Where Do You Find The Best Leads Not From Family And Friends!

Where Do You Find The Best Leads Not From Family And Friends! I feel like the topic of this post violates what I wrote yesterday, about not liking career advice :p Oh well. This had a profound impact on me, so Ill share it with you Last year, in my two day workshop to help me in my job search, they said that you get job leads from your third and fourth degree contacts. In other words, you arent going to get job leads from family and friends. Why? I dont know maybe some sociologist of anthropologist can inform us. But I found it to be true. In fact, there are other interesting things related to this weird networking issue: Family and friends want to help, but might not want to get too close. Most of my family and friends seemed to have an arms-length approach with me during my job search they were there for me, and certainly provided (a) moral support, (b) encouragement, or (c) some kind of sympathetic approach helping me understand that I would get through it. All I really wanted was a warm introduction to a hiring manager, which no one seemed to be able to provide The networks of my family and friends was not very strong. I cant really think of any family or friends that had a broad or deep network. Just like me, they had neglected relationships that were outside of their daily lives, which usually meant work or church friends. Their networks werent diverse enough to really add value to my job search. The concept of diversity is simple it basically means that instead of having just mechanics in your network, you also have accountants. And computer geeks. And college professors. And authors. And government employees and and and I think you get the point. Their relationships didnt seem to be very strong, and/or they didnt know how to go out on a limb. Endorsements and introductions seemed to be week and half-hearted. At first I thought it might be because they thought I was a loser (after all, isnt it a loser that loses his job??), but I came to realize that they really had not worked on developing a deeper, more intimate relationship (for more on intimate networking, check out Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi). As I started to network outside of the family and friends circle, I found an entirely different type of people and support group. Many of these people were hustling for their own well-being. They were either in a job search or owned their own businesses but they all had one thing in common they understood networking and relationships. Since they didnt know me (or, they didnt assume they knew me), they wanted to learn about me. We began to develop relationships that went deeper than I was accustomed to. We were helping one another, and introducing each other to our networks. Now, dont think this was an overly-superficial process. There were long lunches, and we were really digging and trying and figure out how and where we could add value to one another. In the process, because these were people that ran in completely different circles than I had, we introduced a significant amount of diversity to one anothers network. As with family and friends, they may not have been the person to refer me to someone that was a decision-maker. But usually they could introduce me to someone who knew someone. The third or fourth degree contact that would be valuable in my job search. Dont waste time or effort getting mad with family and friends. Get out there in various network opportunities, and toss your hat in the ring. Its scary, but youll be amazed at what it does to your network. Where Do You Find The Best Leads Not From Family And Friends! I feel like the topic of this post violates what I wrote yesterday, about not liking career advice :p Oh well. This had a profound impact on me, so Ill share it with you Last year, in my two day workshop to help me in my job search, they said that you get job leads from your third and fourth degree contacts. In other words, you arent going to get job leads from family and friends. Why? I dont know maybe some sociologist of anthropologist can inform us. But I found it to be true. In fact, there are other interesting things related to this weird networking issue: Family and friends want to help, but might not want to get too close. Most of my family and friends seemed to have an arms-length approach with me during my job search they were there for me, and certainly provided (a) moral support, (b) encouragement, or (c) some kind of sympathetic approach helping me understand that I would get through it. All I really wanted was a warm introduction to a hiring manager, which no one seemed to be able to provide The networks of my family and friends was not very strong. I cant really think of any family or friends that had a broad or deep network. Just like me, they had neglected relationships that were outside of their daily lives, which usually meant work or church friends. Their networks werent diverse enough to really add value to my job search. The concept of diversity is simple it basically means that instead of having just mechanics in your network, you also have accountants. And computer geeks. And college professors. And authors. And government employees and and and I think you get the point. Their relationships didnt seem to be very strong, and/or they didnt know how to go out on a limb. Endorsements and introductions seemed to be week and half-hearted. At first I thought it might be because they thought I was a loser (after all, isnt it a loser that loses his job??), but I came to realize that they really had not worked on developing a deeper, more intimate relationship (for more on intimate networking, check out Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi). As I started to network outside of the family and friends circle, I found an entirely different type of people and support group. Many of these people were hustling for their own well-being. They were either in a job search or owned their own businesses but they all had one thing in common they understood networking and relationships. Since they didnt know me (or, they didnt assume they knew me), they wanted to learn about me. We began to develop relationships that went deeper than I was accustomed to. We were helping one another, and introducing each other to our networks. Now, dont think this was an overly-superficial process. There were long lunches, and we were really digging and trying and figure out how and where we could add value to one another. In the process, because these were people that ran in completely different circles than I had, we introduced a significant amount of diversity to one anothers network. As with family and friends, they may not have been the person to refer me to someone that was a decision-maker. But usually they could introduce me to someone who knew someone. The third or fourth degree contact that would be valuable in my job search. Dont waste time or effort getting mad with family and friends. Get out there in various network opportunities, and toss your hat in the ring. Its scary, but youll be amazed at what it does to your network. Where Do You Find The Best Leads Not From Family And Friends! I feel like the topic of this post violates what I wrote yesterday, about not liking career advice :p Oh well. This had a profound impact on me, so Ill share it with you Last year, in my two day workshop to help me in my job search, they said that you get job leads from your third and fourth degree contacts. In other words, you arent going to get job leads from family and friends. Why? I dont know maybe some sociologist of anthropologist can inform us. But I found it to be true. In fact, there are other interesting things related to this weird networking issue: Family and friends want to help, but might not want to get too close. Most of my family and friends seemed to have an arms-length approach with me during my job search they were there for me, and certainly provided (a) moral support, (b) encouragement, or (c) some kind of sympathetic approach helping me understand that I would get through it. All I really wanted was a warm introduction to a hiring manager, which no one seemed to be able to provide The networks of my family and friends was not very strong. I cant really think of any family or friends that had a broad or deep network. Just like me, they had neglected relationships that were outside of their daily lives, which usually meant work or church friends. Their networks werent diverse enough to really add value to my job search. The concept of diversity is simple it basically means that instead of having just mechanics in your network, you also have accountants. And computer geeks. And college professors. And authors. And government employees and and and I think you get the point. Their relationships didnt seem to be very strong, and/or they didnt know how to go out on a limb. Endorsements and introductions seemed to be week and half-hearted. At first I thought it might be because they thought I was a loser (after all, isnt it a loser that loses his job??), but I came to realize that they really had not worked on developing a deeper, more intimate relationship (for more on intimate networking, check out Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi). As I started to network outside of the family and friends circle, I found an entirely different type of people and support group. Many of these people were hustling for their own well-being. They were either in a job search or owned their own businesses but they all had one thing in common they understood networking and relationships. Since they didnt know me (or, they didnt assume they knew me), they wanted to learn about me. We began to develop relationships that went deeper than I was accustomed to. We were helping one another, and introducing each other to our networks. Now, dont think this was an overly-superficial process. There were long lunches, and we were really digging and trying and figure out how and where we could add value to one another. In the process, because these were people that ran in completely different circles than I had, we introduced a significant amount of diversity to one anothers network. As with family and friends, they may not have been the person to refer me to someone that was a decision-maker. But usually they could introduce me to someone who knew someone. The third or fourth degree contact that would be valuable in my job search. Dont waste time or effort getting mad with family and friends. Get out there in various network opportunities, and toss your hat in the ring. Its scary, but youll be amazed at what it does to your network.

