-
Continue Reading
93% of employers want to see soft skills on your resume—here are 8 of the most in-demand ones
Published Wed, Jul 13 2022
Gili Malinsky@MALINSKID
When applying for a job, there are many ways to optimize your resume. You can check the listing to see where the employer’s priorities lie in terms of experience, and make sure to highlight what’s most important to them, for example. You can include any major achievements like exceeding sales goals. And you can include a link to your LinkedIn profile.
One group of skills career experts say is crucial to include is your soft skills. An overwhelming majority ― 93% of employers ― say “soft skills play a critical role in their decision about whom they want to hire,” Ian Siegel, co-founder and CEO of ZipRecruiter, said in the company’s recent report The Job Market Outlook for Grads.
Soft skills include a wide array of abilities. “I would say, in general, communication is very high on that list right now considering how people are working in very different situations, hybrid situations,” says Kristin Kelley, chief marketing officer at CareerBuilder, as an example.
ZipRecruiter compiled some of the most in-demand soft skills on its platform.Here are the top skills on that list, including the number of jobs on the site listing the skill as a requirement.
Communication skills: Number of jobs listing the skill: 6.1 million
Customer service: Number of jobs listing the skill: 5.5 million
Scheduling: Number of jobs listing the skill: 5 million
Time management skills: Number of jobs listing the skill: 3.6 million
Project management: Number of jobs listing the skill: 2.8 million
Analytical thinking: Number of jobs listing the skill: 2.7 million
Ability to work independently: Number of jobs listing the skill: 2 million
Flexibility: Number of jobs listing the skill: 1.3 million
When it comes to the importance of communication, in part, as Kelley says, that’s a result of the new remote and hybrid work arrangements that rely heavily on tech. “How you respond to someone who sent you an email” matters, she says as an example. “Formally respond to them in 24 hours.”
The importance of communication is also a result of various companies’ recent diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
“To be a diverse and inclusive employer,” says Georgene Huang, co-founder and CEO of Fairygodboss, “you have to work with all different kinds of people, which means you have to be able to communicate effectively with all different kinds of people.”
When it comes to scheduling and time management, “no matter what kind of role you have, if you can’t organize your time,” you can’t be effective, she says.
Finally, when it comes to flexibility, “people really have to be able to turn left, turn right on a dime, join the Zoom, be able to manage their own instant messages coming in,” says Kelley. There’s an element of ease with multitasking and being able to switch what you’re doing at a moment’s notice that has heightened since the pandemic and as so many people continue to work from home.
Include your soft skills by giving concrete examples of how you’ve used them either in your resume intro or the bullets under your job descriptions.Check out:
3 strategies for writing a resume that will ‘instantly impress’ any hiring manager, according to a recruiting expert
I’ve been reviewing resumes for 26 years. These are the 5 biggest mistakes that make candidates look weak
Feel behind at work? 5 soft skills you ‘need to prioritize today,’ says career development expert -
Continue Reading
5 Keys to Becoming Your Own Best Coach While Running a Business
Using a business coach can be difficult and expensive. Self-coaching is often a better solution.
• BY MARTIN ZWILLING, FOUNDER AND CEO, STARTUP PROFESSIONALS@STARTUPPROAfter many extended coaching sessions with entrepreneurs and small-business owners, I’ve found myself wondering if my value-add was anything more than you could get by self-coaching.
Of course, my years of experience in business have given me insights that you might not yet have, but I’ve found that the major value from coaching comes from getting you into the right mindset.I still see some value from an external coach, but only after you make every effort to get yourself into a better mindset, and have a concrete idea of where you need specifics and an external perspective. The advantage of this approach is that it encourages you to take charge of your own life, as outlined in a new book, Take Charge of You, by David Novak and Jason Goldsmith.
In addition to feeling better about yourself, you may find that you are better prepared to face the unlimited number of future challenges every business brings, without a constant need for the time and cost of an external business coach.
I agree with the key points that these authors outline for self-coaching, from their wealth of experience in business and performance coaching.- Ask yourself the key questions every coach would ask.
Like any coach would ask, you need to brainstorm and write down the short list of things that are getting in the way of your joy and satisfaction at work, as well as the single biggest thing that would grow your joy in business and personal life. Envision and focus on getting to that destination.
For example, you may find out that being your own boss is a driving force in your life. Thus preparing for and making the tough business decisions will lead to more positive satisfaction and learning, rather than the negative burden you have felt up to this point. - Open up to growth and refuse to prejudge yourself.
Change your “nots” to “not yets.” Define your higher purpose, and prioritize what you value most in your business. Let these beliefs drive you to a “take charge” action, and shift your focus to the positives that will override the negatives that have been holding you back, and learning what you need.
One technique that I have found useful in this regard is to practice reframing negatives into positives, by adding what it would take to make an unlikely into a likely outcome. It’s all about getting your mind thinking in a new way, and then following through to success. - Do your homework to remove your own weaknesses.
Kickstart your learning curve by asking for and listening to the insights of those around you, and including yourself. Switch your mindset to problem-solving mode. Use what your single biggest thing is telling you to overcome emotional barriers, and reframe your weaknesses as opportunities to grow.
