In The News
Recruitment Matters Magazine
Autumn, 2011
Zena Everett was one of the people interviewed for a Recruitment Matters magazine article on the first 100 days in a new job.
..."And it's not just the employee who can suffer: if things don't go according to plan, both employer and recruiter are likely to feel the knock-on effect. 'Often issues that start in the early months of an employment contract can build up into frustrations that cause the eventual departure of a potentially great employee,' says Zena Everett, executive career coach at Second Careers. 'This leaves the recruiter with weakened relationships with both candidates and clients and, in the worst case, a fee to refund.' "
..."Encourage Conversation: Everett is adamant that although a candidate may have received a job offer, it doesn't mean they should not continue talking to their new employer ahead of the start date. 'There is often a lapse between the job offer and the candidate's start date,' she continues. 'Recruiters should not see this as "job done", but rather a time to encourage conversations between both parties to remove any ambiguity on either side.' "
..."But What If It All Goes Wrong: 'A strong relationship with a knowledgeable recruiter or coach can prevent further derailment,' says Everett. 'This is why proper conversations are necessary during the induction process, rather than leaving messages saying "hope everything is going well". An objective conversation can reassure the candidate that they have the capabilities to turn the situation around.'"
"Everett concludes that candidates should be encouraged to formulate an action plan and examine how they can remove obstacles to achieving it. 'The recruiter should encourage them to stay focused on solving these initial issues, by reminding them of when they have turned round similar situation in their earlier career,' she says."
Press Release
September, 2011
Recruiters are most interested in the most recent job on your CV!
Our press release covers empirical research on how recruiters evaluate CVs. Contrary to job seekers' expectations, recent employment is shown to be the section of most interest and recruiters skip over your personal statement to look at this.
Update: Our research has been noted by HR Review, Recruitment International, and the Association of Professional Interims.
Financial Times
December, 2010
Zena Everett gives advice in the FT to a man who works as a navigating officer on a ship:
Sailing From Ship’s Officer Into Finance Requires Focus
Zena Everett, head of Second Careers, a career coaching and counselling company, says:
There are a lot of threads to your life so far but I’m worried that you’re unclear as to what you want to do and what you want your working life to look like. Think about where you want to end up and what your story is.
Draw out the themes and patterns so far in your career that are relevant to where you want to go rather than presenting a complex work path that goes off in lots of directions. It’s not clear from this that you’re not going to change tack in another year.
I’m concerned that you’re selling yourself too broadly whereas you need to distinguish yourself by becoming niche and specialist. The jobs market now is about seeing where the skills gap lies and establishing yourself as an expert who can fill that gap.
You need to be clear about your work identity and personal brand. This will make your target job market identifiable. Decide on an angle, then tailor your CV and re-do your LinkedIn profile to support that. There are a lot of people without direct experience who want to move into new markets but you need to tell us why your background is so much better and different from all the other candidates with CFAs and MBAs.
Look at the CFA jobs that are advertised and tailor your story and reputation to the skills they are looking for rather than hoping an additional qualification will make you employable.
Given you’re not looking for work just yet there’s no use applying for jobs or approaching a recruitment agency. But it’s important that you start building your networks now. Work through your MBA contacts and your previous colleagues in the navy and get out and talk to people in the field you’re interested in joining.
The text of the full article is reprinted here
Stylist Magazine
September, 2010
Zena (slightly misquoted!) offers advice in an article about the merits of taking time out in a recession to go travelling.
Does Travel Bring Enlightenment?
...Even if what you’re escaping from is beyond your control, like the recession, you’re probably wasting your time. "If you’ve used the recession as an excuse not to bother looking for work and to lie on a beach for a year, that’s not very appealing to employers," says executive career coach Zena Everett, who runs coaching service Second Careers.
Article link here
Recruitment Matters
Summer 2010
Zena Everett wrote an article for Recruitment Matters Magazine on how to keep recruitment candidates happy.
The text of the full article is reprinted here
Cosmopolitan Magazine
Zena Everett contributed to an article in the March 2010 issue.
5 Reasons You're Not Getting Promoted (They're Not What You Think)
...Your Workspace Is Tidy: Your contacts are alphabetically stored and your Post-it notes stuck at perfect right angles — surely signs of an efficient worker? Perhaps, but it doesn't necessarily mean you're ripe for promotion. "Be careful not to give the impression you haven't got enough work" explains Zena Everett, Managing Director of career-consultation group Second Careers. "A certain amount of mess shows you're creative and know that doing your work is more important than tidying."
Leadership White Paper
Zena Everett contributed to a leadership symposium in November, 2009.
Derby Telegraph
Row raging over future of exams as youngsters chase places on courses
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
...Career coach Zena Everett, managing director of company Second Careers, said: "Getting a degree is a good thing, but recently we've seen graduates coming to career coaches because they need to make conscious decisions about what they want their career to look like.
"If you're considering a degree course through clearing, you mustn't put yourself in a situation where you're just doing something for the sake of it.
"Make sure you get some sound advice because it's your future that is at stake."
Article link here
East Anglian Daily Times
44,000 will go through clearing
August 20, 2009
"...There are plenty of courses out there they can look at."
But Zena Everett, a career coach with more than 20 years experience and managing director of company Second Careers isn't so sure.
She said: "Getting a degree is a good thing, but recently we've seen graduates coming to career coaches because they need to make conscious decisions about what they want their career to look like.
"If you're considering a degree course through clearing, you mustn't put yourself in a situation where you're just doing something for the sake of it."
Article link here
Recruiter
NEDs have clear duties and responsibilities
August 12, 2009
"In her article about Non Executive Directors (Recruiter, 22 July 2009), Vanessa Townsend stated that there is no statutory definition of an NED. In fact, the Companies Act 2006 places clear and equal statutory duties on executive and non-executive directors alike and the Combined Code on Corporate Governance (2006 and 2008) gives further guidance specifically to NEDs. So, an NED is as liable to disqualification as a full-time director and “not in my remit” would not wash as an excuse. This is one of the reasons why the most in demand, genuine, NEDs in our sector are so careful about the boards they join." — Zena Everett, Director, Second Careers
Article link here