Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: 5 Tips to Clear Your Email Inbox

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

The video below identifies 5 tips to help you manage that email clutter, including sorting and batching your email. Watch for more tips.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: How to Network Your Way to a Job Promotion

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• How to Network Your Way to a Job Promotion: "Your goal should be to get your boss to endorse your career advancement plan and actively help you find the next level role."


• 6 Techniques to Connect With Influential People: "Be good to everyone and when you need a connection, you might be surprised who will come to your aid."


• 11 Steps to Happiness at Work: "A key to being happy at work is to let go of grudges."


• The Surprising Truth About Passion, Purpose, and Fulfillment: "Start being in service to yourself by taking care of yourself and start serving others with your talents."


• Avoiding Six Common Job Interview Mistakes: "Your answers should be like concise mini-essays with a clear beginning, middle and end. Too short and it looks like you have little to say, too lengthy and you’ve probably babbled and missed the point."

Six Options for Continuing Education and Career Advancement

Every job or career path requires some knowledge or education to be successful. For some careers you might be able to learn on the job. Others, however, require additional education or an advanced degree.

Obviously if you want to be a psychiatrist you'll need to go to medical school. That bachelor's degree in English won't cut it. But there are many others jobs and careers where that English degree can be used broadly and supplemented with other forms of learning and education.

If you need to add some additional learning and education to your resume here are a six options to consider:

1. Local Community College. Many community colleges offer excellent courses to provide you with a specific skill, such as using Photoshop. They also offer associate degrees or certificate programs in many fields that might supplement your career development.

2. Local Government. Most cities and towns offer community education courses in a wide variety of
subjects and fields. You might just find a low-cost course that will help to gain the skill to qualify for that promotion.

3. Local Organizations. Small (and large) nonprofit organizations, along with other local businesses and community libraries typically offer training in the arts, financial management, computer programs, and more at very low-cost and some, like at the library, might be free.

4. Mentors or Tutors. Do not overlook the training and learning opportunities that a mentor or tutor can provide. A mentor might allow you to job-shadow with him or her to learn more about their work and profession. Hiring a tutor can be a great way to enhance those computer skills or to learn a new language.

5. Online Courses. You can learn just about anything online, such as coding or a new language, through free courses at a variety of great online learning sites, including Codecademy. Check out this previous post about online learning.

6. College or University. Of course, you just might have to go back to college or university in order to complete that degree or earn an advanced degree.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Be Willing to Be Uncomfortable

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

In the video below Evan Carmichael and T. Harv Eker, author of Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, discuss the importance of taking risks and being willing to be uncomfortable for success in life and in your career.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Build Your Brand Through Public Speaking

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• 3 Steps to Communicate With Confidence: "Communicating is not easy, until you are in tune with your authentic self and possess the self-awareness to position your message in a way that adds value."


• 3 Steps to Build Your Brand Through Public Speaking: "Public speaking really isn’t about you. It’s about serving your audience by giving them something of value – inspiration, information, knowledge, and validation."


• How to Handle Negative Feedback: "First, there’s no question that not interrupting and listening carefully is the right thing to do when you’re getting negative feedback."


• 6 Motivating Quotes to Help You Persevere: "Always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."


• 7 Daily Habits for More Success at Work: "We instill a culture that people should work on tasks that use their core strengths ... We don't believe in wasting people's time getting them to improve their weaknesses."

5 Great Resources for an Entrepreneur

Last week we wrote about some initial steps to entrepreneurship. Today we'll share some great resources to assist you in starting your own business.

5 great resources for an entrepreneur:

1. U.S. Small Business Administration: Offers loans, contracts, counseling sessions and other forms of assistance to small businesses.

2. Entrepreneur magazine: Articles and videos for starting and running your own business.

3. The Entrepreneurs: A podcast produced by Monocle bringing a "weekly tour of the most inspiring people, companies and ideas in global business, whether they are starting from scratch, reinvigorating the family firm or developing new technology."

4. The $100 MBA: A free online business course to "show you how to create something YOU KNOW your customers REALLY want."

4. Fast Company: The magazine and web site seeks to "inspire readers and users to think beyond traditional boundaries, lead conversations, and create the future of business."

And as a bonus, Evan Carmichael shares 5 resources to be a great entrepreneur in this video.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: 6 Ways to Recharge at Work

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

In the video below, Cassey Ho, identifies six ways to recharge at work, especially for those sitting at a desk all day.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 6 Reasons You Need a Personal Website

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• 6 Reasons You Need a Personal Website: "Sixty-eight percent of the surveyed HR professionals want to learn more about you and are looking for personal qualities that aren't easily evident on a résumé. Furthermore, half the survey respondents believe a personal website helps to humanize a candidate."


• 10 Things Every Entrepreneur Should Stick To: "In the initial days of business, hard work will pay more than the smart work."


• 11 Truths About Being an Entrepreneur: "People want to work with people they like. The only way you’ll be able to move mountains is if you believe you can."