Another approach is to take a hard look at how you have handled roadblocks in the past. The more aware you are of where past instincts have led you, the more you will be able to shift your focus to where you need to go. It’s all about changing a negative mindset. - Take incremental actions that approach your goals.
Turn the insights you have gathered into a list of actions that will move you forward. Create a roadmap from the current reality to the desired destination. Track your progress with frequent milestones, metrics, and physically checking things off the list. Celebrate every step of progress.
It’s amazing how much strength and positive incentive can be derived from small rewards and positive feedback, even from yourself. That’s just what you need to tackle the next big business issue now, rather than ignoring it or running away to wait another day. - Commit to constant and consistent improvement.
Build in positive motivation by constantly reminding yourself what matters, connecting with your future vision, and sharing your intent and progress with the team. Celebrate your wins, keep a flexible mindset, and raise your own bar often. It helps to partner with and coach others.
Procrastination is the enemy you need to fight here. Don’t let discomfort, confusion, and distraction keep you from moving forward. Most often in business, any decision is better than no decision. Make a commitment to yourself to address all issues within a fixed time.
Following these recommendations will always help you find the strength to tackle the most important issues in your business, as well as your life. I’m convinced that there will still be room for business coaches like me, for more targeted issues where my experience will shortcut your solution. Believe me, having you start in the right mindset will be more productive for both of us.
- Ask yourself the key questions every coach would ask.
-
Continue Reading
The Top Five Questions You Need to Ask Before Hiring a Virtual Employee
Published: June 11, 2018
Updated: June 3, 2020
The Top Five Questions You Need to Ask Before Hiring a Virtual Employee
Felicia Sullivan
The future of work is remote work.
Gone are the days when everyone punched timecards and clocked in. In those days, managers would dedicate part of their day to monitoring employee attendance, while employees wasted productive hours making sure they were accounted for.
“Face time” wasn’t an application on your phone; rather, it was a way in which you pledged loyalty to a biweekly paycheck. “Be seen and accounted for” was the mantra before digital and cloud technology, before remote work was considered more than just the random slacker employee tapping away at their computer in their pajamas. Now, technology has made it easier to work from home while keeping tapped in to what’s going on at work.
The Growth of Flexible Work
According to a study jointly sponsored by Global Workplace Analytics and FlexJobs, the number of telecommuting workers (not including the self-employed) in the U.S. has skyrocketed by 115% in the past decade, and 40% more employers have offered flexible work options over the past five years.
Telecommuting isn’t reserved solely for the younger, tech-savvy generation — the average age of a virtual employee is 46 and the industries span forestry and farming to social services, healthcare, and administrative, financial, and legal services. In fact, five of the fastest-growing remote work categories in 2017 were therapy (including social workers, rehab coordinators, and occupational therapists), virtual admins, client and customer services, tutoring, and state/local government office jobs.
Cost Savings Both for Employer and Employee
Virtual staffing has been a boon for small businesses. If workers in the U.S. worked half of their time at home, the national savings would be over $700 billion a year, according to analysis
by Global Workplace Analytics. Businesses could save $500 billion in rent, utilities, absenteeism, janitorial services, equipment, supplies, and lost productivity — more than a whopping $11,000 per employee per year. Nothing says bottom-line bliss like cost savings — generating dollars that can be reinvested in your business.
Employees also win big by saving on commuting costs that give them back both hours and dollars daily. Remote working has provided a financial lifeline for parents who need flexible schedules, the disabled, and talented staff who can’t find the right work locally. Happy employees are productive ones.
Five Interview Questions to Ask
If you have the kind of business where schedule flexibility — anywhere from offering employees
one day a week to work from home, to working completely remotely — makes sense, here are the five questions to ask when interviewing potential candidates. These questions will give you a better sense of the person you’re interviewing, and if they have the right discipline, experience, and organizational smarts to work virtually.
1. Have they ever worked offsite, in any capacity, during their career?
You want to know if they understand the difference between the occasional WFH day and operating their own virtual office. You don’t want your virtual employees to be slackers, but you also don’t want them burnt out and running on empty.
If they haven’t actually worked remotely, you can ask them how they’ve managed a work-from-home day.
2. If they have extensive remote experience, ask them how they’ve structured their day.
The candidate’s response to this question will determine whether they’ve actually done this before and have a plan, at the ready, to structure and organize their tasks over the course of a day. Do they have a project management system (anything from using a simple word document to create their daily to-do list, to free software tools like Trello and Asana) to prioritize urgent tasks and get the job done?
- Are they able to organize their day such that they can manage team interactions, calls, and meetings with blocks of time needed for “thinking” work?
- How do they keep themselves accountable for the big things that need to get done while making sure the day-to-day work doesn’t fall through the cracks?
- How do they keep connected with team members for motivation, idea-sharing, and human connection?
3. How often did they receive feedback on their work, and what has that experience been like?
Here, you want to learn how they’ve grown in their roles. In person,
it’s easy to pull an employee aside and give them on-the-job feedback; however,
remote work may give you less access to your employees face-to-face.If, instead, you could be relying on something closer to virtual performance reviews, you’ll want assurances that the candidate has taken feedback and has grown as a result.
