Vote Against Talking Politics in the Workplace

Vote Against Talking Politics in the WorkplaceVote Against Talking Politics in the WorkplaceMore often than not, talking politics in the workplace doesnt end with high-fives and likes. Its far mora likely to generate ill will and productivity problems.Sure, you have a right to your own opinion, and free speech is protected by the First Amendment. But if youre interviewing for a new job or working in an office, its not the same as debating political issues with neighbors or sharing your views about a politicians tweet with like-minded friends online.According to a survey by Robert Half, 22 percent of more than 1,000 workers polled said theyd gotten into a heated discussion with a coworker during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Fifteen percent of respondents even reported that their productivity had suffered as a result of talking politics at work.These discussions can fray relationships with colleagues. In fact, a 2017 survey about work and well-being by the American Psychologica l Association found that 24 percent of workers avoid coworkers because of their political views.Bottom line Dont mix work (or your job search) with button-pushing politics. Following are some tips on how to deal with political talk. First, well address job binnenseekers, then employees.Advice for job seekers on all things politicalIf youre looking for a job in todays polarized climate, be mindful of politics even before your interview. Unless youre applying for a job with a politician or an organization with a political affiliation, theres no need to espouse your viewpoints on candidates, campaigns or current affairs. Consider this adviceConduct a digital search of your name. Type your name into a search engine using quotation marks, such as John Smith. Scroll through at least the first three pages of results. If you find anything online that you wouldnt want a hiring manager to see, including potentially controversial or off-putting political statements youve made, do your best to remove them.Consider going private. Do you ever use social media as a place to vent about political matters? You might consider locking down your accounts. With Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, you can set your profile to private, where only your approved friends can see your posts.Keep your resume and cover letter apolitical. A typo on a resume is a common red flag. Heres another one Providing too much personal information. Many jobs seekers make the mistake of oversharing. Employers dont need to know about your marital status, religion, hobbies, pet peeves - or your political persuasion. Dont list political affiliations on your resume or share political viewpoints in your cover letter, unless it directly relates to a job youve held or the one youre seeking.Maintain a politics-free zone during your interview. If youre preparing for a job interview and planning to bring up current news stories as a good way to break the ice, dont. Hot political issues in the news are a taboo subjec t best avoided. Even if you get the strong sense that youre in line with the hiring managers political persuasions, never play political pundit.SEARCH OUR OPEN JOBSAdvice for employees regarding politicsOnce youre in the workplace, you might find political banter is commonplace. But there are downsides to joining in. The conversations can be emotionally charged and divisive. And they can hinder collaboration.So, what are the best ways to manage political conversations at work? Here are four tipsDont debate or lecture on political topics. Obviously, the safest bet is to refrain from talking politics at all. But if you feel you must engage in some political chatter, because everyone in the room is doing it, try to approach it in a lighthearted manner. Limit yourself to general comments or try to change the subject. That reminds me of an episode of House of Cards, could help you move on to discussing favorite TV shows instead of real-life politics.Stand your ground. Dont feel pressured into offering your views. You can always politely excuse yourself by saying with a smile, Wow, Im staying out of this one If a group discussion becomes confrontational, reiterate your preference to keep political chit-chat to a minimum while at the office. Sorry, talking politics in the workplace just isnt my thing. Lets get back to work-related matters.Stay focused on your work projects. Pay attention to what you need to accomplish. Dont allow yourself to get sidetracked by others who are obsessed with monitoring the latest political news cycle. If a thorny issue irrelevant to the work at hand comes up in the lunch room or at the water cooler, take it as a cue to head back to your desk or put on headphones.Watch whats said after work, too. Remember that what you say to colleagues outside of work may cause them to form opinions of you. Exercise the same judgment of treading lightly around current events if you want to keep happy hour happy. The same advice applies when exchanging e mail and text messages with coworkers.What happens if you do talk about politics in the workplace and discover youve offended someone? The best etiquette is to apologize quickly and sincerely for any off-putting comments that made someone else uncomfortable.Final word? If you find yourself heading down the path to talking politics in the workplace, make a sharp detour and save your energy.Subscribe to the newsletter to get articles and resources to help you land a new job, succeed in your career, and build and manage a winning team - all sent directly to your inbox.

