or at least those organizations looking to increase their level of customer satisfaction, service and competitive advantage are embracing technology across all industries, and consequently, have a growing need for STEM-skilled workers. No business that wants to stay in business and thrive is immune. How has IBM, in business for over 100 years, remained a leader? Innovation, agility, adaptability.

With technology changing at warp speed, driving the demand for highly skilled technology experts, STEM students are preparing for jobs that, by the time they graduate, will likely be supplanted by positions that haven’t yet been invented. What’s a business to do?

In the next few weeks, we’ll be raising questions around that critical issue, and recommending strategies and solutions to the challenges of finding skilled tech and engineering, math and science specialists. We hope this conversation will spark ideas on how you can go about creating opportunities for the future. It doesn’t take a Ouija board, just the willingness and commitment to create a solid plan for growth that looks at the big picture

The future is now. Let’s talk.

Do you know where to find the talent that will drive your business and meet your company objectives?

Randstad Canada's National Demand Guide shows you where the greatest supply of skilled and experienced engineers and technology experts are in highest demand and where there is greater supply of their skills and expertise. Here is a snapshot of the demand in Calgary for Engineering from April to June 2015.

If you are planning to grow your team this market insight will provide you with a good understanding of the markets across Canada. Find out what talent is hot, who’s hiring and where the most opportunities are.

Whether you know it or not, you already have a personal brand. It’s what other people think of you, how they talk about you, your actions and the reputation you’ve already established over time. And honestly, you want people to talk about you – in the best light - because what’s worse is not crossing their minds at all. Especially when you’re launching a career or changing one.

You control the business of you. Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you already have a digital footprint. Enhancing your brand means taking control of how others consider you, guiding them to seeing your best you, electronically and in the real world. Making yourself irresistible so they can’t not hire you, give you a promotion, a raise.

Sell yourself. We’re not talking about selling yourself in a used-car-salesman kind of way nor are we encouraging you to make unsubstantiated claims about who you are and what you can do. In fact, the opposite is true. Authenticity is key. Know your strengths and play to them. If you think about it, a brand is a promise of an enhanced value or experience. You have to come through on your promise.

Know your value. What do you bring to the table that makes you stand out from other candidates? Define your value proposition and don’t be afraid to alter it as you add new skills and capabilities to your toolbox.

Everything you do while searching, applying and interviewing for positions is part of how you make yourself irresistible. Here are some tips that will help you define and enhance your brand and get people talking about you positively. In fact, they’ll help you be your best you - someone people, and especially potential employers, can’t get enough of.

 1. Manage your online presence

• Don’t post anything you’ll regret, be embarrassed about or that is contradictory to a company you’re hoping to land a job with. In other words, if you’re applying to a meatpacking firm, don’t post pictures of your most recent vegan sit-in. Pretty much all hiring managers check out applicants on LinkedIn. Many will also look you up on Facebook, if only to make sure you’re not into anything completely outlandish or that what you do in your spare time doesn’t collide with the persona you’ve created for them.
• Set up online alerts for your name on a regular basis. You’re managing the YOU Company – you want to be sure what’s being posted and said about you is in keeping with your brand. If someone else with the same name keeps coming up, consider differentiating yourself by adding a middle initial. Remember, it’s all about you.
• Consider creating a blog or twitter account. Comment on or link to articles that have value to your industry or to a potential employer.

2.   Manage YOU before the interview

• Keep your resume up updated. Include community service activities. If you’re not already involved in your community, get involved.
• Focus your resume. Customize it for each position you apply for. Make sure it’s accurate and a true reflection of your skills and accomplishments. Don’t just list your skills; include what you did with them and how they – and you – brought value. And be sure that you support and enhance the skills you list on a resume in the interview.
• Increase your qualifications through advanced training or education. Personal growth not only looks good on paper, it feels good.
• Build relationships and networks. Nothing says how great you are like positive word of mouth.
• Apply for jobs you’re qualified for. Make sure your job search is as effective as it can be. Target your applications so you’re not spending all your time broadcasting resumes and applications like seeds and wondering why no-one’s responding.
• Research the company whose position you’re applying for. Learn as much as you can about the organization – it will differentiate you from candidates who don’t bother. It will also help you identify potential pain points that you can address and suggest solutions for in the interview.

