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Your #Career : 4 Signs That Your Job-Search Strategy Isn’t Working… IF you’re Not Getting Results, it’s Time to Change your #JobHunting Methods.

March 3, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Do you have the feeling that your job-search strategy could stand a few tweaks (or maybe even a substantial overhaul)? When you spot any of the following scenarios, consider them possible red flags worthy of investigation.

As Mathison succinctly points out, “Interviews are hard-won. Bring your best game.”

Here are four signs that it’s time to rethink your job-search strategy:

1. YOU’RE NOT GETTING ANY RESPONSES

Silence is actually a loud shout-out that something in your hunt needs adjusting. Perhaps you haven’t been putting much effort into tailoring cover letters to specific positions (or haven’t been composing them at all). Maybe your resume doesn’t grab the attention of hiring managers because it lacks action verbs and quantifiable examples of your accomplishments. Thoughtfully examining your material, preferably with help from another set of trusted eyes, may make a huge difference.

Another culprit could be relying too much on internet job boards. As noted by Megan Walls of Walls Career Coaching, “By only applying online, you limit your chances of getting a job. It’s estimated that 85% of jobs are filled through networking. So devote a good portion of your job search to contacting your network, such as family, friends, classmates, past employers, and LinkedIn connections.”

Consider too if you might need to up your efforts.

“It is time to rethink your strategy when you are looking for a full-time job with a part-time job search,” says Duncan Mathison, co-author of Unlock the Hidden Job Market. “And don’t confuse time spent worrying or waiting to hear back from an employer as ‘search time.’ Track your actual time in your job search.”

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2. YOU’RE HAVING TROUBLE FINDING “GOOD” JOBS FOR WHICH TO APPLY

Congrats on being specific about what you want and not wasting time applying for any old thing. Now make sure you’re looking in the right places and reaching out appropriately.

“If you have targeted employers, you should apply directly to the website, through networking contacts, or even suspected managers in the functional area of your job,” Mathison says. “Trade and professional associations often have job boards. If you still draw a blank, your professional network may be able to give you insight on any hiring activity.”

3. RECRUITERS ARE REACHING OUT WITH IRRELEVANT JOBS

Hearing from a recruiter can be flattering, but it does no good when the opportunity presented bears little resemblance to what you desire.

Evaluate your resume to ensure clear objectives and eye-catching examples that support candidacy for the type of position you want. And if you haven’t visited your LinkedIn profile lately, be sure what’s there accurately reflects your current career aspirations.

4. YOU GET INTERVIEWS BUT NOT OFFERS

Perhaps the most frustrating of all situations is when employers do call you in but fail to offer a job. Though it can be difficult to decipher the reasons behind their decision, rethinking your interview preparation and presentation is necessary when rejection keeps happening.

Considerations include:

Are you dressing appropriately?
Have you done your homework on the company and the industry?
Are you smiling and using other positive body language? (Videotaping a mock interview with a friend can be revealing.)
Have you prepared a list of thoughtful questions?
Are you ready to answer standard questions, including ones about weaknesses?
Are your references enthusiastic about presenting you in the best possible light?

FastCompany.com | March 2, 2018 | BY BETH BRACCIO HERING—FLEXJOBS2 MINUTE READ

#Life : The 25 Biggest Regrets In Life. What Are Yours?…….The Big Question Is, are You Going to #Change Anything this Afternoon or Tomorrow in Light of this List? Or are You Going to Go Back to your Busy Life?

March 2, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

We are all busy. Life happens. There’s always something to distract us from getting around to certain things we know we should do.

Soccer practice. Work. Home renovations. Getting that next big promotion.

And with the explosion of always-on smartphones and tablets delivering a fire hose of urgent emails, not to mention Twitter and Facebook (FB), in recent years, things have only gotten busier.

In the backs of our minds, we know we’re neglecting some stuff we should do. But we never get around to it.

Then, something happens. A good friend or loved one – maybe close to us in age – drops dead unexpectedly. We begin to think about what our biggest regrets would be if we were suddenly sitting on our death bed.

Here is a list of the 25 biggest ones we’ll probably have.

The question is, are you going to change anything this afternoon or tomorrow in light of this list? Or are you going to go back to your busy life?

1. Working so much at the expense of family and friendships. How do you balance meeting that short-term deadline at work and sitting down for dinner with your family? It’s tough. There are always worries. “What will my boss and co-workers think? It’s not a big deal if I stay late this one time. I’ll make it up with the family this weekend.” But the “making up” never seems to happen. Days turn to months and then years and then decades.

2. Standing up to bullies in school and in life. Believe it or not, a lot of our biggest regrets in life have to do with things that happened to us in grade 4 or some other early age. We never seem to forget – or forgive ourselves – for not speaking up against the bullies. We were too scared. We wish we had been more confident. And by the way most of us have also met up with a bully in our work life. Maybe he was our boss. We remember that one time we wish we’d told him off – even if it cost us our job. We usually take some small solace in hearing that that bully later on made some unfortunate career stumble.

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3. Stayed in touch with some good friends from my childhood and youth. There’s usually one childhood or high school friend who we were best buddies with. Then, one of us moved away. We might have stayed in touch at first but then got busy. Sometimes, we thought to pick up the phone, but maybe we don’t have their number or email any more. We always wonder what it would be like to sit down with them again for a coffee.

4. Turned off my phone more/Left my phone at home. Many of us can’t get off our phone/email addiction. We sleep with it next to us. We carry it with us constantly. It’s right next to us in the shower, just in case we see a new email icon light up through the steamed up shower glass. We know constantly checking email and Twitter in the evenings and on weekends takes us away from quality time with family and friends. Yet, we don’t stop.

5. Breaking up with my true love/Getting dumped by them. Romance is a big area of regret for most of us. Maybe we dumped someone that we wish we hadn’t. Maybe they dumped us. Most play a never-ending game of “what might have been” for the rest of their lives. It is tough to simply be happy with the love that you’ve found and takes away from the special moments you have today, if you’re constantly thinking back to what you once had — which actually might not have been half as good as we think it was.

