There are four simple rules that you must follow when writing your next cover letter. If you hit all four points, you are sure to land more quality interviews!
Rule Number One – Be personal!
4 Rules to an Amazing a Cover Letter | EmploymentDigest.net
3 Simple Ways to Exceed Expectations | Brand-Yourself.com Blog
“Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself – and be lenient to everybody else.” – Henry Ward Beecher
Success in life often hinges on two key elements: your ability to push yourself to greatness, and to exceed the expectations of others. Being a champion takes effort. The payoff is wonderful and builds your personal brand and repertoire.
Whether you are in an academic setting, professional setting, or life situation, there are certain expectations. We have expectations of our own. We expect the sun to rise and the sun to set. Sometimes our expectations are exceed by an awesome sunset or sunrise.
Typical societal expectations are punctuality, clear communication, respect for others, good attitude and being a team player. Professors in academia may set high standards for students to push them to what seems beyond the limit. They do this to drive the point home and stretch the minds of those learning. Managers review an employee’s progress, evaluating where they were, where they are, and where they should be. Goals are often set together.
As you can see, there are many opportunities not just to meet, but to exceed expectations. The direct benefit of doing so often comes with a greater sense of self worth, an open mind, and new doors opening themselves to you.
Three simple ways you can exceed the expectations of others
1. Understand the expectation
Some may say that curiosity killed the cat, but that is far from the truth. It makes creativity happen. Creativity will in turn open your mind to assist you in your efforts to do your best. Ask questions! Don’t assume, because you know what happens when you do. Nothing. Don’t stifle yourself by not asking questions. Even if you think you know it all, be humble, and use the resources available to you.
2. Put in the effort
Yes, it can be tempting to do the bare minimum. But what will separate you from the others? Somewhere in your body there is a competitive bone. Put it into action. Think of a farmer. When they till the field, plant the seed, maintain and protect, the finished product is ripe and ready to harvest. It’s no different in your effort. Put in the preparation, then progress through and reap the final benefit.
3. Strut your stuff
No one really likes someone with a big head, but it is OK and encouraged to let your accomplishments be known. Yes, being humble is important, but don’t let it totally overshadow your hard earned credentials! The very fact that you took the time to understand the expectation and put in the work gives you the right to strut just a little bit.
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Don’t walk away from this post thinking, oh well I already knew that! That’s the point. You did already know this. But have you been putting it in to action? As simple as some things may be, we often neglect to follow them. Try remembering this as you dig in to your next project and plant that seed.
Question: What are you doing now to exceed expectations?
About the Author: Mark Mathson regularly exceeds expectations through helping individuals and organizations get found on the Internet, initiate more leads and convert a higher amount of those leads into customers through implementing Internet marketing campaigns. He enjoys conversing on Twitter and growing and adding value to his network on LinkedIn.
(Photo credit: vfowler)
How to Have a Productive First Week in a New Job as a Remote Employee
One of the most difficult periods in any job is the first few weeks, while you are getting to know your team, the company and your new job. It can be a difficult time for any employee, but it can be even more difficult for employees who are working in remote offices or telecommuting. Getting to know the team and understanding the company culture are much more difficult when you aren’t sitting in the corporate office with the rest of your team. However, there are plenty of things that you can do as a remote employee, or as an employer of remote employees, to make that first week a little easier on everyone.
Face Time
If at all possible, your first week really should be face-to-face in the corporate office. There is something about getting the team together in person to establish a good baseline relationship with key team members that can help make the upcoming weeks easier. Being at the office your first week also gives you access to on-site IT staff to make sure that you have all of the equipment and software required to be productive when you get back to your home office, and it gives you access to orientation and other training in addition to face time with your team. Spending the first week in the office isn’t always possible, especially in smaller companies where there is no corporate office or if budget constraints make travel impractical. However, if this is an option, take it!
Meetings
I’m not normally a big fan of meetings, but taking the time to meet with as many key people as possible in your first week can really help you learn about your job, the company and the team. These meetings could be in-person, where possible, or remote, via web conferencing software, VoIP or phone. Talk to your manager and find out if they are already scheduling any meetings for your first week, since some companies are more proactive than others about making a good first impression during week one. If the meetings aren’t already scheduled, find out who you will be working with and schedule meetings with those people in your first week. Focus on learning about what they do, ask about the company and find out what they think you should be doing. Understanding what your peers expect out of your job can give you quite a bit of information about where you should or should not be focusing. Make sure that you figure out which of these people you will interact with on a regular basis and schedule recurring meetings with key people to help you stay in touch with the team while you work from afar. Also ask about what regular meetings you might need to attend and make sure that you have key team meetings, process/product meetings and corporate events on your calendar.
