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What Is Cultural Fit?

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Cultural fit, aka culture fit, aka fit.

Maybe you’ve been told, “We decided to go with a candidate that was a better culture fit for our department.”

Or, maybe you’ve heard of employers saying something like, “We liked them, they just weren’t really a fit for us. We want to make sure we get a good fit.”

Well, what does that mean? Culture Amp says culture fit hiring is “the concept of screening potential candidates to determine what type of cultural impact they would have on the organization.” It’s more or less based on perceived compatibility of values, beliefs, and behaviors between the employee and organization.

The idea behind it is that if you match the company’s culture, they’ll be more likely to hire you.

But is hiring for culture fit actually a good thing? The case against it has steadily been growing in recent years.

Opponents say that culture fit hiring is bad for diversity and inclusion, breeds incompetence, and upholds the status quo. In other words, if a company is looking to move forward and improve, screening for culture fit may not be the answer.

Still, lot’s of companies screen candidates for culture fit. So what are you to do as a candidate who may or may not “fit” with the culture of the company you are interviewing for? That’s tricky, but let’s take a look at two things you should be aware of.

FOCUS ON CULTURAL ADD

You may not be able to control what the culture is, but what you can do is highlight what you can add to the culture.

Do you have a different and productive opinion on best practices? Do you possess a value set that offers an opportunity to improve morale?

Most leaders within a company want the company to improve. You may not be a common or traditional hire, but if you can show that you can add to their culture by bringing in new perspectives, behavioral habits, or personality traits that can spark innovation and improvement, you can show them that you’re exactly the hire they need.

On the other hand, this highlights the importance of doing your best to get to know the company or department, ideally before you even interview with them.

REALLY DO YOUR HOMEWORK

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Update: Career Compass Assessment

Are you feeling lost, stuck, or confused in your career?

Maybe you come home at night and vent to your friends about how much you can’t stand your job.

Or you wake up and lay in bed wondering, “I need to start job searching soon.”

You know you want to take your career in a different direction, you’re just not sure where to begin.

Then it’s time for you to take the Career Compass Assessment and…
  • Address the frustration of knowing you have transferable skills, but not really knowing what they are exactly
  • Understand exactly what’s causing you pain in your current job, and what’s standing in the way of having a career you really want
  • Finally deal with your current career confusion that has you complaining about your job, but not doing anything about it

You’ll walk away with a personalized report detailing what your skills indicate about your career journey, and you’ll know what step you need to take next to get yourself in motion!

How it works:

You’ll do a brief online assessment and then hop on a 45 minute 1 on 1 zoom session with me.

The Career Compass Assessment Program is currently being offered at $47 (goes up to $97 on June 15th)!

At the end you will know:

  • What transferable skills you ALREADY HAVE to offer that are currently in-demand
  • Potential job fits that would actually energize you instead of drain you
  • What steps you should take in the short-term to finally move you toward a job you’ll love

Contact me and include “Career Compass” below to get started!

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Managing Your Perfectionism

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People pleasing.

Procrastination.

Unrealistic expectations.

Anxiety.

Imposter syndrome.

Do any of these sound familiar to you at work? If the answer is yes, then you (or someone you know) might be dealing with perfectionism. 

Author and political activist Anne Lamott once wrote “Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people,” and studies show that 86% of employees believe that perfectionist expectations have impacted their career. Quite an enemy.

Perfectionism often gets in the way of progress, and many of us struggle with it in the workplace. Whether it’s a fear of failure, or genuinely wanting to excel at work, perfectionist habits ultimately tend to inhibit productivity and lead to burnout. Specifically, let’s take a look at how perfectionism might be inhibiting you at work.

DE-MOTIVATION

Perfectionism can de-motivate you by causing you to have to stare down impossible or unrealistic standards. It’s easy to sort of check out when faced with unreasonable standards, because you might sense that failure is unavoidable.

If you find yourself constantly lacking motivation due to a fear of failure, remember this motto:

Progress, not perfection.

Your work doesn’t have to be perfect (or even complete) for it to be great, useful, or impactful. Instead of starting with the goal of perfection in mind, start with the goal of progress: aim to do something that helps you, your team, or someone else make progress.

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Finding Work-Life Balance

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Work-life balance. It’s an all-inclusive and sorta all-elusive term. We all want it, but many of us struggle to actually nail down that coveted sweet spot between professional responsibility and personal wellness.

Before getting into finding work-life balance, it makes sense to define it. The Cambridge Dictionary defines work-life balance as “the amount of time you spend doing your job compared with the amount of time you spend with your family and doing things you enjoy.”

A little simplistic for my taste, but hey it’s a start.

