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#YourCareer : How To Protect Yourself From The Fed’s Inflation-Fighting, Layoff-Inducing Policies. What You Need To Do Right Now. GReat REad!

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Many companies have announced layoffs, hiring freezes and rescinded job offers. Businesses allow for attrition without replacements. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell continuing to hike rates, until there is evidence that inflation is abating, means that you must carefully manage your career.

Higher interest rates are deliberately meant to cool the economy. It becomes more expensive for businesses to borrow money to build new projects, make acquisitions and hire personnel. The policy weakens growth, which could lead to a recession followed by layoffs.

The Fed Increased Interest Rates And Plans To Keep Hiking Until Inflation Is Under Control

The Fed followed through with its plans and hiked interest by 75 basis points (one basis point is equal to 0.01%) on Wednesday. Powell said he is committed to continually raising rates to ease the stubbornly record-high inflation.

Rates have been pushed to their highest level since the Great Recession at a range of 3.75% to 4%. In March 2020, interest rates were at around 0 to 0.25%. Powell said this wouldn’t be the end, and the Fed has no plans to pause hikes. The goal is to get inflation down to 2%, which will take a while.

The interest rate hike spooked investors. The S&P 500 finished down 2.5%. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.55%, while the Nasdaq composite slid 3.4%.

 

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Question: Want the ‘the best/current articles/blogs on the web’ on Job Search, Resume, Advancing/Changing your Career, or simply Managing People?

Answer: Simply go to our FSC Career Blog below & Type(#Jobsearch, #Resume, or #Networking) in Blog Search:  https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/

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

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 30 years in the delivery of corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 of our corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!  

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

Article continued …

What You Need To Do Right Now

Speak with your supervisorto ascertain the safety of your position. Directly ask if the company is planning for any near-term downsizing. If the conversation’s outcome leaves you with some trepidation, start searching for a new role to hedge your bets. Never quit without another job already securely lined up. The Fed’s program will cause job losses. You don’t want to be in between roles in a rapidly contracting job market.

If you want to keep your job, go to the office five days a week. There is a proximity bias that favors people who are around all the time. By showing your face, being productive and making yourself indispensable to your boss, you’ll have a better chance of being saved from layoffs. In comparison, remote workers fall off the radar of managers and high-level decision-makers. It’s easier to lay off a person you don’t see or interact with regularly, aside from being on a video call once in a while. Old-school middle managers still have an inherent bias of distrusting people working from home, believing they are putting in minimum effort.

Update your résumé and LinkedIn profile. Quickly find recruiters who specialize in your field. Ask colleagues and former co-workers in the same field who they had success with and could recommend their services. When meeting with a headhunter, be honest and share your background, experiences, education, talents and other skills that set you apart from others in your space. Let them know the companies you want to work for, an acceptable salary range and your work-style preference.

This is not a time to be demure. It will take some chutzpah, but reach out to old friends, college alums, neighbors, co-workers, former colleagues and managers, members of your church, temple and other organizations and the people you’ve become friends with online. Let them know that you are conducting a stealth job search. Ask if they have any leads on hidden jobs not posted online, or if they know someone who works at a company you’d love to join. When you get a chance to interview, ask tough questions to ensure you’re jumping from the pan into the fire.

The U.S. is no longer in the 2021 era of the stocks, crypto and everything-going-up bubble. Avoid taking too much risk with your investment portfolio. Pay off high-interest-rate credit cards and other debt to cut costs, as the interest rate will escalate. Curtail spending and put aside emergency funds.

Look into ways to diversify your income stream. This will include gig work, a side hustle or starting a small business. Consider going back to school or taking online courses to learn new skills to make yourself more marketable.

Most of all, practice self-care. Cultivate a positive mindset, exercise, eat healthily and spend quality time with friends and family.

 

Forbes.com | November 3, 2022 | Jack Kelly

#JobSearch : How To Avoid Making The Top 5 Virtual Interview Faux Pas. If you Make these Interview Missteps, you’re Undermining your Chances of Landing the Job.”

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Ask any job seeker the worst possible thing to happen during a virtual interview, and they’ll likely say having a spotty internet connection. However, ask potential employers the same question, and you’ll receive very different answers.

According to a recent survey of employers by TopResume, the world’s largest resume-writing service, job candidates’ are making huge mistakes when interviewing virtually. And because the study found that one-third (33%) of employers offer an exclusively virtual interview process, and only one in five (20%) participants stated that most of their company’s interviews take place in person, nailing your virtual interview is paramount.

“Although virtual interviews have become a ubiquitous part of the hiring process, even as more companies are requiring employees to return to the office, our data shows many job candidates have yet to master the art of the virtual interview — and it’s sabotaging their candidacy,” said Amanda Augustine, career expert for TopResume, and a certified professional career coach (CPCC) and a certified professional resume writer (CPRW).

Fortunately, unlike faulty Wi-Fi, these missteps are completely within a candidate’s control to mitigate.

 

Here’s how to avoid making the top five virtual interview deal-breakers:

1. Make eye contact and pay attention

The number one complaint among potential employers is when candidates avoid eye contact or stare into space. A lack of eye contact signals that you’re disinterested or distracted, so make a point to focus on your device’s camera. In addition, close out extra tabs, silence notifications, and remove anything from your view (including your phone) that could pull your attention away from your interviewer.

 

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Best Daily Choice: Follow the Best of FSC Career Articles/Blogs @

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Question: Want the ‘the best/current articles/blogs on the web’ on Job Search, Resume, Advancing/Changing your Career, or simply Managing People?

Answer: Simply go to our FSC Career Blog below & Type(#Jobsearch, #Resume, or #Networking) in Blog Search:  https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/

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

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 30 years in the delivery of corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 of our corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!  

