How to Get Your Next Promotion (or job) New Pluralsight Course

How to Get Your Next Promotion (or job) New Pluralsight Course My newest Pluralsight course is live, and you can get access to it for free (if you watch it, youll get another week of JibberJobber premium added to your account see the video at the bottom of this post to learn how to get free access). How to Get Your Next Promotion is designed to help individuals be more proactive about their careers. As a hiring manager, and a manager of developers, I would love for my employees to take this course.   Why?   Because this course encourages them to be more serious about improving themselves so they are promotable. That self-improvement will only help my team be more successful. Obviously, this course is totally applicable for job seekers as well as those who are currently employed. Heres the link:  http://www.pluralsight.com/courses/your-next-promotion Description and modules: This course is designed to help you whether you are interviewing for your next promotion this week, or you are planning on a promotion in the next year or two. The modules are: Your Career: Where You Are and Where You Want to Go (31 mins) The Plan: How to Get There (28 mins) Soft Skills: How to Prepare for Your Next Role (28 mins) Hard Skills: How to Prepare for Your Next Role (20 mins) Where Do We Go from Here? (17 mins) Want access to this, and my 20 other courses?  Want to get a week of JibberJobber premium every time you watch any of my courses?  Check this video out: How to Get Your Next Promotion (or job) New Pluralsight Course My newest Pluralsight course is live, and you can get access to it for free (if you watch it, youll get another week of JibberJobber premium added to your account see the video at the bottom of this post to learn how to get free access). How to Get Your Next Promotion is designed to help individuals be more proactive about their careers. As a hiring manager, and a manager of developers, I would love for my employees to take this course.   Why?   Because this course encourages them to be more serious about improving themselves so they are promotable. That self-improvement will only help my team be more successful. Obviously, this course is totally applicable for job seekers as well as those who are currently employed. Heres the link:  http://www.pluralsight.com/courses/your-next-promotion Description and modules: This course is designed to help you whether you are interviewing for your next promotion this week, or you are planning on a promotion in the next year or two. The modules are: Your Career: Where You Are and Where You Want to Go (31 mins) The Plan: How to Get There (28 mins) Soft Skills: How to Prepare for Your Next Role (28 mins) Hard Skills: How to Prepare for Your Next Role (20 mins) Where Do We Go from Here? (17 mins) Want access to this, and my 20 other courses?  Want to get a week of JibberJobber premium every time you watch any of my courses?  Check this video out:

Stepping Outside Her Comfort Zone Pays Off

Stepping Outside Her Comfort Zone Pays Off A student in my executive communications class is a well-spoken but introverted professional who works for a large healthcare organization. She’s been working hard on her public speaking skills, and it’s beginning to pay off for her career. Paula serves as a subject matter expert on a five-person executive project team within her company.   They are tasked with research on Healthcare Reform and get together regularly via video conference to report to a dozen senior management executives located throughout the state. Last week, Paula surprised her whole team by offering to be the spokesperson and deliver the report on the bi- weekly conference. She admitted to me that she’d lost sleep the night before rehearsing what she would say (somewhat productive) and fretting (not at all productive.) When the moment came for her to speak on the video conference, she had five minutes to deliver the group’s findings. She felt prepared because she’d taken the time to list her main points on paper (a great technique for introverts, who feel less comfortable speaking without notes.) No one on the conference could see her notes lying flat on her desk, and they barely noticed when she glanced down discreetly for her next point. The only moment that she wasn’t prepared for came when her video conference image went from thumbnail (comfortable and inconspicuous) to full screen as she became the main speaker for her five minutes.   She answered questions from the group about what she’d said and felt at ease, even without consulting her notes. She delivered flawlessly and was happy to return back to thumbnail size when someone else took the virtual floor. Paula felt a surge of confidence after her speaking part, but the conference wasn’t over. The extended group had an interactive discussion about a particularly thorny issue, contraceptive coverage for employees of religious organizations.   Paula had prepared some thoughts about how to solve the issue, but never felt comfortable jumping into the discussion.   The participants threw out lots of ideas, but none seemed to provide a comprehensive solution, and so the video conference ended without a resolution. After the conference, Paula received a called from her company’s Medical Director, praising her contribution on the video conference.   Paula, feeling empowered, offered her opinion on a solution to the contraceptive conundrum. Why not, she thought â€" mine can’t be any less helpful than what we’ve already heard. She asked if he had time to listen to her thoughts, and he did. “Why not?   No one else could figure it out,” he said.   She presented her solution and when she finished, he responded with dead silence. Oh no, she thought, was he even listening?   Did I make an incorrect assumption?   Did I blow it? It turns out that he was just processing. He startled her a moment later by shouting, “Brilliant! You nailed it!” The rush of relief Paula felt was only tempered by the thought that if she’d spoken up during the conference, everyone else would have heard him call her brilliant too. Many introverts never take the leap that Paula did, but her process can work for them as well. Here is what she did right: She volunteered well in advance so she could control the time and place she presented. She prepared in advance and put notes down on paper so she would remember her main points under pressure. She used her notes in a way that made her feel confident, but wasn’t obvious to her audience. It’s not easy for introverts to break into lively discussions, and it’s not unusual for them to prefer to present their ideas after the group breaks up. Paula may have also chosen to send a detailed email with her solution to her boss or to the group, but she took advantage of the opportunity for a discussion when it came up.  A great follow up would have been to email a summary of her solution to him after the call; that way, her ideas can be forwarded to the group under her name. Her senior team member’s pleased reaction to her will certainly make her feel more confident about expressing her thoughts in the future. As they hung up, he said, “Paula, you really know your stuff.   You need to speak up more often in meetings.” I have the feeling she will from now on.

