10 Habits Assuring Career Self-Sabotage

by: John McKee

Expert's Classic “Fatal Flaws” of a Doomed Employee...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You're fired! This succinct phrase strikes more fear into the heart of the working man than any other. Why is it, then, that many well-intentioned and reasonably astute professionals hear these words chronically throughout their career despite all best efforts? Below are the top 10 self-destructive workplace habits sure to endanger one's longevity on the job.

Even with this small amount of insight, many aspiring professionals can learn how to maintain their good standing in the workplace and actually excel on the job rather than self-destruct. Employee turnover hurts not only those receiving their ‘walking papers', but employers as well since this is a costly, through avoidable, expense.

With this in mind, serial “Labor Losers” can benefit by knowing these 10 key ways to get your self canned:

1. Failing to have a life plan - All very successful people have a clear life plan, whether memorized or actually written down. They create it, massage it, and refer to it often.

2. Not keeping your skill set current - The business landscape is ever-changing and there is more demand for jobs than supply. Not staying on par with colleagues and those vying for your job will be a deathnell.

3. Failing to deliver results - Winners in business know that it's all about accountability. Those who harbor a sense of entitlement for simply having put forth effort, irrespective of the results of those efforts, are guaranteed to fall by the wayside.

4. Confusing efficiency with effectiveness - Those who think that communicating via e-mail replaces the need to actually talk with people around them fail to recognize the importance of personally connecting with others in today's highly automated and technological environment. Communicating in person whenever possible is imperative for success-seekers.

5. Believing that you are irreplaceable - There is no room for “divas” in the workplace. As soon as you convince yourself that you and only you can do the job “right”, your star will surely start to fall.

6. Knowing all the answers - The old adage remains true: knowledge is power. Professing to know it all can readily stagnate a career. Winners remain unceasingly interested in learning new ideas and approaches.

7. Surrounding your self with “brown-nosers” - Losers like having people tell them how smart they are, whether or not it's true, while successful managers and other professionals accept and encourage intelligence and creativity in others.

8. Forgetting to give credit to others - Losers inappropriately take full credit for positive events despite the help or input received by others, while Winners give credit where credit is due. Losers inevitably reap what they sow.

9. Failing to self promote - Bragging is one thing, but letting colleagues throughout your industry know of your success through case studies, promotion bulletins, or other such tools is quite another. Losers often fail to recognize the importance of letting others know about their successes, or go about it in entirely the wrong way.

10. Losing perspective - Intuitive business people recognize that, despite their best attempts to do everything right, sometimes they approach roadblocks and seek the advice and perspective of a respected friend, colleague or even a business coach. Those who fail to recognize their shortcomings are destined for the unemployment line.

Article Source:

http://www.bestmanagementarticles.com
http://entrepreneurship.bestmanagementarticles.com

About the Author:
John McKee, a certified business and executive coach and Author of “21 Ways Women in Management Shoot Themselves in the Foot”, is the expert and visionary behind BusinessSuccessCoach.net, an online destination for professionals who aspire to maximize their success in business. He can be reached through his Web sites at www.businesssuccesscoach.net and www.businesswomanweb.com.

The Job Seeker’s Dilemma: Is it time to change career direction?

Today’s job market is tough. Millions of people are looking for jobs for the first time in years.  They’re looking for jobs that don’t seem to exist. Recruiters don’t return phone calls. Job seekers are fed up and frustrated. They wonder if all the effort is ever going to pay off and if it’s time to change careers. You might be wondering the same thing. But, it seems so risky in this economy.

If you are experiencing these feelings, it might be time for a career change:

• You’ve always been interested in other career areas but went with the “safe” route and now you feel burned out
• You don’t enjoy your work anymore and you wonder what other options are out there for you
• You feel stuck and stagnant
• You are finding fewer and fewer jobs available in your industry
• You’re over-qualified for the jobs that are available in your industry
• You feel the effort to get a new job in your industry is more than you want to undertake

How do you know if now is a good time to change career direction?

