WRITE TO EXCITE: Need A (Better) Job? Write!

Write to Excite with Peter Biadasz

In the past 3 months we have discussed your talent, your passion and controversy (Male or Female – Which is Superior?). Now we move onto a more personal topic, your job, or lack thereof.

If you find yourself unemployed, underemployed or just unhappy in your job/career you can utilize writing as a tool to drive you to the next level of success. No matter how you define success you will find that improving your writing skills in one or more of these areas will enrich your life both professionally and personally.

1 – Your Resume - It is amazing how many bad resumes exist amongst those who call themselves professionals. Many people think that their resume is merely a list of past employers and job responsibilities. Please remember that your resume is a marketing piece and that he product/service is YOU! When you or I buy a product or service we are buying results; we buy to answer “what’s in it for me?” Knowing that employers “buy” the same way, add to your resume your accomplishments. Lets face it, we all know what job titles are, what we don’t know is how you excelled in your job and how you added value to your position, your company and its employees. Review your resume today and add your accomplishments. You may find a better job as a result.

2 - Thank-you letters – Everyone likes to receive sincere thank-you letters. It makes us feel special, loved and alive with a purpose. People want to work with people who are not only competent, but make those around them feel good about themselves. Knowing this, I challenge you to write a thank-you note (not e-mail) and mail it to someone different everyday for 30 days. Thank you e-mails are ok, but do not have as much value as the experience of going to the mailbox, seeing that someone sent you some mail, holding an envelope addressed to you, opening up the envelope with anticipation and reading a signed than-you note. Add some joy to someone’s life today and write a thank-you note to those who have added joy to your life.

3 – Letters/e-mails to friends and family – Sometimes it is just good to get caught up with those that are important to us. We have all had the thought of getting in contact with someone “when things slow down”; but they never do slow down, do they? It is a reality that some people still feel very alone in spite have having so many people in their lives. Take some time everyday to write, e-mail or contact someone through social online media to caught up in what is going on in there life and let them know how you are doing. By doing so both of you both will be all the richer.

4 – Goals – Want to decrease your frustration level? Write out your goals. It is amazing how many people embark on this journey called life without their roadmap, which are their goals. Take a few minutes and write down 5 things that you want to accomplish in the next 6 months, both professionally and personally. In my public speaking life I give goal planning workshops, and we may devote an article to that. But in the mean time write down how you want your life to look, as well as a plan to achieve each goal.

5 - What you have always wanted to write – Take some time and write a piece you have always wanted to write; an article, poem, fiction or non-fiction book, etc. Get it out of your system and you may learn much in the process. My first article led to a book, which led now to 15 books and many more articles, and even to owning a publishing company, all in a few short years. You just never know where your first written piece will lead.

You will find that your writing will help you feel better about yourself and help others feel better about you. These attitudes combined with the learned in writing will be of great benefit as you word toward finding your dream job or profession. When you don’t know what to do, write to excite!

Peter Biadasz, author of such book as More Leads and Increase Your Sales And Lower Your Golf Score, as well as the newly released Write Your First Book, is President of Total Publishing And Media. To contact Peter about publishing or marketing your book feel free to contact him at Peter@TotalPublishingAndMedia.com

For more information, please visit Peter's TNNW Bio.

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WRITE TO EXCITE: Need A (Better) Job? Write!

CAREER MANAGEMENT: Managing Your Career in Turbulent Times

Career Management with Jason Alba

Wow, what a year! According to speculation we're headed into a rough and bumpy 2009. Not great news for those in a long job search, not to mention those in wounded industries (banks, mortgage, etc.).

Ouch.

With all that is happening around us I can safely predict two things:

1. We'll make it through this just fine.

2. We will learn from this, and events leading up to this point, and be more serious than ever about our personal career management.

Why will we make it through this just fine? Because we have pulled through bad times before, at a world, national or personal level. Think about life and morale during The Great Depression... I'm guessing it was worse than it is now. Now people are worried about cutting back on splurges, while then people where literally worried about how they were going to get the basics to survive day-by-day. I cannot fathom the depths of despair that so many experienced during The Great Depression.

When I got laid off I had a number of safety nets to rely on, including family, church and neighbors. My family was the recipient of giving and goodness from each of those safety nets, because when I got laid off the recession/depression was personal, and others had the means and the hearts to help sustain us.

I realize there are people who are homeless, or who are looking for that morsel of bread, but I do think there are so many programs in place between churches and the government that we aren't going to see mass starvation and poverty like we did almost a hundred years ago.

We have to make it through this. And we will.

And when we do, we have to be ready for the next one. We need to be prepared. Because hundreds of thousands of professionals with degrees and credentials got kicked out on the street, even though they were high performers, even though they made or saved their companies money, and even though they were so very close to retirement.

Why do we think our boss will protect us from layoffs when he or she has as much "job security" as we do??

I must come out more independent, and be more career management minded. We must do things "between job searches" so that when we are in a job search it is not as long and/or painful. Here are a few ideas of what we can do in 2009, whether we are in a job search or not:

1. Grow our network. It's not all about numbers, but having a network of 500 is more powerful than having a network of 5. Go to networking functions... get out of the house or office!

2. Nurture relationships. Get beyond superficial and develop, as Keith Ferrazzi would say, "intimate relationships." If you don't know what that is, go get Never Eat Alone from your local library.

