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3 Things You Should Do When You Get A Bad Performance Review

3 Things You Should Do When You Get A Bad Performance Review
  • February 20th, 2024
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3 Things You Should Do When You Get A Bad Performance Review

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article that talks about the fact that people can expect harsher performance reviews going forward, and I have to agree with them. Therefore, I want to tell you three things that you should do if you get a bad performance review to help you protect your career.

1. Don’t Take It Personally

When you get a negative performance review or you get a performance review with a lot of constructive feedback after getting great, positive performance reviews in the past, it might be due to shifts in the market.

I always tell my clients that problems trickle down in the workplace. Many companies are tightening their belts right now. They’re changing strategies and trying to figure out what’s going on, and so those problems become headaches to the leadership team and they’re not just going to take the brunt of that themselves; they’re going to push it down to the people that they’re paying to help solve those problems and alleviate that pain.

Consequently, more people are going to be told that what they’ve been doing in the past isn’t good enough anymore. Their company needs more from them. That’s the trickle-down effect. Now, I want you to have the right frame of mind around this. Don’t take it personally. This is business, and your “customer” that owns the business, that employs you, is telling you they’ve got changes and they need you to support them in those changes. So, try to stay objective when you get a bad performance review out of nowhere.

2. See How Your Boss Is Treating Other People

Boss helps his employees at work

The second thing that I want you to do is see how your boss is treating other people. If you got a bad performance review but other people aren’t getting that same feedback, if you’re not hearing that other people got negative performance reviews, then I need you to be really careful because this could be the company starting to single you out for a restructure, layoff, or firing.

These types of situations are happening more and more now. What was good enough before is not good enough anymore. So, take a look around. Is everyone getting the same feedback? Or do you feel like you’re being singled out? Because if you are, there’s a good chance that your job might be at risk and I don’t want you finding that out later. I want you to be more proactive, which leads to my last tip…

3. Get Your Job Search Tools Ready

Woman on laptop updates her resume and LinkedIn profile

The moment you see a shift in how others are treating you after a bad performance review, you need to increase your networking efforts and get your job search tools ready. Any good business knows that if they start to see a customer who’s not satisfied or who’s acting like they’re not satisfied, you do what you can to make that customer happy again, but you also remember that customers have life cycles and this may be the end of the life cycle.

You don’t want to be left without a customer. You don’t want to be left without an income for your business-of-one. So, it’s important that you update your resume and LinkedIn profile. Get ready to do informational interviews and start networking with people who work at companies you might want to work at. Just get that ball rolling. You never know—a great opportunity might come along and this might be the push that you need to make that change. But you want to be prepared. You don’t want to start looking for work when you suddenly don’t have a job, and for a lot of people, that’s what’s happening right now. I want you to protect yourself from that.

So, to recap…

  1. Change your frame of mind. Don’t take it personally. Understand that problems trickle down.
  2. See how your boss is treating other people. Is this you being singled out as a performance problem? Or is everybody getting this feedback, and what can you do to fix it?
  3. Protect yourself. Update your resume and LinkedIn profile. Increase your networking. Do some passive job searching. Whatever it takes to protect your business-of-one so it always has an income.

I hope this information helps if you suddenly get a bad performance review at work. Remember these tips, and you’ll protect your career.

Good luck, and go get ’em!

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Top 3 Reasons Why People Want To Change Careers (And Tips For How To Make The Transition)

Top 3 Reasons Why People Want To Change Careers (And Tips For How To Make The Transition)
  • February 15th, 2024
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Top 3 Reasons Why People Want To Change Careers (And Tips For How To Make The Transition)

There are many reasons why people want to change careers. But can you guess the top three reasons why a professional might consider a career change today? What is the driving force behind making such a big life decision?

A recent FlexJobs survey announced the common reasons why people are changing careers. Here are the top three, and tips for how to successfully make a career change.

Why People Want To Change Careers

Woman thinking about changing careers

Based on the FlexJobs survey mentioned above, these are the top three reasons for wanting to change careers:

  • Better work-life balance (56%)
  • Higher pay (50%)
  • More meaningful or fulfilling career (49%)

Better Work-Life Balance vs. Higher Pay: What Would You Choose?

Man holding laptop happy at work after changing careers

If you want to make a career change, you’re probably doing so for at least one of the top three reasons listed above. What’s most surprising about this survey is that the top reason professionals are changing careers is because they want a better work-life balance, beating out the desire for higher pay by 6%.

Another interesting finding is that two out of the top three reasons why people want to change careers aren’t based on money or benefits or any other career advancement factors. They are based on personal growth and fulfillment.

Even though we are often told throughout our lives that money can’t buy happiness, it seems as though more and more people are taking this advice to heart and are realizing that a higher salary would not make them happier; having the time and space to do what they truly love and focus on what really matters would.

Think about it. If you wake up in the morning feeling miserable and dreading work, it’s most likely because you do not have anything in your life that excites you—nothing that sparks joy or gives your life meaning or purpose. When you think about the day ahead, you’re not looking forward to anything. How do you solve this problem? Well, if you change careers, you could achieve a better work-life balance, which would give you time to pursue hobbies and interests outside of work. You could also find a job that excites you, working for a company with a mission you’re passionate about, where the work has a purpose and it feels fulfilling. Does a higher salary have more value than that? Most career changers say no.

So, why are you (or why would you be) motivated to change careers? For better work-life balance? Or for higher pay? If you had to pick one, which sounds more appealing?