The reality is that job loss and job creation are natural components of the world of work. It happens all the time to varying degrees.  So there probably isn’t one perfect time to change jobs or careers. The decision depends a lot on your personal situation.

Before launching a job search or career change, though, there are several important steps to take which I also outline in my career guide and audio program, Fast Track Your Career: Three Steps for Finding Work You Love.

Gaining Personal InsightBefore you change careers, you need to figure out what you want. By assessing your current situation you can determine what you need in your career to be satisfied. Analyze your values, skills, personality characteristics, interests, and lifestyle preferences. It’s also useful to take inventory of your financial situation, especially if the career you’re considering might require additional education and training or relocation.

Getting a Reality Check
A critical mistake in making a career change is making the leap without getting enough career information. By exploring career possibilities you’ll be able to identify options that are best suited to your personal attributes and preferences. There are online and print resources you can use to learn about job outlooks and industry trends. The people in your network can also be great sources for information about trends and opportunities in various career fields. In addition, they can make introductions and give you referrals.

Charting Your Career Path
After you’ve done some self-assessment to learn what you want in a career and done career research to generate options, you have to make a decision about next steps. Your transition and job search plans will guide you to successfully getting the job you want and expanding your professional network. You’ll also need to update your resume, cover letter, and other support materials and fine-tune your interviewing and networking skills.

People change jobs or careers in search of greater satisfaction. By following the steps outlined above, you  will increase your chances for finding a career that better suits your personal goals and uses your talents in meaningful ways.

If you're thinking about a career change, purchase the The Fast Track Your Career: Three Steps for Finding Work You Love career guide and audio program today. You will go through a step-by-step exploration and planning process by completing several exercises, so you can get clear about your career direction.

Special thanks to Andrea Delgado for contributing to this article. For more than 10 years, Andrea, was a program manager at an international development organization during which time she held multiple positions involving program and grant management and administrative support.  Andrea has been networking to find employment opportunities and has considered a career change into the private sector. Her dream job would take her into the international financial arena analyzing economic policy and regulations. Andrea has her M.A. degree in International Political Economy and Development from Fordham University; a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Politics & Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts at Boston and a B.A degree in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst."
Andrea can be contacted on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/pub/andrea-delgado/10/3b6/717

 

(ArticlesBase SC #975794)

Markell R. Steele, Career Counselor

 

About the Author:
Markell Steele is a career counselor, owner of Futures in Motion, Inc. and author of Fast Track Your Career: Three Steps for Finding Work You Love. She helps frustrated job seekers find career direction so they can get the job they want in less time with less stress. Request the free SPECIAL REPORT: 6 Tips for Discovering the Work You Love by Working With a Career Counselor- http://tinyurl.com/d9jk8y

Source:  http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/the-job-seekers-dilemma-is-it-time-to-change-career-direction-975794.html

Why Can't I Find a Job?

By: Frank Traditi

If you earned a dollar each time you asked yourself that question, your money problems would disappear, right?

There's a good reason why. It's the alarming fact that most people are never taught how to look for work. They may learn how to interview, write their resume, or take a career assessment, but these are individual skills useful at some stage of the process. The job search process itself is rarely included in school curricula or taught at career and placement centers. So instead of designing an effective job search campaign, the typical job-seeker begins looking for work by reading ads in the newspaper or postings in the Internet.

Sadly, the U.S. Department of Labor reports that between 74-85% of all jobs are never advertised. According to a Forrester Research study, 73% of the people who find work locate their job by a method other than applying for an advertised position. It's no wonder that job-seekers spend so many months on their job search, or become so frustrated that they give up looking for work. They are looking in all the wrong places.

Successful job-seekers refuse to ask that dreaded question of themselves or others. Instead, they consistently employ four key principles throughout every job search. Each principle is critical on its own. But to successfully land the job they want, they know that each one interacts with and supports the other.

The Four Key Principles of Successful Job Seekers  

1. Use job search strategies that work. Two of the biggest challenges job-seekers face are knowing which job search approaches are the most effective, and figuring out where to start in finding job opportunities. Successful job-seekers know that any approach that helps them find and connect with the right people will eventually land them the job they want. Answering want ads and Internet postings are a waste of time. Developing relationships through networking, referrals, informational interviewing, and recruiters gets them closer to, if not right on top of, their ideal job. They know that in a competitive job market, they cannot rely on passively looking for positions already advertised. They actively market themselves to the people who are likely to hire them.

