Do You Have Pass Along Cards

Do You Have Pass Along Cards Im not talking about business cards Im talking about a card that people want to give to others, on your behalf, or for your benefit. Of course, this could be your business card, but if you have a traditional, boring business card, its likely people will just file or lose your card. What could you do to help people become your evangelist?  What is exciting about you, or a program you offer? WAIT did I just say a program you offer ??? YES, you, a non-business owner, can have a program.  You can have a weekly or monthly radio show (free on blogtalkradio.com).  You can do a one-time webinar to share Ten Things People In Our Industry Need To Know For 2015 (or learn from our mistakes from 2013, etc.).  YOU are an expert in something, arent you?  Why not do one of these things, which are NO COST to you? It gives people something to talk about, and keep you top-of-mind, like I blogged about a couple of days ago. My first attempt at this was my Pink Slip  (I just re-ordered 5,000 of these): For my new video game class (which is a lot more about personal empowerment and less about becoming a video game nerd), I had these designed (and just ordered 5,000 of these): I prefer to have something like this that people can say wow, that is cool, can I have more of those to pass out to my friends, rather than a boring business card that will get lost in the pile of other boring business cards. Are you making it easy for your contacts to talk about you? Do You Have Pass Along Cards Im not talking about business cards Im talking about a card that people want to give to others, on your behalf, or for your benefit. Of course, this could be your business card, but if you have a traditional, boring business card, its likely people will just file or lose your card. What could you do to help people become your evangelist?  What is exciting about you, or a program you offer? WAIT did I just say a program you offer ??? YES, you, a non-business owner, can have a program.  You can have a weekly or monthly radio show (free on blogtalkradio.com).  You can do a one-time webinar to share Ten Things People In Our Industry Need To Know For 2015 (or learn from our mistakes from 2013, etc.).  YOU are an expert in something, arent you?  Why not do one of these things, which are NO COST to you? It gives people something to talk about, and keep you top-of-mind, like I blogged about a couple of days ago. My first attempt at this was my Pink Slip  (I just re-ordered 5,000 of these): For my new video game class (which is a lot more about personal empowerment and less about becoming a video game nerd), I had these designed (and just ordered 5,000 of these): I prefer to have something like this that people can say wow, that is cool, can I have more of those to pass out to my friends, rather than a boring business card that will get lost in the pile of other boring business cards. Are you making it easy for your contacts to talk about you? Do You Have Pass Along Cards Im not talking about business cards Im talking about a card that people want to give to others, on your behalf, or for your benefit. Of course, this could be your business card, but if you have a traditional, boring business card, its likely people will just file or lose your card. What could you do to help people become your evangelist?  What is exciting about you, or a program you offer? WAIT did I just say a program you offer ??? YES, you, a non-business owner, can have a program.  You can have a weekly or monthly radio show (free on blogtalkradio.com).  You can do a one-time webinar to share Ten Things People In Our Industry Need To Know For 2015 (or learn from our mistakes from 2013, etc.).  YOU are an expert in something, arent you?  Why not do one of these things, which are NO COST to you? It gives people something to talk about, and keep you top-of-mind, like I blogged about a couple of days ago. My first attempt at this was my Pink Slip  (I just re-ordered 5,000 of these): For my new video game class (which is a lot more about personal empowerment and less about becoming a video game nerd), I had these designed (and just ordered 5,000 of these): I prefer to have something like this that people can say wow, that is cool, can I have more of those to pass out to my friends, rather than a boring business card that will get lost in the pile of other boring business cards. Are you making it easy for your contacts to talk about you?

