Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Does your company appreciate you?

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business ownerPerhaps you are underappreciated and seeking a new job – hopefully, with a company that will be an improvement in the appreciation department. Sometimes, when you’re so focused on getting a job – just any job – it’s easy to forget that you should do a little research on your own to decide if you even want to work for the organization.

Dan Campbell, 2014 chairman of the American Staffing Association and CEO of Hire Dynamics – a staffing company often recognized on Best Places to Work lists – suggests the following tips to help decide if an organization will appreciate you.

Does the company make it its priority to not only attract, but also retain its talent for the long haul?

Is it pretty clear that the organization is a revolving door, where employees seem to come and go frequently? How can you tell? If most people you meet when networking or interviewing don’t have much experience at the organization, it may be a tip-off. You can certainly make a point to ask about the tenure of the typical employee.

“When searching for the right career, no longer are immediate opportunities the top consideration as continued growth has become increasingly more important,” Campbell says. Make it your business to find out if the organization’s culture supports promoting from within. Is there an internal job board? Do people move up the corporate ladder? Do managers support individual career goals? While you don’t want to engage with a supervisor by asking how long it will be until you can do something different, if you can get a sense of whether people tend to stay with the organization or not you’ll have at least part of your answer about if employees feel appreciated.

Identify if the organization is flexible.

Campbell points to a 2013 global generational study by PwC that discovered millennials believe “enhancing workplace flexibility and equity between work and home is one of the keys to improving job satisfaction.” Most people would likely agree that they feel more appreciated and valued when their organization provides at least some version of flexible work, whether it’s on a regular basis or during critical situations. Again, you shouldn’t go into an interview asking about how often you can work from home, but you can ascertain the company culture generally to determine if you would feel valued.

Facilitating a strong sense of teamwork is another way an organization can help its employees believe they’re valued. “A strong, cohesive, team-oriented workplace culture and opportunities for interesting work are important,” Campbell says.

Do benefits go beyond your salary?

“Companies like DreamWorks offer recreational learning opportunities to employees including painting, karate and sculpting,” Campbell explains. “Google, Zappos and Procter & Gamble have designated nap rooms where employees can take 30 minutes to reboot.” While these companies have pioneered the way, Campbell says, “more businesses across a broad range of industries are now warming up to these ideas.” If you like hands-on appreciation, you’ll want to find out the type of rewards the organization offers. In the application process you can usually tell if a company offers such rewards – like team contests for restaurant gift cards or a chance to win a half-day Friday – because the company will tell you. These perks give the impression that the organization appreciates its employees.

Get my free white paper: 5 Mistakes Preventing You From Landing a Job This Week 

Look online.

Online reviews on a website like Glassdoor.com will help you assess how good an organization is when it comes to showing appreciation for its employees. Seek lists of “best places to work,” as many of those companies likely do a good job recognizing its employees for jobs well done.

Originally appeared on U.S. News & World Report.

How to be a cultural fit

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fit 2You know looking for a job requires you to demonstrate your skills and accomplishments. You’ve put together your résumé and practiced answering questions about your five-year plan. You even have a great career story to tell, proving you’re prepared to help solve the organization’s biggest challenges. [Read more…] about How to be a cultural fit

Looking for a new job in the new year?

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new career

Time flies when you are having fun. It’s true! I realized this week is the seven-year anniversary of my blog. In celebration of the blog-aversary, I thought it would be fun to revisit my very first posts from seven years ago. I was surprised to find out that, while I wasn’t talking so much about social media in that first week of blogging, the advice I provided seven years ago is still sound and valid today.

Below is the text of my very first blog post. Do any of these statements resonate with you? If so, it’s probably time to start thinking about how you are going to make a change in 2015!

A new year is a great opportunity to reevaluate your career goals and decide if 2008 (or 2015) is the year that you’ll (finally) focus on finding a new job or career.

Is this your year?  Do any of these bullet points sound familiar?

  • You dread going to work. Thinking about your job gives you a twitch, or that familiar stress feeling in your neck.
  • You aren’t being paid what you are worth.  You need to make more money to support your lifestyle or family.
  • You have always dreamed (or at least thought about) a career in a different industry or setting.
  • Your work consumes you.  You are working so many hours that you don’t have time for anything else in your life, and you want more.
  • Your job is  having a negative impact on your health.

If any of these describe your situation, now is the time to plan for a move.  Although a job hunt may sound like a lot of work, with the right tools and attitude, you can successfully transition to a new job or career.  Stay tuned for more about how to get started!

Don’t make this major job search mistake

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job search mistakeHave you ever made a big job search mistake and wish you could have a “do over?” Unfortunately, there are no do overs when it comes to job search, so avoid career-ending mistakes before they derail your search. [Read more…] about Don’t make this major job search mistake

Resolve to be grateful

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treesAt this time of year, it’s natural to be thinking of making changes and starting new habits. Have you considered incorporating gratitude into your new year’s resolutions?

As an employee, whether or not your company incorporates being thankful into its mission, do you feel appreciated? Do you believe you should expect more than a paycheck?

Bryan Miles, CEO and co-founder of eaHELP, a provider of virtual executive assistants, knew he wanted “gratitude” to be featured prominently in his company’s values. Here are his suggestions for all leaders and employees to consider this week and all year long:

1. Don’t wait to be grateful. Regardless of your position in an organization, cultivate gratitude as a core part of your work. “Don’t wait until you’re leading a team, a division or a company to become a grateful leader,” Miles says. “If you do, when you start telling people you’re grateful for them once you’re in the position you want, people won’t buy it.” He suggests you make sure those around you right now understand that you’re grateful for the many ways they help you each and every day.

2. Be humble. Miles believes that if you’re a leader, you know down in your gut that what you’re leading doesn’t have much to do with you. He suggests you acknowledge that you’ve achieved your role, in part, because your team works hard and takes advantage of market opportunities. “Your team looks to you for leadership and for guidance, but when it comes down to the day-to-day wins and losses that actually make up your business, you need to know that those don’t have much to do with you,” Miles says. “You need to be grateful for the team that powers the engine of your business.” Similarly, as a team member, recognize your role in ensuring your team continues to move forward. Be grateful for everyone around you, and don’t be shy about expressing appreciation.

3. Acknowledge that your success depends on others. Being a grateful employee will make you a smarter employee. Admitting that you don’t know everything and that everything you’ve ever learned that’s made you successful has come from someone or something else helps improve your standing in a team. “Being grateful for those from whom you’ve learned is essential if you want to stay humble and teachable and will actually propel you forward in your career,” Miles says.

4. Be sincere. In many cases, being grateful can be disarming. As a leader or a team member, when you are thankful and express it – sincerely and frequently – it will often make people stop in their tracks. “Genuine gratitude is pretty rare in today’s society, which is a shame, but expressing real gratitude sets people apart,” Miles says. If you lead a team, your employees will know when your gratitude is genuine, and they are more likely to put in extra effort. “Grateful leaders have stronger, more effective, more loyal teams,” he says. As an employee, demonstrating gratitude can help set you apart from others in your organization.

Consider how being appreciative at work and expressing those feelings to all team members can help make your organization more successful. When you do, you give the people who work with you even more reasons to be thankful – at Thanksgiving and all year long.

Miles says this approach has helped contribute to the success of his organization. He believes his success could very well end, should he fail to incorporate gratitude for those around him. “Gratitude is the only lasting motivator of change,” he says. “It’s the only thing that will propel you to change in the future, if you’re grateful for what you have now.”

This post originally appeared in U.S. News & World Reports.