Category: Improving Yourself

Searching for a new job is hard work. In fact, it can be the toughest “job” you’ll ever have.

That’s why the key to job search success is treating the entire process like a business. You are currently in the “job hunting” business. Like any successful business, you need a plan that has goals and strategies to guide you. Otherwise you’re just flapping your wings getting no where.

Jump-start your next job search with these seven job-hunting strategies:

1. Know what you’re selling.
Begin your job search by taking a thorough inventory of your interests, skills, accomplishments, experience, goals, and values. Make a detailed list. The key to a successful job search is recognizing what makes you a unique candidate and communicating this effectively to a prospective employer, both verbally and in writing.

2. Aim for the right target.
Try to match your skills, interests, and values with the right career choice. If one of your goals is to get a larger salary, don’t focus on career paths that traditionally pay low salaries. Do some research. Learn about different companies that interest you and target those that are more likely to have open positions.

3. Be assertive and proactive.
Don’t wait around for opportunity to come knocking on your door. While cold calling on potential employers can be intimidating, it remains a powerful strategy. It’s important to get through the door first, before your competition.

4. Do some sleuthing.
One key is understanding the “hidden” job market. Many job openings exist only in the minds of directors, vice presidents, and other company bigwigs long before the job is finally advertised in newspapers or on the Internet. If you can present yourself as the perfect candidate at this early stage, an employer may snap you up without looking elsewhere.

5. Work your network.
Networking should be at the center of your job search strategy. Get the word out to friends, trusted colleagues, and even relatives that you are actively looking for a job, and ask them to keep their eyes and ears open for any opportunities. Expand your network by joining professional organizations, signing up for job search newsletters and e-mail blasts, contacting former professors and classmates, and by participating in Internet discussion boards.

6. Get professional help.
Employment agencies come in all shapes, sizes, and price ranges, and they can be an excellent resource for job leads. Some specialize in very specific occupational areas, and many often have exclusive arrangements with large companies. If you’re interested in the services of an agency, investigate it carefully. Determine what the agency will do for you and how much it will cost.

7. Be temporarily flexible.
Temp jobs are a great way to learn skills, gain experience, and earn money while looking for a permanent position. They are also a way to prove your worth and be first in line when a full-time position does open up. Working as a consultant or independent contractor in a company can also eventually lead to steady, full-time employment.

8. Say it clearly.
When sending out resumes, catch the prospective employer’s attention with a brief and concise cover letter / email that spells out clearly how your qualifications match the job requirements. Connect the dots for the reader, making it obvious why you’re the perfect candidate for the job.

9. Keep careful records.
Keeping track of the progress of your job search is important. Maintain a detailed record of all the jobs you have applied to, including communications, interviews, referrals, and follow-up actions. This will help you build a network of valuable contacts both for your current job search and any future ones.

Career Success Tip:

Job search is hard work and there are times when you will become discouraged. Just keep in mind that everyone has been through the same grind at one point. Keep a positive attitude about the whole process and look at your job hunt as a business that you need to invest in. Good luck!

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?

Imagine you have a mentor you can call on in any situation. Whenever uncertainty swarms, this wise person illuminates your best possible choice at any given moment. Never one to command or threaten, this mentor simply encourages in a voice that rarely rises above a gentle whisper. Wouldn’t life unfold much easier if such a mentor existed?

Truth is, this mentor does exist . . . within you.

Some call it instinct or intuition. Others call it a higher power. I choose to believe it’s a spiritual connection that resides beyond me and within me at the same time, much as a single drop of water is part of the ocean even as that ocean is in the drop of water.

But if this mentor, this voice, does exist, then why do so many choose to ignore it? I can only answer based on my experience.

For so long, I abandoned that mentor, even though I’d placed much faith in him when younger. Back then, his voice encouraged me to explore my world with great expectations. Then somewhere along my journey, as I matured—and I use that word loosely—I set aside those expectations to make “responsible” decisions using only logic for guidance. But logic only goes so far. And when used by itself to make life decisions, one can end up with something that only vaguely resembles living.

My inner mentor knew I wasn’t living my best life when he urged me to walk away from a high-paying job that had begun to hollow out my insides. I’m embarrassed to relay that it took seven years to do it, but after leaving, a peace lifted me and I’ve been floating ever since.

