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#Leadership : How To Avoid The 5 Most Common Misunderstandings At #Work …From Long Email Chains to Group Projects without Clear roles, here are the Most Common Ways #Communication at Work Goes Off the Rails, & How to Fix It.

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

If you’ve ever had to clear up a situation at work because you were misquoted or misinterpreted, you know how easy it is for actions and words to be misconstrued. Misunderstandings are rooted in communication, and we often wind up getting derailed because we were too busy to get clarification, says Janel Anderson, owner of the communication consulting firm Working Conversations and author of Head On: How to Approach Difficult Conversations Directly.

“We want others to agree with us, and in our current culture of too much to do and not enough time to do it,” she says. “We often jump to conclusions when, in fact, we haven’t asked enough questions and engaged them effectively to find out if they agree or not.”

Here are five of the most common situations that lead to misunderstandings, and how you can get everyone back on the same page.

1. WHEN DIVIDING RESPONSIBILITIES

When people work together on a team, everyone’s role needs to be clear. Any ambiguity can lead to misunderstandings. At the beginning of a project, put responsibilities and expectations in writing, and have regular check-ins to make sure everyone is clear about their part.

“It’s important for everyone to see their peers contributing, all working toward a goal, and ensuring that everyone’s roles are defined so that you can avoid confusion, or discontent because others aren’t doing their fair share,” says Brian Kelley, vice president of public relations and employee engagement at Sage Communications, a marketing and public relations firm. “What is that fair share? Make sure you define it at the outset so there are no questions.”

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2. WHEN COMMUNICATING COMPANY GOALS

Most leaders believe they communicate big-picture information, such as goals, strategies, issues, and projects. They may be communicating, but it’s often not with the entire team, says Heidi Pozzo, founder of Pozzo Consulting, a strategy consulting firm.

“There is typically a lot of discussion within the leadership team so it feels like everyone should understand,” she says. “The challenge is the group that needs to hear about it may have only heard from leaders once or twice.”

A leader needs to clearly define not only the starting point, but the pathway and critical touch points to the desired state, says Brad Deutser, CEO of the leadership consulting firm Deutser and author of Leading Clarity: A Breakthrough Strategy to Unleash People, Profit, and Performance. “Defining the pathway is fundamental to achieving the desired end state,” he says. “A purposeful leader works to carefully define the pathway, eliminating any potential diversions and ensuring clarity.”

3. WHEN COMMUNICATING VIA EMAIL

Email frequently leads to misunderstandings because it eliminates social cues, like tone of voice, eye contact, or facial expression that aid our comprehension of the message, says Anderson.

“When email misunderstandings occur, people feel threatened and get defensive,” she says. “To avoid this misunderstanding I suggest following the rule of three: If there have been three emails exchanged and you haven’t understood each other, pick up the phone and speak to them in person.”

4. WHEN DISCUSSING PROFESSIONAL GOALS

Disconnects can often happen during feedback or performance reviews, says Kelley. “It’s easy to relay information in a negative connotation when you are in effect asking for something completely different,” he says.

For example, if someone says, “I’ve worked too hard and too long for this pay,” they probably mean they feel undervalued or that their work/life balance is out of order.

“Instead of jumping to a conclusion, always assume the other party is coming from a position of positive intent,” says Kelley, adding that it’s important to take what you know about the employee and read between the lines. “Ensure you properly accept and respond to their message from this positive intent and coach them on how to better communicate their misunderstanding more effectively in the future.”

Be sure to get clear on employees’ long-term personal and professional goals, adds Ed McNamara, senior director of marketing and communications for SHI International, a software firm. “Some employees are very good at being proactive in asking for what they want; others might wait to be asked, but that doesn’t mean they want it any less,” he says.

5. WHEN YOU’RE HEARING THIRD-PERSON INFORMATION

The old saying is that too many cooks spoil the broth, and too many voices can spoil the message. “A lot of misunderstandings at work happen when information is relayed between people,” says Jessica Schaeffer, chief of staff and director of marketing and communications for the LaSalle Network, a staffing firm. “Someone says something, tells another person, and that person talks to you,” she says. “It could be business-related or company politics, but usually, it leads to a misunderstanding.”

It’s important to not jump to conclusions and get defensive, says Schaeffer. “Go back to the original person, and ask for clarification,” she says. “Eliminate the middleman and get the information firsthand. Sometimes the middleman misinterprets excitement as frustration or anger, or worse yet, doesn’t know the person well enough to pick up on important context or nonverbal cues, and relays the message incorrectly.”

WHY MISUNDERSTANDINGS ARE COMMON

The human brain is a sense-making machine and it wants to know why someone did or didn’t do something, says Anderson. “In the absence of information, we make up a motive, and we are usually wrong,” she says.

In all of these situations, the best way to mitigate is to stop and check in with yourself when you think someone has intentionally wronged you. “Ask yourself how much hard evidence you have to support your conclusion that the other person has acted maliciously,” says Anderson. “If you don’t have much—or any—evidence, get curious and ask the person some questions about why they did what they did. Assume positive intent until you have hard evidence to the contrary.”

FastCompany.com | March 1, 2018 | BY STEPHANIE VOZZA 4 MINUTE READ

#Leadership : Dan Pink Reveals The Perfect Time For #Meetings, #SalesPitches, & #CreativeTasks ….Your #Decision on When to Hold a #Meeting should be a #Strategic one, Not one Made Out of Convenience. Knowing When you’re at your Best for Specific Tasks Could Give you a Competitive Edge.

