What is Workplace Culture? Why consider it when changing jobs?

                           What is all the talk about Workplace Culture?

 

                                          Has anyone ever told you....

 

                                    You do not fit our Work Culture……

 

Those words followed by, you are not a good fit , sorry, we will have to let you go may come as a surprise to you. You might think that is a weird thing to say as you did go through one or more interviews and may have thought you were doing a good job.

 

It could mean that you weren’t doing a good job or if in management that your style of management may not fit with the leadership style currently in force.  But, it may just merely mean that they are looking for a certain type of person who will blend in with the workforce already there.

 

So, when looking for employment, do not overlook the need to ask questions about the work culture for the place you are seeking to work at. 

 

What kind of culture are you looking for?  Would you like a casual work environment, one where you can dress comfortably every day? What about hours of work?  Would you like to work from home at least one day a week or to have a flexible work schedule?

 

I was thinking about these things even before the September 2013 Top Workplaces came out as an insert to a recent Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

 

If you are like me I look for a collaborative work environment.  One where you feel like you matter to the company.  Actually, on page 11 of this insert in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, it is stated that, “Top Workplaces have a knack for making employees feel like they matter.”

 

As mentioned before, a flexible work environment is a part of workplace culture and can lead to happier employees.  It also cites good pay and great co-workers as reasons for wanting to stay working for employers. Top workplaces will pass additional monies to their employees during profitable years in business.  Wouldn’t it be great to work at a place that really cared about your happiness and well-being? Wouldn’t it be nice if the input you gave really mattered? Or better yet, that you saw it put to practice.

 

 While working as a Technical Recruiter, I noted that workplace culture was very important to some of the people I was placing with employers.  I’ve noticed that they often go to the grapevine, talking to employee’s that are either currently working there or have worked there.

While this isn’t always foolproof, nor can you always talk to someone that can give you the inside scoop. There are other ways to get this information.

 

On page 8 of this insert it points out that “the latest generation of job seekers are native to the realm of social networks and freely available information, puts a premium on workplace culture.” Even if you fit in with the overall work culture, do not overlook the fact that you need to fit the culture of your new boss in order to have a meaningful work relationship. 

 

LinkedIn as well as the Glassdoor are social networking sites that allow job seekers to view comments from employees at companies they want to get a job with. And you really have a great opportunity to network with employers even before a job gets posted. 

 

In closing, by considering the information that is either written or by networking with others, you have additional tools to help you to find a good workplace culture, one where you can contribute, feel valued, and that is concerned about your happiness.

So, You Want to be a Travel Writer? Start a Travel Blog....

My Dad's neighbor recently ran into me at the grocery store.  He will be taking a motorcycle trip to Alaska and back next year and threw out the idea that perhaps I might do a blog for him.
 
Since I have been writing for some time now and love to write about my travels, this appeals to me.
 
I never knew that you can get freebies just by telling people that you write.  Free boat rides, journalism trips...I'm even looking into taking a boat south to New Orleans and starting my own travel blog.
 
From what I am learning from my research is that you no longer need to have an extensive portfolio built up.  Sure, having your name published with articles and glossy prints help, but they are no longer necessary.  Blogs can turn into book deals!
 
You can start a blog for free.  Google free blog sites and a couple will come up for you. I chose the www.blogger.com site. 
 
If you travel this fall either locally or out of town, start writing about your experiences and taking photographs.  Having a good digital camera is very helpful as it cuts out the need to develop pictures or scan them once they are developed.

Well, I might as well get started on this project myself.  I am going to Pittsburgh to view the 40 foot Rubber Duck Project.  The duck is coming in from the Ohio River and will pass the Point and dock at the 6th Street Bridge.  I plan to get a good photo shoot out of this. 

How often do you have something like this happen in Pittsburgh.  It will change our landscape for a few weeks.  This should be a good money maker for "Just Ducky Tours".  I can envision the boats out on the river going, "Quack Quack" to the big duck while it makes its grand entrance. I better get Quacking.....

 
I put some links for those of you interested in researching travel writing:
 

http://matadornetwork.com/notebook/how-to-become-a-travel-writer/

http://www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Travel-Writer

 

 

How to travel for free:

http://matadornetwork.com/notebook/how-to-travel-for-free/

 

 

How to get travel jobs: 

http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/20-awesome-travel-jobs-and-how-to-get-them/

 

And, a very helpful on how to start your own travel blog:

 

http://www.frommers.com/articles/7476.html

How to Start a Travel Blog: 4 Easy Tips | Frommers.com

www.frommers.com › Trip Ideas › Family‎

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Oct 11, 2011 - Keeping a travel journal will never go out of style, but starting a travel blog is an easy way to document your trip and share highlights with ...

 

 

 

 

 

Gaps In Your Resume....

Doesn't it just kill you, that you have worked since you were 16 and at middle age, they still look at gaps in your resume. 