5 Tips For Successfully Changing Careers

It’s important to have a strategy in place when you decide to change careers. Making a career change isn’t easy, but there are certain things you can do to increase your chances of success. Here are five tips for successfully changing careers:

1. Inventory your skills

What are your transferable skills? What other skills do you have that are in demand in your target career and industry? Write them down, and make sure to include them on your LinkedIn profile.

2. Create a bucket list of companies that you want to work for

Are you passionate about a company’s product or service? Do you connect with an organization’s mission or values? What companies would you love to work for? Write those down too. This is your interview bucket list, and it is essential for all job seekers, not just career changers.

3. Make new connections

It’s true. In your job search, it’s all about who you know. If you want to successfully change careers, you’ll have to step up your networking efforts. Connect with people at your dream companies from your interview bucket list and start a conversation with them on LinkedIn. Then, be sure to consistently offer value to your professional network. You never know who will contact you with a job opportunity.

4. Update your resume

Write a targeted resume with your ideal career in mind. Focus on your transferable skills and quantifying your work experience. Also, be sure to customize your resume for each position that you apply for. An optimized resume is invaluable, especially for career changers.

5. Be ready to tell your story

The most important tool in your job search as a career changer is a disruptive cover letter, which will allow you to tell your story and stand out to employers. Storytelling is incredibly powerful. In order to successfully change careers, you need to connect with the companies you’re applying to and the people who work at those companies—and the best, most effective way to do this is by telling a compelling story.

As a professional, you’ve probably thought about changing careers at some point in your life, either seriously or just out of curiosity. Nowadays, most people are making the change because they want a better work-life balance. If this sounds like you, follow the five tips above to get started on your career change today. A better career (and life) awaits!

Need more help with your career change?

Become a member to learn how to UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

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Why Companies Fire People To Save Money

Why Companies Fire People To Save Money
  • February 13th, 2024
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Why Companies Fire People To Save Money

There are a lot of companies that will choose to fire employees instead of laying them off. Let’s walk through the instances when this happens so you can better prepare yourself.

Placing The Blame On You

Lots of companies right now are deciding to make significant cuts. They aren’t making their numbers. They’re not feeling financially secure. Whatever the reason may be, the biggest expense is people, so the fastest way to save money is to cut staff.

Now, most companies will be transparent about this and admit that it’s a layoff. They didn’t perform well. They need to make changes. They’re laying you off through no fault of your own. It stinks, but nobody’s blaming you. However, there are companies out there that will say that it’s a firing instead.

When companies fire employees instead of laying them off, they’re saying it’s not their fault. It’s not their fault you’re suddenly underperforming and, therefore, they’re going to fire you. How ironic is it that you were getting great performance reviews, everything was going fine, and then all of a sudden you’re having a performance issue?

What normally happens is the company has figured out that they can get somebody to do your job for a lot cheaper. There are a whole bunch of people in the job market who will do your job at a lower pay. But if the company lays you off in order to save money, there are laws around discrimination that you could cite and then file a charge of discrimination against them.

Some companies want to avoid any risk of this, so instead they suddenly decide you’re not performing and they document that and gather the paperwork to be able to prove that you’re not performing (you’re the problem) so they can fire you. This is how they avoid lawsuits. And when they fire you, they can replace you and hire somebody for less money.

You can never take your eye off the ball as long as you are working. If you’re making a wage that you want to keep making, you need to watch your market conditions because if you’re not growing, you’re dying in your career.

Way too many people get into kind of an autopilot situation where they’re not really growing and evolving with the market. And it’s not just about amassing more skills. It’s about strategically understanding the direction your career needs to go in so you stay relevant and in demand. You can have all the skills and experience in the world, but if you don’t know how to package that up and market it correctly to employers, you’re not going to differentiate yourself in the market and stay competitive.

Please be on the lookout for this situation in your career. The moment your company realizes they can have someone do your job for less money, you’re going to become a performance issue. It’s easier to fire you than it is to lay you off. Remember that, and make sure you know your unique value add (UVA).

Good luck, and go get ’em!

Need more help with your career?

Become a member to learn how to UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!

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What To Do When Your Email Goes Unanswered

What To Do When Your Email Goes Unanswered
  • February 9th, 2024
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What To Do When Your Email Goes Unanswered

Some people experience anxiety when their emails go unanswered. Anxiety from unanswered emails is especially prominent in job seekers.

At least once a day, a client contacts me in a frustrated panic because the email they sent days ago to a colleague, perspective networking contact, online application, recruiter, and so on hasn’t been answered. Each time, I walk them through the three tips that should be followed to increase the chances they get a response.

They are…

1. Wait One Full Business Week Before Following Up

While it feels like months to you, to the person you sent the email to, a week feels like a day. If they didn’t answer you yet, it just means you weren’t viewed as needing an immediate response. It doesn’t mean they are saying “no” to your request, they are just saying “not now.”

2. Never Send A Nudge On A Monday

Professional on laptop shows signs of stress and frustration on a Monday morning

Even the happiest people feel a little off on Mondays. We call it the Weekend Flu. You might call it the Monday Blues. Regardless, it puts people in a mood to say “no” more quickly.

So even if it’s been a full business week, if it’s Monday, don’t do anything.

3. Send Value Next Time, Not Another Request For Help

A job seeker holding her laptop gets a good idea about a follow-up email

When you finally do follow up, don’t send a “Just wanted to check in and see if you got my request” note. That’s like taking a hot poker and pushing it in their back. They know they haven’t responded to you, and they most likely don’t feel good about it. They don’t need you to point it out.

Instead, find an article online that you think they would find interesting and pass it along with a simple note like this: “Saw this article and thought of you—hope you enjoy it!” That’s it. You’ll be respected for your restraint from asking the obvious. Moreover, you’ll be appreciated for offering up something of professional value.

