Articles - The Voice of Job Seekers

How Should Employers Lead From The Core With Jay Steinfeld

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In my featured conversation, Jay Steinfeld, author of “How to Lead From The Core,” states why expressing yourself is a lead core value in his leadership, “I’m happy to express myself. It’s one of my three core values to express yourself. And that means to be honest and authentic and say exactly what’s on your mind as long as you are respectful.”

Also, on today’s show, I’ll feature conversations I had with Jeff Altman on his podcast, “No B.S. Job Search Advice,” and with Rhona Barnett-Pierce on my live stream show, “The Modern Job Search Checklist.”

You are more than welcome to join the discussion. Here are three ways you can:

– Call and leave a voicemail at 708-365-9822, or text your comments to the same number

– Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com, press the “Send Voicemail” button on the right side of your screen and leave a message

– Send email feedback to mark@thevoiceofjobseekers.com

Here’s more about Jay:

Jay Steinfeld, the author of Lead From The Core: The 4 Principles for Profit and Prosperity, is joining me on “The Voice of Job Seekers LIVE.” His company Blinds.com was the world’s largest e-commerce site until he sold it to Home Depot. He’s an Inc. Magazine online contributor and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business.

Here are highlights from our discussion:

As long you’re respectful, self-expression is essential and part of Jay’s three core values
“If they don’t give you that voice if they don’t give you the opportunity to say what you want. Then you’re going to look elsewhere because they don’t respect you. “
If you’re transient and move from place to place, consider your network to help you find opportunities.
You will have more fun working for an employer whose core values align with yours.
“The missions can change the direction that you go can change. But the core values, don’t the core values stay true because they are core. That’s what drives your behavior.”
Jay says that servant leadership is to make that decision and to provide whatever tools, money, support, technology, processes, and capital allocation to make sure that that happens. If you say you will but won’t, the work won’t happen.
If you make emotional and trust deposits, you can make withdrawals as a leader.

I will publish the last episode on May 10. The final episode for this season will be a montage of the best quotes, interviews, and job-search advice from the year.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

Summer of 2022 Job Search Looks Different From Here

Summer of 2022 Job Search Looks Different From Here! by Mark Anthony Dyson

With lifted COVID restrictions everywhere, you can expect people will not stay inside unless this latest COVID concern lands in America. Your job search efforts should ramp up if you want to change sooner. The job competition is high now but will die out from June-August. No matter what season you choose to ramp up your search, a new job won’t be a walk-in.

You cannot follow the wide road and do what everyone else will do. Think of how you can tread some uncommon waters in your job search strategy. I’ve always told you job search is a lifestyle. It’s hard to do, but it’s more challenging when looking for a job without a job.

Consider these counterintuitive but unorthodox ideas:

What is it can you do to reimagine your next job? I know it sounds lofty and unrealistic, but the goal is to idealize solutions an employer wants.
Get the discussion off of your resume and into thoughtful dialogue. The employer sees thousands of job candidates with similar qualifications, but how many candidates can recreate possibilities? Show that you’ve done it, and point to how you’ll do it for them.
Agility and creativity win the day. Rigid routines have some benefits, but employers are interested in your flexibility and versatility. Employers ask you how to fit a square peg in a round hole. Will you be the one to tell them how you’ll find or create another hole for the peg to fit?
Who benefits when you’re hired? Show and demonstrate how the team wins, not just you: research and network deeper to find those answers if you use informational interviews wisely. Don’t just ask many questions and mindlessly increase your connections without a strategy.
Be the incessant learner. Those who approach interviews like a consultant have a competitive advantage. You are learning the employer’s needs before you offer solutions.
Lean into strengths and sure up weaknesses. Everyone wants to exploit their strengths rather than their weaknesses. But if a weakness weakens your ability to use your strengths, then anything you do is a liability. A grip is as firm as its fingers.
If it’s too easy, something is wrong. Another good reason to research everything from the company itself to the coworker you will sit next to is to determine if the position is as advertised. Jack Kelly, Forbes Senior Career Contributor, included me in this article about avoiding a job change you may regret. There’s a lot of jobfishing happening. You want no part of it.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

Quitting is Like…Normal Now, Right?

via GIPHY

I am exhausted from reading about how quitting is a big deal. It is a staple in our career DNA, like no longer reading an uninteresting book. Once a job peels away at our skin, we need to shed the layers.

Finding out a diet no longer helps us lose two pounds a week. We find out it wasn’t the diet in the beginning. We ate less. I got tired of eating the same foods day in, and day out, so we stopped. The result: Our weight has been the same.

Then, we go through exercising more to raise our heart rate, but since a faster beat doesn’t affect us aesthetically, we stop working out consistently.

The same with quitting. We’re quitting a bunch as Americans. We’re job-hopping to make more money, creating equitable career capital, and understand it’s a part of our journey.

Not just Gen Z. All of ours.

We’ve cut classes because we’re bored. Does that mean we’ve given up on school? Nope, the class is trash. The major might be too, but right now the class sucks.

Critics interpret this movement as people hating work, companies, and structure are the ones who hate dieting, low-carb foods, and weights. They instead run, walk or step 10,000 times, or use the crazy crunch machine and say “quitters” need to work harder.

Newsflash: Running half-marathons for three months a year and the crunch machine isn’t all that productive. It only looks like you’re working hard. Suppose that’s your goal, cool. But the baby tetradactyl you idolize is ugly. And so is the old model of doing it harder, either.

That’s what people who are quitting or have quit are telling America.

It’s a norm.