The ONLY Career Change Guide You Need (feat. the BIGGEST Career Gurus in the World)

The ONLY Career Change Guide You Need (feat. the BIGGEST Career Gurus in the World) I know there’s a lot of career changing advice out there. And I know you’re busy. So I spent weeks reading through all those articles, blogs, tweets and books on career change. All to bring YOU answers to the 7 top career change questions you (dear readers) have asked me via this blog and on Twitter. Seriously, I am EXCITED about sharing this with you. All of the world’s top career change advice, in ONE place? Wow. This should clear everything up. Ok, take a deep breath, here we go! Answers to your top 7 career change questions, courtesy of the world’s leading career gurus. 1. What should I do next? Stick to what you know Explore things you don’t know 2. I don’t have the contacts I need! How do I meet them? Network online (face to face is so 2008) Network face to face (online’s pointless) 3. How should I make contact with people I don’t know? Cold call, you wimp. Don’t cold call, who likes cold callers? 4. Where should I look? Use lots of different avenues in your search Stick to one avenue and do it well 5. I’m going around in circles! Calm down: think things through, stop just diving in Get out there! Dive into action, stop thinking so much 6. How do I get my message across? Develop a personal brand Are you joking? Personal branding is a wanky term 7. Should I focus on my skills when deciding what to do next? Yes, they are all you have. Analyse your skills No, your skills are just a mini-teeny part of you. Forget about them. Just visualise… like, stuff. Nice stuff. All right! That sorted everything out then. By the way, I wish the above was a joke. It’s not. If you want to spend weeks reading career change books and blogs, I encourage you to. But at the end you’ll be as confused as I was when I first entered this field. As a shortcut, here’s my take on it: ALL OF THE CAREER CHANGE GURUS ARE RIGHT. Even when they contradict each other. How is that possible? Simple. They are each speaking to different people. And they each come from the perspective of what sort of person THEY are, and what would work for them. As everyone is different, we have contradiction! Every one has their own path to what makes them happy in a career, and everyone has their own path to what works in career change. One single guide, or one single approach for changing careers will never work for everyone. Imagine if Bill Gates tried to host the Oprah Winfrey show, or if Oprah tried to run Microsoft. Wouldn’t work, right? (Funny though). Oprah and Gates are both super-successful. But they get there in different ways. And I’d bet that if they were to change career they’d do things differently to each other. Finally some good news The good news IS, there is one guide, or piece of advice, for changing careers that WILL work for you. It won’t work for the person sitting next to you, but it will work for you. It’s just a question of finding it. Knowing your personal success profile (ie: who you are and what works for you) is the only reliable way to discover the best way of changing careers â€" for you. It’s the only way of knowing which sort of advice you should listen to, which to ignore, and how to go about things in a way that will work for you. And that’s my advice for the day! Related reading: 10 Secrets To Getting Yourself Headhunted. Marianne Cantwell is a Free Range Human, and a career change expert.  She helps mid-career professionals figure out what they REALLY want to do with the rest of their lives. Visit Mariannes site Free Range Humans and be sure to follow her on Twitter  @FreeRangeHumans. Image: Shutterstock.

Drive Improved Results with Communication Strategy - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Drive Improved Results with Communication Strategy - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Communication is delivered in many forms and we are all dependent upon them. To sell your ideas and your services well, it is essential you continue to learn the better strategies available. Asking questions to gain added insight is your competitive advantage. Client Story + Yours = 2/3 of the Story Why is this the case? The person with whom you are meeting has desires and experiences as do you. However, the competitive differentiator  waiting to be claimed is to discover the missing links for the prospective client. Communication Strategy Be friendly Prior to getting into the business portion of the conversation, ask how your prospective client chose their career, and what they like best about it.  The personal touch always helps. Ask for clarification to fully understand the scenario First and foremost this prevents glaring errors when it comes to proposing a solution. Most people do not admit when they don’t entirely understand what is said. By doing so, you differentiate yourself as being honest and someone to be seriously considered as a supplier. Questions to Pursue Why was the meeting agreed to? Most people are much to busy to waste time with meetings. Something apparently caught their attention to agree to meeting with you. Asking the question is the direct route that eliminates the usual “just curious”. Instead, by asking further questions you will gain insight on the current need(s). What is disrupting their business due to the missing pieces? It’s true that there is an upfront need to focus on the negative in order to have the prospective client reveal more. The revelations produce greater insight for a comprehensive solution. Asking questions serve to further build the sale. What if… The “what if” questions in your vocabulary will provide insight as to what the prospective client is thinking. You should also ask how they see a solution from their perspective. The two types of questions combined provide a fuller picture for what is needed to improve their situation. Prioritize Needs By asking the client-to-be to prioritize their needs, you will quickly recognize where you need to focus suggestions. Should you have complementary ideas to enhance the solution, ask if there would be interest. Then provide further explanation as needed. Listen Well and Other Techniques Your competitive advantage resides in obtaining all of the facts upfront before you ever begin the traditional sales cycle. Almost everyone else will instead use “telling selling”. This refers to non-stop talking about how terrific their service is. They show no interest in the client, but instead focus on themselves. Their process is entirely ego driven and produces little compared to the strategy of asking intelligent questions. The question you should ask of yourself is, “Would I rather work with someone ego driven or another who is interested in my welfare?”    The answer is obvious. Use this as a basis for conducting future sales calls. Developing this type of respected personal brand will drive  improved results in no time. Following these guidelines will lead you to the Smooth Sale!

