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#Leadership : #WorkPlace – All your #CoWorkers’ Weird Behavior, Explained…. A Psychologist Breaks Down the Three Factors that Drive most People’s Actions. Understand These, and your Colleagues’ Behavior Won’t Seem so Puzzling.

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

Succeeding at work requires understanding other people’s actions and the motivations behind them: Did your colleague intentionally word her email in a way meant to undermine your credibility? Did your client fail to call back because he’s thinking of using another supplier? Did your boss pass you in the hallway without smiling because she’s angry at something you said in your last meeting?

There’s a good chance that, without realizing it, you habitually choose a particular type of explanation for other people’s behavior. And the one you tend to choose matters, because it determines how you react. If you misdiagnose the cause of someone’s actions, you run the risk of doing something that could make a situation worse. To avoid that, it helps to understand the primary factors that drive most people’s actions. Here are the top three worth thinking about anytime you’re puzzling over something a colleague might’ve done or said, and determining how best to respond.

1. TRAITS

This is arguably the most common factor people use when thinking about other people’s behavior. A trait is a stable tendency someone displays in their interactions with the world. Many (but not all) of these traits reflect personality characteristics that guide people’s choices and actions. For example, you may assume your colleague said something to undercut your credibility because you know her to be manipulative. This tendency of hers corresponds to the common personality characteristic of Machiavellianism, which reflects the degree to which individuals try to manipulate others for their own gain.

Yet despite how often we use traits to explain others’ behaviors, psychological studies generally suggest that personality characteristics account for only around 20%–30% of differences in individuals’ behavior (and the real world, of course, is even messier than controlled studies). That means you probably need to look beyond traits to understand what other people are doing and why they’re doing it.

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2. SITUATIONS

Situational circumstances play a big role in what people do and don’t do. So when you’re trying to evaluate what a coworker has done, you also need to think about the context in which they’ve done it. Suppose you left two messages for a client who hasn’t called you back. See if there’s anything you know about that client’s work that might help you figure out what’s going on. You might notice, for instance, that it’s toward the end of their fiscal year, and so they may be dealing with budgets.

Considering the context might sound like an easy or obvious thing to do, but our tendency to interpret events based on personality traits can make situational factors hard to see. To help you out, imagine yourself in the other person’s shoes for a moment: What might be going on around you that would lead you to act as that person did? Even if you can’t diagnose their behavior accurately this way, it may help you avoid assuming that the primary reason for their action was a trait.

3. GOALS

The third big determinant of someone’s actions is their current goals. Most of us overestimate our own impact on people’s behavior. As a result, we assume that we ourselves somehow figure into the explanation for why somebody’s acting in a particular way, when in reality we don’t. It’s much more likely they have some other goal in mind that’s driving what they do.

For example, your boss may have passed you in the hallway without smiling because she’s late for a meeting with a senior executive. She is isn’t angry at you for some prior comment (a situation), and she isn’t generally a cold person (a trait); she’s just mentally preparing for her next meeting (a goal) while on the run. So before jumping to conclusions about someone’s behavior, ask yourself what goals might lead them to act as they did.

As a general strategy, it’s smart to mentally cycle through the traits, situations, and goals that might be motivating your coworkers’ perplexing behavior. The more possibilities you consider, the better prepared you’ll be to respond effectively.

FastCompany.com | 08.01.18 | THE SCIENCE OF WORK

#CareerAdvice : #CareerNetworking – Three Surprising Ways your #Network can Help your #JobSearch … #Networking Doesn’t Always Lead to #Referrals or #Introductions to #HiringManagers . But Sometimes your Contacts can Prove Helpful in Ways you Hadn’t Expected.

July 31, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

My professional network has never led directly to a job opportunity. I’ve had people on the inside graciously pass along my resume and extend referrals, but while I’ve landed interviews this way, they’ve never crystallized into an offer. In fact, every job offer I’ve ever received has come about the old-fashioned way: by applying to a job posting.

NETWORKING LETS YOU PRACTICE TALKING ABOUT YOUR WORK

If it’s been at least a year since your last job search, there’s a good chance you’re out of practice describing your work to people outside your organization. There’s actually an art to answering the familiar question, “So what do you do?” and since most interviews kick off with, “Tell me a little about yourself,” networking conversations can actually double as interview prep.

Networking with people while you’re job hunting forces you to get beyond those boring one-line summaries of your current job description. As you start telling folks in your network what you’re looking to do next, you’ll also have to characterize your strengths and interests, drum up examples of recent projects you’re proud of, and make connections between your current role and your ambitions for the next stage in your career.

Articulating all of this takes practice. Plus, in addition to helping you refine your pitch to hiring managers and recruiters, this also gives your network a clearer sense of what opportunities to keep a lookout for on your behalf.

Here’s what to ask your contacts:

“Does the experience I’ve just described make sense? And does it sound interesting?
“Based on what I’ve told you, what sounds like my top strength? What about my biggest weakness?”

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TALKING TO YOUR NETWORK HELPS YOU FOCUS (OR EXPAND) YOUR SEARCH

You may never have had a professional mentor, but as soon as you mention you’re job searching, just about everyone snaps into mentorship mode. They’re quick to ask questions about your current job and what you’re hoping for in the next one. They grill you about where you’re looking and whether you’ve landed any interviews yet. They wrack their brains for people they know that you might want to talk to.

