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Your #Career : Are You Prepared for Your #JobInterview ? Don’t Say Yes Before Reading This….We’ve Simplified your Prep Work into Eight Foolproof Steps, So you can Walk into the #Interview Armed with the Information and Confidence you Need to Seal the Deal.

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

Getting ready for a big job interview can be stressful, and the best thing you can do to calm your nerves is to ensure you’re adequately prepared. Improvising responses and questions on the spot works for some people, but there’s no reason to leave it up to chance, especially if you have your heart set on a new gig.

We’ve simplified your prep work into eight foolproof steps, so you can walk into the interview armed with the information and confidence you need to seal the deal.

Step 1: Get Acquainted With the Basics

If you haven’t done so already, look up the company you’re interviewing with on Glassdoor to get an idea of what they do, how big the company is, who their competitors are and what their business model is. How do they make money? What’s their core mission? What are their corporate values? You should be able to answer all these questions before heading into an interview with them.

Step 2: Research Your Interviewers

If you know who you’ll be meeting with, look them up and learn about their professional background. Find out what their role at the company entails in as much detail as you can, as well as what previous positions they may have held. This will help you ask more intelligent, insightful questions during the interview, showing that you’re an informed candidate.

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Step 3: Get Your Q&As Straight

On that note, come prepared with a few thoughtful questions for each interviewer so that you don’t feel pressured to think of them spontaneously. It’s also a good idea to review commonly asked interview questions, and consider what your answers would be. You can also check out the company’s Glassdoor interviews page to see what previous interviewees have been asked.

Step 4: Practice Makes Perfect

After you’ve done the prep work, rehearse your responses to questions you anticipate being asked, either by writing them out or having a friend or family member ask them. There’s no need to memorize a script, but practicing can help ensure you feel comfortable talking about your experience, skills, challenges and insights.

Step 5: Pack Your Bag and Plan Your Outfit

Get prepared with a professional-looking bag or backpack packed with copies of your resume, your portfolio, a notebook, a pen and anything else you think you might need for the interview.

Pick out what you’ll wear at least a day ahead of time, so you don’t have to worry about it the morning of. If you’re not sure what to wear, check out photos of the office on Glassdoor or the company’s website, then dress yourself a step above whatever you see online. For example, if everyone seems to wear jeans and T-shirts to the office, you definitely don’t want to show up in a suit, but perhaps you’d want to wear a nice pair of dress pants and a button-down shirt. This shows respect for the formality of an interview, but helps you avoid looking overdressed and out of place.

Step 7: Plan Your Route

If you’re heading into the office for an in-person meeting, make sure you have your route and method of transport mapped out. If you’ve never been to the area where the interview is before, you can even do a test run to see how long it will take you to get there. On the day of, be sure to add in buffer time in case of traffic, slow train service or other delays. If applicable, be sure you have also thought through how you’ll deal with stepping away from your current job duties should the interview occur during your normal work hours.

Step 8: Eat, Sleep and Relax

Getting enough sleep and eating well in the days leading up to your interview is crucial when it comes to being at the top of your game. It’s normal to be nervous before a big meeting, but don’t let that stop you from getting good shuteye the night before and some high quality, nutritious meals beforehand.

If you’re struggling to get to that calm, focused state of mind that allows you to make the best possible impression, try whatever relaxation techniques usually work for you, whether it’s meditating, listening to a podcast, watching your favorite TV show or fitting in a high-intensity workout.

Now go out there and crush your interview!

Glassdoor.com | April 23, 2018 | Posted by Julia Malacoff

#Leadership : How To Get Better At Saying “No” ….You Don’t Have to Let the Guilty Voice in your Head Get the Best of You.

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

You’re running around with a million things to do, and you’ve barely made a dent in your to-do list. Then someone asks you to take on a project you definitely don’t have time for, and you answer “yes” without thinking.

Learning to say “no” is an ongoing challenge, but it’s a skill you can refine every day. Just like you diligently polish your writing and presentation prowess, you need to apply the same level of discipline when it comes to declining a request or invitation.

WHY IT’S SO HARD TO SAY NO

Why is it that saying “no” can feel socially awkward and disingenuous? When Fast Company‘s Michael Grothaus tracked how many times he said “yes” and “no” in a week, he found that he said “no” twice but responded “yes” to over 50 requests. “I say ‘yes’ to everything because I don’t want to come across as mean, lazy, boring, or uncaring,” Grothaus wrote in 2015.

You might feel similarly without even realizing it. Here’s a possible thought you might have (subconsciously or otherwise): “If I say that I can’t help with my team’s annual charity food drive, I’m pushing work onto others who are likely as busy as me.” You’re assuming that if you decline, you’re being impolite, so you really should just help out because others are, and it’s the right thing to do.

