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“The best move you can make in negotiation is to think of an incentive the other person hasn’t even thought of – and then meet it.”
~Eli Broad~

Nora received a job offer for the position of her dreams. She was ecstatic. She wasn’t even focused on the salary. Fortunately, she shared the news with one of her mentors, who had also been her very first boss. “Don’t accept without a negotiation,” her mentor advised her. He shared these statistics about salary from a recent Glassdoor survey:

• Three of five employees do not negotiate their salary.
• Women are less likely than men to negotiate—68% of women vs. 52% of men abstain from negotiating. This is a shame, because salary is almost always negotiable.
• When men negotiate their salary, they’re over three times more likely than women to succeed. This may stem in part from confidence—men tend to have an easier time asking for what they want—though that’s not to dismiss the impact of sexism. However, it’s getting better: The gender gap is much lower for younger workers than for older ones.
• Older workers as a whole are also less likely to negotiate salary. As younger employees set the pace for negotiations, the older generations would be well advised to keep up—with their experience, they’re likely settling for less than they could have.

Here are 4 steps to succeeding in your next salary negotiation so you can Get Paid What You’re Worth.

1. Build Up Your Confidence
   Having confidence is crucial to salary negotiation. Knowing the interviewer expects you to negotiate should give you a confidence boost. Remember that the raises you get down the road will depend on your starting salary.Mentally prepare your spiel about your track record of success. Get ready to cite the specific results of projects you handled in your current or previous role. If you’re asking for a raise from your current boss, prepare to discuss your successes as thoroughly as you would for an interview. Rehearse with a friend to make your answers as eloquent as possible.
2. Do Your Research
   Whether accepting a new position or asking your current boss for a raise, find out the typical salary range for your position in your geographical area. Remember, this could have changed in recent years. When you’re knowledgeable about salary ranges, you’ll feel much more confident making an offer. Consider the current state of the industry, too. Was it struggling when you accepted your position, but now flourishing? That gives you plenty of room to negotiate.
3. Hold Off on a Number
   Try not to be the first to put forth a number, says Michael Zwell in Six Figure Salary Negotiation. If asked about your expectations, try to give a less specific answer, such as “My expectations are in line with my experience and abilities,” he adds.If forced to give an answer, factor all the benefits you would like into the number, says Roger Dawson in Secrets of Power Salary Negotiation. Such benefits may include potential work bonuses, health insurance, retirement plan, vacations, and tuition reimbursement.

   If you’re switching careers, request the chance to renegotiate after six months, says Zwell. This gives you a window of time to prove yourself in the new role, and then to request more than you could have initially.

4. Use Leverage
   If you’re applying for a new position, indicate that you’re considering another offer, says Dawson. At the same time, signal some degree of flexibility about salary. Highball your target salary, but say something like, “I might be able to take a little less,” he suggests. Know the company is almost certainly lowballing you if they make an offer—they expect you to make a higher counteroffer.

As Zwell says, if you’re negotiating with a current employer, you won’t be terminated for aiming much too high, whereas with a prospective employer, it’s possible you could lose the opportunity. However, aiming much too high with your current employer could signal that you’re unhappy with your position, he asserts.

If you’re offered a promotion within your company, remember that salary is negotiable here as well. Bring up the salary question with your potential new boss, not your current one, says Zwell. If made an offer, don’t be afraid to make a counteroffer. Consider what they’d have to pay a new hire, as well as the value added from your familiarity with the company.

Most importantly, have patience. The salary negotiation process can take a little time, and not settling on an offer too soon can benefit you over your entire career.

Negotiate in person if at all possible, says Dawson. It shows you’re serious and gives you a chance to respond to questions as they arise. Ask the company to put your agreement in writing, he adds. This eliminates any misunderstanding, especially when factoring in the benefit and compensation packages. Remember, the company is typically as eager as you to reach a mutually agreeable salary and move on!

If you want to get paid what you’re worth, utilize Joel’s Salary Negotiation Coaching.

