Are You Good Enough to be an Expert

Are You Good Enough to be an Expert Are You Good Enough to be an Expert? Are You Good Enough to be an Expert? April 9, 2010 by Career Coach Sherri Thomas Leave a Comment I was giving a career advancement seminar in Chicago when a participant raised her hand and said she couldn’t do the exercise (identifying your signature talents) because she didn’t have any signature talents. This shocked me because I had co-presented with her a couple of years earlier and was amazed by her knowledge on the topic, which was event planning. I responded by telling her that from my opinion, clearly, she was an expert in event planning. But her response was that she really didn’t view herself as an expert in that area. If you are also having difficulty identifying your signature talents and you have more than five years of professional work experience, I have two thoughts for you. First, many times during our career we find ourselves in a negative environment such as having conflict with a manager, colleague, or client. And if you’re in a negative environment right now, you may be hearing some inner voice tell you that you are not good enough to be an expert in anything. If that’s the case, then quiet down that voice. I’m here to tell you â€" you DO have expertise that benefits your employer and clients â€" or else they wouldn’t have hired you!

How to start a business when you work full time -

How to start a business when you work full time - Have you thought about creating a side business to bring in revenue in addition to  your full-time job? If you havent already realized that theres no true job security, now is a good time to start thinking about how you could bring in additional streams of revenue. Then you never have to rely on one employer to help you pay your bills.  The book I wrote with Hannah Morgan, Social Networking for Business Success, defines a MOXIE as someone who creates a side gig â€" someone managing other, x-tra income engagements. Its not always easy to start thinking about a new business when youre working full time. After eight years in the Navy, Vinay Chadha transitioned to a civilian job in Veteran Affairs at the Office of the Inspector General, but always had plans to open his own business. When he came across Maui Wowi Hawaiian, a coffee and smoothie company, he began cold calling local venues, and was offered a vendor contract to sell at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. Since Chadha was only  a franchisee  for three months, he didnt have so much as a blender. He had to quickly acquire two more mobile carts, hire employees and purchase products, all while staying afloat at work. Now he operates his franchise at least three times a month at Qualcomm. Chadha suggests the following for those considering starting a business while already employed. 1. Be prepared for the unexpected.  Chadha found himself needing to purchase extra supplies to meet the demand at the stadium. You never know when youll need extra capital to fulfill orders or to take advantage of an opportunity. Sometimes, time will be the resource you need, not money. Do what you can to plan ahead, but consider saving up your vacation time in case you need it to take care of a project on the fly. 2. Find a business model that is compatible with your lifestyle.  I think one of the worst  decisions  potential business owners can make is to invest in a business that they are not truly passionate about, Chadha says. Since youll spend a lot of your free time, not to mention money, growing your business, you want to choose carefully before jumping in with two feet. Additionally, it just makes good business sense as you will be more involved and motivated to make your business succeed, he notes. 3. Tap into the  Small Business Administration  and other small business owner resources.  Chadha suggests accessing resources via SCORE, a nonprofit business counseling association. If youre a veteran, there may be additional resources targeted to you. The SBA provides a wealth of information anyone considering owning a business would benefit from knowing. 4. Have realistic expectations.  No one said owning a business is easy. Once you launch your new venture, you essentially hire yourself (at least at first) to handle everything that needs to be done. Youre the IT support, chief marketer and customer service specialist. It can be difficult to effectively manage all of these roles, so youll need to try to pace yourself until you get a firm handle on your customers and their needs and gain access to the resources you need to serve them. Research, patience, hard work, drive and persistence will always be a business owners most valuable assets, Chadha explains. You may not see the light at the end of the tunnel and believe me as a new business owner that is the way I sometimes feel. Your investment will eventually pay for itself if you put the time, effort and energy needed into it. 5.  Have a plan  with an end goal in mind.  As simple as it may sound, knowing where you want to be and having a road map to get there is extremely important, Chadha says. Dont be the business owner that has a fully functioning ship in the middle of the ocean with no navigation system. Your plan should include consulting your networking contacts and making sure to extend yourself to your network as a resource at the same time that you may ask for help. When you coordinate your goals and your activities, youll succeed much more quickly than if you try to wing it. Originally appeared in U.S. News World Report.

