A logo is only as good as the recognition it provides, so if your logo looks outdated or unprofessional, customers will be turned off by what they see which isn't good. Branding is all about consistency and repetition. It's the reason why customers know what to expect from a brand, who it is, and what its values are.
If you're not sure if your branding needs a refresh, consider these six signs:
The way we need logos to work for us has changed. They no longer only reside on a piece of packaging or storefront. Logos have to be flexible enough to be recognizable in all types of formats including everything from billboards to tiny social icons and mobile ads. Digital use also opens up possibilities that are harder to do in print like using lots of colors or gradients. Overly detailed logos that don't scale down very well become unreadable in smaller formats. Good logos are flexible logos. Flexible logos have options and variations that work harmoniously for any scenario at practically any size.
Your brand identity is typically the first thing people see when they encounter your business. If it is not consistent across all of your customer touchpoints, it's like sending mixed messages about who you are, what you do, or what you stand for. And that can be confusing for customers.
If customers see widely different styles when they visit your socials versus your website or retail store, there's a good chance that your visual identity needs some work. When every piece of marketing collateral looks like it was designed by a different team, it's difficult for people to remember your brand and connect everything as part of one unified brand image. Help your customers out and be consistent.
One of the most effective ways to attract customers is through package design and labeling. Raise your hand if you have bought a product completely based on the package design. I know I am 100% guilty of this. Whether it is vitamins, soup, or wine with a really neat label, great packaging can be a game-changer. A package that looks outdated or boring can put off potential buyers who are looking for something more interesting and unique, like how they see themselves.
The goal of a brand identity is to help your business be recognizable and stand out from the competition. If people are confusing your business for someone else’s or getting mixed up about what you do, then something is wrong with how they perceive you—or how you represent yourself to them through your marketing materials like website and social media profiles, brochures, etcetera.
What a great problem to have, right? This is probably the most common reason for a rebranding effort. As time goes by and your company changes, your brand no longer reflects your values or who you are anymore. When you first started out, it may have made sense to use a cookie-cutter Etsy logo instead of custom branding because you were a new company. But now that time has passed and you've become more established, it's time for a change! Update your brand strategy and imagery so that it reflects who you are today and not who you were five years ago when you first started your business.
With growth comes new products or services. If you're launching a new product line—or even just adding something new to an existing one—this is an ideal time for a refresh because it will help people understand how these items fit into their lives or why they should buy them in the first place. Branding evolves along with your customers' needs and expectations. So if something doesn't feel right anymore—whether it's the tagline or the logo or even the name of the company—it might be time for a refresh.
Has your audience changed significantly or are you no longer attracting new customers? It's always important to make sure that your branding is relevant to the people who matter most—namely, current and prospective clients or customers. If you've had significant growth in recent years and now have an entirely different set of customers or even stakeholders that need to be taken into account (such as employees), then it might be a good time to consider a rebranding effort from top-to-bottom rather than just tweaking your existing logos and messaging slightly.
If some of the items above are ringing true for you, a good place to start is with a brand audit. This will help you take stock of what is and is not working for your brand and then allow you to fine-tune or do a full revamp depending on your needs and goals.
A brand audit will help you form a strategy and style guide. The goal of a style guide is to ensure that all of your marketing collateral—whether it's an email newsletter or a website—looks professional, polished, and cohesive. It's not just about aesthetics; it's also about ensuring consistency between different channels so customers can easily identify your brand. When your messaging is consistent across all touchpoints, it won't matter if you're communicating with customers in person or online, they'll know exactly what to expect from your brand. You can create a style guide for yourself or hire someone else to do it for you—just be sure it's easy for everyone on your team (and even outside agencies) to refer back to when creating new content or designing new products or services that will be used by customers.
A job interview can be a nerve-wracking experience, especially when you have been removed from the job market for an extended period of time. It is one thing to sell on paper with the resume and another thing to sell in person at the interview.
Regardless of whether you have been out of a job for an extended period of time, are looking to change careers, or are still employed and seeking a better opportunity, the key to conducting a job interview successfully is a result of a number of factors, and being aware of these factor plays a major role in how to prepare for an interview.
One of the more defining factors is the relationship you establish. People hire people they like. Even if one candidate is more qualified and experienced than another, without a good relationship there is a minimal chance of securing the job.
The same goes for referrals. When you are referred by an existing employee, your chances are much stronger than a candidate who applied simply as a result of finding the opportunity through a job posting.
So the question becomes this: how do you develop a strong enough relationship from a job interview to strengthen and lock in your chances at a job offer? Here are some things to keep in mind as you prepare for your job interview, and eventually go through with it.
What you don't say matters just as much as what you do say. Your body language and facial expressions inform an employer how engaged you are in the conversation and how interested you are in the opportunity. Smile, exhibit confidence, and listen carefully so you respond appropriately and build on the conversation.
Asking questions expresses to an employer that you are engaged in the conversation. Try to ask questions to probe for additional information. Research the company in your interview preparation and make a list of potential questions that you may want to ask.
In addition, while you're in the interview, instead of simply addressing what's asked of you, respond and follow up with a question of your own and turn the interview into a conversation. This expresses to the employer that you're interested in learning more.
There are challenges with every job. What is important to an employer is that you are up for the challenge and that you have the ability to succeed. Once again, research information as you're preparing for the interview by reviewing the company's website and social media. You will have a better understanding of what challenges or changes the company has recently been through, and how they may impact the position you are interested in.
Ask related questions during the interview to find out more. This informs an employer that you have come well-prepared for the interview. You can also take the opportunity to relay how you have experienced similar situations in past jobs and explain how you dealt with them.
The more confident and comfortable you are with yourself in the interview, the easier it will be for the employer to develop a strong rapport and relationship with you. This is not to say you sit back and relax as though you are sitting in your own living room. Instead, the point is to be open to conversation and for it to be developed with ease.
Consider a candidate sitting stiff, head down, and who is brief in response to conversation and questions asked. It makes it difficult for them as well as the employer to try to establish good rapport and a relationship. Don't let that be you!
We know how difficult it can be to feel confident in a job interview. If you're struggling to perform well in job interviews, we can help.
We'd love it if you joined our FREE community. It’s a private, online platform where workers, just like you, are coming together to learn and grow into powerful Workplace Renegades. More importantly, we have tons of resources inside our community that can help you prepare for your next job interview.
It's time to find work that makes you feel happy, satisfied, and fulfilled. Join our FREE community today to finally become an empowered business-of-one!
This article was originally published at an earlier date.
Public speaking can’t always be avoided in the business world when you’re tapped on the shoulder to give a presentation to your peers or to an important client.
Even in the age of home video conferencing, it’s still very natural to feel like you’d rather do ANYTHING other than turn on that camera, take a deep breath, and feel everyone’s eyes on you…watching.
Ever wonder how actors push through stage fright?
As a trained actor and coach (prior to entering the business world), I’ve learned to not be timid while orating Shakespeare in the spotlight or when hitting those high notes in front of thousands of eyeballs.
Not surprisingly, the same tricks actors use can be applied to public speaking in a business context. Here are some tips from an actor-turned-business-professional on calming your nerves.
I always get incredibly nervous right before a singing audition. I’ve found what helps lessen my anxiety is to do as a fellow performer once suggested and put myself in the director’s chair. (The director is typically the person who decides if you are cast in the show).
The director WANTS you to do well! They want you to be the perfect person for the role—able to garner good reviews and box office sales. They want you to do so well that they could even tell everyone else to go home; they’ve found their star.
Plus, no director wants to sit through hours and hours of bad singing auditions…would you?
Likewise with public speaking.
When have you ever found yourself listening to a speaker and wished that they would be boring? Or wanted them to bomb so badly that you get nothing from their talk?
Rather, you probably hope the speaker is so dynamite that you actually forget to take notes because you are so transfixed and inspired by their message.
Know that the audience is on your side and let that encourage you. They want you to do well.
I love to tap dance. Sometimes (ok, quite often), my feet don’t move as quickly as they should and I mess up a step or two…or ten.
A choreographer once taught me that a major part of dancing, and where the audience usually focuses, is all in the face and arms. If you are smiling a 1,000-watt smile and making grand arm gestures, the audience isn’t likely to see that your feet messed up that paradiddle step. (Yes, that’s a real thing!)
Public speaking also follows this rule. The audience can’t tell that you are nervous and feel like you just might pass out.
Bluff it! Put on your smile and stand tall. Walk with purpose and speak with authority, even if you feel unsure of yourself. It can feel weird, but you have to trust me here.
When you act as if you are confident, the audience will assume you are confident. Your body will even convince your brain into believing that you are, in fact, confident!
What if you DO mess up? So what? Keep going! Don’t drop your poise and strong voice, as they are effectively drawing attention away from any insecurities that may come up, just like jazz hands can help cover for missing a step-shuffle-ball-change.
Actors have learned that mistakes are bound to happen and sometimes you have to play the fool.
For instance, props or scenery may break or fall unexpectedly during a show. Actors are taught to pretend like it is supposed to happen, and work it into the scene. Or they may quickly remove the wayward item and simply continue on.
I’ve even witnessed actors stumble and fall onstage, then make a comment about what a klutz they are (in character, of course!) and continue on like it was scripted that way.
Let’s say during your speech you trip up on some words unexpectedly. Work it into the presentation as if you meant for it to happen. For example: “The biggest finanbial chamanges…a-hem, well those lesser-known things…as well as the biggest financial challenges we face are…”
Call yourself out and you get an on-the-spot joke to lighten the mood—and the audience loves you for it.
Or let’s say you knock over your glass of water while speaking. That’s the perfect time to make a crack about how uncoordinated you are and why you never made the basketball team. (*Rimshot please!*)
Actors spend hours, days…weeks! memorizing their lines to be “word perfect” right down to the smallest pause. They get every tilt of the head, every gesture, and every single word into muscle memory.
When opening night comes, no matter how much their stomach is turning over like they’re on a cruise ship in a hurricane, they can effectively put themselves on autopilot and get through the show without a hitch.
Now, with this tip, I would NEVER recommend that you, as a public speaker, go to the extremes actors do.
Why? Memorizing isn’t necessary for public speaking. In fact, I strongly suggest you don’t memorize, as you risk coming off as “fake.”
Rehearsing on the other hand is a must!
Rehearse in front of a mirror…while shopping for groceries…in front of a friend. Video or audio record yourself and play it back.
If possible, practice in the actual space where you will be speaking (yes, even if it’s in your home office) to get a feel for it so that it doesn’t disorient you on the big day.
Your goal is to know your main points and examples while allowing yourself to improvise here and there with different words and phrases to keep it fresh.
If you try to memorize and you forget a sentence while speaking, it has the tendency to really trip you up unless you’re a seasoned pro. However, if you practice experimenting with different ways of saying things, you’re building your quick-thinking prowess and ability to handle the unexpected while in the spotlight.
Notes are, of course, perfectly acceptable, but you don’t want to stay buried in your notes resulting in never making eye contact with the audience (or webcam).
Another no-no is clearly reading from a script while on a video conference. Reading a script is one of the best ways to disengage the audience unless you are very good at making it sound conversational…a tough skill to master.
Instead, know your speech so well that glancing at the first few words on a notecard will propel you into that part of the speech, without having to constantly refer to your notes.
Epilogue
Remember that public speaking is one fear that, with a little practice and the right mindset, can be overcome. Who knows, you may start to crave the spotlight so much that I’ll see you at the next audition!
More and more job seekers are coming to us and letting us know about internal opportunities within their organization that they would like to apply to. But even as more opportunities open up, the competition is as strong—or stronger—than ever before. That's why your resume has to be perfect.
Your resume needs to stand out to the hiring manager. If you're not getting job interviews, your resume probably isn't as good as you think it is. In fact, it's probably boring employers. So, take it out, brush it off, and let's kick it up a notch.
Here are seven reasons why your resume is boring, and how to fix it...
