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While a little competition in the workplace might help bring out the best in everyone involved, an atmosphere rooted in envy, fear, or jealousy can do the exact opposite. This post will help you recognize signs that your coworker is threatened by you, and help you navigate the situation. 1. They Don’t Want You Involved […]
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Job search requires writing and marketing skills. It also requires strong verbal communication. If these skills are not part of your normal work function, you’ll want some help. That’s what this week’s Summary Sunday is all about. There’s no doubt that LinkedIn is one of THE most powerful tools in your career toolbox. It contains […]
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It is now no longer optional…you must have an online presence! Your career stability and your job search demand it. Here are some tips to help you begin claiming digital terrain and brand it with your unique messaging! Why Should You Own Digital Terrain? You need to stake a claim by owning turf on the […]
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Job search strategies change based on the economy, the level and type of work you are looking for, and your personal situation. In other words, there’s no absolute right way for everyone. However, there are best practices you should know about. In this week’s Summary Sunday, you’ll learn about: I carefully curate these articles and […]
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What do you need to get a job? Most job seekers think a good resume and cover letter are enough to land job interviews and stand out to employers in the hiring process. In today’s competitive job market, you need a lot more to get a job.
Here are the seven things you need to get a job in 2024. Let’s see if you have all of them.
1. A Job Search Strategy
You do not want to waste your time applying for jobs that are going to ghost you. You need to know what types of opportunities and companies will actually hire you. From this moment forward, make sure you have a proactive job search strategy.
2. A Skimmable Resume
We call it the six-second resume. That’s because recruiters and hiring managers skim your resume first to make sure you have the five or six main skill sets they put on that job description. Otherwise, you won’t be considered.
3. A LinkedIn Profile That Is Searchable
Keywords are very important on LinkedIn. Recruiters and hiring managers use a tool that helps them find people who are a match for the jobs they are hiring for. If you don’t optimize your LinkedIn profile with keywords, you will not be found.
4. LinkedIn Posts
You need to post on LinkedIn, especially if you are looking for professional jobs. LinkedIn changed its algorithm recently and people who actually post on a regular basis rank higher in search results, and that’s how you’re going to get seen more.
5. Answers to Behavioral Interview Questions
You need to be ready for behavioral questions in job interviews. Everyone is doing evidence-based hiring now, which means they’re going to ask you questions like, “Tell me about a time when you did X or Y.” If you don’t understand what behavioral interview questions are and how to answer them correctly, you will end up giving too little information or too much information, and that’ll get you ruled out.
6. A Follow-Up Process
You need to know how to follow up after each interview, whether it’s a phone, video, or in-person interview. Following up correctly will help you stay in the running.
7. Salary Negotiation Skills
When you get to the final interview, you need to know how to negotiate salary like a boss. Do you know how to approach the employer to get more money? If you don’t, you could miss out or leave money on the table.
Do you have all seven of these things? If not, I can help.
At Work It DAILY, we have a 7-day risk-free trial to our job search career coaching platform, and we recently dropped a new program called the Job Search Accountability Program (JSAP). We’re going to make every single day of your job search easier.
Honestly, if you don’t have all seven of these things, getting a job will be that much harder. But this is not rocket science or brain surgery. The Job Search Accountability Program (JSAP) gives you the answers to all of these things quickly and easily, all at your convenience. So, I hope to see you in there.
Good luck, and go get ’em!
Get the inside scoop about what recruiters look for and what you can do to stand out. In this week’s Summary, you’ll find: I encourage you to follow these expert authors and creators! JOB SEARCH Applying for a job that’s been up for weeks | Shelley Piedmont Job seekers know that the best chance of […]
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Sales is an art rather than a science. Sure, there are trainings out there that may give newbies a leg up, but a lot of the learning is done by being mentored by experienced salespeople and observing salespeople in action.
Unfortunately, there are several bad examples out there of “gems of wisdom” that are anything but. I am discussing a few of them.
There is certainly a stereotype of the salesperson as a master charmer. They know precisely what to say and how to say it to achieve their ultimate goal: sell.
I guess sales have been achieved purely because of such a charm offensive. Just not that many.
