Stuck in a Career Rut? Allow us to point you in the "Wright" Career Direction

Executive Resume Writing, Resume Strategist, Resume Service, Professional Resume, Manager Resume, Mid-career professionals, Resume, Career Coaching, Interview Coaching

Executive Resume Writing, Career Coaching, Interview Coaching, Executive, Senior Management Resumes, Manager Resume, Experienced Professionals, Mid-Career Professionals Resume, Resume Service, Professional Resume,

About Daisy

I am Daisy Wright, an award winning certified career management and interview coach, author, and certified resume strategist. I collaborate with executives, managers, and mid-career professionals in all aspects of their career and job search to help them get hired FASTER! I am the Founder and Chief Encouragement Officer of The Wright Career Solution and quite passionate about diversity and inclusion and women's issues.

Website: www.thewrightcareer.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/daisywright
Twitter: @CareerTips2Go

Meet Daisy Wright Daisy

Daisy Wright is an award winning career coach, author and certified resume strategist who collaborates with mid-level professionals, managers, and executives to develop attention-grabbing resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and other career marketing documents that focus on telling their career stories and getting them hired FASTER!

Visit her website at www.thewrightcareer.com

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Here are my most recent posts

Laid-Off from Twitter? Now What?

November 6, 2022 by Daisy
Brett Jordan – Unsplash

In Arianna Huffington’s recent newsletter, she stated that, “??’?? ?? ? ?????? ?? ???????? ??????????????. ?????????? ????? ??? ??? ?? ????, ??? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ?????, ?? ????? ?????????…”.

Nowhere is this more evident than what’s happening at Twitter.

When Elon Musk walked into the Twitter HQ the other day, he carried a sink and tweeted, “???????? ??????? ?? – ??? ???? ???? ??!”

Did he really mean, “let that sink in”, or was he indicating he was going to gut everything at the company, except the kitchen sink?

It appears he is on his way to gutting even the kitchen sink. Not only did he sack three of his top people in the US, but also two in Canada. He also laid off approximately half of the staff – 3,700.

Nothing is wrong with that. Layoffs happen all the time, but there is a right and a wrong way, and it’s certainly not the draconian, and unprofessional way in which he is doing it. There is nothing humane about his approach, and he has failed to consider the contributions those employees made to allow him the luxury of purchasing the company.

I can’t even imagine the angst that each employee went through last Thursday night as they waited to see if they were being let go.

Then, imagine firing the entire Accessibility Experience Team? Did he think of what would happen to individuals with disabilities who use the platform? Check out the respectful way in which the former manager of the team, Gerard K. Cohen, shared the loss and commended his team. (@GerardKCohen).

It’s a fact, Musk owns Twitter and can do as he pleases, but what a way to start and end relationships with employees?

This Twitter debacle is a wakeup call for every employee wherever you are. While most companies would be more respectful of their employees, others might follow in Musk’s footsteps. Here are some tips that are as applicable now as they were when I wrote them years ago:

  1. It’s OK to be angry. Don’t bottle your feelings. Anger, as long as it’s not misplaced, could have a healing effect, but don’t act out at work. It’s not the time to go badmouthing coworkers or your boss. Such behaviour could be construed as negative and unprofessional, could damage relationships and thwart your chances of getting a good reference.
  • Get support.  Find a trustworthy person who will listen to you and offer advice. Check with an employment lawyer to see if you qualify for severance, and how much. If not, find out if you qualify for unemployment insurance.
  • Take time for self-care. Self-care is not selfish. You poured all you had into your job. It’s time for some “me” time. Put yourself first. This is not the time to beat upon yourself and question your ability or self-worth. Take some time to clear your head and develop strategies to help you bounce back.
  • Focus on what you have gained from the experience.  Turn this negative experience into something positive. Begin by spotlighting your assets. Write out an inventory of your transferable skills that could benefit another employer. Hopefully you were keeping a journal. If so, reflect on your special job achievements, awards and recognitions received, and comments and testimonials made by your supervisor, coworkers or customers. All of these are your assets – documented evidence that validate your capabilities.
  • Reach out to your network. Let your connections on social media, including Twitter and LinkedIn, know that you are in search of a new opportunity. If you are a former Twitter employer, for example, individuals and companies are already sharing potential opportunities.
  • Remember that “This too shall pass”.  What you are feeling now is real, but it won’t last forever. Sometimes, a layoff is just the prescription you need to propel you to action. Ask yourself some soul-searching questions like, “Is it time to go back to school to gain additional skills? “What other companies could use my skills?” Do I have what it takes to start a business?” “What do I really enjoy doing, and should I be exploring this as one of my career options?
  • Remain positive. This may be a bit hard, but the road to a successful job search is paved with disappointments and frustrations. Don’t give up. Join a support group; start networking with people who will put you in touch with people who can help you or people willing to share their network of contacts with you.
  • Grab your data from Twitter. Last, but not least, download your data from Twitter. This is what people who have Twitter accounts should do from time to time. The platform does not belong to us. It’s even more important if you plan on deleting your account and moving to another platform. Here are some instructions from a Fast Company article on how to download your data and delete your account.