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

 

Article continued …

2. Tidy up your space

And speaking of being distracted, make sure that everything behind you is a mess-free zone by opening up your video call app and ensuring everything within your screen is spic and span. Sitting in a messy room while conducting a virtual interview increases the chance that your interviewer will focus more on your piles of paper and dirty laundry than they will on you and what you have to say. Plus, it sends a message that you don’t care about how you present yourself or don’t value the potential employer enough to tidy up.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re participating in a phone screen, interviewing via video conference, or meeting in person,” said Augustine. “If you make these interview missteps, you’re undermining your chances of landing the job.”

 

3. Close out all inappropriate tabs and apps

No one—especially a potential employer—wants to see extracurricular activities and interests on your laptop. Leaving inappropriate tabs or apps open when screen-sharing is a huge no-no for virtual interviews, so close out all non-interview-related windows before starting.

4. Skip the “fun” backgrounds

You know that hilarious Zoom background you use while chatting with your buddies? Don’t dare use it while interviewing. Ditto, anything you think is clever or cute. Using an unprofessional background is high on the list of potential employer turnoffs, so be sure to use a neutral background or none at all.

5. Make your interview space a “no-interruptions” zone

If you’re interviewing from a shared environment (aka your living room), take the time to alert others that you’ll need a quiet space for the duration of the interview. And if required, get temporary help to watch young children and control pets. Being interrupted by your family members is a mistake easily avoided with proper planning.

Though these faux pas top the list of virtual interview don’ts, not surprisingly, there are other behaviors employers find highly offensive, regardless of the interview format. Potential employers frown on candidates lying, arriving late (without a valid excuse), badmouthing a current or former employer, appearing disinterested in the opportunity, and being unprepared.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re participating in a phone screen, interviewing via video conference, or meeting in person,” said Augustine. “If you make these interview missteps, you’re undermining your chances of landing the job.”

 

Forbes.com | November 3, 2022 | Amy Blaschka

#YourCareer : How To Move Forward When You’re Overwhelmed By Uncertainty. There is a Yiddish Proverb, “We plan. God laughs.” GREat Read!

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Unknowns are a fact of life. We can do our best to plan our upcoming days, weeks, and even months down to the 15-minute block to try to create structure and certainty in our work and in our lives, but in the end, it likely won’t matter—something invariably comes up that makes our plans irrelevant. There is a Yiddish Proverb, “We plan. God laughs.” The certainty that we had hoped to achieve, and the sense of security that comes with it, quickly dissolves.

If we put massive amounts of time, effort, and energy into trying to control our personal and professional lives, and the environment within which we operate, we’d be fighting a losing battle. We each need to find a way to live with some gray area, navigate ambiguity and uncertainty, and learn how to find opportunity within it.

Susannah Harmon Furr and Nathan Furr show us how to do this in their book, The Upside of Uncertainty: A Guide to Finding Possibility in the Unknown. In this column’s previous article, I shared the four stages that the husband-and-wife team layout for transforming the fear associated with uncertainty into excitement about yet-unrevealed possibilities.

Decoupling uncertainty from feelings of fear and anxiety

You don’t need to be a massive risk-taker to acclimate yourself to step into the unknown. A mindset of being willing to try new things and being willing to go into a project without knowing how it will end is extremely helpful. So, too, is taking smaller steps at first.

“You need to be able to reframe risk from something that is dangerous, bad, and needs to be avoided into a feeling of ‘wait for a second, what if there’s something here for me?’” says Susannah. If you go in scared, it’s going to color the entire experience—or keep you from giving it a real, honest shot in the first place.

“People should also take small steps toward trying things,” she continues. “If you put yourself on every frontier right away, there’s no way you’re going to be successful.” Just like you would ease into many other things in life, increasing your risk and uncertainty tolerance will go a long way toward taking bigger leaps in the future. Each small success in dealing with uncertainty can be built upon to develop this competency.

 

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Twitter: Follow us @ firstsunllc

Best Daily Choice: Follow the Best of FSC Career Articles/Blogs @

https://twitter.com/search?q=bestoffscblog&src=typeahead_click

Question: Want the ‘the best/current articles/blogs on the web’ on Job Search, Resume, Advancing/Changing your Career, or simply Managing People?

Answer: Simply go to our FSC Career Blog below & Type(#Jobsearch, #Resume, or #Networking) in Blog Search:  https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/

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

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, LLc (FSC) is celebrating over 30 years in the delivery of corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 of our corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, UK, & Mexico!  

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

Article continued …

 

Navigating the unknown

Uncertainty is inherently uncomfortable, but according to the Furrs, dealing with uncertainty is a muscle that we can build. It can be a new thing for many people to wrap their heads around, they say since something like “uncertainty competence” isn’t really in our lexicon. But, as Nathan points out, uncertainty is something that “philosophers and thinkers have been wrestling with forever.”

But talking about it as a skill to develop certainly is a new phenomenon. The pair recommend a number of tools on their website to help individuals acclimate themselves to uncertainty. They also point out that managers and leaders should look to utilize these types of tools when training their teams. A healthy appetite for uncertainty is important for growth, both for individuals and organizations.

Additionally, using your values to guide you—rather than basing success on goal-oriented markers—will keep you going forward. “Ask yourself what kind of leader you want to be, the legacy you want to leave,” said Nathan, as the long-term view can help you achieve the right perspective to get through the trial-and-error part of stepping into uncertainty for the first few times.

It can also be helpful to assign probabilities to the different outcomes of an unknown situation. “It’s not just either a horrible disaster or things are good,” Nathan says. “We’re often obsessing about the worst-case scenario. But if you assign probabilities to the possible outcomes, it’ll be pretty clear that the worst-case scenario is probably a very, very small probability.”

Behaving “as if”

Another way to get through the fog of uncertainty ahead of you is to act “as if” the desired outcome of the uncertainty has already happened or is assured to happen.

