Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?

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Q. I really need to get out of my current job. Do you recommend that I quit before I find another job or should I stick this job out while I look for something else? I am really stuck on what to do.

A. As much as I would like to give you a firm answer, unfortunately, you are the only one in a position to determine whether or not to leave before you have another position. To help you make the right decision for you, consider these two points:

• Many people find it easier to look for work when they are not embroiled in the drama associated with their current position.

• There are potentially negative perceptions associated with candidates who are unemployed (I know, crazy right?!). Studies show that it is easier to find a new position when you are already employed, something that unemployed people know all too well.

I know that the above conflicting points aren’t likely to help you determine the right way forward, but at least your decision will be better informed. Whatever you decide to do, I certainly recommend that you focus on creating a really powerful new resume (and associated job search documents) to help shorten the time between now and your next big thing!

Bad Places to Work

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Last week, I published Outside Magazine's annual list of Best Places to Work. This week, I thought I'd say a few things about less desirable places to work.

Remember a couple years ago, when someone published a piece revealing the challenging work environment at Amazon? Well, unsurprisingly, that was not the last expose of unhealthy corporate cultures to go viral.

Recently, a previous employee at Uber published an article, detailing her turbulent employment at the rideshare company. The core of the issue? A male dominated and sexist corporate culture. You really just need to read the entire thing.

Sadly, what Susan Fowler wrote about Uber confirms the belief that many people have that HR departments exist solely to benefit the company. And while it would be ridiculous if that weren't true, there's more to the story.

HR departments best serve the company when employees are happy and heard. These are the kinds of HR departments I work with as a Business Consultant. Well oiled HR departments know that their job is to find and nurture the link between employee goals and the goals of the company.

So, when you're interviewing for your next job, ensure that the organization you're interviewing with values – truly values – employees' reasons for joining the company. Organizations that walk the talk will have employee-forward initiatives baked right into recruiting materials and employee literature.

Ask for specifics. 

And if you haven't already, take a look at Outside Magazine's Best Places to Work list for what healthy corporate cultures look like.

Best Places to Work in 2017

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Each year, I publish a link to Outside Magazine's Top 100 Places to Work. I value this list because it focuses on companies that place a premium on employee health and happiness.

Here's one of my favorites:

51. Geocaching (Seattle, Washington)
Geocaching says it has more than 3 million active worldwide users searching for treasure in every country except North Korea. The 75 employees at company headquarters on Lake Union in Seattle wear shirts reading “I play where I work” and receive unlimited ski lift tickets, inflatable kayaks, and hiking equipment. Staff are required to get out of the office to go caching during work hours.

As a Seattle resident, I know just how happy Geocaching's employees are. Plus, geocaching as an employee of Geocaching is the ultimate dogfooding!

Check out the list to see if there's a great employer near you. Colorado is well represented, so if you live near Denver, you're in luck!

Social Media, Corporate Privacy, and Security Clearances

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I pulled this post from the archives because i've been receiving a lot of questions about professional social media.

I’ve written a lot about the upsides of using social media in a professional capacity. I am actually surprised by how few professionals are actually leveraging social media in a professional capacity, given the clear benefits: enhanced professional networking, ability to establish yourself as a thought leader, and a forum for communicating your ideas, to name a few.

Perhaps some professionals avoid social media because, despite the benefits, social media can be a delicate dance, especially for professionals with access to sensitive information.

I work with a lot of executives and cleared professionals (professionals holding security clearances). I find that many of these clients are very leery of leveraging social media. It’s not that they are concerned about accidently communicating classified or sensitive data, they worry that simply participating in public forums can put their careers at risk. They are smart to worry, but cleared professionals do not have to be luddites.

My advice to these clients is the same as my advice to all clients. Social media is a powerful tool and reality of the modern professional landscape. Use it, but be extremely strategic. Here are a few quick tips:

Don’t over share – Sounds simple, but it can be challenging when you are trying to communicate professional accomplishments without disclosing – or even allowing for the perception of disclosing – sensitive information. Avoid sharing data like firm metrics and client names. Generalize and, if in doubt, leave it out.

