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Recognizing — and Celebrating — the Impact of the Hispanic Community

BusinessCareersLatinx

Hispanic Americans are launching more new businesses, achieving higher levels of education, and reaching the C-suite of Fortune 500 companies in greater numbers than ever.

Surprisingly, these advancements and economic milestones are often unknown by the very people responsible for them – according to a recent survey, 77% of Latinx have no idea of their communities’ potential and contributions.

In that spirit, Bloomberg is spotlighting these accomplishments – and the perception gap behind them.

By celebrating and recognizing their influence and success, Hispanic Americans can feel more awakened, empowered and secure in the progress they’re making – both individually and as a united group.

bloomberg-latinx

And:
bloomberg latinx

However:

bloomberg latinx

Taking action

With this perception gap in mind, we spoke to members of the Hispanic community here at Bloomberg, learning their thoughts on this perception gap and the work necessary to close it.

As a Latina, I don’t see Latinx achievements promoted enough in our schools, the workplace, and in mass media. We are making progress through employee resource groups here at Bloomberg, which aim to highlight the achievements of Latinx in the corporate landscape and the world, but there is still lots of opportunity to expose all the wonderful growth and achievements of our community. I actively seek out Latinx representation on a daily basis by specifically supporting Latinx authors, joining organizations for Latinx advancement, reading Latinx news outlets, and supporting Latinx-run businesses. If we were more celebrated, with our contributions and presence being more prevalent, the perception could change. Our reach needs to be wider. – Juliana Rodriguez, Engineering

I’m driven by my heritage, coming from a family of Latinx small business owners and seeing how hard my family has worked over the years to start and grow businesses, making them successful not only for this generation but for my kids’ and beyond. That’s how I see the achievements of the Latinx community: work ethic, drive, and passion to pave a way for their families. There is still a huge gap when it comes to recognizing the community’s achievements because people need to care and be open to seeing this community as a whole for who they are. – Stephanie Saliba, Global Data

We need to make our collective voice louder than the spun narrative of the sensational news cycle. Let’s get comfortable with talking about the larger power the Latinx community has, including how we contribute to the economy, our workforce participation, our leading rates of entrepreneurship, business ownership, startup businesses, and overall contribution to GDP. Let’s also highlight our increased political power, in terms of percentage of the electorate, and our ability to demand change and action from our representatives that will benefit our community. – Priscilla Cunza-Marin, Global Data

Click here to read full article on Bloomberg.

DiversityComm’s HISPANIC Network Magazine Announces Top LGBTQ+ Friendly Companies Early Results

BusinessLGBTQ

The Top LGBTQ+ Friendly list was compiled from market research, independent research, diversity conference participation and survey responses that were performed by DiversityComm’s agents and/or affiliates. This year, hundreds of companies participated.

The final results are published in the fall issue of HISPANIC Network Magazine and available on digital and print newsstands mid-August. Published by DiversityComm, HISPANIC Network Magazine is dedicated to promoting the advancement of Hispanics in all aspects of education, business and employment to ensure equal opportunity.

DiversityComm also publishes Black EOE Journal, Professional WOMAN’s Magazine, U.S. Veterans Magazine, Diversity in STEAM Magazine and DIVERSEability Magazine.

2023 Top LGBTQ+ Friendly Companies:
3M
AARP
Accenture
ADP
Aetna
Allstate Insurance Company
Altria Group Inc.
Amazon.com Inc.
American Airlines
American Family Insurance
AmerisourceBergen
Anthem
Apple Inc.
AT&T Inc.
Bank of America
Barilla
Bayer
Bergen Corp.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Best Buy
Boston Scientific Corporation
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Capco
Capital One
Cardinal Health
Centene
Charles Schwab
Chevron
Citigroup Inc.
Comcast-NBCUniversal
Corning
Corteva Agriscience
Cummins Inc.
CVS Health
Delhaize America
Dell
Deloitte
Dollar General
Dow
DuPont
Eaton Corporation
Elevance Health (aka Anthem Inc.)
Ernst & Young, LLP
ExxonMobil Corporation
EY
Facebook
Fannie Mae
FedEx Corp.
Fidelity Investments
First Data
First National Bank (F.N.B. Corp.)
Food Lion
Ford Motor Company
FOX Corporation
Freddie Mac
General Electric
General Mills
General Motors Company
GlaxoSmithKline
Google
HCSC
Health Group Inc.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Hilton
HP
HPE
HRC
Humana
IBM
Ingram Micro
Intel Corporation
Johnson & Johnson
JPMorgan Chase
KeyCorp
KPMG, LLP
Liberty Mutual
LinkedIn
Lockheed Martin
Lowe’s Companies, Inc.
Macy’s Inc.
Marathon Petroleum
Marriott International
McKesson Corp.
Merck
Metlife
Microsoft
Morgan Stanley
MUFG Union Bank, N.A.
Nationwide
New York Life
Northrop Grumman
Northwell Health
Northwestern Mutual
Pacific Gas & Electric Company
PepsiCo
Pfizer
Phillips 66
PNC Financial
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Proctor & Gamble
Prudential Financial
Raytheon Technologies
Robert Half
Salesforce
SC Johnson
Sodexo, USA
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Southern California Edison
Southwest Airlines
State Farm Insurance
State Street
SunTrust Bank
Target
TD Bank
The Coca-Cola Co.
The Hershey Company
The Kellogg Co.
The Kroger Company
The Walt Disney Company
TIAA
Time Warner
T-Mobile USA, Inc.
Toyota Motor North America inc.
Trane Technologies
Travel + Leisure Co.
Truist Financial Corporation
U.S. Bank
Union Pacific
United Airlines
United Technologies Corp.
UnitedHealth Group
UPS
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Valero Energy Corporation
Verizon
Walgreens
Walmart Inc
Waste Management
Wells Fargo & Company
Windstream Holdings
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc.

