In partnership with global HR recruitment experts, Elliott Scott HR, I recently kicked off the Make Your Mark workshop series for London-based members of their 170,000-strong HR community.
Our aim? To help these dedicated, often overlooked champions of corporate life boost their executive presence.
A lot of them are navigating a tough job market where having that executive edge can really tip the scales in landing a job offer.
A Tough Job Market for Senior HR Leaders
In his H1 Global Market Update, Stuart Scott, the founder and owner of Elliott Scott HR, highlights the challenges senior HR leaders are up against in today's slow-moving job market.
Clients seem indecisive, often focused on cost savings and restructuring instead of filling senior HR roles.
This shift has put more emphasis on HR operations roles, shrinking the number of leadership positions. The situation is even tougher with low turnover and high retention rates, prompting some candidates to lower their salary expectations to secure a job they're overqualified for. Stuart’s advice?
Build connections with the right people, keep networking, and try not to get too desperate.
Find Your Inner Coach
But feeling desperate is a natural reaction when you’ve spent weeks or even months interviewing, only to have the job 'pulled' at the last minute or filled by someone else. Adding to this letdown is the frustration of getting no feedback on why you weren't picked, or sometimes not hearing back at all. As one HR leader said:
"I spent weeks on the application—it was like a full-time job. Then, there was this deafening silence, and ultimately, they pulled the position. In hindsight, I think I dodged a bullet. But now I have to start from scratch."
To avoid feeling desperate and stand out in a competitive field, HR leaders need to have executive presence in abundance.
This starts with quietening the negative self-talk (or inner critic) and tuning into the wise, rational self (the inner coach).
Workshops Insights
In the first workshop, "Find Your Inner Coach," participants got to chat about how negative self-talk affects their careers.
They explored where their inner critic comes from and swapped strategies to quieten it down, helping them tune into the wise, rational advice of their inner coach.
"Many in the room felt a sense of relief after recognising they weren't alone in their struggles. Opening up and learning from each other seemed to give them a renewed strength and clarity."
Kirstin Hunt, Elliott Scott HR's Managing Director EMEA
Many of the strategies shared involve the idea of self-distancing, in other words, taking a step back to observe and analyse your thoughts from an objective perspective.
For example:
Personify Your Inner Voices
Assign personalities to your inner critic/s and your inner coach. This helps in recognising when each voice is speaking and determining which one deserves your attention.
Build Your Inner Team
Imagine a personal advisory board, composed of trusted friends, mentors, or colleagues. Consult them mentally or in real-life conversations to gain perspective.
Explore Your Negative Self-Talk Origins
Investigate the origins of your inner critic's negative beliefs. Often, they stem from childhood. Challenge and update outdated beliefs to align with your current reality.
Case Study: Ben Redshaw's Success
Ben Redshaw is an HR Consultant with an extensive background working for international Fortune 100 companies and is a member of the CIPD AI advisory panel.
Upon completing a course of study in AI business strategy and application through the U.C. Berkeley Haas School of Business in the US, Ben utilised the Make Your Mark framework to more effectively assist busy HR leaders who want to understand the basics of AI and how it will have an ever-increasing impact on work.
Ben leads a discussion called ‘Decoding AI for HR Leaders,’ and each time, Susan’s Make Your Mark framework prepares him to deliver it with the requisite confidence in his own knowledge and experience.
Ben says,
"I use Susan's four-step program to prepare my mindset, body language, words and voice ahead of each session which leaves me feeling more confident and prepared as a result."
By using self-distancing techniques to quieten the inner critic, HR leaders can listen more to their inner coach, dodge desperation and shine as standout candidates in a tough job market.
Want to boost your job search with some self-coaching? Reach out to Kirstin Hunt to join upcoming Make Your Mark HR groups and see the impact of self-coaching. Sign up today and start your journey towards a confident, successful career shift.
The Business Voice Coach
Further Reading: Take a first step to tackling your inner critic
Mindset is just one of many topics explored in my flagship programme Make Your Mark with Susan Room®. A transformative four-step framework specifically designed to help business people develop the four pillars of effective communication. Learn More
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