Nearly 80% of Americans have a negative perception of big business. High-profile scandals, stagnant wages, harmful products, and poor working conditions are all to blame. That’s why the Business Roundtable made waves in August when it published a revised mission statement, signed by 181 prominent CEOs. 

According to the new statement of purpose endorsed by financial firms including JPMorgan Chase & Co., BlackRock, Inc., and Vanguard Group, companies have a duty that goes beyond delivering profits to shareholders. They also have a responsibility to invest in their employees, deliver value to customers, deal fairly with suppliers, and support their communities.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase and chairman of Business Roundtable, expressed his support by saying, “The American dream is alive, but fraying. Major employers are investing in their workers and communities because they know it is the only way to be successful over the long term.” 

Fun fact: Recruiters get 250application per job on average. In a competitive job market, the pressure to stand out is at an all-time high. While this may feel scary, this gives job candidates a unique opportunity to create a stellar résumé  that will get them through the door.

"A lot of it comes down to the design and layout of the résumé, both things make it processable by Applicant Tracking Systems and interesting for recruiters to read," says Andrei Kurtuy, cofounder and CCO of Novoresume, one of the biggest online résumé platforms. Furthermore, Andrei encourages anyone to not be "humble" about their personal achievements, as professional résumés exists to tell a recruiter about them. But of course, it's all about the wording. 

Andrei shared the four things every résumé should have:

Achievements


Mentioning your achievements instead of your tasks will make you stand out from the other applicants. Instead of saying, “I used Google Analytics to inform content strategy," reword it to say, "I wrote stories that increased traffic by 15% based on monitoring Google Analytics." Focus on the outcome of your actions (in other words, your achievements). "Numbers, in particular, will give more credibility to your statements, but only include them if you know exactly what they are," says Andrei.

Businesses need to know what millennials and Gen Z expect when this new generation enters the workforce

Chicago-based talent acquisition platform Yello has released a report covering the way this generation thinks about employment. Its 2019 recruiting study covers the decision-making behaviours of Gen Z compared to millennials and Gen X.

It partnered with SurveyMonkey Audience to survey 700 full-time employees and students in February 2019.

Over four in five (85%) find software to schedule interviews useful, and three out of four (73%) find talent communities are valuable.

Despite their fluency in digital communication technologies, Gen Z candidates appreciate authentic, human connections when vetting job opportunities. Although this generation is tech-first, the research shows Gen Z values personal face-to-face interaction.

Fifty-one percent of Gen Z respondents said they prefer to communicate in-person, and a quarter said they prefer to communicate digitally.

It seems like a highly complex and potentially insurmountable problem. Even after decades of hard work and progress toward gender parity in the workforce, we still see reports of disappointingly low numbers of U.S. women in senior leadership roles. Despite the fact that women represent more than half the country’s population, earn more than 57 percent of undergraduate degrees and an even higher percentage of master’s degrees, women represent a mere five percent of Fortune 500 CEOs. We are only seven percent of top executives in Fortune 100 companies, and just 26.5 percent of executives, senior officials and managers overall. These statistics come from a 2018 fact sheet published by the Center for American Progress, and demonstrate the severity of the problem that faces us.

I’m an entrepreneur and CEO of a successful fashion retail business called Pink Lily, and I’m also a woman who would like to live long enough to see us close the leadership gender gap. I’d like to see more businesses investing serious time, personnel and resources into the development, engagement and empowerment of their future women leaders. To help my fellow business owners and leaders to approach this seemingly Herculean task, I’ve got a series of suggestions worth considering.

1. Take time to develop female talent.

Professional development and filling the pipeline toward senior leadership begins with hiring, onboarding and training practices. According to CareerBuilder, 36 percent of U.S. employers lack a structured onboarding process for new hires, and based on anecdotal information all around us – that number may be even higher than reported.

Globalization and competition has business owners looking at new ways to generate profits. Technology has been a primary source of increase profits but even that provides little benefits if the people behind the technology remain neglected. That has given rise to the focus on human resource and going beyond the typical Band-Aid solutions to keep a company running.

