How Amazon's New Headquarters Will Disrupt Competition for Tech Talent
The bidding war is over: Amazon is moving to the Big Apple and next door to the nation's capital. The company's selection of New York City and Northern Virginia for its new headquarters is a major win for the combined 50,000 people Amazon will employ in those regions. Labor market participants will have many more job opportunities to choose from, and considering Amazon's high-profile...
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How to Audit Your Candidate Experience From End to End
Back when every organization had multiple candidates clamoring for each of its open jobs, employers could expect job seekers to put up with outdated candidate experiences. Poorly designed careers pages, limited communication with hiring managers, and lowball offers were not only common — they were the norm. However, the tables have turned. Today's candidates know they're in high...
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How to Brand Your Business as an Employee Development Destination
As the unemployment rate has dropped, attracting talent has become increasingly difficult. To set themselves apart from competitors in this climate, businesses must craft and maintain strong employer brands that catch candidates' attention. Determining your employer branding strategy takes careful thought, planning, and consistency. For your employer brand to attract the right talent, it...
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How to Not Suck as a Speaker: 15 Ideas
When I was in eighth grade, I gave the commencement speech at my middle school graduation. I practiced hard, wrote and rewrote, selected my outfit, and delivered a powerhouse speech. Everyone from the teachers to my peers thought I'd surely pursue some sort of career in public speaking. As the years wore on, however, I gravitated more toward writing. It started with creative writing,...
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Why Al Desko Lunches Are Bad for You – and Your Boss!
Eating your lunch with one eye on your email inbox has become commonplace for most of us, especially during this time of year. As time pressures and tight deadlines pile up ahead of the new year, we are all striving to finish our work before the holiday hits. But in the whirlwind of daily office life, are we considering just how many future issues and expenses we're setting ourselves and...
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4 Simple Ways to Stand Out During Your Job Search
Embarking on a new job search can be a stressful, overwhelming experience. In order to secure the right position for yourself, you need to find a way to stand out from the hundreds of other applicants vying for the same opening in the job market. A great resume and cover letter are necessary starting points, but they are far from enough. Go the extra mile by deploying these strategies during...
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This New Year, Let Go of Fear
Any time we approach a new year, there's a lot of talk about setting new goals for our careers, our families, our fitness, or other personal pursuits. For me, it's interesting to think about which goals will be achieved and which will be shelved. I often wonder: Is success driven primarily by the particular goal, or by the person achieving it? My belief is that the achievers do, in...
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How to Explain — and Make the Most of — an Employment Gap
Career-orientated people don't make a habit of missing work, but sometimes things beyond our control can pull us out of the workforce. Anyone can face an employment gap, but women are especially prone to them, which can exacerbate the wage gap, contribute to low numbers of women in the C-suite, and leave younger women without female mentors and advisors in the workforce. Part of the...
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Start Your New Year Off Right: Get a Raise With These 11 Tips
Knowing how to ask for a raise is a skill that will serve you well throughout your entire professional career. Even a small annual increase can significantly improve your financial standing, allowing you to pay off debt faster, save more aggressively, or go on more vacations. However, asking for a raise is rarely as simple as it seems. If you're new to the workforce, have never asked for...
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5 Inspirational Quotes to Help You Navigate a Career Change
Changing careers involves a lot of adjusting. You may feel a little lost along the way. You might even have moments when you think it'd be better to throw in the towel. Don't give up! Dig deep for motivation, never forget why you started this journey, and keep going until you've accomplished what you set out to do. When I need motivation, I like to collect inspirational quotes I can...
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5 Essential Steps for Building an Effective Talent Pipeline
To grow and succeed, businesses need to define, attract, and develop the right mix of critical talent. Unfortunately, many businesses wait for employees to quit before searching for replacements. This reactive process puts them a few steps behind their competitors when it comes to finding the best talent for their roles. To ensure it has a steady flow of the right talent that can be tapped...
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Should I Stay or Should I Go? How to Determine If That New Job Is a Good Fit
Surfing the job boards one day, you come across an ad for what seems like the perfect role for you. You send in an application, and you hear back from the employer right away with a request for an interview. You go in for your first interview, which you ace, followed by a few more, which also go well. A week later, the phone rings. You got the job. You show up to work on your first day,...
