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THIS Week’s Workshop: Developing Your Personal Marketing Plan… Wednesday, January 29th, 8:45 AM @ The Egg and I Restaurant in Addison

We meet WEEKLY at The Egg and I Restaurant in Addison (NW quadrant of Arapaho and Montfort… 1 block east of the Tollway)

This session provides an excellent OVERVIEW of our 12 step Process to regulars and new comers alike.  Our focus is on effective time management to create focus and efficiency in job search efforts. We also look at the importance of personal accountability to ACTION!

While involved in ‘the challenging waters’ of career transition, these same chaotic, jobless, trying times are very productive times.  Don’t waste them by floundering with lack of focus and direction, falling into the dark, depressive attitude of distractions and, worst of all, inaction…

When we are employed, we tend to function under the guidance of our employer’s business plan, or, more specifically, our job description.  Our ‘routine’ is defined by:

  • Personal accountability to a labyrinth of responsibilities, some structured—some not structured at all—but all contributing to productive work activities…
  • We create productivity and efficiency with our sense of time management…
  • And as ‘top talent’ professionals, we often take initiative, make process improvements, and contribute to the Company’s growth.

So, why not recreate all that with OUR OWN PLAN, a Personal Marketing Plan, to move toward commitment and job satisfaction, and appropriate compensation, for the rest of our careers… including any current, short term job search?

On the other hand, if an individual is under-employed, seeking a change, or actually unemployed, they must be visible to potential employers who are seeking their services.  Creating this visibility is strategic, personal market planning and execution—in can be marketability without rejection!

And, employed or not, Modify and improve your Personal Market Plan’s implementation model as needed… As you move through your career transition or ‘job search  campaign,’ making adjustments as you would a business model.

Personal Marketing is a contact sport.

Before looking at what such a Personal Marketing Plan would look like, review the PREPARATION Portion of the 12-step Process Model… the first EIGHT Steps… are you prepared for an efficient job search?

Please SHARE this Post with your network.

 

 

 

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NEXT Week’s Workshop: Developing Your Personal Marketing Plan… Wednesday, January 29th, 8:45 AM @ The Egg and I Restaurant in Addison

This session provides an excellent OVERVIEW of our 12 step Process to regulars and new comers alike.  Our focus is on effective time management to create focus and efficiency in job search efforts. We also look at the importance of personal accountability to ACTION!

We meet regularly at The Egg and I Restaurant in Addison (NW quadrant of Arapaho and Montfort… 1 block east of the Tollway)

Who Should Attend?

  1. Anyone who wants to create a strategic plan for the rest of their working life… job changes will occur!
  2. Job seekers who find themselves in a rut…rapidly crashing into the black hole of depression
  3. Any job seeker looking to create focus within their search efforts
  4. Any professional to give substance to their next steps
  5. Newcomers to DFWCareerpilot… including tire-kickers

Please SHARE this post with your friends.

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NEXT WEEK’s Workshop: In-Synch Personal Marketing Collateral Materials… Wednesday, January 22nd, 8:45 AM @ The Egg and I in Addison

Building on the concepts of ACHIEVING CareerFITness, next week’s Event will focus on content issues for high impact, productive collateral materials like a job seeker’s resume, verbal ‘pitches,’ and their LinkedIn Profile.

Who should attend:

  1. Job seekers who have not achieved productivity in their ONLINE efforts
  2. NEW Job seekers who need to develop their collateral ‘arsenal’
  3. Those that understand they must ‘tweak’ their resumes from time to time… but don’t understand HOW
  4. DFWCareerpilot ‘regulars’ with specific questions

Actions requested:

Bring hard and soft copies of your current resume draft… bring your laptop (or other wi fi-enabled editing tool) if you want to do some self-inflicted, hands on editing of your resume or LinkedIn Profile… everyone will have the opportunity to practice their verbal collateral materials.

 

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THIS WEDNESDAY’s Workshop: Achieving CareerFIT… Wednesday, January 15th at 8:45 AM @ The Egg and I Restaurant in Addison

Just what IS a good CareerFIT for you?

