Our life is filled with decisions—where to go, what to do, how to spend our time. Another key decision is who to spend our time with. Often this decision is based on first impressions. Do I want to learn more about this person? Can I learn from this person? Can this person make a powerful […]
Archive | August, 2015
Career Success Strategy: Take Control Over What You Can Control
There are certain things we can control and things we cannot. Career success hinges on what we choose to control and how we gracefully let go of everything else. If you’re like me, you occasionally need to be reminded of what these “control factors” are so you can make positive changes in your career and life. […]
Career Success Strategy: Three Ways To Not Lose Control
If you’re a “control freak” like me, you need to have a handle on your projects, your schedule and what’s going on around you in order to keep your stress level low. But unfortunately, there are plenty of things we cannot control and sometimes that may cause us to lose control, a.k.a. “freak out.” We […]
The Strong Interest Inventory (SII) as a Career Test
Career tests are not definitive ways to discover what you are good at. Still, they make great launches for further exploration. The Strong Interest Inventory is not a career test, but it is a wonderful interest inventory that helps you discover where your passions may lie. What is different about a career test and the […]
Resumes and Employee Retention—Is There a Correlation?
This may seem like an odd correlation, but there is a direct connection between designing a resume and employee retention. Typically, the resume is the first reason a disgruntled or frustrated employee will reach out to me for career coaching. Their intent is typically to leave the organization or team because they are frustrated with […]
What’s Holding You Back? It’s Time for Career Advancement
You’ve got a vision for your career. So what is holding you back? There are many excuses (oops, I mean reasons) that prevent us from proactively moving toward our dreams and career advancement. Many of those same obstacles also stand in our way of getting day-to-day tasks accomplished. So why can’t we just kick these […]
Preserve Professional Promises
We make them, but don’t always keep them. Canned promises are sour substitutes for ones acted on while still fresh. If we intend to do something, what holds us back from acting on these obligations? Time? Will? Energy? Lip service only goes so far before backfiring and blowing up our careers along with it. This […]
Professionalism—Putting Others First
Ouch! It hurts to get stepped on as a colleague scrambles up the corporate ladder. Like it or not, it happens to all of us somewhere along our career journey. When it does, a plan of approach will go much further than a plan for retaliation. So push that bitterness aside, swallow your pride and […]
Career Advancement Query: How may I help you?
I never leave a professional interaction without extending this final query. Though this often-unspoken offer is always extended, I’m chagrined to admit that I haven’t habitually formalized this request until I was asked years ago by my mentor, “How may I help you?” Wow, what an impact that made on me. In that moment I […]
Career Enhancement by Showing Appreciation
Deepak Chopra once said, “Success and happiness root in who I make happy today.” Showing appreciation for others and their contributions is one of Chopra’s daily goals. Is showing appreciation one of your daily goals? It should be. Making an effort to appreciate and help others goes a long way to improving moods, health and our […]