On Riding a Segway and a Job Search

On Riding a Segway and a Job Search In a light-hearted moment, I agreed to celebrate my son’s graduation with an activity he selected for us to do together. I certainly wasn’t thinking about a Segway tour! Fear and the promise of exhilaration churned in my stomach as I reluctantly agreed to ride a Segway. As I finally began to enjoy the ride, I let my mind wander to a recent coaching conversation where my client shared how fear gripped her as she wondered if there was another job for her out there. It is hard to imagine the joy in the future when the present focus is fear. This is true in any life situation â€" from a mundane activity like riding a Segway to handling a complex life or career transition. Dealing with Fear Fear is corrosive. It is like the swift bite of a poisonous snake, paralyzing and potentially lethal. Our default response is to immediately raise objections by listing a series of, “I can’t do this.” In a transition, it is easier for us to assume that we might fail in our attempts to try something new and different. A transition brings out our vulnerabilities in full glory, doesn’t it? So, how do you get past that sinkhole? Remember the simple awe and faith with which you approached things in kindergarten. Bring that feeling back as you work through your transition. What activity in kindergarten did you enjoy the most? If you liked to color, pick up crayons and fill a sheet of blank paper with images and ideas. How about pretend play? Try out different job titles by completing a simple analysis of fit. For example, if you were to exchange one day of your work life with someone else, with whom would you exchange? As Tuli Kupferberg said, “When old patterns break, new ideas emerge.” A transition offers the opportunity to step back, take a breath and pay attention to what is essential in your life and work. Make time to reflect on what matters the most to you because the clearer this reflection is, the sharper your career focus. Maybe you are ready for a change in your career path? Or not. Pay attention to and identify at least three life factors that might impact your job search today. What ideas come to your mind as you kick-start feelings of curiosity and optimism and look at your transition as my opportunity is NOW here, rather than my opportunity is nowhere? Dealing with Preparation Some folks like order, make lists and obsess about details. And, some don’t. Whatever your style, remember that how you prepare to handle your transition does matter. Why? Simply because preparation helps you design a framework to conduct a proactive and joyful search. Here are a few ideas that might help you. People will ask, “How can I help you?” “What are you looking for?” Prepare a memorable, concise and upbeat career focus statement. This statement has the potential to convey energy, momentum and promise. So, take the time to craft and practice it. A career focus statement is the foundational piece of your branding statement or 90-sec-pitch. Imagine where the conversation could take you when people listen to your career focus and respond, “Tell me more.” Read the news. Go out and meet people. It’s just that simple. Even for those of us who are introverts. How does this work? For example, you read and share something of value with someone. They remember you because you were generous, intellectually curious and willing to ask questions. They talk about you to the next person they meet. Gradually, you create a buzz. Then, comes a serendipitous bump that opens the door to a remarkable opportunity for you and you graciously walk in! What three topics are trending in your industry/field? Who might be interested in learning more about these topics? Are you that go-to person for value-add information? Dealing with the Grind Most of us start a search with cautious optimism. All seems well until the first bump â€" leads dry up, the phone doesn’t ring, people don’t call back and employers suddenly face a budget crunch. Exhaustion starts to set in. This is the slippery slide back to square one â€" fear and uncertainty that is a reality in a transition. Is there a way to make sense of this complex process? Recognize and accept that a job search is hard work and a focused commitment is required EACH day. Pause for a moment here and think about how much work it took for you to get results in a complex project within a quickly changing business environment. As you plan your week, what ideas or activities will move you closer to one or two identified outcomes for THAT week? What questions do you want answered about a certain opening, a networking conversation or preparation for an upcoming interview? Keep a laser focus on each activity so that you are clear about how it is helping you move toward the intended outcome. Celebrate small wins. Acknowledge what you have done proactively to manage your week, add to your arsenal information you are gathering about yourself and the marketplace and challenge yourself to visualize a day that you control. Make this practical â€" craft a value-add document for the employer who doesn’t return your call, connect with a third-tier networking contact to explore a possibility or loop back with your first-tier network for support and ideas. What other ideas might move you closer to your next opportunity? What are some distractions you might need to attend to? If you could change one thing in your strategy, what would that be? Where did you surprise yourself? There is no guaranteed one job search plan out there. However, there are ideas to be explored, opportunities to go after and talent to share. What would you like to add to this conversation? Related: How To Boost Your Job Search [3 Smart Ways]. Image: Shutterstock

