Having something to earn for livelihood
Everybody who has ever held a job for any length of time knows what work stress is all about. We have all had to deal with it at one time or another. You might even say that a little bit of work-related stress is good for you because it makes you step up to meet […]
The post Dealing With Stress At Work appeared first on Jobacle.com.
If you are a leader who aims to become a human leader, who might feel that your personal mission in life encompasses enabling greatness in others; helping people figure out how they matter, how their teams matter; how they can work together unleashing their potential for the greater good; and making a positive difference, then these might come in handy as you continue to build your leadership skillsetâfor today and the future.
In any human relationship, trust is at the base; it is foundational. In this great period of change, uncertainty, and anxiety that weâve all feltâhow many of us feel exhausted and scared due to all of this? The teams and the people that youâre leading might be feeling deep levels of discomfort, maybe paralysis and even fear. There has never been a more crucial time to establish, deepen, or re-establish trust.
Establishing trust with the whole person, with everything that they are, is especially important. One way to do this is firstly by getting to know them. Take the time to know your people, really know themâwhat their aspirations, challenges, and career expectations are amongst other key areas.
Display your ability and expertise in supporting them, act with integrity, genuinely care for others, and be dependable. These will get you a long way in building or deepening trustworthiness.
If you want to learn what other people think, feel, expect, aspire to, etc., you must ask, and asking powerful questions can really provide you (and your coachee/employee/direct report) a lot of value and insight.
The definition of a powerful question is a question that will help the recipient âthink, reflect, wonder, gain an insightâ amongst other powerful things. Think of it this way: when you ask a powerful question, you are helping the recipient of that question gain perspective.
These types of questions usually start with what, how, when, or who. Depending on the topic at hand, they can really help you create a thought-provoking, high-impact conversation. Try it!
Have you ever wondered why we have two ears and one mouth? Some of us think itâs because there is an important proportion of time that the coachee/employee/direct report needs to have to express themselves, instead of us providing them with all the right answers.
Coaching is about âpartnering with someone, in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potentialâ (ICF).
One way to listen effectively or actively is to âlisten to understandâ not to respond. One of the shortcuts that we, as humans, create is what we understand as an ability to be ready to fire the response to someone as soon as they finish speaking. This is not active listening. This is listening to respond, which does not give you the necessary information or clarity. Does this sound familiar to you?
âThere are many ways to achieve a desired state, yet when you use a âvisionâ technique for your coachee/subordinate/employee to envision the future (desired) state, you provide them with a unique opportunity to not only decide how to get to that goal, but youâre also promoting the opportunity for him/her to be creative, imaginative, and grow.
This is about focusing on the future, not on the pastâyet taking advantage of lessons learned and capitalizing on both.
Focusing merely on setting up a strategy and expecting everyone to understand what they needed to do to achieve it is no longer the right approach. Productivity is no longer the result of repetitive, routine actionsâso passee, especially in the light of a post-pandemic environment. We need everyone in our teams, in our organization to be able to bring their whole selves and unleash their full potential.
Weâre so in a VUCA world and for our organizations to succeed, we need our peopleâs imaginations, we need them to bring their whole best selves to work. Whatever they might be feeling and living outside of work, which is now also part of work. Leaders, therefore, must show up as human beings.
Employees expect empathy, vulnerability, and authenticity from their leaders in addition to clarity. When coaching, approaching goal setting using the SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound) approach, makes it easier for everyone involved.
Currently, with so many challenges and uncertainty, it is not infrequent for employees to feel unclear on what the right priorities to pursue are. When you coach, making sure that there is clarity on whoâs accountable for what and by when, becomes critical.
If accountability (and goals) are not proved in coaching conversations, they could simply become nice conversations. There is no growth, no actions, no path forward.
Avoid confusion and increase meaning and impact through insightful, thought-provoking coaching conversations. Good luck!
When you can’t stop working…
I went to my local airport to go on a business trip. I noticed some elderly ladies in Departures struggling to use the self-check-in machine.
