Top 2 Reasons Why You Need A LinkedIn Profile

Top 2 Reasons Why You Need A LinkedIn Profile

“Do you really need a LinkedIn profile?” As a 20-year career coaching veteran, I get asked this question almost every day.

The short answer? Yes, you do need a LinkedIn profile.

Why? Well, here are two reasons why I think you should have a LinkedIn profile in 2023:

Why You Need A LinkedIn Profile

@j.t.odonnell Replying to @user30726650 2 reasons to setup a @linkedin profile in 2023. #careertok #jobtok #linkedin #linkedintips #linkedinprofile #jobs #jobsearch #joblife #careerhelp #careeradvice #career #job ♬ original sound – J.T. O’Donnell

Reason #1

First of all, 840 million people and counting now have profiles on LinkedIn, which means there’s a 100% chance that somebody who works at the company that you’d like to work for someday is on LinkedIn. Now, why does that matter? Well, studies show that as much as 80% of all jobs are gotten via some form of referral. And if you’ve ever applied online and never heard back, you know what I’m talking about.

Applying online is the worst way to get hired. The best way to get hired is to know somebody who knows somebody who can get you in touch with a recruiter or hiring manager. If you have a LinkedIn profile, you can do that yourself. You can reach out to somebody that works at your dream company and ask, “Who’s the best person to talk to about these types of jobs?”

Reason #2

The second reason you want to have a LinkedIn profile is for the purpose of background checks. Companies are going to look you up on social media. They’re going to see what you’re about. Having a LinkedIn profile that’s very professional, that describes your skills and experience, is going to be a great way for you to rank. Your LinkedIn profile will rank when somebody searches your name based on how many keywords (skills) you include on your profile. Recruiters will be able to find you. It’s simply a great way to put your best foot forward.

So for those two reasons (and for the fact that it can take you less than an hour to set up your profile), I think it’s so worth it to have a LinkedIn profile. We are all businesses-of-one. We’re service providers. We need to manage our careers. And if you’re a purpose-driven professional who wants greater career satisfaction, you’ve got to own that. Why not use a free tool to have more control?

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Tips for Teachers Transitioning From the Classroom to the Office

Tips for Teachers Transitioning From the Classroom to the Office

Many lecturers love working in the exact classroom, which allows all of them direct connection with students. Simply by engaging in hands-on training, many teachers obtain the uncommon opportunity to influence younger minds, helping them develop with new skills as well as relief of knowing that will help these people succeed up. However, several teachers usually do not enjoy the very classroom experience. Teaching will be […]

The post Suggestions for Teachers Transitioning From your Classroom to the Business office appeared 1st on Jobacle. com .

How To Answer “What Is Your Work Style?” (With Examples)

How To Answer “What Is Your Work Style?” (With Examples)

It’s quite common to get asked “What is your work style?” in a job interview, so you need to be ready to answer it effectively.  This guide will teach you how to prepare a response that shares the way you work, while also making interviewers eager to learn more about you as a candidate. Table […]

The post How To Answer “What Is Your Work Style?” (With Examples) appeared first on Career Sherpa.

5 Ways To Get A Raise (Without Asking)

5 Ways To Get A Raise (Without Asking)

It’s that golden moment, the one you always dream about. The moment your boss offers you a raise, and you didn’t have to ask for it! It doesn’t happen often unless you have something in your contract that stipulates your pay increases, or some other sort of mandated pay raise. However, for the majority, an impromptu raise is just a dream.

There are no promises to be made here. Many raises, even those you ask for, depend on a variety of factors. You have control over whether or not you deserve a raise, but not always over getting one.

Luckily, there are some things you can do that will push you closer to getting a raise, whether you ask for one or not:

1. Bring In New Business

Woman looking for a raise gets congratulated by her boss

It doesn’t matter if you’re in sales or not. If the company you work for isn’t able to bring in new business, they aren’t going to grow, and they won’t be able to afford to give you a raise.

In today’s business world, everyone is in sales. You are a business-of-one. You have to sell yourself, your company, your skills, and your products. If you aren’t a salesperson, you may not have the know-how to follow a sale through to the end, but you can still bring in business.

