Month: April 2020

Being stuck in your career is more than frustrating; it can be limiting. Professionals from all backgrounds are resisting the pressure to stick to one career path. Job hopping has nearly doubled among college graduates in the last twenty years, and more workers are willing to experiment with jobs throughout the course of their careers. Compared to previous generations, today’s professionals are more likely to explore what it means to have a career they truly love.

Regardless, it’s natural to fear a complete career pivot. Changing careers can be a challenging risk, and you may not know where to start. When executed mindfully, however, anyone can reap the benefits of a new career path—which can include higher pay, more profitable skills, and a more agreeable work environment.

As with any goal, a major career change starts with a single step. Try these tips to smoothly transition into a new field you’ll love.

Before You Start

It’s common to contemplate a new career after a hard day or week at work.However, the choice to pursue a new career path should be a deliberate one. Think honestly about the motivations behind your desire.

Do you find that you dislike your entire career or just your job? Are there ways to improve the situation you have now? Answering certain questions about your goals can reveal critical insights you’ll need on your journey to a new career. Don’t be afraid to ask yourself:

• Why do I want to change career paths?
• What do I want to do?
• What do I need from a company/role in order to be happy?
• What do I need to do in order to make this change happen?
• How can this improve my life?
• What are the potential risks or downsides?

Reference your answers often when making your game plan, applying to jobs, or researching possible employers. Your answers can help you pursue opportunities that align with your goals and expectations. They may also change during the transition process—that’s normal!—so review them as needed.

Review Your Career History

Perhaps you’ve already built an impressive career, or you’re a recent graduate with a few internships under your belt. Regardless, your current career can offer a wealth of insights into your interests, professional strengths, and potential future career paths.

Start by grabbing a copy of your current resume and take notes. Ask yourself what you liked or disliked about each position and when you felt the most comfortable at work.

Note any projects or accomplishments that you especially enjoyed or that made you feel proud. If a position yielded new skills or introduced you to an industry, be sure to note that too. If you have a specific new career path in mind, make a list of transferable skills. Many of the skills you have developed in your current career can benefit you in your new one.

Even if you don’t have a specific path in mind, mark any skills that can transfer smoothly between fields, like leadership, project management, and communication.

Create a Road Map

We all need a guide for new adventures, and a career change is no different. A career road map can help you outline the resources, training, and experience you’ll need to make a smooth, effective transition.

At this point, it’s time to talk strategy. What career paths are you excited to pursue? What is your end goal and ideal timeline? What strengths or weaknesses have you discovered in your current and past positions?

Do you need to develop new skills, certifications, classes, or licenses? Who do you need to meet, and how can you develop relationships with them?Break these elements down into major milestones: what accomplishments you hope to achieve and when. You can also assign yourself daily, weekly, or monthly tasks to stay on track with your personal timeline.

This can help you stay accountable to your path or reveal what may need to be modified along the way.

Reorganize Your Resume

If you’re transitioning to an entirely new field, you may have to start completely over.Editing your resume is a simple and effective way to showcase related skills and experience you’ve acquired from your current field.

Focus on transferable skills, projects, and accomplishments that apply to your new field—using the notes you made on your master resume in step one. Not every role you’ve filled will be relevant, so don’t be afraid to write and edit critically. You may find it helpful to work with a professional resume writer or editor to help frame your experience.

Once you’ve updated your resume, be sure to review your LinkedIn and personal website (if applicable) to update your portfolio with your new information.

Take an Online Class

Now that you’ve updated your resume, you may notice additional gaps in skills or experiences you need to acquire. If you need to build new skills, consider investing in a digital course.

Not only can online classes help you build relevant skills, it can often assist you in determining whether you might enjoy the responsibilities and roles of your new career path. Many websites offer free or moderately priced courses in fields like web development, graphic design, and business management.

Some courses may offer valuable certifications that can transform the impact of your resume. When researching a new website or course, consider how much time you can reasonably commit to an online course, and how much you are willing to invest. Don’t feel pressured to cram in new information by speeding through a course if it won’t help you learn practical, applicable skills.

