Managing Your Career Effectively

The tips below should be used as a guide to help you move beyond any crisis situation and on the road to employment stability.

The Rules to Live By

There are three basic techniques that will help you effectively manage your career during the crisis and beyond. The first key is to have a working long-term goal. Second, never neglect and always work to increase your professional network.

Lastly, and this point cannot be stressed enough, always have a current resume at your disposal.

Long-Term Goals

Long-term planning can help prevent your career going into a crisis state in the first place. This type of planning requires you to have a well thought out strategy for career advancement. It also helps you to identify your strengths and improve on your weaknesses.

A long-term goal requires that specific actions be taken at certain, easily identifiable points to help you progress forward. It might be returning to school, taking refresher courses, or obtaining a needed certification. No matter what the actions are, it is the timeline that gives you focus and direction. Essentially, it will keep you on track and can be referred to when things begin to stall.

Long-term goals can change and adapt as your career shifts. Write your goals down and keep them in a place where you can view it daily. This type of planning will get your ideas out of your head and onto paper.

Efficient Networking

Whenever you meet a colleague for lunch, grant a favor for a friend, or join a professional association you are networking. In fact, networking is done so often and in so many different situations that we often don't even realize that we're doing it. Your professional network can provide valuable references in the event you are ever looking for a new job.

Because most open positions are never posted on any employment website, they can also be your most reliable source of job vacancy information. Your network can alert you of openings or advancement opportunities that would not otherwise discover. It is important to network with those whose positions are superior to yours. They can offer you great advice and being in their circle is a great networking strategy.

If you are in the market for a new job, it might be wise to enlist the help of a professional headhunter. A headhunter is trained to find the most lucrative positions that best match your skills while providing chances for advancements. They can also put you in contact with people who can be added to your professional network.

Never underestimate the power of your network!

Your Resume

You should keep your resume ready at all times. Even if you are not actively seeking employment you should have it ready just in case an opportunity comes along that you cannot turn down.

Companies are bought and sold every day and when it happens to you is not the time to start scrambling to update your resume.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online ( http://www.sixsigmaonline.org ) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

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Take Charge Of Your Career

While it is true that luck can play a part in the process, such as being in the right place or the right time, it is your plan that ultimately is responsible. You have to network, have a well tailored resume, and utilize many different job searching avenues.

All of these ideas should be used as tools to get you to your goal. You have to have an understanding of what you love to do and your plan will help get you there.

Decision Making

Before you do anything, you will need to make a decision as to what direction your career will take. This is one of the most important steps and if done right, will help you get where you want to be.

Thoroughly research all of your opportunities before deciding on one. You should be patient and wait for the best opportunity instead of simply taking the first one that comes along.

Understand Your Limitations

Ideally, at this point you should already taken stock of all your skills, strengths, and weaknesses and thus have a good understanding of how you work best. Maybe you are the type that loves all the little details or perhaps you are great at coordinating things.

Either way, you should go after those opportunities that allow you to excel at what you do best. This gives you the best chance of success by doing something you are confident you can do well.

Your limitations also present opportunities. How, you may ask? For starters, they help identify those areas which you can improve on. When you dedicate time to those things that do not come easily to you then you increase your skills and thus your marketability.

Take the Initiative

Always put your best foot forward. Volunteer for extra projects, come to work early, or stay late. Doing so displays your dedication and willingness to get the job done right.

Don't be afraid to go that extra mile, as it will pay big dividends in the future.

Re-Assess Your Skills

You cannot just work on those things that come easy to you; you will need to dedicate even more time to your weaknesses. Your skill set is a work in progress and constantly changes over time.

As your skills evolve incorporate them into your resume and use them to your advantage.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online ( http://www.sixsigmaonline.org ) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for six sigma professionals including, lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

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Winning Interviews

PREPARATION IS KEY

It will help you to relax if you are fully prepared for the interview. This preparation should include practicalities such as:

- Being clear about where and when the interview is taking place. If you have to call to confirm that you will attending the interview then check the place and time.

- Check your route - Google maps is ideal for this. Work out how long it will take you to get there, leaving 5 - 10 minutes to spare.

