4 Tips For Crushing Your Job Search In 2020
You've made your New Year's resolution. This is the year that you will finally get a new job. Whether your current job has been draining, unfulfilling, or just downright boring, you have made the decision that 2020 is the year things change. And honestly, you're not alone. According to a recent American Staffing Association (ASA) survey conducted by The Harris Poll, about 48% of employed adults plan to search for a new job this year. So almost half of the workforce is ready for a fresh start in the new decade.
But what do you need to do in order to make that career move this year? How do you ensure success in your search? Here are four tips to get your started:
Set Concrete Goals
Photo by Giphy
To start your search off on the right foot, you need to answer specific questions. This will help you to focus your efforts and prevent you from casting an overly wide net, while determining how you need to position yourself in the marketplace. Think through the following:
- What kind of job do you want?
- What are you looking for from your next job that your current job doesn't provide?
- Where is the new job located?
- How much money do you want to make?
- What industry are you working in?
- Are there specific companies you want to focus on?
- What level of position are you looking for?
- How soon do you want to start?
It is essential for you to take the time you need to get clear on what you want. You can't get frustrated with not finding the best opportunities for your career if you aren't even sure what those opportunities are.
Get Your Resume Right
This is the perfect time to nix outdated sections like objective statements, references, and your full mailing address. (No one is sending you snail mail about potential jobs in 2020). Edit your work history to eliminate irrelevant or older positions (more than 15 years). Make sure that you are targeting your resume content for the specific jobs you want to apply for. Incorporate relevant keywords from the job description to optimize your resume for the Web. Swap the laundry list of tasks for each job with fewer, more concise bullets highlighting accomplishments and major contributions.
When it comes to formatting, choose a layout appropriate for your industry. If you are in a creative field like graphic design or photography, your resume should typically look different from one written for legal or finance positions. Exercise caution. Given you will be submitting the majority of your applications online, you need to ensure that the format you select can be easily read by the applicant tracking system (ATS). Therefore, resist the urge to include busy graphs or other elements that may cause your resume to be filtered out automatically.
Pro Tip: After making all of your edits, don't forget to take a step back and read your resume with a cold pair of eyes. What impression does it give the reader? For example, does it read as an entry-level resume when you've got several years of experience? Does it position you as a high-quality candidate?
Work Your LinkedIn
Let's be honest. You know you need a LinkedIn profile. (You should already have one!) In 2020, take your profile to the next level. Copying and pasting your work experience and education from your resume won't cut it. Create an engaging profile with a headline and summary that draws readers in. Utilize the Skills section to highlight your expertise and make it easier for recruiters and hiring managers to find you. Leverage the Accomplishments section to showcase your major wins and achievements. You can add languages, publications, even patents. Start following the companies that interest you so that you can learn about new opportunities and start engaging with their content.
Outside of your profile, get started on building meaningful relationships through the platform. This does not mean you should blindly send requests to everyone at the companies you want to work for. Find key decision makers, recruiters, hiring managers, etc. and send out connection requests with custom invitations. For individuals who most likely receive a high volume of requests, it's critical to be clear and intentional with your invitation.
Then engage with their posts. Don't just look for posts about open positions. If they're talking about what's happening in the industry, share your perspective. Demonstrate that you have relevant knowledge and expertise. Create organic exchanges that can open the door for offline conversations.
Network In Real Life
"It's not what you know, but who you know."
Speaking of offline conversations, LinkedIn is a fantastic place to make connections, but if possible, they shouldn't stay there. You can leverage LinkedIn to set up informal phone conversations, video conferences, or coffee chats.
But LinkedIn is just one medium. Make an additional effort to build and expand your network outside of online platforms. Join relevant professional or trade associations and attend their events. If you are a member of a sorority, become active in their local chapter and connect with other members. Tap into your existing network of friends and colleagues and ask for introductions in their networks. Per CNBC, research shows that 70% of all jobs are not published on public job search sites and up to 80% of jobs are filled through networking.
You can get the job you want in 2020. Once you set your goals, you just have to roll up your sleeves and get to work!
