The Biggest Fear That Keeps You From Building a More Satisfying Career - Kathy Caprino

The Biggest Fear That Keeps You From Building a More Satisfying Career This week, I spoke with a friend who has been a stay-at-home mom for 13 years, after building a career as an engineer. She told me that her job had served as a good paycheck, but nothing more. As her children are now in their teens, she’s beginning to see the next chapter of her life approaching quickly. She’s intrigued at the idea of having more time to herself, and engaging in different work, outside the focus of caregiving. She even has an idea or two about what she’d like to try her hand at in terms of employment. But seriously entertaining this idea (and doing anything concrete about it) is scary and intimidating to her.   Her fear makes it hard for her to even stop for a second to contemplate it, so she pushes it aside and squashes it down. And that, in turn, makes her more hyper-focused on what’s happening at home, which exacerbates her fears, unhappiness and exhaustion. I’ve seen this exact same scenario countless times. People want more, different and better for their lives, but are completely daunted by the prospect of change, so they resist moving forward even one inch to explore it. And their “stuckness” makes them ill and unhappy. My friend also shared with me the one critical fear I hear every week in my career coaching work, and the fear is this: “I’m worried that I’ll try my hand at this new direction, and it won’t work out. What if I end up not liking it or feel it’s wrong again, like my other work?” This one fear keeps people stuck for years, and sometimes for a lifetime. This “what if it doesn’t work out?” worry is crippling. There are many versions of “what if?” that keep people paralyzed in inertia: What if I grow to hate it? What if I can’t do it well? What if I can’t make any money at it? What if I can’t juggle my family life and am exhausted by it? What if people laugh at me for wanting to try this? What if my family (husband, parents, etc.) think I’m crazy? What if it lets me down like all the other directions I’ve taken? I remained stuck in the “what if” mode for years as well, and know full well how potent and paralyzing it can be. When I started to become unstuck (after a brutal corporate layoff in the days following 9/11), I remember reading the great book The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron, and suddenly realized that there were so many more opportunities for me than I ever understood. I began seeing people with very cool small businesses in my community whom I had never noticed before, and it was enlivening and exciting. There were new possibilities I’d ignored for years. I had a friend with her own very lucrative market research firm, and I so envied her freedom, flexibility and authority, but I thought, “That’ll never be me. I can’t have that.” I desperately wished to do something more creative for my livelihood â€" more flexible, productive, and meaningful in my professional life, and being laid off from my corporate job allowed me to see that it was only fear of the “what if’s” that had kept me stuck in something that was so wrong for me. Now as a writer, speaker, and career success consultant, my creative juices are finally flowing and the dots have been connected. How do we effectively address that “what if?” fear and move through it? These four simple strategies will help you move beyond the fear, into action: Just do one tiny thing today (and every day) to “try on” a new direction. Most of us have no idea how to go about exploring a new career. I know now that there are scores of ways to simply “try on” a new direction before we leap. We don’t have to reinvent completely, or chuck our old life in order to go in a new direction. We can just explore it in small, digestible, doable ways â€" through volunteering, interviewing, shadowing professionals, taking on a small project, talking to someone who does it, consulting, working part-time, etc. The key is to view the exploration and research as a “project” in your life, not as a wholesale life change. You don’t have to risk or lose everything to try out a new path. Just take one tiny step every day or week. Get your creative juices flowing again. I believe, as Julia Cameron does, that creative expression is the natural direction of life. So many people I work with (and throughout the world) are highly creative but have become blocked and stymied in their creativity, which in turns brings about unhappiness, pain, and suffering. Limiting beliefs, fears and other inhibiting forces hold us back from sharing our creative energies and talents with the world. When we get unstuck and start using our creative talents once again, our lives change for the better , as does the world around us. Think about the creative endeavors you used to engage in as a young person that brought you great joy. For me, it’s singing and performing â€" I’m simply not as happy or productive if I’m not engaged actively in music. What is that for you? Is it scrapbooking, playing piano, interior decorating, designing clothes, writing a novel, making jewelry, playing jazz? Figure it out, and bring it forward in your life today in some small way. When you do, a myriad of exciting new opportunities, relationships and experiences (both personal and professional) will open to you. Surround yourself with amazing supporters, not critical naysayers. If the only people in your life right now are critical, judgmental naysayers who would make fun of you for trying a completely new direction, then you have the wrong people in your life. Period. End of story. The people who surround us dramatically color, shape and influence our lives. Become more selective and careful about who you let into your life. One by one, purge out the negative naysayers, and build a new group of supporters, friends, allies, and advocates. If it’s your family members who put you down and squash your dreams, build a stronger boundary and protect yourself from their negativity. It’s up to you. From this day forward, become extremely discerning about who you allow to influence your thoughts, actions and beliefs. Finally, recognize the true value of your life and your talents. More than 60,000 people have downloaded my Career Path Self-Assessment since I developed it a few years ago, to help professionals figure out what’s missing in their lives and what’s needed to build more joyful livelihoods. In reading their responses, I’ve seen core themes, blocks and patterns jump off the page. I can see what my clients can’t â€" that they are immensely talented, gifted, and accomplished, and each person has so much to offer the world that others don’t have. I can also see their blocks, frailties, and vulnerabilities â€" what they’re ashamed of and hiding from (I call those their “power gaps.”). Finally, it’s clear to me how they could shine in the world, but they can’t see it. None of us can, without some help. Get some outside help in the form of a mentor, friend or coaching buddy who sees the highest vision of you before it’s hatched. Find someone who inspires you and can help you see yourself in a way you cannot â€" that you’re talented, gifted and amazing (every person on the planet is), and there is great value in what you have to offer. You’re not only as good as your last job, performance appraisal, or raise . You’re much, much more. Don’t waste any more time doubting it â€" just do something today. (To build a happier career, visit kathycaprino.com and take my 6-day Amazing Career Challenge.)

