Career Soup: What's Your Brand

Image Credit: Business World from Vector.me (by vecteezy.com)

Workplace buzzwords often die off like "paradigm shifts" and "thinking outside of the box." However, there seems to be one that keeps hanging around: "personal branding." How important is personal branding to your career success? Very important! I realized this when I was speaking with a friend and she was asking for some social media design advice. I suggested that she needed to "get your brand popping!"  All roads should lead to your passion and what you want people to think of when they thing of you. If you are a widget counter, but your passion is financial planning, then you should read as much as you can about financial planning, blog about financial planning in your free time, offer gratis financial planning to family members, and suit up in all profiles pictures on your social networking pages.  If you are a teacher, but you'd ultimately like to be principal or move to higher education, expand your vocabulary to include graduate level education and administrative terminology. Shift your brand from a stellar teacher to a stellar school leader. Branding is about who you want to be using your strengths to guide you!

Take products for example. When you see a certain logo, there is an expectation of what you're going to get.  Your mind pulls up past experiences (good or bad), advertisement jingles, and the like.  What images and thoughts are retrieved when someone sees you or your online presence? Doing a quick Google search for images for "headshots" in your current or desired profession will give you plenty of ideas how to style your profile pictures.  I can offer you assistance in designing an industry-appropriate resume that will fit in AND more importantly stand out in the right way to get you noticed. Feel free to contact me for assistance!

Writers' Corner: 9 Writing Jobs You Might Not Know About

I ran across this on Tumblr and thought it was an extremely useful list. Happy Writing in the New Year!!

Original Blog Post

Fall Fashion Watch: Scaled Up Scandal Look

I think I'm the only person in the world who does not watch Scandal. I understand the appeal, yet by the time it comes on, it's lights out for me. Plus, I can't get fully invested in a story line other than my own because God is truly amazing me with wonderful blessings that keep me occupied! Yet, I have seen the great fashions that Olivia Pope dons each week in magazine and commercials.  Imagine my surprise when I read--albeit late-- that there is a Limited Scandal Collection.



 So, I took a look and was impressed by the offerings. I was not impressed, however, by the sizes available. I know I'm late, but goodness me, the size availability was shoddy.  So, for all my curvaceous cuties out there, I pulled together some of  what I call "Scaled Up" Scandal items on Polyvore. (Keep a eye out for more "Scaled Up" looks in the future.) The color palette is the same, but these clothes will fit! You will have to do a little shopping around to pull the looks together, but it will be worth it. I'm not quite sure the relevance of "Gladiators,"  but I guess you'll be one (curves and all) once you add these pieces to your wardrobe. "It's handled!"

Scaled Up Scandal Look by styledbygia 

Trench coat
simplybe.com

Brown pants
$240 - beigeplus.com

Dolce&Gabbana gray pumps
$760 - farfetch.com

Moreau leather tote bag
barneys.com

Tie collar blouse
mostrami.pl

Career Soup: Take your job hunt offline (at least for a little while)

Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling. Submitting, submitting, submitting. Nothing, nothing, nothing.

Online job hunting can become very discouraging. It seems as if the only way to get a job these days is by submitting an application online, but that is not all the way true.  You should take your job hunt offline for a little while and here’s how.

Use the employment opportunities online to make a list of people in your network who you need to talk to about your pursuits.  For example, if you see that there is an opening at a financial institution, flip through your Facebook and Linkedin pages to see who might work there.  Make contact with that person on line AND schedule a meeting to discuss your employment goals. That person may be able to give insight about the hiring process, timelines, and working conditions that will inform your cover letter writing or your desire to apply altogether.  Your contact may even know of a position in the pipeline that will better suit you.

Get some assistance with sprucing up your résumé and cover letter.  You may think that you’re putting your best foot forward, but a fresh pair of eyes can make a big difference. Maybe your résumé was effective in one sector or even two months ago, but now it may look dated or out of touch with the market. If you are in transition from one career to another, your résumé needs a completely different flow. Get some help with this. There are Career Coaches, HR professionals, and colleagues in your network who are willing to take a look and provide valuable feedback.

