October 13, 2021

How To Know When to Quit Your Job

Career Change

Chances are you’ve heard of The Great Resignation, and you might be wondering if it’s time to quit your job too. There are many reasons behind the movement, but burnout and suppressed career movement during the pandemic are significant contributors. Right now is a great time to be a job seeker. Companies across the country are offering hiring incentives. Hiring managers have learned that virtual employees can be successful, leading to more of these open positions. Sure, making a move is nerve-wracking, but staying in a job because it’s comfortable or you are afraid of making a change is no good either. We spend too much time at work for it not to be engaging.

You are unhappy at work

The number one sign that it’s time to quit your job is if you are genuinely unhappy at work. First, ask yourself what is it that makes you unhappy. Is it that you don’t like the work you are doing or the organization? Does the company mission, purpose, and values align with your own? If you love the company and people but don’t like your job, consider moving into a different position to try out something new.

Employees are happier when there’s alignment between their core values and the company values and mission. It is easier to work at an organization where you believe in the product and direction of the company. If this is missing for you, it could be time to find a better fit.

You are too comfortable

You might be stagnant if you have been doing the same job for more than two years without any different challenges at work. You’re so familiar with the work statement that you can do it in your sleep. When your job is comfortable, you are probably not furthering your development. If your job isn’t not staying on top of new technology or industry developments, you could get left behind for future career opportunities. If you have asked for stretch assignments that haven’t come through, it’s a good indicator that it’s time to go.

Salary growth isn’t keeping up

Inflation is at a record high for 2021, at 5.4% for September. When you’ve been in a job for a long time without any promotions, your salary probably hasn’t kept up with the market. On the other hand, maybe you aren’t being paid for newly acquired skills or education. Do some salary research for your local market on Glassdoor or PayScale to get a general idea of the range for your position. If you’re otherwise happy in your job, first try to negotiate for a higher salary with your manager. If that doesn’t work, it’s probably time to brushing up on your interview skills.

You have outgrown the company

You know you’ve outgrown the company when you don’t see viable career growth moving forward. Maybe it’s a small business, and there isn’t room for career development. On the other hand, there could also be a bottleneck somewhere in your career path. If you have outgrown your company, have an honest conversation with your leader to explain the situation. Let them know your feelings and that you’re looking for a bigger challenge. You might be surprised with an exciting project that keeps you fulfilled, but if not, at least you know it’s time to move on.

You’re ready for a significant change

You are ready to switch industries or move into a completely new career path. If this is you, congratulations on following your dreams! While it’s not always easy to break into a new area, it can be incredibly satisfying to do something you love. Be sure to update your resume to target the new position and identify interview stories that demonstrate the skills needed in the role.

Regardless of why you are leaving an organization, it’s crucial to remain on good terms with your employer if possible. You never know when circumstances change in the future. So connect with your former colleagues on LinkedIn and meet up for networking. Also, look for business alumni groups, which are an excellent way to stay engaged and leave the door slightly ajar for future opportunities that may better fit.

If you’ve decided that it’s time for a change and you’d like some help, give us a call at (206) 289-0358 or email us at info@soundinterview.com for a free consultation.

August 2, 2018

Top 10 Tips: Getting into Management

Have you thought about where you’d like to see your career go in the next five years? A lot of people I work with tell me they want to be a manager in the future, but they’re not quite sure how to get there. If you have your sights set on getting into management, these things can help make the transition easier.

#1: Ask Yourself Why

First, do a gut check to make sure that management is really where you want to be. The workforce needs managers who want the job because they like working with people, believe they can make the company better, and care about their team. It’s a hard job and comes with a lot of challenges that non-managers don’t have to face. If you end up becoming a manager but not enjoying the job, it can be a pretty uncomfortable conversation to have with your boss.

#2: Volunteer for Assignments

There are two types of assignments that you should take on. First are the jobs that are not fun, but need to get done. Second are assignments that will stretch you out of your comfort zone or have high visibility. Try to volunteer for a balance between these opportunities. Once you have the job, be sure to take it seriously and follow through. If it’s a stretch assignment, be resourceful and don’t be afraid to ask for help if you get stuck. Taking on both kinds of projects will show leaders that you are reliable and not afraid of a challenge.

