Accelerate Your Search™ Now

“The reality of life is that your perceptions — right or wrong – influence everything else you do.
When you get a proper perspective of your perceptions, you may be surprised how many other
things fall into place.”~ Roger Birkman

Here is a question I am ask very often and it almost always starts with a statement – “I think I need a certification or training to get a job, what do you think?”

In most cases I want to say – “It does not matter what I think, your perception is you think you do need it, therefore you must.”

Of course that would not help most people. If you are asking the same question and attempting to determine if you do need a certification here are a few questions you can ask yourself. These should help you. After you ask the questions, if you want to discuss them with someone contact me and I will be happy to discuss them with you.

Why do I want a certification?

How will this certification help me do the job I want better?

How will this certification help me use the skills I love to use every day in my ideal job?

What is the cost of the certification over the 5 years?

What is my return on that investment over 5 years?

Merry Christmas!
Cindy

“Go to work harder on yourself than your job. If you work hard on your job you can make a living, if you work hard on yourself you can make a fortune.” Jim Rohn

What action will you take today to propel you toward the things you want, the goals you have and why is that important?

If you have been attending the LinkedIn sessions this week you are already focused on your LinkedIn Profile so here is your action step for today.

Read your LinkedIn Profile and ask yourself the following questions.

Does it show my personality?

Does it highlight my top three skills? These are the things you not only do well but also the things you love to do and would rather do than anything else in the world.

Now, look at your resume. Ask yourself the same questions. If these things are missing from either your LinkedIn Profile or your resume add them.

That is your quick action tip for the day. I agree with Jim Rohn “…if you work hard on yourself you can make a fortune.”

To your accelerated your search and success,
Cindy

“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” ~ Vincent Van Gogh

Are you sabotaging your career and your future income?

Almost daily I hear, “The economy is so bad, no one is hiring and I’m waiting for things to improve to look for a job”. Or “Things are so bad, I’m discouraged, frustrated, sad and feel like I am wasting my time” or now a new favorite “It’s the holidays, no one is hiring”. That type of thinking may just be sabotaging your career and your future income.

First, December is always a busy time of the year for the search business in both good and poor economic times. It is the end of the year and many departments are attempting to get positions filled and all hands on deck for the coming year, and in today’s environments folks are trying not to potentially lose headcount due to an open spot.

Oh yes, if you didn’t hear, unemployment was down in November. The job market will still take time to turn around it always does. Many went back to work, doing what they enjoy and earning more than they had been earning, and others did not go back to work and continue to miss the opportunities right under their nose.

Is it okay for you to continue to have your job search cost you $400 a day? Yes, that is the cost of your job search if your salary is $100,000 annually. Can you afford that? Of course not!

Now is not the time to take a break. Stay connected, re-connect and stay focused. Believe it or not landing the job you want is not that complex, but it does require a process with two very critical steps, 1) making a decision and 2) doing what it takes. Most people don’t get clear on what they want and they aren’t clear on or committed to doing what it takes to land the job they want. The result is a prolonged search often with less than ideal results.

If you are stuck and need help get it now. Don’t wait till you get a call for an interview to call for help and get prepared. Don’t stop your “on brand”, authentic and compelling marketing and by all mean don’t take a break during the month of December.

If you have an idea or a hunch, do your due diligence and act on it. You will not be given the idea or opportunity without the resources to take advantage of the opportunity. That is the way the world works. Don’t look at the obstacles or make excuses, take action.

If you are not where you want to be in your job search, one of the major reasons is your lack of action. Yes, you have heard it and my say you know it, “To get different results, you must do things differently”, yes, I know you are nodding your head, and saying “I know that”.

Be careful that is one of the biggest “Self-Sabotaging” things you can do. Are you willing to DO what you haven’t done before? Or will you just continue to nod your head. Get clear on the options and opportunities all around you and right under your nose. Write down what you want.

