Credibility with Your Recruiter

Credibility with Your RecruiterCredibility with Your RecruiterIn order to catch the eye of a prospective recruiter or career coach, demonstrate these credential-building assets.With the job market becoming saturated with quality candidates, its time for you to start getting creative in your quest to engage in your next professional opportunity. Give some thought to engaging the services of a recruiter or career coach.In developing your brand and proper messaging, there are five valuable discussion points to consider when meeting with a recruiter or coach1. Professional integrityOne way to demonstrate your professional integrity is to make sure that you leave a company in great standing. This shows that you are accountable for your wertmiger zuwachs at your former company and relationships with your previous colleagues.In completing reference checks on candidates, I have had prospective employers ask for references from people in the most recent applicable employer, which may include your former boss peers subordinates and in some cases, the clients. Have a complete understanding of what your references will say about you, and make sure that they are ready to start taking calls.2. Showcasing capacityOne of my favorite things to do when screening candidates is to determine if they have the appropriate skill set to become flexible and scalable. Candidates often need to be ready for expansive growth with the prospective employer. That said, I often ask the candidate to explain the difference between having depth and having capacity to be successful in the company rarely do they have the right answer.Depth is coming into a role with a solid background and necessary knowledge to do the job. Capacity is demonstrating the skills and proper knowledgebase to assume the role but also possessing the skills to take on more as the job grows.As you look around, you may know people that are very content having the depth to do the job. The ones that get promoted are usually tho se who demonstrate the capacity to take on more responsibility.3. Claims versus evidenceAs the candidate, you must be able to demonstrate examples of your performance as solid evidence in the body of your resume. In other words, you can talk about the success that you may have had in your previous role, but it has a much higher perceived value when it becomes a statement on your resume.Nearly every task in every job affects revenue, systems or people. This is the evidentiary and supporting data that is vital to understanding the effect you have had in your previous role. Your resume should not look like a job description. It must contain quantifiable results, especially if you were in a sales role.4. Communication skillsLack of conversation reflects lack of interest. A solid candidate should have exceptional communication skills on several levels. Its important to be able to carry on with typical small talk because many relationships are established this way, but you must also be a person that the company can count on to deliver executive-level presentations to internal and external clients and customers. Recruiters will gauge your level of comfort with communication.5. Financial benefits to the companyAmong other things, remember that the hiring manager really cares about the financial aspect of the candidates contribution to the company. Regardless of the role that is being filled, there are usually two important considerations that must be reviewed in screening the right candidate for the role Revenue and Timing.Revenue Based on the background of the candidate and the role that will be filled in the company, the hiring manager must be able to determine or anticipate how much revenue you will generate as the candidate of choice.Timing The hiring manager then needs to understand how quickly this candidate can begin to generate revenue for the company. The return on investment will vary based on the role being filled, but this is vital to determine that the candidate is of long-term value to the company.As you embark on your professional journey, and establish relationships with your recruiter or career coach, I am confident that these five points will prove instrumental in your search strategies towards successGo get em

It IS About the Jobs Silly!

It IS About the Jobs SillyIt IS About the Jobs SillyEven climate change regulation is first and foremost about jobs. And if it hasnt been so far, it needs to be to achieve even mediocre success in the U.S. With unemployment stuck at 10%, any new regulation needs to be tied to green jobs. At the core it might be about the survival of our future generations, but on the surface as well as in effect, it needs to be about job creation. Discussing this today is WSJs column, The Outlook An environmental policy that fails to promote jobs isnt going to do anything for the atmosphere ... because it isnt going to get off the ground.Since its easier to measure job creation and a dipping unemployment rate than a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, environmental regulators will be suave to tie the two together and hope that job growth encourages sustainability.

5 Ways to Stand Out in an Applicant Tracking System

5 Ways to Stand Out in an Applicant Tracking System5 Ways to Stand Out in an Applicant Tracking SystemYou spot a job posting that really piques your interest. You write a winning cover letter, proofread your resume, and send in your job application. Unfortunately, maybe 500 other eager job applicants did, too. Thats why many companies utilize applicant tracking systems (ATS), which helps organizations weed through job applications, tossing the ones that dont have the skills and experience for the punkt theyre applying for.Companies really count on an ATS to help them find job applicants worth calling in for an interview. So it makes sense to know what the ATS is looking for and how to make your job application stand out in an applicant tracking system. In the Careerealism article 5 Ways to Improve Your Applicant Tracking System Ranking, author Don Goodman lists the ways to boost your chances of beating the machine and making it to the next round- i.e., the job interview.Know what to say.Just like a hard-nosed editor, an ATS is always scanning job applications, looking for specific keywords and phrases that will qualify you as a possible employee. So know what words will make the cut- you can start by perusing the job posting and strategically scattering some of the keywords (like the job requirements and duties) into your own application as it makes sense. But you dont want to just have a hunk of keywords in your job application the ATS will spot it and cut you from the competition.Pass on the PDF. Sure, many potential employers would prefer a PDF, particularly if youre submitting samples of your work. But the ATS likes Word documents instead, since its able to read Word docs better than PDF files. If your resume is in a PDF format, convert it to a .doc format so that the ATS can read your resume- and approve itForget the fancy.In an effort to make your job application represent all facets of your personality, youve carefully chosen a font that truly speaks to who you are. That might be all well and good, except that the ATS has a hard time reading fancy fonts (were looking at you, Lucida Handwriting and Trebuchet MS). Opt instead for more traditional (and easier-to-read) fonts like Times New Roman, Arial, and Cambria, all of which are easy on the eye- and the ATS.Learn to label.Everyone has an Objective and Work Experience section on their resumes, but thats so ho hum. You want to give your resume some editorial flair, but the ATS likes facts, not flowery interpretations of your information. Stick to labeling each section as it should appear on your resume so that the ATS doesnt gloss over any pertinent information, like your previous work experience (which should be written out in the following format your employers name job title dates of employment) or skills.Spell it out.Every industry has its own language and abbreviations for certain sayings or even job titles. You have to assume, though, that the ATS knows none of these when craft ing your job application. While its okay to include some acronyms throughout your resume, be sure to spell out the entire job title, too. That way the ATS wont miss anything important. Also, if you have a job that has a slash in it (e.g., Writer/Editor) skip a space in between the slash so that the ATS can read both titles.Standing out in an applicant tracking system is super important for every job seeker. By incorporating some of these tips into your job application, youll make it past the ATS and hopefully be called in for a job interviewReaders, what do you think of applicant tracking systems? Do you prep your job application with an ATS in mind? Let us know in the comments section

