Career Musings

January is just around the corner and it’s time to start thinking about New Year resolutions, or is it? How many of your 2011 resolutions did you keep?

For several years now I have been advocating that people set goals instead of make resolutions. Goal setting helps you to decide what you want to achieve and create a step-by-step plan to do it. Resolutions, in my humble opinion, are ideals that are short-lived. Most people give up on them within a few short months. Goals, again in my opinion, are more realistic. You lay them out, break them down into small manageable steps, and they suddenly appear achievable.

The SMART acronym – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely – is usually the centre of any discussion on goal setting, but for this article, I have put a new spin on it:

Set Goals and ditch resolutions. As stated above, resolutions are transitory, so set realistic goals and then commit to them. Goal setting is such a critical element of one’s career, or life that it requires discipline, commitment and desire. Don’t just say “I need to get a new job, or I need to change my career”, then sit around and wait for it to happen, because it won’t. Create a plan.

Make it happen. Keeping your goals in your head won’t make them happen, but if you write them down and surround yourself with a circle of people who will hold you accountable, a major shift will take place.

Abandon negative self-talk and fear. These attributes – negative self-talk, being around negative people, and a fear of failure – coalesce to hold us back from achieving our goals.

Record and Review your activities. Identify and record the steps you needed to achieve your goal. This act of recording is essential to making your goal come alive. In writing them down, they become clearer to you. After that, spend as little as 1o minutes each day to review your progress.

Think Big and Bold! It is said that one of the mistakes we make in setting goals is not thinking big enough, but big goals generate excitement and passion. If you stretch yourself to set a few big and bold goals, it should be enough to capture and hold your attention.

2012 will be your banner year, if you focus, invest in yourself, and stick to your plan. Set your SMART goals and see what’s possible for your life. Surround yourself with positive people who will encourage and inspire you and share in your successes. Take time to reward yourself for each accomplishment, however small because these tiny rewards will serve as motivators for you to keep on going.

Become your own success story in 2012! Remember, “Successful people always do what unsuccessful people do not”. Be the change you want to see!

A Happy and Prosperous New Year from The Wright Career Solution, the company that moves your career forward…one step at a time!

Well, this article is not my usual career or job search post. Far from it! It’s about spending a little and giving a lot!

The Giving Season is here! I don’t know about you, but since September I have been asked to support a number of causes – marathons, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Cancer Society, Sickle Cell, Child Find, and others. While I could not afford to contribute to all, I made a donation to most.

My daughter, having taken part in the fundraising event for the Juvenile Diabetes through her work, decided that this Christmas she is taking up a cause and chose Canadian Feed the Children.

This brings me to other ways that one can make a contribution that does not take a lot of time or money. Since 2010, I have been a part of Kiva. I started with a $25 donation to a woman business owner in Rwanda. As soon as she repaid the ‘loan’, I loaned the same $25 to a group in the Dominican Republic. Kiva sent me an email this week to say the group has repaid that loan. Now, that $25 is available to be lent to someone else. That one $25 is being recycled!

This week I received an update from Kiva about the first loan I had made:

“Thank you for supporting Providence with your loan. With the loan, she bought general store. Providence says that the loan helped the business because she was increasing her business by buying more quantity of milk, juice, water and so on. With the profits, Providence was able to pay children’s school fees and medical insurance…”

This is one way of spending a little and giving a lot. Join Kiva and help someone realize their entrepreneurial dream. Kiva

For several years I have sponsored a little boy in Haiti through the International Child Care Ministry of the Free Methodist Church. A year or so before my Mom passed away she also chose to sponsor a little girl in Haiti through the church. Since she has passed, I have been soldering on with both of these children, but feel I might have to give up sponsorship of the little girl. Of course, each time I think of it, I get a lump in my throat, but I will see how it goes.

A few weeks ago, a client of mine sent an email telling me (and others) about her son who fell down the stairs, and in one minute, became a paraplegic. She, too, is seeking donations for his care. She gave me permission to mention her story. Although the fundraiser has passed she is still accepting donations online at Gabe’s Back on Track. Here’s their YouTube video: Gabe.

Finally, I was watching MSNBC recently and discovered K.I.N.D. – Kids In Need of Desks – a UNICEF charity supported by Lawrence O’Donnell. It’s amazing what we take for granted when there are kids attending schools without desks. You can help here too. Visit KIND.

My point in mentioning these stories is to say that as you make plans for the holidays, consider how you could spend a little and give a lot. Small donations do matter, and it doesn’t matter which charity you choose. It could be one in your backyard!

All the best,

Who says a blog post has to be an article?

While reviewing my Google+ status yesterday I saw where several people had added me to their circles. Among them was +Prabh Singh from Vancouver, Canada. As I read his posts, I came upon a link he used to create a Word Cloud, and since I tend to be an early adapter, I jumped on the bandwagon, experimented with it, and created a cloud from my blog. The above image is the result of this experiment.

Is this a tool that a job seeker would find useful? Why or why not?

