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Are you clear on your focus?
“What kind of work are you targeting?”, I asked Mark, a young client, as part of his mock interview exercise. “Ah, I hate this question,” he replied, “I never know how to answer it.” His response surprised me, because we’d just spent months working together to define a motivating, good-fit career focus. When I asked why he hadn’t described that in his answer, he said, “I don’t know if I’m going to actually be able to land that kind of work, and it feels silly saying it.” I think of this as Gotta-Get-Used-to-It syndrome, where as we move into a new life phase, it feels so awkward we have a...
read moreTake The Shot!
A friend’s manager just gave her notice. He doesn’t feel qualified to take his boss’ job yet, but her role is one he’d like to land eventually. Should he apply for it? There are many considerations, but in my opinion, yes, he should apply, for these reasons: Getting ready to submit an application to a job, even if you’re not fully qualified, nudges you to get in shape for other positions down the line. Thinking through your career goals, updating your resume, and actually sending in your materials are all positive steps. Applying for an internal opening signals upper management that you’re...
read moreEating “frogs”. A strategy for getting more done daily.
Mark Twain once said that we should eat a live frog the first thing every morning, because that would likely be the worst experience of the day, and we would benefit from getting it over with right away. Motivational expert Brian Tracy picked up on this notion and recommends identifying and acting on your most distasteful tasks—a.k.a. “frogs”—daily. And here I sit, penning this column, with a few frogs of my own chirping from the sidelines, waiting to be dealt with. They have to do with making some important phone calls, and could result in flat-out rejection, so I’m dreading them a bit. But...
read more4 steps to get you noticed for that next career opportunity!
In person, over the phone, on paper and electronically, you literally have just seconds to make a positive impression. A thoughtful shift in how you present yourself at the start could go a long way toward swaying results in your direction later on: In your cover: Address the letter to specific hiring managers, in human resources as well as within your functional specialty. If you’re unsure who that would be, call the company, or research contacts on LinkedIn.com. Be sure to confirm the gender of each contact, as many women now have men’s names. And always check that you’re spelling their...
read moreAre you a fraud?
I’ve worked as a career counselor since 1993, logging over 25,000 hours of client time, and there are still days when I feel like a phony. A client can ask for advice, and I can give my opinion based on observing the results of others I’ve supported, but I can’t predict how things will turn out. Each person is unique, each situation is different, and my work doesn’t operate with formulaic precision. Wikipedia defines Imposter Syndrome as, ”…a concept describing high-achieving individuals who are marked by an inability to internalize their accomplishments and a persistent fear of being...
read moreThe Power To Explore Career Growth
Recently I interviewed two professionals working at Colorado State University about their strategies for maintaining thriving careers. They’ve both worked at the institution for over 10 years, and while they like the stability an organization like CSU can offer, they’re also driven to keep their work interesting and expanding. This ties to the concept of wanting a level of certainty in our lives, such as having a predictable source of income and knowing our jobs well enough to do them successfully, while also desiring an element of uncertainty around, “What can I do next?” Achieving a...
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