The goal of the annual evaluations is to not only bring the latest information and guidance to our readers, but also encourage active outreach and diversity policies among corporations and government agencies.

The 2024 survey will be available in the few months. Announcements will be made in THE INCLUSION bi-monthly newsletter. Sign up to receive these announcements by emailing surveys@diversitycomm.net.

Five Ways to Gain Work Experience

Careers

latina professional smiling while taking on cell phone

Most employers want to hire people with experience. But how do you get experience if you can’t get hired? It’s a classic bind.

One solution is to volunteer or do other unpaid work. You’ll gain skills and practical experiences. You’ll also gain references and a better understanding of your work preferences and talents. And all of those will improve your chances of getting hired.

Here are five types of unpaid (usually—sometimes you can get paid) work experiences:

Volunteer work

To volunteer actually means to work without being paid. There are opportunities to volunteer in every community, typically at nonprofit organizations and schools. You can gain skills like writing, childcare, teaching, coaching, fundraising, mentoring, sales, phone answering, organizing materials, construction, arts, and much more. Many organizations provide training to volunteer positions.

Get started by thinking about organizations you’d like to support. You can also search the Business Finder for businesses and non-profits in your area. Check organizations’ websites for volunteer opportunities,or call or email them directly.

Internship

An internship is a short-term job that can be paid or unpaid and gives students or job seekers experience in a real-world work environment. Usually if an internship is unpaid, it does provide some college or classroom credit. Internships are available in government, private businesses, and non-profit organizations. Interns, unlike volunteers, usually have a specific mentor or co-worker who helps them navigate the experience.

Apply for an internship through a college or high school internship office, by using an internship finder service, or by contacting the human resources office of a business directly. You can also use the Business Finder to locate companies and search their websites—or contact them directly—for internship opportunities.

Apprenticeship

Apprenticeships combine a full-time job with training—and prepare workers to enter in-demand careers. They are formal programs designed to provide affordable pathways to high-paying jobs and careers without the typical student debt associated with college. Apprenticeship opportunities are typically available in industries such as information technology, finance and business, healthcare, hospitality, transportation, and manufacturing.

To find apprenticeship opportunities that match your interests and skills, visit the new Apprenticeship Finder on Apprenticeship.gov—a one-stop source to connect career seekers, employers, and education partners with apprenticeship resources.

Job shadowing

Ranging from a few hours to a few days, job shadowing allows you to learn about the real, day-to-day work of an occupation by following someone as they work. You can arrange a shadow experience by asking to observe someone you know through your network, or requesting a contact through a professional association or school program. Read accounts of job shadow experiences.

School and community activities

You gain skills when you participate in clubs, sports, theatre, music, dance, parent organizations, religious affiliations, and other community activities. Include these on your resume. To develop skills in a specific area, join a group involved in that field. Find opportunities through school districts, community education, local arts groups, religious organizations, and the public library.

Source: Career One Stop

It’s 2023—Do You Still Need a Cover Letter?

Careers

If you’re job searching, you may notice that some postings or online applications don’t require that you send a cover letter. You may have even heard that in today’s job market, overwhelmed hiring managers have no time to read through cover letters. So, do you still need to send one with your resume or application?

