Use These Storytelling Principles to Land Your Dream Job

Use These Storytelling Principles to Land Your Dream JobUse These Storytelling Principles to Land Your Dream Job A good story will make us feel, compel us to act and help make ideas stick. The value and buzzwordy-ness of Storytelling is elendhing new to the business world. In fact, telling stories is the most fundamental, and oldest, method of communication, dating back thousands of years to the times of cavemen and hieroglyphics When carving out a career your love, you can (and should) use storytelling to help set you apart. If you want to stand out, especially in the crowded employment market, start building and sharing a story that excites prospective employers with these principlesWhile your skills and projects youve worked on are obviously important, they are only one piece of the puzzle. They differentiate you, but only to a certain degree. When designing your resume, consider the niche, or specialization that youd want to highlight, and create your position ar ound that, says Arielle Shnaidman, Brand Story Coach .Each bullet point on your resume should reflect your niche, contribute to your story and relate back to why you would be successful in the specific job youre applying to.One thing people often overlook is how to be clear on what exactly they do. When building out your narrative, Shnaidman suggests having a clearly defined answer to the following questionsOnce youve distilled your answers, you can create a clear and concise position statement, that can help guide the creation of your resume/LinkedIn, and focus during conversations and interviews. Create focus on where your niche fits within the market, and have confidence when discussing your own skill set and valueSimon Sineks Ted Talk How Great Leaders Inspire Action has gained lots of attention around the idea that leaders and organizations need to understand their Why - their greater purpose - in order to succeed. This frame of thought should also be applied when crafti ng your personal story and narrative as well.When writing and speaking to your work experience, you must be able to clearly articulate your exact purpose. Ask yourself Why am I doing this kind of work? Once you have your overarching answer, take that even further, and keep asking Why, suggests Shnaidman .A I like educating people on ways to be more successful at workI can take that a step further and askQ Why do you like educating people about the workplace?A Well, figuring out your career is a challenge, and I like being able to help peopleKeep digging through each layer of your Why, until you get to the true core. If you can have this answer cleared up in your writing and in the interview process , it will help breathe life into your story and narrative.Rather than forgetting parts of your life and experiences that dont quite fit a certain mold, use these experiences to reframe your narrative, and create the building blocks for your story. If youre constantly in the process of t rying to be like everyone else, youll forget what makes you unique. Rather than drowning in a sea of sameness, lean into your past experiences that have made you who you are says Shnaidman .You cant just show up online when its time to find a new job. Like networking , showing up online needs to be a continuous practice. You need to always be present, online and offline, to help show people who you are.Showing up online does not mean you need to stress about pumping out 800-word blog posts every day. Rather, slowly build your presence by sharing articles, thoughts, quotes or anything that resonates with you, says Shnaidman .When you share stories relating to your work, it shows that youre a human . For example, you might say something like Hey Today we launched a product, and here were the hiccups we experienced, but here were the awesome results When you share honest stories relating to your life, it demonstrates your values to people around you. If people can assess what youre really about beyond just facts on paper, they are more likely to work with you and want you on their team, says Shnaidman . Simple things like sharing an update on LinkedIn, or retweeting an industry thought leader help people connect with you.The human brain is wired to connect with narratives, so if you want to increase your chances of standing out from the crowd, show up authentically, get clear on your story and watch your success growStacy is a professional development specialist who helps employees and leaders grow and build new skills through innovative programs. She is passionate about creating opportunities for people to advance in their career while improving their organizations retention rate and output. She loves sharing insights on workplace development, career building, and networking for success. Stacy also holds an MA in Educational Technology. Connect with her on LinkedIn , Twitter , or at www.stacypollack.com.