For example, just because I was an accountant at Dr. Snooze mattress company doesn’t mean I had less of a chance to get a raise than the people on the sales floor. I’d still get leads and find new accounts. I used excellent customer service to ensure other companies kept coming back to do business with us.

Start looking for ways to bring in new business and you’ll be amazed at what you can learn.

2. Become An Expert (On Something)

Woman on a video call takes notes to be a better employee and earn a raise

This “something” should be related to your field, obviously. There’s no point in learning everything there is to know about QuickBooks if you work as an account supervisor. Sure, it might occasionally come in handy, but the goal is to become a go-to person on a topic.

If someone has questions about an account, they should be coming to you, and you need to be able to answer them. It’s even more impressive if you can reach out before they even realize there’s an issue. Not only does that mean that you increase your customer retention, but your clients will remember that and recommend you.

3. Find A Mentor

Man finds a mentor at work

Not just any mentor. Do what you can to ensure that the mentor you choose is someone you would like to model your career after.

In today’s marketplace, having a mentor that’s a little bit old-fashioned (or at least respected in the industry) might be a great way to distinguish yourself. After all, careers now last about 4-5 years, instead of 40-50. You need to be on-call 24/7, but that doesn’t leave you any time for a life. A mentor can help you work through the kinks and can help you to pave a path that others want to follow.

With guidance from a mentor, you’ll stand out from other employees on the job, and could be next in line to get a raise.

4. Make Your Boss Look Good

Man helps his boss with something at work

There is nothing that will make your boss love you more than if you make them look good. After all, they’d probably like a raise just as much as you would, so it makes sense that they need you on their team. Stepping on their toes and making them look like they don’t know what their doing isn’t going to win you any favors.

When I was working at McElroy Metal, this tactic worked perfectly for me. I gave my supervisor all the credit for a huge sale I made, and he quickly became a favorite with the owner. When it was time for him to give promotions, I was the first one to be recommended.

5. Become Irreplaceable

Man gets complimented by his boss after getting a raise

The thing is, once you’ve made yourself irreplaceable, you can ask for pretty much whatever you want (within reason, of course). Becoming an indispensable employee involves doing what you’re supposed to, plus everything listed, and then a little bit more.

After all, people who make themselves exceptional stand out for a reason. Having the perception that losing you would decrease productivity around the office and cost them money means that job security is locked in tight, and your boss will want to fight to keep you.

There is no way to promise that you’ll get a raise. Much of it has to do with things you have no control over—the company’s current standing, when a promotion becomes available, or the overall economics of the country.

Even if that can’t be guaranteed, however, you can drastically increase your chances of getting a raise—whether you ask for one or not.

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.

Using The 2022 PMI Talent Triangle To Drive Project Success

Using The 2022 PMI Talent Triangle To Drive Project Success

Like most professions in the post-pandemic world, project management has undergone yet another conceptual transformation while also redefining how the projects of the future will be managed with the release of the 2022 PMI Talent Triangle.

Keeping up with these new trends will be crucial for a project manager’s success while also sounding a warning bell for companies who wish to attract top talent to manage their increasingly complex projects in a hyper-competitive landscape.

What’s New: The 2022 PMI Talent Triangle

Project management concept

Let’s face it: managing projects has never been an easy task and many of us have oftentimes felt frustrated with the limited roles yet high levels of responsibilities placed on project managers. The American comedian, Rodney Dangerfield, so eloquently coined the expression, “I can’t get no respect!” and I am quite sure that many PMs can identify very well with this statement in our misunderstood profession.

Since the advent of the project management profession in the late 1960s, the general expectation has been that project managers are everything to everyone on a project, even though the role was often considered a purely operational one (basically managing the “schedule”), with the relevant activities starting once the project award was received from the customer.

Despite this limited official level of official responsibility, the very success of the project always rested on the PM’s shoulders, hence a significant source of frustration and misalignment.

In May 2022, the Project Management Institute (PMI) finally confirmed what many of us had been preaching since the late 1990s in their release of the updated PMI Talent Triangle:

Project Managers are, in fact, business owners who need to adapt ways of working and strong business acumen to manage their projects in our increasingly complex, changing world.

This is definitely a game-changing initiative, but also a much-needed one to set companies up for better success on their customer-facing and also internal projects. It also now forces PMs to develop crisper, more well-rounded skills to be able to achieve these lofty aspirations.

