There's an old saying that goes like this, "Everyone thinks they have taste and a sense of humor." Well, as a career coach for the last 10 years, I can tell you that phrase should be adjusted to this instead, “Everyone thinks they have taste, a sense of humor, and good communication skills."
Poll:What's Your Workplace Personality?
I am continually amazed at the number of people that have no idea how their interaction style is impacting their career. (Take this FREE quiz to learn your style.)
If you've ever had an issue with a co-worker, boss, or client, then I can tell you with 100% certainty your interaction styles had something to do with it. More importantly, if you've ever felt out of place in a company, or as if you can't seem to get the respect you want in your career, then I guarantee your interaction style is guilty.
Here are 10 signs your interaction style is messing with your career:
You feel like nobody is paying attention to your requests at work.
Colleagues have informal meetings without you and then tell you the results and how they directly impact your job.
Your boss dismisses EVERY idea you present to her.
Co-workers always agree with you when you voice your concerns, but then you hear they said something entirely different to your boss.
You have no close friends at the office.
You've been told you aren't “management material" yet.
People get really quiet and don't have any answers or comments when you speak.
You don't get selected for any team projects or special assignments.
People love to tease you about how “honest," “funny," and “shameless" you are at the office.
You've been fired.
This post was originally published at an earlier date.
Are you terrified of screwing up a job interview? Does the thought of writing a cover letter horrify you? Are you scared to network with others? What do you even say, anyway? If you're struggling to overcome your job search fears, this live event is for you.
We get it. Looking for work can be scary, especially if you’ve been at it for a long time and haven’t gotten any results.
Understanding which fears are getting in the way and how to overcome them will make all the difference. Sometimes you might not be aware of which obstacle is getting in the way of your goals. If you want to overcome these fears once and for all, we invite you to join us!
In this training, you’ll learn how to:
Utilize strategies for coping with your job search fears
Be confident in your job search—from writing your resume to networking
Face your fears and move forward
Join our CEO, J.T. O'Donnell, and Director of Training Development & Coaching, Christina Burgio, for this live event on Wednesday, October 5th at 12 pm ET.
CAN'T ATTEND LIVE? That's okay. You'll have access to the recording and the workbook after the session!
You've just spent the last 45 minutes answering questions from a hiring manager. You gave it all you had. You think you did okay. The hiring manager seemed to smile and nod a lot when you were speaking. Then, suddenly, she asks, "Do you have any questions for me?"
While your initial instinct might be to quit while you are ahead and say, "No. I'm good," the right thing to do is ask a set of strategic questions designed to help you stand out and get the job.
4 Cs Of Interview Questions
In the video above, I map out why you need a strategy for asking questions in an interview.
The secret to asking great questions in an interview is to use the following four Cs as your guidelines:
Connect
Corporate culture
Company challenges
Closing conversation
When you use these correctly, you can craft questions that will make you look friendly, collaborative, well researched, and professional—all great qualities to display to a hiring manager during a job interview!
8 Simple Interview Questions You Can Ask A Hiring Manager (That Support The 4 Cs Mentioned Above):
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How did you come to work here? (CONNECT)
What do you love most about working here? (CONNECT)
Who's the most successful person hired here in the last year and how have they succeeded? (CORPORATE CULTURE)
Who's been the least successful person hired and what did they do wrong? (CORPORATE CULTURE)
What's the biggest challenge the company will face this year and how will it be overcome? (COMPANY CHALLENGES)
As an employee, what can I do to make a difference and have an impact on the company this year? (COMPANY CHALLENGES)
Is there anything about my candidacy that you would change to make me a better fit for this job? (CLOSE CONVERSATION)
What are the next steps in the hiring process? (CLOSE CONVERSATION)
NOTE: To learn exactly why these are the perfect questions to ask, watch the video above.
You'll impress the hiring manager if you ask these eight questions during your next job interview. But don't just do it to stand out. Ask these questions to better figure out if you really want to work at this certain company.
It's your career. You want to make sure you're making the right decision for YOU!
