Accelerate Your Search™ Now

In 2012, I posted the article Did you get career advice from your mother? about the some of the career advice I had received from my mother early in my career.

As Mother’s Day approaches and I reflect on how to honor and celebrate my mother, I could not help but reflect on the fact that my mother’s advice continues to bless my life.  I appreciate her years of wisdom and experience and her more recent advice, too.

I hope you get to honor your mother as Mother’s Day nears.

This is my mother . . .

What was the best career advice you received from your mother or another special women in your life?  Will you share?  Post your comments below.

Here the gems of my mother’s advice:

Don’t work too late.  Days can be long sometimes.  Late one day, my mother, in her kindest voice, shared, “I think you should quit for today and quit early more often.”

Good advice.  Stop, bring the day to close and be grateful for all you have accomplished and for those you served on that day.

Relationships count.  Building and nurturing relationships in your life and in your career matters.  See and understand the point-of-view of others, learn about other people, and know what they like and dislike.

Then, find a way to make a connection and build a relationship– doing so is a skill and an art form.  Honing your relationship building skills is valuable and critical to building a sustainable career.

Service matters and, when done gladly, all the better.  The minimum is just that and less than average.  Always do your best and then something extra.  My mother always adds the extra thing.  It is part of her personal branding.

Delivery of what’s expected meets the standard, it gets the job done.  It completes the job and just covers the basics.

Adding something highlights your brand and increases the perceived value of your work.  Over time, your added value does set you apart from the crowd.  Something of extra significance can:  bring a smile, help you gain favorable attention, encourages referrals, and repeat business.  All these items enhance your stock value and helps sustain your career.

Enjoy Mother’s Day on Sunday as you celebrate in whatever special way fits you!

To my mother — Happy Mother’s Day – thank you for being a coach, a mentor, a role model, a friend and a wonderful mother. 

See you soon.  Cindy

It’s spring.  While it has been for about a month now, it doesn’t really feel much like spring to me.  Yet, slowly, the signs are shooing up.  The trees look ready to bud, the ground is visible again and people are buzzing around outside and at events, including those anxious to explore the job market or consider their next move.

For those of you with spring fever who are beginning to think about what’s next for your career, here is a short checklist to review.  The list includes three action items and some key questions to answer before your begin your “spring fling” and move into a full blown job search:

1.  Talk to your advocates and your brand ambassadors.

Do you have support?  Do they know you are exploring a move?  How can you entice additional support?  The 2016 elections are not near, yet you can learn from the possible candidates by watching and listening.  Your advocate and brand ambassadors are out and about, having meetings, talking to people and they can help you get a feel for the landscape — if they are well informed by you.

2.  Know what you are uniquely known for and how to leverage that in the marketplace.

Why is what you do of unique value?  Who can use your talent?  What can you do for those who can use your talent?  Can you prove your value?  Do you know how to answer the question, “Why should I invest time talking to you?”  Even if it is never asked of you, knowing the answer will carry you far.  Knowing your value and how to leverage it in the marketplace will accelerate your search.

3.  Know your call to action.

If you are exploring and/or launching a career move campaign, you need support.  In order to garner quality support, you must know what you want and what action you want from each person you engage.  Do you want them to listen?  Do you want feedback?  Do you want referrals or introductions to hiring managers?  Do you want information about their industry or particular business?  Before you engage, know your call to action.

Before you spring into action and fling yourself into the job market, do your homework.  If you want to explore a career move campaign, contact me and book a no cost 30-minute review by the end of the month.

Do you have a question or comment?  Post it below or give me a call.  I am happy answer your questions.

Few do and many more are not willing to do the work.  It is the time of year that teachers and kids get spring fever and I start thinking about summer — warm weather, vacation, golf and fun.

This is also one of the two times a year when the hidden job market shifts in an interesting manner — passive candidates are easier to connect with.  If you are an active job seeker that means your competition just heated up.  This is not the time for you to cool your search, just the opposite; this is the time to double your efforts.

As more and more data becomes available to companies, they are using this information to hire and predict what candidates are most likely to be a top performer.

