Job Search Strategy Presenting Yourself (3)

Job Search Strategy Presenting Yourself (3) This is a seven post series describing what a job search strategy looks like. What a Job Search Strategy Looks Like Job Search Strategy: Assessment (1) Job Search Strategy: Research (2) Job Search Strategy: Presenting Yourself (3) Job Search Strategy: Project Management (4) Job Search Strategy: Interview Strategies (5) Job Search Strategy: Project Update (6) The third step of Hannah Morgan’s six step job search strategy  is Presenting Yourself. This is the last of the sharpen your saw steps, and is critical as you prepare to get in front of people. This is where you take what weve done in the first two steps and you create some very specific, very targeted, very aligned marketing material your personal marketing material. Listen, I have been to job clubs for over ten years Ive met with hundreds thousands of job seekers. Ive done tons of LinkedIn Profile critiques and have heard more 30 second pitches than you could imagine.  Rarely do I hear or see personal marketing material that is pretty good.  Please spend time on this step so you are not as cliche and poorly presented as most job seekers. Verbal Pitch: When you first meet someone, what do you say? How do you present yourself? Ive heard plenty of pitches and many most need help. They are too cute, but have no message. They are clever, but too jargony. They are without meat, and have no whats next.  In this step you should work on a 30 second elevator pitch that is flexible depending on the audience, a response to tell me about yourself in a networking group or an interview, and then what comes after that, in case someone says Oh? Tell me more What are you going to say when you call someone on the phone, and they answer? Or, if you get to their voicemail?  You can script and practice these, which isnt to say that you are supposed to talk about a robot or not be able to think on your toes. Marketing Plan: Classes are dedicated at universities on marketing plans, and usually have the 4 Ps (Price, Promotion, Place, Product). That might be a good start for you, but study marketing plans to see what else you should define in your plan. I suggest you dont spend too much time here I like planning and stuff, but you could really spend weeks and weeks understanding marketing plans and them applying what you learn to your own plan. Your marketing plan might be as simple as Do these things daily, do those things weekly, spend an hour on follow-up each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, etc. Schedule things out, and then honor the schedule. Informational Meetings: These have traditionally been called Informational Interviews and are one of the most powerful proactive job search tactics that you could ever do. If I had start my job search today, after learning about job search stuff for the last eleven years, I would spend 90% of my time working on informational interviews.  That is, finding people, having the meetings, asking for introductions, having more meetings, etc.  There is definitely an art to these its not a chew the fat meeting.  They are very, very purposeful.  Theres a course in the JibberJobber Video Library on Informational Interviews, and the topic comes up in most of the insider interviews Ive done. What I really want you to take away is this: 90% of my time! LinkedIn Profile, Resume, and Cover Letter: Isnt it amazing that if you are doing each of these things sequentially we dont get to the resume or LinkedIn Profile until the 12th step?  Seriously not jumping into the resume or Profile means that by the time we get there, we have a very good idea of why and how well use them, with who, and what the messaging should be. The result of this step is that we have real marketing material to share. We are ready when we meet someone at a networking event we know what message we should share, and the words to use. We have confidence that the written marketing material we have prepared, from our business card to our email signature to the resume to our LinkedIn Profile, are on-brand and communicating the right messages. They arent going to distract from the real message, our brand, or decrease our chances of getting closer to having the right conversation with the right people.  How are you feeling by this point? You feel focused, empowered, and READY! Job Search Strategy Presenting Yourself (3) This is a seven post series describing what a job search strategy looks like. What a Job Search Strategy Looks Like Job Search Strategy: Assessment (1) Job Search Strategy: Research (2) Job Search Strategy: Presenting Yourself (3) Job Search Strategy: Project Management (4) Job Search Strategy: Interview Strategies (5) Job Search Strategy: Project Update (6) The third step of Hannah Morgan’s six step job search strategy  is Presenting Yourself. This is the last of the sharpen your saw steps, and is critical as you prepare to get in front of people. This is where you take what weve done in the first two steps and you create some very specific, very targeted, very aligned marketing material your personal marketing material. Listen, I have been to job clubs for over ten years Ive met with hundreds thousands of job seekers. Ive done tons of LinkedIn Profile critiques and have heard more 30 second pitches than you could imagine.  Rarely do I hear or see personal marketing material that is pretty good.  Please spend time on this step so you are not as cliche and poorly presented as most job seekers. Verbal Pitch: When you first meet someone, what do you say? How do you present yourself? Ive heard plenty of pitches and many most need help. They are too cute, but have no message. They are clever, but too jargony. They are without meat, and have no whats next.  In this step you should work on a 30 second elevator pitch that is flexible depending on the audience, a response to tell me about yourself in a networking group or an interview, and then what comes after that, in case someone says Oh? Tell me more What are you going to say when you call someone on the phone, and they answer? Or, if you get to their voicemail?  You can script and practice these, which isnt to say that you are supposed to talk about a robot or not be able to think on your toes. Marketing Plan: Classes are dedicated at universities on marketing plans, and usually have the 4 Ps (Price, Promotion, Place, Product). That might be a good start for you, but study marketing plans to see what else you should define in your plan. I suggest you dont spend too much time here I like planning and stuff, but you could really spend weeks and weeks understanding marketing plans and them applying what you learn to your own plan. Your marketing plan might be as simple as Do these things daily, do those things weekly, spend an hour on follow-up each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, etc. Schedule things out, and then honor the schedule. Informational Meetings: These have traditionally been called Informational Interviews and are one of the most powerful proactive job search tactics that you could ever do. If I had start my job search today, after learning about job search stuff for the last eleven years, I would spend 90% of my time working on informational interviews.  That is, finding people, having the meetings, asking for introductions, having more meetings, etc.  There is definitely an art to these its not a chew the fat meeting.  They are very, very purposeful.  Theres a course in the JibberJobber Video Library on Informational Interviews, and the topic comes up in most of the insider interviews Ive done. What I really want you to take away is this: 90% of my time! LinkedIn Profile, Resume, and Cover Letter: Isnt it amazing that if you are doing each of these things sequentially we dont get to the resume or LinkedIn Profile until the 12th step?  Seriously not jumping into the resume or Profile means that by the time we get there, we have a very good idea of why and how well use them, with who, and what the messaging should be. The result of this step is that we have real marketing material to share. We are ready when we meet someone at a networking event we know what message we should share, and the words to use. We have confidence that the written marketing material we have prepared, from our business card to our email signature to the resume to our LinkedIn Profile, are on-brand and communicating the right messages. They arent going to distract from the real message, our brand, or decrease our chances of getting closer to having the right conversation with the right people.  How are you feeling by this point? You feel focused, empowered, and READY!

