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#CareerAdvice : #YourCareer – The 10 Most Popular Work-Life Articles/Stories of 2018! Must Read!

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

2018 was a year of both hopeful and discouraging moments in the world of work. As Fast Company‘s Lydia Dishman reported, we’ve seen many instances where employees pushed for accountability from their leaders. We saw workers strike to demand better rights and conditions, and actively protest company policies that they morally opposed. Some leaders responded to those concerns, by publicly shouldering responsibilities and taking steps to have the necessary, yet difficult conversations. Others did not.

Technology continues to raise questions around the future of work–and how humans will coexist with machines. We also learned more about the upsides and downsides of existing in the gig economy, as well as its promises and perils.

But amid all the volatility and changes in the landscape of work, Fast Company readers remain committed in their desire to succeed in work and in life. As we head into 2019, we can look to these stories to put us in the right path to do just that.

1. 7 WARNING SIGNS THAT YOU SHOULDN’T ACCEPT A JOB OFFER

It’s difficult to make an accurate assessment of a company culture in a 20 minute interview, Piyush Patel, author of Lead Your Tribe, Love Your Work, told Fast Company‘s Stephanie Vozza. However, Patel believes that there are a few things that should raise red flags. Messy bathrooms, for example, can be a signal that employees in that company lack a collaborative attitude.

2. WHAT HAPPENED WHEN I TRIED THE U.S. ARMY’S TACTIC TO FALL ASLEEP IN TWO MINUTES

Many of us have trouble falling asleep. In fact, 50 to 70 million U.S. adults have some sort of sleeping disorder, according to the American Sleep Association. If you’ve ever struggled with any sort of sleep issues, you probably know that it has a huge impact on your mood and productivity. Fast Company’s Michael Grothaus has tried everything from meditation to medication to combat his occasional sleep problems. This year, he experimented with the two-minute technique that the U.S. Army employed to help soldiers fall asleep quickly in “less than ideal conditions.”

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3. NEUROSCIENCE SAYS THAT LISTENING TO THIS SONG REDUCES ANXIETY BY UP TO 65%

People use all sorts of different tactics to manage stress, one of which is sound therapy. As Inc. columnist Melanie Curtin wrote, neuroscientists in the U.K. have now composed a playlist that has been scientifically proven to ease your anxiety. Curtin wrote, “In this age of constant bombardment, the science is clear: If you want your mind and body to last, you’ve got to prioritize giving them a rest. Music is an easy way to take some of the pressure off of all the pings, dings, apps, tags, texts, emails, appointments, meetings, and deadlines that can easily spike your stress level and leave you feeling drained and anxious.”

4. SIX VERBS THAT MAKE YOU SOUND WEAK (NO MATTER YOUR JOB TITLE)

Words have a lot of power. No matter your job title, they can either command respect or hamper your credibility. Leadership communication expert Judith Humphrey shared the six verbs that can do the latter. When you say “think,” for example, you’re conveying something less than definitive, while saying “need” can “conjure up a feeling of dependency on the part of the speaker.”

5. NEVER, EVER UTTER THESE PHRASES IN A SALARY NEGOTIATION

Salary negotiation is both an art and a science. There are certain techniques that can work no matter who you’re negotiating with. Likewise, there are strategies that will almost always backfire on you. Josh Doody, author of Fearless Salary Negotiation, shared the phrases that you should stay away from if you want to impress the hiring manager. First things first? Don’t fall for the trap of answering the “dreaded salary question.”

6. THIS 75-YEAR HARVARD STUDY FOUND THE 1 SECRET TO A FULFILLING LIFE

These days, it’s hard to prioritize what’s important in your life. But according to a study, there is one thing that trumps everything when it comes to bringing happiness–quality relationships. As Melanie Curtin wrote, “The data is clear that, in the end, you could have all the money you’ve ever wanted, a successful career, and be in good physical health, but without loving relationships, you won’t be happy.”

7. HERE ARE SIX SIGNS THAT IT’S TIME TO QUIT YOUR JOB

Jobs tend to have an expiration date. Sometimes new opportunities prompt you to move on, but other times, that end date isn’t always clear. Fast Company’s Stephanie Vozza wrote about the warning signs that signal it might be time for you to go elsewhere. Perhaps you’ve found it more and more difficult to get out of bed, or that you’re not being recognized for your hard work. If any of these signs look familiar to you, it might be time to wave your current job (or company) goodbye.

8. THESE ARE THE 5 “SUPER SKILLS” YOU NEED FOR JOBS OF THE FUTURE

The world of work is constantly changing. That means that what it takes for you to succeed in your job today will be different to what it will take for you to succeed in five years’ time. That’s why to stay relevant, you need to make sure that you’re consistently working to master these “super skills,” from being adaptable with technology to being resilient in the face of change.

9. THIS IS WHAT IT’S LIKE NOT TO OWN A SMARTPHONE IN 2018

Fastcompany.com Deputy Editor Kate Davis has never owned a smartphone, making her an oddity among U.S. adults (77% are smartphone users.) But she doesn’t plan to change that anytime soon. Becoming a parent has solidified her “low-tech commitment,” and not being tethered to digital distraction has allowed her to maintain a level of sanity in the exhausting news cycle. She wrote, “There’s a way to stay informed about and proficient in technology while setting boundaries around how much it infiltrates my life.”

10. DON’T TELL RECRUITERS THESE THINGS IF YOU WANT THE JOB

There is a lot of emphasis on what to say and what not to say during a job interview. But every interaction in the job search process matters. Glassdoor’s Amy Elisa Jackon shares what you shouldn’t say to a recruiter if you want a competitive job offer, from accepting the starting salary without negotiating, or complaining excessively about your previous job.

FastCompany.com | December 24, 2018

#CareerAdvice : #OlderWorkers – Just Unbearable.’ Booming Job Market Can’t Fill the Retirement Shortfall

December 23, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

For older Americans, the last few years of work can be a vital chance to patch up thin savings or pay down debt to ease their way into retirement. Many aren’t getting that opportunity.

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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.

“My job now is to keep my job” and make my employer successful, she said, “so I can retire and not be a burden to my children.”

