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Why Young Professionals Don’t Negotiate Salary (and Why They Should). How about You?

January 11, 2020/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Salary negotiation is a pivotal step when you’re interviewing for a new job. It’s your chance to get paid what you’re worth (or get closer to that figure), and could establish your financial trajectory at your new company for years to come.

The more you negotiate, the better you’ll get, no matter where you start the process.

According to a 2018 survey from Robert Half, only 39 percent of people polled said they’d asked for more money upon receiving their latest job offer. In other words, more than half of all new hires accepted whatever they were offered, with no attempt at negotiation.

And that indicates that among millennials and young adults, negotiation is especially rare; in fact, only 37 percent of millennials have ever asked for a raise, according to Payscale.

So, why are so many young professionals reluctant to negotiate salary, and is that proactive move really that important in the first place?

Why young professionals are reluctant.

According to the Payscale study, there are many reasons why young people don’t negotiate salary or ask for raises, but two main reasons stand out: They feel uncomfortable in the negotiation process and don’t want to be viewed as pushy.

Discomfort is natural, especially if you’re nervous about the position, but it’s typically a byproduct of lack of exposure to an experience. If you’ve never negotiated your salary before, haven’t had education or practice on how to do it and haven’t witnessed anyone doing it, you’re bound to be uncomfortable trying it for the first time.

As for being pushy, most employers expect some degree of pushback or negotiation from new hires. And, sure, there are some ways to negotiate that can make you seem arrogant or demanding, but negotiation in and of itself is not the issue.

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Why salary negotiation is so important.

So why is salary negotiation so important in the first place?

No downsides. Unless you’re unreasonably aggressive, condescending, or unprofessional in your negotiation, there’s virtually no downside to negotiating your salary. All you’re doing is asking for more money, and your employer can accept or reject that request. If your request is accepted, you’ll instantly get more money for the duration of the job. If it’s rejected, you face no inherent penalty. In other words, there can only be positive or neutral results — nothing negative.
Compounding returns. Negotiating for a higher salary sets you on a more valuable trajectory and one that will reward you for many years to come. For example, data suggests that executives who negotiated their salary at their first job out of college stood to make at least $500,000 more over their careers, compared to those who did not. Imagine pushing for $60,000 a year instead of $50,000. Assuming proportionately similar raises in both scenarios, a person who negotiates for $60,000 would make $10,000 more each year for the remainder of his or her time with the company. That extra $10,000 would certainly be nice, but if you work at the same company for 30 years, that $10K could turn into $300,000.
Future salary effects. Your current salary could also play a role in how your future pay is calculated. If you change roles within a company, it may use your existing salary as a baseline for determining your new pay. If you start out higher, you’ll have room to ask for even more money, eventually. You may also feel confident asking for more money in a role at another company in the future.
Integrity, research, and power. Some employers may think more highly of you if you ask for more money. If you’re basing your request on objective data and research, you’re demonstrating your willingness to put in the time to conduct research properly. If you’re up-front about your expectations, you’re showing integrity. And the mere fact that you’re willing to ask for more money shows you’re confident in your abilities, which could reflect well on you.
Employer incentives. Remember, employers are incentivized to pay you as little as possible. They aren’t motivated to give you more money up-front, so they may expect you to ask for more money no matter what. For these reasons, employers typically offer you a salary slightly-to-moderately lower than the going rate. If you accept that figure blindly, without pushing for more, you’ll effectively be operating at a loss. Negotiation is a way to counteract this issue.

If you’re a young professional, it’s in your best interest to start negotiating for your initial salary, and if you’re looking for a raise, to do that as soon as possible. You can learn the fundamentals of negotiation by reading upon them, but if you want to feel more confident and get better results, role-play what you’ll say, in a real environment. You don’t have to start with job interviews; instead, start small, with negotiations at flea markets or in your everyday interactions.

The more you negotiate, the better you’ll get, no matter where you start the process.

Entrepreneur.com | April 22, 2019 | Anna Johansson

#BestofFSCBlog : How to Search for a Job. This Today’s Guide will Take you Through Every Step You Need . Best One Stop REad!

January 10, 2020/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

A Guide for Finding & Landing the Job of Your Dreams

Whether you’ve never searched for a job before — perhaps you’re a new college graduate — or it’s been so long since you’ve applied to a position that you don’t know where to begin, have no fear, dear job seeker. This guide will take you through every step you need to take to snag your dream job, from how to prepare to the best days to search. Read on for more.

How to Prepare

As they say, sometimes the most difficult thing to do is to simply start. When you’re looking for a new job, this statement is true: with thousands of job listings to consider, and what seems like a million items on your job-search to-do list, it can be tough to force yourself to sit down at your computer and get to work. But the good news is, with preparation, you can make your job search so much easier. How can you prepare? Here are a few simple steps.