- How have they managed personal and professional growth at a distance?
- Are they a solid communicator and connector?
- Most importantly, how have they been able to structure a plan to take their performance to the next level?
4. Ask for an example of when they took the virtual lead on a project or played a major role in one.
Was the project assigned to them or did they volunteer for it? Have them tell you how they followed their project to completion and any real challenges they faced along the way. This will signal whether your candidate is a motivated self-starter or someone who needs to be managed.
5. Give them a real situation from your business where an urgent request came to the team.
Ask the candidate how they would manage urgent requests and find solutions virtually. Here, you’re looking for creativity, agility, and someone who can get the job done regardless of location, location, location.
Digital technology has transformed clock-watchers into productive staff. Telecommuting provides employers with a greater talent pool and incredible operational and fixed costs savings. If virtual work makes sense for your business — whether it’s days worked from home or having completely remote staff — arm yourself with the right questions to determine if your future employee can get the job done without punching into a clock.
-
Continue Reading
Words That Land Interviews and Job Offers
By Martin Yate March 23, 2021 Bestselling author Martin Yate, a career coach and former HR professional, takes your questions each week about how to further your career in HR. Contact him at the e-mail address at the end of this column.
The words you use in a resume or social media profile—your most critical career management marketing documents—can increase your chances of landing an interview and subsequently turning that interview into a job offer.
If we reduce these marketing documents to their barest essentials, their purpose is to describe who you are as a professional (your skills and experience) in the same language recruiters and hiring managers use in job postings. Why? Because recruiters will use that language to search resume banks and social media platforms for candidates.
Your marketing documents should reflect as much of the language of the job posting as possible. This will give you a resume and social media profile that are customized to employers’ needs for this job. When you submit a resume to a specific employer, make sure to customize it before sending.
After you’ve described your experience, you’ll also need to describe yourself. But be careful here; this is a time you don’t want to follow the job description too closely. “Strong communication skills,” “Organized,” “Team player” and “Determined” all sound good on a job posting. However, if you use them in your resume without linking each usage to the context of your job, they are nonspecific and don’t help a recruiter or employer understand how you do your work.
Choosing just the right word is paramount. Your resume plays such an important role in determining the quality of your future employment that you need to use words to their maximum effect.
Overused Words
These words are overused in job postings and resumes:
Outstanding Exceptional Highly Skilled Excellent Organized Top-notch Creative Innovative Team player Hardworking Experienced Loyal Dependable Go-getter Synergy Go-to person Value add Dynamic Track record Thought leader Proactive Hard worker Expert Using these terms generates a resume full of warm and fuzzy words that make you feel good about yourself but say nothing specific about your performance. Rather than just writing “good communication skills,” it’s better to attach such words to a concrete achievement:
“Superior listening, verbal and written communication skills helped identify customer dissatisfaction, recapturing a lost $3 million account.”
Words Hiring Managers Want to See
When applied correctly, verbs like these are better to describe how you work and give recruiters and hiring managers a better opportunity to envisage you doing the job successfully:
Achieved Reduced Launched Decreased Managed Improved Won Mentored Influenced Created Trained Volunteered Negotiated Increased Resolved Created For example, “Influenced reduction in travel and entertainment budgets by 5%, saving $1.3 million with zero loss in customer retention.”
Now read the sentence aloud. If you don’t clearly understand what it is saying and how it is related to success on the job, you’ll need to rework it. For example, “Leveraged dynamic, results-driven transformational leadership to proactively increase productivity” sounds like someone inebriated by their own verbosity. It doesn’t speak clearly to the job and your skills, and it will not advance your candidacy. It would be better to say, “Conceived, implemented and improved departmental production performance, maintaining 20%+ over quota for last seven months, without turnover.”
Review each word in the lists above, one at a time. Use only the ones that apply to how you’ve performed your job. Use the others for inspiration to describe your accomplishments, but be specific.
-
Continue Reading
Work From Home – managing distractions.
If you’re working from home while your kids are remote learning – you may find this article by Janice Marturano helpful. Coffee and Quiet!
Sep 16, 2020
Are You Missing Your Life? Learn How 3 Tips And A Cup Of Coffee Can Help.
Janice Marturano Contributor – Forbes – Careers
When external and internal distractions overwhelm us, we become exhausted and begin to live on …
Janice Marturano is the Founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Mindful Leadership, and the author of Finding the Space to Lead: A Practical Guide to Mindful Leadership
‘Is it really September? It feels like April. I think I missed the summer!’
‘Is it 2020? I feel as though I graduated just last year but it was 5 years ago. Where did those years go??’
If these statements feel familiar, you are not alone. When I am teaching a Mindful Leadership workshop or retreat, these types of statements are commonplace among the professionals. Some go even further and speak about a sense of missing a decade or more. So, what is happening? Why are you missing your life?
