Going Through The Motions vs. Focusing On The Outcome

Going Through The Motions vs. Focusing On The Outcome In yesterdays blog post about being lazy and sloppy, I wrote: Because sometimes, in your job search, you just go through the motions.  You don’t have your heart in it, and you make mistakes that seem to be no big deal. Ah, going through the motions. You may relate to having a kid clean the bathroom mirror, only to check on it and seeing streaks all over the mirror.  Or, sweep the kitchen floor, only to see dust and crumbs all over the floor. When I (the parent) ask them (the kids) to do a job, I want the job done.  I want the mirror clean, and the floor clean.  Somehow, sometimes, what they understand is spray the mirror and then wipe a paper towel over it a bunch of times, or walk around the kitchen and swing a broom back and forth. Im asking for a result, they are focusing on the action. In your job search, are you working for a result, or are you just going through the motions? Be honest with yourself.  Many times, I was just going through the motions. The problem with motions is that, just like the mirror or the floor, the results are not good. They arent even unacceptable. The work has to be redone. It was a waste of time (unless you learn from it). Dont do stuff in your job search that gets no results, and that youll just have to do over later. Oh wait, some things cant be done over (like, make a first impression, do great in a first interview, follow-up appropriately with a networking introduction, etc.). Put your focus on the results, not the motions. Going Through The Motions vs. Focusing On The Outcome In yesterdays blog post about being lazy and sloppy, I wrote: Because sometimes, in your job search, you just go through the motions.  You don’t have your heart in it, and you make mistakes that seem to be no big deal. Ah, going through the motions. You may relate to having a kid clean the bathroom mirror, only to check on it and seeing streaks all over the mirror.  Or, sweep the kitchen floor, only to see dust and crumbs all over the floor. When I (the parent) ask them (the kids) to do a job, I want the job done.  I want the mirror clean, and the floor clean.  Somehow, sometimes, what they understand is spray the mirror and then wipe a paper towel over it a bunch of times, or walk around the kitchen and swing a broom back and forth. Im asking for a result, they are focusing on the action. In your job search, are you working for a result, or are you just going through the motions? Be honest with yourself.  Many times, I was just going through the motions. The problem with motions is that, just like the mirror or the floor, the results are not good. They arent even unacceptable. The work has to be redone. It was a waste of time (unless you learn from it). Dont do stuff in your job search that gets no results, and that youll just have to do over later. Oh wait, some things cant be done over (like, make a first impression, do great in a first interview, follow-up appropriately with a networking introduction, etc.). Put your focus on the results, not the motions.

Perfect Times to Break the Rules at Work

Perfect Times to Break the Rules at Work If we all followed the rules all of the time, then nothing would ever change. Yet, rules at work and the way we work changesall the time. Obviously, we do not go around breaking rules all the time or there would be chaos in the workplace. So, how does it happen and when are the perfect times to break the rules at work?1. When You Are Not Operating Under Strict GuidelinesIf you have a boss that is big on “end results” and “deadlines” more than “how you do it”, this is a perfect time to experiment with breaking some rules. Leaders will often give staff the opportunity to show their initiative, creativity, and ambition by letting them work on projects without strict guidelines.They want to see how you arrive at the end result and what you decided to do on your own. There will always be the important rules you can never break. But you are usually aware of those rules long before being given the chance to operate under loose guidelines.2. When You Are Given Permission to Run W ith a ProjectIf your boss tells you something along the lines of, “Why don’t you just show me what you can come up with”, use this as the chance to break rules, take ownership of your work, and build up your importance to the company. Break rules when you see more potential for career growth, both for you and for the company. Use it as a chance to make yourself irreplaceable at a company.3. When You Clearly Know There Is a Better OpportunityIf you see your team is about to miss out on a great opportunity, this is a perfect time to break the rules. Yes, there is risk involved but you are convinced beyond all doubt that a better opportunity will be lost because people are stuck in their ways.This can also be your chance to prove it is ok to break the rules once in a while and you know when to do it. You can show breaking the rules a bit is beneficial for everyone.Important: This scenario applies to smaller things at work. For example, switching a deadline or skipping a meeting t o work on something you know is more important. If you have the authority to make serious changes to your staff and company without permission, it would be a good idea to get all the information required to make an educated decision first.4. When Old Rules Are Outdated and ObsoleteIn fast-moving companies, a policy that exists today may be changed a month later. The company you are in shifts focus constantly and you have a new set of company guidelines every day.For you, it means the company guidelines that were important a month ago may no longer apply. And when they become obsolete, this opens up doors for you to explore how the old rules will be broken.Of course, you should never do anything too crazy. Find out why your company is changing and what the new rules will be. Make sure you are not just repeating yourself.5. When You Get PermissionIt sounds funny, but people do it. They ask for permission to break the rules! It sounds something like this:“Would you mind if I gave thi s the old college try and show you how it turns out later?”Before doing this, you have to make the case that they will benefit from some rule-breaking. Companies are not big on letting employees run wild whenever they ask. It has to be a calculated move. Show the evidence that the time is right for some rules to be broken.By getting the supervisor’s permission, you now have someone who backed you up and will be held responsible if your new rules fail. In your career, taking risks is necessary for growth. Just remember that your manager will be seen as a failure as will you because you had his or her permission.6. When Extenuating Circumstances Call for ItRules are broken all the time whenever there is a collapse of a structured way of doing things. For example, an office building loses power and internet during a hurricane and one person in the office discovers a faster, cheaper, easier way to provide internet for the office.