If you are a passive candidate searching for your next great position, it is critical to understand that companies are viewing your data as they are building pipelines to attack the best in class.  The company you want to work for is looking at more than just your skills and experience.

What are you doing today to make you a fit with your next employer?  How are you connected to that company today?

Many companies have candidate outreach programs — are you connected?  Are you connected to current employees or former co-workers who now work where you want to work?

Who are the leaders where you want to work?   What are you doing to get to know the hiring managers and to build and maintain a relationship?  What are they looking for?  What defines “best in class” to them?

How can the hiring managers see and experience your work today?  How are you communicating that you are an engaged employee that fits their needs and can help solve their problems?

Knowing how the hidden market works and how to to tap into it is critical to building and sustaining a career and life you love.  What action are you taking this week to tap into the hidden market?

Finding yourself without a job and in a job search can be fun, exciting and full of adventure.  It can also be filled with fear, questions and be a very unproductive time.

Our jobs, families, and communities go at a frantic pace.  Western culture, especially in the U.S., seems to call out, in a very loud voice, that success means doing more, being busy, and dashing here and there with not “enough” time.  Days are full, 8 -10 hours of work, a commute, and taking family members to this and that.

Often the impact of being the family member without a job is additional new expectations and tasks. Tasks like carpool, shopping, picking up the dry cleaning, and walking the dog.  Then there is the “fix-it” list and the forgotten jobs like cleaning the basement that hasn’t been cleared in years.  No one item is bad, nor an unrealistic expectation if the same is expected of you when you are working.

However, if this is a shift due to your unemployment, use caution and quickly set up a job search schedule.  Your schedule should include the average number of hours you intend on working once employed and one that follows you own internal rhythms.  For example, if you are a morning person, do critical thinking tasks in the morning hours so that you are able to fully step into your power.

Then, add your new tasks and activities into your search schedule at a time when you are not searching for work.  Don’t allow non-employment tasks to rule your schedule — just as these things would not be done on your employers’s time when you are working in your new job.

If, after looking at your skills, the labor market and your bank account, you assess you will be okay if your job search takes about a year, you may have just set a goal in your mind that you need a job in a year.

Telling yourself you have a year to find your next position and then taking action to make that happen is great.  However, if you decide can can do any number of things in lieu of putting all your time, effort and energy into your current job — finding a new job — I will bet you lunch that you just extended the time you will be out of work.

It’s healthy to add fun, relaxing new projects into your life — even if the project is simply relaxing.  I do caution you that if you allow these things to take the place of meaningful work, your days will be filed with tasks and activities that leave little or no room for a new job.

Add valuable career-focused actions and practices to your day to accelerate your search.  Here is a practice I created for myself and my clients after reading Deepak Chopra’s book Seven Spiritual Laws of Success:

1. Daily, set aside time for quiet meditation or reflection.
2. Start with 3 – 5 minutes of sitting still, taking in a deep breath and listening to the sounds in the room.
3. Pause, write down what you heard and felt.  Then write down what you are grateful for from the prior day and in your job search.
4. Set down you pen, take 3 deep breaths.
5. Pause, expand your awareness, and be open to possibilities, new ideas, and flashes of insight.
6. Be still for as long as you wish, then set an intention for the day, take 3 deep breaths.

Suggestion: add a few minutes to your practice until you can meditate at least 10 minutes a day.

Don’t sweat the process.  It is okay for your mind to wander.  Don’t worry if you find it difficult to relax when starting out. Ten full minutes is a long time at first.  Work up to it and if you don’t get to 10 minutes, that it is okay, too.  There is magic and benefits found in even a few minutes.  Try it and do what works for you.

According to a study conducted by the Kyoto Convention Bureau, those who meditated at least 10 minutes prior to a meeting were better at focusing, listening, retaining information and completing projects [Source: Deepak Chopra post, EliteDaily.com].  My clients who have never done meditation are always amazed at the results.  Clients often share that after beginning this practice they were able to complete a nagging project or were able to the connect with someone new thanks to an idea that came to them in quiet reflection.

Do you have a reflection or meditation practice?  Post a comment and share what works for you.

Do you have a question about your search?  Look to the right and sign up for next Q & A session, join the session and ask your question.

