When is the right time for the next move?

It is commonly believed you should not stay more than three years in the same role or more than six years with the same company if you want to grow your career and get new skills, networking, opportunities, bigger salary or a higher position.

Is it a standard though? Does this matter the most?

The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.

Steve Jobs

How long should you stay with one company?

I stayed with the same company for fourteen years. It’s true I was changing roles every 3-4 years and that gave me the opportunity to learn new skills, work with new teams and broaden my experience.

What made me stay? The business dynamics, the challenges, the possibilities to grow and learn, discovering new talents and sharing what I know, yet most important for me was the people and the office vibe.

They say if you get up in the morning and think “Oh, no, I need to go to work again!”, then it’s clear you don’t like that job and it’s time to move on. I know it’s hard to believe but I never had this feeling. I enjoyed weekends and vacations as much as anyone else and still loved to go to work.

I often got the advice that it was time for me to move on. Was it wrong of me to stay so long with one company?

Maybe. Had I changed my job earlier, I would have gathered new experiences, my CV would have looked richer, I would have been a better candidate for new roles, I would have earned more money.

At the same time, I don’t regret it. I had the opportunity to work as a leader of four different departments, I recruited tens of people, I worked with Baby Boomers, X, Y and even Z generations and learned what approach was the best for each employee. Some of the generation Y and Z employees would seek a career change after a few months on the job, so learning to manage the expectations of people was quite a thing during my last years with the company.

When interviewing people, I would tell them with great pride that we had many employees who stayed 10, 15, or even 20 years with the company.

Of course, this mattered less to generation Y and Z as they wanted to grab that opportunity and have some experience and then move forward. I don’t blame them.

On the contrary, exploring until you find a place that fits your values, your lifestyle, and your aspirations is the best thing to do when you are at the beginning of your career. That is until the moment you feel the need to make the next move.

Reasons for moving to a new company

There could be different reasons for making the next move.

You might feel you don’t have anything more to offer or to learn in that place; the job is not compatible anymore with your aspirations in terms of your career or you could simply feel it doesn’t fit you anymore and your place is somewhere else.

If you aim for a managerial role in the future, having experience in different departments is really helpful, so you might consider a lateral move or even several lateral moves before jumping to a decision to move to a new company.

Did I wonder sometimes how it would have been had I worked somewhere else? Of course, I did. We are curious by nature and what’s new always gets our attention.

At the same time, there are many questions to answer before being sure about the next move. You never know if it’s going to be better in terms of office vibe, relationships, or if you’ll be sharing the same vision or follow a new set of company principles.

A tale of two choices: a new employer or going on your own?

There is also the possibility to go on your own or to freelance and work with different companies. Here comes the question: would you feel the need to be part of a team, or are you OK with being on your own?

For some people the feeling of belonging is vital. Working in an environment with diverse people boosts your creativity, you learn to adapt or to react to different situations, you develop interpersonal skills and there’s always someone eager to go out for a drink with you.

Working on your own might sound challenging, but for some people, it’s the best option. You are your own boss, you are free to plan your vacations anytime you want and you can schedule your working hours whenever you wish should you seek to become more disciplined in terms of time management. As to human interactions, it really depends how extrovert you are and how much you wish to meet people or how often you want to connect with the ones you know.

Read more: Is leadership reserved only for extroverts?

In the end, what matters the most? The memories? The money you have in your account? The friends you’ve made?

How happy were you outside work when being in a certain job?

It is never too late to be what you might have been.

George Eliot

If you are unsure whether or not to make the next move, answer the following questions. It might give you an idea about what would be better.

4 questions to help you decide whether or not to make the next move

1. Imagine your retirement day has come and you think back on your career. What would be the thing you would remember about your career that would make you happy and satisfied?
2. How is the move you are planning to make supports that feeling of satisfaction that you imagined?
3. What are the things you are going to gain, besides higher salary, in the new role, and what are you giving up from what you have in your current role?
4. How will the new role help you to become a better person overall?

I hope answering these questions will help you find the right career path for you and I wish you good luck!

Join the Conversation

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Do You Want a Career? Whom You Marry Matters!

It’s the 21st century and in the past fifty years, women have been changing their expectations regarding professional life. Women fight for equal rights, equal pay, more high leadership roles and higher expectations for a fulfilled personal and professional life.

Women want it all!

But can they have it all?

The 20th century saw the rise of women. The 21st century will see the adaptation (or not) of men to the consequences of that rise.

Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, CEO of 20-first and world-renowned gender expert

In 2014 Robin J. Ely, Pamela Stone and Colleen Ammerman, three renowned gender experts published a very interesting survey:

Life and Leadership After Harvard Business School.

The researchers surveyed more than 25,000 Harvard Business School graduates (men and women, most of them MBA alumni) regarding career and family life. The respondents’ ages span over three generations: Millennials (ages 26–31), Generation X (ages 32–48) and Baby Boomers (ages 49–67).

The fresh out of school graduates were asked about their expectations related to career development and gender responsibilities, while Generation X and Baby Boomers were invited to share how the reality lived up to their expectations.

Expectations vs Reality

Both men and women were asked about their expectations. How did their lives unfold to meet these expectations?

I’ll give you a hint – according to this survey, women are disappointed, men are satisfied.

Here are the main findings of the survey:

Gen X’ers and Baby Boomers – Career

Men

• expectation: 61% of Gen X and Baby Boomer men expected to be in “traditional” partnerships, in which their careers would take precedence over their partner’s;
• reality: their expectations were surpassed: up to 74% of men got what they expected.

Women

• expectation: 25% of women expected to put their husband’s career above their own;
• reality: their expectations were also surpassed but in a negative way: up to 40% of women sacrificed their careers to the benefit of their husbands’.

Gen X and Baby Boomers – Childcare responsibilities

Men

• expectation: almost 84% of men expected their partners to take primary responsibility for childcare;
• reality: their expectations were exceeded: up to 86% of them were successful in leaving the child-rearing responsibilities up to their partners.

Women

• 50% of women expected to take on the main responsibility of childcare and rearing,
• reality: 72% ended up taking responsibility with little support from their partners.

Millennials – Career

As fresh graduates, just starting out their lives, both women and men expected the same for their future: fulfilling professional and personal lives.

One would argue that the younger generation is more open-minded and has a progressive outlook on gender responsibilities. I guess the question is how much open-minded and progressive? Because the difference is very small in comparison with their parents and grandparents.

Men

50% of Millennial men support a traditional partnership as compared to 61% of GenX’ers and Baby Boomers.

Is 11% relevant? I believe not.

Women

Millennial women take a cue from their mothers: a similar percentage expect their partner’s career to take precedence – 26%. So not much progress from one generation to the next. They’re even worse than their grandmothers: only 17% of Baby Boomer women expected traditional partnerships.

Millennials – Childcare responsibilities

When it comes to the person who is expected to take the main responsibility for child caring and child rearing, the numbers are smaller than the earlier generations but not by much.

42% of Millennial women expect to be the primary caregiver for their children, while 66% of men expect the same.

Conclusions according to this survey’s results:

• Across the three generations, men were more satisfied than women with their experiences of meaningful work, professional accomplishments, opportunities for career growth, and compatibility of work and personal life;
• Many women’s expectations for career equality were unfulfilled;
• The belief that women value a career less is widespread although not true;
• More than half the men in Generation X and Baby Boomer said that when they left HBS, they expected that their careers would take priority over their spouses’ or partners’;
• Surprisingly half Millennial men believed in the traditional role of their partners expecting them to give up their own careers in order to support theirs;
• Half the women expected their partners to share in the responsibility of childcare with only up to 35% actually meeting this expectation;
• Men expected their partners to take primary responsibility for child care;
• Women who started out with egalitarian expectations but ended up in more-traditional arrangements felt less satisfied with how their careers have progressed than did women who both expected and experienced egalitarian partnerships at home;
• Traditional partnerships were linked to higher career satisfaction for men, whereas women who ended up in such arrangements were less satisfied, regardless of their original expectations;
• About half the women who had egalitarian career expectations also assumed that they would perform most of the childcare in their families.

If you can’t find a spouse who supports your career, stay single.

Aviva – Wittenberg Cox, CEO of 20-first and world-renowned gender expert

As the numbers of this survey show, women are at a disadvantage: they don’t let their expectations be known by their partners or they give up on their dreams too easily.

It’s an unpleasant surprise to see such a high percentage of men (highly educated men, mind you!) still holding retrograde beliefs regarding gender responsibilities. As it seems, women’s struggle for equal rights at home and in society have yet to reap the benefits.

As a man, to expect your partner to forget about her own career aspirations and become a stay-at-home wife is unloving and disrespectful.

Where is this coming from? What is the reason we find this traditional 1950s perspective on marriage still alive and kicking?

The first relationship we see growing up is that of our parents’.