The Right Way to Write Your Resume

The Right Way to Write Your ResumeIt is crucial to stay focused while writing your resume. You can expect to write several drafts on your resume for the professionals who are going to interview you. However, you must keep a professional and clear resume. Although a resume can help you get a job, you should make sure that it is in great shape so you do not waste your time.This document can prove to be very helpful for you if you provide it with only the most true value. It is up to you to craft a resume that is eye-catching and gives you the advantage. If you are planning to join a company and put your skills at its disposal, this resume must give you the information that you are looking for. If you do not, you might land up being a casualty to get a job.Here is a major mistake that many job hunters have committed. They have used sentences and paragraphs that did not describe their worth. For example, they used exclamation marks, buzzwords, and big words in their resume. Such a resume will be rejected even if you have the right qualifications.Resume writing is not easy. You need to do some research about how resumes should be written. You also need to hire someone who is a professional and can provide you with unbiased advice.If you are going to submit your resume, do not use just any word in it. Some people have also used personalized messages to spell out their messages. Most of the companies will reject your resume unless you use a customized format. If you cannot create a good one, hire someone who can.If you use your personal email, resume writing is even more difficult because your friend or family member may send you messages from their own address. Using Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, or other social networking sites may affect your resume writing unc.These tips will help you improve your resume writing unc. Use them to come up with a better resume and increase your chances of getting the job you want.

When an Employer Calls Your References

When an Employer Calls Your References You’re in the throes of your job search, and things are looking upâ€"with any luck, the recruiter will call soon to ask for your references. References are important, and definitely not a throwaway step to be considered last-minute. In fact, you shouldn’t only be nurturing your network of references when you’re seeking a job. Remember, these are people who already know and like you. Keeping your references updated ensures that you hear about trends and opportunities in your fieldâ€"even if you’re employed now you don’t want to miss a great lead. Here are the right and wrong ways to manage that process: DON’T just ask your former supervisors to be references. DO ask vendors, consultants, clients, peers and direct reports. Your supervisors will always be your most requested reference. However, over the course of your career, you work with a variety of peopleâ€"not just for your immediate supervisor. Sometimes you work more closely with others than with the person you report to on the organizational chart. Therefore, you need to think more broadly about who can speak for your work than just a boss. Furthermore, your different collaborators can speak to different elements of your workâ€"vendors see your negotiation skills, consultants gauge your teamwork skills, clients know your service quality, peers see you day-to-day, and direct reports know your management style. DON’T wait until the recruiter asks to check in with your references. DO line them up in advance. People move around. You don’t want to find out right before you need the reference that you can’t find that supervisor who knows your work so well. You also want time to find alternative references if one of your choices seems lukewarm when you contact them, or is just so tough to reach that they may not get back to the recruiter in a timely fashion. DON’T assume references know what to say. DO coach them on what to highlight. Your references haven’t worked with you in a while and have since managed others. They won’t remember exactly what you worked on. They also don’t know this job you’re going for so won’t know what to emphasize, especially if you did a lot of different things when you worked for them. Therefore, you need to help them help youâ€"remind them of that big project or key client you want them to discuss, share the job description, and tell them you would appreciate it if they talked, say, about your analytical skills. __________ Caroline Ceniza-Levine is co-founder of SixFigureStart ®career coaching. She has worked with professionals from American Express, Condé Nast, Gilt, Goldman Sachs, Google, McKinsey, and other leading firms. She’s also a stand-up comic. This column will appear weekly. Read more from Caroline Ceniza-Levine: How to Network in Just 5 Minutes a Day How Making a Friend in HR Can Help Your Career 10 Easy Ways to Make Yourself More Hireable Your Career is Your Biggest Asset. 5 Ways to Protect It 5 Ways Microsoft Employees (and You) Can Prep for Layoffs

