Career Management, Job Search, and The Swimming Pool

Career Management, Job Search, and The Swimming Pool Which is more important, learning and doing career management, or learning and doing the job search? One is a fix to hopefully a temporary problem. The other is a long process to work on a long problem. Youve heard the whole give a person a fish thing, as if giving a man a person is not nearly as good as teaching him how to fish. But what if the man needs the nutrition RIGHT NOW? What if teaching the person will take too long? Have you ever swam down to the bottom of the pool, and on your way back up looked towards the surface and thought Oh my, I dont know if I can make it the last few feet?   Ive done that (more than once). Its a scary, scary feeling. No matter what had been worrying you, at that very moment, the only thing you can think of is getting that life-saving breath. Oxygen, freedom, living. Thats all that is on your mind. You certainly arent thinking I think I should start learning some swim strokes, or I should start practicing my breath-holding techniques. This is the difference between job search and career management. Once solves an immediate need (income) the other solves a long-term issue (preparation and strength and knowledge).   Both are important.    Both have their proper time. Make sure you are doing the right things for you right now. Make sure that once you catch your breath, and get your income, you seriously get into career management. That is what our mission is. When we first launched we said JibberJobber was a job search tool. That lasted about 30 hours I quickly realized that we could not be a job search tool. We were a long-term, life-long career management tool. Ive seen people who do career management go through job search. It is quick, exciting, and relatively painless. On the other hand, people who are have neglected career management have a painful, scary, fear-driven, and long job search. You can do this, not just now, but for the rest of your career! Career Management, Job Search, and The Swimming Pool Which is more important, learning and doing career management, or learning and doing the job search? One is a fix to hopefully a temporary problem. The other is a long process to work on a long problem. Youve heard the whole give a person a fish thing, as if giving a man a person is not nearly as good as teaching him how to fish. But what if the man needs the nutrition RIGHT NOW? What if teaching the person will take too long? Have you ever swam down to the bottom of the pool, and on your way back up looked towards the surface and thought Oh my, I dont know if I can make it the last few feet?   Ive done that (more than once). Its a scary, scary feeling. No matter what had been worrying you, at that very moment, the only thing you can think of is getting that life-saving breath. Oxygen, freedom, living. Thats all that is on your mind. You certainly arent thinking I think I should start learning some swim strokes, or I should start practicing my breath-holding techniques. This is the difference between job search and career management. Once solves an immediate need (income) the other solves a long-term issue (preparation and strength and knowledge).   Both are important.    Both have their proper time. Make sure you are doing the right things for you right now. Make sure that once you catch your breath, and get your income, you seriously get into career management. That is what our mission is. When we first launched we said JibberJobber was a job search tool. That lasted about 30 hours I quickly realized that we could not be a job search tool. We were a long-term, life-long career management tool. Ive seen people who do career management go through job search. It is quick, exciting, and relatively painless. On the other hand, people who are have neglected career management have a painful, scary, fear-driven, and long job search. You can do this, not just now, but for the rest of your career!

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese Is a Relocation Worth the Risk to Get a Job