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As we celebrate Father’s Day this Sunday, it’s important to acknowledge the role fathers play in a gender-equal workforce. With women typically seen as the primary caregivers, fathers can often be forgotten when organisations create parental leave and flexible work policies.

“More and more young men, and older men, are wanting to have access to flexible work and unfortunately organisations aren’t quite keeping up with the pace,” says South Australia’s Commissioner for Equal Opportunity Niki Vincent.

It is clear that companies not only need to be more progressive with their leave policies, but actively encourage fathers to take time off to care for their children. The Guardian recently wrapped up a series about the power of paternity leave, highlighting the many positives it has on fathers.

In the spirit of celebrating the many fathers in the workforce, we want to shine a spotlight on just some of our Employer Partners that offer progressive leave policies that allow fathers to spend time with their children. We wish we could mention everyone! Because all our partners offer progressive policies and value diversity, inclusion and flexibility.

Australia

Consulting firm KPMG has generous leave policies as well as many options for flexible work.

• Flexible work options: options include variation to hours, part-time work, job sharing, working from home and gradual re-entry/exit arrangements.
• Career breaks: take advantage of unpaid leave for periods from 3 to 12 months to pursue other interests without sacrificing your career.
• Paid parental leave: up to 12 weeks paid parental leave for primary caregivers. KPMG’s parental leave policy allows up to 18 weeks leave for primary caregivers and 3 weeks for non-primary caregivers.

Thinking of applying at KPMG? Check out their open available here.

Lendlease has continued to be awarded the prestigious WGEA Employer of Choice citation since 2016. You can read more about Lendlease employees’ experiences taking parental leave here.

Some of their employee benefits include:

• Flexible work options: arrangements such as flexible working hours, moving to part-time hours and/or job sharing
• Paid parental leave: the parent – whether they’re male or female – is entitled to 18 weeks paid primary carer leave at any point in the 52 weeks since their baby was born. If both parents work for the company they can tag-team their primary carers leave to help look after their child

Thinking of applying at Lendlease? Check out their open roles here.

Commonwealth Bank has some generous leave policies, including assisting with childcare.

• Flexible work options: CBA encourages you to see work as just one part of your active, balanced lifestyle, with multiple flexible working arrangements and leave options to help you juggle your work and personal circumstances
• Paid parental leave: Primary carers are entitled to 18 weeks of paid leave; secondary carers are offered 4 weeks of paid leave. In addition, they now have the option to switch to a primary carer role and receive the full 12-week leave entitlement. CBA also provides a $1,500 return-to-work benefit for primary carers, and superannuation will continue to be paid to primary carers for 52 weeks
• Parental support: We provide access to the CommBank [email protected] Program which provides support and resources for parents to help them prepare for parental leave, return to work, manage their career as a working parent and balance home and work demands.

Interested in applying to work at Commonwealth Bank? Check out their available roles here.

New Zealand

Australian and New Zealand employees can take advantage of Aurecon’s benefits, such as:

• Paid parental leave: Aurecon offers 14 weeks of paid parental leave, although employees can take up to 52 weeks of leave in total if parental leave is combined with other forms of leave
• Shared Care benefit: if an Aurecon employee takes over as their child’s primary carer when their partner returns to work, they will then be able to access the organisation’s paid parental leave benefit. An Aurecon employee can receive 150% of their salary if they return to work and their partner is the primary carer for their child, but their partner cannot receive paid primary carers’ leave from their own employer. If both parents work for Aurecon, they can both access the organisation’s paid parental leave arrangement. The scheme is available to birth parents, adoptive parents, foster parents and same-sex parents who have six months’ continuous service at the organisation, and it applies in the first year of a child’s life

Interested in applying to work at Aurecon? Check out their available roles here.

As one of New Zealand’s largest communications providers, Vodafone offers generous benefits to parents.

