Ana Talukder Simpson was raised in an East Indian household where straight A’s were demanded, perfect SAT scores were expected, and an Ivy League education was the ONLY real education.  This all came from a place of love, but her parents really focused on academic greatness and equated it to success. She had always been drawn to and excelled in the creative arts, but lacked the joy that was supposed to be found in studying molecule arrangements or solving a proof.  Ana knew early on that she was not going to become the Doctor or Engineer that her parents had hoped for and decided that law school was in her future, which allowed her to major in Political Science and Philosophy and still use those skills for a realistic career.  Read Full Story

With staggering unemployment rates and job insecurity, many people have changed careers by necessity and others, by choice. You must learn to navigate the new normal of this job world and take ownership of your personal career destiny. Now more than ever employers want to see that you can bounce back and recover quickly from adversity.

Resilience is a key competency that employers value because it transfers well into the workplace. One constant in every career field is change. If you can show an employer that you can deal with change you can be seen as a valuable commodity to that organization. Attitude is just as important as skill set in a competitive marketplace.

If you were downsized out of your last job, pick yourself up and get back on that proverbial career horse. Showcase this adaptive skill to illustrate that you are scrappy, flexible, and able to recover from a set back with a positive attitude and a game plan. There is no room in this job market for a negative attitude and badmouthing your former employer is the kiss of death. Put your game face on and forge ahead with confidence.

I have seen negative attitudes get the best of amazing job candidates because they are still grieving the loss of a former position and have not let go emotionally. Take the time you need to vent, rant, and rave in the privacy of your own home – this is therapeutic and essential to establish a new and positive mindset. But when you are ready (sooner is better than later!) focus and concentrate on your goals. Put your best professional foot forward and show the job world that you are scrappy, flexible, and ready for a new opportunity.

Q:  I will be graduating with my BS in Marketing in May. I’ve been with my current employer for 7 years. How do I get them to recognize my new accomplishment and consider me for promotion and upward movement within the company?

A: Congratulations on the imminent minting of your degree! The timing is perfect for you to schedule a meeting with your boss and take the lead on a new kind of performance review where you articulate your value add to the company.

So few people take the time to show their bosses what they are doing well and the reality is that most supervisors are so busy with their own work they don’t have a realistic understanding of what you are doing to distinguish yourself in the organization.

The key is humble confidence – approach the meeting without arrogance or a bragging mindset but simply an opportunity to illustrate what you do well. The new degree should be at the top of your list and be sure to mention relevant courses that have empowered you to be successful in your current position. Perhaps you have gone above and beyond on a particular project or exceeded quotas in a given time period – now is the time to talk about these successes as well.

Consider putting together a brief portfolio that illustrates your message with examples of what you have done, new skills, and the completion of your degree. If you are serious about staying with this company, create a game plan to show your boss how you want to grow your career there. Give specific ideas about how your talents could be used in the company and be sure to articulate your 7 year loyalty to the organization and your interest in taking on new challenges to earn upward mobility.

By scheduling a good news appointment with your boss, you will have his/her undivided attention when you share your accomplishment portfolio and future promotion track plan. Have your hard copy portfolio to leave behind so your boss can share it with the powers that be in the organization. Be an empowered employee by taking the steering wheel of your career car. It’s perfectly acceptable to talk about what you do well and propose a plan for personal growth.  The proactive individual often gets promoted faster than others who wait to be recognized. Go for it!

My last entry discussed the importance of recognizing your unique skill set, so I want to take a moment to highlight adaptive skills often referred to as soft skills or emotional intelligence competencies. Peggy Klaus, a nationally acclaimed Fortune 500 communication and leadership coach is a friend and mentor of mine and I am a big fan of her book: The Hard Truth about Soft Skills: Workplace Lessons Smart People Wish They’d Learned Sooner (Collins, February 2008, paperback).

Quite often people brush off the soft skills as the touchy feely people skills that serious professionals don’t need. Nothing could be farther from the truth! The soft skills include abilities and traits such as self-awareness, initiative, time management, empathy, political astuteness, integrity and many more.