The short answer is mismanaged distractions. Distractions come from external sources and internal sources, and they are wearing out our body and our brain. External distractions grow exponentially each year. They come in the form of computers, smartphones, tablets and watches. And they come in the form of a plethora of apps and social media options. And that is just the technology. Distractions also come from the demands of people. Family needs, workplace assignments and social interactions pile on the distractions as well.
And what about that inner voice and the constant loop of your ‘to do’ list? These internal distractions such as your worries, plans, and ruminations also distract you from being fully present in each moment. Even when you are trying to pay attention to the moment, all these distractions pull you right out of the room! And when you are not present, you are living on autopilot, and the moments slip away unnoticed.
It is possible, however, to meet the moments of your life with greater focus, clarity and compassion by managing external distractions and beginning to train your ability to pay attention.
Tips for managing your external distractions:
- Turn off your phone! There are times for being connected, and times for being disconnected. Make some conscious choices to put down the phone so you can attend to what is important. Some examples of times to experiment with ‘unplugging’: during a meeting, speaking with someone you care about, meal times, working on a complex assignment. When your phone is on, a part of your body and mind is on alert for the next notification, and that means your connection to the present is weak.
- Turn off the news! If you haven’t already noticed it, the news can create a constant state of agitation that keeps your emotions churning. Try to listen to it for a limited time each day to stay informed, and then turn it off.
- Take a social media break and see what affect it has on your body/brain. Most people will say that what they see on social media about their friends is often not the full story of their life yet you may find yourself making comparisons and coming up short. What happens if you put it away for a week?
And what about that cup of coffee idea to work with internal distractions? Try this practice for training your mind to focus:
Begin by finding a quiet place to have your coffee. Use all your sense to take in the experience of the moment-feel the warmth of the cup, the aroma of the coffee, the taste on your tongue, etc. Whenever your mind begins to take you away from the experience of drinking the coffee, redirect it back to the moment. This redirection is the practice. As often as your mind wanders, bring it back. Each time you redirect, you are strengthening your ability to focus, to pay attention.
Try this practice each time you have a cup of coffee. After a while, you will begin to notice that you have the ability to be focused even in the midst of a chaotic meeting or conversation. And when you are more focused, your decisions are likely to be aligned with your best self! Be patient with yourself, and enjoy the journey.
Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here.
I am the Founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Mindful Leadership, a nonprofit organization dedicated to offering leaders an in-depth exploration of mindful leadership training and its impact on the cultivation of leadership excellence. I founded the Institute in January, 2011, after ending my legal/business career as a senior executive with a Fortune 200 company. In 2006, while still an officer at General Mills, I taught the very first mindful leadership curricula to a group of colleagues. Demand then began to spread throughout the company and, since 2008, to thousands of leaders at organizations around the world. I have brought this training to the World Economic Forum, Brookings Institute and top business schools. I am the author of the award winning, international best-selling book, “Finding the Space to Lead: A Practical Guide to Mindful Leadership.” My work has been featured in the BBC, Huff Post Live, NY Times, Financial Times, Time magazine, CNBC, CEO magazine and Forbes.
-
Continue Reading
Happy Thanksgiving – How Gratitude Can Transform Your Workplace
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_gratitude_can_transform_your_workplace
How Gratitude Can Transform Your Workplace
From nonprofits to Fortune 500 companies, learn how organizations are embracing a culture of gratefulness.
About the Author
When consultant Stephanie Pollack was brought in to work with the state chapter of a national nonprofit, morale was low. The organization was in the middle of a transformation that brought in new leadership, a new culture, new rules—and lots of tension and uncertainty.
Over the course of a three-day retreat, she taught a small group of reluctant employees about the benefits of recognizing the good things in their lives and saying thank you. And something shifted. After one person wrote a genuine note of thanks on an “appreciation wall,” soon everyone was participating.
But what really surprised Pollack was the connection and authenticity that appreciation seemed to inspire. At the end of the retreat, some of the more closed-off employees opened up about the feelings and past experiences that had created their hard shells.
“They walked in with a lot of tension and frustration,” Pollack recounts. “I’m not saying they walked out with none, but there was a willingness on everyone’s part to move forward together in a different way.”
The practice of gratitude—and its close sibling, appreciation—has started to infiltrate workplaces, from new software companies to older institutions like Campbell Soup, whose former CEO wrote 30,000 thank you notes to his employees. Though research on gratitude has exploded over the past two decades, studies of gratitude at work are still somewhat limited; results so far link it to more positive emotions, less stress and fewer health complaints, a greater sense that we can achieve our goals, fewer sick days, and higher satisfaction with our jobs and our coworkers.
While expressing thanks to colleagues might feel awkward or even at odds with some workplace cultures, many organizations have been developing innovative ways to overcome those barriers. Building on—and even getting out in front of—the existing research on gratitude at work, their efforts have identified concrete and important strategies for putting this research into practice. Their experiences suggest that building cultures of gratitude and appreciation can transform our work lives, leading to deeper connections to each other and to the work we’re doing.
