A business or personal card is your ticket to effective follow-up when networking. Learn why everybody should take advantage of this essential career tool.
Career Coach • Author • Speaker
Are You Ready?
April 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
It’s official, national unemployment rates are starting to drop for the first time in two years. While the single digit unemployment rate is cause for celebration, it also begs the question – are you ready for the job market?
If you are a first-time job seeker or a career changer, now is the time to do your homework so you are ready for new career opportunities that come your way. Here are some best practices to get you jump started.
Self assessment – get quiet with yourself and really consider what you value, what interests you, how your personality plays a role in your career choice, and what skills energize you enough to call them strengths.
Tell your story – be ready to talk about what you do well and don’t focus on job titles and descriptions until you know what tasks engage you. Think about when time flies and it doesn’t feel like work. These are the tasks you will want to spend most of your time pursuing at work.
Develop your brand – since hiring is starting to creep back, you need to define your special sauce and why you will be a value-add to an organization because competition is still fierce. Market your unique combination of passions and talents and if you need a jump start, query people in your circle of trust and ask them what makes you special. Ultimately you are in control of your personal brand but gathering input from others can be a great point of departure.
Know your territory – before you start sending out numerous resumes (never a wise strategy) investigate the job market in your field and talk to people in the know. Pursue informational interviews, job shadows, and build your professional community with people of influence. The more people who know you and what you do well the better your chances of being informed about new opportunities.
The federal government reported that the economy grew by 216,000 jobs last month with factories, retailers, education, health care, professional and financial services sectors seeing the largest increase. The new-job season has official begun so make sure you are ready for these new opportunities and invest in the time to prepare to be at your very best.
Rules of Reinvention
January 30, 2011 By 3 Comments
I learned from my book writing journey that people pursue career reinvention for a variety of reasons. Some are not happy in their work, others are not playing to their strengths, and the economy has forced many people to reinvent due to lay-offs and downsizing. The reasons for reinvention are endless as are the ways in which to go about this exciting new journey of career change.
Jake Poinier wrote a terrific article in Speaker Magazine and shared his 6 Rules of Reinvention for professional speakers – although his wisdom is applicable in all career sectors. I appreciate his advice and good humor and I know you will learn from it as well.
1. Reinvent yourself before it becomes necessary. If you wait until your career is gasping for air, you will play catch-up amid a field of cutting-edge experts.
2. Regularly ask yourself – Am I still relevant? The career game has changed in all industries and you can’t make it by being mediocre. Today, you must offer a quantifiable return-on-investment (ROI) as well as original thoughts and answers to distinguish yourself.
3. Never chase the hot topics or trends just to be “in”. Fads don’t build a long-term career, but tapping into your deepest passion does. If you try to be an expert in a field you don’t care about, you will come off as inauthentic and contrived and this will undermine your success.
4. Understand the impact of the reality TV trend. Be real – don’t be perfect and use your honest emotions to give from your heart in your career endeavors. Authenticity is essential.
5. Don’t force the reinvention of your career brand. Take the time to self reflect and do this with input from others you trust. Seek the wisdom of your personal Board of Directors to help guide you with your branding and identify your value-add.
6. There are some traits you shouldn’t reinvent. Don’t reinvent your fundamental talents – there is no need. This is your special sauce and distinguishes you in the marketplace. Keep building on your bank of knowledge and exploit your best skills. You can build on that broad foundation no matter what you next career move might be.
Have You Googled Yourself Lately?
July 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment
If you are pursuing a job search, or simply concerned about your public professional image, (and everyone should be!) Google yourself to see what comes up. This is not a vanity move but a pro-active self defense strategy to make sure your web presence is polished and ready for public consumption.
It’s a given that employers will Google you if you are in the pipeline for a job with their organization. They are doing their due diligence to learn as much about you as possible before they extend an interview. Even if your resume and experience is stellar, their opinion of you may change if they find inappropriate references about you online.
Your mission is to beat them to the punch and clean up your web act. Facebook is the proverbial culprit since most people use this site for social connections. The reality is that Facebook is fair game so the party photos you showcase will make an impression on all who view your profile. You have control over what you post and you should check regularly to weed out content that others may post that could adversely affect you. Blocking content for non-friends is also a way to control what is visible to the general public.
Your professional image is your brand and you want to make sure that what comes up online is consistent with what you are presenting in your application materials. I have been on many search committees and the web research is part of the regular screening process for all candidates.
Web content can also work in your favor so use this resource wisely and update your profiles on LinkedIn and various other networking sites to showcase yourself at your best. Keeping all of this information current is your responsibility and also makes you recruit-able by employers trolling for talent. Take the time to make Googling yourself work to your advantage.
