Just finished writing the 4th edition of Im on LinkedIn Now What

Just finished writing the 4th edition of Im on LinkedIn â€" Now What Whew!  Thank goodness for long holidays when the rest of the world has a couple of weeks of (and doesnt respond to email)    I spent all of last week and all of today updating the 4th edition of Im on LinkedIn Now What??? and sent it to the publisher a couple of minutes ago. My next big project is to redo the LinkedIn for Job Seekers DVD I expect to take all of this week and next week to do that. Ill let you know when those two things are available Just finished writing the 4th edition of Im on LinkedIn â€" Now What Whew!  Thank goodness for long holidays when the rest of the world has a couple of weeks of (and doesnt respond to email)    I spent all of last week and all of today updating the 4th edition of Im on LinkedIn Now What??? and sent it to the publisher a couple of minutes ago. My next big project is to redo the LinkedIn for Job Seekers DVD I expect to take all of this week and next week to do that. Ill let you know when those two things are available

The First Phase of Entrepreneurship - Classy Career Girl

The First Phase of Entrepreneurship In todays video, I am diving into the very first step of entrepreneurship and exactly what you need to know in order to succeed. If you are thinking of starting a business, you are not alone in the feelings of overwhelm and fear. Welcome to the first phase of entrepreneurship.  There are five phases in our Corporate Rescue Plan and today we are talking about the very first phase, The Designer Phase.  How do you know if you are in Designer phase? You are a Designer if you are motivated to start your own business but confused about what type of business to start. You are scared to take the first step and struggling to find enough time to make it happen. You are beginning to figure out your purpose and strengths and how they will fit into your ideal business. You don’t know what should be a priority first and the thought of walking away from a salary and benefits terrifies you. You have no idea what business to start and you aren’t sure if you can really make any money with your idea. You are frustrated with your day job and are having a hard time managing your time and fitting in all the things you want to do into your day. There’s just not enough time and you are very frustrated with your day job. You are sick and tired of working so hard on your employer’s goals and pushing your own goals to the back burner. You are now ready to do something about it but have no idea where to start. Steps in Designer Phase: 1.Time How to find the time to launch your dream business? This is one of the most common questions and issues I  receive. Here are some things that I hear over and over again that you’re dealing with procrastination, there’s more to do than time allows and you’re missing out on your family. You’re really having a hard time finding balance, and you’re really not sure how to carve out “me” time.  You really don’t want to waste your time either and you really want to get this dream career launched fast. The first step is to create your productivity plan and put a few time strategies in place to help you prioritize on ONE THING. Yep, one thing. One thing a week. Thats what our CRP Success Plans are focused on in this phase. Giving you one thing you need to do each week to help you reach your long-term goal. [RELATED: 13 Time Management Habits of Successful Women] 2. Mindset A lot of you are backing off from what you truly want to do because you’re hesitant to be who you really are. You have  a fear of being yourself. You’re also losing confidence in yourself. You have a lot of self-doubt and are really scared or feeling guilty to launch your dreams. You are  thinking, “Am I really good enough to make my dreams to a reality? Am I ever going to get hired? I’m never going to get hired. I’m never going to be able to launch my dream business.” You are afraid to dream too BIG. These are the things I’m hearing from you all over and over again. Some of this might ring true for you. Then there’s also a fear of living up to other people’s expectations and really having lots of constant negative thoughts. What if it doesn’t work? 3. Direction The third step in Designer phase is figuring out what YOU really  want and targeting your destination. This is where we figure out what business to start and start narrowing down your ideas to find the ideal business for you (not just one that is going to make you a ton of money). It’s all about  making a no excuses policy with yourself that you can and will achieve the success you want. This is the one thing I did that made my dream business happen. Do what you can, from where you are, with everything you’ve got. I did all I could, with what I had, from where I was. Now you know what it is like in the first phase of entrepreneurship and what you need to do. But, wait what about the four other phases? We will be covering all 5 phases on our webinar called How to Successfully Transition From Employee to Entrepreneur on Sunday and Monday. Grab your spot here: www.classycareergirl.com/successpath