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6 Reasons to Quit Your Job Today
If you dread going to work, you're not alone. In fact, only 15 percent of workers around the world are engaged at work, according to Gallup. What gives? Why do so many people suffer through jobs they don't like all that much instead of jumping ship? It doesn't have to be that way. There's always something better out there. If any of these five things is happening to you, it's time to...
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The 10 Secrets of Retaining Great Manufacturing Employees
With the economy booming and unemployment at record lows, talent management has become more critical for business success. While many organizations offer huge sales commissions, signing bonuses, and nontraditional perks like flextime and ping-pong tables in Google-esque offices, these same incentives don't necessarily work in a manufacturing setting. What can organizations in this sector...
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4 Principles for Learning What Your Employees Really Think About Work
While soliciting employee feedback can build trust and drive performance, gathering feedback and not acting on it does more harm than good. Employee engagement is a topic that has been explored in great depth in HR and management literature, but truly understanding your people and responding effectively to what you learn is easier said than done. Here are four less-than-obvious principles...
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More Than Just Eggnog: Holiday Parties Are Perfect Networking Opportunities
Chances are you've got holiday parties coming up in both your work and personal lives — and you might not be able to avoid them! These parties can be draining, especially for those of us who are introverts. This time of year can be rough for everyone, though. It can feel like there's just no room for yet another item on the to-do list! However, if you're planning to be on the job...
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14 End-of-the-Year Employee Gift Ideas That Won't Break the Budget
Giving gifts to your employees around the holidays is a great way to show your appreciation and boost office morale. As a business owner, of course, you need to balance your giving spirit with your budget. Unless you had a particularly lucrative year, you won't want to blow hundreds of dollars per employee on flashy gifts just to say you did. Thankfully, there are a lot of fun gifts you...
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Look the Part: How to Make a Great First Impression at Your Interview
We all like to think our shot at securing a dream job is solely a matter of our abilities. Unfortunately, this isn't entirely the case. A number of factors can influence your success in an interview, and whether or not we like to admit it, image and looks are two of them. This might sound superficial at first glance, but the way you present yourself truly does say a lot about how you...
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What It's Like to Work for a Regulated Company
Most financial products are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which create sets of regulatory frameworks to which businesses must conform. Someone who is new to working in a regulated environment should be aware that it is different from working in other industries due to the strict procedures in place to...
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The 6 Best Careers for Introverts
The modern workplace holds many challenges for introverts. The noise and distractions of open-plan offices are not conducive to an introvert's best work, and collaborative porjects are often prioritized above individual efforts. In the right roles, however, introverts can really thrive. Here are six careers where introverts can use their gift for calm, focused effort to its...
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4 Reasons Your Resume Is Being Ignored
Have you spent hours upon hours writing what you thought was the perfect resume, only for it to be consistently ignored by hiring managers? The job market is highly competitive, and your resume is up against tens or hundreds of others every time you apply for a job. Before sending your resume out to another role, address these common weaknesses that may be holding you back: 1. Your...
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Do Your Employees Feel a Sense of Purpose at Work? 4 Questions to Ask:
Many companies boast of altruistic mission statements and entice job seekers by highlighting their purpose-driven cultures. But as well meaning as these efforts may be, even employees in highly mission-driven organizations can have trouble feeling a sense of purpose in their work. For those who seek to make a positive impact on the world, this disconnect between what the company says and...
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5 Tips for Recruiting Cybersecurity Talent
Good cybersecurity talent is hard to find. With cybercrime damages expected to reach $6 trillion annually by 2021, the increased demand for qualified workers is putting pressure on an already tight talent market. As it stands, the lack of labor power in this sector may be the biggest cybersecurity risk of all. It is estimated there will be upwards of 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity...
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For Entrepreneurs, It Is Much Harder to Stay at the Top Than to Get There
As you reflect on 2018 and start charting a course for the new year, you're likely focusing on the trajectory of your business. Whether your are aiming for the top of your industry, your niche, or your competitive set, sustaining success over time is often the biggest challenge for entrepreneurs. One of the main reasons it is so hard to sustain success is that entrepreneurs often lose...
