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#YourCareer : The Disappearing White-Collar Job. Peak of the Need for Knowledge Workers. Your Thoughts?

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For generations of Americans, a corporate job was a path to stable prosperity. No more. 

The jobs lost in a monthslong cascade of white-collar layoffs triggered by overhiring and rising interest rates might never return, corporate executives and economists say. Companies are rethinking the value of many white-collar roles, in what some experts anticipate will be a permanent shift in labor demand that will disrupt the work life of millions of Americans whose jobs will be lost, diminished or revamped partly through the use of artificial intelligence.

“We may be at the peak of the need for knowledge workers,” said Atif Rafiq, a former chief digital officer at McDonald’s and Volvo. “We just need fewer people to do the same thing.”

Long after robots began taking manufacturing jobs, artificial intelligence is now coming for the higher-ups—accountants, software programmers, human-resources specialists and lawyers—and converging with unyielding pressure on companies to operate more efficiently.

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees after the Facebook parent’s latest round of layoffs that many jobs aren’t coming back because new technologies will allow the company to operate more efficiently. International Business Machines CEO Arvind Krishna recently said the company could pause some hiring to see what kind of back-office work can be done with AI. Leaders in many industries say they expect the new technology will augment some existing roles, changing what people do on the job. AI could allow employees to better contribute to their companies by doing more meaningful work, said Mr. Rafiq, author of a new book on management.

For the year ended in March, the number of unemployed white-collar workers rose by roughly 150,000, according to an analysis from Employ America, a nonpartisan research group. That included workers in professional services, management, computer occupations, engineering, and scientists.

“I can’t think of any job where it’s like AI by itself,” said Rodney McMullen, chief executive of grocery chain Kroger, which has about 430,000 employees. “I can think of a lot of jobs that are being affected by AI.”

That underlying dynamic has been accelerated by the binge hiring of recent years. Company leaders say they have become saddled with bloated managerial layers that slow decision making. The retailer Gap said in April that its new round of corporate job cuts would trim what has become an inefficient corporate bureaucracy.

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Article continued …

Lyft’s new CEO, David Risher, told investors this month that the ride-sharing company had cut the number of management layers from eight to five. Lyft said in April it would eliminate roughly 1,000 white-collar jobs in its latest round of layoffs. The flattened corporate structure means that Lyft “can innovate faster,” Mr. Risher said.

Jobs go through boom-and-bust cycles. In previous downturns, executives pledged to make streamlining efforts stick, only to replenish or grow their corporate ranks when business conditions improved. Many executives say the forces now at play suggest this time is different.

During past periods when higher interest rates pitched the U.S. economy into recession, job losses were often led by industries most sensitive to rate changes, such as manufacturing and construction. “It seems like we’re not seeing that right now. It could be the structure of the economy has changed,” said Preston Mui, an economist at Employ America, who has been studying white-collar job losses.

“A real question is: The Fed raises rates and softens the economy, where is that going to show up?”he said. The evidence is pointing to white-collar jobs, he said.

After 14 months of interest-rate increases by the Federal Reserve, job openings dropped to their lowest level in nearly two years in March, the most recent month of Labor Department data. Layoffs in the information sector were up 88% in March from a year earlier and up 55% in finance and insurance, the data show. For manufacturing, they were up 25% over the same period.

Companies are for the moment focused on keeping blue-collar employees—restaurant servers, warehouse workers, drivers and the like—who remain in short supply, according to economists and human-resources specialists. For C-suite executives under pressure from investors, that exposes middle managers and other white-collar workers to layoffs.

Whole Foods and Walt Disney announced layoffs in recent weeks that largely hit corporate staff while sparing such customer-service jobs as grocery clerk and hourly theme-park attendant. Retail workers, including salespeople and cashiers, were among the most in-demand roles in the first quarter of the year, according to the jobs site LinkedIn, along with nurses and drivers.

“Companies realize they over-hired in the middle,” said Nick Bunker, an economist at jobs site Indeed. “They’re paring things back.”

The number of employees working and the number of hours they worked in white-collar sectors such as professional services and medical and veterinary roles contracted in late April compared with January, according to data from Homebase, which provides software services to small businesses for scheduling hourly workers.

Sudden fall

Colton Pace, chief executive of Ownwell, a property-tax analysis company based in Austin, Texas, said he was filling more open roles with temporary contractors to give the startup flexibility in an uncertain economy. He also sees technology soon doing more company tasks.

“I want to be a little more cautious in how we hire,” Mr. Pace said. “In addition to that, it makes more sense because we’re not sure. Some of these roles will be automated away.” 

A year ago, roughly 15% of the company was made up of contractors or seasonal workers. Those workers now make up a quarter of Ownwell’s roughly 85-person workforce. Mr. Pace said he could see AI and other tools eventually shouldering a greater share of the work in customer support, operations and sales.

There is no firm definition of white-collar employee in government data. The term broadly applies to people who work in offices and have higher education, such as a bachelor’s degree or some college. In recent decades, hiring in management and professional jobs rapidly outpaced other categories. The number of employees in management and professional occupations increased nearly 150% in the past 40 years, and nearly 36% since the end of the 2007-09 recession, according to Labor Department data. By comparison, service occupations such as barbers, child care workers and casino employees have risen 72% since 1983, the earliest available data, and 3.5% since June 2009.