Conflict resolution, furnishing employees with coping skills, team building and the likes are beneficial, but they often happen on a surface level. While they do bring about change, business owners and managers are finding that they have to get deeper into employee needs, concerns and issues like never before. That has created room for occupational physiologist who, apart from problem solving, bring awareness to the core issues facing an organization.

The part occupational psychologist play in transforming the workplace experience cannot be understated. They bring profound understanding into why people behave as they do and the changes that ought to take place. It is through observation and research they can achieve this.

What is occupational psychology?

 recently signed up with ExecuNet to seek assistance with my job search. I left my position in mid-November and two weeks later I was diagnosed with cancer and required an operation. I am fine now but needed a couple of months to recover before starting my job search. My illness slowed my job search; if the question comes up why I  have been out of work for few months, do you have any suggestions on how best to answer? Is it appropriate to mention my illness and  that I completely recovered from my surgery?

I am so glad to hear that you have successfully beaten your health challenges and are ready to dive back into a full time role. In situations such as this, I am a firm believer in the “less is more”theory. Regarding the time lapse in employment, I would simply say that  you left your former role because you felt that it was better to resign so that you could dedicate your full attention to finding a new role once you made the decision to leave.

And then almost immediately after resigning you faced some health issues that required the need for surgery which postponed your career search for a few months while you recovered. Now you can assure them that you have fully recovered and honestly have never felt better.

I would not share the specific nature of your illness. Frankly it is none of their business, and there would be no positive advantage to discussing the details with them.

Recruiters spend countless hours and thousands of dollars in resources bringing in job candidates, but what happens once you’ve hired the best people? It’s all for naught if they leave shortly after joining. Smart companies make employee retention a high priority, so they keep turnover low and develop employees in their positions.

Recently, One Network Enterprises was named a “Great Place to Work” and we have found some areas we believe are reasons we have hired and retained the best in the business.

Responsibility
Being a 100% employee-owned business, One Network has found that responsibility is one of the best drivers for organizational success. Employees that feel a direct tie to company performance have been found to do better work and are more motivated.

Having a clear vision for career growth allows employees to see a lasting impact in their organization. Defined career progressions along with concrete metrics enable employees to see their future and keep driving towards success and working towards organizational goals. One Network has implemented yearly reviews so that KPI’s are clearly defined for each employee.

FIFTY-ONE PERCENT OF JOB HUNTERS FEEL THE NEED TO LIE ON THEIR CV TO LOOK BETTER TO POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS. NEW RESEARCH FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LAW REVEALS EXACTLY WHAT THE NATION FEELS THE MOST PRESSURE TO EXAGGERATE DURING A JOB SEARCH. CONTRIBUTOR JOHN WATKINS, DIRECTOR OF EMPLOYABILITY – THE UNIVERSITY OF LAW.

We’ve all seen the ideal job advertised and been tempted to apply, even if our skills or experience aren’t quite up to scratch. But how many of us feel pressure to lie about our capability on an application?

Research from The University of Law has explored attitudes to exaggerating on CVs to secure a role, revealing that over half of working Brits (51 percent) have felt the pressure to lie, but only one-in-ten (10 percent) have done so and gone on to land the job.

When asked why they would exaggerate on their application, nearly one in five (17 percent) said they’re concerned their experience won’t be enough to land the job. Similarly, 14 percent said they would lie to ensure their CV stood out.

The study also looked into the areas of a CV people feel the most pressure to embellish with nearly a third (30 percent) saying the previous experience section, while one in four (24 percent) claimed it’s the skills section they feel the need to boost. Other areas Brits feel the need to exaggerate include education history (13 percent) and interests outside the workplace (12 percent). More than one in 10 (12 percent) men admitted to feeling pressure to lie about their age, in comparison to only 7 percent of women.

Ten ways to screw up your next meeting:

#1. Don’t state the purpose of the meeting.

#2. Don’t declare how the meeting aligns with organizational goals.

Long-term goals establish direction. Short-term goals enable execution.