Try Freelancing

Freelancing is becoming a more popular option for new, transitioning, or established professionals.I

n fact, over 44 million people have a side hustle [PDF] to generate additional income. Going freelance can be an excellent method to earn money as you build valuable skills, manage the responsibilities of your new role, or expand your portfolio.

Side gig services like Fiverr or Upwork may help you net new opportunities quickly, but you can also explore your network for freelancing options. Future clients may be more amenable to working with someone locally, for examples, and smaller businesses may be in need of your skills and experiences.

Find a Mentor

A mentor can help ease the transition into a new industry by offering advice and guidance during your career journey. Finding a mentor sounds intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Don’t hesitate to explore your options and resources, like LinkedIn, Facebook, friends, or past coworkers.

When approaching a mentor, always remember to work within their limits and schedules. Many people want to be seen as mentors and will be flattered by the opportunity, but not everyone you approach may be available or interested in mentoring—just don’t give up.

Try opening communication with a compliment or sincere interest, and work to build a rapport with them. Whatever you do, don’t waste their time.Do your research and come prepared with insightful questions. Whether you ask for their personal insights, experiences, or general industry knowledge, make sure they know their time is being well spent by helping you.

If possible, find a mentor that can also help you find new resources or provide networking opportunities with other industry experts so you aren’t dependent on just one mentor. As your relationship progresses, request to use them as a reference on your resume or when applying to jobs.

Attend Industry Events

Networking is an invaluable tool for integrating into your new field. Local or national conferences, meetups, career fairs, trade shows, networking events, and workshops are just a few environments created specifically for connecting with other professionals.

While it’s important to balance the cost and benefits of such experiences, don’t be afraid to purchase a ticket or register for an experience you’re not familiar with if you’re interested in its topics or guest speakers.

In a workforce where as much as 85% of jobs are filled through networking, it’s important to maintain useful communication skills. Before attending an event, do some research on who else will be attending.  

Find professionals that have significant experience in your prospective roles, and let them know that you’re interested in their work. Take notes on any guidance they may offer, and be sure to request their contact information so you can follow up. Transitioning into a new career can be a rewarding risk. With the right strategy and a little patience, anyone can find happiness in a new career path.

Due to the situation caused by COVID 19, a lot of employees around the world started working from home. But of course, working from home is really different from working at your workplace. The main problem during this crisis we’re all experiencing is how to keep our employees engaged and productive while they’re working from home.

The Headhunter Group is determined to help our clients and other companies to find their way through this entire situation and will do all we possibly can to help them. As a result of Covid 19, we would like to offer: 3 Month Group Coaching Program.

The 3 Month Program will include:

• Live Kick off Sessions via Zoom
• 12 week Action Plan (weekly activities and check-ins)
• Ask questions and get advice directly from engagement coach, via email
• Monthly Group Coaching Sessions with our coach via Zoom
• 3 Month access to Coach platform which includes behavioral nudges and micro-learning videos

Hurry up !! There are limited number of cohorts available and we’ll be granting them on a first come first serve basis.

So you can contact us at our email info@theheadhunter.com with any question you have on this program, or you can always book a meeting on Zoom with one of the top engagement experts.

Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the complications and the difficulties that it has brought, some of our clients are facing a lot of issues regarding hiring employees. This is the reason why The Headhunter Group has decided to offer significantly discounted prices to all our clients globally for the next 6 months for only the equivalent of 0.5 Gross salary of the employee, it has decided to suspend the practice of advance payments and it also has decided to guarantee longer for all recruitment extended up to 6 months.

The Headhunter Group also has taken one of the biggest and most positive initiative since the pandemic started, which is the successful implementation of our new Global Recruitment Initiative. This means that now, we create online teams of experienced recruiters depending on the needs of our clients, the industries they come from and the regions in which they are based. These teams will help you hire employees for any position you need to be filled in the fastest way possible!

We work internationally and we are always here for you! We have tried to ease the difficulties brought upon us so you can hire professional staff quickly and efficiently! Don’t let this opportunity slip. Contact us now and take advantage of this offer!

