Category: Careers

Developing your professional skills is something that never stops, and continues to happen throughout the entirety of your career. There’s always more to learn and skills to start to master, and there’s no better time to get a start on it than in your 20s.

The sooner you start, the sooner you’re great at something. From getting our finances under control to forming foundations for professional success, getting solid career habits under your belt is the key to long-term success. Looking to make strides in your career this year? Getting in these 10 habits early on in your career will set you up for continued growth in your work world.

1. Step out of your comfort zone

Get comfortable now doing the things that make you uncomfortable. While it might seem counterintuitive, the early stages of your career are the best times to take a risk. Everything is about learning, and you have so much space to make mistakes and get right back up and start over.

A comfort zone busting habit can be something small but should be routine. Think about pushing yourself to do one “stretch thing” a week and jot a reminder in your calendar to keep yourself accountable. This can be any number of things whether you ask you the new girl out to lunch or raise your ideas in a meeting you’re normally silent at.

2. Make the most of your Sundays

Mondays get a lot of air time as the day we need to command, but how you habitually tackle your Sunday also sets you up for a week of success. If Sundays have always still felt like 100 percent “weekend” time, start committing to carving out just an hour or two in the late afternoon to do things that tee you up for productive work week. This can be scheduling workouts or meal prepping lunches to help ensure you’ve got your wellness goals mapped out to be your best productive employee.

When you’ve mastered that, tack on another hour to invest in some professional development goals. Read industry journals that you normally haven’t, take an online class to beef up your technical skills or tackle a new podcast series. Getting in the habit of seeing at least a little of Sunday as part of your work week sets you up to ease into a great Monday.

3. Give and take constructive feedback

Taking constructive feedback gracefully demonstrates maturity and the ability to grow professionally. You’ll also be practicing your own leadership skills if you work on how you deliver feedback to colleagues. The best employees are those that make a team’s success their responsibility and take it upon themselves to shape the output of a group with constructive feedback.

Did a colleague knock it out of the park on a presentation? Let her know if you hear the client say something impressive about her. Struggling to get along with a colleague over a deadline? Being able to articulate and resolve challenging relationships in a team environment is one of the best skills you can develop early in your career.

4. Negotiate like a boss

We hear a lot about negotiations attached to our salary, but in reality, it’s a skill that you’ll need to apply throughout myriad work situations. For example, when your team is given a big project, you’ll often be negotiating who is taking what work, or what reasonable timelines are. You can learn how to negotiate, and be sure you’re applying this skill to your entire compensation at a job, not just your salary!

5. Network with an executive mindset

Networking with an executive mindset means that you are connecting with people with the intent of a long-term relationship. Early in our careers, networking is touted as the essential way to learn the ropes and get exposed to great job opportunities. While true, you start developing a whole different level of networking sophistication when you can thoughtfully maintain a network as well as think about how you can pay it forward. Get in the habit of keeping in touch with connections by flagging articles you think they may find interesting or catching up over coffee, especially when you don’t have a particular career need in mind.

6. Manage your social media

There really is no better time to learn that the internet is forever. Whatever your social media footprint, be savvy about your privacy settings and know that even at their best, leaks happen. Think about the professional version of you 10 years from now. Will that girl be proud of what’s going up on Instagram today?

On the plus side, don’t underestimate the power of starting to build your professional brand now. Little bits of content, presence, and social media effort really add up over time. Consider starting a professional site with a landing page that gives prospective employers a look at your accomplishments and background. At the very least, be sure you have a LinkedIn page, as it remains relevant for professional connections in most industries.

7. Update your resume(s)

Especially in the early stages of our career, there are always a number of different paths where our job interests could take us. Consider spending some time creating several different versions of your resume tailored to the major categories of work you might find yourself pursuing. They certainly may overlap a little, but you’ll start to see that it can be extremely valuable to emphasize different skill sets, responsibilities, and talents depending on the next role you’re looking at.

Even if you only have one go-to resume, take the time to make it up to date just in case any opportunities arise.

