Feedback is scary

“Feedback is scary - and it’s just as scary when you’re giving feedback as it is when you’re receiving feedback.” 

“My performance evaluation wasn’t graded fairly. My supervisor didn’t take into consideration all the changes that took place during the pandemic and how it affected our team.” 

I have a survey floating around on LinkedIn, asking the community if they were happy with their performance evaluation in 2020. It’s a pretty tough thing, asking a person how they feel about a grade attached to their performance and contribution. 

Gallup wrote a great article just a few months back about workplace insights from 2020, and one paragraph in particular stood out to me:

“Prior to COVID-19, traditional performance management was plagued with infrequent, irregular feedback and goal setting that became irrelevant before the next annual review came around. The pandemic ended up exposing the flaws in this system.”

It makes me wonder where the infrequent, irregular feedback is coming from.

Is it fear? Are we afraid to tell our employees that they’re doing (or not doing) what we ask of them? 

And if that’s the case, what exactly is it that we’re afraid of? 

I have a feeling that answering this question will help me answer a few other questions related to promotions within remote teams. 

—

Follow #GabbyTurmelle on LinkedIn

Your 2020 performance evaluation?

Did your team transition to a semi-remote or fully remote environment as a result of the pandemic?

If the answer is yes, (and I’m fairly certain it’s a yes for many of us), I’d love for you to send me a message.

I’m interested in finding real-world answers to one primary question:

Were you happy with your performance evaluation for 2020? 

Whether the answer is yes or no, I’d genuinely love to know why. I’d also love to know if there were any changes made to the performance evaluation process, perhaps as a result of the pandemic, or perhaps due to any additions (or removals) of team performance metrics. 

I’m interested in learning more about what performance management is looking like today, and I particularly want to know if you felt that your evaluation was graded fairly. 

—

Follow #GabbyTurmelle on LinkedIn 

Moving

I spent the morning looking at different apartments and communities across the country, and I found myself looking at a map of St. Petersburg, Florida. I daydreamed about what it might be like to live there, right next to the beach. 

Just for fun, I looked up the colleges in the area. Twelve colleges are currently listed in Google. 

I don’t think that I’ve ever told anyone this before. On my profile, I’ve privately listed to the LinkedIn recruiters that I’m open to work for one specific job title only. And that’s career advisor positions within community colleges and universities. 

I don’t know how to explain why I chose to do this. I haven’t started an active search or messaged my network for any opportunities. But there’s a part of me that feels that I would be so thrilled and so deeply moved to be able to do work like this. 

It is the privilege of my life to be able to serve as a resume writer and career coach. I’m convinced that I found what I was called to do on this earth.

And yet, somehow, the idea that I could bring this to a college community takes the work to a completely different level.

—

Follow #GabbyTurmelle on LinkedIn

5 years down the road

The resume you used to get the job today could be reviewed again 5 years down the road, by a boss two levels up, who will never tell you that they looked at your resume. They’re thinking about you for a future assignment or possibly an upcoming opportunity for a promotion. And so, without you ever knowing, they’re loading up the PDF on their desktop and reading what you’ve written for your work history.

I don’t know about you, but the idea that a promotion I might’ve been wanting for years could have a starting point like this drives me a little bit crazy.

When I think about the supervisors I’ve had in the past, only one person comes to mind who I remember insisting that I submit an updated resume alongside my annual review. 

This might be a worthwhile topic to bring up to your supervisor the next time you both get together for a performance review. 

Supervisors, what are your thoughts?

—

Follow #GabbyTurmelle on LinkedIn

Skills worth mastering as we build remote careers

I spent a large chunk of time today looking at some of the skills that we’re being tasked with mastering if we want to take on a leadership role within a new remote team. 

From the many skills that are being offered up, I’m identifying four “broad” skills below. I believe that pursuing mastery in these skills will make a difference for us professionally as our work environments continue to evolve. 

1. Open communication

2. Emotional intelligence (which I see as being related, but different from open communication)

3. Thought leadership

4. Writing as a leader (which I see as being related, but different from thought leadership)

Even if we didn’t want to land a promotion, I’m convinced that it would amaze us - what we could achieve as professionals - if we spent a bit of time understanding these four skill areas. 

I also believe that even if we’re currently working within teams that are resisting the change to go remote, these are skills that we need to be cultivating today. 

What are your thoughts on the topic of remote career development? 

