Career Tip of the Week: Love what you do!
This week take time to relax, enjoy yourself and, if you aren't so happy with work these days, figure out what you love doing and do more of it when you get back to your job. Many have found it helpful, to take the Strengths'Finder assessment which will tell you the top 5 strengths you love to use. The more you use these talents, the happier you will be and more aligned with your values for work you love to do. (StrengthFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath, Gallup Research)

One last thing, if you can't figure out on your own what you love to do, and want to do more of, see a career coach. Have a great 4th!!! Marianne marianne@designyourdirection.com 
Re-posting a quote by Steve Jobs:"The only way to do great work is to love what you do."

Career Tip of the Week: What's Your "Differentiator" that Sets You Apart? 

Last week you thought about your unique brand. It's important to know and believe in what "sets you apart" in your work. A team of people may have the same job title but each one goes about their job differently and brings unique value to their work. Someone ' always overcomes barriers'. Another is the 'tech guru'. A third is an 'innovator'. If you hear the following brand descriptions, who comes to mind : pioneering "evangelist" at Apple, venture capitalist, tech entrepreneur, author, in-demand speaker, social-network maven. Find out: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Guy-Kawasaki-a-doting-father-and-hockey-player-3639773.php

Have a great week~ Marianne marianne@designyourdirection.com 

Career Tip of the Week: Know What Sets You Apart for Your Career Branding

2 years ago, a Career Forum took place in SV at UCSC Extension. We drew 300 people and the main event was using Social Medial to advance your career. This is all part of branding and it remains one of the most important aspects for you and your career today. Knowing what sets you apart and how to brand that on your resume, during interviews, with your manager and team, is crucial to your career success. And, let's face it, we all have a brand, planned or unplanned. It's how people view us. So let's make it effective for career development and your success!      ~ Marianne marianne@designyourdirection.com
The world of social media and branding yourself has grown exponentially since that delivery by William Uranga now Director of Recruiting at Ooyala; Alex Plant, Social Media at Service Source, and Chris Marshall, Sr. Director Brand Marketing at NetApp.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s3-FtdUOvQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s3-FtdUOvQ

Career/Life Tip of the Week: Be Present and Influence with Your Words

The Power of Words

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzgzim5m7oU

This short film illustrates the power of words to radically change your message and your effect upon the world. Discover the power of your own words in Andre...

Lay a Good Foundation: The work up front will pay off for you!

 

Why do people choose a career coach in mid-career? Often, it's because the work of self-knowledge through assessments was never done earlier in one's career.Or, it's time to design a new direction. We are told that we will have 3-6 careers in a lifetime and the work within those roles is more and more fluid and changing all the time. 

 

As you consider a new launch or redirection, take time to assess what fits you the most - work content, environment, industry, all of it. Do you want to be creative, make a contribution and help others in a non-profit environment or would you be more engaged as a technical innovator in a larger, corporate setting where the product makes an impact because it's used for saving people's lives? Also, think about the people whom you want to be doing the work along side. 

 

If you need help thinking through the area of Self-Knowledge, which is the foundational platform to a successful change, there are many great websites. Here's one for the Jung Typology Test ™ http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp. There is a wonderful tool, the Values Driven Work Inventory,  that I have used with clients for years to see where ideal fit comes together for them. And, here's a simple exercise: Notice over the next 3 days those periods when you are so engaged in your work that you lose track of time. Take note at both work and home. What are you doing? What does it involve? The clues are all around you and there are ways to reflect and build upon those insights. If you need a sounding board, I'm here. Have a great rest of the week and weekend. Marianne