Looking for a New Job? Get in Touch with These People

You’ve decided to take the plunge and seek out a new job.  How do you start and where should you begin your search?

It can be somewhat scary or anxiety-provoking to look for new work and your search should start with those closest to you.

Here are the people you’ll want to get in touch with as you move forward with your job search.

Your contacts on social media. If you’re on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter feel free to post something about your job search, though be as specific as possible about what you’re looking for. Otherwise, you might just get bombarded with tips that have nothing to do with your field of interest.

Mentors. Seek out those who have been your mentors through the years, formally or informally as previous supervisors or confidantes. They likely have a good sense of your interests and strengths and might know of opportunities coming available.

Recruiters on LinkedIn. Be sure to update your profile on LinkedIn and change your settings to indicate you are open to being contacted by recruiters. You never know when you’ll be the perfect candidate for a job out there.

Your book club. That book club you’ve been meeting with monthly? They know and work with people who are looking to hire someone. That someone could be you! Not in a book club? What about the people in your church group, bowling league or softball team? If you’re involved in a social group check in with the members you’re closest to and trust and let them know what you’re looking for.

Your family and friends. Of course, this is the group of people you want to start with. Your family and friends care about you and know what your skills are and will be invested in helping you find the right opportunity for you and your future. Spend some time reaching out to your family and friends to discuss your career plans and ambitions with them.

By seeking out the right people early in your job search you can get off to a quick and helpful start.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: The 3 Worst Morning Routines to Start Your Day

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, Brendon Burchard describes three terrible morning routines that you need to get out of, including starting the day with social media. Check out the video to learn more.

5 Work Habits to Support Your Personal Life

Our habits contribute significantly to our success in life and in our career. To be successful we need to develop the right habits that support who we want to be and the accomplishments we want to achieve.

Last week we discussed personal habits that can support you in your career. Today we look at those work habits you've developed and how they can be beneficial to your personal life.

Organization. The ability to remain organized amid complexity, chaos, and competing demands is a skill that is needed in the work place and, obviously, allows one to maintain order in your personal life when surprises inevitably come. Develop a system to remain organized at work and it can serve you well at home.

Effective listening. Demonstrating the ability to listen to others well is necessary for successful communication and builds healthy and successful relationships, both in your work situation and in your personal life. We all need to become good at listening and truly hearing others and the work place provides a great opportunity to develop this skill.

Avoiding procrastination. Developing the skill of addressing what is important without delay is critical to becoming a trusted part of your work team. It requires you to identify what is most important and addressing this task to meet the demands of your work schedule. There are always things we'd like to put off at home and learning to avoid procrastination at work can help us be more successful with these tasks in our personal life.

Never Say "It's not my job". You are a team player and are willing to take on any tasks necessary to get the job done, even if they don't fit your job description. The same is true in our personal lives: sometimes we need to take care of the garbage, paint the basement, fix the door, or do something else that we're not trained in or might tale us out of our comfort zone.

Avoid distraction. Staying focused on the task at hand, without getting distracted by coworkers or social media, is a key to success at work. This also helps our personal lives and prevents us from spending our weekend playing video games or staring at our phone when our friend or child is trying to talk to us.

Four Tips to Build a Network if You're an Introvert

At whatever point you happen to be in your career you likely understand the importance of building a supportive, encouraging, and challenging network around you.

This network can be made up of former college roommates, colleagues, your ex-boss, best friends, and family.

Some of us, however, are introverted or shy and might find it more difficult to work through the anxiety to build a network that can support us as we look to achieve our career goals and dreams. What do you do then?

Here are four tips an introvert can take to begin to build a strong and supportive network.

Begin with one. Don’t be overwhelmed. Start simply and work to develop a single relationship. You might find yourself more comfortable communicating with someone one-on-one, rather than attending a group. Identify someone from your job or school and invite them to join you for coffee for a few minutes. These simple interactions are the first steps in forming deeper bonds that can lead the relationship to a place of mutual support. In addition, this simple step can motivate you reach out to others or take on some of the other ideas noted below.

Use Social Media. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn can provide a great, low-anxiety, way to develop relationships with some of your contacts. You have time to carefully craft a message to someone or to consider a response to a post or a question by someone else. Social media also makes it easier to reach out to others and expand your network, starting with a simple initial “friend” request or follow. With social media it’s never been easier to expand your network beyond those you are already close to.