To achieve a good “fit” between you and any future opportunity, you have to ask yourself some basic questions about yourself and your prospective employers. The fit depends on how well the jobs meets your needs and how well your skills and abilities meet the employer’s needs. The employer will make a decision and extend an offer to you: now it is time for you to make your decision.

This week’s co-facilitator will be Brian Allen, Certified and EXPERT with a wide variety of assessment tools. He will be discussing the why and what  of wrapping your hands around knowing about YOU.  

SHARE THIS POST with your network… and let them know about the scheduling AND content changes at DFWCareerpilot!… THX

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Write out the factors that are important to you in a job… actually write out your list.  During your career transition, learn the value of setting your offer criteria, a key element of your Personal Market Plan:

  1. Creates an objective target for your efforts ahead;
  2. Gives you a meaningful set of questions to ask during research and networking;
  3. Provides an objective way to analyze and react to offers as they occur.

To manage your career wisely has you extending the same concept.  Consider some of the factors listed below … Examine each factor through the questions listed – and then ask, “does this opportunity fit me?”

Work Requirements and Expectations: What is the next  appropriate work for you? Is the work process or project oriented?  If it’s process oriented, are the requirements and expectations clear?  What kinds of projects will you work on? Will you work on one project at a time, or multiple projects? Are the projects long term or short term? Will you work on a project long enough to see the end result? Is it important to you to be able to see the project as a whole, including the result? Or will you be content to do the work without a big picture understanding?

Work Environment: Will the work space be a source of comfort and confidence for you? How formal or informal is the environment? Hectic, fast paced? Will you have the opportunity to have flex time, or to tele-commute? How many hours a week does the employer expect you to work? Will you have the freedom to wear casual clothes? What is a typical day like at the company you are considering?  Would they allow a “trial visit” or at least a site visit?

Career Path: Is there a defined succession plan? What position(s) can you move to next? How long do new hires generally stay in the same job? How quickly do people get promoted? Are your opportunities for professional development well defined and available to you? Are mentors available?

Training and Personal Development: what kind of training will you get from the employer to do the job? What kind of training will you get to stay current in your area of interest? Are the answers to these two questions different? Does it matter to you if the answers are different?

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This week Wednesday, January 15th, we will focus on a strategic, more career-oriented, definition of FIT,  answering your questions and concerns at each step of the way…  Your Careerpilot has created collateral development: resumes, correspondence, etc. as a separate topic for our next event.

This is a great place to start for new-comers as the other Core Topics will follow in sequence… THIS WEEK’s Workshop…  Achieving CareerFIT brings focus to those elusive decisions regarding positioning and targeting your efforts.

The first five steps of the 12 step process, from assessment to beginning the evolution of your LinkedIn Profile, will be discussed.  Please let me know you’re planning to attend by filling out this quick RSVP… THX

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MURPHY’S LAW Strikes DFWCareerpilot this, our first, week in 2014… We will meet this THURSDAY, Jan 9th at The Egg and I Restaurant in Addison

Everything was in place… scheduling change locked in at The Egg and I… Handouts updated to support all of our January Events… and your Pilot was all set to guide you through the challenging waters of your career transition in 2014…

And then BUSINESS HAPPENED!  Due to this conflict, we will simply meet one last time in our regular time slot: Thursday at 9 AM @ The Egg and I Restaurant in Addison.  ACTION REQUESTED: Please fill out and submit the contact form below so that I know that you’ve gotten the word on this change.  THX.  If you had SHARED earlier announcements with your network, please share this one, as well.

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In the traditional job market, the one that our Department of Labor “analyzes,” job seekers are the sellers and their potential employers are the buyers.  The commodity is JOBS and the competition is fierce.

In the OTHER Job Market, buyers and sellers hold equal responsibility for the recruitment process.  When employers have a need for someone to fulfill a specific role, often the most desired candidates are employed individuals with the credentials they seek.  Thus the employer must sell their Company to potential employees in the marketplace in order to attract the best of the lot.  Once identified, they simply select their choice and buy their services. 

In other words, the commodity is productive WORK being assigned to the most qualified individual who ‘fits’ the employers needs and departmental ‘culture.’  Often, this WORK has not been clearly defined yet and the employer has not approved an open job requisition.

