Why You Aren’t Living Up To Your Career Potential

Why You Aren’t Living Up To Your Career Potential

Have you ever heard someone say they are not living up to their potential? Maybe you’ve said that yourself. Maybe you’re feeling that way right now. As a 20-year career coaching veteran, I heard something this week on a podcast that is going to blow your mind regarding this concept of “not living up to your potential.”

You’re Living In The Gap, Not The Gain.

@j.t.odonnell Why you aren’t living up to your career potential. #livinguptoyourpotential #yourpotential #potential #careeradvice #gapversusgain #livegain #gap #gain #makinggains #gratitude #careercoach #coaching #careertiktok ♬ original sound – J.T. O’Donnell

In this podcast episode, they were talking about the difference between living in the gap and the gain. The gap is the space between where you are today and where you want to be (your potential). Living in the gap is when you feel like the distance between where you are today and where you want to be is so far, almost insurmountable. If you’re frustrated and/or depressed in your career, you’re living in the gap.

Successful people live in the gain. They look at where they are today and they look backward at every little thing that they’ve accomplished. They look at how they grew as a professional. They realize that if they keep doing what they’re doing, if they keep “working it daily,” they will get there. They will reach their potential. They know they will get there. They can mentally see that.

Now, what I love about this is if you add in the concept of gratitude while living in the gain, you will make living in the gain much more powerful.

Let’s say you’re living in the gap. You’re miserable. You’re not reaching your potential. And somebody says, “Just be grateful. Make a gratitude list.” It doesn’t work in the gap. It might make us feel better for a minute, but it doesn’t solve this problem.

Gratitude in the gain does. When you go back and make a list of all the smart decisions you made, all the opportunities you seized, all the things that you accomplished or learned from, and you’re grateful for all those things, you are training your brain to realize that you can get there. You can reach your potential. And if you continue to “work it daily” with a game plan using gratitude in the gain, you will crush it.

Using gratitude and a game plan while in the gain gets you to your goal.

The reason that I completely nerd out on this concept as a career coach is that the game plan part is what’s stopping people. You have to know what your unique combination of professional strengths is. You need to know what you create as value and how to leverage that value going forward.

Most people are not taught this. So, what if someone could show you how to assess your unique combination of professional strengths, help you choose a career path that you know would leverage that so that you would be satisfied, and then coached you and supported you to use gratitude in the gain to get you there?

That’s exactly what we do at Work It DAILY. We’ve built a system where we are able to get people gratitude in the gain with a customized game plan so they can go after their career goals and achieve them.

If you finally want to live in the gain so you can achieve your career potential, I encourage you to become a member today. You won’t regret it.

Life After LinkedIn: The Rise Of Micronets For Your Career

Life After LinkedIn: The Rise Of Micronets For Your Career

In a previous article, we gave you a detailed explanation of how LinkedIn has changed since it was built and why it is no longer a social network. Some people get to use it successfully as a social network, but overall it is now a social marketplace. Do you still need to be on it?

Yes.

But you also need to know what’s going to replace LinkedIn as the social network for your career.

LinkedIn Has Paved The Way For “Micronets”

You now know that LinkedIn is the modern-day yellow pages. And as it gets bigger, it’s only going to become more obvious that it’s a social marketplace. That’s why we need a social media 2.0.

We know we still need social networking, and now understand it’s just not happening on platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook anymore. And, while we know the basics of how to network online, we also need some guidelines—and a framework—to do it better.

That’s where micronets come into play.

What Is A Micronet? 

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To improve networking, we need a way to bring a tribe of people together more consistently and effectively. People need to meet or communicate on a regular basis to get to know each other. That’s the only way we can build a strong network and truly connect with one another.

This is why associations are such a big deal—they form a tribe. The problem with brick-and-mortar associations, though, is that you must attend in person to get the value. The associations you join need to be in your local area, or if they aren’t, you’re going to spend lots of money to go to a national conference, which is not realistic for most professionals.

We live in a digital world, so we want that virtual experience. We want that virtual association, that virtual community. That’s exactly what a micronet is.

We’ve Been Waiting For Micronet Technology For A Decade

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J.T. knew the business she wanted to build for Work It DAILY over 10 years ago. She knew she wanted to build a micronet so she could drop the geographic and economic boundaries for people all over the world so everyone could get great, affordable, on-demand career coaching.

