How To Make The Most Of Those First 30 Seconds

Did you just meet the most important person in your career/business? Tongue tied and not sure what to do about it? With advance planning and creative thinking you can be confident you will know how to handle this situation should the opportunity present itself.

We all have had the juncture when we run into someone that we have really wanted to meet. Those who are prepared for the occasion will find themselves a step ahead on the career ladder or at the front of the line for business opportunities. Consider this, we all are bombarded with information; we meet dozens of new people with regularity. Ask yourself who do you remember and why?

Even in 60 seconds you can make an impression. The key is to make that impression a lasting one or one that will trigger instant recognition. How do you do that? Practice, practice, practice.

The most important step is having a pitch and then practicing it over, and over, and over. You need to be comfortable with your words. You are conveying a powerful message and you need to sound sincere and convincing. Above all, you need to look the part (if you find that you smirk at your own words then others will too. If this is the case, no one is going to be sold on why they should remember you.)

Start by boiling down your core message.

Who are you? What do you do? Why do I need to know you? What will make me remember you? Now that you have answered these questions read the results back to yourself. Is your message compelling, memorable, or is it just plain uninteresting and dull?

It's easy to change your message so don't panic. What is it that you do best? What is your strength in your job? Do you make people money? Do you keep your company's X out of the fire? Has you best suggestion been implemented? Have you just invented a new product? The list goes on and on. Utilize words that make people want to ask a question, drive them to ask you to contact them, or compels them to ask for your business card.

Now let's prepare to tell someone what you do best.

Here are some examples:

My name is X. I'm a top-notch accountant. I save my client companies X dollars every year. When I meet your team, I can improve your bottom line. Let me share some examples of my work. When can we meet?

My name is X. My new product invention catapulted my company to #1 in the category. I'm so creative that I can come up with a new invention/product in record time. I would be happy to share some of my creative secrets with your team. When can we meet?

My name is X. My marketing skills are superlative. My nickname is the marketing maven. I can brainstorm with your team with examples on how we can transform your marketing efforts. Who should I speak with?

Notice the action verbs improve, catapulted, brainstorm, and transform. These are words that create an image and leave a lasting impression. Think about words that express a call to action. Words that leave the person you are meeting knowing they want to follow up.

Keep on working at your message toward distilling down the core elements. The simpler your message, the better it will be received.

Be sure and ask for a meeting or the appropriate contact name. Make an effort to get a commitment for follow up. Do not just hand them your business card and smile. Use these tips to solidify your first impression in the first 30 seconds of meeting someone. Your career might depend on it.

JoAnn Hines' specialty is PACKAGING PEOPLE. Whether you want to be paid more, you just lost your job, or you want to progress in the one you have, Ms. Hines advice and expertise can help you transform your personal brand. She can show you how to package yourself and make your brand a hot commodity. It's easy once you know the ropes and begin to utilize her insider's secrets. She shows you step by step how to increase your visibility, credibility and marketability with easy to use tutorials and templates.

It is time to get started "Packaging Yourself."

Email me the Chief People Packager @ pkgcoach@aol.com

[tags]self-promotion,careers,visibility,credibility,packaging yourself, professional development,branding[/tags]

Premium Pricing And Service Excellence

My friend Melissa related a story to my other day. I asked her why she goes to a local hardware store that is more expensive for whatever she buys there than the hardware mega-stores. Her response both surprised and interested. Melissa stated that unless she knows exactly what she wants, she will go to the local hardware store even though it is more expensive. She went on to say that at the local hardware store there were plenty of people to answer her questions and that they were very knowledgeable. At the mega-hardware stores, she said she can never find anyone to help her and when she does, they usually are not able to answer her questions. For customer services people who were available and knowledgeable she said she was willing to pay more than she would at the mega-stores.

This got me thinking about premium pricing and service. Not the over the phone service. That is a whole other topic. But about face-to-face service in the areas of retail, food service, hospitality, personal services and financial/professional services. These are all areas where in spite of the mantra of "excellence" and "quality" the levels of services have spiraled downward over the past several years. This begs the question, what does it take to truly have excellence in the face-to-face service and only then have the ability to premium price.

The best people. This is a bit of chicken and egg. If people are paid minimum wage, are given no benefits, provided little or no training and given no development or career path then employers get what they pay for. That translates to poor service, bad attitudes, staff that is not knowledgeable and constant turnover. What does it take then to get the best people in any service industry or field?

Pay. Full time people should be paid a living wage. But if the wage is at this level, then the performance expectations and the criteria for employment must match.

Benefits. Full time people after an initial period of time (often six months) should be given a package of benefits. It is not unreasonable to include in this: medical and dental insurance, vacation, retirement savings plan and incentives for longevity and performance.

Training. The U.S. Government spends a significant portion of the defense budget on training. Men and women who protect and defend the country need the best and the most current training available. They need to know their jobs inside and out. Is there any reason why this should not be the case with any individual working in a face-to-face service job. Customers are the heart and soul of any business. So why do we insult them daily by providing little or no training. And the concept of "on-the-job" training has often become the only training. Training is a key area to improving service and retaining the best people.

Development. Most individuals not only want to learn, they want to grow. Whether it is expanding a current jobs or development toward a different or bigger job, professional growth is essential. Anyone looking at doing the same tasks day-in, day-out forever can only respond by providing poor service and always looking for greener pastures.

Career path. Where do the supervisors, managers, districts managers and executives come from? If the answer is they are hired "off the street" that is the wrong answer for this challenge. As part of development, service employees need the opportunity to move both across and up in an organization no matter how small or how large. With the required training and education, anyone who does a great job should have the opportunity to move into the management ranks of a service business.

These steps are not those of a "bleeding heart liberal". They are service industry business imperative to improve the level of face-to-face customer services. Only by providing the highest levels of service and any business expect to achieve customer loyalty and premium pricing. Otherwise, the battle for the basement will continue with service business providing rock bottom prices, accompanied by poor service, high employee turnover, dissatisfied customers and slim margins. The choice is yours.

George F. Franks, III is the founder and CEO of Franks Consulting Group, a Bethesda, Maryland based management consulting and leadership coaching practice. George is a member of the Institute of Management Consultants (USA) and the International Coach Federation. He can be contacted at: gfranks@franksconsutlinggroup.com Franks Consulting Group is on the web at: http://franksconsultinggroup.com George's weblog is: http://consultingandcoaching.blogspot.com

[tags]service, customer service, pay, benefits, pricing, employee development, quality, careers, training[/tags]

Managing Your Singing Career

As a professional singer singing on many sessions including, FOX TV, UPN TV Station ID's, O'Charley's and numerous others, it is not always easy to manage one's singing career - Balance that out with the hectic day to day and family time, it's not an easy task, especially when session singing isn't always 9 to 5. Even as an up and coming session singer, it's often difficult at best, to maintain a full calendar, paying the bills, and making time for friends and family. So how does one go about managing their career when breaking into the business? How do individuals break down their days and weeks into workable goals as they try to enter the jingle singing and session singing world? Those are great questions, and with the time remaining, I will try to incorporate some ideas that you can work into your singing career to try and improve your odds of not only obtaining session work, but do it in such a way as to maintain emotional harmony.

To begin with, most individuals don't really sit down and create a to do list, not to mention any goal setting of any kind and tend to work from a half-hazard approach. Let's start with workable goals and game plans to get started on the right foot for success. I've always thought it incredibly important to write down a to do list not only to keep myself motivated, but to actually know and remember what the heck I'm suppose to get done this day or week. If you haven't done so already, take time each day and set your goals and to do's in order of importance. I actually write the telephone number right by the name of the individual to be called so I'm not looking for any numbers making calls.

When starting a company to help up and coming singers, there were many loose ends and ideas that were not totally figured out. I often spent hours over a cup of coffee not only relaxing, but brainstorming and eventually, ReelMusician.com was born and has become widely known as the jingle singer's resource for breaking into the jingle singing industry. Make it a habit of getting out to Starbucks, your front porch, somewhere where you can dream and brainstorm. Whenever I start on an individual's jingle demo reel, I'm constantly looking at musical ideas and marketing avenues of best success for a particular singer and their working jingle demo reel – It's one thing to produce a jingle demo reel and another to look long-term at the singer's career path and helping them to achieve their goals. Make it a practice to take time out for yourself, relaxing with a cup of coffee and brainstorming.

As a former talent booking agent with the William Morris Agency, I worked diligently every day making phone calls and setting up booking dates for various country artists – many household name acts. When I first became an agent there many lessons that I learned and many incredible booking agents to learn from. While I realize that many of you reading won't get the opportunity to work at an organization such as William Morris, I am equally aware that no matter your circumstances, that you can learn from the day to day marketing of one's music, mistakes, successes and from others who are approachable and who are willing to give you some time and insight. I should make an important side note here, that just as when you give your resume to ten supposed experts, that you will receive ten different comments and ways that you should change your resume, you will have to watch out for all of the "experts" in the music industry as well. Take in as much information as you can and then sift it through what I call the ego colander. Is the individual real or are they looking to impress you with their knowledge and "wisdom."