Over the years, higher demand for skilled workers and higher pay for college-educated workers widened the economic gap with blue-collar workers. Yet following the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, wages rose fastest among low-earners, reducing the college wage premium and reversing about a quarter of the rise in wage inequality since 1980, according to a study by economists including David Autor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Payroll data from more than 300,000 small- and medium-size businesses showed that wages for new hires had generally declined in April from a year ago but fell most rapidly in white-collar professions, such as finance and insurance, according to Gusto, a payroll, benefits and human-resource management software maker. They rose most quickly in such services and blue-collar industries as tourism, construction and recreation, Gusto found.

Digital smarts

As companies look to cut costs, some employers have said middle managers will have to give up their teams and return to being just another worker. Others, including McDonald’s, have asked staffers to accept reduced compensation if they want to stay at the company.

Artificial intelligence also is expected to eliminate some positions entirely. Mr. Krishna, of IBM, has said in recent weeks that he could see 30% of IBM’s roughly 26,000 non-customer-facing roles being replaced by automation or AI over a five-year period.

An IBM spokesman said the company was still hiring for thousands of positions. “There is no blanket hiring ‘pause’ in place,” he said. “IBM is being deliberate and thoughtful in our hiring.”

The Labor Department projects that of the 20 occupations that will create the most jobs through 2031, about two-thirds will be blue-collar jobs that pay around $32,000 a year, including home-health and personal-care aides, restaurant cooks, fast-food workers, wait staff and freight movers.

The professions with the best prospects for growth that require a college degree include software developers, operations managers and registered nurses. Those jobs pay around $100,000 a year and are forecast to be better protected than other white-collar work from AI displacement.

Some employers are already figuring out exactly how many fewer white-collar workers they will need in the future. The business- and government-consulting firm Guidehouse in McLean, Va., which employs about 16,500 people, had expected to triple its head count in the coming years to reach its goal of roughly tripling its revenue to $10 billion, said CEO Scott McIntyre. Not anymore, he said.
 
Mr. McIntyre expects that with the help of AI and increased automation, Guidehouse may need to hire 40,000 people instead of 50,000 to reach its growth target. “The smarter you are with enabling technology and technology that creates productivity, the smarter you can be about hiring,” he said.

WSJ Authors:  Chip Cutter at chip.cutter@wsj.com and Harriet Torry at harriet.torry@wsj.com

WSJ.com | May 15, 2023

#JobInterview : Ask These Three Questions After Your Next Interview. MUst REad!

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A job interview is an exciting opportunity to exhibit your experience and skills in the hopes of securing your dream job. While it’s important to research the company while preparing for an interview, you also need to have some questions ready to ask the interviewer. Not only does this show your interest in the company and the position, it also gives you the chance to learn about the company culture and career growth opportunities. You’ll learn everything you need to know about the questions you should ask during an interview.

At the end of your job interview, you’ll be asked whether you have any questions; this is the perfect opportunity to find out more about the company and whether the role is a good fit for you. Here are three questions to ask after your next interview:

1. What do you enjoy most about working for this company?

Asking this question allows you to develop a rapport with the interviewer. Additionally, their personal perspective will give you more insight into the company culture.

2. What attributes and qualities make a successful employee in this organization?

You’ll give the impression that you’re determined to succeed and that you want to make sure you’re well suited to the company.

3. Is this a new position? If not, why did the previous employee leave?

This question seems a bit bold, but it’s a savvy question to ask. The interviewer can give you one of three answers, they were either promoted, fired, or left for personal reasons. If they left for personal reasons, that’s their way of saying they can’t give you that information which could be a red flag.

 

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We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

 

Article continued …

What Are Good Questions to Ask About Company Culture?

Everyone needs a job, but what you really need is the right job. By asking questions about the company during an interview, you gain a more balanced perspective about the organization you could potentially work for. Here are three questions to ask about a company:

1. Can you tell me more about the company culture?

Hiring managers want to hire employees who will fit into the company culture. By asking this question you demonstrate that you want to know so that you can decide whether it’s a culture you want to be a part of.

2. Can you give me an example of a project I’ll be working on?

Asking this question will give you insight into the type of work you’ll be doing on the job. You can then decide whether the project fits the job description advertised and if it’s a role you’ll be comfortable with.

3. What skills do you feel would improve the company’s performance?

This is a good question to ask to prepare you for a second interview if you’re really serious about getting the job. Once you have the answer to this question, you can take a class to gain or improve this skill if you already have it. If you do get a second interview, you can mention that you’re currently taking a course in the skill they need to improve their company.

What Questions Should You Avoid Asking In An Interview?

Although you should ask questions during an interview to gain insight into the job you’re applying for and the company you could potentially be working for, there are some questions you should avoid because they’re inappropriate and will give the wrong impression about you. Here are three questions you should not ask in an interview:

1. What does your company care the most about?

While there are a lot of questions you can ask about a company, this isn’t the strongest of them. Asking what a company does shows that you didn’t prepare for the interview which means you’re not serious about the job.

2. What benefits does the company offer?

An interview is all about making a good first impression. You’re there to let your employer know what you can do for them. While you do have the right to know what benefits you’ll have access to, your first interview isn’t the time to ask this question.

3. What is the exact salary for this role?

Most companies are not going to advertise a position without including salary information. In California and New York, this is beginning to change and they will list exact salary ranges. But in general, they don’t put the exact amount, they’ll put an estimate; for example, you’ll know they’re paying between $50k – $70k. Salary is typically negotiated during the second or third interview when the company has a better idea of how much they think you’re worth. Therefore, asking about salary at the first interview is a huge red flag because it gives the impression that your main concern is making money and not being an asset to the company.

When preparing your interview questions, remember to tailor them to the specific company and role you’ve applied for. And one last tip, after the interview, follow up with a thank-you note, reaffirming your interest for the position. A thank-you note is another strategy that will set you apart from the other applicants.

 

Forbes.com Author: Goldie Chan 

 

Forbes. com | May 15, 2023

 

#JobSearch : How To Answer ‘Why Should We Hire You?’ In A Job Interview. When answering this question, you can start by saying…. A MUst REad!

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You may not be aware of this, but hiring managers are generally not trained on how to interview candidates. It’s one of those quirks in the business world in which leadership believes managers can conduct in-depth interviews without any formal training by the company.

Since supervisors are not well-versed in interviewing, it’s natural that they often default to innocuous, standard, basic questions. This strategy works to the advantage of applicants, as they can brush up on the frequently asked interview questions. One of the most commonly asked questions by a hiring manager is, “Why should we hire you?”

This question is designed to determine if the candidate truly desires the specific role and wants to work at the company, or just wants any job they can get. Understandably, managers want to hire people who are highly excited and passionate about the opportunity and the chance to work at the company. For many, it’s hard to feign enthusiasm, as the interviewer will immediately pick up on the vibe and take a hard pass on their candidacy.

Preparing For The Question

To answer this question successfully, take the time to adequately prepare for the interview. Prepare and practice your elevator pitch, which keeps you on-point by having a brief, 30-second sales pitch about your background and how it’s relevant for the role. Focus on your strengths and how they can transfer to this new role. Put together a list of your achievements. Be ready to demonstrate how you will add value to the organization.

With a trusted family member, friend or mentor, role-play answering commonly asked interview questions, including “Why should we hire you?” Go over it aloud several times so you’ll be comfortable, confident, and in the flow when you’re interviewing.

Bosses want employees who are upbeat, motivated and passionate about their work. You’ll need to practice sounding excited, but ensure it comes across as genuine and natural.

 

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We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

 

Article continued …

Preparing For The Question

The question is one of the best to receive. The hiring manager gives you the leeway to deliver your elevator pitch on why you want the job and how your skills, background, talents, education and other attributes make you a perfect fit. To be prepared, before you attend the interview, make sure you have put in a lot of time to become an expert on the company, its culture and its mission statement. The knowledge will infuse you with confidence, which will come across well in the meeting.

When answering this question, you can start by saying, “Thank you for inviting me to interview for the (insert the title of the position) role. I’m excited to be considered for the opportunity. I’ve admired your organization for years and would love to work here.”

You need to follow up with specific reasons why you want to work at the organization. This will demonstrate that you’ve done your homework and possess much knowledge about the company, its management team, financial situation, products, services and rankings compared to other companies in the same space.

Provide details about why the job is important to you. Do this by making sure that your experiences match up with the job description. Provide color on your current responsibilities at your firm that will seamlessly transfer over. Share tasks, projects and big wins from your job and prior roles.

Since you are seeking a new opportunity, you will understandably need room to grow and develop. It’s okay to say, “My experiences, responsibilities, talents and prior background are tailor-made for the job. I am confident that I can hit the ground running, add value to the organization and help you with the workload. The position is a perfect fit. Additionally, according to the job advertisement, there are new things that I could be involved with, which will help me get to the next level. Unfortunately, they are downsizing at my firm, and there may not be a path forward.”

 

Forbes.com Author:  Jack Kelly – Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here.

 

Forbes.com | May 11, 2023

#JobSearch : How To Write A Resume Objective Statement That Will Land You That Interview. First Tip: Learn What it Is. Do you Know & What is It?

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Resume objective statements have never made the most sense to me. The objective of a resume is obvious—it’s to get a job. Trust me, I’m not writing one for fun. It’s not a Bluesky skeet or anything like that.

But in these tough economic times, it can never hurt to be too careful when it comes to expressing yourself well in job applications. Whether you’re a new grad looking to land that first gig out of college, a freelancer looking to upgrade to full-time, or someone looking for a new job after years at the same place, a tight resume can be the key to getting you through the door. And it starts with a resume objective statement.

Here are a few tips for writing a resume objective statement that will land you that coveted interview.

What Is a Resume Objective Statement?

My first tip for writing a banger resume objective statement is to learn what it is. Don’t skip this step! A resume objective statement is a brief statement at the beginning of a resume that summarizes the career goals and objectives of the job applicant. That’s it!

 

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What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened‘?

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 32 years in delivering corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!   Visit & contact us @ www.firstsun.com

We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

Article continued …

Be Specific

Your objective statement should be specific to the job you’re applying for. Make sure you read the description carefully and highlight the skills and experience you have that are relevant to the position. If you have a particular goal in mind, such as working in one specific industry or becoming a manager, you can include that in your objective statement. Just make sure it’s tailored to the job you’re applying for. For example, if you want to work in sales, don’t say that you want to become a vet (learn from my mistakes!).

Ideally, use exact words from the job description in your resume objective statement. This means—I’m so sorry to say—that you need to write a new one for every position you’re applying to. It does pain me to tell you this, but one day you’ll have a job with healthcare, and you’ll thank me. And it doesn’t have to be entirely new—slight tweaks go a long way.

