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Recruitment & Job-Hunting Tips

Employee vs Employer Market

Susan’s Snippets
As you may have seen in the local newspapers, CRS is still celebrating our 10th anniversary of service.

I have been particularly moved by the glowing testimonials we’ve received from candidates and clients and these are now published on both of our websites (see http://www.crsitjobs.com/Testimonials.htm for the I.T. recruitment reviews). Thank you all for your support and I am glad to have served you over the years.

Employee vs Employer Market
Are we in an Employee or Employer market right now in T&T? It depends on what industry we’re talking about.

There are some I.T. skills which are very hard to find e.g., I.T. Salespeople, Project Managers, Internet Security Specialists to name a few. Most other I.T. skills are readily available, and so I would say it’s still an Employer’s Market for I.T.

Employers usually have the luxury of being able to choose an I.T. employee from a selection available, and so personality and other soft skills are the main criteria to fit the team. Having said that, there has been a steady demand for good I.T. staff and this has caused salaries to rise in recent years.

Really good, experienced people in any discipline always command a premium rate because there are so few of them around. When employers cannot find the skills they need and they are desperate, then you will see tactics like poaching and counter-offers taking place to get/keep necessary skills to do the work.

Even when candidates really do not have the experience or depth of knowledge required, they may still be rare enough to find their salaries shoot up when they decide to test their marketability. I have heard of at least one case where an Oil & Gas Engineer went to his employers saying he’d got a job offer. They counter-offered and a battle took place over him.
When the dust settled, he was still in the same job at nearly double his original salary. The irony was that he wasn’t considered all that great at his job; it’s just that there wasn’t anybody out there to replace him.

It’s definitely an Employee’s Market right now for several disciplines within the Energy Sector in T&T, such as Civil/Structural Engineers, Process Engineers, QA/QC Specialists, Quantity Surveyors, Drillers and so on. Service companies are having a tough time finding resources at prices that they can afford after bidding for projects. Sometimes there is no other option but to bring in ex-pats at many times the cost of local employees.
The benefit of that, in theory, is that the experienced ex-pat can pass on his international expertise and knowledge to our locals.

There is a lot of good talent undergoing training within the Energy industry in T&T and one day, they will have that knowledge and experience to make them in demand internationally. They will be the ex-pats called in around the globe to help Oil & Gas companies get the job done and bring their locals up to a world-class standard. When that time comes, CRS will be in a position to help them find those lucrative jobs anywhere in the world. We have eyes on the world!

Tell Us What You Think
We would love to hear what you think of this issue of CRS News. And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming issues that you would like to share with us, please send those too.

Posted by on October 25, 2016
Industry Insights

When BP Smiles ….

I invested my money to hear Mr. Bob Dudley, Group Chief Executive, BP PLC, speak at the Energy Chamber Breakfast Presentation before the recent AGM.  That was a great decision!  His projection for global energy growth (36% by 2030, with natural gas being the fastest growing fuel) certainly caught my interest.

Mr. Dudley said that T&T’s LNG is ranked 6th in the world and is responsible for 17% of BP’s world production, and will not be blown away by USA shale gas.  New technologies are unlocking reserves, discovered decades ago, but previously inaccessible.  Encouraged by the potential of the Columbus Basin – offshore and onshore – BP is investing $6 billion in this country.  He expects increased investment in exploration, encouraged by new and competitive tax incentives.  Local maintenance work is showing increased efficiencies and safety, and production will be normalised by 2014.  T&T’s model of using gas for downstream industries “punches above its weight” globally and other countries are examining what we do to apply to their own industries.

With regard to the hot topic of Local Content, Mr. Dudley assured us that BP’s policy is to use local content, but added that local companies should themselves be open to international business.  He also commented that there are more Trinis working for BP globally than there are expats working for BP in Trinidad!

Afterwards, the Minister of Energy, the Honorable Kevin Ramnarine, mentioned the often quoted statement “when BP sneezes, Trinidad catches a cold”.  Well, perhaps the converse is “When BP smiles, Trinidad laughs”.   I know I am very happy!