Hope these eight tips will help you as you deal with a layoff or as you make plans just in case the layoff axe falls on you.

Filed Under: Career Coaching, Job Search, Monday Morning Rx Tagged With: , , ,

SUCCESSS is a State of Mind!

September 12, 2022 by Daisy

The Monday Rx, a weekly career and job search prescription is back after the summer break, and this edition is about SUCCESS!

How many times have you been rejected, spurned or sidelined, and thought you had failed? Don’t worry. I have been there more times than I care to remember, but am still standing!

Why? Because failures don’t define me. I grow from every one of them. If not, I would be missing the success boat.

But, what if you think that success is a state of mind. What if we change the narrative and acknowledge that we are all living breathing, specimens of success instead of clamouring for that “one more thing” that would make us a success.

What if I told you that when I wrote No Canadian Experience, Eh? A Career Success Guide for New Immigrants, one Ontario college used the book to develop a course for their newcomer clients? Because of that, I have addressed their graduates several times, and right now am working on a project with them. Would you call that success?

What if I told you that earlier in the year, I was contacted by two Ontario universities for career coaching opportunities. I didn’t hear back from one, but I spent the summer coaching staff and delivering workshops for the other. Am I going to view the first one as a failure or bask in the success of the other?

As I write, am in discussions with a company on the African continent to coach their mid-level executive staff. Am I going to wait until it comes through to call it a success? Nope! For them to reach out to me, is already a success. If it becomes a reality, it will just be the icing on the success cake.

When I coached a mentee on salary negotiations two months ago with an 85-year-old Canadian company, she ended up with a base salary of $175K, $32,000 more than what she was offered. And, that’s not the total package. That’s success on both sides.

When I watch the career trajectory of a former client as he moved from IBM to Royal Bank to Amazon and now as VP of Technology at (by coincidence) the same company as my mentee, I thought of his words to me when he got his first executive position, “Daisy, I didn’t believe I could be an executive. You saw what I didn’t see in myself.”

The accompanying image is my formula of SUCCESS. Which line resonates with you? Let each point serve as a guide as you define your own success story. Don’t measure it by someone else’s standard.

Here is an assignment for you this week:

Set aside 20 minutes of your time, grab your journal (I hope you have one), and start reflecting on your success stories, aka your accomplishments. This is a brainstorming exercise, so don’t edit your thoughts. When you are finished, you can go back and edit it to unearth the nuggets. You will realize you are more successful than you thought.

Need help? Let’s have a brief career chat!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

What’s All the Buzz About Quiet Quitting?

September 7, 2022 by Daisy

Not only has “The Great Resignation” put employees in the driver’s seat, but the new craze of Quiet Quitting seems to be doing just that. Employees are re-evaluating their workplace priorities, and some have decided to do the bare minimum to get out of the hustle mentality we have become accustomed to.

Although the buzz phrase is trendy, quiet quitting is not a new phenomenon, neither is it a Gen-Z creation. There have always been employees who play by the 9-5 rule: arrive on time, go through the motions, watch the clock, then leave on time. What Gen-Z has courageously done is to call it out. “They are not afraid to draw the line and say, “enough is enough”, when they feel unappreciated.

In its current context, quiet quitting occurs when employees experience any or all of the following:

  • Increased stress and burnout.
  • The work and workplace no longer excite them.
  • They are not feeling valued at work.
  • They are disrespected, sidelined for promotions, and given extra work (without being compensated for it).

When employees feel unfulfilled and unhappy at work, they become disengaged, and in subtle ways communicate their dissatisfaction by quietly quitting. It’s their way of saying, “There’s more to life than this. I am only going to do what you pay me to do, and no more”.

Contrary to Kevin O’Leary’s outburst that “If you are a quiet quitter, you’re a loser”, that’s not true. The Great Re-evaluation is taking place. People are rethinking their values. They are intimating that they want more than a paycheck. They want to be in environments that allow them to engage in meaningful work, find purpose and thrive. As Daniel Coleman of Emotional Intelligence fame said in a leadership article for Korn Ferry Institute, “quiet quitting isn’t really about avoiding work as much as it is about embracing a more meaningful life outside of it.”

One of the key findings of a survey done by ServiceNow, states that “In a time when people are rethinking what matters to them, there is an increasing trend to do work that is more meaningful and contributes to larger societal goals.”

Not Everyone Can Quietly Quit

As much as we would like to think that quiet quitting is a liberating concept, we must be mindful that not everyone can afford to do so. People of colour, women and other marginalized groups have to think twice because they are often held to a different standard. Some find they have to work doubly hard to even be recognized. Most women still have to deal with the balancing act of work and family. Many of these individuals fear that speaking up could impact their chances for advancement. Instead of speaking up, they suffer in silence, which affects their mental health.

