Tips for job selection

In my job, I speak to executives everyday about their career goals and objectives. Building a career has never been more complex. Even managers and executives, who have spent more years in a job than most, change positions about every six years. If you're among this group, you'll face several potential forks in your career path and will likely need a new roadmap each time.

It takes on average six to 12 months to find a senior-level executive position if you're thinking of making a switch. That's a lot of time to waste if you set off in the wrong direction.

This could be a waste of time if it's completely wrong for you

Knowing your strengths, as well as what matters most to you at this stage of your career, will bring focus and clarity to your job search. In a competitive and turbulent job market, flexibility and creativity are essential to success. A sophisticated understanding of your professional skills and personal attributes allows you to be more imaginative about how and when they can be applied.

A good first step is a career audit. For every job in your past, make a list of what you liked and disliked most about your role and the work environment. What “non-negotiable” criteria are you looking for now? Creating a list of companies you respect might help narrow the scope of the job search.

Being clear about your “must-have” career criteria such as responsibilities, company culture, work-life balance as well as staying up-to-date on the latest industry and hiring trends, will make it more likely that every job will contribute to a positive career progression.

Next, take the time to understand the motivations behind your earlier choices and what inspires you now. Korn/Ferry utilises an online assessment tool called CareerView that divides professional decisions into four themes: experts, competitors, learners and entrepreneurs. Ask yourself which of these sounds most like you:

1. Experts: Generally stick with one field and often one employer and focus on deepening their knowledge and skills. They are motivated to become sought-after specialists. If you fall into this group, explore mentoring future leaders or becoming a thought leader by writing or speaking on your area of expertise.

2. Competitors: Are driven to gain influence and responsibility. They may frequently switch companies, functions, or even careers purely for more pay or a more impressive title. While it is admirable to seek advancement, it takes time and a wide range of experiences to become a mature leader capable of handling complex roles. If you are motivated by upward mobility, be honest with prospective employers about your intentions and realistic about your abilities.

3. Learners: Are curious and attracted to trying new things. They select a field and then move every five to seven years into an area that uses their previously acquired skills and knowledge in a new way. If you fall into this category, look for organisations where you will easily be able to change departments, participate in company sponsored training, travel, or contribute to new projects every few years.

4. Entrepreneurs: Seek the new and novel. They typically move into new fields every two to four years. If you are a natural-born entrepreneur, but want to work for a corporation, you will do best in a start-up or company with a progressive and even unconventional culture.

Which one are you?

Alternatively, you may thrive in roles where your job is to build a department from scratch or launch a major new initiative.

As you go about your job search, solicit feedback from as many people as possible to get objective views of your strengths. Write out your “personal brand proposition” and a detailed description of your dream job. It is then essential to begin practicing a 30-second to three-minute verbal “pitch” that encapsulates your personal brand.

Even if you believe you have effectively promoted yourself throughout your career, never miss an opportunity to practice selling yourself, whether you are actively looking for a job or not. Doing so may lead you to discover new ways of positioning yourself and also helps you to clearly define and attract what you ultimately want and give you feedback on areas where your approach may not resonate.

A job search can be stressful, but the first step is always the same. Take control explore not only new companies or industries, but your own interests and attributes. Hone your own personal brand, outline your work-related desires and seek out the position that is right for you. A healthy dose of introspection lays a strong foundation for marketing yourself with confidence. Good luck!

Reza Ghazali, managing director of Korn/Ferry International in Malaysia, believes that cultivating strong leadership and talent is the key to unlocking an organisation's success. Article extracted from Talking HR, Star Business.

@http://mystarjob.com/

Decide what you want, this will give you the map to get there!!

BY JEF MILES

The Power of Objectives

You have probably heard many successful people telling you that starting with the end in mind is the most important tool to achievement. This may seem counter-intuitive, how can you get where you to want to go without knowing the path to take? I used to think similarly, however I am changing my mindset and realising the importance of figuring out where you want to go first. Why is this important?