The challenge of the situation which has been brought to us due to the COVID19 crisis has brought a lot of difficulties for business all over the world. This is exactly what inspired us to take action and help business in need. Some of the ways we want to help you are: By offering Web Space for free and free job board for all companies for up to 3 months.

This situation is that kind of a situation that inspires us to be adaptable and to respond quickly and we know that most companies are short staffed and need to employ people as soon as possible. This is why we are offering you free job board which means that companies can use our social media and web sites as a tool to post their vacancies.

If you’re interested, please visit: www.theheadhunter.com ; www.karriera.al or our social media profiles on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIN.

We are well aware how much of a negative impact the coronavirus has brought upon us. And since it being not only health related, our businesses have been experiencing a major setback during this crisis.

Recognizing all of this, the Headhunter Group has shown itself to be determined to help our clients to find their way through this unfortunate situation.

The way we plan to help your businesses, is this: We are more than honored to offer you advice and support on these topics, but not only:  Personalized Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to Covid-19, Maintain Healthy Business Operations, Reopening businesses- Measures to be taken. We are also open and willing to be helping you with other daily issues, such as: workplace mediation and all aspects of HR disciplonaries, resolving difficult employee conflicts providing practical solutions and where necessary bringing legal advice on options; Developing and implementing companies restructures and redundancies and a lot more.

Our training package to handle the situation that has been created by COVID19 includes: Practical Guide to Manage Remote Work, Building Resilience in the face of a crisis, Lead with emotional Intelligence, Lead you business through the coronavirus crisis, Inclusive leadership, Great Feedback, Performance Coaching and Mindfulness- Why we should all seek calm among others.

This will all be possible because our HR services team has wide experience advising companies during their most critical times. We guarantee that we will assist you with your questions as fast and as efficiently as possible!

With a slew of challenging yet fulfilling work always coming in, there’s never a dull moment in payroll. But if you’re not organized, the load can soon become overwhelming.

Work efficiency is the key to success in a function like payroll. You can start with small but obvious steps, like keeping your desk tidy, socializing less and minimizing online distractions. But sometimes you need to make larger changes to the way you work and collaborate. Here are a few tips to help you reach maximum productivity:

Plan your day

Every morning, take a few minutes to make a list of things you need to accomplish by the end of day. If you have a lot to do and don’t know where to start, prioritize tasks by dividing them into three categories of urgency and importance:

• Important and urgent — do first
• Important but not urgent — do second
• Neither urgent nor important — do as time permits

Organizing your to-do list this way helps ensure you don’t simply put your energy into the things you like to do while putting off urgent or important tasks.

Bring work efficiency to your emails, calls

Emails and phone calls from company employees are a standard part of a payroll job, but those demands can be a real productivity killer. It’s hard to focus when interruptions constantly pull your attention in multiple directions. That’s why it’s important to have a system to deal with queries that boosts your overall efficiency.

When it comes to answering the phone, perhaps you and your payroll colleagues could agree on a schedule that allows everyone to have uninterrupted blocks of time to concentrate on work.

Emails are easier, as you don’t have to respond to those immediately. One suggestion is to set your email client to check for new messages once every 15 minutes or even manually. That way, you won’t get distracted by unending pop-up notifications.

Stop putting out fires

In your payroll job, are you mostly proactive or reactive? If much of your day is spent fixing mistakes and dealing with irate employees, that means something in the department isn’t quite right and work efficiency is nowhere to be seen. When you’re super busy, it’s tempting to just put out a fire and move on. But in the long run, it’s much more efficient to carve out time, investigate the problem and find a proper solution.

Try keeping an incident log to see if you can spot patterns that lead you to the source of nagging issues — and prevent them moving forward. Gather information on which categories of employees experience payroll problems, when they experience them, and so on. After you’ve identified the root cause, implement changes and improvements. Yes, this process takes time, but it’s a worthwhile investment that’ll ultimately save time.