Greg Miller, 65 years old, a former environmental engineer and contract administrator, was laid off in 2017. He recently gave up looking for full-time work after sending out more than 400 résumés.

“The heartbreak and the discouragement were just unbearable,” said Mr. Miller, who lives on Social Security and a part-time job. He shares a ranch house in Lansing, Mich., with three other men. “I am kind of working without a net here,” he said.

This kind of late-career employment woe is part of a paradox that is deepening the worst retirement shortfall in decades.

Even though the official unemployment rate is just 3% for older workers, the actual jobs environment is surprisingly bleak. Nearly eight million older Americans are out of work or stuck in low-quality jobs that offer little opportunity to prepare for retirement, a Wall Street Journal analysis of government data shows.

At Risk

Nearly eight million older Americans are out of work or stuck in low-quality jobs that offer little opportunity to prepare for retirement.

The figures include the nearly 2.1 million Americans who are out of work, working part time because they can’t find a full-time job or have stopped looking because they don’t think anyone will hire them.

Another 5.8 million Americans—or 23% of full-time, year-round workers ages 55 and older—are employed in what economists describe as “bad jobs” that offer no health benefits and typically pay poorly. A decade ago, about 20% held these jobs, according to census data compiled by the Minnesota Population Center.

“These jobs, which might be right for some, tend to offer low pay and little opportunity to save for retirement,” said Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

When older workers find themselves out of a job, it typically takes them a long time to find work and they end up worse off financially.

Workers 56 and older earn on average 27% less in their new job after they’ve been unemployed for at least a month, according to an analysis by Stony Brook University economist David Wiczer, compared with an average raise of 7% for people under age 30.

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Pay Cut

After a period of unemployment, older workers earn less when they move into their next job.

For older workers, the earnings losses “come from moving down the occupational ladder” and being unemployed for longer, Mr. Wiczer said. The people who go through unemployment “and come out better on the other side, he added, “are almost exclusively under 35.”

Even just a few months out of work or living on a depressed salary without benefits can strain a senior’s finances as he struggles to cover mortgage payments, health care and other routine expenses. When a job is lost late in life and it takes a long time to find a new one, it can push back retirement by years or even erase the prospect of retirement completely.

“There is a model we are familiar with—work to 55 or 60, play golf for five or 10 years and then die,” said Paul Rupert, founder of Respectful Exits, a Chevy Chase, Md., nonprofit that advocates for improved employer practices with aging workers. “But now people are living to 80 or 90 and that model is completely broken.”

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Staying on the job can have a significant impact on a retiree’s financial well-being. Working just three to six more months provides the same financial boost as saving an additional 1 percentage point of earnings annually for 30 years, says Stanford University economist John Shoven.

Working longer carries an outsize payoff because monthly Social Security payments increase by 8% plus inflation for every year retirees delay claiming benefits until age 70. Staying employed also allows more time to contribute to retirement savings and for those funds to compound before the first withdrawals.

The reasons companies aren’t hiring older workers are complex. Many have long directed recruiting and training at younger workers. Some older job seekers lack the right skills or are unable or unwilling to relocate, while others are disadvantaged by new ways of recruiting, such as online tools that use key words to identify candidates for interviews. Some job-placement specialists say age discrimination is a factor. Employers may consider older workers more expensive, even at the same pay, because of higher health-care costs.

“I keep hearing that the economy is better, but we are not seeing that for our clients,” said Amanda Fox, director of career development and counseling at New Directions Career Center, which works with women in central Ohio.

One New Directions client, Jill Short, 59, of Columbus, has an M.B.A. and previously worked for the federal government, a local utility and a technology subcontractor. The financial crisis made it tough to re-enter the job market after she took time off for foot surgery in late 2007. She had a few seasonal positions, but didn’t find another full-time job until 2012 and was laid off in a restructuring 4 ½ years later.

“I probably should have declared bankruptcy, but I didn’t want to lose my house,” said Ms. Short, whose temporary position helping seniors select Medicare plans ended earlier this month. She receives $192 a month in food stamps and owes about $30,000 in credit-card debt and loans from friends.

“I have depleted my savings. There really is none,” said Ms. Short, who has a four-inch thick folder detailing all the jobs she has applied for. Her goal is to work until 70 in a full-time job with benefits.

Such difficulties come at a time when companies around the country are struggling to find workers. In Minnesota, the unemployment rate is 2.8%. For the past two years, the state Chamber of Commerce has held an annual event hoping to entice employers to hire categories of people being ignored by companies: the disabled, ex-offenders—and anyone over 55.

“This is a long-term challenge,” said Bill Blazar, until recently the group’s senior vice president. “Employers for decades have had certain strategies for hiring their staff.”

Ultra Machining Co. in Monticello, Minn., is working hard to retain veteran employees by offering shorter hours, and is launching a training program for candidates with little or no manufacturing experience that it hopes will attract older workers. But the 200-person company has long focused on recruiting the young, creating feeder programs and apprenticeships aimed at middle- and high-school students.

“Kids hang out at schools and we can just plug in,” said Jaci Dukowitz, director of human resources. “Where do older people hang out? What do they do when they are looking for jobs? Those programs aren’t in our community or, if they are, we are not aware of them.”

Compounding the financial hit is a long period of unemployment that drains what had been stored up.

Long Slog

There are more seniors out of work for longer than in the past.

Overall, 31% of job seekers aged 55 and older report they have been looking for work for 27 weeks or longer, according to the BLS, compared with just 24% of younger job seekers. Older job seekers report looking for work, on average, 34.6 weeks. That is nearly three months longer than the average of 23.4 weeks reported by unemployed 25- to 54-year-olds.

What had been the largest safety net for someone this age is also evaporating. Seventeen percent of workers ages 55 to 64 had a pension plan in 2016, down from 33% in 1992, according to the Boston College Center for Retirement Research.

Lisa Borthwick, currently age 60, was working as a graphic designer for a group of real-estate magazines when the financial crisis hit. She lost her job, then her Hernando, Fla., home, then her savings. She has no pension. She took on student loans to pay for her degree.

A decade later, she is still struggling to recover.

“When I was sitting for interviews, they offered me $10 an hour,” she recalled. “They said most people your age only need supplemental income.”

