Career Moves: Take Charge of Your Life

Every day millions of people let their inner fears stop them from creating the life of their dreams. No one will deny that it is scary to step out of your comfort zone, but once you challenge your fear and take action, you can attain great things.

1. Dream Great Dreams

Imagine you could be, do, and have anything you want. How is what you want for your future different from your life today? Once you’ve identified your dream, you can take the steps to make it come true. Continue reading

What A Former Stay At Home Mom Knows About Creating A Stunning Resume That You Dont

Recently I was asked to touch up a friend’s resume. Her challenge was simple. She was a stay-at-home mom who had not worked in four years. A difficult task however, with the information in this section, I generated a listing of skills she did not know she had. Here is a partial list.(Organized, patient, detail oriented, energetic, ability to multitask, works well under pressure and capable of meeting deadlines) Now ask yourself, what company would not want their new employee to showcase these skills? Continue reading

Nine Career Zappers

Today, everyone is looking for the secret to business success. Professionals read books, take training classes, ask questions, study others that are successful and strive to outperform themselves.

However, some behavior patterns can develop into bad habits and cause even the most seasoned and professional person to self-destruct.

Let’s take a look at some common behaviors that can put your career on the “skids”. As you read these 9 behaviors you may recognize some areas you will want to change to keep your career on track. Continue reading

Words. Words. Words.

They’re only words. Some believe the school-yard taunt: “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” They’re wrong. Words can hurt you in the workplace.

I’m not referring to the caustic ones spoken (or received) tainted with sarcasm, irritation, anger or frustration, carrying an emotional punch. I’m talking about simple, everyday, normal word choices. These words, like black ice, are not an obvious danger at first glance. But, they can impact your results. So, user-beware. Continue reading

Why Do Interviews Die: That Sinking Feeling and How to Prevent it!

Interviews die because a mistake occurred. Sometimes, you’ve made a mistake; sometimes they die because someone who screened a resume did.

1. Interviews often occur because someone has reviewed a resume and interprets something that you have written in ways that you didn’t intend. Someone believes that you have a skill that you didn’t list; sometimes, they misread something in your experience. Within 15 minutes, each of you knows that something is wrong but because interview etiquette doesn’t permit it, the conversation languishes on. Continue reading

How to Be Prepared for a Layoff

If you are concerned that your company might be planning a layoff, your best course of action is to be prepared. Employees often see warning signs that their jobs may be at risk. Such signs could include poor company performance, earlier rounds of layoffs, conflicts with their manager, increased manager intervention and involvement, and poor performance reviews. Employees see the signs, but aren’t as proactive as they should be in looking out for their future. Here are steps you can take to be prepared for a layoff. Continue reading

Career Search from Within

Seeking meaningful and fulfilling work can become a discouraging, confusing and overwhelming journey. Beware spending too much time looking for your answers outside of yourself. Ultimately, coming to know our right livelihood is the inner work of our whole being.

In order to nurture our well-being and come to our right livelihood; it is best to frequently pause and halt the busy “doing and thinking” process. Pause, relax and trust. This runs contrary to the belief espoused within the employment industry of “looking for a job is a full-time job.” Woe upon those who follow this motto. Continue reading

18 Career Enhancement Caveats

Core value investing in your career

Many people walk through their lives never, ever being better at something than anyone else. What is it that you know or do better than almost anyone else in the world? What is it that you do uniquely well? Do your core values for yourself and your family fit with what you are doing, where you are putting your energy, what you are developing, and where you are focusing/immersing yourself? Continue reading

Ode to a Spoon

“Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.”
–Rabbi Hyman Judah Schachtel (1907-1990)

I have to admit it, I love spoons. I love their round shape. I love their cheerful shine. I love how perfectly they fit into your mouth when you eat something smooth like ice cream or pudding or even when you eat something tummy warming like hot soup. Continue reading

Professional Moms: How to Get Ready to Re-Enter the Workforce

Finally! Your youngest is in school and you are ready to hit the job market after an extended absence. As you scrape the last of the Fruit Loops from the kitchen table, you ponder a few unfortunate truths:

? Your network has gone stale

? Your industry contacts have moved on

? You are not in the loop anymore.

Face the facts: you are at a disadvantage compared to those who have been in the job market continuously. You need a winning job search methodology to jump-start your career. Most job seekers use only one or two methods to cover the marketplace, and miss 75% of available opportunities. In order to get maximum exposure you will need to use multiple job search methods simultaneously. Let’s get started! Continue reading