Increasing Your Visibility At Work

Hard work pays off, but if you’re looking to get far in your career, you need to make sure that work is getting the right attention. Learning how to increase your visibility at work will make sure your accomplishments get noticed by your bosses, helping you land promotions and leadership opportunities.

The rise of remote and hybrid work models may add additional challenges in getting noticed, but those obstacles can be overcome with a little effort. Join us as we uncover some of the best ways to increase your visibility in today’s work climate.

Be an active participant

The obvious first answer is that the more active and vocal you are during the work, the more visible you’ll be. By speaking up in meetings, volunteering, and even simply turning on your camera during Zoom meetings, you’ll be engaged and visible to your team.

“Use your company’s platform to share important updates in respective channels, discuss ideas and encourage others to brainstorm. Be the one to break the ice.” –Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms

Soulcast Media CEO Jessica Chen says it only takes little extra work to speak up effectively in meetings. Before a meeting, make sure you understand the objective and what you can add to the conversation, and chime in when the moment is right. Just adding a little extra value to the meeting, only if you speak once, is enough to be noticed.

Partake in events

If you really want to take the next step. Go above and beyond where you can to get your presence out to many more people.

If your organization offers to chance to be part of an interdepartmental team, join a cross-department meeting, or have any sort of leadership opportunity, be one of the first to volunteer. This shows initiative, leadership, and ambition. It may be a little extra work, but if you’re looking to move up, it’s a good way to get noticed.

“Demonstrating a willingness to learn is another way to show initiative and boost your visibility at work. Improving your skills and qualifications can also lead to raises, promotions and other advancement opportunities.” –Caroline Castrillon, Forbes

Of course, not all opportunities like this need to be extra work. TalentBridge suggests going to conferences, charity events, and company parties when the opportunity arises. Even if you work remotely, your organization may offer remote happy hours or social periods you can join. By being at these social events and having casual conversations, you’ll be remembered.

Embrace social technology

If you work remotely, you’ll have to work a little harder to get noticed. But even if you meet in person, it’s still a good idea to get familiar with all technological tools at your disposal to maximize your communication potential and to become an expert others can rely on.

Jonathan Prichard of MattressInsider.com says to take advantage of collaborative software. Using a chat tool like Slack can increase your visibility while increasing others to do the same. Meanwhile, embracing project management tools can ensure everyone is involved and on the same page, leading to increased teamwork and productivity.

Maddyness suggests that becoming an expert on something is a great way to increase visibility, and mastering the technology your department uses is a great way. You don’t need to be a tech expert, either. If you master the ins and outs of Zoom, for example, you’ll be the go-to person for those in your department, and you can help new hires as well. You’ll carve a niche and be noticed.

Elevate others

Perhaps the best way to be seen in the workplace is to elevate everyone else around you. It’s good to make your bosses aware of your accomplishments, but it’s even better to help elevate your team and highlight their accomplishments.

Forbes’ Caroline Castrillon suggests sharing the spotlight by sharing your team’s accomplishments on any social tools your company uses and directly thanking people. This can build morale, enhance company culture, and put everyone in the spotlight together.

“Of course, be selective in your praise, but do go out of your way to recognize when others are doing a good job and that will make its way back to your work and your value added to the business. “-Matthew Capala, Alphametic

Harvard Business Review found that 51% of Gen Z workers feel unprepared to enter the workforce, and the pandemic also made work-related social skill use take a hit. Doing your best to offer help to those who may be struggling, including working with them on projects, highlighting their accomplishments, or simply thanking and appreciating their work can elevate their self-esteem and teach them how to communicate better at work. In the long run, this will highlight your empathy and leadership skills, but more importantly, you’ll be helping someone.

Wrap up

Increasing your visibility at work doesn’t mean asking, “Look at me!” Being actively engaged and enthused, making the most of communication tools, and helping others communicate and highlighting the work they’ve done will show you’re an actively engaged, helpful team member. These behaviors will also show that you’re a good coworker and can help build confidence as well!

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Captivate Your Audience With These Public Speaking Tips

Public speaking is a highly frightful concept for many adults, but it’s something most of us will have to do from time to time. Even in an increasingly digital world, knowing how to address a crowd is a valuable skill. Knowing how to captivate your audience will make your presentations, team meetings, and even performance reviews go much better.

You don’t need the charisma of a cult leader to be successful, but brushing up on your public speaking skills will lead to greater success in your career. Join us as we reveal insightful strategies to help improve your speaking skills!

Know the material

It’s always easiest to present when you know the topic well. Ideally, you’ll be giving a presentation about something you’re passionate or knowledgeable about, but this isn’t always the case. In those circumstances, you’ll need to take extra time to absorb the knowledge.