Physically Taxing

Most common occupations for newly hired people age 62 and older, by percentage of workers

Now living in the Midwest, she recently landed two part-time jobs—as an operations manager for a nonprofit and an administrator for a real-estate company. She said both jobs are fabulous, but she can’t afford her own apartment in a neighborhood where she would feel safe and doesn’t receive health insurance or other benefits.

For the past two years Ms. Borthwick has rented a bedroom from a couple she met when, on the verge of homelessness, she put her dog up for foster care.

“Am I asking too much to be compensated for my experience?” Ms. Borthwick asked. “I am fairly tenacious, determined and resilient, but it doesn’t pay the bills.”

At nonprofit employment training agency Nova Workforce Development Board in Silicon Valley, more than three-quarters of dislocated workers are 45 or older and nearly one-third have advanced degrees.

“The older you are, the longer you are unemployed,” said Nova executive director Kris Stadelman. “The longer you are unemployed, the less attractive you are to any employer.”

Nova coaches clients to “de-age” their résumés by focusing on the past 10 to 20 years of experience, and highlighting recent training and credentials. It teaches how to interview with someone half their age and subsidizes training so they can reframe their education with, say, a certificate in another computer language.

Paul Millman, chief executive of Chroma Technology Corp., which recently won a state award for supporting mature workers, said he doesn’t understand companies “that turn up their noses up at experience.” The Bellows Falls, Vt., optical-filters manufacturer offers training to workers of all ages and opportunities for sabbaticals. Forty-four percent of its 124 employees are 53 and older.

Newer ways of recruiting via online application processes can disadvantage older workers, especially if their skills don’t fit the precise requirements but may be transferable.

Some studies have found what appears to be direct evidence of age bias. David Neumark, a University of California, Irvine economist, created fictional résumés for comparable job candidates around age 30, 50 and 65 and then submitted their applications to more than 13,000 different job postings. Callback rates declined by age, with bigger drops for female applicants.

Some states are experimenting with ways to connect experienced job seekers with willing employers.

The Southeast Michigan Community Alliance in Taylor, Mich., held its first 50+ job fair this spring with AARP Michigan. Job seekers’ qualifications were reviewed before the event to make sure they had the needed skills; 31 of them received job offers on the spot.

Most participating companies were in the retail, hospitality and home health-care industries, and offered hourly positions that require applicants to spend the workday on their feet. That was disappointing for attendees seeking “more professional work,” said workforce programs administrator Ana Salazar.

A tight job market “makes you look at your openings quite differently,” said Julie Haak, corporate director of human resources at Neogen Corp., a Lansing, Mich.-based food and animal safety company with about 1,600 employees. Neogen has hired several older workers through Michigan AARP and is looking to partner with the group on a 50+ job fair.

Michele Langdon, 55, had worked for several startups and was employed by Hewlett Packard for nearly 20 years. In 2016, she was let go after the company sold the unit she worked for.

Divorced and with two children, Ms. Langdon ran up $50,000 in credit-card debt. She relied on unemployment insurance, food stamps and a state program that helps the unemployed pay their mortgages during her 18-month job search.

Ms. Langdon figures she applied for roughly 500 jobs and eventually had to settle for a short-term contract position. A few months later, she was offered a full-time job as a program manager for a new data-center business at a different company.

But the lengthy time out of work means she now expects to work until at least age 70.

“My job now is to keep my job” and make my employer successful, she said, “so I can retire and not be a burden to my children.”

—Paul Overberg contributed to this article.

Write to Ruth Simon at ruth.simon@wsj.com

Appeared in the December 21, 2018, print edition as ‘Booming Job Market Can’t Fill Retirement Shortfall.’

WSJ.com | Ruth Simon

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#CareerAdvice : #YourCareer – Ask these Four Questions to Conduct a Your Career Audit for the Past Year. Great Three(3) Min Read!

December 22, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

As 2018 comes to a close, career reflection is the most important thing you can do to prepare for the year ahead. It offers you the opportunity to look back, see what goals you already met, and figure out where you’re at with regards to your long-term goals (or whether they need to evolve).

Here are the questions you should be asking before you set your career resolutions for 2019.

DOES YOUR WORK MATTER?

Be honest in answering this fundamental question. Because if the answer is no, then nothing else really matters. Your happiness, both personal and professional, will come from doing work that you care about, and one way to answer this question is to take stock of your accomplishments. Write up a list of all that you have achieved and then ask yourself what they mean to you, personally and professionally. Do they matter to those around you? Do they matter to your employer? Do they matter to society? If you start here and can honestly say that your work matters, you’re well on your way to a rewarding career.

HAVE YOU KEPT UP WITH HOW TECHNOLOGY IS IMPACTING YOUR FIELD?

We live in a world of constant change. Those skills you acquired last year might be obsolete by this year or next. Rapid changes in technology are keeping everybody in a continuous state of learning and in a perpetual need to acquire new skills. Whether you are in a field driven by technology, or whether technology is just a part of your industry, you need to update and advance your tech skills at all times.

When you look back on the past year, ask yourself if you managed to keep up with the technological changes in your field. If you did, that’s probably not good enough. You need to get ahead of the changes, anticipate what new changes might be coming, and prepare for them. Your career will fast-track itself when your professional peers see you as the technology driver. Do everything you can in the upcoming year to stay ahead of the tech game, including investing time and resources in your skills.

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WHAT IS YOUR CAREER TRAJECTORY?
Did you work all of this year without giving much thought to where you will be down the road? Where will you be in five years? Ten years? To get to where you want to be, you need to identify where you need to be at various stages of your career.

Start this process by looking around and seeing where your more experienced coworkers are at, and think about whether that’s where you want to be. If so, ask what they did to get to where they are today. What roles and responsibilities did they take on? What skills did they acquire along the way? How did they network and get those responsible for their career development to notice and advance their careers? From that learning, map out your game plan so that you don’t leave your career advancement to chance.