In a conversation with a client yesterday he told me he showed an article about quiet quitting to his wife a few days ago, and she exclaimed, “That’s you!” He had joined the quiet quitting ranks without even realizing it. His challenge has been the fact he has always gone above and beyond at work yet it hasn’t paid off, despite exceptional performance. He decided, unintentionally, to ‘quiet quit’, and he is finding more joy in his life.

While he will continue doing his work within his prescribed work hours, he has carved out space to spend more time with his family, which includes small kids. He’s also engaging in hobbies that he didn’t have time for and now he is thinking of ways to benefit financially from these activities. He is no longer worried about work and whether or not he gets a promotion. His biggest benefit so far is his mental health.

Beyond the Quiet Quitting Debate

The debate will continue about whether quiet quitting is right or wrong, but it is not sustainable. In the long run it’s a loss for both employees and employers. Most employees want to find purpose in their work; they want to know they are contributing to something bigger. They also don’t want to be micromanaged, disrespected, or sidelined. Employers, for their part, will be thinking of its impact on the bottomline.

How Can Managers Help and Where Do They Start?

Managers can start by initiating one-on-one career conversations with their direct reports. Do not wait for the annual review, as that might be too late. If you don’t normally have these conversations, be transparent. Let them know from the outset that you genuinely care for their well being and you want to create an informal space to get to know them better, understand their concerns, and help them succeed.

Although you may already have a set of questions of your own, here are some others that will help you start the conversation:

  • How can I help you?
  • What are your professional interests and values?
  • What types of projects do you enjoy doing? What motivates you?
  • What are your lifestyle needs?
  • What are your top five skills (i.e., those in which you have the most proficiency and/or those you enjoy using the most)?
  • What do you believe are the top two or three skills you need to learn to grow in your job, advance to the next level, or seek a new opportunity?

Don’t let it stop there. Make these conversations a routine part of your role.

What Can Employees Do?

As an employee, you would benefit from reviewing the questions above in anticipation of the meeting. If your manager is not initiating the conversation, take the lead. You will need to learn how to advocate for yourself. Suffering in silence is not the answer. It brings on more stress. Before the meeting, think of your biggest concerns about your job. Are you looking for a more flexible work schedule, or for career advancement? You should also have specific questions for your manager such as:

  • What’s the most valuable thing that I bring to this role?
  • Can you provide me with feedback on how I am doing in my role? What am I doing well, and how can I improve?
  • Are there opportunities for me to grow in this or another position?
  • Are there opportunities for me to job shadow someone and expand my experience?
  • Can I be assigned a mentor or a sponsor?

On the assumption that you have been documenting your work, take that journal as evidence of the work and projects you have been involved with. After I suggested to the client referenced above that he should start a journal of his work activities, he told me it was a double shock for him. First, he never took time to reflect on the contributions he was making, and he discovered he was doing a lot. Second, his manager was not aware of the amount of work he was doing, and the projects he took charge of until he showed him the evidence. Journaling was a confidence booster for the client. He said, “after going through the exercise, I felt like a leader even though I don’t have the title.”

What About Your Long-Term Career Trajectory?

To those employees who are quietly quitting, set aside some time to consider the following questions as part of your long-term career plan:

  • What vision do I have for my career?
  • At the end of my career, what would be my most memorable achievements?
  • How does my career vision connect with my company’s vision?
  • What assignments will challenge me the most
  • What skills and knowledge do I need to acquire?
  • What attitudes or behaviours do I need to change or adopt?

Your answers to those questions will help you forge a path to your own career satisfaction without having to quietly quit. 

Frustrated and fed-up with your job? Before you quit quietly, let’s have a brief conversation!

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

10 Tips to Weather the Layoff Storm

August 17, 2022 by Daisy

It seems we have sauntered from The Great Resignation to The Great Layoff Expectation. There are so many announcements about the layoffs happening these days that employees are becoming jittery, wondering when it will be their time.

Of course, layoffs happen all the time, and they are difficult for those affected, but the disrespectful, and unconscionable ways in which they are happening these days is doubly hurtful. Employees being laid-off / fired over Zoom, email, text, is inhumane!

The reality is that none of us are insulated from layoffs. Although the news is usually shocking, layoffs don’t just happen. Invariably, there are subtle signs that things are amiss, and as companies make these critical business decisions, struggle to maintain a tighter rein on costs, and create “simpler nimbler” structures, job seekers can do their part to weather the layoff storm, if and when it comes.

  1. Keep an eye out for tell-tale signs in your company.

If you are becoming a bit jittery at work because things don’t seem right, and if the grapevine is quite active, conduct your own due diligence. Has the company been in the news lately? What for? Did it meet analysts’ expectations? Did it have a management shakeup? Are there dramatic fluctuations of its share price? This is not to suggest that you become paranoid, but you also don’t want to be the ostrich with its head in the sand. The answers to these questions will be a good indicator of where your company is heading and if you should jump ship.

  1. Take advantage of professional development opportunities offered by the company.

Many employees do not take advantage of their company’s professional development offerings. These may be formal training where you attend classes outside of work, or free in-house courses offered as lunch-and-learn programs. Even if your company does not offer training, don’t forget the myriad of elearning programs available on the Internet, but also on LinkedIn Learning. Although your job may appear safe at the moment, it doesn’t mean you should stop learning.