An Interview with Career Columnist Andrea Kay This is How To Get Your Next Job

An Interview with Career Columnist Andrea Kay This is How To Get Your Next Job I am nerding out as I write this intro I cant believe we had the opportunity to interview nationally  syndicated Career Columnist, Andrea Kay!!!   Andreas resume is unreal: shes published 6  career books, she speaks to Fortune 50 companies, shes made several TV  appearances  and writes a column called At Work thats published in USA Today and Gannett newspapers across the United States, Canada and several other countries.  She might be my career idol! Andrea has a new book coming out on April 18th called This is How to Get Your Next Job: An Inside Look at what Employers Really Want.  Im pretty sure 8 out of 10 of you might need to read this book, if not for immediate use, to go into the next chapter of your career with gusto. Read on to feel a little bit more normal about your career and to get inside the head of someone who has some amazing career advice. Tell us about your career BEFORE becoming a career consultant, author and syndicated columnist. I graduated college with a journalism degree and a minor in rhetoric communications and started out in communications in the corporate world. I wrote internal publications. I assisted with media relations and advertising and learned about promotion, marketing and media. I was always fascinated and concerned with how people communicated and interacted and was focused on enhancing both through my writing and internal training programs. I also did freelance writing for magazines on the side.  Later, I had my own writing and public relations firm, learning and writing about everything from education, wellness and toys, to construction, hospitals, finance and mental health. Later on,  when I wanted to hone my writing skills (I am just mad about language and effective communications) I worked as an advertising copywriter for a major ad agency. It was the most fun job I ever had. I wrote TV, print and radio for banks, amusement parks, grocery chains and editorials for political issues. I also created a side business in which I wrote stories and developed artwork for weddings that told how a couple met; I had them printed and delivered to the bride which she handed out to guests. I knew the advertising gig was a stepping stone to something bigger. I just knew I wanted more. So I was spending a lot of time reflecting on what mattered most to me, what I was good at and how I could best utilize my skills to help others. It was 1987. I traveled a lot and observed what was changing in the world, what people needed, and what I was most curious about. I had always loved reading psychology books and have a deep interest in self expression. Earlier on, I had begun  training to become a public speakerâ€"something else that fascinated me.  I was adept at getting to the core of an issue quickly and seeing a course of action. I knew how to position and package products and services. Putting all that together, I decided I wanted to focus my work on disseminating information about careersâ€"something I was curious about and people needed help in. I created a vision of what I wantedâ€"picturing myself writing, speaking and helping others who didnt know how to tap into what was deep inside them and then how to go about having it. I learned how to counsel people. I read and learned everything I could get my hands on about careers, management, business, leadership, self esteem, fear, motivation, trust and more. And then I implemented my vision to establish myself as an expertâ€"first through consulting, then writing a column, speaking, being on TV and radio and then writing books. What led you to write this book? Two things. One, I couldnt stand listening to myself yell at the radio anymore. Id be getting ready for the day listening to the radio and Id hear a report about unemployment with people saying things like Im looking for something where I can use my skills with people and maybe computers and Id starting yelling, Dont say that! This went on every day. Two, I wanted to know if my husband was crazy. He had been trying to find an employee for his small business for six months. Hed come home complaining about what potential employees were saying and doing in e-mails and during interviews. He finally gave up, discouraged about the whole thing. I wondered, Was it him? Was he right? I started talking to employers at all size companies. They were experiencing the same thing. They couldnt find good people to fill openings. They told me similar stories about what people were saying and doing. It was terrible. Even though I have been writing about these issues for over 25 years, we were in a different time and place. People are more desperate. With so much fear and desperation and misunderstanding between workers and employers, I thought maybe I could bridge the gap somewhat. I wanted people to knowâ€"its not that hard to stand out. There are jobs. You can get hired. But, you have to stop doing what youre doing and do this instead to make that happen. So I decided it was time to write another book. Of the girls who read MsCareerGirl, which group do you think this book is most relevant for: those in their first few years of the real world, career changers or those looking to reach the next level in their careers? Its relevant to anyone who is trying to make a changeâ€"which could mean finding a new job in the same field or a different job in a new career direction. Even if youre looking to interview internally or move up in your career at a later stage, everything I write about here applies to you and how you present yourself. It will make you very aware of the most crucial thing to understand in your career: the importance of how you are. You wrote another book called Lifes a Bitch and then You Change Careers.  Tell us about this book.  