Tuesday Tip: What is Career Success?

Today at lunch time, I was in my favorite support group meeting. One of our topics centered on worry and fear about the future and what could go wrong. Several of us are self-employed and we agreed that even when the worst feared "wrong" occurs, 95% of the time it's not even close to how serious we portrayed it in our minds.

So, why do we drive ourselves crazy with that fear?  Does that fear keep us from being fully engaged on our work and life path? Does it create a barrier to success? Bill Cosby said: "In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure." 

So, that leads me to the next question to ponder. What does success mean? It's different for all of us you know. I've sat with thousands of individuals who are working on their career goals. Each one defines success differently.

When I first decided to work as a career counselor, over 18 years ago, I created my mission statement. It was how I defined success for myself. That mission was to "help people create the greatest work of art that is their life". A couple of years later, I realized that one aspect of my mission had changed. The work wasn't to create it - that was already a done deal. People are born, I believe, with innate talents. They have natures that lead them to do work in a field that suits them.  So, my mission is "guiding people to discover the greatest work of art that is their life."  I help people uncover what at some level they already know about themselves and set that knowledge into action.  

A colleague of mine, Monica Loncich, who works in the HR field, recently sent me a story that describes what career success means to her. It's a lovely story and I'd like to share it with you:

~ "My parents immigrated to the US in the early 60’s, intending to someday return to their country after achieving some measure of financial stability. Both of my parents worked hard, using their skills in a variety of jobs to support our family of nine. My sisters and I excelled in school, and built lasting friendships. It became apparent over the course of many years that my family had built a good life and were in the US to stay permanently. I embraced the values my family taught me – the value of learning and receiving a good education; diligence and working hard and extending a hand to help others. As I progressed in my career, these values have helped me to develop many positive relationships in the various companies where I have worked. Many former co-workers are now good friends. Success for me is the choice I have made many, many times to treat others as the life travelers and companions that we are. I am reminded that every person’s choices and decisions affect my life as mine touches theirs. Success is the reward of continuing to learn from other people and to know that I have influenced and positively impacted a number of those who have traveled the road of life alongside me."

Monica truly has thought about and embraced her definition of career success. She is living it through the work she loves in the human resource field and beyond.


So, think about how you'd like to define your career success. There isn't a right or wrong answer. Your definition of success might involve making a certain income level, having a positive impact on the environment, helping others, etc. Then, in order to achieve that success, it's simply doing what you do best and not letting worry and fear get in the way.

~ ~ 

In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure. ~ Bill Cosby

I wish you much success wherever your career and work life takes you this week.

Marianne   408-295-6656 

Tuesday Tip: Considering Interests 

Lately, I have tuned into radio and tv shows and heard about the top 1% of wealthy people in the world. During some of the shows, I've heard it said that others could do the same if they worked harder. I'm always astounded by this idea as so much depends on a person's interests, talents, personality, etc. and, most importantly, the situation into which one is born.

In the field of career development and career counseling, many of us use an assessment, the Strong Interest Inventory ®. A practitioner has to be qualified to administer this assessment. I was certified in the inventory years ago as a new career counselor; it is still one of my favorite tools.

Someone in the top 1% of wealth who has "earned" money leveraging entrepreneurial and business knowledge would score in the interest area known as enterprising.  People in this category are persuaders and influencing leaders who take more risks in the business world. Enterprising is one of six categories on the Strong Interest Inventory®.   Of course, there are people with other interest areas -  sports, entertainment, inventing, to name a few - who also achieve wealth. Not everyone has, in fact many, many people throughout the world don't have, enterprising interests. Many people are not interested in the business and politics of the world. It takes all types to "make this world" work.  And, many people making the world go round are not interested in business, politics, and leading.

So, I'm suggesting not to generalize and say "just work harder", when there is so much more to consider.

~ ~ 

For some information on the wealthiest in the world, here's an article in the Atlantic Monthly:

The World's 85 Richest People Are as Wealthy as the Poorest 3 Billion: What exactly does that mean? Derek Thompson, Jan 21, 2014.  http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/the-worlds-85-richest-people-are-as-wealthy-as-the-poorest-3-billion/283206/

 

And, for information on the Strong Interest Inventory:

https://www.cpp.com/products/strong/index.aspx

~ In the midst of your work and life and interests, I wish you a good and productive week.

