Why You Need To Own Your Career Building Your Future Now

Why You Need To Own Your Career Building Your Future Now One of the key ways to develop your career is by analysing the careers of successful professionals in your niche. However, it is fundamental to own your career in order to place your indelible mark on the world. Only you can do the things you can do and bring your unique brand to the table. By owning your roles and responsibilities you are discovering your potential to grow as a personal and as a professional. Although you have many resources at your disposal to better yourself, you need to look withinwhat do you love about your job? What would you change about it (for the better?) What sdifference would you like to make in your role, during the course of your career and within your community? These are a sample of questions you can pose yourself in order to come up with a unique career path. What the world ultimately needs is you doing what you do best rather than a copy of what society believes is true success. Break the mold. Formulate a path that you are comfortable with and never quit! Image: Paul Leng

Personal Branding Interview Alina Tugend - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Interview Alina Tugend - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, I spoke to Alina Tugend, who is the author of Better by Mistake: The Unexpected Benefits of Being Wrong. Alina has been a journalist for more than twenty-five years and writes the biweekly consumer column Shortcuts for the New York Times business section. In this interview, Alina explains her research findings behind her new book, why making mistakes will help your career, and more. What inspired you to write Better by Mistake? Actually I was inspired to write about mistakes after I wrote one of my New York Times columns and there was a minor mistake in it. It wasnt the first time, but it really bothered me and after running a public correction I started thinking about why when were young were taught we learn from mistakes but as we get older, we usually see mistakes as something to be avoided and hidden. So I wrote a column about that, citing social science research about how we learn young to accept or avoid mistakes. It really resonated with readers, and out of that column eventually I wrote the book. Throughout your research, what were your main conclusions and findings? While most of us give lip service to the platitudes that we all learn from mistakes and quote great inventors and scientists to that effect, the message both overt and covert that we get in our society is that mistakes are bad. This is because we tend to focus solely on results and not on the process. In our culture we say we admire people who try hard, but really we dont put a lot of value on effort and process. For example, in school, the goal is far too often to simply get the right answer, rather than understanding how one got there, and valuing the mistakes made in the process of getting there. Focusing only on the right answers means we learn things much more superficially than if we understood the underlying concepts. I also discovered this is not universally true. In Japan, for example, in early education, teachers and students are much more more open to the role mistakes serve in helping us understand. Mistakes are not something to be embarrassed about but to be used as a learning tool. I also learned that most errors -whether in business, medicine or aviation, all of which I wrote about in my book are caused not by one bad apple but by systemic problems. Usually there are many latent errors that led up to the active error. Yet too often we simply want to find someone to blame and resolve the superficial problem quickly, and therefore we dont do the hard work needed to dig down and really find out what went wrong and why. So the error is much more likely to happen again. If people dont make mistakes, can they still be successful or not? People cant help but make mistakes. Were human. No one can be perfect. I think rather the question should be, if people arent open to learning from their mistakes and open to the necessary feedback, even if negative can they be successful? And I think thats very difficult. While many successful people are perfectionists, there is a problem with so valuing the concept of being perfect that you are terrified of any hint that you might be wrong or less than perfect. Research has shown us that people who are too invested in their perfectionism are often less creative and less willing to take the necessary risks to be successful than non-perfectionists. Bill Gates once said, How a company deals with its mistakes suggests how well it will bring out the best ideas and talents in its people. Can you force yourself to make a mistake and learn from it or is it better to make mistakes naturally? I think we all make enough natural mistakes in life to learn from them! However, There is an idea called deliberate mistakes that some experts advocate that is trying something that conventional wisdom says wont work. For example, advertising pioneer David Ogilvy, who,when he tested his ideas, deliberately included ads that he thought would not work in order to test and improve his rules on evaluating advertising. Now of course, this can only be done within reason a company cant drill for oil where its likely to be dry. That would just be too expensive. From your life experiences, can you talk about how mistakes have helped shape your career? Well, I wrote a book about them! That shaped my life. I think its not necessarily the mistakes themselves that shape peoples lives thought they obviously can in terms of financial mishaps or a bad marriage for example. But in many cases I think its our attitude and actions surrounding mistakes that affect our lives. For example, some people are so afraid of being or doing wrong that they constantly take the safe road or are paralyzed when faced with a challenge. I dont think that is my issue. But I think I was affected by the aftermath of mistakes I would beat myself up after every mistake, big or small. Intellectually I knew no one is perfect, but somehow in my gut I felt terrible for ever failing. I still dont love making mistakes I dont think many people do but I have learned to forgive myself more. That allows me to be more open to criticism and more able to differentiate valid from invalid criticism. And thats huge. - Alina Tugend is the author of Better by Mistake: The Unexpected Benefits of Being Wrong. She has been a journalist for more than twenty-five years. She earned a bachelors degree at the University of California Berkeley and a master of studies in law at Yale Law School. She has written about education, environmentalism, and consumer culture for numerous publications, including The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Atlantic, American Journalism Review, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Child, and Parents. Since 2005, she has written the biweekly consumer column Shortcuts for the New York Times business section.