The Truth About Writing a Resume

The Truth About Writing a ResumeIn your quest to help your job search go more smoothly, you may be wondering what words to use when writing a resume. There are certain things that you should avoid using. This will help you in the short and long term as well.This is a common mistake. When searching for a job, use only keywords and use the keyword or two that you find through a search engine in your cover letter. You don't want to go overboard and use too many keywords on the cover letter. Too many keywords can lead the employer to believe that you are not capable of writing a job description or objective.Writing a resume is not a trial and error thing. There are certain things that you can do to make your job search go more smoothly. Using these tips will help you in the process.Before you begin writing your resume, start researching online for examples. There are plenty of websites that offer samples of job descriptions that they have written. This can really help you in outlining an d editing of your job search information. There are other examples that are posted online, but if you are seeking one to use then start researching for them today.After you have chosen an example to use, write down your resume for both you and the employer. Try to keep your resume to one page. This will be easier on you when writing your resume and it will save you time when reviewing the application to ensure that it is clear and easy to read.After you have finished writing your resume, make sure that your resume is not longer than two pages. It is important that you make it short and easy to read. There is nothing worse than reading a long and disorganized resume.Once you have finished writing your resume, check it over for errors. Make sure that all of the information is accurate. This may also include spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Make sure that there are no spelling mistakes before you send it out to anyone. If you find any then take care of them as soon as possible .Most importantly, write your resume correctly. If you keep this in mind, then you will find that the rest of your job search will go much smoother. Using these tips when writing a resume will help you on your way to getting the job you've been looking for.

