High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 5 Techniques to Increase Your Motivation

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!

• 5 Techniques to Increase Your Motivation: "Without a powerful motive, no goal can withstand misfortune. You can create motive by taking time every day to visualize your goal in detail."

• The Importance of Face-to-Face Networking in a Digital World: "The value of face-to-face networking is being recognized as one of the most powerful tools available for increasing one’s personal exposure, creating meaningful relationships and providing growth opportunities at a personal and professional level."

• 7 Common Words Powerful People Avoid (That You Should Avoid, Too): "The word 'just' diminishes the content that follows this word. It is a “protector” word, a word that softens what you want to achieve."

• 4 Easy Ways to Reboot Your Relationship With Your Boss This Year: "Your manager might not be able to weigh in on every project you tackle, but every boss is on the lookout for people who can think in ways that positively impact the organization, both inside and out."
• What to Do When Your Boss Says No: "A 'no' gives you the opportunity to prove to others that you can find creative solutions to deliver quality work with less."

6 Simple Ways to Be More Innovative in Your Job and Career

Your career development and success depends on being innovative in your work, finding news ways to do things, and seeing obstacles, challenges, and opportunities before others see them.

Sometimes we're tempted to think that innovation requires some mystical process or is an innate skills possessed by the few. However, we all have the ability to think creatively and innovatively and we can implement some simple strategies to aid in the process.

Here are six ways to become more innovative:

1. Take a walk. Studies have shown that we get some of our best ideas when walking. In addition, walking, particularly in nature, provides a boost to our feelings of well-being, lowering stress, and making us more open to new ideas.

2. Learn a language. Spending some time on a new language challenges your brain to think in ways that are unfamiliar to you and opens you up to some new experiences and knowledge.

3. Meditate. You don't have to become a monk or some kind of guru to experience the many benefits of meditation, however, taking just a few minutes to calming breathe each day can make you more aware of new ideas and ways of doing something.

4. Meet with friends. Don't isolate yourself. Be sure to have fun and spend time with your friends and colleagues, especially a diverse group that holds different views. You'll be challenged to think differently.

5. Create something new. Anything, it doesn't really matter. Write a short story, compose a song, or paint a still life. The act of creating something new will inspire you to see things in new ways.

6. Read a book. Of course, reading is a great way to explore new worlds, meet new people (past and present) and learn about new subjects and fields, therefore, encouraging innovation and new ideas.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Personal Branding, Social Media, and Innovative Leaders

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

• 5 Personal Branding Tips: "They should treat themselves like a brand regardless – day job, home, personal life. They have to put their personal brand in two to five words, and they have to be very honest in what they stand for."


• Tips for Using Social Media to Get a Job: "There are lots of local groups sharing job opportunities on Facebook if you search by job type and location."


• 10 Traits of Innovative Leaders: "These leaders believed that the best and most innovative ideas bubbled up from underneath. They strived to create a culture that uncorked good ideas from the first level of the organization."


• Top 10 Skills to be Successful: "You don’t need to know how to build the next Facebook, but a basic understanding of how the Web works and how software and apps are built can be a game-changing advantage."


• How to Future Proof Your Career: "Future-proofed skills can either be essentials (e.g., health, security, utilities, etc.) or play an important part in facilitating a drastic change in the economy, like technology."

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: How to be Liked and Happy at Work

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

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• The One Thing the Best Leaders and Most Liked People Have in Common: "Since humans love to talk, if you can focus on listening, truly listening attentively to the person you're with, that person will adore you."

• Update Your Job Search: "Recruiters proactively use social media to identify potential candidates instead of waiting for resumes to come in. If you don’t have a social media presence – on LinkedIn, Twitter, or your own website – you aren’t likely to get noticed."                                                      
• How to Be Happy at Work: "One of the quickest and most effective ways to change a 'poor me' attitude is to reach out to someone in the workplace who could use your mentoring or assistance with a project."


• Here's When You Know It's Time to Change Careers: "Most people who want to transition to another career have already invested a good amount of time and money in crafting one career direction, so making a change requires a new level of investment in time, energy and often money."


• 4 Keys to Workplace Innovation: "Organizing forums and inviting speakers are other ways to bring employees into frequent contact with fresh perspectives and rekindle mental energy."

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: 4 Behaviors of Innovative Leaders

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 this Forbes video professor Hal Gregersen shares four behaviors that characterize innovative leaders, including the observation that these leaders "ask tons of questions to challenge the status quo".

Learn more by watching the video below:

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Happiness at Work and Your Health

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

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• A Menu of Very Small Changes to Boost Your Happiness at Work: "Go outside at least once a day, and if possible, take a walk. The sunlight and activity is good for your focus, mood, and retention of information."

• 5 Career-Boosting Summer Activities: "Summer is the perfect time to invest in yourself. If you can make the case for it, your company just might be able to foot the bill. Taking adult education courses will also help enhance and grow your network. You never know who you'll be sitting next to."                                                      
• 4 Ways to Re-Energize Your Work Engagement: "Make small changes in your daily work routine to incorporate healthy habits, and work up to bigger, more influential changes. For example, start taking the stairs, or bring a healthy lunch from home."


• How Criticism Creates Innovative Teams: "Our findings show that debate and criticism do not inhibit ideas but, rather, stimulate them relative to every other condition."


• Experienced Workers Face More Challenges Finding a Job: "An employer is looking for someone who can help them get something done. Tell them or convince them that you have the talent, experience and, probably most important, the interest or passion to help them get it done."