• Flexible work options: the Vodafone Way of Working ensures every member of the organisation is equipped with the tools and trust to perform at their best. Vodafone employees work in state of the art buildings that support a flexible and sustainable work culture. You can also enjoy “an outputs, not attendance” approach that empowers you to work wherever and whenever you need to in order to get the outcomes our customers deserve
• Paid parental leave: Vodafone’s Phased Return to Work scheme gives new parents the flexibility to spend more time with their baby (or babies!). In addition to this, Vodafone adds to the New Zealand government’s paid parental leave entitlement of 22 weeks to top you up to 100% of your normal earning. They also offer two weeks of paid paternity/partner’s leave to our employees supporting their partner in those first weeks

Interested in applying for a job at Vodafone? Check out their available roles here.

Contact Energy is one of New Zealand’s largest listed companies and offers generous leave benefits:

• Flexible working options: As well as the standard sick and bereavement leave entitlements, Contact will be as accommodating as they can because your wellbeing and life outside of work is important. This includes an opportunity each year to purchase additional leave. If it’s practical, they are also open to providing flexible arrangements such as working from home, or flexible working hours
• Paid parental leave: New Zealand employees are able to receive up to 22 weeks of paid parental leave as of 1 July 2018

Interested in applying for a job at Contact Energy? Check out their available roles here.

Citi is part of the FlexCareers family, and we are excited about our continued partnership with one of the world’s largest financial services organisations. They cover more than 100 countries and territories globally where they conduct business. Regardless of their scope of business, Citi is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer with Stephen Roberts, a founding member of Male Champions of Change, leading the way as Chairman of Citi Australia.

What does diversity look like at Citi?

Research and experience show when a company embraces diversity they attract the pool of talent needed to be productive, successful and innovative. As Citi continues to embrace its diverse employee talent pool, it is creating a culture of respect and inclusion that means all employees are comfortable to contribute and be themselves at work.

As a business, the unique strength of backgrounds and the different perspectives of their employees allows them to be a successful global bank, in touch with their clients and communities within which they operate. The combination drives innovation and ethical business practices.

Citi recognise the commitment to hiring diverse talent, promoting people on their merits and treating everyone with respect and dignity.

How does Citi promote gender equality in the workplace?

The business has seven pillars to their gender strategy under which sit goals and programs. The seven pillars are recruitment, pay equity, senior representation, workplace flexibility, employee networks, parental leave and supporting an end to domestic violence. They are measured through performance reviews with heads of each business unit.

What does inclusion look like at Citi?

Unconscious bias training

A critical aspect to ‘walking the talk’ at Citi is their commitment to unconscious bias training. What does that mean? It is an area the company continue to invest in and focus on. Within a training environment, participants are able to understand the business case for an inclusive work environment, recognise unconscious bias ad take actions to improve on-the-job decision making to support the workplace culture of leadership, ethics and inclusion.

Flexible work

In regard to flexible work, Citi embraces the notion of flexibility in how, when and where their employees work. It allows every employee at all levels realise personal and business objectives and continue to have meaningful work and career opportunities. In 2015, they piloted a ‘Working Dads’ program, to assist men managing roles and expectations at home and in the workplace.

Employee Networks

Citi have internal employee resource groups initiated and led by employees. They offer access to professional development, mentoring, networking and community engagement opportunities. Each chapter is open to all employees resulting in 150+ chapters in 65+ locations across 38 countries with 16,000 members. It sounds like they are onto something.

Development Programs

Citi have a varied choice of programs focused on developing leaders across all levels of the business. Some include a specific focus – like the six-month Diversity Leadership program – targeted at high-potential women. The program gives them access to workshops, individual coaching and sponsors to help build their confidence, executive presence and strategic skills.

Another is a 12-month program designed to strengthen the pipeline of women for leadership roles included in Citi’s Risk group – Women in Risk where career goals, a career plan and networking opportunities come together.

All Citi’s programs can result in becoming part of an alumni community.

In 2016-2017, Citi was recognised with several awards including Citi Australia being ‘Employer of Choice for Gender Equality’ (WEGA).

Corporate social responsibility

Citi Australia partners with non-profit organistaions to give young people (aged 16-25) a positive experience – ‘Pathways to Progress’ initiative – and increase their chances of employment or start a business. Another program the business offers is the Citi Workplace Giving program – it allows employees to make regular pre-tax payroll donations via Good2Give to a range of Australian Charities.