There's no better way to do that than remembering the four Cs and asking the eight questions above.
After months (maybe even years) of careful thought, you have decided that the time is finally right to make a career change. This is one of the biggest decisions of your professional life and it will have a significant impact on your quality of life moving forward.
Buckle up! This change won't happen overnight and it's going to be a roller coaster of a process.
As you navigate your way through the career change process, here are five mistakes to avoid:
Mistake #1: Believing That A Career Change Will Be Easy
As alluded to in the opening paragraphs, the career change process is a roller coaster ride of emotions and there's nothing easy about it! Some people go into the process, think they'll apply for a few jobs, and just hope something will come together. Then, after the setbacks mount, they lose confidence and become frustrated.
You need to take a step back and taper your expectations.
The job market is as competitive as ever and, depending on how long you were at your previous job, the job search process has changed significantly. From the way you find jobs, apply for jobs, and interview for jobs, the process is not the same as it used to be.
Mistake #2: Not Doing Enough Research
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You've decided you don't want to continue with your current career path and have narrowed in on another career to pursue.
Guess what? That's not enough!
You need to research the industry you're going into to see how many of your professional skills will transfer over to the new career field. You also need to take a serious inventory of the skills that you're lacking and investigate your options for upskilling to gain those valuable skills. This may be the most difficult of all the career change challenges. However, addressing it early in the job search process will only benefit you more in the long run.
In addition to all of that, you need to have a strong understanding of the state of the industry you're targeting. Some industries, such as journalism, are struggling and seeing significant reductions in the workforce while other professions are in danger of being automated. It's important to make sure that the profession you're going into is better than the one you're leaving behind.
It's also important to research salaries for the profession, so there are no surprises as you go along in the process (more on that in a bit).
Mistake #3: Attacking The Career Change Process Alone
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If you've neglected your professional network or don't have one, you may want to make that your first priority before starting your job search.
A career change is hard enough as it is, but very few people are able to accomplish it without a little help. This is where your professional network comes in handy. Talking to former colleagues, professional acquaintances, and mentors can not only help shape your career path, but they may also be able to recommend companies that may be a good fit for you and make some initial introductions.
If your professional network needs some work, try to reach out to colleagues to see if they're willing to introduce you to some professionals in their networks. In addition, you may want to look into attending some local networking events to meet new people.
Online networking tools such as LinkedIn also give job seekers an opportunity to run their own proactive job searches. If you've identified some companies that you're interested in, you can use LinkedIn to connect with people at those companies. You can also contact the recruiter for those companies.
Your networking efforts should run concurrently with your job search.
Mistake #4: Neglecting Your Resume
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There may have been a time a long time ago when a one-size-fits-all resume was fine but it's not like that now. Every resume needs to be tailored to the specific job you're targeting. The modern-day recruiter handles so many resumes that they only have time to skim them.
You basically have six seconds to get that recruiter's attention, so all the relevant skills that you possess for that job need to be at the top of your resume.
There are still some people that fall into the trap of spending most of their time writing a good cover letter but using the same resume over and over again. Both documents deserve an equal amount of attention. It may take a little extra time but it beats being repeatedly passed over for job interviews.
Mistake #5: Expecting To Make More Money
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If you're making a career change just to make more money, you may be in for a surprise.
Sure, depending on your industry and professional experience, there are some career changes that lead to instant raises.
But in many cases, any financial gain that comes from career change happens in the long term, not the short term. It's very possible that you'll have to take a pay cut initially until you prove yourself in your new position. This is especially true if a company takes a chance and hires you with little experience. The company wants to make sure you can do the job before it makes a significant investment.
That's why it's important to do salary research early in the process and plan accordingly.
The job search process isn't easy, but if you take the proper steps, it doesn't have to be miserable. Hopefully by avoiding these five mistakes, making a career change will be a little less daunting and intimidating. And (even though it didn't make the list) make sure you don't prematurely quit your current job before you've secured a new one (unless you have the resources) because even the smoothest career changes take a little time.
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