The short answer is yes. You should send a cover letter. For one thing, a well-crafted cover letter is your best chance to stand out from other applicants. It gives you a chance to add some color to your resume and highlight both your achievements and why you’re a great fit for the position. Experts agree that if you have an opportunity, you should still attach a cover letter. In fact, ResumeLab recently surveyed employers and found that 83% of hiring managers said that a great cover letter can actually help you get an interview, even if your resume doesn’t match all the job requirements.

It’s true that some employers don’t ask for a cover letter when you apply. But it’s still a chance for you to demonstrate extra effort (which can signal extra interest to employers). If a job posting asks that you email your resume, you don’t need to attach a separate cover letter, but you can use the body of the email to highlight your unique qualifications for the job—basically you can format the email as a cover letter.

If you’re applying for a job through an online application, adding a cover letter might be marked as an “optional” step. But even if it’s not required, it’s wise to include one.

The good news is that cover letters don’t have to be as long as they were just a few years ago. Today, most experts recommend that your cover letter is between 200-400 words, with just 3-4

paragraphs. But don’t use the same one for each job. You need to write a targeted letter for each position.

Think about including these main sections in your cover letter:

Heading and greeting. Include the date, your name and your contact information, including phone and email. Address the letter to a specific person whenever possible. If you can’t find an individual’s name, use the job title of the recipient (Maintenance Supervisor, Office Manager), or perhaps “Human Resources” or “Search Committee.” Do not address your letter to a business, a department or “To Whom It May Concern.”

Brief introduction. Explain who you are and your reason for writing, including how you found out about the position. Use the first paragraph to express your energy, enthusiasm, skills, education and work experience that could contribute to the employer’s success.

Your highlights. Sell yourself. Reveal why you are a perfect and unique match for the position. Explain why you have chosen the employer. Briefly summarize your talents, experience and achievements.

Assertive closing. Thank the person for taking the time to read your letter. Use an appropriate closing, such as “Sincerely” and tell the employer how you plan to follow-up.

Source: CareerOneStop

Creating Effective Employee Resource Groups

BusinessCareers

employee resource group - group shot of professional diverse employees

Members of underrepresented groups within a company, whether women, different ethnic minorities, LGBTQ, veterans, differently abled, parents, etc., may feel isolated at a company, lack a sense of belonging and support, and even feel as though their needs are being met. One way to support them is to create an employee resource group (ERG). While there are a variety of benefits (outlined below), there’s also been an increasing concern over the potential lack of intersectionality and creation of “echo chambers,” implying that the only people hearing the ERG’s “voice” are its own members. These concerns, while valid, don’t necessarily mean we should do away with ERGs. However, we should consider how they can evolve to best support the needs of an increasingly diverse workforce.

What Are ERGs?
ERGs are volunteer-led groups of people within a company that organize around a particular shared background, interest, or issue. Most commonly, we see ERGs form around women, parents, people of color, LGBTQ, veterans, and people with disabilities. They can be run without fiscal support, but they can have much more of an impact if they are given financial support, as well as full, committed support from senior leadership.

Traditional Benefits of an ERG
There are a host of benefits to supporting an ERG at your company. Here are a few:

Connecting with others with similar needs in order to help push innovation, both internally and externally
Providing increased support for professional development and leadership opportunities
Offering insight into specific business opportunities related to the ERG focus
Expanding recruitment efforts to be more inclusive
Feeling part of a community with others who understand various backgrounds and challenges

Leveraging ERGs to Their Fullest Capacity
A major benefit of ERGs is that they bring like-minded people together to support each other and advocate for their needs. However, this can end up being a double-edged sword, as ERGs are sometimes viewed as exclusive and alienating to others. Additionally, as we evolve as a society and are increasingly aware of our intersectionality, it becomes harder to lump people into categories. That said, this doesn’t mean we need to do away with ERGs. In fact, it’s a perfect opportunity for different ERGs to work together more intentionally. If ERGs are siloed and exclusive, they lose one of their greatest strengths, which is to share across backgrounds, ideas, concerns, etc. A great way to address this is to have regularly scheduled events across ERGs.

Starting an ERG
Typically employees will start an ERG, as there’s no point in having a resource group if no one’s interested in participating. It’s important to note, however, that they should also have absolute support from company executives. While having an ERG doesn’t have to cost anything to start, it will likely take up staff time and therefore requires support from leadership. Ideally, an ERG will have an executive sponsor—one who is not part of the ERG but will advocate on its behalf to senior leadership. Once you’ve come together as a group, we recommend the following:

Decide what you want your mission and goals to be.
Determine a leadership structure, so the group can live on regardless of whether people come and go.
Write down and present the group’s mission, goals, structure and roadmap to leadership, as well as to the rest of the company.
Find an executive sponsor to champion your group. You want someone who will be able to work with senior leadership to advocate on your behalf.
Invite others to participate. Be inclusive by noting that friends of the group are welcome too!
Set up a calendar of events. This should include regular times (monthly, quarterly, etc.) when you meet as a group, special events that are open to all, and cross-ERG events. One event to start with could be a kick-off event to celebrate your ERG’s formation and see who might be interested in participating in the future!

