Careers

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin If you ask Joe Vernachio about natural born leadership, he’d probably take inventory of those who came before him who he was fortunate to learn from. He may recall time spent with Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard in the mid 1980s. He might reflect on how he admired Yvon for building products for a sub-culture of one (himself) and how that sub-culture manifested into pop-culture. Or how he earned his real world MBA during his tenure at Nike when Mark Parker was at the helm. He may tell you how much he admired working with Stephen Gomez who helped the team carve out Nike’s apparel business from an afterthought to a staggering $3 billion business in the late 1990s. Or in 1989 when he and a handful of colleagues scribbled the word Dri-FIT as they were trying to come up with a name for this new innovation for moisture management. During our interview in the midst of a pandemic, Joe seemed collected. He’d grown a thick, white beard …

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This is this week’s Careers newsletter, which brings the latest news, commentary and ideas about the workplace, leadership and the future of work straight to your inbox every Tuesday morning. Click here to get on the newsletter list! A s resignations soar and the war for talent heats up amid a tight labor market, companies are turning to any tool at their disposal to hold on to their workers amid a record onslaught of resignations. Some, as the Washington Post recently reported , are rolling out digital perks like subscription snack boxes and virtual events to make up for the loss of cafeteria cold brew taps and weekly massages. Others are offering virtual fitness memberships or meditation apps in lieu of access to the onsite gym. Plenty are rolling out extra time off —whether for tired parents or burned out workers. But what about the more staid retirement plan? In many ways, it’s tailor-made for retaining workers, with 401(k) matches that vest over time, …

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Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The pandemic was more than a devastating health crisis. The ripple effects changed the way we work and live our lives. While this may seem insensitive, the Covid-19 outbreak led to some positive changes to our culture. For the first time, corporate leadership is paying close attention to the mental health and well-being of their employees. We spent nearly two years working from home, feeling isolated, suffering from anxiety, afraid of catching or spreading the virus and worrying about our job security and livelihoods, while millions of Americans were fired or furloughed. These—and other related mental health issues—were widespread across all types of demographics. There’s no discrimination when it relates to suffering from mental health matters. It impacts gig-economy workers and CEOs alike. I interviewed Yvette Cameron , Oracle Cloud HCM senior vice-president, to learn more about how technology, artificial intelligence …

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Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin If your company wants to survive “The Great Resignation,” your managers have to take action now . I’ve been researching and counseling on corporate culture and engagement for three decades, and the “War for Talent” was coined by McKinsey almost 25 years ago. But never have we needed to be more clear on the link between employee engagement and retention. You should send this article to every manager in your organization. Here’s what they need to know… What Every Manager Needs to Know About Employee Engagement First, employee engagement is the emotional connection one feels to his employer and its goals. Read that definition again, and notice it doesn’t mention fun, happy or even satisfaction. Engagement has nothing to do with parties, picnics, or balloons on your birthday. Second, managers account for over 70% of the variance in employee engagement . You might not like it, but the buck stops with you. As the saying …

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Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The largest raises you’re likely to obtain in your career come from quitting your job and going to work for another employer, but only if you avoid the minefield of mistakes women often make. And to give you an idea about how negotiating can earn you an enormous salary increase, let me share what happened with a client I worked with. Jennifer, a 58-year-old Director of Marketing, knew she was very underpaid . So she asked, “I don’t know how to negotiate salary. I’ve never done it before, but I know I am so underpaid I want to try. What exactly should I do and say?” The result was she learned how to handle the negotiations effectively, and as a result, she accepted a six-figure offer that was a $40,000 increase above her current salary. CNBC reported the sad fact that 60% of women say they’ve never negotiated with an employer over pay . That is a critical career mistake. Mary, a 59-year-old HR Director, emailed me about …

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Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The interview process is frustratingly long. It may last up to six months and you’ll be required to meet with three to 10 people at the company. There is a strong likelihood that you’ll get ghosted and won't receive any meaningful feedback or constructive criticism to help improve your chances of getting the next job. This mistreatment of job applicants seems completely inconsistent with the needs of most companies. Businesses are engaged in a brutal war for talent. There are over 10 millions jobs available, according to government data. Millions of Americans quit their jobs in the Great Resignation movement, as they felt underpaid and unappreciated. With the acknowledged needs to hire, you’d think that companies would act quickly to expedite hiring—they’re not. It's a long, drawn-out, painful process. I recently wrote about Mike Conley, a software engineer who sought out a new job, and was forced to participate in around …

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Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Melanie Lougee is the Head of Employee Workflow Strategy at ServiceNow. She has more than 20 years of experience working in HR technology and HR service management, including four years as a Gartner analyst where she provided advisory services to C-level and leadership teams on technology, transformation, change management and HR communications strategies. Prior to Gartner, Melanie held various strategy positions at Oracle (and, formerly PeopleSoft) and enterprise software provider, Infor. I had the opportunity to interview Melanie recently. Here are some of the highlights of that interview: Jill Griffin : So, how has the pandemic changed the way companies and managers work and support employees? Melanie Lougee : I think it will be a much more meaningful relationship going forward. If we think about where we were before the pandemic, companies were focused on perks and trying to outdo each other with these iconic …

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Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin How do you stand out in a crowded career market? One way is to simply highlight skills you already have. And whether you’re an experienced leader or a recent college graduate, it’s likely that you’ve got at least one of those highly desired skills. In the recent Leadership IQ study called The Leadership Skills Gap , more than 3,000 leaders candidly assessed their expertise. We learned that there are critical competency gaps, and among those are some of the most desired skills in today’s modern organizations. Here are three of the skills that you should be highlighting on your resume starting today. Skill #1: Handling And Reducing Burnout While there is no shortage of articles decrying the current state of employee burnout, the vast majority of leaders just don’t know how to fix the problem. In the aforementioned study, we discovered that only 19% of leaders are adept at reducing employee burnout. Whether you …

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Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin As a busy career counselor, I have been working with many executives and professionals who will be quitting their jobs just as soon as they can find a new one. Some have already left their jobs to begin a search. Of course, seeking a higher salary is always a motivation, and being overworked during Covid is another. But the number one reason many people are moving right now is that they want to get away from their manager. Deborah is a perfect example. She holds a director role in a Fortune 500 company. She came to me for resume writing assistance, stating that she had always been highly successful in her career and at her current company. Three months ago, her boss left, and she got a new manager. She told me, “I now work for a manager for Satan reincarnated. It is such a stressful situation now. After all these years, I can’t believe that I am thinking of leaving the company I love simply because of my new boss. But I cannot …

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Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin With the increase in hybrid teams and companies allowing to work from anywhere, it’s easier than ever to switch jobs, also known as “job-hopping,” which is contributing to the “ Great Resignation.” As a result, companies are having an increased rate of employees moving to other organizations. Research by CareerBuilder analyzed generational differences and how those characteristics affect the length each generation stays in a job. Baby Boomers Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, tend to stay in a job for an average of 8 years and 3 months. Various events impacted this generation while they were growing: The World Wars ending, leading to a sense of optimism and prosperity, landing on the moon and The Civil Rights Movement, and the idea of living the American Dream. These events made them feel that when they had a job that paid well and allowed them to live comfortably, they just didn’t feel the need to leave. …

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