“Nothing leads to a nervous panic like not knowing your subject well. Confidence grows when you are sure what you’re saying is accurate and on topic.” –Mark Swartz, Monster

Take some extra time to fact-check and become very familiar with the content. You’ll feel more at ease in your delivery and better appear as an expert to your audience.

Know your audience

Knowing the material is one step to good preparation, but it’s equally important to know your audience. If you have a good understanding of your audience’s knowledge level, needs, and expectations, you’ll be better able to tailor your speech to them. A speech directed towards senior members will be much different than one with college students or members of your team you work with daily.

One of the common fears of public speaking is that the audience is judging you as an arbiter of fate, but this isn’t true. Nick Gold of Speakers Corner says to remember that your audience is on your side. Others in the room want you to do well so that they are entertained and can learn something from you.

Stay focused

Once you know what you’re writing about and who you’re speaking to, you’ll have a good idea of what information to include in your presentation.

Simplicity is key—don’t overwhelm your audience with too much information. Think about the main point you want your audience to embrace and include information that supports it. A good speech can be bogged down by too many details or poor structure.

TeamBuilding says that if you’re using presentation tools like PowerPoint, ensure you don’t overload your slides with text. These tools are meant to support, not to share every single note.

Practice

Even if you feel confident about your material, presenting that material is a different beast. That’s why you must practice with your material until it becomes second nature. This will also help you to further absorb the information to make you even more of an expert.

If you can, find someone to practice in front of, says Blake DeCola. This provides you with an outside source unfamiliar with the material so that you can make sure your points are hitting home, and they can provide valuable feedback. This is also a good chance to practice eye contact!

“There’s no better way than to watch recordings of yourself speaking, no matter how painful that might be! Then iterate, try new things, and watch the results.” –Andrew Chen

Be yourself

At the core of your speech, it’s important to remember to make it your own. Your audience will feel more connected to you if you invoke some passion, and your presentation will be more memorable. Having the facts is great, but the key to a memorable performance is that connection.

Use bullet points rather than full sentences on note cards to avoid sounding rehearsed, writes MasterClass. An extemporaneous style means more words from the heart and a more natural performance.

A conversational tone will feel like you’re talking to each audience member individually, even if there are 100 people in the room. Meanwhile, Coursera recommends adding humor and personal anecdotes to spice up the bulk of your speech. This will add to the authenticity and help form connections rather than detract from your message.

Invoke a call to action

In all of the excitement, make sure that the reason you gave the speech in the first place is clear. Your speech may knock it out of the park, but if your audience immediately forgets what the point was, it won’t be a good use of time.

Invoke a call to action at the end of your speech by reinforcing what you want from your audience. Whether you want them to consider the implications of your topic, purchase a product that will help their needs, give you a promotion, or join your organization, you need that final point to hit home. The beginning and end of a speech are the most memorable parts, so use them to drive your mission home.

Wrap up

If you approach your presentation with a plan, find a way to let your unique perspective through, and end with a call to action, you’ll dazzle with your speech and impress your audience. A little “make it til you make it” energy helps, but if you take the proper preparations and have a well-crafted plan, you’ll be able to tackle any speech.

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Workplace Trend Predictions For 2023

Another new year represents new challenges and opportunities in all facets of life, and the workplace is no exception. January 1st doesn’t mean a legally binding change must occur, but experts are able to look toward the future and make predictions about what the new year can hold.

As we’ve done in previous years, we took a lot at the top trends experts expect for 2023. As always, there’s no guarantee how things will play out—we aren’t fortune tellers. But consider these workplace predictions as you contemplate 2023:

Quiet hiring

“Quiet quitting” was a popular buzz phrase in 2022, the idea being that employees would do the bare minimum to keep their job while being mentally checked out. This concept keeps a position filled but stops an organization from gaining the full benefits.

In order to counter this, Gartner contributors Emily Rose McRae and Peter Aykens believe that smart HR leaders will embrace “quiet hiring”, or a way to bring in new skills and capabilities without hiring new employees. They believe this can be accomplished in three key ways: a focus on internal talent mobility, upskilling and training opportunities for current employees, and alternative approaches to bringing in talent such as temporary workers.

A focus on retention

The Great Resignation of the past few years saw a great number of workers departing their current roles to find something that better aligns with their values and happiness. This has created many job openings, but many companies have struggled to fill their open vacancies, leading toward 2022 being a year that favored employees.

“The gap between the number of people seeking work and the number of open roles remains wide, meaning that effective hiring and employee retention tactics remain highly important.” –Emeritus

Finding and training new talent is an expensive process. Visier’s Amy Furr cites that the average cost to replace an employee is roughly double their salary. Amidst the struggle of acquiring new talent, companies are looking for ways to increase their retention, including investing in employee development initiatives, offering more opportunities for advancement, and training new skills.

Hybrid work models

Remote work saw a massive surge thanks to the pandemic, but with many Covid restrictions being phased out, many companies want workers back in the office. The availability of entirely remote jobs is quickly decreasing, much to the justified chagrin of potential employees.