Request additional training

Lack of knowledge is a major barrier to productivity. Think of when you’ve had to spend extra time in research because you’re not well versed in, say, tax compliance, or how a task took your team so long to complete because they’re not proficient in certain software.

What do you need to learn so you can be more efficient in your job? To find out, do a skills audit. Then research courses and other educational options that would close up that skills gap. Third, find out about getting the professional training you need. A good place to start is to become certified. The Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC) is designed for people just beginning their career in this field. Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) is for those with extensive experience who would like to move into a leadership role.

Get help when necessary

Payroll teams periodically get hit with extra work. Some of this is predictable, such as during tax season or the annual enrollment period, while other times are one-off events like a merger and acquisition. Payroll professionals are accustomed to additional tasks and tight deadlines, but watch out that you don’t have so much to handle that you risk making errors and having to correct them — the epitome of wasting time.

If you’re a payroll manager, one of the best ways to improve your department’s work efficiency is to hire temporary help for busy periods. As for payroll clerks, let your boss know when the team is struggling to keep up so they can bring in reinforcements.

We all have days when we have less than 100 percent work efficiency, and that’s OK. But don’t get into the habit of always having to catch up and deal with emergencies — not when there are definite steps you can take to waste less time and get more done.

It happens to all of us from time to time: You’re minding your own business, and then suddenly, you’re swept up in a wave of office gossip. Maybe you have a particular coworker who’s the office busybody, or you’re surrounded by whispering colleagues. The chatter could focus on organizational changes or a coworker’s personal life.

What qualifies as office gossip? A useful distinction to consider is whether you’re talking about someone with the intention of being helpful or harmful. It’s one thing to bring up the fact that Jane has missed some work due to her divorce and that you can’t believe her spouse left her. It’s quite another to say, “I know Jane is going through a rough time. Why don’t we ask her if we can pitch in on one of her projects or see if she’d like to go out to lunch this week?” 

Another way to know whether something qualifies as office gossip is to think about whether it’s something you’d say to the person’s face. If not, it’s likely gossip.  With these distinctions in mind, here are five tips to remove yourself from the gossip-go-round.

Excuse yourself and walk away

When the office gossip heads in your direction, the simplest solution is to leave the conversation. Excuse yourself by citing pressing work obligations. The same goes for when the office snoop corners you. You’re at work, after all, so just say, “I really have to get back to my desk.” No one can object to that reasoning.

Don’t engage with office gossip

Abstain when you can’t walk away. You may be in a meeting or at lunch with colleagues when a juicy bit of melodrama arises. But just because you’re present, doesn’t mean you must participate. The simple act of not responding lets your coworkers know that you’re not interested in contributing to hearsay. If pressed, you can always say you don’t have an opinion.

Change the subject

Office gossip may seem appealing, but furthering it can be incredibly hurtful. Help keep the tone of your workplace upbeat by changing the subject when you hear negative remarks.

There is such a thing as positive gossip, so steer the conversation toward a happier topic, such as the birth of a coworker’s baby or how well a team member did on a recent project. If all else fails, you can always mention a funny cat video you saw online.

Try to resolve the problem

It would be nice if it never happened, but sometimes the whispers relate to you in some way. If someone in your office has a beef with you and makes it known to everyone except you, don’t let the situation fester. Approach the coworker and try to resolve the issue. Let it be known you’re aware of what’s been said and you’d like to find a solution. With any luck, you’ll flex your communication skills, receive an apology and put a stop to the rumors. 

Take it to the top

When office gossip turns particularly vicious or focuses on damaging rumors of layoffs, as an example, it may be best to take it to a manager. Don’t worry. You can do so without looking like the office tattletale. Your office may even have a workplace gossip policy. You can inform your boss of the information without pointing fingers. Try this: “I thought you might want to know that people are saying X.” Management will then have an opportunity to address the problem, dispel idle talk and reassure a worried workforce.

Gossip at work can cause problems, reduce morale and lead to serious conflict. The next time you see the Rumor Express galloping in your direction, follow the above strategies to sidestep trouble.