Posted by on October 15, 2016
Recruitment & Job-Hunting Tips

6 Tips for Writing a Winning Resume

Susan’s Snippets
It’s back to work now that everyone has returned from their “Summer” holidays. That means that more new jobs are coming on the market and I have been asked to share some of the résumé writing tips that we give our candidates to help them portray themselves to best effect.

6 Tips for Writing a Winning Résumé
There is plenty of advice on the Internet on how to write good résumés and what to put in it. Space does not allow me to go into great detail here, so this is my own view of of a few things that I have found to work well.

1) Proper English, accurate spelling and good grammar
We were all taught this at school yet it’s surprising how many people do not even bother to do a spell check before sending out their résumés. This portrays you as sloppy and uneducated, and you won’t get a second look from the HR department unless they know that you won’t be required to write any reports or documentation.

2) Good layout of information
Remember that most HR people have to skim through hundreds of résumés sometimes to pick out the good ones. They may take 10 seconds to decide if yours is worth considering. Make sure that they can quickly and easily pick out what YOU want them to read. So give them a brief outline of your skills and put your most recent jobs at the top of your list of companies worked. Clearly state what each job entailed and the skills used.
Education, courses taken, references, hobbies, etc., can be placed after this as they would only look for this detail if you have already caught their attention. CRS recommends the layout given on our website http://www.crsitjobs.com/resume.htm.
Always write in the ‘first person’ rather than the ‘third person’ as the latter style makes it look like someone else wrote the résumé for you.

3) Keep it short and concise
You may have had a busy career with a long list of jobs, each with interesting skills to high-light. If your résumé is more than 3 pages long, then cut it down! No one will find the time to read your accomplishments of 10 years ago and may skip your recent ones as well if they are faced with a volume of information.
Keep any job description over 8 years ago to 1 or 2 sentences. Any skills used then are probably irrelevant now in the fast-paced world of technology. You can leave out minor jobs altogether, so long as this doesn’t leave a significant time gap between jobs listed.

4) Put in dates
Always put in dates for your jobs and education. Otherwise it looks like you are trying to hide something.

5) Don’t be too fancy
As an agency, we hate when candidates put in fancy colours, complicated formatting, tables and graphics as we have to do a certain amount of style changing to conform to our own standards, put in our logo, etc. Avoid referring an employer to your online résumé as this takes time on their part and they may be unwilling to make the effort.

6) Skills Matrix
We encourage our technical candidates to put their skills with competency level, years experience and when last used, in a chart format at the back of their résumés (see http://www.crsitjobs.com/resume.htm#matrix). Our clients have found this extremely useful as they can then quickly assess whether someone has the skill profile that they are looking for.

Good luck with writing that killer profile of yourself!

Tell Us What You Think
(Referring to our last newsletter “Retaining I.T. Staff”)

What makes you want to work for a company? Usually it’s because you admire the challenges that the employees in that company face in terms of the solutions that they develop for their customers, you are eager to work with the technology that this company has available or quite simply the expertise that is available makes you want to just bask in the glow of brilliance (ok I’m laying it on a bit thick.. but you get my drift). Money issues are secondary concerns.
We all have our bills, but in my opinion many people would take a pay cut if they are able to go to work somewhere that challenges them to work creatively, productively and encourages communication of ideas… It just means they would have to come up with creative budgeting measures.
Companies need to do some re-evaluating. Are they willing to be looked at as a revolving door, knowing that people view you simply as a stepping stone, or do you want to be seen as a company where I.T. personnel aspire to work because they know that they would be able to grow as the company grows? … Shelly-Anne

We would love to hear what you think of this issue of CRS News. And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming issues that you would like to share with us, please send those too.

Posted by on September 25, 2016
Recruitment & Job-Hunting Tips

Retaining Technical Staff

Susan’s Snippets

Thank you for the interest shown in the launching of this newsletter.  If you know anyone else who might like to read it, then please feel free to pass it on to them.

After the first newsletter was sent out, I received some disturbing news that certain local agencies are using CRS’s name to convince people that they are genuine about finding them overseas jobs for a fee. Please scroll down to the next section “Tell Us What You Think” to read my comment on this.

Retaining Technical Staff

It’s common knowledge that it’s an employee’s market in the Energy industry worldwide. Here in Trinidad, there are not enough skilled and suitably experienced people working in the industry and they are being desperately sought after by several companies, often bidding for the same work.  So how does an employer try to keep their in-demand staff?