This knee-jerk generosity can be helpful, or not. (Your friend’s new roommate might not know a damn thing about your industry even though he’s really excited to help.) But these discussions can be clarifying even when they don’t cough up job leads. Sometimes you’ll notice somebody interpreting your work history in a different light than you see it, which could cue you to reframe your experience in future career conversations. Other times someone may suggest a company or a type of role that you hadn’t considered before. And once in a while, a contact with deeper experience in your field might brush away worries about your competitive weaknesses and put their finger on something completely different that you should really focus on.

These networking interactions can lead you to shift your strategy, sometimes in small ways and sometimes much more radically. The best part is that even people who are relatively ignorant about your field or career ambitions can still help you adjust your game plan, whether it’s to find focus or think more broadly.

Here’s what to ask your contacts:

For people who are less knowledgable about your field: “Hypothetically, If I were to leave my field, what types of other roles do you think I’d be qualified for?”
For those who know a lot about your field: “What types of candidates do you think I’m most likely to be competing with for this role? Should I consider different types of positions?”

YOUR NETWORK CAN HELP YOU VET JOB OFFERS

In my experience, a professional network is most effective at helping you size up job opportunities. Sometimes the hardest part of the hiring process isn’t crafting a great resume or preparing for an interview, it’s deciding whether to take the job once it’s finally offered.

The folks in your network might not know the hiring manager or an HR rep inside the company, but they’re much more likely to know someone who works there and can speak generally about their experiences on the inside. This is often the real benefit of those “weak connections”; the people who know the people you know, even though they’ve never met you, probably won’t give you an endorsement. But many are happy to jump on a 20-minute call with you and share their thoughts on the position you’re applying to, plus any words of caution or advice.

All of this is underappreciated intel. If you can land these conversations before going on a job interview or even before applying, they’ll help you tailor the way you position your candidacy. These second-degree contacts can also clue you into potential drawbacks and suggest good questions to ask about the team, the work culture, and the demands of the role. And if someone has already agreed to chat with you about a job opportunity, they probably won’t blink when you ask if there are any other insiders they might be willing to introduce you to. Before you know it, you’ll have tapped into a brain trust of in-the-know contacts who can share critical insight to guide your strategy and decision making.

Here’s what to ask your contacts:

When you’re looking for company insiders: “Do you know any current or former employees at X company who might be willing to chat with me about their experience there?”
After speaking with company insiders: “Thanks for chatting with me! If you can think of anyone else you work with who may have some insight into the role I’m pursuing, I’d love to be connected.”

So no, your immediate network might not be much help in connecting you with the top decision makers for the specific job opportunities that appeal to you. But if you give them a chance, your professional contacts can probably help you out much more–and in many more ways–than you think.

FastCompany.com | July 31, 2018 | BY RICH BELLIS 5 MINUTE READ

#BestofFSCBlog : #JobSearch – Four(4) Crucial Tips for Writing the Interview Thank You Note. So you Really Want this Job?

July 30, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

So you really want this job? You have likely already written a captivating cover letter, undergone a brief phone interview and finally, were invited into the office for an interview. The interview went swimmingly (because you prepped for it like a pro)? Awesome! Now that you’re exiting the office building of your (hopeful) future job, it’s time for your next step.

Enter: the thank you note. The thank you note should be a no-brainer. It is a perfect way for a candidate to give herself the final edge over other candidates in the interview process.

Writing the thank you note does not have to be an exhaustive process. However, a candidate can (and should!) use it as an opportunity to edge out the other candidates.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Interviewing is an arduous process for any job candidate. In much the same way, it can be a stressful time for the hiring manager. My number one piece of advice in writing a thank you note for a job you really want?

Do it right away. Even if you killed the interview and expect a call saying “You’re hired!” by the end of the day, write the note. Express your gratitude and keep your candidacy fresh in the hiring manager’s mind. DO NOT wait until a week later when you haven’t heard anything to shoot off a “by the way, thanks” email.

A well-timed thank you note after an interview is a perfect way to reiterate your excitement to join the team. Aim to send your thank you note no within 24 hours of the end of the interview.

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AN EMAIL THANK YOU NOTE IS A-OK

We know you still have that Laura Ashley stationery your grandma gave you for your high school graduation. We know it’s embossed with your initials.

However, 87 percent of hiring managers view email as a perfectly acceptable means of delivering your thank you note. Since we have already established that timing is everything, email is going to be your best bet.

KEEP YOUR THANK YOU NOTE BRIEF

By this point in the interview process, your hiring manager has likely learned a ton about you. Do not use the thank you note to reiterate the play-by-play.

You can (and should) use it as a means to communicate one point you may have neglected to make, to expand on an idea or simply to express feelings of excitement for the job itself. Since the hiring manager is also busy interviewing, reading resumes, and communicating with other stakeholders, keep your note on point.

EDIT YOUR THANK YOU NOTE

So far, we have focused heavily on the speed and brevity of this note. But that doesn’t mean it’s informal! Make sure to use a formal greeting, write clear (and concise!) sentences, and sign off formally. This is not a one-liner to say “Thanks, Dude!”