8. Keep a rolling brag sheet

Brag sheets are a little different than your official performance review or public resume. Think of them as a running list of talking points that have a greater level of detail about all the awesome things you are doing at the office. Did a colleague or mentor give you some great feedback on how your contributions really sealed the deal on a project? Do you have stats about how your content creation pulled in new eyeballs or clients? While some of these are resume relevant, often this granular level of detail is best left for conversations. Keep one going, and look at it before you have an interview or a performance review to gain talking points.

9. Dressing for the next job

This isn’t news, but it is critical to your early career success and it is the cornerstone of beginning to build your executive presence. In your 20s, you’re constantly making career first impressions, meaning you have both prolific opportunities to impress (and to not get it quite right).

One of the best habits you can get into in this category is remembering to always treat work events just like that: as work events. Happy Hour with the crew? Good times! But you’re still a work event, so it means that on the dress code scale you want to land somewhere between what you’d be wearing at the 9-5 and what you’d be wearing in a friends-only crew on Saturday night.

10. Compete against yourself

One of the best habits you can sustain for career development is comparing yourself to your own potential and goals. Especially at the early parts of our career, it can be easy to look sideways at what everyone else is doing, how much money people are making, or even what cool new company they get to work for.

The earlier in our careers that we can reaffirm that we’re only competing against ourselves, the more joy we’ll be able to find along the way. Treating every opportunity as a way to grow from the person you were yesterday ends up making the journey so much more fulfilling.

Article written by Elle Harikleia for ©everygirl   Photo credit: goldalamode.

By J.T. O’Donnell

Each and every little thing you say (yes, even just one sentence) during a job interview shapes whether or not a hiring manager thinks you are a strong fit for the job.

And sometimes, it may be tempting to give an answer that felt right at the time, but in hindsight was extremely poor and made you seem weak or average. That’s why it’s important to remind yourself in advance of what to resist saying.

Here are six responses to avoid if you want to boost your chances of landing an offer, along with tips and examples of what to say instead:

1. ‘I’m a motivated self-starter.’

I’ve heard so many candidates say this in response to questions about their professional strengths or notable characteristics.

It’s a wildly overused answer, and if you find yourself saying it, the best case scenario is that your interviewer will ask you to elaborate. Worst case (and likely) scenario? They’ll be unimpressed because they’ve heard it so many times, and move on.

A more appropriate response might be: “I’m not afraid to take the lead on projects, and I can do so with little guidance,” followed by an example of a time when you successfully did this.

2. ‘In five years, I hope to be in your position.’

Don’t think that your potential boss will be flattered by this answer; they’ll just find it lazy and thoughtless.

And even if they are at an impressive level in their career, they might assume that you envision being where they are — just at a different company. This indicates a lack of commitment.

Instead, outline potential ways you see yourself growing at the organization. Start with the position you’re interviewing for and highlight some key skills required for the job, and how you can build upon those skills.

This shows that not only do you care about your career advancement, but that you’ll also be dedicated to helping the company grow in the long-term.

3. ‘I didn’t like my previous boss.’

Never speak badly about a former boss, no matter how bad of an experience you may have had.

When asked about why you left a job, it’s okay to admit that it wasn’t a right fit. Honestly is a valuable trait, but be careful with how you phrase things.

Instead, you could say that you realized your passion and want to switch career paths. Or maybe you’re looking for something more challenging. It’s also good to mention at least one thing you learned from your previous job that can help you succeed in the role you’re applying for.

If you were fired, explain the situation without taking or assigning blame. Talk about what you could have done differently to change the outcome. This displays self-awareness and an ability to grow from negative experiences.

4. ‘My biggest weakness is that I’m a perfectionist.’

Nobody is perfect, so this answer is essentially another way of saying, “I’m too weak to admit any weaknesses.”

This is a behavioral question that managers take seriously, so have an in-depth response prepared. I always recommend turning to former bosses and co-workers that you trust for feedback.

Send them a list of the top skills required for the position and ask them to rank it based on what they think is your strongest to least strongest.

Ultimately, it comes down to being honest about what you need to work on, giving some examples, and then discussing how you plan to work on those weaknesses.

5. ‘Can you tell me more about the company?’

Believe it or not, I’ve seen even the most qualified candidates ask this question in various ways (e.g., “What are your company’s main goals?” or “What does your company do?”).