- Take at least two copies of your CV application form with you. This will give you something to refer to and handy if an interviewer doesn't have a copy.

- Research answers to a wide range of typical interview questions.

- Prepare a few questions of your own to ask at the end of the interview. For example: "What challenges are there associated with the job?" (This can give you an opportunity to show how you can meet these).

- Find out as much as you can about the employer - check out their website, if they have one.

- Check Your body Language - practice answering questions in front of a large mirror or film yourself answering questions. This is to check your body language and how you may be coming across to an employer.
- Decide what is appropriate to wear (including shoes and accessories) and make sure everything is clean and presentable. If you have bought something new make sure you try it on to ensure it fits and goes with whatever else you might be wearing.

THE NIGHT BEFORE THE INTERVIEW

- Go over your answers to possible questions and read through your CV or application form.

- Have all your interview clothes ready so you are not stressed out by trying to find your left shoe or matching socks at the last moment.

- Make sure you get to bed on time to ensure a good night's sleep. Try not to drink too much alcohol - preferably none at all. It can stay in your system and impair your mental faculties leaving you at a loss if you have to think on your feet giving an answer to a tough interview question.

THE DAY OF THE INTERVIEW

- Leave for the interview in good time. You want to arrive with at least 5 - 10 minutes to spare. If you arrive too early then see if you can find a nearby café to have a soft drink - try to avoid too much caffeine.

- Don't wear perfume or aftershave! Your perfume or aftershave could subconsciously remind the interviewer of someone they don't like. Strange but true! Or they might not like the perfume or aftershave you are wearing and this could put them off you.

- Take a small bottle of water with you. Interviewers should provide water for you but just in case they don't having your own can help if your mouth feels dry. (If you do need to drink some water during the interview just ask if they'd mind if you had some water).

DURING THE INTERVIEW

- Don't say: "I'm really nervous". This is taken as a given. In most cases, interviewers are aware of this and stating it can give the impression that you lack confidence or are overly timid.

- Have a copy of your CV or application with you to refer to and holding it can give you something to do with your hands.

- Ensure your mobile phone is switched off.

- Never make derogatory remarks about your last employer or colleagues. Even if you worked with the boss from hell, spilling the beans during an interview could make you look like someone who is not able to get on with others. Focus instead on why you want the job you are being interviewed for.

- Don't give one word answers as this can frustrate the interviewer who is trying to find out if you are suitable for the job. Instead, see every question as an opportunity to give examples of your achievements as to why you are the perfect employee.

- If you don't understand a question then say so instead of trying to wing it or avoid it.

- Be enthusiastic and positive - nothing is more attractive to a potential new employer than to have an employee who is not only competent but shows that they would really like to work for them.

I wish you every success.

Janice Robertson is a very experienced Certified, Professional Life Coach and Career Transition Coach. Her business experience includes interviewing hundreds of people on behalf of employers. Sign up for her newsletter via her Website: http://www.designyourlife.uk.com and receive your FREE e-Course: "5 Secrets For A Successful Career Transition" Janice coaches by telephone so you can connect wherever you are in the world and she also offers face to face coaching if you live in London, UK. Contact: 020 8 341 6698 (UK)

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Good-Looking On The Outside: You Are, After All, What You Present

I was reading a blog the other day written by a woman who was livid, positively livid, that a prospective employer had made a comment that she says alluded to her less than stellar wardrobe.

I don't know what the comment was. The post was a rambling invective against the interviewer - another woman - that referenced the jealousy of females in general, the rudeness of that particular interviewer, and the unfairness of being judged by one's looks.

So, I - intrepid I - dared to ask the question that just had to be on everyone else's mind: what did she wear to her job interview?

Nice new T-shirt, aqua. Capri pants, aqua stripe. Sandals, aqua. New straw tote bag. She had done her research on the company, and she knew it was Casual Friday. Her outfit was completely appropriate, and moreover, it was brand-new.

So I sit here, hands above my keyboard. I want to ask for her phone number, because there is nothing I can type that will express the depths of my internal screams. NO! It was not appropriate!

