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#YourCareer : Companies Don’t Care About You: The Days Of Corporate Loyalty Are Over And It’s Time To Take Control Of Your Career. A MUst REad for All!

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We all understand that corporations solely care about revenue, profits and their shareholders. CEOs and top brass hyperfocus on their own financial interests. It’s hard to blame them, as this is how the game is played.

Lately, it seems that the chasm between the uber-wealthy and the average American family is the greatest we’ve seen since the bygone era of robber barons. The top 1% are thriving during the pandemic, while the rest of us are desperately trying to survive and eke out a meager living. More than ever before, a small group of powerful CEOs and executives have usurped the lion’s share of their company’s money by awarding themselves lavish salaries, stock options and bonuses.

The Covid-19 pandemic seems to have enhanced the chasm between the average worker and the upper echelon. This marks the beginning of the end of corporate loyalty. It’s obvious that we’ve been forced into a new era of free agency. The companies clearly don’t care about the workers and now the workers need to care about themselves.

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

Article continued …

Here’s a great example exemplifying the callous, nonchalant behavior of corporate executives toward employees. In late March, Covid-19 hit the United States hard. A then record-setting 3.28 million people filed for unemployment benefits for the week ending March 21. At the time, it was the highest level of claims in reported history. Those numbers seem quaint now, as more than 60 million Americans have filed for benefits since then. Due to the drastic health, economic and job-loss crisis, prominent CEOs—many from financial services and Wall Street—promised that they would not lay off workers through 2020. Six-plus months later, a number of these companies are now laying off employees.

Here are just some of the large corporations that have changed their minds about their pledge to hold onto workers:

  • Citigroup: “Citigroup will continue laying off roughly 1% of its global workforce, the company announced on Sept. 14. The cuts end a previous commitment to pause layoffs amid the pandemic.” A cursory search of Citi’s online job postings shows that around two-thirds of the listings are outside of the U.S. This reflects an ongoing trend of Wall Street banks relocating jobs to lower-cost cities within America and to other countries.
  • Goldman Sachs: “Goldman Sachs is cutting 400 jobs, or 1% of its workforce, after briefly pausing job cuts amid the pandemic, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 30.”
  • Wells Fargo: “On July 9, Bloomberg Law reported that Wells Fargo is preparing to cut thousands of jobs,” and has plans to start chopping “more than 700 commercial banking jobs.”
  • Deutsche Bank: “The bank announced it was restarting job cuts—part of an 18,000-position cull it launched last July but paused…as the coronavirus crisis bred uncertainty.”
  • HSBC: “HSBC resumes 35,000 job-cut plan, ending [Covid-19] ‘pause.’”
  • Salesforce: “Salesforce started to lay off 1,000 of 54,000 employees on Aug. 26, according to the Wall Street Journal. The news comes one day after the company posted record sales. In March, CEO Marc Benioff pledged a 90-day freeze on layoffs.”
  • LinkedIn: “LinkedIn said it would cut 960 jobs, or 6% of its global workforce, on July 21. The cuts will impact hiring and sales positions.”

Some of the companies focused on a 90-day commitment; although, the spirit of the intent was for the year. To be fair, at the onslaught of the outbreak, it wasn’t conceivable that the pandemic would still be in place seven months later nor did they foresee the rampant damage caused to the economy.

Since then, companies across all industry sectors executed massive layoffs. For instance, Disney recently let go of about 28,000 workers and the airlines plan to terminate about 35,000—if the government (U.S. taxpayers) doesn’t give them another $25 billion after the initial $25 billion bailout.

Without any empathy, corporations ruthlessly cut out middle managers to save money and hire younger, less-expensive workers. To squeeze even more money out, they’ve relocated jobs from big cities, such as New York City, to lower-cost states and foreign countries to pay people a fraction of what their predecessors earned. When companies run into trouble and file for bankruptcy, they lay off thousands of workers without any hesitation. The executives and CEOs who mismanaged the business remain and continue to collect fat paychecks.

