Evolution

Evolution Three and a half years ago I had a business plan, and I had a vision statement for my business. I thought I would have a gazillion signups on JibberJobber, and that a percentage (high or low, didnt matter because even a low percentage of a gazillion is a lot) would have upgraded. I had no idea that in my future I would write a book or two, or become a professional speaker, or have a product to sell, or become an executive editor, or that I would have different profit centers I would work on. My business evolved my business plan was for one discrete thing, but because of various factors, things changed. Just like your career plan.  I put that in quotes because if you are like me, I did not have anything close to formal with my career plan. At one point in my life the plan was to become the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.  I figured it would be a decades-long process of working my way up the ladder. When I landed my first significant job as the first IT manager to a medium sized company, I started to think that that was pretty sweet and I could do away with the huge company dream, and stay at a company that had a rich culture and was managed differently (private company vs. public company). Six years later, when I got the ax, I had a ton of emotions, but figured it was all a part of my story, and Id laugh about it in years to come. It wasnt part of the plan (who has getting laid off as part of their career plan?), but it seemed to be a common thing, so perhaps I was paying my dues. Fast forward almost four years, and my career has taken a different path. How has your career evolved? Think back to when you were in school What did you think you would be doing now? What did you think youd be doing for a career in the first few years of your first real job? How about now did you ever imagine youd be where you are at? And perhaps the big question understanding career management better, what do you think youll be doing in the next 5, 10, 15, 20 years? Will it be a traditional corporate job?  Will it be freelancing?  Will it be investments? Will you have one, or two streams of income?  Could you have five or ten? Will you trade money for quality-of-life, or might you trade quality-of-life for money? Could you, would you move from Expensive City, USA to Podunk Farms, USA?  Or should you go from Podunk to Expensive? What I thought five and ten years ago is different it has evolved. I wonder what Ill think five or ten years from now. What do you think? Evolution Three and a half years ago I had a business plan, and I had a vision statement for my business. I thought I would have a gazillion signups on JibberJobber, and that a percentage (high or low, didnt matter because even a low percentage of a gazillion is a lot) would have upgraded. I had no idea that in my future I would write a book or two, or become a professional speaker, or have a product to sell, or become an executive editor, or that I would have different profit centers I would work on. My business evolved my business plan was for one discrete thing, but because of various factors, things changed. Just like your career plan.  I put that in quotes because if you are like me, I did not have anything close to formal with my career plan. At one point in my life the plan was to become the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.  I figured it would be a decades-long process of working my way up the ladder. When I landed my first significant job as the first IT manager to a medium sized company, I started to think that that was pretty sweet and I could do away with the huge company dream, and stay at a company that had a rich culture and was managed differently (private company vs. public company). Six years later, when I got the ax, I had a ton of emotions, but figured it was all a part of my story, and Id laugh about it in years to come. It wasnt part of the plan (who has getting laid off as part of their career plan?), but it seemed to be a common thing, so perhaps I was paying my dues. Fast forward almost four years, and my career has taken a different path. How has your career evolved? Think back to when you were in school What did you think you would be doing now? What did you think youd be doing for a career in the first few years of your first real job? How about now did you ever imagine youd be where you are at? And perhaps the big question understanding career management better, what do you think youll be doing in the next 5, 10, 15, 20 years? Will it be a traditional corporate job?  Will it be freelancing?  Will it be investments? Will you have one, or two streams of income?  Could you have five or ten? Will you trade money for quality-of-life, or might you trade quality-of-life for money? Could you, would you move from Expensive City, USA to Podunk Farms, USA?  Or should you go from Podunk to Expensive? What I thought five and ten years ago is different it has evolved. I wonder what Ill think five or ten years from now. What do you think? Evolution Three and a half years ago I had a business plan, and I had a vision statement for my business. I thought I would have a gazillion signups on JibberJobber, and that a percentage (high or low, didnt matter because even a low percentage of a gazillion is a lot) would have upgraded. I had no idea that in my future I would write a book or two, or become a professional speaker, or have a product to sell, or become an executive editor, or that I would have different profit centers I would work on. My business evolved my business plan was for one discrete thing, but because of various factors, things changed. Just like your career plan.  I put that in quotes because if you are like me, I did not have anything close to formal with my career plan. At one point in my life the plan was to become the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.  I figured it would be a decades-long process of working my way up the ladder. When I landed my first significant job as the first IT manager to a medium sized company, I started to think that that was pretty sweet and I could do away with the huge company dream, and stay at a company that had a rich culture and was managed differently (private company vs. public company). Six years later, when I got the ax, I had a ton of emotions, but figured it was all a part of my story, and Id laugh about it in years to come. It wasnt part of the plan (who has getting laid off as part of their career plan?), but it seemed to be a common thing, so perhaps I was paying my dues. Fast forward almost four years, and my career has taken a different path. How has your career evolved? Think back to when you were in school What did you think you would be doing now? What did you think youd be doing for a career in the first few years of your first real job? How about now did you ever imagine youd be where you are at? And perhaps the big question understanding career management better, what do you think youll be doing in the next 5, 10, 15, 20 years? Will it be a traditional corporate job?  Will it be freelancing?  Will it be investments? Will you have one, or two streams of income?  Could you have five or ten? Will you trade money for quality-of-life, or might you trade quality-of-life for money? Could you, would you move from Expensive City, USA to Podunk Farms, USA?  Or should you go from Podunk to Expensive? What I thought five and ten years ago is different it has evolved. I wonder what Ill think five or ten years from now. What do you think?