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese Is a Relocation Worth the Risk to Get a Job Recently on Twitter I told Ari Herzog that the photo he posted of a recent job fair reminded me of a herd of wildebeests looking for the last watering hole.I've seen quite a few similar photos: Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people lined up for a limited number of jobs. From the slouching teen with multiple body piercings talking on a cell phone to the over 45 job seeker clad in a Burberry trench coat, tapping away on a Blackberry, they all stand in line trying not to appear desperate that they need a job.Looking at these photos, I wondered if any of these people thought about trying to get a job in a market that wasn't so saturated with job seekers. But after talking with several people looking for work, I came to understand that many of them simply didn't want to move away from friends and family, and were hopeful the job market would turn around. Still others couldn't move because a spouse still had a job in that city, or because they knew they couldn't sell their home in this crappy housing market.And then I spoke with Jenny Brooks, 32, who made the decision in June 2008 to move her family to Birmingham, Ala. from Coos Bay, Ore. to launch a public relations campaign for a new client of her Northern California employer. With her employer offering a $6,000 moving allowance and a promise of six months rent paid in the new location while she tried to sell her Coos Bay home, Brooks, her husband and two young daughters made the move to what they hoped was a great career opportunity in a bigger city with more to offer.Unfortunately, that dream has come crashing down. A couple of weeks ago, Brooks lost her job when her new client filed for bankruptcy. She cant get her old job back with her Northern California employer, because the economic downturn has also hit that company.It was sort of a perfect storm, she says. It just all happened so fast.While Brooks husband was able to transfer within his company to Birmingham, she is now doing freelance public relations work. She says that the home in Coos Bay is way underwater worth less than what the couple paid for it. And, the renters who were occupying a home the couple owns in Phoenix has moved out.We took a big risk moving to Birmingham. We gambled and bet this would work out. But it didnt, she says.Cheryl Palmer, a certified executive career coach and founder of Call to Career in Silver Spring, Md., says that in this rough housing and job market, theres no straight answer on what to do when it comes to relocation for a job.There are more variables with dire consequences now, Palmer says. With the economy shrinking, the potential fallout (from relocation) is that much greater. Youve really got to weigh some of the factors very carefully.According to a Relocation.com survey, people continue to relocate in the U.S., with the South and West attracting the most people. And while there are jobs in those areas of the country, it doesnt guarantee such a move is right for you and your family, Palme r says.She recommends anyone considering a relocation should: Do your due diligence. Make sure you research the financial health of the company and that it appears to be growing and doing well in spite of the recession. Scout the new location. There is always the possibility that the job may not work out after you take it, so have a backup plan, Palmer says. You should know ahead of time what the job market looks like for people in your field so that you have a reasonable assurance that you can find another job.Brooks says she and her husband may end up moving to Phoenix, since thats where they not only own a home, but where they have the most professional and personal contacts.You still get jobs based on who you know. Anyone can get a job at a fast-food restaurant. But can that really support a family? Youve got to think long term, Brooks says. We really dont have any contacts in Birmingham. Get as much financial assistance as possible. Palmer says that some companies will help you sell your home as part of a relocation package, which is usually a positive sign that the company would be worth relocating for. In Brooks case, she says that the move actually cost about $2,000 more than she was given, and that doesnt include the $1,000 it cost the family to set up a household and pay for things like utility deposits. My advice would be to ask for everything (in relocation reimbursement). Its your future and your familys future, Brooks says.At the same time, you may have to consider footing the bill yourself if you want the job badly enough, Palmer says.The industries that really need people such as nursing, or the employers in states like Wisconsin that are really looking for workers they may offer assistance, Palmer says. But Ive also advised some of my clients that if you want the job, you may be able to sway them to hire you by saying youll pay for relocation yourself. Despite losing her job and now being saddled with two mortgages, Brooks remains positive a bout the changes facing her. Ive learned a lot. Ive come into contact with amazing people. This move was something we needed to do. So Id tell people not to let fear tell you what to do, Brooks says.Social BookmarkingLijit Search

Music Branding 2.0 Event Recap - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Music Branding 2.0 Event Recap - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Recently, I hosted the first Music Branding 2.0 event to a sold out crowd, which included an expert panel and a live rock band. I wanted to try something different with this event and I drew a connection between music, branding, and the internet. The focus of the event was on how artists can brand themselves in the digital world to achieve success. The panel included experts from across the industry. Here is a video clip, where the panelists introduce themselves, and then   discuss how important social media is for artists. The video script is below as well. Tim Hare (moderator): How has social networking changed the way that artists promote themselves in this day and age? Paul Rapp (entertainment lawyer): For one thing, the day of the paper press kit is pretty much over. Now you have to go and get photos and glossies, get them blown up, copied, get the piles and send them out. And most people don’t want to clutter up their offices. Most labels and most journalists don’t want to clutter up their office with paper anymore. I mean, the electronic press kit has kind of taken over. Amanda Caswell (band promotions): In my experience, I feel that the artists sort of break down the walls. You know, when they’re on Twitter or even Facebook. They become touchable and you know, everything from their van broke down or..they’re having trouble getting through customs. You know, you’re right there with the band and you can reply to them and say “Oh hey man, my van did the same thing” and they just become…you become more of a friend through all that networking. Andrea Johnson (professor at Berklee College): Ill follow up with that; I totally agree with Amanda that what we’re looking for is to connect with fans and give them a reason to buy. To build premium levels for those fans so that the 13-year old who doesn’t have a credit card can legally download from the band’s website their music and be able to connect with them in that way. And also the rabid fan who wants the premium package-double DVD with live streaming video of a concert they did in a tent. They can pay $300 for that package. We’ve seen Trent Reznor do that with Nine Inch Nails, offering different premium levels in order to connect with fans at different levels, and it’s working really well for him as a major artist and a lot of independent artists are starting to follow in that realm. Matty Trump (hip hop producer): Yeah, I think it’s given a chance for artists to actually break through on their own now, and not need as much help from the major labels or even independent levels. And you know, just in the last year, you had Soulja Boy who did a YouTube video and became famous on his own, and a project I’m actually currently involved with now with Sam Adams, who did a video. He did this little video rap thing and a million people watched, and then his iTunes came out last month and sold 8,000 copies. It was beating out Lil’ Wayne and other major hip-hop artists on iTunes, and the major labels went crazy. They can’t believe anyone did this on their own and they’re not happy about it. And they did actually spread rumors that the albums were bought and all this stuff. It’s been a pretty crazy month but I think you know that’s what it is. It’s given artists the empowerment to be able to come out on their own, whereas before you had to get signed by a lab el and that was your only chance. Like now, artists can do it on their own with a lot of hard work and dedication.