Large sums of money have been allocated toward technology, robotics and artificial intelligence. The goal is to eventually replace real-life human workers with sophisticated technology. Robots don’t take coffee breaks, vacations, eat lunch, gossip or argue over sports and politics. They dont require health insurance nor do they talk back or call in sick.

Predictions of AI taking over jobs are so great that former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang called for Universal Basic Income to be paid to Americans. Yang’s thesis is that once tech takes over, millions of Americans won’t have the skills to hold a decent job. Their only answer is for the government to provide a living income to help them get by. While on a podcast with Yang, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said that—fairly soon—AI will write better code than his current software engineers. His dire forecast is that tech will eat the lunch of everyone and no one is safe.

A large number of iconic American companies filed for bankruptcy protection during the course of the pandemic. Millions of Americans lost their jobs, but somehow, the top brass paid themselves millions in bonuses. It rises to a level of incredulity when a CEO gets to cash in for driving their company into the ground.

It looks like conditions will worsen. With millions of Americans out of work, companies can aggressively dictate the terms. They’d think, “Why shouldn’t we lowball salaries and increase the demands of employees? Where else would they go? With less opportunities available, people won’t have a choice but to accept whatever they can get.”

As the job-loss crisis continues to grow and millions of people look for work, corporate management will feel free to summarily dispatch employees at will. Managers will realize that they don’t have to deal with a difficult worker, as there will be a line of people forming to take the person’s place—if fired. There won’t be a need to offer larger wages and better benefits, as there will be someone else who would gladly take the job to put food on the table and a roof over their family’s head.

It used to be that you could graduate from high school, find a decent job, afford a nice home, two cars and raise your kids in a quiet, bucolic suburban neighborhood. You would work at the same company for most of your adult life and receive a pension when you retire. If your children wanted to go to college, it was affordable and cheap—by today’s standards. If you didn’t desire the higher-education route, it was deemed perfectly respectable to pursue a trade or become a blue-collar worker instead of going to college.

The reality is that this new post-Covid economy could be harsh, cold and unforgiving. To battle back against this, you need to view yourself as a free agent. You can make your own destiny and shouldn’t solely rely upon your employer.

The key is to become thick-skinned, resilient and self-reliant. You will have to be mentally and emotionally tough to deal with all of the new challenges. You will have to constantly learn, reinvent yourself, pivot, acquire new jobs, start side hustles and find new ways to create value.

It might seem scary at first, but there is the sweet taste of freedom when you accept that you can control your own fate and don’t have to depend upon the whims of a large, faceless and uncaring corporation.

The bottom line is, due to these scary emerging trends, you need to look out for yourself. Even if you’re gainfully employed, it’s imperative to keep your eyes open for new opportunities. Prepare a just-in-case Plan B, C and D. Start networking right now and don’t wait for the dreaded call from human resources asking for a quick meeting. Update your LinkedIn profile and résumé. Learn new skills and technologies required for our changing economy. Find secondary tertiary ways to get an income stream, so that you’re not entirely dependent upon a salary. Get active on social media, reach out to recruiters, research new types of potential careers, attend online career-oriented events and do whatever it takes to hold onto your job for the time being.

 

Forbes.com | October 12, 2020 | Jack Kelly 

#YourCareer : 5 Powerful Reminders To Gain Your Courage To Change Careers. Great Read for All!

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In a career coaching session, a client recently said to me, “This is way deeper than I thought it would be. In a good way.” “Yes,” I replied. “This is about your freedom.”

When we think of career navigation we often think of skillsets, qualifications, strategy. We think it’s all about rationality and logical thinking. But when we get right down to it, our career choices are really emotional choices. There is a logic on the surface, but deep down that logic is really driven by our emotions – fears, insecurities, etc.

For example, sure, there’s a surface logic that says doing an MBA is a very smart decision, one you will gain from to advance your career. But deep down, what if there’s a small inner voice going, “But, I don’t really want to do any job that requires an MBA. I don’t really want to be on this path.” What if your heart is really in other pursuits? Or maybe you don’t even know what else you would do, just that you don’t genuinely enjoy what’s in front of you. But all that gets pushed aside because the MBA seems like a smart thing to do. And everyone is so encouraging and impressed with your choice. It’s too scary to confront your truth.