2. Stick to a step-by-step, action-oriented process. The typical job-seeker quickly becomes overwhelmed by his or her job search. There are million things to do, places to look, and people to talk to, but they don't have a system for putting the pieces together. Job-seekers who know the score, design and implement a game plan that includes setting a specific and attainable goal, actions steps to take every day or week, and a system to track their progress. If they don't realize the results they want to achieve, they don't abandon this plan. Rather, they make adjustments that get them back on track.

3. Stay motivated in face of frustration and rejection. Rejection letters, no return calls, and outdated information are all part of the normal working day of a job-seeker. Most people get frustrated and angry with this every-day occurrence and give up. The successful job-seeker sees this as opportunity or a positive learning experience. They don't let the fear of rejection get in the way of their progress. By sticking to their plan, they don't give up during the job search. They are motivated by the goals they've set and nothing will deter them from that accomplishment.  

4. Know when to ask for help. Looking for a job can sometimes be the loneliest job in the world. Uncertainty and doubt set in with many a job-seeker when things don't go right. Perhaps even a sense of pride sets in and the thought of asking someone for help makes them feel like a charity case. Conversely, successful job-seekers know that they cannot do this alone. They stack the odds in their favor by adding some outside help to their job search campaign. They want to be accountable to someone other than themselves. They need to get a different point of view, or perspective, on their progress or challenges. And, they seek out support from people who care about their progress or help them develop the tools they need to win.

The next time you ask yourself or someone else, "why can't I find a job," you now know all is not lost. Implementing a solid action plan, sticking to your goals, and seeking help when you need it most, puts you in charge of your destiny. Simply put, you are just a few steps away from being a success.  

Copyright © 2005, Frank Traditi


Frank Traditi is the co-author of Get Hired NOW!: A 28-Day Program for Landing the Job You Want. He is an author, speaker, career strategist, and executive coach with more than 20 years of experience in management, sales, and marketing for Fortune 500 companies. Frank works with talented professionals to design a game plan for an extraordinary career. For a copy of his free guide "How to Find a Job in 28 Days or Less," visit www.gethirednow.com

Read more free articles by C.J. Hayden and Frank Traditi or subscribe to the Get Hired NOW! E-Newsletter.

How to Check Whether Your Resume is Formatted Correctly

by Heather Eagar

Many job seekers have no idea that their resume’s formatting is just as important as the content on the resume. In other words, if you don’t have a decent setup, many hiring managers won’t give your resume a second look.

Is there anything that job seekers can do? Really, there are quite a few ways to take advantage of formatting in your resume. It’s just a matter of making some necessary tweaks to your resume to move it above your competition.

Make Sure Your Contact Information is at the Top

This may seem like a no brainer to some, but it is important that you place your contact information at the top of your resume. But not just on the first page – on every page. The main reason is because your resume will most likely be mixed in with other resumes, so by having your contact information as a header, there will be no doubt that the hiring manager is looking at yours.

Keep Your Paragraphs Brief

One major turnoff for hiring managers is to see extremely dense paragraphs on a resume. If you have paragraphs that are longer than four to five lines, there’s a good chance that you won’t hear anything back from the company. Looking through resumes is already a tedious job for hiring managers. It certainly doesn’t need to be complicated with long explanations.

Don’t Use Too Many Bullets

While using bullets is popular on resumes because it helps to highlight certain aspects of your career, there is a such thing as using too many. Keeping your bullet use to about 4 6 points per section keeps them fresh and effective. The purpose of bullets is to highlight specific info, so don’t use too many, and don’t use too few or the hiring manager will be confused as to why the bullets were included in the first place.

Watch Your Font Size

Sometimes it may seem fun to try different font styles and sizes to make your resume standout, but there can easily be a fine line between it being unique and cartoonish. Use a 10 point size for most fonts such as Tahoma, and an 11 point size for slightly smaller fonts such as Times New Roman.

