If you want the job, you’ve got to demonstrate your passion and intelligence in an interview.
But it’s not just about showcasing your enthusiasm, or writing a compelling script to explain your accomplishments. Acing this task also requires careful research about the company and open position. Hiring managers love hearing about how much you’ve looked into the company and why you think you’d be a great fit for this specific role.
“In my experience, very few candidates do any company research before interviewing,” says Donna Svei, a résumé writer for executives and a Fast Company contributor. “[It’s a way to] stand out from other candidates.”
Here’s how to make it clear that you’ve done your prep work during your next big interview:
Emphasize values
The best way to show you feel a connection to a company is by citing the firm’s values. These tenets are the baseline and the heartbeat of an organization. Perhaps a company emphasizes values like a “diversity of thought” and “collaboration,” that resonate with you on a personal or professional level. In that case, you can make sure to highlight how you collaborated, or brought new perspectives into your previous positions.
Toni Frana, a career services manager at FlexJobs, says that the most important thing to get across is that you lived that specific value authentically. “If one of the company’s core values is ‘integrity,’ mention how the value holds true for you, or give an example of a work experience when you leaned into the value,” says Frana.
Make connections
The most effective way to make it clear you’ve done research is to provide both specific numbers and make a connection back to your professional ambitions. “Let’s say in your research you discover the company has experienced a high rate of growth in a certain business segment (or overall),” says Frana. “One approach during the interview is to say something like: ‘I want to work at an organization that is forward-thinking and continually innovating. In my preparation for speaking with you today, I know that you’ve experienced growth’—and be as specific as possible to the company, product, or industry—’a result of X, while continuing to drive the ball forward through the execution of many innovative ideas.’”
This type of background information and reference to the company’s achievements shows that you’ve not only done the research, but you’ve found something that resonates with your idea of an ideal company.
From there, show how this company aligns with your experience from a previous role and your larger goals, says Frana: “Try saying, ‘This role excites me because I’d be able to bring my skill set and strengths to a high-performing team that continues to innovate and grow.’”
Ask questions that include smart details
Hiring managers have heard all those same boring “wrap up” questions in the past. To truly surprise them—and incorporate some of the effort you put in before an interview—go for a few well-contextualized questions.
Says Frana, “If you have a question about the culture for example, try asking something like, ‘I noticed on the company website you really value company culture, so can you tell me more about how this is practiced day-to-day?’”
Moreover, connect it to a positive achievement, thereby doing double duty with your time of asking a question and bring up a company success. Svei recommends trying a format that highlights an achievement in available talent data, such as from insights from LinkedIn or a related venue.
“Phrase your question like, ‘I looked at your hiring statistics on LinkedIn and saw that employment growth has been flat for the last two years and…median tenure is about six years,’” says Svei. “‘That’s great longevity, and what makes people stay?’”
This question of asking about longevity can also help you further inquire about opportunities for professional advancement at the company.
If you want the job, you’ve got to demonstrate your passion and intelligence in an interview.
But it’s not just about showcasing your enthusiasm, or writing a compelling script to explain your accomplishments. Acing this task also requires careful research about the company and open position. Hiring managers love hearing about how much you’ve looked into the company and why you think you’d be a great fit for this specific role.
“In my experience, very few candidates do any company research before interviewing,” says Donna Svei, a résumé writer for executives and a Fast Company contributor. “[It’s a way to] stand out from other candidates.”
Here’s how to make it clear that you’ve done your prep work during your next big interview:
Emphasize values
The best way to show you feel a connection to a company is by citing the firm’s values. These tenets are the baseline and the heartbeat of an organization. Perhaps a company emphasizes values like a “diversity of thought” and “collaboration,” that resonate with you on a personal or professional level. In that case, you can make sure to highlight how you collaborated, or brought new perspectives into your previous positions.
Toni Frana, a career services manager at FlexJobs, says that the most important thing to get across is that you lived that specific value authentically. “If one of the company’s core values is ‘integrity,’ mention how the value holds true for you, or give an example of a work experience when you leaned into the value,” says Frana.