She also knew all people needed was to be part of a team where they were participating with others who wanted to help each other grow their careers and really become strong in their professions.

So for the last 10 years, we have been patiently waiting for the day when this amazing technology would finally hit. This year, that technology became available.

We’ve built Work It DAILY on a micronet platform. Our members are in there every day, chatting with one another, networking by industry, job type, or geographic location. We have an 87% engagement rate. They’re attending events with one another. They’re working with career coaches, one on one, getting their LinkedIn profiles and resumes reviewed.

Everything you’ve ever wanted from a social network is now possible due to the rise of micronets. It makes the time you spend on social media valuable. The power of a micronet is that it’s a productive kind of social media.

Work It DAILY has built the micronet that picks up where LinkedIn left off. Don’t get us wrong—we love LinkedIn. We have an entire set of video tutorials that teach people how to optimize their LinkedIn profiles and get the most mileage out of them.

But there’s no way you can network on LinkedIn like you can on a micronet. With Work It DAILY’s micronet, you can use the platform to network with like-minded professionals, growing and taking control of your career. If that doesn’t sound like a positive experience, we don’t know what is.

The Future Of Social Networking Is Micronets

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J.T. predicts there will be thousands of micronets launched over the next two years. There will be a micronet for everything. Anything that you want to do better in your life, anything you want to “work it daily” on in your life, there’s going to be a micronet for that.

So, what’s the key difference between micronets and social marketplaces like LinkedIn?

Micronets are pay-to-play.

With a micronet, you pay a small fee, just like an app. But that means no pesky ads. No businesses trying to sell you their products or services. No trolls. If you’re paying to be a part of a platform like a micronet, people want to be there, and it shows.

Interested In Learning How Micronets Work?

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We set up a FREE 7-day trial for our micronet so you can get into the community and understand it. And guess what? If you have any questions about the platform or micronets in general, you can message J.T. directly when you sign up.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up today, try it out, and see what a micronet can do for your career!

This article was originally published at an earlier date.


Don’t Use “Unemployed” To Describe Yourself. Here’s Why…

Don’t Use “Unemployed” To Describe Yourself. Here’s Why…

I want to take a minute to talk about the word “unemployed.” If you’re one of the millions of Americans who are unemployed right now, I want you to listen up because I want you to stop using that word in your vocabulary from this day forward.

It is a negative word. It is a defeatist word. It sounds definitive and it drags you down and it impacts your job search.

Trust me, I know this to be true.

What I want you to do is to replace it with the term “between positions” or “between jobs” because that’s really what you are. In my book Awakening Your Inner Workplace Renegade, one of the new career rules for success is understanding that EVERY job is temporary.

In this day and age, people can have as many as nine careers in their lifetime with an average of three jobs in each one. Having gaps in employment is the new normal!

We Don’t Stay In One Career Our Entire Lives (Never Mind One Job Or Company!)

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It is natural, normal, and common for people nowadays to have parts in their lives where they will be between jobs. It’s just a fact! This means we shouldn’t feel bad about it. It is what it is. And that’s why I’d like to banish the word “unemployed” from your vocabulary.

Let’s never say that word again. If someone asks you what’s up with your career, simply say you are between jobs.

But saying you’re “between jobs” won’t make your employment problems disappear.

Many People Who Are Between Jobs Are Not Approaching The Job Search The Right Way

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Did you know the average job search in the U.S. is five months? And that’s in a good economy. Why does it take so long? Because most job seekers don’t understand the new rules for career success and how they impact their job search.

If you want your time between jobs to be as short as possible, you need to educate yourself on the best way to ensure your skills are in demand. If you want to learn how to do that, check out my book or become a Work It DAILY member, where you’ll receive affordable, on-demand career coaching that will finally help you find career satisfaction.

No More Saying That Ugly “U” Word 

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We won’t even mention it from this point forward. You are between jobs and busy learning what you need to do to speed up your job search. You can do this. Don’t let your circumstances impact your mindset.

P.S. If you are between jobs, be sure to check out my YouTube video below on the 3 words never to use in your profile headline as it relates to this same topic!

STOP Using These 3 Words On Your LinkedIn Profile

Need more help with your job search?

