The Power of Not Very Powerful People

The Power of Not Very Powerful People Donald Asher is the author of “Cracking the Hidden Job Market.”   The book is full of common sense tips for finding a job, combined with get tough orders on what it takes to become employed.   For example, Asher says you should have 100 active leads all the time.   100 active leads working all the time. The good news is, then, he tells you how to go about it. In one chapter, he talks about listing everyone you know and approaching them for leads.   And he means everyone.   He spends a good deal of time on people you might never consider for leads â€" the very opposite of the “powerful” people in your town or industry who would appear naturally at the top of your list. Much of his advice is about simply talking to everyone you meet; you never know where or when a lead may come to you. One story he recounts is of a job candidate who’d flown into town for an interview.   As she rode to the interview in a cab, she asked the cabbie what he thought of the company.   His response wasn’t favorable; he’d heard many bad things.   “Tough place to work, unfair, broken promises. That kind of thing.   I think _____ company is better, and they’re in the same industry.” The applicant took the time after her interview to call the other company.   She told them that she was in town interviewing with the competition, and asked if they’d be willing to speak with her while she was in town on the other company’s dime.   She wound up getting two offers, and could choose the better of the two companies. People have made connections and learned about leads from babysitters, landscapers, dog walkers, waiters, and yes, cabbies.   I know a guy here in Jacksonville who has a very small circle of friends; he has a full time and a part time job in Jacksonville, but I guarantee that you’ve never heard of him.   Every time Kenny Chesney or Faith Hill comes to town to perform, they have dinner with him.   Every time.   Their treat. If you wanted to break into country music, he’d be a guy to know.    We know from networking training that people love to be asked for advice; it makes them feel important and seen.  The problem is we often focus only on who we consider powerful, and they get asked a lot.   It’s the connected, but not powerful, people who may have the best leads.   Talk to everyone. P.S.: Talk nice.   The flip side of this rule is that you never know how someone you interact with is connected.   I also know a woman who was running a few minutes late for her third interview for a great job.   Traffic was heavy, and the car in front of her just wasn’t moving fast enough.   She made an ill-advised gesture, yelled out her window, and drove into another lane to go around the offending vehicle.   Imagine her surprise when the slow driver (the company’s director) finally arrived and called her into the office to start the interview.   Talk to everyone, and talk nice.

Online Reputation Management FAQs for Executive Job Search - Executive Career Brandâ„¢

Online Reputation Management FAQs for Executive Job Search

Must Have Free Apps For Working Parents [Infographic]

Must Have Free Apps For Working Parents [Infographic] Photo credit: afagen via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA Anyone who is a working parent will understand just how difficult it is to get everything done every day. Having a full-time career and having young children can be very stressful. There is so little time to unwind and let go of your responsibilities. This infographic from HappyCleans will perhaps make things a little easier as it attempts to organize your life a little better with the help of apps. Being more organized essentially gives you the gift of time, as the last thing you want to be when you’re short of time is disorganized! For example, with household tasks it’s important to delegate even just a little bit. Apps like Chorma can help you to do that as it turns chores into a competition so all family members earn points for getting them done. You’d be surprised how competitive kids are so it may be worth giving this one a try. Check out the full infographic now for apps that help with health and safety, routine, travelling, connecting, household tasks, and budgeting. Hopefully you will find at least one that is useful!

Vintage WIGU - Are you taking the scenic route - When I Grow Up

Vintage WIGU - Are you taking the scenic route - When I Grow Up Hey gang! Hannah here, and Im the When I Grow Up Social Media Maven.  Youll see me hanging round the Facebook groups stuff.  (Say ello if you see me!)  Michelle thought itd be fun if I picked a post from her archives, and I couldnt go past this gem.  I feel like Queen of the Scenic Route, and sometimes I need a reminder that its not a bad thing!  You can read the original here. Find Joy in the Journey by Quotable Life In a session the other night, my client explained, “Y’know, I’m always the kind of person that wants everything to change and start happening in, like, a week!” We both laughed, because we knew that life rarely ever works that way, especially when you have a Big Change to make (becoming an entrepreneur, switching careers, following your passion, yada yada yada). But it got me thinking about how beneficial it is sometimes to take the long way around, and have that change take months â€" or even years. So think back on that goal that took you so long to accomplish, or the one that you were forced to take the roundabout way on, and answer this: What have you learned by taking the scenic route? Meet ya in the comments!