The Green-Eyed Monster

The Green-Eyed Monster Jealousy, they say, is the green-eyed monster. Being jealous of other people, especially in your twenties with constant awareness of other peoples success thank you social media in their careers, awesome life experiences, and romantic relationships, is almost inevitable. No one likes to admit to jealousy. But at some point or another, we probably have been, and you know what? Its not the end of the world. Just remember that for every one wonderful life experience you think your peers are having, there are many problems that they are not informing you about. Because lets face it just as so few of us are honest enough to admit our jealousy of others, even fewer admit to life being rough when we fall into rough times. We have all been jealous and at some point, we have probably been the reason for someones jealousy too, whether weve realized it or not. But there is jealousy, the why-are-good-things-never-happening-to-me-so-I-can-inform-Facebook jealousy, and then there is the jealousy of the green-eyed monster which can cause real pain and insecurity to its victims. Have you ever had the green-eyed monster attack you? Have you ever been the green-eyed monster? Many times, the green-eyed monster can be someone in our circle of friends; we lovingly refer to them as frenemies. Or it can be someone you know from college or that youve met in grad school. But such interactions in social circles or educational experiences are often reasonably easy to avoid or navigate just by their very nature. Sure, someone said something to negate your recent success or gave you a backhanded compliment in your social circle. Most of the time, youll get over it by choosing to spend less time with them or by changing your circle of friends or if youre in school, and its really bad, there is always graduation to look forward to.  Then theres the workplace. A place where you may meet awesome, helpful and friendly people as well as small-minded, nasty, green-eyed monsters. The green-eyed monster, depending on their position in your workplace can make being at work a very uncomfortable and tricky situation. It can be someone who is your superior, subordinate or you may both share the same type of positional power in your organizational structure. They may make your life difficult through various forms, included but not limited to treating you disrespectfully in front of others, making you look bad, spreading gossip or lies about you, etc. The situation can get out of control if you just received a promotion or bonus or if a situation arises in which a promotion or the like is up for  contention between you and your workplace frenemy. I write so specifically because recently a friend asked me what to do in such a situation and I must admit, while I have been the target of some petty jealousy, it was nothing like how she described. But having pondered the situation, my advice is simple and straightforward: Take the high road. When I say take the high road let me be clear that this is the road where you stay polite and decent and friendly towards the green-eyed monster. The thing about the green-eyed monster is that stooping to his or her level is exactly what he or she wants. And when you do, you are the ultimate loser. In fact, I would go as far as saying be extra nice to the monster, and showcase his or her good qualities and even go out of your way to help and acknowledge him or her. Its not going to be easy but its going to be worth it because if this person is not the devils spawn, metaphorically speaking of course, he or she will probably get a clue and feel terrible, at least enough to just leave you be. If nothing else, well, as my mama would say, love your enemies because it will drive them crazy. So, ladies (and gentlemen)  do you have any green-eyed monster stories to share? What would you do if you suddenly found yourself the target of a green-eyed monster in a workplace situation or otherwise?  

