This document discusses the skills needed to manage a career in higher education. It outlines trends driving changes in the business environment for higher education, such as austerity, technology, and globalization. It also discusses the internal and external factors shaping the higher education business environment. The document emphasizes skills like embracing change, innovation, excellence, efficiency, and developing self and others. It suggests these skills are important for professionals in higher education and may transfer to other sectors. Finally, it covers engaging with the job market through networking, understanding the recruitment process, and selling oneself as a candidate.
1. Managing your career in the emerging
higher education business environment:
understanding the professional skills needed
by the leaders of tomorrow
2 April 2012
Elliott Rae
2. Themes of todayās session
ā¢ Developing trends and themes
in HE
ā¢ Personal development and
career management
ā¢ Recruitment and selection
4. Current business environment
ā¢ Austerity/recession
ā¢ Technology
ā¢ Flexibility
ā¢ Cost
ā¢ Competition
ā¢ Globalisation
ā¢ Demise of some traditional business models
5. The higher education business
environment (external)
ā¢ The impact of national higher education
policy
ā¢ Impact of fees
ā¢ Regulation and compliance
ā¢ REF 2014
ā¢ Impact of private sector providers
ā¢ Shared services
ā¢ Segmentation of the sector
ā¢ Mergers and acquisitions?
6. The higher education business
environment (internal)
ā¢ Efficiency
ā¢ Uncertainty re student numbers and finances
ā¢ Centralisation v devolved responsibility
ā¢ Student experience/ customer service
ā¢ Flexible provision
ā¢ Changing business models
ā¢ Challenging the divide between academics
and managers
7. Challenging the divide between academics
and managers..?
Traditional
ā¢ Administration exists to support the
academic activity of the university
New
ā¢ āAdministrationā (management) driving
fundamental changes to business models
and service delivery
9. Skills needed
ā¢ Embracing change
ā¢ Finding innovative solutions
ā¢ Delivering excellent services
ā¢ Achieving results
ā¢ Using resources (efficiently and effectively)
ā¢ Working with people
ā¢ Providing direction
ā¢ Developing self and others
ā¢ Managing self and personal skills
10. Lessons from our pan-public sector
experience
ā¢ Increased use of interim managers
ā¢ Salary caps have impact on recruitment
ā¢ Clients actively seeking wider experience/
āprivate sectorā experience
ā¢ Governance brought sharply into focus
ā¢ Use of technology to drive efficiency
ā¢ Rethinking organisational structures
11. Current job market
ā¢ Increase in competition from within HE and
outside HE
ā¢ Skill set becoming ever more broad
ā¢ Expectations on individuals increasing
ā¢ Rethinking structures
and responsibilities
12. What skills and qualities do you
bring as professional managers in
higher education?
13. Your skills and qualities
ā¢ Operating in a global market place
ā¢ Managing an international client base
ā¢ Managing complex funding arrangements
ā¢ Managing growth and expansion
ā¢ Managing quality
ā¢ Managing change
ā¢ Regulation/compliance/legal
14. Your skills and qualities
ā¢ Cultural awareness and diversity
ā¢ Committed to CPD and training
ā¢ Collaboration and partnerships
ā¢ Work with commercial organisations and
funders
ā¢ Engaged in wider agendas
ā¢ Able to engage with academics
18. The role of head hunters
ā¢ Re-define and challenge assumptions
ā¢ Stimulate debate around what you need
ā¢ Stakeholder management and buy-in
ā¢ Search and sensitivity
ā¢ Widening the talent pool and selling the role
ā¢ Objectivity
ā¢ Benchmarking of candidates
ā¢ Manage a complex process
19. Why use a head hunter?
ā¢ Best candidates are often not actively job
seeking
ā¢ Organisation needs help to redefine or rethink a
role
ā¢ Need to attract new/different skills
ā¢ Provide market intelligence re what talent is
available at the salary on offer
ā¢ Provide capacity to manage a senior
recruitment process
ā¢ If people are your number one asset, why leave
it to chance?
