Accelerate Your Search™ Now

Strategic tips for managing your career – if you are – or seek to be – a paddler…

5. Quality and customer/employer satisfaction are principal to your success.

Paddlers live and work on purpose.  They understand themselves and the environment around them.  There are some rare conditions paddlers cannot control.  A paddler’s success always comes from controlling the things you can control and handling those conditions you don’t control with experience, knowledge, patience and grace.

If the people who use or purchase your services or products are dissatisfied with the experience, they will go elsewhere. That is a condition you can control.

Just like a consumer, an employer will shop around if your services are not up to standard. A cooperative attitude, timely delivery of quality work, and all other aspects of the employer’s expectations must be met consistently. If they aren’t, you are out of business or out of work.

Do you have an open mind about your performance?   Do you work consistently to hone your performance?

Effective coaching works to connect you to an awareness of your habits, your decision-making, and performance that can significantly influence your results. Coaching brings clarity to your assumptions by placing your efforts and energy on the activities that can alter outcomes. A good coach will challenge, question, and help you get to the truth of the situation.

Action Tip:

Where is your performance today?  How do you know? List the 3 strengths you need to focus on this week, and this month.  List 3 habits you have that significantly influence your results. Who is you coach?  How do you get feedback about your performance?

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.

Strategic tips for managing your career – if you are – or seek to be – a paddler…

4. Understand your value-added qualities.

What value do you offer? What qualities make you unique?

Often, they are the tasks you do better than most other people. Understanding how you communicate this value to your employer/customers is critical.

You must be able to articulate your value-added qualities to get hired, be promoted, and continue to be compensated accordingly.  Are you aware of the way you communicate your value and help others to link their value-added qualities to the organization?

Your personal brand attributes often help you communicate your value.  Do you know your top brand attributes?   Knowing the attributes others value in you and being able to communicate your brand attributes is an easy way to help your unique value stand out.

Action Tip:

Ask twenty-five or more people how you add value to your job, tasks or the things you do.  Create a list of all your value-added qualities and define how you will communication these qualities to your customers to help them solve their problems or address their needs.

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.

Strategic tips for managing your career – if you are – or seek to be – a paddler…

3.  Know your customer.

Your career is a financial transaction.  You are paid because you offer a service or a product that a customer is willing to purchase.

If you want to be effective, you must know your customer. That means learning customer needs and wants and understanding how you can fulfill them.

You must sell your expertise to both external and internal customers. Critical internal customers to every employee are bosses, the boss’s boss, other departments, and the organization itself. Each of these constituents buys your services on a daily basis. Discovering how to build relationships and sell to those customers can enhance your career on many levels.

Customer needs change, just as you change.  You must continually learn and stay abreast of your customers needs if you want to stay relevant and have a fulfilling career.

Action Tip:

Define your customers.  List how you meet the needs and want of your customers.

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.

Strategic tips for managing your career – if you are – or seek to be – a paddler…

In the US last week, we celebrated July 4^th the birthday of our wonderful country.  Our nation was founded on ideals, passions, strengths, and vision.

The US has grown and changed since it was founded and it continues to grow and change.  Yet as a nation we have a unique value and purpose in the world.  Our citizens live, fight, and have died to define the unique value of the US.  The nation’s Founding Fathers drafted a living document to define and communicate the value the young nation would offer the world.

2. Define who you are and the unique value you bring to the marketplace.

Have you done this for yourself?  Do you have a clear idea of who you are and the value you bring to the marketplace?

Identify your strengths, your interests, and your passions. The use of assessments can assist you in this step. Typically, these factors drive your career accomplishments and motivate you. Coaching can help you discover and better express your message, and your attributes to others in a manner that enhances your value in the marketplace.

Action Tip:

Label three pages Strengths, Interests, and Passions. Write until you fill each page with your strengths, your interests, and your passions.  Then ask yourself the questions below and write down your answers.

How do I currently use my strengths?

What interests are really important to me and why?

What do I have so much passion and drive about and why is this important to me?

How do I incorporate my strengths, my interests, and my passions into my career right now?

How do I want to incorporate my strengths, my interests, and my passions into my career in the future?

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.

Strategic tips for managing your career  – if you are – or seek to be – a paddler …

1. Don’t turn your career over to anyone else to run.

Your career may be your most significant asset.  Be cautious about allowing others to control and manage your assets. You can manage your own career and you can find others to help you.  We have all experienced coaching at some point. The coaching process can help you discover any number of blind spots you may have.

Who is managing your career?  You may be managing your career or you may be allowing others to manage your career to their advantage.  Bosses or human resources departments usually work in the company’s best interest. Sharing appropriate information with them about you may help advance your career and help you get where you want to go.  For these coaches to help you do need to know where you are going, your purpose and how you can help them with their goals along the way.

Having your own coach, someone who works for you can help you if you are still in the process of discovering your purpose, your vision, your goals, and how to communicate those to others.  You can also discover these things on your own over time or find others to help you with the process, just be sure those who help you put your interest before theirs.

