Strong written and spoken communication skills are crucial to opening doors. Millennial Brandingâ€s research showed soft skills topped the list of “must have” skills that employers want, with 98 percent of employers saying communication skills are essential. Itâ€s up to you to make the most of every opportunity to prove youâ€re capable and confident.

Itâ€s no secret first impressions matter – thatâ€s been the case since the beginning of time. Whatâ€s new, in our increasingly fast-paced, digitally connected world, is how a simple stroke of a keyboard, or an email gone awry, can quickly damage a professional reputation. On the other hand, a stream of consistent, well-written social media updates can just as easily raise your profile and impress people youâ€ve never met who may positively influence your career.

As a job search coach and social media strategist experienced at helping job seekers and business owners market themselves online and in person, itâ€s clear the most successful professionals try to improve their communication skills at every opportunity. Whether your focus is networking, job search, or excelling at work, itâ€s more important now than ever to know how to present yourself in person and in writing in this hyper-competitive work environment.

Write & Speak Like a Professional: Success in 20 Minutes a Day provides instructions and exercises to improve your communication abilities and offers insights and ideas to help refine your skills in every aspect of your job or career. It includes instruction on everything from networking to resume writing and interviewing.

Learn how to:

• Network professionally — online and in person
• Create cover letters and resumes that get you noticed
• Approach job interviews with confidence and poise
• Use social media appropriately and effectively
• Introduce yourself decisively and make a great first impression
• Write emails people will read
• Much, much more!

Communication skills are just as important in the workplace as they are when looking for a job, so youâ€ll also find details about how to impress people at work and how to write clear, concise business emails that will get the best results. With attention spans growing shorter, itâ€s never been more important to learn how to hone in on your message and eliminate non-crucial details. This book helps you recognize if youâ€re missing opportunities to communicate succinctly and demonstrates how to remedy any problems.

Whether youâ€re attending a meeting, or writing a memo, itâ€s up to you to put your best foot forward. This book provides the resources to help you identify any deficiencies or problems you may not have considered.

• Are you using words in your emails that call your professionalism into question?
• Does the tone or inflection of your voice make people think you arenâ€t confident?
• Could you be doing more via social media to expand your reach and extend your influence in your professional community?
• How are your listening skills?
• Does your body language send the message you want people to receive?

Read this book to learn how to improve your ability to make a strong first impression, and how to extend and enhance that impression so your colleagues and supervisors will listen carefully when you speak and appreciate what you write.

Click here to download a free chapter from the book : Communicate Using Social Media.

Be sure to touch base to let me know what questions you have, and feel free to share your best communication tips in the comments! Post on social media using the hashtag #WriteSpeak.

Learn about my other new book: Manage Your Time & Your Life: Success in 20 Minutes a Day.

The post Write and speak like a professional appeared first on Keppie Careers.

Manage Your Time & Your Life: Success in 20 Minutes a Day provides suggestions and recommendations to help you make the most of every hour of the day. The result? Youâ€ll have more time for everything that matters to you, and youâ€ll be able to successfully achieve your professional goals. No one has time to waste! Thatâ€s why this book starts out by illustrating how to network effectively and how to choose the best jobs to apply for to avoid the dreaded “resume black hole,” when employers ignore you. (After all, you never know when youâ€ll want to look for a new opportunity.) If you already have your dream job, you can dive directly into the slew of best practices and ideas included in the majority of the book, which is dedicated to helping manage your time for professional success.

In this book, I cover the entire gamut: from how to incorporate healthy routines (such as what to eat and how to make time to exercise) to how to set and achieve your aspirational work goals. Whether you need help organizing your office, managing distractions at work, tracking your emails or keeping a useful checklist and calendar, this book provides practical insights, exercises to get you started and information to help.

You havenâ€t been tracking your “wins” at work, or you donâ€t know what apps you should use to make the most of your time and avoid being distracted? I’ve got you covered!

Manage Your Time & Your Life: Success in 20 Minutes a Day is an all-in-one efficiency “bible,” with suggestions to help you identify key action items and take the necessary steps to accomplish your long- and short-term goals. Learn how to get a firm handle on your schedule to keep efficiently moving forward with your professional plans.

• Do you need help separating your “must do” from your “want to do” items?
• Could you use help to overcome procrastination and learn to become accountable for your plans?
• Would you appreciate advice about how to stop wasting time, effort, and energy?

This book includes techniques and ideas to help you get organized and keep on track.

For example, learn how to:

• Plan your job search — get it done in less time
• Prepare for interviews — without memorizing answers to hundreds of questions
• Make the most of your time at work
• Get organized and feel in control of your life
• Create useful lists and prioritize
• Avoid procrastination
• Much, much more!

Download an excerpt from the book: How to Avoid Procrastination.

After you read this book, you will be able to quickly review your progress, assess your strategies and make positive changes. Are you ready to put the right combination of action items in place and just get things done? Order the book today (it ships on July 7th) and get started!

Be sure to touch base to let me know what questions you have, and feel free to share your favorite productivity tips in the comments! Post on social media using the hashtag #TimeLife.

Don’t miss my other new book, Write & Speak Like a Professional: Success in 20 Minutes a Day.

The post How to manage your time and life appeared first on Keppie Careers.

When it comes time to decide on financial decisions, it can be tricky. Should you get insurance? Where and how should you invest?