Interested in a career with Citi Australia? Explore current flexible jobs available with Citi.

Human Resources is the area of an organization that deals with hiring, firing, administrative work, and training of a company team. It’s a career that you must love in order to deal with all of the crazy that happens on a daily basis. HR is rewarding in many ways; it has more career paths to try than the directors of Game of Thrones have actors to kill off, seriously. But as an HR newbie, I found that starting out was be one of my most challenging battles in my life.

There are some HR pros that had the pleasure of “falling into the HR World,” but this isn’t the case for everyone. It’s a hard field to enter if you don’t have the proper tools to succeed and one of the biggest resources available is the people that truly love this field.0

You have your college degree and your knowledge to show you worked hard for at least 4 years, if not more, to understand what HR is all about. Now it’s time to put that brain to work land your first official HR job, here is how you can do it:

Resume

Hopefully you’ve been able to have some on the job training through internships or actually HR work in the past. Listing this information in the right way is crucial to making sure the company pays attention to your resume. If you’re able to, spend the money to use great resume businesses like The Resume Crusade run by Chris Fields. Check out his website for pricing and information. You can get in contact with Chris through his email chris@resumecrusade.net or Twitter account @ResumeCrusade. If you don’t have the money to get a resume made, contact your local SHRM Chapter or the National SHRM, they are full of HR pros who can help you or get you in contact with the right HR pros who can.

Interviewing 101

Interviews are the second hurdle to landing the job. You’ve submitted your resume and they liked it enough to call you in for a face to face conversation. Interviews are just a conversation that helps the company understand how you will fit into their current culture with the team. Research the company as much as possible, not to make your responses sound practiced, but if you’re able to understand what they do and like the position available, they will see your excitement for the role. Make your interview memorable for the right reasons, not because you were late or wore pajamas to the interview -yes it has been done.

There are many great resources to use to get your foot in the door. Join all areas of social media and get your name out, let people know what you’re looking for and where. Networking will always be around so you might as well learn at the start of your career.

As an HR Newbie, as I like to call us, you’re about to embark on a ride that has many twists and turns, create your HR Tribe early and you’ll always have great people to fall back on when you need a push in the right direction.

Jack Welch is one of the world’s most respected and celebrated business icons, known for his track record of success, enormous love of people, fierce passion for winning, and unbridled desire to change the world for the better using his unique management practices. 

As chairman and CEO of General Electric, he increased his company’s stock by 4,000% between 1981 and 2001. Here are some of his top career tips useful for today’s millennials. 

1 – Find where your passion and skills intersect. 

Find what you love and involve that in your daily life. Although your greatest opportunities and deepest passions may not overlap entirely, it’s a good practice to include enjoyable tasks in your work life. 

Once you find where your skills and interests intersect, Jack Welch recommends that you overlay that with opportunity to avoid targeting a market in which nobody is hiring.

2 – Over deliver. 

Do more than what you think will be sufficient. You should always be asking yourself whether your work is above average. It is nobody’s responsibility but your own to prove your worth in your position, company, or field of work. By taking on work that no one else will, you can show your boss initiative and build credibility. 

3 – Act on feedback. 

Candor is one of the most important concepts a company can value. Because it is impossible for you to see your performance objectively 100% of the time, it’s important to seek candid, regular advice from supervisors, colleagues, and friends.  

Mr. Welch tells us that, “Feedback from anyone is good. Synthesize it, decide whether you want to act on it or not, but make a conscious decision not to blow it away.” 

4 – Don’t fear failure, embrace it head-on. 

Things will go wrong (unexpected termination, bad bosses, dead-end jobs, economic downturns). You must look at the facts, do a self-evaluation, and move on to take the next opportunity. 

Your reaction in times of failure reveal true character – don’t let it reflect badly on you and you will stand apart from the masses. 

5 – Lead others. 

Prepare for the possibility of leadership now rather than later. Practice taking on a mindset that different people succeed in the same roles with different sets of skills. Today, shared leadership is more important than ever because managers focus on their employees – not themselves. 

