While conflict is at times unavoidable, the way you handle conflicts in the workplace can make or break your professional future. Handling conflict poorly can cost you your reputation or even your job, but handling it well can increase your coworkers’ trust in you and could open up future career opportunities.

Forbes Contributor and Managing Partner for Exec|Comm Jay Sullivan offers 5 steps to not only help you successfully navigate conflict in the workplace, but how to use your behaviors to further your career. See below to read what steps we should all be taking when faced with a workplace conflict.

1. Pick your battles.

As a baseline, decide if you’re part of a particular conflict. If you’re not, stay out of the way. You may view your personal brand as “peacemaker” and feel a strong impulse to weigh in on challenging situations. You may quickly discover your brand is actually “buttinsky” and may create even more tension.

Assuming you have a role in resolving the conflict, decide on timing and approach. Has the conflict risen to the level that you need to get involved? Some challenges between two people who report to you need to be worked out by those individuals. If those people resolve the challenge on their own, they’ve grown from the experience. Your involvement would have kept them dependent on you for solutions. Deciding not to take action is sometimes a valid decision, since some problems can be resolved without you.

2. Avoid making assumptions.

There’s a basic principle about faulty decision-making called “What you see is all there is.” Our natural instinct is to assume what we have in front of us is everything, and to trust whoever is presenting the information. Assume instead that every picture you are looking at is a jigsaw puzzle and that a few dozen pieces are missing. Even though you can tell it’s a picture of a lake in the mountains, you should recognize that you’re missing enough pieces that there is important information you can’t determine yet. Is there a cabin on the shore? A moose coming through the trees? When someone presents you with a conflict he has with a co-worker, or you have your own disagreement with a colleague, start by asking a few basic questions.

What else is important for me to know?

This first question helps you uncover information. It shows interest on your part and creates the expectation on the part of the other person that you are going to investigate the issue, starting immediately. It also positions you as thoughtful and reflective, rather than impulsive and reactive. That’s an impressive sign of growth to those around you.

If the other person were here, what would he be telling me?

If you’re a manager asking this question of someone who is in your presence raising an issue, your response forces your colleague to articulate the other person’s position. We all appreciate that there are two or more sides to every story. However, when we articulate those alternative arguments ourselves, we become more sympathetic to the other person’s perspective, which often starts to take the edge off the conflict.

If you are a party to the conflict, before speaking with a manager, ask yourself, “What don’t I know about the person’s motivation, intention, reasoning and feelings about the topic at hand?” Then, go to the other person and ask the appropriate questions. Doing so shows that you are working very diligently to understand the other person in the conversation, and goes a long way to build trust.

What are you asking me to do?

Depending on your management style, you might assume when someone comes to you with an issue that they want you to dive in and solve the problem. Sometimes they do. Ask this third question to reinforce that you won’t be making any sudden judgements and will be reasoned in your approach.

If they respond by saying, “I just need guidance” or “I just needed a sounding board,” you’ve avoided spending time jumping in when your participation wasn’t welcome.

What if you’re the more junior person in the discussion? It’s not politically palatable or comfortable for you to say, “I need you to act differently toward me.” Instead, phrase your request from the perspective of how it will help the other person. “I want to make sure I’m doing a good job for you. I’ll be better able to do that if we can take more time when you are giving me direction.” By framing your request as a means to an end that serves the other person, you’re more likely to state your position calmly and professionally, and are more likely to be heard by the other person.

Each of these questions should be asked with a completely neutral tone, not one that shows exasperation or frustration. Asking these questions will not only help you understand the other person’s perspective, but will help you develop better leadership traits.

3. Investigate.

If there is an independent source of information available that gives color to the conflict, access it before you speak to the other party involved. You may then have other questions for the person who came to you or with whom you have a conflict. The answers to those questions will help you understand their perspective.

4. Listen to the other side.

If you are a manager, let’s assume the person coming to you with a problem wants you to take an active role in fixing it. Contact the other person involved and ask to meet with them. Tell them the agenda so that they aren’t blindsided when they meet with you. If possible, meet with the person face-to-face. Start with a pleasant tone and ask a few straightforward questions that have nothing to do with the issue at hand, possibly commenting on something else with which the person is involved. A simple, “How is your day going?” or “How are things coming along on the X project?” emphasizes that the challenge you two are about to discuss is only one element in the person’s larger workday. It keeps the immediate challenge in perspective. Ending the conversation the same way, by commenting on another aspect of work, reinforces that message.