I’ve worked and spoken with lots of people who struggled with finding the right balance. And I think it’s almost mythical.

In real life, work-life balance often means different things to different people. Work-life integration might be more appropriate for some people, as their ideal is to mix work with life, simultaneously tending to both the professional and the personal throughout the day. Others may prefer a complete separation between the two, stepping out of one world to parachute into the other.

We each have to define our own sense of balance, and that’s hard. Still, here’s some tips to get you started.

CLARITY COMES WITH ACTION

Maybe you’re not sure what the ideal balance would actually look like for you. If that’s you, you’re not alone. But clarity comes with action. In other words, things start to get a little bit clearer as you begin to move.

Ask yourself this: Are there any things you can change right now that MIGHT lead to you feeling more balance in your life? Make a list of 3-5 things.

That might be a hard question to answer, but the good news is that you don’t have to get it right! The idea is to brainstorm some “low hanging fruit” options that you can try. As you move forward making conscious choices regarding the breakdown of your life and responsibilities, you’ll start to gain insight into what your ideal sense of balance might look like

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Quick history lesson! The term work-life balance was coined in the mid 80s during the Women’s Liberation Movement as women fought for the right to maintain their job and still have time to take care of their families.

Next Issue on May 25th: Perfectionism In Your Career

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Networking for Shy People and Introverts

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Ready for this?

HERE’S A NETWORKING TASK!

Just kidding. But if that made you cringe or feel a little itchy, you might be a reluctant networker.

Lots of people are, especially the shy and/or introverted among us (like me).

If you’re an introvert, you’d probably never do any networking if you didn’t have to. But the truth is, networking is extremely important and useful when it comes to building your career. LinkedIn states that 70% of workers hired in 2016 had a connection at the company they were hired by. CNBC says as much as 80% of all jobs are filled through personal and professional connections.

Pretty significant.

Still, networking can be awkward, even if you aren’t the introverted type. The good news is that networking doesn’t have to be hard.

Read on for some tips to make it more manageable for you.

TIP #1: GET OTHER PEOPLE TALKING

If you’re shy or an introvert, you might prefer it when other people are doing the talking. So get other people talking! Take the night before your networking interaction to come up with a few open-ended questions (no yes-or-no questions homie) that prompt the person/people around you to do some informative storytelling. Make sure the questions you ask are relevant, though. You want to prompt stories that help you learn what you need to know to get you a little closer to your goal(s).

Speaking of goals…

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How To Identify Transferable Skills

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We’ve all heard of transferable skills by now. But what are they? How do you identify YOUR transferable skills? And once you’ve identified them, how do you describe them in ways an employer in a different field or company can grasp?

Put simply, transferable skills are skills that can be applied in different situations or environments. We all have them, but sometimes they can be hard to identify and describe.

Before getting into how to identify and talk about yours, let’s take a look at some classic examples of transferable skills and why they’re important.

TeachingCritical ThinkingProblem SolvingCoordinating
Relationship BuildingTeamworkListeningCustomer Service
PlanningFlexibilityFlexibilityEvaluating
ManagementOrganizationPublic SpeakingMentoring

As you can see from the table above, there’s lots of transferable skills, and you probably have a decent amount of these.

Let’s pause right quick. You might notice that these are generally what we’d also call “Soft Skills.” Soft skills are mostly interpersonal, while hard/technical skills are mostly industry or job specific. 

Part of why soft skills are so valued by employers is because they’re relatively difficult to teach. How many week(s) long trainings have you sat through at work where communication or collaboration was a big topic? And how many communication- or collaboration-related problems did you encounter at work after said training? Exactly.

Highlighting your transferable skills well will make you a much more attractive candidate because hiring managers know the value of soft skills: they’re absolutely necessary for success in the workplace.

So let’s take a look at how you can practice identifying and describing your transferable skills.

DE-CENTER THE CONTEXT

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Changing Careers: Where to Start

THE GRAVY, ISSUE 7

One of the more frequent conversation topics I have with people is career pivoting. Moving from one career field or industry to another.

If you’ve ever thought about switching careers, you’re not unlike a lot of people. According to Apollo Technical, 32% of workers between the ages of 25-44 considered changing careers in the last year. That’s a pretty big number.

And while lots of people consider changing careers, many find the challenge of doing so intimidating. 

Pivoting from one career to another can be difficult. Sure, there are those overnight success stories, but those are few and far between. The much more common reality is that it’s going to take you time, effort, planning, and resources. 

And that’s ok, because you CAN get the job done! People of all ages can and do pivot careers every year. Here’s what I’ve learned about how to successfully change your career.

