Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom 6 Workplace Realities Women Will Face In 2040

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom 6 Workplace Realities Women Will Face In 2040 My 4-year-old daughter Serena will be 30 in 2041. Assuming that she has a college degree and eight years of work experience, how might she fare in a world dominated by contract workers, fluid teams, human-centered work, persistent pay gaps, blurred work-life boundaries, and biases that have been around since the beginning of time? Well, let’s investigate. 1. INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION Serena was born in 2011, the year the U.S. birth rate dipped to its lowest recorded level. As the U.S. birth rate keeps trending below 2.0 births per woman, that doesn’t mean young women will face less competition for school acceptance and jobs in the coming decades. As the U.S. birth rate keeps trending below 2.0 births per woman, that doesn’t mean young women will face less competition for school acceptance and jobs in the coming decades. Instead of vying with other Americans her age, my daughter will fight for a place among hyper-qualified professionals from around the world. While her generation struggles to support the population of adults over 65â€"projected to triple by mid-centuryâ€"it will face a global talent pool from which companies can hire the best people no matter where theyre based. 2. CONTINUING GENDER GAPS IN LEADERSHIP Will my daughter preside over her own company? She probably wont, and yours isnt likely to eitherâ€"unless current trends make a dramatic turnaround. According to Judith Warner at the Center for American Progress, women’s presence in top management positions today remains below 9%, and their percentage on all U.S. corporate boards has been stuck in the 12.1â€"12.3% range over the past decade. A 2014 Babson College study showed that, on average, just 60 female CEOs got VC funding in the years 2011â€"2013. This is surprising given that women are the majority owners in 36% of all businesses in the U.S. It’s been estimated that at the current rate of change, it will take until 2085 for women to reach parity with men in leadership roles. That’s too late for Serena. 3. REVOLVING DOORS OF EMPLOYMENT Rather than heading up her own venture, Serena is far more likely to be a contract workerâ€"a segment of the workforce thats been projected to overtake the single-employer workforce by 2040. And she won’t just have to compete for jobs every few years. She will be in a constant cycle of promoting her services, securing a project, and promoting her services again. Businesses will consist of owners, talent assemblers, and contract workers for everything else, the writer Tad Milbourne has argued on Techcrunch. Platforms will spring up that know what contractors have certain skills, what they’ve done, and whether they’re available. Contractors will get instantly matched with talent assemblers. For my daughters generation of working women, networking with these talent assemblers will likely become a top priority. 4. SHORT-TERM VIRTUAL TEAMS In preschool, Serena likes to flit from station to station, playing with a different group of kids every five minutes. That’s good, because in 2040 shell work on a variety of remote project teams that form and disband quickly after accomplishing a specific business outcome. She will have no physical office outside her home, yet she’ll interact with thousands of professionals of all ages and across many cultures each year. What will Serena do on these teams? Your guess is as good as mine, but according to futurist Gerd Leonhard, she’d be smart to pursue something related to growing technology segments like data science, artificial intelligence, cognitive computing, deep learning, and robotics. It’s pretty clear than hundreds of millions of jobs that are primarily routine-based, repetitive, and rules-based will increasingly be done by machines. Or she could pursue a career that makes good use of human skills like imagination, curiosity, understanding, empathy, and social and emotional intelligenceâ€"like design, therapy, negotiation, or invention. What will she want to avoid? It’s pretty clear than hundreds of millions of jobs that are primarily routine-based, repetitive, and rules-based will increasingly be done by machines, writes Leonhard. 5. AGE-OLD GENDER BIAS And in the narrowing breadth of roles reserved for people, women are set to continue lagging behind men despite equal educational opportunities. How come? One reason is that unconscious bias, or the implicit people-preferences we form through socialization, is deeply embedded in the human experience. It starts early, tooâ€"research shows that it’s present in children by the age of three or fourâ€"and enters the workplace already deeply rooted in each of us. While some companies are now pioneering new methods for controlling for it in their recruitment and management processes, unconscious gender bias has proved a tough nut to crack. A recent study by VitalSmarts researchers Joseph Grenny and David Maxwell found that women’s perceived competency drops by 35% and their perceived deserved compensation by $15,000 when theyre seen to be assertive or forcefulâ€"violating ingrained cultural expectations for women to be caring and nurturing. This is a problem that’s unlikely to be solved in my daughters lifetime, even though, according to London Business School professor and The Key author Lynda Gratton, we shouldn’t lose hope. It’s surprising how quickly societal norms can change, she says. I see my sons being taught not to make any assumptions about what men and women doâ€"and of course, more young people are now being brought up by working mothers. So in some parts of society, gender bias may be seen as something from the past. Lets hope so. 6. BETTER WORK-LIFE INTEGRATION According to the 2014 OECD Better Life Index, when compared to 35 other developed nations, the U.S. ranks as the eighth-worst country for work-life balance. The pressure to conform to standards set by countries like Germany and Denmark is likely to grow. As workforces become less global, top U.S. employers may feel more impelled to compete with foreign companies perks in order to retain the best talent. So we may well have come a long way on work-life issues within the next 25 years. In the narrowing breadth of roles reserved for people, women are set to continue lagging behind men. On the other hand, future workers will be even more continuously connected to their work through technology than we are today. But by then we may have worked this way long enough that my daughters generation will be better equipped to manage it. Lynda Gratton believes that some work-life conflicts may be alleviated by a longer window for childbearing and more involvement from fathers. Women may have more leeway in terms of sequencing their family and careers, and we will see more see-saw couples in which both partners take turns supporting one another. All in all, there are likely to be more opportunities than obstacles for professional women in 2040, but theres plenty that we can do right now to make sure of that. This piece was originally published on the Fast Company website.