The hiring manager took the time to read your resume and learn more about your background, so you’re expected to do the same and make time to research them.

It’s okay to ask them to elaborate on a very specific questions (e.g., “What are your team’s monthly goals?”), but going into the interview with little information about the company is insulting and will lead to a poor first impression.

6. ‘What do your perks and benefits look like?’

Yes, it’s unwise to take any job without knowing what your employee benefits will be. But you should never bring it up early in the interview process, because it will only make the employer question your true intentions.

Remember, the first few interviews are meant to determine whether you should continue to be in the running for the position. So topics involving perks and benefits are irrelevant if you don’t even make it past those early rounds.

Source: If you say any of these 6 things during the job interview, don’t expect to get an offer: Career expert (msn.com)

An early September poll from Monster shows that candidates are optimistic about the jobs market moving forward. In fact, 90% of respondents said they’re ready to reassess and reflect on their goals at this point in the year, and 64% said searching for a new job is at the top of their to-do list.

When I read those statistics, I immediately wondered: If you’re someone considering a job reset, how can you make sure your next career move is one that will meet your personal as well as your professional goals?

Keeping the right fit top of mind will help ensure your values and the company’s values align, according to Monster career expert Vicki Salemi, who notes that the “right fit” can encompass many things: job responsibilities, title, salary, room for growth, company culture, employee benefits, perks, camaraderie and relationships with your potential boss and colleagues, the commute and/or ability to work remotely among them.

Outlining goals and prioritizing what you need most, then conducting what Salemi calls “copious research on employers” before you begin the job search are other important steps.

“For instance, if the job seeker needs more balance between their personal and professional lives and wants to work from home a few days each week and in an office the remaining days, this should be a priority in their must-haves for their next job — and they must remain steadfast during their job search to ensure the new role meets this requirement,” she says. “[Then] leverage the interview as an opportunity to interview employers the same way the employer is interviewing them.”

According to Monster’s Jobs & Hiring Report: Trends for Fall 2020, these are three questions you might consider asking in your next job interview — particularly if you are concerned about the safety of the workplace and/or if working remotely is important to you:

If you’re one of the myriad people considering a job switch soon, looking at job categories that are poised to grow is a good place to start. Monster’s Jobs & Hiring Report: Trends for Fall 2020 shows the following jobs demonstrated consistent growth from June to August 2020 and are predicted to offer the best opportunities through the end of the year.

ANY QUESTIONS?

Is it important how I dress for an interview in this day and age?

I personally believe that presentation ranks very highly, because first impressions are hard to change. Whether you like it or not, people will judge you on the way you look. And you have to accept that sometimes that judgement can go against you. My question is always, “Why would you take the risk?”

Everything about you acts like a shop window. How you look, sound, present yourself, walk, speak – even what briefcase or bag you are carrying when you walk into the interview room. Every one of these forms part of the overall display. If you aren’t prepared to invest in the way you display yourself at such an important meeting, why should you expect to be successful?

Some workplaces are more informal than others. Should I adapt how I dress for the interview?

If I was preparing to attend an interview, I would go straight back to the website for the company concerned – having already researched it for all the information I could find on what the business does – and find the section about their team. I would scroll through the photos of the key staff members and look at what they’re wearing, as those are likely to have been quite carefully selected images.

That exercise, as part of your overall research and preparation, will tell you a lot about what you should be wearing for the interview. The key for me is to be within the range of their look – few companies have a dress code as such, but they do have a distinctive image. When you walk into any organisation, you can tell what that image is.

What are the key things I should think about at the interview?

Anyone sitting in the interviewer’s chair is subconsciously trying to work out, “Will this person fit in?” The question you should be subconsciously asking yourself is, “How can I demonstrate I will fit in?”

The answer is something that you may have to convey yourself, because it’s a question that doesn’t always come up as part of the interview.

Put yourself in the interviewer’s position. In their head, they’ll be asking, “When I put this person into this department, will they be a good match?” Therefore before you walk into the interview, you should have asked and answered these questions:

• Have I done my research?
• Do I know enough about the company and their competitors?
• Can I demonstrate my ability to do my work?
• Do I look the part?
• What have I done that demonstrates I am competent for the job?

How do I stop feeling so nervous that I can’t perform in the interview?