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

The famous TED speaker and New York Timesbestselling author Daniel H. Pink, along with his team of researchers, spent two years analyzing more than 700 studies in fields ranging from economics to psychology to unearth the hidden science of perfect timing. I recently sat down with Pink to talk about the results in his new book, When.

Specifically, we talked about Pink’s research and what it reveals about the timing of meetings, sales pitches, and creative tasks.

When to time meetings

Pink says the biggest mistake business professionals make when scheduling meetings is “lack of intentionality.” In other words, we set meetings when it’s convenient without considering whether the time of day unleashes the team’s best ideas. “When we schedule meetings, we only think about one criterion—availability,” says Pink. “Instead, we should be thinking about what kind of meeting it is: analytical, administrative, creative. We should be thinking about what type of people are there. Are they morning people or evening people?”

According to Pink, your decision on when to hold a meeting should be a strategic one, not a decision made out of convenience. In one extraordinary study, a group of business school professors studied whether a CEO’s mood during earnings calls impacted the stock price. They studied 26,000 earnings calls from more than 2,000 public companies over a period of six years. They found that the time of day influenced the emotional tone of the conversations, and by extension, perhaps even the company’s stock price.

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Calls held first thing in the morning—when moods are generally high—turned out to be reasonably upbeat and positive. The tone grew more negative as the day progressed, especially if the calls were held in the early afternoon when Pink says our moods tend to dip (before rebounding after five o’clock). “Afternoon calls were more negative, irritable, and combative than morning calls,” writes Pink.

The takeaway: When you can, schedule important calls and meetings earlier in the day.

When to time sales presentations

Pink’s research shows that when we approach a decision, we come to the table with a ‘default position.’ Asking your boss for a raise? Their default position might be to say “no.” Approaching a potential customer to make a sale? Their default position might be to say “no.” Once again, timing matters.

Pink says salespeople are more likely to overcome a prospect’s default position earlier in the day—when moods are elevated—or immediately after a short break. We all suffer from cognitive fatigue. The brain consumes a ton of energy and we get tired from all that thinking. We need short, frequent breaks to achieve peak performance.

The takeaway: Schedule a sales call in the morning or after your prospect comes back from a break.

When to time creative tasks

Dan Pink surprised me with the timing of this activity. I assumed that if our energy levels are highest in the morning, it would be the best time to do our most creative work. Not necessarily, says Pink. Think about the mood cycle once again, Pink reminded me. In general, our positive moods rise in the morning, dips in afternoon, and rises again in the evening beginning around 5 p.m. The second thing to keep in mind is “vigilance.” Vigilance refers to our cognitive ability to be hyper-focused and to keep distractions at bay. Vigilance spikes in the morning. The research shows that analytical decisions are best made in the morning hours precisely for this reason. One study found that students perform better on math tests in the morning. Math requires sharpness, vigilance and focus.

But all brainwork is not the same. ‘Aha moments’ or creative insights often occur later in the day after 5:00 p.m. or so. At the time, most of us have an elevated mood and less vigilance. According to Pink, “At those looser moments, a few distractions can help us spot connections we might have missed when our filters were tighter.”

Takeaway: Tackle analytical problems in the morning and save creative pursuits for later in the afternoon and early evening.

Our cognitive abilities fluctuate during the day—often extremely so. Sometimes we’re sharper, faster, or more creative. Knowing when you’re at your best for specific tasks could give you a competitive edge.

Carmine Gallo is a keynote speaker and author of The Storyteller’s Secret and Talk Like TED and his new book Five Stars: The Communication Secrets to Get From Good to Great.

Forbes.com | February 28, 2018 | Carmine Gallo , CONTRIBUTOR

Your #Career : How To Discreetly Look For A New Job While You’re At Work… You Can’t Always Do your #JobSearch After-Hours. Here’s How to Be Inconspicuous When you Have to Do It at Work.

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

If you clicked on this article, there’s a high probability that you’re considering finding a new job. Maybe you’re actively applying. Maybe you’re just “keeping an eye open” (or you know, just “sneaking a peek” at those LinkedIn job alerts). Regardless of where you stand, though, you know the one cardinal rule: Do not, on any account, job search at work.

Seems obvious, right? You’re being paid by your current employer, and so you should use your work hours to do your job. Even if you’re unhappy. You’re ethically and contractually obligated to do the work they’re paying you for . . . right?

Well, here’s the “unpopular opinion” part. Following that rule–the one that we all know by heart because it’s just so obvious–is actually impossible. We’re about to argue that you can’t not job search at work. And–dare we say this– that’s okay.

ON WHY MOST OF US DO IT

Simple facts first. You spend at least 40 hours a week at work, probably more. And you’re not alone. As a society, we’re at work longer than ever. And that’s problem No. 1.

It’s one of the biggest catch-22s of the working world. Everyone has standard work days (more or less), meaning your next potential employer does, too. They’re busy, they’re distracted, and they get to you, the applicant, when they get to you. They go through resumes when they get in on Mondays, respond to questions about timing between afternoon meetings, send requests for a link to your portfolio or references on a 2 p.m. whim. That means all those emails and calls hit you when you’re supposed to be focusing on something else, namely your current job. So you’re faced with a decision: Do you respond immediately to make sure you don’t miss the opportunity, or do you do the “right” thing and wait until after hours?

Back in 2011, a Monster survey found that one-quarter of people are spending over three hours per week searching for a job at work. Presumably that number’s only climbed higher over the last six years. Our access to smartphones means the risk of companies tracking what we do online is much lower. And that means that we’re even less concerned about getting caught.

