High Five Weekly Career Transitions Roundup

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 Socially Savvy Career
"I’ve gotten all of my jobs by emailing, phoning and personally visiting people over and over."


2. Steve Guttenberg's Guide to Career Success
"Read everything that you can and talk to everyone in whatever area you want to work. You have to live it 24/7. It doesn’t matter what the job is."

3. 9 Ways You Must Invest in Your Career
"If you want to make sure you stay on the right career track, it takes more than just getting the day-to-day work done to be successful."

4. For Career Direction, Use Your Imagination  
"The quest for the right career field frustrates students both before and after graduation ... If that's your situation, you first must imagine what that field might be."

5. 7 Tips to Rev Up Your Job Search This Summer
"A mid-year review of your professional and personal career goals can help you refocus your energies and establish new mini-goals to advance them."

When Does the Job Interview Truly Begin?

On the surface, this may seem like a silly question. Of course the interview begins once you sit down to talk with your potential employer, right? Not really; the interview truly begins much earlier. If you don't pay attention to these key details before you even start the interview, it may make no difference how much you prepare for the questions you are asked.

Quite honestly, the interview begins the moment you submit your application for employment and does not end until you receive the job offer. Here are some details you may not have thought of before.

• Manage your first impressions. As a candidate, our resume usually makes the first impression for us. Ensure your resume is professional, compelling, and clearly states the value you can offer an employer.
• Every contact you have with the employer makes an impression. Proactively manage all the impressions an employer has of you from the very start. Things such as an error-free resume, a professionally addressed cover letter, and even the paper you choose (when mailing or hand delivering the resume) can make a difference for you.
• Think about the impression you will be making when the potential employer calls you. Don't answer your phone in a noisy environment such as in the car with your three kids laughing and screaming in the background or in a busy restaurant.
• The employer will happily leave a voice mail - as long as your voice mail greeting is professional and appropriate. Turn off the musical ringtone and take your kids singing "Old MacDonald" off your voice mail until you receive that job offer.
• Be polite to EVERYONE you meet once you arrive for the interview. The parking attendant, the door man, and the receptionist are often asked for their opinion of how you treated them before a hiring decision is made. Make sure they have nothing but positive things to say about your courtesy and professionalism.
• Wait patiently in the lobby. Sit up straight, don't pace, don't talk on the phone, and don't chew gum. You never know who may be watching you while you wait to see if you are nervous or unprofessional.

Co-Op Education Can Make It Easier to Transition to the Workplace

Cooperative education, or “co-op” education, combines education with practical work experience. Co-op education programs are offered at the high school and college level. Some institutions have built strong reputations for being co-op focused; in fact, it’s what sets them apart, for example Georgia Institute of Technology or Kettering University in Michigan.

Co-op programs enable students to gain academic credit, and in some cases, modest compensation, in return for their work. There are different co-op work arrangements; one of the most common involves an alternating schedule between class-course semesters and work semesters. Another popular co-op arrangement has students taking a few courses while working simultaneously.  Some co-op programs are summer-based only: students work during the summer break and then returns to school in the fall.

Most of these programs try to place students in jobs that are related to their areas of study and fields of interest. Some may require students to maintain at least a 2.5 GPA and may only consider students who exhibit certain desirable traits, such as leadership or an interest in community involvement. Co-op students are typically matched with faculty advisors who work with the students to set individual co-op goals and monitor and evaluate student performance.

Through a co-op education, students can gain valuable job skills that are desirable to employers, like critical thinking, problem solving, organization, time management, and teamwork. Students can also acquire skills that can be helpful in a future job search, for example creating a resume and interviewing.

In summary, a co-op education is a great way for students to make the connection between the classroom and the work world while testing their skills and aptitudes as they explore a field of interest.

Confessions of a Real Post Grad: Jeremy Felice

I will be interviewing different post grads to document their journey, give advice, learn from their triumphs and mistakes and so other post grads know they aren't alone. I will be talking to those lucky few who got their dream job right after their degree or those who went in a completely different direction than they had planned.

1. Explain to readers where and when you graduated, your degree and your current job/schooling.

I graduated from Oakland University in Spring 2012 with a history degree. I currently work for DTE Energy and work on power lines.

2. You just described your current situation, is this where you thought you'd be as a post grad? Explain.

I thought I would be teaching a high school history class and definitely didn't plan on working outside with dangerous equipment and situations every day.

