Career Tips From CareerSparksClub.com

This post make some good points relevant for careers today. Check it out.

http://www.parachute4teens.com/blog/81-grains-of-salt.html

New career mentor informational interviews added to the sample content area of CareerSparksClub.com. One titled “Get Your Opportunity Ears On” features Joyce Bone, author of “Millionaire Moms: The Art of Raising a Business and a Family at the Same Time.” The other with a retired human resources executive turned professional organizer for her encore career. That interview is with Karen Hancock of AmazingSpacesMacon.com and is titled, “Planning a Career.” Enjoy these complimentary podcasts!

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.

The importance of career choice in the “Finding a Career” department at CareerSparksClub.com.

There’s a difficult time between where you are now and where you want to be that must be managed when you are changing careers. One thing that helps is to focus more on what you want next rather than what you don’t like about where you are currently because that makes the current day-to-day very difficult and keeps a negative vibe going in you. So during times of change, its important to focus on the excitement of what is coming but with an ability to be appreciative of where you are now and how far you’ve come.

• Ever notice that often you’re trained to do tasks that aren’t on the job description?

• It seems that often one only gets “meets expectations” for doing what is outlined in the job description on annual reviews.

• One thing that is kind of neat is that often the highest praise and potential for advancement comes when taking charge of something that is not on the job description.

Morale of the story: Don’t take a job description too literally —and use that to your advantage to customize a job to best match your strengths.

You have to control your focus to be happy…in fact it is the only thing you do have control of. You can’t control others or at-the-moment situations you find yourself in but you can control what you think about and give your attention to.

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.

1. Skill Identification in a process that expands client’s personal skill vocabulary and effects and builds a positive change in self-confidence.
2. Explore both old jobs and new options. “New career direction.”
3. Development of different career options through a method/process that opens doors of opportunity that otherwise would be overlooked or discarded.
4. Personalized training and individual attention to those things that will set you apart from all other candidates.
5. Developing a clear self-presentation and unique marketing materials as well as learning key job searching tools.
6. 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.”
7. In addition to posting a LinkedIn & Facebook profiles, all kinds of e-media are explored to build visibility and credibility in your chosen market.
8. Three-stage controlled networking campaign. Adeptly using internet for background research to locate, and connect with “countless” contacts.
9. Dual-approach to get interviews from employer-
identified ads: applying through personnel and
 approaching Hiring Decision Maker(s) directly.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.