How to Be More Assertive at Work (Without Turning People Off)

How to Be More Assertive at Work (Without Turning People Off)How to Be More Assertive at Work (Without Turning People Off)Find it hard to advocate for yourself? Youre not alone. The personality trait that psychologists call agreeableness describes how motivated you are to get along with other people. If youre highly agreeable, that motivation can sometimes prevent you from sticking up for your own interests. Anytime you ask for something at work, you run the risk that youll be told no- and possibly aggravate the person youre asking. As a result, agreeable people may be put off from asking in the first place.This can be a problem, becauseresearch suggeststhat agreeable people tend to make less money than disagreeable people (even accounting for the fact that disagreeable people lose their jobs mora often). And in leadership roles, agreeable people may not be as good at getting their kollektivs all the resources they need. So, what can you do to be mora assertive, even when it just isn t in your personality to do so? Here are a few tipsStop HedgingWhen youre feeling concerned about making a certain request, there are a few different ways you might show it. One of them is with the way you phrase the request itself.Hedging phrases and expressions like sort of, kind of, or technically can water down what youre trying to say- and make you sound less confident than you need to be in order to get what you want.For example, when you say to someone that youre kind of done with a project, youre not really stating that you are finished with it, just somewhere in the vicinity of done.These linguistic habits can creep into your questions just as easily as they can water down your statements. Maybe you preface a request by saying, I was sort of hoping that you would hoping that this phrasing will come off more polite. Agreeable person that you are, you think your chances of getting what you want will be higher when you arent seen as imposing on anybody. But you might be wrong This language makes it sound like your request isnt all that important, or even that youre not certain it deserves to be granted.Just state your requests more directly. I need or I want will typically get you much further. Decision makers in your organization cant help you unless you state clearly what you need to be successful, and explain why its so important. Even if they cant grant what you want that very moment, they may be able to help you out in the future.Related These Personality Tests Found Things Out That Only My Mom KnowsTreat Your Request Like a First ImpressionPeople are influenced not just by the content of certain statements, but also by the confidence with which theyre put forward, and the same is true with requests.All the lessons youve learned abouthow to meet new peoplealso apply when youre asking for something. You know you have to look people in the eye, stand tall, and give a firm handshake in order to make a first impression. Youll want to be just as emotiona lly mit niveau when youre asking people for things- including people you already know well and work with every day. Speak clearly and audibly, make eye contact, and act as though you expect cooperation from them.Your agreeableness may prod you to take a more casual approach, but you need to resist that urge the same way youd have to if you were meeting new people while networking. Its important to project the expectation that your request will be taken seriously, and that display of confidence can boost the chances that it actually will be.Related These Expressions Make You Sound Like You Dont Know What Youre Talking AboutAlways Give a ReasonYoud be surprised how many people forget this one, but its always crucial to justify your request. You dont need to give a long, drawn-out explanation of why the thing youre asking for matters, but a clear statement of the underlying need or purpose is key to sounding assertive. The reason helps because it shifts people from making an up-or-down decision to having to argue with the reason. Sometimes, just the effort of having to grapple with the reason is enough to get people to agree.Aclassic 1978 studyby Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer and her colleagues looked at this issue when people would line up to use the office photocopier. They found that whenever somebody just asked if they could cut the line (a yes or no question), they were generally told no, and had to take their place at the back of the line. But if they gave a reason- Can I cut in? I need to make some copies?- people were much more likely to let them through. The reason itself couldnt have been more obvious, but it was enough- people just didnt want to have to argue with it.Of course, agoodreason (not just any reason) also helps bolster the case for your request. Its always useful for people to understand not just what you want, but why you want it. The trick, though, is to keep your request short. When you can give a crisp statement of why your request m atters, people assume you have really thought it through. If you ramble in your reasons, then the request is likely to seem half-baked, too.This is potentially good news for agreeable people whose personalities tend to make them less keen on asking for things even being able to muster a short explanation can go a long way.RelatedDo These 5 Emotionally Intelligent Things Within 5 Minutes of Meeting SomeoneRemember Theres No Harm in AskingFinally, dont forget that people who act as gatekeepers for resources know that people are going to ask them for things. Part of the job of managing a team is determining how to allocate those resources. Managers in those rolesexpectto have to manage those requests.That means that youre not doing something socially inappropriate when you approach someone with a request. It also means that they arent usually going to be angry with you if they have to tell you no. Typically, theyre just doing their best to manage the organizations resources in the best way they think they can. In other words, it isnt personal.If it helps you become more assertive, just remind yourself that your managers and supervisors dont feel bad about askingyouto do things. So, you shouldnt feel bad about reciprocating. Every organization has goals that its team members are charged with carrying out.Notasking for what you need hinders those goals. In that sense, withholding your request is probably the most disagreeable thing you can do.This article was originally published on htte nicht viel gefehlt Company. It has been republished here with permission.