How to Continue Moving Business Forward - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How to Continue Moving Business Forward - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career For most people new to a  business, the knowledge of how to keep business moving forward is an unknown. The other side of it is a complete lack of understanding as to the importance the individual and their personal brand plays when it comes to achieving success. The same may be said for advancing one’s career. There are five steps of which to take note to keep business or career on track: Goals Be a dedicated goal setter and always strive to attain the seemingly impossible. Not only is each goal to be verbalized, but it needs to be well-defined with the understanding of all that is entailed to see it through to completion. Each step closer keeps one motivated. Timeline All goals and projects need a date agreed upon for completion. We all know that on occasion life gets in the way. For this reason, a safety net for action is to accompany the timeline. One example is to set aside an evening each week to do catch-up work. Clarity Everything intended is to be thought out in detail. Examine the pros and cons and what might happen “if…” Be prepared to deal with the good and the bad that may occur. As you review details, an improved route may be detected. Preparation is everything. If you work with a team or co-workers, the clarity provides a game plan for everyone to be on the same page. It also provides the opportunity for each member to provide input and most often, a more robust plan comes to light. Facts Actual, factual facts are essential for every instance. When it comes to business, alternative facts are not an option unless one wants to go to jail. As these are presented to the team, further ideas blossom to improve upon the original. Statements such as, “We will be the largest and the best…” don’t fly. If there is not valid evidence for how this is to materialize, it could be a possibility, but not yet a fact. Honesty Before entering into any agreement, do research to ensure everything is above board. Truthfulness is the biggest differentiator for selecting projects, partners, employees and anyone else you may encounter. Reconcile whether the person you are about to accept as a type of partner is honest or do they typically gloss over the truth? Come to Terms Whether You: Research the people with whom you are to meet? Are you comfortable asking the hard questions such as inquiring about the budget? Are your conversations inviting and open-ended to gain varying perspectives? Asking difficult questions of others brings to light the information you need to know about a job or potential collaborative partner. Diplomacy in asking is always the best route. Once everything is out on the table, you are far more likely to hear, ‘Yes’! By being open to everyone’s opinions and creative ideas, and asking a great variety of questions, you are able to negotiate a better outcome or improved path in a friendly manner. Answers lead to improved understanding and give way to new ideas. All of the above leads to helping move your business and career forward, and finding the Smooth Sale!