—

Follow #GabbyTurmelle on LinkedIn

An old topic in leadership circles

I’ve been struggling with the idea that a person’s ability to be a great remote leader could be seen as threatening to existing management teams. But I’m starting to see that not only is this an old topic in leadership circles, it’s also been studied extensively. Managers will ostracize subordinates if they feel they are a threat to their position. It shouldn’t be surprising to me that this same thing would happen within a new remote work environment.

I think that I’m going to be spending quite a bit of time exploring this topic.

- In order to land the promotion, is our goal to be a great remote leader, or is our goal to fit in with the management team?

- If my management team isn’t interested in evolving their leadership styles for remote teams, how will this affect the way that I need to present myself virtually?

- How do I cultivate remote leadership development in an environment where there’s serious resistance to go remote?

—

Follow #GabbyTurmelle on LinkedIn

Being a great remote leader could be seen as a threat

Sometimes, you go down a path in the research, and you’re certain that you’re onto something. And then, almost out of the blue, you find yourself staring at an article, and you’re completely blown away by what you’re reading. Everything changes, and you find yourself going back to the drawing board, scratching everything out, and starting down a brand new path.

I’ve been sitting here and thinking about landing promotions within leadership in today’s new remote work environment. But it never - and I mean absolutely never - occurred to me that there might be serious resistance within company leadership circles to promote anyone who might be highly skilled in leading remote workforces. 

In fact, showing that you could be a great remote leader could even be seen as a threat to the status of the current leadership team. 

“A large number of managers that had all the right traits to be successful in-person leads are now feeling something is missing as remote leads. Lacking a model to explain this gap and how to fill it, the simplest answer is to just go back to the office — where their leadership isn’t threatened.”

There’s too much here to unpack for one post. I’ll keep you up to speed as I dig into this more. 

—

Follow #GabbyTurmelle on LinkedIn

A change in the way we present ourselves virtually

Landing promotions within our newly-remote companies could necessitate a change in the way we present ourselves virtually and the “reputation” we cultivate within our remote teams. 

Here’s the logic that I’m going on.

1. I want a promotion. Promotions tend to be performance-based and require a certain “perception” of you as an employee. 

2. To be perceived as a strong performer within a virtual team, I need to engage with my supervisor and team on a regular basis.

3. However, strong performers aren't necessarily the ones picked for promotions. 

I can hit all my numbers, regularly share updates with the team, and my supervisor could be thrilled with my performance. But I’m still not the one picked for the promotion.

So, what else could I do?

1. I could change the way that I present myself. I could try to understand how the management team has evolved during the pandemic, and I could model their example. 

2. Rather than putting my focus on being a strong performer, I could cultivate a reputation for being transparent and open. I could be “the” Agile employee.

3. With everything I’m seeing and understanding, this is what will need to take place to land the promotion within today’s newly-remote companies. 

What are your thoughts on landing promotions today? 

—

Follow #GabbyTurmelle on LinkedIn

Offer the best future

I’ve been thinking about what it would take for a remote employee to land a promotion in this new age of WFH. 

To help me get a few clues, I’ve been digging into Donald Asher’s book, “Who Gets Promoted, Who Doesn’t, and Why.”

In order for you to get promoted within your company, you have to offer the best future out of all the available candidates. And employers want proof that you can deliver a specific, clearly targeted future.

However, perception plays a huge role in your ability to be considered for a promotion. You won’t land the promotion if the perception of you isn’t aligned with where the company is heading.

So, what would it take for you, a remote employee who no longer has a physical presence in the office, to be perceived as the best choice? 

What are your thoughts on this topic?

—

Follow #GabbyTurmelle on LinkedIn 

P.S. I've been working on a collection of notes and links that I decided to make public today.

I think it’s four things

I’m slowly starting to form a hypothesis on how internal promotions are awarded within fully remote companies. I don’t have all of the pieces yet, but I think it has something to do with:

1. The role that management and senior leadership teams play in a fully remote company.

2. How an employee builds upon their existing education and niche-specific knowledge. 

3. The visibility that an employee has on the internet outside of their work contributions. 

And there’s a fourth piece related to the “cost” of promoting an employee in a remote company, and if it’s worth it to a company to pay that “cost” through offering that promotion.

Will keep you up to speed as more of this evolves.

—

Follow #GabbyTurmelle on LinkedIn 

When we stop being a physical presence in the office

If perceived value plays a role in our ability to land promotions and move up the career ladder - and if our work interactions play an important role in that perception - what happens when we stop becoming a physical presence in the office?