Straight from Peggy – here are some of the top soft skills lessons she teaches in her book:

• Knowing yourself is as important as knowing how to do the job.
• Learn when to stick and when to shift or the details will hang you.
• Your procrastination is trying to tell you something.
• Get smart about asking dumb questions.
• You don’t need to be everyone’s best friend—that’s what dogs are for.
• Know where to draw the line between self-improvement and self-destruction.
• When it comes to gossip, learn the art of deflection.
• Keep your visibility when you’re not face-to-face.
• Don’t take it personally.
• Stop stereotypes from sinking you.
• You’re the boss, stupid, that’s why they hang on your every word.
• Get out of your own way.

I have bookshelves and files full of favorite resources that I will share with you to empower your journey of career success and satisfaction. Peggy’s book is a staple that I recommend to all my students and private clients. www.bettersoftskills.com Enjoy!

With ten years of active duty service under her belt, Vianesa Vargas was on track to be a commander in the military. But after the birth of her second son, she was given orders to serve in Iraq for another year plus three additional months of training. It was then that she decided to leave the Air Force and pursue her other call-to-serve, to help women be the best moms they can be and to lead confident, fulfilling lives. Read Full Story

Q: I will soon be returning to work after a 5 month maternity leave. I want to maintain my current position in the company and career path but I’d like to negotiate a four day work week or something like that. Since I have an infant at home, it’s difficult to “work” at home.  I’m willing to take a pay cut but need some advice in how to approach this topic with my boss. I want to make sure I ask for enough so I create a good work-life balance but yet not jeopardize my career.

A: It will be quite an adjustment getting back to work, dealing with childcare, and acclimating to your work schedule. The re-entry may be overwhelming at first so give it at least a week back at work before you ask your boss for any kind of adjustment. Don’t negotiate from home before you even get back to the office!

Once you have re-established to your boss and colleagues how valuable you are to the organization, you can begin to negotiate. Every organization is different so you will need to determine if there are others in the office with flexible schedules. If there is a precedent for this kind of flexibility then your negotiation will be much easier. Check with Human Resources to find out what the existing policies are so you can structure your proposal within these parameters.

Next, come up with a plan (in writing) that lists your ideal situation – perhaps that 4 day work week and a slightly adjusted salary for a test period. Have contingency strategies if the initial plan is not well received or approved but take the driver’s seat and articulate what you need to get the most out of your negotiation. You should help your boss understand that your long term plan is to grow your career with the company and this adjustment will empower you to serve in the best way possible.

The key is to be confident and well prepared when you are making your negotiation pitch. Never apologize for your request. Be clear in demonstrating the unique value you bring to the organization, your enthusiasm for the company, and your intent to deliver on the job with this new, flexible arrangement.

One of my favorite resources is the book: A Woman’s Guide to Successful Negotiating by Lee E. Miller and Jessica Miller. Do check it out for some terrific negotiating strategies. Men have been negotiating for generations – it’s wonderful that you are an empowered woman ready to ask for what you want in the workplace. Cheers to you!

Q:  I have a new small business that has been growing steadily.  I’m getting most of my leads from a lead generation company (Service Magic) where I pay a small fee for each lead and they have been working out great.  But, I also have a web page and I’m trying different things to get my name out there so a new prospective client can find me in a Google/Bing search.  I’ve only secured one client this way and want more clients to find me through a web search. Do you know what I can do to get my website more visible? Thanks!

 A:  Congratulations on your new business! First, I suggest you utilize all the free Social Media resources out there to announce your new business. Set up professional profiles that include your website on LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo, Biznik, F (press releases), Merchant Circle, and Alias which are currently the top sites that get the most traffic. Blast and build your connections with targeted messages about your new business and perhaps offer a slight discount, perk, or incentive to those who find your business via one of those Social Media venues.