Keep the Appropriate Margins

Margins are important when formatting your resume because they ensure that it doesn’t look too crowded or look as though the words will spill off the page. The recommended margin width is usually between one half and one inch. This is because it’s great to maintain plenty of white space, something adding margin space can do.

Use Bold, Underlining and Italics Consistently

Using word formatting options such as bold, underling and italics can be a great way to make certain details of your resume “pop” or stand out. However, there is a such thing as using these formatting tools to often or not enough. A good rule of thumb to follow is to use them only under certain conditions (i.e. underlining your previous job titles and putting past company names in italics). This can help the hiring manager easily hone in on the bits of information that he or she is looking for.

Do you feel that you now have more working knowledge of resume formatting? Well then it’s time to work on yours so that you can feel confident that it is well formatted.

About the Author: Need a job? Be sure your resume is the best it can be. Review resume writing services and choose the best one for you and your situation. Do it today at http://www.ResumeLines.com

Article Source: ActiveAuthors.com

5 Effective Work Habits For Fresh Graduates

Discover the 5 most effective work habits for freshies starting out in the working world.

Being new in the working world, I am sure you are eager to show off your newfound skills and knowledge. However, out there in the working world some basic work effective habits can increase your productivity. By being consistently effective at your work increases your chances of success in your career.
The 5 effective work habits are:

1. Volunteer For Assignments

One of the best ways to signal that you are a keen learner and are not afraid of hard work is to volunteer for assignments. Especially assignments that no one seems interested to do. However, before that do assess your own skills and knowledge to see if you can confidently accomplish it. If you are confident in completing the task in full and perfection, go ahead and volunteer for it.

However, do remember one thing. Under promise and over deliver on the assignment you volunteered. Do not be too confident that you turn a perfect opportunity into mess. Once you start the project, see it till the end. You would be seen as someone who is courageous enough to take on additional assignments. You would also be seen as someone who follows through in your work. This is the first habit you need to internalize.

2. Be Nice To People

I am sure we have all heard this often enough. Be nice to people regardless of their rank and designation. It sounds philosophical but when you are nice to people they go out of their way to help you. And being new in an organization you would never know what sort of help you would need. Colleagues often like to work with nice talented people. When you have this effective work habit you increase the chances of people wanting you to work on their team.

Being nice to people is just common courtesy. There is nothing extra ordinary about this particular habit that you need special skills. A smile in the morning and a “Good Morning” is a good start. In this day and age, people working in pressurized environments often use stress as an excuse when they blow up. Is this necessary? Nice is often reciprocated by nice. In fact, it can lower your stress level.

3. Prioritize Your Work

We all love to start work on things that are close to our hearts. However, often these may not be the most urgent and important in our list of tasks in the workplace. When you select things you are more interested in rather than work that is more important or urgent, you lower your chances of success.

Have a list of things to do according to its strategic importance to your company. Know your role in completing the tasks at hand in order to achieve that corporate goal. When you prioritize your work, you are more productive and that increases your chances of career success.

4. Stay Positive

As someone new in the working world it is very easy to feel down because you are new. You are not used to the work system. You have new people to deal with and people in the working world who behave very differently from school. It takes a lot of getting used to. There will be office politics to deal with regardless of how little.

Be above all these and stay positive in the face of challenges. When you are positive you remain focused on your goals. You make better decisions and therefore become more productive.

5. Highlight A Problem But Bring Solutions

The last effective work habit of the five effective work habits is to bring solutions each time you highlight a problem to your boss or management. You need to remember that when you bring problems and not solutions, it is often construed as complaining.

To avoid that label, offer solutions. A range of possible solutions also indicates to your boss that you have thought this through before approaching him/her with a problem. Have in mind a recommended solution amongst those you suggested.

These are the 5 effective work habits I constantly drill into new employees who are fresh graduates in our company. At first glance, these may seem like common sense. However, in actual working environment people tend to sometimes forget these very basic effective work habits. And don't practice them often enough. Internalize these and consistently practice them to increase your chances of success.