From my own experience, there are 3 main elements that will affect whether an employee is happy or not – the job itself, the office environment and commutation concerns.  If all 3 are good, then this employee is very happy and will not leave.  If only 2 are good, then this employee may be content but would be open to better offers.  If only 1 is good, then this person will be looking for another job.

If none are present, then you have a seriously unhappy individual who is desperate to leave. Clearly, this is a simplistic view and people will have different emphases on which elements are important to them.

1) The Job
Job interest is particularly important to technical people who thrive in a challenging role. If the job becomes too much the same, day in and day out, then they will get bored and look for something more stimulating. Development and training in new skills is important for an I.T. professional to maintain their marketability.

Often, the nature of the work is more important to an individual than the salary, though an underpaid person will probably feel discontented. A highly paid individual is unlikely to be more happy just because of their salary. Nevertheless, people may be tempted to move jobs simply to earn very high salaries, presumably because they (or their families) can enjoy luxuries because of it.

Working long hours for a long period of time is extremely stressful and can lead to ‘burn out’, so why do people do it? Often, staff are motivated to make whatever personal sacrifices are necessary to complete a project by a deadline imposed by their employer. But afterwards, the ‘down’ after the ‘high’ of the adrenaline of team effort can lead to depression and demotivation.

2) The Office Environment
By office environment, I mean the building, the office arrangement and the people the employee has to work with. If the office is shabby or the desks are too close together or otherwise unpleasant to work in, then this is bound to affect the people who work there.

In addition, office politics can have seriously debilitating effects on a person’s psyche, whereas being part of a cheerful and supportive team is very uplifting to most people. How well employees relate to their boss and how well respected they are in their jobs are also major factors in how happy they are at work.

3) Commutation Concerns
Commuting to work can be very stressful and occupies a great deal of unproductive time if it involves travelling for over an hour in slow moving traffic. Some people get round this by changing their hours of work to come in either before or after the morning rush hour, but this still means having much less personal time at home. ‘Telecommuting’ or working from home is becoming more popular because of the increased difficulty in getting to work in a reasonable time.

All I can advise is that companies who want to retain their staff should listen to the concerns of their employees, and be prepared to change those elements that are within their power to change in order to maintain a happy working environment for everyone. The reward is a contented and productive team and a low turn-over of hard-to-replace staff.

Tell Us What You Think
(Referring to our last newsletter “Job Scams”)

It has been brought to my attention that there are companies who advertise in the Classifieds section of the local newspapers and offer overseas job-finding services for a fee. This fee is “refundable” should they not find you a job. Please note that Caribbean Resourcing Solutions (CRS) is not associated in any way with any agency or company purporting to find overseas jobs for individuals.

The following website has some interesting comments about one of these companies, Caledonian Offshore: http://www.oilcareers.com/content/community/board/view.asp?
mode=viewtopic&topicID=634

This is a common scam. Please be very wary and investigate the company name on the Internet before handing over any money to an employment agency for foreign jobs.

We would love to hear what you think of this issue of CRS News. And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming issues that you would like to share with us, please send those too.

Posted by on August 25, 2016
Recruitment & Job-Hunting Tips

Salary Surveys

Susan’s Snippets
While researching the topic for this month’s newsletter, I came across a few websites that claim to provide up to date online salary surveys for most places in the world, for free. One of them in particular impressed me with its ease of use and the fact that a few random entries for Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, actually look reasonable. I even signed up with them to provide this service from our websites.

However, when I played around a bit more, I was amazed to find that it gave salaries (broken down by our cities of Port of Spain and San Fernando) for every job category in its extensive list, including such uncommon careers as archivist, chimney builder and horse exerciser. They claim that “these numbers are derived from real, area specific, survey data”.

Perhaps we will consider developing our own salary data instead. Is this something you might find useful? If so, what criteria should we use?

CRS can query our recruitment database for actual salaries currently being earned by candidates with particular education and experience. This has proved helpful to many clients who want to know what to offer to make their jobs attractive to the best talent. Let me know if you are interested in our salary survey service.