Behind the idea of the schmoozer is an assumption: Sales is the art of manipulating a client into entering into a business relationship. That supposes that most clients can be manipulatedâif only you turn on the charms and deploy your “secret tactics.”
That is a terrible, very dangerous assumption.
In my decades of experience, clients are generally bright. They see right through attempts at manipulation and will hold manipulation against any salesperson foolish enough to attempt it.
I can tell you I have been on the other side of that fence, as we all have at some point in time, and made sure the manipulators would not get any of my budget. And I am not alone: I have also heard clients complain about salespeople who felt they were too “foxy.”
Some don’t go that far. They do not attempt to manipulate. But they want to become their clients’ best buddies, so they keep buying.
Obviously, people like to buy from people they like or at least don’t hate. But relying on friendship to carry the day is a sure way to miss quota. People buy to either solve a problem they have or gain a tangible advantage, neither of which has anything to do with friendship.
Find the right accounts, the clients where your products and services can make a positive difference. Then, treat clients with respect and work hard to ensure their success. They will like you for it, and you will achieve quota.
âOther salespeople have a much more authoritarian approach. They want to be perceived as the definite reference for whatever they sell, and are ready to play hardball in the process.
They will explain (not always patiently) how the customer should think about their challenges. Of course, these explanations will always lead the clients to the inescapable conclusion that their offering is the best and that the client would be a fool not to purchase it.
Some will even try to shame you into a sale!
I saw this approach employed multiple times: follow-ups on LinkedIn stating, “Since I did not hear from you, it must mean you like to lose money” (no kidding!); a salesperson telling an important organization leader that she was wrong in front of her reports; another salesperson, visibly scripted, not giving a prospect a chance to engage in a meaningful conversation.
This results in a poor customer experience. Once again, it is about the salesperson being manipulative.
But in fact, it is even worse. Here, these salespeople are simply not listening at all.
Why is this worse? Because information is power, and your customer has information that can be worth gold to you. Yes, even if they provide you with details that disqualify them as potential customers.
By not having a conversation, these folks deprive themselves of valuable information. Instead, the best salespeople are excellent listeners. They try to understand what their clients are going through. They empathize first and then think about whether they can lend a helping hand.
They do not put together a dog-and-pony show. They can do demos and presentations, but they monitor their audience’s reactions and collect feedback to enhance their value to their clients. In other words, they keep the meetings conversational. By doing so, they build trust, the currency of choice for closing deals.
Keeping it conversational does not mean not putting sufficient effort into a deal. Sales are not easy, and momentum can be lost for a number of reasons. Without proper follow-up and a sense of urgency, one salesperson may miss quota.
It sounds like incentive plans should prevent this. And yet, I have seen this happen for many reasons, in the form of opportunities left in the funnel whose stakeholders were not contacted for months.
In some cases, that was because this was a big deal that was likely lostâand the salesperson did not want to confront that most uncomfortable realization. In others, it was a lack of stamina and drive.
Unfortunately, self-delusion and lack of determination will not help you meet your quota. There are enough external reasons why a deal may hit a snag and lose momentum; you don’t need to add self-inflicted injury to the list.
I tell the ones I manage this: We can fail, but we must try perfectly every time.
All of the examples above are sure ways to lose accounts and sales momentum. But I feel this one is in a league all of its own. So much so that it is frankly incredible that anyoneâANYONEâwould feel this is acceptable at all.
That ought to be the worst stereotype in the world: the salesperson selling snake oil.
Yet, I saw this with my own eyes, like when a competitor told a prospect of mine that their tool was the only one that could achieve a certain software standard because of a feature unique to their tool.
Technically, their argument was built on sand: in fact, other tools lacking their unique feature were used to meet that standard.
This was also done in bad faith, not ignorance, quite a few times. The idea: if anyone pointed out this was not the case, the customer would chalk it off to that someone being defensive.
This is sometimes called planting a landmine. The problem is that it may maim those who planted it.
I called their bluff, listed a number of accounts that proved them wrong, and said I was really angry because they obviously gave our whole industry a bad rap.
We won that deal.
That is why lying is never a good way to win a sale. Chances are someone will call you out. It may happen immediately, with your client knowing better and showing you the door. They are smart, after all.