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How to Survive the Office Holiday Party When You're an Introvert
It's not that you don't like your coworkers. In fact, you really enjoy working with them. You like stopping to chat in the hallways, or eating lunch with a small group of your colleagues every once in a while. But you're an introvert, which means social interactions can be exhausting for you, rather than invigorating. You're not looking forward to toughing it out at the office holiday...
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Amid a Talent Crunch, Retail Recruiters Compete on Speed
Every year, there's some shift in the competition among retailers for workers, just as in retailers' competition for shoppers. iCIMS recently looked through its own data and uncovered three significant developments for this industry that employs 1 in 10 Americans. In 2018, there were more jobs and less competition among candidates for them, yet retailers were quicker to fill their open...
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Bonus and Bounce: A Solution to Holiday Churn
In December, your employees will celebrate their hard-earned bonuses. By January, many of those same employees will have disappeared. The "bonus and bounce" is a seasonal loss we take for granted, akin to the trees shedding their leaves. However, I think the bonus and bounce doesn't have to be inevitable, and popular retention tactics aren't helping us counter it. We focus too much on...
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Highlight Your Value by Integrating These 5 Skills Into Your Resume
It is important that your resume effectively articulates your accomplishments and what you can bring to the table. Otherwise, how will you stand out from all the other applicants and land the position? Your resume must be accomplishment-based, rather than responsibility-based. That is, your resume should highlight what you've achieved instead of simply stating that you hold a certain...
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4 Benefits of a Diverse, Inclusive Workplace
If a company is going to flourish in today's business environment, it needs to foster an inclusive and diverse workplace. You can't just have one or the other. You need both. Companies have shown that having one without the other can cause turmoil, such as was the case with Google's mass employee walkouts earlier this year. In that instance, there was diversity without...
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Keep the Holidays Happy by Considering These 5 Workplace Policies This Season
For many people, the holiday season means decking the halls, singing loud so all can hear, watching comforting movies, enjoying quality time with family and friends, and fa-la-la-la-la-ing. For many employers, however, the season can cause significant headaches unrelated to excessive eggnog consumption. Rather than getting caught on the naughty list, smart employers use the season —...
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How to Become a Mortgage Advisor
Whether you are looking to take your career to a new level or you are fresh out of school, becoming a mortgage advisor can be a very good option, especially for those with an interest in finance, property, and working with people. If you are considering this as a career option, we have a few simple steps to help you get your dream job in mortgage advisory today: Do Your...
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For a Fairer Hiring Process, Put Candidates Through the Ringer
One of my most intense interviews ever was for a project management role at Target. The process was unlike anything I had ever seen in the labor market up to that point. Target flew me to Minneapolis one evening, with a day of interviews to follow. As I look back now, the day itself is a total blur. So much happened in a relatively tiny amount of time. I had multiple individual interviews...
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6 Questions to Ask Before Giving Feedback
Giving feedback is a regular part of any job. Some people are placaters, giving generic praise whether it's warranted or not. They aim to please, but nobody likes a yes-man. Others have a habit of going on the warpath, listing anything and everything wrong in excruciating detail. Critics like that don't make for harmonious working relationships or productive projects. It's understandable...
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The 4 Most Common Workplace Injuries and How to Prevent Them
In 2016, there were more than a million injuries in American workplaces that resulted in days away from work. Many of these nonfatal occupational injuries cost organizations thousands of dollars when they occur — and they are almost completely avoidable. You should already have a health and safety policy in place for your staff. To ensure your policy is as strong as can be, review these...
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Battling the Skills Gap Through Self-Directed Professional Development
Kelly Palmer is the chief learning and talent officer at Degreed and the coauthor, with Daivd Blake, of The Expertise Economy: How the Smartest Companies Use Learning to Engage, Compete, and Succeed. She has held prestigious positions with a variety of organizations, including chief learning officer at LinkedIn, vice president of learning at Yahoo!, and executive roles in learning,...
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How to Get Your New Employer to Help With Your Student Loan Repayment
If you regret that working in the private sector has limited your access to government-funded student loan forgiveness, here's a piece of good news: Regardless of where you work or what position you hold, you can still qualify for employer-offered student loan repayment assistance. You just have to find an employer willing to offer it. Where to Find Employers Offering Student Loan...