Which Job Should I Pick How To Do a Salary Comparison

Which Job Should I Pick How To Do a Salary Comparison If you are on the hunt for a new career, it is vital that you know how to do a salary comparison between job opportunities. How can you decide which job is best between two different companies that offer two different salaries? The decision might not always be as simple as picking the one that seems to pay a higher number at first glance. The decision could be much more complicated than it initially appears; these are a few of the factors you should consider. Here is How to Do a Full Salary Comparison Does the Job Title Matter? Similar jobs can go by very different names, depending on the company that is offering the job. For instance, if you are looking for a job that requires you to have skills in writing, editing, and public affairs, that job may be listed as a Communications Specialist, a Content Writer or Editor, a Brand Specialist, or one of many other titles. Depending on the title and the exact way the job duties are listed, the actual salary could differ, even if the requirements are virtually the same. City Versus  Rural Salaries When comparing salaries you also must take a look at cost of living in the cities in which the jobs are located. For instance, one job may pay $50,000, which would be great in a place with a low cost of living, but may not be adequate for living expenses in a more metropolitan area. You should be very careful to find out the cost of basic expenses in the neighborhood you plan to take the job, such as food, rent, utilities, taxes, and so on, and include these factors in your comparison.  How Qualified are You? With some jobs, you also must consider the amount of education or training you have in comparison to other applicants, and how that will impact salary considerations. If one person has a master’s degree, while another has a bachelor’s degree, it is likely that the first individual will command a higher salary for the same job. Take a close look at the requirements of any job that you are applying for and see what minimum and maximum educational or experience requirements could be affecting your salary offers. It’s the Details That Make the Difference Another factor that figures into salary comparisons is the perks of the job being offered. For instance, if you work for a restaurant and get all the meals and drinks you want for free, that should be considered as you decide whether or not the salary is the best you can get in that kind of job. If you are considering a restaurant job that gives you all your meals for free, but pays a dollar per hour less than one that requires you to pay for your meals, then you have to decide if the difference is worth it to you or not if all other factors are the same. Take a close look at any benefits, including medical and retirement, and determine their value to you. This can make a huge difference in what your salary is actually worth. What’s In It for Me? The bottom line is, you cannot judge a salary offer by the mere numbers on the page indicating what you would take home every week. You must figure in things like cost of living, related expenses, benefits offered and so on, or the salary comparison will not be accurate. Todays post is contributed by Jordan Traeger. Jordan is a freelance writer who studied Commerce at La Trobe University and has worked extensively as an insurance broker at  short term medical insurance quotes.

The Personal Branding Success Triangle - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

The Personal Branding Success Triangle - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career I just got back from a short vacation in Atlanta, where I connected with a few friends and was actually able to unplug myself from the personal branding world. You probably noticed my lack of activity on Twitter and other social services as a result.   I finally had the chance to reflect on the past two and a half years working endlessly in this space, helping to lead a revolution/evolution with all of you.   For the past few years, I preached about Me 2.0 and how personal branding is required in a crowded marketplace and web 2.0 tools can be leveraged to get your name, face and value out to the world.   I still stand by it and will be for the rest of my life. Youve probably noticed each Monday that my posts have been more aligned to the networking aspect of personal branding and this trend will be ongoing for the next year or so.   Im very interested in how brands grow through networks, both online and offline.   I believe that your network is your only insurance policy and that people searching will replace job searching.   In addition to these bold statements, I would like to add that a personal brand cannot grow without a strong network of supporters. The personal branding success triangle All of this leads us to a new framework for personal branding success. I touched on how passion and expertise are key elements for career success, but I left out the missing element, a support system.   The below diagram is more related to the discover phase of personal branding that is discussed in Me 2.0. All three parts of this triangle are inter-related. They are all critical for personal branding success and if youre missing one, it will prevent you from moving forward in your career or you might not be able to establish the career you want in the first place. Lets quickly go over all three: Passion: I like to think of passion as having kinetic energy that drives you into accomplishing goals.   The lack of passion is obvious online and offline.   If you arent passionate, your audience will be turned off and you wont have the ambition to work hard enough to succeed.   Also, if you want to develop a following, you have to get people excited about your work, so they want to join you and participate, instead of feeling isolated. Expertise: Passion alone wont make you wealthy enough to live a fulfilling life.   If youre very passionate about a topic, but you arent an expert or have any knowledge, then it doesnt matter.   Without the skills, you wont be able to make enough money doing what you love.   I tell a lot of people to find their passion and use it to work as hard as they can to gain the skills necessary to solve client problems.   Having both skills and expertise allows you to position yourself, where you can be happy, while making money. Support System: The good news is that you already have a support system.   You have your family and your friends, which account for the strongest relationships in the network strength pyramid, which I blogged about a long time ago.   A support system is less about professional networking and is more about strong relationships build over a long period of time.   Its about finding people who compliment your weaknesses and actually want you to succeed.   You dont need thousands of followers, but you do need a few close friends who are watching you every step of the way and giving advice.   You should be selective about who you deal with at all times because you dont want to waste your time or theirs and shared interests in always encouraged. How to develop a support system In Me 2.0, the personal branding process I developed is called DCCM or discover, create, communicate and maintain, as it pertains to developing your own brand over the course of your life.   As we start to think of ourselves as brands, we must be aware that our support system is co-branded with our success.   They must have a stake!   When it comes to personal branding, we need a new process for relationship/networking success.   In the past few months, Ive honed down a four-step process for building a powerful network: become interesting, conduct a people search, connect with the right people and develop your relationships. Become interesting: Would you rather meet someone who is interesting or boring?   Becoming interesting is part of the discovery phase of personal branding because you need to figure out what makes you interesting before you communicate that to the right people.   Youd be surprised how many people there are that choose not to be interesting over job security or because they are either afraid or too comfortable.   The more interesting you become, the more people will want to talk to you and thus, you can become more connected and more successful. Conduct a people search: Im really big on using search engines to find the right people that can help support your career.   Its like recruiting people to be on your team.   Youll want to do your homework before you start sending out job applications.   Youll want to be associated with the media/bloggers in your industry, as well as other experts, authors and people in your geography.   You get additional points for finding people who are more successful than you are and those that have already earned respect from society. Connect with the right people: Its not hard to make a new friend, but it is hard to make the right friend.   I have no problem with making as many friends as possible because you never know when one can really help you, however, I feel that you should be more focused.   I always talk about narrowing your lists down, so that you dont waste peoples time and so that you can pair yourself with those who can really make a difference in your life. Develop your relationships: Once youve found the right people, then its imperative that you focus on building those relationships.   Keep a short list of those who you should be checking up on.   They can be your board of advisers.     These relationships may start online and then be pushed offline with some effort on both of your parts.   Either way, youll want to get to know these people as much as possible and let them into your world.   Be slightly vulnerable and let them help you when necessary.