You are marching along into the MBA based on your fear. Not very logical close-up, is it? There’s a lot of not really listening to and being honest with ourselves and then later wondering what happened and why we’re so unhappy.

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

Article continued …

What’s actually the most rational and logical thing to do? To do a career that you enjoy, that’s a good fit for who you are. That’s how you’ll thrive, have the best chance of succeeding as you show the world your genius, and how you’ll get to enjoy your life. But many of us find ourselves very far from jobs that are in alignment with who we are. Those emotional aspects have hooked us and are driving the bus of our life. When we find ourselves in situations we don’t like, the first thing to look at is why. What was the real thinking behind these life/career choices?  

Here are 4 things you may find helpful as you reflect on this for yourself. Realizing these very logical truths will free yourself to do what you truly want. Often we can’t even access what that might be until we have seen through our flawed thinking. Otherwise, there is a level of noise and confusion in our head so loud it’s impossible to hear our own authentic inner voice.

If your reaction to this list is one of distrust, I understand. If someone had said these things to me 10 years ago I would have scoffed at them, thought believing them would just make me weak and take me off script from who I thought I needed to be. I was supposed to be a tough, no-nonsense high-achiever. And you don’t get to the top by being soft and giving yourself a pass (so I thought). But being that way broke me. I was miserable, my view of the world was so harsh and critical of myself and others, and my life was void of meaning and fulfillment. No humanity. Deep emptiness.

I only found my way after realizing the following points. They have become my truth and myself and my clients can attest that life can feel a whole lot better when you live life through this lens, which again, I argue is not a lens at all, but just what’s true. You can be the judge.

On with the list:

1. You are good enough just as you are 

Your job or professional accomplishments does not have any bearing on your worth. Accolades and gold stars do not fulfill and will never make you feel how you hope they will. The only thing that will make you feel good enough is owning that you already are. I know the world doesn’t feel like it reflects that back to you, but how do you want to live? And what’s really true to you? Do you believe anything can make one person more valuable as a human than another? I don’t.

Do not deny yourself by building a totally inauthentic life in the name of approval and earning love. Building your life from inauthenticity is building your life on precarious ground. It is a house of cards and it’s going to fall. Actually, if you’re lucky it will fall sooner than later and you’ll get to learn this life lesson and experience a much happier existence. One where you get to be you. You’re worthy of love without all the gold stars you’ve spent every waking moment of your life effortfully pursuing. It’s not necessary. And you can have the rest of your life back to do what you truly want.

2. You are the source of love

If we’re going to walk away from living our life for approval and earning love, where are we going to get it from? Ourselves. Approve of yourself, love yourself. You are the source of love you are looking for. Otherwise, we’re beholden to others dictating our life and we’ll cave to their instruction. We’ll do a lot for love, including suffer.

Who are some people we are all tangled up with in earning approval and love? Our parents. We’d all perhaps like to think as grown adults that our parents have no influence over our life anymore, but if you look closely you may see otherwise. Perhaps you got into this line of work to please them or show them something, and now you’re staying for fear of disappointing them, feeling unlovable or not stacking up to their expectations. It’s possible they will accept your new career direction, but either way, your freedom requires you to walk away from them in your mind. They may not genuinely care about who you are or what you want, but that’s not their job anymore, it’s yours. Move forward and walk tall in who you are with love for yourself.

3.  Your inner struggles are not a problem. There is nowhere to get

There’s an inner narrative that goes, “If only I overcame all my inner struggles I would be a grand success.” Your anxiety, your fears, your lack of self-confidence etc. are billed as a problem in the way of success. Many self-help books are sold on this premise. It’s fuel to beat yourself up about where you are in life and pick up a story of being broken, defective, not as good as imaginary others who are inner-struggle and problem free, living some fabulous life. But where are you trying to get by “fixing” yourself? My bet is on proving yourself, on getting somewhere “successful” to prove your worth. Oh yeah, all that stuff again. You do not need to work on yourself so you can get “out there” and earn your worth with more accolades.

