Stay Current on Changes in Your Industry

A challenge that a lot of professional face in their career is how to stay current on the latest trends and developments in the world and their field.

For instance, as a Sales Manager, what is most important? Should you be learning about your customer’s changes, news sales techniques, management trends and styles, technology changes and how it impacts your business…the answer is…Yes to ALL OF THEM!

As a Career Coach and Human Resource Consultant, I face the same challenge that other business professionals do…To be on top of my game, what do I need to be current on?

In reality there is never enough time. Keeping up with current events and the ‘Whiz Bang” changes in the world are difficult. It is easy to see too much information and become overwhelmed because of information overload. Next thing you know, you’re being compared to the guy who wouldn’t use e-mail and are considered change resistant…a fast-track to career suicide!

Here are a few tips for staying on top of the world around you:

Latest Trends-You can easily set the home page on your computer to your preferences, Google, Yahoo, AOL and many of the other browsers have easy to use tools to manage your screen data. Additionally, many blogs and websites allow for direct feeds on changes to their news. Don’t believe me? subscribe the atom feed at the bottom of this blog!

Management Philosophy-Books on CD or Podcasts are good ways to use your windshield time/commute to be productive. Try putting the Cell phone down and listening to some of the info available in audio format, most podcasts are free and there is a plethora of subjects that offer summaries or easy to digest sound bites, the library is a great resource for the audio books and most will let you order and checkout on-line! Harvard Business Review offers a weekly Podcast and even has executive summaries in their magazine…what a wonderful way to start your download.

Current Events-Keep abreast of the world through, Headline News or CNN they offer around the clock half-hour updates that give a good snapshot of the world events…You remember news right? It’s kind of like Sports Center for everything else!

Cutting Edge-The final suggestion is use an hour a week and prioritize research into your schedule. Shut your phone off, and close your e-mail browser and just read/surf. Executive Summaries, blogs, web-news, all are useful tools that can help you stay abreast of what is going on in the world/industry/community.

If you are still struggling with what to stay current on…ask you boss what he/she takes an interest in…it never hurts to have some good dialogue on their interests, it creates a flow of ideas and shows you care about what they are concerned about!

Contact one of our career coaches today at www.career-forward.com to help you stay current on the job market and what your prospects of the future may yield. You owe it to yourself to know what is out there.

Networking and Staying Connected

Old Network…New Network…Just Network! It is amazing to me as a Career Coach and Human Resource professional the impact that social networking has had on our ability to stay connected or get re-connected.

Example-A few weeks ago, I heard of a friend that was transitioning from their current role. We had worked together many years back, initially staying in touch but lost contact after a couple of moves. The last contact info we each had for the other was old and outdated…thus our inability to get re-connected.

In the past, it would have been difficult to track down the person and may have been lost in the shuffle. Today…a different story! I looked at my LinkedIn network, recognized a couple of folks that may have been closer than me to the friend, and reached out for the contact info. In less than 24 hours I had an e-mail from my friend with updated contact info and we have since re-connected!!! Amazing how quick we can stay in touch today.

The message here is twofold:

First, be a better friend and professional than I was. Reach out every now and then to contacts and associates to stay in touch…it goes a long way and only takes a minute.

Second, don’t be afraid to reach out to those folks that you knew and just lost the connection with…chances are they are thinking the same thing and would love to hear from you!

As I mentioned before LinkedIn, Facebook, Friendster, My Space and Classmates are a few tools that you can leverage to stay in touch. Keep in mind, your network is a great tool when you are looking to change jobs but needs to be nurtured and maintained even when you are not on a search.

Contact one of our professional career consultants at http://www.career-forward.com/ today to see how you can leverage your network for opportunities or career change. We want to help you find your destiny!

Best Companies to Work...2008!

Every year the nominees impatiently wait the results of their efforts to be listed as one of the “100 Best Places to Work For”-Fortune Magazine. As a Career-Coach and Human Resources Consultant this annual issue of Fortune is the equivalent of the Auto Show for Detroit, it’s a great time to see if your efforts are recognized…or better yet copied! The 2008 results are in…for full details see the article http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2008.

Personally, I have had the pleasure of working with some of the companies listed both today and in the past, great experiences! The criteria itself is rigorous, it not only includes benchmarking items such as pay, benefits, work environment, diversity, and growth but some off-the-wall things get extra credit like, nap rooms, paid gourmet meals, and bring your dog to work days, these items are setting the stage for tomorrows workplace! The great people processes these companies have and the honor of being listed is undeniably a mark of respect besides bragging rights, a great deal of effort is taken to stay on top of the list and move up if possible! Take this into account when looking at your next employer; it’s a testament to where the bar has been set at and what your expectations can and should be. Ohioans have a great opportunity with seven companies listed: Sherwin-Williams, J.M. Smucker, National Instruments, OhioHealth, General Mills, Southern Ohio Medical Center and Vision Service Plan. If you are thinking about a career change, contact one of our career coaches at www.career-forward.com for assistance in mapping your change, it’s your future and you are worth it!

Dont Limit Yourself, or Your Opportunities

As a Career Coach and Human Resources consultant I get the opportunity to talk to folks transitioning into new roles everyday. One of the factors that influence this decision ‘iFactors’ is where they want to work…or can work. At first glance most people prefer not to relocate, in fact, given the opportunity to stay or go most professionals find it difficult to pick up roots and move for a job. However, the more you limit your geographical preference the more you limit the opportunities.