What Should a Recruiters Resume Look Like

What Should a Recruiters Resume Look Like When it comes to reviewing resumes, recruiters know what to look for and how to tear them apart. Sifting through the unnecessary words, and looking for those that are most important, is our No. 1 priority. However, for those of us who are corporate recruiters, hiring staff augmentation recruiters to support our firms, it’s surprising how many of us don’t practice what we preach. Expectations for a professional resume are uniform, regardless of the skills being illustrated. Keep it clean, explain technical experience, career progression, and list the companies you have worked for and what positions you have served in. Then the candidate details what they have done in each position. Yet, not every candidate clearly explains all of their experiences on a resume. When that happens, it is up to the recruiter to fight through lots of excess verbiage just to gather essential details on what the person was doing in any particular position. We shouldn’t have to do this, but not everyone is a professional resume writer. In fact, some industry experts have said if the resume is too perfect, perhaps that person has been looking for a new position for too long, and a resume with too much time spent on it was an indication they have been updating it and not getting any offers for too long. While I understand that point of view, I strongly disagree with it. Professional resume writers are everywhere, and exist for a reason.  Even to help recruiters when they are shopping their wares to new employers! What baffles me is that the same people who have high expectations for professional resumes don’t practice what they preach. I view 100+ resumes on any given day. And what I see is surprising. The number of mistakes,  typographical errors and spacing issues between blocks of content are numerous. What is most surprising, however, is the lack of detail on accomplishments. So many recruiters haven’t taken the time to quantify their experience. Recruiting is a numbers game, and we are measured on how many placements we make. Recruiters’ resumes should show the skill sets worked on, the number of placements made over a certain period of time, and amount of revenue they generated for their company. These numbers are at the core of how staffing firm recruiters are evaluated. (Corporate Recruiters are typically evaluated on number of placements and time-to-fill.) Many recruiters across the country leave these details off their resumes, and they are costly omissions. The same resume expectations recruiters have industry-wide should also be practiced by themselves when it comes to searching for their next opportunities. If you are a recruiter looking for a new position now, or in the future, make sure to quantify your results. It will most likely get the Corporate Recruiter (or hiring manager) picking up the phone and calling you for an interview. Author: Dennis Tupper is a Corporate Recruiter for Eliassen Group, hiring account executives and technical recruiters in multiple national markets. He is a veteran of the staffing industry, having worked in the areas of technology, finance, sales, and recruiting.

