Story & Your Career

The Career Communication Challenge: How to Be Engaging, Effective, and Succinct

The ability to engage others is central to your job search and career management.  How do you communicate effectively, often in limited time and space?  Unless you are starting out, you already have a lot of experience to share. How do you organize your information and decide what to include and what to leave out?

Use a Story

According to research psychologist, James Pennebaker, stories are told in all cultures because they are an effective way to “convey complex ideas and emotions to others in organized and simple ways”.

Are you already using story in your communication?  If you are a natural storyteller, this may feel like an easy process.  If not, read on to find out how to use story structure in your communication.

The Building Blocks of Any Story

The first step is to understand the basic building blocks.

James Pennebaker lists the 5 basic elements of a story as:

Adapting this Structure for Careers

The next step is to adapt the story structure to the information you want to communicate so that it is appropriate for a work context.  You can use the structure above or
adapt one of the models that are common in the career field.
Below are 3 examples from Kathy Hansen’s book on storytelling
for careers, Tell me about Yourself.

Begin by keeping a list of things you have accomplished or problem you have solved.  Choose 1 and describe it in some details. Apply one of the models above and test it out.
Does the structure fit?

If you get stuck, it may help to create some distance.  Here are some ideas to use to
change perspective.

• Shift your viewpoint by writing your story in the  3rd person. To do this, replace “I” with “he/she”.

• Get another view by asking for feedback.

• Review sample stories for inspiration.

The stories you tell are unique to you. Nobody has exactly your experience.  As long as the stories you choose are relevant to your audience, this is a powerful tool to help you to stand out.

Whether or not you are actively seeking a new position, begin to keep notes on your accomplishments and significant learning experiences.  This log will be invaluable in helping you to communicate more effectively and more confidently in the future.

Questions & Comments?

What helps or hinders you in using story to enhance your communication?

Use the box below to post questions or comments.
You can contact me directly here.

Standing Out

Ask these 2 Questions to Improve your Profile

One of the biggest challenges for today’s job seekers is getting attention from the right people.  Your online profiles can help as part of an overall communication  strategy.

Even if writing comes easily to you, it can be challenging when it comes to writing about yourself. To begin with, you often have very limited space to write what you want to get across. What should you include? What should you leave out?

The 2 questions below will help you to make better choices for your profile.

1. Who are my audiences?

This is an easy step to forget. After all, your profile is out there on the internet and can be read by anyone. So how can you define your audiences? Here is one way to begin.

List all the groups you would like to connect with.

Some examples might be:

• employees at companies you might want to work for in the future
• peers in your profession
• speakers and participants at a conference you plan to attend
• individuals in your industry in different locations
• individuals with shared interests

Choose Your Primary Audience

You may end up with a long list. Now it’s time to choose.

Decide which group do you most want to reach based on your current goals.
If you are a job-seeker, this will vary for different phases of your job search.

Choose one as your primary audience and write for them.
You can always change it later as your needs change.

2. How can I write in a way that connects with my reader?

Because your online profile may be your first contact, it can help to think of it as an introduction. What is your reader comfortable with? Selecting a primary audience allows you to make more informed choices about the style and most important content.

An Audience that is You Know Well

Write in a way that is familiar for your audience in this context.
For example, what style is your reader accustomed to? How formal is the culture of the group you want to connect with?

If your target audience is your own professional group, you will already knowthe “unwritten rules” and what is expected.

There is often debate about writing in the first person vs the third person. There is no correct format for everyone. It is a matter of both judgment and personal preference. Think also about what your reader might prefer.

An Audience that is New to You 

If you are changing direction, it can be more challenging. How well do you know the culture of the group you want to move to? If you are unsure, you can learn a lot by reviewing existing profiles from members of your target group. Once you have written your profile it is also helpful to get feedback from within that group.

Ease of Reading

Another important consideration is ease of reading. Because reading online involves scanning, make it as easy as possible. Depending on the platform, you may be able to break up the text into paragraphs and include headings.