Be Succinct

Your objective statement should be concise and to the point. Fewer words is always better, and this is true across all mediums—resume statements, break-up texts, etc. Aim for one or two sentences that summarize your skills and experience as they relate to the job.

The resume objective statement is located right below your contact information. It might not be the most important part of the resume—that really depends on what the employer is looking for, and whether or not they’re seeking someone with super specific experiences—but it is the first thing they read. Get to the point and leave them wanting more!

Highlight Your Value

Your objective statement should make clear what value you can bring to the employer. Think about what sets you apart from other candidates and what skills or experiences you have that would make you an asset to the company. If you don’t have any skills, acquire some! Or, expand your definition of a skill. In my opinion, in this day and age, any attitude other than nihilism counts as a skill (but don’t put that on your resume). In all seriousness, though, skills as broad as social media, effectively using ChatGPT, or public speaking can appear in a resume objective statement if it aligns with the job you’re applying for.

Be Unique

To whatever extent possible, I recommend trying to avoid cliches. You’re trying to get your resume to stand out from hundreds of others. Phrases like “seeking an exciting role” or “looking to develop my skills” or “hire me rent is so high” are overused and don’t add much value to your objective statement. Instead, focus on specific skills or experiences that would make you a good fit for the job. My advice? Throw in the word “myriad.” It fits into every sentence, and there are myriad benefits to showing off your vocabulary in this way.

Once you have that perfect resume objective statement, you’re well on the way to the next challenge: acing an interview. Good luck!

Forbes.com | May 5, 2023

#YourCareer : 7 Soft Skills You Should Master To Advance Your Career. Out of 7, How Many Do you Have? Great REad!

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While technology continues to revolutionize the workforce, business remains a human endeavor that relies on strong relationships to achieve success. This means that mastering soft skills is crucial for anyone who wants to excel in their career.

Soft skills are behavioral and interpersonal attributes, like being a collaborative member of a team. Dictionary.com defines soft skills as “personal attributes that allow individuals to communicate effectively and get along with others.” Since people are what make business happen, building and using soft skills is the key to achieving goals. They’re also essential for bolstering your personal brand and for getting noticed, acknowledged, and promoted.

 

Hard skills are technical skills that are learned through formal education and on-the-job experience. When it comes to looking for a job, hard skills such as data analysis or language proficiency are the minimum qualifications that get you considered. However, soft skills are often what will tip the scales in your favor over other equally technically qualified candidates.

Unfortunately, the term “soft skills” often makes them seem less important than the so-called hard skills (which is also a poor descriptor for the technical skills required to do a specific job). But soft skills are becoming even more critical as technology enters the workforce. You might be great at crunching numbers or coding like a pro, but if you can’t work well with others, you won’t get very far.

 

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What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened‘?

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 32 years in delivering corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!   Visit & contact us @ www.firstsun.com

We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

 

Article continued …

Soft Skills Are Hard Won

Developing your soft skills isn’t always easy. It takes deliberate effort and practice to master these essential work skills. But it’s worth the effort because they can’t be replicated by robots. While ChatGPT and AI bots can ace the bar exam and accurately complete most tax forms, they can’t offer something that humans can – our humanity, our ability to build relationships, think creatively, innovate, influence, and inspire.

As you progress in your career, soft skills become even more crucial. Mastering them early on can help you prepare for the transition from being an individual contributor to a management role, while expanding them can enhance your leadership abilities and inspire your team.

 

According to a Harvard Business Review article “Why Do So Many Managers Forget They’re Human Beings?” by global leadership expert Rasmus Hougaard, about 70% of leaders rate themselves as inspiring and motivating. However, employees perceive their leaders quite differently. McKinsey’s 2022 Great Attrition research found that uncaring and uninspiring leaders were one of the top three reasons why employees chose to quit their jobs, says Emily Field, co-author of The Power to the Middle: Why Managers Hold the Keys to the Future of Work.

Whether you’re just starting out or you’re already a boss, you need to have killer soft skills to get ahead. With hybrid and remote work becoming more common, there are some specific skills you must master.

 

The 7 Most Important Soft Skills

1) Self-Awareness: This is the most important soft skill because it’s foundational for many of the soft skills essential for career success. Knowing your values, purpose, strengths, challenges, and blind spots helps you interact with others more authentically.

2) Feedback: Both giving and receiving feedback are essential for keeping relationships on solid ground and for making meaningful performance improvements.

3) Emotional Intelligence: The ability to manage your emotions and the emotions of those around you is essential for nurturing relationships. EQ trumps IQ in the workplace.

4) Listening: Arguably the most challenging of all communication skills, listening is essential for understanding others and showing them that you value what they have to say. Listening in the virtual world, where visual cues can be hidden, takes even more effort and practice.

5) Inclusive Leadership: With less in-person connection, people are feeling untethered. Leaders must make their people feel included and a sense of belonging to the organization. This requires getting to know people on a deep, emotional level.

6) Coaching. Adopting a coaching mindset helps you engage with your employees and colleagues in productive and non-confrontational ways. Coaching is a high EQ way of enabling your people to be their best, without being directive, demanding or demeaning.

7) Virtual Presence. While mastering the technical aspects of Zoom is not a soft skill, showing up as confident and leading captivating hybrid meetings when you have fewer visual clues and are competing with a suboptimal meeting environment (such as a 13” computer screen) is a soft skill that is particularly relevant now. With loneliness increasing and connectedness waning, being adept and facilitating meetings from a people perspective pays dividends beyond the action items that are doled out.”