About the Author:

Long Yun Siang or Long, as he is popularly known runs http://career-success-for-newbies.com with his wife Dorena as their way of paying it forward. Their website – based on their real life experiences - provides tips, tools and advise for newbies pursuing career success.

Don’t Be Out Performed In An Interview

A friend CEO recently reminisced about a conversation he had with his executive team. I thought this directly related to so many candidates that I felt compelled to share it with you.


The CEO said to his team, “In order to survive this market without cutting back we must “OUT” our competition. We must, out deliver, out perform, out service, out sell, out market, out price, out satisfy, out prepare and out them with every thing we do. We can’t leave anything to chance. If we don’t, many of our team will be out and ultimately we may be out.”


WOW, pretty powerful stuff. So how does this relate to you – the candidate.
You have to “out” your competition too, or as the CEO said, “You will be out.” In this case, out of the running for the job you not only want, but need.


So how do you “out” your competition? Two words, “Proper Preparation.” This in my opinion is the all time biggest reason candidates fail. The optimum word is “PROPER.” I didn’t say candidates don’t attempt preparation. I believe they do. The problem is that the preparation is so superficial and vague it is worthless.


Here are a few tips on how to properly prepare:

1. Proper preparation is NOT about researching every “trivial pursuit” fact about the company since it started in 1950. Good stuff to know, but when was the last time in an interview you were asked, “Tell me everything you know about the company?” I suggest never. Instead prepare for the questions you will be asked.
2. Proper preparation is writing out complete and detailed answers to commonly asked questions. In case you missed it, writing out. Just to stress the point, writing out.
3. Practice, practice, and then more practice. Just like all professional speakers, entertainers, professional sports players, and performers you must practice. They practice so much that it looks easy, unrehearsed, unscripted, succinct, points clearly articulated and engaging. Few candidates are good enough to wing it.
4. Did I mention writing out the answers to the most commonly asked questions?
5. List multiple accomplishments for every position. Multiple because an accomplishment for one company may not be an accomplishment in another. Accomplishments MUST include quantifiable results. Forgetting this part would be like forgetting the punch line in a joke.
6. Video yourself in a mock interview. This will be a real eye opener for many.

If you want to “out” your competition you must be so well prepared and practiced that you stand out. You can’t leave anything to chance.


Final note for all of those now thinking, “I already know all this stuff.” Great, but are you doing it? We all know a lot of things, the problem is doing them. The bigger problem is doing them at such a high level of skill that they look easy.


To help you “out” your competition we provide a wealth of free resources and tools. Our free audio library is full of helpful subjects, the articles are free to download, our Linkedin discussion group expands the wealth of resources to other qualified people, and we constantly post new stuff to help you “out” the competition. Consider bookmarking our candidate FREE Resource page and check back at least weekly.
Our comprehensive job search workbook is FREE to read and implement the preparation tools and templates included. This will ensure you have the right preparation process. With a reader rating 4.25 out of 5 it is certainly worth considering.


If this was helpful please share it with your friends so they also benefit.
We encourage comments and look forward to your thoughts.

Brad Remillard, an executive recruiter with over 25 years of experience, has conducted over 10,000 interviews and been involved in more than 2,000 executive searches. Brad previously served as President of CJA Executive Search, which was recognized as one of the top search firms in Southern California. In 2005 he co-founded IMPACT Hiring Solutions a retained executive search firm and best practices hiring company. He is co-author of two books on hiring. http://www.impacthiringsolutions.com/index.php/products/tools-for-hiring-managers/our-award-winning-book target">You’re NOT The Person I Hired. His second book helps candidates dramatically reduce their time in-transition is, http://www.impacthiringsolutions.com/index.php/candidates/candidate-products/not-the-position-i-accepted- target">This Is NOT The Position I Accepted. In 1999, Brad co-founded the American Association of Senior Executives (AASE), one of Southern California's largest career management and business resource organizations exclusively dedicated to VP and C-level executives. The AASE has assisted more than 1,500 corporate executives manage their careers. Brad has personally coached many of these executives on success-based interviewing, 21st Century networking techniques, and career transition. He is a frequent speaker on the subject of career management and executive networking.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/interviews-articles/dont-be-out-performed-in-an-interview-1576455.html

Why Can't I Find a Job?

by: Frank Traditi

If you earned a dollar each time you asked yourself that question, your money problems would disappear, right? 

