#BestofFSCBlog : #InterviewingQuestions -How to Answer: What Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses? Bonus: Complete List of Other Questions Asked! A Must Read!

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Job interviews can get surprisingly intimate. You’ve only met the interviewer 10 minutes ago, and all of a sudden they’re hitting you with a very deep set of questions: What are your greatest strengths? What are your weaknesses? These questions can take enormous powers of self-reflection to give an honest answer to. Rather than making your interviewer sit silently while you parse out what your greatest weakness is and how it’s impacted your career, it’s better to think of answers to these types of questions beforehand.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to identify your strengths and weaknesses, how to frame them in a clear, compelling narrative and what common pitfalls to avoid. You may even learn some new things about yourself along the way!

GUIDE OVERVIEW

  1. What Is the “Strengths and Weaknesses” Question?
  2. Determining Your Strengths
  3. Determining Your Weaknesses
  4. How to Weave a Story
  5. What to Avoid
  6. Learn More!

What Is the “Strengths and Weaknesses” Question?

You’ll almost always hear these questions in one form or another during a job interview.

Employers want to hear in your own words why you’re a good fit for the job and for the company. They might want to assess what potential issues there could be, too. It’s a chance for them to assess your capacity to be self-reflective.

Whether the question you’re asked is “what attributes will make you shine in this role?” or “what areas of your approach to work are you looking to improve?”, taking a hard look at your strengths and weaknesses — and learning how to communicate them effectively in a professional setting — will be invaluable for your next interview.

 

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

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Determining Your Strengths

Generally, you’ll focus on your soft skills as strengths — there are other ways for interviewers and recruiters to glean hard skills, whether it’s through take-home assignments, a coding interview or examples of your past work. But with soft skills, you have to tell them the story.

“Don’t feel that your response needs to match what you said your manager and colleagues think of you,” said Sharlyn Lauby, president of consulting firm ITM Group Inc and founder of HR Bartender, to Glassdoor. “It’s perfectly natural to say, ‘One skill I haven’t been able to use much in my current role is [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”][insert skill]. I hope to use it more in the role we’re discussing.’”

Here are some examples of strengths. Which ones do you identify with? Can you think of more that have helped you shine in your career?

  • Good communicator
  • Team player
  • Time management abilities
  • Conflict resolution
  • Ability to perform under pressure

Depending on the job, you might also choose to include hard skills in your strengths, citing your ability to code in a variety of languages, your knowledge of a foreign language or your experience as a copy editor as examples of why you would be a strong candidate for the job.

Determining Your Weaknesses

Determining our strengths is generally easier; it’s fun to reflect on and celebrate our successes. But what about the areas where we struggle? Do you ever set aside the time to take a look in the mirror to see where you are letting others — and yourself — down, and how you can improve?

“Employers expect candidates to have weaknesses… so you are better served by answering the question frankly.  A candid answer will show your prospective employer your growth-mindset and will demonstrate a sense of self-awareness and honesty,” writes Jeevan Balani, Founder and CEO of Rocket Interview and frequent Glassdoor contributor.

Here are some examples of common career weaknesses. Can you identify with any of them? If so, what have you done to improve these weaknesses?

  • Wanting to control too many aspects of a situation
  • Procrastination
  • Inability to self-regulate, leading to burnout
  • Disorganized
  • Impatient

Again, you might choose to highlight some hard skills that are a weakness for you too, for example not being good with math, not being versed in a particular type of software or having trouble spelling — but only if it’s non-essential to the role.

How to Weave a Story

Now that you’ve got a solid list of your strengths and weaknesses, is it enough just to list them out when you’re asked during a job interview? Absolutely not! Backing up each strength or weakness with a relevant anecdote is critical to giving the interviewer the full picture of why you excel in one area, or what areas you’re working to get better in.

As an exercise to prepare, for every strength on your list, write down a story that showcases how you effectively used that strength to accomplish something in your career. For every weakness, write down a story about how that weakness had (or could have had) a negative repercussion in your career — then write what you learned from it, and what you’re actively doing to improve it.

Especially when answering about your weaknesses, framing is critical. You don’t want to make it seem like your flaws are immutable, or worse, incriminate yourself. You also don’t want to turn your weakness into a humblebrag, like “it’s hard for others to keep up with me because I think so fast.” So striking a reflective tone is key, which you can do by highlighting what you have learned about your weakness, and what you are doing to improve it.

On a more general note, try to match your strengths to the job description. It’s great if you’re a pro at skill X, but the job requires skills A, B and C, then your expertise in skill X might not be relevant. Similarly, keep the job description in mind when you share your weaknesses. If you’re applying for a job in copy editing, it’s probably not a good idea to say that your weakness is spelling.

Also, research on the company’s culture can help you decide which strengths and weaknesses to highlight, and how. If the company is known to be fast-paced and dynamic, you might want to highlight your strength in juggling many projects at once or your ability to pivot quickly to new tasks. But also be honest — if you find during your research that the company culture doesn’t seem like a good fit for you, then you might want to take a step back and reconsider, rather than trying to squeeze yourself into a mold that doesn’t quite fit.

Here are some example anecdotes for the strengths and weakness we defined above:

Strengths

  • I work well in teams. When my division reorganized and I was put on a team with people from different backgrounds and experience levels without a clear hierarchy, there was a lot of friction. I organized regular bonding sessions for our team that helped break down some boundaries in the office. I also took it upon myself to take some of the more cumbersome tasks that others didn’t want to do. When I left, a number of people on the team thanked me for the diplomacy and harmony I fostered in our work environment.
  • I’m good at time management. When I worked as a marketing manager, I had to schedule the release of promotional materials, get materials ready for a launch date and time when to stoke interest in my company’s products before their release. I would make detailed calendars with every step of a campaign before embarking, which included estimating time and making due dates for even the smallest of tasks. It was this ability that led to the success of the XYZ product launch, the most intensive project I worked on while at the company.
  • I perform well under pressure. When I worked as a consultant, I often had to give presentations to high-level executives at the company we were consulting at a day’s notice or less. I had to quickly learn how to speak confidently and fluently about material I had only drawn up the day before. Sometimes I would be interrupted and challenged, and I had to stand my ground, explain myself clearly and keep my cool. I believe that skill will make me a good fit in this role as a spokesperson.