Source: shegeeksout.com

Elena Reygadas, named world’s best female chef, cooks in rhythm with nature

BusinessLifestyle

Elena Reygadas smiling with a green floral background

By Albinson Linares and Valeria León, Noticias Telemundo

Elena Reygadas’ days start early, which explains why she laughs remembering that everything was “dark” when she found out she’d been named best female chef in the world in the The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023 awards.

“I did not expect it and it has been a very nice surprise; it is very exciting to obtain recognition like this. I want to share it with my entire team; there are many of us in the kitchen and it is always a collective act,” Reygadas, 46, said in an interview with Noticias Telemundo at Rosetta, her first and signature restaurant, which she opened in 2010 in an old mansion in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City.

Over a decade later, the world-renowned restaurant is where Reygadas has dedicated herself to reconfiguring the vast culinary wealth of her country, menu by menu.

“The menu is based on the timeline and the ingredients that nature gives us. Right now, for example, we have a dish with Manila mango that only lasts a little while. We are also using a lot of muscatel plum, which is a moment and when it’s over, it’s over,” said Reygadas, who was named Latin America’s best female chef in the 2014 awards. “It makes us sad because we became very attached to the ingredients, but that also allows us to continue our creativity and move into a new moment.”

On Wednesday morning, before Rosetta opened to the public, the aromas of Mexican herbs and vegetables such as hoja santa, romeritos and avocados mingled with powerful hints of spices and, of course, chiles, which are at the heart of many of Reygadas’ signature dishes.

hearty bowl of Tomatillo soup
A dish at Rosetta has green tomatoes, eggplant, molasses and Ocosingo cheese.

When asked the secret of Rosetta’s success, she credits that emphasis on “biodiversity.”

“It’s a factor that also has its challenges, because sometimes people who visit us are already in love with a dish but, when they arrive, it is gone and they don’t like that,” Reygadas said. “So changing the menu to respect nature’s times is also a challenge at the diners’ level.”

Vegetables play a leading role in many of Reygadas’ signature dishes, such as beetroot tartare al pastor, smoked cheese tortelloni with hoja santa — a Mexican herb — and the famous kale with pistachio pipián, or mole sauce, and romeritos (wild herbs) tacos.

“I am convinced that the vegetable side of the kitchen and the ingredients of Mexico are wonderful; they are exceptional flavors and there are many to explore. That is why we are increasingly focusing more on the vegetable,” she said.

Read the complete article originally posted on Telemundo here.

How to Write Your Business Plan

Business

Overjoyed young latin lady doing paperwork at home office

Writing a comprehensive business plan is the first step in starting a business. It will serve as a guide to make your entrepreneurial dreams a reality, help you avoid costly mistakes, assist in financial preparations, serve as a resume of sorts for future potential business partners and much more.

The most valuable part of writing a business plan is the education you gain by researching and writing it. While it may be tempting to hire someone to prepare your plan, or to buy an off-the-shelf plan for your type of business, it is in your best interest to do the work yourself to best understand the needs and workings of your company.

Here’s what your business plan should include:

Mission & Vision Statements

A mission statement is a brief description of what you do. It helps you and those working with you to stay focused on what’s important. A vision statement answers the question “What do we want to become?” It provides you direction as you make decisions that will impact the future of your business.

Business Description

Your business description provides the “who, what, when, where” of your business, including the type of business structure, start date and the location. This is also where you’ll want to list your business type, which you will choose depending on your needs. Business types include:

Sole Proprietorships are owned by a single person or a married couple. These businesses are inexpensive to form and there are no special reporting requirements. The owner is personally responsible (liable) for all business debts and for federal taxes.
Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) are very popular. The business has limited legal liability like a corporation, but has fewer governance requirements.
General Partnerships are like sole proprietorships with more than one owner. Partners share managerial duties, profits and losses, and each is personally responsible (liable) for all business debt.
Corporations are more complex structures than the others. As with LLCs, corporations have limited legal liability and must complete other tasks such as issuing stock certificates, holding annual meetings and keeping minutes, electing directors, etc. Corporation owners are called “shareholders” or “stockholders.”
Limited Partnerships (LPs) are not used very often for small businesses, although they are common for real estate ownership. LPs are composed of one or more general partners and one or more limited partners. The general partners manage the entity and share fully in its profits and losses.