Is Your Career Site Ready for Mobile Recruiting Heres Why It Should Be

Is Your Career Site Ready for Mobile Recruiting Heres Why It Should BeIs Your Career Site Ready for Mobile Recruiting Heres Why It Should BeIm sure youve heard by now that if your website isnt mobile friendly by today, April 21, 2015, Google will remove your site from its Mobile Search Results. Anywhere from 30 percent to 45 percent of Googles traffic comes from a mobile device, which is why its so important to Google that it is delivering links to websites that are easily viewable from the mobile device.Run a test on Googles Developer page to see if your site is mobile friendly here.Or you can search for your site from a mobile device. If Mobile-friendly pops up under your URL, you are already in good shape in Googles eyes.As you can see, Simply Hired is optimized for the mobile job seeker.While being verified by Google is important, whats more important is being optimized for a good mobile job seeker experience. Here at Simply Hired over 40 percent of our job seeker traffic origina tes from a mobile device, and that percentage is increasing. Yet, less than 20 percent of Fortune 500 companies allow for a mobile job seeker to apply for a job online, according to the iMomentous Corporate Mobile Readiness Report. Jibe reports that 80 percent of job seekers expect to be able to search for jobs easily from a smart phone. They also found that 20 percent of job seekers would not apply to a job if they could not do so from their phone.What does this all mean for you?As a sales guy, the most common pain point I hear from customers and prospects is that they would like to reduce their cost per hire across all sources. Well, guess what? Addressing the mobile job seeker is a great way to reduce your costs. Lets do some quick math.Lets say your average job gets 1,000 clicks across all sources. If all sources have a similar desktop to mobile traffic ratio then 600 of those clicks come from desktop and 400 of those clicks come from a mobile device. If you dont have a process that allows a mobile job seeker to apply to that job, you just wasted 400 clicks. In other words, 400 job seekers found the open position you are trying to fill and could not apply to the job if they wanted to. Maybe the job seeker goes back to the job from an alternative device, but more often then not, the job seeker moves on.For those companies that sponsor with Simply Hired, we like to ensure that when a job seeker clicks on an open position they can actually apply to it. If you dont have a good mobile application process in place, your jobs are only being sponsored on desktop. If youre interested in hearing more about how Simply Hired can help with your mobile recruitment strategy. Contact us today

Senior Software Engineer Job Description Sample

Senior Software Engineer Job Description SampleSenior Software Engineer Job Description SampleSenior Software Engineer Job Description SampleThis senior software engineer sales representative sample job description can assist in your creating a job application that will attract job candidates who are qualified for the job. Feel free to revise this job description to meet your specific job duties and job requirements.Description Sr. Software EngineerSenior Software Engineer Job Purpose Develops information systems by studying operations designing, developing, and installing software solutions supports and develops software team.Senior Software Engineer Job DutiesDevelops software solutions by studying information needs conferring with users studying systems flow, data usage, and work processes investigating problem areas following the software development lifecycle.Determines operational feasibility by evaluating analysis, problem definition, requirements, solution development, and pr oposed solutions.Documents and demonstrates solutions by developing documentation, flowcharts, layouts, diagrams, charts, code comments and clear code.Prepares and installs solutions by determining and designing system specifications, standards, and programming.Improves operations by conducting systems analysis recommending changes in policies and procedures.Updates job knowledge by studying state-of-the-art development tools, programming techniques, and computing equipment participating in educational opportunities reading professional publications maintaining personal networks participating in professional organizations.Protects operations by keeping information confidential.Provides information by collecting, analyzing, and summarizing development and service issues.Accomplishes engineering and organization mission by completing related results as needed.Supports and develops software engineers by providing advice, coaching and educational opportunities.Skills/Qualifications Anal yzing Information, Software Design, Software Documentation, Software Testing, Teamwork, General Programming Skills, Software Development Fundamentals, Software Development Process, Software Requirements, Software Architecture, CoachingLearn more abouthow to hireRecruiting a New Hire if You Havent Hired in a WhilePower InterviewingResume Search Spotting Exceptional Talent