As they say, “You gotta give to get!” Follow the tips above and I guarantee more of your emails will get answered. While some may still ultimately say “no,” or never respond, the chances the folks who failed to respond initially will finally follow up increases when you are patient, polite, and, most importantly, focused on helping them too.

Whether you’re waiting for a response on an online application, job interview, or networking request, the combination of patience and strategic persistence will serve you well.

Need more help with your job search?

Become a member to learn how to land a job and UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

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4 Ways To Edit Your Resume Like A Professional Resume Writer

4 Ways To Edit Your Resume Like A Professional Resume Writer
  • February 6th, 2024
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4 Ways To Edit Your Resume Like A Professional Resume Writer

Professional resume writers take on the mindset of the employer and recruiter when crafting and editing resumes. To edit your resume like a professional resume writer, you have to develop a fresh mindset.

If that means taking a break from your resume for a day or two before going back to it, that’s what you will have to do.

Candidates often spend so much time on their resume that they can no longer give it an objective review. Many candidates are also challenged with writing their own resume because they are so involved in their own experiences. They are unable to offer a macro view of their experience and achievements, and rather than focusing on information that is important to a potential employer, like quantifiable accomplishments, they are stuck focusing on mundane daily tasks of the job that are less impactful on a resume.

To tackle your resume like a professional resume writer, have an open mind and think like the employer you are applying to.

Here are some general rules to follow as you edit your resume.

1. Show What You Do Well

Identify the top five skill sets that an employer wants in the perfect candidate, which they’ve mentioned in the job description. Then, focus your resume on how you’ve achieved great things leveraging these skills.

For instance, if you are applying for a sales position, your focus should be on quota achievement, account penetration, prospecting, and closing techniques. Don’t sway from focusing on the core skills an employer wants.

2. Remove What’s Irrelevant

Man on laptop edits his resume during a job search

In most instances, a hiring manager makes a decision of whether you are an appropriate candidate for a callback after reviewing your resume for only a few seconds. Rarely is every line on your resume read in its entirety. The more information on your resume that is relevant, the quicker the hiring manager will come to the conclusion that you are a good candidate to call.

However, if your resume includes too much irrelevant information, you increase your chances of being dismissed. So, in the end, the less an employer finds irrelevant on your resume, the more impactful it is. You are better off removing information that doesn’t offer much to an employer, including resume fluff. Just don’t do it.

3. Don’t Be Afraid To Market Yourself

Woman on laptop editing her resume before applying for a job

For a resume to have an impact, you have to market yourself. Every aspect of what you put on your resume should sell. Take all of your experiences, skills, and capabilities, and position them in a manner to sell. The information on a resume should present itself in a manner that says, “This is what I have achieved before, and this is what I can do for you.”

Many resumes don’t sell simply because they are poorly focused. For instance, just because your job was to bag groceries does not mean that is the information you put on your resume. You can make it more marketable by indicating how your customer service skills helped maintain customer satisfaction, resulting in returning customers. (Make sure you use numbers to quantify your work experience!) Your statement is not a lie. It is simply reframing information in a way that shows more relevance for the job.

4. Look Out For Common Mistakes

Man on laptop editing and fixing mistakes on his resume

Minor mistakes such as spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors are avoidable. However, many resumes that are not carefully proofread contain such mistakes that are cause for dismissal by the hiring manager.

Of all the reasons for a resume to be dismissed, don’t let these easy fixes be one of them. Ask a friend or family member to give it a review. You need another pair of eyes or, at the very least, a fresh pair of eyes. Remove yourself from your resume for some time before giving it a good review. When you stare at a resume too long, it makes it harder to detect and edit mistakes.

Reviewing and editing your resume like a professional resume writer can make a significant impact. It is often the difference between actually securing interview opportunities for jobs and spending valuable time continuously searching and applying for new opportunities only to receive no response in return.

Need more help with your job search?

Become a member to learn how to land a job and UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

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Why You Get Rejected From Jobs Youre 100% Qualified For
  • February 6th, 2024
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You found a job opening you were a great fit for. You crafted your resume, wrote a polished cover letter, and submitted your job application with high hopes. After a few days or weeks, you get the rejection email, or you get ghosted by the employer, never hearing back about the status of your application. You were 100% qualified for the job. So, why did you get rejected?

The Bushel-Of-Apples Effect

You’re not getting interviews for jobs that you’re 100% qualified for because of the bushel-of-apples effect that happens when you apply online.

Think about it this way: You go into a store and decide to buy one apple. That’s all you’ve got the appetite for and that’s all you can afford. You walk over to the produce section and see a big bushel of apples. They all look good; they’re all roughly the same size and same color. But you’re only going to pick one. So, what do you do? If you’re really hungry, you might decide to pick a slightly bigger apple. Or if you like a certain color, you pick that one and discriminate against all the other apples that are completely okay and worthy of being picked, but you can only pick one.

That’s what employers have to do right now. And because of applicant tracking systems (ATS), they get thousands of applicants—not 10, not 15, thousands. This is why you are getting rejected over and over again. It’s not that you’re not qualified for the job; it’s the bushel-of-apples effect. You need to understand that the way to get selected is to not be in a pile; you need to go around the system. You need to be able to connect directly so that your message can get to a hiring manager and they can pull you from the pile.

This is what most job seekers do not understand today. That easy apply button and those online applications actually made job search harder because they make it possible for anyone to apply. You’re going to have to put in the extra effort to find a good job, which means you’re going to need to be pickier about who you apply to. Once you learn how to conduct a proactive job search (job shopping instead of job hunting), you can be way more intentional. You can pick who you want to work for and you can go after it differently so that you can get picked from the pile.

