value Archives - The Voice of Job Seekers

Ignoring Unemployment Data, and Why Your Values Mean Much More

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Your core values, like most, eventually means everything in your desired career choice. You’ll hear Nii-Ato Enchill-Bentsi, and I discuss in depth what you’ll need to know about using your values to guide your job search. And you’ll also hear an excerpt from my LinkedIn Live stream show with Jack Kelly about why you should ignore unemployment data.

I wrote up the show notes and embedded the live stream in this article.

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 [email protected]

More about Nii-Ato:

Nii Ato Bentsi-Enchill is the founder of AvenirCareers.com. Before going full-time as a business owner, he was Ivy Exec’s Senior Content Manager & Career Adviser. In addition to networking/job search strategy, LinkedIn, and resume writing, he uses his Psychology and Mental Health education as part of a holistic approach to career coaching.

If you want to see the whole video interview, you can watch it on my video channel.

Here are the highlights from our conversation:

During our conversation, we tried to answer three questions:

Who would benefit most from finding an employer with shared values?

Why is it important?

How would shared core values manifest itself into a job search strategy?

😎 Nii Ato: “Values are pretty essential in what I do as a career coach.”

😎 Work-life and personal life are similar – informs their career.

😎 Everyone benefits from focusing on their values when it comes to their career

😎 It affects what kind of culture you want to surround yourself with

😎 The pandemic has forced us into a place where we are questioning what we genuinely value.

😎 The access each person has to their daily life will include a chose workplace.

😎 We’re more “core valued centered” than ever with re-prioritizing family, the type of company, and your final destination in where you land next.

😎 Do a “values” inventory from the past of what worked and what didn’t

😎 You can’t seek out valued work or culture if you are applying to hundreds of jobs.

😎 Targeting companies in a thoughtful matter with values at the center can keep you working.

Reminder:

As the holiday season approaches, I may release three shows instead of two in November. Along with the shows, two of them will come with newsletters. I anticipate there will be new sign-ups for the E-book, “421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021.” There will be special announcements made exclusive to email sign-ups only.

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.

Teaching Young People Value and What it Means to Their Career (And Yours)

This article was originally published on the Good Men Project!

Learned values early on will benefit teens in the workplace and in life.

I didn’t value money the same way my dad did when it came to money. It changes from generation to generation for most of us in my view. For those of us who are Baby Boomers, we understood, and at times, we were forced to understand what our parents valued. It was critical because if you didn’t, you would miss out. It was Dad’s philosophy that counted the most.

My dad didn’t waste money in any way. He always talked about saving money.

He was so great at saving; he retired at 59. For many Baby Boomers like me, we will be working past 65, or won’t retire at all.

My dad saved coins. Lots of coins. He had a tray with a divider on his dresser categorized by types of coins: silver dollars, half dollars, quarters, nickels, and dimes. He didn’t waste money in any way. He always talked about saving money.

Me, the coin thing, not so much. I am thrifty, but not through coins. I just don’t spend a lot of money. My sons are the same way, and my wife as well, although she loves coin saving. She has tried to convince my sons to save coins but to no avail.

When both my sons were teens, my parents thought they were old enough to appreciate coin saving. When the new quarters were released, mom and dad started a coin collection for them. My parents called relatives and friends to help collect quarters from each state. It took them a few months to complete the collection but they did it! On a visit to New York, they wanted me to take the collection back to the boys. You should have seen the accomplishment glow in my parents’ eyes! They were extremely excited to share this collection with the boys.

The parallels are important for job seekers of all age but critical for our teen children to learn now.

Let me back up a bit. My wife loves coin-saving, so she can spend it. She would (and still does) save coins to go shopping as part of her MAD MONEY. To her credit, it was to save up for the boys to get what they needed and sometimes wanted. At times, it was for herself. That change was spent.

So back to my visit with my parents, who proudly presented me with the quarter collection they spent so much time and effort on. They asked me to take it back to them. With all of the parental data I collected, at that moment, I just asked them to hold on to it. That was four years ago, and they still have it. The reason wasn’t only the boys will want to spend it. In monetary value, it was $11.25. In its true value, it was hours, time, thought, love, encouragement, and hope in collecting it.

