How to Choose a Perfect Second-Act Career

How to Choose a Perfect Second-Act Career I recently heard from a reader who wrote to tell me how much he enjoyed reading Second-Act Careers.  Thanks to the book, he had clearly identified his interests, strengths, motivations, etc., and is now into the next phase of selecting options and evaluating them for fit.  He closed his note with this request: Im curious if you have any suggestions to help separate the wheat from the chaff when considering ones list of options? Its a smart question. After all, lots of ideas sound great, but may not hold your interest over the long haul.  Knowing that he cant possibly be the only one wondering about this, I thought it best to share my response with all of you here.  So with thanks to my reader, here are 5 key steps to take when evaluating options for fit: 1. Complete a self-assesment. Identifying what you want, what you do well and what you find meaningful is the critical first step in making any career decision. After all, how can you possibly know if something is a good fit if you dont take the time to get to know yourself first?  So as tempting as it is to speed-up or skip over this step, make this a priority. The more effort you expend upfront, the easier it will be to determine if something is or isnt a suitable match. For specifics on how to do a self-assessment, youll find detailed info in my book or in the books listed in this post of My Favorite Career Reinvention Books. 2. Use a decision-making tool. Once you know what is most important to look for in a career and have zeroed-in on a few possible options, it can be incredibly helpful to plug your data into a decision-making tool. Fortunately, there are many different tools to choose from. Two of my personal favorites: If you like list-making, marketing genius Seth Godin recommends a simple, but surprisingly effective, technique:  Make Three Lists. If you prefer a more quantitative approach, try the decision matrix tool (a.k.a, the Pugh method). Its an easy-to-use framework for weighting and evaluating all of the factors and criteria that you need to consider to come to a decision.  When using the matrix,  you create a table with all of the options in the first column and all of the factors that affect the decision in the first row. You then arrive at a final score to reveal which option is the best.  Ive used this tool many times with clients with excellent results. For more info about the decision matrix, consult this Business News Daily post. 3. Talk to people. Yes, this is both painfully obvious and very low-tech. But you know what? It works. One of the great benefits of being 50+ is that you likely have a large network of really smart people who can offer you advice and guidance on a wide variety of career-related options. So once youve done your assessment and research,  get out there and talk with a few trusted advisors and friends. They will challenge your assumptions, support your decisions and connect you with key resources or people that could prove invaluable when making your final  analysis. 4. Write things down. Take walks. Repeat.  As this wonderful Fast Company post  How to Take Advantage of Your Brains Hidden Productivity Powers points out, Using your head as a place to store information and ideas is not an effective use of your brain, nor is it an efficient way to keep track of your work. Thats why its so important to periodically do a brain dump and write down what youre thinking. I agree its amazing how the act of writing brings a level of clarity to the decision making process that is impossible to achieve by keeping your thoughts in your head. Another way to gain clarity is to take a walk (I certainly do my best thinking while walking). I know this may strike some of you as airy-fairy. But according to a recent Stanford study, peoples creative output increased by a whopping 60% while walking. The study found that across the board, creativity levels were consistently and significantly higher for those walking compared to those sitting (and if youre still skeptical, check out this  TED talk on the value of walking meetings). 5. Try things out.  Finally, understand that you can analyze and talk until youre blue in the face, but youll never make up your mind about a career move until you start trying things out in small ways.  As Richard Pascale notes in his book  Surfing the Edge of Chaos: “Adults are much more likely to act their way into a new way of thinking than to think their way into a new way of acting.”  For specific tips on how to to do this in small ways, check out my NextAvenue.org post, 4 Ways to Quietly Test-Drive a New Career. Related articles that you might also enjoy: How to Choose a Second-Act Career Podcast 10 Resources to Help Launch Your Second-Act Career in 2018 My Top 16 Second-Act Career Posts of 2016

Steps to Writing a Resume and Cover Letter

Steps to Writing a Resume and Cover LetterThere are a number of steps to writing a resume and cover letter that will make your job search easier. It is a good idea to gather several of these steps in one place so that you can do one at a time and get them down as you go. It is also a good idea to organize them into some kind of order so that you will be able to easily locate them. Here are some things to think about when you are trying to decide how to make it easier for you to apply for a job.Type the letter in full. While this may seem like a basic step, it is very important. If you do not type the entire thing, you will have trouble recognizing what you wrote when you go back and read it later.Organize the rest of the steps to writing a resume and cover letter into groups. You should not be writing in sections or on a piece of paper but rather creating three or four different sections and putting them together. For example, you could put the following steps into one group, a descr iption of your skills into another group, an outline of your career goals and a recommendation to employers into yet another group. Once you have the group in place, it will be easier to deal with them one at a time.When you are writing your resume, consider what is most important to employers. In some cases, it is actually more important to have the things written clearly and concisely than it is to have the appropriate skills. Be sure to write all of your qualifications so that they will be clear to potential employers.When you send out your resume, include the basic requirements that will allow employers to know that you are serious about getting a job. Be sure to include the skills you would like to have in order to be hired. Always include your contact information as well. An employer may need to follow up with you before you can even begin to receive interviews.When you submit your resume, include a cover letter with it. This is an opportunity for you to express why you are a good candidate for the job. The cover letter should always be one paragraph and should say something about you. Be sure to include your contact information in the cover letter as well.The paper shows what you have done in the past and tells the reader something about you. It also should show how well you fit the job description. You want the entire document to say something about you and your professional ability.The basic steps to writing a resume and cover letter are fairly simple. You will have more difficulty when you are in the process of sending your resume and cover letter, but you should at least be able to gather all of these ideas to help you.

How do executive search firms find candidates

How do executive search firms find candidates Recruiters for executive search firms may occasionally turn to job fairs and job boards to find talent, but usually they have more sophisticated and creative methods  of identifying  and screening virtuosos in any field.  Here are several ways they establish a talent pool. What you think of executives in a lot of places. 1. Personal Network Executive recruiters are active relationship builders. They spend years creating branches of their professional networks, establishing steady and meaningful contact with acquaintances, friends, university alumni and industry influencers who at any time might be the perfect candidate for a job opening.  By networking themselves, job seekers raise their chances of coming into contact with associates of a recruiter. 2. Referrals People in the recruiter’s network also become confidantes who can recommend individuals who might be right for job openings and provide first-hand insight about them. Typically, a recruiter will ask a trusted person for commentary about a particular job candidate or help in setting up meetings with first-rate prospects. 3. LinkedIn Recruiters Still unknown to many job seekers, the Recruiter section of LinkedIn’s Talent Solutions program has been a major hit with executive recruiters. Providing a space to create individual “recruiting projects,” the fee-based Recruiter portal has custom homepages designed to make it easy for headhunters to search the full profiles of prospects without having their viewing habits reported to LinkedIn users, make notations about prospects, send messages, collect responses, and store reports in one place. Job seekers should refine and expand their LinkedIn presence since they never know who is studying them for a staffing project. They should also make a point to join groups and regularly check their InMail. Join Career Geek group on LinkedIn. 4. Other Online Social Platforms Recruiters scour all types of blogs, social media websites and forums that cater to specific professional niches. They also regularly track trending industry topics on places like Twitter and Facebook, noting professionals that provide expertise, unique ideas and engaging discussion. Anyone actively or passively looking for a career opportunity should participate in professional communities and online industry conversations. Comment with care and professionalism. Follow @career_geek on twitter. Like Career Geek on facebook. 5. Professional Organizations Recruiters frequent the conference circuit, taking note of dynamic speakers and panelists headlining events for membership associations in industries that match their specialized recruiting areas. They also hobnob with associates or volunteers in audiences after presentations, at lunch or at after-hours social gatherings.  Generally, all attendees come well stocked with business cards they can exchange with recruiters after a conversation.  Job seekers should attend as many professional conferences as they can and assume active roles. 6. Boolean Search This is an example of how boolean search works. WARNING Do not hire your executives on the query of beards. Recruiters flock to Google and use a few search tricks to find professionals in the right location, with the right certifications and endorsements. For example, using “intitle: resume and [keywords],” a recruiter can search the Internet for webpages that have the word “resume” in the title and includes keywords related to a specific location, a specific professional license, degree, etc.  Professionals hoping to catch the eye of executive recruiters should make sure their resumes are optimized for searches by including keywords organically throughout the resume, as well as in a special section at the bottom of the resume where a list of keywords can be itemized. Introduce that section with a note that explains the area is designated specifically for search engine indexing. 7. The News When reading any industry media source or watching industry news, executive recruiters always have their antennae up for professionals lauded in features, Power 100 or Top 10 lists, or the professional announcements section. 8. Social Recruiting Apps Unlike social media where people chat about anything, social recruiting sites and applications are made exclusively for recruiting. They include TalentBin, which identifies every employee in a company and allows recruiters to gather their resumes and search for prospects, and SwoopTalent, which provides an automated search for recruiters to find and track job candidates across the entire web. These resources ensure that executive headhunters stay aware of the very best talent and simplify the process of assessing and contacting them.