Getting The Job in Tough Times

Getting The Job in Tough TimesGetting The Job in Tough TimesGetting The Job in Tough TimesLets admit it in these tough times, there are mora job applicants than ever before. Today, Im going to share with you four solid tips on how you can stand out from the crowd and win the job away from the competition.To mix it up, Im going in reverse chronological orderFollowing upThe InterviewThe ResumeMaximizing ApplicationsFollowing upTheres a professional applying for a senior-level position here at Ladders right now who has reminded me of the Three Ps of Following Up persistent, polite, and perk up their ears.This candidate drops me an email weekly. She doesnt demand to know when we are making a decision, but just sends an email every week to remind me she is there, and by implication, she is interested. And when she emails me, she always includes a little nugget of information that she has picked up that week something about my industry, or an interesting comparison to aleidher company, or a trend that shes noticed that might impact us.So my recommendations for following up after the interview?Follow up weekly, by phone or by email. But just once per week, and if you dont get a response after five weeks, well, then, the opportunity probably isnt for you.Be polite in your persistence. Theres no need to push for deadlines or decision making. But just let them know youre still interested believe it or not, this will really tischset you apart. A simple voice mail that says, Hi Ms. Johannsen, this is Sharon, and Im just calling to follow up on our meeting of three weeks ago. As you know, I think this is a really great opportunity for me to contribute to your company, and I will look forward to hearing back from youAnd its even better if you drop in a nugget of info that shows you are a good, proactive employee-to-be.My favorite form of job seeking judo is for you to use the fact that youre job hunting to your advantage. Youre job hunting, theyre not. But as I can tell yo u from being the CEO of Ladders, people are very, very interested in the inside scoop on whos hiring and why.So send an email that says Did you know that Competitor X is hiring a new VP focused on direct marketing? I thought that was a pretty interesting indication of where they are headed in this market. Take the fact that youre job hunting and use it to your advantage.The InterviewThe interview is not a chance to go in and have a nice fireside chat with the interviewer over a Diet Coke. Realize it for what it is a sales call. What youre selling is your ability to do the job better than anybody else.So do me a favor. Your next interview, go in, make the polite small talk, and then get right to the point What are the three key things you are hoping to have the person in this position achieve? Even better, ask that question over the phone before you go in for the interview and prepare ahead of time.And then spend your time in the interview showing them that you are the right person t o achieve those three key things. Stay focused, no matter what. If your interviewer keeps veering off into your hobbies, or regaling you with tales of the internal politics on their most recent project, please keep bringing the conversation back to those three key things.This is called staying on message. When you watch politicians or movie stars on TV, have you ever noticed they answer a different question from the one asked? It may be frustrating as a viewer, it may be a different answer than the interviewer was expecting, but theres a reason for doing it it is so darn effective.You need each of your interviewers to walk out of that interview room with a very clear sense of how you, the candidate, are going to make the company better in this rough, rough year. Thinking that you are a nice guy or gal simply isnt enough in this environment you need to make sure they have a solid understanding of how you will contribute.So find out the three key factors of success, and connect your w ork history and accomplishments to them in the interviewers mind.