This is not as simple as it sounds. If you are saying “I don’t need to write down what I want it is in my head”, think again that arrogance of thinking coupled with “I know that” are forms of self-sabotage and these may be the very things keeping you from moving forward. Yes, these are basic things. If you are not where you want to be it is time for the basics.

Knowing the basics and not acting on and executing the basics can cost you dearly. Just like the ball team that does not execute the most basic play can lose the game, failure to execute the basics can extend your job search and can impact your salary and long term earnings.

Write down the job you want, when you want to start working and describe the job you will be doing. Review the systems you are using to land the job. Now look at your résumé and your LinkedIn Profile, are these aligned with what you want? If not, why not?

Are you devoting time to networking, researching your ideal employer and contacting the employers and hiring managers that interest you? Or are you devoting hours to surfing the internet job board hoping for the job you want to appear?

What will you do different this week?

If you’re ready take action, speed up your search and land the job you want in record time, and have questions about your search, sign up on the right for my Q & A calls then join the next call to get your questions answered.

I will email you the information on the next call. Until then continue to move forward and accelerate your search.

All talented professionals and experts sometimes get stuck; the key to their success is that they know when to ask for help and where to look for the help and assistance they need to move forward. High achievers simply need information and to be pointed in the right direction. Given the “what to do” they dive in, apply their skills, and get the job done.

If so, you’ll be happy to know that the unemployment rate has dropped in some states in October. For example in Massachusetts, the drop marked the first monthly decline in the unemployment rate since June of 2007. To make that number more “REAL” several of the people working with me have accepted new positions in the last two weeks.

These are not just any positions, but the “right job” and at top salaries. One client contacted me to say his commitment to the “right job” over many months he had invested in a solid process of marketing his experience and identifying the job he wanted had netted a very good ROI. “This is a great new position doing what I love to do with an 18.5% increase in salary, what a great way to start the holiday season”.

This past weekend while shopping with a family member I was reminded, “if we are going shopping, we need to do it right”, and I must tell you I have some serious shoppers in my family. If a job is on your Holiday Shopping List, you may want to review the list below to ensure you get what you want.

All good shoppers (and job seekers) know finding the best items, bargains, or jobs are made easier when you:

1. Never shop without a list – make a list and know what you want and need.

2. Know where to find what you want and need, and do your homework to find out who has what you want and need.

3. Review other items, bargains and jobs to be sure you are selecting the best match for your wants/needs.

4. Shop before you buy, but don’t shop without items 1-3 on the list.

Happy Holiday shopping!

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” ~ Oprah Winfrey

Happy Thanksgiving!

In the US many are making plans for Thursday, Thanksgiving Day! The day marks the beginning of the holiday season and hopefully for you a time for quiet reflection and gratitude for the blessings of your life and all you have, and have been given.

As you plan your week, travels, events or whatever you will do this week to celebrate may you also pause to be thankful, I know I will. Then take a bit more time to plan how you will take advantage of all the holiday gatherings to connect with family, friends, make new friends and build relationships within your network. The holiday season is the best time of year to connect and build your network. Here are a few tips to maximize each gathering and leverage the many networking opportunities you will have over the next few weeks.

Be prepared to give something to everyone you meet. A smile, a kind word, a connection, even an opportunity to get to know a family member better can is a wonderful gift you can give another. Don’t forget to have business cards with you and share them as appropriate.

Be prepared to answer the question “What do you do?” or “Where do you work?” Avoid saying, “I am unemployed” instead share what you do, or your ideal job, clearly in less than a minute. If asked questions share more as appropriate, if asked where you work reply with you are currently seeking new opportunities within XXX (list your top 3 target companies), or that you most recently worked for XXX (your last employer).

Don’t beg for a job, sell yourself, and don’t ask those you meet if they know who is hiring or if their employer/company is hiring. Instead ask questions about the other person, what type of work they do, the company they work for and what they enjoy most about for the company. The odds are you will be very surprised to learn how you could help another person or something about that person and/or the company they work for that you would not have known without that chat.