3.  Manage the Interview

• Be the candidate your resume says you are. Be yourself. If those two things are mutually exclusive, you have some work to do.
• Be mature. Show hiring managers that you can work under pressure without imploding by giving them examples of times you were challenged or stressed and how you handled it.
• Suggest solutions. Hiring managers have a problem to solve.  Tell them why you’re the best person for the job. Show why you’re a good match for the position and a good company culture fit.
• Be likable and enthusiastic about the position. Employers want to hire people who want to work with them and whom they want to work with.

Your brand changes as you do.

A personal brand is an organic thing – it changes and morphs as you do, because it’s a reflection of you. As your career evolves, so too will your brand. It will help you make decisions and career choices because you’ll be thinking in a whole new way. The energy you spend tending your brand will come back to you in how it reflects your development. It’s a constant reminder of what you can – and should – expect from yourself.

Be irresistible.

You’re the boss of you. That means that, while you can’t control what happens outside of your sphere of influence, you can control what you do and how you respond. And you most certainly can influence how others see you, by being and holding fast to your best version of yourself.

People skills are important; being able to work well with the people around you and build relationships of trust and value are becoming increasingly important in the workplace,  as communications are omnipresent.

In the future, your people skills will become even more important – technical skills will get you hired, but your people skills will let you advance.

The Institute for the future, a non-profit organization [1] that leads a team of researching in forecasting how the world will change in the near and long term produced a report which labelled Six Drivers for Change and Ten Skills for the Future Workplace.Among them were social intelligence, virtual collaboration, cross-cultural competency and novel & adaptive thinking. What these are really describing is our ability to work with people and adapt how we think about and with the people around us. No matter what happens technologically in the future, here are five skills you need to continue to be successful in the future;

Ten Skills for the Future Workforce

SENSE-MAKING:
ability to determine the deeper meaning or significance of what is being expressed

SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE:
ability to connect to others in a deep and direct way, to sense and stimulate reactions and desired interactions

NOVEL & ADAPTIVE THINKING:
proficiency at thinking and coming up with solutions and responses beyond that which is rote or rule-based

CROSS-CULTURAL COMPETENCY:
ability to operate in different cultural settings

COMPUTATIONAL THINKING:
ability to translate vast amounts of data into abstract concepts and to understand data-based reasoning

NEW-MEDIA LITERACY:
ability to critically assess and develop content that uses new media forms, and to leverage these media for persuasive communication

TRANSDISCIPLINARITY:
literacy in and ability to understand concepts across multiple disciplines

DESIGN MINDSET:
ability to represent and develop tasks and work processes for desired outcomes

COGNITIVE LOAD MANAGEMENT:
ability to discriminate and filter information for importance, and to understand how to maximize cognitive functioning using a variety of tools and techniques

VIRTUAL COLLABORATION:
ability to work productively, drive engagement, and demonstrate presence as a member of a virtual team

1. Listen

For younger workers, this means actively listening to the experiences and training provided by their organization’s more senior team members. You might have been more recently trained and you might “know” how to do what you are being shown – but the experiences your team mates or trainers are sharing is institutional knowledge and it is invaluable. Be attentive take notes (yes that’s a good thing ) ask questions, lots of them. 

2. Contribute

On the other side of listening is contributing – providing intellectual value to a conversation on a project and to the company as a whole. Human beings  aren’t going anywhere in 2020. Share your opinion, your reasoning behind it and your stories; your insights bring value. 

3. Follow through

Whether that means you are going to respond to a meeting by supplying notes, or that you are going to approve or review a project plan – delivery is key to your ability to work with people. When you deliver on what you say you will you are building trust with your team members. That trust that helps you rely on people and be relied upon – and allows teams to get higher quality work completed faster. If you want to do great things do what you say you are going to do – be accountable.