Psychologists say our ideology regarding gender roles is often influenced by our parents’. As children, we see what roles each of our parents have in our family, whether or not they share the burden of household chores and which one is more involved in child-rearing activities.

If we see our mother taking care of mainly everything in the home and family (buying groceries, running errands, driving the children to school or other activities, cooking meals, doing the housecleaning etc) we may grow up believing in a more traditional partnership between spouses and expect our life to follow the same pattern.

On the other hand, an unhappy and frustrated mother constantly thinking of what might have been had she not given up on her dream career, will raise children with a different outlook on life: they will take their mother’s life choices as an example of what not to do if they wish to be happy.

Regret is worse than failure.

If we want this situation to change for the better for future generations of women and men, we need to start today. We need to change the status quo in our own family. If we want our daughters to be happy and have it all, we need to teach our sons to value and respect the rights of happiness of the people around them. If we want our daughters to be happy and have it all, we need to teach them to value themselves, to acknowledge their self-worth and go for their dreams.

Communication is key to a happy life.

In her article, If you can’t find a spouse who supports your career, stay single Aviva-Wittenberg Cox talks about three strategies that both men and women can implement for a happy relationship and a fulfilling career and life:

1. Discuss long-term personal and professional goals early and revise them whenever both of you need it;
2. Men should practice the art of active listening while women should let men know they appreciate them;
3. Enforce the 5:1 rule: five positive comments for every “constructive” one.

What do you believe?

Are women still putting their partners’ careers first?

What have you experienced in your own relationship?

Join the Conversation

We’d love to hear what you have to say.

Get in touch with us on Facebook Group and Twitter.

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sources:

https://hbr.org/2014/12/rethink-what-you-know-about-high-achieving-women

https://hbr.org/2018/02/being-a-two-career-couple-requires-a-long-term-plan?autocomplete=true

Meet Joe Escobedo, One of Singapore’s Brand Minds

Recognized as one of the “Top 20 Content Marketers” worldwide and awarded the “Most Influential Global Marketing Leader” at the World Marketing Congress, Joe has helped countless organizations and executives transform from relative unknowns to superheroes online. He has also created and led successful digital marketing, branding and PR campaigns for​ both​ ​startups​ ​and Fortune 500 firms. He is a contributor for both Forbes and the HuffPost, as well as an award-winning speaker.​ ​His articles, interviews and talks have been ​read or heard by nearly one million people.

What is the significance of Joe Escobedo “The Brand Builder” and what is the story behind it?

“The Brand Builder” is a moniker given to me by my colleagues when we were trying to create ‘superhero’ names for the team.

You worked with companies from U.S., China and Singapore, which market did you like the most and why so?

The safe answer would be Singapore, but my five years in the gauntlet known as China made me what I am today. It taught me humility and the importance of guanxi (relationships).

Name one situation that made you want to quit and change your career.

I want to learn something everyday so there were times in my career where I felt like I wasn’t learning anything new or pushing myself hard enough. It’s during those times that I’ve transitioned to a completely new field or market. Sometimes I’ve failed miserably, but I learned from each experience and have grown from it.

Name one situation that made you want to go forward.

I’m driven when people tell me I can’t do something. I’ve been told that more times than I can count throughout my career. During those times, I think in my head, “hold on a second and watch this!”

What do you think are the most difficult challenges marketeers have to face in Asian markets nowadays?

Taking a long-term view. Too often, global headquarters look to the regional office in Asia and say, “You’re our growth engine now so you should be growing at a double-digit rate.” The problem with that is that it forces marketers to look only at the month ahead, rather than what’s going to rise up and disrupt their industry next year.

Investment matters. If you would invest in one particular business field nowadays. What would that be?

If I were looking for some quick cash, I’d say anything A.I. related. But I generally play the long game so I’d invest in things people always need, like food and toilet paper.

If you could change something about Singapore’s marketing community to improve it in any way what would that be?

I’d encourage the Community to take risks and invest more in digital. An ad plastered over the MRT may look great but what’s the return on your investment?

What made you settle down in Singapore?

The short answer: love. I followed my wife who received a job offer before I did.

Meet Joe Escobedo, The Man behind the suit

Name one good habit that helps you deal with your active life.

Reading to my daughter, because in that moment, I’m not Joe “The Brand Builder.” I’m whichever character I’m reading in the book.

Name one bad habit you can’t quit.

Speed walking. I tend to walk like I’m always 15 minutes late to a meeting.

If you could be anything else but a marketing leader, what would you be?

In another life, I would’ve been a film director. I wrote, directed and edited a sketch comedy movie when I was in college. I loved the experience and think I could’ve been a third-rate Christopher Nolan.