5 Careers tips for a recent graduate

5 Careers tips for a recent graduate 5 Careers tips for a recent graduate You have spent many years working towards your qualifications, and now it is time to put all your hard work to the test. No more eating breakfast at lunchtime, no more burning the midnight oil cramming for exams. It is time to step out into the big wide world to make your mark. So what do you do now?Let’s face it, finding your first job can be tough, especially for recent graduates who may possess all the right qualifications, but lack real-world work experience. Let’s take a look at some top tips to help newly qualified graduates get started on their career path.1. Make a startDoing something constructive with your time is better than doing nothing, especially if you are not sure exactly what you want to do with your degree. Dont worry that everyone around you seems to have it all sorted out â€" they dont! Chances are that they are feeling just as overwhelmed as you are right now.The best place to start is with a solid foundation to build your efforts upon â€" this means putt ing together an outstanding resume that perfectly highlights all of your achievements and positive attributes. Building your resume will also act to remind you just how amazing you are and how lucky your future employer will be to have you.2. Craft a flexible cover letterSometimes graduates can underestimate just how important a good cover letter can be. They may put all of their efforts into creating the perfect resume, but remember that your cover letter is just as important too! Your cover letter acts as your introduction to recruitment officers and prospective employers. You may have the most amazing resume in the world, but if your cover letter doesnt cut the mustard, the recruiter is never going to get as far as reading your resume. Your cover letter is a chance to let your personality shine through. Yes, you must tailor the content of your letter to suit the requirements of the job description, but you can inject a little of your own personal brand into your letter so the reader will see the person behind the paper.3. Brush up on your knowledgeIf you are targeting a specific company that you want to work for, it really does help to do your homework. The more background research you do on the company before you apply for a job with them the better. This way you can get a feel for the company, how they operate, the company culture, their favorite buzzwords and the language they use. Having this background knowledge will make your job application feel much more natural because you will be in-tune with their company ethos and the way they communicate.4. Sell yourself, not just your qualificationAlthough you may feel that your most important aspect is your degree, your recruiters dont place too much relevance on this. They much prefer hiring a person they are interested in because they would fit in better with the company environment. Let your recruiters see your personality rather than spend your time hiding behind your qualifications. Demonstrate the skills you have picked up on your journey. Employers are looking for people with good soft and hard skills as well as the fact that you have proven you can study. Mention skills such as your ability to meet deadlines, your great presentation skills, your ability to work as part of a team to deliver results and cooperate with others to solve problems.5. Gain some experienceYou should be prepared to start from the bottom. No graduate can expect to leave education and walk directly into a well-paid management level job. This may mean taking an unpaid internship or offering to work for free on a part-time basis while doing some other type of paid work to earn some money.Many companies already offer internships and graduate work experience opportunities, so if your chosen company doesnt then maybe you could suggest this to them to help you get a foot in the door. While the idea of working for a few months for no pay sounds painful, it does show the company how dedicated you are and the drive you have to work for them. It also means that you will be in the loop about potential new job openings and already be at an advantage because you are known to the company.Be prepared to take a risk. You never know where it will take you. previous article The Minimalist Complete Resume Pack next article Resume Template Pack | Touch Of Pink you might also like6 Online Gigs You Can Do During Coronavirus Outbreak (To Offset Your Lost Income)