A Quick Guide to How to Use Radiancesearch

A Quick Guide to How to Use RadiancesearchThe secret to great resume writing, along with everything else in life, is in finding the right balance between creating and completing your resume, and taking the steps to keep it fresh. The idea of preserving and improving your resume is all about balance and do something different each time you work on it. Let's take a look at some easy steps you can take to get started:First, a little background about Radiancesearch. Radiancesearch is a fully automated resume program, used by many thousands of people across the country, and many companies. Radiancesearch will produce a perfectly optimized resume for you that you can use, customize, and send out to hundreds of companies and job boards. This makes it the perfect solution for you, the job seeker, but also presents an opportunity for you to share with other job seekers how Radiancesearch can help you.Because Radiancesearch comes with a limited amount of work for you to do for free, it is desi gned to give you the freedom to focus your time and energy on other, more valuable aspects of your life. So if you are overwhelmed by the idea of maintaining multiple resumes and making copies for each company that you approach, the answer is to buy Radiancesearch. It gives you the flexibility to focus on your goal - getting the job!If you don't yet have Radiancesearch, then it is worth your while to pay for the software. You won't know how much value it will add until you begin using it. In the meantime, you can spend some time learning about Radiancesearch and helping others use it.While you're at it, be sure to find another solution for resume writing and review everything that you have done so far. Use your finished projects to make new ones, as well as a few notes. You will be surprised at how often that simple bit of information can mean the difference between the success or failure of your resume.And even after you start Radiancesearch, review it regularly and do a little edi ting. We've seen from our own experience that we can do an amazing job of keeping the same skills and style while using Radiancesearch, but we cannot always resist the temptation to add or remove parts of our resume that we think will help us stand out. Or we may tweak the Radiancesearch workbook to match our needs better.The thing to remember is that you are more likely to be hired the longer you have been in your job, and the more copies of your resume you have to give to people. If you've had one job for years, why reinvent the wheel? You'll find that adding a few personality features to your resume will make a huge difference in the way you are perceived and remembered.With Radiancesearch, the choice is yours. Follow the tips above and you'll find that it doesn't take much time at all to start your own marketing campaign. You will find that the process will become easier and more enjoyable every day as you get more done.

