Find Your Career Wind

Find Your Career Wind By Jacqui Barrett-PoindexterFinding the wind is essential to sailing. Without wind the boats natural engine your sails begin to luff.Similarly, in our careers, without motivation the humans natural engine our energy droops.In sailing, when this happens, we start looking for wind. This means scoping out wind ripples on the water and navigating toward it.Careers that start luffing require the same initiative. Without it, your career begins to stagnate. What are your sources of wind? Following are five energy sources, those ripples in the water, that will help power up your motivation, and ultimately, your career.1. Positive people: In the midst of optimistic people, it is only natural to absorb their confidence, buoying your attitude. Similarly, steer yourself away from the negative Nellies to ensure your attitude stays on course.2. Cardio Exercise: One of my favorites, cardiovascular/aerobic exercise (running/jogging, swimming, cycling, walking, working out to a DVD cardio program or pumping iron) is energy-generating. Your mood lifts and your ability to process problems and build solutions jumps.3. New Resume:  Partner with a writer to tell your professional story. As my friend, Ellie Mixter-Keller (@EllKell) says, a professionally crafted resume will arm you with pride and confidence.  4. A Nourishing Book. When is the last time you picked up a book or ordered a new download for your Kindle or Nook? Search out books that pump up your emotions and your intellect. Take time to unearth inspiring, mind-expanding works of word art that will help you view things from a different perspective. A new perspective often imbues your initiative, compelling momentum.5. Family and Friends. Carve time to just be with your family and friends. Toss out the agenda, and simply hang out at your home, in a restaurant, at the lake, at the park. Sip a cool drink, tantalize the taste buds with a lovely fruit salad or juicy hamburger. Be with people who listen and laugh. Experience the corners of your lips naturally lifting into a smile.If your spirit and vigor are luffing, consider the above basic tips to help you find new wind. You may be surprised at how the smallest ripple can trigger the largest mood-lifting result. And with that, a better attitude emerges, setting you sailing into a more productive workday, and career!

5 Examples Of What To Say When Calling In Sick - Algrim.co

5 Examples Of What To Say When Calling In Sick - Algrim.co When you’re calling in sick to work, you might not know exactly what to say. Or how you might need to say it. It can be stressful. And feel like you might say something that knocks your employment record. But we’re going to cover call templates and scripts that you can use when speaking to your boss to ensure that you get the sick day you need. Table of Contents Calling In Sick Tips What To Say When Calling In Sick To Work Be Sure To Mention Company Productivity Ask If You Can Work From Home Calling In Sick Tips There are a few things to cover before we jump into the templates. Firstly, are you truly sick? If you’re trying to call in sick to get a day off, try thinking about excuses to get out of work instead of calling in sick. The reason is, your manager or supervisor will still give you the day off if you have the right excuse. But if you pretend to be sick, you could get terminated for lying. If you are truly sick, be sure that you don’t do these things: Don’t go on social media. Stay clear of posting pictures on Instagram or sending tweets. This may make seem as though you aren’t sick. And that could cause a difficult situation to arise between you and your colleagues. Don’t check your email. This is a hard habit to break. But if you’re sick, take a sick day. Rest and replenish your soul. If you check your email, you could risk getting stressed out and prolong your illness. Don’t interact with colleagues on Slack. Any tools that are instant messaging platforms, avoid those. Simply unplug from work. What To Say When Calling In Sick To Work Here are a few things you can say when calling in sick to work. Ideally, you should send a sick day email, because they’re a little easier to craft and it alleviates the pressure of talking to your supervisor. Template 1: Hey John, I’m really not feeling well today. I don’t know what’s wrong but I’m just not feeling myself. I hope I’m not coming down with a cold or flu. I was wondering if it would be okay if I stayed at home today. I would hate to get anyone else sick. Template 2: Hey John, I woke up this morning and started to feel pretty crummy. My niece was sick and I think I might have caught what she had. Is it okay if I work from home today? Template 3: Hey John, I am just not feeling well today. I know things are pretty busy at the office but I would hate to get anyone else sick and risk productivity at the company. Is it okay if I stay home today and unplug? Template 4: Hey John, I woke up this morning and my throat feels like it’s on fire. Not sure what’s wrong. I think I might head to the doctor. Is it okay if I take a leave of absence today? Template 5: Hey John, Not sure if I have any