High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 3 Ways to Be Helpful to Your Network

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!

• 3 Ways to Be Helpful to Your Network: "A network is a community for sharing information, and good resources share without expecting anything in return. So offer your knowledge freely. This creates a level of trust with your network."
• 3 Daily Habits of Very Successful People: "Successful people always know what is important in the moment, they are relentless in getting it done, and they don’t get distracted by unimportant stuff."
• 3 Ways to Use MOOCs to Advance Your Career: "There’s never been more free- or nearly-free quality educational resources available to anyone with an internet connection. Why wouldn’t you find a way to use it to improve your skills and career?"
• 10 Uncomfortable Deeds That Will Make Your More Successful: "Social interaction is good for your mood (even when you don’t like it), expands your network, exposes you to new ideas and boosts your self-confidence."
• Why Failure is the Key to Workplace Culture Success: "Making mistakes matures the brain, resulting in more efficient synapses and fundamentally altered neurons. In short, failure can actually make you smarter."

Getting Back Up After a Job Failure

It is inevitable that we experience some failure in our lives and in our careers but we can take some solace that, unlike the best baseball players, we don't fail seven times out of ten.

Still, failure is hard and many of us fear it and do whatever we can to avoid even the appearance of failure. But failure is a fact of life and by learning how to deal with our failures we can move forward more effectively in our careers.

Here are some tips for getting up after failure on the job.

1. Don't ignore the sting. Failure hurts and it's okay and even necessary to allow yourself to experience the pain of failure. The problem is when we become fixated on our failures and let them define us. No failure completely defines a person and it is important to recognize and feel the pain but then to move forward.

2. Make an effort to understand. Understanding the failure is a key part of moving forward and we need to own our role and part in order to avoid repeating mistakes.

3. Acknowledge what needs to change. When we've come to an understanding of the factors contributing to failure we can identify and acknowledge the changes we need to make and take the necessary steps forward in our career.

4. Practice persistence. A Japanese proverb states: "fall seven times, stand up eight." Failure helps us develop the skill of persistence and not giving up. It is something we need to practice and fortunately we all experience enough failures in our lives to give us the opportunity to practice.

5. Apply new knowledge. Take the insights you've gained from your failure, along with your strengthened resolve and persistence to get back up and be stronger and more effective in your career.

 

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: 9 Phrases on Your Résumé That Make Hiring Managers Cringe

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

The video below presents 9 phrases or words to avoid using on your resume, staring with "References Available Upon Request." See the full list below:

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 8 Daily Habits to Build Resiliency

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!

• 8 Daily Habits to Build Resiliency: "Before you hear one yes, you’re going to hear a lot of no’s. Letting all that rejection slide off your back will help you keep moving forward when times get tough."
• The Only 3 Ways to Be More Productive: "As I’ve continued to study successful people and meet individuals I respect and admire, I've learned that courage is undeniably the biggest differentiator."
• 5 Ways to Make Your Office Happier: "Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships."
• How to Become a Successful Freelancer: "Freelancers sometimes make the mistake of taking on too much work and getting overbooked. From the beginning, make sure you have room in your schedule."
• 9 Things Successful Women Never Do: "If you want to move up, and ahead, you need to confront your fears head-on. Never waste valuable energy trying to avoid them; instead, use mental toughness to manage your thoughts, emotions, and behavior in ways that will set you up for success in business and life."

4 Things to Avoid on Social Media if You Want to Have a Good Career

With so many of us on various forms of social media on a daily basis we end up living lives that are far more public than they used to be 15-20 years ago.

That means a stranger can find out a lot more about you than you might want them to know. And, in fact, your employer or prospective employers might just check out your social media profiles, too.

With that in mind, here are 4 tips to prevent your life on social media from negatively impacting your career.

1. Watch your profile description. You might want to avoid words that can paint you in a negative light, such as "crazy", "loser", "man-child" or anything else that might put off a prospective employer.

2. Watch your photos. You definitely want to watch the photos you post of yourself on social media. Just a few months ago a college football player saw his draft position drop after a photo of him smoking a bong was posted to social media. 

3. Watch what you share on social media. Avoid sharing anything on social media that might be considered sexist or racist, or hateful to any group.

4. Watch your words. Many on social media seem to think they can say anything they want to others, however unkind, rude, or negative. Foster a reputation for kindness and compassion in all your communication with others.

Follow the above four tips in order to avoid having your social media presence work against your career. 

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: 8 Tips to Be More Efficient

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

The video below presents 8 tips to be more efficient with your time, starting with: stop multitasking. See more below:

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 4 Essential Career Tips for Millennials

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!

• 4 Essential Career Tips for Millennials: "Traveling, especially to third world and developing countries will expose you to new cultures, new ways of living, and teach you more about yourself. Travel expands your personality, and gives you time to find a career path you’ll truly enjoy, more so than if you immediately took a job out of college."
• LinkedIns Top 3 Secrets to Getting Hired: "We’ve learned it’s not necessarily your best friend who’s going to help you land that next job. It's more likely to be your best friend’s former coworker, or even that coworker’s neighbor."
• 9 Bad Habits You Must Break to Be More Productive: "It takes you 15 consecutive minutes of focus before you can fully engage in a task. Once you do, you fall into a euphoric state of increased productivity called flow. Research shows that people in a flow state are five times more productive than they otherwise would be."
• 7 Things You Can Do to Build an Awesome Business Brand: "Brands that embody a deeper sense of purpose have a significant advantage over those that don’t — they have something to say and stand for, not just something to sell."
• 7 Ways to Persist When You Want to Give Up: "It can be easy to focus all your energy on reaching your ultimate goal. But if the only thing you can see is your end destination, you’ll miss the beauty of the journey along the way. The new experiences and welcome surprises provide much-needed fuel to keep going."