6. Worrying about what others thought about me so much. Most of us place way too much importance on what other people around us think about us. How will they judge us? In the moment, we think their opinions are crucial to our future success and happiness. On our death beds, none of that matters.

7. Not having enough confidence in myself. Related to the previous point, a big regret for most of us is questioning why we had such little confidence in ourselves. Why did we allow the concerns of others to weigh so heavy on us instead of trusting our own beliefs? Maybe we didn’t think we were worth having what we wanted. Maybe we just thought poorly of ourselves. Later on, we wish we could have been more self-confident.

8. Living the life that my parents wanted me to live instead of the one I wanted to. Related to that lack of confidence, a lot of us get sucked into living the life that we think a good son or daughter should live. Whether because we’re explicitly told or just because we unconsciously adopt it, we make key life choices – about where to go to school, what to study, and where to work — because we think it’s what will make our parents happy. Our happiness is derived through their happiness – or so we think. It’s only later – 1o or 20 years on – where we discover that friends around us are dying and we’re not really doing what we want to do. A panic can start to set in. Whose life am I living any way?

9. Applying for that “dream job” I always wanted. Maybe we didn’t apply for that job we always wanted to because of a child, or because our spouse didn’t want to move cities. It might not have been the perfect job for us, but we always regret not trying out for it. Do you think Katie Couric regrets giving the nightly news gig a shot? No way. Sometimes you swing and you miss, but you have no regrets later on.

If you have some regrets you’d like to share, please leave them below in the comments for all to read. I’ll call them all out.

10. Been happier more. Not taken life so seriously. Seems strange to say, but most of us don’t know how to have fun. We’re way too serious. We don’t find the humor in life. We don’t joke around. We don’t think we’re funny. So, we go through life very serious. We miss out on half (or maybe all) the fun in life that way. Do something a little silly today. Crack a joke with the bus driver – even if he ends up looking at you weird. Do a little dance. You’ll probably smile, on the inside if not the outside. Now keep doing that, day after day.

11. Gone on more trips with the family/friends. Most folks stay close to home. They don’t travel all that much. Yet, big trips with friends and family – to Disney World, to Paris, or even to the lake – are the stuff that memories are made of later in life. We’re all thrown in to some new unfamiliar situation together. We’ve got to figure it out as a group – and it’s fun, even when it rains. We really remember trips.

12. Letting my marriage break down. Back to romance now. More people will divorce than stay together. If you ask these folks, they’ll tell you that it was for the best. They couldn’t take it any more. And, of course, there are some marriages that shouldn’t go on and where divorce is the best for all parties involved. However, if you talk to many people privately, they’ll tell you they regret their marriage breaking up. It’s never just one thing that ends a marriage – even if that one thing is infidelity. There are usually lots of signs and problems leading up to that. The regrets most of us have is that we didn’t correct some or most of those “little things” along the way. We can’t control our spouse but we can control our actions and we know – deep down – we could have done more.

13. Taught my kids to do stuff more. Kids love their parents, but they love doing stuff with their parents even more. And it doesn’t have to be a vacation at the Four Seasons. It could be raking leaves, learning how to throw a football, or cleaning up a play room together. We learned all the little habits that we take for granted in our own behavior from mimicking our parents. If we’re not making the time to do stuff with our kids, we’re robbing them of the chance to mimic us.

14. Burying the hatchet with a family member or old friend. I know family members that haven’t talked to a brother or sister for 30 years. One’s in bad health and will probably die soon. But neither he nor the other brother will make an effort. They’ve both written each other off. And there’s blame on both sides – although I take one’s side more. But these were two guys that were inseparable as kids. They got washed in a bucket in their parents’ kitchen sink together. Now, neither one will make a move to improve things because they think they’ve tried and the other one is too stubborn. They think they’ve done all they can and washed their hands of the relationship. They’ll regret that when one of them is no longer around.

15. Trusting that voice in the back of my head more. Whether it’s as simple as taking a job we weren’t really thrilled about or as complex of being the victim of some crime, most of us have had the experience of a little voice in the back of our heads warning us that something was wrong here. A lot of times, we override that voice. We think that we know best. We do a matrix before taking that job and figure out a way to prove to ourselves that, analytically, this makes sense. Most of the time, we learn later that voice was dead right.

16. Not asking that girl/boy out. Nerves get the best of us – especially when we’re young. We can forgive ourselves that we didn’t screw up enough courage to ask that boy or girl out on a date or to the prom. But that doesn’t mean that we still won’t think about it decades later. Sometimes people regret seeing someone famous or well-known in real life and not going up to them and telling them how much they inspired them in our lives. It’s the same underlying fear. We always we could have just said what we really felt at that moment.

17. Getting involved with the wrong group of friends when I was younger. We do dumb stuff when we’re young. We’re impressionable. We make friends with the wrong crowd, except we don’t think there’s anything wrong with them. They’re our friends and maybe the only people we think that truly understand us. However, we can really get sidetracked by hooking up with this group. Sometimes it leads to drugs or serious crimes. We never start out thinking our choice of friends could lead us to such a difficult outcome.

18. Not getting that degree (high school or college). I’ve spoken with lots of folks who didn’t graduate with a high school or college degree. When I met them, they were already well-known at their job. And there are many examples I can think of where their jobs were very senior and they were very well-respected. However, if the education topic ever came up in private conversation, almost universally, you could tell they regretted not getting their degree. It made them insecure, almost like they worried they were going to be “found out.” Most of these folks will never go back to get it now. Whether they do or not, they’re great at what they do and don’t need to feel bad about not having that piece of paper.

19. Choosing the practical job over the one I really wanted. I was watching CNBC the other day and one finance guy was being asked for advice on what college kids should major in today. He said: “It sounds corny but they’ve got to do what they love.” He’s right. Of course, as a country, we need more engineers, scientists, and other “hard” science folks. But, at the end of the day, you’ve got to live your life, not the government’s. There are many who think they need to take a “consulting job” to build up their experience before settling in to a job they love. Although there are many roads that lead to Rome, you’re probably better off just starting immediately in the area that you love.