sick days left or not. But I am not feeling well. Is it possible if I can stay at home today? Be Sure To Mention Company Productivity There’s no better way to ask to stay home than to mention that you don’t want to get others sick. Going into the office and risking getting your other employee’s sick will make you appear as though you lack empathy for your coworkers. Mention this during your phone call. Mention the fact that you really would hate to get others ill and cause productivity issues at the company. Ask If You Can Work From Home If you’re in an industry that is mostly digital, you might be able to ask whether or not you can work from home. If you are feeling up to it and your supervisor mentions you can work from home, disregard our tips from above. You should check your email, use slack, and generally keep your daily work requirements in balance. If you need to, feel free to rest when working from home. This is a major benefit. But be sure to set an alarm to awaken from any nap that you might take after 30-minutes. If you become unresponsive to coworkers, they might think you were telling a tale about not feeling well. Other Time Off Resources Learn about the best excuses to take time off work and how to tell your employer - 4 Best Excuses To Miss Work & How To Do It Learn how to write a sick day email - 4 Sick Day Email Templates You Can Copy + Paste Learn about excuses to get out of work early - 15 Excuses To Leave Work Early And Still Look Professional Learn what to say when you have to call in sick to work - 5 Examples Of What To Say When Calling In Sick

Dare 2 Compare - Why Your Paper Choice Matters

Dare 2 Compare - Why Your Paper Choice Matters There was a time when you walked into the office supply store and picked up whatever paper was on sale.   That was a time when our awareness of environmental issues was pretty lacking.   And it also meant that you were rolling the dice as to the   quality of the paper, and how much grief it was going to cause in printer malfunctions and unsatisfactory print results.   Times have changed, and its time you dare to compare what youre using now with some much better options. Too often, we dont give adequate consideration to competing products we commonly use.   Whether its simply from habit, or not knowing whats available, in one way or another thats counter-productive.   Thats why Boise Paper is conducting a #Dare2Compare campaign   to   challenge you dare to compare Boise ® ASPEN ® Recycled Copy papers to other recycled paper brands.   Heres why your choice in paper does matter, and some of the benefits weve found in using the family of   Boise ® ASPEN paper products. Why Paper Choice Matters Humans the world over have become conscious of the effect that were having on the planet.   Climate change.   Deforestation.   Ecological balances gone askew. One of the most widely known environmental efforts in response to that new awareness is in recycling.   But like most everything, its possible to get too much of a good thing. Hows that possible, you ask? The natural wood fibers that make up paper can only be recycled so many times, seven as it turns out.   So in order for recycling paper efforts to be successful, there must be an input of non-recycled paper to keep the wood fiber content at a usable level.   Who knew, right?   By using a mix of both recycled and non-recycled paper in your day- to-day life, the cycle will continue as it should. Of course, you have different paper quality and feature needs from day to day, too, depending on the type of print job youre doing. And all of that is why we think the Boise ASPEN is the best option for virtually all of your printing needs.   After all, it is America’s Top Selling Recycled Paper Brand, made right here in the USA. Dare 2 Compare Boise Paper The next time you order recycled paper, we invite you to pause and compare.   The full line of Boise Aspen includes Boise ® ASPEN ® (30, 50 or 100% post-consumer fiber content) Multi-Use Recycled Copy paper Boise ® ASEPN ® Premium Recycled Color Copy paper Boise ® ASPEN ® Premium Recycled Laser paper And youve got the following assurances to boost your confidence when you dare to compare Boise ASPEN paper products to other recycled paper brands: 99.99% Jam-Free ® Performance Guarantee (ASPEN Multi-Use Recycled Copy papers) Performance certified by Buyers Laboratory Inc. Laser guaranteed (ASPEN Premium Recycled Color Copy and Laser papers) Green Seal Certified ® as a GS-7 certified printing/writing paper Exceptional brightness, run-ability and smoothness But . . . Does it Perform? Were going to shout a big YES to that question.   We here at Ms Career Girl have been using Boise Paper products exclusively for two years now, and were pretty impressed with the quality and performance.   Gone are the frustrations of paper jams and ink bleeds to the back side of the paper.   The colors pop off the page, and printed pages look great and feel professional. When you can get that kind of quality, and be doing your part to help the environment, is there any real choice?    When you take the #Dare2Compare challenge, were betting you, too, will become a Boise ASPEN fan!

