Is Networking a Selfish and Self-Serving Process

Is Networking a Selfish and Self-Serving Process Did that catch your attention and prompt you to read on?   I hope so. In my work, I continue to see people cringe when told that they MUST network if they want to conduct a successful job search. The rational reasons â€" unadvertised openings, hiring based on trust or simply being in the right spot at the right time â€" all make sense in a conversation. Reaching out to strangers, especially when it comes to the third-tier circle, is what seems to irritate and is difficult to practice in a disciplined manner for most people. Being told that networking is really NOT about asking for a job just plain frustrates people because when you feel “less than” as can happen in a transition, it is hard to focus on the serendipity of “just building a relationship”. What if we looked at networking from a purely selfish and self-serving perspective? Here are three reasons  why I believe that networking is really about you and your interests: Reason # 1: By: educationdynamics In a fast-paced world where interruptions are the norm, you allow the person you are networking with a legitimate reason to pause and reflect. In doing so, you have the opportunity to pause and reflect too and slow down your frenetic job search activity. A networking conversation allows you to pay attention to your entire being â€" your presence as well as how you engage in conversations. What a great hands-on activity for your interview preparation arsenal! Most offers come because you establish credibility and likeability via conversations.  Go ahead, be “me-focused” as you prepare for networking because I believe when you do, your behavior during networking will be “other-focused.” Make this me-focus work: You can practice sharing your career focus or 90-sec-pitch and receive targeted feedback. You can practice behaviors that help you engage and make people curious about your talents. You can learn what questions, situations or personality types make you uncomfortable and help you be proactive as you work out solutions. As Rainer Maria Rilke said: Think of the world you carry within yourself. Reason # 2: A transition can bring out your worst habits.   It can encourage you to rediscover habits that never served you well and those that you thought you had given up.   Unconsciously, negative behaviors start showing up, some quietly and some loudly and aggressively.   A networking conversation, especially with your first-tier contacts allows you to address these in a practical and positive manner.   Subsequently, your second-and third tier conversations start quietly reinforcing and rebuilding your confidence â€" starts slow and the build-up is a fireworks display â€" full of applause and praise!  Make this me-focus work: You can release endorphins in your body that will help bolster positivity when you need it   most â€" a kind word, a brilliant idea or offer to connect you DOES and WILL improve your attitude. You can lean of someone’s faith, resiliency and knowledge when your self-trust is at its lowest. You can choose connectivity vs. isolation. The poem by John Donne reminds us: No man (or woman) is an island. Reason # 3: By: ShashiBellamkonda Central truth in life â€" we don’t know what we don’t know (yet).   At no time is this statement as critical as when someone is in transition â€" whether making a career change, exploring career ideas or advancing in the same field.   The role of research is paramount in any job search.   What takes online or traditional paper research into a supercharged activity is the human element â€" someone who can confirm, deny, disagree or add to what you are learning about your career exploration and strategy. A networking conversation alerts you, gets you ready and helps you become that remarkable person to whom everyone wants to offer opportunities.  So, isn’t this chance to connect all about you and for you?  Make this me-focus work: You can challenge your certainty and recognize your blind-spots by inviting people to question your ideas, assumptions and sometimes prejudices You can recognize limits and gaps in your preparation, make course adjustments and connect the dots faster and with greater resiliency You can remember with greater clarity your joyful skills, past successes and future promise- things easy to forget in a transition â€" stories that made you successful in the past have patterns and colors that will make you successful in the futureâ€"a networking conversation can remind you where to look I agree with Tuli Kupferberg who said: When old patterns break, new ideas emerge. So, what do you think? Would you agree that networking is really about you? Would that be a viable reason to build relationships for life? I certainly hope so.

Finding Work Within a Department That May Have Job Listings and Can Often Help Wrenches