PMI Talent Triangle Update | PMI

Applying The 2022 PMI Talent Triangle: Ways Of Working

Project manager attends a team meeting

The previous traditional and agile schools of thought have now evolved into a very extensive toolbox that allows PMs more flexibility when managing their projects.

It also now creates the expectation that project managers must “master as many ways of working as they can—so they can apply the right technique at the right time, delivering winning results.”

This is both exciting and challenging to apply in larger companies that must possess (or develop) a greater degree of organizational ambidexterity to survive in the long term.

Among these new tools are design thinking, transformation, data modeling, and performance management, just to name a few. These tools complement the PMBoK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) and now offer an incredibly diverse array of techniques that PMs can use to manage their projects.

Too many choices? Information overload?

So how can PMs determine the best working method for each project when there is so little time between the commercial phase and project award? For me, this is one of the primary reasons that project managers MUST be engaged even prior to the bid preparation so as to analyze the full scope and strategic importance of each project.

In this way, the work breakdown structure, or WBS (i.e., the nucleus of the project), can be customized to cover only what needs to be bid and executed. This also allows for better identification and alignment of organizational assets to be used on the project.

This is why strategic meetings with the key decision-makers and stakeholders must be held as early as possible, even at the prospect identification phase. The adept PM will develop a questionnaire to steer the conversation and arrive at the “best way” to structure both the commercial proposal and execution plan.

Applying The 2022 PMI Talent Triangle: Power Skills

Project management concept

As I have mentioned in previous articles, communication is THE most important skill for a project manager and this new pillar emphasizes an increasingly collaborative approach to leadership, to foster innovation, empathy, and ownership.

In this way, The PM empowers their team with the aim of more effective stakeholder management, now at all levels of the project, to drive change and meet project goals.

By using techniques such as neuroscience, business psychology, emotional intelligence, and brainstorming sessions, PMs of the future will be able to develop a more empathetic, humanistic approach to understanding the challenges of managing their projects as well as the needs of the ever-wider range of stakeholders to be managed.

Let’s not forget that projects are still managed by people, so understanding the human psyche, cultural differences, intergenerational preferences, and historical perspectives are major inputs that affect team performance.

We also cannot ignore global trends such as diversity and inclusion, climate change, and other geopolitical events which shape our behaviors, policies, and actions. They also challenge the PM to be an extremely adaptable, active listener.

These techniques should be on every PM’s mind while conducting meetings, planning work, and interfacing with stakeholders. I find this to be very powerful in fostering creative, innovative approaches to solving problems, one of the project manager’s main functions.

As an example, I promote a cultural minute at the onset of select meetings to give team members an opportunity to share specific topics of interest. These can then be woven into the main topic of the meeting, or even specific parts of the project to enhance team engagement.

Finally, I believe this increased interpersonal skillset is quite effective in driving coaching, mentoring, and training across the project management spectrum for we all know the current challenges of retaining and attracting top talent!

Applying The 2022 PMI Talent Triangle: Business Acumen

Project management software on a laptop

From a purely operational focus to a new business owner mentality, PMs now need to understand the “macro and micro influences in their organization and industry and have the function-specific or domain-specific knowledge to make good decisions.”

I particularly love this pillar of the new PMI Talent Triangle because it really elevates the standing of the PM within an organization, while challenging the functional managers to up their games to support the key projects and initiatives of the company.

It does challenge the PM to now do their homework so that they really understand:

  • The business context of the project (organizational goals, strategy)
  • The key market drivers (regulatory, currency, geopolitical)
  • The competitive landscape (important during execution as well)
  • What success looks like (sustainability, corporate image)
  • Potential gaps to execute the work (CAPEX, OPEX, skills)

Instead of only being involved after project award, this now means early involvement of the PM during the commercial, pre-award phases of the project in order to develop better relationships with customers (and other key stakeholders), while evaluating project requirements to ensure that the project team will be able to actually execute what is being promised.

The value that a project manager brings to an organization can truly be leveraged as organizations are now seeing just how much influence a PM has throughout the project.