If your resume is utilizing an objective, you really should trash it and start all over with a fresh, powerful top fold that includes your personal branding statement and a list of the skills you possess that are relevant to the position you're applying for. A polished personal branding statement will catch the employer's attention and give him or her the best information up front—the information he or she needs to make a decision to call you to schedule an interview.
There is a strategy behind resume formatting and design. A simple resume format is best because it makes it easier for employers to read the information you've provided. But if you haven't updated your resume formatting in years, it probably contains a lot of text and not enough white space, therefore making it hard for hiring managers to get the information they need in the few seconds they're reviewing your resume. You'll look out of touch and they'll be bored quickly. So, make sure you updated your resume formatting!
Omit keywords and the ATS (software system scanning your resume) can't find you. The recruiter giving your resume a quick once-over is looking for specific keywords as well. Leave them out and you'll be left out of the interview process.
Avoid using the same old terminology that everyone else uses in their resumes. Yes, we know you can problem solve. But instead of telling me you're a problem solver, show me the result of a problem you solved. An effective resume contains quantifiable accomplishments, not just duties or responsibilities.
And the championship goes to…hard skills. I used to be a full-time recruiter, and I used Monster and CareerBuilder to search for candidates. Not once did I enter the search terms: great communicator, excellent verbal skills, detail-oriented. These are universal statements millions use to describe themselves. Give me something tangible and relevant to the position I am trying to fill. You'll demonstrate these hard skills when you quantify your work experience.
Instead of wasting valuable real estate on your resume providing me with a rundown of the job description (the same one I've read a million times as a hiring manager), show me what you achieved, what you accomplished, and what you contributed in the past.
Wow me with something other than the predictable, mundane job description. I want to know the challenges you faced in your previous roles, how you addressed them, and the results you obtained. This makes you different from everyone else. No two people will have the exact same experiences. Your experiences are what make you outshine your competition—use them to your advantage!
Using passive terminology is boring and lacks action. Instead of using phrases like "served as," "duties included," "promoted to," and "worked with," choose strong action verbs. Action verbs do just what they say: they convey action and, ultimately, results.
The hiring manager is interested in the results you can provide about what you did along the way. Choose terms like: launched, catapulted, spearheaded, and pioneered. These words tell me something. They show me the action you took and captivate my attention so that I want to read on to discover the results you achieved.
Your resume needs to do two things: it needs to capture the hiring manager's attention, and it needs to motivate him or her to pick up the phone and call you for an interview. If you look and sound like everyone else, you have no competitive advantage. Therefore, you've provided the HR person with zero motivation to pick up the phone, call you, and schedule an interview.
Stop creating a 'same old, same old' resume that looks and feels just like everyone else's. Start by adding some variety and focusing on your accomplishments today.
We know how difficult it can be to write a resume when there's so much conflicting information out there. If you're struggling to write an effective resume and land job interviews, we can help.
We'd love it if you joined our FREE community. It’s a private, online platform where workers, just like you, are coming together to learn and grow into powerful Workplace Renegades. More importantly, we have tons of resources inside our community that can help you write your resume—the right way.
As an education consultant observing instruction across content areas, grade bands, and schools, I have seen A LOT of instruction, both good and bad. While most teachers teach from a place of caring and compassion, the simple mistakes that I see teachers repeatedly making are undermining the overall impact that they could be having on learning especially when one considers the cumulative effect of poor teaching practices, across multiple teachers, on any one student.
Don’t get tangled up in this trap. Start upping your teaching game by canceling the following five teaching practices:
I sometimes see teachers using specific Common Core State Standards as the learning objective for an entire unit of study. For example, I once saw a fourth-grade teacher use “Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meaning (CCSS ELA-LITERACY L.4.5)" as the learning objective across many days of learning. This is an academically rigorous standard to be sure. However, as there are many types of figurative language, how does the teacher know they are meeting the precise intent of this standard unless they break down this standard into its component parts? Could each part then be a lesson/daily objective?
To answer, I suggest teachers draw upon the work of Larry Ainsworth in unwrapping standards. In a nutshell, Ainsworth’s model for deconstructing standards has educators identifying each concept (nouns) and skill (verbs) embedded within each standard to ensure that the complete intent of the standard is understood. More about the model can be found here.
My blood boiled over one day when a teacher told me that his students could not possibly meet learning objectives and/or success criteria that asked students to synthesize, evaluate, and/or create since his students were lower functioning. I have no doubt that this teacher was correct in saying that some of his students would, indeed, struggle in meeting higher-level success criteria. However, what then was this teacher doing to scaffold the learning so his lower-functioning students could succeed in meeting such objectives? First, develop lesson objectives with high achievement in mind so that high-performing students are not held back by low-performing students. Then, consider the scaffolds—such as one-on-one and small group direct instruction—that will be provided to lower-achieving students so they, too, can achieve rigorous objectives.
In developing rigorous learning objectives, those that place the cognitive lift on students, I recommend teachers use two tools—a Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Wheel and Hess’ Cognitive Rigor Matrix. The DOK Wheel will help educators to craft learning objectives inclusive of increasing levels of student challenge from a DOK Level One (Student Recall) through to a DOK Level Four (Extended Student Thinking). The Matrix will help teachers to compare their learning objectives, as currently written, to examples of those at varying levels of cognitive complexity so that these objectives may be rewritten to reflect higher levels of cognitive complexity. The Matrix is available for both humanities and math/science content areas.
Bonus Hack for Writing Objectives: When teachers write the learning objective into their guided practice slide decks, it is often only on the front slide. How can students refer to it/follow along if they can’t see it? Instead, include the objective on all slides or, better yet, write it on the class board.
Less is more. If a teacher’s guided practice drones on and on, as their coach, I sometimes ask if the teacher can call on a student to repeat and/or summarize what was said. Sometimes the student can but, other times, as the student begins to explain, they become confused. This is precisely why I ask this of teachers. If students are to retain information, research shows that there need to be breaks in long lectures. Chunk the learning. Allow a quick turn and talk so students can process learning before proceeding to ask students to repeat and/or summarize information.
On a related note, teachers should stop asking “Any questions?” as a matter of pro forma politeness before speeding along on the bullet train that is their lecture. Most students will not admit that they do not understand something unless it is teased from them. Instead, cold call and use other strategies such as polling, individual whiteboards, and signaling cards. And, when teachers do stop talking to ask questions of students, they can ensure that those questions are cognitively rigorous using this question stem tool.
If I had a quarter for each time I heard “take notes.” What does this mean? One of the practices in which I engage when observing classes is to look over at what students are doing and the notes they are taking; the level of detail and amount of relevant information can vary widely. Instead, a good practice is to adopt a standard note-taking format like Cornell Notes. In adopting a standard format, teachers can scaffold notes, build in essential questions, and have students summarize their learning—all best practices discussed in this article. Further, students can assess the quality of not only their notes but that of peers and use these notes in the development of student-generated study guides.
One scaffolding technique that I suggest teachers use with Cornell Notes is to include unit-related vocabulary with which students may be struggling and/or may not yet have been exposed. Often, when students leave questions blank on assessments, it can be because students do not understand what is being asked of them because of the vocabulary being used. In addition to highlighting key vocabulary on Cornell Notes, consider expanding a student’s knowledge of related vocabulary through the use of varied Vocabulary CODE activities as well as tiered vocabulary in each content area.
A standard practice that I have seen, when teachers are afraid to release control, is for students to complete worksheets independently and silently in class. First, teachers should consider if work needs to be done in class or, after modeling one or two examples of what students are to do, the rest of the worksheet can be done at home so that class time can be used for discussion of the work. Learning together builds creativity, blends individual strengths, and enhances the sense of collective ownership.
However, teachers are wise in anticipating where learning can go wrong, and there can be many reasons why students may not be focused during student-to-student-based activities. Still, the solution for most attention problems resides with the teacher. If students are unfocused and discussing unrelated matters during group work, give them the questions to discuss up front. If students can’t engage in discussions with one another appropriately, give them discussion/accountable talking stems. If some students are doing all the work while their teammates stand about idly, assign individual roles within each group as well as have students self-assess their level of contribution as well as peer assess that of their teammates. Also, provide exemplars of quality work and allow students some choice in how they demonstrate proficiency (the product) beyond that of a worksheet. There are also varied discussion protocols that can be used to differentiate the process through which students talk collaboratively about the content.
These are, without a doubt, some of the most common mistakes that I have seen educators make regardless of the amount of time that they have been in the profession. I, myself, was not immune from making these same missteps in the classroom. Still, being forewarned is forearmed and hopefully an awareness of these common pratfalls, along with a knowledge of the tools that can be used to navigate around them, will help ensure that not a moment of class time is wasted to inefficiency.
Please feel free to reach out to the author at John Schembari, Ed.D. | LinkedIn.
Feedback, in the world of business, is the breakfast of champions. Feedback "feeds" us. It's at the top of the food pyramid for learning and professional development. How often do you ask for feedback?
Feedback can be humbling, it can be eye-opening, and it can bring awareness to us of things that we're simply "blind" to. But if we don't ask for it, we usually don't receive it—particularly the constructive form. Many or most people will give us positive feedback, but very few will give us honest, candid feedback focused on how we can improve, how we can get better, or things we SHOULD change or do differently.
Seek feedback from others:
Ask an observer (a colleague, a friend, a peer, a direct report, a mentor, a panel member, or a participant):
Seeking feedback communicates a clear message that you care, that personal excellence is important to you, and that learning and getting better are a priority. Feedback is a highly effective learning tool, but like any other tool, if left in the toolbox, it does you no good. Use it. Solicit feedback often. Make feedback a habit, and you'll successfully develop yourself as a professional.
If you're looking for more ways to enhance your professional development, we can help.
We'd love it if you joined our FREE community. It’s a private, online platform where workers, just like you, are coming together to learn and grow into powerful Workplace Renegades.
Join our FREE community today to finally become an empowered business-of-one!
My husband is a big Raider Nation fan. He’s been a fan for almost 40 years, very loyal even though the Raiders haven’t done well in the past ten years. He gets grief about this all the time from family and friends. He started liking the Raiders in college when he would get free tickets from USC to see them at the Coliseum. Since the Raiders' inception in 1960, they have accumulated fans from around the world. They are loved for their rebellious image.
What drew my husband to the Raiders was an emotional connection to their toughness, swagger, “bad boys” of football, and that they were fun to watch. This was quite unique at the time vs. other NFL teams. These words—toughness, swagger, and “bad boys”—embody the Raider Nation brand essence.
Companies that can tap into this emotional connection with their customers benefit from greater loyalty and ROI. This emotional connection starts with your brand essence. Let’s look at what a brand essence is, why it’s important, and how to develop one for your brand.
Brand essence is the soul or DNA of your brand. It helps create connections between your customers and your brand, using emotional and intangible elements. It’s typically described in one to three words and includes the following:
Here are a few companies that have similar products and target audiences but their brand essence differs:
Once you’ve defined your brand essence, it’s easier to guide all marketing activities consistently with a clear message that speaks to your audience and aligns with your values.
Consumers are demanding more from brands in how they conduct business when it comes to the environment, diversity, politics, and equality. Millennials are the largest population of 72 million, with 83% saying it’s important for companies they buy from to align with their beliefs and values. An Ipsos survey found that, across 25 countries surveyed, 70% of consumers indicate they would buy from brands they believe reflect their principles. With these consumer shifts, it’s more important than ever for brands to have a strong brand strategy including a purpose, values, ethics, authenticity, uniqueness, and a compelling story. This includes a clearly defined and effective brand essence.
With a clearly defined brand essence, brands know who they are, how they want to be perceived, and how to consistently communicate to consumers so they know what to expect each time they interact with your brand. It takes 5 to 7 impressions for consumers to remember a brand. For example, even with shifting global consumer trends, Walt Disney’s core brand essence of “magical” has not changed over the years.
