How I Broke the Rules Found My Perfect Job Â

How I Broke the Rules Found My Perfect Job How I Broke the Rules Found My Perfect Job My Biggest Career Regret I Wish I Could Go Back and Change Have you ever had a tough time finding a job? I can relate. This is my story of overcoming a difficult situation, in a down market, at a rough time in ur countrys history. I recently had the opportunity to share my story as a TEDx Talk in Worthington, Ohio and Im very excited to share it with you here today.Close yur eyes for a moment. Imagine Its 1997 and Im entering college. The internet is still a brand new thing, and we are in the middle of the dot-com boom. Companies like AOL are just coming into their own, and sending out these amazing floppy disks with one hundred free minutes to try their internet tafelgeschirr over a fast dial-up connection. I have a computer before my friends, and I wait for those free disks to come in the mail. The sound the d ial-up modem makes gives me goosebumps when it connects Startups are popping up everywhere, and getting huge investments is easy. Young kids, about my age, are getting funding for companies, and have more money than they know what to do with.I love computers. I go to college to learn more about them and all about the internet. I study computer and systems engineering at a small engineering school in Upstate New York. The degree is like a combination of computer science and electrical engineering. I learn to solder parts together, to build websites, and to code in so many different programming languages, including FORTRAN 77, C, and HTML. Its the perfect degree. It guarantees me a job when I graduate. But, not only that. It guarantees me a great paying jobWell, that welches all true, until about halfway through my pricey private school education, when things change completely. The dot-com crash happens, and the dot-com boom is over. Suddenly, all of the recruiters that normally com e to our college to recruit for new jobs cancel their visits. Not only do they cancel, but the positions theyre hiring for are gone too Looking for a job online is still very new, and securing one typically comes from meeting recruiters in person. I search at job fairs and through personal contacts. In fact, it will be close to ten years until many of the job sites like Glassdoor are born. Im panicked. The job market has completely changed, and Im not even the best student to begin with. My classmates are the ones with perfect SATs and straight As - not me I wonder how in the world Ill survive. In a number of my computer programming courses, Im always the one who helps to manage the team and to create our presentation materials. Writing computer code feels difficult to me. Thats why I help with the presentation materials or, so I think. During our senior year, one of our professors asks us to write a story about someone who has impacted us during school, and to my surprise, one o f my super smart computer whiz classmates writes about me. He says I have a special skill for bringing people together, and for making our projects make sense. Its something I never expected to hear and have never considered. Its not necessarily that I am bad at one thing. Maybe Im just good at something else.And, with that, I started to look for alternative career paths . How could I get around this job crisis and the stock market crash? How could I minimize the impact of the dot-com implosion? What could I do other than computer programming? What transferrable skills did I have?I applied for a project management job with a little logistics company that goes by the name of FedEx . You may have heard of it They flew me to their headquarters for a job bewerbungsgesprch. But, when I arrived, I learned that they had also flown in two other people - at the same time - even though there welches just one job opening. I remember meeting the other candidates, and feeling in total dis belief that a job interview could be structured this way. It was like interview to the death, or some kind of weird gladiator movie.The night before, I re-read the job description and found something Id missed. The job required an MBA. Not optional REQUIRED. I went from feeling scared when I arrived to feeling completely embarrassed. Not only were the other two candidates almost twice my age, but they both had MBAs and extensive work experience The night before the big interviews, we all ate together at a local Memphis barbecue restaurant. They used MBA business jargon Id never even heard before. It was like they were speaking in another language. Why in the world would such a big, impressive company pay money to fly me in for an interview? I wondered if they were going to laugh at me and send me back to New York when they realized their mistake. I decided