Job and Career |

The New Year – sure, it’s a time to rejoice, be merry and have some fun, but to some folks it is a time to reflect on their lives, and yes (a big sigh here) that means making the ever popular New Year’s resolutions.  The most common resolutions are losing weight, paying off debt, saving money and getting a better job.  Try looking beyond the recession and the “doom and gloom” of 2009, and make 2010 a bright new year by kicking your job search into high gear.

“No matter the market conditions, there are always companies looking to hire talented professionals, and those people who are prepared will be best positioned to take advantage of new career opportunities as they are uncovered,” says David Sanford, executive vice president of business development at Winter, Wyman. Sanford says that people should always be looking for a new job (hey, you never know what’s out there unless you’re looking) and that the New Year is a great time to go out and make it happen.

If you want to know how to get yourself noticed and find your dream job during the New Year, follow these 10 tips for 2010.

Be ready to move.
As with all of life’s opportunities, you have to be ready to strike when the iron is hot — and sometimes even when it’s heating up.  No matter if your plan includes pounding the pavement for a new job or sitting back and waiting for one to come your way, make sure you have all the groundwork  in place for a successful job search.  Update your résumé, prepare a compelling story to tell about why you would consider a new opportunity and know whom you would use for references.  Start becoming mentally and emotionally ready for a change so you are better prepared for when it happens.

Don’t ignore the elephant in the room.
In soft economies, many people think it’s safer to stay with their current employer than to risk taking a position with a new company — and often it is.  But don’t ignore the elephant in the room and  hope that everything will be OK.  Even in the best of times, companies routinely are merged, acquired, imploded and overtaken, sometimes leaving hundreds and thousands of people looking for new jobs.  Be prudent and always be aware of your business’s conditions; keep your nose in the wind and your eyes and ears open for when it is the best time to move on to a new job.

Know thyself.
As people age and lives and goals change, so do their career objectives.  Spend the time necessary to know what really makes you happy.  Is it being an authority at work?  Having a schedule flexible enough to see your kids play soccer on a midweek afternoon?  Knowing the drug you are researching will someday eradicate a life-threatening disease?  Have a heart-to-heart with yourself about what you want from your career and what steps would be necessary to achieve this goal.  Have realistic expectations, but know that most career dreams are within our reach.

Step out of your comfort zone.
As human beings, we don’t like to admit that we don’t have all the answers, and it’s uncomfortable for most people to ask for help, especially from those outside their inner circle.  Asking for assistance and advice is the heart of networking and the single most important thing a person looking for a new job should do.

Your next opportunity could come via a tip or chance encounter with a former boss, colleague, neighbor, recruiter, barber, golf buddy — but you will never hear about it if they don’t know you are looking (even passively).  You need to be courageous enough to talk to people you meet about what you ultimately want instead of regretting that you didn’t mention it sooner.

Devote time to job searching.
Take a hint from the world’s greatest athletes. Succeeding at anything takes practice and hard work. If you are trying to further your career, you need to devote the energy needed to make that change, and that takes time.  Find a way to carve out the hours necessary, whether it’s giving up an hour of gym time on Tuesday nights to attend networking meetings, or getting up early on Sunday mornings to search for leads and contacts online, establish some goals and set aside the time it will take to accomplish them.

Focus your résumé.
Most résumés are vanilla — overview, titles, tasks, accomplishments and education.  But companies want to see the sizzle and the steak.  They want to see progression in experience, skills and responsibility and how you have contributed directly to your employer’s, or former employer’s, success.  Make sure your document includes enough substance to explain the strategies and tactics you were responsible for, but also the intangibles where you made a difference.  It doesn’t have to be overly long or detailed, but back up any success claims with real facts and examples.

Join in and get connected.
There isn’t a profession or industry on Earth that doesn’t have a trade association, user group, online discussion board or fan club.  Find one relevant to you and join it.  Whether you are employed or not, opportunities flow from being around like-minded people, and professional associations and communities are where you need to be.  They are a great way for uncovering hidden jobs, to further your knowledge and to make new relationships.  Investigate which are appropriate for you and join in.

Sell yourself.
Unless you are a pompous, arrogant bore, you are probably not used to — and are uncomfortable with — talking immodestly about yourself, your attributes and shining moments.  Get over it.  Advancing in your career or finding a new job requires you to balance humility with bravado.  Your résumé or a relationship may open a door, but you have to be prepared to march through it with a lot of confidence and a bit of swagger.

Find a way to get over any discomfort when talking about yourself and how wonderful you are.  The best job candidate is one who truly believes he has something unique to offer and can articulate his message with words, body language and confidence.  A hiring manager wants to fall in love with you; give her reason to.

Narrow your thinking.
Don’t try to be all things to all people, especially when looking for a job.  You are not going to be good at everything you do, so don’t fool yourself into thinking you are.  Figure out what you want to do and where you want to do it, and narrow your search to opportunities that fit into your realm.  Don’t have interviews or networking meetings where you hope the other person can help you figure out what you want to do.  The responsibility is yours; be targeted and specific about the jobs you want, skills you have and the companies for which you want to work.