For more information about Julia Rock, check out Rock Career Development or follow her on Instagram.
Featured Photo by Shutterstock
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From Heartbreak To Healing: The Multifaceted Journey Of Nazanin Mandi
Nazanin Mandi is never out of options.
About a year ago, the 37-year-old life coach and actress was navigating life after divorce and determined to experience homeownership for the first time as a single woman. She’d been married to the R&B singer Miguel for three years, following a long-term relationship that started when she was 18 years old. But, in 2022, she filed for divorce. It was certainly the most public change she made but, in reality, it was just one of many decisions to refocus and reach her full potential in recent years.
“During my 20s, I was not ready for more. I was living a really crazy life. It was unpredictable. I was helping somebody else grow. It was a lot, and it was intense. I was not pouring into myself the way I should’ve been,” she says in an xoNecole exclusive.
Still, as Mandi worked to get to know herself and her needs during this new phase of life, she realized the home she’d purchased wasn’t a good fit. Overwhelmed by the echoing of her voice in the spacious home, she had a breakdown and called her cousin, who immediately suggested she lease the home and live somewhere else. “I woke up in my house, and I was like, ‘This is not it for me,” she says. “All those years, I had been accustomed to living a certain way [and] in a certain house, so I bought myself a house like [my old home]. But my family was not the same. Waking up in that house by myself, it highlighted the divorce. I was like, ‘Oh, no, we can’t do this. This is not it.’ My life has changed, so my choices need to change.” At that moment, Mandi became open to the idea that there wasn’t one set way to achieve ownership on her own.
“I feel so much better. I’m in a smaller place. My best friend lives a minute from me and I can walk to her house,” she tells me during a Zoom interview from her home one recent afternoon in early February. In the past two years, she hasn’t just been advising other people on varying circumstances, she’s also been healing herself.
"During my 20s, I was not ready for more. I was living a really crazy life. It was unpredictable. I was helping somebody else grow. It was a lot, and it was intense. I was not pouring into myself the way I should’ve been."
Credit: Solmaz Saberi
If supporters began following Nazanin Mandi because of her conventional beauty or the contagious, bright, white smile she often wears in many of her photos, that’s likely not the reason they’ve stuck around. Instead, she’s amassed a following based on her transparency about her own anxiety and depression, along with the encouraging messages of self-acceptance, gratitude, ambition, and humility that are often sprinkled into her social media posts.
In an era where looking at Instagram photos of models can often lead to feelings of self-doubt and insecurity, Nazanin Mandi is determined to be more than eye candy. She’s food for her follower’s souls, too.
Since being recruited to model while dining at an In-N-Out at 10 years old, Mandi has worked in many areas of entertainment. The Valencia, California native has modeled for brands such as Olay, Savage X Fenty, and Good American. As a teen, she sang at Carnegie Hall and auditioned for season 1 of American Idol, making it all the way to Hollywood before producers disqualified her for lying about her age. (Mandi was 15 at the time, and contestants had to be at least 16 years old.) Mandi has acted, too, including appearing on Disney’s That’s So Raven as a teenager and on the BET+ series Games People Play and the Prime series Á La Carte in more recent years.
In recent years, though, she’s also expanded her professional goals outside of entertainment, too. After becoming a certified life coach in 2020, Mandi launched the membership platform You Bloome in 2022 with the hopes of providing wellness services to others, including her self-published gratitude journal. “I wish I had access to something like You Bloome earlier in my own life,” she writes on the company’s website. The actress, who has been forthcoming about her struggles with anxiety and depression, has never had a life coach, but credits therapy as a tool that “really, really saved me and it laid the foundation to who I am becoming.”
Credit: Solmaz Saberi
"I’m trying to find the balance between living life and knowing that whatever is meant for me is going to happen, but also know that I’m doing everything in my power to make those things happen and better myself."
While she’s always had a nurturing personality, Mandi says her interest in becoming a life coach was inspired by the women who would message her for advice on social media. “I would answer them back. It really sparked a fire within myself to help people,” she says.