Even if they don’t detect it immediately, it is bound to bite back, one way or another. And when it does, it will be perceived as a breach of trust.
No trust, no deals. It is really that simple.
And you? What are your top sales myths? Leave them in a commentâthey will certainly inspire me for future parts!
Sales is an art rather than a science. Sure, there are trainings out there that may give newbies a leg up, but a lot of the learning is done by being mentored by experienced salespeople and observing salespeople in action.
Unfortunately, there are several bad examples out there of “gems of wisdom” that are anything but. I am discussing a few of them.
There is certainly a stereotype of the salesperson as a master charmer. They know precisely what to say and how to say it to achieve their ultimate goal: sell.
I guess sales have been achieved purely because of such a charm offensive. Just not that many.
Behind the idea of the schmoozer is an assumption: Sales is the art of manipulating a client into entering into a business relationship. That supposes that most clients can be manipulatedâif only you turn on the charms and deploy your “secret tactics.”
That is a terrible, very dangerous assumption.
In my decades of experience, clients are generally bright. They see right through attempts at manipulation and will hold manipulation against any salesperson foolish enough to attempt it.
I can tell you I have been on the other side of that fence, as we all have at some point in time, and made sure the manipulators would not get any of my budget. And I am not alone: I have also heard clients complain about salespeople who felt they were too “foxy.”
Some don’t go that far. They do not attempt to manipulate. But they want to become their clients’ best buddies, so they keep buying.
Obviously, people like to buy from people they like or at least don’t hate. But relying on friendship to carry the day is a sure way to miss quota. People buy to either solve a problem they have or gain a tangible advantage, neither of which has anything to do with friendship.
Find the right accounts, the clients where your products and services can make a positive difference. Then, treat clients with respect and work hard to ensure their success. They will like you for it, and you will achieve quota.
âOther salespeople have a much more authoritarian approach. They want to be perceived as the definite reference for whatever they sell, and are ready to play hardball in the process.
They will explain (not always patiently) how the customer should think about their challenges. Of course, these explanations will always lead the clients to the inescapable conclusion that their offering is the best and that the client would be a fool not to purchase it.
Some will even try to shame you into a sale!
I saw this approach employed multiple times: follow-ups on LinkedIn stating, “Since I did not hear from you, it must mean you like to lose money” (no kidding!); a salesperson telling an important organization leader that she was wrong in front of her reports; another salesperson, visibly scripted, not giving a prospect a chance to engage in a meaningful conversation.
This results in a poor customer experience. Once again, it is about the salesperson being manipulative.
But in fact, it is even worse. Here, these salespeople are simply not listening at all.
Why is this worse? Because information is power, and your customer has information that can be worth gold to you. Yes, even if they provide you with details that disqualify them as potential customers.
By not having a conversation, these folks deprive themselves of valuable information. Instead, the best salespeople are excellent listeners. They try to understand what their clients are going through. They empathize first and then think about whether they can lend a helping hand.
They do not put together a dog-and-pony show. They can do demos and presentations, but they monitor their audience’s reactions and collect feedback to enhance their value to their clients. In other words, they keep the meetings conversational. By doing so, they build trust, the currency of choice for closing deals.
Keeping it conversational does not mean not putting sufficient effort into a deal. Sales are not easy, and momentum can be lost for a number of reasons. Without proper follow-up and a sense of urgency, one salesperson may miss quota.
It sounds like incentive plans should prevent this. And yet, I have seen this happen for many reasons, in the form of opportunities left in the funnel whose stakeholders were not contacted for months.
In some cases, that was because this was a big deal that was likely lostâand the salesperson did not want to confront that most uncomfortable realization. In others, it was a lack of stamina and drive.
Unfortunately, self-delusion and lack of determination will not help you meet your quota. There are enough external reasons why a deal may hit a snag and lose momentum; you don’t need to add self-inflicted injury to the list.
I tell the ones I manage this: We can fail, but we must try perfectly every time.
All of the examples above are sure ways to lose accounts and sales momentum. But I feel this one is in a league all of its own. So much so that it is frankly incredible that anyoneâANYONEâwould feel this is acceptable at all.