Market Analysis

A market analysis will help you determine if there is a need in the marketplace for your product or service, who would be most likely to buy your offerings and where your customers are located. Include:

An analysis of your industry.
Evidence of demand for your product or service.
A description of your target market (customer profile).
Your market size (looking at area demographics and the growth of your industry).
Your competition and why people would choose your product or service over the competition.
Estimated sales volume and revenue.

Marketing Plan

Once you’ve identified your customer, you need to explain how you will get your customers to buy your product or service. Include:

Your pricing strategy, including the price floor (the price at which you would break even), the price ceiling (the maximum price people would consider paying for your product or service) and your pricing relative to your competition (same, lower, higher).
Your desired image (in light of your target market) and how to achieve it through advertising, signage, business cards and letterhead, brochures, office/store appearance, your appearance and other means of outreach.
Your promotion and advertising strategy to reach your target market (such as use of website, social media, yellow pages, news releases, personal network, cold calls, newspaper, radio, television advertising, direct mail, etc.).
The costs and timing of your marketing activities.

Operations Plan

This reflects all the basics of operating your business and includes:

Your business location. Who owns it? What are the lease terms? What will be required to get it ready with regard to zoning, permitting, construction and tenant improvements?
Furnishing, fixtures, equipment and supply needs.
Inventory. What will you inventory in what volumes? Who will your vendors be? How will you store and track the inventory?
Description of operation, such as the activities from when an order for products/ services is received through its delivery, the cycles for inventory or materials/supplies purchase and other cycles inherent to your business.
Key players and their operational roles in the business (co-owners, managers, advisors).
Legal needs, insurance needs and an understanding of your regulatory requirements.
Recordkeeping and accounting needs (inventory tracking, accounting system, billing method, filing systems, etc.). Who will handle day-to-day accounting? Who will be your business banker? Who will be your business accountant and what services will they provide?
Consider including a section on emergency preparedness. Unexpected natural and human caused events could damage or destroy your business and its records.

Other

Once you have a basis for the above, other amendments can be added to your business plan, such as funding requests or pertinent information that may be needed by the specific reader of your document. While the task is daunting, there is help to conduct your perfect plan. Visit the SBA.gov for more information.

Source: Business.WA.Gov, SBA

Top Questions to Expect in a Job Interview

Careers

Job interview, Young executives man asking questions to applicant

Job interviews consist of two types of questions — questions about you and questions about what you know. The latter type, knowledge questions, are usually related to the particular requirements of the job you’re applying for and are very specific. Here are the top questions to expect:

Tell me about yourself.

This may be your best opportunity to highlight what you believe are your most important characteristics related to the job. Maybe you have a passion for a particular part of the position. For example, “In my previous role as a customer service representative, I enjoyed helping people solve their problems.” Or maybe you were recognized for a special talent. For example, “I won several awards for training new employees at my last job.”

You may also consider explaining large resume gaps when responding to this question. If you’ve decided to disclose your disability during the interview, you can explain medical leave. You can also use this as a chance to talk about any hobbies or volunteer work you pursued during the employment gap that helped you build your skills and gain experience.

Why are you interested in this position?

Before your interview, learning more about the company or the job is prudent. Is there something about the job requirements that you think is a good fit for your strengths? Maybe your skill set aligns well with the job tasks or company goals. Perhaps it’s their reputation for how well they treat their employees. Answering this question with facts about the company or the job tells the interviewer that you care enough to have done your homework.

What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses?

Talking about your assets can be tricky. Make sure you’ve thought about how your strengths will relate to the job requirements and come up with an example of how you’ve used your skills.

If the interviewer asks about a weakness, indicate that you’ve thought about that question and identify a particular trait that will not affect the job position. For example, if you’re applying for a programming position, acknowledging that you aren’t a skilled public speaker may not hurt your chances if the job doesn’t require public speaking. It is also good to mention what you are doing to address your weakness or provide an example of how you learned from it.

Why are you the best person for this position?

As you prepare for the interview, reread the job description to see how your skills match the job requirements and responsibilities. During the interview, discuss how you’ve used the same skills in previous jobs or had similar duties during training, volunteer work or internships. As you detail why your background is a good match for the position, explain what excites you about the job and how you think you can make a difference for the company.

Can you tell me about a time when you faced a challenge and how you handled it?