Start a small group. There are many opportunities to join groups, both in-person and virtual, through a variety of sources but for the introvert it might make good sense to start your own group with a few people you already know. You could start a book club with a handful of friends and open things up for them to invite others. Soon you’ve expanded your circle and widened your network while also making some new friends and building community.

Enlist the help of friends. Finally, of course, let your friends know that you are interested in building your network. Ask them to introduce you to others in their networks who might share similar interests with you. Again, the power of social media can help ease the anxiety around introductions and facilitate getting to know someone a little before meeting up in person.

If you’re an introvert or experience social anxiety these suggestions can help ease the way to building an effective network to help you attain the success in your career that you’re looking for.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: 4 Ways to Make Money Off Your Social Media

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 provides some ideas for making money from your social media accounts. Though it's focused on B2B marketers the ideas can be implemented more widely. Take a look.

 

Making the Most of a Professional Conference

So, you have a professional conference coming up and you want to use the time and experience more productively. Here are a few tips to make the most of your upcoming professional conference.

1. Engage online prior to the conference. Many conferences start online groups on Facebook or Twitter for attendees to start the conversation early. Be sure to join and get engaged. You might want to pose a few questions, such as asking for advice for a first-time attendee or finding out what sessions or topics others are most interested in.

2. Identify 3-5 individuals you want to meet and schedule meetings in advance. Look over the schedule and the featured speakers and identify a few you'd like to meet. Likely you can find their contact information easily with a simple search. Send a brief message letting the person know what you'd like to discuss with an offer to buy a coffee or drink. Most people are generous and you can count on several of these forays to result in a meeting.

3. Narrow your focus and plan to attend fewer sessions than you want to attend. You can usually find session after session that sounds interesting and valuable but you might want to consider planning to attend fewer than you think at first glance. You'll want to save time for those sessions that go long, provoke spontaneous conversations among attendees, or offer you an opportunity to talk with one of the presenters.

4. Schedule time to rest and recharge. You'll be at your best and enjoy the conference more if you schedule regular time to rest, get away from the crowds, and recharge.

5. Follow the people you meet on social and mention or retweet them. In addition to collecting business cards be sure to follow the people you meet on their social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and share or retweet information they put out there.

6. Send a brief message of thanks and follow-up with your new contacts within a week of the conference. Once you get home and get resettled you'll want to send a note of thanks to those you meet and invite them to connect with you on your social media channels.

These are just a few of the steps you can take to get the most out of your upcoming professional conference.

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: How to Use LinkedIn, Twitter and Snapchat in Your Next Job Search

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 from Entrepreneur, Jessica Abo speaks with digital expert and entrepreneur Courtney Spritzer about using LinkedIn, Twitter, and Snapchat in your job search.

5 Ways to Use Twitter to Benefit Your Career

Social media engagement can offer excellent opportunities for finding a job or strengthening your career. You're likely familiar with using LinkedIn, and perhaps have even used Facebook to find a job, but Twitter also offers some useful ways to benefit your career.

1. Follow those you're connected to on LinkedIn. You can use Twitter to supplement your efforts on LinkedIn. Check the profiles of your most significant connections to see if they are on Twitter and, if so, follow them. You can even create a list specifically for your LinkedIn connections. Then engage with these people on Twitter: like their tweets, re-tweet them, and comment, as appropriate. 

2. Follow prominent leaders in your field. Seek out the thought-leaders and champions in your industry, follow them, and comment on their tweets. Not only will you learn more about your field, but you might just end up with a new mentor.

3. Share your knowledge. Become a resource for others by tweeting out articles of interest in your field, sharing your ideas and experiences, and engaging with your followers.

4. Search relevant hashtags. Stay up to date in your field by searching on topics of relevance or to be in the know about job postings. It's as simple as searching for #[industryorfield]jobs, such as #publishingjobs or #marketingjobs or #salesjobs.

5. Join a career-related Twitter chat. Search for career chats or hashtags on career topics to learn when a chat is happening and then join in to learn something new, contribute your expertise, and build your network.   

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: 10 Tips to Manage Your Time

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 identifies 10 tips for managing you time better, including blocking access to social media during parts of your work day. Watch the video for more great tips:

6 Practices That Will Make You More Successful Tomorrow

We all want to be successful in our lives and in our careers but sometimes we let the busyness of our personal and work lives interfere with taking care of ourselves and doing the things we need to do.

It can be easy to get off track and find ourselves filled with anxiety while we struggle to meet deadlines and prioritize competing demands.