In my free time, I’ve been reading “Who Gets Promoted, Who Doesn’t, and Why,” by Donald Asher. I’m a resume writer and LinkedIn coach, but I have a soft spot for career development. It’s a subject that I could talk about all day long. 

There’s a chunk of text in the book that I keep coming back to whenever I think about our new remote work culture:

“...no matter what you have done in the past, the boss really doesn’t care. What she cares about is what you can do for her (and the company) in your new position. Your past only serves as an indication of what you might do in the future… In fact, employers really don’t want to know what you’ve done, even lately. They want proof that you can deliver a specific, clearly targeted future… To get promoted you have to offer the best future out of the available options.”

The book spends a lot of time talking about perception. You can’t land the promotion if the perception of you isn’t aligned with where the company is heading. 

And so, I return to my question: what happens when we stop being a physical presence in the office?

—

Follow #GabbyTurmelle on LinkedIn

Fully remote since 2014

I found an online list of 20 companies that have operated fully remote since at least 2014...

…and I’m wondering if current or former employees from any of these companies would be willing to hop on a quick Zoom chat with me. ;)

What impact did remote working have on their career opportunities and career paths?

And what challenges or successes did they experience in terms of visibility within their company?

I would love to hear what they have to say.

—

Follow #GabbyTurmelle on LinkedIn

We can’t resist a good story

In a world of automated review and selection for job candidates, why do we bother optimizing resumes at all?

The one answer I can give is that when it comes to us humans, we can't resist a good story. 

If I have two candidates that both made it past the bots, passed the technical interview, and had successful in-person interviews, I'm going to spend the evening with both sets of resumes on my desk. And while I'm mulling over my decision on who to hire, I'm going to start reading Candidate A's resume and see that it's somewhat basic, with just enough information to make its point.

But then I'm going to pick up Candidate B's resume, and I'm going to immediately be drawn into their story. I'm going to see their passion for solving client problems. I'm going to see them quickly shifting gears and moving from project to project because the company's strategy and priorities have changed. I'm going to read their best accomplishments and picture Candidate B within my own company, carrying their accomplishments and knowledge and insights to my team. 

It's that picture, formed from the story, becoming implanted in the hiring manager's mind, that becomes the value-add of a resume in today's job market.

—

Follow #GabbyTurmelle on LinkedIn

Know, like, and trust

In a sea of competing job seekers applying for the same roles, hiring managers will always choose to onboard the job candidate that they know, like, and trust.

But what exactly does that mean?

Know: 

Your hiring manager has a clear understanding of who you are as a professional. They can easily picture you performing your day-to-day activities within your previous companies. 

Like:

Your hiring manager appreciates your past work accomplishments, and they can expect that you’ll bring the same results to their company. They also like your personality, candor, and energy. 

Trust:

Your hiring manager believes that you will perform the job duties of the position well. They see you as a reliable, predictable, and stable professional.

If you find yourself staring at your resume, unsure if you’re meeting the bar, ask yourself this question:

“Based on everything I’ve put into this document, would the hiring manager feel comfortable coming to me if they needed knowledge or help with a problem related to the job I’m applying for?” 

—

Follow #GabbyTurmelle on LinkedIn

Getting visibility with recruiters on LinkedIn

How has getting visibility with recruiters changed since the pandemic began? 

This is an interesting one to explore. On the surface, the checklist of things needed to get in front of recruiters on LinkedIn hasn’t changed. 

-  You still need to appear in LinkedIn Search. (i.e. your profile must be optimized for search + you must be active on the platform)

-  You still need to meet the full criteria of the recruiter’s search. (i.e. having the right keywords, titles, and information on your profile)

However, where visibility is concerned, a few trends in recruitment have emerged that are worth noting.*

1. Recruiters are moving slower. 

- In 2019, the priority of recruiters was to hire as quickly as possible. Today, recruiters are prioritizing the quality of their candidate list, and recruiters are being rewarded based on the diversity of their candidate pool. 

- It’s no longer sufficient to have a profile that’s just “good enough.” If you want visibility from recruiters, your measurable accomplishments, professional network, and professional presence must be given your priority.

2. Recruiters are more and more turning to A.I. and automation software.

- If a recruiter reaches out to you for a job posting, the chances are pretty high that human eyes haven't yet looked at your profile. But you met the criteria being searched for by an A.I. bot, so you were added to an automated messaging campaign.

- If you’re truly interested in the offer being presented, write a polite response, answer questionnaires if they’re offered, and wait for the A.I. software to add you to the recruiter’s shortlist. After that, then you’ll be able to engage with the actual recruiter, who will then actually read your profile. 