You’re not alone, my friend. That bushel-of-apples effect is just killing your chances on those applicant tracking systems and it’s going to require something different in order to get better results.

If you want to learn how to conduct a proactive job search, sign up for a Work It DAILY membership today. Getting the job search help you need has never been easier.

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Unlocking Connection: Proven Strategies For Tackling Remote Work Loneliness

Unlocking Connection: Proven Strategies For Tackling Remote Work Loneliness
  • February 2nd, 2024
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Unlocking Connection: Proven Strategies For Tackling Remote Work Loneliness

As we navigate the evolving landscape of remote work, shifting from traditional office settings to decentralized home-based work has brought advantages and challenges. In the wake of the global pandemic, employees across industries adapted to a new normal, juggling professional responsibilities amid the chaos of family life and virtual schooling.

Four years into this transformative journey, the flexibility of remote work has become a lasting aspect of our professional lives. While the benefits include increased productivity, reduced commutes, and enhanced work-life balance, there’s a lingering challenge that demands attention—remote work loneliness.

As employees continue to strike a balance between solitude for focused productivity and the need for social connection, this article explores proven strategies to address remote work loneliness and foster meaningful connections in a decentralized work environment. Whether you’re a seasoned remote worker or navigating the new normal, the insights shared here aim to enhance the quality of both professional and personal well-being.

Sharon Grace

It’s 2024, four years past the “two-week shutdown and quarantine” at the onset of the pandemic. Many employees were quickly forced to transition to working from home with the rest of their family members, including kids trying to do virtual school. It was a crazy time!

I think companies have accepted the employees’ desire to have flexibility and not have to work in the office every day if they do not want to. Like most things, there are pluses and minuses, and working remotely has both. We have learned more during these past few years about the effects of working remotely. For some, quiet thinking time is beneficial to productivity. Most remote workers feel they are less distracted at home and are accomplishing more. Not having a long commute or being stuck in traffic is a plus and adds time to their day to work out or cook dinner more often.

I mentioned that quiet time is thinking time and helps some of us focus. However, for others, it can bring a sense of isolation and loneliness. Some struggled coming out of the pandemic being accustomed to staying at home with little or no reason to leave. Last year, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy warned of an ‘epidemic of loneliness and isolation’ (2023 advisory).

Today, most employees work in the office an average of three days a week. Most people I speak with want to get out of the house and connect with their colleagues in person again if they live close to the office. Many people have moved away from their employer’s offices and can only work remotely.

How do we identify the need for quiet, thinking time for productivity versus feeling removed from social interactions? People who are extroverts and introverts can experience both.

  • Get to know yourself better and analyze your thoughts, actions, and how they relate to your social interactions and productivity.
  • Measure your workflow, productivity, and quality of work in your quiet, thinking time. Did it take longer to complete, and was the quality below your regular standards? Were you completing work to complete it, or were you fully engaged and lost track of time in it?
  • How is your mood during the day? Have you taken a break and stepped outside?

Try to tailor your workday around interacting with colleagues. Send instant messages or schedule a phone chat or a short video call to connect. Consider a morning meeting to discuss the day’s projects, a lunchtime chat for a quick break to disconnect from work, or even an end-of-day happy hour to discuss the plan for the next day. If possible, planning offsites to meet in person is a great idea to bond and get together to collaborate or to socialize without discussing work.

If you are interviewing for remote positions, consider asking questions about how the teams communicate, bond, and frequency. Try to meet as many people as you can. Remote and hybrid work is here to stay and remember the value of human connection. We need it for professional and personal well-being.

Sharon Grace is a veteran search executive at Duffy Group who helps hiring leaders hire great people because of her proven track record as a strategic partner and advisor to recruit, identify, and assess talent.

Kristin Pozen

Man on laptop deals with remote work loneliness

As organizations adapt to flexible work arrangements, employers must now prioritize addressing their remote workforce’s social and mental well-being. By understanding the unique challenges associated with remote work, employers can play a pivotal role in creating a supportive and connected virtual work environment.

Understanding and prioritizing combatting remote work loneliness is essential for maintaining mental well-being and productivity in the workplace. Employers must ensure that everyone has the opportunity to connect, regardless of where they are located. Be intentional about connecting employees outside of their teams. Make it a once-a-week event for casual connection and a once-a-quarter or annual event for more formal L&D or strategy planning.

Here are some employer strategies to tackle remote work loneliness:

Establish Regular Virtual Meetings: Encourage teams to schedule regular video calls with each other. This helps maintain social connections and provides a sense of belonging.

Provide Automated Collaboration: Tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or others allow for employees to stay connected throughout the day. Instant messaging can simulate the casual conversations that happen in an office setting.

Schedule Virtual Coffee Breaks: Informal meetings where you can discuss non-work topics that mimic the casual interactions that occur in an office environment.

Set Up Virtual Social Events: Organize virtual social events, such as virtual happy hours, game nights, or team-building activities. This helps maintain a sense of camaraderie.

Work From Co-Working Spaces: If possible, consider offering to work from co-working spaces occasionally. This allows for face-to-face interactions with others and a change of environment.

Offer Online Communities: Provide access to online forums or communities related to your company’s industry. This can provide a sense of community and facilitate networking.

Evaluate Your Employee Mental Health Benefits: Are they being utilized? If not, ensure your employees know they are available and confidential. Do they need to be enhanced to provide more coverage or more access?

Make Onboarding More Experiential: Onboarding is a critical first opportunity to facilitate friendships at work. Since the pandemic, millions of employees have started new jobs and have never met one of their colleagues in person. Especially for early career employees, this can be incredibly challenging.