Just as easily as a thank you note can impress a hiring manager, it can also detract from the whole process. A spelling error or flippant manner of writing can undo your progress. Write your thank you note, read it over a few times aloud, spell check it, and get a second pair of eyeballs on it if you can.

CareerContessa.com | BY CAILEEN KEHAYAS | July 25, 2018

#Leadership : #HiringEmployees – Here’s What Most People get Wrong about “Passion”….These Days, many People See Passion as Something they Either Have or Don’t Have. Here Are the Reasons Why That’s the Wrong Mentality.

July 29, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Yes, it’s cliché. But while we all seem to get that marriage requires more than a little love and affection, there’s still this pervasive myth that passion is the secret key to your career.

Don’t get me wrong. Passion counts for a lot, especially if you’re tasked with convincing someone to give you a shot.

When it comes to making career transitions for happiness, I’m not just a poster child–I’m a freeway billboard. In my own work, I’ve made not one pivot but three, and in each of those instances, I convinced someone to take a chance on me despite an unconventional resume. They saw something that didn’t fit on one page of cream-colored paper, and I benefited from that. So talking the talk definitely counts for something.

But there’s something about this post-millennial era that’s got it twisted (post-millennial Rihanna reference definitely intended). Too many of us have lost track of the nuances.

With the rise of buzzwords like “manifesting” and “passion projects,” there’s another underlying belief system at play: that wanting something badly enough actually makes you qualified to have it.

Much like a happily-ever-after plot line, underneath all the talk about boundless passion or a candidate’s personal goals-slash-dreams, there’s just not much meaning.

THE MYTH OF THE BIG ENTRANCE

I often see this mentality in cover letters when we’re hiring. Sentence after sentence argues (usually incredibly articulately) about how transcendent the experience of working with us will be.

“There’s nothing I’ve ever wanted more than to work at Career Contessa improving the lives of women every day.”

These are lovely words, and I imagine many people automatically react to them the same way I did: It feels good to hear that the work your company does means so much to someone. And it’s easy–especially after that ego boost–to think that their chutzpah equals professional tenacity. But does it really?

I’ve had an interview where someone told me I should hire her because she was ready to harness her abundant creativity. Others have told me they can’t wait for a flexible work environment that will let them explore their outside interests. Once, a 23-year-old told me that getting hired would help her grow her personal brand and following (lucky me?).

As I’m listening, there’s a common thread that’s hit-you-over-the-head clear, and it’s not “this person is star employee material.” It’s more like: me, me, me.

“I want a career that fulfills me.”

“I love that this job gives me flexibility, so I can work on my other projects.”

“This is the perfect stepping stone toward my ultimate goal of working for myself.”

It’s not that these are bad things to think, exactly–it’s that there are more complex thoughts and conversations to have. Thoughts like these are big-picture thinking taken to extremes like a climactic scene from some ’90s Meg Ryan movie. Much like a happily-ever-after plotline, underneath all the talk about boundless passion or a candidate’s personal goals/dreams, there’s just not much meaning.

Almost every time I’ve hired someone who sells solely their unbridled passion, breezing over their past work, or concrete experiences, I’ve come to regret it.

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CUE THE FLAGGING DEDICATION

What these conversations lack is the collaborative element that real, lasting professional relationships need. Because if work is about innovation and empathy, there’s more to it than what any one of us wants to do. It’s about how we can adapt and change each other and do real work together.

There’s this inherent privilege in the passion-is-everything perspective, and maybe that’s why it bothers me so much. If you’re responsible for making rent and paying down student loans, you don’t get to plan your life solely around your passion projects. You earn time to focus on those, courtesy of a whole lot of hard work. So this idea that passion is The Answer, that’s reserved for a very few people–the ones who can “just quit” when the going gets tough.

Almost every time I’ve hired someone who sells solely their unbridled passion, breezing over their past work or concrete experiences, I’ve come to regret it.

They fail to meet deadlines. They balk at busy work. They give notice after three months because they’ve committed to too many other side projects. They’re the sort of personalities who wind up with two- or four-month jobs on their resumes and not much more. They fall through.

When you’re focused solely on the personal endpoint–your own success, full stop–how can you make space for all the work that needs to get done in between? And if your eye is only on the prize, how are you supposed to stay energized when the process takes longer than expected?

Newsflash: It always does.

AND THEN THERE’S THE PASSION JUDGMENT

There’s more to it than that as well. There’s also the fact that many of us don’t know what we’re passionate about, and thanks to the rise of the passion-first mentality, we tend to feel like we’re failing if we don’t. We look at others with all that conviction and energy, and we think they must have it figured out. That comparison can affect us in various ways, but the scariest is that it threatens to have an adverse effect: It can stunt our growth.

If you approach every job with an open perspective, chances are the experience will help you with your growth. Even a terrible job can teach you what industry suits you or make you realize what you’re innately great at. But if you don’t give it a chance–because it’s not what you think is your passion, right now, right this second–how will you ever really keep evolving?

Passion these days is a black-and-white myth. We tend to believe that either you have it or you don’t. And like most things, inflexible thinking will ruin us.

Work first, passion second. Because what is passion, really, if you’re not willing to fight for it?