Don’t disparage – Your probably thinking that this is common sense, but you probably are not considering that some achievements can be disparaging. For example, If I am communicating that I turned around a failing department or resolved a system security gap, I may be unintentionally communicating a major organizational failing.

Don’t over connect – Social media is a haven for corporate spies. I know that sounds like a John le Carré novel, but it is a fact. In an environment where any little bit of corporate data can provide a competitive edge, there is a lot of money to be made in industrial espionage. Be very mindful of who you are connecting and engaging with.

Social media provides professionals with access and a platform that was almost unimaginable just a few years ago. But, as with many tools, the risks are real. Don’t eschew the tool because of the risks – you wouldn't stop using knives because you could cut yourself – just use the tool mindfully.

How To Address a Cover Letter

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Q. I am having a hard time figuring out how to address my cover letter. For the salutation, do you think it is smart to do some research on LinkedIn and find the name of someone in HR and use that name on the cover letter? Is that too risky?

What kind of salutation would you recommend? Generally, I use "Dear Sir/Madam" when I cannot find a name, and "Dear Mr. Surname" or "Dear Mrs. Surname" when I can find someone from HR.

A. I wouldn’t use a specific name unless it has been provided by the company or a referral. That is not to say that you shouldn’t do your LinkedIn research (that is very smart), just don’t use a name that you find as it could be perceived as too forward.

If you don’t have a name, I recommend using “Dear Hiring Manager” as "Dear Sir / Madam" is too formal (even for a cover letter). Also, if you have a name from a requisition or referral, use it exactly as it has been provided and never assume gender.

Tips for Selecting a Good LinkedIn Profile Picture

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I hate talking about LinkedIn photos – as an HR professional it is upsetting to me that one's picture is increasingly being taken into account during the hiring process. My distaste (and the law) aside, it is a reality that your profile photo will play some role in the hiring process. With that in mind, I think it is time to resurface some tips for selecting an effective LinkedIn profile photo.

Here are some things to consider when selecting your LinkedIn (or other) profile picture:

Don’t crop a group photo – You may think that the photo of you with your arm around your buddies at a football game is the best picture of you. Your team won, you look genuinely happy, and the lighting is really good. That may all be true, but when that picture is cropped to be you and the shoulder of a friend, it’s going to look silly on your LinkedIn profile.

Go as high quality as possible – Pixelated, low-quality photos make terrible profile pictures. You may be striking just the perfect balance of professional and approachable, but if the quality is bad, it doesn’t matter. Always upload the highest quality picture possible.

Avoid the flash shadow – You’ve seen this picture. Someone standing in front of a cubical wall looking like a deer in the headlights with a horrible shadow behind their head. This kind of photo could make a nobel laureate look like an amateur. Good lighting matters – a lot.

Don't use a wedding photo – Ever.

In a perfect world, your LinkedIn profile picture would have zero relevance. But the fact is that readers will make immediate judgments based solely on your photo, so take it seriously. Plus, you've likely got a camera in your pocket that delivers the kind of quality photos once available only to professionals, so if you don't have a great picture to choose from, grab a friend, brush your hair, and go find some nice natural light.

Be Strategic With Your Resume

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\When developing a new resume for a client, I always take time to learn about any ideas they might have for the general approach. Are they entering into the process with a desire for a creative resume (something I encourage clients to reconsider)? Have they seen a resume that really resonated with them? It is important that I am aware of each client’s expectations and desires (or lack thereof) so that I can not only deliver the most effective possible, but also educate them when their expectations don’t align with accepted best practices (I’ll point you to that above link regarding creative resumes).