Apply the following 6 practices to your day today and you'll have a better day tomorrow.

1. Turn off the social media. Avoid your Facebook, twitter, and Instagram accounts. These take time away from the important things and we often find ourselves unfavorably comparing our lives or circumstances with others we barely know.

2. Forget multi-tasking. Focus on only one thing and work at it until you complete it. Attempting to multi-task is a distraction and might even lead to taking a look at those social media accounts we suggested turning off.

3. Replace negative self-talk. When you're stressed out or struggling with work you can find yourself stuck in a rut of negative self-talk. You're not good at this. It will never get done. No one will like this. The self-talk can be ruthless. It's important to recognize this and replace the self-talk in your mind with positive affirmations: I've got this. I'm good enough. I'm brave and capable.

4. Take a walk outside and breathe. Get outside into the fresh air, go for a walk, and focus on your breathing. You'll feel better, more relaxed, less stressed, and ready to take on the world.

5. Eat a healthy and energizing meal. Be sure to get at least one meal in every day that consists of healthy food that will make your body feel strong and provide the energy you need.

6. Sleep. You need good and adequate sleep to be at your best. Make sure you get 7-8 hours in order to be rested and focused to start your day well.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 13 Simple Steps to Land the Job You Want

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!

• 13 Simple Steps to Land the Job You Want: "Network with everybody you’ve ever worked with; connect on LinkedIn with each person you meet on the job."
• 3 Tough Habits You Must Drop to Succeed: "Being an effective leader will require you to break the storytelling habit that's happening in your head. Instead, separate the facts from the stories, and make decisions based on what you know for sure."
• 4 Ways to Make Your Employees Love Training: "The key is to not approach training with a one-delivery-system-fits-all mind-set."
• How High-Performing Leaders Refuel: "I am delighted when I see someone emerging from a mid-afternoon break because it means that they feel comfortable taking care of themselves and they will be performing at a higher level for the rest of the day."
• Using Social Media to Build Professional Skills: "If you want to work on self-development while working out, doing household chores, or commuting, that’s a great time to listen to the podcasts you’ve discovered."

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. 

Why (and How) You Might Benefit from a Reverse Mentor

We've talked about mentors before and the importance of finding a mentor to move forward in your career and life but perhaps you haven't considered the idea of a reverse mentor. What is a reverse mentor?

A reverse mentor is someone younger than you who can help mentor and train you on modern trends and technologies.

The world and the world of work changes quickly and it can be difficult to stay up on current trends and new technologies. A reverse mentor can bring you up to speed and ensure you can talk and work confidently among those skilled in these areas.

What are some trends or technologies you might consider identifying a reverse mentor for?

1. Social media: the most effective uses of twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and others.

2. Productivity: using services and apps to more effectively manage your time and schedule.

3. Understanding millennial perspectives on specific industry trends.

A reverse mentor can provide the edge you need to move forward with confidence in your career.

4 Strategies to Build Your Supportive Network

In order to develop and enhance your career it's always important and necessary to continue to build your network of supportive contacts. An effective network can help you throughout the various stages of your career and life, and through job changes and challenges as they arise.

Consider the following four strategies when you approach networking and building a supportive community around you.

1. Build an advisory team. Instead of having one mentor consider identifying several individuals who can serve as both mentors and adviser on various issues you face in your life and career. This advisory team might include a local business person, a former college professor, former supervisor, or a trusted person at your church or place of worship.

2. Attend an annual conference. Get into the practice of attending the same conference every year and you will begin to develop positive relationships, friendships, and a strong network of people in your profession.

3. Join a local group. If you're a dad join up with a local dad's group, or if you're a mom seek out the nearby mom's club. If you're into tech there is likely a meetup of tech-minded people in your community. Seek out a group of interest and start attending regular gatherings, even if the group's focus is not directly related to your career.

4. Be active on social media. Particularly if you are shy, social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, can be a great place to connect with interesting people with similar interests and goals without the pressure of an initial face-to-face meeting. You can develop a familiarity with people on these platforms in order to make that in-person meeting more comfortable when you do meet at that annual conference your attending.

Implementing these four strategies will help you develop an effective and supportive network.

5 Ways to Be More Social at Work (and, yes, you should be)

For some people it can be difficult to be social at work. You just want to go in, get your work done, and get home to your life outside of work.