Yes, do your inner work, but this is not a race. In fact, there isn’t anywhere to get other than you getting to enjoy your life. And a big step toward that is you accepting yourself just as you are. Ironically, that often brings true healing and the changes you want to see inside, but those changes are just to serve you, not an arrival. So, take all the pressure off.

 4. You are not alone, not different from anyone else

When we’re unhappy in our career it’s easy to look around and paint a false picture of everyone else being happy in theirs. You may think, “What’s wrong with me? What am I doing wrong? Why does this job feel terrible to me? How can other people be ok with this?” 

Some people may indeed be well suited to the work you’re doing, some not. For the latter, remember how excellent you are at hiding what’s really going on. Everyone else is too.

On one hand, we spend a lot of our lives trying to be extraordinary, different and special. And in many ways that have nothing to do with the metrics you’re using to measure, you in fact are. But, on the other hand, know that in struggling, in feeling lost, in experiencing pain and confusion, you are entirely not special. You are completely ordinary. And personally I think this is a relief to realize.

So stop worrying about what other people are thinking or doing. Just focus on you. There’s nothing wrong with you for not liking what you’re doing and the only thing you need to do is honor that.

5. You’re allowed to rest. Rest is the way.  

We do not need tough and merciless leaders forcing themselves to grind to the top in something they don’t like just to show they can and quell their fears of inadequacy. We need leaders who have come alive in their sweet-spot, who build from their truth and authentic gifts. We need compassionate, kind, heart-centered leaders that lead with their own humanity. That means you have to be in touch with yours. Even though it’s scary, even though it’s painful, even though it may change you in ways you’re not prepared and others may not understand your choices. That is the point. That’s how we create change in you and the world. And both will be all the better for it.

But how do you get from this perhaps almost burnt out, definitely exhausted state you’re in now, to there? You rest. You give yourself the time and space to stop the striving and nurture the only thing you have neglected in your life: you. You’ve spent your entire life with your head down on singular pursuit of something you’re now realizing you don’t even want and wasn’t even necessary to get the real fruit – worthiness, and after that was earned, rest. Give both to yourself now and you will truly flourish.

 

Forbes.com –  August 5, 2020  – Sara Young Wang – Contributor  ForbesWomen

 

 

#CareerAdvice : #CareerTransition -‘You Have to Package Yourself Differently’; Company Veterans Explore New Horizons.

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Executives often find it hard to jump ship after helping to steer the same workplace for years.

They can lack a sizable network of outside contacts. Their job interviewing skills are rusty. And they worry about fitting in at a new employer.

Despite such hurdles, many longtime business leaders with strong track records are making the leap amid today’s booming job market, recruiters and coaches say. Since early 2018, executives have changed employers following tenures exceeding 12 years at major U.S. companies such as Amazon.com Inc., CSX Corp. , Intel Corp. , General Electric Co. , Nike Inc. and Starbucks Corp.

“Companies want seasoned leaders with broad experience who know how to tackle new challenges,” said Jane Howze, a managing director at the Alexander Group, an executive-search firm. “If somebody has moved around within a company and gotten promoted repeatedly during 12-plus years, that’s now a plus.”

RELATED COVERAGE

About two-thirds of U.S. recruiters report their clients often or almost always are more willing to consider long-serving executives than a decade ago, according to a January survey of 53 recruiters conducted for The Wall Street Journal by the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants.

Yet company veterans looking to change workplaces sometimes struggle to devise ways to tout their protracted stints. “Long-tenured executives tend to lack confidence about what they have to offer the outside world, and they may lose perspective over time even if they’ve been successful,” said Rose Fiorilli, an executive coach.

Scott Schneider is one of several such job hunters whom she recently counseled on the issue. Hired by Ruder Finn in 1999, he rose to chief digital officer of the big public-relations firm. He sought Ms. Fiorilli’s assistance in summer 2017 and let her know he wasn’t good at self-promotion.

“I wanted to go somewhere that was not a replica of where I had been,’’ Mr. Schneider recalled. “I was worried I had been there for too long.”