Actually, a 2015 Pew Research Study found that 28% of U.S. job seekers (and a whopping 53% of 18- to 29-year-olds) use smartphones during their job search. The study also found that 43% of people ages 18-29 and 36% of people ages 30-49 now use social media to look for work as well. Given that checking texts or tweeting personal updates from the office is rampant these days, it’s easy to see why more and more of us are actively looking for jobs at the office.

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ON WHY IT CAN’T BE HELPED

But just for the sake of argument, let’s say you don’t. You define clear boundaries. You keep your worlds separate. You’re ethically sound with a glorious amount of willpower–the kind that helps you just say no to checking your personal email at work, even when you’re waiting to hear back about your dream job. Major props. But . . . what happens when you get home to an email asking you to interview next Tuesday at 11 a.m.?

In this scenario, all of us feel awkward. How do you ask for time off when you’re using it to potentially leave your company behind? For some of us, there are personal days that we can take, no questions asked—although I’ve yet to encounter that. For the rest of us, our companies just don’t really operate that way.

Most of us, when faced with this dilemma, do some variation of a theme: We lie. We tell our bosses that we have a doctor’s appointment, or we call out sick. And in each of these cases–personal day, sick day, vacation day–we’re using paid time off to talk to another company. We’re missing important work hours simply because that’s how job searches work. It’s a sticky situation, one that inevitably feels a bit like betrayal. But when was the last time someone offered you an after-hours interview? What choice do you have, really?

Let’s let go of illusions. Even beyond interviewing, we’ve all used work hours to search for a job. Some of us go full-on, scrolling through job boards when no one else is around, and some of us will try our best to just . . . not. But if a recruiter asks you to take a 15-minute pre-screen call without much notice? Chances are you step out into the hall.

Some might argue such moments don’t count as “job searching at work.” You’re entitled to breaks, and if you want to use one to talk to a recruiter, it’s your time, not your company’s. But even if you’re using personal days or lunch hours to work on job searching, every time you step away to focus on finding a new job, you’re taking your concentration off what you’re being paid to do. And every time you step back, you spend more time reconnecting to the tasks at hand.

Until the interviewing process changes (and it won’t), you will job search while at work. The system is stacked against you–from when hiring managers schedule meetings, to the extra hours you have to log to updating your portfolio and resume, thus resulting in creative burnout come Monday. Adding the burden of job searching to an already packed schedule means that you won’t be able to give 100% of yourself to your current work. It’s okay. Repeat this to yourself if it helps: I am in a transition period, and some things will slip through the cracks.

It doesn’t make you a bad person. It means that you’re prioritizing your own career and growth and putting yourself first. You’ll have to accept that you’re cheating a little. But it’s only temporary, right?

ON JOB SEARCHING AT WORK THE HARD WAY

You can’t avoid the overlap, but the trick is doing it in a way that will least offend anybody. Here are some rules you should follow. They’re a little less black and white.

Just Don’t:

Use your company email address, phone, or computer for job searching. Honestly, this is less out of respect for your company (although that too) than it is for preserving your position while you still need it. Because yes, in some cases, you can get fired for looking for another job.
Over-explain when you ask for time off for an interview. The more fake details about your illness you give, the more likely they’ll suspect you.
If you’re updating your LinkedIn, be careful about alerts. It’s pretty obvious that you’re job hunting if your coworkers or, worse, your boss, gets hit with a bunch of LinkedIn update emails when they walk into the office.
Share with your coworkers that you’re hunting. At least not yet. There may be a time and a place when you need to use a trusted coworker for a reference, but keep in mind, you’re then asking them to take time away from their work to go to bat for you. It’s a big ask, and one that you’ll need to plan carefully.
Slack off. Look, we know it’s tempting, and that some of it can’t be avoided. We also spent this whole article telling you to cut yourself a break. But (because always) you don’t need to scroll job boards during normal work hours. You really don’t. Save the cheating on work behavior for the times it really matters, like when you need to leave early for an interview. After all, you might need those references next time you find yourself hunting.

Fastcompany.com | February 28, 2018 | BY JESSICA BENNETT—CAREER CONTESSA 6 MINUTE READ

#Leadership : Do These Things To #ReduceTurnover Among Your #BestHires …It takes Work to #Retain #StarEmployees . Here are the Steps you Can take to Stop Losing them to “Better Offers.”

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

If there’s anyone more hopeful than a new employee showing up to her first day on the job, it’s the hiring manager who offered it to her.

Call us hopeless romantics, but we think there’s something really special about a candidate and a company coming to an agreement and choosing to embark on a relationship together–albeit a business one.

But what happens when the relationship goes south and the employee decides to move on? There may not be actual tears, but it can still feel like heartbreak to the recruiter, hiring manager, and leadership team that had high hopes for the future.

So, what can you do when you’re tired of losing employees to “better offers”? Here’s what five recruiting and hiring pros would do to reduce churn and improve employee engagement and retention:

1. BE HONEST ABOUT THE DOWNSIDES OF A POSITION

It makes sense to try to put your best foot forward in the first stages of the interview process. After all, that’s what job candidates are doing, too. But Chuck Solomon, cofounder and COO of LineHire, says that it’s in the best interest of long-term employee retention to be upfront about what a job is really like without candy coating the truth or trying to ignore potential challenges within a job.

“It may sound quaint, but I believe authenticity is key to reducing churn and increasing employee retention,” says Solomon. “Recruiters should be honest and accurate in describing both the pros and cons of the job–after all, once on board, the candidate is going to learn firsthand themselves. I’m not suggesting you should ‘air the company’s dirty laundry,’ but there are ways to tell a candidate that this is a challenging position. That way you’re only bringing in staff members that are up for the challenges.”