How Should I Prepare for a College Career Fair

How Should I Prepare for a College Career Fair Thanks for all of your responses to my tweet/facebook message! I received a lot of great questions and will be answering each of them in detail.   Keep on submitting your career questions to me at [emailprotected]   Heres todays! We have career fair here at my college next week and I was wondering what your thoughts are/ personal experience is with events like career fair. I would love any tips or strategy you have on attending a career fair or similar event. -Kaitlyn Kaitlyn brings up a GREAT topic that a lot of college students are wondering about.   Career Fairs arewell, interesting.   Here are 3 ways to prep for a career fair.   Stay tuned as there will be a part 2 to this question about what to say at a career fair. Do your Due Diligence and Have a Plan The worst thing you can do at a career fair is show up in a black suit and have no idea of where you’re going or what you want.   Some firms will have very long lines.   Others will have stringent hiring requirements with no room for negotiation.   And, don’t forget about the smaller firms you haven’t heard of! You could easily pass by your dream firm by not knowing they exist. Have a clear picture of who will be at the career fair.   Get the list of attendees out and start narrowing down which companies you’d like to talk to.   Research field of study and GPA requirements and consider cutting the firms which you are a far cry from being hired at.   Rank the firms you feel are best for YOU (not for your friends or significant other!!), KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT EACH COMPANY BEFORE YOU GO UP AND SPEAK TO ITS RECRUITERS and plan out your route with the map and the time schedule provided.   Dont be the student who goes up to a recruiter and says, so what does your firm do? Dress to Impress Ladies who have been through sorority recruitment know how important attire is at a recruiting event.   No, it’s not so you can look richer or more popular than everyone else.   It’s so that the recruiters have a better chance of remembering you among a sea of qualified, yet blandly dressed, students.   I always laugh at how hard college students and recent grads (including myself a few years ago) work at blending in with everyone else.   And, although you do still need to wear a suit to a career fair, blending in is not necessarily a good strategy. Black, white, navy and blue suits are OK but- believe it or not- recruiters LIKE candidates with a personality!   News Flash! You do not have to wear a white collared shirt under a black suit to get a job after college. Add some type of “sparkle” to your outfit.   Luckily, women have several ways of doing this:   wear one memorable accessory- perhaps a multi-strand necklace, a scarf, fun earrings, a blouse with great fabric, a bright colored shirt underneath your suit or a headband.   Stay professional but don’t lose your personality. Oh and ladies- make sure your nails are in check.   Either wear nail polish or dont.   Chipping hot green nail polish is not ideal for a career fair. 3 Things you should bring to a career fair Bring way more resumes than you think you will need (printed on thick paper) and store them in a professional portfolio. Yes, you do need to buy a professional portfolio (even if you have to charge it on your credit card!).   These are your marketing materials and they have to look good! Bring your own business cards. Most other students won’t do this because they are too afraid it is “weird” or nerdy.   Yes, you may be in the minority here and that’s exactly the point!   Your business card is how you put your contact information right into a recruiter’s pocket (rather than putting your resume right into a huge pile of nothingness).   Feel free to make the card your favorite color and to put your blog and social media info on there if it fits your desired profession (PR, marketing, technology, etc.).   Include a “tagline” for yourself as a candidate showing what you can offer to a prospective employer- give them a reason to contact you. Consider bringing a bag that is big enough to collect flyers and marketing garb that the companies will be giving away. You’d be surprised how many promotional trinkets you will collect by the end of a career fair. And for the most important thing? What to say at a career fair This topic deserves its own post.   Stay tuned for part 2!

Interview Series - Career Experts - Virginia Franco CareerMetis.com

Interview Series - Career Experts - Virginia Franco â€" CareerMetis.com In this interview series, we caught up with Virginia Francowho shares her expertise and insights about job search, career change,etc.in today’s marketplace.Tell us a little bit about your companyevalAs the Chief Writer at Virginia Franco Resumes, we work together to tell your career story in a way that shows your impact and gets interviews â€" without worksheets or pre-prep.How did you get started in this path?I wrote resumes for years for friends before I realized people actually got paid for this!I began by subcontracting with other writers while studying and earning resume writing certifications to improve.I launched my own company in 2010.Is this something you decided early on in your career?I’ve always been a writer â€" and earned my degree in Journalism.I’ve gotten the chance to write for newspapers, magazines, websites â€" you name it.I recognized early on that the principles of Journalism very much apply to writing Career Marketing collateral.What is the most exciting p art of working in this industry?I get to meet the most interesting clients â€" many who are in roles I never even new existed!How do to stay abreast of the industry as an expert?evalI am constantly reading, engaging with experts on LinkedIn, and interviewing experts on my podcast.I also am very involved in the National Resume Writers Association â€" a nonprofit that supports the resume writing industry.I complete at least 12 webinars per year to keep my knowledge as current as it can be!What are some of the things that you see job seekers struggle with the most?Deciding what is important and compelling to include as part of their story, writing their resumes for that online