Short Article Reveals the Undeniable Facts About High School Teacher Resume and How It Can Affect You

Short Article Reveals the Undeniable Facts About High School Teacher Resume and How It Can Affect You Just take the skills which you have, and show how they translate into success where you decide to apply them. Furthermore, you can learn more on the subject of education careers on Monster. If you would like to develop into a high school principal, you can begin acquiring the qualification and skills you need now to produce the leap whenever youre ready. Many small business teachers use Twitter for skilled improvement. What to Expect From High School Teacher Resume? Having someone else speak to your teaching abilities is a rather strong tool which will be able to help you stick out from the competition. What a resume does is it summarizes your experience, skills, and other details. Conveying your distinctive teaching qualities and accomplishments to a possible high school is indispensable to landing a work interview. There are various sorts of resumes with corresponding pu rposes. Some employers search for certain teacher buzz words to find out if youre in the loop. You need to take note of how theyre listed in your state. Therefore, if youre a seasoned teacher, you are likely to begin working at a law firm without additional training. You may be a great team player. No matter the sort of industry youre aiming to land work in, you want to personalize your list of skills for the position. Dont turn into a shrieking shrew if youre not offered the job immediately. The very last thing you wish to do is apply for work in education with a subpar resume. Now you have the school hiring managers attention that you dont need to lose it. Ensure your resume is very clear and informative and targeted to the particular teacher job prospect. The secretary might also have to serve different duties as needed or required in a specific position. If so, your resume can nevertheless be quantified, and provide the hiring manager a concrete idea of the reach of your abilities and abilities. What Does High School Teacher Resume Mean? Resume Your resume (and a great cover letter) is the main bit of your professional portfolio and an important step on the best way to help you receive a teaching job. In sense, when youre overqualified, you will want to have an additional step or two to be able to look sexy enough to find the job you want. Again, it is a good concept to coincide with your resume to the ad, selecting keywords that show up in the work listing. As a fantastic guideline, should you need to submit a resume to receive your next job, you arent visionary. What all you will need is getting the assistance from a specialist and EssaysChief is going to be the expert that you seek out. A resume should be concise and still offer enough info to receive your foot in the door for an interview. Paired with a cover letter, youre guaranteed to land at the peak of the interview pile Resumes have always been the most important bit of recei ving an employers interest. The Number One Question You Must Ask for High School Teacher Resume Student teaching is a great chance for you to get to your name out there and get acquainted with the staff. High School Teachers have to be able to communicate with different teachers, administrators, and parents to talk about their students needs. Secondary teachers work in a given subject with students. Turning into a teacher enables you many distinct opportunities for study. Employers try to find staff that have a history of creating positive contributions. Teachers play a crucial part in the creation of children. The Key to Successful High School Teacher Resume Most teachers should list all their certifications, or any time they anticipate receiving them. In the auffhrung the normal teacher has left any instructions, make sure theyre well followed. High school teachers dont only impart instruction. Even teachers or would like to be teachers, find it tough to craft their r esumes. High School Teacher Resume the Ultimate Convenience You would need to receive a masters in the area, and possibly a Ph.D. so as to continue being competitive with other job seekers. In the same way as any other aspiring applicants, an extensive and well-done resumes are able to help you land work, particularly when youre a high school student with zero work experience. Proofreading is of extreme importance when you wish to land that coveted teaching job. If you would like to land work in the education field, be certain to learn to make and use a teaching portfolio. Who Else Wants to Learn About High School Teacher Resume? As you began your journey into education, and since you look to have a teaching job, youve gathered important artifacts on the way. 1 final tip for your high school business curriculum is to earn a point to periodically review your content for ways you may help it become better. One of the greatest strategies to find the interest of different teac hers and the administration is to substitute in the district that you would like to teach in. The education business is flourishing globally, and people have begun understanding the worth of very good education for their kids.

