October 13, 2021

How To Know When to Quit Your Job

Career Change

Chances are you’ve heard of The Great Resignation, and you might be wondering if it’s time to quit your job too. There are many reasons behind the movement, but burnout and suppressed career movement during the pandemic are significant contributors. Right now is a great time to be a job seeker. Companies across the country are offering hiring incentives. Hiring managers have learned that virtual employees can be successful, leading to more of these open positions. Sure, making a move is nerve-wracking, but staying in a job because it’s comfortable or you are afraid of making a change is no good either. We spend too much time at work for it not to be engaging.

You are unhappy at work

The number one sign that it’s time to quit your job is if you are genuinely unhappy at work. First, ask yourself what is it that makes you unhappy. Is it that you don’t like the work you are doing or the organization? Does the company mission, purpose, and values align with your own? If you love the company and people but don’t like your job, consider moving into a different position to try out something new.

Employees are happier when there’s alignment between their core values and the company values and mission. It is easier to work at an organization where you believe in the product and direction of the company. If this is missing for you, it could be time to find a better fit.

You are too comfortable

You might be stagnant if you have been doing the same job for more than two years without any different challenges at work. You’re so familiar with the work statement that you can do it in your sleep. When your job is comfortable, you are probably not furthering your development. If your job isn’t not staying on top of new technology or industry developments, you could get left behind for future career opportunities. If you have asked for stretch assignments that haven’t come through, it’s a good indicator that it’s time to go.

Salary growth isn’t keeping up

Inflation is at a record high for 2021, at 5.4% for September. When you’ve been in a job for a long time without any promotions, your salary probably hasn’t kept up with the market. On the other hand, maybe you aren’t being paid for newly acquired skills or education. Do some salary research for your local market on Glassdoor or PayScale to get a general idea of the range for your position. If you’re otherwise happy in your job, first try to negotiate for a higher salary with your manager. If that doesn’t work, it’s probably time to brushing up on your interview skills.

You have outgrown the company

You know you’ve outgrown the company when you don’t see viable career growth moving forward. Maybe it’s a small business, and there isn’t room for career development. On the other hand, there could also be a bottleneck somewhere in your career path. If you have outgrown your company, have an honest conversation with your leader to explain the situation. Let them know your feelings and that you’re looking for a bigger challenge. You might be surprised with an exciting project that keeps you fulfilled, but if not, at least you know it’s time to move on.

You’re ready for a significant change

You are ready to switch industries or move into a completely new career path. If this is you, congratulations on following your dreams! While it’s not always easy to break into a new area, it can be incredibly satisfying to do something you love. Be sure to update your resume to target the new position and identify interview stories that demonstrate the skills needed in the role.

Regardless of why you are leaving an organization, it’s crucial to remain on good terms with your employer if possible. You never know when circumstances change in the future. So connect with your former colleagues on LinkedIn and meet up for networking. Also, look for business alumni groups, which are an excellent way to stay engaged and leave the door slightly ajar for future opportunities that may better fit.

If you’ve decided that it’s time for a change and you’d like some help, give us a call at (206) 289-0358 or email us at info@soundinterview.com for a free consultation.

March 13, 2017

How to Succeed in a Work From Home Job

Work from home

For those of us who have spent our careers in an office, a working from home sounds like a dream! No commute, no dress code, no co-workers stealing your lunch from the shared fridge and best of all, a lot fewer interruptions than those open office floor plans. While working from home can be pretty attractive. Glassdoor just released a list of 20 legitimate companies that offer work from home opportunities.

The downsides:

While the grass may seem greener at home for those of us fighting traffic each morning, be aware that there are some disadvantages associated with working from home. There are still distractions, though it shifts from your loud cubicle mate to your unending pile of laundry, dirty dishes or other nagging projects around the house. The other major complaint about those who work from home full-time is that it’s tough to maintain separation between work and personal life. When you go to an office every day, it’s easier to ‘turn work off’ when you walk out the door.

Working from home can be isolating. If you’re an extrovert and thrive on working with other people, work from home job might not be for you. When applying to work from home positions, asking questions about how the team interfaces with each other might be helpful. You’ll want to know how much of your time will be spent communicating with other people versus independent work and make sure that balance fits your personal needs.