Marianne   408-295-6656 

Celebrate the New Year: Create Your Vision

How do you prepare for the new year personally and professionally? How do you make a new start? And, what if the prior year has just been really, really tough in one or both areas of your life. What now?

I started out "anew" by creating my vision board for 2014. In fact, I created two this year. In the last few years, my vision boards have almost "frighteningly" come true. I have always known that if I write down a goal to accomplish, just the act of writing it down manifests it into being reached. Try it. It does work. Over these past few years, I have come into the additional belief that creating visuals of my goals or even just my passions, interests, and ideas, puts them into action and brings about amazing results.

This year followed a rough year in some personal areas of my life. So, I wasn't quite sure what a new vision board would bring about. I was a little bit hesitant even about the process this year. I attended a Vision Board workshop led  by a wonderful facilitator,  B.J. King, The first part of the workshop involved meditation exercises followed by reflection and writing. Then, we moved into the creation of our vision boards using pictures and more. The process is uniquely wonderful for each person. I walked away with not one but two boards this year, as I mentioned earlier.

If you haven't set any goals yet, try this approach. You may find that you arrive in some unexpected places in 2014 that are just what you created in your visual goal setting. And, if you are not ready for this process, or it doesn't feel like "your thing", I highly recommend writing down at least one goal or idea that you want to bring into fruition. Then, go off and have a great 2014!

~ ~ 

For additional information on vision boards, I recommend B.J. King referenced above. 

You can find B.J. on linkedin. I'd be glad to make an introduction. And, another wonderful colleague of mine, is Donnalynn Chase. Check out her website:  http://soul2express.com/

~ Have a wonderful 2014 and I wish you a Happy New Year on this first day of celebration for the year of the horse.  ~

Marianne   408-295-6656 

Tuesday Tips: Updates on Linkedin

This Tuesday I have a real live example, my own, of something very important to remember when making edits on Linkedin. I always coach my clients to turn off their broadcast settings when they are making changes and tweeking their Linkedin Profile. Last week, I was coaching a client and showing her how to add logos for each of her companies of employment. I was so intent on the "how to" that I forgot to turn off my broadcast settings - activity controls. (For instructions see end of this blog.)

This past week, many people, some close contacts and some more distant connections, have been reaching out through Linkedin and emails to congratulate me on my new position. Of course, there is no new position but because I added a company logo, it sent out a change notice that indicates I have changed jobs. There are times when you want your connections to receive notification about you - a link you are sharing, your blog update, a company you are following, and, yes, when you do land a new position. However, for me, this was not one of those instances.

So, advice to self and readers, remember to always turn off your activity settings before you start your Profile edits. Then, turn it back on so that any blog, links, or good news updates are shared through your activity feed with your connections. This is when you do want to get "noticed".

~  ~

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."~ Dale Carnegie

Marianne   408-295-6656  

Instructions for turning on/off your activity settings on Linkedin.

1. Go to upper right hand corner and find drop down menu from your photo.
2. Click on privacy and settings.
3. The page that appears will have a heading Privacy Controls and directly under it "turn on/off your activity broadcasts". Click on this.
4. You will go to a screen that looks like screen shot below* and have the option to turn off your activity settings by removing the check in the box in front of "Let people know when you change your profile, make recommendations, or follow companies." 
5. Remember to click on save.
6. You may turn the settings back on by checking the same box when you have completed your Profile edits.