#3: Lead a Group

There’s no substitute for having the hands-on experience of influencing people. Look for opportunities to get experience leading others. It could be signing up to run the next committee at work, or volunteering to lead a group at a local non-profit. Hands-on experience will make it much easier to talk about your leadership skills during an interview.

Mentor - Management

#4: Ask!

Make the most of your development conversations with your manager. You are your own best advocate, and you shouldn’t wait for management to ask you. Have the conversation with your boss and tell them about your goals. Ask them what areas they’d like you to develop to get there. Being open to the constructive feedback you might receive is essential.

#5: Find a Mentor

Look for a leader outside of your chain of command who can be a mentor. Make the most of the time you have by being prepared with topics and questions. If you build a good relationship, your mentor will be one of your strongest advocates with other leaders. Having an advocate during those closed-door leadership meetings will help accelerate getting into management

#6 Make Friends with HR

Talk to your HR team and see what resources and classes the company has to offer. HR is one of the first departments to know about job openings and can have a lot of influence on the hiring process. Get to know how the hiring process at your company works. Find out if there are rules about how long you need to stay in a position and how to apply internally.

#7: Be Kind

People don’t want to work for jerks. Remember to treat everyone with respect in the workplace and build strong relationships. Being able to disagree with someone and still have a respectful relationship is a skill that every leader should have. You don’t have to be friends with everyone, but keep it professional and stay away from the office gossip.

#8: Build Trust

Strong leaders are trustworthy and often spend more time listening to their team than talking. Start laying the groundwork and building a reputation of trustworthiness now. Ask curious questions and follow up. If you have trouble remembering details, write things down and set reminders to check in with people. Trust will go a long way in building strong relationships.

#9: Drink the Kool-Aid

Yep, I said it. If you’re not already, get on-board with the company mission, vision, and values. Leaders want to hire managers who believe in the company and will work to help the company succeed. If you’re struggling here, getting into management at that company may not be the best choice, and it might be time to start updating your resume.

#10: Prepare for the Interview

Remember to interview for the position you want, not the job that you have been doing. If you’re serious about getting into management, interview like a manager. Get familiar with the company is looking for in a leader and preparing stories showcasing your experience in that light. If you’re looking for help practicing your interview skills, I’d be happy to help.

March 13, 2017

How to Succeed in a Work From Home Job

Work from home

For those of us who have spent our careers in an office, a working from home sounds like a dream! No commute, no dress code, no co-workers stealing your lunch from the shared fridge and best of all, a lot fewer interruptions than those open office floor plans. While working from home can be pretty attractive. Glassdoor just released a list of 20 legitimate companies that offer work from home opportunities.

The downsides:

While the grass may seem greener at home for those of us fighting traffic each morning, be aware that there are some disadvantages associated with working from home. There are still distractions, though it shifts from your loud cubicle mate to your unending pile of laundry, dirty dishes or other nagging projects around the house. The other major complaint about those who work from home full-time is that it’s tough to maintain separation between work and personal life. When you go to an office every day, it’s easier to ‘turn work off’ when you walk out the door.

Working from home can be isolating. If you’re an extrovert and thrive on working with other people, work from home job might not be for you. When applying to work from home positions, asking questions about how the team interfaces with each other might be helpful. You’ll want to know how much of your time will be spent communicating with other people versus independent work and make sure that balance fits your personal needs.

Tips for work from home success:

Have a dedicated office space

To help with the separation from work and home, designate a spot just for work. If you have space in your house, appoint an office area. Try only to use that space for work and minimize the distractions in the room. Being able to shut the door is helpful too, especially at the end of the day. When you are done for the day, close the door and walk away from the work. Unless it’s an expectation of the job, don’t monitor emails and calls after hours to help you preserve a work-life balance.

Establish a routine

Set the alarm each morning and create a pre-work routine. Change out of your pajamas at the very least. Having a morning routine will help you transition into a working mindset for the day and build a better separation. The same goes for the end of the day too. After work, take some time for yourself and unwind. Maybe that’s going for a walk with your furry office mate, hitting the gym, throwing on sweats and catching up on a favorite show. Having a transition period after work will signal that the work is over.