Distance education for teachers a course for celebration

Distance education for teacherbeis a course for celebration Distance education for teachers a course for celebrationPosted February 27, 2012, by Mike Kermode Studying by distance isnt everyones cup of tea. But for 44 year-old education student Sylvia Taylor, it provided an opportunity to fulfil a lifelong wish to become a teacher. Since high school, and throughout her 25 years in the superannuation industry, Sylvia coveted two things a university degree, and the skills to provide an education to children. The longer I stayed in the workforce and the older I and my own children became, I started to think that getting a degree and becoming a teacher was slipping out of my reach and would not become reality. Then something happened that would prove to be a catalyst for reconnecting with her dream the 2009 financial downturn, and her consequent redundancy. I remember talking to one of my girlfriends and having real doubts about starting a four-year degree at age 43. She wisely said that I can choose to be 47 and have a degree, or turn 47 and still not have one. She chose the former. Enrolling in a Certificate III Teachers Aide course at her local TAFE gave her a foothold in education. Then she enrolled in a Bachelor of Education (Primary) with OUA and Curtin University. It was available by distance which, for Sylvia, was perfect. Having children to care for and a husband who is employed on a shift work basis within the emergency services industry and is regularly on call, does not provide me with the consistent timeframes needed to attend classes on campus, says Sylvia. Because I can complete a large proportion of my university work while my children are at school and my husband is at work, I can minimise the impact on our family life. It also means she can work as a teachers aide while she studies. And while her education course includes some in-class practical training, most of it is completed online a learning environment she considers superior to that of on- campus. Everything I need to be successful is available to me online, she says. This includes access to textbooks and additional library reading, assistance with study and assignment techniques, effortless online enrolment and access to FEE-HELP, access to tutors and a peer group for rckendeckung while completing the units. Sylvia says that apart from feeding her passion for childhood literacy and education, her distance studies will expand her skills and her employment potential. Studying education has also given her a new sense of optimism. I feel like I have made a fresh start and extended the possibilities of what I can achieve in the future, she says. I am very proud of what I achieved so far and look forward to learning in an exciting and fulfilling career. See our full sortiment of education courses.Education ResourcesTESOL teacher sample resumeTESOL teacher sample cover letterCareer Insider StoriesAndy McKilliam - ESL Teacher, South KoreaOya Demirbilek - Associate Dean (Educ ation) at UNSW Built EnvironmentDavid Berger - Floristry Teacher at TAFE NSWInterested in becoming a?Human Resources OfficerTeam LeaderHuman Resources ManagerEarly Childhood TeacherCommunity WorkerPopular Career Searchesbachelor of music distance educationmelbourne education degreecertificate in education melbourneeducation course melbournediploma of education by correspondence australiaEducation CoursesBachelor of Education (Primary)Enquire Online Enquire Online Enquire OnlineCertificate IV in Education SupportEnquire Online Enquire OnlineBachelor of Education (Early Childhood Studies)Enquire Online Enquire OnlineMike KermodeRelated ArticlesBrowse moreEducationTeach. Lead. Inspire How To Become A TeacherWe can all recall, from our many years of schooling, that one unique teacher who inspired us to learn and made homework seem less of a chore.Career progressionEducationHow to make casual teaching work for youTeaching is one of the most rewarding and challenging careers around. Those in the profession come from a range of backgrounds and special interests, and theres more than one way to get in.Child CareEducationLive and learn working with childrenWe celebrate upcoming Childrens Week by looking at the education journey, from infancy through to school.

Project Manager Deploys Army Training to Land Sales Job

Project Manager Deploys Army Training to Land Sales JobProject Manager Deploys Army Training to Land Sales JobMichael Stark leveraged his army aviation experience to land a sales job in Waco, Texas that required aircraft knowledge.Michael Stark welches working as an IT project manager in Phoenix brde year for Perot Systems when he welches laid off as a full-time employee. Although the company kept him on as a project manager for a temporary project, he knew he was living on borrowed time.It was good that I stayed employed, the OpsLadder member said. But I could read the tea leaves I knew it wasnt going to last. That was last July. He began immediately to think about how to focus his job search, and while he initially decided to look at the health-care industry, it was his experience in his former career with the military that helped him eventually land the job offer he got in early March, as a program manager for L-3 Communications in Waco, Texas.Eyeing a growth market Health careI t ried to concentrate on health care here in Phoenix, Stark said. I think it will be a growth area as the government focuses on restructuring the health-care system. Beginning in July, he started looking at job boards and networking through LinkedIn and project-management groups. I tapped into everything I could because I knew, with the economy the way it was, that it would be a huge effort, he said.While he got responses from recruiters and did some phone interviews, nothing was moving ahead. I knew it was a function of the economy, Stark said. A lot of companies were holding back until they could figure out what was happening with the economy, and what they would need.Not that it made him feel any better. I was absolutely terrified that I wouldnt find a job, he said. I wasnt getting the responses I had hoped. I was concerned with the snowball effect the economy was going to have on jobs. I had just moved into a house I had built, and I didnt want to lose it. However, as Stark adapte d to his situation he forfeited some self-imposed standards, I made the decision in October that I would open myself up to jobs anywhere in the U.S. and internationally, he said.Playing up former military experienceIn early December, he saw a listing on Ladders looking for someone with skills specific to what he had done in the Army. They needed a program manager with experience in Army aviation, he said. They were looking for someone familiar with air-worthiness certificates - what you need to ensure an aircraft is legal to fly - Army acquisition programs those were some of the discriminators, the special skills that made me especially qualified for it.Stark said he tweaked his resume to add a few military acronyms and make it a little more specific to aviation, and he sent it in. And he waited.I sent it in early December, and then heard nothing, he recalled. Id like to think I was qualified for all the jobs I applied for, but this one I liked, and I really felt I had a shot. He kept at his job search through December, but was starting to feel concerned in early January, when the postings were almost nonexistent. If there was a perfect storm for recruiting, early January was it, he said. Companies were not putting out new requisitions, the new presidential administration was not in bro yet, no one was sure what was going to happen, and nothing was happening, he said.And then, in the third week of January, he received a call from L-3 Communications, saying they wanted him to come to Texas for an interview. It was long enough since I sent my resume that I had to ask them to send the job description again, he said.After one long day of interviews with everyone from the hiring manager to the chief financial officer, Stark went back to Phoenix feeling very confident. He wrote thank you notes to all the people he met, and then nothing. I heard nothing for three weeks, he said. As of February 8, I was unemployed, so I was still applying for jobs like crazy.Then, in early March, L-3 Communications called him with an offer for a job. His official title program manager on the joint cargo aircraft program.I havent been with Army aviation since I retired from the Army 12 years ago, so what they were really hiring me for was my leadership and management capabilities, he said. It just so happened that I had some background they were interested in.And despite the fact that he has to leave his new house, hes excited about his prospects in Waco while making the best of a bad housing market. Ive got an increase in pay, the possibility of international travel, and working on a job I am excited about, he said. The housing market in Phoenix is the worst in the nation, so Im not going to sell my house Ill put it up for rent, for now. And Ill rent in Waco, where the cost of living is lower.