Summary

It’s not easy to get attention amidst the vast amount of information that we are exposed to each day. The challenge is to stand out, without alienating your readers. By knowing your audience and tailoring your profile for your reader, you are off to a good start.

The use of a story structure and format is another way to further engage your reader. Look out for more on how story can help in a future issue.

Questions?

What challenges do you have in writing your online profiles?

Use the box below to post questions or comments.
You can contact me directly here.

How Connected Are You?

How Effective is Your Use of LinkedIn?

Despite a plethora of new social media platforms, LinkedIn is still an essential career tool for most professionals.  If you are actively looking for new opportunities, you are probably already busy on the site.  But are you using it effectively?

A Note if You are a New User

If you have never used LinkedIn, there is no cost to set up a basic account. Completing your profile takes  some time, but you can register in just a few minutes. Once you have your account you will need to set aside some time later to add your information.  See below for details of a free virtual training on getting more from LinkedIn.

Clarify your Purpose

LinkedIn is a powerful tool. But like other tools, it is only effective if you use it appropriately. Do you know your primary purpose for using LinkedIn?  Your goals may change over time, but knowing why you are on the site is essential.  Clarifying your purpose is probably the single most important step you can take to become more effective in your use of LinkedIn.

Below are a few reasons why you might invest time using LinkedIn

• Research companies to learn about prospective employers
• Stay in touch with new trends in your field
• Search job postings
• Connect with recruiters
• Expand your professional network
• Get expert advice about a specific topic

Define your Purpose

Take a few minutes to note down your own reasons.
What do you want to get out of the time you spend using LinkedIn?  Brainstorm possible goals and choose between 1 and 3 that are currently the most relevant to you.

If you are using LinkedIn because you’ve heard it’s a good thing to do for your career,  but you’re unsure what you want to get out of it, it’s likely that you will end up feeling frustrated.

Next Steps?  A Free Checklist

Want to boost your LinkedIn use even more?  Download this free checklist to find out other things you can do to become more effective.

Need More Help?

In May, I will offer a complimentary virtual training to help you get more from your LinkedIn use. If you’d like to attend, all you need to do now is to sign up for my class invitation list. The details will be emailed to you as soon as they are available.

(If you signed up for a previous class, you will automatically get the information. If you’re unsure if you signed up or not, enter your name and email to find out.)

Share your Views

What has worked for you so far?  Do you have advice for other readers?
What challenges do you have?
Share your experiences and ask questions in the comment box below.

Do you Know your Strengths?

How to Get to Know Your Strengths

Earlier this month, I talked about how knowing your own strengths can help you stand out when you want to find a new career direction, or even a new position in the same field.

But what does this mean in practice? The challenge is that many of us are not that clear about our strengths. Moreover, the same strength can be expressed in ways that appear to be very different at first.

So what can you do to explore your own strengths? This is important because you need to know your own strengths before you can share them with others, including prospective employers.

How to Be a Strengths Spotter

Dr. Alex Linley, one of the leaders in this field, describes the process of  “strengths spotting”. In The Strengths Book that he co-authored, there is a list 10 “tell tale signs” of strengths (p. 60-61).

Below are 3 questions adapted from this list that you can use to begin to discover  your own strengths.

1. When you think about the times that you have learned new things in your job, when have you been able to learn easily and quickly?

One of the reasons that it can be difficult to recognize our own strengths, is that we take them for granted. When you find something easy, you may assume that it is also easy for others. Check out your assumptions. Take notes on what you find out.

2. When you look at your work “to do” list, which activities do you gravitate towards?
What would you be most motivated to do if you could put external demands “on hold”?

External demands often have an important influence on how you allocate your time and effort at work. It’s easy for your strengths to get lost unless you pay attention to whether or not you have opportunities to use them.

3. What do you do at work that feels energizing?

Paying attention to how you feel during different work activities can be a great source of information about your strengths. Notice how your energy changes during different activities. Once you begin to observe patterns, you will be on track to learning more about your strengths.

Other Ways to Develop your Strengths Spotting Skills

These questions will help you discover your own strengths. Recognizing strengths in others is also a great way to build your skills. An additional benefit is that it can enhance your relationships at home and at work. What strengths do you observe among your coworkers, members of your family? Observe. Engage them in conversation about their strengths.