Sometimes you’ll hear this referred to as “fake it till you make it,” but that often refers to a surface-level, temporary act. Actual changes in mindset—and the ability to embrace uncertainty—can be behavior-driven when it’s on a lasting basis. If you act, for example, “as if” you’ll get that promotion, this change in behavior can be a reassuring reminder to yourself through the time leading up to that opportunity. You’ll feel like you’re capable of doing that position, and that you’re already filling those shoes.

“If you act ‘as if’ for longer, you start to believe it can really happen to you, that it’s inherently who you are,” explains Susannah. That confidence can go a long way toward settling the anxiety and fear that comes with uncertainty.

“Modeling this behavior is important for leaders, too,” adds Nathan. If a manager is unable to deal with uncertainty ahead, that lack of confidence will be contagious and the whole department is likely to suffer. On the other hand, acting with confidence and capability even in the face of the unknown will not only help you gain the trust and respect of those you lead—but it can help you believe in yourself more, as well.

What to do when you start feeling overwhelmed

Even with all of this preparation and mindset shifting, and even after a lot of practice, we’re still likely to feel overwhelmed when faced with uncertainty from time to time. It’s important to embrace our humanness, Susannah says—to accept that not only are we not going to know everything, but it’s still going to get the better of us from time to time.

Figuring out how to shine a realistic light on these setbacks as opposed to letting yourself feel burdened with failure is a big part of emotional hygiene, which the Furrs describe as “consistent and skillful care of our emotions.” They recommend allowing yourself to ride along with the natural cycle of ups and downs; to seek out comfort, connection, and community to sustain yourself; and to actively keep hope alive when things aren’t going well.

“Emotional hygiene is so powerful,” Susannah shared. Not dwelling on, or actively pushing against, negative beliefs that are holding us back will go far. Doing so will also make sure you have a healthy reserve of energy for the times when the overwhelm does still arrive. “Even when things are going right, they’re sometimes harder, or they take longer, or come with more setbacks or costs than anticipated.”

It’s important to remember that all of us have the capacity to deal with uncertainty, but we can all still feel overwhelmed on occaision. “Nobody has infinite capacity to deal with uncertainty,” Nathan offers.

“You’ll talk to some innovators that say, “I love uncertainty, I eat it for breakfast.” But what they’ve actually done, if you dig down, is created all these islands of certainty that they can visit to help them endure uncertainty when they need to do so. For some, it might be a habit, routine, or ritual. For others, it could be a community of like-minded people that will help in those times of anxiety.”

Whatever they look like for you, discovering those islands of certainty can help you get through difficult times when you’re navigating the unknown.

 

Forbes.com | November 2, 2022 | Rebecca Zucker

#BestofFSCBlog : Over 12K Reads! How To Find A Job Between Now And The Beginning Of 2023. Waiting for the First of the Year is a Very Bad Idea. A MUSt REad!

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If you start searching for a job now, you’ll benefit from the needs of companies to quickly hire before the holiday-season slowdown. If you miss this window of opportunity, position yourself to be ahead of the crowd for early next year.

It’s both an exciting and challenging time for job hunters. There are only two months left in 2022. Historically, once it gets close to Thanksgiving Day, the hiring process starts grinding to a halt. It’s one of the few times of the year when Americans collectively agree on something: they ease back on work and focus on family, friends and social activities. After being cooped up at home, people will be more eager than ever to take extended vacations and long weekends.

You want to be a contrarian. This entails some delayed gratification. Stay the course while most other job seekers take a break during the holidays. With fewer people applying for jobs and interviewing, you’ll stand out.

The odds will turn out in your favor if you keep hustling. It’s a numbers game. If you continually submit résumés to target companies, get job leads from your network and contribute content on LinkedIn to get noticed, there is a higher probability of achieving interviews leading toward a job offer.

This may seem crass, but there will always be some bosses who desperately need to hire someone quickly. They’ll lower their requirements, increase compensation and acquiesce to your work style preference, including working from home as an enticement. By being persistent, you could end up in the right place at the right time, leading to a job offer you never thought was possible.

 

Like this Article?  Share It!    You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award-Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

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Twitter: Follow us @ firstsunllc

Best Daily Choice: Follow the Best of FSC Career Articles/Blogs @

https://twitter.com/search?q=bestoffscblog&src=typeahead_click

Question: Want the ‘the best/current articles/blogs on the web’ on Job Search, Resume, Advancing/Changing your Career, or simply Managing People?

Answer: Simply go to our FSC Career Blog below & Type(#Jobsearch, #Resume, or #Networking) in Blog Search:  https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/

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

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, LLc (FSC) is celebrating over 30 years in the delivery of corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 of our corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, UK, & Mexico!  

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

 

Article continued …

The Challenges You’ll Face

It becomes harder to secure a new job as vacation schedules and personal days are taken, making the hiring process clunky and inconsistent. The human resources person is away when you are available to interview. When the HR representative returns, the business people you need to meet with are not around. The in and out of workers involved with the hiring process creates a loss of momentum. Other end-of-year corporate priorities start taking precedence over the recruiting and onboarding process.

During the last few months of the year, businesses start focusing on closing their books. They conduct annual reviews, determine who will get a promotion or raise and those slated for layoffs, and commence working on the new budget and headcount allotments for 2023.

Many white-collar professionals receive a bonus and stock in addition to their base salary. During this belt-tightening time, corporate leadership is not inclined to buy out five-figure bonuses and stock options to induce job seekers to leave their current employer. Their rationalization is that it’s prudent to wait until candidates receive their bonuses and new salary numbers.

Once a job hunter knows their numbers, they’ll either immediately begin a job search, due to feeling disrespected over the lackluster total rewards package, or happily remain with their firm because their needs were met.

Sometimes companies have a use-it-or-lose-it budget. Management allocates a specified amount of funds toward hiring new personnel. If the supervisors don’t hire in 2022, the bosses will contend that the open jobs are not mission-critical and will withdraw the job listings. Savvy, experienced managers understand the game and will aggressively look to see if they can hire someone quickly. Otherwise, they’ll lose the budget for next year.