Why gratitude is so revolutionary
Researchers define appreciation as the act of acknowledging the goodness in life—in other words, seeing the positives in events, experiences, or other people (like our colleagues). Gratitude goes a step further: It recognizes how the positive things in our lives—like a success at work—are often due to forces outside of ourselves, particularly the efforts of other people. But this kind of thinking can seem countercultural in the realm of hierarchies and promotions, where everyone is trying to get ahead and may be reluctant to acknowledge their reliance on—or express emotions to—their co-workers.
“We tend to think of organizations as transactional places where you’re supposed to be ‘professional,’” says Ryan Fehr, an assistant professor of management at the University of Washington, Seattle, who recently published a paper summarizing the landscape of gratitude in business. “We may think that it’s unprofessional to bring things like forgiveness or gratitude or compassion into the workplace.”
Yet evidence suggests that gratitude and appreciation contribute to the kind of workplace environments where employees actually want to come to work and don’t feel like cogs in a machine.
Appreciation is a cornerstone of the culture at Southwest Airlines, named by Forbes as America’s #13 Best Employer of 2018. One way the company appreciates employees is by paying attention to special events in their personal lives—from kids’ graduations to marriages to family illnesses—and recognizing those with small gestures like flowers and cards. “We’re all encountering different obstacles in our life, we’re all celebrating different things in our life,” says Cheryl Hughey, managing director of culture at Southwest.
Southwest seems to understand what research has shown: that gratitude tends to emerge in workplaces with more “perceived organizational support,” where employees believe that the company values their contributions and cares about their well-being. And caring means valuing employee health and happiness for their own sake, not just as a way to eke out longer work hours and greater productivity.
“[Gratitude is] going to make your business more profitable, you’re going to be more effective, your employees will be more engaged—but if that’s the only reason you’re doing it, your employees are going to think you’re using them,” says Steve Foran, founder of the program Gratitude at Work. “You have to genuinely want the best for your people.”
Gratitude as a “gateway drug”
Gratitude isn’t the only emotional skill that could be valuable to the modern business. We might also hope to build emotionally intelligent and empathic workplaces, where employees practice compassion and forgiveness.
But gratitude could be a pathway to these (arguably more difficult) goals, according to Peter Bonanno, director of program development at the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (SIYLI), a nonprofit that offers training in mindfulness and emotional intelligence to individuals and teams. Bonanno has found that, to most people, practicing gratitude is appealing, practical, feel-good, and fun. One study, for example, found that gratitude journaling for as little as 15 minutes was enough to boost positive emotions.
“I see gratitude as a gateway drug to empathy in that it’s very positive, it’s easy to get started with,” Bonanno says. Being grateful to someone who has helped you means that you recognize the intentions and effort behind their actions, which is good practice for the “putting yourself in someone else’s shoes” involved in empathy.
At SIYLI retreats, Bonanno often leads a 10-minute gratitude meditation. Participants think of someone they want to appreciate, then focus on how they were impacted by that person and what their gratitude feels like. Afterward, they’re invited to send the person a text message expressing their thanks.
“It’s a total heart-opener,” says Bonanno. “A lot of people have said that it’s helped them to open up a conversation that they’ve needed to have with a business partner or a spouse, something they’ll been holding in, something they’ve been putting off.”
In another workshop, Bonanno saw the power of gratitude to promote kindness and generosity. Some of the participants at a large technology company experienced feelings of guilt during a gratitude practice: Focusing on the good in their lives made them recognize all their privileges—enviable jobs, fun benefits, high salaries. After sharing and discussing these feelings, they left the workshop vowing to find ways to give back to people who weren’t so fortunate.
That’s an outcome you might expect from practicing gratitude: Studies show that grateful employees are more concerned about social responsibility, for example. Grateful employees—as well as employees who receive more gratitude—also perform more “organizational citizenship” behaviors: kind acts that aren’t part of their job description, like welcoming new employees and filling in for coworkers.
In fact, gratitude and kindness seem to form a positive loop in the workplace. Just as gratitude leads to altruistic behavior, research suggests that the opportunity to help others and serve a cause is one of the major sources of gratitude at the office.
Four keys to gratitude at work
Of course, not all attempts to introduce gratitude into the workplace result in heartfelt revelations or acts of generosity.
There are many reasons why gratitude initiatives might not go over well: As Steve Foran suggested, they may come off as insincere, a token nod to employee well-being that can be advertised in corporate brochures. Some people may be wary of expressing gratitude and acknowledging their debt to others, seeing it as a sign of weakness. Even if the program is generally well-received, some employees could feel left out if they rarely receive gratitude or recognition. And of course, in the busy modern workplace, programs to foster gratitude and appreciation could feel like one more thing that employees don’t have time for.
But workplace leaders and researchers have identified some strategies for avoiding these pitfalls and reaping the benefits of a more grateful workplace. Here are four of their best tips.
1. Gratitude is about the whole person
According to author and consultant Mike Robbins, some gratitude initiatives fail to do anything new: They simply repurpose recognition programs, which have existed for a long time. Recognition rewards performance and achievement—what you accomplish as a worker—whereas appreciation acknowledges your inherent worth as a person, he says. It’s the difference between celebrating record-breaking sales vs. applauding a caring and helpful spirit.