Make Recharging a Reality: We must take employee health seriously for human connection and friendship to thrive. We can start by supporting more generous family leave policies, child care, and elder care. Also, ensure that when taking time off, employees recharge by not answering emails and phone calls. They can truly check out for a week at a time.

Kristin Pozen is a research recruitment recruiter at Duffy Group and a former HR recruiter.

Colleen Neese

Woman working from home on laptop deals with remote work loneliness

In a world increasingly adapting to remote work, Duffy Group, a global recruitment firm based in Phoenix, Arizona, stands out with its 33-year history of successfully operating as a remote workforce. As pioneers in the field, company leaders have valuable insights on fostering employee success in the virtual realm, beyond the conventional steps of establishing a dedicated workspace and managing distractions. Duffy Group emphasizes the importance of meaningful connections and combating loneliness in the evolving landscape of remote work. The company showcases a holistic approach to maintaining a strong sense of community among its widely dispersed team, providing inspiration for other organizations seeking innovative ways to keep their remote employees connected.

Duffy Group is a national recruitment firm headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona; however, our recruiters live all over the country and work from home. We have been a remote workforce for 33 years, way before the pandemic and the recent trend that has led to many workers working from home either full time or part of the time.

Since we’ve been doing this so long, we feel like we’ve learned a thing or two that may assist other companies set their employees up for success when it comes to working remotely.

We all know the obvious first steps to creating a positive experience working from home such as:

  • Have a dedicated workspace
  • Clear distractions
  • Take breaks
  • Make plans after work
  • Take advantage of not being in the office
  • Consider getting a pet

But how do you ensure that your employees are connecting on a meaningful level and combating loneliness? We are in the people business, after all! Here are some of the things Duffy Group does to ensure our employees are staying connected:

  • Utilize technology! We meet regularly via video with each other, with our clients, and with our candidates. We have many company meetings via video that allow us to connect and share information. We also utilize technology to stay connected on various messenger apps. We have one that’s ‘Just for Fun’ where we share silly memes or other fun things going on in our lives, we have one ‘Just for Pets’ where we love to share photos and stories about our furry family members, we have one for our healthy habits and fitness competition, and we have the ability to message as groups or one to one.
  • Recruiter Huddles – These are small groups of employees who have scheduled informal meetings on the calendars that allow for connecting on all topics.
  • We’ve created small groups to connect for those who want to connect on things that are not work-related—for example, a Book Club and one where we share recipes and food prep tips.
  • Celebrate often! We have virtual meet-ups to celebrate all sorts of occasions, from winning awards to weddings and baby showers. My favorite was when we all celebrated our 30th anniversary and received a surprise box at our homes with food and drinks to enjoy as we celebrated virtually.
  • Provide a leadership coach who will work with all employees virtually and with those who want one-on-one coaching.
  • Strive to have in-person connections if possible. Once a year, we fly all of our employees to our headquarters in Phoenix, where we all stay at the same resort for three days of training, bonding, and community service. It’s one of my favorite events, and the karaoke night has been a hit year after year!

There are many ways to stay connected as a remote workforce. Hopefully, some of the things Duffy Group has been doing for years will inspire you to implement new and creative ways for your employees to stay connected!

Colleen Neese is a practice leader at Duffy Group. She specializes in recruiting executives in non-profit and healthcare.

Need help recruiting talent for your organization? Check out Duffy Group today.

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The 3 Types Of Work Everyone Should Know

The 3 Types Of Work Everyone Should Know
  • January 25th, 2024
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There are only three types of work. You either have a job, a career, or a calling. I have been a career coach for over 20 years and I can tell you that after working with thousands of people what you do for work falls into one of these three categories.

What To Know About The 3 Types Of Work

@j.t.odonnell

THE 3 TYPES OF WORK ##IKnowWhatYouDid ##jobsearch ##job ##career ##calling ##careerdecoder ##careeradvice ##careertiktok ##joblife ##careertok ##work ##1

♬ original sound – J.T. O’Donnell

As a professional, you either have:

  1. A job – it just pays the bills and doesn’t bring you a lot of satisfaction other than the fact that it’s taking care of you financially.
  2. A career – not only does it pay the bills, but you feel like you’re leveraging some of your strengths, so it makes you feel a little satisfied.
  3. A calling – you’re leveraging your strengths, and it feels like it’s what you were meant to do, and you’re getting paid for it.

The Problem

Professional man works from home

Now, the problem with this is that over the years, society has convinced all of us that the only thing we should be striving for is the calling—that we should be in love with our work. Everything we do should feel effortless and we should get a big paycheck for it. And that’s not how it works.

Your life is forever changing. There are times in your life when a job is the only thing you need. It’s the only thing you can handle. It pays the bills, and that’s good enough. And every job is temporary.

Then, there’s the career. There are times in your life when you feel like you’re doing satisfying work and you’re getting the paycheck.

Then, sometimes, people reach the calling; they find exactly what they want to do in life. But the thing about the calling is that you need to be willing to sacrifice—you need to be willing to do it even if you can’t get a paycheck. Most people don’t have the strength or the resources to go after the calling.

Stop Looking For A Calling And Do This Instead…

Professional women smile as they work

As a career coach, I want to manage people’s expectations and I want them to be as happy as they possibly can be in the situation they’re in. But to do that, everyone needs to understand that it’s not one-size-fits-all.

Stop searching for the perfect calling in the big paycheck. Learn to assess where you are today. Understand what’s currently going on in your life. Let’s make a conscious decision about what type of work—a job, a career, and (maybe) a calling—you need right now. And then let’s work to improve that step by step.

