I received a complimentary copy of “Advance Your Image” by Lori Bumgarner for review and wanted to share it with you because it is a good find and a timely topic. I received no other compensation for this review.
It is clear in this ebook that Lori is divinely inspired and on a mission to propel people forward with poise and self-confidence and to bring the beauty within each person out in the best possible light.
As a career adviser to college students turned image consultant to musicians, Lori has an excellent take on the big picture for how personal image plays into career development planning. She points out the nuances of why and how to strategically manage your image for the desired result of connecting with the audience be it a potential employer or your network of supporters. She champions work you can do to improve your image as a fast-track to improved self-confidence which then leads to making better first impressions and being received better by others…a win-win!
Lori also weaves together your in-person appearance with your job search marketing materials and online presence in a practical and easy to understand way. She also outlined a helpful rule that I had never heard of before called the Rule of 12 within her powerful strategies for making a good first impression.
Learn more about Lori on her website, paNASHstyle.com and find the ebook here or for your Kindle on Amazon.com.
Volunteering provides many benefits to the volunteer in addition to the organization and individuals receiving the help. And it doesn’t have to take a lot of time. Just an hour a week or a Saturday every three months can do wonders for example. Here are some benefits to the volunteer.
- You improve your problem solving skills.
- You can increase your personal network.
- You help strengthen your community and set an example.
- You can use volunteer time to increase your skill level.
- Volunteering can help you heal and/or stay healthy.
- You get really good at noticing the bright side of things.
- You gain a sense of achievement that increases your own self-confidence.
Nothing puts your self-esteem on the line faster than a job search. You face rejection and self-doubt daily. It takes a good deal of internal motivation to keep moving at all, much less to keep the correct frame of mind needed to win interviews.
A single day of beggar mentality (“Please, somebody give me a job.”) is a whole day wasted. One interview done with self-doubt could mean losing the opportunity of a lifetime. Hiring-decision-makers hire positive, cheerful, high-self-esteem people who are confident (but not arrogant) about their value.
Your motivation must be jealously guarded, protected, renewed, and nourished when you are job hunting. Take some steps to eliminate self-doubt:
- Take special care to ensure your proper motivation.
- Periodically ground yourself with your value by reading your resume and remembering your successes.
- Schedule a weekly contact with culture—a play, an inspirational movie, a work of art—as a reminder that whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
- Avoid negative newspaper stories, TV news, sitcoms, and negative people. People tend to come away with a general depiction of life as boring, tragic, and inane. This is something you cannot afford while job hunting. Do keep up-to-date on important news, particularly developments in business that may alert you to opportunities and help you present yourself as an informed candidate while networking.
- Use motivational tapes and books as well as nurturing times with spouse and friends.
- Attend networking groups, but only the ones that create a positive mental attitude. If you feel burdened, flat, etc. after a network meeting then you’ve just attended a “Pity Party.”
We all face some amount of stress in our lives. Some stress is caused by situations beyond our control, making it all the more important to do what we can to reduce stress in the circumstances we do control.
One thing within our control is our level of organization.
While on the face of it, organization may seem to have little to do with stress levels, a lack of organization will prove otherwise in a stressful situation.
If you’re under pressure to find an item in a stressful situation, imagine how much more stressed you will become when you cannot locate it.
As you shuffle through papers, folders and drawers, your frantic searching may cause further disorganization, setting the stage for a later repeat of the situation. If instead, you can quickly locate what you need when you need it, your stress levels will be lower than they might otherwise be.
Naturally, the first step is to do a thorough cleaning, eliminating clutter and organizing everything that is needed.
- Make sure you organize everything in a manner that makes sense for you, using a system you will remember and stick with.
- Once you get organized, stay organized.
- Each day, set aside a few minutes to get your work area back in order.
Ideally and when practical, follow a pattern where you handle each item only once. For example, when you get a new document or piece of mail, read it and then act on it, file it or recycle it. Eliminate the “I’ll do it later” items as much as possible. Too often, later never comes because of other more pressing needs. Additionally, you won’t suffer the stress of seeing a growing stack of “I’ll do it later” items sitting on your desk. You can better focus on the job at hand rather than being frustrated by the amount of work left to do.
Being better organized will not eliminate stress, but it can help keep it at reduced levels. Plus, it makes for a better and easier workplace, so there is no downside. Get organized and reap the benefits of increasing your productivity and reducing your stress level.
There is definitely something to be learned by studying those who find their success by following their bliss. Here are some things that characterize those kinds of people.
- They have a zest for their work which fuels their zest for life.
- Most of the time they are happy and energetic and generally a breath of fresh air.
- They seem above the fray and are usually relaxed and composed.
- They are proud of their contributions and move along with confidence and ease.
- They will talk to anyone about what they do for a living with pride and enthusiasm.
How can anyone have that?
It begins with knowing it is possible, and believing you can tap into that kind of abundance. Then move to some visualization…see yourself in those shoes and feel it in your body as if you were already there!
- Imagine that others find you joyful to be around and that even complete strangers will support you in your goals.
- Be cognizant of when you are in a zone, when things are coming easily. These “flow” experiences are major hints that you are on the right track and they will help you identify your passion. Appreciate that feeling as often as you can. In fact, appreciate all good feelings you notice no matter what observation brings them!
- Look for people who are in a groove, study their success, and imagine how you would feel if you had results like them. Focus on the pieces that feel good to you and be inspired to your next action steps then enjoy and appreciate your progress as you go on your way.
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.
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.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) is a personality assessment. It can help you communicate what is special about you and it can give you insight as to how you communicate and learn best. Also research has shown how certain personality types tend to congregate happily in certain career fields. Many people who take the MBTI® begin a wonderful journey of self-discovery. In fact, some describe it as life changing.
We love the Myers-Briggs Personality Indicator (MBTI) for getting at personality types. This is a link to an easy sorter that will show you the basics.
http://www.personalitytype.com/career_quiz?type=1
We can also recommend the book, “Do What You Are” which you will see at the link above.
Here is a short careerillionaire story. It is a beautiful demonstration of something I’ve been thinking about.
You see, no matter what your work is each day you are in charge of your attitude. If you spend time resisting what you chose to do (i.e. working in order to feed yourself and your family) then you are spending a lot of energy resisting something you have decided to do. What a waste! Since you have decided to do it anyway, why not be fully present in the moment and engaged in your work cheerfully?
As demonstrated in the fast food workers’ story that I linked to above, it is when working while fully engaged in the present moment and with a positive attitude that you profoundly affect the people around you. Not only that, but you also greatly help your own cause. People love to be around such a positive, carefree personality so your networking becomes easy and natural. You begin to allow creativity and intuition to work through you. And, most importantly of all…you just generally become a force for Good!