Tag Archive for: recruiting
Congratulations, you got the job! Now, make a great impression from day one. Whether you’re waiting for your start date or already in your role, use this checklist for suggestions for each step in your new role, starting from the first day you officially join your team. As you go through the list, don’t put too much pressure on yourself to blow it out of the water right away. In fact, it may be best to just observe and ask questions before offering suggestions or taking charge. And know that it’s OK to be a little nervous.
Day one
Week one
Weeks two to four
Month six
Some of these tasks should continue beyond six months (you should never stop learning or reflecting!), so a great next step is identifying which tasks to include in your ongoing development plan. And when someone new joins your team, you’ll have some great tips to share.
Congratulations, you got the job! Now, make a great impression from day one. Whether you’re waiting for your start date or already in your role, use this checklist for suggestions for each step in your new role, starting from the first day you officially join your team. As you go through the list, don’t put too much pressure on yourself to blow it out of the water right away. In fact, it may be best to just observe and ask questions before offering suggestions or taking charge. And know that it’s OK to be a little nervous.
Day one
Week one
Weeks two to four
Month six
Some of these tasks should continue beyond six months (you should never stop learning or reflecting!), so a great next step is identifying which tasks to include in your ongoing development plan. And when someone new joins your team, you’ll have some great tips to share.
Congrats, you got the job! After weeks of interviewing, prepping, and anticipating, the long wait is finally over. You’ve given notice at your current job, you’ve accepted your new job offer, and set a start date. Now what?
Wrap up. Whether you disliked your old job or are just moving to a new opportunity, make sure to leave on good terms and help to wrap up loose ends. Make a plan with your leader on what you should tackle before you go and what needs to be deferred for your successor. A good task to complete before you go? Collect procedures, resources, projects, and tasks that can help new hires get a handle on their new position. A few examples: What meetings should they attend? What are all the projects and tasks they’re responsible for? How will they be measured?
Communicate. Let your direct manager take the lead on the plan, just make sure the right stakeholders are aware that you are exiting your role and when. Let everyone know your goals for your remaining time in job and indicate any contingency plans.
Manage expectations. On that note, accept that you simply cannot get to everything in two weeks. Some projects and tasks will not be completed and will have to wait for the next person to fill your role or a current peer to take them on. Do your best, but don’t overexert yourself. There’s a new challenge on the horizon!
Address the administrative stuff. Don’t forget the odds and ends like turning in keys, cleaning out your desk, returning your laptop, or filling out paperwork. Contact your HR department to see if they have a checklist for those vacating a position or leaving the company.
Say goodbye. This is a little different from the communication piece because this step is less about setting timelines and more about saying farewell to your beloved co-workers. Want to take it a step further? Send an email or handwritten note to those who have influenced your career or made a difference in your life. Add them on LinkedIn to stay in touch.
As a final caution, avoid taking your last two weeks as a vacation. Chances are, you’ll just be hurting a valued peer or damaging your own reputation. And you never know when you’ll encounter a former colleague or leader in the future.
Stay tuned for our blog on Kicking off your new role.
It’s a painful thing for anyone to go through. A company, department, or team turns you down for a role. It can feel like someone is saying, “we didn’t like you and we don’t want you.” The truth is, the hiring team may have really liked you, or even felt you got really close. Just because you weren’t right for the position today, doesn’t mean you can’t nail it the next time. But the way you handle this news can determine if you’re successful in the future. Use this step by step guide to navigate the tough waters of being turned down for a job:
Do some reflection
Was it really the company or role you wanted? Were you on your A game? Spend some time jotting down your reactions to the experience—how you felt about your performance, your impression of the company, what you did well, and what you think you could improve. It’s helpful to do this exercise immediately following an interview so the experience is fresh in your mind.
Get some rest
Going through an interview process is exhausting and emotional. After you’ve completed the reflection stage, take a breather to avoid overloading your brain. Take a day to go hiking, have dinner with a close friend, or binge-watch your favorite show. Downtime is an essential part of being a high-performing professional.
Make a plan
OK, now it’s time to get to work. Think about how you can tackle what you identified during the reflection phase. Did you ramble or come across inarticulate? Practice slowing down and speaking more clearly. Maybe it’s just a matter of polishing your appearance or impression: Was your interview attire wrinkled? Were you unprepared to take notes or share your resume?
Enlist some help
Practicing is a key element of interviewing, but who you practice with makes a difference. A professor, experienced parent, or former colleague will be better armed to offer you insights than someone who has never interviewed or held a professional position. At this time, you may have to ask for some tough feedback. I once had a mock interview where I was asked to discuss a time one of my projects shifted and how I reacted. I shared a story about having to host a video at the last minute. My mock interviewer said that, while the story was interesting, displaying my video hosting skills wasn’t relevant to the role I was pursuing. I had never even considered choosing answers related to the duties of the role I wanted. Her feedback helped steer me to identify more applicable experiences to share.
If your choices are limited, give your practice partner specifics to look for: clear communication, professional presence, and a tailored appearance.