The Missing Ingredient of Achievement

The Missing Ingredient of Achievement Today, a lot of people are focused on achieving great things in their careers and businesses, yet all too often we set ambitious goals thinking they will fulfill us to find that upon reaching the final destination there’s something missing in that, the achievement we experience is not enough to satiate our emotional need for something missing in our life. As an ambitious person you might fall into the group known as “overachievers”.  This group of people tend to be very intelligent, focused and highly effective in terms of their career and business, perhaps even their personal life too, but the goals they set and expectations they place upon themselves don’t always come from the healthiest of places. The Missing Ingredient Indeed, many people feel the “need” to achieve as a way to feel “good enough”.  This is often deep routed in their upbringing and is the type of thing a counselor would spot from a mile off, yet the average person might not be able to connect the dots with meaning, overachievers live this way for a very long time; often achieving amazing things on their journey but never feeling truly fulfilled or proud of themselves due to an overriding sense of low self esteem. In this sense, the missing ingredient of achievement is often a feeling of personal pride and self-esteem.  Of course, many people upon completing a task feel an instant hit of serotonin and dopamine from the intense emotions connected with reaching the summit and achieving their goal, but this tends to be short lived, and soon the overachiever will be looking for their next conquest in order to feel more worthy and successful. The Achievement Chase This can create a subtle addiction to achievement, meaning, people are rarely happy to stay still and appreciate where they are; they’re always looking for the next big thing to achieve jumping from summit to summit constantly in a state of climbing, with little appreciation of where they are and what they’ve become. In a nutshell, chasing achievement can feel a somewhat insatiable quest where similar to a drug addict that requires bigger and bigger hits to feel the same effect of the drug they are taking, an overachiever requires more and more success to feel good about themselves. Overachieving Now, there’s nothing bad about being an overachiever”, indeed it can be a fantastic attribute that fuels your success in life but it’s worth taking a few moments to question where the insatiable hunger for success, validation, achievement and significance comes from.  The reason this is important is that we live in such a success focused world that we feel we “need” to be successful in our career or business in order to be happy. Of course, there’s some truth in this, but have you ever noticed that everyone’s definition of success varies; for some people, being the best mother they can be to their child on the metric of love, acceptance and engagement is success to them; we all have a blueprint for what success looks like, and the idea of having to achieve huge things to be successful is a myth of the modern age. At the core of over-achievement is that sometimes people feel the need to “achieve” in order to feel worthy of receiving love, recognition and respect from other people. Good Enough Today, society is riddled with this feeling of “not being good enough” as we are as this is what encourages people to go out and get plastic surgery or spend thousands on beauty creams… it’s a great marketing tool, yet when it comes to your personal happiness, living in a world where we are encouraged to feel “not enough” is creating an epidemic of people with low self esteem. Whilst this insecurity can be a good thing, in that it pushes us, as a human race to evolve and create.  Indeed, without a sense of insecurity we would rest on our laurels and nothing would get done; for we wouldn’t push ourselves if we didn’t have a nagging sense of needing to do more, have more, be more and experience more in life… yet, it can also leave us feeling exhausted. There needs to be a good balance. Arrogance If you’ve ever come across an arrogant or conceited person, they might seem confident on the outside but in reality they tend to be very wobbly on the inside to the point they often build walls around them and wear masks of achievement to fortify their inner vulnerability; indeed arrogance often comes from a place of not feeling good enough on the inside, and is a form of overcompensation for the lack of internal confidence they feel. If you notice, truly successful people are often quite humble when talking about their achievement; okay, they might have some fancy toys and great clothes, but when you get down to the depth of that person (for instance in a TV interview) the majority of truly successful people are quite humble and modest. The reason for this is that they have found the missing ingredient that so many people chasing achievement lack; that of self-love. Self Love Louise Hay, an expert on this area of states: “When I talk about loving ourselves, I mean having a deep appreciation for who we are. We accept all the different parts of ourselvesâ€"our little peculiarities, the embarrassments, the things we may not do so well, and all the wonderful qualities, too.” The point being that when we love ourselves, as we are, rather than for what we have, or for what have achieved… we free ourselves of the “need to achieve” meaning we achieve things from a much healthier place than those with a compulsive craving for success. In this sense, our feeling of self-worth and self-confidence wants to come from a place of self-acceptance rather than being contingent on a crutch such as a fancy car, successful business, or big home.  All these things can be taken away from you, which is why so many people facing bankruptcy, for instance, contemplating ending it all… because they associate their self-worth with their sense of achievement; but true self-worth comes from loving and accepting yourself exactly as you are.

