Category Archives: career change

March 29, 2012 · 9:43 am

True Networking: Ask for it!

Here’s what they don’t you tell in networking classes:  you have to be ready to ask for what you need.  Say you are wrapping up a call with someone and they say “Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.  Let me know if there is anything I can do for you.”

Your response should start with “Well, as a matter of fact…..I was wondering if you know…”

When you are offering your expertise, it is perfectly fair to ask for something in return but usually, we are so flattered to have been asked that we forget.

When someone thanks me for helping with their resume, I could put on my business development hat and ask if their company is hiring.  Or I could ask if they might be willing to put a recommendation on linkedin.

When someone asks to borrow my French press coffee maker, I usually ask if I could have a cup, too.

This is not to say that everything has to be reciprocated.  Life should not be one negotiation after another.  Just be on the lookout for ways other people can help you and don’t be shy about it.

People want to help.  It makes them feel good but they can’t read your mind.  You have to spell out what you need even when you think it should be dead obvious.

So put it out there.  Keep thinking and keep asking.  You’ll be surprised at what can happen.

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Filed under career change, Job Search, Networking

February 23, 2012 · 9:43 am

Looking for the yuks…..

Job hunting is serious business but sometimes you just need to lighten things up a little.

Finding the lighter side has a similar effect to  going for a run.  Laughing releases a lot of the same endorphins that exercise does ( so does sex but let’s save that for a different day).

  • What is the funniest thing you have ever done at work?
  • If  you could have dinner with any sitcom character, who would it be? What would you talk about?
  • How would your dog describe you?

If these don’t generate some guffaws, try this job hunting mad lib.

Practice your interview techniques by asking someone for each of the required words without telling them the context.  Fill in the blanks and then read it out loud.  It’s probably funnier after a few glasses of wine but a latte would work too.

The other day I applied for a position as a _____(noun)_____.  It said I needed to have a certificate in ______(plural noun)_______ and ________  (plural noun) _______  but I thought I could get by with  my _________(noun) ___________.  I mean, really, how hard could it be?

The ____(occupation) ___________ called me in for an interview.  We talked about  _________ (verb)________.  Then she  asked if I could start in the next few  ________(unit of time)_______________.

They wanted to pay me ____(number )____    ______(plural noun)_____  an hour.  I said that I was so _________(feeling)________,  I would do it for free.

I start next _______  (day of the week)________.


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Filed under career change, Interview, Job Search

February 16, 2012 · 9:43 am

Networking on the Floor

Trade shows are a great place to network, not just for business but for your career.

You can make real connections with people on the trade show floor.  You won’t have a long time with someone but you can carve out enough to make a good impression.

This is true whether you are working the show as an employee of a company (booth candy) or a delegate (well fed and employed) or in career transition (Tim Horton’s and a resume anyone?).

How to make the most of a trade show:

  1. Get a haircut
  2. Wear a freshly pressed shirt.
  3. Carry cards with your contact information.  This is not the place for a resume.  The goal is to make contact and then follow up with a thoughtful email later.
  4. Set a goal before you start.
    1. Identify three companies that use a certain methodology.
    2. Shake hands with four sales managers.
    3. The week before, contact two people who you know will be there and set up coffee breaks with them.

If you want to actually have time with someone, go when the show is quiet, usually when the seminars/workshops and keynote speakers are on.  At that point, booth staff are usually standing around talking to each other.  That’s a great time to get their attention.

You may find that it’s kind of loud.  Make sure you look into their eyes and speak clearly.  Deliver your message.  Ask for the information you want and move on. It’s not the place to carry on a conversation about why you ended up selling shingles or why you think your boss is an idiot.  Keep it short, clean and direct.

A note about touching – Recently, I watched someone at a trade show.  He was talking with a delegate and when he led her to the table with the literature, he had his hand in the small of her back.  Ewwwww.  That kind of move belongs in romance novels not on a trade show floor.  A light touch on the arm to catch someone’s attention is sufficient.

So check out your local convention centre to see what  shows are coming up and make a date.

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Filed under career change, Interview, Job Search

January 26, 2012 · 9:45 am

Want to make a change? Make an appointment.

Career management takes time and for most of the people I work with, time is something they just don’t have.

Change, particularly career change, does not happen by itself.  It used to.  If you did a good job in a large and reasonably successful company, you would get tapped on the shoulder and introduced to new opportunities every year or two. If you worked hard, your career pretty much took care of itself.

Those days are behind us.  Don’t get me wrong – you still have to work hard, but the opportunities to grow and develop are not going to fall in your lap.  You have to be activity watching for them, be able to recognize them and sometimes, be the mastermind behind them. 

This involves making a plan or at least, laying out a path with some options.  Making time for something so nebulous is tough.  It really can’t be done in any of your regular digs.  Trying to carve out an hour at work is almost impossible, plus you feel guilty for doing it.  Home has too many other things that need your attention and will always seem either more important or more immediately satisfying.  Oh, and there’s the guilt, too.

So here’s the answer:  find one hour, just one, when you are not home and not at work.  Decide where you are going to go.  Don’t go to your usual spot.  It has to be different, fresh and not associated with any tasks, lists or laundry.

Make an appointment.  Put it in your calendar.  Put it in your phone. Put a post-it note on the fridge.

Sit and think.  That’s all.  If you end up with some notes or even a plan, that’s okay but not required.

I used to look at all the people working on laptops at Starbucks and wondered why there were there.  Don’t they have homes or offices?

I get it now.  They were thinking, planning and masterminding their next big thing.

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January 5, 2012 · 9:52 am

The Truth about Passion

I found myself at several gatherings over the holidays discussing university bound teenagers.  There seems to be this idea that university students should focused on finding their passion.