Ramp up your resume: You’ll want to tweak your resume for each job you apply to, but it is still a good idea to make sure it’s up-to-date and in tip-top shape. Reconnect with yourreferences to make sure they’re still willing to vouch for you, and proofread for errors. Review your resume and ensure all dates, positions and descriptions are accurate.

Practice for an interview: While you can’t prepare for every single interview question you will be asked, you can still brush up on your interviewing skills by practicing your answers to the mostcommon questions asked by recruiters and managers alike. Knowing how you will respond in advance will keep you cool, calm and collected during any future interviews.

Network: Mark industry events on your calendar that you can attend, where you can meet recruiters or industry insiders who can give you the scoop on open positions. Alternatively,join a club or organization you’re passionate about. You never know who you could meet there — or the ways you could help your resume pop — by giving your time to a good cause.

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What Days You Should Search

You may think that any day is a good day to search for a job. And while that’s mostly true, data shows that there are better days to apply than others. In fact, Tuesday seems to be the best day of the week to send in your resume. (And the same research shows that you could find more success in your job search in the months of February, March, May and June.)

Another important element when it comes to the timing of your job search is to make sure it doesn’t consume all your time. (If it does, you’ll go crazy —trust us.) So stick to a 72-hour schedule, if possible: prepare on Monday, apply on Tuesday and follow-up on Wednesday.

What Sites You Should Use

Of course, we think Glassdoor is the best place to search for a new job. (The stats don’t lie: Glassdoor helps 67 million people per month in their job search.) But that doesn’t mean Glassdoor is the only site you can use in your job search.

If you’re looking for a flexible work schedule—or even the chance to work from the comfort of your couch five days a week—consider signing up on FlexJobs, a site that only posts job listings for positions that offer flexible or remote work options. (FYI: it’s a paid service.)

Another website you could use in your job search is LinkedIn. After all, it’s not just a place to post your resume; LinkedIn also posts job listings tailored to your field and interests. So, make sure your LinkedIn profile is up-to-date and robust, with projects, videos, or blogs.

Other sites that post job listings include: Indeed, Monster, CareerBuilder and US Jobs.

How You Can Use Apps in Your Job Search

Your phone could be your new best job-search friend: with apps, you can ramp-up your job search, get prepared for an interview, get reminders for follow-ups and so much more.

Did you know Glassdoor has an app? It does! And it’s a great one to use to find jobs. The app pairs millions of open job listings with important information like company reviews, salary estimates, interview questions and more to help prep you for the job hunt.

You’ve got dozens of jobs to apply to, and that’s a lot to organize. We’ll get to the nitty-gritty of organizing your job search soon, but in the meantime, download Workflow, an app that will help you organize your job content and create shortcuts that will save you major time.

Once you’ve scheduled an interview, it’s time to practice your interview skills. If you’re the kind of person who clams up, consider using Orai as a speaking coach. The app will “coach you to add fewer filler words, speak clearly, and at a good pace,” according to its website.

Lastly, don’t forget the value of social media apps in your job search. You should use social media to build a personal brand, which will make you more attractive to a hiring manager. (For example, you can post pictures or summaries of projects you’ve worked on, include a short bio about your skills, or share articles that show you know a lot about the industry.)

GlassDoor.com

How to Write a Thank-You Letter After an Interview.

January 9, 2020/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

A Guide to Writing a Memorable Thank-You Note

Sending a thank-you letter after an interview might seem old-fashioned, but it’s just as important to write one as ever. One survey from TopResume showed that 68 percent of hiring managers say that a candidate’s decision to include or not include a thank-you note after an interview affects their final hiring decision. But while sending a thank-you note has become expected, it’s not enough to simply send a note that says “Thanks for chatting with me” — you need to put some thought into it. In this guide, we’ll show you how to write a thank-you note that will impress interviewers and increase your odds of getting a job offer.

When to Write a Thank-You Letter

Writing a thank-you note to your interviewers shows that you are gracious, humble and thoughtful — all important qualities for potential new hires to possess. That’s why you should write a thank-you letter after every interview within 24 hours. You don’t want to risk having recruiters or hiring managers think that you’re cocky, ungrateful or absentminded.

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Who to Write a Thank-You Letter to

In general, it’s a good idea to share a thank-you note with everybody you interviewed with individually, from recruiter to hiring manager to potential colleague. If you don’t already have their contact info, request it from your main point of contact throughout the hiring process (likely the recruiter), explaining that you’d like to thank them for taking the time to speak with you. If you had a panel interview, you might want to save your time by sending one email to the main interviewer with everybody else CC’d.

If you spoke to many different people — say, you presented to a room of 10 or more — it’s probably not practical, or a good use of your time, to include each and every one of them. In this case, you can follow the same procedure you would in a panel interview: Send one note to the main interviewer with several of the key players CC’d.

