by Angela Copeland | Mar 23, 2021 | Career Corner Column, Newsletter
Sometimes, I think back on early career lessons. It’s amazing how someone says something when you’re young that doesn’t make sense until you’re older. My very first job was working for General Motors. I was nineteen, working as an engineer while I was a student. My boss pulled me aside. He said words that I’ll never forget, but that didn’t fully make sense at the time.
He said that in the corporate world, there is often a sort of personality trait that’s preferred. It’s a more aggressive, loud tone. He pointed out that my working style was different. It was more subtle. I persuaded people with persistence and patience. He said that one day, someone at work would try to encourage me to change away from my nature style. But, I should resist. My natural style works well, and there is space for me. Don’t change it.
As I’ve grown through my career, I’ve witnessed the sentiment he was referencing. I’ve heard people say things about how introverts aren’t welcome at specific companies. Extroverts are where it’s at. I’ve seen bosses try to imprint their aggressive style on their employees.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for self-development. But, when you’re learning to be your best self, you should still come out yourself in the end. You should not morph into another person with another style. And, there’s no one style or personality type that’s the right one.
So often, when we struggle, we beat ourselves up. We focus on our weaknesses rather than our strengths. Very often, this energy can be better used by trying to get better at our natural strengths, rather than to fix all of our weaknesses. But, that misses the point a bit, doesn’t it? Being your true self is not a weakness. Being your true self is what you have to bring to the table.
If your company is trying to change you, take a little time to digest the criticism. Does the feedback represent a real and actionable issue that you can correct? For example, perhaps you are often late to meetings. This is a real issue that should be corrected.
On the other hand, is the feedback more about your personality or style just being different than the mainstream culture? If that’s the case, start to think about your results. Are you getting your work done? Are you meeting your goals? If not, perhaps it’s time to come up with new ideas. But, if you are meeting your goals, the feedback may be more about your fit within the corporate culture.
In the last year, we have talked a lot about diversity and inclusion. Diversity is about having a seat at the table. Inclusion is about being able to bring your whole self to work. It’s about being accepted, despite differences you may have. At the end of the day, you need to be true to you.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on
Apple Podcasts or
Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in
iTunes or
Stitcher.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
by Angela Copeland | Mar 17, 2021 | Career Corner Column, Coronavirus, Newsletter
Many of us are chomping at the bit for the COVID vaccine. It feels like a ticket to freedom. Glassdoor.com recently conducted a survey to understand where employees stand on the issue of the vaccine and returning to the workplace. Their results are quite interesting, and I wonder if you agree with their findings.
Glassdoor is a website where employees can leave reviews of their employers. Interestingly, Glassdoor found that over 58,000 reviews mention COVID-19 or the vaccine. This is definitely a big topic on everyone’s minds.
First and foremost, 7 in 10 people surveyed believe that employees should be required to get a COVID-19 vaccine in order to return to the office. This makes sense. We’ve been isolating for a year. Getting the vaccine is an important next step in returning. Of those surveyed, 76 percent also said they intend to get a COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to them. This is good news, considering how dependent reopening is on the vaccine.
The part that truly surprised me about the survey is this. 69 percent of people surveyed by Glassdoor agreed that employers should offer financial incentives for employees to take a COVID-19 vaccine. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for financial incentives at work. But, this seems a little out of the ordinary. We can’t wait to get back into the world. We want everyone at work to be vaccinated. We plan to be vaccinated. Yet, we want to be compensated to receive a COVID vaccine?
I don’t mean to be the negative person here, but it seems a little like if we’re going to get on board, we should do it because it’s the right thing to do. No compensation should be necessary. And, aren’t we just happy to have a job at this point?
Also of note in this survey was remote work. Many employees like working from home and would like to keep it up, regardless of what’s happening with the pandemic. Of those surveyed, nearly 9 in 10 (86 percent) said they would prefer to continue working from home at least part of the time after offices reopen. This comes as no surprise as companies have had a year to test drive working from home.
In fact, 17 percent of those surveyed said they would consider quitting their job if they were required to return to the office five days a week, regardless of vaccinations. This is an interesting point. It’s one thing to quit a job completely. It’s a completely different thing to find another job to replace your current job.
The job market has shifted in the last year. Employers will have to think hard about what the future of work looks like. It’s time to start again. But, this time, we know what’s possible with remote work. So, it’s time to decide what we want work to look like in a post COVID, post vaccinated world.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on
Apple Podcasts or
Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in
iTunes or
Stitcher.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
by Angela Copeland | Mar 9, 2021 | Career Corner Column, Newsletter, Work From Home
Businesses are beginning to worry. And, it’s not what you’d think. As the COVID-19 vaccines are distributed around the country, the ability for workers to go back to the office is becoming a real possibility for the first time in a long time. This should be great news. The problem is, the pandemic has gone on for an entire year now. For those who have desk jobs, it’s been proven that you can work from home.
Many workers are considering a move to a cheaper city where their money will go further. Some have already moved to be closer to family for the time being. In spite of the downsides of the pandemic, for desk workers, this has been one of the upsides. And, there have been no more big commutes and more flexibility overall. That flexibility is providing some added level of work-life balance.
But, as things with the pandemic wind down, employers who want their employees to come back in person have a tough road ahead. How will they make the case? Typically, the case to do a desk job in person is collaboration. To be creative and productive, we need to be together.
In fairness, it’s been hard to be as collaborative over the last year. We have been disconnected. We’ve been fighting every day to make things as normal as possible, in the most unusual circumstances. We have lived through isolation, health issues, home schooling, and in some cases, loss.
But, we’ve done it. We are still getting up every day, still fighting, and still working.