As you approach music industry professionals about your singing career, what kind of demo tape are you running with? Is it smokin like the Smoky Mountains, or is it stalled at the level of an ant hill? Your demo ought to knock the socks off your listeners and leave no room for "Well let's think about it" – Your demo needs to speak "We will call you the next spot we get. If you have any questions at all about your demo, don't hesitate to contact this author for an honest opinion and any recommendations to make on your reel.

What does your press kit, bio pictures and CD sleeve look like? Is it quality or look and read like a member of the band or a friend put it together? Make sure that everything you include, going to any music business professional, look and sound like the cream of the crop. There is just too much competition out there to be running with sub par material. There are a multitude of resources for this kind of thing. If you need more ideas you may visit ReelMusician.com for artist press kit writing ideas, what to include, what not to include, and various artist resources.

What are you doing to maintain your contacts and music industry info. You better have a good rolodex system – one that allows for changing entries and overwriting. You want to keep up to date information with changing contacts and numbers and most previos conversation material close at hand. You can do this hand written, but as you know, it is a heck of a lot easier to maintain in the computer. The only problem I find when I talk to individuals, is that they don't continue to create entries or update them even with the help of the computer. I say whatever works, use it – Just make sure and have a filing and rolodex system in working order.

In closing, so much more could be written, and perhaps in future articles I will enhance this topic, but for now, keep at it, make sure you have set your goals with a to do list for each day and week, working with the best possible singer demo and press kit materials to go along with it and keep at it!

Mr. Gauger is a former talent booking agent with the William Morris Agency and founder of http://www.ReelMusician.com You may contact the author at tgauger@reelmusician.com. Free e-books "The Jingle Singer's Guide," and "Secrets To Great Song Demos," may be downloaded at http://www.ReelMusician.com

[tags]sing, singer, studio singer, sing commercials, gigs, artists, recording artist, reelmusician.com,[/tags]

Get Your Music Heard In Commercials And TV

Can you Talk the Talk?

I've worked in film and video for the last several years and have always been the one to place most of the music in commercials and TV shows I work on. What's surprised me throughout my career is discovering some musicians who know how to talk the talk, and some who don't. In my line of work, I would never know if a musician was a college student or a seasoned professional, provided they packaged their work and presented themselves correctly. So how can I tell? What do I hear?

Consequences of Not Talking the Talk:

The talk isn't always verbal, sometimes it comes in non verbal cues. They may not have a label on their CD or it's crinkled or smudged or looks like it was run off from my Apple II C computer in 1985. Presentation is important in that I should look at a CD in my hands and not even notice it. I don't want to think twice about it. And if I do notice it, the artwork is either amazing or it looks like a five year old put it together.

Jewel cases are often cracked. Perhaps this happened in route, but it's easy enough to buy a few padded envelopes to take care of this. And actually I prefer cases with spines so I can group the CD's I like together. This makes it difficult to do with skinny cases. They get lost in the shuffle, I have to take them off the shelf to see what they're called and ultimately they fade away into a jumble of discarded music.

I like CD's that come in groups. A mini box set of tracks for commercials and TV. The variety is what matters. A rock, pop, hip-hop, acoustic, and mellow collection of CD's makes life easier. I'm not forced to listen to the same thing over and over again. The single CD's that come in from musicians give me pause. The music might be fantastic and I wonder when they're going to send more. I often work with the same clients over and over again and they don't want to hear the same selection of music for every spot or show we do. I need fresh variety and the musicians who keep sending me their work are the ones who succeed.

Another headache I frequently encounter is when the tracks aren't laid out to spec. A simple beat of tone two seconds before the song starts would suffice and without it, my job is twice as hard. Maybe the play list or the duration of the song is missing from the jacket and I'll have no idea if I'm working with :30 tracks or 2:00 tracks. If I'm in a rush, I'll just skip over it completely and go onto the next CD.

And when the talk does come in verbal cues, that's the ultimate telltale sign. I might call a musician to find out if they have other work that sounds similar to a track I like. Maybe I just need the tempo quickened or a little more percussion. The musician will often blurt out "How much am I going to get paid?" before my clients have even decided if they want to use the track at all. It's not uncommon for a track to be used on a commercial until right before it airs. We may nix it because the melody needs to be reworked or the client may change their mind at the last minute. A seasoned musician would know this. They would understand payment isn't even discussed by me at all, that the producer on a commercial sends out all the contracts and payment.

Or, in their excitement they'll gush on about how this is the first time they're music has ever been bought and you can practically hear the tears bubbling over. While this is all very special, for them, I don't really have time for it. Throw yourself a party instead.

The Professionals:

But when I come across a professional, I know it. They're calm, they know the drill, they're happy to accommodate a fast turn around. They don't gasp when I say I need it the next day, or even in a few hours. And if they can't accommodate, they're direct about it. They don't stammer. They tell me when they can get it to me if at all. And if they can't help me out at all, they offer to send more tracks over as soon as they can for future use and wish me luck on my project.

I can tell from these professionals that they didn't just end up trying to compose for TV and commercials by chance. They researched it, they set up shop to specifically cater to my industry. Sure, they may be in a band and looking at their work for hire as a day job until they get signed, but they never let me know that. They don't make me feel as though they're doing me a big favor by lowering their standards for my product and client. They exude experience, whether they have it or not.

Their CD's are laid out to industry expectation. I know how long their tracks are, they don't name them obscure names like A Farewell to John Lennon. Instead they're called what they sound like. Jazzy Nights and Acoustic Melodies. Although not the most creative names, I like knowing I can flip over the CD and immediately recognize if this track might work just based on its name.

But more importantly I feel their confidence and faith in themselves. There's nothing worse than working with a musician who is unsteady on their own feet. Selecting music is a small part of my day. I might spend a half an hour in my week looking through CD's and I want it to work. I want to hear your best, I want to know that when I press play I might find the perfect track. If a musician makes my life easier, that's when I know I'm working with a professional.

Susan is a freelance writer and film and video professional based in New York. She has written a book Trax: Get Your Music Heard available at http://yourmusicheard.com.

[tags]get my music heard, get signed, music career, music advice, musician, songwriter, music on tv, music[/tags]

People Are Turning To Meaningful Songs For Emotional And Spiritual Relief

A New Breed of Aspiring Songwriters Is In The Making. What are the Sacrifices of the Solo Singer Songwriter in Today's Changing Culture?

David La Motte and Michael Alan are performing musicians and singer songwriters who share their experiences and insights about the hard work required to earning a livelihood in the music business. It seems everyday is filled with frequent questions and emails from aspiring songwriters from all around the country who want to know how to get started as a singer songwriter. The interest of song writing is on an upsurge of popularity as noticed by book sales and courses offered on the subject.

Clarification:

The first question David and Michael would ask when folks approach them with a myriad of questions is "Do you mean getting started as a writer of songs or getting started as a playing musician for a living?" The two activities are very different from each other and the first should come before the second both chronologically and in terms of importance. Serious songwriters believe that a well crafted song, a harmonious blend of music and poetic lyrics, can change the world by influencing the way we think about each other. The emotional input involved with delicately crafting words and music together can help heal a wounded heart and may even help in the healing of others who feel sorrow. This could only be considered a sacred thing and worth pursuing.

However; making money with music is altogether another issue which leads us to consider many other important questions. In today's music environment only a hand full of songwriters earn a steady livelihood as published songwriters. The streams of income, royalties, which a writer relies on, are an extremely delicate subject of negotiation and are forever under the scrutiny of the music industry.

The Art of Songwriting:

Where do ideas come from? Where does inspiration come from? For time tested songwriters the hard part isn't having ideas for songs, but keeping track of them long enough to scribble them down into a personal journal and coming back to them later. The process of taking a raw idea which may be a series of words and phrases will require much attention and rewriting to eventually develop the making of a suitable song. There are many ways to approach song writing and just about every songwriter does it a little different.

Warming Up: Free Writes:

In her excellent book "The Artist's Way," Julia Cameron notes that runners warm up every day. No serious runner goes out for a run and blows off the warm up because they warmed up yesterday. Writing, she argues, is no different.

Julia recommends that every writer fill three blank pages in a notebook every morning. This is not WRITING, with all the baggage that comes with it. It's just a warm up drill. The warm up writing does not need to be compelling, well-reasoned or insightful. It doesn't even have to be in complete sentences. In fact, Julia specifically forbids us to read any of our "morning pages," as she calls them, for the first few weeks that we're writing them. The only rule with "morning pages" is that you can't let the pen stop moving.

One caution, though; don't be disappointed if you're not swimming in song ideas at the end of this. Most of you will find that for the rest of the day you'll be in the creative side of your head, and this is the whole point of the discipline. Remember this is practice, no different than the piano. Keep the daily activity going and see if the seeds take root.

Music as a vocation: Should I quit my day job?

The word "vocation" literally means "calling." In order to play music as your job, I think you have to feel some sense that this is what you are supposed to do with your life. Otherwise it makes no sense. Long hours and hard work and lots of time away from family and friends balance against….well, very little money.

On the other hand, if you stick with it long enough and work hard and things go well, you may get to see a lot of interesting people and visit some amazing places as part of your work. And if you're really lucky, you might get to touch upon people's hearts. It's incredibly rewarding to get a note from someone telling you that your song intersected their lives at a point when they needed it. Some performers have been able to support themselves with their music, which is a privilege, though not without its sacrifices.