The above chart shows what might be behind door number two. A quick search on http://www.indeed.com/ for a “Regional Sales Manager” role shows that in Ohio alone there are over 150 positions that meet our search criteria, if you increase your range and include both Michigan and Ohio this increases the roles available to over 300 or +86%. Now if you take the exact search criteria and include Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois you have an increase of over 400% or 839 positions. These kind of increases prove that the bigger the range in where you will work, the bigger the possibilities.

While these decisions are difficult and many factors can influence your abilities to move, look at all the facts when creating your search criteria, including where you can move. It’s the sacrifice that keeps you moving up the ladder. Remember, taking that big promotion out-of-town and making enough money to visit your hometown, is sometimes better than living there!

Call one of our career consultants at www.career-forward.com today for assistance in your job search or career transition plans being your path to tomorrow…today.

Which Job Board should I use?

I was recently asked, “what is the best on-line site to use for a job search.” As a Career Coach and Human Resources Consultant I had to think of the best way to answer the question. My response; “If you want to do it right...ALL OF THEM.” Mark Twain popularized the quote, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” The underlying message in this is, you can manipulate any data to your argument; it’s all in the debate. Take for instance the traffic patterns above for some of the most popular and well known jobsites. I say popular and well known because all have been listed on Google’s first page…the test of arrival in any on-line business and most had Super Bowl ads this year…the testament to a big fat marketing budget! While your initial instinct may be to search on Monster.com (since they seem to have the best traffic), I ask you to consider another option. Instead of using a stand-alone site that lists only jobs they have been paid to post, use a search mechanism that grabs openings from the big three (and many more) for your career search. Indeed.com, Simply Hired.com and Jobster.com are a few of the sites that pool the jobs listed on these sites, include other boutique job postings, and some finally have their own listings as well. They then take all of these listings and place them in easily searchable databases that are updated as the sites they pull from are updated. Of course these sites have something that distinguishes them from the others, such as the ability to narrow your search by hiding a company’s listed jobs that don’t interest you, or feeding you e-mails when new listings are created. But these tools are much more time effective than the stand alone job sites for the careerist.

Don’t get me wrong, companies use sites like Monster or CareerBuilder to hype their positions. This generates traffic and creates a larger candidate pool. But as Flava Flav says, “Don’t believe the Hype.” You, the person seeking a job, need to look at it much differently. You want as many options as possible. A search tool that pulls from all the sites is a great way to narrow down your options…and can reduce your on-line search time dramatically! At Career-Forward our Career Coaches and HR Consultants have industry-leading experience that can assist you in your job search efforts. We help you develop a customized job search and career map designed to meet your specific goals and prepare you to win those roles. The competition is fierce and companies want the best…we help you in stand out in the crowd. Contact us today at http://www.career-forward.com/ to begin your path to tomorrow.

Misery…Loves Company!!!

As a Career Coach and Human Resource Consultant, I find it interesting how many people still listen to the negative influences in their lives for advice and allow thier energy to be drained. While we can all use some uplifting every now and then, thinking and remaining positive is a “choice”. Now this seems to be commonsense but the truth is that in business, it is easier to find a naysayer than an optimist. In fact, I actually believe there is a gravitational pull towards the negative, to be and remain positive takes a lot of hard work. This becomes even more important during a career change or transition. During change, you will find a lot of people who tell you why you cannot succeed on your own, why you shouldn’t look for the bigger job, why you shouldn’t leave the stability of this organization, or why the economy is sure to reign doom on your hopes and dreams; the reality is that if you stay focused and positive you will display confidence and great energy, this is evident to others and will be followed by opportunity. Don’t think it is true? Test the theory. Look at the folks you associate with in your career, for one entire have only meaningful conversations with people that are positive and full of life…you know the ones that stay energized and happy! Limit (as much as possible) the interaction with the doubting Thomas’…at the end of the day, test your energy level, I guarantee you will see the world a little better and half-full. In the end, you can make the decision to be “Happy”, it may require change but it is up to you. Negativity drains your energy and enthusiasm; surround yourself with positive things and positive things will happen to you!

Of course, if your boss is the “energy vampire” you probably need some extra help! Contact your career coach at http://www.career-forward.com/ for your transition map today and remember…Don’t let the bastards get you down!

The Best On-Line Networking Tool

As an HR consultant and career coach, I am often asked from jobseekers or clients in career transition how best to build a network of contacts. While the traditional rolodex of past and present associates will probably serve as the first calls you make when transitioning, one of the best avenues to stay connected that has recently exploded is LinkedIn®. The concept of social networking has been around for a while and is considered one of the cornerstones of the whole Web 2.0 movement. While Facebook®, Friendster® and Classmates® all serve as venues to stay in touch, LinkedIn® is dedicated to business professionals and networking from this aspect.

Whether you are looking to change your job, your career, or just build your network, LinkedIn® is a great platform to find and connect with folks or groups of interest to you.

If you haven’t taken the opportunity to join, I encourage you to do so. Membership is free and only takes a few minutes to set up your profile; you can update it as things in your experience and life change but the first step is to get connected! http://www.linkedin.com/.

Career-Forward, a Cleveland, OH based Human Resources consulting and career coaching firm can assist you in the Human Resources strategy of your company, your recruitment needs and leadership development of your team. Our consultants are also positioned to offer career coaching assistance to you.