4. Be open to new ideas

Change is an absolute, stagnation is death. In the future opportunities will arrive and with them new fears. Your ability to ride these waves of change is less about a specific action but a mind-set – be positive about new developments. When you hear about something new you will put your guard up – don’t take this as a sign to fight back, use this as a signal follow our last piece of advice and;

5. Learn and Catch Up

Everyone has things they don’t know. This is especially true of the things, that we don’t even know that we don’t know. We need to accept this and move on. This applies to executives and co-op students. In the future our ability to learn on the fly and to grow will be a major factor in our success. Become and expert, read about new things, take courses and try new things, Google it. Don’t like stubborn ignorance stand in the way of your personal progress.

[1] 10 skills for the future workplace http://www.sfu.ca/career/WCID/iftf_futureworkskills.html

Human beings have been telling stories since the first Neanderthals described (and probably exaggerated) their hunting prowess around a fire. Not only was it imperative to be an excellent hunter, it was even more important to get the whole clan believing you were, otherwise your days as clan leader were limited. Your very existence depended on your ability to grunt your story in the most engaging, compelling way.

Not words we would normally associate with hunting saber-toothed tigers. But definitely words we use when we talk about selling ourselves and getting others – particularly people in hiring power – to listen to, and engage with us. And ideally to offer us the position we’re after, the career we’ve trained for or the raise we’ve earned.

How does telling stories impact my success in an interview?

The stories you tell and how you tell them about yourself and your experience reinforce your personal brand and establish you as a three-dimensional representation of the person you are in your resume.

It’s important to understand we’re not talking about storytelling as an exercise in fiction. The opposite is true. You’re taking facts and creating connections and links so your work history, education, behaviour and personality all come together cohesively to convince an interviewer of the unique value you bring to the job.  Your narrative connects the dots - the details of your working life - that tell a prospective employer you’re not just the right person for the job, you’re the only person for the job.

You’re the hero of your own story.  The ability to create a compelling narrative has that kind of power.

You get the opportunity to interview because your skills and experience line up with the job and company requirements. But acing it? That depends on what happens during the interview when you’re asked questions like: “Tell me about a time you….”, or “What was your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?”. Your answers speak to how you function and cope with situations, experiences or projects similar to those you might encounter in the new position. Do you step up or fold? Do you lead or disappear into the woodwork? Can you communicate clearly? That’s when you need to pull a few good stories out of your hat.

Storyteller? Me?

You don’t have to be a natural storyteller; you just have to acquire a few skills. And the more you do it, the more comfortable you’ll become. How you recount your experiences will depend on your personality and personal style. Don’t fake it – let your storytelling style reflect the best parts of your personality.

Imagine the impact you’ll have in meetings, presentations, networking situations, and with your co-workers, not to mention the confidence you’ll develop. And who couldn’t use more confidence on the job?

Here are some tips to help you become the most sought-after storyteller in the cave:

Prepare

This is important because everyone – even the most seasoned storyteller – gets nervous in interview situations.

• Make sure you know the highlights of your resume, research the company you’re interviewing for, and work on connecting your experience with the role. You want them to see you as the solution to their problem.
• Be brief and to the point. Once you’ve got ‘em, don’t lose ‘em by wandering. Your story should take no more than three minutes to tell.
• When you’ve got a list, practice – out loud, in front of friends or family, or a mirror – until you can create a speech pattern and pace that you’re comfortable with. The importance of hearing your own voice out loud can’t be overstated. This is how you learn to think on your feet.
  
  

Structure

Every good story, book, script or screenplay has a beginning, middle and end, conflict and resolution. Maybe not in that order, but they’re there. It’s called a narrative arc. In the Story of You, you’re the hero who goes through a journey of discovery through challenges and trials, to resolution. And the stories you tell should show your development and progress. The higher the stakes, the more riveting your story will be.

Write your story outline in four or five sentences (you can embellish later):

• an intro that sets the scene – location, setting, time, the characters
• introduction of conflict – a problem that requires action, what’s at stake
• build to a climax – increasing challenge, how the problem was resolved
• the resolution –  resolving tension created by the conflict
• the end – the theme or moral, reinforces the point of the story, what you want the listener to take away from the story

Telling the Story

• Listen carefully in the interview so you’re giving the correct response to the appropriate question.
• Show excitement when you’re telling stories. You’re cuing people as to how they should respond to you.
• Be flexible. Interview questions come in different shapes and sizes.
• Be positive. Even if the question is negative. It’s your job to turn it around, snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
• Let your personality shine through. Remember, they’re also assessing whether or not you’re someone they want to work with.