One thing I’ve noticed since recognizing the value of heeding my inner mentor is, alternate voices creep into my head sometimes. They are deceptive because they sound similar to my own voice, yet are negative in nature. Sometimes the voices warn me against the odds of success in the pursuit of my dreams. Sometimes they tell me I don’t know what I’m doing and I should give up.

Over time I’ve come to realize these voices are simply echoes of past influencers in my life. Some of these people only wanted to shelter me from what they perceived as a harsh world. Others did not have my best interests in mind and wanted to discourage me from chasing my dreams, I suspect, because they’d long since abandoned their own.

This world is a noisy place. So much screams for our attention. But know this: our personal mentor never discourages us . . . ever. If a voice within you yells, admonishes, or threatens, that’s what deserves ignoring. How else will you hear your inner mentor when he or she whispers to you?

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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Christopher Laney has written for numerous publications including aviation magazines. Using his experience as a pilot, he also pens the inspirational blog Lessons from the Cockpit: Everyday Wisdom from the Flying Life. Christopher recently completed his first novel about a man who yearns to fly and the mysterious flight instructor who takes him on as a student.

How many of you in college or graduate school had a course, or even a workshop, on managing your career?

I bet not many because too many young professionals and emerging leaders come to me for guidance with all kinds of career situations: Advancing in a corporate career, getting along with their boss, taking on the right kind of assignment, dissatisfaction with their career choice, etc.

Out of a recent leadership and career development program, came 20 real world practical ideas about managing one’s career. This career intelligence is relevant no matter what your job function is or what kind of company you work for. Everyone needs to know how to succeed in today’s workplace.

Which one’s resonate with you?

1. The boss isn’t always right, but he’s still the boss.
2. Confidence comes from success, knowledge comes from failure.
3. Perception is reality – whether it’s true or not – it’s their reality.
4. The workplace is about business and profitability, not about you.
5. Don’t panic and do something stupid in anticipation of a bad event.
6. Pay as much attention to relationships as the work that has to get done.
7. It’s OK to say I don’t know as long as the next thing you say is I’ll find out.
8. When you have problems with others, look inside yourself first for answers.
9. Pay attention to small details, the big ones are obvious and get taken care of.
10. It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it, when you say it, and why you say it.
11. If you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, you won’t be successful at it.
12. Know that ideas without action are like being all dressed up with no place to go.
13. If you’re miserable, quit and do something else. If you’re still miserable, it’s you.
14. It is impossible to know where you are going if you don’t know where you’ve been.
15. If you don’t know, say so. If you don’t know what you’re talking about, stop talking
16. Invest at least 40% of your time managing yourself–your ethics, character and purpose.
17. Whine and complain all you want; nobody gives a crap. Get off your duff and so something.
18. Don’t burn bridges. Something you said or done may comes back to haunt you later in your career.
19. Think before you act. Ask yourself: Could I be misinterpreting what’s happening? If you answer yes, stop before you jump into the water.
20. Go with your talents. Spend 80% of your attention to your strengths and about 20% to your weaknesses. It’s easier to kick a rock downhill than one uphill.

Career Success Tip:

Perioidically look back and reflect on your experiences in your life and your career. What lessons did you learn? No matter what career stage we’re in, we all have lessons to learn and, at times, be relearned.What’s the best way to find out about a career? Information interviewing. 20 questions to ask to find out about a career field.

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?

If you are having one of those weeks with one frustration after another, you may find it hard to muster the energy to keep moving forward.

How do you re-connect to your Source of inspiration and energy when you are overwhelmed, unmotivated or feeling off balance?

One spiritual practice is this: Do something- anything- to bring your energy closer to the vibration of love and joy.

Here are some simple steps you can take to raise your energy and connect with love and joy:

1. Over your lunch break or on your way home from work, go to the store and buy a card for someone. It can be a funny card, a thank-you card, a missing-you card, a thinking-of you card- anything that helps you get out of your own skin and start thinking of people who make you smile or you appreciate in your life. Send them a note to let them know what they mean to you.

2. Make a quick trip to get some donuts, cupcakes, muffins or anything simple and tasty to share with your co-workers. Breaking bread is a communal activity. It helps bring people together and breaks the routine of work. You can get healthy foods too, it doesn’t have to be the sugar that lifts your spirits.