20. So you want a new job?
ā¢ Are you sure?
ā¢ Thinking it through
ā¢ Getting specific
23. Networking hints
ā¢ The āelevator conversationā ā the story of you
and what you want in two breaths
ā¢ Be systematic
ā¢ Use structured opportunities (eg conferences)
ā¢ Keep promises and add value.
ā¢ Online resources (eg LinkedIn)
ā¢ Networking is a long term approach
24. LinkedIn
ā¢ Becoming almost compulsory
ā¢ A valuable resource for head hunters
ā¢ It is your personal shop window
ā¢ Decide on policies for how you will use it
26. Why do we have a recruitment process?
ā¢ To cope with complexity
ā¢ A process which makes simplifying
assumptions
ā¢ A process which is fair
ā¢ Minimise chance and maximise objectivity
ā¢ A process which gets someone into the job
who can do it
28. Selling yourself
ā¢ Demonstrating impact
ā¢ Demonstrating transferable skills
ā¢ Demonstrating an understanding
of the wider context/environment
ā¢ Demonstrating a track record of
successfully taking on new
responsibilities
ā¢ Selling higher education to
potential employers outside of HE
29. Approaching the job market
ā¢ Talk to the hiring organisation or head hunter
ā¢ Speak the language of the hiring organisation
and avoid industry/organisational jargon
ā¢ Articulate any doubts and concerns: be honest
30. Search
ā¢ How to get searched
ā Networking
ā Having an obvious job for next step
ā Speaking, writing, personal reputation
ā An online presence eg LinkedIn
ā By making contact with us
ā By sharing a mobile number (or personal
email address) with us
ā By helping us!
31. Search
ā¢ Search calls ā āsourcingā or ātargetingā
ā Donāt assume that the search was pinpoint
focused
ā If you are interested, say so
ā If there are showstoppers in the job, say so
ā If you can help, do
ā If youāre being over-sourced, say so
33. Application and CV
ā¢ Purpose of this stage
ā Get from an unmanageably large
number of people to a
manageable number
ā fairly
ā efficiently
ā and provide robust information to
the client who will then decide
who goes through to interview
34. CVs - format
ā¢ Personal information at the beginning
ā name, address
ā contact info - mobile and email
ā¢ Career in reverse chronological order
ā¢ Education and qualifications,
professional, honours
ā¢ Referees (optional)
35. And some light relief ā¦.
ā¢ I am extremely loyal to my present
firm, so please donāt let them know of
my immediate availability
ā¢ Note: Please donāt misconstrue my 14
jobs as ājob-hoppingā. I have never
quit a job
ā¢ Please call me after 5:30 because I
am self-employed and my employer
does not know I am looking for
another job
ā¢ The company made me a scapegoat ā
just like my three previous employers
36. Covering letters
ā¢ Outline why the job appeals to you
ā¢ Respond according to advertised instructions
ā¢ State why you are available
ā¢ Answer other obvious questions
ā¢ Provide current salary level if requested
38. Interview tips
ā¢ PREPARE
ā¢ ANSWER THE QUESTION
ā¢ Donāt try to deny your
weaknesses, show self-
awareness and your strategies
for dealing with them in this job
ā¢ Think about how you would
manage the risks of your
appointment
ā¢ Engage everyone
39. Your impact
ā¢ Emotional control
ā¢ Sense of interest
ā¢ Versatility
ā¢ Affinity with others
ā¢ Confidence
ā¢ Sense of humor
40. Presentations
ā¢ Address the title
ā¢ Put yourself in the role ā what do you bring to
the role?
ā¢ Confirm format
ā¢ Donāt read, but prompt cards OK
ā¢ Time limit ā stick to it!
ā¢ Be prepared for questioning
ā¢ Practice!!