The thing is, that “should” indicates that you’re prioritizing being polite over being genuine. You’ve probably experienced that burdened feeling other times you’ve wanted to turn something down. Rather than going with your gut, you say “yes,” and then immediately feel the conflict. It’s sometimes helpful to ask, “If I don’t do this, will it matter in three weeks, three months, three years from now?” This way, you’ll get a more accurate picture of whether your lack of participation is genuinely critical.

It might not feel like it, but you’re largely in control of how busy you are. When you accept a meeting or an assignment that you don’t really have the bandwidth for, you might escape the discomfort of expressing your regrets but you give up the time to think, rejuvenate, and take care of yourself.

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WHEN TO SAY “YES” AND WHEN TO SAY “NO”

It helps to have a definitive system to be able to say “no” in a way that feels right. One thing you can do is create a list of your top priorities, and only say yes to projects that move you closer to them. Personally, I find it helpful to run through a mental checklist before accepting anything. Here are the questions I usually ask myself:

Is this urgent, or can it wait?
Can someone else besides me do it?
If I say “yes” to this, what am I saying “no” to?

If it does become clear that you should say no, remember that you don’t have to provide an explanation. Just be upfront, polite, genuine, and, if appropriate, offer an alternative solution. Here’s a good example: “I wish I could meet, but I don’t have a lot of free time this quarter. Would a quick phone call work instead? Let me know, I’d like to help.”

If you’re prone to overcommitting, this approach can help you determine what to take on and what to decline. I also like to keep in mind the following quote from entrepreneur Derek Sivers: “If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a no.” As Grothaus pointed out, the outcome of saying no is seldom as bad as what you think it might be: “The sky won’t fall, your family won’t stop loving you, and your boss won’t fire you–heck, everyone will probably respect you and your time more if you say ‘no’ more often.”

Mikaela Kiner is the founder and CEO of uniquelyHR, providing fast-growth companies including startups and scale-ups with flexible HR services. You can find her on Twitter @uniquelyHR or LinkedIn.

FastCompany.com | April 24, 2018 | BY MIKAELA KINER 3 MINUTE READ

Your #Career : These Are 4 Types Of #Bosses You’ll Have, And How To Deal With Them…Most Bosses you’ll have Fit into One of These Categories. Here’s How to #Manage Each–and When to Jump Ship.

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

Many types of people become managers, and they employ many different leadership styles once they do. And considering the wide spectrum of personality traits there are out there, you’d think that would lead to a multitude of managerial types. But according to Ximena Vengoechea, you’d be wrong.

A design researcher at Pinterest as well as a Fast Company contributor who writes prolifically about management, work culture, and mentorship, Vengoechea believes most bosses basically fit into four categories:

Hands on, and in it for themselves
Hands on, and it it for you
Hands off, and in it for themselves
Hands off, and in it for you

“Obviously,” she adds, “the ones where they are in it for themselves are less effective for the individual.” Also a talented illustrator, Vengoechea maps out this framework like so:

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Here’s her take on what employees need to know in order to deal with each type of boss.

1. HANDS ON, IN IT FOR THEMSELVES

Vengoechea doesn’t mince words: “Get a new manager!” Bosses who hover and nitpick, either because they’re on a power trip or they just assume you’ll screw it all up, are bad at the fundamentals of supervising other people. “It’s hard to grow when you’re being micromanaged and your manager is taking all the credit,” she points out. You can’t work for someone who doesn’t trust you and only looks out for their own interests.

Of course, bad bosses who fall into this category can be broken down a bit further by their other quirks and habits. Some, for example, may be highly indecisive; others might set habitually unrealistic expectations. There are a few ways you can try to adapt to each of these habits, but that’s really just in order to make work livable while you finagle a transfer to another team internally or look for a new job altogether.

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2. HANDS ON, IN IT FOR YOU

Yes, this type of boss may have some micromanaging tendencies, but as Vengoechea cautions, “Don’t assume the worst from ad hoc check-ins. Your manager may just be proactive about helping you grow.”

Give this type of boss the benefit of the doubt (sometimes micromanaging is a symptom of work-related stress, by the way) and use it as an opportunity to improve how you communicate. “Let them know where you need their help and brainpower,” Vengoechea advises. That includes sharing when you don’t need it.

But as long as you can tell that your boss has your best interests at heart, try to see their hands-on approach as an opportunity for mentorship. As Vengoechea explained previously in Fast Company, “If a manager checks in outside of your normally scheduled one-on-one meeting, relax. Don’t automatically assume the worst and put your guard up. Consider the possibility that rather than trying to micromanage, your new boss may be trying to find ways to help, so be more receptive.”