GIVE ME THE DEDICATED DOERS, NOT THE PASSIONATE DREAMERS

I’m not interested in the passionate dreamers or the “currently working on” hustlers as much as I’m interested in the people who work in the gray zones somewhere in between. These are the people who never cease to impress and surprise you. They’re also the ones who challenge you. They make you think–and work–differently.

A friend of mine, a creative director for a fashion brand, once listened in silence as a 19-year-old told her that once her modeling career finished, she’d “just become a creative director since I love styling.”

Just become.

That friend climbed ranks over a decade one production assistant job at a time, worked 60-hour weeks or more, and moved across the country twice for new opportunities. She loves her job today more than anything, precisely because she worked her ass off to get there. Passion came later.

Work first, passion second. Because what is passion, really, if you’re not willing to fight for it?

There’s a similar adage that goes something like this, “Don’t do anything for five minutes that you wouldn’t do for five years.” It’s one that people rarely linger on, maybe because it makes us uncomfortable. Such a span seems dramatically out of sync with our iPhone-laden era. And that’s precisely why the five-plus-yearers are that much more impressive to me.

It’s not that I’m asking people to give up all their passion or to stick it out in a job that makes them miserable. But when I think about the sort of people I see with flourishing careers, they’re never the Passionates, they’re the Commitments. The ones who don’t treat “passion” as their everything but simply as the product of putting effort into working, questioning, and exploring. They’re not the biggest show-stealers, but they’re doing more than alright.

FastCompany.com | July 29, 2018 | BY KIT WARCHOL—CAREER CONTESSA 6 MINUTE READ

#CareerAdvice : #ResumeWriting – 6 Ways to Make the Skills Section Shine on a #Resume …Here are a Few More Tips on How to Make the #SkillsSection on your Resume Truly Shine.

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

For many resume writers, the “skills section” presents a unique quagmire. On the one hand, you want to showcase as many skills as you can to show your competence. On the other hand, you don’t want to make it look like you’re padding your resume, and you definitely don’t want to list skills that you’re only half-competent at.

Resume writer Anish Majumdar recommends building your skills section by writing out the skills you need at your current job, and then reviewing your list and circling skills that correlate with your target position. “Finally, underline those circled skills which can be proven on your resume. These are the ones you need to focus on,” writes Majumdar.

Once you’ve done that, here are a few more tips on how to make the skills section on your resume truly shine:

1. Give it all you’ve got

Don’t be shy about layering on your skills – both hard and soft skills. Just because you’re a software engineer doesn’t mean you don’t need to showcase your communication, cross-sector collaboration, and time management abilities. In fact, listing those skills alongside your competency with Java and Python will make you stand out from the crowd. Layering your resume with skills can serve to give recruiters a well-rounded, multi-faceted image of you.

2. Only include the good stuff

That being said, you need to make sure you’re not putting skills on your resume merely to bulk it up. Certain skills, like knowing how to use Microsoft Word or email, are too basic to distinguish you from other candidates. These competencies are obvious to recruiters, and should not be placed on your resume. If the answer to the question “can every other applicant to the job write that they have this skill?” is yes, you might want to reconsider taking up precious resume real estate with the skill.

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3. Bulk your skills up

No, this doesn’t mean by padding your resume with skills you don’t have! If there are certain skills that you find would be helpful to have for the jobs you’re applying to, but you don’t currently have, it might be time to take a class or do a training on these skills. It also might be a question of brushing up certain skills, so that you can show them off, like upgrading your “intermediate proficiency” in Spanish to “professional working proficiency”. Investing time and money in these skills now can have big payoffs in the future.

4. Be straightforward

The skills section of your resume is not the place to sugarcoat. What you see as a rose-colored picture of a certain skill might simply be seen as a fib by a recruiter. Let’s take the Spanish example again. Suppose you say you have “professional working proficiency”, when you really just spent a semester abroad in Spain when you were in college 10 years ago, and haven’t practiced the language since. A portion of your job interview is conducted in Spanish – yikes! Or even worse, you get the job, and your first assignment is to interface with an Argentinian client – completely in Spanish. Chances are you won’t be at the job for much longer. Even little resume fibs can cause big trouble.

5. Showcase your transferable skills

Especially if you’re transitioning careers, showing off your transferable skills is critical to fleshing out the skills section of your resume. Transferable skillsinclude things like leadership, analytics, communication through writing, public speaking, mathematical reasoning, or organizing meetings. These type of skills can give you the boost you need in showcasing your experience.

6. Back yourself up

Soft skills like “coordination with sub-contractors” can sound intangible and airy – which is why you shouldn’t be afraid to back yourself up with a few examples and numbers. “Coordinated weekly with 12 subcontractors to drive a project slated to take 6 months to a 3-month completion time” packs more of a punch, and lets whoever’s reading your resume visualize better your abilities.

GlassDoor.com | July 27, 2018 | Posted by Lillian Childress

#CareerAdvice : #OnBoarding – Starting A #NewJob ? Follow ‘The 30/60/90 Plan’…By Organizing & Prioritizing, you Can Make the Most Out of the Initial Stages of your New Job.

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

Starting a new job comes with a multitude of emotions, some good and some bad. Fortunately, the wonders of organization come to the rescue, yet again, as the transition is eased through the 30/60/90-day plan.