“Appreciation is about people and their value,” says Robbins, whose forthcoming book is called Bring Your Whole Self to Work. “You create an environment where people feel valued and appreciated for who they are, not just what they do.”
In one of his favorite exercises, employees take turns sitting in the “appreciation hot seat,” and others go around a circle expressing appreciation for them. People start off hesitant, feeling awkward and a bit vulnerable, he says, but the experience often ends in laughter and hugs—not because they’re praising successful business deals or admirable reports, but because they’re getting at something deeper.
2. Gratitude isn’t one-size-fits-all
Another common pitfall when companies introduce gratitude is assuming that everyone wants to be appreciated in the same way. Pollack likens appreciation to love languages: Each individual’s language of appreciation is different, and we risk miscommunication if we assume everyone likes to receive a card, a coffee, or public praise. She has compiled dozens of different gratitude practices to try at work, from surprise care packages to appreciation badges to a celebration calendar.
Similarly, Pollack says, we all want to be appreciated for different things because we’re all different. Workplaces can bring together diverse people with different types of communication styles, backgrounds, and expertise, and it’s our job to recognize our colleagues’ strengths even if those strengths are different from our own. I feel valued for my passion for self-improvement and personal growth, for example, even though my fellow journalists have other specialties.
“The key is that there are things to learn from each other,” Pollack says. “Instead of being frustrated, it’s celebrating that, ‘Oh that person actually is seeing something I wouldn’t see in the same way.’ So we can learn how to appreciate that.”
3. Gratitude must be embraced by leaders
In a culture that prizes busyness and hard-driving achievement, people can feel guilty and self-indulgent taking the time to meditate at work or keep a gratitude journal. “We are taught that the busier we are, the more successful we’ll be,” says Emmy Negrin, former manager of the Yahoo Employee Foundation and Yahoo for Good. To send a different signal, she invited executives to attend a new mindfulness program at Yahoo in order to show their buy-in for the initiative.
At Southwest, the company used to send out pins to employees who had served the airline for a milestone number of years (like 5 or 10). To better honor their culture of appreciation, though, they now send the pins to leaders and invite them to recognize and celebrate the employee in a special way, transforming gratitude from a faceless gift into a relationship-building experience. In both cases, getting leaders to participate communicates that gratitude and well-being are important.
At the same time, though, gratitude isn’t something you can force. Gratitude will really take hold when it’s also embraced from the bottom-up, when employees take the initiative. SIYLI, for example, doesn’t have a formal gratitude program in their workplace. But since it’s part of their culture, says Bonanno, employees often bring up feelings of gratitude during “check-ins” that take place at the beginning and end of meetings. Communicating the value of gratitude, then offering a variety of opportunities and options for practicing it, may be the best approach. Which brings up the next tip…
4. Gratitude has to be part of the culture
For Fehr at the University of Washington, one of the keys to a successful program is consistency. For example, adding a short gratitude practice to staff meetings or infusing internal communications with gratitude keep it top-of-mind. Employee awards once a year won’t cut it, he says.
“Ultimately, it’s about creating an organizational culture around gratitude,” says Fehr. “Organizations need to, as a baseline, treat their employees well, and then on top of that the organization also needs to develop programs that help them see all of these positives.”
Organizations can’t even assume that an intensive immersion in gratitude, like Pollack’s three-day appreciation retreat, will be enough. Luckily, though, her once-reluctant nonprofit employees understood that. During the six months after participating in the retreat, they worked with her closely to build a culture of gratitude, introducing some appreciation practices into the larger organization. Today, she says, they’re “definitely in a better place.”
“Acknowledging the thoughts and efforts of people with gratitude shows that those people matter,” she says. “When I’ve seen it work, it’s just life-changing.”
-
Continue Reading
5 Stunning Resume Mistakes…
A Google Executive Reviewed More Than 20,000 Resumes–He Found These 5 Stunning Mistakes Over and Over
Former Google senior vice president Laszlo Bock reviewed more than 20,000 resumes while he was at the company–sometimes Google received more than 50,000 a week.
By Peter Economy The Leadership Guy@bizzwriter
In your lifetime, you will send dozens (if not hundreds) of resumes out to different employers.
Laszlo Bock, former senior vice president of people operations at Google–and current CEO and co-founder of Humu–is familiar with the job search grind. He, too, has sent out hundreds of resumes over the course of his career. But more so than most anyone else, Bock has gained unique insight on what a standout resume looks like.
Bock personally reviewed more than 20,000 resumes within a 15-year span at Google. Although he says he has seen some brilliant resumes, he admits that he has continued to see the same resume mistakes over and over, which often cost good candidates the chance to get a great position.
If you’re not careful, you’ll undermine your own success by presenting your achievements in a poorly crafted resume. Here, according to Bock, are five really big mistakes you must avoid.
- Lack of formatting
A messy and illegible resume is a resume that won’t get you anywhere. Keep formatting clean and organized, using black ink on white paper with half-inch margins. Align columns and have consistent spacing. Make sure your name and contact info is on every page–not just the first. If sending your resume by email or text, save it as a PDF to preserve your formatting–and your hard work.