An important point about the "day job" question is that there is no superiority implied by not having one. Some of the best songwriters work construction, wait tables, and wash dishes. There's no shame in earning a steady paycheck. One traveling musician has a scissors sharpening business. He contracts with local hairdressers in towns where he is booked and sharpens scissors with fancy laser tools in the daytime and he performs in the evenings. It's been said that Mary Chapin Carpenter didn't quit her secretarial work in DC until after her first Grammy award.

The most foolish thing that someone can do if they're trying to get a music career going is to quit their day job too soon. The time to quit is when you've got no time to do it, and there's enough money coming in from your performances to support yourself.

The simple rule is to consider your music your primary job and work at another one in order to support it until the music is eating all of your time and paying you enough to let your second job go. If you quit your day job so you have time to work on music, you're likely to be short on the money you'll need to get your career started (You'll need to make demos, print press kits, shoot and duplicate photos, send out postcards, etc., but this comes later). Good luck with the journey….

David La Motte (author) is a musician, crafted songwriter, and performer in the US. Website: http://www.DavidLaMotte.com

Michael Alan (editor) is a published songwriter, with album & movie credits, who has lived and toured in the US & Europe. Website: http://www.MichaelAlanMusic.com

[tags]aspiring songwriters, singers, songwriters, music careers, performing musicians, song ideas, lyrics,[/tags]

Do What You Love, Love What You Do

Everyone dreams of a life full of love and adventure. But we fill ourselves with reasons not to follow our dreams. Instead of protecting us, they imprison and hold us back. Life will be over before we know it, so now is the time to really live life and love.

In Life Lessons, Elizabeth Kübler-Ross and David Kessler suggest that love is the only gift in life that is not lost and is ultimately the only thing we can really give. Start by loving yourself.

1. Love Yourself. To give love, you must have love. Too often we put conditions on love. Conditions on love weigh it down and keep us from loving completely.

* Be Compassionate With Yourself. Don't judge, criticize or beat yourself up when you make a mistake. Cut yourself some slack.

* Nurture Your Soul. Do things that make you feel good about yourself and make you truly glad you did them. Let the love in that's all around. Schedule and budget for these nurturing activities; pick something that will make you feel great and do it!

* Remove Barriers. Let go of conditions you place on giving and receiving love. Give love freely with no thought of receiving love in return. Receive love with no conditions or self-criticism. Remember the Beatles song lyric from The End, "… And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."

2. Love What You Do. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, in Flow, the Psychology of Optimal Experience, identifies eight major components of enjoying an activity. His studies on flow suggest an activity is enjoyable when at least one and often all eight components are present.

* Completion. We need tasks with sufficient complexity to challenge and stretch us to develop our skills but that won't overwhelm us.

* Concentration. The root of concentrate means to "center". We need tasks that allow us to wrap our mind around it and be challenged by it. Tasks that are too hard will overwhelm us; tasks that are too easy will bore us.

* Clear Goals. Stephen Covey tells us to begin with the end in mind, to know what we'd like to accomplish. A clear goal gives us a specific outcome that our mind can use to discern if we are meeting the test.

* Feedback. Feedback allows you to compare your outcome to your goal. It's a symbolic message that allows you to create order in your consciousness and shift your efforts if your outcome is off course.

* Deep, Effortless Involvement. Attending fully to what is happening in the present prevents our mind from filling with extraneous worries, thoughts and distractions. Applying all your relevant skills to meeting challenges focuses your attention completely, so you cease being aware of yourself as separate from your activity. You become one with it; you act spontaneously.

* Sense of Control. Developing your skills so you can reduce the margin of error as close to zero as possible and being able to influence a doubtful outcome produces a sense of exercising control in difficult situations.

* Self Concern Disappears. Protecting our ego, the image we hold of ourselves as separate from everything else, requires mental energy. Enjoyable activities with clear goals, stable rules and challenges well matched to our skills present no threat to our egos. Immersion in such activity strengthens our sense of being capable.

* Altered Sense of Time. Immersion in challenging activity causes how we perceive time to speed up (we look up and 8 hours have passed without noticing) or slow down (like a batter watching a pitch in slow motion). Complete involvement frees us from the tyranny of time and deepens enjoyment.

Pick an activity that has these traits and you'll love what you do.

3. Love in Service to Others. In A Simpler Way, Margaret Wheatley and Myron Kellner-Rogers suggest that any self-expression that is not meaningful to others is irrelevant and won't survive in a systems-seeking world. So expressing what you love in service to others is your task.

* Do What You Love. Identify anything that meets some or all of the eight criteria listed above for loving what you do. What would you do if money were not an object? Let your list simmer on the back burner of your subconscious.

* Combine Activities You Love. List without judging the things you love to do and how you might combine them. If you love writing, travel and spirituality, you might consider traveling to spiritual sites and writing a travel guide on how to get there and what to do once you're there. Or consider organizing, marketing and guiding travel tours there. Be creative; use your imagination!

* Serve Others. As you imagine possible manifestations of the activities you love, guide your imagination to ways that serve others. Remember, if you're going to make a living by doing what you love, you'll need others to pay you! Make your offering something others want or need!

Love and treat yourself well, learn what you love to do and do what you love in a ways that serves the needs of others! You'll be glad you did!

Copyright 2005, Fruition Coaching. All rights reserved.

Rick Hanes is a life and career coach, writer, outdoorsman, gardener and tireless advocate for living life with purpose and passion. He founded Fruition Coaching in 2004 to lead the fight against leading lives of quiet desperation. Check his website at http://www.fruitioncoaching.com to contact him about rekindling the fire of your life!

[tags]career, career change, career transition, career choice, love, self-esteem, happiness[/tags]

Career Motivation

In order to motivate yourself towards a successful and rewarding career, you need a combination of several factors to work together in your favor. These factors may include your own ambition and efforts to prosper, backed by the love and inspiration of your loved ones. However, it is important to remember that the ultimate responsibility of excelling in the career of your choice is yours and only you can work towards it to make your dreams a reality. While planning for your career development, you will also need to understand and analyze your talents, qualifications and skills that might help you in getting inspired towards the path of development.

Motivation Through Relationships

The people who love and care for you can make a great difference in your life in motivating and inspiring you towards a better career. Some of your closest relationships may work as a base of all your career improvements. These relationships might be the best and only reason for which you want to move ahead in your career and do well to provide absolute security and happiness to your family. It is the care and concern that you share in these relationships that might encourage you to achieve your career goals, which in turn helps you to provide the best of everything to your loved ones.

Motivation Through Leisure

You leisure time activities and associations can also help you in motivating yourself towards your career. It is important to interact with different kinds of people coming from different walks of life and professions. You also need to participate in the hobbies and activities that you enjoy so that your recreational requirements are also fulfilled. These activities help you unwind from a long day or a weekly routine and will keep you motivated when you are planning your career. Your entire personality needs to be taken care of in order to motivate yourself. Lack of relaxation and recreation may lead you towards boredom and depression, which in turn can diminish your enthusiasm and energy levels.

Motivation From Peers

One of the best ways to motivate yourself towards a great career may come from your present workplace itself. Attending seminars, conferences and meetings can help you in acquiring many professional contacts such as career counselors, academic professionals, supervisors and people with similar interests and career objectives. In the process, you may gain invaluable resources and advice from masterminds that might motivate you to a great extent. Seeing other people with the same or similar educational backgrounds and qualifications in higher positions can further motivate you to improve your own career prospects through sharing knowledge and ideas with them about how you can go about it. Just knowing that you have a great network of resource pool can be sufficient to motivate you.

Motivation From Your Mentor

Your personal mentor can be the most important person who can motivate you so that you achieve your career objectives. A good mentor can be your friend, philosopher and guide to direct you towards the road of success. A mentor will not only coach you and provide critical advice to support you in your endeavors, but will also introduce you with useful contacts and the right people to further expedite your career development process. The mentor can also measure your success and failure aspects and alter your action plan accordingly.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solution's Six Sigma Online ( http://www.sixsigmaonline.org ) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

[tags]free career advice, career change advice, career choice help, mid life career change[/tags]

The Hiring Game Guidelines For Employers

They say "bad luck in cards, good luck in love". How about lucky in both? Searching for an ideal candidate can be similar in some ways to a card gamble, and in other ways to seeking a partner... but the difference is not luck, but strategy.

Primarily, let's put this in common sense. As humans, employers tend to get somewhat anxious and excited about hiring a new player to their team. It is a bit like looking for a partner: you first see the outer package, then you get to know some of the inner package, but you are still unsure about how that will interact when the actual relationship takes place. The process is common – what if I take a further step and it does not work out? Then it would have been a waste of time, opportunity, emotional and physical energy. For this reason, most people tend to refine their search and look for little commonalities that feel familiar.

In the job market, however, there are further problems. Unlike relationships, hiring has specific and timely-based needs which have to be fulfilled. There are tasks to be completed, and the business depends on that to function in an effective and efficient manner. For that reason, the pressure to find an ideal candidate is increased, and timing becomes a critical aspect of the hiring process. Does that sound frightening? Well, it can be if the employer is not prepared to undertake the journey. However, in order to facilitate the process, we've decided to identify the major problems that are involved in hiring people, and provide effective solutions for each of them. Just like in love or cards, the hiring game has one basic requirement: you'll have to do your homework.