Their resumes and LinkedIn include a list of everything they’ve ever done, there is nothing to show the reader the role they are targeting or how they are a good fit, and their documents are so text-dense that they are tough to read.Then they take that document and apply to dozens of roles online.How should job seekers approach job search today?Applying online should never be the first point of entry.Job Seekers must have compelling documents and need to work to get them in front of people first, then the machines.What is the biggest trend(s) you see that job seekers will face in the next 2-3 years?Video Interviews where your responses are recorded and language parsed. Sort of “Video ATS.”What is one advice you would give someone just out of college today?Talk to others who are a few steps ahead of you â€" to figure out how they did it.Welcome and request any and all advice â€" you never know when it will lead to an opportunity!What is one advice you would give someone who is switching careers?Have a solid career target, and spell out how your experience is transferable.Choose accomplishments for your career marketing collateral that will resonate with that new role or industry.Unemployment is at the lowest levels, why do you think that is?Great question! I think companies are feeling bold and are willing to expand their budgets to hire and grow. I hope it continues for a while longer ??What is the biggest trend(s) you see that hiring managers will face in the next 2-3 years?Top talent is not going to stand for a lengthy and cumbersome interview process.If you want the candidate, you’re going to need to make an offer sooner rather than later.Virginia, what are you currently working on?I am currently rebooting my website â€" look for a 2.0 version later this summer!What are the best resources you recommend to job seekers?I love Mark Anthony Dyson’s Voice of Job Seekers Podcast.Also Susan Joyce’s Job-Hunt.org blog.Lastly â€" Austin Belcak’s Cultivated Culture site is rich with actionable strategies for job seekers.What is the best way for our audience to reach you?My Website, Phone, Text orEmailConnect with or Follow Virginia Franco on Social Media:LinkedInTwitterFacebook PageYouTube PageVirginia Franco has also been featured in our recent compilation of t he most resourceful career experts and career blogs â€" Top Career Advice Websites.

How Hal Thomas used Twitter to find a job, the first Twitter Job Seeker

And then the last question is, Can he do the job? And I think what was so effective about this tweet here about the mock up was that Hal really did a nice job, showing all 3 of the questions. He showed competency with the blog and personality with his tweet and his creativity and definitely he was clearly motivated by the amount of work that he put into this.Hal, what I wanted to ask you, this is kind of a risky thing to do, put yourself on a cover of a top ten magazine and kind of with the name of the company that youre going for. Probably it would work with BFG but it might not work with another marketing company. How did you know where to draw the line? How did you know it was appropriate to do this? It was actually a good idea to do this whereas somewhere else it might not have been?Hal: I think a lot of that goes back to doing your research. You got to do your homework on the company that you are going to apply for.In a way, you might say this is the kind of a job application th at Ive always wanted to do for just about any job. Something that doesnt kind of pigeon hole you into simply a bullet point list of characteristics that kind of, I dont know, it kind of homogenizes you with everybody else.Its kind of hard to really showcase or at least I have always felt. But for me, I have a harder time showcasing who I really am on a 1-page word document. Possible but definitely a challenge.So I did a lot of homework on BFG. I think I read literally everything they have on their website. And when I saw things that they were doing, especially in-house, not only the fact that yes they have a blog and Ive had a blog for 5 years but I saw that they did a lot of projects with even some of their creative staff, some of their design staff. They do this thing whenever a new designer comes on board, they give them a blank skateboard deck and one of their first jobs is to basically create their own skateboard deck and then its actually just hung up in the office. It kind of said a lot about the personality of BFG and the type of people they want to have on-board there.So you might say in some ways by poking around their website and reading their blog, I was able to discover a little bit about the kind of personality of the BFG brand and when I saw that, I knew something like this, the chances that something like this would be really risky, were certainly minimized.Joshua: Now, you told me that BFGs culture was very creative-oriented. In fact they had projects that were completely non-billed just for the sake of exercising the creative muscle and that was something that you really liked and you discovered along your research.Was there anything else about BFG or any other tips that you might be able to offer the jobseekers about doing research and really targeting your message in your application?Hal: Sure, absolutely.I think youve talked about this in the jobseekers guide that the 2 biggest things that you can do is to understand who you are and unders tand the type of company that you want to work for.As I said, Ive always felt a little challenged with really selling myself in a traditional resume and so Ive always wanted to find the company that gave me the opportunity to break out of that and really just kind of be myself rather than who I thought I needed to be in a traditional resume.Then as far as  doing research on BFG, doing research on the target company, I read their blog, I spent time on their website and I had already been following them on Twitter for a while. And so as a matter of fact, I believe I was following Sloane on Twitter before I was even following BFG. She took a trip last summer and had been tweeting about that and somehow I got connected to that. So again, some of these just goes back to networking.And if youre in that space long enough, you show up, you