What questions do you have about getting visibility with recruiters? 

—

Follow #GabbyTurmelle on LinkedIn

*Source: 2020 Recruiter Nation Survey, Jobvite

“Maintaining the momentum of how your organization perceives you”

If the work that I do revolves around resume writing and LinkedIn optimization, why am I spending so much time talking about remote work culture and career development?

The big reason is that my primary goal - for all my job seekers - is to help them with the problem of visibility: i.e. getting in front of the right people, at the right time, who will then give them an opportunity to join their company ranks.

For me, visibility means:

- Getting in front of recruiters and making such a strong impression that you stay stuck in their minds.

- Being seen by hiring managers as the perfect fit for a job position.

- Landing an amazing job, and then maintaining the momentum of how your organization perceives you.

It’s this last part, “maintaining the momentum of how your organization perceives you,” that has me digging through the internet late at night, reaching out to senior leaders, HR members, and professionals making waves within their chosen fields.

I want to speak to the people who have specifically been doing remote work for a long time and had wonderful, successful careers.

I want to know how remote work affected their ability to be visible and be perceived how they wanted to be perceived.

It’s been a heck of a time trying to find these answers. ;)

What are your thoughts on this topic?

—

Follow #GabbyTurmelle on LinkedIn

Visibility

What does an evolved remote work culture have to do with a new career progression landscape? 

A big reason, and one that I keep circling back to as I dig into this question, is visibility - in particular, how important visibility is in finding new employment, landing promotions, and joining leadership teams. 

-  “If I can’t get a clear picture of the job candidate as an employee within their current organization, how am I going to visualize what it would be like to have them work for my company?”

-  “He’s a great employee and a reliable member of the team. But I don’t see how I can justify giving him a raise at this time.” 

-  “I just don’t see you as having the executive presence we need.” 

Take our reliance on visibility and add a new remote work culture to the mix. Now, we see comments that look like this:

-  “How do I know my employee is working?”

-  “How do I know my colleagues are doing the right things at the right times so that I can get my work done?”

-  “How do I collaborate with the team if we aren't all in the same room?”

What is your experience on the role visibility plays within your team?

—

Follow #GabbyTurmelle on LinkedIn

A new career development landscape

What long-term impact will remote working have on our understanding of career opportunities and career paths in our chosen fields?

This is one of the big questions that I’m on a quest to try and answer in 2021. It’s also one of the reasons why you haven’t been seeing much of me these past several months. ;)

At the beginning of the pandemic, as I watched hiring managers and recruiters shift gears in their immediate priorities for job candidates, it became clear that I needed to also shift gears in how I did my work as a resume writer.

Lately, as I’ve been sitting at my desk and pouring through job posting after job posting, I’ve been feeling a vague itch in the back of my mind that another shift is getting ready to take place.

I believe that the pandemic and subsequent evolution of remote work culture is going to permanently change the career progression/career development landscape. 

But my big question is how? 

To try and answer this question, I’m seeking out thought leaders in recruitment and HR for their insights on the future of career development. I’ve been doing quite a bit of reading and digging on the internet for clues. I’ve enrolled myself in a program to help me explore this question. (More details on this soon.) 

Because of how tough this one is going to be to wrap our heads around, I have a feeling that this will turn into a project that goes on for many, many years. ;) 

However, I believe strongly in this work. I believe that by tackling this question, I’ll be doing a service to my future job seekers and industry professionals ready to take the next step in their careers. 

Thoughts?

—

Follow #GabbyTurmelle on LinkedIn

Phone Screenings

With any interview - and especially a phone screening - our biggest goal is to help the hiring manager feel like they made the best choice by giving us a call.

This is why:

Hiring managers are usually stressed during the hiring process. They're under pressure to fill a spot within their organization. The previous employee who occupied that job role might have quit, or they might have been let go. Or the job role might be entirely new in the organization, and the hiring manager is looking to fill the spot for the first time.

When they pick up the phone to give you a call, they're going to be looking for two key things:

1. That you're energetic and enthusiastic about the position.

2. That you can confidently answer their questions.

From your resume and application, they've already taken the time to do a bit of preliminary research on your work history and background, and they like what you've written on paper. That was the hardest part.

Now, your goal with the phone screening is to make them feel that they're in good hands. That you're confident, self-assured, and ready to walk into their organization and make things happen.

What's your best advice on tackling phone screenings?

—

Follow #GabbyTurmelle on LinkedIn