Technology
If possible, try to get the company to send you any required equipment pre-configured to work on the company network along with instructions for getting access to company resources a few days in advance of starting your new remote job. This helps to ensure that you can start being productive immediately rather than spending the first week trying to get online. I’ve had several companies do this, and it gave me a huge productivity boost, since I had time to test everything and resolve any minor issues before “officially” starting the new job. It also gives you plenty of time to get everything configured the way you need it and to get your job-specific software installed at a relaxed pace without being a drain on productivity. Make sure that you take the time to ask about policies or other technological restrictions that prevent you from using certain pieces of software over the corporate network. For example, you shouldn’t plan on using Skype for phone calls only to find out that it doesn’t work over your corporate VPN network.
Remote Office
If you are starting a job where you need to work out of a home office, you might already have a good office setup with some privacy, a comfortable chair and everything you need to work remotely. However, you should be prepared for making some adjustments. Ask your manager in advance about the working environment and your specific job needs. For example, some companies have large numbers of phone meetings, and you might need something other than a cell phone if you are going to have days with back-to-back meetings for large portions of the day over the phone. A landline and a good headset or speaker phone might be a good investment in those cases. If your work involves a lot of contracts or other documentation that you need to send to customers from your home office, you might need a better scanner or even (gasp!) a fax machine.
Tips for Employers
While the above tips are focused on remote employees, as an employer or manager of remote employees, you should think about how you can make the remote employee’s first week a productive and happy one.
- Can you schedule some face-to-face time?
- Have you scheduled meetings for their first week?
- Do they have the technology they need to do their job?
- Can you send them their equipment a few days in advance?
- Are they enrolled in the right training classes?
- Have you carved out time on your calendar to check in with them a few times during that first week?
What are your tips for starting a new job as a remote employee?
Photo by Flickr user mccun934, used under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
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 use. 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. (The statements posted on this site are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer
Job Interview Tips – 7 Tips to Creating a WOW Impression at the Interview | EmploymentDigest.net
“Something in the way she moves…” goes the song by James Taylor.
It’s great advice when thinking about how to WOW the interviewer. Did you know that over 90% of the initial impression you create in the interview is non-verbal? And, that most of that is body language? It’s true.
How you present yourself is really important. Here are some things to keep in mind:
1. DRESS: Wear something that looks good on you, but even more importantly, you feel good wearing. You will want to feel like a million bucks. Dress proud. You know what I mean. You will want to put on clothes that make you say, “Dang, I look good!” Take the time the night before to get your clothes ready. Do your research so that you are wearing clothes appropriate for the setting. Some environments are more casual than others. Don’t worry. You don’t have to go out and spend money on a new outfit. You do have to make sure that you find a way to feel good in whatever you have to wear.
2. PERSONAL DETAILS/HYGIENE: “The devil is in the details,” says a close friend of mine. Pay attention to personal hygiene. Make sure that you are well-groomed. Take care that your hair is tidy, and not windblown, your nails are clean and not unkempt, your clothes are not wrinkled. You want to look “crisp”, but not stiff. You don’t want to look scruffy or disorganized. (NOTE about perfume/body spray: go easy on it. Nothing is worse in an interview than sitting in a closed room with someone who has doused themselves in overpowering perfume. OK, well, sitting with someone who forgot to take a shower is worse — and that has happened to me — but you get what I mean.)
3. WALK: You want to walk purposefully and with confidence. Don’t be cocky, just confident. Stride easily, don’t shuffle. Walk like you are someone…because you are.
4. SIT: Ready for this tip? Do not sit with your back against the back of the chair. I know that you might do this either because it comes naturally, or because you think that it conveys that you are comfortable and relaxed. Actually what happens is that you project low energy. People who tend to lean against the back of the chair tend to slouch a little and it’s hard to move and to project energy if you are just leaning back. Sit on the edge of the chair (but don’t fall off), feet firmly on the floor. This enables you to lean forward and gesture with your hands. It allows you to communicate with your whole body. Try it.
5. SMILE: Make sure that you can relax enough to smile easily. Don’t force a smile, just let it happen.
6. HANDSHAKE: Firm, but not bone-crushing, is the guideline. Definitely not limp or wishy-washy.
7. POSTURE: A key indicator of your confidence level is your posture. Make sure you are standing straight and tall.
Do these things and you’ll be sure to WOW’em.
And for more tips on how to WOW them, I invite you to download two FREE Interview Mini-Coaching sessions — to help you answer two of the toughest questions. Just go to http://www.TheVirtualCareerCoachBonus.com
You can listen online or receive MP3 files that you can download onto your iPod so that you can listen anytime. Each coaching session lasts about 15 minutes. And, it’s FREE!
From Leslie Evans Thorne — The Virtual Career Coach
Job Interview Tips – 7 Tips to Creating a WOW Impression at the Interview | EmploymentDigest.net
“Something in the way she moves…” goes the song by James Taylor.
It’s great advice when thinking about how to WOW the interviewer. Did you know that over 90% of the initial impression you create in the interview is non-verbal? And, that most of that is body language? It’s true.