Weaknesses

  • I have a tendency to procrastinate. This really came to a head when I was working on a big project, and overestimated the amount of work I could do at the last second. I ended up narrowly making the deadline, but it caused my team and my manager a lot of stress. After that, I started learning more about time management from my mentors at work, and I’ve started making detailed schedules weeks — and even months — ahead. I’m still working to create accurate timelines that I can easily follow, but I am heartened because I’ve found that it actually puts me at ease to work with a schedule.
  • I can be impatient, and this has caused me to sometimes micromanage my employees. I used to hound employees in advances of deadlines, because I was afraid if I didn’t, they wouldn’t turn in the work on time. I now see it cause a lot of stress for my employees, and I’m working to trust that they will get things in on time. So far, not a single deadline has been missed!
  • I have had a tendency to work until I reach burnout. After a while, I started noticing a pattern in my career that I would work very hard on projects, staying up all night to finish them in advance of deadlines, and making it a goal for myself to be the first one in the office every morning and the last one to leave. Ultimately, this was unsustainable, and after a big project I would often crash, and either become sick and have to miss work, or be lethargic while I was there. I’m now learning how to impose healthy limits on myself and to stick to a doable schedule so that I don’t risk burning out like that again.

What to Avoid

Told right, your answer to this question can inspire the interviewer and give them an intimate picture into how you work. It can help them assess whether your strengths and weakness will make you the right fit for your job, if your disposition will be a good fit with the team you’re working on and if you’ll fit into the company culture as a whole. But there’s a few things you need to keep in mind when delivering your answer, so that it doesn’t come off as bragging, overly humble or other common pitfalls.

  • Don’t brag.
  • Don’t minimize yourself by dwelling on your weaknesses
  • Don’t give examples that are too unrelated to work
  • Don’t ramble
  • Don’t give an example that will set off a red flag in the interviewer’s mind

“HR pros see through the, ‘I’m a perfectionist,’ response,” Lauby says. It’s still possible to keep it positive, though. For example, an answer Lauby gave: “I recently attended a customer service training program and I was reminded of some problem-solving skills that I need to start using again,” will certainly get the job done.

This interview question can be tricky, but don’t stress too much — with proper preparation, you’ve got it in the bag!

Learn More

How to Master the Art of Bragging Like a Pro

How to Answer “What Is Your Greatest Weakness?”

8 Words or Phrases to Avoid When You’re Trying to Project Confidence

How to Answer “Tell Me About Yourself”

The Dos and Don’ts of Showing Passion in an Interview

The Surprising Reason You’re Not Hearing Back After Job Interview

How to Answer the 50 Most Common Interview Questions

Learn More!

 

GlassDoor.com | May 21, 2019 

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#CareerAdvice : #OlderWorkers – #Ageism is Thriving, So what are Companies Doing About It? Welcome your Comments.

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“It’s always difficult to identify reasons why you do or don’t get a job,” says Florence Navarro, the chief empowerment officer of Kichocheo who works with executive teams to attract talented teams. It could be that you’re not as qualified as other candidates, or your enthusiasm didn’t translate during the interview, the employer decided to promote from within, or, says Navarro, you just weren’t a fit for the culture for a number of reasons.

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

One of the jobs Navarro applied for–that she felt uniquely qualified for, given her extensive experience with the UN–she lost out to another younger, male candidate. “I had a series of interviews, and an assessment, I had a good interaction with the team,” she recalls, noting again that it’s hard to know what the reasoning was behind the final decision, but she suspects it was because of her age.

In the social impact sector, she explains, there are a lot of young people who are willing to accept lower levels of pay which ups the competition. And in organizations with very flat structures it can be tough for people at her level to land positions. “It is true for several people I have spoken with,” she says, once they passed the middle and higher level of their careers.

Nearly two out of three workers over the age of 45 have seen or experienced age discrimination on the job, according to the results of a wide-ranging AARP survey done in 2018. Among the 61% of respondents who reported age bias, the vast majority (91%) believe this discrimination is common. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) had similar findings. Their most recent study of age discrimination in hiring analyzed over 40,000 applications for over 13,000 jobs in 12 cities across 11 states in 2015. Age discrimination happens for both men and women, particularly between 64 to 66 years old. They were more frequently denied job interviews than middle-age applicants age 49 to 51. Women in both those age groups were subjected to more age discrimination than older men.

 

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

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HOW AGEISM IS HIDDEN

The same could be said for the tech sector, which tends to skew towards a younger workforce. A woman who used to work for one of the largest, most recognizable tech firms spoke to Fast Company on the condition of anonymity. “Reality is there are probably many who don’t know they are victims [/fusion_builder_column][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”][of ageism] because they aren’t even making it to the first interview,” she says.

The other issue is that while age is one of the easiest demographics for companies to track, it’s rarely shared in diversity reports, according to Paradigm’s Midwest managing director Erin Thomas. Paradigm is a diversity and inclusion strategy firm that partners with leading technology startups and Fortune 500 companies.

Thomas points out that age gets overlooked because most companies possess fixed mindsets about the skills and roles of older vs. younger workers. “Generational diversity is rarely reported because the underlying inference is that age data are reflected in the job level data that are often reported (individual contributors, managers, VPs+, C-suite, etc.),” Thomas says.

While many mature organizations possess a “pay your dues” mentality with timed career progressions where it can be nearly impossible for younger employees to accelerate, she says young companies–like many in tech–have a major bias when it comes to older workers.

ANOTHER WAY TO THINK ABOUT INCLUSIVE CULTURE

“Boomers are 60% less likely and gen Xers are 33% less likely to be hired compared to their representation in the workforce,” says Thomas. In turn, she says, “this generational blindspot has become reinforced and grown because older workers haven’t been given opportunities to defy negative assumptions about what they’re able to do.”

Tech companies with older workers usually have them in more senior management roles. Among those who are reporting the age of their workforce are Indiegogo and Hubspot. Neither company has many older workers in individual contributor roles.

The average age of Indiegogo‘s whole company is 32, for instance. However, a company spokesperson says that team leaders on average are 43.5 and the average age of the executive team is 46. She says that there are some not at those higher levels. “We’re pleased to have three employees over the age of 40 in non-management roles and continuing to hire a more diverse workplace is a top priority for us.”

Julia Kanouse, the CEO of the Illinois Technology Association says that inclusion is key to making older workers feel like they belong at lower level jobs in tech companies. She knows of a company who is a member of ITA has a workforce that is 80% millennials. Kanouse says a recent hire–a woman in her late-forties with children, felt extremely unwelcome at the organization. “Although she may not be who you think of as an “older” worker, she felt out of place and had trouble connecting with the company culture,” says Kanouse. She was ashamed to talk about her kids and was uncomfortable putting pictures of them up in her workspace. The social events, the language used in the office, the informal water cooler talk all contributed to her sense of not belonging, and she left the organization within six months, Kanouse says.