My user training instincts kicked in. Using my own passport as an example, I showed them how to check in and get their boarding passes. I stood by helping them get theirs in the same way that I take my employersâ customers through our productâs workflow.
The shoe was on the other foot a few years later. I bought a new washing machine. The manual was in every language except English. Using the product name on the invoice, I found a video review of that washing machine on YouTube where someone demonstrated how to use it. Within 5 minutes, I was operating the washing machine.
Today, technology is everywhere. We use computers in the office, various appliances at home, ATMs, ticket machines, and gas pumps in the street, and smartphones in our pockets.
Explaining how something works has become an essential leadership skill. Customer service staff explain how technology works to solve their customers’ problems. Sales representatives do the same to persuade customers to buy or use their products. Managers help their colleagues and train their subordinates on how to use various applications.
Demonstrating and training people how to use unfamiliar applications is part of most change management projects.
Explaining how something works always starts with a process. There are two variants.
The Instructional Variant (training someone to use a system): the emphasis is on showing your audience how to get a specific result out of that system. I showed the ladies how to get their boarding passes printed and issued by the machine.
The Promotional Variant (selling someone a system): the emphasis is on showing how the system provides a business outcome. If I were selling automated check-in machines for airports, I would show my audience the benefits of these machines: passengers can check themselves in so the airline needs fewer check-in agents.
Imagine we are writing a user guide for a wheelbarrow.
Any act of instruction begins with a learning aim. When planning a training event, this is best summarized in a âcan doâ statement.
âBy the end of this training session, the user can load, unload and maneuver a wheelbarrow.â
This is how we would describe the main process from start to finish.
âPut the load into the wheelbarrowâs bucket. Take hold of the handles and lift them up with the entire weight of the bucket resting on the wheel. Walk forward, pushing the wheelbarrow to your destination. On arrival, lift the handles above your head. The load will fall out of the bucket.â
Often, there are variations of the main operating processes.
âWhere the load is a single, solid object, lift it and place it carefully into the bucket. On arrival, lift the load out of the wheelbarrow to prevent damage or injury.â
Here is a care instruction: âOil the wheelâs axle to ensure that it will turn easily.â
Here is a safety instruction: âBend your knees when lifting the handles and keep your back straight when pushing the wheelbarrow.â
Identify these divisions clearly using headings, captions, etc. with the main process coming first.
Also, be sure to include any prerequisites to operate the solution, such as installing drivers, inputting data, or integrating it with other applications.
Here is how we demonstrate a wheelbarrow to a building firmâs buyer.
âThis wheelbarrow is designed to enable your staff to move heavy loads without injury or exhaustion. Minimal training is required to operate this equipment.”
“Place the load in the bucket. Lift the handles until the weight rests on the wheels. Push the vehicle forward to your destination. Lift the handles to empty the bucket.”
“We have moved this heavy load from one place to the other quickly, quietly, without injury or carbon emissions.â
This description includes the main process and states the productâs benefits.
Think of some of the processes you deal with personally. They might be online instructions to submit an insurance claim or request a service. How easy are these instructions to understand? Where is the problem? How straightforward is the language? Was each step described clearly? Were all the prerequisites given?
âNow think of the processes you are responsible for. When you train a new colleague how to use an application or device, how well does she understand it? Are you sure you told her everything? Did you tell her each step in the correct order?
Try writing that process down. Writing is a great way to separate an idea from yourself and look at it as an independent object. What do you need to start the process? What does it produce? What is it for? Have you included all the steps? Are there any parts that you donât feel you really understand?
You might be in for a surprise!
Iâd love to know how you got on. Feel free to connect with me and tell me about it!
If you’re looking for a way to simplify your job search and get noticed, social platforms like LinkedIn give you an opportunity to be proactive and get past the applicant tracking system (ATS). With LinkedIn, not only can you view job listings, but you can also easily find the recruiter who’s leading the search for the right candidate.