Food for Thought How to Stay Focused - Hallie Crawford

Food for Thought How to Stay Focused I was talking to my Mastermind Group this week and we got on the topic of staying focused. Two of our members were wondering When there are so many opportunities out there and so many things Im interested in, how do I choose which one to focus on career-wise? I think this is a common problem. With the advent of the internet and our ability now to work from anywhere, there are so many more opportunities for people. Instead of feeling like there are so few options, many people feel like they have too many options. Its like standing at a buffet line and having too many choices as opposed to too few! I hear this all the time from clients and prospective clients. In some ways, this is a nice problem to have. On the other hand, it can be frustrating. What has helped me over the years become and remain focused, and achieve my goals, is a constant focus on my personal mission and purpose statement. I was lost for years and jumped around in and out of several jobs, until I took the time to figure out what I wanted my life to be about. While speaking to my Mastermind members, I kept coming back to what is your passion and purpose? Typically a purpose statement isnt about 5 different things, its about 1-2 things. This helps you become focused because youre looking at 1-2 options, not 5. And whos to say you wont tackle the rest of those 5 things later in life! Keep them on your list. But remember that focused attention on 1-2 things will enable you to be more effective at them. If you try to tackle too many things, you run the risk of spreading yourself too thin and not giving 100% to each of those areas. What is your purpose? isnt a quick, easy question to answer, especially if you dont think about this kind of thing very much. If someone had asked me this question years ago, I wouldve looked at them with a blank stare. But there are ways to figure it out, like my Unlocking Your Purpose Teleclass. I hope this is helpful, Hallie Career Coach

Writing Career Objectives For Resume - How To Write Bullet Points For A Resume

Writing Career Objectives For Resume - How To Write Bullet Points For A ResumeWriting career objectives for resume can be a daunting task especially when you lack any essential information. People use different formats for their resumes and one such format is the bullet point. You might ask how can one convert the format to writing a resume with bullet points?One thing is for sure; it is not easy to write bullet points in a word document. If you are writing for resume, then that is the first thing that should come to your mind. Your goal is to give a summary of all your skills, experience and work history to make your resume more appealing.These bullet points can be used for your job search or you can use them as a marketing strategy. What is important here is that you convey to the reader that you have the necessary skills, experience and knowledge for the job. If you want to get a promotion or get a good salary, you should be able to show how you can help the company.The better you can make your bullet points, the better it will turn out to be. The next part is to add the titles of each of the bullet points. You can have just one paragraph or you can have the complete text.If you are using the bullet points, you must remember that these must flow together and must be logical. You must make sure that your headings should have a solid meaning to the reader. It is important that you maintain consistency of content throughout your resume. If you put it in a word document, you can change it easily.Just like anything else, if you follow bullet points in writing career objectives for resume, you will be more successful in creating a good resume. If you have more than one page, you can put bullet points on each page. The objective should also be followed by a paragraph. The next thing is to proofread your resume in the end so that it will be appealing to your reader.Using bullet points in writing career objectives for resume will ensure that you will have a clean res ume. You can also get professional services from resume writing agencies so that you will not face any kind of problems.

More Money Friday Roundup Earthquake Insurance Bank Contractions

More Money Friday Roundup Earthquake Insurance Bank Contractions Personal finance from around the Web: Here’s another way the rich are different from everybody else: The more money you have, the more options you have to avoid taxes. [TheStreet.com] The Chilean and Haitian earthquakes provided a powerful reminder of the devastation a tremor can cause. So why are 88% of insured homes in California not covered with an earthquake policy? Because the policies are really expensive. [Los Angeles Times] Congress has made a number of changes to available educational tax credits and deductions since last year. An expert offers answers some common questions about which tax programs apply to which educational expenses. [Bucks] Which states have jobs right now? Wyoming, Colorado and Louisiana, according to one analysis. But stay away from Michigan, Ohio and Missouri, where employment prospects are still bleak. Check out job growth prospects for all 50 states here. [The Daily Beast] Banks have been building branches like crazy for the past few years, but they’re finally starting to slow the pace. This year, the total number of retail branches in the United States will decline for the first time since at least 2002. [The Wall Street Journal] Follow MONEY on Twitter at http://twitter.com/money.