An unfamiliar routine, or lack of a routine altogether, can cause for added stress as well as the growing pressures to impress and succeed at the new position. Although your stress may build for a variety of reasons, getting organized always alleviates the nervous tension at the hip of getting started.

A plan of any sort provides us with a tangible version of where we are going and where we want to be, all while tracking our progress and achievements along the way. By planning out your goals of the first 30, 60, and 90 days on the job, you have created your own vision and you are sure to take advantage of your full potential as a new hire.

In just a small time frame, you are expected to learn how to do your job successfully, in addition to discovering how to fit in. Your 30/60/90 game plan can get you there. Here is a sample outline of suggested goals to incorporate into your own customized plan:

1. 30 Days – The Learning Stage

One common mistake of new hires is never taking the time to understand exactly what it is that the company is trying to accomplish through their strategic plan. As a new hire, it is extremely important to put in the effort to study and learn the internal lay of the land as follows:

Bring the mission statement and vision to life and discover the plans the company abides by to reach these core values.
Understand your boss’s expectations of you.
Begin forming professional relationships with coworkers.
Learn about your customers and clients.
Investigate the overall company culture.

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2. 60 Days – Adding the Y-O-U

Once you have taken time to fully assess the company, begin adding your strengths to the equation:

Progressively begin building your own personal brand within the company by showcasing what you do well.
Brainstorm the ways in which your own personal touch can accelerate company growth.
You may have started with listening much more than talking, which is recommended. By this stage, begin leveling out the playing fields by contributing to the conversation.
Furthermore, be an effective communicator by being open. You’re the newbie, but don’t hide behind your computer screen two months in.
Become more versatile by taking on some tasks outside of your set responsibilities.
Continue to be mindful of your boss’s expectations of you.

90 Days – The Transformation Stage

By this time, you should have a firm grasp of the role you play in the company. Your confidence is likely to have grown since your first day and leadership qualities are hopefully itching to be put to action. At this point, consider the following:

You know your employer well enough by now to be proactive when it comes to company happenings.
Be attentive and aware of new projects and come ready with possible solutions.
Analyze the growth in your network.
Dodge your novice mistakes.
Look into broadening your horizons by getting more involved. You can do this by joining a club, council, board, or committee.
Make time to notice your growth and reward yourself for your progress.

Your 30/60/90 plan is your written path from a new hire to an effective leader. By organizing and prioritizing, you can make the most out of the initial stages of your new job.

In what ways have you eased the first few months of starting a new job? Do you find the power in planning and organizing when starting something new? Let us know below.

GlassDoor.com | July 22, 2018 |Posted by Heather Huhman

#Leadership : #WomenOlderWorkers – Let’s Stop Letting #Women Age Out of the #Workforce Worse Off than Men…We try to prepare girls to be successful women by plotting their career paths early. But women heading toward retirement get little support and often pay the price.

July 27, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

When your father or grandfather retired, his company might’ve thrown a little get-together, complete with toasts by backslapping colleagues, a cake, and an engraved watch. If he was lucky, he walked into retirement knowing he had a company pension or ample retirement savings to see him through the rest of his life.

Today? Not so much. Especially not for women.

Women who are approaching retirement in the U.S. today face a trifecta of challenges: They’re living longer (an average of 20 years past age 65), have significantly less money saved (an average of just $34,000), and face ever-increasing costs, especially for health care (an average of $5,503 a year out-of-pocket). This adds up to far greater economic insecurity among women as they age. In fact, according to the National Institute on Retirement Security, women aged 65 and older have incomes that are 25% lower than men’s, and they are 80% more likely than men to be impoverished past age 65.

Women of color face even deeper disparities as they age. African American and Latina women earn less from Social Security, assets, and pensions than do white women, and they rely on Social Security for a larger portion of their income, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The good news is that employers have a unique opportunity to turn these numbers around, by thinking proactively about supporting working women today so they can age well later. Here are three ideas.

CLOSE THE PAY GAP AND EXPAND MENTORING

Women begin retirement with a hurdle that’s followed them their entire careers: the gender pay gap. Labor Department statistics show the gap is as stubborn as ever, with women earning 21% less than men, a disparity that worsens among women of color and in certain industries more than others. Lower pay means less money saved, both in personal retirement accounts and Social Security benefits. Overall, women receive nearly $4,000 a year less in Social Security than men.

Employers can level the playing field by eliminating the gender wage gap among their employees now, so their women employees don’t leave the workforce already disadvantaged once they retire. This is not an impossible goal. Starbucks, for example, has reached100% pay equity among its employees. One part of the solution is to widen women’s participation in STEM fields; another is for employers to offer more flexible schedules and remote-work opportunities.

Companies also need to do a better job of nurturing and mentoring women to move up into leadership positions that offer greater opportunities and more pay. Staff development and performance management are critical to ensuring that women keep learning and developing over the entire course of their careers–this way they can retire from them on a more secure financial footing.

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LET WOMEN PHASE INTO LIFE AFTER WORK

Few women today want to work one day and stop the next. They want and need to continue working, but other responsibilities may be tugging at them. By one recent estimate, for example, up to 20% of working women are also caring for an elderly loved one.

