Shelby Wax

One of those who commented on this post, an X-er called The Random Recruiter, said: "People skills are becoming “niche” these days with how chronically online younger generations are today." The idea that 19% of Gen Z bring parents to interviews is a shocking headline and great for ramping up debate. Does it mean the parents gave the Gen Zer a lift to the recruitment centre? Probably. If so, I took my dad to three interviews in my late teens. What's more worrying is the inability to make eye contact. And this is where The Random Recruiter might have a point. A life lived behind the protective mask of a computer screen makes it harder to develop the skills needed for interpersonal interaction. Whose responsibility is this? Notice, I don't say who is to blame. The question is: Who is responsible for making a difference here? With these people skills, young people would find more purpose and contentment. How can we help them overcome their anxieties and fears and get out into the world? As someone nearing my 50th birthday, I don't negate my responsibility to support these young people struggling in a world I have been a part of creating. Part of our mission at Entelechy is to give young people the means to develop innate human qualities. It is these human qualities that have been stripped away by technology. We need to do this to help people thrive in the workplace - sure, that's true. We also need to do this to help young people find purpose and contentment, free from anxiety and fear. Let's drop the smug memes and get on with finding a solution. #entelechy #personaldevelopment #professionaldevelopment #workreadyskills #peopleskills #genz https://lnkd.in/eCx83Qrp

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Dumb da-dumb dumb dumb If you want to attract the largest available talent pool, giving employees flexibility is key. Otherwise your organization is actively turning off parents and other caretakers, people with chronic diseases, introverts, and many others. I understand having a remote work _policy_ and maybe even some requirements, but they should err on the side of leniency and flexibility to attract the best workforce possible.

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New from me: The House Judiciary Committee has been intensifying an antitrust probe into the Global Alliance of Responsible Media and its members, which includes major advertisers, agencies, and platforms. The Committee alleges GARM's members have been colluding to defund conservative media. While the ad industry insiders I spoke to felt the allegations were without merit, they are concerned about the chilling effect the probe -- and its numerous document and interview requests -- could have on GARM's work around brand safety and online misinformation. Read more over at Business Insider #garm #brandsafety #advertising #gop https://lnkd.in/ePpYBcRa

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I recently noticed a phenomenon among creatives where we have a tendency to gaslight ourselves. We tell ourselves things like: “You’re not really burnt out, you’re just being lazy.” Or “You haven’t accomplished enough to say you’re burnt out.” Or, my favorite: “It’s not really burnout… it’s all in your head.” I call this creative gaslighting, where we experience creative blocks, but we refuse to acknowledge them as such and tell ourselves to shake it off and get back to work. What we need to do is acknowledge that creative blocks exist, but recognize that it’s our choice to give into them. When I wrote the DIY MFA book, I got a lot of pushback on this one line: “The only reason writers don’t write is because they just don’t want it badly enough.” Of course, I realize there are moments when finding time to write becomes difficult—even impossible. Our family comes down with COVID, our day job throws a huge deadline in our way, or our mental health requires we take time out for self-care. These are all very real obstacles— ones we can’t ignore—but we have a choice as to whether we will make time around them for our writing. I might be a little eccentric, but I believe writers don’t just talk about writing, they write. When life throws obstacles our way, we can put writing on pause for a little while, but whether we come back to it is up to us. Ultimately, we have the agency and we can decide whether to make writing a part of our lives. What about you? How have you gotten through creative blocks in your life? (Read the full post on the DIY MFA site.)

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My hair stylist moved to Indiana, which led me down a rabbit hole of searching “hair stylists near me” on Google, which segued into “read a Reddit about Supercuts versus high-end salons” and an argument that stylists all have the same skills so a pricier hair cut isn’t better than an inexpensive one. An actual working stylist came on the thread and said, “Consider the difference between having to do four hair cuts an hour and having to do two hair cuts an hour to earn the same income. Which is more likely to lead to a better cut?” Obviously it is very hard to do a good job cutting someone’s hair in less than fifteen minutes (because there also has to be time to call people over to the chair and to take their money and so on). This is true even if the stylist is skilled and has lots of experience. The connection to freelance editing? Newer editors often worry about pricing their work too high, but just as Supercuts ($30/cut) and Nine Zero One ($225/cut) exist in the same universe, so too can lower- and higher-priced editors. Notice how Nine Zero One charges nearly ten times what Supercuts charges? And gets it? I’m not dogging on Supercuts; my daughter just got a super cute cut from the one down the street from us. But it was a very simple cut, just a trim, and she didn’t expect anything other than for her hair to look a little neater when she was done. That’s what she got. She doesn’t even remember the name of the person who cut her hair. My point is this: If you would like to gross $50,000 a year from editing, and you charge $500 an edit, then you have to edit one hundred manuscripts a year. A full-time year at forty hours a week is two thousand hours. (Assuming you take two weeks off each year, and you’re going to need them at this pace.) That means you can only spend twenty hours on each manuscript – you’d have to edit two manuscripts a week, plus all of the marketing required to get the work in, plus all of the admin work such as invoicing and paying taxes. And that $50,000 a year is not the same as what a staffer makes, because you aren’t getting benefits like health insurance, paid time off, sick leave, and so on. Can you really do good work when realistically (after marketing, admin, etc.) you have twelve or fifteen hours to do the edit? On an 80,000 word manuscript? Trying to do too much in order to remain “competitive” is a sure road to burnout, not to mention the risk of producing lower-quality work. Word-of-mouth is crucial in this business! Charge a little more and give yourself a break. ****** ✨I'm Jennifer Lawler, from @Club Ed Freelancers 🌴🌴🌴 🤔I help editors figure out what the hell they're doing 💡I've made all the mistakes so you don't have to 📚Connect with me for editing tips and talk You can ring the 🔔 above to be notified of new posts (most weekdays) #bookediting #freelancing #novelediting

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Can Social media promote goods AND goodness? During a walk with my 12-year-old son last night through the small city where we live, something caught my eye: a cool curved staircase between two brick buildings. I’ve lived here for almost two decades and have passed this spot literally thousands of times, yet I never noticed the staircase. I took a photo and kept on walking. This morning, I looked at the photo and was struck by the image in black & white. As a freelance copywriter & content writer with a focus on Social media, the image reminds me of the kind of professional moment I enjoy most: a perfect time/perfect place scenario captured in an engaging image and accompanied by an equally engaging story to share with the world. I’m drawn to Social media because — in its best, truest form — it’s a way to connect with others. The companies I work with use their Social presence to promote goods, yes, but also goodness. (Please read that last line again.) Most of us are always rushing-rushing-rushing, and I hope Social media can be a reminder to slow down, look around, and appreciate the many positives in our lives and in the world around us. #copywriter #contentwriter #copywriting #contentwriting #humancopy #realcopy #socialcontent #socialcopy #positivecopy #goodcopy P.S. Dream assignment alert: I want to be a Social media resource for Miraval Resorts & Spas in the Berkshires. I’ve been there three times (so far) this year and I have so many ideas for Social content. Got a contact? Please let me know! #miravalresorts #miravalmode

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