Problem 1: Job description

Many employers face problems when screening candidates for a position simply because the candidates are not suitable for that job. But why not? Did dozens of candidates apply for the job because they cannot read well? Most likely not. Failure to identify company's needs, job tasks, and required skills and experience is a basic problem in advertisements and job posts. Solution? Ensure you explicitly identify what the position is about, what the company is about, and what the candidate should be about.

Problem 2: Fast tracking

Hiring a candidate is an elaborate task. It requires patience, attention, screening, and strong evaluation. For this reason, it also takes some time. Yes, it is possible to find the ideal jobseeker very quickly – but it is not usual. Hiring out of desperation, failing to assess the required skills and experience from a candidate, and skipping the interview will probably lead to bad hiring. Is that a problem? Yes! Re-hiring is a costly activity, and it can affect staff morale, productivity and your time. There are many cases in which the current staff can make up for the vacant position for a while – and you ought to know that you are better off paying extra hours or benefits to your current staff, than hiring someone unsuitable and having to find someone else. Solution? Be critical and don't let your emotions negatively affect the hiring process. Remember to check for all the requirements, develop a sound interview, and be careful with promoting from within simply because it is easier.

Problem 3: Evaluation

Evaluating your candidate is part of the investigative process in job hiring. Unfortunately, about 16% of people that apply for a job provide fake or misleading information regarding skills, experience or education. Sometimes the position's advertised salary is based on the educational requirements of the candidate, or the experience. You'd definitely not want to overpay someone because they have provided fake certificates. Another problem is to fail to recognise cultural trends within your company and how that could affect a candidate, and vice-versa. Solution? Perform extensive background checks (sometimes it can be done with a few phone calls and Google). Check for the references, check for cultural fitting and how that could impact the candidate and other employees.

Problem 4: Advertising

In order to screen several candidates, you'll need to have several candidates. Most jobseekers are attracted by the message transmitted in an advertisement, and the media in which it was advertised. Failing to produce a sound advertisement will reduce your options in finding an ideal person for the job. Solution? Identify your target group and advertise for them. You'll need to ensure that you get exposure, and that your job ad is concise and positive. The Internet, nowadays, is a non-costly, effective and practical option.

Pedro Gondim is a writer and publisher for the Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors. The Institute is Australia's largest counsellor training provider, offering the internationally renowned Diploma of Professional Counselling.

[tags]Career, Hiring, Employment, Jobs, Interview, Communication, Anxiety[/tags]

Job! Money! Career!

Feel somehow your life is stuck in MS-OFFICE – The reality of life for MBAs is Excel or PowerPoint , I heard Google is catching up at campus. Having gone through this myself, (I am still not out of it!), having had the nightmare of freshly minted MBAs reporting to me every year ( 90% of MBAs in their first job believe that their first Boss in Incompetent) and struggling to manage their transition to reality, guess I am now in a position to give some Gyan on assessing your job and career moves. I crystallized these thoughts while discussing these situations with a friend of mine, her issues with the first job where similar to what most of you would be facing. Job!! Money !! or Career !!

1. Money is not Important: - I do not actually mean it, not that I am asking you to struggle through an insipid low paying job. I did that for almost a year. But the rules of taxation are such that anybody earning between Rs.5.00 Lakhs to Rs. 10.00 Lakhs per annum ends up more or less with a similar quality of life. So if you are just switching jobs for a few thousand more, think twice, it may not be worth it. Do not concentrate on money right now. It is not too difficult to make money. But nobody is going to pay you a higher salary because you ask for it, organizational decision making processes are far too complex. It is not how hard you work or how you please the boss that matters! I tried this for a couple of years to no effect. The crux of the matter is what "Value" you are delivering to the organization, if the Organization as a whole (at least the people who matter) sees you deliver value they have no option but to pay for it.

2. Evaluate Payoffs: - Any Company or everybody pays you to get a job done. The choice you have to make is whether you really want to do "that" Job. Here what you need to check is- are you emotionally enjoying the job. I have seen guys struggling through high-pressure and stressful sales jobs, because of incentives, commissions and Quarterly conference at plush location when they would be much happier doing a less glamorous job that they would enjoy. This is also seen in situations when people are stuck in so called "Corporate Office" positions assisting the Senior Management with their Excel or PowerPoint, although there is a glamour attached to being in the Corporate Office etc, check whether you are actually adding to your skills. You would be better off on the Shop Floor or Field Sales at a younger age.

3. Is the job utilizing your time or adding to your skill sets: - Skill sets are both technical and behavioral. For example if your talking of a Demand Planning job, a Demand Planner who has worked on SCM packages like i2 or Oracle APO/SAP APS will at the end of the day have skills which are highly valued in the job market, but not demand planning done in "Excel". Behavioral Skill sets are complex to explain but you know the usual set like Team Working, Leadership etc etc. This happens when the job offers you opportunity to meet a lot of professionals. Sometimes you choose a job if you find it adds to Behavioral Skill - after my engineering I opted to work as a Sales Person living on full commission for 6 months before my MBA, because that was a Skill I wanted and maybe because at the age 21 you can afford to take the risk.

4. What is Work Environment /Ambiance offering you: This is particularly important for youngsters. The world around us is changing, there are a lot of Indian companies, which are changing, valuing performance instead of loyalty, having global ambitions etc. Yet there are a lot of companies who are still stuck in the protectionist economy morass. Another method of evaluation is looking at lifecycle of the Company and the Products it sells.

If a company operates in a Mature or a declining market, it changes the whole worldview of the organization. The operations of these organizations would be tuned to maximizing returns in a mature or declining market through Cost Reductions- this always has cascading effect, Pay Packets, Promotions, Training Budgets or Publicity Budgets. At individual performance level, getting a 1% change in market share in a mature market is an extremely difficult job, so you may be actually struggling and putting in your best with minimal results, which can be very demoralizing. Also there are certain businesses or kinds of industries, which attract a particular kind of people.

Although at the first instance you may not realize it, in the long term you realize a cultural dissonance. In such scenarios it would you to shift immediately, if you culturally do not fit in the organization, there are three things that may happen:

a) You will never grow – because you would at a cultural level be an outsider

b) You change yourself to make yourself culturally acceptable to the organization and repent that decision

c) You would have morphed so much trying fit yourself to the culture that you become unfit for any other organization

That in short is my line of thinking. It is quiet contrary to conventional thinking of running after Money and Position. Concentrate only on adding to your Skills Sets and Experiences. The Economy is currently booming there are new opportunities being thrown up both for professionals and entrepreneurs. So if you have the right mix of skills and experiences making money is not difficult. In fact there are a number of companies who have kept important positions vacant.

In the Economic Time dated 19th March 2005, it was reported that the position of Vice-President(Sales & Marketing) of India's largest two wheeler manufacturer has been kept vacant for more than 6 months. Amazing isn't it considering that so many marketing MBAs are minted every year.

Most importantly you should remember that all this is not very important. Career is only a means to maintain a Lifestyle and living it up is more important.

Vijay V Bhat, Mechanical Engineer and MBA from Symbiosis Centre for Management & HRD,India, currently employed as a Consultant with Infosys Technologies Ltd. The views expressed here are his and does not represent his employer. He has previously worked with manufacturing and automotive companies in India in the sales and marketing arena. He has also taught students in the Engineering and Management fields in Indian Colleges

[tags]Job,Career,Money,First Job,First Boss,Evaluate Career[/tags]

Five Facts You Must Know When Changing Careers

Too often in life, we fail. We fail not because we set our goals to high and miss achieving our aspirations. Instead, we fail because we set our dreams too low and we achieve them. If we achieve what we set out to do then how is this considered to be a failure? Failure occurs when we are not fulfilling our highest aspirations. Theresa Castro, executive career coach and author of The Dark Before the Dawn: 70 Secrets to Self-discovery, provides insight on what anyone can do while they are in the midst of wanting to change careers.

ADOPT THE INNONENCE OF A CHILD

We begin our lives as children with lofty goals. For example, a child might decide that they would like to grow up and become an astronaut and travel to the moon. This child doesn't have the ability to place any limitations on themselves. They don't think about what degree they need to possess in order to be an astronaut. They don't become worried about all of the details that are necessary to achieve this dream. Instead, the child just knows that they are passionate about space exploration. When you are in the midst of a career change, think and dream like a child. Let your passions lead you in a direction that is right for you.

ELIMINATE ANY LIMITATIONS

Society, friends and/or family members can put a damper on your hopes and tell you that you are incapable of achieving your highest vision. You may be told that you are too old, not smart enough, don't have enough money, don't have the right education or experience or just simply are the wrong race or sex. The reality of these limitations exists only in the mind. You have the choice to either believe or doubt the limitations. That's right, you have a choice. You can choose to be like the great composer, Beethoven, who was once told by his music teacher that as a composer he was hopeless. Beethoven recognized that he would not be stopped by the label that his music teacher placed on him even despite the fact that he was deaf.

GET RID OF THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T SUPPORT YOU

When you are changing careers, you may find that you struggle with your own bouts of self-doubt. The last thing that you need is for other people to tell you what you should and shouldn't be doing especially when you recognize that they are not fully supporting your efforts. With these people (and we all have them in our lives), you will need to advise them that you love and care for them but you would appreciate if they kept their comments about your ambitions to themselves. If you don't eliminate outer sources of negativity, you will find your passions getting buried deep inside yourself.