#3. Don’t get input from key participants before the meeting.

Some team members believe they have the right to help steer the ship. If you ignore their voice, they will hijack your meeting.

You want people to feel included and powerful. Seek their input before the meeting.

#4. Don’t interrupt a participant when their comments are clearly off track.

Momma was wrong when she said don’t interrupt people. If someone is rude enough to hijack your meeting, you should be bold enough to interrupt.

#5. Allow the need for specificities to block big-picture conversations. This happens when participants want quick solutions, but you need everyone to get out of the weeds.

#6. Invite selfish kingdom-builders to your meeting.

Some people only care about THEIR projects. These people attend meetings to block ideas and projects that don’t serve THEIR interests. When the conversation veers away from THEIR kingdom, they doze.

#7. Allow talkative participants to blab on and on. (It’s polite to interrupt rude people.)

#8. Violate the two-pizza rule.

The number of attendees should not exceed the number of people who can have lunch on two medium pizzas. Small teams are better than large teams, even if it hurts your ego. Meetings with many attendees are information sessions where most attendees are passive.

#9. Allow drifters to attend. When someone consistently leaves meetings without something to do, they’re dead weight. Stop inviting them to meetings.

#10. End the meeting without action items.

The current emphasis among business leaders on shifting corporate culture isn’t merely about culture for its own sake. Rather, these leaders recognize that culture defines the employee experience (EX) on the job. Culture helps employees connect with the organization’s greater goals and feel a sense of identity and meaning in their work. In short, it determines their level of engagement and, ultimately, their success.

Employee Experience, Culture & How They’re Related

What exactly is “employee experience”? According to Denise Lee Yohn, author and expert in brand leadership, EX comprises the sum of everything an employee experiences throughout his or her connection to the organization—every employee interaction, from the first contact as a potential recruit to the last interaction after employment ends.

Too often leaders focus on well-being or career path as the sole driver of EX, without taking into account the co-mingling levers of corporate culture that shape an employee’s lived realities at work. MIT’s CISR research confirms that the definition of EX is changing with our digital landscape, which allows companies to re-imagine work and workplace culture.

A recent Glassdoor study reveals culture’s crucial role as a driver of employee satisfaction. After controlling employee ratings for business outlook, career opportunities, culture and values, compensation and benefits, senior leadership, and work–life balance, the research showed culture and values scoring as much more important for job satisfaction—and the overall experience—than compensation and work–life balance.

The one question most job seekers can’t figure out is: “How do I attract recruiters on LinkedIn?”

LinkedIn is a beast, and if you’re able to tap this vast platform to bag your dream job, there’s nothing like it. But it’s not as easy as it sounds.

We have compiled some actionable pointers which you can use right away based on our experience of writing over 1,000 optimised LinkedIn profiles to date.

Without further ado, let’s dive in:

The cover picture
It is the most underutilized space that most job seekers are unable to capitalize. It is the first thing that the recruiters will see once they open your profile, and in 9/10 cases, it’d mostly be blank.

You can explore several free design tools like Canva for making LinkedIn banners that will instantly bolster the impact of your profile. Don’t go over-the-top with the design/text combination and try to keep your target profile in mind while you’re customizing the cover picture.

The average recruiter gets literally hundreds of resumes PER DAY for every ad posted. When a job offers a six-figure income, those figures jump to 1,000 applicants per day, per job.

So how do you stand out amongst all the other applicants, vying for these opportunities?

Read on to learn a few secrets from veteran recruiters.

The Secret of Key Word Matches

Today just about everything is automated, including job ads. When we post a job, we receive notices that say an applicant is an 88% match, 12% match, etc. Those percentages are strictly based on KEY WORD MATCHES.

Savvy applicants tweak their resumes on a job by job basis, being sure to match key words from the ad to their resume.

The way to most effectively do this is to look at the ads list of mandatory qualifications. Obviously, you need to have those skill sets in order to apply but making sure that you use the same terminology on your CV/resume as the mandatory requirements will dramatically increase your percentage of match.