Defining your brand essence starts with understanding who you are, what sets you apart from the competition, and what emotions your brand brings up with your consumers. The Brand Essence Wheel is a template for defining your brand. Starting from the outside and moving in, this process will help define who you are and what your brand essence is, creating a brand people love.
Let’s look at the Brand Essence Wheel in more detail.
OUTER LAYER:
Brand Vision & Objectives
The brand vision is what the brand aims to achieve in the future. Brand objectives are the measurable goals for your brand.
Organizational Culture
Organizational culture is the collection of values, beliefs, expectations, and practices that guide and inform the action of employees.
Brand Personality
A brand personality can be defined as the set of human characteristics associated with your brand. It’s communicated through tone of voice, visuals, and even policies. They’re expressed as adjectives that convey how you want people to perceive your brand. For example, is your brand cheerful, funny, friendly, youthful, innovative, spirited, dependable, responsible, credible, sophisticated, rebellious, cunning, powerful, honest, and so on?
Name & Symbols
A brand symbol is a visual representation of your company. It can be your name or a visual design. Brand symbols can also be called “brand marks.”
Brand Attributes & Benefits
Brand attributes are quality or features regarded as a characteristic of your brand that resonates with your customers. These are the plain facts about your product—size, weight, functionality, etc. Brand benefits are the values that customers place on your product. In summary, brand attributes show what your product does while brand benefits show what it does for them.
Value Proposition
A value proposition summarizes a promise of value, delivered to customers should they choose to buy your product or service. A good value proposition, as defined by Peep Laja, explains three things:
Your value proposition needs to be front and center across your communication (i.e. homepage, marketing materials, videos, social media, etc.). If you don't state why consumers should buy from you and what the value is that you provide, you'll lose them.
Brand Positioning
Brand positioning is the process of positioning your brand in the mind of your customers based on your brand purpose and values that gives you a competitive advantage.
A well-developed and implemented brand position provides a sustainable competitive advantage, communicates value to customers, is a vehicle to help manage brand consistency, and impacts the bottom line.
MIDDLE LAYER:
Target Audience
A target audience is an ideal customer who wants to purchase your product or service. Targeting a specific audience does not mean that you are excluding customers who do not fit your criteria. Instead, it allows you to focus your dollars and message on the right people who are most likely to buy from you. This is the most effective way to reach your audience while maximizing your spending. When you market to a highly specific target audience, you can solidify your brand voice and develop messaging that resonates with them.
Emotional Characteristics
When products appeal to customers emotionally through characteristics like love, happiness, power, fear, anger, surprise, security, disgust, and ego gratification.
Rational Characteristics
Rational characteristics include when buyers compare products based on price, features, and benefits, and then make a decision on whether to buy or not.
Identity & Communications
The brand identity includes all of the visible and written elements of the brand such as color, design, logo, and messaging that identify and distinguish the brand in the consumer's mind.
Creating a strong brand is becoming increasingly important as consumers demand more from companies. Your brand essence is the heart and soul of your brand that differentiates you from the competitors. Start building your brand leadership today. You’ve got this!
Have you heard of the three Cs of career growth? They are the three things you need to focus on in your career if you want to move up the ladder at work and find long-term professional success.
As a career coach for the last 20 years, I've learned that people cannot move their careers forward in a vacuum. You can't grow your career alone. And that's where the three Cs come in...
@j.t.odonnell How to grow your career FAST! @j.t.odonnell #careertiktok #careeradvice #careertips #learnontiktok #ScreamItOut ♬ original sound - J.T. O'Donnell
The first "C" of career growth is courses/content. You need resources in your career that will teach you something new and give you a new perspective.
The second "C" is coaching. In order to truly grow your career, you need a trained expert or a mentor, somebody who can help you interpret what you're learning, especially if you hit roadblocks. A career coach, for example, can tailor their answers to support you and your needs, providing you with the right advice that will help you succeed.
The third "C" of career growth, and the most important, is community. You have to surround yourself with like-minded individuals who are working on the same problem or chasing the same goal. This not only motivates you, but it gives you more information and perspective in order to speed up the success of your learning.
Now, where do you find the three Cs of career growth? Well, I actually founded Work It Daily on the principles of the three 3 Cs. When you join our FREE community, you get access to courses, coaches, and community—all in one place!
Work It Daily is one of the largest online career coaching platforms, and all you have to do is sign up to get FREE access to the 3 Cs of career growth. Sign up, check out our free resources section, and pick courses to learn from. You can post your questions inside the community for the coaches and you can meet other members who are part of the community.
So, if you want to grow your career and move up the ladder at work, you know where to find me.
Sign up for Work It Daily's FREE community today! My team and I are looking forward to working with you soon.
Let's be honest! LinkedIn is not the easiest social media platform to navigate. If you wish you could make better use of this essential career tool, we've got just the event for you...
On Wednesday, May 18th, 2022 at 12 p.m. ET, J.T. O'Donnell, founder and CEO of Work It Daily, and Christina Burgio, director of training and coaching, are hosting a NEW live event "How To Navigate LinkedIn Effectively."
Learn how to make the most of your time on LinkedIn so you can work smarter, not harder!
This hour-long event will teach you:
@j.t.odonnell Master LinkedIn for job search & make recruiters come to YOU!!!! #jobsearch #linkedin #jobsearchtips #linkedintips #learnontiktok #edutok #careeradvice #careertiktok #networkingtips #job #FindYourEdge @workitdaily @j.t.odonnel ♬ Whoopty (Instrumental) - DJB
Buy your ticket for our live event today!
WHEN: Wednesday, May 18th, 2022 at 12 p.m. ET
WHERE: Online
WHO: J.T. O'Donnell & Christina Burgio
WHAT: In this training, you'll learn how to:
We hope to see you there!
Interviewing can actually be pretty fun, especially when you're on the other side of the table! However, I know how stressful it can be when you're the one in the hot seat as an eager job candidate.
Emotions are high, nerves are in play, and there's so much information you need to remember. It can be tough!
And, because I know how difficult it can be to be in that position, I want to share some major red flags I've encountered when interviewing candidates.
I know there's a lot to remember, but there are some things you should NEVER say during a job interview. If you've got an interview coming up, make sure you review these phrases before you hop on the phone or walk into the office.
Even if the job you're applying for isn't something you can really see yourself doing for the long term, don't volunteer that information to your interviewer. You might have big career aspirations, but it's important to focus on the job you're interviewing for now, even if it's just an entry-level job you don't plan on working for very long.
By telling your interviewer that you're essentially uncommitted to the job, you can sabotage your chances of landing the position. Think about it from the employer's perspective: Why would a company want to invest in, hire, and train someone who is already planning on leaving before he or she even gets the job offer? Second, you might not realize how much growth potential this role has and whether or not it might transform into something that excites you. Every dream job starts somewhere. So, why kill the opportunity before you give it a chance?
Typically, at the end of interviews, we ask our job candidates if they have any questions for us. We EXPECT questions. The candidate should be looking to learn as much as he or she can about the role, company, and team. It's just as much for his or her benefit as it is for the employer.
Also, don't just wait until the end of the interview to ask questions. An interview should be a two-way conversation. So, ask questions throughout the interview to emphasize your interest, curiosity, and listening skills.
While it's very important to ask questions during a job interview, it's just as important to ask the RIGHT questions—questions that show you've done your homework, but want to dig deeper. Asking questions you could (and frankly should) have the answers to beforehand (like what the company does, when it started, why it started, etc.) isn't going to make you look very good.
A huge part of interview prep is taking time to research the company you're applying to. You should be able to find basic information about the company by doing a simple Google search and checking out their website and social media profiles.
Learning about what you'll be paid and what benefits you'll receive as an employee is something you'll want to understand down the line, but please don't bring this up during your first interview.
This information will be revealed and/or mapped out for you as you get closer to a job offer. If you ask questions like this one too soon, though, you risk looking like you're only in it for the money and kickbacks. Employers know these things are important to job candidates, obviously, but if you start focusing on them too early in the process, it can be a huge turnoff.
Again, think about it from the employer's point of view: If you're taking this job solely for the money and/or benefits, who's to say you won't up and leave when a better offer comes along? What's keeping you at the company other than the extras?
Instead, focus on why you want this particular job at this specific company. The other stuff will come up later.
This is a similar question to #3. If you feel like you need to ask what kinds of skill sets are required for this role, you didn't read the job description carefully enough. That information should be all over the job posting and you should be prepared to show examples of how your experience will be valuable.
If the job description was a little vague, though, ask more targeted questions about the role. For example, "What would a typical day look like for this employee?" or "What kinds of projects would I be working on specifically and how would they add value to the company?"
Questions like these will allow you to get more clues on the role AND give you a deeper understanding of what you're expected to accomplish as an employee.
A job interview can be scary, but if you go in prepared, it's actually pretty exciting. Make sure to prioritize interview prep before your next job interview, and you'll likely avoid saying any of these five things to the hiring manager.
If you're struggling to land job interviews, we can help.
The SeatGeek employee roster includes a classically-trained opera singer, a retired contender on the competitive eating circuit, and an all-American fencer, to name a few. Having such a unique and diverse workforce under one roof is something that SeatGeek takes pride in. Not only does it create a fun company culture, but it lends itself to endless ideas and perspectives.
"It's great that people have different interests and backgrounds and can come together and work on awesome projects," says Jamie Sterrett, director of talent at SeatGeek.
The mobile-focused ticket platform has seen its fair share of growth over the last three years. SeatGeek employs just under 500 employees globally, which includes the company's headquarters in New York City and offices in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Italy, and Israel.
In order to encourage collaboration and networking, and foster an environment of diversity and inclusion, the company has both employee resource groups (ERGs) and affinity groups. Sterrett says the ERGs are focused on empowering diverse groups across SeatGeek, while the affinity groups are focused on hobbies and shared interests such as fitness, food, and board games.
"It's really important as we grow that people are able to find community within the workplace," Sterrett says. "The more you have that community, the more people will collaborate."
The company uses a number of long-standing traditions to bring the workforce together on a regular basis.
One example is the weekly company lunch. Each week a team presents during the lunch to update the company on projects they're working on. Sterrett says it's a great way to keep employees updated about what's going on at the company and to help them get to know co-workers they're not as familiar with.
"We're a people-focused organization...transparency and collaboration are important to us," Sterrett says.
The company also holds "ask anything" forums where employees are urged to ask company leadership questions about anything.
One newer SeatGeek tradition, breakfast-lunch-dinner, is a livestream conference between the offices in New York, Europe, and Israel.
The online ticket selling industry has become a competitive one over the years and SeatGeek is always striving to be the industry leader. Sterrett says that competition, plus the ever-changing culture of the technology industry, makes working at SeatGeek appealing to a lot of people. "We're trying to introduce a lot of that change and that's really exciting to people."
SeatGeek's platform puts the focus on the fan experience. Customers looking to purchase tickets to sporting events or concerts will not only see the ticket price, but they will get a "Deal Score" that indicates what type of value they are getting for the prices of tickets. Essentially, this tells customers whether or not they're overpaying for the tickets.
In recent years, SeatGeek has expanded its international offerings and has become the primary ticket provider for the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints.
SeatGeek employees enjoy being a part of the ticket-selling industry.
"From a product and business standpoint the past couple years have been incredibly exciting. We are now official ticketing partners with some of the largest names in sports. It's not only helping us grow our business, but more importantly it's helping us provide a better experience to fans," one employee says in a Glassdoor review.
"SeatGeek is starting to disrupt the ticketing industry. It is exciting to be a part of a company that is truly focused on the customer. It is clear from top to bottom that we want to make it easier for the average person to see more events live," another employee writes.
One of the most popular benefits at SeatGeek is the $120 monthly ticket stipend that can be used on an endless list of athletic events and concerts. Sterrett says that in addition to being popular, the perk also benefits the company because many employees will use it to go to events together, and it allows employees to suggest possible improvements.