RECOGNIZE THAT MONEY IS AS PLENTIFUL AS THE AIR

People sometimes don't pursue a particular career path because they believe that they won't make the same or more money than what they are currently earning. Again, recognize that this belief is a limitation. Work towards eliminating these thought patterns. Instead, realize that with any and every job, you have the potential to make as much money as you desire. That's right. You can make as much money as you desire. Even though Henry Ford was poor and uneducated, he dreamed of a horseless carriage and his dream became a reality of what we know today as the automobile. Thus, you must have the mindset that money is just as plentiful as air.

Do you ever find yourself concerned that you might not have enough air? Do you keep track of the number of breaths that you are taking within the day so that you don't run out? The answer is no and in fact someone would think that you are crazy if you thought that you were going to experience an air shortage. The same is true for money. The mindset of plenty is the first step in creating the wealth that accompanies your passions.

LOOK AHEAD

The best way to squelch your fears is to keep your eyes focused on the dream that you desire. Stephen Covey says that you should have the end in mind. Ask yourself, what do you ultimately want to become? What do you want people to say about you when you die? When you stay focused on your dream, it becomes easier to attain since you can then develop the necessary steps that will take you from where you are today to where you want to be. Making a career change then becomes less daunting and more systematic.

Keep in mind that if you work 40 hours per week then you will work about 2000 hours per year. Even if you are five years away from retirement, could you fathom doing your job for another 10,000 more hours? If not, make a change in your career. Your future and happiness are waiting for you!

Theresa Castro, MBA, dedicates her life to assist others to stop dreading the workday and to discover a passionate and fulfilling career. She is a career coach and author of The Dark Before the Dawn: 70 Secrets to Self-discovery and The Secrets to Discovering Your Dream Job. Visit http://www.DiscoverYourDreamJob.com for more information and to sign up for a free 3 day mini-course.

[tags]career change, career advice, career coach, career counseling, dream career, cool career, hate job[/tags]

Are You Networking On Paper

Are you ready to get started with your job search now that the New Year is here? Don't know where to start? Wondering where to find the hidden job market? One of the best ways to get off to a good start, of course, is networking. However, that's going to take a lot of time; time that you may not have due to the need to produce income as soon as possible. How about networking on paper?

Have you sent out letters to all of your contacts letting them know you are currently in search of a new job? If not, this is a great place to start. It will also take a little time, but you can save some time by composing a generic networking letter that can be edited to target or speak directly to each recipient. This form of networking is commonplace and highly acceptable in the business world.

The object of a networking letter is NOT to ask for a job from the recipient. It is to inform the recipient that you are currently in search of a new job and a few details of what you are looking for in a job. Include highlights of your strengths and accomplishments that will enable the recipient to better describe you and what you have to offer. If anyone in their network mentions they have a position available in your area of expertise, your contact will know what to tell them about you when they refer their contact to you.

Close the letter with thanks to your contact for keeping you in mind for any openings they may be aware of or become aware of in the future. You might also consider requesting they send you the latest information regarding their career. Create a file for your contacts and if any respond with information about their career keep it on file for future reference. You will then be in a position to return the favor should you come across something that may be of interest to them.

A generic networking letter should be kept in your career portfolio. With each step in your career you can update it to include highlights of new skills, continuing education, accomplishments, etc., just as you do your resume. It will also serve as a base on which to build your cover letter whenever you respond to a job posting.

So, start composing your letter now while the content is running through your mind after reading this posting which, hopefully, sparked ideas for you.

Angela Betts is a member of NRWA and has over 8 years of experience writing targeted, compelling resumes that will open doors to a world of new opportunities for you. Email Angela at angela @ angelabetts dot com or call 501-467-8768 for a FREE resume critique and to work one-on-one with Angela to develop your resume. Sign up for the FREE Career and Job Search Tips Newsletter Visit http://www.careerresumepro.com for more information.

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. Please email a courtesy copy to info@resumeritr.com.

[tags]career, resume, writing, salary, interviewing, networking, employee, job, search, professionals, cov[/tags]

Learn A Musical Instrument, Prepare For A Career

For a skilled musician, there is an additional career path that is invisible to the non-musician. This is an additional benefit beyond the pleasure of playing music, the attention it brings, and the better academic performance than students who do not learn to play a musical instrument. It is a broad range of extra career opportunities that non-musicians never even consider.

But if you're a musician, you can apply. Let's take a look at these careers that are available only to musicians

Education: Are you a musician who has also studied education? If so, there are numerous music education opportunities that may interest you:

§ Music educator at a college, conservatory, university; thousands of positions to apply for in both public and private colleges.

§ Music teacher at secondary or elementary school; thousands more all over the US and the world.

§ Private music instructor; there are hundreds of thousands of private piano teachers, guitar teachers, drum teachers, etc. working for themselves in private studios and/or teaching in a music store.

§ Music supervisor; many opportunities to oversee musical programs in both public and private venues.

§ Choir director; thousands of schools from elementary to college; thousands of churches who use choir directors.

Therapy: Are you a musician who has also studied psychiatry? You can practice the trade of music therapy in a wide array of settings. Some of the sources of employment for music therapists are the following:

§ Schools

§ Universities

§ Nursing Homes

§ Mental health clinics; the author worked as an assistant music therapist one summer when he was in college; it was a great experience.

§ Correctional Facilities

§ Private practice

Business: Ever wonder what it takes to work in business management? Besides business smarts, an ability to talk the language of music will take you places the non-musican cannot go:

§ Artist Manager or Agent

§ Talent Agent

§ Concert Promoter

§ Independent Radio Promoter

§ Music Business Entrepreneur

§ Music Business Consultant

§ Record Company Executive

§ Music Publisher

§ Tour Coordinator

Performance: Actors are more highly valued if they have a musical education. Today, with so few actors multi-skilled as they were in the era of the large studios, this can be a real advantage. Below are some of the jobs for which an actor who is also a musician may "incidentally" be qualified.

§ Performing artist

§ Soloist, instrumental or vocal

§ Studio musician

§ Background vocalist

§ Theatre musician

§ Accompanist

§ Church musician

§ Product demonstrator for instrument manufacturer

Movies / Video Games: If you study movies or video game production, a background as a musician will help you prepare for music-related jobs such as the following:

§ Conductor

§ Music Composer

§ Music Editor

§ Music Supervisor (to scout for music)

§ Arranger (to determine the mix of song elements per the conductor or producer's specifications)

§ Sound designer (of effects to accompany music score)

§ Jingle writer / composer

From education to video games, there are careers available for those who happen to have a background in music which the rest of us never see. Each of these fields requires time and study for proficiency, but they represent a career path that is nonexistent for non-musicians.

Sure, you already knew that playing music could improve your quality of life. Now you know it can improve the quality of your career.

Duane Shinn is the author of the popular free 101-week online e-mail newsletter titled "Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions- Intelligent Piano Lessons For Adults Only! " with over 84,400 current subscribers.

[tags]music education, music teacher, careers, music careers, music therapy[/tags]

Are You Living Your Career Dreams

Inherent within the human spirit is a desire for fulfillment, a longing to carry out our creative aspirations by reaching new heights of accomplishment. Yet often the yearning for fulfillment can be suppressed by fear and apprehension. Perhaps we aren't feeling good enough, smart enough or able enough to pursue and fulfill our dreams.

Uncover Your True Passion!

If you are considering a change in your career direction or wish to enhance your business to a new level, but are hesitant to make the transition, let me assure you that it is never too late to choose anew. As a matter of fact, many people change career directions several times throughout a lifetime and some don't even discover their true passions until much later in life. So, if you are not living your career dreams or if you're ready to take the plunge by trying something new, now is the time to take a stand and simply do it.

Step Outside of Your Comfort Zone!

For sure the one inevitable way you won't make your dreams a reality is by ignoring them. To bring them into actuality, you need to start someplace and usually the place to start is by taking stock of what it is you really want to do. The next step is making a decision that you are going to do it and then do the things that can lead you there. Because there are no magical answers and no formulas prescribed that will guarantee success, your job is to trust. But be assured, you'll be called upon to express boldness as well as a willingness to take chances, for the key to reinventing yourself requires the willingness to step outside of your comfort zone. How else will you know what you're made of or what you're capable of, if you don't explore your potential?

Where to Begin!

Not long ago, I met with a young lady who requested my assistance with some writing. She had a good deal of web designing expertise but she didn't know how to use it to her advantage. In spite of the fact that she was involved in a myriad of creative endeavors at her job, her title remained as Secretary. Although there was nothing wrong in being a secretary, the time had come for her to start perceiving herself in the new role of "Web Designer." The only thing lacking was confidence in her ability to step into this new role. I recommended that she allow me to create a dynamic bio and resume, which filled her with confidence. She was encouraged in a new direction and inspired to begin anew.

Never Too Late to Choose Again!