Entrepreneurs that Utilize their Online Reputation to Get Customers - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Entrepreneurs that Utilize their Online Reputation to Get Customers - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career When I first started as an entrepreneur in 2007, my company was called FD Career. Our goal was to build a virtual community to help make the brick and mortar business world more effective and productive. My role within the organization was sales and marketing, and I was in charge of obtaining new clients. My strategy was to focus on outbound marketing: cold calling, emailing, conferences and tradeshows. This strategy is time consuming and expensive, and it puts you in the difficult position of having to prove yourself. You need to educate the potential client so that they understand who you are and how your company can benefit them. It gives the person you are trying to close the upper hand and can be frustrating for you when you are making the presentation, because you have to determine how to alter your pitch to fit their specific needs. What is Thought Leadership? The Internet offers a new way for businesses to attract new business besides outbound marketing that brings qualified leads to you. Building an online reputation with thought leadership and creating a personal brand will generate inbound customers. The type of inbound marketing that I want to discuss is thought leadership.   Specifically, I want to explain: How to establish thought leadership How to build thought leadership to attract customers How to increase traffic to your website and blog How to convert traffic into customers for your products or services I am not going to just explain this information to you, however. I am going to offer you three stories of some terrific people who were able to put these strategies in action and how it helped them achieve more sales and more traffic for their business. How do You Earn Thought Leadership? There are many different ways you can earn thought leadership. The best way to do this is with a blog. But you can’t just throw up a basic blog and create mini posts or entries full of advertising for your company. You need to put a lot of thought into your blog. You need to determine what it is your market needs to know, the questions they want answered and the information they want to learn so that they can solve the problems that your services or products address. You need to write fantastic blog posts that stand out from other blogs in your market, such as 1500 word posts, with information they can take away and use, regardless of whether or not they ever become your customer.   You need to write guest posts on popular blogs in your niche, you need to be present on social media; you need to interact with people in your market. It takes a lot of time to create and maintain dialogue with stakeholders in your market, but the upside will be the responses of those whom you share your expertise with during these conversations. The great thing about thought leadership shows people how you are different without you having to prove anything. Actions speak louder than words, and the actions you take on the Internet will help you create a positive reputation, and builds you for long-term success. Another benefit to thought leadership versus traditional marketing techniques is that outbound marketing is a one-on-one activity. You call one person at a time, and you may be able to close one person out of every calls that you make.   You have to put in twice as much effort to get results, and if you don’t keep up that level of effort your sales will start to slide. With thought leadership, however, your exposure grows exponentially. With all of the information you place online and the speaking engagement you participate in, your influence grows. And the people you reach with that information will share their excitement with others. You achieve the benefit of word of mouth advertising, which enables you to get more traffic and more customers. What Methods can You Use to Get Customers? So, what methods can you use to increase your thought leadership and obtain more customers? In addition to creating a blog, you can also use email marketing strategies. One of the benefits of a blog is that you can use it to obtain email addresses, and steer people to your various email campaigns based on their preferences. Many phenomenal business people, such as Derek Halpern from Social Triggers and Ramit Sethi from I Will Teach You To Be Rich, swear by email capture. I agree that emails are one of the most important things that you can use to attract new customers. You will be able to educate them about you, your business, and your offerings so that you can demonstrate your unique selling proposition and expertise. Businesses are often afraid to do what it takes to establish their credentials online because they don’t want to give away their secrets. They think that if they show readers what lies behind the curtain the individuals will no longer need the company. My experience in thought leadership proves that the opposite is true. When you