Track your Progress

If you decide that improving your strength spotting skills is a worthwhile goal for you, check out this free Strength Spotter Scale developed by Alex Linley and his colleagues. Assess your skills before you begin. Decide how long you want to practice for, and then reassess your skills to discover what you have learned.

Save the Date: March 29th at 12 noon Eastern

Career Mentor Series:  Free Job Search Skills Training.

Our next free class will be on Thursday March 29th.
There is a complimentary 30-minute training. I will share some practical information
to help you with your job search.  There will also be some time for questions.

Sign up here to get your invitation by email.
(If you signed up for a previous class you don’t need to re-register to get the information).

Want to suggest a future training topic?   Add it to the comments box below or
send me a note here

Discover your Strengths

Success in your Career & Job Search

This week, a job seeker asked a great question on LinkedIn. She wanted to know what she could do to “stand out” during her interview process.  

To reach the interview stage, job seekers have probably already jumped through many of the hoops. Even when you reach this point, there is more work to do. You need to be able to stand out.  But how do you do that? What can you do to demonstrate that you are the best candidate? This can be a daunting prospect. You may or may not have met the other candidates being considered for the position.  Have you head that preparation is the key to your success. But what might that mean in practice?

Prepare to Stand Out

If the job is a good fit for you, the key to your success is to be “your best self.”  This means really knowing your own strengths and being able to talk about them, and how they are relevant to the position you are applying for.

Know your Strengths

It may seem surprising, but many of us do not know our own strengths.  In fact, research shows that 2 out of 3 people don’t know their strengths.

There are many ways to discover your own strengths. You can take a formal assessment. You can also review past experiences to identify patterns.

What can you do today to learn more about your own strengths? First you need to know that there are 2 essential elements to discovering your strengths.

Strengths are:

1. the things you are good at 
2. the things you find energizing

How to Begin to Discover your Strengths

With this information in mind, you can begin your quest to get to know your strengths.  Start by observing your experiences during different activities. Which activities feel easy and which feel difficult? Notice when you feel energized by what you are doing, and when you feel drained.  You can learn a lot just by observing your own experience.  You might like to take some notes.  

Why is it Important? 

Knowing your strengths has many benefits. It puts you in charge. Not only will you be able to share your strengths with prospective employers, you will also be able to make choices in your work and your life that lead to greater happiness and fulfillment.  

Want to Learn More?

In the next issue, I will discuss other tools that you can use to discover your strengths.  Later this month, I will offer a 30-min no-cost training to explore strengths in more detail.
If you are already on my class invitation list, you will automatically get the details you need to attend.

If not, you can join here.  (If you don’t remember, sign up anyway, and you will get a return message letting you know)

In the meantime, you check out this article on “Strengths and Careers” that  my colleague Emma Trenier and I published in Career Convergence, the magazine of the National Career Development Association.

Share your questions & comments

• How well do you know your strengths?
• Did you try out the exercise?

Use the box below to let me know how it goes and ask questions.

Job Search Question?

  As I am doing some traveling later this month, there will be no Career Mentor Series Free Training in February.Instead, you can send me a question in writing. 
I will do my best to answer it in the next Issue of Career & Work Life Matters. Career Mentor Series:
Free Job Search Skills Training.Have you joined the class invitation list? Sign up for email reminders about the next no-cost class to help you with your job search.
(If you signed up for a previous class you don’t need to re-register) This issue continues the discussion of steps to enhancing your self-efficacy. In general, career change and job-search are self-directed activities. But that doesn’t mean that they occur in isolation. Read this article for 2 important steps you can take for your own success.

 Beliefs and Success: Part II

Today’s issue continues the earlier discussion of how to enhance your self-efficacy by setting small goals that build on each other.    By accomplishing these goals successfully. you experience the positive mastery that builds self-efficacy.

Set Yourself Up for Success

Two of the other important factors in developing the self-efficacy that predicts success are vicarious learning and feedback. What might this mean for you as a job seeker or career changer? How can your leverage what is known about developing self-efficacy to
increase your success? Let’s begin by exploring vicarious learning.