“A company’s culture needs to be welcoming to people of all ages and stages of life, regardless of the company’s demographics,” says Kanouse. “Whether old for your culture is 45 or 75, the key benefit of integrating an older worker is the life experience they bring.” She says that companies looking to hire older workers need to be prepared to adjust how they think about getting work done. “Whether they have children at home, aging parents or just can no longer put in a 14-hour day,” she says, “and provide the kinds of benefits that are going to attract and, in the long run, retain your target workforce.”

Aubrey Blanche, global head of diversity and belonging at Atlassian says that in addition to fostering a culture that makes it safe to talk about the impact of ageism, they emphasize growth journeys and not just career paths. “This means the focus is less on advancing up the ladder (although that’s an option) and more about what skills and experiences you’re gaining from your role,” she says. Blanche contends that this creates much more flexibility for people in all age groups, but can be especially helpful in combating the idea that you have to be older or more experienced than someone working at a higher level. “This has ultimately allowed us to improve the representation of teammates over 40 from 12% to 18.7% over the last three years,” she points out.

At Hubspot, 21% of the staff are between the ages of 16-25 and the majority 64% are between 26-35. Only 3% are over age 46 yet they hold 50% of top executive roles. One percent of those over 46 are individual contributors. According to Katie Burke, HubSpot’s chief people officer, the company launched a Returners Program in Dublin over the past 18 months, “specifically to welcome experienced professionals back to the workforce after a break for child or elder care.” Burke says they also significantly increased the paid family leave policy globally.

Burke says Hubspot doesn’t disclose the ages of the people in the Returners program, but the average time out of the workforce ranged from 2 to 12 years. “Our goal this year is to have 10-12 total participants,” she says, and they are exploring similar options in both North America and the Asia Pacific region.

Carin Taylor, chief diversity officer at Workday, says the company also implemented a returnship program in September 2018. “During this four-month paid program, we saw experienced professionals get the training, support, and mentorship needed to relaunch their careers,” she says, adding that the cohort was made up of people who had been out of the corporate workforce from 2 to 16 years.

Although she acknowledges that it can be intimidating for older workers to jump back in, Taylor believes they can bring a lot to Workday. “The skills they’ve garnered during their time away include everything from complex problem-solving to the ability to adapt quickly, to strong interpersonal and communication skills,” she says. Returnship participants can have a higher level of engagement and loyalty to their employers. “Our first cohort of participants resulted in a 90% conversion to full-time hires.”

The EEOC report finds that most workers today are expected to have 11 different jobs in the modern, dynamic economy. That’s why Taylor emphasizes the need for age not to be a factor in hiring. “Assuming that everyone needs to have a traditional career path are days of the past,” she says, “and employers are beginning to realize that skills are acquired in many different ways.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lydia Dishman is a reporter writing about the intersection of tech, leadership, and innovation. She is a regular contributor to Fast Company and has written for CBS Moneywatch, Fortune, The Guardian, Popular Science, and the New York Times, among others.

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FastCompany.com | April 3, 2019

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#Leadership : #ProductivePeople -The 25 Best New #ProductivityApps for 2019…Great/Fun REad!

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You might think that by now, people would have productivity software all figured out. Yet every year, dozens of enterprising software makers–both large and small–find more clever ways to get things done, either with entirely new apps or major improvements to the classics.

Here are some of the most essential productivity apps we’ve found lately for phones, tablets, computers, and even your smartwatch.

Noto puts notes where you’re sure to see them—in your inbox.

TIME SAVERS

Email yourself. Sometimes there’s no better reminder system than your inbox. With Noto, you can quickly email yourself by jotting down a note and swiping, or by using iOS’s share sheet to send notes from third-party apps. It’s great for sending links, tweets, map locations, or anything else you might need to recall later. [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”][iOS]

Schedule faster. No one really likes the typical back-and-forth email ritual for scheduling calendar events. Woven can help you break the cycle by letting you suggest times that invitees can then choose from through a web link. It’s even better when all involved parties use Woven, as it can suggest times that work for everyone. And unlike some other scheduling tools, Woven has dedicated apps. [iOS, Mac, Windows, web]

With Google Keep for Apple Watch, the work of two tech giants combines into a sweet note-taking solution.

Notes from your wrist. Google Keep remains one of the simplest and best note-taking apps around. The recently launched Google Keep for Apple Watch takes the app’s efficiency a step further. Just Force Touch on your notes list to quickly add a note by voice or handwriting. [Apple Watch]

Communicate quicker. Speaking of the Apple Watch, using Apple’s Walkie Talkie app can be a great alternative to phone calls and text messages when you need to talk with a teammate. Just add contacts to your Walkie Talkie list through the app and make sure they approve the request, and you’ll be able to communicate with one tap. [Apple Watch]

Your phone, on your PC. For Windows users, Microsoft’s Your Phoneapp is a simple way to read or respond to text messages or grab photos from an Android phone. Later this year, you’ll be able to run Android apps from select phones within Windows as well. [Windows]

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

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EMAIL ENHANCERS

Add chats to your emails. Readdle’s email app Spark has been around for years, but recently added a neat chat feature that helps teams collaborate on their emails. The app also added some new features such as templates, Siri Shortcuts, and dark mode. An Android version just arriving as well. [iOS, Mac]

Turn your emails into chats. If you need some motivation to answer your emails, Spike (not to be confused with Spark) can help by mimicking the breezy feel of a messaging app. Individual emails take on the look of chat bubbles, and you can easily add emoji and even include read receipts. Best of all, its Windows app feels lightweight compared to Gmail. [iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, web]

Leave Me Alone helps you reclaim your inbox from marketing spam.

No more junk. Although it’s not the first service that promises to unsubscribe you from junk emails, Leave Me Alone doesn’t sell your email data to marketers as some other unsubscribe services do. Instead, it scans the past three days of emails for possible spam at no charge, and can scan back further for a one-time fee. Once it’s identified the junk, you can remove yourself from each mailing list with one click. [web]

Press pause on new emails. We all aspire to be that person who only checks email at certain times of the day. Boomerang can force that behavior with its Inbox Pause feature that keeps email out of your inbox for a block of time, while also allowing exceptions for certain senders, domains, or keywords. It’s one of many recently added features for the long-running email management service, which may explain why one of Boomerang’s earlier creations, The Email Game, had to die this year. [iOS, web]

With CircleUp, it’s easier to make sure that meetings turn into action.