It is never too late to choose anew. Seven years ago the web was a new arena for me and although I had been a successful writer for a number of years, I didn't yet know the ropes of the web, although I knew the Internet held a lot of promise for me. Wishing to attract clients to my web site, I decided to make an attempt at sharing my expertise through newsletters and e-zines. I then began submitting articles to online publications waiting and expecting something to happen. Lo and behold, one morning when I least expected it, I opened my e-mail box to discover a torrent of inquiries. At first I didn't know where they came from and thought perhaps there might have been an error. Before long I realized that an article I had written had been accepted and published in a well-respected publication. Not only was it published but it also met with great interest. It was the beginning of a very exciting adventure on the Internet for me, proving my attempt and determination in moving towards my dreams was well worth the effort.

Having the Courage

Fear will prevent you from living your career dreams, but if you push through your fears and simply give yourself permission to do the very thing you've wanted to do all your life, you'll soon see things falling into place. Despite your fears and uncertainties, do what you believe in and things will start changing. Of course you'll have your moments and possibly doubt yourself at times, but remember nothing ventured nothing gained. Before long you'll have discovered what it means to be living your career dreams.

Charlene Rashkow is a Writing Stylist who has successfully written outstanding business material for companies and individuals for more than 15 years. Creating clever promotional materials, Charlene is well known for her press releases, bios, web site content, business plans, resumes, brochure copy and ghostwriting manuscripts. You may visit Charlene Rashkow at http://www.allyourwritingneeds.com

[tags]Living Your Career Dreams, Step Outside of Your Comfort Zone, Never Too Late, Having the Courage[/tags]

Four Brainless Self-Promotion Techniques To Avoid

Many workers think that their hard work will speak for itself. They quietly do their job and stay late at the office hoping that their boss will notice their efforts. However, when a job promotion or pay raise goes to someone else, many employees retreat into a corner, wondering what happened.

Many don't realize that talking about your accomplishments in a confident way is the best way to get ahead in your career. Promoting yourself at work doesn't need to be shameless and you don't have to brag.

Instead, you need to develop a savvy approach to self-promotion so you can get ahead in your career. Being able to effectively toot your horn without blowing the wrong tune can only happen if you avoid these four common mistakes.

1. Don't piggy-back off a tragic event to launch your self-promotion campaign

   The recent hurricane that hit the American states of Lousiana, Mississippi and Alabama left millions homeless and cities in ruin. Hurricane Katrina is turning out to be one of the most expensive natural disasters ever in the continental United States. The tsunami that decimated 11 countries in South Asia in December 2004 is yet another extremely devastating natural event. Many people were displaced and to date, over $2-billion has been donated world wide to help the victims of the tsunami.

   However, it's getting to a point where the publicity surrounding who's giving gets more attention than the people who lost their homes, belongings and family members. Celebrities, companies and even countries are taking this opportunity to boast about the amount of money they have donated. Some companies are even buying full page ads in newspapers just to show what they're doing to help.

   While Hollywood and Fortune 500 choose this time to brag about their contributions, this approach lacks dignity, tact and modesty. Don't make this mistake with your career. If your company just lost a major customer and is now facing a lawsuit for breach of contract, it's not the time to brag about a new process you developed while working with that customer. That shows poor timing on your part and you will look bad in front of your boss and colleagues.

2. Don't brag by putting down the competition

   On Season 2 of the hit show The Apprentice, one contestant, Ivana, was the project manager of a losing team. As she was making her case in front of Donald Trump as to why she should not be fired, instead of focusing on her strengths, she started to bad mouth another contestant. What made Ivana's comments so bizarre is that she focused on someone who wasn't even on the same team as she was. Incidentally, Donald Trump didn't look too highly on Ivana's comments and he fired her with little hesitation.

   Saying negative things about a co-worker may make you feel good, but this approach does little to raise your profile at work. When you do this, you appear to be uncomfortable with your own accomplishments. Instead, develop a 30-second commercial about what you do well. That way, you focus on your triumphs and resist the temptation of making your co-worker look bad.

3. Never include cheating in your self-promotion campaign

   Remember Enron, WorldCom and the adventures of media tycoon, Conrad Black? The executives of these companies cheated in order to gain success. Despite the fact that he was being investigated for diverting company money to his own pocket, Black was outraged and claimed that people should be thanking him for creating so many jobs, not spending their energy accusing him of stealing.

   The things you do at work may not include being investigated by the Securities & Exchange Commission, but there are some activities you may be doing right now that undermines your company's bottom line.

   Whether you take office supplies home from your company's stock room, take a two-hour lunch or overcharge your company for gas on your expense report, these actions are all dishonest. You'll make enemies at work very fast if you gloat about your dishonest deeds in the lunch room. Plus, this is a sure fire way to bring your career to a grinding halt as no one wants to work with a cheater.

4. Don't over-brag

   There's a business woman I met recently. I had read her book and I attended a few of her teleclasses. When I heard she'd be in my city on business, I sent her an email requesting we meet for coffee.

   We met and I immediately regretted it. You see, this business woman spoke endlessly about herself for the entire 30-minutes. Here I was, one of her biggest fans and most loyal customers, and my idol boasted about her product line and how much money she was making. This business women didn't take any time to find out who I am nor to learn why I'm her biggest fan. I walked away from that meeting and never bought anything from her website again.

   It's important to let others know about your achievements, but don't do this at the expense of bad manners. Find the balance. Know when it's appropriate to talk about your accomplishments and when you should hold your tongue. A good self-promoter knows the value of listening to others. This skill can work wonders for your career.

The way for you to advance in your career rests in your ability to self-promote. If you won't talk about your achievements, don't expect anyone else to do so, but remember that your goal is to be savvy in your approach and leave the brainless techniques to someone else.

Leesa Barnes, The Schmooze Coach, helps consultants, virtual assistants, professional organizers, coaches and solopreneurs avoid cold calling by developing a fearless networking plan. Leesa is author of "Schmooze Your Way to Success: 9 Fearless Networking Tips for the Shy, Timid, Introverted & Just Plain Clueless." Go to http://www.schmoozeyourwaytosuccess.com/ecourse.html and sign up for her free 8-lesson ecourse called "From Clueless to Fearless: Secrets from the Schmooze Coach."

[tags]networking,self-promotion,brag,toot your horn,Leesa Barnes,interviewing,business women,career tips[/tags]

Seven Networking Tips For Happiness And Survival

"It's not what you know, or who you know…it's who knows you!"
Over the course of my career I've come to believe that if employees were to make that statement to themselves every day on the way to work they would find themselves getting more done and enjoying work more. Fact is, however, that most employees don't realize the value of that statement until they've been "let go", "re-engineered" or just plain "fired".

Networking is the cornerstone of success. Even if you are employed. Here's why: think about a successful person you know. Got one? Great! Now do you think that person became successful on their own? Of course not! Everyone who has ever been or ever will be successful has, at some point in their life, stood on the shoulders of others. Not in a punitive or mean-spirited way. Rather, in a supportive way.

I like Dr. Phil. To me, he makes common sense… sensible. Yet, for all his talent and gifts even he will acknowledge that were it not for Oprah, he would not be enjoying the kind of celebrity status he now has (and deserves!). Success is not something one can do alone. Everyone needs someone at some point that can help them get from where they are to where they want to be. It's jus that simple (thanks again, Dr. Phil).

So rather than wait for the hammer to fall on your head, if you're currently employed and you're not networking every single day of the week, then you're name had better be the one on the storefront. If you're unemployed and you don't know the value of networking, then that may be another reason why you're unemployed. No man is an island. No man stands alone!

Here are some tips for those who fall on either end of the employment / unemployment spectrum. I can almost guarantee that these tips will make the worksite more meaningful for those of you who are employed, and will hasten the process of getting hired for those of you who are seeking. Ready?

Rule #1: Make networking something that you do everyday for the life of your career and not just a practice to follow either occasionally or between jobs. If you don't take away anything from this article, remember this. There is a reason why this is Rule #1

Rule #2: Work at maintaining positive relationships. My grandmother used to tell us, "People judge you by the company you keep. Show me the crowd of people you hang around with and I'll tell you the kind of person you are." That advice kept me out of a lot of trouble and has proven to be true in the workplace as well. If you want to be promoted, hang out with ambitious, career-minded people. If you want to be known as a "problem-solver", then associate with other problem-solvers or visionary people. You can't soar like an eagle if you stay in the henhouse with the rest of the chickens.

Rule #3: Attend networking events. Don't have one in your area? Then start one. Focus on being around other people with similar interests ( see Rule #2) and it doesn't have to be about career-related topics. For all you know, you might share the same hobby or passion with a top executive in a company you'd like to work in. Opportunity rarely comes knocking if you never move past your living room. Get out and meet other people. Worse that can happen is you might meet a friend.

Rule #4: When you collect business cards, make sure you follow up. This is a very common mistake jobseekers and employees make. After spending a great deal of time and preparation in getting to meet someone, they often fail to follow up. Hint: Immediately after you get a business card, write the date, location and any key words that will jog your memory about the person on the back of the card. When you make an attempt to reconnect with the person, be persistent. Don't let an unreturned phone call be the reason you back off. It could very well mean that the person is busy with other things and not able to sit and wait for your call. Stay with it!

Rule #5: It's okay to be excited. Most people think if you demonstrate excitement about a job or an opportunity that would be interpreted as being "desperate". Well, after an overdrawn stint of being unemployed or remaining is a position you can't stand, wouldn't you desperately want to have your ideal career come to fruition? Ah, yeah! The why not show your excitement when the opportunity presents itself. As a former recruiter, I appreciated candidates who revealed their enthusiasm about coming to work for my company. It's a "likeability" factor that impresses others.