Soft Skills Are Social Skills

To give soft skills the import they deserve, let’s all agree to start calling them the more accurate and descriptive term: social skills. With strong social skills, you can thrive in any work environment, expand your personal brand and advance your career to new heights.

 

Forbes.com Author:   William Arruda is a keynote speaker, co-founder of CareerBlast.TV and co-creator of the Personal Brand Power Audit – a complimentary quiz that helps you measure the strength of personal brand.  Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

Forbes.com | May 2, 2023

#BestofFSCBlog : Over 12K Reads- A Crash Course In What To Do Before Going Into A Job Interview. Interview Coming Up? MUst REAd!

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The more you research, prepare and practice before the interview, the better your chances of succeeding. In fact, the greater your knowledge is of the job at hand, the industry and your prospective employer, the more relaxed and confident you will feel.

Self-confidence will serve you well when interviewing for a new job, as interviewers pick up on this. If you come across confident and adept, you will be viewed favorably.

You can empower yourself by thoroughly reviewing the job description, conducting due diligence on the company, researching the interviewers on LinkedIn, cleaning up your social media footprint, role-playing interview questions and preparing the questions you’ll ask beforehand.

Be Courteous About The Dates And Times Of The Interview

Be reasonable and understanding when scheduling interview times. Politely ask the interviewers what days and times work best for them. Avoid requesting an early Monday meeting or late on Friday, especially during the summer or on the eve of a holiday weekend. By doing this, the company will recognize that you are empathetic and polite. It will immediately make you look good in their eyes.

Closely Read The Job Description

One of the first things you must do is thoroughly read the job description. You want to lead by letting the interviewer know you’re well-informed about the company and the job advertisement requirements. It’s appreciated when you can clearly and concisely match your background with what’s required for the role.

The interviewer will ask, “What do you know about our company?” In preparation for the meeting, you must scour the company’s website and the internet to learn as much as possible about the firm, its management team, products and services and reputation. You should also have a basic knowledge of what is happening in the industry and any challenges the company might face.

Showing you did your due diligence signals to the interviewer that you are smart, capable and interested in the job opportunity.

 

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Article continued …

Find Who You Know At The Company

Tap into your network to find out if you have any connections at the organization. If so, reach out to them and politely grill them for all the insider information you can get, which will offer a competitive advantage. If you have a close relationship with a senior-level person at the company, ask them to put in a good word with human resources, the hiring manager or anyone involved in the interview process. The recommendation will go a long way and make you stand out, as this person has personally vouched for you.

Practice Outloud Your Elevator Pitch

Although you know what you do in your job and did in prior positions, it always sounds better in your head than when you say it out loud for the first time. To convey this seamlessly in an interview, outline an elevator pitch—a clear and concise 30-second to a one-minute advertisement about yourself. Keep practicing the pitch until you are on autopilot. Although you will have rehearsed it numerous times, avoid coming across robotically. The key is to let your genuine and authentic self shine through.

Role Play Answering Commonly Asked Interview Questions

There are several frequently asked interview questions, such as, “Tell me about yourself. Where do you see yourself in five years? What are your strengths and weaknesses? Why do you want to work for this company? Tell me about a time when you faced a challenge at work.” Research these types of questions and role-play answering them with a friend or colleague, who can offer honest and constructive feedback on your responses.

Conduct A LinkedIn Search Of Your Interviewers, As They Are Snooping On You Too

Interviewers and other people involved in the hiring process will peek at your LinkedIn profile and search your social media postings on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other sites. You want to make sure that there is nothing inflammatory that could cause a problem.

In the same right, you should conduct an online search of the interviewers to learn more about them. Seek out what interests and things you have in common. For instance, maybe you live in close proximity, attended the same college or are fans of the same sports teams. Small talk is an underappreciated skill. It’s a superpower. By having insights into the interviewers, you can break the ice by bringing up last night’s game or talking about your alma mater. You’ll create a quick bond, lending to a much more excellent collegial conversation.

Get The Inside Scoop From Your Recruiter

Ask your recruiter to share everything they know about the company, the people you’re meeting with, the corporate culture and any nuances you should know about. The headhunter will know about layoffs on the horizon, whether workers are happy or not and if there is a turnstile of employee turnover. If the search agent worked with the hiring manager in the past, ask what you need to know about the person, so you’ll have a vibe about the interviewer before you enter the room or video call.

What To Do Right Before The Interview

Don’t wait until the last minute for Zoom video interviews to check your internet connectivity, lighting, sound quality and background. Similarly, if you are going into an office, map out your commute days before the interview to gauge the timing and ensure you know where you are going. Arrive onsite early, have several copies of your résumé on hand and dress appropriately.

Before the interview commences, give yourself a pep talk. Use self-affirmations or mantras. Get your body moving to get your blood flowing and energy pumped up.

 

Forbes.com Author: Jack Kelly Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here.
Forbes.com | April 25, 2023

 

#JobSearch : How To Network On LinkedIn To Get A New Job. How has LinkedIn Helped you get a Job?

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To grow your career, you will need to forsake the stereotypical depiction of networking by going to a conference, wearing a name tag on your blazer, forcing a fake smile and shaking hands. As nearly everything is online these days, you can get noticed by recruiters, hiring managers and human resources on social media platforms, such as LinkedIn.

