Archive for Category: Career Advice for Young Professionals
Getting from College to Career, Revised Edition — on sale today!
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Getting from College to Career Uncategorized on January 31, 2012 at 2:24 pm
Today is the day! I am thrilled to announce that my new book, the revised and updated edition of Getting from College to Career: Your Essential Guide to Succeeding in the Real World, is now available from HarperCollins!
I’m now also sharing daily career tips, links and resources on my Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/CollegetoCareer.
Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about the new book:
Hey Lindsey, why did you revise the book now?
Well, for starters, Twitter didn’t even exist when I wrote the first edition! Read my interview with Kimberly Palmer of U.S. News and World Report to learn more about the new social media advice included in the book. (Thank you, Kim!)
What else is included in this revised edition that’s new?
Besides a ton of new content on how to use social media in your job search and career advancement, the revised edition includes tips on Google apps, Skype interviewing, working in the BRIC countries and other timely topics, such as:
•More strategies for standing out in today’s ultra-competitive job market
•Advice on “alternative” career strategies, such as part-time work, freelancing and post-college interning
•LinkedIn strategies specific to students and recent grads
•How to find opportunities in start-up companies and virtual organizations
•A fully updated resource guide, including the best people and organizations to follow on Twitter
You still cover the basics like resumes, cover letters and interviewing, right?
Of course. Getting from College to Career, Revised Edition includes absolutely all of my advice on every step of the job search, and I’ve added in even more tips from recruiters and successful professionals I’ve interviewed since the original book was published.
I’m not currently looking for a job. Does Getting from College to Career include advice for people who are not job hunting at the moment?
Yes! And it also contains advice for people who are beyond their first jobs. My good friend, communications consultant Cari Sommer, wrote a post for Forbes.com applying my tips to the non-jobseeker market. (Thank you, Cari!)
This all sounds great! Where can I buy the book?
Thank you for your support! You can buy the book at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, 800CEOREAD.com or your favorite local bookseller.
If you have any additional questions about the book or how I can help you get from college to career, please comment below!
Back to Basics: The 15 Most Important Resume Tips for Young Professionals
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Getting from College to Career Job Search Tips Resume Tips on January 25, 2012 at 9:00 am
I’m excited to announce (again!) that my book, Getting from College to Career: Your Essential Guide to Succeeding in the Real World, will be published in a brand new, fully revised second edition on January 31st!
In honor of the launch, this month I’m writing series of “back to basics” blog posts on the essentials of getting from college to career. Today I’m sharing my absolute favorite, most impactful resume tips:
1. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Particularly at the beginning of your career, it’s really hard to start your resume with a blank sheet of paper. So don’t. Check out examples of strong entry-level resumes online or at your university career center and borrow the best ideas for formatting, headings, wording and more.
2. Include key words. Employers’ eyes are naturally drawn to the words they’re looking for — the brand names, skills, and experience they need — so make sure you include these terms on your resume. And, be as specific as possible. For instance, “Experience with Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign through the production of 12 issues of on-campus magazine” is much stronger than “Design Experience.
The best way to find the right words to use is to look at online job listings for the kinds of positions you’re interested in and the LinkedIn profiles of people who have the positions you want. Then use some of the prominent words and phrases in those job listings and profiles throughout your resume.
3. Tailor your resume to each opportunity. Employers can tell when they’re seeing a generic resume that is being blasted out to anyone and everyone. It’s fine to have such a resume as a template, but then you need to customize it with different accomplishments and keywords that fit with the individual companies where you’d like to work. (One warning: if you’re sending your resume to a large corporation or posting on the recruiting website of such an organization, you will have to choose just one version.)
4. Quantify everything that’s quantifiable. “Managed a team of camp counselors” is less impressive than “Managed a staff of 12 camp counselors and 5 counselors-in-training.” Quantifying can also give life to administrative tasks: “Receptionist at a 4-doctor medical practice handling over 100 clients per day.” If your work helped to raise money or profits, then numbers are even more important: “Improved sporting equipment sales in my department by 50% in six months” or “Raised $2,000 through solicitation of alumni donations.” Quantifying shows your unique contribution to an organization and also demonstrates that you’re a person who understands the importance of measuring results.
