Career help Archives - Page 13 of 29

3 Ways To Quantify Your Experience With Numbers

June 29, 2023

If you’ve been doing your homework on how to write an effective resume, you’ve seen a recurring theme: you have to quantify your work experience. Although most people understand the general idea of this, we find that job seekers often struggle with applying this idea to writing their resumes.

Here are three easy ways to quantify your work experience with numbers so your resume stands out!

1. Show How Many

Sometimes our responsibilities don’t sound that impressive until we start detailing how much work we’ve been doing. For instance, if one of your job responsibilities is tracking your company’s compliance with filing a set of forms every year, you could write that two different ways:

Ensured compliance with filing of annual forms.

âorâ

Ensured compliance with the filing of 75 annual forms by 7 different company departments.

Doesn’t the second example sound much more impressive?

2. Show How Much

If you have a job in sales, marketing, or any other business where profitability is the ultimate goal of your position, citing exactly how much money you’ve either made or saved your company is the way to go.

For example, if you’re an internal auditor, your resume could say:

Saved company money by finding ways to cut costs.

âorâ

Implemented new payroll and tax accounting systems that saved firm $1M in personnel costs over the next 10 years.

Estimates are fine when citing these types of numbers, as long as you can justify your claim if someone asks you in an interview.

3. Show How Often

We frequently talk with job seekers who have previously been successful in very high-volume environments. If you’ve worked in this type of setting, please give yourself credit!

Even an administrative assistant’s job sounds completely different when quantified and given some context:

Answered phones at the front desk.

âorâ

Managed switchboard with 10 incoming lines, effectively receiving and routing an average of 500 calls per day.

My goodness, who wouldn’t hire the second candidate?

As you write your resume, ask yourself these three important questions:

How many?
How much?
How often?

The key to landing an interview is to answer those questions as you describe your previous professional accomplishments. Once you learn how to quantify your results and work experience, nothing will hold you back!

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.

5 Tips For Developing Good Leadership Skills

June 27, 2023

Perhaps the most intimidating aspect of leadership is knowing that, in addition to playing an important role in a team’s success, leaders are held responsible for their team’s failures. In order to obtain great results from their teams, leaders must be able to consistently motivate their team members.

As a new manager, the implementation of a positive work environment will not only yield great results from your team members but will help you build confidence in your leadership skills.

To help you excel in your new position, here are five tips that will transform your new job from a daunting uphill battle into an exciting opportunity:

1. Focus On Communication

Clear communication is an important part of any successful relationship, and the relationship between leader and team member is no different.

Express your ideas clearly, making sure employees understand what you’re asking of them. Create a conversation-friendly environment, and give employees the freedom to express their thoughts and concerns. Team members are more willing to trust a leader with whom they are able to openly communicate.

Want to learn more about your communication style in the workplace? This free quiz will help you out.

2. Understand That Wrong Can Be Right

Encourage creativity by allowing team members to be wrong.

Making mistakes is an inherent part of the creative process. If employees know they won’t be punished for coming up with an atypical idea or solution, they will be inspired to think outside the box and take more chances, leading to the creation of better, more innovative ideas.

3. Look Into The Future

Express your exceptional and positive vision for the future.

A leader with a plan is the easiest leader to follow. Once aware of the team’s goal, each member will strive to do his/her part to aid in the completion of the objective, thus ensuring not only the motivation of each individual but the unification of your team as well.

4. Realize Passion Is Contagious

Share your passion for your work with your team members.

If a leader is enthusiastic and believes in the work, while recognizing the hurdles that the team will encounter, employees will continue to do the same.

This is especially true in an environment rife with obstacles and results that aren’t easily quantifiable, such as a school. As a principal, the constant reiteration of a strong belief in the school’s role in impacting the lives of young people can both unite and inspire the school’s faculty and staff, even when faced with challenges.

5. Know Yourself

Identify your strengths and weaknesses.

One helpful approach to this is feedback analysis, as outlined by Peter Drucker in “Managing Oneself” in the Harvard Business Review. Feedback analysis consists of writing down your expectations after making an important decision and, after nine or 12 months have passed, comparing what actually happened with your expectations.

This helps leaders pinpoint exactly where they excelled and where they fell short, so they can improve upon their shortcomings in the future.

Devising an effective leadership strategy is an incredibly intimidating yet important part of being a new manager. By following these tips, you’ll be able to stop obsessing over your efficacy as a leader and focus on the team’s collective success.

