How to Create Your Own Workshop Building Your Future Now

How to Create Your Own Workshop Building Your Future Now When you are on the job hunt the focus is simply to find a job! One interesting way of finding a job is by creating a workshop. You might have been to one before whether it was related to school or your past job. Workshops are a great way to meet people that share the same interest as you do or need help with something. Since you may have experience in a certain field or a specific set of skills it might be a great idea in creating a workshop of your own. A workshop is a great way of building a network with like-minded individuals while helping you on so many levels. Creating a workshop isnt tough; simply pick a topic/subject (especially one that resonates with people), find a venue (preferably free), create ads/online posters and market the event. Be sure to talk to people about why they need to come to the event. If you good at social media offer your talents as the main thrust of the workshop. You can then refine the workshop to entrepeneurs or small business owners who work in your community. Invite them to bring their labtops and encourage questions and discussion. Have Fun No one likes a boring anything. Have fun at the workshop by smiling and engaging. Sure you are looking for work, but that doesnt mean your audience needs to know that off the bat. Show them what you know Guide them through the nuts and bolts of running a successful social media marketing plan (in this case.) As your audience follows you, try to make it around and talk with them. Show them what you know! Engage. Be a teacher. Applying knowledge You have the knowledge and/or experience so show your audience how you have applied it in the past. Provide real world scenarios. Show them what you know works in the real world. Building Your Brand You are offering your time and expertise and people will see that. You are truly building your brand with your audienceyour value. Find out more about your audience Think about how you can help them and how they can help you! In this case you invited several small business owners ask questions about their companies. Think how you can fit incan you provide value to their company? Never stop thinking Your job search must be geared in finding a company that needs an employee like you. Never stop thinking ways you can expand your job searchone of the focal points must be the aspect of networking. How can you meet people? How can those people help you secure a job. Image: Free-Photo

How to Add Volunteer Work to Resume

How to Add Volunteer Work to ResumeThe purpose of this article is to help you decide how to add volunteer work to resume. To do so, you have to be clear about the intent of your job search and what you hope to achieve. Then you can make an informed decision about how to add volunteer work to resume.When you are searching for a new job openings or volunteering for a great cause, you have to take some initiative and find the best opportunities. Look for volunteer work opportunities that provide the opportunity to build your career and get work experience. Do not ignore your job search because you are in a great emergency situation. As you build your resume, your opportunities for work will increase.You should look for a great organization to which you belong. There may be some that provide scholarships for those who are in your profession. In addition, there may be organizations that pay for housing and other living expenses. This will allow you to build your resume by placing your nam e in a professional category and providing opportunities that are both meaningful and real.Consider what you really want to do. If you are looking for a challenging place to volunteer and work, you will not get the chance to build your resume unless you sign up with an organization that does just that. Look for one that is an answer to your goals. You should not be too happy with the volunteer opportunities that you find if they do not create opportunities for you to use your skill.If you are involved in a committee or working on a project, you may want to consider adding volunteer work to resume. This is not an ideal situation but it is a way to create additional opportunities for your resume. If you are volunteering on a project, you may be able to create the impression that you have been a part of the project. However, if you are volunteering as a full-time employee and that impression is lost, you will not be able to create a professional image.It may be great ways to express gr atitude. When you appreciate what others have done for you, you create a positive impression. A volunteer organization will create opportunities for you to use your skills as well as make a favorable impression. Just remember that when you work as an employee, you should not be trying to create a favorable impression.As you add volunteer work to resume, you may be asked to do this while you are out of town. When this happens, you should make sure that you always have references. You may want to consider requesting references from any organization that you contact. If possible, get a written or verbal description of the experience you had with the organization before you sign up for their services.These are some of the things that you can do to add volunteer work to resume. There are a lot of different ways that you can be considered for an opportunity, so you should take the time to think about the possibilities as well as how you want to define yourself.