Conduct a self-evaluation of your résumé, skill set, experience, and interest. When you identify areas in which you are lacking, make a game plan for tackling them head-on. 

6 – Never stop learning. 

Only those who are naive think that questions are a sign of weakness. Ask important questions – learn about the industry that interests you and its newest innovations. Never settle for “good enough.”

Join Dana Manciagli’s Job Search Master Class now and get the most comprehensive job search system available!

“It can feel like a rigged game. Executives set impossible goals, so managers drive their teams to burn out trying to deliver. Employees demand connection and support, so managers – many of whom have received no leadership development or leadership training – focus on relationships trying to change their employee engagement scores, and ultimately fail to make the numbers,” say Karin Hurt, CEO, and David Dye, President, of Let’s Grow Leaders. “The fallout is stress, frustration, and disengagement, and not just among team members―two-thirds of managers report being disengaged. To succeed, managers need balance: they must lead people to achieve while creating an environment that makes them truly want to.” 

Karin and David answer four questions that will help you lead successfully and keep your business flourishing. 

What is FOSU? 

FOSU (Fear of Speaking Up) is an epidemic stifling innovation and creative problem solving.  

In today’s business climate, people are often discouraged for saying the wrong thing and not rewarded for saying the right thing – so they say nothing. The consequences can be dire: businesses lose customers, problems multiply, and employees lose heart. 

Why does Fear of Speaking Up happen?  

It’s a complicated dynamic of leaders not asking, ignoring or rejecting suggestions, and employees playing it safe. 

• Senior leaders wonder why people won’t solve problems or share solutions, but don’t realize that their own style or approach is squelching feedback. 
• Insecure middle level managers discourage sharing. 
• Leaders don’t ask. 
• Speaking up isn’t rewarded 
• Internal competition drives people to keep their successful secrets to themselves rather than to share best practices. 
• Employees have had bad experiences in the past, feel like their opinion isn’t welcome, valued, don’t know how to speak up, or they may be so busy they don’t recognize they have something valuable to offer. 

What are the consequences to a team or organization when FOSU is common? 

In our leadership consulting and training, we’ve seen many teams and companies struggle and fail because people aren’t speaking up to improve the business.  

It starts with innovation stagnation. People do what they’ve always done, and you don’t see the “micro-innovations” – the small improvements in day-to-day work. Inefficiency multiplies and is never eliminated. This sucks the life out of employees and employee engagement declines.  

Silos creep in between teams and departments. Leaders don’t get the information they need to make the best decisions and there is no bench for leadership succession. Motivated employees leave for organizations where their passion is valued. 

What can you do to eliminate FOSU in your team or organization? 

Here some of the best practices we’ve observed in organizations that succeed in reversing FOSU.

For leaders, we recommend that you ask. Intentionally seek out the wisdom your people have to offer. When you get feedback or ideas, respond. You don’t have to implement every idea but do say thank you.  

Celebrate when people speak up. Create specific times where you facilitate the sharing of ideas about how to improve.

We encourage you to Own the U.G.L.Y., by asking these 4 strategic questions: 

• What are we Underestimating? 
• What’s got to Go? 
• Where are we Losing? 
• Where are we missing the Yes? 

Eliminate unproductive internal competition. If people have incentives to keep their ideas to themselves, it’s unreasonable to expect them to share.  And use strategic open-ended questions that ask employees to share their ideas for improving the business.   

Another strategy is called two-level thinking. What is it that keeps your boss’s boss up at night? What are the goals they need to achieve and the problems they need to solve? Present your idea in terms of what they need to achieve, and you improve your chances of it being heard and implemented.  

And of course, create two- way conversations about what’s working and where expectations are breaking down.

Join Dana Manciagli’s Job Search Master Class now and get the most comprehensive job search system available!

In the 1991 Billy Crystal film, City Slickers, a group of friends in mid-life crisis take a vacation on a cattle drive led by Curly Washburn played by Jack Palance. There is a wonderful contrast between the grounded Curly and vacationers who seem as uncertain in their daily lives as they do on their first cattle drive. I say “first” because there was a sequel.