Why Patience Kills - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Why Patience Kills - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career You succeed through speed in today’s business environment. Patience is no virtue. It’s a relationship killer, deal killer and career killer. If patience is a leg of your personal brand triad, rethink your goals. Laying in wait for a response to your resume, proposal or request? Might as well try to send a telegram offering your congratulations to your competition. Treasure goes to the assertive, relentless and even (fairly) sneaky people who go full throttle in pursuit of immediate gratification of their needs â€" or at least feedback. We’ve documented this in marketing for the last three decades. Companies that wait to perfect a new product before going to market will lose out on the lucrative first mover advantage â€" because a competitor is going to lead the charge with a buggy iteration the market may embrace warts and all. Job seekers lose out when they lag in the aggressive pursuit of the positions they desire to fill or create. No one thinks you’re polite because you fail to “show up” multiple times in our inboxes, while you’re waiting for us to remember to call you in or call you back. Consider that to us â€" the people with whom you would like to do business â€" you are essentially a missing person, if you are not fighting for our attention. If you are waiting patiently for us to return your emails and phone calls, you are playing hide and seek with the wrong people.   This is true even when you know us and you know we like you. Even if you’re well recommended or even related. Good things don’t come to those who wait. Watch crime shows? Then you might know that the odds of finding a missing person drop by 50% at 48 hours. After that, the odds drop by 2% per hour until at 72 hours, the odds plummet to about zero. This treacherous slope of failure mirrors the half-life of job openings, making a sale after a presentation or getting asked to do or be paid for whatever it is that’s on the table. Sure, if the race is long enough, the turtle will win. But today’s business opportunities are sprints and high hurdles. The rabbit has a very good chance of enjoying the rewards that the turtle crept toward even as the crowd was long gone. There is no virtue in missing opportunity. Not returning phone calls, emails, texts, or lagging your “liking” a comment on your thread by a very important person, kills the chances of your developing a relationship as each minute goes by. Leap on each job announcement or tip about a business opportunities â€" and ride like a cowboy on a bull in a rodeo. Stay on it. The odds are you are missing opportunity right now, simply because you are too patient. Your parents were wrong. Patience is no virtue. You should be seen AND heard. And, you MUST talk to strangers. Do it now! Author: Nance Rosen is the author of Speak Up! Succeed. She speaks to business audiences around the world and is a resource for press, including print, broadcast and online journalists and bloggers covering social media and careers. Read more at NanceRosenBlog. Twitter name: nancerosen