Become a member to learn how to land a job and UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

3 Areas Where Job Seekers Make The Biggest Mistakes

3 Areas Where Job Seekers Make The Biggest Mistakes

In a job market where there are plenty of applicants, it only takes one mistake to ruin your chances. As a job seeker, you need to know what the common mistakes are and work to avoid them so you lead a successful job search, impress managers with your resume, and make a positive mark at the job interview.

These are the 13 biggest mistakes to avoid in the job search, divided into three categories: job search, resume, and interview. Which job search mistakes are you making?

Job Search Mistakes

Job seeker on laptop writes notes as he views openings through various job board websites

1. Relying solely on job boards for opportunities — it has the least effectiveness rate when compared with using recruiters and networking through contacts.

2. No online presence — employers and recruiters scour for talent on LinkedIn, so if you’re not there and not optimized for the right keywords, you’re missing out.

3. Ineffective networking – most people think that networking is telling your contacts that you are looking for a job and giving them your resume. This is not effective as you’ve just lost control of your job search because you’re waiting on others to respond rather than being proactive in your pursuit.

Resume Mistakes

Young professional on laptop updates her resume

4. Lack of a good experience summary – it needs to speak to “Here’s what I can do for you.”

5. Irrelevant information – if it doesn’t apply to the job or the employer, it brings no value to your resume.

6. Not applying relevant keywords – hiring managers and the applicant tracking system (ATS) look for keywords that indicate a match with what they are looking for before taking more time to review the resume.

7. List of responsibilities instead of accomplishments and success achieved – employers want to know how well you performed on the job, so make sure to quantify your achievements.

Interview Mistakes

8. Late arrival – if you know you’ll be running late at least call to apologize and offer an update on your expected arrival time.

9. Lack of rapport – people hire people they like and feel comfortable around.

10. Not asking questions – demonstrate that you are truly interested in the opportunity.

11. Negative talk about your current or previous employer – this is not considered professional and employers do not want people who have had conflicts in their past jobs.

12. Unprepared and unfamiliar with the company – do your research and understand the employer’s business.

13. Poor body language – it can speak louder than your words

All of these mistakes are avoidable, so carefully review and properly plan and prepare your job search, resume, and interview techniques for the best results!

Need more help with your job search?

Become a member to learn how to land a job and UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

3 Components Of Executive Presence Every Leader Should Know

3 Components Of Executive Presence Every Leader Should Know

If you’re an executive or somebody in a leadership position, you have an executive presence. Your executive presence is your reputation. It’s what people think when you walk into a room, and what they say about you when you’re not in the room.

As a leader, actively maintaining your executive presence builds credibility, trust, and, ultimately, a following. It gives you a competitive advantage over other job candidates, allowing you to gain access to better career opportunities.

Every executive needs to think about their presence. But before you can effectively build a strategy to grow your executive presence and create tools that support it, you need to understand what your executive presence is. To start, here are three components of executive presence every leader should know…

1. Gravitas

Professional man learns about the components of executive presence

Gravitas is the first component of executive presence. It’s your chosen value. It’s how you like to create value in the world, and how you save or make an organization money to justify the cost of hiring you.

One of the factors of executive presence that corresponds with gravitas is your depth of knowledge. As an executive, you’ve gotten to where you are today because you’ve thought through a lot of situations. Developing gravitas happens naturally in your career as you gain more experience and climb the corporate ladder.

Some traits related to gravitas include practical knowledge, composure, confidence, resonance, and vision.

2. Communication

Executive thinks about her executive presence while communicating during a meeting

The second (and most important) component of executive presence is communication. How do you deliver on your value? Communication also includes things like your personality and your approach. These are the things that are going to convey your executive presence.

A factor of executive presence that corresponds with communication is your delivery of knowledge. After thinking through a lot of situations in your career, you’ve been able to communicate that evolution of thought. You’ve taken those experiences and learned and grown from them. This is the most important component of executive presence because, for leaders with an effective executive presence, communication makes up 51% of it. In other words, the effectiveness of your executive presence depends on your delivery of knowledge.

Some traits related to communication include authenticity, constraint, integrity, concern, and humility.

3. Appearance

Executive effectively conveys his executive presence during a team work meeting presentation

The last component of your executive presence is your appearance. This is how your value is interpreted. It can be physical appearance (how you dress) or it can be body language like facial expressions and hand gestures.

The final factor of executive presence that corresponds with appearance is your style of delivery. As an executive, you’ve thought through a lot of situations in your career and communicated that evolution of thought, and now appearance is the type of representation you choose to convey that message.