There's a good reason why. It's the alarming fact that most people are never taught how to look for work. They may learn how to interview, write their resume, or take a career assessment, but these are individual skills useful at some stage of the process. The job search process itself is rarely included in school curricula or taught at career and placement centers. So instead of designing an effective job search campaign, the typical job-seeker begins looking for work by reading ads in the newspaper or postings in the Internet. 

Sadly, the U.S. Department of Labor reports that between 74-85% of all jobs are never advertised.

According to a Forrester Research study, 73% of the people who find work locate their job by a method other than applying for an advertised position. It's no wonder that job-seekers spend so many months on their job search, or become so frustrated that they give up looking for work. They are looking in all the wrong places. 

Successful job-seekers refuse to ask that dreaded question of themselves or others. Instead, they consistently employ four key principles throughout every job search. Each principle is critical on its own. But to successfully land the job they want, they know that each one interacts with and supports the other. 

The Four Key Principles of Successful Job Seekers 

 

1. Use job search strategies that work. 

Two of the biggest challenges job-seekers face are knowing which job search approaches are the most effective, and figuring out where to start in finding job opportunities. Successful job-seekers know that any approach that helps them find and connect with the right people will eventually land them the job they want. Answering want ads and Internet postings are a waste of time. Developing relationships through networking, referrals, informational interviewing, and recruiters gets them closer to, if not right on top of, their ideal job. They know that in a competitive job market, they cannot rely on passively looking for positions already advertised. They actively market themselves to the people who are likely to hire them.  

2. Stick to a step-by-step, action-oriented process. 

The typical job-seeker quickly becomes overwhelmed by his or her job search. There are million things to do, places to look, and people to talk to, but they don't have a system for putting the pieces together. Job-seekers who know the score, design and implement a game plan that includes setting a specific and attainable goal, actions steps to take every day or week, and a system to track their progress. If they don't realize the results they want to achieve, they don't abandon this plan. Rather, they make adjustments that get them back on track. 

 

3. Stay motivated in face of frustration and rejection. 

Rejection letters, no return calls, and outdated information are all part of the normal working day of a job-seeker. Most people get frustrated and angry with this every-day occurrence and give up. The successful job-seeker sees this as opportunity or a positive learning experience. They don't let the fear of rejection get in the way of their progress. By sticking to their plan, they don't give up during the job search. They are motivated by the goals they've set and nothing will deter them from that accomplishment.  

4. Know when to ask for help. 

Looking for a job can sometimes be the loneliest job in the world. Uncertainty and doubt set in with many a job-seeker when things don't go right. Perhaps even a sense of pride sets in and the thought of asking someone for help makes them feel like a charity case. Conversely, successful job-seekers know that they cannot do this alone. They stack the odds in their favor by adding some outside help to their job search campaign. They want to be accountable to someone other than themselves. They need to get a different point of view, or perspective, on their progress or challenges. And, they seek out support from people who care about their progress or help them develop the tools they need to win. 

The next time you ask yourself or someone else, "why can't I find a job," you now know all is not lost. Implementing a solid action plan, sticking to your goals, and seeking help when you need it most, puts you in charge of your destiny. Simply put, you are just a few steps away from being a success.  

Copyright © 2005, Frank Traditi 

Frank Traditi is the co-author of Get Hired NOW!: A 28-Day Program for Landing the Job You Want. He is an author, speaker, career strategist, and executive coach with more than 20 years of experience in management, sales, and marketing for Fortune 500 companies. Frank works with talented professionals to design a game plan for an extraordinary career. For a copy of his free guide "How to Find a Job in 28 Days or Less," visit www.gethirednow.com

Read more free articles by C.J. Hayden and Frank Traditi or subscribe to the Get Hired NOW! E-Newsletter.