To Succeed, Seek Opportunities To Fail

To Succeed, Seek Opportunities To Fail As humans weve spent an awful lot of time and resources teaching kids, graduates and employees to chase success in life. What if I said you should seek opportunities to fail? Hear me out before you discard this. Look at entrepreneurs. These arent guys and girls who followed advice and did everything by the book to succeed. They failed, learnt and never shied from failure. You cant win big if you dont risk big. This is why interest rates from banks never pay out more than what you can make investing in shares. The former is safe and successful, but with a low return; whilst the latter is high-risk and unpredictable, but can turn out very profitable. So, chasing success is like staying in your comfort zone. Seek an opportunity where you are uncomfortable and where you might fail   there are only two outcomes: 1. You will fail, but thats OK because you knew you would fail, so in a way you got it right; 2. You wont fail, and that is great because you have an extra dimension to your knowledge and development.   At work, it is very easy to surround yourself with projects where you know you will succeed. But wheres the fun in that? Try to take something on which youve not done before, which scares you a little, because that is when your mind is warning you you, my friend, are going into a different dimension you are truly doing something new. So next time youre on the lookout for a new role or a task, seek one with a chance of failure. It will be a great adventure. As for early careers advice why not  let the new breed of leaders fail let them fail early, let them learn early. Sometimes you have to risk something  to gain something more valuable. And thats a great lesson to learn early. I am not promising the gamble will pay off, but it will develop you. Its your choice now. Read More From Faizan:  This Year At Work, Create Problems 11

Paying it Forward to Establish Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Paying it Forward to Establish Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Have you considered what paying it forward will do for your personal brand? According to Wikipedia: Pay it forward is asking the beneficiary of a good deed to repay it to others instead of to the original benefactor. In my career, I’ve had plenty of people take an interest in, and help, me. So for me, Pay it forward isn’t about a specific deed someone has done, it is just having a habit of doing good deeds for others, expecting nothing in return. When I go networking, my goal is to help you. I will be looking to see if I can offer: An introduction to one of my contacts that will help you meet your goal To review your resume or LinkedIn profile Some sage advice Maybe just some kind words What do I expect in return?  Nothing! But I do receive something, your good opinion. You will perceive me favorably if I help you in some way. That’s not why I do it, but there is that reward. It has become a strong part of my personal brand. The key is being a good listener To be effective at offering help someone could really use, you need to be a good listener. I live in Austin Texas where you could attend a networking event any day and just about any time of day. No one is from Austin…well most people are not from here originally. My goal when meeting someone new is to get the other person to talk about himself or herself. I am looking for something we have in common which might include: Grew up in the same part of the country Went to similar universities Have similar hobbies Our kids play the same sports At this point, it’s not about work. I don’t want to know what you do, I want to know who you are. Too many networking conversations dead-end at job descriptions. You make a much better connection when you’re focused on the person. My first question is always: How did you get to Austin? Everyone has a story and just about everyone likes to tell it. I want to get you talking about yourself and your experiences. You might respond, I came here to go to college. So my next question is: What did you get your degree in? A fun one is when they say, I followed my boyfriend or girlfriend here. My next question is always Are you still with them? The response almost always is no. But they’re still glad to be here. Once we have found something in common and have a better feel for who you are, I can ask: How can I help you? Remember I said to expect nothing in return. Do things flow back from this process? Sometimes. Most often when you least expect it. It is called creating good Karma! You will be perceived as a good listener, someone who is concerned for others and someone who is willing to help. These are all traits of likable people. If you make it a habit of paying it forward,  over time this will be an integral part of your  personal brand   Most of you are not from Austin. Find another question to ask that people enjoy answering. Give it a try and let me know how it works! Author: Marc Miller is the founder of Career Pivot which helps Baby Boomers design careers they can grow into for the next 30 years. Marc authored the book Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for Baby Boomers, published in January 2013, which has been featured on Forbes.com, US News and World Report, CBS Money-Watch and PBS’ Next Avenue. Marc has made six career pivots himself, serving in several positions at IBM in addition to working at Austin, Texas startups, teaching math in an inner-city high school and working for a local non-profit. Learn more about Marc and Career Pivot by visiting the Career Pivot Blog or follow Marc on Twitter or Facebook.