Interview Strategies for Successful Hiring

vorstellungsgesprch Strategies for Successful HiringInterview Strategies for Successful HiringInterview Strategies for Successful HiringThis article is from The Small Business Hiring GuideYour company can increase hiring success by applying the right tools to the job, including effective einstellungsgesprching techniques, thoughtful interview questions and well-orchestrated candidate meetings. Here are some basics to get you started.Prep Questions in AdvanceCreate a list of interview questions before the candidate arrives. This upfront planning will keep the interview moving quickly and ensure you get the information you need. It will also help you avoid vaguely worded questions that may be difficult for applicants to answer.Choose the Right Interviewer(s)The supervisor who will oversee the new hire typically conducts the initial job interview. If youre a small shop with one person who will conduct the interview process, have other gruppe members talk with candidates as well. Discuss in advance which topics each interviewer will explore. This will generate more comprehensive information about applicants skills and experience.Listen More Than You TalkWhen the interview begins, make applicants comfortable by asking a few general questions, and then followthis interview tip let them do most of the talking. Save your overview of the company and job for the end of the meeting. Otherwise, job seekers might tell you what they think you want to hear rather than speaking honestly.Avoid the Tried and TrueInterview questions such as, Where do you want to be in five years? elicit well-rehearsed responses. Instead, ask the unexpected interview question. Watch how applicants think on their feet its a good indicator of how theyll deal with day-to-day challenges.Three Interview Questions to Ask Tell me about a time you needed to learn a new skill. Describe the worst job you ever had. How do you motivate someone who isnt doing his or her job?Three Interview Questions to Avoid Where do you want to be in five years? What are your strengths and weaknesses? Why are you leaving your present position?Elicit Practical InformationWhat types of questions get you the information youll need? Scenario-based questions, where you ask a candidate to react to a typical on-the-job challenge, can give you an idea of how a candidate would react. Questions that focus on measurable outcomes, such as what roadblocks did you face on a project and how did you get around them? give you insight intopertinent accomplishments. Follow up when necessary to get the specific information you need.Talk About Your Company Brand and CultureAs a small company, your company brand is a crucial element to helping sell the candidate.The first component of your company brand is reflected in the functional benefits that you offer, such as health plans, compensation, flexible work arrangements, wellness and telecommuting programs. As well, talk to the candidate about opportunities for growth and c areer development.The second are your brands emotional benefits. Touch on your companys culture what motivates people to work there, as well as employee-generated initiatives, community volunteer programs and other company traditions.The third and perhaps most important component of your brand is the reason to believe. Rather than give the candidate second-hand anecdotes about why your company is a great place to work, consider having one of your employee advocates meet the candidate and share their positive work experience first hand.Watch the ClockDecide how long youll spend in the meeting and how much of that time will be filled with candidate questions versus your overview of the position. Dont feel obligated to give too much time to poor prospects, but keep in mind that theyre likely to talk about their experience to others in the community.Dont Forgo the Second InterviewInvite strong candidates back for another interview with you or a team member. Ask new questions and repeat a few from the first conversation to test consistency. Does the second meeting reinforce your feeling that the prospect is right for the job? If youre not sure, dont hesitate to set up a third meeting.None of the information provided herein constitutes legal advice on behalf of Monster.