20. Spending more time with the kids. I had an old mentor who used to tell me, “when it comes to parenting, it’s not quality of time that’s important, it’s quantity of time.” When we get so busy at work, we comfort ourselves knowing that we’re going to stay late at the office again with the idea that we’ll make it up by taking our son to a ballgame on the weekend. As long as I spend some quality time with him, we think, it will all balance out. It probably won’t. There are lots of busy executives who take control of their schedules in order to either be at home for dinners more or be at those special school events with the kids. Kids do remember that.

21. Not taking care of my health when I had the chance. Everyone doesn’t think of their health – until there’s a problem. And at that point, we promise ourselves if we get better we’ll do a better job with our health. It shouldn’t take a major calamity to get us to prioritize our health and diet. Small habits every day make a big difference here over time.

22. Not having the courage to get up and talk at a funeral or important event. I remember at an old Dale Carnegie class I attended, they told us more people were afraid of public speaking than dying. They’d rather die than give a speech apparently. Yet, when you’re close to death, you’re probably going to wish you’d gotten over those fears on at least a few occasions, but especially at a loved one’s funeral or some important event like a wedding.

23. Not visiting a dying friend before he died. I had a buddy I went to high school with who died 3 years ago. He was in his late 30s with a great wife and 3 great boys. He had cancer for the last 3 years of his life. We’d talked off and on over that time. Two months before he died, he called me and asked if I could come by to visit. I was in the process of moving and too busy with my own family. I said I’d come soon. A month later, it was clear he had days to live. I rushed to the hospital and did get to visit at his bedside before he passed, but he was a different guy from the one I’d spoken to only a month earlier on the phone. He was just hanging on. We hadn’t been best friends and we hadn’t seen much of each other since high school, but I know I’ll always regret not going to visit him earlier when I’d had the chance. What I’d give to have one last regular chat with him.

24. Learning another language. A lot of us travel a lot. Fewer still have studied a second language. And this is a big regret down the road for many of us, even though it might seem like a small thing next to family, career, and romance. A lot of us wish we’d made the time to learn a new language to open up a whole new culture to us.

25. Being a better father or mother. There’s no bigger legacy than our children. Often, they turn out great. When our kids struggle though, there’s nothing bigger than makes us feel guilty. Yet, when they start showing signs of problems – with school, or friends, or otherwise — there’s often been many years that have passed in which we could have and probably should have been spending more time with them. No situation is ever lost though. There is always time to improve our relationships with our kids. But, it can’t wait another day, especially if it’s a relationship that’s been neglected for years.

We can all relate to most of these regrets. We can’t change the past, so this list isn’t meant for you to start a pity party.

The question is what are we going to do with the rest of our lives to ensure we don’t experience any of these regrets later on when we’re in the hospital preparing to say goodbye.

If you have some regrets you’d like to share, please leave them below in the comments for all to read. I’ll call them all out.

Forbes.com | October 12, 2012 | Eric Jackson , CONTRIBUTOR

Your #Career : #JobSearch – 4 Reasons Why your #JobOffer Disappeared into Thin Air…During all #Communications with the #Employer, it is Best to Remain Professional & Consistent.

March 1, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Scoring a job — only to hear that the offer is no longer on the table — can be pretty painful.

But while taking back a job offer might have legal ramifications for the employer, here are some reasons it could happen to you.

1. You didn’t tell the truth — and the employer called your bluff

Some job seekers actually do this.

Tony Lee, vice president of editorial at the Society for Human Resource Management, explained to the New York Post how dishonest candidates come across to employers:

“You may feel like you’re giving yourself an advantage by exaggerating things or outright lying, [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][but] that’s always going to come back to haunt you. It’s never a good idea [to lie] … Uncovering anything that makes you look dishonest [means] you’re finished.”
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2. You aren’t needed at the company anymore

Mimi Moore, a partner in the labor and employment group at Bryan Cave LLP, spoke with CIO.com about employers changing course after an offer is made:

“Typically, job offers get rescinded in situations where employers, for one reason or another, do not have the need for a job that they predicted they’d have when they first offered the job to a candidate. A typical situation is an employer interviewing on a college campus, extending offers to college grads. By the time the college grad is supposed to start working, whether that is over the summer or in the fall, the employer no longer needs them because of either a downturn in their business or in the general economy.”

3. You keep on pushing for more

This doesn’t look good. A blog post by professional staffing company Robert Half details errors that can compromise a job offer, with one of them being that “you don’t quit while you’re ahead:”

“If you’ve gone back and forth with the employer on compensation, perks and vacation time, and you end up with all of your requests met, don’t keep pushing for more just to see what else you might be able to squeeze out. Greediness is not a trait employers seek or admire in new hires. Candidates create problems for themselves when they overestimate the leverage they have or a busy hiring manager’s patience for playing games.”

4. You have a radical personality shift — in a bad way

FlexJobs Content Manager Jessica Howington writes on the sitethat one way to get a job offer takenoff the table is to “lose your professionalism:”

“During all communications with the employer, it is best to remain professional and consistent. If, however, you show the employer another personality once you get a job offer, you will quickly find yourself with the offer being retracted.”

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TheLadders.com | February 2, 2018 | By Jane Burnett Feb 2, 2018

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#Leadership : How To Avoid The 5 Most Common Misunderstandings At #Work …From Long Email Chains to Group Projects without Clear roles, here are the Most Common Ways #Communication at Work Goes Off the Rails, & How to Fix It.

March 1, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

If you’ve ever had to clear up a situation at work because you were misquoted or misinterpreted, you know how easy it is for actions and words to be misconstrued. Misunderstandings are rooted in communication, and we often wind up getting derailed because we were too busy to get clarification, says Janel Anderson, owner of the communication consulting firm Working Conversations and author of Head On: How to Approach Difficult Conversations Directly.

“We want others to agree with us, and in our current culture of too much to do and not enough time to do it,” she says. “We often jump to conclusions when, in fact, we haven’t asked enough questions and engaged them effectively to find out if they agree or not.”

Here are five of the most common situations that lead to misunderstandings, and how you can get everyone back on the same page.

1. WHEN DIVIDING RESPONSIBILITIES

When people work together on a team, everyone’s role needs to be clear. Any ambiguity can lead to misunderstandings. At the beginning of a project, put responsibilities and expectations in writing, and have regular check-ins to make sure everyone is clear about their part.