What You Need to Know About Writing an Email to Send a Resume

What You Need to Know About Writing an Email to Send a ResumeWriting an email to send a resume to is not the same as writing an email to sell your services. When you are asking someone to write an email to send a resume, you have a number of things to consider before sending your resume. Your goal is to ensure that the person that you are writing the email to send a resume to is someone who can use your resume, and not someone who can use your resume for their own purposes.First, you should know who you are sending it to. Even if you have emailed a few hundred people in the past, you may still be unaware of the people you are sending it to. You may have never met them or exchanged any email addresses. Many times, you are sending it to an individual, rather than someone who works at a company or firm. You should do your best to be as clear as possible about the subject of the email, including whether or not the individual you are asking for an email to send a resume to is a current em ployee.Also, you should think about the recipient. You want to get a response, but you don't want to throw a big signal that the person may be requesting for an email to send a resume to. Some people may view the email as an automatic permission to receive a resume. If the person that you are asking for an email to send a resume to tells you that he or she is looking for work, the message that you are going to send should be a light one, letting the individual know that you are interested in their position, but not requiring that they take any action to give you permission to send them an email to send a resume.Who are you writing to? In many cases, a person will see an email that they are sending to another person and they will ask who it is from. A good rule of thumb is to check the sender name of the email you are sending. Usually, this name will be included on the email address bar, and in some cases, the name can also be found on the original email you sent.Is the email address ed to a specific person? Emailing to a number of individuals can lead to some confusion, since it is common for people to send emails to multiple numbers. Make sure to identify yourself, but keep in mind that you should not keep in contact with the person who received the email.What information does the email contain? While you may not be asking for a resume, it is still necessary to give out information such as the person's full name and email address. The more information that you provide, the more organized your email will be and the more likely that the person will read it and respond to it.What is the purpose of the email? You may want to make sure that the person has an email address for the job you are advertising, or that they have worked with the company before. If you are planning on hiring them for a job, you should clearly state that in the email to send a resume to, rather than a generic 'job opening'.In conclusion, there are a number of questions that you need to ask y ourself when you are writing an email to send a resume. You should ask yourself whether or not the person that you are sending the email to is a current employee, and who they work for. Next, you should determine if the email is intended for a specific person, or if it should be read as an invitation to take a closer look at your opportunity.