IS YOUR FINANCIAL WELL-BEING WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE?
Money won’t dictate whether or not you’ll find satisfaction at work, but it’s still imperative to your overall well-being. At the end of the year, you should be conducting regular reviews of your salary, bonus, retirement contributions, and healthcare benefits so you can ensure that you’re earning what you deserve. The best way to evaluate this is to do your homework. Go online and research jobs like yours and learn what employees in other companies are earning. Check out jobs posted and what employers are paying for those jobs. You want to be earning to your maximum potential because many organizations base future promotions and salary increases on your current financial package. If you are not making what you should be, you should set some time to have an honest conversation with your boss in the new year.

Just like everything else in life, career success and satisfaction won’t come without strong intentions on your part. But you also need to make sure that you’re setting (and implementing) the right ones. That starts with asking questions.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Don Raskin is a senior partner at MME, an advertising and marketing agency in New York City. He is also the author of The Dirty Little Secrets of Getting Your Dream Job More.

FastCompany.com | December 21, 2018

#CareerAdvice : #YourCareer – Follow these 5 Steps to Future-Proof your Career.

December 21, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

The marketplace for talent is changing rapidly, and experts say it’s about time the way we approached our own careers caught up.

After a couple of decades defined by disruption, automation, and job displacement, many still aren’t convinced that their job could be at risk. Studies conducted by Gallup, Quartz, and the Pew Research Centre have all found that a majority of Americans believe automation and AI will displace a significant number of jobs; just not their own.

The lack of response to this new dynamic has become a key concern for career transition coach and best-selling author Ines Temple. In her book, You, Incorporated: Your Career Is Your Business, Temple explains how every employee should approach their career like a small business, with themselves as a provider of a service to a single client. She adds that any business that depended entirely on one client would be aggressively looking to diversify, and in today’s career landscape, employees should be equally as proactive when it comes to exploring their own career opportunities.

“A lot of people have allowed companies to manage their careers; they don’t take a proactive approach to them,” she says. “When companies change their plans and need to let them go, they are not ready to find a new job, they’re not employable, because their skill sets aren’t up to date. They don’t have metrics ready to demonstrate those skills, and they don’t have a strong network of contacts that will help them in a job search.”

Temple and other career experts recommend taking the following five steps to ensure your career is prepared to overcome the challenges of a rapidly evolving talent marketplace.

1. ASSESS YOUR CURRENT LEVEL OF BEING FUTURE-PROOFED

The first step in improving your career’s resiliency, according to Temple, is determining where you currently stand. She believes that those who are most prepared to evolve are those that love what they do, as they are often most willing to go the extra mile in order to continue doing it.

“Ask yourself, ‘Am I really happy here?’ ‘Is this what I want?’ ‘Is this really my passion?’” she says. “I know that’s a hard thing to worry about when you have bills to pay, but without that, it’s very hard to plan for your future career.”

Being too satisfied with your current employment, however, may also be a sign that you should be doing more to prepare for your future. “A very simple litmus test is: If you’re comfortable, you should start learning something new,” says Darren Raycroft, a partner with the Bedford Consulting Group, an executive search and talent management company.

Raycroft explains that with the rapid pace of technological advancement, the value placed on many skills today lacks the longevity that comparable skills had in previous generations. “Those periods of comfort and normalcy are getting shorter and shorter,” he says.

Raycroft recommends keeping an eye on relevant job postings—even during periods of comfortable employment—to better understand where your industry is heading, and what skills are in highest demand.

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2. COMMIT TO LIFELONG LEARNING

In today’s rapidly changing employment landscape, it’s easier than ever to fall behind, especially if you haven’t recently updated your skills.

“There’s this delineated ‘learning time’ in our lives, and then we move into a position, and if you choose to take some courses to get ahead, you may do so,” explains Raycroft. “I think that’s changing: Learning is and will continue to be an ongoing process with a degree of propensity that we haven’t yet experienced in our lifetimes.”

Raycroft believes that in order to stay ahead of the changing needs of the talent marketplace, employees need to be proactive in updating their skills. “That ability to learn and use judgment has been and will continue to be necessary for success,” he says.

3. NEVER STOP NETWORKING

The worst time to start building a network is when you desperately need one. Professional relationships are typically stronger when they’re built on mutual interest, rather than urgent need. “A lot of people only do a lot of networking when they need a new job, but on a daily basis, we don’t invest enough time in people, building a relationship based on trust,” says Temple. “It’s all about relationships with people, because people will recommend us, promote us, or let us go.”

Not only do those who take a break from networking risk weakening some of their existing relationships, but they can also begin to lose their networking skills. Temple emphasizes the importance of keeping those skills sharp and those relationships strong by building them in the low-pressure periods of career stability.

4. WORK ON YOUR SOFT SKILLS

Building that network often requires strong interpersonal skills, something that Temple believes is sorely lacking in most of today’s workers. “We really need to work on our warmth, our charisma, how much energy we give to people, because those things will make a difference between those who have a chance for a better career and those who don’t,” she says.

Furthermore, if our most robotic and repetitive tasks are bound to be automated, those quintessentially human traits may soon become our greatest assets.

“Young professionals understand that soft skills will be critical to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” says Michele Parmelee, Deloitte’s global chief talent officer. “According to Deloitte’s seventh annual Millennial Survey, young professionals identified softer skills like confidence, interpersonal skills and—particularly for gen-Z—ethics and integrity aptitude as skills they feel are important to develop in order to succeed in the future.”

5. FIND A MENTOR

Not only can mentors use their experience to help their mentees navigate a quickly changing employment landscape, but they can also help them develop some of those vital soft skills in a low-pressure environment.

“It’s a safe place, so you won’t feel embarrassed asking your mentor questions that you might be embarrassed to ask in a group setting,” says millennial and gen-Z engagement expert Ashira Prossack. “You’ll also get that practice, and they’ll give you immediate feedback and one-on-one attention, because you can’t just read about how to communicate, you need to actually do it.”

FastCompany.com | December 21, 2018

#Leadership : #ProductivePeople- How to Train your Brain to Like People Who Annoy You.

December 20, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

No matter how much you try to like people, there is always someone in your work life who annoys you. You see them coming down the hall and your skin crawls. Invariably, they say something that rubs you the wrong way, and you leave the interaction feeling justified that you dislike this person so much.