5 Career Benefits to Staying Physically Fit

Staying fit (or getting in shape) is important to your life satisfaction and can also benefit your career or work in numerous ways.

Below are five career benefits to staying physically fit.

1. Reduces stress. Physical activity has been shown to reduce stress hormones in the body and stimulate endorphins, increasing one's sense of well-being.

2. Increases creativity. Recent studies have suggested that physical activity can make you more creative, enabling you to find innovation approaches to your work.

3. Boosts energy. The same factors at play in reducing stress, such as the stimulation of endorphins, has been shown to boost energy levels and reduce fatigue.

4. Networking. Participating in activities to improve your health, such as running or tennis, can be done in groups or leagues, leading to networking opportunities.

5. Better focus. Exercise and movement also helps in maintaining focus and rather than multi-tasking you can concentrate more effectively on the work at hand.

These are just a few of the benefits you'll see from getting in shape and practicing a healthy lifestyle. You'll likely discover many more.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Advice for Making Networking Events Less Awkward

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

In the video below, Rich Bellis from Fast Company shares tips for making networking events less awkward.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 3 Myths That Are Killing Your Productivity

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!

• 3 Myths That Are Killing Your Productivity: "Some people are naturally more productive in the later hours, while many peak midmorning. Figure out what works and get on a schedule that allows you to get enough sleep."
• 10 Tips for Phone Interview Success: "In the age of technology, you need to be extra cognizant of outside distractions. Mute other phones, email and text alerts along with any incoming call notifications, as they can disrupt your conversation and train of thought."
• How to Hold a Productive Meeting in 7 Minutes or Less: "There’s no sitting down during these meetings; everyone stands up because it forces people to move and think a little faster, without the luxury of getting too comfortable."
• 5 Choices Every Job Seeker Makes: "How you job hunt says a good deal about your character, inquisitiveness and personality. And, you'll get different results when you stay up to date and carefully position yourself among your competitors."
• How to Handle the Imposter Syndrome: "One of the greatest barriers to moving outside your comfort zone is the fear that you’re a poser, that you’re not worthy, that you couldn’t possibly be qualified to do whatever you’re aiming to do."

5 Tips to Kickstart a New Job (or give a boost to an old one)

Starting a new job is an exciting time, filled with anxiety and the thrill of moving on to something better in your career.

However, unless you start the job right and instill some good habits, you can easily come to feel dissatisfied about that shiny new position.

In order to prevent that try implementing these tips to get the new job off to a great start. Or they work just as well to make an old job feel new.

1. Arrive 5 minutes early. This allows you to take a few moments to prepare for the day, get focused, and bring your best to the day.

2. Bring a positive attitude. You can control your mood and the attitude you bring to your work. When you bring a positive attitude to the job others will want to work with you, be more inclined to your ideas, and you will enjoy your day more.

3. Be willing to learn. In any job there are new things to learn. Be proactive and learn as much as you can about the position and about the work your new company does. If you've been in a job for awhile learning something new can help reinvigorate you and help increase your enjoyment of your work.

4. Make friends. Developing positive and friendly relationships with your colleagues increasing your well-being and satisfaction on the job. You'll be more likely to enjoy your work if you enjoy the people you work with.

5. Serve with excellence. Changing your perspective on your work and viewing everything you do as an opportunity for service and a chance to do something with excellence will also impact your attitude, appreciation, and enjoyment of your work.

Practicing these five tips can give you a kickstart no matter how long you've been in a job.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Motivation to Make a Difference

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

Need some motivation to leave your mark on the world and do something with purpose and passion? Check out the video below from Absolute Motivation:

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Laugh Your Way to a Happy Workplace

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!

• Laugh Your Way to a Happy Workplace: "If you see a path to a positive reality, your brain will be quicker to see humor in the negative events of your external world. Thus when you have a negative work environment, you can use humor as a strategic tool to help others see a more positive reality."
• The Benefits of Being Nice to Your Competitors: "It may not seem like such a big deal, but once you have published or voiced a negative comment, you can't take it back. It just isn't professional and reflects negatively on you."
• 5 Leadership Lessons from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: "The idea is premised on something many leaders still find counterintuitive: on not knowing all the answers—and instead bringing together a committed, collaborative group that can sort them out together."
• 7 Ways to Be Utterly Unforgettable in Business and Life: "Do something out of the ordinary that your client or customer would never expect. For example, instead of sending a text or an email, send a handwritten thank-you note, a gesture that is becoming more and more rare."
• 15 Websites to Jump Start Your Career: "Whether you're kicking off a job hunt, preparing to ask for a raise, or just looking to refresh your personal brand, these sites offer a vast array of resources for any point in your career or search."