Need more help with your career?

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

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

5-Step Quick Guide For Getting Started On LinkedIn

June 21, 2023

If you’ve never been on LinkedIn before, it can be a little overwhelming. That’s why we created a 5-step quick guide for getting started on LinkedIn.

Take a look at our 5-step quick guide below and find out how to optimize your LinkedIn profile for career success:

Step 1: Update Your Resume

The first step is to make sure your actual resume is updated. Once you’ve done that, then you can transfer the data to your LinkedIn profile.

You always want the information on your resume and LinkedIn profile to be the same. Recruiters and hiring managers like consistency!

Step 2: Change Your Privacy Settings

Your resume is doneâgreat! Now, it’s time to start adding information to your LinkedIn profile.

Before you add anything, though, make sure you change your privacy settings so your profile activity isn’t visible until you’re done filling out your profile. You don’t want your connections to see every single change you make to your profile!

Need help with this? Visit LinkedIn Help for more information.

Step 3: Add Your Information

Once you’ve adjusted your privacy settings, you can start adding content to your LinkedIn profile. In addition to adding the information from your resume, you can showcase visual accomplishments like PDFs, online articles, and images. Keep your personal brand in mind!

Warning: No information on your profile is suspect, but too much is overkill. Do your best to balance it out and include the must-haves.

Step 4: Optimize Your Profile

After you’ve added your information to your LinkedIn profile, you must go through and optimize it so it’s easier for people (employers, recruiters, and connections) to find and read.

Recruiters and hiring managers conduct keyword searches based on skill sets. Your goal is to optimize your LinkedIn profile with specific keywords that relate to your skill sets so you show up in their results.

Once you’ve properly optimized your LinkedIn profile, you’ll start to get a lot more views from recruiters and hiring managers.

Step 5: Make It A Part Of Your Routine

After optimizing your profile, you need to keep it fresh. The more you participate on LinkedIn, the more it rewards you. It puts you in searches, finds relevant people you can connect with, and so on. So, you should make sure that you’re an active user on a regular basis.

“The more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it,” says J.T. O’Donnell, Work It DAILY’s founder and CEO.

Make an effort to update your information monthly. You should also be active on a daily basis by sharing articles, participating in groups, and keeping up with your connections. This is the surest way to build your personal brand and stand out to recruiters on the platform.

By following these five steps, you’ll be off to a great start on LinkedIn!

Need more help with your career?

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

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

3 Keys To Good Time Management

June 21, 2023

How often have you said, âIf I only had more time,” or âI wish there were more hours in the day”? We say that often implying that, if we had more time, we would get the rest we need or slow down to a more normal pace.

But chances are if we did have more hours in the day, we would immediately fill them up with more things to do instead of creating the space we need to take a much-needed break.

We don’t really need more time in the day. What we really need are strategies to better manage our time.

The concept of time management is not new: most of us have schedules, planners, and reminder notes aplenty. What’s lacking though is the prioritization, decisions, and boundaries needed to ensure the schedule works not just for your job, family, friends, and commitments, but for you as well.

Too many professionals put time for themselves last on the list. Here are three time management tips that will help you achieve a better work-life balance:

Set Priorities

Effective time management begins with setting priorities. Start by making a list of all the tasks you have to do this week. Once you’ve got a completed list, go back to the top of your list and add your name. If your name or doing something for yourself was already on the list, give yourself a pat on the back and make sure it is at the top.

If you don’t start setting aside some time for yourself, it’s easy to keep working non-stop. And while you may get a lot done at first, eventually you’ll burn out and your work and personal life will suffer. Maintaining a healthy work-life balance should always be a part of your priority list.

Make Decisions

Now that you have your list, you have some decisions to make. Unless you’ve done a really good job of filtering, you probably have a list that is way too long to be realistic.

Make the first decision to carve out time for yourself. It doesn’t have to be a big chunk of time to start with. Try setting aside 15-minute blocks of time for yourself. Use the time to walk, read, take a nap, or call a friend. Make a list of things you can do in 15 minutes. That way, you don’t spend your block of time trying to figure out what to do.

Other decisions: decide on the number of things that are number one priorities. Will you have two or four things that must get done? Choose what you can realistically handle. That does not mean you won’t get to other things; it just allows you to take some of the pressure off that comes with feeling like you have to do everything now.

Please note this is not procrastinating. You’re not putting it off out of avoidance or fear. You are wisely taking control of your clock and taking care of yourself.