Before you embark upon a job search, start cultivating a network of like-minded people who can mutually benefit each other. It won’t work out well if you come across as asking for help without the professional relationship being reciprocal.

LinkedIn Photo And Profile

The first thing you need is a robust LinkedIn profile. Ensure you have a good headshot photo and a summary highlighting your skills, experience and past work achievements.

nclude your current position, title, past jobs, education, certifications and licenses. On your LinkedIn profile, allocate the most real estate to your current job and somewhat less space for prior roles. It’s okay to leave off short stints of three months or under. You can explain the employment gap in person when you interview. Be honest about your jobs and responsibilities; otherwise, it could backfire on you when called out in an interview.

 

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Article continued …

500 Connections Is The Goal

Make a goal of achieving 500 connections on the professional social media platform. Within the LinkedIn ecosystem, that number shows you are serious about your career and networking. If you only have a few connections, people on the platform won’t be interested in engaging with you, as you come across as disinterested in participating. You want to appear well-connected and on the fast track.

Target List Of People

Put together a list of the companies you’d love to work for. Then, search for their hiring managers, human resources, corporate internal talent acquisition professionals and decision makers on LinkedIn and send out invitations to connect. Once you have the person as a first-degree connection, you can personalize messages and InMails to hold private conversations with them. You can ask for an introduction to the professional handling the job you’re interested in and have applied to.

In addition to in-house recruiters, you can connect with headhunters who specialize in your space. A search professional will know the industry, the ranking of the companies, the hiring managers, interviewers and human resources. They’ll be able to get your résumé to the right person’s desk. Recruiters also offer exclusive entry into well-paying jobs in the hidden job market, as many corporate jobs are not posted online for confidentiality reasons.

Reconnect with former colleagues who are now at other firms. Ask your connections for referrals to job openings or introductions to hiring managers. This can help you stand out from other applicants and increase your chances of getting hired, as an employee referral goes a long way. Take someone out for coffee to brainstorm about your prospects.

How To Get Noticed On LinkedIn

A thoughtful way to garner attention is to “like” and participate in the discourse on LinkedIn by responding with well-thought-out comments to other people’s content. The authors of the posts will appreciate your support, and over time, online friendships form.

To establish your own social branding, create content by writing compelling articles on LinkedIn or coming up with interesting, short-form videos. At first, putting yourself out there can be uncomfortable, but you can start slowly. You don’t need to author lengthy articles or viral videos. It can just be informative content about fast-moving developments within your field of expertise. Then, tag some prominent people in your sector, so they can see your post and add their own two cents.

There are easy layups to communicating with people on LinkedIn, such as giving kudos to someone for getting a new job or promotion or celebrating a work anniversary. On the platform, you can join up to 100 groups that cater to your profession or industry. Just like you “like” and share articles on your main LinkedIn feed, you can do the same within the groups.

Posting sparingly on LinkedIn will not prove to be an effective strategy. You’ll need to contribute regularly to build up an audience to get noticed and increase the number of people who can help you grow your career.

 

Forbes.com | April 27, 2023 | Jack Kelly

#JobSearch : 4 Interview Mistakes That Can Cost You Thousands In Salary. How did You Ask for Salary Level? Got Interview? MUst REad!

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With many companies laying off workers in 2023, competition is increasing for high-paying roles. Put more money in your pocket by avoiding these common interview process mistakes I’ve seen as a former recruiter.

Leaving Your Salary Alignment Unconfirmed

In previous generations, it was considered rude or presumptive for candidates to ask about the salary alignment up front. I was personally told it made me seem like I cared more about the money than the job. Unless you have the free time to go on purely exploratory interviews, move forward with a formal job interview only if you are clear that what you are willing to accept is within the range the employer is willing to pay.

Eight states have established, and at least 15 states are exploring, salary range transparency laws. Though the salary range might be public on a job posting, I’ve often found them to be inaccurate as they are often copied from old job descriptions. Even if you do not live in one of these states, it is acceptable for you to ask the recruiter to confirm the salary range for the role during your first-round interview.

Websites like Salary.com, Glassdoor and PayScale are a good place to start, but they often show ranges that are unreasonably large — for example, $50,000 to $150,000 — which aren’t very helpful. Some sample questions you can use to confirm the salary range fits your expectations are:

  • I found this salary range for a similar role in my research. Is your company competitive with this range?
  • What quartile within the range are you targeting for this role?
  • What was the salary of the last person who was in this role?
  • My target salary is around this amount. Is this within the budget?

I’ve interviewed hundreds of candidates as a human resource professional. In those experiences, most people knew to ask what benefits were offered, but very few asked how much those benefits would cost them. I’ve encountered several cases of employees who were surprised at the amounts deducted on their paychecks because they didn’t know the details beforehand.

Before you accept any job offer, be sure to ask for the paycheck deductions for each of your health, dental, vision, life and disability insurances. Small differences can add up to big amounts if you don’t pay attention, but they also can yield big savings that can create more room for negotiation in the base salary. Do a thorough comparison between coverages to estimate what your potential exposure could be under new health plans. In particular, compare the:

  • Deductible
  • Co-Pays
  • Coinsurance
  • Out-Of-Pocket Maximum

For example, when I left one employer to join another, the new employer paid 100% of the employee’s health insurance. So even when they came back to me with a lower salary offer, I was willing to accept it because at around $100 per paycheck at my current employer, I was able to save $2,400 a year in my salary with the new benefits.