3. HANDS OFF, IN IT FOR THEMSELVES

If your boss seems mostly concerned about their own status and advancement and uninterested in yours, that’s of course not an ideal situation. But it doesn’t necessarily mean you should run for the hills.

Vengoechea suggests first trying to test your theory about why your boss is keeping their distance–and, as she explained in a separate Fast Company story, it’s usually due to one of two reasons: “They’re either checked out at work in general, or they totally trust you.” She breaks down the best strategies for both scenarios here, but claims that in general, it’s smart to “be proactive about following up, show that one-on-ones matter, [and] widen their window onto your work.”

These efforts can all help build a bridge to a distant manager. But if you don’t make progress at deepening your rapport, Vengoechea says it’s time to look for a different boss. “It’s hard to grow if your manager doesn’t have your best interests at heart.”

4. HANDS OFF, IN IT FOR YOU

It’s not the worst thing in the world to have a boss who keeps their distance simply because they trust you to get the job done.

Here, too, the onus is on you to communicate what you need. Vengoechea suggests expressing gratitude for their trust and “share when you want more input, check in on their goals and how you can help, [and] ask for feedback.” As she put it in her previous article, it’s all about “acknowledg[ing] that you feel empowered to make decisions and run with ideas autonomously, thanks to their support. But don’t be afraid to spell out scenarios where their perspective might be helpful and productive for you.” Typically, a manager who cares about your professional development will make a greater effort to get more involved when you need that.

“Researchers have found that employees’ relationships with managers is one of the most decisive factors in the decision to look for another job versus stay put,” Vengoechea points out, “which means that the type of manager you have matters a lot–it’s going to determine your growth in a role or in a company, as well as your happiness and fulfillment day-to-day.”

So no matter what type of manager you have, Vengoechea says, “make sure you are following the key tenets of ‘managing up’ : Understand their goals, and how you can help; learn what communication style works for them (and you!), give feedback on them, and on what you need; [and] share your wins.” Not all boss-employee relationships are win-wins, but for those who keep these basic rules in mind, more of them can be.

FastCompany.com | April 23, 2018 | BY RICH BELLIS 4 MINUTE READ

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Your #Career : #Recruiters Look At This More Than Your #LinkedIn …Here’s what they are looking for when they scroll through your #Instagram and #Facebook accounts.

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

When it comes to getting your online profiles ready for a job search, you probably focus your attention on LinkedIn. However, a study by the job search website Simply Hired found that hiring managers are more likely to check your Instagram account.

Just 29% of hiring managers look at an applicant’s LinkedIn profile, while 38% search for social media accounts, the study reports. And there’s an important reason why, says Carly Johnson, project manager at Simply Hired: “LinkedIn is a great platform, but if you have someone’s resume, you’re probably not going to find much else about them; it’s pretty replicated.”

Johnson says recruiters often go to Instagram and Facebook to determine the kind of person the candidate is beyond their resume. “Instagram and Facebook show a living, breathing person,” she says. “It’s great to have a second level of information.”

Social media platforms offer a wealth of information about candidates.

CULTURE FIT

Posts and comments on social media platforms provide insights to a person’s beliefs, and they can reveal potential red flags, says Johnson. “You want to make sure candidates aren’t rude or offensive toward people,” she says. “Also, do their personal opinions fit with your culture?”

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Victoria Whiting, internship director at the marketing firm Agency H5, looks for characteristics on candidates’ profiles that fit with the agency’s five core values: kindness, smarts, integrity, passion, and hustle, she says. “It can be difficult to assess these values in an interview, as a candidate can come across as kind and passionate during an initial conversation, but later demonstrate the exact opposite,” she says. “I use social conversations and profiles to evaluate how this person would stack up.”

HOBBIES AND INTERESTS

Pictures reveal hobbies and interests, allowing you to get a bigger picture of a person, says Johnson. “Hobbies show that a person is well rounded,” she says. “You don’t want someone who is all about work and a robot.”

Twitter is a great place to showcase what interests you professionally, adds Whiting. “When evaluating a candidate, I check for a Twitter profile to see what types of articles are shared, where he or she gets news, what content is of value to the candidate, and how he or she engages with other people,” she says.

INDUSTRY FIT

If your job has a marketing aspect, employers might want to see how you brand yourself through social media. Whiting looks to see if candidates have a basic understanding of how platforms work. “We create Facebook content and paid ads for many of our clients, so it’s important that this channel is not overlooked,” she says.