Who are You Learning From?

Vicarious Learning means learning by observing others.  Young children learn a great deal by observing what is going on around them and modelling the behavior of adults in their environment.  Of course, they may imitate negative as well as positive behaviors.
As adults, it’s easy to take this type of learning for granted.

Do you have positive role models in your network that you can learn from?  Who do you know who has successfully achieved what you want to do? What knowledge, strategies, and skills did they use? What might apply to your situation? Although you are ultimately responsible for the the success of your job search and career change,  this doesn’t mean that you have to do it in isolation or without finding others to learn from and help you reach your goals more easily.

Are you Getting the Feedback You Need?

Job search and career change involve many steps, including setbacks and obstacles.  One of the challenges is to know both “how you are doing”, and if you are “doing the right things”.  As everyone who has sent out resumes and not received any responses knows, lack of feedback is very demotivating.

What can you do to ensure that you get regular feedback on your progress?  Are you tracking your activities? Are they moving you towards your goals? Do you have the support of others who can help you to be accountable when the going gets tough?  Job search and career change involve making choices about how you use your time and other resources.  Take steps to get the get the feedback you need.  Find an accountability buddy.  Join with others.
What can you do to monitor and evaluate your progress so that have regular feedback about how you are doing, and if you are doing the right things?

Career Mentor Series:
Free Job Search Skills Training

Have you joined the class invitation list? 

Sign up for email reminders about the next no-cost class to help you with your job search.

(If you signed up for a previous class you don’t need to re-register)

Complex Choices

Learned Beliefs & Success

Last time we talked about the relevance of “internal stories” to career change and job search.  This issue takes a more specific look at beliefs, in particular how learned beliefs influence success.

What do you really expect?

How do you feel about your job search and career change?  To be successful in today’s job market you need to make strategic choices about where to focus your efforts. You also need to be persistent.  But what if you feel frustrated and disheartened by your results so far?

One thing you can do is to take a step back and review what you are doing. A few months ago I wrote about how allocating your search time effectively can help.  But what else can you do?

Self-efficacy & Success

How do you feel about your search overall?  What do you really believe?   For many years social psychologist,  Albert Bandura, (now Emeritus professor at Stanford University) studied human agency and the factors that predict success.  It turns out that how we perceive our capability affects how we function in many areas of work and life.

Individuals who perceive themselves as capable and expect to be successful in a specific behavior are more likely to succeed. This belief is known as self-efficacy.  There are many behaviors that you need to master to be successful in your job search.  How might you increase your self-efficacy?

Increasing  your Self-Efficacy

The good news is that your beliefs are not fixed.  Research provides insight into how to positively influence self-efficacy. There are 4 important sources of influence on your beliefs about your capacity to  achieve successful outcomes for a particular goal.

These are:

• performance accomplishments
• vicarious learning
• feedback
• anxiety levels

Let’s begin with performance accomplishments, and consider what you can do to leverage this sources of influence for your job search.

Performance Accomplishments and Self-efficacy

Knowing that the experience of success is important, how might you apply this to your job search? You may think that setting challenging goals will motivate you to achieve more.  But this research suggests that you also need to work on your career change and  job search in a way to allows you to achieve success on a regular basis.  This may mean revising your working definition of  success.

One simple step you can take is to break down your job search goals into small manageable tasks that you know you will accomplish.

How to Create Success Goals

Take a look at your job search goals.  How are you defining success?  Of course the end goal is to get the position that you want.  But what interim goals can you set for yourself? If it takes 6 months or more to find your position, how can you measure your success in the meantime? Maybe it’s a number of contacts, phone calls, etc.  What makes sense for you at this phase of your search?  Brainstorm all the activities that are part of a successful job search.

Begin by breaking your overall goal down into subgoals. What can you accomplish in the coming week? What can you accomplish today?   It’s easy to dismiss the small actions that build on each other to move you forward in your job search. Taking time to identify small goals not only helps you to stay focused, but will also enable you to experience the success that builds your self-efficacy, and thus your future success.