(For extra credit, the very advanced version of this strategy is to admit that you cant do one of the three things, but that your track record is very clear on your ability to hire and manage the people who can do things that you can not. This shows flexibility and growth potential, which every company is implicitly looking for in these very, very turbulent times. So it might sound like While I havent personally led a.NET application team, I have hired and developed programmers in many, many computer languages everything from COBOL to Cold Fusion to C++. I think the important thing youre looking for isnt the ability to lead a team in any particular language, but what you really want is the capability to lead teams in the ever-changing languages that arise in computer science. So while youre granting the point that you cant do one of the three things, youre actually pointing out that you can do something even more comp lex and useful. This is a deadly effective strategy.)The ResumeHey, weve all seen a ton of commercials on the tube, right? So why do we have an advertising department? Why dont we just shoot the TV commercials ourselves? Well, we leave that to the professionals.And what is a resume? A lot of people view it as a chance to list all the true facts about their work history. But that reminds me of the old joke about HPs very straightforward engineering culture if they had invented sushi they would have named it cold, raw dead fish on rice wrapped in seaweed. Now, thats true, but it is hardly appetizing ??Similarly, your resume is advertising copy. A great resume advertises your accomplishments in a way that makes it clear what youve contributed in the past, and by implication, what you are capable of doing in the future.So its not Managed a group of 40 professionals or Responsible for a $77 mm budget. Those lines are kind of reminiscent of the old HP way true, but not particularly appe tizing. (And before all you HPers write in, let me just say I am very happy with both the performance and the marketing of the modern HP organization)The right way is to point out your capabilities Re-organized department, cutting 15 positions and adding 10 new sales staff to increase profitability by $7 mm (17%) or Created successful task force that identified 103 efficiency opportunities and implemented 92% of them within 6 months, saving $13 mm in annual costs.But its not just what you put in, its what you leave out that really makes a resume. As Jerry Garcia said, its not the notes, its the holes between the notes that make the music.Now I would be crazy to suppose I could teach you how to be a great resume writer in just one newsletter. We have a whole staff of advertising copy writers here at Ladders that are specialized in writing resumes for professionals like you. Use them.Maximizing ApplicationsThe best way for you to maximize the effectiveness of your job applications is to minimize the number of applications you make. Or more succinctly apply for the right jobs, and only the right jobs, for you.Cmon, what would you do if that bundle of joy called your teenager came to you and said Mom, Dad, Im going to apply to 100 colleges this fall?You would say, rightly, Honey, youre just spreading yourself too thin. Why dont you focus on six, or a dozen. At absolute most 20. That way youll be able to apply the time and effort you need to making those applications really great.Well, folks, thats how I feel when I hear people tell me they are applying to several hundred jobs per month For example, last week, one of your fellow subscribers clicked on 799 jobs on Ladders Theres just no way you can put your best foot forward and have the energy and time to follow up with that many jobs.Youre just frustrating yourself.So even though I know its tempting and easy, dont waste your time and your attention on applying to hundreds of jobs. Thats a fools errand, and, unfort unately given this economy, what many of the unsophisticated job seekers are doing. Only apply for the jobs that truly make sense for you. That way youll leave yourself the extra time to really do the important work I outlined above doing great follow up, studying in advance for the interview, and crafting an awesome resume.By the way, one of the advantages of our system here at Ladders is its exclusivity. While job postings on the major job boards get literallyhundreds of applications, the typical job posting here at Ladders receives just 21. The screening that we do charging a cover charge, reviewing every single resume, asking people to apply for jobs primarily in their functional Ladder (sales, marketing, operations, technology, HR, law, finance, etc.) really does help cut down on the noise for the recruiter or hiring manager. And that means you have a much, much better chance of standing out.OK, folks, thats what Ive learned about the job hunt in my decade in this business, a nd what I wanted to share with you this Monday morning.Good luck with the search this week, and please make your luck by following these tips to get the most of your scarce job hunting time.I am rooting for you