Easier said than done.

Perhaps, in the beginning. But remember, we said you’ll get better at it the more you do it.

Here’s how those elements might come together in a job interview situation:

“I was the project manager in a marketing team of four. One of our company’s largest client targets issued a massive RFQ with a quick turnaround just before Christmas. This was really important to our organization and it was a matter of pride for us that we’d never missed a deadline.

 As project manager, it was my responsibility to delegate, create spreadsheets, set delivery dates and manage the process and participants. That was especially challenging as several of our key knowledge experts had already either left on vacation or were planning to.

I pulled some all-nighters on that project so I could assemble what we needed before we lost our key players to holidays. I held several phone meetings over different time zones so I could build the response.

My team said I inspired them - we did several 12 – 14 hour days. We wrote the sections of the RFQ as I’d designated, created appropriate graphics and sent the document to our VP of marketing, who proofed it from his cruise deck chair.

We not only met our deadline, we delivered a successful submission two days early. The company has subsequently been identified as a Vendor of Record for this client, with an increase in billings of 33%.

What I learned from this was that I manage teams successfully. I inspire those around me to perform optimally. I will bring my organizational skills and my ability to motivate and inspire your team as your new marketing manager.”

How will I know if I’ve connected?

You already know when people are locked in to your conversations or when they’re not. They either maintain eye contact or they look away. They sit still or they shift restlessly. They’re making notes or they’re doodling in the margins. They ask questions or they change the subject. Or worse, check their cell phones.

When you’ve told stories that resonate and have impact, they – and you – will be remembered. And hired.

Taking care of my professional image is not a new thing for me. I always tried to dress in a way that is both professional and that reflects my personality, smile a lot during interviews or networking events, choose carefully which pictures to post or not to post on Facebook.

But then, at some point in my career, I realized that this may not be enough to get further ahead. A lot of people have skills and experience, are smart and pretty, and are competing for the same exiting career opportunities.

Many changes occurred in the world of work over the last few years that have an impact on how we approach the professional world:

We see many generations at work, as people are retiring later, and they all have different work styles, needs, and expectations.  It is a challenge for today’s organizations to accommodate such a diversified workforce and create cohesive workplaces. The clearer you are when describing who you are, how you work and what you want, the better chances you have to find the right cultural fit.

Job-hopping and unusual career paths are becoming the norm, and employers are expecting to meet candidates who have a wide range of talents and experience. To demonstrate your versatility and to stay current with your industry, you must not be afraid to reinvent yourself: develop new skills, broaden your horizons and take risks.

More and more people are starting their own businesses, becoming freelancers or consultants. When you need to promote yourself in order to get work and be selected to work on interesting projects, building and fostering a strong personal brand is the master key to your success.

And, let’s face it; in our global, digitalized world where everyone is connected through social media, the way you communicate and project yourself is more important than ever. There are billions of people who use Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram and the plethora of social platforms every day. Employers, clients, colleagues, both local and global, virtually anyone, anywhere, will find you online. Developing a strong presence online and polishing your image on virtual networks can go a long way in creating strong, trusted relationships.

With all of this in mind, here’s what I did to enhance my professional brand.

1-   Create my personal mission statement

This exercise is tougher than it looks, but oh so useful. Can you synthesize in a few words who you are, what are your unique strengths and talents? Whenever I undertake a new project, evaluate career opportunities or meet new people, I keep my personal mission statement I mind. That way, I can answer any questions people ask me about my goals and aspirations, clarify my expectations, and steer my career where I want it to go.

Here’s my personal mission statement:

With my unique ability to quickly assemble ideas, information and insights to create meaning, I craft impactful messages and tell compelling stories that can elevate brands while inspire, provoke thought and spark emotion with any audience.