lay yourself bare online and go out of your way to help people without concern for your own personal gain, they will remember your effort. Your willingness to offer free advice will allow them to see that you are an expert. Once they know that you are someone who can help them, they will remember you the next time they are in need of a product or service you provide. Three Case Studies And now I would like to discuss with you three examples of people who are using their reputation in unique ways to attract customers. These people aren’t any different from you, and you can use some of these strategies to create your own inbound sales funnel and utilize the benefits of an established online reputation. Steve Wiideman of SEO Expert This guy has done tremendous work with online marketing. If you Google “SEO expert” he’s the #1 result. Now I have known Steve for almost six years and when we first met he offered me huge amounts of free advice. He is absolutely phenomenal with what he can do with search engine optimization, yet he was willing to take the time to answer any questions I had and help to teach me about his field of expertise. He even became an advisor to our company and he does the same with many other businesses. In fact, whenever I have a client who needs SEO help, I know I can steer them his way and he will be happy to help them. That is just the way Steve is. He’s a giving person who will help people without expecting anything in return, and this has helped him to become the leading SEO expert online. All of the people he has helped refer others to him and share links to his site across the web. These shares help increase his exposure online and propagate the idea that he is a leading expert in SEO. Cody McKibben of Thrilling Heroics Cody is another person that I have known for a long time now and has a great story about how he has become what he calls a digital nomad. Cody started out as a typical person with a regular job who decided to leave all of that behind him, including his native country, the US. He moved to Thailand where he offered web consulting and design services. He was able to live a fantastic lifestyle since his US funds were able to go a lot further in Thailand. He’s been doing this for the last five years and now he helps other people understand the benefits of a digital nomad lifestyle and achieve their dreams of escaping the shackles of living in one place and being bound by a 9 to 5 job. What’s more, he has been able to craft a reputation that he has leveraged to create the Digital Nomad Academy. This is a subscription-based business that he uses to teach people how to live this digital nomad lifestyle he created. He has created himself as a thought leader of this type of existence, and any time someone asks me about living abroad or being a digital nomad I immediately send them to Cody. And this is how he obtains all of his customers, via his blog and by referrals. Jonathan Mead of Paid to Exist Jonathan is another friend of mine. He created a thriving business, Paid to Exist, that helps people to transform their passion into a career. While getting paid to do something you love may not be a new concept, Jonathan makes it work, and has established himself as an expert in achieving this dream lifestyle so many people want. He has done this by writing about it and interacting with people on Twitter, his blog, webinars and his email list. He pours inspiration and enthusiasm into everything he does, and it shows in his online efforts. If you want to see a great example of how to build thought leadership through online content you need to take a look at his blog. What can You do to Start Building Thought Leadership Right Now Now we come to the take away, what you can do to start building thought leadership for your business right now. You need to have a blog, and if you don’t have one, you need to create one immediately. With all of the people who create online content, you need to be able to make yourself heard above the din. A great site to review in order to see an example of how to stand out online is yukaichou.com. It is run by gamification guru Yu-kai Chou, and he uses video in a fun, interactive way that draws people in. He uses this technique to become a thought leader in gamification and is now ranked #7 or #8 among the top 40 online gamification experts. He managed to reach this level of popularity in a short time. Only a month ago he was ranked #30, so he is living proof that these methods work. Once you create your blog you need to write exceptional posts, guest blog, and use social media to establish your thought leadership. There is no secret to success, just a willingness to put in the effort and the ability to offer free advice without expecting anything in return. You can do it. Good luck! Author: Jun Loayza is the President of Reputation Hacks. In his entrepreneurial experience, Jun has raised over $1 million in Angel funding, sold 2 internet companies, and lead social media technology campaigns for Sephora, Whole Foods Market, Levis, LG, and Activision. Jun currently lives in San Francisco, CA with his girlfriend.