Give the person you are talking with your full attention. Avoid the challenge of balancing a plate of food, and a glass, hold a plate or a glass but not both at the same time. It is okay to eat before you arrive at the gathering and focus only on visiting and networking. If you are gathering for a meal, ask questions and listen, listen twice as much as you talk!

Have a positive attitude about the event. Be sure to thank the host and/or organizer, even Aunt Sally, of the event and show appreciation for the work and effort to ensure the event’s success. As appropriate prepare and deliver simple unique, affordable, fun holiday gifts to say thanks.

One of my clients created a simple bookmark with a list of 5 top tips from her field and added a lovely sunrise photo she took on the other side. She gave them to each host or mailed them with a thank you. These were created on the computer in less than an hour and printed six to a page, so the cost was just right.

Do your best to ensure that everyone you meet and talk with feels special, valued and important. One of the easiest ways to do this is with focused listening.

Ask others questions about what they enjoy about the event, the season, or what is exciting or interesting in their life. Listen and ask follow up questions, avoid offering helpful suggestions or ideas unless you are asked for your ideas.

Avoid negative comments, conversations, and discussing that you are unemployed. Be happy and maintain an attitude of gratitude. Your upbeat attitude will prove contagious.

“Regardless of your lot in life, you can build something beautiful on it.” ~ Zig Ziglar

Zig Ziglar’s point is on target. This quote is one that reminds me that I have many gifts and opportunities and it is up to me to use these to build a beautiful a life to accomplish my purpose. To do this I need to be connected to my purpose and to communicate my purpose. One of the ways I have learned to communicate and achieve my purpose is to build and use my personal brand.

Are you building your personal brand? Is your brand working for you?

It is amazing how building your personal brand, will help you stand out from your peers, reach your career goals and live your purpose. Once you identify and communicate what makes you unique, compelling and relevant in the marketplace, your personal brand helps you connect your purpose, values, strengths and what you do.

Think about Bill Gates who has a stated purpose of a computer in the hands of everyone. His purpose connects to what he does, what he wants to do and he has a strong brand. How does your purpose connect to your career and what you want to do?

Do you need help to explore and live your brand?

What are the attributes that you set you apart?

What are your unique points of differentiation?

Create a list of these and your values. Write down your purpose.

Reflect on your attributes. These are the things that help you stand out and create a strong brand. Strong brands demand a premium.

What are you doing to build a strong brand?

If you want some help to explore your brand you may want to check out 360˚Reach is the first and leading web-based personal brand assessment.

Being known in a job search is critical. Your name, what you do and reputation are intertwined. If people don’t know you are, what you do, what value you add or type of service you provide that impacts your position in the marketplace, within the community and impacts your short term and long term success. Who knows your name? Who knows you?

What are people saying about you? Jeffery Gitomer, president of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer and author says that when someone asks about you or says your name, people are going to say one of five things about you. These things are: something great, something good, nothing, something bad, or something real bad. Gitomer also says that whatever people say about you determines your fate.

Building your name recognition and a great reputation takes dedication, execution and time.

What are you doing to be known?

Social media and social networking are here to stay and tools that can help you build name recognition and your reputation. Using social media to be known is a process, it takes work and to be effective requires systems.

What systems are you using to be known?

What is it that you need? Life has a way of providing what is needed. At least in my life and the lives of the people I know and the people I help.

Have you discovered like I have, that you NEED to know what you want before it will show up?

One of my favorite books, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill helped me understand that as long as I know exactly what I want and take daily action toward what I want I get it. In the book, Napoleon Hill calls this “Definiteness of Purpose”.

It really did take me a long time to figure out that getting what I wanted was not as hard as I had made it for years. Why was it so HARD? First I was not clear about what I wanted, then I thought I had to know anything like what I needed, when I would need it and how to get each of those things I would need before I could start to move forward to get what I wanted.

