The start of a new year is always a good time to make plans. Here are a few suggestions for New Year's Resolutions for the career minded. We would also love to hear about any resolutions that you have personally set. Submit your comments through our blog. 

Planning for your own professional performance development.
A big change for everyone is that companies don't spend as much money on training as they once did. Even if they offer training, it is based on their needs for today. Each person needs to take responsibility for their own personal performance development plan. Set your goals for 2018.

Understanding functional and industry skills
If you already understand the changing nature of your field, map out the skills and knowledge you need to build. If you are unsure of what the future holds ...

As a candidate, you still have work to do, but several trends in the recruiting world will work in your favor. CareerXRoads recently listed two of the the three trends impacting Talent Acquisition as a heightened focus on relationships and candidate experience.

Throughout my career, I've point to referrals and networking as key sources of candidates for employers. CareerXRoads shows that these are increasingly being used by companies. It is therefore important for a candidate to build a network that overlaps with his or her targeted companies.

An often overlooked, yet high impact, part of the interview is the chance to ask questions.

Ask good questions. Prepare a list of possible questions and priorities the top 2-3 questions that you want to ask. 

Since, you may only get 5 minutes at the end of the interview. Use them wisely.

Consider what you still need to know in order to assess whether the job is a good opportunity for you.

• Would you give me more details about [Insert the area you need to know more about to understand the scope of the position]?
• Would you give me an example of a [project, problem, challenge] that is typical for this position?
• How would you describe the ideal candidate?
• What are the goals for this position and your expectations for the first 30/60/90 days?
• What happened to the person who was previously in this position? Is this a new position?
• What is the biggest problem/challenge that you want this person to solve for you?
• At the end of the year, how would you know this person was successful?
• What are the resources for this position? (Will you have the resources, money, supplies, people, and information to do your job?)

Decide what factors about the culture and which values are important to you and ask for details. Confirm the fit with your work values and priorities

• Using one word, how would you describe the company culture / the team?
• The "About Us" description on the website says that the company values [its employees, innovation, its customers], would you give me an example?
• Why did you join the company? Why do you stay?
• How was a recent decision made and implemented? (Listen to understand process and involvement of team members)
• Ask your supervisor
  
  • Would you describe your management style?
    
  • How would this position interact with other staff members and other departments?
• Ask the team
  
  • How would you describe the supervisor's management style?
    
  • Would you give me an example of how the team worked together on a recent project?

Understand the process

• What is your timeline for making decisions? 
• What is the next step?
• Do you have any concerns about my candidacy?

Show what you know and verify what you've learned

• I read that [ABC company is merging with DEF]. How will that impact this team?
• I heard that a competitor is launching a new product? How will that change your strategy?

Tips for keeping your job search confidential: with the 

• Be ready to respond to questions if your employer learns that you are looking. If your employers questions relate to your LinkedIn activity, you can defer and say that you are just trying to connect with other professionals in the field to stay on top of trends and best practices.
• Don’t conduct job search tasks on your work computer or the work phone.
• Move to private areas to have job search conversations on your cell phone and/or return messages during breaks and lunch.
• Don’t post your resume to a job board
• If you do post your resume to a job board, select one your current employer isn’t using
• If you do post your resume to a job board, make your current employer anonymous. Use a general enough description so someone can’t say definitively that it is ABC company but specific enough so they know the type of company. (For example: a fortune 500 consumer products company in Chicago)
• Utilize the job board privacy settings, if available, to make your profile private.
• If a prospective employer asks for references, don’t list someone from the current company.
• If a prospective employer asks for contact names at your current company, indicated that you are conducting a confidential search, but would supply the contact when it is needed to finalize an offer. Use the same language when a prospective employer asks to check your references.
• Since networking is such an important part of your search, I would still recommend establishing a profile on LinkedIn. Just make sure that the publically viewable part of your profile, online discussions, and personal updates don’t indicate that you are in an active search. You will need to utilize private communications and offline conversation more than online or group interactions.

#jobsearch

Stepping away from the details of work can give you a new perspective. 
Yesterday, that moment of joy was watching the eclipse with family. My husband and I are lucky enough that he has family in southern Illinois, an area that experienced totality. Just the event itself inspired and awed me. Experiencing it with several generations made it even more special. We ate moon pies and sun chips. We had our official glasses, but made pinhole cameras from a shoebox and sheets of paper (used separately). We also expanded the light show with a colander and a mirror (also used separately).

The key is letting yourself experience the moment. We celebrated with selfies, but we also took a breath and just looked. We watched the crescent shrink and disappear. We watched the light dim, the sunset surround us, and the planets come out. And, we watched the crescent grow again. The eclipse flew by, but we took the time to experience it. 