Make connections
The most effective way to make it clear you’ve done research is to provide both specific numbers and make a connection back to your professional ambitions. “Let’s say in your research you discover the company has experienced a high rate of growth in a certain business segment (or overall),” says Frana. “One approach during the interview is to say something like: ‘I want to work at an organization that is forward-thinking and continually innovating. In my preparation for speaking with you today, I know that you’ve experienced growth’—and be as specific as possible to the company, product, or industry—’a result of X, while continuing to drive the ball forward through the execution of many innovative ideas.’”
This type of background information and reference to the company’s achievements shows that you’ve not only done the research, but you’ve found something that resonates with your idea of an ideal company.
From there, show how this company aligns with your experience from a previous role and your larger goals, says Frana: “Try saying, ‘This role excites me because I’d be able to bring my skill set and strengths to a high-performing team that continues to innovate and grow.’”
Ask questions that include smart details
Hiring managers have heard all those same boring “wrap up” questions in the past. To truly surprise them—and incorporate some of the effort you put in before an interview—go for a few well-contextualized questions.
Says Frana, “If you have a question about the culture for example, try asking something like, ‘I noticed on the company website you really value company culture, so can you tell me more about how this is practiced day-to-day?’”
Moreover, connect it to a positive achievement, thereby doing double duty with your time of asking a question and bring up a company success. Svei recommends trying a format that highlights an achievement in available talent data, such as from insights from LinkedIn or a related venue.
“Phrase your question like, ‘I looked at your hiring statistics on LinkedIn and saw that employment growth has been flat for the last two years and…median tenure is about six years,’” says Svei. “‘That’s great longevity, and what makes people stay?’”
This question of asking about longevity can also help you further inquire about opportunities for professional advancement at the company.
Careem’s head of data and AI talks about how the Middle Eastern ride-hailing pioneer is using AI technology to simplify people’s lives.
Lessons in risk management based on research on Texas businesses affected by Hurricane Harvey.
How to craft a location strategy that bridges the digital and physical worlds.
If you’re worried about economic volatility, you’re not alone. A recent survey from Magnify Money found that seven in 10 Americans expect a recession, and 59% expect one within the next six months. The survey also found that more than two…
A lot of people struggle speaking up in the moment. Sometimes, it’s due to the fear of saying or doing the wrong thing and suffering repercussions. Or maybe it’s because they’re not prepared and are caught off guard in the moment. The problem with not pushing back is that you don’t address the problem, says Amber Cabral, author of Say More About That . . . And Other Ways to Speak Up, Push Back, and Advocate for Yourself and Others.
“Whatever the not-okay behavior, oppressive action, or inappropriate discussion may be, it will continue to go on,” she says. “It should be resolved or addressed by pushing back.”
Cabral defines pushing back as challenging an idea or position someone else had before. In the workplace, that can be something as simple as disagreeing with someone’s perspective. Or it could be a matter of trying to create space for your ideas.
“When you’re thinking about pushing back, that means that you’re trying to challenge something that has been presented that is inequitable or doesn’t consider all the information is available,” says Cabral.
How to Push Back
There is a wrong way and a right way to push back, says Cabral. “You may be living life through your eyes, but other people are experiencing it, too,” she says. “You want to recognize how things might land, because messaging that lands well is more likely to be effective.”
For example, if your ideas aren’t being heard and you’re not being given the space you need, Cabral suggests inserting yourself by asking a question, such as, “I can appreciate what you shared. Would you be open to a different perspective?”
“What that question does is it invites folks who are listening to say, ‘Oh, there’s another person,’” says Cabral. “They have to give you an affirmative or say no. When you pose a question, you’re ‘permissioning’ those who are in the room with you, asking them to shift to their listening ear. It’s also very nonconfrontational; very inviting.”
Pushing Back When You’re Interrupted
If you’re being interrupted, however, the approach is a little different. “People don’t necessarily realize that they do it,” says Cabral. “However, the person experiencing the interruption can feel that it is deliberate.”
