Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Skills Improvement

We all need a little personal development mixed in with our professional and career development. Read blogs in this category for personal skills improvement.

  • An Authentic Resume… What Sets You Apart?

    An Authentic Resume… What Sets You Apart?

    While we are contemplating authenticity, how does this relate to the job seeker, and in particular, his or her resume? This week I’ve spent some time reviewing resume assignments for our facilitating career development course. It’s amazing how many formats and takes there are on the traditional resume. As a job seeker, your resume is the key to getting your foot in the door. So, how do you present the best possible version of yourself in two pages or less, and how can you ensure it is authentic?

    Resumes are tricky. I always recommend having a master resume that you can adjust based on the position for which you are seeking. I encourage clients and participants of our course to seek out the employers’ point of view when applying for a job and crafting a resume. What sets you apart from other candidates is your authenticity. So, how can you accomplish this?

    1. Always, always, always be honest. Even if you have a gap in your employment history, don’t adjust dates to cover yourself. You can simply add in the productive work you did during your off time (classes taken, volunteer work, etc.). You can also provide insight in your cover letter. Once you are offered the opportunity to interview, you can provide details.
    2. Find out what the employer is looking for and share your expertise. I once took an online course in resume writing and the presenter shared something that I still remember today. “An employer is looking for one of three things from a candidate – for them to make the company money, save the company money, or save the company time.” You can often determine which one based on the job description. Once you know, show how you have done this in previous positions, providing “authentic” quantitative data (saved XYZ company X amount of dollars by implementing this process, etc.)
    3. Utilize LinkedIn to truly share your authenticity. LinkedIn is a great way to share your professional experience with a potential employer. Believe it or not, many employers find passive candidates via LinkedIn. When colleagues are providing endorsements and recommendations, authenticity seems evident.

    Is your resume authentic? Check out the Point Blog for more resume tips and ideas.

  • Want to Live Authentically? Get Real With Yourself!

    Want to Live Authentically? Get Real With Yourself!

    Guest blog written by: Kayla Riggs

    “What screws us up most in life is the picture in our head of how it’s supposed to be.”

    At 32 I was in a place to reevaluate my career, my wants, my life. I am a wife and a mother of two. I have been working in the traditional sense since I was 15. I worked during college, while taking a full course load. I got a job immediately following graduation. I worked up until the day I delivered my babies and took 7 weeks of maternity leave with both. That’s what was expected. I’m a people-pleaser by nature.

    I always did what I believed was expected of me. I measured success by a job title and working fulltime. I always chose to work not-for-profit, even if that meant I didn’t make as much as I would in the private sector. I thought that way I’d be making a difference, I’d be giving back somehow. But I always felt there was something missing. Something was never right.

    Then suddenly there I was, in a place that made me stop. It was time for me to rediscover myself. It was time for me to be real with myself. What did I want? Did I want to be a stay-at-home mom? Did I want to work part-time? Did I want to find another full-time job? I had no clue. I had already had my “dream job” early in my career but now what was my dream?

    My husband has always been supportive, and he told me to do what I felt was right for me. But what was that? I believe sometimes in life we get so caught up in what is expected, in what we believe is how the world measures success that we never decide what we believe is success in our own eyes.

    Now, here I am, seven months later, post rediscovery, and I am truly happy. This season in my life I believe success looks like the ability to take my kids to school and to pick them up in the afternoons. It looks like me currently working as an independent contractor. It looks like the ability to also work for a not-for-profit that I believe in because its success impacts my family, indirectly. It looks like me creating a home office. It looks like the ability to attend my children’s school functions. It looks like dinner on the table and not eating out as much. It is the ability to have control of my schedule and say what does and does not work for me or for my family.

    Success now looks very different to me and for me. It took me getting real with myself, maybe for the first time in my life. I am finally being authentically me!

    Will success look the same five years from now or even this time next year? Right now, I’m not sure. The only thing I do know is that I refuse to be anything but real.

    What does success look like to you?

    Whatever you measure success by, make sure it is real and it is you!