  1. Be on the lookout for internal vacancies, and assess yourself to see if your skills match the requirements.

Speak with someone within that department to gather additional information about the position and then submit your application. In addition, climbing the career growth ladder might sometimes mean having to make a lateral career move, so be flexible.

  1. Find out if there are opportunities to job-shadow another employee or be cross-trained on a system.

Such initiatives will put you ahead of your competitor, or prepare you for your next career opportunity, whether within or outside the company.

  1. Arrange career conversations and informational interviews to keep abreast of industry developments.

Career conversations are similar to informational interviews but they are usually initiated by your manager. Don’t wait for that to happen. Be proactive. Arrange a meeting to discuss your career aspirations, growth and development. Informational interviews tend to be arranged with people outside your company. They allow you to learn more about a field you are interested in, or to keep current with trends in your industry. These two approaches are not mutually exclusive, so be alert to see if you can use any of the knowledge gained to enhance your current position.

  1. Start a journal of your special achievements, comments made by your supervisor or coworkers, and awards and recognitions received.

Review your performance appraisals. What did your supervisor say about you? What special projects did you work on, and what role did you play? Check your email for messages from vendors, coworkers, even your boss, that attest to your capabilities. All these notes will come in handy when you are ready to brush up your résumé, and articulate your successes in interviews.

  1. Develop and nurture a network of contacts, even if you’re not yet looking for a job.

Many people have the misconception that networking is “brown-nosing,” or it’s done only when one is job hunting. Those are myths. Networking is an ongoing process that takes time to grow, but when you nurture your network, it becomes very valuable when faced with a layoff, or when changing careers. As author Harvey MacKay said, you should “dig your well before you are thirsty”.

  1. Join professional associations, and contribute.

Some people join professional associations but do not participate; they do not volunteer for leadership positions. Their goal in joining the association is to beef up their resumes. Contributing allows you to learn new skills, meet new people and build credibility among your peers. Also, many organizations send their job postings to some of these associations before they hit the job boards. Demonstrating that you are an active member of a professional association will be a great addition to your résumé.

  1. Find a mentor, and ask for help.

Is there someone whom you admire in or outside your company? Contact that person and ask if he or she would be willing to be your mentor. Even if they cannot, you could still discuss your uncertainties or your career plans with them. It’s never a weakness to ask for help.

  1. Embrace change.

There are times when a layoff is just what you may need to propel you to action; to change careers; to do something different. Redirect your energy into something productive and don’t feel sorry for yourself. Take a long hard look at where you are in your career. Are you satisfied? Have you reached a plateau in the company? Is it time for a change?

Bottom Line

After all this, if you are still uncertain about your future, enlist the help of a career coach who can steer you in the right direction. Whatever you do, make proactive choices now, not reactive ones later.

___________

Article first published by the author on Job-Hunt.Org.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Let’s Talk Interviews

March 3, 2022 by Daisy

Let’s talk interviews! Yes, that dreaded topic where you are sitting in the hot seat, your palms are sweaty, you become tongue-tied, and unable to articulate your accomplishments. Yikes!

On Monday, I had two clients who had interviews. One was for a Director’s role at a hospital; the other for an Executive Director’s role at a nonprofit.

As one can imagine, lots of practise and preparation went into the process, both from their side and mine.

The potential Executive Director and I have been working together for months from developing the career marketing documents right through to interview coaching.

Here’s what the potential Executive Director said in a follow up email:

?“Going into the interview I felt as prepared as I could be. It was 2 hours, with 4 board members and the recruiter.

?I had practiced my presentation enough to not use any notes.

?The recruiter commented that she could see I did a lot of research.

?I felt prepared with the situation / behavioural questions, but her questions were about 5-6 sentences long. I struggled a bit with some of it, but I did my best.”

Yes, some questions can have several parts, and especially at the executive and senior levels, the interviewer(s) will go deep. That’s called ‘probing’.

When this happens, you cannot use surface-level thinking to respond.
 
When they say, “Tell me a time when….”, not only should you have your initial story ready, but you should anticipate that they might follow up with, “Tell me more…and more!”
 
??What did you do?

??What was the impact / outcome / result?

??You mentioned you were on the change management team, what was your specific role?

Here are five of several questions both clients were asked to review…just in case:

Communication Effectiveness: Give me a specific example of a time when an associate criticized your work in front of others. How did you respond? How has that event shaped the way you communicate with others?

Change Management: Give me an example of a time you had to adjust quickly to changes over which you had no control. What was the impact of the change on you?

Empowerment: Give me a specific example of how you have empowered your staff to make independent decisions.

Holding People Accountable: Tell me about a time when you had to provide constructive feedback to a direct report who was not meeting expectations.

Leadership: Give me a specific example of how you have helped create an environment where differences are valued, encouraged and supported.

They were also to keep in mind potential follow up questions.