“It’s important for everyone to see their peers contributing, all working toward a goal, and ensuring that everyone’s roles are defined so that you can avoid confusion, or discontent because others aren’t doing their fair share,” says Brian Kelley, vice president of public relations and employee engagement at Sage Communications, a marketing and public relations firm. “What is that fair share? Make sure you define it at the outset so there are no questions.”

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2. WHEN COMMUNICATING COMPANY GOALS

Most leaders believe they communicate big-picture information, such as goals, strategies, issues, and projects. They may be communicating, but it’s often not with the entire team, says Heidi Pozzo, founder of Pozzo Consulting, a strategy consulting firm.

“There is typically a lot of discussion within the leadership team so it feels like everyone should understand,” she says. “The challenge is the group that needs to hear about it may have only heard from leaders once or twice.”

A leader needs to clearly define not only the starting point, but the pathway and critical touch points to the desired state, says Brad Deutser, CEO of the leadership consulting firm Deutser and author of Leading Clarity: A Breakthrough Strategy to Unleash People, Profit, and Performance. “Defining the pathway is fundamental to achieving the desired end state,” he says. “A purposeful leader works to carefully define the pathway, eliminating any potential diversions and ensuring clarity.”

3. WHEN COMMUNICATING VIA EMAIL

Email frequently leads to misunderstandings because it eliminates social cues, like tone of voice, eye contact, or facial expression that aid our comprehension of the message, says Anderson.

“When email misunderstandings occur, people feel threatened and get defensive,” she says. “To avoid this misunderstanding I suggest following the rule of three: If there have been three emails exchanged and you haven’t understood each other, pick up the phone and speak to them in person.”

4. WHEN DISCUSSING PROFESSIONAL GOALS

Disconnects can often happen during feedback or performance reviews, says Kelley. “It’s easy to relay information in a negative connotation when you are in effect asking for something completely different,” he says.

For example, if someone says, “I’ve worked too hard and too long for this pay,” they probably mean they feel undervalued or that their work/life balance is out of order.

“Instead of jumping to a conclusion, always assume the other party is coming from a position of positive intent,” says Kelley, adding that it’s important to take what you know about the employee and read between the lines. “Ensure you properly accept and respond to their message from this positive intent and coach them on how to better communicate their misunderstanding more effectively in the future.”

Be sure to get clear on employees’ long-term personal and professional goals, adds Ed McNamara, senior director of marketing and communications for SHI International, a software firm. “Some employees are very good at being proactive in asking for what they want; others might wait to be asked, but that doesn’t mean they want it any less,” he says.

5. WHEN YOU’RE HEARING THIRD-PERSON INFORMATION

The old saying is that too many cooks spoil the broth, and too many voices can spoil the message. “A lot of misunderstandings at work happen when information is relayed between people,” says Jessica Schaeffer, chief of staff and director of marketing and communications for the LaSalle Network, a staffing firm. “Someone says something, tells another person, and that person talks to you,” she says. “It could be business-related or company politics, but usually, it leads to a misunderstanding.”

It’s important to not jump to conclusions and get defensive, says Schaeffer. “Go back to the original person, and ask for clarification,” she says. “Eliminate the middleman and get the information firsthand. Sometimes the middleman misinterprets excitement as frustration or anger, or worse yet, doesn’t know the person well enough to pick up on important context or nonverbal cues, and relays the message incorrectly.”

WHY MISUNDERSTANDINGS ARE COMMON

The human brain is a sense-making machine and it wants to know why someone did or didn’t do something, says Anderson. “In the absence of information, we make up a motive, and we are usually wrong,” she says.

In all of these situations, the best way to mitigate is to stop and check in with yourself when you think someone has intentionally wronged you. “Ask yourself how much hard evidence you have to support your conclusion that the other person has acted maliciously,” says Anderson. “If you don’t have much—or any—evidence, get curious and ask the person some questions about why they did what they did. Assume positive intent until you have hard evidence to the contrary.”

FastCompany.com | March 1, 2018 | BY STEPHANIE VOZZA 4 MINUTE READ

#Leadership : Dan Pink Reveals The Perfect Time For #Meetings, #SalesPitches, & #CreativeTasks ….Your #Decision on When to Hold a #Meeting should be a #Strategic one, Not one Made Out of Convenience. Knowing When you’re at your Best for Specific Tasks Could Give you a Competitive Edge.

February 28, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

The famous TED speaker and New York Timesbestselling author Daniel H. Pink, along with his team of researchers, spent two years analyzing more than 700 studies in fields ranging from economics to psychology to unearth the hidden science of perfect timing. I recently sat down with Pink to talk about the results in his new book, When.

Specifically, we talked about Pink’s research and what it reveals about the timing of meetings, sales pitches, and creative tasks.

When to time meetings

Pink says the biggest mistake business professionals make when scheduling meetings is “lack of intentionality.” In other words, we set meetings when it’s convenient without considering whether the time of day unleashes the team’s best ideas. “When we schedule meetings, we only think about one criterion—availability,” says Pink. “Instead, we should be thinking about what kind of meeting it is: analytical, administrative, creative. We should be thinking about what type of people are there. Are they morning people or evening people?”

According to Pink, your decision on when to hold a meeting should be a strategic one, not a decision made out of convenience. In one extraordinary study, a group of business school professors studied whether a CEO’s mood during earnings calls impacted the stock price. They studied 26,000 earnings calls from more than 2,000 public companies over a period of six years. They found that the time of day influenced the emotional tone of the conversations, and by extension, perhaps even the company’s stock price.

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Calls held first thing in the morning—when moods are generally high—turned out to be reasonably upbeat and positive. The tone grew more negative as the day progressed, especially if the calls were held in the early afternoon when Pink says our moods tend to dip (before rebounding after five o’clock). “Afternoon calls were more negative, irritable, and combative than morning calls,” writes Pink.

The takeaway: When you can, schedule important calls and meetings earlier in the day.