5. Prioritize. When you list bullet points under each job on your resume (and you should always list bullet points under each job), be sure to list the most important task, accomplishment or responsibility first. It’s highly unlikely that a potential employer is going to read every bullet point under every item on your resume, but most people will read the first or second bullet point on each list. You don’t have to list accomplishments chronologically; list the most impressive first. Also note that more challenging jobs (which ideally should be your more recent jobs) should have more bullet points than less challenging work experiences.
6. Don’t forget to list internships, volunteer work and unpaid summer jobs. Just because you didn’t get paid for something doesn’t mean it doesn’t count as real experience. When including unpaid experience on your resume, emphasize the professional skills you’ve developed. Use terms such as “leadership,” “fundraising,” “public relations,” “people management,” and “budgeting” to describe your activities.
7. Note any notables. Be sure to mention anything about you that is unique and uncommon. Some examples include, “Founding president of first-ever entrepreneurial club at XYZ University,” “Winner of the Anita Lawrence Scholarship for Excellence in Social Studies, awarded to the top junior history student” (remember to explain an award if it’s not nationally known) or “Youngest person ever promoted to assistant manager at local high-end jewelry store.”
8. Don’t highlight something that you despised doing. As you can see, there are many ways to draw a reader’s eye to what you want that person to see on your resume, so avoid these strategies when you don’t want to promote something. In fact, if you’ve had a task or responsibility that you hated and never want to do again (like selling vacuums door-to-door or cleaning animal cages), then don’t include it on your resume. You can even leave off an entire job if it’s not relevant to your current job search.
9. Don’t ever lie or stretch the truth. This happens way too often, and it’s never a good idea. There are so many reasons not to lie on a resume. First of all, if your lie or truth stretching gets discovered, you’ll lose a job opportunity with that company forever. Second, if you exaggerate your skills, such as being fluent in Spanish when you really just studied it in high school, your lie will become extremely obvious the day you start your job and you lack the skills you said you had.
10. Keep it to one page. I’ve seen senior executives with one-page resumes, so I don’t see any reason why a college student or recent grad’s resume needs more than that. Remember that your resume is a marketing tool and not a transcript or a laundry list of everything you’ve ever done. By keeping your resume short and sweet, you’re demonstrating that you can edit yourself and sell yourself clearly and concisely, which are both important skills in the professional world.
11. Curb your creativity. In the vast majority of circumstances, it’s inappropriate to present your resume in any other format than a simple black font (Times New Roman, Arial, etc.) on a white background. On hard copy resumes, it is not okay to use colored paper, scented paper, colorful or creative fonts or any other bells and whistles. Recruiters, especially those in the corporate world, laugh at these attempts to stand out and immediately throw such resumes away. It’s also smart to PDF your resume to make sure your formatting looks the same on all computers (and to ensure you haven’t left any Track Changes markings — seriously, I’ve seen that happen).
12. Don’t title your resume document “resume.” This tip comes from employer Don Fornes writing on the Job Bound blog. “About a third of applicants name their resume document, ‘resume.doc.’” Don writes. “’Resume’ may make sense on your computer, where you know it’s your resume. However, on my computer, it’s one of many, many resumes with the same name…. By using such a generic file name, the applicant misses a great opportunity to brand themselves.”
13. Get professional input. As I recommended in last week’s post on the 7 essentials of a successful job search, if you can afford a professional resume writer, hire one. If you’re still in college, get a free resume critique from your college career center. If you can’t do either of these things, then ask your smartest, most successful friend or family member (ideally someone who works or has worked in your industry) for help.
14. Leave out unnecessary information. Here is what you should not include on your resume: references (an employer will request these if desired), the phrase “References upon request” (they know this), a GPA under 3.0 (click here to read my tips on how to get a job if you have a low GPA) or obvious skills (there is no longer a need to say that you know how to use Microsoft Word or Internet Explorer). You should also remove high school activities once you’re out of college.
15. Quadruple-check for any typos. Typos happen to the best of us, so be meticulous about spelling, grammar, formatting and consistency on your resume. Be especially careful with details like whether or not you end each bullet point with a punctuation mark or whether you’ve capitalized all of your job titles. Even a small typo can blow an opportunity, especially if you’ve included “excellent attention to detail” as one of your skills!