That ought to be the worst stereotype in the world: the salesperson selling snake oil.
Yet, I saw this with my own eyes, like when a competitor told a prospect of mine that their tool was the only one that could achieve a certain software standard because of a feature unique to their tool.
Technically, their argument was built on sand: in fact, other tools lacking their unique feature were used to meet that standard.
This was also done in bad faith, not ignorance, quite a few times. The idea: if anyone pointed out this was not the case, the customer would chalk it off to that someone being defensive.
This is sometimes called planting a landmine. The problem is that it may maim those who planted it.
I called their bluff, listed a number of accounts that proved them wrong, and said I was really angry because they obviously gave our whole industry a bad rap.
We won that deal.
That is why lying is never a good way to win a sale. Chances are someone will call you out. It may happen immediately, with your client knowing better and showing you the door. They are smart, after all.
Even if they don’t detect it immediately, it is bound to bite back, one way or another. And when it does, it will be perceived as a breach of trust.
No trust, no deals. It is really that simple.
And you? What are your top sales myths? Leave them in a commentâthey will certainly inspire me for future parts!
If you are new to job search and you are turned off by hearing you should network, you should know this. You have been networking all along, but you just didn’t call it that. Take the focus off of job search and you’ll feel better about “networking”. The Harvard Business Review wrote this piece on how […]
The post Creating a Network from Scratch appeared first on Career Sherpa.
Did you recently get a big promotion or start a new job and now have a new circle of individuals youâre working with (whether you work in IT, finance, HR, or another department)? Itâs important to do the job successfully and that includes being a trusted business partner. Within IT, how well does the IT technology plan support the business partners? For example, how much does the plan focus on the technology initiatives versus aligning with the goals and objectives of your strategic business partners?
Most organizations have limited resources so itâs key to use those resources efficiently and effectively. Not only do you want efficient resource utilization, but still be strategically aligned with the business goals. So actively work together fostering collaboration and creating a culture of collective problem-solving. When you do, some potential benefits of working together are:
âIf you donât invest enough time to build strong relationships, others could make assumptions on their own. Generally speaking, do departments including IT seem to operate more in silos? Or is there a perception that IT is seen as more technically focused over understanding the businessâ broader goals? If this is the case, IT could be perceived as a cost center with limited involvement in strategic decisions.
If that is the case, these perceptions can be changed, and itâs not just for IT. Years ago, I took over Internal Audit at a bank. The group meticulously performed audits but wasnât a âtrusted business partnerâ who was sought out. I told my boss that I would know we had successfully changed our reputation when we started getting phone calls from the business requesting our assistance and participation in projects. We changed our processes, developed the staff, and turned around our reputation. We had established ourselves as a competent, collaborative, and trustworthy partner. As a result, there was mutual respect, and they knew that we had their best interests in mind to help them.
Regarding IT, it can go beyond being a support function to a strategic partner that is innovative and solves challenging problems with transformative solutions. A partner that fosters cross-functional collaboration focusing on the business and customer experience helping build a competitive advantage. Some initiatives affect both IT and the business such as cybersecurity, or when the organization wants to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) to automate repetitive tasks, enhance decision-making, or unlock new possibilities for data-driven insights.
Take the time to understand the business goals and processes. Then make sure the IT initiatives align with those business goals. Since business needs are continually changing and evolving, communication is key. Seek feedback from your partners and have regular check-ins so that you can adjust, as necessary. If there are any challenges or conflicts, address them right away.
When completing projects, show tangible benefits such as key performance indicators (KPI) for business objectives or measuring the return on investment (ROI) for IT projects. Once the change has been implemented, discuss what went well and what could be improved next time. Also, encourage continuous improvement and monitor to ensure youâre getting the anticipated benefits or other additional improvements.
When you implement these types of practices, you will be better connected with the business and aligned with its goals. This will enhance your relationship to become a trusted business partner driving organizational success.
For more information about the importance of being a trusted business partner, follow me on LinkedIn!
Since the 1920s, nearly every fashion house has expanded into beauty at some point as a relatively low-effort additional revenue stream. While most designers are able to maintain their grip on fragrances, many struggle to keep a cosmetics line afloat.