Of course, there are ways to trick the system, and we all get occasionally get resumes from high school gym teachers that are applying for CEO roles, who have plugged in all the critical words into their resume, and all the bells and whistles go off, announcing a high match. But inevitably a live person will look at the resume and see what has happened. No one likes to be tricked and we all value our time, so the candidate is dismissed, and typically blocked from further submissions. So, the moral to that story is while it is extremely smart to use the same terminology as the ad you are applying to, honor everyone’s time and don’t make yourself out to be something you are not.

Earlier this year an employment tribunal found that Matthew Furlong had been the victim of discrimination after being rejected for a job by Cheshire Police, which was in the midst of a diversity drive, because he was a white heterosexual man.

While it is thought to be the first ruling in the UK that positive action had been used in a discriminatory way, it remains far less common than the routine discrimination faced by many black and ethnic minority applicants.

But what the case does suggest is that individuals continue to be judged according to ethnicity, age, gender or sexual orientation rather than their talent and suitability for a role.

Companies have attempted to combat the problem with a variety of recruitment strategies, one of which is "blind recruitment", whereby names, gender and age are removed from CVs to anonymise applications and stop hiring managers from making biased decisions - whether consciously or unconsciously.

Anonymous recruitment only works during the application process prior to interviews, but bias during the application stage is prevalent, according to a 2004 study carried out by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

I’m hearing that some executives are making short videos to serve as a type of video resume and to explain who they are and what they would bring to an employer. What are your thoughts on videos like this?

Personally, I think the chances of having a candidates video being watched at the initial stages of the interview process are slim to none, unless the role in question is for a videographer or a marketing role.

We are all literally buried in potential applicants, and the key is to get noticed in as short of time as possible. No one is going to download and invest the time in watching a video, when we have a pile of resumes six inches high that we can quickly screen and determine if the candidate is worth a phone interview and then a live meeting.

You have spent hours and hours refining and tweaking your resume. You have religiously studied and implemented the endless resume advice on the web. As a result, everything you have ever done is now listed on your resume. Not one of your career achievements has fallen between the cracks. Subsequently, you sent out the first and second batch of resumes in high spirits. It should only take a couple of weeks until you get some serious bites, right?

Then, nothing. No bites at all.

What happened? There could be a plethora of reasons for the radio silence, but a major and frequent culprit is what I like to call "text-wall syndrome."

Understanding Text-Wall Syndrome 

You can easily check whether or not your resume suffers from text-wall syndrome. At a glance, is your resume easy to scan for certain information? Or is it crowded to a point where the reader is facing one impenetrable block of text?


Overloading your resume means that you didn't focus enough on the readers' needs. Frequently the main recipients and readers of your resume will be recruiters. A recent study found that, on average, recruiters spend just seven seconds reviewing a resume before making a decision. An overloaded resume without any visual breaks for the reader could land you in the no-pile quicker than you can blink. Of course, this is a big career roadblock when trying to move up the ladder. So, how do you break up your resume into easy-to-digest parts without sacrificing substance?

In today’s business world, your personal brand is everything. It is the first impression you leave with colleagues, superiors, partners, clients, and friends. It can make or break your opportunities while opening new doors and potentially shutting others. Most importantly, it is one thing that you have the power to control.

Whether you’re on the hunt for a new career, launching down the path of entrepreneurship, or just wanting to make sure that you are prepared for any new opportunity crossing your path, a strong personal brand can set you apart from the crowd.

Making yourself marketable means that you are “findable.” It also makes you definable and gives you something that allows people to understand what you are about.

Ready to make yourself more marketable and attractive? Here are three super easy but highly effective ways to get yourself started:

1. Optimize Your LinkedIn Presence
In today’s digitally-forward business environment, your LinkedIn page is truly your virtual resume. It will often be one of the initial points of contact with a potential employer, of which will certainly check out your past skills and education. So it is important that you take the time to make your profile impressive.

Simply entering in your past jobs and a few skills won’t cut it if you want to stand out. While it seems completely unfair (and maybe impossible) to express all of your best qualities on your LinkedIn page, it is still necessary to do if you are going to make yourself marketable. Take the time to talk about what you really did in all of your past work positions.