Taking a Change Agent Role

Taking a Change Agent Role Guest Post By Brian Engard In today’s business environment, change is closely linked with success. Businesses must adapt to a landscape in constant flux. As technology and society change, so too must companies that wish to thrive. A change agent can drive this evolution, ensuring that a company stays one step ahead of the curve. Characteristics of a Change Agent While different companies place value on  different types of change, the people who successfully drive those changes have a number of qualities in common. MOTIVATION In order to lead a change, you must want that change to occur. You must be motivated to do the hard work required to bring about a change.  Switch and Shift  identifies one of the  most important qualities  of a change agent as influence: the ability to get others to buy into the need for change and, ultimately, to help usher it in. A big part of being able to influence others is motivation. If you’re motivated to work hard for a change, you demonstrate it in your words and behavior. Others see your motivation and are affected by it; they may, in turn, become motivated. Motivation can lead to innovation and collaboration, and can also sustain a group when the going gets tough. But motivation is only the beginning. EXPERIENCE It’s easy to want to make a change, but it’s also common to not know how to bring that change about. Experience is required to be able to formulate a plan and implement it. Experience within a company can give you what  Forbes  refers to as “cultural intelligence:” knowing how the organization works, how it’s likely to respond to change and how to best trigger motivation in others. This experience is vital when it comes to working on the details of a plan for change and carrying that plan out. Effective change agents must be familiar with technology and business practices and must be able to draw from a variety of perspectives. Surrounding yourself with people from different generations and backgrounds, all of whom have differing views on the needs of the organization and its employees, can help give you necessary information that you can use to help drive a change. PERSPECTIVE Working to develop the experience to effectively implement a change helps you gain another necessary quality of a change agent: perspective. As a leader, you are afforded a wider view of the organization and a clearer picture of where it’s come from and where it’s headed. Knowing these things and tailoring your approach accordingly is important to ensuring that a change is a net positive for the organization. Not every change is a good change, and having enough information and clarity to determine whether a change will help is vital for any change agent. STRATEGIC VISION You can use motivation, experience and perspective to contribute to an overall strategic vision for the change and the organization. Motivation for change is good and necessary but, as  Switch and Shift  says, “If you don’t know where you want your organization to go, how you want your employees and customers to grow, and what your plan is to get there â€"  your intentions don’t really matter.” In other words, every change you try to usher into the organization must be intentional, both in idea and in implementation. You must know what problem you’re addressing with the change, how the change will solve or alleviate that problem and how the organization will get from point A to point B. LEADERSHIP SKILLS Of course, strategic vision is only as good as your ability to communicate it and its importance to the organization’s members.  TheManager.org  lists  15 important leadership qualities  that change agents must exhibit to be successful, from networking to team-building to negotiation and communication. A good leader is able to communicate the strategic vision clearly and impress upon employees why it’s important to follow it. Further, an effective leader and change agent is able to provide training, feedback and guidance when necessary. Being able to keep the big picture in mind is vital, but so is the ability to work with individual employees, address their needs and concerns, and reward them for a job well-done or celebrate their victories. AGENCY WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION Finally, a good change agent has the authority to implement the change itself and the backing of the organization’s management. All the motivation, experience, strategic vision and leadership skills in the world are irrelevant if the leadership structure of the company is actively fighting your efforts. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the company’s leaders understand the need for change initially; according to  TheManager.org, people are good change agents precisely because they question the conventional wisdom of the organization. At first, organizations often resist this. However, a change agent with the requisite skills and agency within the company can work to convince leaders of the need for change and get their support. Becoming a Business Leader Companies and organizations need highly skilled individuals to be effective change agents. With an  online MBA  from Campbellsville University, you can learn the skills you need to adapt to the ever-evolving landscape of modern business. Or with an  online management and leadership degree, you can ensure you have the qualities necessary for leadership roles. In our flexible online environment, you can learn on a schedule that accommodates your busy life.