Cabral suggests pushing back by staying quiet and making steady eye contact with the person. “When they’re done, I give it a couple extra awkward seconds after they’re finished. Then I chime in and say, ‘Is it a good time for me to share my idea?’ The answer in the workplace is usually an affirmative. It gives you an opportunity to share what you have to say and address the interruption directly.”
Another technique is interrupting the person who interrupted you, saying, “Is it okay if I continue my thoughts?” “Most folks will stop in their tracks right in that moment and say, ‘Oh, yes, of course. My apologies for interrupting,’” says Cabral. “Questions force people to give you the permission that you are seeking versus being confrontational, pushy, and direct. It gives people the opportunity to course correct and gain awareness of their behavior. And it helps protect your reputation.”
Why It’s Important to Push Back
Pushing back is important for challenging things that are not equitable. You can make space for aspects of your identity that may not get the space that they deserve. A perfect example is that just five years ago, we were not having conversations about pronouns, says Cabral.
“The reason it’s happening now is that people chimed in and pushed back, giving us an opportunity to have a collective shift to our mindset and perspective,” she says. “Pushback is one of the ways that we move our culture, our identities, our communities—and our workplaces—forward because it introduces ideas that we may not have considered, and challenges us to be willing to evolve and shift to create more inclusive and equitable spaces.”
The metaverse is expected to take telehealth visits to the next level.
The post Building the future of healthcare in the metaverse appeared first on TechRepublic.
When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, Amy Hagstrom Miller knew what she would have to do. Like so many other abortion advocates, she had spent years fighting off escalating restrictions and bracing for this moment.
Back in 2013, after Texas passed legislation that imposed exacting standards on abortion providers and required hospital admitting privileges, the clinics that Hagstrom Miller operated had struggled to stay open amid a yearslong legal battle, forcing her to temporarily close five of them. Despite a Supreme Court ruling that eventually struck down the Texas law in 2016, one of those clinics never reopened.
“During that time period, we tried all the things that many people are now trying in other parts of the country for the first time,” says Hagstrom Miller, the founder and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health, which got its start in Texas but now provides abortion care across seven states. “We tried to stay open and provide ultrasounds or pregnancy tests only, or started adding [services]—and it just was not sustainable. We didn’t have the resources to be able to keep staff and pay the rent and the mortgage.”
Soon after the Supreme Court officially released its decision this June, Whole Woman’s Health announced that all four of its Texas clinics would be closing.
“I did not make the decision to close my doors; I was forced to stop doing the work that I love in Texas,” Hagstrom Miller says. “We don’t want to close our clinics. We don’t want to have to deny people access to safe abortion. We know better than anybody who passes these laws what is needed in the communities that we live in and serve.”
Making the move to a safe haven
Whole Woman’s Health is now raising money—largely through a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe—to open a clinic in New Mexico, a state that is quickly becoming a safe haven for people seeking abortion care. As the sole state bordering Texas that still protects abortion access, New Mexico has already attracted a number of providers, including the now-shuttered clinic at the center of the Supreme Court case, whose director has opened a new location in Las Cruces.
Hagstrom Miller has plenty of experience acquiring facilities and transforming them into Whole Woman’s Health clinics. (“I fantasize about having an HGTV show: Flip This Abortion Clinic,” she quips.) Still, even in a state that has enshrined abortion rights, it’s no small feat to open a new clinic, between the slim margins and stigma associated with abortion care.
The process of closing up shop in Texas has itself proven complicated, as Whole Woman’s Health navigates layoffs and off-loading real estate. (Since I spoke with Hagstrom Miller, Indiana has passed a near-total ban on abortion, which means Whole Woman’s Health will also close its clinic there when the law takes effect next month.)
“This is a tremendous amount . . . to handle at the same time: a startup and acquisition, a wind-down, and the population you serve migrating thousands of miles,” Hagstrom Miller says. Losing revenue from four clinics in one fell swoop is also a major financial strain, one that can’t be recouped without opening a new location.