The sweet spot continues to be in hybrid work models, having employees come into the office a few times a week while still working remotely on other days. This provides the opportunity for freedom and flexibility while still offering the chance for in-person communication and a space for collaboration.

Robert Boersma notes that many companies want to make sure those out-of-office hours are being used correctly and will take measures such as tracking hours or monitoring software, but this is a quick way to erode trust and lose employees.

Increased focus on DEI

Many companies are making efforts to implement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. A Good Hire survey found that 81% of participants would consider quitting if a company isn’t truly committed to DEI. These programs are excellent for educating employees and making sure everyone’s voice is heard. But not every organization does so effectively.

“In addition to potential turnover issues, failing to prioritize DEI can lead to major financial losses. Accenture has found that companies are losing over a trillion dollars a year due to their lack of DEI efforts.” –Emeritus

Emily Rose McRae and Peter Aykens note that many of these initiatives are pushed back against by a significant portion of employees, which can disrupt the efforts. Learning how to handle opposition and educate more efficiently will be crucial in making sure these efforts aren’t in vain.

A shorter workweek

Finally, we see a trend that many employees will be especially excited about—a reduced work week.

Tracy White Brown, Chief HR Officer at Clark Nuber, believes more companies will take a serious look at the 32-hour work week. Not only will this make employees happy while letting them keep earning, but it will have tangible benefits for employers as well. A shorter work week creates higher morale (leading to increased retention), will make workers more productive with the hours they have, will cut down on distractions, and will make the organization more attractive to new candidates. Finally, it helps with sustainability and lowers a company’s carbon footprint.

Wrap up

Employees want more than a good paycheck. They seek value in their work and strive for a good work-life balance and high quality of life. Many of 2023’s hottest trends seem to follow that line of thinking. By providing skill opportunities and diversity initiatives for employees and allowing for flexibility, companies will create a better environment for their employees, leading to a happier, more fulfilled, and more productive workforce. 2023 has the potential to be an exciting and innovative year!

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Recapping Our Top Five Articles From 2022

In 2022, we started to regain some normalcy after two years heavily influenced by the pandemic. We hope that 2022 was a productive and fruitful year for you and that you continue to find success moving forward. We wish to take the time to thank our readers, the candidates, and the clients we work with daily for your support and for working with us in 2022.

In this time of reflection leading up to 2023, we took some time to review your favorite articles from 2022. Whether you’re starting a job search, looking for a little more value in your career, seeking industry knowledge, or navigating the tricky waters of a career change, these five articles particularly resonated with our audience and have something for everyone!

‘Let Go’ of Your Fear of Being Fired

Within the uncertainty of COVID-19 and detachment felt by many remote working employees, fighting through the fear of being fired is a common anxiety making work much more difficult for employees. Operating under this fear can be detrimental to daily job performance and mental health. It does not discriminate against rank, location, or industry. Similar to stress (and often inducing stress), fear drives us to a poor work-life balance and career burnout.

The first step towards seeing change is acknowledging your thoughts and accepting that they are not your reality. Initially revealed by Susie Moore, we break down five specific reasons you can and should push back against the fear of losing your job. 

Watch Out For These Red Flags On Your Next Job Search

In wake of the Great Resignation, many organizations are rapidly trying to attract talent. It’s a good time to be a job seeker, as experts believe 2022 is a year favoring employees. But while many companies are hiring and job seekers have a plethora of options, not all of those options are good. Navigating the job market can be like walking through a minefield as you try to avoid questionable organizations.

Thankfully, a well-prepared job seeker can avoid these “mines” by recognizing the red flags these organizations put out. Whether in the job description itself or based on statements you hear in an interview, there are telltale signs you’re heading for an unpleasant role. We’ll cover six of these major red flags to avoid during your next job search.

Thought-Provoking Questions To Ask Your Interviewer

Employers take tremendous value in the questions you ask during an interview because they will reveal your level of preparation, engagement, and curiosity for the position. Quit focusing on yourself and how your personal needs will be addressed in the role. Instead, ask stimulating questions to produce a quality conversation that reveals you are invested in the team’s betterment and showcases your unique value.

Captivate your interviewer and position yourself as the ideal candidate by asking these five questions:

Understanding And Overcoming Ghosting In Your Job Search

The dating world is scary enough as is, and that’s before considering the potential ‘ghosting’ that can occur. Ghosting, a phenomenon where a prospective partner ceases all communication, is common in dating. Another, more promising option will come along, some circumstances will take up a person’s time, or the person may simply resolve it’s better to disappear than have a difficult conversation.

While frustrating enough in the dating world, thanks to the sheer amount of potential applicants and the ease of using technology over face-to-face communication, ghosting has become extremely common in the hiring stratosphere as well. You may have a phone screening or even an interview and never hear from the company again. Recruiters may find a promising candidate, help them along their hiring process, and then get left on read.