Focusing On Finding A Job In Early January

Despite the clunkiness of November, December and early January, it makes sense for you to keep interviewing. You need to be mentally prepared that most jobs will linger until mid-January 2023. What you hope for is that there will be at least a small number of job openings that managers want to hire eagerly.

Instead of sitting on the sidelines, take action. The holiday season is a great time to rekindle old relationships. Get in touch with former co-workers, college alumni, people in your community, folks you met online and others to build up your network. One of the best ways to find a job is not through responding to a job advertisement, but to have an insider at a company recommend you for the role.

Seek out recruiters who are active in your field. You want them to know all about you. Sell them on your talents, experience, work history, a record of accomplishments, emotional intelligence and communications skills. Since most headhunters work on contingency searches, they only get paid if they successfully place you. Therefore, the recruiter is highly incentivized to extol your virtues and aggressively pitch you to their clients.

Everyone has areas upon which they can improve upon. Find a mentor to help you devise a plan to accelerate your career. They could offer advice and guidance throughout your job search and career. Utilize the services of career coaches and résumé writers. You can find them on LinkedIn. These career experts provide interview tips, ensure that your résumé looks current and sharp, help with role-playing an interview scenario and offer constructive criticism and feedback.

Write out an elevator pitch. Similar to a catchy commercial on TV or radio, you want to be able to offer your value proposition in a tight, upbeat, excited 30-seconds-to-a-minute sales pitch. It’s also akin to when a politician gives their stump speech with the same talking points.

The goal is to clearly and concisely offer what roles you had at your current or prior firm, some of your great achievements and how your background, talents, education and skills perfectly match the job. Talk in an enthusiastic, but not too over-the-top manner.

Additionally, take a look online for frequently asked questions by interviewers. Then, practice answering the standard, “Why do you want this job? Why should I hire you instead of the other applicants? Can you please tell me about yourself? Where do you see yourself in five years?”

 

Forbes.com | November 1, 2022 | Jack Kelly

#JobSearch : Employers Want – And Will Pay For – Soft Skills. Are You Focusing On Them Enough? Got Kids? MUst REad!

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Gallup and Amazon Web Services recently completed a study that assessed workers’ job satisfaction based on their digital skills, including information technology, coding, data analytics, and search engine and social media marketing. The survey showed that workers with digital skills experienced higher job satisfaction, increased wages, and felt safer from layoffs or firings. The pay bump was particularly pronounced: those with advanced skills could expect about a 65 percent premium in compensation over those without digital skills.

The importance of having some technical skills in a world where technology advances at exponential rates means that much press is given to the importance of learning these skills. And indeed, it is important to have – at some level – a firm grounding in technical topics. But far less attention seems to be given to the other side of the skills coin: the soft skills.

This Forbes article points out that employers rank soft skills higher than technical skills when hiring new employees. Knowing how to code may be critical if you’re a software developer, but those skills won’t matter if you can’t do the soft things: work well on a team, lead a project, communicate clearly, and think critically. Soft skills are particularly important if you want to take on more responsibility – they are the grease that allows you to successfully move from an individual contributor role to a leadership one. Indeed, in an article talking about the importance of soft skills to career advancement, the author references this LinkedIn survey, noting,

“Technical capabilities can only take you so far in your career. To really soar, you need skills that are harder to measure but critical to success. In LinkedIn’s … report, 89 percent of recruiters say that when a hire doesn’t work out, it usually comes down to a lack of soft skills.”

Here at Harvard Business School, our faculty have produced thousands of pages of research on the importance of soft skills. And the portfolio of online certificate programs we offer reflects this sense that while accounting and finance skills are important to a modern business, they are nothing without the more human skills. Courses centered on leadership, power dynamics, management, and negotiations are examples of those that teach “pure” soft skills. But even those courses that are geared toward the more technical skills regularly touch on the soft ones as well.

 

Like this Article?  Share It!    You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award-Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-g-laughter-b46389198/

Twitter: Follow us @ firstsunllc

Best Daily Choice: Follow the Best of FSC Career Articles/Blogs @

https://twitter.com/search?q=bestoffscblog&src=typeahead_click

Question: Want the ‘the best/current articles/blogs on the web’ on Job Search, Resume, Advancing/Changing your Career, or simply Managing People?

Answer: Simply go to our FSC Career Blog below & Type(#Jobsearch, #Resume, or #Networking) in Blog Search:  https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/

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

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, LLc (FSC) is celebrating over 30 years in the delivery of corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 of our corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, UK, & Mexico!  

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

 

Article continued …

You can find plenty of free content online regarding soft skills development. But learning about leadership in any meaningful way through a Google search is much harder than learning how to code in Python. To be effective, online soft skills educational content needs to utilize features like self-assessment tools, complex interactive simulations, and real-world stories to ground learning. Producing such courses can be difficult and expensive.

Even then, many are skeptical that soft skills can be taught – either online or in person. Some evidence suggests that they can. But that prompts a question: even if they can be taught, do employers pay for soft skills as they might for easier-to-quantify technical skills? There’s surprisingly less data on this. But with my years of experience as a manager and leader, I would unequivocally say “yes.” And a recent study we did at HBS Online provides evidence that soft skills do indeed translate into better economic outcomes.

In a survey of 2,000 past HBS Online learners conducted by research firm City Square Associates, 42 percent experienced an increase in salary, with an average bump of $17,000 in additional annual income. Twenty percent saw a bonus increase that averaged $14,000. That means that over the roughly eight-year history of HBS Online, the population of those who have taken one of our programs have collectively realized about $700 million in economic value. Admittedly, not every one of the respondents took a soft skills focused course; but many did. Even if only 50% of that $700 million in value could be attributed to soft skills, the numbers are meaningful and a strong indication you shouldn’t ignore soft skills development at any career stage.

