lifehacker.com: When it comes to landing—and holding onto—a job these days, much of the conventional wisdom you learned growing up has been rendered irrelevant. Forget the advice that you have to keep your personal and professional lives totally separate; what’s the protocol for following your boss back on Instagram?
9 comments:
I agree with the theme of this article that interviews need to get more casual. A lot of stress can be put on the person applying for a position and that isn’t helpful for anyone. Specifically, it was comforting to know that job-hopping is okay and won’t ruin my career. Just like stated in the article I think the health and well-being of everyone in a company is incredibly important to everyone’s success, even the employer. This is something that the entertainment industry unfortunately lacks. I am also glad that social media use is beginning to be normalized within the workplace. Everyone has social media and some companies have found a lot of success because of their use of social media. In the modern age, it just makes sense. This article touches on a lot of things but reminds the reader at the end that it is important to stay kind and professional.
I'm glad that norms are shifting away from the formal-only job application, especially because increasingly fewer companies nowadays actually adhere to formalities. For example, today I went to a virtual career fair for the entertainment industry. The brief was to present yourself well: dress nicely even though it's on Zoom, and be professional. However, I've become used to navigating the TV/film industry especially this past year. As such, it came as little surprise to me that both our hosts in the first information session were dressed casually, and had no problem swearing during their talk if they became impassioned about something. While one of the hosts in the other information session was formally dressed, the third host was not. So, given all that this article lays out in terms of reading a "room" (in this case, a company) before you write your applications or sit for an interview, I'm glad that casual practices are becoming somewhat more normalized instead of being treated as an outlier. The same definitely goes for the notion of being open and more transparent within an interview setting as well.
This is an interesting one– I always approach these advice articles with curious suspicion, as I’ve read a few too many unhelpful advice articles or pieces of advice. But, I always try to go in with an open mind, ready to take away any small components that offer helpful tips for me and leave behind whatever doesn’t work for me. This one, I actually think, offers an opportunity for interesting conversation, and definitely relates to a change in the social and professional atmosphere nowadays and how the interview process is shifting along with that. A few points I found especially interesting were the one about the infamous “what’s your biggest weakness?” question and the social media point. For the former, I love that it specified that you might want to actually think about a weakness or something you have been working on. The latter offered a great perspective: as social media becomes more prominent, it is really valuable to remember that it is ok for your coworkers to know you as a whole human (with the usual stipulations of being smart and kind about what you put on socials).
I appreciate the article mentioning that “job-hopping” is not viewed as negatively anymore, however I wish they went a little more into detail about how to put gigs and freelance work on your resume, because all we generally learn is how to report traditional jobs. Additionally, it is difficult to get references when you just do one-on-one work with clients. The social media tip is somewhat difficult to execute in real life; while I do interact with coworkers on Facebook and Instagram, it is unfortunate that I have to stay “professional” because I don’t want to come off in a bad way to the people I want to hire me. Additionally, if you have a coworker ask to follow you on social media and you say no, it can seem like you don’t like them as a friend or don’t trust them. I do agree that you should try to leave your job on okay terms and give notice, although some situations justify an insta-quit.
I really appreciated the honesty and useful tips this article provided! Often times I find interview hack articles to be quite obvious or unhelpful, but this one offered new advice that actually made me think! I thought it was great that the article discussed adjusting to a Gen-Z style of jobs and interviews. It is nice to see an acknowledgement that job-hopping is no longer a bad thing, and lately it is normal to only stay at a job for about a year when starting off. I also liked the section where the article discussed how turning a weakness into a strength is now an obvious thing to do. Being honest and being a person made me feel more assured with myself as an interviewer, and I will definitely me taking these tips into my upcoming interviews this week. As society, generations, and job styles change, I appreciate the update of what kind of candidate looks good to a company.
I actually think this article is very helpful for ever changing job field. Going in for an interview is nerve racking and the advice our generation receives does tend to be pretty outdated catered to a time where staying with one company for your entire career was wanted and praised. I do agree with the idea that one should leave every job on good terms and try not to burn bridges. I think people around us focus very much on skill and forget how quickly word can get around. I also agree with the idea of tailoring a resume to the company itself and not sounding outdated in those resumes however it is still important to be professional and clear in your wording. I also liked the fact that the article emphasized being honest in your interviews not trying to say too much of a strength is a weakness. I think being open clear and honest is probably the best way to interview and land a job which is exactly what the article was trying to say.
Surprisingly there are many things that I agree with from this life hacker article. The first one really stood out to me because it is something that I used when applying to colleges. I remember going through each school’s application material, website, and promotional material to see how they promote themselves. Additionally, I would make note of the words that kept coming up or they emphasized so I could then implement that into my application. While it may seem overkill, it was equally important for me to see if the school is a good fit for me as it was for them to judge if I am. This process helped me see that. Another section that stood out to me was about my greatest weakness. I know what my weaknesses are but it is so scary to admit them to someone who you really want to like you. So I will definitely remember to just be honest and show the work you are doing to get better.
I went into this article with the mindset of applying to theatre and so some of the ideas in it felt like they already made sense. In both of the major “theatres” I have worked, I either was there or am going to be working there for multiple years, that's here and at my high school. Both places where the lines of socialness and work get blurred because of how much time is spent together. Also on the topic of the jumping from job to job, isn't that how most people working as a designer or other theare artist function? Working here and then somewhere else and residencies or being permanent parts of theatres is not always as common. I guess more common if you’ve been working a long time but this article felt like it was argetted to us, or at least to younger people going into work and someone who had been working for 15 or 20 years wouldn’t likely need to be checking this website.
I think cover letters and resumes are something that is really hard for me to write. Sometimes there is just too much or too little for me to put into something, but I always feel like if I can just get my foot in the door, I can learn really quickly. A little positive read for a change, this article really helped me think of them differently. I found it surprising that many of the tips in this article are things that I already do in real life on the daily. Although this article is just for resume and CV, I find that a lot of the tips can be used in the visual world as well. It is important to “hear” yourself out by drawing a quick sketch of things in your mind or word generate but with random pictures on social media. I think the upkeep of your creative muscles is an important conversation to have because most of the time it is something that is considered a basic skill that should be “on” all the time.
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