Strategies for survival on an entry-level salary

Strategies for survival on an entry-level salary Most entry-level jobs do not pay enough to support someone living in a large city. This is a problem for recent grads. They imagine life in a big city as lots of entertainment, crowds of young people for fun, and a great dating scene. But its a hard life to fund: The cost of college, healthcare, and housing have gone up, all while real wages have gone down. This generation is facing a gap between wages and the cost of living that their parents never did. Erica Skov moved to Boston for the opportunities a big city offers, but in the process, she gave up the low cost of living in upstate New York for the steep cost of Boston. Today, she has a job as an analyst, and she has to be careful to stretch her salary to cover both life in Boston and grad school payments. This typical situation for young people is, on the one hand, full of the promise of an exciting, fulfilling career. But on the other hand there is an absurdly high risk of going deep into debt just to fund oneself in an entry-level job. Here are some things to consider so that working your first full-time job does not put you further into debt. 1. Go into investment banking. If you are equally passionate about two careers, and one pays really well and one doesnt, choose the money. The problem is that most people are not wildly drawn to the high-paying careers. After all, if everyone wanted to do the highest paying work then it wouldnt be so high paying after a while. But remember that you dont have to get paid to do what you love. You love sex. Do you get paid for it? No. Impractical. So try to be practical and pick something you love that also pays well. 2. Move in with parents. Loving what pays well is easier said than done. Which is why more than half of college grads today move back home with their parents. If you move back with your parents you have the chance not only to save money but also to search for the right career. You dont need to be an investment banker if you can afford to intern at an art museum. It might not feel so great when you dont earn as much as your banking friends. But in the long run, the people who take time to figure out a custom career for themselves are the people who avoid the quarterlife crisis. Finding what you love requires lots of experimenting, and the less money you need, the more freedom you have to figure out your life. 3. Get roommates. In each major city there are areas and/or buildings that function more like a dorm than an apartment building. This is because all the people who live in the building have never lived outside of school before, except in this place. So they recreate school in a big city. It is a cheap, few-frills life, with lots of random hookups. In fact, where you live is not nearly as important as who you are living with. So if you find people you like, it probably doesnt matter that you are recreating college. It wont last forever. 4. Skip haircuts and lattes. The most popular finance advisers online today arent always talking about 401(k)s. JD Roth, Trent Hamm, Presh Talwalkar they give practical advice for people who havent had the ability to stockpile for decades. They give advice about tracking expenses and cutting small stuff all over the place, like lattes, and haircuts. This sort of advice resonates with Skov, who says, We have daily conversations in the office about where to get cheap manicures and haircuts. Skov is in no position to take financial advice about six-month CD rates. But she only gets a haircut every six months, which may be the Generation Y equivalent of money management. It adds up, and with a frugal lifestyle you can live in the city of your dreams. Its just you probably wont have the lifestyle of your dreams. 5. Move to a smaller city. The dorm in a not-dorm life is okay, without haircuts, for a while, but youll get tired of it. Youll see that there is a class of people in large cities that can afford to live alone, in their twenties, and youll notice a theme: Consulting or trust funds. This is an exaggeration, yes, but not a huge exaggeration. So what can you do? Move to a smaller city. Minneapolis is very popular right now, and it has that magical combination of low cost of living, good schools, and varied industries. Other cities to consider: Portland, Ore., Austin, Texas, Chapel Hill, N.C., Columbus, Ohio, and Madison, Wis. 6. Work while youre in school. Skov is studying communication management at Emerson College, and working full time. Its not a bad idea. In fact, there are many circumstances when grad school is not worth going into debt for. A degree in creative writing, for example. You probably wont support yourself with that degree, so start finding a career while youre in school, and do your writing at night, after work. Or, according to recruiting firm Challenger Gray Christmas Inc., if you are not at a top 10 business school, your increased earning power is so little that it is not cost-effective for you to stop working to go to school. Besides, the best way to keep your options open after graduate school is to have as little debt as possible that you have to pay back. 7. Accept that its normal. Its OK if you cant support yourself after college. Most people cant. Not today. The people who can do it are often high and mighty, but ignore them. Because there is no evidence that supporting yourself right after college leads to a happier, productive life. And there is good evidence that people who experiment with a lot of career choices in their twenties are more likely to find something that suits them very well. And for those who are dealing with debt and looking around, Skov has the type of outlook that lays the groundwork for success: Im a well-rounded person and I could do a lot of things. You have to look at whats out there. Its not so much what exactly youre doing but who youre doing it with.

