Career Musings

After I had dressed my 3-year old grandson in his Spiderman Halloween attire this morning, he went to the mirror and started to act as if he were climbing the mirror. I asked what he was doing and he responded, “I am Spiderman and am climbing the wall.” He said it with such authority and confidence that I knew he wasn’t scared. In his mind’s eye, he could climb that wall, at least, that mirror.

What about you? What’s scaring you the most? Just for today, what if you put on your Halloween costume or your mask, and ‘acted as if…’

• Act as if you have received the promotion you know you deserve.

• Act as if you have aced the interview and you are just waiting to receive the offer letter.

• Act as if you have started the business you had put on hold because of lack of time or money.

• Act as if you have written the book you always wanted to write but the negative committee in your head keeps saying you are not a writer.

• Act as if you have enrolled in the certification program or the course you have always wanted to do.

• Act as if you have accomplished that major goal you resolved to do back in January.

• Act as if you have _____________________(Fill in the blank).

How does it feel? Just for today, Halloween Day, pretend you are 3 years old with nothing to fear, then act as if everything is possible!

To your success,

Although my primary role is that of a career coach and professional résumé writer, one day out of the week I write the Monday Rx blog post hoping to wipe away the Monday Morning Blues and offer encouragement and hope to my readers, whether or not they are clients. This week’s post missed the Monday mark and ended up as the main article for my CareerTips2Go newsletter. Here it is:

Norman Vincent Peale, author of The Power of Positive Thinking is one of my all-time favourite persons. While preparing to write my usual Monday Rx blog post, I picked up the Miniature Edition of his book and it opened at the chapter “I Don’t Believe in Defeat”.  What serendipity! That’s exactly what I was going to write about. For starters, here’s a quote from the chapter:

“If you are thinking thoughts of defeat, I urge you to rid yourself of such thoughts, for as you think defeat you tend to get it. Adopt the “I don’t believe in defeat” attitude.”

We all go through rough times when we believe that everything is about to fall and fail. At such times, all the ‘D’s seem to surround us:  Defeat, Doubt, Despair, Discouragement, and Disappointment. Don’t allow them to defeat you. Analyze them for what they are, get them out of the way and move on to something more productive. Today’s post not only offers tips on how to get rid of all the ‘D’s in your life, but I have included relevant quotes to support and strengthen you.

Defeat – We are not going to win at everything we set out do, no matter how hard we try. We are going to meet setbacks. However, “being defeated is often a temporary condition.  Giving up is what makes it permanent”, said  Marlene vos Savant

Doubt – Are you beginning to doubt yourself and your abilities? Look deep within and you will realize you have all that it takes to succeed. Don’t allow the negative committee in your head, or anyone else for that matter, to tell you anything different! “Feed your faith until your doubts starve to death.” Anonymous

Despair – If you are feeling anxious about something, I suggest you take a walk in the woods to refresh your mind and recharge your energy, watch a movie or listen to some music – anything that will get you in a state of relaxation. As Dolly Parton said, “If you’re feeling low, don’t despair. The sun has a sinking spell every night, but it comes back up every morning.”

Discouragement – Have you given it all you have got and you haven’t seen the results? Are you at the point where you are ready to give up? Hang in there. “Never be discouraged. Never hold back. Give it everything you’ve got. And when you fall, fall forward.” Dr. Denzil Washington

Disappointment – Are you disappointed over something or someone? Somebody didn’t come through for you, or the news you received was not what you were expecting? Be encouraged. What might be a disappointment today may be a blessing in disguise tomorrow. Eliza Tabor said, “Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.”

If those ‘D’s do get in your way, don’t allow them to defeat you. Defeat them instead!  I hope you found this message uplifting. You are always welcome to add your comments.

When last have you done something to improve yourself? Something like running a marathon (or a half one), reading a book, learning a new skill, building your professional network. Or, it could be something as simple as revamping your resume, practicing to make cold calls, arranging an informational interview even if you are not in a job search? Zig Ziglar’s miniature edition of Success for Dummies, has some inspiring quotes, and today’s message is taken from it.

“Every time you take a step forward by learning something of value, you improve your picture of yourself. Because that picture determines your performance and your performance determines your future, the daily acquisition of knowledge and skills is a marvelous way to ensure your future.”

Take a step forward and do something you have always wanted to do, but never found the time. It could be one of the best decisions you’ll ever make. Go ahead, try it, and see what happens!