The SeatGeek office is bright and open and features a large projection screen for the viewing of occasional sporting events.
To apply or learn more about working at SeatGeek, check out their careers page today!
If you’re trying to take yourself and your life to the next level, it makes a lot of sense to aim higher when it comes to making friends. The right friends will support you emotionally and provide practical help along the way.
If you have exciting friends that aren’t as ambitious as you are, chances are that they’re unconsciously holding you back. You don’t have to stop seeing them; your best bet is to focus on building friendships with new people. If you want to make friends with ambitious people, read on.
In this article, I would like to share with you three important steps. These steps will help you go to the next level in your social life, meet many ambitious and interesting people, and have them stick around for a long time.
People seem to leave their friendship life to chance, more often than not. While that probably worked well when you were a kid, it most certainly won’t work for you as an adult. With no college or school to facilitate new friendships, you need to be proactive about it. This means that you get conscious and curious about friendship and how it works—consciously make time, every week, for meeting new people, staying in touch, and hanging out with them.
Studies have shown that the influence other people have on you is strong; your destiny literally depends on the people you hang out with. This is why it’s important to have a clear idea of the kind of people you want to have in your life. All you have to do is make a general list of qualities, attributes, or activities that you want in your future friends. It doesn’t have to be definitive; it’s just a guide for your mind. You can start by listing qualities like "healthy," "ambitious," "honest," "productive," "fun," "interesting," etc.
Success in your friendship life means that you don’t only use the tips once in a while; it means that you adopt the easy new habits that will work on a consistent basis. The first habit is to go meet new people every month. The way to do that is to join a local community that meets up once or twice every month. Try a few that you can find on meetup.com and decide on the one that has the kind of people you'd like to get to know better. In general, go where meeting people is easy; focus on places like trade shows, cultural or charitable events, seminars and talks, and so on.
The second habit is to dedicate at least one hour every week to reaching out to people in your network. You can put it in your calendar; it can be something like every Wednesday at 7 p.m. Early in the week is better. Contact and network with important/strategic LinkedIn connections during this hour. This habit will make sure you don’t lose touch with your existing friends, and follow up with the new people you meet.
The third habit is to decide what you’re going to do over the weekend ahead of time. When it’s time to reach out to people, plan ahead and decide on what you want to do; suggest that plan to those you want to see. This is why it’s important that you contact people early enough in the week, when they haven’t already decided what to do on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Making friends can be time-consuming if you don’t optimize your efforts. If you’re always the one calling and making plans, then you’re not going to be doing it for very long. The best way to tackle this is to focus on forming groups of friends, instead of having a bunch of friends that don’t know each other. I recommend that you always introduce the people that you know to each other, especially if they’re of the ambitious kind. After they meet once or twice, a new group emerges, and you now have a circle of friends. When that happens, they start to call and make plans as well, which means you’ll have more time to contact and make plans with people that you don’t know that well.
As you meet new people, introduce them to the existing group, and make it bigger. If you prefer to meet in small groups, this is a great strategy as well; you can still meet two or three people at the same time, even if your social circle has dozens of people in it.
These three steps will get you started on having ambitious, resourceful friends that will help you succeed, introduce people to you, and emotionally support you when you need it. What’s really important is to open your mind to learning about friendship, how it works, and how you can apply that information to your life.
We understand how difficult it is to make new friends, especially as an adult. The good news is, at Work It Daily, we provide you with a safe and supportive place where you can meet new people and network with like-minded professionals!
If you're struggling to make ambitious friends, we'd love it if you joined our FREE community. It’s a private, online platform where workers, just like you, are coming together to learn and grow into powerful Workplace Renegades.
Join our FREE community today to grow your professional network and make new friends!
As a recent college graduate, it is always intimidating looking for your first job. At this point, you are more interested in getting into the corporate world rather than getting that dream job.
Have you ever thought about what leads you to that “dream job”? Precision, positivity, and a good attitude are the keys to not only getting an entry-level job but succeeding in it. And when you start your career on the right foot in an entry-level job, you'll quickly position yourself for a raise and/or promotion, and you'll be well on your way to getting that dream job.
Here are a few tips for entry-level job seekers looking to land their first job out of college:
1. Get Noticed with Your Cover Letter
For a job opening, it's common for the hiring manager to get a thousand applications. What's so great about you? Why should you get an interview? Give it your best shot by providing a precise, interesting, and effective cover letter. The right disruptive cover letter encourages the recruiter to go through your resume.
2. Refrain from Long Stories
First off, your cover letter should only be about a page long. Similarly, your resume should only include quantifiable work experience—no long-winded descriptions of duties and tasks you were responsible for at a previous employer.
3. Don't Get Overly Formal
Be simple yet effective. On your resume and cover letter, do not use bold phrases, clichés, or idioms to create an impression.
4. Have Faith in Yourself
Confidence is essential to your career. There is no place for “good” in the corporate world. Competition is fierce and companies want someone who believes in themselves and knows their value. If you don't know your value as a business-of-one, how can you expect to prove your value to employers?
5. Know About the Organization
It's important to research the company before going in for a job interview. Make sure you know each bit of the organization you are applying to—the latest happenings, the past issues, the website, and the company culture. You should aim to know at least 80% of what a current employee knows.
6. Sell Yourself Logically
One of the most important questions to answer is, “How beneficial can you be for the organization?” Employers want to know if you can solve whatever problem they're facing because they're not hiring someone just for the heck of it. Talk in terms of what you can do to make the organization better. If you have sales experience, you can say something like, “With my knowledge and experience in sales, I can make sure I sell at least XYZ amount of products each month by working on XYZ aspects.” Use the STAR method or "Experience + Learn = Grow" method to ace those tricky behavioral interview questions.
7. Act Mature
Be polite and take your job interviews seriously. Talk in terms of how your abilities can help in the betterment of the organization. No one wants to know what you learned from your childhood.
8. Relate Your Abilities to the Job
Focus on talking about those trainings, subjects, certifications, and specializations that have something to do with the job you're applying for. What makes you qualified for the position?
9. Never Boast About Your GPA
You might be a brilliant student, but if you fail to impress the interviewer, your GPA will not save you. Do not rely on your GPA to make a good impression and prove you're smart and hardworking. Focus on your experience and accomplishments instead.
10. Don't Exaggerate
Don't lie or exaggerate on your resume or in a job interview. Even a single white lie can outshine your abilities and competencies.
11. Prepare, Prepare, and Prepare
Always prepare before walk into an interview well-prepared. This includes everything from your appearance to knowledge about the organization. get information about the interviewer, too.
12. Leave like a Lady/Gentleman
Always leave by paying good regards to the interviewer and showing your interest in working in the organization. And don't forget to send a thank-you note!
As an entry-level job seeker, remember these 12 tips as you look for your first job out of college. You'll be sure to stand out from the competition!
If you're struggling to find a job as a recent college grad, we can help.
Back in the day, I owned a marketing agency that was acquired by HubSpot in 2013.
We were purchased because we had a reputation for being technically strong at the ‘website design’ aspects of the HubSpot tools at that time. Now imagine my team and I showing up on day one and attending a week or so of corporate training to learn the lay of the land when it finally dawned on me: HubSpot was about to launch a new content management system (they called it the COS) and it was going to be our job to move the existing customers' websites (all 7,800 of them!) onto the new platform with as little customer impact as possible. Add to that the casual comment, “Oh, and by the way, don’t screw it up. We’re preparing to go public in 16 months.”
Let’s just say this taught me the importance of having a framework for technical implementations.
So much effort, energy, resources, and money goes into acquiring customers for any business. And businesses continually focus on reducing their customer acquisition costs (CAC). To make all the effort on the front side of acquiring customers worth it, it’s important to get the new customers “to value” as soon as possible.
If the customer is not successful with the software they just purchased, the business risks not retaining them therefore potentially missing the opportunity of obtaining the optimum lifetime value (LTV) of the customer. Some SAAS companies call it implementation, some call it onboarding. I typically consider implementation to have a more technical setup aspect rather than onboarding which to me is more about getting users logged in and using the software.
1. Understand the Needs of the Customer
First, it’s really important to have an idea of what success to the new customer is defined as. What does the customer intend to do with this new software they have purchased? What is the “job to be done” with the software? What are they trying to accomplish and why? You need to understand what problem the purchase of this software solves in order to successfully implement a new customer into being an active user. You’re going to want to focus on the goals of why the customer wants to use your business's software.
2. Define Success Criteria
Now that you understand the problem that is being solved, it’s important to define the path toward the “aha moment” when a customer sees the value in what they have just purchased. You want this clearly defined and you want to get there as fast as possible. That doesn’t mean that the entire system/instance is set up to its fullest capacity, but it does mean that the software is set up or configured or the correct users are added (whatever it is) and the customer can do something that solves the problem they came to your business to solve. For example, in an email marketing tool, it could be the first email sent, or in a CRM, first contact is added. It will depend on the software.
3. Understand the Steps Required to Get the Customer to Success
This may sound obvious, but it’s going to be important to define the steps required to get to that first value. To reuse the email software example it would look something like this: Add new user, define the email’s content, create email, add email recipient, hit send. That's a super simple example but there will likely be many steps involved and it will be important to outline the concurrent steps in order to make sure that you are organized and get to the time to value in as straight a line as possible. This will also allow you to define the repeatable process.
4. Create a Repeatable Process for the Steps Required
Once we've defined the steps you need to distill this down to a repeatable process. You’re going to want to have this well defined and written down. Some teams I’ve worked with have created a checklist of tasks, others keep it relatively fluid and loose, but I recommend keeping it consistent for the sake of customer experience. I encourage you to try and provide a like kind experience for the customer no matter which person on the team helps time implement their software.
5. Define the Skill Set Required to Staff the Team
Now that you have an understanding of the process it’s time to get familiar with the skills sets required to implement customers. As a first step, a mandatory skill set is willingness to communicate with customers, both verbal and written. Believe it or not I have seen people in the position of implementing customers who did not possess strong customer communication skills and admitted to not ‘liking’ talking to customers. Wow. You want people with strong organizational skills as this person will often be multi-tasking many customers in different stages of the implementation at once. Being that this is a SAAS company and is most like some software mediu to strong technical skills are pretty much a must. However, each implementation will vary from different business to business but it’s required that you identify the technical skill set needs and that you find people with the skill set. For example: at HubSpot I ran a team that was implementing websites so we needed people who had some web development design skills as well as a baseline understanding of DNS settings (i.e. GoDaddy).
6. Get an Understanding of the Volume of Work Required to Implement the Customers
With a clear understanding of the job to be done, that definition of first value, process and skill set needs to be laid out by you. We need to figure out the human bandwidth required to implement customer volume coming onto the software. How many customers will need the implementation? In what timeframe? How long does it take to implement a customer? Is there work that the customer needs to do? Will you be waiting on customers as a bottleneck at times? What is the total time required to onboard a customer? These are all questions to think about when trying to determine the overall human capital requirements to successfully implement the customers. Of time, as the process gets more defined, and the people doing the implementations acquire their tool chest of tips, tricks, snippets, tools. They will speed up. You may even find opportunities to use additional software to decrease the time and effort it takes to implement customers.
7. Set up Clear KPIs
I’ve found that you’re going to want clear and attainable KPIs that motivate the team to deliver successful implementation for the customer. I’ve been most successful when measuring the team on what we call the success of the customer. For example, when we were onboarding customers onto websites, the team’s success criteria was 1) to get the customer’s website live in 2) the shortest amount of time possible. That worked well to motivate the team to be swift (quicktime to value) but also solve for the customer’s goals. I’ve had this go wrong on me once when I had set up KPIs that solved for time to completion of a project and that didn’t always end in the happiest customers.
These are my seven steps to building a successful implementation team. Naturally, the specifics will vary across SAAS businesses but I believe this is a trusty road map to follow. If you’re reading this because you’re trying to figure this out at your business don’t hesitate to reach out to me on LinkedIn. I’d be happy to be a resource.