For years I made getting what I wanted and needed hard. It is just not that tough. The process of being successful and getting what you want a like a job, a new career, a promotion or whatever starts with knowing exactly what you want, being open to discovering what you need and taking specific action to get what you want.

Have you decided what you want? When you decide what you want and go for it, you are on your way. In Napoleon Hill’s book he tells a story about a young child who knew just what she wanted, the action she took to get it and how in her determination ensured her success.

Another lovely woman I know is starting the job she wanted this week, after a focused very determined search. Joy (not her real name but a name that fits her well) identified the job she wanted and she pursued it.

Just like the child in Hill’s book who wanted fifty cents, (a large sum of money in the early 1900’s) from Mr. Darby’s uncle and was determine not to go home without fifty cents. When the reply to the child’s request for money was no, the child did not quit. Instead the child’s resolve did not waiver and she demonstrated the power of persistence to achieve her goal. Joy was showed the same resolve. She determined that just because she did not get what she wanted with her initial application, testing for the job and efforts to get an interview were not successful – the game was not over. Joy’s resolve was to take additional action and find what she needed.

Yes, it took almost eight months to get what she wanted. Joy was successful because she knew exactly what she wanted, she asked for what she needed and got it, and she worked each day to get what she wanted.

When I talked to Joy last week, she is very happy to be starting her new job this week and moving forward to achieve new goals and enjoy future success. Joy is just one more example of getting what you need when you need it. For Joy and you knowing what you want, being determined to get what you want and asking for what you need ensures the need will show up when you need it and equals success.

Several months ago when Joy needed a resource to help her get what she wanted, the resource showed up. The answer to her need show up not necessarily the way she thought it would, but it was what she needed. Why? Joy took a risk asked for want she needed and stepped into the unknown. She lost or overcame her fear and had faith and courage to ask for what she needed and believe that is would show up. It did!

Would you like to know how to make the process for you?

Decide what you want, then decide that no matter what you’re going to achieve what you want, that is what Hill calls “Definiteness of Purpose”. Next face your concerns and fears head on and watch them begin to dissolve. Now work and move forward toward your goal. All the things that you NEED to reach your goal will show up in your life to help you get what you want!

What do you need? It is no coincidence that you are reading this message right now. This message is the message you need to take you where you want to go.

To your accelerated search and success!

“You are never a loser until you quit trying.” ~ Mike Ditka

AUTOPILOT, cruise control, and automated systems are great tools. I highly recommend them. My long drives and life would not be the same without these tools. I use great tools to enhance my life and my work. I encourage you to find and use as many tools as you can to automate and streamline your job search, your networking and all the things you do.

There is one caution I would share. Mike Ditka got it right; I don’t believe you fail at anything unless you stop trying. Don’t lock on the cruise control and assume you can stop trying. You are still in charge of the wheel of the car! Using tools to automate tasks does not let you off the hook for the important work that needs to be done.

One of the best ways to save time to work on important things is to put systems in place to take care of time consuming task that need to be done. So do it. Would you be shocked to learn that you can automate most of the passive activities in a job search? Of course not, you have done it. My question to you is by doing so, did you quit trying or quit working on the high value items with the time and effort you saved by setting up “search agents” and posting your résumé to 150+ sites?

Do you spend all or most of your time looking at job postings that are dropped in your inbox? If so, you are more of a “buyer” of the products (jobs) offered, than a seeker of “opportunities”.

Are you trying to find opportunities with your automated systems? Or have you stopped trying, and just hope the “prefect” job will show up in your inbox one of these days?

You can counteract the rollercoaster of the market. You are set up systems and create a pipeline of opportunities in a good or a bad job market.

Here is what you do. Set up systems and a schedule with very specific activities. Create a specific market plan and market yourself consistently. Assess where you are, define the job you want, determine your goals, set up the tasks to be done, your marketing plan, your schedule and do. Automate, delegate and execute the really important things each day.