2-   Stay connected

Keeping up with everyone and everything that goes on online can become cumbersome, but with time, you will discover where it is worth investing your time. There many tools out there, such as feedly, that allows you to organize, read and share the content of your favorite sources of information. Google alerts are of course another easy way to follow specific news with keywords that are of interest to you. On Twitter, I use lists to organize the sources or topics I want to follow more closely. With tweetymail, I can set up alerts to receive news from my lists in my inbox, which is a huge time saver. I heavily use Evernote to organize ideas and content that I find interesting around certain themes. Finally, I consult LinkedIn everyday as my primary source of information, following and reading articles from influencers and thought leaders, and subscribing to groups in my field.

3-   Make my voice heard

Of course, starting and maintaining a blog is not everybody’s cup of tea. It is certainly a great way to show your expertise and bring great ideas on the table. But if it is too much of a commitment, start with commenting on articles published by influencers you like, this will allow you to engage in valuable conversations with people in your field and increase your exposure online. With time, you will develop your own style and voice, and form clear and insightful views and opinions on certain topics that you care about. Who knows where this can lead: you could start a collaborative project, be invited to participate to a panel discussion, or contribute articles to a trade magazine even?

4-   Keep learning

There are so many ways to access interesting content these days. You can attend webinars over lunch, watch a ted talk, listen to podcasts while commuting (there are tons of them on itunes store), or simply take continuing education classes. I recently completed a professional diploma in Digital Content and Community Management at McGill, which was a great career move: I added news skills to my portfolio, met inspiring people and got a fresh perspective on my professional field!

Developing a strong personal brand is about being able to deliver a compelling story about yourself, staying current and relevant in your industry, and engaging in valuable conversations.  If you ever cross my path on a Linkedin thread discussion or at a networking event, you will have a very clear idea of what it means to work with me.

What does it mean to work with you?

Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to show a professional, positive image in the workplace, especially now, in our social media era, where everything is seen and known.

It's time to take a lesson from the big brands, in how to market ourselves effectively. All great brands are built around a strong mission statement, their corporate mantra so to speak, which describes what they do and why they do it. A few examples. Google? Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Nike? To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. Coca-Cola? To refresh the world and inspire moments of optimism and happiness…

Why not use them as a reference to build your own personal brand statement?

To be specific, your personal brand is the collection of values, experiences and associations that people attach to you.  In short, it’s what peers and associates think about when they hear your name mentioned. It is what they'll say about you if they are called on a reference check.

In order to create an authentic and compelling personal brand, we have to showcase what makes us special.  What do I want to be known for? What do I strive to achieve? What am I especially good at? What are my unique qualities and skills? What are my passions, my values? How do I want to contribute to society? What are the personality traits that make me stand out? What are my strengths, those that always allowed me to achieve great things?

So how can you develop the kind of personal brand that leading employers want to recruit and retain? Here are some useful tips: 

1. Reflect on yourself

With a clear vision of who you are and what you are worth, and what pushes you to get up in the morning, you can stay connected to the right people and the right opportunities, those that fit with you, inspire you and make you progress and move forward.

Identify the qualities or characteristics that separate you from your competitors -- or your colleagues. What have you done lately -- this week -- to make yourself stand out? What would your past or present colleagues or customers say is your greatest and clearest strength?

Start thinking like a brand manager, ask yourself: What is it that my product or service does that makes it different? Take the time to write down your answer. And then take the time to read it.

Here’s an example from the one and only Oprah Winfrey:

"To be a teacher. And to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be."

By keeping in mind your personal mission, you can focus your job search efforts on the right opportunities, clarify your professional journey in your resume, answer interview questions in a clear and compelling way, and steer your career path.

2. Enhance your brand

There's no limit to the ways you can go about enhancing your brand. Sign up for an extra project within your organization, just to introduce yourself to new colleagues and showcase your skills -- or work on new ones. Or, take on a freelance project that gets you in touch with a totally novel group of people. If you can get them singing your praises, they'll help spread the word about what a remarkable contributor you are.

Try teaching a class at a community college, or in your own company. Try contributing a column or an opinion piece to your local newspaper or try to get yourself on a panel discussion at a conference or sign up to make a presentation at a workshop. You’ll get credit for being an expert, you increase your standing as a professional, and you increase the likelihood that people will come back to you.