Get out of the house

Work from home - get outside From time to time, you will need some human interaction. Getting out of the house will force you to put pants on and give you a change of scenery. When I asked some work from home veterans for their tips, this was a common theme. One friend recommended going to the gym for a workout at lunchtime, while another suggested never eating lunch at home. Another option is to join some extracurricular activity. Maybe you get involved with a sports team, a regular art class, or some recurring community service project. Whatever it is, make an effort to get in-person interaction on a daily basis.

Connect with your team

Make time on a regular basis to connect with your team members. That could be one-on-one meetings or whole group meetings. If your entire team works from home, building that rapport and having the chance to collaborate with each other on current work happening will help you feel much less isolated. If you’re a virtual member of a local team, you might need to over-communicate, so you’re not getting left out or overlooked. Visiting the office on a regular basis helps too if your employer is open to that.

Getting Started

Once you decide you would rather work from home, there are a couple of different approaches you can take. If you’re already employed, talk to your boss and to get an understanding of what your options might be. It’s easier to make these arrangements at a place where you have an established relationship, and they know the quality of work that you produce. Sometimes due to the nature of the business and type of position you have, that’s not always possible. Although it might be a bit more challenging to find a legitimate remote or work from home type of job, they do exist. Before you provide any personal information to companies, be sure to do your research to ensure the business is legitimate. There are a lot of “work from home” opportunities out there that are too good to be true.

November 30, 2016October 6, 2016

Incognito Mode: Let LinkedIn Recruiters Know You’re Looking

LinkedIn just announced a new feature called Open Candidates, helping active job seekers go incognito. This feature lets LinkedIn recruiters know that you’re looking, without your boss finding out. In the past, we told clients not to publicize they’re looking for a new position unless they’ve conversation with their leader first. There are a lot of reasons why you might not want your employer to know you’re looking for a job. You might be worried they’ll treat you differently once they know you are looking or believe it would affect your work assignments.

Now, it might not be perfect yet, but it’s a start. LinkedIn says they’ll do their best not to let recruiters who work at your company know that you’re looking. There might be a few situations you’re current employer could find out you’re looking. If your business recruiters haven’t updated their current employer in their profile, or if your company goes by multiple names, they still might be able to see you. They assign companies ID’s, and if your company’s ID matches the recruiters, you’re not visible to them. If your business uses agency recruiters to fill positions, there might be a chance the agency recruiter comes across your profile.

How to Update your Settings for LinkedIn Recruiters

If you’re ready to open the floodgates of InMails from recruiters, here’s how you can get started. First, make sure your profile is up to date and recruiter ready. If you’re set on your employer not finding out that you’re looking, turn off your update notifications in your profile. This way your connections don’t see your profile changes in their LinkedIn newsfeed.

Once your profile is ready to go, it’s pretty easy to turn on this new feature. From your LinkedIn home page, click on Jobs. Here you can search for jobs, explore suggested jobs and update preferences. The Open Candidates feature is located under the preferences menu. LinkedIn has set your preference to off as a standard, so you’ll need to turn the feature on. From there, you can narrow down your choices. Decide the types of jobs, start availability and set an introduction to recruiters. Then you choose your interests, including industries, experience level, company size, and locations. Hopefully, providing this information will help you get in front of the right people. Recruiters will be able to see the date you flagged yourself, your interests and the types of jobs you like.

I want to hear your thoughts on this new tool; do you think that it’s going to be helpful in your job search? If you’re not planning on using it, tell me why. If you found this article helpful, please share it! Sound Interview Professionals is on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn and I’d love to connect with you.

November 30, 2016September 26, 2016

Social Media for Job Seekers Part 2: Using Social Media to Get a Job

In the first part of our Social Media series, we talked about platforms job seekers should use to build connections and find positions. In part two we’re giving you our best tips on how to use social media to get a job, networking and building an audience.