to give it a shot, because after all, what did I really have to lose? I did my best, and afterward, I headed back to the airp ort to fly home, expecting to never hear from them again. Then, suddenly, while I was still in the Memphis airport terminal, I got a phone call. It was the hiring manager and he was calling to offer me the job Looking back, I was a good fit within the organization. And, lets best honest - I was definitely the cheapest. But, the thing that really surprised me was that the company asked us math problems during the interview in front of a panel of judges. We actually had to work out the problems while other people looked on. One was a Venn diagram question. Assuming that a certain number of customers shipped with FedEx and a handful of other variables, how many people might ship with FedEx and some other company? Of the three of us, I was the only one that got the math problems right It turns out engineering school really is good for something. The thing I learned from this experience is that the rules we see out in the world arent always rules. Sometimes theyre just suggestions or gu idelines. But, if you dont push those boundaries, youll never know which things are rules and which are more flexible. Requirements on a job description arent always really required. And, the job market isnt always what you expect, but youve got to try anyway.Rules we see out in the world arent always rules.Requirements on a job description arent always really required. What Im saying is - I can relate to the challenging job market were all facing today. For the first time in the modern era, more adults under the age of 35 are living with their parents than are living with romantic partners. I live in downtown Memphis and last year I started seeing some new signs for apartments in my neighborhood. But, they werent the normal signs about the cost or the number of bedrooms. They were about the benefits of living in your own apartment rather than living in your parents house. One said, Lets be honest. Your parents wont move out first.But, it makes sense that new graduates are struggli ng to find their own place in the world. The average price for college tuition was over $33k a year last year for a private school and over $9k for a state school. Baby Boomers are holding onto their jobs for as long as possible, leaving only a limited number of good jobs for new college graduates. In fact, only half of 30-year-olds are making more than their parents did at their age. This is a huge drop from the 1970s when over 90% of people were making more than their parents.So, what can we do about this? Heres an example. I recently spoke to a hiring manager who was having a hard time getting applications for a particular job posting. Hed been advised to put everything he could possibly want into one job description, to make it as open-ended as possible. So, he did. The job description included things like marketing skills, selling skills, technology skills, customer service skills, computer programming skills, and internet-related skills. If you read the job description, you mi ght think they were looking for a computer engineer with a MBA in marketing, and experience in sales, digital marketing, and technology. Thats pretty specific, and a lot to ask for in one person When I shared the job description with a few candidates who would have been great, they all said the same thing. Im not comfortable applying because Im not qualified. Ironically, the hiring manager would have happily taken someone who met seventy or eighty percent of the job description - if theyd only applied. And, speaking of that FedEx job I got that I was completely underqualified for - I took it and worked at the company, with the great benefits and the 401-K and healthcare, for three years before quitting my job to go to business school. I received quite a bit of discouragement from the usual suspects who said, Why would you quit? You have such a good job For many of those in my parents and grandparents generation, the responsible thing to do was to stay at a job for twenty or thirt y years, until you were of retirement age. Then, youd be set forever. It was the right thing to do. But, today, employees only stay with one company for three to five years. If you stay at a company too long, your future hiring manager may wonder if your skillset is out of date or if youre not very ambitious. Theres even been a study thats shown that those who dont switch jobs frequently enough will make less over the lifetime of their career. Forbes estimated this number to be fifty percent less. Fifty percent But, if you think about it, logically, it makes sense. If you stay at one company, youre likely to receive a two or three percent raise each year. But, if you switch