Personal Branding Toolkit - Part 1 Business Cards - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Toolkit - Part 1 Business Cards - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career This is the first post in a series dedicated to YOUR personal branding toolkit. Dont leave home without it! Your personal branding toolkit 1) Business cards 2) Portfolios 3) Resumes 4) Cover letters Business Cards A 3.372.125 inch card displaying information about you, your business or both. Ive seen many business cards in the past decade of my life and most dont do people justice. They are always stale and dont capitalize on personal branding. Have you ever gone to a conference, a networking event, a business dinner or an job interview, where the business cards were just another piece of paper and so last century? Here is what happens when you receive 50 business cards in a single night of networking: You cant match any names with faces, so you forget everyone. You are so overwhelmed that you dont know who to follow-up with first and end up not touching base with any of your new contacts. You have spent so much time connecting with many different people that youve neglected to build a stronger relationship with a select few. You toss them in your card holder, under your bed, within your sofa or ontop of your TV. Your branded business card How to create a business card that SCREAMS BRAND ME! Before you read this, realize that you have to mentally throw out all the business cards youve ever seen because most of them are just plain terrible. Your business card is not only how you can make a statement but leave a lasting memory. 1) Name: Use your full name that you want people to call you. You dont have to use your legal name and dont use a nickname. 2) Personal picture: Every business card should contain your face. Its rare to see someones picture on their business card. I never forget a face, do you? I dont care if I pick up 1,000 business cards from an event, I will certainly remember yours if you have your picture on it. A picture isnt just about being memorable, its also important because it shows personality. Its your chance to smile, have a goofy face or look angry. Let your brand shine through! 3) Logo: Whether you have a personal or corporate logo, it has to be included on your branded business card. A logo is the best visual for branding. I dont see many business cards that dont include this crucial element. Example logos 4) Contact information: You dont have to include your address, phone number, fax number or email address. Cards that have all of this information are usually the worst because there is no white space and its crowded and confusing. Take it from me, just use your preferred method of contact. You can drop everything and only include Google Me, like Scott Monty did when I first met him. 5) URL(s): This is the perfect time to include a link to your blog, LinkedIn account or any other website that best represents your brand. Its almost like saying for more information that is not included on this business card, please see these websites. Dont include more than 2 or people wont know what to do. 6) Material: Apart from common business cards made of paper/card there are also special business cards made from plastic (frosted translucent, crystal clear, white or metallic). You can even use metal, rubberized cards, magnets or wood. You are guaranteed to stand out if you dont use the regular material. 7) Product snapshots: If you sell a certain product, like an iPod, a car or even a house, then take a snapshot and put it in your business card. Instead of having to explain your business on your card, make it simple by using a graphic. 8 ) Font: The typeface you use is very important for your personal brand. Here is a selection of fonts you can use. 9) Personal brand statement: This is yet another place to put your personal brand statement. Remember, this statement includes what youre the best at and the audience you serve. Its personal positioning for the 21st century.

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese Tips for Helping You Work With Different Cultures

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese Tips for Helping You Work With Different Cultures Lionel Messi is a beloved Argentinian soccer player who became a lightning rod for criticism last year when he offered a pair of his used soccer shoes as a donation during an Egyptian charity fundraiser on television. We (Egyptians) have never been so humiliated during our 7,000 years of civilization, said Said Hasasin, a parliament member. Unknown to Messi was that in the Arab culture, a shoe is considered lowly because it touches the ground. Calling someone a gazma, the Arabic word for shoe, is considered a big insult. Those are the kind of cultural mistakes that garner a lot of publicity, but its unlikely that many people have run into the same problem. Or have they? With the number of cultures melding in the workplace today and the growing reliance on worldwide teams, the chances of unknowingly offending someone is growing. For example, there are currently about 42 million documented immigrants in the U.S., more than four times the number in the 1970s. Pew research finds that 43% of Millennials are not white, and non-Hispanic white births fell below 50% for the first time in 2011. Thats why even if your teams dont travel internationally, chances are increasing that there is going to be more culture crashing in a workplace that can hurt productivity, collaboration and the bottom line, says Michael Landers, author of Culture Crossing: Discover the key to Making Successful Connections in the New Global Era. Landers explains that a culture crash is when you unknowingly offend someone else. It can happen when a U.S. employee for example, offends a customer from Asia. Or, it can even happen when a team member from New York communicates in what is considered a brash and overbearing way to an employee from Atlanta, he says. In addition, there are plenty of horror stories such as Messis that make employees even more worried that a cultural misstep could gain the recognition of others and possibly damage their careers and a companys reputation. For example, one American businessmansayshe unknowingly offended a Scottish businessman when he asked about the mans family while another U.S. businessman insulted his Thai counterparts when he tried to talk about business before lunch. Landers, who runs a global consulting company, says it can be intimidating to try and figure out every rule and nuance ofdifferent cultures even those within the U.S. Thats why he says its easier to challenge your own assumptions about proper behavior, and then learn to look for signs on how to adapt quickly to avoid offending others. Such a tactic, he says, is critical if businesses want to remain competitive and not get caught up in cultural faux pas. Its also important to understand that cultural differences arent something that can only be seen from the outside cultural neuroscience shows that culture physically molds our brains. People from different cultures actually use different parts of their brains when theyre doing things like listening to music, looking at someones face or crunching numbers, Landers says. Thats why it may seem so challenging for workers from different cultures to work together, finding offense in the way others greet them, the emails they send or even the way they give presentations. But Landers says that for teams, the first step is understanding how they automatically default to their own cultural norms and how they can change that reaction so that they aremore openand results-oriented. A simple example may be when a New York employee emails a colleague in Atlanta first thing in the morning. The(read more here)

Writing Resume Course - Is it Worth the Cost?