Formatting Tips & Tricks

There are an infinite number of ways you can write a thank-you letter. And while there’s no one right way to do it, there are a few tips and tricks you can keep in mind while drafting your note.

Email vs. Handwritten

Handwritten letters have a certain charm, but in most cases, a thank-you email is the best choice. Why? For one, an emailed thank-you can arrive instantaneously, while a postmarked note can take days to arrive. For another, handwritten letters might feel like a bit much. So when in doubt, send an email. Exceptions could occur if a) you’re close enough that you can simply drop off a handwritten letter, b) you’re applying to a very traditional or old-school organization and c) if you have a prior relationship with an interviewer (say, if they were your former coworker at a previous job).

Length

Don’t feel pressured to send a five-paragraph essay — thank-yous should be short and sweet. Just as you don’t want to spend too much time writing one, your interviewers don’t want to spend too much time reading one. After all, they’ve got their own jobs to stay on top of. Make your thank-you letter long enough to cover everything you need to say, but short enough that it only ends up being a few sentences long.

Voice & Tone

When it comes to writing thank-you letters, professionalism is the name of the game. Avoid slang, typos, excessive exclamation points, emojis, etc. But you don’t need to sound so formal that you come off as stiff. Opt for clear, concise language, not the longest word you can find in the thesaurus.

Thank-You Letter Template

According to Glassdoor contributor Caroline Gray, every thank-you letter should express gratitude for your interviewer’s time, enthusiasm for the role and appreciation for learning more about the opportunity and company. The following template does all three — read on to see it in full and learn more about each component.

Dear [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][Interviewer’s Name],

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me [today/yesterday]. I loved getting to hear about [interesting thing you learned from this person], and was especially impressed by [quality or trait of the company or team that made you even more eager to work there]. Our conversation reinforced my excitement to join [company] and help you all [achievement you would support in this role]. I look forward to hopefully working together in the future.

Best,
[Your Name]

Intro: Avoid a generic term like “to whom it may concern,” or something overly formal like “To the attention of Mr. So-and-So.” Using “Dear” plus the person’s first name works just fine.
Thank Them: Show your interviewers that you’re considerate and appreciative by thanking them for taking the time to get to know you and educate you about the role.
Get Specific: Mention something in particular that you really enjoyed learning about in your conversation, such as the go-to-market plan for their newest product or their insider perspective on what kind of person thrives at their company.
Compliment Them: A little flattery never hurts, as long as it’s not excessive. Bring up one thing about the company or the team that you were really impressed by, such as the team’s infectiously positive attitude or the company’s dedication to community service.

Highlight Your Eagerness: Let your interviewer know that you’re excited about the opportunity, and also show how you would add value to the team.

Close the Letter: End with a farewell line — such as “best,” “cheers,” “sincerely” or another professional, yet approachable choice — and your full name.

Now, you’ve got everything you need to write an amazing thank-you letter — so get writing, and good luck!

[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

#BestofFSCBlog : #JobSearch : 45 Questions You Should Ask In Every Job Interview. Great Read !

January 8, 2020/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

It was the middle of July 2008, and I had just bought an expensive power suit for a job interview. After being laid off during the height of the recession and unemployed for about six weeks, I was feeling desperate and willing to spend money on anything that might put my career on track.

Surprisingly, the train was running on time that day, which gave me the opportunity to take my new jacket off, sit back, and prepare for this meeting one last time. At my stop, I realized I was so intently focused that I didn’t notice a robbery happening right under my nose. The jacket was gone.

With nothing but an inappropriate tank top on, I was mortified but decided to go for it anyway. I proceeded to meet all of the organization’s department heads, during which time my thoughts repeatedly returned to my improper attire. But believe it or not, I ended up getting the job.

Even though my story had a happy ending, there’s no doubt the pressures of the interview process had me unnerved. Anything can happen before or during an interview, which is why it’s crucial to walk in feeling prepared — even if your jacket has just been stolen.

Interviewers will be focused on finding out if you’re a right fit for the position, but it’s also important to decide if the company is a right fit for you. Have a list of questions ready to help you through your next interview:

Your role

Be careful not to ask questions already answered in the job description. It’s important go beyond those general duties to understand everything the job entails.

1. Can you offer specific details about the position’s day-to-day responsibilities?

2. What would my first week at work look like?

3. How does this position contribute to the organization’s success?

4. What do you hope I will accomplish in this position?

5. How does the company culture affect this role?

6. What job shadowing opportunities are available for an applicant before they accept an offer?

Proceed with caution: If rather than going into detail about the primary responsibilities listed in the job description, the employer rambles off many more duties — they may be asking you to take on more than you initially thought.