3. Save a funny YouTube video on your computer or cell phone that you can see on a break. Just stretching your face muscles from a frown to a smile can shift your energy. You’ll be surprised how much stress you carry in your body and your subconscious. Be aware when you hold tension in your face, shoulders or back. Shift the frowny face to a smiley face and you’ll raise your energy towards joy.

4. Don’t do this while driving… but some time during the day, close your eyes and breath deeply. Think of the last great vacation you took or the dream vacation you’d love to have. Go there in your mind. Breath in the joy and satisfaction you’ll get going to that place. Open your eyes and remember- that happy place is just a thought away. As Caroline Myss says, ‘Happiness is an inside job” – You can choose it any time you want.

5. Ask a co-worker to tell you a story of a time they were really happy, or felt a lot of joy. Bring your focus to what brings them joy, a smile, a good feeling. This will help you get out of your own head and connect on a heart level with someone else at work.

Try these out some time when you feel overwhelmed or burned out. See how it works for you.

Special Note: We posted a reader poll last week and would like your feedback. Please click here to complete the poll http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SRTHMSD It will only take 2-3 minutes to share with us your reactions to our blogs. We want to know what topics you like to read and what ideas you’d like us to cover. Thanks for helping us know what would be valuable and meaningful for you.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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Linda is an author, speaker, coach, and consultant. Go to her website www.lindajferguson.com to read more about her work, view video clips of her talks, and find out more about her book “Path for Greatness: Spirituality at Work” The paperback version is available on Amazon. NOW NEW!!! the pdf version of Path for Greatness is available for download from her website. ALSO, Linda’s new book, “Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand” is now available on her website.

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For more resources about training, see the Training library.

This blog is for you, the reader.

We take your feedback very seriously.

Please take 3 minutes to complete the following survey.

We will very closely consider your feedback to make this blog even better for you.

Click here to take the survey

Thank you!

For more resources, see the Library topic Career Management.

If you’re getting a new boss in your existing job, consider getting ‘hired’ all over again.

How many bosses have you had in your present job these past couple of years? I’ve asked this question in my career management and personal branding workshops. I heard everything from “my boss seems to hang on” to several who have come and gone to the unbelievable 5 new bosses in two years. Wow!

How do you deal with this phenomenon – management churn – the revolving door strategy of managers in some organizations?

Most of you who are reading this post are not at the level to change this strategy. That doesn’t mean you do nothing about your situation. A recent Harvard Business Review article suggests that you must look at each new boss with the notion of getting “hired” all over again. In other words, start making a good impression immediately. Here’s why.

Most managers feel more invested in people they’ve hired personally. They reviewed the resumes, conducted the interviews and made the ultimate decision to hire the person. They are invested in that person. They want the person to succeed so that they will “look good” to their boss.

But a new boss, who has inherited a team, needs to size up quickly each of his or her direct reports. Some people, with a new boss, keep doing what they’ve been doing waiting for the boss to tell them otherwise. But there’s another career strategy. That is, get ‘hired’ all over again by taking these three positive actions.

1. Set up a short, perhaps 20 minute, meeting with your new boss.
You can approach it as wanting to find out about her goals for the team so that you can make sure what you do is in sync with those goals. If the response is “I’m planning to do that with the whole team”, then say “great and perhaps after that meeting, we can meet to go over the specific responsibilities of my position.”

2. Think about what you want your new boss to know.
Develop a short presentation focusing on your accomplishments – the problems encountered and how you and the team handled them. If possible, pull together some samples of your work – reports, presentations, prototypes, brochures, whatever demonstrates your capabilities. Also be prepared if he or she asks you about present and future challenges for the department.

3. Treat the meeting like a job interview.
Start by saying, ‘Let me tell you about my role’. Review the presentation you prepared, highlighting your own achievements and those of your team. Don’t let this be a one-way conversation. Hopefully your boss will have questions so that you can go more in-depth about what you bring to the table. Then you ask your boss about her priorities for the department. Now start making the connection between the priorities and how you can meet them.

Career Success Tip

Somebody on the team may end up being the “go to guy or gal”. You might as well give yourself the opportunity to show that you could be that person.

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?

My perspective of spirituality in the workplace has changed over the years. I used to view it solely as integrating my spirituality at the workplace. Now more than ever, I look at is as putting my spirituality at work, wherever I’m working, with whoever I’m working with, doing whatever kind of work. This new perspective has widen my reach and broadened my perspective for how I approach this topic.

While I’ve been co-writing for a year with this blog, it’s fun for me to think about how I would describe the case study for my spirituality at work.