The fact of the matter is that we are judged by the way we present ourselves. With just a resume and a browse through our networking sites, an employer has just a few minutes in an interview to determine whether her company is going to spend the time and money involved in hiring us. Why risk putting any doubt into her mind by showing up in clothes that are too casual, poor-fitting, poor-quality, or just plain inappropriate?

A Friday job interview does not qualify as an excuse to meet your interviewer in flip-flops and a Hawaiian shirt. Casual Friday is for employees. They have earned it by working at the company. The employer knows what they look like in their workday wardrobes.

You, as the candidate, however, have just one chance to make a good impression. Yes, your resume is perfect, it's posted in all the right places, and you've got a terrific homepage. I guarantee you that all the effort of intelligently marketing and branding yourself flies out the window when you show up - stupidly - at your interview in an inappropriate outfit.

Dress for your job interview as if you were meeting your company's most important clients for the biggest deal in industry history. If you don't know what the company dress code is, go sit outside their door and watch the employees going in and out. The ones in the best - most professional - outfits are the ones you should emulate.

A suit is never a bad idea for a man. The level of formality should be equal to the industry. If you are applying for a job in a law firm, a well-cut dark blue or gray suit that fits well, with a complementary shirt and tie and black shoes is the only way to go. Actually, if you are a woman applying for a job in a law firm, that would work for you, too. Suits should never be tight-fitting, loudly patterned, or made of shoddy fabric.

Jewelry should be minimal. Nothing throws off an interview like the jangling of earrings and your grandmother's charm bracelets.

If you are in a more creative industry, you have more leeway to show self-expression through your wardrobe. Don't get nutty with it, though. If you have a tendency to flamboyancy, edit yourself four times before you leave the house. Jewelry, funky hair, short skirt, torn clothes, and too much make-up are all deal-breakers. Picking a neutral suit or pants or jacket or skirt and jacket combination and popping it with one color is never a bad way to go. It also allows you to buy a very good piece for your interviews - which you can carry with you into your professional life - and accessorize it in several different ways.

And as for Casual Friday - hmmm. I had a boss once who, when asked if our company could adopt a Casual Friday policy, said, "We're professional the rest of the week. Why would we not be professional on Friday?"

How to present yourself is important with tools like VisualCV as well. If you're an artist, posting a personal photo of you in an artistic setting might be appropriate but for other professions you may not want to use the cell phone pic from your last fishing trip. A little common sense can go a long way.

Dave Saunders helps people stand out and "Be the Brand" as a personal branding and marketing specialist. Manage your career online: Create, Enhance and Share a better resume, free at VisualCV.com

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Show Me The Money: The Right Time (and The Right Way) To Ask For A Raise

Let's face it - money is the reason most of us go to work. It would be great to be one of those terrific entrepreneurs who figures out the way to create income worth millions from under a palm tree, but the fact of life is that most of us are going to have to get income the good, old-fashioned way - by toiling for someone else.

That's why it's so important to ensure that you are receiving adequate compensation for your efforts. Most of us do focus on this aspect of our jobs before we accept an offer, but lose track of fair salary once we've been entrenched in a position.

Part of the problem is that, with today's long hours and democratic office etiquette, our bosses are often our "friends." That's a great state of affairs when you're enjoying a celebratory drink at the end of a long project, but not so good when you're asking for money. Remember, it's not polite to ask your friends for money - in fact, you're really not even supposed to talk about it.

However, you can't just wait around and hope that your "friend" remembers to reward your hard work with financial remuneration. The chances are that she achieved her current position by knowing how to manage a good team and keep her overhead low. The likelihood that she's going to tell her superiors that her good buddy needs some more of their money is probably pretty low. To put it baldly, she looks a lot better by getting great results from a team of low-level monkeys than a team of high-paid professionals.

Your salary and compensation is your responsibility. If you've been working for a while and haven't seen a noticeable increase in your paycheck, it's time to take a big-kid pill and plan your attack.

The first thing to consider is whether you actually deserve a raise. Look back - honestly - at your accomplishments. Have you been largely responsible for the completion of a major project? Increased sales? Gone above and beyond to ensure any success on behalf of the company?

Then add to these questions the word consistently.

If the addition of the word consistently makes the statement true, you are definitely due for a raise.