 

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Article continued …

Overlooking The 401(k) Details

The first three companies I worked for all had 401(k) plans with company matches, and the subsequent three companies I worked for did not have company matches. Like most people, I focused more on what they offered me in salary and in hindsight I wish I had stayed at the companies with 401(k) matching because that was free money I could have invested to retire earlier.

The details of 401(k) plans are often difficult to understand. So it’s important to work with your recruiter to learn how the money is matched and when those funds are considered yours. “Vesting” in a retirement plan means ownership of the money. Any dollars you contribute are 100% yours, however money matched by the company might not be yours immediately. For example, many companies have vesting schedules that allow you to own your matching funds after each year of service.

If a potential employer has a match in its 401(k) plan, consider that amount as part of your salary. If you are leaving a 401(k) match from your current employer, it’s a great negotiation point in asking the new one for more salary.

Ignoring Cold Calls From Recruiting Firms

If you are ever approached by a reputable recruiting agency on LinkedIn or via e-mail, it is always worth at least a conversation after you’ve confirmed the salary range. Third-party recruiters are hired by companies who have hard-to-fill roles and are tasked with finding highly vetted candidates. So, if they’ve reached out to you, there’s a good chance they already think you are a fit.

You can and should use the information you learn from agency recruiters to better inform your own salary negotiations within your current organization, as their data is from live searches now. I personally was able to jump from $53,000 to $90,000 with one job move thanks to an agency recruiter who reached out to me.

Do not, however, pay a recruiter to find a job for you. Reputable agency recruiters are only paid if you are a successful candidate, and they are paid by the employers, not the candidates. Agency recruiters make great partners as they are incentivized to be transparent about the salary and will prep you as much as possible to succeed in the interview.

Most people only start looking for a new job once they absolutely need it. Even if you are not actively looking and happy in your current role, building a relationship with a third-party recruiter within your industry can help you keep a pulse on key trends. It also can keep you top of mind for roles that might be a better fit in the future.

 

Forbes.com Author:  Bernadette Joy

 

Forbes.com | April 25, 2023

#JobSearch : What You Need To Know About Finding and Working With Recruiters. How has a Recruiter Helped You? Welcome your comments.

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Job hunters go through a cycle. Their initial instinct will be to go to LinkedIn and online job boards and submit their résumés to as many jobs as possible. The lack of responses will make them feel despondent. The job seeker asks their co-workers and friends if they have any leads on job opportunities. Once in a while, they do have a connection, but more often than not, the tip goes nowhere. Now is about the time when the job seeker will think about enlisting the help of a recruiter.

It could be daunting for those who have not utilized the services of a headhunter. They are unaware of how to find a recruiter and establish a relationship. You can’t just pick any recruiter. The key to finding a good one is to think of the search professional as a long-term relationship.

Most people get discouraged over using a headhunter, as the budding relationship quickly sours. This happens because the person doesn’t inquire if the recruiter specializes in their area of expertise and holds the right connections with human resources and managers at their target companies. Job seekers also need to be keenly aware of the differences in recruiters. Some executive recruiters solely focus on C-suite professionals, while other search professionals work on a contingency basis for middle to senior-level management roles and staffing, which includes part-time and contract assignments.

What To Know About Working With A Recruiter

Utilizing the services of a recruiter is similar to having an accountant, lawyer or stockbroker. They all offer specialized advice to help you reach your goals. A big difference is that you don’t pay the recruiter. The company compensates the headhunter when they make a successful placement, and the newly hired worker remains at the firm for a specified period.

They will inquire about your career goals, the type of role you are looking for, your desired compensation, your preferred work style, such as remote or hybrid models, and other factors you are considering in switching jobs.

The search executives offer exclusive entry into well-paying jobs in the hidden job market. Many corporate jobs are not posted online for a variety of reasons, including a manager is going to be let go and leadership doesn’t want this information leaking, or an internal employee thinks that they are up for a promotion, but the company is discreetly searching for someone from the outside.

Most of the top recruiters specialize in one or a few verticals. They do this to become experts in a particular space, such as technology, compliance, legal or accounting. By focusing only on a few sectors, the search agent cultivates fruitful relationships with human resources, management, internal corporate talent acquisition recruiters and hiring managers.

 

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We here at FSC want to thank each of our corporate partners for the opportunity to serve & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment!

Article continued …

How To Get A Recruiter

If there is a person in your company or someone you know who secured a great job, be bold and ask them what recruiter they utilized. Delicately and without blowing up your spot, ask around the office who they’d recommend if you were to engage in a stealth job search. Make sure that the people you ask have similar work backgrounds. If you work on Wall Street and ask a person for a recruiter referral, they may give you the name of the best headhunter for investment bankers, but you are an accountant.

If you’re a white-collar worker, go on LinkedIn and look for highly active recruiters in your space. Check out job boards to see if you notice recruiters posting job advertisements similar to those you covet. Reach out to them by sending a note that states that you are in the job market and share what type of role you are looking for. Then, take it to the next level by asking for an in-person or video meeting to get further acquainted.

The Recruiter’s Edge

These tight-knit relationships give you a competitive edge. Recruiters are a lot like talent agents. They’ll be able to get your résumé to the right person’s desk. The headhunter knows about the corporate culture and can coach you on what to be aware of during the interview process, since they know what works and what doesn’t.

They can get the ear of the people directly involved in the hiring process and flesh out what their candidate needs to say to get to the next round. The recruiter will offer color to the people you are meeting with, obtain critical feedback and constructive criticisms and gently pressure the hiring managers to choose their client.