I didn’t want to give that away to be under-appreciated. At least at that time.

The parallels are important for job seekers of all age but critical for our teen children to learn now:

1.- Employers will not give away what they value to someone who doesn’t try to understand. A career is more than duties and responsibilities. Whatever you contribute to an employer is increasing the value of the position and the company. They need to know you will and how you will.

2.- Do you understand your value? Is it only summarized by its cash value? That’s the difference between finding a job or gaining a career. How much work have you invested through time, education (not necessarily college or trade school), enduring hardships, and learning through failure?

3.- Employers mostly hire those who establish value wins for both sides. If there isn’t a sense of satisfaction for both the employer and candidate, then eventually everyone loses. If I gave the coins to my boys at that time, although appreciated initially, them squandering the collection would have broken my parents.

Similarly, by hiring the wrong person, employers would feel their investment is similarly squandered. Hiring today takes nearly 60 days although it is bound to get shorter in days to come. In the meantime, companies are scrutinizing each candidate more and more.

4.- Does your reputation (or personal brand) determine how you will be entrusted with a sacred opportunity? What are others saying about your behavior, work, and response to a crisis?

5.- Do you know why it’s a sacred opportunity – to the employer? Your research needs to tell you why. Your actions must display that you’re convinced you should bring dignity to that position. How? Focus on skills and measured results as proof!

No one has equal value as no one values equally. What we value as parents will change, upgrade and downgrade and for our children, it will be the same at a faster pace. In years to come, they will have two or three remote jobs, and learning what employers need will be critical as the expectation for good work, perpetual learning, and business savvy are basic means for survival.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

Job Seekers, This is How You Compromise Your Value

Most of us, employed, unemployed, or under appreciated feels underpaid. A good portion of America is underemployed and not using our true talents. Many of us are swindled out of the value we bring to our employers and at times, talked out of our value. We are conned, and fooled with by a savvy and smooth talking boss or potential employer that says that changes are coming.

Although the art of negotiating is a shifting and fluid craft few of us learn and master, we fail to communicate our true value. It happens in dating and marriage, friendships, networking, contracts, and everywhere else. This happens daily somewhere in the world at performance reviews. By the end of this article, consider the quality time you’ll need to avoid such the very of your worth if nothing else for your future.

I ran across an old comedy routine from many years ago by Abbott and Costello called “Payday.” This is a perfect example of the ways that people often are de-valued. Let’s be clear: If you know and understand your value, then it is unlikely you will allow someone to talk you out of your value no matter how much power someone holds.

As part of Abbott and Costello’s shtick, Costello is the one that plays the excitable, vulnerable straight man who is always out of sorts through the confusion and at times, a little gullible. Abbott is the straight talking mastermind of the two who is quick on his feet and mostly his mouth. Depending on the version of “PayDay” you see or read, the better in my opinion is when Costello works for Abbott for one dollar a day.

Costello says, “I Quit” knows and remember the terms of his hiring, but for him, that ends his ability to gain ground and get the money he deserves. This is where we learn how we go wrong in standing our ground. If you want to see an adaptation of the original sketch, then check it out here.

1) Make sure that you are wrong

Lou Costello: I’m working for you, and you owe me a whole year’s salary!

Bud Abbott: Wait a minute …

Lou Costello: 365 days, 365 dollars, you owe me a dollar a day.

Bud Abbott: Wait a minute, let’s straighten this out.

Lou Costello: Pay me up!

Abbott doesn’t agree with the terms, but he just agrees that there are 365 days in a year. Although Costello maybe right, he is too much of a hurry to listen and slow down. Abbott says he wants to “straighten this out,”but the way he wants to settle is not in Costello’s favor. You must communicate in a way that forces people to listen, which may mean to lower your voice, not raise it.

In addition, using incendiary language only fuels confusion and emotion, not bridge the gap. When Costello says, “Pay me up,” this only makes Abbott respond defensively. It is one of the last things you want. But, we want to inflame the person and the issue, and forgo any value maintained. So far, so good!

The best way to compromise your value is to focus solely on money.
2) Be emotional, confused, and unfocused

Bud Abbott: You say you worked 365 days for me, and you want to be reimbursed.