One piece of advice I offer clients is that they might not know the exact questions they will be asked, but they can anticipate them based on the job posting.

Here’s your Call to Action:

Start practising now! Don’t be caught unprepared for your next interview. 

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

What’s the Matter With Older Workers 45+?

December 14, 2021 by Daisy

You might be tempted to ask, “What’s the matter with older workers, 45+?”, and the answer will depend on who you ask. We don’t really need a survey to tell us what we already know – that many older workers are sidelined for job opportunities because of their age. And the excuses by hiring managers are many: They are too set in their ways; hesitant to learn new technologies, and difficulty fitting in with a multigenerational workforce. Not all of that is true!

The non-profit organization Generation commissioned a global survey to provide an in-depth view of individuals aged 45–60 who are seeking or working in entry-level and intermediate roles. In an interview on a McKinsey podcast titled, The Economic Impact of Ageism, Mona Mourshed, founding CEO of Generation offered some key insights from the survey. 

  • Midcareer workers 45+ and older who looking for entry-level to intermediate positions are struggling!
  • Older mid-career workers make up the bulk of the long-term unemployed in many countries and they face growing barriers to finding good jobs. Average length of time to find a job for 45+ individuals in Canada and USA is 27 weeks.
  • Midcareer individuals across the world are finding it harder to get jobs—despite rising calls to address inequality and advance social justice.
  • People age 45+ face persistent and rising pressure in the global job market. They are unemployed for much longer and their age is one of the greatest barriers to their finding a job.
  • Those from underrepresented communities face even greater barriers. They engage in 53 percent more interviews in order to get a job offer.
  • Hiring managers have a strong perception bias against 45+. They believe that members of this age cohort have poor skills and low adaptability. They strongly favour job candidates aged 35-44 over 45+ individuals. They believe that this younger age group outperforms the 45+ cohort in every area of evaluation – application readiness, experience and ‘fit’. According to hiring managers, this age group has well-prepared documents and portfolios, offer good referrals and do well in interviews.
  • Hiring managers cite three top concerns regarding age 45+ job candidates: their reluctance to try new technologies, inability to learn new skills, and difficulty working with coworkers of a different generation.
  • Although hiring managers may express bias against 45+ individuals, those same employers acknowledge that once they hire people over 45, those same workers (87 percent), perform on the job just as well as or even better than their peers who are a decade younger.
  • Employers value reputable training and credentialing. Individuals 45+ who have successfully switched careers regard training as being important to securing their new jobs. By contrast, 45+ individuals whose job prospects would most benefit from training, are often especially hesitant to undertake training.
  • Of those who switched careers, 74 percent say attending training helped them to secure their new position.
  • Hiring managers are calling for higher levels of education, behavioural skills, tech skills, and technical or job-specific skills, and they are more often requiring work experience for entry-level positions.
  • Tech roles lead the increase in job requirements.
  • Candidates face more job-screening methods than they did one to two years ago, including background checks, skills and personality tests, group panel interviews, candidate presentations and drug tests.
  • The 45+ who need the training the most to get a job are the most hesitant to pursue it.
  • The 45+ who have successfully switched professions believe that training has been central to their ability to do so, and employers agree.
  • National statistics (Canada, Singapore, Spain and the United States) show that 45+ and 50+ individuals have consistently made up 40-70 percent of the long-term unemployment since 2015.

How Can Hiring Managers Rectify Interview Inequities?

Based on the survey, employers and hiring managers have a lot of work to do. They should address interview inequities and treat it as a top priority. Even when they do hire 45+ individuals. Their biases tend to survive despite their experience to the contrary.

“Like attracts like” is often said. Of the hiring managers in the survey, 39 percent were 35-44 (while 33 percent were 18-34 and 28 percent were 45+).

Some 45+ also share the blame; it’s not just hiring managers.  are not the only ones to be

Recommendations from the Survey:

As the survey states, no single action will solve the challenges uncovered by our survey. Deep-seated societal issues and attitudes lie at the heart of age-based biases, and they will take time to address.

National governments and global multilaterals can publish short-and long-term unemployment statistics with narrower age brackets.

More often than not, global data sets assembled by multilateral organizations combine a wide span of ages into a single bracket—typically 25–74 or 25–54—on which they report short- and long-term employment and unemployment outcomes. This sprawling aggregation of data results obscures the unique issues faced by the age 45+ population, making their plight much harder to track.

Practitioners and policymakers can link training programs directly to employment opportunities, and provide stipends, to support 45+ individuals who are hesitant to train.

Midcareer switchers overwhelmingly say that training enabled them to shift to a new career trajectory. But for the segment of the 45+ population who are hesitant to undertake training, employers should take into account the time and money that they probably cannot afford.

Employers can change hiring practices to get a clearer view of potential 45+ candidate talent.

Shift from a traditional resume-centered interview to an interview process that enables 45+ candidates to show their skills through demonstration-based exercises.

Pay attention to the “Like attracts like” factor. Of the hiring managers in the survey, 39 percent were 35-44 (while 33 percent were 18-34 and 28 percent were 45+).