Resume Writing Service - What You Need to Know

Resume Writing Service - What You Need to KnowThere are many people who use a resume writing service to help with their resume writing. Many other people hire a resume writing service to write a resume for them.If you are going to hire a resume writing service to do the job for you, you should know what to expect. Here is a brief description of the resume writing services and how they operate.Resume writing service - or resume writing company as some prefer to call it - works with individuals to create and submit a resume. A resume writing service operates much like an employment agency. The most popular method of resume writing is called the personalized resume and is now often utilized by almost every business with a professional presence.In a nutshell, an individual is hired to create a professional looking resume that is personalized to the individual, so the resume goes out to the human resource department at the company, or the next level of management. The job of the human res ource department is to weed through resumes, and select which one is worthy of hiring the applicant. Another characteristic of a personalized resume is that it is entirely customized to the applicant. A personalized resume is a great way to get your resume noticed.A variety of advantages accrue from the use of a resume writing service: speed, customization, accuracy, and flexibility are the top three benefits of using a resume writing service. With a service, a person's resume goes out to the right people at the right time, so that you don't have to spend days or weeks rewriting it. The writer will ensure you get the job. The services include expert content and writing, too.It is important to note that many companies can't afford to hire a highly qualified resume writer to write their resume. So, an individual looking to build a professional career may need to hire a specialized resume writing service, but be sure to get the highest quality work you can possibly get for your money.A resume writing service is an important element in the entire recruitment process. One can customize a resume to get noticed and can also use the writing service to write a resume to get a job.

Career Killers You Didnt Know

Career Killers You Didn't Know Want to get ahead at work? Heed this advice on what to avoid in the workplace to maximize your professional potential. Mistaking Volume for Effectiveness Just because you’re doing a lot of work doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re doing your best work. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with your workload â€" or you feel like you’re not putting out quality material because you have too much on your plate â€" tap into a professional organization platform to help sort things out. “The most effective communication is focused, consistent, trustworthy and accessible,”says Gretchen Pisano, co-founder and CEO of pLink Coaching Center. “Internal communication platforms, like Slack, transform office communication, eliminate email from the process and dramatically reduce unproductive status meetings that are designed to keep everyone in the loop,” Clustering in Cliques Joining a clique at work can provide a sense of belonging and security. However, workplace cliques can be career killers when you become branded for your peers and not for yourself. This is particularly dangerous for your career when your clique has fallen out of favor, or is not being targeted for positions of leadership. “Instead, cross-pollinate and expand your work networks to be broader, rather than deeper,” advises Becki Saltzman, author of Living Curiously: how to Use Curiosity to Be Remarkable and Do Good Stuff. “Knowing more people and having more people know you will provide more opportunities to step into unforeseen leadership positions. This can also help you navigate group layoffs.” Failing to Keep Up With Technology There’s an entire generation of employees who are being phased out of their jobs because they’re behind the curve on technology. The harsh reality is that we live in a tech-driven world, and if you can’t keep up with the times, you’ll be replaced. “If your workplace implements new systems and you do not embrace the new direction and soak up the training, you risk putting yourself out of a job,” warns Justine Miller, an HR consultant with The Stir Group, a business-consulting firm in Philadelphia. “People remain in the workplace for a lot longer now, so older employees need to be as enthusiastic about new technologies as their Millennial colleagues.” Trying to Be Too Interesting When you’re new to an organization, or feel marginalized at work, making an effort to have your co-workers, customers, and superiors get to know you better seems like a good thing. However, the danger is in the perceived effort. Trying too hard to be seen, heard, and interesting can backfire and make you appear self-centered and desperate. Instead, focus on being interested in others. By doing that, they’ll become more curious about you. “Look for sincere and specific reasons to like people,” Saltzman suggests. “Ask curious questions like, ‘What would surprise people most about your job?’ and ‘If you could implement one new policy at work, what would it be?’ Or perhaps interview a co-worker about an unusual work-related project that you both find intriguing.” Being a Nobody in the Boss’ Eyes Trying to be too interesting can hurt your career, but so can being a wallflower, especially if it means the boss never notices you. It’s important to stand out, but even more important to provide value to the company. “One of the biggest killers people make in their careers in today’s layoff-prone world is not becoming truly indispensable,” says career expert Barry Maher. “Find a task that your boss hates to do and offer to take it over. If losing you means the boss will have to go back to doing something he hates, then he will fight for you as if you were the company’s most valuable employee.” Maher also says another smart strategy is simply to write the boss a very short note at the end of each week that explains what you did during the week.”Not only will the boss be reminded of just how valuable you are, but many bosses will save those notes and use them to write your review from them.” Letting Your True Colors Come Through A Little Too Much You shouldn’t act like a completely different person at work than you do in your personal life, but you also shouldn’t fly off the handle like a raving lunatic every time something goes wrong if that’s something you’re apt to do when nobody “important” is watching. “Triggers and biases can activate our personal behavior bombs that might cause you to erupt when confronted by others’ selfish behavior, false accusations, a lack of recognition, or exclusion from decision-making,” Saltzman explains. “So be aware of those triggers before they activate and destroy your career. Create a ‘trigger tool’ that will help you elevate curiosity ahead of criticism, judgment, fear, and complacency. Doing so will allow you to assess your triggers before reacting, thereby reducing their power over you.”