How to Stay Motivated During the Festive Season

How to Stay Motivated During the Festive Season As well as being one of the most wonderful times of the year, the holiday season can also be a major productivity killer. Its a time to celebrate and have fun but what are some ways that you can do this, as well as keeping productivity high? Take a look at these top 6 tips to make sure your holiday season is a productive one! 1) Plan: Planning in advance can do wonders for productivity around the holidays. So as December arrives, why not set aside some time to plan your month. Prioritise tasks and make the all important to-do lists. Theres nothing more satisfying than physically crossing something off a list, and it helps writing down tasks so its clear what you should be spending your time on. 2) Enjoy it: A way to stay truly motivated is to allow some time off to celebrate the festivities. Why not arrange a team christmas dinner or allocate a day for a christmas party. its a fun filled times of year, so dont try and avoid it sometimes its worth going with the flow and having some time off to celebrate. 3) Dont over commit: With so many parties and events happening around this time of year, it can be easy to over commit and  over do it on social engagements. Maintaining a suitable work-life balance means youll keep yourself on track. Hangovers + motivation just doesnt happen. 4) Attend the right events: Attending events during the festive season is inevitable. But why not plan your events in a way that means youll meet people from your industry and have a chance to network. Causal setting like events or parties are the perfect place to meet potential new clients. So work out which events will work in your favour, and prioritise these in your favour. Two birds, one stone! 5) Avoid multitasking: This point should be used all year round and not only in the festive season. One way to make sure you get things done is to avoid multi tasking. Pick a task and work on it until its finished. Dont flitter between 3 different jobs do one until its finished to a high quality. 6) Be flexible: Working flexibility is often necessary for people during the holiday season. If you need a day off to attend an event or party, then make sure you allocate that time on another day to complete any tasks you missed out on. The holiday  season is a time for fun and festivities, so make sure you have fun! Got another tips for keeping motivated during the festive season? Tweet them to @UndercoverRec!

To find a dream job today pick a path with twists and turns

To find a dream job today pick a path with twists and turns Todays workers have three, clear priorities: Flexible hours, work that leads to personal growth, and the ability to spend a lot of time fostering personal relationships. These are not the characteristics of jobs that typically attracted the best candidates. Most lawyers have terrible hours, most doctors have little flexibility, and most consultants sacrifice personal time for time on the road. So, whats left? What are the dream jobs today? What are the career paths that challenge assumptions of conventional success but achieve the top priorities of todays workers: Flexibility, personal growth, and fun co-workers. A big piece of the dream career path is to get out of doing entry-level jobs by taking a career path that allows you to jump. Some people start companies in their dorm rooms so they have good experience on their resume by the time they graduate. Some people freelance after graduation so they can find good work for themselves, prove themselves, and then get a mid-level job when they look for an employer. Some entry-level jobs are still good, though, because the company offers so much in exchange. These jobs are inflexible and demanding, but they provide a couple of years of high-level, intensive training. Examples include being an analyst for an investment banking firm, going into a structured training program at a company such as Procter Gamble or General Electric, or going to a top-tier consulting firm that makes mentoring and training high priorities. Doing these jobs is almost like going to business school but, instead of paying for it, you get paid. And then you leave. Todays dream jobs are different than those of the past, but just as competitive tough to position yourself for and tough to keep. Take the example of bloggers. Some, like Heather B. Armstrong at dooce, or Darren Rowse at Problogger, do a great job of supporting themselves and their families with their blogs. They have flexible, interesting work, they learn a lot, and work in a community they really connect with. But the percentage of bloggers who can do this is very small. Working at a venture-capital firm or a hedge fund is also a great way to go. Good hours, fun work, great money. But very few people will be good enough at what they do that these sorts of jobs will be open to them. If you cannot figure out how to get to the top of a field, figure out how to keep your options open. The worst career track for todays worker is one in which youre stuck where career change would require you to start at the bottom again. Multidisciplinary, knowledge-management paths give you flexibility to move among disciplines and departments. Careers that are brain-intensive but not time-intensive allow you to work on developing your next thing while youre doing your current thing. These are dream jobs because they allow you to create work around the life you want to lead. And, of course, dont forget entrepreneurship. The reason so many young people are starting companies is not because jobs are hard to find; its because dream jobs are hard to find. But starting your own company allows you to work with your friends, pick your own hours, and learn on a very steep curve. So, what does this look like in real life? Take a look at Nataly Kogans career. She started out working for a top-tier consulting firm. Then she got a job at a venture capital firm. And today, at age 31, she has founded her own company, Work It, Mom fittingly, a community for women to figure out the answer to their own dream job after theyve had kids. Kogan is a great example of someone with a dream job because the job doesnt feel steady. Shes at the beginning of a wild ride through entrepreneurship. There used to be a smugness to the partner at the big law firm or the brain surgeon with the de rigueur, stay-at-home wife. The people with dream jobs today dont know where theyll be 20 years from now or even next month. Even those who may appear to already have their dream job may be scheming to move on to their next one at a start-up, for example. Google is a big matching service for smart people who have ideas and smart people who want to work on a new idea. A huge number of Google employees are waiting to go to a start-up founded by someone they know inside the company. We do not have a finite set of respectable jobs anymore. We do not have a single path to the American dream anymore. What we have is multiple paths that converge on flexible, rewarding work that accommodates a personal life. And we have paths that do not get you to that. The dream job of the new millennium plays to your strengths. So find them. Because that dream job will not unfold in front of you like a 1950s-era corporate ladder. You need to go after the dream job every day of your career if you want to get it.

