Why Political Diversity Matters in the Workplace

Why Political Diversity Matters in the Workplace Although many companies have faced increased pressure to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace, a lack of diverse hiring teams, limited recruiting processes that fail to reach a broad candidate pool, and unconscious similarity biases have contributed to many companies continued struggle to improve diversity in their workplace. Some businesses, however, have come up with ways to combat these issues such as seeking top talent in non-traditional spaces, such as professional clubs and organizations that cater to underrepresented groups, and using blind testing to limit unconscious recruiting bias.   Why Diversity Matters Promoting diversity can improve your company’s brand and public image but offers numerous other benefits as well. For example, more diversity can result in increased employee engagement and reduced turnover, as employees who feel included, accepted, and valued are happier and more engaged. A study by Deloitte which reported that inclusive teams outperformed their less inclusive peers by 80% in terms of business performance shows that there is a significant business case for diversity as well.   It’s clear that diversity should be something that businesses are thinking about, but what does diversity look like? While people typically think of diversity in terms of race, ethnicity, and gender, these may not be the only areas of diversity where businesses are falling short. Recent complaints from conservative employees about liberal bias at their companies suggest that there may be a lack of political diversity in certain industries as well. Political and Ideological Diversity So is political diversity really an issue in some industries? We aggregated data from the political donation information to see how businesses from different industries and categories stack up in terms of political diversity. Here’s what we found by looking at some of the bell weathers across a variety of industries: While Wall Street has a reputation for being a bit on the conservative side, these banks are highly politically diverse with almost all firms hovering around a 50/50 split between the two parties.   Let’s take a look at the Fortune 500: While these companies are less politically balanced than the wall street banks, they have decent political diversity with a high representation of both political parties. Here’s the breakdown for large technology companies in the US: All of these featured tech companies are predominantly democrat, which suggests a significant lack of political diversity in the tech industry. IBM has the most political diversity, but there is still nearly a 70% liberal majority.     Lastly, let’s take a look at growth-stage technology companies: These high growth companies show extreme political homogeneity. The most politically diverse company here is slack with still over 90% of the employee population reported democrat. Two of these companies, Etsy and HubSpot, lack republican representation entirely.   So What? While larger companies and wall street banks see a mix in the political leanings of their employees, high growth businesses and tech companies appear to have a significant lack of political diversity. Republican representation is particularly lacking at these companies.   This data suggests that both well-developed and high growth tech companies have a long way to go in terms of political diversity. Improving political diversity in these industries is important because having such political homogeneity can be isolating for the few employees who do have differing views. These feelings of isolation can lead to unhappiness and hurt your employer brand. Also, employees with different political affiliations may have different approaches to problem-solving, allowing them to offer some invaluable insights. Ultimately, talented people come from all backgrounds â€" this includes racial, ethnic, and even political backgrounds. Allowing for diverse perspectives can help your business thrive. What This Means For Company Culture While you should keep political diversity in mind when thinking about diversity as a whole at your business, supporting political diversity should never be taken as support for any form of intolerance or discrimination. No matter how your employees vote, your company’s ultimate goal should be to foster a culture of respect and inclusion by acknowledging an individual’s right to his or her own opinion while also ensuring that all views that are expressed are respectful of all people. Overall, HR and executives alike should strive to create a workplace environment where people are treated as equals regardless of their differences, be it their race, gender, or even political affiliation. By encouraging a variety of views and backgrounds at your company, you can help foster a community based on mutual respect of others. About the author:  Phil Strazzulla  is passionate about educating the HR ecosystem about everything talent acquisition.   He began his career working in  early-stage  investing at Bessemer Venture Partners before getting his MBA at Harvard Business School, which lead him to the HR industry

What its like to have a career you love Not what you think.