I’m guilty of fighting for the underdog in all circumstances especially when it comes to music. This may be a product of my upbringing, as my mother was known for being an incredibly kind, caring individual, treating my siblings and me exceptionally equally in all matters of life. This early pattern has served me well today as we see huge culture shifts in the music industry emerging, where indie artists are able to survive, maybe not thrive, but survive. This is inspiring to me.
However, I will always be a fan of major label achievements as well, with a focus on social media platforms like TikTok for talent scouting and metaverse concerts now moving into a mainstream position. Even with independent musicians gaining newfound revenue on brand deals, NFT opportunities, increased distribution partnerships, and touring revenue, I still worry about the impact of not having major label support. I have learned from working with music tech companies and gaming companies that having label support is essential to sustain a robust career in music. You may be discovered on TikTok but how do we know if you can maintain the heat?
As a professional signed music artist, your job is to make hot records. It’s nothing personal.
Success always comes down to a hit song and without it you're climbing a serious uphill battle. To me, having the connections of decades of music work where studio sessions, producer connections, and collaborations thrive in the major label system, provides serious insight into why major record labels thrive. Do I believe that there are exceptions to hit songs where an indie artist can create a banger? Well yes. Yes, I do. But economies of scale and history of voluminous impactful hit records in multiples have always resided in houses built by Sony, Warner & Universal. Let’s explore further why major labels have success-breaking music artists on a scale that is undeniable.
I've seen a greater ratio of success with a larger volume of artists under one roof, where leveraging leading music artists helps smaller less established ones. Majors are able to execute proven roadmaps to break artists, for less money, more efficiently at a faster rate. And why shouldn’t they? They’ve actually put in the work.
To do this, they:
For example, with Universal Music group going public and reporting today a 21.6 quarterly revenue increase to 2.32 billion dollars, their portfolio style approach has shown us what a leader UMG is in the space. The growth across multiple business units is incredible and with their diversified artist roster, songwriters, retail merchandising, publishing and emerging metaverse projects in new markets is an incredible achievement. I’m excited as I have a feeling that UMG is just getting started. The teams at UMG are exceptional, enough said.
We cannot deny that when your company is making billions of dollars there may be a correlation to artist marketing success. (An understatement). However, the benchmarks from years of taking the risks and investing in huge music artists have provided the roadmap. Majors have invaluable, incredible statistics and analytical data assisting in maximizing dollars helping to make streaming ad buy decisions and spends for marketing dollars with an almost guaranteed success for releases.
Although I will always root for indie artist street hustle on the daily, I value and appreciate what labels are accomplishing as we make a huge culture shift. If you're considering a career in music, building a strategy for gaining label exposure is essential and fighting for that major label deal is crucial and definitely worth the effort.
When COVID-19 hit in 2020, I didn’t hear any accounts of C-level or enterprise operations executives jumping out of windows, but I did hear their stories about real frustrations and sudden challenges with execution. Many openly admitted a new risk to operations and ultimately financial performance as they battled through low-value manual processes, disparate platforms, and the absence of a remote ecosystem or “hub” where department, division, or enterprise teams could come together to communicate, execute, and manage end-to-end workflows and data to transcend unforeseen events, factors, or constraints for employees.
Faced with acute business risk and operational difficulty, why didn’t more enterprise companies move to outsource an infrastructure-less SaaS operations or logistics software solution along with its support?
For companies in verticals that were still in growth mode or mostly business as usual after the onset of COVID-19, three obstacles may have impeded a tech/SaaS path to continuity, efficiency, and reduced business risk—two having to do with buyer psyche and the other about the options (or lack thereof) for tech/SaaS and its providers.
Obstacle #1
We all HATE discomfort. Human nature clings to the familiarity of the status quo and skillfully tricks the subconscious into downplaying, avoiding, or outright denying the existence of unpleasant or ineffective circumstances. This saves us the discomfort of reasoning the cause of a problem, its scope, or the inconvenience of having to do something about it.
Obstacle #2
We all LOVE control. Modern enterprise buying happens when a majority of 10-14 cross-functional stakeholders, that may or may not also engage the board of directors, decide to say “YES!” to change as they are helped past their individual risk aversion that is influenced by their performance metrics, professional goals, challenges, underlying biases and motivations to either support or block the decision.
As such, even when presented with a clear, distinct solution that demands change from the status quo, if stakeholders are left to themselves without an objective, insightful, empathetic guide with a strong understanding of their current processes, data requirements, and the technology—teamed up with an internal champion as a collaborative partner to help instill new insights, influence, clear obstacles, and gain consensus—one of two things is most likely to happen for these folks:
And the third obstacle that may have prevented enterprise companies from creating a needed communication and operations execution superhighway for their teams:
Obstacle #3
We need confidence in our partners. Lots of it. When the vulnerability of continuity became obvious in 2020, enterprise technology options were still pretty clunky. Choices included older platforms still on-prem, partial, or rigid workflows that required daisy-chaining disparate platforms together or retraining, they offered limited reporting, low data mining and analytics, no advanced predictive capabilities, few simple integrations with other major business systems, and long backlogs when custom dev was necessary. This meant vendors and their platforms were of limited use, painful to deal with, and the ratio of bad reviews to good reviews was high when measuring the rate of adoption, realized value, and the overall customer experience during implementation, when using the platform, and when support was needed.
What’s different today? There is good news for enterprise SaaS buying holdouts! A new generation of “Service as a Solution” (SaaS) enterprise software designers have emerged with intuitive, adaptive, integrated, perpetually evolving solutions. This has jettisoned adoption with stakeholders and users alike as solutions are now blending into the business with flexibility to resemble comfortable, native workflows, simply integrate with most business systems, and deliver sizeable benefits relative to op-ex fees.
This new virtual work “place” brings employees, external partners, and various business systems together via simple integrations into a community to accomplish major workflows with simplicity and agility. Some of the benefits:
With artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) now in production, in development, and in dev roadmaps, SaaS developers are also infusing deep insights, visibility, and predictive decision making into their functionality with advanced:
As such, enterprise SaaS software spend is up 14% in 2021 per Gartner’s reporting, with an estimated $700 billion on the way for 2022. Another 11% increase.
Buying technology is complicated! For enterprise executives who are ready to appoint a buying committee to select your next tech solution, this article will help you:
To set the stage for your buying journey, make sure you have a qualified guide to lead your buying team through organizational requirements, vetting and qualifying, and the complex behavioral science maze of the numerous stakeholders chosen for your buying committee.
Next, here are (10) initial questions to strip down your vendor list and clear away common obstacles for stakeholder personas throughout the organization:
1. Does the software provide a full end-to-end solution to execute and manage the entire workflow process for the departmental / division / organizational application?
2. Will the software have long-term application for your operations, despite workplace and technology advancements, and what is the partner’s roadmap for ongoing development and investment?
3. Does the software enable users the flexibility to mirror familiar workflows already intuitive to your operations without forcing a new workflow and retraining?
4. Does the potential SaaS partner provide a simulation of the platform’s operation with your workflow or application or environment to validate its efficacy for your company’s specific needs?
5. Do they have case studies that demonstrate a great buyer and user experience with the product, implementation, training for each level of user, and support?
6. Is the platform available in a SaaS model without a cap-ex spend or on-prem hardware?
7. Are ready integrations available for your major systems and apps to offer a low-coding, low development & engineering implementation, especially if you don’t have unlimited internal technology resources?
8. Is data import and configuration relatively simple?
9. Does the simplicity of the solution and the tech partner’s support mitigate the need for IT to acquire additional skillsets to implement or support?
10. Do they publish ample ungated content about their solution to research and evaluate before contacting their sales rep?
For additional insights and help with navigating the enterprise technology buying journey, please reach out to me on LinkedIn or at lynn@solvedbyholland.com.
Look, I'm just going to say it. Not everybody should work for themselves. Right now, there's this huge craze about working independently, being self-employed, being your own boss. So much of this came out of the pandemic because people realized they wanted to have control over their careers and not be at the mercy of their employers' needs. But if you're looking to take control of your career, becoming self-employed is not always the best solution.
@j.t.odonnell Not everyone should work for themselves... #workplacerenegade #learnontiktok #careeradvice #joblife #jobsearch #careeradvice #careertiktok #careers #jobs @j.t.odonnell ♬ original sound - J.T. O'Donnell
Twenty years ago, it was all about getting the corporate job. You didn't hear a lot about entrepreneurship back then, but nowadays everyone is talking about it. It almost feels like if you don't do your own thing or own your own business, or if you don't at least have a desire to do those things, there's something wrong with you.
Not true.
A lot of people were not built for self-employment. But they also don't want to go back to the traditional work environment where the employer is at the top and they're at the bottom wearing golden handcuffs and feeling like they have no control over their career or future. And I get that. I think that's why 40 million people quit their jobs in 2021—because they're frustrated. But not all of those 40 million people should be their own boss.
So what do you do?
Well, for the last 20 years, I have been teaching people how to become "Workplace Renegades." A Workplace Renegade is an anti-employer. They're about empowering themselves so that they can build a decent relationship with their employer. They want to work with the employer, not for them. They want trust and respect. They want to attract the opportunities that are best for them. And it still means working a full-time job with benefits and that structure that a lot of people need. In return, you're giving the employer what they need.
But you need to understand one thing...
There are seven rules to becoming a Workplace Renegade that will enable you to get a full-time job that gives you the trust and respect you want and deserve so that you don't have to necessarily own your own company to have control over your career.
If you would like to learn what those seven rules are, check out my new book Awakening Your Inner Workplace Renegade: 7 New Rules for Transforming Your Career & Finding Your Professional Purpose.
In this book, you’ll learn:
Buy the book and start awakening your inner Workplace Renegade today!
I promise you the seven new rules will change your mindset completely so that you can get those jobs that you want and deserve.
P.S. If you're serious about taking control of your career, I'd love it if you joined my FREE community where professionals like you are learning how to become empowered in their careers so they can finally find career happiness and satisfaction.
Sign up for my FREE community today! My team and I are looking forward to working with you soon.
EQRx is a new type of pharmaceutical company committed to developing and delivering innovative medicines to patients at radically lower prices. Leveraging cutting-edge science and technology and strategic partnerships with stakeholders from across the healthcare system, EQRx aims to provide innovative, patent-protected medicines more efficiently and cost-effectively than ever before.
EQRx encourages people to take smart risks and cultivate innovative thinking.
Their mission aspires to make a broad societal impact—to improve access to important new medicines for people who need them most—which attracts the kind of people who think outside the box, who want to do things differently, and who believe there is a better way.
EQRx is assembling a team of top talent from across the pharma/biotech industry, as well as from other industries, who each bring their skills to building a different kind of company from the ground up, with new approaches to tackle tough challenges. If this sounds like you, here's what you should know about working at EQRx...
EQRx is not looking for just another “culture fit"—they’re looking for a culture ADD. This is why they have an internal philosophy that empowers their team to be themselves—every day and in every way. #BeYouAtEQ encourages the EQRx team to bring their most authentic selves to work, including their big, bold, and out-of-the-box ideas!
#BeYouAtEQ is way more than just a hashtag at EQRx. And the people who are #RemakingMedicine are so much more than their job title. The phrase "Be you at EQ" is a huge part of EQRx's culture and it's been their mantra from the very beginning.
The pharmaceutical company wanted to create and nurture a culture that is about inclusion and diversity of thought. To disrupt an industry, they need people who bring different perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. They want their team to feel comfortable asking questions like "why" and "why not?" That's why they've created the space for people to feel the freedom to be 100% themselves.
Across EQRx, they are a rich tapestry of individuals, each employee bringing something unique to their team, like the different squares within a patchwork quilt. To celebrate their individuality and the powerful way they come together as one collective community, they have designed, created, and sewn together what they’ve termed a “tapestory.” This tapestory proudly displays their individual stories and the people who are a part of EQRx’s growing history.