Many employers use this question to seek concrete examples of skills and experiences that relate directly to the position. This type of question is based on the idea that your success in the past is a good gauge of your success in the future.

It may be hard to answer a question like this “on the spot,” so take some time before your interview to prepare. Think of an actual situation you faced that had a successful outcome. Describe the situation and give details on what you did and why. Then describe how it turned out. You may even want to add what you learned from the experience and how you might apply that to future challenges.

Do you have any questions for me?

It’s always a good idea to have a few questions prepared to ask the interviewer. It allows you to learn more about the position and responsibilities, the person interviewing you and the company. It also shows the interviewer that you’re enthusiastic about the job. However, this is not the time to ask about salary or benefits. Instead, ask questions about the company or position to demonstrate your interest.

Keep in mind that an interview helps hiring managers determine that your skills and experience match well with the responsibilities of the job, but also that your personality would fit well with the other employees on the team. Preparing to answer questions about yourself and your professional experience may help you feel confident and leave a lasting impression during your next interview.

Consider practicing your responses with family members and friends. Going over your answers with someone else may help you find a more conversational tone and cadence, which can help you relax when answering questions during an interview.

Source: Ticket to Work

NMSDC: The Certification Every Minority-Owned Business Enterprise Needs

BusinessFinance

businesswoman filling out an online form

According to national surveys, basic financial literacy in the United States is generally low, and federal surveys reveal gaps among racial groups and ethnicities. Financial literacy and access to capital don’t impact all businesses equally. Unsurprisingly, there are significant disparities across racial and socioeconomic segments. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration less than 10% of all federal contracts went to minority-owned businesses in fiscal year 2020.

If your company wants to connect with America’s top publicly-owned, privately-owned, foreign-owned corporations, and other large purchasing organizations, National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC)’s certification can be a real asset. The organization has an impressive list of corporate members that includes IBM, Microsoft, and Google. The council helps these companies connect with the more than 15,000 minority-owned suppliers in its database. Seventeen states and 25 cities also accept NMSDC certification for programs designed to help minorities win public-sector contracts.

Who is eligible: For-profit enterprises of any size that are in the United States and are owned, operated, and controlled by minority group members who are U.S. citizens. For the purposes of NMSDC’s program, a minority group member is an individual who is a U.S. citizen with at least 25% Asian-Indian, Asian-Pacific, Black, Hispanic, or Native American heritage. Documentation to support the claim is required. Additionally, at least 51% of the business or the company’s stock must be owned by such individuals, and the management and operations must also be controlled by such individuals.

How to apply: Start by contacting one of the NMSDC’s regional councils close to your business. Your council will provide you with a standardized application and request documents to support your minority status claim through a combination of government documentation. You will also need to sign an affidavit or declaration, provide current financial statements, submit tax returns, a bank signature card and more. Unlike most minority-owned certification programs, the organization will make a virtual office visit to your company to verify the information on your application.

The process of obtaining, coordinating, and submitting all the requirements can be time-consuming, however, the good news is that once you have completed the work for your initial certification, the subsequent renewals are typically much more streamlined.

Business Benefits of Certification

Access to capital and capacity building: Certification is a door opener and potentially give minority business enterprises (MBEs) an edge over non-certified MBEs with whom you are competing for contracts. The great news is that the largest U.S. corporations purchase more than $100 billion in products, services and solutions supplied by MBEs. NMSDC facilitates business connections between corporate members and MBEs through Check—Mate ^®, which sets the foundation for future partnering and business opportunities. Furthermore, NMSDC has created capital access opportunities for MBEs throughout the life cycle of its partnership with the Business Consortium Fund, the Growth Initiative Program, Corporate Plus® Membership Program, and Capital Managers’ Program.

Unique networking opportunities: Networking is key to the success of any minority business enterprise. By getting NMSDC certification, you’ll join a network of powerful, influential leaders who are eager to share their wisdom and expertise. MBEs have exposure to over 15,000 other MBEs, through the MBE2MBE Search Tool, to engage in business opportunities and the ability to form partnering relationships, strategic alliances or joint ventures for success. Most importantly, NMSDC holds the largest U.S. conference focused on minority business development, where MBEs connect with hundreds of prospective buyers, government agencies, and procurement professionals.

Stand out from competitors: MBEs have to deal with a lot of competition, and it can be tough to cut through the clutter and noise. A minority owned business certification provides unique opportunities as many corporations seek out diverse-owned businesses to spend their money. Once you are certified, spread the word on all your marketing vehicles, including your website, brochures, email newsletters, social media channels and anywhere else you can. NMSDC certification helps communicate your minority business status, not only to prospective clients but also to vendors and the broader business community. It communicates that diversity is a core value of your enterprise, making you a more attractive business partner through values alignment.