Follow-ups for the scatterbrained. If you schedule lots of meetings but aren’t so good at follow-up, CircleUp can help you keep on top of them. The $5 per month service (not to be confused with the financial tech startup of the same name) scans your calendar for external meetings, then emails you afterward with a reminder. You can then send a canned or personal “thank-you” note with a couple clicks. [web]

If your Android phone is pelting you with too many notifications, you need Daywise.

CONCENTRATION BOOSTERS

A traffic cop for notifications. Too tempted to look at your phone’s notifications? Daywise, an Android app backed by Duke University, can bundle them up and deliver them at scheduled times so you won’t be bothered at work, during dinner, or before bed. You can also let certain apps and contacts through the filter, but choose wisely. [Android]

Limit your screen time. While Apple released a set of tools for managing screen time and limiting app use in iOS 12, Android’s comparable Digital Wellbeing feature remains in beta and is for Pixel phones only. For everyone else, there’s Action Dash, which provides a similar insights for a much broader range of Android devices. [Android]

MultiTimer offers a bevy of ways to keep track of time, including the Pomodoro Method (try it!).

Pomodoro Plus. For those who like to work against the clock, MultiTimer lets you set up a series of deeply customizable timers on a single screen. You can add timers that count up, timers that count down, Pomodoro Method timers with customizable break times, timers with counters, and more. A $6 Pro version adds even more features, such as multiple boards for different activities and custom commands that control multiple timers at once. [iOS]

IMAGE IMPROVERS

No trace but the face. You needn’t be a Photoshop whiz to remove the background from photos. Instead, you can use Remove.bg, which uses machine learning techniques to extract the foreground image automatically. It’s free for images with resolutions up to a quarter-megapixel–good enough for your Twitter or Facebook profile–and offers various pricing plans for high-definition edits. [Web]

Make big photos small. Google’s fancy image compression algorithms are now available to anyone, thanks to its free Squooshweb app. Select an image from your computer, then use the quality slider to decide how compressed you want to get. Squoosh tells you how much space the smaller image will save, and provides a helpful side-by-side comparison with the original. [web]

No more photo clutter. For iPhone users whose photo libraries are littered with near-duplicates, Gemini Photos can clean them up. The app identifies batches of similar photos, then suggests the best of the bunch so you can quickly eliminate the rest. It’s free to try for three days, and costs $3 per month, $12 per year, or $15 for life after that. If only Google Photos had something similar. [iOS]

Darkroom offers power tools for iOS photo mavens.

Don’t call it Lightroom. Speaking of iOS photos, Darkroom goes much deeper than Apple’s built-in image editor, with features like batch editing, custom filters, and frames that automatically match your images’ colors. Version 4.0 added iPad support (with keyboard shortcuts), new gestures (such as two-finger tap to undo), and integration with Moment, a popular pro camera app. [iOS]

Draw with confidence. Need to create some slick imagery from scratch? Sketches provides a variety of realistic brushes–with support for Apple’s Pencil–along with ruler tools for drawing lines, circles, arcs, and other shapes. The iOS app has been around for years, but version 20 adds a “zen mode” that removes UI elements so you can concentrate on drawing, plus several new drawing tools. The basic app is free, and the $6 Pro upgrade adds extra brushes and layer support. [iOS]

AUDIOVISUAL UPGRADES

Easier editing. For time-strapped podcasters, Descript transcribes speech to text, then lets you trim down the audio by deleting words and sentences. Version 2.0 added support for video editing, so YouTubers can get on board as well. [Mac, Windows]

No more noise. Screaming baby interrupting your work-from-home conference call? Krisp can remove the whines–and other types of background noise–in more than 150 calling apps, including Skype for Business, Zoom, WebEx, and Slack. Noise cancelling happens on your computer, rather than on some faraway server, and can apply to either the caller or the recipient. [Mac, Windows coming soon]

Skype’s new background blur lets you dial into video conferences without revealing that your home office is a pigpen.

Office mess begone. If you haven’t used Skype lately, the recent addition of background blur could make it worth picking for your next video call. Just click the camera button, then toggle “Blur my background” to obscure the messy office behind you. The feature is currently available for Skype’s desktop software. [Windows, Mac]

EXTRA MOTIVATION

Learn to write. More than just a writing app, Blurt is a Swiss army knife of tools for more efficient and effective writing. The app includes timers and target word counts to get you on track, and can even blur what you’ve already written so you can focus on getting more thoughts on the page. Afterwards, Blurt provides a prose editor that calls out cliches, excess adverbs, and run-on sentences. It’s currently $5 per month with a 15-day trial. [web]

Paper planner replacement. Daily to-do apps abound in the iOS App Store, but Capsicum stands out as an intriguing throwback to physical planners. A compact agenda page lets you glance at calendar events and to-do list items, while also leaving space for your own freeform notes. There’s also a “loose leaf” section for tracking more ambitious goals. It’s free to try for 14 days, and costs $2 per month or $20 per year after that. [iOS]

Build some momentum. The venerable habit tracking app Streakshas added some significant new features in version 4.0, including an iPad version and support for Siri shortcuts. The latter means logging your daily work, fitness, and self-improvement goals is just a voice command away. [iOS]

Pressure by percentages. When other productivity tools won’t cut it, Progress Bar OSX lets you see what percentage of your current day, month, year, and (presumably estimated) life remains, all from your Mac’s menu bar. Because nothing motivates quite like a reminder of your finite time on earth. [Mac]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jared Newman covers apps and technology for Fast Company from his remote outpost in Cincinnati. He also writes for PCWorld and TechHive, and previously wrote for Time.com

 More

 

FastCompany.com | April 2, 2019

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#BestofFSCBlog : #JobSearch -Salary Negotiation Scripts For Any Job. Recruiter: What’s your Current Salary? Be Careful How you Answer.

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Ask any job seeker or employee about salary negotiations and one of the most popular responses is, “I would negotiate but I don’t know what to say.” Having the right words to say, or write, during a salary negotiation is vital. Communication can make or break discussions and impact your confidence to get paid fairly.

Always remember, your talent is precious, and you deserve to be compensated for it. Learning to foster conversations about compensation is a vital skill that yields rewards.

First things first, determine your current worth in the job market. Use Know Your Worth to receive a custom salary estimate based on your title, company, location and experience.  Once you have the information, it’s time to advocate for yourself.

Josh Doody, author of Fearless Salary Negotiation,  knows how challenging it can be to learn to financially advocate for oneself. He  took his first job without negotiating his salary.  Once he got hip to the dance, he doubled that salary.

