High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: How to Deal with That Co-Worker Who Drives You Crazy

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!

• How to Deal with That Co-Worker Who Drives You Crazy:"tiptoeing around the real problem only means that the person on the receiving end is either confused, misinformed, or insulted."

• 7 Tips to Improve Your Public Speaking Skills: "Keep in mind, your speaking is not about you proving your brilliance, winning raving fans, making yourself 'right' or making others 'wrong'—it’s about making things better."

• How I Fired My Co-Founder, CEO and Close Friend: "We were severely misaligned in our vision for the company: I wanted to grow strategically, perfecting one product before launching another; he wanted to expand into new categories, and fast."

• Brene Brown on Why Employees Should Be Prepared for Failure: "The intention of this approach isn't to be mean; it's about setting the expectation that your employees inevitably will fall short at some point. In the long run, that should help make them stronger workers."
• 13 Ways to Build Lasting Relationships With Customers: "In the current business climate where every customer is bombarded with digital messaging, remember that a personal touch counts."

4 Career Skills You Should Constantly Be Developing

You probably don’t need to be told how quickly time passes or how rapidly everything changes; you might be noticing a few new wrinkles or greying hairs when you look in the mirror.

It can be easy to settle into a routine in our work lives and before we know it we’ve “lost” a few years with our career on autopilot. Unfortunately, careers on autopilot are rarely successful and employees operating in this way tend to be the first to experience the impact of staff reductions or downsizing.

Our careers and work lives need regular attention and we should be constantly updating and developing our skills.

Here are a few skills you may want to concentrate on throughout the year.

Computer skills. Stay up to date on new technologies, new programs, new gadgets, and learn how to code. The world becomes more automated daily through computer technology and, regardless of your current career path, it pays to be aware of the trends in technology and stay current with your computer skills. There are many free classes you can take online so you don’t have to spend a lot of money on training sessions to stay up to date.

Networking. Continue to develop your network by becoming more engaged at your workplace, being involved in your community, attending networking events, and going to conferences and workshops relevant to your work. Expanding your network is a great asset and can help you find a job quickly if you end up in need of one.

Public speaking. Learning to speak effectively in front of an audience is a skill that can bring other opportunities for you and demonstrates leadership and expertise in your field. Take advantage of opportunities to speak to groups at your job, place of worship, or in your community throughout the year. You might even make some extra money and turn your public speaking skills into a side hustle.   

Self-care. You should always be considering your lifestyle and refining it so that it works effectively for you. This can involve physical activity and exercise, a change in diet, improved sleeping habits, or a new spiritual practice such as meditation. Pay attention to the practices you can implement to have more energy and to be more effective and productive in your work.

Give yourself a reminder to evaluate your progress in these areas every few months.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: How to Make Your Voice Heard 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 and life development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

The video below from Entrepreneur discusses three things to know about how to more effectively ensure that your voice is heard at work. Watch the video for more.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Why You Shouldn't Be Afraid to Take Risks

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!

• Why You Shouldn't be Afraid of Making Mistakes: "A leader must have Initiative—the courage to make decisions, to act, and the willingness and strength to risk failure."

• 8 Surprising Strategies for Unstoppable Focus: "Get clear on precisely what you want, then move past any doubts or fears through massive, urgent action. Doing this is a mental game for me: I keep score on how well I've done each day."

• 5 Management Lessons That Being a Parent Taught Me: "The same goes for your employees. If they know you have their back, they’ll take more risks and produce better work."

• 5 Ways to Project Confidence in Front of an Audience: "Using simple words doesn’t imply dumbing down your message. You gain credibility and respect when you’re able to articulate complex ideas in simple language."
• An Entrepreneurs Letter to His Son: "The happiest people I’ve ever encountered draw their happiness not from what they’ve obtained, but rather from the inner joy that comes from being at peace."

5 Skills to Develop to Move Ahead in Your Career

Fortunately, for those who want to get ahead in their careers and continue learning, there are abundant opportunities to develop new skills that can benefit us in our jobs and business life.

Obviously, not all skills are equal or equally-applicable but the following five skills will serve you well in just about any career path you go down.

1. Public speaking. The ability to clearly and effectively articulate your ideas and thoughts to an audience--whether one person, a small group, or at a large conference--can make you a sought expert in your field. Sign up for a public speaking class at a local community college, or join your area Toastmasters club.

2. Project management. Developing the ability to manage a team around the completion of a project or product is a skill sought by many companies. There are many project management training programs and certification options available through local colleges and training companies.

3. Foreign-language. Learning a foreign language can be particularly useful if you work for a global company or want to in the future. Perhaps your company is expanding into a new country or you want to expand your opportunities here. Learning Spanish is a great option for workers in the U.S. and there are classes everywhere, from community colleges and language schools, to online courses available in your home or at the library.

4. Financial management. For anyone interested in moving into leadership or management roles in the future it is important to develop finance and accounting skills. A good understanding of financial management can give you an edge when looking for that first management position.

5. Coding. The influence of technology on the workplace will continue to grow and there will be an increased need for people who can create new technologies and develop new apps. You can learn to code at a local technology school or in the comfort of your own home through an online program like codecademy.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: The 5 Best Questions to Ask in an Interview

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!

