Miriam Salpter Archives - Keppie Careers

Tips to succeed at your first job

Miriam Salpeter — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 10:30:51 +0000

Lauren Berger’s book, Welcome to the Real World,Â provides tips to help workplace novices figure out everything they’ll need to know to succeed at their first jobs. Lauren, also known as the “Intern Queen,” was gracious enough to share some thoughts about her book and some advice she’d offer anyone getting ready to go to work for the first time.

Q: In the book you talk about your personal rules for success, what do you think is hands-down the number one reason why youâ€ve been successful?

A: Over the years, Iâ€ve become quite fearless. Iâ€ll pick up the phone and call anyone in the world and introduce myself and tell them why I do what I do. Itâ€s a combination of being fearless and always remembering to follow up. I also try not to take â€œnoâ€ for an answer. I try to find the positive in every negative situation and eventually turn the â€œnoâ€ into a â€œyes.â€

Â Q: The book covers lots of tips related to organization and time management at work, why did you include so much information on this subject?

A: When I graduated college and started my very first job â€“ I lacked time management skills, organizational skills and I wasnâ€t very detail oriented. Even though I completed several internships in college, I was never taught how to handle a heavy workload. I could have used the advice from my book at that time.

Q: The â€œRelationships and Schmoozingâ€ chapter is one of the longest in the book, what is your favorite piece of networking advice for young people?

A: I use an analogy in the â€œRelationships and Schmoozingâ€ chapter â€“ Ralph Called Taylor A Flirt â€“ it stands for Recognize, Connect, Track, Add Value and Follow-Up. Those are my networking tips for how to successfully stay in touch with professional contacts. It was a random analogy that I came up with â€“ but it works really well.

Q: You are an entrepreneur and run your own business. Why do you think it is important for others to channel their inner entrepreneur?

A: People think that in order to be entrepreneurial, you must quit your job and start your own business. Itâ€s important to point out to current employees that they should seek out roles in which they can embrace entrepreneurship. They should look for opportunities where they can be entrepreneurial within their current jobs. I share some great examples of people who do this in the book.

Q: The last part of the book is about handling your personal life during your first job experience. How did you handle that?

A: I really didnâ€t handle my personal life during my first job. I was pretty disgusting. I wish someone would have stressed the importance of having a plan for personal things like going to the bank, the grocery store, the car repair shop â€“ and even going to the gym! I was a mess. Itâ€s important that my readers really take in the information I share in chapters 9 and 10 of the book. Again, I wish I had that information when I graded and held my first job.

Q: Why do you think people need to read this book? Why is it different from other books on the subject?

A: Writing this book allowed me to really open up about my experiences at my first job after college. Many of those experiences were quite disastrous â€“ even though I learned a great deal from them. One of the biggest differences between my book and the thousands of other career books on the shelf is that I was there. And I wasnâ€t perfect.

I fully believe that Welcome to the Real World is going to add so much value to the lives of young people entering that first, second, or third job. I packed the book with tips and pointers on how to succeed. I canâ€t wait for everyone to dive in!

Check out Welcome to the Real World – it’s available now!

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Job hunting? What is your greatest strength?

Miriam Salpeter — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 06:30:08 +0000

When people ask for help to prepare people for interviews, they inevitably ask how to respond to the “What is your greatest weakness?” question. But what about the times job seekers are asked about identifying their greatest strength or best accomplishment?

It’s important to be able to identify and discuss something you are actively improving regarding your qualifications (as long as it is not a major requirement of the job and the weakness would disqualify you).

However, all too often, people on job interviews are ill-prepared to talk about their greatest accomplishments. So how would you answer? Remember, in an interview or professional setting, your reply must relate to your work. For example, you may very well believe raising a successful, accomplished child is a great accomplishment. But unless you are applying to be an au pair or a nanny, that information is not relevant to the position. Additionally, if the accomplishment that immediately comes to mind was a long time ago, try to identify a more recent (and possibly more relevant) achievement to describe. If you wax eloquent about something you did six or seven years ago, the interviewer is left to wonder why you havenâ€t done anything worth describing more recently.

If your answer is not immediately obvious, consider the following to help you identify your top accomplishments:

â€¢ Review written evaluations or endorsements (for example, from LinkedIn) by supervisors. Has someone highlighted or outlined a particularly significant achievement?

â€¢ Look at your resume. If you had to point to something youâ€re most proud or excited to discuss, what would it be? Have you inspired or incited a big change at your organization? Did you save or bring in a significant amount of money? Did you create a system or analyze and solve a problem plaguing your organization?

â€¢ Ask people you know and who are familiar with your professional history. This includes your colleagues, past and present (although, more recent is best), as well as close friends and family members. Maybe they remember something you were really proud to share, but has somehow slipped your mind.

If you do have trouble identifying your most proud professional accomplishment, make a point to start a “brag” file to keep track of compliments, specific results you create at work and details about how you positively affect your workplace. When you track these details, it will be so much easier to update your resume and professional profiles, and you wonâ€t let any important information fall through the cracks.

This post originally appeared on Salary.com, where I am a contributing writer.

photo by terren in Virginia

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5 ways to be sure you always have a job

Miriam Salpeter — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 14:55:22 +0000

You are one of the lucky ones to land a job. But, conventional wisdom suggests that a job today is no guarantee of employment tomorrow. Our economy is changing, so you can’t consider yourself “finished” looking for workâ€”even when employed. A CareerBuilder survey of more than 3,000 hiring managers and human resource professionals across industries and company sizes shows that in 2009 companies hired 28 percent more freelancers. In 2012, 36 percent of companies will hire contract or temporary workers. A survey by M Squared Consulting said, “A majority of independent consultants, 69 percent, say the use of a flexible workforce is a permanent change and not a temporary response to economic conditions.”

For years, people who study workplace trends have been predicting companies will outsource as much work as possible and hire fewer traditional employees. What does this mean for you? That you should maintain a “job search” mindset at all times.

Not surprisingly, one of the best ways to keep yourself in the game is to maintain a strong network, but not just any network; use your time while employed to create an employer community network. Teela Jackson, the director of talent delivery for the contract recruiting and executive search firm Talent Connections, has worked as an internal recruiting consultant for CIGNA HealthCare, Georgia-Pacific, and Turner Broadcasting. She explains an “employer community network” is the group of people who could potentially hire you in the future.

Teela suggests all careerists earn some “job-search insurance” by following these easy steps:

1. Keep in touch.

2. Show, don’t tell. Demonstrate your skills via social media.

3. Stay on top of industry trends.

4. Enhance your personal brand by serving as a resource.

5. Create a community of advocates.

Read the whole post at my U.S. News & World Report post.

photo by mi8

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