Work, success, and meaning at every stage of your career
“What salary are you looking for?” Everyone hates the question. Everyone. Talking about salary is awkward for most jobseekers, and for good reason. If you mention a figure that’s too low, you leave money on the table if you get the offer – and that’s the best case scenario.
I admit it; I can’t think when things around me are in disorder. And I have trouble believing people who claim that clutter doesn’t affect them at all. When things are a mess, your brain can’t make sense of the visual landscape – you literally have too much information in front of you. This visual static keeps your brain from working on problems efficiently. For some people, this produces a sort of numbness – they feel like their brain is wrapped in a thick blanket. For others, it’s an irritant- they feel constantly strung out and stressed without knowing exactly why. Either way, the clutter has got to go.
There’s something about fall and back to school season that makes all of us think about fresh starts. Summer is a lull in career and school activity; the rules don’t apply. We go to the beach, bask in the pool in the back yard, or travel on vacation. We stop wearing shoes (and as many clothes as possible) and generally relax. It’s not uncommon for jobseekers to take the summer off to spend time with family and relax. If you’ve done this, it’s time to get back to work on your job search.
Do What You Are is one of the books I always reach for when I work with jobseekers. On his website, Tieger says that career advice has traditionally been based on “a good match for the jobseeker’s values, interests and skills.” There’s only one problem with this approach, Tieger says: it doesn’t work.
If you’re still sending resumes that simply re-hash your job duties, it’s going to be hard to stand out in this economy. Your resume pages (usually one or two at the most) should be considered valuable real estate. Any words or phrases that don’t pull their weight should be eliminated so you can fill the space with accomplishments.
Of course you’re on LinkedIn. Every serious job seeking professional is. LinkedIn operates the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with more than 120 million members in over 200 countries and territories. According to the site’s founder, professionals are signing up to join LinkedIn at a rate that is faster than two new members per second. But if you’re like many users, you set up a profile a while ago and haven’t gone back in to update it. The site is adding new features all the time, and if you’ve not been paying attention, you’re missing out on some great opportunities.
Facebook is constantly changing its privacy settings and controls, so your Facebook page may be more visible than you think. Here are some of the bad ideas I’ve seen lately – bad, that is, if you’re in a job search and hoping someone is ready to hire you.
Current smartphone models are not just made to call and text; they can also act as your personal assistant. And for users in a job search, well, there’s an app for that. Several, in fact.
Once in a great while, I’ll run into someone who asks for advice, but then rejects every offering. “I tried that once; it didn’t work.” “I can’t do that; I have no (insert resource here.)” “I don’t know how to (find, do, spell; insert another verb here) that.” When I come across these people, their responses are usually immediate and firm. I get the impression that I have not been helpful, and I certainly don’t feel good. Worse, I sometimes hear that other advisors, who I know to be smart and helpful, “were no help at all to me.” I’d hate to think that someone was saying that about me.
The Floor One relationship is usually transactional in nature. We encounter dozens of people a week with whom we exchange simple greetings: the barista at Starbucks, the mailman, the clerk who checks us out at the market. We ask “How are you today” without really expecting much of an answer, and others respond with “Fine, thanks” no matter what they’re really feeling or thinking.