We teamed with Doody to equip job seekers and employees with exactly how to tackle tricky salary negotiation conversations.

Situation #1: Prying During the Prescreen

How should you respond when you’re asked about salary right off the bat? You want to demonstrate that you’re enthusiastic and cooperative, but you don’t want to tip your hand. Doody explains: “It’s a salary negotiation tactic disguised as a gatekeeper-type interview question.”   

Suggested Script:

Recruiter: What’s your current salary?

You: “I’m not really comfortable sharing that information. I would prefer to focus on the value I can add to this company and not what I’m paid at my current job.”

If the interview team doesn’t know your salary, they can’t use it as their starting point. Doody writes, “that’s probably going to mean a higher initial offer for you.”

Recruiter: What’s your expected salary?

You: “I want this move to be a big step forward for me in terms of both responsibility and compensation.”

Doody points out, “sharing your current salary or your expected salary is not in your best interest. . . They’re interviewing you because you’re a qualified candidate, and they need a qualified candidate. . . They would also like to get a good deal. . They’re not going to stop interviewing you just because you don’t make it easier for them to get a good deal on you.”

If they pass because you won’t acquiesce, that’s a red flag. Doody says, “then they’re extremely motivated to get a bargain…That’s bad news for you even if you get the job.”

One last thing, resist the temptation to tell a white lie when asked for your salary during the prescreening process. If you underestimate what they’re willing to pay, you’re leaving money on the table. If the real answer is that they would compensate someone like you up to $75,000 dollars, and you guess they would pay a salary of only $65,000, you very literally may have just cost yourself $10,000.

If you overestimate and tell them your salary expectation is $85,000, you may set off red flags that cause them to rethink the interview process altogether. This is pretty rare, but you could disqualify yourself by being “too expensive” for them. If your expected salary is well above their budgeted pay range, they may just move on to other candidates with lower salary expectations.

The bottom line is you probably aren’t going to guess what their salary structure looks like, and if you try to guess you may cost yourself a lot of money.

How to Negotiate Your Salary

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Situation #2: Savvy Counter Offering

After you’ve secured an offer, Doody recommends using this formula:

“The counter offer calculator accounts for four factors—the base salary of your job offer, your minimum acceptable salary (“walk away” number), how badly the company needs you to accept the job offer, and how badly you need the job.”

Use “firm and neutral” language like this:

Suggested Script:

“Tom offered $50,000 and I would be more comfortable if we could settle on $56,000. I feel that amount reflects the importance and expectations of the position for ACME Corp’s business, and my qualifications and experience as they relate to this particular position.”

Or, if you had a competing offer:

“Thank you so much for the offer. As I mentioned during my interview process, I am speaking with a couple of other companies. If you’re able to move the pay to [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”][insert your number], I’d be eager to accept.”

Doody explains that email is the perfect medium for this message. This way, the hiring manager can share it in a format that clearly makes your case to each person with whom it’s shared. Your case won’t get the same treatment if it’s restated recollections of a conversation.   

The hiring manager will likely come back with a figure between your base salary and your counteroffer. For Doody, the distance between these figures represents your “salary negotiation window.” He recommends compartmentalizing this window into increments. In the example above, the window is $6,000, so he recommends devising a response for each possible offer.

If, for example, the offer is $55,000 or above, Doody says it’s a taker.  

“If the company comes back with $53,000, then you say ‘If you can do $54,000, I’m on board!’ If they stick with $53,000, then you would say, ‘I understand the best you can do is $53,000 and you can’t come up to $54,000. If you can do $53,000 and offer an extra week of paid vacation each year, then I’m on board.’”

Decide which benefits, like vacation time or flexible working hours, are most important so that you can apply them to bolster the deal. Rank those benefits in your mind and use those in your bargaining. 

  1. Extra vacation time
  2. Work from home
  3. Signing bonus

If they do not accept your second-priority benefit, you move on to your third-priority benefit. Regardless of whether they accept your final response, then you’re finished; don’t get nit-picky or greedy. You have maximized your base salary and maximized your benefits as well.

QUIZ: Is Now The Right Time To Re-Negotiate Your Salary?

Situation #3: Raises & Promotions

Doody explains: “Your primary reason for requesting a raise is that the salary you’re being paid doesn’t reflect your current value to the company. That salary was set some time in the past, so your argument is that you are more valuable now than you were. . . ” You have a fair justification. Now you need the right plan.

Start by mentioning, via email, to your manager that you’d like to discuss compensation in your next private meeting. After that conversation, Doodly advises preparing a strategically constructed, easily sharable salary increase letter.

Suggested Email Script:

“As we discussed, it has been [amount of time] since [“my last significant salary adjustment” OR “since I was hired”], and I would like to revisit my salary now that I’m contributing much more to the company. I’ve been researching salaries for [job title] in [industry] industry, and it looks like the mid-point is around [mid-point from your research]. So I would like to request a raise to [target salary].”

The letter should also highlight your accomplishments and accolades. Doody notes that if your proposal isn’t accepted on the first try, you can work with your manager to create an action plan.

“I would love to work with you to put together a clear action plan and timeline so we can continue this discussion and monitor my progress as I work toward my goal.”

Always remember, your talent is precious, and you deserve to be compensated for it. Learning to foster conversations about compensation is a vital skill that yields rewards.  

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#CareerAdvice : #ResumeWriting – How to Write a #Resume That Will Impress a Bot ( #AI )…Great REad!

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Getting hired used to mean writing a resume that stood out to the HR manager or recruiter assigned to thumb through them. Today, the gatekeeper is a machine as AI revolutionizes the hiring process. That means the way you write your resume has changed, too.

“AI is handling processes that used to take an enormous amount of time away from engaging with the talent pool,” says Jon Christiansen, PhD, chief intelligence officer of the marketing research firm Sparks Research. “HR managers don’t have to sift through hundreds of resumes, and they can get into their real expertise of recruiting and placing the right talent.”

While this is good news for the HR department, it adds a new challenge for candidates, says Arran Stewart chief visionary officer and co-founder of Job.com, a recruiting platform.

“AI has made the resume writing process far more competitive as it now requires emphasis on personalizing the document for the job in question rather than submitting a generic resume for a myriad of vacancies,” he says. “Where recruiters and hiring managers are able to read between the lines and find the relevance of any skill or accomplishment on your resume to the open positions they have, AI is only concerned with how closely your resume matches with the skills it’s been asked to look for in the job you applied to.”

Get past the bot and in front of the HR manager by doing these six things:

1. WRITE A NEW RESUME FOR EVERY JOB

The ability to blast out one version of a resume and get nibbles is over. Now you have to write a resume that speaks to the job description.