A final thought: I recently sat in on an in-person executive education case discussion comprised of senior leaders from a financial services firm. The case study they were addressing related to a dysfunctional leadership team at a fictional company. The professor closed the discussion by recounting something he learned as a doctoral student after reviewing nearly 1,000 pages of research focused on leadership. He said that when he finished his review, he noted that there were ultimately only two things that matter for those aspiring to become effective leaders: hold those who report to you accountable for meeting ambitious goals and do it while demonstrating that you care.

That’s a compelling argument for the importance of soft skills.

 

Forbes.com | October 28, 2022 | Patrick Mullane

#JobSearch : Former Co-Workers Could Be Sabotaging Your Interview. You can Get Sabotaged When Applying for a New Job. A MUst REad!

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You can get sabotaged when applying for a new job. There have been many instances when a job hunter with all the right skill sets and experiences was knocked out of contention due to disparaging comments made by former employees.

Recruiters refer to this as a “back-door” reference. On an unofficial basis, behind the scenes and without the candidate’s knowledge, former colleagues get wind that a person is interviewing and go out of their way to deliver unflattering opinions about the person to people at the new company.

 

Like this Article?  Share It!    You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award-Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

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Twitter: Follow us @ firstsunllc

Best Daily Choice: Follow the Best of FSC Career Articles/Blogs @

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

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, LLc (FSC) is celebrating over 30 years in the delivery of corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 of our corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, UK, & Mexico!  

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

Article continued …

Now, human resources, the hiring manager or other executives at the company are placed in an awkward position. They’ve received an unsolicited negative reference citing issues of the person not being a team player; they botched a big deal; are difficult to work with or some other action that raises red flags.

Armed with this knowledge, they have a couple of choices. If the applicant has impeccable credentials and is a perfect fit for the role, the company may want to bring up the negative reviews during the interview process. It would make for an uncomfortable conversation and blindside the applicant. However, raising the topic would allow the interviewee to offer their side of the story.

Some managers may elect to halt the interviewing process, offering vague comments to the candidate that they are going in a different direction, placing the role on pause or have already isolated a person for the job. This action signals that the managers lack confidence in themselves.

They could continue the process, which for mid to senior-level white-collar professionals, may mean three to six-plus interviews with several people conducted over about three months. After the culmination of the process, they’d possess sufficient information to render an intelligent decision, including the damaging unsolicited performance review. On the condition of extending an offer, the firm could require the candidate to submit references from their last two or three employers. The responses may be in complete contradiction to the allegations levied against the person.

This happened more frequently pre-pandemic when interviewing was nearly 100% in person. You need to be prepared. As companies pivot toward hybridization and workers back in the office, the pattern will start again. Staff will deduce you’re there for an interview, sizing up your new wardrobe and haircut. You could be that person walking into the building and navigating the hallways into the meeting rooms when a former co-worker recognizes you.

Some People Just Can’t Let Go Of Past Grudges

An empathetic person would make a mental note to say something positive about the candidate to help their chances of getting hired. Managers and human resources place credence on internal referrals. They feel more comfortable hiring someone well-known and highly regarded by a currently valued worker.

Unfortunately, there will always be people who harbor past grudges and can’t let go of prior arguments and disagreements. Some may feel that the person got a promotion, but believe they richly deserved it. There may have been some long-standing rivalry or they just disliked the person.

Try To Work And Play Well With Others

You don’t always have to be a people-pleaser, but try to get along and make friends and allies instead of enemies. It’s essential to be honest and trustworthy and deliver on your promises. Be respectful to your boss, co-workers and staff. Burnish a reputation above reproach that will follow you to the next job. Remain humble in your victories, and don’t blame others when you fail to achieve your objectives. Avoid talking badly about co-workers behind their backs. Praise and applaud your colleagues when they do well. The advice is both helpful for excelling in your career and minimizing the number of haters who are wishing for your downfall.

The Broken Recommendation Process

Recommendations from former employers are mostly a farce. Nearly all businesses ask for one to three or more references when applying and interviewing for a new job. This is one of the many standard practices that don’t make sense, but continue to happen out of habit.

The reality is that the applicant will seek out only those professionals who will say positive, flattering and overly kind things about them. It’s an open secret that everyone helps each other out in this aspect of the job search. Few people would say anything negative when asked to submit a reference. If that happens, the candidate would cast it aside and choose another person to write a reference. The result is that the company receives questionable references that may not be wholly accurate and are tilted in favor of helping out a work friend. Nevertheless, employers pretend that the reference checks are legitimate, which checks off another box on the interviewing to-do list, and have some cover if the newly hired person turns out to be a dud.

 

Forbes.com | October 28, 2022

#YourCareer : 5 Recession Proof Jobs Revealed (And The List Might Surprise You). Great REad!

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American families are struggling with inflation. As three-quarters of middle-income Americans struggle to support their cost of living, 78% are worried about losing their jobs, while 25% say they’ve been laid off or know someone who has been. Crippling recession and job uncertainty have forced Americans to act, with 40% actively planning a career change, seeking more security and a higher salary.

“Today, the job market moves faster than a Tesla in a ludicrous mode, leaving many bystanders gasping for air,” according to Roman Peskin, co-founder and CEO of ELVTR, an online education platform.

The team at ELVTR surveyed 21,500 Americans looking to change or enhance their careers to discover the top five recession-proof professions, helping workers recession-proof their careers and add value to their job search.

Top 5 Recession-Proof Professions

Here are the top 5 professions that, according to ELVTR, are in high demand—each paying up to around $100,000 a year. This list might surprise you:

1. Product Management

In a world driven by technology, there’s no shortage of innovation or demand for talent in the IT sector, but companies aren’t just seeking technologists. They also require those with product management skills to ensure the success of their products. According to Glassdoor, there are 17,725 current openings in the product management field. IT product managers can expect a respectable salary and opportunities to progress. Offering a pathway into the lucrative tech industry that doesn’t require the ability to code. Average salary, Glassdoor: $96,496 per year

 

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

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, LLc (FSC) is celebrating over 30 years in the delivery of corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 of our corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, UK, & Mexico!  