For example, during the execution of a project, the adept PM who applies business development or customer service techniques can gauge not only the level of customer satisfaction at any given point in time (rather than only at the end) but can also find out about competitors’ performance, opportunities to upsell by becoming aware of new project scope, other customer projects, as well as a whole host of opportunities that could arise, including innovation to respond to future trends/needs.

It also better prepares the PM during management of change (MOC) or variation order negotiations as they will have a much clearer understanding of how the original scope of the project was negotiated, thus providing important insight as to customer psychology, main decision-makers, etc. This then leads to a more consistent customer experience not to mention more sales!

Conclusion

I for one am extremely motivated by the release of the 2022 PMI Talent Triangle as I feel like it has finally given project managers validation in our mission to show just how much value we bring to an organization. It also keeps us relevant by responding to megatrends while providing us with a very complete toolbox to adapt our project management techniques so that we do not overkill or underkill our projects. It does challenge us to redefine what it means to be a project manager while also giving us that ever-so-important seat at the executive table.

4 Fastest-Growing Marketing Job Titles & What It Means For The Workforce

4 Fastest-Growing Marketing Job Titles & What It Means For The Workforce

Check out the 2023 LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise list revealing the 25 fastest-growing job titles over the past five years that just came out. Four trending marketing job titles on this list provide insights into where the workforce is headed.

4 Fastest-Growing Marketing Job Titles

Marketing professional talks during a work meeting

Growth Marketing Manager

A growth marketing manager is responsible for identifying, developing, and implementing strategies to increase a company’s growth. It’s a vital role because of its ability to drive sustainable and profitable growth for a company.

Content Designer

A content designer (also known as a content strategist) is responsible for creating, planning, and producing digital content that meets the needs of a target audience and supports the organization’s goals. It plays a vital role in developing and delivering high-quality digital content that helps to build trust, engagement, and conversion with the target audience.

Online Campaign Manager

The online campaign manager is responsible for planning, executing, and managing online marketing campaigns that promote a company’s products or services, ultimately acquiring new customers. It is vital in developing and implementing effective campaigns that drive visibility, lead generation, and sales.

Customer Marketing Manager

A customer marketing manager is responsible for developing and implementing marketing strategies and campaigns that target existing customers that drive customer retention, loyalty, and repeat sales. Companies are now more focused on customer retention and engagement in a digital world, which is a significant driver for a customer marketing manager role.

What The Top 2023 Marketing Positions Tell Us About The Future Of Work Trends

Professional looking ahead to future career/job success concept

As a 20-year brand marketing veteran, here are a few reasons why these four marketing positions are spot on for future work trends:

  • Personalization: With the increasing use of artificial intelligence and machine learning, the ability to personalize online campaigns is becoming more critical. These roles create and execute campaigns tailored to the needs and preferences of different customer segments, which can help increase engagement and conversion rates.
  • Data-driven Decision-making: These roles use data and analytics to measure the performance of online marketing campaigns and make data-driven decisions to improve performance. The ability to continuously test and optimize campaigns is critical for staying ahead of the curve in the fast-paced digital landscape.
  • Integrated Marketing: These roles work closely with other teams to understand customer behavior and trends, identify opportunities for customer retention, loyalty, and upsell, make sure campaigns are seamlessly integrated with other marketing efforts, and make data-driven decisions.
  • Continuous Learning: It’s critical to stay up-to-date with online trends and best practices to ensure that the company’s efforts are effective and efficient. As the digital landscape is constantly evolving, the ability to learn and adapt is a key aspect of these roles.

Pursuing a trending marketing job title can open up more career advancement opportunities and be more financially rewarding. It can also increase the chances of finding a job that is a good fit for you and that you enjoy.

How To Motivate Disengaged Teachers

How To Motivate Disengaged Teachers

During the pandemic, it was understandable that the focus for almost everybody, including educators, was on the health and well-being of friends and family. Post-pandemic, however, I’m noticing a troubling trend: some educators are still suffering from an ambition deficit when it comes to teaching.

Just the other day, for example, one teacher told me that they called out of work because the previous day there was a field trip and their feet still hurt. In professional trainings I have facilitated lately, I also have had teachers leave early because they felt “too tired” to go on. Teachers told me they were leaving; they didn’t ask. We are definitely in what Robert Glazer calls an “Ambition Recession.”