When it comes to Instagram, profiles with well-curated content stand out, says Whiting. “Instagram is a great place to showcase your eye for cohesive imagery, brand development, engaging content, and clever copywriting,” she says.

THE LEGALITIES OF LOOKING

While there is no law against looking at a candidate’s public social media sites, it could pose a potential risk because you might learn protected characteristics such as a person’s age or national origin, says David Weisenfeld, legal editor for XpertHR, an HR services provider. “If the applicant somehow becomes aware that the employer accessed this information via social media and is subsequently passed over for the job, this knowledge could boomerang against the employer and potentially lead to a discrimination claim,” he says. “Even meritless claims could cost the employer time, money, and resources to defend, so this risk should not be discounted.”

Loni Freeman, vice president of human resources at the public relations agency SSPR, checks the LinkedIn profile of every candidate she interviews, and stops there. “Since I know this person is actively seeking a position with our company, I’m interested in learning how they are maximizing their professional candidacy,” she says. “I do see value in understanding the public personality of an individual; however, once you learn information about someone, particularly protected hiring information, you can’t unlearn it. It’s a slippery slope for a recruiter, and using personal information to make a professional hiring decision is risky.”

While not all recruiters look at social media, Johnson said Simply Hired’s study found that the number is higher than they originally thought. She offers this advice for job seekers: “If you have a public account, you’re better safe than sorry,” she says. “Make sure you’re comfortable with anyone seeing what you’re posting, from a friend to a future employer.”

FastCompany.com | April 20, 2018 | BY STEPHANIE VOZZA 3 MINUTE READ

#Leadership : Why Asking About Current Pay Is the New Taboo for Prospective #Employers … New Laws around the U.S. are trying to Close #WageGaps in the #Workforce

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

Your next salary offer might look nothing like your current pay.

Big companies like Amazon Inc. , Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. say they have instructed recruiters not to ask about salary or benefits a candidate received in other positions, as more employers shift away from using past wages as a guide for setting their future pay.

The move stems from a slew of new laws around the U.S. aimed at closing wage gaps in the workforce. The theory behind them is that using past salaries to benchmark future pay can perpetuate unfairly high or low wages that workers carry from job to job.

New York City and Massachusetts passed rules in 2016 banning employers in those regions from pressing job seekers to disclose salary history. Since then, more than a dozen other cities and states have followed with their own wage-setting and wage-inquiry rules for employers, including California, New Jersey, New Orleans and Pittsburgh.

Proponents of the new laws say withholding information about past wages encourages employers to judge the value of a job, rather than the applicant. The companies say providing candidates with a salary range based on factors like skills and experience can help correct inconsistencies in how different employees, including women and people of color, were valued in another role or setting.

“These new laws have created a great opportunity for employers to do some self-reflection,” said Cheryl Pinarchick, a partner at Fisher & Phillips LLP and co-chair of the law firm’s pay equity practice. Many are thinking about whether they can justify differences in the salaries that their current workers earn, she said.

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Every week, Ms. Pinarchick’s firm gets new requests from employers who want help with audits of their pay practices, a volume that’s up 10-fold from two years ago, she said.

At the end of March, Bank of America required recruiters to drop salary-history questions from the application process across the company. Hundreds of hiring managers have been trained in the past year to focus pay negotiations on the salary ranges established by the bank for each job, said spokesman Andy Aldridge.

“We want to be a great place to work, and that includes how we approach things like pay equity,” he said, adding that Bank of America conducts annual reviews of its roughly 208,000 employees to ensure they are paid fairly for performance.

Pay disparities for workers often persist when people are hired at lower salaries early in their career and then that compensation becomes the root of future salary negotiations. The gap can widen due to differences in candidates’ willingness to negotiate and success rates in those talks.

The Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce sued to halt the rollout of Philadelphia’s salary-history ban, which was scheduled to take effect last spring, arguing the ordinance infringed upon businesses’ free-speech rights. The group expressed concern that a blanket restriction could create new problems, such as not knowing how rich a salary it would take to lure a high-level executive from her current employer.

The rule’s implementation has been temporarily suspended until a final decision is made.

Applicants wait in line at a job fair at an Amazon fulfillment center, in Kent, Wash., on Aug. 2, 2017. Some companies like Amazon say they are instructing recruiters not to ask about salary or benefits a candidate received in previous positions. PHOTO: ELAINE THOMPSON/ASSOCIATED PRESS

PayScale , a compensation software company, in 2017 surveyed more than 15,000 job applicants from April to June using its salary-comparison website to examine how the absence of pay-history information affects offers. The results surprised Lydia Frank, a vice president at PayScale, because they contradict the advice she normally offers job applicants to withhold salary history when discussing pay.