Reaching out to the recruiter is certainly a solid job search strategy, but like anything in life there’s a right and wrong way to do it.
Here are the best ways to connect with a recruiter on LinkedIn and potentially put yourself in a position to get hired for the job.
1. Research the Recruiter’s Profile – Details matter! You may learn from the recruiter’s LinkedIn profile that you attended the same university or once worked at the same company during different time periods. Anything you have in common with the recruiter could be a good way to break the ice.
2. Make a Connection Request – Use the simple 300-word connection request to introduce yourself to the recruiter. Mention something that you have in common and that you’re interested in learning more about their career field and would love the opportunity to connect. Keep it simpleâyou don’t want to overwhelm the recruiter. Here are a few additional ideas.
3. Ask a Follow-Up Question – Once you’re connected, send a follow-up note thanking them for the connection, mention that the job posting caught your attention, and ask them what’s most important to them when considering a candidate for this position. This is a way to express your interest in the position while politely asking for their feedback. The key is not to be pushy and frame it in a way where you’re trying to make their job easier.
If a recruiter doesn’t respond to your connection request, it’s best to just move on.
There could be many reasons why the recruiter doesn’t respond, and some may have nothing to do with your request. Being too aggressive about the connection request could actually damage your chances of getting the job. Make one request and if the recruiter doesn’t respond, let it go.
You can continue your job hunt by searching LinkedIn for other professionals who work at the company where you’re pursuing employment. Use the above steps to try to connect with them and perhaps they can give you tips that may help you land a job interview. This is not only a good way to boost your job search but it will also help you build your professional network.
It’s important to remember that if you have a strong LinkedIn profile it’s possible that recruiters will reach out to you. By optimizing your LinkedIn profile with keywords, you’ll have a higher chance of showing up in recruiters’ search results. They’ll be able to find you and see that you have the skills and experience they need for the job opportunity. This is your ideal situation: instead of having to reach out to recruiters in your job search, they’ll come to you!
Need help optimizing your LinkedIn profile?
We’d love it if you joined our FREE community. Itâs a private, online platform where workers, just like you, are coming together to learn and grow into powerful Workplace Renegades. More importantly, we have tons of resources inside our community that can help you optimize your LinkedIn profileâthe right way.
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
You dread going to work. Every morning is the same: you have to drag yourself out of bed. It’s not that the body is weak. It’s that the mind is not willing. Most of us know that. Many people have felt that way at least at one point in their careers. Is there a way to overcome the dread of going to work every day?
I am not sure if I have the absolute solution, but these are some of the strategies I have personally tried in my years of experience:
Do not let Monday blues or the “dread going to work” syndrome become your dominant thought. Yes, I know it is easier said than done. But you have to start somewhere, and that somewhere is your thought process.
The more you think about how much you dread work, the deeper you will dwell on that feeling. Stop thinking about it. Take that thought out and focus your thoughts on something else.
Find out the source of your dread. Otherwise, you will not be able to tackle it. Do not complain if you do not know what you are complaining about.
Why do you dread going to work? Is it because of your co-workers, your boss, your routine work, your pay, or the commute?
Write all the reasons down and see if you can tackle them. I am sure resignation has crossed your mind. But before you do that, let’s see if there is a way to alleviate your feelings of dread. We cannot expect life to be perfect, or work to be perfect, for that matter.
Like I stated above, life is not perfect. Why should work be? Accept that things being imperfect is how things work. If you expect perfect colleagues, perfect bosses, perfect resources, or perfect processes, then you are in for a shock.
There can never be a perfect system, perfect factory, and perfect office wherever you work. Because, trust me, no matter how high your pay is, it can always be higher; no matter how good your colleagues are, they can always be better; and no matter how understanding your boss is, he or she can always be better.
Seek not perfection if you do not want to dread going to work. Seek adaptationâadaptation from yourself. What can you do to make the work environment better?
Ever think that the process of work can also teach us something about life? Think of work as a pedagogue.