Personal Marketing is a contact sport! 

We must be visible to potential employers who are seeking our services.  Creating this visibility is strategic, personal market planning and execution—it can be marketability without rejection!  So, the one thing you’ll need to know, and understand HOW to execute, for the rest of your career…

 We human beings were not born to be employed…THAT is a learned behavior.  Never be a job-hunter again!!!  It’s OK to be an interested, available and highly marketable professional.  Always seek a good CAREER “FIT,”  allowing it to evolve throughout your career… be aware of potential “next steps” at all times.

Personal marketing is an information gathering and relationship building process… use it to YOUR advantage!

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ACTION REQUESTED: Please fill out and submit the contact form below so that I know that you’ve gotten the word on this change.  THX

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Thank you for your response. ✨

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Next Week’s Workshop: 2014: Embracing The OTHER Job Market… Wednesday, January 8th @ 8:45AM

Please note our change to Wednesday events…  Wednesday, January 8th, we will overview the entire 12-step process, answering your questions and concerns at each step of the way… this is a great place to start for new-comers as the other Core Topics will follow in sequence.

Please SHARE THIS POST with your network.

A job seeker’s Personal Marketing Plan will embrace all of the 12 Steps in our job search process.  It is meant to provide a focused and efficient approach to The OTHER Job Market…  You see, the notion of an “unpublished or hidden” job market is far from new.  However, knowledge of “The OTHER” job market, and your ability to execute your Personal Market Plan in it, will create both focus and productivity in any career transition.

In every marketplace, there are buyers and sellers.  In the traditional job market, the one that our Department of Labor “analyzes,” job seekers are the sellers and their potential employers are the buyers.  The commodity is productive work and the competition is fierce.

In the OTHER Job Market, buyers and sellers hold equal responsibility for the recruitment process.  When employers have a need for someone to fulfill a specific role, often the most desired candidates are employed individuals with the credentials they seek.  Thus the employer must sell their Company to potential employees in the marketplace in order to attract the best of the lot.  Once identified, they simply select their choice and buy their services.

The traditional job market, then, could be characterized by “requisitioned” jobs being filled by chosen job seekers.

The OTHER Job Market, on the other hand, is characterized by available/needed work being fulfilled by job seekers, contractors, internal candidates, third-party consultants, retirees, part-timers, temporary workers, etc.

Who should attend…

  • Regulars. to gain new perspective
  • New Comers, come kick the tires of a new approach to job search
  • Long term job seekers looking for a new edge… a new approach

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KEYS To Developing Your PERSONAL Accountability

Time is your most important resource. Relative to your ‘employment,’ how you spend your time determines how much money you have and much more. How you spend your time impacts everything in your life including your finances, career, family, and health. Time is also a more limited resource.

As you begin the New Year, take a few minutes to reflect on how you spent your time last year and how you might better spend your time this year. Ask yourself if you really think working harder or more hours is the best solution for you.

For some, working harder may be the solution. The simple addition of practice time, devoted to developing your verbal skills may produce strong dividends.  Another gift to your career would be a commitment to regular—but, REGULATED—time spent developing your network through LinkedIn… a “painless plus” to the net worth of your network.

Some clearly need to put more effort into their work, but for most to reach a higher level of performance, they need to get out of the comfort of doing the same thing they’ve been doing. They need to elevate their skills and knowledge. They need to change their approach. They need to change their mindset, get out of their own way, and employ new practices if they truly expect to be more productive and effective.

If you remain unconvinced, consider this simple test. How many people in your circle of influence would pick you to be on their “dream team” of top performers based on your proven performance? Who would you pick to be on your dream team? Would you or others be first-round draft picks based on what you’ve been doing? If so, congratulations. Keep doing it.

If not, let this be your wake-up call to focus on your personal and professional development in the New Year.   Many find it useful to have a partner in this process… an ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER who can “hold your feet to the fire…” and be willing to tickle their toes in the flames as well.

CRITICAL is the development of your personal sense of accountability to accomplishing your goals!

