Accelerate Your Search™ Now

Summer is in full swing.   If you are ready to move to the next level, now is the time.  Life is ready for you — it always has been.

Enjoy the weeks of summer.  Be ready to jump into fall, spend a few minutes this week setting the stage for your personal transformation.

Transformation only happens when you are truly ready to shift and take action.  

Here are three steps that will help you be ready for your personal transformation in the months ahead:

1. Listen to yourself.  Listen carefully to what you want and what you feel, then write it down.
2. Jot down your concerns about what is next for you.
3. Be truthful with yourself about each of your concerns.  Did you note all your concerns?  Did you note the real concern(s)?  Don’t stop with the surface issues and concerns.

Review your notes.  Reflect on the data.  For example, if you want a new job and you are concerned about the salary, make sure this is your real concern or your only concern.

Then ask yourself, “What can I do to address the salary of the job I really want?”  Often the limits people initially see are easily overcome.

These steps can help you accelerate your transformation to the life and career you want.

If you want to create personal transformation faster you can partner with a coach, a trusted advisor or mentor.

Try the three steps and share you comments below.

Do you believe you are special?  Talented?  Different?  Unique?  Better than someone else?

At the end of the week we, in the United States, will celebrate July 4th — our Declaration of Independence in 1776.

What will you celebrate on July 4th?

Will it be freedom, independence, awareness or . . .

How will you celebrate?  A concert, parade, picnic or . . .

Have you given thought on how to really enjoy this day?

Will you be reviewing the past, reflecting on history and past experiences?  Or, will you be looking to the future, perhaps to a July vacation or your next amazing position?

I will be present and celebrate the freedom I have as a citizen of the USA and of the world.  I am grateful to be an American and to also celebrate an “Independence Day” of my own journey of freedom.

July marks when I first realized the power and freedom of being present — intentionally being attuned to the current moment. I recognized that the past holds history, experiences, and memories and that the uncertainty of the future will never arrive.

Awareness of NOW guarantees freedom, choice, joy, and much more.  Whatever and however you celebrate at the end of the week, may you have the blessings of celebrating each minute in the present.

Have an amazing 4th of July!

A friend, business associate, or recruiter calls you with a great job opportunity.  They ask you to send your resume TODAY.  Yes, NOW, right now.  Are you ready to leverage this opportunity?

I regularly get calls where the caller says, “Cindy, this is Joe XX.  My friend, Dan XX referred me to you and I need a resume today. Can you help?”  I both love and hate these calls.  I love that the caller is a referral from a client/former client and I love to serve and help people.  I hate the call because often I am busy and I know my key referral partners are busy, too.  Most of all, I hate these calls because I can hear the panic in the caller’s voice as she describes a great position only to have a resume that is not updated, not ready to send.  Then, when I ask about her LinkedIn profile, the stress I hear doubles.

On this issue, here is my one suggestion:  act like a Boy Scout and “Always Be Prepared.”

If you have not looked at your resume in the last 6 months, it is time to give it an update.  Do it before you need it.

Business owners, this goes for you, too.  Banks, investors and strategic partners might ask you for your resume.

Also, if you are looking for a new position or seeking a promotion and you have been in the market for the last 90 days and are not landing interviews, it is time to take a serious look at your resume.  Your resume may well need an update.

Here are just a couple of reasons why you should update your resume:

• The studies, research and technology that will be used in addition to a human looking at your resume have changed.  There have been many changes in just the last six months.
• Many changes were implemented during the Great Recession and even more has changed since it ended.  With the growth of ‘Big Data’ there is even more information you can leverage to help give your resume more IMPACT and help you land an interview.  There is data on everything from eye-tracking studies, to keyword usage, to word count studies — confirming every word on your resume does indeed count.  New research is released all the time.

A recent study by Modestino et. al highlights what the study calls ‘upskilling’ by employers.  It paints a clear picture that employers are not looking for the same skills today that they were seeking in 2007, 2010 or 2012.   If you have not updated your resume to reflect your new skills, you might miss a good opportunity.