It teaches us that we do not always have things our way, and that life can sometimes mean having to do things we do not like or even enjoy. But it’s only temporary, and we have a choice of doing something about it.
Use this experience of dreading work as your teacher. What does it teach you? Ask and answer, and you will immediately see this experience in a different light.
There is something you can do about the feeling of dread you get when thinking about work. Do not fear it. Sit down calmly and have an action plan to tackle it. When you start working on a plan to diffuse it, you will feel betterâeven if the plan does not work long term. Remember: every job is temporary! You’ll get through this rough patch in your career soon.
We know most people don’t enjoy going to work, especially if they’re feeling lost, trapped, or burned out in their career. If you’re struggling to find a job that you like, we can help.
We’d love it if you joined our FREE community. Itâs a private, online platform where workers, just like you, are coming together to learn and grow into powerful Workplace Renegades.
It’s time to find work that makes you feel happy, satisfied, and fulfilled. Join our FREE community today to finally become an empowered business-of-one!
This article was originally published at an earlier date.
An informational interview is a meeting where a job seeker asks for advice rather than employment. Rather than get a job offer, a job seeker uses informational interviews to:
For job seekers, informational interviews can secure meetings with managers, shape positive first impressions, and develop relationships that may pay off in the future. Managers are open to informational interviews because:
Here are my tips on how you can succeed in your informational interviews:
After youâve identified who you want to meet, ask friends, family, ex-co-workers, and fellow alums if they have contacts at a certain company or a particular line of work. Utilize social networking tools, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to find contacts. In the introduction email, keep it short and simple. Provide some background information on yourself and explain why you want to meet.
If you donât know what you want, the person on the other side of the table will have a hard time helping you. Iâd recommend going for easy wins such as learning more about a company or a job function. So prepare questions such as: âWhat do you like about working for company X?â or âWhen you think about successful folks in position Y, what made them successful?â
Job seekers often ask for a job at the beginning. Resist that temptation. If the manager does have a job, asking for it at the beginning is premature, especially if you havenât proven yourself. If he or she does not have a job, you and the manager have to overcome the early letdown. Instead, focus on asking good questions and creating a good impression. Then, at the end, do ask if the manager is hiring, but donât push it.
Some managers use the informational interview as an informal job interview. If the manager wants to deviate from your prepared list of questions and ask you more formal interview questions, let him or her do so. Who knows? You might get a job offer at the end of the interview.
An informational interview can range from an informal career chat to a structured interview. Prepare for any scenario. Have those general career questions ready, and at the same time, donât be surprised if the interviewer asks tough questions like, âWhatâs your biggest weakness?â Remember the saying, âLuck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.â
Itâs always worth reminding: dress professionally.
Donât forget to send a thank-you email or note after the informational interview. In addition, send updates every couple of weeks. The manager invested time into your career; he or she will be interested in your progress. And who knows, that manager may not have had openings a while ago, but he or she may be hiring now.
As a job seeker, an informational interview can be the secret to job search success. If you want to have a successful informational interview, just remember these seven tips. Good luck!
Need more help with your job search?
We’d love it if you joined our FREE community. Itâs a private, online platform where workers, just like you, are coming together to learn and grow into powerful Workplace Renegades. More importantly, we have tons of resources inside our community that can help you prepare for your next job interview.
It’s time to find work that makes you feel happy, satisfied, and fulfilled. Join our FREE community today to finally become an empowered business-of-one!
This article was originally published at an earlier date.
If you think about it offhand, teaching high school students may not seem like a very glamorous profession. A career in education certainly isn’t going to earn you millions of dollars or grant you opportunities to rub elbows with the rich and famous. Many who enter this seemingly humble profession, however, view it as much […]
The post 4 Reasons to Consider a Career as a High School Teacher appeared first on Jobacle.com.