We’ll examine the data behind ghosting, look at why ghosting happens, and provide job seekers will some ghostbusting strategies.

Assessing The Mortgage Industry: Top Trends & Statistics

Is the U.S. housing market overheating? Within the stability of low mortgage rates and high buyer contention, the housing market continues to be highly competitive. While it is a great time to be in the market for a loan, borrowers don’t quite have their ‘pick of the litter’ like in times past. Home prices continue to rise, as does the volume of offers placed on each listing. 

“Demand is robust throughout the country, but homebuyers continue to be held back by the lack of homes for sale and rapidly increasing home prices.” – Joel Kan, MBA Economist.

After assessing various expert opinions, knowledge, and studies, we have constructed the ultimate guide to the latest Mortgage industry trends and statistics entering 2022. Courtesy of the industry professionals with The Mortgage Banker’s Association, Fannie Mae, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Bankrate, The Motley Fool, TIME Magazine, & more!

Wrap up

As always, we’d like to thank all of you for your support in 2022! If you’ve missed out on any of these career tips, we hope you take the time to review them today!

Don’t hesitate to let us know what kind of articles were your favorite and what you would like to see from our content team in 2023!

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Stay Productive With These Four Tips

It’s that time of year when many workers are in a “circle back in January” mindset. With so much going on during the winter holiday season, it often isn’t easy to stay productive. Productivity can often suffer when the sun sets at 4 PM.

Even outside of the holiday season, it can be difficult to stay productive all the time. Whether you’ve got an upcoming holiday, are just returning from vacation, or you’re just plain feeling unmotivated, sometimes you’ll need a little extra assistance regaining your productivity. Gain that needed productivity boost by embracing these stratagems and maintaining control of your mindset.

Prioritize

Does it often feel like you have too much on your plate and too little time to deal with it? This is a normal mindset, but it can be much more manageable if you learn how to prioritize what’s important and break down those work morsels into easy-to-digest bites.

Simplilearn suggests starting by planning your day out ahead of time and writing your top-three most important daily tasks. Not only will listing out your schedule make the day feel much more manageable but you’ll clarify what actually needs to be done on the day. Give yourself the time you need to focus on the big tasks, and don’t sweat the small stuff.

Minimize distractions

Of course, it’s easier to stay on target and accomplish those important tasks if you minimize your distractions. Whether you’re working in a crowded office or from home, whether you’re planning a vacation or dealing with the tribulations of holiday travel, there are universal ways to stay focused.

You may need your devices to check in with your team and be appraised on important tasks, but it can be a good idea to turn off your notifications from time to time, according to Luxafor. You can plan for “deep work” times by turning your phone off temporarily and focusing on your task at hand.

The Muse advises staying away from accomplishing personal tasks during work time. No matter the circumstance, it’s easy to lose track of time or let distractions snowball out of control if you put work tasks on the back burner.

Set boundaries

Those outside forces can’t be contained forever, and sometimes you’ll get requests that will disrupt your productivity. But don’t forget that not every request is mandatory. It’s okay to say “no” sometimes!

Not every meeting is useful or pertains to you, but you may feel obligated to attend. Green Geeks’ Michael Phillips says to recognize what tasks aren’t a good use of your time and to give yourself permission to decline.

This applies to minor tasks as well. Don’t feel bad about declining a lunch invitation or a quick, non-work-related conversation if needed. These distractions can be nice, but if you really need to stay focused, learn to say “no.”

“Stay focused on the plan for the day, and politely remove yourself from distracting situations and people. It may be one of the most challenging ways for many of us to become more productive, but it’s in our interest to give it a try.” –Michael Phillips

Learn to improvise

No plan survives contact with the enemy, and even if you plan your day out and avoid any unnecessary distractions, there will still be curveballs that come your way. Sometimes, you simply can’t say no. Instead, you’ll have to improvise.

Forbes’ Lisa Bodell writes to take the improv approach with “yes, if.” If something doesn’t sound feasible as is, find a way to turn into into a yes if certain conditions are met. For example, if there is some way to take pressure off of one of your pressing tasks, you’ll be able to use that time to assist with something else.

“And lastly, when you find yourself one breath away from saying “No, because we don’t have budget for this,” replace it with “Yes, if…we can use funds allocated to Y or Z to experiment or test this idea.” –Lisa Bodell

Learn how to choose your battles and decide whether a hard no or a compromise is a better solution because the time spent with that debate could be better used on your necessary tasks!

Wrap up

We all struggle to be productive at times, but if you take time to focus on your most pressing tasks, minimize distractions, set boundaries, and learn how to be flexible, you can put yourself in the right mindset and accomplish your goals. It takes some practice, but if you approach your work with a plan, you’ll find great success!

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