As a member of a community of people who provide advice and information, both online via blogs and articles as well as via consulting to individuals, organizations and businesses, I enjoy showcasing my colleagues’ work and information, especially when they are involved in special projects.

Today, I’m sharing advice from my friend and career advice expert Lindsey Pollak, author of Getting From College to Career. In this video, she shares her tips for Millennials about making the right career and financial decisions and choosing the right benefits.

photo by lalunablanca

The post How to make the right financial choices when you start a job appeared first on Keppie Careers.

Talking to people about their jobs and companies is a great way to (1) learn about people and organizations and (2) introduce yourself, your skills and accomplishments to people who will (hopefully) like you and want to help you with your plans.

Every time I talk to clients about informational interviews, I always emphasize the importance of approaching contacts NOT as a job seeker, but as someone who is simply gathering information. I recently met a woman who mentioned she was doing a lot of networking — talking to a lot of people — but without any results. I explained to her that she wasn’t really networking.

What’s the difference between telling everyone you’re looking for a job and networking?

Going around, telling everyone you meet that you’re looking for a job and hoping they can help is not networking; it’s job seeking. Don’t confuse the two. When you walk around with a metaphorical “J” for job seeker on your forehead, most people will nod and smile, when you talk to then — they may even say they’ll try to help you. But, it’s unlikely any of these people will become your ally.

Think about it:

If you say:

“I am looking for an opportunity working in _____, and I would like to talk to you about positions at your organization,” you aren’t likely to land a meeting unless your target contact has a job opportunity in mind. No one wants to disappoint another person, so if your target has no job in sight, he or she is likely to suggest that you send your resume to HR.

That tact will not help you get your foot in the door, and does not connect you one-on-one to a potential ally.

If you don’t know of a job, and someone asks for your help because they are looking for a job, do you want to disappoint the person?

Probably not.

What if, instead, you can convince yourself and your contact that you are looking for INFORMATION – not a job?

Make a point to say you don’t expect the meeting to result in a job. Don’t even mention you are looking for a job.

See the difference:

“I’m so impressed by what you are doing at (organization name), and I noticed on your LinkedIn profile that you began your career in retail — just like I did! I would love the opportunity to hear how you made the transition so successfully into a high-tech organization. It would be great to have a chance to ask you some questions about your company and your career.”

Be polite, but persistent. Explain you are gathering information, not expecting a specific opportunity as a result of our meeting.

“I understand your company isn’t hiring right now. I’m really just researching organizations and hoping to learn a thing or two from a successful professional like you!”

If your targeted contact is not interested, ask for a referral:

“I understand that you are too busy to meet. Is there someone else in your department who might be able to speak with me?”

The fact is, most people love to talk about themselves, and few of us have a willing audience for our stories! Ask yourself, if someone called you and  requested that you share your story and information about your organization (assuming you weren’t working with classified information), what would you say? I would bet that most of you would be willing to help.

So, take the plunge. Find some contacts and land some informational interviews!

photo by KMC designs

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Dr. King delivered his “I Have A Dream” address  in a time when most of his “dreams” really seemed to be just that. He and other leaders of the Civil Rights movement recognized that hard work and sacrifice was key to success. Thinking outside of the box, organizing peaceful marches…Civil disobedience. All of these at a great cost, but prepared and enacted with great hope.

Every job seeker can take something away from these optimistic messages. Maybe the message is as simple as a reminder that hope is important, even when it is hard to muster. Maybe the more important take-away is that nothing worthwhile comes without hard work and effort.

No matter the message, as the nation pauses to honor Dr. King, this is a good time for job seekers to stop and think about how to harness hope with hard work to move forward with an optimistic job hunt. Or, take another lesson from King and turn this day into a day of service and volunteer. Itâ€s a great way to spend the holiday, with added benefits for job seekers.

photo by mixedmediadistrict

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Consider these questions:

• What do you want to do?
• What do you offer?
• Where do you want to work?
• What are the touch points between you and that target organization? (In other words, why would they want to hire you?)
• How can you leverage social media tools (including ones who may not have considered) to get the word out about your expertise?
• What will you say in your online profiles and other job search materials to help you stand out from the crowd?

Ultimately, it is your job to know what is unique and special about you, and to package it in a way to appeal to your audience.

If it is difficult to decide what to focus on, you should take some time to decide on the right angle — and the right presentation — to showcase your talents.

Take a close look at this picture (above)…It’s a piece of art by El Anatsui hanging in the de Young art museum in San Francisco. Standing in front of it, it’s hard to believe it’s not a cloth quilt. But, look closely: it’s made of aluminum bottle caps and copper wire.

What do your materials look like to employers? If they stand back and evaluate your profiles (including your online information and your application materials), will it look like a beautifully woven quilt, or more like a rag-tag collection of recycled bottle caps?

Maybe you haven’t put much effort into driving your career, and all you HAVE is really a collection of odds and ends — you can’t see an obvious connection between what you have done and what you want to do next.

I think the lesson in El Anatsui’s piece is that you can take what you have and weave it into something special — even if it isn’t obviously spectacular by itself. It may take some work to create a piece of “art” from your materials — maybe you could use some expert advice to be sure you are telling a story that has the power to get you from where you are to where you want to be.

Regardless of how you get there, don’t ignore your presentation. How you look to employers will either land you a job or keep you looking. It’s in your hands!

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