“Do what you love.  Lead with vision and passion; use your strengths and offer unique value, the market will notice and reward you.” ~ Cindy Key

Tomorrow is April 1^st – April Fool’s day!  And, at least in the Western world, a day of light-hearted fun and for me a sure sign Spring is near.  The days are growing longer and that means more time to be outside.

I will enjoy the day, the FUN it brings and even being called a “fool” if I fall for some of the day’s pranks.  I have been called a fool more than once, including for the quote above and my career advice of “Do what you love and money follows.”  If I am a fool for helping others find work they enjoy and serving the world with my gifts, then the title of “fool” is fine with me.

The lightness of April 1^st reminds us life is a trade-off.  You don’t get what you deserve.  In life and in business, you get what you engage in, work for and ask for.

You get paid for doing what you love because you are willing to do what it takes to succeed — whether you love every aspect of your job or not.

When you do what you love and you enjoy your job, you are likely to use your talents to be the best you can be.  You don’t mind the trade-offs and will adjust to such items as part of the deal.  For example, if you don’t love living in the big city where the wages are higher, you may decide that living in a small town and driving further to work is worth it.  The commute is your trade-off.

Trade-offs in work and life come in many forms.

For years, I was willing to work the graveyard shift to gain different experience, earn more money, do work I enjoyed, and have my days free.  Working the night shift was my trade-off to achieve my goals.

May you be so blessed by doing what you love that all the trade-offs will feel very inconsequential.

In case you feel fooled, it works this way too:  “Love the work you’re doing and opportunities will follow.”  If you find yourself in a work situation that has changed and you no longer love it as you once did, find something new to love and be grateful for your new understanding.  Open yourself up to the possibilities around you and the world will notice and reward you with other opportunities to do the work you love.

Do you have a question about your job search?  Post your question or comment below or look to the right and sign up for the next Q & A session.

Have an amazing April Fool’s Day!

Do you hate to network?

Almost weekly someone tells me they HATE to network.  I get it.

Once upon a time, networking was not my favorite thing to do either.  When I reframed networking to simply “meeting new people,” my point of view about networking changed.

Do you need to reframe how you see networking?  Here are 5 tips to help:

1. Be open.   No matter what you think or feel about networking, be open.  The next time you go to an event or are in a position to connect with other people begin with being open to the possibilities.  Odds are you will be delighted by pleasant surprises.

2. Simplify your approach.  Plan to greet all you meet with a smile and a hello.  Then just listen.  Listen and listen some more.  Engage in conversation as appropriate.

3. Give.  Limit your agenda to giving.  If you are attending an event for the first time, go with a smile for all.  Give of yourself and your time to all you meet.  Not sure what to give?  Start with a smile, eye contact and a listening ear and heart.  Let what you hear be your guide.

4. Introduce yourself to the host.  Be sure you identify the host of the event.  Say hello and introduce yourself.  Before leaving thank the host and say goodbye.

5. Return and stay in touch.  Networking is about building relationships — return to the next event and stay in touch.  Relationships are not build with a single meeting or a single conversation.  Decide when you will return and how you will stay in touch with the people you meet.

What is you favorite networking tip or experience?  Please share and post below.

Will you move your career goals forward this year?

Is a new or better job on your list of New Year’s resolutions?  If your goals include building, accelerating and sustaining your career or finding a new or better position in the months ahead, here are three steps to help you:

1.  Assess your current situation.

• Where are you today?
• What would you like to be different in your career six months from now?
• What’s important to you about the work you do?
• What is the right fit for you and your lifestyle now?
• What do you want your lifestyle to be 10 years from now?
• Why is changing your current career situation important?
• Do your career marketing materials promote you in a credible and distinctive manner?
• What enhancements do your career marketing tools need?

2.  Create an action plan.

• Who are the 25 people who need to know you and your career goals?
• Who else needs to know you?
• How will you get in front of the people who need to know about you?
• What are 3 things you will do this week to connect with these people?
• How will you follow-up and reconnect with the people who need to know you?

3.  Set up an execution strategy.

• What are going to do every single day to execute your plan?
• How will you measure and evaluate your results?

Do you need some help?  If so, let’s connect.