Some traits related to appearance include personal style, intentionality, inclusiveness, interactivity, and assertiveness.

As a leader in your industry, you have an executive presence. When others are assessing your executive presence (your reputation), they’re taking into account your gravitas, communication, and appearance. Understanding the three components of executive presence is the first step to building an effective executive presence strategy, one that will give you access to better career opportunities.

To learn more about how to build your executive presence, download our eBook, 4-Step Process for Creating Your Executive Presence Online, written by J.T. O’Donnell, founder and CEO of Work It DAILY.

Want To Build Your Executive Presence?

Work It DAILY's LinkedIn executive presence webinar hosted by J.T. O'Donnell

If you’re an executive looking to advance in your career, you need to make your executive presence a priority. This includes your online executive presence. Failing to consistently contribute online in a meaningful way will put you on the fast track to being irrelevant and forgotten.

It’s time to take control of your professional reputation. We invite you to sign up for a FREE workshop with J.T. O’Donnell, a LinkedIn Top Voice. In this 45-minute workshop, J.T. will share the five things all executives should be doing on LinkedIn right now to ensure they remain at the top of their fields.

J.T. will explain:

  • How LinkedIn is evolving and what you need to know to stay relevant and in demand.
  • Simple changes to your LinkedIn profile settings that will yield immediate results.
  • How to get more of the right people asking to connect with you on the platform.
  • The secret weapon that will ensure you make the most of LinkedIn’s recent algorithm changes.
  • And a lot more!

Can’t attend live? No worries.

Sign up and we’ll send you the recording after the event.

We hope to see you there!


Gen Z Job Search: The Years Of Experience Myth

Gen Z Job Search: The Years Of Experience Myth

I’ve heard many of my Gen Z members and followers talk about how difficult it is to apply for jobs when every company seems to require two or more years of experience for entry-level positions, the types of jobs Gen Z, the youngest demographic in the workforce, shouldn’t have any problems getting.

The idea that you can’t apply for a job that requires “years of experience” because you’re a new grad is a myth, and I’m going to tell you exactly what to do instead.

You Don’t Necessarily Need Years Of Experience, But You Do Need A Connection Story. 

@j.t.odonnell Replying to @millers0620 Gen Z Job Search Episode 1: The Years Of Experience MYTH #genzjobsearch ##genzjobs #genz #jobsearchtips #jobs #job #jobsearch ♬ original sound – J.T. O’Donnell

First, I want you to understand the reason they say a job requires “two years of experience” is that they want to make sure you’ve worked at some point in your life. Hopefully, you’ve had an internship, maybe in college or while you were in grad school, but you do have some sort of work experience.

The second thing you need to know is that you have a secret weapon, and it’s called your connection story. What you lack in experience you can make up for with enthusiasm and by sharing how you feel motivated to work for a company.

So, how do you write a connection story?

Step 1: Ask yourself, “Why do I respect and admire this company?” and “What taught me that they were worthy of this respect and admiration?”

Step 2: Think about your own life. What’s making you feel connected to them as an employer?

Step 3: Put your connection story together in a disruptive cover letter. Unlike a traditional cover letter, a disruptive cover letter is a storytelling cover letter.

Step 4: Once you’ve written your disruptive cover letter, reach out to the recruiter, hiring manager, and/or people who work at the company and say…

“Hey, enclosed is the story of why I feel so connected to your company. I’d love to learn what it might take to earn the opportunity to interview or be considered for the XYZ position.”

When you say there’s a story, that piques their interest. And when you say you want to earn the opportunity, you don’t have to point out that you don’t have the exact experience. What you’re trying to do is to get them to see that you have the intrinsic motivation to do the job.

They can teach you the experience. What they need is somebody who understands why they want to work there. That’s what they’re looking for, and that’s what you need to share with them.

I see this every single day. In fact, I’ll tell you a story.

I worked with a young man named Seth. He was a senior in college. He wanted to get a job in recruiting. It required five years of experience. But with this technique, he shared his connection story with the recruiters that were recruiting for the position. And he got the job. He beat out people who had 10 years of experience. And the reason he won the job is because of that connection story. They clearly understood that he wanted to be a recruiter and he was able to say, “Look, I have no bad habits. You can mold me, you can train me, and I’m passionate about this.”

You can do the same thing. But it starts with understanding what your connection story is and then sharing it with those employers.