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

Article continued …

2. DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) Management

According to LinkedIn, the number of ‘head of diversity’ professionals has more than doubled since 2015 with companies such as Electronic Arts, Deloitte and Amazon among those hiring. Shown to boost productivity, employee retention and morale, and with 75% of job seekers evaluating a company’s diversity when considering a job offer, investment in DEI management positions will only increase. By mastering skills such as communication, issue identification and conflict management, candidates can secure a career in this growing field. Besides offering a lucrative career choice, such roles are perfect for those hoping to leave a positive mark on our workplaces and society. Average salary, Glassdoor: $89,804 per year

3. Game Production

The gaming industry grew by 26% between 2019 and 2021 and will continue on this trajectory despite the recession, according to PwC, as consumers seek low-cost entertainment. With gaming a favorite hobby among young consumers, this ranks as the most desirable industry among job-seekers as new professionals seek a career doing what they love most. To beat the competition, candidates will need to master scarcely available skills. This is not just an opportunity for those with coding knowledge and experience. To meet demand, the industry will need to recruit a diverse range of skills—from UX/UI to sound engineering, programming to script writing. Average salary, Glassdoor: $87,024 per year

4. Creative Direction

With sector job prospects projected to grow 11% this decade, faster than the U.S. job market average, there is an evident need for art direction skills. A decline is unlikely despite the economic situation as people continue to seek entertainment during tough times and businesses increase their advertising efforts to maintain recognition and loyalty. Opposing the ‘starving artist’ stereotype, art direction roles enable creative types to showcase their creativity with the guarantee of reward. Average salary, Glassdoor: $72,694 per year

5. Data Analysis

With an ever-growing amount of data available to businesses, professionals with analysis skills to transform this into valuable insight are in high demand. According to LinkedIn, data science vacancies have been growing by 37% annually in the U.S. With roles spread across almost all industries, those competent in data analysis have the freedom to pick a role and sector that appeals to them such as banking, healthcare, retail or tech. Also requiring above-average computer literacy and mathematical skills, this is by no means an easy profession, but the rewards are equal to the requirements with even entry-level analysts commanding above-average salaries. Average salary, Glassdoor: $63,731 per year

A Final Word On The Future Of Work

After decades of wage stagnation, the workforce is finally seeking more, Peskin told me. He explained that close to a quarter of employees are considering their options and scrambling to expand their expertise, but so too are thousands of others. “‘Skills inflation’ hits, the supply of candidates increases, and the number of available roles plummets,” he said. “Ultimately, mastering mass market skills are unlikely to improve a job seeker’s prospects. Instead, employees should focus on acquiring skills that are less common among today’s workforce, yet no less valuable and desirable to employers.”

Most of the jobs from the list above didn’t exist 20 years ago, according to Peskin, yet today they enjoy a steady demand despite a slowdown in the economy. “According to our recent research, 40% of people with a college degree don’t believe their profession will be in demand ten years from now,” he concluded. “Lifetime learning is no longer a fancy concept but quite literally a survival mechanism. Learn new skills or get eaten. That’s the deal.”

 

Forbes.com | October 26, 2022 | Bryan Robinson, Ph.D.

#YourCareer : How To Deal With A Toxic Boss (And Maintain Your Sanity). Welcome your Thoughts/Suggestions?

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It’s no secret that managers can make or break your experience at work. A good boss can open doors for you and help you accelerate your career, while a toxic boss can make you dread getting out of bed every single morning.

If you find yourself currently experiencing the latter, here are some suggestions to help you deal with a toxic boss while still maintaining your sanity:

Evaluate their expectations

It can be hard to know what’s expected of you when you’re dealing with a toxic boss. But, there are two ways to combat this. The first recommendation is to ask for clarity. Set up a time to have a conversation with your boss. Check in on their top priorities. Ask about their biggest challenges and how you can alleviate them. You can even get clarity on their preferred communication style, particularly if you’re working remotely.

If having a conversation isn’t an option, or if you’ve already exhausted this option, try observing your boss instead. Pay attention to how they interact with others. Take note of the things you do that spark their interest. Observe when they’re the most stressed. Surveying your boss from this perspective can help you better understand how to interact with your manager based on their actions rather than their words.

If you’re already aware of your manager’s expectations, take inventory of how well you’re meeting them. If there are areas of improvement, be vigilant about those areas. However, if you are confidently killing it at work, it’s best to move on to the other suggestions.

 

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

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, LLc (FSC) is celebrating over 30 years in the delivery of corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 of our corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, UK, & Mexico!  

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

Article continued …

Filter the feedback

Once you’re certain you’re doing your job and meeting expectations, it’s safe to assume it’s not you; it’s them. If you have a condescending, overly critical, or insecure boss, recognize that they probably behave this way in other relationships too. Once you acknowledge this, you might even notice that they treat other colleagues the same way they treat you.

So, commit to not taking their behavior personally. Practice filtering their remarks, holding on to the feedback that will help you do your job better and discarding the digs and other comments that won’t add any value to your work or performance. Another thing you can do is to source your feedback elsewhere, which leads us to the next step.

Build your tribe

Because working with a toxic boss can be frustrating and mentally draining, it’s critical to build a tribe at work that can affirm and support your work and your day-to-day experiences. When creating your tribe, you want to find allies, mentors, and sponsors. Your allies might be your team members who work closely with you and your boss. Your mentor should be someone who can help you navigate your workplace woes with wisdom. Your sponsors are those who can speak of your work in rooms you haven’t been able to enter yet and who can vouch for your performance and track record.

While it might take time and intention to establish these relationships, they are worth it, especially the relationships you create with senior leaders and executives who can offer objective feedback, raise your visibility and create new opportunities for you at work.