With Ms. Fiorilli’s guidance, Mr. Schneider began pitching himself as a creative change agent rather than a digital officer. He said he realized that his skills, such as building a team of more than 40 designers and creative strategists, mirrored accomplishments of other creative leaders in his industry.

Mr. Schneider switched employers last October. He now is chief creative officer of Praytell, a new type of PR agency that heavily emphasizes social media.

Other longtime executives go one step further to reposition themselves. “You have to package yourself differently so you’re not identified too strongly with your latest employer,” said Deirdre Latour, who spent 14 years at GE.

When Deirdre Latour resigned as GE’s chief communications officer in 2018, she hadn’t gone on a formal job interview in eight years.
When Deirdre Latour resigned as GE’s chief communications officer in 2018, she hadn’t gone on a formal job interview in eight years. PHOTO: PEARSON PLC

When she resigned as GE’s chief communications officer in March 2018, Ms. Latour hadn’t gone on a formal job interview in eight years. Her professional network was so closely connected to GE that fresh opportunities resembled her last GE role, she said. But running communications for another global business “might be totally the wrong thing for me.’’

That’s why Ms. Latour did mock job interviews with her coach, Angie McArthur. “She helped me explain how I might translate the broad scope of my GE skills to a new culture,” the executive said.

Pearson PLC soon wooed Ms. Latour to be chief corporate affairs officer of the global education company, and she joined the firm in January. She said she got off to a strong start at Pearson, thanks to widely applicable skills that she learned at GE—including a focus on execution and concise thinking.

Some veteran business leaders promote their ability to fit in again before a skeptical employer raises the question. An executive with 25 years’ experience at a big insurer said he took this approach after his eight-month search failed to produce an attractive offer. He hopes to work for a startup backed by private-equity investors.

He’s currently a serious contender for a senior management spot at a health care startup owned by that private-equity firm.

Fresh gigs don’t always work out for senior managers with longevity elsewhere, though. Tim Stone became chief financial officer of SnapInc., the parent company of messaging app Snapchat, in May 2018 after roughly two decades at Amazon. He quit Feb. 5.

Snap, which is struggling, didn’t disclose what triggered Mr. Stone’s surprise exit. He declined to comment.

Adapting to a new workplace can prove tough for highly tenured executives because they often remain deeply loyal to the prior employer. Consider Monique Bonner. Following 16 years at Dell Technologies Inc., “I was definitely somebody who bled Dell blue,” she said.

Ms. Bonner became chief marketing officer of Akamai TechnologiesInc. in 2016. The network security provider uses a similar shade of indigo for its corporate color, but when Ms. Bonner jokingly told new associates that she now bled Akamai blue, “no one knew what I was talking about.”

Akamai colleagues gave her equally quizzical looks when she cited Dell acronyms—such as calling employee-wide meetings “AHODs” rather than “All Hands,” which is Akamai’s nomenclature.

“It takes time and diligence to break 16-year-old communication habits,” Ms. Bonner said. Nevertheless, her new employer “has been incredibly supportive,” she added. “I’m nearing three years at Akamai and couldn’t be happier.”

Author: Write to Joann S. Lublin at joann.lublin@wsj.com

Appeared in the February 21, 2019, print edition as ‘Company Veterans Ponder the Lure of Something New.’

WSJ.com

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Your #Career : New Year, New Strategy, New Job…So the Good News for Job Seekers is that Many People are Looking & Planning to Leave their Current Positions, which in Turn Creates Turnover

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Whether you are thinking about finding a new job or contemplating a career shift to another field, the start of a new year is actually a good time to embark upon your search. Making a career change ranks high on many people’s list of New Year’s resolutions. A large spike in people searching on-line job boards, reaching out to contacts on various social platforms, and applying for new positions has marked the first week in January during the last three years.

Free- Lock in Door

So the good news for job seekers is that many people are looking and planning to leave their current positions, which in turn creates turnover and an enormous number of openings. The number of people leaving their jobs voluntarily in the U.S. has been increasing steadily. Once the impact of these resignations is felt, many companies will be searching for new talent to fill these vacant slots and it is expected to create a very robust job market in a wide range of industries.