“The job description contains several clues about what the machine is looking for,” says Christiansen. “It’s saying, ‘Here are the knowledge skills I’m looking for, and here’s background I’m looking for.’ Look at the tags, keywords, and streams of text; that’s where you should get started.”

Apply the language to the resume you submit to the job in question, says Stewart. “AI is looking for singular relevance to the role they’re searching for, so including job-specific language is a must if you want to make it to the shortlist,” he says. “It might be slightly more work, but no different than say having different cover letters ready for each position.”

 

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2. USE EASY TO UNDERSTAND JOB TITLES

Some companies like to assign creative job titles, like Branding Guru or Planning Expert, but including them on your resume might get you passed over by the machine.

“It’s cool for culture, but that’s not the tags the machine is looking for,” says Christiansen. “If the job description says they’re looking for a marketing manager or product manger, that’s the tag it’s going to look for.”

Christiansen suggests going to the Bureau of Labor Statistics or O-NETand searching standard job titles. “If you can’t find your job title, it’s probably not going to be picked up and tagged during the machine screening,” he says.

Also consider the job progression, adds Stewart. “AI isn’t at the point of a mass scale predictive, so if you’re applying for a job that is senior to your current role as a logical next step in your career, AI won’t make the connection that it is the logical next step,” he says. “If your experience and skills make you seem underqualified, you should write in aspirational terms about your skills and accomplishments. That way the system views you as ready to take on the added challenge.”

3. RESIST THE URGE TO BE CREATIVE

Machines don’t judge you by the font you choose. If you have a font that can’t be read by most word processors, you might get spit out.

“Any font that isn’t within the Microsoft Word platform might not be able to be read,” says Christiansen. “Sometimes using a PDF format might work, but it’s not worth the risk.”

And don’t add graphics. Tables or images might look good, but again, the bot might not be able to recognize it.

“It might look like wasted space to a machine,” says Christiansen.

4. BE PRECISE

Including a long history of experience is no longer necessary, so try to keep your list of experience within the last five years, says Stewart.

“A full 20 years of work history dilutes the experience concentration weighing your resume, which will result in you being removed from shortlists,” he says. “When writing your resume remember the two Rs: keep it relevant and recent.”

5. CHECK YOUR SPELLING

You never want your resume to include spelling or grammatical errors, but a human might have been more forgiving than a machine.

“AI not only sorts through irrelevant applicants, in some cases it highlights the lazy ones as well,” says Stewart. “It’s still important to be sure your information is still meeting the usual standards of excellence expected for professional documents.”

6. INCLUDE A COVER LETTER

While a resume should be written to match the job and advance you past the bot, the cover letter is your chance to shine, says Christiansen.

“It’s an opportunity to speak like a human,” he says. “You can speak directly to the hiring manager, make yourself sound like a human and talk uniquely about the experiences you mentioned that spoke to the job description.”

Christiansen recommends writing three or four paragraphs about how you could fit that team, company and job. “Get into the why,” he says. “A cover letter may be an old practice, but I don’t see them go away. A good hiring manager wants to hear you in that.”

Taking these six steps involve more work on the part of the candidate, but skipping them might be a bigger risk.

“If you send out a generalized resume, it’s a case of garbage in/garbage out,” he says. “You want to get a match because you fit the job. If you’re getting calls from a generalized resume it’s because those companies want warm bodies, whether or not they fit the job. Is that where you want to work?”

 

FastCompany.com |April 1, 2019 | BY STEPHANIE VOZZA  4 MINUTE READ

#CareerAdvice : #SalaryGap -What to Do About a #PayGap at Your #Workplace …Share Your STory??

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It happens all the time. Someone who has just been hired, or hasn’t worked for a company for very long, makes more money than someone who has been there for many years and proven themselves to be a valuable employee.

For instance, there are many instances where a male is going to earn more than a woman who has more training and experience. Have you found out that you are earning a lower salary than someone who is a more recent hire, or has less experience than you? Or does your company not pay fairly? If so, it may be time for you to look for ways to be able to do something about it.

Don’t Blame Co-Workers

First of all, you need to remember that it is not your co-worker’s fault that they are being paid more than you are. Yes, you can be angry, but it is never a good idea to confront a co-worker about their salary. All it does is cause both of you to feel uncomfortable, and it causes a lot of anger in the workplace. Instead of being angry at them, use the fact that they are earning more as a reason to ask for a raise.

One thing that you should never do is ask your co-workers what they earn. Unless you are making comparable salaries, someone is going to end up angry because they are being paid less than others. This can lead to conflict within the team, and a lack of productivity that is not going to help you get the raise you deserve.

All About the Gender Pay Gap

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Learn About the Equal Pay Act

If you are a woman, it is important that you know about the Equal Pay Act. This act prohibits employers from paying women less than their male counterparts when they have the same amount of experience. If you are not a woman but are a minority, you may be eligible for some form of protection. If you think that you are being discriminated based on age, gender, or disability, the best thing to do is to contact the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EOCC).

Unfortunately, most other employees have no legislative coverage. If you are not in one of the above-mentioned groups, you will need to consider your situation and decide whether you should address the issue with your employer.

Do Your Research

Before you walk into your boss’ office and ask for a raise, do some research as to what you should be earning, based on your training, experience, years with the company, geographic location, etc. If you do know for a fact that some of your co-workers are earning more than you, this is good information to be able to arm yourself with. Of course, as mentioned, it is not a good idea to ask co-workers about their salaries.

Just because you shouldn’t ask co-workers about their salaries, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t other ways to find out. For instance, if you work for a university or a public company, some of the salaries are going to be public information. Or, there may be an association for your particular industry that offers surveys about salaries. It is a good idea to research salaries at least once annually.

How to Negotiate Your Salary

Consider Your Approach

One of the most difficult things about asking for a raise is how to approach the situation in the first place. It is never a good idea to ask if the company is going through a transition period, as the money just isn’t going to be there. You also need to be able to gauge your employer’s mood. If you get them on a bad day, you aren’t likely to get what you ask for.

When you do decide to approach your employer, don’t go in making demands. That isn’t going to get you anywhere. It is better to negotiate. Tell them why you feel that you deserve a raise, and have confidence in your own value. This is going to get you a lot further than just going in and saying you want a raise, or else.

Negotiate for More Responsibility

It may be that you are being overlooked for a lot of big projects at work. If this is the case, instead of asking for a raise right away, try asking for more responsibility. “Ask to be put on the teams that are doing the big projects, or to do an extra project on your own. Ask if there are training opportunities, and if not, take outside courses and workshops to gain more skills and knowledge,” suggests training manager at IGotOffer.