Feeling Bad About Your Career Its a Good Thing - Work It Daily

Feeling Bad About Your Career Its a Good Thing - Work It Daily By J.T. O'Donnell I’m going to tell you a story and I’d like you to give me a little latitude as you read it â€" I promise it has a point related to your career. Last week, I took my 5 year old skiing for the first time. It was an interesting experience. More importantly, it reminded me of a valuable career lesson. The first hour of skiing was horrible…I mean incredibly bad. It involved tears, lying down on the mountain and more than a few “I want to go home!” comments. It tested every ounce of patience I had. I couldn’t find the right way to teach the snow plow and my little one got more upset with every attempt to explain the finer points of “toes in, heels out” and “make a piece of pizza.” Finally, we took a break. We sat down and over a bag of Skittles, we discussed where the communication was breaking down. After some laughs and a lot of sugar, we went out to try it again. Then, something clicked â€" my child had an ‘Ah-ha Moment’ and suddenly was snowplowing down the hill. In a matter of minutes, we went from ‘This is bad,’ to ‘Hey Mommy, eat my snow!” (Seriously, I have that being sung to me on tape.) As you can imagine, watching my kid explode with excitement and do run after run down the bunny slope for the remainder of the day was fabulous. We both didn’t want it to end. As we drove home, I realized this experience exemplified something important about our lives â€" especially, our professional ones. The fact is, sometimes we actually need to struggle, fail, have fear and feel sadness to recognize and appreciate when we actually make progress. My child would not have been nearly as excited about skiing and wanting to improve if it had come easily. The energy felt from finally figuring it out was fueled by the unhappy feelings of repeated failure leading up to it. What’s my point? Well, if you are unsatisfied professionally right now (i.e. don’t like your job or are disappointed by a long, unsuccessful job search, etc.), it’s a good thing. It means, when a break-through or advancement comes along, you are going to feel inspired to capitalize on the moment. You’ll be given a burst of professional energy that will catapult you forward. To sum it up, there is a silver lining to everything â€" and your career frustration is no exception. If you are feeling the way my 5-year old was on the slopes, then take a break, grab a snack, and get back to trying. The sweet sensation of victory from an ‘Ah-ha Moment’ is coming, but only if you keep at it. Has anyone experienced this recently? Please share your story below so others can be inspired to keep on trying. Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!