They didn’t teach us this in school. And, candidly, employers don’t want you to know this because they want you to be forever stuck in a job, don’t they? But there are good employers out there.

Good employers want you to feel fulfilled and satisfied. They can take you to the career level and maybe even the calling level. But they don’t just grow on trees and they don’t just fall in front of you. There’s no magic fairy godmother to give you that calling or career. You have to figure out who you are and what your strengths are, and then we start to work with that and, like a puzzle, we piece it together—a beautiful, unique puzzle that is all you.

So, stop looking for a calling and simply focus on growing your career. If you “work it daily,” you’ll get to where you want to be in your professional life. I promise.

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.

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Ikigai: Are You Doing What Brings You Joy?

Ikigai: Are You Doing What Brings You Joy?
  • January 25th, 2024
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Ikigai: Are You Doing What Brings You Joy?

Ikigai is a Japanese concept and is comprised of two Japanese characters—iki (meaning life) and gai (meaning value or worth) which together signify values that make life worth living or your “reason to get up in the morning.” It encompasses a sense of purpose and fulfillment in daily life including the pursuit of personal passions, hobbies, family/personal/social relationships, and community. So not only does ikigai represent finding joy, but it recognizes how individuals are interconnected, and their impact in a broader social sense.

You may have more than one ikigai with different things fulfilling different parts of your life. Also, depending on your experiences or stage of life, your ikigai can change or evolve over time. For example, if you have a baby, that child may become your ikigai (or a grandparent’s ikigai).

The concept of ikigai originated in Japan. A high concentration of centenarians (100+-year-olds) live in Okinawa, and they believe that finding ikigai improves your overall well-being and longevity and provides a sense of purpose (with a healthy diet, regular exercise, social connections, and a positive attitude). These individuals have figured out that finding their ikigai gives them a reason to get up in the morning, giving them fulfillment each day to live such long active lives. Ikigai doesn’t have to be complicated and may be as simple as gardening, dancing/singing, or even sipping a favorite tea. My mom’s friend, Tsuchino (who is over 90 years old), told me that her ikigai is playing sudoku.

My ikigai is cooking, which was inspired by my mom. Not only did she cook every day for our family, but she loved to cook for friends and neighbors. I remember them sitting around the kitchen table, talking/laughing, and savoring her homemade gyozas. My mom was sharing a part of herself, and I cherish her gyoza recipe. Despite how hectic my life can be sometimes, it energizes me to cook for others (curiously trying new recipes). I even bake and mail cookies to unsuspecting family/friends. Someone may not be having a “great” day and that box of cookies shows them that I was thinking of them. Sharing my love for cooking gives me immense joy and is my ikigai!

The Western Interpretation Of Ikigai

Ikigai concept

The Western interpretation of ikigai captures some of the original Japanese concept, but it focuses on career-centric aspects and is typically depicted by the above Venn diagram. Even within the Japanese concept, your ikigai could be work. The philosophy is to align personal passions with professional pursuits to find meaningful work by determining:

  • What you love,
  • What you are good at,
  • What you can be paid for, and
  • What the world needs.

The intersection and convergence of these four elements is your ikigai (although ikigai is not necessarily something you need to be paid for within the Japanese concept). Again, depending on the stage of your career, your ikigai can change or evolve over time. For example, maybe you’re considering pivoting and starting your own company or buying a franchise. Also, you can have more than one ikigai. Besides your regular job, maybe you get fulfilled from volunteering or helping the community.

There is a quote by Confucius, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” So don’t wait until you’ve retired to find your ikigai. Finding your passion and mission can increase your work satisfaction and overall career fulfillment.

For me, I gravitate towards roles where I transform chaos into calm and figured out that this is my “work” ikigai. I understand why I’m passionate about helping companies that have been enduring too much distress and solving those complex problems with practical solutions. I also love sharing my knowledge through mentoring, volunteering (such as STEM organizations), and even creating LinkedIn content.

Understanding Your Ikigai

Ikigai is understanding your whole self over your lifetime, and the key is to appreciate the present moment and do the things you value and give your life meaning. Even after you “retire from work,” what will bring you joy and give you a reason to get up in the morning?

What is your ikigai? If you don’t know, you can start by self-reflecting. When are you the happiest (putting a smile on your face just thinking about it)? Or what activities do you look forward to doing in the future? Realizing what’s important to you and what you enjoy actively doing will bring you closer to finding your ikigai. To me, life is too short not to enjoy it . . . and find the simple things that will bring you joy each day!

For more information about ikigai and finding values that make life worth living, follow me on LinkedIn!

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How To Explain Wanting To Step Down From A Leadership Role

How To Explain Wanting To Step Down From A Leadership Role
  • December 11th, 2023
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So you want to step down from a leadership role to become an individual contributor. A lot of people see leadership at the top and individual contributors at the bottom. And so the natural question is, “Why the step back?” And, unfortunately, over many years recruiters and hiring managers get cynical, so they assume something is going on unless you can successfully explain why you want to step down from your leadership position.

Focus On The Opportunity To Build Your Skill Sets & Hone Your Craft

The key to explaining why you want to step down from a leadership position and be an individual contributor again is to follow the “Experience + Learn = Grow” model that I teach at Work It DAILY. You need to keep your explanation as factual and objective as possible.

When you’re an individual contributor, one of the bonuses or upsides is that you get to build your skill sets. You get to hone your craft. You get to get to the next level in the kind of value that you can create.

When you become a leader or a manager, you step away from the majority of that. Now you’re coaching or mentoring others. It’s a different thing. It’s servant leadership.