When to time sales presentations

Pink’s research shows that when we approach a decision, we come to the table with a ‘default position.’ Asking your boss for a raise? Their default position might be to say “no.” Approaching a potential customer to make a sale? Their default position might be to say “no.” Once again, timing matters.

Pink says salespeople are more likely to overcome a prospect’s default position earlier in the day—when moods are elevated—or immediately after a short break. We all suffer from cognitive fatigue. The brain consumes a ton of energy and we get tired from all that thinking. We need short, frequent breaks to achieve peak performance.

The takeaway: Schedule a sales call in the morning or after your prospect comes back from a break.

When to time creative tasks

Dan Pink surprised me with the timing of this activity. I assumed that if our energy levels are highest in the morning, it would be the best time to do our most creative work. Not necessarily, says Pink. Think about the mood cycle once again, Pink reminded me. In general, our positive moods rise in the morning, dips in afternoon, and rises again in the evening beginning around 5 p.m. The second thing to keep in mind is “vigilance.” Vigilance refers to our cognitive ability to be hyper-focused and to keep distractions at bay. Vigilance spikes in the morning. The research shows that analytical decisions are best made in the morning hours precisely for this reason. One study found that students perform better on math tests in the morning. Math requires sharpness, vigilance and focus.

But all brainwork is not the same. ‘Aha moments’ or creative insights often occur later in the day after 5:00 p.m. or so. At the time, most of us have an elevated mood and less vigilance. According to Pink, “At those looser moments, a few distractions can help us spot connections we might have missed when our filters were tighter.”

Takeaway: Tackle analytical problems in the morning and save creative pursuits for later in the afternoon and early evening.

Our cognitive abilities fluctuate during the day—often extremely so. Sometimes we’re sharper, faster, or more creative. Knowing when you’re at your best for specific tasks could give you a competitive edge.

Carmine Gallo is a keynote speaker and author of The Storyteller’s Secret and Talk Like TED and his new book Five Stars: The Communication Secrets to Get From Good to Great.

Forbes.com | February 28, 2018 | Carmine Gallo , CONTRIBUTOR

Your #Career : How To Discreetly Look For A New Job While You’re At Work… You Can’t Always Do your #JobSearch After-Hours. Here’s How to Be Inconspicuous When you Have to Do It at Work.

February 28, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

If you clicked on this article, there’s a high probability that you’re considering finding a new job. Maybe you’re actively applying. Maybe you’re just “keeping an eye open” (or you know, just “sneaking a peek” at those LinkedIn job alerts). Regardless of where you stand, though, you know the one cardinal rule: Do not, on any account, job search at work.

Seems obvious, right? You’re being paid by your current employer, and so you should use your work hours to do your job. Even if you’re unhappy. You’re ethically and contractually obligated to do the work they’re paying you for . . . right?

Well, here’s the “unpopular opinion” part. Following that rule–the one that we all know by heart because it’s just so obvious–is actually impossible. We’re about to argue that you can’t not job search at work. And–dare we say this– that’s okay.

ON WHY MOST OF US DO IT

Simple facts first. You spend at least 40 hours a week at work, probably more. And you’re not alone. As a society, we’re at work longer than ever. And that’s problem No. 1.

It’s one of the biggest catch-22s of the working world. Everyone has standard work days (more or less), meaning your next potential employer does, too. They’re busy, they’re distracted, and they get to you, the applicant, when they get to you. They go through resumes when they get in on Mondays, respond to questions about timing between afternoon meetings, send requests for a link to your portfolio or references on a 2 p.m. whim. That means all those emails and calls hit you when you’re supposed to be focusing on something else, namely your current job. So you’re faced with a decision: Do you respond immediately to make sure you don’t miss the opportunity, or do you do the “right” thing and wait until after hours?

Back in 2011, a Monster survey found that one-quarter of people are spending over three hours per week searching for a job at work. Presumably that number’s only climbed higher over the last six years. Our access to smartphones means the risk of companies tracking what we do online is much lower. And that means that we’re even less concerned about getting caught.

Actually, a 2015 Pew Research Study found that 28% of U.S. job seekers (and a whopping 53% of 18- to 29-year-olds) use smartphones during their job search. The study also found that 43% of people ages 18-29 and 36% of people ages 30-49 now use social media to look for work as well. Given that checking texts or tweeting personal updates from the office is rampant these days, it’s easy to see why more and more of us are actively looking for jobs at the office.

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ON WHY IT CAN’T BE HELPED

But just for the sake of argument, let’s say you don’t. You define clear boundaries. You keep your worlds separate. You’re ethically sound with a glorious amount of willpower–the kind that helps you just say no to checking your personal email at work, even when you’re waiting to hear back about your dream job. Major props. But . . . what happens when you get home to an email asking you to interview next Tuesday at 11 a.m.?

In this scenario, all of us feel awkward. How do you ask for time off when you’re using it to potentially leave your company behind? For some of us, there are personal days that we can take, no questions asked—although I’ve yet to encounter that. For the rest of us, our companies just don’t really operate that way.

Most of us, when faced with this dilemma, do some variation of a theme: We lie. We tell our bosses that we have a doctor’s appointment, or we call out sick. And in each of these cases–personal day, sick day, vacation day–we’re using paid time off to talk to another company. We’re missing important work hours simply because that’s how job searches work. It’s a sticky situation, one that inevitably feels a bit like betrayal. But when was the last time someone offered you an after-hours interview? What choice do you have, really?

Let’s let go of illusions. Even beyond interviewing, we’ve all used work hours to search for a job. Some of us go full-on, scrolling through job boards when no one else is around, and some of us will try our best to just . . . not. But if a recruiter asks you to take a 15-minute pre-screen call without much notice? Chances are you step out into the hall.

Some might argue such moments don’t count as “job searching at work.” You’re entitled to breaks, and if you want to use one to talk to a recruiter, it’s your time, not your company’s. But even if you’re using personal days or lunch hours to work on job searching, every time you step away to focus on finding a new job, you’re taking your concentration off what you’re being paid to do. And every time you step back, you spend more time reconnecting to the tasks at hand.

