Structured training programs for newly graduated undergraduates and post-graduates are quickly replacing the standard on-boarding orientation for new hires. Here in Asia, virtually every large multi-national comes to campus pitching their fancy program, whether they’re called a Management Associate (MA), Management Trainee (MT), or Graduate Leadership Development Program (LDP).

These programs take the standard new hire orientation and training, and super-size it by extending it over 1-2 years. Those that are deemed talented enough to enter these exclusive programs are typically rotated through multiple functions of the business every 4-8 months, some even rotate geographies and offices. Most importantly, these chosen few are given the high-potential label and provided extra mentoring, training and visibility throughout the organization, with the hope that one day they will fast-track to become future leaders.

But are these programs actually working? Having surveyed over 200 people who’ve participated in LDPs, along with the fact that operational costs of these programs continue to rise, and the retention rates of organizations going in the opposite direction, it’s our hypothesis that these LDPs are failing, especially here in Asia.

Today, the LDPs in Asia can be generally classified in 3 buckets.

The company took a mature version of an LDP from either the U.S. or Europe and then tried to “Asia-fy” it;
They tried to build a program from scratch, but with HR capabilities in the region quite immature, most HR practitioners didn’t really know what they were doing;
The company has an LDP, but only for marketing and recruiting, because if you don’t have one of these programs today, who’s going to join you?!
So, regardless of the program you have, why isn’t it working? Well here are 3 potential reasons:

1. Company Loyalty is Dead

Since LDPs in Asia are a fairly new concept, those that have gone through them are almost all from Generation Y. And those of you that are in this generation or have interacted with this “special” group already know how different they are from the rest.

As Reid Hoffman (co-founder of LinkedIn) mentions in his book The Alliance, people in this generation no longer think of their employers as family, and they don’t want this type of relationship anymore. The average length of stay of surveyed participants was less than 3 years (35 months including their program).

Employers are also guilty, as the disturbing trend of offering short-term contract roles continues to rise. So, do you think just because you’ve given your young high-potentials this special tag they will feel obligated to stay longer? Some employers may even think they are catering to their young talent, but are they really giving their future leaders what they want?

2. Expectations vs. Realities

After all the hype and marketing during the on-campus recruiting process, high-potentials enter LDPs with extremely high expectations of what these fast-track programs will deliver, but start to get a different picture once things begin. 67% of participants who dropped out of their program before completion cited unmet expectations as their number one reason for doing so.

Rotations are a common part of LDPs where expectations are not always aligned. In geographic rotations, when high potentials who might be top performers in their home market are sent into counties they know little about, and with no support, frustrations start to set in, for both the employee and employer. Current business needs tend to be the key driver on how rotations and assignments are structured. Little tailoring is done based on a particular person’s skills and development needs.

And a final source of frustrations typically occurs when the official program ends. What happens next isn’t communicated in a fully transparent manner, culminating in a series of unmet expectations finally turning into disappointment.

3. People Don’t Leave Companies, They Leave Managers

Managing people is difficult, period. Managing Gen Y high potentials can be even more of a challenge. However, in most companies, very few people managers would admit to being inadequate in this area and raise their hand for help. The constant emphasis on bottom line results seems to always overshadow the need to improve these all-important soft skills, despite the fact that 75% of participants rated managers as important or very important in their program experience.

Very few people managers have KPIs related to the retention of their staff, so there is little incentive to change. These day-to-day people frustrations rarely get noticed by HR until it’s too late. With YOLO (You Only Live Once) being one of the mottos of the Gen Ys, many top performers already have one foot out the door before their actual program finishes.

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Understanding the problems and identifying the key issues are just the first step. Step 2 is what we at Kwantum Leap are undertaking now, research to gather data to confirm/dispel current beliefs, and to validate our hypothesis on both the issues and some potential solutions.

Instead of taking the typical top-down approach, we’ve purposely gone bottom-up, having already surveyed several hundred people who’ve completed an LDP.

This data driven approach will give us the foundation to surface real insights and suggestions to take the third step – help HR functions transform their high potential programs.