This is How to Stand Out in Your Job Search

This is How to Stand Out in Your Job Search Photo Credit â€" Flickr.comRight now there are a record number of job openings across the U.S. So getting hired should be easy, right?Well, not so fast. It appears that part of the reason for all these job opening is that employers aren’t finding the skilled employees they need to fill roles, so they’re choosing to leave the jobs open.At Betterteam, where we help businesses find great hires, we talk to employers all the time who talk about getting bogged down in a sea of low-quality applicants.evalThis situation does still present a big opportunity for job seekers, but you’ve got to make it easy for potential employers to find you in a haystack of unqualified applicants.How Not to Get Screened OutTo deal with thick stacks of applicants, most employers have some sort of screening process to help them thin things out.This usually starts with a quick review of resumes. By quick, I mean that recruiters often spend 6 seconds or less looking at resumes. That’s if they even see them .Often times, employers use applicant tracking systems that automatically screen resumes for them.So how do you pass the 6 second test and get past the tracking system?What employers and tracking systems are almost always looking for is some evidence that you’re qualified for the job â€" that you have the necessary skills.Take a close look at what qualifications the employer is asking for in their job posting, and then make sure you use the same wording they do in your resume to describe your skills.evalWith applicant tracking systems, it’s possible the software will be looking for different keywords than what appears in the job posting. If you need some alternate keyword ideas, search for the position on O*Net and you’ll find different ways of describing the skills you’re supposed to have.You’ll want to find ways of using both the language in the job posting and on O*Net if you need to be sure to get past both recruiters and tracking systems.Don’t Get Screened, Part 2If you get past the resume scan phase, there’s a good chance you’ll have a quick phone interview.This is another way of screening. In-person interviews are time consuming and costly, so it makes sense for employers to do a short phone interview to check on applicants. Once again, they’re looking to see if you have the qualifications necessary.evalThere’s really no way to fake that part. Either you have what they want, or you don’t.But there’s another thing you do have control over.Most interviewers are on the lookout for red flags â€" reasons why they shouldn’t hire you. Make sure you don’t raise any doubts with these.A few red flags employers and recruiters look out for:Bad mouthing previous employers.Being focused on money.Looking for salary well beyond what the company offers.Low energy.Not settled on this role/position.If you’ve got the basic qualifications and don’t raise any red flags, you should be able to sail through this stage of the process.From here, yo u’ll have one or more live interviews between you and the job you want. I’ve written up some tips to help you get through the final state of the process here.I hope that helps you get noticed the next time you apply for a job! It’s a great time to be looking, and there’s plenty of opportunity out there if you know how to get noticed in this market.