It seems like so many Gen Yers myself included change career paths a few times before they figure it out. People choose careers for many reasonsâ€"some not very well thought out. Others have to change because of health reasons, or their industry or role is becoming obsolete. Theres no such thing as the absolute perfect career or a perfect career path. People change. As they go through various life stages, their interests or focus changes. For meâ€"and for many othersâ€"theres a desire to do more. To help people, perhaps. Careers change as people, life and the world outside, changes.  Lifes a Bitch and Then You Change Careers  helps you get to know yourself and the various things that comprise a satisfying careerâ€"at whatever point youre at. So if you just fell into a career and never liked it, this book helps you see what would be more enjoyable. I ask you questions, give you exercises to help you do that. It helps you think more openly and expansivelyâ€"not just about a job title. Then I show you how to research what you think you want. I know youll be nervous, afraid, worried. So I wa lk you through that. I show you how to market yourself for your new career. I still get e-mails from people telling me how they did everything I told them in this book and it changed their life. I love getting those notes. What role do you believe social media plays in ones career/job search? First, its a tool that if used wisely, can help you establish yourself as a professional and build on that post by post. Its only a tool, though. You still have to talk to actually talk to people. It can help you build a reputationâ€"hopefully a good oneâ€"if youre strategic about how you use it. It can help you connect with people. Discover people you want to follow to learn from. It can help others know about you where, again, you can build a consistent, professional reputation. In a job search, it helps you find people you may want to approach to ask questions about a company, a job or a career direction. It is a place that allows others to research information about you. So its crucialâ€"and permanent. Use it wisely. Are you fan of people who have a side hustle outside of their day jobs?  Could side hustles be perceived negatively in an interview? I find it amusing that theres a new name for something people have been doing forever. Some folks see this as Plan Bâ€"in case things dont work out at their day jobs. But it may not necessarily be the thing you want to do full-time. It may be more of a hobby that is something you make some money doing, but dont want to turn into a full-time business. I think being involved in other ventures can be great for some people. You can learn a lot and who knows, maybe it can turn into something you want to do full time at some point. Sure, it could be perceived negatively in an interview if you mishandle how you talk about it. If you sound more excited about that than the job at hand, thats not good. And if it sounds like it might interfere with this job, thats not good either. You want to demonstrate that youre a well-rounded person with other interests. And maybe, just maybe, some of what youre learning with your outside gig is even applicable and beneficial to this job. Ive always had side endeavorsâ€"doing and selling artwork, writing, developing other small businesses. Today I have another project that involves art, performing and speaking. You can learn more at FlutterbybyAndreaKay.com. (Yes, always promoting.) What can women do to increase their chances of higher pay? Showing the employer the value you bring to the position is what matters most. Thats why theyre paying you. So first, you need to know exactly what that value is and two, be able to explain it with specific examples. Know what problems you solve and how that can help the company or past companies. Practice this. Say it succinctly. Back it up with specifics. Women should focus on their value, not what they need. Again, youll increase your chances of higher pay when you think like the employer. Which is understanding how to justify your paycheck by all the great things you do that make the company better, more competitive, more profitable and able to meet its goals. Could you give us a few previews of your 15 Things You Should Never Talk About or Say list?   #1: Dont talk about things you cant back up. If youre going to say Works well on teams in your resume, online or in person, you better know what you mean. You might be the most supportive, reliable, flexible team player on the planet. But if you cant share some examples of how youve been so terrific, dont say it. Everyone says things like this. And without juicy details, employers will conclude youre exaggerating or not being honest about your abilities, you dont really understand what that means, youre not an effective communicator or you just said it because it sounds good. #4: Dont talk about TMPI (Too Much Personal Information.) This includes hard-luck stories about sick children, pets and mothers, broken-down cars, religion, politics and bouts of depression. If youre trying to create a bond with the employer or hope to gain sympathy, it has the opposite effect. It shows poor judgment, lack of professionalism and immaturity. Employers may also think your personal life is such a wreck you may not be dependable. Or that youre overly dramatic. Stick to why youre qualified for the job. #7: Dont say I have good people skills. Everything says this too. The words mean nothing. If you are indeed someone who is good with people  (dont say that either)  say so in a way that has some teeth and relevance to the employer. Explain what you mean. Do you speak in a way that makes it easy for clients to understand what you mean? Do you put people at ease quickly? Explain it that way and have a couple examples that show how that makes a difference in the type of work you do. Where can we follow your column? My column appears in many papers every week and in USA Today every Saturday.    I also post it to my Facebook fan page every week  and on Twitter: @AndreaKayCareer. Or check out my Website where I post most of them eventually: AndreaKay.com.