And one more bonus tip…
Make sure your resume gets read. A recruiter once told me he always has two stacks of resumes on his desk: one super tall stack of resumes that are submitted online and one very small stack of resumes sent or handed to him by a trusted friend or colleague. Of course you want to be in that smaller, more elite stack. So, always look for an “in” at a company — a friend-of-a-friend, an alum of your university, a LinkedIn connection — who believes in you and will recommend you to his or her employer. You can have the best resume in the world, but if a recruiter never sees it you’ll never get the job you want.
So, what do you think? Are there any other resume tips I should have included here? Please add your additional tips and suggestions in the Comments!
Back to Basics: 7 Essentials for a Successful Job Search
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Getting from College to Career Job Search Tips on January 11, 2012 at 9:00 am
I’m excited to announce that my book, Getting from College to Career: Your Essential Guide to Succeeding in the Real World, will be published in a brand new, fully revised second edition on January 31st!
In honor of the launch, this month I’ll be writing series of “back to basics” blog posts on the essentials of getting from college to career. Today I’m starting with the basics of getting yourself set up with what I consider to be the 7 absolute basics you’ll need for a successful job search:
1. Time. You’ve probably heard it said that job hunting is a fulltime job. I don’t believe that’s necessarily the case, but it is an activity that needs serious commitment. You’ll likely fail if you’re job hunting in your spare time, only on weekends or “when you get to it.” To get serious, schedule specific blocks of time in your calendar that are dedicated to your job hunt. I’d recommend starting with 30 uninterrupted minutes a day and adding time from there.
2. A Really Big List. A lot of people tell me this is their favorite tip from Getting from College to Career. A Really Big List is a collection of every idea you have that’s related to your job search — companies you’d love to work for, internships to apply for, people you’ve been meaning to talk to, blogs to subscribe to and anything and everything else. Start a list in a notebook, an Excel doc or in a file on your phone and keep it with you at all times. Your list will provide the assignments for the job search sessions you’ve now made the time for: employers to research, people to invite for informational interviews, events to attend, etc. It’s like a journal and assignment book all in one.
3. Friends. Notice I said “friends” instead of “a network.” This is so you don’t get scared. The reality is that your friends are your network, and a network is absolutely critical to landing a job. Your friends are the first people you should tell about your job search. Your friends are the people who can offer advice, ideas and connections to their friends who might also be helpful. Your friends are the people you should connect with on LinkedIn before anyone else (see #6 below). A job search doesn’t require reaching out to dozens of strangers. You’ll be more successful if you reach out to your friends first and grow your network organically from those relationships.
4. Business cards. A lot of people feel weird having business cards without a title or company name on them. Don’t. Business cards are the currency of the professional world, so you absolutely must have them to engage in a successful job hunt. I’m especially impressed when I meet a student or recent grad with cards. It shows maturity, foresight, and an eagerness to have the appropriate tools for the working world. Design a simple card with a simple font and the highest quality card stock you can afford at DesignYourOwnCard.com, VistaPrint, FedEx Kinko’s or your local print shop. Include your name, phone number and email. If you’d like, you can also include your university, major and year of graduation; a professional website if you have one; and your LinkedIn profile URL.
5. The Best Resume You Can Possibly Have. Chris Russell’s recent post reminded me of the importance of having a professionally written resume. Although the economy is getting better, it’s still an incredibly competitive job market, so your resume has to be the very best it can be. Don’t wing it! If you can afford a professional resume writer, hire one. If you’re in college or are a recent grad, get a resume rewrite from your college career center. If you can’t do either of these things, then ask your smartest, most successful friend (ideally someone who works or has worked in your industry) for help. No matter how you improve your resume, I promise that the time, effort and/or money spent will be well worth it.
6. 100% Complete LinkedIn Profile. Now take that professionally edited resume and turn it into a LinkedIn profile. With more than 135 million members and counting, LinkedIn has become the professional Yellow Pages: no matter what your field, professional level or geographic location, you simply must have a presence if you want to be found by employers and taken seriously by networking contacts. For comprehensive tips on setting up a great profile, watch my short LinkedIn how-to videos for students or register for one of my upcoming 60-minute LinkedIn for Job Seekers webinars. Both of these resources are totally free and open to all.
