November is a month to enjoy the holidays with loved ones and express thanks. Right now, could be a good opportunity to consider how you can continue to grow in your career as the year draws to a close and a new one begins.
November is also National Career Development Month, and we want to help you get the most out of your career by reflecting on advice we shared with you in 2022 in hopes these strategies will encourage you and help you succeed. (more…)
Although some workplaces are starting to return to in-person working conditions, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we worked. According to a December 2020 poll from the Pew Research Center, prior to the pandemic just 20% of those surveyed were working from home. That number jumped to 71% during the pandemic.
But were employees working the same number of hours remotely? In April, we asked our Job Journey readers if they were working more or less hours from home as compared to when they were in the workplace.
If you don’t see this question on a job application and make it to the interview, expect it to come up. Employers want to fact-check resumes and ensure job seekers are truthful with their job experience.
But what do you do if you had a particularly bad manager and you don’t want your potential employer to get in touch with them? Or perhaps nobody you worked with is still at the company, so you wouldn’t get a good reference. We’ve got you covered with these handy tips.
You’re tired of working and ready to retire, so what’s stopping you?
Maybe you can’t afford it yet. Or perhaps you don’t want to stop working because you enjoy it. You want more time to dedicate to your family or hobbies, but aren’t quite ready to give your job up and retire. So, regardless of reason, you keep working.
The Good
But working forever isn’t the only option. There’s another way to ease out of the workforce—phased retirement.
Not sure what that means? Investopedia defines phased retirement as including “a broad range of employment arrangements that allow an employee who is approaching retirement age to continue working with a reduced workload, and eventually transition from full-time work to full-time retirement.”
In other words, phased retirement allows you to work in a part-time capacity for a certain time period before you start full-time retirement. You get to keep working for longer, while employers get the benefit of you passing on your knowledge and experience before heading off to retirement.
Sounds enticing, right?
The Bad
A study published by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, as reported by Forbes, notes that 77% of employers believe many of their employees want to keep on working post-retirement. Forty-seven percent think employees would like to do some sort of phased retirement. The issue?
Only 31% of those same employers actually allow that shift to a phased retirement, and only 27% are okay with employees taking on jobs that are less stressful or demanding to make retirement easier.
The Solution
If you want to keep working and embrace retirement, there is still a solution through staffing companies like Express Employment Professionals.
You don’t have to pay anything to benefit from Express. All you need to do is pick up the phone and call a local office or register online. Let your employment specialist know your work availability and they’ll find you part-time positions that allow you to phase into retirement at your own pace.
For more in our retirement series, check out these helpful blogs:
Retirement: Happy 40th Birthday 401(K)
Beginner’s Guide to Retirement
Job Searching Past Retirement Age
Three Tips for Getting Your Retirement Started Off Right
Do you plan on retiring? If so, will you retire outright or opt for a phased approach? Let us know in the comments section below!
Read on for lessons learned from what NOT to do.
Interviews are hard. You’re being tested not only on your skills, but also on who you are as a person and how your unique personality might work with the company in question. There are so many variables. What will they ask me? What should I ask them? What experience is relevant?
Plenty of prep time and research can eliminate many of these questions. However, regardless of preparation, there are a few basic rules of etiquette to keep in mind. Dress in accordance with what your interviewer asks for. Don’t interrupt your interviewer. Be kind and courteous. Don’t try to hide a barking puppy under your shirt. Wait, what?
That’s right, that happened. Some applicants bring a little extra something to the interview. We asked a few of our top recruiters for stories about the more outrageous interview experiences they have had.
Working Isn’t My Thing
One of our staffing consultants recently dealt with a strange occurrence. An applicant came in with a standard resume. Everything seemed above board. However, the first thing he said was “I get that some people are motivated by hard work, but that’s really not my thing.”
Honesty is great, and you should be truthful when speaking about your experience in an interview. However, most employers aren’t going to hire someone who doesn’t want to work. They have plenty of other candidates, and odds are that most of them didn’t say they don’t like to work. Even if you’re just working for a paycheck, there’s no need to mention that in an interview.
Batman Needs Me
Another staffing consultant recalled an incident that started off normal enough but immediately fell apart. A candidate came in for a 2 o’clock interview 15 minutes early. However, before the interview could get started, he left. He returned 20 minutes past his scheduled interview time and, when asked about the reason for his rapid departure and subsequent return, he said he “had to sell comic books.” Oh, and his mother was now accompanying him; he was not a teenager.
Your interview starts before you’re even in the room. Everything you do in the waiting area can have real consequences. Yelling on the phone, treating the front desk coordinator badly, and, yes, leaving without any notification—these are reasons to write you off as a candidate.
Coming back and expecting to fit into what was already a busy schedule is an even worse idea. If you do have to leave for any reason, notify the receptionist and attempt to re-schedule via email. However, save this for true emergency situations—there’s no guarantee you’ll get a second try.
Chad Truly Felt Chad Had the Skills for the Job
One staffing consultant had an interview that was unsettling, to say the least. A candidate walked in; let’s call him Chad. Chad immediately began explaining his experience to the staffing consultant. However, Chad repeatedly spoke about himself in the third person. Caught off guard, the staffing consultant had to take a few minutes to realize what was going on. When he asked Chad why he was talking about himself in the third person, Chad said he hadn’t even realized that was happening, and attributed it to being nervous.
Although it’s easy to blame Chad for his odd attitude in this scenario, there are plenty of other candidates who fall into similar pitfalls. This is due to a lack of interview training. Many candidates don’t know their strange interview tics because they’ve never been told about them. To avoid this problem, practice interviews with friends or family. That training will come in handy!