Salary Surveys
It is natural to want to know whether or not you are adequately paid for the job you do. Companies also want to know whether they are underpaying their staff so that they don’t lose people to much better paying jobs elsewhere. On the other hand, if staff are overpaid then this is at a cost to company profits. It’s a delicate balance of getting the best resources for an affordable price.

Of course there are other factors that can make a job desirable and I wrote about this in a previous newsletter http://www.crsitjobs.com/Newletters/CRSNews-Retaining%20I.T.%20Staff.html .

Salary surveys are a useful tool to gauge what someone with a given job title and defined education and experience should be earning. Employees can certainly use this information to support their case for salary increases. However, the data provided in salary surveys is just a guide and is subject to inaccuracies.

For instance, how was the salary data gathered and how long ago, and how many were surveyed?

Salaries are rising quite rapidly for I.T. staff in Trinidad because of the booming economy. There is an increased demand for technical staff to create new or upgraded computer systems to help companies compete locally and globally. It’s not helpful to be guided by a survey that was taken a year or more ago, as the data is out of date.

Salary surveys are always organised by job title. Yet, the I.T. industry is notorious for being inconsistent with the meanings of its job titles. For instance, someone may have a title of project manager but he is really a technical support engineer. His salary of TT$6,000/month may get lumped in with a senior project manager with a salary of TT$30,000/month. You can see how the average salary for a project manager could get seriously skewed here.

Salaries also vary widely according to the company and industry that employs people. A network engineer working for a wealthy oil company will earn considerably more than one working for a small manufacturing company – this is just a fact of life that some can afford to pay more. Also, someone working in a large company may well have more complex duties to perform than a similar position in a small or medium-sized company, and this is reflected in a higher salary.

Another important factor is the number of people in the survey. Trinidad is pretty small in terms of population. If there were only 2 people in the survey with the title project manager and they both worked for oil companies at salaries of $20,000 and $30,000, say, then the salary range for project manager would show as $20,000 – $30,000, when in fact there are many earning $15,000 or so elsewhere.

So, while salary surveys are certainly interesting to us all personally and to those who have to decide what salaries to pay, you have to be very cautious about using them as your main source of information. As mentioned above, we at CRS can help by querying our recruitment database for actual salaries currently being earned by candidates with particular education, experience, etc.

Tell Us What You Think

It has been a pleasure receiving your newsletter for the past two years that I have been a subscriber. As a young professional in the IT field, I have found your newsletters to be quite informative while trying to develop my career and would like to ask that you keep up the good work and keep them coming! :o) … Vishard

I always appreciate the encouragement to keep these newsletters going. Many thanks to those who have expressed appreciation …. Susan

We would love to hear what you think of this issue of CRS News. And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming issues that you would like to share with us, please send those too.

Posted by on July 25, 2016
Recruitment & Job-Hunting Tips

Hiring Stars-What Not To Do

Susan’s Snippets
Well, the “Summer” vacation is just about over and it’s back to earning a living. Hopefully, you are fired up and ready to reach for the stars. This issue is focusing on how prospective employers should treat and respect “star” candidates. Hopefully you are one of them.

Hiring Stars – What not to do
There’s a big difference in the pace of life between a developed country and a developing Caribbean country. T&T wants to reach developed status by the year 2020 and Jamaica has a deadline of 2030. One area that will probably be hardest to bring to developed status is the speed of doing business. Any business professional who has ever worked in North America or the UK/Europe will tell you that it is frustrating when Caribbean clients take a long time to make decisions (and it makes it hard to plan cash flow).

An example of this slow responsiveness can be seen in the hiring of staff. While I have not been a recruiter outside of Trinidad, I have experienced being a candidate in the UK. Over there, the recruiters in the agencies that I signed up with worked very fast (as we aim to do at CRS) and employers made their hiring decisions very quickly. This was necessary as good candidates would receive a choice of job offers with corresponding pressure to accept by a short deadline. I can remember trying to delay decisions or having to reject offers because the company I wanted to work with took longer than the rest to make their offer (it worked out in the end).