There is also a sense that this year, more young and mid-level professionals will be looking for the “next” job or making a change, faster than previous generations. As Millennials are now the largest generation represented in the work-place, there is a great deal of evidence to suggest that Gen Y professionals get “job restless” quickly, especially if they feel under-valued, perceive that they don’t have enough visibility, and don’t feel that they are challenged and are learning enough from their current employer. Quite frankly, even if they are happy and like the people they work with, Millennials are often seeking to make a change because they have FOMO (fear of missing out) more than any other generation in history.

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Whether you are part of this demographic or not, all of this means an extremely positive outlook for would-be job seekers. So now that the conditions are positive for your job search, how do you make it happen? What will it really take? Here are some tips that should help you land a great new job in the New Year: 

  1. First, even though there are positive conditions for job seekers, don’t be over confident and make the mistake of under preparing or under estimating the amount of time and energy a true job search takes.
  2. Do your research when you are applying for jobs and demonstrate a real interest and knowledge of the employer. Elevate this to an even higher level of preparation for an interview. Recruiters are completely turned off when you don’t even know what the company does.
  3. Make sure that you have “good job search habits”. What I mean by this is that you should view your search as a job that you literally get up for each day of the week, get dressed and get to work. You set goals for the day of applying for positions that aren’t random, but you are truly interested in and qualified for and you keep a record of these and dates to follow up. You reach out to a number of contacts in your network and set up as many calls and “coffees” as possible.
  4. If you haven’t already, establish an email account that is professional and can handle large files. If you have been using your nickname @ AOL AOL +%, it’s time to set up a Gmail or similar large email account with your real name.
  5. Make sure you name your resume with your actual name, not “my resume”. You would be shocked at how many job seekers don’t do this and then wonder why they never hear back on a job they seem qualified for. It’s often because recruiters can’t find them.
  6. Master social. Utilize social media in strategic ways. Find companies and organizations that you are interested in and follow them on Twitter TWTR +0.00% andLinkedIn LNKD +0.00% and comment appropriately. Look out for tweets or job announcements and follow up.
  7. Utilize your college/university connections. The career center, alumni relations, and LinkedIn university pages are fantastic ways to find alumni from your Alma Mater who may be working in companies or industries that you are interested in. They can often offer advice and support as well as help connect you to additional opportunities.
  8. Speaking of networking, do it in person as well as online. Getting in front of people and being able to articulate what you are interested in, and a little about your background in a short amount of time (60-90 seconds), is an important “pitch” strategy to develop.
  9. Always be ready. Whether it’s a phone call, text, or other communication. In other words don’t pick up the phone if you are half asleep or at some loud social gathering. Rather, let the call go to your professional voice mailbox and then call the recruiter back when you have had a cup a coffee and are in a quiet area with strong cell phone reception.
  10. Keep up your energy, determination, and positive attitude. Job searching can be a very humbling experience, but no one wants to hire someone who appears frustrated and desperate.  Demonstrating your genuine interest and enthusiasm are key. Exercise, get plenty of sleep and talk to friends and job search professionals to get encouragement, vent and keep up your spirits.Depending on what positions and organizations you are applying for, your geographic location, and your flexibility, job searches can take a while. The good news is that there is a great deal of movement and opportunity on the horizon, and if you follow these tips, you can land that great new job in 2016.

    Forbes.com | January 13, 2016 | Trudy Steinfeld @nyuwasserboss

Your #Career : 5 Big #Networking Mistakes That Can Hurt Your Career…The Reality is that most #JobOpenings are Never Advertised or Posted. In fact, 63% of Job Seekers Land New Jobs through Networking

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Networking is one of the most important things you can do to nurture your career. Whether you love getting out there and selling yourself or dread the task of making small talk, failing to network effectively will leave you spinning your wheels as far as finding a new job or advancing in your current one.