Personal Brands Surprise! You Are What You Like - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Brands Surprise! You Are What You Like - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Facebook’s advertising model is astounding â€" not only because major brands actually buy those ugly little ads that stick on the right hand side of your wall. It is hard to believe the power of that little block photo and 160 characters. What’s really astounding is how FB has engineered the trajectory and value of those mean little ads. They do it simply: by leveraging your reputation and your good name: your personal brand. Facebooks magical tool Facebook’s magical money machine is all in its signature “Like” button. Facebook isnt selling advertisers on the likelihood youll buy something. Its click through rate is 1/10th of one percent versus Googles nearly 10% of audience reached. The goal is getting your permission (without your realizing it) for the brand to announce to your Facebook friends that you endorse it. If your personal brand has taken off, you are in effect co-branding with no share of the profits. For advertisers, this instant and free viral marketing they crave like vampires crave blood, winds up out of your hands and onto your wall. Thats how easily you become a brand evangelist. It’s kind of like smoking or any of the other dumb things you did, which your parents credited to the other kids you hung out with. Peer pressure has a new name: it’s called “Like” on Facebook. In fact, all around the web you now find the familiar “Like” button showing up. You can give almost anything your endorsement, worth lots to advertisers and they get it as your gift. You often do this unwittingly, changing the meaning of your personal brand by just a click or two or more. An ad orchestrated around your profile gets more than your mere endorsement. Word of mouth or buzz from personal sources remains the number one predictor of purchasing. With the “like” feature, you create buzz with one button. No more emailing a funny ad around or sending people to YouTube. All the muss and fuss of your communicating what you think is funny, smart or otherwise likable, is now in Facebook’s hands. All of that is free to the advertiser. As an endorser, you don’t get to sign an agreement with each brand and you don’t get paid. If you’ve clicked on them, you know the ads are low on message and high on short engagement experiences. They are polls, contests, and other ways you can waste your time (at least 6 hours a month on average). Engaging the consumer What’s bad for your time management is great for consumer behavior. We know involvement greatly increases the likelihood of your passing around a good word (or in this case, the most important element of your personal brand: your good name). As you’ve seen on your wall, you can now “Like” an ad just like you like a friend’s post or photo. That’s why “Like” is so powerful â€" because its so incredibly effortless on your part. Like started out as a way to kind of back slap a friend, with just one click. That’s way faster than actually composing a three word Comment. Now you can “Like” ads, which lets your friends now you’re still alive, but not awake enough to actually post something. This new “Like” function explodes the number of people who learn about a brand or ad offer, because your friends see your name attached to it on their walls, and they are then likely to Like it for their friends. “Molly Jo likes Cheerios” is the big innovation. Via that caption Facebook turns a cheap, bad ad into a viral juggernaut for the advertiser. As your endorsement goes out on your friends’ walls, more join in because, after all, friends are very influenced by their friends. Personal brands, remember you are not getting paid in any way for your becoming a spokesperson for all these other brands. Facebook is the broker for your co-branding arrangement, every time you “Like” something. You are a powerhouse of persuasion because your name has cachet with your friends (and their friends). Advertisers exploit your personal brand, as your halo casts a gleam on their brand. So, if you are not getting paid: why are you liking something “out loud” to your friends? For personal brands who relentlessly connect audiences to the stable and coherent meaning of who we are and what we represent: we dilute the power of our brands every time we “Like” something that obscures the message about ourselves. Surprise! Personal brands: we will now become what we Like on Facebook and the web. This is fast, easy, and dangerous. Want to co-brand with my good name and reputation? Just click Like below. Thanks! Author: Nance Rosen is the author of Speak Up! Succeed. She speaks to business audiences around the world and is a resource for press, including print, broadcast and online journalists and bloggers covering social media and careers. Read more at NanceRosenBlog. Twitter name: nancerosen.