Which Job Board Deserves the Title of Biggest and Best Simply Hired vs. Monster

Which Job Board Deserves the Title of Biggest and Best Simply Hired vs. MonsterWhich Job Board Deserves the Title of Biggest and Best Simply Hired vs. MonsterIf youve recently been active in the job market, either as a job-seeker or prospective employer, youve probably come across a variety of web-based job platforms, each touting to be the best for matching quality candidates to open positions. Thats all well said and good, but our grandma also claims her oatmeal cookies are the best cookies ever made and the grandkids still secretly feed them to her dog Penny when no one is looking. While baked goods to job boards may not be a ritterlich comparison, it does beg the question just who is deciding what makes a site the best and what does that actually mean for candidates in search of a new career, job or part-time position? Here we break down two of the biggest names in the online job board game Simplyhired.com vs. Monster.com. Lets see how these behemoths compare.Where They Stack UpW hen it comes to bonus features and research tools, Simply Hired and Monster are definitely two of the biggest names in the job search game. Both sites provide independent research on large companies that may be hiring, often through paid endorsements by those companies but, hey, everyones got to make a living. Editorials, blogs and helpful articles on everything from interviewing to resume construction to networking how-tos also provide a wealth of knowledge and show an additional level of commitment to educating their users and operating as an all-around resource. Where things start getting a bit mora uneven, however, is in the nuanced ways that SimplyHired allows users to break down search results when on the hunt for that new position. Both Simply Hired and Monster have optional search filtering which includes part-time and other non-traditional job listings, but Simply Hired takes things a step further. The SimplyHired.com site also lets you sort by education and experience requ irements and even has optional salary limits that tie into the databases proprietary salary calculator tool.Purpose and MethodThe main reason for the differences between the Simply Hired and Monster platforms requires a bit of a history lesson. SimplyHired was founded in the early 2000s as a job search aggregator. This means that on an ongoing basis, Simply Hireds virtual spiders go out crawling along the web of various job boards, company listings, and recruiting sites and bring back links for those potential jobs to one master list thats easily searchable on a centralized website. Users can also sign up for daily alerts to have the most relevant of these listings, based on their job search criteria, delivered straight to their emaille inbox. Not too shabby for convenience and efficiency if you ask us.Monster, on the other hand, is a relative newcomer to the job aggregator game. Monster.coms original mission was to provide a platform for companies to post listings directly. Monster had some plusses when it was first launched, providing resume samples and guidance that, however clunky, was still pretty handy when we were first out of college. But that advice and more sophisticated versions of it are now widely available thanks to advances in internet tools and searches and Monster has not managed to move away from its core platform of direct posting, greatly limiting the number of available jobs.Bottom Line for mora and More Thorough ListingsThe functionality, ease of use and long-term history of both Simply Hired and Monster have led to stark differences in the sheer volume of listings available to those in search of new employment avenues. SimplyHired has one of the largest database pools available when it comes to online job boards, including those it drags back from Monster.coms platform.The sheer volume of job listings provides candidates with an efficient, one-stop shop for their job-search needs. While Monster certainly has some research benefits, when it comes to matching up the highest quality candidates with the most lucrative job openings, Simply Hired wins hands down. Wed give them one of grandmas cookies as an award, but Penny seems to have eaten them all.

