How to Build your Wardrobe – Part 1

Our appearance speaks louder than our words…..

Every day we pass by hundreds of people on the subway, in hallways, or on the streets, never saying a word.  Yet despite the lack of verbal communication, decisions are being made as to the trustworthiness and intentions of those around you.  Doubt this?  Try wearing a ski mask and trench coat while gesturing wildly with your arms.  In the 15 minutes you have before the police show-up, take note that despite not saying a single word your appearance has sent a message.

Yes, what I just said is unfair.  Right now you may be thinking “Judge me not by my clothing, but by the integrity in which I live my life” – and I couldn’t agree more.  But life isn’t fair, human beings have and will continue to judge others based on the information presented to them – and in most situations this is at first our physical appearance.  Dress like a thug and people treat you like one; dress like a professional and you’ll have doors opened for you.

A Man’s Wardrobe

There are many things that we can’t control; the weather, the economy, the fact that college football needs a playoff system.  How we present ourselves to strangers and new acquaintances, however, is not one of them. When you shake hands with a potential partner, they form an instant impression of you which is not easily dislodged.   First impressions are powerful because until we begin to speak, they are the only bits of information we have to make a snap decision as to whether we like or trust someone.  Countless communication studies have shown a man’s visual appearance is initially more powerful than what he says; ignore your wardrobe at your own risk.

There will be three articles in this series –

Part 1 – How to Build Your Wardrobe – Making the Commitment & Understanding Your Needs – Before a man begins anything that will require substantial time and resources, he has to be committed to the change.  In this article  we break men up into defined groups based on their lifestyles and we then address their specific needs.  The goal is to give you a quick checklist of items you should consider investing in depending on your career choice and personal requirements.

Part 2 – How to Build Your Wardrobe – Clothing Specifics – In this article we address specific menswear questions such as the order in which you should assemble your clothing, which suit colors and style should you choose if you only own one suit, which shoe styles you will get the most wear out of, and how you mix casual wear into the wardrobe.  We’ll also talk about where those on a very limited budget should invest the bulk of their money if they are starting from scratch.

Part 3 – How to Build Your Wardrobe – Accessories, Maintenance, & Storage – In this final article we’ll cover the often neglected points of a man’s wardrobe such as how to incorporate hats, watches, & other accessories along with clothing storage & protection.

Part 1 – How to Build Your Wardrobe – Making the Commitment & Understanding Your Needs

1st – Learn and then Commit to Improve Your Personal Presentation

First, before spending a dime, you must commit to making the change.  Do this by going through your current clothing and setting aside everything that you 1) have not worn for two years 2) is noticeably stained and 3) fits so poorly not even a master tailor could adjust it to fit.  Package it all up and mark it for the Salvation Army or EBay.  Now over the next week verbally inform a few close friends and family member as to what you are doing – perhaps even promise a new profile picture on Facebook of you decked out in your new clothing.  The goal here is to create a network of supporters and audience; this puts pressure on you to fulfill your promise.

And do not forget to gain the support of your spouse or the person who will be helping you to pay for all this.  I find my clients’ wives are ecstatic and fully supportive of their husband’s efforts to dress better.  If you keep your partner out of the decision, however, you could be met with unexpected resistance.

2^nd – Understand the Basics of Style and Your Specific Needs

You have to understand why you need professional clothing in your wardrobe.  I’ve written about this point quite a bit; if you need further convincing check out past Art of Manliness articles such as Your Personal Appearance: The Importance of Being a Sharp Dressed Man or explore the writings of former FBI counter intelligence agent Joe Navarro – he blogs extensively about the importance of proper presentation and the power of your curbside appeal.

Next, build a foundation in understanding the rules of dressing well. I can’t stress the importance of a man taking  control of his own image.  Handing the responsibility over to your wife or girlfriend, however well meaning they may be, is a dangerous option; you may end up looking like a Ken doll.  These resources will give you the basics -

• AOM Classic Articles such as A Man’s Style in Relation to His Body Type & Three Steps to Building Your Individual Style
• The Art of Manliness’s Style Community
• A Tailored Suit’s Men’s Style Guide

And make sure to supplement these guides with modern style blogs such as Street Etiquette, Put This On, Image Granted, and Young Man/Old Man.