You mean to tell me, if I, after 20 + years of solid work should take one year off to write a travel blog and ride my motorcycle ( which I don't have) to Alaska, then I would be punished?  Perhaps, depending on the hiring manager.

I was never one to fully take advantage of unemployment compensation.  Sure, if they offer and you need it, I advise you to take it, but I normally have a job within one to four months, long before it would have to be extended.

Recently, I went on an interview.  Mind you it was for a temporary job and the pay and expectations were much lower than what I am used to and one of the things that was commented on was this:

"You have no serious gaps in your resume.".

Which means, if he would have liked everything else, but I had serious gaps, I may have lost out on the job.

Employers love to see consecutive work.  They love to see how since they have been working, you too have been working too. 

I cannot say I totally go with that thinking, but I have advised my friends on what to do when they have a serious gap in employment.

One of my friends has a four year degree in social work and took off quite a few years for raising her child and helping her sick mother-in-law.

I encouraged her to come up with a title of home care and explain the duties she had.  She was working, but she just wasn't getting paid.  She landed a job and has been working ever since. It has been over four years now at the same place.

So, if you think gaps in your resume aren't important.  They are.  They are especially important if you work with the computer or in a technical field like engineering.  I know many employers did not want to hire let's say a Piping Designer if they haven't used programs in paid employment for two years, even one year.

Next time I plan to take significant time off, I hope it will be for traveling and writing a travel blog. I might hitch a ride on that gorgeous American Queen steamboat and cruise to the southern states.  It is funny to me THAT should count as work. It all depends on your field, who you interview with and how you market yourself.

I have fifteen years of experience in Human Resources if you have a topic you would like to talk about. Please feel free to ask a question or to start a conversation.

Why Try Temporary Work? I'm liking it....

I've tried temporary work before, but wasn't too impressed.  I would  take all these typing and other tests and then the firms wouldn't call.

The truth is...I never wanted to be a secretary and seemed to fall into cracks. I am more of a sales or recruiter type.  They could at least tell you that you don't fit what they are looking for.

And then...I tried Reflex Staffing Solutions.  It was at the end of one summer and I really wanted some time to enjoy the weather.  An opportunity came up to be a health care recruiter. 

They seemed very interested, so I threw out a really high figure.  Going to town is going to cost a lot of money and time so I thought, if they go for that, I'll take it.  They took the bait and I took the job.

 I left after ten months, because I was offered a full-time regular position with the company in another division.  I should have stayed a temp because the wage was good and I would rather like where I work then worry about having double health benefit coverage.  After all, I was making more money than the new direct hires for the same position. The new job was a disaster. The expectations were unreasonable.  There was a new computer system that kept freezing up and the air conditioner in the office was broken for quite some time in the very hot summer. The part-time person who was supposed to help me, didn't lift a finger.  Meanwhile the other person who worked for this agency was there for over thirteen years.  I should have stayed a temp.

About ten years have passed.  The same company offered me a job when I left one.  I didn't like where I was placed, but got to try out the employer. No commitments, I left after Reflex Staffing closed their doors.

Also, with all the stress in the workplace these days, it is really good to go in and see how you interact with your boss and with your peers and to see if you really like the job.  If you like it, you can try to get hired on or

 

work into another position when it comes up.  Or, if your job ends, you have a contact. They can call you or you can call them and keep in touch about future hiring needs.



Plus, I like the fact that I can work three days a week, fairly close to home. I have a little time to decompress, to visit with my family, and to blog.

Market yourself with an interactive resume through www.linkedin.com

Many people are familiar with Facebook for social networking, but have not tried the free services offered by www.linkedin.com.

I first tried out their services over about a year and a half ago and have over 500 contacts that proved useful not only as a Technical Recruiter, but for finding my next job.

Just this morning I received an email about a job possibility.  So, recruiters can also type in key words and find your resume to contact you.

What I don't like about resumes is that they are generally black and white. It is hard to make a resume come to life with words.  If you try too hard, you come across as a fake. 

So, one day as I was adding information to my LinkedIn resume, I noticed a way to be able to load up a video or a writing sample.  I think everyone should take advantage of this option. So, I immediately loaded up a writing sample and since I was marketing my YouTube for the Jingle contest, I loaded that up too.

Now, instead of just firms finding my resume for recruiting opportunities, I listed a desire to work in the Food Service Industry or even Advertising.  The interactive part of my resume shows that I at least know how to market myself. And, this was all free.

Now, my resume is in color and moves and breathes.  It has life. It paints a picture of who I am and what I can do better than I could even explain with a few words.

You can check out my profile at www.linkedin.com under Liz Youngmayer Hand and send me an invitation or click on the link below.

Singing on live radio at the historical marker event

http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=151641805&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile_pic

Suddenly, although out of work, everything seems possible...even making my first YouTube!

What do you do when you walk out on a good paying job and had earlier signed an agreement not to work in the same field for two years and within a 70 mile radius?