The Return of the Jean Jackets

The Return of the Jean Jackets Many people may think that the lure of the jean jacket never really went away. If you walk into any one of many department stores at any time of the year you could always find jeans jackets available in the classic blue denim look. While the jackets may have always been there, it is only recently that the style is starting to make a real comeback among men and women. In fact, it is not uncommon to see the jackets worn by celebrities all over television and the Internet or at top designer fashion shows at as an integral piece of the line. With the jackets coming back into vogue, you may want to take a look at some of the styles available to you in women’s jean jackets. Create a Great Look You may have always thought in the past that a jean jacket was just there to be as a casual jacket to wear but now it can help you create an entire look. Many women love the look that a great washed denim jean jacket can provide when it is worn over a great looking dress with some high heel boots or booties. A dark denim or black denim jacket can be paired nicely with a casual top and a skirt that gives you just the outfit you need for a nice night out with friends. While the jackets may have been cut broader and with wider sleeves in the past because of the work function they had, today jackets can be more fitted and stylish. If you would like a women’s denim jacket for yourself you should look at the jackets for sale at Raven Denim to find just the one to suit you. Stylish, Fun and Functional Raven Denim is a designer of fine denim products for men and women, including great looking denim jackets. You will find a men’s denim jacket or a jacket designed and cut just for women to get the look that you want. You will find that you can choose from the classic cut of a traditional jean jacket or a fashionable, cropped look with a slimmer fit to pair well with a skirt, dress, or colored jeans. You can get the fashionable look you are going for with the choices available in jackets and get a designer denim jacket manufactured in the USA at a fantastic price. While a lot of fashion styles do remain cyclical and what is hot today may not be that way tomorrow, the classic look of the jeans jacket has never really faded away and remains as popular as ever. If you want to find a great-fitting denim jacket in the style and color you love, take the time to shop the selection at Raven Denim. You will be able to get just what you are looking for in jacket that will wear very well for you and give you years of great style with all of the outfits you can put together.

Baby Boomer Podcasts - A Sampling 2020 [Updated] - Career Pivot

Baby Boomer Podcasts - A Sampling 2020 [Updated] - Career Pivot Podcasts For Those in the 2nd Half of Life Copyright: aleksanderdn / 123RF Stock Photo This is the 2nd in a series of podcasts and, specifically, podcasts for those in the 2nd half of life. If you have not read Podcasts â€" Why Baby Boomers and Others Should Care,now is the time to give it a look. In this article, I will give a sampleof podcasts that specifically target the baby boomer market. I originally wrote this blog post in September of 2016. All but one of the podcasts listed in the original post have pod faded, i.e. the producer is no longer publishing new episodes. These podcasts address different segments of the baby boomer market: retirement, business ownership, boomer life changes, and boomer life experiences. Let’s get started. The Retirement Answer Man, Dream Up, Plan for Work Towards Your Ideal Retirement Description from iTunes: A top retirement podcast. Roger Whitney, CFP ®, CIMA ®, CPWA ®, RMA, AIF ® guides you on how to actually do retirement well financially and personally. This retirement podcast isn’t afraid to talk about the softer side of retirement. It will teach you how to retire with confidence. Two-time PLUTUS winner for best retirement podcast/blog and the 2019 winner for best financial planner blog. This retirement podcast covers how to create a paycheck, medicare, healthcare, Social Security, tax management in retirement as well as retirement travel and other non-financial issues you’ll need to address to rock retirement. Retirement isn’t an age OR a financial number. It’s finding that balance between living well today and feeling confident about your retirement. It’s about gaining more freedom to pursue the life you want. Join the rock retirement community at www.rogerwhitney.com Check it out on Apple Podcasts here. I have appeared on The Retirement Answer Man podcast three times, and it is one of my favorite podcasts. I have multiple clients who listen to this podcast religiously. Listen to the most recent episode Second Act Stories with Andy Levine Description from iTunes: Welcome to Second Act Stories, a podcast focused on life and career change. In each episode, we bring you the story of a courageous individual who has made a decisive career pivot and is pursuing a more rewarding life in a second act. The stories are in their own words and the words of friends and family that helped them find a new path. Each episode examines the “before” and “after” phases of a life or career relaunch and offers lessons learned. Check it out on iTunes here. I am a big fan of Andy’s podcast. We have collaborated on one episode and I have gotten multiple ideas for episodes from Andy. The Not Old â€" Better Show with Paul Vogelzang Description from iTunes: The Not Old â€" Better Show is a radio show that is broadcast over the Internet using podcast technology discussing the hottest issues and topics that fascinate and inform those 50+ age Americans and are of interest and concern to boomers. Not Old â€" Better viewers and listeners can “tune in” whenever they want, giving them the freedom to enjoy the show in the gym, in the car, at home or at work. A SHOW FOR THOSE 50+, BY THOSE 50+, Talk About Better ® Check it out on iTunes here. Paul and I are big fans of one another. Paul as a podcaster has hit it out of the park (sports metaphor) and I had him tell his story on the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Experience 50 Podcast for Midlife with Mary Rogers Description from iTunes: Men and women in midlife are drawn to Mary Rogers’ honest take on the experiences of the empty nest, aging parents, spending an inheritance, dating and sex, travel, downsizing things, trashing bad habits and figuring out who you want to be now that you really are all almost grow up. The podcast is always smart, usually funny, and occasionally painfully real in speaking to the cusp of GenX and Baby Boomers. Check it out on iTunes here. I am currently in discussions on getting scheduled for an appearance on this podcast. Repurpose Your Career Podcast with Marc Miller Description from iTunes: Repurpose Your Career podcast brought to you by Career Pivot is a podcast for those of us in the 2nd half of life to come together to discuss how to repurpose our careers for the 21st century. Come listen to career experts give you proven strategies, listen to people like you tell their stories on how they repurposed their careers and finally get your questions answered. Your host, Marc Miller, has made six career pivots over the last 30 years. He understands this is not about jumping out of the frying pan into a fire but rather to create a plan where you make clear actionable steps or pivots to a better future career. Check it out on iTunes here. Any list of baby boomer podcasts has to include my podcast. Sampleof Baby Boomer Podcasts This is just a tasteof baby boomer podcasts for you toreview. In my next post, I will give you a listof the podcasts I listen to that do not specifically target baby boomersâ€"but I still recommend you check out. Please also check out the Player.FM list of Baby Boomer podcasts. Let me know what you think of this list! Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...