7. Two Professional Outfits. While it’s great to have a closet full of clothes, you can make it through a job search with two main outfits (sorry – my husband always tells me that men don’t call their clothes “outfits”) sets of clothes. First, you need a professional suit. When in doubt, go with a basic black suit (skirt suits or pant suits are both okay for women) and black shoes. Make sure the suit is always dry-cleaned and the shoes are polished and not too worn. You can make a black suit look totally different for different events by changing the shirt you wear underneath.
Second, you need a go-to business casual outfit. This is harder than it sounds — depending on your industry, business casual could mean ripped jeans or it could mean neatly pressed khakis and a cardigan sweater. Research what’s appropriate in your industry and, when in doubt, err on the side of a bit more conservative just to be safe. Whatever you determine, always have your business casual option at the ready for networking meetings and other casual encounters with employers.
What are other absolute essentials to begin a job search? Please add your additional tips and suggestions in the Comments!
3 New Career Habits for the New Year
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals on January 4, 2012 at 1:17 pm
Happy New Year! Let’s get right to it and talk about how to make your mark in the coming 12 months. Whether you want to secure a raise, a promotion or a better job, these habits — one daily one weekly, one monthly — will keep you on track for big success. I’m committing to them and I hope you will, too:
1. Empty your email inbox every day. At every workshop I present, someone always asks how it’s possible to accomplish anything when you receive hundreds of emails a day. The answer is: you often can’t. You simply cannot achieve the big things when you get mired in the small things. And the vast majority of emails are about small things. While totally emptying your inbox daily may not be realistic for you, you can find an email management strategy that helps you tame your inbox. My strategies are: unsubscribe from as much as possible; keep emails as brief as possible; only have one folder called “Archive”; turn off email when writing; and — although I don’t always achieve it — aim for “inbox zero” at the end of every day.
2. Schedule one networking activity a week. What would happen if you made your professional relationships a priority this year? Just as you schedule gym time or date night with your significant other, try scheduling a weekly networking activity — and this shouldn’t always involve meeting strangers. One week you might invite a more senior colleague to grab lunch, another week you might finally take advantage of your college’s alumni mentoring program and once in a while you might venture out to a formal networking event or meet-up to make some new contacts. Your next move is likely to come from a networking interaction inside or outside your current organization, so increase your chances of being in the right place at the right time by networking every single week.
3. Read one career/business book a month. There is so much excellent information available on how to advance in your career — so, go read it! Whether you choose to read current best sellers, the business classics or how-to books on topics where you need some improvement (e.g., negotiation skills, professional appearance, Excel), think how much smarter you’ll be at the end of 2012 with 12 new books full of knowledge in your head. Books on my current professional reading list are Steve Jobs, The M Factor and All the Money in the World.
What career habits are you planning to implement this year? What books are on your reading list? Please share in the Comments!
Does Your Resume “Resunate”?
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Future of Careers Generation Y/Millennials Getting from College to Career Job Search Tips on November 23, 2011 at 9:00 am
I recently spoke with Mona Adbel-Hailm, the co-inventor of Resunate.com, to learn more about her company’s new approach to resume creation.
In a nutshell, Resunate enables job seekers to create customized, job specific resumes. As I learned in a demo, your work experience gets screened against any job description and then indicates if you’re a strong match. Resunate then helps you improve your resume accordingly.
Here is my full conversation with Mona:
Q: Who is the team behind Resunate and why did you choose to build a business in the area of job hunting?
A: My co-founders and I met in my last semester of graduate school at Carnegie Mellon University. I became acquainted with a graduate research project, looking at different ways of applying cutting-edge technology to solve labor issues.
Our team interviewed unemployed individuals, asking them what pain points they faced. By and large, [they said] it was the time-consuming process of applying to jobs and tailoring their resumes that frustrated job seekers the most. From there, we spoke with hiring managers and HR directors to learn how they processed job applications. We discovered that employers utilize numerous kinds of technologies to screen candidates. We keep updating the product based on user feedback and testing new features against employer screening systems.
Q: Are job seekers having success with Resunate?
A: Our most recent study showed that resumes pre-screened with Resunate were two times more likely to be called back for an interview than a candidate’s original resume.