If you’re a minority business owner, don’t wait longer and pursue the certification that will unlock new opportunities to grow and scale your business. For more information, visit https://nmsdc.org.

‘Quiet’ is the workplace word of 2023

Careers

serious professional woman whispering shhh

It seems fair to say that “quiet” is the workplace word for this year. “Quiet quitting,” “quiet hiring,” and “quiet firing” have all entered the work lexicon in the last several months, each marking a trend in how workers and employers are continuing to adapt to changes in how work works three years after the start of the pandemic. Experts think those “quiet” trends and more are set to continue throughout 2023 and beyond.

While not everything in today’s workplace are related to these quiet terms — there’s also rage applying, career cushioning, and chaotic working to name a few — there are a lot of quiet trends happening at work.

Quiet hiring

According to Vicki Salemi, career expert for Monster, quiet hiring involves shuffling workers into new roles within a company and “happens when people internally are being asked to move to another area internally.”

“Quiet hiring” is one of the “biggest workplace buzzwords” of 2023 per Insider’s reporting. That’s based on Gartner research, which considered it one of nine “Future of Work Trends for 2023.”

Emily Rose McRae of Gartner’s HR Practice said per reporting from GMA that quiet hiring is a workplace trend in 2023 in part because of a shortage in talent.

“We do not have enough talent for the roles that are available,” McRae said. “The jobs report that just came out said we had the lowest number of job seekers in months, so we’re not in a situation where we’re easily finding lots more talent.”

Salemi noted a few other reasons as to why quiet hiring may happen, including that it can be a strategy to get around having to lay off workers. She added that it could be the case too that “the company realizes that the employee’s talent are being underutilized.”

She pointed out that there can be pros to these internal moves like acquiring new skills, but some may find out they aren’t happy with this change. Salemi pointed out a Monster poll that half of those impacted by quiet hiring are in roles that actually don’t match their skills. This could lead to people joining the ongoing Great Resignation.

“Companies are redeploying resources and employees are — depending on their situation — it could be a move or stepping stone to a bigger opportunity or they could feel perhaps like they’re not in alignment with their goals,” Salemi said.

Quiet quitting

As Insider’s Samantha Delouya reported, “quiet quitting,” or just doing a minimum workload, was one prominent trend last year, and according to Payscale’s new 2023 Compensation Best Practices Report, it “isn’t going away.”

Today’s high inflation of over 6% may also be one reason people are not going above and beyond in their roles.

“In the midst of inflation, these employees who stayed, they’re being asked to take on more and more work for what feels like less pay if they haven’t got a raise or promotion,” Bonnie Chiurazzi, director of market insights at Glassdoor, told Insider. “So when you think of it through their eyes, it seems more of a natural response to the context that they’ve been living through.”

And layoffs, such as those at companies like Spotify and BlackRock, may not help this trend.

Amid those kinds of layoffs, “there is the likelihood that there’ll be increased responsibility for the employees that are left behind,” Ruth Thomas, pay equity strategist at Payscale, told Insider. “And that may potentially exacerbate that quiet quitting movement where employees become more frustrated at the fact that they’re having to take on more responsibility, so that’s a dynamic we see potentially happening.”

Salemi also said she thinks quiet quitting is still taking place in the labor market. Similarly, Chiurazzi thinks the “quiet quitting trend will persist until employers are ready to turn up the volume on employee feedback and really dig into these conversations.”

“I do think quiet quitting will remain prevalent until some of the underlying issues are addressed,” Chiurazzi said.

Chiurazzi pointed to Glassdoor findings that suggest some workers aren’t too happy with their employer. Chiurazzi said about a third “of employees feel a lack of transparency with their current employer,” but also about a third aren’t happy “with how their employer engages employees” and about a third are unhappy with “how their employers follow up on employee feedback.”

Other buzzwords of the year from Insider’s reporting relate to quiet quitting even if they don’t use the word quiet. That includes resenteeism, which Glamour UK’s Bianca London described as “the natural successor to ‘quiet quitting.'”

Another related buzzword of 2023 is Bare Minimum Monday — or as Insider’s Rebecca Knight and Tim Paradis wrote: “the TikTokian progeny of ‘quiet quitting.'” While this involves doing just the minimum on Mondays, it’s similar given quiet quitting includes not doing more than you are required to. However, not all buzzwords are about quiet things in the workplace. Newsweek reported that “loud layoffs” will be a trend this year, and Salemi told Insider “rage applying” is also happening usually because people want to leave “toxic workplaces.”