Recently, I found myself thinking about a famous brand that went through a long saga of trying to break into the beauty and skincare space multiple times.
Upon reflecting on a few things the brand did such as targeting formulas and products to the wrong customer base, not addressing the beauty needs of a diverse audience base and instead sticking to a single-color tone palette leaving much to be desired for customers of darker skin tones, the lack of targeted and personalized campaigns to its audience base (mass campaign using celebrities versus forming any connection to the audience and how it addresses their beauty needs), not prioritizing their customer experience and rather being driven by transaction, emphasizing quick product line extensions versus quality going from 18 to 130 products when trying to break into an industry without previous experience, just to name a few, I wanted to write about a few lessons from the dermatology marketing world that are applicable to the beauty and personal care products space.
In pharma, the lesson is that credibility matters. Trust is built on the foundation of scientific credibility so, similarly, the beauty and skincare industry can benefit from emphasizing the scientific backing (where applicable) of their products. In an age where consumers are empowered and with a plethora of options available, highlighting any research, clinical studies, or trial results and leveraging the use of dermatologist-recommended/safe yet efficacious ingredients can instill confidence in consumers.
Pharmaceutical marketing prioritizes transparency in communicating the potential benefits and risks of medications. In the beauty and skincare realm, being transparent about ingredients, sourcing, testing, and manufacturing processes fosters trust with consumers who are now more than ever increasingly conscious about what they apply to their skin. Honest communication builds brand loyalty and cultivates a positive brand image.
Pharmaceutical companies excel in tailoring their marketing messages to specific target audiences based on deep-rooted insights including but not limited to demographics, psychographics, and other factors outside of just the health condition and disease state and within those categories hyper-target by subcategories.
By understanding the diverse needs of different skin types, ages, and concerns, brands can create targeted campaigns and product formulations that resonate with specific consumer segments. In addition to personalization in targeting, it is important to take into account diverse consumer profiles in any brand marketing campaigns and assets.
Pharmaceutical marketing often involves educating consumers about health conditions and treatment options. Similarly, the beauty and skincare industry can empower consumers by providing educational content on skincare routines, ingredient benefits, and the science behind product formulations. Informed consumers are more likely to make confident purchasing decisions and become brand advocates.
Pharmaceutical marketing tends to emphasize the long-term benefits of treatments knowing there isnât always a quick fix. Likewise, for the beauty and skincare industry, focusing on long-term skin health and sustained results can set a brand apart.
Keeping the emphasis and encouraging consumers to view skincare as a holistic and ongoing practice, part of their wellness practice as a whole rather than a quick fix, will contribute to the overall well-being of the consumer and thus as a byproduct build brand loyalty.
Donât let the need for speed to market or having cornered a market lead to a drop in quality and safety. Pharmaceutical marketing is subject to rigorous regulatory standards from product to every brand marketing campaign. Similarly, the beauty and skincare industry should prioritize compliance with regulatory guidelines to guarantee the safety and efficacy of their products and create transparency around them. Adhering to these standards will not only build trust with consumers but also protect the brand from legal implications.
In conclusion, by embracing transparency, science-backed claims, and personalized approaches, beauty brands can elevate their marketing strategies and redefine industry standards. As these two industries converge on these principles, the future of beauty and skincare marketing looks like a promising landscape, one where authenticity and efficacy reign supreme to cut through the noise in a crowded market.
So many things changed in 2001. Certainly, there were major political and security changes that came because of the terrorist attack on 9/11. Profound and long-lasting changes.
So, too, there were massive changes in how we conducted discovery in litigation and investigations. Specifically, discovery started to have an âeâ in front of it.
I remember my first eDiscovery project in 2001 where discussions were held over how to collect electronic information from a computer and whether and how we should print that information to make it âusable.â
Slowly, everyone in litigation started to grapple with the âeâ but were doing so inconsistently from law firm to law firm. Finally, in December 2006, the federal rules were amended to make their first attempt at grappling with the âeâ by defining and standardizing various processes. What was readily accessible? What was proportional? How far back would you have to look and how broad would the searches be?
We had asked similar questions before but more as it related to file cabinets and filing rooms in storage facilities. Now we were grappling with backup tapes and servers and floppy disks.