To be fair, there are many valid reasons why some teachers are apathetic and/or leaving the profession. I previously wrote about some of these reasons in my Work It Daily article “3 Reasons for the Big Quit in Teaching.” Yet, if we are to help students to grow and achieve, we need to get teachers back on the school improvement bus. However, this is not just the responsibility of individual teachers. What might school and district administrators do to motivate teachers to make a positive change?

Recently, I had the chance to listen to an episode of the New Yorker Radio Hour; the theme for that episode was change. During that episode, dance choreographer Akram Khan suggested that there are four—in my opinion, interrelated—reasons why people change. While he may have been talking about re-envisioning the ballet “Giselle” for the modern stage, I believe his thoughts are relevant to those in education who are charged with motivating teachers to participate, more fully, within the teaching profession.

Teachers Will Change When They Must

Teacher helps a student

The grass is not always greener on the other side. Now that many educators have moved out of teaching roles and have taken opportunities in the private sector (particularly in EdTech), we may see a boomerang effect. There is a certain amount of financial stability as a teacher. A teacher may not be making as much money as they would like but it is a constant. In contrast, when one moves into the private sector, financial compensation can ebb and flow erratically particularly when the threat of recession looms like grey clouds on the horizon. Teachers, like anyone, might then be happy to have a job and do more to maintain it.

Teachers Will Change When They See Enough To Be Inspired

Teacher smiles at her students

Traditionally, many teachers have been isolated within the four walls of their classrooms. Most still need to find adult coverage of their classrooms to take even a short bathroom break. How then might school leaders make internal exemplars of good teaching and learning more visible across the faculty? New Beginnings Charter School, in Brooklyn, NY, for instance, produces a weekly digital staff instructional newsletter that features classroom videos of their teachers using best instructional practices. They and ITAVA, in Queens, NY, engage in lesson study and open up model classrooms for teacher intervisitation. Lesson study is not the only way to coalesce teachers around a common goal; there are many additional ways to make teacher teams impactful.

The key here is that administrators need to plan deeply; they need to develop schedules that release teachers from the chains of their classrooms so that teachers can visit other classrooms and/or participate on ongoing teacher teams. Inspiration also requires triangulation of teacher development supports. For example, instructional coaches might consider referencing support materials/exemplars of best practice, provided in digital newsletters, during ongoing coaching feedback conversations. Help teachers become aware of where they can go for resources to improve their teaching craft and have multiple pathways for teachers to get there.

Teachers Will Change When They Learn Enough To Want It

Teacher educates her students on technology

When I worked with the Cristo Rey School Network, we were interested in learning how best to develop internal tutoring programs that would well serve students and prevent their exit due to poor academic performance. One of the most powerful tools we had in replicating a quality tutoring program, across the network, was the ability to draw upon the expertise of one of our schools that already had such a program in place. Providing a space for all our school leaders, and teachers involved in the tutoring of our students, to engage in problem of practice protocols proved pivotal for the replication of this one school’s tutoring model across multiple school sites. As our school leaders and teachers learned more about what already was working in-house, the enthusiasm to replicate said practices was infectious.

Networked learning can be internal—as in the case of Cristo Rey above—and/or external. The Canopy Project, a joint project between Transcend Education and CRPE, has, for example, over 200 member/school organizations interested in building transformative education environments focused on equity. It aims to do this by collaborating, not competing, on the development of best school design. How might school leaders include more teachers within internal and/or external networks of practice? The models for learning networks are out there.

Teachers Will Change When They Receive Enough To Be Able

Teacher educates his students on a new concept

Asked another way, are administrators and/or instructional coaches giving enough so that teachers develop efficacy? I’ve written elsewhere on how we might say that student learning is at the core of our work as educators but, in reality, this is not evident when we, as managers of learning, make time for everything but instructional observation and teacher coaching. Therefore, administrators would do well in developing a standing weekly schedule for themselves that prioritizes both informal classroom observations and feedback/coaching sessions with each teacher on staff. Move operational tasks to when instructional time is over for the day. Paul Bambrick-Santoyo discusses this, in great detail, in his book Leverage Leadership.

