Career Success – How to Be a standout!
Career Success – How to Be a standout!
There are going to be lots of people looking for jobs now. How do you distinguish yourself from the others? This is a really important question. The good news is that you can save months of job searching by simply using one or two of these ideas.
When there are lots of people looking for work how do you get noticed? You must stand out from the crowd. How do you do that? Having a unique skill is one way. You’ll need to highlight it on your resume. At an interview you will want to back it up with success stories about how the skill has solved a problems for your past employers.
Another way to be memorable is to tell a compelling story. I recall years ago hearing that someone always told the story of how he was on a plane that was high jacked. People always referred to him as “the fellow who was high jacked”. He stood out!
Another way to stand out is to take a risk. We are usually encouraged to follow all the rules when applying for a job. Don’t rock the boat so to speak. Following all those rules makes us all alike!
I loved the story I heard recently at an event where Shirley Singleton co-founder of Edgewater Technology was the keynote speaker. In the early 80s after being laid off as a teacher she signed up for and completed a computer programming class.
After sending out hundreds of resumes with no response she answered a help wanted ad in the newspaper only to learn they had already filled the job. In desperation she begged them to just interview her even though she knew they had no opening for her. She just wanted to know what it was like to be interviewed! They agreed to help her.
When she returned home from the “interview” there was a message on her answering machine saying they were creating a job for her! Out of frustration she had taken a risk and as a result she was hired.
Lots of times clients tell me they are perfect for a particular job and can’t understand why they were not hired. One job candidate who was really upset when she was turned down for a job sent a gift of candy to that hiring manager telling her how much she had enjoyed meeting with the team. Several months later the hiring manager called her about another job. The gift had made an impression that lasted.
It is important never to burn any bridges and to stay connected to those you meet even the ones who turn you down. You never know who will eventually help you find that perfect job!
So whether you are already laid off or just think you might be, now is the time to think about how you will make yourself memorable to those you meet, what kind of risk you are willing to take to get a great job, and how you can stay connected to those who have the potential to help you in the future. Now is the time to make yourself a standout!
Take Action
1. What kinds of attributes do you have that make you memorable? Is it a skill, a talent, a hobby, an experience? How does it fit into your career goals?
2. What risk would you be willing to take to get yourself noticed? What is the upside? What is the downside? How do you make the decision to follow through?
3. Who have you met recently that has the necessary connections to help you with your job search? How do you stay connected with him/her?
Career Success How to Be a standout - To learn more about this author, visit Alvah Parker's Website.
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Everyday we hear about more layoffs. You will want to be proactive by starting a job search before it happens. That is a smart move but you must be careful. If your current boss gets wind of it you might be the first to be laid off. Of course if you have already successfully lined up a job, it won’t matter much!
There are going to be lots of people looking for jobs now. How do you distinguish yourself from the others? This is a really important question. The good news is that you can save months of job searching by simply using one or two of these ideas.
When there are lots of people looking for work how do you get noticed? You must stand out from the crowd. How do you do that? Having a unique skill is one way. You’ll need to highlight it on your resume. At an interview you will want to back it up with success stories about how the skill has solved a problems for your past employers.
Another way to be memorable is to tell a compelling story. I recall years ago hearing that someone always told the story of how he was on a plane that was high jacked. People always referred to him as “the fellow who was high jacked”. He stood out!
Another way to stand out is to take a risk. We are usually encouraged to follow all the rules when applying for a job. Don’t rock the boat so to speak. Following all those rules makes us all alike!
I loved the story I heard recently at an event where Shirley Singleton co-founder of Edgewater Technology was the keynote speaker. In the early 80s after being laid off as a teacher she signed up for and completed a computer programming class.
After sending out hundreds of resumes with no response she answered a help wanted ad in the newspaper only to learn they had already filled the job. In desperation she begged them to just interview her even though she knew they had no opening for her. She just wanted to know what it was like to be interviewed! They agreed to help her.
When she returned home from the “interview” there was a message on her answering machine saying they were creating a job for her! Out of frustration she had taken a risk and as a result she was hired.
Lots of times clients tell me they are perfect for a particular job and can’t understand why they were not hired. One job candidate who was really upset when she was turned down for a job sent a gift of candy to that hiring manager telling her how much she had enjoyed meeting with the team. Several months later the hiring manager called her about another job. The gift had made an impression that lasted.
It is important never to burn any bridges and to stay connected to those you meet even the ones who turn you down. You never know who will eventually help you find that perfect job!
So whether you are already laid off or just think you might be, now is the time to think about how you will make yourself memorable to those you meet, what kind of risk you are willing to take to get a great job, and how you can stay connected to those who have the potential to help you in the future. Now is the time to make yourself a standout!
Take Action
1. What kinds of attributes do you have that make you memorable? Is it a skill, a talent, a hobby, an experience? How does it fit into your career goals?
2. What risk would you be willing to take to get yourself noticed? What is the upside? What is the downside? How do you make the decision to follow through?
3. Who have you met recently that has the necessary connections to help you with your job search? How do you stay connected with him/her?
Career Success How to Be a standout - To learn more about this author, visit Alvah Parker's Website.
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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