You are recognized as “One of the Most Influential Global Marketing Leaders”. What’s your favorite movie of a global marketing leader?

Don’t know if it’s about a global marketing leader per se, but Game of Thrones. After over a decade as a marketer, I see too many similarities between that show and the marketing world, albeit slightly less violent. For instances, strong alliances with the “right” groups can help you get closer to the corporate Iron Throne.

Tell us your favorite book. What’s the best thing you learned from it?

“How To Win Friends & Influence People,” by Dale Carnegie. I’ve read the book at least 10 times and everytime I ‘learn’ something new. My favorite lesson is about putting yourself in the other’s shoes – thinking about what they would want rather than what you’d want them to do.

Name the most important value you have.

Grit. It’s the only reason I’m still around and kickin’ in the professional world. Because even when I get battered to the ground, I claw my way back up. It’s an invaluable trait for any marketer or entrepreneur.

Name the most important value a leader should have.

Empathy. Every boss wants to make the most profit they can but they can only do so with a strong team behind them. And the only way to build and retain a strong team is to empathize with your staff’s situation. If they get demotivated because a client scolded them, then give them a pep talk. If there are unseen circumstances that caused them to miss a deadline then be understanding to their situation.

If you could compare your journey as an entrepreneur with a song, what song would you choose?

“Highway To Hell.” Just kidding! Instead of a song, my journey can be best described by “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. From my move to China when I was 22, my career has been characterized by these lines: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

Tell us the funniest experience you had this year related to your work.

Some of the funniest moments during the past year happen behind-the-scenes. For instance, we use to have “Happy Friday” dance parties at my company. And I’m not one to brag but my rendition of “Hotline Bling” by Drake stole the show.

If you would give our readers one advice from your professional experience, what would that advice be?

To quote the great Conan O’Brien, “If you work really hard, and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.” I truly believe that. Because everyone wants to help the hardworking nice guy or gal.

 What is your biggest expectation for the Brand Minds ASIA event?

I’m looking forward to seeing Gary V walk on stage to a deafening cheer, unleash some savage knowledge and drop the mic.

10 Things you might not know about Jonas Ridderstrale

Dr. Jonas Ridderstråle, the author behind the bestseller Funky Business in 2000, is one of the worlds most significant and respected business thinkers and speakers.  He is at the forefront of the new generation of management gurus and has been ranked among the top for 11 consecutive years in Thinkers50, the biennial ranking of management thinkers.  As late as 2011 he was ranked number five in Europe, and among the top in the rest of the world.

More things you might not know about him:

1. Jonas has an MBA and a PhD in international business and was recognized as Sweden’s outstanding young academic of the year. In 2007, he was awarded the prestigious Italian Nobels Colloquia award for “Leadership in Business and Economic Thinking”. Jonas is currently a visiting professor at the internationally acclaimed business school Ashridge in the UK. His research has been published in leading academic journals.

2. His forceful blend of academic rigor, imagination, humor and highly dynamic presentation style has inspired audiences from Moscow to Mumbai and San Francisco to Shanghai. Jonas’ diverse client list includes Fortune 500 companies, major government bodies, sports teams as well as trade unions.

3. Dr. Ridderstråle’s ideas and work have attracted huge media coverage throughout the world. He has appeared on CNN’s “Global Office” in an extended interview exploring the ideas behind his books. Elsewhere, he has been featured in Fortune, Fast Company, Time Magazine, Financial Times, The Times, Stern, Newsweek, Paris Match, and many other publications worldwide.

4. Jonas asks questions that trigger new thoughts and discussions. In our deregulated world, more and more responsibilities rest with the single individual. So, we must all arm ourselves with the knowledge needed to take smart decisions.

5. His intention is that his thoughts should help you give birth to your own unique ideas. That is what will have an impact on the competitiveness of your business and your own career.

6. The title for his second book, Karaoke Capitalism, came out of the frustration that the companies didn’t companies use the golden opportunities of new technologies. “I saw too little innovation from a management and leadership point of view. The criticism we received for these books [both co-written with Kjell Nordström] was, “yes, it’s fun and interesting and written in an appealing way – but how do you actually do it?”, he once declared.

7. Since psychological and social capital are so important, he believes we have to rethink a lot of the basics in management. Most traditional management presumes you can move from envisioning straight to execution, forgetting engagement. It equates great leaders with those who have Eureka moments. But to deliver real change you have to be able to tap into people’s emotional capital too.