To your success,

Her recent email read “Remember that job posting you sent me about a Bilingual Marketing Manager where they asked me to translate my résumé to French? I want to let you know that I got an offer and I accepted it. I am very excited since there will be a lot of interesting challenges and I am getting everything I want – salary, vacation and benefits. Thank you for all your help and I will keep in touch.”

This message was from a client with whom I had been working for several months. She was having a tough time finding a marketing manager’s position and thought that nine months was unbelievably too long to be looking for work. At times in our conversations I could sense her frustration, but I reminded her gently that job searching could be a slow and tedious process, but if she kept her head up and continued doing the right things she would eventually land the job she wanted. I also told her that giving up was not an option. She hung in there and got the job.

How did this happen? As part of the job search strategy, I encourage my clients to invest time in social media. I do, and it’s not not for social reasons, although that happens. On Twitter, for example, I follow hiring managers, recruiters and job boards, and participate in Twitter Chats with HR professionals, recruiters and leadership coaches to keep abreast of industry trends. Through these channels, I sometimes become aware of job opportunities and if I find that someone in my network seem to be a match for some of these opportunities (whether they are clients or not), I forward the information to them.

This Bilingual Marketing Manager’s job is a great example. It was posted on Twitter by Monster Canada (@Monsterca). When I read the requirements, it sounded perfect for my client so I forwarded it to her. She translated her résumé to French as the company requested, and after a couple of interviews and several weeks of waiting (because of the summer holidays), she landed the job with “everything she wanted…” as noted above.

Looking for a job is a full-time job, as it’s often said, but it requires various strategies to achieve success. The other point is that you may have a great résumé, but if you continue to use ineffective job search methods or rely on one particular strategy, it will not help you land the job of your dreams. Therefore, plan to incorporate social media tools like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Google+ into your job search toolkit because that’s where employers and recruiters hang out these days. Job boards are still around, but the companies behind these boards are extending their reach via social media. If you are an early adopter ready to jump on the social media band wagon, you will be way ahead of your competitors and achieve your job search goal.

And, don’t buy in to the concept that there are no jobs! Jobs are out there, but you need to assess your skills, employ a variety of tools, be deliberate with your search and visualize yourself sitting at the desk as an employee at one of your target companies!  Remember, “Whatever the mind can conceive, it can achieve.”

I hope you have gained some value from this post. Share your comments below, or connect with me if you need to discuss how you can move your career forward. I will be pleased to have a chat with you!

It’s Thanksgiving in Canada today, and I am using this space to reflect on some things for which I am thankful. I begin with three quotes taken from my recent newsletter followed by my short list:

“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today.  Have you used one to say “thank you?”  ~William A. Ward

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy.”  ~ Anonymous

Here’s my short gratitude list created on-the-fly, and in no particular order of importance:

• I am thankful to call Canada my home for 22+ years, and for the challenges and opportunities that have contributed to my personal and professional growth.

• I am thankful for Jamaica, land of my birth, and the values that have shaped and prepared me for a wider world.

• I am grateful for my family and friends and the love and support they give so freely.

• I am thankful for my clients who keep my business going and for the referrals they send my way.

• I am thankful for my professional colleagues from all over the world who I learn from each day through social media, webinars and teleconferences.

• I am thankful for the 16 career professionals who contributed their expertise to the second edition of my book.

• I am thankful for my church and my Christian beliefs that keep me grounded.

And in classic Steve Jobs style, “…and one more thing:

• I am thankful to you for reading this post. May you find many things to be thankful for today?

To your success,

It has been raining on and off for a few days in my neck of the woods, and it is quite dark right now; yet I know that the sun will come out tomorrow.

Are you still waiting on the phone to ring for that job you so desperately need? Have you heard ‘No’, once too often? Are you stuck in a rut feeling you have done everything you possibly could? Whatever you are going through right now, it’s not permanent. The dark clouds will subside and the sun is going to come out tomorrow; if not tomorrow, the day after.

May these quotes add some sunshine to your day:

• Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. Thomas Edison.

• Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle. ~ Christian D. Larson

• When life seems hard, when you want to quit, look deep inside to find your spark to rekindle your fire. @MikeMoore

• The road to a better tomorrow starts at the intersection of fear and faith. You can either yield onto insecurity lane, or you can take a deep breath and put the pedal to the metal on the courage freeway. ~David Roppo (Thanks to +Lisa K. Smith for this one)

If these Monday Morning picker-uppers are benefiting you, then they might benefit others in your circle. Have them subscribe to the RSS feed above to get each post.

To your success,