Accelerate Your Search™ Now

Have you been asking yourself, “Is it time for a move to the next level?”  Maybe you’ve been wondering what you want to do next or asking yourself, “What do I want to do when I retire?”

If you are restless odds are that you are asking yourself these or similar questions.  And, they are all great questions.

Whether you’re restless or simply seeking a better understanding of your next move, making the shift may be easier than you think.

Here’s a quick tip to help you with the process:  write your question at the top of a blank page of paper, then set aside 10 minutes everyday for the next several days to brainstorm all your possible ideas and write them down.

Don’t evaluate the ideas — just jot them down.  At the end of the week, review all the ideas.  Move the top 3-5 ideas to their own blank page and continue to explore your ideas.

For starters, ask yourself:

• What would it take to do this?
• What would be the impact of this?
• Why do I want to do this?

When you are ready to seriously explore your ideas, discuss them with someone you trust.  Then, formulate a plan and take action to create the transition or transformation you desire.

Have a comment or thought?  Post it below.

Do you have a question about moving to the next level?  Sign up for our next Q & A call to the right.  Join the session in November to ask your question.

Last week, I shared how one experience created many limitations for me over the years in both my career and in business.  I allowed the past to limit my future.

For a long time, I did not stop to think, design and intentionally review the opportunities presented to me.  And, unfortunately, I did not realize it or know why.  Years later, I have come to understand my behavior and spot it in a second!  Now, I do my best to pause in lieu of reacting immediately.

Here is the story that created my limiting beliefs:

It was my first solo sailing trip after purchasing my sailboat.  I had learned how to sail, purchased the boat and went out alone on a great summer day.  Unfortunately, I opened my sails too fast and very quickly the wind caught the main sail.  The wind shifted the boat and dumped me in the water.  I am a good swimmer and almost fearless in the water.  Yet, on that day, the wind was strong and the water cold.  I felt the sting to my confidence of being ill prepared for a brief minute.

This sting momentarily rattled my confidence and tested my knowledge.  A voice in my head said, “You don’t know enough to do this alone.”  That voice was scary and loud.

A moment later, I climbed back aboard the boat and I immediately knew I could correct for the error I made — so I did.  I tried again and enjoyed sailing for another couple of hours.  I was happy, had fun and went home to share the events of the day.

As I shared my adventure with others, they added their voices of concern to the little voice in my head that kept repeating, “You don’t know enough to do this alone.”  Over time the voice in my head, and the voices of others, grew to sound like a bold, robust choir!  I started to believe that perhaps the others knew better than I did.  What if they were right?  What if I did take too many risks?

In the moment that I lifted my head out of the water that day and the cold wind stung my face I began to write the ending to a story that would evolve and limit my opportunities for many years.  My story that resulted in quick “NO’s” kept telling me, “Don’t be too fearless.  Don’t be too courageous.  Don’t risk too much.”

Now when that choir shows up like a cold wind, instead of saying “NO” immediately, I use it to offer encouragement to myself to pause and assess each opportunity.  When that sailing experience flashes through my mind, I see it as an opportunity to design, craft and set an intention for each opportunity before me.  Rather than being a limitation, as it initially was, it is now helpful.

What story do you tell yourself that limits your opportunities?

What story or stories do you need to review?

If you are a courageous, do-it-yourself person, much like me, you may be putting off seeking help and support.  I can tell you I did not learn to turn off the choir and write new endings without help.

Just like learning to sail, building a career or a business are adventures that are much more fun and profitable when they are not solo adventures.  I sought out mentors, coaches and many others to help me.  Who is helping you rewrite your “stories?”  Who is helping you build and transform your career?

If you are ready for a career, business, or life experience that will transform your work and create an amazing new career filled with fun and many opportunities, let’s talk.

I love the summer season.  It brings play, work and fun into a different space for me.

Most of all, summer is a reminder to create, design, and intentionally write the endings to the experiences and stories of my life.

What about you?

Do you have stories you tell yourself that limit your opportunities?

For years I had many ‘stories’ that created interesting limitations.  One in particular came not from previous work experience, but rather from a sailing experience.

In my youth, I learned to sail with my dad and family.  I enjoyed sailing and decided to buy a sailboat.  This is where my limiting story began.

It took me years to realize how one event created so many far-reaching limitations for me. Later I was offered an invitation to ‘open my sails’ and I immediately said, “NO.”    Not, “No thank you” or “Let me have the details” — replies that would have allowed me to assess the opportunity and risk.  My reply was just “NO!”  It was a time when the winds of change were strong.  In an instant, I felt the winds on my face and decided the invitation was too risky.  Why?  On that day, I was not sure.  It was later, while talking with my coach that I sorted out the reason.

The simple answer?  A story from the past that instantly wrote an ending to this invitation.  An ending that felt too risky.

Do you do this with career opportunities?

What story do you tell yourself that limits your opportunities?

Join me next week for more about my sailing story . . .

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.

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?