Finding Work Within a Department That May Have Job Listings and Can Often Help WrenchesThe Career Center at your local college or university is an office in which you can find many employment opportunities. The career center office at your local university or college may be able to help you locate employment that is available in the area of the Department at your school that may have job listings and can often help you find openings within a specific company.Many students at your school are doing the same course as those in other departments of the University. Students who want to find employment within a specific department are often required to fulfill a particular role, such as a food service position, and this can help them locate a job.You will need to be very specific when you decide which position you would like to work for. Usually, students who work within the Department at your school that may have job listings and can often help wrenches are working in sales, helping peopl e decide which companies they would like to work for.Most students tend to work in a department for about two years after graduation, although a few may not. Some students work for only a year or two, while others continue working in the same department for several years.Another way that you can help wrenches at your school locate a job is to help them make friends in the department. The job listing at your local University or College can usually help wrenches find a job within a particular company, but if the position doesn't have any openings, there are always others in the department who can help wrenches find a job with other companies.Often, the placement workers who help wrenches find a job do not have a particular interest in your field of study. They just want the position for which they are qualified.You will want to meet with a few of these workers to get an idea of what is available in your department of choice. Often, these workers can help wrenches who are looking for a job that is not listed on the listings for your department.There are also many companies that can help wrenches find employment within a specific company. When you are looking for a job, try to find out which companies within the Department at your school that may have job listings and can often help wrenches find a job.

Why CSR is the Key to an Effective Employer Brand

Why CSR is the Key to an Effective Employer Brand It’s a candidate’s world out there. There are currently more vacancies than people available to fill them, and a skills-short UK is enabling the most talented workers to cherry-pick their roles. These talented candidates are looking for more than a good pay packet â€" they want meaning from their work. To exert a pull on today’s talent, business success is no longer enough. You now need to focus on ethics and spotlight your company’s Corporate Social Responsibility. Once a marginal business afterthought, CSR has long since moved out of the periphery and into the heart of the boardroom. In today’s saturated high-growth market, it’s the businesses that embrace CSR as part of their long-term strategy that are catching the attention of competitors and candidates alike. 32% of employees would seriously consider leaving their job if their company gave too little money to charity, and 50% of candidates said that a companys CSR policies influenced whether or not they accepted a job offer. It’s time to step up and use your company CSR as a powerful recruitment tool. Here’s our top three tips on harnessing the power of Corporate Social Responsibility to become a talent magnet: 1. Reinforce your core values: Candidates aren’t easily fooled. They’ll be able to tell the difference between a sincere CSR policy and a half-hearted stab at being ethical. You need to revisit your company culture and implement CSR activities that are in full alignment. For example, if you’re a company that claims to pride itself on boldness, candidates will be looking for exciting CSR work such as skydiving for charity or fund-raising off the back of a staff mountain climb. Similarly, if your company ethos prizes creativity, your CSR activity should reflect that with quirky charity challenges and fun awareness-raising competitions. Let’s be frank, donating a pound to charity in a “wear your own clothes to work day” and writing that off as CSR is hardly going to wow today’s socially conscious candidates. Instead, you need to step up and show that your brand and company values are backed up with an aligned Corporate Social Responsibility strategy. Candidates will see that your culture isn’t skin-deep, that your actions match up with your marketing efforts, and that a job within your company will help make a genuine social difference. 2. Exposure, exposure, exposure   Today’s candidates expect transparency. When visiting your website, they want to find out everything they need to know about your business within a few clicks â€" including your ethics. It goes without saying that CSR activities shouldn’t be conducted for the sake of positive PR. There’s a fine line between showcasing your activities and boasting about CSR work for business gains. Yes, share information and updates about your CSR, but don’t do it to the extent that it becomes put-on and preachy. A great way to showcase your ethical activities is through a dedicated page within your website. A custom-built CSR page will show your dedication to adding value, and filling it with killer content about your activities will show the world that you’re a company who cares. Share your press releases, share your photos, share blogs about money raised, interview any charities you’ve worked with or employees who have got involved. Candidates won’t have to look far to learn everything they need to know about your ethics. And of course, post live social media updates if and when you’re involved in a fun CSR activity to drive engagement and share your work with a mass audience.   3.  Engage your employees Don’t underestimate the power of your current employees. More often than not, your current team are equally as powerful as your consumers in getting the word out about business practices. And there’s a growing body of research that shows that employees love to get involved in CSR efforts. In fact, 53% of workers say that “a job where they can make an impact” is important to their happiness, and 72% of students about to enter the workforce agree. The majority of employees stated that they would even be willing to take a pay cut to achieve that goal. Encourage your employees to get involved with CSR work. Not only do they want to make a social difference, they want to do something different in the workplace. Happy, engaged employees speak powerfully about your company and will tell others about it. They’ll share with their social network online, they’ll discuss with friends, and in a short space of time the buzz around your company will grow. Candidates want to work somewhere where they can see that people are happy. Your workforce can be a hidden and underutilised gem in attracting top talent, engage them! With CSR becoming an increasingly important factor in candidate attraction, you can’t afford to neglect it. Get alignment, get exposure and get engagement from your CSR activities and you’ll soon get exceptional recruits. Author:  Roxanne Abercrombie is a professional copywriter and serial blogger. She works as PR, Content and Social Executive for Uniting Ambition, a specialist company that provides recruitment and talent management services to businesses at varying stages of growth, from start-up and medium sized enterprises through to global brands.