Set Boundaries

Look for ways to set healthy limits in your relationships. This includes relationships at work and with friends. It also means setting limits and keeping promises to yourself. Most of us wouldn’t dream of breaking a promise we made to someone else, and if we did, we’d spend at least a week beating ourselves up about it. But we break promises to ourselves all the time, crossing the boundaries we’ve set for ourselves.

While it’s true no one gets more than 24 hours in a day, we still have power over how productive we are by managing our time.

Managing time is more than just the ability to lay out an organized schedule. True time management means setting priorities that communicate clearly what’s really important, making wise decisions that help set realistic goals, and setting firm boundaries that allow us to keep the promises we make to ourselves and others.

Need more help with your career?

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

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

The Stigma Of Career Coaching (And Why It’s Changing)

June 16, 2023

There is still a bit of stigma around career coaching, and here at Work It DAILY, we’re left wondering why.

What most people don’t realize is that the majority of the CEOs, pro athletes, and other high-achieving individuals they admire have received some form of career coaching in their lives. This isn’t just a coincidence.

The truth is, those who find career success seldom do it by themselves. They have people guiding them along the way, empowering them with tools to build better habits and set ambitious, yet achievable, career goals. So, why are you still afraid to ask for help with your career?

You’re not expected to know how to do everything on your own. And you shouldn’t have to.

If you still have a stigma toward career coaching, here’s what you need to know…

School Teaches Us Everything Except How To Get The Job

We spend the first two decades of our life in school preparing for our future career. We have teachers, professors, and mentors. We try to learn as much as possible and develop as many skills as we can. But after graduation day, we’re suddenly without that guidance we’ve been used to all those years.

Worse, school teaches us everything except how to achieve career success. It teaches us everything except how to get the job.

From day one, we’re expected to know how to get our first job, grow our career, and eventually achieve the career success that we want. That’s such a harmful assumption, leaving people who can’t do this feeling like they aren’t good enough. That something is wrong with them.

This is why career coaching shouldn’t be stigmatized. Nobody innately knows the right and wrong way to interview, make a career change, or ask for a raise. The career questions you have, thousands, if not millions, of other professionals have them too.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. When it comes to not knowing how to grow your career, you’re truly not alone.

Working “On” Your Career Is Different From Working “In” It

One of the most dangerous things you can do as a professional is to only work “in” your career and not “on” it. You can’t go to work every day, work hard, and assume that’s good enough.

The hard truth: If you’re not growing your career, you’re dying.

Again, nobody told us the importance of your personal brand and making sure you’re staying relevant by developing your skills and continually growing your professional network.

But a career coach will tell you this. They’ll tell you exactly how to work on your career to ensure you aren’t becoming irrelevant, and slowly killing your career in the process.

Career Coaching Isn’t A Sign Of Weakness

We can compare the stigma of career coaching to the stigma of mental illness.

There used to be an incredible stigma around mental illness, but now we’re realizing that when we need help, admitting we need help is a strength, not a weakness. Nobody should be ashamed of asking for help and getting the treatment they need in order to better themselves.

The same is true with career coaching.

Career coaching isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a path to greatness.

When we need help with our career, we should get help. No shame. No hesitation. No questions asked.

The only way we erase the stigma around career coaching is by spreading awareness about how difficult it is to navigate our career on our own.

The next time you’re struggling in your career, remember that it’s okay to ask for help. You’ll be strongerâand betterâfor it.

At Work It DAILY, we believe the stigma of career coaching is going away, but not fast enough. Career coaching should be accessible to everyone. You deserve the same opportunity to grow your career, the same resources and support, that CEOs, pro athletes, and millionaires get. Don’t let anybody convince you otherwise.

If you’re ready to take ownership of your career and achieve the success you know you can, we’d love to see you inside our community.

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

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

5 Things You MUST Do For An Effective Mock Interview

June 15, 2023

Before you walk into your real job interview, it’s important to practice. You want to make sure your answers, behavior, and attire are top-notch. After all, this is your shot to work for your dream company. Don’t let that opportunity slip because you failed to prepare!

In addition to researching the company, answering common interview questions, and finding the perfect interview outfit, you should consider conducting a mock interview. Mock interviews help you get comfortable and allow you to identify weak areas in your potential job interview.