Types of Men and Their Clothing Needs

The Constant Professional’s Wardrobe

You wear a suit Monday through Friday, often find you are having dinner with clients, and even on the weekends dress well as you might run into colleagues and clients out on the town.  Your image is tied closely to the reputation you have carefully crafted over the years – a man who pays attention to the details and can be trusted to handle others people’s affairs with professionalism.

Items that should be in the Constant Professional’s wardrobe:

• 6+ Suits
• 3+ Pair Dress Shoes
• 2 Pair Casual Leather Shoes
• Belts that match above shoes
• 15+ Dress Shirts
• 15+ Ties
• 1 Pair jeans that fit – no holes
• 4 Pair Slacks, Dark & Light
• 4+ Button-up collared sport shirts
• 2+ Solid Polo Shirts
• 5+ Sweaters
• 10+ Undershirts V-neck
• 2+ Sports Jackets
• 1 Navy Blazer
• 10+ Pocket Squares
• 2 Simple Dress Watches
• 1 Overcoat
• 1 Pair Leather Gloves
• 1 Trenchcoat
• 1 Hat
• Presentable Athletic Clothing
• Collar Stays, Cuff Links

Items that would be helpful for the Constant Professional to have:

• Full black tie ensemble – A onetime investment enables you to have a perfect fitting and better quality tuxedo that has paid for itself after 5 wearings.

The Monk Strap Dress Shoe - A Traveler's Friend

The Business Owner’s Wardrobe

You occasionally wear a suit when meeting with clients or investors but in the confines of your office you are more casual while still maintaining a level of professionalism around your employees.  In the evenings with friends and family you are much more relaxed, and even if you head to the office Saturday morning, you’re going in jeans and a polo.

Items that should be in the Business Owner’s wardrobe:

• 1+ Suits
• 1+ Pair Dress Shoes
• 2 Pair Casual Leather Shoes
• Belts that match above shoes
• 10+ Dress Shirts
• 3+ Ties
• 2 Pairs of well-fitting Jeans
• 5 Pair Slacks, Dark & Light
• 5+ Button-up collared sport shirts
• 5 Solid Polo Shirts
• 5 Sweaters
• 10+ Undershirts V-neck
• 2+ Sports Jackets
• 1 Simple Dress Watch

Items that would be helpful to have:

• 1 Navy Blazer
• 5+ Pocket Squares
• 1 Overcoat
• 1 Pair Leather Gloves
• 1 Trenchcoat
• 1 Hat
• Collar Stays, Cuff Links

The Uniform Man

You have a specific uniform you wear that is required by the nature of your work.  The only time you need personal clothing is when you have time off in the evenings and your weekends.  You wear a suit rarely, but when you do you like to look sharp as being a man of detail you pay attention to the small things.

Items that should be in the Uniform Man’s wardrobe:

• 1 Suit
• 1 Pair Dress Shoes
• 1+ Pair Casual Leather Shoes
• Belts that match above shoes
• 4+ Dress Shirts
• 3+ Ties
• 2 Pairs of well-fitting Jeans
• 2 Pair Slacks, Dark & Light
• 2+ Button-up collared sport shirts
• 3 Solid Polo Shirts
• 3 Sweaters
• 5+ Undershirts
• 1 Sports Jacket
• 1 Simple Dress Watch

Items that would be helpful to have

• 1 Navy Blazer
• 3+ pocket squares
• 1 Overcoat
• 1 Pair Leather Gloves
• 1 Hat
• Collar Stays, Cuff Links

The Casual Creative’s Wardrobe

You work in an environment in which creativity is valued and conformity is dreaded.  Although you have some colleagues that dress in the clothing they slept in, you realize that dressing up a notch does not mean you are losing yourself as an individual.  Rather it gives you a chance to better express it without compromising your chance for opportunity.

