Women-in-Talent
In the 12th edition of the Women-In series, we welcomed professionals in the talent industry to share insights on attracting & retaining talent, getting into blue-chip companies, and the future of the talent industry.
The panelists included Arianne Fisher, MD Shortlist EA; Asha Mweru, Investment Associate, Novastar Ventures, Natalia Polishchouk- MD, JstWork and Gathoni Mwangi- Recruiter, McKinsey. The conversation was moderated by Terryanne Chebet who is the CEO of Fanaka TV.
Here are my 3 key takeaways:
1. Tours of Duty
Working for a company for over 10 years will become a single digit game.
According to Reid Hoffman, in the 20th Century the compact between employers and employees in the developed world was all about stability. Companies valued employee loyalty which they rewarded with predictable advancement to employees who followed the rules. Fast forward to the globalization and the information age, the stability has waned resulting into a minimalist compact age where retrenchment and job hopping have become the norm.
Given this new reality, people should be cognizant that majority of the best companies to work in right now won’t give lifetime contracts and probably the best employees don’t want one employer for life.
This is why a tour of duty framework makes perfect sense. It is an ethical commitment between the employer and employee with a specific mission and a realistic time horizon. This open candid approach is meant to drive open career conversations and provide a structure for employees to take on a series of personally meaningful missions.
2. Is the CV dead?
“The CV was designed in the 1950s to list hard skills. We are in 2019. Why are we still stuck on the CV to showcase all our skills? DIVERSIFY.”- Natalia
Fun facts with some ideas:
- 1482 — Leonardo de Vinci creates the first professional CV.
- 1950s — CVs become formalised and start to be expected during job interviews.
- 1984 — The first guide to writing CVs is published.
- 2003 — LinkedIn launches, giving a new way for CVs to be presented.
- 2007 — YouTube and other video sites open the door for video CVs to become possible (and sometimes essential).
3. Competence, Expertise and Skills
There is a thin line between competence, expertise and skills with an overarching goal.
Skills refer to learned activities through formal or informal education and subsequently answers the question of “what can you do?” For example, I can install a light bulb or come up with a term sheet for the investment portfolio…etc.
Competence is the naming we give the “how you did it?” which falls at the interlude (mystery) of skills and habits that result in successful achievement. For example, an answer to a question like “how do you perform your job so well?” would involve a combination of skills and the ‘other.’ The other is not so easy to pin point.
Expertise is simply a skill or knowledge (specialization)in a particular domain. For example, Forensics in Criminal Justice, Horseshoeing in Farrier Science, Strategy in MBA …etc
Watch the highlights
Further readings:
The Alliance: A Visual Summary