In the Caribbean as elsewhere, it’s always hard to find great candidates with a strong track record. Yet there are employers who appear to believe that they can take their time and that these “star” candidates will still be happily waiting around for them. The feedback we get from these top talents is that they feel ignored and disrespected, and this is a turn-off. So much so that even if they have not secured another job, they will turn down the offer from the slow moving company as this tardy response reflects badly on how the company operates.

Another huge turn-off to candidates is having to do repeated interviews. Two interviews is normal, three is OK for more senior people, but four or more and the recruiter has to bring all her persuasive powers to bear to get that candidate to turn up. So many interviews suggests that the employer does not value the candidate’s time or that they can’t make up their minds about them. Either way, it comes across as offensive, and believe me, it makes people ANGRY.

The final no-no in hiring top people is to make a lower offer than what was originally advertised. There was a case many years ago of a highly-skilled foreign yachtsman who CRS submitted for a position for which no locals had the qualifications. We told him the salary range given to us was very reasonable by local standards, though clearly much lower than what he was accustomed to earning. Anyway, after much persuasion he attended an interview. The hiring team were very excited as they had little prospect of seeing anyone else to fit their requirement. They made him an offer on the spot – about $2,000 below the minimum they had given us. Well, my man just got up, walked out, jumped on his yacht and sailed away, never to be seen again! That time, we were also the angry ones as we felt undermined and made to look unprofessional. Everyone lost!

When you are trying to woo rare talent (or any kind of talent) please respect their time and their sense of worth. It’s always an employee’s market when it comes to star candidates. Once insulted, they will never take the job and the company’s reputation will be put in question. Good luck with your head hunting!

Tell Us What You Think
(Referring to our last newsletter “Hiring Friends”)

A well written article, and should help reinforce that the correct process of recruitment could save much time and money over the long term. After all, if you recommend the person and they do not perform – who’s reputation is going to suffer??! … Susan

 

Appreciated the article, so relevant to my region, where someone is always a “good” friend or a distant relative who really needs a “job”. HR personnel have a hard time dissuading Department Managers etc to step back and allow the Company’s hiring policies and guidelines to run its course to enable the “best” person for the job to get the job. In a highly technical company HR personnel seems almost limited at times to push for transparency since they rely on the advice of the technical mangers to recommend the best candidate for the job, and they unfortunately are also often the same ones pushing for their “friends” etc to get the job… Tricia

Have you had an experience where hiring someone’s friend has turned out to be a disaster? Please tell us about it…. Susan

We would love to hear what you think of this issue of CRS News. And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming issues that you would like to share with us, please send those too.

Posted by on July 25, 2016
Career Advice

Smarter, Not Harder-10 Emotionally Intelligent Time Management Tips

Susan’s Snippets

Once again, I am pleased to present the second of a two-part series of articles by guest writer, Mr Galba Bright. To view an illustrated presentation of this article on Emotionally Intelligent Time Management Tips, go to
http://tuneupyoureq.com/2007/05/01/how-to-work-smarter-not-harder/.

 

Galba Bright resides in Jamaica. He is the Caribbean’s leading provider of Emotional Intelligence Learning Programmes and Knowledge Products.

The Information & Computer Technology Society of Trinidad & Tobago (ICTS) has postponed its Technology Session to a date to be determined. Keep checking the ICTS website for updates http://www.icts.org.tt or email me at icts@crsitjobs.com if you would like me to notify you when the Session will take place.

 

Smarter, Not Harder – 10 Emotionally Intelligent Time Management Tips … by Galba Bright

You’re living in an age where far more is about how your mind and brain work than ever before. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) studies show that how you think, feel and act are intimately linked.

Daniel Goleman, author of the 1995 book “Emotional Intelligence, Why It Can Matter More Than IQ” defines Emotional Intelligence (EQ) as:
“The capacity for recognising our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships.”

Use these 10 Tips and take control of your time and your life.

1. Solve work problems while you’re asleep. Ask your mind a question at the end of the day and expect a meaningful answer when you wake up. Many people report that they’ve achieved dramatic results by putting their subconscious mind to work.

2. Stop multi-tasking. Trying to do too many things at once and switching frequently between many tasks has been shown by many studies to reduce productivity by between 29% to 53%.

3. Sip iced water throughout your working day. If you drink as little as 4% – 5% below your optimal water requirements, your concentration and performance can be reduced by as much as 30%.