Confidence at an interview comes from knowledge. If you haven’t done your research – if you haven’t studied the company, or made an effort to understand the market it operates in and who the competition is, if you haven’t done a Google search on the person who’s interviewing you – your confidence is going to be very low. Conversely the more knowledgeable you are and the more thoroughly you’ve done your research, the more confident you will feel.

If you combine that detailed preparation with having thought carefully about how you will present yourself and have taken time to reflect on the key messages you want to get across during the interview – and on how these messages match the job specification as well as what you believe to be your prospective employers’ expectations – then you will be feeling confident. It’s show time. You should think of your job interview as putting on the best performance of your life.

What is the one thing most interviewees don’t do that you think they should?

If you’re able to maintain control of the interview, chances are you’ll get the job. Most people think that taking control can come across as too arrogant – that it might intimidate the interviewer – but in my opinion that’s absolutely not true.

The way to do it without intimidating the interviewer is to get in with an early question after the initial small talk and before the interview can slip away from you. Say something like “I understand the position is for a marketing manager. It sounds really exciting. Could I ask you a question? What are the five key components of this job that are really important to this organisation?”

The interviewer will be obliged to give you an answer and in doing so they will have told you exactly what they want from the job and what you want to know. You can then ask about the person who is in the job at the moment or who last performed the role, and what were the things that impressed the interviewer about them. Once the interviewer has laid it on the plate for you, all you have to do is match your skills to their wish list.

What is the best thing to say when an interviewer asks, “Have you got any questions for us?”

I always ask that question towards the end of the interview, as do the vast majority of employers. In my experience, 70% of candidates either say, “No, I’m fine thank you,” or come up with a couple of very woolly questions because they haven’t done their research thoroughly enough. On a scale of one to 10, I would say the average question I get asked scores no more than a five.

If you say, “Actually, there are a couple of questions if you have two minutes,” and then ask something along the lines of, “Recently you launched a new product – how’s it going?”, immediately I’m impressed. At that point of the interview, the quality of your question has a bigger impact than you may think on the decision to hire you or not. It may seem like a generic question you get asked in every interview, but the way in which you respond says a lot about you. You know you’re likely to be asked it, so make sure you have something to ask.

So much success in getting a job is down to preparation and rehearsal. When you step on to the interview “stage”, I want you to be in as good a shape as you’ll ever be.

Written by the J & C Team

Coding can be a very lucrative skill, and learning languages like Perl can earn you a starting salary of upwards of $80,000 a year. Some coders have even landed six-figure jobs with only a few years of experience. Whether you’re a complete beginner or a pro, there are a number of resources you can use to teach yourself to code from the comfort of your couch.

Business Insider compiled a list of resources for coders of every level. 

Business Insider regularly interviews experts about learning how to code. You can read them all by subscribing to BI Prime.

Learning to code for beginners: 10 steps anyone can take to teach themselves to code at home, according to the VP of Flatiron School, CEO of Women Who Code, and other tech experts

Best online coding boot camps: The 10 best online coding boot camps that you can sign up for right now to land a job at a tech company like Facebook or Intel

How to learn top coding languages: The 15 coding languages with the highest salaries, and how to learn them online at no cost

Coding classes from Harvard: 5 free online courses from Harvard you can sign up for right now to learn how to code

Bill Gates’ favorite free courses: 7 free classes from Bill Gates’ favorite websites that you can sign up for right now to teach yourself to code

Learning to code to land a six-figure job: The best way to teach yourself to code and land a six-figure job, from 5 people who’ve done it

• Now is a good time to learn a new skill to help boost your career.
• If you’re interested in learning an in-demand skill, consider enrolling in a course on coding. Some are free !

Article by (Business Insider) 

Photo credit: Popartic/Shutterstock

What is their Culture?

“Defined expectations of behavior, words, symbols, habits, values, and beliefs that directly impact an organization’s work environment, vision & mission, ethical practices, objectives, and performance standards.”

Culture is the “secret sauce” that makes a company succeed. It is based on the belief system of its founders, which includes:

• What they value,
• how they reward staff,
• what they do for fun, and
• the structure (or lack of structure) they create.

Check if your values match.