Tweet

Hard Work and Success -- One Follows the Other

Guest post by: Bud Bilanich

Article Overview: The point here is simple -- and sobering for those who are looking for career success shortcuts. Be willing to go the extra mile. Create custom resumes for every job for which you apply. Once you get a job, work harder than others. Volunteer for unpopular jobs -- and then do a great job. Yes, if you want to become an outstanding performer, it's important to be a lifelong learner, set and achieve high goals, and get organized. But it's also important to do something a lot simpler -- and totally in your control; be willing to work hard. Hard work will help build your brand and put you at the top of the promotion list, and bottom of the layoff list.

Hard Work and Success -- One Follows the Other

This is a tough time to be looking for a job. Many of my career success coaching clients are having difficulty getting interviews let alone landing a job. However, I heard a story not too long ago about a new MBA from NYU who got five job offers. He did it by creating unique resumes especially tailored to the job for which he was applying. This takes work, but in this fellow's case, the hard work paid off. In the old days -- before computers -- creating unique resumes for every job for which you apply would have involved a mega amount of work. In the digital age, it's a lot easier. Spend a few minutes cutting and pasting and you have a unique resume tailored to the exact position for which you are applying. However, when I advise many of my career success coaching clients to adopt this approach, they balk. They argue that one resume is good enough. The truth is that one resume is not good enough.

In 1972, when I left college, I spent a lot of time writing a resume and cover letter. Then I took them both to the copy shop and had a whole lot of copies made. The only customization was typing the unique name and the address of the company at the top of the cover letter.

The digital age has changed this. Yes, it's easier to create documents on a computer. And that's exactly why your main "resume" should be a series of pieces of information that you can arrange in a way that is most likely to catch the eye of the recruiter who reviews it. In other words, one resume doesn't cut it -- you need to customize every resume because every job is unique. A one size fits all resume won't demonstrate that you are aware of and honor that uniqueness. This takes work, but it's worth it.

Then, once you get a job, you need to work hard at it. Dale Winston CEO of Battalia Winston International, an executive search firm in New York says, "When things are tough, you have to try harder." She advises her clients to expend 20% more time and effort than their colleagues. This isn't for everyone, but from personal experience, I can tell you it works. If you do this -- and I did -- you'll get a reputation as a hard worker, someone who can be counted on to deliver. And with that comes both job security in this uncertain economic climate and the fast track to getting promoted.

You can also volunteer for unpopular tasks. I once got a promotion because I volunteered to head my company's United Way campaign one year. Trust me, running the United Way campaign was not a job that many people wanted. I did a good job on the campaign and met a lot of senior people. One of them liked me and the work that I did, and offered me a job in his division.

The common sense point here is simple -- and sobering for those who are looking for career success shortcuts. Be willing to go the extra mile. Create custom resumes for every job for which you apply. Once you get a job, work harder than others. Volunteer for unpopular jobs -- and then do a great job. Yes, if you want to become an outstanding performer, it's important to be a lifelong learner, set and achieve high goals, and get organized. But it's also important to do something a lot simpler -- and totally in your control; be willing to work hard. Hard work will help build your brand and put you at the top of the promotion list, and bottom of the layoff list.

Related Articles
  How to attract success
  Don't Just Sit There - Work Hard!
  Hard work vs. Long work
  Persistence - The Keys to Success when you have an Online Business
  Do You Have What It Takes To Be Successful With An MLM Business?
  Where Baseball Meets Business
  Passion is the Key
  Working At Home Online WIll Not Always Be Easy
  The Fourth Deadly Workplace Sin: Greed
  Internet Home Based Business - Knowledge and Hard Work Will Work Wonders for Your Business
  5 Tips which are Vital to Achieving Online Business Success
  Winning at Your Next Job-Simply Working Hard May Be The Answer
  How To Avoid Failure With Online Business Opportunities
  The Secret Assassin Within
  Lesson #4: Have Your Own Definition of Success
  Hard Work, Outstanding Performance and Success
  Self Confidence
  Defining “Hard Money”
  Heart of Marketing by Judith Sherven and Jim Sniechowski
  Soft Skills for Business Success

Article Tags: career success, custom resumes, hard work, honor uniqueness, Job search, outstanding performance, volunteer
Referred by: http://www.jimbouchard.org



Related Forum Posts
Re: Five Personality Traits of Successful Business Owners - 1. Focus 2. Ability to Adapt 3. Hard Work 4. Good planning 5. People Skills
Re: Vera Wang Profile - I too love this kind of success story Evan, I especially liked the article 'Nothing Replaces Hard Work', I can relate to a lot of things in there, take care Carol
Books for Women Entrepreneurs - There's a thread for good books in the Resources folder, but it doesn't target books for businesswomen particularly, so I figured I'd start such a thread here. It doesn't matter how successful you are in your business - it's always possible to learn something new. In subsequent posts I give Table of Contents and brief descriptions for various titles - most of them devoted to the businesswoman - and sometimes a review. If anyone else has read a review, or has read the book and found it useful, please comment! 1. The Old Girl's Network 2. Mother's Work 3. The 7 Greatest Truths About Successful Women 4. Pitch Like A Girl 5. Workplace Warrior 6. Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the Modern Consumer 7. Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery 8. She Wins, You Win 9. Napoleon On Project Management 10. Why Good Girls Dont' Get Ahead, But Gutsy Girls Do 11. Comeback Moms: How to Leave Work, Raise Children, and Restart your Career even If you Haven't Had a Job in Years 12. The One Minute Millionaire 13. Talking From 9 to 5 14. Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambitions 15. 101 Best Home Based Businesses for Women: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Started on the Road To Success 16. Work With Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living. Revised and Expanded 17. Fail-Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful 18. Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End 19. Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide 20. Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen 21. Start Small, Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start - and Run - Your Own Successful Business 22. Rewired, Rehired or Retired: A Global Guide for the Experienced Worker 23. The Martha Rules: 10 essentials for achieving success as you start, build or manage a business 24. The Essentials of Entrepreneurship: What it takes to create Successful Enterprises 25. Net Ready: Strategies for Success in the E-conomy 26. The Promotable Woman 27. Leave The Office Earlier: The Productivity Pro shows you how to do more in less time and feel great about it 28. The Work At Home Balancing Act: The professional resource guide for managing yourself, your work, and your family at home 29. Secrets of Six-Figure Women
Re: Quote of the Day - "You are built not to shrink down to less - We just need to do what it takes to blossom. Hard work, perseverance and taken massive action
Re: First Brag of 2011! - Hi David, Hard to believe that was your first effort, it was very well explained and clear. I have left a comment on your blog, keep up the great work, Mal.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Maximum Impact Restaurant Greening

Work Place Counselling

Listen to Your Inner Melody

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.