When women were asked about past wages but declined to share the figure, they were offered 1.8% less than women who disclosed their salary history, the PayScale study found. But men who declined to disclose previous compensation received 1.2% higher offers than men who provided the information.

Offering a woman less for refusing to share pay information may reflect an unconscious bias against those who negotiate, Ms. Frank said, adding that the research shows it is important to stop using salary history as a guide for future pay for anyone.

Pay gaps can be exacerbated by differences in how hiring managers and job seekers approach salary negotiations. Men are typically more willing to negotiate salaries—and more richly rewarded for doing so—while some women get penalized for appearing overly aggressive, according to a growing body of economic and management research, including studies published by the Harvard Kennedy School and Georgetown University McDonough School of Business.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit last week determined that businesses may be held liable for discrepancies in their workers’ pay even if the imbalance stems from a previous employer, adding further pressure to correct pay gaps based on gender, race or other nonperformance related factors.

“We’ve seen a lot of clients adopting the spirit of law, understanding bans on salary-history inquiries are about pay equity,” said Mollie Mantia, director of compliance for the talent arm of Automatic Data Processing Inc., a payroll management firm. Instead, she said more employers are opting to look at a fair market value for their talent.

“Employers are looking at questions like what’s the industry standard?” she said.

Write to Kelsey Gee at kelsey.gee@wsj.com

Appeared in the April 19, 2018, print edition as ‘Salary History Loses Impact in Hiring.’

WSJ.com | Kelsey Gee

Your #Career : How To Craft A Strong (And True) Narrative About Why You Got #Fired …Just Parted Ways with your Last #Employer in a Less-than-Desirable Manner? When a #HiringManager asks, “Why Did you Leave?” Don’t Jump into the Reason Immediately. Here’s How to Spin It the Right Way (without dodging the question).

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

Just parted ways with your last employer in a less-than-desirable manner? Chances are you’re finding it tricky to land a new job. You may find yourself in an uncomfortable position when a job interviewer asks you, “So why did you leave your last company?”

You’ll need to walk into that job interview with a narrative that reflects well on you, no matter what actually happened. The challenge is to create a story that positions you positively in the eyes of potential employers–yet remains true to the facts. Here are the four things your narrative needs to accomplish in order to walk that line successfully.

1. SHOW RESPECT FOR THE COMPANY YOU LEFT

First, avoid answering the question directly. Do not immediately say, “I left because . . . ” It may feel like a dodge, but it’s important to lay a strong foundation first. To do that, start off by making it clear that you respect your former employer. No firm is likely to want you if you put down your previous company; any reasonable hiring manager will worry that you’ll eventually turn on them as well.

Sometimes being positive might take an effort, but it’s one worth making. That also means resisting the urge to blast the company on social media or even on platforms like Glassdoor that let you post anonymously. It often doesn’t take a sleuth to guess who might’ve uploaded a rant.

So kick off your account of why you got fired, laid off, or quit on a note of positivity–pretty much no matter what. Employees occasionally leave for high moral principles, criticize a company’s practices, and land on their feet by attracting a like-minded employer. But these scenarios are typically the exception. The general rule to follow is to speak favorably about your latest work experience.

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2. EMPHASIZE WHAT YOU LEARNED

Next, turn to the contributions you made in your last job–how you advanced the goals of your company and strengthened your own skills. Sure, there were some areas that were less exciting, but in the narrative you’re crafting you don’t need to discuss everything. Explain how you gained professional experience in the role and how it positions you for the new one you’re interviewing for.

Mention, too, the leaders who influenced and mentored you, and describe how they helped you mature in your role. (By the way, don’t wait long after your departure to let those allies know you appreciated their mentorship. It’s not only common courtesy, but this bridge building will come in handy when you need a reference.)

3. STATE IN ONE SENTENCE WHY YOU LEFT–AS POSITIVELY AS POSSIBLE

The previous two steps should only take a few sentences–don’t spend too much time laying this foundation, otherwise your interviewer might cut you off and press you to give a straight answer.

Now we come to a crucial part of your narrative: explaining why you left your last job. Don’t lie. Clearly and succinctly state what happened, taking care to put the best possible face on the reasons for your departure. For instance, if you left as part of a corporate reorganization, emphasize those changes above all others. Those are “forces beyond your control,” and don’t reflect on your abilities or the quality of your work.

If you quit, explain that you contributed a great deal to your last firm but wanted a company where you could offer still more. If you were fired, explain (with an eye on your new firm) why the fit wasn’t quite right, but why you’re well-suited to this opportunity. Once you’ve laid the groundwork, these trickier lines are much easier to deliver candidly, confidently, and compellingly.

