Accelerate Your Search™ Now

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?

• No reply
• Rejection
• Nagging from your family
• Talking about yourself
• Networking
• Worrying about what people think
• Worrying about never finding another job

These are among the most common replies I hear when I ask the question above.  What is your answer?   I do hope you will post it below.

Different people “hate” different things.  For example, if you are someone who hates talking about yourself, personal branding may feel like trying to sink a hole-in-one during every round of golf.

Branding is about communicating points of difference and what makes a product or service unique.  It is about creating a connection that helps the target audience feel an emotional or analytical response instantly.

Would you love to connect with future employers and other professionals instantly?

Would you enjoy having recruiters, hiring managers and others call you directly?

If you don’t like to chase down leads and would rather have recruiters call you -or- you are not clear on how to grab the attention of hiring managers, then embarking on the work required to unlock and leverage your personal brand may be for you.

Let me offer you fair warning — personal branding is not a quick fix.  It is not one-and-done.  It is not a cute logo, a new catchy tagline or a few quick updates to your resume.

Personal branding is also not for those who don’t want to do some work.  Real work.

Unlocking your personal brand allows you to create an amazing and sustainable career.  You have a brand, everyone does.  Putting it to work for you can change your life and your earnings potential.

Leveraging your personal brand is about awareness.  It is about understanding the value you offer.  It is also a discovery process that takes time to sort out exactly what to share (about your values, skills and experience) and how to best communicate those attributes.

Does your brand elicit cold and prickly or warm and fuzzy feelings?  Does your brand clearly demonstrate stability, professionalism and success?

When done right, personal branding opens doors and creates connections.  Leveraging your personal brand is not a fad, it is a professional competency.  As a leader ready for your next move, personal branding can be the key to accelerating your success and achieving your goals.

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

The world around you runs on ideas, thoughts, judgements and conclusions.  Those you interact with help write your story.  Some will fill in the blanks with a “good” story, others with a “bad” story.   But, they are not the only ones influencing your story  — you are also are critical to the story told, to your reputation.

Ask people what they have too little of and odds are the response will be, “Time and money.”  Usually in that order.  With most of the world feeling the time crunch, people will naturally look for the fastest, shortest and easiest way to do things.  Can you relate?

People are built, at least in my view, to look for the shortest and quickest path possible to a decision or the solution to their issue.  Employers are people.  Employers, especially hiring managers, seek information from others to help solve their problems and get more done, in less time.

This is where your reputation [a.k.a., your personal brand] comes into play.  Your reputation includes what others think and feel when they interact with you -AND- what others are saying about you.  These things speak volumes and impact your success and the speed at which you land your next position.

As a kid, my mother would say, “Cindy, your reputation precedes you. Think about who you hang out with and what you do.”   I did not get it then.  I saw it as nagging and assumed she just didn’t like my group of friends.  However, she was right.

A reputation, whether great, good, neutral, poor or bad, is critical.  Your reputation alone can be the reason you receive an interview, or not.

Recently, I read a description of your reputation as a “shadowy twin.”  A twin that is everywhere and ensures you are in two places at once.  Be sure your “shadowy twin” is helping you rather than causing harm to your career.

You and your reputation are always evolving.  If you are currently seeking a promotion, are in career transition, or thinking of a career move, pause and look at your reputation.

Discover how to be your own best ambassador, both in person and online.  Understand how others view you.  Leverage that information to enhance your online profiles and all your professional and personal communication.

As people, including recruiters and hiring manager, seek to make quick decisions and draw conclusions about your value and whether or not to offer you an interview, make sure your reputation is working for you.  Don’t let your LinkedIn profile, resume or emails wound — or worse yet — assassinate your career. 

What time or energy have you invested in positively communicating you reputation?

How do others view you?

When was the last time you paused and really looked at how your unique values comes across to those who are making hiring decisions?

Do you have a question about communicating your reputation?  Post it below or contact me.

Even before you interview for a job, you and others have influenced the opinion of the interviewer.  Do you know what others are saying about you?

The easiest place to start?  Google yourself.  Your online presence can be friend or foe.  It can open doors to amazing opportunities -or- it can slam doors shut, sometimes forever.  Things like your endorsements, number of contacts, recommendations and your photo on LinkedIn allow people to “get to know you” before you even meet.