Your Complete Guide to Dealing With Workplace Bullies - The Muse

Your Complete Guide to Dealing With Workplace Bullies - The Muse Your Complete Guide to Dealing With Workplace Bullies Goodbye, playground bully! See you never, high school mean girls! Hello…workplace bully? Oh no. Unfortunately, bullying isn’t one of those things you can put behind you when you become an adult, like awkward yearbook photos and (usually) braces. Offices can have bullies, too. In fact, they’re more common than you might think. In a national survey, the Workplace Bullying Institute found that 19% of adults said they’d personally been bullied at work, while another 19% said they’d seen it happen to someone else. “It comes just like sexual harassment- uninvited, undeserved, unwarranted,” says Gary Namie, a social psychologist and the co-founder and director of WBI. He and his wife, Ruth Namie, a clinical psychologist, founded WBI after her experience being bullied by a colleague at a psychiatric clinic (yes, that’s right, the bully was another mental health professional). Being bullied at work can harm both your mental and your physical health- with potential effects including major stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, high blood pressure, gastrointestinal issues, and more. “It really is very damaging. It creates a place where you’re just always afraid and you can’t be yourself,” says Catherine Mattice Zundel, CEO of Civility Partners, who specializes in resolving toxic work environments and coaching people who bully. “People are angry and confused and they’re concerned about their job all day every day- is today the day I’m going to be fired?” she adds. “That’s just no way to live.” We’re breaking down what workplace bullying actually is, what it looks like, and how you can deal with it. Because your well-being comes first. Workplace Bullying Defined The 4 Types of Workplace Bullies Why Workplace Bullies Get Away With It 7 Ways to Deal With Your Workplace Bully What to Do if You See Someone Else Being Bullied How to Avoid a Bully in Future Jobs Workplace Bullying, Defined According to the WBI, bullying is “repeated, health-harming mistreatment of one or more persons (the targets) by one or more perpetrators.” The abusive conduct- including verbal abuse- is intimidating, threatening, or humiliating to the target. It can, and often does, interfere with the target’s ability to get their work done. Zundel emphasizes that workplace bullying goes far beyond a minor disruption or small annoyance. Rather, “it creates a psychological power imbalance between the person doing the bullying and their target or targets to a point where that person at the receiving end develops [a] feeling of helplessness.” And unfortunately, unlike harassment, bullying isn’t illegal. What’s the difference? Harassment- including the kind where someone or someones create a hostile work environment- hinges on being mistreated based on a protected class, such as sex, race, religion, or national origin. If the bad behavior is unrelated to one of those, it might be toxic and soul-crushing, but it’s not against the law. The 4 Types of Workplace Bullies The majority (61%) of workplace bullies are bosses, according to WBI’s survey. But that also means that more than a third are not managers, but rather peers or even lower-level employees. In short, bullying can come from any direction in the org chart, and it can take different forms. Here are four kinds of bullies you might encounter and the behaviors they display (and keep in mind that one bully could adopt multiple tactics): 1. The Screaming Mimi (Think: Aggressive Communication) When you imagine a bully, what comes to mind? If it’s a stereotypical yelling, cursing, angry meanie, then you’re thinking of what Namie calls the “Screaming Mimi.” This type of bully tends to make a public scene and instill fear not only in their target, but also in all their co-workers, who might understandably be terrified of speaking up, for fear of becoming the next target. Aggressive communication can include not only yelling, sending angry emails, and other verbal forms of hostility, but also using aggressive body language. One client Zundel worked with, for example, would often assume a kind of power pose in staff meetings, putting his feet up on the table and leaning back before launching into long tirades about why someone’s idea wouldn’t work. 2. The Constant Critic (Think: Disparagement and Humiliation) When Laine (who asked to use her middle name for this article) got a job at a nonprofit with a mission she really believed in, she thought it would be a great gig. But then her boss, who was often traveling, started criticizing, from afar, every little thing she did- to the point that disparaging emails were pretty much the only kind of communication she received from him. Not only did he chastise her regularly when she made a mistake- or when he arbitrarily decided she’d failed- but he also made sure she never took credit for any of her successes. She started working longer and longer hours, but “the harder I worked the worse I was according to him... Everything I did was wrong,” Laine says. He told her that “every team is just as good as its weakest link and you’re the weakest link.” For a long time, she believed him. The harder I worked the worse I was according to him. Everything I did was wrong. [He told me] every team is just as good as its weakest link and you’re the weakest link. Laine Namie refers to this kind of bully as the “Constant Critic.” They may not yell at you to your face or in front of other people, but they’ll disparage you so regularly that you begin to doubt your abilities and wear you down so much that the quality of your work might objectively suffer. Laine, for example, became so petrified of what the next email would say that she stopped checking, and her performance went downhill in other ways, too. Ultimately, she was fired. The bully might humiliate you one-on-one or in public by pointing out your mistakes, taking credit for your work, leaving you out of things, socially isolating you, or even playing jokes on you, says Zundel. 