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2. CLOSE THE LOOP ON NEW HIRE DATA

Find the best person, hire them, and move on. Sound familiar? If that’s your approach to most of the positions you fill and you want to reduce churn, Mikaela Kiner, CEO and Founder of uniquelyHR, wants you to think about following up and tracking how your candidates work out in the role.

“Recruiters always believe we’ve found the absolute best candidate for the job, says Kiner. “After all, that’s why we hired them! But too often, we don’t know what happens once that person joins the company. Did that person become a superstar, did they plateau, or were they eventually let go for poor performance? If recruiters can work with HR and hiring managers to get data on the quality of the people they’ve hired, they can spot trends and then use that data to improve the screening and recruiting process.”

“For example, what skills and qualities are common to the most successful hires?” continues Kiner. “Failures are also a good source of learning, because if you make a note of red flags during interviews of people who don’t succeed, you can be on the lookout for similar candidate qualities in the future.”

3. LISTEN TO AND REWARD EMPLOYEES BEFORE THERE’S A PROBLEM

Brianna Rooney, founder of software engineer recruiting company Techees, works in a high turnover industry placing software engineers at tech-focused companies in the Bay Area. In her line of work, it’s common for people to leave every year, and if someone has been with their company for three years, it’s a downright miracle. Why? Because most companies say they don’t have time to deal with employee retention or simply don’t want to know the bad things about their company.

“I can’t tell you how many times a company will try to give a raise or actually listen to an employee when it’s way too late,” says Rooney. “Everyone wants to save money. It’s hard to keep giving raises. Yet, think about how hard it is to find good people. People you trust to work hard, honestly, and efficiently.”

“If you don’t have the budget for a salary increase, make sure they understand that,” Rooney continues. “Talk to employees, make them know how important they are. Don’t just wait for quarterly or yearly meetings. You need to care before you ‘have to,’ and it has to come naturally.”

4. RECRUIT QUALITIES THAT MAKE FOR GOOD OFFICE POLITICS

Are office politics always a bad thing? No, says CEO and The Compass Alliance author Tim Cole. They can be good or bad for an organization depending on how they are directed. But if you’re in a position where you need to reduce churn, your politics are likely unproductive. It’s critical that you start screening candidates for qualities that are conducive to healthy office politics.

“Bad office politics implies backstabbing and conspiring for personal gain,” says Cole. “An organization that tolerates that type of behavior faces the long-term effects that always follow, like low engagement, loss of productivity, and attrition.”

Cole adds: “Companies that recruit for collaboration skills and capacity for problem solving can often direct office politics in a more positive direction and use them to streamline workflow with behind-the-scenes discussions and gain consensus on critical job decisions away from the boardroom.”

5. RALLY YOUR TEAM AROUND A COMMON “WHY”

Low employee retention and low engagement go hand in hand, so if you’re struggling with a need to reduce churn, you are likely struggling with employee engagement, too. Zach Hendrix, cofounder of the lawn service app GreenPal, grew one business from 1 to 100 using a simple but profound engagement strategy: rally employees around the central “why” of their jobs and the business as a whole.

In his first business, much of Hendrix’s operating core was comprised of Guatemalan immigrants who would come to the United States for several consecutive lawn mowing seasons and save as much money as they could to improve the lives of their families back home by building homes, ranches, and setting up farms stocked with cattle.

To fuel his team through the tough times, including the economic recession of 2009, he rallied them around their “why.” At weekly meetings, they would give progress reports on how projects back home were coming along and display picture collages of homes, farms, and businesses in Guatemala in the office and shop.

There’s nothing more frustrating than waving farewell to an employee you had hoped would stick around long-term. And while there are many reasons you’ll need to say goodbye to employees over the years–relocations, promotions, and career changes among them–there’s a lot you can do to make sure that your company isn’t the reason employees leave. Consider how you can apply these tips to your recruiting and hiring process to reduce churn to help your candidates stick around.

FastCompany.com | February 26, 2018 | BY SARAH GREESONBACH—GLASSDOOR 5 MINUTE READ

Your #Career : How To Answer Questions About Your #CareerGoals …When You’re Unsure It’s Difficult to Answer, “Where Do you See Yourself in Five Years?” When you are Still Figuring Out What you Want, But you can Still Give a Good Answer without Sounding Lazy.

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

There are certain questions all job candidates should come to expect during the interview process. Some of them might be easy to address. Others may be tougher. But if there’s one question that tends to fall somewhere in the middle, it’s the ever-popular, “Where do you see yourself in five years?”

Remember, it’s okay to admit in an interview that you’re not 100% sure where you see yourself in five years, but make certain to emphasize where you see yourself today.

Of course, it’s a fairly simple question to answer if you actually know what you want career-wise. For example, if your goal is to be heading up a design team at that point or to be a high-level financial analyst for a major corporation, then you’re likely to breeze through that inquiry without a problem.

But what if you’re new to the workforce and therefore have no idea what you want to be doing half a decade from now? You can’t exactly respond to that question with an uninspired, “I don’t know,” because if you do, you’ll come across as unmotivated and unprepared–even if that is an honest answer. Here’s a better way to address that question without seeming flaky or aloof.

1. OFFER A RANGE OF POSSIBILITIES

It’s hard to know exactly what you’re looking for early on in your career, but one thing you can do is talk about a number of paths that interest you. For example, if you’re applying for a role as a marketing assistant, you might tell your interviewer that you can see yourself working toward senior copywriter status, or that you might come to enjoy project management. Both answers are valid given the job at hand, and this way, you’re not locking yourself into too specific an answer.

