How to Leverage Your Unique Skill Sets Building Your Future Now

How to Leverage Your Unique Skill Sets Building Your Future Now We all bring something unique to the table when it comes to the workforce. Whether it is being a specialist on in-demand software or having battle-tested retail management experienceall of us have unique skill sets we can leverage for new and better paying opportunities. Where are you needed? You have the skill sets. Check! You have the desire to grow. Check! You have experience. Check! But where do you go? Relocating might be your best bet. If you are situated and comfortable in a certain area but wish to expand on your unique skill sets you just might have to bite the bullet and move. At first, it can be a difficult proposition. There are regions in specific parts of the country that need what you bring to the table. However, you need to keep in mind: your family and friends, home-life balance, and other intangibles that keeps you living where you are now. Leveraging your Skills at Current Job Although companies these days are savvy about what talent they have and need in order to stay competitive, finding out just how much youre worth to your current employer is very important. Assessing your talents sometimes isnt the easiest. Go out and do a little research on your skill sets and how you stack up to others in your industry. Also, reach out and find some guidance from recruiters or career specialists to find out your leveraging capabilities on the open market. This insight is invaluable to your career and your future because it can reposition for: more money, job advancement and setting new career goals at your current employer. Making your Own Niche as an Entrepreneur If your skill sets are so unique and you have opportunity to acquire client/business easily then being an entrepreneur is right for you. Although you might not have an inclination to strike out on your own, its perhaps an opportunity that makes sense professionally and financially. Again it is important to sit down and jot down the pros and cons and to carefully review if its a path you want or must take. Remember: you always have options. Be sure to consult your mentor (if you have one), any professionals that you know well, and any outside experts that can bring an unbiased opinion to the table. Image: Raw Pixel

Get good mentors by building relationships

Get good mentors by building relationships If you want to succeed in business you need a mentor. Getting one though, requires patience, a clear focus and the self-confidence to be a nudge. The multigenerational workplace seems like it would be fertile ground for mentoring. Generation Y grew up in an environment where parents, teachers and counselors were all about building the self-esteem of children, says Bruce Tulgan, CEO of RainmakerThinking, There was a lot of conditioning to engage in a mentoring type of relationship. Young people are great at asking for help in fact renowned for doing things a boomer would never do, like approaching the CEO to ask for a meeting to share ideas, and networking relentlessly up and down the organization. But older folks are not so keen on mentoring even though it has been shown to improve the career of the mentor as well as the mentee. Baby boomers say, ?I went out into the world and I had my youthful rebellion. You should have seen me!' Tulgan explains. Then they get all wistful and say they, But I went back to the real world and paid my dues and it was sink or swim and no one held my hand.' So while getting workplace mentors should be very easy, its not. Here are some tips on how to get and keep a mentor. 1. Look for someone just two or three years ahead of you. Those people will remember what youre going through, so theyll give you good tactical advice. Also, young people are very team-oriented, and they grew up with social networking tools, so they are easier to rope into a mentoring relationship than someone older. In April 2005, Zak Zielezinski, 22, and some friends started an entrepreneurship club at Clark University, and from that, they started a company. One of older students in the club directed Zielezinski to a professor who could help him, and from that interaction, Zielezinskis company, Interactive Purchasing Solutions was born. 2. Do great work, because potential mentors want to help stars. Ian Ybarra is a good example of someone who does great work wherever he goes, so he attracts mentors who help his career. Chris Resto hired Ybarra to help him with a consulting job. Ybarra, who was an undergraduate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was smart, organized, and motivated, and the reward for good work is more work, says Resto. He gave Ybarra more challenging assignments, which Ybarra also did well, so when Resto became head of UPOP, an internship program at MIT, he hired Ybarra as his assistant. Ybarra quickly showed great talent for writing, so Resto gave him more work along those lines. Finally we had to hire an office assistant because he became the writer, says Resto. Ybarra got an internship at Inc. magazine, and once again, did such a high level of work that he attracted a mentor who gave him the opportunity to write a bylined piece for the magazine. He probably wrote more of it than I did, says Ybarra. But it gave Ybarra the opportunity impress Tahl Raz enough that he helped Ybarra get a writing and editing job with business consultant and author Keith Ferrazzi, who, fittingly, is the co-author with Raz of a popular book on relationship building, Never Eat Alone. 3. Figure out goals first, before hitting up a mentor. If you have no idea what questions to ask, it might be because you dont know what youre doing. This is career coach territory, not mentoring territory. A mentor is someone who champions you, opens doors, exposes you to new opportunities. And external career coach cannot do that, says Jo Miller, CEO of Womens Leadership Coaching. But a career coach is good at goal setting, putting plans into action and moving forward. Once your goals are established, then you can go to a mentor with a specific topic in mind, says Miller. The mentee should drive the conversation, she says. Importantly, ask for help determining the skills you need to get to where you want to go. Then get some tactical advice on how to develop them. 4. Build deep relationships that will help you on multiple levels. There are two kinds of mentors. The instrumental mentors give practical help, and the socio-emotional mentors look to build your confidence and let you know they believe in you. A good mentor is like being a parent.  They try to customize the experience of the protégés so the protégés gains new capabilities,” says  Faye Crosby, professor of psychology at  University of California at Santa Cruz. You can build a great network of contacts, but when you have a crisis in confidence you need someone who is emotionally invested in you. To cultivate that emotional investment, keep in touch; a mentor follows your career over a long period of time. Send updates about what you’re doing, offer congratulations on the mentor’s big moves and be on the lookout for quick little ways to build a long, meaningful relationship. Ybarra and Resto are a good example of how to keep a relationship strong over time. When Ybarra left MIT, he kept in touch with Resto, and now they are collaborating on a book about how companies can more effectively recruit young people. Resto is the expert on recruiting and Ybarra, along with friend  Ramit Sethi, provide expertise on what young people want. And this story illustrates perhaps the most important and most enticing aspect of mentoring: That the best relationships allow both people to grow.

