Is your company due for a health checkup?

by Angela Copeland | Jan 15, 2018 | Company Culture, Company Review, Happiness, Newsletter

If we learned anything from 2017, it’s that there’s more going on behind the doors of Corporate America than we thought. What initially started as a few rouge senior level executives showing their birthday suits to employees ended up revealing a much larger problem. The issue was far more widespread than we may have realized.

Who could have guessed what momentum the #metoo movement would have? It seems that people from far and wide (and from all different backgrounds) can relate.

As shocking and disappointing as this new reality is, there’s one very positive thing coming out of it. It’s getting us talking. We’re talking to each other about our experiences at work. And, it’s getting us to rethink what we want in our workplace.

As a young engineer, I remember how odd going to work felt. Not only did I feel different than my coworkers, but they thought that I was different than them too – and they told me so, through their words and their actions. I remember bringing this confusing topic up to loved ones who worked in different industries. I often felt dismissed. “This problem has already been solved,” was the message I received back. So, like many other people, I learned to work around the problem.

But now, we’re talking. And, we’re aware that maybe there’s still some work to do. And, we’re thinking about what we want – and who we want to be in the future. Although the public dialogue we’ve been having isn’t perfect for lots of reasons, it’s a start.

2018 is a great year to think about what a healthy workplace looks like to you. Where do you really want to work? What values do you hold dear, and do they align to the corporation’s values? Is your boss someone you respect? And, even if your company treats you well – do they treat your coworkers with respect?

Very often in business, there are things much more important than money. Yes, we go to work each day to receive a paycheck. But, it’s so much more than that. On some level, it’s our identity. Where we work and who we work with shapes who we are. It shapes what we think about.

I don’t know about you, but I would rather make a little less money and work for an organization that I believe in. And, I definitely don’t want to work for a company that isn’t treating everyone fairly and with a basic level of respect.

If you’re still feeling the shock of 2017, 2018 may be a good time to check-in with yourself about your company.

Does the company offer a product or service that you believe in?

Do you feel like you’re doing purposeful work?

Does the company treat all of its employees with a level of respect and equality?

Do your personal values align to that of the company and its executives?

Many times, these are things we forget to think about when we’re searching for a new job. In the moment, we may just want to land an offer.

But, when there’s a little downtime, it’s always a good idea to think back and reflect. Is this company a healthy place to be? Is this how I want to spend my life?

And, if the answer to these questions is no… it may be the right time to start looking. After all, January is the perfect time to kick off your new job search and your new 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.

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 Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

Happy hunting!

Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach

2017 Year End Review of Copeland Coaching

by Angela Copeland | Jan 8, 2018 | Breaking The Rules & Getting The Job, Career Corner Column, Newsletter, Podcast, TEDx Talk

I’ll say it again – I can’t believe it’s 2018! 2017 flew by so fast. First, thank you to everyone who helped to make 2017 such a big success for me and Copeland Coaching – especially my awesome clients!

Now that we are fully into 2018, let’s take a look back at a few highlights from the last year. If there’s anything you missed, click through to learn more.

I’m so happy to kick off 2018 with you – let’s make it a success!

TEDx Worthington

Possibly my proudest moment of 2017. I had the honor to give a TEDx Talk about my own career success in Ohio. The talk, titled ‘How I broke the rules & found my perfect job’ outlines my own career transition from engineer to marketer to career coach. I also talk about how I made it through the unexpected economic change of the dot com crash with a computer engineering degree. Check out my entire talk on the TEDx YouTube channel here.

Breaking The Rules & Getting The Job

In 2017, I also released the print version of my book, Breaking The Rules & Getting The Job! We had a book signing at the South Main Book Juggler. The book provides practical, useful advice for those looking to improve their job-seeking outcomes. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting out, the book can help you to jumpstart your job search. If you’d like to get your copy, you can still purchase the book on Amazon.com.

Forbes Coaches Council

In 2016, I also accepted an invitation to become part of the Forbes Coaches Council. Being a part of the council gave me the opportunity to both be a contributor on topics related to careers, and also to author guest columns. Here are two of my guest columns.

LinkedIn Unveils New Product Offering: LinkedIn Talent Insights
Three Rules To Break During Your Job Search

Career Corner Column

I’ve written my own Career Corner Column every week now for four years! It’s hard to believe that I’ve written over 200 columns now. Wow, time has flown by! And, over time, more news outlets have picked up the column. In addition to The Memphis Daily News, the column is now in 12 more outlets, including Recruiter.com. It’s now in Tennessee, Mississippi, Oklahoma, California, Washington, and Arizona. That’s pretty exciting stuff! If you want to check out any of my old columns, you can find them all on the Copeland Coaching website here.