Items that should be in the Casual Creative’s Wardrobe:

• 1 Suit & 2 Ties (Just in case!)
• 1 Pair Dress Shoes
• 2 Pair Casual Leather Shoes (Suede or Saddle Shoes)
• Belts that match above shoes
• 10+ Dress Shirts (tailored, contrast stitching, unique fabrics)
• 4 Pairs of well-fitting Jeans
• 2 Pair Slacks, Dark & Light
• 6+ Button-up collared sport shirts
• 2 Solid Polo Shirts
• 6 Sweaters
• 10+ Undershirts
• 1+ Sports Jacket – unique style or fabric
• 1 Simple Watch
• 5+ Pocket Squares
• 1 Overcoat (Aim for a Unique Fabric)

Items that would be helpful to have

• 2 Vests – possibly wear in lieu of a jacket
• 1 pair Leather Gloves
• 1 Hat
• Collar Stays, Cuff Links

3^rd – Allot the time and resources

Your Wardrobe Budget – How much time and money do I need?

Ideally a man should build his wardrobe a few pieces at a time over a decade.  In tune with his clothing needs, he should be on the lookout for missing pieces to be had at a value price. Slowly integrating these finds into his closet, he will be ready at a moment’s notice for whatever event is thrown his way.  If you have time on your hands, develop a basic understanding of style and shop in thrift shops and bargain bins, and you can piece together a respectable wardrobe for around $300 to $500.

When time is a premium, the cost of a wardrobe can rise dramatically.  If you do not have years to piece your wardrobe together, you may end up spending ten times the numbers above as you’ll be paying full retail for most items.   If your wardrobe is going to be suit heavy, expect to spend well over 5K.  The one upside to purchasing quite a few items at once is that you may be able to negotiate a discount for a large purchase – I do this quite often with my clients as it is a win-win scenario for both of us.

Finally, remember that purchasing quality is an investment; purchasing quantity on the other hand is an expense.  It’s better to own a few well made garments that you wear often than a full wardrobe of cheap & poorly-fitted clothing that……well, looks cheap and poorly-fitted.

What to look forward to!

In part 2 we will cover the specifics of the garments listed above – what colors and style to purchase first, how to spend your limited funds on good shoes or shirts, and how to get the most miles out of a small set of clothing.  Please stay tuned!

Written by
Antonio Centeno
President, A Tailored Suit
Articles on Mens Suits, Dress Shirts, etc.
Join our Facebook Page & Win Custom Clothing

via feedproxy.google.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Why Rejection Letters are Great

A Guest post by Daryl Sedore

Rejection letters are great because that means you sent your material out. It means you’re ready (hopefully) to take your work to the next level. You see, here’s the thing; what if someone told you that the 37^th agent you query would get you a book deal? You would be so excited every time another rejection letter arrived because you’re one closer to that deal. That’s why they’re awesome. Keep querying. Just change the way you think about it.

Years ago I worked as a door to door salesperson doing cold calls. We’d go knocking on doors all over the neighbourhood and eventually get in. Sometimes it took ten minutes, sometimes an hour. Once in a while it took all day. I learned quickly that it was just a matter of knocking on doors before I got in. What I mean is, the more doors I covered, the faster I got in a house to do a presentation and possibly make a sale. So I ran. That’s right, I ran from door to door. It kept me energized and fired up so when I finally got in, I was ready to present and sell. I outsold my team month after month. The rest of the salespeople got depressed when a door slammed in their face. Not me, I loved it, because I was one closer to the door that would welcome me in.

A man was quite interested in a beautiful house a few blocks from the Chicago airport. Prior to moving in he ascertained the runways weren’t directed over his house so he bought it. A number of years go by. The airport’s getting busier. Planes are getting larger. They need to build more runways. After a number of months, planes now take off and land directly above his house. Housing values plummet in the area. The man can’t sell. He goes to see a psychiatrist. Doctor tells him to change the way he looks at it. So he goes home and paints, “Welcome to Los Angeles”, on the roof of his house. Almost every time he hears a plane overhead the man laughs.

Change the way you look at it. If your writing is sound, then your only task is to get it out there.

No one can hurt you without your consent – Eleanor Roosevelt

Remember that you are going to query agents that may like the story idea, but don’t love it. You need to keep going until you find one that loves it. Each rejection letter is one step closer to the right match.

People with book deals have no excuses and people with excuses have no book deals. Query, query, query.