Fairly quickly, however, you should get to the point of the meeting. “Jack shared with me that an issue arose regarding Z. What’s your take on the situation?” Be prepared to ask lots of questions. Don’t rush the conversation, which means you have to set aside ample time for the meeting. Again, you’ll maintain a neutral demeanor and not telegraph from your facial expressions or tone of voice that you are siding with one party or the other.

If you are a party to the conflict and you’re ready to address this issue with someone else, the same technique works. Starting with a more innocuous topic emphasizes that your relationship with this person isn’t all tension.

5. Decide on next steps.

This is where it gets tricky. Determine if this is the type of issue that requires all parties to sit down and hash out the problem. Most of the time, getting everyone in the room together is the best course of action, as it forces open discussion.

If that meeting takes place, you again need to decide on your role: Are you moderating a discussion, mediating a dispute or ultimately making a decision? If you are moderating, your job is to keep the conversation open, focused and civil. If you are mediating, the parties involved will ultimately decide how they move forward on a project. If you are making the decision, depending on the complexity of the issue, either tell them your decision right then, or tell them you need some time to reflect on it or do some research. If you delay the decision, don’t delay long. They need to move things forward.

Obviously, there are lots of intricacies in dealing with conflict. I haven’t even commented on dealing with the emotional dimension of how people process ideas and information when they are facing a challenge. These are just some first steps to consider when having those tough conversations.

To read the full blog on Forbes.com, follow the link: https://bit.ly/2DYK5yf

You’ve started your first big job and you’re excited about what the future holds. You’ve gotten your bearings in your new office and you’ve settled into the routine that comes with new careers and now you’re trying to figure out what happens next. Even though things are going great, could they be going even better?

Whether your professional life is going great or things have taken a turn for the worse, everyone can use some tips on how to escalate their career and professional life to the next level. Jack Kelly, Forbes contributor and CEO of CompliancEX, recently shared 10 simple habits that can have an immediate positive effect on your career and professional life. See below to read what he had to say:

Decide what you want to do with your professional life

Instead of sleepwalking through the motions, give thought to where you are and the direction you want to go in your career. Map out a plan that will enable you to achieve this goal. Then, start taking baby steps—one at a time. Each and every day, work on this goal. Just like you shower, shave and brush your teeth everyday, spend time analyzing where you are in your journey toward a better future and take a step toward actually achieving it. Some days, the steps will feel like a run, others a jog and a wobbly stumble other times. It’s okay, as long as you have the daily habit to move forward.

Take care of yourself

You are a finely-tuned machine. Nurture and fuel this machine everyday. Eat right, exercise, read, meet new people and learn something new. You will get smarter, more confident and have the mental, emotional and physical strength to help you succeed. You will need this when times get tough—and things will always get tough. If you are mentally, emotionally and physically strong, then you will have the ability to power through the obstacles.

Try listening to people when they talk to you

It’s easy to become complacent and smug in your own thoughts and beliefs. It is important to open yourself to new ideas and suggestions. By being receptive to co-workers, managers and others, it will help you learn and grow instead of stagnating. If you remain closed off, people will get frustrated and tired of dealing with you. You will also be perceived as stubborn, unyielding, resistant to change, obstinate in your opinions and unyielding. Clearly, these traits are not highly desirable by management and are an anathema to career growth. Think of this; what’s the harm in being polite? Listen to people and consider their views and thoughts.

Always be open to new ideas

Similar to listening, remain open to new ideas, as they may unlock the keys to your success. You never know who will give you some amazing insights that will propel your career forward. There is no need to have all the answers. There are so many bright people out there that could always offer something new and useful.

Don’t hate the haters and become a hater yourself

Life is way too short to spend it hating on others. Unfortunately, there will always be a large supply of people at work that are happy to see you fail. Some will go as far as attempting to sabotage your career. People will engage in nefarious types of corporate politics and duplicity. It can be easy to fall into playing this game and try to exact revenge against others. Avoid this temptation and focus on your daily habits. It’s useless to expend precious time trying to fight wars with co-workers, you’ll just drag yourself down in the mud with them.

Seek out mentors and peer groups to network with

You don’t have to do everything on your own. There are many smart and experienced people that would love to share their knowledge with a protégé. Seek out these folks as mentors who can share their accumulated knowledge and wisdom with you. These good-natured people take pleasure in imparting their knowledge with others. Then, down the road, pay it forward. If someone comes to you for advice, let them become your protégé. Also, try to seek out peers to network with and learn from. It is mentally, emotionally and spiritually helpful to surround yourself by like-minded people intent on improving themselves and growing their careers.

Keep your word

If you say something, remember to follow through and deliver. When you promise to get a project done by a certain time, make sure it is accomplished sooner than the projected date. A good rule of thumb is to under-promise and over-deliver. Exceed expectations and come in under budget. You want to be the person whom everyone can rely on to be trusted.

