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Does the Culture Fit?
Culture fit is a key consideration when candidates are looking for their next opportunity. Unfortunately, a great many candidates go about their job search without taking this into consideration. Some are looking for their first job, some are looking to replace a lost position, and some are looking to advance their career or find a better working environment. Whatever your reason, it is essential that you consider how well your personality and style mesh with the company culture.
While the promise of a new opportunity can be exciting, and your instincts tell you to say whatever you think the hiring manager wants to hear for you to get the job, it’s important to remember that you’re investing your most important asset into this venture…your time. In other words, it is not just the hiring manager who should be asking questions, but you should be too. What’s the company’s culture and values, how is performance measured and rewarded, and what resources are available to get you off to a great start? These are just a few of the questions you should consider before taking a new position. Remember, the hiring manager has an opening they want to fill just as much as you want the job, but it’s important that you don’t shortcut the process of evaluating how you fit with the company.
Many employment relationships fail when managers hire new associates strictly based on experience, but there is no alignment with personal values or working style. As you can imagine, this never ends well for the associate or the hiring manager. Associates become disgruntled and frustrated, feel undervalued, resent going to work, and even face the embarrassment and humiliation of being terminated. For the company and the hiring manager, it can be a costly mistake as well, as there are significant costs associated with hiring people and training them, only to have things not work out. Hiring managers can also lose sleep due to the stress of having a bad hire on their team, not to mention the potential for lost credibility with staff, supervisors, and customers due to bringing in someone that costs the company money, harms morale, and maybe even damages relationships.
At Gables, we are passionate about Taking Care of the Way People Live. Through teamwork, dedication, and support, Gables associates provide the highest caliber of service and have fun doing it. In order to maintain this commitment, it is essential that hiring managers and candidates understand the importance of hiring people who fit the company culture and spend the time to make sure the job really is a good fit.
Philip Altschuler is Gables Residential’s Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Learning & Development. His strength is in creatively leveraging HR technology to improve the acquisition and development of organizational talent. With a reputation for high energy and strong results, Philip is passionate about coaching leaders on how to increase their effectiveness, leadership presence, and support of a healthy workforce. Committed to ongoing professional development, Philip is actively involved with the National Multi Housing Council, National Association of Real Estate Investments Trusts, the Society of Human Resource Management, and the International Coaching Federation. He has earned certifications in Leadership Coaching (Georgetown University) and Personal Branding (Reach). Philip holds a MBA from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
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Gables Residential is Green!
As a natural extension of our corporate mission, Taking Care of the Way People Live ®, Gables Residential is dedicated to Taking Care of Our Environment. We are committed to being a responsible corporate citizen and real estate developer; we are mindful of our impact on the local environment and have adopted a green initiatives program to help do our part. These initiatives represent merely the first steps towards what we hope will be greater emphasis on going green by our company and industry. Ultimately, our goal is to be a leader in sustainable apartment living.
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Creating Your Personal Brand
A personal brand is your reputation; it is how people look at you. Whether they find you as pleasing, charming or a snob depends on how you portray yourself to the world. Your personal brand should be a summation of what you want yourself to stand for. Personal brands are very important when you are seeking a career change or looking for a job. Your personal brand should carve out a professional image of you so that potential employers will deem you fit for their organization.
The concept of branding doesn’t only apply to product or service brands, but rather extends to include people. Sometimes customers associate a product or service brand with a face or personal representative of the brand. A prime example of this was Steve Jobs, who co-founded Apple. His personal reputation built and reinforced the success of many of the products that are so popular today, such as iMacs, iPhones, and iPads.
Your personal brand is your lifelong investment; therefore you should invest your time and energy on publicly presenting yourself positively. A simple Google search will tell you a lot about your online image; blogs, Facebook account, Twitter feeds, LinkedIn profile and your resume listed in online job portals. It is best to separate your personal life online from your professional information. You don’t want potential employers to go through pictures of you in embarrassing situations. To help manage this, start by using privacy controls to manage who has access to your personal life private, while making sure you have ways to showcase your talents to potential employers.
With professional branding tools such as LinkedIn, blogging, volunteering, and websites, you have the ability to gain exposure and be seen as an expert in your career field. It is essential to regularly update your personal brand profile and maintain your network contacts.
Philip Altschuler is Gables Residential’s Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Learning & Development. His strength is in creatively leveraging HR technology to improve the acquisition and development of organizational talent. With a reputation for high energy and strong results, Philip is passionate about coaching leaders on how to increase their effectiveness, leadership presence, and support of a healthy workforce. Committed to ongoing professional development, Philip is actively involved with the National Multi Housing Council, National Association of Real Estate Investments Trusts, the Society of Human Resource Management,and the International Coaching Federation. He has earned certifications in Leadership Coaching (Georgetown University) and Personal Branding (Reach). Philip holds a MBA from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
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Workspace Pinterest Contest
We want to give you a chance to earn $250 from Gables Residential for showing off your home workspace.
The Details:
Send a picture with your name and email to socialmedia@gables.com with a picture of your home workspace and the Gables Residential Community where you currently reside.
The deadline for submission is May 14, 2013 and the winner will be announced on May 15th.
Submitted pictures will be added to our Pinterest Board
Once your photo is added, you’ll be asked to share the pin with your friends on social media.
How do I win?
The Pin with the most Likes and Repins combined will be crowned the winner. Once the winner’s address is confirmed, they’ll receive a $250 gift card from Gables Residential.
The Fine Print:
The contest is only open to current Gables Residential Residents in good standing.
The deadline to submit is midnight Eastern Standard Time on May 14th, 2013.
Please only submit one picture per resident.
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Gables Residential Training Department Recognized Nationally
Gables Residential ranked 63rd at the recent Training Top 125 awards gala beating out dozens of high profi le companies including UPS, Aetna, Dell, Century 21, and Northwestern Mutual - just to name a few.
This is a huge jump from our ranking of 118th last year. Jennifer Antos, Vice President of Learning & Development remarked, “I am so proud of what this award winning department has accomplished over the past year. Their passion and dedication to coaching associates towards achieving their career potential all contributed to this impressive success.” The Training Top 125 award has been recognized as a premier learning industry awards program for over a decade. Companies are ranked based on a variety of benchmarking statistics including training curriculum, strategy, impact, and return on investment.
Gables incredible jump in ranking is credited to L&D’s renewed focus on associate development through the launch of Foundations Online, twenty-four new training classes, a revised new-hire orientation, and new sales and customer service workshops designed to enhance both prospects and residents living experience.
Learning & Development is excited to deliver even more associate learning opportunities in 2013, including new corporate and onsite training content, the Foundations on Demand online training platform, and a peer coaching program designed to reinforce learning beyond the classroom. With all of these exciting programs in store, Gables should be well positioned to achieve great success and even more awards next year.
