Stop & Chill, America

Today, at my daughter’s college, the President ordered everyone to stop studying, cut classes, and have a collective day of rest.

We work hard in the US (as students AND professionals), and I think we forget the importance of taking breaks and messing around. It’s not only good for mental health, it’s good for the bottom line, if that’s your priority…

TRANSCRIPT:

Yay, it’s Mountain Day today at Smith College, which means the president calls all classes off.
00:10
This is spur of the moment.
00:12
No classes.
00:14
Everybody out on the quad, get on a blanket, throw a Frisbee, eat some quiche.
00:20
It’s just time to relax and unwind and take a break.
00:25
And sometimes you need somebody to really.
00:28
Force you into that for you to realize how important it was and how much you needed a break.
00:32
So hats off to the president of Smith College and any other leadership that realizes the importance of play.
00:41
This kind of was a personal experience for me yesterday.
00:45
So I’m I’m coaching my daughter’s soccer team and we had practice, but it was super hot.
00:52
So I said, you know what?
00:54
No practice.
00:55
You’re all coming over my house.
00:57
And we’re going on a giant water slide.
01:00
And we did.
01:01
And the bonding was through the roof.
01:04
It was really cute.
01:04
They were like chanting for each other.
01:07
Give me an A, give me an L, you know, all that stuff.
01:11
So it ended up being super productive.
01:14
And I bring this up because we work a lot.
01:16
We’re a working society and there’s a lot of benefits with that.
01:22
But I think we forget the importance of stopping.
01:25
And taking a break.
01:27
And that’s not just for mental health.
01:29
It actually helps the work.
01:32
You become more creative, you become more relaxed, you become more collaborative.
01:36
Happenstance can happen.
01:39
There’s a lot of good things that happen outside of the traditional idea of what we call work that influences our work.
01:47
So remember, take a break.

An Open Letter to Employers: When Hiring, Please Chill Out

Dear Hiring Managers and HR Teams:

Can we get together on something?

We need to rein in the interview process. It’s gotten out of control.

I know you want to keep your beloved culture intact, but sheesh…

It’s not uncommon for candidates to go through an initial phone/video screening, pass several rounds of interviews, take psychology assessments, be instructed to put together an engaging 20-page pitch deck and present it to a panel with a Q&A, meet the senior leadership team, take a tour, problem-solve real-world issues on the spot, and… since interviews now take 8 hours instead of one these days, have the nerve-racking, forced smile experience of eating lunch with their evaluators.

Did I leave anything out?

This process can take up to 3 months (several weeks minimum), peppered with last-minute requests, changing job requirements, cryptic instructions, unexpected disappearing acts from HR, and straight-up ghosting.

And then, after all of this — after weekends spent away from family building a PowerPoint presentation, after rehearsing answers to ridiculous but pervasive questions like “tell me 3 of your weaknesses,” after sleepless nights from fearing the tech interview, after scrubbing the web for “out of the box” exercises, like “tell me how many marbles it would take to fill a school bus,” after 20+ firm handshakes with eye contact, after setting up a professional-grade Zoom studio, after all the followup notes, the tracking in Excel, the time off work, the money for parking, the dry cleaning, the power breakfasts, the mental health debriefings with friends…

After all that…there is no job offer.

For 3 months, this candidate has made your company their life.

They’ve given you their best ideas, their best performance, their best times slots, not to mention serious professional, financial, and emotional expense.

And then its, “Sorry, you’re just not the right fit.”

And you know what’s coming next, you know the question they have for you, their last hope at taking something from this whole disappointing experience: the humble request to know why.

You will inevitably give them one of two canned responses:

“We found someone with more experience.”

OR

“You don’t have enough _____________.” (Something that’s usually obvious from looking at the resume.)

Yeah, I know you’re playing your cards close to your chest to avoid a discrimination lawsuit, but seriously, c’mon.

At the very least, after taking so much of someone’s time and ideas, can’t you at least guide them a bit, as you boot them out the door?

Nope.

It’s “Buh-Bye,” and sometimes not even that.

If you’re a candidate reading this you’re nodding your head. If you’re a hiring manager, you’re shaking it.

An uneven equation, to say the least.

You, the employer, leave with more knowledge of who you need for the position, strategic plans for where to take your business, inside info on other companies, a broader understanding of the talent pool that’s out there, and sometimes free labor!

And the job candidate? They leave with the false hope that “maybe another position will open up and we’ll call you.”

Yeah right.

You hold all the cards. How about a little compassion?