3. Get the message out

The single most important way of developing your brand is to be seen in person (in a positive light of course).  If you are a jobseeker, networking is an important way to sell yourself, but for those currently employed, internal networking is just as important. Make going out and meeting the rest of the business an objective in itself.

Your network of friends, colleagues, clients, and customers are the most important marketing vehicle you've got; try to continually find ways to nurture your network of colleagues. What they say about you and your contributions is what the market will ultimately gauge as the value of your brand.

Additionally, you can set yourself apart by regularly contributing and providing added value on sites such as LinkedIn, writing blogs, using Twitter. Your aim is to be known in a positive light as an expert on a particular topic.  It’s not about being online 24/7 for the sake of it; it’s about adding value to others through all of your communications. 

4. Radiate energy and confidence

One of the things that attracts us to certain brands is the power they project. It's no different in the workplace. If, for example, your colleagues are having a hard time organizing productive meetings, volunteer to write the agenda for the next meeting. You'll not only be contributing to the team, but you’ll have the opportunity to determine what will go on and off the agenda. Most importantly, remember that power is largely a matter of perception. If you want people to see you as a powerful brand, you must act like a credible leader.

5. Be consistent

Brand building doesn’t happen overnight and it needs to be consistent.  When you're promoting your brand, remember that everything you do - and everything you choose not to do - communicates the value and character of your brand. Everything from the way you handle phone conversations and emails to the way you conduct business in a meeting. It’s all part of a larger message that you are sending about your brand.

Ultimately, you are in charge of your brand and there is no single path to success. And while there is no one right way to create and promote your individual brand, these tips will set you on the right path to becoming more attractive to leading employers who are eager to find and retain not just great candidates, but also inspirational employees, that they will be clamoring to work with. By taking control of your personal brand, you will have better opportunities to progress, become a leader and an ambassador for your organization, and achieve success in your professional life.

We talk a lot about creating and embracing our best selves. And while age is something we don’t often take into account until we’re reminded or forced to, it’s pretty much impossible to separate how old you are in terms of what generation you represent from how you operate in the world. This is especially – and sometimes painfully – true in the workplace.

Ageism as a ‘thing’ was coined in 1969 to describe discrimination against seniors and the elderly. It’s now a term that describes biases against all ages. Ageism continues to colour much of what we think we know and understand about our fellow humans, especially in the workplace, where it operates almost unconsciously and sometimes - thankfully less so - overtly.  Stereotypes are the manifestation of ageism, the oversimplifications of grains of truth. They might help us make sense of our working world, but at what cost?

Conventions around age – and resulting stereotypes - still impact hiring strategies, team structures and how workers act, react and interact with each other. They’re decidedly unhelpful in the workplace when trying to create a cohesive, productive team or be part of one. Bottom line? Stereotypical ageism affects productivity in a negative way. And that affects the bottom line. And that affects you.

Many businesses today have three or four generations working side by side or trying to. This a lucky workforce because, if handled with care, everyone benefits from the unique contributions, forged by experience, environment and history, of each individual. That’s diversity at its best.

There are ways you can increase your immunity to the impacts of ageism and at the very least, change the way you behave and interact in your multi-generational workplace so that your contributions matter and so that you can recognize and appreciate the contributions of others. That’s a win-win situation.

We’ve put together some information and tips to debunk generational myths and assumptions that abound in the workplace and can get in the way of fully functional, cohesive, productive, multi-generational teams. It’s not a complete list nor is it a solution. Rather, it’s hopefully the beginning of meaningful, productive dialogue.

Remember, not only do assumptions about age limit the contributions of others, they’re also missed opportunities for you.

Baby Boomers (born 1946 – 1964)

Generation X (born 1965-1980)

Generation Y (A.K.A. Millennials) (born after 1980)

Do you know where to find the talent that will drive your business and meet your company objectives?

Randstad Canada's National Demand Guide shows you where the greatest supply of skilled and experienced engineers and technology experts are in highest demand and where there is a greater supply of their skills and expertise. Here is a snapshot of the Technologies demand in Toronto from April to June 2015.

