Stepping-stones to Career Growth and Excellence
Posted by
raghu
Achieving excellence in our work is an integral part of feeling genuinely satisfied in life. We want our careers or businesses to blossom, making us financially secure and content with our achievements. Here are seven stepping-stones that lead to career growth and excellence. When used as part of a total action-plan, these stepping-stones can contribute tremendously to the fulfillment that you desire.1. Make a Commitment to Excellence A passionate commitment to excellence is a primary step to growth in any endeavor. It is not enough to say we want to be excellent; we must make a commitment. Whether you are an entrepreneur, business owner, employer, or employee, commit yourself to becoming excellent in your chosen field. When you commit yourself to excellence, you will grow personally as well as professionally. 2. Empower Yourself and Others by Continuing to Learn A commitment to excellence requires continuous learning. Keep your skills sharpened by reading the latest books and attending seminars, classes, or workshops. Ask for feedback from clients, customers, supervisors, co-workers and employees. Frequently assess yourself and look for key skills that need improvement. By empowering yourself with knowledge, you will reap the rewards of continued growth and excellent performance. You will also inspire others to seek empowerment, excellence, and growth. 3. Multiply Your Efforts through Networking Tell many people about the specific ways that you can help to meet their needs. For example, instead of saying, "I sell real estate," you might say, "I help low income families find quality, affordable housing in areas where they've always wanted to live." Tell people what makes your service or product special. However, keep your interactions light-hearted and spontaneous. Ask questions that show your interest in the other individual. Make your personality as well as your service memorable. Compile a list of people with whom you want to work or do business. Attend seminars or workshops and network at every opportunity. If someone does not need your service, he or she might know someone who does. Keep a supply of business cards with you at all times. When you have built a business relationship with someone or gained a satisfied client, ask for referrals. Personal references will bring a large percentage of your business. 4. Communicate Powerfully When networking or interacting with co-workers, communicate powerfully by remembering three letters: ALC. These stand for Ask-Listen-Clarify. Ask questions to determine the needs and desires of others. Listen empathetically—not only to hear, but to understand. Then clarify by rephrasing and repeating back what the other individual said. If necessary, rephrase your question and ask additional questions. Powerful listening is the key to powerful communication. Pay attention to body language. Listen to non-verbal cues that reveal feelings behind spoken messages, and then clarify. Powerful communication will lead to continued career growth, excellence, and satisfaction. 5. Lead with Empathy No matter what position you hold currently, you are always leading others through your influence. You influence others with your thoughts and actions even if you are not aware of doing so. Think of three leaders who you admire. What traits and leadership skills do you admire the most in these leaders? This question will reveal your deepest leadership values. Leading with empathy is leading from your deepest values. These values allow you to focus on the strengths of those you lead; they allow you to lead others in ways you would want them to lead you. 6. Maintain Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Fitness A healthy body helps to maintain a healthy mind and vice versa. Spiritual strength nourishes both the body and mind. Cultivating our faith in God strengthens our resolve to overcome adversities and focus on outcomes rather than roadblocks. Follow a sound wellness program, get regular physical checkups, and pray or meditate each day. Schedule a daily time for relaxation. Physical, mental, and spiritual fitness contribute to steady growth and maximum excellence in fulfilling our individual purposes. 7. Serve with Love, Faith, and Gratitude We receive in this life only that which we first give. That includes our thoughts and attitudes. Fill your thoughts with the spirit of love for those you serve. Communicate your deepest gratitude to customers and clients for their trust in you. Show gratitude in special ways that provide more value than expected. Trust clients and customers to make decisions that are right for them. If you have faith in those you serve, they will have faith in you. Take this Challenge Now Make a list of at least twelve different ways you could implement each of these stepping-stones during the next 12 months. Select seven items, one item from each list of twelve. Then put them into action over the next week. Continue to implement more of your ideas throughout the coming months. Refer back to your list frequently, and write down the changes that you see taking place. You will see positive changes both personally and professionally. In Summary Career growth and excellence contribute significantly to life satisfaction. They require acting with commitment and integrity. We need to set our standards high and continually acquire new knowledge to grow and perform with excellence. People are essential to success, and we must listen deeply to communicate powerfully. Leading others from our deepest values allows us to lead with empathy. Growth requires physical, mental, and spiritual strength. Love, faith, and gratitude will provide an integral framework for career growth and excellence. Taking deliberate action to excel and grow today will set the process in motion and bring rewarding results throughout the future. |
2:59 AM | 0 Comments
Highly-Effective Resume Cover Letter TIPS
Posted by
raghu
Just like the late, great Rodney Dangerfield, the "humble" cover letter gets no respect. Job-seekers spend so much time and energy on their resumes they've got nothing left to offer their poor, neglected cover letters. Big, BIG mistake! It is the well-written cover letter not the resume that can single-handedly land you more job interviews. The cover letter is your one chance to really "market" yourself to an employer using proven marketing strategies rarely found in the typical cover letter. Conversely, there's only so much you can do with the traditional CV or resume. I believe the carefully crafted cover letter is more important to your job search success than any other written document, including the resume. As a direct marketing professional for over 20 years, I bring to you my 7 secrets of a highly-effective resume cover letter:
Think of your cover letter as a sales letter. The only purpose of your resume cover letter is to land you more job interviews. That's the bottom line. By using the proven marketing strategies I've outlined above you will land more quality job interviews than your competition. You must find a way to get your "foot in the company door" to have any chance of landing the job. With the right cover letter you can blow the doors of opportunity wide open. And remember, more job interviews translate to (drum roll please)... more job offers. Finally, the most important advice I can offer you is this: FOLLOW-UP every job lead, contact, and communication. Following up is the "golden key" to getting hired for the job of your dreams. Use follow-up cover letters, thank you letters, even follow-up phone calls. Following-up can literally double your chance for success. It is also the one secret ingredient missing from 99% of every job-seeker's playbook. Good news for you!