Why Dont You Understand Your Compensation - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Why Don’t You Understand Your Compensation - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Indeed, most people don’t understand their compensation. That’s amazing, since after all, compensation is the main purpose for having a job. Don’t misunderstand me: most people know their salary, but salary is only a part of total compensation. There’s a lot more that you should know about this subject so that when you’re in the compensation negotiation stage of your interview, you’ll be equipped with the ammo necessary to win. There are two major parts to compensation: the money you make (income) and the money you save (assets). The two parts are analogous to a checking account and a savings account, respectively, at the bank. The money you make The money you make typically falls into a range based on historical data. But how does your potential employer determine what you should be paid? In large companies, the process is complex and involved, and certain people in the human resources department work full-timeâ€"and exclusivelyâ€"on determinations of pay ranges. They gather information from a wide variety of external and internal sources to ensure that the company stays competitive. The overall, company-wide compensation policy is determined by a compensation committee, which is a team made up of members of the board of directors. In small companies, of which there are about 7 million with 25 employees or fewer in the United States, compensation packages are derived simplistically and by whatever the market bears. In both cases, though, whether a large or small company, two components make up the bottom line: (1) market pricing, or the going rate, and (2) job content evaluation, which is a correlation with other, similar, internal jobs. On top of salary there might be other sources of income in the form of bonuses such as cash payouts, profit sharing, commissions, stock purchases, and stock options. Job candidates are advised to research compensation via a variety of Web-based sources before negotiations start. If relocation is involved, it’s always advisable to think of the cliché “It’s not the money you make but the money you keep.” The cost of living varies widely of course in different parts of the country. The money you save By means of tax-sheltered plans, many employers encourage their employees to save a portion of their income for retirement. Some employers contribute to such savings by matching employees’ contributions at various percentage ratios. Tax-sheltered plans fall into two categories: before-tax (pretax) savings and after-tax (posttax) savings, as defined by the Internal Revenue Code. For example, the 401(k), which went into effect on January 1, 1980, is a before-tax plan. Some employers also give employees the option to contribute very favorably with after-tax dollars. In that case, too, employers sometimes contribute, and employees become vested, which means that an employee is entitled to the employer’s contribution at a progressive rate within a stipulated period of time. In some cases, vesting could begin immediately. Delayed full vesting has the purpose of incentivizing employees to stay with the company. In addition, both an executive and a rank-and-file employee may be offered a deferred compensation plan, a stock bonus plan, a stock options plan, a stock purchase plan, and/or an employee stock ownership plan. Additional types of compensation Beyond the benefit that employees see in their paychecks, employers offer additional benefits. Some of them are mandated by federal or state laws, and others involve voluntary participation. In either case, employees may or may not have to contribute. Examples are workers’ compensation, disability income, unemployment insurance, and accident insurance. There are many others. And some employers offer a variety of insurance plans at reduced premium rates. Some such plans are medical insurance, dependent care plans, long-term-care plans, life insurance, and accidental death insurance. At times an employer might pay for an employee’s relocation and offer other kinds of perquisites. The best thing a candidate can do in order to achieve a successful compensation negotiation is to learn about this complex subject, perform due diligence, and above all, acquire the skills of the art of compensation negotiation. Working on this subject with a career coach and role playing in mock negotiations most often make up severalfold for the fee paid for such coaching. Author: Alex Freund  is a career and interviewing coach known as the “landing expert” for publishing his 80 page list of job-search networking groups via his web site  http://www.landingexpert.com/. He is prominent in a number of job-search networking groups; makes frequent public presentations, he does workshops on resumes and LinkedIn, teaches a career development seminar and publishes his blog focused on job seekers. Alex worked at Fortune 100 companies headquarters managing many and large departments. He has extensive experience at interviewing people for jobs and is considered an expert in preparing people for interviews. Alex    is a Cornell University grad, lived on three continents and speaks five languages.

