Author name: crawpadm

Step into the future of career advancement with our latest podcast episode, ‘Beyond CV: Leveraging New Media for Career Opportunities.‘ Dive deep into the innovative ways professionals are using new media platforms to showcase their skills, network with industry leaders, and unlock exciting career opportunities. From LinkedIn profiles to personal branding on social media, we explore the strategies and tactics that can take your career to the next level in the digital age. Tune in now to discover how you can stand out in a crowded job market and pave the way for your professional success! Click on the link to watch the video: https://youtu.be/3bdkjl9ALd8 #careeradvancement  #NewMedia #Podcast”

According to the women in the workplace 2020 report by Mckinsey and Lean-in, “One in four women are considering downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce due to Covid-19” In the last few months, I have seen this play out within my circle of friends, especially the working mums. Covid-19 put additional pressure on women to increase their intensity of multitasking. We were required to show up at work, and take care of the home burdens, coupled with the additional pressure to fill in the gap and be teachers ourselves. I still cannot believe I homeschooled my son for 4months. To crown it all, more women are having the guilt trip that these additional burdens will negatively impact their performance and their managers will misjudge them. Now more than ever, HR and business leaders need to appreciate the women on their teams. Lead with empathy and be high on emotional intelligence. Praise their efforts and give constructive feedback. Provide them with resources to cope with stress and initiate a wellness program where possible. It takes extra muscle for women to show up at work as a whole during these periods. Appreciate the little drops.

The health, wellness and wellbeing of the employees should be every leader’s concern. Organizations have the duty of care to support their people in maintaining a good balance in their mental, emotional, and physical wellness. People truly drive the business, but I’ll say an all-round healthy workforce would drive the organization to success. These tips can help Business and Organizational Leaders exhibit their duty of care: In the last 2years, all the major health insurance have updated their offerings to cover additional areas of wellness, ensuring you and your employees are aware of the new benefits and leveraging them. Create an avenue for employees to openly discuss and share stories, and tips on health and wellness within your organization. Listen more and pay closer attention to employee patterns. Things don’t just escalate, the signs are always there. With what reports have shown to be a common trigger in employees’ wellbeing in the last 2years, every leader should take a mental first aid course.I don’t want you all to be doctors 😊, I am advocating for better aware and empathetic business Leaders. How do you drive wellness in your organization?

I have been posting about ‘Talents’ (HIPO) and their attributes on my Instagram page, so I thought to share here with anybody also wondering “what are the attributes of a Top Talent?” There are quite a lot but I will share five (5) that sits on top on my list… Mindset: You already know this will be my no 1.. It’s all that Matters. You need to acknowledge and recognize that you are too valuable in your mind before you can exhibit it. Competency: hehehehe, you cannot say you are a talent if you don’t know your 1+1 😬😬 You have got to know your onions and master those skills. Attitude: This one is EVERYTHING and more. no matter what you know, you have got to blend it with a good dose of the right attitude. Collaborate: Yes, we know you can do it all alone, you are a STAR but you have got to let your colleagues in on your projects, support them on theirs and work as a team. Humility: This is not letting people use you as a doormat (No way). This is you knowing that you know your STUFF but you will not stand at the office hallway and shout about your skills . There are plenty other ways to do that. 😬😬 Anything else to add?

Dear Employers, I know you have a lot of priorities including getting your revenue in order, but employees are overstretched mentally during this period. Please be empathetic and flexible while we get over this together. Employers have a duty of care to look after the wellbeing of their employees. These are unprecedented times with work and personal lines blurred.I had a conversation with someone earlier today, she told me she is tired and overwhelmed. Her workload is not decreasing, in fact, she needs to show value at work by exhibiting flexibility and adaptability skills.She’s home-schooling her kids, managing her work while dealing with the regular home front responsibilities. I agree this can take a toll on mental health. I shared some tips with her: Discuss with her Line Manager for flexible working hours: She can start her workday a bit later, so she can home school her kids in the mornings. Use all the support available: If not physically going to the stores will save some couple of hours, why not take it, and use that free time to catch up on pending work tasks. I told her to take few days off work to refresh. Meditation: This can help increase productivity. How are you dealing with stress and fatigue? Please share