Surprising Facts About Gender in the Job Search

Surprising Facts About Gender in the Job Search A lot has been done in recent years to create gender equality in the workplace and although women are in a better position business-wise than ever before, there is still a long way to go before true equality is achieved. Although every individual is different and stark generalisations can not be made, differences have been observed about how men and women approach their job hunt  and their careers. This infographic by MedReps suggests that gender impacts how individuals play the job search game and also how employers tend to respond to male and female applicants. Factors such as the way the job description is worded and which platforms the jobs are listed on can influence whether men or women apply and findings suggest that outdated stereotypes and gender bias  still have a sway over employers initial opinions of applicants. Job Applications: Men are more likely to apply for any role that takes their interest, even if they only meet 60% of the requirements. Women are more selective and will only apply for jobs that they think suit their skills and personality and fit 100% of the requirements for. Men are not influenced by the use of masculine and feminine traits in the job description, however women are commonly deterred by typically masculine terms such as assertive, independent or aggressive. They are much more likely to respond to terms such as dedicated or responsible. Employers should be careful about how they word their job descriptions to avoid any gender bias. Interview: Before knowing anything about the candidates skills or experience, employers expect male candidates to perform better than women. Based on appearance, employers would be twice as likely to hire a man than a woman. Women who describe themselves in feminine terms such as warm or supportive are less likely to be considered for a job in a male dominated field than if they were to use masculine terms such as assertive. To create equal opportunities employers should assess candidates on a combination or hard and soft skills. Salary Negotiation: Women often still earn less than men in the same role, despite a successful salary negotiation. Medical sales is one of the many sectors where men earn more than women. Employers should place employees on a pay-scale based on job level, experience, education and skills; not gender. RELATED: How Can We Achieve Gender Equality in the Workplace

An Essential Guide to Resume Writing Interactive

An Essential Guide to Resume Writing InteractiveIn an age where everything is moving faster than the speed of light, it is important that your resume be written and submitted in a timely manner. An effective way to make sure that your resume gets noticed is by having it written in a way that engages the reader and engages their attention. Effective resume writing, therefore, has to involve your reader's imagination and creativity.Resume writing interactive doesn't mean the type of paper you use to express your thoughts on. It means writing something that would engage the reader and get them involved in your resume. The idea here is to not only write your thoughts in it but also convey your message through your words, tone and body language. This is important because most employers look for candidates who are able to communicate effectively in the professional sphere. Simply put, if you have a resume that is poorly written, the chances are good that the employer won't take notice of i t, no matter how impressive the job you're applying for.One common problem that people tend to have when they're writing resumes is overusing graphics. They do this because they believe it is necessary. It can look professional, but in reality it is nothing but clutter. If you are going to include graphics in your resume, then you should always use them sparingly and under proper circumstances. You must make sure that they are included in appropriate places and at appropriate times.Remember that you must go beyond using graphics, if you want to achieve professional use of it. Graphics are fine for personal information, such as an email address or telephone number. But when it comes to your resume, you need to use them sparingly and only when they are appropriate.Communication is also important. Writing a resume is different from writing an essay because it is a formal document that needs to be written in a more formal language. However, if you're working with a computer, then you ca n employ the same principles of writing for formal documents that apply for other writing projects.Another important factor when it comes to resume writing interactive is the information you include. Make sure that you have all the relevant information to make a good impression on the reader. Even if the resume is professionally written, it won't work unless it has certain pieces of information that make it seem convincing.Resume writing interactive should include all the information that the reader will find important. You shouldn't be shy to include information about the organization, the specific position that you are applying for, and your skills and qualifications. These will be helpful in making a very convincing impression on the reader.To summarize, you should always be aware of resume writing interactive when it comes to resumes. Keep in mind that you should always have a professional touch with your resume writing and that it shouldn't be used just for entertainment purpos es. When it comes to your professional image, it is important that you don't come across as someone who is being overly pushy or tries to impress the reader.

