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00:03 Karin W: What's uniquely yours?
00:05 Paola G: Isn't this a wonderful way to start this episode of the World of Work podcast or the WOW, as we continue to explore, what are some tips; what's some advice we can provide for those who may be looking for a job at the moment. In the previous episode, it was all about how to manage transitions and how important that is. And now we go a little bit more into the depth and into the detail on what to do, what are the can do's, you should do's, and absolutely the must-do's when you're ready to face the job market once again. And figuring out what's uniquely yours sounds like a really really great place to start and to consider.
00:45 Paola G: But before we do that, a quick introduction regarding the guest speaker of today's episode. So I'm joined by Karen Wierinck, she's a global HR business leader in the pharma and the biotech industry. She has lived and worked in the USA and various locations across Europe. And in the course of her almost 30 years career, she has led, lived through, and experienced herself downsizings and reorganizations numerous numerous times. And I've asked Karen before actually kicking it off, why is it that she wanted to take part of this podcast.
01:21 Karin W: Because I have seen a lot of this. I have lived it myself, I've experienced it, either because I was being relocated or I lost my job. I've led consultations, and I think over the years, I may have had hundreds of conversations with people in this particular context. So, that's why I think there's probably some lessons that I would love to share with the audience.
01:56 Paola G: I thank you for your time and for your contribution, which I'm sure many people will value. Because, the purpose is actually to make these conversations as real as possible as well, and as authentic as genuine and as practical, so that people can walk away with some gems and some inspirations of particularly what they can do in these moments if their job has been impacted and there's no one magic solution or one magic bullet. But what would you say to those individuals like right now, who have lost their job, are struggling and don't even know where to start, what would you tell them? What would you recommend?
02:48 Karin W: Maybe a little bit of a step back; what I will bring to the table will be a combination of these experiences, and having lived them as HR, as a manager, and I'll weave all of that into hopefully what are some pragmatic suggestions. What I would say is, it's important that you take stock, what is it that you bring to the table? What are the achievements that you have made over the course of a period of time? What's the impact, and can you quantify that?
03:28 Karin W: How can you express that? It's important that you start thinking about what your unique experiences are, your unique skills, where is it that you're at your best, what might be the circumstances for that? What is it that you've learned? What are the lessons you have accumulated? What is it that you're proud of, and what is it that you want to do next? And this one maybe might be hard, because if you're finding yourself on the crossroads, then it might be not entirely clear to you what it is that you want to do next.
04:08 Karin W: I've done some coaching certification, and a tool that I find useful is that you can say yes or no to certain things. So you can brainstorm a little bit with yourself and say, "What would I want you say yes to in terms of tasks? What would be some of the things that I would say no to? What about the culture, the manager, the context? So that you start building what that next horizon looks like a little bit from the ground up. And if it's very clear to you what it is that you want to do, then, you're maybe already a step further ahead in the process, right?
04:54 Paola G: Would you see this as well an opportunity to... Like you were saying before, like to step back and really reflect as well of course on your past, what you've done, what you've achieved, what your passions are, and also, like you were saying, you're looking in the future, determining what is the yes and what's the no? What are those things that, exactly because of the past, you say, "Now I'm... I... Even if it may be a difficult situation economically... " 'cause that's another important component, right? If your job has been impacted then that has an impact on your finances, of course, I think that does require perhaps a different reflection and conversation. But it does sound like it's a thoughtful process, it's not an immediate type of answer.
05:41 Karin W: Yeah. Well, I'm like... People are different, and, some need more, some need less time. Depending upon how you are feeling as a result of the process, where are you in it? And, does it come as a relief, or does it come as a shock, or, is it something that you're grieving over? The answers might be different, right? I do think that how much time you need will be dependent upon all of that. But, I do think that, or I very strongly believe and suggest that it's better to go with what is right for you, than to go with the first that presents itself. I think there's a very big difference there.
06:37 Karin W: Is it what you want? Is it the company that you want? Is it the context that you want? The industry… that would be... Yeah, because if you're in your sweet spot, whether it's role, whether it's context, it will be so much easier for you on the job, as well, right? And it will be so much more WOW, with so much joy.
07:02 Paola G: Right, that's what it's about exactly, exactly. And how would you say people can find that sweet spot?
07:11 Karin W: I had a manager at Pfizer and I was struggling at Pfizer because I had come from a very different... Culturally, very different organization. His name is Phil Sleeman and if Phil would listen to this, he may recognize this story. Phil had an incredible knack of helping someone find both what they're good at and what helped them, or what would make them trip up or what their own personal hurdles were. One of the things that Phil talked about is, what's uniquely yours? And I always... I love this expression. What's uniquely yours? And try to find what that is. What's your value proposition? In HR, I will sometimes ask when people come and interview, "Why should I hire you as opposed to Liz or John who are maybe also very qualified? What is it that sets you apart?" So, I think to reflect on that, to ask people that know you well, or that have insight, but also to really think about when are you in flow? When are you at your best? And to think not only about the what of that... What is it that you do? But the context, the circumstance... I think that that could be helpful.
09:02 Paola G: Sounds like we owe him some copyrights on that expression. [chuckle] What's uniquely yours, wasn’t it? And oh, we could have him as well as a guest one day in these WOW moments. And I completely agree with you by the way. When we're on the other side, recruiting or interviewing candidates for roles, of course, we do look into the qualifications, we do look into the experience, we look at all of that, but we also do look at differentiation, what is it about John versus Mary versus Steve versus Laura that really makes them unique in their own way a...