The study notes that employers have raised the skill requirements within specific types of jobs.  Understanding these changes in the market place, as well as the impact of time to hire for top professionals like you, is important.  Should you be working with a coach or other HR professional who keeps up with what employers are doing and what they are seeking in the candidates they want to hire?

I understand you are busy.  Most days it is tough just keeping up with your areas of expertise.  That is why I ‘keep up’ for my clients, past and present.  Don’t wait for the phone call to update your resume.  That added stress to your life is completely unnecessary — unless, of course, you are a stress junkie.  Update your resume regularly.  Do so on your time frame, not someone else’s.   If you are looking for information and resources on updating your resume, check <here>.

Even in a tighter labor market (think declining unemployment rates), employers continue to search for highly skilled workers for many different positions.  Employers call it ‘raising the bar.’

If it is time to you to update your resume, we are ready to help you.  If you are a do-it-yourself person, you might find these resources <link to the word “resources”> helpful.

If you want to avoid missing an opportunity that only comes along once in awhile, update your resume this month.  You can leverage your most recent experience, insure your resume is ready to go and communicate your unique value at a moments notice.  Go <here> to take advantage of one-on-one support with our May only special.

Summer’s coming — be ready for fun, relaxation and to take advantage of opportunities.  Avoid the run-of-the-mill update that looks like you haphazardly plugged in your last job and attached it to an email with little or no thought.  When you land the interview you may be scrambling to explain why your resume looks tossed together.

If you aren’t ready for the call when it comes, you may miss out on increased earnings, a great culture, and the launch pad for your next 5 to 10 years of success.  Employers who are seeking to hire professionals with relatively high skills expect you to be ready.  Are you?

Ditch the stress of missing out on something you want to do.  Ditch the stress of staying up all night to update your resume (you are not a college co-ed these days and paychecks of that size are, thankfully, gone). Get help now and be ready to land the job you want at the salary your desire FAST and with less stress.

Do you have a question or comment?  Post it below or give me a call.

Do you dislike networking?  Why is that?

Do you lack skill in this area or is something else holding you back?

Do you want to be a more effective networker?

Often professionals considering a career move or seeking a new position ask how important networking is to success.  My reply?  “Networking is critical to your career.”

When I inquire as to why they are asking, their answers vary.  Here are the most common replies from my clients:

“I am not a skilled networker.”

“Making small talk is not my thing, that’s why I don’t like to network.”

“Starting a one-on-one conversation is frightening.  I just can’t do it.”

“I find silence dreadful.”

“Networking seems like a waste of my time.”

“If networking is what it takes to get a promotion, I am worried about being promoted.”

Do any of these sound like you?

Professionals need networking skills.  At work, and in the world, you need to be able to effectively connect, engage and communicate with different people in various settings.  One of the best ways to develop networking skills is repeated practice of solid techniques.

Though, for many of my clients the challenge of effective networking is not totally about skill.  The actual issues can range from less than effective venues to support their goals to the type of networking they have selected to poor networking techniques.  Any of these issues can result in time invested with limited results leaving your feeling like networking is just a waste of your time.

For other clients, the challenges revolve around fears or beliefs about networking.  The big fears that show up for my clients are:

• Fear of starting a conversation
• Fear of not knowing what to say
• Fear of saying the wrong thing
• Fear of trying something outside of your comfort zone

Here is a quick assignment to help you see what you need to tackle first.  Jot down your answers to the following questions:

• What do you dislike about networking?
• What do you believe about networking?
• Do you want to improve your networking skills and/or networking venues?
• Are you happy and content with your current level of networking success?

Now that you have noted your answers, you will know what to tackle first.  Your answers will also help you determine if skill, fear or some combination is your biggest challenge.

Your next step is simple.  Decide what, if anything, you want to change.  Is this an area worth tackling?  You can start today and be networking more effectively by the end of the week.  You can discover more about tackling your challenges <here>.

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

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.