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2:56 AM | 0 Comments
Get a New Job FAST - TIPS
Posted by
raghu
we are giving you 7 quality tips which will help you cut valuable time off each step and therefore the entire job hunt process.
1. Don't wait till you start looking for a job, before you start looking.
Be up to date with your industry and the conditionsof your employment environment all the time. Make this part of your job description in every job you hold. It could save you weeks when it comes time to find a job.
2. Keep your resume up to date
Find a template or layout that you are comfortable with and maintain it. Update it twice a year at least. It will save you the mad scramble to put it together and possibly a lost opportunity because you were unprepared.
3. Network Network Network.
Keep in touch with all your contacts in the industry. This includes workmates, employers, contacts at employment agencies, contacts in similar companies etc. You never know what other people will be doing tomorrow, or what opportunities they may have for you.
4. Accept interviews even if you are not interested in the opportunity, or not looking for a job.
Interviewing is a very specific skill. Keep that skill honed. Keep practising the skill. You don't want to lose "perfect" opportunies because it is your first interview in 5 years and you need to get your answers back up to scratch. Remember you do not have to accept the job.
5. Keep a diary of your experiences.
Note what you did well with each job opportunity. What worked, what didn't, improvements you could make, elements you can get rid of. Then, when you next go through an employment opportunity situation, revisit your notes, duplicate the good things and improve the bad things. Recognise the process as having a learning curve, and learn.
6. If you do not have a job and need one, make job hunting your full time job.
Get out of bed at the same time you would if you were working in your given field. This will put your time clock in sync with your interviewers. Spend the same hours working on your job hunt as you would in the job. Be disciplined.
7. Keep focused
Know what you are looking for and have a clear plan for achieving your goal. Do not accept roles that are different to your goals at the start of your job hunt. This could cost you years in your career.
This is the final part of a 5 part special report on reducing the time it takes to get a job. Its not fun running around trying to win that job, this report is full of tips and tricks which will help you reduce your job hunt time to a minimum.
5:43 AM | 0 Comments
6 Amazing Secrets To Work At Home Success
Posted by
raghu
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| Are you a stay at home mom or dad who would like to work from home? Maybe you have a job outside the home, but you’re tired of juggling your job and your kids, especially when your child is sick and needs you. You’d like to work from home, but it seems as though there are no legitimate jobs out there. You don’t really want to start a home-based business from scratch, but would love to work from home. Well let me tell you a little secret, knowledge is power. And there are 15 strategies you must apply if you want to be successful in landing a work at home job or contract These 15 strategies will definitely help you beat out your competition. Let me share with you 6 of the 15 strategies I’ve used and continue to use to increase my chances of obtaining home-based jobs and contracts over and over again. •1. You Must Acquire A Specialized Skill The secret to landing a home-based job or independent contract and keeping it forever is to acquire a specialized skill, or start a career in a field that is completely recession proof and in high demand but has a low supply of skilled workers. For instance, people will always get sick. So therefore doctors will always need Medical transcriptionists. Another example; companies will always have quarterly meetings and will always need general transcriptionists to transcribe reports, minutes, etc. If you lose your home-based job today, you can apply for another one tomorrow and land another job within a week or two. How am I so sure about this? Well I’ve done it over and over again as a general transcriptionist, and Cyber Agent (Call Center Customer Service Rep) for the past five and a half years. The jobs and independent contracts in these fields are in abundance. As an example, let’s look at Medical Transcriptionist. Just go to your search engine and type in the keywords, “Medical Transcription Companies.” You will see hundreds of medical transcription companies listed. Just visit a few of the web sites and check to see if there’s an “employment,” “Career,” “Join us,” “Contact,” etc., tab on the web site. I’m sure you’ll find several job openings. •2. Don’t work at home for the wrong reasons. Too many people want to work at home for the wrong reasons. Never tell an employer that you want to work at home because you need to spend more time with your children. That will certainly seem selfish to an employer, and you would never get hired. Most employers don’t care whether you want to stay at home with your children or not. Wanting to work from home to spend more time with your children is not really a wrong reason, but in an employer’s mind it is. Why not look at it this way; working from home would enable you to be more productive in the sense that you would not miss work when your children are sick. Also if some other family issues arise you can take care of it without calling in sick. Wouldn’t this be more beneficial to the employer instead of saying you want to work at home to spend more time with the kids? •3. Be Professional At All Times When applying for a home-based job, never respond to an ad via email stating, “I’m interested in the work-at-home (data entry) position.” This is quite unprofessional. Once you find a home-based job vacancy, apply by sending your cover letter and resume, or fill out an online application. If the employer didn’t ask for a cover letter in the job vacancy ad, please send one anyway. Never send a resume without a cover letter. It will get thrown in the trash. Please customize each cover