Executive Career Suite Weblog

CAREER JUMPS

Reflections

I had Rheumatic Fever when I was in Kindergarten. I don't remember the "sick" part, but what I do remember is the bitter taste of the medicine since I didn't know how to swallow pills whole; and most of all I remember the gifts that I received during this time. I was not allowed to play or walk around - something to do about the heart, so I spent a lot of time reading and playing games in bed.

One of my favorite books that I received was Dr. Goat. The first lines of the book were: "Dr. Goat put on his coat and went out to make some calls. He went to the house of a mouse who had the mumps and cured a frog who had the jumps."

Have you ever had The Jumps?

Career Jumps Diagnosis and Treatment

Recently a client came to me - let's call her "Jane."  She was interested in beginning a search for a new position but was concerned about the Jumps. We talked about her history and I looked at her resume and was happy to report to her that she was free from that syndrome. I coached her through some strategies for her job search and sent her on her way to success.

Now, let's look at "John." He came to me wanting something different in his career. He had worked in several career fields taking mostly lateral moves in quick succession. He was once more looking for something different.

Diagnosis: The Jumps

Definition: Several positions in a short amount of time without progression - mostly lateral moves in different industries.


The Treatment: John and I worked through a personal branding program to help him discover his true passion and strengths. Then together we drew up a plan of action to reach his career goals. One action item included developing an online identity with his new brand so people would begin to see how his diverse work history complimented his goals. This was an investment for John.  He had to stop going to Starbucks every morning and out to dinner two or three nights each week, but he knew the ROI would be worth it. I am happy to say that he has settled into a new career, one that fits and one I am sure that he will stick with for several years.

If you think you might have "the Jumps" or if you want to avoid them, contact me for a free "diagnosis."

Managing Your Career

We've talked before about how individuals should be in charge of managing their own careers.Here are some facts to think about:

25% of people will google someone before meeting with them.

75% of hiring managers, recruiters, etc. will google applicants before interviewing them.

Part of career management is managing your on-line presence. For some, that means "creating" an on-line presence; for others, especially new college grads, that means cleaning up the "digital dirt" they have made for themselves.

There are many ways to create an on-line presence: blogs, webpages, web portfolios, etc. There are strategies to enhance your visibility too. It is important to ensure that your personal brand is visible on-line.

Go google yourself and see what comes up. Contact us to learn more about our strategies.

Which Sports Car Are You?

This is just for fun! I took an online quiz to see which sports car I am. Mine came back a Ferrari 360 Modena: You've got it all. Power, passion, precision, and style. You're sensuous, exotic, and temperamental. Sure, you're expensive and high-maintenance, but you're worth it.

I don't know if I would call myself "high maintenance" .....but I'm sure that my husband would go along with the "expensive" attribute.

Go ahead and try it out. It only takes a minute or two! Sports Car Quiz

Personal Values and Career Choices

Each generation seems to have different motivators for work/career choices. My father's generation looked for stability - get a job and stay with that company for 40 years, retire and get the gold watch.

Then we moved into a money motivated society, and then the money and benefits era. Not only did we want the money but we wanted lots of benefits. We went from vacation and health care benefits to life insurance, childcare, disability insurance, petcare, concierge services. Those extra benefits came at a price - instead of the traditional 40 hour work week, salaried employees found themselves working more hours and taking work home too.

The new generation of workers is saying HOLD ON! NO MORE of this! They want a balance of life and work AND in that order.

Research has shown that some will take a lower salary in order to have that balance. The new generation wants their careers to match their values.

I say, BRAVO for that! As I coach my clients and work with them through the personal branding process, one of the first steps is to determine their values. I have found through the years that when someone is unhappy in their job, most of the time it is because there is a value that is not being met.

A benefit of completing the personal branding process is that the employee will be able to identify their strengths and their values and then match that to an employer's value system. This synchronization will lead to a more meaningful culture and each person's role and contribution will take on a new importance. The end result is happier employees who want to stay.

Bedazzled?

I spent Saturday evening watching movies with my teenage sons. If you have teenagers, you know how rare this occurrence is! Not wanting to chase them away, I watched the movies they chose.

One of those movies was Bedazzled—a comedy about a guy who is granted several wishes in exchange for his soul. He goes through various personas trying to be Mr. Perfect so he can catch a certain woman. Every “wish” ends in disaster.

As we watched this movie, it was apparent that this guy just needed to be himself—he needed personal branding!

How many of us have tried on different personalities or different careers or even started new business looking for success and happiness, but have fallen way short?

When we brand ourselves, we discover our true strengths and learn to give ourselves permission to be authentic. Being anything other than authentic is exhausting and leads to mediocrity. So, don't sell your soul, just invest in personal branding!

Get Ready for a "Brand" New Year

Personal Branding is becoming an essential element in career management today. Corporations have branded their goods and services for years. Now employees, entrepreneurs, and individuals are going through the branding process in order to communicate what makes them different and special. A brand is a unique promise of value. You use your brand to achieve your goals while being true to yourself.

Personal branding is not just a logo or a tag line. It is about being authentic. Personal brands are not created, they are unearthed and evolve. You use your values, passions and strengths to uncover your brand identity.

Visualize Mother Theresa. If you ask anyone in this world who she was you will hear words like: humble, selfless, giving, caring, etc. Now, picture her wearing a fine silk suit and Italian gold jewelry. That vision doesn’t fit her brand. She lived and breathed her brand and she was successful—not wealthy, but successful. She was known the world over and had audiences with heads of state.

Take Madonna—her brand is about change and shock value. You know that each time she comes out with a new CD it will be different than any other she has made. Each of her books is about completely different subjects. She also lives and breathes her brand.

What does a successful personal brand do for you? You will understand yourself better, increase your confidence, create a clear focus for your career, and enhance your presence so that others will understand you.

Want to know more? Contact me about a special offer to unearth your personal brand valid until December 30.