Employer Archives - Page 2 of 5 - The Voice of Job Seekers

Know What Employers Are Expecting From You

To succeed in today’s job search, you will need to be informed of the hiring trends. This informs your networking strategy and understanding of how your skills are relevant. Your LinkedIn news feed is a start. But you’ll need to talk to others in your industry and get insider information. Get ready to maintain a dynamic career outlook. Take control of your career today because you have a “say” in your work life.

I, among others, have commented on the tone-deafness of corporations justifying how they are making money while people are at home than having people in the office. I’ve read countless articles that adhere to the corporate gospel and see how money is more seamlessly made by what the company saves.

I’m sure they vastly differ depending on the type of business. I have some random and partially impaired thoughts I’ll share for the record. I’m someone who talks about this constantly on my live stream shows from one angle or another.

Here are constant talking points you may agree or disagree with how companies are saving money, or maybe they aren’t:

👉🏾 Is PTO (Personal Time Off) less requested now but will it be resumed?

👉🏾Utility costs were significantly lower for those in the office but are rising for homeowners. Does that mean employers should reimburse remote working employees?

👉🏾 Will harassment suits of sorts (race, gender, and equity) occur less frequently because of remote work? Nope. Not according to this report stating that it has increased.

👉🏾 Did companies save money through fewer worker’s compensation claims? There’s not a straight answer. But some states are trying to include first responders and health care workers.

👉🏾 Reduced use of amenities and condiments (sounds like a musical) and snacks. Food for thought, eh?

👉🏾 Reduction in space and maintenance costs is still arguable, and time will tell.

👉🏾Office supplies have several layers to peel back. There’s a shortage of everything office-related, including office furniture.

👉🏾Construction is also a continuing saga with more to come, tied to other industries.

Yet:

👎🏾Google says they consider paying a higher salary for in-office work days and less for a remote.

👎🏾Facebook says they will pay less for locations outside the office.

👎🏾LinkedIn says workers can stay remote.

Dig in and start envisioning what your future workplace and ideal circumstances will look like for you. If you give it enough thought and planning, you can make it work for you.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.

by Jordan Perez

4 Ways to Market Yourself to Ensure Employability After a Career Break

Editor’s note: Today’s article is written by Jordan Perez. Her bio is below the article.

Leaving the workplace can be a hard thing, but sometimes it’s a part of life. Needs in your family arise, and you are no longer able to carry the workload you did before. Your health can deteriorate, and it becomes a full-time job to figure out what’s going on and how to heal. Other personal reasons can lead to a time of unemployment, and once those end, you find yourself starting all over again with employment.

When it’s time to enter back into the workplace, there’s a lot of insecurity and unsure about exactly how to go about that. We compiled the best four tips for marketing yourself after being out of the workplace–what to do, what not to do, and how to get back into that dream job–enjoying it more than ever before.

1. Begin to view your hours during the day as working hours, even before you’re officially employed.

Getting back into the workplace takes work. Following the next three tips will require devoted time and effort on your part. One of the best ways to get back into the workplace is to begin to treat your daytime hours as working hours.

Guard this time from family, friends, and social expectations to make sure you have the time needed to educate yourself, network, apply for jobs, and interview.

It can be hard to do this when your friends and family may still see you as available and “unemployed”, so it may require setting firm boundaries and communicating your new routine and schedule to your loved ones so that they can know what to expect and how to best support you as you enter back into the workforce.

Marketing-wise, this will get you and your schedule ready to be free and available to meet for interviews, which will communicate to your future employers that you have no time obstacles in returning right into the workforce, and that you are already disciplined with your private time, which will make you a great and productive addition to their staff.

2. Re-educate yourself and find ways to improve your skill set.

After being out of the workforce for a period, your peers and former co-workers have the advantage of measurable growth and improvement during the weeks, months, or years they have continued in their places of work while you had other obligations.

Many of them are educated and trained in the latest software, have the latest contacts, and know which conversations are the hot topics around clients and bosses.

It’s vital to refresh and sometimes re-educate yourself in what’s new and needed in your field of expertise. With the extra time you have during the day to pursue employment, you can take crash courses in all of the necessary subjects and trends to make sure you’re not only up-to-date with your peers, but maybe even a step ahead because of the extra time you have to study.

Many places offer free online courses and certifications that can be reflected on your resume. A business coach in your field is a great way to not only learn the latest trends and invest in some one-on-one advice and counsel, but it can also be a great way to network with others in your field and find out the current tips and tricks for your workplace.

3. Improve your online presence.

This age is all about technology, and whether you like that or not, your online presence could need some brushing up, updating, and improving.

First of all, take a look at your private social media accounts. If you search for your name on the web, what do you see? Chances are, depending on your privacy settings, your personal life could be accessible to future employers, and any heated opinions or discussion held could negatively affect your ability to be hired. Better to keep private life private, so take a look at your social media accounts and delete things or adjust your privacy settings.

