I felt guilty for not posting much free career advice lately, but then I realized that I never committed to a regular schedule and nobody cares. Recovering type-A oldest daughters need to stop making up fake rules for themselves to follow.
Exhibit A: I didn’t feel like covering a singular topic today, so we’ll avoid the basic career advice article and I’ll instead share a roundup of helpful resources and trends I’ve been paying attention to.
Job Search Advice: Don’t Marry Tech
I recently walked through some reckonings that the tech industry is experiencing as the “power” pendulum continues to swing between orgs and employees. Not everyone is patient enough to wait for this market to return to a candidate’s one, and continuing layoffs are forcing tech employees to seriously consider switching industries. Luckily for the workers, doing so is not as dramatic as it seems.
If you’re looking for a job in the tech space, make sure you’re not just focused on the famous tech orgs or even startups. Conversations as early as last year have shone the spotlight on how tech talent can find success and jobs when they set their sights beyond the traditional. Every company out there is racing to optimize their business intelligence, user experience or service design, and some have turned in-house to create “tech hubs” within their own organizations. Healthcare and Education are some of the many industries that are also tech industries if you follow the growth. If I was looking for a job, I’d research the industries that are growing the fastest and learn about companies I’ve never heard of rather than focusing on the tech space I know.
I 🫶🏼 Innovation: Virtual Thought Leadership & Networking
I love when Marketing works for me as a consumer.
Nobody likes spam, but I could almost use the L word to describe how it feels to get marketed something you have been actually looking for. I could have spent time looking for networking opportunities (always risky…) when I received an email inviting me to a virtual event with the promise of TWO bottles of wine shipped to my door (4 free). I obviously signed up immediately and was curious to learn if the quality of this event I RSVP-ed to would actually match the initial impression.
This event was for tech talent professionals and the topic was AI and how it can improve the recruitment experience. The company hosting, Findem, had organized the event in partnership with Purple Cork, which coordinated the bottles of Red Car I received. While I love the convenience of virtual events, I get bored of webinars so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
This event was excellent. The winery presented while we tasted some Pinot and Chardonnay, which was a fun icebreaker. Purple Cork facilitated the event smoothly and Findem’s team moderated breakout rooms where I and others discussed AI, recruitment, and talent strategies. I learned a lot and clearly Findem’s team received their share of potential “buyer” insights. It was broken up by another tasting and even an optional demo, which I was happy to stay for after such a good experience. I learned how my peers are thinking about recruiting AI which helps with my job, and I learned about good wine so I can sound cool ordering it. A+ for innovative sales development/event marketing.
Something I Hate: Link Fatigue
Is anyone else exhausted by too many affiliate links in one place? What began as a convenient method to avoid FAQs and reward effective content marketing is now a sign of laziness in content creation when used excessively.
Lupe, what does this have to do with job searching or career advice…?
Well I really wanted to complain about this in general, but I actually see this from an employer’s perspective when I am looking through people’s websites and job materials. If you’re looking for work or just trying to be more recruitable, you need to make sure that it’s not tiring to find important information.
I think the structure of a LinkedIn profile is pretty optimized for a recruiter. That said, you still want to make it EASY to (1) contact you and (2) see what you’ve accomplished. UX-ing your job search from the employer’s view looks like having ONE central place where you as a “candidate” live rather than 3-5 links they have to travel to to try and find what they need. This is where a portfolio comes in handy (you can create a clear menu for an employer to get what they need), but it’s also as simple as making sure they employer’s “first stop” has a clear journey to accessing your resume, professional email, and body of work.
Something I Love: Negotiating !!!!
Aside from giving me an opportunity to destroy my dad’s ego, I love chess because it strengthens the way of thinking that allows me to also negotiate effectively.
I actually considered making this whole newsletter about negotiating because I think it’s a tool that is so misunderstood and underutilized. If you want me to write tips for negotiating salary or just general negotiating 101, please comment what you struggle with so I know where to start.
For now, I’ll share a resource that has been the most helpful as I learned what it means to negotiate effectively. Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss is my favorite entry-point to how language helps you achieve what you want. Not only does he outline effective strategies and examples of successful negotiation, he reminds us that the most effective tool is how well you took the time to understand the OTHER person’s goal. Like chess, negotiating is about your willingness to understand the person across the table.
I highly recommend you order this book from my Bookshop affiliate because it will support independent bookstores and give me an excuse to buy more books from them too. If you want some free negotiating tips for now, here are some of the things I learned while reading:
You can’t view negotiation as something to “win”. If you go in with a confrontational vibe (terrible idea when asking your boss for $$), you will be met with the same energy. How can you ensure it’s a win-win?
Empathy and clarity will get you what you want. Taking the time to truly understand the person on the other end of a negotiation will give you the answer/roadmap you need to come to an agreement.
Ask questions to uncover the challenges someone would face to unblock your goal. For example, a “no” when you ask for a raise isn’t helpful. When is a raise realistic? Have you proactively worked on a development plan to make sure you’re aligned with your manager before you get to the raise conversation? Do they love you, but have budget limitations? All of this information needs to be uncovered before you can achieve what you want.
Negotiation happens all day, every day. I apply so many of the tools in the book to my job and everyday relationships while still feeling like I’m helping others get what they want, too.
Still not sold? I’ve helped people I coach and friends negotiate thousands of dollars (sometimes over $20k+ in one convo!) in salaries, raises, and benefits in my career using some of the tips in there.
Thank you for reading! If you want me to write about negotiation more often, let me know in the comments and I’ll share some more tips soon.