Back in the 1970’s, Tory Higgins and his colleagues pointed out that most of the behaviors you observe in other people are ambiguous. Suppose you meet Donald and find out that he is very certain of his ability to perform well at work. Is he self-confident or conceited? How you interpret his behavior depends on what you think about him already. If you like him, then you admire him for his confidence. If you don’t, then you think he is a narcissistic jerk.

The first thing you have to realize is that your reaction to someone is self-fulfilling in some ways. If you don’t like someone, you will interpret their behaviors in a more negative light than if you like them. So, the very same behavior can be taken as evidence for why you should or shouldn’t like them depending on what you already believe.

Compounding this problem is our tendency to focus on a coherent story about people. So, when you don’t like someone, you emphasize their negative qualities and minimize their positive ones. Then, when you think about them, most of the information you have is consistent with your overall belief.

TELL YOURSELF YOU LIKE THEM

These two lines of work suggest that the first thing you need to do when you are faced with someone who bugs you is to think happy thoughts about them. Really, if you start your interaction with someone focusing on what a good person they probably are, you will be more likely to interpret what they do charitably and to focus on their desirable characteristics.

Of course, some people will still do things that bother you. Perhaps they complain all the time when you wish they would just find something nice to say. Or maybe they don’t participate in workplace events and seem aloof or superior to everyone else.

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FOCUS ON THE SITUATION

The next thing you should do is to focus on the situation rather than the person. At any given moment, a person’s actions are being driven by three factors: their deep-seated motivations (what we often call personality), their current goals, and the constraints of the situation. A colleague might drink the last cup of coffee in the kitchen without putting up a new pot because they are selfish (an aspect of personality), because they were rushing to bring that coffee to a supervisor (so, they were pursuing a particular goal), or because they were running late to an important meeting (an aspect of the situation).

Your general tendency is to assume that someone else takes the actions they do because of their traits. So, when you see someone do something that annoys you, you assume it is because they are a bad person.

CONSIDER EVERYTHING ELSE

If you want to think differently about this person, ask yourself what other factors might have led to this behavior. Is there some goal they might have that would make this behavior sensible? Is there something you missed about the situation where you would do the same thing if you were in that situation? If so, then maybe what you witnessed was perfectly reasonable.

Finally, when all else fails, you want to be proactive. It turns out that you can also create negative interactions with people by your own interactions. You see someone who bothers you coming down the hallway, and your facial expression goes dark. You say a clipped “hello” and try to get away. The other person might have been in a perfectly good mood until they saw your stormy face, which then affected their own behavior.

Instead, take advantage of people’s natural tendency to mirror what you do when you interact with them. Give a big smile. Wave. Wish them a good day. Tell them a piece of good news. You just might find that the advice to “fake it ’til you make it” works for your social interactions as well.

FastCompany.com | December 20, 2018

#CareerAdvice : 14 #JobSearch Tips Everyone Should Know. A #MustRead !

December 19, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Sound like you? If you’re ready for 2019 to be the year you finally find the right job, keep reading! We’ve curated 14 of the best job search tips from the past year to help you start your New Year’s job hunt off on the right foot, featuring advice from CEOs, celebrities and job coaches who know exactly what it takes to succeed.

1. Don’t wait until you have all of the qualifications to apply

“If you have all the qualifications you may actually be overqualified! Go ahead and apply if you have the core requirements.” —Jenn Lofgren, Incito Executive & Leadership Development

2. Explore your network — or make new connections — to get an internal referral

“Companies always give preferential treatment to employee referrals. If you don’t know someone there, then volunteering at a company’s local charity event can also be a great way to meet people.” —Carolyn Thompson, executive recruiter and managing principal atMerito Group

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3. Make LinkedIn work for you

“Make your online network reflect your offline connections. Once you set up your profile, start connecting with everybody you know: current and former colleagues, past employers, people in your industry, neighbors, family, friends, former classmates. —Donna Serdula, LinkedIn expert and author

4. Pursue a job that means something to you

“Do the work that comes from the soul of you… The key to fulfillment, success and contentment in life is aligning your personality with what your soul came to do.” —Oprah Winfrey, Oprah Winfrey Network

5. Tout your soft skills

“Instead of calling them soft skills, I would actually call them essential skills… Some of the most crucial of these skills include communication, teamwork, leadership, relationship-building, balance, reliability and dependability.” —Greg Muccio, Director of People at Southwest

6. Prepare, prepare, prepare — and then prepare some more

“The best way to calm the nerves is by adequately preparing for your interview. Control the controllables. Do your research, hone your stories and schedule a practice interview.” —Sarah Johnston, The Briefcase Coach

7. But make sure to remain authentically you

“There is no replacement for 100% authenticity in interactions with people, and the same is true of interviews, as they are simply an interaction with someone you don’t know [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”][yet]… Remember that this is about assessing fit for you too, and the only way to truly assess fit for yourself is to be fearlessly and authentically you.” —Amanda Gulino, Founder of A Better Monday

8. When it comes to salary, don’t ask for what you’d be willing to take — ask for what you’re worth

“Decide what you think you’re worth and then ask for what you think you’re worth. Nobody’s just going to give it to you.” —Shonda Rhimes, Award-winning producer and scriptwriter

9. Step into an interview with as much self-awareness as possible

“Know what you’re good at, and know what you’re not good at. Don’t pretend you’re something that you’re not. Always ask for help. The smartest people ask questions; the people who are the most ignorant think they know it all.” —Jessica Alba, actress and Co-Founder of The Honest Company

10. If you work with a recruiter, look beyond the one job listing

“[Our] intent is always to form lasting personal relationships, whether that be to help you find a permanent job or if you want to deploy from assignment to assignment. [Most good firms are searching for] people who want to have a mutually beneficial relationship to help them achieve their career goals while solving problems for our clients.” —Ryan Lynch, Client Relationship Executive atKforce

11. Don’t let rejections derail your job search

“Don’t be afraid of the word no. It doesn’t mean it’s a bad result. It just means try again. You can’t be afraid to ask, because if you don’t, no one else is… If you just go out there and not be afraid of the negative result, you’ll be surprised. You may get a positive result.” —Serena Williams, Professional tennis player