Until the interviewing process changes (and it won’t), you will job search while at work. The system is stacked against you–from when hiring managers schedule meetings, to the extra hours you have to log to updating your portfolio and resume, thus resulting in creative burnout come Monday. Adding the burden of job searching to an already packed schedule means that you won’t be able to give 100% of yourself to your current work. It’s okay. Repeat this to yourself if it helps: I am in a transition period, and some things will slip through the cracks.

It doesn’t make you a bad person. It means that you’re prioritizing your own career and growth and putting yourself first. You’ll have to accept that you’re cheating a little. But it’s only temporary, right?

ON JOB SEARCHING AT WORK THE HARD WAY

You can’t avoid the overlap, but the trick is doing it in a way that will least offend anybody. Here are some rules you should follow. They’re a little less black and white.

Just Don’t:

Use your company email address, phone, or computer for job searching. Honestly, this is less out of respect for your company (although that too) than it is for preserving your position while you still need it. Because yes, in some cases, you can get fired for looking for another job.
Over-explain when you ask for time off for an interview. The more fake details about your illness you give, the more likely they’ll suspect you.
If you’re updating your LinkedIn, be careful about alerts. It’s pretty obvious that you’re job hunting if your coworkers or, worse, your boss, gets hit with a bunch of LinkedIn update emails when they walk into the office.
Share with your coworkers that you’re hunting. At least not yet. There may be a time and a place when you need to use a trusted coworker for a reference, but keep in mind, you’re then asking them to take time away from their work to go to bat for you. It’s a big ask, and one that you’ll need to plan carefully.
Slack off. Look, we know it’s tempting, and that some of it can’t be avoided. We also spent this whole article telling you to cut yourself a break. But (because always) you don’t need to scroll job boards during normal work hours. You really don’t. Save the cheating on work behavior for the times it really matters, like when you need to leave early for an interview. After all, you might need those references next time you find yourself hunting.

Fastcompany.com | February 28, 2018 | BY JESSICA BENNETT—CAREER CONTESSA 6 MINUTE READ

#Leadership : Do These Things To #ReduceTurnover Among Your #BestHires …It takes Work to #Retain #StarEmployees . Here are the Steps you Can take to Stop Losing them to “Better Offers.”

February 26, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

If there’s anyone more hopeful than a new employee showing up to her first day on the job, it’s the hiring manager who offered it to her.

Call us hopeless romantics, but we think there’s something really special about a candidate and a company coming to an agreement and choosing to embark on a relationship together–albeit a business one.

But what happens when the relationship goes south and the employee decides to move on? There may not be actual tears, but it can still feel like heartbreak to the recruiter, hiring manager, and leadership team that had high hopes for the future.

So, what can you do when you’re tired of losing employees to “better offers”? Here’s what five recruiting and hiring pros would do to reduce churn and improve employee engagement and retention:

1. BE HONEST ABOUT THE DOWNSIDES OF A POSITION

It makes sense to try to put your best foot forward in the first stages of the interview process. After all, that’s what job candidates are doing, too. But Chuck Solomon, cofounder and COO of LineHire, says that it’s in the best interest of long-term employee retention to be upfront about what a job is really like without candy coating the truth or trying to ignore potential challenges within a job.

“It may sound quaint, but I believe authenticity is key to reducing churn and increasing employee retention,” says Solomon. “Recruiters should be honest and accurate in describing both the pros and cons of the job–after all, once on board, the candidate is going to learn firsthand themselves. I’m not suggesting you should ‘air the company’s dirty laundry,’ but there are ways to tell a candidate that this is a challenging position. That way you’re only bringing in staff members that are up for the challenges.”

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2. CLOSE THE LOOP ON NEW HIRE DATA

Find the best person, hire them, and move on. Sound familiar? If that’s your approach to most of the positions you fill and you want to reduce churn, Mikaela Kiner, CEO and Founder of uniquelyHR, wants you to think about following up and tracking how your candidates work out in the role.

“Recruiters always believe we’ve found the absolute best candidate for the job, says Kiner. “After all, that’s why we hired them! But too often, we don’t know what happens once that person joins the company. Did that person become a superstar, did they plateau, or were they eventually let go for poor performance? If recruiters can work with HR and hiring managers to get data on the quality of the people they’ve hired, they can spot trends and then use that data to improve the screening and recruiting process.”

“For example, what skills and qualities are common to the most successful hires?” continues Kiner. “Failures are also a good source of learning, because if you make a note of red flags during interviews of people who don’t succeed, you can be on the lookout for similar candidate qualities in the future.”

3. LISTEN TO AND REWARD EMPLOYEES BEFORE THERE’S A PROBLEM

Brianna Rooney, founder of software engineer recruiting company Techees, works in a high turnover industry placing software engineers at tech-focused companies in the Bay Area. In her line of work, it’s common for people to leave every year, and if someone has been with their company for three years, it’s a downright miracle. Why? Because most companies say they don’t have time to deal with employee retention or simply don’t want to know the bad things about their company.

“I can’t tell you how many times a company will try to give a raise or actually listen to an employee when it’s way too late,” says Rooney. “Everyone wants to save money. It’s hard to keep giving raises. Yet, think about how hard it is to find good people. People you trust to work hard, honestly, and efficiently.”

“If you don’t have the budget for a salary increase, make sure they understand that,” Rooney continues. “Talk to employees, make them know how important they are. Don’t just wait for quarterly or yearly meetings. You need to care before you ‘have to,’ and it has to come naturally.”

4. RECRUIT QUALITIES THAT MAKE FOR GOOD OFFICE POLITICS

Are office politics always a bad thing? No, says CEO and The Compass Alliance author Tim Cole. They can be good or bad for an organization depending on how they are directed. But if you’re in a position where you need to reduce churn, your politics are likely unproductive. It’s critical that you start screening candidates for qualities that are conducive to healthy office politics.

“Bad office politics implies backstabbing and conspiring for personal gain,” says Cole. “An organization that tolerates that type of behavior faces the long-term effects that always follow, like low engagement, loss of productivity, and attrition.”

Cole adds: “Companies that recruit for collaboration skills and capacity for problem solving can often direct office politics in a more positive direction and use them to streamline workflow with behind-the-scenes discussions and gain consensus on critical job decisions away from the boardroom.”