Stop Pursuing Perfection, Its a Trap

Stop Pursuing Perfection, Its a Trap Obsessing over perfection can be a career killer. Its a downward spiral;  the more you apply pressure on yourself to achieve unrealistic goals, the more youll let yourself down and the  lower youll feel.  Constantly failing  to live up to your own expectations will set you up for a lifetime of feeling second-rate. If you want to feel proud and positive about your professional life,  its time to  do away with this  idea of perfection and focus on the possibilities within your own potential, instead. Perfection doesnt exist Everyones idea of success and happiness is different. On top of this, we all have different skills, strengths and weaknesses. If our career is  a giant race, then everyones starting blocks are staggered and there are a million and one different finishing lines.  Realising that  perfection is just an idealistic dream (and completely unattainable) is a liberating moment. Perfection is like the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow you can never reach it. Even when we do achieve  our goals, there is always more we could do  or ways we could be better. In an instant,  that pot of gold feels far away again. Its a never-ending cycle of wanting, trying and  always coming up short. Your career is something you create for yourself, and something you should feel proud of.  Shifting your desire to find enjoyment in your vocation is better than lusting after the mirage that is perfection. People dont care Another really comforting conclusion to draw is people  dont care about your imperfections, if it doesnt really affect them. Your boss just wants you to do a good job, and your colleagues want someone who they can achieve great things alongside. Everyone has their own issues that theyre working through; youre not alone.  The more you talk badly about yourself and consistently bring your imperfections under the spotlight,  the more youll make others reflect upon  how they arent perfect, and theyll start feeling self conscious too.  As well as this, forever pointing  out your own shortcomings just highlights to people all the  ways you could be better, not how great you already are. Having said this, its important not to be ashamed at having flaws. Demonstrating signs of  weakness  actually just proves youre human and makes you relatable. People will feel more comfortable around you, knowing that you arent up on your high horse looking down, judging them in the same way youve so harshly been judging yourself. Its all about what you decide to make your sole focus. Learn from your mistakes Analysing your mistakes over and over again wont get you anywhere. However, understanding where you went wrong and how you can avoid a similar occurrence next time is the far healthier alternative.  Being able to deal with an error then and there, take a lesson from  it and move on will make you stronger, and better at what you do. Reminding yourself that nobody is perfect and everybody makes mistakes  is also a way of helping you move on, and let the past go. Focus on what you can  control Throughout your career  therell always be expectations placed  upon you. Its up to you to weed out unrealistic  expectations from the  things that lie within your potential, and quit beating yourself up about situations you have no control over. Instead of  stressing about scenarios you really cant change, invest your energy into areas you actually have a shot at improving. Giving yourself the opportunity to have small  wins is  the best way to boost your mood and keep you feeling positive and productive as your work towards realising your longterm dreams. Create  realistic goals Instead of striving for something completely subjective that has no end point (like perfection), why not focus on  things we can actually  measure our success against? Stop anxiously pulling apart ways youre  not up to scratch or ways you  wish you  were wired differently, and start identifying weak areas you can work on. Letting go of this  need for perfection doesnt mean letting go of all ambition  and  becoming a drifter. It just means  turning your attention to realistic goals, and shifting your  mindset away from a toxic lust for success. Instead of trying to achieve perfection, focus on achieving  your own personal bests. Perfection shmersh-mecshon. As soon as  you stop reaching for the impossible,  youll realise how many amazing possibilities there really are.