If you are given the opportunities you seek, don’t waste them. If you are getting training, take in every ounce of information possible. If you are given bigger projects to work on, show them what you are really made of. These are the things that are going to put you in the running for a raise, or even a promotion.

The Dos and Don’ts of Asking for a Promotion

Set a Deadline

What will you do if your employer says that they will give you a raise, but they never follow through on their promise? Or, what if the company just can’t afford to give you a raise at this time? You can only wait for so long before you are going to become even more disenchanted, and your work is going to suffer because you will stop caring.

It is important to set a deadline for what you want. For instance, if you have been working at your company for more than a year without a raise, you may need to decide that if you do not receive a raise within the next six months, this may not be the company for you.

Switching Jobs Internally — How to Apply & How to Manage the Transition

Consider Your Options

If you are not getting the raise that you deserve, or other forms of compensationsuch as extra vacation time, a paid bonus, etc., it may be time to start considering other options. There are other companies out there that will value your experience and skills, and be willing to pay you the salary you truly deserve. Basically, if your current employer doesn’t see your value, find one who does.

 

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#Leadership : #ConflictResolution -Why you should Stop Avoiding #Conflict in the #Workplace

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I was recently hired to help a group of doctors work through their issues and get their business back on a growth trajectory. They aren’t talking much. They’re barely making eye contact. After only a few hours, it’s clear to me what’s wrong. I share my diagnosis: “You need more conflict.”

It’s the last thing they expect me to say. They’re already in agony dealing with the smallest decisions. Each meeting is an excruciating cocktail of trepidation, anger, guilt, and frustration. How could they possibly need more conflict?

What they don’t realize is that they’re mired in all those negative emotions because they’re unwilling to work through them. As long as they avoid the topics that are creating anger, guilt, and frustration, they’re stuck with them. There are many topics that they haven’t discussed for years. They’ve tried every way to go around the contentious issues, but now they need to go through them.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CONFLICT

The doctors are not the only ones who avoid conflict. Most of us have been raised to think of conflict as a bad thing. Conventional wisdom holds that conflict is bad for productivity and corrosive to trust and engagement. But that view is totally at odds with how an organization works.

Conflict isn’t bad for organizations: it’s fundamental to them. After all, you need to be able to work through opposing sides of an issue and come to a resolution in the best interest of customers, shareholders, and customers–whether you’re on the shop floor or the boardroom. Conflict is part of strategic planning, resource allocation, product design, talent management, and just about everything else that should happen in an organization.

Unfortunately, most humans don’t embrace conflicts. Rather, we avoid, postpone, evade, duck, dodge, and defer them. The result is conflict debt.

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CONFLICT DEBT

Conflict debt is the sum of all the contentious issues that we need to address to move forward, but remain undiscussed and unresolved. It can be as simple as withholding the feedback that would allow your colleague to do a better job, and as profound as continually deferring a strategic decision while getting further and further behind the competition.

The doctors I worked with are in conflict debt. Each time they avoid the discussions, debates, and disagreements that they need to have to get their business growing again, they sink further in. Think of it like financial debt–when you use credit to buy things you otherwise can’t afford. You want something, maybe even need it, but you don’t have the cash at the time, so you use credit. You rationalize to yourself that you will pay it off as soon as you get your next paycheck, but if you’re like 65% of American credit card holders, you carry that balance over from month to month. The debt mounts, and over time, it gets harder and harder to get out just from under it.

THREE UNPRODUCTIVE WAYS PEOPLE DEAL WITH CONFLICT DEBT

As with financial debt, conflict debt starts innocently. An issue comes up that’s a little too hot to handle, so you defer it. You promise yourself that you’ll revisit it when things are less busy, or when cooler heads prevail. You buy yourself time and space. But days pass, and no spontaneous resolution materializes. Instead, the issue becomes more contentious. Suddenly, you’re in conflict debt.

You’re feeling anxious, and you find yourself steering clear of your colleagues to avoid having to confront the issue. (Have you ever taken the long way around the office so you don’t run into a disgruntled coworker?) You’re feeling frustrated at the lack of progress, not to mention a little guilty for your role in the stalemate. Conflict debt weighs you down.

Avoiding the issue is only one path to conflict debt. Another is to avoid the opposition. In this case, you broach the topic but exclude people who might disagree or cause tension, surrounding yourself with those who agree with you. You focus on how friendly and productive the discussion is, deluding yourself that your solutions are going to fly with the people who you strategically disinvited. But pretending the opposition isn’t there won’t make it disappear. It will resurface when your opponents kill your plan or, worse, leave it to fail.

There’s a third way to get into conflict debt–avoid the friction. Even if you discuss the difficult subject, there’s still room to get yourself into trouble if you veer safely away from the distressing parts of the discussion. When you make it clear (either intentionally or inadvertently) that nothing antagonistic should taint your conversation, you start to rack up conflict debt. I see this all the time when, just as the discussion gets perilously close to the crux of the matter, someone suggests they “take it offline” to avoid having to deal with the conflict. Everyone smiles and pretends that they’ll actually come back to it at some point–when in reality, they’ve just stifled dissent.

Are you avoiding the conflicts that your organization requires you to work through? If so, you are setting your organization, your team, and yourself up for trouble. When you’re unwilling to work through uncomfortable situations, you stretching your resources thin, stifling innovation, and allowing risks to go unnoticed. On your team, the aversion to prickly conversations forces strong performers to compensate for weak ones and mature people to put up with immature ones. At an individual level, you’re probably burning out from the stress.

When your conflict debt gets too high, it becomes overwhelming. You’re exhausted by the thought of trying to pay it off. You’ve destroyed your credit rating with your boss and your coworkers by letting these issues go unresolved for so long. But don’t give up–there are many things you can do to get out from under your conflict debt. That starts with embracing, and not avoiding, conflict in the first place.

This article is adapted from The Good Fight: Use Productive Conflict to Get Your Team and Organization Based on Track. It is reprinted with permission from Page Two.

#CareerAdvice : #JobInterviewing – This is How #Introverts Can Prepare for #JobInterviews . A GREAT Read!

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Job interviews are stressful for everyone, but this is especially true if you’re an introvert. Small talk and self-promotion can feel especially uncomfortable, but introverts also have characteristics that give them an edge–that is, if they know how to use them, says Jane Finkle, author of The Introvert’s Complete Career Guide: From Landing a Job to Surviving, Thriving, and Moving on Up.