- Enclosing confidential information
Pay attention to policies and avoid creating a conflict between employer needs and your own needs as an applicant. For example, if you’re coming from a consulting firm, it is likely that you are not allowed to share client names–so don’t do so on your resume! Also, even though you don’t mention the client’s name, you might provide a strong hint of who it is you’re referring to. Says Laszlo, “On the resume, the candidate wrote: ‘Consulted to a major software company in Redmond, Washington.’ Rejected! … While this candidate didn’t mention Microsoft specifically, any reviewer knew that’s what he meant.”
- Typos
Proofread your resume multiple times. Have your friends or colleagues proofread your resume too. According to a CareerBuilder survey, 58 percent of resumes have typos. Be wary of grammatical errors, incorrect alignment, and more–otherwise, a hiring manager will think you don’t pay attention to details. Laszlo suggests this additional pro tip: “Read your resume from bottom to top: Reversing the normal order helps you focus on each line in isolation.”
- Too long
“A good rule of thumb is one page of resume for every 10 years of work experience,” explains Bock. Remember, the reason you present a resume is to get an interview, not to be hired on the spot (although that would be a major plus). Says Laszlo, “Once you’re in the room, the resume doesn’t matter much. So cut back your resume. It’s too long.” Craft a concise and focused resume that prioritizes the most important information. Save the life story for later.
- Lies
There are a lot of things you could lie about on a resume, and Bock has seen them all: work experience, college degrees, GPAs, sales results. Once you tell a lie during the hiring process, if it is discovered you will face consequences. Above all else, lying is unethical. And who wants an unethical employee? Says Laszlo, “Putting a lie on your resume is never, ever, ever worth it. Everyone, up to and including CEOs, gets fired for this. (Google ‘CEO fired for lying on resume’ and see.)”
Hiring managers are looking for the best of the best–equip yourself with the right knowledge about the mistakes other people make and soon you will rise to the top!
-
Continue Reading
3 things to do when you want a new job.
Reposted from “The Muse” on Twitter.
3 things I tell my clients to do when they want a new job
Al Dea, Career Coach, The MuseBy actively job-hunting, this career coach discovered how to put his own advice into practice.
Take time to reflect on your own strengths and ambitions, and then apply for different positions accordingly.
Never underestimate the importance of networking, and try to find new ways of meeting people through former colleagues or LinkedIn.As a career coach, I spend a lot of time working with professionals to make the jump from one role to another, offering advice and guidance across all parts of the job search.
Recently, I had the chance to really practice what I preach. After spending five and a half years as a management consultant, I transitioned into a product marketing role at a technology firm.
And what’s super interesting is that being on the other side helped me to see which of my advice was the most practical, actionable, and useful. For example, it’s now these three tips that I most recommend to my own clients as soon as they start to feel that itch that they need a change.
1. Take time to reflect (seriously)
I’m a big believer in self-reflection — and knew it would be crucial for success in my job search. So, before I even began looking, I asked myself things like:What are my most important strengths?
What are the most important skills I’ve developed?
What other skills do I want to develop, or what experiences do I want?
Then, I turned to some of my closest friends and mentors and asked for their feedback on my answers. I also asked them questions such as, “Based on my strengths, what do you think would be a great job for me” or “Where have you seen me do my best work?”
Getting that outside perspective enabled me to identify opportunities I hadn’t initially considered, as well as strengths and examples I would end up using during the interview process.So, don’t shy away from asking yourself the hard questions — and then being brave enough to ask your friends and family the same ones.
2. Work your network the right way
Early on, when I was testing out whether I wanted to be a marketer, I reached out to classmates from business school who were in the field. They explained to me their job, and helped identify the skills I had that were relevant to a product marketing role.Another former classmate invited me to a networking event at a company I was interested in, and when I was there, introduced me to a recruiter who ended up following up with me to learn more about my background. I ended up finding several roles as a result that I could apply to over the next few months.
If you know you’re going to be ready to make moves soon, it’s best to be proactive now. That way, when it comes time to look, you’re already off to a great start.
Here are a few things you can do:
Reach out to former co-workers you always liked, but have lost touch with. Set up a drinks date to talk about what they do now, what projects they’re working on, and what skills are needed to do their job.
Use LinkedIn to find potential people to network with who share a commonality, such as your alma mater, and ask for their advice about breaking into their field.
Ask for recommendations of other people to network meet with when you’re meeting to expand the kinds of roles you might want to pursue.
Looking back, reaching out to others months before I started interviewing was helpful in understanding the nuts and bolts of a role or function, and if I would actually like doing those things. And that knowledge made my search that much stronger.3. Build your own personal support team
As a career coach, I’ve always prided myself in being someone people can count on.But during my job search, the roles were suddenly reversed, and I had to rely on others for support. This was incredibly humbling in that it reinforced the notion that it really does “take a village” but also inspiring to know that others were willing to support and help me along the way.
For instance, I had a friend who’d recently made a job transition, so I would rely on him for advice on how to navigate making the switch. Another one of my friends was in a very similar job to what I was applying to at the same company, so I’d ask for her help preparing for the interview. My roommate and family were there with me throughout the entire process, making sure I kept a positive attitude or letting me share my frustrations.