Personal Brand Economic Survival Tactics - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Brand Economic Survival Tactics - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, I spoke with Mary Ellen Slayter, who is the senior editor for SmartBrief on Workforce. Our focus for this interview was on economic survival tactics for both the employed and unemployed. Mary gives great advice about how to ask for a promotion, even when budgets are tight and people are getting laid off. She also touches on interview tips, how to cope with bosses you might not get along with, and how to find the job of best fit. In a bad economy, what would you recommend to workers who want to get a raise, promotion or ask to work from home? If you want to pursue a raise right now, your argument better be airtight. Employers are hanging on to their cash right now but they also need to hang on to their most productive workers. The only way to get more money out of your employer now is to prove that it would cost them more to see you leave. A promotion is easier to get as long as you dont expect more money. Indeed, layoffs are leaving a lot of people with promotions they never asked for. Finally, no-cost perks such as permission to work from home are an easier case to make. You just have to explain how it will benefit both you and the organization. And many people find that the money they save by not commuting one or two days a week is better than a raise. What should you do if your employer gives you a salary cut? After you check your bank account balance? Start looking closely at your employers medium and long-term prospects. Is this a short-term solution for a short-term problem? Or a precursor to a layoff? How do things look in the rest of your industry? A pay cut can either be a sign of impending doom or one of a smart leader brave enough to make the moves needed to save her company. Its all about the context. What is the best way to match employers to candidates? Can you relate this to online dating websites? A good match starts with knowing who you are and what youre looking for. It doesnt serve either party well to try to be all things to all people. For the employer, that means understanding your needs and your culture, successfully communicating that to potential employees, and passing on people that dont fit, no matter how smart they are or how well-recommended they come. Workers have to do the same thing. There is no perfect job only the perfect one for you. If theres an analogy to dating Web sites, its that you want to make sure you are looking for each other in the right places. An ad on a niche site seen by only a handful of people (the right people) is often much more successful and efficient than one on a big job board seen by millions of people. How does someone successfully prepare for an interview? By knowing everything you can about the organization youre interviewing with and the people youre meeting. Use whatever means are available to you (the organizations Web site, SEC filings, acquaintances who work there) to find out the potential employers goals and how how your skill set can help contribute toward reaching them. What should you do if you hate your boss? Hate is a strong word, as moms are fond of saying. Its normal to not get along with some people as well as others. Your response to a bad boss depends on the root cause of the conflict and context of your workplace. If its just a personality clash, you need to take some responsibility for getting along better. If the person mistreats you or behaves in an unethical or dangerous manner, you either report them to their manager or HR (if its a big enough organization to have such layers of management), or you vote with your feet and find another job. But before you do anything dramatic, make sure your expectations are reasonable. You dont need to be best friends with your supervisor to succeed at work. But nor should you put up with behavior that makes you physically ill with stress. And keep in mind that bosses have turnover, too. You wouldnt want to leave an employer you otherwise love to escape a boss you didnt like, only to hear two months later that the person you found so unbearable had moved on himself. - Mary Ellen Slayter is the senior editor for SmartBrief on Workforce. Previously, she wrote the Washington Posts Career Tracks column. She spent six years editing stories, writing headlines, writing biwekly career advice for young professionals and hosted Career Track Live, which was a biweekly live chat on Washingtonpost.com. She also wrote Off the Beaten Career Path, which was a monthly feature on unusual jobs. Before both of these positions she worked for the Hagerstown Herald-Mail and The Montgomery Journal.

Writing a Resume Summary is Only a Little Bit More Difficult Than Writing a Resume

Writing a Resume Summary is Only a Little Bit More Difficult Than Writing a ResumeIf you've tried to write a resume without writing a resume summary, then it may not have been easy. This is because in the world of resumes, it's easier said than done. However, it can be done, and the one mistake that most people make is not writing a resume summary.The purpose of writing a resume summary is to summarize what's on your resume, and it does this very well. You can summarize what you have accomplished in the past and where you've worked. You can also summarize what you have learned from your previous employers and what you can offer the next employer you interview with.In fact, you should use this as part of your resume summary. It can also help you stand out from the rest of the pile of applicants. All you need to do is grab the attention of the interviewer with a unique title and make sure it stands out from the rest of the other resumes in the stack.Writing a resume summary is only a l ittle bit more difficult than writing a resume. It's just that the interviewer usually doesn't have much time, so they'll be looking for something different than what you are. However, if you have a little bit of experience under your belt, then you've already taken your first step towards a job interview.I'm not saying you should expect a big or a even little change in the way the interview goes. They will probably be interviewing the same type of people because that's all that the company has. However, having this experience can give you the edge that you need to get the job and put yourself in the running for the position.When you write your own experience down, you can be completely honest with it. You'll need to provide a little bit of detail about the positions you've held before. That's because you won't want to come across as someone who has nothing to offer.Writing a resume summary will help you stand out from the rest of the resumes that have little or no experience. Your resume is there to attract the employer and it will always have a strong chance of doing that. All you need to do is grab the attention of the interviewer and give them a reason to keep reading.Writing a resume summary is the first step you need to take to prepare for your next job interview. All you need to do is grab the attention of the interviewer and highlight what you have to offer them. It can't hurt to do, and it could save you from losing your dream job.

