Job Hopping

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In 2014, I reported on a new paper about young workers who regularly quit their jobs and ended up better for it. “People who switch jobs more frequently early in their careers tend to have higher wages and incomes in their prime-working years,” one of the co-authors, the economics professor Henry Siu, told me. “Job-hopping is actually correlated with higher incomes, because people have found better matches.”  

Last year, the benefits of role-switching crystallized when I read a paper by the Northwestern University economist Dashun Wang. In a deep analysis of the careers of scientists and artists, he found that their “hot streaks” tended to be periods of focused and narrow work following a spell of broader experimentation. This is sometimes called the “explore-exploit” sequence. The idea is that many successful people are like good oil scouts: They spend a lot of time searching for their space, and then they drill deep when they find the right niche.

Role-switching is important not because quitting is so wonderful, but rather because sampling from different skills and fields is helpful, provided that you’re prepared to pounce on an area that clicks for you.

Derek Thompson writing in The Atlantic

It’s the People you Barely Know

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Distance acquaintances are more likely to help you get that new job than people you know well. That’s the finding of a new study of more than 20 million LinkedIn users. Researchers found weak ties, people with whom you have few mutual connections, are the most helpful. The “strength of weak ties” theory was first proposed in 1973 by a Johns Hopkins University sociologist.

Sinan Aral, a management professor at MIT and co-author of the paper says, “Moderately weak ties are the best. Not the weakest, but slightly stronger than the weakest.” The sweet spot is about 10 mutual connections between people. The usefulness of the connection to the other person falls when there are more than 10.  

Bottom line: When we broaden our horizons then the networks of acquaintances can go to work for us. The power of weak ties may have implications for other parts of life as well.

Read more details of the study in the journal Science.

10 Articles about Job Seeking in Public Relations

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13 Articles about What to do on the Job

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19 Articles about Getting the Most out of LinkedIn

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The value of soft skills

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A soft skill enables you to interact well with others. It’s nontechnical and typically falls into categories such as communication and negotiation, adaptability and learning, teaching and training, and interpersonal abilities, including empathy. For organizations, developing and rewarding soft skills is becoming all the more crucial in our ever-automated world. Machines are getting smarter, and as they take over more basic, repetitive, and even physical tasks, the need for workers with social, emotional, and technological skills will be higher than ever.

McKinsey & Company

When Loyalty at Work Becomes Harmful

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Numerous examples and research show that overly loyal people are more likely to participate in unethical acts to keep their jobs and are also more likely to be exploited by their employer. These could manifest as being asked to work unreasonable hours or on projects or assignments unrelated to your role, or keeping things under wraps because it is in the company’s (read: family) best interest. We’re all in this together, so you have to play your part, right?

Studies show that employees who operate within a “familial culture” often fail to report any wrongdoing when they feel closer ties to the perpetrator. Feelings of fear the damage might cause to the perpetrator keep fellow employees quiet and complicit.

Joshua A. Luna, writing in the Harvard Business Review

Resume advice from an internship supervisor

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Top left is most important place.

Tell me about yourself in 300 words total on one page.

Only include highlights of your career.

List in order of relevance to the job you are applying for.

Your resume does not have to be chronological.

For internships: education comes first, put your graduation date to make it clear you-are you still in school.

For jobs: works comes first.

Sell me on how the experience you have is relevant to the job:- Make dairy queen relevant (ex: promoted in job while also attending school).

You must make it simple in order to catch the gatekeepers eye.

Did you include technical skills? Software and such to show technical skills "Strong knowledge of.."
"Familiar with..."

Include student organization involvement as experience if you are weak in this area.

Only include study abroad if it's related to the internship or job.

Marketing students and graphic design should have more than a black and white resume—show your design skills.

Don't include salary requirements—put negotiable if asked.

Avoid acronyms.

Be clear on your previous employers: What the company does and what you did there.

Include things/skills you learned for the job you want—what you would not know if you hadn't had that experience.

List projects including why it is relevant.

Send PDFs rather than Word doc so you avoid font issues.

Is it easy to read?

Show it to someone who doesn't work or study in your field—if they have any questions, something they don't understand, then change it.

Don't include references unless asked.

Does it look good when you print it out?

If awards are included, then is the relevance to the internship or job clear?

Try to keep your resume to one page.

No perfumes.

Bring copies of your resume and other material with you to interviews

Research the company ahead of time.

Be prepared but not overly rehearsed

Pro tip: The more you say, the more likely they will find something they don't like. Be concise.

Ask for feedback.

Before leaving, ask for “next steps” and when is it OK to follow up.

Don't take the decision personally.

The Elevator Pitch  

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The Challenge: Create a compelling speech about your entire professional life-lasting no more than 15-second. Be able to offer it on demand and under pressure. 

The so-called “elevator pitch” requires serious practice. Regardless of the audience, irrespective of whether you are sitting, standing, or walking down a hall or talking on the phone, you should be comfortable offering it. You never know whether your next open door will take place at family gatherings, in the waiting room of the doctor’s office, or at a coffee shop.   

You’ll want to describe the impact you have had and can continue to have on a project or work environment. Make it about who you are rather than what you do. 

Don’t try to rattle off as much information as possible, like a college debater. Be thoughtful and deliberate. Show you are calm and confident. Yet still, be passionate and genuine. 

These questions that may help you discover your elevator pitch and paint a compelling self-portrait:

What do you think your value to an employer is?

What have you been proudest of in your work life? 

What do you love to do?

What makes you unique?

A word of caution: Pre-packaged, over-practiced canned pitches can come across as lacking respect for the one you are trying to win over. They are not a means to an end but is a person. Your goal isn’t just to sell yourself but start an Elevator Conversation. It's not just me; it’s about us.

Think of it this way: Most people want to hire interesting, intelligent people who they would enjoy spending time working with day-to-day—not slogan shouters.

Stephen Goforth