contribute to the conversation, you contribute something thats funny, thats interesting, that’s memorable, thats of value. You basically get more than you ask for. You set yourself up to have a pretty successful future or at least to find your way to a number of opportunities.Joshua: One of the questions that I got here on the panel was, Is it an effective way to get seen by a company, to just start tweeting about that company and start using the name of that company in your tweets to show that youre interested? Is that something that you might recommend?Hal: I think its possible, I mean, certainly if youre on Twitter and theyre on Twitter, theres a way to make a connection there.You have to be really careful I think about just playing to the audience. You dont want to be seen as Im just in this to get your attention. You dont want to patch yourself off as being more involved than maybe you really are.Twitter and really all social media, theres kind of a generally accepted principle of a certain degree of transparency of people online being engaged in social media. So if Twitter applies that you would actually go and talk about c ompanies or to connect with people, then I think absolutely thats great place to get in touch with a company or to talk about a company that you really admire.I shout out companies on Twitter all the time that Im just big fans of and theyre not paid endorsements or Ive never really been contacted by any of their people but I kind of remember, Im a self-confessed caffeine addict, and so I talk about that problem quite a bit because I think probably half of my income every month winds up going to Starbucks.Joshua: Right.Hal: But thats a space that Im active in. Thats something that, Id be telling my friends how much I love coffee anyway. So again, these opportunities connect. But make sure that if youre in these spaces; make sure youre being genuine because sooner or later, if youre not, its going to come back around to bite you.Joshua: Its great advice. Its a really double-edged sword, isnt it? Its all about transparency and one way or the other any kind of inconsistency is going to come across, I think, as red flag.Sloane, you may have noticed this with some of your applicants; that theyre just either inappropriate or inconsistent. How did you handle applicants that were like that?Sloane: Yeah I mentioned earlier that its a great way to really get to know some of the applicants and it kind of goes back to this idea of personal branding and Joshua I know that this is something that you dig into a lot in your videos but this idea that you are kind of creating a public record of things that youre writing about or thinking about and someone can basically go back and see what you were tweeting about last week and if it happened to be something inappropriate or something that might turn off the hiring manager or whatever, something to consider and even outside of Twitter, thats definitely something to consider.I think a lot of people dont think about the footprint theyre leaving behind whether its Facebook and of course Facebook, changing their privacy standards and stuff. A lot of people are upset about that but Ive noticed a lot of people do that and maybe didnt really realize this was happening and they are treating it still like its a private space and they havent gone in and fix the settings. And so its just something to think about really wherever you are in the web is that you are leaving behind this digital footprint of who you are and its track-able. People can go and look back and it can work to your advantage and it can also work to disadvantage.Joshua: Yeah I think one of the biggest mistakes that a job seeker can make online is to just go out there and start filling their profiles, right? And being very flippant about their online presence and I think both of you would agree that really sitting down and looking inside, knowing who you are, and then being strategic about your personal brands and how you fill things out is going to be really important in how youre perceived online, when youre Googled what people find about you.Hal: I agree.Joshua: Go ahead Hal, Im sorry.Hal: Oh I was just going to say I completely agree with that and that takes you back on how risky was this.When I finished this wired cover and posted this tweet, I know for the first time I was really excited about applying for a job and I was really proud about what I produced. It was fun; it made me laugh and it brought a smile on my face. And so in that sense I felt like Ive been really true to myself. My guess was that this was not inappropriate for my audience but if there was the slightest chance that maybe they didnt get it, and then I had to be OK with going, OK if they dont get it then thats probably not the right place for me. And I had to be OK with that.Joshua: Yeah, thats a great point. I get that question a lot from job-seekers. What if this doesnt work?Some people have to lie or feel like they have to lie or put a picture that doesnt really represent them online and eventually theyre going to find out who you are and if theyre n ot OK with that then its better for you to know actually right up front, isnt it?Sloane: Definitely.When we talked about the cultural fit for someone joining our team and it really goes both ways. I mean for Hal or anyone coming into BFG, in my mind, I was in hope that I was a good fit for them too. And in the past and even in other jobs, either from myself actually joining the team or actually hiring someone, I’ve gone so far as to offer a freelance gig for a week just to see if both parties are truly making this work.In this case, I didnt need to do that because I think I already knew just from the whole social media, Twitter experiment that I know its going to be a cultural fit but it definitely goes both ways. You want to be able to be in a place where youre going to be happy and challenged on a daily basis.Joshua: That leads to a really nice question that Im reading here from Steven and I’d like to read it to you. Its a little bit long so bear with me.Twitter blogging seems to be very logical and appropriate for media for teeming employment and creative industries such as marketing, etc. but Im not sure how useful it would be for