How to Deal with an Employee Who is Also Your Friend - Classy Career Girl

How to Deal with an Employee Who is Also Your Friend We’ve all had our fair share of awkward workplace situations. Among the most awkward is being responsible for disciplining someone you really like to hang out with. You landed your management role because you’re a strong and competent professional, but that doesn’t make it any easier when you’re put on the spot. If you need to deal with an employee that you would consider a friend, there are a few things you should do to simplify the process. How to Deal with an Employee Who is Also Your Friend 1. Keep Work Stuff at Work If the employee in question is someone you see outside of work, it might seem like a good idea to bring up whatever is going on in an area where you’re both more comfortable. In truth, the consequences of doing so can damage your friendship outside of the workplace. You want both the good and the bad parts of work to stay right where they are. It’s easier to completely separate those two parts of your life â€" they’re equally important but very different. 2. Look At Them On Paper It helps to step back. You’ll never really be able to look at the world through someone else’s eyes, but it does help to look at things on paper. What exactly did this employee do that would be considered disruptive or counterproductive in the workplace? Is it something as small as a few dress code violations, or something as major as routinely showing up late? Write down what happened, and consider what you would tell any other employee in the same situation. Remain objective when it counts. 3. Choose Your Words Carefully We speak to friends much differently than we speak to employees, but context counts for everything. Sometimes we feel like we can be blunter with our friends, and sometimes we feel like we should be softer because we care about someone. Find a middle ground. It’s possible to be both straightforward and compassionate at the same time. Everything is about finding the right balance, and having a friendship with the individual in question might even make it easier to find the right words. Communication is extremely important in situations like these. [RELATED: How to Deal With a Difficult Coworker [INFOGRAPHIC]] 4. Don’t Give Them Special Treatment Letting things slide or putting off an important conversation because you feel iffy about having it will only cause more problems later on. It always helps to address a problem as soon as you notice it. Yes, it is your friend you’re dealing with, but you can’t just forget everything you learned about management. You’ll have less to deal with if you act immediately â€" it won’t be a big mash-up of a bunch of things that need to get taken care of. You can act swiftly and be done with the situation in a day, and everything can go back to normal in no time. 5. Respect Their Space Things might feel a little weird after you’ve dealt with an issue. This is completely normal. You might not go right back to being as friendly as you were before you had a conversation that wasn’t easy for either of you. You need to be alright with that. Give the employee some space. Let him or her decide when they’re ready to be buddies again. Don’t harp on it, don’t apologize for doing your job, and don’t try to act like nothing happened. If your friendship with this employee was real, it will be resilient. Give it some time. Dealing with an employee you really like may not be the best thing you’ll do all week, but it’s not going to be the toughest thing you’ve ever done at work. It’s possible to be both a good leader and a good friend simultaneously as long as you act appropriately.

One Page Resume Writing Tips

One Page Resume Writing TipsSo you want to learn how to write a one page resume. You have read all of the material and you have a bit of writing experience under your belt. But how do you get started?I know what you are going through. A lot of companies will send you an eight-page application. They want to know if you have a good grasp of the basics, such as your education, work experience, skills, and the specific reasons for which you are applying for that position. That way, they can assess whether or not you have what it takes to accomplish the work required for the job opening.For most, this is a one page resume. If you are like many, you probably don't have the time or the money to spend on putting together a comprehensive one page resume. Or maybe you already have a long list of recommendations from people who've written their own resumes. Well, that's great. You don't need to waste time or money on that.Why would you need a one page resume? Why would you even need to write an ything at all? A one page resume is designed to help the hiring manager to quickly and easily assess your qualifications without having to delve into the lengthy and detailed information that you can find in an eight page resume.It is also available for viewing on many companies' online resumes page. This is because most resumes include their potential candidates' contact information. With the advent of the Internet, it has been easier than ever to contact potential employers, whether it is through their personal Web sites or their official company websites.So, it is easier for job seekers to reach potential employers. The phone book or even the newspaper often doesn't reach many potential employers. But using the Internet gives you the ability to reach more potential employers because the listings are larger and often more relevant to the needs of the potential employers. And these lists can be found for free, through search engines, by looking for specific key words that describe the positions and/or careers being advertised.The one page resume has served many people well. With the addition of information such as the name of the company, the title of the position, and the actual duties that are required for the job, a one page resume can provide a very basic overview for the potential employer, leaving them with little to go on.Many job seekers know the importance of providing a one page resume, but many simply have never come across them before. But these tips should give you a head start in making sure that you have one that is unique and stands out in the crowd. I am happy to share these helpful writing tips with you.