The more support you surround yourself with, the less painful this process will be. Don’t think you have to do this alone! Because if a career coach needs help, you probably do, too.
Al Dea is a Management Consultant, writer, and speaker. He also coaches motivated professionals as a Career Coach on The Muse.
Read the original article on The Muse. Copyright 2018. Follow The Muse on Twitter.
-
Continue Reading
Most Job Candidates Fail My Simple Interview Test Right Away.
Most Job Candidates Fail My Simple Interview Test Right Away. Here’s How.
Here are five things you can do to make your job hunt easier.
Image
CONTRIBUTOR
Marketing Master – Author – Blogger – Dad
August 11, 2018 4 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Every single time I interview a candidate for a position at work, I always start out by saying, “Tell me about yourself.”
Of course, I start with a little small talk here and there, but I always ask people to tell me about themselves early. As simple as it may seem, their response determines the course for the rest of my interview — including how long I’ll spend with them. If a first impression creates a lasting impression, then the way they respond is the epitome of a first impression.
Most people fail right away because they give me a long list of their career moments in chronological order, often starting with their first position out of college right up to their current role. They drone on and on about what they did, when they did it and what they did next.
The truth is that I already know their chronological history. I have their resume right in front of me. I’ve already looked at their LinkedIn profile, and in some cases have already checked out their social media presence. I might even know what they had for dinner last night if they’re a foodie. I don’t need a chronological rehash of their sequential jobs through the years.
I want to know about who they are.
Tell me what you are going to do for my organization. Tell me why I should hire you. Get me excited me about you, as a person.
Here are five ways you can do that and make a great first impression in your next interview.
- Sum it up.
Take all of your history and all of your experiences, then tie it together into a cohesive statement of what you do. For example, if you’re applying for a job in project management position, explain your knowledge of bringing diverse teams together. Show me how you can galvanize everyone around one central mission and complete a complex set of deliverables against defined key performance indicators.
That would make me sit up in my seat.
- Tell stories.
Back up your experience with compelling stories where you have been your absolute best. Stories go beyond the bullet points of a resume and add texture to not only how you do your work, but also how you relate to others. Stories turn you into a productive human being, rather than a piece of paper.
Going back to that project management example, you might describe a time you saved a CEO’s high-priority project. You could go into detail about how you turned the team around, stayed on budget and delivered results on time.
- Do your homework.
Research the company, the position and the interviewer ahead of time, so you know what’s important to all of the constituents. Then, position yourself and your skills against what you know they are looking for. If collaboration is a priority, then focus on your ability to work with and direct others — even those who don’t report to you. Or, if profitability is a priority, then focus on your ability to reduce waste, cost and staff time to execute against plans.
- Find ways to relate.
How can you create a human connection with your interviewer? If the interviewer is a foodie, then work in your culinary passions into the conversation. If you went to the same college, talk about your favorite memories to create a bond.
However, I’d advise not talking about sports if the interviewer never mentions sports in their own social channels.
- Just be yourself.
If I’m hiring, then I want to get to know you just as much as you want to impress me. If you are true to yourself, then you’ll know if it’s a fit and vice versa. The whole point of an interview is to get beyond the buzzwords of a resume and really get to know you, how you think and how you perform — how you will fit into my organization.
So be honest, and you’re sure to have a much smoother interview — it might even help you get hired.
-
Continue Reading
Another good post-interview thank you template…
5 things you should include in a killer, post-interview thank you (template included)
Originally posted by: Lauren McGoodwin Apr 25, 2018
Any time we interview someone, we wait to see whether they’ll write a thank you note or not. You’d be surprised how often they don’t — and that’s right about when we decide not to hire them.
Sending a post-interview thank you note can really set you apart from other candidates because it signals your continued interest and solidifies a positive impression with the interviewer. Do not underestimate the follow-up! I’ve actually had hiring managers tell me to wait to schedule a second interview until we receive a thank-you note. Yup, it’s that important.
Avoid just going through the motions, because employers will see right through a generic note. Instead, tailor your message to the specific interviewer and company by including the following:
1. Your appreciation for the meeting (the “thank you” part!)
2. Something specific about the interview or items discussed
3. Why you are excited about this opportunity
4. A brief explanation of why you’d be a good fit for the job
5. Next steps and your contact informationMake sure to send the note (via email) within 24 hours — and be sure to send one to everyone you interviewed with, not just the hiring manager.
Still not sure what to write? Here’s an example:
Dear [interviewer name],
Thank you so much for taking time to speak with me about the position. I really enjoyed learning more about the position and your description of the day-to-day duties really helped me gain a better understanding of the responsibilities. Our conversation confirmed my extreme interest and I would be thrilled to bring my editorial experience, specifically my interview expertise, to benefit the company goals.I look forward to hearing from you and thank you again for the opportunity to interview. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have additional questions!
Best regards,
[Name]
[Email address]
[Phone number]Something thoughtful and concise like that will usually do the trick — although we’ve got some other great thank you note templates right here. Now eliminate unnecessary distractions and get to writing!
This article originally appeared on Career Contessa.
