Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Should you make waves at work?

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316689_jacket.inddEverywhere you look, someone is losing their job. Advice comes from all directions: What to do keep your job. How should you find a new job. Should you try to fit in? Should you demonstrate that you stand out? Some believe that they’d better conform to the norm if they want to stay afloat.

Not true! says Robin Fisher Roffer, author of The Fearless Fish Out of Water: How to Succeed When You’re the Only One Like You.  She asserts “Being different gets you noticed, which is the first step to gaining influence.”

“In a time when many companies are having to make the hard choice between who can stay and who should go, make sure that your name is on the top of the list of employees they can’t afford to lose,” she advises.

Want to know if you are making waves or getting lost in a school of other fish? Roffer offers this quiz to find out!

How fearless are you at work?

Are you the wallflower by the water cooler or the star of your department? Take this quiz and find out if you’re fearlessly making the most of who you are at work.

1. You’re at a meeting and you have a great idea for how to increase sales. Do you:
a) Keep your idea to yourself because people might think it’s stupid.
b) Wait for someone to come up with a similar idea and then add to it.
c)  Share your idea proudly with the group.

2. You just got hired at a new job and you’ve been invited to a company social event. What’s your social style at the event?
a) Wait on the sidelines for someone to start talking to you.
b) Make conversation with the people who hired you and the folks you know in your department.
c) Go table-to-table introducing yourself to everyone.

3. It’s review season. Do you:
a) Trust your boss to know your best contributions and accept his or her review.
b) Bring a short list of contributions to your review for backup just in case your boss forgets something.
c) Send a high-priority email to your boss prior to your review with a list of your contributions that you’ve been keeping track of all year.

4. Your department didn’t perform as well as expected this quarter. Do you:
a) Blame everything on your coworkers who are poor performers.
b) Accept personal responsibility and apologize profusely to your boss.
c) Acknowledge that mistakes were made and make suggestions for how to improve performance next quarter.

5. What do you feel is your most important contribution to your company?
a) You work long hours and never say no to overtime.
b) Your positive attitude boosts your team’s morale.
c) You are very creative and have a lot of great ideas that drive revenue.

6. How important do you think you are to your company?
a) Not very — I feel I am dispensable.
b) Somewhat — All of my coworkers seem to like me.
c) Very — I am talented, forward-thinking, and proud of what makes me different.

7. Which statement describes your work wardrobe?
a) I follow the dress code — I don’t want to have anyone question my style.
b) I follow the dress code, but add interesting accessories that express who I am.
c) I am a trendsetter — I have a signature style that makes me positively stand out.

8. How would you go about asking your boss for a promotion?
a) Wait until your boss brings it up or your annual review.
b) Wait until after a big company success when everyone’s spirits will be high.
c) Bring it up with your boss as soon as you think you’ve earned it.

9. You’re at a meeting where you feel strongly that your department’s strategy is not up to par, while everyone else thinks it’s right on target. How do you get others on your side?
a) Give up. If no one else agrees with you, you must be wrong.
b) Start by convincing the people in the meeting who seem to like you.
c) After the meeting, go to your boss, state your case, and give solutions.

10. Your department hires someone younger and more technically proficient than you to do a similar job. What’s your move?
a) Assume your company has hired him or her to replace you and start looking for a new job.
b) Let the newbie focus on the technical details, so you have more time to devote to using your unique strengths in sales, marketing, etc.
c) Ask your boss if you can mentor the new person — you’ll seem more important if you’re in a leadership position.

Mostly A’s: Spineless Jellyfish
You are hard working, but underappreciated because you don’t speak up for yourself. It’s okay to have an opinion or idea that differs from the norm and to share it. There is a way to let your voice be heard without alienating yourself. In fact, putting yourself out on the line could finally get you the recognition you deserve.

Mostly B’s: Schooled Fish
You are good at standing up for yourself and are well-liked by your coworkers, but you don’t stand out from the school of fish as much as you could. Push yourself to really think outside the fish bowl and you could have a much bigger impact. Bigger impact means more recognition, which could lead to job security and a promotion when the economy recovers.

Mostly C’s: Holy Mackerel!
You are one fearless fish! But be careful — remember, you can swim your own way, but don’t forget it’s your company’s ocean. You want to ripple the waters, not create a crushing tidal wave. It’s all about balance. Make your confidence work for you without going over the top and alienating coworkers.

Are you a fish out of water at work? Need a new job before someone shows you the door? Contact me before you are desperate. Getting help now can make all the difference. Contact me!

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!

Free ebook: Best Career Strategies of 2009

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bcsebookcover-1I’m excited to offer my readers a free copy of an ebook compilation, Best Career Strategies of 2009, edited by Bonnie Lowe.

The ebook includes advice from 28 different career experts. (I was delighted to be invited to contribute.) Topics are varied, but include an incredibly useful array of information describing how to:

  • Improvise,
  • Take a multi-pronged approach,
  • Use personal branding to your advantage,
  • Lower your lay-off risk and
  • Claim ownership of your career
  • And much, much more!