5. RALLY YOUR TEAM AROUND A COMMON “WHY”

Low employee retention and low engagement go hand in hand, so if you’re struggling with a need to reduce churn, you are likely struggling with employee engagement, too. Zach Hendrix, cofounder of the lawn service app GreenPal, grew one business from 1 to 100 using a simple but profound engagement strategy: rally employees around the central “why” of their jobs and the business as a whole.

In his first business, much of Hendrix’s operating core was comprised of Guatemalan immigrants who would come to the United States for several consecutive lawn mowing seasons and save as much money as they could to improve the lives of their families back home by building homes, ranches, and setting up farms stocked with cattle.

To fuel his team through the tough times, including the economic recession of 2009, he rallied them around their “why.” At weekly meetings, they would give progress reports on how projects back home were coming along and display picture collages of homes, farms, and businesses in Guatemala in the office and shop.

There’s nothing more frustrating than waving farewell to an employee you had hoped would stick around long-term. And while there are many reasons you’ll need to say goodbye to employees over the years–relocations, promotions, and career changes among them–there’s a lot you can do to make sure that your company isn’t the reason employees leave. Consider how you can apply these tips to your recruiting and hiring process to reduce churn to help your candidates stick around.

FastCompany.com | February 26, 2018 | BY SARAH GREESONBACH—GLASSDOOR 5 MINUTE READ

Your #Career : How To Answer Questions About Your #CareerGoals …When You’re Unsure It’s Difficult to Answer, “Where Do you See Yourself in Five Years?” When you are Still Figuring Out What you Want, But you can Still Give a Good Answer without Sounding Lazy.

February 26, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

There are certain questions all job candidates should come to expect during the interview process. Some of them might be easy to address. Others may be tougher. But if there’s one question that tends to fall somewhere in the middle, it’s the ever-popular, “Where do you see yourself in five years?”

Remember, it’s okay to admit in an interview that you’re not 100% sure where you see yourself in five years, but make certain to emphasize where you see yourself today.

Of course, it’s a fairly simple question to answer if you actually know what you want career-wise. For example, if your goal is to be heading up a design team at that point or to be a high-level financial analyst for a major corporation, then you’re likely to breeze through that inquiry without a problem.

But what if you’re new to the workforce and therefore have no idea what you want to be doing half a decade from now? You can’t exactly respond to that question with an uninspired, “I don’t know,” because if you do, you’ll come across as unmotivated and unprepared–even if that is an honest answer. Here’s a better way to address that question without seeming flaky or aloof.

1. OFFER A RANGE OF POSSIBILITIES

It’s hard to know exactly what you’re looking for early on in your career, but one thing you can do is talk about a number of paths that interest you. For example, if you’re applying for a role as a marketing assistant, you might tell your interviewer that you can see yourself working toward senior copywriter status, or that you might come to enjoy project management. Both answers are valid given the job at hand, and this way, you’re not locking yourself into too specific an answer.

Remember, the danger of the “Where do you see yourself” question is that if the role at hand doesn’t really support your projected career path, you could end up lowering your chances of getting hired. Keeping your options open is a good way to make yourself a more desirable candidate, so in this regard, not having a specific plan might work to your advantage.

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2. ADMIT YOU’RE UNSURE OF A SINGLE DIRECTION, BUT SHARE SOME OPTIONS THAT EXCITE YOU

Not everyone is a planner, and some folks–especially those just starting out on their career–might prefer to gain some experience and see where it takes them. If you’re one of them, you can try explaining to your interviewer that you’d like to keep yourself open to various possibilities. Chances are, he or she will appreciate your honestly, especially if you’re fairly new to the workforce.

At the same time, be prepared to share some directions that excite you so that your interviewer gets a sense of what makes you tick. For example, if you’re looking to get hired as an office assistant at an IT company, you might admit that while you’re unsure of what you want, you’d be open to the idea of managing an office and becoming a database administrator.

3. FOCUS ON COMPANY CULTURE

Maybe you don’t know if you want to explore a career in accounting versus marketing versus HR. But one thing you can probably say with certainty is that you’re looking to grow at a company that values its employees and fosters a supportive environment. And so in the absence of a detailed, concrete career path, it pays to talk about the sort of environment you’re hoping to experience both now and in the future, as opposed to focusing on a particular career path you may or may not have settled on. This will help your interviewer determine whether you’re a good fit without having to make up stories.

Remember, it’s okay to admit in an interview that you’re not 100% sure where you see yourself in five years, but make certain to emphasize where you see yourself today. If you’re able to highlight your skills and bring the conversation back to the present, you’ll have a real chance to sell yourself and hopefully land the job of your (temporary) dreams.

FastCompany.com | February 26, 2018 | BY MAURIE BACKMAN—THE MOTLEY FOOL 3 MINUTE READ

Your #Career : #Networking – 9 Questions the Most Interesting People Ask to Cut through Small Talk…Early in my Career, One of my Biggest Fears Walking into a #NetworkingEvent to Schmooze or Meeting Someone for a #BusinessLunch was Boring the Other Person to Tears in Conversation.

February 25, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Showing curiosity in someone is the fastest way to establish a connection with them while conversing.
To skip past the small talk and have a meaningful interaction, asking pointed, unique questions.
“What excites you right now?” and “What’s the most important thing I should know about you?” are two examples.

I remember early in my career, one of my biggest fears walking into a networking event to schmooze or meeting someone for a business lunch was boring the other person to tears in conversation.

I didn’t want to be the windbag who dragged on forever, so I learned to be brief, to the point, and actually listen to the other person with all my being. I eventually avoided the mistake of talking about polarizing topics like politics or race, and learned to stay neutral, positive, and upbeat.

I began to tune in to my body language and voice tone to avoid sounding monotone, or looking like a bump on a log. I trained my brain to show emotions, laugh at people’s jokes, smile when they smile, and make light of awkward situations.

The biggest lesson I learned in conversations with others

But the biggest lesson for ensuring that I was being an interesting person who drew others in came down to asking the right questions. I found that this is what triggered authentic responses in the other person.

By showing curiosity about someone’s story, accomplishments, passions, or interests, the law of reciprocity usually kicked in, and I had my turn to shine. There was a bonus attached to this strategy: Persuasion increased, which helped me steer the conversation in the direction I wanted it to go.

But here’s the key: If you’re in a conversation at a work-related function or meeting someone to talk business for the first time, your best move is not to ask work- or business-related questions; it’s to discover common ties with that person that will steer the conversation back to the “work stuff,” but with a deeper connection.

In other words, get to know that person! To really exercise persuasiveness and make a quick connection that may have mutual benefits (and possibly make a new friend), I’ll leave you with these questions. Granted, some may not be your ideal, icebreaking conversational starters, so use your best judgment when and where to use them to deepen the conversation.

David Burkus, best-selling author of three books and an award-winning podcaster, has contributed the first four questions on this list from an interesting article he wrote for Harvard Business Review. The others come from my own personal favorites and what other entrepreneurs and great conversationalists recommend.

1. What excites you right now?

As Burkus explains it, this question can go in many directions (work life, personal life, etc.) with a wide range of possible answers that may overlap into your life or work, which will open up the conversation further. And asking it allows for the other person to share something that he or she is passionate about.

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2. What are you looking forward to?

Similar to the last one, but this is more forward-looking, which, says Burkus, allows for the other person “to choose from a bigger set of possible answers.”

3. What’s the best thing that’s happened to you this year?

Same technique as the previous two, but this one goes back in time for the other person to reflect on something pivotal that may have changed the course of his or her life. It also opens up a wealth of answers to choose from, which may overlap into some of your own areas of interest or expertise for further discussion.

4. What’s the most important thing I should know about you?

Because it can come across as a little direct, this is certainly not your first question, and it may not even be your third or fourth, but it “gives the broadest possible range from which they can choose,” says Burkus. Use it in context, listen for clues, and wait for the right timing.

5. What’s your story?

One of my personal favorites, this is open-ended enough to trigger an intriguing story—a journey to a foreign country, meeting a famous person, getting funded for the startup of your dreams, a special talent used for making the world a better place, etc. It’s a question that immediately draws in the other person and lets him or her speak from the heart.

6. What is one of your defining moments?

This is another great question that invites the speaker to share on a deeper level, which builds momentum and rapport quicker. Obviously, a few casual questions before it helps set the mood for hearing about a profound moment or transition in that person’s life.

7. Why did you choose your profession?

This assumes that, at some point, you dropped the mandatory “What do you do?” question. As a follow-up, it’s a question that will reveal multiple layers of someone’s journey. It speaks to people’s values, what motivates them, and whether their work is their calling. It may also trigger a different, more thought-provoking response: Some people aren’t happy in their jobs. By asking, you may be in the position to assist or mentor a person through a career or job transition.

8. What are you currently reading?

You may have the same authors and subjects in common, which will deepen your conversation. Also use this question to ask for book recommendations. You may find the conversation going down the path of exploring mutual book ideas to solve a workplace issue or implement a new business strategy.

9. How can I be most helpful to you right now?

To really add the most value to a conversation, once a level of comfort has been established, ask the other person how you can be most helpful to him or her, whether personally or professionally. You’ll be amazed how pleasantly surprised people get by that thoughtful gesture, and how responsive they are in their answer. Your genuine willingness, no strings attached, to make yourself useful to others leads to more interesting, engaging, and real conversations that may lead to future opportunities.

Remember, when you approach another person in conversation, the skill you want to use right off the bat is to immediately show sincere interest in that person. This will pave the way for a smooth conversation that can go places.

Whatever question you decide to use, the important thing is to always ask open-ended questions and to avoid work-related questions or business questions until much, much later in the conversation. You’ll be surprised by how seamless the transition is to discussing business, conducting a sales pitch, or exploring partnerships once both parties are into each other. Try it, and let me know what you think.

Businessinsider.com | February 24, 2018 | Marcel Schwantes, Inc.

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Your #Career : Here’s What the Perfect #Resume Looks Like…. We Combed through Some of our Best #ResumeAdvice & Compiled it into One Infographic to Give you an Easy-to-Follow Outline for a Resume that will Wow #Recruiters & Hopefully, Land you the #Job of your Dreams.

February 24, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Resumes are essential to the job search, but let’s be honest: creating one is not exactly anyone’s idea of a good time. With so many conflicting pieces of advice, you might feel like you don’t know where to start or what to do. But don’t worry — this time, we’ve done the heavy lifting.

We combed through some of our best resume advice and compiled it into one infographic to give you an easy-to-follow outline for a resume that will wow recruiters and hopefully, land you the job of your dreams.

Ready for a resume revamp? Read on below!

1. Design Matters: Don’t go overboard with intricately decorated templates. Look for sufficient white space, margins of at least .7 inches, and a font size no smaller than 11 pt.

2. Be Reachable: Make it easy for recruiters to reach out to you by providing your contact info near the header.

3. Show Off Your Skills: Don’t make recruiters hunt for the most critical information on your resume — include a table of your key soft and hard skill sets up top. Make sure your highlighted skills show why you’re a good fit for the job — all the better if these are keywords from the job description.

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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4. List Your Experience: This section should include each company you’ve worked for, your title, the dates you worked there, and several bullet points that describe your key accomplishments and responsibilities.

5. Quantify Your Experience: Whenever you can, use concrete data points — it helps provide recruiters with the scope and context of your work, and demonstrates how you contributed to the bottom line.

6. Include Other Positions: Don’t be afraid to include positions that aren’t directly related to the one you’re applying for, especially if you have limited work experience. You can still use it to demonstrate the skills and qualities you want highlighted.

7. Get the Grade: Many jobs require degrees or certifications, so make sure to list yours. GPA is optional, but may be worth including if you’ve graduated recently with high marks.

8. The Extra Stuff: Add some color to your resume with a short catch-all ‘Additional Experience’ section at the end. Include clubs/organizations, volunteer experience, awards you’ve won, and even interesting hobbies or activities.

9. Keep It Concise: Limit your resume to 1-2 pages at the most.

GlassDoor.com | January 15, 2018 | Posted by Emily Moore