What its like to have a career you love Not what you think. People who love their career are people who will always figure out how to love their work. There are people who love to work and people who love to do other things. I learned this from looking at what I did in jobs I did not love. And I realized that Id do the job quickly and then do another job. So I always had work I loved. I saw my official job as the thing I had to do on the side. Here are some of the things people who love their career do intuitively, at any job they are in: 1. You compartmentalize. I am happiest when I am writing, but there are a lot of parts of my  blog I cant stand. Like, every time the CDN comes up, I have no idea what people are talking about,  so I spent an hour reading about it  to know if  I needed to know about it. (I dont.) Or Ive had to figure out valuation   which is ridiculous for a blog, so it took me forever. And Ive lost whole sections of the blog when we redesigned. And Id wish whole sections could  be lost as well. As an expert compartmentalizer, I ignore these parts of the job when I ask myself if I like my job. Or I do these parts poorly  and  just wait for stuff to blow up. Its irresponsible, but Im not alone. Most people who love their career do parts of their job really poorly because  they dont care. Another example is  the two guys who own the florist in Pairs,  Odorants.  Theyre famous  for organizing flowers by scent. The bouquets are odd shaped and flowers unconventional  because, like all people who love their work, they focus on what they like and dont pay that much attention to the aspects of their work that dont interest them. 2. You  ignore non-work stuff. If you love your career you dont let other stuff derail you. The minute you put family first is when you dont love your career because its interfering with your family. Thats why most people who adore their work ignore everything else. Attributes that  make us love our  work that its challenging, that it matters, that were good at it   all depend on commitment and learning more and more over time. Which means other thoughts/dreams/opportunities fall by the wayside as the career becomes better and better as a result of commitment. It starts to make sense that  people who work for themselves are happier at work, AND  they work longer hours than anyone else. 3. You have a work friend. Melissa is my work friend. Of course. Although she no longer lets me pay her to work with me because I kept firing her, and she says I cant fire her if I cant pay her. If you love your career then your work friend is someone who goes  with you from job to job. Project to project. And you depend on each other. I was going to tell you that Melissa and I share links like army buddies share ammunition. But Melissa just informed me that the links I send her are too derivative. What? What does that mean? They summarize a bunch of in-depth articles Ive already read and then dumb it down into something a  fifth-grader can read. So we dont share links. Because I am reading at the fifth-grade level. But Melissa shares links with me and I share them with you. Which maybe means you are my workplace friend and not Melissa. But anyway, here is a good one she sent:  The Commercial Zen of Muji 4. You job hunt all the time. People who have great careers are great job hunters. For one thing, thats how they got the great job theyre already in, but also because theyre always thinking about it in the back of their mind in case something pops up. People who love their career love to talk about their career, which also means they interview well. And its always fun to find out that someone wants to hire you, even if you dont take the job. The Job Book describes this  as  having a sense of abundance. And I know many people who read job openings regularly to reconfirm that sense of security that there are always good opportunities for them. In fact, I know many people who go on interviews like people go on dates.  They are not really interested in switching, they just want to know they could switch if they wanted to. 5. You make sure people admire you. We all want to be admired for something. Part of having a great career is knowing what, exactly, you want to be admired for. And forget money. None of us wants to be admired for how much money we have. We want to be admired for the particular thing we did to get that money. In fact, in the world of top  performers, doing  great work is a higher form of currency  than the money itself. I want you to admire me because you like my blog posts enough to always read until the end.

