Nearly everyone, at some point in their career, will have to decide if they want to pursue a leadership role. However, many people focus their consideration on the wrong factors. Yes, leadership positions come with pay bumps, extra perks, and more prestigious titles. But to be a successful leader, you need to be honest with yourself. Are you ready, and is this the kind of role you want?

Moving into managerial or other types of leadership roles is a big responsibility. It impacts more than just your career. It could either greatly improve or hurt your entire company in some way, and as a people manager, it can certainly impact the lives of those on your team.  The choice is also complicated by the fact that a leadership role will, undoubtedly, be very different than your previous positions. The required skills are not likely strengths you’ve regularly been using. The position could even reveal weaknesses, so if you’re not ready, the transition can be jarring for your career.

Before jumping at that promotion, ask yourself the following questions to see if it’s truly time to take the next step and become a leader:

Learning doesn’t end with a diploma; it’s a lifelong journey that evolves with each experience and new piece of knowledge acquired. For alumni, continuing education opens doors to new opportunities, skill development, and personal growth.

There are a myriad of continuing education opportunities available to alumni. Here are a few ways to highlight the significance of lifelong learning in fostering career growth and professional excellence:

In the ever-evolving landscape of job searching, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force, reshaping the way recruitment processes function. For career service professionals, understanding and navigating this AI-driven job market is essential to help students and alumni succeed.

Let’s discuss the profound impact of AI on job searches, shedding light on modern recruitment processes, and providing strategies for career advisors to guide students and alumni effectively.

Unconscious bias can creep in on hiring processes no matter how self-aware and educated your hiring team is. Unfortunately, one bias feels more like a ‘resource’ for many employers – looking at their college for new hires. 

As you’re job seeking, it’s natural to feel vulnerable — but it’s also natural to want to do whatever it takes to avoid that feeling. No one enjoys leaving themselves open to possible harm (or in this case, rejection).

While vulnerability can be scary or frustrating, facing your fears can actually help you be successful in your job search. So rather than putting your guard up, admit when you hit a dead-end, ask for advice, and accept help. You do not have to do it all on your own.

Here are five tips for spinning your vulnerability into something positive and landing your dream job:

Let’s be honest, work is stressful. It’s up to you to create an environment where your employees can thrive and successfully navigate increasing workloads, distractions, negativity, and changes in the workplace. 

According to The American Institute of Stress, 75 percent of employees believe that workers have more on-the-job stress than a generation ago. Additionally, 80 percent of workers feel stress on the job, nearly half say they need help in learning how to manage stress, and 42 percent say their co-workers need such help. It’s up to employers to help employees handle everyday stress. 

Getting a handle on employee stress not only increases productivity and improves overall employee well-being, it also prepares your team to handle events that are even more stressful or worrisome. Tapping into your employees’ emotional intelligence refers to the ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others.

Here are some emotionally intelligent tips to help your employees better manage stress: 

Baby boomers have always been defined by their sheer numbers. Even now, as they reach retirement age, 41 million baby boomers are still working according to a 2018 report from the Pew Research Center. This equals out to them still accounting for a quarter of the workforce.

As more and more retire, there will be opportunities for younger job seekers to step up and assume the baby boomers’ responsibilities. But first, you’re going to have to prove you’re ready to take the next step in your career.

By understanding what employers want, both at your current company or another one, you can present yourself in the best light. Here are some tips to landing a job previously held by a baby boomer and ensuring you can take ownership of a role without missing a step:

Last month, the news broke that a group of wealthy parents had been paying extravagant sums of money to cheat the college application system and get their children into top schools. The scandal and the surrounding sense of entitlement have some employers questioning whether a college degree is still a good signifier that a young person would be a good employee.

Yes, this story has revealed some unscrupulous people involved in college admission, but that doesn’t mean you should lose your trust in colleges and their abilities to prepare students for the workforce. In fact, deciding not to recruit college students can hurt your organization.

Here are four reasons you should still value college degrees:

Employers have always competed to hire the best and brightest new graduates. Bringing young talent on board gives companies a surge of fresh ideas and perspectives. While new grads might lack years of acquired wisdom and experience, they are excited to make an impact at a company they believe in.

But each year, as college graduations approach, there’s one consistent problem: how do employers evaluate untested employees?

Many employers develop a method for assessing new graduates over years of trial and error. But leaders at startups, often, don’t have the time or knowledge to figure these issues out. These employers need young talent now.

Luckily, new research revealed there is a science behind hiring new graduates. In fact, a Gallup study released last month found there are six key college experiences tied to workplace preparedness. The more of these specific experiences graduates had, the more confident they were about their ability to succeed in their first job. The experiences include:

• Believing their professors care about them as a person
• Having at least one professor who excites them about learning
• Having a mentor who encourages them to pursue their goals and dreams
• Partaking in an internship that allows them to use what they learn in the classroom
• Working on a project that took longer than a semester to complete
• Being extremely active in extracurricular activities

For inexperienced employers, it might be unclear why these experiences are essential for workplace success or even how to assess them during the hiring process. Let’s take a look at a few of these experiences and what they reveal about new graduates: