What Makes You Excited About Your Job Building Your Future Now

What Makes You Excited About Your Job Building Your Future Now Are there any aspects of your job that you really like? Is the job itself? Your co-workers? The clients? There can be a host of things that can make you excited about going in to work or running your own business! The key thing is being excitedlooking forward to building your career one day at a time. But if you arent really into your job? How can you capture that excitement? If things arent really going your way when it comes to your career you need to understand that things probably have to change. Reassess your goals. Look at who you are speaking with. Find ways you can improve your job lifemaybe finding a new job is the answer or redirecting your career path. You need to make changes if you feel stuck and arent passionate about what youre doing. Sometimes you take a careful look at your jobwhats bothering you about it? What can make it better? These are some questions you can ask and answer. Setup a mwetijg with your boss or even a senior co-worker. Remember dont be negativelook at ways to improve your work situation. Be proactive about it. If you dont it will be a tough time for you. And ve sure to find people around your job that are happy and successful. Ask then what fuels their positivity! Image: Robin Higgins

Top 10 Things to Do Before You Change Jobs

Top 10 Things to Do Before You Change Jobs In today’s world, individuals will change careers on average 7 times more in their lifetime, compared to only a couple of decades ago â€" and this rate is rising. There is more choice available to us especially for those with talent, drive and ambition. Currently the support that we tend to find is really limited. It’s also pretty generic â€" maybe some careers advice from your school, uni or MBA school. Otherwise not much support until you are really senior in an organisation â€" and even then whether it is effective or not is debatable! What results is a combination of lack of control and a cycle of movement from one unfulfilling job to another, or getting stuck at a ‘dead end’. However â€" do not fear â€" you do not need to stay in this ‘rut’. New horizons could be just around the corner.. So â€" you want to look for a new and the right role. This can be challenging, difficult, lonely, and sometimes stressful. You might want to consider getting someone to ‘walk the path’ with you and help you get clear about what your options are, what you want to do and how to get there can be hugely valuable. It is even more helpful when you know that the person accompanying you has been involved in this process before on many occasions and is a real expert. So if you work with someone to help with your career change look at their work and life experience to make sure they know what they are on about! Right â€" so you are ready to change careers and want to find that right role. In order to succeed bare in mind the following tips: 1. Invest in yourself This journey is important â€" so give yourself time to work it all out. You will need a significant amount of thought, consideration, time and investment in order to make this change smoothly and to make it the right career change. There are many key stages and turning points to consider so take the time to do it. 2. Get Clarity Without real clarity about what you want to do or how to get it, achieving any sense of fulfilment or being in control of your future will be very difficult. Therefore it is really important to work on getting clear about what your central goal is and how to achieve it. If you want to learn about the different ways to do this then feel free to drop us a note. 3. Create an action plan Simply knowing what you want will not ensure that you get it. You need to be clear about your plan of action and how to carry out what you have specifically designed for yourself. Get clear achievable steps in place. Outline it so that it is broken down into steps that you can work through towards that bigger goal. Reward yourself and be proud of yourself as you get through each stage of your plan. 4. Focus your energy on the task Making a change and finding the right role is not always an easy task. It can be tough, tiresome and long. You need to stay really focused and be efficient around where you put your energy and effort to get the outcome you want. Make sure that you are in control of the key elements in your world and are able to drive forward with the career and life of your choosing. You will need perseverance and determination to help. Being smart about how you spend your time is crucial. 5. Understanding your strengths Get to know yourself better. Identify what your key strengths are. What are you really good at? What do you enjoy that you are also good at? What skills have you learnt? What are you naturally inclined to do and be better at? Make sure that you get right to the core of it. The more you know yourself the more confident you will become and the better you will be at identify the right role for you and projecting yourself in order to get it. 6. Ignite that passion Without real passion for a role â€" it will be difficult to get. Even if you do get it â€" you will find it difficult to maintain and grow within and beyond it. What you want here is the right role. This means something that you are truly passionate about. It might take a bit of experimenting to find what ‘floats your boat’ â€" but it will be worth it when you have found it. 7. Know your boundaries Being clear about what works and what doesn’t work for you in order to be happy can be groundbreaking. It sounds simple but so many of us do not actually take the time to work it out. In each different work situation â€" we may have different boundaries. By being clear about what they are and then communicating this clearly to others and staying true to what is important â€" will make a huge difference. This impacts work and your personal settings. 8. Manage and improve relationships This is important from all aspects. If you learn to manage your relationships effectively you will be able to control the process and transition. You will be able to manage your exit smoothly from your current or old role. Understanding where your old boss is coming from and the impact you have on him/her â€" and how you interact could really influence how you leave a job. How you get your next job and keep it may also rely heavily on your ability to manage relationships well. 9. Leverage your connections Learn how to network and harness your connections effectively. This does not mean bombarding people you do not know with emails or adding everyone you can find to linkedin. Neither is this picking up as many business cards you can at a networking event and calling that person part of your ‘network’. Real networking is about getting to know people. You need to work on identifying and getting to know those who can help you along your way. 10. Rid yourself of blocks, fears and insecurities All of us have them at one stage or another. Many of us keep them for years. However, do not let them stop you. If you are afraid â€" that is ok â€" just do not let it take over and control what you do or do not do. If something is blocking you from moving forward â€" take the time and action you need to confront it, deal with it and resolve it. This does not have to be done alone. Find support from those around you. Get support from a professional if it is a deep personal issue that is troubling you. If you do not deal with it now â€" it will keep blocking you in different ways throughout your career and life. Once you have worked through the blocks â€" you will be so much more energised, comfortable, confident and free. Those are the 10 pieces of the pie that you must do before or as you start your journey and change careers. Each step requires some work, time and thought â€" but they are important if you really want to make it work. There might be a lot to do â€" but you are not alone and you CAN do it. Related: 4 Ways To Make Your Dream Employer Notice You. Nisa Chitakasem is the founder of Position Ignition â€" a careers company dedicated to taking  you to the next step in your career. Nisa is passionate about helping individuals find the right career path for them whether it involves finding a more rewarding career, making a career change, figuring out the right career plan or being creative about career directions.  For free advice, guidance and information on careers visit the Position Ignition on Twitter  @PosIgnition.

10 Ways to Grow Your Blogs Traffic

10 Ways to Grow Your Blogs Traffic Today is the third post in a series of 5 posts about blogging:  why to start, how to start, how to get readers, how to build community and how to monetize your blog. A lot of you are terrified that no one will ever read your blog.  Believe me, someone will read it BUT only if they your blog exists! Today Ill give you 10 ways to grow your blogs traffic.  Following these tips from the beginning is the best way to ensure your blogs readership will continue to grow. 1. Guest Post on other Blogs The BEST way to get people to your site is to get in front of new (and relevant) audiences.  You can easily do this by writing entertaining and informative guest posts for other bloggers.  A lot of people Ive talked to with large blog followings say they got to where they are thanks to guest posting.  For example, check out my friend  Matt Cheuvronts blog tour.   Impressive, right!? Make a focused effort of reaching out to a few bloggers per week when they were new on the scene.  If youre emailing a more established/high traffic blog, I suggest having your post already written.  Make it as easy for the blogger as possible!  Put a link to your blog in your bio at the end of each guest post so people can visit your site.  A lot of bloggers are happy to publish guest writers because it diversifies their content and perspective.  In many cases, theyre just happy not to have to write a post themselves for a day! 2. Make sure you have a large, clearly-defined, easy-to-find RSS button That obnoxiously huge orange button pictured in this post is what Im talking about.  With so many people reading blogs on the go via their smartphones, tablets and readers, you must make it as easy as possible for people to access your content.  Personally, I rarely go into a browswer and type in a blogs URL. Rather, I go to my Google Reader and read all my favorite blogs newest posts from one screen. Lots of people do this- dont miss out.  If I cant subscribe to a blogs content, I usually leave the site immediately. Are any of you wondering what the heck RSS is?  It stands for Really Simple Syndication.  The easiest comparison is to think about your Facebook feed.  RSS constantly puts all the newest updates in one place for easy access.  Even if you dont personally use RSS buttons, youd be surprised at how many people do.  This is a must have! How do I get an RSS button on my site? Youll need to burn a feed first.  Do that by going to feedburner.com.  This (oddly silent) 1 minute video will show you just how to burn a feed. Once youve followed all the instructions in this video and have copied the code for the big orange icon, youll need to add it to your site which is super easy! All you have to do is login to your WordPress Dashboard (the back end of your site) and then: Go to the Appearance  menu on the lower left side of the screen and click Widgets Drag the box that says text into the right hand side of your screen Click on the box that says text Then paste that code in there and click save Refresh your site and you should have an RSS button! 3. Include the link to your blog in your personal email signature I use WiseStamp.com for my email signature.  It lets you add social media buttons that link to your accounts, links and looks very professional and customized.  Wise Stamp attaches to your browser so it is best if you are frequently on the same computer.  You can set it up so that your custom signature goes into every email automatically, otherwise you can just click the stamp icon in the upper right hand of your browser. 4. Comment on other Blogs I love nothing more than a blog post that attracts lots of comments, opinions and maybe even a healthy little debate.  The comments section of a post is almost as entertaining as the content itself.  Give your opinion, give genuine compliments and participate in the chatter.  People often read and click through on comments out of curiousity.  Make sure to include your web address when you put your information in to comment.  Remember, blog posts are permanent so your comments will last as people google the article over and over again, your link is there to stay. 5.  Join Twitter Need I say more? If you want to become a blogger, you NEED to get on Twitter too.  Twitter is the best way to meet new bloggers, find guest posting opportunities, share your posts, ask technical questions, get free press and even make new friends.  The blogging community is SUPER nice and supportive.  When I started blogging I was always asking my Twitter community questions about how to do different things with WordPress and they always helped!  Anytime I needed a graphic designer, web designer, intern, etc. the Twitter community was always quick to respond and provide as well. Ok, but what do I say on Twitter? Great Tweeters do 3 things: They are 100% themselves and show their personality in their tweets They  share valuable information that positions them as an expert in their field/blog topic They engage in a lot of 2-way conversation If youre new to Twitter I suggest using search.twitter.com to put in topics, phrases and keywords that relate to your blog. It will pull up all the tweets that relate to your search (just like Google). Then follow relevant people (most will follow you back) and just jump in on the conversation by responding, posing questions, RTing valuable tweets etc.  Also use Twitter Lists to find relevant targeted people to follow. 6.  Share Your Posts with your Social Networks (if appropriate) Some of you will choose not to publicize your blog to your social networks due to compliance issues at your day job.  If your articles are entertaining and informative though, people will want to read them.  Youd be surprised how much traffic you can get from sharing a post on Facebook and Twitter.  Beware of what types of articles you share with your LinkedIn network as that should be a professional-only environment! 7. Read Seth Godins article on How to get Traffic to your Blog Seth is considered a marketing guru, a thought leader and is a success story beyond the norm when it comes to modern marketing.  This article gives 56 points that mostly pertain to the types of articles you could write on your blog to earn traffic. Its in list format so dont worry, its a quick but very valuable read. 8. Submit your blog to directories like Alltop.com and Technorati.com Its debatable how much traffic youll get from these types of sites, but it doesnt hurt to be listed in a blog directory so that more people can find you.  Submitting  your blog only takes seconds! 9. Make it easy for people to share your posts by adding the Sexy Bookmarks plugin to your site Sexy Bookmarks adds social media buttons to every post and makes it super easy for people to like it on facebook, tweet the article and bookmark your article on sites like Stumbleupon, Digg, Delicious Reddit.  Anytime youre sharing content with a network, you have the power of scalability and the tiny minute chance that your article could go viral as more people share it with one another. How do I add plugins?   Its easier than youd think.  It requires you to download the plugin and activate it.  There are hundreds of great instructional YouTube videos out there.  Whatever you do, dont fear this task so much that you dont do it!  Social media buttons will be a huge factor in growing your blogs traffic! 10. Always Edu-tain There are 2 big reasons people read blogs: to solve a problem or to be entertained.   Think about what people might be Googling in order to find your site then incorporate those phrases into your posts or write posts that revolve around answering those Google searches. Here are some different types of articles you can create that will give people reasons to come to your site: Break a news story or write about a hot topic in the news Give your opinion-  controversy  often drives traffic big time Interview a blogger, author or industry-rockstar Write about the season, big events going on holidays Create a list of your favorite blogs (the other bloggers will appreciate the links and may even link back to you which is huge!) Teach someone how to do something Top 10 Reasons Why 5 ways to Hold a contest Review other sites Review books Post videos (of you and/or of others) Put lots of pictures in your posts

Why Lead Generation is Critical To Your SideHustle

Why Lead Generation is Critical To Your SideHustle The line from the old movie Field of Dreams says if you build it they will come.  That may be fine for Hollywood or maybe a new McDonalds.  But for the rest of us trying to launch a new business, its just wishful thinking.  In the real world, youve got to use lead generation and traffic building techniques that will result in bringing customers to your business place or website.  Then, youve got a chance to show them what you have to offer and hopefully get a sale and turn them into a repeat customer.  Yes, they will come, with sufficient motivation and enticement. Here are some of the best ways to engage potential customers and convert the contact into a sale. Lead Generation Traditional lead generation techniques have been used for decades, and theyre still both popular and effective today.  Most often, they involve planting an idea in the mind of your potential customer that gets them to respond.  You can do this through a variety of means, including Newsletters Questionnaires and Surveys Giveaways The objective is to gain information about your prospective customer.  That can be used now or in the future to find or create products and services that meet their particular needs.  Of course, the customer isnt always sure what exactly they need.  So these kinds of lead generation activities involve both collecting and disseminating information.  In the process, the customer grows to trust your information, and looks to you for guidance in making purchasing decisions. Lead generation is more of a process than an event.  Youre gradually moving a large quantity of potential customers from cold leads, to warm leads, and finally to paying customers. Host/Beneficiary Relationships A less frequently used method of growing your customer base is through the use of whats called a host/beneficiary relationship.  Heres how that works. Lets suppose your new business is womens fashion beachwear and swimwear.  What might be another business that would have a customer base that is close to your target demographic?  One answer might be a spa, whose customers are mostly women who care about their appearance. Your first step would be to approach that spa owner and offer to provide, say, 500 beach cover-ups that they can give to their best customers.  Of course, the customers redeem the offer by coming to your store or website.  While those items might have a retail value of $60, they probably only cost you $10.  And when the ladies come to redeem their gifts, theyll at least be a returning customer, but more likely make additional purchases while there.  Whats the value of 500 paying customers?  To a new business, especially, its a lot. The R Word.  Referrals Its always been amazing to me how reluctant people are to ask for referrals.  Everyone has friends and relatives.  And all of them are potential customers.  If you just provided Ashley with an awesome product or service, dont her friends and relatives deserve to know about it also? Referrals are easiest to ask for, and get, right at the time of the sale.  A simple would you mind helping me out by providing an introduction to two or three people you know who might like what we do here?  You can even offer an incentive such as 10% off their next purchase. Alternatively, you can use prepared new customer promotional cards that offer that same discount and simply ask your current customer to pass them on to other people they know.  Its a more passive approach, but its better than not taking advantage of referral potential at all. About Roast Duck Theres an old adage about roast duck.  It says that if you sit with your arms folded, legs crossed, and mouth open, youre going to have a long wait for a roast duck to fly in.   The same is true of building your business.  The customers are out there, for sure.  But youre going to have to go out hunting and gathering to enjoy the rewards of your efforts.

Writing a Personal Statement to Help You Get Hired

Writing a Personal Statement to Help You Get HiredResume personal statements are an important part of the job application process. Whether you're a new employee or someone looking to change jobs, your personal statement is your chance to show that you are worthy of the position that you're applying for. In many cases your prospective employer may actually ask you to write a personal statement during the job interview process. Writing a good personal statement can help make or break your chances of getting hired.The best way to write a personal statement is to choose one that focuses on what you want to accomplish in your current position. Although some employers prefer to hear about your past experiences, even if you don't have the same job description as they do, others are more interested in what you would be able to accomplish as an employee in their company. If you are not yet sure what your potential employer wants to hear about you, a sample resume will help you start.Start by compiling all possible job descriptions you may be interested in. Then, write down and analyze all of the characteristics that match each description. For example, you may be interested in the following positions: office manager, administrative assistant, bookkeeper, or general laborer.When you have listed all of the character traits that you are most interested in having in a job, you are ready to start writing about the experiences you have had in the positions that you've selected. In order to ensure you have everything you need to answer the specific question, you must keep your experience and achievements in chronological order. Be sure to also include all of the details of your education, skills, and accomplishments.When you have compiled the information necessary to answer the questions on your resume, you will want to focus on your interests. You may have specialized in environmental issues or management issues at your previous job, but you might have found ways to add these interests to your new role. By listing your interests in your personal statement, you can highlight your talents and bring out the positive qualities that make you qualified for the position.When writing your resume, you should consider who your future employer is and consider what their company's needs are. It's fine to focus on your own personal interests. However, remember that you will not have any control over the hiring decisions of your new employer. Therefore, it is important to keep your professional identity separate from your personal identity when working with them.One of the most effective ways to ensure your resume will be read is to write it in clear, concise language. Remember that your personal statement is not only a chance to tell the reader why you are the right person for the job, but also to tell them about yourself. For this reason, your personal statement should be free of words like 'I'me.' By taking your time and being concise, you will be more likely to c onvey your true feelings to your interviewer. If you become nervous or stressed, your expression will only make you look bad in your resume.Remember that writing a resume should not be difficult or stressful. With a little practice, you will find yourself writing your resume with ease and confidence.

Overcome interview doubts with the iceberg method - Hire Imaging

Overcome interview doubts with the iceberg method - Hire Imaging Sometimes you as a job candidate are faced with questions around sensitive issues that are in reality, potential objections to hiring you. Use this approach to handle the situation. Stay afloat When dealing with touchy matters, think iceberg. You want to stand on top of the iceberg. You want to escape any risk of going under! If challenged, you want to surrender as little information as possibleâ€"just little slices off the top! The recipe to making the iceberg method work is an upbeat, non-defensive and non-evasive pitch. Garrett’s case: My client Garret found himself in just such a circumstance. As he shared with me, here’s how it went: Interviewer: Garret, are you unemployed now? (First slice) Garrett: Yes, I am. I left Martin Sands in August. Interviewer: Why were you terminated? (Second slice) Garrett: My position as Director of Marketing was eliminated in a post-acquisition corporate reorganization. Interviewer: Why were you let go? (Third slice) Garrett: In today’s economy, good jobs in cutback situations are hard to find. I actually was offered a position with Martin Sands, but since I want to move forward, rather than laterally, I chose to seek a new challenge outside the company. All Garrett’s answers were concise and positive, with no recriminations. No drifting! You want to know what??? Sometimes the questions to tread lightly around are those that really make no sense. A recruiter friend of mine had a client (employer) that would ask every interviewee, “How many gas stations are in [name of town]?” It bugged my recruiter friend so much that she started giving the candidates a heads up on this question. The next interviewee told my recruiter friend that when she was asked the question, she replied, “336”. When asked by the hiring manager how she knew, she said she was given the answer by my recruiter friend. So, what do you think happened next? The next candidate, one hour later, was asked “How many McDonalds are there in [name of town]? The point: the interviewer was trying to find outâ€"quite coarsely, how the person’s thought process works. Is he / she able to logically work through an unexpected problem? The hiring manager had no interest whatsoever in the actual answerâ€"just the process. Practice to stay buoyant Just about every applicant gets a difficult, hard to read question. Or one that’s easy to read and just plain uncomfortable. Anticipating and practicing your responses to the tough stuff could mean you get the job over someone with a comparable background. I challenge you to go a step further. Embrace this territory of questioning. It could be the tip of the iceberg to landing your next great gig! Photo: NatalieLucier

Book review Small world - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Book review Small world - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog It is hardly news anymore, but there is a definite shift going on in science. Where the focus used to be almost exlusively on reductionism ie. an effort to understand the world by looking at ever smaller pieces and trying to understand them separately, now more and more attention is spent on the relations between objects. Mark Buchanans book small world, uncovering natures hidden networks covers one part of this new science namely the discoveries in networks that have come very recently in many different areas. So what exactly is the common theme between the internet, fireflies in Thailand, neurons in our brains and the social networks that were all part of? Structure! It seems that many of the different networks found in nature and constructed by us humans share the same structure, namely that of small worlds. This is why its possible to travel half way around the globe, only to run into the sister of an old neighbours. This is also why it is possible to link any of the 250.000 actors listed in the imdb to Kevin Bacon in an avarage of 2.9 steps. And it is the basis of the conecpt of six degrees of separation, that any person can be linked to any other in typically six steps. The idea is this: If you have a network (ie. a number of nodes connected by lines a graph in mathematical terms), there are many ways to connect the dots. You could do it randomly by connecting each node to 10 other random nodes. This would give you a network that is extremely connected and the average number of steps required to go from one node to any other would be very low (this is known as the dimension of the system). Alternatively, you could wire each node to the 10 nodes closest to it. This would give you a very clustered network, but the dimension would be extremely high, ie. going between two nodes that are far from each other could require a huge number of steps. It turns out, that many networks share both traits, they are both clustered and have a low dimension. This is possible because most connections go to nodes close by, but som connections (dubbed weak connections) can go to totally different places. Mark Buchanan examines many such networks and describes two basic kinds, and also looks at the different conditions that will create such a small world network. He also examines the implications of the small world theory, and while these kinds of networks are not inherently good or bad, they have the ability to balance on the edge between chaos and order all the while maintaining a certain stability. The book references the tipping point several times, and indeed it seems that the theory of small worlds is at least part of the theoretical underpinning for the phenomena of sudden large scale change described in that book. I recommend this book highly. It explains a quite complicated and abstract area of science in an entertaining and informative way. And while the implications before us after only a few years of study in this field are already huge, there is no doubt in my mind that there are many more exciting discoveries ahead. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related