How you present yourself is really important. Here are some things to keep in mind:
1. DRESS: Wear something that looks good on you, but even more importantly, you feel good wearing. You will want to feel like a million bucks. Dress proud. You know what I mean. You will want to put on clothes that make you say, “Dang, I look good!” Take the time the night before to get your clothes ready. Do your research so that you are wearing clothes appropriate for the setting. Some environments are more casual than others. Don’t worry. You don’t have to go out and spend money on a new outfit. You do have to make sure that you find a way to feel good in whatever you have to wear.
2. PERSONAL DETAILS/HYGIENE: “The devil is in the details,” says a close friend of mine. Pay attention to personal hygiene. Make sure that you are well-groomed. Take care that your hair is tidy, and not windblown, your nails are clean and not unkempt, your clothes are not wrinkled. You want to look “crisp”, but not stiff. You don’t want to look scruffy or disorganized. (NOTE about perfume/body spray: go easy on it. Nothing is worse in an interview than sitting in a closed room with someone who has doused themselves in overpowering perfume. OK, well, sitting with someone who forgot to take a shower is worse — and that has happened to me — but you get what I mean.)
3. WALK: You want to walk purposefully and with confidence. Don’t be cocky, just confident. Stride easily, don’t shuffle. Walk like you are someone…because you are.
4. SIT: Ready for this tip? Do not sit with your back against the back of the chair. I know that you might do this either because it comes naturally, or because you think that it conveys that you are comfortable and relaxed. Actually what happens is that you project low energy. People who tend to lean against the back of the chair tend to slouch a little and it’s hard to move and to project energy if you are just leaning back. Sit on the edge of the chair (but don’t fall off), feet firmly on the floor. This enables you to lean forward and gesture with your hands. It allows you to communicate with your whole body. Try it.
5. SMILE: Make sure that you can relax enough to smile easily. Don’t force a smile, just let it happen.
6. HANDSHAKE: Firm, but not bone-crushing, is the guideline. Definitely not limp or wishy-washy.
7. POSTURE: A key indicator of your confidence level is your posture. Make sure you are standing straight and tall.
Do these things and you’ll be sure to WOW’em.
And for more tips on how to WOW them, I invite you to download two FREE Interview Mini-Coaching sessions — to help you answer two of the toughest questions. Just go to http://www.TheVirtualCareerCoachBonus.com
You can listen online or receive MP3 files that you can download onto your iPod so that you can listen anytime. Each coaching session lasts about 15 minutes. And, it’s FREE!
From Leslie Evans Thorne — The Virtual Career Coach
Successful Personal Brands Are Built on Integrity | Bud Bilanich
Successful people create positive personal impact. It is one of the career success competencies that is part of my Career Success GPS System. You create positive personal impact by developing and nurturing your personal brand, dressing for success and knowing and following the basic rules of etiquette.
As a career success coach, I believe that a strong personal brand is the starting place for creating positive personal impact. Do you have a personal brand? How did you develop it? What do you do to nurture it?
Personal branding is simple in concept. Figure out how you want to be known. What two or three words do you want people to associate with you? Once you determine how you want to be known, consistently and constantly do the things that will get people to think of you that way.
Visibility enhances your personal brand. Volunteer for projects inside your company, church and community. Write a column or opinion piece for your company magazine or an industry publication. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper.
That’s the essence of personal branding – knowing how you want to be perceived; consistent and constant action, and visibility. However, all strong personal brands are built on integrity. Tweet 62 in my new book Success Tweets: 140 Bits of Common Sense Career Success Advice All in 140 Characters or Less, says…
Your personal brand should be unique to you, but built on integrity. Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking.
Here are my best career success coach tips on how to become known as a person of high integrity.
People with integrity succeed. Be true to yourself. Your reputation is all you’ve got. Know your values and stick to them. If you haven’t already articulated your personal values, take a few minutes, think about them and write them down. Review them every week to make sure you’re staying true to yourself.
Be direct and truthful. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing so astonishes men as common sense and plain dealing.” Astonish the people around you with common sense and straightforward communication.
Admit your mistakes. We all make mistakes. Own up to yours. You’ll gain a reputation as a straight shooter who as honest with himself or herself as he or she is with others.
Become widely trusted. Deliver on what you say you’ll do. If you can’t meet a commitment, let the other person know as soon as you can. Agree on another deadline – and meet it. Keep confidences. Avoid gossip. Never embarrass your friends and coworkers by repeating what they share with you – even if it isn’t in confidence.
The common sense point here is simple. If you want to succeed in your life and career, do everything you can to promote and nurture your personal brand at all times. Remember this important career success coach point; everything you do – and everything you choose to not do – communicates your brand. Dress, handle phone calls, e mails and face to face conversations in a manner that enhances your personal brand. If you do this, you’ll stand out from the crowd and be well on your way to creating positive personal impact.
That’s my take on nurturing your personal brand. What’s yours? Thanks for reading. As always, I encourage and value your comments. Please take the time to share your thoughts and ask your questions on personal branding.
Bud
via budbilanich.com
