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Finding Your Big Comfy Chair to Career Success - Part 1
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All of us have career strengths, life passions, unique personality traits and a myriad of talents that help make us successful in our careers and lives.
Sometimes, however, these talents are not always seen by others and believed in by us. As I have been discussing in my previous two Examiner articles, one of the top ways to show our best is to better define our personal brand.
Over the next week, please visit my page for a two-part resiliency discussion on finding “Your Big Comfy Chair of Career Success.” Please let me know what you think…
Part 1
Knowing and being comfortable with your personal brand will empower you to stay career – and life – resilient as you search for your next great opportunity. It also allows you to be comfortable in what I call “Your Big Comfy Chair of Career Success.” The four legs of your comfy chair are defining your unique personal brand, learning the art/science of great networking, implementing rock solid job search/consulting techniques, and last but certainly not least, is staying focused while continuing to have fun in your life.
Once you feel comfortable in your comfy chair the sky is truly the limit for your professional – and personal – success. To help build your strengths, let’s look at the first two “legs” of your chair: (The other two legs will be discussed next week in a separate article.)
Your personal brand. While you think of branding for Coca-Cola or the golden arches of McDonald’s, defining your personal brand may mean the difference in finding your next great career and life success.
For me, I’ve just taken a simple sheet of paper and wrote down the skills I believe differentiate myself to others – whether it is my work colleagues or my employer. This has included identifying my key strengths, my passions, my personality traits, and the talents I’ve used successfully in the past.
Some of us are not rock stars, but all of us have core competencies that are recognized and respected by our peers, employers and friends. Once you are clear on your strengths, be sure to incorporate your accomplishments and the results you have achieved into your resume.
Make sure your resume screams, “I’m a get-the-job-done kind of person.” Use the actions = results formula, hitting only your major accomplishments and noting the experience you have that is necessary to do the job. Action verbs like directed, created, and implemented are powerful, so start each sentence with one.
This also translates to interviews. No one will know your strengths and personal brand unless you tell them. Your confidence and passion will come through to everyone – and give you a better chance of landing your dream job!
- The second leg is Networking, Networking, Networking! National surveys indicate that more than 80 percent of jobs today are found through networking.
Whether you are an introvert like me or an extrovert, the key is you need to see the value (eight out of 10 jobs connected) of meeting people and not be afraid to do it.
It was quite daunting at first for me. In addition to being an introvert, I also have a physical disability (Cerebral Palsy) that makes me more shy in meeting people - especially strangers.
While I love all my extroverted friends, I am here to tell you that networking can work great even for those of us who are less “magically” inclined. Plain and simple: Networking is just meeting people to discuss potential common interests.
When I came back to my home state of Minnesota a number of years ago from Chicago, I did not have a job and had few connections. Within a reasonable period of time, I found a great non-advertised job through networking. Because of my effort, I was working for one of the respected companies in the world.
This was back before Linkedin, Facebook or Twitter to help the networking process.
Here is how I successfully networked then and how it can be applied today for your next great work adventure.
I happened to belong to an industry association when returning to the Twin Cities. I looked up ion its web site the e-mail addresses of more than 400 members and separately e-mailed all of them saying, “I’m in the process of looking for a new position and would appreciate your advice and counsel as I look for my next fantastic place to work.”
Everyone loves to give advice and I received more than 150 e-mails from members saying they would help me. More than 100 said they would enjoy personally meeting me at a coffee shop or restaurant to discuss my needs.
A few other tidbits:
1, Never ask your contacts for a job upfront, but provide them with a statement of the work you are looking for and a resume they can look through. If they have something, you’ll hear about the position. Networking, initially, is getting to know the person so they remember you when a position crosses their desk or they see something over the Internet.
2, While not asking for a job initially, you must ask if they could connect you with at least two other folks from their network. Seeking other people’s names/contact info is less threatening to them and shows your true desire to ask for their advice and counsel.
3. Always ask the person if they would provide short e-mail introductions to their contacts. This will give you instant credibility with those you will be contacting. They know the person you networked with, and that person has said what a nice person you are, etc.
4. Meet your network contacts at places and times convenient for them. Have them suggest a spot, and they will feel more comfortable.
5. Always e-mail them after your networking meeting thanking them for the advice and potential contacts. Also, ask them if you could stay in contact periodically and maybe meet again at some later point.
6. When you first connect with your networker’s contacts, make sure to reference your networking contact's name and what a nice person he/she is. This will connect you with that person as the new contact decides whether he/she has time to network or will be able to provide you with an informational interview.
7. Repeat the same processes with every person that becomes a part of your network. Be patient and don’t be concerned the person does not get back to you right away. He/she may be extremely busy, and they may value your true patience with them.
8. Additionally, always let the people you meet with know you are more than willing to help them network or get connected with your contacts if they, at some point, are looking for a new position.
Because remember: A fantastic networker understands that connecting is not a one-way street. Providing two-way support will show your willingness to go the extra mile and will probably be memorable to your “network.”
9. One last to do: Become active in a relevant industry association as part of your current position at work, volunteer activities or personal interests. This will give you visibility in an association, and you could personally meet a lot of folks who might be able to help in the future.
As you craft your career strategies, you may want to start with this advice. Next week, look for an article about the other two legs in your big comfy chair. These, again, are implementing rock-solid job search/consulting techniques, and staying focused while continuing to have fun in your life.
For further advice on career and life resiliency, please check out my award-nominated blog - http://resiliencyfirst.com.
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