Find their passion?  Most teenagers cannot find their pants.  How can we think that they will find their passion somewhere between the pub, the classroom and the dorm?

I think expecting to find your passion before you can legally drink is pretty unrealistic.  As parents, we are setting up a pretty big failure platform if we set those expectations before they even leave high school.

There are exceptions: gifted athletes, artists and musicians have their talents identified early on so they are pretty advanced on the passion scale.  People following in the family footsteps of law or accounting, have a prescribed path too.  (Sometimes in spite of their passion)

University and first jobs are more about finding what you don’t like.   Learning about the kind of professors/bosses that you don’t get along with.  Working with group members who don’t pull their weight.  Figuring how to identify the room mate who parties too much; that sort of thing.

The world is really, really big.  You have to get out there and explore it beyond just university.  Don’t be surprised if your passion does not start to reveal itself until you are well into your 30s or even later.

In the end, it’s not about when you find it, it’s about recognizing when you are in the right place at the right time and really enjoying yourself.  That‘s what we are all shooting for.

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Filed under career change, Resume

December 15, 2011 · 9:54 am

And for my next act….

Because December 25th falls on a weekend this year, most of us will have not much time off before Christmas and quite a bit of time around the new year.  That’s when people typically lie around thinking about what they will change in 2012.

For a lot of people, the number one thing will be to get or change their job.  On second thought, perhaps this will be second to losing weight – that always seems to be a hot resolution. (I’ve heard.)

Go ahead and dream but try to be realistic.

Just because your uncle is a doctor, does not mean you can be a medical device account manager.

Plumbing your own laundry room sink, does not qualify you to be a piping designer.

Planning office parties is not a prequel to becoming a project manager.

Don’t assume your neighbour can get you a job just because he works in a big company.

I’m not even going to comment about people who like karaoke…..

I don’t want to be a downer before 2012 has even started, but try not to stray too far off the path.  Try this:  mention your next career goal to your dog.  If he looks at you funny, you have definitely gone too far.

Run it by a good friend.  If they seem kind of puzzled but supportive, then you may be on to something.

Finally, talk to someone in the field and see what they say.  If they seem to thinks that the transition is plausible, then sit down and make a plan.

Change is afoot!

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Filed under career change, Job Search, Resume

December 1, 2011 · 9:59 am

Smile! You’re on LinkedIn!

This might seem really obvious but your LinkedIn profile photo should be a photo of you.  Only you.  Not your spouse.  Not your child.  Just you.

LinkedIn is not the place for family portraits.  Those go on Facebook.

I am always surprised by seemingly bright people who have great experience, a strong education and relatively high profile jobs and yet their LinkedIn image is them with their dog.  It begs the question:  who is running the show?  You or Mr. Snuggles?

I suppose if you were a vet, it might be okay to have you pose with a “client” but I’m not sure I would advise a criminal lawyer to do the same.  Similarly, it would be okay for a chef to have a ham or wheel of cheese but if you are banker, leave out the stacks of money.

The other issue with putting job elements into your image is that you will always be associated with that role and if you are looking to make a change, it will be more of a challenge.

The best thing is to use a simple, well-lit shot of you from the shoulders up looking reasonably professional.

Your LinkedIn profile is the gateway to millions of people.  Make it count.

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Filed under career change, Job Search, social media

October 6, 2011 · 9:38 am

Extreme Career Makeover

My company, Ian Martin Ltd is celebrating today.  It`s the first day of our new brand (code for the kind of wholesale change we see on Extreme Home Makeover) and we are having a party.

Watching the various changes in the works got me thinking about how a “career makeover” would look.  Think about when you get a haircut and everyone thinks you look younger or when you get glasses and everyone suddenly thinks you look smarter.

If you did a wholesale refresh on your resume today, how would it look?  Would you use more contemporary fonts?  Change the focus of your objective?  Maybe you could add some different achievements like the webinar you co-hosted last week or the big project that your team just completed.

Maybe you would sign up for that course you have had your eye on.  You could do one night a week, couldn’t you?

You could take a look at your Linkedin profile.  Does it really reflect who you are today and more importantly, where you want to be tomorrow?  Is the picture fresh?  Please tell me you are not using the photo of you and your ex…..that would be bad, really bad.

You can go ahead and make a haircut and brow renovation appointments.  You can visit Warby Parker and pick out some new glasses but you don’t have to go great expense for a career makeover.  Just give it some time and some thought.  That’s all it takes.

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Filed under career change, Resume, social media

July 28, 2011 · 11:05 am

You are not Wolverine. These things take time.

Wolverine is a comic book hero-mutant who has, among his superhero attributes, a special healing factor that causes him to recover from anything that hurts him. This is really handy when he is fighting bad guys with the X-men or the Avengers.

We would do well to remember that we are not superheroes. Transitions, whether of our own choice or chosen by someone or something else, always take longer than we think they should.

It takes time to recover from the sadness of being dumped in a corporate layoff. 

It takes time to feel good after finding out that you did not get the job that was a perfect fit.

It takes time to regain momentum on a job search when you are really busy satisfying a boss you can’t stand.

Can you spare 15 minutes today?  Try.  It will be worth it.

  • Sit down with a beverage, a pen and a piece of paper.
  • Write down three things you are proud to tell people about from your career.
  • Next add three things that you have achieved in your non-work life.
  • Finally, if I asked three of your friends or colleagues about your best attributes, what would they say?  Add those words to your list.

Sit back and take a look.  Good, eh?  You have a lot going for you.  Take a deep breath and enjoy it for a moment.

Now, get back out there and slay those career villains!

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