High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Value of Workplace Laughter

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!

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• What You Should Be Doing Way More of at Work: "Laughter is one of productivity’s greatest allies and individuals and companies need to foster it."


• Lessons Learned from Launching My First Product: "In celebration of a successful product launch, entrepreneur Amanda Abella's offers lessons learned with those growing businesses."


• 10-Minute LinkedIn Makeover: "Here are 10 quick LinkedIn profile improvements that will require about a minute each to implement."


• Climb Out of the Resume Black Hole in 3 Steps: "This is the major complaint of job seekers today. They submit their resume and it seems to drop down a black hole. Avoid the black hole by following these three steps."


• 4 Words You’ll Want to Use More Often in Your Career: Blogger Karl Staib shares an admired co-tenant's success secrets in order to achieve success in your own career and life.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Be Productive in the Morning

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 video author Laura Vanderkam discusses how successful people are productive in the morning and offers some tips on making your mornings more productive.

Learn more in the video below:

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Are you a Giver, Matcher, or Taker?

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 video Adam Grant discusses the three styles of interaction--givers, matchers, and takers--and shares how each style relates to success.

Learn more in the video below:

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Defining Success

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 video John Maxwell discusses the secret to defining success in our lives.

Learn more in the video below:

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Creating Your Own Luck Through Networking

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 video Bertrand Sosa, an entrepreneur and investor, discusses the importance of networking and suggests that networking enables you to create your own luck.

Learn more in the video below:

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Relax, Showing Up, and Boosting Your Cred

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!

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• Relax! You'll Be More Productive: "[T]he energy employees bring to their jobs is far more important in terms of the value of their work than is the number of hours they work. By managing energy more skillfully, it’s possible to get more done, in less time, more sustainably."


• 10 Strategies for Boosting Your Online Cred: "[E]mployers are researching you online during their review process. What will they discover? You can play a significant role in creating the right first impression online if you take a proactive approach."


• The First Secret of Success is Showing Up: "But never forget that chance plays a role in finding opportunities ... It's important to be in the right place, preferably at the right time. And it's impossible to get started without first showing up."


• 20 Reasons Gen-Y Should Not Work Free: "Many employers don’t give internships any credence at all when reviewing your resumes. They figure, 'she worked for free; this job doesn’t tell me whether she was good enough to be hired'."


• These 5 Workplace Habits Are Making You Look Amateur: "When you exhibit a professional image, you increase your own confidence while simultaneously boosting the confidence others have in you and your capabilities. It's a win-win." 

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: David C.M. Carter on Success

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 interview, mentor and author of Breakthrough David C.M. Carter discusses his book and provides ideas for success, including how to "become the very best version of yourself." 

Watch the video below for more:

The Success Secret of Boring Dressers

President Barak Obama's suits come exclusively in two colors: blue and black. Dr. Cornell West of Princeton perpetually wears the same black suit, white shirt, and black shoes. Mark Zuckerberg's wardrobe consists almost exclusively of grey t-shirts. And you can hardly say "black turtleneck" with Steve Jobs popping up in your mind.

Who cares about the awful fashion sense of these men? You should, because it demonstrates a strong principle of successful decision making.

Take Steve Jobs, Apple's late-CEO: how many decisions do you think he had to make in a day? Anecdotally, I would guess…a lot. Further, what do you think was the significance of those decisions? Considering his reputation as being very (some would say overly) involved with the development of Apple products and their design factoring prominently into their success, you could assume that his decisions were very important. The lesson here is that successful people making significant decisions find a way to remove extraneous or unimportant decisions from their lives. The decisions that they reduce to the simple ones (i.e. what to wear that day) allow the more time to focus on the big, important decisions.

Options are all around us, and it's easy to become overwhelmed. Go to a discount store and marvel over how many different kinds of shampoo, spaghetti sauce, or pens there are. Go online and you can spend hours if not days shopping for a dress or a shirt. This isn't to say that clothing or shampoo isn't important, but does it deserve the time that you are giving it?

Reflect on your career: what decisions have you been avoiding because you have been wrapped up in the "small" ones. Reflect on your life: what decisions are you spending significant amounts of time on that, quite frankly, do not need all of that time? Find your own areas of improvement and make a commitment to change, and write about it in the comments below.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Job-Hunting, Gen-Y, and Success

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!

1. 8 Commandments for Every Job Hunter
"Here are eight of my favorite rules to organize your (job) search while maintaining your sanity."

2. Solving Gen-Y's Passion Problem 
"This simple phrase, 'follow your passion,' turns out to be surprisingly pernicious. It's hard to argue, of course, against the general idea that you should aim for a fulfilling working life."