15 Strategies to Save Your Personal Brand After a Big Blunder - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

15 Strategies to Save Your Personal Brand After a Big Blunder - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career After a screwup, what steps can you take to rebuild your personal brand? The following answers are provided by the  Young Entrepreneur Council  (YEC), an invite-only nonprofit organization comprised of the worlds most promising young entrepreneurs. The YEC promotes entrepreneurship as a solution to unemployment and underemployment and provides entrepreneurs with access to tools, mentorship, and resources that support each stage of their business’s development and growth. 1. Dont Dwell on the Past The worst thing you can do after you or your brand has suffered a personal setback (e.g. public failure, integrity loss) is to dwell on it. Anything you think youve screwed up, you can always fix, but its up to you. Take action go start something new and ignore the haters. Just start somewhere. Start a new company, or a new project. Youre your own worst enemy in these type of situations. Matthew Ackerson,  PetoVera 2. Own Up to What Happened The best way to bounce back from a screwup is to be forthright about what occurred. Be an open book with your customers, clients and fans, and send out an email or other update about what happened and how the misstep was made. Your honesty will strike a chord with your followers, and you may find your mistake is no big deal in their eyes. Amanda Aitken,  The Girls Guide to Web Design 3. Dont Lose Momentum As you strive to rebuild your brand, continue to network inside and outside your organization, and take on new projects that will restore your confidence. Take stock of what went wrong and how you can prevent a similar outcome next time. Assessing the situation honestly and talking about your insights will put the scandal in its proper context, and allow you to start anew without regret. Alexandra Levit,  Inspiration at Work 4. Seize Your Moment to Shine A screwup can sometimes be an ideal opportunity to showcase your other strengths. Acknowledge the mistake, but focus on how youll take action to remedy it going forward. An aggressive recovery can help to build an even better relationship with those you offended. Michael Tolkin,  Merchant Exchange 5. Keep Showing Up After a screwup, its natural to want to hide away, take some time to focus and energize. Thats often what people will expect you to do. Do the opposite and keep showing up. Be better, be bigger, be bolder. People will soon forget the screw up and focus instead on what youve achieved since then. Lea Woodward,  Startup Training School 6. Frame the Situation Constructively Its important to admit mistakes, but how you do so is important. Try to draw parallels to larger truths, such as, We are human and we still make mistakes, or Software is never perfect, etc. Then, follow up with a personalized statement: But we learn each time and pride ourselves on never repeating past mistakes. Reframing the context helps people understand that perfection is unrealistic. Kent Healy,  The Uncommon Life 7. Make Up for the Mistake If you are truly at fault, it is imperative that you admit the mistake immediately in order not to hurt your long-term reputation. Then try to show goodwill by going above and beyond to make up for it. For example, lets say you billed someone twice by mistake. You should not only immediately refund all their money, but you should also give them something free on top of an apology. Patrick Curtis,  WallStreetOasis.com 8. Monitor the Media Although customers will accept an apology, you must monitor the media for any negative reviews about your brand. Be ready to provide a positive response and let the public know what you have done to avoid the mistake from happening again. Nancy T. Nguyen,  Sweet T 9. Make that Phone Call I havent personally ruined my brand or reputation (that I know of), therefore, I can only suggest a few things that I would do. First off, make a few phone calls to your top clients and ask for their recommendation and testimonies for future and immediate reference. Second, I would amend the situation promptly, this could include redoing the job, or simply asking for that second chance. George Mavromaras,  Mavro Inc. | Praetor Global LLC. 10. Ditch the Excuses Mistakes are actually an opportunity to enhance your personal brand. When you screw up, dont try to make excuses acknowledge that the mistake was your fault and be clear and direct about it. In these moments, you can exhibit your character for openness and honesty. People love doing business with open and honest people. Eric Bahn,  Beat The GMAT 11. Readjust Your Brand The first step after a screwup is to update all of your social media accounts reflecting your stance. Then, own your first page of Google real estate by using  BrandYourself  to optimize your social media search results. This service ensures your message is in front of the general public. John Hall,  Digital Talent Agents 12. Assess the Damage Often times, its after a big screwup or setback that you have the most clarity on where youre currently at. Use this as an opportunity to take an honest look at the direction your brand has taken, and then move forward from there. The best step you can take towards rebuilding it is to remind yourself exactly what it stands for. Sean Ogle,  Location 180, LLC 13. Play the Offense When you find something online that you dont like about yourself, the first thought is, How do I get rid of that? The honest answer is, you cant. So get on the offensive and litter the web with positive proof of your personal brand. Be consistent across all platforms and just be yourself your personal brand will shine through. John Meyer,  9 Clouds 14. Own Your Mess Mistakes happen. The only people who truly get tarnished are the ones who try to spin it. People see through the BS and dont trust you enough to even let you make a mistake again let alone, do anything good. Brent Beshore,  AdVentures 15. Fix It Before It Happens Unless youve worked to build your brand before it happens, its a tall order trying to repair public perception after a screwup. If youre already using your social networks to organically highlight the passion and expertise you have for what you do, your community will be forgiving (within reason) as you make mistakes. Just be honest and take ownership for your part in the mistake. Pete Chatmon,  Double7 Images

Skills to List When Writing a Resume

Skills to List When Writing a ResumeThere are some skills to list when writing a resume. For instance, you may not have a career path yet, but you may already have the personality for it. Of course, in addition to these skills, a well-written resume is also a good sales pitch.These are some of the skills to list when writing a resume. You must be honest about your education, work experience and other credentials. Then add the skills you have in addition to the work experience. If you have an interest in the field, list that as well.Skills are very important in this process. For instance, if you want to be an information technology specialist, which is in high demand, you must learn as much as you can about that field. You must know the fundamentals of this type of occupation. If you have experience in this field, so be it. You must list this on your resume.The skills to list, when writing a resume, include being organized. If you're a college student, you may not know where to begin. In order to be successful at this career choice, you need to be organized. List the skills you will learn about organizing in this area.If you have a strong work ethic, you will be better suited for your career choices. Your resume should reflect your work ethic as well as any skills you may have. You must write a resume that showcases your abilities, while using the skills to list you're going to be the best candidate for the job.Skills to list, when writing a resume, include leadership skills. Many times, candidates start their careers as desk jockeys or clerk positions. Their skills might not be as useful when they want to move up the ladder.Take the time to learn about all the good career options out there. Even the best candidates know about a few of the options. If you can't think of one that applies to you, find out what others have done in the past. Then list the skills you have in this area.These are some of the skills to list when writing a resume. While you might be the best candidate for this job position, you must also know how to market yourself for the position. Being able to list the skills to list is the first step.