Q: Congratulations! One of the things I learned from our conversation is about the importance of resume parsers. Can you explain what a “parser” is and why job candidates need to know about this?
A: A parser is a tool within every applicant tracking system (ATS) that scans your resume and breaks up the words into a searchable database, removing all styling. The parser also assigns meaning to the content within your resume. This is important for candidates to know because the way you format your resume can affect how easy it is to scan and how much an employer sees.
Additionally, parsers provide employers a synopsis of your key skills when they scan your resume. That’s why it’s so important to have your resume format optimized for these scanning systems.
The greatest way to ensure you have a parser-friendly resume is to build well-organized resumes with as much relevant content to each job you apply to. This ensures the skills employers are looking for are the ones the parser will highlight.
Q: What are the biggest mistakes entry-level job seekers make on their resumes and what can they do to fix them?
A: The biggest mistake is sending out cookie-cutter resumes to every position. This undersells the job seeker and places that resume in the shredder pile. The easiest way entry-level job seekers can improve this is to pay attention to the job description and how they can contribute. Employers want to know how you’ll impact their organization.
Q: How do you see Resunate benefiting employers?
A: We launched a free widget for employers to utilize Resunate as a no-cost professional recruiting solution that enables employers to request applicants to screen themselves against their job opening before applying. Resunate helps employers save time by focusing on the most relevant experiences.
Q: This is all very cool and different. What’s on the horizon for Resunate?
A: We have many new features coming out, all with the goal of providing job seekers more insight into how employers evaluate their job application. One feature will be a “Parser Report” providing job seekers the exact information employers see, in partnership with the parser used by most job boards and Fortune 500 companies.
Another feature is in collaboration with the makers of the Myers Briggs® assessment. This feature, JobFit, will enable job seekers to verify their personality type and their natural work style preferences with Myers Briggs® to gauge job satisfaction, adding a whole new dimension to Resunate.
Thank you to Mona for answering my questions and sharing Resunate with us. Learn more at http://www.resunate.com.
How Gen Y Navigates Time — and Life
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Future of Careers Generation Y/Millennials Getting from College to Career on November 16, 2011 at 1:01 pm
This week I had the pleasure of writing a guest post for the blog of Laura Vanderkam, one of my favorite authors (check out her new book here). Her blog is all about the use of time, so I wrote a post about Millennials and time management…
How Gen Y Navigates Time — and Life
I’ve been working with members of the Millennial Generation (those born approximately 1980 to 1995) for about 10 years now, and one of my biggest observations is that they always seem to be busy.
High school and college students are shuttling between classes, sports, clubs, jobs and social engagements. Young professionals are working full-time and starting businesses on the side. And, of course, they’re accomplishing all of this while texting, IM-ing and playing video games all at the same time.
Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little. But not by much. Millennials (also know as Generation Y) are living in a world with more communication tools, more career options, more entertainment choices and more stress than ever before.
Is all this busyness all that bad? I don’t believe it is. I’ve noticed some plusses and minuses to Millennials’ constant busyness that can help people of all generations trying to navigate our increasingly busy world.
Read the rest of this post on Laura Vanderkam’s blog
Are You Ready to “Crack the New Job Market”? An Interview with R. William Holland
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Future of Careers Generation Y/Millennials Getting from College to Career on November 9, 2011 at 12:02 pm
A few months ago I received a surprising email from R. William (Bill) Holland. Bill reached out to tell me about his upcoming book, Cracking the New Job Market: The 7 Rules for Getting Hired in Any Economy, and we also reminisced about our shared connection.
Bill’s son was a classmate of mine in elementary school and his lovely wife was my assistant teacher in 2nd grade! He and his family moved away from my hometown in Connecticut and soon after that and we lost touch. Now, thanks to LinkedIn, we were able to reconnect and discover we both have a passion for helping people find jobs and advance their careers.
Bill sent me a copy of his excellent book and also agreed to answer some questions for my blog. Enjoy!
Q. So much has been written about the most effective way to write a resume.
What makes your approach unique and particularly effective for Generation Y?
A. When you use my “value-infused” method, two things happen: First, it prepares you for other phases of the job search including interviewing, networking and negotiating offers. Your focus is on what the employer wants from the person they choose to fill the position. We tell our clients that your resume is not about you—it is about what others want from you. Employers are impressed by candidates who understand their needs and are responsive to them.