Get started.
Self-assessment is important but can be paralyzing.  Take the time necessary to be introspective and then craft your plan, but don’t let those activities stall you from taking action.  Talk is cheap – get out there and take the steps to change or improve your career.  Being proactive in your career will open up opportunities you never dreamed of and will start 2010 off right.

OK, you’ve asked for it. Our most powerful and effective tips for getting ahead at work.

This is real senior management stuff, not text book chatter and theory.

These tips are based on real world observations.

We are not going to pull any punches.

What we say here might be upsetting. You probably won’t like what you hear.

1) It’s Time to Kiss the Boss’s Butt

It’s true. It’s who you know, not what you have accomplished. Many people do not want to believe this simple, often stated rule because it means the hardest working; most creative, most dedicated people are not necessarily going to get the next promotion.

This means that unless you are kissing the right butt you will not get ahead no matter how hard you work, no matter what your accomplishments are.

The person who will get the next big promotion or the next big job opportunity will be someone who knows the boss better than you do, someone who has more face time with the boss, and someone who the boss has better chemistry with.

People get promoted because the boss feels they can be trusted to do the job, to follow direction, and to be a loyal supporter of the boss. Prior accomplishments are often not the main consideration.

In most big promotions, the lucky winner is not the person with the most accomplishments nor the largest accomplishments. It’s the person the boss feels most comfortable with. Sorry, that is how it works. So get close to your boss and his/ her boss now and start building a close relationship and don’t forget to kiss some butt.

2) Market Yourself, No One Else Will

I once watched an individual get promotion after promotion while to me it seemed that all the person did was do a lot of talking. Sure he was very articulate and very well spoken, but the track record did not support huge promotions nor did the amount of trust top management seem to put in this person.

What was his secret? When I observed this individual closely, I noticed that he never passed up an opportunity to market himself. Yet he did it so subtlety that most people never noticed. What do I mean?

Whenever there was a large meeting with both peers and superiors, this person would find a way to get everyone’s attention. Then, while discussing the current topic he would ever so slightly mention something that he and his team had just accomplished. He would somehow show a connection between that accomplishment, however so minor, and the topic at hand.

In this way, every accomplishment was highlighted to management.

Most people never noticed this trick, but I caught on after reading the book How to Guerrilla Market Yourself and Get What You Deserve by Jay Levinson and Seth Godin. As I watched, this individual never missed an opportunity to blow his own horn, but he always did it in a very inconspicuous way. It was almost subliminal in it’s effect.

So the tip here is to make sure upper management knows what your contributions and accomplishments are, and do it in a subtle way if possible. Make sure that both your boss and his/her boss know. Don’t rely on your boss to tell his boss all the great things you are achieving. Tell him yourself.

3) Do The Right Work

If you have read any of the material on this web site you know by now how important it is to do the work you were cut out to do. It’s hard to be passionate and committed to doing work that does not utilize your natural talents and your personal competitive advantage. Spend 15 to 20 minutes to taking our career test to discover what types of work you were truly meant to do.

4) Never, Ever Disagree With The Boss in Public

Disagreeing with the boss in front of other people is so stupid. No matter how close you and the boss are and how right you think you are, never disagree with the boss in public, even if he invites you to. Instead, learn to become a valuable advisor to the boss. Here’s how…

If you disagree with the boss, wait until you two have a private moment and then explain your viewpoint. Then, at the end say “Thanks for listening to me. I really appreciate the opportunity to be heard. You are the boss, and I am a loyal soldier so I will do it your way. ”

Why? Even the most confident boss will have doubts about himself. He / she does not need you undermining his/her credibility. Plus, bosses want to see that everyone is in alignment and following him. Creating dissension is really a disservice to the team.

In short, if you want to end your career growth quickly, just disagree with the boss in public.

If you really want to get ahead, anticipate future issues and possible disagreements and discuss them in private, ahead of time. In this way you become a trusted advisor to the boss. This will build trust and demonstrate loyalty.

I once had an employee who used this method on me many times. He would come into my office and say something like this: “There is going to be a meeting later today and I expect this issue to come up. I just want to give you a heads up. Here is my perspective… and here is the opposing view…”

Eventually I learned to trust this person and I felt we made a great team. I would frequently seek out his opinion before making critical decisions. So it does work.

5) Become Indispensable By Filling a Gap In Your Boss’s Skill Set

OK, this is tricky and it takes some insight on your part, but it is the best way to get close to your boss and to make yourself truly valuable. Plus, if done well, this will truly benefit the organization.

In the United States, we are raised to respect authority. For many this means believing that a person of higher authority is more capable, stronger etc.

Most of us have weaknesses, some that we recognize and others we might not be aware of. The key is to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your boss and see if you have the natural ability to compensate for the boss’s weaknesses.

I observed this in one organization where the boss was not very strategic, and his position did require he provide a direction and vision to the organization. One astute direct report figured this out and made a point of feeding the boss with strategic ideas, vision and direction. The executive adopted many of these ideas and they became his own and that of the entire organization.

In this way the direct report played a key role in defining the direction of the company. He became a trusted advisor to the boss giving him a very strong competitive advantage over his peer group.

The moral of the story is, discover your bosses strengths and weaknesses, understand the latter and then fill the void with your own strengths. If done well the boss will appreciate it. Save loans at payday advance