Most people want to be certain that the subject they study in school will provide them with a long and satisfying career. Psychology is one of the most popular college majors, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, but many psychology degree holders do not have a clear career path after graduation. Fortunately, the […]
The post 9 Psychology Fields That Are in High Demand appeared first on Jobacle.com.
“What sets you apart from other candidates?” is a question that gets asked in interviews quite often. But despite this, it still trips up many applicants! This in-depth guide will teach you how to approach answering this question in a way that leaves a great impression and improves your chances of getting hired. Table of […]
The post Best “What Sets You Apart From Other Candidates?” Answers appeared first on Career Sherpa.
Join us for Networking Masters (think Toastmasters but for networking)! During this interactive group session, you’ll exercise your networking and presenting skills so you can be a more confident connector!
Hosted by: J.T. O’Donnell or Christina Burgio
Cost of Event: FREE
Sign up for this live event today!
Come get your career and job search questions answered by our founder & CEO J.T. O’Donnell.
Hosted by: J.T. O’Donnell
Cost of Event: FREE
Sign up for this live event today!
Are you concerned that you might be part of an upcoming layoff at your company? Attend this live event to learn how to keep your job and avoid getting laid off.
What You’ll Learn:
Hosted by: J.T. O’Donnell & Christina Burgio
Cost of Event: $5.00/ticket
Buy your ticket for this live event today!
Join us for Networking Masters (think Toastmasters but for networking)! During this interactive group session, you’ll exercise your networking and presenting skills so you can be a more confident connector!
Hosted by: J.T. O’Donnell or Christina Burgio
Cost of Event: FREE
Sign up for this live event today!
Come get your career and job search questions answered by our team.
Hosted by: Christina Burgio
Cost of Event: FREE
Sign up for this live event today!
Are you struggling to land job interviews and/or get any calls from employers? Attend this live event to learn how to stand out to hiring managers as a qualified candidate, no matter how competitive the job market is.
What You’ll Learn:
Hosted by: J.T. O’Donnell & Christina Burgio
Cost of Event: $5.00/ticket
Buy your ticket for this live event today!
Anyone who buys or sells anything has consciously or unconsciously picked up that COVID-19 brought with it a new set of buyer expectations to be willing to start, or stick it out through a sales journey to ultimately sign on a dotted line.
If your business development and sales strategies are similar to two years ago, chances are they are S-T-A-L-E, which means you may be unintentionally repelling potential buyers.
âI was selling enterprise software to a diverse, multi-stakeholder audience when COVID-19 converged, and almost overnight, buyers started reshaping how and when they wanted to be contacted, research and validate their potential partners and solutions, and make decisions.
As the cues went out, it was painful to observe sellers that werenât paying attention and kept doing the same olâ. But for those who tuned in to see where buyers were hanging out, hear their voices (and see their actions), collaborate with industry peers, and were willing to experiment with new methods, it became an amazing opportunity to translate old school tactics into a new lower-friction customer journey and buying experience that removed obstacles to getting to a yes.
Still clinging to an argument, âwell, in person is backâ (for now?) I submit that if modern buyers have a comfort level to watch a virtual home tour and then make the largest financial investment of their life without stepping foot inside of a home, modern buyers donât need (or want) to lay eyes on someone from your company to research, validate, or get well into their buying process before ever engaging your sales team about buying your product, service, or solution. Further yet, insisting that they navigate the process on your terms may just be grounds for early disqualification.
1. Most of your sales cycles end with the customer doing nothing or picking a cheaper version of your offering from a competitor.
2. Prospects arenât selected with careful research and segmentation to avoid spending effort with low-probability opportunities.
3. Dark social that equates to a dark funnel isnât your holy grail so your C-suite AND sales execs arenât embedded in and active in virtual peer networks and communities to garner real-time customer insights, build relationships, deliver teaching insights to educate your audience, foster demand and credibility, or achieve scalibility through the virality of your message.
4. Marketing efforts are focused on traditional lead gen using unwanted spammy tactics and vanity metrics rather than educating your buyers, creating demand for your offering, and forming high intent buyers that are ready for active sales engagement.
