When Taking a Pay Cut Makes Sense

When Taking a Pay Cut Makes SenseWhen Taking a Pay Cut Makes SenseWe all want to spend our lives growing our career and salaries. However, in the last five years, more than 45% of the US workforce took a pay cut. Whether it was for layoffs, going into business for oneself, or changing careers, the decrease in pay made sense.We live in a time where goods and services are made affordable through technology. Taking a job for less money is elend the end of the world, especially if it leads to a person having a fulfilling career.Yes, money provides certain freedoms, but by no means is it the status symbol that it used to be. It is no longer the key to happiness. If you are thinking of taking a pay cut, see if any of the reasons below make sense to you.When a decrease in pay is required to keep a job you loveThis happens mostly with startups, small businesses, or companies run by serial entrepreneurs. You love your job and you make the company profitable. But the economy is changing, peopl e are paying, or the boss wants to start a new company.In order to stay afloat, and keep a job you love, you agree to a decrease in pay. It may be only temporary, but because you are happy you have the energy to stay productive at work. You have the ability to seek out new work, if necessary.More so, given todays transient workforce, you can work remotely from a cheaper city. Taking a pay cut for a job is betting on long-term results, but your commitment will be admired by other companies if it does not work out.When going into business for yourselfThere are more than 50 million freelancers in the US workforce. What all of these workers and entrepreneurs have discovered is that being your own boss is its own reward.Taking a pay cut may be hard for the family. But the fact is you now answer to yourself, and no one else. In the past, our ability to grow a career depended largely on what you had time to learn while fitting the job in your schedule.When all you have for a boss is YOU, a nd you can spend all day running your own business the way you wish, the potential for learning and career growth increases. If you discover you were not meant to be your own boss, thats fine because you learned what it means to run a business on your own. This makes you leadership material.You also have the chance to look into careers you once thought impossible. Yes, it is starting over, but if you want to do it, taking a pay cut is required. Some industries just do not pay as well as others.When moving to a cheaper city or new countryThe cost of living in the US, and around the world, changes drastically from city to state to country. Even if you took a small decrease in pay from your New York City salary (a very expensive city), it still will not impact you as much when moving to a city with a lower cost of living.If you are looking to leave big city life, and work remotely with a nice salary, that is even better. The benefit of working remotely is that your company will not adj ust your salary for operating costs. You can move anywhere you want to, and be flexible with your salary, because you have a lower cost of living.Are you looking to change cities and possibly take a pay cut? Check out this cost of living salary converterto see how it will affect your lifestyle.Ideally, you will be able to move to your favorite place, take a decrease in pay, and not be affected at all

When we know theres a whisper network, we act differently

When we know theres a whisper network, we act differentlyWhen we know theres a whisper network, we act differentlyYour private office Slack messages about the decisions of so-and-so have more power than you think. A new study has found that just knowing the existence of an online whisper network at an organization can cause teams to change how they act to others in the group.Existence of secret group chats motivates more discussion between opposing groupsIn a new study, researchers at INSEAD, Columbia geschftlicher umgang School, and Singapore Management University proposed that we change how we act when we know people can talk behind our backs online because private backchannels make people in the majority feel less powerful. That sense of powerlessness, in turn, motivates majority opinion holders to process unique information offered by the minority more deeply.In other words, people in the majority feel like they have to take minority opinions more seriously when theres a threat t o their power.And the secret discussion opportunities that technology makes easily available provide that threat.The power of private group chatThe researchers hypothesis held true in a series of experiments. The researchers found that telling participants in the majority about the existence of a private group chat was enough to spur them to reach across fete lines and seek more information, ask more questions, and engage in more dialogue from participants with minority viewpoints. This held true even when only a small subset of team members actually used the secret conversations opportunities.The mere presence of a private group chat was enough to change team dynamics. Even if their opinion was securely in the majority, majority holders still wanted to know what others were saying if they knew there was a private chat.A force for goodResearchers suggested that the facilitation of diverse perspectives can make ansicht online secret whisper networks a force for good. If managers want to create better debates and foster new perspectives, they should encourage these private groups chats. When managers expect majority and minority factions to emerge and unique perspectives need to surface to make better decisions, they may want to emphasize the various conversation opportunities that team members have in order to limit the majoritys powerful position, the study suggests.Whisper networks already provide value for women in the workplace to warn each other against workplace harassers without fear of reprisal. This study shows that these secret backchannels can also level the playing field to not just distribute sensitive information, but to influence it.Even though you may be one dissenting voice at the office, a private whisper network of Slack channels, group chats, and direct messages can raise your voice into one that can be heard in a crowd.

Why a Simple Resume Layout is a Successful Resume

Why a Simple Resume Layout is a Successful ResumeWhy a Simple Resume Layout is a Successful ResumeWhy a Simple Resume Layout is a Successful ResumeNo frills required when crafting a successful resume.My first resume out of college was printed on a type of paper that was supposed to look like you could see the paper grains. With a pink tint. Somewhere I had learned that interesting paper could make the difference in getting my resume noticed. And while I did get some comments from female interviewers like, Pretty paper or Cool paper, that does not mean I got the job. In fact, I wasnt hired anywhere I submitted that resume. Later, after I got some resume writing training and rewrote the resume to make it simpler, I got the jobs.Back then, companies did not use applicant tracking systems (ATS) and the world economy was very different. Companies have changed from mentoring employees to demanding benefits from employees. Were in the what can you do for us? era.So, while your resume with t he beautiful fonts, specially formatted indents and nice graphics on the border might look attractive to you, it does not look good to the hirer. In fact, all that great, creative work it took to make your resume layout stand out might actually block it from successfully passing the ATS.Companies and hirers want simplicity in resumes and resume layouts. One to two simple fonts, maximum. No fancy borders. Plain white paper. Most application submissions are electronic now, anyway, so the hiring company will be printing the resume on its own plain white paper. Interviewers want the resume to be calming and easy to read so they can, you know, read it. Remember, the hirer might be reading hundreds of these things. The company is looking for any reason to discard an applicant. That means your script font might be a deterrent, not an asset. Can you read it?Many clients have presented resumes to me that look similar to the one described above, and when they get my revisions, they have said to me, This is a plain Word document, as if they were expecting an intricate Pablo Picasso or Jackson Pollack painting. Thats right, job seekers, it might feel really awkward to do so, but you have to keep your resume layout and style simple. This is not about what you think works. This is about passing the ATS, getting past phone interviews, and getting in front of the interviewer so you can impress him or her by explaining all those fantastic and impressive achievements youre so proud of. Dont let what you like stand in the way of what works for the hiring system. Instead, work with the hiring system.Companies dont want glitz and glamor. They want simplicity. And accomplishments.Remember, its not about what you think looks pretty or will stand out or guessing what the company wants from you. A resume is about telling the company what you can do for it. Your accomplishments matter, not the font or fancy resume layout. Stop worrying about whether to use script or italic and start f iguring out how to explain all the ways you have helped companies youve worked for stay in the black or expand. Or how you helped improve the office somehow. Companies like that.The simpler the resume, the more likely the interview.Click on the following link for more resume advice.Catch any recruiters eye with a professionally written resume. Learn more.Recommended ReadingHeres the Right Way to Format Your ResumeHow to Avoid the Resume Black HoleWant to Impress With Your Resume? Dont Do This