  • Take the Negative out of No

    Take the Negative out of No

    This past weekend the pastor from my former church in Virginia stepped down from his position due to health issues. As I watched the Indoctrination Ceremony to install the new pastor online, I was overwhelmed by my pastor’s grace and gratitude. I was inspired by his authenticity regarding his circumstances.

    As he spoke of his need to step down, he also spoke of his calling to step up into a supporting role for the new pastor, someone that has been a part of the church and supported him for many years. He spoke of saying “no”, so that he could say “yes” to God’s new calling for him.

    We are taught at a very young age that no carries a negative meaning and has negative results. But as William Ury outlines in his book The Power of the Positive No, if done right, saying no can have a positive impact and is necessary in order to get to the right yes.

    So how can you create a positive no?

    • Explain your reason for saying no. Perhaps you don’t have time or what is being asked is outside of your expertise.
    • Offer up an alternative. Offer to help find someone who can say yes or provide an alternative solution to the problem.
    • Don’t be afraid to say “I need time to think about it.” If you’re not sure if you can help, think about it and get back to them within a reasonable amount of time.
    • Confirm that you think the idea is a great one and apologize for not being able to help. Provide positive feedback to reinforce their efforts and let them know that you wish you could help to see it through.

    By taking the negative out of no, you keep the door open for a future yes.

    Like this post? You may also like:

    Saying “No” to Something is Saying “Yes” to Something Else
  • Are you living in gratitude?

    Are you living in gratitude?

    If you missed my “Living in Gratitude” blog, check it out here.

    Are you living in gratitude today? Take a couple of minutes to think about what you are grateful for.

    #authenticity

  • #MeToo and the Onslaught of Sexual Harassment Training Requests

    #MeToo and the Onslaught of Sexual Harassment Training Requests

    Long about mid-December when you couldn’t turn on the news without hearing about the next case of pervasive sexual harassment in every facet of the working world, our phone and inbox started blowing up with requests for sexual harassment training and training resources.

    Almost every HR leader was given direction from the C-Suite and/or self-directed to try to take the bull by the horns and “train” people on sexual harassment before they got hit with a claim in their workplace.

    Whereas I think driving a culture through behavioral actions is the best way to keep sexual harassment or any other form of harassment at bay (and training is just one part of this equation), there are some rules of thumb for “good” sexual harassment (or any form of harassment) training.

    1. Help people understand the laws behind sexual harassment to include the why and how of them.  Note:  Whereas you need to explain this so people can make sense of the precedent and legal ramifications, the more important issue is helping people understand and know when things are just plain wrong and inappropriate because they are wrong and inappropriate ways to treat people not because you might get sued.
    2. Help people understand the two types of sexual harassment: quid pro quo (“this for that”) and hostile work environments.  Most people have an easier time understanding and identifying quid pro quo, but most of the challenges today fall in the category of hostile work environments. Help people understand the factors that create a hostile work environment including actions that are unwanted, repeated, intimidating, hostile and offensive.  This should also include a discussion about the reasonable person standard and intent.  More on intent in a later post, but basically just because someone didn’t “intend” to be intimidating, hostile or offensive doesn’t mean they are not guilty of violating the law.
    3. Help people know what should be done if they feel they have been or are being harassed or have witnessed harassment.
    4. Help leaders know how behave if harassment is brought to their attention. This includes how to conduct an investigation.
    5. Understand and implement company policies and procedures related to harassment (number 3 and 4 should be interwoven with this).
    6. Apply learning with a case study in a small group format.

    I have found that the case study portion of the training we do to be the most valuable.  This is because most instances we deal with in the workplace aren’t Harvey Weinstein blatant.  They are shades of gray, and it takes thoughtful discernment and investigation by people driven leaders to understand and then solve the problems.  The case study gets people thinking and talking in a way that leads to better discernment and application of the principles learned.

    If you are in need of free resources related to sexual harassment training, here are some good videos to watch:

    Video 1

    Video 2

    Also helpful, from HR Magazine: How to Investigate Sexual Harassment Allegations.

     

    How have you handled the need to educate people on sexual harassment in your workplace?