4. SHOW HOW EXCITED YOU ARE ABOUT THE NEW OPPORTUNITY

Your storyline isn’t done yet. Close out the narrative by showing excitement about the firm you’re interviewing with.

As the president of a company I founded and directed for 25 years, I interviewed tons of job candidates, and anyone we hired–no matter their work history, warts and all–had to convince me in their interviews that they’d love working here. The best candidates had researched our firm, and had thought long and hard about the position they were applying for. They talked more about the excitement of the job and spent less time simply praising themselves. They knew about our core offerings and who our major clients were. They did not overuse the word “I” but talked about themselves in terms of what they could accomplish in the new role. This positive, forward-looking, enthusiastic approach not only got them hired, but these were the folks who contributed the most as employees.

Good jobs are hard to come by, while bad jobs can continue to affect your career trajectory long after they’re over. Don’t let that happen. Present yourself in the best light, and others will see you that way. If you can develop, write out, and learn this narrative, you’ll be able to deliver it confidently and spontaneously in all your career conversations.

FastComapany.com | April 18, 2018 | BY JUDITH HUMPHREY 4 MINUTE READ

#Leadership : Do These Three Things When You Check A Job Candidate’s #References .. #Employers usually Assume they can Glean the Most Important Information about #JobCandidates from Candidates Themselves. Not Always.

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

Who wouldn’t want a heads-up on how a job candidate might perform before hiring them? That’s what the entire interview process is for, right? Well, yes, but there’s a final step that many employers either treat as a mere formality or skip over entirely: reference-checking.

Employers often believe they can glean the most important information about job candidates from the candidates themselves. Yet information supplied by the candidate can be biased–either due to self-deception, the inability to accurately evaluate oneself, or even intentionally stretching the truth. There’s a real risk that biases in candidates’ self-reporting can make resumes, interviews, and even personality tests less useful than many recruiters and hiring managers might hope.

On the flip-side, references tend to be more valuable than hiring experts typically believe–as long as they take reference-checking seriously. Here’s how.

1. TREAT IT AS A TEST

Reference-checking is only one of the final tests job candidates face in the interview process, but it’s still an important one. You’re asking a candidate to provide contact information from people they’ve worked with in the past, both managers and coworkers: Can they share this intel efficiently and accurately? How long does it take them to do so? Have they reached out to their references ahead of time to make sure they have their current contact information, and if they’re willing to serve as a reference?

Here at SkillSurvey, a reference-checking platform, we’ve found that behavioral ratings, and the proportion of references who respond to the candidate’s request, are key predictors of their success on the job. What’s more, these factors are statistically linked to people leaving or being fired within the first year. So don’t just focus on what feedback the references are providing. Also, keep an eye on who is providing that info to you and whether most references respond.

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2. ASK REFERENCES FOR THEIR CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM (AND TAKE IT SERIOUSLY)

It’s a myth that job candidates only solicit references from people who’ll say nice things about them. Of course, they frequently do–but after praising a candidate, references are typically happy to share constructive feedback when prompted to, and it actually tends to be fairly accurate.

In fact, research suggests that information gathered from references is statistically predictive of a candidate’s future work behavior. This feedback has been linked to productivity, teamwork, hiring manager satisfaction, and turnover, to name just a few important factors. One study of current employees even found that others’ perceptions of an individual’s personality at work can be more accurate than those same individuals’ self-perception.

Reference providers will usually be more candid when they’re ensured that their feedback will remain confidential. We’ve actually seen that 83% of all reference providers offer open-ended comments on a candidate’s areas for improvement when they’re questioned about that. Some of the top issues they tend to cite include stress-coping skills, prioritization, and attention to detail–not exactly minor issues.

3. COMPARE WHAT REFERENCES TELL YOU WITH SOCIAL-MEDIA DATA

Platforms like LinkedIn, GitHub and Upwork permit candidates to flesh out their resumes with comments or rankings from others, including recommendations and endorsements of their skills by colleagues and partners. Since this information is so handy, recruiters and hiring managers may feel tempted to use it as a rough proxy for checking a candidate’s references. That’s a mistake. If you’re looking for the candid story about a candidate and whether they’ll be a good fit for the role, you’ll have to get information from references that’s more specific to what it takes to succeed in your organization.

While the information a candidate puts out there on social media can supplement a reference check, keep in mind that it’s mostly curated by the candidate, who can exclude anything unfavorable. In fact, if there’s a glaring disparity between what a candidate’s profile endorsers seem to say and anything else you’ve learned over the course of the hiring process, that inconsistency can lead to some valuable, probing questions during the interview.

The myth that reference-checking is just a trivial formality needs to be dispelled. It can be the best tool for uncovering othermyths–the ones that a job candidate might be throwing your way.