Next time, we will look at the other factors that are know to influence self-efficacy and consider what they mean for your job search.

I invite you to share your comments below. 
What goals did you accomplish this week?

Career Mentor Series:
Free Job Search Skills Training

Details Below.

Which Stories are you Keeping? Letting Go?

Which Stories are Relevant?

Today’s 24/7 news cycles means that most media stories are short-lived.  Do you read employment-related news and wonder what they mean for you?

Did you see a recent Forbes magazine story that was widely reported about  why employers should be more concerned with retaining their employees as the recession recedes.  Is this good news for employees?  Trends in the desired direction are a good thing.

But there is also discussion about fundamental changes in the world of work.  If you browse business publications you might have seen the article by Anya Kamenetz in the February issue of Fast Company magazine.  She describes the four year career as part of a  “a new and bewildering world of work”  that is characterized by “insecurity, volatility, and risk“.

What do these stories mean for you as an individual? If you are unemployed, underemployed,  or even exhausted because your workload feels impossible, you may dismiss these media stories as irrelevant or misleading. Do you feel as if your day to day experience is lost among discussion that focuses only on the big picture?

Stories: External & Internal

Such external stories can be useful in keeping up with trends in your industry, as well as in the world of work. But often it is your internal stories that have the most immediate impact on your life.

In his book, 18 Minutes, Peter Bregman talks about how the stories we tell ourselves directly influence our motivation and success. Each of us construct our internal stories to make sense of our experiences.   How aware are you of your internal stories?

How to Get Inside your Own Story

Bregman suggests completing the sentence: “I am the type of person who …… “  In his view, our decisions are informed by our answers to this question, whether we answer it with awareness or subconsciously.

Make sure the story you tell about yourself (sometimes only to yourself)
inspires you to move in the direction you want to move.
Bregman (2011) p. 179

 

Your Story & your Career

You can focus this question on your current work or future career goals. What comes up if you complete 2 statements: “I am the type of person who …..”  and “I am not the type of person who …..” in relation to work.

What insights do your answers provide that might be relevant either to the work you do now, or want to do in the future?  How has your story changed? How is it changing as you learn and have new experiences?  Are there parts of your story that no longer serve you?  What will you let go of?  The good news is that because we construct our own stories, we also have the power to take them apart and rewrite them.

Knowing yourself and the unique contribution you can and want to make can function like a “lighthouse”, especially important when the seas are choppy.  Being mindful of your internal stories can help you to navigate increasing uncertainty in the workplace. Taking the time to observe your internal stories allows you to evaluate the ways they support or hinder you in your work and your life.

A Story to Rewrite?

For example, you may discover that you tell yourself that “you are not the type of person who is good at presentations”.  Is presenting an important element of your career success?  If it is, do you want to change that part of your story? What can you do to make it a priority to develop that skill? What’s the first step?

More often than not, changing your story requires more  than attempting to change thoughts. In this example, it also involves taking action to develop new skills. Assuming that you learn the skills you need, you can  rewrite your story based on the results of your actions.

I invite you to share your comments in the box below.

Should you wait?

Reviewing Your Year

What stands out for you when you look back on your experience of 2011?  When I review my year, one thing that is prominent is the experience of “waiting”.  I felt as if I was waiting because a significant planned change did not happen.  An expected family relocation was put “on hold”.

Uncertainty as an Obstacle

One of the challenge of uncertainty that it makes it difficult to fully commit. For example, because I expected to be moving I delayed getting started on a new project I had planned for 2011.  But plans are not guarantees. Things may not happen as planned!

Are you making decisions or putting things on hold? In today’s job market, finding a new position usually requires a lot of personal commitment. You need to devote time, effort, persistence, and resources to get where you want to go.
But how do you decide what to commit to?  Where should you begin?

Your Life Intentions?

Although new year is typically a time to set goals, there is a step before that.  According to Marie Nemeth, author of  Mastering Life Energies, the place to begin is to reassess your life intentions.