As a leader, what can happen over time is your ability to stay on the cutting edge of your industry and keep up to date with your skills and abilities can dull a bit because you’re not doing it every single day.

Here’s a great example of how to explain why you’re stepping down from a leadership position:

“I was an individual contributor, and in that time I was learning a lot of skills and it positioned me to become a leader. And as a leader, I was able to coach and develop X number of people. But what I miss is my ability to continue learning, growing, and becoming cutting-edge in that skill set. That’s why I want to go back to being an individual contributor. I think there’s a lot for me to learn and benefit from, and I think there are other people out there that right now it’s their turn to lead. But for me, it’s about being able to do that work—the thing that I love and growing my skill set.”

That’s an honest and valid answer.

It’s important to share an explanation like the one above, especially if you’re a seasoned professional because age discrimination exists. I can’t change your age, but a large part of that discrimination is actually experience discrimination and how you explain your experience. One of the techniques that I teach at Work It DAILY talks about this from a more balanced perspective. You pay a wisdom tax, and so you need to be able to articulate these kinds of career moves or transitions in a way that makes sense.

By following the “Experience + Learn = Grow” model and focusing on skill development opportunities, you’ll successfully explain why you want to step down from a leadership position and be an individual contributor again. Find your voice, tell them your story, and let them see the complete you.

Good luck, and go get ’em!

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7 Vital Habits Of The Successful Professional
  • December 2nd, 2023
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Who isn’t a little curious about what a successful professional does differently than the average person? It’s not about what they do with their money. It’s how they approach their careers.

Passenger Or Pilot: Which One Are You?

It’s easy to think we are all doing what we can to take control of our careers. However, this article points out a misconception some people have: thinking they lack control over certain aspects of their career. Or worse, not even bothering to try to take control.

In our careers, we are either a:

A) Passenger – an employee held hostage by golden handcuffs.

B) Pilot – a business-of-one who is in charge of their destiny.

I can see why being a passenger in your career might be attractive. You get to leave the scary, intense work of navigating to the pilot. But is that what you really want? Currently, I’m seeing a shift in our workforce’s mentality.

More and more people are seeking professional emancipation as part of the natural evolution of the employee. They are tired of being a passenger and want to learn how to become the pilot of their career. That being said, here are seven tips for those seeking to become an ultra-successful professional…

1. Realize You’re A Business-Of-One

Successful professional man

Your career has equity. Recognize it and start to determine how to use it to your advantage.

Inventory your assets as a professional and determine who is willing to pay top dollar for them. If you don’t have valuable skill sets that are in demand, start acquiring some.

2. Always Look To Gain An Advantage In Your Business Dealings

Successful professional woman talks to a work colleague

You must negotiate with employers. Don’t take what is given to you without a discussion. An employer is a customer who is always looking for the best deal, and you’re the business-of-one providing a service for them. You want to do business with a customer willing to pay for the quality of work you provide.

Learn to effectively negotiate salary, perks, and other benefits so you feel good about the partnership. You don’t work “for” an employer. You work “with” an employer.

3. Do Things Well

Professional man on computer works hard to be successful

Remember that doing things well is more important than doing new things.

Get focused on building your expertise and understanding how you are the aspirin to an employer’s pain. You must be great at a few things, rather than okay at a bunch of things. What is your specialty as a business-of-one?

4. Work With People Who Are Smarter Than You

Happy/successful woman claps after a presentation during a work meeting

Look for the smartest people you can work with. Find companies you admire and respect. Not for their pay and benefits package, but for the kind of products or services they deliver.

You must seek your professional tribe and partner with them to up your career game.

5. Get Clear On Your Employer’s Goals, Needs, And Business Intentions

Successful professionals in a work meeting

Want to do better in your career? Don’t be so self-centered. It’s not about your needs and wants.

Instead, focus on the needs, wants, and business objectives of the people you are partnering with. You’ll be able to offer more value and get more in return if you do. They are your customer. Exceed their expectations and you’ll have them eating out of your hand.

6. Be In A Position To Walk Away When The Situation Isn’t Right

Older professional woman thinking about her career success at work

Get yourself in a financial position that enables you to quit a job and survive without income for one year. Every job is temporary. You may lose a job. You may want to leave a job. In either case, having the security of savings will give you the power to make the best decisions for your business-of-one.

Who wants to stay in a bad situation just for the money? Ask anyone who held on to a life-sucking job only to get laid off how that worked for them. They’ll tell you they wish they could have left at the first sign of trouble.

7. Realize You Need Experiences And Setbacks To Move Forward

Happy/successful professional man holding a tablet

There is no real failure. We experience, learn, and grow. Stop playing it safe and start embracing your fear. As the old saying goes, “Life begins where your comfort zone ends.” You will not survive and thrive in your career if you don’t constantly learn new things.

Making mistakes teaches us what not to do. That’s a good thing! Stop worrying about what others think and start worrying about what will happen if you don’t take control.

I hope these tips help you build good habits in your career so you can become an ultra-successful professional. How are you taking ownership of your career today?

Need more help with your career?

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.

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3 Ways To Improve Your Professional Happiness Using Your Career Decoder Results

3 Ways To Improve Your Professional Happiness Using Your Career Decoder Results
  • November 24th, 2023
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The Career Decoder Quiz unlocks your professional strengths and potential. I’m going to walk you through three ways you can use your results to improve your own career happiness, success, and satisfaction.

I built the Career Decoder Quiz back in 2015 and, as of today, hundreds of thousands of people have taken the quiz. When I first shared it with our members and followers, I got a comment from someone on LinkedIn with a PhD in psychology who said their results were spot-on accurate. It truly made my day because I always knew that this information was important and accurate but it’s very validating when you hear other individuals saying that as well.