Mistakes, Mea Culpas and Moving On - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Mistakes, Mea Culpas and Moving On - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career No matter how pure your motives you will make mistakes. Truth Test: Raise your hand if you have never made a mistake. If true, you probably aren’t trying hard enough. “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” ~ Albert Einstein Mistakes Happen We need to deal with them and move on. Some mistakes are much harder to deal with and to make amends. However, as the title of this post says … do your Mea Culpa and Move On. For those that may have never heard the phrase mea culpa it means “I’m to blame.” Mea Culpa   a Latin phrase that means through my fault and is an acknowledgement of having done wrong. My simple thinking is to Own em. Marinate in them. And move on. What I mean by this is that you absolutely should own your mistakes. Blaming others is not a good habit and will ultimately backfire. People that stand out in their careers make mistakes. People that stand out in their careers own their mistakes. People that stand out in their careers learn from their mistakes. “Mistakes are the portals of discovery” ~ James Joyce Don’t Dwell Another important point about mistakes is dwelling on them. The simple answer is … Don’t! Dwelling on them doesnt help. When you make a mistake. You own up to it. You make your apologies. And, you move on. Having your boss, your peers or others constantly bring it up is not helpful. Perhaps they don’t realize that you beat yourself up for it already. Or, perhaps they want to keep bringing it up to lord over you. Note to “Dwellers” just stop. You aren’t helping. In fact you might be hurting the situation. For example, if  the first thing someone  brings up is “your mistake” it won’t long before you  avoid them. If this person happens to be your boss they might be making themselves feel superior, but they will be losing your trust and respect. Pro Tip for Managers: Help your team own their mistakes. Allow them to issue their mea cupla. And, move on. Mistakes Happen We live, we learn, we try things, we make mistakes … repeat. Just make sure you learn from your mistakes. Document what happened. Yes, take the time to write it down and think them through. Depending upon the situation ask your peers and perhaps even your manager to document the mistake and the learnings. As mentioned above this may decrease the “dwell factor” and allow everyone to accept the mistake and move on. “Dont confuse poor decision-making with destiny. Own your mistakes. It’s ok; we all make them. Learn from them so they can empower you! ~Steve Maraboli While it may not be pleasant to own our mistakes it is the sign of an evolved person.  The people that can learn from their mistakes are often rewarded with promotions, projects and professional accolades. Try things. When they don’t go as planned issue your mea culpa. Marinate in the situation for as long as you need to. Make adjustments. Document what went wrong. Pro-Tip: Document what went well too. And, finally … Move on! May your next mistake be minor and one you can quickly embrace and move on to your next one. Just remember … Mistakes Happen. They aren’t then end of your career and in most cases you’ll learn a lot about yourself, your team and your problem solving abilities.

4 ways to stay productive over the summer holiday

4 ways to stay productive over the summer holiday Summer is the perfect time to relax, and chill out but it’s also a great idea to stay productive, especially as you have so much free time. You might as well try and fill up some of that time doing cool stuff. ‘But how?’ You could maybe be shouting at your screens right now. Well here’s how here are ‘4 ways to ensure you don’t waste your summer holiday’ Use Social Media (to your advantage) No, really. There’s definitely a way to stay productive on social media and that’s by knowing what to look for, and by following the right people. Want to write something for a magazine/publication and get it published? Search the hashtag #journorequest on Twitter to see what people are looking for and go from there. Social Media is rife with opportunities if you know where to look, and it’s a fantastic place to network, too. For example, the Twitter account @mediargh ?posts media jobs and paid internships when they become available. @DebutCareers also have their fantastic #DebutTalk that’ll give you some great advice and insight as well as some serious motivation to be productive, (and while you’re checking out Debut’s social media you could also check out their app to find graduate schemes and internship opportunities, too). Use the Forest app That being said, there’s also times and ways that staying on social media and particular apps can hinder your productivity just a bit. So if you really want to stay productive over the summer and not get distracted by your phone when you should be working on or at something, then the forest app (available on iOS and Android) is the perfect way to make sure you don’t pick up your phone for a while. There’s also a Chrome extension to help you stay off social media on your PC, too. After all, there’s nothing more motivating to your productivity than the fact that if you pick up your phone/go off the app, you’ll kill a tree… right? Start learning a language on the Duolingo app Not only will learning a new language enhance both your employability and your CV, but Duolingo has daily lessons that will 1) keep you productive on a daily basis and get you into a routine of productivity 2) learning a language quickly and in a very fun and easy way. Duolingo also has a wealth of possible languages you could be learning from French, Spanish, Japanese, Russian and even High Valyrian, for all you Game of Thrones fans with time to kill. Duolingo keeps track of your progress and gives you a streak to keep up daily they’ll even send you push reminders once a day so that you won’t forget to be just a little bit productive every single day over the summer. Start a new hobby or do something completely new Okay, so thats a stereotypical answer, I get it but with the vast and incredible power of the internet and YouTube, theres tutorials for everything. From music, to make up, to writing, to coding, to video editing, to photography, to dance, to anything you could possibly really actually want to learn. The possibilities are endless. If theres something youve always wanted to try and do you might as well pick it up over the summer as a hobby, right? Plus having something new and interesting as part of your routine will only help you be more productive, because you’ll want to put the work in and keep learning and improving. You’ll be staying productive and by the end of the summer you could’ve even almost mastered your new hobby and it could be a serious skill so whatve you got to lose? But you could always start doing something new, too like taking up a volunteer position at a local organisation, like a charity or even a local community or hospital radio station. Then not only will you be learning new skills and knowledge, but you’ll be being productive and incredibly helpful at the same time. Doing good, staying productive and enhancing your CV all at the same time? What a bonus. Connect with Debut on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for more careers insights.