Want to Win the Hiring War Treat Employees Like Assets, not Expenses CareerMetis.com

Want to Win the Hiring War Treat Employees Like Assets, not Expenses â€" CareerMetis.com Photo Credit â€" Pexels.comA booming economy combined with high-employment is a double-edged sword, especially for small businesses looking to grow. Hiring when times are good means a shrinking selection and fierce competition for talent. But it’s not all bad.Employees from big corporationsare more likely to go to smaller companies. They cite the close-knit, familial feelof a smaller company as the reason for the preference, as well as the access to leaders and the opportunities to learn and see the impact of what they do.Is pay always the deciding factor for employees, and if so, why? What benefits are important to employees? What incentives do they seek?evalQuickBooks Payroll surveyed 1,000 employees from small businesses with 20 employees or fewer in more than 600 locations across the U.S. to find out.Money belies a bigger struggleDespite being at their current job for only 24 months or less, 47 percent of respondents from the QuickBooks Pay and Benefits Reportsay they’re unde rpaid, and 43 percent say they will most likely be switching to a new job in the next two years.When asked to choose between pay and benefits:55 percent would accept a job with no benefits.61 percent says they would give up benefits for a base pay raise.If it’s not obvious why employees would accept a job with no benefits or give up benefits for a pay raise, consider this: 40 percent of Americans struggle to payfor food, housing, and even utilities, while 60 percent confess to not having enough in savingsto cover a $1,000 emergency.One in 5 has no retirement savingsat all. But it’s not just about not making enough money to make ends meet.Wages: A seed that grows But it wasn’t always this way. For more than two decades after World War II, pay rose in tandem with productivity. The Economic Policy Institute Questionable practices further come into light from 25 percent of those who say they’re eligible for overtime, but their employer refuses to pay them for it. This number cou ld be higher, as 16 percent of those who say they’re not eligible for overtime to say they’re misclassified.What’s valued? Raises, healthcare, and flexibilityThere is some good news: 74 percent of the respondents in the QuickBooks survey say they got a raise in 2018 at a 9 percent average increase. When pitted against dental, vision, retirement savings, and wellness benefits, healthcare is the most desirable benefit among respondents. And of those who do get benefits, 1 in 3 says benefits have improved.When asked about an incentive they’d want most, 76 percent want a flexible working schedule. But a flexible working schedule doesn’t always mean working from home.In another survey from TSheets by QuickBooks, employees appreciate the ability to come in late or leave early not just as a great perk but as a catalyst for productivity.Bet on your people, and they’ll back your business In accounting, “assets” and “expenses” carry very different weights. The best assets not only don’t depreciate, but their value grows over time. An expense, on the other hand, is something with a short shelf-life, something that you spend money on. Think rent, utilities, and stationery.In business, your employees affect every aspect of your operation, from service quality to product, culture, and even reputation.Thirty-one percent of the respondents in the QuickBooks survey has been with the company for six years or more, suggesting retention is possible even for small businesses. And treating your employees as an investment may be the mindset you need to win in this war for talent.