Second, and more important, my methodology facilitates the change in mindset necessary to thrive in the new economy. Efficient and cost effective value creation is one of the primary requirements for participation in the new economy whether you are a traditional or non-traditional worker or an entrepreneur. My method is the beginning step to get you into a value creation mindset.
Q. Would you offer some pointers to help Gen Y candidates prepare for job interviews?
A. We tell our clients that once you have prepared and tweaked your resume for a particular job opening, you have made the interview preparation much easier. The answer to all interview questions is essentially the same. Interviews are opportunities to talk about things of interest to the employer. You know what those are because you prepared your resume in response to them. Now, as with your resume, the interview is not about you—it’s about what the employer wants from you if you are the successful candidate.
Q. Many millennial professionals—employed and unemployed—are contemplating changing careers. You give the uncommon advice not to follow their passion as a guide for making a career choice. Why?
A. Avoid relying solely on your passion for making a career choice. If you are passionate about something that someone is willing to pay you for, you are ahead of the game. But the operative word here is “pay” not “passion.” Besides, when we rely solely on our passion there is a tendency to get the process backwards. Substantial numbers of people become passionate about their contribution once they bask in the glory of positive feedback. Those who develop the mindset to create value in all they do are better positioned to take advantage of serendipity when it shows up.
Q. You also challenge conventional wisdom about the critical importance of face-to-face networking.
A. Face-to-face networking is important. But it is limited and limiting. Social networking, on the other hand, allows any of us—including those who dislike face-to-face networking—to reach out across thousands of networks and connect with a limitless number of people and situations. Face-to-face networking should be seen for what it is—an appendage to social networking, not a substitute for it.
Expert Advice for Gen Y Managers
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Future of Careers Generation Y/Millennials Getting from College to Career Managing Generational Differences on November 2, 2011 at 11:55 am
As members of Generation Y (a.k.a. Millennials) continue to enter the workforce in droves, plenty is being written about how to manage these young employees.
I’d like to take a different angle and talk about the fact that Gen Ys are now starting to do the managing. More than a few workplaces — from start-ups to nonprofits to Fortune 500 corporations — are promoting twentysomethings into management roles every day.
To help this new cohort of Gen Y managers, I reached out to some of the best managers I know — from all generations — and asked them what they wish they’d known when they first became leaders. Here are some of their answers:
“I wish I had realized the true impact I could make on people’s careers versus being concerned about whether I was ready for the challenge of managing others. [The people we manage] expect our best efforts, so focus on the needs of the individual you are managing and use the skills that have gotten you to this point. You will always be a work in progress.”
- Robert Daugherty, Retired HR Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
“The key to managing others is to put yourself in their shoes. Make sure you understand what their long-term goals are, so that you can structure the day-to-day tasks to support the person’s career development. If you can do that effectively, the person working for you will do a great job and be more willing to go the extra mile.”
- Lauren Porat, Co-Founder, Urban Interns
“I wish I had spent more time getting to know my employees and what motivates them. Playing into different people’s motivations is the best way to manage them to success.”
- Evan Gotlib, SVP Advertising Sales & Creative Services, blip.tv
“It is sometimes difficult to ask others to perform when you have never done it before. Don’t apologize for asking people to do what they are paid to do. Be clear about expectations and what constitutes a job well done.”
- Susan Phillips Bari, President Emeritus, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council
“I wish I had known how important it is to get to know everyone you can in an organization, not just stay clustered with your specific team. Relationships drive so much of business, so the more authentic relationships you can make across departments, the more effective a manager you’ll be.”
- Manisha Thakor, Personal Finance Expert & Author
“I’ve managed people who were 20 years younger and, in some cases, 30 years older. I never focused on their age, but rather sought to tap their passion, a particular experience or skill as a means of engaging them and forging a strong relationship. I don’t get threatened by how much someone may know on a particular topic. I’m willing to listen and learn from them.”
- Linda Descano, CFA, CEO, Women & Co. (a service of Citibank)
“I wish I had known about the ‘praise sandwich’ — delivering constructive criticism between two pieces of positive feedback. No one wants to work for a boss who is hypercritical or insensitive. By acknowledging the good things as part of a difficult conversation, it makes negative feedback more palatable.”