As a career consultant who is privileged to work with many terrific professionals, leaders in their chosen field of endeavor, and other successful people, I find few people who simply need to do more of what they’ve been doing in order to improve their performance. For most people, they need to step out of their current habits, adopt a new way of thinking, increase their knowledge in new areas, and develop their skills. They need to be more strategic and invest more time in themselves.

TIME, my friends, marches on…

Will you be joining in the parade or viewing from the sidelines?  Accountability facilitates success.  YOUR choice.  Happy New Year.

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Starting or RE-Starting A Job Search in the New Year Ahead…

NETWORKING: A Career Strategy

We network effectively in our daily life to find trusted auto mechanics, the best doctors, the least expensive grocery store—we ask our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers… THAT is networking!  And what makes it work for us is the interaction involved, we are communicating with others in its most basic form.

So why panic and freeze during career transition?  Simply begin where ever you find yourself right now… and build from there for the rest of your career.  Technology is your friend, here.  Technology is the best way to leverage the time that you have available for productive and efficient networking.  Technology provides you the tools; but remember, technology is not a replacement for your #1 task… it is up to you to identify and develop those relationships that will get you the results you seek… for the rest of your career.

 Networking is a contact sport!

 WHERE To Start

 As a contact sport, networking is about interaction between sender and receiver, buyer and seller… job seeker and potential employers.  The great news is that you get to start from YOUR ‘sweet spot’ or middle ground where all this interaction occurs the easiest!  You start with people that you already know or have some connection to.

If your ‘natural network’ doesn’t have a regular meeting—most do not, by their very diverse nature—groups of like minded people are easy to identify and attend.  As you begin to reach out and broaden your ‘sweet spot,’ be selective in your attempt to create a supportive ‘community’ grouping close to your targeted marketplace.

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Enjoy your Holidays, but don’t lose momentum heading into the New Year…

Simply stated, the traditional ‘job market’ is loaded with traps for the normal job seeker: Applying on-line along with your competition, increasing the odds of rejection and causing a premature, YES-NO-MAYBE judgment…The digital HR screen that judges you by keywords instead of value proposition… and, by the way, what ARE the ‘right’ keywords?

This is precisely WHY your Careerpilot has elected to update the handouts for DFWCareerpilot in 2014.  While there will always be an attempt at keeping up with technology changes that might influence recruitment and job search, you will notice in our new handouts that the use of LinkedIn is fully integrated into the 12-step Process… your M.A.P. to career transition focus and success!

DFWCareerpilot integrates and models two basic philosophies.  One, it challenges the job seeker to utilize High TECH/HIGH TOUCH implementation tactics–we learn that technology is a tool… not a replacement for the personal relationship building prerequisite in the recruitment and hiring process.

And second, we learn to “Embrace The OTHER Job Market,” the one driven by hiring authorities who seek the most qualified and affordable candidates (would you expect less?)… THE ONE driven by the choice of pre-qualified candidates who have already established a relationship with appropriate professionals–with and surrounding the hiring authority!  A job seeker can ‘stand out’ because there is much less rejection (less competition) and controllable yes-no-maybe judgments.

You see, in every marketplace, there are buyers and sellers.  In the traditional job market, the one that our Department of Labor “analyzes,” job seekers are the sellers and their potential employers are the buyers.  The commodity is JOBS and the competition is fierce.

In the OTHER Job Market, buyers and sellers hold equal responsibility for the recruitment process.  When employers have a need for someone to fulfill a specific role, often the most desired candidates are employed individuals with the credentials they seek.  Thus the employer must sell their Company to potential employees in the marketplace in order to attract the best of the lot.  Once identified, they simply select their choice and buy their services. 

In other words, the commodity is productive WORK being assigned to the most qualified individual who ‘fits’ the employers needs.  Often, this WORK has not been clearly defined yet and the employer has not approved an open job requisition.

HAPPY Holidays and we’ll see you in the NEW YEAR ahead.

 

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ACCOUNTABILITY Works to propel your job search efforts…

A good accountability partner can make a major difference in one’s job search. I have seen many job seekers flounder because they launch their search efforts before they are totally prepared for the unique adventure ahead.  The power of partnering comes in to play when two well prepared job seekers come together to hold each other accountable for the activities and time management involved in productive search efforts.