1. It will give your brain a goal to achieve
2. This will create accountability
3. You will be able to measure your progress
4. It will enable others to help you achieve your objective more effectively
5. If done effectively taking action will develop routine, which will create habit

Objectives for individuals are like employees a business

Imagine that you run a business that has 10 employees. When those employees come into work, you will give them direction on how they are to go about their days. If you are to run the business successfully, you are likely to have tactical, operational and strategic goals, even as a small organisation. It is amazing then though for those who expect individual success to set only operational (or day to day) goals such as catching up with friends, going to work, getting to bed on time. Yet we seem to avoid or delay setting the operational (medium term) or strategic objectives. The strategic objective i.e. become a qualified doctor is the map or end game, which provide direction on where you want to head.

The objective (map) is only the beginning

While I say that knowing where you would like to head is a great starting point and if you want success this is likely to put you in the top 20% of the population, this is only a part of what creates positive results. Imagine if Martin Luther King Jr had his dream or vision of how he wanted to create a more equitable society but never took any action. Without concrete or operational and tactical objectives, he would have been unlikely to achieve all that he did.

The point that I am getting at here is the importance of having all 3 types of goals. The strategic give you a wide view from space, the operational zooms in and the tactical gives you a microscopic view of the actions you need to take to achieve your overall objective.

Take action and create more success!!!

Take Out Questions

What map do you have for your future?

How can you start today to plan for tomorrow?

What can operation success do for you?

http://www.operationsuccessonline.com/

HOW TO ROCK ANY JOB INTERVIEW

Most people have no idea what it is employers are looking for in a prospective hire. Don’t be fooled: there is a lot more to going on an interview than just showing up, shaking hands and walking away with a new job. Unemployment remains high, so odds are that there have been hundreds of other applicants vying for the same position as you. You need a way to stand out if you are going to rock your job interview.

1. Be Likeable

Likeability is a big part of why you’ll be chosen for a job, especially in a discipline that is not going to rely heavily on any specialized skills. Employers are looking for people who can work with their existing staff structures, they want to know before they add you to their team that you won’t cause workflow problems because you can’t get along with your co-workers.

Listen to what is being said to you, offer opinions warmly and don’t be confrontational. Make sure to treat the interviewer as a human being and not as a robot with a list of questions for you: smile when they smile, make eye contact, and try to express yourself in a way that they will relate to.

2. Invest Yourself

Employers aren’t interested in hiring people who don’t care about their companies. The best way for you to make an impression is to show a familiarity with the work that the company does, and why that matters to you.

If there is anything that you don’t understand in an interview, ask the interviewer to clarify it. If you miss something, letting it go in the hopes of catching on later is one of the worst things you can do in an interview. Most likely the interviewer can already tell if you are not following what is being said–doubling down on miscommunication is going to make you come off as if you are not invested in getting the job. Asking for clear explanations will give your potential employer a better sense of how well you problem solve and communicate, and show that you really care about what the job is about.

3. Peak Performance

Walking away from an interview with a job is really a matter of how well you can connect with the person conducting the interview. Basically, you are taking part in a conversation that is not only about you, but one where you need to perform as yourself. In many ways your interview is like an actor going on an audition, except the role you are up for is to play yourself.

Even the best actors hone their craft: the same should be true for you. It may sound silly, but it never hurts to do a few rehearsals going into an interview. Practice answering a few theoretical questions while you stand in front of a mirror. You can even record yourself to hear how your voice sounds to other people. Make little adjustments if you think there is anything wrong with these rehearsals so that your real performance comes off better.

If you are still at the searching phase, know that there are specific websites that are purely dedicated to posting jobs. The best one we know of is Indeed.com. This website allows you to search for specific job titles, industries, and by location as well. In addition, you can upload your resume to the resume database so that employers can find you. You can even search for specific company website job boards and look up salary averages and industry trends. Make sure to join this leading Job Search Site, and beyond that, check it daily so that you can pounce on job postings quickly.

http://www.lifegooroo.com/

SHOULD YOUR RESUMÉ HAVE AN OBJECTIVE STATEMENT?

The standard resumé template usually has all the fields you expect to find on a document that sums up all your employability: there’s work experience, educational background, skills, and “other” skills. Then there’s that big one right underneath where your name goes that says “Objective Statement.” What exactly is an objective statement and why is it there at the top of your resumé? More importantly, do you even need it there?

What is an objective statement?