How Super Stars ACE the Job Interview! - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How Super Stars ACE the Job Interview! - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Make no mistake about it, even though the job market is improving in key sectors, it nonetheless remains one of the most challenging, most competitive markets in recent memory. Even highly qualified candidates are still sometimes being subjected to an often lengthy and quite daunting job search process. If you happen to have made it to the first, all-important step in the job-hunting processâ€"the job interviewâ€"you certainly are to be congratulated! However, it’s at this stage that the real work begins. And you had better be well prepared, if you want to progress in the process. Why? Because, contrary to popular opinion, a job interview, any job interview, is designed to accomplish one primary goal: To exclude as many of the candidates as possible as quickly as possibleâ€"NOT to determine which candidates to include in the hiring pool! The initial job interview is usually a telephone interview conducted by an HR “screener” in the larger companies, or by the person who may actually be doing the hiring in the smaller companies. Blow this initial interview by assuming it really doesn’t count, or by “winging it,” or by being either un-prepared or ill-prepared, and that’s the last interview you will have with that company! In my executive recruiting firm, The HTW Group (Hire to Win), the recruiters coach candidates presented to our hiring company clients by advising them to prepare for interviews the way Super Star candidates prepare, by following these SEVEN steps: 1. Research the Company and the Hiring Manager. Nothing works better for you than knowing a littleâ€"or, even better, a LOT!â€"about the company AND the person who will be doing the actual hiring for a position. Most candidates will do at least some research on the hiring company, but few will think to research the hiring manager. Be creative, and brand yourself as a true professional by doing so! Sources to conduct this research include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: • LinkedIn. Virtually every professional today has a profile on LinkedIn. Chances are, the hiring manager will also. • ZoomInfo. This site quite probably will contain significant and substantial information on the hiring company. • Company website. Today, most companies, no matter the size, have a website. Pay particular attention to such things as market share claimed, special products and/or services offered by the company, new initiatives/acquisitions, etc. Sometimes you can even find the company’s latest annual report. • Google (or your favorite search engine, if not Google). Obviously, a Google search engine will usually return “the good, bad and ugly” about both the hiring company and the hiring manager. (You’ll of course want to focus only on the good information during an interview!) 2. Prepare a List of YOUR Questions for the interviewer. The candidate who is “just looking for a job, any job” will usually go in to a job interview, any job interview, prepared only to answer the interviewer’s questions. The Super Star candidate is also prepared to ask some of his/her own questions! Usually, toward the end of any job interview, you will be asked something along these lines: “Now, what questions do you have for me?” The ill-prepared candidate normally comes back with something inane, such as, “I think you have pretty much answered all my questions.” Conversely, the well-prepared, Super Star candidate is ready with a list of well-thought-out key questions, including questions such as these: “Can you give me some additional information about (a product/service)?” “What does the ideal candidate for this position look like?” 3. Be Prepared to Briefly Illustrate at Least THREE of the MOST Important Benefits/Skills You Offer the Hiring Company. It’s important to keep in mind that, until and unless the company actually makes you a job offer, the focus of each and every interview is NOT on you, the candidate. It’s on the hiring company! And more precisely, what you can offer the company. These benefits/skills must of course be appropriate to the specific position for which you are applying, but each of them should answer this question: “So what?” The typical candidate might say, for example, “I have over five years of successful team management experience in the manufacturing process, etc.” The Super Star candidate would add, “and as you’re quite aware, a well-led, highly motivated team means far less down time for the company, thereby reducing or eliminating any possible negative impact to the bottom line.” 