Zig Ziglar said that failure is an event, not a person. You may have failed with that rejection letter but you are not a failure. You wrote a novel. The more failure you saw when growing up makes success harder to believe in. But yet you miss out on 100% of all literary agents that you don’t query. So rejection letters are your confirmation that you’re out there, you’re querying, you’re moving forward. That’s right, moving forward, even when you’re getting a rejection letter.

Things come to those who wait, but only things left by those who hustled -Abraham Lincoln

Besides, what’s the worse that can happen? You’re at the same spot as you are now when someone sends you a rejection letter. Send out multiple submissions. Make sure you send queries to the right people at the right agencies. Just make sure you do it.

Two men were hiking through Northern British Columbia. A bear approached from behind looking ready to attack as it eased ever closer. The one man dropped to the ground and yanked off his backpack. He reached in and retrieved a new pair of running shoes. The other man who was still standing asked,

“What are you doing? Come on let’s go. What do you think, you can outrun a bear?”

“Nope. I just have to outrun you.”

That’s what I’m talking about. Send more queries than the other guy. Don’t focus on the problem. Think prosperous thoughts. Allow prosperity to find you. Get past being stuck. Don’t quit, no matter what. Promise a lot and deliver even more. Be assertive in your actions. Take action. Submit your work. Enjoy rejections because you’re one closer to a book deal.

Enjoy rejections. Change the way you think about them. Read each and every one like it’s an honour badge. Save them all so one day when you’re a famous, published author you can go back and tell people how many you collected until you got the right agent for you. Rejections pile up, and yet, all they are is ammunition for author speeches.

They cannot take away our self-respect if we do not give it to them. - Gandhi

Enjoy rejection. Stand tall. Brush off your shoulders and keep moving forward. Remember that you are one rejection letter closer to a deal.

Even Harry Potter got rejections…

Daryl Sedore has written two novels and sold over 40 short stories. He also placed 6th in the 75th Annual Writer’s Digest Short Story competition with 4 other stories in the top 60. Daryl blogs about writing and other motivational subjects.

via writetodone.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

How to Use Twitter Lists in the Job Search | Brand-Yourself.com Blog

What started out as the new shiny e-toy is slowly going the way of the quickly forgotten fad.  Twitter lists were and are an incredible tool and were hugely accepted when they were unveiled.  However, most people, after setting up a few lists, moved on to another shiny toy without giving it much thought. 

 

But Twitter lists are still an ideal way to better organize followers into people of interest, sports related, city related, geography related and even a category for your career search. 

A Personal Branding Note on Lists  

 Have you reviewed the lists you are on to see how you are categorized in others’ minds?  This is a very simple way to review your personal brand and, most importantly, how others perceive you.  A great tool to review your personal brand on Twitter lists is a site called MustExist and it is very simple to us.  All you do is enter your Twitter handle and it creates a cloud of tags showing how you are listed, a direct correlation to your personal brand.  This is a great way to maintain how you are currently viewed and, if you are unhappy with where you stand right now, continue to work on your personal brand to change how you are listed (remember, this is not going to happen overnight). 

There are a lot of ways to think about organizing a Twitter list for a career search.  Set up different lists for employees of companies you are interested in following, or maybe one master list of all the companies you are targeting. 

 Three Tips When Setting Up Lists 

1. Create a catchy list name: However you decide to organize these lists, really take time and think about what to name the list you create.  It may seem like such a simple task, but if you create a catchy list name it may make those you add to that list take a moment to be inspired by how you labeled them.  Consequently, they will (more times than not) want to view your profile which hopefully leads to a follow back. 

2. Manage how many people you add to a list: For the most impact, do not overload a list with people.  Sure, a large list might make sense if you are creating one for a city/college/geographical area, for a large group of professionals such as my HR/Recruiting/Social Media list, or maybe for a sports team with fans to talk with.  However, when creating a list for a career search you may consider limiting the size to somewhere between 40-60 people.  Smaller lists are easier to follow and you are able to really target selected people on a particular topic. 

