Seasonal Affective Disorder happens in the summer too

Seasonal Affective Disorder happens in the summer tooSeasonal Affective Disorder happens in the summer tooSummer is usually one of the best times of the year. Most of us have finally gotten over the harshness and challenges of winter (and often spring) and are just so excited for the warmer temperatures and sunlight. Even though you are an adult now and have to work (kids have it so nice) everything still feels a bit more relaxed. Plus, it is prime vacation time and no one judges you for eating ice cream in the middle of the day. However, many people are actually feeling a bit depressed right now and there is a good reason for it. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) affects 1% of the population during the summer season.Too much sunThough it seems hard to understand that people would be depressed with more hours of sunlight especially after a long, dark winter, it really is all about peoples circadian rhythms. Just like fewer hours of light can make people very depressed in the winter, more hours of light and higher temperatures can impact a smaller group in the summer because of neurotransmitter levels being altered. Symptoms of SAD in the summer include insomnia, agitation, and loss of appetite.Another factor that can contribute to SAD in the summer is the wonderful modern concept of FOMO. Instagram feeds are extra flooded with fun summer pictures during this season (instead of the less jealousy-invoking cars buried in snow photos) which can bring SAD to another level for these people.Summer bummer.

8 Lessons Gen Z Can Learn from Baby Boomers About Impressing Recruiters

8 Lessons Gen Z Can Learn from Baby Boomers About Impressing Recruiters8 Lessons Gen Z Can Learn from Baby Boomers About Impressing Recruiters Ahhh Gen Z. While you exhibit a digital deftness akin to your Millennial predecessors, your work ethic, sense of social justice, activism and fiscal conservatism are reminiscent of Baby Boomers, your grandparents generation. According to Pew Research Center , Gen Zs were born after 1996. A Goldman Sachs research report notlagees At nearly 70 million in size and growing . . .this cohort will soon outnumber their Millennial predecessors. Raised by Gen-X parents during a time marred by economic stress, rising student debt burdens, socio-economic tensions and war overseas, these youths carry a less idealistic, more pragmatic perspective on the world. . . and they will be Americas most diverse to-date (first to be majority non-white).A poll conducted by the Lincoln Financial Group describes Gen Zs as optimistic and future-foc used. Polled Gen Zs define their top priorities as obtaining degrees, securing employment and saving money. Gen Zs indicate that they seek sound benefits, competitive pay and meaningful employment.Baby Boomers , born between 1946-64, earned their generational moniker because of the birthrate spike following WWII. The largest generation, Baby Boomers numbers peaked at about 78 million in 1999. While they took a strong pranke in shaping modern workplace mores, Baby Boomers are now leaving it an estimated 10,000 Boomers retire daily. Boomers forged their place in crowded classrooms and fought stiff competition to earn their role in the boardroom. Fitting role models for their Gen Z counterparts, Sally Kane describes them Baby Boomers are confident, independent and self-reliant. This generation grew up in an era of reform and believe they can change the world. They questioned established authority systems and challenged the status quo. So what can Generation Zs learn from Baby Bo omers about nailing that big interview and cultivating professional success? Susan Peppercorn , career transition coach and CEO of Positive Workplace Partners , a career consultancy explains Since Gen Zs have little experience in the workforce, Boomers can help them identify their skills, strengths, and interests as well as potential roles that may be a good fit, so that they can position themselves effectively with recruiters. Recruiters help placeindividuals in jobs when the candidate knows what they want and how they can contribute. Most wontbe helpful to someone looking for career advice because they are looking for people that have figured that out. Since Boomers have so much experience, they are well-suited to coaching someone starting their career on how to get the attention of recruiters and work with them.While individual accomplishments are important, knowing that someone can function well on a team is huge. So, emphasize how your efforts advanced the agenda of your drill team, soccer team, chess club or band. Collaboration is key to professional success. Nobody owes you a job, so dont act like itIts impressive to show that you can do great work and give the employer more than they request. Thats how you cultivate professional skills , workplace examples to cite in interviews and glowing professional references. Put your best effort into every job opportunity you get. It matters. Because of the size of their generation, Boomers had to compete for everything, and so do you, Gen Zs. Use every opportunity to develop your skills and talents. Then emphasize instances in which you stood out. Use technology in concert with, not in lieu of, other modes of communicationTechnological fluency is a valuable skill. But it doesnt replace other modes of communication. Face-to-face interactions and phone etiquette are also important. Practice them. Get comfortable talking with people who are outside of your peer group. Try making phone calls in place of texting or emailing so that you become more comfortable with these modes of communication. Its understandable that younger professionals may not have the experience of their more seasoned counterparts. But you have goals. If you want to get an advanced degree, discussing that ambition will impress an interviewer . If you hope to assume a leadership role, that also bodes well. Share your dreams, and tie those to actions youre currently taking. Baby Boomers challenged the world around them. They bucked convention to create a new place for themselves. Those efforts yielded real change. Being shaped by a diverse generation instills a valuable sensitivity. Tend that awareness. It will make you a more astute professional and a more deeply connected human being.Baby Boomers are a generation to whom nothing was handed. That sounds like you, Gen Zs. Find opportunities and resources where you can, and run with them. You carry on a great legacy.