Your first goal is to establish a presence then you need to expand your reach so you can nurture your relationships and maintain your presence.  You should register with:  Help a Reporter Out (HARO) and respond to national press inquiries that relate to your business area of expertise. Your product or service story might get picked up by regional or national press looking to quote you as an expert in an article or news story.

Lastly, know your demographic and identify who your very best customers are and what they need? Frequent the blogs and websites that this demographic is using regularly. Ask complementary businesses to list you on their website or blog roll as a resource to increase your web traffic. This only works with non competing businesses but it can be a great resource and a sure way to boost your online hits!

Every day I speak with students and private clients who have no real sense of what their skills are. Simply put, a skill is an ability, based on training or experience, to do something well. We all have skills and the trick is to discover what they are and market them with humble confidence to make ourselves attractive to employers who want to utilize these skills in the workplace.

As trained opera singer turned Career & Professional Development Coach, I like to think of myself as the Queen of Transferable Skills. When I was making my unique career transition most employers were very dubious about what I had to offer. It took some time for me to realize that my skills were very transferable and included: written and verbal communication, professional poise, foreign language aptitude, marketing and promotion, tenacity, leadership and project management, to name just a few.

I guarantee you all have hidden skills that you have not yet owned and embraced.  Once you discover your skills you can start to connect the dots with your other VIPS (values, interests & personality) and find opportunities that are a true match for you career wise.

Since it can be hard for us to consider our skills alone, I urge you to ask people in your circle of trust (family, friends, and colleagues) to share what they think you do well. Having others help identify your skills can be very powerful but ultimately you are in control over which skills you chose to market on your new career path.

To get you started, skills fall into three main categories:

Transferable Skills – these can be taken from job to job and are important in many career sectors. Examples include: communication (verbal and written), critical thinking, analytical, leadership, project management.

Specialized Knowledge – these are skills relevant to a particular job or career field. Examples include: operating laboratory equipment, computer program proficiency, French Cuisine cooking, and foreign language ability.

Adaptive Skills – these are personal attributes you bring to the professional environment and often the most sought after by employers.  Examples include: motivation, initiative, integrity, flexibility and self management.

It can be exciting to re-discover your skills – enjoy the journey!

Following the career development steps of self evaluating your VIPS (values, interests, personality and skills) it’s time to focus on personality. This happens to be one of my favorite parts of the career reinvention and self reflection journey.  Personality refers to your unique patterns of mental, emotional, physical, and behavioral characteristics.

You may have heard of the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator™ (MBTI) an assessment tool that breaks personality down to 4 preferences.

• Where do you draw your energy? Do you prefer to focus on the external world of people and actions or are you energized by ideas and feelings of the inner world?
• How do you perceive information? Do you focus on the realities of the present or the possibilities of the future?
• How do you make decisions? Are you guided by objective, analytical reasoning or subjective, personal values?
• What is your need for order in life? Do you prefer to be organized and planned or spontaneous and flexible?

Your personality preferences play a big role in the type of work you may like or dislike. Very often I’ll work with clients who wish they could be doing someone else’s job on their organization’s team because their position is simply not a good fit.

Know Thy Self and honor your inborn personality type to help you find a career that matches your natural tendencies. There are many fabulous career coaches certified to administer and interpret the MBTI but I caution you to find experienced practitioners who can guide you through this exciting self reflection. The unofficial online versions cannot give you the full picture of the instrument and how personality plays a role in your career world so take the time to find someone with credentials and experience if this assessment appeals to you.

The MBTI now has expanded versions (Step II and Step III) that delve even deeper into additional competencies and personality traits that may help you further discover your ideal career fit.

A twenty-something native New Jersey girl, Susan Vernicek put her Fine Arts degree with a dual focus in Graphic Design and Photography to use working in the graphics department of a medical company. While she enjoyed her job she still had a percolating entrepreneurial spirit within her that needed to be released. The two driving forces in her life from a young age have been to run her own business and to have a positive influence on others. The end result of sticking with that focus and owning her passion was the creation of S&J Identity, Inc. – a unique and empowering, online magazine created to help women accept, appreciate and achieve. Read Full Story