“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
- Steve Jobs
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I received a complimentary copy of “Awaken Your CAREERpreneur” by Alexia Vernon for review and wanted to share it with you because it reflects an idea whose time has come…everyone as CEO of their own career. I received no other compensation for this review.
Alexia Vernon gave us a lesson on personal networking and building your All-Star team in a previous audio post. After reading her book, I must tell you, she has got it going on as a trainer and expert in career development.
In her new book, “Awaken Your CAREERpreneur: A Holistic Road Map to Get from Your Calling to Your Career,” she pulls together a spectacular process to help you to your dream career and she offers spot on coaching insights along the way. Her process goes from creating the vision and overcoming barriers right on through to crossing the finish line. I really like the written exercises she has developed including, to name a few of my favorites: writing a letter from an employer offering your next perfect opportunity, the tolerations list, the first impression questionnaire, and the sticky factor top ten list.
She also organizes a step-by-step plan for interview preparation and personal network building that is top notch. Most importantly, she emphasizes the often forgotten step of attitude and mindset prep work as a daily habit. I just love the fierce concept that she creatively intertwines into the networking chapters too.
I recommend this book and Alexia’s other work. You can find the book on Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com. Also see the book website at AwakenYourCAREERpreneur.com.
A new book is out today! Alexia Vernon has written, “Awaken Your CAREERpreneur: A Holistic Road Map to Climb From Your Calling to Your Career.” I will be reviewing it soon, but today she shared some of her top tips about building your own all-star team to support you in your career. Click to listen in!
Follow Alexia on Twitter — @GenWeCoach. You can find her book on Amazon and Barnes and Noble too!
#1 Take Ownership
- Your career is yours and yours alone. You have the power to create it and live it as an expression of your unique talents and energy.
- Forget what other people think of your choices. Even though people often mean well, you will be the one putting in the hours so be selfish enough to do something you enjoy and to have fun with it!
- Being yourself in your work gives power, creativity, and freedom. You are off track if you feel insecure or like an pretender at work.
#2 Look Inside Yourself, You Know the Answers
- Take note when you find yourself fully engaged in a work activity. If it feels like you are in the zone, or plugged in and energized, or connected to something larger than yourself: Pay special attention.
- Then describe it further…what are you liking about what you are doing? Is it this? Is it that? Keep asking yourself and you’ll know when you hit the answer that feels right.
- Start general then get more specific in your description of what you like about what you are doing. For example, is it the communication or connection? Is it the performing or beautifying? Is it the helping or healing? Is it the organizing or administrating? Then add more detail by asking why.
#3 Respect the Career Development Process
- The beauty of a great career is in the way it unfolds.
- Enjoy the present moment. Each small step adds up until you are for sure ready for more.
- Appreciate then forget when you felt lost or frustrated in your career. Through those times you learned more about what you DO want.
#4 Understand the Power of People
- People can be powerful and brilliant in sharing their connections with others. Use strategy in maintaining your 150 or so top connections to tap into the power.
- Accept that people can be dark, egotistical, and negative but this is nothing compared to an individual in harmony with self. Recognize the negative as the weaker power and stay beyond it.
- See and applaud the strengths of others as you do for yourself. Be a builder-upper who is generous with knowledge, info, and positive energy.
#5 Be an Opportunity Bulldog
- Take your individual strengths and mesh them into your public identity and no one can take your place.
- Research and understand the opportunities that exist because of the challenges in your field of expertise.
- Present a passion for being or finding the solution and be unafraid of asking for the opportunity.
This post make some good points relevant for careers today. Check it out.
Step #1 Pay attention to what you’re focusing on.
This step alone can do wonders for you almost immediately. First understand that what you focus on affects your emotional state, or how you feel.
If what you’re thinking about makes you feel bad it affects your energy level in a bad way. If you’re thinking about something that makes you feel bad you will quickly start to feel stressed or tired or just generally have a bad attitude.
On the other hand, if what you’re thinking about makes you feel good it affects your energy level in a good way. It doesn’t really matter if what you’re thinking about it is true or not what matters is if it helps you feel good.
So use this to enhance your career. For example if thinking about the weekend or free time makes you feel good then don’t wait until Friday to daydream about the weekend. But if thinking about the weekend makes you feel bad because you want it to be the weekend now or it makes you yearn for the weekend, then avoid thoughts about the weekend choosing to focus on something to make you feel good instead.
Here is another example. On a recent episode of Dancing with the Stars, Olympian Evan Lysacek was being coached by his dancing pro Anna Trebunskaya. Evan is a top notch technician but was not good at showing emotion in his dancing. Anna asked him, “What makes you happy?” Evan mumbled something about cars and then said, as his face lit up, “my baby nephew!”
He then proceeded to show cute little videos of his nephew on his phone to his coach smiling & laughing the whole time. Anna capitalized on that reaction and brought it to his attention. Long story short, he danced like a whole new man in that week’s competition. Even more importantly, he now knows a trick (shall we say, a Jedi mind trick?) for something to focus on when he notices he is not feeling as happy as he could.
Step #2 Use your strengths in your career.
Strengths as related to careers are activities that you enjoy doing, that you do well, and that you don’t mind doing repeatedly. This new hot philosophy on strengths was developed by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton in the book, “Now, Discover Your Strengths.”