Resolutions Um, NO. But If Not Now, When

Resolutions Um, NO. But If Not Now, When Ive always been more of a doer than a planner.  Thats why things like day planners, New Year resolutions, and wowzie life plans never worked for me.  Besides, as they say, life is what happens to you while youre making other plans. Okay, I do plan.  Its just not what the gurus of planning would use for a good example   My planning is about seeing where I want to go and going for it.  But while I have some weird intuitive knack for just knowing what needs to be done to achieve the results I want, I realize that a lot of people are not that way.  I think thats why so many people like the idea of resolutions. Then again, theres the reality of how many of those resolutions ever get accomplished.  According to Forbes, a whopping 92% are not achieved.  Maybe its me, but that seems like a worrisome number.  And makes me pretty sure there must be a better way. Resolutions?  No, Lets Not As I see it, these are the basic problems with resolutions: Theyre treated like decrees, with no allowance for need to adjust.  Pass or fail. Theyre attached to one day of the year, January 1, which make is easy to let a lot of time get wasted waiting for the NEXT time youre going to make some. And, too often they are unfocused.  No matter how you do it, you need to have BOTH a destination (goal) and a road map (plan) to get there. At some point all of us reach a point in life when we realize that this funny thing called time isnt waiting for us.  While its important to savor parts of our journey, its also important to have a sense of urgency about whatever it is were passionate about.  So if you only make resolutions every January 1, you have a pretty limited number of chances to make course adjustments.  Yes, there most definitely must  be a better way. Action and Accountability Ive been self-employed for the better part of my adult life.  So maybe that contributed to the way I do goals.  Ive always had to be accountable to myself.  At the end of the day, or week, or month, Ive always looked back at what I accomplished.  If I got all the A items off my list and maybe some of Bs and Cs, it was good. If progress towards my goal could be clearly seen, I could sleep well. Ive never seen a plan that came really close to the way Ive naturally done life.   And Im not about to try to write a book about exactly how I do it.  That one would never even have made it to my list of resolutions even if one existed!  But I recently came across a pretty awesome tool. Conquer Your Year While its called The Ultimate Planner, it is quite different than any Ive seen.  With sections that include self-evaluation of gratitude, physical well-being, and both attitude and measurement of progress towards goals, its more like a daily journal of your life and your path to what youve laid out for achieving.  Its a  living life plan, in many respects.  The creator, Natalie MacNeil, has put together something that is not only unusual in format, but, I think, very effective.  Im going to use it myself in the months ahead to track some new personal goals. Id recommend you take a look.  But no matter what method you choose to plan and track the road to your goals, theres one thing for sure.  The future doesnt care what your world looks like when you arrive there.   Its up to you to create it, starting now.  Resolutions arent for once a year, theyre declarations to be made as frequently as necessary to make your life look exactly the way you want it.  The time is now, and now is every day. . Image credits. Main.  Resolutions.  