Post-Merger, HR VPs Network Pays Off

Post-Merger, HR VPs Network Pays OffPost-Merger, HR VPs Network Pays OffRick Joers knew his HR role at JP Morgan might disappear when he finished helping the company acquire Bear Stearns. When the ax fell, Joers had to find new networks in a shrinking industry.From the time Rick Joers got the news that his employer, JP Morgan, would be acquiring Bear Stearns, he sensed that he might be working toward eliminating his own job. At the same time, he welches too busy helping to merge the two companies to do any serious work on his resume or start a job search.Joers, a vice president of human resources at JP Morgan for the past eight years, started working toward a layoff on a Sunday afternoon last year. My boss called me in on Sunday, March 16. I worked until 1 a.m. that day on the acquisition. It welches the start of a six-month project. I knew even then that there welches a chance I might not have a job when the merger welches complete. But we were working long hours there was a lot to do. I didnt have time to do my work and search for another job.Indeed, he got word by June that he would be losing his job, and on Sept. 15, he left JP Morgan. Compounding his concern about looking for a job was the fact that, at the age of 58, he had not done a job search in a very long time. Id always had headhunters calling me or someone from my network calling me about jobs, he said. I hadnt had to actively search before. So, I had to start from scratch.Joers said the outplacement firm he worked with put a lot of emphasis on networking, which, in a mora sane economy, made sense, he said. But I was worried, in this market, networking would take too long. The financial-services market was quickly consolidating. The people I was talking to were also losing their jobs. I knew I couldnt just use my professional network.So, he said, he thought about different ways to attack the market and determine what he could offer employers. At the same time, he decided to open up his search to No rthern California as well as New York.I did a lot of work in mergers and acquisitions and global organizations. I had some expertise in employee relations, he said. So I started looking at companies other than financial services that could use those strengths. And, last fall, my partner was working for a company based out of Sonoma. So my strategy was to target my search in Silicon Valley, because one of my major projects had been supporting global technology.New networking channelsHe didnt have any professional contacts in the San Francisco Bay area, but he did have a network on LinkedIn that he tapped The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender group on LinkedIn had many members who were professionals in the technology field. He was surprised at how many people were willing to talk to him. People were very responsive and helpful, he said. I honigwein a lot of people through LinkedIn and talked to them about moving into technology.At the same time, Joers became an HRLadder member, hopi ng to find job listings in the Bay area. I set alerts for Northern California and New York City, and targeted my search in those two locations, he said. Youve got to have a lot of quivers and a lot of arrows to hand.He went to San Francisco in late October to meet with several people he had met on LinkedIn. And, while people were eager to talk to him, he realized the Northern California market (and the technology field specifically) was going to be a tough nut to crack. I was trying to sell myself as someone with a unique skill set, but right now, if you didnt have direct experience with a technology company, most companies didnt want to talk. The job market in California had slowed to a crawl in November, and his partner realized he wouldnt be able to transfer there, so Joers decided to steer his focus back to New York.And back to financial services.While on Sept. 15, I thought there was no way I could find another job at a financial institution, it was beginning to seem like that would be the best place for me, Joers said. Those were the people that were most receptive to my resume.Traditional networking channelsIn the end, his network came through for him. A recruiter placed an ad on Ladders for a position at the Royal Bank of Scotland. I contacted the recruiter, and they called me the next day, he said. I went on LinkedIn, and a woman who had done consulting for JP Morgan when I was there was now working at RBS. I emailed her that I was applying for a position at her company she wrote to tell me that the position reports to her. Since she was the most influential decision maker, it was helpful to have someone who knew me.Several rounds of interviews beginning in November ended with a job offer in January. He is now technical partner at Royal Bank of Scotland, with oversight of employee relations. His new job, based in Stamford, Conn., requires him to commute over an hour each way, but hes happy to be working and to have found a job as quickly as he did.Loo king back, hes glad he gave some other options a try, but in this economy, he is better off staying in something he knows. It would have been fun to take the plunge and go to San Francisco, he said. I had a six-month severance, but it was going to take more than six months for me to find something there. And I didnt want to tap into savings.And while his two-pronged strategy made sense, he said he learned to not underestimate himself or his skills, even in this tough economic market. I had the mistaken belief that there was no way to go back to a bank or financial-services firm because of what was happening in the market, he said. The power of your resume, especially if you have built a career in the market, should not be overlooked. My global experience was very helpful, and my employee-relations experience and MA experience. In the end, it worked for me.