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Getting to know the interviewer

Most likely, the interviewer is the first contact you’ll have at this company — they could even be your future boss. Asking questions can help you understand their attitude, company values, and where the company’s future is heading.

7. What do you enjoy most about working here?

8. Why are you working in this industry?

9. Can you walk me through your typical work day?

10. What is your greatest accomplishment with the company?

11. What is your team’s greatest accomplishment?

12. What goals do you have for the company, yourself, and employees over the next five years?

13. What hobbies do you have outside of the office?

Proceed with caution: Be wary of leaders who have trouble opening up or don’t seem passionate about their company and team.

Management’s style

What type of management style do you need to reach the height of your potential? Now’s the best time to see if the company’s leaders align with your expectations.

14. How do leaders encourage employees to ask questions?

15. How do leaders set employees up for success?

16. How does employee feedback get incorporated into day-to-day operations?

17. How does management deliver negative feedback to employees?

Proceed with caution: Employers who can’t list how they encourage employees and set them up for success may not deliver the support you’re looking for in a company.

Company culture

From benefits and perks to the ways employees interact with each other, not meshing with a company’s culture can put a roadblock on your path to success.

18. What is your work culture like?

19. How would you describe the work environment here?

20. What benefits are focused on work-life balance?

21. What benefits and perks does the company offer?

22. What is the outline of your telecommuting policy?

23. How frequently do employees make themselves available outside of normal working hours?

Proceed with caution: Listen closely to how the interviewer describes the company’s benefits and environment to be sure it’s the right culture for your personality and working style.

Company reputation

After doing some research, you should already know a few things about the company’s reputation. Now it’s time to dig a little deeper to make sure this is a place where you’ll thrive.

24. What’s your mission statement?

25. How often is a new hire the result of a previous employee quitting?

26. Why do most employees leave the company?

27. How would employees describe the company and its leaders?

28. What are the company’s biggest problems? How are they overcoming them?

29. What do you want the company to be known for among employees — past, present, and future?

Proceed with caution: Quality leaders will be the first to admit that their company isn’t perfect. Interviewers who claim they would change nothing might be failing to grow and make positive changes.

Performance measurements

Knowing a company’s expectations and how they measure goals before accepting a job offer helps you decide if their style matches with what motivates you.

30. How are employees recognized for their hard work?

31. How involved are employees in the structuring of their own goals and tasks?

32. What are your views on goals, timelines, and measuring success?

33. How often are employees expected to provide status updates on a project?

34. How often do you evaluate employee performance?

Proceed with caution: Wanting constant updates and control over employee tasks are warning signs of a micromanager.

Future co-workers

The employees at this organization could be your next team. Make sure you’re positive this is a group you want to be a part of.

35. Can you tell me about the team I’ll be working with?

36. How competitive are your employees?

37. How do you develop teamwork skills among employees?

Proceed with caution: A competitive environment can be fun and motivating, but a lack of teamwork in the office could point to a cutthroat company.

Opportunities for growth

What is your ultimate career goal? Set yourself up for success by finding out how far this new position could take you on your career path.

38. What type of mentor system do you have in place?

39. What type of educational/training opportunities does the company offer?

40. What advancement opportunities are available?

41. How do leaders promote employee growth and success?

42. What does it take to be a top performer at this company?

Proceed with caution: If an interviewer is unable to share how you can advance within the company, chances are you might not be able to grow at the rate you want.

Moving forward

Don’t leave the interview with any questions unanswered — for you or the interviewer. This is your final opportunity to make sure you’re both on the same page before you walk out the door.

43. What’s the next step of this process, and when can I expect to hear from you?

44. Is there any other information I can provide you with?

45. Would you like to see more examples of my work?

Proceed with caution: Interviewers who don’t have a lot to offer on next steps may already have another candidate in mind or might not be in a big rush to hire. Remember to stay positive and continue to job search until you’re officially hired.

#BestofFSCBlog :Got Kids? Important Skills to Develop for Success in 2020 & Beyond. Must Read!

January 7, 2020/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

For workers across all sectors, the ground is shifting quickly. The way that people used to build lasting careers, often through becoming “deep domain experts,” is no longer enough to guarantee a future. New technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are supplanting many traditional roles and changing many others. As the McKinsey Global Institute puts it,

“All workers will need to adapt as machines take over routine and some physical tasks.”

This doesn’t have to be bad news. In fact, the changes underway can bring new, exciting opportunities for everyone who’s ready and willing to grow and develop new skills.

Through my work at Filtered, a company that takes a technological and human approach to recommending learning opportunities, I’ve come to see which skills are indispensable — and most likely to empower you to succeed in the decade ahead.

Understanding ‘power skills’

For years, workers have been hearing that data science and other related skills are in extremely high demand. (“You probably should have majored in computer science,” Quartz once said in a headline.)