How to Amplify Your Social Media Branding

How to Amplify Your Social Media BrandingHow to Amplify Your Social Media BrandingFacebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat. The list goes on for todays popular social media platforms. For brands, a successful social media strategy takes more than just being present on a channel. You need to establish a social media branding strategy.Developing a plan to successfully deliver campaigns and messages on social media takes a lot of time and effort. You need to create stand-out content, target key audiences, build relationships with potential (and existing) customers and get influencers on board. All that time and effort will be worth it if you do it right. Positive and negative interactions with your organization on social media can change customers attitudes about your brand and, consequently, influence their behavior and buying decisions.So, how do you make your brand a trending topic? Here are four strategies to help amplify your social media branding1. CreateTo best introduce social media users to your brand and interact with existing customers, you need to create content that will stand out. People are more likely to find and engage with content thats unique, emotional or entertaining. So, create campaigns that show off your brands expertise and personality. For example, does your company have a volunteer program? Promote posts that capture your organizations social responsibility efforts and demonstrate how you give back to the community.In addition, tailor your social media posts to each channel, keeping the audience and different platform features in mind. You can post fun, visual content on Twitter and Instagram, taking advantage of hashtags to tie your content into relevant trending topics. LinkedIn is great for more professional posts, so consider publishing articles to initiate conversations and give your brand authority on a topic. Developing a content strategy is crucial to enhancing your social media branding.2. ConnectSocial media channels ar e perfect for building relationships with customers, and a strong emotional connection with your audience is key to social media branding. Remember to be authentic and sincere your engagements with customers should reflect the values and personality of your brand.Your goal is to establish positive interactions with your customers on social media, so focus on two-way communication. Like, comment and respond to posts about your brand. Its a red flag when a company strictly uses their social media channels as blow horns, promoting their products and messages without engaging with others. Plus, you would be surprised how impactful a quick response to a customers tweet can be. Continuously monitor your social media channels and respond accordingly.3. InfluenceYou should connect with more than just customers on social media. A great way to amplify your social media branding efforts is to build relationships with influencers. Influencers are social media users who have a large and loyal f ollowing and credibility in a specific subject area. For instance, there are likely plenty of influencers and bloggers in your industry, or that can champion your brand, located all over the U.S. These influencers have already gained the trust and respect of their audience, and getting a mention from them gives your brand credibility.Find influencers who align well with your brand and inquire if they are willing to partner on a social media campaign. Even just tagging you in an Instagram post or retweeting one of your posts on Twitter could do the trick. Your goal is to gain more exposure and followers for your brand, and authority on a topic, a product or even just for your company overall.4. TargetNot that long ago, the idea of a brand paying for ads on a social network seemed desperate. Now, paid social media is one of the only reliable means of building a targeted and effective audience. Paid social media traffic allows you to target a specific audience and increase your brands reach.When considering which social networks to put money behind, dont just focus on the big three Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Instagram remains one of the fastest growing social media networks. Whos engaging with brands on Instagram? Millennials the next generation of big spenders. Determine who your target audience is and which social media platforms they use most. Paid promotion on social media could be key to enhancing your social media branding.Social is no longer just about conversation its now an established channel for building relationships with target audiences and customer acquisition. Do you have a social media professional on your marketing team? If not, it may be time to add one (or more) to strengthen your social media branding.HIRING SOCIAL MEDIA PROFESSIONALS? WE CAN HELP

How to Prepare for an International Job Interview

How to Prepare for an International Job InterviewHow to Prepare for an International Job InterviewThe company you have been vorstellungsgesprching with wants you to come to headquarters.They want to meet you in-person for the final round of job interviews. This is greatThere is one tiny problem with the job interview.You live in the USA and the job interview is in abedrngnisher country.Here are some tips you can use to prepare for that international job interview.Make sure you have your passport before you set a dateIf you know your passport is either expired or you simply never got one, visit this website how you can get a passport fast.Research the similaritiesSure, the job interview is in another country, but that does not mean it will be completely different.To avoid tripping over the basics of the job interview, go over all the basicsCommon interview questionsTell me about yourself.Why do you want to work here?What are your strengths?What are your weaknesses?Mastering these comm only asked job interview questions helps you get your story down before talking to the company.However, the way you answer and what you say may depend on the company and countrys geschftlicher umgang etiquette.Differences in business etiquetteEvery business culture has its own unique traits and unspoken rules.This is the time to do some intensive research. Forget what you know about the US job market.Start researchingWhat does the company consider to be on time for an interview?Will the interview focus more on soft skills or hard skills?The proper ways to show respect when interviews end.Things the company will do that are not considered appropriate in the US.Common greetings and social cues, so you have an idea when something is not right.Examples of behaviors to think aboutThe US emphasizes hard skills and early is on-time, for example. Whereas in other countries, the interview time usually means it will start several minutes later. Additionally, countries like Denmark place a str ong focus on hiring for personality and training for skill.Countries in South America often avoid saying the word, No. It sounds rude to them, so instead, they send social cues that let you know something is wrong.Other countries have been known to conduct interviews in the form of personality tests, ask about religion, or marital status, which may violate every EEOC law in the United States.Research the preferred languageIt is a good idea to know, before applying, what language the company prefers to use for business.Even though the most commonly used language in business is English, other countries may view your lack of ability to speak their language as a sign of arrogance or disrespect.You cannot learn a new language overnight, obviously. But apps like Duolingo can be of great assistance when you are trying to learn a language quickly, or show a company you respect the job enough to start learning.Also, learning their native language will give you some confidence and put you at ease while visiting the country.Watch for the subtle tests of your personalityCompany employees may want to get a sense of how you interact with other staff or the local culture.If you get invited to an impromptu job interview, do not be surprised by requests to drink alcohol or take part in local cultural activities.Whatever you do, just be sure to not overdo it with the idea of impressing everyone. You can only be yourself.Do not try so hard, drink too much, or get yourself into a fix where you end up embarrassing yourself.

