Jamie's Career Tip of the Day

Today's Career Tip from Jamie:

 

While interviewing for a position always have questions prepared for the interviewer. Ask about a typical day, or why they like working for the company but never ask about salary! You are interviewing them as much as they are you, employers need to ensure you fit the company culture.

Tips for Coping with Disappointment

Things don’t always go as expected so it’s helpful to have a backup plan.  These six tips will help you to stay positive when the inevitable disappointments in life ¾job, home, relationships ¾come your way.

1.       Practice patience

Patience involves accepting difficult circumstances with strength and dignity, rather than becoming mired in anxiety and fear. Anxiety is generated when you ruminate over the past or feel apprehensive about the future. Neither is helpful since the past has already occurred and the future is yet to come. Staying patient with what is, right now in the present, helps you to identify your resources and gather your energy.

2.       Take responsibility

Avoid blaming yourself or anyone else for what has happened. Attempt to identify the lesson from the experience that you can carry forward into making your future the best it can be. Minimize complaining and fretting because they waste time, create a negative mind-set, and cause you to feel helpless.  Accept full responsibility for what has occurred primarily because this places you in a position of power. You are in charge of what happens next.

3.       Be grateful for what is going right

Trouble rarely affects all areas of your life at the same time so recognize what is going right for you. Gratitude is a powerful emotion which keeps you from moving down a path to depression. If you’ve lost your job or are having difficulty finding one, practice feeling grateful for your family, friends, and  home.  Notice when you are minimizing the positives in your life and over-emphasizing the negatives. Keep perspective and balance.

4.       Recognize that change is inevitable

One thing you can always count on is change. Nothing in your life stays the same for very long so when you are feeling disappointed about an event in your life, know that change is on the way. If you feel that this is a disappointment which may be challenging to overcome, look back and consider all the changes, big and small, which you have weathered in your life. Each change, disappointment, and obstacle has brought you to where you are today.

 

5.       Stay connected

In times of stress it is tempting to isolate and avoid social contact, with those you live with as well as those in your broader social circle. You may not feel like socializing but in stressful times it’s important to stay connected. Start with small things like smiling at the person you pass and make eye contact with. Notice others, what they are doing or wearing, and make a pleasant comment. Don’t hold your disappointment inside but share it with those closest to you.

6.       Remain focused on your goals

Above all, stay clear about what your ultimate goals are. This setback is temporary and will pass. When you keep your eye on your objectives you are open to opportunities that will inevitably present themselves. You’ll be less inclined to miss any new prospects to improve your situation. Remember that when one door closes another one opens but it’s up to you to keep your eyes open and look for it.

 

Using these six tips will help you to stay positive when you are coping with disappointments. It’s easy to be positive when life is going well, but staying positive during challenging times shows resilience. It indicates that you can turn disappointments into opportunities!

Ellen Diana is a psychologist, author of the Lucky Dreamer Tip Series, and co-author of the Charge up Your Life series of self-help books. She has 30 years’ experience working with children, adults, couples, and families in schools and in private practice in Scottsdale, Arizona. Helping women to evolve into their best selves through personal growth and self-awareness is a passion of hers. Ellen raised three successful children as a single parent and so has special interests in mentoring other women in transition and helping parents to raise resilient children. Contact Ellen at drdiana@ellendiana.com or through her website www.ellendiana.com

 

The Benefits of a Job Search Mentor

Reposted from MSN.com

Job searching can at times get lonely. Spending hours browsing jobs, interrupted by the occasional interview, can make a job seeker feel a bit isolated. It would be nice to have someone to go to for advice or inspiration or to bounce ideas off of. While friends and family are always there to help, they aren't always objective, and if they aren't experiencing what you're experiencing, it may be hard for them to relate.

If you're in this position, consider finding a job-search mentor -- someone whom you know professionally, you look up to and you can count on for valuable advice. Beyond being a sounding board, mentors can provide guidance in what can often be a confusing and frustrating process. "Professional mentors can provide support, encouragement and career-related guidance while identifying and maximizing networking and career-exploration opportunities," says Lynne Sarikas, executive director of the MBA Career Center in Boston.

Breaking down the benefits
David Sanford, executive vice president of client relations at staffing firm WinterWyman, shares the following advantages to having a job-search mentor:

·         You get a second set of eyes on your job-search strategy. While keeping your view and perspective in mind is most important, having someone in the boat with you that you can rely on and trust to steer you in the right direction will double your odds for success.

·         You'll increase your networking opportunities. Not only do you have your own network readily available to you, but your mentor can open up his network, expanding your connection base and increasing your visibility and career possibilities.

·         You'll receive objective advice. Your mentor should be someone who isn't afraid to hurt your feelings by telling you when you're heading in the wrong direction or playing the wrong hand. A good mentor will give you support when you need it but isn't shy about giving you a wake-up call when you're in danger of going down the wrong path.