Copeland Coaching Podcast

This year has been such an exciting one for the Copeland Coaching Podcast! I’ve now released over 150 episodes. These episodes include interviews with industry experts on topics centering on how to get a job! Below are a few guest highlights for the year. Please check out the podcast, and be sure to subscribe! It’s free and it helps people to find my show.

Jennifer Shappley, LinkedIn – Using LinkedIn
Dr. Shirley Raines, University of Memphis – Career Reinvention
Austin Graff, The Washington Post – Social Media Career
Raj Mukkerjee, Indeed.com – Indeed Prime
Howard Behar, Starbucks – It’s Not About The Coffee
Paul Wolfe, Indeed.com – Human Resources
Dr. Alex Korb, UCLA – The Upward Spiral

Expert Interviews

2017 also brought with it the opportunity to be interviewed and quoted as a career expert. I’ve been humbled and grateful to be included in pieces by The Wall Street Journal, Society for Human Resources Management, Glassdoor, CNBC, Monster, Forbes, Business Insider, Marketwatch, and Fast Company.
You can check out all these great pieces and many more on my website. You can also view all of my television interviews here.

Thank You!

Thank you again for a wonderful 2017! The year was so special to me for so many reasons that there’s not enough room to share them all here. Thank you for making it great! I look forward to another awesome year in 2018!

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.

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.

Happy hunting!

Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach

Creating a New You in 2018

by Angela Copeland | Jan 3, 2018 | New Year, Newsletter, Resolution

If 2017 left you feeling disappointed at work, today is the perfect day to start turning things around in 2018.

How many times did you think the following to yourself? If only I work a little harder, my boss will recognize my value. Next year, I really will get a decent raise, and a promotion. I’m really not happy, but I have no other choice.

If you’ve had any of these thoughts, it sounds like 2018 is your year. Let’s face the facts. Your boss may recognize your value, or may continue to take advantage of your hard work. And, you may get a decent raise next year, or you may get just two percent (or less). Staying at the same organization often yields the same poor results.

If you’re ready to turn over a new leaf, the first thing to realize is that you do have choices. Continuing to go to work each day to earn a stable income is a great first choice. Beginning to look for a new job before you’re ready to run from your current job is another great choice. If possible, continue to go to your existing job while you find a replace job. This will ensure you have the time to look and make the best decision for you. After all, you don’t want to trade one bad job for another. That’s not what this year is about!

The great thing about landing a new job is that your new boss will get a chance to hire you. They’ll pick you. What I’m trying to say is, often if you’ve been with a company for a few years, you end up with a new boss than the person who originally hired you. That new boss may or may not really buy into your work. They might not choose to hire you again if they had the choice. If you feel like you’re experiencing Groundhog Day around raises and recognition, this could be why.

Plus, let’s be honest. Companies are more motivated to offer larger sums of money to new hires than they are to existing employees. Bosses rarely want to pay more to do the same work you’ve already been doing for less.

I get it. The entire thing is a bummer. Interviewing is stressful and full of rejection. Moving to a new company is full of a lot of chance. It could be better or worse than where you are now. But, if where you are now really isn’t working, it’s probably worth it. Once you decide what’s best for you, create a plan of attack for 2018. Write down your goals to make them real. And, begin to work on them each day.

Change isn’t immediate. It’s a slow process. But, with time and effort, it will happen. You’ll find yourself happier, working for someone who appreciates you, and possibly even making more money in 2018.

Angela Copeland, a career coach and founder of Copeland Coaching, can be reached at copelandcoaching.com.

Start 2018 Strong

by Angela Copeland | Jan 1, 2018 | Career Coaching, Career Transition, Newsletter

Happy New Year’s Day!

Can you believe it? 2018 is finally here. Regardless of your political leanings or any other views, 2017 was a long year. LLOOONG.

There were times when it felt like it would never be over. Right?

I mean, how many times did you consider defriending that overly opinionated friend on Facebook? How many times did you watch the train wreck of the morning news and think, “How is this happening?” How many times over the holidays around family did you think, “I better just keep my mouth closed about this topic right now.” “And, how many times did you think, “Oh my – I don’t think I can do this job one more day!”

The good news is, we made it. We made it TOGETHER. (Minus a few Facebook friends.)

So, let’s take this opportunity today to turn over a new leaf. It’s January 1^st. It’s a Monday. Let’s start off a great new week to a great new year.

It’s time to refocus on our priorities and establish new goals. After all, that’s what the New Year is good for, right? Setting a few resolutions to help us target our energy.