Free- Utilty Lines

People everywhere struggle with the most basic aspects of networking. What gives us the most trouble? Roughly a third of job seekers said they had trouble picking out who they should try to network with, a 2014 Lee Hecht Harrison survey found. One quarter said they didn’t have a focused networking strategy, and roughly the same number said making initial contact with people over phone and email was their biggest stumbling block.

“The reality is that most job openings are never advertised or posted, which means tapping your network is anessential job search resource to uncover hidden opportunities. In fact, 63% of job seekers land new jobs through networking,” said Greg Simpson, Senior Vice President, Career Transition Practice Leader at Lee Hecht Harrison. “Developing a strong network and fruitful relationships takes real work. Individuals must be proactive and devote time to building and nurturing a strong career network of contacts.”

 Once you get over those initial networking hurdles, more trouble awaits. From not being able to effectively exploit your networking to focusing too much on yourself, here are five of the biggest networking mistakes people make.

1. Not asking for help

No one will know that you’re searching for a job if you don’t tell them. Yet too many people seem reluctant to broadcast that they’re looking to make a career change. Forty-two percent of senior managers surveyed by OfficeTeam in 2014 said not asking for help was the biggest networking mistake they saw people make.

“People may not ask those in their networks for help because they’re embarrassed or think they can succeed on their own,” said Robert Hosking, executive director of OfficeTeam, in a statement. “But whether you’re looking to land a new job or build your visibility, every connection counts.”

2. Not having a pitch

Putting together a canned “elevator speech” can feel a bit cheesy and inauthentic. But if you’re going to network, you need to be able to quickly explain to people who you are, what you do, and what you’re looking for. The key is making your pitch sound natural.

“The problem with most elevator pitches is that they get crafted on paper but not adjusted to sound like how a real person speaks,” wrote communication and behavior expert Deborah Grayson Riegel in an article for Fast Company. Riegel suggests practicing your pitch out loud and using the simplest language possible. You should also be able to tailor your pitch based on who you’re speaking to and be willing to forgo it entirely if working the information into the conversation would be awkward.

 

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3. Only networking online

Online networking is essential these days – 35% of employers surveyed by CareerBuilder in 2015 said they were less likely to interview people who didn’t have an online presence. But for most people, having 500+ LinkedIn connections and hundreds of Twitter or Instagram followers isn’t going to substitute for meeting people in person. Instead, you need to work to make those virtual connections pay off in the real world.

“As networking becomes synonymous with online networking … [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”][people] can neglect the importance of actually meeting up with people for coffee, making a phone call, or showing up at an event. So far online connections have not supplanted these traditional interactions,” James Jeffries, the director of career development at Bard College of Simon’s Rock, told Time magazine.

4. Only talking about work

When networking, don’t restrict yourself to shop talk. Whether you’re attending a business mixer or just happen to bump into a contact at the coffee shop, be prepared to chat about subjects other than your career. People are more likely to help and hire people they like and relate to, and letting your personality shine through will allow you to build real relationships with your contacts.

If you’re attending a networking event where you’ll be meeting people for the first time, “come up with a few questions as ice breakers,” etiquette expert Jacqueline Whitmore told Inc. magazine. “My typical go-to questions always revolve around food and travel, because everybody loves to eat and most everybody loves to travel.” Whether you’re just getting to know someone or reconnecting with an old colleague, remember that networking is a social activity; keep the conversation professional, but fun.

5. Not offering to help others

Networking is a two-way street, yet too many people go into it with a “What’s in it for me?” attitude. A more effective approach is to focus on what you can offer other people. If someone you meet mentions they need someone to help with their taxes, and you have an accountant you love, recommend her – you’ve made two people happy (and yourself look good) in the process. Let the intern pick your brain when he asks — you never know where he could end up being able to do you a favor. Building goodwill in this way can pay off big later when you need to tap your network for support.

“With any relationship, there is a cycle of giving and receiving,” Selena Soo, the founder of branding consultancy S2 Groupe, told Fast Company. “If you lead with taking, you won’t be successful because it will turn people off. But people who give to their social circles naturally reap benefits.”