Resume Writing Coaching - Hire a Coach to Help With Your Resumes and Cover Letters

Resume Writing Coaching - Hire a Coach to Help With Your Resumes and Cover LettersIf you've read any of the data science and resume writing guides that I've used, you know how important it is to hire a resume writing coach. Without the expertise of a coach, the writing of your resume will be all over the place, and you won't be able to make the most of it. However, if you're just starting out in this field, and you don't have many colleagues who know about what it takes to write good resumes and cover letters, you'll probably want to hire a coach to help you along.Data science is a relatively new, if exciting, field that deals with the analysis of huge amounts of data. While the best data scientists are hired for IT jobs, they're also hired by financial institutions, retail companies, media companies, and even corporations. They deal with big and complex databases that make use of information in areas like medical research, consumer statistics, commerce, transportation, or even polit ics. If you're looking for a job in this field, it's important to understand that many employers prefer an in-depth understanding of the data that is used for the decisions that you'll need to make.If you're considering data science as a career, you should get some practical experience before you take on the actual work. For example, do some coding. You can either get paid to code other people's code, or do it for fun. There are also plenty of open source web applications that you can get access to and modify to help you with the coding. This is a great way to get an idea of what it's like to work as a data scientist.If you're really serious about getting into data science, you might want to consider a business plan for your web site. If you're just starting out, a business plan for your website is a good way to introduce yourself to potential employers. It also helps you prove that you know what you're doing when it comes to marketing. Resume writing tips are important too. Having a resume that has a lot of keywords in it, doesn't make sense. However, having an essay that is based on very impressive facts and figures, may actually help you get your foot in the door.If you can get some code up on your website that allows the potential employer to see what kind of data you're working with, it may actually be enough to sway the decision of your prospective employer. If you've done your homework and built up a substantial body of work that you're proud of, you're likely to do well in your job search.In conclusion, you should hire a data science and resume writing coach if you are interested in this kind of job. For example, if you're writing a cover letter for a job in sales, a resume for someone in IT, or even a letter for someone who works for a corporate accounting function, you'll need to make sure that you're not just writing for your own needs, but also for the needs of the prospective employer. If you get a resume and cover letter down that is nothing more than 'me,' there's a pretty good chance that it won't help you land that job, and that's a shame.If you're going to pursue data science, you should definitely get professional help in the form of a resume writing coach. If you don't get one, you'll be doomed to wasting a lot of time trying to figure out what to write and how to write it.

What is Paralanguage

What is Paralanguage Giving presentations â€" there’s no simply escape from it, from grade school to college life to our professional life. No matter how much we hate creating and designing visuals and slides and speaking in front of a bunch of people, we have no choice to do it.When we were students, we absolutely had no control over this. We have to give a presentation about our project or thesis because we need to pass the grade and, yes, to get out of school.Now that we’re working, we still have no choice. Just kidding, we do have a choice, go give that presentation or, you know, quit.If you think of it, what’s the fuss all about? Presenting your slides only takes a few minutes of your life, what are we so nervous about? That someone will ask us a difficult question? That we may suddenly say something incorrect? Or we just can’t get over the fact that hundreds of people will be staring at us and we may forget how to breathe?If you are nervous about these things, there’s actually a quick fix to help you give an amazing presentation without hiring a professional public speaker to help you: practice your paralanguage.Paralanguage what?According toCollins Dictionary, Paralanguage means nonverbal elements in speech, such as intonation, that may affect the meaning of an utterance.So what’s this have to do with nailing a presentation? Everything! This infographicbreaks it all down.Infographic Credit â€" visme.co