EQRx asked their teammates, “If you could think of one object that tells us more about who you are, and a part of your story, what would it be?” This information morphed into a beautifully illustrated and embroidered square within the EQRx Tapestory. Their physical, digital, and e-book “Tapestory” will continue to grow as their team grows, with each new teammate comes new stories, perspectives, and backgrounds. EQRx's physical tapestory is hung in their Cambridge Hub for viewing, and they work with employees to highlight individual stories internally and externally to bring their unique experiences (and EQRx's company culture) to life.
These stories and objects have ranged from everything from a phoenix (representing a woman who dreamed of having a large family, but her life changed forever when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer...she is now a survivor and adopted five children) all the way to a pair of keys (representing the keys to their partner’s house—the fact they're able to tell their coworkers where they’re going with no judgement... #BeYouAtEQ) and so much more in between.
The EQRx team is geographically spread out, but together, they’ve cultivated a “virtual-first” approach to working, with digital collaboration tools integrated into their day-to-day work, and their virtual “HQ” intranet and virtual forums that help to keep their employees informed and engaged.
EQRx had to address the challenge of working together and building a new company in a remote environment.
EQRx launched in January 2020, just before the world shut down for the pandemic. They have actually built the company virtually through the pandemic, growing from 25 people in March 2020 to now more than 300!
They also created a policy called “T30”—Tuesday, Thursday Time Off—to help combat the Zoom fatigue, where their team has designated time to step away from their computer, run an errand, or have some time for themselves. They trust their team to get their work done—no matter where they are. EQRx also has many fun virtual activities like happy hours, volunteer events, and even some awesome SWAG gifts. They needed to find a way to still achieve those meaningful interactions that are harder to come by in a virtual world, so that’s exactly what they did.
EQRx's approach to benefits has been very different from most start-ups. From the very beginning, their founders and leadership team wanted their benefits to truly stand out and to make sure their team had access to great options. The company's benefits allow EQRx-ers to focus on their work and know that they and their families are being taken care of.
Highlights of EQRx's benefits include:
Here are some things you can do to be a happier, more confident you:
When you're feeling discouraged about something, it can be easy for the evil negative self-talk (a.k.a. NST) to take over. Don't allow yourself to say (or THINK) things like, "I'll never get a job" or "I'm never going to be good enough." When you focus on this negative mindset, those thoughts turn into motivation-suckers.
In addition, NST can be a big, fat barrier between you and strong relationships with others. According to WebMD, people who think negatively tend to be less outgoing and have weaker social networks than positive thinkers. Studies link positive emotions with more satisfying relationships. So, if you want to build a strong network, your first step is to have a more positive outlook on life!
Whenever you feel down, try to find something to smile about (ex: take a fun online quiz, look at cute puppy videos, or check out funny listicles). If you find yourself giving into negative emotions, allow yourself five minutes to find something to smile about. Honestly, it works!
Think about this quote from Dr. Seuss: "You have to be odd to be number one."
Your little quirks make you who you are. They make you stand out from everyone else. In a world where everyone is fighting to stand out from the crowd, there's never been a better time to embrace what makes you different. Quirks are what give you flavor. Stop wasting time and energy on trying to be someone you're not. Accept yourself and embrace those little things that make you... you.
You may compliment others all the time, but what happens when someone compliments YOU? Do you smile and say, "thanks!" or do you instantly try to undermine yourself? There are many of us out there who are guilty of this. According to this article in LifeHack, many people feel they don't deserve positive feedback, and anyone who pays them a compliment must be either lying, misguided, or feeling sorry for them.
Here are some tips for how to take a compliment:
Say thank you. Whether a stranger opens a door for you or your boss gives you a raise, always say thank you. Studies show that showing gratitude makes us happier. Make an effort to give thanks to those who deserve it.
By doing these five things daily, you'll be one step closer to being a happier, more confident you.
Need more help gaining confidence, especially when it comes to your career?
We're here for you!
The term inspiration is very commonly used. Everyone seems to be inspired by someone or something in their lives. His or her inspiration can be a person, event, imaginary character, or even an insight. To cook, write a poem, draw, or take up a job, one needs inspiration. In simple words, inspiration is a creative push from something that resonates deeply with you and your beliefs.
The reasons for inspiration can be very weird. Two sons of a drunken man can be inspired by their dad to become an alcoholic or a teetotaler. Inspirations can emerge from one’s mind too. It is a very active process of the mind. A person or an object can inspire one only if they are mentally active enough to be receptive to that object or the person. Thus, in order to be inspired, you need to be receptive and should have an open mind.
Sometimes, these two words are used interchangeably, but they are totally two different processes. A person’s mind is like a soft mold and an impression can be easily made, whether or not it is a good one. However, inspiring a mind is like making a rigid object flexible. One needs to be hyperactive when they are involved with an object in order for it to inspire them.
Do some objects come with an inspiration tag? Why do some objects inspire a few people and some do not? Centuries ago, the people who got hit by falling apples did not think the phenomena would be related to gravity. It is almost like seeking a new reality.
When a mind actively searches for inspiration, it will automatically find it. An artist gets the inspiration to draw upon seeing a butterfly because he has been seeking some object which inspires him to draw. Thus, inspiration is a creative process. Once tagged as creative, it means that the inspiration process, methods, and effects of one person will not be the same as that of another. Even the same person may not be inspired in the same way by two different objects.
To come up with the psychology of inspiration, we need to know what will inspire us, why it inspires us, and why certain objects can inspire certain people and not others. To study the inspiration process, one needs empirical data, but this process is contributed by personal experience, tastes, attitude, personality, and many other factors. Finding inspiration is something you must do yourself, no matter how much information is available about it. That's what makes it more of an art than a science.
The first element of the inspiration process is the purpose. A photographer will be inspired by a butterfly flying over its reflection in a pond to take a picture, but a person who wants to catch some fish may not be stirred by the same bug. What is important to the person looking for inspiration is where his or her interests intersect with the outside world.
Intuition can guide anyone at any time, but inspiration seeks those who search for it. Sudden enlightenment is the common term used to describe an inspiration process initiation. For instance, a scientist who wants to find an alternative source of energy would get enlightenment from a boiling pot’s rattling lid.
The inspiration process is a little more than just a thought process. It is an interlinked web that connects all the external factors and internal factors to create a solution.
1. The knowledge-based inspiration process is initiated by knowledge gained or an understanding of a process or an object. For instance, light falls on shattered pieces of glass and creates a visual pattern. An artist would be inspired to draw it, a poet would write about it, and a scientist would have the inspiration to learn why such a visual pattern is produced. Thus the kind and amount of knowledge of the process defines the inspiration.
2. The need-based inspiration process is developed from the need of the person. An explorer can be inspired by a travel book, but a scientist will not be. So, when the object can satisfy a need of the person, then the probability of that object creating inspiration is much higher.
3. An object-based inspiration can be obtained by the personal feeling about an object or subject. A student could be inspired by a teacher to become one because he or she likes the teacher.
4. Internal inspiration can be defined as a thought-based inspiration process. For instance, a scientist looking for a structure of Benzene gets his or her inspiration from a dream of a snake biting its own tail. A person gets inspired if an object or a scene can be related to the topic in his or her thought process.
In short, inspiration is about what our mind wants to see and what the eyes actually see. If the mind can correlate both, then the inspiration is more likely to happen.
Has it been a while since you've felt inspired? Your career might be to blame.
We know how difficult it is to feel inspired if your job is crushing your hopes and dreams. The good news is, we can help.
Despite what the industry pundits are saying, many firms don't have a cloud strategy or a complementary Analytics-as-a-Service Strategy (AaaS). Approximately 20% to 25% of companies have successfully integrated their data, analytics, and cloud strategies.
One of the biggest challenges for companies with cross-border entities, mainly in APAC and the Gulf countries, is how to improve data platforms and cloud maturity while navigating restrictive regulations that constrain the use of cloud data strategies. Without access to cloud capabilities due to information security challenges and fears, the company or institution is limited in its ability to use big data capabilities and other high maturity functionality such as machine learning operations.
Let's say you are a company operating in a country or across multiple countries that don't allow housing your data in the cloud, particularly if this is outside the country or the country bans the use of the cloud.
This prevents regional entities from building a responsive single source of truth or mining large data sets in the cloud, thus restricting data monetization and digital transformation. Connecting with customers requires connecting organizational data across countries, regions, business units, and products.
Whether your issues are in the ingestion space or processing or serving and consumption, cloud platform companies have a variety of on-prem and cloud-based solutions to help you deal with your data in various regulatory compliant environments. Whether the data is structured, semi-structured, or unstructured, you have solutions. All it takes is a well-thought-out integration of data architecture, data strategy, and infrastructure design.
Facts to consider as you and your leadership team develop your strategies:
Don't give up on your cloud strategy because of regulatory issues—compliance and cloud strategy are compatible! We just have to be creative with the strategic design of our systems.
Every organization has its own set of hurdles when attempting to leverage the benefits offered by cloud technology. We've only touched on one external aspect in this article, the regulatory environment. However, from over 20+ years of working in this arena, I'm convinced that the singular reality for every company on this journey is that change is difficult. The biggest internal challenge is an organizational commitment—the realization that transitioning to the cloud will benefit all company stakeholders and not just an elite few...but that's for another article!
I look forward to your thoughts on this topic.
Lead photo from iStock (purchased by author)
The new workplace reality brought on by COVID-19 has thrown a lot of businesses for a loop. But having a strong business and culture going into the pandemic has helped California-based Backblaze not only adjust to the changing workplace environment, but keep the company moving forward in a positive direction.
Backblaze provides online computer backup and cloud storage for personal computers and businesses. The company, which is usually always hiring, believes that many of the things that it was doing prior to the pandemic has helped to keep it successful.
One of the more unique benefits offered by Backblaze is the employee equipment perk. Employees that work at the company's San Mateo headquarters are provided with an ergonomically supported workstation and then given a stipend to help customize that workstation to meet their needs.
In some cases, employees will use the stipend to purchase equipment, like a secondary workstation to have at home, or other high-efficiency tools such as iPads or smartwatches, according to Ramya Ramamoorthy, Marketing Recruitment Coordinator at Backblaze.
Ramamoorthy said the goal of the stipend is for employees to buy what they need to be comfortable and productive. The perk has taken on added importance recently when COVID-19 forced the Backblaze workforce to work from home.
"During COVID a lot of our employees have been using their employee equipment perk to purchase things like a desk and chair, computer monitor, or anything they need to set up their workstation because a lot of people didn't have that prior to COVID because most people were working in the office," Ramamoorthy says.
Backblaze has also been flexible with the stipend based on an individual's need for their home office. For example, the company has approved portable A/C units, ellipticals for under the desk, and even a coffee maker, because the company believes all these items can keep health, comfort, and productivity up while employees are working from home.
Backblaze also provides a monthly stipend to employees who are now required to work from home, but may need help upgrading their internet connection.
Ramamoorthy says the company offered work from home flexibility prior to the pandemic, and even had some employees that worked remotely full time. "I think the fact that we all at some point, even if it was only for a day or two, worked from home was really helpful in the transition," Ramamoorthy says.
Another perk that has taken on an added importance is the Employee Assistance Plan (EAP), which allows employees unlimited phone consultations. Ramamoorthy says the company wants its employees to have access to confidential counseling services to help them through any challenges relating to work, family, stress, finances, and other personal issues.
Workplace culture has always been a sense of pride for Backblaze. When employees were in the office, the company's "Fun Committee" would often plan social events to bring the workforce together. These events included happy hours, milestone celebrations, and Family Fun Days, to name a few events.
These events have gone virtual since the COVID-19 pandemic, but that hasn't stopped the Fun Committee from getting creative, according to Ramamoorthy. The committee recently held storytime events for the children of employees, where actors playing Disney characters read and sang.
The company has also been holding virtual happy hours and wellness classes, including yoga, meditation, and Zumba classes.