Have I lost you? How about this?  Jake Gyllenhaal also in the movie. It’s not on Netflix, but is on Amazon as is City Slickers in Westworld.

I hope I’ve captured everyone’s attention. Maybe I’ve just driven some to Amazon . . .

City Slickers has several interactions worth recollecting. My focus here is on an exchange between Jack Palance’s Curly and Billy Crystal’s Mitch Robbins. It goes something like this:

Curly: Do you know what the secret to life is? One thing, just one thing.

Mitch: What’s the one thing?

Curly: That’s what you’ve got to figure out.

I recalled this after speaking with a dear friend about the conversation she had with her mother regarding her father’s military headstone. Like most things in the military, there is a lot of structure, process, and policy about headstones. With the persistence of a beautiful widow and her strong-willed daughter, there is also a place for creativity and individualism alongside the majesty of disciple found in Northern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery. George Sandstrom is honored there. I had the privilege of attending George’s funeral on December 17, 2016. The same day that John Glenn was memorialized at The Ohio State University for HIS service to the country. WOW, I thought as I watched some of Glenn’s ceremony. These guys did A LOT! Hopefully, you know some of Senator Glenn’s accomplishments – the first American to orbit the earth, the oldest person to fly in space, married for 73 years, raised two children and has two grandchildren.

A few points on George:

• He grew up in Wisconsin in a cabin without electricity or indoor water.
• He joined the Marines and flew a helicopter in Vietnam and for “heroism or extraordinary achievement” was awarded The Distinguished Flying Cross.
• He was a Chief Pilot for Northwest Airlines and the Wisconsin State Director of Aviation.
• He farmed when he was not flying – always sure to bail hay on the hottest day of the year.
• He raised and judged Percheron horses participating actively in the horse community.
• He was a loved husband, father, grandfather, friend, leader and community activist.

That is to say that if something needed to be done, he did it. If he knew someone needed a hand, he lent it. He flourished in his life, leaving a legacy of love, family, buildings, organizations, businesses, animals, and trees – so many trees.

Obviously, I’m a fan! As boisterous and confident as he was, as much as he contributed to the globe – literally the earth, society, and to individuals, George figured out his one thing.

Which is good.

Because when all was said and done . . . on his headstone, there was room for one word. ONE WORD! ONE THING! And he chose that word, not on that day, not on the form, but in the living of his life. Through his actions, George Sandstrom chose the word COURAGE!

Which made me wonder.

What’s MY one thing? What word do I choose? What word do I live? What word will be on my headstone? How about you?

One of the strongest areas of job growth in our economy is in health professions. The many different careers associated with taking care of our sick and injured, as well as working in preventive care, present many opportunities to someone who is thinking about a new career.

Yet many people underestimate the size and range of these careers, thinking that they encompass doctors and nurses, and little else. Of course, that’s not accurate, and it’s a misconception that could lead someone to miss out on a satisfying and lucrative career.

If you or someone you know are investigating options for a career after high school or a change of careers later in life, take some time to familiarize yourself with some of the many other jobs that are available in health care. Some require extensive education, others are available with on-the-job training, while others fall somewhere in between.

Therapists

There are many different careers just under this one umbrella. Generally speaking, a therapist does some type of patient care that either manages a chronic condition or helps the patient recover from an injury or illness. Their work involves working directly with patients under the guidance of a physician or other caregiver who prescribes certain interventions by the therapist in much the same way as he or she prescribes medicines.

One example is a respiratory therapist. These workers do everything from treatment of asthma to ECG interpretation in hospitals, clinics, and outpatient facilities. Similarly, physical therapists help patients regain mobility and function after events such as strokes or broken bones. Occupational therapists do similar work, helping their patients regain the ability to perform daily tasks after an injury or illness.

Technicians

This is another broad area of work. The term “technician” generally refers to someone who operates a particular type of equipment, and that applies rather well to the various types of medical technicians. These careers involve a wide array of workplaces and functions, but they are all typically connected with the direct care of the patient.

