Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Archives for 2009

How dreaming and visualization can help your career transition

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flyingsolocoverToday, I’m happy to share a guest post from my business partner, Hallie Crawford. Do you know you need a career change, but you aren’t sure what path to take? Hallie specializes in helping recent college grads and boomerangs identify their ideal career paths and make it happen. Hallie recently published a book targeted to singles in transition, Flying Solo.

If you’re single and considering a transition, I recommend you read Flying Solo for many terrific tips about what can be an unsettling, albeit exciting transition!

This is an excerpt from Chapter 2: Getting Your Transition Started. Visit her site to learn more about Hallie!

by Hallie Crawford, MA, CPCC

Dream First, Dream Big

You know the traditional image of the American Dream: Work hard and you can have anything you want, regardless of where you came from, your socio-economic status or any other aspect of your life. Well, the American Dream has changed, and the traditional way to pursue that dream is quite different. No longer is there just one “work hard” ethic to achieve the American Dream. And, it’s no longer about sticking to one career path for the rest of your life.

[If you are] a single person you have even more freedom to set up your career, to break the mold, and figure out what will work for you. The process of “Dreaming First” will help you stay outside the box and think creatively about your career transition.

Why dream first? Why turn to the fanciful side of your brain when everyone keeps telling you that a practical plan is the key to success? Because it works. While a practical plan is one of the strongest keys to success, the best-laid plans always start with the dream-a dream that you can trim and shape later to fit your real-life situation.

One way to dream BIG is to use the technique of visualization.

Envision how you want your career transition to unfold, visualize the pieces you want to have in place to make it happen and “see” all the players you need to support you along the way. When you develop your vision first, you will not only become clearer about what you want to happen, you will also be more likely to make it happen in the way you’ve envisioned it, and therefore be successful.

Dreaming First enables you to brainstorm as many possibilities as you can imagine for living out your dream, and therefore, enables you to identify many more ways to make it happen.

Two great tools for Dreaming First are journaling and visualization.

Your Quick Start Tips on ‘Dreaming First’

  • Start with a blank slate in your mind.
  • Always act from the present and what you really want, not from past experience.
  • Commit to making your choices as independently as possible from the voices of your past-your parents, the media, past experience, previous failures or successes, and assumptions.
  • Throw away any preconceived notions you have about transition being hard, about not being able to have a job you love or whatever assumptions you have that hold you back.
  • Jump into the realm of possibility. Think and act only from there.

Dream journaling involves writing out the process of your career transition in an ideal light, as if it has already happened.

Include in your dream journaling:

1. The time frame in which you achieved your goal-six months, one year?

2. How did you feel during this transition? Confident, clear, focused?

3. Make a list of those personal characteristics you tapped into and any new qualities you identified.

4. Where did you need extra support and where did you get it from?

Dreaming Visualization Guidelines

1. First, take a deep breath.

2. Include anything you want.

3. Have fun with it.

4. If you find yourself starting to doubt what you’re seeing or feeling, just let that image go.

5. Create a structure for your vision.

6. Imagine your transition complete.

Now come back to the real world and take a few minutes to think about what happened. How did it go? How did you act? Answer these questions in your Career Journal.

Dreaming First will continue to be an important part of your career transition. The more you use the Dream First process, the more fine-tuned your dreams become.

Reprinted from Flying Solo: Career Transition Tips for Singles, by Hallie Crawford, CPCC, by permission of the author. ©2008 Hallie Crawford. All rights reserved.

If you need help with your search, contact KEPPIE CAREERS for everything you need to help you with your job hunt!

Change your "look" to help with your job search

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459997695_5429b7d0c9_m1Did you watch the Oscars? Admit it – were you most interested in what everyone was wearing? I know we’ll be hearing about whose dress scored a hit and who was a miss for at least the next week. When you are a high-profile star, what you wear matters as much as the award that you win. 

For a job seeker, how you look can be just as important. This week, in focusing on how small changes you may make can result in big changes for your job hunt, I would be remiss if I did not focus on appearance.

In my last post, I shared a lesson from one of the participants in the Land Your Dream Job Seminar I am offering with Carolann Jacobs from Vivid Epiphany, brain based coaching.

Melanie, one of our participants, landed a job after she made a concerted effort to look for positions that were a good fit for her. Another change she mentioned? A haircut that was more up-to-date and made her feel more confident. She remarked that her interviewer even complimented her on it!

A small change helped make a big difference for Melanie. Have you thought about your appearance? Are you wearing glasses from 10 years ago? Could you use some professional tips to learn how to apply your make up in a more flattering way? You’re in a “youth” industry and haven’t considered touching up your grays? When did you buy that suit you use to interview? What about those shoes? 

I’m not suggesting plastic surgery or even botox, but taking a good look in the mirror and making a change that could make the difference can’t hurt. I met a man at a networking event several months back. We started talking about his job hunt. He said, “I keep coming in number two. My wife says I should dye my hair.” What a shame if that small change could have made the difference (however small), but he hadn’t acted on it.

It would be nice if appearance didn’t matter. If your haircut or suit made no difference in the outcome of your search. Fact is, everyone knows that looks DO make a difference. It’s a competitive market. Anything you do (or don’t do) can make a difference. If a small change can give you more confidence and a possible leg up on the competition, take advantage!

Could you use some help making a few changes in your job hunt? I am happy to help! Contact me to learn how a revised resume and coaching can help make all the difference!