Kim Marshall further suggests that administrators, during mini observations, not write notes. Rather, later in the day, administrators might use a one-page staff list to record the day, date, and most relevant points from each visit. Later still, they can add a checkmark when feedback has been given to the observed teacher. Further, share anonymous instructional data, across classrooms, with teaching staff. Help teachers to understand why certain instructional priorities exist and solicit teacher participation in responding to the data.

If you would like additional ideas on how to impact student lives without sacrificing your own, and have a life teaching, check out my quick hack teaching courses here. You can also reach me on LinkedIn.

How To Answer “What Are You Passionate About?” (Examples)

How To Answer “What Are You Passionate About?” (Examples)

“What are you passionate about” is a common interview question that seems straightforward. However, answering it can be trickier than you’d think! This resource goes over how to answer this question and make a great impression in the process. Table of contents The Reason Interviewers Ask This Question How to Answer “What Are You Passionate […]

The post How To Answer “What Are You Passionate About?” (Examples) appeared first on Career Sherpa.

How To Take Advantage Of Online Career Skills Courses

How To Take Advantage Of Online Career Skills Courses

There are a host of online courses available to help people level up in their careers or learn new skills entirely. But, to fully take advantage of online courses, you need to have your priorities in order and know exactly what you want to accomplish.

Some courses are offered for free, but there are also many that cost money. As you review available online courses and determine the ones worth taking, you may have to consider both finances and time constraints. Consider these four categories when choosing online courses:

Seeking Online Courses For Career Growth

Young businesswoman takes an online course to learn new career skills

Online courses that can help professionals do their job better are among the most valuable courses that you could take.

It’s easy to work in a role for a long time, but not grow in it. You can’t let that happen! If your career isn’t growing, it’s dying.

In order to make yourself an indispensable employee, it’s important to keep up with industry trends and constantly take inventory of the skills you need to do your job exceptionally well. Some companies will even pay for their employees to take courses or certification programs if the employee can prove it will help them do their job better and ultimately benefit the company.

As far as choosing the right online courses, it helps to write out the specific areas where you’re looking to upskill, and then research which courses check off the most boxes. LinkedIn Learning has a diverse course selection and the website Coursera has an extensive library of courses.

Beyond doing your job better and making yourself an indispensable employee, there’s a certain sense of satisfaction that comes with always trying to get better.

Gaining Skills To Make A Career Change

Young professional takes an online course on her laptop in hopes of changing careers

Breaking into a new industry as a result of a career change or layoff is never easy. One of the first major steps a person has to do is an assessment of professional skills. This is where professionals determine what skills they have that are transferable to the new industry, and what skills they’re lacking.

For example, a journalist looking to make a transition into marketing has important communication and writing skills that will transfer well into the industry, but would probably benefit greatly from a course or certification program in online marketing.

Just because a professional completes a course or certification doesn’t mean they’re qualified for the new industry. But, it may put them in a better position to secure a job interview, and it at least shows potential employers a willingness to learn.

If you were laid off and are unsure about your next career move, Work It Daily has free career quizzes that could point you in the right direction.

Gaining Extra Skills To Be A More Well-Rounded Professional

Man wearing headphones takes online career courses on his laptop at work

Taking courses to gain extra skill sets or to pursue an additional passion is a very advantageous position for professionals.

We all have interests beyond our careers, and sometimes our careers turn us on to additional interests. For example, a doctor with a passion for graphic design may take courses about how to develop a freelance business on the side.

Others may take courses to help transition into a new position at their workplace or climb the ladder at the company.

One of the best steps any professional can do is to get ahead of the curve and anticipate skills that they may need in the future. Taking this type of initiative will not only impress your employer but may also help you learn more about yourself as a professional to either excel at your current career or chart a new career course.

Taking Courses For Personal Enjoyment

Man and woman use laptop together to take online career courses

Not every online course that you take has to be career-related. Sometimes it’s good to just take a course for fun or personal satisfaction. The number of courses available online runs the gamut. You can learn a new language, sit in on online lectures from university professors, discover basic life hacks, and hear from prominent people about their success stories.

Expanding your knowledge base can make you a more well-rounded and happier person. This translates well into all aspects of your life.

Online career courses are only a piece of the puzzle. The path to true career growth is putting together a plan for success, and Work It Daily can help!

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.

Is Your Lack Of Confidence Holding Your Job Search Back?