How the Workplace Has Changed Over the Years - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How the Workplace Has Changed Over the Years - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career LinkedIn has put together a great infographic a few weeks ago showing how the workplaces has changed over the years. This week, I would like to share this infographic with you. Everyone is aware that as the technology evolves, our lives evolve with it. Especially, after the mid-90s, the way we communicate and work started to change dramatically. Do you remember the days where you buy a newspaper to look at the job posts or mail your resume via USPS? How many of you were carrying an agenda in your suitcases to arrange your day? Well, those days are not very far. 20-25 years ago, our lives were much different than today. Look at the below infographic to see how the office life was then and how it is now. We used to sit on uncomfortable chairs in rooms. Nowadays, many offices have open plans for employees to work together along with  rooms where you can sit on a bean bag chair to work  more comfortably. Many offices have play rooms where you can find a play station or a guitar hero game. You can relax and have a little fun in these types of rooms. Moreover, this makes the office a cooler place to work! Perks have changed over time. Instead of giving out sandwich and chips, some employers hire chefs now to provide their employees the best lunch possible. Time planning has definitely changed! Who doesn’t use an Outlook or Google Calendar to arrange their meetings? The life of the recruiters changed radically. Instead of posting the ads to newspapers and collecting resumes from the mail in order to call the candidates, they post the jobs online and monitor everything automatically. Finally, keeping in touch is definitely much easier, especially with the new people we meet. Instead of collecting hundreds of business cards, we can connect with them through multiple social media channels. then_and_now

How Do You Find Out About New Resume Writing Services?

How Do You Find Out About New Resume Writing Services?If you're searching for resume writing services Reno NV, you're not alone. The industry is booming, and many are seeking to benefit from the opportunity. Whether you're looking to increase your chances of landing a new job or just want to make your resume stand out among the crowd, you should consider turning to a company that can help you accomplish your goals.Resume writing services are great when you're looking to boost your chances of landing a new job. You want to be able to increase your chances of landing the job because a lot of employers look at your resume in much more detail than they would someone else's. This will allow them to see exactly what you have to offer. It's important to write your resume in a way that it will showcase your skills, talents, and experience in a positive light.If you're looking to hire an agency that provides resume writing services, they may be able to provide you with the answers you need. T hey'll be able to create a resume that will land you a new job in no time. It's a very good idea to take advantage of these services, as they're cheaper than you might think.It's not uncommon for these companies to give away free services to help you create your resume. After all, you'll be helping them by offering up a free service. They might be able to send you samples to work with to assist in the creation of your resume. This will save you the cost of hiring a professional.These services will also be able to work with you as you get ready to create your resume. They will provide you with ideas on how to make your resume stand out. They will work to improve your skills and talents and point out exactly what's wrong with your resume. This will enable you to focus on improving the areas that need improvement.You may also find that the company you hire will offer up some training in how to create a resume. Some companies provide a training DVD, which can help you create your resume with ease. It may also be possible to access videos from the company to better guide you through the process. This will be an extremely valuable service, especially if you're having trouble with your resume creation.These companies can help you create a resume that stands out from the rest. This is done by presenting you with different tips on how to improve your resume. This includes allowing you to give feedback on the work and giving you suggestions about what should be changed or omitted. As long as you take the time to explore these services, you can make sure you get exactly what you need.Whether you need help with creating a resume or you just want to increase your chances of landing a new job, these services can be extremely valuable. They're an absolute must for anyone who's looking to land a new job. You can get this help at a very low cost, but it won't be wasted. There are many companies that can help you get exactly what you need to get a new job in no time.