3. Create multiple lists: If you are interested in multiple industries, keep them separate.  The more organized your list is, the more likely someone will latch onto it and also gain from your time, effort and knowledge.  Social networking is sharing and you should be happy when someone subscribes to your list.  ADDITIONAL NOTE: if someone puts you on a list that represents you, send them a thank-you tweet for including you and following you.  After all, positive interaction will spread. 

Do you have any additional suggestions or uses for lists?  Share what you have learned or your best practices with us. 

Photo Credit: Hammock, Inc. 

Keith McIlvaine manages the recruiting social media strategy for a Fortune 500 company and is an avid networker.  He is a social media advisor, coach, speaker, blogger and an all around fanatic.  Connect with Keith on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.  

via blog.brand-yourself.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Chairless on Cool Hunting

It was just a question of time before someone came up with an iPad-ready chair, or we should say a "magical and revolutionary" chair. Vitra just introduced Chairless, a tool for sitting designed by Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena. A simple and witty idea, the textile strap joined into a loop measures 85 centimeters in length and five centimeter in width and wraps around the back and knees to stabilize the body and relieve tension while seated. Presented at Salone this week, the design incorporates an iPad perfectly, allowing the device to balance on the knees for comfort and ease.

Technology meets elegance in Chairless. Aravena was inspired by a similar sitting strap commonly used by the Ayoreo Indians. The nomadic tribe living in the Gran Chaco region (border region between Paraguay and Bolivia) has employed such textile straps as a sitting aid for centuries. As a sign of gratitude to the original inventors, a portion of the proceeds from Chairless will go to the non-profit Foundation for Paraguayan Indian Communities, which directly supports the Ayoreo Indians.

While the first run of Chairless has already sold out, you can sign up for email alerts for when Vitra releases it again in June at the online store. The website also invites users to submit photos of the product in situ and become members of the Chairless community.

via coolhunting.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Personal Branding Blog: 7 Tips to Boost the Clarity of Your Personal Brand

Whether they’re right or not, people form impressions of your personal brand based on the way you write – from emails, to web profiles, to proposals to cover letters.  Today we’ll go over seven tips to improve your writing skills.

Impressions form fast

Readers assume that if your…

• Writing is sloppy: You don’t care about quality.
• Writing rambles on: You have no sense of purpose.
• Writing is formatted poorly: You have no sense of design.
• Writing is too informal: You are immature.
• Writing is unorganized: You can’t convey information effectively.

Luckily, you can make your writing clearer and more effective by following a few basic guidelines.

1. Decide for whom you’re writing.

Put yourself in your audience’s shoes: What do they want to know? Give them what they want and nothing more (they’re busy). Where do they expect to find what they’re looking for? Make sure it’s where they expect it to be, whether it’s your email signature or your LinkedIn profile.

2. Get to the point.

Writing is most effective when it’s simple. Your reader doesn’t want to follow you down a winding garden path. Most messages can be clarified by putting it into fewer words. Longer sentences do not make anyone seem more intelligent. The amount of time required to process a sentence with n words is n^3. So if you cut the length of a sentence in half, it will be 8 times easier to read.

3. Keep it skimmable.

Accept the fact that your reader is going to skim-read your content. Not because they don’t like you, but because that’s how people read on their computer. They should be able to grasp everything you have to say by reading only the first sentence of every paragraph. Generally state your main point before you give reasoning that leads to it.

4. Don’t use jargon.

The minute you drop a word or abbreviation your readers don’t understand, you’ve potentially lost them. Don’t risk it – speak in plain English that anyone can understand.

5. Play the devil’s advocate.

Be your biggest critic. Is there anything that can be misunderstood? Are you making assumptions that your readers may not share? If so, tweak your messaging.

6. Proofread, proofread, proofread.

Fix grammar, spelling and punctuation. Then have two other people go through it for mistakes. We’re often too close to our own writing to spot small mistakes.

7. Use formatting to highlight your main points.

Make sure anything that catches your reader’s eye draws them to your main points. Use bulleted lists to convey information quickly. Use bold headings to help the reader decide which section will tell them what they need to know.

By working them in to your writing process, you will enhance your ability to effectively communicate and exude a personal brand that stands for quality and clarity.