However, being social at your place of employment can provide important benefits to your current job, such as opportunities for advancement or taking on a new project. It can also benefit you in the future when former coworkers have moved on to new jobs and you are unemployed and looking for
work.

With all that in mind, here are 5 ways to be more social at work:

1. Don't eat lunch alone. Be sure to go to the company cafe (if one exists) or join groups of colleagues heading out for lunch or a quick coffee. A great resource is Keith Ferrazzi's book Never Eat Alone.

2. Join your companies social media network. Many companies now offer social media sites enabling colleagues to communicate more effectively. Even if your company does not have a platform like this it's likely they are on Facebook or Twitter. You can join the conversation online and stay engaged with colleagues outside of work hours.

3. Join a committee. If your place of employment uses volunteer committees to get things done, such as organizing recycling or planning the holiday party (see below) consider joining one and getting to know colleagues you might not otherwise interact with on a regular basis.

4. Attend company events, holiday party, retirement party, etc. In December be sure to attend the holiday party and go to the company picnic in the summer. You'll often find higher level managers or executives feeling more relaxed and getting to know team members they haven't engaged yet. Use this as an opportunity to get to know others in your company.

5. Be proactive. Don't wait for others. Invite colleagues to grab a coffee or go to a concert on the weekend. It is through frequent and regular interactions with your coworkers that you will develop healthy and beneficial working relationships and, yes, even friendships.

You do need others to succeed in your career and in life. Take some of the steps noted above to develop effective relationships with those you work with.

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."

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Tony Hawk on Using Twitter

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 the video below, skateboard legend Tony Hawk talks about authenticity on social media and how he uses twitter.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Leave Your Job and Start Your 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

• Leave Your Job and Start Your Career: "View taking time to work on your career development as an actual gift to yourself. When else do you get to reflect on what you really want, why you really want it and how to strategize to make it happen?"


• 3 Generous Perks that Keep Employees Happy: "Unlimited vacation....A 2014 Glassdoor survey found that more than half of U.S. workers don’t use all their current paid vacation as it is."


• Social Media Job Hunting Tips: "Do you really want to lose sight of your dream job just because of a risqué, off-the-cuff remark to one of your friends on Facebook or Twitter?"


• Divorce and Your Career: "If you've gone through a divorce, it’s hard to imagine being at work and thinking about taking a risk and being terrified of the consequences. How bad could it possibly be?."


• 3 Ways to Eliminate Stress: "While a small bit of stress is OK, there are many small things that can contribute to your level of anxiety that you may not have considered."

3 Steps to Build Your Personal Brand

You have the ability to be your own best marketer and promoter by building your personal brand. Your personal brand is what sets you apart: your skills, talents, and values.

It is your unique set of skills, abilities, knowledge, and values that distinguishes you from others and makes clear to potential employers or partners what value you could bring to a position or role within a company.

Here are 3 steps to begin building your personal brand:

1. Get on social media and build a consistent message. If you're not on twitter or Instagram consider opening an account. Create or share content of value to others in your fields of interest. Be sure to share appropriate and professional content on facebook and linkedIn.

2. Start a blog. You can become known and knowledgeable in your field by writing interesting posts about areas of importance to others with similar interests. For help in starting a blog check out this post over at the Minimalists site.

3. Attend conferences and participate in panel discussions. Not only will you meet some great people at conferences and develop important business contacts and make new friends, but by participating in panel discussions you begin to brand yourself as an expert in your field.

How are you building your brand?

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 5 Ways to Use Twitter to Land a Job

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 Ways to use Twitter to Land a Job: "Make a point of following recruiters who specialize in your industry and job type, as well as target companies where you would like to work."


• How to Cope with a Bad Job: "Consider ways to tolerate your situation better: improvements you can make within whatever limitations are imposed on you to make your everyday experience of work more enjoyable, no matter how small."


• How Blogging Can Change Your Professional Life: "When like-minded people read my posts, they organically network with me—through comments, retweets, my contact form. And I've connected and built relationships with so many incredible people over the years who originally found me through my blog."


• What to do if Your Boss is a Bully: "Remember that there may be other people experiencing this problem who are too afraid to speak out. By taking a stand you are not behaving unprofessionally: you are simply taking steps to tackle an issue that is no doubt affecting others too."


• Find the Right Career Coach for You: "Almost every coach will have a 'paper trail' allowing you to see for yourself the kinds of issues they’re writing and thinking about, how they approach the situation, and their personal style."