Career Management Quotes of the Week!

“If you dare nothing, then when the day is over, nothing is all you will have gained.” - Neil Gaiman

"People who look through keyholes are apt to get the idea that most things are keyhole shaped." - Unknown 

Your Most Important Job Search Tool

What is your most important job search tool?  Well, it isn’t your resume, it isn’t your LinkedIn profile, it’s not your carefully crafted career portfolio, and it isn’t your interview prowess.  It’s you!  From your enthusiasm to take the “bull by the horns,” to your willingness to do the uncomfortable (networking, asking for reference letters, getting help when you need it), your job search success is up to you!  If you are actively seeking employment spend time at least five days a week in job search mode.  

For the unemployed this means at least five hours a day in a variety of tasks.  For those currently employed, you have to determine what amount of time you can legitimately devote to the search five days a week.  Whether you give it your all five to six hours a day on the weekdays, or 20-30 minutes four days a week and a couple of hours on Saturday, if you consistently pursue a new job the numbers will always be in your favor.  While sometimes our job search success isn’t as quick as we would like, the time you regularly set aside to perform a job search will ultimately win the day.  To your job search success!

Job Search Quotes of the Week

"I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down." ~ Charles F. Kettering

“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the story you keep telling yourself as to why you can't achieve it.” ~ Jordan Belfort

Career Management Quotes of the Week

“Learn from others whom have walked the path before you, but be smart enough to know when to cut your own trail."

Narciso Rodriguez

“You’re never too old to reinvent yourself."

Sir Martin Sorrell

Job Search Quotes of the Week

"An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward. So when life is dragging you back the difficulties, it means that it’s going to launch you into something great. So just focus, and keep aiming." ~ Unknown

“Be miserable or motivate yourself.  Whatever has to be done it is always your choice.” Unknown 

Career Management Quotes of the Week

"Ask yourself if what you’re doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow." ~ Unknown

"The 3C’s in Life” Choice, Chance, Change. You must make the choice, to take the chance, if you want anything in life to change." ~ Unknown

Keep Your Resume Updated

Unfortunately, the main reason we update or even prepare from scratch, a resume is because of a career emergency.  Fear of lay-offs, surprise downsizing, company closure, company merger or acquisition, or being dismissed are all reasons people will need an updated resume quickly.  However, waiting until the emergency happens is a very bad idea. 

Think of your resume as your personal marketing brochure.  Just like a company’s marketing brochure, your resume needs to be continually modified with new information, have older information revamped or eliminated, and be read and re-read for errors.  Delaying the task of keeping your resume updated, whether actually inserting new information into an existing document, or maintaining a list of projects worked on, documents development, clients work with, sales numbers, inventory managed, computer applications utilized, etc., can leave you flustered during a career crisis and result in a lackluster document. 

Why have to remember this information at a time when you are upset about an impending or recent job loss, nervous about the future, and feeling a great deal of pressure to get a new job.  Your thinking is clearer and your ability to remember important information for your resume and for the interview is stronger during a time when you aren’t highly stressed. 

Take the time today to sit down and write out recent happenings in your career.  If it has been some time, say five or more years since you have taken on this task, try carving time out weekly for a few weeks to think back on your career and give yourself a better opportunity for recall of material suitable for a resume.  You should always have more information than necessary, and that surplus material can offer you some additional support of your experience in an interview.  Update your resume today.  To your career success!

Job Search Quotes of the Week!

“Never give up on something you really want.  It is difficult to wait, but more difficult to regret.” Unknown

“You’re off to great places.  Today is your day.  Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way.”  Dr. Seuss 

Career Management Quotes of the Week!

“We think, mistakenly, that success is the result of the amount of time we put in at work, instead of the quality of time we put in.” – Arianna Huffington

“Life isn’t about finding yourself, it’s about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw

Job Search Quotes of the Week!

"Courage doesn't mean you don't get afraid.  Courage means you don't let fear stop you." ~ Bethany Hamilton

“The Struggle You’re In Today Is Developing The Strength You Need For Tomorrow. So don’t give up” ~ Robert Tew

Top 10 Ways to Cope with Job Transition

Job transitions can be stressful—whether they’re due to layoff, a new job or working extra hours because others workers were laid off.  If you’re facing one, consider the following.

1. Take an honest look at yourself.  What are your strengths, weaknesses, skills?  How did those influence, positively or negatively, your transition?

2. Step up your self-care.  Major changes are physically and emotionally taxing.  You need self-care now more than ever.

3. Engage your curiosity.  What went wrong, or right?  What could you have done better?  What worked really well?

4. Focus on what you want… and less on what you don’t want.  Keep your eye on the prize.

5. Find support.  Since your transition affects your family as well, it may be better to seek the outside support of friends or professionals.

6. Work on your thoughts.  Calm your fears and reinforce your sense of hope and happiness.

7. Reassure (or avoid) those who are threatened by, or jealous of, the change.

8. Create your own rite of passage.  Ceremony and ritual, religious services and communing with those of similar faith, all can help with transitions.

9. Let go of how things were “supposed to be” and accept “how things are.”  Find appreciation for what is and where you are going with your career.

10. Keep things in perspective. Or try on a new perspective. Don’t get stuck. Remember, the only constant is change.

Author’s content used with permission, © Claire Communications

Career Management Quotes of the Week!

“When I was able to get down the road a ways and look back, I realized success is 90% ­perseverance. The key is to stay in the game”
– Trevor Rees-Jones

“Opportunities don’t often come along. So, when they do, you have to grab them.”
– Audrey Hepburn

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
– Thomas Edison