Boost Your Career: Do What The Popular Kids Did In High School

Even if you were not one of the most popular students in high school, you can learn lessons from those who were and apply them to your career.  Learn more in the following post.

Those cheerleaders, class presidents and smiling sports stars were so popular in high school, and they’re more successful in their careers, too.

They earn more than the rest of us even 35 years after high school is over, according to new research from the National Bureau of Economic Affairs.

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Boost Your Career: Do What The Popular Kids Did In High School

How Recruiters and Hiring Managers can Help Candidates Make an Informed Career Decision: Part 2

Joe Murphy of Shaker Consulting Group

The founder of Checkster, Yves Lermusi and I had a chance to speak at TaleoWorld.  Yves has spent most of his career examining the talent space.   I asked him what we can do to help the candidate make a more informed decision.  He suggests we give the candidate feedback from the results of pre-employment assessments and background checks.  Click play to hear what he has to say, then continue reading below the video. Continue Reading

Reinvent Your Career and Job Search – Part 2

“A great wind is blowing and that gives you either imagination or a headache” – Catherine the Great

In Part 1 of this article, we covered reinventing your career (Reinvent Your Career and Job Search – Part 1). Today’s post focuses on reinventing your job search. Similar reinventing your career, there countless reasons why you would (and should) reinvent your job search. Maybe you’ve been our of the job search market for a few years (or longer) and need to adjust to the ever changing online job search process. Or maybe your current job search is not yielding results. Possibly you don’t need to totally reinvent your search, maybe just tweak it. Whatever the reason, today’s post will provide some advice and links to the “how” part. Research – Where do you want to work? – First thing you should do is decide where you want to work (as in the company). You should make a list of the companies where you would love to work. This is, of course, the end result of lots of research. While you probably have an idea of your short list, you will (and should) need to do additional research to build out your list. There are tons of resources for your research. Following are a few links. Continue Reading

Reinvent Your Career and Job Search – Part 1

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” – Confucius

I ran into an old friend (metaphorically speaking) that I used to work with very early in my career. We hadn’t been in contact for probably 12 years or so even though we spent 11 years (across two companies) working together way back when. When we worked together, he was not your average guy. He was a very successful business man, near the top of his field. A typical “type A” personality, but if he liked you he would go out of his way to help you. Anyway, long story short, I spotted him on LinkedIn and he then sent a message letting me know the new things he was doing (very different from what he was doing when we worked together). I pressed him a bit for more information on one of his new ventures (because it seemed so different from what I would expect) and he told me that every so often you need to reinvent yourself. And you know what? He’s right. Sometimes we are forced to reinvent ourselves (industries change, companies disappear, skill sets become irrelevant due to changes in technology, etc.) and sometimes change is just part of our natural progression. So, whether you’re reinventing yourself because of your own personal “evolution” or are changing due to a forced “revolution”, take some time to map out the best way to get to your destination. Reinvent Your Career:Before you reinvent anything, the first question you should ask is “why?”. There are millions of reasons why, but in the interest of time, I’ve tried to narrow it down to some of the most common reasons. The second question you should ask is “how?” and there are a few links below to cover that as well. Continue Reading

The recession is over, but my career is dead!

I keep reading about how the recession is over and the job market is improving, but my situation couldn’t be worse.  I’ve been working over 60 hours a week for the last 2 years and am doing the work of 3 people.  Prior to 2008 I got calls from headhunters all the time, but my phone is still silent.  I feel like my career is dead but I still need to work for a long time.  What can I do? Continue Reading

Leading Businesses Launch Training Initiative to Prepare U.S. College Students and Young Professionals for the Workforce

Today, Business Roundtable and HR Policy Association announced the release of JobSTART101: Smart Tips and Real-World Training, an online course for college students and recent graduates that introduces the professional skills necessary to succeed in the workplace. Even in a time of soaring unemployment, a survey revealed that 61 percent of U.S. employers report difficulty in finding qualified workers to fill vacancies at their companies. JobSTART101 addresses the gap between employers’ needs and workers’ skills by helping students understand the real-life challenges and expectations of the workplace.

The United States needs a well-equipped workforce that is prepared for the challenges of today’s job market. However, many college graduates do not have an opportunity to learn what employers expect and have not developed the professional skills that will help them succeed after they are hired.

“While our nation remains focused on job creation, it’s equally important to focus on ensuring that our workforce has the skills and training needed to succeed in today’s economy. Business leaders are concerned that many entry-level employees lack the communication and analytical skills that are necessary for sustained job success,” said William D. Green, Chairman and CEO of Accenture and Chairman of Business Roundtable’s Education, Innovation and Workforce Initiative. “JobSTART101 helps prepare new employees meet the challenges of the job market which is essential to building a competitive workforce.”

JobSTART101 is a first-of-its-kind course that’s free and available to college students and recent graduates nationwide. The course includes interactive components such as videos and course workbooks that cover topics ranging from how to communicate and solve problems to how to develop a professional persona that helps drive a career for long-term success. It is designed to be engaging and fast-paced, with the option for students to complete the entire course in approximately 90 minutes or tackle the six topical modules one at a time.

“A student or young professional who spends 90 minutes with this course will be a more productive employee and experience greater satisfaction in his/her first job without having to undergo extensive – and expensive – coursework or training,” says Alexandra Levit, an expert on business and workplace issues and the online instructor for JobSTART101.

Prior to today’s release, a group of college students provided feedback on the course. Six institutions participated in the pilot evaluation: California State University at East Bay, Coppin State University, DeVry University, Duke University, Northern Virginia Community College and University of Michigan. The majority of students reported that the course engaged their interest and included useful information and relevant examples that would help prepare them for situations they would face at work.

The need for JobSTART101 was identified by The Springboard Project – an independent commission of thought leaders convened by Business Roundtable – who recommended specific actions that would help Americans get the education and training they need to succeed in the evolving economy. The experts urged employers to better communicate workforce needs and expectations to students and increase American’s workplace readiness and competitiveness.

Learning How to Recruit and Retain Millennials

I don’t have a human resources or recruiting degree of any kind yet, as an owner of job board CollegeRecruiter.com, I need to understand the issues facing those who do. I attend a lot of human resource and recruiting conferences and try to take in as many of the sessions as possible and speak with as many practitioners and thought leaders as I can. Today I had the good fortune of listening to two of the foremost experts on the recruitment and retention of Gen Y / Millennial young adults: Terese Corey Blanck and Judy Anderson.

Terese and Judy are the principals behind Emerging Advantage, which helps organizations gain a competitive advantage by providing services which engage and accelerate the development of entry-level employees impacting retention, performance and promotability. In a 2.5 hour presentation to a packed room, Terese and Judy skillfully played off each other and the attendees in first making the case that Gen Y behavior frustrates many employers then proving that it has been misdiagnosed as a generational issue and then laying out specific recommendations for how employers both large and small can recruit and retain those 18-30 year old, emerging adults so they are ready to replace the Boomer Generation as the retirement of those older workers accelerates over the next decade.

The session was sponsored by the Emerging Leaders Association, which also deserves kudos for putting on such an interesting and informative event in an effort to help its members and guests like me guide our future leaders to a state of readiness for the uncertainties and challenges ahead. If your organization is struggling with recruiting and retaining Gen Y candidates, I urge you to contact these two fine organizations to learn more about how they can help.

How to Manage your Career During an Economic Downturn

How to manage your career during an economic downturn
By Nimish Thakkar
The economy is reeling under the pressures of a downturn. Unemployment rates are staggering and layoffs are at an all-time high. The current economic climate calls for a robust career management plan, one that will, despite the recession-like conditions, catapult your career to new heights.
Consider the following tips:
Take stock
Evaluate your professional standing and key trends within your industry, company, and profession. What do you need to change? How can you do it? How does your profession look five years from now? Two years from now? What threats do you foresee? What opportunities exist?
Based on your analysis, develop a comprehensive action plan that will help you leverage your strengths and overcome your weaknesses.
Network aggressively
Networking is not a post-layoff or when-you-feel-like-doing-it activity. All successful professionals incorporate networking as an integral and active component of their career management plan. Tradeshows, conferences, industry and social events, online networking tools–networking opportunities have never been so easily accessible.
Position yourself
What is your value proposition? What is so unique about you that employers will want to retain you irrespective of what happens to the company financially? We all have something unique to offer and if you can develop a powerful value proposition demonstrating how indispensable you are, you will be in a much better position that most professionals.
Invest in professional development
This is the Information Age, an environment in which information becomes obsolete faster than fashion. Through continuing education programs and other professional development efforts, it is very important to stay abreast with the cutting-edge of your profession.
Demonstrate leadership and the ability to take on challenges
The economy inevitably imposes financial strains on any company and under such conditions every employee is expected to do more–take more work, manage multiple tasks, lead projects, and epitomize “cross-functional” in every sense of the term.
Try to volunteer on projects and take on leadership roles. The key is to demonstrate how you can contribute toward the organization’s success and deliver an optimal ROI for the company.
Update your resume
Update your resume every month, if not every week. Highlight your recent accomplishments and create a powerful document that will position you as the perfect solution for any employer’s needs.
Keep your options open
With all the above strategies, keep your eyes open to new opportunities. Through a portfolio of job search strategies, including networking, you should generate a steady stream of job leads.
Effective career management is an ongoing effort. Once employers recognize how valuable you are, recession or growth, they will do everything they can to retain you.
Nimish Thakkar is a sought-after career management coach and professional resume writer. He has helped thousands of clients through his Resume Writing Service and Free Career Information site. Thakkar holds two graduate degrees, including an MBA. He is also a graduate of the prestigious Career Coach Academy. Nimish can be reached at nimish@resumecorner.com