If you are contemplating a change, do yourself a favor.  Before you spray your resume worldwide, stop and take a careful look around.  Gather a little data from your peers, co-workers, bosses (past and present), friends and family.  Understand what people are saying about you.  If you are a little fearful to do so, my bet is you will be pleasantly surprised at what you hear.

Then take a hard look at your talents, skills and experience.  Decide how you want to use and share what makes you valuable to an employer.  Ask yourself where you want to be in a year, three years and five years.

Now (and not before), update your resume.

By doing these simple activities — before you jump into the job market — you will accelerate your search and move forward faster.  Even though the press is highlighting the gloom and doom, there are many opportunities for you to do what you love and the land the job you want at the salary you deserve.

It is easier and faster than you think to land the job you want when you understand who you are and what others are saying about you.

Do you need interview assistance to speed up your career transition?  Post a question or contact me.

Do the following statements sound all too familiar?

“All the jobs go to internal candidates.”

“You must know someone inside or have a inside contact.”

“If you have experience and a track record, you are out of luck, good companies don’t hire experience.”

If so, here is some information to ponder:

According to data published [01/2014] by Great Place to Work Institute (compiler of the annual list of Best Companies):

• The average number of positions filled internally, for those organizations on the Best Companies list, was 30% — meaning that 70% of the positions went to people new to the organization!
• Additionally, 28% of new hires were referred by current employees.  This supports that having an inside contact can help.
• Of the 100 Best Companies appearing on the list, 24 plan to fill 1,000 or more positions this year and only 9.9% of those positions will go to new college grads.  To me, that says experience matters 90% of the time!

Be careful who you listen to and how you interpret the data.  Good employers are always looking for talented professionals.  Landing your next promotion takes work, preparation and a well executed plan.

While flying by the seat of your pants can work, preparation and a plan usually generates faster, more effective results.

If you hate job searching and want to land your next position faster and with less stress, request my 162 ways to Accelerate Your Search by clicking here.  And, don’t forget to implement the strategies!

Have an amazing week!

Do you know what the best companies look for during interviews?

In a January post (“What It Takes to Get Hired at One of the Best Places to Work“) China Gorman, the former COO and interim CEO of SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) and current CEO for Great Place to Work Institute shared several insights from high-level recruiters.

These four interview pointers, from the post, will help you stand out and impress:

1.  Being able to articulate your alignment with the company’s mission and values (and explain why they resonate with you);

2.  Doing exceptional “homework” and truly understanding the business and key competitors going into an interview;

3.  Being able to discuss how you plan to impact the company; and,

4.  Demonstrating passion, curiosity, and (a big one!) innovation.

Employers and recruiters consistently share that interviewees who look good on paper (resumes and online profiles) don’t always impress in an interview.

Are you prepared to interview?   Are you ready to articulate how you can impact the company and why the organization’s mission and values resonate with you?

Don’t walk into another interview and immediately be knocked out of the running.  When you are prepared to interview, the interview becomes a great business conversation culminating in a plan to move forward.

I invite you to join me for the next one-day Interview Boot Camp at the end of March — or feel free to contact me if you have other questions on acing your interview.

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.

Here are six tips that ease stress, magnify minor acts and help you sustain your career year after year.  Success and unending happiness are not far from your reach.

1.  Harness the unique power of good habits.  Be a slave to habits grounded in the principles important to you.  You will quickly tap into amazing opportunities, success and wealth beyond your current imagination.

2.  Act every day with intention.  Do the work you need to do.  Focus on the blind spots that hold you back.  Discard the notion that the acts of preparation, reflection and work on yourself is busy work.  Those who decide only to do surface personal work for fear of what they will uncover stall career growth and progress, holding desired success inches out of reach. Overwhelm and doubt always knock at the door of minimal action.

3.  Believe in yourself.  Believe in your strengths, your gifts and your skills.  Believe in all that you are.  The unique journey before you is leading you to success.  Belief in yourself is not optional, it is required.  Believe NOW!

4.  Initiate, practice and repeat.  Your simple commitment to repeating productive practices push failure out of sight.  Repetition soon creates habits which will subdue activities that previously lead you astray.

5.  Today, not tomorrow, is the day to begin.  Why waste another beautiful and amazing day you can never recapture?

6.  Success awaits you.  It is yours, uniquely given.  Be ready, able and willing to embrace those daily actions that many already call habits.

Habits create processes and ease stress.  Habits will magnify strengths and sustain your career success and unending happiness.

What powerful habit energizes you?  Post your habit and how it boosts your career below.

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.