Make a Living without Selling Your Soul

Make a Living without Selling Your Soul If money were no object, most people would be in different careers. At least that has been my experience coaching clients one-on-one and taking listener calls on my SiriusXM show. Ironically, following the money doesnt offer the comfort people seek. Can they pay you enough to do a job you dont like? Good thing there is an alternative. You really can make a great living without selling your soul. In fact, you will find a more sustainable income when you listen to yourself and follow-through on the thoughts and ideas that come to you. Look at Facebook, Google, Apple all of these companies started with an idea, a thought, a vision. The founders of these companies took these ideas seriously they valued their genius and used that as the cornerstone for making a great living. I read the back stories on successful people all the time very few if any succeeded because they were trying to get rich quick. Instead, they had a mission, a purpose to their work they were trying to make life be tter for others and money (lots of it!) was the natural offshoot to products or services that did just that. If you dont believe me, read Patricia Aburdenes new book Conscious Money. Patricia is a best known for spotting mega trends. Her first best-seller Megatrends 2000 sold over 14 million copies worldwide. Since then Patricia has noticed a new trend: Conscious Capitalism. Its an approach that continues to grow even during the recent Great Recession. Companies that have a higher purpose beyond profit, who treat their employees, customers, the environment, etc. well are outperforming companies focused on only profit alone. Its a revolution I for one am excited about!To make it in this new age, Patricia points out the Creativity is our most valueable skill. Innovating new ways to doing things is something everyone now has the power to do, not just experts or a certain powerful few at the tops of companies or governements. CEOs are recognizing this too and 1500 of them cited creativi ty as their most sought after talent in employees in a landmark IBM study. So what does this mean to you? Its time you start cultivating your ow creative RD as Patricia calls it.Heres my take on the steps Patricia shares. I recommend you buy her book (find the link on my FB fan page) and make it work for you too:Make space/time in your life for just being, not doing. Filling your schedule up with to dos is distracting. Allow for quiet time during your work day. Patricia recommends starting a mindfulness practice like meditation or yoga.Notice where you get your most creative thoughts. For some its the shower, for others, its a long run.Harvest the ideas you get from this practice. Keep a notebook or smart phone handy. Inspiration can come in a brainstorm and youll want to be ready to capture it.I have never felt more strongly that we all have the answers we need inside of us. Its the basis of my Soul Search work. Put yourself in the drivers seat of your career. Follow the inspiratio n that comes to you and youll soon see that your own creativity is the best and most sustainable source of income you could imagine.(Photo courtesy of flikr user Tax Credits.)

Resume Writing Tips For Writers - Why You Should Write a Resume

Resume Writing Tips For Writers - Why You Should Write a ResumeThanks to the internet, career coaching is now easy and stress free thanks to the myriad of resources at our fingertips. As a result, we now have access to the best, most effective resume writing tips for writers. In this article, we'll examine some of the most important resume writing tips for writers and how they can dramatically improve your career.Writing your resume should be easy to read. A writer who knows how to make a resume easy to read should only be required to write a one page resume that is formatted to appeal to the reader's eye. Don't get me wrong, you can take advantage of Microsoft Word to format your resume but if you want to add real, visual appeal, your resume must stand on its own.Resume writing tips for writers are all about the flow of the writing. After you've drafted the first draft, you should be sure to check over your resume to ensure that all of the content is properly organized. The content should be in the order in which it should appear on the resume so that the resume writer will easily understand how each point is related to the others.Your resume should include your contact information. Your contact information will come up again at the top of the resume in place of the name of the company. This is where the resume should first begin. However, if your company has chosen to not include any contact information, then you need to fill this in later after you've compiled the job descriptions.If you're seeking a position as a medical transcriptionist, you'll want to put your job title and the names of your supervisor on your resume. However, if you're seeking a position as a medical assistant, you don't want to include the information. It's up to you to decide whether you would like to include these details in your resume or not. Many individuals today choose to leave out the supervisor's name from their resume in order to save the time it takes to write them. As a resu lt, your future employer will only see the title of the supervisor but won't know the name of the person who hired them.If you are unsure of your level of writing skills, you may want to use a resume writing service to assist you with your resume. The services offer many different types of resume writing tips for writers so that you can ensure that you are able to make a great first impression. The first step towards creating a first impression is by helping you find the right resume writing tips for writers.Resume writing tips for writers have been well researched by the experts at resume writing software companies. This means that you can be sure that the information contained in your resume will help you land the job you want and the position you desire.