companies, you may negotiate your pay up ten percent, twenty percent, or even fifty percent in one switch. I can personally attest to this. Twice, Ive negotiated my salary up over fifty percent, and once, I doublumineszenzdiode my salary.This is a great incentive to never stop looking for a job And, because turnover is so high, its also an incentive for companies to spend less time and energy training their current employees. This again puts the burden back on you - to take the reins of your own career - to pursue your own education and your own training. Dont wait for your company to train you. Dont assume that will happen. Other people will pass you by who are developing their own skills, on their own.If you stay at one company, youre likely to receive a two or three percent raise each year. But, if you switch companies, you may negotiate your pay up ten percent, twenty percent, or even fifty percent in one switchThis is a great incentive to never stop looking for a jobThis is exactly why I quit my job to pursue my MBA - that, and to interfere with my own career path yet again. I originally planned to take twenty months to complete my degree, but ended up endbearbeitung in fifteen months. By graduation, I was given a number of great job offers, including one that paid twice wha t I was making before starting graduate school. This sounds really fantastic, right? In theory, yes. BUT, it was twice as much to do the same exact type of job Id had before. I didnt quit my job and go back to graduate school to make twice as much money, doing the exact same job as before, just for a different company Im ambitious, and frankly, that would have been boring. I wanted to move into a new department, and go up the corporate ladder . Can you guess what I did? Yep. I turned down every job offer. This was incredibly scary because I wasnt working, and I didnt know how Id pay the rent. But, I had faith in my abilities. If I could complete school early, I could have a little time to think about what Id want to do for work, if I didnt have to do anything. This decision honestly worried me every day for a very long time, and I kept a copy of that big offer letter nearby and would look at it when I was feeling uncertain about things. Then the strangest thing happened. I ended u p learning about a new field called digital marketing. I knew how to build websites, and I had a pretty decent sense for marketing. I became an affiliate marketer. Its the kind of marketing where you promote products online for other companies and earn a commission on their sales. I sold a lot of shoes for this website Zappos.com. After doing this for myself for a while, I built up enough knowledge and experience to land a full-time digital marketing position on my own. It was a game changer. I became a director of digital marketing at a well-known home services company, and later, a vice president at a large bank In todays career environment, you dont get bonus points for waiting for your boss to tell you youre good enough. Dont wait And, dont let the fear of failure stop you from trying something new. As someone once said, Formal education will make you a living. Self-education will make you a fortune. Ironically, the interference I experienced going from engineer to project man ager to digital marketing executive led me to an entirely new career path. It turns out, I really like interviewing for all kinds of jobs and at all sorts of companies. You might call it an obsession. In fact, I once snuck into a graduate school where I didnt go and posed as a student there in order to get a job interview. When word got out about my passion, I started being asked to help other people find their new career paths as a career coach . Now, I get a chance to see inside the secret process that were all in the middle of. And, do you know what makes some job seekers the most successful in their search? They dont wait for permission, and they never assume a company isnt interested in them, or that theyre not qualified.Do you know what makes some job seekers the most successful in their search? They dont wait for permission, and they never assume a company isnt interested in them, or that theyre not qualified.Let me leave you with this. Finding your path isnt going to be easy. Its not going to be straightforward, and it may take a while to put the pieces together. In fact, youll likely find that youll always be working to put in another piece along the way. But, it is absolutely worth it to take a risk and interfere with your own path to find something that you truly love. Angela Copeland is a Career Coach and Founder of Copeland Coaching and can be reached at CopelandCoaching.com or on Twitter at CopelandCoach . You can find her book, Breaking The Rules & Getting The Job on Amazon .