Cynthia A. Hedricks, PhD, is the Chief Analytics Officer at SkillSurvey, Inc., a reference checking technology firm that harnesses the power of references to help organizations more effectively recruit, hire, and retain talent

FastCompany.com | April 17, 2018 | BY CYNTHIA A. HEDRICKS 3 MINUTE READ

Your #Career : How To Write #ThankYouNotes That Impress #HiringManagers …When it Comes to Impressing Hiring Managers , what You Do After Counts as Much as What you Say During your #Interview .

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

Spring is a great time to search for new jobs for a number of reasons. First, budgets are often approved around January/February to hire more people. Second, the economy is pretty healthy right now, and businesses are ready to expand and try to grow their profits. For some companies, this means new hires to support these growth efforts.

Lastly, it’s also the time of year when companies often revisit their products, services, and technologies, working on improvements to keep competitive in the market. Often, companies will hire new employees or teams to work on these changes.

If you’re ready to job search, or perhaps you’ve already started, here’s one skill you should sharpen:writing thank-you notes. A powerful thank-you note can land you the job–we’ve seen it happen frequently with the candidates we place. (And on the flip side, we’ve seen bad thank-you notes damage a candidacy.) Here are four tips from our recruiters for writing the kind of thank-you note that impresses hiring managers.

1. TAKE NOTES IN YOUR INTERVIEW

This tactic isn’t just about looking (and being) more engaged in the interview–though that certainly wins you points. It’s also about writing a better thank-you note later. Mark down important points you discuss in the interview. What imperative job functions do your interviewers bring up? Are there any problems they’re facing as a company that you could help with? Do they pose any questions that you might be better able to answer after a bit more thought? These are the kinds of things to add to your thank-you note later. Time and again, we find that a generic thank-you note–one that feels like it’s copied from a template–will never impress hiring managers like a thank-you note that makes reference to specifics from the interview. In fact, in some cases, a generic thank-you note will hurt your candidacy more than help it! There are hiring managers that think a generic, template-like thank-you note shows so little effort that they think less of a candidate.

2. BE PROMPT

A thorough, detailed thank-you note that’s beautifully written will never make much of an impression if it’s too late. Especially in some fast-paced fields like the tech industry, healthcare or marketing, time is of the essence. When you finish your interview, head home as soon as you can to write your thank-you note. Sending it the day of the interview (if possible) or within 24 hours is ideal, although sending the note 48 hours later can be acceptable if you get really tied up. If you send the note late, you might find that the hiring manager has already assumed you’re not sending it and dinged your candidacy or rejected you for it.

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3. SEND INDIVIDUAL THANK-YOU NOTES

If you interview with multiple people, try to get their individual contact info from your recruiters. Writing each of them a note will show a level of care that goes above and beyond what most candidates demonstrate. If you can add a detail to each note that really personalizes it, that’s even better. Especially today, the trend is for workplaces to be focused on building a great corporate culture, which often requires teamwork and strong interpersonal skills from all levels of employees. Showing off extra effort in your soft skills can be key for your candidacy. Individual, personalized thank-you notes could make you seem like the kind of team player that hiring managers will love working with.

4. CONSIDER ADDRESSING WEAKNESSES OR CONCERNS WITH YOUR CANDIDACY

This may not always be necessary. However, if you felt there were concerns or weaknesses brought up in your interview, a thank-you note can be a great place to address that. The key is to keep things positive and, if possible, focus on how you’re already working to remedy these potential issues. If you can handle this right, your thank-you note can significantly strengthen your candidacy, as it’s your last impression that you leave on a hiring manager before they make their decision.

This article originally appeared on Glassdoor and is reprinted with permission.

FastCompany.com | April 17, 2018 | BY SAMANTHA KEEFE—GLASSDOOR 3 MINUTE READ

Your #Career : Five Victim Mentalities to Drop During a #JobHunt …When Going Through the #InterviewProcess , We Subject Ourselves to all Kinds of Vulnerabilities that May Compel Us to Play the Victim Card. Yes You!

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

We all have different filters through which we see the world that influence our attitudes and behaviors. One filter that is common to many is that of the “victim”. When circumstances become challenging, we sometimes use this “victim filter”, to ease certain ego bruises we experience. This filter leads us to feel victimized by events perceived to be beyond our control.

When going through the interview process, we subject ourselves to all kinds of vulnerabilities that may compel us to play the victim card. This kind of mentality can be especially detrimental when it manifests during a job hunt.