Follow Megan on Twitter @MeganE_CS

 

CheatSheet.com | December 9, 2015 | Megan Elliott

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Your #Career : 5 Reasons You Should Always Be Looking for a New Job…Often, We Get Comfortable (a.k.a. Lazy) in Our Current Positions & Don’t Think About What Might be Next for Us on the Ladder of Success. But you Never Know When your Dream Job Will Come Along—Or When you Might Lose the One you Have.

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You may be really happy in your job and that’s great. But if a recruiter calls or a friend tips you off to a great position that fits your skills, are you ready to pursue it? If so, is your resume current? Are you constantly connecting with people in case a better opportunity presents itself?

 

 

Often, we get comfortable (a.k.a. lazy) in our current positions and don’t think about what might be next for us on the ladder of success. But you never know when your dream job will come along—or when you might lose the one you have. Here are five reasons why you should be always be seeking out new opportunities and laying the groundwork for your next career move:

1)    Loyalty doesn’t pay. Gone are the days when people stayed at the same company for their entire careers and collected a gold watch at their retirement party. According to a Careerbuilder study, today’s Millennials spend an average of 2.4 years or less in the same position—and it doesn’t hurt them one bit. In fact, staying at a company too long can work against you. You may get promoted but you likely won’t see the kind of substantial salary increases that you would if you left for a new job. In addition, unless you’re able to move into different roles that challenge you and grow your skills, you may max out on learning in the same job for years. Lastly, while you may feel that your employer values your loyalty, when push comes to shove, if they need to make cuts or new leadership comes in above you, there’s no guarantee that your job won’t be eliminated.

 

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2)    Things can change quickly. There are any number of reasons why you could be put in a difficult or precarious position and, suddenly, your previously secure gig could be on the chopping block. You could get a new boss who decides to bring in his own team or doesn’t think you’re as much of a rock star as your previous manager. Alternatively, if your company gets acquired, the new owner could choose to clean house or the business could go through a rough patch financially and be forced to streamline. You want to stay in control of your own destiny—not leave it at the mercy of shifting business priorities.

3)    It keeps you top of mind. Even if you’re content where you are, you should always be entertaining other options. Update your LinkedIn profile on a regular basis, expand your network and stay in touch with recruiters in your industry so they know to reach out to you when an even better job becomes available. If people don’t think you’re on the market, you won’t get those calls—and your competition will. I landed my last job by reconnecting on social media with the company’s CEO, with whom I had worked years ago, and asking him to have a catch-up coffee. It turned out that he had just started thinking about bringing in a head of communications. After I had started there, he admitted that, had I not gotten back in touch, he never would have thought of me as a candidate since I was at a much bigger, more established company and he didn’t think I would leave.

4) Every conversation is worthwhile. So, say you do get approached about a job opportunity and you don’t think it’s the right fit or the right time. Go on the interview anyway. Case in point: When I was director of PR at an internet company years ago, reporting directly to the CEO and running a department, I got a call from a recruiter for a senior manager position at a much bigger company, with three people above me, and I almost turned down the chance to interview. But I decided to take the meeting for the heck of it. Flash forward: I took the job, stayed there for over a decade and was promoted three times.

5) It’ll help clarify what you want—and don’t want. A few years ago, I got an offer for what seemed, on paper, like a dream job. But the process was agonizing—spanning five months of back and forth, multiple interviews, periods of radio silence and a management team that seemed highly disorganized. I turned it down because my gut told me it wasn’t a good move. Sure enough, less than a year later, they had eliminated the entire PR team and had gone through three CEOs. Paying attention to the signs confirmed for me what I didn’t want in a job or a company, which was indecision, changing priorities and a leadership team without a clear vision.

The upshot: You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by getting out there and going on interviews. At a minimum, it’ll expose you to new companies, businesses and people—which could help you at your current company. At best, it could lay the groundwork for future career moves. Either way, you’ll be on the road to success—and squarely in the driver’s seat.

Jessica Kleiman is a Branding and Communications Consultant and co-author of Be Your Own Best Publicist: How to Use PR Techniques to Get Noticed, Hired and Rewarded at Work.

 

Forbes.com | September 28, 2015 | Jessica Kleiman