Advice Id Give My Younger Self

Advice I’d Give My Younger Self It’s my birthday today (yes, I was named after the month I was born in!) and I have a lot to look forward to. There’s competing in The CrossFit Murph Challenge on Memorial Day, my trip to Peru with my eldest daughter this fall, and my team and I have some cool plans for the business (stay tuned!). While I tend to focus on the future, my team challenged me to reflect on my past, just for today, by asking me: what advice would I give my younger self? Advice to My Younger Self If I could go back in time to advise “young May” when I was starting out in my career, I would tell my younger self these four things. See if they help you too. Focus on Your Super Strengths “Young May, get in touch with your super strengths and focus on using them. Just because you like challenge doesn’t mean you have to make things hard. And don’t equate effort with achievement.” Your super strengths are the things you do well and love doing. They’re the things you do that come naturally to you. And when you’re using those strengths, you feel like you’re “in the zone” or “in flow”. Things feel “simple, easy and fun” when you’re using your super strengths â€" they’re effortless and easeful. My super strengths have revolved around communicating with and influencing people. One boss put it this way: “May, you can say just about anything to anyone and get away with it”. And I’ve described it as being able to “bring together disparate groups to collaborate toward a common goal.” What are your super strengths and how are you using them? Value People Over Tasks As an achiever, I like getting things done. In fact, I like accomplishing tasks so much that I used to resent family members, friends and even my own team for interrupting me when I was in the thick of a project. The project could be as inconsequential as finishing an email or writing an equation in a spreadsheet. As you can imagine, this didn’t make me a model daughter, mother, wife or boss. I also used to think networking was a waste of time, or at least not as important as getting my work done. But the reality is our network of relationships are a key part of our success. It’s people who put us in touch with new opportunities, innovative ideas and enriching experiences, and not tasks. Relationships are a key part of success. It’s people who put us in touch with new opportunities, innovative ideas and enriching experiences. I ended up depending too much on my narrow network and missed opportunities to build my external reputation, raise my profile and broaden my career options. Since starting to value people over tasks, all my relationships have improved and my network is so much richer. Where do you stand on the “people vs task” spectrum? Don’t Worry About Finding Your Passion I never knew what my passion was, or at least not how it related to my job or career. That’s why I’ve never liked the typical career advice of “follow your passion”. When you don’t know what yours is, that kind of well-meaning statement can cause a lot of stress! I would have been much better off relaxing about it as I experimented with many different roles and activities. Instead of going around in circles trying to find my passion, what ended up working for me was to put myself out there and allow my passion to find me. Because finding your passion is a discovery process and not about thinking yourself into knowing. The more you experiment, the closer you’ll get to where you’re meant to be. Finding your passion is a discovery process and not about thinking yourself into knowing. What I’m doing now is exactly what I was meant to do all along. And the path I took has been excellent preparation for what I’m doing now. Have you already found your passion? Or are you still on your way to discovering it? Don’t Give Away Your Power As a “nice Chinese girl”, I deferred to authority figures and just about anyone else who had an opinion. I assumed everyone else had more knowledge and expertise than me. I valued harmony so much that I kept quiet even when I disagreed. Those with louder voices intimidated me. On top of that, I used apology language and said “sorry!” even when others bumped into me! (Just last week someone called me out on saying “sorry” unnecessarily, so I’m still working on it.) As a result, I gave away my personal power and made myself small and inconsequential without even realizing it. Whether it’s a lack of confidence, not wanting to offend, or something else, you close yourself off to opportunity when you give away your power. And that means it’s harder to make a difference for the people and causes you care about. The good news is you can reclaim your personal power at any time. For me, it began with a shift in my mindset. If you need to reclaim your personal power too, now would be a good time to start making the shift. Have you given away your personal power? If so, what step could you take to get it back? What Advice Would You Give Your Younger Self? Whatever stage you are in your life, you’ve learned a great deal simply by living every day. And if you’ve made mistakes, you’ve learned even more of those valuable lessons! So pause and reflect on the most important lessons you’ve learned. Especially ones that remain useful to remember, embrace and act on right now. Maybe they’re about relationships. Perhaps they’re about your career. Or they might be simply about how you want to show up in the world. Whatever those life lessons are, they have value. And they might just help someone else too if you’re willing to share them. So how about you? What advice would you give your younger self? Leave a comment â€" I’d love to know.

11 government policies that promote happiness at work to give a country a competitive advantage - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

