Changing careers or industries can feel like a daunting prospect, yet clients accomplish successful career changes all the time. Knowing what you want to do next is half the journey. If you’re unsure of what path to take, reading this post could help. Once you’ve settled on a path, then you need to convince employers that they should hire you over more experienced candidates. To overcome this challenge, implement the following seven steps.More
A number of my clients are reassessing their careers in the wake of the pandemic and wondering if they should be doing something different (part of a wider phenomenon being called the Great Resignation) . One of the things I have them do to figure this out is to create a “Life Vision.”
This exercise can help you to make strategic, thoughtful decisions that are more likely to result in a meaningful, satisfying career. You compare the life you want for yourself down the road with your current situation, and then come up with the steps to close the gap. As you come up with these steps, you gain clarity on the things you need to do next in your career to achieve your life vision. In addition, developing a vision for your life can inspire you into action, just as Martin Luther King inspired millions with the vision he conveyed in his “I have a Dream” speech.More
Take a strategic, active approach to managing your career that will improve your odds of achieving success this year and beyond. In other words, don’t just float around in an ocean of opportunities hoping the currents will take you to an island of your dreams. Instead, actively search for that island and then start swimming! In this spirit, adopt these three career essentials and avoid the dangers (stagnation, layoffs, “settling”) that come with a more passive approach to your career.More
Below I share some of the career and job search advice I’m giving concerned clients as we navigate this challenging time. The key to making it through and achieving your career goals is to use this time wisely now to set yourself up for quick success later, once the economy starts to rebound. Here’s a list of 10 things you can do now to boost results: More
So you’re feeling stuck in your job or career; you’re unhappy and unsure what to do about it. To get unstuck, take the first crucial step and conduct a thoughtful self-assessment. Accurately diagnose the cause and identify the cure by reflecting on three areas: your life experiences, your current situation and your vision for the future.
One assessment approach I use with clients to gain the needed insight involves answering 10 questions that cover these three areas. More
Business prospects or employers are probably searching on LinkedIn for someone like you. The single best way to ensure you’ll show up in their searches, and stand out from competitors, is to have the right profile “keywords.” These are the words or phrases that resonate. They’re used in search queries, and answer your target audience’s main question: “How can you help me?”
Profile keywords have benefits beyond boosting your LinkedIn search ranking. Since search engines like Google andMore
While having a resume means you’re looking for a job, having a LinkedIn profile doesn’t send the same signal. As a result, many jobseekers think their profile needs to say that they are actively searching. Otherwise, how else would an employer know to contact them? So they’ll add phrases like “open to new opportunities” or “seeking a position in…”
As I discuss in my book Advanced LinkedIn, however, you’re making a mistake if you add anything to your profile that indicates you’re looking. Here’s why.More
If you want to speed up your job search, adopt the mindset of a successful salesperson. Sales professionals know a few things about rejection that can help jobseekers. They know you shouldn’t assume rejection if you haven’t heard back from a prospect. They know that it’s often possible to overcome an apparent rejection or hesitations about the services you are offering. And they know how to skillfully keep in touch when there’s no interest now.
Many of my new job search clients, however, are too quick to see rejection and give up. They More
One of LinkedIn’s killer applications is its ability to leverage your “first degree network” to get introductions to your second degree contacts– for recruiting, landing interviews or prospect meetings, partnerships, or just to learn from others. To get the meetings you want, make it easy, for both your first degree connection to forward your request and for the recipient to agree.
Let’s take an example based on a client’s situation. Ellen wanted to meet Susan, a second degree connection, and she saw that John was their mutual first degree connection. Ellen’s introduction request to John contained these six elements, in the sequence below:
Facing a Tough Career Decision? Here’s How to Make the Right Choice
byRobert Hellmann •Career Change, On-the-job Success
If you’re struggling with a big career decision, your underlying challenge likely involves either: a) properly evaluating the risk associated with a specific action, b) identifying and narrowing down a long list of options, or c) choosing between two or three good options.
While each of these challenges requires a different approach to get to the best decision, they all share the same first step: offloading the decision-making criteria in your brain onto a spreadsheet or sheet of paper, to ensure you’ve captured and accurately weighed them all.
The following techniques will help you to choose the best option when facing any of the scenarios described above.More