As a candidate, it’s your job to ensure that:

You’re able to articulate yourself professionally and sell your experiences
Your professional documents tell a clear and formatted story
You’re prepared for each interview

If you can’t check these boxes, then there’s work to be done beyond adjusting your attitude. However, if you’re confident that you’ve met the criteria discussed above, and you’re still experiencing interview rejection, it’s important to counter the negative thoughts that may result. Let’s examine some common victim mentalities.

1. “If a person I reach out to forgets to follow up, they must not want to help.”

People are usually well-intentioned and willing to help. Before assuming that someone has dropped off the face of the earth to avoid helping you, consider that they may have simply forgotten, or your approach didn’t work! People get inundated with messages all day, so it’s your job to be thoughtful about standing out.

Consider the following strategies before writing a person off:

Take the initiative to follow up and nurture your leads
When reaching out to someone for networking purposes, remember to ask for advice, not a job
Refine and retry your messaging — a/b test your strategies to see what works

Reframe your thoughts to “This person forgot to get back to me, but it’s my job to follow up and make a great impression.”

2. “I don’t have the right experience, so I won’t bother applying.”

Job descriptions often set out a wish list of qualities required of candidates that are more aspirational than mandatory. Though you might not have the years of experience, your skill set might nonetheless still fit the bill for a given position. Less experience also means a lower pay grade, which can be an advantage for an organization.

Break the job description down into tasks, and if you feel you could succeed in each area, don’t hesitate to apply.

Reframe your thoughts to “I can’t change my work experience, but if I get rejected at least I went for it!”

3. “Job hunting is hard for someone like me.”

Whether you’ve been laid off, fired, or left a job, it’s tempting to think that you’re the only one struggling. You need to acknowledge that job hunting is hard for everyone; and you can’t pretend that there won’t be rejection involved. “You’ll need to build the confidence to move on from setbacks and get back on the horse”, says Work & Life Coach Minda Miloff. It’s important to fill your life with meaningful hobbies and projects, so when a challenge presents itself in one area, your confidence remains intact!

Reframe your thoughts to “Job hunting is hard for everyone. I will show empathy and help those in their job search whenever I can”.

4. “I’ve been rejected from so many jobs — it’s not fair!”

When an organization makes a choice about who gets the job, the decision may not always be based on criteria that is transparent to you. Though the outcome might not be what you hoped, there is always something to learn and a tangible skill to be gained through each interview, says Miloff. Assume that the competition is stiff, and you can’t predict how things will unfold. Focus on what you can learn from each interview, and use that to drive yourself forward.

Reframe your thought to “I’ve been rejected from so many jobs, but I’ve learned from each rejection and I know that all it takes is one person to say yes.”

5. “I’m never going to land the job I want.”

While you need to project the confidence that you’ll be successful, it’s important to monitor your expectations and be realistic that there is a chance things won’t work out. Interviews should be viewed as a performance about “delivering the best of who you are on the spot” says Miloff. At some point, you have to say, “I did my best,” and that’s a helpful countermeasure to feeling knocked down.

Reframe your thoughts to “I will land the right job eventually. I accept that it might take time, commitment and grit on my behalf.”

It’s normal to indulge in some necessary pity parties. However, career development requires mental toughness, strength to recover and self-awareness to recognize your own weaknesses or alternatives for why things didn’t work out. Rejection is an unavoidable part of the process, and so the quicker you learn to bounce back and re-strategize, the more success you’ll find!

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 job hunting, career building, and networking for success. Connect with her onLinkedIn or Twitter.

Glassdoor.com | April 16, 2018 | Stacy Pollack

#Leadership : 9 No-Fail Tips for Giving #ConstructiveCriticism at Work (Infographic) ….Learning How to Give Honest, Constructive Feedback to All Types of Colleagues will Help you Be a #BetterManager and Will Help your #Employees Develop.

April 16, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Though criticism is an inevitable part of any workplace, most people find it difficult to give negative feedback to direct reports. Whether you are offering real-time observations or engaging in a formal review discussion, it can be stressful to critique the work of your colleagues.

Don’t let yourself be intimidated by difficult feedback conversations! Honest evaluations are essential to employee development, engagement, and retention. Most employees understand the value of constructive feedback for their company and for their own personal development. A Zenger/Folkman surveyfound that 93% of people agree that when negative feedback is delivered correctly it can be an effective way to improve performance.

Learning how to give honest, constructive feedback to all types of colleagues will help you be a better manager and will help your employees develop. By providing specific direction based on employees’ actions, you can provide criticism in a way that will help people develop, without making them feel attacked.

Check out this infographic for tips on how to criticize constructively:

Fundera.com | March 23, 2018 | Meredith Wood

Original Post: https://www.fundera.com/blog/how-to-criticize