me. Im 60+, I have a LinkedIn profile and Im looking for a program manager or a project director position in more traditional organizations. Im looking to retire from a full time work. There are only so many hours in a day that I can devote to job search and obviously I want to create as much critical mass in my search as possible in addition to ensuring that my LinkedIn profiles the best that it can be.Should I use Twitter and should I start using blog? and I think the answer to the question is if youre not going for a marketing job or a creative job, such as engineering or project management, does Twitter, blogging and even in general, creativity in the job search still matter? What do you guys think?Sloane: I would say absolutely.I know weve focused a lot on talking about the creative world and the ad world just because th ats kind of where Hal and I live and breathe at the moment but the great thing about Twitter, or really the blogging sphere in general, is that its all about discovery and I think that while the blogs I follow probably wouldnt be interesting to someone whos an engineer or what have you, those sources do absolutely exist out there and people do check in and read those blogs on a daily basis or follow people like that on Twitter.Its all about finding where your interests lie, my interest is definitely in the creative sphere and a lot of people that I follow in Twitter are in that world but we were talking earlier and I am also really passionate about wine. I follow a lot of people on Twitter who talk about nothing but wine.There are all kinds of these things out there and I think that sort of social media world is becoming more and more a part of a lot of peoples jobs and just their own personal coming universe stage. Thats something I think that could help.Joshua: And follow up quest ion to that is asked by Jeff here is, I have political opinions which i share with my Facebook friends, am I putting myself at risk by sharing that with Facebook?Hal: Well, thats a really good one.Joshua: Yes.Hal: We had a discussion in the office, myself and another gentlemen thats on the content department a couple of weeks ago.Thats something that Ive struggled with. Ill be honest on that, and when it comes to certain other blogs that I might read that whether they have a religious or a political bent. I think thats where we have to investigate, especially with a medium like Facebook. Number one, what are the privacy controls that you have in place? And number two, how are you using Facebook?I have recently, I kind of revamped my Facebook, my personal Facebook strategy in that Ive actually kind of, nobody wants to use this word but Id actually trimmed down my friends list on Facebook quite a bit, so that I really only have friends with people that are truly closed connections tha t I have.And Im choosing to make most of my data private and this is just my take on that but I think the over-all point was whatever level of privacy controls you use or whatever you decide to put on Twitter or Facebook, you have to realize that number one, it is out there. Ideals of freedom of speech aside, just because youre free to say anything in an environment doesnt necessarily make it appropriate to say in an environment.So again, that goes back to determining what do you want to use the medium for? And then choosing the appropriate privacy controls and kind of self-editing as appropriate for that audience.Joshua: Right and in other words, have a strategy and stick to that strategy.Know what youre trying to accomplish with the tool that you have your hands on. I think of it as a sculpture right? Anyone can take a chisel but not everyone can create a beautiful work of art from a block of wood.And its really how you use the tool thats going to make the impact, not the tool its elf.I think theres an over-emphasis on social media as a paradigm shift as a sort of this huge revolution in the way we communicate and I really have to defer from that. I think theyre just new tools that we have to learn how to use effectively and as job-seekers I think theyre very effective.One of the questions that Im getting over and over is, we keep talking about Twitter and blogging, does that mean LinkedIn isnt as important or Facebooks not as important? Or how do we choose the right social medium as job-seekers? This will be the last question and Im going to take a quick tour of the inside of the video training. So I want you guys to take a quick 30 seconds thought with that question.Sloane: Yeah I think LinkedIn and other tools are definitely still really important but it kind of goes back to what weve been talking about throughout the conversation which, from a job-seekers perspective is really kind of doing your homework and doing your research, and if you have a dream jo b or a dream company out there that youre interested in pursuing, maybe its a good idea to see where they are in that social sphere and how theyre using these different tools.Or the alternative is to really pick one or two of these areas and really own it and if you are going to be in multiple places, make sure you are being consistent and the messages that you put out there and its the age of the personal brand. I think thats the bottom line.Joshua: Yes it is. And Hal, how would you answer that question about choosing the medium?Hal: Sure, really I just would confer with just about everything Sloan has said.A lot of these goes back to the question that gentleman asked earlier about the need to get into Twitter and blogging and all this and really dive head-first in social media but theres so many hours in a day that you can devote for your job-search.It just goes back to what are the types of companies youre looking out and what spaces are they in. BFG does have a LinkedIn profile but, Ive interacted even before I was an employee here, I got far more interaction with BFG and with people who worked for BFG through the blog and through Twitter than I did on LinkedIn. That may be not the case for every industry or every company so again we can go back to whats your target company, where are they at and invest your time and resources there. If theyre on Twitter, if theyre on Facebook, then jump on-board, jump in.The learning curve is pretty