4. Produce a prioritised to-do list. Write it out, keep it on your PDA or store it on your computer. It’s far easier to achieve plans that you’ve made visible than those that just stay in your head.

5. Refer to your to do list frequently. Tick off the completed items as you finish them. This gets you actively involved in your tasks. It also strengthens your emotional commitment to their timely execution. It’s a very practical way to keep yourself motivated.

6. Write down your lifetime goals. When you make your goals explicit, you’re far more likely to achieve them. Your subconscious mind will get to work on achieving your goals without you really even knowing.

7. Review your lifetime goals at least every quarter. Stay on track and make sure that they’re in harmony with your values. Your goals may also change as you grow older and wiser.

8. Do high priority work when you’re at your peak. Structure your working day so that you do key tasks at the times of the day when your mind is most clear and your energy level is at its highest. You’ll save hours and gain even more time when you make this a regular habit.

9. Make fun of your fears about work. Be playful. Ask yourself “what is the worst thing that could possibly happen?” Let your imagination run wild, don’t hold back, be as ridiculous as possible. Do you see how absurd your fears are? Now get on and do the thing that you made you feel fearful in the first place.

10. Learn from your failures. Don’t waste time and energy blaming yourself if you don’t implement your new tips perfectly the first time. Keep on practicing. Focus on the tips that work for you and work out how to make them regular habits.

Download your free Tune up Your Emotional Intelligence Workbook from http://tuneupyoureq.com. Email your comments to galbabright@tuneupyoureq.com.

Tell Us What You Think

(Referring to our last newsletter “Six Things You Must Know About Emotional Intelligence – by Galba Bright”)

Really good edition this month! … Patrice

We would love to hear what you think of this issue of CRS News. And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming issues that you would like to share with us, please send those too.

Posted by on May 26, 2016
Other

“Wait and See” Causes downturn in Recruiting

Susan’s Snippets

I’m happy that some of you recognised the Code of Ethics mentioned in our last newsletter as the 4-Way Test adopted by Rotary International. I highly recommend it as a useful guide when you are unsure of the right way to approach a situation.

CRS is proud to be celebrating 12 years of business. We recently had a “paint” staff party, whereby new staff members painted a picture to join our collection of masterpieces all painted by CRS staff members. This is the result. What do you think of our talent?

 

“Wait and See” Causes Downturn in Recruiting

If you read the local and international news on the economy, you may be feeling a bit alarmed about the future. Are we heading for a recession? Will escalating food and other prices make the cost of living untenable? What about the effects of global warming and climate change?

Over time I have noticed that the volume of recruitment business is directly proportional to the perceived strength of the economy, which is strongly affected by what is happening in the local (Trinidad & Tobago) oil industry. For instance, when oil prices dropped in the early 2000s then so did general confidence and that led to a sharp decrease in recruiting activities. Companies that are experiencing a downturn in business naturally put a stop to recruiting until business picks up again; then there is a frenzy of hiring to make up for the personnel shortages accumulated during the hiring freeze.

I have observed a more than 40% drop in new I.T. recruitment requirements from this time last year. This has been noticeable since December 2007. There is normally a spike in the amount of new business in January which just did not happen to any great extent this year.

Right now oil prices are at a record high and experts have been saying that the economy in Trinidad & Tobago is strong. So why the fear of making normal business decisions of expansion and renewal? A major factor may be that many of the large oil companies in Trinidad have been laying off staff. This reflects the slowing down of new gas and oil finds (yes, it ought to be said that way round) and the oil companies are quick to cut costs when their profits are in jeopardy.

Yet, it is clear that there is gas and oil here to last for many more years, plus the strong likelihood that more will be found. It looks like the stock markets are recovering and there is no prospect of a recession like we’ve experienced in the past. The lay offs are mostly confined to the oil industry. For everyone else, a “wait and see” approach to business could actually trigger a self-fulfilled prophecy by causing a downturn.

I say we should be confident in our business prospects and plan for increasing success. There are plenty of opportunities and plenty of money around and it is a good time for strategic career moves. That is why CRS is currently investing in new systems to cope with future recruitment growth and market expansion. Is your business ready to do the same?

