by Angela Copeland | Jul 9, 2019 | Career Transition, Change, Podcast
Episode 192 is live! This week, we talk with James Fell in Alberta, Canada.
James is a health and fitness expert. He’s also the author of the book The Holy Sh!t Moment: How Lasting Change Can Happen in an Instant.
On today’s episode, James shares:
- What causes us to have an epiphany?
- If we find ourselves dreaming about getting a new job, but unable to move forward, what can we do to turn our
fantasy into a reality?
- How does our physical health tie to our mental health?
Listen and learn more! You can play the podcast here, or download it on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.
To learn more about James’ work, check out his website bodyforwife.com which also links to his book The Holy Sh!t Moment: How Lasting Change Can Happen in an Instant.
Thank YOU for listening! If you’ve enjoyed the show today, don’t forget to help me out. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts! When you subscribe, it helps to make the show easier for other job seekers to find the show!
by Angela Copeland | Jul 8, 2019 | Career Corner Column, Job Search, Newsletter, Personal Brand
I don’t know about you, but I was told that the person who’s the most qualified and the hardest working gets the job. But, it turns out, at many companies, it’s just not.
I first learned this lesson in graduate school. I attended Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. You’ve probably heard of it. It’s beautiful. When I was studying for my MBA, I wanted to get an internship at The Gap. I assumed they would come to my school to interview students, but they didn’t. They went to UCLA (UCLA is ranked higher).
So, I posed as a UCLA student to land a job interview. It worked. While the UCLA students showed up in jeans and t-shirts, I arrived in a suit, with business cards and resumes. The Gap invited me to their corporate headquarters for meetings. But ultimately, they decided not to extend an internship. One of the reasons for the decision was, they have a specific list of schools they hire from. Pepperdine was not on that list.
This sounds unlikely, but it’s true. I went to a prestigious undergraduate school. There were also employers who would only hire from a small list of elite schools. Back then, I never thought about how unfair this really was. And, I landed my first internship at General Motors without ever having an interview. I remember that my boss said to me, “I didn’t need to interview you. You go to RPI. I knew you would be good.”
Fast forward to today. I was listening to a podcast called Revisionist History, hosted by Malcom Gladwell. Mr. Gladwell has taken a deep dive into the world of law school. As the episode begins, the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is speaking to a group of law students. One student asked Mr. Scalia, “…what do smart, hardworking students need to do to be outrageously successful in the law?” Mr. Scalia answered, “…I can’t afford a miss. I just can’t. So, I’m going to be picking from the law schools that basically are the hardest to get into. They admit the best and the brightest. And, they may not teach very well. But, you can’t make a sow’s ear out of a silk purse. If they come in the best and the brightest, they’re probably going to leave the best and the brightest.”
Mr. Scalia went to Harvard. He’s saying that he hires from the very top law schools. Anyone who didn’t go to one of those schools, he won’t consider. And it turns out, very often, companies hire in the same way. If they don’t recognize your school or your past employers, it may not matter how qualified you are.
This method takes the burden off of employers to truly determine what makes someone the best. And, it means that the name brands on your resume could matter more than the experience that sits behind them.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on
Apple Podcasts or
Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in
iTunes or
Stitcher.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
by Angela Copeland | Jul 1, 2019 | Career Corner Column, Job Search, Newsletter
You may be wondering if you have missed your chance to get a new job. After all, you had a new year’s resolution to job search. And, you just didn’t get around to it. Or, maybe you did try, but it didn’t work out the way you were expecting.
Well, I have some good news for you. You’re not out yet! There’s still time to get hired in 2019.
Every month, LinkedIn puts out this really helpful report. It’s one that I follow each month. It’s called the LinkedIn Workforce report. If you haven’t seen it, try Googling it. You’ll find the latest report right away.
The report shares hiring trends for the U.S. And, it dives into trends in the top markets across the country. In those top markets, it shares which skills are needed, and which skills that city has more than enough of.
But, one of the most interesting pieces of the reports comes in the form of a simple graph. There’s a graph that shows the rate of hiring on LinkedIn in the United States. LinkedIn calculates the “hiring rate” by looking at the number of LinkedIn members who added a new employer to their profile in the same month the new job began, and dividing it by the total number of LinkedIn members in the U.S.