Your moments of joy don’t have to be as historical as an eclipse, especially since the next one isn’t until 2024. Your moment of joy can be family, friends, music, and motion.

Taking a break from the day to day activities can give you a new perspective.
For both mental and physical health, you should take breaks from sitting at the computer. 

• A walk around the office or the block
• Stretches will loosen the neck and the back 
• Music to stimulate the body and mind (see below)
• Coffee or water cooler break to discuss a project, challenge, or that week’s GOT or WD

A couple of minutes away puts the task in perspective and helps you think about what you do in a new way. Try different options out to see what works for you. But be careful. Moments of joy are different from pleasure. The candy bar is pleasurable, but fleeting. And, the pleasure may diminish. I’ll discuss the difference between joy and pleasure in a future blog post.

Building flow or joyful add-ons into your day will energize you.
Utilizing your strengths and getting caught up in what you are doing is being in "flow." If you've ever gotten so immersed into a task, you were probably utilizing a strength. The more you utilize this and other strengths, the more successful and productive you will be. I will cover Flow in more detail in a future blog post. If you can't wait to learn a little more about strengths, check out Gallup's Strengths Based Leadership ($).

Because today's post is about building joy in your life, I'll talk about joyful add-ons. I get energized when I listen to the music of my youth. (I'm not that old, but when I start talking dates, I feel like it.) 80's alternative will take me back to college, a little Neil Diamond will take me back to family trips, and some good 70's rock will bring an old radio in my childhood bedroom to mind. This doesn't get me sentimental. I get energized. I may sing. I may dance a little. 

When I must do a task and my energy is waning, I'll turn on music. Suddenly, doing the dishes, cleaning or powering through a research report get a little easier. I feel more joy than dread at the task. I have the energy to get it done.

Build moments of joy in your life

(Blog posted to Bartimus Career Consulting Blog and Hayska Blog.)

(Feature Image Note: Thank you to Canva.com for offering a free eclipse photo (above) since my attempts (below) did not come out clear. ​)

The new name shows the evolution of interviewing. Instead of only focusing on behaviors and competencies, looking at "experience" puts the behaviors and competencies into context of your accomplishments and passions.

It is important for you to prepare your stories about your accomplishments and the challenges you overcame before you are in the interview.

Build off of the (a) skills sought by your targeted employers. Highlight your (b) personal strengths. Tell your story of your (c) accomplishments. Demonstrate your (d) passion.

​For more information on demonstrating your value through the interview, check out my Interviewing resource page.

Additionally, here are two links to show how employers are describing "experience interviews":

• Bain & Company
• McKinsey & Company

Consulting companies who employ case interviews offer tips for preparing for this interview style. Since this interview focuses on problem solving, the key aspects are:

• Listening and understanding the case details
• Asking about missing details or for clarification
• Showing your thought process by thinking through the case out loud.

The case interview is typically used to show how you would interact with clients and organize projects. Treat the case interview as if it is a client problem or project proposal.

Some companies, like McKinsey & Company, offer sample cases. If your targeted employer doesn't offer sample cases, check for actual client or project stories under the "About" or "Services" tabs.

For additional tips on preparing, review these company pages:

• Bain & Company - http://www.bain.com/careers/interview-preparation/case-interview.aspx
• McKinsey & Company (Includes sample cases) - http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/interviewing 
• Deloitte (Includes practice case) - https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/careers/articles/join-deloitte-case-interview-prep-tool.html

Other companies, like Bain, also incorporate a case study as a written essay.

Review your prospective employer's career pages for information on their interview process. Also check sites like Glassdoor.com for other descriptions of the interviewing process with comments of other candidates.

#career #interviewing

Back in 2010, I wrote a magazine article that talked about using Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter in people’s personal and professional lives. While the social media tools have expanded enormously, the strategy for incorporating these tools have stayed the same.

1. Establish a plan and outline your goals.  This will be your guide on which sites to use and what you post.

2. Start somewhere.  You do not have to use all the sites.  If you are already using Facebook, see how you can expand your presence.  If you aren’t using anything, set up a professional profile on LinkedIn and connect with colleagues. LinkedIn is still one of professional networking communities.

3. Monitor and manage your internet presence.  You need to be aware of what is online by you and about you.  Google yourself to see what appears.  

4. Revise online profiles to fit your outlined goals and use social networking sites to create positive content.  Twitter is an easy way to share your expertise.  Searches will consider the content you create and who links back to it.

​#Career #JobSearch