 

Tell Us What You Think

We would love to hear what you think of this issue of CRS News. And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming issues that you would like to share with us, please send those too.

Posted by on April 26, 2016
Career Advice

Six Things You Must Know About Emotional Intelligence

Susan’s Snippets

This month, I am pleased to present the first of a two-part series of articles by a guest writer, Mr Galba Bright, who was born in Sierra Leone, West Africa and migrated to England when very young. He holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Henley Management College, an Honours Law Degree from Warwick University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Research and Survey Methods from North London Polytechnic.
Mr Bright resides in Jamaica. He is the owner of Galba Bright & Associates, a company that operates the world’s first Caribbean-owned Emotional Intelligence website and blog.

The Information & Computer Technology Society of Trinidad & Tobago (ICTS) is hosting a Technology Session on Thursday 3rd May at 5pm. The address is the 2nd Floor, DFL Building, 10 Cipriani Boulevard, Port of Spain. The topics are Identity Management and Content Management. To register, please call Maylene Croney at 628 4010 ext. 2339 or email her at Maylene.croney@illuminatnm.com. See the ICTS website for more details http://www.icts.org.tt.
CRS is hiring! If you know of anyone with a couple of years working experience who would be interested in working as a Recruiter in our Energy Division, and is good at selling and communications, then ask them to contact me at editor@crsoilandgasjobs.com or click on Energy Recruiter Job to send their resume. Ideally, they should have some knowledge of engineering or other technical field.

 

Six Things You Must Know About Emotional Intelligence
by Galba Bright

There was a time when you needed to have a high IQ to succeed at work. Not any more.

Businesses are rushing to hire and promote people who have high levels of Emotional Intelligence (EQ). In this first article I provide the answers to six essential Emotional Intelligence. Read on and make your career soar.

Question1: What Is Emotional Intelligence?

Answer: Daniel Goleman, the world’s best known writer on Emotional Intelligence defines it as:
“The capacity for recognising our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships.”

Emotional Intelligence consists of four main building blocks.
Self-Awareness is about knowing what you are feeling in the moment and using this insight to guide your decision-making.
Self Management involves managing your emotions so that they help rather than hinder what you’re doing.
Social Awareness means sensing what other people are feeling and being able to understand their point of view.
Relationship Management, defines your effectiveness in guiding, motivating, leading and influencing others.

Question 2: What Impact Will My Emotional Intelligence Have On My Career?

Answer: If you have weaknesses in your Emotional Intelligence, you can seriously harm your career. A study of executives by the Center for Creative Leadership in the USA showed that 75% of the reasons why their careers were derailed could be traced to weaknesses in employees’ Emotional Intelligence.

The three main causes of career failure were poor interpersonal skills, not being a good team player and difficulties in handling change.

The 2007 book “Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose” by Rajendra Sisodia, David Wolfe and Jagdish N. Sheth showed that the companies that had more emotionally intelligent employees enjoyed greater profitability than those that didn’t.

The authors studied a range of industries and found that 90% of the top individual performers across industries had high Emotional Intelligence ratings compared with only 20% of the low performers.

Question 3: How Is My Emotional Intelligence Related To My IQ?

Answer: Your IQ, (Intelligence Quotient), describes your intellect. It is measured by tests such as GSAT, CXC and ‘A’ levels. They test your skills in dealing with numbers, words and your spatial awareness.

Emotional Intelligence refers to your ability to manage your emotions and to respond effectively to other people. A high intellect alone will rarely propel you to career success in the 21st Century. You need to respect your IQ and cultivate your EQ to achieve your goals.

Question 4: Is My Emotional Intelligence Fixed?

Answer: No, it is not. You can increase your Emotional Intelligence through practice, feedback and learning.

Question 5: How Can I Measure My Emotional Intelligence?

You could take a free quiz. You’ll get a good introduction to Emotional Intelligence as well as some insight into how you manage your emotions. A company called Queendom produces an online no-cost Emotional IQ Test. You can take it online at http://www.queendom.com/tests/index.htm.

My no-cost Tune up Your Emotional Intelligence Workbook contains a 20 Steps to Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire. It is a paper and pencil quiz. You can download the workbook at http://tuneupyoureq.com.