Divinely Inspired

I remember almost 10 years ago when I first emerged as wanting to have a business focusing on spirituality in the workplace (which I promoted at the time as spirit in work/life), it was a cutting edge thing to do and very misunderstood topic. One networking meeting I attended a woman blatantly accused me in front of all the attendees of wanting to promote my religious beliefs after just hearing me say the word “spirit”. After the session, another woman gently shared her apologies for how I was treated and introduced me to the word inspiration. She explained how it’s rooted in spirit, which might be a better word to help me to promote what I’m doing more easily for people to understand. So for the past 10 years my sole purpose has been to inspire others. I’ve helped to create inspired workplaces, hosted inspired women’s retreats, and wrote a couple of inspirational, illustrated books.

Prayer

Over the years my prayer life has tremendously increased. The power of praying is an integral part of how I practice my spirituality. Sometimes I say memorized prayers or I memorize other prayers I would like to learn. Others times I’ll just dialogue in a conversation with God regarding my prayers or prayers for other people. A couple of examples of how I’ve put my prayers to work is that I’ll actually take time at the moment someone is requesting a prayer to actually pray. I used to say “I’ll pray for you” and I’m not sure if I ever followed up on that request. Before my training classes or presentations, I’ll pray for the group that I’m working with. I’ll ask God to speak through me in order to best serve the group I’m connecting with. I’ve been doing this for the past couple of years and it has helped me connect more deeply with the audiences I’m blessed to work with. Before I write, I’ll say a prayer for divine inspiration and for the words to flow out of me that will best help others. When I’m done writing, I say a prayer as I send it off that those who need to read it will find it.

Support Groups

We are not meant to experience life alone. The power of having a like-minded group in which you can share your faith with has been something that I have sought and created. After college I didn’t want to lose the spiritual path that I had been on, so I worked with a couple of other friends to form a women’s spirituality group. We named our group WINGS (Women In Nourishing Groups for the Soul). This spiritual friendship that we’ve formed has allowed the three of us to grow in tremendous ways that we all attribute to the work we’ve done through WINGS. Another group that I help co-found is a small group marriage ministry at our church called Couples in Christ. This allows couples to meet together in a small group to focus on their faith and marriage. This ministry has helped my husband and I grow more deeply in our lives together as well as the other 20+ couples involved int he ministry. I’m also part of a women’s Bible study at our church. We have a small group that we share intimately with and I’ve learned so much about my religion as being part of this group.

Gratitude

If you’ve read any of my posts before, you know that gratitude is a way of life for me. Giving gratitude and practicing gratitude is a wonderful example of how I’ve put my spirituality to work. Whenever I connect with someone, whether it’s a stranger or one of my closest friends, I’m always thinking about how I can show my gratitude for them. Learning to be grateful and feeling grateful is what actually brings more things in our lives to be grateful about. For example, I was listening to a christian radio station of a speaker that I like. I was giving gratitude for his talk and all that I learned in the 15 of listening to him. He then announced that he was having a free MP3 event of all of this presentations. So I went to the site and not only was I able to download for free the series I was listening to, but many other great presentations. Because I was grateful for the little, I was given a lot to be grateful for. Again, for more on what I believe about gratitude, you can go to Project GratOtude.

Reading

I read a ton! Most of my books have a spiritual focus. I start out the morning with a daily devotional and continue to read whenever I can throughout the day. All the support groups that I’m a part of have a book that we study with the intent of growing my spirituality. I’ve noticed that my spirituality philosophy is shaped by the authors that I read. I tend to connect with some concepts that are introducing, try them out and eventually have the opportunity to teach it.

Teaching It

The best way to really learn and internalize something is to teach it. I’m so grateful that formally through my writing, speaking and training business I’m able to do that. Informally, I share with friends what I’m learning which is another way of teaching. My three sons (and husband) are also great students for me. One way I’m teaching them about their spirituality is by doing a devotional and gratitude journal before they go to school in the mornings. Thank you for the opportunity in this blog to teach what I’m learning regarding spirituality at work.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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Janae Bower is an inspirational speaker, award-winning author and training consultant. She founded Finding IT, a company that specializes in personal and professional development getting to the heart of what matters most. She started Project GratOtude, a movement to increase gratitude in people’s lives.

Careers are like life, they don’t stand still. They progress from one stage to another.