We’ve all heard how important networking is when it comes to finding a job and advancing in your career. And with today’s technology, connecting with professional contacts can be as easy as clicking a button. But even if you’re interacting online instead of face-to-face, that doesn’t make networking any less intimidating.

Wondering how you can become more confident and maximize your efforts when online networking? These five tips will help get you on track:

1. Choose the right channel(s)

Most people gravitate toward LinkedIn for online networking. It’s a natural choice if you’re looking to connect with former colleagues, post industry updates and search for jobs. You can also use social media like Instagram and Snapchat, but keep in mind that not everyone’s comfortable connecting with coworkers on those apps, according to a survey from our company. Contributing to professional online communities or forums and joining virtual conferences when you can’t make it out to in-person events may also be options for building your digital presence and business relationships.

2. Make a good impression

Your LinkedIn profile and photo say a lot about you. Make sure they’re professional and up to date. Including relevant details about education, work history and interests may lead to conversations about commonalities, which can be networking gold. If you’re connected to colleagues on other social networking channels, be mindful of the images and posts you’re sharing. That may mean removing or adding privacy settings to that “spring break 2010” photo album.

3. Be choosy with connections

Online networking success isn’t about having a larger number of connections than anyone else. Think carefully before sending and accepting requests. Asking someone you don’t know to connect can raise eyebrows – and even come off as creepy. You may want to stick with those you’ve worked with or met. Ask for an introduction if there’s someone in your extended network you’d like to get in touch with.

4. Don’t make it all about you

Sure, your connections are there to provide advice or job leads if you need them, but you want to be seen as a resource to others. Share interesting news items, comment on posts and ask how you can help. Promptly respond to any requests that come through your network. When you do ask for help, be clear about what you need, don’t be pushy and show appreciation for any assistance.

5. Take it offline

Whenever you’re able, meet with connections in the real world to strengthen relationships. It might be as simple as chatting over coffee or taking a lunch break together during an event you’re both attending.

Whether online or in-person, reaching out to others to make business connections is never easy. By carefully choosing who you’ll contact and conducting all conversations with tact and respect for the other person, though, you’ll become much more comfortable with your networking efforts.

The job interview is going as you hoped it would. You meet the required qualifications, you have a rapport with the interviewers, and those practice sessions you and a friend ran through the past few days helped you present smoothly and confidently. You have a real shot at landing this job.

Then that most awkward of questions is asked: “What’s your expected salary?”

Many job candidates dread this question. There’s the worry that, if you lowball a figure, you’re leaving money on the table. But if you give a number that’s too high, you might price yourself out of consideration for the role. No matter where you are in your career, that’s a tough calculation.

The good news is, when discussing desired compensation, there are strategies to giving figures that will be fair to you and within the employer’s budget. Timing, tact and homework are all key to your success.

Here’s what to do:

1. Research the market and salary trends

Whether you’re seeking a position as an entry-level bookkeeper or a senior business intelligence analyst, the job interview is your opportunity to convince the hiring manager you deserve top dollar. When you walk out of the room, you want the prospective employer to be thinking, “That’s who I want to hire. Now, how to convince them to join our team?”

Compensation expectations might well come up during that first face-to-face interview, if not earlier. That’s why you should be start preparing for the question from the moment you apply for the job. And that means you need to do your homework. 

Check out reputable sources such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for federal data on wages in your industry. Review the Half Salary Guides to get the average national salary for the position you’re seeking, then use  Salary Calculator to customize the figure for your market. This is a critical first step. Never, never discuss salary expectations before researching the market.

2. Give a range, not a number

Job seekers shouldn’t ask about salary when submitting their application materials or during the phone interview. Even bringing it up during the first face-to-face interview can be risky. Raising the topic of money too early sends the message that you’re more interested in the paycheck than whether the job will be the right fit.

But that doesn’t mean the employer won’t bring it up during the initial contact. If a job post asks applicants to include their desired compensation when applying for the position, then give a range — not a specific figure — you’re comfortable with. Answers like “Negotiable” might work, but they can also make you look evasive. If you’ve done your homework, you’ll know what a fair salary range will look like.