Here are five things you MUST do in order to conduct an effective mock interview:

1. Find An Objective “Interviewer”

Trust me, you want to leave your family, friends, and significant other out of this. It won’t be pretty. You need someone, perhaps a colleague, mentor, or coach, to conduct a fair, uninterrupted mock interview experience.

Plus, if they know what they’re doing, they can help you prepare much better than someone who’s just winging it to help you out.

2. Treat Your Mock Interview As If It Were The Real Deal

Again, the whole point of doing a mock interview is to practice for the real thing. That means you need to prepare and perform as if it were a real job interview.

Don’t goof off or get embarrassed. You need to get comfortable with your responses and body language so you can knock your real job interview out of the park.

3. Prep Your Mock Interviewer

Give your mock interviewer some background on both the job and the company so they have some context. This can help them ask you questions related to the industry, company, and role, which will help you prepare more effectively for the real thing.

Also, consider giving your mock interviewer a list of common interview questions they should ask you so you can practice.

4. Dress Like You’re Going In For The Real Interview

You might feel a little ridiculous going into your mock interview dressed to the nines, but it’s part of the prep work. You want to make sure everything looks good, fits right, and feels right before your formal interview.

The last thing you want is to wear a blouse or a dress shirt that’s see-through. Plus, your mock interviewer can help you figure out if your outfit is appropriate or not.

5. Get (Honest) Feedback From Your Mock Interviewer

The most important part of doing a mock interview is getting honest feedback from your interviewer. You need to have a clear understanding of what you should improve before you go in for the real job interview.

Ask them for their overall opinion of the mock interview, then get their thoughts on your attire, body language, responses, and anything else you’d like to get feedback on.

Again, this isn’t a job for family, friends, or significant others. You love them, but when it comes to giving feedback, they will either be overly critical of your performance or not completely honest in an effort to spare your feelings and avoid destroying your confidence.

Remember: practice makes perfect! These five tips will ensure you walk away from your mock interview feeling prepared and ready to ace the real deal!

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.

Tricks For Managing A “Hobby Hustle” When You Have A Full-Time Job

June 14, 2023

A hobby hustle is a job that’s related to your passions or interests. It doesn’t really feel like work. It’s something you would do even if you weren’t getting paid, but you’re monetizing it in some way.

âWhen you diversify and you build a hobby hustle, what you’re doing is building up a skill set that’s employable,” says career expert J.T. O’Donnell. Who knows, your hobble hustle could end up growing so big that it becomes your full-time job. Or, you could lose your job unexpectedly and have your side business to fall back on.

These days, a lot of people are taking on a side hustle in addition to their full-time jobs. However, if you don’t know how to balance your time between your full-time job and your side hustle, you might find yourself getting distracted, feeling overwhelmed, or performing poorly at work.

So, how can you manage this hobby-focused side hustle effectively?

Make Sure You’re Pursuing The Right Side Hustle

“If you haven’t found time for your hobby hustle, then you haven’t found the right one,” says O’Donnell. “The whole point of it is to do something that inspires you even if you couldn’t make money.”

If you still can’t find time for your side hustle, then you need to go back to the drawing board and figure out what job inspires you enough to make time for it.

Ask yourself: What hobbies do I enjoy? What activities do I like to do? How can I monetize them?

Schedule Time For Your Hobby Hustle

Just like you make appointments at the dentist, set aside time to go to the gym, and schedule dinners with friends, you need to make it a point to schedule time for your side hustle. Otherwise, you’re going to have a hard time staying on top of it.

According to O’Donnell, even if you just set aside 30 minutes per week, that’s enough. Dedicate some time to building your business and, slowly but surely, you’ll create something you can be proud of.

So, find something that inspires you and make time for it. You’ll not only make a little money on the side, but you’ll also do something you truly enjoy. Plus, you’ll have a backup plan if something goes wrong at your current job.

Need more help with your career?

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

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

4 Steps To Break Your Job-Hopping Habit

June 14, 2023

Are job-hopping and career success related to each other? What is the effect of one on the other? How long is too long to stay at a company?

I must admit, the resumes that pass by my desk make me conclude that job-hopping is far too common.

Job-hoppers hop for various reasons. More often than not, they don’t know what they are getting into. Sometimes it’s because they don’t know what they want, and therefore they are not ready for the challenges that lie ahead of them.

In my opinion, changing jobs often affects your career in a negative manner. Consider this: What signals are you sending to your potential employer if you are job-hopping too often?