Lou Costello: Look, I don’t want to burst anything! Just give me my money, 365 bucks, I’ll get out.

Bud Abbott: Okay, look, now don’t get excited, take it easy. Now, listen. How many hours a day did you work?

Lou Costello: Eight hours a day.

Bud Abbott: And how many hours are there in a day?

Lou Costello: Look, now Abbott, don’t try to put anything over on me. There’s 24 hours in a day, all but February, which has 28.

Bud Abbott: You’re absolutely right, there are 24 hours in a day. But by working 8 hours you only really worked one-third of each day, isn’t that right?

Lou Costello: That’s according to the way you figure it.

Abbott convinced him that in a subtle and slick way that he was getting paid one dollar for 24 hour work day instead of eight. Costello was too excitable, which is perfect, because excitable people overlook the smaller logical things to get results.

Of course, you can be confused about what you deliver. Nothing said about the work you do. No valuable project to point to as an accomplishment. Only that you worked a lot of days. What a shame! You seal the deal by letting someone else figure your value for you to which Costello surrenders to Abbott’s thinking, “That’s according to the way you figure it.”

3) Only you should win, and get what you want

Bud Abbott: Well, one-third of 365 is about 121 dollars. So you only actually have 121 dollars coming to you. That’s the way I reckon it

Lou Costello: You sure are wreckin’ it! Come on, give it up, give me the dough.

Bud Abbott: Well, you did have 121 dollars coming, but …

Lou Costello: I knew there was a but in it.

Bud Abbott: But you didn’t work Sundays, did you?

Lou Costello: No, I had to take a day off to wash my lingerie!

Bud Abbott: All right, there are 52 Sundays in a year, deduct 52 from 121 dollars which leaves 69 dollars coming to you.

Lou Costello: You’re sure of that?

Bud Abbott: Positive!

Lou Costello: You see, I don’t want you to cheat yourself.

Bud Abbott: Now, that’s mighty nice of you, to look out for my interests.

If your boss is a fast talker like Abbott, and you are often a victim of his banter, then you know that his logic will have twists and curves to confuse you. It’s not that you didn’t anticipate problems by getting it all in writing, but by not preparing for his forgetfulness, you lose.

My first apartment that I rented had a lease and regulations in renting the apartment, but I was to receive the last month free. Since it was not a part of my lease, I had to pay the last month’s rent. I didn’t anticipate them potentially losing the lease or at least including my last month free.

Only if Abbott and Costello documented his wants in writing at the beginning. If you want frustration and to lose value to your employer, don’t put anything in writing.

4) Like Stevie Wonder said once, “You Haven’t Done Nothing!”

Bud Abbott: All right, I’ll be glad to give you the 69 dollars, but …

Lou Costello: Hold on to your hats, here we go again! Look, Abbott, give me a couple of dollars. How’s that?

Bud Abbott: Well, you must admit you only worked a half a day on Saturday, isn’t that right, partner?

Lou Costello: Partner! Now that I’m losing money, I’m a partner! Look, will you give me a dollar? I’ll settle … give me a half a buck.

Bud Abbott: Now wait a minute! Wait a minute, just a second. Just a minute, now where was I?

Lou Costello: You just had a toehold on my 69 dollars.

Bud Abbott: Oh yes, yes. A half a day on Saturdays, 52 Saturdays in a year, one half of 52 is 26, so you will deduct 26 from 69, leaving you the sum of 43 dollars.

Don’t bother talking about what you have accomplished. Your boss will not address the good or bad in your work. Costello at this point is just trying to get something before leaving without mentioning the work he’s done. If you want a measurement of your career, look at what you measured. That is what it means to you, and your employer gets it before you do.

5) You’ll “settle “

In the same segment above, Costello has given up, just like you do.

Ha! You fall for the trap of settling for anything. No research, no due diligence, no other conversations that will help you gain perspective on whom you are and what you deliver. Is it laziness? Maybe. Neglect? Maybe. It’s very hard work to understand what the boss will say, or your business partner, or anyone else. You’ll settle.

Is it that easy for you to be talked out of your value? You don’t take steps forward by not “wanting to be bothered!” Protect your value and want you offer as much effort as your life.

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