Fortify your confidence

Having coached many top-performing high-achievers who’ve worked at toxic workplaces, I’ve seen first-hand how those experiences can chip away at one’s confidence. Without much care, it can cause you to second-guess your skills and question your capabilities. This is why it’s essential to protect your confidence so that you don’t wake up one day wondering why you no longer believe in yourself and the skills you’ve worked so hard to master.

One way to do that is to separate your identity from your career by creating a life you enjoy outside the office. Pick up a new hobby. Spend more time with your loved ones. Get in the habit of doing something fun or relaxing after work, even if it’s just once a week. While this might be tough to do when your career is negatively bleeding into your life, it’s essential if you want to maintain your peace of mind and self-worth.

Prepare your exit

While you might be able to survive dealing with a toxic boss, if you find that it’s holding you back from thriving in your career, then it might be time to map out your next career move. If you still enjoy your current company, then this might look like exploring internal opportunities that will allow you to work with a better manager. If you don’t see any value in staying where you are, this might be a chance to start fresh elsewhere.

Sure, it might be easier to stick with the devil you know than the devil you don’t know, as the saying goes. But, giving yourself a chance to find a better working environment can positively impact your career in the long run.

It’s certainly not easy dealing with a toxic boss. Without the right perspective and boundaries in place, it can take a toll on you. But taking the time to implement these steps, whether you choose to quit or not, can help you maintain your sanity and peace of mind even on tough days.

 

Forbes.com | October 25, 2022 | Adunola Adeshola

#HRTeams : After Decades Of The Antiquated Job Advertisement, It’s Time For An Overhaul. Thoughts/Suggestions?

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The job description, the first important step in the hiring process, is an antiquated document that needs to be updated. The massive amount of bullet points in the advertisement demand what you need to bring to the table. There is virtually nothing about the financial situation of the company, your future boss or information that a job hunter would like to know before investing their time and energy. It is one-sided

More Than Just Salary Transparency

Many states have seen an employee-empowering movement to require salary disclosures on job descriptions. This is a decisive move forward to alert job hunters as to whether or not they are wasting their time pursuing the opportunity.

Without knowing the salary, a person embarks upon an interview process that could last from one to six months for white-collar professionals. They would spend an inordinate amount of time preparing for the interviews, sneaking out of the office for meetings, conducting clandestine video calls at home on their remote days and all the while worried about getting out by someone and potentially getting in trouble with the boss or even fired for being disloyal.

The salary disclosure is just the tip of the iceberg. You also want to know about bonuses, stock options, medical benefits, and future raises. In sectors, such as Wall Street and tech, bonuses and stock options play a large part in total compensation. It’s only fair and reasonable for companies to clearly spell out all the financial pieces of the total compensation so that candidates can make an informed decision before getting involved with a lengthy hiring process.

What Annoys Applicants About Job Advertisements

Companies should consider hiring professional writers to help with crafting job descriptions. Most job ads you read are filled with corporate jargon specific to the company and acronyms you’ve never heard of before. There is a lack of creativity and humanity. Job descriptions are nearly uniformly cold and dull.

There are 10 to more than 20 bullet points of what is required from applicants. It’s not reasonable for anyone to have all the experiences demanded by the ad. This turns off and discourages job seekers from applying. Ironically, the voluminous requirements do not stop people who don’t have much, if any, of the skills. Those folks will shoot their shot, hoping for a miracle. The results are that potentially good candidates opt-out and human resources must filter through dozens of inappropriate applicants.

Companies love to offer the range of years required for the role. This metric seems outdated. Saying that the candidate needs to possess three to 10 years of experience doesn’t make sense. The gap is far too broad.

Calling for a certain number of years doing a job doesn’t provide the intended results. How often have you noticed someone in your office who has been doing the same job for 10-plus years and isn’t that great at it? They’re mediocre at best. The odds are that they’ve become stale in their position and haven’t learned new skills and technologies.

You’ve all seen young and brilliant people who have outstanding accomplishments under their belt. It’s self-defeating for a business to discriminate against someone because of their age. Instead of requiring a certain number of years, leadership should think outside the box and open up the rigid requirements to include brilliant, fast-track people who can do the job, even though they don’t have the requisite years of experience.

On the flip side, older workers are overlooked. When was the last time you looked at a job ad that stated that an applicant needs 30 years of experience? It rarely ever happens. Asking for three to 10 years of experience kicks out anyone in their late 30s and older. If a photo accompanies the online advertisement, the odds are high that it shows a multicultural group of fresh-faced Gen-Zs and younger Millennials. There may be one token gray-haired person in the picture to ward off claims of ageism.

 

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

Article continued …

What About The Manager?

Since the interviewers, human resources, internal corporate recruiters and hiring managers grill the applicant about their background and experiences, shouldn’t the company share information about its people? A glaring omission from the job advertisement is that there is no insight into the boss or executive management team, who will be your co-workers.

Who hasn’t read job descriptions, becoming enthralled with the position, only to feel later betrayed when they met with their prospective manager and co-workers? It feels like bait and switch when the ad sounds wonderful, but when you’re interviewed, you realize that the managers are rude, dismissive and abusive.

To level the playing field, the company should disclose any shortcomings of the people you will work with. Since this has never happened before, you may think this is a crazy idea. However, all that people want is to know the truth. Some people may elect to accept a job with a not-so-great boss because they love the company, its mission and feel that the specific role could be a career-accelerating move.

Tell Us About Working Conditions

As a traditional go-to question, the interviewer will ask, “Please tell me about yourself.” The same should hold for the business, its culture and its people. Job seekers want to know if the company has a toxic culture or advocates employee empowerment. Disclosures should be made if the business has been the subject of discriminatory complaints. You want to know if the bosses are micromanagers, implant spy software on your computers, verbally abuse people and allow managers to bully, harass and intimidate workers.

It would be helpful to know if they have plans to lay off people, rescind job offers or allow attrition without aggressively trying to replace the people who quit. Although the ad says the role is remote or hybrid, there should be a disclosure if management is considering changing the work style to going into the office five days a week.