What did you learn? What were your main responsibilities? What aspects of those positions are most relevant to the type of work you want to do in the future?

Looking for a job can be an unforgiving process, and the nerves that come with a face-to-face interview can often make things worse.

According to employment company Glassdoor, it doesn’t matter how many things you might be doing right, it just takes one wrong move, one misunderstanding, or one poor decision to entirely ruin your chances of getting the job.

“As a job seeker, this reality can really be frightening — especially if you find yourself in a situation where you’re simply not getting interviews no matter how many job openings you apply to, and yet you don’t have a clue what you’re really doing wrong,” said Glassdoor’s Peter Yang.

Below he listed the common things job seekers do that may actually end up sabotaging their chances of getting that all-important interview.

Standing out — but in a bad way

Standing out in a crowded field of job applicants is a smart move, but far too often the execution behind this concept ends up hurting job seekers more than it actually helps them.

For instance, many job seekers try to stand out with their resumes by using fancy templates or even turning their resume into a full-fledged infographic.

Being overqualified for a position is automatic grounds for declining a job candidate, right? Wrong! Despite misconceptions, overqualified workers bring many benefits to the workplace.

In a recent article in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Columnist Sue Shellenbarger discussed how jobseekers could be labeled as “overqualified” at any point in their career and explained why employers are hesitant to hire these workers. She discussed a recent study that focused on a candidate’s level of experience and his or her commitment to the employer.

Myth: Overqualified Workers Aren’t Committed
The study found that managers were more likely to offer a less qualified candidate a job over an overqualified candidate. Citing the study, Shellenbarger says, “The managers assumed the candidate with the stellar résumé wouldn’t be as committed to the company or stick with the job as long as the other applicant, the researchers found.”

In a candidate-driven market, finding skilled talent to fill the void is a struggle for many employers, which makes us wonder: Are you overlooking “overqualified” workers because of the “stigma” that comes with hiring them?

Shellenbarger’s article is a great resource for overqualified candidates, as it explains the various ways they can stand out and dispel the stigma that surrounds hiring them. As an employer, though, you should be aware of what overqualified candidates can bring to the table.

Unconscious bias can affect our decisions in all areas of life, but especially in the workplace. We explore the different types of bias, and how to reduce their impact

We may try to be as objective as possible when making important decisions, especially when these relate to work. However, as human beings, we are all subject to unconscious bias (also known as implicit bias) in one way or another, but the more we are aware of this, the more we can mitigate it. In this article, we’ll define unconscious bias, explore the eight types of bias that might be affecting your decisions, and offer suggestions for how to mitigate bias in the workplace.

 What is unconscious bias?
Influences such as our background, experiences and environmental conditions can all play a part in shaping our choices, whether we realise it or not. For the most part, this is not a major issue. But we display unconscious bias when we favour or discriminate against people because of these influences without even realising it.

In fact, unconscious bias can have a big impact on people-related decisions at work, especially when it comes to recruitment, promotion, performance management and idea generation. When bias is prevalent, your organisation will struggle to hire diverse teams, and efforts to improve workplace inclusion will be of limited success.

I am unemployed and believe that is making it harder for me to land a new job Do recruiters hold it against you if you’re unemployed?

Rather than worrying about being currently employed, I think it is much more important to create the feeling that the candidate is in demand. We recently were working with an executive level candidate  who was just coming back to the work force after taking a two year sabbatical to care for her gravely ill husband. Because we were able to share the feeling with the hiring manager that this was an exceptionally skilled candidate whose talents were in high demand, that would undoubtedly have a short shelf life once others were made aware of her availability,  there was a strong sense of urgency  to create a package that would entice her to accept their role as quickly as possible. She ultimately ended up with two strong offers, and was in the enviable position of choosing between them. That particular candidate is currently enjoying one last big vacation with her fully recovered husband prior to starting her new role,  so that was a fun one to work on!