That demand remains. Organizations need technological know-how to stay on top of new trends and to try to fend off against disruption. But these are no longer the skills companies need most.

The most important skills today are those that are usually called “soft” skills. Now, some call them “power” skills or “behavioral” skills.

These skills include collaboration, communication, creative thinking, work ethic, teamwork, networking, decision making, positivity, time management, motivation, versatility, problem-solving, critical thinking, and conflict resolution.

“Executives’ views regarding the priority of critical skills have taken a turn from digital and technical to behavioral,” IBM’s Institute for Business Value reported recently in a survey of thousands of executives. The top four skills that executives deem most critical for today’s workforce are: agility; time management; teamwork and effective communication.

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Why these needs will last

Change is happening at an unprecedented pace, as technological progress (including digital transformation) and global political unrest make for a highly unpredictable world. Smart businesses recognize that it’s very difficult to know how they’ll have to pivot in the future. Change really is the only constant.

At a time like this, what organizations need most are individuals and teams that can adapt and grow, helping the business to survive and even thrive. This is why developing a “growth mindset,” an ability to act mindfully, and a high level of resilience have become much more pragmatic and important than ever. All these power skills can, in fact, be learned and improved.

In-demand technical skills

Of course, traditional skills, sometimes called “core skills,” will also continue to give you a leg up over competitors as you work to build a career, so it’s important not to neglect them. The IBM survey found that the most critical are “analytics skills and business acumen,” followed by “technical core capabilities for STEM” and “basic computer and software/application skills.” That last category includes Excel, which I advise everyone to become proficient at.

Interestingly, foreign language proficiency is in IBM’s top 10 as well. Even with technologies like Google Translate helping people have conversations across different languages, the ability to effortlessly communicate with people around the world and understand nuances and turns of phrase can go a long way in helping build relationships — which remain the purview of humanity, not machines.

How to learn

The world is filled with learning resources, from articles to TED Talks, podcasts, infographics, well-chosen Twitter accounts and, of course, books. Fortunately, many companies are investing heavily in making resources available for their employees. Just as importantly, some businesses are carving out time in workers’ schedules to allow them to develop new skills.

Still, for workers this process can seem overwhelming. With a world of resources available, where do you begin?

Some top employers are taking new steps to help with this. Understanding the need to offer long-term career paths, they’re starting to focus their learning resources specifically on the kinds of skills they need. They’re aligning their self-directed learning cultures with changes underway inside the business. They’re saying to employees: here are the skills we expect we’ll continue to need in the years ahead. And here are some tools to help you learn them. It’s as though, rather than being dropped into a field of learning and told to walk in any direction, employees are given a digital map with GPS and multiple destinations available.

I recommend that workers actively take advantage of these opportunities. And when you interview with new companies, ask them about their skill needs and learning resources. The more you show an interest in developing the skills needed for the future, the more desirable a candidate you become — and any company will be lucky to have you.

Author: Marc Zao-Sanders is co-founder and CEO of Filtered, which helps individuals and companies learn to become more productive.

GlassDoor.com | January 6, 2020

5 Reasons Job Seekers Have More Power Than They Realize. A Must Read!

January 6, 2020/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

As a job seeker, it can sometimes feel like you’re at the mercy of a potential employer. But that simply isn’t true—especially in today’s job market, where unemployment sits at an all-time low, explains millennial career expert Jill Jacinto. “That puts power in jobseekers’ hands,” she says.

But a thriving job market isn’t the only thing that makes you—yes, you!—very powerful. Here, career experts explain why you’re in the driver’s seat when it comes to your dream job or career.

1. You are the interviewer, too.

When Jacinto speaks with clients looking for a new job, she reminds them they are interviewing the potential workplace just as much as that workplace is interviewing them. “The company—even if it has a coveted name—always wants to make the best hiring decisions,” she explains. Hiring managers are focused on retention. “It makes the hiring manager look bad if they hire someone only to have them leave,” Jacinto says. “So, they are going to do their best to sell you on this job, but it’s your job to ask the leading questions to ensure this is the best fit for you.”

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

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2. You have special skills.

When you have any special skills, you have more control over where you can work—and in your negotiations for a better salary and benefits package, says career coach Hallie Crawford. And the good news is everyone has special skills: They might be soft skills, leadership skills, advanced training or knowledge of software or machinery, or more. Whatever they are, “this highlights the importance of staying on top of trends and learning new industry processes,” Crawford explains.

3. You’re competing in a tight market.

Now more than ever, “employers are looking to retain and attract talent,” Jacinto says. Why? As unemployment rates drop—Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows the unemployment rate was just 3.6 percent in October—the labor pool and competition becomes tight. And that means that “companies are trying to stay competitive with their peers by offering alluring total reward incentives and investing more in their employees in order to win them over,” Jacinto explains.