I am sure you’ll agree that you’ll find many “golden nuggets” in this collection. I am happy share a link to the ebook FREE for everyone who subscribes to my blog via Feedblitz. All you need to do is follow THIS LINK to learn more and enter your email, or just enter your email address in the navy box on the right side of this page. Once you confirm your FREE subscription, you will receive an email with a link to your copy of this terrific resource.

Once you are subscribed, you will receive an email compilation of my blog every Friday.

Read Success for Hire for great advice about the hiring process

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success-for-hireAlexandra Levit is a business author and consultant who has written several books, including the popular business world survival guide, They Don’t Teach Corporate in College, How’d You Score That Gig? and Success for Hire.

I recently had the opportunity to review Success for Hire, which is targeted to employers to help them find and keep outstanding employees. In the book, Alexandra adroitly guides employers through a series of steps to help them target, attract and retain the very best candidates for their organizations.

It will be no surprise to job seekers that some employers do not plan their recruiting efforts as strategically as they might. Sometimes, the hire just doesn’t work out or employers inadvertently misrepresent the job to prospective candidates. If they all read and followed Alexandra’s advice, employers could save a lot of time, effort and money, and employees might be spared being put through a process that is less than stellar.

In her book, Alexandra outlines nine strategies for employers. Most interesting for job seekers? Number 4 – Create a Strategy for Interviewing. Job seekers may be surprised to learn that “most evidence has demonstrated that interviews have low reliability and validity, yet everyone continues to rely on them as the principal way of determining the future of their organization” (p. 49). Alexandra encourages interviewers to prepare questions that target specific criteria for the job. (This is great advice for job seekers as well, as they must be able to target their skills and accomplishments to the job’s requirements.)

She suggests guidelines from Martin Yate (2006), author of Hiring the Best. His guidelines for questions (and suggested examples) include:

  • Adaptability and suitability: What was the most difficult project you tackled in a previous job?
  • Motivation: What have you done that you are proud of?
  • Teamwork and manageability: Describe the best manager you ever had?
  • Management: How do you quantify your results as a manager?
  • Entry-level questions: How did you spend your vacations while at school?

The “interviewing” chapter expands on the different types of questions (closed-ended, open-ended, negative balance, reflexive, “hamburger helper” questions and mirror statements and silence). I was interested in reading up on the most recent research in this arena. Clearly, anyone hiring or trying to be hired can benefit from the research Alexandra included in her book about the interview process.

While I normally read (and write) information targeted only to the job seeker, reading Success for Hire was an informative and enjoyable change of pace. It is a good reminder to the well-researched job seeker that looking at books and information targeted at EMPLOYERS is a good idea. I highly recommend Success for Hire to people on both sides of the hiring desk!

Book Review: Smart Networking by Liz Lynch

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Networking is the most important, and sometimes most difficult, aspect of the job hunt. Lucky for all of us, Liz Lynch has made it a little easier by offering a guide for job seekers, entrepreneurs and careerists with her terrific book, Smart Networking: Attract a Following In Person and Online.

Appropriately, I first “met” Liz by networking! I noticed that one of my contacts, Walter Akana, followed her on Twitter, and I followed her, too. I was delighted when she contacted me to participate in a round of interviews about her book. It was fun to win a round of the contests she sponsored and to receive a copy of her book as part of my prize.

If you don’t like networking, this book is for you! I thought Liz’s analogy that networking is like exercise was perfect: “Some people love it, but for many, it’s something they know they must do for good long-term health.” If you are a reluctant networker or consider it unsavory, you’ll want to read a book by someone who admits that she rarely speaks to people on airplanes! Liz allows for everyone’s individual networking style and needs; she addresses all of them in her book.

Liz notes the importance of thinking of networking as relationship building, not as transactions between people. She reminds readers that there are many great ways to network, and that one of the best ways to build your “networking gravity” – “the force that draws people automatically into your world with whom you have the greatest potential to build mutually beneficial relationships” is by introducing people to each other!

I’m a big proponent of being a connector, someone who enjoys linking people together for their advantage. I love how Liz explains the importance of having a “long tail” online. Extending your reach via social networking broadens your circle of influence and allows you to consciously and generously add value to others by introducing them to contacts in your circle. By doing so, you open the door to untold numbers of opportunities.

Not only does Liz offer great tips (such as: write notes on the back of YOUR business card when you hand it to someone), she also offers suggestions of networking plans customized to your own needs and preferences. She also reminds us that there is no “magic bullet.”

The bottom line – networking IS here to stay. The marketplace will continue to be competitive, and if you bury your head in the sand and try to avoid networking, you will lose out on a lot of opportunities. Liz closes her book with a quote by Jack Canfield, “When you lift others up, they will lift you up.” This is so true. Being known as someone who helps and supports others, be it in the workplace or elsewhere, is a high honor and doorway to success.

Give generously, don’t keep score and follow Liz’s tips and you may be surprised at the results!

Need a little extra help getting started? I can help you put your networking plans into action for a successful job hunt. Contact me to learn more!