4. Be Prepared to Intelligently Answer the “Tell me about yourself” Question. As sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, expect to be asked this question (in one form or the other) during virtually any job interview. The typical candidate will almost always consider this merely a “warm up” question. Big mistake! Arguably, it is the second most important question you’re likely to be asked during a job interview. (The most important question is, “What questions do you have for me?”) The average candidate usually takes this question as the cue to regale the interviewer with a brief (sometimes, not so brief!) personal biography, by saying something such as, “Well, let’s see, I grew up in rural Wisconsin, played baseball and football in high school. And, I’m a BIG fan of the Green Bay Packers. . . .” And the interviewer’s eyes begin to glaze over. . . . Here is how a Super Star candidate responds to the question: “I am a formulation chemist with five years’ experience in development of unique types of emulsions. . . . For the last two years I have led a team of. . . .” See the difference? 5. Be Prepared to Very Carefully Answer the “Why are you looking for another job” Question. This is where many, many ill-prepared candidates fall into the trap so carefully set by many interviewers, and answer the question by providing a litany of grievances about their current job, current boss, or both! The result? These candidates are almost always excluded from further consideration! So, never, never, never say (or even imply) anything negative about your current job when answering this question. Here is how a Super Star candidate would answer the question: “Actually, I have learned a great deal in my current job, and I have the privilege of working with some really talented, very dedicated colleagues. I just believe it’s now time to consider options to move my career to the next level. I think this position, and your company, may in fact provide me with such an opportunity.” 6. Know How to Field the “Why do you want to work for us?” Question. This is an opportunity to impress the hiring manager with how well you have done your homework on the hiring company, without seeming to pander. Yet many candidates still will answer this question by saying something like this (honest!), “Well, I am sick and tired of my current job and the guy I work for, and I am looking for something new and more exciting. I think your company is one I should be considering.” A Super Star candidate would answer the question this way: “Based upon my rather extensive research of your company, I have found. . . .” or “I noticed on your website that you recently introduced an exciting new product. I really would be proud to be involved in something like that. . . .” 7. Be Prepared to EFFECTIVELY Handle the SALARY Question/Issue. Without doubt this is the “800-pound gorilla” sitting in the corner during most job interviews. You can expect it to come up early and oftenâ€"in virtually every type of interview, from the initial screening interview to the telephone and face-to-face interview(s) you may have with a hiring manager. But don’t freak out! If you properly prepare and anticipate having to respond to this question, it can be effectively dealt with. This post is not the place to provide a comprehensive analysis of how to field the salary question/issue, primarily because of the complexity of the issue. Suffice it to say, however, you would not respond to a question such as, “How much is your current salary, and what would it take to get you to consider this position?,” with an answer such as this: “Well, I make $60,000 a year now, and I wouldn’t consider making a move for less than a % raise. How much does the position pay?” Here is how an adroit Super Star candidate would answer the question: “While salary is of course an important consideration when investigating new career opportunities, the more important consideration is the actual opportunity. If you were to ultimately consider me the best candidate for the position, and likewise, if I were to consider this to be a logical career move for me, I am sure your company will offer a very competitive salary.” Want to make sure you’re branded as a Super Star candidate when you go in for your next job interview? Sure you do! Simply follow these seven steps and I can practically guarantee that is precisely how you’ll be perceived as a Super Star candidate! This post is a condensed version of the Kindle eBook “How to ACE the Job Interview!” To obtain a FREE copy, click here. Stay tuned for the fall 2014 release of “Career Stalled? How to Get Your Career Back in High Gear and Land the Job You Deserve Your Dream Job!”

