The Voice of Job Seekers

Mark Anthony Dyson ★ Career Writer ★ Speaker ★ Thinker ★ Award-winning Blog & Podcast! ★ "The Job Scam Report" on Substack! ★ I hack and reimagine the modern job search!

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7 Lies Your Conscience or Others Told You About Being Laid Off or Fired to Ignore

Interestingly, people who cheer for the disparaging narratives make separated employees the villains or “bad employees.”

I go through Twitter or LinkedIn and put the words “layoff poor performers” in the search box, and as sure as snowstorms in Buffalo cheering on a company to lay off those who “don’t put in the work.”

For example:

Managers give competitive ratings to employees and are told (in many companies) only can be considered high performers. Some managers make layoff decisions unnecessarily complicated, and the bottom line is good employees can be “poor” performers.

When you’re laid off under the guise of poor performance, this could stain your work record if you let it. Any separation from a company categorized as “poor” is subjective and is not a death sentence these days.

I explain in the video below you can’t allow companies under any circumstances to dictate your career’s narrative. I also wrote a Payscale article to help you define and disregard the self-effacing thoughts about what people or your past projected you about an unwanted separation from a company.

Hint: It’s not the end. Not even close.

I should mention most companies don’t offer a performance rating when a potential employer of an ex-employee calls for a reference. You should ask and agree nothing should be said about performance.

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.

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Today’s Millennials and Their Take on Careers with Hilary Sutton

Today’s Millennials and Their Take on Careers with Hilary Sutton

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For my Gen X and baby boomer listeners, it’s time to listen to millennials about their take on work. My guest, Hilary Sutton, speaks as a writer, a researcher, and a millennial.

Here are three ways you can let us know:

  • 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]

Let me tell you a little bit about Hilary:

Hilary Sutton and she has a podcast “Hustle and Grace.” She contributes career advice for USA Today as well as other publications and an actress.
Earlier this year Hilary wrote a long-form report called “Marketing Hiring Trends” for McKinley Marketing Partners.

Highlights from our discussion:

  • Fewer millennials are actively on the job search than non-millennials. The numbers indicate greater job satisfaction.
  • Millennials are not as money motivated as you might think. In many cases, they would accept lower salaries if they come paired with other perks like a clear path for advancement or an open PTO policy
  • Millennials are by and large NOT drawn to perks that seem to make the workplace “cooler”: beer in the fridge or a ping pong table, etc. The more ‘perks’ an office has, often the more employees are expected to work long hours and not achieve a high value of millennials: work/life balance. Millennials like to keep their work and personal lives separate. If they value working from home, most likely they have already found a job to do that. It’s not a long-term career goal.
  • While they don’t care about those ‘office perks,’ millennials are hyper-aware of culture in the office, and it can make or break an experience for them. Taking the time to coach and congratulate millennials on job performance is huge and will impact their loyalty and retention. Regular team events (more than once a year) also builds bonds that mean a lot to millennials.
  • Millennials also value mentors and professional development and would welcome an optional mentor program in the workplace as well as professional development opportunities.
You can also sign up for my weekly newsletter at the top right of my page to be on the early list of my free e-Guide, “219 Modern Job Search Tips for 2019” to be sent to subscribers the third week of October!

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.

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How to Find Work That Matters w/ Mark Babbitt

How to Find Work That Matters w/ Mark Babbitt

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Welcome back to the fifth season of the podcast.
We are in an economy that has a four percent unemployment rate, and now many people are looking and leaping to new work opportunities. Are you looking for what you consider the best “fit” or are you taking the first job offer you get?
Mark Babbit, CEO of YouTern and President of WorkIQ says you have an opportunity to find work you care about.

Is work culture important to you? Here are three ways you can let us know:

  • 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 Mark Babbitt:

Mark has been on the podcast four times over the five years. He is constantly working on making the workplace a better environment for everyone. He has been featured in Forbes and The Wall Steet Journal.

Here are some highlights from our discussion:

  • We’re learning now After years of taking the first job that came along how important it is to feel fulfilled from our work and to feel like our work matters.
  • Culture has become important, happiness is becoming more important when they’re being compensated well.
  • “Fit” isn’t the important thing – companies should “hire to shake things up a little bit – feel apart of the culture, but help improve the culture.”
  • Shouldn’t companies hire for three to five years from now – hire for the culture you want in the future.
  • Have conversations with the manager before you sign on (78% leave the company because of their manager). Research the job seeker does go way beyond the about page. Is there an alignment of company values?
  • Verify what the company says about themselves by asking the interviewer, “What is it really like here? What is keeping you here?” Look for radical candor from the interviewer. If you don’t get real answers, perhaps it’s not the right fit for you.
  • Don’t ever assume you won’t find the right fit.
  • What is “workplace intelligence” and what job seekers can do to leverage it. Here are the seven:
  1. Culture & Workplace Climate Change
  2. Transformational Leadership
  3. Employee Engagement reimagined
  4. Optimistic Workplace
  5. Community Building
  6. Purpose Driven Performance
  7. Social Intelligence
Use my contact information above to inquire about individual or group coaching. Or leave a message anytime on the “send voicemail” button on the side of any page of my blog.
You can also sign up for my weekly newsletter at the top right of my page in order to be on the early list of my free e-Guide, “219 Modern Job Search Tips for 2019” to be sent to subscribers the third week of October!

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.