Employers need to create organizational climates where women approaching retirement don’t feel it’s risky to have conversations about phased retirement options. Working part-time or moving to a position that requires less responsibility can be a solution–and employers should be game to offer that. In the latest Transamerica Retirement Survey, only 23% of workers said they plan to immediately stop working at a specific point in time. However, 25% also said that their employers do nothing to help employees enter retirement. Organizations need to step up and change that.

ARM WOMEN WITH KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT’S AHEAD

As a society, we try to prepare girls to grow into successful women; think Girl Scouts, STEM initiatives, and Girls on the Run. But how do we help women prepare to age well? We don’t teach them how their bodies are going to change as they age, or how to manage their savings so it will last an extra 20 years.

Just as we counsel younger women to make informed decisions about their education and careers, we need to support older women in planning for a successful third phase of life. My organization, the National Council on Aging, created an “Aging Mastery Program”to provide this kind of unbiased guidance, complete with small steps people can take to chart their own paths toward aging well.

While the days of engraved watches and pension plans may be over for most (and were never equitably available to all to begin with), a secure retirement should be a right for every person who has put in a lifetime of work–especially women. Forward-thinking employers need to help women plan not just for successful careers but for successful lives after work. And they need to start right now.

Anna Maria Chávez is Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer at the National Council on Aging.

FastCompany.com | July 27, 2018

#CareerAdvice : You’ve Been Professionally Ghosted (simple response back), Now What?…. It’s Never Fun to Be on the Receiving End of Unexplained Silence. Here are Some Tips on What You Can Do to Get the Person On the Other End to Respond.

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

Hi again. Just circling back. Did you see my last email? I wanted to quickly follow up. Let me know when you have a chance.

Most of us are all too familiar with ghosting in our personal lives, whether it’s the stereotypical Tinder connect who evaporates, or a friend who never follows through with weekend plans. But then there’s ghosting at work, a trend that’s not exactly new but is uniquely annoying every time it happens.

You know the drill. You need something from a colleague, and even though you know they’re on their computer all day, every day, somehow you’re supposed to believe that they just haven’t read your email from three days ago.

Here are a few of the most common ghosting situations, along with our best tips to finally get a response back–or at least try to.

WHEN YOU’RE INTERVIEWING FOR A JOB

Sign you’ve been ghosted:

Zero response to your thank-you note or second follow-up.

How to address it:

If you’ve only sent a single thank-you note after your interview, you could give it one last shot with a follow-up note that expresses (again) how interested you are. They might still be interviewing and just haven’t gotten back.

If you’ve already done that, it’s time to take a cue from standard dating advice: move on. They’re just not that into you, and that’s okay. There’s another company out there that will fall in love with you (and email you back).

WHEN SOMEONE OWES YOU SOMETHING FOR A PROJECT

Sign you’ve been ghosted:

One (or two or three . . . ) emails asking for something and still no response.

How to address it:

If you’re in the same office, go see them and ask. We’ve gotten pretty comfortable hiding behind computer screens, but it’s a lot harder to look someone in the eye when you owe them something and not feel motivated to give it to them. If that’s not going to work in your situation, another good move (especially after a second or third email) is to cc a supervisor on the chain on another check-in. This is only a trick to be used in an incredibly flaky context–but trust us, people get back fast.

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WHEN YOU ASK THE TEAM FOR HELP–AND NO ONE VOLUNTEERS

Sign you’ve been ghosted:

You email a few coworkers asking if anyone can help you with a presentation, but absolutely no one responds.

How to address it:

You could send a follow-up email reminding everyone that you’re still waiting for a volunteer, and you might hear back–but most likely someone will write back out of guilt, only to give an excuse on why they can’t help you.

Skip the in-between step and go straight to the source. We like to email people individually (they’re more likely to get back to that than to the mass email) or, better yet, to stop by their desk and say, “Hey, I know I sent an email the other day but didn’t hear back from you.” Either way, the best way to handle it is to acknowledge why they don’t want to do it, e.g., “I know that it’s not exactly a fun thing and I’m sure you’ve got a ton of stuff on your plate, but I’m really getting desperate. Could you help me? I’ll owe you one.” Everybody loves an office IOU.

WHEN YOU ASK FOR A NETWORKING INTRODUCTION

Sign you’ve been ghosted:

You ask if your coworker/boss/friend can introduce you to someone in their network, they maybe even say, “Sure, I’ll look up their contact for you” and then you never hear anything back.

How to address it:

This varies person to person, but you’ve got two possibilities here: One is that the person you asked is a capital F Flake, the other is that they don’t want to do it. So which one are they?

If she’s a Flake, follow up again and one more time after that. Underscore how important it is to you and how much you’d appreciate it. Sprinkle a lot of “pleases” and “you’re my hero” statements in there. Hope for the best.

If you suspect she doesn’t want to do it, ask yourself honestly why. Is it awkward for her? In many cases, that’s the most common answer–just because you want the contact information doesn’t mean she’s comfortable sharing it. If that’s the case, follow up one time and then drop it. Find another way to get introduced or try reaching out to the contact cold on LinkedIn. That might work just as well.

WHEN SOMEONE HAS MISSED A DEADLINE

Sign you’ve been ghosted:
The work they owe you isn’t here.

How to address it:

Head on. Email and say something like this:

Hi [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”][Name],

Checking in on the status of [The Late Project] since I was hoping to have that by [Insert the Missed Deadline]. Could you give me an update on where you’re at and when I can expect to have it by?