Tips for work from home success:

Have a dedicated office space

To help with the separation from work and home, designate a spot just for work. If you have space in your house, appoint an office area. Try only to use that space for work and minimize the distractions in the room. Being able to shut the door is helpful too, especially at the end of the day. When you are done for the day, close the door and walk away from the work. Unless it’s an expectation of the job, don’t monitor emails and calls after hours to help you preserve a work-life balance.

Establish a routine

Set the alarm each morning and create a pre-work routine. Change out of your pajamas at the very least. Having a morning routine will help you transition into a working mindset for the day and build a better separation. The same goes for the end of the day too. After work, take some time for yourself and unwind. Maybe that’s going for a walk with your furry office mate, hitting the gym, throwing on sweats and catching up on a favorite show. Having a transition period after work will signal that the work is over.

Get out of the house

Work from home - get outside From time to time, you will need some human interaction. Getting out of the house will force you to put pants on and give you a change of scenery. When I asked some work from home veterans for their tips, this was a common theme. One friend recommended going to the gym for a workout at lunchtime, while another suggested never eating lunch at home. Another option is to join some extracurricular activity. Maybe you get involved with a sports team, a regular art class, or some recurring community service project. Whatever it is, make an effort to get in-person interaction on a daily basis.

Connect with your team

Make time on a regular basis to connect with your team members. That could be one-on-one meetings or whole group meetings. If your entire team works from home, building that rapport and having the chance to collaborate with each other on current work happening will help you feel much less isolated. If you’re a virtual member of a local team, you might need to over-communicate, so you’re not getting left out or overlooked. Visiting the office on a regular basis helps too if your employer is open to that.

Getting Started

Once you decide you would rather work from home, there are a couple of different approaches you can take. If you’re already employed, talk to your boss and to get an understanding of what your options might be. It’s easier to make these arrangements at a place where you have an established relationship, and they know the quality of work that you produce. Sometimes due to the nature of the business and type of position you have, that’s not always possible. Although it might be a bit more challenging to find a legitimate remote or work from home type of job, they do exist. Before you provide any personal information to companies, be sure to do your research to ensure the business is legitimate. There are a lot of “work from home” opportunities out there that are too good to be true.

November 30, 2016October 18, 2016

Resume Accomplishments

mona-lisa-leonardo-da-vinci-la-gioconda-oil-painting-40997 Leonardo da Vinci is the man responsible for the first resume, created over 500 years ago while he was seeking employment as a military engineer in Milan. A lot has changed from that da Vinci’s resume, and etiquette is always evolving. When I was in college, the career centers recommended using a resume to provide high-level information on job duties. They also said I needed an objective, but that’s no longer the case either. Most of the bullets on my first resume started with “responsible for” and went from there. Admittedly, that was over a decade ago. Nowadays, just listing job duties isn’t enough to get you hired. Hiring managers want more than what you did each day; they want you to tell them about what you were able to accomplish. Strong resume accomplishments will help you to stand out amongst the competition.

Show & Tell

Resumes are filled with buzzwords: team player, flexible, strong multitasker, great communicator, etc. While you probably have these skills using these words doesn’t help your resume. Buzzwords are general statements that don’t come with proof, and hiring managers tend to ignore them. Instead of using empty buzzwords, show employers that you have these skills through your accomplishments. While anyone can say that they’re a great multitasker, think about what you can put on your resume to prove it. There are three great ways to present resume accomplishments on a resume: numbers, annual goals, and awards & recognition.

Numbers

Numbers make your resume stronger. Take advantage of any chance you have to show your accomplishments with numbers. Using numbers is a lot easier if you work somewhere that tracks metrics and measures results. I know that it’s not always easy to measure your impact and sometimes it’s hard to remember the numbers that you influenced. These bullets will fall in one of three categories: dollars, percentages, or hours. Keep track of the number of team members, budgets and hours saved as you work on future projects so you can quickly update your resume later.

Managed all aspects of the $1.5M program budget including membership benefits, events, project development, and staffing.
Launched three successful campaigns in 2015 in new industries resulting in 150% grow
Developed a tool to update and track data entry transactions, saving 40 hours of weekly labor.

