Accelerate Your Search™ Now

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”  ~ Seneca

You have declared your desire for a new job — at least to yourself.

You have ‘itchy feet’ and are ready to walk out the door.
You want more recognition, satisfaction and compensation.
You are flat unhappy at work — be it with your boss or the work — you name it and you’re not pleased about it.

What’s holding you back from searching for a new position?

Is it time?  Fear?  Or a concern about your next salary level?

Maybe you are unsure of what to do first.  You know the marketplace has changed since you last search for a job.

Good news is that a little focus, clarity and planning will help you accelerate your search.  Here are 6 questions to help you do just that:

1. Why do you work?
2. Why do you really want a new job?
3. What value are you known for in the workplace?
4. What type of organization do you desire to work for?
5. Who do you know in the organizations where you desire to work?
6. How will you connect with the people you know?

Taking the time to answer these questions before you start to update your resume will help you in your quest for a new job.  It is easier than you think to accelerate your search and reduce job search stress.

Of course, if you need more clarity, you can dig a little deeper.  Ask additional questions to help bring sharp focus and clarity to your next career move.  What questions would you add to the list above?

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends using the links below!  Post a note, share your question and thoughts in the comments.  If you want help accelerating your search and landing the job you want contact me HERE.

No doubt you have heard of the “Golden Hour.”  In photography, it is that amazing period of time at dawn’s first light or the last hour of light before sunset.  In medicine, specifically emergency medicine, it is the critical period of time believed to make the difference in saving a life after traumatic injury.

Each of these references relate to a concept of time that when leveraged either creates or sustains important life moments.  One can mean life or death.  The other can mean an amazing image captured for eternity or lost forever.  While no two medical situations or sunsets are created equal, skilled professionals understand they must be fully present in each moment, apply their skills and leverage what is before them to ensure the best possible outcome.

Careers, too, have a golden period.  Professionals who are aware, prepared and ready to act can turn those periods into gold.  Conversely, failing to see or leverage critical moments can result in a traumatic blow to your job satisfaction or even the death of your career.

For all careers there are golden periods when making the right moves and decisions make the difference in landing your next position.

Are you like the photographer witnessing the dawning of a beautiful day, but without your camera?  Do you have the right tools to land the position you desire?

Are you ready for a new position?

What is the impact on your earnings for the next five years if you fail to leverage the opportunities presented in your golden period?

What do you need to do today to make your golden period work for you?  Post your comments and/or thoughts below.

Networking gets a bad rap sometimes.  I think it’s because networkers forget the basic reason for networking — connecting with people and building relationships.  That’s it.

The goal is not to get something from someone.  The goal is to get to know people.  People are amazing and fun — and great resources.

Here are 6 tips to help with networking, whether you love to do it or if you want to improve your skills:  

1. Identify well-attended events.

Select events that will help you expand your contacts within your industry.   Leverage the events you always attend and add other events to your calendar.  Look for events where you can meet new contacts.

2. Set a budget for networking

You will have expenses:  business cards, attire, event fees, food or beverage, or a donation to a charity or cause.  Be willing to invest in yourself — and do it with a grateful heart.

3. Set a schedule for networking

There are so many events you could attend.   Plan which events to attend, who to connect with, what to wear, and how you will follow up.  Having a plan and a schedule will keep you focused.

4. Leverage your existing relationships and connections.

Are there people you want to see or speak with?  Is getting an appointment on their calendar tough?  Seek events where you know those people will attend.  Connect ahead of time and arrange a time to talk at the event.  This uses your time (and theirs!) effectively.

5. Stand out in the crowd

Know how you want to differentiate yourself from others at an event.  You want to gain favorable attention with key contacts and those who can help you land your dream job.  Know who will be at the event and be open to the opportunities before you.  Don’t sell, rather ask questions and get to know people.

6. Leverage your online network and online events

Many events are growing and some events combine both online and face-to-face experiences.  If you get an “Evite” with an RSVP treat it as you would any invitation with an RSVP.  If you need to check in – do it.  Check the list for who is attending — you may wish to add someone to your “connect with” list.  If you can’t join in person and the event is live-streamed join online.

Do you have a networking tip or comment to share?  Post it below.

Are you at a four-way stop or a fork-in-the-road with your career?  Here are some of the signs that indicate you may have reached a career crossroad:

• You are bored,
• You are no longer a top performer, and
• You stopped learning and growing.