3. Have $1,000 ready for lunches. Okay, maybe not easy to accumulate $1k while in a job search, but I was thinking when I was in transition again I'd love to have $1,000 earmarked just for lunches, breakfasts, coffees, etc. I want to get a contact in a place where they can't leave, so we can develop a deeper relationship... usually a meal helps with this :)

4. Keep my eyes open for target companies. Always consider where you might be working next, or what problems you might help solve next. It's better if you start working those target companies now, and continue to work them no matter what your employment status is.

These are career management tactics. Job search is another thing, but my point is I think we need to have much more of a long-term, career management focus than a short-term job search focus.

What do you think?

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Jason Alba developed JibberJobber.com to replace the job search spreadsheet. If you need help organizing a job search, or your professional contacts, check out JibberJobber.com. He also authored I'm on LinkedIn -- Now What??? and coauthored I'm on Facebook -- Now What???, both of which are designed to help professionals get more value out of these social networking tools. Learn more about Jason at http://twitter.com/jasonalba.

Purchase your copies of Jason's books by clicking the images below:

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CAREER MANAGEMENT: Managing Your Career in Turbulent Times

Networking Events: Push, Pull or Repulse?

By Jason Alba
Career Transition Editor

As you network, whether you in a job search or not, do you find you typically:

a. attract people towards you, and get leads, offers and information with little effort, or

b. have to work hard to help people understand what you do and why you could work together, or why they should consider you as some kind of subject matter expert, or

c. have nice first-conversations, but hardly ever get a second or third conversation?

When I speak about personal branding, I talk about the power of a strong personal brand, and how it can create a pull marketing strategy, as opposed to a push marketing strategy. In a pull marketing strategy, people already know what you have to offer, or your value, or somehow relate what they know they want/need with what you offer. They come to you and want to engage, without any further education. Think about the things you "run into the store for" ... things like toilet paper, toothpaste, deodorant, bread, milk... these are things you don't need any education on, you just buy them. This is an example of a pull scenario.

In a push scenario, education is needed. Have you ever gone to a grocery story or super store (Costco or Sam's) and walked by a display table where someone is ready to let you taste a new product? Most of the products I see aren't new (salsa, tacos, some microwaveable thing, etc.), but they are new product lines for a certain brand. The person displaying the product shares all the great things about the product, why you should buy it, the price, and where to find it. You didn't go to the store looking for that product, but hopefully with their information, and a sample of the product, you'll like it and buy it. This is an example of push marketing.

I've seen very successful pull-marketing strategies executed online. In fact, on my JibberJobber blog I have a monthly recognition for people who are touting their personal brand in a way that is or should be successful. These professionals are letting others know about their professional passions, in their profession or industry. They are giving a window into their breadth and depth, and allowing others to determine if they are subject matter experts of thought leaders (or full of hot air). Many of them are building communities, and creating conversation amongst their readers. When they need something, have an announcement, want ideas, they can turn to their community, who already respects them.

I've also seen successful pull-marketing tactics at face-to-face networking events. One of the most important pull-marketing tactics in a face-to-face networking event is simply a smile. Other things, such as a nice handshake, ability to engage in conversation, initiating a conversation, and not looking around the room anxiously to see who else you can talk with (someone more important than me), help in your pull-marketing in a face-to-face event. Don't think you need to be an extrovert in order to successfully network in person. Introverts can do just fine (especially if they don't try and be an extrovert during this time).

While a push-marketing strategy is harder, there are things you can do to make it successful. Make sure you polish your "elevator pitch" or "30 second commercial" or whatever you call it. The more refined your pitch is, and the more you practice it (so it rolls off the tongue naturally), the more you should have people say "really, tell me more about that." Continually hone your elevator pitch, and work on the communication after that "tell me more" question. Stay on-brand... don't wander into stories and areas that won't help your cause, as you might just get a few minutes with someone, and you don't want to waste that time on things that won't help take your relationship to the next level.

Another critical thing to do in a networking opportunity is to ask questions, and then LISTEN. If you ask someone "what do you do?" you need to then listen, and become engaged. Part of this relationship-building process is getting (listening) as much as giving (talking), and if you can't listen you may quickly be branded as the guy/gal who just talks about himself. That's the person who no one wants to network with.

Of course, beware of repulsing others. It may be as simple as a dead handshake, bad breath, continually looking around at others, name dropping, bragging, not knowing when to shut up (or stop talking about YOU YOU YOU), telling inappropriate jokes or stories, hogging someone's entire time, following them around... the list can go on and on. Don't come across as needy or disrespectful, or your relationship may never go to the next level.

Push, pull or repulse. The difference can be subtle, but successful strategies are always planned, and on purpose. Let me know what you are doing to have a successful push or pull strategy, or what you've seen people do to repulse you! E-mail me at Jason@JibberJobber.com.

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Jason Alba is the CEO and creator of JibberJobber.com, and author of “I’m on LinkedIn – Now What???” After a corporate downsizing impacted Jason in 2006, he experienced firsthand the difficulties of conducting a job search. Drawing on his extensive computer software and IT experience, Jason analyzed the job search process and developed JibberJobber.com, the gold standard in career management technology.

Widely acknowledged as a leading career management evangelist, Jason continues to spread the word to job seekers through his blog, JibberJobber.com/blog. He is co-author of “I’m on Facebook – Now What???”and offers tutorials on how to fulfill the role of being CEO of You, Inc.

Jason Alba is: CEO of JibberJobber.com Author of I’m on LinkedIn – Now What??? Co-author of I’m on Facebook – Now What??? Founder of CEO Training for Me Inc.

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Networking Events: Push, Pull or Repulse?