If you want more information or if you want to be coached on this, we can help you.

Check out our free daily newsletter or become a member and get access to affordable, on-demand career coaching.

Good luck, and go get ’em.

4 Things To Do: Getting A New Job While Working

4 Things To Do: Getting A New Job While Working

Do you want to leave your job but don’t want to give your two weeks’ notice until you find a new one? With the right job search strategy, you can easily find a job while you’re still employed.

One of our Work It DAILY fans wrote in and said, “Hey, I want to quit my job and start a new one. What should be my to-do list today?”

I’m going to walk you through the four basic steps that you should take in order to make that happen.

Referrals Matter

Professional woman at work stands with a professional man who referred her for a job

Now, before I begin, I want to remind you of an important fact. Up to 80% of all jobs today are gotten via referral. So blindly applying online is not going to work for you. Only 3% of the people who apply online ever get called by recruiters or hiring managers.

The four steps that I’m going to outline for you are going to help you go around that ATS (applicant tracking system) and connect with recruiters and hiring managers so you stand out as a great job candidate.

So, let’s break it down…

Step 1: Inventory Your Skills

Young woman on laptop inventories her skills for her job search

You need to inventory your transferable skills. These are all the hard skills that will be helpful in your next job. You may perform some or all of these things in a future position.

Step 2: Get On LinkedIn

Young professional on laptop learning how to update his LinkedIn profile to help recruiters find him

You’re going to take those transferable skills you’ve identified and make sure they’re optimized on both your resume and your LinkedIn profile.

Recruiters are always searching for those key terms when looking for potential job candidates, so if you have your transferable skills listed on your LinkedIn profile (in your LinkedIn headline, for example) you’re going to improve your chances that they’ll connect with you and reach out to you about job opportunities you’re a fit for.

Step 3: Make A Bucket List

Professional woman on laptop makes an interview bucket list

Next, create what’s called an interview bucket list. This is a list of 10 to 20 companies that you would love to work for and that hire for your skill sets.

The best way to build an interview bucket list is to research companies you feel a connection to. Make sure you’d be able to either commute to or work remotely for these companies. If your skills also match the jobs they hire for, the company belongs on your interview bucket list!

Step 4: Identify People At Your Bucket List Companies

Man and woman use laptop together to make their interview bucket lists

Finally, you’re going to identify people who work at the companies on your interview bucket list and use your networking connections to get introduced to them.

You want to be able to have conversations with people who are currently employed at these companies. They can help you understand what it takes to stand out in the hiring process and potentially introduce you to hiring managers.

The Most Efficient Way To Find A New Job

This brings me back to my very first point about getting referred to companies. This is the best, fastest, most efficient way for you to find a new job while employed because you don’t have time all day to spend on your job search. Work smarter, not harder!

Need more help with your job search?

Become a member to learn how to land a job and UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!

This article was originally published at an earlier date.



Perspective Jobs for Students and Why You Should Start Now

Perspective Jobs for Students and Why You Should Start Now

Are you a student eager to embrace the thrilling world of work? Are you tired of the usual mundane part-time jobs that barely leave a dent in your pocket money? Well, fret not, my ambitious scholars! In this blog post, we’ll explore perspective jobs that offer a taste of the real world and bring in […]

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What Soft Skills Should A Student Have To Be Hired?

In today’s competitive job market, academic qualifications alone are often not enough to secure a dream job. Employers increasingly seek candidates with strong soft skills to complement their technical expertise. Soft skills, also known as interpersonal or people skills, are the personal attributes that enable individuals to work effectively and harmoniously with others. They are […]

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The Evolution Of Medical Education: Leveraging New Tools For Career Advancement

The Evolution Of Medical Education: Leveraging New Tools For Career Advancement

As with many fields, the realm of medical education is in constant evolution. Traditional methods of teaching, like hours-long lectures and textbook studies, are gradually giving way to more dynamic, immersive and technologically advanced approaches. This evolution in medical education, while challenging, provides a remarkable opportunity for students and professionals to advance their careers by […]

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How to Help a Loved One Take Their Next Career Step

We all want to see the people we care about flourish and thrive in life. Often, this means helping our loved ones take important steps towards their career goals. Sometimes, this involves motivating a youngster to explore the professional landscape, or helping a partner consider a career change. Other times, it means providing consistent support […]

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