Employers can rethink current approaches to make it easier to fill new and revamped roles with existing 45+ employees, instead of relying solely on new hires.

Success in reskilling 45+ employees will demand deeper reflection and concerted action by employers to overcome age-based biases within their own organization.

While there is enough blame to go around, some 45+ workers need to become proactive and embrace training as the new rule of the job search road, especially since forecasts suggest that one-third of all jobs worldwide will be transformed by technology. 

As the survey states, older workers are capable of adapting and switching careers and mastering new roles but they cannot meet all their challenges alone. Employers and policymakers need to take steps to counter the rampant ageism.

Finally, keep in mind that older workers are our friends, neighbours, and parents. Do we seize the compelling opportunity they offer, or abandon them to lives of quiet desperation and long-term unemployment?

_________________

Sources:

Meeting the World’s Midcareer Moment (www.generation.org) 

Download a copy of Generation’s Report: Meeting-the-Worlds-Midcareer-Moment-July-2021).

Download Kick Ageism to the Curb-Your Career Isn’t Over_Crowd-sourced Resource, a resource compiled by this author with contributions from a number of career coaches: 

McKinsey’s Podcast: The Economic Impact of Ageism (https://mck.co/3ERQB5H)

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

Quiet Persistence

August 23, 2021 by Daisy

 

Don't Give Up

Here is today’s #MondayRx. It’s based on a woman I have had the pleasure of coaching over the past several months. My work with her was minor compared to the work she put into her search:

? She hadn’t worked for over 15 years

? She left her job with the City of New York to move South to take care of her wheel-chaired confined mother

? After her Mom passed two years ago, she re-started her job search

? She is 50+

? She was faced with all the other ‘isms’ you can think of, but, she quietly persisted.

? Two months ago, she found a job as a Customer Service / Covid Screener. Not her ideal job, but she continued her search

? For the third time, she submitted her resume for a Customer Service role with the City where she currently resides.

? The City did not advertise a position (?????? ??? ??????), but she proactively applied. She wanted to get a foot in the door.

? Instead of another rejection email, she was invited for an interview.

? Late in the interview she realized she was being assessed a job as a Deputy Clerk, not the Customer Service position

? Here’s part of our conversation last week:

“?? ??????? ?? ??? ??? ???? ? ??? ? ???. ??? ????????? ??? ???? ? ????????????. ?? ??? ????? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ??? ?????????. ???? ????? ????????? ?????? ?? ?????????? ?? ? ????????? ?? ?? ??????? ???? ???. ???? ???? ????? ? ?????? ???? ?? ?? ?????? ??????? ? ???? ? ??. ? ???? ?????? ?????? ? ??? ???? ??? ??????. ?? ??? ???? ? ???? ????.”

This morning, August 23rd, on what would’ve been her late mother’s birthday, she started her new job as a Deputy Clerk!

If you are facing similar job search challenges, especially with all the ‘isms’ attached, don’t give up! Take a break, if you must, but quietly persist. There’s a job out there with your name on it.

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Reframing the Narrative Around ‘No Canadian Experience’

March 23, 2021 by Daisy

It’s ironic that the same qualifications that allow newcomers to gain permanent residency status and come to Canada seem to work against them once they arrive.

Last Saturday, I hosted a Webinar through New Canadians TV on this notion of “No Canadian Experience”, and am sharing a synopsis of what was discussed. While the content is geared to newcomers, other job seekers will find some of these tips beneficial.

Reframe the Narrative

First of all, the phrase – No Canadian Experience – is a conversation stopper. It’s one way to stop you in your tracks and prevent you from talking about your unique journey and the benefits an employer could gain from hiring someone like you. Instead of ending the conversation, use the opportunity to engage and reframe the narrative.

Address the Elephant in the Room

(Image: Reddit)

If you get the sense your lack of Canadian work experience could be a concern, you might want to address the ‘elephant in the room’ upfront. Admit it (see a sample script below under elevator pitch), then steer the conversation to how your international experience aligns with the organization’s goals and the benefit they will gain from hiring you. However, before you can have such a conversation, you will need to do some preliminary work. This work won’t be easy, so commit to playing the long game. You will discover it’s a better use of your time than sending resumes to every company and not getting a response.

Take an Inventory of Your Skills

Look at all the things you have done, the skills you used and the outcome / impact you made and write them down. This exercise will help you quantify your achievements, make you stand out from other candidates, and provide you with an inventory of your skills to help you showcase your value.

Research, Research, Research

Every job is NOT for you so don’t go sending resumes to every company that has an opening. Research the ones you would want to work with, and you can start with these lists:

Extend your research to social media platforms, starting with LinkedIn. Sometimes names of your connections who work at a particular company may show up. If not, check if someone in your network knows someone at the company, and ask if they could introduce you. Keep in mind that not everyone is going to respond so don’t become despondent and give up if they dont. Remember you are in it for the long haul.