Of Whole Woman Health’s four clinics in Texas, two were leased properties, so Hagstrom Miller has been negotiating lease buyouts while trying to sell the other two properties (which she owned). With a staff of 45 people—including 15 physicians—she had no choice but to lay off about half her employees, though she managed to secure remote work arrangements for many others.
“It’s really heartbreaking because these folks are being laid off for no reason other than politics,” she says. “We have obviously been very open and honest the whole time, which would be my advice if you’re ever in a situation like this.”
Dealing with the “abortion tax”
Meanwhile, Hagstrom Miller has been searching for a space in New Mexico that could be repurposed more easily, like a doctor’s office, to save time and money and mitigate some of the roadblocks that are unique to abortion care. Even finding a pro-choice landlord or a contractor willing to build an abortion clinic can be a challenge.
“I call it the abortion tax,” she says. “From getting funding from a bank to getting a contractor, electrician, or a plumber, or even a building inspection or a title company—all those things can be political. And [they] have been for us in other communities.”
Another priority is securing a location where staff and patients feel safe and are less likely to be targeted by anti-abortion activists, a looming threat as protestors from across the U.S. descend on New Mexico.
At the time of this writing, Whole Woman’s Health has raised just over a third of its $750,000 target on GoFundMe. Unlike other businesses, abortion providers often have little recourse when they endure financial hardship, in many instances facing resistance from traditional lenders or insurers. Many providers rely on donations in the absence of, say, a line of credit, and the vast majority of abortion clinics are independent entities that don’t have the name recognition—or grant funding—of Planned Parenthood.
It’s an issue Hagstrom Miller has raised directly with the White House, proposing the equivalent of Paycheck Protection Program loans or support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for providers who are moving their clinics. Over the years, she has sought to diversify funding for Whole Woman’s Health by opening nonprofit clinics and creating a nonprofit entity, Whole Woman’s Health Alliance.
“I think about that entrepreneurial maxim ‘constraints against innovation,’” she says. “Like, are you kidding me? I’m an abortion provider in the American South. We’re off the chain when it comes to adapting to new environments and figuring out how to make something work with fewer resources.”
As a new crop of abortion providers settles into New Mexico—a state that has long failed to provide adequate reproductive care to its residents—another potential hurdle is staffing. Once Hagstrom Miller finds a clinic space, she intends to first extend relocation offers to former employees in Texas. But it’s not clear how many of them will be willing to make the move.
“We’re already trying to see if any of those Texans will go to Minnesota, our two clinics in Virginia, or our clinic in Baltimore,” she says. “But folks are very rooted in the community; they’re from Texas [and] have extended families.” Abortion providers that move to the state may end up competing for local workers, especially if their clinics are clustered around border towns.
Wayfinding for patients
For now, Hagstrom Miller is doing what she can to blunt the impact of losing four clinics virtually overnight. Last fall, when Texas passed a six-week abortion ban, Whole Woman’s Health started the Wayfinder program to help residents access abortions outside the state, which is now expanding to serve people nationwide. Since Hagstrom Miller already operates clinics outside of Texas, she can direct patients to those locations; she also hopes to eventually open additional clinics in North Carolina and Virginia, as well as in Illinois, where Whole Woman’s Health currently provides virtual abortion care.
But the work is daunting. In Texas alone, more than 50,000 people obtain legal abortions each year. Though it’s difficult to accept, Hagstrom Miller recognizes that her efforts will never be enough—that abortion providers can’t rectify such a monumental loss through sheer force of will.
“We can set up all these clinics and try to help people travel, but the damage [from] this abortion ban and the reversal of Roe is huge,” she says. “I’m trying real hard to support my team [and] not to feel frozen, because it’s an overwhelming prospect. Part of our work is to accept that and not dwell in the grief too long.”
Words you don’t say but should drain energy like leeches. When you don’t speak up, you dance with elephants. Words you don’t say but should come with hidden consequences. 7 hidden consequences of… Continue reading →