If you are planning to grow your team this market insight will provide you with a good understanding of the markets across Canada. Find out what talent is hot, who’s hiring and where the most opportunities are.

We’ve been talking a lot recently about the shortage of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) skilled workers organizations across Canada have been experiencing. While opinions about a shortage are conflicting, what’s clear among forward-thinking businesses determined to innovate and grow is that they can’t get there from here without an aptly trained workforce.

Our white paper, “Confronting Canada’s Technical Talent Shortage” is full of valuable information and tips on how you can attract and develop the talent you need to realize your business objectives. Our hope is that it triggers conversations in your organization that will increase your immunity to the ebbs and flows of a fluctuating business environment.

Here are some ways you can fill your talent pool:

Participate:Promote education from the primary school level to create a STEM-literate society with strong basic skills. Encourage and support increased registration in science, technology, engineering and math programs.Work with government agencies and educational institutions to promote STEM fields among future workers. Build relationships with schools and students to promote STEM-based education. You’ll be investing in long-term growth and development. For example, organize school visits to talk about your organization and the stimulating career opportunities it offers.

Develop: Help students develop soft skills through business-education partnerships that provide work-integrated learning (WIL) programs such as apprenticeships, co-op programs, internships, applied research projects and workplace training. You’ll be providing a future workforce with practical and soft skills that can only be gained in the workplace. And you’ll be grooming a previously untapped employment pool that already knows and understands your company, objectives and goals. You’ll benefit from their enthusiasm and commitment – they’ll commit to you because you’ve already committed to them.

Include: Make sure your hiring pool includes underrepresented groups like women and Aboriginals. By providing mentor/training programs that target them, you’ll benefit from a deeper pool of diverse experience, ideas, perspectives and capabilities, not to mention increased engagement and productivity. And really, there’s no such thing as too much of these good things when it comes to your business.

Encourage: Create a corporate environment that enables and rewards new skills development. Establish internal training in the skills your organization needs or might need in the future. You’ll be increasing morale within your organization and you’ll raise your value as an employer of choice.

Innovation and growth don’t just happen. They’re driven. As a business leader, you’re in the driver’s seat. Be proactive in your hiring initiatives and retention strategies. Only one way takes you forward.

The future is now. Let’s talk. Visit http://w.randstad.ca/stem-2015/ to register for your copy of the Randstad STEM whitepaper and discover how if you are ready to solve your talent shortages

On September 24, we held the 2015 edition of our Talent Award gala, highlighting the talent of amazing individuals who are dedicated to the success of their organization. This special evening allowed us to recognize exceptional professionals in the following categories: Innovation, Life Saver, Rookie of the year and finally, this year, Personal branding. Our Randstad Professional consultants have submitted over 100 nominations, and out of these, a special jury selected the Top winners in Montreal and Toronto.

This year, we are focusing on a skill that we find to be very important in today’s competitive marketplace:  personal branding. We understand that in 2015, a resume is not enough to stay ahead. Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to show a professional, positive image in the workplace, especially now, in our social media era, where everything is seen and known.

At Randstad, we know that every organization needs talent to move forward. That is why we created the Talent Award.

We want to congratulate all winners. They perfectly exemplify how organizations need talented people to move forward. We also want to congratulate all the nominees who also contribute to the growth of Canadian organizations.

Here’s the list of 2015 winners for the different categories.

Finance & accounting

Innovation                        Jack Novak

Rookie of the Year           Ali Irtaza

Life saver                         Rosario Saracia

Human resources

Innovation                        Evert Akkerman

Rookie of the Year           Elisa Abarca

Life saver                         Jack Triolo

Sales & Marketing

Innovation                         Carrie Higgins

Rookie of the Year           Gurshawn Hansi

All divisions

Personal branding           Geeta Jadhav

Congratulations!

Randstad Canada's National Demand Guide shows you where the greatest supply of skilled and experienced engineers and technology experts are in highest demand and where there is a greater supply of their skills and expertise. Here is a snapshot of the Engineering demand in Toronto from July to September 2015. 

If you are planning to grow your team, this market insight will provide you with a good understanding of the markets across Canada. Find out more about what talent is hot, who’s hiring and where the most opportunities are.