Remember, the danger of the “Where do you see yourself” question is that if the role at hand doesn’t really support your projected career path, you could end up lowering your chances of getting hired. Keeping your options open is a good way to make yourself a more desirable candidate, so in this regard, not having a specific plan might work to your advantage.

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2. ADMIT YOU’RE UNSURE OF A SINGLE DIRECTION, BUT SHARE SOME OPTIONS THAT EXCITE YOU

Not everyone is a planner, and some folks–especially those just starting out on their career–might prefer to gain some experience and see where it takes them. If you’re one of them, you can try explaining to your interviewer that you’d like to keep yourself open to various possibilities. Chances are, he or she will appreciate your honestly, especially if you’re fairly new to the workforce.

At the same time, be prepared to share some directions that excite you so that your interviewer gets a sense of what makes you tick. For example, if you’re looking to get hired as an office assistant at an IT company, you might admit that while you’re unsure of what you want, you’d be open to the idea of managing an office and becoming a database administrator.

3. FOCUS ON COMPANY CULTURE

Maybe you don’t know if you want to explore a career in accounting versus marketing versus HR. But one thing you can probably say with certainty is that you’re looking to grow at a company that values its employees and fosters a supportive environment. And so in the absence of a detailed, concrete career path, it pays to talk about the sort of environment you’re hoping to experience both now and in the future, as opposed to focusing on a particular career path you may or may not have settled on. This will help your interviewer determine whether you’re a good fit without having to make up stories.

Remember, it’s okay to admit in an interview that you’re not 100% sure where you see yourself in five years, but make certain to emphasize where you see yourself today. If you’re able to highlight your skills and bring the conversation back to the present, you’ll have a real chance to sell yourself and hopefully land the job of your (temporary) dreams.

FastCompany.com | February 26, 2018 | BY MAURIE BACKMAN—THE MOTLEY FOOL 3 MINUTE READ

Your #Career : #Networking – 9 Questions the Most Interesting People Ask to Cut through Small Talk…Early in my Career, One of my Biggest Fears Walking into a #NetworkingEvent to Schmooze or Meeting Someone for a #BusinessLunch was Boring the Other Person to Tears in Conversation.

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

Showing curiosity in someone is the fastest way to establish a connection with them while conversing.
To skip past the small talk and have a meaningful interaction, asking pointed, unique questions.
“What excites you right now?” and “What’s the most important thing I should know about you?” are two examples.

I remember early in my career, one of my biggest fears walking into a networking event to schmooze or meeting someone for a business lunch was boring the other person to tears in conversation.

I didn’t want to be the windbag who dragged on forever, so I learned to be brief, to the point, and actually listen to the other person with all my being. I eventually avoided the mistake of talking about polarizing topics like politics or race, and learned to stay neutral, positive, and upbeat.

I began to tune in to my body language and voice tone to avoid sounding monotone, or looking like a bump on a log. I trained my brain to show emotions, laugh at people’s jokes, smile when they smile, and make light of awkward situations.

The biggest lesson I learned in conversations with others

But the biggest lesson for ensuring that I was being an interesting person who drew others in came down to asking the right questions. I found that this is what triggered authentic responses in the other person.

By showing curiosity about someone’s story, accomplishments, passions, or interests, the law of reciprocity usually kicked in, and I had my turn to shine. There was a bonus attached to this strategy: Persuasion increased, which helped me steer the conversation in the direction I wanted it to go.

But here’s the key: If you’re in a conversation at a work-related function or meeting someone to talk business for the first time, your best move is not to ask work- or business-related questions; it’s to discover common ties with that person that will steer the conversation back to the “work stuff,” but with a deeper connection.

In other words, get to know that person! To really exercise persuasiveness and make a quick connection that may have mutual benefits (and possibly make a new friend), I’ll leave you with these questions. Granted, some may not be your ideal, icebreaking conversational starters, so use your best judgment when and where to use them to deepen the conversation.

David Burkus, best-selling author of three books and an award-winning podcaster, has contributed the first four questions on this list from an interesting article he wrote for Harvard Business Review. The others come from my own personal favorites and what other entrepreneurs and great conversationalists recommend.

1. What excites you right now?

As Burkus explains it, this question can go in many directions (work life, personal life, etc.) with a wide range of possible answers that may overlap into your life or work, which will open up the conversation further. And asking it allows for the other person to share something that he or she is passionate about.

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2. What are you looking forward to?

Similar to the last one, but this is more forward-looking, which, says Burkus, allows for the other person “to choose from a bigger set of possible answers.”

3. What’s the best thing that’s happened to you this year?

Same technique as the previous two, but this one goes back in time for the other person to reflect on something pivotal that may have changed the course of his or her life. It also opens up a wealth of answers to choose from, which may overlap into some of your own areas of interest or expertise for further discussion.

4. What’s the most important thing I should know about you?

Because it can come across as a little direct, this is certainly not your first question, and it may not even be your third or fourth, but it “gives the broadest possible range from which they can choose,” says Burkus. Use it in context, listen for clues, and wait for the right timing.

5. What’s your story?

One of my personal favorites, this is open-ended enough to trigger an intriguing story—a journey to a foreign country, meeting a famous person, getting funded for the startup of your dreams, a special talent used for making the world a better place, etc. It’s a question that immediately draws in the other person and lets him or her speak from the heart.

6. What is one of your defining moments?

This is another great question that invites the speaker to share on a deeper level, which builds momentum and rapport quicker. Obviously, a few casual questions before it helps set the mood for hearing about a profound moment or transition in that person’s life.