Be Specific to Help Your Career Search

Be Specific to Help Your Career Search If you were invited to dinner and asked to bring something that everyone would like, what would you do? What would you make? You would want to know things, such as: any dietary restrictions or just what these people like to eat! You would want your friend to give you the specifics so you could make a delicious dinner for all to enjoy. Be Specific Now what if someone asked you, can you help my friend who is looking for a job? Again, you would want specifics. Consider this when you are the one seeking a job be specific. Being specific applies to many areas, but today I am focusing on two. What Do You Do? If you are a job seeker and you are introduced to someone, that person might ask you, what do you do? If you respond with, I am looking for a job, what is their response? Good luck with your search! The issue here is that saying a job is too vague for an individual to connect to. However, if you responded with, I am actively seeking a job as a social media consultant helping businesses succeed in attracting and retaining customers, then the person you are speaking to might be able to identify an individual who you can network with. This works because being specific jogged information in that persons mind they might not have thought of if you gave a general answer. What Are Your Plans? Conducting an informational interview is another area where it helps to be specific. During the informational interview, you are seeking information from an individual. However, that person will oftentimes ask you what your plans are. The more specific you can be, the more ways they can help you. Let’s say you are conducting informational interviews to learn more about a new industry. The person you are interviewing might ask you what your plans are within this industry. If you respond with, I am just gathering information at this point, that’s fine. They will still provide you with information. If instead you were to respond more specifically with, I am gathering information at this point, but I know I want to stay in Austin or move to San Francisco, the individual might be able to share more targeted information. They might have a friend they could connect you with in San Francisco. They might have worked in San Francisco and know the market for this industry in San Francisco. However, without your specific information, they might have left all of this information out of the conversation. Sometimes we don’t feel like we are ready with our specifics. We are too early on in the process to have any! Before networking events or informational interviews, I challenge you to spend some time thinking about the specifics of your situation. Maybe you don’t have all the details yet, but consider how can you take a vague comment or statement and make it more specific, even by one degree. The benefit may surprised you!

5 Things Not To Include On Your Resume

5 Things Not To Include On Your Resume 5 Things NOT To Include On Your Resume There are dozens of articles on how to write a winning resume. I’ve written many myself. But, what every professional resume writer knows is it’s also essential to understand what NOT to include. HR professionals, for example, don’t want to see photos because they’re concerned about possible discrimination charges down the road. Unless you’re a recent grad, there’s no reason to include your college and/university graduation dates. Doing so will advertise your age. Here are five other things not to include on your resume. Typos It should go without saying, but typos can be the kiss of death. One misspelling may not take you out of the running, but several probably will. Read your resume several times. Read it backwards to catch any words that don’t fit, like Microsoft Office Sweet. Fluff Fluffy statements and generic wording won’t get you far. No need to say you’re highly educated. One of the first things a recruiter will look at is your education. Same goes with clichés like “excellent communication skills” and “team-player.” Instead, give examples that demonstrate your communication skills, like “successfully negotiated faster payment terms . . .” Unpossessed Skills Don’t include skills that you don’t have to trick a recruiter or hiring manager into calling you for an interview. They’ll find out, and you won’t get the job. Stick to skills that are illustrated by achievements on your resume or can be substantiated during an interview. Graduation Dates As with graduation dates, going back too far on your resume can date you as well. Generally, professional resume writers recommend going back 10 to 15 years and putting much less emphasis on earlier jobs. In an initial resume screening, most recruiters will only look at your two most recent positions. Irrelevant Stuff Hobbies unrelated to your target position don’t belong on your resume either. No one cares that you are an “avid salsa dancer” or “a golf pro” unless it’s related to your target position. The exception to the rule being if your hobby or volunteer work demonstrates something like leadership skills that may be valuable to a potential employer. Filling your resume with fluffy statements and skills you don’t possess won’t help you get hired. Instead, pack your resume with relevant material that will move your job-search forward. Remember the best way to attract a recruiter or hiring manager is with an achievement-based resume.