The Best Career Advice? Stay Positive
Suggestions about LinkedIn profiles, networking, and résumés are important, but the most critical piece of career advice is to have unshakable faith in yourself and your ability to meet your goals, says CEO and long-time recruiter Jack Kelly.
Kelly writes in Forbes that when searching for a job or trying to move up within an organization—both of which can be demoralizing experiences—job seekers must believe in themselves. He notes that if self-doubt and fear creep in, those defeatist thoughts must be purged to attain a successful outcome.
Kelly points out that every endeavor has its challenges, including the job search and career advancement, and says occasionally being treated poorly is part of working life. But during those trying times, the secret to moving ahead is to persist in positivity no matter what has happened. He suggests visualizing being seated in the office of one’s dreams, feeling hopeful about the future, and focusing on the end goal despite what the present looks like.
Once job candidates have landed that job or gotten that raise, they should put the bad times in perspective, Kelly suggests. That six-month unemployment or two years working toward a promotion is but a fleeting moment in a long professional life.
Source: Kelly, J. (2020, October 7). The most important piece of advice no one tells you. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com
A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way
Whether you are a professor teaching remotely or the CEO of a global organization, a simple human act of kindness is a fundamental strategy that leaders should practice, especially during the pandemic, say Harvard Business School professors Boris Groysberg and Susan Seligson.
Through compassionate listening and conscious validation of people’s fears, leaders can help others who are dealing with the obstacles brought on by the pandemic. The authors note that kindness can be learned the same way muscles strengthen from exercising, and practicing kindness nets results by increasing morale and performance and decreasing stress. Just a few phrases said in earnest can help justifiably anxious students or employees weather this difficult time. Some examples follow.
- I hear you.
- Are you okay?
- What can I do to help?
- How are you managing these days?
- I’m here for you.
- I know you’re doing the best you can.
- Thank you.
Groyson, B. & Seligson, S. (2020, November 1). Good leadership is an act of kindness. Harvard Business School. Retrieved from https://hbswk.hbs.edu
An E-Mail Free Summer (Well, Almost) for Work-Life Balance
Many instructors are e-mail obsessed, manically checking correspondence and not resting until their inboxes are
clear. But those are the same instructors who will undoubtedly suffer from burnout, especially if they continue to repeatedly check e-mail and wait for timely responses over the summer break.
One instructor claims to have found a happy solution, outlined here:
- Establish an away message.
- Check weekly, not daily.
- Respond on Mondays only.
- Remove the e-mail app from your phone.
- Put away your laptop in the evenings.
- Delete unnecessary e-mails without responding.
- Remember the world will keep turning if you do not respond to every e-mail.