Is Your Lack Of Confidence Holding Your Job Search Back?

Are you feeling defeated because you’ve done all you could do to attain a job, but have yet to land one? Examine your internal dialogue. Yes, put down the resume, halt the job search, and join me in this deep-dive exercise of exploring your thoughts…

What are your beliefs about your candidacy? What “vibe” are you transmitting during your phone interview, exuding through your body language, projecting with your attire selection, and reinforcing via your resume and cover letter?

If your lack of confidence is holding you back in your job search, try to think about the following:

Others can sense your lack of self-confidence.

Lack of confidence can be “smelled” a mile away. Negativity, cynicism, and a “poor-me” attitude is not attractive at all—no matter how you try to mask it.

While it may seem too simple and bordering on just “self-help” talk, the beliefs we hold about ourselves are fundamental in our success. The concept of reversing negative internal narrative seems simple; however, actually changing what you are thinking, feeling, and exuding is not—but it can absolutely be accomplished!

We guarantee that if you have lost the job offer, perhaps even during a second interview, the person who got hired sold their qualifications with more confidence, was more persuasiveness in promoting their value, and closed the deal (job) by assertively reassuring the employer that they were the best choice!

So, what are possible reasons for your hard-to-detect negative self-talk?

The following could fuel consistent negative beliefs about your value, your opportunities, and your expectations:

1. Shame In Losing Your Job

Woman staring out a window doesn't feel confident in her job search

No need to be ashamed. It happens to everyone at least once. We cannot control what happens in the world and often we cannot control events in our lives. Nevertheless, we CAN control our reaction to what happens to us and we can DECIDE to take action.

2. Internalizing Past Failures

Frustrated man loses confidence after experiencing failure

“Success builds character, failure reveals it.” —Dave Checkett

Enough said?

Well, just in case: judging yourself for past failures builds a false self-image and can impact your self-confidence. Understand that failure is a part of trying and that, while owning up to your failures nurtures intellectual and emotional growth, defining yourself by your failures does not.

3. Desperation

Woman on laptop lacks confidence in her job search

Understandably, if you have been out of work for a very long time, creditors are calling you, and your funds are now very limited, you can easily find yourself in a desperate-feeling place. Yet, we encourage you to adopt a new attitude.

Employers need you. So, while you are applying for jobs online, keep this in mind. Think about the value you bring as you write your resume and disruptive cover letter. You are a business-of-one. What service do you provide for an employer that makes you stand out from the competition? How will you make or save the company money?

By making this change to your mindset during your job search, you’ll come off as confident, not desperate.

4. Habit

Frustrated man on laptop doesn't feel confident in his job search

This is probably the number one reason we all do a little self-berating. We experience disappointment, become frustrated and angry, and sometimes need to justify what has occurred.

Make a conscious choice to be kind to yourself, coach yourself, and pay attention to what you could be saying to yourself—because negative beliefs can make their way onto the visible aspects of your job search.

Break the habit of talking negatively about yourself, and you’ll be surprised by how quickly your confidence recovers.

Begin Today To Change The Direction Of Your Thoughts And Job Search

No matter what strategic job search plan or interview strategy you have in place, if you cannot convince your prospective employer to hire you, your self-marketing tools are pointless.

You cannot sell what you do not believe in and you cannot energize others to believe in you when YOU lack that type of enthusiasm in your own services/skills. Confidence is—and has always been—the key to job search success.

Plus, it feels good to recognize how amazing you really are!

So, begin to take notice. Write down all the reasons why you believe your job search is not fruitful, what your weaknesses are, and why you think you are NOT the best candidate, and then eradicate that thinking. Replace it with positive self-talk and substantiate it with achievements. Ironically, exploring your negative dialogue and reversing it can lead you to discover your UVP (unique value proposition). This is what will get you hired.

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.

23 Tough Interview Questions & How To Answer Them

23 Tough Interview Questions & How To Answer Them

Knowing how to answer tough interview questions is a valuable skill for any job-seeker. And while they might seem intimidating at first, they’re quite easy to deal with if you’re prepared. Check out this list of hard questions you’ll likely get asked in your next job interview, and how you should approach your answers. 1. […]

The post 23 Tough Interview Questions & How To Answer Them appeared first on Career Sherpa.