Here are four effective steps to break your job-hopping habit:

1. Follow The Two-Year Rule

I have a two-year rule I tell my staff and potential employees. The two-year rule is this: You must be willing to mentally commit to spending at least two years in the company before you quit.

The reason? You need to deal with the learning curve. If you’re job-hopping too often, you learn nothing substantial. In my opinion, it takes you at least a year to know the ins and outs of the company. Then another year before you can be truly productive in adding value to the company.

To see the true results of your contribution to the company, for me, it takes at least two years. So, if you are prone to changing jobs and career success is on your mind, then it is time to rethink.

2. Learn To Be Stable

Many well-established companies have training programs. They are willing to invest in recent college graduates and newbies. However, in order for them to make that decision, they need to look at past track records.

Ask yourself, if you are a manager, who are you more likely to invest training time and money on: someone who’s known for job-hopping, or someone who is stable?

Companies are more likely to invest in people who are stable. The reason is simple: they are able to contribute back to the company. Everybody wins. If you are constantly moving from one job to another, you send a signal that you are not ready to commit.

Companies like to invest in people who see their career goals align with their corporate goals. Job-hoppers usually cannot see their career path beyond the next year.

3. Know What You Want

One of the best ways to quit job-hopping is to truly know what you want. Once you know that, you will have a singular focus in the pursuit of your career goals.

Of course, it is understandable that, as a fresh graduate or newbie at work, it is tough to know where you want your career to go. You may be interested in some other industries. If there are other fields that you are interested in, then make a plan to find out about them.

Start with the internet and then ask friends who may know people in those fields. Speak to them. Ask them about the expectations of the company and the position you are interested in. You may not get all the answers, but at least you’ll have some idea.

This will decrease the chances of you job-hopping later on.

4. Make Learning A Key Objective

If you are new in the workforce and have been job-hopping quite a bit, my advice to you is this: truly find out what you want.

Once you know that, find a company that is willing to train their employees and willing to commit to their employees’ careers in the long term. If they have structured training programs, join them. Make learning the relevant skills and knowledge in that industry your key objective.

The skills and knowledge that you learn will contribute to your career success in the long run. It is something that you can bring with you for the rest of your life.

Once you see the benefits of committing to a company that is willing to train you for more than two years, you, hopefully, won’t be job-hopping often anymore.

Need more help with your career?

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

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

Why You Shouldn’t Look At Your Notes During A Job Interview

June 13, 2023

Should you look at your notes during a job interview? A lot of people have different opinions on this. Personally, as a career coach for 20+ years, I don’t recommend looking at your notes during a job interview. And this is the simple reason why…

It’s Distracting

@j.t.odonnell Replying to @torzamorris Can I look at my notes in a job interview? #interviewprep #interviewhelp #jobinterviewtips #jobsearchtips #interviewtips #interview #interviewquestions â¬ original sound – J.T. O’Donnell

Looking at your notes during a job interview is extremely distracting. For example, if I were giving you advice in person or via video call, but I was either taking notes or looking at my notes while talking to you, how would you feel about our connection? Probably not very good.

I don’t think looking at your notes sends the right message when you’re trying to have a conversation during a job interview.

Now, you may think that your only other option is to memorize your interview answers. That’s not true. In fact, you shouldn’t be memorizing at all.

Instead of looking at notes or memorizing your answers, research the most common behavioral interview questions you’ll likely be asked in the interview. Write out your answers to them. Read them back to yourself, and do that every day for a little while until you haven’t memorized them, but the storyline of them has been committed to memory so that when you’re asked a question, your answer comes out naturally.

Now, in addition to that, there’s something that I teach at Work It DAILY called the “Experience + Learn = Grow” model. When you write the answers to these behavioral interview questions out, you want to follow a beginning, a middle, and an end. (Storytelling!)

What did you experience?
What did you learn from that experience?
How have you grown from that experience and how are you going to use that on the job?

This is what employers are looking for. You’re a service provider. You’re a business-of-one. They’re trying to understand how you are going to serve their needs, why they should pick you, and why you’re going to give them the best return on investment (ROI). This processâresearching common behavioral interview questions, using the “Experience + Learn = Grow” model when writing out your answers in advance, and reading them until you know the stories you want to tellâwill get you to a place of comfort where you’ll be able to just look at them and have a conversation.

The hiring manager is a person that you’re trying to connect with. This is a potential future co-worker. You are at that interview to make a friend, make a colleague, in a sense. So, you want to connect. And looking at your notes while you’re trying to answer their questionsâthis is not connecting.