A common career in this group is a radiologic technician, who performs X-rays, MRIs, and ultrasounds on patients to help doctors diagnose injuries and illnesses. Emergency medical technicians work primarily with ambulance providers, giving the initial prehospital care to the sick and injured during transport to the hospital. Laboratory technicians work with equipment to review blood work and other samples taken from patients.

Nurses

While most people are familiar with this occupation, it has a much bigger scope than many people realize. Starting with a program to become an RN, CNA, or LPN can send you down many different roads, and they don’t all end in a hospital or a doctor’s office.

Nurses do more than walk from room to room and check on patients. Many provide in-home care or serve as hospice workers during end-of-life care for patients with terminal conditions. Others work their way up to a nurse practitioner career, in which they can see patients in a similar arrangement to what doctors do. Nursing is an incredibly broad field with a lot of opportunities to do something new and different from time to time.

Health care is one of the oldest professions. From our earliest days, we have sought to help treat illnesses and injuries. The evolution from those first experimental efforts to our modern health care system has not only changed the role of doctors, it has created many other roles that carry out work in support of a primary caregiver.

The more we learn about how to treat various conditions, the more people it will take to execute care of each patient. That provides lots of choices for people interested in working with health care, and it positions the field for steady growth for the foreseeable future.

I hate the term work-life balance. Life is not the opposite of work for me. I hope it is not the opposite for you. When I’m working, I’m engaging, connecting, growing… Also I am definitely breathing when I am working. Hope you are too!

So, what do we mean when we speak of work vs life and keeping a balance between them? The work-life duality is a flawed mindset. Both of these categories – “work” and “life” – include aspects of identity, relationship, and sense of purpose that create fulfillment in our lives.

Imagine a balance scale. Take a quick inventory of the myriad of roles you play throughout any given week. Here are some of mine to get you thinking: co-worker, project lead, recruiter, sourcer, cheerleader, fiancé, daughter, dog-owner, citizen, friend, and yogini. Now place your many roles into one of the weighing pans on either end of the beam – one pan for “work” and the other for “life.”

This means every role we play needs to be arbitrarily split into these two categories. Yet for all of us who have done any remodeling or hosted a party, then a role like project lead will be tough to put on only one side of the scale. The more we examine the roles we play, the more overlap we may find.

But please go with this mental exercise for a bit and put your “work” roles on one side of the fulcrum. Then put your “life” roles on the other side. Now look at the balance scale. It takes an odd skew, doesn’t it?

Yet is work all of who we are? Again, take a quick inventory. Consider the many areas beyond work where you have relationships united by a shared purpose – such your family or school, sports, or civic groups. It seems fairly human to bond around relationships created through common mission and vision. We do it for money, sure, but we do it for many other reasons too.

Our health, our families, our work – it’s all vital to our full lives. Do they ever stay in balance? We juggle. The struggle is real. The search for balance is worthy, but aiming to balance work and life doesn’t make sense to me.

The only way to achieve work-life balance seems to be drop the view that work is separate from life. My life is my life. My time is my time. My choices are my choices.

From that perspective, integration becomes the way forward. How do I integrate the many roles, relationships, and goals vying for my time? Well, for this “recruiting yogini” my practice comes first. I rise early, do a little yoga, a little chanting, and a little meditation. After that my purpose for any given day is a lot clearer. My simple practice enhances my ability to flex with what life brings. It strengthens my resolve to stand with poise in the face of challenges. And it provides some intuitive wisdom of when to bend and when to be firm.

By choosing every day to make time for my practice, integrating all the other demands on my time gets so much easier. Sounds good, but you have no time for anything more, right? If the work-life balance illusion has you stressed, then take a deep breath. Give yourself a break, actually give yourself several breaks. Conduct an experiment by giving yourself 15 minutes in the morning for 30 days. Try 5 minutes of yoga, 5 minutes of chanting (for real), and 5 minutes of silent meditation. Then see whether or not you have an sense of integration throughout your life priorities. If this experiment doesn’t work after 30 days, google work-life balance and go back to the illusion. You’ve lost nothing!