Do you agree? Have you experienced something similar or something better? If you’ve completed a graduate leadership development program and would like to participate in our research, we’d love to hear from you – http://bit.ly/LDPsurvey

(A version of this article was first published here in the Singapore Business Review)

Today, Kwantum Leap celebrates its 5th anniversary! Looking back, we can’t believe how quickly time has passed, and are extremely grateful for all the success we’ve achieved.

When we decided to start this business, we had a belief that despite all the coaches out there, we could do even better. We thought we knew our clients better, we understood their career hopes & fears, and would be able to give some tangible, candid & down-to-earth advice, to get them closer to their dream jobs.

To be honest, at the beginning, we weren’t really sure, but like all good entrepreneurs, we got a lucky break. We were fortunate to be introduced to our first client (SMU) who was willing to take a chance on us, and after that initial workshop, we knew we were on to something.

And of course, as they say, the rest is history.

Today, we’ve spoken to over 3000 people, and fortunate to work at close to 20 educational institutions across 3 continents, not to mention several top tier companies, and still continue to grow.

However, one of the things we’re most proud of is the founding of Audacity, a movement to stop people from blindly following the herd mentality with their careers, and to not be afraid to venture on the road less traveled.

So to end, we wanted to extend a ton of thank yous.

To all of you who’ve had to sit through one of workshops, classes, or mock interviews, thank you for your patience, thank you for putting up with our jokes, and hopefully we didn’t offend too many of you with our unique style.

To all our institutional clients, thank you for doing what you do. Working with young people to help them early in their career journey is often a difficult, frustrating, and thankless task. But if you’ll have us, we promise to continue to be by your side, helping you fight the good fight.

And finally to all our mentors, friends & family, thank you for all your unwavering support and guidance. We don’t think we could have made it this far without you.

As we look forward, this year is going to be our biggest yet. We plan to continue & push the envelope, take big risks, and come up with more new ideas that will hopefully fundamentally change how people manage their careers.

Regardless of our success/failure, we know it’s going to be one heck of a journey, and invite you to follow us every step of the way.

What Colour Is Your Parachute? (2013 Edition)

Having known about the book for more than 25 years, with an upcoming summer vacation, I thought it was time I finally gave it a read. As mentioned, the 1st half of the book talks about the job hunt process, self-assessment, and changing careers. The 2nd half deals with execution (i.e. resumes, interviewing, salary negotiation, and starting your own business). While it can be a slow read, Bolles takes you step-by-step with his Flower Petal exercises that will really get you going, if you take the time and are serious about helping yourself.

Chapter 3, “The Best and Worst Ways to Look for a Job”, is very telling and one of the most interesting, with ideas that I also use to surprises my clients. Bolles tries to even add some facts and figures to justify his ideas:

• Looking for employers’ job-postings on the Internet = 4-10% success rate
• Answering local newspaper ads = 5-24% success rate
• Going to private employment agencies or search firms for help = 5-28% success rate
• Asking for job-leads from family & friends = 33% success rate
• Knocking on the door of an employer, whether they have a vacancy or not = 47% success rate
• Doing extensive homework on yourself = 86% success rate

While completing his exercises may sound like a drag, I would highly recommend finishing them. The thought process and your output would be great homework to do before you came to see a career coach like myself, and would make your sessions much more fruitful.

Unfortunately, the rest of the book is a let down for me. The topic of social media is dealt with at a very superficial level. Bolles encourages you to use all platforms, especially LinkedIn, but what’s missing for me are the realities of the online world, and typical faux-pas that job seekers make. For example, only updating your profile or contacting people online when you need something. Or never sending a personal note when trying to connect with someone, my #1 pet peeve and why I have 200+ awaiting invitations on LinkedIn I don’t plan on accepting.

The section on resumes is extremely light, with many points I disagree with (e.g. talking about your responsibilities). The interviewing section is also quite general. I acknowledge that Bolles is trying to address a very broad and global audience, both white and blue collar workers; however, I’m not sure his general tips are good enough, and may still seem very North American-centric.

Finally, the 6 secrets of salary negotiation are definitely worth highlighting. While basic, I find these points to be things that most job seekers do not have a good grasp on, and worth a read.