An applicant bases their life and family’s lives on the work model offered by the company. If there was a shift from remote to the office, it would create turmoil for families, as it relates to child and eldercare. Their quality of life would substantially decline as a long commute would be required. They will miss out on all the school plays, ballet recitals and special events you can never get back.

Why Don’t We Know Anything About The Firm’s Financial Situation?

After accepting a job offer, the company usually requires an in-depth background check. They want to know nearly everything about you, ranging from college grades to late payments on credit cards. Wouldn’t it be fair for the job description to offer complete openness and cite the organization’s financial situation, as well as any potential problems on the horizon that could negatively impact the company?

Do the CEO and other C-suite executives hold other jobs, such as heading up another company, sitting on a number of board of director seats, investing in startups or running an entrepreneurial endeavor on the side?

What do you know about the CEO and the top executives? Have they run their prior companies into the ground, or were they highly successful? In full transparency, disclosing the compensation of the top executives would offer a glimpse into how fair the business runs. Earning larger multiples of money than the average worker signals that employees are not valued, as the upper echelon is lavishly paid.

Forbes.com | October 24, 2022 | Jack Kelly

 

#JobSearch : 5 Ways To Encourage Your Network To Follow-Through On Career Help. People are Willing to Help, but How? MUst REad!

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When networking, I am meeting people who are willing and able to help find clients for my current boss AND/ OR find a new job for me, but my new contacts are not sure how to help me. What would be my next question or response? – Jaime

 

Kudos to Jaime for cultivating a robust network with plugged-in connections who are able to help and supportive connections who are willing to help. If you’re new to networking or have let your contacts languish, willingness and ability to help are two key criteria to focus on in deciding which connections to cultivate. If you already have people who have offered to help or seem ready to help, but have not actually done anything, then you’ll need to prompt them – politely and gracefully, but also explicitly enough that there is motivation to act.

1 — Be specific about the help you need

If you tell someone you’re starting a job search, and they say, “Great. Let me know how I can help”, then the onus is on you to tell them what “help” looks like to you. People are busy, and they are not mind-readers. That connection might have only meant help getting your resume to HR at their company. On the flip side, they might only be willing to help with introductions outside their company. Or they might not be willing to make introductions at all, but are willing to share information. This could be looking up a name for you (e.g., who runs the procurement function for the western region of their employer) or describing the org chart in more detail (e.g., who reports to whom in procurement). People’s ideas of what is helpful can vary tremendously. Don’t make the other person guess what would be helpful to you – tell them outright.

2 — Make it as easy as possible for your connection to follow through

Once you sync up with the other person about what they should do as the next step, do any of the work that you can do so what they have to do is as minimal as possible. If they agree to hand over your resume, give them your resume in whatever format they need. If they will email it to their HR contact, they should write a short email explaining what they’re sending and why HR should be interested —write that email introduction for them. If your connection offers to introduce you to one of their connections, write that email or at least a few lines about yourself and why you would be to connect with. If your connection just offers to provide information, tell them the companies or people or whatever it is you are researching so they share information that is relevant. Don’t leave them with a generic “if you think of companies or people I should target…”

 

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

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, LLc (FSC) is celebrating over 30 years in the delivery of corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 of our corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, UK, & Mexico!  

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

 

Article continued …

3 — Set a deadline to create urgency

A deadline could be as simple as telling them you’ll circle back in a week or two to check in. Or, if you have asked for information related to an upcoming job interview, then tell them exactly when the interview is. If you have already asked for help without specifying a deadline, add one when you follow up. For example, your connection offers to introduce you to their procurement director so that the two of you can geek about all things supply chain and sourcing. Then, crickets are heard as no introduction is ever made. Check in with your connection with an offer to write the introduction (see point 2) and a deadline: Hi Jane, thanks again for offering to introduce me to Joe in Procurement. I have an interview next Friday to prep for, so this will really come in handy. Would it help if I wrote the email introduction for you, or should I just reach out to Joe directly and mention your name?

4 — Double-check that now is still a good time

One thing to add to that follow-up email above and to any follow-up you do with people who have previously offered to help is to ask them explicitly if their offer is still on the table. Even the friendliest connections sometimes renege on promises. That email follow-up to Jane should include (bolded so you don’t miss it): Hi Jane, thanks again for offering to introduce me to Joe in Procurement. Are you still able to make the introduction? I have an interview next Friday to prep for, so this will really come in handy. If you still can do this, would it help if I wrote the email introduction for you, or should I just reach out to Joe directly and mention your name?

5 – Allow your connection a graceful exit – and do the same

Double-checking your connection’s current availability is one way to give them a graceful exit, if they really don’t have the time or inclination to help. Sometimes people get too busy to help. Some people make promises because they don’t like to say No. Sometimes, they don’t think through what they really promised (in Jane’s case, maybe she doesn’t know Joe well enough to make an introduction or maybe she remembers that Joe isn’t very social). Or they made a promise that was bigger than they can deliver (Jane really doesn’t know Joe, and he might not take her e-introduction seriously). These offers to help were more like white lies, and the connection intends to drop the ball, hoping you’ll forget. You don’t want to force someone to follow through when they no longer can, but you also need to know where you stand so you can make other arrangements. Whenever you check in on help previously offered, include a way for them to decline – is now still a good time? Can you still connect us, look up that name or [whatever specific help you asked for]?

Always have multiple leads in your pipeline

The strongest network is built on genuine, long-term relationships, not an immediate give-or-take. So your first priority should be to preserve the relationship with your connection over getting whatever it is you need right now. That said, people like to be helpful (they would want that same courtesy returned to them!) so help them help you as much as they can. Just have additional ways to get that introduction, information or insight than one connection so you keep your job search, sale or whatever goal you have moving forward.

Forbes.com –  October 21, 2022 –  Caroline Ceniza-Levine