8. He believes that him and Kjell Nordström are different on the market, in terms of the examples they use. Instead of examples that would make sense to a traditional CEO, or someone who has spent twenty to twenty-five years in the economics library at a university, they use examples that make sense to people in general.

9. He and his partner have taken more of a horizontal analysis approach where they look at societal changes – such as in art, culture and music – and explore how it interacts with business. “We paint a picture of the broad societal trends, which is not unusual, but then we link those trends to what’s happening within corporations, the field of leadership and management, and the field of strategy,” Jonas said for ideaconnection.com.

10.  He thinks that talent is a little bit more complex as a concept than knowledge, because talent includes more than the intellectual capital that used to make and still makes some organizations competitive. 

​

Top 10 Tips for Branding Yourself

source: Working Voices

Living in the era of social media power, when the information is the key and in everybody’s reach, finding oneself’s niche and becoming known is getting a more and more difficult task to accomplish. Even at first glance it seems the reality is exactly the opposite, the rapidity in which one can get into the public’s eye, but at the same time fade away, makes it even harder than before to make it last and create a strategic and smart path for one’s good brand positioning.

We’ve prepared some tips that we hope will help you on your road to success:

1. Asses the market you are working on

Knowing the past, the competition and the market you are activating on is key in order to create a good positioning for your brand.

2. Look deep within yourself and find your best features

According to Robert Half, branding yourself begins with self-reflection. Take stock of your strengths. What are your best attributes? What positive adjectives might a colleague use to describe you? Is there one particular talent or discipline in which you truly shine? What’s your personality? If you’re just beginning your career, choose a discipline or area of focus that truly interests you. Don’t pretend to be something you’re not. Hard-working, focused and reserved people get ahead just as often as social butterflies.

3. Work on developing them even more

Go to extra classes / courses, attend workshops and seminars that will help be become even better on your field of expertize and that will enhance your talents. Learning never ends, no matter the time in your career you are at.

4. Of all of them find the differentiator, your USP (unique selling point), that makes you unique

The USP is the big idea that brands are always searching for. A USP gives a brand a compelling and unique value proposition with its target audience. “Likewise, you want to represent something special that sets you apart from others and establishes a value equation about your abilities when you are pitching yourself for a job, a promotion or a free-lance assignment,” says Catherine Kaputa in Huffington Post.

5. Define your brand and become an expert

Take the time to do some soul searching and determine exactly who you are and what makes up your brand. Whether you’re looking to garner media attention, attract new clients or build your business, you should focus on becoming an expert in your field. Avoid establishing an expertise that’s irrelevant to your mission, goals, and vision. You’ll just be wasting your time.

6. Be present in the market and make yourself known

Make sure you are present at the most important events in your industry and start conversations with the right persons, the ones with whom the association with will help your brand and your career. Ask questions, mingle, try and show your expertize as much as you can.

7. Generate brand awareness through networking and promotion

You should be connecting with other professionals in the industry by using social networks and commenting on their blogs. Networking is one of the best ways to become known in the industry. By forming relationships with people in your audience, you can grow your business and your brand long-term.

In time, once you have a known and appreciated voice try using the PR tools available to you and get your name out there.

8. Be a constant presence on the social media channels that are representative for your work

Depending on the industry you are activating on make sure you know what social media channel suits you the best. Not every industry fits you having a profile on Linkedin and Facebook at the same time, not every industry requires an Instagram or Snapchat account. Also, make sure that the content you are delivering is customized to that specific social media account.

9. Always keep on expending your network, strategic partnerships and focus on the game plan

The networks are meant to evolve, not stand by. So is the industry you are activating on. Moreover, you can never know what the future holds. The more people you know, the merrier. The more connected you are, the better. Make sure that at the same time you don’t lose the focus on your “final” game plan.

10. Don’t look focus, get rid of your ego and accept criticism

According to the AICPA specialists, the true measure of your brand is the reputation others hold of you in their hearts and minds. Notice how they introduce you to others. Ask them what your top brand attributes and core strengths are. If they can easily tell you, then you’ve succeeded in branding you.

“These days, branding the company you work for isn’t enough. The world wants to hear what you have to say as a professional within a company. The work involved in uncovering your brand may seem daunting, but your efforts can benefit you immeasurably. Your unique brand message differentiates the best you have to offer, gives a good indication of what you’re like to work with, and shows how you make things happen,” says the American Institute of CPAs.

When it comes to being the best the ego shouldn’t be standing in your way. Accept the criticism, as it will only make you better and help you achieve your goals.