Here are career stages that you are going through, have been through, or hope to go through. Pay attention to the potential roadblocks – they can make or break your career advancement.

Stage I – Apprenticeship: Learning the Ropes

You are fresh, most likely young or starting over in a new career. You are hungry for knowledge and seek out guidance from others. At first you are most likely part of a team with specific tasks. You may be closely supervised until your boss has confidence in your abilities. Your “job” is not only to do the work assigned but also to learn about the culture, the company, and the colleagues you work with.

Potential career roadblock: Settling into your current role.
As you develop your capabilities, you may become too comfortable. You’re no longer the new kid on the block. You know your way around. This is the most important time to grow in your career. Ask for more assignments that will expand your expertise and experience. Keep moving ahead.

Stage II – Independent Contributor: Establishing a Reputation

Now you are a doer. You are taking on more responsibility and developing technical depth in assignments. You re also given more autonomy – making decisions that you boss made earlier in your career. You may be part of a committee that makes recommendations on the best software or ways to increase customer satisfaction. This is an opportunity to stand out and shine.

Potential career roadblock: Indecision about your next career move.
Most of us in this stage could steer our careers in several directions. If you are not sure where you want to end up, you may never move toward the goal. So assess if you want to expand your expertise with more challenging assignments or start leading projects or teams in order to develop your managerial abilities. See Generalist vs Specialist.

Stage III – Leader: Developing and Managing Others

You have the title of supervisor, manager or director. As you progress in this position, you have staff under you. It could be 5 people or even 50. You now get things done and get results through others. You are assigning tasks, managing their work efforts and coaching them to improve or enhance their performance. It may be difficult for you not to be so hands-on since your hands-on skills are what got you here.

Potential career roadblock: Not focusing on your interpersonal skills.
Management is dealing with all kinds and levels of people –subordinates, peers, boss or bosses, other departments or business units, even other companies and the list goes on. It’s important to have well developed communication, negotiation, team building skills. If you don’t, your career growth will be in jeopardy.

Stage IV – Executive: Exercising Power

You have significant organization responsibility. Your focus is not on day to day operations but on strategy – the future of the organization. Your role is to be proactive – to anticipate change, plan for it, initiative it and lead the organization as it goes through it. That requires dealing more with the external environment and making tough, hard decisions.

Potential career roadblock: Not using the real influence that you have.
By being indecisive and not pushing strategy forward, you may appear wavering or lackluster. People look to their senior leaders for vision, guidance and encouragement especially in these very changing times.

Career Success Tip:

By knowing what career stage you are in, you can focus on the key tasks and avoid the key roadblocks so that you are most effective. Also by knowing the next career stage, you can anticipate and prepare for your next position. In that way you will be proactive, rather than reactive, in your career management.

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?

Easy Steps to Get Started

Branding yourself or your online business will help set you apart from your competitors. When you establish your brand – a memorable visual appeal, as well as a meaningful and compelling message – your audience will react positively and help you by passing your information on to others in their network.

Volumes of books are written on branding, so this is simply an introduction to get you started:

1. Write down your mission statement (include keywords if you can, and how you help others) – Example: “Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

2. Create a memorable logo that’s in keeping with your business niche.

3. List ‘must-have’ benefits to your customers (such as solutions to their problems and answers to their questions).

4. Choose a page design that you can use on all pieces and sites you create. Pay special attention to layout, graphics, colors, fonts and style.

5. Have a professional photo of yourself taken.

6. Write a bio that highlights your expertise and brings out the personal you. Add information about yourself outside of your work life. For example, “She loves to grow roses and read mystery novels.”

7. Use all of the above consistently on each of your sites and social network profiles.

Brainstorm ideal domain names

As part of your branding strategy, one of the most important factors is the domain name (URL) that you choose. Domain names that include keywords are more likely to be ‘ranked’ higher by search engines. Search engines assume that the name of your site is relevant to the topic of your site, so in the search algorithms, they give more weight to the domain name, and thus your ranking – how high up you rank in the results pages. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

The domain name is only one of many factors used in search algorithms (and note that algorithms also vary among different search engines.) It’s a very important factor.

So now, let’s brainstorm domain names. Keep these things in mind – your domain name should be:

• As short as possible – try for fewer than five syllables.
• Memorable.
• Keyword-oriented.

What other Branding tips will help others get started?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The Net-Powered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com