What do you want to be known for? What do you want to contribute? Knowing what is most important to you is your compass for choosing your goals.  Do you want to be an innovator in your field, a mentor to others, a successful team member?

If you’re not sure what to include in your life intentions list, use Nemeth’s inventory to get started.   Remember that your list is unique to you.

A Foundation for Goals

If you are feeling pressured in your current situation, spending time thinking about what you want may seem like a luxury. Career goals may feel elusive and out of reach.  Yet, your life intentions are the foundation from which to develop your goals.

Being clear about your intentions has very practical advantages.  Although the importance of different intentions to you may change over time, they are not dependent on external circumstances.

“Maintain coherence by bringing everyday actions
into alignment with what is most important to you.  (Marie Nemeth)

Once you are clear about your intentions, you can be more creative in how you choose goals.  If external circumstances get in the way of achieving your goals, you can return to your intentions and find new ways to move towards them.  You can review what you are doing on a practical day to day basis, and ask whether or not what you are doing supports your life intentions.

COMING SOON:  Are you ready to take action on your intentions?

Later this month, I will be offering a free class to provide
practical help with organizing your job search.

Sign up here to get upcoming class notices
by email.

The 4 Essential Pillars

A Foundation for Job Search Success

Do you Have the Skills you Need?

4 Pillars To Support your Job Hunt

What does it really take to find work in today’s economy?

If you feel that your job search efforts are not getting you where you want to go, it may be time to take a step back to assess the gaps in your skills. Unless you are a career professional you are unlikely to think much about your job-hunting skills until you need to use them.

As a job seeker you know too well the factors that are outside of your control. But improving your knowledge and skills about job search is one thing that you can influence. Discover what you can do differently to give yourself the best opportunities for success.

In one of his most recent books, The Job-Hunter’s Survival Guide,
internationally acclaimed career expert, Dick Bolles identifies the key elements of job search success.

In his view, great job-hunting skills are built on
these 4 pillars:

1. Taking ownership of your job search
2. A willingness to invest time and effort
3. Self-knowledge based on a thorough inventory of yourself
4. Current knowledge and skills

Four Questions You Need to Ask

Consider the following questions to understand how these 4 factors apply to your job search.

1. Who’s job is it?

According to Bolles, the first pillar is to “assume that finding work is your job.”  This may seem self-evident, but for a significant proportion of job-hunters today, new opportunities have always been easily accessible. What has your experience been? Maybe you are in a position of looking for work, having been in the same company for several years.  It can be a daunting prospect.

Taking ownership of your job search doesn’t mean that you have to do it all on your own. The most successful job seekers are those who have access to the resources they need. They have a  well-developed professional network, and know how to get the help and information they need to make progress. This also means have a support network when the going gets tough.

2. What are my expectations?

The 2nd pillar Bolles describes is “be willing to work hard on your job-hunt”. Working hard means not only investing time and energy, but also making good choices about where to focus your efforts.  Reaching your goals may take more time than you hoped. It is essential that you conduct your search in a way that is sustainable.  This means integrating ways to take care of your health and well-being as part of your search strategy.

3. Have you taken the time to fully assess who you are and what you want?

It’s easy to think “I don’t have time for that”, but in this competitive market it is more important than ever to be able to stand out. This means knowing who you are, and what you want from your work. A search that is based on your self-knowledge will be more focused, and thus more likely to be successful more quickly. You will be better positioned to find and communicate clearly with the people you need to reach.

You may feel that it’s better to try to keep your options open. But if your search is unfocused, your efforts will be diluted and less likely to be effective. Or as Bolles states succinctly in his book, ‘staying loose’ about what you’re looking for is job-hunting suicide (p. 4)

4. How current are my job-search knowledge and skills?

Hiring trends vary over time. Technology is having a major impact on the job search process. It’s not easy to keep up to date. If it is some time since you’ve engaged in a job search, it is likely that you will need change the way you did things last time.  Increase your chances of success by learning as much as you can, and by updating the skills you need to be able to be successful in today’s job market.

Share your Views

How do you feel about your skills? What topics would you like to know more about?  Feel free to share your comments below.

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