If they still don’t respond, try our favorite last-ditch effort solution: cc your/their boss on another follow-up.

WHEN YOU DO SOMEONE A FAVOR AND ASK FOR A FAVOR BACK

Sign you’ve been ghosted:

Let’s just use a Career Contessa example, shall we? You interview a woman from a big name brand, and you share that interview on all your social channels. You email her PR team asking them to share it with their network as well, and . . . nothing.

How to address it:

Even if you wish it worked differently, you do something for someone just to do it. Unless you had an agreement that they would return the favor in a specific way at a specific time, the most you can do is email once more asking if they could help you with XYZ project. Tell them it would mean a lot to you without pointing fingers (“I did this for you already”). If they don’t get back, remember that the next time they ask you for a favor.

WHEN SOMEONE IS DOING BAD WORK

Sign you’ve been ghosted:

You give an employee or coworker feedback about some poor performance and suddenly, they’re phoning it in on their work. Barely.

How to address it:

Again, head on is best. (Seeing a pattern here?) Many a passive-aggressive battle is waged in the break room, but that doesn’t mean you can’t keep it classy. Ask them if you can chat for five minutes and point out that you’ve noticed things feel a bit strained. Use a specific example or two if you have them. Then ask for whatever it is that you need.

By the way, if you’re their boss and they’re now doing badly and ignoring your requests and feedback, this is all documentation you can use if/when you let them go. Because let’s be real, a professional ghoster who also does a bad job? Not exactly long-term employee material.

FastCompany.com | July 26, 2018 | BY CAREER CONTESSA 5 MINUTE READ

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#CareerAdvice : Three Steps for Channeling Career Envy into #Productivity …Along with a Healthy Dose of Perspective. Especially since #SocialMedia makes it All Too Easy to See What your Friends & #Coworkers are Up to Professionally & Personally.

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

Laura has just been laid off from her job. While trying to muster the energy to update her LinkedIn profile, she spots an email alert from LinkedIn that says, “Congratulate Cathy Barnes on her promotion!” Cathy is a former colleague who had been at the same level as Laura when they worked together as junior managers a few years ago. “Clearly,” Laura thinks to herself, “Cathy has pulled way ahead of me professionally now. It looks like she’s landed her dream job while I’m barely staying afloat!”

As it turns out, there are a few practical steps you can take to turn career envy to your advantage, making productive use of those negative feelings in order to boost your productivity and gain a sense of perspective.

1. LOOK FOR INSIGHT IN SOCIAL COMPARISON

Everyone compares themselves to others, whether they consciously realize it or not. It’s often our means of gaining more self-awareness of our capabilities, successes, interests, and personality traits. So “social comparison” can actually be helpful, even if it doesn’t always leave you feeling great about yourself; these knee-jerk assessments help you determine where you think you stand relative to others.

When you catch yourself gripped by career jealousy, pause for a moment and think critically (but not unfairly) about your skills. You may spot clearer benchmarks to measure your progress, whether you’re trying to excel in academics, sports, or business. If you’re strategic about the information that you glean from social comparisons, you can use those insights to modify your approach to certain tasks–for instance, by increasing your training or redirecting your efforts in new directions–and hopefully improving your results in the process.

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2. QUESTION YOUR ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT WHAT YOU SEE

In the world of social media, where your contacts’ carefully curated posts make it look like no one ever has a bad day but you, it’s easy to wind up feeling bad about yourself. But if you take everything you see on LinkedIn or Instagram or Facebook at face value, you’re falling for a ruse. Think about it: People rarely post updates about their job losses, bad-hair days, or sullen teenage kids on social media unless they’re comedians trying to get a laugh. Yet they rush to share graduation photos and spread the word about exciting new jobs. I have been married for 10 years and have never had a child. My husband and I were not concerned about it at all, when we first started living together, but after 7-8 years we decided to give birth to a child. However, it turned out to be not that easy. Infertility is a devastating condition I was diagnosed with. Fortunately, my doctor prescribed Clomid, which helped me treat the issue and get pregnant. Our son is 2 years old by now, and we definitely recommend the drug.

Sometimes it takes an active effort to remind yourself of this. When Laura read about Cathy’s perfect-sounding promotion, she might have stopped to ask herself a few key questions:

How do I know for sure that my friend is happy in her new job?
What sacrifices might she have had to make to reach that level?
What assumptions might I be making about her situation?

This quick exercise can help widen your perspective and bring you back toward a more productive frame of mind. Now, instead of stewing in envy over your friend or colleague, you can widen the lens to consider what steps you can take to improve the parts of your own life where you feel most insecure.

3. ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR OWN SUCCESSES

Your next step is to give yourself a boost of confidence by reminding yourself what you’re doing right. No matter how or why something doesn’t go the way you want–whether you get passed over for a promotion, miss out on a job offer–other things in your life are likely going well. One strategy for doing this is to write a quick list of the things you’re currently most proud of or grateful for in your life, which may help you realize that your overall situation is much better than you initially thought.