Boasting or Telling a Story That Shows Results - Pathfinder Careers

Boasting or Telling a Story That Shows Results - Pathfinder Careers Boasting or Telling a Story That Shows Results? This morning I met with a client who confided in me that she is not used to boasting about herself in her résumé, and that this entire exercise was very difficult for her.  Then she laughed uncomfortably. Too often, this is the case when people sit down to work on their most important career document. They DONT feel comfortable about boasting about themselves. And thats exactly the problem. They shouldnt be boasting. Instead, they should be telling stories where they are the starring character.   If done correctly, these stories arent all about boasting. You are just telling a story that shows how you delivered results to the company.  Take people down the road of how you got to those results.  And make it an interesting story along the way. People remember stories, not laundry lists of accomplishments. Remember: The top thing on every human resource / hiring manager, recruiter, headhunter, or decision makers mind is So what? you have to answer the question to make yourself stand out from other candidates.  They dont care as much about what you did; they want to know how you helped the company and what the end results were. Think about it this way: the hiring side of the equation is like a blank screen of a television, with the channel off the air. You know that annoying static fuzzy sound? Its all noise, and theres no rhyme or reason of what someone is seeing. Now if you start to add color to it, and start building shapes, and constructing a story, well, now you have a compelling reason to keep the viewer (read: human resource manager) glued to the screen to see how the story ends. So get over the uncomfortableness of talking about yourself. Instead, focus on the story of what the plot lines were, what challenges were posed by the lead character (you) and how you were able to solve them. Now youll be cooking with gas, and youll have a much better reception from the human resource viewpoint, who are hungry for people to give them what they are craving! *Photo provided by  User:Stan Shebs/August 2003

How to Start a Resume Writing Service From Home?

How to Start a Resume Writing Service From Home?If you are the type of person who likes to write a resume and wants to start a resume writing service from home, then you must know that in order to do this, you need to learn a few things. This article will help you get some information on how to make your resume writing service work.Before you even start to write a resume, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with what goes into one. There are a lot of different things that go into making one. You must know what to include in it, what to leave out, and what the main points are.Start by knowing the name of the person you are looking for. You must understand the name that you are going to use so that you do not forget. Keep this person's name in mind, as well as their experience level. The more experience you get, the better the chances are that you will be able to get a job faster.Start by making sure that you have all of the information that you need. Many companies actually keep a resume writing service online. If you are interested in starting such a service, you will want to make sure that you start by visiting a website that offers this service.In some cases, a data entry job might be needed. Data entry jobs involve typing up resumes and other documents that need to be sent off to potential employers. This means that you will need to have some typing skills and a computer with Microsoft Word or another word processing program.If you are not familiar with a particular data entry job, it is best that you go with one that has a sample resume attached to it. This is very important, as people who have used this service have not been satisfied with the ones that they found. You need to make sure that you choose a site that gives you the option of creating a resume from scratch.Make sure that you create a sample resume first. This means that you must create a sample that you can use to help you determine whether or not you want to hire someone. This is not som ething that you can choose to create on your own, so make sure that you take the time to do this.Remember, a resume should always include personal details as well as work related information. You will need to make sure that the resume is concise and to the point.