Do Hobbies and Interests Have a Place on Your Resume

Do Hobbies and Interests Have a Place on Yur Resume Do Hobbies and Interests Have a Place on Your Resume Whether you have limited work experience or are an industry vet looking to breath more life into a dull resume, adding your hobbies and interests to your resume may be the perfect way to woo recruiters. These elements can give employers a complete picture of you beyond the skills youll bring to the role. Plus, showing a potential employer that you are a well-rounded person can get your resume noticed.But whats the difference between a hobby and an interest? In short Interests are passive, whereas hobbies are the active pursuit of interests. Collecting stamps, writing poetry, building model airplanes, and knitting are all hobbies reading about these subjects would make them interests. Both interests and hobbies can be directly associated with your profession or might be completely unrelated to your work.Interests are occasional pursuits or pastimes. For example, someone with an i nterest in financial investing might read a lot about the stock market, whereas someone who lists investing as a hobby likely spends hours each week studying financial reports and trading stocks. Make sense?You arent required to add hobbies and interests to your resume, so if you do add them, do so strategically and sparingly. Only mention those hobbies and interests you are prepared to discuss during an interview. Never add fake interests just to enhance your resume if a recruiter asks about them during the hiring process, youll call your own bluff and theyll discover you know little or nothing about one of your so-called passions.Another protip Only include safe-for-work pastimes. If any of your pursuits could be considered at all offensive, dont include them in your resume. In general, avoid mentioning hobbies or interests with a political or religious bent, as well as anything that might make you look frivolous. Shopping and binge-watching Netflix, for example, wont earn you any points.Hobbies and Interests That Look Great on a ResumeHere are examples of hobbies and interests that willposition you as a more attractive candidateTravel Letting employers know you enjoy travel is an excellent way to show that you are a curious person with seeks out new experiences.Reading If you add this to your resume, be prepared to discuss the last book you read or your favorite blogs and publications.CollectingIf youve been collecting stamps since you were eight-years-old or you have a passion for antique typewriters, its work mentioning. Employers often want to hire people who have pursuits outside of work.BloggingBloggers tend to be experts in the topics they cover. Whether or not your blog is relevant to your desired position, it can show consistency and expertise. If your blog contains content of a deeply personal nature, however, you should keep it off your resume.Volunteer Work/Community Involvement Companies want people who are engaged, and many companies strive to be more actively involved in their communities. Active community involvement or volunteer work can be a real asset on your resume.SportsMentioning sports you play or watch regularly can lend proof tothe soft skills listed on your resume, like being a team player, conflict resolution, and leadership abilities.Club Memberships Being a member of a club can highlight your ability to work well with likeminded individuals. But remember Dont include clubs with a religious or political focus.LiveCareer develops tools to help job seekers write resumes, draft cover letters, and prepare for interviews.Master the art of closing deals and making placements. Take our Recruiter Certification Program today. Were SHRM certified. Learn at your own pace during this 12-week program. Access over 20 courses. Great for those who want to break into recruiting, or recruiters who want to further their career.