A big key is that they’ll be your advocate when it comes time to negotiate a compensation package. For most people, salary negotiations are an uncomfortable, awkward experience. The negotiations are unfair, as you’ll be negotiating against your future boss. Since job applicants don’t want to make a wrong impression and want to appear as a team player, they may soften their approach and not ask for the money that they really want.

The recruiter will adeptly work on getting you the best package. It is essential to know that since recruiters are paid a commission based on the offered salary, it’s in the search professional’s interest to get the highest level of compensation.

Misconception About Recruiters

There is a dangerous misconception about headhunters that hurts candidates. People believe they will be paid less because a recruiter was used, costing the company a placement fee of around 25% of the first-year base annual salary. The reality is that companies bake in the costs and utilize the services of recruiters for the hard-to-find professionals that their internal recruiters could not source.

Search professionals may not have a suitable job for you. If your recruiter doesn’t have the right roles, it doesn’t mean they are not interested in helping you. The reality is that, at times, a search agent may be flush with relevant opportunities. Other times, they may not, due to market forces.

Recruiters are not the ones who make the hiring decision. Therefore, it’s not their fault if you are not selected. The hiring decision is made after numerous interviews with the hiring manager, peers, subordinates, HR and an array of tangential people involved with the process. After due deliberation, a person will be selected.

Forbes.com Author:  Jack Kelly – Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here.
Forbes.com |  April 24, 2024

 

#JobSearch : How To Stand Out As Companies Are Flooded With Résumés. A MUst REad!

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There is a Catch-22 in the job market. White-collar office workers have been laid off in disturbingly large numbers. Those who are still employed are concerned about their job security. In challenging times, people are understandably submitting dozens or more résumés each day. They feel it’s a numbers game, and the more they apply, the better their chances of securing an interview.

Highlighting the plight of job seekers, a Tiktoker (petersbrainfolds) recently took to the social media platform to voice his frustration over applying to 557 jobs since July 27, 2022. “I’m applying for jobs within and out of my field of expertise. I’m applying for big companies and small companies. I’ve even had a recruiter look at my résumé and rework it for me and tell me how to get around the system,” Peter said in the TikTok video. “I’d say more than three-fourths haven’t even responded.”

Moreover, the application process at a marquee brand, like Google, can be quite competitive. In fact, over 2 million people apply to work there every year. According to MentorCruise, getting hired at Google is 26 times more difficult than getting accepted into Harvard University.

The paradox is that the avalanche of résumés makes it nearly impossible for recruiters, human resources, internal corporate talent acquisition and hiring managers to go through them all adequately. This leads to candidate frustration, anger and calling out recruiters and companies as being callous and rude for ghosting job hunters.

What You Should Do

Terrence Seamon, a career coach and leadership development consultant, advises job seekers to use the “SMART” strategy—be strategic, memorable, active, relating, and tweak the résumé before you hit submit.

Instead of spraying and praying that your résumé gets noticed, Seamon suggests you take a “surgical strike” approach by targeting companies you would love to work with and focusing your energies on the specific roles you desire.

You want to be “memorable” by finding ways to stand out in a crowded market. Don’t worry about fancy fonts on the résumé. Instead, ensure that the document clearly aligns with the requisite requirements of the job description. In addition to a core résumé, tailor it for each submittal to match the specific job advertisement requirements.

Having a LinkedIn profile is only table stakes. Seamon advises that you must actively promote yourself on the social media platform to get noticed by recruiters, human resources and potential hiring managers. Check into your network to find out if anyone has a connection with your target companies who can offer a recommendation and help get you to the front of the line.

Most companies use applicant tracking systems, due to the large daily volume of résumés. Use relevant keywords applicable to the position and industry to improve your chances of gaining attention.

According to Indeed, job seekers should apply to 10 to 15 different jobs each week. Avoid applying to five or more jobs at the same company, as they’ll feel you’re just shot-gunning your résumé out of desperation and don’t really care about the company or any of the jobs you applied for.

 

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Article continued …

What Not To Do

On LinkedIn’s job board, you can see the number of people who applied for a position. When you see hundreds of responses, your initial response would likely be not to bother. However, since so many people are sending out résumés, especially with LinkedIn’s Easy Apply function, many respondents shoot their shots and do not possess the right skills and experience for the role.

A recent trend on TikTok is “rage applying.” Feeling overlooked, unappreciated, passed over for a promotion and unfairly compensated, people are hunkering down and applying to as many jobs as possible to get out of their current position. This plan won’t work out well. Acting out of haste will haunt you in the future. You may be inclined to accept the first offer received just to leave your employer. After a couple of months, you’ll regret the job switch, as you didn’t do enough homework on the job, management team and corporate culture.

Be Forewarned: There Are Lots Of Fake Jobs

In a survey conducted by Clarify Capital, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, around 25% of hiring managers self-reported that they’ve kept job listings open for more than four months. Moreover, they don’t intend to hire anyone in the near future.

The reasons for posting “ghost jobs” include building a pipeline of candidates for when the tide turns and recruiting gears up again, making it seem as if the company is doing well and expanding and humoring employees that help is on the horizon with new staff arriving to help with the workload.

As a recruiter, I’ve seen this trend play out over two decades. Human resources and hiring managers place phantom jobs, anticipating that things will improve and companies will eventually hire.

 

Forbes.com | April 10, 2023