Houston We Have A Problem - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Houston … We Have A Problem - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career “Houston … We have a problem.” These famous or infamous words were said over three decades ago and close to a million miles away. On April 13th, 1970, James Lovell, commander of Apollo 13, uttered these words following an explosion in the ship’s oxygen tanks. His journey to the surface of the moon was over. His life was literally on the line. What lay ahead was nothing but uncertainty. There was uncertainty with respect to what the obstacles were going to be. There was uncertainty as to whether or not those obstacles could be overcome. And, as you could imagine, he was thinking “am I going to make it?” What Are Your Intentions? Aboard Apollo 13, in the face of this adversity and uncertainty, Lovell turned to his crew and simply asked “Gentlemen, what are your intentions?” In so asking, he wanted to know if his shipmates were content with letting fate determine their destiny or whether they committed to controlling the course of their lives. The crew of Apollo 13 responded. Commander Lovell, John Swigert, and Fred Haise sought to control the situation. Using ingenuity and relying on a network of thousands of NASA employees, contractors and governments from around the world, they guided the crippled Apollo 13 craft a million miles through space into a small re-entry window and successfully back to Mother Earth. Bringing the lesson back to earth So what does this have to do with you, your network and personal brand? Plenty. Although your situation is never anywhere near as dire as that of Apollo 13, nevertheless from time to time you face adversity. In short, your life has troubling times and your life has uncertain times â€" financially, physically and emotionally. So this all begs one simple question, What Are Your Intentions? Just as with the crew of Apollo 13, you should not allow fate or chance to determine your destiny or tarnish your brand. Rather you need to commit to control the course of your life by relying on your own ingenuity. But more importantly, just as the crew of Apollo 13 did, you need to tap into the network of people in your life. All of these people are ready, willing and able to assist you with genuine help, new connections and even simple encouragement. If you do this, your network will flourish, your brand will grow in stature, and there is no doubt that you will have a safe landing whenever times in your life become seemingly out of control. Author: Frank Agin is the founder and president of AmSpirit Business Connections. In addition, Frank is the author of Foundational Networking: Building Know, Like and Trust To Create A Lifetime of Extraordinary Success and the co-author of LinkedWorking: Generating Success on the World’s Largest Professional Networking Website and The Champion: Finding the Most Valuable Person in Your Network.

Writing a Resume: Dont Forget These Tips

Writing a Resume: Don't Forget These TipsWhen writing a resume, there are many things that you should not forget to include. In this article, I am going to share with you some of the things that you should not forget when writing a resume.First of all, I should tell you that you should never include your hobbies and passions as part of your resume. Many employers want to know if you have any hobbies or passions outside of work. It is just too easy for them to pick up on your hobby or interest and assume that you don't have anything else going on in your life that is a little more important than working.If you really want to make sure that you don't bother anyone with your information, then it's best to list your hobbies and passions under the section that states 'Other.' That way, you can only list the hobbies and passions you are most passionate about and that don't affect your work. If you do list anything under that section, the rest of your information will be in an outline forma t and not completely bolded out.Another thing that you shouldn't forget when writing a resume is the date of birth. In many cases, employers may see this information and assume that you were born recently, which may be a surprise to you. If you are working and still searching for a job, it's just good business sense to have this information readily available.You should also list your full name and your address as well. Many people will leave out their address and many employers may even ignore this section of the resume. There are no other reasons for leaving out this section other than to get an instant rejection.There are also two sections of employee research that you should never miss out on. Employer A would like to see where you live, where you went to school, and what kind of job you hold. Employer B would like to see your work history, the number of years you have been employed, and the length of time that you have been working.These tips may seem basic, but they are so very important. You should always be truthful and honest with the information that you put on your resume. If you are not, then your chances of getting the job will decrease drastically.I know that it is very easy to get discouraged when you hear about all of the hard work that it takes to write a great resume. Make sure that you pay attention to these tips when writing a resume so that you don't make a big mistake that could keep you from getting hired. You never know, the person that ends up looking over your resume may be the one that gives you your first real job.