Overall, the book that’s sold 10 million copies will give those who are lost some instant direction through the exercises and direct self-reflection. The rest is up to you, the way it should be.

If you’re visiting us for the first time, whether through your laptop, mobile phone or tablet, please make sure you take some time to go through the articles on the blog. Don’t forget to subscribe, as we’ll be adding new content regularly.

You can also keep in touch with us and get all our real-time updates via Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/kwantumleap) and on Twitter (@kwantumleap).

But to make sure we don’t forget, as one is happening this weekend, here’s a list of the major career fairs this year in Singapore. Some of moved their venue to Marina Bay Sands from typically Suntec, so please take note.

July 13 & 14, 2013
ST Jobs Career & Development Fair
Marina Bay Sands
http://www.stjobs.sg/fair/

August 24 & 25, 2013
JobsCentral Career & Education Fair 2013
Suntec Singapore
http://jobscentral.com.sg/careerfair/

March 2013 / March 7-9, 2014
Career & Education 2013
Suntec Singapore
http://www.careerseries.com.sg/

CAREER 2012 (March 1-4)
www.careerseries.com.sg

Career 2012 is one the largest training, education and recruiting fair in Singapore, with over 250 exhibitors and special pavilions. Kwantum Leap was present again giving talks over the weekend on “What Interviewers are Really Thinking and Looking For”

JobsDB.com Career Expo 2011 (March 23-257)
careerexpo.sg.jobsdb.com

Similar to Career 2012, admission is free (although you need to register). Suntec Convention Halls 404

JobsCentral Career Fair & Learning Fair 2012 (August 25-26)
www.jobscentral.com.sg/careerfair

Last year’s version attracted close to 60,000 visitors. This year, the organizers have added a heavy Learning component by offering a whole host of career-related workshops. We’ll be there as well, talking about 2 of our favourite topics – resumes & interview skills. Be sure to mark these dates in your calendar.

Leaving a memorable impression should be your #1 goal in an interview. If an interviewer can’t remember you after 24hrs of meeting you, you have no chance. Of course, memorability works both ways. You either remember someone for something great or for something horrible. Knowing where you fall is the key. It would be simple if you could just ask the interviewer, but there are some unspoken signs you can pick up – clues from the body language of the interviewer to see if you’re on the right track. Even the best trained interviewers will give you certain “tells” as to how you are doing.

First Impressions Matter

Interviewers tend to know within the first five minutes whether the candidate has potential or is simply a waste of time. The answers to the two most common opening questions are all the information they need. “Can you tell me a little bit about yourself? Why do you want to work for us?” As you give your prepared answers, how is the interviewer reacting? Are they simply rushing to the next question and giving you a slight brush off, perhaps because they’ve heard this answer a hundred times, or does the interviewer seem genuinely interested in your responses?

Follow-up questions from the interviewer during the introduction are a very good sign. It shows that you’ve piqued some interest. To do that, you must go beyond simply repeating what’s already on your resume. Share your motivations about your current career path, and be very specific about why you’re interested in the role. Keep your answers to a maximum of two minutes per question, so as not to bore the interviewer.

People Buy People First

You’ve all heard this phrase before – people buy people first. In an interview context, this means that interviewers are looking beyond your experiences and skills. They want to know who you are as a person, your philosophy, your values. And the more you have in common with the interviewer, the better.

As you think about what stories and experiences you will share in the interview, ask yourself whether the person sitting across from you will relate to them the same way you do. Will they think your biggest accomplishment is really a big deal? Can they even appreciate the difficult situations you’ve overcome? Have they experienced something similar?

Cracking of a small (or big!) smile, or a consistent nodding of the head from the interviewer are two strong signs that you’re making a connection with them. Try to use their same lingo and industry terms in your stories. The more you can sound like them, the better connection you can make. Remember to talk about more than just what happened. Share your thought process and your plans. Interviewers want to know not just what you’ve done, but how you think, and whether or not you’ll fit into their team.