Alicia Sable Hunt, Founder & President of Sable’s Foods
June 21, 2010 By 2 Comments
Alicia Sable Hunt, known to all as Sable, grew up in the Hamptons in the 1980’s during the height of materialism, big money, and a recreational drug culture that was rampant in this affluent east coast community. She benefitted from the very strong grounding of a religious household and ended up in nursing school, an anomaly in her group of friends, most of whom pursued high profile and high paying corporate careers. Sable attributes her passion for helping people to her mother who instilled strong values in her at a young age.
A Nurse in the Kitchen
Always comfortable in her own skin when working with patients, Sable experienced a variety of settings in the medical field from bedside nursing to intensive care, and outpatient clinics. But, she developed a love for oncology care working with cancer patients. With 15+ years under her belt as an oncology nurse, Sable understood the immense struggle of those fighting cancer and the nutritional challenges they uniquely face. Proper nutrition is paramount during cancer treatment but many patients suffer from loss of appetite and taste preventing them from receiving the nourishment they need. Sable feels strongly that patients should be able to thrive while continuing with their daily lives during cancer treatment and recovery. Championing the cause in 2006, she stepped into her kitchen and began baking up a solution, and Sable’s Foods was born. [Read more...]
Pam Beattie, Venetian Decor
June 13, 2010 By 3 Comments
When Pam Beattie, a stay at home Mom, married for 20 years had a yearning for something more, she focused on her passion for French furniture to launch a new business. Venetian Décor is her boutique upholstery and design house that specializes in creating down duvets, custom filled seat cushions and reproduction French furniture, to name just a few of her offerings. Pam is the ultimate recycler using vintage fur coats to bring a new life to these heirlooms and re-purpose them for something new and unique.
Pam designs custom pieces that act as windows in time and reflect old world craftsmanship, dedication, and attention to detail. Venetian Décor does not promote the trapping and killing of animals but works exclusively with vintage fur coats to ensure that these historic resources are refashioned into useful and appreciated products. [Read more...]
What it Takes to Succeed
June 9, 2010 By 2 Comments
I just read an article by David Cutler who wrote a book called The Savvy Musician. He outlined various competencies for success in musical careers that are applicable in all professional work arenas.
- An Entrepreneurial Mindset. The ability to problem solve, create opportunities, think outside the box, market remarkably, and manage your own projects.
- Leadership and Vision. Individuals who possess a strong sense of vision and the courage to lead with influence are rewarded on many levels.
- Collaboration. Successful professionals value working with others, creating projects that are greater than themselves. Consider joining forces with the not so obvious constituents in your circle of contacts: community members, educators, business leaders, neighbors, etc.
- A Strong Brand. A brand is much more than your name or logo. It is the sum total of how others perceive what you do. What distinguishes you from the pack and how will potential clients or colleagues know that?
- Risk Taking. Most people are terrified of failure, playing it too safe and buying into the myth that anything less than perfection reflects poorly on them. An overly safe approach often results with a failure of the largest order – professional goals. If you crave success, be willing to fail and learn from it.
- Internet Mastery. The web offers unprecedented opportunities: social networking, blogging, podcasting, news releases, viral sensations, etc. It’s simply not enough to do these things – you must do so strategically for the greatest impact.
- Financial Literacy. Prospering financially doesn’t simply mean raking in piles of cash. Success requires a deep understanding of how money works – earning, spending, and saving.
- Research Skills. The most successful professionals do not reinvent the wheel. They take advantage of pre-existing resources. They establish relationships with mentors, embrace creative modeling, and devour resource materials in their field.
- An Understanding and Interest in the World. Only those who are engaged in the challenges, values, and realities of their communities are able to create products and provide services that fill gaps and resonate with others. Successful professionals are relevant.
When you play the career game with these rules in mind you will be well prepared for success.
Jacqui Rosshandler, Eat Whatever
March 14, 2010 By 4 Comments
A native of Australia, Jacqui Rosshandler now calls New York City home and is enjoying a new career as CEO and Co-Founder of Jacquean Products. Trained as a lawyer, Jacqui never felt at home in the structured corporate world and took an entrepreneurial leap on New Year’s Day in 2007 when she summoned the courage to give her new business idea a whirl. Nine months later, she had her new product in hand. [Read more...]
Plan B Job Search Strategies – Radio Interview
February 11, 2010 By 1 Comment
In November I was interviewed by Chicke Fitzgerald on Transition Solutionz blog talk radio. I discussed identifying your personal brand, playing to your strengths and the power of networking in the job search process. Check out the archived interview online http://www.blogtalkradio.com/resumelive/2009/11/10/transition-solutionz-series
Transition Solutionz has a theory. They believe that being in career transition is not a “lesser state of being”. In fact, they love the term “on sabbatical”. This show is for those that are unemployed, under-employed, self-employed and needing encouragement and those that may still be employed but looking for a change. It is time to reinvent yourself, to toot your own horn and to learn to focus on what you love and how to leave your legacy. Truly, the money will follow. I applaud Transition Solutionz for their empowered approach to career transition!
