Friday, November 29, 2019

5 Signs Youre About to Get Fired

5 Signs Youre About to Get Fired5 Signs Youre About to Get FiredHave you ever experienced that anxious, sinking feeling that the job you thought was so perfect perhapsisnt working out after all?If the discomfort stems from your end alone, you likely have the time and freedom tosearch for a better fit. If your employer, on the otzu sich hand, is the dissatisfied one, you may not have control over when or how your stint in that position will come to a close.Job security certainly isnt a guarantee, especially if you arent remaining relevant in your field and others prove more knowledgeable, skilled, or reliable. While you may not be able to reverse a plan to eliminate you, you certainly can soften the shock by staying alert and watching for these five signs of your forthcoming firing.1.Conversations with your manager are documented.Say you just had atense conversationwith your manager about your recent performance. You leave her amtsstube with a sigh of relief, thinking that you know ex actly what to do moving forward, and you can erase that uncomfortable one-on-one from your mind. Later that day, though, your manager follows up with an email outlining what you two had discussed. Warning The meeting summary isnt a kind gesture rather, it is very deliberate documentation intended for your file.In order to cover their backs and provide substantial evidence, your companys higher-ups will be sure to pave your trail to the exit with plenty of paper proof of your downfall. Instead of panicking, use the email content as your guide to making improvements and put your all into salvaging your job.2.Your manager follows up on items faster than you can accomplish them.Remember the tough conversation you just had with your manager? Instead of decompressing by the water cooler, get cracking on those items you and she discussed. Her calling a meeting with you has signaled your probation, which means she will now be checking in more frequently to keep you in line.So, review the to pics covered and choose the most pressing items as your absolute must-dos to begin working on immediately. When you manager inevitably follows up with you later in the day, she will be looking for significant progress on those items. Feeling overwhelmed or that the expectations are unreasonable are surefire signs that you might not be suited for the position.3.Responsibilities are being pulled from you.The newest hire approaches your desk, and you snatch a sticky note to jot down your coffee order. It turns out that she isnt making a Starbucks run, but she does, in fact, inform you that your boss just asked her to take the lead on the project you had been put in charge of. Your cheeks burning, you frantically search for the project file and hand it to her without making eye contact.Did your manager decide that this project is beneath you and is clearing your agenda for more important items? Perhaps your manager is setting you up for greater opportunities yet, its more likely that th e lightening of your load has the opposite meaning. If your assignments are being siphoned off to other employees, you can assume that your boss does not think you are equipped to handle the responsibilities of those roles successfully.4.Youre not invited to certain meetings.As you scroll through Instagram to ease your way into the post-lunchroutine, you notice that members of your team are heading to the conference room. Your heart skips a beat when you pull up yourcalendarand dont see anything scheduled. Did your team forget to invite you? Maybe theyre planning a surprise partey for you?If your team is meeting without you, theyre probably working on a project with a deadline that outlives your tenure. Your manager has already determined your expiration date, and while your coworkers likely arent aware of why, they have been instructed to leave you out. Not being included is a strong indication that you are no longer integral and on your way out.5.Someone with your title and more e xperience has been hired.You arrive Monday morning to find your manager escorting a new face around the office and making introductions. Finally, another person to help out the department Word quickly spreads that she has quite the impressive rsum, and when you get ahold of her business card, you discover that she has the same title as you. Did your boss realize that you have too much on your plate and hire someone to share the burden?Unfortunately, companies rarely are in such solid financial standing that positions can be added without making cuts. The most subtle and, lets be honest, downright offensive signs that your gig is ending is someone being brought on who shares your title but has more experience (and, of course, more pay) than you. This low blow is your companys way of saying that the current structure isnt working, and you are, in part at least, the reason why. Its not personal- its business.Taking note of these subtle cues will help you start dusting off thatresumesoo ner rather than later. But hopefully instead, youll see the writing on the wall and kick it into high gear.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