Writing for Psychology Today in 2015, Seth Meyers, PsyD, pointed out that “the more fulfilled you feel in various aspects of your life–romantic, social, professional, and hobbies–the less envy you will feel toward anyone.” And by zeroing in on your strengths and advantages, you can channel that boost of motivation more strategically, maximizing your true potential in areas where you’re already excelling. For example, Laura might try using Cathy’s promotion announcement as a chance to invite her to coffee and congratulate her, rekindling a networking relationshipthat could eventually lead to Laura to new job leads of her own.

And since Laura will hopefully have taken the time to reflect on what’s going well in her life, she’ll sound optimistic and confident about her career when she chats with Cathy, rather than morose or envious. She’ll also be able to share with Cathy where she seeks her strengths as a job seeker, which will help Cathy can keep a sharper ear out for opportunities to pass along.

Career envy isn’t exactly pleasant, but it can still give you a leg up. Take the time to reflect on the social comparisons you make. Use moments of FOMO and jealousy to question your assumptions, acknowledge your successes, and identify aspects of your life that you want to improve. By doing so, you can transform your most undignified and vulnerable moments into healthy new habits that drive a successful–and even enviable–career.

Susan Peppercorn is an executive transition coach and the founder of Positive Workplace Partners. She is also the author of Ditch Your Inner Critic at Work: Evidence-Based Strategies to Thrive in Your Career. Follow her on Twitter at @susanpeppercorn.

FastCompany.com | July 25, 2018

#CareerAdvice : #CareerAdvancement – 4 Seemingly Harmless Habits That Can Ruin your #Career ….Being your Own Biggest Critic Might seem Like a Positive Attribute, But it can Lead you to Career Troubles.

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

When people say that “your career is a marathon,” they are probably referring to being patient when it comes to moving up the ladder, and being willing to put in hours and hours of hard work before you get there. But there is another example where the marathon analogy can apply–small habits can stop you from completing it, whether it’s bad form or not fueling properly. Likewise, seemingly innocent tendencies can jeopardize–or stall–your career if you’re not careful.

1. BEING OVERLY HARSH ON YOURSELF

School teaches you to score perfect grades and aim for gold stars, and in most cases you will not come across tests that have materials you’ve never seen (if you do your work properly, that is). Real life, however, doesn’t work like that. You might get assigned tasks you have no idea how to do, and you might not necessarily have a go-to person in the office to ask for help. You’ll make mistakes, and they’ll have real-life consequences.

There’s nothing wrong with that. What is problematic is when you start beating yourself up for every little error, and being too afraid to ask for help for fear of sounding stupid. As Cheryl Lock previously wrote in Fast Company, “Disappointments at work can stop you from asking crucial questions or taking on responsibilities that could potentially move you ahead in your job. It’s unrealistic to believe you’ll never make mistakes in a long career, though, and the ability to recover quickly is what can set you apart from the pack.”

2. PRETENDING TO BE SOMEONE YOU’RE NOT

In the ideal workplace, you’d be able to bring your whole self to work, and present yourself the way you want. However, sometimes your job requires you to embody a different persona. For example, in a formal corporate setting, you might have to tone down your personality a little bit.

But when you feel the need to hide a huge part of yourself, that’s an issue. As Elizabeth Segran reported in a 2015 Fast Company article, respondents from a Deloitte study admitted to changing their appearance, not visibly associating with certain ethnic/political/religious groups, and being silent about issues they support if it’s an unpopular opinion. “Covering up who you are on a daily basis comes at a cost: It takes time and energy and is psychologically exhausting,” Segran wrote. “Employees who feel the need to hide parts of their private life at work also struggle to build close bonds with their colleagues, which makes it hard for them to establish strong networks of support in their career.”

3. BEING TOO OBSESSED WITH PRODUCTIVITY

Productivity is important. In a world of never-ending to-do lists, working harder just doesn’t cut it–you haveto figure out a way to be efficient and work smarter. But too much of anything can be bad for you, including productivity. When you’re so obsessed with “hacking” and “optimizing” every hour with the goal of producing more output, you’re trading in time that you can spend thinking, which is what’s going to move you forward in the long run.

Business psychologist Tony Crabbe articulated this in his book, Busy: How to Thrive in a World Of Too Much. He pointed out that our brains are not machines, and that by putting an emphasis on producing more, we’re not exercising our “cognitive intellect, imagination, and problem-solving” muscle. “In other words, the very capability that our businesses need to cultivate is being damaged, day by day, by “more.” Floundering under the avalanche of corporate communication and demand, our poor brains struggle to do anything more than flit from micro-task to micro-task. We are productive but dumb; our battered and distracted attentional systems are slowing the entire system, and eroding corporate progress.”

4. BEING AFRAID OF CHANGE AND UNCERTAINTY

In a company, some level of change and uncertainty is inevitable. People leave, products fail, and new leaders switch directions and visions. When that happens, it’s easy to move into defense mode. The problem is, that stops you from thinking rationally and making the best of the situation. Fast Company contributor Art Markman previously wrote, “When a big negative outcome feels like it’s right around the corner, it’s likely that your fear outstrips the potential reality. Stress causes you to magnify the imagined impact of the event you’re worrying about, which makes it hard to actually plan for it.”

Playing defense might prevent you from losing your job, but just like focusing too much on output, it can hamper your creativity and prevent you from taking risks that allow you to grow. And that’s not going to be fulfilling for anyone.

FastCompany.com | July 24, 2018