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How to Move Onward and Upward in Your Career
As professionals, we are all interested – for various reasons – in improving our work situation. These improvements can take a variety of forms: more responsibility, more money, an office with a door, an office with a window, flexibility to work from home, etc. I have some ideas on what you can do to improve your chances at achieving some or all of these changes. Be kind and respectful to EVERYONE. Most, maybe all, work cultures have a hierarchy. Sometimes it’s really clear who has power and who does not. Other times it may be more “flat” but power differentials are always there. However,...
read morePost-Interview: The Follow-Up
If you’re like me, then after you’ve had an interview, you smile and shake the hand of the hiring manager before heading out to your car feeling alternately triumphant and nervous. And then you wait. And wait. And wait. Sometimes, you’ll hear right away. Only a day or two will go by before you’ll receive an email, proclaiming the news either way. But more often than not, a week or three or even four will go by without hearing anything. Occasionally, you won’t have any reply at all, and be left to draw your own conclusions. This seems to be the unavoidable nature of interviewing. However,...
read moreFive Interview Do Nots
Interviewing is a moment in the job search that never fails to be nerve-wracking. You sit in a new place, perhaps wearing an uncomfortable outfit, and do your best to be impressive while also sounding humble. Most of us will sit through many interviews during our career, possibly on either end of the process, but if you’re preparing for an imminent interview, here are some tips on what NOT to do when you walk into the office. Don’t forget to do your homework. Remember showing up to class and having only done a small portion of the reading? You might not want to admit it, but this probably...
read moreCreating Positive Organizational Culture
Organizational culture is something that grows organically over time. It is the result of employee action, company decisions, managerial approach, and a whole lot of other factors. Many of our clients at Career Solutions Group, in fact, begin their job search process with the goal of working for a company with positive culture after experiencing a toxic culture in their career. If you want to create a positive company culture, one that welcomes new voices and creates great services, products, etc., then there are a number of things you can do to create scaffolding for that culture to...
read moreWhat is Company Culture?
In the library of my elementary school, there was a table that had large picture books on it. Many editions of Where’s Waldo were scattered there, along with a number of alphabet books. But the one book that was consistently bickered over and forcefully wrenched from the hands of one student by another, was a book of optical illusions. A vase became someone’s face, a young woman turned into an older woman, and no one was quite sure how many sides that triangle had. Every person saw the images in a slightly different way, and many arguments were had over what was the “correct” image. In a lot...
read moreUnderstanding Organizational Culture & (Maybe) Changing It
Organizational Culture: “The values and behaviors that contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an organization.” – Businessdictionary.com Anthropology being my primary background, I was trained to see culture and equipped with tools that help me understand what I see. Sometimes it works, but much of the time I feel as baffled, misled, and confused about the world as anyone else. We all encounter “organizational culture” in our professional lives. There are outstanding popular culture sources where we can see organizational culture in action: “The Office” TV series is...
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