Personal Branding Interview Tim Sanders - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Interview Tim Sanders - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, I spoke to Tim Sanders, who is a New York Times bestselling author and his newest book is called Today We Are Rich: Harnessing the Power of Total Confidence. In this interview, Tim talks about how he was inspired to write his new book, how you can get rich by giving, how social media has impacted his sense of confidence, and more. What was your inspiration for writing Today We Are Rich? In the fall of 2008, I saw so many people lose their confidence as circumstances changed. As the economy sank, their Mojo drained away. I’ve been through this a few times in my life, and in each situation, the Confidence Plan I was taught early on gave turned recessions into growth opportunities for me. One day in 2009, I also realized that I’ve failed to tell my entire story through my books. While she was still alive, I wanted to introduce my grandmother Billye King Coffman to the world. She’s a philosopher, strong hearted person and an inspiration from the cubicle to the vestibule. So consider the book like a blend of Think and Grow Rich told with the style of Tuesdays With Morrie. It’s the ‘prequel’ to my first book, Love Is the Killer App. How do you get rich by giving? There’s two kinds of rich: Money and Meaning. The first kind can come and go, and frankly, there’s never enough to satisfy you because it’s self-oriented. Meaning, on the other hand, is achieved when you share: Stuff, Love, Help and Advice. When you are truly rich, then, you believe that there’s enough â€" enough to share. And to quote Billye, “and when we share, we are worth something.” This is true for companies too â€" as they give to communities or their people, they create meaning and groom their market facing story. And believe me, tomorrow’s customer is not just buying a product or a service, they are buying a story. In what way has social media altered our sense of confidence and overall livelihood? Your results may vary. In some cases, social media produces an endless supply of distractions, intrusions and random-information intake on our parts. And it wears us down â€" because we tend to get caught up with the negative and overlook the good. If you jump out of bed everyday and first thing, you go online, it’s hard to believe that you’ll have emotional control over your coming day. To think abundantly and positively, you need to manage what goes into you head like what goes into your mouth. We would also stop following negative people or sharing their content, no matter how funny it might come off or how shocking it will read. Because when you do, you become part of the problem, not part of the solution. What are some changes that you made in your life that have had a positive impact on the people around you? I’ll start at the end, with the last principle in the book: Promise Made, Promise Kept. The idea is that to maintain your internal sense of integrity, and self-confidence, you should keep every single promise that you make. And I mean every single one. In our culture of happy talk, we make a lot of ‘undocumented promises’ and later either forget them or file them away under, ‘changed circumstances, no need to keep.’ That’s not good for our biz or project mates. Sure, the big promises (like product launch or hard line deliverables) may come in, but when we fail to keep our word, we make this world a less certain place. Keeping promises studiously requires quite a bit of lifestyle design: Document, Verify, Schedule, Fill and Check. To really live this requires time and a commitment to keep all promises â€" even the stupid and irrelevant ones we never should have made in the first place. The other big change in my life has to do with my conversation style. I start with the positive, even when projects aren’t going perfectly. It’s important to lead with support, because it instills group confidence and that’s a big part of the total confidence I talk about in the book. What gives people confidence in the first place and what takes it away? Confidence is the feeling that you or your group will be successful in a given situation. Some feel it because of favorable circumstances. As my old box Mark Cuban likes to say, “Everyone’s a genius in a bull market.” Think of it as Situational Confidence. Much like money rich, it comes and goes with the market. The other type of confidence is Cultivated Confidence, where through lifestyle design, you believe in your success because of the inreach and outreach you are doing. You feed your mind good stuff, move the conversation forward, exercise your gratitude muscle and boost your sense of integrity â€" and destiny. People, like Billye, you master this over a lifetime are the Phoenix and not the Fodder during times of great adversity. They are the ones that are usually the givers instead of the takers when change or uncertainty hits a company or community. Tim Sanders consults with Fortune 500 executives on marketing and Internet strategy to write his bestselling books on business. His first book, Love Is the Killer App: How To Win Business and Influence Friends, is a New York Times and international business best seller. His follow up, The Likeability Factor, explains the concept of emotional talent and the importance of creating an engaging experience. His third book, Saving The World At Work, examines the external relationship between a business and society. In his newest book, Today We Are Rich: Harnessing the Power of Total Confidence, Sanders updates Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale to tackle a new world, where social media and transparency present unique challenges to our sense of confidence, sanity and faith, and shows how to unleash winning behaviors to achieve total confidence.