4. You have a strong online presence.

In today’s tech-savvy world, anyone with a strong online presence—like a complete LinkedIn profile, online portfolio or website, drool-worthy Instagram grid, and everything in between—has an edge over the competition, and can attract a potential employer, says Crawford. “Since [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][hiring managers] are searching for candidates from a long list of possible hires, having a strong online presence makes … it more likely a hiring manager will contact you,” Crawford explains.

5. The workforce is changing.

According to Jacinto, “it’s no secret the future of work is heavily influencing the job market.” As new jobs and skills are created and honed each year, “employers need to meet that demand in order to stay relevant,” Jacinto explains. “Even if a potential employee can’t check off all the boxes for one of these emerging roles, employers need to rely on their talent pool because of the overall skills shortage. We will see a lot more on-the-job training as new roles are needed.”

GlassDoor.com | January 3, 2020 | Jillian Kramer

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Now Is The Best Time Of Year To Start Your Job Search. Are You Ready?

January 6, 2020/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

The beginning of January is the most opportune time of year to seek out a great new job. Whether you’re unhappy at work or just want to test the waters to ascertain if you can obtain a better, more well-paying job, this is the perfect moment to start your search.

There are instances in your career when you may feel it’s right to start looking for a new job. It could be when you feel stuck in a quagmire at work, layoffs have been announced, you’re not appreciated by management or are grossly underpaid. Your reasons may be valid; however, the timing may not be aligned with the current needs of the job market.

Management and the human resources division have their budget and headcount approved. They are now ready to replace those who have left the company and add to staff as well.

There are seasons and occasional time periods when it’s advantageous to seek out a new job. These stretches of time are prime for candidates, as everything converges to make it a job-seeker-friendly environment.

There is just something that feels natural and right about engaging in a job search during January. Looking for a new job fits in nicely with a person’s New Year’s resolution. Usually, people promise themselves that they will lose weight, stop smoking or drinking, go to the gym more often, stop complaining about the annoying boss and secure a new job

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The start of a new year ushers in a feeling of promise and new beginnings. Mentally and emotionally, it’s a nice time to begin looking for a new opportunity and for a hiring manager to find a terrific new addition to the team to start off the year on a happy note.

Over the last couple of months, there has been light hiring happening during the Thanksgiving and New Year’s holiday season. Hiring crawled to a standstill due to vacations, a general renewed focus on family, friends and shopping, companies closing out the books for the end of the year and potential job seekers pulling back to enjoy the holidays.

During the holiday season, there was a lighter workload. Having a few less people wasn’t a problem. Hiring managers will soon start to feel the pressure of having too many empty desks. Now that business is getting back to normal, the absence of a key employee is felt by everyone. The supervisor is motivated to quickly find a replacement to ensure that the staff is keeping up with its responsibilities.

Management and the human resources division have their budget and headcount approved. They are now ready to replace those who have left the company and add to staff as well. Year-end reviews, raises, bonuses and promotions have been taken care of and the sole focus for the company is moving forward into the new year.

Many prospective candidates put their job search on hold over the holidays. They’d rather push the pause button and try to enjoy the season. A majority of potential job seekers prefer to relax, spend time with family and friends and are not keen on subjecting themselves to the anxiety and stress associated with looking for a new job. They also sit on the sidelines to wait and see if they will receive a bonus, raise, positive annual review or promotion.

If they are rewarded and shown appreciation, then the anticipated job seekers may decide to stay with the company, as they feel the love. If they do not believe that the company values them, employees will actively engage in a job search. As people move, more jobs will become open. It becomes a game of musical chairs, as people switch seats.

If you’re interested in seeing if there are more attractive opportunities available, this is a great time to start your job search.

Forbes.com | January 6, 2020 | Jack Kelly

How To Manage Your Career For The Next Decade — Three Career Trends To Watch In 2020 And Beyond.

January 5, 2020/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

I have been watching careers as a consultant, recruiter and career coach for just over 20 years now. In the first 10 years, I focused on big changes in entry-level recruiting, specifically the decrease in organized campus recruiting for a more diffuse hiring process that required new entrants to the workforce to be proactive about managing their careers from day one. The second 10 years, those changes moved up into experienced recruiting, and the 24/7 job search became a harsh reality for every professional.

Today’s professionals still need to be proactive and manage their careers 24/7, but also need to manage for different careers altogether. Here are three career trends to watch in the next decade:

Everyone is an entrepreneur

Freelancing is on the rise – 1 in 3 Americans freelanced at some point in 2018, and 28% of freelancers are full-time compared to 17% in 2014. This is a career trend that is hard to undo since employers benefit from getting the specific resources they need when they need them (and save on the increasingly expensive benefits costs of traditional employees). Freelancers also report being happier than traditional workers.