The Right and Wrong Way to Renegotiate Your Salary - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

The Right and Wrong Way to Renegotiate Your Salary - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Successful salary renegotiation is a complex, multistep process that takes time.   Just like anything else, there is a right and wrong way to approach it.   Employees who walk into their boss’ office and ask for more money leave the meeting empty-handed and afraid of losing their job. Roughly 70% of the job seekers whom I encounter are currently being paid less than they are worth and most could successfully renegotiate their pay.   Yet, the overwhelming majority avoid doing so because they don’t know their value and / or envision salary negotiation as highly stressful and contentious conversation.It doesn’t have to be.   If approached in a methodical, savvy manner, asking for a raise is rarely contentious and is often successful.   Consider the following tips: 1. Measure your value using the same metrics as your employer or staffing agency will use.   One of the more frequent mistakes made is that they use competing job openings in order to determine value.   This valuation holds less merit than many think.   Mainly it fails to take into account human nature; people are most concerned with themselves. In order to determine whether your request will be met with agreement and how much to ask for, you’ll value what is most important to the employer: (if a hiring manager is smart, this is what they’ll think about)a. The demand for your job.   The more people who want your job, the less leverage you have at the negotiation table because the more confidence your boss will have in letting you go. b. The difficulties that the company or division (as well as your direct boss) would endure if you left.   For instance, when a sales rep. leaves, a company has to notify both current and prospective clients of the personnel change which often is a highly unpleasant activity. c. Company recruiting capabilities.   In most instances, firms with robust recruiting efforts are less likely to agree to high salary increase demands.   If your boss is going to have to spend countless hours digging through resumes themselves, then they are more likely to agree to your raise. d. Company profit margin.   Revenue generation is only half the story.   Estimate how much of each dollar brought in is retained by the company and how much goes to their operating expenses. e. Company cash flow.   Companies are just like people.   When they have cash, they are much more confident in spending. 2. Take the time to view the conversation from your employer’s perspective.   In order to be persuasive, it’s necessary to step outside of your own shoes and begin to see the world as your boss sees it.   The more you say the phrase of, “I want.”   The less you chance you have of reaching your goal.   Instead, talk in terms of their needs.   Taking the time to do so will aid you in formulating a more convincing argument and will help you anticipate rebuttals. 3. Draw out a logical argument as to why you’re asking for the raise.   It’s in your best interest to focus on past performance and future potential.   If you attempt to leverage possible job offers (or use competing job openings), your negotiation may be perceived as a threat. 4. You’re in control only if you make your boss feel they are in control.   People don’t respond well to pressure.   Although you may want a decision made on the spot, he or she won’t respond well to pressure. It’s both fair and in your best interest to give your employer time to think about your request.   Conversely, leaving it open-ended is not advantageous, either.   Kindly asking, “Does a week give you enough time to assess everything?” allows you to set a relatively firm deadline without being contentious. 5. Know how to use time to your advantage.   Make a request for the meeting via a respectful email.   Doing so is advantageous for a multitude of reasons.   First, you show respect your boss’ time (when people feel you don’t appreciate their time, they are less likely to be persuaded by you). You also receive a focused audience.   Remember, you are there to discuss a raise not compete for your boss’ attention.   Each time that person diverts their attention to an unrelated call, text messages or email, you become less persuasive.   When it comes to time of day, most individuals are more readily persuaded in the afternoon hours.   Mental fatigue depletes willpower. In the End People who know how to negotiate are paid more for no other reason than they know how to negotiate.   Just like in anything else, proper preparation and intelligent execution yields results.

Your Microsoft Word Template Resumes

Your Microsoft Word Template ResumesMicrosoft Word template resumes are the most popular format for submitting resumes to nearly all top companies. This is because the service works, saves you a great deal of time, and also gives you a good advantage in the industry you wish to work in. If you are currently working with Microsoft Word, you will need to be familiar with the various functions available to help you on your application.Name: When you are filling out the first or cover page of your Microsoft Word template resume, you will need to use the name box to put your name. Although there are no spaces allowed between the names, you do not want to leave too much room either. Your name must be right within the Microsoft Word.Letterhead: Once you have filled out the resume, you will need to write the letterhead. A letterhead will allow you to make sure your information is accurate and valid. Use black ink and do not add any type of embellishment such as a signature line. You should a lways make sure your letterhead has the name of the company where you are applying and your resume.Address: Your address is important as it will be the only way the hiring company can contact you once they receive your resume. Your address must be complete and accurate. The address field should be just enough to allow them to contact you.Address line: It is best to always keep this particular section blank as it will give your future employer an idea of where you live. Address lines should be 3 or less characters long. Leave one character over for your address and it will make it easy for the future employer to contact you.Phone number: While your future employer will most likely call you to schedule an interview, they may also be calling at random. Youwill want to make sure your phone number is easy to read and to write down. If you have a particular phone number, use it; if not, leave it blank.Envelope: It is best to include an envelope when you are filling out your Microsoft Word template resume. This is so that you can securely send it to the company. Be sure that you use stamped envelope labels and postage for this section as well.Education and employment history: This section of your resume is only for you to make sure they know that you have attended an accredited school. Be sure to indicate the number of credits you have earned through study, this will allow the company to verify the data in your application. In addition, be sure to include your employment history as this will show employers what you have done in the past.