In as much as I have seen people switch jobs and increase their income during this season, I will not pretend that I live in Mars and do not know that some have suffered reduction in compensation while some have been laid off. While I don’t know the best way to ask for support in job search especially during times like this. I do know some tips that can make your message stand out: Please be specific – Summarizing your message, adding a few lines about your value proposition, and going for your “specific” ask all in one shot, will make it easier for the person you are seeking his/her support to respond to your messages. Be patient – We are all feeling some type of way, so yes you can see the person online, but they are not online solely because of you. Exercise some patience and you will probably get a response. If the response doesn’t come in a week, you can send a friendly reminder, if you still do not have a reply. It’s time to move on. Don’t take the NOs personally: Only if you know the person you are asking a favour personally and they owe you, you don’t take it personally if they don’t reply to you. They just might not be in the position to help, and you have to be okay with that. Any tip to add?

I have spoken to highly accomplished young women and 99.9% of them tells me they struggle with imposter syndrome. If you listened to any of my podcast episode, this is a question I ask every guest. I ask with the purpose of getting women to own up about this feeling, share their coping mechanism so others can learn from it.. Remember when someone tells you: Wow such a lovely pitch you gave out there or you nailed that presentation but you are afraid to internalize your achievement and you reply with — Oh no it was nothing, yet you didn’t sleep for 3days to finish the presentation and it meant EVERYTHING to you… (That is a sign of Imposter Syndrome) There are ways to deal with this unworthy feeling, some of it include the realization that: Everybody is a work in progress: if it makes you feel better, the queen of England also sufferred from it. It sincerely made me feel better to know. Be kind to yourself. Remind yourself of the work you put in. Surround yourself with positive people. Anything to add? As we begin this week, remember to bring your authentic self to the workplace and everything in between… Show up with the real YOU. Ask questions if you don’t know. I always say: there is no stupid question anywhere.. Ask for support if you need it: No, it wouldn’t make you seem weak but open to learning.. Your stakeholders can spot a #copy from afar.. Fake it till you make it approach is a wrong advice. I won’t take it, you shouldn’t either. The workplace is getting increasingly competitive, crossing ethical lines and doing all sorts to get ahead seems like the order of the day, but I will say: Owning your skills. Showing up 100% with your competencies. Continuous self development. Remaining true to your values. Are still top on my list for maintaining authenticity in the workplace. Be yourself: Everybody else is taken – Oscar Wilde Anything to add?

As the world prepares for another #worldmentalhealthday This year has generally been a tough one even for the people that did not experience a job loss, income reduction or lose a loved one. The social isolation, anxiety and fear of catching the virus itself can take a toll on our mental health. It’s our responsibility as business leaders and stakeholders to create a safe space in our organisations for employees battling mental health challenges. We need to spur processes/environments that enable them to be unashamed to speak UP without the fear of stigmatization or backlash. As we encourage them to speak up, we also need to consciously strive to provide them with all the required support, some examples that comes to mind are: Providing anonymous employee assistant programs. Therapy sessions that respects confidentiality. A toxic free organizational culture. I say to anyone struggling with mental health challenges: Asking for help is the first step to recovery. I may not know how it feels but I sure know how to CARE. You do not need to do it alone. On that note: I am also going to take a day off social media, to just BEATHE and take care of myself. How do you plan to spend the weekend? Let me know in the comment session

Stereotype and bias shouldn’t have a place in our workplace, community and society. All day, everyday I commit to challenge and call out bias. Studies has shown that over 2.2million women left the workforce in 2020 while the male counterpart were not that impacted. It will definitely take another very long shot to recover from that kind of disproportionate impact. So today, I call on decision makers to be reminded not to only make the workplace ‘conducive’ for women but pledge to support the advancement of more women at the decision table. We need more women in those decision ROOMS.. We can start by: Stopping the subtle corporate discrimination against women. Normalize genuine support for women career advancement without secretly helping them calculate how many times in their career lifespan they will go on maternity leave.