Is Your Team Firing On All Cylinders

Is Your Team Firing On All Cylinders Most business owners depend on a team of people to keep their company ticking over. If you’re an employer, getting the best out of your team should be high up on your list of priorities. If you feel that you could be getting more out of your employees, or you’re looking for tips to create a more cohesive workplace, you’ve come to the right place. Here are some steps you can take to ensure your team is firing on all cylinders. Prioritizing clarity There’s nothing more frustrating for employees than working on projects or programs that aren’t focused on clear objectives. If you get to work every day and you’re not 100% sure about what you’re expected or required to do, this can create confusion and affect productivity. As the boss, it’s your job to ensure that every member of the team understands exactly what their job entails, and to create strategies that make it easier to achieve goals and targets. If you’re working on a group project, for example, organize regular meetings and monitor progress on a continual basis. Providing the right tools, technology, and equipment Many jobs in this day and age require access to tools, technology, and equipment. If your team would benefit from access to machinery or technology that you don’t currently have, consider buying or hiring equipment, and think about ways you could improve the way you work. If you have an office, for example, and your team is reliant on computer systems, the technology you employ should speed up processes and make it simple to reach goals. If your technology is more of a hindrance than a help, consider looking for an agency like Kosh Solutions that offers IT support and consulting. An expert can help you identify areas for improvement, increase efficiency and cut costs. If your team has access to everything it needs, it should be able to get the job done faster with minimal stress. Creating a positive environment If you’re a company boss, you’ve probably come across sayings like ‘a happy team is a productive team.’ As an employer, it pays to try and create a positive working environment and foster team spirit. If you dread work, you’re probably not going to give your job your all. If you look forward to getting into work, you’ll try harder. You don’t have to fill the office with slides or ping pong tables, but try and inject a little fun, and make sure your employees feel valued and respected. Promote collaborative working, encourage teamwork, and reward hard work and endeavor. As an employer, it’s natural to want to get the best out of every single employee. Everyone has off days, but you want your team to pull together to fulfill its potential. If you’re struggling to achieve results, think about how you could increase productivity and improve morale. Eliminate unnecessary stress from the working day, ensure your employees have the resources and equipment they need to succeed and encourage your staff to work together and help each other out.

Avoid These Common Phone Interview Mistakes

Avoid These Common Phone Interview Mistakes Landing a phone interview is often the first step in getting your foot in the door for a formal interview. However, if you don’t take the interview seriously, you may never be invited to the office for the next step. Although a phone interview generally doesn’t last more than 30 minutes, it’s still extremely important and valuable for both you and the employer. You’ve spent a lot of time writing resumes that get you hired, so be sure to avoid these common phone interview mistakes so your efforts aren’t wasted. Talking Too Much It’s understandable for people to be nervous during any type of interview. A common nervous habit is getting too chatty, and it’s even easier to talk too much in a phone interview since you can’t see the other person’s facial reactions. The interviewer likely has scheduled a set amount of time to talk to you, so be sure to answer questions precisely and without a lot of extra fillers. Getting Off Topic If you aren’t prepared for a particular question, it’s easy to get off topic. Many executive resume services will suggest writing down some of the most common questions you could be asked and creating a cheat sheet so you can be better prepared. It’s easy to ramble on for several minutes if you aren’t sure exactly how to answer a question, but you may be doing yourself more harm than good. Talking About Yourself Instead of The Company No one knows more about you than you do, but it doesn’t mean you should only talk about yourself. The company wants to learn about you, as well as what you bring to the table. The key to writing an effective resume is targeting the specific company and demonstrating your value. The same is true for a phone interview. If you talk solely about yourself, then the interviewer may struggle to find exactly what value you bring. Not Asking Questions You have to be able to identify the right time to ask questions during a phone interview. Most of the time, it’s best to let the interviewer ask all of their questions. They will typically then ask you if you have any questions for them. If you don’t ask any, then they’ll think you aren’t interested in the job and may not consider you to be a serious candidate. Make a list of some specific and targeted questions to ask beforehand and you’ll be viewed as more of a credible candidate. Professional Resume Services provides various executive resume services to help people with their job search, including writing an effective resume, boosting personal branding and much more. Phone interviews are becoming more popular today than ever before, so it’s important to be prepared for them. To learn more about what to do and what not to do in a phone interview, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at any time for assistance or advice.