Here are tools get you started:

There are so many more…

The job market has so many resume styles that you can choose from, making it even harder to know where to start when you are creating your own. However, once you’ve had a grasp about the different types of resumes out there and when to use them, picking the one ideal for your situation is easy. Since your resume is the first communication with a potential employer, it needs to stand out.

But how exactly do you get the right attention? Plus, how do you ensure that your resume grabs the recruiter’s attention? To help you, here is an essential guide to traditional and creative resume styles, and the how and when to use them.

1. The Traditional Resume

Traditional resumes follow long tried and accepted standards of writing resumes. Such resumes don’t have fancy formats nor do they include technology for impressing potential employers. With the traditional template, your resume fits well in conservative industries like finance or family medicine jobs.

However, traditional resumes have an obvious drawback; yours will probably look like many others that pass through a recruiter’s hands. This means that your information and experience should speak for itself. On the other hand, a traditional resume is safe since it won’t annoy a recruiter.

In addition, your resume looks like it should, and potential employers will be blown away by the facts, and only the facts. However, make sure your resume is clean and concise. Also, embrace brevity while describing your achievements and skills, and don’t use five sentences where you can use one.

You can use this resume format if you think an employer is likely to value the more traditional style. Fortunately, you can employ various traditional resume styles.  

• One-page traditional resume

This is a great option on several occasions like when you have limited work experience or applying for a part-time or entry-level job. Most employers ask for a one-page resume in job descriptions; so read the prospective employer’s resume guidelines carefully so you give them what they want. Plus, most busy recruiting managers don’t want to read pages and pages of information.

• Simple traditional resume

The simple resume utilizes a minimalistic, clean style to catch a potential employer’s eye. If fancy formats are not adding anything special to your resume, it’s best to avoid them. Simple resumes feature great organization, sans-serif fonts and have a balanced white space with no distractions whatsoever.

• Executive traditional resume

This is a generally recommended style for anyone applying for a senior-level or executive position. While most resumes are just a single page, an executive resume is two pages long. One page usually covers the candidate’s work history in relation to the executive position he or she is applying for.

If you’re applying for an executive or senior position at an organization, be careful not to obscure professional experience with creative or elaborate formatting. Stay safe by sticking to the usual traditional resume style guidelines to show that you take the position seriously and respect the hiring company’s traditions.

2. The Creative Resume

Creative resumes will not work for every field, but if applying for creative jobs like graphics or visual art design, the creative resume is the way to go. In other words, if your job requires creativity, showcase your talents using a creative resume.

• Infographic creative resume

The infographic resume includes the use of visuals to give prospective employers critical information about yourself. You can use data visualization methods like graphs and charts to show your work history and skills in ways employers will remember you. Use this style if you are applying for a job with a quirky start-up or creative employer.

The video resume is highly creative and should be used only when you’re a sure that it is a good fit for the job you are applying to. For example, an actor will require a reel, which is the industry requirement. If personality is a critical employment requirement (for example for a sales position), the video resume can land you that interview – overall, you’re giving employers a taste of how you’ll perform.

No matter the job you’re applying to, you’ll still need a paper version of your video resume. However, the professional resume video will likely impress the creative hiring personnel. It indicates that you have taken the extra step to prove your abilities.

• Portfolio creative resume

This creative resume style can be used for applying for work in visual industries like photography and art where samples of your work are required. If applying for teaching jobs, include lesson sample plans and homework assignments in the portfolio.

You can make the portfolio resume as a personal website whose link you include in your paper resume. The paper portfolio can be a daring single-page document that includes images and tests that show your past works. Or, you can create it into a full-blown portfolio with samples, achievements, and publications in a three-ring binder.

Create a career portfolio that acts as a reference point whenever you are preparing for an interview or writing the all-important cover letter. Your portfolio will help you stand out from other job seekers since you have samples of your works to show.

Conclusion

So, should you make a creative resume or stick to the traditional resume? While having a different style will definitely get you noticed, it’s important that you look at the position you are applying for while creating your resume.