• How to Give Tough Feedback That Helps People Grow: "Giving developmental feedback that sparks growth is a critical challenge to master, because it can make the difference between an employee who contributes powerfully and positively to the organization and one who feels diminished by the organization and contributes far less."


• 3 Words That Make You Sound Rude in Email: "Because 'sorry' is so overused, it tends to feel flippant and non-genuine. “I apologize,” on the other hand, is said rarely enough that it still carries a lot of weight."

4 Initial Steps to Entrepreneurship

Many people have daydreams of walking into their bosses office and quitting on the spot, usually after winning the lottery or receiving a large inheritance.

For some people the dream involves starting their own business. If that describes you and you've been dreaming about becoming an entrepreneur here are four initial steps you can take toward entrepreneurship.

1. Find your (money-making) passion and strengths. What do you love to do? Play video games? Will anyone pay you to play video games all day? Unlikely. So, you need to pair your passion with a service or product that people want or need. You also need to consider your strengths. A passion for baseball is great but if you don't have elite talent you'll never make it to the major leagues. The same idea applies here. You can certainly learn some things but you'll want to build on the strengths you already have.

2. Seek out a mentor. Find someone who is successful at what you want to do and ask him or her to
mentor you. Start by taking your mentor out for a coffee and asking about a few things you need to know in order to make a new business succeed. Ask to meet regularly as you work through the process.

3. Save money. Not only will you need funding to start your business but you'll also want to ensure that you have some money saved up to enable you to live on while your business is in its infancy. It will likely take some time before your new business is bringing in a steady income to live on.

4. Start on the side. A good way to ease into a new venture is to start part-time while you have the security of a full-time job. Dedicate 10-20 hours per week to developing and testing out your concept before leaving your job and starting the new business.

There are many great resources to help you become an entrepreneur and we'll discuss some of these next week.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Simple Steps to Get Started with a Budget

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

The Forbes video below identifies some simple steps to help you get started with a budget. Whether you're unemployed, under-employed, or retired, these steps can help you gain better control over your finances and live a more stress-free. Identify what your motivation is for budgeting and follow the additional tips in the video.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 10 Ways to Improve Your Morning Routine

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• 10 Ways to Improve Your Morning Routine: "Saying a positive affirmation -- even something simple like, “I can take on this day” -- or making a list of three things you’re thankful for each morning will have you beginning each day on a high note and setting the tone for whatever follows."


• Identifying the Skills that Can Help You Change Careers: "Consult with people who have already transitioned from your industry to a different career. Discuss what core skills you might be overlooking and how they could apply outside. The range of potential applications is probably broader than you think."


• 4 Tips to Make You a Better Negotiator: "Ask yourself what the Maximum you’re seeking is, the OK you’ll accept without pushing for more, and the Minimum you’re willing to take if you can’t get it."


• 6 Tips to Be a More Confident Speaker: "Just bring an iPad and set it up the next time you speak to a group.... Nothing replaces a video of you in action because how we think we show up isn’t always the way others see it."


• 5 Things You Should Never Do While Waiting to Hear Back About a Job: "(S)ometimes a job candidate, eager to move the process along and get a decision, will make up an offer, hoping that it'll push the employer to move faster. This is a dangerous move."

5 Habits for a Successful Career (and Life)

Habits. There are good habits and there are bad habits and all of us have a mixture of both. The challenge is to encourage and build upon the good habits and eliminate the bad.

Our habits can have a significant impact on our careers and that is one reason it is so important to build on and add to our good habits.

With that in mind here are five habits that can enhance your career and life:

Sleep. It is important to your intellectual and emotional well-being to ensure that you get enough sleep every night. Set a bed time that allows you to get 7-8 hours of sleep every night and stick to it. Avoid watching TV or drinking alcohol right before bed.

Meditate. You don't have to be a monk to enjoy the benefits of meditation and you don't need to meditate for long periods of time. A simple practice of 5 minutes of attention to your breathing can bring great benefits.

Eat. Focus on eating healthy and energy-producing foods, while avoiding a lot of sugar, salt, and alcohol. You'll feel better and have more creative energy to apply to your work and home life.

Move. Avoid a sedentary life. This is especially important for those who spend long hours in front of a computer. Be sure to stand up and take a break every hour. Walk around the office or get outside. Do some light stretching.

Thank. If needed adjust your attitude and be grateful: for your job, your family, your co-worker, where you live. Find something to be grateful for every day. And a bonus habit: journal. Keep a daily journal where you can write about your progress and note those things in your life you are thankful for.

A great resource for developing good habits is Gretchen Rubin's new book Better Than Before. Learn more about it and check out helpful resources at her web site.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: 5 Tips to Get You Back to Work After Vacation

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

The Forbes video below identifies 5 tips to help you get back into the routine of work, starting with "plan for your return" by coming home on a Saturday instead of Sunday. Watch the next four in the video.