- Meryl Weinsaft Cooper, Co-Author, Be Your Own Best Publicist: How to Use PR Techniques to Get Hired, Noticed & Rewarded at Work
“I wish I had not been is such a rush. Listening to your team and observing their behaviors before determining how to lead them is really critical.”
- Joan Kuhl, Associate Director, Managed Markets Training, Forest Laboratories
As an avid reader, I also asked my expert panelists for their recommendations of the best books for new managers. Here are a few of their selections:
The One-Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard
The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels by Michael Watkins
The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
You’re In Charge — Now What? by Thomas J. Neff and James M. Citrin
What’s your best advice for new managers and what books would you recommend? Please share your comments!
On Fox Business: Why You Should Have a LinkedIn Profile
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Networking and Personal Branding Recommended Career Resources Social Media on November 1, 2011 at 9:00 am
Many thanks to my friend Dr. Woody for interviewing me this week for his column on FoxBusiness.com. Here are two tips from the article:
Become an Expert: The best way to gain credibility in a field is to become a go-to resource. LinkedIn offers a number of tools for helping professionals engage with peers to exchange information and ideas.
For example: LinkedIn Groups, LinkedIn Answers, and LinkedIn Today are all great ways to reach out to colleagues and become part of the trending conversations in your field. When it comes to college students and new professionals, Pollak says these tools are “a great way to learn the lingo of your field and become a virtual insider.”
Attract Recruiters: Recruiters use LinkedIn. The job search isn’t always an active process, and hiring managers and recruiters use the tool to find candidates to fill openings. Pollak encourages users to pay attention to key words in their profiles, so be sure to have them peppered throughout the following sections of your LinkedIn profile: Summary, Specialties, Skills and Recommendations.
Read the rest of the article here.
Do You Have Career Blind Spots? An Interview with Alexandra Levit
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Future of Careers Gen Y Entrepreneurship Generation Y/Millennials Getting from College to Career on October 5, 2011 at 10:04 am
Alexandra Levit is a good friend and a great career expert. She’s written several terrific career advice books and has just released her latest, Blind Spots: 10 Business Myths You Can’t Afford to Believe on Your New Path to Success.
In today’s post, Alexandra answers some of my questions:
Q. How did you come up with this idea for Blind Spots?
A. I decided to write Blind Spots because I was tired of reading silly theories and platitudes dispensed by business and career authors who sell their work by giving these myths credibility and by telling readers what they want to hear. I wanted to be honest with people about what will render them successful in today’s business world, not yesterday’s. I wanted something out there other than overly provocative advice that hasn’t worked for anyone I know, like quitting your job tomorrow and starting your own business the next day, or marching into your boss’ office and announcing that he should appreciate your individuality.
Q. Which of your “blind spots” do you think most affects Gen Yers, and how can they overcome it?
A. Without question, the myth that it’s best to climb the ladder as fast as possible. Gen Yers must understand that getting promoted year after year requires a near-constant vigilance as well as a laser-sharp focus on work –- often to the detriment of everything else in your life. In Blind Spots, we talk about why it’s best to enjoy your time as a middle manager or individual contributor and how you can really make the most of your working twenties without burning out or being set up to fail.
Q. You mention in your introduction that you would like to help people hone their positive traits like authenticity, perseverance and self-awareness. What would you suggest is the first step in accomplishing this, particularly for young professionals?
A. The first step is to recognize what you don’t know and where you can improve. A lot of what it takes to be successful is already a part of who you are, and with a little self-reflection and the course-correcting offered in Blind Spots, you absolutely have the power to cultivate the skills and attitude that will take you wherever you want to go.
Q. Myth #8 is focused on job security. What is the best thing someone might do to ensure that they don’t get laid off?
A. If word on the street says there will be layoffs, sniff out competitors who do similar work and are in better financial straits, pursue an internal move to a profitable department and nurture your relationships with senior executives.
Q. What is your best advice to young professionals who dream of entrepreneurship?
A. If you want to start a company, the motivation fueled by being bored with your work or hating your boss won’t be enough. You’ll have to think hard about the marketplace and the need for your product or service. Then, be prepared to work at a variety of tasks to bring it to fruition.