Should the question come up during the initial phone call, you can still give a range — and hedge it even a bit more:

• “From what I know about the position, I think somewhere in the area of $XX – $XX.”

That kind of phrasing shows flexibility, which employers appreciate. And it leaves room to adjust the figures, if you think it necessary, once you’ve learned more about the job and the employer’s expectations.  

3. Turn the question around

When it’s still early in the hiring process, there’s nothing coy about hedging with a salary range, as discussed above. An employer who asks about compensation expectations before discussing the job in detail can’t demand a more definite answer.   

But when it’s this early in the process, you also have an opportunity to turn the question around. Whether salary expectations come up during a phone interview or at the start of your first face-to-face meeting, you can smile and say:

• “I’d like to learn more about the position and the duties, and what the team’s like, before discussing money. But may I ask what salary range you’re considering for this position?”

Delivered politely, you’ll demonstrate that your priority is learning whether the role will be a good fit – something every employer will respect. And your deft invitation to share the budgeted salary range will be difficult to resist.

If the employer’s salary range is in the area you were considering, or even higher, thank them for sharing the information and confirm that’s about what you were thinking. If it’s a little less, say it sounds like it’s at the lower end of what you were hoping for, but you’d still like to talk about the job. Why? This is a candidate-driven market, and increasingly employers are offering better pay to hire and retain top talent. In a recent survey, for example, 63% of executives said they were willing to be flexible on salary when negotiating with a job candidate. Demonstrate you have just what they employer’s looking for, and you’ll more likely be able to later negotiate a salary figure to your liking.    

If they’re starting at a much lower range than your desired compensation, then say so and ask whether the figures would be adjusted for the right hire. Don’t waste your time or the employer’s if it’s clear from the start that you won’t reach an agreement on salary.     

4. OK, now’s the time to give a number, not a range

At some point, you have to commit. By the second interview (or certainly the third, if the process lasts that long), you’ve likely learned all there is to learn about the job and how success will be measured, you’ve met team members, and you’ve already shared the salary range you were considering — or the employer has shared the figure they’ve budgeted for the position. The candidate’s desired compensation, and what the employer will offer, remain the only major unsettled questions. So when the salary question comes up now, you have to be ready with a number, not a range.

Factor in all you’ve learned during your research and the interviews. Are the responsibilities and the stress level about what you expected when you applied for the position? Will you manage people or processes the original job posting didn’t mention? What kind of commute would you face, and does the employer permit remote work options? Perhaps most importantly, what employee benefits, perks and bonus opportunities would be included in the compensation package?

Any and all of that should help you determine the salary figure you think is fair and will be acceptable to the employer. You may have had to tip your hand when salary expectations first came up, but that doesn’t mean you’re committed to the range you originally gave. Phrase your answer by citing, briefly, the points you think are salient to compensation expectations. Even better if you can frame it in a positive manner. For example:

• Given the responsibilities of the position and the number of people I’d be managing, I think $XX is a fair figure. It’s an exciting opportunity, and I believe I’m well matched for it.
• I’m really excited by the challenges you described! $XX seems like the right starting salary. There’s a lot to take on, and I’m confident I’d be a great fit for the role.
• I’m thinking $XX. This is a big job – one I’m well familiar with and well suited for. I led a similar team at my past employer, and we hit all the goals we were charged with. I’d be very excited to take on another challenge like this!
• I remember the salary range you gave me earlier, and I respect the fact that you have to work within a budget. But I’d like to suggest $XX as the starting salary. The responsibilities of this role are quite demanding, and as we’ve both said, my skills and training definitely fit the bill. I can deliver the results you said you’re looking for.  

Keep it positive and friendly. Be confident and polite. And above all…

5. Always be truthful

An employer suspicious of a job candidate or new employee is an unhappy employer. And that’s not who you want to be talking to across the desk. With that, keep these truths in mind:

Never misrepresent your experience, your training or the impact you’ve had at your current or previous job. Don’t do it on your resume or cover letter, during interviews, or when discussing your desired compensation. The truth is bound to come out — maybe during your reference checks, maybe during a skills test, or maybe once the employer sees how you perform at the new job. At some point, it will come out.