How theSkimm cofounders combat burnout and imposter syndrome

How theSkimm cofounders combat burnout and imposter syndromeHow theSkimm cofounders combat burnout and imposter syndromeDanielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin launched theSkimm newsletter in 2012 from the couch of their West Village apartment with only $4,000 to their names. Since then, theSkimm brand has added an app, an expanded website, and now, a book. On June 10, in the same city that it all began, the cofounders kicked off the How to Skimm Your Life Night Out book tour.The night out consisted of one hilarious conversation with model Ashley Graham. Ladders welches there to catch all the specific, real, and pointed advice that every Millennial and Gen Zer needs to hear.Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin delete their email appWeisberg and Zakin are Millennial entrepreneurs, so obviously theyre pretty much constantly tied to their emails, but leid on vacations. When theSkimm cofounders take a break, they really take a break. From everything.Much to Grahams disbelief (and slight appall), Zakin admitted that she simply deletes her email app from her phone while on vacation and even sometimes on weekends.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreIts so amazing, Zakin said. The people that you work with have your phone number, so if its something where you need to be reached, youre still reachable.The cofounders admit that they were completely burnt out the first two years that they launched theSkimm, but dont regret one second of it. In fact, they encourage entrepreneurs to work through it.We had to do that, it was on us, Weisberg said. This was something that we were creating.But in this time of feeling like you always need to be busy to feel important, Weisberg urges you to learn the difference between working hard for an outcome and working hard to fill an agenda.Recognize that there are times where its going to be like that in your careerthere are going to be moments w here you have to put everything you have into that, Weisberg said. Then there are moments where you feel like its a trend, or you feel like being busy equates to success.Additionally, the cofounders have made sure that theSkimm team doesnt get burnt out like they did during those first couple of years, encouraging team members to take one hour a week to go to therapy, do yoga, or take action on something else theyve been putting off.We talk about how taking one hour out of each week can make a big difference and its really not that important, youre not missing anything with that amount of time, Zakin said.Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin role-play before big meetings for theSkimmAgain, Weisberg and Zakin shocked Graham by admitting that they use role-playing to get ready for big meetings.Weisberg and Zakin will imagine scenarios and have conversations as other people in order to prepare for certain comments.When it comes to imposter syndrome, its a struggle the women have dealt wit h every step of the way.There is not a day that goes by that we dont have imposter syndrome, Zakin said. Wed never had a board meeting beforewed never had employees before, we never even had direct reports before this.Another way the women prepare for big meetings, especially meetings about money, is by creating scripts for themselves.We prefer to negotiate on the phone because well keep a script that shows what well say and it helps us, Zakin said. Its a confidence booster and it allows us to stay on point and not fall into traps.Finally, this was a practice Graham could relate to.Thats funny you make a script because I make a script, too, Graham said. I write out what I wantI even write out sentences that I know I want to say.Zakin and Weisberg agreed that having a partner throughout the whole project has made all the difference when it comes to imposter syndrome.Thankfully theres the two of us, Zakin said. We both dont freak out at the same time.You might also enjoyNew neuroscien ce reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

The 10 Resume Skills That Will Make You Successful in 2018

The 10 Resume Skills That Will Make You Successful in 2018The 10 Resume Skills That Will Make You Successful in 2018The skills you put on your resume should provide an accurate representation of what you can do. We suggest that you incorporate them into both the skills and work history sections. Choose to include hard skills that showcase your most notable professional abilities. Examples include computer programming, accounting, and typing.It is also a good idea to include transferrable soft skills. Examples include good work ethic, problem-solving, and organization. Finally, remember to include skills that are universally desired across all industries. Hiring managers should be able to review your list and understand why they should hire you. For help creating your document, refer to our resume writing tips and our list of top 10 skills to put on your resume.10 Skills to Put on Your Resume in 2018You could choose from many great skills to put on your resume. But if you include ever y skill you can think of, your resume will be much too long. Narrowing down your options to the most relevant selections is essential. Check out our list of top 10 skills below for a universal approach to resume creation.1. CommunicationCommunication consistently ranks high among hiring managers. While hard skills are important, soft skills are also highly valued. A recent Bloomberg study reveals that job recruiters consider communication skills to be very important. Unfortunately, the same recruiters report few candidates have good communication skills. Since this highly desirable soft skill is so rare, it is wise to list it on your resume if you have it. Communication skills can include both verbal and written forms.2. Business DevelopmentBentley University recently commissioned a new labor market analysis across nine different industries. As part of the analysis, they collected data from over 24 million job listings. Their findings identify business