CROP SO YOU POP Turbocharge Your Headshot - CareerEnlightenment.com

This is particularly true for placements like LinkedIn or other social media outlets where profile photos are compact in size, but critical in function. Consider  Kirsten’s  photo below, shown here in two different versions of the ubiquitous square crop.As you can see, both follow the Rule of Thirds you may remember learning about in grade school art class, with key points of interest (eyes) at convergence points and extra credit available for leading lines in/out of corners.Okay, so maybe the Rule of Thirds is a lazy interpretation of 13th century mathematician Leonardo Fibonaccis Divine Ratio(1:1.618), around which some of the most famous buildings and works of art in history are designed, including the Parthenon, the Mona Lisa, and many others.Whatever its lack of sophistication, Ive found the Rule of Thirds works just fine for headshots.Here, you can see both images in relative balance with their boundaries; one retaining the top of the head and the other losing it.  This is wh ere the proverbial rubber meets the road. Look at the area inside the red squares, which reflects the percentage of the overall image dedicated to Kirstens face.With nearly  double  the area available for expressionâ€"up from 15% to 27%â€"not only can we see more of the sparkle in her eyesbut more of the imaginative, insightful, independent qualities she identifies as the core of her personal brand.Now that weve established the fact that losing the top of your head can nearly  double  your headshot’s personal branding power, the question you  should  be asking yourself is:Why didnt my photographer cut off mine?LIMITED TIME OFFER:  Shoot me an email  including your current headshot and I will unleash a little headshot ninjutsu to croptimize it for you  free of charge.  Just remember, anything times zero is still zero. Wondering if your headshot is a brand liability? Ill give it to you straight

Resume Templates Make it Easy to Get a Resume Off the Ground

Resume Templates Make it Easy to Get a Resume Off the GroundWhen you are trying to get your resume noticed and into the review process, you might be wondering what advantages should you look for in resume templates. Your resume should reflect the kind of professional that you are, so that when a potential employer goes through the piles of other resumes he or she will actually find something that they like.Most people use resume templates to keep their resume clean and organized. It is one of the easiest ways to keep a resume fresh because it is easy to change and it is not necessarily a permanent solution. The employer can easily go back through your resume at any time they like if they don't like the changes.Templates make it very easy to get a resume off the ground. You can get a template online that you can print off and create your own. There are also many different free resume templates available on the Internet, but it's wise to have a working knowledge of the computer and a p rinter because you will be using this template throughout your career.Some of the most popular resume templates are MS Word 2020, Microsoft Publisher, Quicken, Electronic Blueprints, and AppCon. These are great templates because they come pre-formatted, making them very easy to use. Most resume templates also allow you to add notes, which makes it easier to add a little something extra to each resume. This information is crucial to an employer to make sure that you are someone they would hire based on your skill set.There are a lot of resume templates available on the Internet but it's important to be cautious. You need to have a good knowledge of how to use a computer, and the ability to print your resume at a later date, if needed. You also need to make sure that the resume template that you select can handle Microsoft Word 2020 formatting, which is the latest version.Using the MS Word 2020 template is the best way to start because it is a standard format that you can use for all versions of Microsoft Word, including the 2020 version. This format is also compatible with Word for iPad and Google Docs.If you are planning on getting more than one template, be sure to buy a template that will work for you and your type of work. While you want your resume to show the employer who you are and what you are capable of, it is important to keep the resume organized.If you need more than just a standard resume template, be sure to buy more than one at a time so that you can find the ones that will work best for you. Since resume templates come in many different versions, it can be difficult to find the right one. Using a standard format will make it easier to find the right template for you because it will help you organize your resume.