Stop comparing yourself to others

It is tempting to look at someone you went to high school or college with who is now a huge success and then compare yourself to that person. It’s a bad habit and trap to fall into. It will make you feel bad about yourself and crush your self esteem. Instead, be happy for their success and focus your energies on how you will build your own path.

Remember to share the credit

If you constantly steal the credit and hog the spotlight, nobody will want to work with you. Alternatively, when you share and spread around the success, everyone will want to partner with you.

Remain positive with everyone 

Most people trudge along acting surly, angry and ticked-off. These unhappy folks don’t even try to hide their negative feelings. Some people are actually proud to complain aloud about how overworked, unhappy, mistreated and aggravated they are. You need to do the exact opposite. It’s so simple; smile and be nice with everyone you come in contact with. Extend a compliment, offer a pat on the back and recognize a co-worker’s contribution. This doesn’t cost anything and these small little interactions will make the you the person that others want to be around.

To read the full blog on Forbes.com, click the link: https://bit.ly/2wQYSWH

When you’re job-hunting, you want to make sure that you’re taking advantage of every possible situation that could lead to a potential professional connection. This means that there is no real down time when looking for a job. Whether you’re at a coffee shop, at a cookout with friends or even a night out on the town, you’re always networking.

Forbes.com tapped published author and industry leader Dawn Graham, PhD, LP for her thoughts on how to make sure you’re maximizing your career options and she had one incredible tip to share.

Summer is made for being outdoors – BBQing with friends, running into neighbors, attending little league games, and casual conversations at the dog park.

While many discussions revolve around the latest heat wave or our kids’ summer camp escapades, these informal meetings offer a huge opportunity to positively influence our careers and the careers of those around us. Yet, most of us will miss it.

Here’s a test:

Can the people you interact with regularly – your neighbor, second cousin, the outgoing German Shepherd owner, your beloved hair stylist, or fellow book club members – verbalize what you do for a living in a sentence or two in a way that sells your value to others?

I’m not talking about the company where you work or a generic job title, but rather, can the people with whom you have an established (or at least baseline) relationship specifically relay the value you bring to your industry?

The truth is that many of the people closest to us, the ones we feel comfortable talking to and in many cases the ones invested in our success, don’t really know or understand what we do for a living. This means they’re unable to spot or relay opportunities that might be a match for our expertise. Also, we’re unlikely to be able to do the same for them.

Even if you’re not looking for a job in the moment, building a network of like-minded people can be very beneficial to your long-term career. Statistics point to the fact that you’ll be in a job search at some point in the next few years, and if the people you feel most comfortable around don’t know your professional value, they can’t help you.

Don’t wait until you need ambassadors to start creating them. While you don’t need to turn every summer social gathering or soccer practice sideline conversation into a business meeting, here’s what you can do now:

1. Learn about your contact’s work. Don’t be embarrassed if you’ve been having conversations with someone for a while and don’t know specifically what they do. This is the entire point of this article – it’s pretty common. Simply say, “I’m sorry – I feel like I should have asked this earlier, but I really don’t know what you do at the firm downtown.” It will be rare that someone mistakes your interest as prying, so don’t psych yourself out.
2. Share what you do in layman’s terms. Reciprocate and avoid using titles or industry phrases that may be meaningless to others. You may assume everyone knows what a programmer does, but your goal is to give someone the language to potentially sell your value, or at least be able to explain your role to another person. Sometimes an example goes a long way to opening the door to a great discussion (e.g., “Do you know those annoying pop ups that cover the screen when you’re trying to read a Facebook post? I program a software that removes them from commercial websites.”).
3. Identify commonalities. Chances are there is some overlap in the people you know, vendors you use, places you travel, perks you receive or something else. The more you engage, the more likely you are to discover these similarities, which builds trust and possibly opens the door to new introductions for one or both of you.
4. Ask about their future career goals. Since the average tenure in a role is about 4.2 years, it’s likely your contact will have some ideas about her next career move. Listen for opportunities where you might be able to assist with information, introductions or other ideas and support. If you can’t right now, make a mental note so that you can be helpful when the timing is right.
5. Share your future career goals. Even if still hazy, confiding your plans in another can both motivate you to more forward and also might inspire a conversation that helps you to clarify your goals. Often we get stuck in our heads, spinning about the possible paths, so this could be an opportunity to both convey your intentions, while getting some objective feedback. People who aren’t in a similar profession can ask questions that others hadn’t thought to, which may enable you to see new possibilities.
6. If the opportunity arises, take action. In some cases, you might learn about a way you can help a contact straight away. Don’t wait for the ask – many are uncomfortable being vulnerable and may shy away from being assertive or may not know what to ask for. Offer to help, perhaps more than once. If you’ve only been talking about casual topics up to this point, your contact may not want to inconvenience you, so be the first to speak up.
7. Check in on occasion. While not every future conversation needs to turn back to business, make it a point to ask how things are progressing and what has changed. It’s tempting at social gatherings, sports events, or Happy Hour to steer the conversation to non-work topics since we’re trying to detach. That’s fine, but periodical check-in’s will open many doors for you and your network.