* 

Tuesday Tips: Q & A

Here are a three commonly asked questions from my clients and the related recommended resources:

1. Is there a good site with resume samples? A. I have sample resumes, cover letters, and templates that are shared with my clients. For additional examples, Susan Ireland has an excellent resource site: http://susanireland.com/. One thing to remember - steer clear of any functional resume samples and templates. Functional resumes are "red flags" to recruiters and hiring managers who wonder right away why you aren't using the standard chronological format.
2. What sites should I use for job search? A. There are many sites out there. I start with two. Indeed.com is a spider site that will bring jobs to you from all the web sites - jobs that fit the criteria that you enter including title, key words, location/distance, etc. You should also post your resume on this site. Then, I tell people to use craigslist. When I was a recruiter that was the first site we all used. Why? Because you knew right away if a good candidate had posted her or his resume as only a small percentage of people post their resume on craigslist. That gives you a competitive advantage. It's easy to do. Use the anonymous email presented to you by the site when you are posting. Take off all your contact information from your resume. Look at October 1st blog for more ideas on how to approach a craigslist resume post. 
3. How do I research salary ranges? A. First of all, it is important to understand the theory behind compensation and the setting of salary ranges and market trends. I use part of my time with any client to educate about compensation theory so that each person knows how to determine industry and company targets for their profession. To find general salary information for professions, the following sites are recommended: 
• www.glassdoor.com
• www.salary.com
• http://www.onetonline.org/find/ - This is an interesting government site with trends and more. Salary information is general not geographically driven.
•  www.salaryexpert.com
  

When researching salaries, always consider the geographic source. You must build in differentials for your specific location. The Cost of Living Wizard on salary.com will give you salary and cost of living comparisons of two geographic areas.

~  ~

I will send you off with a quote:

• “I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as 'making a life'.”~ Maya Angelou
  

Have a great week! 

Marianne   408-295-6656

Tuesday Tips: Follow Up & Follow Through

A silly cartoon caught my attention last week.  Here it is below ~

Now, admittedly, it's pretty darn corny. But somehow the colors and the command to do something right now caught my eye. It made me think about how often we may procrastinate on getting back to someone, instead of doing it right now. 

In this season of extra networking with holiday events coming up, year end parties, and just general meet up times, we have the opportunity to greet and often later re-connect with people. Sometimes they give us resources, meet us for coffee, or make beneficial introductions for us. This is a reminder to myself, to all of us, to follow up and let  people know what comes of those resources, ideas, connections, etc. People like to be thanked and kept informed. It's common courtesy. It's a way to stay connected.

So, remember to let others know how a resource given to us, or an introduction made, helped us out. And, it's never too late in my opinion. If someone comes to mind as you read this, get on your email or phone and connect. Say thank you and let him or her know how you were helped out. Do it "right now"!

~  ~

Have a great week and watch for more career success stories coming up soon.

Marianne   408-295-6656

Celebrate Success: Landing the Right New Job

Over the last couple of weeks, I have heard from four clients who have landed new positions. It's a great time to step back and celebrate with them and acknowledge all of their hard work. Three of my clients were not working and diligently focused on finding the best next step.  Two of the three had a background in the sales profession. One had left her sales position several months before and was targeting a new direction in the financial area, leveraging her love of numbers and customer skills, not an easy transition but one that she was committed to.  I supported her exciting goal. After many months she landed her "dream" job. And, it was through her resume posted on craigslist. She had a special approach to get noticed by prospective employers and not spammers.  It worked!

The second sales professional had moved to the Bay Area and was up against candidates who brought their books of business in local territory accounts. This talented individual knew she would come up to speed quickly and add value. She just needed her new employer to recognize this and invite her into this new territory. We worked on positioning her "differentiators" on her resume. She ended up taking a non-sales role where she will have the opportunity to prove her business development skills to this employer's sales team. It was a step back to get in and get noticed. I have no doubt she will "wow" them quickly.

The third client had worked at two leading edge companies in system IT roles. This client worked with me to revise his resume so that it marketed unique project management and solution generating skills. It took time but he has just landed a position at another leading edge company. He continues to have what I call a "resume" advantage.

The fourth client was working very successfully in sales but had targeted a move half way across the country. His commitment to our interview coaching and much more preparation behind the scenes  brought out his unique, competitive edge.  And, it paid off!  He will be starting in a new role at the new year.


There is a lot of hiring activity going on. So, stay connected, ask for help, surround yourself with a good support system, and keep your eye on the target.  You may also land your next role for the New Year!

~  ~

Have a great weekend!  And, watch for next week's Tuesday Tips.

Marianne   408-295-6656