The fix? Even if you stay in traditional employment, you will compete with freelancers. The most hirable professionals will manage their career (and job search) like the freelancing entrepreneurs. You have to sell yourself harder – you will need more than a resume to get hired. You have to be more targeted with your networking. Like a business, you will benefit from the publicity and will need to build a brand.

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Reskilling is the must-have skill

AI, robotics and Big Data are some of today’s big disrupters, but there will be other disruptive innovations that add brand-new jobs and make other jobs obsolete. It is not a matter of if your job will change, but when. Today’s professional needs to know how to proactively change careers, not just search for a job in the same career –your original career choice may cease to exist or be unrecognizable.

The fix? Sure, you can research what the hottest jobs are right now, but those jobs will invariably change, and the requirements for individual jobs continually change. Rather than focus on what skills you need right now, make it a habit to continually reskill over time. Build a professional development plan, and budget it into your regular calendar. If it’s been a while since you have learned something new, start with something you enjoy even outside your career – learning how to learn, being comfortable as a student/ beginner again and building a love for learning are all helpful skills to have.

The new retirement age is never

People live into their 70’s on average, but peak earning years are your 50’s and 40’s (pay growth for college-educated women peaks at 40!). You need to be a good money manager to bank those earnings and stretch them as inflation increases and your average salary decreases over 20-30 years. 67% of seniors would prefer to not be working or to work fewer hours. One upside to working longer is that you could choose to move into a new career you enjoy.

The fix? Manage your money as closely and proactively as you manage your career. Manage your career for the ebb and flow of peak earning times and periods of unemployment and underemployment. Pursuing FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) is one way withstand career volatility. Reskilling and embracing an entrepreneurial approach (as noted above) will also help with career longevity. Since you need to focus on longevity, you also need to guard against burnout and keep yourself engaged and excited about your work. Finding success stories, like this 104 year old artist who sold her first painting at age 81, can help.

You have choices for where to take your career

It might sound scary to think about working longer, but it also means you have the time to build a career you love. It could be a lot of work to reskill, but it is also an opportunity to learn different things. It takes a different approach to manage your career like an entrepreneur, rather than an employee but it puts you in control.

Today’s professional has choices. Does that make you feel overwhelmed or excited? Are these trends an obstacle course to endure or an adventure to begin? How will you choose to approach this new decade?

Forbes.com | January 5, 2020 | Caroline Ceniza-Levine

#SuccessfulPeople :The One Thing To Prioritize To Be More Effective.

January 4, 2020/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

There is no dearth of information or advice about how to be more effective, including Stephen Covey’s famous book, a whole industry around time management, advice to shorten meetings (or cancel them altogether), advice to meditate and take naps, advice to wake up early and exercise, and advice from a wide variety of gurus, coaches, nutritionists, and more — all who want to help you be more effective at work by managing your energy, your time, your focus, and your priorities.

My advice for being more effective is simple.

Don’t be the bottleneck.

If you want to maximize not just your own effectiveness but that of your whole organization, the worst thing you can do is be the bottleneck. In today’s world of work, processes are intertwined across teams and companies such that a delay in your part of the process creates a bottleneck and delays for everyone else in your organization. And for your customers.

It is a subtle shift, but much of the advice on prioritizing work is focused on your activities that are part of your job and things that you need to do in a vacuum. Some people will tell you to do the quick things first so you can knock them off of your list. But what if the quick things impact you but don’t necessarily move the process of work along to others?

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Some will tell you to do the important and urgent things first, but what if you don’t include getting things to other people in your definition of important and urgent? And some people will tell you to make sure you’re blocking off time to think strategically, but what if you prioritize thinking about the future and end up becoming a hindrance to results in the here-and-now?

Throughout my career, after my first cup of coffee and a quick glance at emails and texts to make sure no crisis had emerged while I was sleeping, I’d prioritize my day’s activities based on who else needed something from me in order to do their work. Because I didn’t want to be the bottleneck. I didn’t want to be the one slowing down the team or threatening the delivery of a commitment to a customer or creating a drag on results.

Depending on the job, this has meant I’ve prioritized:

Making and communicating decisions. (It still amazes me how many people avoid making decisions and then even when they make decisions, they forget to communicate them.)
Signing approvals (or delegating them!).
Meeting with customers to understand their pain points and then communicating those to account teams to figure out how to do better.
Doing my part to get a new process or technology implemented.
Getting the pricing and marketing programs ready for a new launch.
Getting information to third parties, other teams, or my own teammates so they could advance and execute on initiatives.
Ensuring efficient placement and receipt of orders with the supply chain and logistics teams by getting new technologies in place with the sales teams.
Ensuring innovation teams had the resources, equipment, and machine time to create new solutions in the lab.
Calling and pressuring people who weren’t doing their part such that they were becoming the bottleneck for me and my team. (This is not the fun part.)