“It’s a myth that introverts are handicapped when it comes to interviewing,” she says. “Introverts have an advantage in interviews because they are keen observers and listeners. This can work in their favor during an interview.”

INTROVERTS’ ADVANTAGES

Introverts have the ability for deep concentration, and they tend to give more thoughtful answers to questions, says Finkle.

“They are not apt to go way off on a tangent,” she says. “They also listen well to questions and think about them carefully. Their strength is that they’re more concise than extroverts, but they do have a challenge in making sure their answers are complete with enough support.”

Introverts are also good at observation and can pick up what’s going on in the interview. For example, if an interviewer looks at their watch, it can signal that they’re losing interest; an introvert might recognize that it’s time to try to interject something in the conversation that might generate more energy, says Finkle.

Introverts also tend to be diplomatic and are unlikely to insult someone–intentionally or unintentionally. “They’re more sensitive and empathetic,” she says. “If an interviewer is discussing challenges, they might be better at addressing them or providing support.”

Finally, introverts are good at digging deep into research, which can give them an advantage when discussing the potential employer. “They will likely research the employer with a quick Google check,” says Finkle. “They should also check the LinkedIn profile of the person they’re interviewing with. Also, see if they’ve written any articles about the industry or been acknowledged for a project or award.” Knowing this information can provide an advantage during the interview conversation.

 

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HOW INTROVERTS SHOULD PREPARE

While everyone can benefit from preparation, it’s essential if you’re an introvert. “Being prepared will boost confidence, which introverts often need,” says Finkle.

Start by preparing answers to common interview questions. Employers often ask behavioral questions, such as, “Can you tell me about a time you failed at something?”

“Think about two or three problems you faced at work and how you resolved them,” says Finkle. “What did you do that was unique? How did you use your talent and skills? And what did you learn about yourself in terms of making decisions?”

When reflecting on answers to common questions, plan your delivery, suggests Finkle. “We live in a narrative culture,” she says. “It’s important to tell a story that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. The end is the most important; it reflects the outcome or result of a project.”

Introverts can focus on a specific area of their career, says Finkle. For example, what accomplishment have you done where you made an impact? Did you introduce different innovations to solve a problem?

“This is what an employer is most interested in,” says Finkle. “And be able to use assertive language. For example, ‘I was successful because I did a lot of research on a new trend and introduced it to the team.’”

An introvert’s style tends to be quieter and not as dynamic as an extrovert, says Finkle. “While you don’t need to change who you are, find a way to show some excitement for the field,” she says. “You can do this by asking questions or by describing what it is about the industry that generates excitement for you.”

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Once they feel prepared, introverts need to practice and rehearse for the interview. This will help you become more comfortable with your answers and actions. It helps to ask a trusted friend or colleague to conduct a mock interview.

“Have the person throw out questions and then provide feedback on content and body language,” she says. “Introverts are often modest and tend to shrink into their chair and don’t maintain good eye contact. They need a witness and observer.”

If a mock interview with a friend isn’t available, videotape yourself and then play it back to observe how well you answer questions and how you hold your body while doing it. Preparation and practice will help an introvert put it all together.

On the day of the interview, build confidence through visualization, says Finkle.

“Close your eyes and visualize walking into the interview, shaking hands, and being able to handle questions with diplomacy and a sense of confidence,” she suggests. “It’s also great to exercise before an interview as it releases endorphins and tends to calm anxiety. We live in a mindfulness culture, so even deep breathing can help.”

The interview is the time to stand up and let employers see who you are. “Recognize that your introversion can be an asset,” says Finkle. “Embrace your nature and let your natural attributes shine.”

FastCompany.com | March 27, 2019 | BY STEPHANIE VOZZA  4 MINUTE READ

#CareerAdvice : #WorkLife -Miserable at #Work ? Do these 6 Things.. GREAT Read!

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It’s one thing to experience some rough patches at the office, like when deadlines loom or your favorite colleagues decide to leave. But if you’re generally unhappy at work, there’s no need to resign yourself to a hopeless existence.

Instead, you can take steps to change your circumstances by doing the following things.

1. TRY SOMETHING NEW

There’s perhaps nothing worse than feeling like you’re stuck in a rut at work. If you can’t remember the last time you got to take on a new assignment or switch up your routine, then it’s time to step outside your comfort zone and ask what opportunities are available to you. Tell your boss you’d like one new responsibility added to your plate, or come up with a project that will add value to your company, and pitch it. Dabbling in new things will help you avoid the boredom and monotony that can make work a drag.

2. MEET NEW PEOPLE

Getting to know different people at your company can open the door to new opportunities and help you build relationships that serve you well professionally and emotionally. If you’ve been interacting with a limited group of colleagues thus far, it’s time to broaden your horizons. Introduce yourself to new people you meet in the break room, or specifically seek out people whose roles interest you. The more folks you get comfortable with, the more support you’ll have at work, which could change your outlook for the better.

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3. FOCUS ON A SKILL TO BOOST

Becoming better at something that’s important to you will raise your self-esteem and make you a more valuable employee. If you’re not thrilled with your job at present, select a skill that might help you advance internally and work on getting better at it. That might mean learning a new programming language, taking a marketing course, or studying a different area of accounting.

4. LET YOURSELF TAKE BREAKS

It’s easy to grow unhappy at work when you constantly feel pressured, and letting yourself off the hook here and there might really change your outlook. Going forward, work some breaks into your schedule so that you’re not spending hours on end at your desk. Go for a walk mid-morning, or step out for a longer lunch twice a week. You might be amazed at how small breaks really help you re-energize.

5. LEARN HOW TO SAY NO

It’s not easy to say no when you’re asked to work late, take on projects you’d rather steer clear of, or pitch in for absent colleagues. But if your plate is full and taking on that extra load will increase your stress load exponentially, you’re better off saying no and dealing with whatever disappointment ensues.

6. GO ON VACATION

A little time away from the office could work wonders for your job-related attitude. If you can’t remember the last time you got an extended break, fill out a vacation request form and get yourself that escape. It doesn’t matter whether you go anywhere versus stay in town. The key is to give your brain a chance to refresh itself so that when you get back to the office, the things that once irked you so might seem less troubling.

Given the amount of time you probably spend on the job, you deserve to get some satisfaction from it–or at least not be miserable. Take these key steps, and with any luck, your attitude about your job will slowly but surely change for the better.

 

FastCompany.com | March 26, 2019 | BY MAURIE BACKMAN—THE MOTLEY FOOL 3 MINUTE READ