Prior to shelter-in-place, Backblaze offered fully stocked micro-kitchens with free snacks in the office as well as free breakfast and lunch twice a week, and pets were allowed at the office.
Ramamoorthy says company leadership is constantly reassessing when going back to the office might be feasible and safe for employees. When employees do return to the office, the company will look to resume as many workplace traditions as possible.
All five of Backblaze's founders still work at the company, and in normal circumstances, it was fairly common for company leaders to walk around the office and chat with employees on a regular basis, according to Ramamoorthy. Managers would also take their employees on "walk-and-talk" meetings.
Video conferencing is being used by management to stay connected to the workforce during COVID-19. Company co-founder Brian Wilson has virtual office hours every week where he goes over interesting facts about the company and answers any questions that employees may have.
Here are some benefits and perks at Backblaze:
Backblaze is hiring!
Ramamoorthy says the pandemic has not impacted Backblaze's staffing, and that the company is usually always on the lookout for more people to join the team.
"We're very lucky that during this time people are still using our services, and I think it's because our service is almost essential," Ramamoorthy says. "We're very fortunate to be in this situation."
The interview process is entirely remote, and there's a coding exercise for those applying for engineering positions.
Does your business have a unique story to tell? Consider being featured by Work It Daily! Work It Daily has an engaged audience of individuals either looking for a job or are focused on career growth—the perfect audience to get your company in front of.
Do you remember your first space experience? I had many growing up. My first was seeing the Star Wars movie. It was a pop-culture juggernaut. We stood in line for hours, around the block just to buy tickets. People camped out, dressed up in Star Wars costumes, skipped school, and sat in the movie aisles just to see the Star Wars movie. Seeing the adventure of outer space with these amazing characters and creatures was awesome. Second, my dad was a ‘Trekkie.’ I spent many evenings hanging out watching Star Trek TV shows with him. It was a fond memory I have of time spent with my dad, enjoying one of our favorite shows that changed popular culture. And last, was an emotional time when I was in school, watching the Challenger space shuttle go up in space with all of my classmates, only to see it explode shortly after launch from Cape Canaveral back in January 1986. We were stunned realizing that the lives of seven astronauts had just died before our eyes. It was a very emotional time.
Recent years have seen a shift in what people want to consume. Younger generations are valuing trips, experiences, and exploration over physical objects. People are willing to pay for a lifestyle over materialistic objects.
Companies have an opportunity to tap into space experiences, reimagining themselves outside earth. Let’s take a look at a few companies that have successfully used space marketing tactics and four things you can start doing now to plan for your brand’s future in space.
Estee Lauder contracted with NASA to take 10 bottles of its Advanced Night Repair skin serum to the International Space Station (ISS). NASA astronauts captured imagery and video of the product for social media with one bottle auctioned off for charity. The campaign cost Estee Lauder $128,000 (less than a big Influencer campaign).
Under Armour and Virgin Galactic partnered to create a new generation of space apparel and footwear, as well as an astronaut performance training program. The 10-piece limited-edition collection features garments proven in space and designed for comfort and functionality. Both companies share an obsession with innovation and making the impossible possible.
Mars Wrigley released a limited-edition Zero-G pack of Skittles, guaranteed to float while in space. The new Zero-G pack featured “intergalactic, aluminum packaging” and contained only blue and purple candies. Partnering with Jeff Bezos and the first human flight of his Blue Origin New Shepard spacecraft, he threw Skittles at his fellow passengers in a game of zero-gravity catch. Skittles also gave away a Zero-G experience for two from Zero Gravity Corporation, along with a bag of limited–edition Zero-G Skittles. Another 99 winners were also selected to receive limited edition “Zero-G” Skittle packs.
The expert in brewing beer, Miller Genuine Draft, strapped a competitor’s seltzer to a rocket, hurling it into space. Fans could suggest which hard seltzers deserved the ride. Over 1 million people tuned in to see the launch (albeit it was via CGI) go up in flames.
Tide to Go is off to outer space, partnering with NASA to keep astronauts' spacesuits fresh. Procter & Gamble and NASA scientists have created a fully degradable detergent that will clean clothes without wasting water. Over the next decade, they’ll be testing fabric care products, including Tide to Go pens and wipes, at the International Space Station (ISS) and on missions to the moon and Mars. This partnership could have larger implications for Earthbound consumers. Source
Let’s take a look at four ways you can start to engage your target audience as you start to reimagine your brand outside of earth.
Space marketing is the next big thing in marketing right now. However, as you evaluate space marketing for your brand, be sure that it reinforces your brand values and brand promise. Start building your brand leadership today. You’ve got this!
The following career advice is what I believe to be the top eight things recent college graduates should know before joining the workforce. I am sure there are additional tips you can bring into the workforce but these are a great start to ensure you begin on the right foot.
Time is finite. Once it is gone you cannot get it back. Once a deadline is missed there is no turning back. If you missed an assignment, you risk a lower grade. But in the working world, it can mean losing a job project and the company having to incur financial losses. Learn time management skills and you end up being more productive, effective, and efficient.
It’s far too easy to be convinced by those who say you can talk to impress people. And I do not deny that, but eventually, your work has to be the proof that you are a good worker and you are dependable. You need to decide if you will do more and talk less or do less and talk more.
Being present means two things to me. Firstly, it means to be on time every time. This ranges from a small internal meeting to meeting your deadlines. It means being there when you are needed. Golden opportunities present themselves when you are present. Secondly, being present means focusing on the work that needs to be completed. It also means being mindful and fully aware of your surroundings.
Develop some form of routine and be disciplined to stick to that routine. This is related to time management but goes beyond the time management that you do in the office. Have a routine for your life. Give yourself time. Block off time for yourself to read or even do the chores like laundry, etc. Start to be more organized than you were in college. Stick to this career advice even though it does not relate to career building. You will soon see the wisdom of it.
Learn to be authentic and avoid politics. Of course, sometimes it is tough not to get involved at all. But you can learn to avoid it and be real and authentic. Stay true to your values. These are the anchors that hold you when people change and agendas change. Be nice to people regardless of rank and designation. Smile often. Say “please” and “thank you.”
Compete with no one else. Of course, no matter what is said and done, you will always be peeping at the next guy to see how he is doing in his career. Sure, peep. But don’t be overly affected by competition that you forget to look at yourself. Be the best you can be in this long cross-country marathon; it is filled with detours and stops. When you focus too much on your competitors you may get lost. It’s one of those career tips for recent college graduates you need to experience to know what it truly means.
Life is as much about creating as it is discovering. I hear far too often recent college graduates saying, “I need to discover myself.” But is life all about discovering yourself? It is and it is also not. Life is as much as creating the "you" you want to be as it is in discovering the "you" that you are. The truth is somewhere in between. So, when you get a job that is less than satisfactory for you, use it as a pedagogue to discover yourself. More importantly, use it to give you hints at creating the self you want to be.
There is a lot of fun in learning. If you understand being present in my earlier advice, then you will know work-life presents so much you can learn and be paid for it. Learn to love what you do and learn to love learning. Because the chance to do what you love may be far and in between. When you find fun in learning then you will be constantly improving yourself. Learn to love books and all sorts of books. There is no need to stick to books in your own industry.
These are the eight things I consider solid career advice for any recent college graduate. A new phase of life has just begun. It’s a long road of work from now on. There is no need to rush your career progression. Take time and enjoy life while honing your skills as you move along.
Here at Work It Daily, we understand how difficult it is to find a job and grow your career as a recent college grad. If you're struggling to find a job that's right for you, we can help.
We use digital media every day, from texting, streaming movies, music, and gaming to using voice assistants, ordering our food online, or even trying to find our love partners!
“Zoom fatigue,” “distraction,” and “doomscrolling" are now everyday terms for many of us.
Reed Hastings, Netflix’s CEO, even said that their "biggest competitors are YouTube, Facebook, and sleep.”
Here are some stats for you:
The attention economy is usually defined as an approach to managing information that treats human attention as a scarce commodity and applies economic theory to solve various information management problems. “Attention is a resource—a person has only so much of it” (M. Crawford). Attention is not only a resource but a currency: users pay for a service with their attention. And it should be good for brands that have a powerful new tool to let people know about the products and services they sell such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc.
The human brain is hard-wired for searching for novelty and happiness for survival reasons. And through behaviorism, reducing the human reactions to animal reactions. Behaviorism assumes that behavior is either a reflex evoked by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that individual's history, including especially reinforcement and punishment contingencies, together with the individual's current motivational state and controlling stimuli. With this, and the use of “persuasive design,” tech designs tend to be highly appealing and rewarding to humans.
When you think about your attention, multitasking is typically one skill that we believe in capitalizing on. The question: can we really multitask, and what happens in our brains, in our cognitive energy? Multitasking is really a rapid context-shifting back and forth (G. Mark, 2018) vs. doing two or more things at the same time. The latter for humans simply does not exist. The prefrontal cortex has what is known as a “central bottleneck”; our prefrontal cortex switches between tasks. Even though it feels like we are doing more than one thing at a time, it is really switching. This is what has led to the feeling referred to as the “myth” of multitasking—we are not really doing more than one thing unless they become very automated, i.e. gum chewing and walking.
Multitasking gives a sense of flexibility, fresh perspective, and increased variety. It enables us to use downtime productively, but probably the most salient aspect is that it is just more fun. We are novelty-seeking creatures. It is a very strong part of our evolution to seek out new things. It stimulates the dopamine system, the reward system.
Finally, if you want to break patterns and regain attention time, you now want to do something about the triggers themselves. Breaking habits isn’t about stopping but substituting. The key here is mapping this out before those triggers have a chance to kick in.
As an educational consultant, I have had the opportunity to support school improvement efforts within rural, suburban, and urban communities. I can tell you that the schools that are successful in ensuring student achievement and growth are not determined by zip code but, rather, by employing a no-excuses approach to implementing best school practices and systems as well as by how they value and support students, staff, and learners’ families. Don’t have buyer’s remorse. Know if the school community that you are interested in joining is committed to student success before taking the plunge into that new teaching job.
Information on schools where you are interviewing, beyond the basics of teacher compensation, could be plentiful if you know where to look and what to ask. If you do find yourself interviewing for your next teaching gig, here are six “look fors” you should reflect upon before saying yes to any offer. After all, an interview process is just as much about finding the right school fit for you as it is for the school in selecting a new teacher.
In my work, I’m immediately drawn into a school community when I see teachers’ college pennants prominently displayed as well as information posted on classroom doors as to what the teacher might be reading on their own time. Schools get bonus points when hallway TVs loop photos from community events and bulletin boards not only display student work but indicate why certain student work is posted, how this work exemplifies quality and meets academic standards, and what students will do next to continue growing in their learning on that topic. You, too, should look for examples of school pride and learning culture, or lack thereof, as you wait to be called into your interview. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
“Without big data, you are blind and deaf and in the middle of a freeway (Geoffrey Moore).” While you may not have time to ask more than two or three questions at the end of your interview, school data is often available on school and state DOE websites. Do your research before the interview as this will help you to target the questions you do get to ask in your interview.
Knowing this information can provide a candidate with a sense of whether the school has a culture of high expectations for ALL students.
Chances are, if social-emotional and personalized learning are school priorities, teachers will have support with challenging student behaviors and students with special needs. Consider whether there is a restorative justice practice in the school—as opposed to a punitive discipline code of behavior—as research indicates that students of color are often disproportionally punished. Schools that build in student morning assemblies and advisory programs also are at an advantage in celebrating and promoting student exemplars of leadership. Also, how does the school support families of learners including families whose first language might not be English?
Teaching can feel like a lonely profession especially when one is teaching alone in self-contained classrooms all day. Ongoing collaborative professional development can, in contrast, make all the difference in forging productive relationships, among educators, that develop capabilities in pedagogy (teacher moves) that, in turn, provide students with the learning expertise they deserve.