Rule #6: Be who you are. During the course of my career, I tried to emulate my supervisor and his other cronies by wearing monogrammed shirts, laughing at jokes that I really didn't find amusing and trying to fit in with "the boys". As a result, each day I came closer and closer to losing sight of who I am and what I want. The Life stepped in and I was "let go" due to a bad economy. What a blessing that was! As I look back, I realize the lesson I learned is that I have to be true to myself. No employer can pay you enough money that would be worth selling yourself. Don't sell yourself for a paycheck. Be yourself and trust that you will attract the kinds of opportunities and circumstances that compliment who you are.

Rule #7: See Rule #1

John P. Carvana has been a career serivce practitioner for almost thirty years. He has worked as a Corporate Recruiter with a Fortune 500 and has held management level positions with some of the most prestigious universities in America. He has helped hundreds of job seekers prepare for and succcessfully enter their desired career path.
John is a certified Career and Life Purpose Coach and specializes in assisting individuals thirty (30) years and older with finding their carer passion, identifying obstacles and beliefs that sabotage success, and with entering (or re-entering)the job market. He specializes in effective resume development and helping others master the skills to conduct interviews that get results.
John resides in Stockton, California and enjoys a great life with his wife and high school sweetheart, Joanne, and their two children, John II and Jena Kathleen.
For more information, visit John's website at http://www.discoveredpurpose.com, send him an email at jcarvana@comcast.net or give him a call at 209.479.2165
© John P. Carvana, LPF Consulting

[tags]networking, employment, career, fired, unemployed, Dr Phil, Oprah, relationships[/tags]

Ten Things About Your Career Development

There are some tactics you can action whatever you wish for from your career. Whatever you might think right now, you have all the tools you need for a career which give you joy and fulfilment. You might not think that possible, or that it will leave you cash poor. But that's not usually the case. Your life can change within your control.

Those who are the best at Career Development...

1. Recognise Unease

   They see within themselves that they are not as happy as they should be and take steps to find out why.

2. Get Creative

   Through the murk and confusion, they are able to step back and see the big picture and leave nothing out as options.

3. Understand their Values

   By finding out just what is truly important to them - what gives them a real buzz, they use this to create a picture of what it is they want from their career.

4. Devise Tactics

   And so they plan, step by step to see what they can leverage from their current role. What they have elsewhere that they can utilise. All to prepare for moving towards their future

5. Have a Goal

   And they have a Vision; a goal that they want to get to. This gives their activities towards their Career Development energy and focus.

6. Prioritise

   Yet they take it step-by-step, in line with other parts of their lives. Unless they feel there is a moment now where the time has come to make a dramatic step, they take their time, priority by priority, to prepare the way.

7. Are Focused

   The best at Career Development are able to deliver their existing role, keep their eye on the future ball as well as preparing themselves for the next challenge.

8. Know their Strengths

   Vital to be clear on, many who are those round pegs in the square holes strive to get much, much better at the things they struggle with. Bad idea. Top performers work their strong points well and delegate the rest - or find a different role.

9. Are Ambitious

   These folks are on a mission. They want the best for themselves. The very best stop at nothing to get there and use some skills which may verge on selfishness, both in the workplace or in their domestic setting.

10. Plan

    Often they may map out their Career Development way into the distance. Truth is they are very unlikely to take their future by chance.

You can take control over your own destiny - but only 100% of the time, no less. And no-one else will.

Copyright 2005 Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, executives and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com.

(Note to editors. Feel free to use this article, wherever you think it might be of value - it would be good if you could include a live link)

...helping you, to help your people, to help your business grow...

[tags]career,career development,future,change,enployee,staff,promotion,management,business[/tags]

Careers In Grass Mowing

There is a lot of money to be made in mowing the grass especially as people in the United States age. The Baby Boomers are now turning sixty and they do not want to be out on the grass unless they are playing golf with their buddies. This means that so many are selling their homes and moving into retirement areas or condos, where they do not have to deal with gardening or cutting the grass.

This is where your career takes a major change to focus on this great opportunity. You see there is big money in doing such things for those who cannot or will not do it for themselves. The great thing about cutting grass is with a couple hundred accounts you can make lots of money and more than you would working 9-5 in a corporation with a big college degree you see?

Those who cut grass and do minimal gardening can make easily $50-60 per month per account and with a few hundred accounts built up that is a lot of money per month with little equipment purchasing outlay. Meanwhile while your customers get fat watching you take their money you will remain lean and trim since you are working outside.

There are a lot of people making a lot of money cutting grass and mowing lawns and it stands to reason in the future there will be many more customers available who need this service. Needless to say lawns are a growing business in a growing field of opportunity. So consider all this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

[tags]Careers in Grass Mowing[/tags]

How To Keep From Sounding LIKE Totally Stupid

June is reality check month. Lots of the resolutions have been made and most are already broken. It's time to take a hard look at where you are going in 05 and beyond. One of the most important things you can do for yourself is to update all your personal credentials including your bio & your resume.

Have you done your spring cleaning (professional) yet? Do you have solid career plans for the balance of 05? Why are you waiting to get started improving your career?

Ask yourself these questions:

How dated is the material that you have been using to present your skill sets? Is the language professional? Are you using current, contemporary lingo in your materials? When was the last time you spent time assessing your personal portfolio? I know it's hard to think about those aspects of your career, but believe me its time well spent.

Look at your resume, does it seem "dated." The resume today is nothing like those of the past. So if it's not current, it will immediately present a negative connotation about your "contemporary-ness"

Have you ever seen a celebrity on TV who sounds illiterate? They are stars, so people over look how dumb they appear to be. That is not going to work for you. You will be evaluated by both your verbal and written skills. Can you put together a coherent sentence without using the word LIKE? If not, you better begin to practice your pitch. Start with a written a paragraph about what you have accomplished, what do you have to offer. Write it down and then read it over and over. Does it make sense? Does it grab your attention? Does it compel people to ask more?

If not, try different version, substitute words, refine and hone down your core message so you sound credible and believable. Action words are really important you want to convey an image. If you need help, get a thesaurus and look for synonyms of the words you plan to use in your pitch. Tip: If you never use big or unusual words, don't start now.

Are you good at small talk? This is a great way to open a dialogue or keep one going. The best method for small talk is to find something in the news (not political), but something that has a broad based appeal. Look for a topic that will elicit a response. Just pull a few ideas from recent news: spelling bee winner, final episodes (TV). Get the picture?

First impressions count! Have you heard someone speak that you thought was a total dork? What turned you off? Did they look slovenly or unkempt? Were they dressed appropriately? Did they sound incoherent with poor speech patterns? Appearance is one benchmark that will immediately determine how receptive the listener is to what you have to say. Do you have colleagues and associates that either turns you off or on when they speak? Pay attention to their style of speaking and mannerisms. What attributes do you like? Are they funny? Humor always has a way of breaking the ice or diffusing an uncomfortable moment.

If, in a chance meeting, you run into someone you consider to be important, do you sound like a bumbling fool? It's easy to prepare yourself to put your best foot forward. All it takes is practice. If you are not sure how professional you will seem, practice now. Find a friend or colleague and engage in dialogue. Don't talk to them about work, but in general conversation ask them to critique what you said. Were you interesting? Were you engaging? Did you talk too long or sound boring? Did they want to keep the conversation going? Establish a comfort level with your words and speaking style. Adapt it to what you are like and don't imitate anyone. Create you own unique personal speaking style.

JoAnn Hines' specialty is PACKAGING PEOPLE. Whether you want to be paid more, you just lost your job, or you want to progress in the one you have, Ms. Hines advice and expertise can help you transform your personal brand. She can show you how to package yourself and make your brand a hot commodity. It's easy once you know the ropes and begin to utilize her insider's secrets. She shows you step by step how to increase your visibility, credibility and marketability with easy to use tutorials and templates.

It is time to get started "Packaging Yourself."

Email me the Chief People Packager @ pkgcoach@aol.com

[tags]self-promotion,careers,visibility,credibility,packaging yourself, professional development,branding[/tags]

Job Search Lessons From The Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is a game but, like sports in general, it offers useful life lessons that we can take with us . . . if we only look below the surface. As I watched the game, I saw a number of things. How many did you see?

1. Winning is a team effort. The teams that make it to the game don't get there by accident. There are teams of planners and leaders who are constantly evaluating player performance and performing competitive analysis of the team and its capabilities with others. Scouts are looking to improve it. A GM looks at the draft and player cost to see where he can improve. Trainers and doctors are reviewing medicals. And then the coaches start getting involved.

You need to look at your own career in the same way in advance of when you need to make a job change. What is the market like for what you do? Do you excel, are you ordinary or below average? What can I do to upgrade my skills before management starts looking for lower cost alternatives? What is my real value (and understand that is a changing figure both up AND down)?

2. It is important to network to develop close and effective relationships with other professionals in your field. When management starts looking to hire new players, they are working with player agents who they often know from other negotiations. Doesn't that make the process smoother for everyone?

3. Attack your search like your life depends on it. Teams often come out attacking their opponent on both offense and defense. You need to attack your search with ferocity and not casually.