3 ways millennials will change your business

3 ways millennials will change your business 3 ways millennials will change your business Last year, millennials surpassed Generation X in the workplace. Today, in the U.S., one in three workers is a millennial, someone between the ages of 18 and 34. They’re numerically the largest generation, standing strong at an estimated 80 million. But beyond the numbers, the millennial mindset is changing traditional views of business, creating challenges and opportunities. A 2015 Deloitte survey highlights the millennial attitude: About 6 in 10 respondents said a sense of purpose is part of the reason they chose to work for their current employer. Nearly 64 percent believe businesses are focused on their own agendas rather than helping to improve society. The 2014 survey showed that only 28 percent of millennials felt that their current organization is making full use of their skills. Businesses need to focus on more than just profits and embrace new skill sets to tap into the strength of millennial leaders. While making a business and leadership shift will be challenging, it is necessary to remain relevant in the face of these new realities. Jon Mertz, author of Activate Leadership: Aspen Truths to Empower Millennial Leaders, focuses on bringing generations together to guide and challenge millennials in the workplace. According to Mertz, while current generations need to provide a foundation, millennials will mold it in three key ways. 1. Strengthening Purpose in Profit Businesses are driven by at least two purposes: an internal purpose in active projects and a higher purpose in what is offered and delivered externally as products and services. Purpose exists in most business activities. What is usually lacking is clarity. When a project is undertaken with teams, the reason needs to be communicated clearly. The following three questions need to be answered succinctly: Why do we need to move from Point A to Point B? Why can we no longer stay at Point A? What does Point B look like when achieved? Outside of projects, communicating what role your products and services offer in terms of purpose is essential. Products and services play a role in making your customers lives better. Define this higher purpose in what your business offers and then communicate it clearly and often. An emerging way to design your business is to establish a B Corporation. B Corporations are built and held accountable to positively impact social and environmental needs. “Purpose is built into the business through B Corporations, and I believe we will see more millennials adopting this model in the businesses they lead,” said Mertz. 2. Using Empathy to Lead Collaboratively Empathy is too often viewed as just a warm and fluffy idea. The new reality is that empathy delivers strength in leadership by understanding another’s condition from their perspective and adopting a helping mindset. Leaders who get this right strengthen their collaborative skills and will achieve more productive results. “To operationalize empathy, businesses need to become flatter organizations, so people work more closely together to solve a customer problem or innovate to deliver a better product,” said Mertz. “Within this mix, accountability is required. No one is above the principles and values of the organization.” The key is collaboration across a broader, more diverse, range of individuals. Social technologies have extended the ability to collaborate over longer distances and millennials are using the technology to collaborate more effectively. Define the right technologies and then determine ways to leverage them to support greater empathy in collaborative relationships and deliver stronger solutions and results. 3. Solve Problems For the Long Haul Businesses are often criticized for having a short-term view on performance and solutions. Quarterly results trump long-term results. Investors get impatient, but leaders do as well. Millennials are tired of problems being kicked down the road. Solving problems now for the longer term is vital. In many ways, solving problems for the long haul serves a higher purpose as well, leaving the operations and strategy in better shape than before. “What businesses need to do is take the longer term challenge and design a longer term solution,” contends Mertz. “When this is done, the solution needs to be broken down into achievable, smaller bundles of solutions. Time stitches the smaller solutions together in a logical, more impactful way.” Defining the overarching solution and the tangible steps to move toward the goal will keep millennials engaged while also building a more sustainable business. It’s a win-win approach. A mindset shift is required, along with a refreshed way to lead. Millennials will bring these shifts, but other generations need to lay the groundwork now. Business leaders need to embrace change and make the most of these strategies. Older generations need to step up to the challenge and support the changes needed to build a stronger future, engage millennial talent, and shape a lasting business legacy.