Balance your goals
It’s not always necessary to make major changes, sometimes just making more eye contact can improve your chances. Think about the kind of person who has impressed you in the past. What was their body language? How did they speak about their goals and accomplishments? Envisioning the individual you want to portray works wonders in making a memorable impression.
Try again
Give it some time, but do apply again if you feel there’s a fit. Many employers welcome “silver medalists” back to the application process. And be prepared to discuss the improvements you’ve made since your last interview. You may share something like, “I realized my coding knowledge wasn’t where it should have been. Since then, I have taken a class to brush up on my skills.”
As you go through your plan, continue to think of other job opportunities so you avoid limiting yourself. Acknowledge that you may not get hired at your dream company this time, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a chance in the future. And don’t forget to pat yourself on the back for taking on a challenge and doing something scary, no matter how well you did or didn’t do.
Most of all, remember that there’s a company out there just waiting for someone like you to walk through the door.
Our new blog series will help kick start your personal and professional brand on social media. We’ll cover looking your best, growing your network, shaping your story, and staying engaged. Read our last blog about telling your story and shaping your brand. Out of sight, out of mind. Don’t let that be you. You’ve worked hard to get to this point. Your profile looks good, your network is waiting, you’ve got a good strategy in place – now it’s time to get more engaged! But first, be careful of these disengagement traps: Staying engaged IS possible and we’ll make it easy for you with a few tips. How do I find content that supports my brand strategy? When thinking about what to write and share it’s always helpful to start by brainstorming a list. Based on the content you learned about in the previous blog, start to jot down a few ideas for each one. Here are some examples:
How do I get organized?
Curating content to read and share can be as organized or unorganized as you like. It all depends on what you are comfortable with and if you need extra help staying active on social. For example, you can use some of the tools and ideas below to streamline content that is meaningful to you.
Don’t feel you need to do all of these things. If you are already very active on social media, you may not need an organized approach and can try one or two of the ideas above.
What should I write when I introduce content in my post?
We are all lazy sometimes when it comes to sharing content, but remember, it’s your honesty, generosity, and authenticity that gets the attention of your network. Talk like a real person.
If you are struggling to come up with an original introduction for your post, try some of these approaches:
How often should I post?
With the variety of content we discussed in a previous blog post there are plenty of options to differentiate your posts. Here are some guidelines broken down by channel:
LinkedIn, 1-2 times a day
Facebook, 2-3 times per day
Twitter, 5 times per day
Instagram, 1-2 times per day
Pinterest, 5 times per day
Snapchat, constantly (just kidding)
If LinkedIn is the only channel you use for your professional network, once a day should not be too hard.
“On LinkedIn, you may not have control over how often your content or profile is viewed, but you can increase the chances of your brand getting noticed by being more visible to your network. And that starts by increasing your activity. The more active you are on LinkedIn, the more “known” you will become to your network who will potentially like and share your content, reaching a much broader audience.
So stay engaged, and don’t forget that passion is personal branding fuel, so post and share content that you are passionate about. Always make sure to introduce the content you share. Your network is more likely to read your post if it has your personal touch.”
-Kendall W., Recruiter
Set a goal!
Schedule time on your calendar each day to review content (similar to the way professionals used to open up the newspaper with their morning coffee). When you like, comment, and share others’ posts, that is an act of engagement. LinkedIn is a professional networking channel, so it’s not only about your content. Talk to others!
Schedule your social posts for the week if that works best for you or set aside 5 minutes every day to post. Staying engaged doesn’t have to be impossible. Figure out what methods work for you and be consistent.
We hope you enjoyed this series about kick-starting your personal brand on social. With these tips you can move forward to make a positive impact and lasting impression. Don’t forget to own who you are and how you make people feel. It’s the reputation you’ve built, your story, and your image on social that makes you unique.
For more career tips and advice from Vanguard follow us on LinkedIn and check out our careers blog. Want to read more from this series? Check them out here: looking your best, growing your network, and shaping your story.
Our new blog series will help kick start your personal and professional brand on social media. Read the last blog to learn how to make connections and build your network. You’ve updated your profile and you’ve made some more connections to enhance your network. Now it’s time to tell your story and shape your brand. LinkedIn is your digital business card – so how can you communicate your value and make a memorable impression across social media channels? Try asking yourself some of these questions to find topics that feel right for you.
When sharing content consider these ideas:
Set a goal!
Take a few minutes to outline focus areas for what types of content you will write and share. This will help keep your story, and brand, consistent and easier to manage.
Remember, the content you write and share is your voice on social. Branding yourself doesn’t happen overnight. But once you try a few of the suggestions above, your audience will grow and perception will become reality. We’ll talk about staying engaged in Part 4 of our series.
For more career tips and advice from Vanguard follow us on LinkedIn and check out our careers blog. If you are looking for additional tips to create a content marketing strategy for yourself check out Neil Patel’s helpful blog.