Here’s the link courtesy of the developer @Timdream:  HTML5 Word Cloud

Hear ye, Hear ye! This is hot off the Press! LinkedIn has just released its list of most overused professional buzzwords for 2011. They did this after analyzing 135 million professional profiles on their website. Some of these same words were on the list in 2010, and have resurfaced. Check your résumé or LinkedIn profile to see if you are guilty of using any or all of these:

1.      Creative

2.      Organizational

3.      Effective

4.      Extensive experience

5.      Track record

6.      Motivated

7.      Innovative

8.      Problem solving

9.      Communication skills

10.    Dynamic

As much as we might want to eliminate or reduce the use of these words and phrases, employers tend to lag behind with the use of clichés. Their job postings still include many of these words. Their applicant tracking system still contains these words and phrases, yet if the words are not incorporated in a candidate’s résumé, the résumé does not stand much of a chance of being seen by the human eye.

One way to overcome or minimize the use of these words is to give examples or tell stories of:

• how you were creative
• what problems you solved
• what really got you motivated, and
• how many years of experience you have.

By using this method, the hiring manager or decision-maker can easily see your potential value.

As with everything else, your decision to include or exclude these words requires a delicate balance. The fact is, there are going to be times when using the ‘word or phrase’ is your only option!

Source: LinkedIn’s Most Overused Buzzwords for 2011

Job seeker, sometimes it’s just a small blunder or gaffe that stands between your resume being selected for further consideration, or being tossed. Since recruiters and hiring managers play a significant role in your job search success, the onus is on you to know how to avoid these resume faux pas that irk them. Based on a survey conducted in late 2010 about Resume and Job Search Trends, the following were identified as the top resume pet peeves for recruiters and hiring managers:

• “Generic  Objectives” that scream ‘me-me-me’. “It rarely helps, often hurts, and always takes up valuable real estate that could be better used to showcase your accomplishments”, said one respondent.

• Massive email blasts where the resume is not tailored to the position for which they are applying.

• Beginning each point, regardless of experience, with the standard “responsible for” with few, if any, real accomplishments.

• A resume that contains “references available upon request”.

• Lack of professionalism in the layout and composition.

• Lack of detail on duties and accomplishments.

• Dull job descriptive statements.

• Content that is unrelated to the role.

• Chronological history of events dating back to high school (especially when the applicant has been out of high school for 3 or more years).

• Resumes with more than three pages, poor formatting, and spelling and grammar errors.

Some recruiters indicated that they prefer a longer resume as it enables them to see the breadth of the person’s experience and are better able to identify the skills relevant to the position they are trying to fill. However, these same recruiters say that clients/employers prefer a 2- or 3-page resume, and they would modify them to suit the client’s needs.

“As we are placing the candidates to our clients we prefer the longer version for details but we don’t like to send that to the client, unless specifically requested.”

While you might not agree with all of the above, some are glaringly obvious and should be avoided. Have your say.

Daisy Wright (third from right), a Brampton businesswoman, was recognized with the 2011 Alumni of Distinction award from Conestoga College.

Wright, the founder and chief career strategist at The Wright Career Solution, a career transition firm that helps individuals find jobs and an author, was among eight Conestoga College alumni honoured.

The award is the college’s highest recognition of outstanding graduates who have achieved great success in their careers and made significant contribution to society.

Read full Press Release here:  Brampton Woman Honoured

Do you have an interview today, or anytime soon? Are you nervous? Are your palms getting sweaty? Stop worrying because help is near.

While coaching a client last week, I suggested to her that she ask for some inside tips from the recruiter since he already knows the company where my client will be interviewing. He quickly reeled off the points below, and while they are not new, they could easily be overlooked by job seekers who are focused on practising answers to interview questions. Hopefully they will calm your nerves and help you to do well in the interview:

1. Arrive early and enter the building 15 minutes before your interview.
2. Bring three copies of your resume.
3. Interview attire is conservative, so dress accordingly.
4. If you have long hair, pull it back.
5. If you have several ear piercings, take out extra earrings.
6. If you have tattoos, cover them.
7. Take a Photo ID – preferably your current driver’s license.
8. Relax – answer questions honestly and you will do great.
9. It is OK to ask interviewer(s) to repeat a question, if you need clarification.
10. Do not accept anything to eat or drink.
11. When asked to “Tell me about yourself”, they mean your professional, not your personal background.

While reviewing these tips, others might come to your mind. Add them here.

To your interview success,

…there was a résumé that began with an Objective, followed up with several job descriptive statements and ended with a References Available on Request statement. It looked at itself in the mirror and was quite pleased with its appearance.

Off to the computer it went and applying for jobs on many of the popular job boards. It then sat back and waited…and waited… and waited! No one called. Finally, it found the courage to call one of the employers only to hear that the résumé was received but because it did not tell stories of its achievements, or what it could offer to the employer, it was tossed into “File 13”.

“What is File 13?” the résumé asked. “The garbage bin”, the employer answered, and then hung up the phone…

As you can imagine, that was not a happy-ever-after story for this résumé.

Moral of the story: A résumé that dresses itself up with a ‘me-focussed’ Objective; a laundry list of job descriptive statements and a meaningless “References Available on Request” declaration will never tell a convincing story that opens doors. According to Author and Career guru, Martin Yates, “All the experience in the world won’t get you a job if your resume doesn’t position you with the right story.”

While I can’t take credit for the origins of the following (found it among my notes), I believe it captures the essence of what a storytelling résumé should look like. It should contain:

Relevant

Experiences and

Skills, which are

Understood and

Measured by

Employers

Although this is a humorous look at an ineffective résumé, the overall premise is that an effective résumé is one that tells your story in a coherent and clear-cut manner.

What’s your story? Comment below.

Image courtesy of Filmbayala.com