How to Manage Men and Money HOT TOPIC Webinar Next Week! - Classy Career Girl

How to Manage Men and Money HOT TOPIC Webinar Next Week! One of the best parts of blogging is the partnerships that you can create with other bloggers. What is also exciting is when you find other bloggers writing books too! Thats what happened when I found out that Amanda Abella from amandabella.com is launching a book right now as well.  We were brainstorming and realized that our book topics, managing men and money, fit well together as a HOT TOPIC! And we wanted to offer you some of both of our best information into one webinar. When? Monday, February 10th at 4pm PST (7pm EST) This webinar will show you: Mindsets and strategies you need for success managing your money and the men you work with Differences between genders when managing money and negotiating How to ask for what you want How your emotions affect your success with money and managing men Strategies for communicating with men And more! Click here to register. Who is Amanda? Amanda Abella  is a certified life coach and author who has created a firestorm community where  millennials seek to create their best lives.  She is also the author of the Amazon bestselling book  Make Money Your Honey  and  has been featured in  Forbes,  The Huffington Post, and  The Chicago Tribune.  She has been teaching millennials how to cultivate better relationships with work and money since 2010. Who is Anna? Anna Runyan is a speaker and leadership coach, founder of  ClassyCareerGirl.com, one of Forbes most influential career sites for 2014 and the author of the popular new book,  The Professional Woman’s Guide to Managing Men. She’s the go-to gal when you want to talk about how to be the best female leader possible. Anna Runyan uses her background working in a male dominated field for eight years as a Military Consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton to teach her clients how to successfully upgrade their leadership. Anna also teaches Management as a Professor at DeVry University. Make sure you join us for a chance to win a copy of Annas brand new book!! P.S. The webinar will be recorded so if you cant make it live, still sign up to get the replay! Click here to register.

How to get a law graduate job with a conversion course - Debut

How to get a law graduate job with a conversion course - Debut Some of you may be headed to university in September to do different fantastical subjects. Your end goal, however, might be to get a law graduate job. If thats you then you probably have the idea of doing a law conversion course in the back of your mind. But what actually is a law conversion course? Just a get-out-of-jail-free card for arts students? Or are there benefits to pursuing this as an avenue to a law graduate job from the start? Read on and we’ll do our best to answer the angry questions buzzing around in your head right now. What the hell is this? A law conversion course, also known as a Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) or Common Professional Examination (CPE), is a postgraduate law course. Typically it’s one or two years long depending on whether you do it full or part time but either way, it’s super intensive. The idea, essentially, is to compress the essence of a law degree into a short time-span and teach you enough to be ready to take your study to the next level whether that’s a Legal Practice Course (LPC) for solicitors or Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) if you want to be a barrister. Who  even goes for this kinda thing? A conversion course is pretty much only for any fresh graduates, just not graduates with law degrees. You’ve probably always thought that to get a law graduate job, a law degree might be just be essential to the process. In truth, close to half of all candidates applying for training contracts and pupilages each year didn’t study law as undergrads. So, you know, there’s that. So really, it doesn’t matter which course you’ve done, as long as you’ve graduated (2.2 or above should be fine). According to Coventry University Careers Centre, the ideal candidate will need great interpersonal skills, tight time management and near-flawless attention to detail. Essentially, you’ll need to be an all-round badass. However, if you are a non-law graduate looking to become a superstar lawyer, you absolutely will need to complete a conversion course to be eligible for work at any firm or chambers. No GDL and you’re sure to get left out in the rain, looking both wet and dangerously under-qualified. Why wouldn’t I just do a law degree? There’s no reason why if you not already knee deep in some far-flung non-law degree that you couldn’t go the traditional route and do an LLB. Really, most of your potential employers don’t have a preference for the type of candidate they prefer. It simply depends on what’s convenient for you and how you like to work. Both qualifications cover the seven core subject areas you’ll find in any law degree, though the LLB spaces this out over three years which allows more time for broader study of electives and other subjects, if that’s your thing. That being said, should you like the 100mph thrill of doing it all in a year, that has its benefits too benefits recognised by potential employers. Doing anything else before doing law builds up those all-important transferable skills, which make you seem rounded and versatile to law firms. Sarah Harte from Taylor Wessing, for instance, admitted that “having candidates from a diverse range of backgrounds has essential commercial benefits and allows us to remain competitive within the industry.” She goes on to say that 50% of hires they make are GDL students, so don’t think that going the law conversion way is a disadvantage. Is it right for me? Crucially, you’ve got to want it. Really want it. To do a conversion course, you’re looking at 45 hours of contact and study weekly and 3 hour exams on every module. Then there’s the fees, which can be anything from £7,000- £11,000 depending on where you choose to study. Ask literally anyone who has tried to fund postgraduate study and they’ll tell what a bellyache it is between floods of tears and Vietnam-style PTSD flashbacks. Some law firms will sponsor their future trainees studies, but to get that sponsorship on the GDL, that usually means applying to law firms two years in advance yes, during your undergraduate studies. Which brings me to nicely to this point: unfortunately, a conversion course doesn’t save you from needing to have a ton of relevant work experience. Keep your ear to the ground for vacation schemes and mini-pupillages. Shadowing and other informal work experience helps too. So a law conversion course does require a bit more thought than the back-up plan approach most people use towards it. But if you’re passionate about a future law graduate job and have other keen interests and the intensity of the workload doesn’t scare you this just might be your bag. Best of luck, pal! For more info, see the Law Central Admissions Board, the Solicitors Regulation Authority or go to allaboutlaw.co.uk Feature image courtesy of Dentons Connect with Debut on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for more careers insights.

