Memory Foam

18 Feb, 2012  No Comment

The Career Blog updates you on recent changes to the site, offers helpful career advice and makes you aware of some great Internet resources I come across that will help your career long term. The Career Blog is a quick way to be updated on every change and update to the Find Your Dream Career website. To subscribe to The Career Blog (no email necessary), right-click on the orange RSS button (see the bottom of the left side navigation bar menu) and then paste the URL into your RSS reader.

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You Don’t Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression

12 Feb, 2012  No Comment Chance Chance Make

Jim Carrey

How much time and thought do you put into your overall appearance preparations when you go on a job interview? If the answer is little to none, then there is a good chance that you are still looking for a job. You see, appearance, including clothing and grooming, does make the man or woman in many cases when they step foot in someone’s office for a one-on-one interview.

The Suit Does Make the Man When I first relocated to the West Coast some 16 years ago, my first interview at a weekly newspaper caught me a little off guard. I showed up for the meeting wearing a suit and tie, only to have the editor catch me off guard with an unusual comment when we met.

He asked me if I was originally from the East Coast, to which I answered yes. H

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learning to cope with the knockbacks

12 Feb, 2012  No Comment

Just because you can list the characters of the latest reality TV show, it doesn’t mean your reader can. Photograph: Stephen Butler/Rex Features

Before I got my current job, I found out the hard way how cut-throat the journalism industry is. I’d tried and failed to get work experience at the BBC, Time Out magazine, Pop Justice (a music website), Heat magazine, Now magazine and my local paper.

I even made a few attempts to get published. After spending a night with my older sister penning a hilarious (or so we thought), painstakingly truthful account of our love lives, I thought I was on to a winner.

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The Power of Accountability

11 Feb, 2012  No Comment

Most people resist the word accountability.  This poor term has been so beaten and battered over the last 20 years that nobody wants to talk about it anymore – much less be held accountable for something.

But Im going to take this head-on.

To be accountable means that people expect that youll do what youre expected to do.  You said youd pick up the kids at 6:00, so you show up at the right time and the right place.  People can count on you.

Without this, how would society function?  If nobody follows through on the promises they make, how does anything work?

The problem is that weve been shifting the focus.  Rather than following through on your own promises, were worrying more about living up to OTHERS expectations.  When those expectations are unclear or even unstated, youre going to get frustrated and burned out.

But accountability is a good thing.  You want to have your word stand for something.  You want people to trust you.

The solution to this conflict is amazingly simple:  When youre uncomfortable with being held accountable for something, work to (1) understand and (2) re-negotiate the expectations.

OK, the theory is simple, but its hard to do.

Lets say that youve suddenly discovered that your boss expects you to have those TPS reports done by noon every Friday.  It might have been nice to know this in advance, rather than getting yelled at on Friday afternoon.

Question one:  Whats the expectation?  Youre going to have to ask her what she expects, and what other hidden requirements might be coming along with it.  Is there a particular format required?  Other people that need to be copied on the reports?

Question two:  Is it something you can commit to?  If you dont get the required data until noon, its going to be impossible to do your work on time.  In that case, youll have to relax the deadline, or get what you need earlier.  In either case, its going to require some re-negotiation with your boss.

You may even have to ask for her help.

But thats OK, because its what will help her to reach an agreement that both of you can be comfortable with.  Its better than committing to something that you know you cant deliver, because then BOTH of you are going to feel bad about the result.  Its better to have the discussion now.

Well, not while shes yelling at you on Friday afternoon.  Maybe its better to both cool down for a bit so you can have a more rational conversation.

While youre figuring out how to fix this problem, make sure you do your best to uncover a solution.  This can take many forms:

  • You can get the work done by 2:00, on a reliable basis, if its not really needed until then.
  • You can get the reports by 12:00, if the boss helps you to resolve the problem of not having information soon enough.
  • You can get SOME of the report done by noon, maybe enough to be useful, and then have the rest by 2:00.
  • You can have the report done by noon if you can delay some of the other things youre working on Friday morning.

Notice that each of these involves a bit of negotiation.  So before you know which might be the best approach, its good to know what the constraints and needs are.

Then, once youve negotiated an agreement, have your boss hold you accountable.  Thats a good thing.  You want her to trust you for your word.

F Is For February and Focus

6 Feb, 2012  No Comment

Every once in a while we need a re-alignment.  And whether yours come from the chiropractor or is self-inflicted, the process can open you up or drive your attention down a more singular path.

Ive decided that February is going to be my re-alignment month.

Why?

As a blogger, entrepreneur, marketing coach, author, career strategist, speaker Ive worn a lot of hats over the last few years.  Its been an amazing journey full of unexpected surprises, great opportunities and, as you might expect, a few frustrations.

But, just like in job search, we have to be ready to push through the frustrations and obstacles in our path to get where we said we wanted to go in life.

So what does a realignment mean for me and how can you use the idea to help re-energize the things that are important in your life right now?

My realignment and focus for February can be expressed simply like this:

Now if you have a first reaction to this chart, it might strike you as counter-intuitive.  Everything on the right is what you might know me for supporting.

And I do.

But these are also areas that can be somewhat unproductive.  And unappreciated after youve been doing them for a while.  So a realignment will help me both reassess my focus in these areas and, after February, reassert their role in my longer term strategy.

Know that the minus sign does not indicate STOP but rather a reduction in time and focus.

Temporarily. 

So I can hit much harder on those items under the PLUS column.

Speaking of the PLUS column, you may be wondering what they are and why they are there:

Software As many of you know, we just finished an initial private beta (testing) on a new piece of software to help job seekers build a powerful strategy for their search.  We are estimating another four weeks to implement the changes, improvements and fixes.  If youd like to be on the need to know list for when we are opening the curtain, sign up here to be notified.  This software is the culmination of all the heart and passion Ive put into Tims Strategy® over the last four years.  It is the deliverable.  And to deliver it on time, I have to dig in.

Business Dev - In addition to Tims Strategy, I also own Fix, Build and Drive™. I blog there

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