Quiet firing, thriving, and promotions

Quiet firing is another trend describing what has been taken place for some in the workplace. As Insider’s Britney Nguyen wrote, this quiet term means “employers treat workers badly to the point they will quit, instead of the employer just firing them.”

Read the complete article originally posted on Business Insider.

Want to Promote — or Hire — the Best Candidate? Follow the Rule of Skill Over Talent

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Job interview, Young executive man asking questions to applicant

By Jeff Haden

Years ago, I facilitated a promotion committee made up of shop-floor employees who used performance evaluation data to rank all the eligible employees for a machine operator opening.

Even though Mike (not his real name) was the top candidate, many in the room still had doubts.

“He looks good on paper,” one person said, “but I don’t think he has what it takes.”

Others agreed. Early on, Mike had struggled in his current position. He wasn’t quick to learn. He sometimes needed to be shown multiple times. He wasn’t a “natural.”

I pushed back. It wasn’t fair to bypass him based on feelings rather than objective reasoning.

For a while, it looked like I was wrong. Once promoted, he was slow to pick up basic skills. Worryingly, he made a few of the same mistakes several times.

But once he did know how to do something? He really knew how to do it. Within a few years he was an outstanding machine operator whose skills surpassed those of his doubters. He even went on to earn several different machinist licenses, and later opened his own machine shop.

Mike wasn’t a natural. Nor was he talented.

But that didn’t matter.

Because Mike was exceptionally skilled.

The Difference Between Talent and Skill

Talent and skill are often used interchangeably since the outcome — performing a particular task, hopefully at a high level — is the same. The difference lies in how you acquired that ability, and how quickly.

Think of talent as natural aptitude. My best friend growing up was a natural athlete; he could, to an irritating degree to less talented me, pick up any new sport in no time. (Within the first ten minutes of playing tennis he was already hitting topspin forehands.)

In simple terms, talents are things you have.

Skills, on the other hand, are things you learn. I had to be taught to put topspin on a ball. I had to practice. I had to acquire that skill. It didn’t come quickly.

Again, that’s where the line between talent and skill can blur. We both ended up at roughly the same place in terms of skill, but talent allowed my friend to get there much quicker.

The rate of acquisition is one way to distinguish talent from skill. Mike took longer to learn; he wasn’t as talented as most.

But that didn’t keep him from acquiring exceptional skills.

And Why It Matters

Even so, for years most people couldn’t see past Mike’s initial lack of talent. Since he had started slowly, they underestimated him. First impressions lingered. He was rarely asked to help repair other operator’s equipment. He wasn’t chosen to train new employees, even though he would have been an excellent trainer. (The last person you want to teach you to do something is a person for whom that skill came easily.)

In the eyes of most, he was forever tarred by a “lack of talent” brush.

The opposite also happens. People who pick things up quickly are often assumed to be rated highly for that skill even if others eventually eclipse their skill. “Naturals” were usually chosen to train new employees, with predictably poor results. They couldn’t understand why trainees were slow to learn. They couldn’t explain the steps they performed instinctively.

And they were usually the ones people assumed “have what it takes” to deserve promotions.

Even though the rate at which you acquire a skill is, in the end, irrelevant. What matters is how well you can perform.

Not how long it took you to become a high performer.

Especially for Promotions

Granted, talent often results in a higher ceiling for aptitude. No matter how hard I tried, had he put in the work my friend could have been better than me at tennis, or really any sport.

Even so, assuming people who pick up things quickly have greater long-term growth potential is often misguided. Plenty of talented people top out fairly quickly, if only because innate talent tends to foster a fixed rather than growth mindset.

Plus, your other employees are less concerned with potential than actual. That’s one reason employees are more likely to be happy if their boss was promoted from within, rather than hired from the outside. A Joblist study showed that nearly 70 percent of respondents prefer to be managed by an internal hire — a seasoned company veteran who climbed the ranks — than an external hire.

They know the skills she has. They know the work she put in to acquire those skills.

Again, because what matters is what someone can do, not how long it took them to learn to do it.

The same is also true for you. Don’t have a “talent” for sales? Sales skills can be learned. Don’t have a “talent” for leading people? Most leadership skills — like giving feedback, building teams, setting expectations, showing consideration for others, seeking input, focusing on meaningful priorities, etc. — can be learned.

Granted, talent and skill are necessary to perform at a high level in some pursuits, like music, or sports or acting … but most pursuits — like starting a small business — only require skills.

And with the willingness to put in the work to acquire those skills.

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