How To Avoid Underperforming and Reach Your Potential

How To Avoid Underperforming and Reach Your Potential As you progress along your career S-Curve, there will be points in time, which I call Career Gates, when you’ll be expected to demonstrate that you’ve “got what it takes” to advance: that “right mix” of competencies and attributes crucial to winning the support of key people in your career. When you miss a Career Gate, it can be costly and cause you to undershoot your career potential. When you choose to do so, that’s okay. But otherwise, it’s a shame. In fact, the world needs you to be at your best as much of the time as possible. Why Achievers Can Undershoot Their Potential There are several different reasons why you may miss Career Gates unintentionally and run into this kind of career roadblock. I find that they tend to be grouped into these three categories: Awareness â€" You don’t (yet) have the right mix of capabilities and aren’t aware that it’s important to develop them. Experience â€" You have the capabilities but haven’t developed them fully yet. Exposure â€" You have the capabilities, they’re fully developed, but you haven’t demonstrated them to the people who matter. Whether you’ve already missed a Career Gate and need to get back on track, or want to avoid doing so in the future, the question is: How can you demonstrate you “have what it takes” when it counts? The “Learn It, Do It, Show It” Strategy While there’s undoubtedly some serendipity involved in all success stories, it pays to have a strategy and execute on it proactively. With that in mind, here’s a 3-step strategy to help you avoid missing Career Gates, stay on your career trajectory, and get back on the path if you’ve fallen off. Step 1: Learn It Before you can show you have what it takes, you need to actually have the package of capabilities needed. This is about understanding the “what”: The package of necessary capabilities will depend on your career sector and the specifics within your organization. Go find out what’s seen as the right capability set for your level and one above, and then tailor it to your particular situation. It’s also about the “why”: Understanding why something is important is the basis for motivation and successful learning. It will also put you in the proper mindset to prioritize investing the time, energy and focus required to develop these new capabilities. For example, if a key capability is being able to influence others (the “what”), then that may mean learning to adapt your style to be effective with a variety of people rather than sticking to just one way of approaching people. You may want to invest in some training, do some reading, hire a coach. And at a certain level of seniority, if you can’t figure out how to flex your style so you can deliver results even when you’re working with difficult colleagues or clients, you’re likely to top out before your time, and make your team less successful as well (the “why”). Step 2: Do It Once you understand what the capabilities are that you need and why they are important, it’s about taking action. This is about the “how”: Having strategies, tactics and tools at your disposal for gaining those capabilities in a way that works for you within the context of your situation. It’s also about putting those strategies, tactics and tools into practice. It’s easy to intellectually “get” something and say to yourself, “got it, that’s obvious”. But actually doing is what counts. No matter how well you understand the concept of influencing rather than ordering people around, you can’t become great at it without putting in the “10,000 hours” that Malcolm Gladwell refers to in his book Outliers. Plus, there’s always room to improve and new ways to learn. So “Do It” is also about experimenting with new methods, refining and improving your results. That’s how the best stay at the cutting edge. For example, the “Do It” aspect of developing better influencing capabilities might entail the following strategy: Figure out who you need to influence to get a particular project approved, what their interests are likely to be (the “what’s in it for them”), who else you know that could help, and the best way to approach them. And you could also practice using that same strategy outside of work. Step 3: Show It Having taken action and practiced your capabilities is not enough. You also need those important “others” to know you have those capabilities. Where I see many achievers fall down is in the “Show It” step. They have all the capabilities needed, but the right people don’t know it. Which is why the answer to the question, “if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, did it really fall?” is that it’s irrelevant. And when it comes to your career, you don’t want to be irrelevant. “Show It” is about the “who” and “when”: Knowing which decision-makers, opinion leaders and influencers need to experience you in action, and finding the right moments to demonstrate to them what you are capable of. While serendipity can play a role, you can’t expect to be “discovered” by chance like Channing Tatum or Marilyn Monroe. Instead, look for both normal everyday opportunities (micro moments like your weekly meeting) and special opportunities (macro moments like board meetings or speeches) and use them to your advantage. For example, demonstrating that you can use your influence to get an unruly meeting back on track in a big meeting with senior management will get you more kudos than when you do it in a meeting with your juniors. Use the latter to practice and hone your capability so you’re ready when the macro moment comes. So, where are you on the “Learn It, Do It, Show It” spectrum and which of the three aspects would yield the greatest benefit if you focused on it right now? Next week, we’ll identify 9 Achiever Capabilities that are crucial to “Learn, Do and Show” in order to help you pass through your Career Gates and keep advancing.