How To Use The Career Decoder Quiz To Unlock Professional Success

The Career Decoder Quiz is all about your workplace personas. Your workplace personas explain how you like to add value and how you like to create value and results for your employer when you’re doing work. And this is important to understand because you’re not an employee. You’re a business-of-one, and you’re selling your services to the employer. You want to be able to sell services that you enjoy providing. That’s how you find satisfaction in your career.

I’ve worked with thousands of people over the last 20 years. I’ve been a career coach for a long time, and I know that the number one reason people are so unhappy is that they’re not internally motivated by their work. The technical term is “intrinsic motivation.” It means it’s work you desire to do and that’s exactly what the career decoder results reveal. You’re going to feel more satisfied naturally when you’re doing the kind of work your results say you should do.

When we work with people inside the Work It DAILY platform, when our career coaches help our members, what we normally find is that they’re doing work that is not leveraging their top two or three workplace personas. The Career Decoder Quiz is going to tell you you’re top personas. When you get your results, anything that scores 20% or higher means it’s a strength of yours. It’s a persona that you prefer to leverage. Some people only have one. Some people have a couple of them. But you can’t be all eight, so you’re going to see what you prefer to do and how you prefer to deliver that value.

The first way (and probably the most important way) you should be using the results of the Career Decoder Quiz is to get very clear on the kind of work you want to do.

We had a client take the Career Decoder Quiz. He was a very successful executive. In his current role, he was known as an Optimizer. (That’s one of the eight workplace personas.) He was very good at looking at problems in the company and fixing them. But he wasn’t fulfilled in this work. When he took our quiz, it turned out that his top three workplace personas were Mentor, Visionary, and Educator.

What he preferred to do was coach others. He preferred to share a vision, help people connect the dots, and see things that they couldn’t see on their own. He also wanted to close gaps in knowledge and information.

So what we did was work together to quantify his skills and abilities in these three areas—the ways he preferred to work—and then he went to his leadership team and expressed the fact that he really wanted to find work within the organization that allowed him to leverage these three areas. And, lo and behold, the executive team said to him, “We’ve been waiting for you to say this.” He was shocked. They were very happy with him in the Optimizer role and he seemed to be happy in the Optimizer role, so why would they’ve changed things? It wasn’t until he expressed his desire to do work that was in line with how he felt satisfaction that he was able to get results.

I see this every single day inside the Work It DAILY platform as we coach people on their careers, helping them better understand themselves, and this is just one of the ways that we do it.

The second way you need to leverage the results you get from the Career Decoder Quiz is to use them in all your career tools (resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile, etc.).

As a business-of-one, you have to market yourself to employers, and the way you market yourself is with things like your resume, LinkedIn profile, cover letters, answers in your interview prep, and elevator pitch when networking. A lot of people tend to have the “everything and the kitchen sink” mentality where they put everything they’ve ever done in all of these career tools. They want to present themselves as a Jack or Jill of all trades. That is a fatal error. You need to brand yourself as a specialist, and, more importantly, as a specialist doing the kind of work you want to be doing. The Career Decoder results are what enable you to do that.

Now, a lot of people get their results and suddenly change their LinkedIn headline to “I’m a Builder, Mentor, Superconnector,” or in their resume they write that they are an Educator or Warrior or Researcher. That’s not what I want you to do. That’s actually pretty hokey and that’s not what this was intended for.

Instead, take a look at your top personas. You’ll realize those personas are really verbs. So if you’re a Builder, then you want to go through your tools and quantify your experience building things: “I’ve built X systems.” Or if you’re an Educator, “I’ve taught X number,” or “I trained X number of people.” Or if you’re a Superconnector, “I’ve connected X number of customers/vendors.”

You want to look at how you move the needle in your career. You want to quantify your accomplishments and work experience using the terms that align with your top workplace personas. Quantifying these things and branding yourself this way is how you’re going to send the message that this is your specialty, this is how you like to create value, and you can prove it.

The third way you can leverage these results and improve your professional satisfaction is by understanding or getting familiar with your co-workers’ personas.

It’s important that you know how to leverage the strengths of other people. And let me explain why.

When you know what your strengths are, you’re going to have more confidence, and when you know the strengths of others, you know how to tap into them and collaborate better. This is what companies are looking for—their top resources working well together and creating much better results.

By recognizing the talents of others and knowing to leverage them in concert with yours, you’re going to gain a lot of trust, respect, and credibility within the organization.

I see a lot of people plateau in their careers because they get so focused on what they’re good at and how they win that they lose sight of the fact that in order to get to the next level in their career, they need to partner with others. They need to be able to leverage the strengths of others. You can’t be all eight personas. You’re going to need all eight of those personas in the workplace. So if you want to get ahead in your career you need to put your ego aside. You need to leverage your own strengths, your own personas, and you need to leverage those of your teammates. Your credibility, the trust and the respect that you’re going to get, is gonna skyrocket. And, of course, that’s going to make you much happier on the job.

Those are the three ways you can leverage the Career Decoder results. Discovering your workplace personas is so empowering. And we don’t just use the Career Decoder Quiz with job seekers and professionals. We also use it with employers. They use it with their staff to help them better understand their teammates. And if you’re a leader, not only should you take this quiz, but you should also give it to all of your employees and learn their results so that you can tap into their strengths and make sure they’re happy on the job.

I hope this free quiz helps you, your coworkers, and your leaders. If you want to work one-on-one with our coaches and learn more about your results, join us inside Work It DAILY today. Let us be your guide toward a happier, more satisfying career.

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

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