Closing Strong

When it comes time for you to ask your questions, don’t forget that you’re still being evaluated. This is not the time for you to ask selfish “me, me, me” questions. It’s not about you; it’s still about them. Think of questions about the company’s direction, or challenges the interviewer may be facing. You’ll know if you’ve asked a good question by the answer you receive. If the response is short and curt, you’ve missed the mark. If the interviewer takes the time to elaborate on their answer and is enthusiastic, you’ve made another good impression.

The biggest sign you can get near the end of the interview is when the interviewer stops asking questions, and starts to tell you more about the company’s direction, the team, or the role. The interviewer has now switched to “sell mode”. Now that they’ve determined you’re a possible strong fit, they want to try and get you excited about them.

Good interviewers are trained to be neutral during an interview, and to be consistent and fair with all of their candidates. However, if you watch carefully and do the proper preparation, you will be able to leave a positive memorable impression that will help you secure the job.

CAREER 2011 (March 3-6)
www.careerseries.com.sg

Career 2011 is the largest training, education and recruiting fair in Singapore, with over 250 exhibitors and special pavilions featuring the up-and-coming Aerospace Industry, Education in Malaysia, and 21st Century Skills.

There is a long list of free seminars and talks throughout all 4 days, including a few from yours truly. I’ll be at the fair on Sat & Sun talking about “How to Find the Hidden Backdoors in Your Job Search” and “What Interviewers are Really Thinking and Looking For”

You can visit everything on the 3rd and 6th floor of the Suntec Convention Centre

JobsDB.com Career Expo 2011 (March 25-27)
www.careerexpo.sg.jobsdb.com

Similar to Career 2011, admission is free (although you need to register). Suntec Convention Halls 402 & 403

JobsCentral Career Fair & Learning Fair 2011 (August 13-14)
www.jobscentral.com.sg/careerfair

This yearly job fair event is held in partnership with the 5 polytechnics in Singapore, and aims to draw 55,000 job hunters with the vast majority of them having at least diplomas and degrees. Again, at Suntec Convention Centre.

4. Ask Specific Questions

So you’re done your research, and you’ve done your preparation. Now what? You need to start approaching people at the booths and try to make a strong impression. Over the course of 1 day, I’ll probably talk to over 50 people, and will have heard all the boring questions and standard pitches. If you want to stand out, asking an intelligent and insightful question will be a like a breath of fresh air to me, and the key to being noticed.

Stay away from asking “selfish” questions, questions all about you, such as: what roles are there for me? What training do I get? What is the salary range for this position? Let other’s ask these basic questions, while you stand nearby and hear the answer.

When it comes to your turn, always start by introducing yourself. You’d be surprised at the numbers of times that this never happens. Then start your question with a preamble – a short description of what you know, what you’ve read, what you’ve heard from others about the topic you want to discuss. This will give you a chance to show off all the research and preparation you’ve done ahead of time. Be specific whenever possible and stay away from open-ended questions, such as, “what is the favourite thing you like about the company?” This does not impress anyone.

Once you’ve gotten my attention with your good questions, you can then start to talk about yourself and your strengths, the roles you’re interested in, and how you hope to contribute. If you want to stand out, you need to be unique but genuine, and really show your deep knowledge. Just remember this, when it comes to questions, it’s not about you, it’s about them.

A good way to build your confidence and to get some practice is to start by approaching companies you’re interested in learning more about, before you head to the ones that you’re extremely interested in.

5. Close Strong & Follow-Up

As a company representative at a job fair, it is my job to talk to as many people as I can. Once you’ve had your opportunity to ask 1-2 questions, thank me and move on. Be respectful and don’t monopolize my time. If you think you’ve made a connection, or if you have more questions, then ask for a name card.

More often than not, if you’ve done a good job presenting yourself, and asking intriguing questions, I’ll want to keep in touch with you, and even ask for your name or resume. That’s why I’m spending my time at the fair, to scout out potential top talent.

Once you’ve obtained a name card, make sure you follow-up with an email within 24hrs. In this email, keep it short and sweet, but be sure to reference something specific about the conversation we had so I can recall your face in my mind. Remember, I’ll most likely have spoken to over 50 people in a day, so sending a simple, “Thanks for your time, please keep in touch” is not very helpful.

