Workplace Gossip. How to Avoid it.

Gossip. It’s never a good idea. Maintaining a professional image means keeping conversations factual and business related. Staying away from personal or speculative conversation about co-workers can be the fast track to professional disaster. If you engage in gossip, you risk your own reputation for being untrustworthy and unprofessional. Why jeopardize your career?

When someone starts spreading workplace gossip or wants you to engage in it, what can you do? Here are a few strategies you can use to avoid getting drawn into gossip.

1. If gossip erupts during a conversation you are involved in, make a work-related excuse and walk away.
2. Change the subject. A pleasant interrupt, like last night’s sports scores or an upcoming work agenda can change the course of the conversation.
3. Just come out and say that you aren’t comfortable talking behind other people’s backs. (Remember that people who talk about others in conversation with you are most likely to do the same about you behind your back).
4. Confront the subject of the gossip by saying, “I hadn’t heard that, let’s go and ask him or her.”

           Visit us at www.actuarialcareers.com 

Why Didn't I Make It Past the First Round?

Guest Post from Robyn Taylor, Senior Vice President, Actuarial Careers   robyntaylor@actuarialcareers.com

 Did you ever wonder why you didn’t make it to the next round of interviews for a new job?  You looked great, you showed up on time, and you gave the hiring manager a firm handshake – all the while smiling and showing what a good fit you would be for the role.  Well, there are some finer points to advancing through the interview process that take a little more work and preparation.  Here’s what you need to do next time so you don’t get eliminated so early.

1)     Research the employer.  The internet is your friend.  In this day and age, if you can’t take the time to read over the company’s general background information you are doing yourself a disservice.  At the very least, you should know who owns the company, whether or not it is publicly traded, and any big news items that have appeared over the last 12 months.

2)    Know your resume inside and out, and be able to provide concrete examples of your skills.  Employers want to know that you have the substance to back up the words on your resume.  Too often, I hear managers say “Gee, she looked great on paper, but she really couldn’t tell me what she had been doing!”  Also, be prepared for technical questions related to your work.   If you say you know SAS or SQL, for instance, you need to be able to field questions on the topic.

3)    Be ready to ask intelligent questions.  You should have at least three or four questions regarding the job or the company prepared in advance.  Good topics are day to day duties, the actuarial career path at the company, and if the company anticipates any new projects or initiatives over the next six to twelve months.  Inappropriate questions are related to salary, benefits, and vacation time.  Save these until you receive an offer.

The truth is, you can never be too prepared for an interview.  If you want to be the one offered the position with the actuarial team you’ve admired so far, you need to show you are a candidate who brings thoughtfulness and substance to the table.  With a little pre-game work, you can do it! 

Contact Robyn and view job listings on www.actuarialcareers.com   

 

Snacks to the rescue!

 

The best way to keep your energy up all day at work is simply not to allow it to go down. Your workload, concentration, environment and fatigue all chip away at your energy level all day long. Could your midday snack actually be making you more fatigued?

You can literally feed your mental clarity and productivity by adding the right snacks between meals. Junk food like candy bars or greasy potato chips will only serve to sabotage you by flooding your body with insulin, causing a brief boost of energy, immediately followed by feelings of drowsiness and hunger. Proteins, fats, and fiber rich foods often have a low glycemic index. The slower release of sugar into the bloodstream will help satisfy your appetite longer and provide longer periods of sustained energy.

When it’s time for an energy-boosting snack, choose one of these:

·         A piece of fruit like an apple or banana

·         An ounce of almonds or walnuts

·         Kale chips

·         Hummus and veggies

·         A hardboiled egg

·         Unsweetened yogurt

·         Baked, whole wheat crackers

 What’s your favorite midday snack?

 

How to keep your energy up all day.

 

As much as the actuaries we know love their jobs we know firsthand that there are those days, or times of day, when energy wains and it’s a struggle to focus and be productive. Unless you work for the most liberal of organizations, napping isn’t an option. You could opt for a lunchtime snooze, if you don’t totally skip a meal, as that will only leave you more depleted.

What else can you do? It goes without saying that the best hedge against fatigue is a good night’s sleep. When you are feeling tired, it’s a good time to promise yourself an early bedtime for the coming night, and even make a plan around it: perhaps a few full body stretches before dinner, no TV or at least nix the drama shows, get in bed early with some soft music or headphones and a guided meditation to lull you into a relaxed state.

That might help for the next day, but here are some recommended strategies to get through the current workday. Number one is getting and keeping hydrated. Health practitioners recommend one ounce of water for every two pounds of body weight.  For example, if you weigh 150 pounds you should be drinking 75 ounces of water per day. It takes commitment, but you can start immediately and quickly feel results. Drinking more water will have you getting up more often to use the rest room. That’s great because it gets you up and away from your desk. Taking a quick walk is another energy boosting strategy. While you are up, try running up and down a flight of stairs. Doing so will increase your heartrate and get you breathing more deeply- which is another strategy you can repeat sitting at your desk.