41. Assessment
ā¢ Psychometric tests
ā¢ Personality profiles
ā¢ Ability tests
ā¢ Validation/ feedback discussion
ā¢ Only supporting information
ā¢ Usually very accurate and provides insight
ā¢ No right or wrong answers
42. Summary
ā¢ Skills requirements in an evolving sector
ā¢ Your skills and development needs
ā¢ Engaging with the job market
ā¢ Applying for roles
ā¢ And (hopefully) being successful
Developing trends in HE ā the recruiterās perspective Will discuss what clients are asking us for What are the emerging skill sets clients are looking for What changes we see in the market for senior HE administrative roles Career development and changing jobs How to position yourself for your next role Developing your CV and marketing your skills Recruitment and selection How an executive search process works ā some important dos and donāts Objectives for delegates Stimulate thoughts about your own skills Identify a transferable skill set that you could apply in other roles, and perhaps other sectors De-mystify the recruitment and selection process and share our experiences with you We will capture your thoughts along the way, and circulate notes afterwards INTERACTIVE SESSION ā our presentation is a framework for discussion, so please share thoughts, comments and observations throughout
Drawn from a recent survey of private sector employers by Barclays Corporate and the FT Half of private sector employers have no interest in employing ex-public sector workers The world of work has changed since public sector workers last looked for work The public sector has a difference in mindset and speed of work
Efficiency remaining a central theme Dealing with a money-led environment Responding to national HE policy Centralisation v devolved responsibility Impact of private providers ā MENTION GREENWICH COLLEGE Shared services Others Student support and welfare More regulation/compliance/legal ā UKBA, equality and access, QAA M&A ā potentially an emerging area
Hopefully familiar! AUAās professional behaviours First 5 ā broadly professional skills; latter 4 ā broadly management skills/personal development Tie in closely to the changing business environment so are highly relevant Any to add?
Issues you may face when going into the job market
So, what trends have we seen in senior level recruitment in HE over the last few years: The job market within HE reflects the wider sector trends: Change management; Efficiency; Increasing bureaucracy, reporting and regulation Increase in competition ā for non academic roles, this includes significant competition from people outside of the HE sector ā in business/commercial world and other parts of the public services. Itās a crowded candidate market place ā so you need to stand out from the crowd Roles becoming more complex (and sometimes less clearly defined) ā at PVC level weāre recruited people who are expected to shape their own role ā instructed to recruit broad strategic skills rather than a specific focus Transferable skills can be as important as sector specific experience Job requirements changing ā clients are going beyond the traditional job titles and telling us things like āI donāt want a traditional librarianā or āI donāt want a traditional university administrative headā ā they are even saying to us āI donāt want a traditional academicā even for what is perceive to be an āacademic leadership roleā such as Dean of a Facultyā The rise and rise of the COO ā many HEIs replacing traditional secretary/registrar with a COO ā reflecting the broader (and more commercial) nature of the role; and to appeal to a broader range of candidates ā itās a job title lifted straight from the private sector. Liverpool, Manchester, Southampton, Bristol, Queenās and many others. Also now seeing the COO title at Faculty level Explore this point with the Group ā what will fees of up to Ā£9,000 mean for senior HE administrators? What will the role of Academic Registrar look like in 5 years time in an environment where students pay Ā£9,000 A change in the ācontractā (written or psychological) between student and HEI? Impact on services: Student support; Welfare; Fees advice; Scholarships; Stronger student charters
These are some of the āgenericā qualities that come as part of almost all senior management roles in HE ā they are as important as the role-specific objectives Look for awareness of: a) Global market place ā staff, students, knowledge - represent the interests of the Uni in the global market place b) Increased diversity of funding arrangements, including the changing balance of public and private funding, with a view to ensuring financial sustainability c) Challenges associated with the expansion of the sector ā increased and widening participation d) Challenges of ensuring excellence and quality across all activities ā including research and T&L e) Deliver change, whilst retaining what is unique and distinctive about the University Ability to build an effective team, not just effective individuals Review horizon and translate into action Performance management & industrial relations Facilitate, engage and be politically astute Prioritise conflicting demands Customer focus and orientation Understand complex business models