They promote the idea that we can be happier in our careers by focusing on strengths instead of trying to improve weaknesses. In fact, they say that one can advance further and faster in skill attainment by practicing and developing one’s strengths rather than one’s weaknesses (for example, their idea that you can work everyday to improve a weaknesses and achieve only lackluster results). The book is a little long winded because of all the theory and development talk, but when you buy the book you get an assessment code to enter online to take the assessment. The more recent version is StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath. The book is much more of a friendly, quick reference which also includes an assessment.
Step #3 Be selfish.
No, I don’t mean selfish in a bad way. It is simply that factoring in everyone else’s opinion of what you should be doing in your work, (or for that matter what anyone thinks about the work you do) is exhausting and fruitless…so be selfish! After all, YOU are the one putting in the time and attention to whatever you choose for your career, and you are the one noticing everyday how you feel about your career (see step #1). So be selfish, and take charge of your career development to make sure your work is life-enhancing.
Annual performance reviews provide excellent material for employer/manager quotes. Save them each year, and more than that set goals from them and use them as a reference before your next review.
Skill Identification is a process that expands client’s personal skill vocabulary and effects and builds a positive change in self-confidence.- Explore both old jobs and new options. “New career direction.”
- Development of different career options through a method/process that opens doors of opportunity that otherwise would be overlooked or discarded.
- Personalized training and individual attention to those things that will set you apart from all other candidates.
- Developing a clear self-presentation and unique marketing materials as well as learning key job searching tools.
- Campaign focused mainly on personal one-on- one informational contacts where the jobs are in the making. When there is a vacancy or posted opening, “client usually gets an interview.”
- In addition to posting a LinkedIn & Facebook profiles, all kinds of e-media are explored to build visibility and credibility in your chosen market.
- Three-stage controlled networking campaign. Adeptly using internet for background research to locate, and connect with “countless” contacts.
- Dual-approach to get interviews from employer- identified ads: applying through personnel and approaching Hiring Decision Maker(s) directly.
- Primary interview training: Referral Interviews, which build connections to the hiring decision makers. without waiting for “openings.” These interviews also train candidates for actual job interviews.
- Step-by-step coaching to handling salary negotiations/questions given at the beginning of the search. Coaching at time of the offer generally increases comp package by 10% and more.
- Client continues to build visibility and credibility in his/her chosen field. 5-year goals established as well as the development of your network “Power Team” that has been built to advance your career now and in the future.
You probably feel pretty aware of how easy it is for an employer to find someone else who will take the job. But you are selling yourself short if you assume that is their attitude and you don’t even ask.
They key to remember to is they probably don’t want to hire just anyone. They are looking for they best they can get. So, do your research and ask. If you don’t ask, you already have your answer…its no!
There is also the matter of acting with respect throughout the negotiation process as you did through the hiring process. Don’t take it personal that they will try to hire at the most advantageous pay rate for them. Of course, you will work to help understand that they get what they pay for…this is your leverage.
Remember this too: the wage you accept will impact your attitude on the job. It will either be in a positive way or a negative way. The salary you accept now determines the raises you will get later because raises are based on percentages usually.
All that being said to help you see the importance of negotiating, here are some techniques you may want to consider.
- It is important to buy time when a number is thrown out there. Pausing for just a few seconds when a number is mentioned can give the impression that they will have to come up on something so you can meet in the middle. It could be money, time, or perks that they come up with but something more. They say a number and you pause as you are considering your response. Sometimes those few seconds can make you thousands of dollars! If not now then certainly as you work for them years and each future raised is based on what you accept at the start.
- You also buy time when negotiations are closing for the day. You sum up what they are offering and say, “I will sleep on it and speak with you tomorrow if that sounds okay with you.” Or you may sum it all up and say (as long as it is true), “I expect another offer to come in soon, when is the latest I can get back to you? Can I reply by Friday, does that sound acceptable?”
- Sometimes you do have to say “no” to an offer if you feel they are just too low and it will affect your attitude and work ethic to accept. There is power in walking away if they refuse meet your needs and you feel you can get your needs met elsewhere.
- One technique to use is to say something like this, “after careful consideration, I must decline your job offer. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me and please do call if the budget changes.” That way you give them room to come up to your expectations if they are really pained to see you walk away.
Here are suggestions to improve your resume. I review resumes often and these mistakes are very common but easily fixed.
- Use bullet points for easy scanning.
- Keep paragraphs to no more than two to three sentences long.
- Use the title of the job you are applying for as a resume objective.
- Use a strong summary of qualifications. This section needs to be a big picture view about the dynamic and professional person you are.
- Don’t use I’s on resumes. Instead, start sentences with action verbs.
- Use common section headers such as Professional Experience or Related Experience or Education instead of something unique.
- Use year dates for the jobs held throughout your resume…2008-Present; 2006-2007; 2004-2006.
- Use keywords relevant to the type of job you are applying for on your resume.
- Get rid of the responsibility/job duties bullets. Instead use accomplishment statements. One way to do that is to finish the thought by telling, “which resulted in…” at the end of each bullet point.
Go and see!
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