3. What is your dream job?

My dream job would probably be owning my own brewery and standing behind the bar serving happy people delicious beers.

4. What is the best thing about being a post grad?

The best thing about being a post grad would have to be the freedom and the feeling of accomplishment of getting a degree. Also, being a post grad of Oakland University, the best thing may be the ability to park my vehicle with ease.

5. What is the worst?

The worst thing would have to be that I do miss learning a lot but also that I do not have a job in the field that I studied five years for.

6. What advice do you have for recent post grads?

Great Job! You did it! Now get to paying off those student loans!

Are You Forgetting the Importance of Listening?

It seems as though we spend our lives preoccupied these days. How often do you see two people sitting at a dinner table both looking at their smart phones? Whether we are distracted by our phones, our problems, or too focused on what we want to say next, many of us could stand to take a deep breath, focus, and follow these rules of listening better.

Be Present and Attentive
Put down the cell phone, turn off the ringer, and promise yourself you will not look around the room at other people when listening. Take a moment before you start a conversation, take a deep breath, and make a conscious decision to be an active participant in the conversation. Don't be preoccupied with how the other person wants you to react. Be yourself and react with authentic emotions.

Listen as an Equal
When having a conversation with someone, what they often want most of all is a sounding board or an ear. Don't approach the conversation as though you are an expert - or someone above them - who needs to fix their problem. Try to approach conversations without an agenda or a plan in mind which will often taint what we hear and how we hear it.

Confirm What You Hear
Ask questions to clarify what you hear, ask the person to elaborate or explain, and confirm what you hear by stating what you heard. By actively listening to the other person and providing immediate confirmation of what you are hearing, and whether you are hearing correctly, you can clear up any misunderstandings before they grow into bigger issues.

Handling Your Career Leadership Saw

As a career blogger and coach, I look to many sources of inspiration for my clients and me; some of them are conventional, others less so. One such source manifested itself recently, one I didn't expect but has embedded itself in my mind since I read about it.

Saws.

One of my favorite bloggers, EvilHRLady, posted about how her kid is going to be my kid's boss someday. And why will this happen? Because her kid knows how to appropriately handle saws, pocket knives, and cook and eat their own food.

Did I mention he was three-years-old?

You read that correctly: a three-year-old is managing sharp metal instruments and cooking for himself. EvilHRLady-who is an American expat living in Switzerland-signed her son up for a "forest school" experience, one very common in that country. I'll cease going into the details (read the blog post) but suffice to say that she brings up an important issue: that we are undermining our children's leadership potential by operating from a perspective of fear, "protection," and a belief that children cannot be self-reliant.

But, today, I'm not talking about three-year-olds. I'm talking about you. Because we were all once three-year-olds. And in many ways, we still are.

It's easy to see the saw as a metaphor for that which we think we cannot handle, but-in reality-we can. If a three-year-old can play in the wilderness-rain, shine, snow, whatever-for four hours, what can you do in your career that you currently think you cannot? What challenges have you been turning your back on? What beliefs you hold are holding you back?

I have blogged before about taking the 'easy' out of your career, beating your career saboteur, and changing perspectives. I invite you to go back and reread them, along with the other excellent practical and inspirational posts here at the Daily Leap.

You grow as a leader by putting yourself in uncomfortable situations, facing your fears, and believing more in yourself than you thought possible.

Don't you think it's time that you picked up the saw?

High Five Weekly Career Transitions Roundup

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. 5 Ways to Rebound from a Layoff
"When you get laid off, it hurts. You're thrown completely off-course, and usually at the worst possible time."


2. How to Explain the Gap on Your Resume
"If you’ve been downsized or jumped from project to project with some noticeable gaps in the timeline of your resume, you’re not alone."

3. Don't Like Your Job? Change It (Without Quitting)
"Maybe you're in the wrong field, don't enjoy the work, feel surrounded by untrustworthy coworkers, or have an incompetent boss. Most people would tell you to find something that's a better fit. But that may not be possible."

4.  Second Job Interview: 5 Ways to Seal the Deal  
"Congratulations -- you've landed a second interview with your dream employer ... Now you just need to win them over. Here are five great tips that will help you snag the job."

5. Embracing Risk in Career Decisions
"If you want your career to take off, you may need to do the opposite of what risk managers try to do: Instead of focusing on how to reduce risks, you may need to embrace and enhance them."