Has your career hit a glass ceilling?

There was a lot in the news yesterday about the number of Women (or lack of) in top jobs in the UK. The fifth annual Sex and Power report shows a drop in the number of women attaining the top jobs in Britain. They hold just 11% of FTSE 100 directorships and account for only 19.3% of MPs.

We thought it would be interesting to hear from our readers, what their thoughts were about the 'Glass Ceiling' at their work. Do you feel that it is harder for women to get promoted? Are there woman at top jobs in your industry/ company? Is it getting harder rather than easier?

It would be great to hear from the future leaders of industry i.e. you guys. Is the glass ceiling just at senior levels or do women find it harder to get promoted at all levels?

Let us know via mail to the.mole@thecareermole.com or submitting a comment below.

To read the full article on 'Glass Ceilings' go to this Guardian Article

Users send in support...very amusing

Here are a couple of cuttings that we have been sent by our users that we thought you might find amusing...

Recruiter Speak

If you are looking for a new job, or have got a new job through a recruitment consultant then you may (as in any industry) come across a fair amount of jargon. I thought this article from ere.net would be useful if you ever wondered what a the recruiter really meant.

This list is by no means definitive, but it is a start…any suggestions or additions are greatly encouraged.

• Sourcing (v) Usage: "I sourced your resume and thought that you might be a great fit…" Definition: The entry of keywords onto a job board.
• Exciting (adj.): Usage: "We've got an exciting opportunity currently available…" Definition: An open headcount that needs to be filled as quickly as possible.
• Prescreen (n) Usage: "I'd like to set up a brief, exploratory prescreen." Definition: The conversation by which recruiters ascertain if they can afford the talent in question.
• Visibility (adj.): Usage: "This role has high visibility to all levels of management throughout the organization." Definition: The phrase most often used to describe a position with the smallest margin for error and highest turnover rate in the company.
• Growth (n): Usage: "This position is really a great growth opportunity." Definition: The naturally occurring phenomenon by which workers find fulfillment doing exactly the same job in a different company.
• Ad-hoc (adj.) Usage: "There will also be some ad-hoc projects required." Definition: A catch-all phrase used by corporations to describe the countless hours of manpower invested in activities unrelated to one's job function, generally evoked at the whim of departmental heads.
• Expectations (n) Usage: "What are your expectations for your next position?" Definition: The test commonly used during the screening process to see whether the candidate is capable of reading a job description and changing tense from third- to first-person.
• Stable (adj.) Usage: "It's a very stable business unit." Definition: When the collective tenure of a department's employees preempt any consideration of change or improvement upon the status quo.
• Reinventing (v) Usage: "We've had challenges in the past, but we're reinventing ourselves and our processes." Definition: A commonly used tactic employed by recruiters to explain recent or forthcoming layoffs (see: derecruit, reorganization, shared services, offshoring, outsourcing, et al).
• Competition (n) Usage: "You've got some pretty stiff competition for this position." Definition: A word used by recruiters to preempt disappointment for the candidate by establishing expectations upfront. Alternative definition: A tactic employed to make an extremely undesirable position appear more enticing.
• Team (n) Usage: "We're looking for a team player." Definition: The intangible qualities associated with a candidate who will not make waves and demonstrates the willingness to accept abuse by supervisors and fellow staff.
• DOE (acr.) see also depending on experience.Usage: "I am unable to provide a salary range for the position as it is DOE." Definition: Whereby a company unable to pay market rate for a position compensates by placing the blame on candidate deficiencies.
• Best practices (n): Usage: "We're a best practices organization." Phrase has not yet been defined. See meaning of life, UFOs.
• Work-life balance (phrase): Usage: "We put a real premium on work-life balance." Definition: The ratio of one's time at home to one's time at work. The smaller the ratio, the more likely the employee is paid on an hourly basis.
• Overtime (n) Usage: "There may be some slight overtime involved." Definition: An institution imposed by corporations to increase shareholder value without increasing headcount by maximizing working hours of employee population, up to and including Saturdays, holidays, and seminal life events.
• Feedback (n) Usage: "I'll provide feedback from my hiring manager as soon as I get it." Definition: Generally construed as a one- or two-word answer by which hiring managers summarily reject top candidates.
• Next steps (phrase) Usage: "We'll be in touch regarding next steps." Definition: A phrase used to put off rejecting marginal candidates for as long as possible until an offer is accepted by a more qualified party.
• References (n) Usage: "We're going to begin checking your references." Definition: The process by which a recruiter contacts previous coworkers of a potential hire from a list provided by the candidate in an attempt to bring objectivity to the hiring process.
• Background check (n) Usage: "You're our final candidate, but I can't extend an offer until your background check clears." Definition: A control imposed by corporations in order to slow recruiters' ability to extend an offer for a period of time that perfectly coincides with a candidate's extension and acceptance of other offers. Alternate definition: An industry whose practitioners continue to thrive despite the Internet's abilities to perform the same functionality at a fraction of the cost.
• Benefits (n) Usage: "We are proud to offer a comprehensive, competitive benefits package to all employees." Definition: A tactic used by corporations to attract full-time employees and entice temporary ones into menial labor.
• Offer letter (n) Usage: "Congratulations on joining our team. I'm sending over an offer letter that contains all the information you're going to need." Definition: A document or set of documents that contains all information relevant to one's employment with a company, denoting the last communication between recruiter and candidate until the candidate becomes eligible for transfer consideration.

The Mole has been working out!

The Mole has been working out over the cold winter months! The Mole has built up a sweat making sure that TheCareerMole provides you with everything you need to further your career & your business prospects. The site has only been live a few days and already we have seen a huge surge in users.

Please take a look around the site and let The Mole know what you think. Are there any features you would like to see or anything you think would benefit from being changed? What do you think of the networking functionality? Get on the site and expand your business network; You never know when someone in you network will come in handy. The Mole does his best, but sometimes finds it difficult to use the computer because of his poor eyesight and his paddle like front paws - there is always room for improvement so let The Mole know.

Even though The Mole struggles with the keyboard, he is actively going to posting each day. The blog will feature any recruiting/ business news you may be interested in, updates on how TheCareerMole is getting along, interesting Mole facts and lets face it, life isn’t just about work, so The Mole may even throw in some stuff that will keep you amused in any downtime.

Please feel free to send The Mole any amusing Mole facts (any type of Mole), pictures, stories etc that you come across. Check out this Naked Mole Rat – enough said.

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Enjoy
The Mole


… Everyone’s unfair advantage