How to Speak in Meetings with Confidence and Authority

How to Speak in Meetings with Confidence and Authority What’s your view of meetings? Are you an experienced meeting master, someone who hates them or somewhere in between? Whichever camp you’re in, meetings are important opportunities to show others what you know, how you think and what you’re like. In many cases, meetings are where your colleagues and senior managers will spend the most time with you. Yet, speaking up at meetings can be stressful and pressure-filled. And it’s no wonder because you’re “on show” and have to perform at your best. But that way of thinking of meetings makes it hard to come across well, especially when you’re new to the team, role or company. It can be downright nerve-wracking to put your point across and speak in a large gathering. And when it’s with a group of very experienced people and subject matter experts, that only adds to the nerves. 3 Steps to Speak in Meetings with Confidence and Authority To speak in meetings with confidence and authority, here are three steps I’ve found helpful in my career. They’ve also helped my coaching clients and I’d love for them to help you too. Step 1: Manage Your Mindset Reframe the Meeting: Instead of putting so much pressure on yourself to “perform” at meetings, how could you reframe them to be more energizing for you? Could you think of meetings as places where you get to share your perspective? It can be extremely valuable to get a new person’s thoughts to keep “group think” from taking hold. Instead of putting pressure on yourself to “perform” at meetings, reframe them to be more energizing for you. Or focus on being curious and learning… Curiosity Rather Than Critique: I like to come from a place of curiosity and contribution rather than critique. Remind yourself before each meeting that you’re there to learn as well as share your thoughts. It’s not about critiquing each other or yourself. In my case, the critique was always harshest coming from myself. And that was a huge hit to my confidence. The conversations in my own mind were far worse than anything my colleagues had to dish out. And that self-editing was ultimately harmful to my career because I came across as quiet and lacking in ideas as well as confidence. Hardly the mark of the future leader I wanted to be. Defuse Your Fear: Fear is the oldest part of your brain trying to protect you from harm. Seth Godin calls it the “Lizard Brain”. It’s the self-protection instinct that kept your ancestors alive long enough to produce you. It means well, but now that there are no life-threatening saber-toothed tigers lurking out there, those native human instincts no longer serve us quite so well. To defuse that natural instinct of fear, I recommend that you acknowledge it, thank it for doing its job, and tell it that it can go back now â€" you can take over from here. The more I deny my fear, the louder it gets. So the better strategy is to face your fear, love it, and send it on its way. Face your fear, love it, and send it on its way. Step 2: Prepare Your Points It helps to pre-prepare what points you want to make, especially if you want to establish yourself as an expert in your particular area. Use the Rule of Three: One way that’s worked well for me and for my clients is to use the “rule of three”. This comes from research that shows the human brain can only keep three ideas at a time. When you go beyond that, people won’t retain everything you say. So make it a habit to bucket everything you want to convey into three main points. Or it could be just one point. But no more than three. I find there’s an elegance to having three points â€" like the three legs of a stool, there’s a stability about it. Use Powerful Words: When it comes to making your points, think about the words and phrases you want to use. Do they make your point powerfully or do they make you sound tentative? Which words and phrases do you want to use? And which do you want to avoid? For example, “In my experience…” conveys authority while “I guess…” does not. If you’re talking to a group of analytical people, they’re more likely to respond well to “I think…” rather than “I feel…” whereas it would be the other way around for a more emotionally attuned group. And “I believe…” can work for both groups. No Apology Language: When you start with an apology like, “I may be completely off base but…”, you undermine everything that you say afterwards. This is especially common for women. Instead, get in the habit of going straight to your point without a long preamble that essentially says, “I don’t really know what I’m talking about but here goes anyway”. Practice Out Loud: There’s nothing like practicing out loud to help you feel confident in what you’re going to say. And no, it’s not enough to say it silently to yourself. There’s something about hearing yourself make the point that builds confidence when you get in the room and have to say it in front of others. As one of my mentors told me, “you’re not nervous, you’re just unprepared.” Tough love is good love. Get practicing! Enlist Help: If you find it hard to break into the conversation during the meeting, especially if you’re on a conference call, ask the meeting organizer to give you a slot on the agenda. Or enlist the help of a colleague to ask for your input during the meeting. Step 3: Stay Present to Spot Opportunities Choose Your Spots: Every meeting has three parts to it: the beginning, middle and end. And the kind of comments and questions that happen in each part are a little different. The key is to recognize where you’re most comfortable speaking up. The beginning is an easy time to make a point because you can be sure no one else will have made it yet â€" it’s like walking on fresh snow. And if you’re nervous about speaking up like I was, then jumping in right away is key. I had to hear my voice in the room within the first 60 seconds of a meeting or else the “what if I say something dumb?” voice in my head would spiral out of control. The middle is a great time to build on someone else’s point (they’ll appreciate it!), share your three points, answer a question or ask a question. Open-ended questions are the best for inviting discussion. And if the group is getting stuck on an issue, you could ask an innovation question like, “what if…?” or “how might we…?” to unblock things. The end is a great place to show your authority by synthesizing and summarizing what’s been said and drawing the meeting to a close. This is also a more advanced way to contribute, so cut yourself some slack as you practice this skill. The spot you choose may be different for the various meetings you attend, and it’s likely to change over time as you become more comfortable and as your role evolves. So start to notice where you feel most at ease and make use of those opportunities to speak up. Breathe and Move: As you go through the meeting, a great way to keep your energy and confidence up is to manage your physiology. I find that breathing is the most important because your brain needs oxygen to function well and breathing rhythmically has been shown to calm the nervous system. Physical movement is also helpful to reduce stress and manage your nerves. This could look like getting up to get something to drink or stretching while you’re in your chair. It’s also about keeping good posture so you’ll look and feel more alert, and your voice will carry so you can be heard. When it comes to managing your physicality, what’s worked well for me is to sit up straight, stretch one arm out to the side at a time, and roll my shoulders (they’ll think you’ve just been to the gym and need to stretch your muscles!). Whatever movement you choose, keep it slow, smooth and purposeful. Start Being the Authoritative You When it comes to speaking up in meetings, what matters is that you jump in and start experimenting. The longer you stay silent in meetings, the harder it will feel to speak up. You’re going to be in a lot of meetings in your career, so why not get going and make friends with the experience? Right now is the best time to stop listening to the voices of worry in your head and start practicing being the authoritative you. If you’re not speaking up because you haven’t prepared, then go prepare. But if you’re not speaking up because you’re afraid, then it’s time to face your fear. When your fear shows up, acknowledge it and thank it for doing its job (after all, it’s just trying to protect you). Then send it back home because you don’t need it anymore. When you’ve done the preparation, you can let go of the fear and step up into the voice of authority that lives within you. Once you’ve spoken up, be sure to congratulate yourself no matter how you did. The point is, you’ve taken action and put yourself on the path to becoming someone who speaks in meetings with confidence and authority. So keep going! Which of these strategies would most help you speak in meetings with confidence and authority if you put it into action now? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Small Talk

Small Talk Help, dont make me talk to people I dont know! This is what I amthinking if I have to mingle at a meeting, seminar, or party. I am in awe of people who can ask good questions and engage in conversation with complete strangers. I googled small talk and the most current articles I found were from 2007. EitherI am a bad googler or people are not using this phrase. Hmmm. Here are some tips to keep in mind: Pay attention to what is being said. Be a good listener and ask good followup questions. If they say I really enjoy coming here ask them why. Stay current on current events. This will arm you with topics to ask about and be able to speak about as well. What do you think about the Share a short story from your day. Remember to ask them a question, like, has this ever happened to you? The idea is to get them talking about themselves. We love being asked good questions so we can talk about what we know. Heres the thing to remember. You need to practice small talk if it doesnt come naturally. So practice at the grocery store, school event, or where ever you go. Ask the produce person a question. Ask a fellow shopper why they like that product. If feels awkward, but smile, and that can melt away the uncomfortable feeling. If you are one of those who can talk to anyone, what are your secrets?