If you are over 40 and like most people, you think about your career and its future, at least once and a while.  You may be asking yourself, “What do I want to do for the next 25 or 30 years?”  Maybe you long for additional success or more satisfaction from your work.  Maybe you are looking to increase your income to help achieve other life goals.

If you actively managed the first 20 years of your career you no doubt have envisioned your next promotion or career move.  You already have a map or GPS system to guide your next turn.  Your four-way stop/crossroad will feel like a peaceful drive in the country on a Sunday afternoon.  Congratulations!  You will glide forward smoothly and create 20 more years of career success!

What was that?  You say you took a different approach?    Maybe you elected to abdicate managing your career to chance, your boss or the organization you work for — you are not alone.  Maybe you are someone who actually “quit” your job yet continue to show up and collect a paycheck.  Yes, there are quite a few who take this approach at the crossroad.

If you opted for this approach, I hope you are among the lucky few whose boss has been too busy to notice or hire your replacement.  Either way, you can bet your days of producing just enough to meet minimum expectations while hoping no one notices are numbered.

Whatever your choice, don’t worry, you can still quickly create a map to help you move forward from this crossroad.

Here are the steps to help you quickly move forward:

1.  Assess where you are and ask yourself, “Where do I want to be in one year? In three years?

2.  Decide how much time you will invest each week in managing your career.

3.  Create a one-year plan with weekly action items.

4.  Execute your plan.

Before you know it you will have map or GPS system to guide you through your mid-career crossroad.  The second half of your career and next 25 – 30 years is often the most fun, as well as the most profitable and satisfying.

Enjoy creating a sustainable, fun and profitable career.  It is an amazing experience!

In work, play and life relationships matter.  When assisting your department or team with projects and deliverables both internal and external relationships are critical.  The relationships you have with co-workers, bosses and vendors are also vital when organization leaders are discussing personnel moves.

According to data published by Great Place to Work Institute, 30% of positions in the 100 Best Companies are filled internally.  Your work does get noticed.

You need a strategy to build and nurture your internal and external networks.  What’s yours?  Is it any of these three?

1. Wait till you need something, then ask.
2. Help others all the time, hoping they will help you in the future, or
3. Create a balanced approach that includes getting to know people so that you understand what is important to them and creating results that are of value to your network.

You may have guessed the third strategy is the one I recommend.  It is too easy to spend time and energy on items that take up time yet net minimal real results.

Technology is a wonderful tool, yet it can too easily rob you of the opportunity of spending quality time with your boss, peers, friends, business associates and possible employers.  Take a good look at your relationships.  Ask yourself the following questions:

• Who are you meeting with face-to-face?
• Who do you need to add to the list?
• What priorities, outcomes or results can you impact now?  In 3 months?  A year?
• What priorities, outcomes or results can your team impact now?  In 3 months?  A year?
• Who knows you?
• Who is getting the results you want to achieve?

Being promotable requires marketing yourself and your results.  One of the more productive ways to market yourself is to understand, nurture and build key relationships.

What are three things you will do in the next 30 days to learn more about others, enhance your current relationships or connect with those who need to know you?

The recent news of high-profile data breaches has IT professionals reminding us of the importance of protecting our personal information.  Data breaches are costly to both companies and individuals.  If you have ever experienced a personal data breach you know how much time (and hassle!) it takes to clear up the situation.

Where is your career data stored?  Is is current?  Is it secure?  Can you access it with ease?

If you are exploring a new position or promotion, you are busy.  A commonly overlooked task is ensuring the security of your career data.  Knowing the location of your data, ensuring it is current and accessing it with ease is important.  When you can access your information quickly, people view you as prepared, organized and on top of your personal matters.

Since you are already gathering tax information this time of year, set aside a bit of additional time to gather, update and secure your career data.  Then, when you get “the call” you can quickly provide all the information requested.  You will be glad you invested the time to ensure your online career data is current, secure and accessible.

Your LinkedIn account is a good place to start.  Next, move to your email and company directory bios.  Finally, create a list of all your online accounts and move through the list.  Use the following six steps to assist you:

1.  Change your password.  Use different passwords for different sites.

2.  Review and update your “Privacy Settings.”

3.  Update your email or digest settings; turn off those you don’t need or use.

4.  Verify your contact information.  Update as appropriate.

5.  Check your links to websites and other accounts.  Update as needed.

6.  Read your profile.  Update as needed.

Final tip — take out your calendar and add an appointment in 90 days to review your information.  Maintaining your career data by setting regular appointments creates a simple habit that reduces stress and worry.