COMMIT TO IT

First of all, no, it is not too late for you to change your career. You are not too old. You did not wait too long. Yes, you are smart enough. Yes, you can do what it takes.

You just have to commit to it. Changing careers is no small task. You need to decide that this is happening. A lack of commitment to the process and goal will likely draw out the search longer than what it probably needs to be.

Don’t get me wrong. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to give 100% of your energy and time to your pivot. Even if you can only manage 20%, GIVE 20% and be consistent. The idea is to put consistent action into the goal of changing careers. Making it real will help you find more success.

SELF-ASSESSMENT

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The 5 Major Screening Factors

THE GRAVY, ISSUE 6

Do you ever wonder what hiring managers are looking for in their candidates?

The specifics of what a hiring manager needs for a particular job will vary depending on the job, the company, and potentially a variety of other considerations, of course, but there tends to be a pretty consistent 5 themes.

These 5 themes make up the 5 Major Screening Factors. Master these screening factors, and you’ll position yourself as a frontrunner in your job search.

SCREENING FACTOR #1: PERSONALITY

That’s right. When it comes down to it, and all the remaining candidates are technically qualified for the role, the deciding factor is often personality.

Do they like you?

Do they feel like you’d work well with the other employees?

Does your communication style vibe with theirs?

Would your energy level work well for this role?

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Next Issue on March 30th: Changing Careers: Pivot Your Career Successfully

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How to Write a Good Cover Letter

THE GRAVY, ISSUE 5

Cover letters scare lots of job seekers. 

“How do I write a good cover letter?” 

“How long should it be?” 

“What about the heading and address and all that stuff? What do I do about all that?” 

“Should I write a general cover letter, or a specific one for each job?”

Let’s talk about cover letter writing. And guess what! Cover letters (in my opinion) are actually pretty easy. Especially compared to resumes.

FIRST THING’S FIRST…

Cover letters are easy because they’re short. Really short. The whole thing, including the heading, the addressing, and content, should be 1 page. That means your actual content should be around half a page–4 paragraphs, 14-17 sentences.

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Next Issue on March 16th: The 5 Major Screening Factors

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Negotiating a Higher Salary

THE GRAVY, ISSUE 4

When I ask people if they’ve ever negotiated for their own compensation, most of them say, “No, I haven’t *nervous laughter* I probably should, though.”

Negotiating is an act that intimidates a lot of jobseekers, but it’s one that can really change your life for the better. 

Still, lots of people either are hesitant to engage in the conversation out of fear, or they choose not to because they simply don’t know how to. Learning the basics of negotiation can help fast-track you to the places you want to be in life. Let’s take a look at some of the basic rules of the game:

RULE #1: NEVER SHOW YOUR CARDS FIRST

So you submitted your killer resume, crushed the interview (or interviews), and you just received a job offer from the employer. Then they ask you, “About how much are you hoping to make in salary?”

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How Can I Avoid Burnout?

THE GRAVY, ISSUE 3

Sometimes you wake up and think, “I don’t wanna go to work today. I’m tired.”

And then sometimes you’re consistently thinking, “I don’t wanna go to work today. I’m TIRED.” 

Your energy is low.

You can’t focus.

You know what that sounds like? That sounds a little like burnout.

Here’s the thing: Burnout is sort of a normal experience that affects workers across the globe. But what is burnout?

According to the WHO, burnout is classified as an occupational phenomenon “resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” Additionally, there are 3 main dimensions of burnout:

  1. Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
  2. Increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job
  3. Reduced professional productivity

Let’s take a look at a few burnout statistics:

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Next Issue on February 16th: Negotiating

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CAREER COACHING PROGRAMS

CAREER COACHING MASTERCLASS

Come get an overview of what you need to know to put yourself on the inside track to a more fulfilling career.

  • 2 hour session taking you through the steps you need to successfully navigate a career or job shift
  • Understand the different career search elements at play
  • Walk away with action items YOU can take yourself
  • A welcoming virtual environment

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CAREER ESSENTIALS PROGRAM

Ready for an immersive program that’s designed to launch or relaunch you confidently into what’s next for you? This program provides a deep dive into the basics of what you need.

  • 4 week program
  • 4 1 hour and 15 minute sessions, each covering a different topic
  • Get organized! Break your career or job search down into steps
  • Goals, Values, Resumes, Cover Letters, Action Plans, Interviewing! What else…?

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CAREER DRIVER PROGRAM

The next level of career development preparation. Experience a full-scale career and job search program walking you through each step from mapping out your goals to negotiating a great compensation package.

  • The Career Essentials Program and More!
  • Get a full career development workbook
  • Let’s talk more about your skills and the things you’re good at

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