An objective statement is a short sentence defining your aim in sending along your resumé. It should be lean and to the point. In most cases, it means basically stating the name of the position that you are looking to fill. If you want to be fancier, you could say that you were looking to grow your experience in the field and advance.

Great! So I’ll put one on top of my resumé.

Not so fast. The thing about objective statements is that they are largely not used anymore. Some of the templates that people do still use continue to have an “Objective Statement” field, and that may be why people go out of their way to fill that space. The objective statement is falling out of use because all it does is basically tell the prospective employer exactly what they know—that you want the job they’re offering. They waste space, and distract from more important information, such as your skills.

I get it. No objective statement. What should I include?

Instead of objective statements most resumés will include career profiles instead.

What is a career profile?

Career profiles are a heading that goes on the top of your resumé just like an objective statement. The difference is that instead of stating what you want out of the job, it highlights the things you have to offer a company or employer. It’s the qualities you hope will make you stand out in the stack of applications. In effect, it is like moving the skills section of your resumé all the way to the top combined with a summary of the value you and your experiences will bring to a company.

Well, what does that look like?

Your career profile should look something like this:

Motivated team leader with outstanding interpersonal skills and a competitive work ethic. Four years experience working in hotel management. Speaks both English and Spanish fluently. Excels in customer service settings and is devoted to raising brand awareness. Social media expert.

The shorter the better. Now that you have ditched the objective statement and know how to put together a decent career profile, you are on your way to landing that new position.

http://www.lifegooroo.com/

Warren Buffett Tells You How to Turn $40 Into $10 Million

By Patrick Morris 

Warren Buffett is perhaps the greatest investor of all time, and he has a simple solution that could help an individual turn $40 into $10 million.

A few years ago, Berkshire Hathaway CEO and Chairman Warren Buffett spoke about one of his favorite companies, Coca-Cola, and how after dividends, stock splits, and patient reinvestment, someone who bought just $40 worth of the company's stock when it went public in 1919 would now have more than $5 million.  

Source: Coca-Cola.

Yet in April 2012, when the board of directors proposed a stock split of the beloved soft-drink manufacturer, that figure was updated and the company noted that original $40 would now be worth $9.8 million. A little back-of-the-envelope math of the total return of Coke since May 2012 would mean that $9.8 million is now worth about $10.8 million.

The power of patienceI know that $40 in 1919 is very different from $40 today. However, even after factoring for inflation, it turns out to be $540 in today's money. Put differently, would you rather have an Xbox One, or almost $11 million?

But the thing is, it isn't even as though an investment in Coca-Cola was a no-brainer at that point, or in the near century since then. Sugar prices were rising. World War I had just ended a year prior. The Great Depression happened a few years later. World War II resulted in sugar rationing. And there have been countless other things over the past 100 years that would cause someone to question whether their money should be in stocks, much less one of a consumer-goods company like Coca-Cola.

The dangers of timing
Yet as Buffett has noted continually, it's terribly dangerous to attempt to time the market:

"With a wonderful business, you can figure out what will happen; you can't figure out when it will happen. You don't want to focus on when, you want to focus on what. If you're right about what, you don't have to worry about when" 

So often investors are told they must attempt to time the market, and begin investing when the market is on the rise, and sell when the market is falling.

This type of technical analysis of watching stock movements and buying based on how the prices fluctuate over 200-day moving averages or other seemingly arbitrary fluctuations often receives a lot of media attention, but it has been proved to simply be no better than random chance. 

Investing for the long termIndividuals need to see that investing is not like placing a wager on the 49ers to cover the spread against the Cowboys, but instead it's buying a tangible piece of a business.

It is absolutely important to understand the relative price you are paying for that business, but what isn't important is attempting to understand whether you're buying in at the "right time," as that is so often just an arbitrary imagination.

In Buffett's own words, "if you're right about the business, you'll make a lot of money," so don't bother about attempting to buy stocks based on how their stock charts have looked over the past 200 days. Instead always remember that "it's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price."

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Tips For Today

Add a 'PLEASE' or a 'THANK YOU whenever you say something

Tips For Today

Be a good listener, hear the other person 

out before thinking of the answer and 

answering him.

sources: tips for managers