5. Buyers arenât able to tap third-party validation and review resources that substantiate the credibility and results of your offering, on top of the peer referral where your buyer likely found you originally.
6. Marketing efforts lack prevalent, quality content to educate your buyers in a variety of formats, disseminated where they natively hang out, and without the gate of an annoying web form that buyers avoid to spare themselves spammy lead gen emails, calls, and LinkedIn messages.
7. Buying your product is a hassle, without an easy way to do their homework and then book an appointment or convert at your website when they are ready to engage you in the buying process.
Whatâs your experience been with modernizing the business development and sales process and engaging modern buyers? I would love to get your perspective.
Iâm Lynn Holland, an 18-year business development, sales, & marketing executive who loves creating low-friction sales journeys to help enterprise buyers leverage solutions that drives their outcomes.
For more insights and ideas for engaging modern buyers and getting to a yes, like and follow me on LinkedIn.
When in college, youâre used to competition. From scholarships to internships, you compete at every step with other students. Although you may think applying for internships and scholarships is just a lesser version of a job hunt, the world of employment is a much more competitive landscape.
Cleaning out your dorm, ridding school supplies with a textbook buy and sell back service, shopping for business attire, and getting student loan bills should be the signs that the party is over and it’s time to pay the tab. One thing that might not dawn on you is thousands of other kids your age are in the same boat and there are a lot fewer dream jobs than dream seekers.
Landing an interview is never enough. You need to go beyond the usual to impress your potential employer and get the job. Here are a few job interview tips to help you improve your chances of success as a recent college graduate looking for your first real job out of school:
We all know preparation is the key to succeeding in an interview. But most recent college graduates donât prepare enough, which is why they fail. If you want to get the job, then you need to prove that youâve done your homework. Preparation doesnât simply mean skimming through the companyâs Wikipedia page and website. You need to go out of your way to find out as much as you can about the companyâabout its culture, the industry trends, and so on. That’s how you demonstrate your worth to the interviewer.
Your interviewer wants to see how your current skills complement the requirements of the job. The best way to prove them is to draft stories about your previous achievements. Why? Because stories are more convincing than factual data (in the job interview, not on your resume). Make sure your stories are interesting and to the point. Have a good opening line and see to it that youâve learned them by heart. Be clear and avoid sounding like a robot. To keep your stories concise, use the “Experience + Learn = Grow” model to answer behavioral interview questions.
You know how they say that you should âbe yourselfâ to make the best impression? Itâs advice that you should stay away from when being interviewed. While itâs good to be enthusiastic, energetic, and positive during your interview, donât oversell yourself. The simple reason for this is that employers know that thereâs a lot of talent in the market. And candidates can go to any extent to get the jobâeven exaggerate their skills and experience. So if youâre going to say something, you better back it with solid proof (aka quantify your accomplishments).
Like any other candidate, you too are not perfect, which is why you shouldnât give the interviewer a chance to talk about where you lack. Instead, lay more emphasis on your potential, which clearly shows that you have what it takes to succeed at the job. If you donât have real-world experience to boast of or if your past achievements arenât relevant to the job, then you should talk about your quick learning and adapting abilities. If they ask about your weaknesses, mention them, and then talk about what you’re doing to improve. It helps you win the confidence of your interviewer to a great extent.
Remember, as a recent college graduate, you might not have highly specialized skills and years of experience under your belt, but you do have something unique to offer. Thatâs the uniqueness that you need to use to make an impact on your interviewer.
Here at Work It Daily, we understand how difficult it is to find a job and grow your career as a recent college grad. If you’re struggling to find a job that’s right for you, we can help.
We’d love it if you joined our FREE community. Itâs a private, online platform where workers, just like you, are coming together to learn and grow into powerful Workplace Renegades.
It’s time to find work that makes you feel happy, satisfied, and fulfilled. Join our FREE community today to finally become an empowered business-of-one!
This article was originally published at an earlier date.