If you’re not asked, or you’re given an excuse about not having anymore name cards, take that as a big hint that you probably haven’t succeeded in standing out. If you then proceed by asking if I’ll take your resume, I will of course say yes; however, the chances that resume will lead to anything are slim to none.

The best part about a job fair is that you have an immediate opportunity to try again with the next booth. However, before you head over there, take a second to think about what went wrong and where you can improve. The opportunity to accelerate your job search is real, so before you decide to just ask the same standard and boring questions as everyone else, take the time to follow these tips in order to get noticed. The more practice, the better you will get.

Most people believe that their objective at these fairs should be to use the “machine gun approach” (i.e. hand out their resume at every booth present) or for them to only go to the booths of companies they recognize, ask some basic questions to fake some interest, then hand in their resume. Let me be the first to be burst their bubble; this doesn’t work!

If you don’t already know this, when you approach the booth and have that first conversation, you’re having your first interview with the company. With that fact, job fairs are unique and a great opportunity. If you play your cards right, you may be able to accelerate your job search, so here are five tips to help you maximize your job fair potential.

1. Do Your Research

Like a normal job interview, half the battle is in the initial preparation and the most important part of that preparation is your research. At job fairs, a list of companies that will be attending is normally available ahead of the event. Study this list and divide the companies into 3 categories: ones you’re extremely interested in, those you want to learn more about, and finally companies you have no interest in. One you have these categories, for those companies you’re still interested in, you need to visit their websites, at a minimum.

Click on their About Us page. Learn about what they do, their mission and company values, and what products or services they sell. Next, visit their Career section to learn about the skills they look for in their employees, what open roles are currently available, and get a feel for their corporate culture.

With those that you’re extremely interested in, you’re probably already familiar with these basics. You should then go and visit their News section to read the latest press releases and see the latest issues facing their company/industry. Do a Google a search to see what else is making the headlines. In this research, you’re looking for anecdotes and facts that spark some interesting and unique questions for you to ask and impress the representatives at the fair.

What you want to avoid is asking the basic questions that are constantly heard: What does your company do? What opportunities are available for me? What are you looking for? If you are really interested in a company, these questions should never need to be asked. You should already know the answer.

2. Know What You Want

Now that you know about the companies, it’s time to do research on yourself. This may sound silly, but when someone approaches me at the booth and asks, “what roles are available?”, the first question I ask is, “what are you interested in?” When the response is “anything” or “I don’t know”, that is almost a guarantee that you won’t be getting hired. Before you approach anyone, you need to know what you’re interested in and where you might fit in within the organization.

What are you strengths and weaknesses? What are your biggest accomplishments? What are you most proud of? What are your most important transferable skills? The answers to these questions will form the basis of your 30-second pitch. Other things you should include in these 30-seconds are your name, your education, and why you’re so interested in working for us. Please don’t tell me it’s because we’re such a “prestigious firm” or “it will be a great opportunity to practice what I’ve learned at school”. Be specific and personal, give details.

3. Come Prepared

On the day of, start by coming dressed to impress. Again, since your first conversation at the booth is your first interview, you should dress as you would if you were invited to the office for an actual job interview. Comb you hair, polish up your shoes, and please leave your white socks at home!

Forget your backpacks; come with a nice looking portfolio. It doesn’t need to be very fancy or expensive, but please not the clear plastic folders or boxes. Look professional. Having copies of your resume to hand out is nice, but can be cumbersome to carry around. Also, many companies today would prefer that you apply directly on their website so they can track you properly and they don’t lose your resume in transit. My suggestion is to have perhaps 10 copies made that you reserve for the companies that you’re most interested in.

A better alternative is having professional-looking name cards created to hand out instead. When you’re at the booths, your objective shouldn’t be on trying to shove a resume in front of someone, but to stand out through asking good questions and your 30-second pitch. If you are able to make a genuine connection, exchanging name cards at the end will give you a good chance to kick-start the hiring process with that company. This is much more effective than simply handing over your resume which will get thrown into a box and then pray someone gets back to you.

I’ll continue with the rest of the tips in Part 2…