Once you have gone through the lists, select about 15-20 companies, whether or not they have advertised. When you are focusing on just the ones with advertised openings, you could be missing out on hidden opportunities.

Target Recruiters

While I am not aware there’s a Top 100 Best Recruiters list, you can find many recruiters on LinkedIn. Follow the same process as you did with companies. Check your network, then Connections, then search for recruiters (or any other related title). Make sure to target those in your industry. Start with 5-10 such recruiters and reach out to them. See how to forge authentic relationships below.

Dissect the Job Posting

To get the attention of an employer takes much more than sending a resume and cover letter. It requires an understanding of the employer’s needs. The first indicator of what the employer needs is in the job posting. Pay very close attention. Assess your skills and qualifications against the posting. What do you have to offer? How does your experience align with the requirements?

Prepare Your Career Documents

Depending on who you are talking to, employers take between 6 and 10 seconds to scan your resume; the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) probably takes less. This means if your resume isn’t addressing what’s asked for in the job posting, it will be rejected by the employer leaving them to think that you don’t understand their needs.

Forge Authentic Relationships

The key to a successful job search is to build relationships first, ask for assistance second, and offer to be of assistance always. This is where playing the long game will help you forge authentic relationships, build credibility and gain visibility. In the early stages of building these relationships, don’t go asking for a job (unless there’s one that you know they are hiring for.) After all, you wouldn’t ask someone to marry you on a first date! Develop a ‘give, give, get’ mentality. Always ask how you can help your new connections. If you happen to know that an employer is recruiting for another position and you have someone you can recommend, let them know.

Use Every Tool at Your Disposal

As a follow on to building relationships, you are now at the stage where you need to use every tool at your disposal to find the right contacts. You have experimented with LinkedIn, try Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Employers recruiters are on these platforms. What about emails? Most companies have standard e-mail formats. Try sending multiple emails in different format until you no longer receive a “mail delivery error.” You may even want to use the Advanced Search on Google.

Contact as many people as possible while being realistic — not everyone is going to respond.

Develop Your Elevator Sound-Bite

Once you have connected with people you need to tell them about yourself in approximately 30 seconds – the time it takes for an elevator to move from one floor to the next. This is when you craft your elevator pitch or sound-bite. As important as your degrees are to you, that’s not what you want to begin your introduction with. They want to know first how you can help them make or save money. Tell them what it is you do, and name a couple of your accomplishments.

Below is a sample script of an elevator pitch or sound-bite. While it is structured for the interview and will help you address your lack of Canadian experience, it can also be reworked to create a brand paragraph for your resume or help you perfect your elevator sound bite.

“First of all, thank you for inviting me to the interview. I am pleased that something in my background and experience caused you to select me as one of the candidates to be interviewed.

Second, it is true that I haven’t had an opportunity to work in Canada yet and I am hoping you will give me that first chance.

Third, and most significantly, my experience aligns very well with the position. For four years, I was the head of Digital Marketing at _______, with offices in Canada, the US and 17 other countries. My experience includes diverse managerial experience in performance marketing, digital media and marketing technology, and building partnerships with clients to achieve extraordinary results. Conducting regular meetings with staff across all locations and utilizing my bilingual skills, I gained a good grasp of workplace culture and norms allowing me to resolve problems and conflicts before they escalate. With such a background, I am confident I will be able to help you develop and implement your digital marketing strategy across all media channels and platforms.” 

Get Ready to Toot Your Own Horn

“Accomplishments don’t speak for themselves”, is a mantra from Google’s #IamRemarkable workshop that I have had the honour of hosting three times over the past several weeks. This means if you don’t speak up about your accomplishments, you will go unnoticed. In other words, if you don’t toot your own horn, no one will know you are coming.

I hope the above tips will help you reframe the narrative around your lack of Canadian experience and steer the conversation towards the value you will bring to the company. Your unique journey has value. Talk about it. “It’s not bragging if it’s based on facts!”

Have questions? Let’s connect!

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What Do You Do When You Didn’t Get the Job?

February 24, 2021 by Daisy

“After careful consideration, we have decided to pursue another candidate…”

How many times have you received an email that said something like that? What was your first response? Did you:

  • Throw your cell phone on the wall?
  • Hit your laptop so hard, some of the keys flew off?
  • Hang your head in shame muttering what’s the matter with you?
  • Call your coach to talk it through?
  • Write a follow-up email with a call-to-action?

I hope you chose the last one – wrote a follow-up call-to-action email – even if you tried some of the others.

Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich said:

“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”

There is truth in that quote: every failure carries the seed of an equal or greater benefit.

Consider one of my client’s experience: She had an interview for a communications specialist role after which she was asked to send a sample of her writing. They were impressed, so they sent her a writing assignment a few days later… and then she waited.

Two weeks passed and she received an email that said, in part “After careful consideration, we have decided to pursue another candidate for this position whose skill-set matches more closely with our organizations requirements at this time.”

Yikes! After all that effort!