So, as HE professionals, where do you have an edge? Well, these qualities are all critical in successful leaders in HE, but may be found to a lesser extent in the commercial world Cultural awareness and diversity Committed to CPD and training Collaboration, partnerships & sharing best practice with others Engage with commercial organisations & grant funders Engaged in wider agendas - eg regeneration and economic development There are also more obvious ones like attention to detail, ability to analyse complex information, communication both written and verbal. Manage change Review horizon and translate into action Performance management & industrial relations Facilitate, engage and be politically astute Strategic and business planning Prioritise conflicting demands Customer focus Understand complex business models
Breadth of involvement & how we add value Objectivity ā at stages Redefine role objectives & challenge assumptions on person spec Stimulate debate around what you need Stakeholder management and buy-in Search and sensitivity Objectivity Benchmarking of candidates ā management and leadership capabilities Challenge and redefine role and person assumptions Succession management Complement existing team strengths? Tie to HEI key objectives
Push factors and pull factors Are the reasons you want to leave good reasons to leave? Is a redesigned job available to you where you are? Have you asked? Thinking it through What gives you energy? What does a good day look like? What are your values? What are the ādomestic parametersā? What are you passionate about? What are your skills Be targeted (but keep an open mind) ā draw on own exprerience of job hunting and move to GS
I dislike the word ānetworkingā ā does anyone have a better idea?
Be systematic Ordered lists Specific targets People and roles If someone some was thinking of recruiting to a role the next level up from yours, would they think of you?
policies for using LinkedIn Photo or not ā and which photo? Quasi Facebook āchattyā? Who will you connect to? Which groups will you join, and will you contribute? Will you link to other social media eg Twitter, Blogs Google yourself! Online presence generally Possible issues Past press reports of varying accuracy (give MIST candidate example) Comments to online forums/letters ā anything youāve written in the public domain ā well crafted letter published in the Times Higher making an insightful point articulately ā YES ā misspelt venemous rantings (in your real name) - NO Nasty blogs Other people with the same name! Be prepared, not surprised The world will be calm about this, if you are
Any potential new employer (internal or external) will want to see that You have had real impact in your role to date, beyond turning up and managing the day to day workload That you are not āinstitutionalisedā and have worked to develop a rage of skills that can be applied in a range of setting ā people in all sectors and all roles overplay the uniqueness of their role/organisations ā you by nature are generalists (thatās a positive) ā use this to your advantage. The last point is about communicating the size and complexity of HE to people in other industries, whose exposure to HE may be very limited/non existent Eg, my alma mater is the University of Manchester āWith an annual income of Ā£790m and 40,000 students (of whom 8,000 are outside the EU), Manchester is the largest single site university in the UK. It is ranked 3 rd in the UK for research (behind Oxford and Cambridge). The University employs over 11,000 staff, and its estates consists of 350 building across 700 acres.ā