If you want solid information to guide your career development and/or personal growth, you should take a professionally designed assessment. Some of the most popular online Emotional Intelligence Assessments include the EQ Map https://www.essisystems.com/nl1/eqmap_detail.html . It costs US $24.95. Or you might take the SEI Strengths Assessment http://www.6seconds.org/xcart/home.php/cart.php?mode=add. The price is US $15.00.

The Emotional Intelligence Appraisal https://www.talentsmart.com/products/surveys_flash.php?ID=43 will cost you US $34.95. It also includes an e-learning programme. You can also find other firms by using an Internet search engine.

Question 6: I Want To Improve My Emotional Intelligence What Should I Do?

Answer: There are several things that you can do. For example, keep a journal or diary to record and reflect on your experiences. You can boost your self awareness and self management by writing and reflecting.

Ask people that you trust to give you feedback on your behaviour. They can help you to identify and act on any blind spots that may have caused you difficulty in the past. You can also work with a coach to set goals for improving your Emotional Intelligence and receive ongoing support as you progress.

Your EQ is the new measure that determines how effective you will be at work. Improving your Emotional Intelligence is a very rewarding process. If you invest in yourself, remain patient and persevere, you can transform your career and your quality of life.

Download your no-cost Tune up Your Emotional Intelligence Workbook from http://tuneupyoureq.com and start increasing your Emotional Intelligence right away.

In the second part of this series, we will look at some Emotional Intelligence tips that will help you improve your time management skills.

Galba Bright is the Caribbean’s leading provider of Emotional Intelligence Learning Programmes and Knowledge Products.

Tell Us What You Think

We would love to hear what you think of this issue of CRS News. And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming issues that you would like to share with us, please send those too.

Posted by on April 26, 2016
Career Advice

Working From Home

Susan’s Snippets

We’ve just got through the madness of Carnival here in Trinidad and now we have World Cup Cricket on our doorstep. The resulting traffic jams, due to closed streets around the Oval for security purposes, has inspired this issue’s topic of how to avoid commuting stress altogether.

CRS is hiring! If you know of anyone with a couple of years working experience who would be interested in working as a Recruiter in our Energy Division, and is good at selling and communications, then ask them to contact me at editor@crsoilandgasjobs.com or click on Energy Recruiter Job to send their resume. Ideally, they should have some knowledge of engineering or other technical field.

Working From Home

Fed up with sitting in traffic every morning going to work and then repeating this ordeal when going home? Isn’t this a colossal waste of your time? Have you considered whether you could do your job at home and save all this commuting stress?

Many jobs could be done at home at least part of the time. Technology makes it very easy for you to connect to the database at the office and it’s convenient to use the telephone and email for communicating with people.

We at CRS have had at least one person working from home for some time now. It’s simple to use Internet software like GoToMyPC which allows someone to connect to a PC at the office as if they were sitting in front of it. It’s really quite eerie to see the screens popping up by themselves on the office PC.

The advantages of this arrangement is that the home worker can choose her own hours. She only comes into the office for meetings or other staff events. She is much more productive as there are less distractions, and this suits her very well.

From CRS’s point of view, one less person in the open plan office means less distraction to other workers when she’s on the phone, etc. Also, the PC is available for other uses when the worker is not on it, and this has proved very useful for conducting online psychometric tests, etc.

The main disadvantage of working from home is that of boredom, missing interaction with co-workers, and finding the discipline to “be at the office” instead of at home, with the laundry/ TV/pets/children or whatever, beckoning. You have to adopt the mentality of “being at work” once you are in front of your computer and refuse to allow yourself to be sucked into home distractions.

I myself have spent some time doing work from home and I did have problems with the discipline of it. I also found that I was working weird hours, like late at night and weekends, and using normal work hours to go shopping, etc. This suited me very well and it was great not to have to dress for the office, and I certainly didn’t miss the commuting.

If you’re considering working from home, research other people’s experiences first to make sure this will suit you. Here’s one Blog that discusses this: http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?biz.5.402425. Let me know how you get on.

Tell Us What You Think

We would love to hear what you think of this issue of CRS News. And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming issues that you would like to share with us, please send those too.

Posted by on February 26, 2016