Seeking out a mentor
If you aren't sure whom to ask for help, Sarikas suggests tapping someone with more experience and in a field in which you aspire to work. By connecting with someone who has been in the working world for a longer of time, you can learn from that person's experiences -- both successes and missteps.

Consider contacting an old boss with whom you had a strong relationship or a colleague at a past company whom you admired. And it doesn't have to be someone you know well; if you hit it off with someone at a networking event, don't be afraid to reach out for his help. You might get the most impartial opinions from him.

Maximizing the relationship
There's no point in having a job-search mentor if you don't maximize the relationship to its full potential. Sarikas, who serves as a career coach to students, shares the following guidelines for getting the most out of your mentor:

·         Be considerate of your mentor's time. Return phone calls promptly, and arrive on time for meetings.

·         Assume the relationship will be strictly professional. Let the mentor take the lead in making it more personal if desired.

·         Seriously consider all advice that you receive. Be open to constructive feedback, and seek it whenever possible. Do not get defensive.

·         Show evidence that you have used the assistance offered, and show appreciation for any and all assistance provided.

·         Look for opportunities to give back -- share a relevant article, offer to assist with a new technology or refer a qualified candidate.

Everyone is a job seeker at some point in his life, so most people will be willing, happy and flattered to help others out in their job search. Who knows -- you may be tapped to be a job-search mentor one day.

Jamie's Career Tip of The Day

Today's Career Tip from Jamie:

Sitting in front of a computer applying for jobs on super sites is the least likely way to find  a job today. You need to step out of your comfort zone and push your limits. You cannot grow professionally if you do not try something new. Get up, get out and attend workshops and networking events.

Moving On After Getting Fired

Reposted from www.learnvest.com - Personal Finance Website

In order to capture the depth of nausea that I felt on the day that I got fired, you need to picture me sitting across from my boss in his glaringly sunny office. Then you need to envision giant tufts of wiry white hair sprouting out from the neck of his company logoed polo shirt.

If you look two feet behind him, you’ll see the star of the show: a dented box that every terminated person has received since the beginning of time. It looks as if someone has jumped up and down on it before hurling it at the brown particle board bookcase that it lays in front of—dead.

And, of course, there’s the company lawyer. I always forget about her. She didn’t say much, but I think she was there in case I decided to go from fired to disgruntled.

“This is difficult for me,” my boss says.

Counsel shakes her head solemnly as if someone just told her that she’d lost her designated parking spot.
“Very hard,” she agrees. We all sit there, saying nothing for several moments until my boss breaks the silence.
“Your position has been eliminated,” he announces, and then gestures to the box behind him as if to say, Time to pack!

The Makings of a “Dignity Plan”

Four months earlier, Bain Capital had acquired the small marketing company where I’d worked for 20 years. Rumors of a gigantic equity firm swooping in and pillaging our business had swirled for years, so when it finally happened, everything and everyone unraveled.

There were closed-door meetings filled with desperado eye contact. Passing someone in the hall was like seeing another prisoner in the weight yard. Several people had permanent expressions that telegraphed Help! I’m going bonkers.

During this delightful period, I started having heart palpitations. As a Vice President, I was involved in some strategic pow-wows, but my gut feeling was that I was on the short list to get booted.
I wasn’t the only one filled with paranoid dread. I remember being in the elevator with a colleague who admitted his fear of getting fired the minute the doors shut. I offered support, gave him the just-do-your-best speech—but he didn’t buy it.

Looking back, neither did I. That period of time was wrought with such hideous scrutiny and confusion that, even if I had been gung-ho about our new leader’s money-making agenda, I couldn’t have survived the ongoing soul-chafing chaos.

What I needed was a plan. Some kind of mission to muster a Post-it note’s worth of dignity that involved more than walking around looking like I was going to vomit.

I needed inner oomph.

My Dignity Plan came to me a month into the takeover. I’d just come from meeting with the new CEO, who prided himself on never eating lunch. As I shuffled back to my office, I saw a co-worker carrying a grungy box overflowing with her stuff. She looked stunned as the lawyer escorted her to the elevator.

That’s it, I thought. If I’m going down, I’m going down unencumbered. I made a decision to do a meticulous inventory of everything I’d accumulated. I was, on my last day, going to leave with a few photographs and my purse. I was determined to avoid cramming two decades’ worth of belongings into one of the discarded boxes that’d been piled in front of the freight elevator.