Now I know some of you are thinking that if you spend all of your time doing things that others need, you’ll never have time to plan or to strategize or to coach your team. What I’ve found is actually the opposite. When you prioritize things that you need to do so that others can do what they need to do, much less organizational (and personal) energy is spent on following up, nagging, waiting, and complaining.

Less organizational (and personal) energy is spent on fire drills and emergencies that emerged because work did not flow smoothly across the teams and organizations and third parties. Less organizational (and personal) energy is spent stressing out over whether or not something will be done on time. And all of that organizational (and personal) energy gets shifted to thinking about the future rather than being anxious over whether something will get done in the present.

And there is an added bonus to prioritizing things that others need from you in order to get their work done. When you do this, you develop a reputation as someone who is good to work with as opposed to the person who is always needing to be reminded to get their stuff done and holding everyone else up. This pays off when the time comes to talk about career-expanding projects and assignments.

So get your stuff done and get it in the hands of the people that need it. And get your teams and colleagues to shift their prioritization of work accordingly so together, you can reduce friction, accelerate your business, delight your customers, and create an environment where you are truly effective.

Forbes.com | January 3, 2020 | Robin Moriart

What To Do When Your Career Is Disrupted Later In Life. A Stable Job for Life is Arguably a Thing of the Past.

January 3, 2020/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Despite the various proclamations that we are living in an age of increasing footloose behaviors and we are going to have multiple careers throughout our life, the prospect of losing one’s job still has many of the pangs associated with other forms of grief. Indeed, losing your job is perhaps the toughest thing you can ever face, with damage not only in the immediate aftermath but over a prolonged period of time.

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Overall, 31% of job seekers aged 55 and older report they have been looking for work for 27 weeks or longer.

Around 50% of American workers over 50 years old are at risk of redundancy. The research, which was conducted by ProPublica and the Urban Institute, grimly tells us that this cohort is being pushed out of jobs held for some time before retirement causing the kind of financial damage that is irreversible.

Acting now

At the later stage in your career, the chances are that you may have developed a degree of financial security, and this can hinder your efforts to reinvent yourself as it removes the sense of urgency that is required to successfully transition into a new career. What is more, you may also be lulled into a false sense of security by the skills and experience that you have built up over the years.

Valuable though these skills may have been in your old career, there’s no guarantee that they will be equally valuable in your new one. This narrow focus and intense specialization may have worked in the past, but careers are changing, and the stability and security that typified the work-life when you were growing up are increasingly being consigned to the dustbin of history.

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Now, skills such as adaptability and agility are far more important, with organizations relying heavily on cross-functional teams where collaboration and emotional intelligence will come to the fore. Here are a few things you can do to make a successful transition:

Forget your titles – Chances are that your old career came with a good dose of prestige, with titles and all that came with them attached to your seniority. Those are lovely, but they are holding you back from moving on. It is far healthier to think akin to a film director who goes from project to project. Your past work was nice, but this is a new you, applying yourself in new ways.
Develop your portfolio – As you will no longer be able to rely on your title to open doors for you, it is important that you start to develop a portfolio of projects to showcase your skills. In this transitionary period, these can be projects outside of work. Not only will they give your life a renewed purpose, but you will almost certainly develop a wide range of invaluable skills too.
Adjust your outgoings – If you have high expenses, it can be tempting to jump into the first opportunity that presents itself, just to get some money coming in, but it is quite likely that this will be a bad choice. If you can build up some savings so that you can go for the right opportunity rather than the first opportunity then you are likely to be happier in the long-run.
Embrace the unexpected – Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) has become a bit cliched in the business world, but the essence of uncertainty and volatility do nonetheless ring true. You will need to be agile and open-minded to make the most of your new-found freedom, so consider fresh ways to stretch yourself and develop new skills.
Develop a love of learning – When you achieve a certain level of seniority it is tempting to rest on your laurels, but the world waits for no one, so it is vital that you are learning each and every day. There are countless opportunities to do this, from books, blogs and massive open online courses (MOOCs). You might even find mentoring young people can be a great way to learn from them as much as they from you. Admit where your knowledge has holes and work to plug them.

The chances are, your previous status gave your life a certain narrative, with your role and title key parts of that story. Now, you have the opportunity to craft a completely new narrative, and it is important that you spend time thinking about what that is. When you meet people, this is your point of entry into the conversation. You will be telling this story as your introduction to you to each new person you meet.

A stable job for life is arguably a thing of the past, so the ability to pivot one’s career and adapt to the changes in the market are likely to be valuable skills to learn. If you have to learn them later in your career, then so be it. In this way, the stability in your life comes not from your employer, but from within you, which is an altogether healthier place to be.

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