Social Media Does Not Prepare You For... - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Social Media Does Not Prepare You For... - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career So Ive been doing a whole lot of interviewing for a Social Media Manager position here at SocialMediaMarketing.com.   With so much content online about interviewing best practices, I thought that everyone would be an expert in interviewing, especially if you hang out in the blogosphere.   There are so many career blogs out there with solid advice that it blows my mind when I see someone walk into an interview completely unprepared and clueless about who I am and what the company does. Aside: Note, I guess I am partly at fault here and need to screen out interviewees much more thoroughly, but thats another post This post is not about how to interview.   If youre looking for interview advice, I suggest checking out these interviewing publications.   This post is about the huge disconnect I see between a person who participates in and loves social media and one who can perform well in the corporate environment. Social media vs corporate I have worked in the corporate world, started my own startup, and established an online presence through social media.   Ive seen all three worlds and truly understand the underlying workings of each one.   From my experience, I believe that being excellent at social media does not translate to being excellent in the corporate world.   Here are my reasons: Note: Please feel free to disagree with me in the comments section Social Media does not prepare you to work in teams Social media does teach you how to make friends online, build relationships, share your thoughts, share ideas, and meet amazing people.   However, when it comes time to building and leading a team to accomplish a project, social media does not contribute to this skill-set.     In the blogosphere, I have learned how to build a quality site and drive traffic to it; but to be perfectly honest, I have never really gotten the chance to work with someone in the blogosphere to accomplish a certain deadline or to team up on a project. Note: This is actually changing soon but the people Im teaming up with actually have corporate experience as well Even on this blog were not necessarily working in teams.   Dan has done a great job at assembling a team of independent bloggers and letting us loose to write content on our own.   He built a great system (which I accredit to his corporate experience), but were not necessarily working as a team here. Social media does not prepare you to deal with clients Clients are a tough cookie to handle: selling, closing, writing proposals, writing agreements, and pricing out the project.   Are these things that you have learned from social media?     Sure you can read a post about how to sell, but ultimately, youre not learning how to sell a service to a large company. A great rebuttal here is that you learn how to sell yourself in social media.   While I fully agree with this statement, I feel that selling in the corporate world (at least in my experience) is completely different from selling yourself to a group of peers in the blogosphere.   Closing a client like Activision is on a whole other level when compared to commenting on a peers blog to build a relationship with him. Furthermore, project management is completely different from community management.   While community management involves Tweeting with your followers, responding to comments, and writing engaging content (all a solo process btw), project management involves developing a strategy for the client, assigning tasks to your team, making sure that goals are met, and actively communicating with the client to make sure they are happy. Social media does not prepare you to do things you hate to do Lets be honest here.   The blogosphere is all about doing stuff you LOVE.   Heck, now is the time to Crush it to cash in on your passions.   I am again 100% for this and feel this is the idea goal in life; however, this definitely does not prepare you for the corporate route. I remember back in my old consulting job, I was getting paid $55K a year to build binders and quality check excel sheet print outs.   I didnt last very long at the job, but I did learn a very valuable lesson someone has got to do it. A corporate firm is like a machine, and like any well-oiled machine, every single elements plays its part.   Some people will be selling, others will be project managing, and still others will be doing the grunt work that we all love to do   ??     If youre actively engaged in social media, then youre constantly doing what you love to do and will mostly likely not last too long doing grunt work at a corporate firm or in a team setting. Social media does not prepare you to build systems Oh boy, this one is the mother-load here.   Without systems, you have a disorganized, frantic company that cannot scale.   Without systems, you will utterly hate your job because you will be doing all the tasks yourself. When youre running a blog, its simple to handle everything without systems because youre capable of managing everything yourself.   Writing content, responding to comments, and building relationships is a one-man show, and it should be. Hey, dont get me wrong, Im a blogger and I love the independence of social media.   However, when it comes to the corporate world, I feel that there are skill-sets involved with it that most bloggers take for granted.   If you are able to lead teams, close clients, do things you hate, build systems, and you are a lover of social media, hit me up at Jun [at] SocialMediaMarketing.com and we can chat about the Social Media Manager position. Author: Jun Loayza is the President of SocialMediaMarketing.com and the Co-Founder of Viralogy.com.   Reach out to him to chat about startups, fitness, relationships, or pretty much anything else that floats your boat. Blog and Twitter