Start your research. What is the industry standard for salary? What are most of your peers earning?

And, most importantly, what is it that you want? I once decided to forego a substantial raise in return for a benefits package that was generally not available for someone in my pay bracket. That was my decision. I asked for it, I lobbied for it, and I was able to prove my point.

You also need to determine what objections may arise if you ask for a pay increase. If your company is in the midst of vast layoffs to cut costs, your bid for extra funding may help management make a tough decision easier. No one wants to be the boss of someone who isn't happy with what they have to offer.

If your company is in a happy financial place, determine what other obstacles may exist - a manager showing off a budget at 1999 levels, an upcoming review (in which case you may ask to expedite the review), or concerns about the War in Iraq or Britney Spears' weak parenting skills. You know the hot buttons for your boss - anticipate them.

Be ready for more money and new responsibility. However, you also need to brace yourself for any fall-out. If you are not on very good terms with your boss, tread carefully.

I once had an employee who barged into my office and told me flatly that he had been offered literally twice the amount of money he earned at my company. He said that I had 24 hours to match that offer or else.

When I wished him well at his new company, he admitted that he'd invented to job offer to try to force my hand.

He wasn't that valuable, and my hand wasn't forced. Within a week, he was no longer employed in my office.

Dave Saunders helps people stand out and "Be the Brand" as a personal branding and marketing specialist. Manage your career online: Create, Enhance and Share a better resume, free at VisualCV.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_Saunders

Recognizing The Office Hierarchy: Separating The Wheat From The Chaff

When I was in college, I got a part-time job at an insurance agency. My job was highly low-level - filing, answering the phones, and typing (yes, typing) envelopes.

Before this time, I had worked primarily in offices in my small hometown, or in jobs laden with other college students. This was the first job I'd held in an office populated by people who were accepting tiny salaries in return for long-term employment that would pay their electricity bills and rent.

I was young. I was naïve. And so I immediately gravitated to the go-girls in the office - the ones who always seemed to be having fun, went to lunch in cool places, and had hip inside jokes about the other employees.

The go-girls, by the way, were not all girls. Nor did my terminology for them reflect their sexual preferences. The go-girls were about nightclubs, partying, and getting away with doing as little work as possible.

I thought they were very glamorous.

Of course, they were not glamorous. They were fun, but they were miserably bad employees, and they made life wretched for those who were not in their circle. They complained a lot, and once you were part of their clique, it became almost impossible not to also complain. It was like being sucked into quicksand - you just couldn't resist.

I did work hard. I came in after my morning classes and did my slave labor relatively flawlessly, but I did join in the face-making behind the backs of the drones and make little comments about them. Also, oddly, I refused to comply with my employer's requirement that I use his car rather than my own when I went to the bank each day to make his deposit.

Actually, I don't know why he wanted me to use his car. It was a very expensive car, and I was not a noticeably good driver. I'm sure there was some reason of insurance, with him being an insurance agent and all - but still. I don't feel bad for sneaking around driving my own car. There. I've said it.

I do feel bad - to this day - for my participation in the office chaos that was the go-girls. It was more than unprofessional: it was childish. I mean - I was a child, more or less. However, I was hired to behave as an adult.

Avoiding office cliques is the single best thing you can do to ensure your rise in your company. Remember the kid in high school who could float seamlessly between cliques? That was the person who could make anyone comfortable in any situation.

There are a lot of those kids running major companies today.

While it's tempting to join a clique - you'll have someone to eat lunch with every day, if nothing else - it is a very dangerous political move. Most cliques thrive on their exclusivity, which means that someone is going to be left out of the fun. In addition, because such circles of friends often rely on a sense of superiority over others on the team, it's highly likely that the clique you pick is going to do a little gossiping and a little name-calling - neither of which are considered professional behavior.

The best rule of thumb for making friends in the office is to be pleasant and kind to everyone. You may have to seek out a lunch partner, but you won't have to face the displeasure of a recently promoted colleague that you participating in dissing.

Dave Saunders helps people stand out and "Be the Brand" as a personal branding and marketing specialist. Manage your career online: Create, Enhance and Share a better resume, free at VisualCV.com

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