Work-life balance seems like an admirable concept to organize your life around … except that it’s often impossible. Worse yet, it can become a cudgel to beat yourself with. If you’re not perfectly balancing your work and personal life, are you failing at both?
In this week’s roundup, we look at reassuring advice for people who have trouble getting work-life balance right, plus tips for pregnant job seekers and seven ways to be an easy hire.
Randy Conley at Leading With Trust: Forget Work-Life Balance and Focus on These 5 Things Instead
“Work-life balance is a fallacy,” Conley writes:
The very term is an oxymoron. Is “work” something you do apart from your “life?” Does your “life” not consist of your “work?” And think about the definition of the word balance – “a state of equilibrium or equal distribution of weight or amount.” We have bought into the idea that having fulfillment in our personal and professional lives means we must give them equal weight and priority. It sets up a false dichotomy between the two choices and leads to perpetual feelings of guilt and remorse because we never feel like we’re giving 100% in either area.
Instead, he suggest focusing on “work-life harmony.” Here’s what that looks like and how to achieve it.
Sarah Landrum at Punched Clocks: Should You Disclose Pregnancy During a Job Search?
First things first: you’re not required to disclose your pregnancy during a job search … but as Landrum points out, there are consequences both for revealing and hiding it:
If you don’t disclose your pregnancy and you accept a job, you risk breaking trust and damaging your professional relationships due to your nondisclosure. Whatever choice you make, you take the risk of rejection — that point is, unfortunately, a fact.
There’s no easy answer. To make your decision, consider all the factors involved.
Susan P. Joyce at Work Coach Cafe: 7 Ways to Be an Easy Hire
Does it seem like recruiters are always in a big rush? It’s not your imagination. Time is of the essence when you’re looking for the perfect candidate. Understanding that is your key to making a good impression and getting hired quickly.
Joyce explains:
Recruiters are in a “war for talent” and have been for several years. That war is the competition to find candidates qualified for their job openings. Exacerbating the situation for recruiters is that most of them are measured and rewarded for their time-to-hire performance — how quickly they fill a job.
Consequently, recruiters are almost always in a hurry. If they run into an obstacle with one candidate, they may quickly move on to the next candidate.
Find out how to be an easy hire, at Joyce’s post.
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