What do you enjoy doing? What makes you feel energetic? What do you do well? These are no ordinary questions.

Answers to the above questions can lead you to the most precious asset you have for building a successful career: Your strengths.

Why bother about strengths? When you use our strengths, you will enjoy your work and give your best performance. Opposite is also true. Failing to use your own strengths is
a recipe for boredom and mediocre performance at work.

You may wonder if you have any strength in the first place. Indeed, when people see a great musician, painter, orator or sportsman perform, they recognize readily his/her strength. But they fail to ask themselves what their own strengths are and quietly assume they have none.

There are three main reasons why people fail to leverage on their own strengths. First, what you are good at comes easily to you. Therefore, you may take it for granted. For example, if your strength lies in, say, leading people, you may find this activity so easy that it may not appear as anything special to you.

Second, your strengths may be such that you may not be able to publicly express them, unlike in the case of a painter or musician. Therefore, no one, including you, recognizes them.

Third, since many people do not recognize their strengths, they fail to develop them. As a result, the strengths remain dormant, like an unpolished diamond.

Here's how you can spot your own strengths if you don't already know them:

Feelings

Pay attention to the activities that give you a feeling of joy or enjoyment. That's a clue to your strengths.

Energy

Do you suddenly feel energized while doing certain activities? If yes, that's another clue to your strengths.

Achievements

Look at all your past achievements and see if you can detect a pattern of specific activities. If you can, these particular activities are nothing but expressions of your strengths.

Excellence

Find out what you excel at consistently. That's a definite clue to your strengths.

Compliments

Interestingly, people can identify others' strengths (and weaknesses) quite easily. If you can notice others' strengths, they too can notice yours. So, if someone compliments you for good work, pay attention. He may be pointing at your strengths unconsciously.

Compulsiveness

A person's strengths are like a blown-up balloon under the water--they keep surfacing. Sub-consciously, you may feel a compulsion to express your strengths. For example, if your strength is writing, you may grab any opportunity to write.

Ask yourself: "What do I feel compelled to do?

Yearnings

Like a magnet, your yearnings pull you towards your strengths. So, if you catch yourself longing repeatedly to do something, say, teaching others, therein may lie your strength.

Rapid learning

If you are able to learn a particular skill rapidly, that again is a clue to your strength.

Losing track of time

Not being conscious of the time while you are doing something is one of the most reliable clues to your strengths.

Ask yourself: "What do I enjoy doing so much that it makes me lose track of time?"

Feedback analysis

This method was suggest by management guru Peter Drucker. It works as follows:

1. Whenever you take a key decision or action, write down what you expect to happen.
   
2. Later, perhaps after a few days, weeks or months, compare the actual results with your own expectations.
   

With so many ways to uncover your strengths, it is time you unleashed them to enjoy your work, give superior performance and savor success in your career.

-- Copyright © 2006 by Atul Mathur, the author of three ebooks: 5 Quick Steps to a New Job, The Best Career Move: Know Yourself and The Secret of Finding the Right Career Direction. He also writes Career Tips, a free monthly newsletter dedicated to career development.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on September 24, 2006 at 2:12 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

If you are in the market for a sales entry level job, you're not alone. Sales continues to be a very popular career choice for many, in part due to the potential unlimited earnings and the versatility of choices. Perhaps you're interested in BMX biking...researching BMX bike sales jobs could unleash possibilities you would jump at (no pun intended) because of your passion for the topic.

But now comes the BIG question: can you ace the interview?

The following sales interview advice article for employers uncovers gems of wisdom that you, as the job seeker, could turn to your advantage. From the initial 15-minute phone screening interview to the longer, "you-are-really-a candidate" interview, you can find out what key questions you might be asked. For example: "What sales books have you read recently?" Don't read much? Then, "What seminars have you attended recently?"

Hone your interview answers in advance by knowing what to expect - and then practice, practice, practice. Are YOU prepared to sell a pencil in the interview?

Posted by Susan Guarneri on September 18, 2006 at 12:25 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

As someone new to the working world it makes sense to internalize these effective work habits to increase your chances of success.

Being new in the working world, I am sure you are eager to show off your newfound skills and knowledge. However, out there in the working world some basic work effective habits can increase your productivity. By being consistently effective at your work increases your chances of success in your career.

The 5 effective work habits are:

1. Volunteer for Assignments
One of the best ways to signal that you are a keen learner and are not afraid of hard work is to volunteer for assignments. Especially assignments that no one seems interested to do. However, before that do assess your own skills and knowledge to see if you can confidently accomplish it. If you are confident in completing the task in full and perfection, go ahead and volunteer for it.

However, do remember one thing. Under promise and over deliver on the assignment you volunteered. Do not be too confident that you turn a perfect opportunity into mess. Once you start the project, see it till the end. You would be seen as someone who is courageous enough to take on additional assignments. You would also be seen as someone who follows through in your work. This is the first habit you need to internalize.

2. Be Nice to People
I am sure we have all heard this often enough. Be nice to people regardless of their rank and designation. It sounds philosophical but when you are nice to people they go out of their way to help you. And being new in an organization you would never know what sort of help you would need. Colleagues often like to work with nice talented people. When you have this effective work habit you increase the chances of people wanting you to work on their team.

Being nice to people is just common courtesy. There is nothing extra ordinary about this particular habit that you need special skills. A smile in the morning and a “Good Morning” is a good start. In this day and age, people working in pressurized environments often use stress as an excuse when they blow up. Is this necessary? Nice is often reciprocated by nice. In fact, it can lower your stress level.

3. Prioritize Your Work
We all love to start work on things that are close to our hearts. However, often these may not be the most urgent and important in our list of tasks in the workplace. When you select things you are more interested in rather than work that is more important or urgent, you lower your chances of success.

Have a list of things to do according to its strategic importance to your company. Know your role in completing the tasks at hand in order to achieve that corporate goal. When you prioritize your work, you are more productive and that increases your chances of career success.

4. Stay Positive
As someone new in the working world it is very easy to feel down because you are new. You are not used to the work system. You have new people to deal with and people in the working world who behave very differently from school. It takes a lot of getting used to. There will be office politics to deal with regardless of how little.

Be above all these and stay positive in the face of challenges. When you are positive you remain focused on your goals. You make better decisions and therefore become more productive.

5. Highlight a Problem but Bring Solutions
The last effective work habit of the five effective work habits is to bring solutions each time you highlight a problem to your boss or management. You need to remember that when you bring problems and not solutions, it is often construed as complaining.

To avoid that label, offer solutions. A range of possible solutions also indicates to your boss that you have thought this through before approaching him/her with a problem. Have in mind a recommended solution amongst those you suggested.

These are the 5 effective work habits I constantly drill into new employees who are fresh graduates in our company. At first glance, these may seem like common sense. However, in actual working environment people tend to sometimes forget these very basic effective work habits, and don't practice them often enough. Internalize these and consistently practice them to increase your chances of success.

Posted by Career-Success-for-Newbies.com on September 4, 2006 at 10:55 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Is there a recipe for career success? Well, the answer to that question is both “yes” and “no”. Yes, because there are steps you can take that can increase your chances of success. No, mainly because very often when people start asking questions like that they seek a shortcut rather than the actual hardworking way to success. If you are sincere in getting off to a great start in your career and need to be pointed in the right direction, then this book is for you. It has the career success recipe that you need.

Career Success Recipe For Newbies is a compilation of 5 articles:
Part 1. Career Success Recipe – What Do You Want To Cook?
Part 2. The Key Ingredients For Your Career Success
Part 3. Planning Your Career Success Dish
Part 4. Enjoying the Process of Career Success
Part 5. Pushing for Career Success

Striking a balance while pushing for career success is the last part of your career success recipe. You have now seen an overview of what a career success recipe consist. From knowing what to cook, to its key ingredients, planning the dish to understanding that it is a process.

I have seen it too often especially among young graduates on a first job or even seasoned employees joining a new company. They are all too eager pushing for career success that they crack under their own pressure.

Understand that your career success is like a good dish, it takes time to cook. You cannot rush it. Give yourself time to work on the finer details and enjoy the process. The more you push yourself the more mistakes you will make. That will only delay your career success plans.

Your Best is Good Enough
Taking time to enjoy the process of your career success isn’t about not planning for success. It means understanding that career success takes time and effort. It also doesn’t mean that you do not push yourself. The question is how much do you do while pushing for career success? When is it good enough?

The answer seems fairly simple but in practice it isn’t at all. The answer is this - when you have given your best, that’s when it is good enough. In order to answer when is it that you know you have done your best, you need to know your own definition of success. Remember the first part of the success recipe? Knowing what you want to cook?

When seeking for that answer, you will have to confront what are your values and motivations in life. That will lead you to realize your priorities in life. And hence, how much time and effort you are willing to allocate to each aspect of your life. Once you do all these, you will intrinsically know when you are giving your best in pushing for career success.

When you give your best that’s when it is good enough. Think of your career success as a banquet you are cooking. There are many success dishes you will cook. Each successful dish and each failure adds to your experience. It also increases your chances of succeeding.

When Good Enough is Not Good Enough
When cooking your career success recipe, you need to constantly remind yourself that good enough is not good enough. So, when is good enough not good enough?

It is when you do not do things with Pride, Passion and Belief.

Pride
Just as a good cook takes great pride in cooking a dish, you should approach each and every assignment with pride too. Pride here means self-dignity, not arrogance. It is when you take personal responsibility to each job given to you. Knowing that everything that you do has your name on it, you give it your best. When you do things with pride, you will not do just good enough. You will give it your best.

Passion
Spice up your dish with a generous helping of passion. When you are driven by passion for the work and pride as the foundation, your work will always smell the best. When you do things with directed passion, you know you are giving your best.

Belief
Work with a belief. Doing something without a belief is just a fool at work. When you act upon a belief with pride as your foundation and passion to fuel you – you know you will be giving your best.

Balancing Pride, Passion and Belief
Pride, Passion and Belief will ensure that you deliver your best in everything you do. However, in order for your best to propel you to higher grounds or in this case cook the best success dish ever, then you need to balance your pride, passion and belief.

Skills and Knowledge
Skills and knowledge must be the backbone of your pride. When your pride is not backed by an equal amount of skills and knowledge, you become arrogant. For you to be productive in cooking this success recipe, your pride must be balanced by skills and knowledge.

Direction
Passion must have a direction. When passion does not have a direction, it is wasted energy. So, when you are cooking this success recipe know your direction. Where are you heading with this? In other words, have a focus. Concentrate all your efforts on one single point. Then you have higher chances of achieving the success you seek.

Action
Lastly, belief must be backed by action. Believing in something yet there is no action to back it up is just fantasizing. You can keep believing in your success recipe but if you do not take steps to cook it, it isn’t going to happen.

Have Fun with Your Career Success Recipe
Your career success recipe is like cooking for a banquet. It takes a long time. The successes along the way tell us what we need to repeat and keep our constant efforts on. The failures tell us what to avoid and makes us smarter as we proceed to cook this dish.

There will be spills but there will be successes too. When there are spills, soak it all up along the way. Don’t rush it in a day. When there are successes, savor it and know that more successes are possible.

You Succeed by Not Rushing nor Lazing Off
Your career success comes to you when you do not rush yourself through it. But this also means you do not laze off. When you rush you start to be careless. You forget the important ingredients in your career success recipe. You may add too much of a good ingredient. If you rush through your success recipe, you risk overdoing it. On the other hand, if you laze off – you won’t put in the appropriate effort needed for success. For success to happen, you need to be moderate in your pursuit. There is a saying:

Hurrying makes things too tight,
Slacking off lets things get too loose,
By not hurrying and not slacking off,
We can succeed at what we do.

You Are Your Own Competitor
Very often I see young graduates in the working world competing against their colleagues and peers. They spend too much time thinking how they can beat them at the race to promotion. They forget that it is more important to sharpen their own skills. In this race, you are your own competitor. I leave you with this thought from Dao De Jing:

He who knows other men is discerning, he who knows himself is intelligent.
He who overcomes other is strong; he who overcomes himself is mighty.
He who is satisfied with his lot is rich.
He who goes on acting with energy has a firm will.
He who does not fail in the requirements of his position, continues long.
He who dies and yet does not perish, has longevity.

Posted by Career-Success-for-Newbies.com on September 4, 2006 at 10:49 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Is there a recipe for career success? Well, the answer to that question is both “yes” and “no”. Yes, because there are steps you can take that can increase your chances of success. No, mainly because very often when people start asking questions like that they seek a shortcut rather than the actual hardworking way to success. If you are sincere in getting off to a great start in your career and need to be pointed in the right direction, then this book is for you. It has the career success recipe that you need.

Career Success Recipe For Newbies is a compilation of 5 articles:
Part 1. Career Success Recipe – What Do You Want To Cook?
Part 2. The Key Ingredients For Your Career Success
Part 3. Planning Your Career Success Dish
Part 4. Enjoying the Process of Career Success
Part 5. Pushing for Career Success

Enjoying the process of career success is the next step in your success recipe. You now know what to cook, you have your key ingredients for success, and you have a plan for success. Do you know what it takes in this process?

The path to success is a long one. Just like cooking a successful dish, there are bound to be little spills and breakages here and there. Especially when you are a newbie with a success recipe.

In order to tide through this somewhat tough process, you need to start enjoying the process of career success. Otherwise you will become disheartened that your success recipe isn’t working.

Sometimes it isn’t because your success recipe doesn’t work. It is just a process of you getting good at it. To guide you through this phase, remember to enjoy the process of career success. And how do you enjoy the process?

Clarity of Vision
You must visualize the outcome of your career success recipe. See it in your mind. You will meet setbacks in your journey to success. Do not concentrate on the negative. Feed your mind with pictures of how you see yourself once you finish cooking your dish of success.

What is the dream of success that you have? Believe in that dream. Successful people see what they want to achieve clearly in their minds. You must have clarity of the career success recipe you want to cook. It is difficult to enjoy the process of career success if you do not have the vision of your career success dish when it is cooked.

Conviction to Succeed
Give yourself that freedom to fail. Failure teaches you to be stronger. It allows you to learn from your mistakes. Those mistakes help you create and improve upon your career success recipe. With each continued improvement you learn that the value of pursuing career success is also in the process of getting there.

Be courageous in facing setbacks. Many people who have built successful careers have odds stacked against them. Yet they succeeded. This is because they are not afraid to allow themselves the chance of failing. They know the value in failing and that it is part of the process of career success.

Confident To Be
Your success recipe should only be defined by yourself taking into account your values and motivation in life. Be confident to be who you want to be. In other words, once you have found the success recipe you want to cook, do it. Regardless what others may think. That is one sure way to enjoy the process of career success.

Think about this, how can you enjoy the process of career success if it isn’t a career you want in the first place? It is also for this reason - the first step in the success recipe, you are asked to think about the success recipe you want to cook.

Success Recipe is a Process
Cooking a success recipe is a process. It doesn’t end once you have cooked a successful dish. Neither does it end when you succeed in achieving the desired result from your success recipe.

Your success recipe should be a big work in progress. It helps you achieve bigger and better success each time you act upon it. The more you act upon your career success plan the more you will realize the importance of enjoying the process of career success.

In this process, failure is your best teacher. I believe in the adage that you only truly fail when you give up. As long as you do not give up then the process is indeed teaching you how to increase the chances of your success.

When you fail, you learn what not to do when given the same situation in the future. It also prepares you for more important tasks ahead. It teaches you your limitations that you may not have discovered. When you are aware of your limitations, you can start to work on improving your limitations. Failures also force you to think of better alternatives. It pushes you to think of better ways to do tackle a task.

When you apply consistent effort in perfecting your career success dish, ultimately you will develop a skill that will create that near perfect dish. The rule of success is simple, constant effort will eventually meet with a positive response. That response is success.

Posted by Career-Success-for-Newbies.com on September 4, 2006 at 10:41 AM | Leave a Comment (0)