I often refer to those who live their purpose and manage their careers as paddlers.  PADDLERS take charge of their direction, path, and speed. Paddlers are going somewhere – with a purpose.

Paddlers have a distinct mindset and make life happen.  They take time to understand what they want, why that is important to them.  Paddlers know a fulfilling life is not stagnate.  Paddlers know that they do control how they react and handle the life they have been given.

Paddlers have a purpose. They don’t look to others to define why they do something, their value, direction or career.  They assess where they are, what they want and then they form an understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, skills, of the currents, conditions, and environment.

Action Tip:

Write down what you want from your career, your next position, and in your life.  Ask yourself the tough questions below and jot down your answers.

What is my purpose?

Why do I work?

Why do I do what I do as a career?

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.

To the paddler, career management—like the river—is serious business. It means taking control and focusing on “career” as a business, taking action in key areas, and selecting an effective coach as a guide when necessary.

If you are – or seek to be – a paddler, here are eight strategic tips for managing your career.

1. Don’t turn your career over to anyone else to run.
2. Define who you are and the unique value you bring to the marketplace.
3. Know your customer.
4. Understand your value-added qualities.
5. Quality and customer/employer satisfaction are principal to your success.
6. Know your industry and what’s happening within the industry.
7. Keep your skills current at all times.
8. Always be open and able to change direction.

Recently, a client who enjoys the rivers of New England shared this insight. For her, a river is much like life. She can choose to travel the river in many different ways . . . she can float on an inner tube or paddle in a kayak. Either choice will take her somewhere.

She chooses to paddle down the river — her river — because she has discovered that choice provides her with more enjoyment, fulfillment, and satisfaction. It allows her to take control of her journey and of the results she desires in her career.

Stay tuned, read and discuss these eight strategic tips.  I’ll share action items for managing your career and provide insights to help you execute these for your personal success.

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.

Does your past or present behavior impact your job search?  Is the hurt, anger, frustration you feel hurting your search?

Yes, I believe these things will impact your search.  I see and work with people all the time that are holding on to something that is impacting their job search.  That something might be anger about losing a job, how the end occurred, or sadness about how they did or did not handle something.

For many we are at least somewhat defined by where we work and live, the work we do, and our jobs.  When a job ends for whatever reason, there are emotions tied to that ending.  If you are happily moving on you will have different emotions than if the end was not in your control.

Some call the behavior that impacts you and your life karma, some call it fate, or luck, whatever the name you use for this, you need to look at and understand your thoughts control your behavior, habits and actions.  So if your thoughts and behavior are not aligned with what you want and where you want to go, you create push pull and in your energetic vibration.  This will impact your search.

For some it keeps you for getting clear on what you want or need to do, for others it shows up in a way that makes other not trust you.  If an employer doesn’t trust that there is upside to hiring you, the bottom line is the employer will not hire you.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Joe and his blind spots.  Most of us know or have some awareness of our blind spots, our strengths, and our weaknesses, yet we often find it hard to sort this all out and move forward to do what we need to do.

Here is a tip to help you.  Set aside a day write down your feelings about your job lose and job search.  If you are mad write down why you are mad; if you are sad, why you are sad.  Write, write, and write.  At the end of the day think about what you where you are and what you want to do about where you are.  Think about where you are out of alignment or out of integrity with yourself.

Now decide what you want to do about these areas.  Decide what you want and create energetic alignment. If you want help, then offer help to others.  Letting go of the things you are holding on to that are impacting your search will change your behavior and the energy around your search and your transition.

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.

Post your suggestion to help others or your comments below.

Memorial Day is just around the corner and for those of us in the US in marks both a holiday and the beginning of summer.  Your summer may be filled with travel, different activities or schedules or much of the same.

For me summer is a time of the year with great memories, a time to create new memories and a time to find at least a little down time. I will unplug over the upcoming weekend and hope you have a chance to do the same.

I must confess that for years I did not unplug often, in fact it was not until I read Napoleon Hill’s book ‘Think and Grow Rich’ for the second time, that I did try scheduling time to think.  The results were amazing.  So over time I came to have a new understanding of the value of down time, thinking time, and fun time.  I work to add all of these activities into my schedule and I hope you do too.

For years I have worked in a 24-7-365 world, as that world has also become more connected, just I am such your world is more connected than ever by devices, and demands on time.  I have found that being unplugged also delivers some amazing results.  Do you unplug from your job search?  I hope so.

Recently I watched the TEDx – Sydney presentation by Genevieve Bell on ‘The Value of Boredom.  The clip was recorded last year in May.  In her presentation Genevieve Bell speaks about bringing boredom back, the benefits of boredom and the value of boredom. Check it out and let me know what you think.

I found clip interesting, exciting and valuable.  Genevieve Bell is an Intel Fellow and Director of the Interaction and Experience Research Group within the Intel Labs.  Her points and engaging presentation sold me all over again on the power of unplugging.  If you are thinking maybe you should not unplug during the Memorial Day weekend at least watch the video clip before you decide.  Deal?