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Managing Holiday Stress Within the Workplace
The holidays can be a stressful time, even when mental health issues aren't part of the dynamic. However, when employees are also dealing with things like anxiety and depression, coping with the challenges of both work and the holiday season can be overwhelming. The good news is that when employers provide the right mental health resources, a healthier and happier workplace can be the...
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Encourage Your Employees to Have a Work BFF
When you spend one-third of every weekday in the same place with the same people, you're bound to make a few connections that are as personal as they are professional. Office friendships represent a unique type of social interaction, but one that is crucial to employee happiness and retention. While the received wisdom may say socializing at work leads to low productivity and other...
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4 Elements of a Job Seeker's Holiday Networking Newsletter
Like me, you may receive holiday newsletters from friends and relatives. You may look forward to receiving these yearly letters — or dread them because they carry on for pages, spilling personal information best saved for a therapist. For job seekers, however, holiday newsletters can serve as great networking tools, if written properly. After all, you're sending these holiday...
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Is the Internet Sabotaging Your Job Search?
If you're searching for a job today, it's not only your resume that needs polishing. Chances are the hiring manager at your dream job is just as interested in your online reputation. Your personal and professional activities leave behind a digital footprint that is massive, public, and searchable. Web searches, marriages, divorces, home purchases, job histories, customer reviews, legal...
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Express Yourself in Your LinkedIn Photo — As Long as It Fits Industry Norms, That Is
By this point, most of us are familiar with LinkedIn. The social media site for professional networking has become a staple of the recruiting world. Job seekers use it to connect with opportunities, and recruiters and hiring managers use it to scope out leads. Every part of an applicant's LinkedIn profile says something about them — even the profile photo. Be certain that if you are...
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A Simple Plan to Reduce Healthcare Costs and Attract Top Talent
Average premiums for family healthcare coverage have risen 55 percent in the last 10 years, and they are projected to keep rising. Research has shown that diet and health are closely related, and with healthcare costs so out of control, perhaps it's time for companies to start proactively using food as medicine for their employees. In fact, it seems many people are already doing this for...
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How Candidate Rediscovery Gives Recruiters the Edge
For years, recruiters have sought the secret to getting an unbeatable competitive edge in the talent market. Finally, they may have found it, thanks to new technology that uses AI to rediscover candidates in recruiters' existing talent pools. Your preexisting candidate database can be a potent tool for filling positions with the most qualified individuals in less time. Indeed, talent...
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4 Strategies to Help You Negotiate The Salary You Deserve
According to CNN, the average American worker saw a salary increase of 3 percent in 2018 — but when adjusting for inflation, that only translates to a 1 percent raise. If you're underpaid, don't feel discouraged. Know that it can happen to anyone — and that it can be overcome. Know the Facts About Underpayment One key thing to know is that staying within your current role or...
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How to Recruit the Right Personality for Any Sales Role
As 2019 rapidly approaches, we are still discussing bias in the recruitment process. It's an important topic that will continue to spark conversation well into the future — not because of ill-meaning recruiters, but because of lingering unconscious and trained biases. You may be aware of these biases — and you're not alone. In fact, the majority of recruiters (57 percent) surveyed...
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Overcoming the Employee Perception Problem of Fitness Tracking
One of the largest life insurance providers in North America, John Hancock, announced in September it would no longer offer policies that did not include digital fitness tracking. Opponents of this approach are calling it a step too far, amounting to undue employee surveillance, a sign of a dystopian future. But could fitness tracking be the key to a healthier, happier...
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Baking Success Into Your Cybersecurity Awareness Training
Have you ever cooked something that came out tasting not quite right? When you double-checked the recipe and ingredients, you might have realized you had swapped sugar for salt or that the meat had gone bad. Having the right, fresh ingredients can make or break a meal. The principle is the same for successful cybersecurity awareness training programs, and the depressing truth is failure...
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Mobile Gaming: The Secret to More Engaging Employee Training
Two trends in eLearning are converging, and this new combination might be the perfect recipe for success in employee development. On one hand, companies are increasingly moving toward mobile learning management systems (LMS). Workers today rely on their smartphones for anything and everything — including their own professional development — and employers want to ensure their own...
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