But, first, let’s work on accepting a few things as they are.

If you did a great job in 2017, but didn’t get the raise you should have, it may be time to find a new job
If you asked for a promotion in 2017 and your boss had no interest, it may be time to find a new job
If you had no work life balance and were working crazy hours with little or no time off, it may be time to find a new company
If your work is boring / unfulfilling / soul sucking, it may be time to find a new job

I know, I know. You may be thinking, “But, Angela – I was planning to stay at this company forever. I want to work my way up to the top of my organization. I want to retire here.” I hear you. And, if you’re happy and things are going according to plan, great! You are in a dream job scenario.

But, if it’s not working… if you are dragged yourself to work every day in 2017… if you’re hoping each and every day that your boss will finally “get you” – it’s time to rethink the plan. Remember too – companies aren’t the same as they once were. Staying with one company forever is becoming the anomaly, not the norm.

People who switch jobs (and companies) more frequently are paid more. They go up the ladder. And, their bosses actually buy into them.

Why is this? Well, when your current boss is the one who recruited you, they did it because they liked you. They saw your potential. They didn’t simply inherit you from someone else. And, they probably fought to get you – so they offered you more to join their company than they would have if you were just getting an annual raise internally.

Moving around also helps to diversify your experience. It helps to expand your network. For many industries, it can help to reduce the risk that you will one day be unemployed.

Okay, so you get the point… With all of this in mind, what are you going to do differently in 2018?

The very first thing is to decide if you want to find a new job. And, if so, when do you want to find a new job? What’s your target and how will you get there?

But, keep in mind that if you’ve been with one company for a while and your pay is high, it will take longer to find your next high paying senior level job. It’s been estimated that for every $10,000 you make, it will take 1 month to find a new job. So, if you make $80,000 now, it may take you 8 months to find something new. EIGHT MONTHS! Wow!

So, if you’re even thinking of finding something new, this is the time to start. Don’t wait. Set your goal. Set your resolution. And, let’s get going!

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.

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.

Happy hunting!

Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach

2017 Job Search Trends

by Angela Copeland | Dec 11, 2017 | Advice, Indeed.com, Job Posting, Job Search, Newsletter

First, can you believe it’s December 11th?! Wow, this year has really gone by fast! Let’s look at what’s happened in the job search world in 2017…!

Each year, Indeed.com takes a look back at how job searching has changed in the last year. And, they ought to know. Founded in 2004, Indeed holds the title as the world’s largest job website. They get over 200 million unique visitors each month from over 60 countries.

As you probably have, those millions of people use Indeed to search for jobs. And, Indeed has saved all that data about the millions and millions of job searches. They’ve analyzed it to share insights with us for this year — by country.

Some of what they found is widespread. People around the world are looking for jobs related to technology — and to flexibility. And, it makes sense. Who doesn’t want a work-from-home job?

In the U.S., searches for ‘hurricane relief’ are up 682% and searches for ‘no experience required’ are up 1,114%. I have to imagine that searches related to experience have to do with young employees feeling the strain of entry level job postings that require many years of experience.

In Canada, ‘tech,’ ‘finance,’ and ‘full time‘ searches grew. But, older programming languages including Perl, Ruby, and Delphi dropped by 48%. This is just a reminder that to stay relevant in technology jobs, you’ve always got to be learning and evolving.

In Ireland, some of the hot searches were: part-time, talent acquisition, summer internship, and new store opening. But, searches around the construction industry dropped by 65%.

In the Netherlands, ‘furniture maker’ grew by 245%, while ‘nurses’ dropped by 72%.

Belgium has seen a jump in people looking for ‘java‘ related jobs – by 422%. Searches are also up for government related jobs and student jobs.

In France, the number one rising search is for “happiness.” French workers searched for jobs related to happiness by over 200% of what they searched for in 2016. And, ‘PR manager’ jobs were down by 49%.

In Germany, folks were searching for: part-time job, education, optometrist, and cyber security.

In India, people were searching for more jobs related to digital marketing (80%), government jobs (60%), and tech-related jobs (98%). Interestingly, as the government promoted Ayurveda medicine, searches for the holistic system jumped, while searches for pharmaceuticals dropped.

In Australia, the search term ‘457 visa sponsorship‘ rose by 91%. This coincided with the government cutting back on its skilled foreign worker program.

It’s both interesting and a little nuts to see how changes in government or in business can so quickly refocus us and our job searches. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2018! To learn more about Indeed’s trends (and a few I left out), check out their entire piece here.

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.

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.

Happy hunting!

Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach