Nasa’s new GLAST (Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope) project will enable us to see cosmic events in far more detail than we have before. By taking high-resolution images previously invisible to the human eye we will be able to study how gamma-ray phenomena affect the universe. We only realised these phenomena existed by noticing that the ‘space’ around them was not behaving as the laws of physics predicted they should.
These types of phenomena do not hide from us but merely remain outside of our awareness due to our own limitations; whether that lies in our collective physiology or perception. New statistics claim that in the UK each of us is caught on CCTV on average 300 times a day. Whether you are appalled by this statistic or not, the more fundamental question is: "Do we behave any differently as a result?"
In general, most of us will forget that a camera is present after a certain amount of time and act naturally. That is certainly the premise used in TV programmes like ‘A Child in Our time’ and, love them or hate them, reality shows like ‘The Apprentice’ that recently ended with yet another salesman getting the top job with Sir Alan Sugar.
The effectiveness of an interview process remains a much-debated topic. There are not many companies that can afford to carry out the situational scenarios that ‘The Apprentice’ makes possible. Few companies recruit en masse these days and the day of graduate ‘milk rounds’ are over. Downsizing and restructuring has meant that they can no longer justify the cost associated with diverting management expertise away from core activities. So companies rely on recruitment companies or headhunters to find suitable candidates for interview.
Of course CVs can be embellished to make a candidate appear more desirable, but a canny employer can swiftly discover if skills and experience have been exaggerated. What is not so easy to quantify is whether the candidate will gel with the team/organisation they are joining and how they will perform in situ. This situation is equally true of individuals that have been headhunted; whose track record precedes them.
So, even if companies could afford an ‘Apprentice’-type recruitment programme, would they implement it? Unlikely, as there is no attempt to ensure that a candidate gels with anyone other than Sir Alan himself. This is why so many companies are now adopting probationary periods of employment and, if a recruitment agency is involved, only paying the associated finder’s fee after the successful candidate has met specified success criteria.
Understanding that no amount of interviews can guarantee that you have selected the right candidate, it seems likely that we will see an increase in probationary periods of employment. For senior positions, commanding six figure salaries, probationary periods have been in existence for many years and are more advantageous the prospective candidate. But for more junior positions the deck is stacked in the employer’s favour; an inconvenience for them leaves the unsuccessful candidate with a potentially embarrassing gap in their CV. However, as ‘Generation Y’ enter the job market this may all change.
‘Generation Y’ folk are Internet savvy and will be selecting the company they want to work for, not the other way around. Their choices will be influenced by ethical and environmental aspects as much as business sector, salary and career prospects. Having a company Web presence is no longer a 'nice to have', it is a must; professionally maintained, be easy to navigate and up to date. So in the future might we see a ‘Generation Y’ avatar working for a three month try-out with the 'Second Life' virtual presence of a real company? Stranger things have happened.
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