This ensures you know what you are doing each day, week, month, quarter and year to market yourself and that you are working on the important things. Yes, even after you land the job you want you still need to market yourself.

Have you quit marketing yourself?

Are you waiting for the “right” job to show up on your computer screen or inbox?

Are you taking action and getting results?

Are the results you are getting great or just okay?

Do you need some help to tweak your systems or results?

“Faith is not something to grasp, it is a state to grow into.” – Ghandi

The job search can be the toughest job you will ever have, sometimes despite “Positive Thinking”, great marketing, resolve, determination, focus on your goals and vision, doubts jump into your thoughts. Go ahead, admit it.

Pause and think about how you FEEL about building and connecting with your network and how you ACT and interact with your network. It does dictate how your network grows and how fast your search moves forward.

Sometimes when you reach for the phone or start to type an email, that inner voice or doubt begins to chatter. “Why, would this person be interested in hearing from me, we’ve not talked in 8 years” or “what will this person think of me, I am unemployed and begging for help” or “this person doesn’t like me” or “this person doesn’t know me” or “this person wants the job I want or is my competition” or “my dream is gone, I am so unhappy, why am I doing this”.

We all have inner doubt at one time or another. The way we feel directly impacts the actions we take, especially in marketing ourselves, our value, and what we can do and with whom we are willing to share information. How we feel directs the action we take. Also how the person you contact is feeling directly impacts their actions.

What we choose to do (or not to do) will determine the opportunities we have and find. Our actions directly impact the results we achieve, our income and our success. The choice of what we do will also impact how we FEEL and ACT this afternoon and tomorrow.

In times of doubt, how we feel and act may not be moving us in the direction needed to change the status quo. Marketing yourself requires building your network, and ensuring your network knows who you are and what you do.

Why? So when opportunities present themselves you are thought of as a solution to the problem or a person who may be able to help. You don’t just need a network when you are looking for a job you need a network and a “Book of Business” as it is called in the sales world, to connect you and keep you connected with people and opportunities all of the time.

If you feel and act like you just want to connect NOW because you NEED a miracle to show up TODAY, what do you think the impact of that is?
What would happen if you feel and act with positive expectation?

What would be different if as Ghandi suggests in the quote above, you grow into the faith that connecting or re-connecting with each person will bring good things to you and to them?

You and I already know intellectually that you have significant value to offer. I also know that there are no accidents, and that if you are considering the contact you should act on it because it is the first step to connecting with an opportunity and allowing that opportunity to show up in due time. My bet is that you know that too!

What action will you take? Yes, I know it takes a lot of courage to BELIEVE that results actually do occur based on our actions or lack of action, unless you stop to think intellectually about cause and effect.

It is much easier to listen to the voice of doubt, or the media telling you there is nothing you can do things are just BAD. It is easier to take no action than it is to have the courage to listen to the REAL call to action and actually do what you need to do.

Everyone wants life and success to be easy. Me too! I would love it, if I could just wait by the phone or open the email and someone would agree to hire me and pay me giving me wonderful work to do. However, without marketing, connections, contacts and demonstrating my value in many settings and in many ways, time and time again. I don’t land the job and neither will you.

Grow into faith, grow your network, nurture your vision have the courage to BELIEVE that the results are indeed coming based on your actions, and be a magnet for success and prosperity in your search. FEEL confident about your value, skills, and the job you can do, be willing to ACT. You must take action and be aware of your feelings or you will miss opportunities that are available to you by connecting with your network.

Assess your network. Take inventory of the people you know. Inventory your network now. As in any business, inventory is an asset and will impact your bottom line.

The network of people you know is a component of your social and business capital. Who are your critical connections? Who are the critical connections you need to add to your network?

Create a plan to connect and stay connected. Who knows you? Who likes you? Who trusts you? Who will you contact with this week? How will you stay connected?