12. And don’t let fear derail it, either

“Stop being so afraid! That’s really what strikes me when I look back — the sheer amount of time I spent tangled up in fears and doubts that were entirely of my own creation… Instead, what matters are the true friends you make, the activities you throw yourself into, the books you read, the skills and knowledge you acquire. Those experiences — the ones that make you stronger, smarter and braver — are what really matter.” —Michelle Obama, author, activist & former First Lady

13. Don’t just read blogs — find a mentor

“Find mentors in the people around you who you respect… There are mentors in the workspace all around you — peers, the seasoned professional, your supervisor, the supervisor one desk over… [The best] person to be your mentor in the organization is someone who sees you every day, someone who knows you at your best and someone who can give you opportunities to improve.” —Mary Barra, CEO ofGeneral Motors

14. Keep learning – your resume is never done

“Learning is the true currency in today’s economy… Employees need to constantly refresh their skills to stay relevant.” —Michael Fraccaro, Mastercard’sChief Human Resources Officer

If you’re going to finally find the right job for you in 2019, you’ll need to lead your job search with the best advice you can find. Use these pro tips to make sure your 2019 job search is as effective as possible!

GlassDoor.com | December 19, 2018 | Posted by Sarah Greesonbach

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#CareerAdvice : #ResumeWriting – Top Skills to Include on Your Resume

December 19, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

In a job market where recruiters review an average of up to 250 applications per job listing, you need to submit a resume that stands out. But where do you even start?

Since you already know which skills to leave off your resume, and you’ve studied which trends to try and which to ignore, it’s time to talk about what should be on your resume.

Here are three experts’ takes on the skills that will have recruiters excited to see your resume come into their queue.

Hard Skills

Whether you’re a high-tech data scientist or a high-performing elementary school teacher, here’s a selection of hard skills that can make you stand out from the competition.

1. Data Collection and Analysis

Increased technology usage in the workplace means there’s more data than ever to collect, track and analyze. That’s why data analysis is such a huge growth area, says Matt Sigelman, the CEO of Burning Glass Technologies, in Time: “Mainstream American companies have come to realize that in order to become more effective in the marketplace, they need to analyze data,” explains Sigelman. “And we’re seeing those skills showing up at a premium in a variety of industries, including marketing, logistics jobs and operations management jobs.”

How to Highlight: Reflect on the opportunities you’ve had to capture and analyze data in your current job and include them on your resume. If you can’t think of any, consider taking a free online course in data analytics from a website like edXor Coursera, then apply what you learn on the job.

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2. Social Media

Social media makes a timely addition to any resume, says career coach Bethany Wallace: “Regardless of career field and job role, possessing social media management skills is a plus for any candidate,” she remarks. “Many companies still resist hiring a social media manager, and the ability to fill that gap might make the difference in a candidate’s standing.”

How to Highlight: If you completed coursework or an internship that involved social media, include it on your resume — extra points for sharing specifics on a campaign you executed. Don’t list recreational social media on your resume — limit this to times that you’ve managed social media accounts in a professional capacity.

3. Content Management Systems

Website building and design aren’t just for coders anymore. Easy-to-learn platforms like WordPress, Blogger, Squarespace and more can help you learn the basics of creating and maintaining a blog or website. “WordPress is the most popular CMS (content management system) in the world. Tons of sites, big and small, use it to power their businesses,” says Laurence Bradford, creator of Learn to Code With Me, on Forbes. “WordPress is helpful to know in a range of careers from web development to writing.”

How to Highlight: Learn how to use these platforms through one of the many available online classes or tutorials, then list it under the skill section of your resume. If you want to go the extra mile, build a personal website or online portfolio and include a link to it so recruiters and hiring managers can see your skills for themselves.

Soft Skills

Even in a technical age, it’s not all about technical skills. In fact, in a report compiled by the International Association of Administrative Professionals, OfficeTeam and HR.com, 67 percent of HR managers said they’d hire a candidate with strong soft skills even if that person’s technical skills were lacking.

While you can’t rely on being hired for a job based on soft skills alone, such a strong majority opinion among hiring managers is more than enough incentive to bring a focus to soft skills on your resume and in your interview process. Just don’t list them out point-blank — that’s an amateur (and unconvincing) way to do it. Instead, let your resume bullet points demonstrate how you’ve leveraged these skills.

1. Communication

Communication consistently ranks among the most important skills for a candidate to have — and that includes both verbal and written. “According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, 73.4% of employers want a candidate with strong written communication skills,” says Kaleigh Moore, contributing writer for Inc.

How to Highlight: Edit your resume for grammar and spelling, but also for clarity. Rewrite long sentences to be shorter, then read your resume out loud to make sure all of your thoughts make sense. Prove your communication skills by emailand phone by being brief and to-the-point — yet warm — whenever you interact with the recruiter.

2. Problem-Solving

“Employees themselves are hopefully ‘solved problems,’ fulfilling their job duties and more,” writes Jessica Amidon on the AthLife blog, a career development resource for post-professional, professional and collegiate athletes. “An employee that is able to present creative solutions to complex problems creates tremendous value for the employer and makes himself indispensable.”

How to Highlight: Most resume bullet points should focus on the solution to a problem, such as “Increased email open rates 10 percent.” Whenever possible, articulate the problem as well as the solution so that recruiters can see exactly how you’ve applied your problem-solving skills.

3. Positive Attitude

It’s not hard to understand why employers value this skill so highly — it can help in nearly every situation you encounter in the workplace, from collaborating with others to identifying creative solutions. “Having a positive attitude is absolutely crucial if candidates want to stand out from their peers,” Wallace agrees.

How to Highlight: It’s easier to display a positive attitude in an interview than on a resume, but you can start by framing your on-the-job challenges in a positive way. Using verbs like “overcame,” “surmounted,” “succeeded” and “won” can contribute to an overall positive, energetic impression.

Whether you’re one of the millions of Americans looking for a job, or currently employed but considering your next move, list as many of these skills as you can to make your resume pop.