To wrap up, here are today’s tips to improve the clarity of your writing – and thus the clarity of your personal brand:

1. Decide for whom you’re writing
2. Get to the point
3. Keep it skimmable
4. Don’t use jargon
5. Play the Devil’s advocate
6. Proofread, proofread, proofread

Author:

Pete Kistler is a leading Online Reputation Management expert for Generation Y, a top 5 finalist for Entrepreneur Magazine’s College Entrepreneur of 2009, one of the Top 30 Definitive Personal Branding Experts on Twitter, a widely read career development blogger, and a Judge for the 2009 Personal Brand Awards. Pete manages strategic vision for Brand‐Yourself.com, the first online reputation management platform for job applicants, named one of the Top 100 Most Innovative College Startups in the U.S.

via personalbrandingblog.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

How Do I Network?

While this may sound like a strange question, it is one that I get asked often. Since we are all looking for opportunities for greater success, networking is a skill we might want to learn. In this post, I’ll take a look at some of the reasons for our inability to connect with others and how we might be able to overcome them.

It’s not hard to understand why it’s important to be able to network. A quick look at the job situation in March shows that we are about 30,000 jobs short of what we need to keep up with our growing US population. Right now, the government is holding these numbers up with temporary census jobs. Once that’s over, competition will get really fierce (like it isn’t already). At this rate, you can expect it to take 5 to 8 years to catch up. That should give us plenty of time to learn some networking skills.

Once these opportunities start showing up, we’ll need to connect with people on the inside of companies to get a job, since that’s how most jobs are filled. Yep, it’s a little thing called referrals. It’s a trump card that can win you the game. Of course, they are not so easy to get. You have to network with others, get to know them and convince them to help you. Here are a few reasons why this might be tough for you.

Academia doesn’t teach it. The college years were fun and teach us a lot of skills that we can use to improve our career. As an engineer, I learned more than I wanted to know about physics, chemistry, material science and electronics. The one thing we never discussed in those 6 years (bachelors and masters) was how to work a room full of people. If I had been looking for a good engineering job that didn’t require me to interact with people, I was setup for success.

Unfortunately, I got a job in a company that was full of people. To make matters worse, they didn’t speak the engineering language. Once I began interacting with my fellow employees from quality, HR, management, contracts, production and so on, I realized that if I had any intentions of being successful, I had to learn to read people and speak in ways they could understand. Otherwise, I ran the risk of creating my own communication barriers, which could easily blind me of opportunities.

We don’t make attempts to practice it. Networking is not just a skill, it’s an art. Sure, there are some basic aspects of communicating with people that will make you better, but it takes practice to make yourself great. How many events do you attend each year? Most of us don’t push the development of our skills by registering for social or business conferences. These are perfect venues for establishing connections in other companies, industries and geographical locations.

Maybe we avoid these things because we feel out of place. It moves us away from our comfort zone. But this is often exactly what companies are looking for. They want someone who can walk into a strange situation, with little information, and take charge of it. Anyone can follow, but few can lead. As I learned as an engineer, your daily job doesn’t provide a whole of chances to improve your networking skills. I don’t mean that you don’t develop friendships with your coworkers. That’s not the situation where you can excel. Your opportunities come from successfully building working relationships with the people you don’t know, such as suppliers, clients, potential customers, vendors and contractors.

We don’t understand the value. I’ll have to admit it, but it took me quite a few years to assess the real value in networking. I’m not talking about the conversations around the water cooler. I’m talking about stepping into a room where I didn’t know a single soul in the room. However, when I left, I had business cards from numerous people, whom I followed up with and are still in contact with today.

It wasn’t so easy at first. I would enter the auditorium but would keep to myself. I didn’t interact much, except for this one time when I was at an event I actually knew someone else who was in the audience. He was an old colleague and a big networker. I figured he would have fun with me since he knew I was out of my element. However, he showed me around and introduced me to several people. It put me at ease. From then on, I realized that people were in the room. You know, people just like me and you. They think the same things, feel the same things and even seek the same things.

Each new contact leads me down a new road, for which most of them lead to another new contact. This is expanding your network. It’s a simple concept. You walk up to someone you don’t know and introduce yourself. You ask a few questions about them to learn who they are, what interests them and what things you share in common. If you find a lot of commonalities with your new contacts make sure to follow-up with them later to share your schedule and list of activities (in case they are interested in one of them). If you need help, you ask them for it and you encourage them to do the same. The relationship is mutually beneficial.