11 government policies that promote happiness at work to give a country a competitive advantage - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Discussing public policy in Dubai Given that happy companies?have significant competitive advantages,?governments have a strong interest in enacting public policies that promote happiness at work in their country. But what exactly could a government do to achieve this? At the World Government Summit in Dubai earlier this month?I was part of a panel that discussed how public policy could promote?workplace happiness. We had ?a fascinating and wide-ranging discussion and?came up with many?cool ideas. Some of these may seem radical or weird?but many of them are already in place in countries around the world. Here are 11 ideas I would suggest: 1: Regulate and inspect?psychological?workplace safety Pretty much every?country?has a government agency that sets?requirements for physical workplace safety and sends out?inspectors to?visit e.g. factories and construction sites to make sure that the correct safety equipment is?being used and that workers are following?safety regulations. So why not do the same for psychological workplace safety? In the Scandinavian countries, this is actually in place. The Working Environment Authorities?conduct inspections?in cases where they suspect that working conditions are psychologically unsafe. They inspect things like: Amount of work and time pressure High emotional costs of labor Bullying and sexual harassment Contradictory or unclear work?requirements If they find that the workplace is psychologically unsafe they can issue orders?that the company must follow. In serious cases they can even issue fines. Breaking a leg because you trip over something at work is painful and can take a long?time to heal. But make no mistake about it: being bullied by your boss or working under constant stress can?affect your mental and physical health just as?severely. Therefore it makes perfect sense to mandate standards for psychological workplace safety and inspect workplaces to make sure theyre followed. 2: Regulate against permanent overwork In Denmark, we have laws protecting employees from permanent overwork. The result is that?Danes tend to leave work at a reasonable hour most days, and?they also get five to six weeks of vacation per year, several national holidays and up to a year of paid maternity/paternity leave. While the average American works 1,790 hours per year, the average Dane only works 1,450. Even Japan where the culture of overwork is so rampant?that they have a word called karoshi that means death from overwork, is trying to enact similar laws: The law, introduced as a response to the social problem that has been serious since the late 1980s, makes it the state?s responsibility to take steps to prevent death from overwork. It calls on the government to study the situation of heavy workloads that impair the health of company workers and lead them to take their own life. Protecting employees from permanent overwork makes them happier and more productive. 3: Mandate employee representation on board of directors Heres another idea from Scandinavia give employees representation on the board of directors: Employees in Danish companies employing 35 employees or more, are entitled to elect a number of representatives to the board of directors. The number elected by employees should correspond to half the number elected by those who own the company at the general meeting, and should be at least two. Crucially these employee representatives are not mere observers they have all the same powers and responsibilities as the regular board members. This means that employees are informed about and have influence?on major strategic decisions. 4: Make government workplaces role models I would love to see governments take a leading role by making public sector workplaces among the best in the country. Sadly, the public sector usually has a bit of an inferiority complex. Since they usually cant offer the same salaries, perks and incentives as private sector workplaces, they feel that they cant?be as good workplaces. However,?it turns out that those factors matter very little for workplace happiness, as long as theyre fair. However, public sector workplaces have a huge potential for being happy because they can offer something that many private workplaces struggle to give their employees: Meaningful work. Public organizations almost by definition work for an important purpose. Schools educate children, hospitals heal the sick, city planners create better and more liveable cities?- even the garbage men play a huge role in making peoples lives easier and better. By contrast, lets say ?you work in an ad agency. The end result of your hard work might be that some company somewhere sells a fraction?more?detergent. Is that really meaningful to you? If public sector workplaces would take the lead on offering their employees things like meaningful work, great leadership, good working conditions, work/life balance, professional development and employee empowerment they could serve as role models for all workplaces. 5: Promote lifelong learning When a?government makes education available cheap or free to its citizens, there is a much bigger chance that they get to realize their full potential and become happy at work. And this should not be limited to young people. Lifelong learning should make it easy and affordable for anyone to upgrade their skills so they can get different or more interesting work. 6: Require companies to measure and report on employee happiness Pretty much all countries require strict financial reporting from companies. So why not require companies to measure and report on employee happiness? 7: Require all government suppliers?to be certified happy workplaces The government of any nation buys?huge amounts of?goods and services from private sector companies. No government should knowingly buy from a company that used slave labor or child labor or polluted the environment. So why not require that?all government?suppliers be good workplaces? 8: Dont hobble?trade unions Trade unions have a somewhat mixed reputation and can fall?victim to corruption or cronyism. However, on the whole it is clear from the research that collective bargaining is a powerful tool to improve working conditions not just for union members but for all workers in?many areas including?compensation, vacation time, maternity/paternity leave and workplace safety. Employers and lobbyists?in some countries?are trying to?restrict unions, making it easier for employers to keep costs?low. If?a government protects workers rights to organize, the result is better working conditions and happier workplaces. 9: Celebrate the best workplaces Several private companies conduct surveys to find the best workplaces in different countries, but these rankings are always limited to those workplaces that pay to be included. This limits their usefulness. So why not let the state publish a ranking of the best workplaces in the country? 10: Make?unemployment benefits widely available and liveable When unemployment benefits are too low to live on or too hard to obtain, employees are locked in to their jobs, because leaving a bad workplace could have disastrous financial consequences. However, when unemployment benefits support a decent standard of living and are available also to people who quit a job, getting away from a toxic workplace is much easier. 11: Make?bad workplaces and managers?legally responsible for the harm they cause If a workplace is run in a way that systematically harms its employees mental health, causing stress and depression, it should be possible to hold the leadership of that company legally accountable. We already do this for workplaces that dont live up to physical workplace safety regulations serious violations?can lead to fines or even jail time for the managers responsible. I think it makes perfect sense to do the same for companies or managers that harm their employees mental health. The?point Any government has an interest in enacting public policies that strengthen the competitive advantage of companies in that country. However, this is often?done by cutting corporate taxes, deregulation or corporate subsidies none of which have much of a track record of success. If a government is truly serious about giving companies a sustained, strong competitive advantage, they should really focus on policies that create happier workplaces. This would not only be good for the companies and the employees, it would also be good for the national economy, as it would boost national productivity and reduce absenteeism, stress and related healthcare costs. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related