Why I quit my dream job (and why you should too)

Why I quit my dream job (and why you should too)Why I quit my dream job (and why you should too)I need to preface this by saying that I am not here to convince everyone to quit their job. Rather, this article is for those who find themselves miserable in careers that they worked hard to obtain. I know there are quite a few of you because the most recent Gallup poll found that 66% of workers are not engaged in their jobs.I also know because I welches one of you. I am the quintessential risk-averse, type-A personality. I decided at the ripe old age of eleven that I wanted to be a lawyer, put my head down, and followed the predictable path to law school, never once questioning what being a lawyer actually meant.I checked all of the boxes, got good grades, and was cheered on by well-meaning friends and family. I was a success. Yet when I finally reached the schliff line, I was miserable. For the first time, I stopped to evaluate what it meant to work as a lawyer. And I didnt like it.Foll ow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moraOf course, there were glaring signs along the way that I wouldnt like a career as a lawyer. I probably shouldnt have ignored the fact that every lawyer I met tried to talk me out of going to law school a discussion I would find myself repeating once I became a lawyer and happened upon an unsuspecting pre-law student. But here is the thing about our dreams, theyre rarely based in reality.Most of us choose a dream job for nebulous reasons Our family or teachers point us in that direction, we excel in certain tasks that are related to that field, the media glamorizes the profession, etc.We jump in without understanding the stresses related to the job. We choose a career based on how we think it will make us feel. The power, admiration, creative freedom All of these characteristics overshadow the reality. Not surprisingly, that dream job often turns out not to be all it was cracked up to be.The reality is that the dream job is just a figment of your imagination. Sure, it may have some of the features that you always envisioned. Maybe you get to help people some of the time, or you have some powerful moments. But the real day-to-day of the job is almost always vastly different.For me, I went to law school to help underserved communities. I always knew the law was a vehicle to help the voiceless. While that is true, there is almost an unbearable amount of stress and drudgery that goes along with helping people in that capacity. I found that I would have to do things I hated 90% of the time in order to get to do the things I love 10% of the time. It wasnt a sustainable model.None of this would be a problem if we lived in a culture that encouraged following our curiosities, taking risks, prioritizing our mental wellbeing, and pursuing fulfillment. One can imagine a world where we are expected to evolve as we age and pivot accordingly. Clearly, thats not how we approach work.Rather, were raised in a society that drills in us that work is not fun but you do it anyway. We look down on the woo-woo hippy culture of following your dreams as something for children (and Instagram influencers). In the real world, we have to work to pay bills and support our family. It is just the way it is. Or so were told.We also dont want to waste all the time, energy, and money we put into getting to this level. The idea of starting over is overwhelming. Add in the fact that so many of us are burdened with debt and that we are technically successful in societys eyes, it is no wonder we genuinely feel stuck.But the hard truth is that we are spending 60-70% of our lives doing something we actually hate because we believe thats what we have to do. Our health suffers, our families suffer, our friendships suffer and, yet, we push on because the fear of the unknown keeps us in the miserable.I get it. I was there too. I nearly flipped over t he table when my husband casually suggested that I should find a job in a different field if I was unhappy. What? The nerve.But he was right. And I did.It didnt happen quickly. It took me almost a year to admit, mostly to myself, that I wanted to walk away from the one thing that I had worked for my whole life. I worried about what people would say, the opportunities I was giving up, and whether Id end up living in a van down by the river. I fretted about it all. Until I realized that working for the next 30-40 years in a profession that was making me miserable in order to have security was insane. So I quit.The most liberating and terrifying thing you can learn is that you have agency. You can leave anytime you want. You choose to stay. And once you accept that, you can either choose to make your career into something that you dont despise every day or you can leave.I interview people weekly (with no shortage of guests in sight) on my podcast whove all had those same concerns but w ere able to figure out a way to quit and start over.Is it hard? Yes. Does it require sacrifice? Sure. But what is more of a sacrifice than giving up 30+ years of your life to a career you hate?Goli Kalkhoran is a lawyer-turned-entrepreneur and the host of theLessons from a Quitter podcast, where she interviews inspiring guests about how they quit lucrative careers to forge their own path and create a life that they love.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