Barring life circumstances that cause people to make a decision to temporarily leave the work force, in cases where someone is terminated or the situation is simply unbearable, and they leave prior to securing their next role, there is always concern that they have lessened their negotiating position. Once again, I think focusing on enhancing a candidate’s skill set to create the impression that the candidate is in demand is the key to success, as opposed to worrying about their current status of employment.

If a hiring manager asks why you left before securing your next job, I  think a good way to overcome that objection is to simply say that you have chosen to focus 100% of your attention on your job search because ethically you were not comfortable staying in your previous role while also looking for your next position, once it became clear that you could no longer work there for whatever reason.

Workplace harassment was thrust into global consciousness following the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, and rightfully so. There’s no place for it in any business, whether it’s coming from leadership or occurring amongst employees.

Unfortunately, many companies still don’t address the issue head on. Recognition exists, but too many employees and business owners don’t think it’s happening on their turf. According to a 2017 NBC News-SurveyMonkey poll, 81% of respondents believe sexual harassment is a problem for U.S. businesses, yet 90% believe it doesn’t occur where they work.

Consequences of Not Addressing Harassment Are Severe
“Severe” may sound like an exaggeration, but it’s a reality. Avoid addressing harassment and your business may suffer irreparable damage. Recent statistics speak volumes: The number of lawsuits (up 50% in 2018 per the EEOC) and complaints (up 13%) indicate victims are taking action, which could be financially devastating to your business. 

That’s just from a legal perspective, though. If there is a culture of harassment in your business, it can have a significant impact on your business in ways you might not consider.

Impact #1: Morale. The emotional impact is significant — on victims and employees who may witness harassment. Unaddressed issues often lead to victims and witnesses becoming negative. And the problem only gets worse when victims feel there’s no avenue for reporting offenses or, even worse, they opt not to share due to fear of retribution. This harboring of negative energy often leads to a decline in morale and productivity, especially if management is aware of offenses and does nothing about them. 

The short answer is Karma. The better answer is The Rule of Reciprocity. The flower children in San Francisco in the 60s implemented this behavior and it worked wonders for their fund raising efforts. By passing out flowers, people felt compelled to make a donation. How many of us receive unsolicited  mailing labels from one charity or another, and feel compelled to send in a donation? By doing something kind for someone that is in a position to potentially help you, you are creating the rule of reciprocity.

By making a point of setting up Google alerts of job openings in a company that you are interested in joining, or perhaps staying alert of a recruiter that works in your field active searches, and offering suggestions of potential candidates, you are staying on their radar screen in an innovative, positive way. While the vast majority of people that contact us want something from us, reaching out with an offer to help sets you apart from everyone else. It also gives you a terrific excuse to contact us, by providing names of potential candidates.

When you do that, it is also smart to just add a small note saying that to please keep you in mind if we do come across any XYZ roles within the ABC space. We are all deluged by so much these days, small reminders like that will help us tie in your name to your area of expertise.

Can you compare today’s workplace with the one of your parents or grandparents? It’s utterly different. Employees across industries use much more technology today. There’s a clear need for enhanced technical skills. If we focus on the future, that need is going to be enhanced even further.

The soft skills in the workplace remain more or less the same. Employers expect their workers to have communication skills, empathy, emotional intelligence, and adaptability skills. But even there, we’ll see some changes.

What are the precise skills for success in the workplace of the future? Let’s see.

Most Important Skills for Success for Tomorrow’s Workplace

1. Presentation Skills

This is one of those soft skills in the workplace that aren’t specifically requested during the hiring process. Recruiters are focused on talent and technical skills, so they usually don’t ask the job applicants to prepare a presentation for a real audience. There’s no time for such tests. But when the applicant gets hired, they will get in a situation to present something, sooner or later.

The workplace of the future is driven by creativity. Innovation processes are no longer limited to management; they are being delegated down to the usual employee.

To prepare for such an environment, you should know how to prepare attractive presentations in PowerPoint and other tools. It’s also useful to learn how to take screenshot on Mac, so you can show how a particular app works for its users. Practical presentations are way better than plain talk.