GlassDoor.com | December 13, 2018 | Posted by Sarah Greesonbach

#Leadership : #InterviewingQuestions – 4 Questions that Employers Should Ask every Job Candidate

December 18, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

When it comes to recruitment, good hiring managers look beyond credentials and the idea of finding someone they’d want to “grab a couple of beers with.” That kind of approach is rife with unconscious bias and isn’t always an accurate prediction of how good they’ll be as an employee.

Good interviews examine candidates holistically. Among other things, this means asking questions that gauge their level of emotional intelligence, how they go about problem solving, and their motivation and driving force at work.

We like to ask the following questions when we’re interviewing applicants. They tell us a lot about the individual, in just a few words.

“DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR US?”

If you’ve been in a job interview, you’re probably familiar with this question. Hiring managers tend to ask this question at the end.

However, we like to ask this question both at the beginning and at the end. When we ask this at the beginning, we want to know whether you’ve spent time researching our firm and your prospective role. A question like, “What benefits do you see in your day-to-day to your firm being 100% employee-owned?” for example, demonstrates your willingness to really understand us.

When we ask this question at the end of our conversation, we want to find out how you perceive the company as you learn more about us and the role. It’s helpful for us to understand what type of hesitation you might have about the company, and address it early on.

The questions you ask can also demonstrate your experience in the field. The more open-ended and higher-level they are, the more we’ll be able to see your operating style. Are you a quarterback, a wide receiver, or a cheerleader? Are you interested in our autonomous teams and how they operate, or are you more curious about the specific type of software you’d use in a project?

Remember, there are no stupid questions. The only way you can screw this up is by not having any questions at all.

“SAY WE HIRE YOU, BUT SIX MONTHS DOWN THE LINE YOU DECIDE TO RESIGN. WHAT HAS HAPPENED?”

This one’s harsh, we know. But is there any better way to gauge your hesitations about our firm and address them right then and there? This question says a lot about how accommodating the employer will be. We use it as a way to flag any possible long-term problems, and we want to identify how we might overcome those roadblocks together. In addition, this question can also help us train and onboard you in an effective way.

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“WHAT WOULD YOUR DREAM PROJECT AT OUR COMPANY BE, AND WHAT WOULD YOU NEED TO MAKE IT HAPPEN?”

Yes, we’re interested in your passion, but we also want to know what you focus on at work. Can you get stuff on your own? Do you need guidance? Are you able to ask for help? Do you delegate non-important tasks, or get bogged down by the minutiae? Are you thinking big or small? Where do you see yourself in a hierarchy?

There are no right answers here: It all depends on the type of person we’re looking for. If we’re looking for a project manager, for example, we want someone who can think about the big picture, and delegate the appropriate work to the appropriate team member. If we’re looking for a customer service representative, we want someone who knows how to stay calm under pressure.

“WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAID YOU WERE SORRY?”

This question is my absolute favorite. We all make mistakes at work, but unconditionally, human employers understand that screwing up is part of life. What matters is how we bounce back from setbacks, and how we take others around us into consideration.

Whether it’s yelling at your fiancé the previous evening because they didn’t make a restaurant reservation, or pulling a teammate aside to apologize for an off-handed comment, how you deal with your mistakes is an indication of your willingness to reflect and grow. Just don’t tell us that you’ve never been sorry.

We’ve learned that in order for an interview to be effective, you need to have a two-sided conversation rather than an interrogation. These days, people no longer see work as a place to clock in and clock out–so it’s only in everyone’s best interests to ensure that what we offer as a company is consistent with the employee’s priorities and goals. At the end of the day, that’s the key to a productive and happy workplace.

Eetu Blomqvist is the North America CEO of Reaktor. Nikke Ruokolainen is Reaktor’s head of talent and human resources.

FastCompany.com | December 18, 2018 | BY EETU BLOMQVIST AND NIKKE RUOKOLAINEN 3 MINUTE READ

#CareerAdvice – #ToxicBehavior -How to Deal With a Colleague’s Negative Attitude

December 18, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Negative or toxic behavior at work can rear its ugly head in many different ways. Whether it’s constant complaining about a boss or coworker, dissatisfaction with the work/role/organization, critical/aggressive remarks or hoarding information, the effects of negative behavior from colleagues can be taxing on your mental state.

Toxic colleagues can erode team culture, tarnish your personal brand and harm the dynamics between a team. So what can you do when faced with a negative colleague whose behaviors are bringing you down? Let’s review some suggested courses of action!

Practice Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence is an important part of building relationships, creating trust and cultivating a workplace that feels more human. If you’re noticing a constant stream of negative energy from one particular colleague, flexing your emotional intelligence in the following ways could be helpful in turning a sinking relationship into a more productive one:

Find out why: The saying “be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about” is a great mantra when interacting with someone’s negativity. If there’s something going on in their personal life that is causing them to lash out at work, simply recognizing their struggles could be enough to help them show up more positively. Of course, you don’t want to pry into their personal affairs, but should the opportunity to talk about it arise, having a better understanding of their personal realities outside of work might help you humanize their behavior and build a stronger sense of empathy for them.

Offer compassion: Rather than trying to combat fire with fire, offer this colleague some compassion and express your desire to help. Perhaps they are feeling insecure about certain workplace relationships/events, or perhaps they could be drowning in work. By offering them help and support, you will create a safer place for them to put their guard down.

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Create Personal Boundaries

It’s important to remember that negativity breeds more negativity, so if you’re surrounding yourself with negative energy, it will likely affect you more deeply than a simple annoyance. To create personal boundaries at work, consider the following:

Align yourself with positive people: The phrase “Your vibe attracts your tribe” can be true in both your personal life, as well as your work life. It’s important to align yourself with the people around you who see opportunity, excitement and reasons to be grateful at work, rather than get sucked into the energy of those who wish to see their glass as half empty.

Change your mindset: If someone on your team says something negative, or constantly creates a hostile environment, remind yourself that you’re there to work, and once you clock out, their behaviors and attitudes no longer affect you. Keep work to just work, and avoid creating a social life that revolves around this person. Stay calm, and remember that their negativity is likely a symptom of their greater unhappiness, which has nothing to do with you, nor is it your problem.