Second, take a look at your networking sites, mainly LinkedIn, to make sure that they currently reflect who you are and your areas of expertise. List current classes or certifications completed, volunteer work done, and educational books read. Start boldly interacting with your peers, former co-workers, and even those who are friends-of-friends and people that you think you’d like to get to know.

The more interaction you give these social media sites, the more you will pop up in others’ news feeds and minds. This can have a positive impact when you next interview for a job and someone recognizes you from a social media site because of the positive contributions you’ve made to discussions and interactions. Click here for further assistance.

4. Don’t feel the need to excuse your absence, but highlight your personal development.

When interviewing or getting together with old colleagues, don’t feel a need to explain the personal reasons for your time off. In the end, you don’t owe an explanation to anyone. Instead, make sure to spend some personal time thinking through how this absence has made you into a better person and employee, and the positive impact that this time in your life has had.

Sometimes, the most valuable employee are those with the interpersonal skills and gifts that come simply through living life and making it through all the ups and downs that can come at you–including taking time off from employment. Acknowledge the good that these times have brought about in your life, and leverage them in your conversations to show that they have not only improved you but made you into an ideal employee with both work and life experience.

Entering the workplace again after time off can be unnerving and scary, but the only person is thinking negatively about all of it may just be you. Following these four steps can give you the mindset shift needed to market yourself as the experienced, helpful, and necessary employee that companies need, and land you the job of your dreams.

About Jordan Perez

Jordan Perez is a human resource expert with over 10 years’ experience helping HR managers and employees create better work relations. She’s also an avid freelance writer who has been published in online magazines and cooperate websites. When she is not engaged in HR developments, she loves hitting the road to see new places.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

The One Reason I Have Deleted Your Connection Request and Employers Won’t Hire You

I understand why employers won’t hire you

Lots of connection requests. So little tolerance for ignorance. It doesn’t make any sense. I’m not a superstar, but I love to write, hack, reimagine, help, consult, and “let my freak flag fly.” I get a lot of requests for job search advice, and I feel obligated to answer most of them. I understand why employers won’t hire you. Let me explain.

I denied your connection request. I don’t know who you are. Whether you have a photo with no profile bio or a bio with no characterization, it’s a fail. I will take a minute at times to check out who you are because maybe you’re just getting started. Your job search is suffering. You’re canceled.

via GIPHY

Listen to Personal Branding for the Modern Job Seeker

Be more like Sarah. Let me introduce Sarah as an example.

Sarah has followed me for years. Like four years and rarely asks a question. She likes my content, and now and then, dm’s me for career advice. Yes, I gave her free advice. I gave her advice without hesitation breaking the entrepreneurial rule of “free information.” I have no problem. I have gotten tenfold back in return.

I know Sarah as she has moved from several states. Her boyfriend (she says “boy toy”) works for the government, and she has sworn me to secrecy what he does. Let’s just say she has no reason to work other than to secure her future. She is a college professor with tenure and currently is on hiatus to write her third book. The book she says, “…unless you have interned at NASA and practice as a part-time sociopath, would never know it exists.” Well, why does she follow me? Why does she share my content? Why does she congratulate me on every milestone? I don’t know. It doesn’t matter.

Oh, I went to her university profile page at the private college where she teaches. She is everything she told me and then some. I can’t say because we have a discretionary agreement. I went to my college library online. I found three of her research papers–17 other collaborators between them all. She says she has written more.

When I first connected with Sarah in 2012, she did not have a profile picture. I connected with her anyway because her social profile was evident. Yes, clarity in everything is everything. She has a quality profile picture now.

There are profiles with the picture without clarity. I don’t want to connect with you either. Neither does an employer.

Read The Best Job Search Personal Branding Advice of 2016

Companies want clarity. At least a bird’s eye view.

In “Manhattan,” Woody Allen’s character suggests his famous actor friend he’s a fraud. His sitcom has a laugh track during unfunny jokes. Sitcoms today still do this, and you know the jokes are, well, not funny. Most of these sitcoms are canceled.

via GIPHY

Is your profile like the sitcom with a laugh track?

In a recent article, more than 60 percent of companies won’t interview a candidate not online,

“The study found that 61 percent of employers conduct social screenings to look for information that supports a candidate’s qualifications for the job, 50 percent want to make sure the candidate has a professional online persona, and 37 percent want to see what other people are posting about the candidate. Just 24 percent of those surveyed check social media to search for reasons not to hire someone. ” ~Business News Daily, June 16, 2017

I find it an anomaly when people ask for advice, to connect, and own incomplete social profiles.

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They are inconsiderate when they don’t say why they want to connect. We don’t have common connections. Other than breathing we have don’t have common interests from what I can tell. Employers won’t either. Recruiters won’t acknowledge your existence.

Be like Sarah. You don’t have to stalk (or maybe you should), but be findable. Try connecting with me again and hopefully, you have a photo and a profile summary. A live audience that laughs a little is better than a laugh track responding to a lousy joke. Anytime.