Calling out Competitors in an Ad Campaign

Calling out Competitors in an Ad CampaignCalling out Competitors in an Ad CampaignIs it good to put down the competition? In a word, yes, but theres more to it than that, as youll soon discover. Over the years, many great challenger brands (Avis, Pepsi, VW, Dockers, Virgin Atlantic) have taken on the big brand leaders (Hertz, Coke, Ford, Haggar, British Airways) and they have all been very successful with this strategy. The reason for their success is clear. Even if the challenger brand doesnt have the money or power to go head to head in an ad campaign for a long period of time, it does have the ability to start a fight. And when the big brand accepts the challenge, the strategy pays off, big time. Challenger Brand Example 1 - Avis Takes on Hertz At the dawn of the sixties, when you wanted to rent a car you went to Hertz. It welches a clear choice. Their main competitor, Avis, trailed far behind. At that time, Robert C. Townsend was the president of Avis. Their advertising agenc y was a shop that was gaining momentum with its track record of smart ads and strategic thinking - Doyle Dane Bernbach. During a meeting with the agency and its creative department, Townsend was grilled about the Avis business. He was asked the kinds of questions most agencies will ask Do you have better cars, or more locations, or cheaper rates? The answer was no to all three, after all, Hertz was dominant in the field. But then Townsend said, but we do try harder. DDB jumped on that and created one of the most powerful challenger brand campaigns ever produced. The ad Avis Is Only No. 2 We Try Harder (which became the tagline) was breakthrough, honest and had a fighting spirit. If theres one thing America loves, its a hard-working underdog. It also painted a picture of Hertz as this uncaring, corporate behemoth, and Avis as the brave, plucky David taking on the slow, cumbersome Goliath. It worked. It really worked. In 1962, Avis was not making a profit and had just 11% of the marke t share. One year after the ad campaign launched, Avis was profitable. By 1966, Avis had 35% of the market. Challenger Brand Example 2 - The Pepsi Challenge Knocks Out Coke Perhaps the most famous brand battle of the belastung century is Coke against Pepsi, also know as The Cola Wars. Its still going on to this very day, and neither side will ever let their guard down. They cant afford to. But it wasnt always a battle of giants. Coca-Cola hit the marketplace 12 years before Pepsi when drugstore owner (and morphine addict) John Pemberton launched his cocaine-infused drink in 1886. At that time, it was medicinal and was a supposed cure for morphine addiction, dyspepsia (the Pepsi connection) and headaches. In 1898, Pepsi was launched by Caleb Bradham, although it was originally called Brads Drink. The name changed to Pepsi-Cola in 1903, but by then Coca-Cola already had a huge grasp of the market, selling over a million gallons per year. In 1915, Cokes famous contour bottle launch ed, further establishing the dominance of the brand. By 1945, Coke has a market share of 60%. But Pepsi started to eat away at that number. In 1975, the Pepsi Challenge came along. Pepsi took the idea of a challenger brand to the general public. Blind taste tests were televised as ads, featuring people sipping two colas and deciding which they liked better. Pepsi beat out Coke, an embarrassing loss for the giant. That, coupled with the declining store sales (the market share was just 23% in 1983) led to one of the biggest mistakes in the history of the company. In 1985, New Coke was launched. Its said that on that day, everyone in Pepsi was given the day off. They had won the Cola War. Coke had spent millions formulating a new flavor just to compete with Pepsis taste, and it proved to be a disaster. It was scrapped less than 3 months later, and Coke Classic went on the shelves. By then, Pepsi had seen Coke dish out millions and millions of wasted dollars, and it had upset a loyal c ustomer base. These days, Coke has the larger market share (approx. 25% more) but spends twice as much on advertising per year than Pepsi. And Pepsis revenue is much larger due to multiple business lines. Pepsi is no longer a challenger its an equal. Challenger Brand Example 3 - vw Beetle And The US Auto Industry Imagine this. Youre sitting in an advertising agency just 15 years after the end of the 2nd World War. The following announcement is made Were going to sell a German car, commissioned by Adolf Hitler, to America. As a creative, a planner, an account manager or even someone in the financial department, that doesnt just seem like a tall order. But then this comes along The car is small. Really small. And right now, Americans love big cars. Boom. The last semblance of hope flies out of the window. Well, not for Bill Bernbach. And not only did he succeed, but he also created an advertising campaign that changed the face of the industry and is regarded as one of the best cam paigns of all time. The power of a challenger brand is that is can undermine the power and popularity of the status quo. Big cars are the norm. Everyone loves them. Big is beautiful. Doyle Dane Bernbach twisted that on its head. No, small is beautiful. Its cheaper. Its fuel efficient. Its extremely well-built. Its easier to park. Its reliable. Think small. Those two words, coupled with Helmut Krones beautifully simple layout, cut through the clutter. They made sense to the American public. The copywas witty, irreverent and honest. It was followed by one of the bravest ads ever produced an image of a Volkswagen Beetle with the word Lemon, a parole to describe a shoddy car. The ads of the time were boastful. They wouldnt even hint at anything that was negative. But the ad was intriguing. When the consumer read more, they realized that car was one in a million. It was actually an ad about Volkswagens high standards. And how honest? The tagline We pluck the lemons you get the plums seal ed the deal. The US auto industry didnt know what to make of them. At first, they were considered a joke. Then an annoyance. Then a competitor. Then a real threat. By 1972, just over 12 years later, the Volkswagen Beetle had gone from a virtually unknown car to the most popular car ever made (overtaking the Ford Model T). Thats the power of advertising, and no matter how hard the other automakers tried to put it down, it only fueled the Beetles fire.