7. Why did you choose your profession?

This assumes that, at some point, you dropped the mandatory “What do you do?” question. As a follow-up, it’s a question that will reveal multiple layers of someone’s journey. It speaks to people’s values, what motivates them, and whether their work is their calling. It may also trigger a different, more thought-provoking response: Some people aren’t happy in their jobs. By asking, you may be in the position to assist or mentor a person through a career or job transition.

8. What are you currently reading?

You may have the same authors and subjects in common, which will deepen your conversation. Also use this question to ask for book recommendations. You may find the conversation going down the path of exploring mutual book ideas to solve a workplace issue or implement a new business strategy.

9. How can I be most helpful to you right now?

To really add the most value to a conversation, once a level of comfort has been established, ask the other person how you can be most helpful to him or her, whether personally or professionally. You’ll be amazed how pleasantly surprised people get by that thoughtful gesture, and how responsive they are in their answer. Your genuine willingness, no strings attached, to make yourself useful to others leads to more interesting, engaging, and real conversations that may lead to future opportunities.

Remember, when you approach another person in conversation, the skill you want to use right off the bat is to immediately show sincere interest in that person. This will pave the way for a smooth conversation that can go places.

Whatever question you decide to use, the important thing is to always ask open-ended questions and to avoid work-related questions or business questions until much, much later in the conversation. You’ll be surprised by how seamless the transition is to discussing business, conducting a sales pitch, or exploring partnerships once both parties are into each other. Try it, and let me know what you think.

Businessinsider.com | February 24, 2018 | Marcel Schwantes, Inc.

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Your #Career : Here’s What the Perfect #Resume Looks Like…. We Combed through Some of our Best #ResumeAdvice & Compiled it into One Infographic to Give you an Easy-to-Follow Outline for a Resume that will Wow #Recruiters & Hopefully, Land you the #Job of your Dreams.

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

Resumes are essential to the job search, but let’s be honest: creating one is not exactly anyone’s idea of a good time. With so many conflicting pieces of advice, you might feel like you don’t know where to start or what to do. But don’t worry — this time, we’ve done the heavy lifting.

We combed through some of our best resume advice and compiled it into one infographic to give you an easy-to-follow outline for a resume that will wow recruiters and hopefully, land you the job of your dreams.

Ready for a resume revamp? Read on below!

1. Design Matters: Don’t go overboard with intricately decorated templates. Look for sufficient white space, margins of at least .7 inches, and a font size no smaller than 11 pt.

2. Be Reachable: Make it easy for recruiters to reach out to you by providing your contact info near the header.

3. Show Off Your Skills: Don’t make recruiters hunt for the most critical information on your resume — include a table of your key soft and hard skill sets up top. Make sure your highlighted skills show why you’re a good fit for the job — all the better if these are keywords from the job description.

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

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4. List Your Experience: This section should include each company you’ve worked for, your title, the dates you worked there, and several bullet points that describe your key accomplishments and responsibilities.

5. Quantify Your Experience: Whenever you can, use concrete data points — it helps provide recruiters with the scope and context of your work, and demonstrates how you contributed to the bottom line.

6. Include Other Positions: Don’t be afraid to include positions that aren’t directly related to the one you’re applying for, especially if you have limited work experience. You can still use it to demonstrate the skills and qualities you want highlighted.

7. Get the Grade: Many jobs require degrees or certifications, so make sure to list yours. GPA is optional, but may be worth including if you’ve graduated recently with high marks.

8. The Extra Stuff: Add some color to your resume with a short catch-all ‘Additional Experience’ section at the end. Include clubs/organizations, volunteer experience, awards you’ve won, and even interesting hobbies or activities.

9. Keep It Concise: Limit your resume to 1-2 pages at the most.

GlassDoor.com | January 15, 2018 | Posted by Emily Moore

#Leadership : The Downsides Of Using #PersonalityTests For #Hiring … Personality isn’t Everything, and Companies Who Rely on It to Predict #Performance can Run into Trouble.

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

Finding the perfect candidate for an open role is hard work. In a competitive market for talent, companies are not settling for a standard application and interview process. They’re coming up with oddball questions, devising strange vetting methods, and “auditioning” candidates before giving them a permanent offer. They’re also making them do personality tests.

The use of personality tests isn’t new. Executive coaches have used them, and so have career placement organizations, as Fast Company previously reported. However, recently, we’re seeing more companies sell “personality tests” as a recruitment method. SquarePeg, for example, asks job seekers and companies a series of questions on traits and preferences before referring them to each other based on their results.

Traitify sells its own personality assessments developed by psychologists, marketed as a faster and more effective option to the Myers-Briggs test. Talify connects college students with jobs that are supposedly the best fit with their skills and interests, which are assessed through a . . . personality test.

But just how effective are personality tests as a tool for hiring? Neel Doshi–coauthor of Primed to Perform, How to Build the Highest Performing Cultures Through the Science of Motivation , tells Fast Company that while it can be effective, there is a lot of danger to the practice when organizations don’t use it effectively.

WHEN RESULTS HAMPER A “GROWTH” MIND-SET

The biggest problem with personality tests, Doshi says, is when companies weaponize them. That is–when the “results” of their test is used for justification on their progress (or lack of) at the company, whether it’s getting a promotion, being tasked with important assignments, or getting the green-light to lead an ambitious project. This kind of thinking discourages a “growth” mind-set among employees and implicitly encourages blame, leading to a toxic workplace environment. It can discourage employees from trying to improve and grow, and send a message that their “ability” to do something is static–rather than something they can hone over time.