How about paying these folks if you’re going to have them work for you?
How about a probationary period instead of a 3-month interview?
How about looking at their past presentations instead of asking them to create a brand-new one for you?
How about letting them eat lunch alone?
How about treating them like a fellow member of your industry who has value separate of working for your company?
How about taking a little risk and making a better educated guess.

If you must see a benefit, think of this as a business opportunity.

People talk, especially people who don’t get the job.

Why not have them walk away loving the company instead of resenting it?
Why not have them wishing they could have gotten in vs rationalizing why you suck?

I’ll tell you this: the company that designs the first-ever respectful, energizing interview process is going to have an influx of applications and a massively robust referral network amongst people inside and outside their walls. And your new hires are going to love you all the more.

You’re not just filling a job requisition, you’re spreading the word. Whether you want it to be or not, your story is seasoned by the whispers of your detractors. You’re not privy to these conversations.

And you don’t know what you’re missing.

Too Big To Care: The Indifference of Big Companies & How Workers Can Protect Themselves From Layoffs

Layoffs & Loyalty

Twitter, Meta, Amazon, Salesforce… titans of Tech, supposedly too big to fail.

But we’re seeing some wavering. And employees are certainly feeling the quake.

Inflation is taking its toll, the global supply chain is still screwy, and consumers are pinching their pennies. As a result, profits are down, even for the big guys, and the #1 strategy of public companies to keep dishing out shareholder dividends is to cut the workforce. And fast.

Tens of thousands of workers are being laid off, in some cases 10%-50% of the workforce.

If you’re not lucky enough to be above the fold, you may find yourself dumping your desk tchotchkes into a cardboard box with an unrequested escort to the front door.

It’s not enough to work hard and be loyal.

When the chips are down, your salary can always be rescinded.

===

Part of protecting yourself is knowing this to be true and taking precautions to be ready for when it occurs.

1. Stay to the outside. If you’ve got some tenure under your belt, love what you do, and want to call your own shots, consider shifting to consulting. Self-employment is the only true job security because you, and you alone, are in charge of your paycheck. As long as you keep a balanced portfolio of clients (3 or more clients, 2 or more industries), you will always be safe from being out of work.
2. Sleep with the enemy. Get to know folks in your role at competing companies. Don’t gossip or trade trade secrets, but have lunch every once in a while. Welcome someone from the other side into your life. You’ll be better able to see the industry trends coming around the corner, you’ll have a bigger picture when doing your own work, and you just may have some inroads into a new job, should your company decide to downsize…er, rightsize… no, I mean consolidate… Wait, restructure?
3. Toot your horn. Everyone in a big company knows they have to find ways to add value to survive, but you also have to find ways to prove you’re finding ways to add value. This means, telling your boss your good ideas *and* making sure you get credit for them, volunteering to do “high-visibility” projects, making post-project slide decks that show business impact, and reminding people of your greatness during meetings and reviews. Don’t count on anyone else to advocate for you. It’s not that your colleagues don’t care; they’re just as busy as you are and they can only fit one horn in their mouth.
4. Interview every once in a while. Especially when things are good, dip a toe in the job market. See what’s out there for you. See what salaries look like. Guage the eagerness of another company to snatch you up. This is a good way to make some alliances within other companies and turn enemies into friends, which is always a good business strategy (and life strategy). Interviewing is a skill. And you should always keep your skills polished.
5. Keep your resume sharp. Military veterans and Information Security professionals are great at this. Perhaps it’s because they know bombs can drop at any moment. There is no better way to gain peace of mind in an unstable job situation than to have your resume updated and ‘at the ready.’ At the first explosion, you’re ready to fire back. If you really want an edge, hire a professional resume writer to do the job for you. It can be challenging to get your story down on paper, especially after an involuntary, abrupt ending.

Life is uncertain. Companies have plenty of failsafes in place to protect them from sudden catastrophes.

Do you?

Involuntary Abrupt Endings

Getting let go from work is like getting hit by a bus.

And like getting hit by a bus, people who get fired, laid off, or asked to leave often experience PTSD (post-traumatic-stress-syndrome). I see it more often than you might think.

The symptoms show up in one’s work history:
–extended time off
–private consulting
–gig work
–sudden or serial entrepreneurism
–underemployment

A common behavior amongst people with Job-related PTSD is complete and total avoidance of an intentional job search — like a batter avoiding the batter’s box or a veteran avoiding loud noises or a driver circumnavigating busy intersections.

It’s understandable. It’s a smart reaction to a bad experience: the brain saying “hey that sucked. Let’s not go through that again.”

But it abbreviates your life. It makes you take U-turns that keep you from certain roads.

To break free of job PTSD, you have to confront it. (Ghosts hate it when you give ’em a name.) Talk about it, replay the crap-ending to someone who loves you and supports you. No need to deconstruct it or overanalyze things, just pull it into the light and let your emotions go where they go; you’ll probably cycle through quite a few of them.

Then go back before that ending and remember the good stuff too. And if it was always bad at that job, go to the one before it.

You’ve got victories; you’ve just forgotten about them. They’re obstructed. The ghosts are in the way.

Once you get them to move, you’ll see all the roads again. And the intersections will be clear.

How to Ace All Types of Video Interviews During COVID-19

Everybody’s doing it.

Even before COVID-19 struck the world, employers have been relying on virtual interviewing to screen out candidates. It’s inexpensive and way less time-consuming. There are several types of video interviews employers use. Make sure you’re savvy in all 4 of these formats. Continue reading this entry »

Resume Tips For Overcoming Recession-Related Challenges

Recessions tend to push hardworking people into two groups. On the one hand, is the layoff survivor handling the load of multiple former employees. On the other is the hyperqualified, abruptly laid-off job seeker who needs to explain the abrupt ending to their tenure. Different destinies but both types tend to struggle with how to present these career changes on their resumes.

Here are some tips: Continue reading this entry »

Cliff & Scott Shafer Talking About Resumes and Hiring on NPR

Had to dig this one out of the archives…

KQED called me up to be the San Francisco Bay Area career hero on the California Report with Scott Shafer. Scott let me use his own career as an example for how to use seemingly irrelevant work experience as an asset, not a liability. We also discussed taking a different approach to networking, and some of the things that employers look for in job candidates.

Check out the podcast; they even included the original take which has plenty more advice for people looking to beat a tough job market. Continue reading this entry »

Not Going Down Alone

I admit I’ve had a couple of challenging clients recently. It’s easy to write them off but it’s always best to look inward before casting blame.

So, what’s really going on? Continue reading this entry »

Career Advice for Older Workers to Prevent Age Discrimination

As a seasoned professional, you have much to offer but remember to make room for new experiences as well.

An effective resume will balance your strengths (i.e. what you can teach) with your areas for growth (i.e. what you can learn). In regards to the latter, I’m certainly not suggesting you claim ignorance. Rather, consider showing a recently developed interest in a new industry or field.

This is best done by illustrating how you’ve already Continue reading this entry »

Are Job Gaps A Good Thing?

Recently, a resume client of mine forwarded a newsletter article from a job board discussing ways to overcome “job gaps” of 3-6 months.

Here’s a snippet from the article, and my subsequent retort as to why we should redefine the criteria for a job gap: Continue reading this entry »

Let the Government Pay For Your Career Development

One of the best kept secrets in job-hunting: The government has offered to pay part of your expenses!

You read correctly: Career expenses, including fees incurred for career counseling, professional resume writing, and job-search coaching, are tax-deductible for everyone with only a few exceptions: Continue reading this entry »

How To Make Your Job Better

A lot of us hate our job or at least see it as a grind. Getting up in the morning is a chore, there’s not much we look forward to. We become dichotomous in our thinking: “Maybe I should quit.” In other words, it’s either this crappy job or nothing at all. And leaving is often too big of a hill to climb. There’s another way.

Make your job suck less.

1. Find people who don’t suck, and hang out with them.

Ask them what they do and what they like about it. They don’t have to be in your discipline, in fact, it might be better if they’re not. Most important, make sure this new alliance doesn’t turn into a venting session (for either of you).

2. Start a pet project.

What change do you wish to see at work? What would give you energy if it was there waiting for you every day? Maybe it’s about addressing the culture of the company, maybe it’s about changing a process, or rearranging furniture. Own something and chip away at it. Create something to look forward to.

3. Expand your perspective.

Pull back and look at the whole organization, the workflow across the entire enterprise, no matter how big. Which parts light you up. Are you touching them? How can you make it so that you are?

4. Harness your negativity in a positive way.

Determine what’s frustrating you, get to the heart of it. If it’s mostly about you, that’s good news. That means you can change it. If the problems lie with the company, think about an alternative way of doing things. If it really catches fire with you, turn it into a proposal and bring it to a supervisor. Share it in earnest but as a proposal, not a demand. You may be surprised by the reaction.

5. Give yourself something to get up to.

Try not to have your first thought be about the job you hate. Have your first thought or activity of the day be something good. This will shift your perspective for the rest of the day, including your perspective at work.

Sometimes, it’s not about leaving. It’s about tweaking. Change is at hand.