The Different Faces of Side Hustle

The Different Faces of Side Hustle Photo by Jonas Svidras on Unsplash [Article republished from “Mondays with Mike â€" 2/19/18” email newsletter  ==  Subscribe to get weekly newsletter in your inbox plus FREE REPORT]  Being part of several freelance/side hustle/work from home groups on Facebook, I get to see the different types of questions that come up.   I started to notice a few trends or commonalities around each type of group. Work From Home Theyre focused on opportunities like Virtual Assistant or Transcriptionist  or Customer Service jobs.   These are part time gigs that typically pay by the unit, deliverable, or hour.   And the rates are typically really low.   These are often below minimum wage jobs (if you calculated the rate hourly rather than by the unit). Many of the people here are just trying to survive.   Many have limited skills or education.   Or theyve had major life impacts like divorce (stuck raising kids alone and have lost the second income provider from their lives) or health issues. Here it isnt about doing what they want or reaching their full potential.   Theyre just trying to survive.   Many times theyre desperate to make money.   And make it fast.   This is where many of the scam artists and get rich quick and MLM purveyors hang out and prey on their desperatation. You see the pain and frustration of just trying to put food on the table.   But complex solutions and even paying for a website or web hosting is too much money. Theyre often looking for a work from home option because they have kids and cant work in a normal full time job around the pick up and delivery schedules of their kids.   With the internet this has become a more viable option.   There are a lot of work from home opportunities out there.   But you often have to cull through many bad ones to get to something decent. This is a place the Facebook work from home groups can be immensely helpful.   Many have gone through the frustrations themselves and are more than willing to provide good guidance. Side Hustle The main side hustle crowd often has the basics handled.   They have some spare time on their hands that theyre willing to devote to a side hustle.   But the side hustle or freelance work has to generate something substantial enough to be worth the effort and prioritizing over family time. Here is where online marketing, affiliate marketing, coaching, and freelance tech and design work fits in. Youll see web designers, Amazon product marketers, authors, and people who have their eyes on the big dollars. For these people youre finding most have a good day job and just want an extra couple hundred dollars to a few thousand on the side each month. A handful also want to eventually leave their day job and do their side hustle as their full time gig.   But this is a low percentage of the whole.   The rest are just looking for a little extra money and to learn, have fun, and create something meaningful that their day job doesnt provide. Sometimes the work aligns and supports their day job.   Or it is what they do on their day job just applied as a freelance business.   They may be a game coder during the day and do more coding as a freelancer at night.   Or theyre an internet marketer whos day job is in digital marketing but maybe just a small portion of it. Entrepreneur/Startup Then there is the group who is going full bore to create a new business full time.   They may start as a side hustle but their goal is to create a business that can more than replace their full time income. This is a much bigger operation and often involves more contractors and employees that the work from home or side hustle model requires.   This is true business building.   And it takes a certain personality and mindset.   You have to be comfortable with higher levels of risk.   And you need to be someone who can both sell a big vision and also build and manage a team of people as the operation is often much more complex than the side hustle model.   Many times there is more than one founder as each person brings a different skill set to the operation. This is where big valuation dollars are found and money is made or lost rapidly.   This is where the Venture Capitalists, Angel Investors, and Founders hang out.   Theyre looking for the next idea they can leverage to the stratosphere.   Something, that if developed right, can create the next Google.   But typically about 1 out of 10 are hits and the other 9 flounder or go under. Employee Route The final route is typically the easiest to maneuver.   The entire business world is set up to make being an employee easy.   They give you the rules and you follow them just like school.   Youre accountable but typically not to the same level as the founder. The good side of this is predictability.   You know when you go to work.   You know when you leave.   You get a paycheck every two weeks.   You get holidays and paid vacations.   You have most weekends to yourself. The downside of this is you are still at the whim of your manager or the employer.   If they dont manage things well you essentially only have one client (the business you work for).   And you could be out of a job in an instant through no fault of your own. The other problem with this is you arent designing your own future typically within that one company.   You may design your career but the company may or may not be a long term play. Whereas with the Entrepreneurship model you are charting your own course. So what is the right model for you to work? Ultimately it is up to you.   It is your choice.   Only you know your skills, interests, family situation, and risk tolerance. I know for me the side hustle plus employee route has been the best.   It allows me to have a core career that Ive developed and is now coupled with my side hustle that allows me to create and provide value in a different way.   And it is something I can leverage into my retirement years and scale up or down (on the side hustle front) as makes sense. So what about you?   Where are you at?   Have you thought about your situation?   Are you do for a change? If youre considering your options, email me.   You may find it makes sense to work with someone whos been through several of these options and can provide guidance to help you along your journey. Or maybe youve already gotten started on one of these and need help getting to the next level. Either way, have fun and let me know if I can help.