Is Your Spam Filter Blocking Your Job Search - Work It Daily

Is Your Spam Filter Blocking Your Job Search - Work It Daily Have you been checking your spam filter? Many of us don’t. We take for granted that the filter’s working correctlyâ€"protecting you from unwanted e-mail and leaving your Inbox filled with messages that you want to see. We all know that sometimes your spam filter mistakes spam for legitimate e-mails and allows them into your Inbox. But do you also know that sometimes your spam filter mistakes legitimate e-mails for spam, and filters them out of your Inbox? This can hurt your job search efforts. To determine what’s spam and what’s legitimate, spam filters analyze all parts of the e-mail. They check the e-mail against many different criteria. They also consider, for example, whether the e-mail seems like a “bulk message,” and whether it contains links and graphics. Unfortunately, your legitimate e-mails sending out your resume can easily get caught in these filters. And legitimate e-mails from prospective employers, recruiters, job boards, and others can also be trapped. So while you’re wondering why you’ve received no responsesâ€"even automated ones from resumes you’ve submitted through an employer’s online job bankâ€"those responses might be languishing in your spam filter. At least for 30 days, after which they might be automatically deleted without you ever knowing they were there. Or perhaps your e-mail is the one languishing in the employer’s e-mail filter. Once you start your job search, make a point of checking through your spam folder at least once a day, and consider white-listing (or adding to your address book) job search messages that are inadvertently caught by your hardworking spam filter. You can get a sense of how spam filters by visiting The Apache SpamAssassin Project. Photo Credit: Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!

The 1 Skill Thats Your Most Valuable Asset, According to Warren Buffett

The 1 Skill Thats Your fruchtwein Valuable Asset, According to Warren Buffett As the growth in automation and artificial intelligence replaces much of the work we used to do by hand in the agrarian and industrial ages, ideas matter mora than ever. If you cannot persuade otzu sichs to back your ideas and if you cannot excite otzu sichs, motivate and inspire them, then youll never fulfill your destiny. Bridge the skills gap and youll shine in the marketplace of ideas. The good news is that standing out through persuasion requires developing a skill that machines havent mastered yetthe ability to connect with people through your words.You will jump out, much more than you can anticipate, if you get really comfortable with public speaking, the billionaire Warren Buffett once told a class of geschftlicher umgang students. Its an asset that will last you 50 or 60 years and its a liability if you dont like doing it. Buffett went on to put a dollar value on the skill. He told the students th at each one of them could instantly raise their professional value by 50% by improving their public-speaking skills.Buffett wasnt always as confident as he appears today. Early in his career, Buffett was terrified of speaking in public. He signed up for a public-speaking course and dropped out because he didnt want to talk in front of anyone He made it through on the second try. Today, Buffett proudly displays the certificate he received for completing the course. Todays business professionals are only as valuable as their ideas, but if they cannot express those ideas successfully, theyll fail to have the influence they should have.Indra Nooyi leads 260,000 employees as CEO of PepsiCo. Leaders, she says, must be lifelong learners. According to Nooyi, improving communication skills is one of the best investments a business professional can make to propel their career forward. You cannot over invest in communication skills, written and oral communication, Nooyi once said at a womens c onference. As a leader, you constantly have to mobilize the troops. Learn how to motivate peoplesmall groups, medium-sized groups, large groups and how to write in a way thats pithy and to the point.When Nooyi was enrolled in a masters program at Yale University, she expected to pass the courses easily. After all, she had received an MBA from Indias top management school and had degrees in physics, chemistry, and math. Yale required that students pass a public-speaking course in buchung to enter the second year. Nooyi failed. Determined to succeed, Nooyi took the course again during the summer and this time, she was determined to be the best. Nooyi said the course gave her one of the best foundational skills in her career and credits the course as a crucial early ingredient in her success.Reframe and RehearseWhile speaking comes naturally, giving a presentation in front of a group does not. None of us are born with a PowerPoint clicker in our hand. Most of us are not taught to deliv er effective presentations in school, and most business professionals are untrained in classic storytelling techniques. In addition, nerves often get the best of usjust askShark Tankinvestor and real estate mogul, Barbara Corcoran.I interviewed Corcoran years before ABCsShark Tankmade her a household name in entrepreneurship circles. She told me about an incident that gave her a severe case of stage fright. She had been asked to give a speech at a real estate conference and completely froze. It left her shattered. Corcoran decided to conquer her fear to advance her career. Corcoran volunteered to teach a course at a local college. Over the next five years of teaching, Corcorans stage fright gradually diminished. Teaching the course brought an additional, unexpected benefit. Sitting in one of Corcorans classes was a sales dynamo who would go on to sell more condominiums for The Corcoran Group than any other realtor in the city.Today, Corcoran says communication is responsible for 90 percent of my successno doubt. Corcoran overcame her fear by following a two-step process that cognitive psychologists often use to help patients overcome almost any anxiety.Step one is to reframe the situation. Corcoran didnt look at the incident as a career-ending event. That would have been catastrophizing an eventblowing it out of proportion. Instead, she saw it as an opportunity to build a skill that would elevate her among her peers. The fear of being judged by our social group served our ancestors well when they were cave-dwellers. Today, anxiety about public speaking does more harm than good. Psychologists believe re-framing the way you look at yourself will help you manage the fear. Reframingor reappraisaldoesnt mean ignoring the fear or pretending it doesnt exist. Its the act of minimizing the fear response with positive self-talk and images.Corcoran took the required second stepteaching. While you dont need to teach a class, rehearsing means taking every opportunity to pr esent in front of people. Learn from champion athletes who practice under stressful conditions. They try to replicate the environment in which theyll be competing. Psychologists have found that even mild stress will alleviate anxiety. In other words, practice in front of people, even if its just one or two friends. Adding a little stress while youre rehearsing your presentation will make it more likely that youll shine when it counts.You can have a great ideathe best new idea aroundbut if dont have the courage and confidence to advocate for that idea, it doesnt matter. Build your communication skills and youll have an edge that no computer, no robot, can replace and no degree can measure. Youll be able to move people, excite them and ignite their imagination. Thats a skill worth building.--Carmine Gallois a Harvard instructor, advisor, and the author of the new book,Five Stars The Communication Secrets to Get from Good to Great.