7 Actually Easy Ways to Get Things Done

7 Actually Easy Ways to Get Things Done Too much energy is consumed on making the list.There is something gratifying about jotting down all the things you need to do. It quenches one’s thirst for being organized and for wanting some control over one’s life generally complicated by too many things to do with insufficient time and financial resources to do them.When we complete the list we feel that we have accomplished something.The longer the list, the more pleased we feel as the long list represents mastering the translation of our complicated and ever changing personal world into concrete terms.We spend considerable time making the list and managing the list when changes are required.Frequently we lose the list.Occasionally we are unable the decipher items on the list due to the abbreviated language we use to “save time” making it.And list making teaches a bad habit, namely that if you write an action plan down it will happen.We all know this is delusional thinking.The list is never completed the way it was origi nally conceivedyet we continue to pour our energy into making the list knowing (hopefully) that it is a draft at best.It’s time to change the list dynamic from MAKING the list to DOING the list.I know it’s called a To Do list, but it’s really a statement of intent: “(I intend)To Do” is the common interpretation of what the list means however the “Do” action piece normally gets short shrift.It’s time to rid ourselves of good intentions; cut back on the time spent on creating the list andincrease the time spent DOING it.The list is an imperfect creature anyway; it will never be 100% complete.Tomorrow something will come up that will render the list or a portion of it irrelevant.And the list will have to be revised.Here are some quick-hit suggestions to DO the list.1. Think short termWhat absolutely must get done in the next 7 days? If you think beyond the next week you allow intentions to guide the list, you waste time and DO nothing.2. Limit the list to not more than 3 thingsYou can’t DO more and if you think you can, you are falling victim to intentions.3. Allocate the 3 DO items to the 7 days you have availableSpace them out; don’t cram them in to one or two days where time constraints could impair your ability to execute.4. Don’t allocate the full 7 days to your DO itemsLeave some spare time to deal with temporary unexpected events (which will always happen) that distract you from your list.5. Stay focused and avoid multitasking“Get-one-done; move-on-to-the-next” is the formula for DO. Some argue that sequential action is unimaginative; perhaps, but it gets things done.6. Modify the ListWhen an item on the list is done, strike it off but don’t replace it with anything. This could jeopardize the remaining item(s). You are on a 7-day DO cycle; new items will be listed at the start of the next cycle.7. Develop the next list at the end of the 6th dayCarry over incomplete tasks if they are still a high priority. Incorporate what you ha ve learned from DOING in the current cycle.Apply this template to your career and your jobwhere success is measured by what you DO, not by your intentions.

Happy Holidays, and a Little Musical Gift For You - Kathy Caprino

Happy Holidays, and a Little Musical Gift For You As the holidays are happily upon us, I wish you and yours a beautiful season and New Year full of joy, peace and prosperity. I am deeply grateful to be in community with you, receiving each day the wonderful gifts of wisdom, humor, insight and support from all my colleagues, clients, peers and friends. A Small Gift of Music For You! Each year, I love to share a musical gift that my husband, jazz percussionist Arthur Lipner, and I recorded. I hope you like it. (We had a ball making them!) Click the links to listen: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Ill Be Home For Christmas Christmas Time Is Here Youve helped make this a truly wonderful year, full of growth and learning for me.   May the New Year bring to you all that you dream of and hold dear. Happy Holidays to you, and wishing you amazing joy, peace and fulfillment in 2015 and always. Love, Kathy Caprino Ellia Communications, Inc. The Amazing Career Project

Springs Be A Co-Host Video Contest Ends in (approx) 48 Hours!

Springs Be A Co-Host Video Contest Ends in (approx) 48 Hours! Reminder! Reminder! Springs Be a Co-Host Video Contests ends at midnight THIS SUNDAY! We dont want ya to feel totally rushed or nothin, 48 hours is plenty of time to film your 5 minute video. So break out the Photobooth app or your Flip camera or whatever 21st century device ya got let us know about your awesomeness by entering today! That pea green-ish person on the end would be so much prettier if she was you! Need inspiration? Click here to see our recent entries. Bravo to everyone thats entered thus far! Hope to see your smiling faces in our Inbox before midnight Eastern on Sunday!