High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 15 Habits of Mentally Tough People

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 Tips for Becoming a Good Boss: "Think about the traits you want your employees to mimic, and practice them. This will build trust and respect in your ability to manage through consensus and understanding."


• 15 Habits of Mentally Tough People: "The mentally tough also know how to exert self-control by saying no to themselves. They delay gratification and avoid impulsive action that causes harm."


• 10 Words to Remove from Your LinkedIn Profile: "I would stay away from these buzzwords, though, because you sound like everyone else. These words almost lose their meaning the more that people use them."


• For Entrepreneurs Preparation Beats Passion: "New research on hundreds of founders reveals that passion has nothing to do with results a few years out. What matters is preparedness."


• 5 Reasons to Add Purpose to Your Business: "Customers will generally choose the purpose-driven product over the brand without the cause.... For startups, you can knit the cause into the fabric of your business and allow it to influence every decision you make."

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Controlling Bad Habits for a Successful Career

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

• Controlling Bad Habits for a Successful Career: "Create small wins. The most efficient way to make a permanent change is to focus on daily, incremental improvements."


• The Right Way to Say Thanks After an Interview: "Instead of simply expressing gratitude, a successful note builds on the interview by illustrating what the candidate can offer in addition to what was discussed."


• 3 Ways to Engage Your People in Your Company Brand: "Create a brand event or brand day and invite employees from around the company to participate. Solicit their feedback on the brand. Implement regular brand contests that support branding objectives."


• Building Confidence as a First-Time Job Hunter: "The first step is to believe you have the skills to get the job. This will boost your confidence, and it will definitely show in the interview--which is where you really have to nail it."


• Social Media Snafus to Avoid: "63 percent of recruiters have negatively reconsidered candidates based on finding profanity in their profiles. Illegal drug references top the list of content to avoid, with 83 percent of recruiters reconsidering candidates because of them."

How to Create a Great Online Professional Profile

These days it’s important to create a great online professional profile. Wes Weiler, the Chief Marketing Officer for hiredMYway.com, uses his blog to share 6 Things Your Professional Profile Needs (Weiler, Wes. blog.hiredMYway.com. 2013. February 27, 2013). Following are some of the tips Weiler suggests for making your professional profile top-notch.

Provide Thorough Contact Information: If you’re job searching online, sometimes potential employers contact you directly through job search sites. However, many still prefer to contact candidates by phone or email, so be mindful to complete all available contact fields.

Complete a Video Profile: You may think video profiles are just for those in creative professions, but what better way to sell yourself than “in person”? A video message can convey a lot and gives the potential employer a sneak peak at the real you!

Provide Useful Profile Information: Companies don’t want to hear boring career objectives in your online profile. They’re more interested in finding out what sets you apart from others. Show them why you are the best candidate, and don’t be afraid to mention what you’re passionate about.

Be Selective about Qualifications and Expertise: If you have specific skills or certifications, mention them. Skip over basic computer literacy because it is assumed everyone possesses basic computer skills. However, if you’ve learned a specific software application, mention it.

Organize Your Professional Experience: Instead of listing your job history in chronological order, highlight jobs that show career growth. Under each job, list examples of what challenges you overcame and what problems you solved. Each job should tell a story while citing examples that make you stand out.

Recap Your Complete Education: Be thorough when presenting education and training. If you have achieved special designations within your degree or attended career workshops in addition to your degree, make sure to include these. Just like a pile of paper resumes, potential employers sift through many professional profiles online. Fine tune yours to be the one that stands out.