2 Myths About Executive Resumes - Work It Daily

2 Myths About Executive Resumes - Work It Daily For the 2012 Global Hiring Survey from the global professional association, Career Directors International (CDI) surveyed hiring managers, Human Resource professionals, recruiters, and executives to find out what they really look for in executive resumes. Among the respondents, 46% typically dealt with executive and managerial clients. The CDI survey officially busted the following myths about executive resumes: Myth 1: Summary descriptions on executive resumes should be short, not detailed. Nearly half of the respondents preferred a “longer, more comprehensive summary” with only 18% opting for a shorter summary. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of writing a summary that is specific for the position, industry and applicant. In any resume, but particularly executive resumes, content is more important than any arbitrary length. Myth 2: You should add charts and graphs to your executive resume. Just under 20% of respondents found charts and graphs helpful; about the same amount found them distracting. Moreover, as one respondent pointed out, charts and graphs may not scan into a company’s Applicant Tracking System (ATS). Therefore, Career Directors International recommends making sure that the information in the chart and graph is also part of the text of the resumeâ€"which means you are taking up valuable resume space to give the same information twice. My take? Think twice about placing a graph or chart in your executive resume, especially if it duplicates information already in the text or is so small that it is practically unreadable. Executive resumes myths image from Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!

How to Explain Why Youve Been Job Hopping

How to Explain Why Youve Been Job Hopping How to Explain Why Youve Been Job HoppingIf youre worried about coming across as a job hopper or changing jobs too often, heres how to ditch the stigma and stand out for the right reasons.Landing the perfect job, rising to the top and earning big raises and benefits are a dream come true, especially if all are achieved at the same company. Sometimes though, staying with one employer doesnt work out. Whether due to personal health or family concerns, business ventures gone sour or industry-wide layoffs, its best elend to bounce from job to job, otherwise known as job hopping.Jumping from one venture to the next within short time spans tells the employer you arent willing to commit. Or maybe when a hiring manager sees frequent job changes on a resume, they infer you are a bad employee and companies dont want to keep you around for the long haul. On the other hand, explaining why youve had various short-term opportunities isnt very difficult. Th ere are several techniques to draw attention away from your job hopping history.Before sweating in front of the hiring manager, try these simple techniques to explain your frequent job changes to ease the job hopper stigma.Optimize your resume.The first step to explaining your various opportunities and frequent job changes is by not drawing attention to them in the first place. Most resumes list experience, education and achievements chronologically, placing most recent qualifications first. While this is the best format for most job seekers, listing your vast experience may kill your chances for an interview. Focus your template on skills, achievements and abilities rather than time. This format is called a functional resume.Include a career summary and areas of expertise. Show hiring managers and recruiters you know your stuff and mean business. Career summaries should be written in paragraph or bulleted form, include between five to ten sentences, include no more than five lines of text and focus on your top abilities. Areas of expertise are top skills (nine to twelve), formatted within a table (without borders) and bulleted. Tailor the summary and areas of expertise to each specific job.Draw attention to skills, abilities and achievements.The next step is organizing your experience and achievements. This is done with one of two formats grouping positions and descriptions according to skill sets or creating key skills assessments with each position (no description) at the bottom. For example, using the first technique, marketing and digital communications experts could divide their experience into three categories advertising, marketing and digital communication. List the appropriate positions, descriptions and notable achievements under each section. Feel free to use the dates or not.On the other hand, creating a key skills assessment fits with positions detailed similar descriptions. Remove all job descriptions and add them to a master list. Delete repet itious information, and rewrite it using action verbs and achieving words. Format the list into bullets. Each list should not have more than six bulleted sentences. Reduce the bullets by creating more than one list and diving into subcategories, similar to the previous template.On the other hand, dont lie or hide the facts.Drawing their attention to your abilities rather than your multiple job history isnt the same as lying or hiding information. Never lie or hide information about job hopping from fhigkeit employers. They will learn the truth sooner rather than later. Prepare yourself for the inevitable. Once youre in the interview, someone will ask why youve been changing job frequently within a short period of time.Another question will be Did you like your last job? The only way to answer either question is with absolute honesty and tact. Be transparent. Explain that the company downsized, went out of business or moved out of town. These are the easiest scenarios to explain. On the other hand, if you were the catalyst, explain why you left the job. I felt my skills and abilities werent utilized to their furthest extent. Or you can explain that the positions werent the best fit. Dont be defensive about changing jobs too often or try to place blame. Explain the facts honestly, accurately and without bias.Draw attention to professional development and skills.Explaining your reasons for leaving a job is great. Just dont focus too much on the explanation. Give a short, concise explanation and steer the conversation towards your abilities. For example, after explaining how you felt your skills werent utilized, start describing those skills and achievements. I felt my skills and abilities werent utilized to their fullest extent. Recently, I took a five week seminar on social media marketing and analytics. This allows me to design online campaigns and determine their effects on sales.This also is a perfect opportunity to list new skills and abilities learned from working with different companies. Choose one or two projects you successfully completed. Describe those achievements and contributions. Dont pat yourself on the back. Show the hiring manager what you did for the company and what you can do for their business. Focus on how you can bring value to the potential employer.Assure them youre there to stay.Job hopping scares hiring managers and tells them you arent willing to commit. They automatically assume you will leave this job, making them work to find another candidate. Assure them you are committed to staying and want the job. I am looking for long-term employment and think your company is a good fit because Dont be sappy or brownnose. This is a little obvious and obnoxious.If the hiring manager is still hesitant about your frequent job changes, experience or seems to not trust your intentions, offer suggestions to prove your worth. Come prepared with a list of references who will vouch for your commitments. Ask former supervisors to write letters of recommendation to bring to the interview. Some hiring managers may be open to a trial assessment. Just dont mention probationary terms until its the last possible alternative.What if nothing works?Sometimes we cannot explain our shortcomings, and it costs us several good opportunities. Rest assured, this isnt the end of the game. You may lose a few battles due to frequent job changes, but the war hasnt been lost. If you cannot find an employer to offer solid employment, there are still a few options to build your reputation and improve your marketability. Check out local talent scouts or staffing agencies. Yes, we know temp agencies arent very glamorous. They may not offer your dream job. But they do pay the bills.Staffing agencies often provide steady work at local companies. There are three main benefits to temp work. You have the option to work for several employers, but only have to place one company on your resume. This reduces the job hopping stigma. Workin g for various companies in multiple roles also provides important soft skills training and professional development. The most important benefit is networking. Some job seekers report finding their dream job by networking at their temp roles.Want to see how your resume stacks up? Try out our free critique todayRelated Articles