Many people turn to caffeinated drinks for a boost, but remember caffeine is also a diuretic so it will undo some of the hydration you are working to gain.    

Finally, when you do sit back down in your chair, make sure you adjust the height so you’re in a 90-90-90 position; feet flat on the floor or on a foot rest and your knees and hips bent at 90-degree angles. Keep your lower spine flat against the back of the chair to maintain proper curvature. This helps to keep your newly amped energy flowing through your body.

In our next post, we’ll share what we learned about energy-boosting snacks that will help too.

How do you pump up your energy at work?

Part Two: Six confidence-boosting tips for speaking up in meetings.

In Part One, we talked about what you can do before the meeting starts: do some advanced prep on relevant topics surrounding the meeting agenda; arrive a few minutes early and plan what you want to contribute.  The next three tips will help you during the meeting itself:

Pay Attention.  You already know that interacting with your own personal technology (cell phone or computer/tablet) is never a good idea at a meeting, but they aren’t the only distractors. It’s easy to float off into our own thoughts if we aren’t actively engaged in what’s going on around us. To contribute and you must be engaged in the meeting and what is being discussed. It’s essential to your success as a contributor.

Don’t underestimate the value of your ideas. How many times have you been on a project or had an idea during a meeting you were in, but you were afraid to voice it? Then someone else did and the idea was a hit. Hit or miss, remember that you have been included in the meeting for a reason. Your skills, knowledge and role are valued. Your ideas are a part of your success already. Once you have the confidence to share your thoughts, you will want to consider speaking up early in the meeting, before someone else shares the same idea. Also, the sooner you contribute, the better the impression you will make and the quicker you can eliminate your lingering self-doubt.

Ask questions. One way to contribute in a meeting and not have the focus be on you or your answers is to ask questions. Thoughtful and pertinent questions are another way to showcase your ability to think “around the corner”, demonstrate your abilities to consider the future and eliminate roadblocks. Showing that you are interested and engaged is the best posture for success. As you share more, you will notice that people will begin to engage you and seek out your opinions.  

Part One: Six confidence-boosting tips for speaking up in meetings.

Some of the actuaries we interview tell us that they are not as comfortable speaking up in meetings they would like to be. If you are one of the hesitant ones, you are missing some golden rungs on the advancement ladder. The preparation to change that is not as difficult as it might seem. Here are the first three of six tips for ramping up your successful participation:

Be prepared. Make sure you are up to speed on recent developments that might impact the meeting topic. Have any materials or backup information available that could be relevant to the goals of the meeting. Make sure you know the attendee list. Check the list to see if there are people you don’t know. It’s always a good idea to know who is in the room, and what role they play. Knowing your audience will help you think about and present your ideas in context.

Arrive a few minutes early. Why should you arrive early? First it assures you a seat at the table, and allows you to choose where you want to sit. Remember, the head of the table is typically reserved for the person who is running the meeting. Arriving early gives you the edge and allows you to make good impression by greeting others as they arrive. Also, if someone you don’t know is attending, you can make your mark by introducing yourself.  Another reason to be early is that, while many people think that rushing in at the last minute makes them look important, it actually makes them look like bad time managers, and not in control of their resources. Those are two unfavorable characteristics for a leader.

Decide ahead of time that you will contribute.  If you are hesitant to speak or shy you will likely be passed over in the meeting, and that may contribute to being overlooked in other areas. Often meetings include people, some influential, whom you may not work for or with. These people will see your behavior in the meeting as indicative of your capabilities. You must find your own way to contribute. If you hate speaking up, maybe you can draft some ideas on paper and distribute them at the appropriate time. It takes a little planning to get started as a contributor, but it will be well worth the effort.

To be continued.

Oh NO! It's going to be a lunch interview.

It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes an interview involves a meal. When it does, you need to know how to handle the extra logistics of eating and interviewing. Here are a few tips to help you.

Hopefully, you will have advanced notice that the interview involves a meal. If you have been told the name of the restaurant, it’s smart to go to their website and decide in advance what to order. This removes the pressure of reading the menu and making choices on the spot. It’s a really good idea to choose a small meal that is easy to eat with a fork and knife, instead of a sloppy sandwich. Remember, that you will be doing a lot of the talking, so it’s good to choose something easy to chew! You would never want to talk with your mouth full, but chewing can be a good tactic to give you time to think about how you can answer a difficult question.

 

Be polite to the wait staff. Order without a fuss, no demands or mention of food issues or allergies. And if you are in doubt, sparkling water is a great choice for a beverage. It’s adult and non-alcoholic.

 

Because there will likely be more social time than a regular interview, it’s smart to have some relevant or casual current events you can introduce while waiting for service. Keep it simple and non-political.  

Finally, it’s perfectly fine to allow you’re interviewer to pick up the tab, you are the guest.