What You Should Do to Find Out About Dental Assistant Resume Objective Before Youre Left Behind

What You Should Do to Find Out About Dental Assistant Resume Objective Before Youre Left Behind There are other means to begin your resume, depending upon your degree of experience you may have a look at our flow chart here. It is possible to explain to employers the way the trip increased your understanding of global issues and helped you perfect language abilities. Our professional course is made so students may get the job done as fast as possible without compromising the standard of the learning experience and degree of expertise. With a careful choice of the proper lessons and demonstration of appropriate dental assisting techniques, your learning experience is intended to improve your future. The dental profession demands knowledge of and capacity to use tools. Below are a few of the skills dental hygienists need. Employed as a hygienist demands technical wisdom and the capacity to work with a diverse patient base. Dental assisting is quite a diverse career. Always sch liff your Career Objective by stating ways to assist the clinic achieve its objectives. Fully being a dental assistant isnt a really conventional career choice. Students in a dental assistant program can decide to study pediatric dental hygiene. How to Choose Dental Assistant Resume Objective A good sample dental assistant resume will place some emphasis on such individuals capacity to create the consumers feel at ease. Dental practices shouldnt be permitted to flatline. The dental business is well known to be one that is rapidly changing. As stated earlier, it is developing rapidly. A dental assistant training regime is necessary to go for a career in dental assisting. Dental assistants have various different working environments to pick from. They are an important part of a dental practice and perform a variety of tasks, from assisting directly in patient care to office work. They can come across some stressful situations. Theres strong demand for dental assistants a cross the nation, but you will need a polished and targeted resume if you would like to stick out from the crowd. It is crucial to make your Dental Assistant resume efficient enough to get the odds of being selected for an interview. As you try to find opportunities, you ought to at least consider everything you happen across even if it isnt precisely what you had envisioned. Although resume objectives are getting more obsolete in favor of career summaries, in some specific conditions, it is logical to incorporate an objective. Whispered Dental Assistant Resume Objective Secrets Any errors or misspellings can easily be spotted and will send the message which you have leid done your research and are not so attentive to detail. Actually, you could always download templates at no cost and use accordingly with no hassle. Your resume format is something which you should give importance aside from every detail in your resume. Fully being a dental assistant can be very helpful for a person who wishes to engage in a career in dentistry. Youve got to resist tooth and nail to have a wonderful job as a dental assistant. Since you may see, the candidate quantified how several new employees he trained and what number of patients he treated daily. Doctors and dentists wouldnt wish to choose the chance on hiring a person that has not yet been certified for the job. On average, they see over 1,000 patients every year, with an average of 63 patients per week. Dental assistants support the part of dentists at dental offices around the nation, ensuring they work efficiently and offer the very best patient care possible. They must maintain a professional appearance and demeanor at all times.