development as a top skill. Ac cording to their data, many industries value business development skills. The analysis referred to business development as a hybrid skill.Developing hybrid skills may help applicants land jobs in various industries. Business development is a hybrid because it includes marketing, customer service, and analytical thinking. It is one of the highly-desired skills to put on your resume.3. ExcelIn todays workplace, knowing how to use Excel is a must. You will probably use Excel at some point, regardless of your fleck or industry. You can use it to make calculations, create formulas, and organize data. You can also use it to identify trends and build charts for professional presentations. Learning the entire Microsoft bro suite will make you a more universally valuable job applicant and is one of the eye-catching skills to put on your resume.4. Interpersonal SkillsWhen selecting skills to put on your resume, remember that interpersonal skills are transferable skills they are important acro ss all industries. No matter what job you take, you will almost certainly need to cooperate with others. Curt Peterson, Principal Engineer at Peterson Geotechnical Group, LLC, has extensive hiring experience. He always looks for interpersonal skills when interviewing applicants.When asked which skills he values most, Peterson responded, When I interview people, I evaluate their personalities. I determine if they are likeable, and most important, if they can work well with others. We spend more time with some coworkers than we do our spouses and families. They need to be nice, decent people with a good work ethic, or work will be awful.You can list interpersonal skills in a variety of ways to target your personal strengths. Positive attitude, collaboration, and relationship management are great terms to use. Select the words and phrases that best match your own interpersonal skills.5. Analytical SkillsYou need to know which valuable skills to put on your resume. According to the Jour nal of Education for Business, managers value analytical skills in the workplace. Analytical skills include the ability to perceive and use information to solve problems. Alternative words to use when listing analytical skills include problem-solving, critical thinking, and research. Employers want to hire individuals who are as good at coming up with solutions as they are at identifying problems.6. Cloud and Distributed ComputingIn our technologically-advanced society, computing is a universally desirable ability.A LinkedIn analysis referenced by Business Insider confirms this. According to the analysis, cloud and distributed computing is one of the most in-demand skills around the globe. Employees with these tech talents can help businesses organize and share their resources. According to LinkedIn career expert Catherine Fisher, every industry needs tech employees. Acquiring technological skills will likely serve you well, whether youre seeking a tech-specific position or not.7. D ata MiningAs with general computing skills, data mining abilities are currently in high demand. Fisher states that data mining made the number two spot on LinkedIns list of most in-demand skills in 2015. Data mining is the process of sorting through data to discover relationships and patterns that can predict future trends. Discovering trends can help businesses develop more effective operational and marketing strategies. In simple terms, data mining makes it easier for businesses to lower costs and increase sales.Which industries need it most?Financial/bankingHealthcareManufacturing engineeringFraud detectionAdvertisingRetailConsumer analytics8. MarketingMonster (a large job platform) analyzed information from more than 900,000 job postings in several industries. Their goal was to identify the top skills that consistently appeared across most of the listings. CNBC reviewed the data and used it to create their own list of top skills to develop. Marketing made it to the number two sp ot on their list in order of importance.Many employers expect their employees to have a basic understanding of marketing. Learning about current marketing techniques is important for all employees, regardless of position. Social media marketing is an especially valuable skill that can make you a more qualified job candidate.9. Product ManagementFew people have the ability to transform an idea from a concept to a successful product or service. Businesses value employees who have product management experience. They want people on their team who can present product ideas to potential investors in a convincing manner. Product management includes forecasting, production planning, and marketing of a product. In short, it involves successfully managing all stages of a products lifecycle to maximize success.Product management is a versatile skill that can get you hired in a variety of industries. Any business that markets a product or service relies on product managers to help them succeed. If you have experience in this area, be sure it is one of the skills you put on your resume.10. Adobe PhotoshopAdobe Photoshop is a useful aptitude that can make you a more adaptable job candidate. Beyond editing images, you can use Photoshop for many other purposes. It is often used to improve company photos, create advertisements, and design web pages. You can also use it to create promotional videos and 3D imagery. Adobe Photoshop is important for graphic designers, web developers, production artists, and photographers.Which industries need it most?AdvertisingWeb developmentPhotographyProduct-based industriesService-based industriesWhats Next?Creating a great resume is one of the first steps to getting a good job. Your resume should include your most relevant, universal skills, as well as job-specific skills. Writing your document from scratch can be a challenge, especially when it comes to knowing which skills to put on your resume. Fortunately, there are tools available to mak e the process easier. For help writing yours, use Resume-Nows quick and effortless resume builder as a resource.