If you have such bad interview nerves that you feel like you need notes, my advice to you is to learn how to do better interview prep. You not only want to do the prep to ease your interview nerves but to be able to sit there and connect with the person you’re talking to.

In the hiring process, it’s all about connection! That’s why looking at your notes during a job interview will do more harm than good.

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!

The 7 Keys To Career Success

June 8, 2023

As a career success coach, I’m always looking for new and different ways to get across my common sense ideas on life and career success.
I found some great career advice in a Denver elementary school a couple of months ago.

I was invited to see the Go For It! Institute’s program in action at a school in Denver. The institute teaches kids the value of things like a positive attitude, believing in themselves, positive habits, goal setting, and persistence.
Their work is based on ideas created by Judy Zerafa.

Success Tweet: Vision without action is a daydream. No matter how big your plans and dreams, they’ll never become reality until you act on them.

Zerafa has created Seven Keys to Success for young students. Check them out below!

1. Have A Positive Attitude

Learn what attitude is, what aspects of your life are controlled or directed by your attitude, how to determine your attitude at any given moment, and what specific strategies make a positive attitude a permanent habit in your life.

2. Believe In Yourself

Understand the nature of human potential through a simple process of identifying your personal talents and abilities. Develop academic strengths and personal interests to create personal fulfillment and economic opportunities for your future.

3. Build Positive Habits

Understand the process of how habits are created. Learn to identify and remove self-defeating habits and create habits that will make all aspects of your life easier and more successful.

4. Make Wise Choices

Learn the dramatic relationship between any current circumstances in your life and the choices that created these circumstances. Develop a personal proactive plan for desired outcomes through conscious, wise choices.

5. Set & Achieve Goals

Recognize the difference between a wish and a goal. Make a commitment, plan, take action, and recognize completion.

6. Use Your Creative Imagination

Extend your physical ability to accelerate problem-solving and goal achievement in all areas of your life.

7. Be Persistent

Track progress, develop the focus and determination required to succeed, create an attitude of gratitude as the access to fulfilling your dreams, and link the Seven Keys to Success together in everyday life.

Whatever you do, persist. Keep working toward your goals and dreams, and you will find career success. It’s only common sense.

The Go For It! Institute is in business to bring these keys to young people and their parents. But as a career success coach, I think they are important ideas for anyone interested in achieving career success.

The Seven Keys to Success bear a remarkable similarity to the ideas behind one of my four keys for career success: commitment to taking personal responsibility for your life and career success. Since we’re at Tweet 40 (of my book, Success Tweets), it makes sense to do a quick overview of my four keys to life and career success.

The “4Cs:” Clarity, Commitment, Confidence, and Competence.

Here they are in a little more detail…

Clarity of purpose and direction
A sincere commitment to taking personal responsibility for your life and career
Unshakable self-confidence
Competence in four key areas:
1. Creating positive personal impact
2. Outstanding performance
3. Dynamic communication
4. Relationship building

Zerafa developed the Seven Keys to Success on which the Go For It! Institute’s program is based after interviewing 35 Horatio Alger Award winners. I think this is a brilliantly simple success formula. She is taking her positive message to kids and parents in an attempt at starting the success cycle early in life.

Successful people are self-confident and are committed to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers. The Go For It! Institute’s Seven Keys to Success is all about taking personal responsibility for acting on your plans and dreams.

You will succeed if you have a positive attitude, believe in yourself, build positive habits, make wise choices, set and achieve goals, use your imagination, and persist.

I’m glad I was introduced to the Go For It! Institute and the great work they are doing with kids. I think their message applies to all of us. If you incorporate these seven keys into your life, you’ll be well on your way to creating the life and career success you want and deserve.

Need more help with your career?

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

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

4 Ways To Turn Resume Fluff Into Marketable Facts

June 7, 2023

Your resume is the most important document to advance your career. And given employers will only scan it for about 7-10 seconds, you need to make sure you scream, âHere’s what I can do for you!”

There’s a difference between a resume that only showcases your personality and characteristics and one that demonstrates specific achievements and accomplishments. Unfortunately, too many resumes are filled with fluff statements anyone can say and they don’t really distinguish you as a top candidate.

A resume filled with terms such as “visionary” (how many of these do you really know?), “motivated,” “team player,” “problem solver,” “results oriented,” “dynamic,” and many other phrases are examples of overused words.