I have long said that you deal with technology problems by using technology. When the volume of data became humanly unmanageable, we started to see the litigation world go through new changes as it relates to the use of technology. Machine learning was introduced on various review platforms. Humans made decisions that computers would then enhance and find similar documents.
The acceptance of such machine learning has not been universal. In the age of ever-changing technology, the legal landscape never seems to keep up with the business realities. Mobile devices, remote work, and all its implications are dealt with daily in the business world and in litigation. However, lawyers both by training and experience do not always have the knowledge base or the skill sets to answer the questions that inevitably arise. We need to close that knowledge gap.
âNow, in 2024 we start to grapple not with the âeâ in discovery but with artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on the eDiscovery process. We will look at four areas that will inevitably be impacted by the use of AI and other machine-learning tools. First, we will look at the impact on the collection of data. Next, we will look at the impact on searching that data, particularly as it relates to protected content. Third, we will look at the growing impact on the review process. And finally, the impact of AI on the analysis of the data that we need for deposition or trial (i.e., the use of the data).
No longer can you collect everything. Thereâs just too much. Data may be cheap to store, but itâs not cheap to collect, search, and review. We need to find a better way so the cost doesnât overwhelm the value of the case.
Also, the sources of data are increasing in number. Beyond shared drives and hard drives. We now have multiple social media platforms and websites (mostly containing video instead of just text data.) This makes the use of AI critical to collect only the needed data. And to improve the process from one litigation to the next. AI can collect, preserve, and prepare the data for searching.
AI has an incredible searching capability. Not just using antiquated keywords which have been used for more than a decade, but nuanced searching particularly for protected content. Things like attorney-client privilege, work product, or, in regulated industries, additional privileges related to banking and suspicious activity reports. Or, in the healthcare industry, anything related to protected health information, personal identifying information, HIPAA, or any of a number of other privileges that might apply to your particular industry.
We are fast approaching the ability to type or speak out a search using AI that searches, in mere seconds, across the universe of data types that youâve collected. Then, changing or editing that search and re-doing it equally as fast. Each time, you get a better sense of the data available rather than searching for keywords or having attorneys review each set to see whatâs in the data.
When I started as a baby lawyer looking at documents, we had pieces of paper and we had a file room where that paper was stored. We had individuals looking at each page wondering what we might discover as we went through someoneâs file. Gradually, we started to use the computer for tagging and consistency between different productions in different locales.
The industry finally moved on to machine learning where individual attorneys could make decisions that the computer would then try to replicate and enhance rationally to include similar documents. (Not unlike how streaming services try to find you movies similar to the ones that you have liked or watched before.)
The growth of AI in the review space is not over. Instead of just assisting the lawyer on that first-level review to find responsive, confidential, or privileged materials, I see AI quickly making that step disappear completely.
Instead, a higher-level, experienced review attorney who specializes in quality control review or in that specific industry will focus on training the AI and then sifting through what the technology has identified as responsive, confidential, or privileged. That quality step is necessary but it will also likely be limited as AI becomes more sophisticated and nuanced and lawyers become more comfortable with its outputs.
âThis would include documents you are producing for the other side as well as documents you are receiving from the other side.
AI can go through an enormous amount of information in a short amount of time. It can categorize it and put documents into subject matter buckets considerably faster than a human can. It can also spit out its analysis of what it has categorized.
AI no doubt will be increasingly used for this step possibly removing the need for the young associate at the outside counsel and, much like in the review world where only quality reviewers are remaining, only those dealing with the actual litigation will need to look at those documents.
Technology has impacted the legal field for at least the last 20 years. The speed of its impact is only going to increase. Both in terms of jobs available and the in-depth analysis that is available now, that would have taken a human many, many hours to absorb and understand.
I am of the persuasion that we should not fight technology advances. While the ATM did cause a shift in the banking employment industry, I much prefer going to an ATM to get cash than standing in line in front of a teller. Restaurants, too, were impacted by the pandemic and the push towards drive-thru and delivery versus customers dining inside. They had to adjust their business model. So, too, will lawyers.
We need to embrace it, we need to understand it, and we need to learn to use it rather than creating roadblocks to try to preserve what has gone before.