You Bloome currently has three membership tiers, ranging in price from $2.99 to $39.99 per month. The highest tier offers a motivational text message twice a week, two live, group coaching sessions per month, and more. “We get emotional. We cry. We laugh. It’s really beautiful. I’ve built close relationships with my members through this. It’s been inspiring both ways,” Mandi says of the sessions. Still, the founder says she hopes to take on more motivational and keynote speaking opportunities in the future with the hopes of impacting as many people as possible.
And, she’s hoping to do all of this while continuing to explore a career as an entertainer.
At this point in her life, Mandi says she’s gained enough perspective on modeling, music, and acting to realize what she wants to prioritize moving forward. “We are going full force with acting,” she says, noting her goal is “to book a series regular or a film that impacts my career and the world.” She plans to continue to model, too, but has no desire to pursue music.
“I don’t want any part of that because I know what that life entails,” she says. “I don’t want to tour. I don’t want to do any of that. That is not where my heart is at.”
Credit: Solmaz Saberi
If you ask Mandi, she’ll tell you she feels most comfortable in front of a camera, but she’ll also admit that she’s recently experienced a lot of imposter syndrome when thinking about her acting career. “I think it’s a fear of not succeeding,” she says. If anything, she adds, she’s harder on herself now than she’s ever been. “There were distractions before. There’s no distractions now,” she says. “I’m putting pressure on myself for no reason.”
This is where the life coach’s own personal healing comes into play. Mandi says she’s learning recently that “slow progress is still big progress at the end of the day.”
“Currently, I’m trying to find the balance between living life and knowing that whatever is meant for me is going to happen, but also know that I’m doing everything in my power to make those things happen and better myself,” she adds.
Still, one of Mandi’s strengths is that she doesn’t feel the pressure to limit herself to just one passion. From working as a life coach to pursuing acting, she has given herself grace to explore all other dreams.
“We can be allowed to be many different things in this lifetime,” she says. “As people, our identities are allowed to expand. Don’t put us in a fucking box. I cannot live that way anymore.”
For more of Nazanin, follow her on Instagram @nazaninmandi.
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Featured image by Solmaz Saberi
Five Questions Pregnant Black Moms Should Ask Their Doctors Before Giving Birth
While becoming a mom is one of the most exciting milestones in life; there are severe risks Black mothers face while pregnant that cannot be ignored. Commonly, these pregnancy-related complications include hypertension, preeclampsia, and hemorrhage. Despite the promise of doctors being trained in implicit bias, Black women have significantly poorer birthing outcomes than other women giving birth each year, according to the CDC.
Outside of the healthcare field, a phenomenon called “weathering” is affecting Black mothers of every socioeconomic level.
Coined by Dr. Arline T. Geronimus in 1992, weathering describes the devastating effects of systemic oppression—including racism and classism—on the body. The never-ending demands of having to work twice as hard while navigating overt and covert racism erodes the body’s stress signals, putting Black women at a higher risk for maternal mortality.
Are these statistics alarming? Yes. But the good news is there’s much we can do to safeguard our health while pregnant. Organizations such as Health4Equity, a Centre of Excellence at global advertising agency VML that is funded by the WPP Racial Equity Programme, work to raise awareness about racial bias in the healthcare field and equip Black women with the knowledge to self-advocate.
If you’re an expecting parent, it’s essential to be armed with the right questions before each doctor visit to ensure you have a plan to mitigate risks as much as possible. Here are five questions pregnant Black moms can ask their doctors to help plan for a safe and stress-free birth.
1."What is my chosen hospital's track record in terms of maternal outcomes for Black women?"
Poet Yvette Perry, a collaborator with Health4Equity’s new digital zine RxUCKUS, acknowledges that “A common theme expressed during my listening sessions with the women we engaged for this project was the experience of not being adequately listened to by healthcare providers.” Sharday Pierre, a New York City-based mother of one who had to navigate pre-existing conditions through her pregnancy, told xoNecole exclusively, “The same way we take time to find a partner, we need to invest that time in finding a capable physician or birthing center.” Pierre, whose obstetrician had been her gynecologist for years, shared that she chose him because he is also Black, and she felt more heard by him than the other practitioners she’d seen prior. Trusting him for delivery made sense. Pierre advises, “Ask questions, listen to your body, and trust your instincts.”