The same is true about your current or past salary. It’s best to always direct the conversation to your skills and the value you’d bring to the role, not what you’ve been paid at other jobs. However, if you are asked about your current salary, be honest. Discovery that you inflated the numbers might lead to the loss of the job offer.

What to do after you’ve settled on salary

They made the offer, and the salary meets or comes close to your compensation expectations. What now? Thank them, ask for a day or two to mull it over, and if you decide to take the job, express enthusiasm and talk about the start date. Then ask for a formal, written offer so you can make sure everything you’ve discussed, from job description and pay to perks and benefits, is correct. Yes, assume everyone acts with good intentions, but don’t chance anything to a misunderstanding.

That’s a critical final step. Never, never give notice at your current job until you have that offer in writing.We’re not kidding. Never.

Everyone accomplishes something unique or owns a unique skill set, but not everyone reveals it to the world, lets others know, or sees it as valuable. All three are a problem when it’s time to convince an employer of your value. Candidates may think they didn’t mess up or make mistakes. You did well, but this time, you weren’t great. 

You can be chosen in the field of “good enough” job candidates. Yet, if there is a candidate who embodies “great,” then you’re overlooked, often bypassed. 

If we assume good is what maintains employment, and great is why employers hire you and others want you, then you show the differential between good and great. An interview is the best place to display your abilities on a greater level, but you can also show employers on social media and through content creation.

1. Show your work is known

If you’re unfamiliar with promoting your accomplishments, results, and impact, remember there is a fine line between promoting and bragging, but there’s no denying its usefulness when it benefits others. The more you promote yourself with confidence, the more attention you bring to your work. 

2. Quantify your impact (when you can)

People generally get the job done, but it’s rare that they track or document how they do it and how their accomplishments and results impact others. For many people, doing that changes the way they feel and talk about their jobs. Once you can see, touch, and feel the good you’re doing, you can envision yourself doing more. 

3. Show your growth and improvement over time

How you compare your performances from time to time shows others how deeply invested you are in the growth of your skills and career. People who seamlessly advance their careers are interested in how they improve performance outcomes. Their winning ways become systemic rather than idealistic. Although there is always someone competing against you, you are laser-focused on improving your performances. 

4. Show your depth with upper management

The promotions and referrals I’ve received in my career were from the relationships I created with my bosses’ boss or higher. I wanted to know how my work impacted the organization or the end-user. All the while, I respected the chain of command and complied with the delivery of work expectations. The “How’s it going?” starter conversations can easily turn into a deeper idea-embellishing session even if it’s put off until another time. 

5. Show that your network is a resourceful team 

You will get more out of your team when you are offering as much value as you receive. How much more value do you think you create when you are not asking about a specific job, but more about how you can contribute? Make it clear (in a way that makes them feel great) about their role on your team. The right approach will produce an overflowing cup of value for you and them and keep you ready for job-search obstacles and possibly a steady stream of opportunities.    

6. Show a quick response to challenges

All of us have seen job descriptions that make us feel we don’t measure up. Most of us don’t apply but should aspire to equip our careers with new skills and experiences. Competitiveness is useful in this way: Create new limits knowing it’s possible.

7. Show you’re adept at all kinds of new learning 

People who absorb new learning quickly are often great listeners. During the interview process, it helps to share in subsequent interviews what you’ve learned to demonstrate your enthusiasm for what the company is doing. People in the interview process are impressed by how a candidate applies new learning to other scenarios relevant to the company, department, and team. Information gleaned from other sources such as articles, audio interviews, or reports about the company or its CEO can impress others and show that you care. 

You might find employers who will hire mediocre employees or meet minimal requirements so they can teach new hires their way. But most are looking at the “best fit” who they consider great and who will make an immediate difference. The skillset is not the sole factor in hiring. Combine your skills with the proof that they drive results desired by the employer. Make it easy for employers to find you, your best work, and contact information. The difference between great and good is often in the ease of access to the employer, and the familiarity with your work.