To avoid creating a resume complete with fluff, try to turn to marketable facts and quantifiable accomplishments.

1. Don’t Rely On Terms That Describe Character (Soft Skills)

Replace the use of terms that describe character with specific content to demonstrate how you accomplished or achieved something. Shed some light on your method of execution. A resume should not include soft skills.

For instance, to show you were “results oriented,” indicate on your resume how you increased sales in your department by XY percent within a year or increased the number of attendees to an annual conference by XY percent compared to previous years.

If you don’t actually have numbers, you can approximate percentages: “Introduced new procedures that slashed cycle times approximately 20%.”

These are examples of quantifiable accomplishments. Don’t be afraid to quantify your results on the job and prove you’re the best fit for the position.

2. Use Numbers And Symbols

Numbers and symbols quickly jump out at employers so use them whenever you can. Resumes have their own special rules and always show all numbers as digits as they catch the eye. Percentages are always best as they show the impact of your efforts.

For example, saying “increased sales $750,000 over prior year” is nice but to some companies that is petty cash and your company might not like your giving out their private information. It’s better to say, “Increased sales 43% over prior year.”

Simply avoid words that aren’t specific, such as “many,” “few,” and “several.”

3. Don’t List Responsibilities Of Your Previous Jobs; Demonstrate Outcomes

The problem with writing responsibilities you held on the job is it doesn’t tell an employer how successful you were at executing your plans. An employer only cares about how good you did your job and how what you did can apply to the job they are offering.

Rather than list responsibilities, demonstrate your performance.

Are you the most senior member of your team?
Do people turn to you for the more challenging issues?
Is your productivity level higher than your peers?
Do you resolve issues on the first call versus others needing 2-3 calls?
Is your level of accuracy and the quality of your work at the highest level?
Have you demonstrated the ability to meet aggressive deadlines?

Statements like “consistently recognized for delivering quality results at less cost than budgeted” showcases your effectiveness, especially when you back that statement up with approximate numbers.

4. Only Detail Specialized Technical Skills

Today’s employers expect candidates to know basic computer skills and programs, so only list specialized technical skills that are relevant to the job. An employer does not need to see you know programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.

Also, when you do list any technical skill, tell an employer how well you know the specific program by detailing what you may have created or done with it. Simply listing a specific program will not help an employer understand how well you know it or what your capabilities are.

Fill your resume with performance statements instead of fluff and you will see a dramatic improvement in your job search 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.

The No. 1 Job Interview Thank-You Note Mistake To Avoid

June 5, 2023

Sending a thank-you note to the hiring manager after a job interview is not only a kind thing to do but also a job search best practice. However, what you write in your thank-you note can significantly impact your chances of moving on in the hiring process.

If you make common thank-you note mistakes, the hiring manager might note consider you for the job. And there is one job interview thank-you note mistake that you should avoid at all costs…

#1 Thank-You Note Mistake: Recapping The Interview & Trying To Resell Yourself

@j.t.odonnell No. 1 Job Interview THANK YOU NOTE Mistake #thankyounote #thankyou #jobinterviewthankyounote #jobinterview #jobinterviewtips #interviewtips #interview #interviewtipsandtricks #mistake #mistakesweremade â¬ original sound – J.T. O’Donnell

The number one mistake that people make when writing a thank-you note is recapping everything they talked about in the interview and trying to resell themselves to the hiring manager.

In your thank-you note, you do not write an epic novel. You don’t tell them why you think you’re the best candidate for the job. And you definitely don’t mention something you forgot to talk about in the job interview.

A thank-you note is to do one thing: give thanks.

Here’s the simple thank-you note formula you should use after every job interview:

Dear [hiring manager’s name],

Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak with you about the XYZ position. I really enjoyed talking with you about [something you specifically talked about]. If there’s anything else I can provide to further my candidacy, please let me know because I would love to work with you.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

That’s it. Three sentences.

And just in case you’re wondering, send a thank-you note to everybody that you met with during the job interview.

Since your thank-you note is only three sentences long, you have the time and the ability to personalize that second line where you talk about what you enjoyed speaking with them about. If you met with three people, send three thank-you notes that are short and sweet, like the example above. You are showing your follow-through and your consistency, but also respect for the fact that your time to sell yourself was in the interview.

Your thank-you note is for showing appreciation. Don’t make the mistake of recapping the interview and trying to resell yourself. If you follow the formula above, you’ll write a thank-you note that will surely get you bonus points during the interview process.

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!