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3. Don't Stop With Just One Contact at Your Target Companies!
"Even at small companies, it’s generally a good idea to build relationships with multiple people to ensure you’re someone that comes to mind when an appropriate opportunity arises."

4. 3 Qualities to Drive Your Success
"Possessing the deep down desire to achieve a particular goal or set of goals will provide the motivation to do what it takes to succeed."

5. 5 Tips to Return to a Company Where You'd Previously Quit  
"Well, just remember, a burnt bridge does not preclude building a new bridge to get back across to the other side."

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Older Workers, Second Careers, and Success

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!

1. The Best Interview Tips for Older Job Seekers
"You have a track record, and it demonstrates your capacity to create further accomplishments if given the opportunity."

2. 9 Great Second Careers that Don't Require 4-Year Degrees 
"You want to make a career change, but you don't have a bachelor's degree and don't have the funds or the interest in getting a four-year degree. Here are nine good jobs that don't require a bachelor's."

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3. 21st Century Career Reinvention for Boomers
"In the 20th century, we thought of life in three broad stages: Education, Career and Retirement. In the 21st century however, I believe that these three need to be replaced by Self Awareness, Creation, and Service."

4. What Successful People Do With the First Hour of Their Work Day
"Remember when you used to have a period at the beginning of every day to think about your schedule, catch up with friends, maybe knock out a few tasks? It was called home room, and it went away after high school. But many successful people schedule themselves a kind of grown-up home room every day."

5. How to Move from a Winning Interview to a Job Offer  
"Prepare to ask about things of interest to you. Learn about the person, position, company, industry, interview process, etc."

Keeping Success In Your Sight

When I was a student in a motorcycle safety class years ago, the most memorable piece of advice my instructors passed on to us students was this: you go where your eyes go. As you ride in the moment, aware of your surroundings, your eyes are your strongest asset to keep you from crashing. Your body naturally responds to where you are looking, and-with practice-you become one with your bike.

It's easy to see how this fundamental of safe riding is an analogy for career success, particularly through a transition. Life can seem like a topsy-turvy mess when weathering the storm of a lost job or a job that has yet to materialize. Stress, frustration, and desperation can cloud your vision. If you're not careful, you could end up in a nasty wreck.

Where are your eyes pointed? Safety in your career isn't holding one job for the rest of your life: it's how that job fulfills your long-term career vision. If you're committed to and holding a vision, transitions-be they voluntary or involuntary-aren't considered disruptions but opportunities for growth.

Use the following questions to help you align a vision and refine success:

How would I articulate my career vision?

When looking back on my career, what would I like to have accomplished?

Where do I feel empty/lacking in my career, and what does this tell me about my ?

What past work experiences have brought me closer to my vision?

What important goals have I achieved, and what goals do I have yet to fulfill?

Cruise into a career that is uniquely yours by keeping the bigger picture in mind. Set your eyes on your vision and don't let it escape your sight. Become at one with your career.

Realistic Optimism. How to be an Optimist without Denying Reality.

An optimist sees the favorable side of events or conditions and expects a favorable outcome. This is truly a vital part of success. However, there is a very big difference between believing success will come your way and believing success will come easily to you. The realistic optimist believes they will be successful, but understands that they will have to work hard, plan, persist, and make the right choices to make success happen.

If you are realistic about the obstacles or challenges you may face along your path to success, you are able to plan for them. An unrealistic optimist may say this is a negative approach. However, expressing concerns and thinking about potential problems is actually very proactive. Here are several ways to ensure your success at achieving your realistically optimistic goals.

Prepare and Plan
One of my favorite quotes is “luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” No matter the opportunity that may arise, if you are not ready for success you may not be able to take advantage of that opportunity. Don’t simply react to whatever comes your way. Be proactive and make a plan for anything you imagine may come between you and your goals.

Work Hard
People who are not successful often believe that success is simply a matter of luck or of being in the right place at the right time. However, ask any successful person and they will tell you that success is proportional to the amount of work you are willing to put in. Aristotle said “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” To reach expert level, researchers agree that 10,000 hours of practice is the minimum that is necessary. Are you willing to be exceptional?

Believe in Yourself
How can you expect others to believe in you, unless you first believe in yourself? Of course you will make mistakes along the way. Accept those mistakes, own up to them, and then learn from them so that you don’t make them again.

Persevere and Persist
The dictionary says perseverance and persistence are the steadfast continuation toward a course of action in spite of opposition, difficulties, or obstacles. Many experts think that failure is one of the keys to success and that your rate of success is directly proportional to the number of times you fail. In fact, it was Thomas Edison that said “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”