Things You Wont Like About Coupon for Resume Writing Group and Things You Will

Things You Wont Like About Coupon for Resume Writing Group and Things You Will For the duplicitous, many ways exist to skim funds from the organization, so honesty isnt only a great quality to get, its an essential one. Companies could possibly be judged by the visual appeal of their staff. To supply the answers that the customer requirements, you have to be well-versed in the item or tafelgeschirr youre offering. There are a lot of customers happy with the firms degree of service. Life After Coupon for Resume Writing Group As soon as you have placed an order, the degree of customer service seems to remain over the norm. Your work is to create the transaction as pleasant as possible, then allow the client to leave as promptly as possible. The post-by-fax service is particularly common. Do not automatically pick up the telephone and get started mobilizing stock personnel, since the customer may not need that. Dont be concerned about whether any specific bit of information m ay be related to your objective. On occasion a customer will bring an item into the store that should be returned or exchanged as a result of issue or dissatisfaction with an item. If he indicates that she found everything she was looking for, smile and move on to the rest of the transaction. In some cases, he may want to take the pack of gum he bought with him instead of having to fish it out of a bag filled with other items. What Everybody Dislikes About Coupon for Resume Writing Group and Why Dont hesitate to request a revision if you arent pleased with the work done. Thesis needs to be written at the conclusion of the program and gives the chance to. Writing a dissertation is regarded to be the phd thesis writing guidelines fruchtwein important portion of your final year for a student in your area. Still, there are lots of other aspects to take into account when writing our ResumeWritingGroup review. Your own personal return to author is simply an email away. If you choose to utilize Resume Writing Group, youll only have to hope that you receive a great writer assigned to your resume. When a resume writing service improves its site, its always a great thing. You will likewise be able to select any extra services that you need like career coaching, thank you letter or LinkedIn profile writing. Food-manufacturing businesses buy recipes which use their merchandise. Bright customers would never pay complete price and lose out on the chance to save big. Meet with business professionals who will be able to help you evaluate your enterprise program. Most marketing plans are somewhat more successful if they tischset measurable targets. Due to how each author is individually acquired, you are really working with them. Tip Try to prevent engaging the customer in conversation unless theres an issue youre discussing with her. The writer will work with you until youve got a last draft of the resume youre content with. The absolute most prosperou s food writers specialize. Furthermore, you can receive a career coaching service thats a benefit for the person who is going to alter the career path and apply for the dream job. If thats the case, be associated with a job which youve attended. If youre open to several varieties of jobs, let us know. Locating a new job can be difficult and very time-consuming.