• The 5 Best Questions to Ask in an Interview: "Since a job interview is your chance to interview the company while they interview you, it's important to ask the hiring team questions that will help you decide if it's the right fit for you, too."

• How to Calm Your Nerves Before a Big Presentation: "Don’t take the basics for granted. Get a good night’s sleep, hydrate, and watch your caffeine intake before a big presentation so that your heart rate isn’t already elevated. Also, make sure that you’ve eaten a good meal and that you aren’t going in hungry."

• 7 Small Changes that Will Make a Big Difference in Your Life: "It is impossible to be confident and self-assured if your thoughts are filled with self-doubt and judgment. If you would never speak to others the way you internally speak to yourself, you can change."

• 5 Characteristics of Grit: "The definition of grit is courage and resolve or strength of character. It can also mean an indomitable and irrepressible spirit that doesn’t back down in the face of failure or obstacles."
• 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do: "They say that bravery is being scared to death to do something and doing it anyway. Many times, that’s true, even when it comes to your career."

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Two Tips to be a More Confident Public Speaker

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 from Fast Company provides tips to becoming a more confident public speaker; a skill that can help you get ahead in your career.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 3 Ways to Inspire Your Employees or Co-Workers

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 Inspire Your Employees or Co-Workers: "If you would like your team to feel more excited about their job, get to work on time, meet deadlines, participate at meetings, etc., you have to do those things first. It's hard to motivate others to do something you aren't doing yourself."
• Improve Your Resume By Turning Bullet Points into Stories: "Tell compelling before-and-after stories. What were your previous places of employment like when you started there? What were their biggest challenges, and how did you help meet them? How are those organizations better because of you?"
• Why Mindfulness is the Ultimate Habit for Success: "In any moment when we are being mindful, our mind functions optimally because we can see our thinking objectively. The reactive thoughts that arise in any given moment no longer control us."
• Three Pieces of Advice to Building Confidence for Public Speaking: "The single biggest reason people are concerned about public speaking is because they worry what other people think of them. The quicker you start learning how to fix that issue and be comfortable with yourself, you become a much better public speaker."
• Four Myths Most Bosses Believe About Employee Engagement: "In the vast majority of cases, engaged employees are happy, and happy employees are engaged."

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Leaving a Stable Job to Create Your Dream 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!

• Leaving a Stable Job to Create Your Dream Career: "Paying attention to what engages and excites you, what lights you up, and what stimulates your intellect points you toward the tasks and situations that enable you to be your best self."
• 4 Reasons Why the Most Successful People are Great Collaborators: "It doesn't matter what we do, where we do it, or how well we can create a product or offer a service. In order to succeed, we need to effectively create partnerships with many others around us."
• The Simple Truth to Accomplishing Significantly More, Faster: "Most tasks in life are significantly easier than we'd like to believe. In fact, nearly every goal you have is really just made up a series of small decisions followed by short actions."
• 10 Tips for Raising Your Public Speaking Game: "I believe that it’s the duty of every public speaker to find something right with the world, your view of it, or at least some hero along the way who has exemplified the positive attributes you’re standing behind."
• 5 Tips to Improve Nonverbal Communication in Meetings: "Effective nonverbal communication goes further than that first handshake. Here are five ways to improve nonverbal communication, especially during meetings or presentations."

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 5 Tips for Networking Your Way to a Job on LinkedIn

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 Ways to Instantly Connect with Everyone You Meet: "It doesn't matter your title or experience, if you want to connect with someone or influence them, you must make them feel valued."
• 4 Rules for Making a Flexible Schedule Work: "Most of us have trouble sitting still and working for eight hours at a stretch without taking some kind of break. That holds true, even if you’re working from your couch."
• How to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking: "Nothing helps you feel more confident than thoroughly preparing for your presentation. When you know the subject matter well, you'll feel more comfortable and confident."
• 9 Tips for Creating a Stress-Free Work Environment: "If your workspace stresses you out, it might help to add personal items to your desk, cubicle or office that have some special meaning to you."
• 5 Tips for Networking Your Way to a Job on LinkedIn : "Start connecting with classmates, alumni and professors, plus former bosses, supervisors and colleagues. Then branch out to less obvious potential connections, like your neighbors."

4 Things to Include on Your Personal Web Site to Advance Your Career

If you don't yet have a personal web site now is the time to create one. You don't have to be a web designer to create a professional looking site with many of the easy to use web site builders available.

A personal web site is a great way to showcase your skills and accomplishments for potential employers, customers, and clients.

When developing your personal site be sure to include the following 4 items:

1. Videos. Post any videos of presentations or lectures you've done at conferences or seminars. Also
include any panel discussions you've been a part of. If you don't have any videos consider creating one specifically for your site. A good quality video can now be done with a fairly small budget.

2. Links. Provide links to any published articles and essays that are available on the internet, along with a brief description of the content of the text.

3. Personal blog. A blog is a great way for others to get to know you on a more personal level and for you to communicate clearly on the subjects you are knowledgeable and passionate about. Your blog provides a forum for you to demonstrate both your personality and your expertise.

4. Photos. Do include photos of yourself but leave off the ones where you're at the beach or the bar. Be sure the photos are professionally done and convey your personality and are consistent with the image you want to project and the skills you offer to potential employers, customers, and clients.

Your web site doesn't have to be complicated but should include the four elements described above to highlight what you have to offer.

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."