Identify a target for your job hunt

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targetThis week, I am focusing on how small changes in your job search can make a big difference. Today, a lesson from one of the participants in the Land Your Dream Job Seminar I am offering with Carolann Jacobs from Vivid Epiphany, brain based coaching.

We were so pleased to hear that Melanie actually landed her dream job! Even more exciting (to me) was the lesson behind her success, which fits so well into the theme of “doing something different.” 

Melanie said, 

“I had been out of work for 6 months.  Unlike others, I was not laid off.  My options at the time were to resign or be fired.  I opted to resign.  So no severance for me and I was working very part time hours.  When I first joined your program, there was something you said that made me think.  It was “Do you find yourself in the same situation with each job?” and “Are you looking for a job that fits who you are?”  Those two questions made me do a more “focused” job search.  I hated having my family pay my bills and I knew I was originally just looking for a job…any job that would get me back on my feet without any additional financial help.  I knew in the long run it probably would result in traveling again and being miserable. I truly did not want that again.”

So, Melanie re-focused and targeted her job search. Instead of haphazardly applying to “any job” just hoping to bring in some income, she really identified what she wanted to do and determined where her skills would be most useful. She used her time, efforts and energy to apply for opportunities that were good fits for her.

Stay tuned for additional lessons from Melanie’s success story, which I hope will help inspire you to look at few things YOU can do differently for YOUR search!

Could you use some help making a few changes in your job hunt? I am happy to help! Contact me to learn how a revised resume and coaching can help make all the difference!

photo by pbo32

Do something different to find a job: talk to people who can’t help you

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2137729430_11b29f9164_marrow1You’re looking for a job? When is the last time you tried a new strategy? A change of direction?

Your job hunt is lasting longer than you thought? You know it’s a tough market, but you’re frustrated and looking for answers? Here’s another in a series of posts sharing ideas to help you “change up” your job hunting efforts.

Be sure to read earlier posts in this series:

Read materials targeted to employers
Change your job search strategy – search for companies instead of jobs

I was recently speaking to a client about his search and offering him some tips to rev up his hunt. I said, “Talk to people you don’t think can help you.” Silence…”People who CAN’T help?,” he asked, incredulously. Absolutely! You never know where the next lead may be or where an important piece of information may be lurking.

Talk to people who CAN’T help you with your search. Expand your net of networking contacts. You never know when a connector is in your midst – someone who takes pride in knowing a lot of people and introducing them to each other.

As part of my work, I keep a close eye on career and resume trends by reading books, blogs and keeping in touch with my advisory board of professionals in an array of industries.

When I’m not writing resumes, coaching, blogging and reading, in the spirit of ”practice what you preach,” I also frequently meet people for “informational interviews.” I attend Chamber of Commerce meetings, visit close-contact networking groups and seek out an array of networking opportunities.  It is amazing to me how our need for networking (as entrepreneurs and as job seekers) has spawned a whole industry of people for whom networking is actually their business!

I’ve been to coffee with real estate professionals, a dentist, investment advisors, life coaches, travel professionals, vitamin sales people, photographers and a salesperson trainer, just to name a few.  It never ceases to amaze me how much we have to share with each other, and the possible “touch points” between our businesses or our networks.

Taking the time to meet these professionals offers me the opportunity to share information about my business, but more importantly, I have a chance to learn about programs, events and opportunities I might never have considered.  I also try to share something that will help them and offer to be a resource.

In a recession, it is even more important to expand our circles when  job seeking.

Some lessons:

Never underestimate the possibility for really interesting common ground.  Some of the meetings I’ve least felt like getting up at 6 a.m. to attend have been the most productive in terms of what I’ve learned.

Open your eyes to the opportunities!  Seek out places to meet new people.  Join an organization, a new health club or take a class. Google “networking opportunities, (your city)” and see what comes up! Then, don’t just attend, be an active participant.

Just because someone isn’t in your field doesn’t mean they don’t have useful information for you.  (Or you for them.) Our lives intersect in so many points.  Think of someone you consider least likely to be able to share good information with you for your search. Meet for coffee. You may be surprised!

I challenge you to engage – ask questions…be able to explain who you are and what you do. Don’t underestimate the value of every connection.  Everyone knows someone who knows someone who knows something. Inserting yourself as part of the chain is a great step in the right direction!

 

picture by lumaxart

Change your job search strategy

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159337100_47f31f771e_mYou’re looking for a job? When is the last time you tried a new strategy? A change of direction?

This week, I will be sharing ideas to help you “change up” your job hunting efforts.

Intellectually, we all know that doing the same thing, over and over again,
but expecting a different result does not make sense. If you always got lost on the way to someplace, would you continue to try to get there without a map or directions? If you always burned dinner because you didn’t set a timer and are always busy doing a million other things, would you continue to cook without a timer? I hope not!

By the same token, continuing to sit at your desk, applying for jobs online with the exact same resume and wondering why you aren’t landing more interviews (or ANY interviews) doesn’t phase you? It’s a tough market! You have too much (or not enough) experience. Your background isn’t exactly perfect for your target jobs and no one will give you a chance. I have heard all of the excuses. Well, it’s time for some tough love: It is very possible that what you are doing (and NOT doing) is the reason you aren’t finding more opportunities.

Today’s tip: instead of looking for a job, search for an organization!

Read more at my blog on GreatPlaceJobs…

If you need help with your search, contact me!

photo by Fifi LePew