Five Smart Telephone Interview Tips for Success - Hire Imaging

Five Smart Telephone Interview Tips for Success - Hire Imaging Part 1: Before the Interview “Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.” ~ Bobby Unser With a continued recession-generated surplus of job seekers, phone interviews are becoming more intense and frequently the first-step choice for hiring folks inundated with applicants. If your resume (or other marketing collateral) or networking have earned you a voice-to-voice audience with someone in that decision process, congratulations. Be prepared for the call. You may have only a few brief moments to make a great first impression that will move you to the next step in the hiring process. The phone interview can make or break you as a promising or cross-off-the-list candidate. Here are some tips to help you prepare for the interview; and to make that short list: 1. Manage expectations. Plan for the interview to last from 15 minutes to an hour. Depending on the organization, you may be screened by a human resource professional, a third-party recruiter or another hiring manager. Typically, human resource professionals will ask questions that verify you have the “hard skills” to do the job, sought-for degree/credentials, aligned experience etc. Third-party recruiters or hiring managers will often ask more in-depth questions or even role-play dialogue (next series, Part 2). 2. Arm yourself with information. If you apply to a company, you should always learn as much as you can about that organization. Knowledge is power. Read their entire website. Learn their company stories, how they were founded. Read their mission and value statements. Check out their community outreach and employee programs. Read their News Release page to determine their role in the industry and their perception in the public eye. Google them to check out their online identity, good or bad. Talk to any contacts who have experience working for or with the company. You will now be able to comfortably speak informatively about the company and its activities. 3. Check out your online identity. Many employersâ€"and the number is rapidly growingâ€"screen candidates online. In this era of social media explosion and dominance, you should conduct a Google search on yourself. Type in your name in different ways (full, nickname, with title etc.). See what comes up. Expect employers and recruiters to check out your Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter pages. All information that is public can be used against you during your job search. Be prepared to address any issues. 4. Control your communications. Provide your prospective employers with a land line or cell phone number. If using only a cell phone, make sure that your reception will be good. If you receive an unscheduled call at a bad time or place, buy time to get centered; or arrange for another call. Make sure you have a professional voice mail message on your land line and/or cell phone. Check messages regularly. Return every call as soon as possible. If you end up playing phone tag (common), be proactive and persistent. When you schedule an interview, find out if it will be a phone interview with just one person; or with more than one. This may require a conference or speaker phone. Also make sure it will be a phone interview versus a video interview. If the latter, your personal appearance and conduct will be judged as if it were an in-person interview. 5. Set up your interview space. Avoid having phone interviews at work (not appropriate), in the car (not safe) and in chaos (dog barking not cool). Designate a quiet space without potential for interruptions, where you can have access to your computer and   phone. Other items good to have on hand include a notepad, pen, calculator, appointment book or calendar, water (to quench a dry mouth), and clock   (other than your cell phone). Watching the clock will allow you to pace yourself. Make sure you have easy access to your résumé, SMART stories, company research, questions (next series, Part 2) you’d like to ask the company and those you anticipate being asked . Write a note to get the caller’s name and title, company, address, telephone, email, LinkedIn or other contact information handy for your thank-you letter/emails and follow-up communications. Don’t forget to clarify the position being discussed. Have that job description/posting in front of you if possible. Having this information ready shows the interviewer you are on the ball and the details. A phone interview can be just a preliminary screening or an in-depth interview. The above smart steps should help you be mentally and physically ready to convey a professional and positive first impression. In Part 2, we’ll focus on tips for success during the interview!

More Rules for Job Hunting in a Recession -

More Rules for Job Hunting in a Recession - Did you watch ABCs Nightline  last night? There was a story about Dale Kloefkorn,  an out-of-work, 40-something data analyst with long hair.   The network hooked him up with a coach to see if he could give his job search a jump start.   The coach, Peggy Klaus, who wrote The Hard Truth About Soft Skills, (read more on soft skills here) suggested that there are several points to consider to make yourself more marketable, especially in a recession or when you are out of work. 1.  Dont be overly modest. Its all about self-promotion!   If you cant articulate what you have to offer, how are you going to find an opportunity?   You need to know yourself to sell your skills. 2. No job is completely secure. Dont assume that your job is safe you never know the way the pink slips will fall.   If it looks like your department is in danger, step it up and see if you can avoid being a casualty. 3.   Dont be a paycheck player. If you see yourself as a cog in the wheel, it is easier to pluck you off the payroll. 4. No job is perfect. Dont be too picky when job searching.   Consider new possibilities, different fields and realize that there may not be one job that has the perfect combination of attributes. Limiting yourself will not yield the same offers as being open minded. Finally, it is important to note that Dale did cut his hair to freshen-up his image.   The fifth rule could certainly be Appearance Matters. ABC reports that, after the meeting with the coach and re-working his resume and posting it online, the candidate heard from 11 recruiters and had one promising interview.   So, a mini-makeover, attitude adjustment and a revised resume did the trick for Dale.   Could it do the trick for you?   Keppie Careers is here to help!   Visit www.keppiecareers.com for information about our services.