Introduce Yourself

If you want to use social media to get a job, you need a summary. Use this section to talk about your professional skills, experiences, and what interests you. This information should be public, so double-check your settings. If you haven’t told your boss you’re looking for a job, don’t mention it in your profile, unless you are ready for an awkward conversation later.

LinkedIn: Focus on your summary, work history, education, certifications and volunteer experience. LinkedIn allows plenty of space to create an engaging summary and walks you through setting up a complete profile.

Twitter: You only get 160 characters, so focus on your career, industry, and interests, but avoid buzzwords that aren’t meaningful (perfectionist, strong performer, etc.).

Facebook: You can make the “about me” section public, but keep personal details out of it. Recruiters don’t need to read about your home-brew hobbies or the heavy metal band you play in unless it’s related to the jobs you’re applying for.

It’s best to leave out personal information, especially in your summary. Marital status, children, sexual orientation, age, religion and political views are illegal to ask about in the hiring process. Yes, it might be easy to tell from your name or photo some of these things but providing extra personal details isn’t going to help you get a job.

Be Active

Get noticed by posting new content, starting meaningful conversations and asking thought-provoking questions. By engaging with others, you’ll increase your audience and your chances of getting noticed by a recruiter. Search for industry-specific groups to join and events in your city where you can network in person. These groups will help you stay on top of your industry and learn about jobs before they get posted.

Once you landed the job, stay engaged. You’ve spent a lot of effort building a network so don’t abandon it. Keep your network open and post to it at least weekly. You never know when you might need help, or be able to be a resource for someone in your network. Also, hiring managers love to engage passive job seekers, people who aren’t looking for a job because they’re already employed. The next fantastic opportunity could be around the corner

Be Professional

Anytime you are using social media to get a job; your profile should be professional. That includes user names, photos and ‘about me’ sections. Use your real name and a professional email address like first.last@email.com for all professional communications. Ensure that you are using professional usernames, vanity URL’s, and photos for these accounts. Anyone can still click-through your previous profile pictures on Facebook, even if your profile is private.

Ask yourself if you’d be okay with your supervisor seeing your content or comments before you post it. If not, don’t post it. Recruiters and hiring managers will judge you based on your posts. Proofreading is especially important when you are looking for a job. Double check spelling, grammar and content to make sure it’s work appropriate.

Be On Topic

You’ve started a Twitter account, LinkedIn profile, and joined some Facebook groups to begin networking, Fantastic! Now the next step is to make sure that the content you’re posting is on-topic and relevant. Use caution with controversial topics; they are tricky, and it might be better off to avoid them, at least at first. If you decide to go down that road, they should be related to the industry, promote thoughtful discussion, and a have balanced perspective. Watch the content carefully and shut it down if it becomes offensive.

It’s important to keep in mind that just because you have separate personal accounts doesn’t mean that recruiters won’t find them. Recruiters are getting excellent at researching candidates these days. When you post content on your personal accounts, there’s still a good chance it could be seen. Double check your privacy settings and beware, even if you do have strong privacy settings, someone could take a screenshot, and your post could end up all over the internet.

Be Positive

We all know the one person from work or school who is ALWAYS complaining. This person might be fantastic at what they do, but their attitude affects everyone around. Don’t be that person on social media. Consistently complaining or posting negatively will drive hiring managers away fast. Yes, we’re looking for individuals who can do the job, but we don’t want to kill the culture at the same time. So, don’t badmouth your bosses or companies, and don’t vent. It’s okay to disagree with someone as long as you’re respectful. Stay away from personal attacks and negative comments because they’ll just make you look bad.

Be Resourceful

Are you curious about what it’s like to work at a company? Most companies have social media accounts that you can follow. You’ll learn about their values and the initiatives they have in work. Search for people who list the company as their employer and see what they are saying. If you are using LinkedIn, personalize any connection requests that you send!

To connect, send a friendly note introducing yourself and ask a few questions. After you’ve had a successful exchange, consider asking if they’d be open to a short (15-20 minutes) informational interview on the phone. If they agree, prepare questions about the work, company, the challenges & why they like it. The intent is to learn about life at the organization, not to try to sell yourself.