The Characteristics of Resume Writing Course Pdf

The Characteristics of Resume Writing Course Pdf The Resume Writing Course Pdf Cover Up Then click publish and youre done. New courses start every month to make sure that weve got the right proportion of students to tutors readily available, please make sure you plattl a starting date when you proceed through our shopping cart, at checkout. My report wasnt up-to-date, I will need to revise it tomorrow. Therefore, if youre putting together a resume for a prospective employer, you might wonder how in the world it is possible to create something which will get you hired for that coveted internship or perhaps a part-time job at your favourite music shop. There are a few things that dont belong on a resume for work. There are a lot of basic kinds of resumes used to make an application for job openings. One of the absolute most important and intimidating actions in the work search procedure is writing a solid resume that gets the attention you need and need. When it is directl y for that recruiting firm and the position features compensation, then its an exception. Finally, you wish to attempt to strike a balance between including experience thats both timely and relevant. Have a look at at the finest reputable resume writing services to take under consideration. There are plenty of factors you want to contemplate. Finding the Best Resume Writing Course Pdf You can also see Grammar Worksheets The obvious purpose of a resume is to help you to get the job that you are applying for. If you get an amazing general GPA, be sure thats in large, bold letters. Writing a resume may appear difficult anfangsbuchstabely, but were here to assist. A general guideline is a couple of pages, based on how much space is necessary to accurately put down all of the essential information in a readable format. If you are in possession of a permanent and local address, you may want to play with columns. As an example, a resume should be only 1 page, and it must be lase r-printed or typeset by an expert printer, and it ought to be printed on bond paper. Things You Wont Like About Resume Writing Course Pdf and Things You Will You might also see Resume Outline. Work Experience In the present lesson, you are going to learn to turn job descriptions into advertising copy. One is to be sure the info is relevant. Dont be scared to brag on your resume, but be sure that you dont offer false details. Resume Writing Course Pdf - Overview If you would like the quickest approach to increase your writing, sign up now. The training course is simple to follow and understand. The ideal thing you ought to do is to already catch the interest of your prospective employer in the initial five seconds so he or she is going to carry on reading the remainder of your resume. As a result, if you dont chance to be in the correct place at the correct time, you likely will not obtain a call. What You Should Do to Find Out About Resume Writing Course Pdf Before Your e Left Behind The exact same applies for bullet points. The following suggestions will help you craft a student resume that will force you to stick out from the crowd. No matter your approach, your target is going to be to create a chronological collection of experience thats pertinent to the jobs youre applying to. Our goal as resume writers is to have the possible employers interest. If you reside on campus, you should offer your campus address. Resume writing services provide different package deals and some even offer additional mentoring, job search, and interviewing information that it is possible to benefit from to boost your professionalism and dependability.