How to Write a Resume For Job Searches

How to Write a Resume For Job SearchesWriting a resume for job searches is as much an art as it is a science. Although every person is different, you should always find out what will give you the best results in terms of getting the job you want and being able to do your job better than the competition. Here are a few tips for writing a resume.The first step is to decide what career you want to pursue. Do you want to be a student, a doctor, a teacher, or an engineer? If you want to be a doctor, then you might consider studying medicine. A job search for doctors will help you get the experience and networking that you need to land that great job.Once you have decided on your career, what field would you like to work in? You can choose one based on your career interests. Most people interested in medicine are interested in helping people, so that field is a good option. You can also choose to write for a medical school or a health care company if you want to get into that field. People who enjoy being outdoors or skiing are going to have a great time at a mountain resort, so that's a good option.The next thing you should do is take some time to make sure that your resume matches the job that you are applying for. As mentioned above, people who love being outdoors or ski jumping are going to be attracted to those types of jobs. It is best to write about your interests instead of the job that you are applying for. Then make sure that your resume is easy to read and the job requirements match what you want.The next important thing you want to make sure of is that you follow a system when writing your resume. There are many resume writing courses available today that can help you with this. The first step is to sit down and think about what you want to say. Write about your most recent experiences or accomplishments and make sure that they line up with the job you are applying for. If you find that you cannot write a resume and a job description that is 100% compatib le, you should think about how you can write these two things in a way that it will easily convert to a resume.Once you have done this, you need to start thinking about what career you are looking for, then the other questions about jobs and company culture that will apply to you. Using resume writing courses and learning new resume techniques can be an invaluable asset to a job seeker. In the end, you are going to be the person who is deciding what job you want and who you want to hire.Writing a resume for job searches is an art, and using resume writing courses can really help you take your resume to the next level. You will be surprised at how easy it is to do the job and how flexible you can be. People who use resume writing courses have more success in their job searches than people who use home tutorials and simply say 'Make it all up as I go along.'

The Resume Writing Service Review 2018 Chronicles

The Resume Writing Service Review 2018 Chronicles In the event the company did not include samples of previous resumes produced by the writer, you can get in touch with them and request it. When you employ a professional writer to assist you with the application documents, the results will differ. No prior expertise in your literature review is really a paper. When you are searching for the best resume writing service you wish to check a lot of things, and sample resumes the provider publishes is among them. The True Meaning of Resume Writing Service Review 2018 By checking out all features and services a provider offers, we're getting sufficient info to generate a conclusion on which are the best resume services that can enable you to get the job which you are applying for. If you locate a scam support, it is going to be an entire waste of your time and your money. Are you interested in finding professional resume services. The services are essentially the very same as t he ones you'll be able to get on other high-quality sites. The standing of a service should tell you everything that you wish to understand. If you see a service we haven't evaluated, don't hesitate to drop us a message and we're going to take a look once possible. What service are you going to hire. If you locate a typical provider, it won't help you land the job that you desire. Your comments also indicate a good deal. The type of thinking you will need to utilize in writing reviews is the sort of thinking you require it's now time to begin placing your essay. It's possible to read about the experiences other people shared, which means you get an impression of the actual results you're likely to get. The very best thing about it's that it provides one-on-one support from professional writers. Resume Writing Service Review 2018 Secrets That No One Else Knows About Take a look at our list and find the business you want. If you take a look at the list, you will see that i t isn't hard to compare and review the qualities of the companies and pick out the best one. It's also important to review what kinds of services are provided by the organization. If it comes to resumes, different types ought to be available. The site must also contain the specific clear price for each service it provides. It's important to employ a service which offers you a great price for top quality. Many services offer you affordable rates and discounts, which means you get great value for the money there. As a consequence, you can select among the best services at a price that's realistic to you and get invited to all the interviews you wished to enter.