Does your LinkedIn profile need a little TLC?  Contact me to set up a LinkedIn profile review.

Life is crazy busy.  Full schedules, meetings, emails, social and professional association sites to visit and maintain and requests from family members — whew!

The thought of one more email, phone message or “to do” item is just too much.  Who has the time to stay connected to your network, possible references or past co-workers, right?

The impact of those beliefs may lead to a shrinking network or worse — you will be forgotten.  When you need your network most, it may not be there.  Relationships and networks require “care and feeding.”  If staying connected feels like a chore or a burden, your network will notice and it may negatively impact your relationships.

We all know people in our network that we haven’t spoken to in 20 years, yet the bond is so strong that when you do talk to them its as if you have chatted that morning.  Those people are the exception, not the norm.  I call them my “Ruby Connections.”  Those precious connections that will be there no matter matter what.

The truth is not all relationships are created equal.  Most business relationships need regular contact to maintain the connection.  If not, when you make a call as I did recently to an electrician, I heard, “You have been purged from our system, you would be considered a new customer and the wait for a service call is four weeks.”  I was surprised, but realized I had not cared for this relationship and knew nothing about the changes in the business.  Shame on me.

Here is a simple process I use to stay in touch.  It is not perfect — obviously, or I wouldn’t be considered a “new” customer in the eyes of my West Texas electrician!

1.  When adding someone to your network, also add them to a follow-up group.  For me, I assign these groups a letter (A, B, C, etc.) to keep it simple.  For example, I belong to an association of women golfers and all my connections from that group go into my “G” group.  You got it — “G” for golf.

2.  Follow up quickly with new connections.  Learn more about your connection, what they do, interests, etc.  See how you might assist them now or in the future.  Jibberjobber.com is a great tool for managing contacts.

3.  Schedule time each week to follow-up with those in your network.  I schedule at least 60 minutes per week for connecting with new contacts.  One hour allows me time to connect by phone, in person or by Skype.  For established connections, I schedule 30 minutes.

4.  Follow-up methods vary by person, type of relationship and type of last contact.  Mix it up.   I might drop a card in the mail for someone’s birthday or if I notice, through LinkedIn, that someone received a promotion.  Send Out Cards is one of my favorite tools.  I love to send cards, yet I hate going to the store.  Send Out Cards is so easy — it is done from my computer and includes a personal note.  It is printed, stamped and mailed all in minutes.   [In the interest of full disclosure I am a Send Out Card Distributor.]

5.  Finally, for people I see (or saw) on a daily basis I schedule time to really connect — an occasional lunch or coffee or maybe leave a note on their desk to say, “Hi, thought of you last night when your ball team won.”

The bottom line?  Draw water before you need it.  When you stay in touch and show people you care about them, the people in your network will care about you and be there when you need an answer, a referral or an introduction.

We all have time for the things that are important.

Staying connected is easy when you follow the five steps above.  Start small — pick one step.  If you are over-scheduled, look to next month and add one 30-minuted appointment to your calendar or the next time you jump on LinkedIn share a post you enjoyed with someone in your network.

It is often the simple things you do that brighten someone’s day and show you care.  Nurture your relationships and create a “Ruby Connection.”

If you know someone who can benefit from this post, please pass it on.

Do you say things like:

“Job search networking is so overrated.”  

“I hate networking!”    

“I don’t think networking is worth the effort.” 

“I have never known someone who got a job from networking”

What are your real feelings about job search networking?

Do you believe your network can help you?  Are you willing to ask your network for help?  How will you ask your network for assistance?

Having a basic understanding and respect for your feelings about networking is important.  Think about what you are willing and not willing to do to connect with the people in your network.

What is the size of your network now?

Would you like to build and sustain a larger network?

If you are just going through the motions of contacting people and asking for a job, that is not tapping into or building a network.  It is just asking people you know for a job.

In my view, calling someone and saying, “Hi, I am out of work.  Do you have a job available?” is a little like begging on the street corner.  It sure would not feel good to me.