Annual Goals

Chances are you go through some goal setting at work each year. Goals are fantastic tools for resume writing so pull out your previous reviews and see what projects you were working and how you performed. These are the big-ticket items that you should include on your resume. As a project manager, your resume should highlight how you effectively led teams to deliver ahead of schedule, under budget or exceeding the requirements.

Led two teams through bi-yearly employee survey action planning, increasing survey response rates from 37% in 2009 to 68% in 2011.
Organized and oversaw a multi-day trade show for vendors in the food and beverage industry at the Hospitality Expo in Las Vegas.

Awards and Recognition

Awards or recognition make great resume accomplishments Any recognitions or awards are potential resume accomplishments. Since you are using your resume to highlight your achievements, awards and recognition are an excellent way to go about it. If the project is outside of your normal scope but matches a skill that the job is looking for, then it’s worth including. When you use your resume to highlight accomplishments you’re showing that you’re willing to go above and beyond.For my superstars out there who have lots of awards under your belt, be selective and choose the most impactful awards.

Recognized as Employee of the Quarter for organizing a community-wide food drive and overseeing 15 volunteers to advertise, collect and deliver non-perishable goods to the local food bank.
Selected as 1 of 12 Executive Advisors out of a class of 250 nationwide. Donated over 200 hours of management consulting to a student team over a three month period.

Functional Bullets

Sometimes it’s not possible to focus solely on resume accomplishments. Sometimes you need to demonstrate skills for the job, and you don’t have an achievement that relates. This is where the functional bullets come in handy. They focus on the general responsibilities of the job. A resume has limited space, so do your best to keep these items to a minimum. Don’t repeat them, and only list skills that you’re not able to cover in other areas.

Responsible for reporting and ensuring compliance with federal, state and local laws
Built and managed project schedules using both waterfall and agile methodology
Used HTML5, JavaScript, and CSS to design the internal company website.

Frequency of Updates

The good news is that resume updates get easier each time you do them. After awhile making updates becomes more about fine-tuning your resume. As your career grows, you want to revisit your resume every six months to a year, even if you’re not looking for a job. Set up a calendar reminder and set aside an hour or two to update your current job responsibilities. That way your accomplishments stay fresh, and you capture them before you forget. It’s okay if this version of your resume is long, you’ll be customizing it for each job you apply for in the future This just provides you with more material to choose from when you become an active job seeker.

November 30, 2016September 12, 2016

The Resume Objective is Dead.

If it’s been awhile since you’ve updated your resume, you might still have an objective at the top. I remember struggling to write a creative objective to say “Hey you, I want a job. I want this job because it’s awesome”. The resume objective was a nice way of telling the employer that you were interested in the job and asking them to consider you.

Here’s the deal. If you are applying to my job opening, I am pretty sure you want the job. I assume that you think you have the skills and abilities to do the job. In the past five years or so, the objective has faded away and been replaced with the summary.

Changing Career Fields

I’ve seen some sites recommend keeping the objective to let employers know that you’re interested in changing fields. I’m going to disagree respectfully. Tailor your resume to each particular job, including the summary section. My advice to someone looking to change their field would be to start with something like “Experienced accounting manager with a passion for Human Resources.” Then, make sure the skills you list are relevant to the desired career field. Another thing to do is outline the reasons you want to make the change in the cover letter. Start with why you are interested in making the change and how your previous experience can help the organization or department.

New Graduate

If you are a recent graduate, your career center might have told you to include an objective because you don’t have a lot of work experience. I’d much rather read about the skills you’ve gained while attending school, being an active volunteer or extracurricular activities. Talk about your experience leading a team, capstone projects, research, and analytics.

The Resume Summary

The summary is a modern replacement for the resume objective. I’ve seen a variety of resume summaries while working in HR and doing resume consultations. A resume summary should highlight your qualifications and skills very briefly. It’s like the abstract on a research paper or the TL:DR version of your professional experience. Your summary should grab the hiring manager’s attention and hook them into reading the rest impressive resume.

The nice thing about summaries replacing the resume objective is that they tend to be longer than a sentence. The summary can be in a short paragraph, bullets, or a combination of the two. For jobs where technical skills are important, bullets tend to work better because they can list languages or technical skills you have.