Diffuse the Situation

There are times when you won’t be able to (or won’t want to!) avoid this negative colleague. In order to co-exist harmoniously, diffusing the negativity that emanates from them is a strategy you can practice. To do this, consider the following:

Redirect the conversation: If you notice the conversation with your colleague is heading into a dark place, redirect it by switching topics and avoiding subjects that you know will set off negative alarms. For example, if this colleague has a problem with your current boss and spends most of your watercooler conversation complaining about it, try your best bring up topics you both enjoy and don’t engage in the boss-bashing.

Address the situation directly: If you’re unable to move the conversation into a positive place, consider having a direct conversation with your colleague about the problem. While this might seem intimidating, it could be a good opportunity for you to help them with their professional brand and reputation within the office. There is a good chance that they might be unaware of how their negative attitude is impacting their relationships.

You could say something like “I wanted to have a discussion about the energy that we both bring to the team. I understand the ups and downs that come with work, but I was hoping we could discuss how to make things more positive as we continue working together.”

Speak to the manager: Depending on the scope of the problem, you may need to reach out to your manager, given that someone’s attitude at work should be included in their performance management.

Managing your attitude in the face of adversity is a huge part of your personal brand. Negativity is contagious, so do your best to rise above, even though commiserating can feel good. Remind yourself, and your team, that you’ve all chosen to work wherever it is you are. How you choose to show up each day is up to you!

Stacy Pollack is a Learning Specialist with an MA in Educational Technology. She is passionate about building leadership programs that engage and contribute to the success of her organization. She loves to share her perspective on workplace development, career building, and networking for success. Connect with her onLinkedIn, Twitter, or at www.stacypollack.com.

GlassDoor.com | December 17, 2018 Posted by Stacy Pollack

#CareerAdvice – #JobSearch – How to Organize Your Job Search

December 17, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

When on the hunt for a job, it’s not uncommon to be applying for multiple opportunities at once. This is especially true for those of us just starting out in our careers. But multiple applications mean different resume versions, various cover letters and many, many different deadlines to keep track of. With so many moving parts at once, it’s easy to become disorganized.

But a disorderly job search process can lead to embarrassing mistakes such as lost phone numbers, confused deadlines, and missed interviews. To help you avoid these downfalls, we’ve put together a few tips to help you keep your job search organized.

Step 1: Start With Your Career Goals

It’s easy to want to just jump right in and begin filling out job applications. But before you do, it’s best to take a step back and take a look at the bigger picture. Your career journey should start with a look at the direction in which you’re headed.

Though it may seem trivial to set aside time to organize your thoughts to clearly think through the career path you’d like to pursue, this is one of the most important steps to take. How are you supposed to start going anywhere if you don’t know where you want to go?

Reflect on what you’d like to do and why you feel that’s the right path for you. You might feel a little lost and be unsure about where you’re going, but at this stage in your life, that’s ok. Start by thinking about your long-term goals as those don’t need to be overly specific. Where do you want to be 10 years from now?

Then work backward from there down to five years, one year, and six months from now. Be sure to think through your personal goals in addition to your career and finances. Take your family, education, and anything else you value into consideration.

Step 2: Create a Schedule

After you’ve spent some time finding your direction and clearly thinking through your goals, it’s time to start building out a schedule. After all, in order to achieve the goals you now have in mind, you’ll need to set aside time to go after them.

The first step in this stage is to identify time you can set aside that’s dedicated to job searching. Find blocks of time within your schedule between classes, work, and any other responsibilities. Job searching is a time-consuming process and requires regular attention. So aim to set aside at least two hours every day to fully focus on it.

Next, start building a schedule to complete certain tasks you know you need to get done. For instance, devote one hour to cleaning up your professional online profiles like LinkedIn. Devote another hour or two to preparing your resume. You should be able to fill up at least the first few days of your schedule, if not your first week, with tasks to complete.

Perhaps even more important than actually setting up this schedule is sticking to it. Let’s be honest here — activities like resume building and email sending are less than thrilling tasks. It can be easy to let these fall by the wayside and choose something a little more exciting to occupy your time. However, this will only put you behind and lead you down a path of disorganized job searching. Make sure you leave the time you set aside for job hunting devoid of any other activities.

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Step 3: Minimize Your Job Applications

Looking for a job is more often than not a high-pressure situation, so you might be tempted to begin aimlessly applying for any open position you find. But even though applying for more jobs can make it feel like you’re increasing your chances, this is actually just a waste of your time — not to mention an easy way to become disorganized.

Remember that time you dedicated at the beginning of this process to think through your short-term and long-term goals? Here’s where that comes in handy. Start off by narrowing your search to only the jobs that align with those goals. Look out for the opportunities that will help you get to where you want to be.

Next, narrow your search down to only the openings that match the level of skill you have. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean that your qualifications need to match up with those listed on the job description exactly. In fact, this will likely never be the case. Job descriptions should be more of a directional tool for whether or not you’re a potential fit for a role, so look for those where you match around 80 percent of the qualifications listed.

Step 4: Track Each Position You Apply For

Here’s where things can get especially messy. Applying for multiple positions at once leaves you with a lot of different things to manage. It’s very important to make sure you’re keeping track of all of the different details as you go along.

One of the best ways to do this is to create a spreadsheet. This is an easy and effective way to help you keep track. Don’t worry about making anything too fancy. Just be sure to include basic information such as:

Company Name
Contact Details: include the name, email, and phone number of your contact at the company. In most cases, this will be a hiring manager.
Date Applied
Deadlines and Interviews: deadlines for upcoming information the company asks for and scheduled interviews
Date Followed Up: date you followed up after an application submission or interview
Status of Application: whether you’ve been rejected, are waiting to hear back, or have an interview scheduled

Not a fan of Excel? No problem. We created an easy job application tracker that can help. Download it here!

JibberJobber is an online job search organization tool that helps you keep track of what you’re working on. If you prefer working off of your phone or tablet, then there are tons of great apps available. Keep in mind, though, that setting up a system for tracking alone is not enough. You need to be diligent in updating your system each time you take a new action or receive an update from a potential employer.

There are so many different things to keep track of when job searching, that you can easily become overwhelmed and confused. But by following these few simple tips, you’ll be ready for a more organized and effective job hunt.

GlassDoor.com | December 4, 2018 | Posted by Catherine Burns