In a recent Work It Daily article I wrote, "3 Reasons For The 'Big Quit' In Teaching," many educators commented in response that they do not feel valued, as professionals, by the school administration. Try to avoid this happening to you by sussing out how involved all school stakeholders are, collectively, in defining a school’s vision and the means through which the school will achieve that vision, i.e. the mission. Further, determine if teachers sit on the school leadership (SLT) team and if this team meets regularly throughout the school year.
When I began teaching, many schools used pass/fail checklists to rate teacher performance as well as supervisor “impressions.” This was too subjective for my taste. Today, many states, like New Jersey where I live, now require that schools utilize evidence-based performance evaluation systems such as the Danielson Framework and/or the Marzano Focused Teacher Evaluation Model to ensure both clarity of teaching expectations and observer inter-rater reliability. If you know what performance evaluation system is used by the schools where you are interviewing, you are in a great position to discuss how your teaching practice, up to now, meets these criteria. You get bonus points if you also can demonstrate your past impact on student achievement and growth (STAR method in interviewing).
You’ve got this. Go with your gut when accepting or not accepting that next teaching position. Whatever the type of school in which you hope to teach, do learn as much about that school as possible before and during the interview process. Hopefully, these “look fors” will help you feel more confident about any decision you ultimately make when it comes to your next teaching assignment. Good luck!
Here's my issue with the word "outplacement." The name itself says, "You're out. Go get placed someplace else." What is a more motivating word?
We see this a lot in business. We hang on to words that maybe made sense at one point in time, but we've evolved. I think this word needs to be retired. But the other issue I have is that the companies that are doing outplacement right now, again, are old school.
@j.t.odonnell Let"s retire the word OUTPLACEMENT @j.t.odonnell #outplacement #layoff #edutok #jobsearch #WomenOwnedBusiness #hr #recruitment #careeradvice ♬ original sound - J.T. O'Donnell
The companies that still do outplacement have been around for a really long time. And when a big company does a layoff and is very visible in the public, they will go and purchase outplacement services from these older companies which honestly are teaching outdated resume, LinkedIn, and cover letter techniques, and aren't really helping laid-off employees figure out what they want to do in their careers.
And how do I know that? Well, I built a platform—a career coaching platform—and all of these people who are getting this "outplacement" are now coming to us after it's been unsuccessful.
Inside my career coaching community, we're finding out how unsuccessful outplacement services really are. We're seeing what laid-off employees were told and we see how wrong it is. They come to us, and we help them fix it.
What's different about us? We're disrupting the industry. For starters, anyone can join my platform for free. We believe career coaching is a sign of greatness, not a sign of weakness. Outplacement is seen as something shameful. You did something wrong, you got laid off. But with career coaching, it's different.
Think of your employees as becoming alumni of your organization, as the alumni having a place to collectively go. That's what we're doing for companies. Smart companies are doing away with outplacement and coming to us and saying, "Create an alumni center for my folks and give them the support that they need so that they can figure out what they want to do next," and we support them. That's what we do. That is the future of support for the people that you have to let go in your organization.
If you would like to learn more about how that works, you can direct message me and I can share more with you. But even if you don't work with us, please think twice about overpaying for these outplacement services that are really not doing your people any good. There is a better way (and a more motivating word) than outplacement services, and that's career coaching.
Are you finding it difficult to sum up your value proposition in a two or three-page executive resume? In addition to annoying employers, a too-long resume can quickly lose its potency and dilute your brand message—leaving decision-makers confused about why they should hire you for a leadership role.
Here are some tip-offs you have a too-wordy resume that fails to distinguish your skills:
If any of these apply to your executive resume, it’s easy to trim excess words with these three techniques that drive your point home quickly:
As a branded marketing document, an executive resume can use innovative conventions, such as sentence fragments that remove the verbs. Consider this example of a sentence transformation:
Original:
Led large-scale operations restructuring and expansion of call centers and company facilities, resulting in a 63% profit increase in just three years and the region’s lowest personnel costs.
New:
63% profit increase in 3 years plus lowest per-employee expenses with enterprise-level operations restructuring and expansion.
Here, the original sentence was condensed by 37%—but it still conveys the same meaning. Now, imagine what cutting more than a third of the clutter could do for the clarity of your executive resume! To use this technique, under each job you've held, make a list of front-loaded results sentences like these where you quantify your work experience and accomplishments. You'll impress employers and keep their attention!
There’s no need to bore your reader with a look-alike resume summary or profile that states the obvious, such as:
Dedicated team player with proven leadership, technology utilization, and financial expertise. Skilled in completing projects and communicating at all corporate levels, with excellent team-building and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Don’t waste this key area of resume real estate with a description that fails to tell a story. Instead, cut down the volume of words while giving a snapshot of brand value that pulls in some achievement metrics. Here’s an example culled from a leadership resume for a candidate moving up the ladder to a CTO role:
VP of technology attaining 99% over-goal performance by exceeding SLA requirements through strategic planning, cost containment, and contract negotiations.
Note the metrics and specific job title blended into the summary—with a message that promises value and performance.
A trade secret among professional and executive resume writers, the headline is actually a tagline that allows you to condense more data into a tight space. The best part? Your resume can use more than one headline to convey your strongest points.
Here are some examples of headlines that encapsulate value and position job hunters for a specific role:
A personal branding statement can quickly give employers the “big picture” of your achievements, without taking up precious space on your executive resume. To create this statement, combine the position you seek with a major achievement from your career, showing the results of your work or the approach that you use.
As you continue to adjust your executive resume and tighten the language, be sure to show it to colleagues and others familiar with your work. You’ll probably find, even with excess words removed, it still conveys your brand message—and faster to boot.
If you'd like more help with your executive job search, sign up for J.T. O'Donnell's FREE training “4-Step Process For Creating Your Executive Presence Online.” In just three hours, you’ll learn how to write an effective resume and build your executive presence so you can find the best job opportunities!
There are tons of reasons for a business to want to give back in some way. In the past, businesses have chosen charities for tax breaks, credibility, or to be recognized as a "good corporate citizen." While all these reasons are valid, and you may want to consider them when choosing a charity, the best option is a strategic choice. This can be an opportunity to do more than just give money or write checks: it can be an opportunity to get closer with your audience while making an impact on something that matters greatly to you.
Consider your mission and values. When selecting a cause to support, consider what you stand for as a company—or personally, as the founder. What is the mission of your organization? Who are your customers? Is there an issue or cause that speaks to one of those two components? If it feels authentic, it will resonate with your audience. Think about your company's founding story? Was it born out of a frustration or heartfelt need to make something better? Looking closely at why your company does what it does will help you see what causes your brand could work with strategically.
Close examination aligns your brand's giving efforts with your mission and values. If there isn't a connection between the cause you've chosen and what you stand for as a company—or what you stand for personally—it won't feel authentic when communicating about the partnership on social media or in other promotional channels. The public is very good at sniffing out insincere efforts, so authenticity is key. Your audience will see right through any attempt at "cause marketing" that doesn't come from genuine passion on behalf of its founders or leadership team.
Some examples of strategically aligned giving could be a woman-owned tech company giving to the nonprofit Girls Who Code. Being a successful woman in a male-dominated industry aligns perfectly with wanting to help close the gender gap in technology and to change the image of what it is to be a woman in tech. Another example is a bottled water company helping to bring clean water to developing countries by supporting the building of wells. The connection does not always have to be as direct as these examples but it does need to be authentic.
As part of this process, also think about what issues are important to both you and your audience. Do they love animals? Are they concerned with environmental issues? Is education important? Which causes are the most innovative right now and receiving funding from other sources? To find a strategically aligned charity, spend most of your time selecting a cause. The organization you choose will be driven by the cause in which it believes, so if you're not passionate about that cause, it's unlikely to be a good fit for your business.
Once you've identified an issue or a specific charity that aligns with your brand values and mission, decide if there is any potential risk associated with supporting this particular cause. Does the cause or organization have any bad press surrounding it or anything that might negatively affect your marketing efforts? This does not mean you should only give to nonprofits that lack controversy, but rather do some research into the charity before committing to make sure there aren’t any major pitfalls associated with giving time, resources, or money to them.
For example, supporting Planned Parenthood could be considered controversial by those who are pro-life. This could alienate customers who believe in pro-life values and may choose not to support a business that supports Planned Parenthood simply because they hold different beliefs on women’s reproductive rights than the company owner does, even though they might love everything else about the product.
In controversial cases, you must decide if you are willing to forgo possible profit for this cause. Lots of companies have taken a stand on an issue and come out stronger for it but you should certainly weigh the pros and cons beforehand.
Different organizations have different needs. The best way to see how you can help is to talk with the charity about any specific needs they have or gaps that you can fill for them by becoming involved as a corporate supporter. Make sure the charity has room for more support from businesses like yours. Not all charities and nonprofits are created equal, so be sure that your chosen charity is a bona fide 501(c)(3) organization to qualify for deductions; consult your tax professional for specifics. Working with the charity to provide the help they need most, while still ensuring that your company can maximize any tax incentives is still important to the bottom line.
The only thing left to do once you have completed the three steps above is to bring your audience into your giving story through your social channels and marketing efforts. Show your customers how supporting you supports others. Show them that they can feel good about buying from you. When customers know that your giving efforts are authentic and driven from a place of generosity they find a connection with your brand.
You may have heard people say to you, “It’s always easier to get a job when you are already employed.” But have you ever asked why this is?
There’s absolutely no evidence to prove that anyone going for a job, who is already in full-time employment, stands any better chance of being offered a position than someone who is currently out of work. So, if we are to believe this is just the way the system works, then it could be worth looking at what the reasons might be.
Here are some possible explanations as to why those in work are deemed as more employable than those who aren’t.
Having to explain why you left your last job or why you were told to leave your last job is never easy, but it’s still something potential employers love to ask you about. If you are employed, then your options are much greater in terms of what you can say in an interview. You could say, “I’m looking for a new challenge” or “My current job just doesn’t offer me the challenges I want.” So, you can take your pick of reasons for wanting to find a new employer if you’re already on the payroll. If you're not absolutely sure how to explain why you quit your job (or why you're not currently employed), that could cause problems for you in the job interview.
You can’t underestimate the power of good networking, and there is more chance of you networking when you are working and not sitting at home. The people you work with could mention companies looking to hire people, or you may meet someone that has just left a firm—meaning a new vacancy has been created. Also, when you're employed, you're better able to add value to your professional network on LinkedIn by posting content about what you're currently working on in your job, proving to your connections you're a valuable person in your industry. If you’re unhappy at work and looking for a new job, keep your ear to the ground and prioritize online networking!
Regardless of how much you hate your current job, the fact that you are working and still earning means you have the time to look elsewhere. You know the rent will be paid at the end of the month. So, use your time constructively.
Confidence is everything when looking for a job. If you are already in full-time employment, it’s a pretty good bet that you’ll exude more self-confidence than someone who isn’t. This might not be a conscious act, but the fact that the “pressure is off” might have something to do with it. However, don’t be cocky, because there is nothing more off-putting to an employer than arrogance—no matter confident you may be.
The fact that you have been chosen by your current employer suggests that you have enough relevant experience to hold down your position, right? This is experience that other candidates you are up against may not have (assuming you are going for a job in a similar field). So, it’s well worth highlighting any strengths that you have when going for a new job and mentioning all the experience you have gained in your present role when starting your new job search. Quantify your work experience on your resume and use the "Experience + Learn = Grow" model to answer behavioral interview questions in your next interview to stand out from the competition!
If you're thinking about quitting your current job before looking for a new one, think again. The above reasons are why it's easier to find a job when you already have one. Staying employed (if you can help it) is the best way to ensure you have a quick, easy, and successful job search.
We know it's easier said than done, though. We understand how difficult it is to find a job, especially if you're feeling lost, trapped, or burned out in your career. If you're struggling to find a job that's right for you, we can help.