Many professionals dislike networking in a job search. That’s because it’s not meant to be a transactional activity in your job search checklist. Networking is about building relationships, consciously and constantly, so they’re there when you need them. It’s also about helping others to achieve their goals, which you can’t do unless you understand clearly what those goals are.

These seven steps can literally be completed in 10 minutes, or you may find that the conversations continue naturally over several meetings. If you don’t take the first step, you’ll never know.

And if the voice in your head says, “Yeah, but what if…he’s unemployed, she hates her job, it’s an industry I don’t understand, he should already know this…” – stop. Don’t let your discomfort dissuade you from having the conversation. The only way to build a relationship is to remain open to being vulnerable. And, many professionals’ careers are intertwined with their identities, so it’s flattering when others take an interest at a deeper level.

If you’re ready to open up your options to the 80% of jobs that can’t be found online, this is your ticket.

Happy hunting!

Click the link to read Dr. Dawn Graham’s original article on Forbes: https://bit.ly/2KJ9foF

In today’s job market everyone needs a resume, and those in healthcare are no exception. More and more healthcare related careers are requiring resumes as a part of the hiring process and in order to be competitive, you need to make sure your resume is well written and sets you apart from the crowd. Does your current resume separate you from your peers?

Shelcy Joseph, Forbes Contributor, has some incredible resume tips that we think are worth reading. We think #3 is particularly important! See what she has to say below.

Yes, recruiters only spend six seconds reviewing your resume.

No, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t spend time on it.

You know the dream job you’ve been eyeing on that company’s website? Your resume is the first thing that’ll get you considered for it—granted you tell your professional story in a compelling way.

Of course, it’s easier said than done. How can you compact your experience in a concise, yet interesting and relevant way? This is where Career and Negotiation Strategist Claudia Telles comes in. She shares her top tips for writing a resume that will successfully pass the Applicant Tracking System (ATS)—and get your foot in the door of any company.

Have a summary section and mention the role you’re applying for

Here’s an example of what it may look like:

SUMMARY: As a motivated, ambitious and self-directed individual with [hard and/or soft skills], I’m ready to leverage my experience in [skills] for a [Job Title you’re applying for] role. 

When the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) scans your resume it looks for the position title. If you include the role in your resume it will help you rank higher and increase your chances of it being seen by the recruiter.

Include both soft and hard skills under the skills section

Hard skills are skills you can prove you have. Example: coding, creating and managing a budget, advertising on Facebook, etc. Soft skills are harder to show or measure. Example: entrepreneurial spirit, collaborative attitude, organization etc. Include both sets under the skills section. Hiring Managers don’t necessarily spend too much time here but it’s important to mention it to help you rank higher in the ATS system and put your resume on top of the pile.

Be sure to avoid words like hard worker because it’s already assumed you are. Plus, it’s just cliche and overused.

Mention your biggest achievement as the first bullet point in every role

Since you only have 6 seconds to make an impression and land an interview it’s important to be strategic. Your first bullet point should be your biggest achievement at work. Impress them right away by sharing something they’ll find relevant or have questions about.

You don’t have to describe every task associated with each position you’ve held. Aim to have 2-4 bullet points under each role. Share just enough to capture their attention.

Here’s a trick I use to decide if a bullet point is strong and worth mentioning it. Read the bullet point and ask yourself, “how is it relevant?”.  The key here is to be as specific as possible, yet concise.

Here’s a quick example:

• Increased sales year over year

This is too vague. Consider this instead:

• Increased sales by ~27% for the past 5 years by implementing a new marketing strategy that enabled me to get more qualified leads.

Be sure to include detailed information and back up your achievements with numbers whenever possible.

Make sure your resume aligns with the job description

Use this free tool called Jobscan to see how well your resume matches with the job description. It tells you what keywords you’re missing and it gives you an opportunity to get creative and include it in your resume. Aim to get more than a 65% match before submitting your job application.

To read the original blog on Forbes.com, click here: https://bit.ly/2ILKiae