The Importance of Job Board Fresh Resume Templates

The Importance of Job Board Fresh Resume TemplatesYou need to get a bunch of fresh resume templates from your job board to help you make the most of your resume. These resume templates are going to be the single thing that will make or break your chances of getting hired.No matter how good your resume is, if it is not written correctly, you will never land that dream job. The next time you start to think that your resume needs some touch up, take a deep breath and relax. You can do it yourself; it's as easy as, typing your resume using good old fashioned manual typewriting.You need to spend some time with the job board to get some fresh resume templates to make your resume look more professional. The resume template may only be four to eight weeks old but it will still need touching up. It's an expense, but it will save you a ton of trouble in the long run.There are a few tips that you can do to improve your resume. One of them is, determine what part of your resume is missing. This could be an area where you want to emphasize. If you forget this detail, your resume might end up looking like a bunch of spelling errors.Another tip is to try to make your resume template a little bit different from others that you have seen. You don't want to copy them exactly but you may want to throw in a few things that you thought of. When you use the right skills in combination with the proper resume template, you can make a real difference.The template should be of good quality but it should be kept simple. You want to keep it as simple as possible so that you can focus on your information instead of being distracted by a million and one things. You are going to find that many people hire a professional to do their resume writing for them.Of course, if you are going to invest in a resume template, the last thing you want to do is pay someone for the first time and not use it. You will end up spending money more than you would if you were to simply use the template that you l ike.Instead of wasting your time wasting money on new resume templates, just make the necessary changes yourself. If you just follow directions and keep it as simple as possible, you will make yourself stand out among the other applicants. This can also help you land that dream job.

How to Sample a New Career

How to Sample a New Career How to Sample a New Career How to Sample a New Career October 19, 2009 by Career Coach Sherri Thomas 5 Comments Career sampling is a great way to test drive a new career without investing a lot of time, or risking your paycheck. Here are three great strategies to help you determine if a new career is right for you Take on an extended assignment. Look across all the departments within your current organization to see if there are any projects or teams that interest you. Many times managers and project leaders jump at the chance to have someone join their team even if that person doesnt have any experience. This is a great way to test the waters of a new career. Also, are there any external initiatives that inspire you? Many companies have community programs and special events that you may be able to support. Finally, talk to your manager, peers and other department managers to see which professional and civic organizations theyre involved in. Take advantage of opportunities that could help you learn about new industries or job roles. Try freelancing or consulting. If youre thinking about owning your own business, try setting up shop first as a freelancer or consultant. Youll be able to set your own hours, develop your business plan and gain some experience before investing all of your time, money and energy full time. Its also a great way to earn some extra cash!

Trust Your Strategy, Not LinkedIn - CareerEnlightenment.com

Have you asked yourself exactly how you are going to meet those people?Theyre there! With 80,000,000 possible connections on LinkedIn, the people you need to know are there. Your job is to find them and make your best impression.LinkedIn as a Yellow Pages, or as a Laser BeamThere are basically two schools of thought on this issue. The first camp, calling themselves LinkedIn Open Networkers, LIONs, believe there is more power with a larger, diversified network. They vow to never say, I dont know him when theyre ,invited to connect.In contrast, there are the LinkedIn Libertarians who follow LinkedIns original premise of networking with folks youve at least had a conversation with, or with whom you have something in common. These folks accept invitations only from people if there is some kind of real connection. Perhaps they met at a trade show, or were referred by someone, or worked together for 20 years.The first part of your LinkedIn strategy will be deciding which camp you fall into , and at what stage in growing your network.Dont let a website make the decision for you. YOU are in control.Decide on a destination for your LinkedIn efforts and map your way back to the present moment. What is your next step?