Writing Resume Course - Is it Worth the Cost?When it comes to applying for a job, more people are looking into taking a writing resume course. As technology has improved, so has the ability to write resumes.Writing a resume is very important because it can make or break a job interview. If you come across as arrogant, or combative, it will be hard to get that job. But if you are coming across as qualified and professional, you should have no trouble getting hired.A writing resume course can be expensive, but it is still a very affordable option. It does not matter whether you want to be able to write a resume in two days or one week. The length of the course is irrelevant; you can take it at your own pace.Of course, writing resume course is different from going to a school and learning online. There are pros and cons to both methods. For one thing, you can learn better skills and develop better communication skills through taking online classes.There are many bad things about going t o a school and being taught by professionals, and these bad things include a lot of distractions and a lot of time wasted. If you do not enjoy school, or find it boring, then you will not want to continue going there. You could also be on a deadline, so taking a class is not the best option.Online courses give you more flexibility, and it doesn't need to be a chore. You can study at your own pace and time. And you do not have to be in the classroom to study. In addition, you can take the course at your own convenience.One problem with taking a course online is that the program may not have the materials you need for each section. Or, it may be difficult to find the materials you need. When you are dealing with writing, you need to make sure that you are using the right software.If you are not familiar with writing, it is a good idea to take a writing resume course. It will save you a lot of time and make you look much more competent. You will be able to come across as well-qualified in your resume if you take the time to learn the skills needed to write one.

INFOGRAPHIC Which Social Networks Are Used by Job Seekers - CareerEnlightenment.com

Six Easy But Impressive Ways to Improve Your Resume - CareerAlley

Six Easy But Impressive Ways to Improve Your Resume - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. When youre applying for jobs, you know that you need to stand out. The competition is tough, and normally youre up against people with very similar qualifications and experience to yours. So, you need something that sets you apart. Something that makes you more than just a tick in the box. Something that makes you a valuable asset to any company. Sometimes, these extras need to be earned through your work. They might be winning awards on projects, getting glowing recommendations, or winning more business. But there are lots of things you can do yourself and in your own time, to help you stand out from the crowd. Take a training course You can never be too well-learned. And in some professionals, staying ahead of the game is vital. For example, if you work in digital, you cant be playing catch up. You need to know whats coming before anyone else does. So, show that youre passionate, educated and qualified by taking extra courses. If your profession doesnt lend itself to courses, then why not see what other training you can book onto? You could expand your knowledge of business in general, by enrolling on a business studies course. Or you could try something new, like courses on marketing or social media. Having extra qualifications that work side-by-side to your main vocation is a great way of showing that youre willing to learn, and will go the extra mile. Plus, its just another skill you can bring to a company. This article has some great ideas for how to learn new skills. Be health and safety savvy Nearly all businesses are required to have health and safety representatives. And this usually means a financial outlay to the company, as it has to pay for training and qualification. So, why not make life easier for your future employers, and come ready prepared with your own health and safety training. Its easy to find this sort of thing: for example, online CPR certification is a surefire way to help you stand out in the crowd, yet its not a huge commitment as you can do it online. You can find out more about health and safety in this post, one we wrote a while back. Volunteer for local businesses or charities If theres something you want to put on your resume, but you cant do it at work, then why not offer this skill on a voluntary basis? Its a win-win situation: you get the required skills and experience, and a company or charity can benefit from your hard work for free. If you can demonstrate that youve used a particular skill, that wouldnt normally sit within your job remit, youre showing that youre flexible and able to take on different duties. Plus, volunteering always looks good on your resume! You can find out more information on getting into volunteering here. Make it look good Image credit You can add all sorts of impressive things to your resume, but if its not easy to read, potential employers wont care. Think of it like a present: you want to give something really good, but to get it to that person, you need to package it properly. If you sent a parcel without an address, itd never reach its destination. Likewise, if you create a resume thats hard to read, messy and too long, people wont spend the time trying to decipher it. To make it even easier, you could add a personal statement to the top: just a few lines summarising who you are, what your key skills are, and possibly what youre looking for. For more tips on formatting your resume, read this guide. Learn a new language Now, this wont happen overnight! But if you can start learning a language, youll soon find yourself in high demand. With the rise of digital, businesses are becoming global very quickly. And if you can help a business attract a wider market, you become an invaluable asset. You might not be fluent, but the fact youre willing to learn and can converse in another persons native language is a huge bonus. Include numbers Remember one key point about your resume: show, dont tell. And when you show, giving numbers will make it even more powerful. So, instead of describing a situation, explain it with figures. Give the details how many people were you up against in a competition that you won? How many pitches have you worked on and how many have you been successful with? Anyone can say Ive done lots of bids, but if you can say youve worked on seven bids a month for the last four years it means a lot more to your audience. We are always eager to hear from our readers. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions regarding CareerAlley content. Good luck in your search,Joey Google+