Archives for Social Media

You can integrate Twitter into your job search activities and you can do it in 15 minutes a day (after some learning-curve time for setting up your account and reviewing the basics).

It’s disturbingly easy to spend hours watching and responding to your Twitter stream—it’s as easy as spending hours applying to positions online, or as easy as spending far too much time Web surfing. We like the concept of spending 15 well-planned, solidly productive minutes a day on Twitter, at least initially, because it imposes a strategy and discipline that keeps you focused on the big picture—your job search—rather than the procrastinator’s playground of the Web.

These nine steps will make your 15-minute-a-day Twitter approach simple, swift, and strong:

• Know what you want to accomplish and track your progress. Monitor your momentum and value. Twitter provides instant feedback: You can tell if you are reaching your intended audience by the number of @replies, DMs, and retweets you receive. Who needs Nielsen research?

• Know your limits. What’s your attention span? Should you be tweeting at work? Do you get lost Web surfing? Are you easily distracted? Don’t let yourself get sidetracked dreaming of tweets while you are taking care of other things. Bookmark or star favorites online, and keep a notebook or file of topics and themes that you would like to tweet about later. Read More

Archives for Career Advice

Americans have a funny way of dealing with our lack of global business experience – we typically import the expertise.

Alexis de Bretteville, CEO of the Americas at Michael Page International in New York is a case in point.  The European born executive, who heads up the Americas region for one of the world’s largest executive recruiting firms, addressed the American Business Forum on Europe recently on the Risks & Opportunities of Managing an International Career.

When it comes to exporting globally experienced executives, we’re a little undersupplied. “Companies are always struggling to find good people to move abroad,” says de Bretteville, who offers advice about positioning yourself for a global opportunity.

“Offer or propose new products for new markets abroad,” says de Bretteville. “Show interest, passion and commitment and make people (especially your mentors) aware that’s what you’re looking for. Show that you have language, skills, adaptability to moving to new environments. ”

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Archives for Coaching

In the book Executive Stamina: How to Optimize Time, Energy and Productivity to Achieve Peak Performance, authors Marty and Joshua Seldman make the case that by “optimizing your effectiveness,” you can enjoy a “long, balanced and successful career.”

The book might also be called Get Your Act Together, Dude!

Marty, the father, is an executive coach and clinical psychologist, skills that must come in handy in many boardrooms. His son, Joshua, is an endurance athlete, champion cyclist, and trainer.  Together they offer practical insights about mind, body and career management that break little if any new ground yet usefully survey a lot of recent thinking in a wide range of areas – down to yoga in the office and stretching exercises.

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Archives for Employment

Are you unhappy at work–with one foot out the door? If so, you’re not alone. The new Conference Board report  on employee attitudes found that well over half of American workers (55%), and a full two-thirds (66%) of workers under 25, are dissatisfied with their jobs. Meanwhile, a Monster.com survey found that 89% of employees would be prepared to switch industries. Nearly half were actively doing just that.

If avoiding the unemployment line is the main reason you’re hanging on to your job, you are at risk of losing it at any time–to someone who is enthusiastic and passionate about work. Employees who lack passion are prime targets for layoffs.

The time to look for a job that fills you with passion is now. Here’s a proven, structured process that can land you your dream job.

Step 1. Think of yourself as a business and assess your strengths. Imagine you are a business and your managers are your “customers.” What do they need most from service providers such as you? To what extent do you meet those needs? How would they rate you in relation to your competitors, that is, your fellow workers? In which areas do you shine? Where could you shine even brighter with a bit more focus? These are your strengths.

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Archives for Coaching

In a job interview, you may field questions about your situational behavior and decision making. That’s based on the premise that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. Behavioral questions (often not even framed as a question) typically start out: “Tell me about a time…” or “Describe a situation…”

Example questions are: “Tell me about a time where you confronted an unexpected problem,” “Describe an experience when you failed to achieve a goal,” or “Give me a specific example of a time when you managed several projects at once.”

Equip yourself to answer the questions thoroughly. Obviously, you can prepare better for this type of interview if you know which skills the employer has predetermined to be necessary for the job you seek. Researching the company, studying the job description, and talking to people who work there will enable you to zero in on the kinds of behaviors the company wants. In the interview, your response must be specific and detailed. Candidates who tell the interviewer about particular situations that relate to each question will be far more successful than those who respond in general terms.

Ideally, briefly describe the situation, the specific action you took to have an effect on the situation, and the positive result or outcome. It’s also helpful to think of your responses as stories. Frame each example as a three-step story, usually called a S-A-R, P-A-R, or C-A-R statement: 1. situation (or problem, challenge), 2. action, 3. result/outcome. Become an engaging storyteller in your interviews, but be careful not to ramble.

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Archives for Workplace

How loyal are you to your employer? Would you be willing to cut pay, benefits, or hours to help keep your company afloat? Do you feel as if you and your company are “in this together”?

If you said “No way!” to the above questions, you’re not alone. A new study by research giant Ipsos Loyalty found that only about 30 percent of us feel loyal to our employers. About the same number of us feel that our employers have earned our loyalty.

So why does loyalty on the job matter?

Because our loyalty as employees impacts our happiness at work. According to the landmark Ipsos Loyalty Study, employees with the highest levels of loyalty to their job also characterized themselves as happiest.

What Is Loyalty—and Why Does It Matter?

Loyalty is the realization that we need each other to be whole and happy. It’s well known that people who are happy at work are happier overall.

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