3. The Gatekeeper (Think: Manipulation and Withholding of Resources) One of the most frustrating aspects of Laine’s experience was that her boss routinely criticized her for doing things wrong or differently when he never gave her instructions in the first place. In some cases, he got angry she hadn’t performed tasks he’d never told her to tackle. Some bullies manipulate their targets and withhold resources- whether that’s instructions, information, time, or help from others- setting you up to fail. They might only tell you about three steps of the process when there are actually five, Zundel says, or pile so much work on you that there’s no reasonable way for you to complete it by the deadline. They might give you a poor performance review when your work isn’t actually so poor or punish you for being one minute late to a meeting (when others who are tardy don’t face any repercussions). The gatekeeper, Namie points out, can also be a peer or a subordinate, if they “forget” to invite you to an important call or pass on pertinent details that will prevent you from doing your job. 4. The Two-Headed Snake (Think: Behind-the-Scenes Meddling) One of the most difficult kinds of bullies to detect- and therefore deal with- is the one who pretends to be your friend and champion while undermining you behind your back. “They’re controlling your reputation with others. They are tearing you to shreds,” Namie says, calling you “unreliable, unskilled, un-this, un-that. Whereas to your face, they’re your friends.” You might eventually find out if someone breaks rank and tips you off, but often the bully will ask people to keep their remarks confidential. It goes without saying that it’s hard to combat something you don’t even know is happening. Why Workplace Bullies Get Away With It Bullies are often high performers. They might be a top salesperson who brings in huge deals worth millions or a brilliant engineer who’s always coming up with efficient solutions or a marketer who managed to double a site’s traffic. Whatever it is, they’re bringing value to the company, which means the company has an incentive to keep them on board (and happy). Some bullies also work to ingratiate themselves with their superiors (and perhaps their peers, too)- even as they abuse one or more of the folks they oversee or work with. Put all that together, and instead of being held accountable for their bullying behavior, they might be getting rewarded with praise, raises, or promotions- and you might be all the more intimidated by the prospect of casting a shadow on such a star. The bottom line is that bullies get away with their behavior mostly because of the company and the culture it fosters. “We want to look at the personalities of the perpetrators and say, well that explains it all. No it doesn’t. What really explains it is the work environment that provided the opportunities,” Namie says- the one that allowed these people to get hired in the first place and then to bully with impunity. “Without the work environment giving the green light, providing the license to unbridled mistreatment, bullying wouldn’t happen.” 7 Ways to Deal With Your Workplace Bully Figuring out how to deal with bullying can be overwhelming. So we asked the experts what you can do to help yourself. 1. Speak Up Early On The good news is that you have a window of opportunity to nip things in the bud before you become the long-term target of a workplace bully. “One of the best things that you can do for yourself is the minute somebody mistreats you, that you speak up in the moment right then and squash it, because everybody likes the path of least resistance, right?” Zundel says. She suggests a few options: Call attention to their values: Try “I know that you really care about everyone feeling valued, and when you do X, it undermines that intention. Maybe we could try Y in the future?” Explain why it’s a problem: Try “I notice you X, and when you do that it makes it hard for us to foster a team environment.” Say their name a lot: Try “Jim, I hear what you are saying, but Jim, I need you to stop doing X. I treat you with respect, Jim, and I need you to do the same.” And don’t forget your body language. “Stand up tall, arms at your side, nose up,” Zundel emphasizes. “If you’re feeling nervous about standing up it will show through with arms folded, shoulders hunched, looking down.” The bad news is that if you brush off bullying and let it continue in its early stages, it’ll only get worse. “A lot of times people let it go and let it go and let it go,” Zundel says. And by the time they realize they’re being bullied, it might be too late. Once that power imbalance has been cemented, it can be virtually impossible for the target to fix. In other words, if you muster the courage to speak up after months of being bullied, the abuse is not just unlikely to stop, it may even intensify. So if you’re that far down the path, you might be better off taking a different approach. 2. Document the Abuse and Your Performance If it took you a while to realize the full severity of what was happening to you and you feel like you’ve missed your chance to react quickly, start documenting. “Keep a journal of the who, what, when, where, why of things that happen,” says Zundel. “If you’re in a staff meeting and the bullying occurs, then go back to your desk and write down who else was in the staff meeting, what was said, why was it said, and try to just put in as much detail as you can around kind of the facts of the situation.” If you decide to report the bully later, you’ll want to be able to give concrete examples of the behaviors you’re describing. In addition, start filing away any emails or other evidence to back up your side of the story. For example, if your boss is criticizing your performance, collect documentation that demonstrates quantifiable results of projects you’re working on as well as any praise-filled emails you’ve gotten from other stakeholders. 3. Take Care of Yourself Outside of Work Bullying can take a huge toll on you in the office and outside of it. But it can help to try to balance the damaging influences with positive ones. “If you can, join some things happening outside of work that would make you feel good about yourself,” Zundel says. “Join a softball team or do yoga or any of those things that make you happy.” Spend time with your friends and family and lean on them for support, though be aware that venting constantly about your work woes could strain your relationships. Consider seeking professional help from a therapist or counselor, too. Namie suggests trying to find someone who understands trauma. (You can simply call and ask: “Do you have skilled practitioners in trauma-informed counseling?” or “Do you practice trauma-informed counseling?” If the answer is “No” or “What’s that?” then call someone else.) 4. Do Your Research Does your company have a policy about bullying, mistreatment, verbal abuse, or anything similar that you might be able to reference? Since bullying is not illegal, many companies don’t have a formal policy against it. But it’s worth your time to check your employee handbook or any other document that lays out the organization’s values and expectations. It can only strengthen your case if you’re able to point to that language if you decide to make a complaint. At the same time, consider seeking legal advice to confirm whether or not your situation might qualify as harassment or otherwise offer some sort of legal recourse. Namie recommends “renting” an employment attorney who works with plaintiffs on harassment and discrimination cases for half an hour or an hour and telling a concise version of your story to get a sense of what your options are. (See WBI’s detailded advice on finding a lawyer here.) Some lawyers will do free consultations, but others might charge an hourly fee that might be as low as $75 or as high as hundreds of dollars. 