Take it seriously and donāt just be opportunistic Do call for an informal chatā¦it can be revealing, and good head-hunters will give you a steer on your suitability or otherwiseā¦we donāt want to waste your time, our time or the clients time Engage with head-hunters and get to know them ā I know that some still perceive headhunting and the role of head-hunters as an old boys club or something thatās shrouded in mystery ā its not ā we want to talk to prospective candidates and we want to support them through the process. We wonāt lead you on ā if we think youāre not right for the role, we'll say so. Another important part of job hunting is learning to deal with rejection. Speak language of hiring org Critical if going for a role outside of HE, still important if its within the sector Good CV/application ā I could talk about this all day! (especially the bad ones) Covering letter ā people rarely say why they want the jobā¦worth briefly addressing this (as long as itās positive!) Job title vary hugely in term of meaningā¦be clear about what you actually do Profile - Keep it factual ā do not describe your personality by saying things like āA candidate with dynamism and vision, who is a good leaderā Show what youāve achieved ā and give examples, with numbers please Eg led a teamā¦of 2? of 2,000? Double revenueā¦from Ā£1,000 to Ā£2,000ā¦or from Ā£1m to Ā£2m? But did you make a profit ? Avoid misleading or confusing data: e.g. finals of degree in 1983 ā therefore you failed?! Avoid experience summary statements / profiles Academic CVs Structure and length Lengthā¦not 50 pages (ie some academic CVsā¦do you really expect anyone to read it all??), longest 107 pages 2-6 pages is fine Donāt be lazyā¦lots of CVs and covering letters have details of jobs previously applied for, esp in header and footer Key is to meet the expectations of your audience ā use a master CV, but tailor it No photos ā not necessary, not interested, rarely flattering Interests ā if relevant or genuinely interesting, eg job related, impressive charitable work, genuine sporting endeavour (not āoccasional gym goerā), otherwise probably not ā employers are interested in you as a person, but this is best explored face-to-face in my view
Candidate selection This is all about looking for positive evidence Itās about including people not excluding them Give the evidence thatās needed at each stage, clearly You canāt give evidence you donāt have (not for long) You may miss evidence you do have ā so think laterally
Good CV/application Covering letter ā people rarely say why they want the jobā¦worth briefly addressing this (as long as itās positive!) Job title vary hugely in term of meaningā¦be clear about what you actually do Profile - Keep it factual ā do not describe your personality by saying things like āA candidate with dynamism and vision, who is a good leaderā Show what youāve achieved ā and give examples, with numbers please Eg led a teamā¦of 2? of 2,000? Double revenueā¦from Ā£1,000 to Ā£2,000ā¦or from Ā£1m to Ā£2m? But did you make a profit ? Avoid misleading or confusing data: e.g. finals of degree in 1983 ā therefore you failed?! Avoid experience summary statements / profiles Academic CVs Structure and length Lengthā¦not 50 pages (ie some academic CVsā¦do you really expect anyone to read it all??), longest 107 pages 2-6 pages is fine Donāt be lazyā¦lots of CVs and covering letters have details of jobs previously applied for, esp in header and footer Key is to meet the expectations of your audience ā use a master CV, but tailor it No photos ā not necessary, not interested, rarely flattering Interests ā if relevant or genuinely interesting, eg job related, impressive charitable work, genuine sporting endeavour (not āoccasional gym goerā), otherwise probably not ā employers are interested in you as a person, but this is best explored face-to-face in my view
Type and style ā know what youāre gettingā in-depth, structured, free form, panel, technical, rubber stampingā¦ First impressions count , but donāt rule the decision Be ready to break the ice if necessary ā Tell me about yourselfā ā prepare for this The interviewer is still the āgatekeeperā even if they appear to know nothing about the role Preparation, preparation, preparation! Approach Succinct responses that tell a story and leave a positive impression Show enthusiasm and energy Prepare questions (carefully) Watch the body language Let the interviewer see the real you Remember the interviewer is in charge Always end the interview up-beat Your impact Emotional control, Sense of interest, Versatility, Affinity with others, Confidence, Sense of humour
Other tips: Donāt ramble Show enthusiasm and energy Prepare questions (carefully) Watch the body language Let the interviewer see the real you Donāt try to dominate Always end the interview up-beat
What are the immeasurable aspects of your behaviour at interview that may be commented on? How self aware are you of these?
Format ā Audio visuals, on your feet, committee style, hand outs
Further assessment ā usually described as psychometric tests Look at hard wired working styles and preferences, leadership judgement, relationships with others Ability tests ā verbal, numeric reasoning, in tray
Further assessment ā usually described as psychometric tests Look at hard wired working styles and preferences, leadership judgement, relationships with others Ability tests ā verbal, numeric reasoning, in tray