Why Effective Hiring Strategies Include Effective Firing Strategies - Spark Hire

Why Effective Hiring Strategies Include Effective Firing Strategies - Spark HireWhen crafting effective hiring strategies, employers consider cost, resources and the benefits ofusing various resources. HR departments spend countless hours developingcomprehensive onboarding programs to train and develop new employees efficiently andexpediently. The goal attraction, retention and motivation. Yet few companies consider theirfiring, or termination, strategies in this process. But effective and respectful firing strategies playan important role in the hiring process.Effective hiring practices and the resulting engagement take years to develop and perfect butonly seconds to undo if the company does not also engage in effective firing practices. To be anemployer of choice includes treating employees respectfully during the entire employmentcycle, especially termination.By definition, being an employer of choice means talent from far and wide flocks to a firm everyone wants to work for a p articular company. Companies considered to be an employer ofchoice are positioned to successfully woo and hire the best talent the very talent necessary forpromoting and achieving business objectives, creating value and impacting the bottom line.Therefore, to secure the best talent, employers of choice develop effective hiring practices.But what takes years to develop and implement can be undone instantaneously with mismanagedtermination practices. Companies need the transitioning employees the ones leaving to carryonly feelings of goodwill. Without goodwill, employers of choice become employers toavoid. Therefore, effective hiring strategies include effective firing strategies. According to Leeesox Harrisons Separation and Severance Benchmark Practices Study, most companies havereviewed their separation practices in the past year. In other words, companies recognize twocritical factors (1) they still need high performing talent and (2) at some point, when the economyrebounds, th ey will need MORE of it.Comprehensive termination strategies involve the process of conducting the actual terminationprofessionally and honestly, by offering severance and career transition services. Together, thesecomponents comprise respectful treatment. Respectful treatment reinforces1. Company branding and marketplace integrity2. Successful transition into new roles3. Goodwill and future business partnerships with ex-employees4. Continuing high performance of current employeesWhen developing respectful firing strategies, consider the entire process1. CommunicationWhen developing effective firing strategies, focus on open communication rather than closeddoor practices. Previously, companies would conduct the terminations secretly, quietly andwalk out the terminated employee as quickly as possible. No one wants to be treated like apariah. Allow enough time to speak with the individual and address concerns. Then allow theindividual to talk with other employees, gather their belongi ngs and say good-bye. Theindividual needs to grieve as does his/her coworkers. The shock is more painful if the partsdesk is suddenly empty and people start creating answers instead of receiving them.2. Career Transition ServicesEmploy transition services or outplacement firms to successfully re-deploy talent. It is not only asound business practice, but a long-term, best-practice strategy. The terminated employee maybecome a future business partner, revenue generator or referral.3. HonestySpeak with the group or remaining employees regarding the termination. People begin worryingabout when and how they will be fired. Allow employees to ask questions and answer questionshonestly.To maintain employer of choice status, the entire employment life cycle needs to be consideredand treated respectfully. From interviewing, hiring, and onboarding to termination, severanceand career transitions, employees carefully observe how companies handle the process.Promoting engagement and ensuring a h igh performing talent pipeline mandates the firingstrategies be as effective as the hiring strategies.Do you have a respectful firing strategy included in your hiring process? Be sure to let usknowin the comments.IMAGE Courtesy of Flickr bystriaticAbout the AuthorStacey Hawley owns Credo, a career counseling, workforce transition, leadership development and compensation advice firm for companies and businesses. Prior to launching Credo, Stacey was a board-level advisor (Fortune 500 firms, pre-IPO, private, startup and not-for-profits) for the largest HR global consulting firm (Towers Watson) in their premier executive compensation practice. She blogs regularly for workingmom.com, is a blogger and writer for Working Mother Magazine, writes for other outlets such as LearnVest, BusinessInsider and The Glass Hammer, and has numerous article citations. She graduated from Cornell University with a BS in Industrial and Labor Relations and received her MBA from the University of Marylands R obert H. Smith School of Business.