4. If your plan isn't working, make adjustments. Both teams enter the locker room with concrete feedback about their plan and how it's working or not working. If your plan isn't working as well as you like, change it using the feedback you're getting, just like the pros do. Analyze what is working and what isn't and adapt.

5. Keep a level head about you. It's one thing to play with a lot of emotion on the field, but it's hard to sustain for 60 minutes. Both the Eagles and Patriots came out with aggressive blitzes early in the game and attacking offenses before settling into a rhythm. In job searching, you may start off the search with a lot of fervor, but you need to remember that a search can take a long while. You need to manage your emotions for a 60 minute game and not just the first quarter.

6. Try not to be predictable. A football team that runs the same plays in the same sequence or under the same circumstances becomes predictable and other teams learn what they will do and will out perform them

7. Big mistakes can be critical. It's one thing to be defeated on a play or a series. It's another to make a bad call and be left exposed to a big play at a critical time like the Patriots did letting the Eagles back in the game with a 30 yard touchdown late in the game. When you get to the end of the search, it is best to have an agent negotiate for you, rather than leave you exposed to your own emotional whipsawing; if you aren't being represented by one, try to get input from trusted advisors with real knowledge (not your uncle who knows nothing about your industry but has good intentions).

8. Planning starts as soon as the game is over. As soon as the teams walked off the field, I can assure you that both will be planning for change for the next season and will take steps to rectify perceived weaknesses. What that means for you is that you continue your career development, training and networking even when you've just started a job. After all, the time when you have the most leverage in a negotiation is when you don't need a new job.

© 2005 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman - Concepts in Staffing

Jeff Altman has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is also co-founder of Your Next Job, a networking group focused on assisting technology professionals with their job search, a certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist. For additional job hunting or hiring tips, go to http://www.newyorkmetrotechnologyjobs.com

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at jeffaltman@cisny.com (If you're looking for a new position, include your resume).

[tags]jobs, employment, career, resume, hiring, Super Bowl, job, job search[/tags]

How To Get Heard In Meetings

Think about the last meeting you attended at work. After the meeting, did you feel that everyone heard what you had to say and your ideas were taken seriously? Or did you leave frustrated because louder or more forceful people dominated the meeting? If so, you need to take control of the role you play in meetings. Here are 7 quick tips to get your ideas heard in your next meeting:

1) Prepare before the meeting. Know what you're going to say. If you're a person that gets tongue-tied in a meeting, make sure you prepare your comments in advance. Look at the agenda and plan the key points you want to cover.

2) Get on the agenda. Don't wait until the meeting. Ask the meeting leader to put your topic on the agenda so you have a scheduled time to share your ideas.

3) Run the meeting. Talk to the meeting leader and offer to help by running the next meeting. That way you can control the conversation.

4) Offer to take notes on a flip chart. If you're not comfortable running the meeting, you can offer to stand up and capture the ideas on a flip chart. That will make it easier for you to add to the ideas, since you're the one recording them.

5) Interrupt other people. For many of us this is very uncomfortable. We want to be polite and wait our turn. Unfortunately, in some meetings, only the loud and pushy people get heard. Realize that sometimes, you can't wait for a break in the conversation and interrupting is the only way to get your point across.

6) When you don't get a response to an idea, repeat it again. In some meetings, so much is going on at the same time, you may need to say your comments again. Or you may need to rephrase then so people understand their importance.

7) Take credit for your ideas. If someone else repeats something you've said as their idea, don't get upset. You can remind the group that it was your idea by thanking the other person for supporting it. You can say, "John, that ties right into what I said a few minutes about the delivery problem. As I mentioned, this is a key area we need to address. Thanks for your suggestion."

If you really want to get heard in meetings, you need to work at it. Try new strategies and see what works best for you. At the end of every meeting, ask yourself what went well and what else you could have done. Make notes and use those ideas to prepare for the next meeting to make sure that you get heard.

This article comes with reprint rights providing no changes are made and the resource box below accompanies it.

Laura Browne is the author of a practical & easy-to-use book for women, Why Can't You Communicate Like Me? How Smart Women Get Results At Work. To register for her Free Teleconference on How To Deal With Difficult People, go to http://www.inyourfaceink.com (This book is available at the website and at Barnes & Noble online.)

When Laura isn't writing, she helps women be more successful through WOMEN Unlimited, a nationally recognized resource for cultivating leadership excellence, http://www.women-unlimited.com

[tags]Meetings, Career, Listening[/tags]

Stepping Stone Jobs

What we name something matters.

It sets a tone that alters our attitude.

Give something a new name and the difference may seem insignificant or even trivial.

However, if it changes our attitude, it can amount to a very big change.

Recently, I heard the term "survival job."

I understood this to mean a job that is often part-time and unrelated to one's primary career focus. One takes such a job because one's previous position has been eliminated, out-sourced, down-sized, off-shored, or otherwise zapped.

I heard this term a few times and thought, "Why does the phrase 'hunker-down' come to mind?"

The term suggests an image of bunkers, flack jackets, helmets, and a sound track of voices shouting "incoming!"

That doesn't exactly give a warm, fuzzy feeling, does it?

Maybe we can't change the immediate reality of making ends meet as rapidly as we might wish, but we can change our attitude by some imaginative and empowering nomenclature.

Suppose a "survival job" becomes a "stepping stone job?"

What difference would that make?

Well, the whole notion of heaving a sigh of relief at getting through another day with body and soul in one piece changes.

Our focus is on where we are going and what we are learning in the process rather than braving another day in the wilderness.

After all, if are in this temporary situation anyway, why not make it a transition to something better?

Why make it sound like a reality TV show where the whole world is on the verge of voting us off the island and into a shark-infested bay?

It may be a small change, but it alters the internal landscape and engages the mind in a powerful way because it changes attitude.

And with a new attitude, we will do lots more than just survive.

About The Author

Copyright 2004 by Tony Papajohn.

Tony writes and speaks on success. Subscribe to his free SuccessMotivator e-zine at http://www.successmotivator.com.

tony@successmotivator.com

[tags]jobs,career,success,goals,managment,business[/tags]

Can You Actually Fail A Personality Quiz

Q. I didn't get a job that I interviewed for. The employer told me that I had "failed" the personality quiz. How is that possible? Does this mean that I have no personality?

A. "Fail" is a pretty strong word when it comes to taking a personality quiz. In fact, it is so strong that it makes me wonder about the professionalism of the potential employer that administered the personality quiz to you.

There is no pass/fail in a personality quiz; especially an employment personality quiz. There are simply factors that are important to the employer that either are, or are not, present in your personality.

To say that you "failed" the personality quiz is a misnomer. You simply did not have some personality traits that the employer deemed important for the particular job that you applied for.

Other than the fact that they insulted you, they probably did you a favor by giving you that personality quiz. By screening you out based upon a certain personality profile, they saved you from accepting a job that you would probably have ended up hating and leaving after a short while.

A personality quiz is an interesting animal. There are actually many different types. You've already encountered a pre-employment personality quiz, but that's not the only type out there.

Before we go off into the subject of a personality quiz, it's important that we agree upon the definition of the term personality. Let's keep it short:

Your personality consists of all the traits and behaviours that make you unique and that determine how you are likely to act in any given situation.

Given that this definition is true, then a personality quiz is designed to measure those traits and to quantify them into some meaningful profile that enables someone to predict how you will behave.

Is that really possible? Yes, in most instances it is possible to accurately how someone is LIKELY to behave under a given set of circumstances. The key word here is LIKELY. We've all seen or read about people who have exhibited extraordinary acts of heroism who were otherwise thought of as a most unlikely hero due to being timid, shy, young, or whatever.

It is not possible to totally predict anyone's behaviour no matter how sophisticated a test is or how educated the person who designed it was.

While the pre-employment personality quiz is designed to match candidates with job vacancies and predict the likelyhood of that candidate thriving in that particular business' culture, there are also other types of personality quiz that are used for other purposes.

Closely aligned to the pre-employment personality quiz is the promotion candidate personality quiz. A quiz of this type is designed to match the personality of an existing employee, who is being considered for promotion, to the type pf personality that is needed to survive in the position for which there is a vacancy.

A relationship personality quiz is designed to test the compatibility factors between two people. It measures those traits that have been determined to promote a long term relationship.

There is also a type pf personality quiz that measures a person's sanity. It is typically used by the legal system to determine if someone is "legally insane" and can be held accountable for their actions in a court of law.

And then there is the personality quiz that is designed for entertainment purposes only. These are typically found in magazines and are developed by writers for the sole purpose of amusing their readership if not for simply filling pages.

You shouldn't put too much weight on your scores for this type of personality quiz. The questions are rarely scientific and there is no sense getting your panties in a wad over something that has no real merit.

As far as the "scientific" personality quiz is concerned, none of them are 100% accurate and a skilled quiz taker, or a pathological lier, can skew a personality quiz to meed their own purposes. Like anything else that can't be seen, touched, or smelled, take these personality quiz results with a grain of salt.

----------------------------------------------------------------
Brian Fong run the popular quiz site
http://www.QuizFaq.com
Quiz Faq - Your solutions for the quiz. ----------------------------------------------------------------

[tags]quiz, online quiz, quiz faq, personality quiz, job, career[/tags]