Let’s face it, it’ is not a pleasant feeling to receive such an email. Your first thought is to beat up on yourself or to blame someone or something. But, sometimes you just have to adopt the attitude that “it’s not over ‘til it’s over”. That’s the mindset my client eventually adopted.

She phoned one day to say she was “…trying to remain optimistic, but it’s becoming more difficult as the days passed.” We talked through her situation and one of the positive actions she took was to respond by thanking them for the update and letting them know that, although she was not the successful candidate, she was still interested in working for the company and would keep in touch. 

Several days ago, she received an email inviting her to another interview because the position was still open. None of us know the real reason for the opening but it could be any of the following:

  • They made an offer that was declined,
  • Their preferred candidate didn’t work out, or
  • They decided to expand the team.

Whatever the reason, if my client had not followed up to reiterate her interest in working with the organization; if she had fired off an email to ‘tell them where to go’ with their job, or if she had just taken ‘No’ for answer, she wouldn’t have been offered the job.

Here is a part of her email that arrived in my Inbox on Family Day (of all the days):

Client Testimonial for Daisy Wright, The Wright Career Solution. Career Coaching, Interview Coaching

“I’m writing with good news! ______ Canada made the official offer. I signed the contract and I start work tomorrow! I’m really happy and excited to be starting this job.

I’ll write with more details about the job offer later, but I really want to thank you for all your support throughout my job search. Your advice and coaching helped me improve my interviewing skills – and become more confident – by identifying and sharing success stories that illustrate my skills and experience. I’m so glad my Google search for an interview coach led me to you! From the first time we chatted, I knew that your energy, enthusiasm and expertise was exactly what I was looking for.” 

Amen to that, but I can’t over-emphasize how much coaching is a collaboration. It’s having someone you can turn to when things get tough; someone who can help you clear the cobwebs that get in the way when you need clarity or someone who listens. This client initially hired me for interview coaching, but we continued working together.

If you ever receive a job rejection email, here are three tips to help you deal with it:

  1. Assess yourself. Reflect on the interview to see what went well, and look for opportunities where you need to grow.
  2. Be courteous. Refrain from bad-mouthing the interviewers. They were doing the job of trying to find the best candidate.
  3. Follow up with the interviewer. Sometimes the candidate they chose didn’t work out, but because of your professionalism and lack of bitterness, they could decide to offer you the position. You just never know.

Finally, here’s some advice I offer to clients and non-clients:

“If you hear “No” from an employer, it just means “No” from THAT employer. There are other opportunities on the horizon. Just push through the obstacles. There’s a “Yes” somewhere out there”. Don’t give up! There’s a job with your name on it somewhere.” 

Ready to have a career conversation? I am all ears. Give me a call or send me an email.

 

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Ready to Create Your Big, Bold and Audacious Goal for 2021?

January 4, 2021 by Daisy

Image: Purchased from Dreamtime

Are you ready to make some Big, Bold, and Audacious Goals for 2021? If you are, then connect with me.

The beginning of a new year is a time of renewal. It’s a time when people get focused on what they want from the year ahead. But, sometimes the year catches us at a cross point, still wavering and uncertain about what to do.

If you are feeling stuck, hopeless, and alone, maybe it’s time to craft a vision of where you want to be by this time next year.

Join me and some other B.A.D. (Brilliant, Audacious and Daring), women at my once-a-year Visioning event. For the first time, it is being held virtually, allowing you to attend from the comfort of your home!

On Saturday, January 9, I will be hosting Visioning 2021: #GettingItDone. It’s a space where you will begin an exciting journey of crafting your 2021 Vision. You will be given tools and resources to help you craft your one-year vision, determine what steps you need to take, then create a plan. This might be the single most important step you will take in 2021 to achieve your goals. And, we do so in a fun setting.

Get the details right here >> Visioning 2021: #GettingItDone, but before you go there, here’s a snippet of what some past attendees have said:

“Thank you so much for inviting me to the Visioning event that was held today. It was a fabulous session ~ enlightening, inspiring, and meaningful. You provided so many valuable tools and resources for participants to assist everyone in setting their Goals to move forward in their life. This was a perfect session to “kick-start” the new year and motivate me to make changes in my life. You’re a perfect example (and walk the talk) when it comes to goal setting and taking action. You’re an inspiration to others! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise. You’re SIMPLY THE BEST!” ~Ingrid N.

 “I am extremely grateful to you for giving me an opportunity to share and be enriched! Perfect time to identify goals for 2018 I am so thankful to you for helping me find my word of the year, envision a bigger purpose through collaboration and being the Oprah Winfrey in action, body and spirit!“ ~Taranum K. 

“Thank you again for the opportunity to take part in your workshop yesterday. I had a tremendous time and am grateful for the chance to meet so many talented people. The real power came from the activities and exchanges with the group.”

This will be a highly productive day. Lots of work, and no speeches, except that a very special guest may join us briefly. (Am awaiting confirmation).

Plan to set aside the time for yourself and get rid of all distractions.

If you wish to gain clarity, confidence, courage and connection, and be part of a community that learns, supports and inspires, you need to attend this event. Act now!

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