Complete an honest professional skills alignment assessment.  Take a look at five positions you have been rejected for and complete a side-by-side alignment of your skills with the requirements. Do you need more training? Do you need to read some trade books or articles? Do you even need to look for another career that you are better qualified for?  Be honest with yourself and get what you need to get the position you want.

You’ve networked. You’ve polished up your application documents. You’ve even done a skills alignment assessment. The last thing you need to do before you hop back online to apply for positions is to develop a schedule.  Determine how many applications you are going to submit each week. You will need to factor in how much time it will take to complete a professional skills alignment assessment for EACH position, craft a dynamic cover letter, and complete the online application impeccably. In this case, quality usurps quantity. 

If you apply for only two positions a week and they are quality submissions, you are more likely to get the job! What’s the point of being an expert job applicant? You want to be employed!  And, if you are looking for an employment upgrade, you want to MOVE UP!

Get offline. Get focused. Get the job you want!

Job Search Engines (Don’t forget! Make a list of positions and companies. Meet with contacts at these companies that are in your network.)

Indeed.com

SimplyHired.com

Linkup.com

Linkedin.com

Ziprecruiter.com

Dice.com (Tech)

https://chroniclevitae.com/job_search/new (Higher Ed)

If you know more job sites, leave them in the comments section below! Thanks.

I also found this informative Forbes article on WHEN to start you job search. Check it out here.  

How to Help Kids Find Their Passion

Amazon

Goodreads

Note: I'm going to clear out some time to read Flow in the coming weeks as well as some of his other books found here.  I am so excited about this I'm doing a happy dance right now! Creativity is almost as important to me as my heartbeat.

We should know our children better than anyone else, but it seems that the craziness of life often gets in the way.  I make it my point to study my child. I want him to avoid wasting his time pursuing things that really don’t suit him.  Let's use sports as an example.  He tried soccer at age four. He loved it the first year, but each season became less and less enjoyable for him. He “retired” from the sport when he was six years old. He was an excellent soccer player with skills and stamina, but he didn’t like it. So, the following spring, he tried lacrosse and loved it. Then in the fall, he found his “flow” with football. He is an overall excellent athlete no matter the sport, but football is where his passions lie.  Had I made him stay with soccer, I would have missed the opportunity to witness his football abilities and joy playing the sport.  He’s even interested in playing football in the spring which means that lacrosse and his $300 dollars’ worth of equipment will take a back seat for now.  He assured me that he'll pick it back up when he's in middle school.


Another area where he is in his flow is while he is drawing and sculpting.  He sits for hours drawing, but will only play a video game for the requisite 15 minutes.  The average attention span is 15 minutes, but when we are in our flow, "time doesn’t exist." What activities does your child do for long periods of time?  Don’t say watch TV! We all are guilty of that one.  There are some other activities in which your child becomes enthralled. Take note. That activity just may be the thing that will make him millions while fulfilled and possibly blessing others.  I’ve posted a TED talk about flow. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow, The Secret to Happiness. The video is also found here.

I related to the speaker more than I could have ever imagined. When I’m writing, time doesn’t exist. I will sit down to write and the next thing I know it’s 3 hours later. If I don’t write, I miss my characters. I wonder what they’re up to.  Anyway, once you notice your child’s “flow” activity, give them opportunities to hone their skills.  Give them the tools they need to experience this wonderful space. I signed my son up for two art camps this summer, and of course we are in the middle of football season right now. I signed him up for a speed and agility afterschool activity this fall as well. There are always a plethora of art supplies available to him.

I think back to when I was eight years old deciding my future by stating that I wanted to be a pediatrician based on an interview I conducted with my pediatrician. I couldn’t stand the sight of mucus or blood, but I was going to be a doctor. I sat in my room for hours designing clothes and hairstyles, but doctor was my career choice.  I took photographs and won awards for my photography, but doctor it was.  I wrote and illustrated books and won awards for them, but there was no turning back from a declaration I made when I was a mere eight years old.  O, had my parents and I known about flow back then.  I would be a fashion journalist. But, it’s never too late, and the fact that I’ve been through twists and turns with my career, makes me all the better suited to help students make wise decisions about their career track.  Let's study our children, witness when they're in flow, and help them hone those skills. Simple, right?  Help them intermingle the practical with their passions and success is inevitable!