As psychology professor Art Markman wrote in a previous Fast Company article–personality is a factor that can motivate people to act, but is not the only factor. Markman wrote, “A person who expresses a strong desire to take on a particular role is likely to learn new skills and habits that will allow them to succeed in that role, even if their personality characteristics would suggest they are not well-suited to that job. That internal motivation to succeed is often a stronger force than the motivation provided by personality characteristics.”

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THERE IS AN INCENTIVE FOR APPLICANTS TO “GAME” THE TEST

Doshi also notes that when you pose something as an assessment, there’s a very real possibility of applicants trying to “game” the test, which defeats the whole purpose in the first place. Because applicants believe that this is something they will be assessed on, they’ll be more likely to answer in a way that they think the company wants them to, rather than how they actually are. “In a recruiting process, it’s not easy to get a truly accurate lead if the questions are part of an evaluation. You see time and time again where an organization will try to assess personality. The candidates tend to see it as tests, and they’re trying to figure out how to game the test,” Doshi tells Fast Company.

THE DANGER OF BIAS

Proponents of personality tests will argue that they’re using it to combat bias. After all, it’s just more data that they can use to predict an individual’s performance, right? However, Doshi argues that in actuality, companies run the risk of bias when conducting personality tests for hiring, particularly in regards to diversity of thoughts. For starters, certain personality traits are not relevant to job performance. But if hiring managers believe that they are, they might miss out on talents who don’t fit the personality type, but whose skills, motivations, and other attributes bring a lot of value to the company.

This example is well illustrated in the technology industry. As Bloomberg journalist Emily Chang recounts in Brotopia: Breaking Up The Boy’s Club Of Silicon Valley, during the mid-1960s, the tech industry hired two psychologists, William Cannon and Dallis Perry, to determine what kind of individuals would make successful programmers. First, they concluded that such individuals needed to enjoy problem solving. Second, they concluded that good programmers “don’t like people.” Five and a half decades later, this stereotype continues to persist, even though product gaffes have shown, time and time again, of the dangers of not having emotionally intelligent developers who can understand their users’ concerns and point of view.

USING PERSONALITY TEST AS A MOTIVATIONAL TOOL

Doshi believes that personality tests are best used as a “motivational” tool rather than a hiring tool. That is, once a candidate is hired, the personality test should be a way to have “safe conversations about your natural preferences at work.” Rather than trying to determine whether one is an introvert or an extrovert, the “test” should ask questions like, What part of your job do you find painful?

Businesses often jump to personality tests because it seems like a silver bullet, Doshi tells Fast Company. It seems easy and alluring to boil someone down to four factors–but when a company hasn’t taken the time to think about what they actually need to create a high-performance culture, they can end up running into more problems than benefits.

FastCompany.com | February 23, 2018 | BY ANISA PURBASARI HORTON 4 MINUTE READ

Your #Career : How To Tidy Up Your #DigitalFootprint Before Your First #JobSearch …You Can’t go Back in time and Not Post those Embarrassing Photos, But you Can Erase your Mistakes Before your Future #Boss #Googles You.

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

When I graduated from college in 2000, social media didn’t really exist, and managers didn’t do Google background checks. I didn’t realize how easy I had it compared to today’s graduates.

“It isn’t at all uncommon for hiring managers to look at Facebook or Instagram to see what type of person the candidate is. You can gauge what someone’s like from an interview, but only to a certain extent,” says Callum Williams, a senior recruitment consultant at FRG Technology Consulting. “The attitude [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”][the applicant] displays once they have the job could be entirely different, so social media can offer valuable insight at times.”

If you’re entering the workforce now, you were raised in an era where social media has been ubiquitous. Your posts from high school might come back to haunt you when a prospective employer searches your accounts.

Of course the best way to stop embarrassing posts from coming on to the radar of a prospective employer is not to post things that you wouldn’t want your boss to see in the first place. But if you’re reading this article, it’s clearly too late for that. So here are some steps you can take to reduce the chances that your past online activity and digital footprint will hurt your job prospects.

MAKE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS PRIVATE

As soon as you enter the professional realm, or enter the phase of looking for your first professional job, it’s time to privatize your social media profiles. Yes, it feels good to have hundreds or thousands of followers, even if you don’t know 90% of them, but is that dopamine high you get when you snag a new follower worth it if your public social media account stops you from getting a job?

Here’s how to make your Facebook profile private, make your Twitter profile private, and make your Instagram profile private.

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REVIEW YOUR TIMELINES

Of course, there are times when it’s beneficial to have public social media profiles when hunting for a job. This is especially true if you’re looking for a job in the media, where your social media profile can serve as an addendum to your resume.

But even if this is the case, you’ll still want to scan through all your social media posts and remove any photos or comments that could cast you in a negative light. Such posts include anything that makes you look petulant, nasty, or immature. Obviously get rid of “funny”/potentially embarrassing photos, and comments that could cause offense. As far as posts about politics go, it’s okay to stand by your political views, just don’t leave any posts up that demonize the other side simply because they disagree with your point of view.

CONTROL TAGGING

Of course, sometimes you can appear on social media despite not posting the content yourself. This often happens when our friends or family tag us in content they post. These tags with our names can often show up in Google searches, especially Google Image searches, as most tags are applied to photos.

“Be conscious of the things you are tagged in,” warns Williams. “Friends have a habit of tagging you in pictures and videos that you would rather not share with the world. Ask them to remove the tag or remove it yourself.”