Job Genius
Want to make sure you never make any of these mistakes? Looking for a one-stop-shop for all your interview and job search questions? Job Genius is here to help.
Covering everything from the job market forecast to your resume, subsequent interview, and more, Job Genius is the perfect place to start (or kick start) your career.
Have questions about what NOT to do in an interview? Let us know in the comments below!
Movin’ On Up recently observed its its decennial celebration, and we wouldn’t have made it to this point without all of you. Your comments and survey responses helped take this blog from its humble beginnings to where we are now. To celebrate our 10-year anniversary, here are our top 10 posts of all time!
Without powerful words, a resume is just a piece of paper. In this blog post, we highlight words that can supercharge a resume. Want to show off your work ethic? Tell prospective employers about instances of consistent behavior and reliable, results-driven service. Trying to shine as a positive thinker? Let everyone know about how you collaborated with team members in order to achieve an innovative outcome.
Interviews are tough. Applicants never really know what to expect from their interviewers, so prep time usually consists of trying to come up with answers to every possible question. But it’s equally important to zero in on what not to ask. This post centers on what interview topics applicants should avoid.
Now that your resume is powered up with quality words that emphasize professional strengths, you’re ready to sprinkle in a few action words that show off previous responsibilities. How about when you coached new hires or negotiated lower rates? Did you schedule executive phone calls or operate complicated machinery? Let interviewers know!
Interview prep can be daunting. There are numerous subjects to cover, and only a few days to get ready. Should you focus more on the company’s history or your own history? What kind of questions should be asked? Luckily we’re here to help with our top seven tips for preparing for your next interview.
We all know that co-worker. Maybe it’s Sheryl the lunch thief or lazy Damien in the corner cubicle. Perhaps their workspace resembles a garbage dump or they never show up to their shift on time. It might be tempting to report these co-workers to a manager, but nobody wants to cause a scene. So here are a few ways to solve co-worker drama on the sly.
In-person interviews are hard enough, but at least applicants can gauge how they’re doing by looking at their interviewer’s face. Phone interviews don’t provide that luxury. This post should help you figure out which questions to ask.
A resume filled to the brim with information isn’t necessarily a good resume. Every word on the page matters. Otherwise it’s just unnecessary fluff. Hiring managers spend about six seconds looking at a resume, and it’s your job as an applicant to make each of those seconds count.
When we were children they stole our candy, in high school they spread rude rumors about us, and now they’re doing their best to make work life difficult. Regardless of where you work or what you do, bullies will probably be part of the equation.
Think back to your New Year’s resolutions. Hopefully you succeeded with any resume improvements you pledged to make. A well-done resume is your first chance to shine in front of a potential employer. So make sure to keep everything up-to-date and organized.
Unhappy with your job? Not sure why you never seem to get that second interview? Career roadblocks could be the cause. Perhaps your skills could use a polish, or maybe it’s time to stop dreaming and start planning.
Regardless of whether you’re a new reader of our blog or an old friend, we’re here to help. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK, Express Employment Professionals is a leading staffing provider in the U.S. and Canada. We employed a record 510,000 people in 2016. If you have any questions about the job search, feel free to contact your local Express office or create an Express account to apply for jobs online.
Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 10, in the United States, and it’s a great day to honor the moms and motherly figures in our lives. We’d like to recognize all working moms by sharing interesting facts, gift ideas, and an in-depth look at the women who make both Mother’s Day and the workplace something to celebrate.
Moms In the Workforce
Finding a job and maintaining a positive work-life balance can be tough. For working moms, it can be even more difficult. Fifty years ago, it wasn’t very common for mothers to be a part of the workforce, but that’s a trend that has changed today. In fact, the U.S. Department of Labor reports that 70% of women with children under 18 participate in the labor force. This equates to roughly 31 million working American mothers.
When comparing the years 1961-1965 with years 2006-2008, this change in the labor force becomes even clearer. In the 1960s, only 44% of first-time mothers worked during their pregnancy, while 66% of first-time moms worked during their pregnancies in the 2000s. Additionally, only 17% of women returned to work within a year of their first baby’s birth in the 1960s, compared to 64% who returned to work in the 2000s.
Furthermore, in the 1960s, only 11% of working mothers were the sole or primary breadwinner for their families, compared to 40% of women today.
The Value of Mom’s Time
Many mothers take care of household tasks while also maintaining full- or part-time jobs. These tasks include cooking, cleaning, managing family finances, chauffeuring, and shopping. According to the Insure.com 2014 Mother’s Day Index, tasks that moms perform at home would be worth nearly $63,000 a year in the professional world.
Saying Thank You
According to CNN, 141 million Mother’s Day cards are exchanged every year in the United States, and more people purchase fresh flowers and plants on this day than any other holiday, except for Christmas. In fact, Mother’s Day accounts for one-fourth of all holiday sales of flowers and plants.
According to Insure.com, a card or flowers will be appreciated on Mother’s Day. But, what do moms really want? A 2014 survey of mothers revealed that the top picks for Mother’s Day gifts include a day at the spa, a family getaway, a nice dinner, chocolates, breakfast in bed, and handmade gifts from their children.
Here at Movin’ On Up, we salute our associates who are working mothers and wish all of them a happy Mother’s Day!
Are you a working mother? How do you find a balance between your work and home life? Share your tips in the comments section below!
Movin’ On Up is brought to you by Express Employment Professionals.