My wish for you during the upcoming weekend is ‘may your brain light up’, may you have down time, some boredom, and some time to just unplug. May you also enjoy some BBQ, whatever you elect to eat, do or take pleasure in this weekend!

In honor and with great respect this weekend I will not only unplug and have some down time, I will pay my respects to the men and women who have died in wars or in service of the United States of America, for me this is also time of personal remembrance, reflection and will be a time to show respect for those who have served and serve our Nation now in many ways both small and great.  I am grateful and thankful for all the members of the Armed Forces and their families, for Veterans and their families, and all those who serve or have served in a role of support to both of these important groups of people.  May you have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

First if you got the interview you can bet someone saw value in you, your skills and your experience.  Often being told “no” encourages people to try harder or push on doing the same things.  Most people believe coming in second means they just need to try harder to be first.

In job searching that may or may not be the case.  Far too often I see people who don’t really fit in a job or an industry, yet they fail into it, got hired again and again into a similar position so they just keep pushing in that direction.   For some it is time to stop, to assess, plan and execute something new.

Joe (not his real name) had eight jobs in eleven years in the same position and industry.  After his last termination, 120 weeks of unemployment and nine interviews he decided to explore help for interviewing skills.  He assumed his interviewing skills were his problem and the reason he was not getting hired.

When we discussed why and how his past jobs ended his answer was the work ended, then he collected unemployment until he was hired in the same position again.  I ask if I could call his references and check with this last two employers and he agreed. 

 The discovery from his references and his employers was different than his point of view for each of his last positions.  All of his professional references painted a different picture than Joe did of his work and his work style.  His references spoke well of his skills, yet painted a different picture of his work style. 

One reference shared that often when he was called as a reference he asked if he enjoyed working with Joe he said no.  One reference disclosed that after working with Joe at two different businesses he would answer the call with an example about Joe’s work style and how is affected him and let the new possible employer draw whatever conclusion they would from the example.

The reference valued Joe and his skills, yet Joe had a few blind spots about his work style and this caused issues, problems and a diconnect in cultural fit within the industry.  After gathering the information and sharing it with Joe, he said that his references had told him all of the information I shared before and one had offered to help him change to another unit were the work culture was a better fit.  However Joe had declined the transfer or the assistance to adapt his behavior. 

Joe had choices to make.  He could change is occupation, or change his style or change the positions he was seeking to find a work culture where his work style fit the culture and the needs of the business.  Joe decided to seek other positions using his skills and where the work style and culture of the organization was more suited to his work style. 

He was hired after 3 interviews and returned to work within 2 months of his decision to seek work that was a better fit for his style. Recently I got a message from Joe, he has been on the job a year, enjoys it, got his 2^nd pay increase, things are well.  Additionally, he noted thanks for helping him see the impact of his blind spots and assisting him to find the first job he ever liked and the only job where he had worked for a over a year.

What are your blind spots?  Do you have the confidence to take a hard look at your search and see what might be holding you back in your career?  

Are you pushing in a direction that will not help you accelerate your search or accelerate the success you want.  You may need to dust yourself off, stop pushing and head in a new or different direction. 

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.

“Time = Life, Therefore, waste your time and waste of your life,                                                      or master your time and master your life.” ~ Alan Lakein

The quote above is an interesting one.  During a job search or any time for that matter, it is easy to find yourself wondering if you are wasting your time.  Or at least it is for me.

During the last two weeks many meetings and events have fallen on the same day and within in the same week.  In talking with clients, friends and others I am not the only person feeling very busy and with this challenge. 

I also found myself feeling overwhelmed and wondering if all of these activities were a good use of my time or if I was wasting my time (and therefore my life).  At one event, the sessions covered some great information including the new redesign of Google+ and how to use the features, the growing list of bells and whistles LinkedIn offers within its Talent Pipeline, and just how the interface between PayScale and LinkedIn will allow LinkedIn users to automatically see a salary report based on the current job title within their LinkedIn profile.   Don’t get me wrong all of the presenters were good, the information interesting and I could see how most of it might be helpful.  However as helpful as it could be, most of it I could not apply to the goals in front of me or the things I need to be doing to achieve my goals in the next 90 days. 

I find I need to master how I spend my time to help me achieve the goals most important to me and when I don’t do that I do feel as if I am wasting my time or at least using my time in an ineffective manner.  The result of this feeling for me is frustration and a concern about achieving my goals.  I often hear that frustrtation from my clients too.

So I discussed this with a mentor and one of my coaches.  I got some ideas and some advice that should help me over the next several busy weeks.  If you have ideas or advice I would love to hear from you too.

How do you avoid wasting your time?

Here are three tips I received: 

1. Create a solid plan to achieve your goals, then say ‘no’ to anything that does not move you forward toward your goal.
2. When attending a meeting or conference align all activities with the goal at hand.
3. Do 3 things each day that will move you closer to your goal.

Funny thing is – I know all of these tips.  The issue – I forgot to practice them.

Do you have a tip or a suggestion you use to avoid wasting your time?  Post it below.