You can call this coincidence if you want, I did for a while until I saw it happening over and over, and the people using the accountability partner were giving them the credit for their success. Or you could call it peer pressure … but whatever you call the ‘fuel.’ The resultant energy cannot be denied… it works.

Too many times, we fall victim to distractions from the job search. The trap of sleeping late, watching TV, and playing on the Web can ensnare us. With no one but ourselves to hold us accountable for our job-search goals and plans, time can just slip away. It’s so easy to lose balance between personal needs and wants and our job search.

The other end of the spectrum is becoming a “job search-aholic.” For many of us, our identity is tied up tightly in our career, while others need a job right away just to make ends meet. No matter how great the need or desire for a new position, conducting a job search 24/7 non-stop can actually be a detriment to a successful campaign.

Once burnout sets in and enthusiasm begins to wane, how can you be at your best when you interview or even network?  The buddy system is an ideal way to protect against burnout while keeping on track!

3 GREAT Reasons You Need An Accountability Partnership

A partnership can be you and one other person, like how we start at DFWCareerpilot…or it could be a group of 3 or more like minded individuals. We start with each grouping being facilitated by a skilled and experienced facilitator.  Having had a lot of experience with facilitating accountability teams and partnerships over the years, I offer the following reasons why such activity will boost your individual job search efforts…

1) Someone to bounce around ideas with… It can be productive when you’re stuck and not sure how to proceed on an idea or maybe with a target organization—or an individual you’re having trouble connecting with.  Sometimes you just need that extra little push. Connecting with someone who does understand is a big deal.

2) Someone to share accomplishments with… Did you research and identify a great opportunity? Land that big interview? Get your first offer?  An accountability partner is the perfect person to share those exciting times with.

As Corporate citizens, we are used to being on productive teams, surrounded by resources, and encouraged to succeed.  However, as job seekers, it is easy to lead a very isolated existence and appropriate resources are not always available.

3) Someone you can stay accountable to

Again, it’s really rewarding to have someone to tell when you have accomplished specific goals and/or tasks. Or on the flip side it’s nice to have someone there if you’re starting to feel overwhelmed and they can bring you back to reality. It’s great to know you have someone there that is counting on you to take action!

TOP TIPS: Creating EFFECTIVE Accountability Partnerships

1)   Create a Goals Worksheet/ TEMPLATE… You’ve heard the cliché “What Gets Measured Gets DONE.”  Very true for jobseekers who put themselves ‘out there’ on their own.  Work SMART at your job search PLAN…

Specific time and activity goals for each process prep and implementation step.

Measurable goals so that progress can be analyzed and diagnosed

Actionable goals that allow you to ‘own’ your job search accomplishments

Realistic goals that are attainable on an average, weekly basis… and keep them

Timely.  Have goals that are time-specific to keep you moving FORWARD!

2)   Choose your PARTNER or TEAM Members wisely… your sense of accountability is built when you can be open and honest with each other during your scheduled sessions.  There’s no room for negativity.

3)   Have a set STRUCTURE of what will occur during each session.  I encourage each meeting to start with a brief practice of verbal collateral, followed by a reporting of last week’s ‘numbers.’  Identify obstacles to your progress, requesting specific ‘help’ as appropriate.  Commit to next week’s numbers.  Close with an open and frank discussion aimed at removing obstacles… including action plans!

4)   Keep your Group’s Membership and attendance consistent.  Remember, these sessions can be effective with anywhere from 2 to 10 Members.

5)   Create a hard copy binder with a tab for each Member… contents should be everyone’s tracking sheet, current resume, and a business card (several might be useful).  Each Member is in this TOGETHER.

6)   Generate a sense of TEAMSMANSHIP… Give yourselve’s a NAME. Create some sort of reward system for the week’s most contributive or successful Member.

7)   Build EARLY SUCCESS by inviting a skilled and experienced facilitator for your first few meetings… then carry-on with a personal accomplishment of helping each other with resolution and action plans to overcome all obstacles.