Like any self-reported information, I’m certain the data behind this graph isn’t without flaws. But, it’s a very helpful peek into the hiring world. One thing you notice right away is that hiring is seasonal. There are peaks and valleys on the graph each year. And, they line up very closely with peaks and valleys from the year before.
Looking at the year from start to finish, this is what you’ll notice. January starts off strong. Then, it drops quite a bit after January. Then, the rate goes higher and higher through June. In June, hiring is actually slightly higher than in January. May college graduation likely factors into this.
That brings us to July. In July, hiring is a little less than in June. But, it’s still at a good spot. And, it goes up in August. August hiring rates aren’t quite as high as January or June, but they are actually quite high overall. From September to December, hiring rates will slowly fall. December is the lowest point in the year.
One thing that likely influences the July, August, and September hiring numbers are fiscal years. Very often, hiring lines up to when a new year begins. Companies will hold off on hiring until the clock flips to January 1st, for example. But, many companies actually have a fiscal year that begins in July. That means, some companies will post new jobs in July for the first time.
If you’re thinking of finding a new job, there’s still time! But, get moving before we get too far into the year.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on
Apple Podcasts or
Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in
iTunes or
Stitcher.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
by Angela Copeland | Jun 25, 2019 | Indeed.com, Job Search, Podcast
Episode 191 is live! This week, we talk with Paul Wolfe in Austin, Texas.
Paul is the Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Indeed.com. He oversees all global human resource functions, including talent acquisition, employee retention, compensation, benefits, and employee development.
On today’s episode, Paul shares:
- What makes a “best job”? What are job seekers really looking for?
- What is Indeed doing to help employees of all abilities thrive?
- Are there any new trends in HR that we should be on the lookout for?
Listen and learn more! You can play the podcast here, or download it on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.
To learn more about the latest tips and research from Indeed, check out their blog at Indeed, including their recent article on the Best Jobs in the U.S.: 2019.
Thank YOU for listening! If you’ve enjoyed the show today, don’t forget to help me out. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts! When you subscribe, it helps to make the show easier for other job seekers to find the show!
by Angela Copeland | Jun 24, 2019 | Career Corner Column, Job Interview, Job Search, Newsletter
When it comes to being interviewed, there are a few rules that must not be broken. You must show up on time, every time. You must be prepared. You must look nice. You should have studied the job description. You should have learned about the company – inside and out. You should have extra copies of your resume. You need business cards. After the interview, you must send thank you notes.
As a job seeker, if you break any of these rules, you’re out. Showing up ten minutes late for an interview is a likely death sentence in the world of interviewing. It’s game over. You just cannot break these rules.
However, on the flip side, we don’t ask for the same level of preparation or commitment from the interviewer. It may be because the interviewer is essentially the buyer. The job seeker is simply what’s up for purchase. Job seekers are like a sweater, and almost disposable. As a hiring manager, we want to try a few sweaters on and see which one seems to fit. We don’t have to think about how the sweater’s feelings.
I have seen countless interviews where the interviewer is fifteen, twenty, thirty, and over sixty minutes late. There is an expectation that if the job seeker wants the job, they will be waiting patiently when the interviewer arrives. The interviewer holds the cards. The question becomes, “Do you want the job or not?”
Not only does the interviewer often arrive late – they are also often unprepared. They come without a copy of the job seeker’s resume. In fact, they haven’t read it. They may not even be sure which job the candidate is interviewing for.
So, let me ask you – if the tables were reversed, would you hire someone who was late and unprepared? Would you hire someone who didn’t know what they were interviewing for? Me either.
One of the biggest topics in the hiring world this year is ghosting. Candidates are skipping interviews. They aren’t showing up on their first day. They’re disappearing without a word.
I’m sure there are many reasons ghosting is happening. But, I have to wonder if the unequal relationship presented during the hiring process has anything to do with it.
It goes back to treating others the way you want to be treated. When you’re interviewing a candidate, take the time to think – if the candidate treated me the way I’m treating them, would I hire them?
This rule also applies to questions asked during the interview. So often, I have observed the interviewer ask the candidate rude and demeaning questions. They sometimes take on an adversarial tone. How would you feel if the candidate spoke to you in this way? Would they be your first choice?
Although it is sometimes less clear, a candidate is (and should be) evaluating the company just as much as the company is evaluating them.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on
Apple Podcasts or
Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in
iTunes or
Stitcher.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
You must be logged in to post a comment.