Recently, during the consultation process, a client mentioned “the rule of threes” – a recommendation that each position on a resume have exactly three accomplishments. I shared that while I think this is good advice in general – any guideline that recommends speaking to accomplishments on a resume is on the right track – I thought the approach was not strategic enough. My concern with a rule like “the rule of threes” is that it tends to give the same “weight” to every position on the resume, which is just not smart. Instead, I recommended that we lean more into recent roles and minimize the focus on older positions and less relevant experience, which is best accomplished by providing more accomplishments for recent positions and reducing the amount of information associated with earlier positions.

Regardless of your situation, make sure that you are being as strategic as possible when it comes to creating your new resume.

How To Find the Right Career

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I receive a number of e-mails from people expressing the increased need for work/life balance. This is a great point and allows me the opportunity to expand on this topic.

While I regularly make it very clear that you should find work that resonates and feels right, your job/career should never define you. I know that may sound strange coming from a Career Development and HR guy, but indulge me for a second.

The best jobs and careers are an extension of your strengths and values with (hopefully) a heavy dose of passion in the mix. Because that's the case – that fulfilling work is a natural extension of the best of you – your life will never be defined by your work. If you do the heavy lifting that's required to figure out who you are and what you should be doing with your life, work/life balance will rarely, if ever, be out of sync.

I want to ask you to address some questions that I've posed here before. Consider the following in 2017:

What changes do you want to make?

What will bring you more career satisfaction?

What necessary "next move" have you been delaying?

The number of people I meet in unfulfilling jobs/careers is alarming. There’s a huge price to pay when that’s the case. For one, unless you’re feeling fulfilled and in sync, that little voice in your head will always be nagging you – reminding you that you aren’t feeling so hot about your career. There’s a solution, though, that helps to quiet that nagging voice. Pursue fulfillment.

You see, if you are at the very least pursuing your purpose, you are “on purpose” and the voice is dulled. Many people view the job dilemma as an either/or sort of thing. You’re happy or you’re not. That’s what keeps people from taking steps forward. Tiny steps, even, that get them closer and closer to feeling in sync.

Fulfilling work that will resonate with you is within your reach. It starts by taking one step at a time. I’ve worked hard – and even faced a career refocusing – to become an expert and to differentiate myself within the field of Human Resources and Career Development. It wasn’t always easy, and I could have chosen to stay in upwardly mobile but ultimately unfulfilling jobs from my previous career track. My life is much richer all the way around because of the career shift I pursued.

Work/life balance starts with a happy, fulfilled you.

That's my wish for you in 2017.

You still have 11 months to make this your best year ever. Get started now!

Do I Need a Resume?

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From my inbox:

Q: I was just downsized after 14 years with the same company. Job-searching has changed a lot since the last time I was in the game. Is a resume still important?

A: This website is full of information addressing why a resume matters, but I'll direct you to a previous post that does a deep dive into the topic of why an outstanding resume matters.

Relocating To a New Country

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I work with a lot of international clients who are looking to make a move from one country to another. In many cases, these clients are not only facing the challenges associated with a typical job search but – in the case of individuals attempting to move to the States from abroad, for example – are also looking for an employer to host them (i.e. deal with securing necessary visas). If you think landing a new job is tough, try asking an employer to jump a bunch of government hurdles in order to bring you on.

The good news is that it is not impossible to relocate. People manage it all the time. However, if you are going to get an employer to take on the burden and risk associated with hosting you, you need to make it clear why you are unique – why the employer can't find someone locally who can fill the position (with much less hassle). And this is were new job search documents come in. A recent project is a perfect example…

I worked with an IT Director for a UK-based company's outposts in the Middle East. I subsequently learned that she secured an IT Management position with a corporate training services company here in the States. Of course, the job search documents we developed played just a small role in her success – her unique technical skill set and language competencies made her a very attractive candidate. However, her new job search documents helped to facilitate the process by outlining the unique value that she represented in a very compelling way. In other words, she looked like a candidate with no equal.

If you are attempting a major relocation, get in touch. We can work together to create some amazing job search documents that are sure to help with the transition.