When things do go back to normal, a weight will be lifted. Kids will go back to school. We will be able to socialize. We won’t have to worry so much. And with that weight lifted alone, productivity will increase.
Before the pandemic, there were already companies that were virtual, allowing employees to work from home. One observed that employees who joined their company from a traditional brick and mortar organization took time to adjust. In fact, in many cases, it took one year. Maybe that’s what we’ve been experiencing: an adjustment year. And we did it, despite many, many challenges.
If you’re a manager, consider this. Employees are often happier working from home. They’re typically more productive. And, frankly, it’s cheaper for the company. You no longer have to pay for all that expensive office space. And, it opens your hiring options up to the entire country.
In many cases, in person work is more about control and less about results. If you force people to come back, be sure you have good reasons. Talk to your employees. Listen to what they want. Ask them if they’ve been more productive at home. If you don’t, you may lose some of your people. After all, employees want choices. And, there are plenty of companies willing to give them choices in today’s working environment.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on
Apple Podcasts or
Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in
iTunes or
Stitcher.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
by Angela Copeland | Mar 2, 2021 | Career Corner Column, Newsletter, Work From Home
At times, it feels as if the pandemic has changed everything about the nature of work. One notable thing that has changed is our work attire. For most of my career, I’ve thought of my work uniform as a costume. It’s a version of ourselves that we show in a certain setting. It’s like wearing certain clothes to religious services. You know that there are certain things that are expected, depending on where you are.
I started my career in engineering. Back then, I wore khaki pants, a golf shirt, and steel toed boots. Later in my career, I worked in marketing at a financial institution. Then, I wore a suit and high heels on many days. But now, things are very different. It is not unusual to see an entire team of people wearing hoodies and stretchy pants.
What should we make of this? The honest answer is that only time will tell. On one level, it seems that we’re focusing more on talent than appearances. But, are we also letting our work slide with our casual looks?
For me, focusing less on appearances allows me to focus my energy more on what really matters – the work. I love how casual work from home has become. And, I wouldn’t feel badly if I traded in my business suits for yoga pants and hoodies.
With this said, there is one time when you have to make the effort. When you’re interviewing for jobs, the same rules apply even though you’re remote. Dressing up for a Zoom job interview is similar to writing a thank you note afterward. It’s not something that you have to do. But, you want the job, so you do it to show interest.
It’s recommended that you wear the same suit you would have worn before the pandemic. Try it on in advance to be sure it fits properly. Do your hair and makeup in a similar way. Wear the same jewelry. Try to look as if things are normal.
Beyond what you look like, you also need to pay attention to your environment. In a normal job interview, you’d go in person. But at home, you have to take charge. First, realize that the company can learn so much about you that they couldn’t before. Clean up the area around you. Be sure your space is quiet. And, consider getting a ring light for the best on screen appearance.
This sounds like a lot of work, but it’s worth it for the job offer you’ll secure. With any luck, the job will be remote. And, you’ll have the opportunity to wear casual clothes again day to day.
What will be curious to learn ultimately is what in person office wear will look like in the future. We will have spent almost two years wearing casual clothes together. Can we all agree that hoodies and yoga pants are in our future?
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on
Apple Podcasts or
Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in
iTunes or
Stitcher.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
by Angela Copeland | Feb 23, 2021 | Career Corner Column, Coronavirus, Newsletter
We’ve now been living in a pandemic for almost one year. It felt like things couldn’t get any stranger. Then, the last two weeks happened. A massive winter storm blanketed much of the country. States struggled to get the impact of the storms under control. Texas was one of the most extreme examples, with many, many people completely losing power. In other areas of the country, there were other issues, including a lack of water or other resources.
With many people working remotely, some employees have moved to another city temporarily. This has had many advantages. Employees have been able to spend more time with aging parents. They’ve been able to spend more time at their weekend homes.
But, the last two weeks revealed a challenge. With employees distributed around the country, our experiences are no longer universal. Not everyone is going through the same weather. Not everyone is struggling through the same issues. With different family situations, this was already true. But, the storms highlighted it again.
On Zoom, everyone appears the same. Unless coworkers share, it’s easy to remain unaware. We assume everything is fine. But, this invisible difference has been a theme throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We are each having our own unique experience.
Some employees have small children at home they are trying to care for when no one is looking. Some have extra family members living with them who are out of work due to the pandemic. Some are trying to manage aging parents from a distance.
We are all going through the normal phases of life, including birth, celebrations, and loss. But, on camera, we are more disconnected from one another at work. We are less likely to realize when a coworker is struggling. We are less aware of what a hard time they may be having.
And, to a certain degree, it makes sense. Our businesses are struggling to stay in business. How do we find the time to care about basic day to day problems? We’re fighting just to make it through the pandemic. We’re doing our best to stay employed.
It feels important to recognize that we’re each having a unique experience. Frankly, the impact of the pandemic has been harder on some people at your company than others. That’s the nature of this separation and isolation from one another. We have removed many of the normal social supports that are in place. We’re left to get by on what we can do solo.
At work, try to remember that we’re all in this together. Try to be patient with one another. Try to check in on each other.
Ask your coworkers real questions beyond what you’re meeting about. Video meetings have made it harder to have personal interactions. Ask about children. Ask about pets. Ask about parents. To know what is really going on beyond the Zoom meetings, we must ask one another.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on
Apple Podcasts or
Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in
iTunes or
Stitcher.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
Sometimes, I think back on early career lessons. It’s amazing how someone says something when you’re young that doesn’t make sense until you’re older. My very first job was working for General Motors. I was nineteen, working as an engineer while I was a student. My boss pulled me aside. He said words that I’ll never forget, but that didn’t fully make sense at the time.
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