You "Go Bananas!" I wrote a jingle and made my first YouTube, with over 4000 hits, sang on live radio and won the contest with help from my friends, people I have never met before.

But why did I leave my job when  I was making more money than I have been in a few years? The work environment was toxic and it was detrimental to my health and happiness. So, after my year was up I left.

I landed a contract job in less than one month as a recruiter, but I didn't like the environment there either. I was happy when the contract firm that placed me there went out of business, because I was free to find something better.

So, how could I keep positive while looking for work?  How could I keep confidence in myself and have some fun until I landed on my feet again.

While looking for jobs I went on little adventures.  I biked all around Pittsburgh, enjoyed new sights and eateries and then I read in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the Latrobe Art Center was throwing a "Jingle Contest", so I read on.

They put the call out for people to write a song about the dessert called, "The Banana Split".

The town of Latrobe was getting a historical marker from the State of Pennsylvania as the birthplace of the Banana Split.

I told myself that, "I can do that!" I write poetry and I made my first banana split at my first job ever and although I haven't eaten one in a long time, I thought this would be what I needed to get through a hot summer with a lack work.

I wrote the words to my "Banana Split" song in about ten minutes.  I learned in my poetry class at the University of Pittsburgh in Greensburg to rhyme my words and to pace the lines out evenly.  So poetry actually lends itself nicely to be set to music.

When I wrote this song it initially focused on the history that the town of Latrobe had with the banana split, but then wrote the second part  of the song with our day in mind. And, I found some black and white pictures at the Latrobe Historical Society, but needed an expert to put the video together.  Besides, I recently sold my video camera on eBay.

And since I didn't put my heart into playing the piano when I was young, I probably needed to find some musicians.

But first things first.  After writing the lyrics I thought to myself, "If I want to win this contest I need to find a local ice cream business in Latrobe".  This way they will already have a steel counter, some cold ice cream and toppings, and people that work there.

I Goggled the words "Ice Cream" and Latrobe and two shops came up immediately.  The first place I called was Mr. B's, but no one answered.  Everything clicked with the second call.  I called the Latrobe Dairy Queen and spoke briefly with the owner Dean Miller.  I approached this contest as a business proposition.  I had words or a jingle that could be made into an advertisement for their DQ. It could be a win-win situation.  They could use the song in advertising their business.  This jingle was easy enough to remember and would dance around in peoples brains and would help to keep the customers driving to their counter for ice cream.

The owner, Mr. Miller put his daughter Katie Miller on the telephone.  It just happens that she was a graduate with a B.S. in Journalism and had this wonderful musical family and just so happened to have a friend that was a videographer, Studious One. I also managed to secure an old friend, Lisa Crucis Emert, of LME photography to help me to photograph my activities as a keepsake.

Suddenly, I am caught up in a flurry of activities, meeting in a basement garage with our band, having a ball and getting caught up with everything to do with ice cream, bananas, and fun! 
I managed to find a couple of nice dresses, some yellow accessories like...a purse, bows, bangle bracelets, yellow flowers, a yellow scarf, banana colored gel shoes, a yellow necklace and earrings, a yellow umbrella with taxi cabs printed all over it.  I even found a makeup artist to do my makeup for free at 7 a.m. near Latrobe.

Making the YouTube was a lot of fun as I got to meet all of the people and actually see the scenes being shot and then see how it transferred into the finished product with the singers and the musicians. It is amazing how this all started with some words that I scribbled down on a piece of paper with my pen. It was nice to have a cameo appearance on the YouTube, as I view it as my signature on the song that I wrote.  Plus, I got to eat a Banana Split on the set with the beautiful corn fields across the road and the local college. The sun was shining beautifully that day. I'm even glad they put a dog, Lucy on the set. She had a calming influence. She was pretty with her pink bow.

So, I went from being a casual Facebook user to a Facebook maniac in no time at all. Even an old high school friend, Richard D. Ruttenberg, Owner/President of Raviv Records Intl gave a thumbs up for our YouTube.  And word is that he is on his way to Hollywood.

I Goggled "Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor" and Pittsburgh and managed to find out that we have an authentic ice cream parlor in our midst from around the 1930's.  I found the address of Klavon's Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor and went to the location to snap a photo of the ice cream fountain for the video and ended up getting a job as an "Assistant Manager".

Everything worked out perfectly as I was so driven and so focused about the whole thing.  And here this new store owner, Jacob Hanchur, had just bought the building and was reopening the ice cream store after the old owner, Ray Klavon passed away. I was singing my song, "A Latrobe Hit" (Banana Split) to the customers at the fountain. It really felt good to be a part of something that was so much fun and so positive. Still,I had much marketing to do to win this contest.A Latrobe Hit (Banana Split) YouTube Press the pink link to hear our song.  I was singing it in my sleep for many nights.  The winners needed to perform their song on the weekend of August 23-25.