The fact is Black women are three times more likely to die during childbirth than our white counterparts. Your hospital’s track record matters. Knowing this will give you insight into the quality of care the hospital provides, allowing you to assess the risks and benefits of giving birth at that particular facility. This transparency can help with your decision-making process and put your mind at ease.
2."What is the hospital/birthing center’s policy on doula care?"
A doula is trained to provide emotional, informational, and physical support to a birthing mom and their partner throughout the pregnancy process. A doula’s role is usually focused on aiding and advocating for the mother and her family during pregnancy and childbirth, which works in tandem with the clinical care you might receive. Hospital and birthing center policies vary, so it’s important to ask your birthing center or hospital about their policy on allowing doula care. Many often do, and offer supportive procedures. Brooklyn native Ariel Delande told xoNecole that she sought the help of a small-practice birthing center when giving birth to her son nearly two years ago. The center’s policy was that their network of 8-10 midwives all needed to be familiar with her birthing plan if her midwife was unavailable when Delande needed them.
If you plan on having a doula, it’s essential to discuss your birthing plan with your physician well in advance of your due date. If the hospital does have restrictions, try negotiating with your healthcare team. Open communication makes for a positive experience.
3."How will I know if I'm experiencing complications or issues during my pregnancy, and when should I seek immediate medical attention?"
Some aspects of pregnancy issues are generally considered normal among women, including weight gain, nausea, hormonal changes that affect your skin and hair, and mild contractions called Braxton Hicks contractions. But ultimately, it's important that expecting moms trust what they know about their bodies. As a result, they should feel comfortable alerting their doctors of symptoms that seem concerning. If you’re experiencing painful complications or issues that don’t feel what you consider normal during your pregnancy, consult your doctor immediately. For Delande, carpal tunnel was an unexpected issue. “My hand would just fall asleep. It was the most uncomfortable experience of my life,” explains Delande.
“My doctor expressed that this is a normal symptom [and explained to me that it happens when] the majority of the nutrients you take go to the baby. That was the first sign that motherhood is sacrifice.” Each pregnancy is unique; however, an attentive physician should adequately communicate what you can expect and what symptoms, if any, are of concern.
4."What kind of additional support and health education services can you connect me to?"
Trained healthcare professionals should be culturally competent and equipped to serve the needs and concerns of pregnant Black mothers, and there are ways you can ensure your birthing needs will be met. Ask the hospital if they offer prenatal classes covering labor and delivery or pain management options. Ask them if they offer nutritional counseling or breastfeeding education on the benefits and proper latch techniques. Postpartum care is another invaluable resource to help navigate life after delivery. Ensure that your doctor will give you equitable access to their services.
Seek services outside of the hospital. By researching and tapping into community resources, you can gain insight into effective interventions your doctor may have not mentioned. RxUCKUS, created by Health4Equity, is a great place to start. Through a collection of creative pieces and articles, like the feature focused on Dr. Arline Geronimus’s research on the effects of “weathering” on Black mothers brought on by racism and stress, Black women can identify and discover tools to counter these effects.
5."What are some ways I can reduce my stress levels throughout my pregnancy?"
Dr. Geronimus’ research suggests that weathering causes comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Stress can exacerbate complications during pregnancy, so it's essential to connect with your doctor about how best to minimize stress during your pregnancy. For Delande, getting proper sleep was paramount. She used a body pillow to support her back in her third trimester, which helped keep her comfortable. RxUCKUS Zine also provides tools for resilience such as helping you to discover healing through the arts, teaching you to create new neurons to combat weathering through meditation, and exercising the power of positive affirmations.
Staying informed, whether through asking medical professionals specific questions or seeking out resources such as RxUCKUS, is vital to not stressing yourself or your developing baby.
Featured image by urbazon/Getty Images