Regardless of whether you are looking for work or looking for a promotion, you own the results. One thing I greatly enjoyed about one of the companies that I worked for at one time was its ‘no excuses’ culture. It ingrained into all of us a refusal to excuse away our results. Try to think that way about your job search or search for a promotion or new job. Don’t accept any excuses from yourself. [click to continue…]
If you’re looking for a job in this economy, you need to stand out from the crowd to get noticed — and hired — by employers.
It’s as simple as that.
And here are three “guerrilla” ways to do it … [click to continue…]
Have you heard of Plaxo (www.plaxo.com)? This tool is growing in popularity due to its appealing and easy to use interface. Its purpose is to connect you to your work ‘network’. Many people asked why they need Plaxo if they use LinkedIn. LinkedIn seems to have a broader base of members, but you will find that you learn more about the people in your Plaxo network. It is ‘more than an online resume’ or work network. Think of it as a work networking tool with a small window into a little more detail on that network. It doesn’t go as far as Facebook with regards to personal information, and it feels more like a water cooler conversation at work in the break room. [click to continue…]
If you’re trying to make professional connections, LinkedIn is clearly the place to be. Everybody’s there, everybody’s connecting.
But I’m surprised at the number of people who haven’t given much thought to the image they’re projecting. [click to continue…]
You don’t have to look on the organizational chart, or read job descriptions. Office and desk placement aren’t necessarily giveaways, either.
That’s because there’s all kinds of power in organizations, and those with official power, or power that comes from positions, aren’t necessarily the ones wielding the power that affects the daily life of a work place. [click to continue…]
It’s one of those things we have to do, even if we find it a little disgusting. Like taking out the garbage.
But unless you put yourself out there regularly, it could be your career you’re trashing.
Try considering self-promotion as part of your job – you know, the “other duties as required part.” [click to continue…]
Companies win or lose in the marketplace based on their abilities to create teams of resources that work together to achieve a common goal. The team either performs well or doesn’t perform well. Companies are not an individual sport. The more we can think of our resources and players as one of a larger team, the better the service will be that we deliver. [click to continue…]
You’ll hear lots of variations on the “80/20 rule”:
- 20% of the people do 80% of the useful work.
- If you do the right 20% of the solution, you’ll fix 80% of the problem.
- 80% of your time is spent doing relatively useless stuff, but the other 20%, when you’re productive, delivers 80% of the value.
- 80% of this blog post is probably wasted, so look for the 20% that you can learn something from.
Whether the ratios are 80/20, 90/10, 70/30 or something else really isn’t the point. The idea is that not everything is the same: If you apply intelligence, you can work less and get more out of it. It’s a powerful concept, and often contains useful insight. [click to continue…]
This little snippet of career consciousness is inspired by the folks who brought you, “Dress for the job you’d like to have.”
The point of that advice being that you should start grooming yourself today – literally – for the position you want tomorrow.
It’s a worthwhile thought, although a little limited. After all, I’m a freelance writer and if I started dressing like I do now back when I was supposed to look like someone in authority, things wouldn’t have gone well at all. [click to continue…]
What separates successful job seekers from those who struggle to get hired?
Two things: clarity and motivation.
You must be clear about the job you seek, the results you’ve produced before, and the employers you want to work for.
And you need motivation to persist through long hours of research, networking, false hopes, and follow-up that may lie between you and your next job. [click to continue…]