Professional Development

With all the pandemic upheavals over the past year, hiring was not spared. Among the most notable changes in employment recently was the rapid transition to a virtual environment, and not just for current employees. If you’ve hit the job market lately or are considering it, you’ve probably noticed that at least part of the hiring process includes an online interview component. With this change comes some uncertainty, but also opportunities to shine. Keep reading to find out how to get the job virtually.

With the current economic downturn, the job market has never been more competitive. According to a Pew Research article, 25 percent of adults in the U.S. say they or someone in their household lost their job. In these difficult times, companies are being more cautious with their hiring than ever. Give yourself the edge you need to stand out among competing applicants by showing that you possess all the right skills for career growth.

Do you roll out of bed in the morning and head straight for your laptop? Spend the entire day in your PJs and fuzzy bedroom slippers? Find yourself longing for a trip to Target just to get out of the house for 20 minutes and talk to, well, anyone?

Want to know why now is the time for upskilling and reskilling? It’s because businesses are facing a syzygy of megatrends, a global pandemic, and the capacity for exponential change in, arguably, the post-digital age. (It’s arguable because the “experts” disagree on whether it has begun.) More simply put: The digital and historical stars have aligned.

With the Aug. 4 release of Midnight Sun — Stephenie Meyer’s latest installment in the Twilight series — we’re ready to revisit the enchanted world of Bella and Edward. Vampires, werewolves, and rain-soaked redwoods are the perfect escape from daily life during COVID-19. But this fantasy series also offers real-world lessons for career development. Go ahead and enjoy the supernatural world of Forks, Washington, then come back here for these 7 professional development lessons from Twilight. 

Do you find yourself bursting into song about your ambitions? Are you passionately smashin’ every expectation? Are you ready to rise up and achieve your professional goals? We thought so. Now that Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton is available to stream on Disney+, we’re all feeling inspired by America’s coolest founding father. Cue up your favorite songs from the Broadway hit, and get ready for these 8 professional development lessons from Hamilton. 

PayScale is a software and data company that “helps employers manage employee compensation and employees understand their worth in the job market,” and it has this to say about negotiating for a higher salary: For people with a master’s degree or better, not making the push for better pay means leaving up to $1.5 million in earnings on the table over the course of a lifetime. Not a bad payoff for having the difficult conversations. Fairness, self-worth, and overall economic benefits such as juicing the gross domestic product are other reasons why you should have the tough talks, but for now we’ll stick with the how, as in how to negotiate a higher salary.