Our new blog series will help kick start your personal and professional brand on social media. We’ll cover looking your best, growing your network, sharing your story, and staying engaged. Read the last blog to learn how to improve your LinkedIn profile. Your profiles look great and you are ready to connect with others! But your current network only includes a smattering of co-workers, past and present. Let’s help you make some fresh and impactful connections. Who is in your bubble that would make a good professional connection? Who is not in your immediate circle, but would be a good connection? Connecting gets easier the more you do it. Here are a few ideas on how to reach out. Keep it short and to the point. In fact, LinkedIn has a character limit for their connection notes, so you’ll have to keep it brief. You can always hit the connect button without an additional note, but the chances of someone accepting your invitation greatly increase if you reach out to them in a more personal way. Don’t take it personally if they don’t accept or never respond. It happens. People are busy. And since people can be reached a variety of ways nowadays, they are wary of spam, so be careful of phrases that sound too “salesy” or too self-serving. Don’t forget about Facebook. Yes, Facebook! Another good way to gather professional connections is through Facebook. More and more people are starting to use Facebook groups professionally. To find these groups all you have to do is ask either on your own newsfeed, in a community group, an alumni group, school group, or even neighborhood group. For example, “Hi everyone. Does anyone within this group work in the XYZ space? If so I’d like to connect and pick your brain about something. I work for XYZ company in ABC department.” You can reply to any respondents, connect with them on LinkedIn, and possibly message them to schedule time to chat. Respondents might also refer you to other groups on Facebook that are applicable to your profession. The most active and targeted professional discussions sometimes take place within private Facebook groups. If you already use Twitter you might consider creating a separate work related handle. Once you do, you can start to follow influencers in your professional niche, leaders you admire, peers at other companies, and news and professional outlets that publish relevant content. It’s a great way to stay updated. If you choose to tweet, share useful professional content and retweet valuable content that you’ve found by following others.
“As professionals, building a network of other talented individuals gives you the support we all too often lack in both our personal and professional lives. It doesn’t matter if you’re looking to move up in your career, or if you’re perfectly happy in your current role. Having a network of other professionals will make your work life richer, more interesting, and may just help you grow your talents.”
– Allen P., Department Head, Editorial & Creative Operations
Set a goal!
Try to make 1-2 new connections a week. Block time on your calendar to do this. Remember, the quality of your network is more important than the size. When you open up tabs in your browser every morning make LinkedIn one of them. Read some updates from your network, conduct a search or two, and send a connection request if you find someone of interest.
Networking isn’t always easy and it doesn’t come naturally for many people. But once you try a few of the suggestions above, and have a few new connections under your belt, you’ll be well on your way to building a great network. We’ll talk about sharing and shaping your story in Part 3 of our series.
For more career tips and advice from Vanguard follow us on LinkedIn and check out our careers blog. If you are interested in learning more about personal marketing and branding check out this Harvard Business Review Article, How to make the right connections when you don’t already have an in by branding expert Dorie Clark.
Our new blog series will help kick start your personal and professional brand on social media. We’ll cover looking your best, growing your network, sharing your story, and staying engaged. Personal versus professional branding. It’s a blurred line. Any information about you that can be found in a Google search (try it!) or on social media is a part of your brand. Make sure that what you are sending out into the social universe reflects how you want to be perceived. Personal branding is the image you portray and the lasting impression you make. Speaking of your image, do you look like this on LinkedIn? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered below. Is your LinkedIn profile stale? Maybe you set up your profile when you were job hunting, but haven’t updated it since. LinkedIn offers more than just jobs. It’s a legitimate professional networking site and your image on it is important. It’s also a good starting place to create a professional persona that can carry over onto other channels. Your story on LinkedIn begins with your profile. Here are five things you can do to start building your brand. *Source: LinkedIn Once you look good on LinkedIn, take a look at yourself on other social platforms. Looking at other people’s profiles is the #1 activity on LinkedIn. Job seekers now behave like consumers, but they trust people more than brands. Job seekers research people currently in roles they are interviewing for and follow leaders at companies they are interested in. When networking, LinkedIn users search for peers at other companies in similar roles to connect with and follow influencers and experts working in their space. People will find you. And on LinkedIn especially, you not only represent yourself, but also your company and your company’s brand, so make sure you represent it well.
“The one thing you can control in today’s war for talent is having a completed LinkedIn profile. Think of your LinkedIn profile as your online business card. It’s the first thing someone will see when they’re researching you about your next potential job, or when you’re recruiting someone to come to work at your company. This is your chance to build your personal brand and be visible to your network. When you have a completed profile you build authenticity and credibility. Brand or be branded.”
– Brian U., Senior Talent Acquisition Consultant
Set a goal!
Work on one section of LinkedIn at a time – sitting down and doing it all at once can be overwhelming. If you schedule 10-20 minutes every day for one week, you’ll have it updated by the weekend!
If you follow through with the tips above, you will look great and be ready for the next step in building your brand on social media– growing your network. We’ll talk about what you can do to build your own community in part two of our series.
For more career tips and advice from Vanguard follow us on LinkedIn and check out our careers blog. If you are interested in this niche of personal marketing and branding check out some great LinkedIn advice from J.T. O’Donnell on the WorkItDaily YouTube channel.