If you have an upcoming interview, you can search for the interviewers to learn about them. Look for things you have in common so you can bring up topics to casually build a rapport. For example, If you learn that the hiring manager is a big baseball fan, you can ask if they saw the game last night (without mentioning you looked them up of course!). Be tactful in how you approach these conversations, though, you don’t want to come across as creepy.

We concluded our Social Media series in Part 3, with examples using social media to get a job (and some that didn’t work so well). Be sure to subscribe to our blog, so you don’t miss out!

November 18, 2020September 21, 2016

Social Media for Job Seekers Part 1: The Basics

More and more companies are using social media as a method of attracting qualified candidates to their positions. In our Social Media for Job Seekers, we explore the what, why, and how to maximize these sites to find your next job.

Why Social Media

A 2016 Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) survey, found that 84% of companies are using social media as a recruiting tool and an additional 9% of organizations are planning to. This number is up from 56% in 2011. The most common sites that are being used by recruiters, in order, are LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Companies are using social media for three main reasons:

They’re seeking out passive job seekers.
They want to attract candidates by showing up as a top place to work.
They are looking for specific skills for some harder to fill jobs.

Social media is a great way for you to connect with an organization. When you apply for a job online, your resume gets thrown into a system that scans and ranks it. It can take weeks to hear anything back if you hear anything at all. The benefit of social media is that you can talk to a real person and build a relationship. However, as companies and recruiters are becoming more engaged on social media, you have to be much more careful about how you are perceived. Everything you post publicly and even sometimes privately can affect your potential employment. According to the same SHRM study, 36% of organizations have rejected candidates based on their public social media profiles.

The Big Three

The most well-known social media platforms are LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. As an applicant, you can use one or all of them to engage with employers. If you decide to use these tools to help with your job search you have to proceed with a bit of caution. Getting noticed by an employer can be excellent for your career, but it’s also easy to make the wrong impression.

If you only choose one social media platform, it should be LinkedIn. It is the most popular recruiting site used by employers. When you set up a profile, include the URL in your resume heading. Since LinkedIn doesn’t follow the normal “resume rules,” you can add additional information that may not make the cut on your resume.

LinkedIn also allows for skill endorsements and recommendations. You have the ability to ask people you’ve worked with to provide a recommendation or to endorse you. Recommendations show up on your profile as a reference or testimonial. LinkedIn is much more professional and work-related. It isn’t the place to debate politics, catch up with your long-lost cousin, or to share cat videos (except for this one).

Facebook

While Facebook can be a successful tool to engage with organizations, it also can expose much more of your personal information than LinkedIn. From an HR perspective, Facebook has been a useful tool in avoiding potentially bad hiring decisions and catching cases of worker’s comp fraud.

If you have a Facebook account, you need to update your privacy settings before you begin applying for jobs. Given my HR experience, I strongly suggest limiting the audience to your Facebook profile. You can still connect in Facebook groups or engage on company pages; it just prevents employers and the public from viewing your wall and other private details. Unless you’re Facebook profile and posts are squeaky clean, do not to friend your employers or coworkers.

Twitter

Twitter can be a great place to interact with organizations and leaders. It’s limitation being that it’s all in 140 characters or less. It’s easy enough to set up more than one Twitter account to keep your personal and professional tweets separate. When setting up a professional Twitter account, create a short username. If you’re going to include a photo, make sure it’s professional. One plus about using Twitter is that companies tend to be pretty responsive. Some executives and business owners manage their accounts directly. A lot of businesses have accounts set up specifically for job seekers. Microsoft runs @MicrosoftJobs and Amtrak has an account specifically for Veterans @AmtrakVets.

Other Social Media

Companies are trying to entice applicants on other social media platforms as well. GE’s recruiting campaign featuring a guy named Owen accepting a developer job has moved into Snapchat. Marriott has the @MariottCareers Instagram account featuring happy employees both at work and enjoying life. To get a good idea of what life is really like at a company you can search for hashtags used by both the company’s page and employees, like #facebooklife, #Lifeatkohls.

Be sure to check out part two and part three of the Social Media for Job Seekers series. We’re focusing on the top ways you can use social media to attract employers and creative examples of job seeker campaigns.