5. Talk to Your Manager (or Someone Else, if Your Boss Is the Bully) If you’ve made some attempts to deal with the situation and haven’t gotten anywhere, Zundel recommends speaking to your manager (assuming they aren’t the bully, of course). “You can say, ‘Here’s what’s going on. I’ve tried these three things, none of them worked and that’s why I’m here in your office,’” she recommends. “That’s a much better conversation than, ‘This person is bullying me. Can you help me?’” If your boss is the problem, think about whether you trust one of their peer managers, or someone above them, enough to seek their advice. The key here is to assess your specific situation and try to gauge the relationships within your company. It probably wouldn’t be wise, for example, to go to the person who hired your bully or worked with them at a previous job. And you definitely wouldn’t turn to their work BFF or someone who’s related to them (in the case of a family company). Because if you do and it gets back to the bully it could make things even worse. 6. Talk to HR or Someone in Power Before you make any moves to talk to HR or someone in the C suite, you’ll want to do a few things. First, decide who to speak with. Namie isn’t a proponent of taking your complaint to HR and suggests finding a high-ranking individual you feel you can approach with “a plan to save money” (more on that in a second). Zundel adds that the decision of whether or not to go to HR comes down to what type of HR person you’re dealing with. “One type of HR person is really focused on compliance and the rules and the other type of HR person is focused on culture and people,” she says. You might have trouble with the former, but if you think you have the latter, “they don’t need a corporate policy to help you.” Second, think about how you can make a business case rather than a personal plea, no matter who you decide to approach. Namie recommends literally calculating the cost of the bully to the company in terms of turnover, absenteeism, lost productivity, and more (he’s even got step-by-step instructions here). Your documentation can also help at this stage, because you’ll be able to cite specific examples of time wasted and resources lost. Finally, think about what it is that you want. “Is it that you just want them to know or is it that you want their help? Is it that you want this person transferred? What do you need from HR?” says Zundel, who provides a worksheet to help you prepare in her book Back Off! Your Kick-Ass Guide to Ending Bullying @ Work. “And what will you do if you don’t get what you’re looking for?” If the answer is that you’ll leave, that’s okay. Ultimately, she says, “your dignity and self respect and psychological well-being is so much more important than the paycheck you get.” 7. Look for a New Job The reality is that most bullying situations (77% according to WBI’s survey) end in the target leaving their job, whether because they got fed up and quit or they ended up getting fired (sometimes because, like Laine, their performance suffered so much under the stress of long-term abuse). So it’s in your best interest to start job searching as soon as you can, especially if your company doesn’t have a policy or culture you trust to squash bullying swiftly and forcefully. Even if you do pursue some of your other options before you actually decide to leave- speaking to HR, for example- it can help to have an offer or at least prospects lined up in case things go awry. What to Do if You See Someone Else Being Bullied You don’t have to be the bully or the target to be entangled in bullying. “If you see it, you know it’s happening, and you don’t do anything, you are giving permission for this person to act that way with your silence,” says Zundel. If you feel comfortable speaking up in the moment, do it. Zundel suggests something simple like, “Hey, what’s going on? Let’s not talk to each other that way.” If you see it, you know it’s happening, and you don’t do anything, you are giving permission for this person to act that way with your silence. Catherine Mattice Zundel In her bystander training, Zundel also teaches people to “state the problem, state the consequences, and offer a solution.” So, for example, if someone is yelling in a meeting, you could say: “Hey [Name], I noticed that you’re yelling. When you raise your voice, it makes it hard for the meetings to feel collaborative and it shuts ideas down. Maybe moving forward we can all agree to keep our voices down so that we can get through the brainstorming process.” Doing that in front of everyone else simultaneously makes it safer for you to speak up and empowers others to follow your example. You can also quietly, without turning it into a raging gossip parade, ask your other colleagues if they’ve noticed something and agree to join forces. That might mean you all commit to calling out bullying behavior in the moment whenever it happens or take turns going to HR to share your concerns. If the bully is a peer manager or a subordinate, you can take them aside and try to talk some sense into them, says Namie, who believes that informal coaching is more effective than a formal complaint. Still, it can be hard to convince a bully to stop if the company has no policy against such behavior. How to Avoid a Bully in Future Jobs The last thing you want to do is finally escape a bully, only to encounter another one at your next job. To that end, Zundel recommends asking a few types of questions during your future interview processes that will help you assess whether your future boss has a history of bullying and whether the company’s culture would tolerate any bullying if it were to arise. What’s the manager I’d be reporting to like? Ask during your phone screen, if it’s with someone other than your prospective boss. If the response is, “Oh my gosh, they’re wonderful. Everybody loves them,” Zundel says, that should be a reassuring sign. But if you sense some hesitation and then get something like, “Well, you know, he’s good, people like him, he’s been here a long time,” then it might be a red flag. What’s your strategic plan around company culture? How do you manage the organization’s culture? If they have nothing to say in response to tell you about active steps they take to foster their culture, it might not be a great sign. How do you live your core values? How do they show up in the work here? Do you talk about them on a regular basis? If they can’t talk much about these- or even worse, don’t really know what the core values are- again, not a great sign. Who are the corporate heroes here? Who are the stellar people and why are they the stellar people? These questions get to the heart of what drives the company. “Try to get a sense for who’s celebrated and why,” says Zundel. “Is that the kind of place you’d want to be?” Your days at the office shouldn’t be filled with aggressive communication, humiliation, and manipulation. If they are, remember first that it’s not your fault. And then take whatever steps you can to take care of yourself and put that bully in the past once and for all.