On the other hand, reaching out to people in your network, sharing what you are up to and letting them know you are searching for your next position is a very different approach.  This type of approach includes specifically sharing the type of opportunities you are seeking and ASKING them to let you know if such an opportunity presents itself, whether inside their company or another.  Remember, these conversations can be very awkward if you haven’t stayed in touch.

If you hate to network, start with the people you know.  Reaching out to the people you know well and speak with often will increase your comfort level.

What is one of the best ways to learn to enjoy networking?  Just do it.  Get out there and try it.  It can be that simple.

Leveraging your network is one of the most powerful tools in your toolbox.  You may be amazed at the reach of your network.  Often clients are surprised at the power and generosity of even a very small network.  You may just discover your network is more extensive than you thought.

AND – once you reach out, make a plan to stay in touch and execute that plan.  Networking includes the word “work” for a reason.  It requires some work on your part.

Have an amazing week!

Share, in the comments below, what you like about networking.

You did it.  You made a mistake.  Now what?

Trust me, it is not the end of the world — even if you did something illegal, immoral or unethical (though, if this is the case, it will be a bumpier road ahead).  There is life after being fired.

This does not need to be the end of the road.  You are not the first person in the world to get fired.

First, sort out your emotions.  Take a breath.  Tell your family.  If there is something you need to address or apologize for, get it done.

This does not need drag you through the mud or scar you for life.

Second, if there is a behavior or attitude you need to address, decide if you want to address it or not.  Only you can do that.

Know that if you are an ogre who eats people for breakfast or you are the world’s cruelest boss, you have two clear choices:  1)  Find a job where it is OK to eat people and be cruel; or 2) Take an honest look at your behavior and the feedback you received.  Then decide — do I want to learn to alter my behavior or do I deem this behavior as acceptable.  And, by acceptable I mean it will not interfere with your life and future career plans.

Or if you’re thinking, “I am not an ogre, this was a minor infraction.  I was late for work again.  In fact, I am so mad I could spit nails because this is so unfair.  I can’t believe someone would fire me for this tiny thing.”

Again, you have two choices:  find a job where this “tiny thing” is acceptable or learn from what happened, alter your behavior and move forward.

I get it.  MOVING FORWARD MAY NOT BE EASY, but you can do it.

This may be a very emotional time.  Being without a job is tough.

Even if you lost your job through no fault of your own due to a layoff, there will be stress and emotional highs and lows.  I will say it again, and I do it with love and concern, this does not need to be the end of the world as you have known it.

There are many resources and services to help you.  If you want help, you can find it.

The resources and services from Career Centers, counselors and coaches abound.

My hope and prayer for you is simple:  

May you move forward quickly.  May you never stop believing in you.  And, may you never feel that you must walk this path alone.

Today, may you pause and not despair, may you see value in your unique gifts.

May you share your amazing talent and skills with your family, a new employer and the world.

May your career shine bright and may you light the world with your gifts, your work and your life.

You CAN find help no matter the reason you are seeking a new job– even if you were fired.  Your first step?  Decide you are ready to move forward.  Then take specific, consistent action and land a new job.

Do you have a question?  Post it below or contact me.

“A leader may not have answers to all the questions, but knows how to ask the right questions” ~ Unknown

The above quote came to mind as I recently concluded a call with a former client.  He called to ask assistance with a challenging situation — he and his spouse were both currently unemployed.

With both of their children in college, they are empty nesters and felt at a crossroads.  They decided they wanted to talk to a career coach together.  This was a new request for me.  We agreed to set up a call where the three of us would discuss their specific situation and goals and determine if I, or someone in my network, might be able to assist them.

Oftentimes the stress of a job search can be exacerbated by the assumptions or expectations of a spouse/partner or other family member.  Having clear, calm, thoughtful conversations with your spouse or partner is one way to address this challenge.  Here are some powerful questions you can use to guide such a conversation:

• What are your concerns about my being without a job at this time?
• What are your hopes [or fears, or concerns] about the next position I will land?
• What type of financial planning or adjustments do you think are necessary at this time?
• In what timeframe do you feel we should review our financial situation?
• How would you like to be informed of my job search status?
• How would you like to help [or be involved] in my job search process?
• How will you feel if I am unable to find a job with similar status or salary?

An open conversation does not always result in immediate take-aways or agreements, but it will open the door to ongoing conversations that will will clarify your direction and help create a vision to inform your long-term career success.

Do you have a powerful question to add to the list above? Post it below.