Let the Jobs Come to You With ApplyApp.ly - CareerEnlightenment.com

Finally, if they would like to improve their score for a specific job, users can click on the “Optimize Resume Apply” button to be taken to Resunate, where their resume is automatically evaluated and optimized before they apply.How is this different from other job boards?ApplyApp.ly finds positions that other job boards might not find because more traditional job boards require you to already know what positions you want in order to provide jobs that must have an exact keyword match to the user’s search term.   Rather, ApplyApp.ly uses a job seeker’s own experience and skills to find open positions.   For instance, a job seeker might always search the title, “Engineer”, and get limited results.  ApplyApp.ly, though, may find that person “Project Manager” or “Supply Chain Analyst” positions that might make more sense based on their background.   They may never have found these positions, otherwise.Also, ApplyApp.ly automatically presents the job seeker with their highest-ranked, personalized job results.   Therefore, the most compatible job results are presented to them first, making job-searching easier, faster, and more effective.Which cities does ApplyApp.ly list job openings for?Currently, ApplyApp.ly has thousands of jobs from Pittsburgh, PA, New York, NY, and the Bay Area, CA.     We will be expanding its reach in the near future.   If you would like your city to be included next, make sure to “Like” us on Facebook and vote in our “Next City” contest!   www.facebook.com/Applyapp.lyTo learn more, check out http://ApplyApp.ly.   Also, you can find Kat on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

What Is A Good Guide To Resume Writing?

What Is A Good Guide To Resume Writing?Nowadays, many people are outsourcing to third-party companies to do their resume writing. However, one still must have the basic skills and expertise for it. This is what a guide to resume writing.pdf can teach you. So, the question remains as to what one needs to do in order to produce a good looking resume?Well, here's an easy job for you. You just need to follow this guide to resume writing.The first thing that you need to do is create a resume template. This is a personal template that you can use. So, if you want to make a resume that would be perfect for your job or project, then go ahead and do it.Make sure that you try to save as much space as possible, especially on the bottom part of the page because this is where a good job will be done. The next thing that you should do is get to know your topic and make a list of all the main details that you need to include. It's like a first draft of the resume.Write a bio section that will be ex plained in the next paragraph, and write the name of the company where you're applying for the job as well as your experience in the industry you are interested in. Try to write the rest of the resume in a flowing manner.The summary of the information that you want to include is a must. The following paragraphs are also important because they provide more details about you. Your resume can only work when the person reading it really gets what you are trying to communicate about yourself.Finally, you should consider using bullet points in your resume so that you can organize it in a better way. A good guide to resume writing.pdf is still necessary in order to write a good resume and it's still the best way to write a good resume.I hope you've learned a little bit more from this article on how to write a good resume. Keep in mind that this is not the only thing that you need to do to make a good resume, but I believe that this is one of the most important things that you should do bef ore you begin your work.