The law of two feet - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

The law of two feet - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Inspired by a question on the OSlist (the Open Space mailing list), I wrote the following observations on the law of two feet. The law of two feet states, that in Open Space meetings, any time you feel that youre not learning and not contributing, you can use your two feet to go somewhere else. This of course stands in startk contrast to many other kinds of gatherings, where it is considered impolite, counter-productive or rude to leave in the middle of a session. The question was: The Law of Two Feet gives you the chance to step out of those situations, which seem to be awkward and problematic but if you are brave enough and stay there, maybe you can solve your problems. Isnt it dangerous to step out of each situation which we find at first sight uncomfortable or boring. Maybe it is just the temptation to escape and avoid something. Ive struggled with exactly this dilemma. If people leave at the first sign of trouble, will they grow and learn? The funny thing is, that stating the law of two feet does NOT induce people to just up and go at the first hint of conflict. Paradoxically, people are probably more likely to stay, and definitely more open and constructive when they know that it is OK to leave even if they dont use that option. Being in a difficult situation is made infinitely worse, if you know that you cant get out of it. Also, stating that people are free to leave, is no more than stating a fact. OS participants can get up and go any time they choose I mean nobodys tied them to their chairs. In fact this is true of any kind of meeting. There is nothing holding you in your chair, other than your own decision to not get up and leave. So acknowledging the fact that youre free to go brings us a little closer to how things are, brings us more in tune with reality, than saying You have to stay for the entire session. This is one of those paradoxical situations, where you actually achieve the opposite of what you might think, ie. where reminding people of their freedom to leave, probably makes it more likely that they stay :o) Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Summary Sunday Help for Todays Job Search

Summary Sunday Help for Todays Job Search Help for Todays Job Search Here are top articles from this week to help with todays job search. Youll find everything from LinkedIn headline examples to skills for the future youll want to hone! Everyone needs a little help with their job search. Thats what this summary is all about. Get help with those dreaded networking conversations, spruce up your LinkedIn headline, develop and emphasize the most in-demand skills and begin paying more attention to your  personal brand. There are tips for video interviewing too. Read, share or bookmark them. Help for Todays Job Search JOB SEARCH 5 Strategies You Need to Use to be a Weekend Job-Search Warrior by Kaysie Garza @kaysielgarza  | Ivy Exec Delegating your time to look for a job when you are already working takes a plan. These tips can help you optimize the time you spend looking for a job. Fun fact from this article The average person spends 6 weeks looking for a job. Those searching for vice president or director spend close to 11 weeks. PERSONAL BRANDING Nine Misconceptions About Personal Branding by William Arruda  @williamarruda    | Forbes Personal branding gets a bad rap. Learn what personal branding really means. PS: Having a strong personal brand is good for you AND good for your company! LINKEDIN 10 Impactful LinkedIn Headline Examples from Real People by Jon Shields  @TheJonShields  ? | Jobscan.co Your headline may be one of the most important fields for LinkedIn’s search algorithm.   In other words, what you write in your headline will determine where you appear in search results within LinkedIn. Take a look at these examples. One note: I would not recommend using the phrases seeking internship or seeking entry-level position as seen in some of the student  examples. Instead, put that information in your summary and turn on LinkedIns function to notify recruiters you are open to new opportunities. NETWORKING Turn More Conversations Into Mutually Beneficial Opportunities by Kare Anderson  @KareAnderson  ? | Huffington Post These are 5 ways you can have better conversations- with anyone! It references insights and wisdom from some of the great networkers and communicators. INTERVIEWING How To Video Job Interview With Your Cellphone Guest Post by Josh Tolan of SparkHire | JobMob Based on research that found  63% of HR managers conduct job interviews via video, these tips will help you know whats important when being video interviewed. CAREER The Future Workforce: 10 In-Demand Skills for 2020 [Infographic] on YouTern This infographic from Monster.com shows the top ten most in-demand skills for 2020. Career success in life is like a winning a highly-competitive chess game… you have to think ahead. by Monster