forgiving.As the saying, Give more than you take. Listen a little more than you talk. But if your industry is not really active in that space right now, unless its just a hobby, dont waste your time. Dont look at it as a primary means of job search. Know your audience.Joshua: Exactly right.So its not about having the prettiest LinkedIn profile, its about knowing where they hang out online and then going there and interacting with them. Thats a really great point Hal.Well come back to you guys in a second. I just want to take a moment and show everyone the inside view of the job-seekers guide to social media and so when you get into the product and when you get access to the course, this is the first page that you come to and what Id do is Ill have a quick 25 minute video, which gives you tips that you can use right after that.Were getting a lot of questions today about how do you use Twitter, how do you follow topics, how do you find people, how do you get started if youre a real newbie and this course actually takes you through step by step of how to do that.So basically each of the 5 modules here has between 4 to 8 videos associated with each one and each video lesson has a downloadable sheet and its pack of resources. So we talked a lot about strategy Hal and not just going out there and flippantly putting stuff online but to really know what youre trying to say and to whom, and thats all about finding your brand, looking inside and then looking at your target audience.And then we look at online resum es, online reputation for when you get Googled not if. And theres actually an entire module dedicated to Twitter, because I think its more than just what you had for breakfast. Thats important too but theres a lot to it and so for newbies with Twitter, this will be a really valuable lesson and then we get into interviews  and actually go into the steps that how Hal and other job-seekers took and Ive spoken with to use social media to do that.So when you get started, you come here into the first module which is personal branding and you get access to these 6 videos and navigation here on the right. And then when you drill down into the video itself, you can watch it here and every video comes with a downloadable action sheet. So what happens is by the time you finish the course, youll have 25 pages filled with notes of your personal job-search strategy actually right there in front of you.For those of you who like to skim, there are always bullet points about the topics that are cov ered in the video and additional notes, oftentimes, I think of something after Ive recorded the video and I want to emphasize it where there are some points within the video that I want to make sure are emphasized. And then every video has resources, sometimes theyre free, sometime theyre not but theyre here for you to find.This particular video is about keyword research, which is often overlooked when creating online profiles. So theres an entire lesson on how to actually get your keywords so that youre ranking number one on at least 3 of them to help you get found.The lessons on Twitter are here. There are 5 videos. Each one comes with of course the downloadable action sheet, the summary of what you learned and these are resources. people are asking, How do I communicate with recruiters? I actually have a list of over 100 different recruiters here that you can follow.So they are are just packed with resources that Im giving away to do this, and its now open.So this is sort of the culmination of a lot of exclusive training Ive done around the Portland area for the last year and people have been asking me to make this available to them regardless of where they live and so if you have been following my blog, youve noticed that i havent been blogging a lot and thats because Ive been focusing almost exclusively on developing this content and really refining it so that you guys can get jobs as quickly as possible.And Im giving away a lot of free stuff so just by signing up, youre going to get a free LinkedIn profile audit so youll sign up, youll send me your LinkedIn profile and Ill actually do a professional audit on it to give you steps to improve it and just as part of signing up.So as much stuff as Im giving away, I can only keep this open for 1 week. So this is going to close on January 11 at midnight. So if you do have questions about using Twitter and social media and really creating a strategy for your job search, this is the only product or training cours e available that is completely comprehensive and its just for job-seekers on using social media.So also, Im giving away 2 live calls so if youre going to the course and get stuck and questions always come up, I want to make sure that Im there for you so therell be 2 calls starting next week and then 2 weeks after that so if you guys get stuck during the course, I am available to answer any questions live and there are bonuses that if I get questions a lot about a particular technology, Ill actually do a screencast and just put it in bonuses for free so theres a lot of questions that I answer in this course. So definitely worth taking a look.Were coming up on the end of the hour here. We got about 5 minutes left and we do have more questions but I want to leave this space to let you guys, Hal and Sloane, end with any last words for job-seekers out there. Maybe theyre not in the creative industry such as you guys, maybe theyre new to social media, what would you recommend as a first s tep, at least if they are to walk away with one thing from todays conversation, what would it be? Sloane why dont you go ahead first on this?Sloane: Sure yeah, I think some of what youve been talking about, Joshua, with regards to social media kind of being a new tool among many, I think thats really important.Face to face networking and interaction is definitely still important its not going anywhere.So I would recommend really using a combination of different tactics, if you are in the job market, social media is a really great way I think to get yourself out there and to potentially stand out a little bit from the crowd, people with social media knowledge and skills I think are becoming more and more in demand and thats only going to increase as time goes on and ore people start getting involved in this space.But definitely dont discount some of the offline things too and every community that Ive ever lived in, theres always something going on with groups of professionals or some times theyre a very highly targeted groups. We have social media clubs here in Savannah for people who are in that industry but there are so many other groups that get together and meet after hours. So I would just encourage people to take advantage of those things as well as the social space and really find the right mix.Joshua: Right, get out there and meet people as well as develop your online reputation. Hal, what would you leave folks with?Hal: More of the same really. Definitely know who you are and what youre looking for in a company.The reality is wed all have to take jobs because we have to pay the rent but at the end of the day, we should all be able to describe the type of job and the type of environment that we want to be a part of and we know that. When know what youre looking for, its surprisingly easier to find it and then find ways so not only you know who you are but you want out of a company that you want to make sure you know as much as you can about any job or an y company that you apply for.And so depending on whats appropriate, where that company is or where the people who work for this company are active, whether its online, whether its offline or both, just show up and interact. Show up with consistency and contribute something of value and sooner or later opportunities are going to open up for you.Joshua: I love that. Stop spraying and praying. Be specific, focused and targeted. Thats really great advice. Im getting questions about if people want to get connected with you Hal and Sloan, so would that be alright if I sent out an email out to participants with your Twitter handles?Both: Sure, absolutely.Sloane: Wed be happy to answer any questions after this.Joshua: And Hal, Sloan, thank you very much for your time today. I really enjoyed the conversation and I think everyone on the call here got a lot of really fabulous information for their job search. Thank you both very much.Hal: Thank you.Sloane: Thank you for having me and thanks fo r all the great questions, to the audience.Joshua: Thank you too. Yeah thanks to the audience for participating and have a great week.

5 Tips for Staying Fit During a Job Search or a Busy Career - CareerAlley

5 Tips for Staying Fit During a Job Search or a Busy Career - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. Mahatma Gandhi Whether youre busy with a job and family or are without work and making the search your priority, you simply cant function your best if you dont exercise. If youve been laid off, working out can provide a vital source of stress relief and a break from what may be a monotonous lifestyle. If youre currently working, exercise can provide you the energy to make it through the week. And for anybody, being busy is simply no excuse for neglecting your health and not paying yourself first. To that end, Im going to offer a few tips that might make it easier for you to not only commit to exercising, but also to find time for it and to stick with your plan. Tip 1: Add Workouts to Your Calendar and Make Them a Priority I find I am far more diligent about sticking to an exercise routine if I add it to my calendar. Personally, I like to review my upcoming week on Sunday and determine three days for exercise (Its almost always Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday). Once my workouts are in my calendar, I make sure my husband knows about them so we can trade off days staying in to watch the kids versus being at the gym. Tip 2: Consider 10-, 20-Minute Exercise Plans Not all of us have time or even want to do hour-long workouts. In that case, I would consider any number of exercise routines that can be done in 10- or 20-minute bursts. Theres tons of them on the web, many of which dont require expensive equipment. Heres just one example: A 20-minute exercise plan from Lifehacker. Tip 3: Make Yardwork and other Chores Part of Your Routine I dont know about you, but I often break in a sweat scrubbing tiles. Determine housework and home projects that give you a cardio or muscular boost, and make them a regular part of your fitness plan. If you mow the lawn, turn off the mowers automatic push feature. Tip 4: Seek the Exercises, Tools, that Motivate You to Exercise Youll be far more likely to exercise if you find activities that you look forward to. Perhaps a salsa class is more your style than weight lifting. Also, I recommend trying out different gyms and looking into fitness gadgets and smartphone apps that make exercising more enjoyable. I find my Android phone combined with apps including iFitness and Runkeeper provides the ideas and motivation I need to stay active. Tip 5: The Tie Your Shoes Motivation Trick So youve committed to perform a workout, be it a jog, a game of racquetball, or a trip to the gym. But how do you get started? Im going to borrow from Matthew McConaughey, who suggested in Mens Health Magazine that you make tying your shoes the first step in each workout. Sounds silly, but its a small step that makes it easier to progress onto bigger things. Make No Excuses OK, so this one is a bonus. Remember, we all lead busy lives, not all of us can afford fancy speed bikes etc., and often working out isnt always on the top of our minds. But by taking a no excuses attitude, being flexible (mentally, that is), and finding what works for you, you can achieve lasting results. We are always eager to hear from our readers. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions regarding CareerAlley content. Good luck in your search,Joey Google+ Visit Joeys profile on Pinterest. Job Search job title, keywords, company, location jobs by What's next? Ready to take action? Choose the right tools to help you build your career. Looking for related topics? Find out how to identify and land your dream job. Subscribe and make meaningful progress on your career. It’s about time you focused on your career. Get Educated Contact Us Advertise Copyright 2020 CareerAlley. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy + Disclosure home popular resources subscribe search