Workbook - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Workbook - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog I have just uploaded a workbook containing the exercises for my brand new book Happy Hour is 9 to 5 How to Love Your Job, Love Your Life and Kick Butt at Work. Download it here: As a pdf As an OpenOffice.org file As a Microsoft Word file These exercises will work fine even for people who havent read the book and youre more than welcome to: Email the workbook to as many people as you want. Use it at work with your team, department or work group. Modify the questions to fit your specific work situation. Or whatever else you can think of. Knock yourself out. mp3s for some of the exercises are coming very soon! Read the book free online here and buy it on paper or as a pdf here. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Custom Resume Writing 101 - How to Write Your Own Resume

Custom Resume Writing 101 - How to Write Your Own ResumeIt's no secret that writing your own custom resume is a difficult process. Many companies just don't have the time or resources to do it for you, so what's the solution? Simply hire a freelance resume writer and they will do the work for you.Writing your own personal resume can be a daunting task. You need to find some material that is free and from your own experience to get you started. Take note of the information that you find in these documents and start to incorporate them into your resume. When it comes time to write the final draft, you are going to be amazed at how much easier it will be to write.Before you begin to write your custom resume, it's important to get some templates of resumes that have already been written by other people. That way you can see what works and what doesn't and you can look for pointers on how to improve the flow of your resume. At this point, when you have a template to follow, you can jump r ight into customizing your own resume.Next, sit down and take a look at your personal experience. Use the information you gather and try to turn it into a resume. Make sure you pay attention to the 'to do' list so that you can stay on top of the important things you should add to your document.As you work through your resume, don't hesitate to use templates to add some detail. People love to copy and paste and you can simply place the information directly into your document. Some people even take a practice test to find out if they're qualified for the job before they get started. Then, when it's time to write the actual resume, you already know what to put and when to put it.While you take those simple steps, take a little bit of time to make a draft of your document. After all, nobody wants to waste any of their precious time and money by trying to write a custom resume and get frustrated by it. You want to finish up with something that's impressive. If you try to rush the process , you're sure to have a sloppy document that will be hard to read.To get started, you'll want to create two copies of your resume. One that you will send out to job seekers and one that you will save to print off again if you need to. The second one will likely be better than the first one. Once you've filled in your experience, make sure you mark your accomplishments in bold. You want to show them that you have the necessary skills to get the job done.Custom resume writing is a complicated process, but it's an easy one once you get the hang of it. If you give yourself time to do the job right, you'll find that it becomes easier and you'll finally have your dream job. Give yourself some time to experiment with your new skills and get the job you've always wanted.