In retrospect, it was this instinct that held me together during the whole process. Concentrating on executing the slowest move known to mankind—filling my reusable Trader Joe’s bag with five or six items at a time—became a worthy distraction. It also allowed me to hit the ground running after I, indeed, was let go.
In fact, since getting fired, I’ve never been happier and more productive, doing what I’ve always dreamed of doing—writing. I credit my momentum and return back to the old, happy me to five top strategies I employed immediately after I got axed:

1. Say It Out Loud: “I Got Fired”

Then write about it. Getting fired is a traumatic experience and one way to process trauma is to put pen to paper and see what comes up. Venting about the whole odyssey in my journal grounded me. Unloading negative feelings helped me move forward in a way that felt focused, not panicked.

2. Make Time to Do Nothing or What You’ve Never Had Time To Do

Decompression is a balm for stress. Allowing yourself to have some down time will open up space in your I’m-in-shock mind and body. I started taking baths every night. I walked every morning. I read my 8,000 back issues of Oprah and Sunset. I cleaned out clutter and donated. This was all while I constructed my action plan, and created a budget that I knew would carry me through the time I was taking to refresh and renew.

3. Dream Big

Write down every place you’d ever want to work. Even if you have no training or degree for whatever it is that makes your heart sing, put it on your Dream Job List. Your list can be limitless. Mine was. I had everything from “anything nonprofit” (I’d just come from a corporate dungeon) to “truck driver” (talk about freedom).

4. Adopt a Five Actions Each Day Rule

Do at least five things daily that will work toward securing your dream job. If you don't know what your dream job is, do five things that feel momentum-creating, such as research, calls, book store or library trips—actions that keep new energy flowing.
Remember that genius woman you met at last year’s Christmas party who seemed totally fulfilled? Ask her to meet for coffee to divulge her secret. Until I got fired, I cringed at the thought of meeting strangers and “networking.” Now I think it’s what makes the world go ’round by keeping us connected and moving forward. The hints, jobs, leads, encouragement, ideas, and wisdom that I’ve gotten at coffee meetings have been invaluable.

5. Be Mercilessly Authentic

You remember who you are, right? What? You have no idea who you are away from the mind-numbing meetings and invalidating supervisor? Well, make it your mission to burrow your way back into your own head and spirit—and then listen and learn.
I spent so many years trying to please other people and meet goals (that I had no control over!) that I slowly disintegrated on many levels. Who am I? What do I want to do? Initially, these questions bounced off the walls, but after creating and following my plan, I got clarity. My favorite question when I contemplate something I want to achieve now: Why not me?

When I think back to my mission of avoiding the Walk of Shame, I can still feel how focused I was on saving myself from stuffing what was left of my self-worth into an odd-shaped box. When my boss told me that I had been “eliminated,” I was so mentally prepared that I practically floated back to my office, where I grabbed my purse and the only two picture frames that were left on my desk.
As I walked through the huge glass doors at the front of the building, and said goodbye to the security guard one last time, it was without one ounce of baggage. It was a wonderful, box-less stroll directly toward my next adventure.

Expanding Your Network

Whether you’re self-employed, employed, or looking for work, it’s important to maintain a network of contacts. Your personal network is comprised of friends, family, co-workers and others individuals who are supportive of your professional endeavors. Expand your network beyond your inner circle by stretching to make new connections.

 

 

 

Assess your resources. Some people in your network may be a great source of encouragement. Others may provide leadership and mentorship. Still others may offer valuable industry and career insights. Any of these individuals may be a resource when you need a referral or recommendation. Evaluate your network to determine what kinds of contacts you may be lacking, and then go in search of people with the potential to provide the support you need.

 

Connect online. Use a twitter account and online blog to add to the public discourse. Tailor your musings to information that relates to your industry or expertise. Maintain your LinkedIn page to include your skills, abilities and current projects or interests. Make sure all of your online identities are linked and add value.

 

Attend local functions. Look for local gatherings of like-minded professionals. You can seek out a group that is directly or indirectly related to your industry. For example, you might attend a meeting of your local chamber of commerce to meet business owners in your area. Or you can join Toastmasters to hone your public speaking skills and connect with others hoping to do the same.

 

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Renée A. Hanson, CFP®, CEP®, CDFA™, CFS, is a private wealth advisor with Hanson, Ayala & Associates, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Her passion is in helping women achieve their dreams and financial goals, regardless of life’s many obstacles. Renée is licensed/registered to do business with U.S. residents only in the states of AZ, CA, CO, GA, IA, IL, MI, MN, MT, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, PA, SC, TX, VA, WA, WI. Please visit: www.reneehanson.com to learn more.

 

Brokerage, investment and financial advisory services are made available through Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC. Some products and services may not be available in all jurisdictions or to all clients.

 

© 2010 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved.

Jamie's Career Tip of The Day

Jamie's Career Tip #4:

When starting a new job, make sure you are the first one in and one of the last people to leave for the day. You will be admired for your efforts and it is much easier for employers to promote from within.