How to Engage Hiring Managers Using Social Media - CareerEnlightenment.com

But before you go gung-ho and start inMailing them, consider these guidelines:A hiring manager is not going to reply to someone who has only a half-hearted profile.Be sure you’ve got a complete and professional profile before engaging. Believe me, they check!People with jobs are busy. That means messages that are irrelevant to their immediate problems won’t get much attention.Do some research and find a way to be relevant.No one likes talking to someone who’s desperate. InMails, tweets, or Facebook messages that show desperation are promptly deleted â€" for example, “I really want to work there, can you help?”No one likes talking to someone arrogant. The opposite of desperate is cocky.How on earth can you know whether you are a “perfect match” for a job if you haven’t even spoken to the hiring manager?Currently, you need a LinkedIn premium account to send InMails, although you dont need one to receive them.  (More information about  premium accounts.)Engaging on Twitt erTwitter is the ultimate level playing field. Here you can tweet with authors, CEOs, customer service reps, or celebrities.Don’t expect engagement until you earn it. Just like a big networking event, you can’t just barge in and ask random people for favors.Here are some ways to put a deposit into someone’s social bank account:Using Twitter, retweet messages from companies you want to work for, or from people you’d like to add to your close network.Find articles and tweet them with an @reply to alert that twitter user that you’ve shared something with them in mind.Interrupt conversations with twitter users and add your own voice or opinion.Join tweetchats related to your field and pay close attention to active twitter accounts. After the chat, compliment them on their ideas.After a while, you earn the right to Direct Message (DM) them, and you can ask for an offline conversation.Engaging on FacebookMany organizations use Facebook Pages to promote their brands to potential candidates. Not only do they post open jobs there, but these pages are often maintained by various members of their recruiting organization.Before Liking or commenting on these pages, be sure to follow the following guidelines:Post a personal yet professional profile picture. It doesn’t have to be the same as your buttoned-up LinkedIn picture â€" no one expects that â€" but it should be of you in a fun and presentable pose. (And remember your Timeline Banner too!)Visit your “About Me” page and fill it in with as much detail as you can about your education and work history. Be sure these elements are set to Public.Begin by Liking the page of your target company.Next you can slowly introduce yourself to the community by commenting on posts and sharing posts.If the page will allow it, post interesting comments on their Timeline that highlight your qualifications.Of course, dont forget that as you are looking at the companys Facebook pages, they will probably be looking at your Fa cebook pages, tooBottom LineSocial media connections are not a quick fix, but neither are job boards, as you have probably noticed. And social media enable you to develop a stronger network that can help you with your career as well as your  next  job search.

The Level 5 Good Morning Works! - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

The Level 5 Good Morning Works! - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog I just got this email from Kate Matcham from Stamford Global. I spoke at one of their conferences in Copenhagen for 120 project managers and of course also mentioned the Level 5 Good Morning. Kate has since used it in her workplace: Actually the level 5 good morning is working a treat ? which is why I?ve kept it up! I have a new team member that I supervise who sits next to me, and Mihaly also sits with us in the same section, which can be a bitdaunting for a new team member!! The three of us collaborate really well together, and I think the level 5 good morning has helped our new team member feel comfortable In fact, the three of us just worked on an urgent roll-out of our new website, and we had a great team dynamic ? everyone knew their role, trusted one another, communicated perfectly. It was great. I think the level 5 good morning was a big contributor to that It?s hard to measure though isn?t it, you sort of just ?feel? the effect. Anyway, thanks for the invaluable advice! Way to go, Kate! Im still fascinated that such a simple thing as saying good morning to your co-workers can actually make a difference. But it can :o) Heres how you do it. Try it and let me know how it goes! Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related