How to Get the Best Resume Writing Services For Changing Career Field

How to Get the Best Resume Writing Services For Changing Career FieldThese days, most resume writing services are offering customized services to their clients, meaning that they can write your resume according to your preferences and requirements. Some of the resume writing services for changing career field offer more options to their clients as far as the type of information that can be included in your resume, how long a resume can be and what is expected from you as a client when submitting a resume.Most of these companies have offices across the country and across the world, which means that they have staff that can work round the clock providing quality services to the clients. Moreover, these companies offer flexible options for those who want to change their career and settle down with a new job.Another thing to note about resume writing services for changing career field is that they often offer support for their clients, who may find it difficult to write resumes on their own. In fact, they can provide you with sample resumes written by other candidates to guide you through the process of writing a resume for your ideal job.One great service offered by these companies is the profiling of candidates for you. Resume writing services for changing career field also include profile building, a process in which they analyze the resumes of previous employees and identify areas that need improvement.For example, if you were previously working as a corporate secretary, you can revise your resume by describing the new professional role you played and giving your ideas in how you can improve your performance. Alternatively, you can also add in experiences that prove that you are committed and dedicated to your job.On the other hand, if you are a doctor, you can put your experiences in medicine and share your knowledge in a patient care perspective to write a resume for physician jobs. You can highlight your achievements and expertise in a specific area.Resume w riting services for changing career field are also able to tailor a resume to suit your needs. They can add in your information according to your preferences and then help you design the resume accordingly.Other than giving feedback on your resume, they can also help you solve common problems which may be faced by your job-seeking skills. Besides offering resume writing services for changing career field, these services are also becoming very popular for providing ethical resume writing.

Thank you for coming to work. Now scram! - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Thank you for coming to work. Now scram! - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Most modern countries are seeing a steady rise in the amount of time people spend at work. There is some evidence, however, that this trend contributes neither to the bottom line nor to our overall well-being. Esther Derby euthanizes the idea that long hours are a sign of employee commitment. She cites some alternative reasons people stay late at the office, including: One woman?s marriage was disintegrating and she stayed late to avoid tension at home. Another woman was using company assets to run a side business? and it was easier to hide it when people weren?t around. Two people who were having an affair stayed late at work to be together. Via Jason Yips excellent blog. As for productivity, the sociologist Arlie Hochschild in one of her books mentions an IT copany that were in big financial trouble. Rather than lay some people off they switched to a 30-hour work week and a corresponding pay cut, and experienced no reduction in production. They did the exact same amount of work in 30 hours a week as in 40. When the company righted itself each employee could choose to return to the original work schedule and pay or remain at 30 hours a week. They all chose to keep the short work week. Read the whole amazing story here. A recent Danish study found that 90% of managers who worked 30-37 hours a week were satisfied with their work-life balance. Among managers working more than 48 hours a week, that percentage dropped to 46. The consequence: More stress, less job satisfaction and an increased risk that they will leave the company. Weve long known that reasonable working hours are one of the most important factors determining whether people are happy at work (and in life). Long working hours are not a sign if commitment and may not even contribute to business productivity. Therefore businesses should stop encouraging (implicitly and explicitly) long work hours and start rewarding the people who go home on time. Theyre good for business. 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

Leading with Happiness - my speech from the World Happiness Summit in Miami - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Leading with Happiness - my speech from the World Happiness Summit in Miami - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog At the World Happiness Summit in Miami I gave a 15-minute speech on Leading with Happiness the same topic Im covering in my next book. In the video I share whats wrong with traditional leadership and its relentless focus on business results and give some great examples of leader who create more happiness for themselves, their employees, their customers and the world. 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