How to become resilient to the dreaded no

How to become resilient to the dreaded noHow to become resilient to the dreaded noWhen your boss turns down your idea, its natural to feel wounded you put yourself on the line with some original pitch, and then it was rejected.The chances are, however, the boss isnt saying no to hurt you. Shes doing it to get you to think up a better idea. And when companies reject you for a job, theyre bedrngnis trying to ruin your future. Theyre usually looking for the best fit.Thats why the best thing you can immediately do when facing a no is refuse to take it personally. Take a deep breath.The most important thing is to resist the spiral into despair. We may misinterpret that no as a sign that were being undervalued, and well self-sabotage ourselves to meet those lower expectations nothing I do matters anyway, so why even try?But Harvard geschftlicher umgang Review research explainshow you can turn that no into a success through a company case study on people who made the best out of their boss rejection.A 2016 studyfound that resource scarcity leads to more creativity as the constraints force us tothink beyond the traditional functionality of a given product.Make it work, even if its garbageHBR uses the story of a retail business managers dilemma on he how made a best-seller out of an inferior product he couldnt returnAfter this managerwas told that he couldnt return a large quantity of poorly-made tube dresses back to the warehouse, he decided to reevaluate the product because otherwise, theyre gonna be sitting here forever. He decided to cut off the flimsy straps and sell the productas a superior beach cover-up. It became a best-seller.As this anonymous manager told a different study, Sometimes when I get stuff that I think is personally garbage, I have to look at it as a challenge How am I gonna make it work?Necessity and limits can be the spark toall creativity, as long as employees and managers feel empowered to take theirresources into new directions.Famous fashion consultant Tim Gunn critiqued the lack of designers making clothes for plus-size women under this mindset. In his Washington Post essay on the subject, he argued that, I profoundly believe that women of every size can look good. But they must be given choices.Theres an art to doing this. Designers, make it work.You may not have an ideal team, enough resources, or unlimitedtime or money, but you have your mind and your will to achieve your goals despite these setbacks. Researchers say that people succeed despite these nos when they overcome threat rigidity, or the fear to think were personally at fault or under threat during times of professional adversity.But you can unstuck yourself. Spend less time worrying about what you dont have, and focus that energy on making do with what you already have. As Steve Martin puts it, Be so good they cant ignore you.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Women Are Saying Goodbye

Women Are Saying Goodbye Women Are Saying Goodbye Could these departing women as executive employees merely be the canary in the coal mine? Could these departures also signal future purchasing departures from women who only want to spend dollars with companies and organizations who dont act like jerks?Something to think about. Add Millennials and even a portion of the 99%ers to the women with values population and this could signal a sea change to come.This is a bit of a problem. Harvard economist Claudia Goldin, a leading reesearcher in the field, has argued thatwomens increased involvement in the economy was the most significant change in labor markets during the past century.Yur first thought might be to place part of the blame on the wage gap, and youd be dead right. Many economists and financial analysts are speculating that the reason professional women, particularly those at an executive level are leaving because their salaries have become pocket moneyRecent data indicates t hat since the last recession, which saw a re-entry of women into the workforce as husbands were laid off, well-educated women are starting to exit the workforce again in a larger trend seen over the past 20 years. The reason may have to do with the faster-growing salaries of men versus women.The picture this economy paints today is reminiscient of the WW2 workers who filled in the gaps when the male workforce was away, only in our more recent case, women picked up the slack when men were laid off. But the similarities continuedDuring our mini recession women could be and were paid less, making them an attractive alternative.Now that the economy is showing signs of recovery, the pay gap is once again widening and women are leaving the workforce (the men are back).Often times, entire paychecks are going to care for children.But there are other voices, who while acknowledging the cyclical pattern of women leaving the workforce and the rightfully outrageous pay discrepancies that exist at even the highest echelons of corporations, who say that while women may be leaving the workforce at the highest numbers in decades, they may be carving out different kinds of employment for themselves and their families, and leading one of the biggest workforce shifts in our industrialized history.Anecdotally, Id say there is an underground sea change afoot. Everywhere I look, women are starting microbusinessesselling jewelry or T-shirts on Etsy.com, becoming personal trainers, freelance writing and editing, offering birth support as doulas, massaging clients in their homes. Legally, or not-so-legally, women are increasingly working 10-40 hours a week outside the traditional workforce modelin addition to raising their children. Are the statistics tracking this? At least for the cash-economy jobs, almost certainly not.One fascinating study has found this may be a personal choice by women to deny any discrimination they MAY face. Essentially, walking away when their market value is the highest to avoid seeing the unfair paychecks and bungled promotions.But for smart recruiters, HR Practitioners and organizations looking to keep this educated and experienced workforce in play, ideas abound, including the ever popular job sharing options, work flex time, smaller commutes, subsidized childcare and more options for working mothers.