Sounds simple right? Well, it is. It doesn’t take much more than what I just defined in the previous chapter. Most often the obstacles to networking that get in the way and keep you from connecting with others are inside your head. You are your biggest obstacle. How do you overcome it? Keep putting yourself outside of your comfort zone. Eventually, it isn’t uncomfortable. At this point, it’s a whole new world. Your eyes will be opened and you’ll wonder why we fear what we don’t know.

New roads will lead you to new adventures. This is what we talk about when we say we are looking for new opportunities. Notice though that the opportunities don’t just come directly to you. You actually have to meet people to find these new paths. Then, you must walk the path and be able to recognize the opportunity. Lastly, you must act on it. It’s not hard work. Spending four or more years solving a lot of textbook problems was hard work.

Author:

Todd Rhoad, MSEE, MBA is the Director at BT Consulting, a career consulting firm in Altanta, and author of the book, Blitz The Ladder. Stay tuned for his upcoming book, The MBA Owners Manual, coming out this year. Todd can be reached at todd.rhoad@blitzteamconsulting.com.

via careerrocketeer.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Know Yourself!

In networking, job interviews, and in your career… self awareness is critical to success.

When people don’t really know their strengths and weaknesses, they often can’t answer questions well, sell themselves effectively, or emphasize their key qualities.

In order to help someone help you when job networking, you must know what you are looking for and be able to articulate it well. When you are interviewing for a position, you must be able to show with credibility what you know and what you do well, to be considered for the role.

Taking the time to really examine and discover your strengths, talents, and abilities will give you greater confidence and go a long way to helping you land your next position. Most people never do an honest self-appraisal and assume things about themselves that may, or may not, be true.

So, how do you do that effectively?

It should probably be done in a variety of ways…

Self Assessment – Take time to thoroughly review your career. Ask yourself introspective questions, and write out your honest answers.

What have been your wins, and what have been your set backs? What jobs have you liked the most? What tasks have you enjoyed the most? What gave you the most satisfaction? What came most easily to you? What jobs or tasks seemed most chore-like? What manager did you like to work for the most? Why? What manager got the most productivity out of you? Why? What was your greatest achievement? What caused that? What was your greatest set back? What caused that? If you were to do your career over, what would you change? What characteristics do you have the most confidence in? What characteristics have held you back?

Asking yourself these questions and more will force you to articulate the pluses and minuses of your career and your self-characteristics. Don’t assume you know what you think you know. Think through examples in your past that confirm those characteristics to you… or perhaps cause you to question them. The process may be very enlightening to you!

Reference Assessments – Find out what others really think of you. Often we don’t necessarily know how others see us and we might be surprised.

Compile a list of 4 or 5 questions to ask others you’ve worked with in the past. Questions of what they see as your strengths, weaknesses, biggest accomplishments and achievements. Send it out to 5 or 6 people that know you well enough in a work environment, and whom you have a good enough relationship that they will give you an honest answer.

Many times people are surprised to learn that previous colleagues think they have an exceptional skill or strength that they never thought they possessed. A task may come easily to you because you’ve done it so many times and you see anything special about it. Others may see it and marvel at how you do it so easily and so well while they struggle with it. Be sure to know those things about yourself… get the opinions of others.

Assessment Tests – Finally, take tests that can effectively determine some of your strengths and weaknesses as well. Getting an objective determination can add credibility to statements you make in your job interview.

One of the best, and most reasonably priced, resources I’ve seen for this in recent years is a book and test called: StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup's Now, Discover Your Strengths

It’s proven to be incredibly accurate, and very insightful. It will most certainly help you understand yourself and your motivations better. It will help you figure out many of the “why’s” in your behaviors, your accomplishments, and your achievements. Take the test and fill in some of the gaps in your knowledge about yourself.

 

Examining yourself in these three different ways will give you a much better understanding of what to emphasize in your conversations with others, and what to minimize.

Take the time to know yourself better. It will pay dividends in many surprising ways!

via thewisejobsearch.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal