The next 3 competencies

August 7th, 2012 by Jim No comments »

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about the first 3 of Career Investments’ 12 Career Competencies that we believe are required for career success.  These 12 Competencies represent some of the so-called “soft-skills” that many experts acknowledge are so important in career advancement.  We believe that you need to be competent in all of these skills and stellar in 3 or 4 of them to out-compete those around you and rise to the top.  

The first three we talked about were Language Skills, Critical Evaluation and Self-Awareness.  Today I want to talk about the next three:

  • Assessing the External Environment,
  • Understanding the Internal Environment and
  • Analytics: Creating Meaningful Metrics.

» Read more: The next 3 competencies

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Posted in Thinking about career plans

How would your resume hold up?

July 31st, 2012 by Jim No comments »

Have you ever wondered how your resume will be read by recruiters? How is a great post written by a recruiter for recruiters on how to read a resume quickly and accurately. How would your resume hold up?

http://www.linkedin.com/news?viewArticle=&articleID=987715353&gid=42370&type=member&item=85491475&articleURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.recruiter.com%2Farticles%2Fhow-resumes-get-read%2F&urlhash=m6o8&goback=.gde_42370_member_85491475

 

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Posted in Job Search, Thinking about resumes

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The resume tripod

May 24th, 2012 by Jim No comments »

Kathleen and I have been teaching a career management course to undergraduates this spring. As we work through explaining career concepts to these young people, we often find ourselves rethinking our own understanding of the basics.

That happened to me recently while grading a pile of resumes.

It was easy for me to sort the resumes in high, medium and low impact piles. And if I were a hiring agent, I would just grab the first pile and move on.

But my job was to explain to the student why the resumes had or lacked impact and what to do about it.

» Read more: The resume tripod

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Posted in Job Search, Thinking about resumes

The First 3 Critical Career Competencies

April 6th, 2012 by Jim 1 comment »

At Career Investments, we work with people at all stages of their careers who want more out of their professional lives – more meaning, more freedom, more money. After working with hundreds of people in intensive, one-on-one coaching sessions, we have identified a set of 12 key competencies for career success. In this post, I would like to explain the first three: Language Skills, Critical Evaluation and Self-Awareness. They are first because » Read more: The First 3 Critical Career Competencies

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My New Year’s Resolutions

January 2nd, 2012 by Jim No comments »

The start of a new year is a great time to look over your career accomplishments for the last twelve months and set your course for 2012.  And that’s exactly what I plan to do, too.  To give you some idea of how to start, here are my own 2012 resolutions:

By the end of this week I will draft a new career goal statement.  It will begin with » Read more: My New Year’s Resolutions

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Holiday gift ideas for job hunters

December 12th, 2011 by Jim 2 comments »

If there are job hunters on your holiday list – and there probably are – here are some ideas for gifts they will be sure to appreciate.

Memberships in professional organizations: Job hunters often drop out of professional associations to save on cash while job hunting. A membership that allows continued attendance can be an important networking boost.

Gift certificates for career coaching services: Many career coaches (Career Investments included) offer gift certificates or at least allow you to purchase services for a friend or family member. This important benefit can help a job hunter accelerate his or her search and increase the likelihood of a positive outcome. » Read more: Holiday gift ideas for job hunters

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Posted in Job Search, Networking

Language counts

November 11th, 2011 by Jim 1 comment »

Language really matters, in resumes, cover letters, interviews or network sessions.  Careful use of language will increase both the number and quality of the career opportunities you have.

In an earlier post, I talked about using a  story to illustrate the phrase “strong communicator.”  Today I want to talk about using word choice to do the same thing.  In this case, the goal is to identify and eliminate what we call “generic language.”  These are words like “creative,” or “analytical.”

The problem is, most people don’t know when they are using generic language and when they are using lively, interesting language.  So here is a simple process to identify the words and phrases in written documents that may need work.  Once you have cleared them out of your writing, it will be easier to eliminate them from your spoken communications as well. » Read more: Language counts

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Posted in Thinking about storytelling

Networking for Introverts

October 26th, 2011 by Jim No comments »

What kind of career networker are you?

This is a question I read on Tech Republic a few months ago. The article,  based on the book The 11 Laws of Likability by Michelle Tillis Lederman, came along with a short quiz you can take. The quiz sorts you into one of four categories:

  • The Observer: Hangs back, watches what is happening, but doesn’t get involved
  • The Reactor: Interested in connections, but wants someone else to take the lead
  • The Initiator: Actively engaging, looking for opportunities, balanced
  • The Director: Strategic and methodical

» Read more: Networking for Introverts

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Posted in Job Search, Networking

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Are you being held hostage?

September 12th, 2011 by Jim 1 comment »

“I Hate My Job!”

Oh boy, do I remember what that feels like.

Hating your job, for whatever reason, is agony. After all, we spend nearly all of our waking time, at least 5 days a week, working. And if you are like me, when you are doing something you hate, you spend the rest of your waking time complaining about it. What a waste!

» Read more: Are you being held hostage?

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Finding an Accountability Partner

August 8th, 2011 by Jim No comments »

There is a lot of things to do when you are job searching.  Tweak your resume, search the job boards, check your Facebook account, return that email about next weekend’s cookout, clean out this desk drawer, its a mess, and as long as I’m cleaning …. oh oh.

I find staying on task the hardest thing to do, especially when I really don’t want to think about the problem or make those pesky networking phone calls.  Other tasks seem to throw themselves in front of me.

We work with clients every day who have this problem.  And to be completely honest, we have it ourselves.

The best solution we have found is to recruit and use an accountability partner.  This is someone who you respect and who you want to respect you.  Someone who won’t let you off the hook when you aren’t staying on task.  Here is a very simple way to make it work. » Read more: Finding an Accountability Partner

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