Mental Health Employee Benefits Are Good for Business

Mental Health Employee Benefits Are Good for BusinessMental Health Employee Benefits Are Good for BusinessHow does a mental health benefits package help both employees and your bottom line? Its been estimated that one in every five Americans deals with a medically diagnosed mental illness at some point in their adult life. The numbers of undiagnosed cases are probably a lot higzu sich than that. But the impact that mental illness has on workplaces is felt in a very real way - from loss of productivity levels, excessive tardiness, and absenteeism, to actual loss of employees because of the often debilitating symptoms mental illness comes with. Mental Illness Costs Everyone The National Institute of Mental Health reports that major mental illness costs the U.S. at least $193 billion each year, just in lost earnings by sufferers. The Partnership for Workplace for Mental Health and the American Psychiatric Foundation advise that it costs companies $44 billion in lost productivity du e to untreated depression in the workforce. When mental illness is left unmanaged, it can lead to a whole host of other workplace-related risks, such as increased accidents, workers compensation claims, disability, workplace violence, and even claims of harassment and discrimination - scenarios that have become ever so transparent in todays world. It makes good geschftsleben sense, then, to offer full mental health employee benefits to the workforce. Experts advise that early intervention is the key to reducing the costs and incidents of serious mental illness in employees. So too, early intervention is shown to provide the best possible outcome for those who are experiencing any kind of mental illness. When mental illness is left untreated or undiagnosed, or when employees have limited access to treatment options, they do not get well on their own - and this can all hurt the bottom line of your business in the long run. Health Care Refasson and Mental Health Protection Is the Law Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), as of 2014, all private and individual medical plans must offer at least the minimum coverage for mental health screenings, substance use services, and preventative care. This requirement is also for medical plans purchased via state marketplaces. Additionally, group benefit plans cannot deny coverage to anyone just because they have a history of mental illness. Protections required under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) require plan administrators to treat mental illness without restrictions, much like the approval process for approving a surgical procedure. Medicare and Medicaid also provide basic coverages for mental health wellness and substance abuse treatment. These laws help to protect mental health consumers from being discriminated against by health insurance providersand support those with limited incomes to pay for services, but there are still many stigmas to mental health that cause some employees to de ny that they need help. Even being on medication for a mental illness may be viewed as a problem by some, if the medication creates restrictions on the employees ability to perform his or her job. For example, medications that cause drowsiness preventing the use of certain equipment or driving company vehicles. Other potential barriers to getting help include missing work for therapy appointments, or taking unpaid leave to complete a 90-day substance abuse treatment program. Unless there is a good insurance plan in place to help defray the costs of quality mental health care and employers do their part to educate employees about their available benefits, many employees simply go without until they find themselves hospitalized for a major breakdown. Others may turn to self-medication in the form of illicit drugs, alcohol, and negative behaviors. In workplaces, undiagnosed and untreated mental illness shows itself in the way that individuals relate to coworkers and clients. It can te ar teams and companies apart. It can cause normally wonderful employees to turn into toxic employees. For these reasons and more, any business can benefit from providing generous group mental health benefits to its workforce. Employers who value their employees and want to demonstrate this can easily furnish mental health benefits any time of the year, whether the health insurance plan includes this care or not. Creating a Mental Health Benefit Package Here are some ideas for getting a mental health benefits program in place and making sure that people have access to the services they need to stay well. Establish an Employee Assistance Program It is a good idea to get an employee assistance program (EAP) lined up as soon as possible in your organization. This can cost pennies on the dollar for each employee, but the value is immense. EAPs provide direct access to confidential professionals who can assist employees with any area of concern that may be causing them distress - from work-related issues to family problems and mental illness. Employees can be directed to counseling sessions, or they may be eligible for short-term treatment facilitated by the EAP team. Learn more aboutemployee assistance programshere. Set Up a 24/7 Nurse Hotline Another choice is to contract with the health insurance vendor to establish a 24/7 nurse hotline for employees and their family members. This can be a way to ensure that employees always have a lifeline where they can get help when they need it the most. They can get health and medical questions answered to determine if follow-up care with a mental health care provider is warranted or if a visit to the emergency room is needed. Choose a Health Insurance Plan With Mental Health Benefits As mentioned above, the ACA requires insurance plans to offer a basic level of mental health coverage, but this can be limited somewhat. Employees who are accustomed to high deductible health plans (HDHPs) may not see the value in using their insurance to pay for counseling sessions, instead reserving their medical dollars for major hospitalizations or planned procedures. As an employer, find employee benefits that offer above-average mental health coverageand provide a health savings account to offset out-of-pocket costs when combined with HDHPs. Appoint a Contact for Managing Mental Health Communications Employees may or may not be comfortable discussing their mental health challenges with a manager, or even members of their own family. Thats why every workplace should have at least one human resource professional who is trained in intervention coaching and has established open office hours for discussing such matters in private. Oftentimes, situations can be handled through a referral to a qualified mental health provider, or by mediating any issues through the EAP. Be well-versed in the mental health benefits that are available so that the employee can get the right help at the right time. Set Up an Employee Discount Program With Area Providers Another very helpful and welcomed method of developing a workplace thats more supportive of employees facing mental health challenges is to work with area wellness vendors to discount their services. For example, long-term unmanaged stress can be a sign of depression, so having access to a massage therapist who can help reduce stress can be a great benefit. Proper diet and exercise are also important components of good mental health, so creating access to local fitness resources and nutrition counseling can be a great perk. Arrange for Mental Health Education and Resources Onsite Perhaps the most critical addition to any employee benefits package where it relates to mental health is access to accurate and timely information. If an employee is facing a crisis, he or she may not understand how to access medical benefits, or who to call for help. So, too, every corporate library should include plenty of educational materials in t he form of self-help books, benefits information sheets, and directories of local mental health and medical providers. Management can support communication by bringing up the importance of good overall health and avoiding treating others differently because they may be dealing with a mental illness. In closing, all employee benefit programs need to be designed around the total well-being of employees, from head to toe. Employees may not display signs of mental illness outwardly, but they may miss work frequently, seem irritable, or just stop performing to their previous levels. Mental illness is a protected disability under workforce laws, so never single out an employee like this. Instead, provide access to self-service information and resources so that employees can seek out the help they need to lead full lives.