letter with information tailored to that specific job advertisement. •4. Never Send Your Resume As An Attachment Unless The ad States That You Can Do So The hiring manager might never open the attachment. Also, never copy and paste your resume into the body of your email and send it to an employer. It will change format by the time it reaches to the employer, and will look like a jumbled mess. You must create an ASCII/Plain Text resume and cover letter. For more information on how to do this please visit the following web sites, http://resume.monster.com/dosanddonts/email/Index.asp or http://www.eresumeiq.com/ABC.html. •5. Follow Instructions When responding to a job vacancy announcement please make sure you follow the ad instructions. If the ad asks for specific information please do exactly as it says. For instance, if the ad says, please describe home office equipment, make sure you mention in your cover letter exactly what equipment you have in your home office. I was once commended by an employer for being the only job applicant, out of hundreds to actually follow the specific instructions in the job ad. I was hired for this home-based job mainly because I followed instructions, not because I was more qualified than all the other applicants. •6. Reduce Your Job Search Time Finding a job using the Internet can be a frustrating, time-consuming endeavor because there are literally 1000's of job boards and work at home resources. And don't forget the Job newsgroups and the regional newspapers. To be current on this information is essential. Let YourJobSearcher do the work for you. This software is not only for 9-5 job searches. You can use it to find telecommuting jobs also. All you have to do is download and install your Job Search Program, enter your job description (home-based job title you desire), click and begin the search. It’s that easy. |
5:36 AM | 0 Comments
5 Ways to Work More Effectively With Your Administrative Ass
Posted by
raghu
To Work More Effectively With Your Administrative Boss |
by: Karen Fritscher-Porter |
| (Stop hiring new administrative support staff. And learn how to retain your existing administrative staff.) Are you a manager, director or other senior-level personnel who wants to work more effectively with your administrative support professional? Did you know that partnering with your administrative assistants and executive assistants can actually help you to meet your professional goals at work? Would you like to know how to improve morale among your administrative support professionals and retain them as long-term employees? After all, isn't it a lot more profitable to retain existing staff than to constantly hire, train and get along with new staff? Here are five ways to work more effectively with your current administrative support professionals starting now: 1. Assume that your administrative support professional doesn't know what's on your mind until you tell him. That's the one assumption it's okay to make in the office environment. Always remember that your administrative support professional is not a mind reader--no matter how in tune with your thoughts she or he may seem to be sometimes. It's that one time that you "assume" when things will go awry in your work relationship. 2. Discuss your personal and professional goals. In order to be your partner, your administrative support professional needs to know who you want to be when. What do you personally want in your career? And what are you striving for on behalf of the company? These answers will affect your administrative professional's duties. She wants to help you achieve your plans. Knowing these answers helps her to clarify the prioritization of tasks and situations that arise daily. She'll focus on projects relevant to your goals first when possible. And she'll know and pass along pieces of information she happens upon throughout the year that would be useful or of interest to you. 3. Discuss project expectations. When you're giving an assignment, make sure your administrative professional precisely understands the expected project outcome. This means you will need to clarify the outcome in your head first and then clearly relay that expected outcome to your administrative professional. Clearly voicing the precise (or nearly precise) expected project outcome before it happens means no surprises upon project completion and efficient use of your time and that of your administrative professional. Precise communication prevents misinterpretation by both parties which can cause bad relationships and inappropriate work results. If the results aren't what you asked for then maybe in actuality you didn't quite ask for the results you wanted. 4. Have a daily briefing with your administrative support person. Meet daily whether either of you want to do so or not. This meeting forces communication to flow daily between you both, which is a good thing. And comfort levels with each other will rise. It could be a five minute meeting while standing. Or it could be a 10 minute meeting while seated that's officially posted on the calendar to happen every day that you're in the office at 9:00 a.m. Do what works best for you both. And make sure you're uninterrupted during this time. 5. Support opportunities for your administrative professional to achieve certifications. For example, your administrative professional can become a Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) and a Certified Professional Secretary (CPS), both elite designations by administrative professional criteria. Encourage her or him to train and test for these titles as well as have your company pay the registration costs. (c) 2005 Karen Fritscher-Porter About the Author Karen Fritscher-Porter is the author of the eBooklet: 87 Ways You Can Work More Effectively With Your Administrative Support Professional. Order your copy at http://www.admin-ezine.com/employertips.htm . Fritscher-Porter publishes The Effective Admin newsletter (www.admin-ezine.com). The monthly e-zine is distributed to 800+ administrative assistants and executive assistants globally to help them excel on the job and in their careers. |
4:48 AM | 0 Comments
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