Besides asking friends to untag you, most social media sites also give you the ability to disable other people from tagging you in the first place. Here’s how to control tagging on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

FIND AND CLOSE ANY OLD SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS

When we think of managing our social media profiles, we generally think of the current big three social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. However, chances are that many of us have digital footprints floating around online from other platforms that we’ve long since abandoned. I’m talking about old platforms like MySpace or Friendster or abandoned social media profiles on services like Google+, or from that time we created a Flickr account just to post our pics from that wild trip to Cancun.

You might not even remember how many abandoned social media accounts you have. To find them, Google your name to see what comes up (check past the first page of results) or try a service like Deseat.me, which aims to help you find all your forgotten online accounts. Any accounts you do find, either make them private or close them down completely.

Not sure if a certain post might hurt your job prospects?

“If in doubt about a historical social media post, consider the first impression it would give a stranger,” says Williams, “and be mindful that the standard of a hiring manager is higher than that.”

FastCompany.com | February 23, 2018 | BY MICHAEL GROTHAUS 3 MINUTE READ

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Your #Career : Five Things To Do When You’ve Exhausted All The #JobBoards …If your #JobHunt has Stalled, Try One of These Tactics to Get Out of your Rut.

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

You’re scanning the job boards daily, but there just aren’t any new listings that catch your eye or fit your experience level. But you don’t have to let your job search grind to a halt just because the pickings seem slim.

There are a few other things you can do to keep things moving, even when there’s not much out there.

1. SET UP AN INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW

Informational interviews are underrated. The goal is to get a hold of someone who works at a company you’re interested in and just learn the inside scoop. They aren’t the one who’s making any hiring decisions, and maybe there isn’t even an open position there that you’re currently gunning for. It’s purely for research and networking.

After you’ve spent some time trawling job boards like Glassdoor, Indeed, and Monster, you’ve probably assembled a shortlist of employers that appeal to you, even if they aren’t hiring right now. And as career coach Sarah Vermunt put it recently, “If there’s an organization you know you’d like to work for, you’d be crazy not to try for an informational interview with someone who works there.” So, she suggests, “reach out to someone who is doing work that is similar to the work you want to do. That’ll give you a true picture of the work–the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

As you plan your next move, these informal conversations can arm you with crucial intel about where the market needs really lie, which organizations are thriving and which ones might actually be pretty toxic, and a few smart ways to position yourself for openings when they finally do crop up.

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2. UP YOUR LINKEDIN GAME

This one is a no-brainer. When you send out a job application, you’re knocking on employers’ doors; when you optimize your LinkedIn presence, you’re inviting employers to knock on yours. Scan your LinkedIn profile for any incomplete fields, discrepancies, overwritten chunks of text, extremely basic skills, and meaningless industry jargon–all of those things are turn-offs to recruiters and need to go.

Take a little time to personalize your profile so it highlights what’s genuinely unique about your experience. For instance, if you’re a software engineer, your headline should specify what kind, and your skills field should list all the languages and coding tools you know. At the same time, balance out any the human side, too, so you don’t come across as a soulless robot with only great technical chops. Explain what you’re passionate about and what types of problems you’ve solved (and why those wound up helping your team, your organization, or your customers).

Specificity matters, but so do soft skills like emotional intelligence–no matter what your role or industry.

3. GO TO A NETWORKING EVENT

I know–everyone hates hearing advice like this. But when you’re coming up dry in your search for openings, it doesn’t hurt to hit up a networking mixer–even one that you know will be short on leads. The reason? When you’re looking for a job, you need to actively seek out opportunities to practice discussing your experience, professional goals, and passions.

So even if it’s pretty much guaranteed that you aren’t going to meet your next boss at that networking event, the exercise in introducing yourself to strangers and talking articulately about your career is a valuable one. Feeling iffy about it anyway? Grab a friend or coworker and make networking a team sport.

4. CHECK YOUR SOFT SKILLS

Recruiters are interested in your people skills, not just your technical know-how. As Susan Vitale, chief marketing officer for iCIMS, recently told Fast Company, “Hard skills are what you do, and soft skills are how you do it.” And some of the top capabilities in that category, according to Vitale and other talent professionals in the space, include adaptability, problem solving, and verbal communication.

Some job seekers who repeatedly get called in for job interviews but miss out on offers may find that they’re falling short on some of those key soft skills. It’s sometimes easier to nail down a candidates’ technical capabilities before meeting them; soft skills are harder to suss out. So giving recruiters and hiring managers reason to feel confident that you’re emotionally intelligent in addition to being a world-class marketer is one way to get a leg up when new openings finally do get posted. In the meantime, take a few minutes to dial up those soft skills on your resume–here’s a handy formula for figuring out how.

5. CHANGE YOUR THINKING ON JOB-SEARCH DEADLINES

One of the reasons a long, mostly fruitless job search can feel so frustrating is because the outcome you’re looking for–a really great job offer–isn’t something you can bring about all on your own. No matter how badly you might want a new job by next month, there’s nothing you can do single-handedly to guarantee you’ll get one by then. As The Muse’s Alison Cardy explains, “When you tie a deadline to something that’s not within your power, you set yourself up to feel defeated if it falls through.”

Looking out for your mental health is crucial at times like these, when positivity can be in short supply. One trick Cardy suggests is rethinking the way you’re setting goals and deadlines as a job seeker. So commit to sending out 10 job applications over the next two weeks, for example, or to grab coffee with three contacts by the end of the month. “By connecting the deadline to your personal efforts,” Cardy says, “you give yourself the opportunity to feel successful just by meeting it–and that confidence boost can mean a lot during a tough search.”

FastCompany.com | February 22, 2018 | Rich Bellis