7 Videoconferencing Etiquette for Effective Meetings

7 Videoconferencing Etiquette for Effective Meetings It takes a while to establish the proper etiquette for any new communications technology.The inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, originally believed people should answer the phone by saying “Ahoy-hoy.” That didn’t take, obviously, but it took some time and practice until answering the phone with “hello” became standard.It’s the same today with teleconferencing, which has become an increasingly common element of many modern offices.evalAs more businesses adapt to high-speed Internet and open their offices to include more flexibility, video conferencing has become a viable alternative to telephone conferencing or meeting in person.When compared to the cost of travel, video conferencing can be a more cost-effective alternative.However, new technology always comes with some confusion about how best to utilize it. Although video conferencing can make meetings more convenient, they also can give others a bad impression.For example, participating in video conferenc ing from home can lead to interruptions from children or pets. Improper lighting or camera placement can give everyone a view of a dark room or someone’s forehead.Excessive background noise on your end of the video conference can be distracting and annoying for the other participants. These are all factors that most professionals may not be thinking about yet, but should become part of standard video conferencing etiquette.Below are some tips for video conferencing etiquette you should follow to appear professional at all times.Video conferencing is a relatively new technology, but appears to be here to stay. Make sure you know how to use it like a pro.Infographic Credit â€" mclabs.com

New Manager Build and Maintain Your Credibility!

New Manager Build and Maintain Your Credibility! As a manager (and as a human being), your credibility stems from the way you conduct yourself every minute of every day. It’s not a façade you can slap on when the occasion calls for it; you have to live it. If you’ve recently been promoted to a management position, it’s clear that you’ve already accumulated some credibility. But now, as you take on the responsibilities of guiding and supervising others, you’ll need to expand upon it. I reached out to Denise Dudley, consultant and author of Work It! Get In, Get Noticed, Get Promoted, and founder and former CEO of SkillPath Seminars. Denise recommended the following strategies to build, strengthen, and improve your credibility. Be an Honest and Ethical Manager Strong personal principles and core values should underlie everything you do; they will help you make decisions that are best for everyone. Always strive to do the right thing, even when it’s hard, and even when no one else is watching (because actually, someone else is always watchingâ€"it’s your boss). Know and follow the rules for proper behavior within your profession, and remember that you set the tone; if you are dishonest or ignore the rules occasionally, others will follow suit. Communicate Express yourself openly and assertively, and be as clear as possible in all of your communications. Every day, let your employees know what’s on your mind and what you expect; then give them opportunities to ask questions or give feedback. Listen more than you speak, and do your best to keep the lines of communication open at all times. If you wish to succeed, you can’t just bark out orders and expect others to comply; you must build positive working relationships with everyone around you. Be Decisive As a manager, you’ll be called upon to make endless decisionsâ€"all of which affect the company and the people around you. Think things through carefully, review all sides of the issue, and then decide which way you want to go. Trust yourself, your judgment, and your gut, and announce your decisions with confidence and clarity. You may want to explain your reasoning (briefly), but then move on. And if others balk, stand your ground and forge ahead. You’re the decision maker here. Be Consistent When you make promises, keep them. When you set rules, live by them. Don’t say one thing and then do another, or give an order, change your mind, and expect your employees to read your thoughts and do something different. If you review your company or department goals before you assign tasks or projects, you’ll be less likely to change directions midstream. Follow Up Check to see if the assignments you’ve given have been completed correctly and on time. If you let this slide, it’s a sure thing that certain boring or unpleasant tasks will never get doneâ€"your employees will assume you’ll never notice. Clearly explain any rules to your employees up front. Then have a system in place for dealing with those who break the rules, and address any violations or undesirable behavior immediately; it only gets harder if you wait. Follow these five simple rules, and you’ll become a respected, credible manager! Join Dana Manciagli’s Job Search Master Class now and get the most comprehensive job search system available!

Writing a Good General Purpose Resume

Writing a Good General Purpose ResumeIf you are asking yourself how to write a good general purpose resume, then there are some things that you should know. Most people just throw together a resume with no regard for what they are putting on it and what they are actually trying to convey to the employer.What makes a good general purpose resume is to give the employer a clear picture of your personality, your qualifications, and how you can help them in their business. If you are going to be submitting a resume to hundreds or even thousands of different companies that you are not familiar with, then it is important that you do your homework when writing a resume.When writing a good general purpose resume, there are some basic tips that you should take into consideration. First of all, you need to make sure that you always use a pen and paper when writing it. You do not want to leave a trace of ink on a computer screen that can later be erased.You also need to know that the general pur pose resume should show you to be a person that is able to work in teams. If you are not, then you should think about getting training on how to become more effective in teams. Many people spend a lot of time in their last few years in college just trying to figure out how to get along with other people.Another thing that you need to do when writing a good general purpose resume is to include your skills, education, and work experience. You will want to write something that is easy to read and understand. As you write, you can break down those sections of experience and those skills.The part that is known as experience is when you actually did something. Skills are when you were learning something or being trained, or getting ready for a job, orwriting a proposal, or doing research.The best way to write is to have a broad overview of your experience, skills, and education. Then, start to break those parts down into smaller sections that describe the different aspects of your experie nce. This is the key to writing a good general purpose resume.If you want to make sure that your resume shows the employers exactly what they are looking for, then there are some important tips that you should keep in mind when writing a general purpose resume. Then, if you follow those tips, you should have a job that you really enjoy doing.